Chapter 6

Throughout the afternoon, as they sat together at the fashion show, Cathy thought about what Melissa had said at lunch regarding how Chris looked at her and treated her. Her immediate reaction was denial. She was a married woman and wanted no part of hurting her marriage. But those feelings and that certainty became less so every time she began to think anew about him. By the time the actual show was over and Melissa accompanied her to the fitting room area, she realized that just thinking about Chris some more had made her wet inside. She still wanted to deny it. "No, no, no! I don't want to do that," she said to herself over and over for half the afternoon. But as she tried to close the zipper on the first pair of jeans, they were just simply too tight, and the knuckle of her thumb rubbed right across her clit as she pulled the zipper up. It was exactly the wrong thing to have happen at that moment. All of the stresses as well as the memories of him and everything about him converged in her groin. Her legs clamped together, her face flushed and she stood, frozen in place until the feelings and her orgasm subsided.

Thankfully she had been alone in the booth, so no one else had seen her, but her face was still flushed when she opened the curtain again. "Cathy, what's the matter? Are you alright? Why is your..." and then she stopped asking because she recognized the signs and realized what had happened. "You were thinking of him again, weren't you? How about if we think about fashions for a while and forget about sex?"

"I'm sorry, Melissa. It just happened. I apologize. I'll pay attention."

When Cathy had completed her selection, Donna Vincent, the owner of the salon and spa complex, approached them. "Ladies, new fashions and shopping can be very stressful. We have a complete crew of accomplished massage professionals working this afternoon. Why don't you both go upstairs to the spa and allow them to do their thing, and then sit in the whirlpool tub for a little while. When you're done, you will emerge feeling refreshed and ready for the evening."

Donna Vincent had been absolutely correct. When they emerged, they did feel great and opted to take a short stroll along the river walk. On the spur of the moment, they boarded a tour boat that was about to depart for an architectural tour of the skyline. As the sun began to set, the views were magnificent, and Cathy, at least for a few moments, forgot all about the dilemma she was facing. Two hours later they were back at the dock just in time to meet Chris for dinner. At dinner, they spent the entire meal time in a conversation about Chris' new job. He had been promoted to be the Region Manager of the Midwestern division for his company, and he was now responsible for all of its business between Chicago and Denver and up to the Canadian-U.S. border. He would be based in Denver, which is where he currently lived, but would spend at least some days each month in Chicago, and at other locations of his customers as well. He then began to reminisce about his years in the army, explaining how he had enjoyed the camaraderie that he had with his platoon buddies, but he certainly had no regrets about coming home.