I asked a friend to test his wife's fidelity.

Lyokha and I have been friends our whole lives. We shared desks, girls, then the army, and then problems. He married Svetka before me. She's a real beauty. I even had a crush on her at one point, but Lyokha got his bearings quicker. I'm not offended; my life has worked out just fine: Lyokha, two kids close in age, a mortgage. Lyokha is a classic proprietor. While he himself occasionally had affairs, he kept a tight rein on Svetka. She works as a nurse at a clinic, with a schedule of 24 hours on and 34 hours off. Lyokha has been traveling frequently for work in the past year—he's been working on construction projects in the region. So we're sitting in his garage one day, drinking beer, ogling his new car. Lyokha hesitated, then blurted out: "Listen... You're on good terms with Svetka. You could stop by and help out with some small things. What I'm getting at is... I've got an idea. Check it out." I almost dropped the bottle. - What? "Well, try it. Give it a try. Carefully. See if it bites. Women are like that these days... While I'm running around the region, anything can happen. I'd rather hear the truth from you than from the neighbors." At first I burst out laughing. I thought he was joking. But Lyokha looked at me with a wolfish expression. I had to agree. Purely formally, to get him to leave me alone. I thought I'd get out of it somehow. "Okay," I say. "I'll stop by in a few days. I'll tell him you asked me to give you the keys to the garage or something." Lekha slapped me on the shoulder and poured me some more. Three days later, I went. Svetka lived in a Khrushchev-era building on the outskirts. The elevator wasn't working, and the entrance hall smelled of cats. I rang the bell. She didn't open the door right away—she must have just jumped out of the shower. Her hair was wet, her terrycloth robe was hastily wrapped around her, and this scent... feminine, clean, with a hint of cream. - Oh, Kolya! Come in. Lyokha called and said you'd be stopping by. Sorry, it's a mess. I walked into the kitchen. Svetka wrapped herself tighter, but I noticed how the robe clung to her chest. She had always been shapely: short but stocky, with curvy hips. When he'd been drinking, Lyokha liked to boast that she had a "butt like a nut." The kettle boiled. She reached for the cups and stood on tiptoe toward the top shelf. Her robe rode up, revealing the back of her thigh. There, just above her knee, was a small mole; I used to stare at it when I was younger. “Okay, Kolya, let’s get to work,” I said to myself. We sat down to drink tea. I started talking about Lyokha and his business trips. She listened, resting her cheek on her hand and looking out the window. She looked somehow... tired, or something. "Do you miss him?" I blurted out. She shrugged. — I'm used to it. And then I felt her foot touch mine under the table. Accidentally? I moved away. She apologized. But a minute later – again. This time her knee was pressed against my shin and wouldn't budge. I looked up. Svetka was looking at me straight in the eye. Her gaze was heavy and wet. "Kol, why did Lyokha send you? Couldn't you come yourself?" “I forgot my keys,” I mumbled the first thing that came to mind. - Yeah. And the keys are in the garage you wanted to check. Kolya, I'm not stupid. You were sitting in the garage with him yesterday, I know. He told me himself. And about your conversation, too. My jaw dropped. She stood up and came right up to me. The robe opened just enough for me to see the edge of her panties. Regular cotton ones, with lace trim along the elastic. "Lyokha sent you to check on me, right?" she whispered, leaning toward my ear. "Well, go ahead and check." And she sat on my lap. I was stunned. My hands automatically landed on her waist. The robe fell apart completely. Svetka was braless, her breasts lay heavily on my chest, her nipple poking into my shirt. "Sveta... what's wrong? It's Lyokha..." I tried to yelp. "What about Lyokha?" She shrugged. "He asked you to check on me? Let him know he shouldn't have asked." She kissed me. Hard, angrily. I responded. What can I do? I'm a man. And besides, it's my job—an inspection. What happened next was quick. I scooped her up in my arms, and she pointed to the bedroom door. There, I took off my jeans, and she took off her robe. Svetka lay on her back, spread her legs, and looked at me defiantly. - Well? Go ahead and check. I entered her immediately, without preamble. She was wet, ready, and thrusting forward as if hungry. Svetka urged me on, digging her nails into my back, biting her lips to keep from screaming. I looked down at her and thought, "Lyokha, you're a fool. To leave a woman like that alone..." She came quickly, thrashing all over, squeezing me with her legs so tightly that I could barely move. Then I caught up, no longer in a hurry. She lay beneath me, wet and sweaty, stroking my cheek. "Tell Lekha," she whispered. "The test has been passed. The wife is faithful." I laughed and buried my face in her neck. I arrived home late. Lenka was already asleep, covered with a blanket. I lay down next to her and hugged her. She was my own, my dear, and smelled pleasant, like something homey. I couldn't sleep. My mind was spinning: well, I've fulfilled my friend's request. Lekha called in the morning. — So what? Did you stop by? Check it out? I hesitated. — I stopped by. Everything's fine. She's loyal to you. Lekha exhaled into the phone. — I told you so! Thanks, brother. I owe you one. “Yeah,” I said. “The debtor.” I hung up and went into the kitchen for breakfast. Lenka was frying eggs, wearing only panties and my T-shirt, sleepy and disheveled. Beautiful. "What did Lyokha want?" she asked without turning around. - Just like that. For work. She nodded and flipped the eggs with a spatula. And I thought: it's a good thing Lenka doesn't work at the clinic every other day. And she doesn't have any friends who could check on me. Because who knows how such a test would have ended.