Never Too Late to Play: Layovers 2

Chapter 2

Stephen stared at the GPS dot as it moved from the airport to a strip of shops just north of it . She was doing it. Julianna had actually left the airport. This wasn’t a ruse. She wasn’t just humoring him. She was too practical to risk missing her next flight just to tease her husband.

“Just coffee,” he said to himself. Zooming in on the dot, he read the name of the place she was at: The Roast House. He clicked it, pulling up photos of the small, independent coffee shop. Cute place. He wondered how crowded it was. He wondered if they’d stay.

It had taken her about twenty minutes to get there once she’d ended the call. The ride wasn’t long, but she’d have to wait for an Uber again. Then there was the security line. Not much time before she needed to go—maybe a half hour on the generous side. Not much time to get into trouble.

Still, Stephen’s heart was racing and his chest was heaving like he was in the final throes of a long, months-long panic attack. She was actually there. She was actually meeting up with a guy that she’d already kissed.

***

Stephen had lived with this fantasy for years. He’d struggled with the fear that one day she’d wake up and realize she could do much better than him. He thought about her getting hit on by other attractive men, men who filled and fulfilled her better than he ever could. Now, as they celebrated thirty years together, he knew that she wasn’t going to leave him. Yet those thoughts of her in the arms of another remained. What had started out as a defense mechanism had morphed into a real desire for her to experience other men.

Having lived with this thought for so long, being so close to it, and being immersed in all these eligible men who all had the hots for Julianna was too much, and just too tempting to sit on the sidelines for.

Prior to her 55th, Stephen had reached out to Anthony. He’d kept the man’s business card and toyed with the idea. He half-hoped that Anthony would coincidentally stumble about Julianna’s Debauch profile. At last, though, he’d texted the man and told him about his birthday surprise for her.

There had been questions. Anthony didn’t know that Stephen knew about him, for one. Until that text, the man had assumed that his kiss was done behind Stephen’s back.

[Anthony]: So you’re a cuck?

The question and the term bloomed inside him like sudden fire. Was that what he was?

[Stephen]: I’m a stag.

Stephen had done his research. He didn’t want to be humiliated. He didn’t see himself as subservient. When he thought of whatever wild and improbable future that he and Julianna could share, he didn’t imagine cock cages and pegging as part of it.

[Anthony]: I don’t know what that is. You’re okay that I made out with your sweet bride?

It was a text message that Stephen had read and re-read countless times since. He’d even taken a screenshot of it, just to memorialize it.

[Stephen]: Yes, I’m more than okay with it.

[Anthony]: She was, too, believe me.

Oof. That tightening of the gut would never get old.

Anthony had agreed to reach out and be a part of the birthday surprise. Julianna picked up on the coincidence right away, and he’d confessed that he’d reached out to him. She wasn’t mad, which was a relief. That kind of made sense, too, since she also knew that he’d spoken to all of the guys who came her way. 

Still, as the weeks passed and she started to focus on a few of them, she did question him about those potential back channels. “Anthony just suggested we grab coffee during my layover in Phoenix. Did you tell him to suggest that?”

This was two weeks before her flight.

“Coffee? That sounds fun. Will you have time?”

“Maybe.” But she also didn’t let it go. “Stephen? I don’t want you conspiring behind my back with these guys.”

“Of course not, honey—”

“I just want to be crystal clear about this one. I don’t want to feel manipulated.”

“Understood. And you know I’d never do that, right?”

She gave him a sidelong glance, but smiled anyway. “Let’s not forget about how you left me at Anthony’s restaurant. I’m learning that you’ll do quite a bit when it comes to this particular fantasy.”

“That’s kind of different?” he said, his voice rising at the end as he grimaced. “I never conspired with Anthony.”

“And you better not ever, okay?” She sighed. “Just, please, honey, respect me.”

***

Stephen watched the GPS dot, marking Julianna’s phone. It hadn’t moved for the last thirty minutes. Those thirty minutes had felt like an eternity to Stephen.

And he was hard for every second of it. This was more intense than anything he’d experienced in a long time—even wilder than when he’d left her alone at the restaurant with Anthony. Back then, he didn’t think she’d go for it. Now, he knew that she was open to the idea. Very open.

