Twenty Minutes Ch. 02

[Sorry for the long delay since Ch. 01. The third and final chapter will be posted very soon.]

I drove back to the Holiday Inn, my mind filled with conflicting thoughts that swirled around and around. I knew I loved Angie, and that she was sorry; I also knew I was furious at her. I knew I wanted our marriage to survive this; I also knew that I couldn't imagine ever trusting her again.

I quickly packed my bags and checked out, then drove to the airport. Within 45 minutes I had my ticket and was checked in for a flight to Florida. I was going to take a few days at Sanibel Island, at a resort that had been highly recommended to me some years before by friends.

Waiting for the flight, I called my boss at work and had a somewhat testy conversation with him. Not surprisingly, he was angry when I told him I'd be taking two more weeks of vacation time for personal reasons. He basically threatened to fire me.

"John," I said calmly. "My marriage is in trouble, and I need this time to figure out whether it's going to survive. You know as well as I do that I've been your most reliable employee for nearly ten years, and I've gotten the company out of some sticky problems. Ross and Ed in my division are up to speed on all our projects, and they can keep things going in my absence.

"I also know, and you know too, that if you fire me I'll have another good job in two weeks. It will take you a lot longer than that to find someone as competent as I am to fill my position."

There was a silence. I was telling the truth, and John knew it.

Finally he said, heavily, "OK, Alex. I don't like this, but I guess I understand. Please get back as soon as you can, all right?"

Smiling to myself, I replied, "if I don't need the whole two weeks I'll be back sooner, I promise."

*** *** ***

By 8pm I was checked into a nice suite overlooking the pool at the resort. I had decided not to worry about money for the moment. I'd been Mr. Conservative for years, putting aside money for the kids' College Fund even though we didn't have kids yet. Now it was far from clear if I even had a marriage, and I wasn't going to keep on being a fanatic about building my nest egg.

The pool was big and gorgeous, and it tempted me. I jumped into a swimsuit, went down, and did 40 laps. I'd been a swimmer in college, and though I was long out of competitive shape I still loved the feeling of stroking smoothly through the water. I decided to make sure I gave myself a good workout in the pool each day I was down here. Even if nothing else went right, by the end of my stay I'd be much more fit than I had been.

The next day I spent relaxing—and trying not to think to much about Angie. I got up late, had breakfast by the pool, went for a long walk, had lunch and then took a nap. In the afternoon I drove around, just enjoying the warm sunshine, then came back and did my laps in the late afternoon, when the pool was less crowded. I had dinner in the hotel's restaurant on the veranda, then sat in the bar for a while, nursing a beer and watching a ball game on the TV.

To my surprise, I soon had company. A very attractive brunette woman in her late 20s sat down two stools away. After ordering a drink, she struck up a conversation with me. It began with a comment about the game, but soon we were talking freely about the resort, how pleasant it was, and so on.

I was a little mystified by her obvious interest in me. I am reasonably good-looking, but I certainly wasn't used to glamorous women in tight revealing dresses trying to pick me up. I wondered if perhaps she might be a "working girl".

After a bit I suggested we take our drinks to a quieter table, and she happily agreed. The conversation flowed onward, as she asked me about my work and where I was from. She also asked about my wedding ring, and I confessed that I was there without my wife, and that we were going through some troubles.

When I asked about her line of work, she gave me a long, slow, very sexy smile. "I'm in 'personal services' ", she said after a minute.

This pretty well cleared things up for me! "And might I be a potential recipient of your 'personal services'?" I asked.

"Absolutely," she replied, still smiling. "Just say the word."

I'd never been with a hooker, and had never thought about it much. But I was definitely interested at that moment. Nicole was beautiful and had a gorgeous body, well-framed by her tight dress. I hadn't had sex in more than two weeks, and I certainly wasn't feeling held back at that moment by any sense of loyalty to Angie.

In a few minutes we were up in my suite. A brief conversation revealed that she wanted $150 to have sex with me. I asked what her company for the whole evening would cost, up until I went to sleep, and she replied $300.

Going to the safe in the closet, I got out $400 and gave it to her. When she looked at me in surprise I said, "you are a lovely and charming woman. I'm absolutely sure I would want to give you something extra before you leave, so why not get it out of the way now?"

