“Hello?” I answer the phone in that not quite awake voice.
“I know,” a woman’s voice states on the other end.
“You know what?” I croak out while trying to sit up in bed.
“That you and James have been together, you homewrecking bitch,” the voice blurts out.
“Karen? is that you, what are you talking about?” I ask confused in my half asleep state.
Click, the line went dead.
“Fuck, that’s not good,” I anounce to the empty room.
I glance at the illuminated clock radio, 3:56am.
I texted James:
So Karen just called me. WTF is going on.
I laid back down, I put my phone on silent and drifted off.
6am the alarm went off, playing some oldie but goodie song on KREX home of the golden oldies.
I smacked the snooze button, turned over and picked up my phone.
Two new texts: from James
Fuck, I came home from the opening I was covering for the paper, there was an empty bottle of wine along with the photo albums scattered on the table. Karen and I went round and round, apparently she hired a private investigator.
Second text: from James
Sorry, she threw me out, I am on your couch. Didn’t want to wake you.
“Ugh…” I put the phone down, stretched, got up and went into the living room.
There on my couch was James fast asleep, I covered him with a blanket and went to take a shower.
I started the coffee, made scrambled eggs with cheese and toast.
“Morning,” a tired voice said from across the room.
I turned and smiled at him.
“Morning, there’s food,”
“Your going to need your strength to explain to me what is going on,”
James got up, put his arms around me, kissed me on the forehead and went into the bathroom.
We sat at the table eating our breakfast in silence.
“So, care to fill me in?” I asked while clearing the table.
James took a very deep breath. I sat down across from him and took his hands in mine.
“Ok, about two months ago Karen caught me in a lie, I couldn’t talk my way out of. Shortly after that she hired a private investigator to follow me around. I guess she received his report yesterday,”
“Wait two months ago, that was the mayor’s dinner event we covered for the paper, what did she catch you on,”
“She had gotten sick and wanted me to come home, but I had turned off my phone, so she had to call her sister,”
“Why did you have your phone…oh yeah, nevermind,” I smiled at James.
“Well, fuck, now what?” I asked. James shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know, wasn’t expecting this,”
“Go home and talk to Karen, I want to know what that PI told her, maybe we can explain a misunderstanding to her,”
“Or I can just move in with you,” James said.
“Go find out what she knows first,”
He kissed me good bye, “I’ll call you later,”
I dressed and went to work.
James and I both work for the local newspaper, The Daily Star, your source for local news and events.
I sat at my desk, thinking over what James had said. I pulled out my daily planner, pretty much my diary of who, when and where, I flipped back to two months ago.
I am a little OCD when it comes to tracking things and keeping records. Two months ago on a Saturday the mayor’s dinner in the hotel ballroom. Notes on good food, who was there, what the mayor covered in his speech.
“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath, a little blue heart in the lower right corner.
A notation to myself. I thumbed through a few more weeks, three more little blue hearts.
My phone buzzed, text from James:
I found what the PI saw. Two weeks ago, parking garage.
I turned to the date, there it was a little blue heart on a Tuesday in May.
I texted James back: Now what?
My phone buzzed, James:
Don’t know, he took pictures.
I put the phone down, leaned back in my chair and let out a sigh.
I decided to just work and deal with whatever fallout this caused. I collected my daily assignments and got to work.
My phone buzzed, James:
Sarah we need to talk, meet me for lunch 1:30pm, the deli across the street.
Sure, but you’re buying. I answered.
We sat down with our lunch in hand, turkey sandwiches with chips and an ice tea.
“So, what now?” I asked taking a bite of my sandwich.
“She’s mad and hurt, called me every name in the book, called you a few names,”
“Nice, what does she want,”
“That’s where it gets tricky, I have to tell you something, but I don’t think I should tell you while you’re eating,” James said.
I stopped eating, I was suddenly not hungry. I wrapped up the rest of my sandwich and put it along with the unopened chips back into the bag. I took a long drink of my ice tea.
“Ok, tell me,”
James took my hand and looked me in the eye.
“I love being with you, you get me and you know me,”
I could feel my throat getting tighter, my vision started to blur. I did not want to cry, not in front of him.
“Karen’s pregnant and…”
That was it. I was done, I got up grabbed my lunch and walked away. I made it into the office, went to the ladies room, and lost my lunch.
I stood in front of the mirror sobbing like a school girl, thinking about how stupid I was to get involved with a married man.
I pulled myself together enough to finish my assignments and went home.
My phone buzzed, James:
Can I please come over, I need to finish explaining everything to you.
My phone buzzed, James:
Please, Sarah I love you, you need to know everything.
“Fuck,” I said wiping away fresh tears.
