Faith, Friendship, and Passion Ch. 03

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Brad and Rebecca today.
17.2k words
4.38
29.9k
19

Part 3 of the 3 part series

Updated 10/26/2022
Created 09/15/2013
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Background: Please read the first two installments before reading Chapter 3. Chapter 3 will have a lot more meaning if you do!

Courtesy Notice: After some rather strong reactions to Chapter 1 and 2, I feel compelled to advise everyone that this story is about two married people being unfaithful. If you have a strong aversion to this topic, please consider not reading any of the chapters in this story. Thank you.

********

After our intense mid-December daytime romp, the next couple weeks passed uneventfully. Rebecca and I were limited to neighborly greetings and couple-minute long, shallow conversations as we saw each other coming and going from home. As superficial as they were, I longed for any interaction with her, no matter how short.

It was now two days before Christmas and the forecast was calling for a few inches of snow on Christmas Eve. Like seemingly every other man in town, I was at the mall wandering aimlessly among the disheveled remains of the shopping season trying to find the gifts I wanted for my loved ones. Miraculously, I had already checked off my list of gifts I planned for Trisha and the girls but I didn't feel finished. I wandered the crowded hallways in a mental fog. I wanted to give Rebecca something but didn't know if I should. Even if I did, what would be appropriate? It couldn't be too expensive or over-the-top. I didn't want her to feel awkward about the gift. Something sexy would be fun but I didn't want her to get the impression I was only interested in sex. I really cared for her deeply. On top of that dilemma, it couldn't be something Jonathan would see and question.

After about an hour of wandering countless stores unsuccessfully, I gave up on the mall and decided to try our suburb's downtown area. I thought I might have better luck finding something in the little boutique shops that populate downtown. I packed the family gifts away in the trunk and drove ten minutes to a downtown parking deck. Once parked and walking toward the elevator, I was so deep in thought about Rebecca's gift that I nearly walked in front of a car leaving the deck.

I was parked on the 7th floor. My elevator ride down stopped on the 5th floor and a group of four thirty-something women joined me for the ride down. Obviously on a girls'-day-out, the descending metal box was filled with exuberant voices and laughter. The elevator stopped abruptly at street level and the five of us piled out of the opening door. The four women continued their cackles as they passed through the parking structure lobby and out onto the sidewalk. I was the last out of the elevator and followed several paces behind the boisterous group.

I turned south down Main Street and peered into the shop windows as I slowly strolled down the sidewalk. I noticed the four women that were in the elevator enter a store further down the block. I passed the first few shops realizing I probably wouldn't find anything appropriate in the specialty food store, haberdashery, or women's shoe store. It was after I passed an organic cosmetics shop that I realized where the girls'-day-out group went. Five storefronts away from the parking deck lobby was a high-end spa. It hit me immediately. The spa was the perfect gift! Rebecca would feel pampered, special, and loved. There also wouldn't be a physical object that Jonathan would find suspicious.

I opened the door and stepped into a sleek, modern reception area. Several hosts stood behind a black marble and glass counter. All smiled broadly at me as I entered. A tall blonde greeted me, introduced herself as Alena, and asked if I was interested in a Christmas gift-certificate package. I must have looked as out of place as I felt.

Alena patiently explained several spa treatment packages while I looked at the treatment "menu" with glazed eyes. I had never heard of half the treatments and had no idea what Rebecca would like. I settled on the "Unlimited" package. It included 6 hours of any treatments Rebecca would care to choose. Selections of hors d'oeuvres and champagne cocktails were complimentary. The 6 hours could be used in one appointment or divided into two separate 3-hour appointments. I then remembered the group of women on the girls'-day-out and figured Rebecca would want to enjoy the spa with a friend rather than come alone.

Alena kindly emptied my wallet of its cash and presented me with a sleek black envelope containing the two "Unlimited" gift certificates and a treatment menu. The matte finish envelope was about the size of a postcard and made of thick card stock that was difficult to bend. The spa name, "exhale", was imprinted in gold-leaf lower case letters across the front of the envelope. The spa address and phone number was imprinted in small letters into the cardstock on the back of the envelope just below a black wax logo that sealed the envelope closed. I told Alena thank you and returned to my car in the parking deck. Now I just had to find the right time to give the envelope to Rebecca.

