1984
Adeline was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a glass of wine in her hand. Dinner was sitting on the table, slowly growing colder as she waited. For the fourth time that week, Roger was late coming home from the studio. He was nearing the end of his second album, Strange Frontier, and the pressure was on. While she was growing used to spending most dinners alone, she was beginning to get annoyed. He was going back on promises, ignored her calls, and didn't listen to her when she wanted to talk about her day at work. He no longer extended the same courtesy to her that she did for him, and it was wearing thin. With a huff, she poured the rest of her wine down the drain and washed the glass, turning it over to dry before heading up to their bedroom. Her stomach growled, but she didn't care; she was too upset to eat. Instead, she got out of her clothes, leaving her in her underwear, and got into bed, turning on her lamp and grabbing her book from her nightstand. As she started to read, she could hear the door open and shut downstairs, but she didn't move.
"Addy, love bug, I'm home!" Roger called. When he got no answer, he peered into the kitchen, his shoulder slumping a bit as a sigh escaped him. Dinner was on the table, untouched and most likely cold by now. And what made it worse was that it was his favorite, something that took Adeline close to two hours to prepare. Chewing on his bottom lip, he began to climb the stairs, but then doubled back and went into the kitchen. Without a word, he cleaned up what would have been a delicious meal, wrapping items up and placing them in the fridge, tucking empty plates and his empty wine glass into the cupboards they belonged in, and washing out a few bowls he knew she used to make dinner. When all the dishes were dried and put away, he made his way back to the stairs, taking a deep breath before traipsing up to his bedroom. He stopped just outside of the door and gently rapped his knuckles against the wooden frame. He sighed again and opened the door, poking his head into the room with what he hoped was a winning smile.
"Hey, Addy," he said softly, fully entering the room. With his foot, he shut the door behind him, but as he went to take a step further, his wife's icy glare made him flinch.
"You're late. Again," she said, snapping her book shut and setting it on his side of the bed, right where his bac would go.
"I know. And I'm sorry," he said, loosening the collar of his shirt. When she rolled her eyes, he felt small, keeping his eyes locked on the floor.
"You could have at least called me, Roger. A little courtesy goes a long way," she said, folding her arms over her chest.
"I wanted to, I did. But I couldn't get away long enough," he said, pulling off his top.
"Are you not even going to look at me when you're talking to me? I'd like to think I deserve that much." Adeline pulled the covers back and stood, walking over to her husband.
"I just want to get changed, Addy," he said, glancing down at her.
"And I want to talk about this, because I'm tired of taking a back seat to your career!"
Roger paused in the middle of pulling his trousers down his legs. Once he kicked them off, he turned around to look down at her, his jaw tensed ever so slightly.
"Excuse me? Where's this coming from?" he asked, and she scoffed.
"Really? You did not just ask me that. Where is this coming from? Oh, I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I've been dining alone more often than not recently. Or maybe it's because you don't listen to me anymore. Or," she let out an exaggerated gasp, "it's because all you ever do anymore is fucking complain!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry for doing my job, Adeline! I don't like leaving you by yourself, but some nights, I have to! That's the music business. You got along just fine when we toured, and that was months at a time! And suddenly, you can't cope with that?"
"At least when you toured, you called! You can't even grow a pair to tell guys you hired that you need to step outside so you can call your wife and tell her you'll be a little late for dinner. How hard is that, Roger? How fucking hard?"
Roger opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, his hand raised and index finger extended. Adeline had her hands resting on her hips, her chest heaving with every breath she took. They locked eyes for a mere second before pouncing on one another, firmly pressing their lips together in a feverish kiss. Adeline had her arms around his neck, and she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist, which caught him off guard. He stumbled a bit, then caught his balance as he held her with one arm. He carried her back to their bed, grabbing the book that was on his side and pushing it to the floor.
"Hey!" Adeline scolded, nearly pulling away to grab it, but he pinned her down on the mattress.
