I stopped at the dry cleaners on the way home, hoping I had something decent in the pile of clothes I brought them earlier in the week. My clothes wouldn’t be nearly as stylish as what Shelby and her crew wore, but I thought I might look okay, if a bit more on the conservative side. I tried on a few things and finally settled on a black skirt and a sexy V-neck blouse with cutouts where the shoulders should be. It was made of a silky fabric that not only looked lush and sophisticated, but also felt divine to the touch.

Earlier that morning Spencer texted me that he would come by to pick up some of his things while I was at work. I texted back that it was fine. When I arrived home, I noticed the shaving kit and toothbrush he usually kept on the bathroom counter were gone. His closet looked more bare, and I noticed some of his shoes he kept in shoe trees on the floor of his closet were missing. It felt strange, but I didn’t see Spencer much anyway, so it felt more like he was on a business trip. The fact that my marriage might finally be ending was an adjustment for sure, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I’d been grieving the loss of my marriage from the moment I first found another woman’s panties in our bedsheets, five-and-a-half years ago.

I moved over to my closet and chose a pair of heels higher than I was used to wearing, slipped them on and tottered around, practicing like a little girl playing dress-up.

Shelby’s town car pulled to a stop in front of my house around nine p.m. My hair fell in tight curls, a result of my curling iron, but I wasn’t finished with it yet, so I invited Shelby inside. To my embarrassment, she brought a guy in with her. J.J. was tall with dark hair that fell in his face, and he wore a long-sleeved polo shirt with the sleeves rolled up and navy shorts with boat shoes. He grinned at me sheepishly and seemed totally casual about my hair being half-done. I offered them both a glass of wine and they followed me into my bedroom, chatting with me room-to-room while I finished my hair in the bathroom.

Shelby made a big fuss over Felix as he jumped all over her white Chanel jumpsuit, and I couldn’t help but smile seeing Shelby sitting on the floor playing with my dog.

“Okay, I’m finally ready.” I gave Felix a quick pat, and we headed out the door.

The stocked bar in the town car kept the party going. Shelby gave her driver Sam directions, then turned to check with her guests as an afterthought. “Mexican sound okay to y’all?”

“Always,” I said.

“Fine by me,” J.J. said.

“Y’all want anything to drink?” Shelby asked.

“No, thanks. I’ll wait for a margarita.” I wanted to watch my alcohol intake as much as possible since I’d gotten way out of practice holding my liquor.

“Me too.” J.J. feasted his eyes on Shelby’s cleavage and put his arm around her shoulders. Shelby snuggled closer to him.

“How do you two know each other?” I asked, feeling like a third wheel.

“J.J. plays football for TCU. Wide receiver.” Shelby elbowed J.J. and grinned at me. “I guess he can’t help it, he’s not a Longhorn. But at least he’s local, so that’s a plus.” She giggled and touched her finger to the tip of his nose. “He’s kinda cute. Some of his friends will be meeting us later.”

I held back a groan. Great. Twenty-year-old hunks. Just what I needed. Guys almost ten years younger than me.

“What’d you say?” Shelby asked.

“Nothing.”

“If you say so,” Shelby said breezily.

The car drove into the restaurant parking lot.

“J.J., would you be a dear and go get us a table, please? Sophie and I need just a minute.” Shelby batted her eyelashes at him.

“Sure, babe.” J.J. slid out of the car, and Sam closed the door behind him.

“Okay, now what is your beef? Spill.” Shelby glared at me.

“Shelby, if you want to hang out with guys that young, go for it, but I’m still married. I mean, really. I’m just not comfortable with that. It just makes me feel so Mrs. Robinson-ish.”

“Oh my God, you are old! What are you, like fifty?” Shelby asked.

“Shelby, we’re almost thirty.”

“Yeah, but we’re not dead. Damn!” Shelby scowled at her. “Do you think that Spencer has only been screwing girls his age?”

“Shelby!” I shrieked.

“Look, Sophie, I’m not trying to be mean, I’m really not. I’m not even saying you need to screw anybody.” Shelby reached out and touched my arm. “I’m just saying that maybe you need to loosen up a little bit and have some fun. That’s all.”

All of a sudden the temperature seemed to have gotten at least ten degrees hotter. My armpits stung, and sweat started to run down my sides.

“You’ve been through a rough time, Sophie. I want you to have some fun, but I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” She opened the car door. “Come on. Let’s go get some margaritas.”

“Okay,” I agreed and wobbled behind her on my heels.

Hours later, I sat on a barstool in a club with a tummy full of tacos and tequila. The music in the background pumped so loudly that I felt it more than heard it. Shelby and J.J. danced around me. A couple of young guys came in, fist-bumped J.J, and joined the group. Shelby introduced them to me. The one wearing jeans and a cowboy hat was named Jeff, while the one whose name was Brett wore a button-down shirt and chinos.

I smiled at Jeff. “Hi. Do y’all play football too?”

“No, but we go to TCU,” Jeff said.

“How about you? What do you do?” Brett asked.

“Me? I’m a teacher.”

“What grade?” Jeff asked.

“Kindergarten.” I had to raise my voice to hear myself over the music.

Brett smiled. “Sweet. I fell in love with my kindergarten teacher. Can I buy you a drink?”

I laughed. “Thanks, but I just ordered one.”

“Do you mind if I sit down?” Brett asked.

Surely there was no harm in that. “No, I don’t mind.”

Brett sat, and Jeff wandered off in the direction of a blonde girl wearing red cowboy boots.

“Where are you from?” I asked Brett.

“Right here.” His eyes bored into me. I wasn’t used to a man looking at me so directly, much less a boy.

“You mean Fort Worth?”

He nodded and took a long draw off his drink.

“I like your stockings,” he said.

How did he know I had on stockings? His eyes hadn’t left mine. Nervously I gulped my margarita, thankful it wasn’t frozen or I’d have gotten one helluva brain freeze. “Thanks.”

Brett moved his barstool closer to mine and ordered us another round.

I launched into a litany of questions about where he had gone to school, what he liked to do on weekends, anything I could think of. Brett answered them, but he always found a way to bring the question right back to me. Before I knew it, I’d told him my life story, including the humiliating fact that my cheating husband broke up our marriage via text message.

“He sounds like a fool,” Brett said earnestly, and his hand closed on my leg.

My brain told me it was a bad idea for this young guy to be so close to me, touching me, but the alcohol had rusted the wires from my brain to my body, and I leaned into him. He smelled so good, like a men’s cologne I’d never smelled before. It had been a long time since a man showed interest in me, and I lapped it up like a dying man in the desert.

“Dance with me.” Brett stood and took me by the arm.

“I’m not much for dancing.”

“That’s all right. Just follow me.”

Liquid courage enabled me to follow Brett to the dance floor where he encircled my waist and pulled me around in sensuous circles. Then he turned me around and ground his pelvis against my ass from behind. Damn! Not only could he dance, he had experience in the art of seduction as well.

As the night wore on, I grew more comfortable on the dance floor. I relaxed into the beat and let the music course over me. I gyrated in sync with Brett. He didn’t stray far from me for long, and we were having a good time.