***********

The next day, Christmas Eve, Trisha and I were both off work for the holiday. We both spend the day preparing for her parents to join us for Christmas Day. I vacuumed the carpet and generally tidied the house while Trisha put fresh sheets on the guest beds and began preparing some of the Christmas dinner food in advance. Once the cleaning was under control and the girls were occupied helping Trisha make cookies, I escaped down to the basement and began wrapping the gifts I purchased the day before. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when wrapping gifts so it took a couple hours. I like crisp, sharp corners with the paper pulled taut to the box underneath, a particularly difficult task when wrapping odd-shaped toy boxes.

When finally complete, I emerged from the basement with arms full of gifts to find the girls sitting at the top of the stairs. Trisha quipped that they heard rustles of wrapping paper and had been not-so-patiently waiting to see the gifts. She was talking about our daughters but Trisha also followed closely behind me to inspect the packages as I put them under the tree. I looked at the girls, wagged my finger, and said, "no touching". I then looked at Trisha, wagged my finger, and said, "no touching for you either".

I went back down and retrieved a bag of trash and the black spa envelope that I had wrapped in satin black wrapping paper and tied with crinkly gold foil ribbon. I took the trash out to a can in the garage and then placed the wrapped spa envelope in the center console of my car for safekeeping.

It was about 3:00 in the afternoon when I glanced out the window and saw snow beginning to fall. I played a few board games with the girls to keep them occupied while Trisha finished up a few more preparations for tomorrow's dinner. Around 6:00, we assembled some sandwiches and the four of us ate dinner while we played a card game. By 7pm, the tapering snowfall had left about four inches on the ground. Trisha took the girls upstairs to give them baths before bed and I headed outside to clear the snow so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning.

I started the snow blower and went to work clearing the driveway. As I did, Rebecca pulled her minivan into her driveway and unloaded the kids. Jonathan's car was not in the driveway and I guessed he was probably still at church after their Christmas Eve service. I finished clearing my driveway and sidewalks then started down Rebecca's sidewalk. When I was just about done with the driveway, she stepped out to sweep snow off the front porch then waited for me in the open garage. She was in a black knee-length winter coat with her usual frumpy angle-length blue dress underneath. It still amazed me how, despite the incredible drabness of her clothing, it couldn't begin to distract from her natural beauty.

I shut off the snow blower and said, "Hi beautiful. Is Jonathan still at church?" Rebecca smiled and replied, "Yes, he should be home soon."

"Wait here." I said. "I'll be right back."

I pulled the snow blower back to my garage and retrieved the wrapped spa envelope from the center console of my car. I walked back over to Rebecca's garage. I handed her the postcard size package and said, "Merry Christmas. Open it tonight after everyone is asleep."

I discreetly kissed her on the cheek and said, "I love you."

I turned to walk away and heard Rebecca start to speak, "You shouldn't have. I didn't get you..."

I cut her off by saying, "Shhhhh. I wanted to. You deserve it."

I gave her another kiss on the cheek and said, "I better go. Have a great Christmas."

"I love you." Rebecca replied softly as I walked away.

*********

Christmas morning was great. I was fully absorbed in watching Trisha and the girls open their gifts. It was pure joy to watch the excitement on their faces as they ripped through the presents in a cloud of shredded wrapping paper. It was also one of the few times I can remember from that period that Rebecca temporarily faded from my every thought.

The rest of the day wasn't as enjoyable. To be honest, it was outright painful once Trisha's parents arrived around mid-morning. Luckily, they only lived a few hours away and would only be spending the day with us. They represented everything I hate about religion. They are grumpy, critical, judgmental, holier-than-though, and generally unpleasant to be around. On top of that, their inaccurate "biblical" teachings about sinfulness of sex are the source of my wife's severe emotional issues surrounding physical intimacy. It is that constant weight on my wife and our marriage that I cannot get out of my mind when they are around.

