Page 8 of Keeping Skylar
It started with her talking about what she found attractive in a man, quickly followed by comments aboutmyphysical appearance. As her intoxication grew, she became noticeably impetuous, incessantly teasing and flirting with me. Her gaze would linger longer on mine, her hands kept finding subtle ways to touch me.
Towards the end of our dinner, her seductive charm had worn down my resolve.
Realising I needed to escape the mounting tension, I decided it was best to call it a night and drove her home.
After parking in front of her house, we sat in the car in silence for a while before Lucia invited me in. I knew it was a bad idea. I knew it was wrong. But before I could talk myself out of it, I was climbing out of the car and walking to her front door.
The moment we stepped inside the house, Lucia lunged at me, kissing me, and running her hands all over my arms and chest. In a moment’s panic, I pushed her off me, making her almost fall flat on her arse. But when she gazed up at me, a mixture of want and desire burning in her eyes, I could no longer hold back.
I pinned her against the back of the door within seconds, and kissed her with an insatiable hunger I hadn’t felt in a while. Our hands frantically tore at each other’s clothing as we ferociously devoured one another. We were so caught in the intensity of the moment that all sense of morality went out the door.
When I arrived home that night, I collapsed on the living room floor and cried in silence as the guilt of what I had done came flooding through me like a fucking tsunami. It felt as though I was suffocating under its weight. I couldn’t breathe, knowing I had just betrayed my wife.
After that night, I vowed to never see or be alone with Lucia again. But no matter how hard I tried, the sad truth was, I was weak, I was selfish, I was stupid. My thoughts were filled with her, day and night. I could no longer resist her at every turn, especially when Sky invited her over regularly.
Two weeks after the incident, I found myself at Lucia’s front door again, about to tell her that we needed to stay away from each other and for her to stop coming around my place. Unbeknownst to me, stepping into that house marked the beginning of months upon months of lies and deceit. It was on that day my affair with Lucia ignited a fire that set everything ablaze. My marriage. My home. My once familiar life.
Six months later, I’m back in the same house, comforting my heartbroken mistress— someone I’ve grown to truly care about, with no sign of our affair coming to an end.
She’s finally stopped crying, her tired body relaxing into me. Without speaking, I carry her into the bedroom and gently lay her down, covering her body with the blanket. I kiss her softly on her lips and stare into her sad, weary eyes. “Rest up, baby. I’ll be back soon, okay.” And then, I say the words she’s been dying to hear for months. “I love you.”
Her eyes widen and a broad smile spread across her cheeks. She leans forward to give me a long and deep kiss, whispering,“I love you,” over and over. A minute later, I slowly pull away, and walk straight out of the room without looking back, leaving Lucia all alone, once more.
CHAPTER 4
Skylar
Thank God for the weekend.
It’s just past noon and I’m meeting Kirstin for lunch at a French café across the street from her apartment. I’m staying at her place this weekend, so we can come up with an exit plan that will help me leave Kaden, without him ever suspecting a thing.
When I told him I was going on an impromptu trip with Kirstin this weekend to celebrate the success of her exhibition, he seemed hesitant at first, but eventually agreed.
Normally, he hated when I spent time away from him, especially with Kirstin. It would always lead to a full day of arguments, followed by me giving him the silent treatment because I’d end up cancelling my plans. But on this very rare occasion, he didn’t fight it. I guess now, he has a perfectly good reason for letting me go.Prick!
Kaden came home late on the night of Kirstin’s exhibition. I already knew where he’d been, but it still didn’t lessen the sting, especially when he walked right into our ensuite to shower and brush his teeth. Taking Kirstin’s advice on board, I continued to act like the unsuspecting wife. We kissed briefly and made small talk in bed, but each time he spoke or touched me, I had to suppress the urge to either vomit or punch him square in the face.
The next day was the same. He lied about heading straight to the gym after work, while I sat at home on the phone with Kirstin, seething with barely contained fury.
Since learning about the affair, I discovered that he was using his lunch breaks to train at the gym, so that after work, he could spend a couple of hours with Lucia.FIVE FUCKING NIGHTS A WEEK!
These next few days—or however long it takes us to come up with a solid plan—are going to feel like hell. Pretending to be the loving, compliant wife will be nothing short of torture. Fortunately, Kaden’s never been good at reading people, and I’m sure his mind will be too preoccupied with other things—like what other positions he can fuck his mistress in—for him to notice anything out of the ordinary.
I hear the sound of a bell at the door, and I look over to see Kirstin walking into the café, her laptop bag hanging loosely on her side. Sitting in our usual booth at the back of the restaurant, I wave to Kirstin and watch as she saunters over to me. We smile at each other and I stand to hug her.
Taking the seat across from me, I watch as she takes her first sip of coffee from the mug in front of her, I’d made sure it was ready for her before she arrived. The poor girl has spent the entire morning and first half of the afternoon studying in the campus library.
“Thanks for this, hon. I desperately needed it.” She leans back on her chair and sighs in relief. “So, tell me. What’s new?” she asks as she sets her laptop on the table.
“He said he’s going to spend the weekend at Jason’s place. He didn’t want to be home alone, all weekend.”
Kirstin instantly rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Seriously. The guy deserves to take home the trophy for being the world’s biggestlying scumbag. And while he’s at it, he should probably jump in front of a moving train.”
I chuckle. “I wonder if Jason is even aware he’s using him as a cover?” Jason Hawkins has been Kaden’s best friend since childhood. Of the very few friends I’ve met, he is one of the good ones; successful, cultivated and fiercely loyal. And not to mention, the guy is ruggedly handsome. He has an irresistible charm to him that can make any woman weak in the knees.
But in the ten years I’ve known him, I’ve never once looked at my husband’s best bud and seen him as anything more than a friend. Because unlike Kaden, it’s not my style to go fucking around with my spouse’s best friend.
Like me, Jason had gone through a similar struggle after discovering his thirty-six- year-old wife had been having an affair with their son’s nineteen-year-old swimming instructor. He immediately kicked his ex-wife out of the house, and has since been raising Jake on his own as a single dad.
