That Sunday Afternoon

Sonya said, "No. I have to explain..."

I cut her off.

"Are you trying to tell me that he had his hand in your pants more than once tonight?" I asked.

"No," Sonya said with anger. "If you would give me a chance I can explain that to you."

"All right, I won't say a fucking word," I said. Go ahead and explain."

Sonya stood up and pace back and forth in front of the sofa for a minute and then sat back down. Now she was looking directly at me as she spoke.

"Everything I have told you is the truth. Yes, if you had not come home tonight when you did I probably would have had sex with Tony. I did let Tony get his hand in my pants one other time but that was thirteen years ago, before I ever met you. You have to believe me when I say I never intended for this to happen and I don't understand it myself. I mean I know what happened but I don't know why."

I said, "So, in the whole time we have been together, tonight was the only time anything like this has ever happened?"

Sonya said, "Yes. I swear to you that's the truth. I love you and I have loved you almost from the instant we met. That's why it is so hard for me to understand my own behavior."

I began to wonder if Kaplan was trying to pull something. Could he have drugged Sonya? I knew that wasn't very likely but I wanted to find a reason that would allow me to continue loving her. I had to know more about her relationship with him.

"Tell me about Kaplan. How did you get involved with him? How is it he ended up here in Raleigh working for SA?"

Sonya started pacing again and then began to answer my questions.

"I met Tony toward the end of the spring semester of my freshman year in college. He was in his sophomore year but was planning to transfer to a west coast school for the final two years. We dated four or five times before the end of the semester and then I came home to Raleigh and he went home to Charlotte. One Sunday afternoon Tony drove up to Raleigh to see me. We went to a movie and then we went back to my house because my mother had invited Tony to have dinner with us.

"After dinner my parents went for a walk and I took Tony up to show him my room. We were only in the room for a couple of minutes before we started to make out. I'll just skip the details here. I don't think you want to hear them anyway."

I said, "Don't skip anything. I am trying to understand why this happened and the more information I have the better so I want to hear every detail."

Sonya turned away from me as she began to speak again. I guess she found it difficult to look at me while she talked about her previous sexual activity.

"Tony came up behind me and put his arm around my waist and started kissing my neck and my ears and telling me how beautiful I was and how hot I made him. He pressed his body against me and asked me if I could feel his hardness. I told him I could. Then he put his hand on my breast and began to massage it while he kissed me. I felt like I was melting in his arms.

"You have to understand that Tony and I hadn't done anything but make out a little at college. I wasn't a virgin. You know I had sex with my high school boyfriend a few times, I told you about that a long time ago. He was fast and rough and it was not all that enjoyable an experience. I only did it with him because it was kind of expected that you would lose your virginity by the time you were a senior in my high school.

"After that I just didn't meet anyone that I was interested in having sex with until I met Tony. It wasn't that I wanted to have sex with Tony as soon as I met him either. As a matter of fact I had never really considered having sex with him until that day in my bedroom.

"While he was kissing me and pressing his hard cock against my butt he kept telling me how much he wanted me and how wonderful it would be to have sex with me. He told me how he would make sure that I also enjoyed it. He moved his hand down to my leg just below the hem of my skirt and slowly slid his hand up the inside of my thigh until he reached my panties. He began to finger me through my panties and I could feel my legs getting weak.

"Then Tony whispered in my ear, 'If you want this as much as I do put my hand inside your panties.'

"So that's what I did. I pulled my panties out a little with my left hand and guided his hand inside with my right hand. Tony began to push his fingers inside me and although I had never had an orgasm before I could feel one starting to build. Right then I wanted to rip my clothes off and tell Tony to fuck me."

I said, "That's an interesting story but it sounds like your just describing exactly what happened in the basement tonight. Everything I saw the two of you doing is what you just described."

"That's because it was exactly the same," she said. "The irony is that the result was exactly the same. While Tony was fingering me, my parents came back from their walk and my mother came up and knocked on my door to see what we were doing. Luckily, we still had our clothes on so we just walked out of the room like nothing happened. We didn't get another chance to be alone during his visit. That night was the first time I ever masturbated. Tony left me so horny I had to get myself off so I could go to sleep.