"Get it later," he growled, dipping his head down to kiss along her neck. She brushed her hair aside and tilted her head, squeezing his shoulder as he sucked on the nape of her neck. He nipped at the exposed flesh, and with one hand, he unfastened the front clasp of her bra. He worked the straps down her arms and tossed the garment over his shoulder, then ducked his head to kiss between her breasts. Her hand traveled to his hair, gripping it gently as he sucked a hickey onto the inner side of her breast. He groaned against her skin when he heard her moan, and he ignored the straining sensation in his boxers. He let his hands caress her body, his fingertips trailing down her sides, giving her goosebumps. They stopped at the waistband of her panties, and he hooked them under the waistband, pulling it back a little before letting it gently snap back against her skin. She bucked her hips at the feeling, then nodded quickly. He pulled them down her legs smirking as she lifted her hips off of the bed to help hurrying the process. Again, he tossed them over his shoulder, and he began to leave trails of kisses down each of her thighs.
"Stop fucking teasing," she breathed, propping herself up on her elbows so she could look down at him.
"Stop being fucking bratty and I just might," he murmured, giving the inside of her thigh a little slap. She bucked her hips again before spreading her legs and taking her bottom lip between her teeth. With a hum, Roger dipped his head back down between her thighs, sucking lightly on her inner thigh. He wrapped one arm around her abdomen to hold her down, using his thumb to gently tease her bundle of nerves.
"Oh, fuck," she whispered, covering her eyes with her arm as she fet his tongue tease her. She squirmed again, whimpering as he pulled his thumb away, only to replace it with his tongue. She gripped the sheets with one hand, and the other remained in his hair as she focused on the feel of his tongue. It left her clit to go back to tasting her, and his free hand reached up to massage her breast. Her chest began to heave as he worked her, tongue lapping at her folds as his thumb against teased her clit.
"Shit, Rog, 'm gonna cum," she whispered, her voice hoarse. She heard him moan against her, felt the vibrations coarse through her body, and she came, legs shaking and body tensing for a moment. She saw stars in front of her eyes, and when she was able to catch her breath, she pulled Roger up from between her thighs and kissed him passionately. He groaned against her mouth, propping himself up with both hands flat on the bed. He pulled away long enough to slip his boxers off, wincing a bit at the cooler air against him. He fumbled around his nightstand and grabbed a condom, trying to get the wrapper off, though his hands weren't as steady.
"Oh, give me that." Adeline swiped the rubber from his hand and tore off the top seal, pulling the condom out and handing it back to him.
"Someone's eager," he teased, smirking as he rolled it onto his length.
"You haven't touched me like this in three months. I fucking missed it," she muttered, reaching up to cup his face with one hand.
"I did, too." He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, keeping himself up with one hand while his other guided his length to her entrance. Slowly, he slid in, giving her time to adjust to the feeling before he bottomed out completely. Adeline whined softly, tilting her head back as her body relaxed.
"You good?" he asked.
"Mhm... I just need you to move," she whispered, and with a chuckle, he nodded. lacing their fingers together, he began to thrust into her, starting off slow at first, but gradually picking up speed. He pinned her hands above her head, leaning down to kiss and nip at her neck, just below her ear. Her gasps and moans were music to his ears as he snapped his hips forward, and he growled against her skin as her legs wrapped around his waist. Her heels pressed into his lower back, pushing him as close to her as humanly possible.
"Fuck... I'm close," he grunted, rolling his hips against hers as his thrusts began to grow sloppy.
"Didn't take you long," she murmured, cupping his face gently.
"It's what you do to me, evil woman," he said. He bent down and hid his face against her neck, his hips snapping forward once more before he groaned, and his body shuddered, then stilled for a moment. Adeline held him close, her hands caressing his back while his trailed down to her hips again, his fingers ghosting over her skin.
"Fuck, I missed that," he whispered against her neck, lifting his head up to look at her.
"So did I," she admitted, running her fingers through his hair. He let his head fall to her chest, resting their as her fingers carded through his hair.
"I'm sorry I didn't call. And I'm sorry for leaving you alone," he said finally, pressing kiss after kiss just over her heart.
"And I'm sorry I snapped. I know you're busy, but I just miss you," she murmured, pushing hair away from his forehead.
"I miss you, too. Here, from here on out, I promise to not let my work get the better of me. I'll be home on time, we'll eat dinner together, and you can tell me all about your day. Deal?" he asked.
"I think you have a deal," she said, smiling a bit before sighing. "I guess I'd better go clean up the kitchen."
"Already done, sweetness," Roger whispered, rubbing her sides. "I figured it was the least I could do."
"Well then, mister, I do believe you've earned yourself a round two, if you're up for it, that is," she teased, her fingers trailing down his chest.
"It's been months since we've done this. We're going for as many rounds as we can handle," he said, and her laughter was more like music to his ears than ever before.