Chapter 4

A little nervous and unsure of what would happen when Fred Furness showed up, Tommy Singleton sat at the desk in his office in the gym. It seemed hardly possible that only twenty four hours ago he had been in bed with Fred's wife Grace, having the best time he had ever had with a woman. Although it was Fred in the first place who had suggested that Tommy make out with Grace Furness, the younger man was a little uncertain what he would be expected to say when he met Fred again face-to-face. He really felt sorry for the poor bastard -- to have a wife as turned on to sex as Grace was and not to be able to do anything about it was just about the worst possible fate that Tommy Singleton could think of.

The young husband heard a car crunch to a stop in the gravel outside the back door of the gym, and got up to open the door. He hoped and prayed that Fred Furness would not now be angry that Tommy had taken advantage of the offer to fuck his wife Grace, especially now that he had had a taste of the delights she had to offer. He didn't want to give that up until he had gotten his fill and explored her talents to the fullest.

He was relieved when he had opened the door to see Fred approaching him, beaming from ear to ear and waving in his same old friendly fashion.

"Hi, Tommy," Fred greeted him warmly.

"Hi, Fred, how's it going?" Tommy replied as he closed the door and double-checked to see if it was locked from the outside. He didn't want any of the kids he taught to come in and surprise them in conversation. The rest of the teaching staff was gone for the day and he was pretty sure they would be alone, but he still felt a little uneasy.

As an extra precaution, Tommy closed the door to his inner office before seating himself behind his desk. Fred Furness turned a chair around and sat with his arms crossed on the back, his legs straddling the chair.

"Grace gave you high marks on your performance yesterday," Fred began. "It might be a crazy thing to say, but thanks for helping me out. She was happier and easier to get along with last night than she had been for months."

"I, uh, the pleasure was all mine," stammered Tommy. He felt very awkward and at the same time proud of the fact that Grace had liked him in bed-and that was only the second time they had been together. Just wait, he thought to himself, until she really gets to know what I can do. "I think it might relieve a lot of tension between Linda and me, too," he went on. "It was really exciting to be with a new and different woman." He paused for a moment and then asked, "Was Grace always like that? I mean, did you have to train her into doing all those things in bed? Or is she just naturally into sex so much?"

"There's nothing natural about it, pal. I gave her a careful two-year course in how to enjoy herself and keep me happy at the same time. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it," Fred told him. "Hell," he snorted, "when we first got married, she thought she was supposed to lie down on the bed on her back and close her eyes while I got my kicks. But she's come a long way since then."

You're not just whistling Dixie, Tommy thought, unavoidably going back with relish to the day before. Grace had shown more ingenuity and interest in all the forms of sex play than Tommy would have believed possible.

"I'm interested in what you said about being with a new and different woman, Tommy. Do you mean that despite the fact that you've only been married for a little over three weeks to Linda, you were more excited by my wife Grace because she was a different person?" he asked, his face composed in an expression of serious interest. Furness saw a chance to force Tommy into what he wanted -- a chance to get to his innocent young wife Linda -- but he felt he would have to move carefully for the moment.

"Well, yes, something like that. You understand that I love Linda very much, but it's a little frustrating for me at times. She's so much more inhibited in bed than Grace. But even if Linda were as good, I would have to say there's something about, uh, making out with a woman who has different tastes that really gets to me. I guess it's pretty normal. Everybody likes surprises," Tommy answered. It was hard for him to talk this way, and he had almost said the word "fucking" instead of "making out," but he had caught himself in time. Somehow it just didn't seem right to use such words when talking to another man about his wife. Especially since Fred Furness had been his friend and colleague for so long.

"Don't be so damned prudish about it," Furness chided him. "I told you it would be all right if you fucked Grace, and I meant it. You don't have to mince words," he continued. He paused as if in thought for a moment. "You've got my curiosity up now. That's one thing the doctors haven't even thought of suggesting for my problem."

Tommy didn't see what he was driving at. "What do you mean? I thought you had tried everything," he asked, watching Fred's face with a puzzled expression.

"I have tried everything -- at least all the medical suggestions. But Christ, I don't know why I didn't think of that before!"

Suddenly Tommy felt the hair prickling on the back of his neck as it began to dawn on him what Fred was thinking -- that maybe he should try screwing another woman to overcome his impotence. And there was only one woman he could be thinking of -- Linda!

"I -- I still don't get it," Tommy stuttered, afraid that he had already guessed the truth.

"Hell, it's such a simple solution," Fred went on, his eyes lighting up at the thought. He snapped his fingers as if he had just made up his mind. "It's got to work. I can't go on living like a celibate monk for the rest of my life. I'm sure it's the answer!"

Furness had such a happy look of hope on his face that Tommy felt sorry for him all over again.

"I hope for your sake you've come up with something," Tommy put in. He meant it. He couldn't think of a worse fate than to be married to such an exciting piece of tail and not to be able to take advantage of it. "But what the devil are you talking about?"

