Starting Over: Nerites
Copyright© 2025 by Quantum Mechanic
Chapter 12: To every thing there is a season...
Science Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 12: To every thing there is a season... - Cheyenne is a plains world dedicated to production of livestock for sale to other human-occupied planets. Jean has a great job there, but he's offered a better job on a watery planet, and an opportunity to develop his own homestead. In order to take the new job, he has to uproot and transplant his young family. It's not easy going, and once there, the troubles have just begun.
Caution: This Science Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Romantic Heterosexual Fiction Science Fiction Cheating Massage Oral Sex Pregnancy Slow
The weeks dragged by for Hardy. He couldn’t stop thinking about Beth, and she refused to even talk to him. She hadn’t gone as far as blocking incoming calls from him, only because that would have made her hostility too obvious to Jean.
As for Jean, Hardy just couldn’t bring himself to resume the “good buddy” role with the man whom he viewed as his nemesis in matters of the heart. From his viewpoint, Beth’s commitment to Jean was the sole reason that he couldn’t be with her. The only humor to be found in the situation was that Jean didn’t even realize that they’d been in competition. That Jean had won the contest without even trying, without even knowing it was underway, somehow made Hardy’s sense of loss even greater.
He lost interest in farming, in his brokerage business, in his equipment repair business. He lost interest in visiting and haggling with customers, in starting social/religious/political arguments, in sitting on someone’s front porch, trading lies. He had lost interest in flirting with other women the moment he’d laid eyes on Beth.
In short, Hardy had completely lost interest in the life he’d built on Nerites. In the past, when something like this happened, he’d just moved on to a new place, but in the past, he’d always held some hope of a brighter future. He recognized the signs of imminent acute depression, but didn’t know what to do about it.
Josephine had been seeing Jean at lunch, practically every workday, and they had made love three different occasions this week already, despite the limited time they had together. At home, things were going well for him, but they still couldn’t get enough of each other, either physically or emotionally.
Nevertheless, Jean was grateful for her help in repairing his marriage relationship. He was also being supportive of her effort to repair her own, and had participated in planning the initial sortie in her campaign.
Alex was due home at any moment, and she had gone out of her way to be present when he arrived. It wasn’t customary for her to change her plans to accommodate him, but she was committed to a full frontal assault on his senses, just to get and hold his attention for a while.
Jo had prepared one of Alex’s favorite meals, and set the table with the good china. A bottle of wine was chilling in a bucket of ice near the table. The wine glasses were in place, and candles ready to light. Soft music flowed from the sound system, and it had been programmed to generate hours of the stuff.
In short, the environment was perfect for a seduction, and the pièce de résistance was the new white teddy she wore under her blue velvet robe. Jean had helped her pick it out, saying that if she wore it, only a stone statue could resist her.
It did seem to turn some things to stone! she smirked.
She heard him fumbling at the door, preparing to enter the apartment. She dimmed the lights and quickly sat in a chair opposite the entryway, and arranged herself in a seductive pose. The trap was laid.
Oblivious of his wife’s intentions, Alex eventually managed to get the door open, even though the large bouquet of roses in his hand contributed nothing to his grace. The large stack of boxes he carried obscured his vision, so he didn’t immediately get the full impact of the visual treat she had prepared
Jo watched him set the boxes down, and start toward the light switch.
“Don’t touch that switch!” she barked.
On hearing this, he looked in her direction, and he was floored. His jaw dropped. His eyes bugged out. He couldn’t speak. He almost couldn’t breathe. He simply stood, frozen in fascination of the beautiful, sensuous, seductive creature that was his wife, and there was no escaping the conclusion that this scene was all for his benefit.
After long moments, Josephine took pity on the poor man. She rose gracefully out of the chair and sauntered over to him. She put her arms around his thick neck, and pulled him into a kiss that would have scorched asbestos. He was certain that he had melted into a puddle at her feet.
She carefully took the roses from him.
“For me?” she asked hopefully.
