Sequel to; “But honey, it was only a dance.” Linda tells her story to a friend. Note: There is no sex in this story To all the readers who asked that the questions be answered, thank you. But honey, it was only a dance The sequel Another Chicago winter was history. Today was the first real day of spring. As Linda walked outside she could smell the fresh, clean morning air. She remember the sound of spring rain on the roof as she and her husband made love the night before and how it added to the warm, secure feeling she felt in her husband’s arms. On the way to her car she notice the beautiful, blue wild flowers growing in the lawn. She smiled. No matter how bad the winter, they persisted in their quest for a new beginning, a new start at life every spring. Linda sang along with the car’s radio as she drove to the little coffee shop to meet, Cathy, a good friend, and one she hadn‘t seen in awhile. Cathy had a son the same age as Jennifer, Linda’s daughter. They met years ago at a school function, hit it off and had been good friends ever since. Cathy already had a table for two and was sipping her coffee when Linda walked in. Linda sat down with a big smile and expressed how good it was to see her, saying it’s been too long. The girls chatted, catching up on old times, and laughing at funny things that happened at some of the school functions they attended. They asked each other about their children and both expressed how fast they grow up. They were about an hour into their conversation when Cathy leaned over the table and lowered her voice. “Linda,” said Cathy almost whispering, “can you keep a secret?” “Well sure Cathy, what’s up?” “I shouldn’t even be telling you this but I’ve to tell somebody or I’m going to burst. I’ve been…well, kind of seeing this guy.” Linda’s head quickly rose to look her friend in the eye. “Oh we haven’t really done anything yet, but I’m really thinking about it. I just don’t know what to do. I really like this guy and I’m afraid I’ll lose him if I don’t sleep with him.” “Well let me ask you this,” said Linda, “are you willing to lose your husband, if you do sleep with him?” “Oh no, of course not. I’m not talking about marrying the guy, just…you know, having a little fling.” “Cathy, you remember a couple years ago when Harry and I were having troubles. He actually left me for a little while…remember?” “yeah I do, but I never really knew what it was all about. You never spoke about it and I didn‘t want to pry.” “I never told anyone. I guess I was embarrassed, plus I just don’t think it’s anyone’s business, but I want to tell you the whole story. I think you need to hear it,” said Linda. Both women ordered more coffee and Linda started her story. “I’m probably no different than most of the other married women out there, after twelve years of marriage I was feeling…I don’t know…bored I’d guess you say. Everything was getting to be routine. It was strange, it was like after all those years I looked around and kind of said, what am I doing, where am I going, no where, I’m stuck here.” She continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I loved Harry, I loved Jennifer, I loved my life, but, all of a sudden, it just seemed like there was something missing. I think I was starting to slip into a slight depression. Nothing seemed like fun anymore, not even sex. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Hell Harry was bending over backwards for me, especially in the bedroom. I should have been the happiest person in the world, but nothing seemed to help.” Linda took a sip of her coffee then kept going. “Then one day I was at that little grocery store on Marshal avenue and saw this guy. He was tall and extremely good looking. I guess I was staring because he looked up and caught me. I blushed when he looked at me and smiled. He was so cute and I felt naughty flirting with him. It was kind of exciting. I went down the produce aisle and was trying to decide what to buy when he came over and stood next to me. He looked at me with his big, blue eyes and that gorgeous smile and said hi. I think I probably blushed again. He reached out to shake my hand and introduced himself as Terry. Right off the bat he noticed my wedding rings but he didn‘t let that deter him from trying to make time with me. It was down right flattering. We talked as we went around buying what we needed, then he gave me his number and said I should call him and we’d have lunch the following week.” Cathy was listening. It was amazing how much of Linda’s story was what she was experiencing right now. “Anyway,” Linda went on, “I knew I shouldn’t, but I called him and had lunch. We both talked about being lonely. I’ll tell you Cathy, I wanted to go to bed with this guy so bad, but my conscience just wouldn’t let me. That didn’t stop Terry though, he was working on me. He started talking about Harry not knowing what he had and not appreciating me. Stupid me I was starting to believe him. I was starting to resent my own husband, convinced he was taking me for granted. “God, Linda, this sounds like what I’m going through right now,” Cathy said. “That’s why I’m telling you all this, Cathy, I want you to know what you’re getting into. Anyway, we had lunch a couple more times and I