As Jane's fingers slid down Bill's bare chest and toward his hard cock she thought, "Whenever I see him at a family get-together from now on I'll be picturing him naked."
She'd been combing her long, red, damp hair out before it dried and became unmanageable. She'd been in the shower longer than she'd planned, but the luxurious hotel bath soaps, the hot water, and the chance to give herself a long overdue orgasm were the perfect combination for some extra attention. The caress of the soft hotel bathrobe she now wore against her warm skin was putting her in the mood to chuck breakfast with the family and just fuck herself in bed for another hour.
The knock at the door spoiled that idea. She debated not leaving the maid a tip. She looked through the peephole and saw not a maid but her cousin, and one of her best friends from childhood, Bill. He was rubbing his eyes.
She opened the door. She was surprised to see him in wet swim trunks, flip-flop sandals, and a T-shirt that clung here and there to his wet, strong torso.
"Hey, Bill, are you all right?"
"No. Sorry to get you out of the shower or whatever, but do you have any Visine or saline solution? I got in the pool for a morning swim and forgot to take out my contacts. My eyes are on fire."
"Yeah, come on in." She guided him to the bathroom as the door swung shut behind them.
"I thought I brought some," he said as she handed him her bottle of saline solution. "I grabbed the extra bottle of the damn cleaning solution instead. I'm just glad I didn't put that in my eyes. It'd be twice as bad."
"Are you going to be all right? Do you need me to get Sharon?"
He dripped saline solution into his eyes and sighed in relief. "No, it's not that bad. And Sharon's not here anyway."
"Did she have to work?"
"No," he said as some of the saline trickled down his face and he sighed again. "She just didn't come. She filed for divorce three months ago."
Jane stumbled back into the bathroom door. "What? Why?"
"She was done. She looked at me across the kitchen counter as I was eating breakfast and told me she was done."
Jane was stunned. Bill and Sharon had what appeared to be a great marriage -- two doctors who met during their clinicals and went on to have a gorgeous home, two gorgeous kids, and gorgeous Christmas photos every year.
"But why?" Jane asked.
"She said her dream was always to work for the Red Cross, working in poor neighborhoods or a Brazilian favela or something. She said she never saw herself as a soccer mom in the suburbs baking Christmas cookies for neighbors she didn't give a shit about."
Jane looked at the floor for a moment. "What did you say?"
"I said okay."
She almost stumbled back into the door again. "That's it?"
He sat back against the edge of the sink. "No. I also told her I knew about the ER doctor she was screwing."
"She cheated on you?"
"For months. I found some e-mails."
"And you never said anything?"
"We weren't happy, Jane. We hadn't been happy in months. I can't remember the last time we had sex. It had been so long since I'd seen her happy that when she started to cheer up, and I learned why, I didn't want to spoil it. It was nice to have a happy house for a little bit."
"Well she's stupid," Jane said. "I always thought you were a great catch. I understand her wanting to pursue her dream. I can relate to that, but to ditch you like that...You're a hunky doctor, Bill! What's she thinking?"
He looked around and then took a deep breath. "Is that why Greg isn't here?"
"No, he had to catch up on a lot of work. They have a big trade show next week."
"You said you could relate to Sharon wanting to pursue her dream. Is Greg not letting you do that?"
She sighed as she walked out of the bathroom. She was thirsty, but she didn't want to get a drink from the bathroom sink. It would run the risk of having to look him in the eyes.
"He never really forbid me to do something," she said. "But he never encouraged me either. He discouraged me, actually. He liked things his way. Everything had to be just so, and part of that was me being the Harriett Nelson housewife. His opinion was the only one that mattered. He wouldn't tell me to shut up or anything like that, but he'd shoot down all my ideas as silly or frivolous."
He shuffled out of the bathroom, almost dizzy with disbelief. "But you two seemed so happy all the time."
"He was happy. I was going through the motions because it's what was expected."
He smiled. "You were going through the motions. You're not now?"
She shook her head. "Not anymore. I wanted to take some of my poetry to an open mic night at a coffee shop. He said 'Are you sure? They'll have real poets there, and what if people don't like your poems? I don't want you to be embarrassed.'" She snarled at the memory. "That was it. I told him I was sick of his controlling attitude and for always putting me down. I told him I was doing what I wanted. I wasn't going to live my life unhappy while he was doing whatever he liked and for all I know fucking someone else at a trade show."
"How did he take it?"
"You'd think I'd hit him with a rolling pin. He was speechless. I'd never put my foot down like that. I went to the poetry night and had a blast. I told him I wanted time away from him as soon as I got home. He asked to work it out. I asked him how things would change, what would he do to make it work. He didn't say anything. He just stood there and for once couldn't think of a way to cut down what I wanted and turn it to his advantage. I've stayed at our lake house ever since that night."
