Hearing him way those
two words to her made it seem even more real. And the way he'd
looked at her had terrified her too, made her scared that she'd
never have a man look at her like that again. Mike didn't look at
her like that; ever, with something behind his eyes
that just
projected 'stay with me, I wanna be with you'.
'Wait a minute' she said, kissing his cheek and pushing him off her to slide out from underneath him and get off the bed, pulling her cell from her handbag and walking out of the bedroom.
'Hey cupcake how's it going?' said Alice as she answered her cell, scratching the head of her large Red Setter dog Max who'd been dozing next to her before the shrill ringtone had cut through his slumber.
'Alice, I kinda need a favour' said Chloe, walking down the hallway and resting her bare back against the window opposite the stairs when she got there.
'Okay, go ahead' she replied, with a little apprehension at what she was about to be told in her voice.
'Can I tell Mike I'm staying at yours tonight?' she asked, biting her lip nervously as the magnitude of what she was doing started to dawn on her.
'So you're with him again then? Well, he must be something' said Alice, before continuing. 'Leave Mike to me doll, I'll call him and say you ran me home from work and crashed out on the sofa. Tell him I've thrown a blanket over you and left you be. It'll sound more convincing if it comes from someone who doesn't give a shit about the person she's lying to'.
'Thanks honey, I love you' she said, running a hand through her hair and sighing.
'I love you too, call me in the morning babe, or even better come over. Then at least you have actually been here huh?' she said, looking over at Max and seeing him examining one of her bright pink socks with interest.
'Okay, promise' she said, flipping her phone shut and walking back to the bedroom, straight into Shannon's embrace under the covers of the big bed. She knew how wrong it was, but she just couldn't ignore something that prevailed above anything else; how right it felt. How right he felt. Just lying there next to him feeling him pressed against her, feeling his breath blowing down through his nose softly onto her forehead as she lay with her head on his shoulder, feeling his lips start to kiss her just above her eyebrow while his hands stroked her hip and her back.
'So do I have you for the night?' he asked, fingers running right up her spine back to her neck.
'You do. So, what do you plan on doing with me while I'm here?' she asked, watching him grin widely and begin to laugh naughtily before kissing her.
'Suits me just fine' she said, pulling away for a second and looking at him, stroking his hair and then letting herself be kissed again. Whatever kind of irregular state she'd slipped into, with Mike and her marriage far from her thoughts, she really didn't want to come back out of it.
'Has anyone ever told you how fucking beautiful you are? Really, you're incredible' he said, thumb circling the apple of her cheek.
'I'm pushing forty' she said with a little smile and burst of laughter.
'Thirty three ain't forty! And who the fuck cares anyway? Do you care that I'm twenty eight?' he asked. She just shook her head and ran her fingernails across his shoulders and then up to his neck, something he seemed to like very much.
'So there you go, now be quiet' he said, jabbing his finger lightly into the side of her nose.
'You gunna make me boy?' she said, a smug smile on her face as she laughed through her nose at the moody face he pulled at her.
'I'll stick my fist in your mouth if you don't watch it' he threatened jokingly as he tapped it against her lips. She just giggled softly and continued to stroke his neck, knowing already that was the quickest way to reduce him to putty in her hands.
'I'd rather you stuck it somewhere else' she said, breaking the kiss again to look at him with a small smile playing her lips, winking and then touching her tongue to her top lip ever so briefly, something that made his dick stir just to watch.
'I bet you would too you dirty girl' he said, raising an eyebrow at her and laughing, resting his weight on one arm while he began to kiss her again, running his hands down between her tits and over her stomach before resting on her hip.
'I'd prefer other parts of you more though' she said, gently biting his lower lip.
'My tongue for one thing huh?' he said, lips kissing from hers down under her chin and lightly across her throat.
'Oh yeah, definitely your tongue. Your dick ain't exactly bad either' she said, making him smile. Compliments from a woman you thought would never even give you a second look where nice to hear.
