Love and Happiness Read online

  Chris

  I was exhausted. I jump off the crane I was operating. My hands were dirty and coarse from handling all the debris at the construction site. I closed my eyes and used the cleanest part of the back of my hand to rub the bridge of my nose.

  “Chris, you all right? You look out of it,” Nadine said as she stood near the crane.

  “Yeah, I’m good. I’m a little tired, but I’ll live.”

  “You need to cut back on the hours. You look worn out.”

  I shook my head. “I got two little girls at home, a mortgage, and all types of bills and expenses. I don’t have time to worry about being tired. I gotta suck it up and drink more coffee. I’ll be fine. I need the overtime.”

  We were working on a big water main break at the corner of Murray Street and West Broadway in Lower Manhattan. My kids’ school tuition was due a week ago, the mortgage too, and it felt like as soon as I thought I was out of debt and in the clear, an unexpected expense would spring up or something would break down, putting me back in the negative.

  “Get some coffee. I’ll hold it down here,” Nadine said.

  She was one of the strongest women I knew. She worked as hard as any man on the site and wouldn’t take shit from anyone. Most of the other guys were intimidated by her strength, but I understood her. She was strong, but deep down she was also sensitive and wanted people to like her. She was divorced and had no kids, and while I tried not to check her out, there was no denying she was gorgeous. She was born in Barbados. Her green eyes and thick, shapely thighs drove me crazy. She was also my crutch at work and helped to keep me sane. I had mentioned her to Karen a few times, but Karen never listened to me when it came to my job. She thought any woman working construction either was a lesbian or was ugly as hell. I didn’t worry about her being uncomfortable about Nadine, because Karen didn’t think of her as a threat.

  My job was stressful, but right now my mind was on Karen. I viewed my kids as blessings, but when Karen and I had become parents six years ago, our lives had done a complete one-eighty. She’d changed, and I’d changed, and I didn’t like it. Every day, as soon as I walked in the door, she was yelling at me about something. I felt like I couldn’t do anything right in her eyes. Sometimes I’d rather work late than go home and argue with her.

  Things with Karen didn’t feel right. We rarely had sex anymore. It was not in my nature to ask, because I’d be damned if I was going to beg her or have her go through the motions out of some sense of duty. I wanted her to want me. I was adamant about that, but I didn’t know how much longer jerking off was going to pacify me. Karen seemed cool with how our sex life was going, and that bothered and scared me. I had a growing suspicion that she was fucking someone else. Maybe she was not affected by our nonexistent sex life, because she was getting it from someone else.

  At the beginning of our marriage, she hadn’t had a password on her phone, but now she had one. In the past we’d never been secretive with each other. Why the change now? I wondered. She’d been working late a lot recently, sometimes not coming home until after midnight and claiming that she had stayed to put in overtime hours. But her checks didn’t have overtime money in them when they were directly deposited into our joint account. Every so often when I used her car, I would find the passenger seat pushed all the way back, and I would have to adjust it. All her friends were short. Who would need to sit so far back?

  And lately, she’d been so combative with me. It felt as if we couldn’t even talk without getting in an argument. It made me question whether Karen was bored in general or bored with me, our kids, our marriage. And if she was, would she cheat on me to make up for her lack of excitement? I had been trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. I’d been telling myself that I was just being paranoid, but it was all really fucking with me.

  I rushed over to the corner store across from the construction site and got coffee for Nadine and me. When I got back to the crane, I handed Nadine her cup and then sat down on a cement block. I took a sip, then rested my coffee cup beside me and massaged my temples.

  “Damn. You look stressed,” Nadine said.

  She put her coffee down on another cement block, walked behind me, and massaged my back and shoulders.

  “You have a lot of tension in your neck and shoulders. You need to relax.”

