Chapter 34

Back in their cottage Joe and Selena stood under the shower together. They had both washed the sun, surf, and sex from their bodies and Joe just finished a rinse of his hair and face when he cleared his eyes and looked at Selena and saw her adoring, fawning eyes.

“What? Did I leave suds in my hair?”

“No, I’m just looking at you, admiring my husband. All these years I’ve had you pegged as a hound, a wolf who couldn’t get enough of women, and I’ve seen you admiring women so much I figured you were incurable. Why did you take so long to tell me that it wasn’t you who was the chaser, but the chasee?”

“It sounds so self serving, and even you called me a braggart at Dallies place. Everyone THINKS I’m some sort of Romeo. You know Lynn once told me that my steel blue eyes, my smile, my personality, and the way I fear no situation and never look like I don’t know my next move, plus a nice body, made me walking sex bait. Now before you go tearing that apart let me tell you that besides trying to keep my body in shape, the rest of that just happens, it’s me. When I was younger I was involved with a lot of athletics and it helped shape me nicely, but my knees stunted all of those activities, so I had to do things in the gym with no impact to my knees and watching my diet to maintain.” (He turned off the water and reached out to get a towel for Selena and put it to her mouth and waved a finger at her to not say anything until he finished, after getting his own towel) “If I do anything intentionally, it’s the size up I do on people when I see them, not when I meet them, when I SEE them. It was something my Dad did as a business trick and even when I was a kid with him going on job sites he would prompt me “Watch this Junior, when we meet this developer I’ll look him from head to toe and then focus on his eyes and smile like he’s my lost Uncle Earl”. He would say that just as a secretary was about to walk us into the guys office. I used to ask my Dad if there was a lost Uncle Earl and he would laugh like hell. So the way my Dad sized up people, was the way he taught me and I did it. I mean, when you walked down the street with my Dad, where no one knew him, he would look at a man and they would say Hi, how are you?, all unprompted. Women always smiled at him and he would nod, or tip his cap to them. Now, my Dad might have been a handsome guy when he was younger, but this was later on when he was pudgy and had his nose broken a couple times while working. But, the women always smiled at him. So, little by little I picked all of that up and it became second nature to me. Lynn and I had been having sex from the time I was 15 or 16 and I thought it was quite normal to do that with any woman. So when I looked at them and then checked them out with elevator eyes, I thought it was normal. Now I know my eyes are my best feature, both blue and steely, but friendly at the same time, and when I sized up women, thinking in my mind I could bed any one of them if I chose, after all I had free reign with Lynn.” Joe said as he turned to the clothes bar to pick out a shirt.

“Don’t stop now, you’re on a roll and you’ve never been so candid, my lothario.” Selena said as she dressed.

“Well, I was 17 and after my first year at Poly Tech and spending the summers going with my Dad to make bids, check on jobs and we always went to one particular developers office in New York and the secretary there always ushered us in to see this guy, a Bill Kehoe, I think it was, and one day she asked if I would like to meet some rock group on her errand, I forget who, but she had to pick up tickets for their concert for her boss, from the groups agent. My Dad said to go ahead, he would be awhile, and I was off with this pretty hot looking woman for a walk a couple blocks away and we went up and picked up the tickets, but we just missed the group. Walking back she said she had one more stop to make, and we went into this bank building and with a special key in the elevator we went up to a floor of suites. She took me to her “place”, she was apparently a “kept” woman, and she screwed the hell out of me, thinking she was taking my virginity. I actually think I showed her a thing or two, and from that day forward, I knew I could have any woman I wanted, and rarely had to try too hard. But, for a few times, I was hardly ever the aggressor. I know the look a woman gives that says she’s ready to open her legs for me. I only act when I want to. Now, YOU, Selena my love, never fell for all of that. You didn’t fall for any of that sexual magnetism horse shit. You didn’t think anyone else could be a “stock head” if you didn’t work on Wall Street. I know there was some sexual attraction, but you definitely controlled that. I liked to think I was leading you down the garden path to sex, but you made everything happen. You really cared for ME! If there was no sex, you still cared to be with ME! Any one of a 100 times when you thought I was that slime ball wolf and charmer, you always had faith that I wasn’t.”

