by Jet, M
After dinner she and Zander watched a movie together while the kids played in their rooms. Mary Jane rested against him while he draped his arm casually over her shoulders and sipped his beer with his free hand. The movie was a police drama and Dominique Flame sprang to her mind again.
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she thought of the handsome sergeant while sharing a quiet time with her husband. But she simply couldn't get Dominique out of her head, especially as she watched a dark and dashing cop on the television screen. The sexy cop onscreen seduced women and Mary Jane's thoughts of Dominique took a turn she hadn't allowed for many years. By the time the movie was over, she was in quite a delicate state.
Zander placed a finger under her chin and tipped it up. He kissed her greedily and she sighed against his hot lips. "Let's put the kids to bed," he whispered when he pulled away. She nodded her agreement.
Mary Jane felt nervous and hot as they hurried through the bedtime routine. She didn't even bother with baths, just helped the kids brush teeth and put on jammies. Zander took bedtime story with the boys, and Mary Jane read to Jessie in the little girl's pink bedroom. Soon all three kids had drifted to dreams and husband and wife reconnected in the hallway outside the bedrooms.
Zander pushed her into the wall, and raised her arms high over her head. He pinned them in place and pressed his tall hard body against her petite soft one. He covered her lips with his own and she whimpered as he probed her mouth with his tongue.
In her mind she saw Dominique's face. His invasion of this private moment evoked another small yelp from her. She wondered how he'd kiss her. She didn’t think he'd be as wild and reckless as Zander always had been. For a moment she hated herself for allowing these thoughts. But Dominique was there in her imagination, she couldn't evict him despite her best efforts.
She turned a corner right then. She decided she didn't want him out.
Zander let go of her wrists and ran his hands down the sides of her arms and her body. She gasped as he abruptly ended their kiss and scooped her into his arms. Once he had her body cradled against him, he began kissing her again as he rushed her into their bedroom.
Once inside, he pushed the door closed with his work boot and bolted to their bed where he deposited her onto the end. "Yes," she moaned quietly, caught up in the frenzy and the intensity of imagining one man while being seduced by another.
She began to scurry farther onto the bed, but he caught her hips and pulled her back toward him. "Where you going?" he growled softly.
Mary Jane moaned. Every part of her was hot and weak. She was in no position to take the lead. He would have her anyway he wanted her. She would give herself willingly. She kept her eyes closed, imagining Dominique's hands on her.
Zander tore down the leggings and thong she wore, and discarded them into the darkness. He yanked her hips toward him and deftly crouched on the floor, pushing her thighs apart.
"Oh yes," Mary Jane whispered, feeling close already.
There was nothing slow, sweet, or gentle about him that night. He had many different sides to his love making personality. That night was about quick roughness. He plunged his tongue inside her and began working her firmly with swirling and banging. She arched, her back lifting off the bed, her pussy pressing harder into his face. He groaned against her wetness, and the vibration nearly undid her.
In her mind, it was Dominique's hands greedily roaming her while he tongued her clit frantically. But only just for a moment.
Soon Zander rose again to his feet, looming over her. He stared down at her milky skin that appeared iridescent in the darkness. She did not open her eyes, but she smiled. The cool air rushed to meet the emptiness where his tongue had just been working magic and a fierce sensation of heat and tingling rushed within her.
He took her by the hips and flipped her onto her stomach as though she were weightless. Zander didn't even undress, simply unsheathed himself from the fly of his overalls. He tucked her knees beneath her on the edge of the bed so that she was exposed and offering both physical satisfaction and a stimulating view. Zander rammed his throbbing hard cock into her without prelude.
"Ah, yessss," Mary Jane groaned. She buried her face into the bed clothes, surrendering completely to the feeling of her husband filling her. He drove into her roughly, both of them forgetting momentarily about the other's pleasure, and focusing only on the personal feelings.
She imagined Dominique lacing his fingers in her hair and demanding that she come.
