Author's Note: This story picks up immediately after the events of Ch. 01, so reading that part first is strongly recommended. Also, this series involves an extremely explicit account about a married woman having an extramarital affair, something I tried to make clear in both the title and description of the previous chapter. If that subject matter is something you find offensive in a story that would be posted at a website like this, that's fine, but I would kindly ask that you skip both parts completely and move on to something else that isn't going to upset you.
The big evening had finally come, and I was such a bundle of nerves, but oh so excited as well. Staying in for the night or not, I thought I'd better dress up a bit, at least compared to what I usually wore, so I settled on a pair of brown dress pants and a white, sleeveless party shirt that had some cool looking blue designs on it. I knew that was the right decision when Gabi came to meet me at the front door.
"Come on in baby, make yourself at home," she said with a smile bright enough to rival the sun. Gabi gave me a quick hug, followed by the smallest of pecks on the lips.
"Go sit down at the dining table, dinner will be ready in a minute."
"My god, you look gorgeous, Gabi," I said in stunned admiration.
"Thanks," she replied with a slight chuckle. "You're looking pretty handsome too. Now get yourself seated while I bring out dinner."
"I could help if you like," I offered.
"Don't be silly, you're my guest. Sit down and I'll be right back."
I sat in amazement as I watched Gabi leave the room. She really had gone out of her way for tonight, starting with her appearance. For the first time ever, I saw her wearing a dress. It was white with red floral patterns. Although the style looked modern, it clearly had a Latina flavor to it, which included leaving Gabi's gentle shoulders and neck exposed. She also wore large red hoop ear rings unlike the studs I'd seen her wear up to now. Besides matching colors perfectly with her dress, they also had a distinctive Latin style to them. Add to that the smoky eyeshadow and clear gloss she'd applied to her lips and I was practically speechless.
I haven't said much about Gabi's background because it's not a crucial part of the story, but it would be a disservice to her not to at least mention that it was a key part of her identity. She was extremely proud of her heritage, much of which had shaped her personality. For instance, although she'd picked up some new recipes since emigrating, for the most part she stuck to traditional Colombian dishes. I also have no doubt that the internal struggles she faced in her blossoming relationship with me mostly came from her familial and cultural upbringing. As for me, attraction can assume many forms, but I've always had a special penchant for ethnic women and Latinas specifically, and so I loved any time she'd make reference or take the time to explain some cultural difference. It was more than simply that however; with Gabi, it almost felt like her ethnicity permeated through her body and soul, from the way she moved or walked to the incredibly sexy accent I'd be treated to every time she spoke.
I sat down at the table and once again marveled at the lengths she had gone to make this evening special for me. I'd eaten here plenty of times by now, but never with a set up like this. The tablecloth, plates, and silverware were all new to me, clearly the best ones she had, and she'd even dimmed the lights and set up a lit candle on either end of the table. This was something I'd expect for a graduation, an anniversary, or some other major occasion. I never would have imagined Gabi would make that kind of effort on me.
Gabi came out and we sat down for dinner. I'm not very good at remembering the names of dishes, so I won't even bother trying to guess what it was other than to say that it was three delicious courses of Gabi's old country cooking. The conversation was fairly light and relaxed throughout until we finished eating and it dawned on me that in all my self-absorbed thoughts I hadn't even asked her about Jacob.
"Gabi, where's Jacob anyway? Staying at your Mom's?"
"No, I didn't think that would be such a good idea," Gabi began, speaking with much more trepidation that I would have expected. "She knows that Stan is out of town for a few days, and asking her to take care of Jacob while I was here alone would have made her ask a bunch of questions."
"Where is he then?"
"With Emma," she answered. "He'll be with her until Stan comes back or for as long as you can stay." Emma was a fellow Colombian expat and the only real friend Gabi had as far as I knew.
"What did you tell her?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"She knows Andy... about us, about everything." I was too stunned to say anything, and after a moment Gabi continued.
"Don't worry, you can trust her," Gabi said reassuringly.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because she's known how things have been between me and Stan for a long time now. In fact, she's been trying to convince me for months that I should try something like this."
"I only met Emma once, and I didn't get the impression she liked me much," I said flatly.