  Her hands felt heavenly as she massaged me, kneading out all the kinks and knots in my tightly wound shoulders, but I had to stop this. It felt too good. She was hot, but I didn’t need this much temptation, especially with the way I’d been feeling in my marriage. I politely stopped her and stood up, my coffee cup in my hand.

  “Thanks. I’m good now. I gotta get back to work.”

  She looked disappointed, but she nodded and smiled. At least I had one woman around who wanted to touch me.

  * * *

  It was about one in the morning, and I was just getting home. At least I had had the day off. The house was dark when I walked inside. I headed to my bedroom. The kids were both knocked out on my side of the bed, while Karen was sitting up reading one of her romance novels.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey,” she answered softly.

  I wished she’d stop having the kids fall asleep in our bed. We had recently broken them of the habit of wanting to sleep with us. It was another factor that had been putting a damper on our sex life.

  I carried them to their bedroom, tucked them in, and jumped in the shower. Afterward, I walked into the bedroom and opened my towel slowly. Karen stared at me. I let my towel fall to the floor and stood in front of her, completely naked. Karen looked good in her black and purple bra and panties set. We hadn’t had sex in so long that I got hard instantly. I walked up to her, leaned over, lifted her face to mine, and softly kissed her. I rubbed my hands down her body, pulled her thong down, and tossed it on the floor.

  While there were millions of women in the world, there’d never been a woman I desired more than Karen. I turned her around, grabbed my erection, and struggled to push into her softness. She was still dry. I spat on my hand and rubbed it on my dick. Then I eased it into her tightness. I pumped away and tried my best to savor the moment. I squeezed her cheeks and slapped her ass. Her juices started to flow. She felt better, moister. I loved hearing her moan. When she moaned, it felt like she was singing to me.

  “Ride me, baby,” I whispered in her ear.

  She nodded and adjusted her body on top of my hardness. Her long reddish-brown hair cascaded down her face as she worked her magic, grinding and rubbing her clit on my pubic bone the way I liked it. She placed her hands on my chest and increased her stride. She was close. I knew my wife’s body, and I loved watching her face when she reached that point—her honey-colored complexion glowed. A few moments later she came and then rested on my chest. She smiled and took me in her mouth. She deep throated me, and in no time, I was cumming down her throat. As soon as I finished, Karen rushed into the bathroom. I heard her gargling with the mouthwash and brushing her teeth.

  It had been so long since we’d had sex that I just drifted off to sleep, content and satisfied, before Karen returned to bed. I was so tired from work that I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

  Karen

  “Chris, make sure the girls finish getting ready, and don’t bring them to school late.”

  “I won’t. You know I’ve done these things a million times before, right?”

  “Doing them a million times before doesn’t mean you’ve done them right.”

  Chris frowned at me.

  Bing. A text message.

  Our iPhones were on one of the marble kitchen counters. I hated that they looked so identical. I had been constantly dropping my phone and breaking it, and Chris had got tired of buying me replacements, so he’d bought me the same black OtterBox case he had to protect my phone.

  “Is that my phone or yours?” I asked him.

  Chris handed me my phone without answering. He then poured coffee into my thermos while I rushed to grab my pur
se so I could head out for work.

  “Thanks. I’ll see you tonight,” I said when he gave me the thermos.

  I gave him a peck on the lips and dashed out of the house. After I placed the thermos and my purse on the seat of the car, I checked my phone. It was a text from my sister, Chloe.

  What’s up, bitch face! I’m in desperate need of a girls’ night on Friday.

  I texted her back. What did you have in mind?

  You can ditch the rug rats with Chris or his dad, and me, you, Lindsey, Vivian, and Judy can all go into Manhattan for a night of shaking our asses and clubbing on Friday night. What do you say, big sis? Are you down for that?

  I laughed out loud. Then I sent a final text.

  No doubt.

