In Your Dreams

Maria was one of the last ones off her flight. She came through the security gate slowly, chatting with one of the other passengers, a man that Louis couldn't help noticing was definitely her type. It had always been a little joke between the two of them, which waiters or actors she found irresistible, but now it wasn't so funny.

The two of them came through the gate together, then she reached over and touched his arm. He looked at her, smiling, then asked her something. She shook her head and spoke, nodding toward where Louis was standing. The man glanced at Louis, then turned back, looking directly at her. Her hand came up and touched his cheek, then she leaned forward towards him. They kissed, right there in front of the security gate, her hand resting on the back of his neck. After an interminable moment, they broke the kiss and the man looked at her, smiling. She touched his cheek again and then he nodded and turned away. With another glance at Louis, he walked briskly down the wide hallway into the airport.

Louis felt his heart jumping madly.Jesus, he thought.Right there in the airport, where anyone might see her.

Maria came over to him, smiling. "Hi," she said. She stood there for a moment looking at him. She was wearing a dress he had always loved, teal green, cinched at the waist by a wide white belt, flaring out above and below to outline her breasts and hips.

He raised his arms towards her and she came into them, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Was that Warren?" he asked. His voice felt tight and sounded gruff.

"What?" she asked. "Oh no, Warren's in Chicago."

"Oh," Louis said. He paused. "Who was that then?"

"His name's Scott," she said. "He was sitting with me on the plane." She tilted her head back and gazed at him. Her eyes were dancing with mischief. "Did you want to meet him?"

Louis swallowed. "Um, no," he said. There was a pause.

"Shall we go home?" Maria asked.

They walked to the car, hand in hand but silent. Maria was holding onto the handle of her rollerbag with her left hand so he couldn't even see if she had her wedding ring on. Their footsteps echoed in the parking garage and the bag bounced and grated beside them.

Louis felt dizzy, almost sick. Maria had definitely taken things up another notch, beyond her fling or affair or whatever it was with Warren. What was she doing, kissing a stranger in public, somebody she had apparently just met? And it hadn't been a "nice to have met you" kind of kiss, whatever those looked like. There was appetite in the way their lips had touched, and anticipation.

He opened the trunk and took her bag, noticing as he did that her left hand was bare, no wedding ring. She saw him noticing and extended the hand to him.

"My new look," she said. "You like it?"

Silently he took her hand and rubbed it, sliding his fingers up hers, touching the spot where her ring had been. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Let's go home," she said again.

Louis pulled on her hand, drawing her closer. "Maria..." he said.

"I know," she told him. "It's a lot."

He turned and pushed, holding her up against the side of the car. His hands grabbed her, squeezing her ass, and his mouth pressed roughly against hers. One of his thighs pushed against her legs, trying to squeeze between them. After a moment he withdrew his face, panting.

"Jesus, Maria," he said. "What do you expect from me?"

It was dark in the garage and he couldn't make out the details of her face. Her hand came up and touched his cheek, but she didn't say anything.

He kissed her again, driving his mouth hard against hers. Her mouth opened and he thrust his tongue in. His hands were scrabbling on her body, her hips and her ass. He felt intolerably hot and he again tried to push his leg between hers.

A car came around a corner, headlights blazing, lighting them up in the sudden glare. Masculine voices in the car hooted and cheered as it drove by and the horn sounded.

Louis was blinded by the sudden brightness and, as the car sped away, a series of afterimages danced in his eyes. Maria was gripping his shoulders but he couldn't see her.

"Get in the car," he said. His voice was a husky growl. "The back seat."

"Here?" she asked. It felt odd and disembodied, hearing her voice without being able to see her face.

"Yes," he said. "I need it." He released her.

She moved away from him and opened the back passenger door of the car, at the same time fumbling in her purse. The dome light came on and he saw the small plastic square in her hand. His teeth came together but he opened the door on the other side and climbed in.

She was sitting on the seat, her purse in her lap and the condom packet in her hand.

"They should have stopped," she said in a wondering voice. "You might have been trying to rape me."

"Lie down," he said.

She looked up at him and nodded. She put her purse on the floor and scooted over on the bench seat, lying down and lifting her legs onto the seat near him. He knelt and reached under her dress. He found the edge of her underwear and tugged. She lifted her hips and he pulled them down, past her ass and her knees, but they got tangled in her boot heels. He made an impatient noise and pulled harder. Something ripped. There, he had them now. He rolled them into a ball and threw them blindly into the darkness.

