A Second Chance Ch. 02

The warm shower water cascaded over her body and rinsed the soapy lather from it. It felt good. Too bad it didn't soothe her mind or relax her body. Kris looked at the clock. Less than 90 minutes until Matt arrived to drive them to the airport. She leaned against the cool tile. What had she been thinking?

Less than a week ago what Kris thought was golden opportunity just dropped into her lap. An invitation to make a presentation in front of a national education group in Las Vegas had been offered to her. The offer was for only one teacher to go but she refused. Matt had done just as much as she had, maybe more. Her name was listed first on the form as Matt had insisted on it. So when she was informed only one could go, Kris told the board it was both or none. The board agreed.

She thought it was a great chance for the two of them to get away together, to relax, possibly for both of them connect somehow. It was then that the idea crept into her head and it seemed like such a good idea at the time. Now she was sure it was a mistake, a big mistake.

She told Matt she would take care of the flight and rooms reservations. The offer included all expenses paid, within reason, so money wasn't a problem. She booked the flight at a very reasonable price so that was fine but when it came to the rooms; this is where her idea sounded so good.

She booked only one room for the two of them, complete with king size bed and Jacuzzi. It had a balcony over looking the strip, everything. It was a deluxe room. She didn't tell Matt as she wanted to surprise him but now the idea didn't seem that great. Now she was keeping secrets from him. This was a pretty big step. What would his reaction be? If he didn't like it, what then? The entire trip would be ruined and so might their friendship.

Kris gently tapped her head against the wall. "Why?" she asked out loud. "Why?" She knew the answer. It was because she was in love with Matt.

She had been in love with Matt for a very long time, since college. Yes, in love with her best friend's boyfriend then husband. For Susan it was almost love at first sight but for Kris, her love for Matt grew slowly. The more time she spent with him, the more in love she became. And the more she did, she knew it was wrong. Matt was Susan's love and would always be.

It was difficult as there were times that Susan would insist that Matt and Kris go places together, like the movies or to dinner. In college if Susan was sick, had a big exam, or one time a movies she didn't want to see, she ask Kris to go out with Matt. After they were married, there were times when Kelly was ill, Susan would call and ask Kris to give Matt some time. At no time, did Kris ever break Susan's faith in her.

Kris and Susan kept no secrets from each other so when Susan and Matt made love for the first time, Kris knew about it. Susan didn't hold back on her relationship with Matt and confided with Kris on everything. She asked Kris for advise on sex and the more Kris knew the more she wanted to feel what Susan was experiencing. One night Susan and Matt came back to the apartment and assuming Kris was asleep began to make love. They tried to be quiet but she could hear them through the wall.

"Oh, baby, you're so wet." She could hear Matt's voice.

Susan replied in a husky whisper. "Oh, Matt, you feel so big, so good."

As Kris could hear their moans, she began to get excited. Soon she had one hand pinching her nipple while the other was frantically strumming her clit.

"Oh, Baby, cum with me, Oh, God," Susan moaned.

As the two lovers came together in the next room, Kris did too, biting her hand so not to cry out.

Having made one mistake, Kris compounded it with another. She married Billy. She had known him since high school and she believed she loved or at least could grow to love him. At first all went well but by the third year the marriage was doomed. Kris tried but Billy never really had a chance. Though she never said it he knew that she didn't love him so he stepped out on her. When she found out she wasn't hurt but she was upset. Upset with herself for letting herself believe that marrying Billy was going to solve everything. Instead it just made things worse.

Susan hated Billy, absolutely hated him. She believed he was no good for Kris and told her so. She also told her that she believed Kris didn't love Billy and was making a huge mistake. During the first 2 years, Susan and Kris saw less and less of each other socially because of Susan's feelings. As much as it hurt Kris, she thought by seeing less of Matt would change her feelings towards him. It didn't. She still saw him at work every day so she considered leaving the school. She never did, she never even tried.

After the divorce, Kris decided that if she couldn't change her feelings for Matt then she would live with them. She would love them both and when Kelly was born she loved her too. No one would ever know and she would do nothing to hurt them. It was her secret, her problem.

For almost 10 years, she thought she pulled it off then a week before Susan died, the 2 girls were sitting on the couch, drinking wine, and unwinding from the day. Matt wasn't home and Kelly was upstairs in her room when Susan put her drink down. She slid over close to Kris and placed her hand on Kris' knee.

"I know, Kris," she said quietly.

"Know what, Sue?"

"I know how you feel about Matt," Susan continued. "You love him, don't you?"

Kris tried to move away but Susan had her trapped. "That's...that's crazy."

"No, it isn't. You can't lie to me. We are too close."

Kris nodded her head and tears filled her eyes. "How long have known?"

Susan smiled. "Since college," she said leaning back into the couch.

"If you knew, then why didn't you say something? Why would you let me go out with him all those times if you knew?" Kris was totally confused. "I'm so sorry. It's wrong."

Susan took Kris by the hand. "No, it's okay. You have nothing to feel sorry about. I trust you. I trust you with all my heart. It's alright"

"Really? You're just not saying that."

"Kris," Susan began, "there are 2 people in this world that I truly, deeply love, you and Matt. Knowing you love him too seems to be all right. It sounds strange, I know."

"Oh, do you think he knows?" Kris blurted out.

"I don't think he has a clue," Susan laughed. "For someone so smart, he can be pretty naïve about women."

They both laughed. "Men!"