Nicole came into my arms and kissed me lightly. "You are a real gentleman, Alex. I think we are both going to enjoy this."

We both enjoyed it—at least I'm sure I did! I won't presume to know to what extent Nicole was faking her pleasure for my benefit, but she at least seemed to have a good time. I undressed first and then asked her to let me undress her, which was a treat.

Beneath the tight dress she had on no more than a black thong and some thigh-high stockings. I dropped to my knees and rolled each one slowly off her, taking advantage of the chance to stroke her beautiful long legs and look up at her shapely breasts.

Once we were on the bed, side by side, Nicole took the initiative. She kissed and stroked up and down my body, taking her time, in no hurry to get to my erect cock. I did likewise, reveling in the feeling of her flesh, intensely aware of being with someone besides Angie for the first time in so long. Was this what it was like for her with Tommy, experiencing the thrill of someone new?

We had at least 20 minutes of pleasure before she slid down and took my cock in her mouth, bathing me with her wet tongue until I was extremely excited. I didn't want to come so quickly in her mouth, so I pulled her up on top of me.

Giving me a smile, she reached to the night table for the condoms she had taken out of her purse and opened one, quickly unrolling it down over me. She straddled my hips, still smiling, and raised up to capture my cock inside her. What a feeling, sliding into her hot pussy, knowing it was the first one beside Angie's I'd experienced in years!

Then she gave me a long, slow, intensely exciting ride. She wasn't any tighter than Angie, and it wasn't that she knew any special tricks. But she was sure of her beauty and sexuality; there was no shyness or hesitation, just a confident determination to drive me crazy.

Sometimes she bounced up and down vigorously, getting my heart rate up as I felt my climax threaten to boil over. Then she would slow down, grinding down on me so her clit rubbed against the top of my cock--she seemed to love that!

My hands stroked her sides, and cupped her gorgeous firm breasts. She seemed to be very excited herself, if I could judge from her moans and from the look on her face.

She took me up towards a climax and eased me back about three times, and then the next time she got me going hard I couldn't wait any longer. I held her hips firmly and plunged up into her, meeting each of her downward strokes. She began to grunt each time we slapped together.

I held back as long as I could under this assault, then groaned as I shot off copiously into the condom. She seemed to come with me—-I felt her pussy spasm around me as I climaxed into her.

She climbed down and snuggled beside me, almost like a girlfriend or wife, as we caught our breath.

"Thank you," I said, meaning it. "That was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. You are a fabulous lover."

She grinned at me, as if sincerely pleased by my obvious enthusiasm. "You are awfully good too, Alex. And I don't just say that. If you and your wife are having troubles, it certainly doesn't have to do with your abilities in bed."

Then, seeing the pained look on my face, she said, "I'm sorry, Alex. Really. That was tactless of me. I apologize."

I smiled ruefully at her. "It's all right, Nicole. I think about Angie all the time, it's not as though I forgot about her. And being here with you is a pretty wonderful way to get a bit of distraction!"

After relaxing for a while, Nicole and I made love again. I began by stroking and massaging her all over, while she relaxed and let me enjoy touching her body. Then I got her up on all fours, lay beneath her and ate her pussy. She seemed to like that a lot, and after a while she moved her hips so much I had to keep chasing her pussy with my mouth.

Then we fucked again, this time from behind. I have always loved that position, being able to reach down and hold my lover's breasts while thrusting into her, and it was intensely exciting with Nicole. She finally left at about 1:30 am, each of us thanking the other warmly for a great evening.

The next day I walked a lot, and thought a lot. I'd come down to Florida on an impulse. I'd gone to bed with Nicole on an impulse. My impulse now was to get Angie down here.

Of course I was still furious at Angie; but I also knew that I still loved her, and I missed being with her. All of a sudden I was ready to talk with her, to see if we could find a way to make our marriage work again. I'd had enough time alone.

I drove into town, found a travel agent, bought a plane ticket for Angie and FedExed it to her. Then I went back to the hotel and called her.

"Hi Angie, it's Alex. How are you?"

"I'm really glad to hear from you, honey. I'd been meaning to call you, but it's been hard to get up the nerve. Can we ... would you like to get together to talk?"