Maria laughed. "Someone's going to have a surprise," she said.

He got into the car and knelt on the seat, fiddling with his belt. The door on his side was still open and the dome light was on. She was looking up at him, with, he thought, a look of exultant anticipation.

"That guy," he said, hoarsely.

"In that car?"

"No!" He pulled the door closed behind him and they were in darkness. He could hear her breathing and smell her, perfume mixed with sex. "The guy in the airport!" He pulled his zipper down and slid his jeans past his ass.

"Oh," she said. "Scott."

"Yeah," he said. "Him." He pushed the hem of her dress up, ran his fingers across her thighs and belly. The thin chain was around her waist and yes, here it was, nestling just above the hair of her pubis, her wedding ring. He laid his hand on it, then scooted forward. Her thighs opened and she handed him the condom.

Gritting his teeth, he tore the packet open and extracted the latex ring. Then the condom was on and he was lying on top of her, his cock at her entrance. Her thighs rose around him. Another car zoomed by, briefly lighting up the inside of their car. She was looking up at him, her hands on his arms.

"Did you fuck him?" he demanded.

"Who?" she asked. "Scott?" He plunged into her, not gently, and she winced.

"Yes!" he said. "Scott!" His hips were moving now, thrusting him in and out, up and down. "Did you fuck him?"

Her voice came back to him from the darkness. "No," she said. "I didn't." There was a pause. Lotus pushed her dress up further, wanting to touch her breasts but his hands were blocked by her belt.

"I didn't fuck him," she repeated breathlessly. There was another pause and she raised her head to speak directly in his ear.

"Not yet," she whispered. "I haven't fucked him. Yet."

Louis made an inarticulate sound, half groan, half bellow. He reached one hand into her dress above the belt, squeezing her bra and breasts. His legs and hips were thudding and his head was filled with a buzzing heat. "Fucking..." he moaned. "Why..."

"I want to," Maria breathed. "And you want me to."

"No..." he moaned. The heat was beyond bearing. Sweat dripped down his face. "Fuck..." he cried. His thrusts built to a crescendo, then he let go, filling the condom with his seed. "God..." he shouted.

He stopped moving and lay on top of her, panting. "Sorry," he croaked. "Came too quick."

She laughed softly. "It was great," she said.

"Did you..." he trailed off.

"It was great," she repeated. "Fantastic."

He pulled his hand out from her dress and withdrew from inside her, rising up on his knees. The bottom half of her dress was pushed up around her belt and he gazed down at her legs and belly, at the shininess of her waist chain. He reached down and ran his finger along it until he found the wedding ring.

"My new look," she said softly.

He ran his hand down to touch her, cupping his fingers and palm on her sex.

She put her hand on top of his and squeezed it.

"Come on, tiger," she said. "Let's go home."

****

"Thanks for picking me up." They were sitting at the kitchen table, having a snack. Maria hadn't had dinner before her flight and was grazing on some cheese and crackers, Louis had a glass of wine. He looked over at her.

"No trouble at all," he said. His voice was tight, they hadn't really talked on the drive home. "Of course, if I hadn't been there, Scott could have brought you home." He paused. "Or taken you home."

She shot him a glance and finished a mouthful. "Look," she said. "I get that you're jealous..."

"Me? Why would I be jealous?" His sarcasm was acid in his mouth.

"I don't know," she said. "I don't think you can complain about a lack of sex in your life." She laughed. "Tiger."

"Is that what you would have done?" he burst out. "If I hadn't been there? Gone off with Scott?"

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "It didn't arise."

He laughed harshly. "Don't you mean, it didn't come up?" he asked.

"Let me ask you this," Maria said. She sounded totally calm, how could she be that calm? "How was Chicago?"

He stared at her. "Chicago? What do you mean, you were the one in Chicago."

"I was," she agreed. "But I hear you were there too." She cut some cheese and put it on a cracker. "With Willa?"

"That's crazy," he protested. "Why would I go to Chicago just to... I mean, even if we were going to..." He trailed off.

"That part puzzles me," she agreed. "Why would you go all the way there?"

"Right," he said. "I didn't."