"I didn't see Tony again but he wrote me several letters that summer. In each of his letters he talked about that afternoon in my bedroom. He said it was the most erotic thing that had ever happened to him and he would always regret that we didn't get a chance to finish it. I wrote back and told him I felt the same way. In the last few letters he said that he would come see me again and then we would recreate that afternoon. I masturbated a lot that summer, and each time I did I was thinking about that afternoon in my bedroom."

I said, "So that is what this was about. Trying to recreate something that the two of you shared thirteen years ago?"

Sonya said, "I guess maybe in a way it was but no... I never intended to do that. I had forgotten about that long ago. It's just that..."

"It's just what?" I asked.

"Well, I had forgotten all about that a long time ago. Even when I found out Tony was coming to work at SA I didn't think about that day or about having sex with him. I though it would be nice to see him after all these years but that's all.

"The problem started about a week after he got here. I had seen him around the building but we hadn't talked to each other. Then one day he showed up in my office and asked me to have lunch with him so we could catch up. It was just a friendly lunch until we headed back to the office. That's when Tony asked me if I remembered that afternoon in my bedroom. I felt a little uncomfortable when he first brought it up but when he started to talk about it I don't know what happened. I felt compelled to listen.

"He talked about how that day made him feel and how it still affects him. He said that now he was glad that we didn't get a chance to have intercourse that day because it kept his desire for me alive all these years and now that we were working together he was sure that one day we would be able to live out that afternoon again only this time we would end it properly.

"I found that as I listened to him I felt like I was being drawn to him. I felt myself wanting the same thing he wanted. When we pulled into the parking lot at the office we sat in the car for a minute and I thought he was going to kiss me. At that moment I wanted very much for him to kiss me. We were just sitting looking at each other when someone tapped on the window and jokingly said, 'Time to get back to work.'

"As soon as I got back to my office I realized how foolish it would have been if I had let him kiss me. I felt terrible the rest of the day and when I got home that night I felt so guilty I couldn't even look you in the eye.

"The next day Tony stopped by my office and asked to have lunch with him again. I told him I couldn't so he came in and sat down and started talking about how we might get together again where we wouldn't be interrupted. At first I just wanted him to leave my office but as he talked about that day again I could once again feel myself being drawn to him. I kept my resolve and I didn't have lunch with him.

"For about two weeks he would not leave me along. He was always asking to lunch or to stop after work for a drink. I told him no every time but he kept trying. I would try to avoid him but he would always find me and then he would get to me and instead of asking him to leave me alone I would just listen to him and feel myself becoming aroused. Then when I went home at night I had this terrible guilty feeling even though I hadn't done anything. I felt guilty about my desires.

"I felt like I was being drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Fortunately, I knew what the flame would do to me. So one day when he came to see me in my office I told him that I didn't want him bothering me around the office anymore. I told him I would not have lunches with him and I would not go out for drinks. I said I'm married and I will not cheat on my husband.

"Tony said he understood and would do as I asked but that he also knew that I wanted him as much as he wanted me and that eventually it was going to happen."

I said, "Well I guess the asshole was right after all. Apparently you did want him as much as he wanted you."

"Please let me finish."

"Go ahead."

"Tony did back off. I would see him around the office but I wouldn't speak to him. I tried to ignore him as much as possible but I felt bad about it. Tony really is a nice guy and I didn't like treating him that way just because of the way he felt about me. The problem was that whenever I saw him I would begin to think about what he said and I would feel myself being pulled to him.

"As time went on it got easier. Tony started spending less time in the office and I managed to avoid him whenever he was in the building. The one thing I worried about was what would happen if I ran into him somewhere outside of work. When I didn't have a good excuse to get away from him. I worried that if I was alone with him something might happen.