Their wild, farewell sex last night was testament to it. So was this morning, watching her get ready for the flight. She’d put on a seamless thong, despite vowing never to fly in a thong, because her jeans were so tight—and not wearing those jeans wasn’t an option. She wanted to look good for Anthony—for another man.

Stephen’s phone buzzed, a notification from Debauch sliding into view. He checked the GPS dot one more time—it still hadn’t moved—before toggling over to the hotwife app.

COLE: I can’t wait. Only a few more hours!

STEPHEN: Me either.

Cole had reached out to Stephen as her trip approached, the man’s eagerness to get it on with “Ana” almost palpable. Stephen had ignored the messages at first, but the man was persistent. He kept his responses light and short, wanting to respect Julianna’s wish, but he couldn’t fully resist the temptation to see this from another perspective.

COLE: Drinks will be at this rooftop bar in Santa Monica. I have reservations at a Michelin rated restaurant next door, and then, if all goes well, I have a suite at the boutique hotel between the two.

It was all so crazy. How was he talking about his wife going back to a hotel with another man? This conversation alone felt unreal.

STEPHEN: Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.

COLE: I’ll be sure to send you a pic of your wife on her knees, staring up at me as she bobs on my cock.

It was statements like this that sent a rush through Stephen every time. It was why he couldn’t just ignore the man, despite knowing fully well that he should.

STEPHEN: That would be amazing, but I doubt she’ll let you take a photo of her like that.

COLE: We’ll see.

Stephen checked the time. Almost 40 minutes had passed since Julianna had arrived at the coffee shop, and while he kind of liked the idea of her missing her flight and having to stay with Anthony, there was also Cole with his rooftop bar and boutique hotel to think about.

[Stephen]: Watch your time.

He sent it off, then went back to watching the GPS dot. Things started moving more quickly after that. The dot left the restaurant and moved halfway down the block. He figured that she was waiting for another Uber when the dot started to speed its way towards the airport. Was she in Anthony’s car?

His stomach quivered at the sensation. He just stared at it, adjusting his erection in his pants as he watched it go. She pulled up to the Departures doors, but then the dot stalled out, despite the rapidly closing window of time before her flight. Stephen squirmed. He thought about texting again, but resisted. If she missed it, then maybe something more exciting would happen.

But in the end, the dot moved into the airport, towards the terminals.

[Julianna]: Boarding now.

[Stephen]: How did it go?

[Julianna]: It went well.

Oh no, she didn’t get to leave him hanging like that.

[Stephen]: What happened?

He could hear his ragged breath as he waited for her reply, watching the dots bounce, then stop, then bounce again. At last, her message slid into view.

[Julianna]: Oh, we’re about to take off. I love you! Xoxo

Stephen could only groan. He loved this woman.

Chapter 3

Anthony was exactly as Julianna had remembered—tall with broad shoulders, his dark hair graying at the temples in a way that men could pull off and women had to hide. His face was smooth, his smile broad and approving when he saw her pause at the cafe’s entrance.

“Hey there,” he said, and she knew he was forcing his casualness, because she was, too.

“Hey, stranger.”

“Kind of, right?” he said, chuckling. “But also, not at all. I don’t think I’ve texted anyone so much in my life.”

It was funny. Of all the men she’d conversed with, Anthony was the only one who knew her by her real name—Julianna. To everyone else, she was Ana, this mysterious hotwife. She liked that she could share that with him, make him part of the secret.

“Same. Is this what it’s like to be a teenager?” Julianna asked.

“I wouldn’t have the first clue,” Anthony said. “And thank god. Don’t want to go back to those awkward days.”

And like that, it was as if they were back on the plane again, two strangers falling so easily into conversation. “Can I give you a hug?” he asked. “This feels like a hugging kind of situation.”

Julianna appreciated that he asked, and she was more than happy to oblige. He wore cologne, something her husband rarely did, and his arms felt like stone as they wrapped around her.

When he released her, he only took a half-step back. “God, you’re even more beautiful than I remembered.”

“Oh, stop.”

“I’m serious. Your smile is mesmerizing.” She only smiled more at his compliments. “Come on, I’ve already got us a table. Can I take your bag?”