I suffered through the day and was quick to escape whenever I could by fetching ingredients from the pantry for Trisha, cleaning up wrapping paper, taking out empty boxes and bags of trash, or any other distraction I could find. Trisha did the same. We both let out a huge sigh of relief when they walked out the door to go home. Trisha held herself together long enough to put the kids to bed before joining me on the living room sofa and collapsing onto my shoulder in tears. Her mother had been nagging at her all day about anything and everything. It seemed Trisha couldn't do anything to her mother's satisfaction. Even the order in which Trisha loaded dirty dishes in the dishwasher drew harsh criticism.

I could never have guessed it at the time but that horrible visit from her parents was the beginning of a new emotional journey for Trisha and a blessing in disguise for our marriage.

**********

The next few weeks passed quickly. I was extremely busy at work and evenings were filled with helping the girls comprehend increasing loads of homework. The volume and complexity far surpassed what I remembered having as a child. Some of the assignments were clearly well beyond their grade level and were obviously intended to require parent involvement.

During those few weeks, the only opportunities I had to share time with Rebecca were quick waves and glances as we came and went about our own schedules. I so badly wanted to spend more time with her but didn't dare go out of my way for fear of raising Jonathan's or Trisha's suspicions.

We finally had a chance to talk for about 30 minutes on a Wednesday near the end of January. It was a Wednesday ritual that, except for the past few weeks, seemed to happen more weeks than not. I carried my trashcans to the end of the drive in preparation for Thursday morning trash pickup. As I did, Rebecca and the kids returned from their Wednesday evening church service. She pulled the familiar maroon minivan into the driveway and shuffled the kids into the house. She then went about consolidating trash and recycle goods into the proper containers.

Having set my last recycle bin into place at the curb, I walked over to help Rebecca with the abundance of trash their large family produced. Once again, she was in her familiar black, knee-length winter coat with a frumpy, ankle-length dress beneath. As I approached, Rebecca retreated to a back corner of the garage and motioned for me to join her. When I did, she reached up, tightly wrapped her arms around my neck, and attacked me with passionate kisses. I wrapped my arms around her coat-covered waist and our tongues intertwined for a couple intoxicating minutes before the reality of her kids being just inside the house overcame us.

Once we peeled ourselves apart, she gave a seductive look and said, "Thank you for the gift. I have some gift ideas in mind for you but we'll have to find some time alone for that."

"I don't expect anything in return. I just wanted to do something for you. Have you used it yet?"

"I went for 3 hours with a friend last week. It was incredible! I wanted to call or text you but I knew I shouldn't."

"What did you do while you were there?"

Rebecca's pace of speech picked up and she started excitedly spewing details about treatments, hors d'oeuvres, and girl-talk with her friend. She sounded giddy just like the group of four women I saw the day I bought the gift certificate. My eyes must have glazed over because she suddenly stopped talking, giggled, and said, "All you need to know is that I loved it. Thank you again."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

We made small talk for a few more minutes about our family activities and what was going on in our day-to-day lives. As part of that conversation, Rebecca mentioned she would like go to a conference on biblical history with some ladies from church but doubted Jonathan would approve of her going without him. I continued the conference subject by saying I had to go to a conference for healthcare facility managers in Indianapolis at the end of February. I would be presenting a seminar and hopefully gathering some potential project leads for the firm. We joked about why anyone would ever choose to host a February conference in the Midwest. Why not Miami, Dallas, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angles, or any other warm city?

I asked her how Christmas was and we talked about that for a few more minutes. She told me they went to their Christmas morning church service then came home and opened gifts. I gave Rebecca the short version of our experience with Trisha's parents but then lightened the mood by telling her about the girls opening their gifts.

I realized Jonathan would probably be home soon so I said, "I better take care of the cans" and quickly carried the half dozen trash and recycle containers to the curb. I came back up to the garage, gave Rebecca a quick peck on the cheek and said, "I hope we can talk again soon."

"I hope so too. I love you." she replied.

"I love you too." I said as I turned to head back home.

I couldn't claim to know the depth of her feelings. I only knew how I felt. My intense feelings for Rebecca were threatening to eclipse my marriage bond with Trisha. It was on that very short walk home that I first realized I would have a decision to make at some point.

