A Good Man Tested

'What untold salacious scenarios are being playing out within that devious mind of yours?' he humorously enquired.

'I'm thinking threesomes,' she gleefully replied. 'You, me and Cass. Okay, I know I'm jumping the gun, but a girl can dream, right?'

'It's been a long time since you and Cassie were so close,' he soberly reminded Sara. 'I think she feels threatened by us rekindling our friendship.'

'You mean that she feels threatened by me,' said Sara, knowingly.

He nodded to confirm.

'The only way I can see of reassuring her is for you and Cassie to become friends again,' he advised.

'But I thought we were friends,' she said, suddenly realising Cassie's perspective as having been happily married for the past three years. 'No, I understand that we're not so close any longer.'

'She was very hurt by you cutting her out of your life,' he divulged. 'More than she'd ever admit to you, especially after all this time.'

Sara remained silent for a few moments, while she considered the consequences of such a prolonged absence from her friends' lives.

'Then, I suggest we don't meet like this again,' she said. 'Not until I have a chance to talk things over with Cassie if she'll hear me out.'

He nodded in agreement.

'We'll stay in touch via the phone or whatever,' said Simon, as he stood. 'I still want you to treat Logan at the house, but Cassie accepts that as a medical necessity. Of course, I'll try to arrange a time for you and her to talk, but fear that she won't make it easy.'

Sara accompanied him to the door.

'Well, for the sake of friendship, I'll do my best to make this right,' she said, before they embraced and kissed passionately. 'We must make this work, Simon.'

Chapter 3

Another six weeks elapsed before Logan finished his intense physical therapy program and was ready to return to the only home he knew, the Lomas property.

Simon drove him home from the hospital.

'I'm still convinced that I lived around here as a kid,' said Logan.

'Well, maybe you did.' Simon humoured him. 'Have you come to terms with accepting us your friends, rather than family?'

Logan smiled. 'I think so,' he replied. 'At least, I know we're not related. It's strange, but my feelings for Danielle remain confused. I just don't think I'm in love with her. On the other hand, Cassie does appeal to me in a romantic way. Sorry, Simon. No offence intended.'

He chuckled at his honest remark.

'None taken,' he assured Logan, as they arrived home.

Home of Simon and Cassie Lomas

'It's freezing out there,' complained Logan as he entered the house.

'Well, it is November the second.' Danielle reminded him as they briefly hugged in greeting.

'Welcome home, handsome,' said Cassie, smiling at him, before they embraced warmly. 'Hmm... you're looking so well.'

'I feel much better, especially when I'm around you,' he whispered, as Cassie stepped back with a grin on her slightly blushing face.

'You're back on top teasing form, Logan,' she said, winking at him, before sauntering into the kitchen. 'Dinner with be ready soon.'

Danielle, who had witnessed the playful exchange between Logan and Cassie, pulled him aside.

'We need to talk, Logan,' she said, as Simon entered his home and saw the couple together.

'Looking good, you two,' he commented, while passing them to enter the kitchen.

Logan shrugged equably before following Danielle upstairs to a guest bedroom. After closing the door behind them, she turned to face him.

'I guess we should get this out of the way before anything else,' she announced. 'Am I correct in saying that your former feelings for me are still... confused? '

He looked at her with a pensive expression, while nodding affirmatively.

'Not like they were in the hospital,' he assured her, 'especially as I can now look at you without feeling guilty that I might be horny for my sister.'

She laughed at the thought of him believing she was his sister, when he first saw her at the hospital.

'So, I still turn you on?' she queried.

He nodded to confirm that she did, while sitting upon the bed.

'I remember some of what we did together from before, but it's like watching a porn film,' he tried to explain. 'I mean, we were so good at making love. I think you're gorgeous but, to be honest, the thought of having to impress you in bed intimidates me now.'

Sitting beside him, she placed a hand on his nearest thigh as a comforting gesture.

'We love each other and have a fun time together, but only as friends,' she explained. 'Neither of us is in love with the other, Logan. You don't have to try to impress me in any way, because I accept who and what you are. I'll agree to your decision if you want to move to another guestroom, but I would prefer us to sleep together in this bedroom.'

'Sure, like we used to before my accident,' he agreed. 'Hey, maybe we could still fun around a little. It won't be love though; just sex.'

