Chapter 7

It seemed that Syracuse hadn’t had much bad weather over the break. I didn’t have to brush any snow off the car. After a couple of minutes warming up, I was off. My route back to the house took me right through the heart of the city, and the highways were clear. I could see the huge Christmas tree in Clinton Square and all of the holiday lights up and down the major streets. People were crowding into all the downtown bars. Everything looked so warm and inviting and happy, and then I was out of the city and heading toward the suburbs on the outskirts of town.

I had no idea what to expect as I drove up our street. I hadn’t heard from Jackie all day, despite a series of texts keeping her updated on my progress. When the house came into view I was happy to see that the porch light was on, though the house itself seemed dark. As I got closer, though, I could just make out a faint light upstairs, from our bedroom. I guessed she was already in bed and had left a light on for me. At the bottom of the driveway, I hit the remote to open the garage door. At least I didn’t have to shovel, I thought ruefully as I drove up and into the garage.

The warmth was welcome as I stepped into the mud room. I knew that the programmable thermostat had already turned down the heat for the night, but it was still a lot better than the frigid temperature outside. The range light over the stove was on, but aside from that everything was dark on the first floor.

I took off my shoes, left my duffel bag just inside the door, and padded into the kitchen. I spotted an empty bottle of wine by the sink, but aside from that there was no sign of habitation at all. I checked the fridge and was surprised to find it fully stocked. So was the pantry. At least Jackie had been home long enough to grocery shop.

I went through into the living room and my heart sank to find the sofa all made up for me already. I had been sleeping on it ever since my indiscretion and I had hoped that things might change once we got back home from seeing our families, but apparently not.

Sighing, I started back toward the kitchen to get something to eat when I froze in my tracks. I had heard a noise from upstairs. I listened for a moment and then heard it again. It sounded like somebody talking or whispering, but I couldn’t place the voice. Jackie had never talked in her sleep that I knew of, but there’s always a first time for everything.

I eased over to the stairs and looked up toward the second floor, listening for any noise I could detect. The hallway lights weren’t on, but it wasn’t dark, either. There was a very faint, glowing light dimly illuminating the upstairs hallway. Then I heard the noise again, and my blood froze. It was definitely Jackie’s voice, but she wasn’t talking in her sleep. She was moaning in pleasure.

I prayed to God that she was masturbating, but I was afraid that she wasn’t. And if she wasn’t, that meant she was upstairs, in our bed, with somebody else. Suddenly, I recalled something I thought I’d seen when I first came into the house. I hurried out to the kitchen and confirmed that there were two glasses sitting next to the wine bottle. Why hadn’t I noticed that earlier? My heart sank, and suddenly I was sure. She was cheating on me with another man in our own bed. She was getting back at me. I couldn’t believe it.

For a few moments I was numb, but then as I continued to hear her moans of pleasure – moans I knew so well – I got angry. I knew I had hurt her, but that was out of weakness and stupidity. This was planned. She had set this up. She knew from my texts exactly when I was getting in, she had left the car there for me, she knew when I’d be getting home. She wanted to hurt me just as much as I had hurt her.

I finally let out the breath I had been holding and sucked in a lungful of air. I tried to settle myself down. I still only heard Jackie moaning – there was no other noise. Hell, our old hand-me-down bed wasn’t even squeaking. Maybe she had just had a friend from work over for a glass of wine earlier?

Odds were that she was just masturbating, and I wasn’t even sure how she’d feel if I went upstairs and looked in on her. It never occurred to me that she might want me to do so – that this might be her opening to me. Instead, I felt like I should just go sack out on the couch and leave her be. Then that sneaking suspicion that she might not be alone came back. I knew that if I just lay down I’d never get to sleep, wondering. So, I started up the stairs, avoiding the creaky third and seventh steps, moving as quietly as I could.

Once I was in the upstairs hallway, I could clearly see that the faint light I had noticed before was candlelight. She had candles burning in our bedroom. I sniffed cautiously and picked up cinnamon and holly – our holiday candles. The moaning was louder up here, and it was definitely coming more frequently.

As I crept down the hallway I could hear the gentle creaking of the bed, too. Between moans, Jackie was breathing raggedly. I knew from experience that she was really starting to feel it. Her climax wasn’t far off. I didn’t want to disturb her concentration at this point, but I was also desperate to see her body. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen her naked, and I wanted to so badly! I was hard as a rock, my cock uncomfortably cramped in my jeans, as I cautiously peered around the corner and into our room. Then, all my worst fears were realized. She wasn’t alone.