And that was it. She spiraled down, down, and down, a small scream escaping to hang on the night air.
***
Mary Jane lay nestled against Zander's chest almost asleep. She'd finally managed to almost banish Dominique from her mind in the wake of several intense orgasms. He was still there, but at least he wasn't doing dirty things to her anymore…
Just as she began to drift off, Zander shifted her off of him and got out of bed. Her eyes popped open and she watched him move to the foot of the bed where he eventually had discarded his clothing. He began to put them back on.
"Going somewhere?" Mary Jane inquired sleepily.
"Yeah," he said matter of factly. "I'm going to the bar."
Mary Jane hefted herself up on her elbows, the relaxed feeling she'd found, evaporating entirely. "Z, you have work at eight!"
He shot her a warning glance. "I'm a big boy, Mary Jane."
He moved to finish dressing and put on his boots and she tried to fight back the anger mounting inside her. Zander wasn't the cheating sort, he just liked to shoot pool and drink beer. But, sometimes he liked those things too much, and too much of those things resulted in not showing up to work and then not having a job to show up to. And, despite the fact that she trusted him not to sleep around, it hurt her that he could so casually leave her directly following an epic love making session.
Another nice evening. Fucking ruined.
She nestled back down into the bed and pulled the covers up around her, rolling on her side and putting her back to him.
"See you later," he said cheerily as he exited the bedroom, not even seeming to notice her hurt.
Mary Jane went to sleep with tears on her face. Zander didn't return until well after two in the morning. But she was long asleep by then, lost in dreams of Dominique Flame.
Chapter 3
Mary Jane was a bundle of nerves by the time she arrived at the school to pick up Jason and Jonah again the next day.
For one thing, Zander hadn't made it to work until after ten a.m. She would be amazed if he was still employed by the end of the day. For another, she wasn't looking forward to seeing Dominique Flame.
She wished he hadn't spoken to her the day before. Wish he'd never broken the radio silence. He'd already been heavy on her mind. And now she was afraid that would show on her face.
She and Jessie entered the crowed cafeteria where many parents gathered to wait for their children to be dismissed. She put her name on one of the sign out forms and then found a seat toward the back to sit and wait. Usually she sat right in the front of the cafeteria, so she'd be one of the first allowed into the adjoining gym to collect the boys. But, that day she wanted to disappear into the sea of faces hoping that Dominique wouldn't notice her when he came in.
Moments later she saw him saunter in the door. She quickly averted her eyes, but out of her peripheral vision she saw him walking straight toward her. For the entire school year she'd watched him every day from afar, as he'd never seemed to even glance at her. And now he apparently had something else to say for the second day in a row.
Dominique took a seat on the bench next to her, leaving a more than appropriate twelve inches at least between them.
"Hey," he said to her, but looking straight ahead, his eyes scanning the crowd. She wondered if that was a cop thing, automatically people watching. He probably didn't realize he did it. Maybe he was trying extra hard not to look at her. But then, why talk to her at all?
"Hey," she said shyly.
She thought of Zander and the argument that had ensued when she repeatedly tried to roust him to prepare for work. She'd obsessively wondered all day how things had gone when he arrived late. "Fine, and you?"
He nodded, his mouth set in a serious ridged straight line. "Fine."
They sat there not speaking, something unsaid hanging between them. She obsessively glanced at the clock and fiddled with Jessie's hair. Seven minutes remained until they'd be allowed into the gym. Despite the noisy din in the cafeteria, she imagined she could hear and audible tick tock of the big clock moving agonizingly slowly.
Finally it was time. The principal opened the doors to the gym and the crowd began to move forward.
"Well," she said, standing up and grabbing Jessie's hand. "Have a nice evening!" Her voice was way too chipper and she gave him a quick smile with wide eyes that probably looked a little crazy. Jesus, take it down a notch, she chided herself.
