Cheat

Caleb had been drunk, but never quite this drunk. Funny thing was, the numbness he so desired continued to elude him. His speech slurred. He stumbled from time to time. His brain, though, refused to shut down. He sat at the end of the bar, whiskey in front of him, and phone in his hand. His bloodshot eyes looked at the screen and tears threatened to burst forth yet again. He refused though. He hated maudlin drunks.

The rest of the bar did not enjoy a better mood than him. The few regulars sat at their tables sipping drinks and complaining about their jobs. They'd been doing it since Caleb arrived at two thirty. Behind the bar, the bartender picked at his teeth while keeping an eye on the one television. A baseball game filled the screen with the grating green of the field. Caleb wasn't sure if it was the same one that was on when he arrived or not. The jerseys looked the same. He thought about asking the bartender, but doubted the man knew either. It was something to keep his eyes on while the hours ticked by. Something to pass time when booze wasn't an option. Caleb didn't have that problem.

The messages didn't change much no matter how many times he read them. Apologies, explanations, excuses, blame. Change the order around, mix them up, or dedicate a single message to each — it didn't matter. She'd cheated. Not cheated, worse. An affair. Cheated was a one time deal. An affair was much, much worse. He backed out of the messages and saw Sarah's profile picture. They were on a boat tour of a swamp in the Everglades. He'd wanted to stay by the pool drinking colorful booze before rolling into their hotel room to fuck. She wanted to see god damn alligators while getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. He went with her. They got tipsy anyway, and they saw the alligators. They did fuck, too. Itchier than he'd have preferred, but it was a nice night in the end.

Six years later, she spent three months fucking Robert Leeson before Caleb found out. Well, before he confirmed it. She always took a little too long on her shopping trips mid day. She got phone calls at odd times and scurried out of the room to answer. She made a fool of him right in front of his face the whole time, and he took it because she seemed happy.

Caleb finished his drink and tapped the glass on the bar.

She was happy.

She had her cake and got to eat it, too.

'I never stopped loving you, I needed more, though.'

You don't think I needed more a few times, Sarah?

You don't think I wanted to fuck that waitress in...Wichita?

Kansas City?

Fuck, where was I...

"You were in Detroit at a restaurant called Wyatt's eating a steak the size of your wife's ass," said a woman standing next to him.

Caleb reeled to the side, startled and thrown off balance by her sudden appearance.

Where

'd she come from?

She wasn't here before.

Slipped up behind me from the bathroom or something?

Maybe I'm drunker than I thought, or at least as drunk as I should be.

His thoughts fumbled into one another as he looked her up and down. She had black hair, sleek and glossy, that laid back against her head. Wide, black eyes matched, staring at him with eerie concentration. Her outfit certainly would have made him notice her. She wore a leather bodice, which pushed out her pale apple sized breasts, and a pair of black slacks. The sallow face looking back at Caleb had a waxy luminosity to it which made her appeal veer into grotesque. Caleb wanted to retort with something witty to compensate for being caught off guard. Instead he replied, "The fuck, what?"

The woman skittered onto the stool beside him, swiveled to the bar and folded her hands in front of her. The bartender poured Caleb's refill and looked warily at the newcomer. Without saying anything, the bartender poured a glass of chilled vodka for her. Glassy eyed, he walked away. The woman sipped the drink and shivered, "Oh, that's terrible. And it was Detroit, remember?"

Caleb shook his head. The woman was right. It came back to him clearly. The restaurant, the table he sat at, and the tits on the waitress all snapped into focus in his besotted brain. "Do I know you?"

"No. Yes. Cosmically. Everyone knows me, but no one

knows

me. I'm Evelyn. You're very drunk."

"Not enough," he grunted, taking a sip of the whiskey. It curled in his throat, but went down. "How'd you know that, though? Were you the waitress or...hang on, you can't —"

"I plucked it out of your head, like grabbing a rubber ducky floating on a whirlpool. All of it's going down into the black, but you keep swimming against the current. Remarkable really. What's the trouble, handsome? A pretty girl gone wrong?"

Caleb found Evelyn off putting. Moreover, he no longer trusted his feeling of sobriety. Clearly he'd told someone the story about the girl in Detroit, and this strange woman overheard, parroting it back to him like a magic trick. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Course not. Probably like pouring salt in the wound to discuss how your wife fucked that loser. Actually, I don't know him. Maybe he's more successful than you. Is that why she fucked him?"

