Once again I would like to thank Mostera1 for his help. He always makes my stories better.
Also: there is very little sex, so if that what floats your boat, you might want to take a pass.
Prologue:
It is human nature to search for answers to questions both large and small. We make it our quest to unlock the secrets of the universe, to explore ancient civilizations, or probe the workings of the mind. As human beings we do not like uncertainty; we like all our mysteries solved. Unfortunately, the answers to some questions still elude us and probably always will. Often those questions are on a more personal note and we find ourselves having to deal with suspicion, doubt, and fear.
Again, this is a story I wrote long ago under a different pen name. I dug it from the archives and did some extensive re-writing to make it better. I hope you enjoy the read, and as always—I love hearing from you.
But Honey, It was just a Dance!
By
Laptopwriter
Copyright 2015
*****
I doubt very much if I'm the perfect husband. I have a stressful job and I know sometimes I come home a little grumpy. Maybe I'm not the best provider, either. I'm certainly no millionaire, but we still do alright. We have a nice home, two luxury cars, my wife has a closet full of beautiful clothes and our eight year old daughter, Jennifer, has tons of expensive toys.
I guess when it really comes down to it; I'm just a simple, hardworking guy who loves his wife and family. Linda and I have been married for almost twelve years, and for the most part, those years have been heaven on earth.
I say for the most part because for the last couple of months or so, something just hasn't seemed right between Linda and me. It's hard to put my finger on it, but she's been acting strange, kind of aloof. On numerous occasions, for no reason, she's found fault with something I did or said; that's just not like her. I tried discussing it. I asked if she was pissed at me for some unknown reason, but like all women, she'd just say nothing was wrong other than she was a little tired, or that she'd had a bad day.
At first I thought I'd just give her a little while to work out whatever was bothering her, but as time went on, that detached attitude of hers was getting old and downright aggravating.
Besides her attitude, as I'm sure any married couple knows, you can't have a troubled relationship with your spouse without it carrying over into the bedroom. I've always tried hard to keep our love life spontaneous and exciting. I've always been a romantic at heart so I would sometimes start foreplay by bringing a dozen roses home after work. In the past, gestures like that never failed to get my laid later that night, but recently my amorous deeds would be met with nothing more than a "thank you," and a peck on the cheek. Instead of accepting my tokens of love for what they were, it was almost like she thought it was some lame attempt to make up for something I did wrong. It's been weeks since Linda initiated sex and my attempts have been met with either, she's not in the mood, or she has the proverbial headache. On those rare occasions when she would give in to my begging, she'd lay there while I did all the work.
As time passed, I realized I was starting to mentally remove myself from the situation. I'd go home, play with my daughter and pay as little attention to my wife as I could. Of course all that did was make things worse.
I was getting desperate so when I had a minute or two at work, I started going over things in my mind. I thought back to when and how everything started. I tried to remember if I had done something that might have spurred the change in Linda's attitude but was coming up empty.
I ran a dozen different scenarios over and over in my head, trying to come up with some kind of 'cause and effect,' analysis. The more I thought, the more one unthinkable trigger for Linda's behavior kept popping up. I wondered if it was possible. Could my wife be cheating on me? I told myself no, she would never do such a thing, but every time I tried putting two and two together, it was coming up three, me, Linda, and a lover.
I tried telling myself there was simply no way, but you know what they say about curiosity. I did some reading up on what kind of things to look for; differences in behavioral patterns, attire, schedules-things like that. To tell the truth, I really hadn't notice Linda wearing any skimpy clothes or dressing sexier; but then I only see her when I get home after work, who knows how she dresses during the day. I also had no idea of what kind of schedule she kept. She's always running here or there—for what...again, who knows.
When it came to her change in attitudes, though, some of the symptoms sounded awful familiar.
I thought of hiring a private detective, but I had no real evidence. All I had were suspicions and certainly nothing to warrant the cost of a P.I. so I started to investigate on my own. I did little things like call the house in the middle of the day. Sometimes she would be home and sometimes not.
Then I got a hold of an old, outside surveillance camera and stealthily mounted it under the eaves of the garage. I hooked it in to a tape unit that I hid on the back shelf behind some paint cans. I wanted to see if any strange cars were coming to the house, but after two weeks, there were none.
