The Best of Kristina Wright by Kristina Wright

touched my ass. Lingered there for a good minute as he blocked the path of two other guests trying to get by.
    I glared at him, knowing it didn’t matter. “Had too much to drink?”
    “Not too much. Enough to know what I want,” he said. He leaned close, stirring the hair on my neck as he whispered, “We’re leaving soon. Meet me.”
    I didn’t have a chance to say no or, rather, ask where and when, because my husband came toward us. As if sensing that his territory had been encroached upon, he wrapped his hand around my waist and gave me a little squeeze. William’s hand moved from my ass at about the same moment and I wondered if the two had touched in between.
    “How’s everything, sweetheart?” Brad asked. He kissed me on the cheek, but he only had eyes for William. “Everyone seems to be having a good time.”
    My parties are legend. I am the hostess extraordinaire, making sure everyone has enough food, enough drink, a good time. I smiled at Brad, ignoring the set of William’s jaw. “Everything’s great. I think we’re running low on wine, though.”
    “I can go get more.”
    I could practically feel William tensing, though he was no longer touching me. “Oh, no,” I said quickly. “We’ll be fine.”
    “Well, let me know,” Brad said, releasing me to make the rounds once more.
    “Nice,” William murmured. “I was starting to think you didn’t want to be with me tonight.”
    I didn’t have time to respond. Rachel, William’s wife, appeared at his side. I wondered if she’d heard what he said. One look at her bland, expressionless face told me she hadn’t.
    “I need to go home,” she said to William, ignoring me. It wasn’t that she suspected anything, Rachel simply didn’t like parties. She let William drag her to these get-togethers, only to stand off to the side, hardly speaking, and demanding to leave shortly after arriving. It was, to my way of thinking, quite irritating. To William, it was convenient.
    I watched as he pulled her close and brushed her hair aside to lay a kiss on her neck. I shivered, knowing what that felt like. Wanting it.
    “I guess we’ll be going,” William said, genuinely sounding disappointed. “Tell Brad thanks.”
    I saw them to the door, hugging Rachel first, then William. His touch was polite, distant. His words in my ear were another matter. “The university parking lot in an hour,” he breathed so softly I wouldn’t have heard him if his lips hadn’t been touching my ear. “I need to fuck you.”
    I clung to the doorframe as I closed the door behind them. Weak-kneed with desire, I had the fleeting thought to refuse his request, to simply not show up. I checked my makeup in the mirror by the door, noting the flush in my cheeks, the way my eyes sparkled. He did this to me, so easily.
    I would go. I would think of an excuse to be gone for a bit and I would leave my party to fuck my lover. I smiled at my reflection, but it didn’t quite reach my eyes.
    The minutes dragged on. Ever the hostess, I served finger foods and poured glasses of wine and made small talk about how Bobby was doing in Little League and whether our subdivision needed stricter covenants. Finally, I slipped away. I told my best friend Theresa to tell Brad I’d gone for wine. Theresa doesn’t know about my affair with William, but she suspects something, I’m sure.
    “I won’t tell him until he asks,” she said. Theresa is a good friend.
    It was a short drive, no more than fifteen minutes, but the lights worked against me and my frustration level was near to breaking when I finally pulled into the parking lot. I slowed the car, realizing I had been driving well in excess of the speed limit. I needed to see William and nothing, not traffic lights or speed signs or twenty-five people at my house would stop me.
    William teaches at the university. He is a professor of philosophy and ethics, the irony of which doesn’t escape him – or me. His car was there, parked in the