The Next Time

The next day after having sex in the hot tub, I wasn't sure what to expect. Tara was picked up for school like nothing had happened. I was expecting some kind of communication one way or another about the events of the previous night, but none came. I was really confused about my own feelings and was having a hard time figuring out how Felicia felt. Did I push things too far? Is that what Felicia was expecting? Is that what Felicia wanted? We were both drinking. How much did that figure into all of it? Not wanting to overplay my hand so to speak, I decided to lay low and play it cool.

The time came for me to pick up the girls from school and still no word from Felicia about what happened. I picked up the girls and went through the routine of driving and light talk, aware that teenage girls were probably just being polite in their chatter with me. What was troublesome was arriving at the Hendricks's home and not being greeted by Felicia as usual. As casually as possible I asked Melanie where her mom was but she said "Idontknow" like a typical teenager. I still had no idea where I stood with Felicia. Before I could say something, Tara hopped out of the car and headed inside with Melanie. Deciding to be careful, I left for home.

Around dinner time, Tara was dropped off at home by the Hendricks. I went outside ostensibly to say thanks but really to get a better feel for the situation. I was able to get outside before the vehicle left the driveway and I was surprised to see that Mike was driving the SUV.

"Thanks for bringing Tara home, but that wasn't really necessary. I could've come by to pick her up," I said as lightheartedly as I could.

"Well, it was getting late and Felicia and I thought you might want her to come home," Mike replied in what could be considered a dismissive tone.

Now I was really worried. Mike is usually fairly jovial and his tone of voice sounded like something was amiss. And it was only 5:30. The Hendricks don't eat dinner for about another hour and are usually up with guests past 9 o'clock even on weeknights. My mind was really starting to spin. Maybe I've really screwed this up. One night of hot steamy sex wasn't worth losing my new friends. And it certainly wasn't worth disturbing Tara's routine and new friendships I thought to myself. Now I really have to play it cool my thoughts continued.

For several more days, there was no communication between Felicia and me. There were no communications at all between the Hendricks household and ours. Even Tara stopped staying at the Hendricks's house after school. When I asked her why, she responded off-handedly about having a lot of schoolwork to do. I was skeptical; schoolwork hadn't stopped her from visiting the Hendricks before. We did however manage to keep the ride-share situation intact. That was a great relief and helped me realize maybe I hadn't screwed things up totally. Tara was picked up daily without fail, and Melanie was brought home likewise.

Just as I was giving up on spending time with Felicia, sexual or otherwise, she called one morning after doing her daily morning drive.

"Hi," she started.

"Hi," I responded with a great feeling of relief in my stomach.

After what seemed an eternity of silence Felicia continued "I haven't seen or heard from you, are you upset with me?" I sensed fear in her voice.

Nearly laughing out of relief and the absurdity of her thoughts I said, "No, I thought you were upset with me. I didn't want to offend or upset you any more than I already had."

"You didn't offend or upset me. I was just overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. I could never be upset with you," Felicia said with what sounded like love in her voice.

"I was hoping we could talk about what happened. Is it ok if I come over?" I asked in what I thought was an innocent manner.

Hurriedly Felicia replied, "I don't think that would be a good idea. I've got work to do and my friend Millie might come over." There was a slight pause. "No I don't think that would be a good idea," Felicia finished with reservation and anxiety in her voice.

"Well, can I come over later to say hello around dinner time?" I asked knowing her husband Mike would be there.

"I don't know. I'll let you know," Felicia answered in a nervous voice.

All day I waited for some kind of reply from Felicia that never came. Dejected and resigned to not having the conversation today that I felt so desperately needed to be had, I set off for picking up the girls from school. The ride to the Hendricks was like so many we had before, relaxed and uneventful. When I arrived at the Hendricks's house, I was relieved to see Felicia out to greet us. My relief was replaced by anxiety when Felicia didn't approach the car when Melanie got out. After greeting Melanie and sending her into the house, Felicia approached the car before I could leave.

"Hi," she said as pleasantly as she could, I'm sure as much for Tara as for me. "We haven't seen you over in a while, why don't you come by around dinner time," Felicia said in what sounded like a genuinely inviting tone.

