All Mixed Up

ALL MIXED UP

Mike Barlow sat across from his wife Gina. She was twirling a glass of white wine on the table. She had asked Mike for a discussion. She had said, 'Mike, we should have a discussion of what we're going to do, going forward." She was a lawyer. So, she didn't just say 'We need to talk.'

But Mike got the message. And...he knew, more or less, what she was going to say.

He asked, "So?"

Gina said, "Mike, we're coming up on our twenty-fifth anniversary. I feel like things have gotten stale for us. We need to inject some excitement into our lives, now the kids are gone to school."

Mike's face was impassive, even stony. He said, "And?"

Gina was taken aback, a bit, by Mike's stoic response. She began to feel defensive.

She said, "I want you to know that I love you very much."

Mike nodded. He spoke not a word. His face betrayed absolutely no emotion.

Gina was further unnerved by that. She said, plaintively, "Aren't you going to say you love me?"

Mike gave a slight negative shake of his head. That was it. He was determined to make this as difficult as possible for his wife. In that, he was succeeding.

Gina had a sinking feeling about this entire undertaking, somewhat like the feeling as a jury returned with what she knew would likely be a bad verdict.

Mike was the jury. She wanted something from him, but, it was clear to her that he was in no mood for acquiescence. She began to become angry.

She blurted out, "I have a date Friday night. I want an open marriage." She thought to herself, 'There, I've said it.'

Mike gave a kind of diffident nod, followed by a very small movement of his shoulders that could have been interpreted as a shrug. Or not. He said nothing, and his face was as stony as that of the proverbial Sphinx. He stared at her, waiting....

Gina spat out her next revelation. "I'm going to have sex with him, and I'll be back Saturday." As she said this, she stood and loomed over him. He moved his head just enough that he could see her face. He also put both hands flat on the table, to be ready in case she tried a physical attack. She didn't. Instead, she turned and flounced out of the dining room, and up the stairs. Their bedroom door slammed.

A small smile crossed Mike's face, as he sat. He arose, cleared the desert dishes, and wine glasses, and took them all out to the dishwasher. He started the machine. Then he pulled out a cheap cell phone and texted one word - 'Six.'

Gina threw herself onto the queen bed. She was quivering. She had never expected the reaction she got from Mike - a total lack of reaction. She was stunned and fearful. She had believed that she could bring Mike around. An open marriage. He could fuck his secretary - if he wasn't doing that already - and she could fuck Bradley Dubois, a younger lawyer at her firm. If his reaction was too extreme, she could cancel until she brought him around. But now. Now, she was lost. She and Brad intended to go out to dinner, then some dancing at a hotel bar, then upstairs for sex. They'd be home to their families the next afternoon, after checkout. They had a reservation at a downtown hotel, far enough away that people from their area wouldn't know. Brad was not going to tell his wife. He was thirty-two, and had two young children. His wife, Blanche, thought he would be away on business. That was the plan.

But now. Now, she'd have to discuss this again with Bradley. The two of them had become close over a period of months while working on a case involving a massive tort claim. They'd had several lunches, each longer than the last. Discussing work - that was what they told the curious at the office. Two weeks before, Brad had professed his love for her...or, maybe only his intense lust for her. She was a woman who attracted that sort of attention. Tallish, at 5'8", with a slender figure and a sexy look to her round face. A natural blond. She was fit from gym work and some running. Brad was also fit, 6'2", medium build with soulful brown eyes and longish light brown hair. He looked younger that he was, and when she was with him, Gina felt like she was also young again, not forty-seven. She knew she didn't look her age, but when she was with Brad, she felt like she did when she was at college.

It wasn't as if Mike was a bad husband. She loved him and he satisfied her in bed. He was fit and adept, athletic. At 5'10" and 165 pounds, he was only average size. But Gina knew that women often went after him. Still, they'd been together for over twenty-five years, exclusive, and married for over twenty-four. She'd been feeling stale even before she was paired with Brad at work. All her life men had come after her, and she'd turned them away ever since she was with Mike. But not now. Not now. She needed a boost. She never thought that she'd leave Mike. She thought he'd agree, eventually. After some problems, maybe. She was determined not to deceive him about this. And she knew that he wanted his long-time secretary, Ellen Grove. She'd given him a hall pass, along with her own. And....he.....never said anything. She had no idea what he was thinking. It was way more than unsettling. It was scary. She felt as if she may have blown up her life, and she didn't like that.

