A Painful Situation: Mark and Carol

I just stared at that idiot with a cold look. Trying to diffuse the situation, Carol moved next to me with a sweet smile and slipped her arm around my waist. She whispered, "Go on honey", with a big smile as she tried to coax me forward to shake his hand. I just let it hang there in the air and ignored it.

Jim's smile disappeared as he realized the insult and lowered his hand. Next to me my wife tried to soften the tense atmosphere.

"Hi Jim." She gushed ignoring my harsh glare. "Nice to see you. I'm glad you came over today. I was just telling Mark it was time to clear the air and..."

"Fuck you." I snapped. Carol was startled. Her bright smile wilted a bit.

"Please Mark." Jim said. "I know you're still upset but..."

"Oh you got that did you?"

I felt my wife's arm tighten around my waist. She snuggled against me trying to keep me from getting any angrier.

"Please honey." Carol purred, pressing my arm against her breast. She tried to kiss my cheek. "Don't be mad at him. Its my fault what happened not his. Jim's been your friend for so long and I know you miss him. He misses you too right Jim?"

"That's right." Jim quipped. "Come on Mark. No hard feelings right buddy?"

I shot him a look that could kill. Then I twisted out of Carol's grasp. I looked straight into his eyes, wishing I could shoot this bastard. In an ominous tone I asked him, "So tell me BUDDY. Did you have a good time with MY wife at the Charity Event?"

"Well...yeah...of course we did."

Carol chirped, "We wanted you to come Mark. It would have been more fun if you were there honey. You would have loved it."

She hadn't spoken to me in nearly a week, and now she was acting all sweet and innocent. I didn't believe her for a second. Jim gazed at me tentatively and I looked right back in his eyes.

"So did you guys dance together?" I asked him.

"...uh...well yeah...everyone was dancing and all...of course."

Carol moved next to me again and slipped her arm around me. With a sugary sweet smile frozen on her face she said, "Of course we danced Mark. Everyone was dancing and having a great time. Like I said you would have loved it if you had come."

I ignored my wife's irritating chatter and kept my attention on Jim.

"So you danced huh? Did you dance the slow songs Jim old buddy? Hold Carol in your arms? Feel her tits against your chest in that skimpy dress she had on?"

His face twisted into a strange grimace. He was uncomfortable, perplexed by these probing questions.

"No. Nothing like that Mark." He replied innocently. "Just you know, dancing and having a good time. Nothing inappropriate."

I glared at his face for a moment longer. Then I pushed Carol away so she was next to him and turned my attention to her.

"And you my dear honest wife." I sneered. "Was it all just some casual, friendly dancing like Jim said? Just two friends engaged in some platonic activity, nothing inappropriate right?"

"Of course not Mark." She blustered. "I-I'd never do anything to disrespect you honey. You know that."

I pulled out my cell phone and opened up a picture. A guy I knew was at the event with his wife. At my request he sent me a few incriminating photos of my wife and the asshole. I turned the phone so Carol could see it. It took my wife a moment for her to realize if was her and Jim dancing close at the Charity event. Suddenly the blood drained from her face and her eyes bugged out.

"So my faithful wife. Dancing like this with my dear old "friend" is just some platonic dancing right honey?"

I snickered sarcastically as she gazed at the phone. Jim moved closer so he could see, and his face went dark.

"...where did you...get this...?" He asked.

It was a side shot of Carol and Jim on the dance floor. Couples were dancing all around them. Some were glancing with amusement at my wife and my former friend engaged in an intimate embrace. Jim's taller than me and he towered over Carol. That didn't stop her from sliding her arms around his neck, pressing her lithe body against his and Jim leaning down to kiss her on the lips. It was a still shot, so there was no way to know how long the kiss lasted. But to someone who didn't know them, it was very incriminating.

Carol's face blanched as she saw how intimate their embrace was; not to mention the kiss. I heard Jim gulp, "...oh boy..."

I flipped another picture and asked, "Carol my dear, I guess you enjoyed that kiss by how you are gazing up into his eyes."

The next shot was closer, with only their upper bodies in view. Jim's hands were placed around her waist and Carol was gazing up at him with adoration in her eyes. A couple next to them was watching with smiles on their faces.

