Part 1
In which Rick suspects his wife is making a mistake.
***
Hanna was an incorrigible flirt.
She always had been, and four years of marriage hadn't changed her yet. She loved the thrill of teasing attention out of men, and she could be pretty indiscriminate about it when the mood struck her.
Her husband, Rick, didn't mind too much - after all, it was part of what drew them together in the first place.
This isn't to say he never got jealous, just that on average, he liked the idea of Hanna flirting indiscriminately more than he liked the idea of Hanna not flirting at all.
Rick had both noticed and appreciated Hanna's renewed interest in physical fitness, and he knew that she had picked up a new dress to go with her new figure, but it wasn't until they were halfway out the door that he really noticed what she looked like these days.
She was a vision to behold.
The dress was very short, and very low cut and it hugged her lithe body in all the right places.
Her makeup and hair were precisely and elegantly done.
Perhaps a man shouldn't forget how beautiful his wife is, but this was certainly a remarkable reminder.
Long days and early mornings had taken a toll on their love life in recent weeks, and Hanna's outfit had an instant and dramatic effect on Rick.
In contrast, Rick had managed to find a pretty clean pair of jeans, free of holes.
Hanna loved watching her husband watch her. Her eyes glittered with mischief and she broke easily into a grin as she flittered around the house, preparing their night.
And she egged him on - with fleeting touches and lingering looks and a quick kiss on the cheek. Rick relished these little moments, letting her work him up a little.
But with her being so beautiful and so bold, a little worm crawled into Rick's thoughts. She was making all of these preparations. What if she wasn't getting ready for him? Mark would be there. Hanna had always been a little keenly aware of Mark. Tonight, it seemed, was going to be a jealous night.
A few hours later, the party was going well, and Rick had started to calm down.
He had started the night making a surreptitious effort to keep tabs on Hanna and the other guests.
Hanna's beauty made her stand out, even amongst a good-looking crowd that gathered for the party, but she was being well behaved, as was everyone else.
Men would notice her and glance at her, but no one was openly gawking. People might touch her shoulder or her back or her waist as they moved past her, but no one seemed to let their hands linger on her. Everyone was drinking, but no one was drunk.
He smiled to himself as he watched Hanna elicit a laugh from the group she was talking to.
It was a good little party, he decided.
And slowly but surely he let himself grow more focused on the small talk and camaraderie. Someone filled his drink for him, again.
And slowly but surely, he stopped checking on Hanna.
And slowly but surely, the revelers stopped being so sober.
And slowly but surely, Hanna stopped behaving.
Had Rick still been paying attention to his wife, he might have noticed her drawing closer to one man in particular. He might have noticed the lingering looks they were giving each other. He might have noticed the casual touches growing longer and more frequent and altogether less casual.
And had he been paying attention he might have intervened. He might have ushered Hanna away or inserted himself into the conversation or have done anything really.
But Rick wasn't paying attention.
The party began to wane and Rick finished another drink and found himself sinking into a couch.
The party waned more and guests began to filter home.
And the party waned more and Rick felt his eyes growing heavy. He was tired. He was drunk. He could not have driven them home, even if he had been so inclined.
Hanna would join him on the couch soon, he was sure.
Someone dimmed the lights, and draped a blanket over him, and set a glass of water on the coffee table in front of him.
He was vaguely aware of the murmur of conversation growing dimmer as the party drifted out of the room.
And Rick drifted off to sleep.
Rick awoke with a start.
Hanna had not yet joined him.
The room was very dark, though not quite pitch black. His throat was dry and he gratefully gulped down the glass of water on the table. He stood with little difficulty, as the room was not spinning too much.
He stood for a moment, listening for where the remaining revelers might have posted up, but the house was quiet.
He went to find Hanna. She had probably crashed in one of the guest rooms, he reasoned. That would be more comfortable than the couch, and maybe she would be up for a quick midnight fuck - she sometimes was, especially when she had been drinking.
