TITLE    : I Caught Her Cheating
STORYID  : i-caught-her-cheating
SUMMARY  : What happens now?
AUTHOR   : Ephesus14@lit
DATE     : 2020-01-31
CATEGORY : loving-wives
FLAGS    : h
TAGS     : |cheating wives|loving wives|wife|husband|


Be advised that there is very little sex in this story.



I would like to remind some of you that this is a work of fiction. However, if you still feel compelled to critique the legal aspects, law enforcement techniques, whether or not the town of Meadow really exists, or anything else, please feel free.



Thank you Cleveland!



*****



When I got to her room, I walked in to stand beside her bed. I looked down at her and reached for her hand. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked around the room. She didn't acknowledge the two people who were standing at the foot of her bed, but she smiled broadly when she saw me.



"Hi, brother dear." She said weakly.



"Hi, sister dear." I responded. "How're you doing?"



She grinned. "I'm dying. We all know that. They're" She moved her head in the direction of the doctor and nurse standing along the wall. "just waiting for it to happen so they can write down the time." She looked back at me. "Where's Tommy?"



Tommy was her husband. "He's on his way."



"I don't think he's going to make it in time." She took what was for her a deep breath. She closed her eyes and a tear appeared in her left eye. 



"Shh. Don't talk. Save your strength."



"I have something to tell him."



"He'll be here soon."



She was fading and I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it.



"I cheated on him."



"I know."



Her eyes opened and she looked at me. "How did you... of course you did. I could never keep anything from you." I smiled. "Does Tommy know?" 



"No." I said.



"Are you going to tell him?"



"No."



"It was a mistake."



"I know."



"Can I tell you something else since I'm confessing things?"



"You know you can."



"It's going to sound weird."



"It can't be as weird as some of the stuff we've told each other over the years."



"I think this will be the weirdest. Come closer." I leaned down. She whispered in my ear. "I always wanted to have sex with you." She managed to get out. "Does that freak you out?"



I squeezed her hand and smiled then whispered in her ear. "No it doesn't because I've wanted to fuck you since I first saw your tits start to develop."



She laughed and coughed, spitting up blood. I took my handkerchief and wiped her mouth.



"I never thought my dying thought would be of having sex with my brother."



"And I hope that my dying thought will be of having sex with my sister." I said.



She smiled broadly then took a sharp intake of breath. "It's time." She said. "Tell Tommy I love him and kiss me goodbye."



I nodded and leaned down to kiss her. After a few seconds, I felt her lips relax and I knew she was gone.



The End



"Holy mother of God." Said Kris, my editor. Her name is Krystal, but friends and relatives call her Kris. She is also my wife's sister. "If that doesn't have your readers bawling their eyes out, nothing will." 



"Ya think?" I laughed.



"I'd like to be able to get inside your head and see what's going on in there and find out how much of what you write about is real."



"You might be surprised." I said as I stood to leave.



I was home about three hours later sipping on a gin and tonic when my phone rang. It was Kris. "You forgot to sign the new contract." 



"I know. I'll get around to it."



"You know we can't give you the advance or publish the book until it's signed."



"I understand." 



At home I pondered what Kris had said about getting inside my head. She would never know how close to the truth the ending of this last book was. I really do have a sister and I really did have thoughts of sleeping with her; there is no way in the world I would ever act on those thoughts, however.



I also had a wife, but the thought of having sex with her was the last thing on my mind. Not that she wasn't hot, or that sex with her wasn't nice; my problem was I didn't like standing in line. I had thought of telling Kris about her sister's conduct, but decided against it. 



Lisa was my wife. We had been married six years. 



Lisa and I were both teachers before I sold my first book. It was moderately successful so I decided to quit and write fulltime. My second book was more successful and we were hoping that the one I had just given Kris would be even bigger. With my writing success, Lisa decided she didn't need to work anymore, so she resigned. That was about seven months ago.



It was Kris, who suggested I try writing. Almost three years ago, she and Lisa were cleaning out our attic and some of my college stuff was there. Among that stuff were several stories I had written for one of my college English classes. Kris took them, read them, showed them to a couple of other editors and the consensus was that I should try writing. It took almost a year before Kris and I felt my first novel was ready for publication, same for the second one, and about eight months for this last one.



Since she quit working, Lisa spends a lot of her time at the gym, going to lunch with her few teacher friends, going into the city to visit Kris, or generally just goofing off and socializing with her non-working friends and neighbors. We didn't have many friends and no close ones so I didn't object to her socializing.



Occasionally, we would fly my mother and her boyfriend in to spend the weekend with us. We lost my father ten years ago and Mom had been seeing a guy named Les for the last couple of years. When they came to town, we usually had dinner out the first night with theatre and dinner the second night then they flew home the next day. 



Mom was a bit nervous about staying with us the first time the two of them came. She and Les didn't live together, but they took turns sleeping at each other's houses. I knew about it because my sister told me, but Mom wasn't sure how I would feel about it. 



I put her at ease when they came to the house the first time and I showed them to 'their' room. She touched my arm and asked, "Is this okay with you?"



I laughed, hugged her, and said, "Of course, it is."



After that, we all relaxed and enjoyed the weekend. The four of us enjoyed several such weekends.



We had invited Mom and Les to come for another weekend. Several days before they were due to arrive, Lisa told me that she had other plans for the weekend. "What other plans? Are we supposed to be doing something?" I asked.



"Not us. Me. Some of us girls at the gym are having a weekend hen party."



"Don't you think we should talk about this?"



"It's no big deal. Six of us are going to be staying at a lake house one of them owns."



"How long will you be gone?"



"Just the weekend."



"I'm not sure about this."



"Oh for Pete's sake, Matt, it's six girls at a lake. I'm sure we can take care of ourselves. Besides, it should be fun."



"That's not the point."



"Then what is the point?"



"I think we should have talked about it since you knew my mother was coming." She and her gym girl friends had done this four or five other times in the past several months. A weekend hen party somewhere. Besides the whole weekends, there had been some overnights in the city for shopping and 'girl stuff'. There had also been several day trips. 



I really didn't mind her having girlfriends and doing things with them because it gave her something to do. Besides, the gym workouts improved her already very nice body.



"Well, it's too late. We'll discuss it the next time." She walked away. 



The rest of the week was pretty uncomfortable around the house. On Friday morning, I was in my office when she came in.



"I'm leaving."



"Okay."



"Are you going to kiss me goodbye?"



I slowly rose and crossed to her. I took her hand and walked her through the house to the garage door in the kitchen. Her bag was there so I picked it up and carried it to her car where I lightly kissed her."



"Are you going to be mad at me all weekend?" She asked.



"Probably longer than that."



She kissed me. "You'll get over it."



"I suppose."



I watched her back out of the garage and take off down the street. 



We live in a small town not far from New York City. We have a nice house and two cars. We rarely drive into the city, but, rather, we drive to the station and take the train. Actually, we rarely go into the city at all. An occasional Friday or Saturday night for dinner and a play is about it; and when Mom comes of course. I, of course, had periodic meetings with Kris, my editor.



I picked Mom and Les up several hours later and after a few hours of 'catch up chatter' we headed for our favorite local restaurant. Later at home, we had more drinks and conversation. They were disappointed that Lisa wasn't there.



The next day we mostly hung around the house before heading for the city. Mom's visits were one of the rare times we drove there. Parking was always a hassle.



I had managed, for lots more money than we usually paid for theatre tickets, to score tickets to the most popular musical of the season. Lisa had wanted to see it, but absolutely refused to pay the prices. She would have died if she knew how much I had to paid for them.



Mom, Les and I were in the lobby of the theatre. I told them to go to their seats and I would order our drinks for intermission. I placed our order and joined them. Our seats were fifth row center. They were, in my opinion, the best seats in the house.



The first act was very good... not worth the cost of the tickets, but still very good. The three of us retrieved our drinks at intermission and were standing in the crowded lobby discussing the play, when I heard a familiar laugh. I turned and not 15 feet away from me stood Lisa; well, at least she sounded like Lisa and looked like Lisa. It couldn't be her, however, because Lisa had long hair and always wore it down. If this lady had long hair it was fixed so that most of it was on top of her head. There was also a small, green tattoo of some sort on the back of her neck. Lisa hated tattoos. I turned back to Mom and Les and we continued talking... then I heard the laugh again and looked in her direction as she and her male escort started back into the auditorium. The crowd had thinned enough so I could watch them walk away. Her dress was cut almost to her waist in back and the man put his hand on her back and slid it around her waist under the dress. I managed to forget the lady in the lobby long enough to enjoy the rest of the show. 