I flipped another picture and this one had them sitting in a booth. Jim's arm was around her shoulders, his hand hovering over her breast. Carol was leaning against his shoulder, her face turned up to his as if expecting another kiss. The last was a shot of them outside on a patio. They were hugging with Carol making no effort to pull away. Jim's hand was on her ass this time as she leaned against his tall frame. They weren't kissing, but seemed about to.

Both Jim and my wife were stunned at the photos. Jim's face flushed with embarrassment and he began making choking sounds as if trying to speak. Carol had deflated with shame, but seemed to regain her composure first.

"Who sent them to you?"

"What difference does that make?"

"...well...I-I-I know that looks bad honey..." She mumbled, "...b-but its really not like that...at all..."

'Oh really Carol?" I said in disbelief. "It sure looks like my wife and my former friend were having an intimate date, making out, fondling each other and who knows what else. Probably fucking in the parking lot. Something you invited him to do on our sofa! Remember that you stupid bitch!"

I gazed straight into Carol's eyes as she lowered hers, "I can't believe you acted like a slut right in front of people we know. Did you get a nice feel of his big hard cock Honey? Were you going to fuck him when you got home? Or was that the second time he would have gotten lucky that night?"

Jim blurted out, "No way Mark. I know that looks bad and all but it really wasn't like that at all. No one thought we were a couple. We just had a few too many drinks and we were having fun and..."

Carol cut in.

"Yes Mark, it was more my fault than Jim's.", she explained trying to sound reasonable, "I probably had too much to drink and I got a little frisky. But nothing happened honey. Only a little kiss and a bit of hugging, you know, probably a little inappropriate but nothing to worry about."

"Did you get a good feel of his big cock Carol?"

Her jaw dropped. Jim frowned with irritation. "Listen Mark. That's not fair."

"NOT FAIR!" I cried, loud enough that both of them cringed. My wife glanced around in embarrassment, afraid the neighbors would hear me and come out to investigate. I was hoping they would.

"Please Mark. Not so loud." She whispered. "Can we go inside a talk about this?"

"Hell no!" I yelled. "I'm fine right here. I don't want this asshole in my house ever again!" I turned to her and asked, "So Carol honey...let me ask you another question. Where'd you get that slutty green dress you wore? You know, the one with your tits hanging out. I know I can't afford it. And doubt you can either."

My question caught her completely off guard. Carol's eyes widened with a stunned look and her jaw dropped. I heard Jim gulp, "...oh shit...", and he seemed to slump a bit.

"No answer?" I said accusingly. I turned to Jim who's eyes were darting around with guilt all over his face. "Did you buy her that slutty dress asshole? Don't try to lie you bastard!"

"Well...uh..." He started to say, glancing over at Carol. My wife stopped him with a wave and said softly, "Yes he did Mark." Her eyes lowered, "I needed something nice to wear and I haven't bought anything new in ages. The dress was a gift from Jim and I knew you wouldn't like it so I decided not to tell you."

"And those hooker heels you had on? The ones that made you stand about five inches taller and made you look like a fucking, twenty dollar prostitute?"

"Come on Mark." Jim said with irritation. "They're not like that."

Carol's flushed face and darting eyes told me all I needed to know.

"I see exactly how it is you bitch." I snapped at her. "He basically bought you that night and you tried to reward him later. You know that's what whores do don't you? He paid for you, and you tried to fuck him."

Carol's shame seemed to wilt. Her face grew hard and her eyes were blazing. Jim tried to say, "Please Mark. There's no call for that now."

I spun around to him and shouted, "You're making a whore of my wife and you have the nerve to tell me there's nothing wrong? You're a real bastard. I wish you were dead. Both of you."

One of our neighbors was watching from the porch. Carol noticed that we had an audience, she blushed and looked embarrassed. I had nothing more to say to those two and jumped in my car to leave. Jim moved quickly and tried to grab my arm. When he pulled me back I twisted around and took a swing at him. I missed and he shoved me to the ground before I could swing again.

He could have flattened me with one punch. The guy is taller and bigger than me by at least forty pounds. Not only bigger but more muscular and athletic. A physical confrontation would only make me look foolish. I got up and brushed myself off as he held his hands in a defensive manner, trying to calm me down.

"As for turning my wife into a slut?" I said, glancing at Carol with disgust. "Well asshole, you're definitely doing a great job."

She was staring at me with a shocked expression. The neighbors on the porch were clearly interested now. Another couple from down the street was walking by and were watching the argument closely.