“So, you think your Dad’s business tricks made you seem so, ... accessible? ... and don’t think your charm didn’t work on me at all, that first night watching TV at your house I started gawking at your face and eyes, I’ll admit it, but I was so worried about you being “appropriate” to meet my Dad later I let anything I felt just pass.” She said.

“My Dad was always saying “size up your prey” when he was selling the company, and “Look every man in the eye” and “Show them you’re not intimidated”. I was impressionable and I thought my Dad was the greatest thing there was, and he was, in his way. There was that secretary and then at school there was a red headed prof, and of course sorority girls. It wasn’t like I was advertising, I’d walk past a gal at the lunch line and she would come and sit with me, introducing herself. Of course, there was a time when I took advantage if there were someone I just HAD to meet. I’ve always said I don’t know WHY I fell in love so hard with a few various women, only to get unceremoniously dumped. But, I know it was always the trust thing. Lynn told me she could trust me, she just couldn’t trust the rest of the women in the world.”

“But, once you took over Johnson Construction you still used your Fathers skills?” Selena asked as she was finishing getting dressed.

“Of course, I didn’t always use my powers for evil.” Joe answered rubbing his hands together in a dastardly fashion.

“Were always aware of your hold on the opposite sex?”

“Yes and no, there were so many times when I was naïve to the intentions of some of the ladies who came on to me. Plus I have a few regrets of women I did when I knew all along I shouldn’t, but did anyway.”

“Like who?

“Shanna, Joseph’s future wife, before he met her. In hind sight it was really stupid, but even so, I clearly took advantage of a certain amount of curious naiveté. We had dated and even got into a bit of foreplay and then she stopped it abruptly before it got to a stage she couldn’t control, she had second thoughts. I knew she was out of her element in my house and I took advantage of that. I knew she would never have a long distance relationship with me; she had too much going in the City. Then there was one married woman that I’m totally ashamed for.” Joe answered.

“Don’t even tell me it was my mother! I know you said you could have had her...” Selena started to say before Joe snapped back.

“Selena! Do you think I could ever face you if that happened? For Christ’s sake, just when I think you might understand my situation you make a comment like that!”

“So who was it?” She asked.

“Nobody you never knew or will know and LONG before I ever met you. I said I was ashamed and I’ve had enough remorse over the years to pay for my indiscretion Despite what you may have ever thought, I never was the hound you thought I was. I didn’t start most of the relationships I had, most came to me. Now I want to stop talking about it because it makes me feel self-conscious and like you said before, a braggart. Haha, just wait until I tell your Mother you thought we had sex.”

“Joseph Johnson Junior, I’ll have your balls in my purse if you say a word.” She said laughing.

“And that’s why I don’t like talking about it. It can only get me in trouble. It’s a good thing Dennis understood the situation with Dallie. I knew I could have had her before we got off the plane that day.”

“Fuck you Joe, ... um ... er ... well I guess she kind of admitted that, but...”

“But you can trust me Selena, YOU are all I want and no matter how much I look around, I never touch, I never flirt in hopes of starting anything. I LOOK at a woman and she thinks I’m flirting, and I can’t help that. If you want I can walk around looking at the ground and never smile again, wear sunglasses all day and at night. You, above everyone else should understand my heart and where it lies.” Joe said hoping the conversation was over.

Selena came over and put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

“I didn’t need you to explain that I was all you ever wanted, but I’m glad I know more about you and how a lot of this stuff came about. I remember one day at an outside café near work a waitress was taking our order and she slipped off her shoe and was rubbing her toes over your sandaled foot, thinking I hadn’t noticed. I was ready to kill her and cut your balls off thinking you must have screwed every waitress in Manhattan. She was just so blatant and you did nothing to stop her.” Selena said

“I thought it best you didn’t know it was happening!” Joe laughed.

“How could I MISS it!” Selena said.

“Well, let’s go down to the restaurant. Gregory is supposed to come by for 7:20. Are we going to feel funny, seeing Dallie and Dennis?” She wondered.

“Why?”

“We just saw them sucking, fucking, whatever.”

“Selena, they saw us too. We’ll all have clothes on and it will be fine. If you feel self conscious, remember it was your idea.” Joe said waving a finger at her.

“Shit, Joe, I’d do it again if I were drunk enough. Not right now, but another time, in the right mood. IT WAS hot.” She said with a sly smile.