Her life had been a very good one, and that was largely down to Mike. Mike had captivated her, in and out of bed. And he was still all she could have wished for....in a husband. Except, maybe he should be more understanding of what she knew to be a temporary mid-life glitch. Despite her awareness of this as a mid-life crisis that would pass, she wanted another man. She'd had many before Mike, and only Mike since they first met and fell into bed.

Gina had very good reasons to be frightened, but she was not completely aware of those. Mike Barlow was the product of a poor area of the city, which featured immigrants from various parts of Europe. Mike's father, Bart, was an alcoholic, who held down a job as a janitor at the local high school. His mother worked at the cafeteria in the same school, where, eventually, Mike went for his diploma. Mike had an older brother, John, who had barely made it through school four years ahead of Mike. John enlisted in the Navy, and got right out of the area. Mike was a very different matter. He was athletic and very smart. Also, the girls liked him. His teachers, who expected another John, instead got a boy who excelled at all academic endeavors.

Mike never went out for school sports, or other extra-activities. He had to deliver papers, groceries, and other things to supplement the family income.

He was a hard worker, and in school, he never got less than a top grade. That got him noticed. One part of being noticed was being resented. Mike was always on guard against the class bullies. He got his ass kicked several times. He could outrun any of them, but sometimes that wasn't good enough. He studied about the problem, reading books on fighting, called self-defense. Then he'd practice those things at home, out back where he had fashioned a large canvass bag to hang on a tree limb. He'd punch and kick the bag, from when he was ten years old. He got good at punching and kicking. One day he didn't run from Jimmy Dugan, a major pain in the ass. Instead, he knocked Jimmy Dugan around an outdoor basketball court, until Dugan's buddies pulled him away. That solved the bully problem.

And, it got him noticed even more by certain elements in the neighborhood. Paul Palotti, and his wife Rita noticed, as did their partner Tomas Bogandic. When he was fourteen, Mike was invited to eat dinner at the Palotti home. They had older kids, who weren't there when Mike arrived. Tomas was there, though. Mike, of course, had heard around that these people were shady, and not to be crossed. He was well dressed and polite throughout the spaghetti dinner. He was nervous, at first, but relaxed. Rita was a lively woman, very pretty, and Mike liked her. After a while he was actually having a reasonable conversation with these adults. Shady or not. They spoke about the area, and the people they all knew. Also, about local politics and the union. He had a nice time, but only vaguely understood why he had been invited. Two weeks later, Paul and Tomas walked up to him as he finished his grocery route. They moved him aside into a small park.

Paul explained, "Michael, we have seen you do so well for yourself and your family. We like to help out people from our area who deserve a shot at something a little better. So, if you'd like, we can help you out."

Mike was wary, as both men expected. "How? And, what would I do?"

Paul said, "We don't have anything you'd have to do. We want you to have more time to improve yourself. So, we could let you have the amount of money you make with the extra jobs, and you could have time for study."

Tomas, who scared Mike a little with his size, smiled at Mike and said, "And maybe you'd have a little time for fun. Girls....sports. Whatever."

Paul said, "We want you to be the best you can be...without joining the Army. If you do well, you could get a neighborhood scholarship to a college."

Mike said, "What's that?"

"A scholarship. You could be one of the few from this area to get a degree."

Mike thought it over for a few seconds. He never for a minute believed that he was being offered something for nothing. He said, "I won't...you know....kill anyone."

Tomas laughed out loud. "Oh, no. For sure, when you graduate, we may need your help from time to time, like if you're a lawyer or something. But never to get you into trouble. We look ahead, Michael. You just be yourself. And remember who helped you out."

Paul said, "One thing, Michael. I understand that you have an interest in, like, the stock market and bonds and stuff."

"Yes. Yes, I have looked at that. When I have the time."

"So, maybe spend a little more time on that, 'cause we could use some advice from time to time."