"I decided that I had to make sure I wasn't ever in a situation where I was alone with him and I thought that in time this attraction would pass. That I would no longer feel drawn to him and it might have worked if you had gotten home from Dallas before the party started."

"So now it's my fault," I snapped. "Which was my biggest sin, not being here to protect you from yourself or was it coming home too soon?"

"I am not blaming you," she said. "I know this is my fault. I'm just saying that without you here with me I was too weak to resist."

"Too weak to resist? What the fuck kind of bull shit is that? We are not talking about someone slipping off their diet because they couldn't resist a candy bar. You are a married woman and you are trying to tell me that you couldn't resist the temptation to fuck another man. What kind of a fucking spell does this guy have on you?"

"Must you talk to me that way? Do you hate me that much? I don't understand why this happened," she said, but if you will give me a chance it will never happen again."

I said, "If you were so worried about what would happen if you were alone with him how it is that the two of you ended up in the basement together in the first place? There would be no reason for the two of you to go down there unless you were trying to find a place where the two of you could be alone."

"If you think I invited him down there to have sex you are wrong," she said. "It wasn't like that. I went down there because I had to pee and when I came out of the bathroom Tony was standing there playing with the remote control for the television. He turned on one of the music stations then he grabbed me before I could get to the stairs and he kissed me."

"So one kiss and you're ready to fuck," I hissed.

She said, "No. I tried to pull away from him but I couldn't get loose. The he started talking about that day again and now that we were alone we could finally finish what we started thirteen years ago. He was talking and kissing me on the neck and rocking me back and forth and soon I began to relax and then I felt my self control fading. I guess you saw the rest."

"Yes, I saw the rest and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as you did."

Sonya said, "I don't know what else I can say. Just please don't do anything rash. Give me time to prove that I deserve you. If we can't work it out I'll understand but please don't leave me without trying."

By that time I was numb. I was exhausted from being angry and the bourbon had dulled my pain so I decided to call it a day.

"I'll sleep in the guest room tonight and tomorrow I'll think about my next move," I said."

Sonya followed me upstairs and silently watched me as changed for bed and when I was about to leave our bedroom Sonya stepped in front of me and kissed me on the cheek.

"I love you," she said.

"That's the problem, I love you too."

Chapter Four - Loving Sonya

I tossed around the bed all night trying to decide what I should do about Sonya and in the end I realized that I loved her to much let her go without a fight. I felt that in time, if Sonya was true to her word I would be able to forgive her but I knew that it would be difficult for a while.

On Sunday Sonya and I avoided each other around the house all day and barely spoke to each other at dinner.

Monday was even harder than Sunday. All day Monday all I could do was worry about what Sonya was doing. Was Tony after her and if he was, would she be able to resist whatever hold he had on her. I got home that night before Sonya and immediately began to worry about where she was and why she wasn't home yet. I imagined that Tony had asked Sonya to stop for a drink and that she had accepted. I had ignored her all day Sunday and maybe she felt unwanted and turned to Tony for comfort. The agony of waiting was almost too much to bear. Luckily, I only had to wait ten minutes before I heard Sonya's car pulling into the garage.

At that moment I realized that I couldn't keep giving Sonya the silent treatment like I had on Sunday. I didn't want to drive her away from me and to him.

When Sonya entered the house she looked sad. She walked slowly over to me and kissed me. When I kissed her back her face brightened a little.

"You do still love me don't you?" She said.

I said, "Yes. Of course I do but that doesn't mean that everything is all right now. It may never be all right again. This is going to take time if I am going to be able to put this behind me."

"I understand," she said.

"Did you see him today?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Did you tell him that I saw the two of you in action?" I asked.

"No, I didn't. I didn't want Tony worried that you were going to come after him. I told him that we could never do that again. He said that he understood and would leave me alone."

"That's the same thing he said before isn't it?" I asked. "If he doesn't stay away from you I will speak to him and I'll be a considerably more persuasive with him than you were."

"Please don't start anything with Tony," she said. He really is a nice guy. If you knew him better I think you would like him."