was getting real close to having sex with him, and I mean Real close. The next time we had lunch together I told him Harry was talking me out for our anniversary. I figured Harry would take me to that dance club we used to go to, he had been talking about the fun we used to have dancing. When I told Terry he said he would be there to dance with me. I told him he’d better not, but he was being arrogant and said he would show Harry that I was desirable by other men and that would wake him up.” Linda took another sip of her coffee and proceeded. “Well, I’ll be damned if he wasn’t there. I saw him as soon as we walked in but didn’t dare say anything. So far Harry and I were having a good time. Until, that is, Terry came up and asked me to dance.” “He didn’t,” said Cathy shocked at the gall of this guy. “Oh yes he did and what made matters worse is, he ignored Harry. In fact, he was down right rude. Harry got his back up against the wall and gave me an ultimatum saying I couldn’t dance him. Well, you know stupid me, then I got angry and said I was going to dance with him anyway. Harry told me he wouldn’t be there when we got back off the dance floor, but people say things like that all the time, who believes them?” Cathy could see Linda’s eyes welling up as she continued. “Of course Terry held me real close on the dance floor and was literally rubbing his cock into me. I was a little worried that Harry was watching us and was going to be even more pissed. When the dance was over we went back to the table but Harry wasn’t even there. Terry was going to sit down but I told him absolutely not, to go sit and his own table, he’d made enough trouble for me that night. I figured Harry was in the men’s room so I sat there waiting for him. After a good ten minutes or so I asked one of the waiters if he would check on him. The waiter came out and said Harry wasn’t in there. That’s when I started to get worried. I called him on his cell phone. He said he was headed home. I couldn’t believe he would just leave me there.” Cathy could see telling this story was hard on Linda. “You shouldn’t be telling me all this, Linda, you’re actually crying. Why don’t we stop here.” “No, I want to tell you the whole story, Cathy. You have to know the whole story, it’s important that you do. So, where was I…oh yeah, I know. I told Harry to come back and pick me up. That’s when he told me he thought I was playing around on him, having an affair and he had a good idea it was with Terry. God, Cathy, it hit me like a fucken ton of bricks, I was risking my entire marriage over some ass hole. Harry wouldn’t come back for me so I called a cab. While I was waiting Terry came over and said Harry didn’t deserve me and I should go home with him. I told the fucker to drop dead and I didn’t ever want to see him again. And to think I almost went to bed with him! Linda put her head in her hand and took a minute before going on. “Anyway, by the time I got home Harry was gone. I tried to call him but he had his cell turned off. Cathy all I could see was my marriage dissolving. Everything we worked for as a couple going up in smoke. I’ll tell you, Cathy, I was never so scared in my life. The next day I tried calling him at work but he wouldn’t talk to me so I went over and talked to Andrea, no know, my neighbor. Harry liked her and her husband so I thought maybe he would talk to her. Well, he did but all he said was he would call me at the end of the week. Cathy, that was the worst week of my life. When Jennifer was around I tried to stay strong and just told her that daddy was out of town, but as soon as she was gone all I did was cry. I thought I’d really blown it. Harry was so pissed I really didn’t think he was going to come back to me, especially if he really thought I was cheating on him. Linda was now crying as she remember the pain she went through. “I’m sorry,” she told Cathy, “It’s hard to talk about even now. As I was saying, finally Harry called and said he was coming home. Cathy I came so close to losing everything, believe me, it made me realize what I had and how unbelievably lucky I was. In the end Cathy, love has to trump lust. I love Harry and he loves me. As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t a man in this world that is worth jeopardizing that.” “Wow, Cathy said in a pensive voice, “you’re right. I don’t know what I would do if my husband left me. I am so glad you told me, you kept me from making a big mistake, Linda, thank you.” The two girls talked for just a few more minutes then, making plans for the next time, said good-bye to each other. Linda was feeling good and knew she had just saved a friend from making a terrible error in judgment. She pulled into her drive in plenty of time to great her daughter with a kiss and an after school snack. Damn, she thought to herself, Jennifer is growing up so fast. She’ll soon be ten years old. Where does the time go. When Harry came home from work Linda greeted her man with hugs and kisses. Talking to Cathy today just reminder her again of what a wonderful husband she had. The following month Jennifer celebrated her tenth birthday with a big party in the back yard. Mom and dad invited all her friends and bought her, yet another, expensive toy.