"Would 6 o'clock be ok?" I said knowing that Mike should be home by then.

"That works great," Felicia said with a noticeable sense of relief in her voice.

Hearing our arrangement to have dinner at the Hendricks's later, Tara asked, "I don't have much homework, can I stay here?"

I looked first at Tara and then turned toward Felicia. Felicia answered before I could judge her reaction or ask on Tara's behalf. "That sounds great. I think Emily and Daphne will be happy to see you," Felicia said referring to her two younger daughters. Before walking away, Felicia looked at me with her smile and sparkling eyes and said with what I couldn't be sure was a hint of wanting, "See you at 6."

I left the Hendricks's with a sense of relief for which I had hoped and a happiness that was unexpected. But I was back to being confused about Felicia and her feelings toward me. Was this some kind of game for her? Does she really want me? Or, am I misreading everything all over again. Hopefully some clarity will come over dinner and an evening at her home. To make things a little smoother, I went out and bought a case of Mike's favorite cider. Thinking about the spot I was in, I decided on an additional case of another leading brand cider, just in case.

When I returned at 6 o'clock, Felicia was in the kitchen and Mike was at the breakfast bar drinking a hard cider. The everyday entry into the house is via the back porch and into the kitchen. I made a light knock on the back door to announce my presence before entering and Felicia, with her back to Mike, lit up in a wonderful smile with incredibly sparkling eyes. Despite carrying two cases of hard cider in my hands, Felicia reached up with both hands on my shoulders and gave me an intimate and lengthy although not passionate kiss on my lips. After what seemed like forever, she looked deeply into my eyes and said to me softly "I'm glad you came tonight." Looking at Mike, he didn't give off anything that would give me the impression that he thought something seemed out of the ordinary. In fact he stood from his spot at the breakfast bar and in a hearty voice to which I was accustomed he said, "Wow, let me help you with that!" Looking at him as he approached me made me wonder what I possibly could've been worried about.

"Where've you been," Mike continued as he helped me with the cider.

"I've been busy travelling for work," I lied as I noticed a knowing smirk on Felicia's face as she turned to look at me.

"Well, the girls have missed Tara and we've missed you," Mike said.

"Really?!" I responded somewhat incredulously and without the emotional control I wanted.

"Yeeeaah," Mike said in a drawn out way of familiar camaraderie. "We thought we'd done something to offend you."

I hoped I suppressed the look and sound of disbelief when I responded to that when I said, "No, you guys haven't offended me," hopefully with a dismissive tone in my voice.

Mike continued in a very friendly way, "Yeah, you were here that one night a while ago, and then we haven't seen you since," referring to the night of Our First Kiss. "We thought something happened or we said or did something wrong."

During this conversation with Mike, I kept looking toward Felicia and she looked at me with what I would describe as sad puppy-dog eyes as she continued to work on dinner. She had herself positioned so I could see her face but Mike could only see her back.

With a great sense of relief I reassured Mike and Felicia, "Nothing happened to upset me," far from it I thought salaciously. I continued, "I value your friendship and I really look forward to our get-togethers," really meaning it, even the part about Mike's friendship. I stretched the truth by saying, "Travelling for work kept me away, that's all."

With the ice broken and relieved that the situation hadn't completely blown up I was able to relax and enjoy the cider and companionship. With dinner almost ready I took a seat at the breakfast bar. This is where the adults eat. The kids have a table in the family room adjacent to the kitchen where they can eat and watch TV. As was the case in the past, I sat so Felicia could choose where to sit, to my right between Mike and me or to my left. I was happy to see she chose to sit to my left as she has in the past. I also noticed that she sat vey close to me, so close that her right side was in full contact with my left side. I adjusted my seat not wanting to be presumptuous and Felicia looked at me with her smile and sparkling eyes and nudged closer to me. I smiled and gently leaned into her to enjoy the contact and let her know I understood and approved. We spent dinner eating, talking, and drinking at the breakfast bar and not once did I get the impression from Mike that he thought anything was amiss.

With dinner done and the plates cleared, Mike asked me if I wanted another cider.