“Ha, I found a kink in my innocent pretty little wife.” Joe said as they walked out the door.

She looked back and smiled, “Innocent? Not so much, but outside of the bedroom, for sure.”

Joe and Selena said little when they got in the cart and drove to Odalys cottage and she came out with a huge purse and Dennis.

“Going somewhere?” Joe asked as they got in the cart, looking at the purse.

“Just something I might want if we stroll the beach later, she said blushing, knowing that they knew she wanted to get laid on the beach.

The rest of the trip to the restaurant was quiet.

For the first 15 minutes of their time together was a little uncomfortable as the fact they had sex in front of each other was an elephant in the room, so to speak. Once they were seated it didn’t seem they could get started and Joe finally spoke up.

“Listen, we’ve looked at each other’s genitals all week and all of the time we knew how we used them with our partners. Now we don’t have to imagine how, we know how. Let’s get over ourselves. We did something a little different after drinking too much, but we never hurt each other and all got a little extra excitement. Get over ourselves already.”

They all laughed and toasted each other and suddenly the curtain was up and a big evening of fine food and drink ensued. There was even frank talk of the sex and how they viewed each other and once that was started everyone got a little looser.

“You and Joe have beautiful bodies, you’re both very lucky.” Odalys said shyly.

“My God Dallie, both you and Dennis have nothing to be jealous of. I think you’re spectacular. I hope you aren’t offended that Joe can’t get enough of your walk away.” Selena said looking at Joe hoping for approval.

Joe nodded with an embarrassed grin, but Dallie quickly chimed in, “I can’t get enough of his either.”

They all laughed and Selena looked at Dennis, “I think you have a nice ass too, plus I’ve never had the opportunity to study a cut man before. I think it’s cute.”

Joe hung his head, shaking it, saying to himself, presumably, “My wife, she’s so shy.”

“As long as none of us are going to be PC,” Dennis piped in, “Selena you’re the reason I had to go in the ocean so often, to hide the erection you caused. I’ve never been with a petite woman, I prefer more full figured, but you, ... wow!”

Dennis turned red and looked to Dallie as if to apologize.

“Don’t be sorry Dennis, there’s nothing wrong with looking. I know we have nothing official here, but just remember, you have to fall asleep eventually, and there are sharp knives in the cottage.” Dallie said before they all laughed.

“Do you two see yourselves getting together once you’re home?” Joe aked.

“Well, I’ve decided I don’t care what the others think,” Dallie said, “I’d like him to think of moving into my place. I always thought there was too much of Michael in the house to ever entertain a man there, but the more I think about Dennis and I and how happy we’ve been here and how much I know we fit together, I think after moving a few things out of the house it would work.”

“I have a standing offer on my house”, Dennis added, “ it’s way too big for a single person and I’ve been reluctant to sell, but now I could do that and not be accused of being a gold digger.”

“Oh God, Dennis, who gives a crap, we both do OK financially, let the gossips go crazy.” Odalys poo-poed him

“I know, I know. We have to forget about them.” He agreed and then Joe chimed in.

“Dennis, your business is your business and you can’t worry or care about everything else. We heard so much shit that we just turned deaf ears to it. After what we went through people finally see us for what we are back home and I think they probably see how silly they were. You two have been playing a silly game at home and the attraction is so obvious that everyone was talking and you two weren’t doing anything about it. Once they see the two of you together it will be, “Well, that was obvious”, and a lot of it will die down. For the people who insist on gossiping, just remember they’re leaving someone else alone if they spend their time on you.”

Dallie piped in, “Both Dennis and I are thought of very highly in the community because we each stand financially higher than most and both do a lot of volunteer work and are the first in line to pitch in on community projects, things with the church, like that. We both probably do a lot just to pass the time, even though Michael and I did a lot too.”

“We don’t let an out of work family starve or lose their home, in most cases. Through the church we provide until they get back on their feet or just prove not willing to help themselves. If that’s the case they have to sink or swim on their own.” Dennis said.

“You’re both good people and it sounds like you make yourself happy doing what you do, as long as you have the resources, but ... NOW you got to do what you can to make yourselves happy. Give it every chance and if it works out, just think how fulfilled your lives will be.” Selena said.

“We have to look into our charity project with the Ridleys too Essy. I know your Dad kept the thing alive and Jacob contacted me after the news broke and he wants to move him and his Mom to their OWN place and put another under-privileged student in MaryMount.” Joe said.