"You're his whore now bitch!" I yelled loud enough for our audience to hear. "He paid for your dress, your hooker heels and your date. So just take him inside and give him the payoff, some of your whore pussy. Or give him blow job. We all know that's what you wanted to do that night right?"

I moved toward my car and this time he didn't interfere. Another neighbor peeked out their door wondering about all the commotion. Carol was blushing pink as she noticed that we had an even larger audience now. Once thing I learned about her recently was how important her reputation was to her. This public airing of our differences was probably killing her.

"Mark...please stop it honey." She pleaded in a whisper. "Don't go away yet. Its not like that. Lets go inside and talk this out."

"Yeah Mark. We really need to clear the air man." The asshole agreed.

I looked at them both like they were a piece of shit on my shoe.

"Yeah I want to finish this." I told him bitterly. "So if you're still here when I get back I'm gonna get my gun and blow you away. You clear about that?"

Jim gazed at me in silence. Carol looked sullen and angry. I spit at their feet, jumped in my car, pulled out of the driveway and sped off, burning rubber in the process. Our neighborhood would have juicy gossip for months.

When I got home that night Jim was gone. Carol was in bed and I was smashed to the gills. I had a cab bring me home because I was too drunk to drive, and the bartender wouldn't let me out of the bar with my car keys. I fell onto the sofa and didn't wake up until about noon the next day. I quickly called in sick to work. My boss was pissed. But there was no way I was able to perform being so hung over. I also took the next day off too, because I still wasn't right.

I finally woke up and got some food in my stomach. That seemed to help. Carol was gone to her part time job at the art gallery and Jenny was at school. I guess I was feeling a little guilty about my behavior. I don't know why though. I still blamed Carol and Jim for the problem.

When Jenny returned home from school, I apologized for my loud confrontation. She acted like it was no big deal. But I knew she had probably witnessed the whole thing and heard everything I said to her mother and "Uncle" Jimmy. We spoke about it for a while and then left it alone.

I fixed dinner before Carol got home. She wasn't home on time and Jenny and I ate dinner without her. I was still pissed. But my hangover softened my anger a bit because when my wife finally did make her appearance, I didn't confront her again and just left her alone. We ate, cleaned up the dishes and went to sleep that night without touching each other, or even speaking. The next day we tried to act normal for Jenny's sake, and the atmosphere about the house was a bit better.

She did make sort of an apology, saying she was sorry I didn't attend the event, and no matter how bad those pictures looked, nothing inappropriate went on between Jim and her. I noted that she didn't say she was sorry she went, just that she was sorry how it worked out. I let her speak and didn't offer an answer.

A few days later I heard her on the phone again. She thought I was in the backyard and didn't notice I was around the corner when she was speaking openly.

"Its okay...yeah I can talk...he's out in the yard...no he's still real upset about everything. I don't want to approach him about that yet. Yeah...well you know I do...maybe if we are careful we can...I don't know...I just don't want to stir up anymore trouble."

She listened for a bit, then said, "He won't be so forgiving next time. Okay, yeah, I'll call you later. Of course I miss you. We can't. No. Please. I know. Just let me talk to him first. Okay, right. I'll work on him tonight and get back to you. Probably tomorrow. Yeah. I can't talk right now. He was out in the yard but I'm not sure where he is now. Okay. That's okay. Right. Call me okay? Bye."

Then she hung up. I knew something was up. But I wasn't sure what. I supposed she was speaking to Jim, but I couldn't be sure.

Coincidentally Jim called me that very evening. It was just after dinner when I was outside on the patio. It was Friday and Jenny was sleeping over at a friends house and would return Saturday afternoon. I saw the caller id on my phone and debated whether to take the call. Carol suddenly trotted outside.

"Is that your phone honey?" She asked me as it was ringing. Now I knew it was a setup. "Why don't you answer it Mark?"

I grunted, and picked it up. "What do you want asshole?" I grumbled, knowing it was Jim.

"Hi buddy. I just wanted to talk." He said cheerfully.

Carol was watching me as I replied, "Oh yeah? Well I want a faithful, loving, honest wife. So what?"

"Listen Mark, I know things have been a little tense between us. So I wanted to do something to break the ice."

I didn't reply.

"I'm having a little get together at my house. I want to invite you and Carol to join us. Its just a few of our friends that are invited. Its all nice folks from the area that you know. I'm going to cook out, so you don't have to bring anything. Just show up and have a good time."

