The Affair

The word "Fusion" screamed at him from the vibrant neon lights over the archway as he walked through the door. He cracked open his wallet and peeled off a few singles for the doorman, and as he placed it back into his inside coat pocket, he discretely slipped his wedding ring off his finger and tucked it carefully into the folds of the leather.

When he rounded the corner into the main room, the atmosphere of the club assaulted his senses. The smell of cigarette smoke and bottom-shelf liquor pressed against him while the many-colored spotlights danced across the wisps of smoke. Bouncing, syncopated rhythms accented with unintelligible and robotically pitch-corrected vocals boomed and whined through every speaker, making his brain rattle within his head and negating the possibility of any verbal interactions beyond what's absolutely necessary to coax a drunk woman into one's bed (and he liked that about this place).

Doing his best to take in the overwhelming surroundings as he walked, he made his way through the sparse crowd toward the bar, scanning the long row of bar stools for a potential companion for the night. He spotted her, first, in his peripheral vision, on the opposite end of the bar. Initially, he thought his eyes might be deceiving him, seeing her again -- and here, of all places -- but as he drew closer, it became unmistakable.

She was sitting alone, at the very edge of the bar. Her deep blue eyes held a familiar resemblance, but he had never seen her quite like this. Her dark, long hair hung in soft waves, draped elegantly over her bare shoulders. Her sleek, black dress tantalizingly accented the curves of her figure, suggesting what lay beneath without ever crossing the line into distastefulness. Her large, soft lips sensually caressed the rim of the crystal martini glass as she finished the last sip of her drink.

His confidence wavered for a moment, paralyzed like a deer in headlights by the stunning beauty of the woman before him, but he collected himself and walked deliberately toward her, taking a seat in the empty stool to her left. He gently placed his right hand on the small of her back and offered her a drink.

When she turned to catch his eyes, she nearly choked on the last swallow of her Tequila Sunrise. She didn't know how to respond -- or, indeed, whether she should respond at all. The words clung tight to her throat. There were so many things she wanted to say, fighting for priority in her mind like congested traffic at a freeway onramp. She was deeply in love with this man, once upon a time, but he had been married nearly twelve years now, and she'd long ago thought that she had lost him.

Finally, she nodded, somewhat apprehensively, but he had already called over the bartender and was exchanging a handful of bills for a bourbon on the rocks and another Tequila Sunrise. They clanked the glasses together softly and each took a sip of their drinks, never breaking eye contact, and even in this simple moment, the innate chemistry between them was palpable.

As she set her glass down, she noticed the fresh tan line just below the knuckle of her ring finger, and embarrassingly tried to conceal it with her right hand. Before she could get that far, however, his hand was on hers, grasping it gently, understandingly, slowly stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. She looked into his eyes with shame, but he couldn't bring himself to be offended, considering his own reasons for being here. Finally, they leaned toward each other simultaneously, and their lips met. Recognizing that they had no further business at the noisy club, they polished off their drinks and made their way to the exit, bare fingers interlocked.

At the end of the cab ride back home, he withdrew his wallet to pay the driver, and as he did, his wedding band fell out and dropped into his lap. Before he had the chance to retrieve it, she picked it up and slipped it back onto his finger. She took her own ring back out from her purse, and he did the same for her.

He gave the driver a generous tip, and they arrived at the doorstep. He unlocked the door, and after closing it behind them they stumbled recklessly together, undressing as they walked, to the bedroom they'd shared for the past twelve years. They made love like they never had before.