I took them to the airport at noon the next day.



Lisa came home around nine that evening. She was laughing and happy and I assumed it was because she was home. When I asked her about her weekend she chatted about the wine they had, the swimming in the lake, two of the girls had gone skinny dipping. And on and on. I was beginning to feel bad that that I had resented her going.



We had sex that night and, as usual, it was very nice. 



The next couple of days were normal. I worked on the outline of my next book and Lisa did whatever it was that Lisa did and we had sex twice. 



Then things started to change. Lisa was out and I was working on my outline. 



Whenever we returned from a trip, the first thing I did was unpack. Lisa always waited a couple of days regardless of how many bags she had. She would take out her makeup case and leave everything else including her dirty clothes and under things. Sometimes I unpacked for her. It always drove me crazy. 



I had gone into our bedroom and her bag from the weekend was still there. I opened it and it looked like it hadn't been touched. Everything was clean, pressed, and neatly folded... just like it would have been when she packed it. Sticking out of one of the small compartments was a piece of paper. I would have ignored it but it had a green shamrock taped to it. I pulled it out and looked at it. The picture of the shamrock was taped to a form letter. It read, "Congratulations on your new tattoo. Please remember to follow the instructions below for the first few days."



Below that was hand written, "Lisa, I'm sure you will enjoy your Shamrock and I hope you enjoy the other surprises Gordon told you he had for you." It was signed 'Eagle'. The Heading on the letter said Eagle Tattoos and Piercings and it gave the address. It was in a town not far from ours and closer to the city.



I don't know how long I stood looking at the letter before I slowly replaced it, closed the bag, and put it back where it was. 



I sat on the back deck until Lisa came home and found me there. I remembered the woman at the theatre. I remembered her laugh and the way she reminded me of Lisa. But mostly I remembered the small green tattoo on her neck. 



"What are you doing out here?" She asked.



"Just thinking."



"Planning your next book?"



"No. Just thinking."



"Are you hungry?"



"No, thank you."



I never looked at her, but I could feel her looking down at me. After a few seconds she went inside. It was chilly in the bed at our house that night; we never touched each other.



The next morning Kris called me. "When are you going to come in to sign the contract and approve the cover design? The printer is waiting."



"I've decided to hold off for a while, Kris."



"What do you mean?"



"I just don't want it published yet."



"But, Matt..."



"I'll call you when I'm ready." I hung up. "I'm going out for a couple of hours." I yelled, not knowing where Lisa was, or even if she heard me.



I drove to the town where Eagle Tattoo and Piercing was located. The sign on the door said they didn't open until noon. I sat in my car and waited. Eagle must live in the back of his parlor because at noon the inside lights went on and the 'OPEN' sign on the door lit up.



I walked in and started looking around. 



"Hey, dude. Watcha need?" Said the man behind the counter who I assumed to be Eagle.



"I'm thinking about getting a tattoo, but don't know if I'm ready." I said.



"That's okay. They're not for everyone. Take a look around and see if anything trips your trigger."



I looked through a couple of books of his examples. Some of them were full body works of art.



"Find anything you like?" He asked.



I laughed. "There are certainly a lot of them. And big ones. Anything smaller?"



He took out a smaller book, which had pictures of flowers, butterflies, crosses, dice, and lots of small individual things. There was even an acorn. Then I saw it. A green shamrock. "I've seen this one. It's the reason I'm here. I saw it on the girlfriend of an acquaintance of mine. Her name is Lisa."



"Lisa. Oh, yeah. She's one of Gordon's chicks. They've been in here a couple of times."



One of Gordon's chicks? "Really? How many does he have?"



"Seems like a new one every couple of months. He talks most of them into that shamrock."



"What other tattoos does Lisa have?"



"Only the one tattoo, but she's considering some piercings."



Piercings? Lisa?



"What kind of piercings?" I asked.



"I shouldn't be telling you this, but she wants to have her nips and tongue pierced."



"You're shitting me. She certainly doesn't impress me as the type who would do that."



"You never know what these guys can talk chicks into."



"But why the tongue and nipples?" I asked.



"Where have you been man? Nipples are a shit pot more sensitive when they're pierced. Both the man and the woman love it. And a barbell in the tongue helps give the best blowjob a man can get. And just between you and me she has perfect tits."



"You've seen them?"



"Sure. I always ask to examine the breasts of women considering piercing their nips. I've seen a lot of titties man, and hers are very nice."



"But she hasn't done it yet?"



"Nah. She says the time isn't right."



I stood there stunned and shaking my head. Just then another customer came in and I was forgotten. 



I sat in my car for a long time before going home. Tongue piercing? Nipple piercing? Not now, but maybe when the time is right? Was she going to try to convince me she should do it? Would I care if she did it? I would be hugely surprised, but probably wouldn't object. I had just never thought about it and she had never mentioned it.



Maybe there was another reason for waiting. Maybe she figured I wouldn't be around. 



Lots of things went through my mind. I had a headache.



I made my way home and decided to take a hot shower. When I went in the house, I went to the bedroom to get ready for my shower. I hadn't seen Lisa and assumed she was elsewhere in the house. I stripped naked and headed for the shower. I opened the bathroom door. Lisa was sitting at her dressing table facing away from the big mirror on the wall. She was holding her hair up with one hand and in the other she held a mirror. She was looking in that mirror... smiling. In that split second it took her to realize I was there, I saw, in the big mirror, a splotch of green on the back of her neck. She gave a start and quickly released her hair and it fell down her neck and over her back to its normal position. When I saw the green splotch our marriage was over.



"You startled me." She said.



Saying nothing, I got in the shower and stayed there until there was no more hot water. 



A couple of days went by. Not much talking between us. 



One morning after we had eaten breakfast, Lisa cleared the dishes and returned with fresh coffee for both of us. After she sat, she took a sip and spoke. "Jeannie and Beth from the gym are going into the city Friday night and I would like to go with them. Would that be okay?"



I looked directly at her for a long time. "I don't care." I didn't ask when she would be back. I didn't care about that either. I stood, took my coffee to my office and closed the door. I rarely closed that door.



We hardly spoke until she left Friday morning and then it was just goodbye, see you later.



It was late Sunday when she got home. I didn't know for sure that she was fucking anyone, but I'm a believer in Occam's Razor which basically states that the simplest solution is most likely the right one. 



In my case, the incident at the theatre, which included the man putting his hand inside her low cut dress, the tattoo, the visit's to Eagles, the suitcases with no used clothing, and her time with 'the girls' all pointed to her cheating on me.



"Did you have fun?"



"Oh, yeah. Those girls are a hoot. I'm glad I went. I came up behind her and grabbed her breasts and squeezed her nipples.



She yelled in pain.



"What's wrong?" I asked as I released her.



She turned to face me. She had her hands on her breasts protectively. "I don't know. They're really sensitive for some reason."



I just looked at her and walked away. I went to bed remembering the hard round things I felt when I squeezed her nipples and she almost screamed. She had them pierced. Just how long did she think she was going to keep that from me; or had she already decided to cut me off from sex? 



The next morning she was in the shower and I opened the bag she had with her over the weekend. Again, it looked like nothing had been touched. Not even her panties. You would expect at least they would have been worn and soiled but they hadn't been. Was she going naked while she was gone? If she was fucking this Gordon guy or someone else, maybe she was. 



The next day I took a train into New York. I walked in Kris's office and sat.



"Ready to sign the contract?" she asked.



I said nothing.



"What's wrong?"



"I have to tell someone and I don't have any really close friends or relatives so I guess you're elected. I only ask that you keep this confidential for now."



"What's wrong."



"Promise me that you will not say anything regardless of who is involved. Okay?"



"Matt, I..."



"Promise?"



"I promise."



"I think Lisa is having an affair." Kris just looked at me. "I'm not positive but I suspect." So I started telling her what I knew. When I came to the letter from Eagle and the surprises 'Gordon' had in mind for her, she went pale. Then I told her about my visit to Eagle and the fact that Lisa and Gordon had discussed the piercings with him. She turned her chair around and looked out over the city. 