'Yeah, great idea,' she agreed, while realising the degree of his emotional regression.

'How old are you, Logan?' she decided to ask.

'As you're already aware, I'm three years older than you, Danielle,' he correctly answered. 'Though, I must admit, to feeling immature in some ways. I have weird romantic notions about people and find it difficult not to act impulsively when around them.'

'Like you did with Cassie earlier,' she suggested.

'Yeah, I know she's married to a great guy but it's like I, at least, want to tell her how I feel.'

'Well, you never know, they might be into sharing their feelings, too,' she knowingly remarked.

Simon waited until after their celebratory dinner, in honour of Logan's safe return, to chat with Cassie about Sara becoming Logan's therapist. While Danielle and Logan relaxed in the lounge, he helped Cassie to wash and clear away the dishes. As was often the case in their home, the kitchen remained a forum for debate.

'I don't object to Sara coming here to help Logan's mental recovery,' she replied to his proposal, 'but why suggest that she and I talk about our past friendship? She clearly couldn't have cared less about it for all these years.'

'It was only a suggestion, Cassie,' he claimed.

'Look, I know that you and Sara remain close friends,' she angrily acknowledged. 'I've never begrudged you that relationship. I truly don't care because it's never come between us or interfered with our marriage. I'd prefer it to remain that way.'

'Sorry for pressing the matter,' he apologised. 'I'll make sure Sara's appointments with Logan are during the mornings, on the days she calls by to treat him.'

With that conceding statement, he turned and walked out of the room.

Cassie initially considered that she had been reasonable in her forceful refusal to meet with Sara. Later, after further reflection, she was not so sure that logic had played any part in her angry outburst. She still felt resentful that Sara had ended their friendship so abruptly. The young medical student had only ever shown her respect and affection in the early days of her relationship with Simon. Sara seemed determined to befriend her; a friendship she was happy to reciprocate. They had become close. Sara confided in her that she was overjoyed that Simon had obviously found his soulmate. She was happy for them both. Then, quite abruptly, Sara went away to study in another part of the country.

At the time, Cassie recalled being genuinely upset over the loss of their friendship. She had initially tried to remain in contact with her, but Sara always seemed too busy for them to meet. Eventually, Cassie gave up trying to be her friend. Sara had made her feel as if she were desperate. It embarrassed her.

Apart from Christmas cards, there had been no other contact between them during the intervening years. She remained angry at Sara for having made her feel so vulnerable, hence the resentment she now directed towards her. The fact remained that Sara had now returned to the area and, once more, re-entered their lives. Despite feeling pressured by her reappearance, whether the threat was real or imagined, Cassie remained unsure as to her true emotions regarding the beautiful woman and the friendship she shared with Simon.

Neither Simon nor Cassie slept soundly that night...

Simon realised he was dreaming from the instant his deceased friend, Mark, appeared beside him. It was a bright summer's day. They were gazing at Cassie as she sunbathed in the garden.

His gaze slowly roamed his wife's bikini clad body, lingering at times on a specific area to enjoy that aspect of her, otherwise, naked sun kissed flesh. To him, she appeared the epitome of female perfection. He remained undecided as to which alluring feature attracted him more, but knew their combined effect intoxicated his senses. Cassie's beautiful face remained fascinating to him, the features of which he considered to be as perfectly symmetrical as her svelte figure. The petite dimensions of her willowy limbs, slim waist and firm abdomen complimented her diminutively sculptured breasts; the firm orbs of flesh that tantalised his scrutinising eyes.

He continued to admire her with growing pleasure, as she stretched out her lovely slim legs and pointed her small feet. Hers were pretty, girlish, feet with toes he had often sucked during the erotic preludes to their lovemaking. She suddenly turned to face his affectionate countenance before perusing his physique and then that of his friend. He noticed that her eyes scrutinised the obvious bulge of excitement in their pants, whilst she nodded approvingly and smiled at them.

Mark turned to him. 'Are you both sure about this?' he nervously asked.

Simon smiled, confirming with a nod.

'This is something she wants to do for both of us,' he assured him. 'Besides, it's taken me two years to talk her around.'

His friend was not so convinced as he began to remove his clothes.

