Eddie Wilder

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 28

Three months later, on a crisp morning, Ashley maintained her steady rhythm along the waterfront path, her breath visible in the winter air. What had begun as Dr. Martinez’s therapeutic prescription had evolved into an essential ritual, her morning runs providing a foundation for each day.

The cold intensified the experience, sharpening her senses. Six miles was her standard distance now, the route familiar but never monotonous, the changing light and weather ensuring each run felt un...

The Bad Tenant Ch. 13

Jess slipped the key card into the door of her

Weekly update and state of affairs

Hi everyone,

Next week brings the final chapter of BBA. I’ve really enjoyed sharing this story with you all and I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride! I’ve also really liked the Monday drops. I’m considering continuing that approach for BT and UB, though it would mean shorter chapters. Still thinking it through, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I know it’s been a few weeks since the last Bad Tenant chapter. I’ve been focused on wrapping up BBA and wanted to give it the a...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 27

Three miles into her morning run, Ashley hit her stride.

The first mile was always the hardest, lungs protesting, muscles reluctant, mind questioning why she’d subjected herself to this voluntary discomfort. The second mile settled into a grudging acceptance, body and breath finding their rhythm. But the third mile, that’s where the magic happened, where running transformed from obligation to liberation, from exercise to meditation.

Her route took her along the waterfront path...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 26

The rhythm was everything. Jacob positioned himself beneath the barbell and held his breath. The number on the plates had steadily increased over the months, a measurement of progress he found reassuring. 225 lbs today. Nearly his absolute max.

“You good?” Liz asked from her position as spotter.

“Yeah,” Jacob replied, settling his shoulder blades against the bench, finding the perfect grip width.

Liz nodded, understanding his process after months of regular sessions ...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 25

The apartment was a shoebox. One bedroom, galley kitchen, bathroom with a shower stall barely wide enough to turn around in. Ashley had signed the lease 1 week after receiving notice that Jacob had stopped paying rent on their old place. The property manager had been sympathetic but firm. Pay in full or vacate in thirty days. She couldn’t afford to cover it alone, not with her part-time graphic design job.

She’d been lucky to find this place at all on such short notice. The real est...

Update on The Black Belt Affair Ch. 24

Hi everyone,

Chapter 24 of The Black Belt Affair has been flagged by Patreon’s moderation team. I’ve already reached out to them to get clarification, but since that may take a few days, I didn’t want to leave you hanging.

In the meantime, you can read the full chapter right now on my website:

https://eddiewilder.com/bba-24/

Once Patreon clears it, I’ll re-upload here as usual. Thanks for ...

The Bad Tenant Ch. 12

Tom stared blankly at his monitor, the informat

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 23

The evening class at Iron Grip Academy was in full swing, the familiar sounds of bodies hitting mats and strained breathing filling the converted warehouse. Carlos moved through the rows of paired students, adjusting stances and offering instructions. His teaching style had always been hands on, but those watching closely might have noticed his attention lingered longer on certain female students, especially those whose husbands weren’t present.

It had been five days since Jacob’s s...

Undercover Blonde Ch. 09

Evie jerked awake, a strangled cry dying in her

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 22

Ashley had been cooking for hours. Jacob’s favorite lemon garlic chicken was in the oven, the timer showing twelve minutes remaining. A bottle of the pinot noir they’d discovered on their weekend trip to Napa three years ago stood open on the counter. The table was set with the good plates they never used, candles waiting to be lit.

She knew it was pathetic, knew that a meal and some wine couldn’t possibly erase what she’d done. But she needed to do something, anything that migh...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 21

The phone’s screen illuminated yet again with Ashley’s name, the ninety-seventh time she’d called in three days. Jacob watched it vibrate against the coffee table of Ryan’s spare room, where he’d been sleeping since that afternoon. Each buzz seemed to physically move something inside his chest, a harsh vibration that matched the trembling in his hands that hadn’t fully subsided since he’d walked through that bedroom door.

The borrowed room felt both like sanctuary and pris...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 20

Weeks passed in this pattern of deception and desire. Ashley maintained her marriage with Jacob through effort, cooking his favorite meals, initiating sex when enough time had passed that she felt “clean” of Carlos’s touch, engaging in the routines that had defined their relationship before temptation entered the picture.

She continued meeting Carlos at his apartment, in the gym after hours, twice in his car parked in a secluded spot overlooking the ocean. Each encounter ended wit...

The Bad Tenant Ch. 11

Bob Caldwell nursed his third glass of Jack Dan

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 19

Weeks after their reconciliation, Ashley found herself looking for an opportunity to be alone with Carlos in a new setting. The moments in his apartment or at the gym had become routine, and some reckless part of her craved novelty, danger, the risk that had been gradually dulled by repetition.