<hr pg="2" />Neither of us spoke for a long time until I came to only one conclusion. "You know about it." I said. It was a statement not a question. I could see her head moving slowly up and down.



I stood, walked to her chair and spun it around. "How long?" 



A long pause while she made up her mind how much she was going to tell me. "A few months."



"Have they had sex?" No answer. "No denial means that yes they have." She started crying. "Who is this Gordon guy?" I asked.



She reached for a tissue from the box on her desk and blew her nose. She threw it in the trash can, reached for another one, dabbed her eyes, and spoke. "His name is Gordon Willis and he is my new boss. Well, new in that he has only been here for a few months so you wouldn't know him, and once they started seeing each other, I made sure that you wouldn't meet him."



"How did they meet?"



"Lisa had come in to have lunch with me. He was here and they hit it off immediately. She started coming to see me more often but spent most of her time with him."



"Is he married?"



She shook her head "He was engaged, but he broke up with her."



"Do you know why?"



She hesitated. "Because he wants to marry Lisa."



"Does she want to marry him?"



"Matt..."



"Does she want to marry him?"



"Yes."



I went back to my chair and dropped in it. My mind going in circles at a very high speed.



"Can you give me any reason she would do that? I've given her everything she's ever wanted. I'm not mean to her. I don't mistreat her. I think I'm a decent sex partner. Why would she do it?"



"Honestly?" She asked.



"Of course. There is no need for lying at this point."



"Lisa thinks you are a boring, science teacher who keeps his head stuck in his computer. You have no friends, as you just pointed out to me, you have no social life and you are just plain dull according to her. Gordon takes her places. Exciting places. They've flown to Boston just for the hell of it and they had sex on the balcony of their hotel room and people watched and cheered them on." She stopped and took a breath. "Did you know... of course you didn't... that she has a whole new wardrobe at his house. New clothes. Pretty dresses. Evening dresses. Things she has always wanted but never had. And they go out and she wears them and gets to show off. She also had her nipples pierced this weekend. I asked her how she was going to keep it from you and she said that you would never know. She would not let you get close enough to find out because she was never going to have sex with you again." She paused. "She's living a life she has always wanted, but you never gave her."



I had gotten more upset as she talked. "All she had to do was ask... no, fuck, she didn't even have to do that. Just give me an idea... a hint... something... anything and she could have had it. But she didn't and I'm not a mind reader."



She reached for another tissue. 



I stood. "For what it's worth, thank you." I said. "But on the other hand, you betrayed me. We were friends, you and I. But now we're not. I can't be friends with somebody who betrays me like that."



She jumped up. "What was I supposed to do, Matt? She's my sister."



"Aye, there's the rub." I said as I opened the door. "Where are they now?"



She looked at her watch. "Probably at the gym. He is an exercise fanatic and they spend a lot of time there."



"Which one?"



"Bild-Up on Lake Street in Meadow." Meadow was about half way between our town and the city.



"Is that where he lives?"



She nodded.



"I suppose you know that you and I can never do business again. If you print my book, I'll sue you so fast and hard that I will own this whole fucking building. Do you understand?"



Again, she nodded.



Less than an hour later, I walked into the Bild-Up gym. A girl with Beth on her nametag was sitting at the reception desk. 



"Are you a member?"



"No, but my wife is."



"What's her name?"



I told her. Her eyes got big and she glanced to her left. She jumped up. "Wait here and I'll tell her you're here." She said and started to leave.



I stopped her. "I have a better idea. You wait here and I'll tell her myself." I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her down into her chair. 



Lisa was on a stationary bike looking at him and laughing as I approached. I had expected Kris to call and warn her, but it didn't appear that she did. Lisa didn't see me, but he did. I wasn't dressed for a gym and he had never seen me so he had no idea who I was. He watched as I walked up behind her. Her hair was piled on top of her head and I could clearly see the shamrock tattoo. 



"Hi Lisa. Nice tattoo." She jerked around and recognition struck her and she literally fell off the bike. Her boyfriend stumbled off his bike to help her. While he was helping her, I reached down and grabbed a nipple and squeezed. There was definitely something there besides the nipple. She almost screamed.



"Who the hell are you?" Sir Galahad asked.



"None of your fucking business. I was talking to this slut who used to be a lady and my wife. Not you."



"Oh, fuck." He said in a voice almost too low to hear.



"Matt. Wha... wha... what are you doing here?"



"I just dropped by to chat and ask a couple of questions. What are you doing here?"



"It's one of my gym days. Don't you remember?" She was gently rubbing her breast.



"Oh, yeah, now I do. Your 'gym days' are identical to your 'fuck Gordon' days aren't they?



"Uh, what do you mean? Who's Gordon?"



I looked at Gordon. "Christ, Gordie, you must be lousy in bed if she's forgotten you so soon." I looked at Lisa, who, with Gordie's assistance, was standing at this point. "Surely you remember Gordie." I said to Lisa. "He's the one you had your nipples pierced for." I reached over to grab one and she covered both of them and fell back almost falling again. "Have you had your tongue done, yet?" This last shocked the shit out of both of them and their eyes opened wide as they looked first at each other then at me.



"I don't know when you were going to tell me about him," I indicated her boyfriend, "or how. But now I know so let's make this quick and easy. You need to get your shit out of the house or it goes in the dumpster. You have 24 hours. I recommend you store it someplace because after you get all of your piercings, and this slimeball gets to tug on your nipple rings, and get a blowjob or two with the barbell tongue he will have convinced you to get, he will get tired of you like he has his other women, and will kick you to the curb. Then you will need your stuff." I looked at him. "And good luck to you and those blowjobs. Maybe that barbell in her tongue help with the quality of her blowjobs. They are really sorry. You might as well stick your dick in a roll of steel wool instead of her mouth. It will feel better." 



I didn't know if she had blown him yet, but I assumed she had so he probably knew what I was talking about. She was, however, a good fuck. She just didn't like giving blowjobs and it showed when she tried. She just knelt, or lay, as my dick went in and out of her mouth. She didn't participate in any way shape or form and I didn't dare cum in her mouth. 



As far as his 'kicking her to the curb' when he gets tired of her, the only knowledge I had of his track record with women was what Eagle told me.



I was almost to the door when Beth came running back with two Policemen. "What's going on?" One of them asked.



"I don't know. What seems to be the trouble?" I asked.



"That's what I'm asking you, asshole."



"Do you see any evidence of trouble, asshole?" I asked him.



"Watch your mouth, ass..., uh, sir."



"I just came in to chat with my wife, and along the way, I met her boyfriend. Anything wrong with that?"



Both officers looked at Beth. "Was there any trouble?" Asked one of them.



"Uh, no sir. Apparently not."



"Good. That means we're finished here. Have a nice day." They left. I followed them out. I was home when my phone rang. It was Lisa. "Yes, Lisa?"



"Don't you want to know why?"



"Nope." Kris had told me all I needed to know. 



Lisa came by the house the next morning. She rang the doorbell and I opened it, stepped aside, and left. She said something, but I started whistling and never heard her. I wasn't worried about what she would take. I wasn't attached to anything except my family photos, a couple of small bronzes, my personal papers, clothes, and tools.



When I returned a few hours later, I looked around and her stuff was gone. A few pieces of furniture she particularly liked was gone as well. Everything she didn't take that I didn't want, went to the dump. Even the bed went. About mid-week, a courier stopped by. I initially assumed he was bringing divorce papers, but it turned out to be the manuscript of my book. Kris had returned it. On top was a sticky note with the words, 'I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.'



That first part of that whole week was dedicated to feeling sorry for myself and finding reasons to blame Lisa for everything. It was toward the end of the week that small changes began in my thinking and I began to question our lifestyle. We were married for six years, yet had no close friends. The only people we invited to our house were either her relatives or people we had worked with. We were rarely invited to our neighbor's houses unless it was a whole neighborhood party, and going out with your wife only three or four times a year other than vacations and weekend trips, was, I had decided, not good for marriages; well, mine at least.



On the other hand, she never once told me she was unhappy or wanted more. I was going along, living what I thought was an ideal life without a single complaint from her.



I need a break, I thought. Lisa and I had traveled before and Florida was a favorite place so that's where I went.