He nodded mutely. Afraid to try to talk, he was absolutely certain that he would sound like an idiot if he uttered a single word.
She found a vase, and carefully arranged the roses for display on a low table in the living room. Returning to him, she helped him out of his jacket and told him to go wash for dinner, suggesting that he shed the street clothes and put on a comfortable robe.
He managed to follow her directions without hurting himself, and when he returned to the living room, she guided him over to the waiting table. He sat as she lit the candles and poured the wine. He sipped his wine as she brought out the food and arranged it on the table. He ate in silence, and though he recognized his favorite dish, he hardly tasted the food, as his eyes feasted on Josephine.
For her part, Jo was very pleased with the results so far. Alex’s reactions to her overt sensuality were very gratifying, especially since she knew that she was decades older than most of his potential on-the-job playmates.
It’s good to know I’ve still got it! Of course, Jean has already shown me that...
Oh well. Tonight is about Alex and me ... so if I’ve got it, I’m going to flaunt it for him!
By the time the meal ended, Alex had recovered his composure, somewhat, and was able to participate more actively in the remainder of the evening.
They danced a little to some of the slow tunes, they sat and cuddled, sometimes talking, mostly just enjoying the closeness. They sipped on the wine until it was gone, and then they retired to their bedchamber.
Alex was gentle with her, seemingly afraid that if he moved too quickly, she might disappear. He showed a tenderness that no one would expect from him, given his appearance and boisterous public behavior. He worshipped her body with his eyes, his hands, his lips and tongue, and she reciprocated.
Eventually, as it always happens between lovers, the tension became too much, and they had to have each other. They joined slowly, carefully, savoring the sweetness of their joining. They moved together in a harmony remembered from years of perfect practice, every motion serving to enhance their mutual pleasure, until at last, almost simultaneously, they both found release.
Afterward they held each other tightly as their breathing returned to normal, and then they continued to hold on, just as tightly, afraid, lest the feeling vanish as if in a dream. Eventually sleep claimed them, still tangled, still joined.
Sitting on his own front porch, Hardy heard the tone announcing an incoming call on his comm unit. He knew it wouldn’t be Beth, so he wasn’t particularly interested in answering. Eventually the caller gave up and the tone ceased its irritating clamor.
At length, however, the contents of his drink glass ran out, and it was either sit and stare in to space, or go fix another drink. Fixing another drink seemed a better imitation of life, so he got up and went into the house.
As he passed the comm unit, he saw a banner flashing on the screen, indicating that the caller had left a recorded message. Since that almost never happened, his curiosity got the better of him, and he played the message back. It was Alex, and he’d just returned off a rotation in the field. He wanted to get together for a party.
Maybe that’s what I need right now ... something to take my mind off losing Beth ... this could work out...
He opened a channel to connect with the Trebien household and waited. No one answered for several minutes, and he was about to give up when Josephine answered the call.
“Hi, Hardy,” she said. “You look like hell.”
“I love you too, Jo,” he replied. “I’m returning Alex’s call. Is he around?”
“No,” she answered, “you just missed him. He had to make a run down to his office, but he’ll be back in an hour or less. You want him to call again?”
“I don’t know exactly...” he started to refuse, then said, “Yeah, I guess that’d be best. I thought I might go out for awhile, but I just don’t feel like it.”
Jo looked at him with some concern.
“So what’s got you in the pits?” she inquired.
“Nothing I shouldn’t have expected,” he replied. “Beth and I are through.”
“What happened?”
“The only way to describe it succinctly is ‘irreconcilable differences’. I needed more from her than she felt she could give. She needed less of me than I felt I had to give. We couldn’t agree, so she sent me away.”
“That’s so sad. I know you put a lot of yourself into that relationship, and the pain of your loss is easy to see. I wish there were something I could do to help.”
The conversation very nearly died of neglect at that point, and perhaps should have. After a moment, though, the wheels in Hardy’s mind started turning again.
“You know, Jo,” he said, “I’m no longer encumbered with a relationship. If you’re still interested in spending time together again, I’m available.”