Chapter 2

Some days later, on a Sunday morning, Barbara poured a cup of coffee for her husband and, while brushing a kiss on his forehead, reminded him, "Honey, do we have enough liquor for the New Year's Eve party next week? I took care of the caterer and the food and soft drinks will be delivered as promised, but I'm not sure if we have enough booze."

"I think so, dear. But, you know what, I think that I'll shoot down to the store and get a couple more bottles of scotch, just in case." Ted replied.

Barbara smiled at him fondly and quipped, "We just have to make sure that no one gets too drunk to drive, or else we'll have overnight guests for sure."

There were about 28 or 30 people at the Arnold's New Year's bash and the liquor was flowing and the food disappearing. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Everyone had chanted along with the countdown ending the old year and kisses were exchanged, regardless of where the mistletoe was. Barbara had made sure that she was close to her husband and when the last stroke of the clock sounded, signaling the beginning of a new year, she turned to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"I love you, Ted Arnold. I love you with all my heart," she murmured into his ear.

Ted choked up, he felt his heart fill with emotion. "I love you, Barbara Arnold. I'm so grateful that you're mine," and he held her close.

The night slowly wound to an end. Slowly couples began to say their goodbyes and leave until there were just Ann and her date Matt and the Collins' from next door. Everyone chipped in and helped clean up a bit until the Arnolds convinced everyone that it was late and thanked them for their help. With the house to themselves they came together and drifted to the voice of Sinatra singing 'Stardust' ; was there ever a more romantic song? They had turned the lights off and the room was lit by the flickering flames in the fireplace.

Ted had begun to nuzzle his wife's neck and her breathing deepened as she became more aroused. He slowly, while still holding her and shuffling to the music, unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall to the floor. His lips moved to her ear and he nibbled on the soft lobe. Barbara sighed and held herself close to him. While tonguing his wife's ear, he lowered the zipper on the back of her shirt and let it also fall to the floor. Ted reaching into the back of her panties and ran his fingers down the crack of her behind feeling the moisture oozing from her pussy. Barbara gasped as she felt his fingers run along the lips of her labia and held on to him tightly.

With one hand on his wife's bottom, the other hand snaked up to her back and quickly unsnapped the catch of her bra, which he allowed to also float to the floor. He now had to be careful not to trip on the items of Barbara's apparel as they still moved slowly to the music. Ted now stopped any pretense of dancing and stood still with his wife in his arms. He lowered his head and took a nipple into his mouth, feeling her hands press his head to her. Sucking gently, he brought his other hand up and gently palmed the other nipple, then gently squeezed it, bringing moans from her.

Stooping lower, he softly kissed her navel and, almost surreptitiously, he grasped the sides of her panties and lowered them from her legs, watching them pool at her feet. His nose was at the juncture of her thighs and he inhaled the heady aroma of her excitement. He saw the wetness of her pudenda and buried his mouth into her pubic hair. He penetrated her lips with his tongue and had to move quickly to catch her as she virtually collapsed into his arms.

"My God, Ted. Take me, please. No more teasing, I need you in me. I'm ready to explode," she pleaded.

Ted chuckled and caught her up in his arms and carried her up the steps and into their bedroom where is deposited her on their bed. It didn't take any time at all for his to shed his clothes and join her. She reached for him eagerly and forced him onto his back. She then threw a leg over his and hovered over him for a moment. He saw the devilish grin on her face as she murmured, "Get ready for a wild ride, lover."

She reached down and grasped his erect and throbbing phallus. Holding it upright she impaled herself on it slowly, sinking down until their pubic hair meshed. Barbara moaned loudly and her face contorted as she felt herself so filled by this man, the man whom she loved so totally. She leaned forward and placed her hands on his shoulders. Supporting herself thus, she began to slowly raise and lower her hips, feeling him slide slightly in and out of her steaming pussy. She saw his eyes squeeze shut and his mouth grimace as he tried to control his imminent climax. She stopped and waited until he had control again and then continued her movements. She saw his neck arch and with a shrill cry she began to bounce up and down almost violently and she also felt her orgasm approach.

They held each other tenderly as they both came down from the petit mort that was the culmination of their love making. The sweat cooled from their bodies and Barbara kept her face buried in her husbands neck, her fingers playing with the hair on his chest. His labored breathing had eased and he felt relaxed and at peace with the world.

Their lovemaking that evening seemed to be the breakthrough that they both had sought. The weeks that followed seemed to restore the love and affection that they knew was never really lost. The old, silly arguments seemed to be a thing of the past. Any disagreements that did crop up were easily resolved. It certainly appeared that the "love birds" had returned to the Arnold household.

The next weeks seemed almost surreal. The love that Ted and Barbara shared seemed to pervade the very atmosphere that surrounded them. Oh, it took work - they knew each other's buttons all too well. They had made a conscious decision to concentrate on what brought them together originally, not on the things that drove them apart. They had come to the realization that a successful marriage did require effort and they both had vowed that they would never again forget that.

Their new commitment to each other didn't go unnoticed. Everyone saw the difference in how they now interacted and complimentary comments were made. Ted's boss, John Brock, seemed almost effusive when speaking to Ted about the changes he noticed in his friends marriage. Their other friends were equally happy for them, especially Barbara's best friend, Ann.

