Chapter 4: A Stronger Drink

Agatha kept hold of Peter’s hand and did not move. He sat still, too, taking in the view of her naked chest. Finally, he roused himself and sat back in his chair. She also leaned back.

“There is a Chili’s a few blocks from here. Want to get something stronger to drink?” Peter asked.

She eyed him for a moment then nodded her head. “Sure, that sounds good. Their chips and salsa go well with a margarita.”

They got up and deposited their trash in a bin. Outside, Peter asked where Agatha was parked.

“I’m on foot. I don’t live far from here.”

Peter motioned to his car and said, “Luckily, I’m in the car today and not on my bicycle.”

They drove to Chili’s and were seated. Peter ordered two margaritas plus chips and salsa. They sat in silence as they waited for the drinks and appetizer.

“Thank you,” Peter said as the food and drinks were served. “We should be good for now.”

The waiter nodded and left them alone. They were seated in a corner booth with no one nearby to overhear their conversation.

Peter took a gulp of his drink and reached for a chip. Agatha broke the tension.

“I had just told you I’ve seen 31 dicks and asked if you were going to get lucky with your wife or masturbate in the shower. Something then clicked. You OK?”

Peter pursed his lips and nodded as he thought of a response. He knew sex between married couples varied greatly. He also knew from a few online searches that the frequency of sex between him and Brandi was well below the norm. He knew he would tell Agatha but had never verbalized his thoughts to anyone and did not know how or where to start.

“Well,” he stammered, “sex between Brandi and me is ... it is not as much as I’d like.”

“Yeah, you said you were in a dry spell,” said Agatha.

“It’s not a dry spell. Since we’ve been married we have sex maybe once a month. In a good month. We can go as long as three months.”

“Fuck, really?” said Agatha without thinking. “Sorry, I mean, fuck, I can’t believe it.”

Her response made Peter grin, slightly. “Yeah. It led to a few enormous fights early in our marriage. After a couple sexless weeks I’d explode and tell her she was being cold. She’d say I wanted sex all of the time. Yes! We were married less than a year. Most couples fuck a lot the first year.”

“After the fight she’d stop preventing me from having sex with her, but her solution was to lay on her back and spread her legs and let me do all the work.”

Agatha was looking at him in disbelief. Peter paused and took a huge gulp of his drink.

“Since we got married she has gotten bigger – a size two to maybe a six or eight – but in her eyes she’s big. We once heard a comedian make a joke about being ‘too fat to fuck’ and she’s taken it to heart. She thinks I don’t want a fat woman.”

Agatha leaned over and took his hand. She did not say anything. Peter noticed she had buttoned her blouse and it no longer afforded him a view of her boobs.

Finally, she said, “What about you? Have you not found ... other releases?”

Peter took a moment to register the sudden change in the conversation. He could not prevent himself as he barked out a laugh. He swallowed the last of his drink and said, “Other releases? Hardly. I’ve only been with three women.”

The waiter appeared and asked if they wanted more chips, salsa, and drinks. Peter nodded and also ordered taquitos.

“OK, three women?” prompted Agatha without critique.

Peter reached for his drink and realized it was empty. He sighed.

“My first was a girl I dated for almost three years. We had been going out for over a year before I even tried to touch her boobs. That went on for another year. Just touching her tits. At one point I think we had sex but I’m not sure.”

Agatha rolled her eyes. “You think you had sex? Come on, you know if you had sex.”

Peter turned a bit red. “OK, yes, we had sex in that I put my dick inside her, but it was incredibly bad. She wasn’t wet and it hurt both of us when I tried to penetrate her. She cried out in so much pain that I immediately pulled out. Not surprising, neither of us came. We were both so turned off by the attempt that we never tried again.”

“Was that why you broke up?” Agatha asked.

“No, I was a year ahead of her in school. I graduated and got a job a few hours away. I think she was glad. Rumors had been floating back to me, even while we were still a couple, that she was flirting with some guys in her classes, and maybe even gone on a few dates. The weekend before her graduation we were going to go out, but we didn’t even make it to the car when it was all over.”