Like a gentleman, he collected her bag from her and rolled it over to a small table by the windows. He had his own coffee there, steaming in the sun. He said, “You take it black, right?”

“And this is a double espresso,” she said, looking at his cup. She nodded and said, “Yes, black please.”

He went to the counter and ordered. She watched. He knew her drink preference, and she knew his. This man was a stranger, and yet he wasn’t.

“This is so strange,” she said when he returned with her drink. “I feel like I know you…”

“…yet we only met the one time,” he finished. “Well, the two times, actually.”

She blushed at the memory of their second time, subconsciously touching her lips. He grinned, but didn’t say anything about it. 

“Sorry you had to Uber out here, but I didn’t want to meet at a Dunkin Donuts.”

Julianna looked around at the cute coffee shop with its trendy, farmhouse interior. “This does have a better ambiance than pink and orange.”

“Slightly better coffee, too.”

Julianna blushed. She rolled her eyes and looked away, trying to force the heat to back down. They were surrounded by the cacophony of a busy cafe at breakfast time. People murmured and moved. The steamer screamed. Orders were shouted. And yet they were two people lost in all that chaos. It was almost cozy.

She looked back at Anthony—taking in his square jaw, his smooth cheeks and steely, gray eyes. The way he was looking at her. With Anthony she didn’t feel self-conscious about the wrinkles around her eyes, at the smile lines and all the other imperfections that she saw every time she looked in the mirror. He looked at her the way a hungry man looks at a hot meal, and her nipples hardened beneath that gaze.

He was saying something, she realized, but she didn’t catch a single word of it. “Hm? I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Anthony chuckled. “I was just asking if you packed your bikini for LA.”

“Ha. Of course you were. Now you’re sounding like my husband.”

Anthony didn’t seem put off by the mention of Stephen. “What can I say? A beautiful woman like you should show it off.”

“The Los Angeles trip is strictly business,” she said. Anthony didn’t need to know about Cole. “No, I left the bikinis at home.”

“I love that you have multiple. Next time, we’ll go back to my house, where I’ve got a pool.”

“Now you’re getting ahead of yourself,” she said.

“You should still try and enjoy yourself while you’re there. Lot of fun things to do and see.”

“You’ve been then?” she asked. “Chasing girls in bikinis?”

“My lips are sealed.” He ran his fingers across his mouth, zipping them shut. “Maybe if you were there, I’d have chased you.”

“Uh huh, once all the girls rejected you.”

“Please, you’re the ultimate prize and you know it.”

“So you think I’m something to win?”

“I know I would have tried.” Anthony sat back in his chair. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re a stranger to being hit on.”

“Sure, but I’m married, remember?”

“And yet you’re here with me.”

“And,” she pressed on, “in all honesty? I was never one of those girls.”

“Those girls?”

“The kind of girls you chased in LA.”

“Yet, I’m pretty sure that you like to be chased.”

How did he know that? “I like it when a guy puts in the effort.”

“Does driving an hour to meet you for coffee for thirty minutes count as effort?”

She flashed him a coy smile. “It’s a start.”

They fell into conversation like they were old friends. The banter was fun and fresh, so different than what she was used to with the man she’d spent the last thirty years with. Beneath it all hummed this delicious tension between them. He more than lived up to the memory of the man she’d once kissed.

“Hey, I’m sorry I was so pushy the last time,” he said as their time together drew to a close. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

‘Let’s get out of here.’

‘I can’t. My husband…’

‘I live just a few blocks away. We’ll be quick.’

Julianna still remembered that exchange, the heat, the temptation, the guilt. She still hadn’t told Stephen exactly what he’d asked.

She wanted to write it off now, move past it. But there was also something about Anthony that made it irresistible not to tease. “So it’s okay to invite a woman back to your place as long as you’ll never see her again? Hm…”

“Well, that kind of came out wrong.”

She lifted her brow and smirked. “You don’t say.”

He reached between them and took her hands. His touch sent tingles up her arm and down between her thighs. Her body was buzzing, and it wasn’t just from the coffee. “I’ll be honest, at the time, I just saw a sexy woman and thought you were available. I didn’t realize the whole story.”

“You just wanted to take advantage of me.”

“You wouldn’t have regretted it.”

