The Weekend Pt. 02

Despite her tireless effort and agonizingly careful planning, she only made it to month 6. Regina was there, watching with impotent horror as Cassie took her final, little, labored breath. Regina wailed with the agony of death when she saw the doctor's head drop as he finally conceded defeat in saving the infant. A teary-eyed nurse pointed to the window that Regina peered through, and the doctor's sad eyes met hers.

A small shake of his head was all that was left of their beautiful baby.

As heartbroken as Lee was over his child's death, what he lost after that was so much more important. Before all the ugliness happened, Regina was one of the most affectionate people. She hugged Lee with her entire body, not just her arms. "I love you" was said before every separation, whether it be physical or just on the phone. When in bed, they spooned before falling asleep. If he didn't hold her, she'd grab his hand and kiss it before wrapping his arm around her.

"I love you, Lee." She'd whisper before snuggling closer and cradling his arm around her waist.

The death of Cassandra was the death of everything. That sweet child was unaware of what her survival meant to her parents. They didn't know either, not really. Without realizing it, they'd poured everything that they had to give into Cassie for those two weeks. Sleepless nights were spent in the hospital and meals went uneaten. The desperation that they clung to when they prayed over her frail body was all that they had.

With Cassie gone, there was nothing left to give each other.

Though they both felt the tremors of loss, Regina came out of it worse than Lee. She held that baby in her body. Cassie was as much a part of her as her very lungs. Watching Cassie die was like someone reaching inside of her body and forcibly ripping an organ out.

She completely shut down emotionally. She still functioned in her day to day to day life, but it was robotic at best.

After that, she was always secretly seething on the in that private place that she stopped sharing. It was a dull pain during the best of times, but it never left. It just took up residence in her heart and shaded her outlook on life. Like Brian, she learned the harsh lesson of losing someone you care about right in front of your eyes.

Where would all this unbridled anger be directed?

Because it had no outlet, she did the only thing she felt she could do, pretend it didn't exist. Getting her to talk about her feelings became a contentious battle. Even the mere suggestion of therapy was met with a force that rivaled The Roman Army. She didn't want to talk about it, hear about it, or think about it. The pain of doing either was enough to keep her balled up in the fetal position.

Lee never understood the fullness of Regina's loss. After all, he lost Cassie too. His pain was also unbearable. He cried, screamed, and wept right beside Regina. They were in this together.

But he was able to move past it. He knew that his life didn't have to end with Cassie's. They still had to move on as husband and wife.

But she didn't move on; she just pretended it never happened. The amount of energy it took to create an alternate universe that erased Cassie left too little energy to give a marriage a chance.

So, what sort of tasty fruit does the serpent of Genesis put in the path of an emotionally neglected man who's starving for attention? Yep; a nubile young woman with tempting sexuality and a not so secret crush.

Jennifer entered Lee's life at the perfect time; that meaning it was the worst time. He was at an all-time low emotionally and drained of any will power to fight. Caught between love for a woman who wasn't emotionally there and his need for affection to be returned, his eyes lingered where it shouldn't have.

"It's just a little friendly flirting." He thought when he continually bumped into her at the gym that he once went to faithfully. Her green eyes smiled at him from across the heavily lit room. Even amongst a group of well-toned patrons, she stood out.

She always made sure to say hi. Those innocuous "hellos" held more than mere introductions. Her throaty laughs at his not so funny jokes began to feed a part of him that had been hungry for a while now.

Over time, the line of impropriety was pushed back. Flirting turned into "a friendly cup of coffee" which seamlessly became "hanging out with a buddy".

Then came the night he saw her at the same bar that he and Daryl often went to. On Friday nights, Moe's was the local town square. Everybody saw everybody. Even people who didn't drink came in, just to see who they would find.

She found him. Her tight, yoga pants and half t-shirt that showed off her belly button ring also found him.

And he found the final breaths of his marriage.

A game of pool began the desperate, labored gasps for air. The vision of her bent over the table with her body extended as she concentrated on her next shot was a bit more than most men could bear.

A drinking game saw the marriage clutching at its throat.

Then came the marriage turning blue in the face; the chivalrous need to make sure that she made it home safely.

"Come up, Lee. Just for a second." Jennifer begged as she leaned in and talked to him through the passenger window after she got out of his car. His eyes caught her cleavage as she spoke. Gravity was working in his favor, because at this angle it pulled her breasts down, exposing more. A tiny bit of black lace peeked out from the low dip of her shirt.

"I can't. I have to get home." He said weakly, still staring where he shouldn't.

She noticed where his eyes were looking and smirked. "Eyes up here, buddy." She said playfully as she pointed to her face.

He laughed halfheartedly. "I REALLY have to go." he said again, trying to sound more convincing (to himself). His eyes reluctantly tore away from the barely contained flesh in the lacy black bra.

"So? Go." She said as she pushed herself up and backed away from the car slowly. A challenging glimmer in her eyes dared him to summon the willpower to reject what was being offered.