'I'd be here all fucking night if I listed all the things I like about you' he confessed; mouth now brushing over her collarbones. She just laughed and felt that happy rush of endorphins she always associated with anything shiny and new like this. And from there onwards no more words were spoken, mouths too busy once again reconnecting the chain of arousal that had lead them there in the first place, rolling around in a mess of tangled limbs and bed sheets.
The following morning Alice had called her to say not to bother coming over since she had to race Max to the vets in another 'he's eaten something he shouldn't have' emergency, which left her day free apart from two bookings she had to cover at work.
'I think you're starting to take advantage of your discount young lady' said Shannon, reaching down to give Claire a hug and kiss on the cheek while Chloe added a second pin up to the outer side of her leg.
'Well if you will employ artists as good as her' she replied, pointing at Chloe who looked up and smiled a tired looking smile. Shannon gave her a grin and a very quick wink before leaving them to it to go and talk to Kerry. He knew why she was so exhausted of course; he was the reason for it after all.
'So what time do you fly out reject?' Claire called across the shop. He was flying out to Arizona for a match that would be held the following night, with Matt there too but sadly no Jeff since he had been having knee troubles and been told to rest from fighting for three weeks.
'About two hours. I just gotta go home and get my stuff then I'm heading off' he replied. Hearing that made Chloe's heart thud a little sadly in her chest, knowing it would be Wednesday before she'd see him again. She could hardly believe the kind of effect he was having on her already, but at the same time it made her excited.
She hadn't been shown that kind of attention from a man for years, and now it seemed that Shannon was willing for it to happen on a regular basis (she couldn't think any differently after he was so keen to have her stay the night) she wouldn't have to miss it any longer. But still, below everything happy her head incarnated about the illicit union she shared with her boss she knew it was wrong.
So once again, rather than letting herself be bogged down by the guilt she felt raging inside her head she sat and listened to someone else's words, hearing all about how Claire had obtained a very interesting looking scar on her knee she'd noticed while inking her leg.
'I got that being catapulted off a young horse I was breaking in. He managed to buck me off straight into a barb wired fence and it tore a nice chunk out of the side of my knee' she replied, remembering the event only too well since it had taken her and Jeff the best part of an hour to catch the little monster again after he'd sent her to the floor.
'You train horses?' said Chloe, stopping her work and looking up with a smile. She'd always loved horses from an early age, but seemed never to have enough time to look after one of her own.
'Yeah that's what I do for a living. I buy youngsters in as 2 years old, break them in and train them up and then sell them on again. And I also train badly behaved ones too, that's where the real money comes in. People will pay a fortune for you to risk your neck rather than theirs in making their animals behave properly' she laughed.
'Wow, you lucky thing! What a cool job!' she exclaimed, going back to adding the finishing touches of that particular session which was just the outline. Claire didn't want to take the pain of another two hour sitting so had decided to book it in two stages; no matter how much Shannon teased her for it and called her a wuss.
'Yeah and like your job isn't lady!' Claire commented with a snort of laughter.
'Okay, we're even!' she replied. 'And if you wouldn't mind I'd really love to come and see you do your work some time. I find it fascinating watching how you really advanced horse people just make it all look so easy' she then added, moving her needle down to finish the very last of the black outline.
'Well, you have this afternoon off don't you? Why not come back with me now? Just follow me, we're only just off Highway 59 so it isn't too far out' said Claire. Chloe accepted the invite, glad she had something to do after all rather than go home to an empty house and potter around. Saturday was always the day Mike went to play golf with his father so she was going to have some company, and get to see some very fine specimens of her favourite animals too. But before she went off with Claire, there was another animal she had to set her sights on before they left.
She went to go and collect her stuff from the back of the shop, and as predicted heard the door close five seconds after she'd walked in, and two very strong arms wrap around her waist.
