Three:

The day was new. Every day I tried to look at everyday like it was a new start. That maybe I would wake up and suddenly my husband would be sleeping next to me. Of course that didn't happen. It was 5am when the alarm went off. I rolled over the cold void that was always there. I couldn't dwell on it too much because I was the one who had to get the kids ready for school. He never was there when they woke up. I'm starting to believe Kaya and Tenzin think of their father as just as much a stranger as I do.

"Mommy, can Daddy come to my game this weekend?"

I snapped out of it when I heard my son's voice from the backseat of the car. I couldn't bring myself to lie to him.

"He's really busy baby. I'm sure he'll try the best he can to make it as best he can." I put on a smile. I had just lied to my son to save Aang's selfish ass. I was tired of it. I was tired of covering for him when he couldn't even give me the affection I needed.

Before I knew it we arrived at the kid's school. I helped them out of the car, gave them their lunches, and backpacks like a good mother should.

I kissed them both on the cheeks and said, "Have a good day. I love you both with all my heart.".

I drove off feeling as guilty as I always did when I put in a morally compromising situation for my husband. Hopefully, tonight would fix it all. I gave Aang the best blow job of his life this morning to coax him to come home early. I made reservations at Ba Sing Se, this new high end restaurant downtown. We could have the whole night to ourselves to rekindle our lost romance.

I had never been so excited to get home from work in my entire career. Once I got there I sat at my desk and started working on the new algorithm for the dating program. I was busy typing in codes when I felt a sharp poke in my side. I knew exactly who it was. No else knew the exact spot to poke that caused me the squirm, except maybe Aang.

"Toph," I rolled my blue eyes as hard I possibly could at the person who was now rummaging through my drawers looking for snacks. "Don't you have your own food? We have a break room for a reason."

"Relax Sweetness. Mothers always have the best snacks." She grabbed a chocolate bar from my stash and quickly opened it. In all the years we had been coworkers one thing about Toph was that she never lied. She may have been obnoxious but she was honest. Me having two four year olds did give me access to the best snacks.

"So work wife," She called me her work wife frankly because it pissed Aang off to no avail and she had been there for me for more work related meltdowns then I was far too honest to admit. "You're glowing today? Aang put another kind in you or what?"

I would have spit out my drink if I was drinking one. Aang and I couldn't even be intimate, let alone create a new child, at least not out of passion anyway.

I didn't realize I was in such a good mood today nor did I realize I had any special pep in my step. Maybe I was really excited for tonight. I hadn't been this excited about a date with Aang since the first time he asked me out. Maybe this date night would turn out successful after all.

"No Toph. Can you go back to your desk and do some work? This isn't the place to talk about my personal life." I reprimanded her while the smell of smoke, musk, and sweet cherries filled my nose. The scent was almost arousing as I felt heat on my right shoulder. My body stiffened under the new found warmth.

"Katara, can I talk to you when you finish up with what you're working on?" The baritone in his voice melted against my ear drums. How did he manage to make me so tense when he was near?

"Um, yea sure. I'll drop by your office in a moment Zuko." I managed to muster together. He nodded flashing his amber eyes and sultry grin at me before walking away.

"I KNEW IT!" Toph had a thing for having bad social skills. She yelled so loud that everyone in the office stopped what they were doing and turned to look at us.

"God Toph, could you be anymore louder? Quiet down." I demanded.

Toph's green eyes widened as she whispered, "You have the hots for someone other than your beloved husband. You like the new boss."

She was ridiculous and obviously bored out of her mind to make up a story like that. Sure, he was attractive but no one was more attractive to me than my own husband. No matter how frustrated I was with him I would never desire another man more than him. I made vows for for better or for worse and I took that very seriously.

Toph was just wrong. I had the hots for Aang and I was planning on showing him just how much tonight since my father agreed to take the kids tonight. Aang was going to see a whole new side of his perfect housewife if he was good tonight.

I didn't even take the time to answer her as I finished typing the new code. I headed to Zuko's office and shut the door behind me.

A tall man towered over me. His appearance alone was seductive. The man's rugged features were alluring. His raven black hair was combed back and his face carefully structured. As if God had molded him just to spoil these eyes. The cold gold eyes of the man were full of intensity. His pale skin jut looked so… right to me. The man if anything is fitter looking than I expected. His face tells of a lean body beneath his suit and tie. His expression is serious but not unkind. He once again sets the tone as strictly business when he began speaking though.

