Matt gave her a look. “What?”
“They’re gonna need a new carpet.” She nodded to the floor.
Chuckling when he saw the stain they’d made, Matt shook his head and sat on the bed.
“Oh,” said Terri.
“Something wrong?” Matt inquired.
She rubbed her inner thigh and swiped at the dribbling streak of cum.
“Oh,” Matt said, grinning.
Terri made for the bathroom in a trot.
Matt set his hands behind his head, took a deep breath, and fell back on the bed. He stared at the yellowed ceiling and noticed a spot of discoloration and focused on the stain.
As Terri cleaned up, Matt again thought about his wife. She was two years younger than he and still just as beautiful as she had been when they’d met. The way her flowing red hair fell down the side of her face when she laughed, the scent of her body after they’d made love, it all brought a smile to his face. Ashley was such a beautiful person. Beautiful in a way that he knew he’d never forget. Yet, with such beauty, there came a price. Not dissimilar to the obstacles of maintaining luxuries such as plumbing and electricity. Like the flickering street lamp outside or the stain at which he was currently staring.
He sighed. The echo of the toilet flushing issued from the bathroom. Matt’s eye twitched. An understanding washed over him: the stain of his life, unlike the blemishes in this room, couldn’t be cleaned or covered, couldn’t be forgotten. Couldn’t be forgiven.
Even as he sat up and eyed the new mark on the floor, he knew he was breaking it off with Ashley when he got back home. Knew that Terri was the one he was supposed to be with.
Terri padded out of the bathroom, crawled onto the bed, and wrapped herself around Matt. Her breathing had slowed, but her body was tense.
“Everything okay, my love?”
Terri looked up with that beautiful smile of hers. “It is when I’m with you. And I don’t just mean the sex.” She adjusted her position so that her head rested on her hand. “I love when we meet for lunch, or when you send Edible Arrangements to my office.”
“Or when I talk dirty to you online.” Matt laughed and rested a hand on her thigh.
“Oh my god,” said Terri. “You almost got me in trouble yesterday. Mr. Collins stopped by to pick up his files and caught me red-faced and laughing.”
“Yeah? Did you tell him how wet you were?”
Terri smacked his arm. “No, but he did inquire as to what was so funny.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“That my brother sent me an email with his kids dressed as some movie characters.”
“That’s, uh, not the best excuse, love.”
She giggled and nodded. “He knew I was lying.”
“Lucky you.”
“Mmmhmm.” Terri kissed his cheek. “I love you, Matt. With all my heart.”
“I love you more. Always have.” He kissed her forehead.
Her smile faded as she lowered her head.
“Something wrong, beautiful?”
“I-I’m leaving Kevin when I get home.”
Matt nodded.
“It’s not right for me to be out here while we’re still married. He deserves better than that.”
“So does Ashley,” said Matt. “It’s gonna break her heart, but when I get back, I’m telling her that I’ve found someone else.”
“You think she’ll be all right? I’ve seen how she takes to you online. Seems like you can’t get out a single post without her commenting or liking it.”
“You should see her back at the house. Always trying to do something, always trying to snuggle.”
Terri moved in closer, so that their faces were mere inches apart.
“And what’s so wrong with that?” she said.
Matt shook his head. “I don’t know… It all just seems like a show, like she’s trying to make up for when she cheated on me.”
“Well,” Terri said, rubbing his hair, “you do have that charming personality of yours.”
“Irresistible, I know. But if she loved me so much, then she wouldn’t have cheated on me.”
“Matt, we all make mistakes. I don’t for a second doubt that wife of yours loves you.”
“I know,” said Matt, “but that doesn’t mean that what I feel for you isn’t real. With her, it isn’t. Regardless if she loves me or not.” He sighed. “I know it’s gonna kill her, but I can’t keep up this charade. I love you, Terri. I wanna spend the rest of my life you, not her.”
Terri wrapped her hand in his. “And I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Forever?” Matt asked, kissing her hand, watching her eyes rim with moisture.
“Forever, my love.”
They kissed for what seemed an eternity before a knock sounded from the door. Both stared at the entry a moment.
“Who the hell…?” Matt looked back to Terri and hitched a brow. “You sure your man didn’t follow you here?”
Terri shook her head. “He’s been out fishing at the lake since Friday. Your wife, maybe?”
Matt lowered his head, remembering that brief moment he’d activated his Facebook app. He’d given no indication, neither comment nor like, which could have shown where he was or that he was online. He’d told Ashley where his trip was taking him, which was two towns over.
“I doubt it,” he said. “There’s no way she could know where I am.”
“Unless she’s psychic,” Terri joked.
Matt laughed and winked. “She’s a redhead, remember?”
He sat up, motioned for her to get under the bed covers, and put on his pants. Another knock issued. A glance out the window revealed a delivery car. Chinese, if Matt read the sign right.
Probably got the wrong room number, he thought while grabbing the door handle.
Matt opened it and was greeted by a short, stout man in a red jacket. He wore a set of thick glasses which were fogging up. The guy wiped some moisture from his forehead.
“I’ve got a delivery for the couple in room one-thirty-six.” He held up a brown paper bag and a small plastic bag which appeared to hold two cans of soda.
Matt knitted his brows. “Uh, man, we didn’t order anything.”
The man held out the bags and nodded to his right. “The guy from one-thirty-nine said to bring this over.”
“What?”
“Said this was thanks for a good show earlier. Also, he said he hopes you guys like Sweet and Sour Chicken and General Tso’s. Got you some Cokes, too.” He held out the bags farther. “No charge.”
Matt stuck his head through the threshold. A cold gust bit at his cheeks as he looked over to the neighboring rooms. The light at 139 was still out.
“Um, sir, I have three more deliveries to get to.”
The delivery guy was staring at him expectantly. Matt fished out his wallet for a tip.
“No need,” said the man. “That guy slipped me an extra twenty. Weird. He was really nice. Don’t get that much out in these parts of town.”
Matt nodded, accepted the bags, and told the man to have a nice night. He waved with his back turned to the hotel and slipped into his car. Matt stood there awhile, waiting to see if 139 would ever show his face.
He didn’t.
Matt, a minute later, let the door shut behind him. Terri sat up, her graceful tits falling into view, and drew a line with her eyes.
“What the hell is that?” she said.
“Chinese,” replied Matt with a shrug.
“Chinese?” Tori stood and reached for her clothes.
Matt set the bags on the dresser and finished dressing.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Did you order some while I was in the bathroom or something?”
Matt shook his head. “I think it’s from that guy who saw me fucking your brains out.” He winked. “Least that’s what the delivery guy had said.”
“You’re joking, right?”
Matt opened the bag; his nose was rushed with th
e scents of the food.
“Nope,” he said. He pulled out the container which held the sweet and sour and handed it to Terri.
She broke out in laughter. “This is the stuff you see in movies.”
“Well,” Matt said, taking out the General Tso’s, “you are the star of my life.”
And as Terri smiled, joking about how corny he was, Mathew Reynolds knew that this was the beginning of something great, something for which he would be eternally grateful. He kissed Terri on the forehead, told her he loved her, and dug into the meal a complete stranger had bought for them.
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Mathew Reynolds looked down to his leather
A Chance of Fate Page 2
