‘You have to tell her Sam. It’s me or her now. I’m sick of being the bloody mistress. A quick Sunday morning shag and the odd night is just not enough for me anymore.’
Sam sat up in bed and ran his hands through his hair. ‘But Cherry.’
‘No bloody buts, this has been going on for too long now, two years too long in fact.’ Cherry took a drag on her after-sex cigarette. ‘I mean surely there’s no comparison. I’m twenty years her junior. It must be like shagging a bit of leather.’
Sam cringed inwardly that his young lover could be so harsh about Jess. He still loved his wife very much, but when Cherry joined Lemon as a new account manager, he had fallen for her blonde, brassy charm, and short mini-skirted apparel. He had questioned his actions, many a time, but had just put it down to a mid-life crisis. He couldn’t however imagine life without his vibrant, charming Jess and beautiful little Freya. Undoubtedly, sex with Cherry was amazing. He had reached raw highs with her that he had never experienced with Jess. But he still adored being close to Jess too. When he made love to her, he did just that. He tended to her body with gentle compassion.
Sam knew he had to give Cherry some sort of answer. ‘OK, I hear you, baby. It’s Jess’s party at the weekend. I want it to be special for her. Let’s get that out of the way and we can talk again.’
Cherry huffed. ‘I want it to be special for her,’ she mimicked in a baby voice.
‘I bet that’s bloody costing you the earth and we haven’t been away together for weeks now.’
Sam got out of bed and sighed. He was still a very fit man for fifty-five. Cherry looked him up and down and then smiled at him. ‘Baby, you know how I much I love you.’
‘Yes I do,’ Sam replied wearily and opened his wallet. ‘Look, here’s £500. Go and get yourself a nice outfit. I’ll come round Monday and you can show it off to me then.’
Cherry smugly took the money. She knew just how to play Sam Beresford.