Passion In James County IX
Indiscretions
By D.C. Roi
Chapter twenty
Tom wasn't sure what to do when he woke up the morning after he'd seen Melissa and Mitch making love. He still felt more than a little anger and considered confronting his wife about what he'd seen, but he although he was angry, he knew very well he was in no position to throw stones. He'd screwed around, too, and had pretty much ignored his wife for almost a year, so how could he be angry with Melissa for doing the same thing?
That didn't make it any easier when the memory of seeing his wife making it with Mitch on their bathroom floor appeared in his mind. He lay on his side, watching his wife's back, wondering how they'd come to this point in their marriage. Despite all he'd done Tom believed he still loved Melissa. And he wanted to save their marriage, if that was possible.
Melissa began moving. She stretched, then she rolled on her side and smiled at him. "How are you this morning?" she asked. She, too, decided it was time they talked about what was going on between them. No matter what it took, he wasn't getting away until they did that.
Tom shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "I'm OK, I guess."
Melissa took a deep breath. "Tom, we need to talk," she said.
"Yeah, I know," Tom replied.
"Tom, there...there is something very wrong in our marriage," she said.
Tom couldn't read the look on his wife's face. "What?" he asked, immediately feeling stupid for saying that. It wasn't as if he didn't know. "I'm sorry," he said, "that was a dumb thing to say. I've been lying here thinking the same thing you are. What do you think we should do?"
"I think talking things out might be a good way to start," Melissa said softly.
"Do you want me to go first?" Tom persisted.
Melissa studied him. "Do you want to?" she asked.
Tom shrugged. "I guess I might as well," he said. "How much do you want me to tell you?"
Melissa rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling. "I...I want to know what made you stop wanting me," she said, her voice very soft. "I need to know what I did that turned you off."
A cold chill went through Tom. He had no idea his wife believed the problems between them were her fault. It made him feel even worse than he already did. "Do you really think it was something you did?" he asked.
Still staring at the ceiling, Melissa nodded.
"And what if it wasn't you?" Tom ventured, his heart pounding. "What if you didn't do anything wrong?"
"Then why...why did you stop wanting me?" she asked.
"It...it was something I did, not...not something you did," Tom said. He wasn't sure how much he should tell her. "I...I did something really stupid, and afterward, I felt so guilty, I...I couldn't...you know...perform with you. That's what happened. It...it had nothing to do with you."
Melissa turned her head and looked at him. "What, exactly, did you do that made you feel so guilty?" she asked, even though she finally was willing to admit she'd known all along. "Are you trying to tell me you cheated on me? That you slept with someone else?"
Tom nodded slowly. "That's what happened," he said, feeling as if someone had wrapped an iron band around his heart. "Then...after...after it happened, I...I couldn't make love to you and..."
Melissa rolled on her back again, and once again was staring at the ceiling. Tears were filling her eyes. "I...I guess I knew, but I wasn't sure until...until just now," she said, her voice cracking.
"So...now...now what?" Tom stammered, his heart pounding. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know," Melissa replied as tears rolled down her cheeks. "What do you think we should do?"
"I...I don't know," Tom said, "I guess it depends what you want, doesn't it?"
"What would you do if I wanted a divorce?" Melissa asked.
Another cold chill went through Tom. "Is...is that, a divorce, what you want?"
Melissa turned her head and looked at him with reddened eyes. "No," she said. "I don't want to divorce you."
"Then what?" Tom asked.