**********

The next few weeks passed routinely. My days were consumed with work and my evenings with fatherly responsibilities while Trisha worked the evening shift. I looked forward to my one weekly selfish indulgence on Wednesday nights when I knew I would help Rebecca with the trash and talk for a little while. The conversations generally stayed on light topics like what the kids were doing in school and a local controversy over a proposed mixed-use development around the corner from our subdivision.

Although the topics were light, the tension was not. There was a deep yearning easily visible in her eyes and body language and I'm sure she probably sensed the same from me. It took all the restraint we had to keep animalistic passion at bay.

**********

The end of February eventually came and, I must admit, I was looking forward to a few days away at the conference. I needed a break from my daily work and childcare routine. I know that sounds terrible. I really did love and enjoy my girls but, as any parent knows, sometimes you just need a break to recharge. Luckily, Trisha was able to trade shifts with co-workers for the few days I would be out of town.

The only downside to the conference was that I would miss my Wednesday night talk with Rebecca. The conference officially started on Thursday morning but there was an informal conference kickoff (aka cocktail party) on Wednesday night. I've found over the years that leads for new clients usually don't come from people you sit next to in seminars or at lunch. They come from people you buy drinks for at night. Therefore, I was leaving home Wednesday morning and driving to Indianapolis to be there in time for dinner and the kickoff session. The conference lasted through Saturday and I would leave early Sunday morning to be home in time to meet Trisha and the girls after church for lunch.

That Wednesday morning I packed a small travel bag, a hanging clothes bag, and laptop briefcase into my car. I then said goodbye to Trisha and the girls before they left for school. The girls are accustomed to me being home with them in the evening and didn't want me to be gone overnight. I glanced at Trisha and could tell that stung her a little. Although they didn't say it, them not wanting me to go equated to not being comfortable with Trisha handling the evening homework and bedtime routines. I reassured them that mommy was more than capable and was much better at homework than daddy. I also promised that I would call each evening to say goodnight.

After saying my goodbyes, I went into the office for a couple hours before leaving for Indy. I made a few telephone calls, responded to a dozen or so emails, then loaded my seminar presentation onto the laptop and an extra USB drive for backup. It was a little early to leave for Indy and I wasn't in the mood to do any more real work before I left so I took the opportunity to annoy the office interns with architectural history trivia. It was a favorite past time of management to ask the interns trivia questions about architecture and watch them squirm. It was meaningless fun but they all took it very seriously with hope of impressing the leadership and earning a permanent position at the firm. I amused myself for fifteen or twenty minutes and then let them off the hook.

On a side note, one of the interns, Andrew, caught our attention by repeatedly doing very well during various quiz sessions. He had also proven to be a very diligent worker and would eventually be hired on a permanent basis after he graduated. So, on second thought, I guess the quiz sessions weren't so meaningless after all.

On my way out the door, I had a brief conversation with the receptionist about my hotel reservation then left the office behind. I stopped at a local greasy spoon to grab a burger-to-go then hit the road. I turned on the 24hr news radio station to hear the traffic report and plan my best route through the Chicago metro area. Once out of the congested areas, I turned off the radio and just drove. I love cruising the highways. It is incredibly relaxing to be isolated in my cocoon of metal and glass with only the sounds of my own thoughts, tires whining on the pavement, and wind rushing past the glass. Actually, I didn't even really hear my own thoughts for the first part of the trip. I just kind of zoned out and mindlessly watched the scenery go by. It was wonderful.

About an hour outside of Indianapolis, I passed a maroon Chrysler Town & Country just like Rebecca's. It wasn't hers but it triggered my thoughts. Suddenly, my mind started racing with a complex mixture of feelings and emotions. I was truly in love with Rebecca. I couldn't say the same about Trisha. I loved her but I was no longer IN love with her. Rebecca filled the emotional void that had been missing with Trisha since the birth of our girls. Another layer on top of that was the physical passion and pleasure that Rebecca and I shared. I had never experienced that with Trisha, not even as newlyweds.