This week, a woman stays behind while her family goes on vacation and tries to sneak in some quality time with the man she’s been having an affair with: 40, married, Georgia.
DAY ONE
7:30 a.m. I’m in bed with my husband. It’s uninspired, fast sex before work, designed to make him finish so he’ll leave me alone. He’s needy, and once he finishes, he’ll relax. Today, I’m on top, thrusting and making quiet noises so our kid downstairs doesn’t hear, until, after lots of grabbing and rubbing and moaning, he’s done. He’s immediately back to his normal self, the neediness gone.
8:30 a.m. Clock into work from home. I’m in pharmaceuticals. The work is boring, but the remote part makes it attractive for introverts like me. Plus, not having to be in a health-care facility during COVID has been fantastic.
4:30 p.m. Work is over and I start supper. I love feeding my family, and tonight we’re having Greek-inspired lamb patties with feta, roasted potatoes and cauliflower, and fresh green beans sautéed with garlic. All the chopping is soothing and relaxing.
8:30 p.m. I walk a few blocks to my closest friend’s house. We walk through the neighborhood together and reflect on the upcoming week. My husband and kid are taking a trip, and although I took off work, I’m not going, and she understands. Our families went to Disney together last year, and she and I ended up sitting around holding everyone’s wallets while they went on all the rides. Sometimes family trips just sort of suck for moms. Plus, I’m looking forward to being here without them.
10:30 p.m. Scrolling on my phone in bed. It looks like I’m doing nothing but the truth is, I’m checking in with the man I’ve been having an affair with for nearly four years. His name is Ken. We usually check in this time of day, and use a social-media app for messaging and never text each other. After all this time, we’re pros.
DAY TWO
7:50 a.m. Roll out of bed, quick stretch, and feed the pets before work.
12:30 p.m. Break for the first meal of today. I try to stick to a healthy diet, at Ken’s recommendation. In fact, we started talking about food and nutrition early on. We met at the gym, and after a couple of years of casual hellos, started following each other on social media. He commented on a couple of my posts, and after I replied, we started talking a bit. He gave me diet advice, and I started eating way fewer carbs, and then suddenly I was cheating on my husband with him. Life is weird that way. Right now, I’m making an omelet with spinach and salmon, which I’ll scarf down while charting my last patient call.
4:30 p.m. Clock out of work and feel practically giddy because I am off for the weekend and several days next week, and I’ll have the house to myself!
6 p.m. Time for the class Ken and I take at the gym’s fitness studio. This is where we first met, and we’ve been taking the class ever since. It gives us an opportunity to be around each other without provoking suspicion.
When no one is looking we make eyes at each other, but no one would guess we’re involved — we rarely talk or interact. After class, we talk on the phone on our drives home, discussing silly things class members might have said or judging people who barely participate and text the whole time. We’re gossipy like that.
9 p.m. The family is nearly packed up as they leave early in the morning. I wish them well, already looking forward to my alone time and seeing Ken.
DAY THREE
8:30 a.m. Wake up and revel in the calm. I feed my cats and let the dog out and lie back down. I message Ken that I’m finally free of extra people and for the next several days he can call whenever he’d like. We discuss if he should come over today but decide against it — he ought not disappear for a few hours without it looking weird. As a person who gets far less alone and free time than I’d like, I’m fine with that. Early in our relationship, we saw each other during every free hour we got, but we’ve settled into a less frenzied pattern, which suits us both.
9:30 a.m. After talking to him and us discussing the fun we’ll have once we get together, I’m horny. I get myself off then lie in bed and read, look online for other remote jobs, and play Wordle and share my results with Ken.
4 p.m. Putter around my house doing light housework and listening to an audiobook.
8 p.m. Mopping the kitchen floor. Sometimes I get a second wind and do serious housework in the evening.
10:30 p.m. Ken and I chat before bed. After we drop off, I masturbate again.
DAY FOUR
9 a.m. It’s Sunday and I slept in a bit. Husband and kid are having their first thrilling day of adventures, and I talk to Ken when he drives to the grocery store.