Distrust turned quickly to anger, "Listen lady, who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm the solution. Or the problem. Depends on your perspective. Which do you think I am?"

Caleb didn't like being threatened, and he was reasonably sure the woman was threatening him. Still, he had enough sense to be wary. His eyes scanned the room for someone watching them. Evelyn could be bait. Make a pass at her or start an argument only to have some big thumb of a man throw him over the bar. But no, they had no one watching them. Caleb had the strangest feeling that everyone was pointedly

not

watching them. "The only solution I'm looking for is at the bottom of the glass," he murmured, trying to sound like the conversation had reached its end.

"I could fit," she mused. "Come on, I'm a little rusty at the heartfelt confession part. I only recently escaped from a skin book, I'll have you know. Let's see. Oh! I know Sarah. She told me the whole sordid affair. That's the sticky wicket, isn't it?

Affair.

You're surprisingly complacent about her fucking someone else. It's the loving someone else that did it."

Caleb's suspicion or amusement at the strange woman vanished entirely. He turned toward her and spoke with venom. "Who the fuck are you? No fucking games. You're no friend of Sarah's. You don't know my fucking life."

"I do, Caleb," she said, returning venom for venom. "I know everything about you." As she spoke, she went to pick up her glass, but instead of seeing her hand, Caleb saw long slivers of shadow wrap around the glass. "Like I said," she continued, "I can be the solution or part of the problem. You're not the only one who can run out of patience. —Ah, ah, I know that look. You don't care what I am, not really. Not now that you've come to accept that I'm something more than what you thought. What you really want to know is how I can help you, isn't that right?"

Caleb nodded, but really he wanted to know how long it would take to get to the bathroom. Seeing those

fingers

made his stomach want to leave his body. "You can help?"

"I can take away the grief, of course. I can give you something else. Do you want Sarah to be a good girl? I can make her your slave, willing to do anything you say or do. Or do you want some measurement of compensation for your woes while keeping her on a leash? She has a friend, I see. A pretty thing who has been pouring malicious lies into her ear about you for years. She's staying with her right now, isn't she?"

"Kate?" he asked. Sarah's college best friend who Caleb hated. He wasn't surprised to hear the feeling was mutual.

"Do you want her? Two birds with one stone? Bring them to their knees for you?"

Caleb suddenly saw Kate and Sarah kneeling beside one another in front of him, both naked and gasping for his cock. He squinted his eyes shut, trying to drive the image out. When he opened them, Evelyn leered at him. "Why would you help me?" he asked.

Evelyn shrugged. "It's in my nature, I suppose. Now, do we have a deal?"

"A deal for what? I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone."

"Nothing bad will happen. Nothing will happen except what you will. Tell them to forget you and live happy lives, if you want. Tell them to slather each other with oil and rub themselves together until they squeal with orgasm. The mind is a powerful thing, Caleb. The whole of your body bends to it. Tell Sarah to only get wet for you, and she'll never feel that quivering quim for another man again. Tell them

what you want,

and it will come true. Promise."

"What do you get in return?"

"Out of this conversation, for one thing. Now, shake?" She offered her hand. Remembering what he saw earlier, he looked at the offered limb with skepticism. She was right, whatever got them out of the conversation. He took her hand in his. As they shook, it felt as though splinters of ice worked their way up his arm. When she broke off the grip, the feeling vanished. She slapped him on the back. "Excellent. I may make something of this charity work yet. Maybe have a glass of water and a cab. Won't be fun if you walk off a bridge."

Caleb tried to smile at her, though he didn't know why. A moment later, he didn't know who he'd been talking to at all, but she'd cheered him up. A moment after that, he thought he should get a glass of water and some food. If he kept hydrated, perhaps he could stave off the hangover. He wanted to see Sarah the next day. With a good night's sleep, he could weather the hangover by noon and be in ship shape to go to Kate's to get his wife back.

As he asked for a menu, Caleb silently congratulated himself on having such good ideas.

***

Caleb woke the next morning feeling refreshed and eager for the day. He barely remembered drinking. While brushing his teeth, it occurred to him that he should have been miserably hung over, even if he did chug water for two hours before passing out. The oddity passed with a shrug. He couldn't remember much from his afternoon and evening at the bar. Only the vaguest recollection of Evelyn remained in his mind, and he had no interest in delving further into the memory of the strange woman. Instead, he focused on his new, clear goals of getting his life back in order. He would march right over to Kate's house, demand Sarah come home with him, and start working out how to save their marriage. And if Kate got in the way, Caleb would simply tell her to move. He was unusually confident she would listen.