She began to walk away from him. "Mary Jane." He spoke in a voice so quiet it was strange she even heard it over the noise. Her back went rigid and she slowly turned back toward him. He took a couple steps toward her. "I dreamt of you again last night."
Mary Jane frowned and gave him a pleading look. She scooped Jessie up and hurried away from him.
***
In the crowded parking lot this time she studied him closely as he led his Kindergarten and First Grade sons to his black sedan. They were like little replicas of him. She wondered fleetingly about their mother. She'd heard that he'd lost his post with the Sheriff's Office because he pulled a gun on a fellow sheriff when he found her having sex with him in a cruiser on a back road. The police department had taken Flame on and his marriage had ended. Or so the story went.
An emotion somewhere between confusion and anger ignited in the areas of her mind that she'd kept closed for so long. What was his point? Why now? She knew him well enough to know that he was observant and knowledgeable as a cop. He was the sort of cop that knew way more than the average person would expect about the people in the town he served. He knew she was married, there was no doubt. He probably knew everything about her.
And he knew he'd broken her heart.
He was so different than the man she'd imagined when she loved him once. She wished he'd never said another word to her. And the things he was saying could easily cross a line. She didn't want to cross that line. But deep inside herself, she knew, she likely wouldn't tell him no. Despite everything. Despite the pain he caused her.
Once again, Mary Jane's mind drifted back.
The day that old hag snidely informed her that Dominique had eloped over the weekend; she'd suffered a miserable day at work. Careful eavesdropping on select conversations throughout the day had confirmed that Doris had been telling the truth. Apparently Flame had been seeing someone for a while and over the weekend they'd tied the knot.
That evening, Mary Jane's best friend Melanie had joined her in her small apartment. Melanie knew how she felt about Dominique and lovingly comforted Mary Jane as she wept. She cried pitifully until her face was blotchy and eyes puffy. Then Melanie leapt up in her characteristic bubbly way.
"You know what, baby girl, to hell with that prick!" Melanie exclaimed boisterously. "Let's forget about him!"
Her optimistic musing only caused Mary Jane to erupt into tears once more. "I can't!"
Melanie reached down to swipe at the fresh cascade of tears on Mary Jane's face. "MJ, he strung you along and played you out like a fool. Fuck him."
"Well, he didn't really, Melanie!" Mary Jane argued. "Not really. He never asked me out. We never spent private time together. He didn't lead me on, and he didn't dishonor his girlfriend. He really didn't do anything wrong."
"Pft. Whatever, MJ. Yes he did. He knew how you felt. He kept you on the line while he saw how things played out with his girl. Hate him. He deserves it."
Mary Jane stared glumly into her lap. She wanted to hate Dominique. That would probably be the fastest track to recovery from this blow. But she didn't think she could.
"Let's go out tonight!" Melanie exclaimed. She darted into Mary Jane's bathroom and returned with her makeup bag. Then she went to her closet and spent a couple minutes fashioning a cute dress and boots outfit. "Come here, lemme fix your face and hair sweetie," Melanie demanded kindly.
"Oh I don't think so. I don't feel like going out. I wouldn't be good company tonight. Anyhow, where would we even go?"
"To a karaoke bar!" Melanie explained jovially.
"Uh, I'm only nineteen."
"No worries! I can get us in at this place I go all the time."
Mary Jane sighed and after arguing for several minutes, she relented to Melanie's feel better campaign. She really had zero interest in going to a bar, particularly since she wasn't even legally old enough to go to one. She'd never had a drink in her life. But, that small part of her that was angry with Dominique wanted to do something she knew he'd never approve of.
Break the law.
Another hour found them seated together in a honky tonk barroom and Mary Jane sipped her first ever alcoholic beverage. It was what Melanie had called a "Tequila Sunrise." She was surprised that she didn't hate the taste. It mainly just tasted like orange juice with a slightly salty kick. She found it went down very easily. Maybe a little too easily.