'Okay. Deal." They shook on it. Mike really did have an intense interest in financial matters. He read up on it all the time, when he had the time.

About six months later Tomas and Rita came to Mike and asked him about a company on the stock market. Mike looked into it, and told them to stay away. A week later they asked about another company. He looked into that one and said to buy it. He was correct both times. All through his high school years, he would give such advice. The Palottis' and Tomas made some bucks. Especially when Mike had them buy into a small computer programming firm.

When he was a junior, Paul came to him and told him to apply to college at the University of Pennsylvania. He did, and he got in. Full ride. He was eighteen, and Tomas gave him a nice, used Ford Mustang to get to Philly.

Mike protested about the car. He thought it was too much. Tomas said, "Michael, you made us so much money. Don't worry about it. If you keep it up, I'll set you up with Doris." He laughed. Doris was his third wife, and she was outrageously sexy. But her time with Tomas was about up. He had a pattern.

Mike blushed. But two weeks later, Doris cornered him at the bar he hung out in sometimes and took him to the back. She said, "Tomas is okay with this, Mikey." And then she took him in about every way he could be taken. Four hours later they emerged. He got a round of applause from the bar. That was at the start of the summer, and he and Doris kept at it until he went to school. Sometimes she brought her friend Ellen.

Just another aspect of Mike's education.

Mike did very well at Penn. And, he met several very eligible women, who were impressed with him, in and out of bed. After all, he had a Mustang.

He studied finance, and economics. He kept on with the tips to his friends. He went back to the neighborhood in the first two summers, and on holidays. Spring break was for Florida, in the Mustang. When he returned home, he got lots of attention from local women. He took advantage of that. At school, he was a grind, and really didn't date. He had an apartment off campus. He could afford it because he was getting a certain percentage of profits derived from his tips. Not all the tips worked out, of course, but the clients were satisfied. He had more clients now, too. Word had spread.

But, apart from an older divorcee who lived on his floor, he stayed celibate on campus. The woman was Doris Mackay. She was very experienced, and needed Mike. He was her relief pitcher, she said. She was a baseball fan.

Mike met Gina at a party in his junior year. They were both twenty. Born in the same week, she two days behind him. It was rare for Mike even to be at the party, which was thrown by a fraternity that a buddy of his was in.

Mike saw Gina across the room. She stood out to him. He had seen her before on campus, but had never spoken to her. Now, he was smitten and, being a guy who liked direct action, he walked directly to her. She saw him coming, as she knew he would. He put out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Mike. I'm just as in love with you as all these other guys."

She smiled at him. She said, "Not more?"

He laughed. "Now that you've spoken to me, yes, more."

They danced and laughed with each other. Gina turned down several guys who asked her to dance. Women also asked Mike, but he declined. Gina was impressed with Mike. She was a woman who was known around campus as an easy lay, if not an outright slut. Mike was aware of that. So, at first, he came to her for possible sex. But as they talked and danced, he changed his mind. Of course, he still wanted her in his bed. But, he liked her a lot. She was very intelligent, quick witted, and she could dance better than anyone Mike had gone out with. Mike was a good dancer, and appreciated a partner who could keep up with him.

In short, the two of them were sympatico from the git go. (That could be a country song - 'Sympatico from the Git-go.')

At eleven, Mike and Gina left the party. They both wanted what they wanted, and ended up at his place, in his bed. They were as good a fit in bed as each had expected. Maybe better for Gina, since Mike, while obviously attractive, was not nearly as big a guy as she was used to 'dating.' Not as big overall, and not as big downstairs - average. Yet, she found that she was far from disappointed. Very far.

He went down on her like an expert, and when he entered her, he was able to bring her off quickly, often and with intensity. Something about his angle of approach, maybe, she thought. When she could think again. Soon enough he was erect again, just lying next to her. So, she mounted him and fucked him slowly. That was something they both loved. Neither of them had had much to drink, but they were each besotted anyway.

Gina was surprised -even shocked - by her sexual experience with Mike. She was admittedly a slut. She was a rich girl from outside Philly, and she had vast experience with men and sex. Way more than most twenty-year-old women. She simply loved cocks and the men that went with them. Her mother was also that way. She thought it was maybe heredity. But Mike, this average looking guy with a quick wit, was her best ever. Go figure.