Kate lived in an apartment in the city, still clinging to the bohemian lifestyle that Sarah had left behind for marriage. Apparently, she wasn't a fan of the new type of stability, but Caleb wasn't either. They'd silently assumed each other wanted to become a boring married couple. Caleb didn't, but Sarah seemed happy decorating their new home. Sarah didn't, but Caleb seemed happy disappearing off to work each day and coming home to a hot meal. Caleb didn't have new sympathy for his wife's infidelity, but he did have sympathy for the mundanity of their lives together.

Compromise is important,

he reminded himself.

First thing to fix is how boring everything has become.

Date nights, surprise gifts.

Stop living like we

're in the 1950s and start spicing things up.

That's the ticket.

He paused as he reached out for his wallet. "That's the ticket?" he said to himself in the mirror. "I've never said that in my life. Huh." He shrugged and continued out to garage.

The drive into the city went slower than he would have liked. One snag in traffic added fifteen minutes to his drive. During that fifteen minutes, he found himself rubbing the bulge in his shorts. Since waking with the normal degree of morning wood, he'd found himself a little more sensitive to touch than usual. Rubbing his dick through the thin fabric didn't exactly push him to new heights of pleasure, but it assuaged a peculiar itch in his subconscious.

Am I horny?

As the traffic cleared, he realized the answer to the question in his mind had profound implications. Yes, he was, but more importantly, it was the first time he could remember being genuinely horny in years. When he caught sight of Sarah in the shower, he'd get the small tingle or when she cuddled up against him at night, he'd feel the spring in his step. Otherwise, he couldn't remember when he'd spontaneous felt the urge to fuck something, even his hand.

That

's why I didn't go up with the girl in Detroit, not because of chivalry.

I was sated.

Shit, when did that happen.

Caleb found some parking with surprising ease and made his way a block over to Kate's building. Sarah had brought him along a few times on the girls' night out which usually started at Kate's apartment. In retrospect, when she stopped inviting him should have been a red flag. Still, it brought him no happiness to be back at the grey building. He didn't like the idea of becoming docile or sated, but he didn't mind having a decent house in the suburbs. He pushed the button for Kate's apartment and waited.

"Yeah?" came her voice through the intercom.

"It's Caleb. I'm here to see Sarah."

Static for a while, then, "She doesn't want to see you."

"Fine, have her tell me that."

More static along with a frustrated huff. "Just fuck off, Caleb. Give her some space."

"I didn't come here to argue with you, Kate. Buzz me up."

"Ok."

The door clicked and swung slightly ajar. The sudden change of her mind threw Caleb for a moment.

Maybe Sarah told her to let me in.

He slipped into the building and headed to the elevator. After a short ride and walk down the hall, he knocked at Kate's door. She opened it, but kept the latch on while peeking through the crack. After staring at each other for a few seconds, Caleb threw his hands up. "Well, did you buzz me up to leave me standing in the hallway?"

"I...I didn't want to buzz you up. I don't know why I did." Her eyes narrowed, and her voice sounded worried. "Go away, Caleb."

"No, open the door."

Immediately, she closed the door, removed the latch, and opened it back wide. They exchanged looks of shock as they stood opposite one another. Caleb's fascination with Kate's abrupt changes of stance on doors subsided in favor of his interest in her body. She'd not dressed for the day, wearing a silky robe with a pair of sweat bottoms. Her sizable breasts were barely covered, a fact she realized and pulled the robe tighter. Kate was the opposite of Sarah in most ways. Taller, with wider hips. Blonde with no curl to her hair as opposed to Sarah's auburn locks. While Caleb's erection had subsided, he felt it stir once again as he looked at Kate. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Caleb, what's happening? Why do I keep doing what you want?"

He didn't have time for whatever game Kate wanted to play. "Kate, I'm here to see Sarah, so stop resisting me at every chance you get and let me see her."

The look of worry passed from Kate's face. "Of course, Caleb. She's in here."

***

Caleb followed Kate into the small living room to find Sarah sitting on the couch in her underwear and a small t-shirt. "What the hell, Kate, I told you not to let him in," she said.