The opportunity presented itself unexpectedly on a Friday evening. Jacob mentioned that a group of friends from work was getting together for drinks the following night to celebrate a colleague�...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 18

For three days, Ashley maintained her resolution. She deleted Carlos’s number from her phone, avoided staying after class, threw herself into rebuilding her marriage with focus. Each night, she initiated intimacy with Jacob, creating new memories to overlay the ones with Carlos that still surfaced in unguarded moments.

There was a peace in this simplicity, in the singular focus on her marriage. Ashley found herself rediscovering small pleasures she’d overlooked in her preoccupation ...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 17

Ashley woke fully to the sensation of the mattress shifting as Jacob sat up beside her. For a moment, Ashley kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep, delaying the inevitable confrontation. But the weight of his gaze was palpable, and she knew delaying it was futile.

She opened her eyes to find him studying her, his expression guarded in a way that made her heart constrict.

“When did you come home?” he asked, his voice carefully neutral despite the hurt lurking beneath the surface...

The Bad Tenant Ch. 10

Jess stood in her walk-in closet, fingertips tr

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 16

The drive to Carlos’s apartment passed in a haze of justifications and rationalizations. Jacob had pushed her to this with his accusations. She needed comfort, understanding. It was just a conversation, a place to clear her head. She wasn’t going there for sex, for the physical validation that had become a drug she couldn’t resist. She just needed space, perspective.

The lies she told herself were flimsy even to her own mind but they carried her forward, up the elevator to Carlos�...

Undercover Blonde Ch. 08

After the debrief, Evie found herself in the fi

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 15

Jacob adjusted his gi for the fifth time in as many minutes, wincing as the movement pulled at his still slightly tender shoulder. The Iron Grip Academy locker room felt foreign after his weeks of absence, the familiar scents of disinfectant and sweat now tinged with an undercurrent of anxiety.

“You sure about this?” he asked his reflection, a habit of self-dialogue he’d developed during his recovery. The man in the mirror looked paler than he remembered.

He’d spent weeks ...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 14

The drive home gave Ashley too much time to think, to replay what had happened, to alternate between reliving the pleasure and drowning in the guilt. Carlos’s release was still inside her, a physical reminder of her betrayal that no amount of cleanup in his bathroom could completely remove.

By the time she pulled into her apartment complex, Ashley had composed her features, assembled her alibi, prepared herself to step back into the role of devoted wife. The transition was becoming ea...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 13

“Girls’ night again?” Jacob asked, looking up from his laptop where a physical therapy video played, the instructor demonstrating shoulder m

“Girls’ night again?” Jacob asked, looking up from his laptop where a physical therapy video played, the instructor demonstrating shoulder mobility exercises with a resistance band.

Ashley nodded, applying mascara in the hall mirror. The lie had become easier with repetition, though something in her still flinched at how smoothly ...

The Bad Tenant Ch. 09

Tom’s eyes cracked open to the insistent throb

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 12

Ashley pulled into her now-customary spot at Iron Grip Academy early Saturday morning. The gym was quiet at this hour, open mat officially starting at ten, but the building accessible from eight for members with key fobs.

Carlos’s car was already there, as promised. Ashley felt the now familiar flutter of anticipation as she gathered her bag, the gi inside more a prop than a necessity for today’s “training.”

The front door was unlocked and the gym silent. Ashley made her w...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 11

Wednesday found her inventing reasons to stay after class again, creating alibis with a creativity that would have impressed her former self. This time, she told Jacob she’d been invited to join some of the women from class for drinks, a girls’ night that would give her a couple of hours of freedom.

“You should definitely go,” Jacob had encouraged. “You deserve a break from playing nurse.”

The casual trust in his voice, the genuine concern for her well-being, had sent ...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 10

Monday evening arrived with a storm, literal and figurative. Rain hammered the gym’s roof, creating a backdrop to the final minutes of class. Ashley moved through the closing exercises, her body on the mat but her mind elsewhere. Specifically, on what might happen after everyone else left.

Four days had passed since her encounter with Carlos in the shower. Four days of lying beside Jacob at night, of casual conversations over breakfast, of helping him navigate his ongoing shoulder rec...

The Bad Tenant Ch. 08

Bob Caldwell sat at his kitchen table. The mug

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 09

As Ashley followed Carlos into the silent training space, the familiar scents of rubber mats and cleaning solution mingled with something new. Anticipation, possibility, the electric charge of boundaries about to be tested.

“You can change in the women’s locker room,” Carlos said, his voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space. “I’ll set up the areas we’ll be working on.”

Ashley nodded, clutching her gym bag like a shield. The women’s locker room was dark, illum...

The Black Belt Affair Ch. 08

The next day passed in a haze of routine activities. Work meetings conducted from her laptop at the kitchen table to stay near Jacob, a trip to the pharmacy for his prescription refill, a quick grocery run to restock essentials. Normal life, domestic and predictable. Yet beneath the surface of these mundane tasks ran an current of anticipation, a constant awareness of her phone in her pocket, the possibility of another message.

None came during daylight hours. Carlos maintained his dist...