He waited at the door and listened. He could have sworn he heard laughter abruptly stop as he approached his apartment door, but it was now silent as could be. That silence was surprising. His wife was home, and she almost always had the stereo on when he came home. There weren’t many times without it running – when she had a migraine, if she had bad news to share or if she was mad. He didn’t feel like walking in on any of those. He had a nefarious plan hatching.
Behind the door she stood with about a dozen of his closest friends waiting to catch him off guard. His birthday wasn’t until Monday, but they could all celebrate on a Friday night better than a Monday. So, it had been her rebellious plan to give him a fright when he came home. Trouble was she should have turned on the stereo. She stood here thinking he would know something was up if it was silent in the apartment. Too late to change it now. He was here and so close to turning that door handle.
She stood in the back of the group. This was a bad idea to be here. She was more than a friend to her and had recently been a lover to him. If the surprise didn’t phase him, her being there like nothing had happened would. Their wicked little rendezvous had been magnificent but so wrong. She felt her phone vibrate and she glanced at the screen; it was from him. “Meet me at your apartment. I need you.” She couldn’t move. Every part of her being wanted to go, but she was too afraid to be caught MIA at the same time he was.
This would prove to be the longest night for all three of them.
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – nefarious
Leigha Robbins 