Kate furrowed her brow. "He said to open the door, so I did," she said, as though it explained something plainly.

Caleb ignored the dumbstruck woman, "Where do you get off not wanting to see me? I'm the one who should be angry, not you."

Sarah pulled her knees up against her chest. While she might have intended this to hide her body, it did little more than show off her bottom half. "I don't want to fight. That's why I wanted Kate to send you away. We don't have anything to say to one another."

"Bull fucking shit, I have a lot to say to you," he said. His eyes lingered on her exposed thighs.

God, I

'm horny.

From out of the drunken blackness of the previous afternoon emerged the vision of the two women kneeling naked in front of him. Floating around the edges of the memory was Evelyn's smiling face. As realization swept over him, he turned away from his wife to look at Kate. She maintained a pleasant grin on her face despite the tension in the room. "Kate, sit down," he said, testing his theory. Obediently, she moved to a chair and sat. "Stand back up."

"What the hell are you two doing?" Sarah asked as Kate returned to standing.

Caleb turned to his wife and smiled. "Sarah, take off your panties, sit on the couch, and spread your pussy open."

As though seized by invisible strings, his wife wriggled out of her panties, tossing them aside before spreading her legs on Kate's couch. Sarah's fingers moved down and opened her pussy lips while her palm rubbed against the clit. As the action completed, a look of horror crossed her face. Kate, too, looked on with a muted disbelief. "Oh god, what am I doing?"

"You're obeying," Caleb said with a low, dark laugh. "Both of you are doing exactly what I tell you for once." A rush of power surged through him, and his cock hardened at the sight of his exposed wife. "Kate, have you ever seen Sarah act so slutty?"

"I saw her naked a few times in college. Never spread open like that. I think she's wet, too." As the answer ended, Kate slapped her hand over her mouth.

Sarah turned a dark shade of red, "Why would you answer him?"

"Because I told her to not resist," Caleb said. "She's going to go along with pretty much anything I say, I think. Isn't that neat, Sarah? And you are wet, aren't you little slut. Is this what you had in mind when you weren't satisfied with our relationship? Did you want a little exhibitionism in front of your bestie?"

"Caleb, please, we can talk. Whatever you're doing to us...it doesn't have to be like this."

"I think it does," he said, unbuttoning his shorts. "You see, you betrayed me in a way that no one should ever be betrayed. I can't tell you how much it hurt when I found out. So, I'm going to give you a taste of what it's like." He looked at Kate. "Kate, you're incredibly horny. You're desperate for cock. My cock. You're not embarrassed about fucking me in front of my wife, in fact, that makes it even better. You want her to see what it's like to get cheated on. It makes your pussy wet to only think about it."

The words hit Kate, and her body quivered from head to toe. Any hesitation or worry vanished from her eyes. She ripped open the robe. Her D cups sprang out, nipples hard. Eagerly, she pulled down the sweatpants and panties, showing off her wide hips and bald pussy. She glistened with arousal as she dropped to all fours and raised her ass in the air. "Oh, god, please fuck me, Caleb. I need your cock so bad. Pretty please!"

"Holy shit," Sarah said. "Have you both lost your goddamn minds?"

"Come here and undress me, Sarah. You're going to put me in her pussy."

"I would never—" She stood up and walked over to him, her face blank as she stripped him out of his shirt and shorts. She paused to give his cock a hard squeeze before she pulled him down to the apartment floor. Caleb had felt her hand on his cock many times, but this time it felt different. Something about it was more willing, more excited. The way she squeezed him and gently guided him down filled him with a peculiar sort of admiration for a woman he'd loved for so long.

Sarah let him go long enough to take Kate's hips in her hands. Caleb ached from head to toe to see his wife's hands sink into Kate's soft ass, moving the other woman into a suitable position. Kate shifted willingly, arching her back down as much as she could to present her ass for the dutiful inspection of a loving wife. Unsure of the exact angle, Sarah first checked for Kate's pussy, running her finger down the wet slit before moving her hand over to Caleb's cock again. Gently, she pulled him forward until the head of his cock pushed against Kate's wet lips. Sarah looked at her husband with awe and pained humility as her hand moved his cock up and down her best friend's pussy. "Do you want me to put it in now? She's so wet for you, Caleb. Kate always hated you, but she's about to cum from the head of your cock alone."