She watched him watching her. She reveled in his inability to rip his gaze away. Her seductive smile let him know that she was indeed reading all the impure thoughts that was running through his head.

With a twist of her hips, she turned around and ascended the steps, giving him a view of how her small, round ass looked in her tight leggings.

When she got to the door that led to the lobby, she unlocked it, stopped, and leaned against the frame. Her advertisement of what he would be giving up was complete.

"Last chance!" she yelled out to compete with the sound of his rumbling engine.

Open air and willpower were the only two things standing in his way. The second was waning, and the first was only about 15 feet. This point was his crossroads with the gates to both redemption and damnation laying before him. On one side, he bid her goodnight and suffered her disappointed pout. He cursed himself as he watched as the door to the building close behind her and locked itself. Then he drove home with his imagination running wild of what could have been. After a cold shower and a quick "self-induced massage", He slid into bed with his wife and kissed her before rolling over into a sleepless night. His marriage continued as it had been; cold, but still intact.

On the other side, he remembered what ill-fated choice he really made.

Maybe it was the beer. He'd like to think so. When he got out of the car, inebriated legs carried him to his doom.

But not so deep down, he knew the truth. He was drunk, yes, but it wasn't just the long island ice-teas that did the thinking for him that night. No, Lee knew that he was drunk from something a little more addictive than alcohol; attention.

She was all over him in the elevator. He smelled the whiskey on her breath as she kissed him hungrily and bit his bottom lip. Her hands snaked down his pants and wrapped around his erect dick. It felt so good. All the nerve endings responded to the manicured grip that held him. Soft hands make for a hard penis.

Her green eyes returned his lust filled gaze with desire of their own. A tongue snaked out of her mouth and licked her ruby red lipstick. She leaned in so close that he felt her breath on his neck as she breathily whispered the sentence that shattered the remaining willpower he had left.

"I want to suck your dick."

She slid her soft hand up and down his shaft as she watched him react. All he could do was moan and lean back against the wall for support. If the elevator ride was any longer, he believes that she would have given him a blowjob, right there.

Once the apartment door was close behind them, all was lost. They didn't even make it to her bedroom. She fulfilled her desire right there in the living room, with his jeans pooled around his ankles. With wet lips wrapped around his aching cock, she almost ended the night prematurely.

Maybe if he hadn't stopped her from finishing things with her mouth, things would have turned out differently. She wouldn't have gotten pregnant, and he could have hidden this dalliance forever. But, he had to feel her insides. He wanted what had been advertised to him time and time again.

He bent her over her couch. She stuck her ass out invitingly and let him practically rip her tight, yoga pants and panties off. Then she spread her legs and grabbed his hard cock by stretching her arm under her. Lee watched with mesmerized awe as she guided him in to her wetness.

It felt so good. It had been a while since he had a woman give herself to him so enthusiastically. She wanted him, and that thought alone was intoxicating.

Lee grabbed her by the waist when he felt his cock slip inside of her. There was no resistance, yet she was tight enough for him to feel everything. There was just wetness and desire that gave him entrance.

She let out a soft cry when he was fully embedded. Then she let out another. And another.

He pumped behind her with purpose. She grunted every time his stomach contacted the soft flesh of her ass. Her fingers gripped the cushions of the couch as she stood fast in the face of his assault.

And she loved it.

"Oh God. Yes!" she cried through teeth clenched. Her encouragement made him pump even harder and faster. When she felt her orgasm approaching, she said, "Pull my hair!"

"What?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Pull my hair!" she yelled out, half in frustration and half in desire. Lee reluctantly grabbed a fistful of her long, brunette hair.

"Please, pull it tighter." She begged, afraid that the moment for the orgasm would pass. He did as she asked, but it still wasn't tight enough for her.

"Tighter!" she commanded. This time, he pulled so tight that her head yanked up.

"Oh God!" she yelled out in a voice somewhat constricted because of the position of her head.

Something snapped in Lee. Something primal. Seeing her like that, completely at his mercy, stirred open a secret chamber inside of him. A hidden Neanderthal emerged.

"Take that dick!" he commanded. His voice sounded foreign to him, and it scared him.

He almost apologized. He didn't know where that came from. But, he heard a little voice come from her that gave him permission to take his brutish desire.

"Yes. Fuck me."

He started pounding her hard, driving her closer. His hand now clutched the thick locks of her hair with confidence. The other hand pushed down on her back, making her ass jut out more.

"Please don't stop! I'm cumming!" she grunted out as loud, wet, slapping sound permeated the apartment. She was on the balls of her feet, braced for the continuous assault.

He continued to pound her, as he told her what he was doing. He told her that he was going to fuck her senseless, and that she was his bitch. He told her that there was nothing she could do to stop him.

And she came. Hard.

And so did he.

She went limp across the back of the couch, and Lee collapsed on top of her. Heavy breaths entered and exited both sets of lungs as a euphoric feeling washed over them.

Lee was the first to move snap out of the comatose state. He looked down at his limp penis that was still partially inside of Jennifer and a freaked, sickening feeling filled his belly.

