8 Weeks (Time for Love 1)

Chapter 1 – Cal

I lifted my throbbing head from the mattress and glanced around the blurry room. Nothing looked familiar. I closed my eyes tightly and reopened them, hoping to bring the room into focus and discover where I was. Closing my eyes relieved some of the pain, but as soon as I opened them again, the bright morning light felt like a laser searing my skull.

“Fuck!” I raised myself up gingerly, on shaky arms, as the night before came back to me in fits and glimpses.

I was in Vegas.

We’d had my buddy’s bachelor party the night before.

I’d gotten completely fuckin’ wasted.

I was able to get into a sitting position, bringing my elbows up to rest on my knees, and cradle my head in my hands. I peered down around my palms and got an eyeful of my junk.

I was butt-ass naked.

What the fuck had happened last night? I closed my eyes tightly and tried to remember, but it was no use. When my stomach began turn, I heaved myself off of the bed and looked around for a place to vomit. I had no idea where the bathroom was, but was able to make it to the trashcan by the desk before the puke flew past my lips. A moan escaped my lips as my stomach cramped and some remnants of last night’s dinner came out of my mouth and nose simultaneously.

The retching went on for a few minutes. My nose burned and there was a chunk of something lodged in the back of my throat.

Stomach empty, I sat back on my heels and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Now not only was my head pounding like a drum, but my mouth tasted like I’d been licking the ass-end of a horse for the better part of the morning.

I curled into a ball on the floor by the trashcan, willing the room to be still, so my stomach would stop twirling violently. It was no use. I felt the bile begin to rise and got up quickly to hug the trashcan again, hurling and heaving until there was nothing left but the foam from the pit of my stomach.

The sound of a flush, then water running had me turning my head toward what must’ve been the bathroom. A few seconds later, the door opened and a statuesque blonde strode out and picked up her dress from the back of a chair. She turned to me, naked as I was, and shook her head with a chuckle.

“That was some party,” she said as she pulled the dress over her head and walked toward the door. When her hand touched the handle she turned back to me and smiled. “Have a nice life, sugar.” Then she walked out, the door slamming behind her.

I sat there for a moment. Speechless, naked, reeking of alcohol and puke.

“No, no, no, no, no, no …” I muttered as I began to rock back and forth on my heels. This couldn’t be happening to me.

Where were the guys?

How had I gotten back to this room?

What the fuck had I done, and how was I ever going to explain this to my wife?

Chapter 2 – Shelly

As I finished cutting up vegetables for the salad, I looked around the kitchen and into the dining room to see if I’d forgotten anything. Table set and made beautiful with tulips and candlesticks in cheerful shades of yellow, roast cooking in the oven, and shrimp sautéing in a pan on top of the stove for an appetizer. Everything looked, and smelled, wonderful.

I smiled happily as I hummed to myself, excited to surprise Cal when he got home from his “boy’s trip” to Vegas.

It was our sixth wedding anniversary, and I couldn’t wait for him to see my new dress. It was a little white dress that hugged my curves in all the right places.

When we’d gotten married at eighteen, right out of high school, everyone said we’d never last. But I’d known from the second I’d laid eyes on Cal at a pep rally our junior year of high school that he was the man I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. He’d been making me happy every day since.

I took the salad bowl to the table, complete with the moose-shaped salad tongs that Cal had bought me on our cruise to Alaska, and placed it in the center of the table. I straightened the wine goblets with our initials that Cal had brought home as a surprise for me when I’d gotten promoted to manager at the bank.

I could look all around our sweet little house and bask in the memories we’d made so far.

I turned off the stovetop and covered the pan, then ran to the back of the house to our bathroom. Checking myself in the mirror, I was happy to see that my hair and makeup were holding up. I turned and walked into our bedroom, taking off clothes as I moved. I had my

outfit laid out on the bed, down to the white garter belt and stockings. I took care putting on the underthings, so as not to get a snag and ruin the sexy little treat I had just bought for Cal. I looked in the full-length mirror as I slipped the dress over my head, then turned around, checking to make sure everything was in its proper place.

With my dark hair in soft waves and my ruby red lips contrasting the stark white of my outfit, I realized the last time I’d felt this sexy and beautiful was on our wedding day.

Cal was going to be so turned on, I thought with a giggle, the blush on my cheeks only accentuating the look I was going for.

The beeping of the oven timer sounded off in the kitchen and I nodded at myself in the mirror before returning to the kitchen.

The night was going to be perfect.

I pulled the roast out, leaving it covered as I sat it on the counter so the flavors could come together. I went to the small wine rack, my first purchase when we bought this house, our first home, and pulled our favorite bottle of red. I opened it swiftly, then set it on the counter to breathe.

I looked around again, mentally checking items off the list in my head as I surveyed the rooms. One of the selling points of this house for me had been the open floor plan. I loved the way the rooms opened up to each other, really giving the house a homey feel.

Realizing I’d forgotten to freshen up my deodorant, I ran back through the house, checking the clock on the wall and squealing when I realized that Cal should be home any minute. I quickly put on deodorant, sprayed Cal’s favorite perfume, and slipped on a pair of sling back heels.

At six foot four, Cal towered over my five-foot-six frame. I loved it. Being in his arms always made me feel feminine and safe.

As I was walking down the hall, I heard the sound of the garage door going up, and my stomach dipped in anticipation of Cal’s arrival. I put on my brightest smile and positioned myself seductively against the counter, so I would be the first thing he saw when he walked through the door.

Chapter 3 - Cal

I sat in my car in the garage for a few minutes, terrified of going inside and facing Shelly. As soon as she saw me, she would know something was wrong. She had a knack for reading me. She always had.

The guys had stumbled in a few minutes after the blonde turned my world upside down.