I was having dinner in one of the restaurants in my hotel in Key West. At the table next to me were two couples eating, laughing, drinking, joking, and just generally having fun and enjoying each other's company. Something Lisa and I had never done. It dawned on me that I had been there almost a week and hadn't talked to anyone other than the hotel staff. 



Just then, one of the men started to rise, but tripped somehow and fell backward against my table knocking it over and landing on his ass on the floor with my dinner plate on his lap. I sat there holding my fork with a bite of steak still on it looking down at him. He looked at my plate with the steak still on it, then up at me and spoke. "I prefer mine medium, please."



The other three who had, by this time, scrambled to help him saw that he was okay and they started laughing. It was contagious so I started laughing as well. It dawned on me that I hadn't laughed in a long time. The person closest to him was one of the women. She leaned down to help him up. He grabbed her shoulder to put his arm around her neck, but slipped again. As he fell to the floor for the second time, his hand grabbed her 'off the shoulder' blouse and pulled. As he did, her blouse came down exposing her right breast. The small group stood still for a full two seconds as everybody, including me, stared at the exposed breast. Finally, she pulled her blouse back in place and the man on the floor said. "God, I'm glad I'm sober. I will remember seeing that. I tend to forget things when I'm drunk."



With that he, with a little help from his friends, stood and brushed himself off. He looked at me. "Are you okay?"



"Sure," I said eating the bite of steak that was on my fork then dropping the fork to the floor. This brought laughter from everybody who saw it.



"Listen," He said. "Why don't you join us at our table since some oaf wrecked yours?" More laughter.



At that point, and very uncharacteristic of me, I said. "Be happy to if your wife can keep her clothes on."



This brought even more laughter. "She's not my wife. Her tits are bigger than my wife's." More laughter. As a group, and not waiting for the restaurant staff to do it, they rearranged their table and moved my chair there. At his comment about his wife's tits, three college age boys two tables over started chanting. "Tit contest... tit contest... tit contest." Both women laughed and said no way, so things settled down.



One couple was from Cincinnati and the other was from Knoxville. They had met the day before at the beach and had been almost inseparable since. I spent the rest of the evening with them. We finally finished dinner, Freddie, the guy who knocked over my table, insisted on paying for mine. His wife was Michelle. The other couple was Ken and Mya. After dinner we went down the street to one of the popular bars and closed it in the wee hours of the morning. I danced with both Michelle and Mya, as well as a couple of other women. 



It was Mya's tit we had seen in the restaurant, and it became a running joke all evening. Ken, Mya's husband kept insisting that it was only fair that we see Michelle's right tit. I stayed out of the discussion and didn't offer any opinion one way or another; although I would not have minded seeing Michelle's... or any other woman's tit.



We were walking back to the hotel and had reached the entrance and the two husbands were still trying to convince Michelle. 



"All right, you perverted assholes. We'll let Matt decide." I had been walking just a step behind them. Michelle stopped and turned to me. "Matt, you haven't said anything. Should I show my tit?"



I looked at Ken and Freddie who were vigorously nodding their heads. Mya was agreeing with the men. "You saw mine. We should see yours." She said.



"Hold it. Hold it." I said. "I, personally, would love to see one, or even two of your tits, but I think we should leave it to fate." I took a quarter out of my pocket. "Head's we see it. Tails we don't. Everybody agree?" After a short pause to discuss and think about it, they all agreed. I flipped the coin and let it land on the sidewalk. There was loud cheering from Ken, Freddie, and Mya as the head side lay looking up at us. 



"Shit." Said Michelle. "Okay a deal is a deal." She didn't have an off the shoulder blouse like Mya. Hers was a regular blouse. "But if you think I'm going to show it here, you're nuts. Let's go to the room."



It didn't take long to get to their room. As soon as we got inside, Ken spoke. "Okay. Let's see it."



"Christ," she said, "Give me a chance to put my purse down."



"Here, I'll take it." Volunteered Freddie.



"You perverted dickhead." Michelle said to him with a smile. Then she looked at me. "Matt. You're the cause of all this. If you hadn't been sitting next to us, all this wouldn't have happened."



"Does that mean you think I should leave?"



She laughed. "Hell, no. It means that you're going to unbutton my blouse. You will be the first man to undress me other than my husband. What do you think, pervert?" She asked Freddie. For the first time all evening, Freddie looked a bit unsure. "Uh, fuck, why not. Go ahead, Matt."



Michelle looked right in my eyes. "Go ahead, Matt." She said softly and she pulled her blouse out of her jeans and stood there.



With steadier hands than I expected, one by one her buttons came undone. The room was quiet and still as the other three people moved to stand behind me. When the last button was undone, I didn't know if I should move away or stand there. I stood there.



Michelle looked at me then at the others. "Christ, you vultures." We all laughed. "Come on, Matt. Finish the job. Take off my blouse. 



I took a step closer to her, looked at Freddie who grinned and shrugged his shoulders, then with both hands I reached for the front of the blouse and pushed it back off of her shoulders and it floated to the floor leaving her standing in a lacy black bra. 



"I want you all to know, that not only has no other man undressed me, even though it was only my blouse, but no male other than Freddie and my doctor has seen my breasts. This is a pretty special occasion." As she said that, she put her left hand across her chest, reached around with her right hand and, as only women can do, unclasped her bra. Then she brought her right hand back around and cupped her right breast while cupping the left one with her other hand. "Ready?" She asked. At that point, we all cheered. Her right hand moved down taking that side of her bra with it exposing her tit then almost immediately covering it again.



"Oh, no." We all said in unison. "More than that. We just barely saw it."



So she did it again and exposed it for about five seconds. "Oh, fuck." She said. "In for a penny, in for a pound." And she took the whole bra off, dropped it to the floor and stood there. After a short time of standing there, amid cheers and yelps she reached down, picked up her blouse, and put it on buttoning only a center button. "I hope you're all happy." She laughed. 



We all agreed that we were. After that we raided the mini bar and enjoyed each other's company for another hour. Ken, Mya, and I were finally ready to return to our rooms. They all agreed that meeting me had been an enjoyable experience. They had no idea what meeting them meant to me. It was, literally, a life changing evening for me.



At the door, the men shook hands with each other and hugged the women. I couldn't help but feel that Michelle pressed especially hard against me and knowing she was braless made it nicer. After the hug, she looked at me, smiled, and winked.



We were still standing in the doorway and Freddie asked me what I was going to do now. "Hell, that quarter I tossed downstairs turned out to be pretty lucky so I'm going to see if it's still there." They all laughed.



I spent a lot of time with them over the next three days. We went to the beach, ate, loafed, and drank together. I never felt like a 'fifth wheel' or out of place in any way. The tit incident was never mentioned.



The night before Ken and Mya were to return to Knoxville, we had dinner. We were sitting in the lounge having a goodbye drink when Michelle commented that it would be nice to stay in touch, so we started putting each other's names and numbers in our phones. Up to that point, we only knew each other's first names. When it was my turn I said. "Matthew Painter." And gave my phone number. 



Michelle just looked at me. "Matthew Painter? THE Matthew Painter?"



"That all depends on what you mean by 'THE'."



"I mean 'THE'. THE writer."



"In that case, that would be me."



"Oh my God. I love your books. I've read them both. Twice. When is the next one coming out?" 



Of course, during the week I had told them about Lisa. "The book is finished and was at the publisher waiting to be printed when I found out about Lisa. So I recalled it and won't have it published until after our divorce. That way, she doesn't get any part of the profit."



"Are you sure?" Asked Ken. "I could see a legal argument that if you created it during the marriage she should share." That started a discussion that ended with no resolution when Ken and Mya realized they had a very early flight and had to go pack. So, with handshakes, kisses, and hugs all around we broke up for the evening.



Back in my room, I was putting my phone on the stand by my bed when I realized that I had neither made nor received any calls all week. It had been a nice week.



Freddie, Michelle, and I spent the next couple of days and evenings together. 



On my flight home, I realized that the five of us had gotten close and I didn't want to lose the feeling of having close friends. It dawned on me how much of my life... and Lisa's... had been wasted. But, again, I came back to the same argument that I assumed everything was fine and she could have mentioned that she wasn't happy any time in our years together. 



