Chapter 2

I got in at about half past eleven that Friday evening, feeling very awake and surprisingly sober, and hungry. I did a quick check on the kitchen and commitment was made. Egg and bacon sandwich was an attractive solution, but that left the inevitable question, what to drink? In the end I chose a reasonable bottle of soft red wine from Australia, but thought that someone should write a wine guide on what to drink with everyday food.

Once I'd finished my little bit of cooking, I took it all back to my living room, and set it down on the little table next to my favourite chair. Now to choose a good porn DVD. Having set that going, I sat down to eat.

The sandwich was as good as I expected. The video was as good as I expected. It was a favourite, not one of my more extreme ones. This was the story of a slut housewife now controlled by her husband, and shared with his friends. Plenty of one to one fucking, only one scene of a threesome, and one lezzy scene, with her pregnant next door neighbour. No whips, chains, leather, latex, outsized toys, rope or pain for anyone. We were onto the second fucking when my door bell rang.

I looked at my watch as I got up. It was nearly half past midnight. I bet it's one of my friends, too broke to pay for a taxi home, having spent everything on wine and women and very little on song. It was Lucy.

"I'm sorry Dave, I guess I should have phoned you again. You weren't in bed were you?"

"Do I look as if I was in bed? No Lucy, I haven't got that far. Well, come on in." I stood aside to let her pass.

She went through to the living room, where my DVD was still playing. "Oh, I see you were watching something. I hope real life is a better option." She turned to me and put her hands around my neck and we kissed, I started tentatively but she responded with hard, needy passion.

"So?" I asked.

"I went back to Shades, but I was thinking of you. And as I knew you weren't going to come there, here I am."

"Oh. Do you want a glass of wine?"

"Yes please, but I was hoping for something more than just a glass of wine..."

"All in good time, I'm sure I will think of something to do. Let me get you a glass." I left her standing in the middle of the room as I went off to the kitchen. By the time I got back she was nearly naked and just removing her panties.

"Well I see you thought of something to do. Why the rush, we've got all night." Then I had doubts, "We do have all night, don't we?"

"Yes, But I thought you'd like me a little more on show."

"Oh, I like it." I said as I passed her a glass of wine, and I sat down in my chair. My hand went out to the remote control, the heroine had just got to coupling number three, which was the threesome. I paused it, it seemed a pity to turn it off at the best bit.

"It's OK, you needn't turn it off. I don't mind watching, I used to watch all of Pete's." She sat down on the floor at my feet, her back against my chair. I leaned forward and over to kiss her fully on the mouth, our tongues fought it out. Then I hit the play button.

Within five minutes she was kneeling between my legs, sucking my cock. And to answer my own question, yes, it does get better. It's having the same beautiful nude woman sucking your cock whilst you drink soft red wine and watch porn. I didn't last long. She had me coming, I warned her but she sucked on and drank me down.

She sat back down and looked at the TV screen. "Hey, that girl's pregnant. Are you into pregnant women?"

"Not particularly. I do think there is something quite sexy about some women when they're pregnant. But I know it's probably not like that in real life, piles and backache and all that. It's not a fetish or anything. It just so happens that this film has got a pregnant girl in it, I didn't buy it for that."

"Well why don't we go to bed?" She began to stand up.

"Well, why don't you tell me how you are getting on in extricating yourself from a bad marriage?" I responded.

"Oh! Don't start that again." She looked pained, but sat down in a chair. She leant over and picked up her blouse and draped it around her shoulders.

I looked concerned, "You cold?"

"No, not really. There was just a draft."

"So?" I persisted.

"Oh! I don't know. Nothing changes. He swears he is working all the time. He hardly ever comes home. What am I meant to think?" She looked at me for some sort of reassurance.

"Well, leave him. If its over its over. But, if you love him, what the hell are you doing here?" She was obviously torn, maybe I could force her to face the problem and decide.

"I don't love him anymore, I've had enough. But taking two kids away from their father... it's difficult." Was that the truth or excuses and prevarication, I didn't know.

"But he's not seeing them now. So what's he or they going to lose?"

"Can't we go to bed? I'll think about all this in the morning."

Maybe it was because I'd just cum. Maybe it was because there was a little voice inside my head saying 'you're at the start of something that could be good with Davinia'. Maybe Lucy was sending off the wrong vibes. But I was reluctant. "You go, I'll have another glass of wine and tidy up in here, then I'll be along."

She looked at me, I guess she saw my reluctance. "You don't have to be the guy in the white hat, Dave. Pete doesn't know about you, there is no reason he should. And I promise you it's over, it's just that I haven't got out yet. Come to bed, we're good together."

