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"I hate you."
"Yeah yeah, I hate you too, shorty." Joseph said as he looked down at Tomoko. They sat on the couch in the hotel room watching the sunrise after a night full of talking, sex and some more talking.
"It"s not my fault you"re freakishly tall." Tomoko pouted. She ran her fingertips over the swell of Joseph"s bicep as she got lost in thought. Joseph watched her with a mix of adoration and guilt.
"Will you move with me back to Morioh?" Tomoko asked, looking up at Joseph. God, she was so beautiful, heart shaped face catching the light making her skin glow in the golden rays. She was practically sitting on Joseph"s lap, one leg thrown over his and her side pressed against his own. He wrapped an arm around her, hand splayed over her waist. His guilt intensified.
"I have to sort some stuff out first, then I can join you." Joseph said. He hated to lie, he knew it wouldn"t do any good in the long run but he didn"t care about that in that moment. He just cared about sitting on the couch, watching the sunrise with a woman he loved. He loved her. God, how had he gotten into this mess? It was supposed to have been a regular business trip. But seeing her across the bar, the way she pouted as she fiddled with her napkin, doodling nonsense on it had captivated Joseph. One thing led to another and they were in the hotel room, making love.
"When you come to Morioh I"ll have to introduce you to my father." Tomoko said. Joseph squeezed her tighter, the same time it felt like an ice cold hand had closed around his heart.
"I think he"ll like you, though he might give you a hard time at first because of the age difference." Tomoko elbowed him in the ribs. Joseph chuckled. He couldn"t let her know he had no intention of following her to Morioh. He couldn"t. He had a wife. A business to run. A child. A grandchild. He couldn"t hurt them.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Tomoko asked him. Joseph shook his head, both in order to clear it and as a response.
"I"m fine, just tired." He said.
"Sorry for tiring you out old man, you better work on your stamina if you want to keep up with me." Tomoko teased. Joseph ran his fingers through her hair, admiring the way the silky strands slid through his fingers.
"I"m sure a cup of coffee will have me up and ready to go again." Joseph winked at her.
"Well in that case…" Tomoko trailed off. She reached over for the phone on the coffee table and called room service.
"Two coffees please." Joseph smiled, leaned forward to press a kiss to her cheek.
He could enjoy this while it lasted, right?
***
Joseph waved as he left Tomoko behind at the airport. She had a big smile on her face as she blew him a kiss. Joseph looked away so she wouldn"t see the tears in his eyes.
He had been so stupid to fall in love with her. Why had he listened to his treacherous heart? But he knew, even as he wiped away the tears that he wouldn"t trade the last few days they had had together for the world. And it made him feel even worse.
On the plane ride back to New York he was anxious. Would Suzie know? Would she be able to sense it? That her husband had been unfaithful? Would she look at him and simply know? And what would he do if she did? The questions plagued him the whole 12 hour flight. When they touched down in New York, Joseph stalled. He was last off the plane, last through the gates. Standing at the baggage carousel he waited for his luggage to appear when he heard his name being called out.
"Joseph! My darling!" Joseph whipped around. He wasn"t expecting to see her so soon. Usually Roses was the one who picked him up from the airport but today he had been accompanied by Suzie.
Suzie wrapped her arms around Joseph, planting a kiss on his cheek. Joseph hesitated for a second. It was enough to make Suzie worry.
"What"s the matter, honey?" She asked. Joseph shook his head, wrapping his arms around her and placing a kiss on her hair.
"Nothing, I just didn"t get much sleep on the plane." He said.
"Oh dear, we"ll have to go home so you can rest." She said, pulling away to look at Joseph"s face.
"You look so tired. You didn"t get much sleep in Japan, did you?" She asked. Joseph thought then that the act was up, that she knew. But she simply turned to Roses.
"Roses, could you help us with his bags?" The butler nodded.
"Of course, madame." He rushed to grab Joseph"s bags.
Suzie had no clue what Joseph had done, she had placed her trust so firmly in Joseph that she couldn"t even think for a moment that he would betray her.
She looked at him with so much love and adoration that it made his heart feel like it was being torn in half. And in a way it was. One half belonged to Suzie, right here with Joseph. The other however, was back in the small town of Morioh with Tomoko. Even thinking that felt like sacrilege of the highest order. He paused for a second.
"Joseph?" Suzie asked. "You look pale." She said. Joseph swallowed. At that momenr he made a vow. Suzie didn"t have to ever know, it would break her heart. So he vowed to never let her find out about his infidelity. For the rest of his life he would be making it up to her by being the best husband he could be.