I had won. A whopping grand total of one hundred dollars. But the amount didn’t matter. Hands trembling and heart racing, it was that euphoric thrill I couldn’t shake. Been chasing it ever since. Soon enough, the local casinos became my haunts. More often than not, I was on the plus side. 

Until I wasn’t.

So, I borrowed. Then borrowed a little more. My luck had to turn. Oh, and  it did. But of course, then failed me again.

Big time.

As we walked into an upscale Italian restaurant she loved so much, Krista, my wife, hugged me tighter. She was the magical result of my most desperate and best gamble. Oh, but if she only knew the half of why my heart was battering my ribs like a staccato drum on speed. As I gazed into her twinkling blue eyes and that adoring smile, my pulse soared.

A true regal beauty. Highlighted with shiny russet streaks, long wavy auburn tresses trailed to the middle of her bare back. Wispy curls swept along high cheekbones, framing a narrow face. If anything, she was more gorgeous than the day we met. While sliding my gaze over her again for the millionth time that night, I gave her my best grin.

Hyper-lean, she was a bona fide fitness nut. Rain or shine, she ran every weekday. That and the dancing she’d enjoyed while in college meant she possessed a feline grace, pressing her curves into me as we moved further inside.

Oh, and she’d gone all out, rocking a sleek, black, curve-hugging dress. Beneath its lace spaghetti straps, toned shoulder muscles gleamed in the dim faux-candlelight. The shiny satin taut over a prominent firm chest was drawing many sidelong glances. Add to that the short hemline revealing lithe, long legs, enhanced by the five-inch ankle-strap sandals that click-clacked on the tile beside me and she was truly stunning. 

And at those rhythmic, sharp sounds, more heads turned. When we both caught longer ogling stares, I squeezed her tighter. 

“God, you’re so hot,” I whispered.

“Glad you married me?” At the soft press of her waxy crimson lips to my cheek, every fiber in my body sizzled. “My handsome husband.”

“Hell, yes.” I laughed. “And you know damned well you’re making all the other men in here so jealous.”

After a quiet giggle, she snuggled against me just as a young blonde hostess gestured for us to follow her. No sooner had we been seated opposite each other in a cozy semicircular booth than we stared over the table at each other. Krista’s perfect, sculpted brow arched. In a flash, we scooted next to each other, grinning like idiots.

Yeah, we were that couple.

As I sighed, she perused the wine list. But I couldn’t help noticing the hostess weaving back across the crowded dining room towards the entrance. Cute. Nice ass.

“I saw that,” Krista murmured, while elbowing my ribs.

“Huh, what?”

“You, scoping out her butt.” Although my wife’s face darkened with an overdrawn pout, her eyes sparkled. “Horny man.”

“Sexy woman.” With a chuckle, I shrugged before skimming my hand along a silk-wrapped thigh, nudging her hem upwards.

Although her lips quivered, she broke out into a delightful, twinkling laugh. And I joined in. She was my light. Had been for ten years. It had taken three of them for me to find the guts to ask her to marry me. 

Cute as a button, hard-bodied even back then from a successful college stint in cross-country, she’d been one of the hottest coeds on campus. Plus, she had a reputation as a party girl. Which meant I had plenty of competition.

Of course, that also meant the odds were long—very long—but that’d never deterred me, and boom, we’d hit it off. She said it was because she was into older men, although I was only two years her senior.

And even better, while waiting for her to finish a teaching certificate, I stayed on to earn a master’s degree in business. Plus, that extra time led to a decent investment banking position in nearby Chicago.

As I said, she was the best gamble of my life.

Not at all like the more recent ones. As I got promoted, my pay increased. Good, right? Not so much. That only meant there was a lot more to lose. A heck of a lot more.

When the server, a young guy, arrived, we were still giggling like fools. Handsome, he had thick dark hair and was well-muscled. The tag on a broad chest announced his name was Dave. After inspecting him as he collected our drink order, Krista’s eyes flashed at me. Touché. 

And once he’d disappeared, I burst into laughter. After resting her head on my shoulder, she teased at a strand of long auburn hair with glossy crimson nails.

“Why did you marry me, Tom?” she asked. “For real.”

“Because you’re smokin’ hot.” My laughter slowed. “And crazy smart. Oh, and you just happen to be the best damned woman in the universe.”

“Wow.” Her eyes twinkled as she slid a hand into my crotch. “Laying it on a bit thick, huh, mister? Hoping to get lucky tonight?”

“Mmm, oh, uh….” A groan slipped from me as I surged beneath her gently raking nails. 

“My oh my.” She giggled. “We should, um, have a fancy date more often, huh?”

Before I could retort, the server returned. After glancing at us snuggled together, he placed our glasses on the table. His cheeks were reddening.

“It’s, um, our seventh anniversary,” I said as she removed the hand from my trousers to grasp a wineglass.

“Congratulations,” Dave replied before taking our orders. Oh, and giving her a subtle glance, but she only slid into me with a soft purr. Face darker than ever, he headed away.

“Another jealous guy,” I murmured before meeting Krista’s lips.

“Mmm, I like it, baby.” She giggled. 

“What, teasing them?”

“Yes,” she hissed before replacing her hand on my trousers. “Mmm, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Nuh-uh.” I shook my head as her fingernails dug deeper, encircling my hardness. “My sexy wife can tease whomever she pleases.”

That got her giggling. As I chuckled along, she lifted her fingers away to take a long sip of wine. Behind my glass, the chuckle faded. Sooner or later, it would be confession time. It sucked that it had to be during this night of all nights. But the clock was ticking.

Yet, I couldn’t do it. Not right then. Not with her flashing those shimmering eyes and…. She was just so sultry. Alluring doesn’t even capture how she looked that evening.