Ann and Barbara were sharing cups of coffee in the Arnold's kitchen when Ann remarked again for the umpteenth time about the love that was now so evident in her friends face.

"Barb, I just can't tell you how happy I am for you. I just can't believe how things have turned around. Every time I see Ted, I can see how he adores you. Did you find a magic potion?" Ann laughed.

Barbara smiled fondly at her friend. "No, Ann. We wised up finally. We came to realize that if we wanted our marriage to work, we would have to put the necessary effort into it. You know, Ann, I guess I always thought that love was enough - I was wrong. Hard work is necessary to nurture the love. Thank goodness we discovered that in time."

Barbara then grinned at Ann. "Besides, we screw like rabbits now. It's like our honeymoon. I now have the best of both worlds again," Barbara said impulsively and then colored and quickly changed the subject by asking Ann how her relationship with Matt was going.

Ann blushed an interesting shade of scarlet and cleared her throat. She cleared her throat again and hesitated. Barbara, a bit perplexed, looked at her friend. "What's up, Ann? C'mon, spit it out," she teased.

"Well, Barb, ahhhh... that is, I... I think that it's time that Matt and I became... this is, I think that it's time that Matt and I... oh, shit." Ann looked at Barb almost pleadingly. "We haven't gone all the way yet, Barb," she finally blurted out.

Barbara sat and just looked at her in amazement. She then just shook her head and asked, "Why the hell not, Ann? All these weeks, or is it months, and you haven't had sex? I don't understand?"

"It's both of us, Barb," Ann sighed in frustration. "I think that we're both too worried about spoiling what we have. We both know that having sex will certainly take us to a different level and I think that we're both a little nervous about that. Barb, I know that he loves me and I am sure that I care for him too. I think it's time that we made love, that we go all the way."

"Honey," Barb stated. "I couldn't agree with you more and I intend to help you achieve that goal. What we need is a plan."

The following Wednesday saw Ted Arnold in Atlanta finishing up a training session with a group of programmers. He was amazed at how quickly they picked up on the quirks of the new program and he began to see that his presence was not going to really be required for the entire three days. He would be able to finish up the session by the end of the day on Thursday and perhaps he could get a late plane out of the airport. He would be home a full day early and he had a few thoughts of surprising Barb and making reservations for a romantic weekend away somewhere.

Things did work out as he had hoped and he deplaned and strode out of the airport at 10:55 p.m. as scheduled. He couldn't wait to get home and surprise his wife. Fortunately, the traffic was light and he was able to make it home in just 30 minutes. He saw his wife's car in the middle of the driveway and wondered why she hadn't moved it into the garage. The house was dark and he entered silently, not wanting to wake her.

He deposited his bag and briefcase on the floor and moved quietly up the staircase. Their bedroom door was open and he quickly saw that there was no one in the bed and that the room was empty. He turned, puzzled, and his gaze moved down the hallway to the study door that was was slightly ajar. He thought that he heard slight noises there as he walked to the door.

He saw through the small crack in the door that while the room was unlit, he could tell from the soft sounds that someone was in there. He cautiously pushed the door open a bit more and looked in. He saw the moonlight streaming in the study window, illuminating the easy chair. He also saw, with a sickening feeling suddenly developing in his bowels, Barbara's "little white number,, " draped over the chair; the infamous dress from that Christmas Party.

Ted's eyes then moved, fearfully, to the sofa bed which he saw was open and occupied. In the shadows he saw two nude

figures on the bed, one on top of the other. It was obvious what they were doing as he watched an ass moving up and down between the spread legs of the woman under him. He heard the soft moans and then, "... I love you..." He couldn't make out most of the words, but the "I love you" was unmistakable. He watched as two female legs went up and across the hips of the man fucking her.

Ted staggered back, his mind awhirl. He couldn't think straight, his thoughts muddled and chaotic. He felt the sweat cover his body. He stumbled across the thick carpeting in the hallway to the stairs and almost fell as he tried to maneuver his way down. Seconds later he found himself outside with his bag and briefcase clutched in his hands. He stood, frozen for a moment. He felt light headed and weak - breathing had become difficult. He moved, in a daze, to his car and sat behind the wheel. He lost all track of time; he didn't know how long he sat there.

"Why? why? why?" his mind screamed the question. "Why had she done this to them? How long has she been fucking around?" He felt the desolation creep throughout his soul. He felt the emptiness, the sorrow, the grief. The tears flowed and he sobbed, knowing that his world had ended. He had no future, he faced only a pit of self-pity and regrets.

Finally, the tears ebbed. He found he was exhausted, totally wrung out. He made a conscious effort to collect his thoughts, to put events in some kind of order. He started the car and drove, aimlessly. Ted then shook himself, almost violently, and headed for downtown. He pulled into the Hilton and got himself a room. Dropping his luggage on the floor and throwing his jacket onto the bed, he went into the bathroom and washed his face. Looking at himself in the mirror he was shocked at his appearance. His face was drawn and haggard. He grimaced wryly, he would have to get used to a new appearance.