Frida flung herself into bed, sinking her face into the fluffy white pillow, the mattress swayed beneath her while her body fit into it. All of a sudden, she started giggling. She felt too good to be true, too light and satisfied, almost ecstatic. Her giggles became an intense laugh of happiness against the pillow, any could tell she was a little girl again, but no, she was a woman. A woman who had taken a huge leap to freedom. Frida rolled into her back, both hands either side of her head and her legs spread, laying in the middle of bed like a starfish. She laughed hard, her cheeks turned a bright scarlet and tears came to her eyes, it had been a while since she had laughed this much, this sincere. This happiness came from deep inside. Benny made her feel this way.
His bearded face came to her mind and the laugh eventually decreased, a feeling of warmth taking over instead. Her lips curved up in a sweet smile, like one of a little girl... or a grown up woman living a dream like her. Not that having another man was a dream, but it felt like something precious at the reach of her hands. Benny and her. The way he kissed her, the way he shakily caressed her, the way he made her feel with only a glance. She felt adored, like a real woman. He awakened knocked out sensations, and she felt so full of oxytocin. Frida closed her eyes and touched her lips consciously, following the traces of his kisses, recalling the softness of his skin, the gentleness of his touch. Her belly sank in a sea of butterflies, all her body trembled at the memory. They really were together.
She liked him and he liked her, how magnificent. He was willing to take the risk and so was she, it was time to do something for herself, and if committing an illicit affair was what made her feel alive again, then so she would. He made a point of protecting her, though she wasn't quite sure of what she suspected he meant Henry. And with this, as much as she wanted to ignore it, she couldn't; she was cheating on him. Her expression of total peace turned into one of consternation because, as incredible as it might, it was also wrong to the point of immoral. Benny asked her not to overthink, but what about the life she knew? She was married to an important man, what if the press found out? His image would be affected and thus his career. But also, she'd spent many years looking after him, being obliging and indulgent, this was her opportunity to turn inwards and act on her own.
With a long sigh, she opened her eyes and met the ceiling. A thunder was heard in the distance although it had stopped raining a while ago, Frida focused on the sounds from outside and made her mind go blank. Or at least tried because she was too excited to hide, she wanted to text Benny, to know of him. There she realized this was going to be more complicated than she thought, because if she was not cautious she would end up compromising more than intended, her heart for instance. Live a little, Frida! She told herself.
***
She was watching him, he could perceive her eyes on him. Benny grinned as he tried to hide a smile, he liked this game. Once again, he held the brush halfway and leaned a bit to his left, peeking further to the other side of the classroom; there she was blushing and biting her lower lip, two seconds earlier and he would have caught her. That now so familiar tingle settled on his stomach, she looked simply gorgeous with her hair held back on a braid, that homely hairdo stood her features out. Her beauty almost made him abandon his painting and cross the room to plant a loud kiss on her lips. If it weren't for the fact that they were in the middle of a painting lesson with the classroom full of people including kids, he would give free rein to his desires.
He had been waiting two long days to see her again, and earlier this afternoon when she finally materialized in front of his eyes he almost fell on his knees. They met outside the gallery with wide smiles, then he took her to the back of the place where they shared their first kiss and there they melted into a serie of hugs and long kisses, even if she put resistance at first insisting that they could be seen, she finally gave in. It felt fun but also warmth inside, for his part they'd be still outside and not here playing to the cat and the mouse, sometimes he was the cat and sometimes the mouse.