"Listen, Tommy. Maybe all it will take is for me to get my hands on another woman. Don't you see? Variety is the spice of life, and it's been a long time since I tried my luck with another woman. Maybe I'm just bored with everything Grace can do."

It was hard for Tommy to see how that could be possible, but he nodded his head in understanding. Now he was sure what Fred was leading up to, and he didn't know if he would be able to refuse him the opportunity. The younger coach was dead certain it would never work anyway. He just couldn't see his wife Linda letting anybody else touch her, not after the resistance she had already shown him -- and he was married to her.

Furness had a faraway look in his eyes as if he were dreaming of successfully getting back his virility. Then he curled his lip in a half-smile and looked back at Tommy.

"And maybe I can help you out. Sort of a return favor for taking care of Grace for me," he chuckled. "That would be poetic justice, wouldn't it?" he leered.

"How do you mean?" Tommy asked, feeling his heart pounding in his throat. How would he be able to say no if Fred insisted?

"I mean, if we work it right, I can try to get a hard-on with your wife Linda. And she might learn a thing or two, if I take the time and patience I did with Grace when we first got together. Hell, the more I think about it, the better it sounds. I've always kind of had the hots for Linda."

Tommy's head was reeling with confused thoughts. After having already fucked Fred's wife twice, he couldn't very well say he didn't like the idea of another man getting into the sack with Linda. Also, he hated to make Fred angry and lose all future chance at the voluptuous Grace. He sat stupefied in his chair.

"Do you think you could go along with it, Tommy?" Furness asked, his voice almost pleading.

"After what you did for me, I can't very well say no," Tommy finally managed to reply. "But I just don't think there's the slightest possibility that Linda would go for it. I told you how she even holds me off most of the time."

Furness waved his hand as though how Linda might feel was not even worth considering. "Let me worry about that. Just tell me it's okay, and that you'll help me if I need it and have a talk with her. Is it a deal? Don't let me down, buddy. I've got a lot at stake."

Tommy hesitated before making an answer. He pictured for a moment his young wife's voluptuous body under the caresses of this man who was practically a stranger to her, but finally he decided it could never get to that point and he relaxed a little.

"Well, I guess you could try," he finally conceded. "But I don't see how I could help you. Besides, you'll be wasting your time."

"Hell, maybe just making a good college try will get me excited enough that I can just run home and give Grace a good lay. She'd like that, all right. And so would I. You'll give me a hand then? It's the last favor I'll ever ask, Tommy. Come on."

Feeling a little as if he were promising candy to a starving child even when he knew there wouldn't be any to give, Tommy relented. "Okay, but don't blame me if it doesn't work out. I warned you."

"That's my old friend talking now," Fred exulted. "You don't have to do much. Just get us together alone. Let me think a minute. It's got to be a reason that will make sense to Linda; otherwise it won't work," he mused, getting up from the chair and pacing back and forth as he planned his strategy.

Fred Furness was secretly gloating to himself as he moved around in the tiny office. His plan was working out just the way he'd known it would. Once he was alone with Linda with Tommy's blessing, he could play the tape he had made the day before and she was bound to break down. He could even play the impotence ruse with her if necessary and prey on her sense of pity. He felt certain that that, coupled with her anger about Tommy and Grace, would make her an easy mark for his designs. He licked his lips greedily at the gorgeous feast she would make when he got her onto his bed. Abruptly he stopped in his tracks and turned to Tommy as if he had finally come up with a way of getting what he wanted.

"That it! Linda majored in psychology at college, didn't she?" he blurted out.

"That's right," Tommy answered. "But how... ?"

"It's perfect. You tell her that Grace and I have been having marital problems, and persuade her to call me. Tell her we want to ask her advice, and then when she shows up at our apartment, Grace will be gone. From there on out, it's my ball game. And you know me. I'm a good sport. If I lose, that's the way it goes, and I'll forget all about it."

"Hell, everybody likes to give advice. It makes them feel superior," Furness came back at him. Suddenly his face turned angry and mistrustful. "Look, pal, if you don't want to do that much for me, just tell me, and we'll forget all about it," he growled. He made a move as though he were intending to leave the office, stopping by the door to hear Tommy's answer.

"Don't take it that way, Fred. I don't want you to be disappointed, that's all. She's not very experienced, and you might reach a dead end fast."

Furness relaxed and released his hold on the doorknob. "I'll take my chances. You do your part, and leave the rest to me. Okay?"

"Okay," Tommy sighed. "I'll tell her you and Grace need somebody you trust to talk to. But I make no promises that she'll even want to come."

"Fair enough. I'll expect to hear from Linda tomorrow or the next day. The sooner I make a last stab at working this thing out, the better I'll feel. Thanks, Tommy. You're a real friend. Mention my little difficulty with impotence. Maybe she'll look something up in a book and fix us up without any trouble. Stranger things have happened. See you later."