I landed, claimed my luggage and car and drove home. If Lisa had been there, she left no evidence. The house was exactly as I left it. 

<hr pg="3" />I had never paid much attention to the mail. Lisa always did that. I figured I should sort through the stack I found in the mailbox. Most of it was advertisements, catalogs and the like, but there were also three credit card statements, cable bill, and utility bill. I looked at the first credit card bill and almost shit my pants. Thirty five hundred dollars? Looking at the itemized statement, it was virtually all spent on women's clothing. The other two were worse. Four thousand on one and forty two hundred on the other. Looking at one item on the list, it was twelve hundred dollars for a man's suit. She bought the bastard a twelve hundred dollar suit. There was also a three thousand dollar payment to a mortgage company I wasn't familiar with and a fifteen hundred dollar payment to Mercedes Benz. I was fucking livid. Then I looked at past statements and the previous month was just as bad. Another mortgage payment and car payment for that slimy bastard as well as a thousand dollars at the same men's clothing store. More clothes for the motherfucker. 



I suppose since I never saw the bills she figured she could hide these huge expenses. It wasn't as if we couldn't afford it, but what the hell, that's a shitpot full of money!



When Kris told me Lisa had a new wardrobe, I assumed her boyfriend had bought it, but apparently not. After I cooled down, I realized that I couldn't do anything about it. We were still married and she had unfettered access to our joint funds. 



The next day, I spent all day going through our finances and paid all of our debts including the credit cards. Then I cancelled them. Then I divided all of our banking and investment accounts. After paying all the bills, I divided everything that was left equally except our savings account; I gave myself an additional eleven thousand two hundred there. I was damned if I was going to pay that bastard's mortgage and car payment then buy him new clothes. 



A visit to the bank and a new credit card was on its way to me.



It was time to visit a lawyer. "You've done everything right so far." He said. "Now we deal with the house and cars."



When I told him she hadn't been back to the house since the day after I confronted her at the gym, he grinned. "Where is she?" 



"Living with him, I assume." 



"If she left the house and is co-habiting with this guy, in this state, the house is yours. Can you confirm that she is living with him?"



"How do I do that? She can come and go at his place as many times a day as she pleases, as many times as she wants but that's not proof of her living there."



"Send her a letter to his address; or have someone else send it. Preferably registered. If she signs for it, that will be a pretty good indication that she gets her mail there and considers it her place of residence. That doesn't always work, but with the right judge it could."



So... how do I find the bastards address and who could I get to send something she would have to sign for? I certainly wasn't going to ask Kris for it. I decided the gym was as good a place as any to start.



I parked as near as I could to the front door and watched. The place was packed. I watched for about 15 minutes and nobody appeared at the desk where Beth sat the last time I was here. I took a deep breath and walked in and right to the desk. There was a rolodex on it. I looked around to see if anyone was watching then turned it toward me, gave it a spin and stopped on the W's. There were quite a few members whose last name started with W. I quickly thumbed through until I came to Willis, Gordon. I used my phone to take a picture of it. I started to leave but decided I'd push my luck so I spun the index to the P's. There weren't many of them so it only took a couple of seconds to find Painter, Lisa. I took a picture of it as well. Just as I started to leave a young man came up to me.



"May I help you?" He asked pleasantly.



"Sure. I'd like a membership application, please."



"Certainly." There were a stack of them on the desk and he gave me one.



"Thank you." I said and walked out.



In my car I looked at the pictures I had taken. Willis's address was there as was his phone number. There were also a couple of handwritten notes. 'Membership suspended', and the date, was one notation. The other one was 'Membership reinstated', and the date. Sorry bastard couldn't even pay his gym membership. 



Lisa's picture originally showed her address as being our house, but it was crossed out and Willis's address was written in. It also had her phone number.



The next day I visited the office of our financial advisor. "Good to see you, Matt. Sorry to hear about you and Lisa, I was just going to call you."



"How did you know about Lisa and me and why were you going to call?" I said. 



"She called me some time ago and told me the two of you had broken up and she wanted to know how much money she could take out of your accounts."



I knew nothing had been taken out because I had just checked. "What did you tell her?"



"That we needed to talk to you first. Someone was with her because she repeated what I told her. Then I heard a man's voice say that he had never heard of anything like that and that he would verify that with his stockbroker. I told her her friend could check all he wanted to, but our company policy was that all parties on an account had to sign for any and all monies dispersed from any and all accounts."



"I didn't know that." I said.



"That's because I made it up. I have seen cases where the couple splits and some smooth talking slime ball moves in and takes all their money before the husband, or in some cases, wife, knows about it. I figured maybe Lisa would have to wait until after the divorce and the court has decided how much she got."



"Well, thank you for protecting my money and I have a big favor to ask."



"Sure. What is it?"



I told him my story and what my attorney said. "So would it be possible for you to send her a registered letter? It could be something like she needed to come in and verify the amount in the accounts in the event the courts needed it."



"I'm sure I can come up with something, but she's going to wonder how I knew where she was living and how I got the address. Why don't I just call her, tell her I have some documents to send and I need to know where to send them. Better still, I'll send it to your address, you refuse to sign for it and it will come back to me, then I'll call her."



That's what we did and it worked. 



The long and short of it was that she got half of our assets except the house; I was lucky and got that because she was living with a man not her husband. I didn't even have to pay her alimony. She also got her car. My new book was never mentioned which was a huge surprise. I still can't figure that one out.



After the phone call where Lisa asked me if I wanted to know why she did it, I never talked to her or saw her until we went to court. I didn't talk to her there, either. There had been no meetings in attorney's offices to talk about details. I had no desire to meet with, compromise, or talk to her. 



In the courtroom, Lisa tried talking to me twice, but I walked away from her both times. Her boyfriend wasn't with her. Kris was, but she made no effort to speak to me. It took about two minutes for the judge to bang his gavel ending our marriage.



I was sitting at my desk one day and saw my manuscript with Kris's note. I looked at it and decided I should do something with it. I thought for awhile, then went online to look up a phone number. I found the website I wanted and the number. I made the call.



"Genesis Publishing. How may I direct your call?" Genesis was one of the top dogs in the publishing business.



"Ted Waring's office please."



"Thank you."



I had never met Ted Waring, but the web site said he was the Lord High Muckity Muck at Genesis.



"Mr. Waring's office."



"Hello. My name is Matthew Painter. I've had two books published by Americus Publishing. I have another book ready and I'm looking for a new publisher. If Genesis is interested, have someone give me a call." I gave her my number and thanked her. 



The next morning, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number so I didn't answer, but I started listening to the voice message which was being left. "Good morning, Mr. Painter. This is Justin Meigs, from Genesis Publishing." 



That's all I let him say before I spoke. "Good morning Mr. Meigs. This is Matt Painter."



"Good morning Mr. Painter. Mr. Waring informed me that you are looking for a new publisher."



"That's correct."



"Well, we think we're the folks you're looking for and if your next book is anything like the first two, we could have a long, profitable relationship. We have an editor in mind who, we think, would be a good fit with you."



"Great. When can we meet?"



"Does Thursday sound okay to you?"



"Thursday's fine. What time and where?" 



On Thursday morning I met, Meigs, Waring, and my new editor Sylvia Argent. Sylvia and I hit it off immediately. She had, of course, read my first two books in preparation for the meeting and was impressed. I gave her the gist of the new book and she told me she would read it and we would chat.



That evening I went out to dinner. After dinner, I went to a bar that I heard was very popular. I was having my second drink and enjoying watching everybody have fun when a young lady asked me if I wanted to dance. Of course I did. I spent the night sitting at her table with four others. It was a fun evening. Not as much fun as Key West, but fun nevertheless. The next night was the same, only I picked the young lady this time and asked her to dance. Actually, I picked several young ladies over the course of the evening.



I wasn't the world's best dancer, but I'm pretty good.



Two weeks later, I signed a one book contract with Genesis and got my very sizeable advance check. They really expected the book to be successful. 



I took several advance copies as soon as they were available. My mother and sister, as with my other books, received the first copies.



I punched in the first phone number. It rang twice. "Oh, my God, it's the famous author!" Said Michelle when she answered. "How are you?"



"I'm great. How are you?" 



"We're fine. What's up?"



"I was wondering if you could give me your address. I have something to send you."



"Sure, but what is... Your new book!"