That didn't keep me from staring. Finding other men attractive wasn't a total sin as long as I spent time just looking. To be honest I was so busy looking at his lips I didn't pay attention to what he was saying until I heard the word presentation.

"I want you and I to present the new program to the board of directors today. Just an overview of the new improvements. That is if you can handle it?" Zuko smirked at me and it was then I came to realize he enjoyed testing how much responsibility I could take. He was probably testing me for a much bigger task that I wouldn't know of until later on. Whatever it was, I was up for the challenge.

"Definitely." I said back confidently.

"Great. They'll be here at one 'o clock. You knock this out of the park I know I'll at least have someone dependable on my team."

Ha. He didn't know me. Dependable was my middle name.

Once in the meeting the board went on and on for about fifteen minutes about their concerns. I was mostly tuning them out and doodling on my legal pad. I was a fan of drawing stars, circles, and squares neatly at the edges of the paper.

I felt a hand on my knee and jumped. It was Zuko's hand weighing heavy on my knee from under the table. What was he doing? Didn't I make it clear I was married?

I tried to smack his hand away but that didn't stop him from pinching my leg. I shot him a disapproving glare. He mouthed the words "Stay awake" to me when we finally made eye contact. I obviously flattered myself by thinking he was even being remotely sexual with me. He pinched my knee again and then took his hand away. I missed the warmth to be honest but at least now I was actually listening to what was being said.

The meeting went on for another 45 minutes, which involved me answering a billion questions to satisfy the board. It was nothing major. The room cleared shortly after the meeting was done. I gathered my papers and got ready to leave myself.

Before he left he turned to me smirking and said, "I'm sorry about startling you. I wasn't trying to feel you up. I know the meetings can be boring. I wanted to keep you alert. You did a great job today Katara."

That was it. That one moment of confirmation that I was important had made my entire day. It felt good to be validated for once. It felt good to be touched for once without any conditions attached. I would think about how his hand felt on my skin all day.

Between 8 and 10 I had called Aang at least 5 times and I finally got an answer. After I spent time squeezing into a little black, sleeveless body con dress and curling my hair for an hour.

"I'm sorry baby. I know you wanted to go on a date tonight but I have to work overnight. I'll be back in time to get the kids, I promise." The silence on the other end of line was all I needed to know I should've known better.

Not only was I devastated and disappointed, I had spent two hours doing my make up to look desirable for him. He obviously didn't want me. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach while listening to the dial tone.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My brown curls fell to my shoulders in loose spirals and framed my face. Long legs, skin tight dress, and killer curves. I was far too hot to stay inside and eat ice cream while watching Dr. Who for one more night. I wanted to breathe for once, to live. I just needed to feel like my old self for just one to see if I still had it. I wanted Aang to know he was taking me for granted and that, although I wasn't going anywhere, I was desirable to other men. Serves him right for standing me up. He would wish he had me on his arm tonight.

I got into my car and drove to the nearest and tamest bar I could find. I was still a married woman so a quiet bar full of middle aged, unattractive men seemed like a safer choice than a bar full of handsome 20 year olds. Even still those middle aged men would know I was the hottest thing in the room.

I walked over to the bar, followed by stares, and ordered a rum and Coke. I ended up ordering three just to make myself feel better in the end. I sat there quietly sipping my drink for at least a few minutes when a man came up to me. He was old enough to be my brother's age.

"Hey Beautiful," His breath smelled like weed and Hot Cheetos. "I saw you sitting here all alone and I thought you'd want company."

When he put his hand on my upper thigh I flipped, "I'm married and don't you touch me you pig!"

"Married? You don't look married." He snapped back moving his hand. I wanted to literally ram my wedding ring in his eye socket.

"The lady told you to leave her alone so get lost!" I knew the voice of my then savior who made the creep go away.

What were the chances of my boss being at the same cheap bar I went to in an attempt to make myself feel better?

The guy ran off somewhere but all I could focus on was Zuko. Even after the three drinks I had I knew it was him.

