I Choose You : A New Chapter

Leading Lady

Cassie laughed as Jeffery came in with a throw pillow that said, 'Wake Up, Kick Ass, Repeat'. She held out her hands and took it from him as he perched a seat on her desk. "Figured you could get some sleep on it," he told her. "You've been working too damn hard, kid. Go home, see your husband, play with your kid."

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah," she said, "okay. Goodnight, Jeffery." They kissed each other on the cheek, then Cassie picked up her satchel and walked out. It's true that she was working hard, harder than she ever has. Ever since her and Ben's fight, that's all she's wanted to do in order to avoid him. 

All week, she's been taking Aiden into work with her. Jeffery told her it was perfectly okay, in fact he loved Aiden, especially since she had her own office now. She bought an extra playpen and set it up in the room. She basically lived there.

Ben's parents offered to look after Aiden today while Ben had a rehearsal. They should both be home by now, though Cassie still didn't want to see Ben. To his credit, he did try to apologize, but failed miserably...

***

One Week Earlier 

"Oh, come on! You can't be mad at me because you sprang that on me!" Cassie scoffed and threw the towel she was using to dry the dishes at him. "I sprang that on you? Are you kidding me? I had to because then you wouldn't have known! And by the way, Benedict, when your wife tells you she needs you to come to a work party, you don't ask questions and you most certainly don't cancel!"

She pushed past him and grabbed the dog's food bowl. "This is super important to me, Ben!" He huffed and followed her as she filled the bowl. "Well, I'm going now, aren't I?" He asked. She turned back and gave him a pointed look before dropping the bowl back on the floor. Some of the food scattered. 

"You know what, Benedict?" She asked with a slight laugh. She slung her purse over her shoulder and picked up her keys as she said, "You might want to work on your apologies. You know, for your second marriage!" 

**

She left after that and they haven't seen much of each other since. With his late night rehearsals, he's home when she's asleep. She deliberately gets up early just to be gone before he wakes up. Now, it seems they have to face the elephant in the room. 

"Hey, I'm home." Cassie shut the door and was about to walk into the living room, but suddenly stopped. She heard giggling. It wasn't from Ben or Aiden...it was a woman. Curiously, she walked into the living room and saw Ben sitting on the couch with some woman. They each had wine glasses in their hands and were laughing. 

If they were anyone else, she'd think they were on a date!

"Um...Ben?" Ben jumped and bit and looked up at his wife. "Oh," he said, "hey, baby." He got up and rounded the couch to her. He looked like he wanted to hug or kiss her, but he was hesitant. Instead, he said, "Erm, this is my friend, Emily. She's my leading lady in the play."

Emily, a red-headed woman with silky white skin and legs for miles, came up to Cassie with a smile that flashed her pearly white teeth. "Hi, you must be Cassie, Benny's wife," she greeted too sweetly. Nevertheless, Cassie smiled and said, "Yes, I'm...Benny's...wife. Nice to meet you, Emily."

She glanced over to Ben, then said, "Well, I'm going to go check on Aiden." Just as she turned towards the stairs, Ben called, "Oh, he's asleep! Emily was a wonder when he was crying and managed to get him to sleep." 

Cassie slowly turned towards Ben. She could immediately see the fear of God in his eyes. With the way she was looking at him, you'd have to be blind to not see how mad she was. "Great," she told him, "then I will be heading to bed. You two enjoy your...whatever this is."

Ben let out a sigh as he watched her go upstairs. He turned to Emily and said, "I'm sorry, I think this needs to be cut short. I didn't think she would be home so soon." Emily put down her wine and told him, "It's perfectly fine. I'll see you tomorrow at rehearsal."

She placed a small kiss on his cheek, then picked up her purse and walked out. Once she was gone, Ben chugged his wine, then made his way upstairs. "Cass," he softly called. He saw her just coming out of Aiden's room and head into their's. 

With a soft sigh, he walked into the room and gently shut the door. "Is your leading lady enjoying the only wine we can afford?" She asked from the ensuite. After chewing on his bottom lip for a second, he said, "Sorry, I didn't realize it was our only one."

She walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas and said, "It's fine, with my next book being published, we can afford one more for your company. Did Aiden's step-mom remember to take out his hearing aide?"

Ben rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, stop it. I realize that bringing her here after the week we've had wasn't the best idea. Also, letting her put down our son wasn't that bright, either. I'm sorry, I'm trying to make us better, not worse." He sat down on the bed with a huff and watched her brush her hair.

"Babe...look, I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm sorry about the party and starting that other fight and...fuck about everything. I don't like not talking to you or seeing you for days because you can't stand me. I know I fucked up and I am so sorry."

He put his head down and let out a huff. A moment later, he saw a pair of feet in front of him. He slowly looked up and saw Cassie giving him a small smile. "That was a better apology than the last one," she quietly told him. Chuckling, he said, "Thank God."

He took her hands and kissed them. "Baby, I want you to know that I am so proud of you. Getting published a second time in just less than a year, that's bloody amazing. You are the most extraordinary woman I know. I can't wait for Aiden and any of our other future children to see that. I love you, darling."

Cassie sighed and ran her fingers over his sparse his hair. "I love you, too," she told him. "I probably won't be officially published for a while, though. This was just an announcement." Ben shook his head and told her, "Doesn't matter. You are still incredible, love. Come here, beautiful." 

He pulled her down until she was straddling his lap. "Just so we're clear," he told her as he ran his hands up her shirt, gently rubbing her back, "you are my leading lady. I know what you thought that was and it was stupid of me to invite her over like that. We were just going over the play, that's all."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and asked, "Who is she in the play?" He started to tug a bit at the back of her bra as he answered, "My wife." He got it unhooked and moved his hands to her sides. "So you have to kiss her," she said matter of factly. He shrugged, then said, "Once or twice."

She hummed and lifted her arms up for him to take off her shirt and bra. His eyes were glued to her breasts. He slowly moved his hand towards them as she continued, "Do you have to do this to her?" He snickered as he told her, "No. Only you." 

He leaned forward and put his mouth over her nipple. She clutched on to his head as he sucked and licked it. He was sure to be careful because he knew she was still sensitive from breastfeeding. "Ben," she breathed, "I haven't kissed you in almost two weeks."

With that, he took his mouth away from her breasts and brought her head down until they were kissing passionately. "Fuck, baby, I need you," he said against her lips. She reached down and unbuckled his belt while he hastily tried to push down his jeans and underwear. 

The moment they both had their pants off, she sunk down on him. "Oh, yes," she moaned. Ben gripped her hips tight and looked up at her with pure lust in his eyes. "That's it, Cass, ride me," he groaned. "Oh, that's so good, love." She bent her head down and pressed her face against his. They both panted onto each other. 

"Christ, I'm almost there," Ben painfully told her. She started to bounce quicker, making him hiss and let out a long groan. "Come on, baby, come with me." He put his thumb on her clit and moved it in tight circles. She whimpered and suddenly stopped moving as she came without any noise coming from her. 

Ben thrusted up into her a few more times, then bit down on her shoulder as he came inside her. "Ugh fuck, Cass, that was good. I love you, darling and I am so sorry." She brought his head up to hers and kissed him. When she pulled back, she told him, "Damn you for not having any hair."