"That's it."



"Oh, wow. That would be great." She gave me their address.



Next, I called Mya and Ken and sent them a copy as well. 



I had begun going to our little town and talking to the people I interacted with. Clerks, restaurant servers, and anybody else who had the time to chat. I was enjoying it. Ordinarily I spoke as little as I could to as few people as I possible. I must have been a horrible teacher.



I was just going out one evening when my phone rang. It was Michelle. "Hello, Michelle"



"Hello, Matt. I finished your book. It was wonderful."



"Thank you."



"It got me through some bad days recently."



"Bad days?"



"Freddie was hit by a drunk driver as he was walking across the street to go to work. His back is broken and he is in a coma. I read your book trying to take my mind off of his condition."



"Oh my God. I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"



"No, but thank you. We've talked a lot about our time with you, Mya, and Ken in Florida. He likes all of you a lot. So do I. We all need to get together again."



"I'm fond of all of you as well. You have no idea how the four of you changed my life."



She asked how and I told her. We talked another 30 minutes before ending the call.



My evenings out were fun and getting better. On three occasions in the first couple of months of my 'new lifestyle' I hooked up with young women who found me attractive, witty, and better than average bed companions.



I had thought that Lisa was a good lover but my recent experiences showed me otherwise. I found truth to the adage that bad girls suck... but good girls swallow. All three of the women I had sex with recently loved giving blow jobs. "What's the point of giving a blow job if you don't swallow your reward?" said my most recent sex partner.



I loved the new me and my life.



My book was doing much better than we had anticipated. The checks came in like clockwork and each one was larger than the last. Sylvia and Genesis were after me to sign a three book contract. They also wanted me to go on a book signing tour. I said sure. Set it up.



Until recently, nobody in town knew that I was Matthew Painter, the writer, but word was starting to get around. One day I received a call from our Mayor's office. Now, our town is a small town, and our mayor wouldn't make a pimple on a real politician's ass, but this was my town and she was my mayor. Anyway, her secretary called and asked if I could take time to see the mayor. "Of course. When and where?"



The secretary announced me and Madam Mayor stood, came around her desk and shook my hand. I looked around and decided that our mayor had a pretty nice office; and she wasn't too bad herself. She ushered me to a chair and she took one across from me. I waited until she sat before I did. She sat, crossed her ankles, and smoothed her skirt. 



"Mr. Painter I had no idea you lived here. We are honored to have you."



"Thank you, Mayor."



"Call me Christine, please."



"Okay Christine, and it's Matt."



"Good. Matt, The governor has asked a few distinguished citizens around the state to have dinner with him and his wife. He invited my husband and me, but we will be unavailable. I told him that and then told him that you lived here and would he be interested in you attending." Apparently, his wife has read all of your books and he said 'by all means' they would be honored to have you. She went to her desk and picked up a card. "Here is the name and number of his social secretary. She's expecting your call."



I stood and took the card. We said our goodbyes and I left.



It was still early when I got home so I called. "Good afternoon. Mrs. Henderson's office."



I told her who I was and why I was calling. She put me through to Mrs. Henderson who filled me in on the date and time of the dinner as well as what to do when I arrived at the Mansion. She also spent some time filling me in on the do's and don'ts of dinner with the Governor.



"Will your wife be accompanying you?"



"I don't have a wife."



"That's okay. Being married is not a requirement." She chuckled thinking she had told a joke. "Will you be bringing anyone?"



"Not as far as I know."



"Again, that's okay. If you would please let me know within 48 hours of the dinner if you do decide to bring a companion. That will give us time for security to okay it. We try to make it boy girl boy girl at the tables so if you do come alone, seated to your right will be an unaccompanied female to be your dinner companion."



The dinner was a month away and I tried to think of someone I could take. Did I even know anybody I could ask? I knew several women, by now; most of them in the biblical sense, but I wouldn't take them to the Governor's Mansion for dinner. That sounds like I mean they are good enough to fuck, but not 'good enough to take home to meet Mother'. I don't mean it that way at all. Not everyone would feel comfortable at a shindig like that; and that included me, but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity.



The day of the dinner, I drove to the state capitol wearing my brand new tux. I drove to the mansion, went through security, left my keys in my car as instructed, and was shown inside and introduced to Mrs. Henderson. "Good evening, Mr. Painter. We're so glad you could join us. The Governor and his wife are looking forward to meeting you. She's read your books." She took my arm. "Let me introduce you to your dinner companion."



She led me across the room to a small group of people who were chatting. "Excuse me." She said. "Julie, I'd like you to meet someone." A tall woman with auburn hair stepped out of the group. "Julie Simpson this is Matthew Painter. Matthew, this is Julie Simpson."



"Hello Mr. Painter."



"It's Matt, please." I said to her sticking out my hand. She took it. She was no raving beauty, but pretty in a classic sort of way. 



"I found out yesterday that you were going to be here so I asked Maggie to seat me with you." She said.



"Why, thank you. I'm honored."



We talked for about 20 minutes before we went through the receiving line. I found out that she was a forensic scientist for the New York Police Department. 



There were 32 people for dinner including the Governor and his wife. Soon it was time for the receiving line. Hearing the greetings exchanged by those in front of us, it seemed like I was the only person who had never been there before. I looked at Julie. "Have you ever done this?"



She smiled and nodded. "No worry, it's painless."



Then it was our turn. Julie was in front of me. The Governor's wife spoke first. "So this is Matthew Painter." She stuck her hand out for me to shake. "I love your books. Is there another one in the works?"



I mumbled something even I couldn't understand.



Then the Governor spoke. "Good grief, Annie, give the man a chance. Good evening Mr. Painter. So glad you could join us." Up to this point, Julie had been ignored by both of them, but that changed. The Governor leaned over, kissed her on the cheek and said. "How's my favorite niece?"



"I'm fine, Uncle Tony." 



The receiving line was moving and we were moving toward our table. I looked at Julie. "Uncle Tony?"



She just smiled.



Dinner was both fun and delicious. Julie and I were at the same table as the president of a major bank and his wife, the state Secretary of Transportation and his wife, and the president of the state university system and her husband. She was interested in the fact that I had been a teacher. About half way through the evening, I thought to myself that I could get used to this lifestyle. The conversation covered the gamut. We talked about the inadequate funding of schools at all levels, whether or not children should be vaccinated, the monetary exchange rate, and whether or not i should come before e except after c. 



When the evening came to an end I offered to escort Julie to her car. "That's okay." She said. "I'm spending the night. Why don't I escort you to your car?"



"Okay." I said as I smiled. We went out the front door and my car was sitting there. It had been brought around for me. I stood there not wanting to leave her but another couple had walked around us, gotten in their car and was waiting for me to leave so they could. "I suppose I better go." 



She smiled again. "I suppose so."



I reached out my hand to shake hers. She took it but instead of shaking it, she pulled me closer to her and kissed my cheek. I leaned back and just stared at her. Never had a kiss shaken me to my toes; but that simple peck on the cheek had. I just stared at her speechless.



"Maybe you better go. You're holding up the Secretary of State." She nodded toward the car behind mine.



"Fuck." I said under my breath and rushed for my car. 



I had just pulled out of the gate onto the street when I realized that I had just said 'fuck' at the Governor's Mansion and in front of his niece!



It was nearly dawn when I got home, and I was exhausted. I took a shower and went to bed. I was awakened shortly before noon when my phone rang. "Hello." I said.



"Mr. Painter, this is Maggie Henderson."



"Good morning Mrs. Henderson. Are you going to tell me I committed some major 'faux pas' last night?"



She chuckled. "Call me Maggie, please. No, Mr. Painter, no faux pas... at least as far as I know."



"Good and please call me Matt."



"Okay, Matt. The reason for my call is Julie Simpson asked me to pass on her phone number in the event you, uh, wanted to call her and talk about, uh, talk about, oh, just anything." 

<hr pg="4" />I smiled. "By all means. And you are certainly free to pass mine along to her." I had wanted to ask her last night, but hadn't. I wrote it down and as soon as we hung up, I put it in my contacts list.



I called Julie the next day and we talked for two hours. As often happens, one call led to another, then another, then a date, and another date, and another date. Our conversations covered lots of subjects. I told her about Lisa and Willis and she told me about a bad relationship she had. She seemed particularly interested in Willis, and pondered how lowlifes like him were able to get by with what they did. Something should be done about them. She opined.