Mike was also astounded by Gina. He had heard rumors about her. Mike had had many women, including many very sex ones, experienced and older than he. He'd learned a lot since Tomas gave him Doris. But Gina was his age and kept up with him, no hesitation, full on lust.

They wore each other out and fell asleep. When daylight came, they did as well - before during and after their shower.

The party was on Friday night. Sunday afternoon, they came up for air, and took a walk around campus.

They talked again. Mike explained his majors, economics, finance and computer science. Gina was impressed. She was pre-law. They both got all top grades. The walk ended with them sitting on a bench outside a student union, where they talked some more.

Once a guy came up to Gina. He was a big black fellow, and he said, "Gina, are you free tonight? I have tickets to a Hayden concert."

Gina smiled at the guy and said, "Sorry, Bobby, I have other plans." She and Bobby both glanced at Mike. Bobby looked quite disappointed. So much so, that Mike made sure that his feet were firmly on the ground beneath him, in case he had to get up real fast. But Bobby walked off.

Mike looked at Gina. "A friend of yours?"

"Yes. Mike, I have quite a few guy friends. Bobby's a nice guy and he really is into classical music. He also plays on the football team."

"But you turned him down. Don't you like Hayden?"

"I like Hayden. I like Bobby. I like football players. But...I like you more." There was a pause. "I can't believe I said that, but it's true."

Mike was overcome with emotion. He said, "Not to move too fast, but, you and I could be a thing."

She smiled. "Oh yeah! Oh, I'm sure we will."

And they were a thing. A month after they met, Gina was living in Mike's apartment, and never spent time at her dorm. They were a couple. So much were they a couple, that when Mike went home for Christmas break, he did not visit any of his usual women. Or any women at all for sex. And, although they had not discussed it, Gina was also abstinent during the holiday break. She was close to giving in one time, after a night out with old friends, but she didn't. When she didn't give in to William Stokes, III, a man with whom she had a long sexual history, she had a realization. She was in love with Mike.

However, she knew herself, and she was far from certain that she could be faithful and exclusive, even with Mike. She decided to see how it all went in the next semester - living with Mike, and being in the direct way of all that temptation.

It went well. Gina's former lovers on campus came to understand that she was now in a relationship. Most were okay with that. Two weren't. But Mike discouraged those two, in separate incidents, off campus.

Gina, herself, was seldom tempted, since she couldn't get enough of Mike. The two did lots of things together. One thing they did was study at the apartment. Mike was interested in her law courses. Gina was interested in the computer material. So, they helped each other. Gina thought that Mike was the smartest person she'd ever met, including her genius father, who made all that money.

Mike thought Gina was the smartest woman he'd ever met, with the possible exception of Rita Palotti. (Mike understood that Rita was taken, and off limits. But, if she had been free, Mike would have been very interested, despite the age difference. He envied Paul.)

When summer came, they decided to stay on campus, and take courses, in order to graduate early. Gina had done that before, and could be finished in December. Mike would need until June, but wouldn't have to lay on as much academic work during the regular year. Mike didn't have to go back to the neighborhood. Most of his business was done remotely, either by computer or phone. Once in a while he had to go meet someone back home. He took Gina with him in July, for the Fourth. There were always fireworks at the schoolyard, and he wanted Gina to meet his folks, and his older 'friends.'

Gina was apprehensive. She was a trust fund baby, and had not spent time anywhere that was as 'real' as Mike's neighborhood. But she fit right in. Mike's parents loved her. The four of them had a nice dinner on the third. She and Mike openly shared a bed at the house. On the Fourth, Mike took Gina to see the Palotti's and Tomas. Tomas left his fourth wife at home, to cook. The five of them ate lunch and talked. Mike made it clear that Gina was very important to him.

Gina, braced by her good experience with Mike's folks, was outgoing and attractive. After the lunch, Tomas, Paul and Mike went for a walk around the area. They wanted a small business talk. Gina stayed with Rita. Gina really liked Rita. And Rita reciprocated. There came a time when Rita asked Gina, "What are your intentions toward my young friend?"