It's Not Cheating by Laran Mithras Page B

The kissing was nice. Had it
been that I knew the kissing could lead to more? And that skirting my fine line
of cheating was the fun in it all? The teasing of my own inhibitions?
    My eyes popped open. I'm drunk. I'm sure this won't make
sense tomorrow. But the idea stuck with me. Had I been tempting myself?
And then torturing myself with all the guilt and restrictions as some sort of
masochism?
    I reached over and grabbed my drink. No, I wasn't drunk,
just happy. If I can grab my glass, I'm not drunk.
    Dieter said into my ear. "Elizabeth."
    A shiver ran down my spine at the sublime tenderness with which
he called my name.
    "Hmm?" I swallowed the gulp I had taken and set my
glass down.
    His German accent was soft. "May I kiss you?"
    I twisted to look at him with searching eyes. Not searching
with suspicion, but with surprise. "Well, yes."
    "You would like?"
    I smiled slowly and it grew wider until it showed my
happiness. "Yes, I think I would."
    He shifted to the side and twisted to face me better. His
eyes searched mine as he moved his head closer.
    Our lips met. His kiss was different than Ben's. More full in
the lips, his mouth met mine softly. Sound receded in my ears as I closed my
eyes and felt the delicate exploration of his tongue.
    His hand stroked my hair back and caressed the side of my
head. He broke the kiss. "So very lovely."
    I smiled. Did he really think so? I wanted to hear more. Or
kiss more.
    His eyes twinkled that striking blue. "Another?"
    Derek was smiling and raised his glass.
    "I thought you'd never ask." I moved out from the
bench and climbed onto his lap, facing him, straddling his waist.
    His smile brightened.
    I put my arms around his neck and we kissed again. It wasn't
like any of the super-charged kisses Ben and I had shared at the end. No, this
was nice. I felt so very comfortable sitting in his lap.
    His hand drifted lazily up and down my back, as if stroking
a cat. I loved it.
    When we broke the kiss, I didn't get off. I just laid my
head on his shoulder, my face turned into his neck. We hugged each other like
that for a long time.
    "Elizabeth?"
    I mumbled something and lifted my head.
    "Elizabeth?" It was Derek.
    "Hmm?"
    "You fell asleep. We're getting ready to get out."
    "Oh, sorry."
    Dieter chuckled. His speech was slurred. "Seems so long
since I had such a beautiful woman sleeping in my arms."
    My husband helped me up. He said to Dieter, "Take the
guest bedroom. We have a fully stocked bathroom in there. If you need to go
home early, you can slip out. No big deal."
    "Home? Empty. Maybe in a few months."
    "Stay the night then. Don't go out driving."
    "I can drive fine."
    Derek's voice grew more serious. "I'm not kidding.
Stay. If the police pull you over and smell the alcohol, you might throw off
your immigration."
    "Ach. Fine. Are the polizei really that bad here?"
    "With drunk drivers, yes. It can be a felony."
    "Scheisse. Ja. Fine."
    I went into the house, still reeling from being mostly
asleep. I had been so comfortable on his lap.
    In bed, Derek joined me. "That was nice of you to kiss
him."
    I hummed. "Poor guy. He deserved a good one."
    Derek leaned over and kissed me. "Thank you, that was
very nice of you."
    I smiled. "I guess I fell asleep."
    He chuckled. "I got a picture of it."
    "What? Why?" I sat up a little.
    "Not just for me. He asked me."
    "What? Really?"
    "Yes, he's going to send it to Heidi."
    "Oh my god. No."
    "What's wrong?"
    I clutched at the sheet. "I don't want her thinking I'm
trying to steal him or anything."
    Derek laughed. "Calm down, ma'am."
    "What?"
    "She knows all about you."
    "She does?"
    "Yep. He sent her a picture I had given him and they've
shared emails about you."
    "About me?"
    "Yes, you."
    "Oh. And she was okay with whatever he said?"
    "I don't know. I suppose so. You'd have to ask him. He
said she thought you were beautiful."
    Thoughts of Rolf fucking Heidi in her wedding dress flashed
in my mind. Had that really happened? Dieter had seemed so serious when