Sylvia called me one day and said that the book signing tour was all set and it was to start the following week. She sent me the itinerary and it was 24 cities in 30 days. That was going to be tough.



I immediately called Julie to tell her. We had been spending a lot of time together and had become lovers. She was a perfect lover. Her body was perfect; as a matter of fact, I thought of Eagle telling me that Lisa's tits were some of the best he had ever seen. I had seen both sets and Julie's were better. Her ass was perfect and her pussy was perfect. Everything she did, sexually, was perfect. She loved giving blowjobs, something that I had come to really enjoy since my divorce, and she loved to fuck. Any position you want and some that seemed impossible. We spent most of the week before my tour at her apartment in bed.



The first time I undressed her, I was shaking like a leaf. As I unbuttoned her blouse my hands were shaking so bad she put her hands on top of mine to settle me down. I thought back to having unbuttoned Michelle's blouse in Florida and wondered why I wasn't nervous then. I decided that I knew I wasn't going to fuck Michelle; but I was going to try to fuck Julie's brains out.



When we were finally undressed she asked. "Do you like blowjobs?"



I couldn't answer so I just nodded my head.



"Good," She said. Going to her knees. "So do I." 



I remember telling Willis that he would be better off sticking his dick in a roll of steel wool than getting a blowjob from Lisa. Julie's mouth was nothing like steel wool; it was more like whipped cream. I remember wondering one night while alone in my hotel while I was on my book signing tour how her blowjobs might feel if she had a pierced tongue with a barbell in it.



I finally had to go home and pack for the tour. It was going to be profitable, but lonely. I hated to leave.



The tour was huge. It sold lots of books and there were three checks waiting for me when I got home. Two regular monthly checks, plus a bonus check. 



I had really missed Julie. We had talked almost daily and I was anxious to get back to her. She told me she had been working on a special project, but it should be finished by the end of the week that I got home.



Since I had been gone a month, a lot of stuff in my refrigerator spoiled. I cleaned it out and headed for the store. I had gotten what I wanted and was in the checkout line. The lady three customers in front of me seemed to be having trouble finding enough money to pay for her groceries. "Come on lady, you're holding us up." Said the guy in front of me. The lady broke down in tears and walked out without her groceries.



I left my cart where it was, pushed the loud mouth out of the way, looked at the total amount the lady owed, gave two twenties to the cashier, grabbed the grocery bags and ran after the lady. "Lady. Lady. Here are your groceries." She stopped, turned around, and we both froze. I slowly walked up to her and tried to hand her the groceries. She hesitated then slowly took the bags, turned and walked away.



I followed her for about a block. She looked back at me twice. The second time she stopped, and turned to face me. "Are you following me?"



"Yes."



"Why?"



"I want to know what happened to you."



"Why?"



"Because you look like hell and I'd like to know why."



"So you can laugh."



"No. I won't laugh." 



She started walking and I walked beside her. "Want me to carry those?" I indicated the groceries. There weren't many.



"No, thank you."



We walked for two blocks then turned down an alleyway between two red brick buildings. We came to a flight of wooden stairs, climbed them and went into a dump of an apartment. She opened the door and stood there. I stepped around her into what was supposed to be her living room. I looked around and thought that the furniture I threw away would look good in here. There was an old overstuffed chair and a beat up coffee table. Nothing else. The kitchen was actually part of the living room. It had an old, small table and two metal foldup chairs. I took her grocery bags walked over and put them on the table. I pulled a carton of milk out of one, opened the refrigerator door and put it in. There was a jar of mayonnaise. She liked it on her sandwiches. Some lettuce, an egg carton with three eggs, and a half empty package of bologna. She hated bologna. She had sat on the overstuffed chair by this time. I brought over one of the folding metal chairs and sat facing her.



"What happened Lisa?"



She looked at me. "I'm so ashamed. I thought he loved me." That's when she broke down. "He took everything. Everything."



"How?"



"He convinced me to put most of it in his stock account. He said he didn't trust the one you and I had because most husbands convince their brokers to buy bad stocks so the ex-wives go broke. It sounded so logical. In just a couple of months it was all gone. He said the market crashed and we lost it. You know I don't even know where the market is much less how it works, so I believed him." She stopped to dry her eyes on her sleeve. I looked around and didn't see any tissues. "Then he told me he lost his house and we had to leave. I left, but he's still there. That was a lie, too. I had to sell my car to get a deposit and pay rent on this place. 



"Lisa." She wouldn't look at me. "Lisa." She looked up. "Why? Why did you do it in the first place. I thought we were happy."



"You were, but I wasn't. We rarely did anything. A few short trips and vacation. We didn't have any friends. It was boring. Then I went to Kris's office one day and he was there. He was fun. He was exciting. And he wasn't you."



I had heard all I wanted to. "You're right. He wasn't me. But all you would have had to do was tell me you were unhappy. Ask me to change. But you didn't do that. You found some smooth talker who convinced you he loved you. He talked you INTO sex, and tattoos, and piercings and OUT of your money. Now look at you. You need to get off your ass, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and get a job. Go back to teaching."



With that I walked out. I could hear her bawling as I walked down the stairs. That's too bad I thought as I looked back up the stairs. She put herself there I didn't. 



I had tried all day to talk to Julie, but her phone went straight to voicemail. I decided to go into the city and to her Condo. Her special project was supposed to be finished.



The doorman recognized me. "She just left for dinner at the Tango." He told me.



She and I had been to the Tango a couple of times. Good food and good bartender. It was within walking distance of her building so I started over there. She was sitting at a booth in the dining area but she wasn't eating. Her arms were wrapped around the neck of a man and if her tongue wasn't down his throat, it was missing a hell of a good opportunity.



I sat at a table near theirs and watched. The waiter came and gave me a menu and a glass of water. I sipped on the water and watched Julie and her friend. They took a breather and a sip of their drinks before starting another lip lock marathon. When they separated, I had a good look at them. It was Julie, for sure, and her partner was familiar as well. Gordon Willis. 



I had seen enough. My first thought was to confront them, but I changed my mind. It would accomplish nothing. So instead, I got up and left. I took the subway to the station, got on a train and went home. On the train, I took out my phone and blocked then deleted Julie's number.



It had not been a good day. First seeing Lisa and now seeing Julie. Is it always going to be like this? I thought. Do all women cheat? Do I have something about me that tells women that they can shit all over me? Then I realized that a few fucks did not mean I owned Julie so she was free to do whatever she wanted; but I didn't have to like it.



I needed to get away and the more I thought about it, the better Florida sounded. I liked Florida. The next morning I went online and bought my plane ticket. I was thinking about what clothes I wanted to take when my phone rang. "Hello."



"Mr. Painter?"



"Yes."



"One moment please for Mrs. Henderson."



I waited. 



"Matt?"



"Yes."



"This is Maggie. How are you?"



"Fine Maggie. And you?"



"I'm fine. Would you be available for dinner at the mansion next week. Miss Simpson is in need of a dinner companion." I had wondered how she would get in touch with me if she wanted to since I blocked her number. She let Maggie do it.



"I'm sorry, Maggie, but I'll be out of town. In fact, I'm leaving tomorrow. May I suggest you invite my old friend Gordon Willis? They already know each other so I'm sure she won't be disappointed."



"I'm sorry you can't make it Mr. Painter."



So the conversation started as Matt and ended as Mr. Painter. Oh, well.



The next morning, I was backing my car out of the garage, when a State Police car screamed up the street, and came to a stop blocking my driveway. The passenger door opened and she stepped out. She stood looking at me then started walking up the drive. I kept backing. I stopped when she got to my window. I hit the button and the window went down. The State Police Car pulled away.



"Do you mind telling me what you are doing?" She asked calmly.



"I would if I thought it was any of your business."



"Maggie said you were going out of town."



"Maggie's got a big mouth."



"I thought people in a relationship communicated?"



"And I thought that a relationship was between two people. Not three, or four. Or more. How many people are you in a relationship with?"



"One I thought."



"Oh? And who would that be?"



"You, of course."



"Me? That's a surprise. It certainly seemed you were in a close relationship with Gordon Willis Friday night at the Tango."



She went a bit pale. "You were there?"