“Your mom’s okay with Ben and Ella?” I said, stalling.

“Hah, I’m more worried about her keeping up with the little terrors.”

While Ben was four, Ella, by far the oldest—and she’d tell you that—was six, going on thirty-five. As I nodded, she took another sip, and I lost myself in her wide-eyed gaze. At least, that time my heart’s pounding was due only to her. 

“Worth it,” I murmured before downing a bit more wine.

“Why?” She chewed her lower lip. She knew exactly why, but wanted me to say it.

“I get you all to myself, babe.” It was my turn to slide a palm along her firm thigh. “Hmm, for forty-eight straight hours.”

“Oh, yeah.” With an impish grin, she dropped her hand to move my fingers under the hem. “And, um, what are you planning to do with me, Tom?”

“Everything.” Under her pressing palm, I squeezed her leg. “And then, hmm, we’ll do anything you want.”

“Uh-huh, sure. Once you’ve exhausted me, huh?” She laughed and lifted her slender digits to skim my forearm.

“We can take turns,” I offered with a flick of my eyebrows. “Make it fair. I get the first…”

Just then, Dave and a helper, a cute redhead, appeared with dinner. After I took my turn, making a point of roaming her frame after she’d turned away, Krista gave me a playful punch in the shoulder.

“She’d run rings around you, old man.” She chortled.

“Hey, hey. I’m only thirty-one.”

“Yeah, well, first you need to take care of your very horny wife.”

“Oh God, not again.” After raising the back of my hand to my forehead, I swayed backward in mock terror.

Once more, we laughed like maniacs before digging into our pasta. But while eating, she threw longing glances at the dance floor. After a lengthy exhale, she lowered her fork. Head cocked, she pinned me with those gorgeous azure pools. Yep, I’d forgotten all about that, but braced as her eyes narrowed.

“You ever gonna take those dancing lessons?” When her fingers landed on me again, every muscle tightened. The languid but forceful scratching of her nails across my throbbing zipper sent shivers through me.

“Soon, babe. I, um, promise.”

“Oh, come on, Tom. You’ve been saying that for ten full years now,” she grumbled while removing those teasing fingers from my bulging slacks.

As I’d mentioned, she loved to dance and all I could manage was a sorta rhythmic shambling. When her lips pursed, my shoulders sank. What had once been a running joke had become her ever-more desperate pleas. At least for me to learn a few basic moves.

After taking a sip of wine while watching a couple sway past us, she sighed. Although she didn’t push, and we returned to eating, an awkward silence ensued. So, I added dance lessons to the growing list of things I wouldn’t be doing any time soon. They cost money. Money we didn’t have. Not anymore.

“So, how’s the vacation planning going?” she asked at last. Again, she settled a palm on me, but only on my thigh. From the gleam in her hopeful eyes, she was trying to change the topic to something less stressful.

But it wasn’t less stressful. For the same reason the lessons wouldn’t be happening.  

“Um, well…. About that….” Under her soft grip, I struggled to keep my leg from trembling.

But failed.

And as her face dropped, the fork landed on her plate with a clang. Months ago, I’d promised to organize a week-long getaway. Just the two of us. To the Caribbean. One of those fancy couples’ resorts. Palm trees. Vivid blue pools. Bright white beaches. That’d been easy enough to accomplish. But then I got a lead on a horse. It was a damned good tip. Inside knowledge and all.

“Oh, no.” Her eyes became—ice. “You didn’t?”

“It was supposed to be a sure thing,” I murmured.

“They always are. God damn it, Tommy!” If the tone hadn’t given it away, when she called me “Tommy,” a name she knew I hated, she was pissed. “Fuck. Lost it all?”

As the room spun ever quicker, I nodded. And my heart seized. That wasn’t the half of it. Not even close. As those cold eyes narrowed, that gorgeous, sculpted brow knitted tighter. After a decade, she understood me far too well.

“What else ain’t ya tellin’ me, Tommy?” As her face reddened and lean neck muscles twitched, the poor Southern girl drawl seeped into her words.

“I took out a loan—”

“How?” She cut me off and her hand flew upwards. “How, Tommy? The banks, last I heard, ain’t gonna go nowhere near ya’ll.”

“I know some guys.” With a sigh, I stared around the room before mustering the strength to return to her clouded gaze. “The…. Well, they’ve got connections. Plus, I, um, managed to secure some extra cash. Enough to cover everything.”

“Everything?” Her tone rose in pitch as an eyebrow arched. “How much did you lose?”

“No, you don’t get it.” My mouth became a desert. “I, uh, washed away all our debt. Even the mortgage. They, um, like…property.”

“Our debt? The mortgage? Are you nuts, Tommy?” Her teeth gritted so hard, her jaw pulsed. “How much?”

“Five hundred thous—”

“Oh, ya’ll gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. Goddamit Tommy. What in the holy fuck were ya’ll thinking?” Hands shaking, she took a long gulp of wine while staring daggers at me over the rim. “So now what? Ya’ll lost every dang penny we had and an extra half mil on top?”

“We own the house free and clear.”

“Which ain’t worth half that amount.” She slammed down the glass and ignored the sudden scowl from a well-dressed elderly couple at a nearby table. “And no, Tommy, you ain’t selling my house. Not while my kids be livin’ in it.”

“Look, Krista, babe—”

“Don’t you dare babe me, Tommy.” She shot a glance at my crotch before flicking her crimson face back to me. “And ya’ll can keep right on dreamin’ about me. That, and you, ain’t comin’ nowhere near me tonight.”

We ate in silence, paid the bill in silence, and drove home in silence.