Winter was back, and the dark came earlier. Ted was on his way to pick up his young mistress for a night out. He still had plenty of ideas on his "to-do" list for Emily, between his own fantasies and things he read in forums. He regularly texted and called her to discuss ideas.
Emily had gotten creative in her picture-taking as well, her most recent set being worthy of a professional photo session. She set the camera up on a stool in her bathroom, and using the timer, shot a beautiful set of herself in the tub. Some were revealing, some were not, as she had a full bubble bath helping to hide her nakedness. In the photos, Emily had never looked at the camera. Since none of the poses showed the subject was aware of the camera, it gave the viewer a voyeuristic point of view, as if they were invisible and Emily were unaware someone was watching her bathe.
Ted relished how comfortable Emily was with her nudity; such a change from when he first undressed her over a year ago. Now she would flash him in public if he asked, with only a quick look around for police or children. One evening, Emily's mother had invited Ted to join her and Emily for dinner, and as her mom was in the kitchen, Ted asked for a quick peek, and Emily pulled her shirt and bra up, with her mom talking to them both from the next room.
Emily had dressed warm for the evening, as Ted had told her they might be outside a lot. She wore jeans, white socks, and sneakers, a long-sleeved tee, and a pullover sweater. She also brought along a jacket, if it got colder during the night. By 9 PM it was about 50 degrees outside.
Ted had taken Emily to dinner at a nice seafood place at the beach, then they walked on the pier and enjoyed the spray from the ocean. Out here, walking on the darkened pier, they both felt the chances of being seen by someone from town was minimal, and they held hands and shared kisses openly. As they passed the people who came to fish from the pier, they smiled and greeted people, and felt quite at home.
"This is what I want," Emily said, leaning her head on Ted's shoulder as they walked.
"What's that?" Ted asked.
"To be normal. No hiding, no looking over our shoulder before we kiss. I can't stand not being able to tell my friends about you."
"I know, Angel, it won't be much longer, I promise."
Emily was indeed growing impatient. Almost all her new friends at college were dating someone, either in a committed relationship, or casually. Conversations about boyfriends always got awkward, and she'd change the subject or be as vague as possible. When they showed her pictures from wallets or phones, she longed to show them the pictures she had of herself and Ted. She loved taking pictures when she and Ted went on dates, and she had scores of them on her phone, but no one ever got to see them.
When she'd get invited to join friends to go out, she was always the one person without a partner. To complicate it more, some of her friends felt obligated to try to "fix her up" with a guy, and some of them were pretty cute, in Emily's opinion. She loved Ted, but being his "secret" was wearing on her.
Ted was doing all he could, in his opinion. Yes, he could do it faster, at the risk of losing a lot more. He was still hiding away cash, and researching all the options on ending his marriage. He had made quiet inquiries into other work, as he was sure he'd be asked to step down from his church position. He searched for an affordable apartment, as he planned to let his wife stay at their house until it could be sold, and then he'd split the proceeds with her. He wanted to be as fair as he could, because he knew his wife would be presented as the "injured" party if it went to court, and he wanted to keep it all as simple and low-key as possible.
After walking the full length of the pier twice, most of it in silence, Ted said, "Let's get out of here, I need a change of scenery." He took Emily by the hand and led her back to the car.
As they walked, Emily's succubus and Ted's demon each whispered thoughts to their hosts.
"She's getting restless. You need to get this divorce soon or she's going to give up on you. She's not going to be your mistress forever. She wants to be your wife."