'Give me something to keep me going until Wednesday then' he said, turning her in his arms and giving her a huge cute smile.
'Come here then' she purred, linking her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her level to kiss him softly at first, then opening her mouth to allow his tongue to push against hers, a happy grumble echoing his throat while his hands slid down to cup her buttocks.
'I wish I could take you too' he said once their kiss had broken.
'Anyway, Mrs Hardy hates to be kept waiting, so off you go. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see ya next week' he added, kissing her cheek a few times and letting her go, albeit reluctantly.
'And you, good luck with the match' she said, pulling her jacket on and kissing his cheek before she walked around him and back out to the front of the shop to meet Claire, who was waiting outside in her car all ready to get moving.
'What did the doctor tell you? No heavy exercise!' shouted Claire half an hour later as she and Chloe walked onto the small stable yard at the back of her home and witnessed Jeff sat atop her big Chestnut coloured horse Obie.
'He looked bored and so was I, don't worry I only took him for a walk around the fields babe, nothing excessive' he said, sliding down off Obie's back and handing the reins to his wife, who was giving him what he referred to as 'the eyebrow'.
'You'd have been fucked if he'd have tried to throw you off' she said, her one eyebrow still cocked high.
'Yeah but he's a good boy, his mommy trained him too well' he said, giving Obie a pat on the neck.
'I guess you have a point' she said, pretending to shine an imaginary medal on her shirt as her husband just laughed and gave her a hug and kiss.
'I'll leave you ladies to it, and Chloe if she tries to make you de-shit any stables just send her to me and I'll slap her for you' he joked, watching the girls being to walk away over to Obie's stable.
'I can manage that myself dude' she said, reaching behind and giving Claire a little slap on the butt. They had struck up the kind of new friendship that allowed her to be able to joke like that with Jeff's wife, and in turn Claire felt they were comfortable enough around each other to be able to notice and speak of a few things regarding Chloe too. Guessing by the state of his coat Jeff hadn't bothered grooming him before he took him out Claire stood in Obie's stable giving him the mother of all grooms (she liked her horses to look neat and tidy at all times), while Chloe sat on an upturned bucket in the corner looking at her phone.
'Who's that text from that's making you smile so much then gal?' asked Claire, bending to take her vigorous brushing down to Obie's muscular legs.
'Shannon' she replied somewhat dreamily, and then tried to cover it up with a stuttered sentence of 'oh he just sent me a joke is all'.
'Honey, I know. Don't be mad at him but he told us what happened between you' said Claire, holding up her hand to make her nervous looking new friend stop gabbling.
'And being a married woman yourself I bet you think I'm the lowest of the low huh? I know it's wrong though Claire' said Chloe, sighing.
'Okay hold it right there! I don't ever judge people like that, not before I know of the whys and the wherefores of that situation. And something tells me, call it intuition or whatever, that you wouldn't have had sex with Shannon if your marriage was a happy one' she said, firmly at first and then very gently towards the end, looking at her with sympathy filled sky blue eyes. 'So if you wanna talk to me about it while I get handsome here all smart again, feel free. I'm all ears' she said, turning back to Obie and starting to brush his round tummy and back.
'Are you sure?' she asked.
'Positive. Hell Shannon uses me as an agony aunt, why shouldn't you too?' she chuckled, smiling widely.
'Well, okay then but I'll give you a condensed version. Mike and I were high school sweethearts but we broke up when he moved out of state for college, and then four years ago we met up again unexpectedly, ended up getting back together and a year later we got married. I think that's when the trouble started. Our sex life went downhill, and so far it's yet to come back up that hill again, and the way he spoke to me and acted around me changed. He never shows any kind of pride towards me, or encouragement. He's fiercely jealous of my friends, Kerry especially as you well know and on some days I do honestly wonder why I married him, but then on occasions he'll say or do something so sweet that I wonder what I'd do without him' began Chloe, picking up a piece of straw from Odin's freshly made bed and spinning it in around in her fingers.