Soon she was singing karaoke and dancing with Melanie who had a decidedly wild side. They eventually decided to forego the Sunrise and just shoot straight Tequila. She didn't forget Dominique Flame, but the heartache was significantly dulled. Maybe she could get used to this.
Zander Barnaby strutted into the bar when she and her friend were several shots deep into their buzz. He'd been a senior when she was a sophomore. She recalled thinking him cute but having zero interest in him since he was a wild child and she was mostly quiet and reserved. Plus, he'd never given her a second glance either. But he sure gave her a glance that night. In fact, he zeroed in on her as soon as he walked in the door.
Though Zander presented a striking image in his crisp blue jeans and black t-shirt complete with tattoos and rippling muscles, she wasn't particularly interested in his attention that night. But, guided by Melanie's upbeat and slightly pushy personality, she agreed to dance with him. They danced one fast song and then another, their bodies moving closer and closer. He started buying her drinks and then she found she was enjoying herself and forgetting.
It wasn't long before the effect of the never before experienced magical elixir of Tequila caught up with her and she found herself dizzy and feeling ill. The tears from earlier in the evening reemerged and she was abruptly ready to end the fun.
"Take me home, Mel," she whined, leaning heavily on her friend.
"You wanna take her home, sparky?" she asked, giving Zander a wink.
"Oh no," he said. "I think you probably should."
Mary Jane's heart warmed slightly that this man who'd previously been dirty dancing with her was now being a gentleman. Either that or he was just disgusted by her inability to handle her liquor. Either way, he was clearly taking the high road.
"Aw, come on, Zander," Melanie ribbed good naturedly. "She could really use your… Company tonight, I think."
Zander shifted from one foot to another, looking uncomfortable. He turned his big blue eyes to Mary Jane. "Would you like me to take you home instead of Melanie?"
Mary Jane groaned. "I really don't care; I just need to go home."
Zander reluctantly relented and Melanie helped him load her into his truck.
Though the trip to her apartment was a short one, the ride in the truck didn't do her spinning head any favors. By the time Zander helped her out of the truck, her condition had deteriorated. She cried, and felt like an idiot for it.
"Hey," he said softly, catching her tears with his thumbs. "It's OK. We've all been there. Do you live downstairs or up?"
She glanced toward the rickety set of wooden steps that led up to her apartment, which p
resently seemed insurmountable. She let out another pitiful wail. "Uuuuuup."
Zander chuckled despite himself, but tried to hide it. "OK, listen; let me help you up there. I swear, I'm not an asshole. I just want to get you inside and help you get settled, alright?"
She nodded. "Yes, thank you," she agreed.
At the foot of the stairs, Zander turned to her awkwardly. "Why don't you just let me carry you, OK? I'll take care of you," he said simply and sweetly.
Mary Jane's heart swelled and her tears slowed. She'd royally blown her first attempt at being a grown up and also bringing a man home. But he was being so sweet. Something about him seemed extremely genuine, though she acknowledged that she perhaps wasn't the best judge of character. She opened her arms and allowed him to sweep her up against him. She inhaled the scent of him and enjoyed his heat in the cold night air.
As soon as he carried her inside and gently set her back on her feet, she felt the bile burning the back of her throat.
Without a word, Mary Jane bolted for the bathroom and proceeded to wretch her guts into the toilet. She sobbed inconsolably as Zander appeared in the bathroom behind her and gently took hold of her hair. She wished he'd go away, but she was so sick she couldn't say a word. He just held her hair and rubbed her back patiently, seeming unaffected by the overall grossness of the situation.
When her illness finally subsided she did feel slightly better and more like herself again. She flushed the commode and stood on shaky legs, keeping her back to him. She edged past him to splash cool water into her face and brush her teeth. When she finally straightened and looked into the mirror, she saw her own drawn pale face and him still there in the background. "Why are you still here?" she asked point blank.