"What have I done?" he thought desperately as he quickly pushed himself up. The demon of lust that had possessed him a moment ago was now exorcised, and he was himself again.

He looked around his surroundings in a slightly confused state, like he had no idea how he got here. The stark reality of what just happened became focused in his panicked mind. He looked down at Jennifer's back as she still lay across the back of the couch, and he knew that nothing would be the same again.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit!" he exclaimed as he hastily gathered his pants from around his ankles. Jennifer finally stirred and watched him desperately trying to find his shirt.

"You okay?" she asked with concern. She was confused on what was going on. After the great sex that the two just had, she somehow pictured a different ending to the evening. She certainly didn't expect the guy to run away like she just assaulted him.

"I...I have to go. Sorry."

Without even a goodbye, Jennifer was left alone in her apartment.

That moment marked something significant. Lee realized a few things about himself that he never even thought was possible.

For one, he was human, and he was also capable of weakness. All it took was the perfect storm of circumstances to stretch him to the point of vulnerability.

He always held his nose up and breathed a snort of superiority when he heard stories of people cheating on their spouses. He was brought up to honor his promises and do what was right. Selfish people who cheated on their vows were scum and deserved no forgiveness. Once a cheater, always a cheater.

The second thing he realized was that he loved his wife more than he realized. Now that losing her was imminent if she ever found this out, he had a greater appreciation for what they shared. Even the emotionless Regina was better than not having her at all.

The third, and most disturbing of it, was that he enjoyed what just happened. Every bit of it. If he was honest, it was the most exhilarating sexual experience that he'd ever had. It wasn't just the fact that Jennifer was hotter than jet fuel (she was) that made it so good. It was the brutal, forceful nature of it. He took his pleasure, and she enjoyed it. That was...intoxicating.

Lee was jarred from his memories and brought back to the present by a naked man plopping down next to him. Unfortunately for him, this invader of his private thoughts was a little too comfortable with his hairy nudity. He had no problem bending down low to shuffle through his duffel bag, exposing more of himself than Lee ever wanted to see.

Lee dressed in record time and left the gym. Inside the safety of his car, his mind once again churned with his situation.

He was now caught in a quandary of wanting forgiveness yet being unable to forgive a crime of almost the same situation. Could he forgive her? Should he? Did he deserve this, or was it a matter of her burning the house down to get rid of the rats?

Was the marriage even worth it at this point?

He pulled into his empty driveway that was supposed to house two cars. Looking at the spot that should have her Jeep Cherokee, a brief thought crossed his mind that disturbed him. He wondered if he'd see her again.

Once upon a time, Gina's absent car didn't send off any alarm bells. Even at her worst, she was always just a phone call away. Now, after not knowing where she'd been for 72 hours, everything was different. How did he know that she didn't run off with lover boy to get more of that weekend sex?

Nothing about his marriage was stable; not anymore. He had no idea what dangers tomorrow would bring.

That scared the living shit out of him. She scared him. How is that any way to live?

_________________________________________________

Regina returned home a few hours after Lee did. Night had fallen by the time she pulled into the driveway. As she cut her engine, she looked at her house through the windshield. Her head cocked to the side as she saw it like it's never been seen before.

She really had a beautiful home. It wasn't just the house that was beautiful; it was the home that it made. Every bit of it was made to match her and Lee's collective personality. The rose bush in the front was personally planted by both of them when they first moved in. The curtains that provided privacy from outsiders looking in the windows was handpicked by her to match whatever ambience was going on in that room. Lee's sweat went into keeping the lawn trim every Saturday of every summer.

For the first time, she thought about how she would feel losing it. That thought had never crossed her mind before. When Lee was the only one who cheated, the fate of their union remained solely in her hands.

Now, anything was possible.

She noticed that there was only a single window that had light shining from it. All the rest were darkened to signify their inhabitance. When she realized which room it was, her breath got caught in her throat.

It was the guest bedroom; at least that's what it was now. It wasn't always. Despair churned inside of her when she realized that the thought of sleeping in the same room as she drove him to sleep in the space that was supposed to be inhabited by their dead child. That room was a room that hadn't seen life since they moved in.

No life; that was where the marriage now slept.

The sad poetry of that symbolism broke her down. The weight of everything that she'd pushed aside came down on her shoulders and crushed her. Her anger, all of that built up resentment, stared her in the face. The emptiness that she'd been hiding from herself would no longer be ignored.

Loud wails came from her belly and forced their way out of her mouth. Her body was literally shaking with emotions that were escaping too fast for her to reel them back in. They'd been kept prisoner long enough. While captive, they became stronger and stronger. Now, she was too weak to keep them locked up.

She lost her children, and she'd never be able to have any. But somehow, that bitch was blessed with the child that she was supposed to have.

Now, after all that she's lost, she was on the verge of losing him too. And it was all her doing.

She laid her head on the steering wheel and wept. She had to ask herself the same questions that he pondered not too long ago.

Was it fair want forgiveness for something that you've been unable to forgive? Could she forgive him? Should she?

Was the marriage even worth it at this point?