She looked at him hard. "Louis," she said. "Don't bullshit me."

"I'm..."

"I know you were there," she said. Now she was getting upset. "Don't lie to me!"

He paused. "You talk to Willa?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Warren saw you," she said. "In the elevator. He went to go get some ice, a game he wanted to play involving cold fingers. And you were in the elevator. And Willa, I guess."

The man in the elevator with the ice bucket. Warren? Seriously?

"But... How did he even recognize me? I've never met him."

Maria sighed. "He didn't at the time. But then he saw you when we were doing that video call right after."

"That's... fucking amazing," Louis said slowly.

"I still don't understand why you were in that hotel," Maria said. "I mean I figured you'd get together with Willa but..."

"It was a work thing," Louis said heavily. "They sent us out to Chicago to deal with it."

Maria's eyebrows went up. "Didn't sound like you were getting much work done," she said. "Warren said you were glued together like horny teenagers when the elevator door opened." She grinned. "He said your dick was sticking out of your fly but he likes to exaggerate."

Louis's face was hot. "But why were you in the hotel?" he asked. "I thought the plan was for you to go to his place."

She studied him for a moment. "Well," she said. "That was you."

He stared at her. "Me?"

"Yeah," she said. "You warned me, practically, not to go to his place. Said I'd be, what did you say, vulnerable, there. Something like that. And I figured you'd been texting with him, he'd told you something." Her mouth twisted. "Something guys tell each other before they take a girl home."

Louis looked at his wine glass.

"What was it?" she asked. "Is his place a dungeon or something?"

He looked at her. "Cameras," he said. "He said he's got cameras everywhere, he was gonna stream everything you guys did so I could watch."

Maria looked away. "Well," she said at length. "That's shitty. Turning someone into an involuntary porn star." She looked back at Louis.

"Yeah," Louis agreed. "It was... shitty." He paused. "I don't even know if it's true," he offered. "He's full of a lot of bullshit."

She shrugged. "Maybe," she said. "But I wouldn't put it past him." She turned away again and then, after a while, looked back. Her mouth was set in a line. "Why is it that men have this compulsion to fuck women?"

Louis was startled. "Um," he began.

"I don't mean to have sex with them, that's part of the package. I mean really fuck them. Degrade them. What is it that makes men do that?" She wiped her cheek. "Why can't they just enjoy playtime without making it into this domination thing where they really and truly fuck the woman?"

Louis bit his lip. "I don't do that," he said softly.

Maria gave him a watery smile. "I know you don't," she said. "That's part of what I love about you."

He looked at her. "You do love me?" he asked.

"Of course I love you," she told him.

There was a pause.

"Love you too," he said gruffly.

Maria sighed. "You just don't love all the things I do," she said sadly.

"No," he said. "Why do you have to do them?"

"I don't have to do them," she said. "It's more like, I like to do them."

He looked at her, then picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

"Look," she said. "You jack off whenever you feel like it, right?"

"That's not the same," he objected. "I'm not... there's no other woman."

"What difference does that make?" she asked. "I'm not trying to replace you. Why can't I go with... well, whoever I want to? It gets me all jazzed up and you like it too, when I bring that energy home to you."

"It's... humiliating," he said thickly. "I mean... at the airport, anybody could have seen you kissing him."

She bit her lip. "Yeah," she said softly. "That's what made it so hot."

"Because it was humiliating?" He practically hurled the words at her.

"No," she said. "Because it was so public."

He stared at her.

"Don't you see?" she asked. "It would be humiliating if I was fucking around behind your back. It would make you look like a fool. But this way... it's part of what we have together."

"Maria..." he began.

"Don't pretend it didn't turn you on," she said. She laughed again. "Not after what happened in the parking garage. I've never seen you like that."

He didn't answer, just stared at her, breathing hard.

"I bet you think about it when you're jacking off," she said. "Maybe even when you're fucking Willa. Don't you?"

He shook his head slowly.

"You don't?" she asked.

"It still feels wrong," he said. "You're... Jesus, you're giving these guys something that should only be ours!"

"Don't you mean 'mine'?"

"What?" He stared at her, confused.

"Isn't that what you mean? Giving him something that belongs to you? Namely my body?" Her arms were crossed across her chest.

He looked at her. "That's a strong statement," he said.