"He must be one hell of a nice guy if I would like him even after he tried to fuck my wife," I said.

"I meant that if none of this had happened. If you had met him under different circumstances you would have liked him."

I said, "I don't want to talk about that asshole anymore."

Two weeks passed without incident and I began to feel a little more comfortable. Things were only slightly better at home. Sonya and I were speaking but we still hadn't made love and we were still sleeping in separate bedrooms. I just didn't feel the desire to make love to her. I just kept remembering the image of her guiding Kaplan's hand inside her panties.

It was near the end of that second week when Sonya's car needed to go into the shop for service so I had to give her a ride to work. When I dropped her off I told her I would be back at five o'clock to pick her. Things were slow for me that day so I left work fifteen minutes early and drove over to SA to wait for Sonya. I parked in the lot in front of the building about three rows back facing the main entrance. Because I was early I put a CD in the player and tipped my seat back and closed my eyes. I would open my eyes and peek toward the entrance every minute or so to see if Sonya was outside yet.

At ten minutes to five I saw Sonya coming out the door. As I tipped my seat back up and started the engine I saw Kaplan come up behind Sonya. He put his hand on her neck and when she turned to see who was there he kissed her on the cheek. I was ready to charge over and deck him but I waited just a moment more to see what Sonya was going to do.

Sonya pulled away from him. She was smiling at him as they spoke but when he took a step toward her she backed away and put her hand up as if to tell him to stop. I could see that he was nodding his head yes and then he turned and walked away.

I backed the car out of my parking spot and started to drive around to pick Sonya up and as I did I decided that while I didn't like that Kaplan had kissed Sonya at least she pulled away from him and didn't seem to encourage him in any way. I couldn't hear their conversation so I couldn't know for sure but I decided to trust Sonya this time just so we wouldn't have another fight.

When Sonya got into the car I didn't mention what I had seen and she didn't say anything about talking to Kaplan.

The next day at work I spent a lot of time thinking about how I had been acting since the incident and although I felt I had a right to be pissed I knew that if I didn't let up on her soon and show her some forgiveness I might lose her completely.

I called Sonya at her office and asked her if she would like to go somewhere nice for dinner.

"I'd love to," she said. "Where do you want to go?"

I hadn't thought passed asking her to go to dinner so I didn't have place in mind. I could have asked her where she wanted to go but I thought if I was asking her to go to dinner I should pick the place.

I said, "I was thinking of going to the Angus Barn."

"Really?" she asked. "That would be great."

The Angus Barn is where I took Sonya the night I proposed to her. I knew that she would understand that taking her there meant that I was trying to make things better between us.

I asked Sonya if she wanted to go there straight from work and have a few drinks before dinner but she said that she would like to go home first and change her clothes. The Angus Barn was only five miles from her office but the round trip from her office to home and back to the Angus Barn was more than twenty miles. I was going to make a point about that but decided to let it pass. I didn't want any disagreements that night.

When I got home from the office Sonya was already in the shower. When I walked into the bedroom she called out that she would be ready in ten minutes. I knew that wouldn't happen so I went back downstairs and poured myself a drink and waited.

When Sonya came down she was wearing a white top and a black skirt that ended just above her knees. The skirt had a slit in the left side that went halfway up her thigh. She was also wearing black hose. She looked stylish and sexy at the same time.

Sonya was in the best mood she had been in since before the incident at the party. On the ride to the restaurant she told me everything that was happening at work and all the funny stories she had heard recently. For my part I did a good job of not letting her know how much things still bothered me. I tried to relate to her like I did before all this happened.

When we got to the restaurant I walked around the car to open Sonya's door for her. As she swung her legs out to step out of the car she gave me a teasing look up her skirt and noticed that her black hose were thigh high stockings rather than her usual pantyhose and that she was wearing black satin panties. Sonya always wore sexy stockings and underwear when we went out if she thought we were going to be having sex when we got back home that night. I had to reposition my growing erection as we walked to the restaurant entrance.