I was won over. "Let's go." And that's what we did.

In the morning, as we lay in bed, sated and relaxed, she went back to the conversation of a week ago, "Did you love her?"

"Who? TJ's wife? No."

"No not her, the married woman who chased you?" she idly plucked at the hairs on my chest.

"Oh. Her? I'm not sure. I'm not sure that I know what love is. Don't run away with the idea that this is love, or that I'm going to fall in love with you, or you'll be sadly disappointed." I turned to talk to the top of her head.

"Oh no, I'm not looking for love. I'm just an easy tart looking to get laid." She turned to look up at me, and smiled.

We lay in silence for a while. I picked up the remote and flicked the television on. It seemed to be twenty channels of kid's cartoons, an old black and white movie and three channels of rolling news. I waited for a news summary. Having got that I turned it off.

"I must get up." I began to move. "and so must you."

"Why? Got your next one arriving soon?"

"If you mean by that, my next woman, no. I've got lots of jobs to do, including cleaning the flat, I need it looking good for tomorrow, and I'm out tonight."

"A date? Tell me about her."

"A date with my boss and his wife." I chose not to tell her about Davinia. I've found that telling one woman about another is always... unpredictable."

"Oh, licking up to the boss. Good career move."

"No, Tim is a friend. A very good friend. And his wife seems to think she owes me."

"For what?"

"Well, she and Tim had a few problems last year, and she seems to think that I helped Tim by being a friend, as if I'd do anything else for a mate who's in trouble."

"What happened?"

I looked at her, I don't like talking about friends behind their back. But, asked a direct question... and she doesn't know Tim and Beth. "She had an affair, and Tim found out."

"But he's taken her back hasn't he? Did he do something to make her go in the first place?"

"No, definitely not. Tim's just not like that, and he thought the world of Beth. No, as I understand it, she had a sort of... what you'd call... a mild depression and the local Casanova spotted that the time was right."

"Big bust up then? Did he get violent?"

"Tim? Violent? No. But it was a big bust up, they were apart for five to six months."

"I reckon Pete would have been violent if I'd played around on him" I looked up, definitely concerned. "Oh, no. Not you. Not now. I reckon there was a time when he might lose it with me, but now I can't believe he would care enough."

"But that's part of why you don't get out?"

She thought about that for some time before she answered. "Maybe, part of it. He does have a violent temper. I'll admit I'm a bit scared of the final confrontation."

"Then why not get out when he isn't around? Then the lawyers can deal with it. Has he ever hit you in the past? You could probably fit in the battered wives classification. You know relocation, re-housing, the lot."

"Oh no. And I wouldn't want the children to go through that. No, Pete's a nice guy, a really nice guy, but he has this wild temper in him when he really gets angry. But he's never raised a hand to me or the children."

"Well, if you need a place for a night or two, I guess we could cope here. You know I'm not suggesting there's anything between you and I, but as a friend..."

"Gee... That's really sweet of you. Thank you, Dave." She moved up me and we kissed. And we kissed. I was just beginning to feel some stirring, when she moved away and out of the bed. Damn, she played that well! Leave them wanting more!

"You have a shower, and I'll give you a lift home." I admitted defeat.

I walked round to Tim's flat at the bottom of River Mead at about eight o'clock.

Tim greeted me, "Beth's still titivating in the bedroom. She'll be out in a minute. What do you want to drink? Beer? Gin? Wine?"

"A glass of white wine would be nice. I hear Alice is coming. Anyone else?"

"No. This place is so small that we can really only cope with four of us. In summer we'll be able to have more when we can spill out onto the roof." We went on chatting as he collected a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured two glasses. Then Alice arrived.

That underplayed her entrance:... AND THEN ALICE ARRIVED!

She came into the room, Tim following her in from the front door. Alice has the most fabulous body, and we could see every inch. It was a pair of low slung tight trousers and a short, matching boob tube, all in a metallic sort of material. There was a fair bit of bare skin and what was covered, was either covered oh so tightly, or were bits that didn't matter too much. Tim looked over her shoulder at me, and I wished I had a camera, the look of pained lust was just perfect.

I looked at Tim. Tim looked at me. Both of us searching for words. We had plenty of thoughts, it was just spoken words we were short of. But then Beth came in and saved us. She looked good too, in a dress that was above the knee and almost above the thigh. Just, at least in my eyes but probably not Tim's, not as good as Alice.

After all the kissing and welcoming, (and Alice smelt good too), we settled down, each of us with a glass of wine. Then Tim spoke, "Thanks you two for coming tonight. You're doing myself and Beth a big favour."

