Dear Readers - You will get much more out of this story if you read parts 1 & 2 first. ~ox
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"I'm sure you're wrong, Cheryl."
"Fuck you, Shauna! Why are you taking his side?"
"Wow! I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm just saying that you might not want to accuse John of having an affair without a lot of proof. It's just that that is a hard thing to recover from if you're wrong."
"But I'm not. I can just feel it."
"OK, OK. Tell me why you think he's cheating on you."
Cheryl sat back down, picked up her glass of wine, took a sip, and began to explain. "His mood has changed so much, and he isn't as interested in sex as he used to be."
Shauna incorporated the information and asked the most relevant question: "Has he turned you away?"
"No, never, but he used to want it every day."
"We talked about that. You don't think it's because he now knows when he'll get to make love to you?"
"No, I don't! And that's weird too, because now he really is gentle with me. He used to be so aggressive."
Shauna held her silence long enough to make her point. "So, he is more loving and you think he's cheating?"
Cheryl, slightly angered by this, responded loudly. "Yes, I do!"
"OK. Is he going out a lot? You know, spending a lot of money?"
"No."
"Is he drinking heavily?"
"No, actually, he's kind of stopped drinking."
"Is he ignoring you?"
Cheryl was beginning to feel doubt. "No, he isn't. We've been communicating pretty well."
The phone rang before Shauna could speak, and Cheryl listened to the one sided conversation. "Hi. Oh hey, John. Yep, she's right here. Soon, I guess, we're just talking. Really? OK, I'll tell her. Bye."
"Cheryl, that was John. He made dinner for you and hoped you'd be coming home soon." The two looked at each other, but said nothing. Cheryl felt a little silly as she left, and Shauna felt satisfied. And she had been: the dampness of John's sperm in her panties was a delicious reminder.
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"I know - I know, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. OK, thanks, just knock on the back door."
Shauna hung up the phone. John hadn't been to her office since he helped move some furniture during the early days of her practice. And while it was dangerous to meet outside the house, she needed to confess Cheryl's concerns. For whatever reason, she couldn't get the words out this morning when they met, so she had to do it now.
John arrived within 20 minutes, and Shauna was happy to let him in. As he entered, he scanned the sparsely decorated room. A thin, tan desk faced the locked door. Two oversized chairs sat in a corner, separated by a small round coffee table. A large oval table was the centerpiece of the office, and around it were six heavily padded chairs.
The room looked like Shauna - unnecessarily drab. Now familiar with her beauty, John was disappointed to see her at her conservative best. Her body was hidden beneath a mostly shapeless dark brown business suit. Both buttons on the jacket were fastened, and the skirt fell to her knees. Even the blouse underneath lacked the color of her spirit.
And while her face was still beautiful, it too was hidden. Her hair was pulled back, dark rimmed glasses sat on her nose, and she wore no make-up. John had been familiar with this version of Shauna for almost as long as he knew her, but he didn't like being reminded of it. It seemed, to him, to be a cage she chose to be locked in.
"No clients today?"
"Keep your voice down, OK? I don't want Mary to know you're here." And Mary would know - an outstanding assistant, Mary seemed to know everything that happened at the practice.
"Sure - no problem. But really, no clients?"
"I had a couple of cancellations, that's all. I'll be seeing a couple in an hour and a half."
John cut to the chase. "What did you need to talk about?"