Peter was terrified. The encounter with Frank shook him to his core and he decided to dial things back with Cynthia. He didn't outright tell her why, but instead made up vague excuses as to why he couldn't meet. He knew this wasn't a long term solution. If he didn't disclose his fears to Cynthia, he would run the risk of hurting her and losing her forever.
He decided to spend more time with Charlie and Kevin. They just assumed things between him and Amanda had fizzled out again.
"How's Cynthia doing these days?" Charlie asked before he took a swing of his golf club. The three of them were lined up at the far end of the driving range. A bottle of Jameson sat on a small table with three red Solo cups.
"What?" Peter asked, caught off guard.
"I'm talking to Kevin. I wanna know how that bodacious babe is doing these days," Charlie laughed.
"Dude. Fuck off. Ok? Just fuck off," Kevin said as he took a shot of Jameson.
"I'll fuck off... to your house," Charlie said again. This time Kevin raised his golf club as if he was going to slam it down on Charlie's head. He jokingly held up his hands to protect himself.
"You still think your old man is sleeping around?" Charlie asked, this time being serious.
"When's he not?" Kevin responded.
"That's bullshit," Peter said. "If I were your stepmom, I'd just leave him."
"Yeah, well... she doesn't," Kevin grumpily muttered.
The boys were well versed in Frank's apparent adulterous activities away on business. Just a few years prior, a fling with a flight attendant across the country threatened their marriage, but they worked things out privately. Cynthia and Frank were rarely seen together as he traveled a lot and she didn't really seem to mind much.
"I wouldn't wanna be the guy who steps in on their marriage," Charlie said, to no one in particular. "Your Dad is one bad motherfucker."
"Yeah, well. Fuck him is what I say," Kevin declared before launching a golf ball into the stratosphere.
"I'm out, guys," Kevin said. "Goin' to Amy's."
"Pound town?" Charlie asked.
"Naw she's on her period. Maybe a blowie," Kevin responded with a smile. "Maybe a couple blowies," he laughed.
Charlie responded by miming a blowjob and pretending to do a gag. "Ugh it's so big, I can't get it all down my throat!" he said in a high-pitched voice. Everyone cracked up laughing as Kevin took off.
Charlie and Peter had a few more shots, hit a bunch of balls and ultimately called it a night an hour or so later.
"Dude," Charlie said as they walked towards the parking lot. "Kevin's stepmom is seriously so fucking hot. I never really noticed it until recently. I mean, I know we all used to joke about her tits when we were younger, but she is legit doing it for me these days, bro."
Peter nodded, while looking down as they walked. He pictured Cynthia's mouth wrapped around his cock. He vividly remembered the feeling of her tight pussy pulsing on him as she came. He pictured her perfect body being showered in thick white ropes from his spasming penis. "Yeah dude," he agreed. "She's pretty hot."
Peter checked his phone in the car and, sure enough, Cynthia had texted him several times. She also called him, something she never did. Peter decided to call her back. He was feeling really charged up and pondered setting up an impromptu meet. Besides, it had been a while since they got together.
"Hey," he said cheerfully. But the voice on the other end was not so cheerful.
"Peter, I need you to come over."
"What's wrong?"
"Can you come by the house?" she said in a concerned voice. Something was not right.
"Yes, I can. But you need to tell me what's wrong. Are you in danger?"
"I'm not in danger. But we need to talk."
"Ok?"
"I'll see you soon," she said softly before hanging up. Peter was dumbstruck. As he frantically drove over to her house, he imagined what he'd do if Frank were to attack him. He contemplated turning around, but Cynthia's voice made it seem serious. He couldn't leave her with him in case Frank was violent.
Peter had never been in such a situation before and didn't truly have a good plan. He didn't even really know what he was walking into, but it certainly wasn't good.
He slowly and carefully approached the front door of the house. The lights were on. He tried to peer inside and get a glimpse of what was happening before entering. The sun had just set so it started to get dark. He couldn't see anything.
He raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before he could do so. "Hi honey," Cynthia said as she stood in the doorway. She reached out and gently grazed Peter's cheek with her hand. "Hi handsome," she said.
"Are you ok?" he asked, concerned as he stepped inside.
"I'm fine. It's ok," she said quietly. Peter suspected she didn't want to be heard. "Come with me," she said as she led him through the house towards the kitchen.
She poured a glass of wine for both of them. Peter tentatively took a sip. "Cynthia, you're scaring me," he said. "You're acting strange."
"I'm going to be straight with you, Peter. He knows. He knows everything."
Peter's stomach dropped. His worst nightmare was confirmed. His first instinct was to run out of the house away from her and never see her again. His second, more leveled instinct was to stay... and fight. "What?" he asked, stunned.
"He told me he knows about us. He saw us in the park. He's seen your car parked around the corner. He's no dummy, Peter."
Peter took another sip, more generous this time. He leaned on the kitchen island with both hands, staring at the granite. He remained silent.
"It's not what you think. He's not mad, believe me. He's hurt more than anything," she said. "Peter, look at me."
He looked up.
"I had a sense this would happen. You probably did too."
He solemnly nodded. It was true. There was no way their fling was going to go the distance undetected. Something had to give. Now it was time to pay the price.
"Listen, he's coming home any minute. But I don't want you to run. I want to confront the situation together. I promise he's not angry or upset."
"He's not angry?! How can that be? He knows I'm fucking you regularly!" Peter began to become agitated. He didn't believe Cynthia. He didn't want to stick around for when Frank came home. Nothing about that scenario seemed appealing to him.
"Can you please just stay by my side, Peter? I adore you. I adore him too. I want to be able to work through this together."
A car door slammed outside. It was time.
Peter suddenly looked towards the window in a panic. "He's here?"
Cynthia nodded. "Please just stay here. Follow my lead, ok?"
Peter's heart nearly jumped out his body as he heard the door open. What on Earth was he about to get into? This was not how he envisioned his fling with a married woman would end.
Footsteps came closer and closer towards the kitchen. Cynthia stared at the doorway to the hallway waiting for him to emerge.
"Hey," a familiar voice called out.
It was Kevin.
"What's happening, guys?" he asked before he hugged Cynthia and nodded towards Peter. He poured himself a glass of wine.
"Hey man," Peter said. He felt relieved it was Kevin instead of Frank. Perhaps he could plan an escape now instead of confronting Frank with Cynthia.
"I told him," Cynthia said. "I told him everything."
Peter's mouth dropped.
What was happening?
Cynthia hugged Kevin again. "I'm so sorry sweetie," she said.
Kevin didn't say a word. He gulped down another sip. "Does he know?" he asked.
Cynthia shook her head. "Why don't we go into the living room, shall we?"
"Guys, what the hell is going on?" Peter asked. Kevin walked over and patted him on the back. "Just follow me, bud. We have a lot to discuss."
-----------------------------------------------
What happened next, Peter could have never even imagined. Over several glasses of wine in the living room, Cynthia and Kevin divulged their nearly two year long relationship, unbeknownst to Frank, Peter, or anyone for that matter. It was kept completely secret.
A mutual disdain for Frank and his extramarital behavior led the two to become closer. Their proximity in age also allowed for more intimate moments to develop over long nights and deep conversation. At some point that neither of them could exactly recall when, the relationship transitioned from support to fully sexual.
Cynthia and Kevin have been having consistent sex for almost two years.