"So long, Fred," Tommy called after him as the door closed. He sat for a long time in the deserted gym building, wondering if he had done the right thing by agreeing to Fred's request. He couldn't come up with a satisfactory alternative considering the events of the past week, and finally he shrugged and shoved it into the back of his mind. He didn't think there was one chance in a hundred it would ever work out the way Fred was hoping, but it was the least he could have done to let him try. Meanwhile, he had another date to meet with Fred's wife Grace the following day, and the thought of that to look forward to picked up his spirits.

He left the gym in a happier mood, whistling as he drove out of the empty parking lot.

Linda Singleton was more confused and bewildered than ever. Tommy had come home the night before and told her he had been spending a lot of time with the Furnesses, trying to help them with a problem they were having; he had mentioned something about Fred being temporarily impotent. Linda had been so relieved to learn that Tommy had not been going out with other women after all that she had readily agreed when he had asked if she would attempt to bring the older couple back together before it was too late. She had called Fred Furness that very evening while Tommy listened and made an appointment to meet them on Sunday afternoon in their apartment. She didn't say anything about Fred's previous visit, when he had attached the tape recorder to the telephone. She was not quite sure how Tommy would take her participation in Fred's spying on his wife's activities.

Then, early Saturday morning, while Tommy was out of the house coaching the Little League baseball team from the neighborhood, Fred had called again. He sounded more depressed and desperate than ever, and begged Linda to come over as soon as possible that day. Since it was Saturday, Linda promised that just as soon as she could finish the housework and the little bit of shopping she had to do, she would pass by the apartment.

As she rang the doorbell and waited, she couldn't help recalling the obscene sounds she had heard the last time she had been there. She wondered vaguely what she or Tommy would be able to do for this couple, but, having promised, she couldn't back out now even if she wanted to.

Suddenly she heard footsteps approaching inside the door. It opened, and she stood face-to-face with Fred Furness. He looked even more concerned and worried than before, and she felt so sorry for him it was all she could do to keep from reaching out to him with her hand to comfort him.

"Thanks for coming, Linda," he said in a voice filled with despondency. "I don't know what I would do if there weren't someone I could talk to about this thing."

"I don't know if I'll be any help at all, Fred. But I'll try. That's what friends are for." Before now, she had never really considered the Furnesses to be friends of hers, but after going through all that unfounded worry about Tommy, she felt very sympathetic toward them. She even felt a little guilty in a way, because she found herself secretly thankful that it was the Furnesses and not herself and Tommy who were in this predicament. She was trying to decide whether she should tell Grace Furness in private that she had heard the other day outside the door, when she became aware of the fact that Fred must be alone in the apartment.

"Where's Grace?" the innocent young bride asked, slightly nervous at being alone with Fred. She wouldn't want Grace to think anything was going on without her knowledge.

Furness made an angry gesture with his hand. "Grace and I had another knock-down, drag-out argument earlier this morning before I called you, and she walked out. I had positive proof of my suspicions this time and she couldn't take it. The two-timing bitch!" he snarled.

"I'm so sorry," Linda consoled him. She had a fleeting image in her mind of Fred playing the tape he had made in her bedroom, and she was filled with a terrible sense of responsibility. Perhaps she should have refused to let him use her for that purpose, but she didn't know what she could have done. She sat down nervously on the edge of a chair and watched Fred pace back and forth, almost inaudible curses spewing from his lips.

Suddenly he stopped in front of her and looked down into her face. "I hate to bring you into this awful mess, Linda, but I see no other way," he said at length.

Linda was surprised at his expression. Now he seemed to be looking at her with compassion, almost as if it were she instead of he who was having the trouble.

"Tommy mentioned the problem I've been having with my wife, didn't he?" Furness asked.

Thinking he was talking about the inability to make love to his wife, she nodded her head and blushed, not being accustomed to discussing such matters with anyone except her own husband.

"Good," Fred went on. "Then I don't have to break the bad news myself. What are we going to do about it?" he demanded in a voice that was suddenly gruff and vindictive.

"I -- I don't understand," she stammered. She couldn't imagine why her neighbor thought she herself should do anything except perhaps offer some advice.

"Don't understand? I mean how do we even the score with those two! If they think they can do this to us and get away with it, they're crazy!" he practically shouted at her.

The full implication of his words struck her like a sledgehammer. She felt her whole body tense. She hadn't had the slightest idea that this was what he wanted to talk about, and she braced herself, afraid she just might go to pieces. It couldn't possibly be true! Not her own husband with Grace! The stunned young bride sat speechless before her husband's friend of so many years, her eyes wide open in disbelief.

Fred Furness watched her shocked reaction with inward glee. He knew she was completely surprised by his words, and he could see on her face her frantic attempts to hide her feelings. Slowly, he pretended that it was just dawning on him that she did not know what had been going on.

"My God!" he breathed. "I thought Tommy had already told you about it. Here, let me get you a drink." He hurriedly mixed a strong vodka and soda and handed it to her with an air of commiseration.