Dave spun suddenly, his arm slipping from around Tania's waist as a feeling of dread washed over him. "Fuck," he thought, "you have to be kidding me."
As he turned Joan made a beeline for the couple, a look of absolute rage on her face. As she saw Tania, she froze and the look of anger mixed with confusion before she said, "Who's this? Kicked Karen to the curb already for a teenager?"
Dave reddened and turned to Tania, saw a quick look of confusion and what looked like sorrow on her face for a split second, then just as quickly the confident and strong Tania returned and she said, "You must be Joan, the whore who was sucking her neighbor's cock when her husband was at work." She moved purposefully close to Joan, standing directly in front of her, eyes glaring. "I'm Tania, the woman that's going to drag your sorry ass out the door into the street if you don't back the fuck up."
Joan stammered and took a step back. Dave couldn't help but chuckle to himself and when Joan saw the grin on his face, she turned even redder than she was before. Realizing that her bullying approach wasn't going to work right now, she went to her backup. On demand, tears poured from her eyes, and she lowered her face and brought her hands up. Sobbing she said, "Dave, when you sent me those texts with Karen, all those horrible things". She paused and sniffled, looking up from her hands to see if she was getting a reaction before continuing, "I was worried about you. You didn't return my messages for days. I thought something was wrong with you, so I came here to make sure you were OK. And what do I get for my concern, this foul-mouthed child threatening me?"
Dave began to laugh, and Tania stood shaking her head. "Joan," Dave began, "what do you want? We have dinner reservations and need to get dressed."
Joan stood stunned and lowered her hands. Now she was truly pissed. He had just dismissed her. "How fucking dare you talk to me like that? I am your fucking wife, asshole, and you are not only fucking my best friend but obviously also fucking this little foul-mouthed slut." The words trailed off as she looked up and saw the look in Tania's eyes. The kind of look that sent shivers down your spine.
"Joan," Tania said at almost a whisper, "that is the last time you will say anything insulting to me. If you have something that you need from Dave, let's hear it, otherwise we have plans and I hate to be late."
Looking past her Joan said to Dave, "Dave, can we talk alone? This is personal."
"No, if you have something to say, just say it," Dave responded curtly.
"Fuck you!" she spat, turning and storming away and out the revolving door of the hotel.
Dave watched in amazement. All the years he'd been married to her he had never seen her walk away from a fight. His normal response when she got like this was just to let her have her way, it was just easier. But watching Tania face her down had made him realize how absurd her act was. He smiled and turned to Tania and her face suddenly changed to one of near sorrow as a tear welled up in her eye.
"Who's Karen?"
The last few days with Tania had made him almost forget about Karen. He hadn't even met Tania when he and Karen had hooked up, but for some reason he felt guilty. He thought about what he should say and realized that there was no sense in anything but the truth.
"Karen is a woman that Joan was close friends with back in college. I ran into her the night before you and I met, in the hotel bar and we slept together." He started to continue but she cut him off with a finger to his lips.
"Have you been with her since we met?"
"No, I haven't".
Tania smiled then, her face lighting up as she said "Good, let's go get ready for dinner". She took his hand and they headed for the elevator lobby.
Dave was in near shock. He had just told her that he had slept with another woman the night before he slept with her, and she was fine with it. What the fuck?
As they got into the elevator, Tania leaned up against him and kissed him on the cheek. "In case you didn't know, I slept with other people before I met you too. Not the night before I met you, but you know".
He smiled and slipped his arm around her as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Now, if you'd slept with her after you met me, I'd have cut your balls off," she said softly.
Dave swallowed hard, not sure if she was kidding and remembering that Becky had used the same threat.
The door to the elevator opened and she looked at him, then burst out laughing. "Wow dude, you need to lighten up." She grabbed his arm and nearly dragged him out of the elevator and down the hall to his room. As he fumbled with his wallet to pull out his key card, her hand slipped down to his crotch and his cock responded immediately to her touch.
On the street in front of the hotel Joan stood enraged. The doorman approached her and asked, "Ma'am, can I get you a cab?"
"Go fuck yourself!" she snapped and stormed away, leaving the young man staring blankly after her, before shaking his head and turning to greet the passenger of the car that was pulling up to the curb.
