Chapter 2: In Which Our Hero Must Face the Consequences of his Actions
The house was quiet and dark when he entered. As he suspected, Emily had gone to bed. When he saw her in their bed, curled up and small, he felt like shit. He hadn't really much considered the consequences of his actions until now, but now, in the early morning darkness of his bedroom, his drunken tryst with Danielle paled in comparison to what his marriage with Emily meant. And he had damaged that, for what? For what amounted to a meaningless night of bad drunken sex? Max shook his head in disbelief at his own behavior, wandering how he was going to explain this to Emily. What could he possibly say to her?
He sighed and went to take a shower. As he stood there, letting the hot water run on his body, he heard the shower door open and Emily slipped in with him.
"Hey stranger," she said. She ran her hands over his body, down his chest, down his stomach to his cock. Despite himself, he felt a stirring. Danielle might be a few years younger, but Emily was hot. 34D, flat stomach, 36 inch hips; she was a firm, athletic, 28 year old brunette with hazel eyes and a heart-shaped face.
They kissed and he reached down to grip her firm round ass, pulling her body against his. They stood like that, in the water for a moment, then she pulled away.
"Where have you been?" she asked.
Max looked into her eyes, full of concern, hurt, and disbelief already. And hope, that he knew he would have to dash. He shook his head and shrugged meaninglessly. "Can we talk about it tonight?" he asked.
Emily smiled uncertainly. "Sure, Max," she said.
They didn't say much more that morning and Max spent the day at work, worried and tired, unable to concentrate. And that night, they talked. Max didn't remember exactly what he said, but he told her the truth, about Steve, about Danielle. Everything. He knew what he had done, what sort of betrayal it had been and he didn't want to lie. Whatever the consequences, he felt he owed it to this woman to tell her the truth.
Emily was hurt. She cried. She yelled a little. She was inconsolable, but she didn't ask him to leave, though he did offer. Max slept on the couch that night, though. And the next. They barely talked and every time he saw her, Emily's eyes were red and puffy. Max couldn't eat or sleep either. He was worried that his marriage was over; he felt he deserved for his marriage to be over.
When he got home Friday, he expected more of the same, but Emily surprised him. When he got home, she was waiting in the living room, sitting on the couch. She asked him to sit and with some trepidation, he complied. This was it, he figured. Divorce.