THE AFFAIR Read Online Free Page A

husband’s arms.”
    “Is that really what you want after all the time we’ve wasted not being together in this life, to just leave me and return to your home?”
    His eyes suddenly looked so sad. I felt I had betrayed him, and in a way that hurt more than what I had done to my husband. I had denied the life that Chance seemed to be remembering.
    “Deny that you wanted to die.”
    I got out of the bed then, keeping a wary eye on Chance. It was time for me to end this fantasy.
    “Listen, Chance, thank you for this afternoon.”
    I once again felt shame snaking through my body warming my skin, making me feel flushed and vulnerable. I gazed at him, seeing something that I could swear was love in his eyes and rushed to finish the statement I’d started. “I mean, for picking up my groceries, and for letting me cry on your shoulder, but I really have to go now. My husband is waiting for me.”
    I replaced my still damp clothing and glanced at my watch. Ten P.M. I couldn’t believe it. Where had the time gone? Had I really made love to a stranger in a hotel room only a few miles from my own home? A stranger that now claimed we’d done this very thing countless times?
    I didn’t know what to say. What does one say to a lover they don’t quite know?
    “Listen, it was nice meeting you.”
    I made my way to the door, for the first time wondering if Chance were married, if he had a wife who could be waiting for me in some hidden corner of the room. I shivered at the thought until it became real in my mind. I was thinking at any moment she could spring up, grab me, and plunge a knife into my body. I imagined my husband’s shock. The newspaper would spread the news for days. Our town didn’t have very much action. A woman murdered by the hands of a stranger she’d picked up in the parking lot of the grocery store would be very big news.
    My husband didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve the snickers of having to bury an unfaithful wife. I knew it would worry him that I’d been unhappy enough to do this. I didn’t want him to think that this had been going on for months or years. I had reached the door when I felt the tears starting up again.
    “Dimitra,” he called out to me. “What’s your name this time?” he asked. His voice was pleasant, not threatening in the least.
    I turned around sharply. “My name’s Michelle. Michelle Powers.”
    As I was looking at him, a strange sensation laid claim to my soul. Dimitra, the name he’d called me gave me pause. I rolled it around on my tongue. That name was familiar to me.
    I wanted to back away from Chance, yet at the same time I wanted never to leave him. I felt what he was saying was true. This stranger had a claim on me.
    “Well, Michelle, I’m sorry I made you cry. I can tell you’re frightened and have no idea what I’m talking about. I also know you’re wondering what you’ve done and if I’m going to stop you from leaving.”
    He smiled then. A sadness that broke my heart filled his eyes. I remembered him holding me in the rain and suddenly it was crystal clear. There was no way this man Chance would ever hurt me, or had ever hurt me.
    “I have to go,” I said to him, then remembered that my car was still in the parking lot.
    “If you’ll close the door so I can get dressed, I’ll take you back.” He offered.
    I closed the door rather sheepishly. I had been about to make a grand exit without transportation. “I should call my husband.” I looked at him as though for approval before reaching for the phone. I dialed, waiting impatiently for Larry to answer.
    “Hi, Larry.” My voice sounded low and muffled as if my mouth were stuffed with cotton. I breathed easier as Larry didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.
    “Hey, where are you?”
    “My friend Peaches is having some trouble with her husband. She needed to talk.”
    The lie slid out of my mouth so easily that I almost thought it was true, until I looked at the rumpled