Karen stepped out of the bathtub and began rubbing sweet-smelling lotion all over her body. She felt so alive, at peace with the world. Stan wasn't home yet, but she didn't care. He wasn't her top priority anymore. She began to wonder why she ever let him control her the way that he did. It wasn't fair, and it was time to become the old Karen. She belonged to nobody.
She stepped into a black, lacey thong and clasped a matching bra. Her stockings matched her lingerie too perfection, the lace contrasting with her pale, smooth skin. She had experienced a sexual awakening with Will. It was as if he was all she needed to find herself again.
She slipped into a deep red, knee-length dress before walking over to her mirror and drying her hair, flipping out the ends with her curling iron. She applied her makeup, smearing a rouge tinted gloss over her lips. She smiled at her reflection, but suddenly felt guilt in her stomach. She looked down at her left hand, her wedding ring sparkling in the light. Could she really be doing this? She didn't like the idea of being heartless, and hurting Stan was definitely walking that line.
She shook her head, telling herself that she deserved it. After years of being treated poorly by her husband, she deserved to be pleased. She opened the cabinet behind the mirror, taking out a bottle of pills for pain. Stan's name was on the label, but she didn't care. He wouldn't notice and she needed a little high to clear her mind. She popped three into her mouth before swallowing them without water.
"Mom?" Olivia knocked on the door of Karen's bathroom. She smiled and opened the door, greeting the little redheaded girl. "Mason hit me."
"Well, honey, you're bigger than him. Hit him back."
"No, he'll run to Daddy and then I'll get yelled at." She sighed and walked into the bathroom, sitting on the steps of the bathtub. Karen walked back over to the mirror and found her perfume in the cabinet. "You look pretty. Where are you going?"
"I'm going to a friend's house tonight."
"Will's?" Karen turned around to look at the little girl, her tube of lip gloss in hand.
"Why would you think that?" She shrugged, meeting her stepmother's eyes.
"I heard Daddy telling Grandma that you and Will spend so much time together that, if he wasn't gay, you'd be lovers. What are lovers?" Karen felt the hair on the back of her neck nervously rise. It was amazing to hear the things that children absorb. She leaned down and met the girl's eyes, putting some gloss on her small lips.
"Lovers are two people who make love."
"Is making love like having sex." Karen's eyes widened and she was left speechless. "You don't have to freak out. It's not a big deal." She stood and began to walk away, but Karen grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit back down.
"You're eleven years old, what the hell do you know about sex?"
"I'm almost twelve, and I only know what they told us in that stupid class at school." Karen looked into her stepdaughter's eyes. It was only moments before that she was complaining that her little brother had hit her and suddenly she was talking about sex. It was as if she had grown up in the few minutes she had accompanied Karen in the bathroom. She looked at her little face, the rouge lip gloss shining. She wiped it off with her thumb; she was suddenly too young for that kind of thing.
"We can talk about this later, if you want. And, honey, tell your father that I do not have a lover."
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He collapsed on top of her sweaty, naked body, gasping to catch his breath. Her arms and legs were tightly gripping his smooth frame. They had made love once when she arrived to his apartment and somehow they had found the urge to do it again before she left. Each time was much better than it had been their first time, on her kitchen counter. It lasted longer when they were in the comfort of his bed, and it was much more mind-blowing.
He pulled out of her body and rolled off of her. She felt her skin prickle as his warmth left her. She took a deep breath and he took her hand in his, feeling her grip tighten instantly. He looked down at their intertwined hands, noticing that she had taken off her wedding ring. She turned to look at him, following his gaze, but leaving the thought unspoken.
"I have to go, honey." She sat up on the side of the bed and found her panties, sliding them up her legs. She stood from the bed and clasped her bra behind her back, his eyes following her every move. He never thought that a woman would turn him on the way that she did, but she was definitely extraordinary. She stepped into her dress and made sure everything was situated before she leaned down and kissed him on the lips, his tongue quickly finding hers. She pulled away and smiled.
"I'll call tomorrow."
"I'll answer." She picked up her purse from the bedside table and walked out his bedroom door, a small smile on her lips.