After more wine and more talk, Kris got up to leave. Susan suddenly became very serious. "Kris, if anything happens to me, promise me you'll take care of Matt."

"What are you talking about? You're not sick or something? You're not hiding something?"

"No, no. It's nothing. But promise, please." Kris could see in Susan's eyes she was serious.

"I promise but you two will be around for a long time." With that the girls hugged each other and said good night.

A week later Susan was dead.

Kris gave one last look in the mirror. She had put on a little make-up, lipstick, eyeliner, more than she wore at work. Her light spring dress was tight in all the right places and showed enough cleavage to be noticeable but not showy. She checked the weather channel and found out in would be near 100 in Vegas so she packed accordingly. Unfortunately it was a little cooler here so she threw on a light sweater. She heard Matt drive up so she took a deep breath. "Here goes," she said.

Since his talk with Kelly, Matt decided that he was going to push the issue with Kris. She was different than Susan in many ways but those differences only made her more interesting. He talked to himself, weighing the pro and cons, but he realized that was a stupid way to make this decision. He needed to go with his heart. He discovered that he did have feelings for her and only his overwhelming love for Susan had blocked them. He would never stop loving Susan, no matter how long he lived but he knew there was room to love another. He needed to find out and the sooner the better.

On Monday, he started slowly, not really sure how to go about it. He sat next to her instead of across from her during lunch. He accidently touched her reaching for objects, waiting for her reaction. What he discovered was she seemed to like what he doing and actually initiated some of her own. On Wednesday night he asked her over for dinner. The dinner was nice and quiet and the three of them had a great time. Kelly enjoyed the time with Kris and he could hear them talking and laughing in the kitchen as they cleaned up.

Kelly excused herself and went up stairs to do her homework, leaving the two of them alone sitting on the couch. They talked about the trip and the presentation, going over everything. After they made sure it was all covered, their conversation drew to an end. For possibly the first time since they met there was an awkward tension in the air. Both squirmed in their seats. Matt cleared his throat.

"Did you say something?" Kris asked.

"No," Matt quickly replied.

Kris looked at her watch. "Wow, look at the time. We have a big day tomorrow." She stood to go. Matt walked her to the door. They stopped there. Each could feel the tension.

A voice in Matt's head screamed, "Kiss her! Kiss her, you fool!"

Her lips were moist and inviting, begging to be kissed. Instead he just stood there. "Well, good night. I'll call you before I come over."

"Okay, till tomorrow," and Kris walked to her car.

As she drove off, Matt shut the door. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he yelled. "You're not 13 years old and playing some stupid school yard game. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, grow a pair."

Kelly came running down the stairs. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just your Dad is a big jerk."

Kris greeted Matt at the door. "I'm all set," she said.

He took a look. "Wow, you look great. You don't dress like this for work."

"Wait till you see how I dress for Vegas," she laughed.

"I can't wait," Matt replied as he picked up her bags. "Only one?"

"Yes." There was a hint of disgust in her voice. "That and a carry on. You were expecting more? I was thinking about buying a new dress while I was out there. Treating myself."

"Okay then," he said quickly. "There, all set. Let's go."

The ride to the airport and the flight itself was uneventful. They discussed what they were going to do and see at the conference. They decided they would split up so they could see more exhibits and presentations. Then they meet up for lunch, dinner and sight seeing. Things didn't really start until Friday morning and their presentation was after lunch that day. They had gone over what they were going to say until they could say it in their sleep. They were ready for anything.

Before they landed, Matt changed the subject. "Kris, I need to ask you something. Are you alright with this?"

"Sure, we can do the presentation blindfolded."

"No," Matt answered. "I mean you and me, together on this trip. People will talk. Hell, people talk already."

Kris leaned close. "Maybe we should give them something to talk about."

Matt looked her straight into her face and smiled. "I think we should. Remember what happens in Vegas..."

It was hot when they landed, 98 degrees but air conditioning was everywhere. Just the brief moment exiting the cab and going into the hotel was like entering an oven. For Kris, it was even hotter as in the next few minutes she would know how Matt was going to react to the room. She had to tell him but when?

"Hey, Kris, I'll go see about the rooms."

"No, Matt," she answered quickly. "They're under my name so I'll go. Wait here."

Kris went to the desk and returned after only a few minutes. "Let's go. They will bring up our luggage." She nodded to the busboy as she headed to the elevator. She walked quickly and Matt had to hustle to catch her. On the elevator, Matt asked, "So our rooms are on the same floor?"

"Yes. No. Look, I'm so mad. They messed up and your room isn't ready." Kris lied. It was the story she dreamt up as she originally came up with this idea. She needed to tell him the truth but right now she panicked. The lie just came out.

"I see," Matt calmly replied.

Reaching the room, Kris pushed her way in and stalked across it to the windows. She stood, looking at the view. Matt tipped the boy and then walked around, inspecting the room. "So, king sized bed, very nice."

He looked in the bathroom. "This is very nice, with a Jacuzzi with a view. I'm impressed." He moved next to Kris. "A hotel error, huh?"

Kris nodded.

"So when were you going to tell me?"

"You knew!" Kris said. "And you're not mad!"

"I figured it out," Matt turned Kris towards him. "I'm not mad. I'm relieved that someone open the box and the cat's alive."

Kris looked at him quizzically. "Box? Cat?"

"Yes, Schrodinger's cat. It is a paradox but that doesn't matter now."