"You shouldn't go to bars dressed like that. Men don't care about that ring on your finger. You wearing that outfit makes you fair game to most. Just a heads up." His tone was serious but soft. I was right to think he had tons of muscle because it was bursting through the arms of his long sleeve sweater. Even drunk me agreed that his body was to be marveled at.

"I-I, thanks." Well this was awkward. Not only was I dressed like a slut I was slightly intoxicated. Great way to win employee of the year Katara.

"You know if you've been drinking I can't let you drive yourself home Katara. You probably won't even remember this so I won't either come work tomorrow. Let's get back home to your husband. I'm sure he's worried about you."

I wasn't completely wasted. For one I was embarrassed and for a second point I was at least aware of the fact that I wasn't okay to drive. My hand was far too shaky and my vision was a little spotty. He put his arms around me and helped me up. Maybe I was drunker than I anticipated. Blood rushed to my head as soon as I got up.

I thought I was going to fall over before he leaned himself against me for support. "Can you walk a remotely straight line?" He muttered into my ear. The answer was a stern no as my feet wobbled around like Jell-O.

I immediately felt gravity leave my body as my feet were lift off the ground. He carried me bridals style in his arms. He swung me up in his strong arms as if I was nothing more than a ragdoll and pocketed the bottle before picking up the abandoned glass and carrying me to my room. My head rolled back between my shoulder blades as he staggered up the stairs with my weight. I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck as he moved. His neck was warm and smelled like cinnamon, something that reminded of a hot and spicy night.

He obviously was well aware of me sniffing him because he wasted no time putting me down once we made it outside. His car was a black Lexus and parked right in front of the bar, indicating that he wasn't planning on staying at the bar for too long tonight. Was he planning on getting a woman to pick up quickly or was he just stopping in for a short drink? Either way neither of those reasons as to why he parked so close were any of my business.

He gently helped me into the car, his soft fingertips tickling my bare shoulder. My skin tingled from the lingering memory of his warm touch. He gripped my waist and buckled me into the seat then got into the driver's side of the car.

I could feel my face getting hot just sitting close to him. It could have been the liquor but it was probably him. Something about him made my blood burn in my veins. Was I really alone in his car alone with another man while I was slightly tipsy? The guilt in me starting to build fast. It was stupid of me to go the bar tonight anyway. Suddenly I was hyperaware of my body as he pulled off. My breasts were spilling out and the dress left nothing to the imagination. God, how could I be so stupid for wearing this. TO make matters worse I had squeezed myself into lingerie under this dress just for him and no one was ever going to see it.

"Where do you live?"

I told him the address. I was pretty sure it came out slower than usual.

He let out a soft chuckle, "I promise I won't show up at your house Katara. I'm still your boss but my honor as a man won't allow a woman let you go home alone tonight. If I was husband I'd hope the next man would do the same."

I was sure if he was my husband he wouldn't have stood me up tonight either. I was still bitter. Even the drinks didn't erase my disappointment completely.

"You seem like something's on your mind? I hate driving in silence. We can talk if you want. It'll help pass the time. This isn't going to affect our work relationship."

"I, I'm just really tired."

"I hope the meeting wasn't too much for you. I know I'm giving you a large task."

"It's not with work. It's not you. It's not you at all."

"I'm not going to dig if it's personal. I hope it all works out and you get a break."

Funny, I forgot he wasn't married. In marriage there are no breaks, at least not how I saw it. Although I had never thought of taking a break in our marriage, somehow it coming out of Zuko's mouth made it sound like a plausible option.

The silence set in again. Before I knew it I was half way home.

"Is your husband home?" he asked making a right turn.

"No. He's off working tonight."

He joked in response, "You got all dressed up like that for your husband to not even notice? He must REALLY love his work."

That hurt more than it should have coming from his mouth. When it was said out loud the truth was all the more damning to me. The fact of the matter was that work was Aang's everything. The kids and I had no room in the equation.

I was more than tired of making excuses and waiting for him to change. I wanted to get back at him so bad I could scream. After all the years of sacrificing why did I have to always be the one giving up something? My head was starting to pound and I was still coming down from the liquor high.

The car came to a halt. If I was going to do it now there was no turning back.

I mustered all the courage I could and mustered, "Zuko, will you come in with me?"

Author's Note: Lame chapter I know. Sorry you guys. The next one will be better, I promise.