Chapter 2

As their new business grew, both Faith’s art and Larry’s beer became increasingly popular. It wasn’t long before it became too much for them to handle on their own. To meet the demand, they had to expand and hire some employees. Larry hired three workers to help with the bottling and distribution business as well as a brewmaster to help scale the production.

Faith hired two young, female art students from the local college to work with her part-time. They would help customers in the gallery and assist with classes. One of the girls, Katrina, would help run the Brews & Brushes events as well.

Having people around had one immediate and dramatic impact on Larry and Faith’s lives. It nearly killed their sex life. The spontaneous sexual encounters were a thing of the past. They could no longer wander around naked or have a quickie in the kitchen or brewhouse. Sometimes, Larry would pull her into the love den during the day or Faith would come by and drag Larry into a storeroom for a blowjob, but even those erotic encounters became less and less frequent.

They tried to take advantage of the time they did have alone. They fucked like mad in the evenings when they didn’t have classes and parties. On weekends they would order pizza and spend their time having sex, as much as possible. Work and their other responsibilities began to limit the time they had even for these moments of sexual fun and games.

One November afternoon, Larry was enjoying a brief moment of respite, contemplating the slowdown in their sex life, when a stranger came into the Live Oaks Gallery and Brewhouse.

His name was Quentin Marconi, and he was a representative from a regional beer distributor. He had tried several of Larry’s beers at the gastropub a block from their home and was blown away. When he found out it was made in Larry’s backyard and it was within a five-minute walk, he had to come to introduce himself. Larry was pleasantly surprised by the praise and attention. He took Quentin out back and showed him around the facility.

Two hours later, Larry sat down at the table with Faith.

“Oh my God, Larry,” she said proudly, with a huge smile, “That’s amazing! It’s so gratifying to know that they want to distribute your beer regionally. I knew you were good at what you do. Your beers are better than the crap people buy at stores. You must be extremely proud.”

She stepped around to hug and kiss her husband. Larry blushed and nodded. “Yeah, it is a great honor that people like my beers. I’ve always wanted to share them with a wider audience, but I never really had the confidence to do it. With the money they’re offering, I can’t really refuse.”

“Of course not!” she agreed, “You have to do it. People deserve to drink your beers. You deserve to be recognized for your work.” She was smiling, but Larry detected a slight oddity in the way she spoke or maybe the look in her eyes. He thought that perhaps she felt disappointed that she hadn’t received a similar kind of recognition for her artwork. He believed in her talent and knew that if more people saw them, more people would want to buy her paintings and sculptures.

“I’d like you to go all out on the artwork for the beer, honey,” Larry said, kissing her. “I thought we could make the bottles, packaging, everything a unique work of art, showcasing your talent alongside mine. We can even put like a little fold-out that talks both about the craft brewing process and your art and direct everyone to your website.”

“That’s sweet, honey,” Faith said, as she disengaged from Larry, “but I don’t want you to do that because you feel you’re leaving me out of this. It’s a big opportunity for you. I’m ok with that.”

“No way!” Larry said, pulling her back into his arms, “We are Live Oaks and Brewhouse and Gallery. We go together or not at all. I love your art, and I want the world to see your talents.”

Faith smiled and kissed Larry. “You know, I love you so much it almost hurts,” she said. “Thank you, and I’d be honored to do the artwork for your beers.”

“Our beers,” he corrected.

Faith nodded. “Our beers. Can we make some flavors that have a naughty theme to them? That would be fun?”

“Absolutely,” Larry said as he pulled Faith toward the stairs, “why don’t we go to bed and think of the naughty things we can create together.”

Faith giggled and followed him throwing out ideas. “Tantric Tangerine, Big Black, and Stout, or maybe Larry’s Creampie!”

“What would that be?” Larry asked between chuckles.

“I don’t know, maybe a honeysuckle nectar hard cream soda,” she laughed, “You’re the brewmaster. I’m just the artist!”

Larry threw Faith backward onto the bed and knelt as he spread her legs. As he suspected, she had no panties on underneath her skirt. He grinned as he leaned forward and licked her rapidly moistening slit. “Speaking of creampies, do you have one for me to clean up now?”

Faith and Larry had not had sex yet that day, so she knew he must be kidding, so she played along.

“Of course, I do,” she said seductively, as she spread her legs wider and reached down between her legs to spread her labia apart. “It’s waiting for you to lick it all out.” She knew there was nothing in there, but he seemed to want to pretend.

Larry grinned. “And whose cream is it in this lovely pie, my sweet wife?”

“It’s yours, baby, only yours,” Faith moaned, feeling Larry’s tongue exploring her labia tentatively.

Larry pulled his mouth away and shook his head, “No, no,” he whispered, winking at her. Faith knew he was in a naughty mood and grinned at him. “I was gone for a couple of hours. Which one of our customers took you in the love den while I was gone?”

This was something new and unexpected for Faith. In their years together and all the sexual exploration and fantasies they had shared, not once had either of them brought up the idea of having sex with other people. Yes, she flirted. Yes, she dressed revealingly and liked to tease and flash. Yes, they had had hot, hard and horny sex afterward. But, never had she expressed her desire to play with another man. That fantasy was something she had kept well hidden.