Alyssa:
The next day I called in sick from work. On his way out the door, my husband kissed my forehead and said he hoped I felt better. He said he'd be late that night, needing to complete the grocery shopping I'd abandoned the night before after work.
Erin and I had been texting since the night before. Totally innocent stuff, but with the faintest undercurrent of flirty. I made myself cum several times that morning while fantasizing about being fucked by my tiny, aggressive former lover. As I touched myself, I started composing a text.
"I have a confession. I called in sick today. I'm playing hooky," I wrote.
"Alyssa's day off. So we're both being bad today," she wrote back.
"I've been good for too long. And how are you being bad?" I wrote back.
"I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate to discuss such things with a married woman."
Her next text was just an address. It was a nice property just outside of town. Mid-century modern and lots of land overlooking a ravine. I did a quick search and gasped at the closing price.
"Come over. I'll take the afternoon off and we can nurse each other back to health."
This was the moment of truth. Everything else had been wrong, but going over to her house would be a point of no return. Was I going to do this? Of course I was. I'd made up my mind the minute she wrote her number on my hand. My internal hemming and hawing was just my conception of myself as a good person putting up enough of a fight that I could feel "confused." But there was no confusion. It was quite clear. I wanted to do this and so I was going to do it.
"I'll be there in an hour," I wrote.
I showered and shaved every bit of body hair until my skin was smooth. When choosing clothes for the occasion, I had to contend with the fact that I had been married for eight years, was in my early/mid-thirties, and it was 12:30 in the afternoon. I fished the sexy lingerie I'd bought to convince my husband to fuck me from a drawer and tried it on. It was lacy and a little tighter than when I'd bought it a few years before, but otherwise, sadly in almost-new condition. Still, I thought I looked fuckable. Hotter than I had in years. I pulled on some black leggings and a zip-up hoodie and I was ready to go. Athleisure on the streets, lesbian bimbo in the sheets. I scooped my phone from the counter and headed into the garage. I noticed that Erin had texted me while I was getting ready.
"Can't wait to see you. XOXO."
With the text she had attached a picture of an ominous looking apparatus, possibly medieval in origin. A big wooden X.
I was surprised how quick the drive was. My phone announced that the location was on my right, and I parked in the driveway. I took a deep breath and walked to the door. The house was beautiful. Not overly large. Lots of glass and rich, dark wood. I reached to knock at the door, but it opened to me before I made contact.
"You know the rules. No clothes when you're in my house," Erin said.
I froze.
"I'm only joking. Come in."
Erin led me to her living room. It was incredibly tasteful--Eames chairs, a hanging spider plant. There was a large glass window overlooking the ravine, filling the room with a vibrant green.
"Take a seat. Any coffee? Tea? A cocktail?" she said, gesturing to the couch near the wall.
I sat.
"How about wine?"
"Coming up."
She was wearing cream-colored trousers and a black top. She looked dangerous. I watched her disappear into the kitchen and return with two glasses of white wine. She handed me one, then sat on the edge of an Eames chair, staring at me intensely. A feeling came over me, and I recognized it as the long-dormant sensation of being prey. Sometimes you think you'll never feel something again, and then there it is, after years, exactly like old times.
"So."
She crossed her legs and leaned back, assessing me.
"I love your home."
"Thank you. I'd love to hear about your home, too. Square footage. Number of occupants. Things like that."
"Right. My husband. Erin, listen: the last decade has not been particularly good for me. When you left that night..."
"The orgy."
"Right. The...orgy. When you left the orgy I was incredibly hurt, in a way. I felt like you had rejected me. Like you were judging me."