  Right now my mind wasn’t on my weekend plans, though. My thoughts had gone back to last night’s sex session with Chris. It had started off nice. He’d looked so damn sexy standing in our bedroom, naked, with his bald head and muscular body still wet from his shower. I’d definitely been turned on, and I’d wanted him. I enjoyed his few kisses and caresses and was prepared to get the kind of loving from him that I’d been craving for so long, but as it turned out, it was a good thing that my seeing him naked had me somewhat aroused and moist, because he didn’t bother to give me much foreplay. Where was the foreplay to get my juices flowing? I knew we couldn’t always have marathon sex. Both of us usually had to wake up early to get ready for work, but I needed stimulation. You needed to preheat this oven before you stuffed in the meat. The bastard didn’t even offer to go down on me.

  Instead, as usual, he climbed on top of me and started poking and pushing himself inside me, going right to straight fucking me. He didn’t kiss me at all while we made love, and he didn’t hold me after. It was no different than if he was fucking a prostitute. Nevertheless, once I got into it, it was great. But after returning the favor for making me cum, I came back into the bedroom to see his ass asleep. I’d wanted that warm feeling of cuddling together and being held. Instead, I’d gone to sleep, disappointed, while he’d rolled over, satisfied.

  * * *

  I was at my desk working on figures for my department. I worked as a derivative accounting manager in the Hicksville, New York branch of National Grid, one of the largest energy suppliers on Long Island. After I had taken a quick look at the reports in front of me, I’d known that something was off with my department figures and that it would take time to get them right.

  While I was hard at work, Tyrell knocked on my door and walked into my office, then closed the door behind him.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  I continued working on the report I was correcting, though I glanced up from my computer screen for a split second and said, “Hey.”

  “Can you get away tonight?” he asked.

  I stopped typing and leaned back in my chair. “I think I can arrange something. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to surprise you, but I guess I’ll tell you. I got us tickets to see Wicked.”

  “What? Hell yeah, I can sneak away for that! I’ll call Chris on my lunch break and tell him I’m working late.”

  Tyrell was nice. He was tall, around six feet four, and had a natural bronze complexion. He wasn’t as in shape as Chris or Raheem, but he had a decent build.

  He was respectful, romantic, and affectionate. He’d be perfect if he had a longer dick and weren’t a minute man. When we had sex, he never got me off during the actual act, only orally or when we used toys. I knew after our outing tonight, I could sex him up quickly and be home before midnight.

  I’d met Tyrell a little over a year ago. He was married, but he had no kids. His wife also worked at National Grid, but in our Melville branch. If I hadn’t known that she was cheating on him, I probably wouldn’t have slept with him. He’d caught her fucking another guy in the company parking lot one night, and rumors of it had spread all throughout National Grid. His work had suffered tremendously because of this, and as his supervisor, I had to let him go. I’d invited him out to lunch to cushion the blow of firing him, but it had backfired big-time. He had vented to me about his marriage, and I had ended up venting to him about mine. Before I knew it, that night I was bent over in my office, getting fucked from behind. And I convinced HR and the higher-ups to give him another chance. He’d been under me, literally and figuratively, ever since.

  At the time, Raheem’s lack of availability had been starting to bother me. I couldn’t see him whenever I wanted, but I still craved the affection and attention that he provided for me. So I used Tyrell as my substitute maintenance man for the emotional connection I wanted and needed when Raheem was tied up with his wife.

  Tyrell walked behind my desk, with a naughty grin. He swung my chair around and showered me with soft, sensual kisses. He hiked up my navy-blue skirt and eased my panties down. He licked his fingers and slowly worked them inside me. I was aroused by his spontaneity, but I had to play it safe.

  “We have to be quick. Make sure my door is locked, since you want to be nasty during work hours,” I told him.