"What is? That my body belongs to you? Isn't that what you're saying?"

He paused, looking for the right words. "You don't belong to me," he said. "And I don't belong to you. But we're... loyal to each other."

"Is it disloyal if I want to have sex with somebody else?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because..." He struggled. "It's about our marriage, staying together. Unless you don't care about that." He gazed at her, his mouth set hard.

"Of course I care about that! Having sex with somebody is not about destroying our marriage, it's about... enhancing it."

"What if he thinks you're going to leave me and go off with him?"

"Warren? Don't be silly. He has no interest beyond sticking his dick in a pussy. That's as deep as it goes for him. So to speak."

"And you like that?"

"It has its place," she said. "Sometimes that's all I want too."

Louis pushed his chair back. "Oh, for God's sake," he said. "You're sick."

"Because I like sex?"

"Because you can't control yourself," he said.

"That's not true," she said.

"People don't do this," he told her. "Unless they have an open marriage."

Maria looked at him. "This is a little different," she said at last.

"Yeah," he said. "You want all the open part to be for you."

"The problem is," she said. "I don't trust you..."

He snorted.

"... not to get emotionally involved," she finished.

"Emotionally involved?"

"I can totally imagine you deciding you're in love with some woman just because you're having sex with her."

He looked away.

"Oh my God," she said. "Is that what's happened already? Are you in love with Willa?"

"Maria..."

"Tell me straight," she said. "What is going on with you and her?"

He sighed. "At this point," he said heavily. "Nothing."

Maria waited.

"Okay," he said. "I did think I was in love with her... it was... anyway. I felt like it. But then... I guess I realized I wasn't. I'm not. Not really. And then she... I guess she thought..." He trailed off.

"Poor Willa," Maria said.

"Yeah," he agreed. He cleared his throat. "I feel bad."

"You see, an open marriage isn't really going to work for us. You'd keep getting confused and think you were in love and end up divorcing me and then realizing you had been wrong and so many people would end up getting hurt."

He didn't say anything.

"Look," she said. "I can make our bed super smoking hot. You like it when I talk about it. You know you do."

He looked at her. "Couldn't you just do that with fantasies?" he asked faintly.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said. She looked at him curiously. "Isn't it more fun when it's true?"

He paused. "That's not the point," he insisted.

Maria sighed. She picked up a cracker and looked at it, then put it back down on her plate. "Problem is you want it both ways," she said. "You want a wife who goes out and does all kinds of exciting things but also one who stays home and waits patiently for you to take her to bed."

Louis didn't answer. He was suddenly exhausted, tired out by the conversation and the weekend. He tipped back his glass and poured the last few drops of wine into his mouth.

Maria stood up.

"Speaking of bed," she said. "I'm going to be the Hag Queen tomorrow if I don't get some sleep."

"Yeah," Louis said. "Me too." He cracked a smile. "Hag King. If that makes sense."

"That's nice," Maria said. "King and Queen of the Hag Prom."

They dumped the dishes in the sink and put the cheese back in the fridge. In the hallway they found the cat waiting at the bottom of the stairs and Maria's bag on the bottom step.

In the bedroom, Maria put her bag on the bed and unzipped it. There was a mesh bag on top that she unceremoniously opened, dropping the contents into her hamper.

"I brought you something," she told him. "If you want it."

"What is it?" he asked.

"You want to help me unpack?" she asked softly. "It's in here somewhere."

He got up a little unsteadily (from one glass of wine?) and stood by the bed. One by one, he took out the clothes Maria had brought along. The top few layers were nightwear, filmy things she must have bought specially for the trip because he couldn't remember seeing them before.She stood next to the bed, watching him take them out one by one, then taking each one from him and laying it carefully on her dresser. His fingers rustled in the silky fabrics. He turned his head and looked at her. She smiled a little shyly.

"Very pretty," he said thickly. He paused. "Did you wear all these?" he asked. "With him?"

She shook her head. "Anything I wore I put in the hamper," she said.

His mouth twisted. "So not many outfits," he said. He paused. "I guess you were mostly naked, huh?"

She shrugged.

He looked over at the pile of clothes. "Kind of a waste," he said. "I bet they'd look good on you." His mouth twisted again and she looked away then back at him. He sighed. "Ah, jeez, Maria," he said. "I'm so... mixed up."