Fuck me.

Ari was going to be pissed at me. The girl’s dress exposed her bare back all the way down, except I could actually see the top of her ass crack. I quickly looked up, and Ari was shooting daggers at me.

Son of a bitch.

She’d just caught me checking out this girl, but I hadn’t really checked her out.

Did I? Shit. This is going to be a long night.

By the time we walked into the restaurant, the tension between Ari and me had grown more and more. Pete had picked some fancy French restaurant, and as soon as he’d found out that Ari spoke French, the two of them continued speaking in French.

After being led to our table, we took our seats. I was sitting across from Pete, Ari was to my left, and Candy was to my right. I wanted to roll my eyes every time Pete called her Candy Cane.

“My French isn’t as good as Ari’s, so maybe we could stick with English?” I said as I glared at Pete.

He started laughing.

It was the longest dinner of my life. Candy kept reaching over and touching my hand. I finally ended up keeping it on my leg. If she licked her lips one more time, I was going to offer her Chapstick. I glanced over to Ari. She was smiling at something Pete had said. When she turned to me, her smile faded as she glared at me.

“Jeff, show me what a real Texas cowboy feels like on the dance floor.”

I looked at Candy and then back at Ari, before turning back to Candy. “I’m not much into dancing. I’m sure Pete would love to dance with you though.”

Pete stood up, and to my surprise, he reached for Ari’s hand. “Nonsense. Ari, my dear, dance with me while your husband takes Candy for a spin on the dance floor.”

I was sure Ari would say no.

But then, she jumped up and said, “Sounds like a plan. You can tell me more about Sweet Dancer, and I’ll be able to see if you’re a sweet dancer as well.”

My mouth dropped open, and Pete started laughing. I watched them both walk out to the dance floor. He took her into his arms, and they began dancing. A few times, Ari threw her head back and laughed at something the dickhead had said to her.

I jumped when I felt Candy place her hand on my leg.

She began to move it up toward my dick. “Looks like they’re occupied. We could sneak off somewhere.”

I pushed her hand off of me. “No, thanks.”

When she placed her hand on my leg again, I stood up. I looked out and saw Ari’s body pressed up against Pete’s. She was just a little too close to him. I moved over and sat down in Ari’s seat to get away from Candy. I glanced over at Candy, and she pouted as I sat back. I let out a sigh and turned back to my wife as she danced in the arms of another man. When she glanced at me, she seemed surprised that I was sitting in her seat, and then she backed away a little from Pete.

Oh, did you realize how fucking close you were to him, Ari?

Pete said something to Ari that caused her to look back at him, and she laughed again. I stood up and pushed my chair back. I reached for my wallet, grabbed a handful of money, and threw it on the table.

“Tell Ari I took a taxi back to the hotel. All of a sudden, I feel sick to my stomach.” I turned and walked away before Candy could say anything.

The moment the cool night air hit my face, I felt like I could breathe again.

I can’t believe she would dance with a guy like that. Hell, I can’t believe she danced with him at all.

I hailed for a taxi, but it kept driving on. I stepped a little closer to the street and hailed another. When it pulled over, I opened the door and got in. I went to close the door, but someone jerked it back open. I looked out, and Ari was standing there.

“Where are you going?” she said as she panted for breath.

“He got ya so worked up that you can’t breathe?”

She looked at me funny and then gave me a dirty look. “No. When I saw you were gone, I walked back to the table, and Candy Cane said you left. I grabbed my clutch and ran out of the restaurant. Why in the hell would you leave me there?”

“Looked like you were having fun.” I turned and told the driver, “The Brown Hotel, please.”

Ari began getting into the taxi. I slid over and looked out the window. Neither one of us said a word to each other. The taxi driver tried to make small talk. Our answers were one-worded replies until he finally gave up.

He pulled up to the front of the hotel, and I handed him some money.

“Keep the change. Thank you, and have a great evening.”

“Thank you, sir. You do the same.”

Ari was out of the taxi and almost through the entrance doors of the hotel by the time I stepped out of the taxi. I smiled and nodded at the doorman as I walked through. I was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. I walked up and stood next to Ari.

“I get that you were pissed at me, Ari, but I don’t know why you would dance with him. Then, you let him hold you so close. I would never do something like that to you.”

She didn’t say a word. The elevator door opened, and we both stepped inside.

When the door shut, she turned and looked at me. “You didn’t seem to have a problem with her dress. Why is that, Jeff? You were staring pretty hard.”

I knew it. “Jesus, Ari. She walked right the fuck in front of me, and when I saw the back of it, I knew you were going to be pissed. I didn’t want you to wear that damn dress because Pete had been eye-fucking you all day. The last thing I wanted was for him to see you in such a sexy dress. I can’t even imagine if he had danced with you while you wore that dress and if he touched your bare skin…” I turned away from her because I was getting pissed as I thought about her being in his arms.

The elevator door opened, and I stormed out. I walked to our room, and turned to see Ari was slowly making her way behind me. I opened the door and held it for her.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she stepped in and stood there.

I moved around her, and began taking off my tie and then jacket. I didn’t even have the energy to take a shower. I stripped out of all my clothes and crawled into bed.

“Jeff, I didn’t—”

“I’m tired, Ari. I don’t feel like talking. I just want to go to sleep.”

I knew I was being a douche, but for some reason, I wanted her to know how much she’d hurt me by dancing with that fucker. Tomorrow, I would write him a check for full price on both horses and change out the plane tickets.

The only thing I wanted right now was to be home.

I lay in bed and listened to Jeff’s breathing. He had fallen asleep within minutes of lying down. I closed my eyes and cursed myself for dancing with that dickhead. I knew he had been eyeing me all day, and when Candy had asked Jeff to dance, he would turn her down.