After eight years, Paul and I were trying to keep our marriage fresh and romantic and, yes, sexual.
So on a Tuesday night in May, I prepared for Paul's return home after work by dressing up in one of the sexy outfits he liked when we fooled around in the bedroom.
By 6PM, I was waiting for him in the family room by our driveway entrance wearing a black, lacy bustier, delicate black stockings attached to the bustier's garters, a sheer thong panty that I wore over the garters (the easier to slip down without removing my stockings - which he loves), and my ridiculously tall black platform pumps with studded ankle straps that we bought together in Miami last year. I had put on dark eye makeup with long false eyelashes and scarlet lipgloss. I tousled my freshly shampooed hair into what I hoped would be a sexy, dark brown mane for his arrival.
At 5:57 by the DVR's digital clock, the phone rang.
"Damn." I whispered to myself as I ran to get it.
"Honey," Paul said tiredly, "I got called to go to New York right away. I'm on my way to the airport as we speak."
"Oh, dear, I had something special planned for you, too." I said as my heart sunk.
"I'm sorry, babe, save it for leftovers, I'll be back tomorrow night." He said in a distracted voice.
"Well," I purred, "It wasn't dinner that was special...if you know what I mean." I said seductively.
"Oh, really?" Paul's voice seemed to perk up a bit. "What did you have planned for me?"
I bit my lip and decided to let him know what business was delaying for him. "I'm in your favorite bedroom outfit waiting here for you." I said quietly.
"Goddamn it, really?"
"Yes, really, all for you, sweetie."
"I'm so sorry, Robin. I hate to miss that but I'll call you on the way back tomorrow from the airport. Can I have a raincheck?"
"I think I can save myself for you, honey." I said brightly, not wishing to give him a case of the guilts right before a business trip.
"Give me a wake-up call at 6 tomorrow morning, OK, sexy?" he said with a bounce in his voice that made me feel warm all over.
"I'll tell you what you missed and what you'll have tomorrow night when you get back." I said in a sexy voice.
"Hmmm, bye bye, lover. Can't wait to get back."
And then we rang off. I slumped into the deep sofa beneath the mirror I was primping in before the phone rang. I sat there feeling a little ridiculous in the sexy attire and turned on the TV to kill time before undressing all the lingerie I had so lovingly put on.
As I flicked through the cable channels to kill some time before undoing all that I had done, the doorbell rang with its muted three chime tones. "Ah-ha!" I yelped to myself. "It's Paul playing a goof on me." I thought. I ran to the front door and after taking one deep breath opened it wide, standing there in my lingerie, and yelled, "Surprise!"
It took a moment, a millisecond, really, to see that it wasn't Paul outside the door. No. It was Sondra, our recently moved-in next door neighbor.
"Well! Surprised, I am." She said with wide eyes. "I didn't know you were expecting me."
I saw her give me a quick once-over, head to heels. God, I could've melted into water right then. "Jeezus! Sondra." I screamed in a little girl voice as I tried to cover myself up before her.
"May I come in?" Sondra asked in the slightly aggressive manner she had. At least she laughed when she asked.
"Yes." I ran to the living room, then the kitchen, trying to find something to cover myself.
Sondra followed me and finally cornered me in the kitchen with no place left to run without being an ungracious hostess. "Sondra, you shouldn't be here." I finally managed to squeak out as I covered my eyes.
"Robin, relax, it's just me." Sondra said in a calm voice, although she kept approaching me as I cowered.
"You were supposed to be Paul." I said from behind my hands covering my face.
"Yes, dear, I figured that out already. It's OK."
I peeked out from behind my fingers. Sondra was standing close to me, smiling in a strange way. She was a little older than me, maybe late thirties and very attractive in that way that wives of successful husbands often are. It's the way I hope to look after Paul makes it big with his employer, as his last minute trip to New York indicates will happen. She continued smiling at me.
"Relax, Robin." She said simply. "You had a suprise planned for Paul, I see."
"Yes." I croaked.
"Let's get a look at you, honey." Sondra said in an upbeat voice.
I let my hands down and stood backed against our kitchen counter.
"You are a very sexy young wife, Robin." Sondra said, giving me the once over with her eyes again. "Is Paul on the way home?"
"No, no, he just called to say he was going to New York but I thought he was trying to fool me when I heard the doorbell ring, so I thought you were him." I said in a torrent of words.
"So, he won't be home tonight, then?" Sondra asked.
"No, tomorrow night." I said dejectedly.
"Let me see you. That's quite an ensemble you have on. Model it for me." Sondra said in a business-like tone of voice.
"Sondra, I'm mortified." I felt more naked than naked wearing lingerie and high heels in the bright lights against granite countertops and all the solid kitchen appliances.
"Just relax and walk around a bit. You look hot, baby." she said casually as she leaned against our fridge. She sensed my hesitancy. "Go ahead, it's just us girls."