"Well, listen. I'm in Florida. I took time off from work. I've sent you a ticket and I want you to come down and join me for a week."

"Alex, wow! That sounds great, but I'm not sure I can simply drop everything at work and get on a plane."

"Angie, I've been thinking a lot—I guess you probably have been too. We need to see if we can save our marriage. That's a lot more important than both your job and mine. I told John that he could fire me if he had to, but I was going to Florida. If they fire you, you can get another job—we both know you're the best paralegal in the whole firm. At least, you can probably find another job more easily than a new husband."

There was a silence. Then Angie said, slowly, "this doesn't sound like you, Alex. What happened to the steady, cautious, reliable man I've been married to all these years?"

"I'm not sure I'm him any more Angie. Now I'm a guy who decides what he wants, then takes action.

"It's important to me that you come down here. I have a nice suite for us, and I've sent you a ticket for tomorrow afternoon. If our marriage means as much to you as it does to me, you'll come."

Again, silence. Then, hesitantly, "OK, honey. This scares me, but I'll be there."

"Good. I'll meet you at the airport when you get in. Bye, Angie."

*** *** ***

I didn't have a clear plan. It was the old serious Alex, Mr. Predictable, who always planned.

All I was going by now was my feelings. It felt like Angie and I needed to be together, if we were going to work this out. It also felt as though we needed to start having sex again. And I was pretty damn sure that I wasn't ready yet to do that with Angie in my own house after having heard her there with Tommy.

I spent the day thinking about what Angie and I needed to say to one another, but nothing really came into focus. Finally I stopped worrying about it, did my laps in the pool, showered, and went off to pick her up.

Coming off the plane Angie looked lovely, and nervous. She'd pulled one of her nicest summer dresses out of the closet, her hair was up, and she was ready for Florida. But she was also pale, and I could see her eye me warily as I approached.

"Hi, Angie," I said warmly, and gave her a gentle kiss. She was surprised and pleased, and she held onto me a moment.

"Could I have another one of those, please?" she asked, and I obliged.

We chatted amiably on the way back to the hotel. I showed her the suite and let her freshen up, then we went down for a nice dinner on the veranda. We weren't talking about anything important, sort of by mutual unspoken agreement. We were keeping it light, but having a nice time. She told me about arguing with her boss about her sudden request for a week of vacation, but it wasn't that hard to convince him.

I realized that it had been a while since Angie and I had even gone out to dinner together. One of the ways in which our lives had gotten into a rut.

After dinner we strolled around the hotel grounds. I showed her the pool, and told her about my daily regimen. Then we headed upstairs.

Angie was more and more nervous as we got ready for bed. She disappeared into the bathroom for quite a while, then shyly came out in a silky black negligee that she knew I liked.

"Is this OK, Alex? I ... I didn't know what ... well, what was going to happen tonight."

Wearing only my boxers, I went to her and kissed her. "You look beautiful, Angie. Come to bed."

She lay in my arms, still tense. I said, "Angie, we have a lot of things to work out. I love you, and I think you still love me. But that doesn't mean we don't have problems.

"I hoped one way we could start to figure this out together was by making love—and I thought that would be a lot easier to do here than at home."

"OK, Alex," she said very quietly. "But ... I guess I'm a little afraid of you. After what I did, I mean. You were so angry when you left the house ..."

"Yes, honey, and I'll probably be angry again at some point. But right now I just want to be with you."

I turned the light out, pulled her gently to me, and kissed her. Angie was shy and wary for a few minutes; then she started to relax, warmed up, and began to respond eagerly.

We kissed and stroked each other with increasing pleasure. I pulled her nightie up over her breasts so I could lick and suck her nipples, making her sigh. I kept doing that while sliding my hands down to her pussy, using my fingers to spread her increasing wetness around her lips and up over her clit.

Meanwhile Angie was breathing heavily, and starting to rotate her hips around. I continued to caress her gently, alternating light and firm touches, until I could tell she was close—then I picked up the pace and she groaned her pleasure into my mouth as she came.

I was too excited to wait any longer. As soon as she had caught her breath, I rolled on top of her and slid smoothly inside her, making us both groan with pleasure. I wanted to have her completely—I wanted to fuck the Tommy out of her, to fill up her mind and body with me, and just erase him from her.

