At 53 I’ve made my share of mistakes, not least hurting the fine woman I was married to for 19-plus years.

During one of our down times, I ran into a petite blonde girl at lunch — very pretty and very petite — and was so taken by her, I went over to talk to her. She knew who I was, and I found out quickly why — she worked for my wife! Kate’s family owned half the town, and she was chairman of the family holding company, and my little blonde was an executive at one of the companies it owned. I vaguely recalled seeing her once when I was in the office, which wasn’t often.

Tracey (as I’ll call her) had the sexiest smile you’ve ever seen, and we both knew at once that we had some special chemistry. But we didn’t act on it, and over several years became good friends. She was also unhappily married. But when I finally had to ask out of my marriage, she had so little to do with it that she didn’t know about it till after it happened. She was contemplating divorce then, but I was 42 and newly free and wasn’t ready to settle down again.

For a while I became a “player” of sorts. Then I met a stunning brunette 15 years my junior — I guess my ego needed that boost. It was a whirlwind romance, and the biggest mistake of my life. Sally moved in with me, and we even talked marriage. But I let my friendship with Tracey take a back seat.

As fate would have it, Sally and Tracey knew each other! Their daughters were best friends from school. So Tracey and I were brought together again. She got her divorce — with Sally and me helping her through it, and Sally oblivious to Tracey’s and my attraction. But for that matter Tracey and I had still never talked about it.

One stormy winter day Tracey was at our house on a day when no one should have been out driving, with all the sleet and snow. When the time came, she couldn’t drive home. Sally couldn’t talk her into spending the night, but she did persuade her to let me drive her home in our four-by-four.

I was delighted! It was 20 miles to Tracey’s house, and I intended to drive very slow. We made small talk and sort of flirted. In the back of my mind I wanted to tell her how I felt, but I was afraid that I’d read her wrong and she’d be mad. Plus Sally was her friend.

At her house I walked her to the door, all the way looking at her gorgeous ass and luscious lips. I never wanted so badly to kiss someone! At the door she turned and paused, then said, “Come in. I need to get something off my chest.”

Inside, she jumped me for dating Sally instead of calling her. I pointed out that she was still married at the time. She shouted, “I’d have left the second you asked me.” I had no way of knowing!

I decided it was time to fess up and tell her of my desire for her. She got tears in her eyes and said she’d felt the same way for years. But to complicate matters further, Sally and I had introduced Tracey to a friend of mine who was head over heels in love with her.

I stood there wanting to grab her, kiss her and carry her back to her bedroom and show her how much I cared for her. I would have thrown Sally aside in a second if she asked me to.

Tracey was mad, hurt and thrown off guard, all at the same. I kept waiting for a hint of what to do. Finally she told me my friend Gene had asked her to marry him. So what would happen to our friendship of 20 years? Tears streamed down her cheeks. She turned her back so I couldn’t see her hurt.

I walked over, pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, then turned her around and laid on her the sexiest French kiss I’ve ever given. She melted in my arms, mumbling something I didn’t understand, and she wouldn’t repeat it. We kissed several more times, each more passionate than the last. So she wanted me as much as I wanted her!

I picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. She asked if this was wrong, and I said all I knew was I loved her and only her. We started undressing each other, and when I saw the body I’d fantasized about so often, she was ravishing, head to toe. I kissed her, and while our tongues mingled, I caressed her breasts and slid my hand down to her flat gut. I rubbed the top of her pubic hair. She smelled wonderful.

While I played with her, she moaned and moved her hips in unison with my hand. I reached farther down. She was dripping wet. I slid a finger in her, and she arched her back and met my moves with her hips. I started kissing her navel, and when my tongue found her clit, she gasped and begged me to make love to her.

I knew from the moment I was inside her that this was my soulmate. To keep from coming, I tried to think of anything but how beautiful she was or how good being inside her felt. Although with every stroke I wanted to unload in her, I wanted to pace my orgasm as much as possible. When I finally exploded in her, her lips were flushed and her eyes were beautiful beyond words.

She said, “I’ve loved you all these years. Now I want you in me forever.” I held her so tight, I thought she’d pass out. We made love for five hours, the greatest sex I’ve ever had.

I was in love for the first time. I learned that you know right away the difference between true love and infatuation or lust or sport fucking.

We’re married now and have a little girl. For the first time in my life I can’t wait to get home. Nearly every night we have unbelievable sex that’s an adventure I treasure, and I want to get her pregnant every time I come inside her. I feel for all the guys out there who’ve never felt what I feel with Tracey.