West

As I stand outside my bedroom door, I end the call with Piper and keep my eyes on my sleeping wife. So, she found condoms in Cannon’s pocket. He was obviously working on someone this morning.

But is it Tilly?

I walk over to the bed and kneel down beside it. As I brush my hand over her forehead, she stirs. Just that small amount of movement sends me a whiff of her lotion. I slide my fingers across her face, and the hairs that frame it are wet. She wouldn’t smell this good after all those hours of sleep. And, unless she’s sweating, which she doesn’t appear to be, her hair wouldn’t be damp.

I lean into her face to kiss her cheek, and I’m within inches of her mouth when I smell her toothpaste.

The minty scent isn’t why I immediately pull back and stand, silently swearing at myself. I pull back because I almost kissed my wife with the mouth that was just on Piper’s cunt.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I should be more careful and certainly less disrespectful. It’s shitty enough that I cheated; I don’t have to rub it in her face, too.

But, by doing so, I now know my wife has showered and brushed her teeth. The part that doesn’t make sense is why she got back in bed. Does she just want more sleep, or is she trying to hide that she went out or had someone over?

The thought of another man inside her should piss me off. And there was a time in our relationship when it would have—the months she was carrying my son and a few ones that followed when we were both recovering.

But now?

The anger isn’t there. Neither is the jealousy.

Tilly needs constant attention. Without hockey taking up so much of my time, I should have plenty to give her. The need just isn’t there, especially since things with Piper started heating up.

Leaving the league and moving to Florida has only added more cracks in our marriage.

That isn’t her fault.

It isn’t mine either.

“Mmm,” she moans as I stand, finally opening her eyes. “What time is it?”

She’s so beautiful when she isn’t all done up. When her hair is messy from her pillow and there isn’t any makeup on her face and her tits fall naturally to the side instead of pushed together and so high on her chest. But, as soon as she gets out of bed, the softness will be gone. She’ll paint over it, and the coats get thicker as the years go on.

“It’s past eleven.”

I’ve spent two hours at Piper’s place.

If it were up to me, I’d be back there right now.

“I’m going to get in the shower,” I say as I walk toward the bathroom.

Because of her love of water, that’s one of her favorite places to fuck. A few weeks ago, I would have invited her in. I would have done to my wife what just went down with Piper.

But I can’t do that now.

I drop my clothes in the hamper and step inside the massive walk-in shower, placing my phone on one of the shelves inside where it won’t get wet. Jets squirt water from the walls, and a rainhead pours it from the ceiling. The pressure from both rubs away the soreness in my thighs and the tightness in my back. My body hurts from all those years of hockey.

Just as I’m covering my chest with soap, Tilly walks in and says, “Do you want me to scramble you some eggs before I go to the gym?”

Through the clear glass walls, I watch her move over to the mirror and put some makeup on her eyes. When her phone lights up, she smiles as she reads the screen.

“Nah, I’m good.”

Her grin grows as she types.

I just want her happy. If that means someone else—even Cannon—is causing that smile, then I’m good with it. She deserves someone who will give her everything she needs. I know I’ll never be that person. We both do. We just make it work because of how much we love to fuck each other. But even that has faded.

“What did you say?” she asks, looking over her shoulder at me. “You do want eggs?”

I run the suds down my stomach and around my balls. “I said, I’m good.”

She turns back around and puts some glossy shit on her lips while I scrub my beard. I hate that I’m washing Piper off me. I smelled her during my whole run home. I wish I could keep on smelling her all day.

“Hey,” she says, standing in the doorway, “did you ever get a chance to talk to Eddy?”

I shake my head. “He didn’t answer.”

“Maybe next week?”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll try again.”

She sticks her hand in the air and waves. “I’ll see you when I get home, baby.”

As she leaves, I turn around and face my back toward the water, pounding my fist against the tiled wall.

I’m not a goddamn liar, and I’m not a cheater.

I’ve just done both, and I hate myself for it.

I don’t regret what happened with Piper. Hell, I want it to happen again and again. I just wish I hadn’t gone behind my wife’s back.

But this morning proves one thing.

It’s over.

Now, it’s just a matter of when.

I wait a few minutes before I grab my phone off the shelf and type a text to Piper.

West: Something might have happened between them this morning.

Piper: Wow. Really? I don’t know how I feel about that.

I turn off the water and slip a towel around my waist.

West: You’re upset?

Piper: I’m a lot of things.

Of course she’s upset that her husband might have been secretly meeting up with my wife. Piper loves Cannon. Just because my relationship with Tilly isn’t typical doesn’t mean Piper’s marriage is anything like mine.

It just isn’t easy to console her. Not when we’re talking about her husband, and I came inside her pussy less than an hour ago.

West: Tell me what you want me to do.

Piper: Can you meet me? Just to talk?

West: Text me where, and I’ll be there.