Sober, Hanna carried around more than her fair share of inhibitions, but after a few drinks... well, she didn't incline towards turning maudlin - she didn't incline towards finding a fight. Hanna was a horny drunk. She was, after all, a flirt.
Rick was starting to become uneasy about her absence again.
He padded his way down the hallway towards the back of the house. He moved quietly, lest he wake anyone else who might have crashed back here.
As he drew near one of the bedrooms,he saw a door ajar... he heard a quiet murmur of conversation. He pressed his ear against the door to listen.
A female voice said "... has been fun, but don't you think it's time for you to go to bed?"
That could be Hanna, Rick thought. But it was hard to be sure. Whoever was speaking was being pretty quiet, after all.
Rick paused at the door. He did not want to barge in on someone else.
A male voice responded, "Oh, not yet. I am still wide awake."
Rick couldn't place that voice at all. There had been plenty of people at the party that he'd never met before.
The female voice purred "excuse me? Just what do you think you're doing there?"
It was not a reproach, but it did sound like Hanna.
Rick stepped closer, his hand reaching for the doorknob.
But basic propriety stopped him.
What if it wasn't Hanna? He needed to be sure before he did anything embarrassing.
He strained his ears, focusing intently on every sound coming from the room. He just needed to be completely sure that it wasn't Hanna.
There was a sound of fabric moving - a generic rustling.
The female voice spoke again "Oh, no we shouldn't do tha-", the voice trailed off into a low, throaty moan.
Rick heard a new sound - clearly a kiss.
Standing there in the hall, listening in on some mystery couple making out, Rick felt his cock slowly begin to stiffen, pushing up against his pants. His face grew red as he adjusted himself.
Rick's heart began to pound in his chest. He stared at the gap in the door. It was ajar, but only just. He could hear through the gap, but certainly not see anything, no matter how he angled himself... At least not without pushing on the door, which would surely alert the pair inside to his presence.
The woman let out a little sigh and the man let out a little groan. Did Hanna sigh while kissing? Rick wasn't sure.
He grew even more hesitant of opening the bedroom door. Even if it was Hanna in there, was he going to burst into this room with a hard on, on top of it all?
And what if someone stumbled across him out here? How fucking creepy would he look, spying on a couple making out? His mind slowly reached the conclusion that standing awkwardly outside this door was not an option.
The adjacent bedroom's door was open, and the room was dark. Rick stepped inside, assured himself that it was empty, and carefully closed the door behind himself.
He climbed into the bed and stretched out and tried to calm his nerves.
The wall was very thin. He couldn't hear nearly as well as he could a moment ago, but he could still hear little bumps and the muffled sound of talking from the other room.
The male voice moaned again, and the female voice giggled - high and fluting.
It was Hanna.
His heartbeat was like thunder in his ears. His cock was rock hard. He found himself completely paralyzed - totally unable to act - totally unable to decide how he felt about this.
He squeezed his eyes shut and strained to hear more.
It was quiet for a while.
He couldn't help but try to construct a mental image of what was going on in there. Did he have his cock out? Was she touching it while they kissed? Or maybe she was going down on him? She loved giving head, but surely she wouldn't let things go that far.
"Just a sec." Hanna said. Or, might have said. It was hard to make out words exactly through the wall.
Rick found himself with his ear pressed to the wall.
There were footsteps in the room. The door shut. Rick fancied he heard the spring lock click.
And then a brief pause.
The man grunted appreciatively, "Wow. You have an incredible body." and Hanna giggled again.
Was he admiring her with her dress on? Or was she stripping for him?
Rick felt a knife of ice in his heart. Before he hadn't known how to feel about this, but now he did. This was humiliating. An outrageous betrayal. It felt like a deliberate and calculated abandonment.
And yet, he felt his hand drifting to the bulge in his pants.
He couldn't hear the couple next door undressing. The thin wall was enough to offer the illicit couple privacy. But he imagined that he could see everything.
