It was 12:00am. She usually was home by now. I was watching an episode of 'Jersey Shore', killing time with some trash TV, as I was waiting for Sophia to walk through our door.
She works the eleven o'clock late-night newscast, and leaves the news station by 11:40pm; it's about a fifteen-minute drive home, and five minutes to walk from our car in the parkade, up the south stairwell to our top-floor condo. We live in the corner unit, and the elevator is central, so out of the way; the stairs are closer, and Sophia prefers to get in a workout whenever she can. She says, "It keeps my butt tight and legs firm."
I never miss an episode of the news, especially with her on it. I end up watching her twice in a night because I always record it--watch it once live, and watch it together with her, as we go over a play-by-play about how she did, while having a late-night, after-work snack.
It was later than usual. She would usually be home by now, though.
'Ding.'
I got a text.
"hun, I'm running late, just having a conversation with one of my coworkers. Don't wait up."
Unusual, but I shrugged it off, as I had a ton of catching up to do with my work, as well.
I prided myself on being one of those husbands that won't start eating until I'm sitting down with my wife, one that will always greet her at the door when she arrives home; obviously, I was going to wait up anyways because I show my love through acts of kindness.
I popped open my laptop and slouched on my leather couch. I started checking over some projects I had on the go. I run a software company, so my days consist of project management, checking-in on my teams of coders, making sure deliverables are being completed for clients, and updating clients; sometimes, cleaning up the bugs left behind by my team. It's not something I enjoy doing, but I do what it takes to push projects forward to the finish line.
When I'm in the zone and hyper-focused, time just flies by. I sunk deeper in my couch, as time passed. I knew it was time to take a break when my neck and back started to hurt. I checked the clock in the corner of my MacBook, 2:30am, and rubbed my eyes, as I was sitting in the darkness, in the glow of my computer screen. I got up to stretch the pains out, and set my computer down.
"Where is she?" I wondered, as I looked out the window into the night and down at the streetlights below. The streets were empty. It was late.
I heard Sophia's distant footsteps in the stairwell, and the rustling of the keys jingling louder, as she approached closer to unlock our entry door. I raced to the door and opened it before she could get to unlocking it.
'Click. Open'.
It was often a game I would play, as I wanted to show her how excited I always was to see her.
"Hey beautiful..." I whispered, to not wake the neighbours. All I could see was the silhouette of her, standing in the doorway, as she walked inside and I shut the door behind her.
"Hey... why did you wait up?"
"Ahh, it's okay. I had a bunch of work anyways, and it was nice to catch up with everything."
I went in for a hug, I ran my fingers through her hair, and placed it on the back of her neck. I pulled her closer for a kiss, she smelt like saliva. Things were a little off. Her hair was knotted in the back. Being a news anchor, she was usually the picture of poise. I flipped the light switch on to get a look at her. Sophia's one collar was popped out over her blazer jacket, and wrinkled.
"Uh, hun, you okay?"
She looked dishevelled--her lipstick smeared across her beautiful face, her hair frazzled, her shirt untucked, wrinkled and off center.
"Oh god, that's way too bright," as she squinted and turned away.
I flipped the light switch off.
And softly asked her, "What happened? You okay?"
She didn't say anything, but stood there and melted into my arms while looking down. I could smell cologne that wasn't mine, blended in with her faded perfume from her long day at work.
"Heyyy..... "
I took my hand and placed it on her chin, while hugging her close. I pulled her chin up and looked her in the eyes. "Did something happen? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?"
"I don't know, I'm okay... it's okay."
"Here, let me take your boots off and let's get you inside." I bent down, as she stood there, looking down at me, and I unzipped her brown suede boots from the back of her knees, which went all the way up, cupping her firm calves. I tugged them off while holding her leg, getting her to step out, one leg at a time, while she rested her bodyweight on me.
"I'm worried. Can you tell me what happened."
I took her by the hand, and led her into the dimly lit bedroom, and sat her down on the bed. She was wearing a tight, black pencil skirt, white button-up shirt and fitted blazer to match--but looked like a train wreck.
"Where were you?"
"At work, I was at work... Steve wanted to talk so we hung out after the newscast."
Steve was one of the sportscasters at the news station; he did the late-night sports segment with her. A good-looking, masculine guy, broad shoulders, that was built like Superman. A man that was always dressed in a sharp-looking suit.
I met him once at a Christmas party. He carried himself with confidence, a quick-tongued, type-A personality. Very much like my wife. It was a characteristic common in the news business.
"I'm so exhausted..." She broke down with a gasp, covered her face with her hands, and buried her face in her lap.
"I don't want you to be hurt." I could hear the mumbles, from her hands covering her face.
"...Did he touch you?" I rested my hand on her back, and rubbed her gently. She sat back up and I stepped back a few feet to look at her.
She nodded, as her face flushed red. She looked up at me in silence, our eyes met.
"I love you, I'm worried about you." My heart was beating fast and I could feel my cock filling with blood, the tip of which hung pointing downwards, tapping against the cotton of my loose jogging pants. Dangling, it wasn't hard enough to show through the fabric in the dim light of our bedroom.
My intuition already knew the answer to the question I was going to ask, but I wanted to hear it come from her. My chest ached, but the pain I felt, pulled me closer to her. The pain I felt, was like the pain of knowing something bad was going to happen, and you couldn't do anything to stop it.
My eyes locked with hers, I felt a connection like I had never felt before. I stood a few feet away from her. Being six foot four, I towered over her, both of us at the edge of the bed. I gazed at her. I had a feeling of wanting to keep her safe. Time stopped--what were minutes felt like hours, of us just looking in each other's eyes. I felt the ringing in my ears get louder, as my soul felt a surge deeper than it ever had felt before, and I could sense she felt that same electricity.
"Is this something you wanted?"
"Yes," she said.
The ringing got louder in my head.