'I know you chose me as best man for your wedding, but I could tell Cassie never warmed of me,' said Mark.

'She hardly knew you at the time.' Simon reminded him. 'Then, you were gone before she could appreciate your friendship. In any case, her problem wasn't with you. Cassie can't bring herself to understand the relationship I share with Sara.'

Mark chucked. 'Does my sister still have a crush on you?' he asked.

'That was years ago,' replied Simon. 'A lot has happened since then. She doesn't feel that way for me anymore.'

'I bet she does and so do you for her,' he knowingly remarked, while gazing at Cassie. 'It's okay, I won't tell your gorgeous wife.'

Simon observed his then naked friend cautiously approach his wife, as she stood to face the man. He could see that Mark was hard for her. His own erection throbbed with anticipation as she brazenly unfastened and removed the bikini top, exposing her breasts for Mark's appreciative inspection. After languidly discarding the top, she slowly eased the remaining garment down her sleek thighs until it fell to the ground at her bare feet. Cassie seemed proud to stand before them naked; the delightful view of her beauteous figure heightening the thrill of this voyeuristic dream. Simon noticed that Mark's fascinated gaze lingered on her freshly shaved vulva as she sauntered towards him. Then, they were kissing hungrily, their naked bodies locked in an enthusiastic embrace, while initiating the fulfilment of his fantasy.

When Mark turned around and looked directly at him an instant later, Simon wondered if his friend was having second thoughts.

'Time to wake up, buddy,' he said. 'Life's not as simple as the fantasy.'

The dream abruptly ended. His eyelids shot open as he became aware of the bed shaking. Cassie moaned loudly in her sleep whilst continuing her lewd masturbatory display. He observed that she was completely naked. One of her hands kneaded each breast in turn while the other moved feverishly between her splayed legs. He gazed desirously at her pussy and at the two fingers she was avidly pumping between its wet lips. Her eyelids remained tightly closed while muttering an incoherent, barely audible, remark. The loud groan that followed startled him, as her svelte body began to writhe upon the bed.

Cassie's erotic dream is far more intense than mine, he thought, whilst continuing to watch her with growing fascination.

Her imagined lovers were myriad, both male and female, within this lust filled mirage; their identities changing as often as the physical positions they used to maximise her pleasure. Searching hands roamed her naked flesh while busy tongues and fingers probed every excited orifice to penetrate the centre of her sexual being. They moved their nakedness on or against hers, often stimulating the sensitive skin of her breasts as they kissed and suckled upon her erect nipples. These adoring, if dissolute, phantasms had conquered her sensual inhibition during those heady moments, whilst she listened to their moans of gratification and numerous whispered obscenities. Even the imagined odours of sex, which permeated the air around her, seemed to have become a scented aphrodisiac to further arouse her and the imaginary lovers. She closed her eyelids in ecstasy, while exerting pressure above the clitoral hood with stimulating fingers, as another eager cock invaded her quim with a powerful thrust. She became aware of a burning pressure as it simmered within her torrid sex, threatening to explode the rapture at its fiery core.

As her sensual release approached, she began to recognise familiar disparate faces among the group of rapidly alternating dream lovers. They seemed to appear and disappear in the miasma of her salacious imagination until only one remained. She verbally alerted the mental representation of this lover to her imminent release, for them to reach the peak together, as the imagined deft piston action of his large cock deeply penetrated her spasming cunt.

'Uh... mm... yeah, baby,' she huskily whined. 'So big... Yes, fill me now. Make me yours, Jase...ss... Uh! Come with me. Now, baby. Now!'

Simon could only imagine with whom Cassie was making love, while observing her body ride out its violent orgasm, because he suspected she was not with him in this vivid dream. Afterwards, as his wife rolled over, he heard her sigh contentedly.

'Who the hell is Jase?' he muttered, perplexed as to whom Cassie had referred, as she continued to whimper in her sleep.

He suspected that his wife had not been entirely honest, regarding the other male lover she sometimes imagined being with during their lovemaking sessions. Cassie had informed him that this man was someone she had worked with at the school during the previous year. The only temporary male teacher working there at that time had been Harry Lanyard; a man he had subsequently discovered to be gay. Simon assumed that Cassie must have been aware of this fact. It seemed to him that she had needed to clear her conscience about fantasising being with another lover, but not to disclose the man's identity. She had even misled him by her claim that this lover had been a temporary teacher at the school.

