Matt felt Mandy's warm, firm embrace and returned it. He'd never been this close to her. She had an atmosphere more than a scent. Matt found it surprisingly heady. They hugged longer than he was expecting. Longer than would have been appropriate under different circumstances.

He felt a slight rise in his crotch just about the time they broke off their embrace.

That evening, Matt came home to find Liz taking a nap. It looked as though she had been busy framing pictures and rearranging some furniture. Matt was too upset to assess whether he liked what she was doing or not.

He would normally give her a kiss to...