I looked at Beth, but she was watching Tim, who continued, "You see, Beth and myself have been socialising since we got back together, but it's always been with people who know about last year, but don't like to talk about it. Or people who don't know, in which case 'my wife had an affair with the next door neighbour' is a bit of a conversation stopper. But you guys know the truth, and please don't be afraid of talking about it. Whether we like it or not, it is part of Beth's and my history. It happened and it's a fact. Please don't change the subject if the joke is about adultery, or why we are living here at Blindside." He stopped and looked around the room.

The mention of Blindside, this flat, raised a question in my mind, "Have you sold your old house now?"

Tim answered, "Yes. We completed moving out a couple of weeks ago. All our furniture is stored at Beth's parents, in one of their spare bedrooms or in their spare garage. We're here until at least the summer, then we'll see."

I looked at Alice, but she just sipped her wine. Then Beth spoke, "We'll happily talk about anything, and answer any questions. But that doesn't mean we've got to, and I certainly don't want to talk about it all evening. Tim and I just want to have a nice meal with friends, but in an honest and open atmosphere."

It was Alice who looked up and spoke, "Well, I've been wondering how you got to telling Tim all about it, Beth. You see, I had a couple of conversations with Tim when he was tearing his hair out in frustration that you wouldn't talk, and the next thing I knew was that you had, and then, of course later still, that you were back together."

"Well that was Rose's doing really. Do you know Rose? She's Charlie Bullard's wife. Anyway, Tim got me to speak to her, apparently she used to be a marriage counsellor, but she certainly uses some unorthodox methods. Tim used to think that she was on my side, because she used to play Devil's Advocate with him, but she was pretty rough on me as well."

She looked around the room, but we were all listening to her, "I ended up seeing her four times a week for over three weeks before she could get me to talk to Tim. And in the first sessions I was like an iceberg, I was so wrapped up in my own guilt. I think for the first hour she just about got a couple of Yes and No's out of me and possibly a 'Maybe'. The second session was much the same, and she ended it, I think in sheer frustration, with 'Well, you could come back on Saturday afternoon, but I wonder if there's much point. Maybe a cheating slut like you would rather be out trying to find another husband to screw up.' But it did the trick, I was so insulted and angry with her, possibly because I knew that it was a possible interpretation of me, that I said 'Well if you really want to know about my life... ' and she had opened the floodgates."

"Ouch" I said. It seemed odd that the ebullient Charlie Bullard could have such a dragon for a wife. "Is she really that tough?"

"Yes and no. She's rather a mother figure really," it was Tim who answered, "but she is absolutely committed to making sure that you've thought through everything from every angle. Once she knows you've done that, I don't think she cares whether you get back together or get a divorce."

"I thought all those people were about reconciling." observed Alice.

Tim looked at her, "Yes, that's partly why I thought she was trying to rig it that way. And I know she goes to Church, but not once did she give me the Forgiveness is the Christian thing to do speech. She wasn't overtly campaigning..."

"She might not have been with you," Beth interrupted "but I got the full Breaking Your Wedding Vows lecture. It was about the beginning of the third week of meeting her. And it wasn't at all pleasant. But on the whole, I reckon she focused more on that I had to get used to the idea that I couldn't get Tim back, that I had to expect him to divorce me, and that I'd better get used to it."

"But you did." said Tim, smiling at her.

Alice leant forward, her glass in her hand, "But she didn't condemn you? I would have thought that was the Christian standpoint."

Beth looked at her, and answered, thoughtfully, "No. I reckon she doesn't judge like that. She just says that this is what you did, and this will be the likely consequence. Not judging people is meant to be Christian isn't it?"

"Well, I guess so. But not many Church goers take that generous a view. If you want a bigoted group of people, try any religion." Alice sounded bitter.

"When I had to tell her about the last Thursday and Fateful Friday..." it was Beth again talking, "that's the day that Tim found out about me and Ken, anyway she made me do it twice, once as I saw it, and once as I thought Tim would have seen it. It was horrible, but it helped me really understand how he must have felt. She liked to do things from every angle. If I even so much as thought of wording something so it might throw a better light on me, then she would throw it back at me with the worst possible interpretation. Some of those sessions were pretty horrid. But we got there in the end." She looked over at Tim, and smiled.

Tim had been watching his wife throughout, now he smiled back at her, "Any chance of food this side of Christmas?"

Beth got up, but as she was walking behind Tim's chair, she leant over and kissed the top of his head, "Rose didn't explain to me that all you really wanted was a cook and housekeeper."

"Cook, housekeeper and harlot in the bedroom, it's a full job spec." he called after her as she left the room.

I had sat silent throughout this, just watching.