Only One Night (Only One 3)

“Oh, Mom, can I?” Jaxon asks, and I look down at the boy who I now see looks just like his father. Why didn’t I see it before?

“We have the hockey game tomorrow night,” she tells him, and his shoulders go down.

“That’s okay.” I look at Jaxon. “How about we do it another time?” He smiles at me, and if I didn’t hurt before, I hurt now. What if he found out I slept with his father? What if she found out? My nephew could be dragged into this. My brother, oh shit. “It was nice meeting you.” I look at Murielle and grab Caleb’s hand, walking toward the stairs we came up. He grabs his hockey bag, and I hold his slush.

“Do you want me to carry the bag for you?” I ask. He just shakes his head, and I lean down to kiss his head as we walk down the stairs.

A tear escapes, and I wipe it away as fast as I can. With my head down, I walk out of the arena, making sure to get him in the car as fast as I can. I pull out of the parking lot with my chest hammering and my hands sweaty. Should I tell Tim and Veronica? Should I tell them how I slept with a married man?

And not just any old married man. No, that would be too easy. No, I slept with one of Caleb’s friend’s father. Oh my god. I put my hand on my forehead as I make my way over to Tim and Veronica’s.

I swallow down all my hurt I feel when I pull into their driveway. I get out of the car, opening the back door for Caleb, who jumps out. I grab his bag for him and walk to the front door that is now open with Veronica coming out.

“Thank you so much,” she says after she kisses Caleb hello, and he runs into the house.

“Of course,” I say, and she reaches for the hockey bag. “It was fun.”

“Do you want to come in? We just ordered Chinese,” she tells me, and I shake my head.

“I’ve had a long week,” I say, not lying. “I’m going to go soak in my tub.”

“That sounds divine,” she says, and I nod at her and walk back to my car. “I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch,” I say, and she nods at me.

“Do you want to come to the hockey game with us?” she asks, and the burning in my stomach comes back.

“Maybe some other time. I have a couple of boxes left to unpack.” I lie to her this time. Everything that I had was unpacked this week. I did it to keep my mind from thinking about Manning. She holds up her hand and waves at me as I drive away.

Only when I’m away from the house do the tears come. Instead of the memories from Saturday coming at me, it’s the face of his son. It’s the look of his wife smiling and being duped to who her husband really is.

“I’ve never had a one-night stand.” I hear his voice in my head. “I’ve never done this. Never wanted to,” he whispered to me while he slid into me over and over again. “Until you.” I close my eyes, and my stomach roils.

“Liar!” I shout in the car as I make my way home. Walking in, I don’t even bother turning on the lights. Instead, I walk to the fridge and open it, grabbing the white wine I keep in there. I take the cork out and just drink it straight from the bottle. I close my eyes as the cold liquid makes it down to my stomach.

“Holy shit,” I say, taking another gulp. “Holy fucking shit.” I take another swig, this time kicking off my shoes. Putting my hands on the counter, I drop my head. “Married.” I shake my head, trying to erase him from my mind. I head back to my bedroom, walking straight to the bathroom and starting a bath.

Putting the wine bottle on the white marble counter, I light the candles around the bath. I undress and grab the bottle, then slip into the tub. Holding my legs to my chest, I finally let the tears come. I slept with a married man. The thought replays in my head as I drink the wine.

My whole life, I would hear stories about my friends' families going through divorce, and there was always the main theme. One cheated on the other. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Fuck, I was cheated on, so I know how it feels to be deceived. I know what it feels to be hurt, to be lied to, to be the one left in the dark.

I wipe away the tears, getting out of the tub when the water turns ice cold. I slip on the plush white robe and walk to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I look to see what I can whip together.