'He only says and does sweet things for you on occasions?' asked Claire, clicking her tongue and gently moving Obie over to start brushing the other side of his huge frame.
'Yeah, but that's the way it is when you're married isn't it?' she replied, watching Claire's head pop up over Obie's back and shake from side to side.
'Jeff says sweet things to me every day. And he does lots of things that make me go 'awwwww' on a regular basis too. We put a lot of effort into our marriage, effort that seems to be only one sided in yours from what you've told me so far' she replied, her head disappearing behind her horse once more.
'So what does he say and do then?' Asked Chloe, interested.
'Well, every morning as soon as we're awake he tells me he loves me and then asks what I've dreamt about. And then if he hasn't got anything else on he comes and helps me get the horses in from the field and get them fed, and then usually brings me breakfast down to the yard so I can eat while I work. He's great like that, I'm not a massive eater and it does worry him so he always makes sure I'm fed regularly. And then there are the times he surprises me in such silly but such romantic ways. Like one afternoon last week I came back from getting the groceries and there was a one rose and a trail of petals across the floor with a note saying 'follow the trail if you wanna find the rest'. The trail ended at the bedroom door and when I opened it up he was lying there naked with the rest of the roses covering his crotch and one between his teeth with a massive grin on his face!' said Claire, her face all lit up as she laughed.
'Oh my god I bet you died laughing!' exclaimed Chloe.
'I did, and then I carefully removed the roses and jumped on him' said Claire, her head popping back up again to pull a silly grin.
'You see, you two are just so fucking perfect. You still love each other as much as you did the day you got married, you respect each other, you have a sex life! All the things I feel I'm lacking with Mike' she signed, letting the piece of straw fall from between her fingers back into the bed at her feet.
'Chloe, we really ain't perfect! Ohhhhh hell noooooooo! When we row at each other it's fucking ugly for one thing, it doesn't happen on a regular basis anymore but it did when we were first married, I nearly walked out on him after only eleven months! But we worked through it because at the end of the day, we really love each other and don't want to spend the rest of our lives with anyone else. If you want a marriage to work it has to be equal amounts of input from the both of you if you ask me' said Claire, gently brushing Obie's face and ears.
'See there's the thing. It's always me! Me who instigates sex, and half the time gets turned down. No that isn't fair, more than half the time, that's more like it. And he always likes to make me feel crap about myself rather than compliment me, and like I said just a few minutes ago the way he's so threatened by my friends just drives me nuts!' said Chloe, looking as frustrated as her words sounded.
'Shit sweetie, you're really unhappy aren't you?' she replied, setting the brush down atop the stable door and crouching in front of Chloe, giving her a hug when she started to quietly cry.
'I'm sorry, it's just............................oh everything's just a mess! And I don't feel like I've known you long enough to be doing this, crying in your arms' she sobbed, feeling her hair being stroked.
'Hey, if you're gunna cry I'm gunna hug you! No two ways about it, so what if you've only known me for a month? I don't care, you're my friend' she said with a big smile, touching her fist to Chloe's chin gently and making her laugh.
'Thank you, you're a really sweet person' said Chloe, reaching out and kissing her cheek.
'I like to think so, anyway I have two horses to exercise this morning, howdya fancy giving me a hand? You can ride right?' Claire asked, extending her hands to pull her up off the bucket.
'Yes I can, but are they crazy ones? I haven't been in the saddle in years so I don't think I could cope with anything that isn't well behaved!' she asked a little nervously.
'One is, but I'll ride him. The other one is like a lamb, I'll cry when her new owners come and pick her up too, she's a special girl' said Claire, already dreading the day two weeks from then when Gracie would be taken to her new home.
'Okay let's go' said Chloe, linking her arm through Claire's as they left Obie in peace to eat his hay and continue their conversation as they rode around the fast expanse of land surrounding the Hardy property.