“We moved an orthopedic student and his Mom from a druggie neighborhood into a new place of their own as long as Jacob kept his grades up. That was 10 years ago and he got his own practice now and trying to recruit another student. He said his Mom is doing well, retired, and he’s in the process of buying their own place.” He explained to Dennis and Dallie.

“OK, OK, enough of this horn blowing and playing Dear Abby, let’s have another drink and get out of here, before they throw us out, it’s almost 11.” Selena said.

“We can have that nightcap back at our place.” Joe added.

“Oooooo, that might get too sexy. I think we got daring enough today.” Selena said raising her eyebrows.

Dallie turned to her and pointed, “Whoa girl, it was YOUR idea!”

Selena blushed and shyly said, “OK, I think we can handle it, and if someone gets out of hand, I’ll watch.” (giggling)

Dallie leaned up to the table as if to whisper and the other three were apparently interested in where the conversation was going as they all leaned up to listen as she spoke in lower tones, “If you think that I EVER thought I would ever display myself having oral sex in front of anyone besides my husband or lover, or ever openly display myself having sex for someone else to see, you couldn’t be more off base. Before Dennis turned me into what he calls a “bedroom whore” I never got into anything but straight missionary sex. I was not a virgin to everything, but I could easily count on one hand my times outside of that genre. There was something about 4 sexy people in the room and all the real passionate love being passed around made everything incredibly wanton and sexy. You can be sure if we were with 2 strangers just having sex, we wouldn’t have been there. The sexual aura the both of you project when you’re together is enough to get anyone’s juices flowing.”

“Don’t discount the alcohol either.” Dennis added. “It does break down inhibitions.”

“I think my coming up with the idea was alcohol inspired, but I went into it, once Dallie got Dennis to agree, with both eyes wide open. I really thought we would leave before it got too ... ummm ... juicy.” Selena said low.

Odalys got a devilish smile and leaned in even closer, “Holy shit once the sex was in the air, I was beyond stopping and would have ... err ... finished solo.”

“Masturbated?” Selena asked with a deep questioned face.

“No, I would have came just watching. You two were hot.” Dallie said quietly with a blush.

“I would given myself a hand job too.” Dennis said in almost a whisper as he put his hand over Dallies and looked at Selena.

“That’s something we’ve never done, I used to like that, you know, doing it. You feel so powerful.” Dallie said blushing further.

“With a happy ending?” Dennis asked, almost under his breath.

‘What’s that?” Dallie wondered, her sexual innocence shining through. Dennis rolled his eyes at her naiveté, and Selena leaned forward and said, “With the tip in your mouth.”

“Oh, I didn’t know I liked that until now.” Dallie said continuing her show of innocence.

Joe stood up saying, “OK, this just got beyond where we should be talking in public. Let’s go back, NOW. I just gave Gregory a phone page.”

The 2 couples cuddled and necked in their near drunken state as the cart buzzed through the grounds on the macadam path until Gregory slowed down for the drop onto the hard sand path. Then the slight whine of the cart motor was drowned, or maybe accompanied the grind of the tires over the path. In just a few minutes they pulled to the path intersection between the two cottages.

“This will do Gregory,” Joe said. “be here for 9:30 tomorrow, we have to make the 10:00 a.m. boat back to the airport.”

“Yes, Joe. I may be a little late but you WILL make the boat. I have 4 other pick-ups. They won’t leave without you. Miss Dallie, I have you for 12:30 for the one o’clock boat, correct? Oh, and, don’t forget your purse.”

“That will be fine Gregory. You’ve been a Godsend the entire time. Thank you.” She said getting out and almost tripping into Dennis’ arms before Gregory sped away.

“Too much to drink, Honey?” Dennis asked.

“No, I caught the handle on the purse as I got out. Besides, the more I drink, the more fun we’ll have. Sex is better when I don’t have to check my morals meter. If it feels good, do it.” Dallie said looking to Joe and Selena for some sort of approval.

“If you both consent to it, it’s all OK. What two people do in their own privacy is whatever they want it to be. If it feels good to BOTH of you, do it. That’s the only moral standard if you love each other.”

“I know it sounds spur of the moment, but I do love Dennis.” She said looking at him.