I didn't do it by screwing her hard or wildly, but by taking my time and concentrating on her pleasure. Angie loves a slow, steady rhythm that gradually builds up, and that's what I gave her. I varied my motions a little, sometimes grinding into her clit at the bottom of each stroke, and I kissed her neck and ear as we fucked. After her first orgasm she had relaxed completely, and now she was riding with me, going along happily with my motions.

I drove into her for ten minutes or more, then started to move faster, building to my own climax. Angie was enjoying it, but I could tell she wasn't going to come again, so I focused on my own pleasure. The last minute was intense and single-minded; I lost track of everything but the joy of sliding in and out of her, and I came with a loud sound halfway between a groan and a yell.

When I came back to myself, Angie was holding me tenderly, smiling into my eyes. "Alex, thank you for loving me like that!"

I'll be honest, I couldn't help but think, "oh yeah? How does that compare to old Tommy?" But I bit back the words, and just smiled at her. We snuggled up cozily and were soon asleep.

*** *** ***

The next morning we had breakfast on the veranda, then strolled around the grounds of the resort. I was looking for a comfortable place for us to talk, and I found a bench off by itself in the shade.

As I steered us to the bench, Angie's wariness returned. She knew as well as I did that we had some serious talking ahead of us, and she can't have been looking forward to it.

"Angie—I'm glad we're here, and I'm glad about last night. It was certainly a good first step.

"But we have to talk about things, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be difficult for a while. I don't even know if we can get past this."

Angie just nodded, looking serious and unhappy.

"One thing," I continued, "is that I think we have to try to be as honest as we can with each other. We're both feeling painful things: I'm angry and hurt, wondering how I can ever trust you again; and I'm sure you're feeling guilty, and afraid about our marriage."

She nodded again, and said, "I know we have to talk, Alex. And I will try as hard as I can. Please, just give me a chance to make it right!"

I looked at her for a long moment, and then I said, "Angie, I had sex with a hooker a couple of nights ago."

She gasped. "Oh my God, Alex!"

"I won't lie to you and pretend I didn't do it. I didn't plan it, but she picked me up in a bar and when she offered, I said yes.

"And I won't tell you I feel guilty, either. I am still so hurt, Angie! Thinking of you with Tommy ... hearing the sounds the two of you made that day—they never leave my mind!

"So I did it. I felt like, I deserve a little pleasure, too. And there's not much point in denying myself out of loyalty to Angie at this point, is there?

"It was nothing but sex—with condoms--and it was exciting and fun. She was beautiful and sexy, and willing, and uninhibited. I enjoyed every minute of it."

I sat quietly, watching Angie. She wasn't crying, but her face was pale and her jaw was tight—tears weren't far away. I decided to wait for her to speak, however long it took.

Finally she said, "I guess I understand that, Alex. How could you not be hurt, and how could you not want to strike back at me?"

"No Angie," I said. "This wasn't about you. It wasn't a revenge fuck, and I didn't do it so I could throw it in your face. I guess I felt tired of being Mr. Responsible, Mr. Predictable, the guy everyone can always count on to look out for other people. I had an opportunity for something exciting, something pleasurable, and I took it."

I sat quiet a moment, then I spoke again. "Wait, that's not ... I haven't gotten it quite right. Angie, I'm trying to be honest ... let me start again.

"It's absolutely true that I didn't have sex with Nicole to hurt you, but it's not true that doing it had nothing to do with you. Of course you were in my mind while I was with her.

"In the same way, I don't believe you had your affair with Tommy to hurt me—but that doesn't mean it had nothing to do with me. I was in your mind every time you were with him, right? It wasn't like a single woman just having a fling. And I think you'll have to admit that part of the excitement was that you were doing it behind my back."

Angie gazed at me, looking troubled.

"Alex," she said, with a little tremble in her voice. "You've changed a lot lately—so much that I wonder how well I know you. You've never been so direct before, it's like there's nothing held back when you talk to me. And you seem ... harder, maybe, or colder."

"Yes, well, that's probably true. But I think you've changed too, Angie." My voice sounded bitter. "The Angela Ravenna I used to know so well could never have fucked another man in our bed."