She walked quickly down the street and around the corner before stopping. Unsure where she was going and realizing that she did need a cab she scanned the street. Snatching her phone out of her pocket, she scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she needed, pressing the button to call her. "Sydney, hey it's Joan....Yes, it has been a long time...I'm sorry, Hun, but I'm in a crunch at the moment. I am supposed to meet Karen at her house and somehow misplaced her address. Can you text it to me.. Oh, thank you so much. I will call soon, and we can catch up. I'm sorry, I'm late and you know how much I hate that. Yes, talk to you soon." Pressing the button to end the call she muttered under her breath, "Bitch." A moment later she received a text with the address.
Looking around she realized she was on a one-way street and that all the cabs were going toward the hotel entrance. Without hesitating she headed back and upon arriving walked directly up to the doorman and stated curtly, "I need a cab."
The doorman turned and saw who it was, put his best fake smile on his face, the one he reserved for the worst customers who he knew would never tip him, but would complain to the GM at the most imperceptible slight. "Of course, Ma'am", he said, turning to hail a passing cab. As it pulled up, he opened the door and before he could turn, Joan pushed past him and into the back seat, grabbing the door and yanking it closed. Smiling brightly, he touched the brim of his cap and turned away, chuckling to himself. He was an atheist, but in moments like this he hoped he was wrong and that if God existed, that He had a special place lined up for people like that. Then back to work he went.
Joan read the address from her phone, never looking up or acknowledging the driver's existence. The driver knew this type and simply nodded, put the car in gear and merged into the downtown traffic and got ready for a quiet ride. He much preferred to chat with his customers, but no sense in even trying with this one, twenty years of experience told him that, and that he would get a buck tip if he was lucky.
Upstairs in Dave's suite, Tania was mercilessly teasing Dave. She really wasn't angry, the logical side of her brain, the part that she had been taught to let rule, told her that Dave had done nothing wrong. What happened before they met was none of her business. Since they had met, he had been wonderful. He treated her with respect and care, was honest and open, and was an amazing lover. But her soul was hurt. The logical brain kept telling her to stop being a girl, but the emotional part of her, the part she kept tamped down, was not happy. Her strong response to Joan was an act. A well-honed response to bullies that her father had taught her as a young girl. But she knew that it wasn't over. Joan was obviously not the kind of woman to give up. She had fled because she was shocked by the response she got, probably the first time she had ever been told no by Dave, but she'd be back. And she'd be prepared next time.
As her hand ran across Dave's crotch, she could feel his bulge straining against his jeans. He resisted as long as he could, but eventually turned and tried to kiss her. She pulled her hand back, looked at her wrist at the watch that didn't exist, and stated in her best teasing voice, "David, we are going to be late."
This continued for several minutes until Dave finally exhaled, kissed her forehead and with a big smile, turned and left the bathroom. "I'm going to get dressed. You better hurry or we'll be late."
Tania broke into a deep laugh and slapped his shoulder playfully as he left. "Damn you," she thought. Turning back to the mirror she finished touching up her makeup and turned to pull the dress from the hanging bag that she had hung on the back of the door. Unzipping it, she looked at the dress and smiled to herself. "Let's see if you can be that cool with this," she whispered to the empty room. Slipping out of her work clothes and underwear, she slipped the tight blue dress over her shoulders, no bra or panties to create unsightly lines. She smoothed the dress and looked in the mirror. Yep, tonight is going to be fun.
In the other room Dave couldn't stop smiling as he put on a pressed dress shirt and slacks, then grabbed a tie from the closet and quickly tied it. He'd probably be the only person at the restaurant in a tie given the way people dressed these days, but he knew that Tania would appreciate it and that's what mattered tonight. This evening was about showing Tania how much she mattered and how important she was to him. It had taken a lot of phone calls to get a private room at this restaurant this evening, but she deserved it.
He threaded his belt through the loops on the slacks and snugged it tight then slipped on a pair of black wing tips. He glanced in the mirror and smiled. He looked sharp and he knew it. That was when he caught a glimpse of Tania standing behind him, leaning up against the door jam. He realized he could have worn a paper sack, and no one would have noticed because not a person in the world would see anything but the red-haired vision in blue that would be on his arm.
