He didn’t know the half of it.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Maybe I should just tell him I know about the calls,” I said, jumping off the Stairmaster.
Kelly grabbed her towel off the elliptical machine and followed me toward the free weights. “I don’t know, Tara. Do you want to have a confrontation? Because I think he’s going to get defensive, no matter how you bring it up.”
“No, I don’t want a fight.” I sighed, picking up two five pound weights, one in each hand, and sitting on a bench. “I want…”
What did I want? I watched Kelly as she took one ten pound weight in both hands, lifting it over her head and then dropping her hands behind her back, aiming the weight between her shoulder blades. She did this over and over, a fluid motion, and I could see the muscles in her upper arms working, her full breasts shifting under her t-shirt. The guy next to us was doing arm curls and his gaze was on her, too. I gave him a look and he averted his eyes.
My thoughts turned back to John. I had believed that bringing my new toy into our sex life would spice things up-and it had. But John was still as quiet as ever about what he wanted, what his fantasies might be. He seemed willing enough to go along with things if they were my idea, but he wasn’t volunteering anything.
“I want him to talk to me,” I finished, beginning to do arm curls, looking at Kelly out of the corner of my eye. “But I tried, again, to get him to tell me something. That night, after the, uh… you know.”
Kelly brought the weight in front of her, grinning. “How do you like your new toy?”
she asked, grabbing another ten pound dumbbell and sitting next to me. Her thigh brushed up against mine as she balanced her arm against her leg, starting to do her own arm curl sets. She had a lot more muscle than I did, and could curl double the amount of weight.
“It’s, uh… fun,” I replied, feeling my face burning. I refused to look in the mirror, but I knew I was blushing. “Anyway, he still won’t share anything with me. It’s like the minute I start talking about it, he just clams up. I don’t get it.”
“But he’s still making calls?” Kelly asked, stopping to look at me. I nodded. “Then maybe you should just keep listening. I mean, at least that way you’ll know what he really wants…”
I sighed. “It just feels wrong.”
Kelly smiled. “Sometimes when it feels wrong, it’s really, really right.” The pressure of her bare thigh against mine was increasing, rubbing against me.
“Maybe,” I said, standing up and going to put my weights back.
Kelly put hers back below mine. “Just give him some time. Ease him into things.
Keep introducing something new every time you have sex.”
“I am,” I said, smiling. “He thinks I’m full of surprises, lately.”
Kelly flicked her towel at me, grinning as she walked past. “You are.”
We went out that night, a Christmas party for his office. I usually hated these, with all the office girls crowding around John, making a fuss over him, jostling him under
the mistletoe if they got a chance. His office seemed weighted with women and every year there was too much alcohol and too much skin, as far as I was concerned.
This year, I decided that if I couldn’t beat them, I was going to join them. I bought myself a little red satin dress, sleeveless and short-shorter than anything I'd owned before. I didn’t wear stockings with it, just a pair of black panties, and no bra. It was pretty low-cut, although I didn’t have enough cleavage to make it stand out that much.
When I came down the stairs, John did a double take from the couch, putting down his paper and staring at me.
“You’re gonna be cold,” he told me, getting my coat from the closet.
“No, see,” I said, picking up a sheer mesh shawl I'd left on the table and putting it over my shoulders.
He snorted. “I doubt that will keep you warm.”
I smiled as he helped me on with my coat. “Well, you can… help keep me warm.”
He kissed my neck, exposed because my long dark hair was put up, making me shiver. “I just might take you up on that later.”
Kelly and Chris pulled their little Escort in next to John’s dark blue Beemer Roadster just after we arrived.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” I called out to Kelly, pulling my coat together against the wind.
“Miss a night out of the house without the kidlet?” Kelly said, taking Chris' hand and tugging him with her toward me.
“Plus there’s the free booze,” Chris added, grinning.
“It’s all on me,” John said, taking my hand and starting toward the restaurant.
John had rented an entire room and hired a DJ-it looked like a set-up for a wedding, minus all the favors. There were probably thirty people there already, although we were a little early, and they were standing around with drinks in their hands or sitting at tables and talking. I let John take my coat and Kelly’s eyes widened when she saw me.
“What?” I asked, touching my cleavage, afraid I was falling out.
“That dress,” she said, her eyes dipping below the hem. “Holy cow. I saw it on the hanger and all but… wow!”
“Can I agree without getting hit over the head with a handbag?” Chris asked, smiling and putting his arms around Kelly from behind.
I flushed. “Thanks. I like yours, too,” I said, admiring how Kelly’s black velvet dress made her hair look even redder in contrast.
We found our seats and ordered a bottle of wine. John came over and joined us for a while, but then went off again. Thank God he let me invite Kelly and Chris, because otherwise I wouldn’t have known a soul!
“Shouldn’t you be mingling with John?” Kelly had to practically yell now over the music.
I shrugged, looking over to where John was standing with a drink in his hand, surrounded by four women who seemed to be talking at once.
“Ooo! This is my favorite song!” Kelly said, turning to tug at Chris' sleeve. “Chris, dance with me!” Chris had found a guy next to him to talk football with and he waved her away. She made a face, standing and holding out her hand to me. “Come on,” she said.
“Me? In this?” I indicated the dress.
“How do you think you show it off?” She grinned as she pulled me out onto the dance floor. I followed Kelly’s motions, raising my arms above my head like she was, and moving my hips around like hers. She smiled, and then closed her eyes, letting her body sway to the music. It was a hot, sexy beat, and she ground her hips with it like she was fucking someone. It made me flush just to watch her, and I found myself remembering that day on the phone, listening to her come.
She moved in behind me, then, putting one arm around my waist. “Like this,” she instructed, moving her hips with mine, 'round and 'round. I could feel her thighs, her pelvis making circles against my ass. Her other hand slipped around my waist, and I leaned my head back against her shoulder-she was a good five inches taller than me and wearing much higher heels-looking up into her eyes. They were green and smiling, too.
“I think we drank too much,” I murmured, enjoying the feel of our dresses slipping together, satin against velvet. Mine was beginning to ride up my thighs, I could feel it, but I didn’t care.
“Who says?” Kelly whispered, and she leaned in and kissed me, just like that in the middle of the dance floor. It didn’t last long, a few seconds, but it was enough to take my breath away. The song was over then, and I looked at John as I moved away from Kelly and saw him looking at us. I couldn’t read his face, but I flushed, and went back to the table to get more wine.
“You two were having fun,” Chris remarked, putting his arm around Kelly and squeezing her hip as we sat.