Beautiful Mistake

Most women put love first, career second. But I’m not most women. At twenty-six years old, I was the youngest marketing assistant in our company, and I’d fought too damn hard for that position to allow a little anniversary to get in the way.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Alden. And I felt bad making a mess of our plans. But I knew, if he really loved me, he would understand.

To which I would scoff and shake my head. Coleen, the girls, they would never understand. Sex? Love? They were just not my priority. What’s the matter with that?

And, being a career woman who craved stability, that was exactly what I needed!

So, why, at night, when Alden went down on me...did I feel almost nothing? Why, when he pumped into me over and over, did I find my mind drifting toward consumer rating reports?

No matter. I promised myself that tonight, for once, I would prove to Alden and myself that our relationship mattered. I was going to give him the best sex of his life.

Alden was worth it.

Or, so I thought.

After re-reading those texts from Alden over and over and realizing how much this anniversary meant to him, I managed to convince my boss Mr. Leach to let me out early. I considered telling Alden I was on my way home.

But why tell him when I could surprise him?

On the way home, I met up with my best friend Coleen and stopped at a lingerie store. She helped me pick out the sexiest panties I could find. They were black lace and transparent in exactly the right parts.

I couldn’t wait to see the look on Alden’s face when I slipped out of my pencil skirt. He was going to lose it.

At the register, the employee began to wrap them up in a bag, but I shook my head. “That won’t be necessary.”

She raised an eyebrow, smiling suggestively, and handed them over as they were.

The second I said goodbye to Coleen and got onto the nearly empty bus, I removed the average panties I was wearing and slid this sexy pair on. I could have done it in the dressing room, sure, but it wouldn’t have felt as exhilarating.

I got off the bus and jumped into the elevator, teeming with excitement. Although I was exhausted from work and butting heads with Mr. Leach all day, I could feel a second wind coming on.

I suddenly felt giddy and naughty, imagining all the things I was going to do to the man I loved.

When the elevator doors finally opened, I rushed toward our door, practically salivating at the idea of him.

I turned the key, swung the door open, and smiled my most sexy, wicked smile.

“Surprise, babe!” I exclaimed.

But, as it turned out, I was the one in for a surprise. Because as I stepped through the hallway into our bedroom, I found the man I loved, the man I’d spent three years with, the man I was finally putting first, buck-naked with none other than Mallory Cornfield, my college nemesis.

I couldn’t believe I was going out. Ever since I caught Alden in bed with Mallory, three months ago, I have abstained from sex. No exceptions.

I needed some time on my own to figure things out. How had I gotten myself into that situation? I was not the sort of woman that got cheated on. Yes, three months is a long time to go without sex, but it’s what I needed to get Alden out of my system… and Mallory.

I shuddered as the events of that horrible night played in my head, yet again, like the worst movie ever.

God, how was I ever going to erase this memory? I’d thrown myself into my work, focused all my energy on our clients, and done everything I could to distract myself. But still, three months later, I remained tortured.

Yet here I was, getting dolled up, about to go to a bar to have sex with some random stranger.

Since when did a one-night stand ever fix anything?

I was flirty and playful. Men noticed me and liked what they saw. Yet I never met anyone I liked enough to go home with, even just for one night. I was always comparing men I met out in the real world with the fictional men I read about in books and saw in movies. The man of my dreams never materialized, he was always just in my head. I knew I had to settle if I didn’t want to be alone. That’s how I ended up with Alden. And that was a disaster…

I inspected myself in the mirror. I had to admit that I looked incredible, jaw-dropping even. Maybe Alden cheating on me was the best thing to ever happen to me.

But the night, as I would soon discover, had other plans.