"I don't know. Who's going to watch the kids?" Kaitlyn asked.
"My parents will be more than happy to take the kids for the night. You're not breast feeding anymore, so that's not an excuse. You know we need to get out and have fun like we used to," Hank replied.
"I know, and a date night sounds like fun, but we could just go and grab dinner and come home. Then your parents wouldn't have to keep the kids all night. We could be home by nine at the latest."
"Being home by nine is not a date night. We've done little else but focus on being parents for over a year now." He crossed the kitchen and put his arms around her. "I want to go out and show off my sexy wife. I want to prove to you that you've still got it."
"That's sweet, and I know I do, I think, but it's been so long. I think I'm too rusty." She melted into his arms and pecked him on the lips.
"I am sure it'll all come rushing back to you. Some things you're just naturally good at."
Hank gave her a real kiss and she closed her eyes and opened her mouth with a sigh. She did know he was correct, it wasn't just lip service. It had been too long since they connected as a couple and not just as the parents of three small children. Kaitlyn didn't feel their marriage was suffering and their sex life was still great when they had time for it, but she knew if they didn't pay more attention to their relationship, things could always go that way. Their neighborhood was littered with unhappy marriages, almost all turned unhappy by inattention. At least she and Hank had always been open with each other and made the effort to keep things fresh, which gave them a leg up on a lot of other people. The hot kiss and Hank's body pressed against hers reminded her that it had been over a week since they'd made love and she couldn't resist him.
"Okay, we'll go out Saturday night if your parents will babysit. Just don't get too jealous when I end up with more numbers than you again."
"Maybe my game's improved."
"But I have a couple things going for me that I didn't have before."
"You have a point. Hmm, actually it feels like two," he said, cupping her breasts and thumbing her nipples to hardened excitement through her t-shirt. She'd gone up a full cup size since her last pregnancy and they had not gone back down like they did after the first two kids. Her butt had filled out more too and Hank never missed the chance to let her know how much he liked her new curves.
Just as Hank slipped his hand under her t-shirt they were interrupted by a five-year-old persistently demanding his favorite Curious George DVD and Hank was forced to retreat to the living room to find it while Kaitlyn got on with the business of making dinner. For the moment, the discussion of their date night was abandoned, but only temporarily.
Kaitlyn knew Hank was excited to go out and play again because he insisted that she go out and buy a new dress for the occasion. She tried telling him she had several perfectly good dresses hanging in the closet, but he said he wanted to see something new. So with the baby in tow, she headed off to the mall later in the week. It felt weird to be looking for a flirty dress while pushing a stroller and she called her best friend for moral support.
"I think you should surprise him," Gretchen said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean get some little, drop-dead, sexy minidress. You deserve it."
"I don't know. That's just not me."
"He'll like it, trust me. You'll turn some heads and he'll like that even more, whether he admits it or not."
"Oh, I know Hank would like it, that's not the point. You know I don't like being the center of attention. It's not my style."
"That's the point. Do something different. Branch out. I know the girl-next-door thing works for you, but you need to let the sexy off the leash every once in a while. If I had your figure I'd get the sexiest little number I could find."
"Thanks, but I'm not you. Shouldn't I wear something I'm comfortable in?"
"Sometimes being sexy means being a little uncomfortable. Come on, Hank wants this to be a special night, so go for it," Gretchen chided. Kaitlyn had told her how Hank pursued their date night, just leaving out a couple details.
"You're right. I'll look around, I promise."
"I want more than that. Promise you will buy something unlike anything else you have."
Kaitlyn was examining a little black dress just as her friend said that. The dress was short, but didn't show off too much and she would probably pair it with black tights. Is she reading my mind, she wondered. It would be a little sexy, but more cute, which was her signature look. She was always the fun girl, the one who was everyone's pal. One of her male friends told her long ago that yes, she was everyone's pal, but that all the guys wanted to screw her too, precisely because she was so cute and her open personality made her seem so attainable. She'd turned pretty red at the time.
Gretchen was relentless and by the time she hung up, Kaitlyn had promised she would buy a sexy minidress, not just something cute. She regretted it the second she said it, but she would keep her word. Gretchen signed off saying, "I promise, you'll thank me. And Hank had better too!"
Moving to the cocktail dress section of the store, Kaitlyn couldn't believe the dresses she was considering. As she held up one of them, she thought, Should I be pushing my baby daughter while considering a dress that barely covers my ass? It seemed surreal. She put that one back on the rack, but ended up taking several back to the changing room. The baby got cranky in the changing room and Kaitlyn ended up giving her a bottle while wearing a too-tight, one-shouldered little turquoise dress. She was very careful not to dribble anything onto the skimpy dress because she did not want to buy it. After trying out two of the dresses twice, both black, she finally settled on one. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, but it was just what Gretchen was talking about and she knew Hank would love it.
Kaitlyn refused to let Hank see her dress, only telling him they should go somewhere fancier than usual. He suggested they try the hot new club downtown. She went so far as to send him out to drop the kids off at his parents without her. She would meet him at the club.
Once he was gone, she had a glass of wine and took her time getting ready. She kept her light brown hair short because she felt she could never do anything with it and tried several things before finally deciding to wear it up. She also put on a little make-up, something else she rarely did. For the first time in a long time, she was feeling like a woman and not just a mom. Finally, she slipped into the dress and a pair of three-inch heels and posed in front of the mirror. She'd fought the urge to wear tights or pantyhose because they were wouldn't have worked with the dress. The heels pushed her to five-foot-nine and really worked for her long legs. This just might work, she thought, smoothing the tight dress over her slender body. It hugged her new curves, but showed off how genetically blessed she was. Even a month after giving birth she'd shown no signs of having been pregnant. Only she saw her flaws, which was why she ran five miles every day. She cupped her breasts and lifted them. Although she was bigger up top now, she was still glad she'd gone with a push-up bra to fill out the low-cut neckline. But on the way out the door, still feeling self-conscious, she couldn't resist grabbing a sweater and throwing it in the car.