I was silent as I considered his offer. The truth is that I was feeling a little regretful the past few days. Despite my anger I still loved Carol. I know she misses having a social life like we used to and wished I could entertain her better. Jim used to be a good friend, my best friend actually. Despite my feelings I missed having some guy to hang out with.

I noticed that Carol was nearby staring out at the yard, but was clearly pretending she wasn't listening. These two were so transparent it was almost funny.

"I don't know."

"Please Mark. I know how you feel. But we can't go on like this forever. Lets bury the hatchet for a while and have a few beers with friends. Bring Carol and I'm sure we can all put this beside us. Okay."

I glanced at Carol. She looked over and smiled.

"We'll see. I'll speak to Carol and we'll see."

"I hope you come. Both of you. Its just casual, I have all the food and beer taken care of. So don't worry about bringing anything. I know you'll have a blast buddy. Hope to see you later."

I set down the phone and Carol immediately asked, "Who was that Honey?"

"Nobody."

Carol looked perplexed. "Nobody? Tell me who?" She asked sweetly as if she didn't know.

"Jim's having a party." I said indifferently.

"Oh really?" She exclaimed smiling. "That's nice."

"Yeah. He wants us to go. He wants to bury the hatchet."

Carol seemed eager to speak. But she just smiled and asked, "So what did you tell him? Are we going?"

"I guess so."

She jumped over to me and hugged me close. After so long apart, I felt myself becoming aroused by the warmth of her body.

"Oh goody! That's great Mark." She gushed. "I know we'll have a great time."

"Don't count on it." I snorted.

She kissed my cheek, then bolted for the house to get ready. I was leery about this whole setup. But I was worn down from all the acrimony and was willing to see how this turned out. Either way, Carol couldn't blame me for not trying to improve our situation. As for Jim and I becoming friends again, that was doubtful.

The party was actually quite nice. There were about thirty people there, which was more than I expected. Jim went all out with the food and drinks. Most of the people were married couples, with a few unattached females and a couple single guys. There were enough people there that it wasn't obvious that I was keeping my distance from Jim.

Carol stayed by me much of the time. She did go off with her friends for a while and I hung with the guys. I drank some beer but not too much. I wasn't going to get drunk and suddenly act like everything was back to normal. I think Carol noticed my distant demeanor.

"Is everything okay." She whispered. I didn't look at her as I mumbled, "Yeah. Nice party."

"Isn't it though? I'm having fun. I hope you are too." She said, gazing into my eyes hopefully. Then she asked quietly, "Have you spoke to Jim?"

My expression darkened and she noticed.

"Sorry. I don't want to upset you Mark."

"Then just leave it alone."

"You two were such good friends and I hope you will be again."

"Forget it Carol." I told her with a cool glance. "Jim and I will never be friends again, not like before. He's an asshole and always will be. Lets just have fun tonight and not bring up some bad old memories."

Carol didn't drink much and neither did I. Jim was busy playing host and only came over a couple times to ask how everything was. He had a woman with him. Some hot chick he knew at work and they were sharing the host duties. Carol drifted over to Jim and his date. They spoke for a while and when Carol returned she brought Jim's date over and introduced me. I just nodded and let my wife do all the talking. I don't even remember her name. She probably thought I'm an ass for not acting more polite. But fuck her and fuck Jim too.

After a few more minutes of awkward conversation they went over to the bar and mixed some drinks. Later Jim put on some music and people began to dance. Carol asked me if I wanted to dance. I said no. She was a bit put off, but didn't complain about it.

The sun began to set and the couples with children began to leave. The rest of the crowd began to drink more. A few other couples showed up and joined in. Soon the beer was flowing freely and the party was starting to get rowdy. Several of the wives we knew were no longer dancing with their spouses. A couple guys asked Carol to dance. She warily accepted after getting my tacit permission. I stayed in my seat and just watched her in silence.

Carol is an attractive woman. So it was no shock when guys kept asking her to dance. She danced some of the fast songs, displaying her moves, which were very sexy. When the slow songs came on she was regularly glancing at me. Normally she could be quite flirty at events like this. Tonight she kept her flirtatious behavior to a minimum. She did seem to enjoy herself, but didn't dance too close with any of her partners. Nothing like the pictures I saw of her and Jim at the Charity event. And she didn't dance with Jim. When she noticed I wasn't joining in the wife swapping atmosphere, she quit dancing and sat by me.