  Tyrell grinned, walked back to the door, turned the latch, and twisted the doorknob to confirm the door was locked. He came back to my chair and, without hesitation, dropped to his knees. He placed his hands under my butt and pulled my pussy closer to his face. He hungrily lapped my clit, switching between firm strokes and gentle nibbles. I held the back of his head in my hands. I felt so in control as I watched him feast on me. My orgasm snuck up on me. I gasped and bit down on my lip to muffle my moans. Tingles swept through me in waves. My body bucked as Tyrell continued to lick me through my climax, despite my reaction. I needed that release. I clamped my shuddering thighs around his head. Then I squealed and panted as I pushed his head away from my sensitive clit.

  “Are you trying to kill me, making me cum like that?” I asked. It was more to massage his ego than to tell him the truth, but the boy could eat a good pussy.

  Tyrell smiled, got up off his knees, grabbed some tissues off my desk, and wiped his face. “I like to keep you pleased, my dear,” he said, smiling.

  “You do that well.” I paused, a glint in my eye. “Do you want me to return the favor?” I asked, then seductively licked my lips.

  “Nah. I want to savor you without any distractions tonight, after our date. Build up your strength, because that was just the appetizer. Meet me at my car when you sign out.”

  “Okay.”

  I winked at him. He smiled, walked out of my office, and closed the door behind him. I giggled to myself, straightened out my outfit, combed my disheveled hair, and went back to working on my report.

  * * *

  Wicked was awesome. I loved it! The costumes, the set, and the performances were amazing. When it was over, we ate dinner at Red Lobster on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.

  Afterward, we drove back to our workplace, and I brought him into my office to thank him properly for the wonderful evening.

  As soon as we got inside, Tyrell wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. His hands traveled down my hips, and he grabbed two big handfuls of my ass.

  During the day, I worked in the corporate world, and even though I was a supervisor, I still had to take orders. Right here, right now, I had the control, and I had the power. And Tyrell was about to fall victim to it. I pushed him back on my desk.

  “I like when you get aggressive.” He laughed.

  I hiked up my pencil skirt and yanked my panties down. I stepped out of my panties and then unbuckled his pants and tugged them down, along with his briefs, to the floor. Tyrell lay on his back, with his thick stub of a penis pointing straight up toward the ceiling. I reached down and grabbed his pants from the floor and searched in his pockets for a condom. When I found one, I dropped his pants, ripped open the wrapper with my teeth, and easily put the condom on him by using only my mouth. He thought this was an amazing feat. It took no real skill. His dick didn’t have enough length to make it challenging.

  I held on to his leg
s, reached back, and slowly lowered myself down on his dick. I exaggerated the arch in my back as I leaned forward to ride him in reverse cowgirl. He grabbed two handfuls of my ass and started thrusting upward while I rolled my hips on top of him. His squirming and moaning beneath me was definitely a sexy sight, but I clamped my hand over his mouth to muffle his moans.

  A vein throbbed in his forehead. He looked like he was on the verge of losing control, and I welcomed it. I liked knowing that I was the cause of this euphoria he was experiencing. I quickened my pace, rolling my hips and bouncing my ass hard on top of him.

  “Oh shit! Oh fuck,” he moaned, squirming while he came.

  Sweat streamed down Tyrell’s forehead as he lay on top of my desk, panting and trying to catch his breath from our session. I took pride knowing that I had worn his ass out!

  He kissed me. “I enjoy being with you.”

  “Aw, I enjoy being with you too.”

  “I’m falling in love with you, Karen.”

  Ugh. I hated when he got like this. I enjoyed how he made me feel emotionally and physically, but I’d never leave Chris for Tyrell.

  I patted his arm. “We agreed we’d just enjoy each other’s company. That’s it. Don’t complicate things.”

  “I know, I know, but can you honestly tell me you don’t feel it too?”

  I honestly didn’t. I liked him. You could even say I somewhat cared about him, but I wasn’t in love with him or even close to falling in love with him. As much as Chris irritated me, he was the only man I actually loved.

  “Tyrell, I do have feelings for you, but I have a family. I’m married, you’re married, and I have kids. As much as I care about you, I’m not breaking up my family. You know this.”