"I was and the amount of kissing I saw certainly indicated a pretty close relationship to me."



"Matt, let me explain." I took my foot off the brake and started backing down the drive. I laughed. I'd read enough stories to know that when anyone, male or female, is caught in a compromising situation, the first words out of their mouths are usually, 'let me explain'.



"Go away, Julie, I have a plane to catch." 



"But Matt. It's not what you think." She walked beside the car as it moved.



"Then exactly what is it, Julie? Why did you have your tongue down that sorry assed excuse of a human being's throat; especially after I told you what he did to Lisa?"



"I can't tell you."



"Of course you can't. Too bad your ride left. I'd offer you a lift, but I'm in a hurry." She was still walking as I backed onto the street.



"Matt, please, listen to me. Give me a few days. Call me in a few days."



"Why? So you can get some more fucking in?"



"No. God, no. Matt, Please!"



By now, I was out of the driveway and had turned onto the street. I was moving faster and she couldn't keep up and had to stop. I looked in my rearview mirror. She stood in the street watching as I drove away.



Nine hours later, I was in Key West. I spent the first two days in a beach front luxury motel relaxing, eating and soaking up the sun. The third night, I hooked up with a young lady on vacation from Connecticut who let it be known that she was available for the evening. I was tempted, but Julie was on my mind. Cheating, Gordon Willis fucking, slut, Julie. I couldn't stop thinking about her.



About ten days later, I received a call. "Hello."



"Mr. Painter?"



"Yes."



"Hold please for Mrs. Henderson."



"Matt?" Last time it was Mr. Painter.



"Yes, Mrs. Henderson."



"It's Maggie. Listen. The Governor is having an award ceremony for Julie on Friday. Any chance that you could attend?" Friday was three days away



"Award? For what?"



"I'm sorry. That will be disclosed at the ceremony."



"Well, Maggie, that's very nice of the Governor, but I can guarantee that she would not want me there."



"And I can guarantee that she would rather have you than the award. Why don't I pencil you in as a 'tentative'. Would that be okay?"



"You can do anything you want, but I won't be there."



I went to the beach, sat in the sun and had a couple, or four, gins and tonic. I'd be damned if I would attend a ceremony for her. Wild horses couldn't get me back up there.



Two days later I was on a plane. I'd decided that there were a few things I wanted to say to her and Governor's Mansion or not by God, I was going to say them.



The guard at the gate checked the list and my ID before letting me through. Inside, I was directed to a seat in the front row. I looked at it, then walked to the back of the room and stood. The room filled quickly. Apparently Julie had lots of friends.



We received a two minute warning so we could take out cameras, straighten our ties, smooth our skirts, or whatever we thought we needed to do. Then he was announced and he entered followed by a broadly smiling Julie and his wife. My heart skipped a beat then seemed to speed up as I saw her approach the podium and stand between her uncle and aunt. But then I remembered what she had done and I settled down.



The governor greeted everybody then read from the citation. As he read, she looked at the empty seat in the front row and frowned. Then she scanned the room. I don't know if she saw me. Then she focused on her uncle who was still reading from the citation. I only heard parts of it because I was going over in my mind what I was going to say to her at the reception after the ceremony.



My attention jumped to the Governor when he got to the part where Julie had volunteered to be the undercover victim of a leach on society. She had convinced her uncle that she wanted to do it; and, indeed could do it, and he basically broke the rules and allowed her to do it. She would get to know the leach, convince him she was susceptible to being taken advantage of and then, when the time was right, call in the arresting authorities. The leach had taken advantage of many women in the community; had violated their trust and basically stolen their money through trickery, deceit, and sympathy. She had heard about this person from a friend whose wife had been one of his victims. After his arrest he admitted to scamming at least 18 women.



I looked at her and realized they were talking about Gordon Willis. She had put herself at risk to bring Gordon Willis to justice. 



I looked at her in a new light. She had literally stood in my street and asked me to give her a few days and she would be able to explain her actions. Now I knew why she wanted a few days; she wanted to finish the investigation. 



That made me the biggest asshole in the world. I no longer wanted to give her a piece of my mind. In fact, I couldn't even face her I was so ashamed. After the ceremony and everybody was filing into the reception area, I tried to head for the front door with my tail between my legs but couldn't go against the flow of people and I found myself in the congratulatory line. Before it was my turn to shake her hand, I managed to step out of line and, again, head for the door.



When I got there one of the security people asked if I was Mr. Painter. When I said yes, I was told that the Governor would like to see me. I tried to convince them I had to go, but if you are in the governor's Mansion and he says he wants to see you, he sees you. I was led to his office and directed to a chair. I sat there about 5 minutes before I sensed someone behind me. I hadn't heard the door open and close. I turned in my chair and she was there. I jumped up.



"Hello. Matt." She said. "I'm glad you came."



I just stood there looking at her.



She continued. "I couldn't tell you why I was with him that night. Everyone involved was sworn to secrecy. 



"Did you sleep with him?"



"No. Oh, God no."



"I want to believe you."



"Matt, as God is my witness, I swear on everything I hold holy that I never, ever had sex with him. We kissed a few times and he copped a feel twice, but never under my clothes. His ego was so big that he thought he could take my money and I would still eventually sleep with him. You can't believe how horrible he is." While she talked she had come closer to me. 



I couldn't stand being that close without touching her so I said. "You should know that if you come any closer I'm not going to let you go." With that, she literally jumped into my arms.



It was bad enough for me to have said fuck at the front door of the mansion the night of the dinner, but we were in the Governor's office and very close to mimicking what Bill and Monica did in the Oval Office before we caught ourselves.



Thirty minutes later we were naked and in bed at my motel. We spent that day and the next there. When I finally made it to my house, I looked around and decided it was time to sell. Over the next three months, I basically moved into Julie's Condo. 



A year later we were married. 



It was a good life. An occasional dinner with the Governor, hobnobbing with the state's 'mover's and shaker's, flying on the Amato family jet. I had signed the three book contract with my editor, Genesis had published two of them. The third one was working itself around in my mind not quite ready to make an appearance. I made sure that Freddie and Michelle as well as Ken and Mya received autographed copies of the other two. I had maintained contact and friendship with them. As a matter of fact, Julie and I spent a week in Key West with them on three different occasions. My mother and sister received their usual copies as well.



It was Saturday night and Julie and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary at one of the more popular restaurants in Manhattan. We were sitting at our table and had been eating and enjoying each other for quite awhile and Julie was laughing. She stopped suddenly and put her napkin to her nose and mouth. Her eyes were directed at me then over my left shoulder then back at me.



I heard the Maître d behind me ask someone if that table was all right. I heard another voice assure him that it was.



I looked at Julie. She had turned pale. 



"What's wrong?" I asked.



She shook her head.



A voice behind me spoke. "As you know, we are one of the very few newspapers who pay for interviews and we are very interested in your story."



A different voice spoke. "That's good because I like money."



"How does it feel to be out?"



"How do you think? Prison is not someplace I want to go again."



"How long were you in?" 



"I got eight years, but only served five."



"And you've been out how long?"



"A week." 



"What have you done in that week?" 



"Mostly fuck. I hadn't had a piece of ass in five years."



"Overall, do you think it was worth it?"



"Was what worth it?"



"What you did."



"Depends on your point of view. I made a lot of money."



"But they made you pay it all back."



"Are we speaking off the record?"



"If you want it to be."



"This part of our conversation, yes. They didn't find all of the money. I still have enough to live pretty comfortably when my parole is up; and besides the money, I had a lot of pussy."



I was not used to hearing the word pussy spoken aloud in a restaurant like this, so I turned to see who was speaking. I couldn't see his face. I turned back around to look at Julie. She looked like she was going to throw up.

<hr pg="5" />"Matt, let's leave." She said standing. "I'm not feeling well." 



"Okay." I signaled the waiter.



"Yeah, but was all that pussy worth it?" I heard from behind me.



Then the other voice said. "Only the last one. She was the undercover bitch who busted me. She was the Governor's niece or something. But that was the best pussy I have ever had. I fucked her five times. That's a year in prison for each time I fucked her and it was almost worth it."



Julie stood there looking at me. Her eyes wide and tears starting to flow. I stood and lay my napkin down. I walked around the table and without looking at her, walked away.