Julianna snorted. “One thing you don’t lack is confidence.” 

Her phone buzzed. She didn’t want to look at it, didn’t want to reality to intrude into this quiet part of Phoenix. But reality was always there. It was a text. From her husband. Watch your time.

“Oh, shit! I need to get going!”

She rose abruptly, drawing the eyes of a few patrons. Anthony rose with her, and she hesitated for a moment, weighing her options. When she’d talked this meeting over with Stephen, they’d agreed that she would Uber out to the coffee shop, and Uber back so that she wouldn’t have to spend time in the car with a “stranger.” But Anthony didn’t feel like a stranger anymore, and she definitely didn’t have time to wait for a rideshare..

“Hey, want to give me a lift?”

He seemed to know what her question meant—that she trusted him enough to get into a private space with him. “I would love to. You sure?”

“I’m sure. Why aren’t you? Is the floor of your car covered in fast food wrappers or something?”

They laughed at the inside joke. He’d admitted to having a weakness for McDonalds at times, despite being the owner of an upscale Italian steakhouse—a confession he made when she told him how much of a fitness freak that she was.

Anthony took her bag from her again, slipping his other hand into hers. She was surprised to find his palm as clammy as her own. “Come on, I don’t mind being judged by my vehicle.”

That vehicle turned out to be a Chevy Silverado pickup, black with silver trim, and like the driver, impeccably clean. “You drive a Chevy? Thought you were a man?”

“Right. Forgot you were a Jeep girl. I can maybe overlook that quality…” He opened the door for her, and held out his hand to help her step up into it.

“Hopefully this thing has engine enough to get me to my plane in time.”

Anthony just laughed, gunning the engine as they tore off down the street. They were back at the airport departures ramp in less than five minutes. Anthony got out of the truck and helped her with her bag.

“I had a great time, Julianna. Thanks for meeting me for coffee.”

“Thanks for treating me.” She couldn’t stop smiling. Things felt so heated, so ripe between them. She felt like she was back on a first date, uncertain of whether her date would kiss her, but hoping that he would.

“If I could, I’d purchase a ticket to join you.”

“You’d get bored of me being in meetings all day long.”

“But I’d be there in the evenings when you were back. Worth it.”

Julianna rolled her eyes. “I better…” She glanced towards the airport entrance. “Get going…”

When she turned back, he was standing right in front of her, close enough to touch. Close enough to kiss.

“Oh,” she managed.

And then she was kissing him. It was a soft kiss, yet full of all the pent-up energy that had been building over the weeks and months of flirtation, over the last half hour. His lips were warm, and when she put a hand on his cheek, it was so smooth.

She barely remembered that first kiss, so long ago. She’d been a little drunk, a little upset with Stephen, and a lot overwhelmed by everything. It had been unexpected. This time, she knew that the whole moment had been building here, and she wanted to devour him.

It was Julianna who pushed her tongue past his lips, opening her mouth to his. He took her in his arms, deepening the kiss, oblivious to the world parting around her, rushing from point A to B.

Obvious until a police officer flashed his lights at them as he rolled past. The two jumped and parted. She was buzzing. She wanted him. She wanted so much more of him.

“Listen, I know we’d said just coffee, and I know you’ve got to get in there and run through security, but I’d like to do this again.”

She nodded. “Me too.”

“Does your return trip take you back through Phoenix?”

“Maybe…” She grabbed her bag. “But I really should run. Can’t miss this flight.”

“Of course. See you around, Julianna.”

As she raced through the airport, getting whisked to the front of the security line because her flight was departing so soon, making it to her gate just as they were making their last calls, she couldn’t shake that smile.

To think, this was just the layover, the space between things. The main event awaited her in LA, in Cole, in an actual date with another man. And yet she couldn’t stop thinking about seeing Anthony again, about her return flight, about once again moving in this liminal space.

Boarding now, she texted her husband.

[Stephen]: How did it go?

[Julianna]: It went well.

She touched her lips, where the impression of the kiss lingered.

[Stephen]: What happened?

This was the space between, and she wanted to linger in it alone, if only for a few moments longer.

[Julianna]: Oh, we’re about to take off. I love you! Xoxo

She smiled and turned to look out the window. 

Next part should come out next Tuesday!