Unauthorized Affair (Unauthorized #1)(2)

Adam’s broad, tanned back was towards her. His butt and leg muscles flexed rhythmically as he thrust and withdrew, thrust and withdrew. The light coming in from the window sparkled off tiny beads of sweat that lined his spine. Underneath him, in the bed, Jen saw a flash of pale skin, a shock of flaxen hair. She stood motionless and watched her boyfriend f*ck whoever this was. Please God don’t let it be someone I know, she prayed, swallowing hard to keep her breakfast down.

The girl moaned again. “You like that, baby?” Adam asked, sounding breathless and aggressive. The girl moaned in agreement and Jen’s hands flew to her ears, trying to block out the sound.

The girl in the bed noticed the movement and locked eyes with Jen. Her face registered shock, but then slackened into recognition, and then a malicious smile grew there. She held Jen’s gaze and her smile widened as her body rocked with Adam’s thrusts.

Jen lost her battle with her breakfast and ran out of the room, barely making it into the bathroom in time. As she heaved into the toilet, she heard Adam swear loudly, then say her name softly, condemningly from the doorway.

When Jen was sure she was done she pushed away from the toilet. She stood and wiped her mouth, her eyes meeting Adam’s. He was wearing a pair of black shorts. His erection was still visible inside them. “Jen,” he began. “It’s not what it looks like.”

Jen shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. The girl from the bedroom peeked over Adam’s shoulder at her, one of Jen’s sheets wrapped loosely around her, her bare breasts spilling out and screaming that it was exactly what it looked like.

Jen mustered every ounce of cold fury she felt and told Adam, “I don’t want to see you ever again.” She shouldered past both of them and fled the apartment, forgetting her clothes again.



***





“Carla, I just don’t understand! Why did he do it?” Jen wailed, her head tilting forward, her hair spilling into the over sized cup of hot tea Carla had brought her.

“Shh, baby girl, shh, he did it because he’s a jerk and an * and he don’t deserve you noways.” Carla patted Jen’s back while she craned her head to see out into the cafe from the tiny break room.

“Look, as soon as Rena gets here to cover your shift I’m going to take you back to my place and we’ll hash this out, but until then try to be at least a little quiet. I’ll be right back.” Carla ran out into the cafe.

Dimly, Jen heard her ask “Can I help you?”

And life goes on. My boyfriend cheated on me in my bed, but I gotta keep quiet, Jen thought, tears plinking into her tea.

Her phone buzzed beside her. She grabbed it, half-hoping it was Adam, half-terrified it was Adam. The rage she had felt in the apartment was gone, replaced only by a sick, sad longing and a wellspring of grief she was drowning in. She’d loved him. She still loved him even though she didn’t want to. They were going to go to Europe together in three months. She’d been sure he would propose in Europe - maybe at the top of the Eiffel Tower, maybe in a gondola floating in a Venice canal.

And now what? She was 26, and there would be no marriage, no proposal, no trip to Europe. She knew she didn’t have the guts to go by herself. And she also knew if he came up with some halfway-plausible sob story, she was in danger of taking him back. Anything to stop the hurt in her heart.

She snorted to herself through her tears. What was that old joke? Sorry babe, I tripped and fell on top of her, over and over and over again. And I was naked because I had just got out of the shower. And she was in the room because our bed was broken and I called the bed-repair store and they sent her over. And she was naked too because she said that’s the only way she would know if the bed was fixed or not. So you see, it’s really not my fault.

Jen tugged at her hair, hard, trying to break up the ridiculous thoughts with pain. Her phone buzzed again and she slowly brought her eyes to the screen. It wasn’t Adam. Thank you, God. It was a text message from her big brother, Jerry. Jerry who had never seemed to like Adam. But he was never mean about it. Maybe she could go visit him for a few days. Get her mind off of Adam.


She unlocked her phone and read his text. Back from Middle East. When are you coming up to meet Sara? Or should we come down? Miss you.

A sad cry erupted from Jen’s throat, startling her. No brotherly intuition that something was wrong. Just normal life goes on. And Jerry had a new girlfriend. A serious girlfriend. A famous, dangerous girlfriend who used to be a spy. Jen was thrilled for him, but at the same time his good fortune rubbed her horrible discovery just a little bit more raw, a little bit more tender and painful.

Jen pushed the phone away without responding. She put her head down on the table and continued to cry.





Chapter 2





“What are you going to do if he’s still here?” Carla whispered to Jen as they walked up the steps to Jen’s apartment.

“I don’t know. That’s why I brought you with me,” Jen whispered back.

It was her apartment. She’d lived here first. He’d moved in with her. He wasn’t even on the lease. So if she had to, she could call the cops. She hoped.

The night sky was dark and slightly chilling. Jen felt a little bit better and she hadn’t cried for almost an hour. She’d spent the day at Carla’s apartment. They’d watched First Wives Club twice and The Other Woman once. They’d downed mimosas and bashed Adam for hours, although Carla was much better at it than Jen was. Jen’s heart was never in it.