I did see my wife leave the house a few times, then tell me she was home all day; but she wasn't gone long enough for anything to happen...not unless her boyfriend was a one-minute wonder. Maybe it was just a small errand that she felt was too insignificant to mention. It was certainly not proof of an illicit affair.
Time went on, and although I still had absolutely no evidence of any hanky-panky, my suspicions deepened. Her moods were getting worse and we hadn't made love in a couple of weeks. I was getting pissed!
Our twelfth anniversary was coming up and I saw it as an opportunity. I wanted to go out and have some fun. It had been a long time since Linda and I had gone out for a night of dinner and dancing; maybe, just maybe, it would put a little spark back in our marriage. I was certainly ready to give it a try.
We arranged for Jennifer to spend the night at my folk's house so we could really enjoy ourselves with no time restraints.
I made reservations at Plato's Place, one of Linda's favorite restaurants. She took my arm as the maître D escorted us to our table and I was hoping for some of that old magic to come back, but for some reason she seemed a little tense. We ordered a bottle of wine with dinner and I could see Linda starting to relax. She was beginning to act like her old self again. Our conversation was light and playful.
After dinner I could tell my lovely wife was getting anxious to go kick up her heels. I wanted to go to a new dance club that had opened a couple months prior but Linda talked me into going to the same place we usually go. It was a nice place with intimate lighting and a nice, cozy dance floor. They catered to a little older crowd and played music a person can actually dance to, so she didn't have to twist my arm too badly.
Now, I'm not a bad dancer, if I do say so myself. In fact, that's one of the things that brought Linda and I together. We both loved to dance. We found a nice, private little table for two, ordered a couple of drinks, took one sip each, then strolled over to show the rest of the people that there was more to dancing than the two-step. It was like old times, we were both having a great time.
We became a little tired after dancing for almost an hour straight, so we headed back to our table for a breather. I plunked myself down in the chair but without sitting, Linda took a sip from her glass of wine then excused herself to go to the ladies room.
I watched with visions of carnal bliss still to come, as my lovely mate gracefully swayed her hips with each step she took. As I finally broke the focus from my wife's perfect ass, I realized I wasn't the only one whose attentions she held. Sitting all alone at a corner table on the other side of the dance floor was a very good looking guy who was watching Linda's every step. For a second I thought I saw her make eye contact with him and wondered if they knew each other. As she disappeared into the washroom I'd swear the guy looked right at me with smug look on his face but from that distance it was hard to tell for sure.
The place we were at was strictly a dance club and I wondered why a guy would come by himself, but then I thought, like Linda, his date was most likely in the ladies room.
I kept a vigil on him out of the corner of my eye while I watched for my beautiful wife to return. Again, as she walked past him on the way back, I was sure I saw them both grin and make eyes at each other. Suddenly all my suspicions were returning.
"Honey, would you mind getting me another glass of wine. This one is stale," Linda asked me as she sat down.
I was already feeling uneasy and didn't particularly like the idea of Linda sitting alone while I waited at the bar for some busy bartender to take his time filling my order. I looked around and caught the eye of one of the barmaids. I'd swear Linda looked disappointed as the young lady came to the table to take our drink order.
I just knew the evening was about to take a turn for the worse. I could feel it in my bones. I looked back over my shoulder and saw that guy was still sitting there, unaccompanied. He was most certainly by himself.
"Who's the guy over in the corner?" I asked.
I caught her by surprise and for an instant I thought I saw panic in Linda's eyes. It didn't take her long to recover, though.
"What guy?"
From the uncomfortable tone in her voice, I was sure I was on to something. "The guy over there; the one you were making googily eyes at on the way to the bathroom," I pressed.
"Honey, I don't know what you're talking about," she countered, innocently. "I didn't make googily eyes at anyone."
Just as our drinks came I saw Linda's eyes quickly flash over my shoulder. I looked over and saw Mr. lonely walking up to our table. He never even glanced in my direction. He bypassed where I was sitting and looked straight at Linda. "May I have this dance?" he asked her.
I piped right up. "No thanks," I snarled.
That drew a response. "I was talking to the lady," he smirked derisively.
"Yeah, well the lady is my wife and I say who she can and can't dance with."