I texted him back
You need to bring, a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of Jack. And you are going to answer all of my questions. Deal?
My phone buzzed, James:
Deal. I be over in a few.
There was a knock at the door.
I opened the door and there was James holding a bottle of Jack Daniels and a pack of cigarettes.
“Fine, come in,” I said and held the door open.
James kissed me on the check on his way in to the apartment.
“Thanks,” he pulled two glasses and dropped an ice cube in each. I opened the bottle and poured.
“Have a seat,” I motioned towards the kitchen table, while I found an ashtray and lighter in the junk drawer.
I opened the pack of cigarettes, took one out, lit it and took a deep drag. I exhaled slowly and took a seat across from James.
“Well, here we are,” I downed my drink and poured another.
“You know I never wanted to hurt you,” James said.
“I know, but you won’t ever leave Karen,”
“I can’t, not now,” he took a sip of his drink and cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry,”
“Sorry that you’re ending it or that you got caught and have to end it?”
James sighed.
“Nevermind it doesn’t matter, we’re done,” I finished off my drink, put out my cigarette and got up.
As I set the glass down on the counter top James came up behind the, slid his arms around me and kissed the back of my neck. I closed my eyes and leaned into him.
His feel, his smell so familiar and comforting. As mad and frustrated with him as I was, I still want him.
I turned to face him, leaned in and kissed him slowly, deeply letting my tongue slide into his mouth and taste him one more time.
I took his hand and led him into the bedroom.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” James asked.
“Don’t talk, just enjoy it,” I took off my shirt and bra.
Then slid out of my pants and panties. I unbutton, unzipped and pulled off his jeans along with his boxers. James took off his shirt and sat on the edge of the bed.
I kneeled in front of him and rubbed his cock, making him hard. I slid his cock into my mouth sucking and rubbing up and I his shaft.
James ran his hands through my hair and let out a moan.
“Fuck, Sarah,”
I sucked harder, letting him slide deep into my mouth. I could taste his pre-cum, I slid his cock out of my mouth and licked around the tip.
“Like that?” I asked as I stood up in front of him.
James grabbed me and the waist and pulled me onto the bed. He moved down in between my legs, rubbing and kissing the inside of my thighs.
He kissed and licked my clit, sliding his tongue into my pussy. I let out a moan and he pushed in deeper, making my pussy wet from his tonuging.
James moved up my body, kissing and caressing me. He ran his hand over my breast pinching my nipple, rolling his tongue over it then clamping down and sucking.
I reached down and rubbed his cock, sliding my hand up and down his shaft. He slid his fingers into my wet pussy, I arched my back as his fingers slid deep into me.
James kissed me, pushing his tongue deep into my mouth, I could taste myself on his lips.
“Fuck me, please,” I begged.
James moved over me, spread my legs and slid his hard cock into me.
~ ~ ~ ~
I woke up and ran to the bathroom. After throwing up nothing but stomach acid, I sat on the cold tile floor.
“Fuck,” I got up, found my daily planner on the kitchen table and started flipping pages back.
It had been about eight weeks since I had last seen James. He had taken a leave of absence from work and was freelancing from home.
Trying to fix his marriage with the now very pregnant Karen. Sarah had seen her in passing at an Everyday Food’s store about two weeks ago.
I sat mulling over my options: tell him, don’t tell him, keep it, don’t keep it.
Two days later I texted James: We need to talk.
Text from James: When and where?
Thursday 8pm my place.
There was a knock on the door, I let James in.
“Come in, take a seat,” I said closing the door behind him.
“So, what do we need to talk about?” James sat down on the couch.
I took a deep breath.
“I am two months pregnant and I am keeping the baby,” I blurted out all in one breath.
There was a long silence as James staired at Sarah.
“I am not sure what to say,” James got up walked over to me and put his arms are me. I relaxed into his embrace as the tears streamed down my face.
We laid down on the bed and held each other, I feel asleep in his arms.
When I woke up he was gone. My phone buzzed.
Text from James: I can’t be there for you, I have to tell Karen.
I got up showered and dressed for work.
~ ~ ~ ~
Detective Andrews stood in the small one bedroom apartment on the north side of town.
“What do we have?” he asked the responding officer.
“Female, 30 years old, 5’4″ tall, weight 130 pounds, Sarah Fenton, according to her licence. Found here in her home, stabed multiple times and left sitting at her desk.” the officer stated.
“Who found her?”
“Landlord a Mark Williams, came by to ask her about rent, because she was five days late.”
Detective Andrews walked over to the body, sitting in her office chair, slumbed over her desk. He noticed the blue ball point pen laying beside her left hand. He careful moved her hair over to see the edge of an envelope.
“Hey, come get a photo of this,”
The investigator came over and photographed the top of the desk.