'Obviously not,' he again muttered.

The current revelation raised more questions than it did answers for Simon. There might have been a past boyfriend whom Cassie had referred to as Jase, he considered. Though she had never mentioned this friend, whose name he assumed to be Jason, to him before.

Then again, why be so secretive about the identity of a past romantic interest? Simon asked himself. It doesn't make sense unless the romance was not so far in the past.

No, he refused to believe she might be having an affair.

Two weeks later...

Thus far, Sara remained pleased with the progress Logan had made during their cognitive therapy sessions. They sat in the study, facing each other as doctor and patient, while this morning's session continued.

'So, why do you believe Cassie reciprocates your romantic feelings for her?' she asked in a professional manner.

He shrugged while averting his eyes from her scrutinising gaze.

'We flirt a lot,' he bashfully confessed.

'We talked about this during a previous session,' she reminded him. 'Flirtation can often be nothing more than a natural bonding behaviour; a response demonstrated between people, frequently of the opposite sex, to establish or to deepen their friendship within a specific group. You and Cassie have established a friendship and appreciate each other's company. This is normal but is not necessarily romantic in nature.'

'Then, how can I tell if she really does feel the same way?' he asked, plaintively, before realising his emotional confusion. 'Ah, sorry. I'm obsessing about her again.'

'That's okay,' she assured him. 'Describe her to me. I want to know how you picture her.'

He thought for a moment.

'She's slim, average height, long dark hair and hazel coloured eyes; full breasts, attractive features and, well, I guess she must be in her late thirties,' he mistakenly depicted her.

'And your friend, Danielle?' she enquired.

'She's about nineteen; has a slender dancer's figure, pretty face, fair shoulder-length hair...' he correctly described her.

Sara nodded while taking more notes, a pensive expression etched upon her features, before reaching into her shoulder bag. She produced a photograph that featured both women and showed it to him.

'I want you to identify the women you see in the photograph,' she said.

He first pointed to Danielle and correctly named her but then faltered.

'I'm not sure who this other woman is,' he said, while indicating Cassie's image. 'She's incredibly attractive.'

'What if I told you that woman is Cassie Lomas,' she proposed. 'Would you be prepared to accept my claim?'

'No, of course not,' he said, chuckling at the absurd question. 'I wouldn't believe you because that's not Cassie. Is this a psychological test, doc?'

'Not a test as such,' she replied. 'Merely a logical deduction on my part. I've heard you mention certain characteristics about her during previous sessions, none of which didn't make sense to me. Unless we're talking about quite separate women.'

'Okay, I'm lost,' he said with exasperation.

Now, I must inform you the woman in that photograph is categorically Cassie Lomas,' she stated. 'The same Cassie in whose house you live with her husband and your girlfriend. No woman of your description lives in this house. Who are you describing, Logan?'

'No, you're lying to me,' he yelled, accusingly.

'You trust me, Logan,' she reminded him. 'You've repeatedly said so. I don't play games. You know I'd never lie to a patient. So, who is the woman you see when looking at Cassie?'

'I don't know,' he desperately insisted.

'Think; remember how you lived here with Simon and Cassie before the accident,' she continued unabated. 'You told me how Danielle used to flirt with her, but you always resisted crossing that line. The woman with whom you saw Danielle flirting; recall her to mind. Perhaps choose your earliest memory of meeting her.'

'Yes, in the kitchen that first day,' he remembered. 'We were baking cookies.'

'Good, recollect the odours in the air,' she instructed. 'Focus on the smell, the place and people. See the woman as she is, standing in the kitchen. What is she doing now?'

'Loading the dishwasher,' he replied.

'What is she wearing?'

'A tight vest top and shorts,' he recollected. 'The clothes cling to her petite figure. Her shorts ride up as she bends over to fill the washer. I glance at the lower part of her firm buttocks as they become exposed. Danielle turns to me and smiles, obviously liking what she sees. Then, I'm perusing the backs of her lovely slim legs, as she straightens up and begins to turn around. She flicks away some stands of straw-coloured hair... from the brow of her finely defined features. Her eyes... are green in colour. I continue to watch as she and Danielle flirt but...'