I said, "Sure."

"We're going to watch a movie tonight; do you want to join us?" Mike asked as he went to get two more ciders.

Felicia wrapped her arm around mine and said loud enough for Mike to hear, "Yes, please stay. It will be fun."

Not sure this would be a good idea after settling the situation from earlier, I said, "It's not going to be too late is it. I don't want to stay too late or cause problems for getting up in the morning."

Tara overheard us and chimed in, "I finished my homework and my classes tomorrow are easy."

Mike returned, handed me a cider as he said, "It's no problem for us, we were going to watch the movie whether you were here or not," and then he went directly into the family room.

"Well, ok. As long as it's not a problem," I said.

"It's no problem at all," Felicia said as she squeezed my arm in hers.

We all followed Mike into the family room. Each of the Hendricks took his or her designated spot. Mike sat in a large reclining chair facing the large-screen TV. On the large L-shaped sofa next to Mike's chair, each of the Hendricks girls took her favorite spot. Melanie took the spot on the sofa closest to her dad. Emily and Daphne sat in the middle of the sofa and competed with each other for where Tara would sit. Tara ended the negotiation by saying she would sit between them. Felicia took her spot on the end in the corner of the "L" next to Daphne. Not sure where I was going to sit, I was getting ready to sit on the floor with my back to the "L" part of the sofa near where Felicia would have her feet.

Seeing what I was going to do, Felicia said, "You can sit up here. There's plenty of room for you."

I could feel the flirtation in her voice and in her eyes. "Are you sure?" I said. "I don't want to crowd you."

"Don't be silly, there's plenty of room," Felicia said with honey in her voice.

From across the room at the end of the row of people, Mike said, "Is everybody set, so we can start the movie?"

The room was dark with only the light from the television providing illumination in our transformed movie theater. Felicia was sitting up with her back against the sofa and her feet drawn back, raising her knees and covered in a blanket. She positioned herself and encouraged me quietly to lean back against her shins as a back rest. This I admit was a very comfortable position. From beneath her blanket, I felt her hand rubbing my back. I turned slightly to look at her and she said, "Are you comfortable, Jeff?"

"Oh yes, very comfortable," I responded quietly but flirtatiously.

After caressing my back for a while, Felicia reached out from behind the blanket. She extended her hand and asked with a desiring look on her face, "Would you mind getting me a refill?" for her glass of white wine.

"No, it would be my pleasure," I said as I took her glass and got up to go into the kitchen.

While I was refilling her wine glass, I saw Felicia enter the kitchen and pass me as she went into the pantry. She passed me with a devilish grin on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. With her wine glass in hand, I followed her into the pantry. I found her with her back to me. I put my crotch next to her behind and took her wine glass and placed it on the shelf in front of her. She pushed her hips back slightly to press her ass against my now growing cock and said, "The girls wanted popcorn."

Putting my hands on her waist and grinding my growing cock against her ass I whispered into her ear, "And what do you want?"

I could hear and feel her moan as she said,

"Please, not now. Someone will see us."

I ignored her, and kept pressing and grinding my cock against her ass.

This time she begged, "Please Jeff, not now. One of the girls may come in and see us."

I released her hips and backed away slightly and I could sense her relief with my face still close to her ear. I said softly into her ear but assertively, "We need to talk. We need to talk about what happened."

With reluctant acknowledgement that the situation must be faced, Felicia flatly stated, "Come by tomorrow after 9. I should be done driving by then and Mike will be at work."

With that, we separated. Felicia took her wine glass and popcorn back to the family room while I went to get another cider from the porch to put some time and distance between our paths in the kitchen and pantry.

I went back into the family room and resumed my spot on the sofa at Felicia's feet but not as intimately as before. When the movie was over, Tara and I said good-bye to the Hendricks. I was surprised not to get my usual goodnight hug and kiss from Felicia.

At home in bed, the fantasies of Felicia resumed. I kept replaying the incident of our time in the hot tub in my mind. I got so hard and so turned on I started stroking myself as I thought of it; the softness of her skin, the wetness of her pussy, the desire in her eyes, the succumbing to our passion, the illicitness of the situation, and the possibility of getting caught. Even after jerking off, thoughts of Felicia filled my dreams. I woke up in the morning feeling like I hadn't slept at all.