12 p.m. I bake brownies and eat a sausage, egg, and cheese hash with some brownie batter. Brownies and their batter are my weekend indulgence, and Ken is welcome to them when he comes over. Brownies are his indulgence, too, and we try to outdo each other by seeing who can bake the brownie with the perfect crinkly, shiny top.
6 p.m. Ken calls me when he heads out on yet another errand. He wastes a lot of gas spacing out his errands so he can call me.
DAY FIVE
6:15 a.m. My alarm goes off. Today Ken took off work and he’ll be with me all day. I feed my cats, let the dog out and then put her up, brush my teeth and gargle with a little baking soda and water, and head out to pick him up.
6:32 a.m. I pull into the public parking lot where he’ll leave his car, and he climbs into mine and reclines back. I drive the few blocks home, pull into the garage, and shut the garage door. I didn’t take my phone with me so my husband wouldn’t see I left (those damn tracking apps can make cheating trickier). As soon as he’s inside, we head to my bedroom.
He runs his hands down my body and is pleased that I don’t have panties on. He pulls off my nightgown and I pull off his shirt, shorts, and that big watch he always wears. There is lots of kissing before I hop up and wrap my legs around his waist. I love straddling him. He puts me down on the bed and goes down on me. I gasp and pull him closer, then he kisses up my belly and breasts, and I pull him close and put him inside me. We stay like that for several minutes. We really have missed each other. We are slow and not ready to finish and we pull apart. I rest my head on his chest and keep one of his legs between my thighs, pressed hard against me.
7:45 a.m. After a little rest, we are heating back up. I suck him off ergonomically, as I like to say. I lie on my back and he thrusts into my mouth. Hey, I’m 40 years old and smart enough to realize that if you spend a lot of time on top of a man giving a blowjob, it’s hard on your neck. We then make love. Real, meaningful sex where we look at each other and hold each other. He tells me he loves me and I tell him I love him, too, and that I need to hear him say it more often.
1 p.m. We’ve played Wordle, held each other, and talked a bit. We’ve also sampled the brownies. I would cook for him, but he’s not hungry for a real meal yet.
What no one tells you is that an affair can be stagnant. We can’t go anywhere together. When we’re together we’re too on edge to read or watch a movie. There is nothing to do except talk and have sex.
2 p.m. We dress and prepare to head out. He needs to go home so he can pretend he’s been at work all day and then leave again for our fitness class. I know how he feels about me and that he has to keep his schedule the same as a usual work day, but it still does feel like he’s running back home to his wife.
5:45 p.m. We sit in the cluster of chairs outside the studio for our fitness class as we wait for the studio to empty from the previous class. Several other class members are there. We never sit by each other, and today there is a woman between us. We don’t look at each other, either, but we do send messages. I smell a fart, and I message him that unless he farted, the woman between us did. He laughs so hard that he has to get up and walk away. It’s fun to make him break like that because his usual face is serious.
6 p.m. Time for class. Ken and I joke about the shock the other class attendees would experience if they knew what we’d done all day. The farty woman has earned the nickname “Fartblossom.” We’ll probably call her that forever now.
10 p.m. Ken and I chat good night and head to bed early.
DAY SIX
9 a.m. Wake up and masturbate.
11:30 a.m. More projects around the house today.
3 p.m. Catching up with my mom on the phone. We have a lovely time together as we talk about sewing projects and travel plans.
10:32 p.m. I initiate some sexting with Ken, which he appreciates.
DAY SEVEN
9 a.m. I awaken for another day of puttering around the house … my family will be home this evening.
1 p.m. I discover a podcast called The AackCast that examines the cultural effect of the comic strip “Cathy.” I read it as a kid but didn’t understand the concept back then, and the podcast is engrossing.
7:30 p.m. My husband and kid come home and my parents come over to hear the recounting of their adventures.
8:30 p.m. My husband’s horniness is making him unbearably annoying. He’ll calm down if I have sex with him, so I do. He’s so horny that it doesn’t take long for me to satisfy him.
10:30 p.m. Lights out. Another good-night sext with Ken. And the cycle starts where we wait again for another day when we’re both free of other people.
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