I was so awake the next morning I could hear Tara get ready for school and then get picked up. We had gotten to the point where I didn't even notice these events anymore but today I did. After hearing Tara leave, I knew I had a little over two hours before I could see Felicia. I still didn't know what to expect, but at least now I knew it wouldn't be a total meltdown.

I rolled out of bed at 9 o'clock when my alarm went off. Slowly I got dressed and prepared myself for what I would face. It only took a few minutes to drive over to the Hendricks's house. I pulled in next to the SUV and went around back to the kitchen entrance. Felicia was in the kitchen making coffee when I entered. We looked at each other and without either of us saying a word, Felicia approached me and put her hands on my shoulders and slid them back and down like she'd done some many times before. Expecting the kiss that did not come, she turned her head and placed her cheek in the middle of my chest. I held her and started stroking her back and I could feel her relax. She looked up at me and I down at her and our lips gravitated toward each other as if magnetically drawn. We kissed each other lightly but knowingly as lovers. The passion started to build slowly between us but before it could engulf us like before, Felicia turned her head away and placed her cheek back on my chest. We stood there silently in the kitchen for a few more minutes. Felicia was the first to speak.

"Would you like some coffee, I just made it," she said as she separated herself from me.

"I'd love some, it smells delicious," I said without moving.

"I got it just for you, I know it's the brand you like," Felicia said with love in her voice as she turned to look at me.

"I thought it smelled just like Dunkin' Donuts Hazelnut," I replied cheerily.

With that, she laughed lightly then continued more relaxed, "There's cream in the frig."

"Thanks," I said taking the offered cup of coffee and turning to get the cream out of the refrigerator.

Felicia held out her cup of coffee and I said, "Allow me," as I poured some cream into her cup.

With her cup of coffee in hand, she walked what appeared aimlessly around the kitchen afraid to look me in the face. At first I tried to follow her but realized she wasn't leading me anywhere so I just leaned back against the far counter to wait for her to start things off.

Realizing I wasn't following her, Felicia was relaxed and started the anticipated conversation.

"I can't do this with you."

"Do what?" I asked as sincerely and non-threatening as I could.

"Be involved with you, romantically, physically," Felicia said crisply.

"What do you mean?" I asked truly perplexed about what was going through her mind.

"I can't believe we did what we did. I feel so bad and so guilty for letting it happen, but I've wanted you ever since I met you," Felicia said with the confusion evident in her voice. "I can look back and convince myself that I had a lot to drink that night and you probably did too, but I can't do that again," Felicia continued emotionally. "My father cheated on my mother and I remember how it made her feel. They never thought I knew but I did. I promised myself I would never do that to my husband, and in the 19 years we've been together I never did that before," Felicia's confession continued as it gained speed and the tears started.

I walked across the kitchen with concern in my eyes and my arms open and outstretched to take her into them. She entered my arms and wrapped hers around me tightly as she buried her face in my chest and let her tears run freely. I felt a deep compassion for her as I held her tight and felt her tears soak my shirt while I gently tried to ease her pain by gently stroking her back.

She continued with her confession with her cheek against my chest, "And then I met you and I never felt so alive. I've never had a man make me feel the way you do. But I've got my marriage vows and I've got my kids and I can't let anything happen to them."

I held her and took all this in as best I could as she was saying it. I knew I had to be careful how I handled this. It wasn't about trying to get into her pants; it was about preserving the friendship we'd developed. I really did enjoy the friendship of the Hendricks and those of their friends and I didn't want to make Tara's life difficult by getting in the way. After thinking about it and realizing Felicia finished saying what she needed to say, I said, "I can appreciate the position your in. When I first met you, I didn't know what to expect. I've become such good friends with you and Mike I don't want to screw that up. I also don't want to screw things up for Tara."

Before I could finish what I wanted to say, Felicia blurted out, "Are you leaving? Are you saying Good-Bye?" with panic in her voice.