All Mixed Up

Gina was at first taken aback. But she understood that Rita and Paul looked on Mike as a sort of son. She said, "I'm all the way in love with him, Rita. It's been that way since I first danced with him. I wanna marry him and have his kids."

Rita smiled, "You're a very intelligent girl, Gina. He's a gem. If I wasn't with Paul...."

Gina had seen that already. She smiled right back at Rita.

Rita said, "Gina, you're a very attractive woman. I'm sure you've had a lot of experience. I wonder if you can give that up."

"I wondered that as well. Mike isn't my usual type. Big and built. That's why we're together now. To see. So far, I have had absolutely no inclination to stray. I believe I can be faithful. I will."

Rita nodded. She said, "And, it helps that Mikey is so very good at sex. I know. I've heard."

Gina said, "It sure does help. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Then the guys came back inside.

Mike and Gina went with his folks to the fireworks, and then to the local social club. There was food and drink and dancing. Gina was popular as a dance partner. Mike didn't mind, except that Tomas took some liberties during a slow dance. Gina whispered in his ear, and he desisted.

After they got back to his folks' house, Gina said, "Tomas is a hound. You should have warned me."

"I didn't think he'd.....well.... It was good the way you handled it. What did you say?"

"That I loved you, and would always be faithful to you, even when I was dancing with the hottest guy in the room."

Mike looked at her. He smiled, "You're quite the package."

She laughed, "Speaking of quite the package, Tomas had that."

Mike said, "So I heard from his third wife."

"Why would she tell you that?" Gina said it with a mock cross look.

"We were in bed at the time. With his permission. She told me he was bigger, but I was better." Mike smiled again.

"Maybe she lied, though." Gina was having fun teasing him. "I should check it out, perhaps. After all, turnabout is fair play."

"You don't have my permission. He was done with her. I'm not done with you." He lunged at her and tossed her onto the bed. He didn't care that his folks might hear. Neither did she. She knew that Tomas would age out before she was tired of Mike.

The two were married a week after they graduated, at age twenty-two. The wedding was a blast. It was in a country club outside of Philadelphia. It was a golfing wedding weekend. Even Paul and Rita played that day. Not well, though. But they had fun. The idea came from Mike. He had met Gina's family. Her dad was initially reserved when they first met. But Mike spent the weekend with all of them, and concentrated on Phil, her dad. He had convinced her mother, Colleen almost as soon as they met. Colleen was a very sensual woman, as mentioned. Gina had to warn her off Mike, eventually. She let the flirting go on for a bit, though. She could see that both Mike and her mother enjoyed it. Phil maybe not so much.

Mike and Phil took a walk after the golf, the day before the wedding. Phil asked Mike about his prospects.

Mike said, "Mr. Caldwell, I can take care of your daughter. I made money while I was in school. I'm going to pay for her law school. I have a financial consultancy business, and I'm good at it. Anyway, I signed the pre-nup. I'm not after her for her money. Far from it."

Phil said, "Call me Phil. I asked before. I insist. I worry about....you made so much money at a young age. Is it.....legal?"

Mike said, "Yes." That was the truth, more or less. So far as anyone could prove, anyway.

Then Phil said, "Okay. Okay. One more thing. You're a lousy golfer. You need some practice."

Mike laughed. He said, "When I do spend time on something, I usually get good at it. I'll play you a round this time next year."

Phil was surprised. He said, "Deal!" And off they went.

The honeymoon in Bermuda was great. And when the year was up, Mike and Phil played a full eighteen, to a flat-footed tie. They didn't play an extra hole. The bet was a push.

Mike put Gina through law school, and she was pregnant when she graduated. She passed the bar, and worked for a while at a firm doing real estate settlements. Easy work for a mother. She got pregnant again. They had a son, Timothy. Now a daughter Ella. Mike was in a position to work from home, so he could let Gina go back to work. She got a position with her current firm, worked her way up, and was now a partner. She was one of four, and the newest. But she had great court presence and her share was equal to the others because they needed her. But, she didn't need the money, only the validation. Mike was very rich by the time Gina braced him about her date. So were all his clients. Paul was gone, a heart attack at seventy. Rita still lived in their row house. Tomas was still going strong, on his fifth wife, who had lasted way longer than the rest.

But now, Gina had flipped out at age forty-seven. Both her children were out of college, and doing well. Mike was relaxed and happy, until she shook him to his core.

Mike had noticed Bradley Dubois at the law firm holiday party. Gina had mentioned that she was working with him. She put no special emphasis on it. Her work hours increased, but that was because of the tort case - she said. In part, though, it was due to long lunches. Nothing sexual happened until Bradley confessed his love - or lust - for Gina. Then they hugged and had a kiss, outside the car in a park. But Gina broke it off. She was hot for Brad, but she was not about to cheat on Mike. Mike and her family were her life. Brad was a diversion. An attractive nuisance, like they taught in law school. An inviting swimming hole with hidden rocks. She knew that she had to consider the entire situation.

Meanwhile, Mike was uneasy. He had seen Gina and Brad at the holiday dance. Brad's wife had seen the same. They were at the same table, watching their spouses dance.

Mike said, "Blanche, do you guys....?" She was a very attractive woman, a red-head with a full figure, in a great blue dress.

Blanche said, "Are we in an open arrangement? No way. I can see some problems, that I hope won't develop."

Mike replied, "Me, too. I'll keep an eye out. You as well."

"Okay. Deal." She looked at him more closely. She was impressed. She said, "That's a nice suit. You....you look very good in it. How long have you two been married?"

"Twenty-four years, about. You?"

"Six. Two children. I don't want any problems. You talk to her, and I'll talk to him."

Just then the music stopped, and the two lawyers returned to the table. Brad was a bright guy, but was unaware of the undertone of the continued conversation at the table. Gina was not. She and Mike went to the dance floor when the music took up again. He smoothly moved her away from their table.

She said, "Nothing to worry about, Mike. Okay?"

"If you say so. Blanche is worried, though."

"I....she...the guy is very attractive. But I have you and I wouldn't trade. You should let her know that. Ease her mind, because I do have to work with him."

"I'll do what I can. Perhaps you could speak to Brad. I'll ask Blanche to dance."

When the music paused, Mike and Gina went back to the table. Blanche and Brad were having a lively conversation, which stopped when the others walked up.

The music started and Mike held out his hand to Blanche, while looking at Brad. Brad nodded, and out onto the floor they went.

They had a nice fast dance, and got into it a bit. Blanche was a good dancer. Better that what Mike saw from Brad, who just clutched. When the music switched to a slow one, Mike smoothly pulled Blanche to himself, and they immediately swirled around slowly. She put her head on his shoulder. She whispered, "Maybe he'll think twice."

Mike said, "Maybe I will, too."

She laughed. She said, "I see how much you love that woman. It's heartwarming."

They walked back to the table, where they interrupted a discussion between the other two. When the evening ended, Mike opened the cab door for Gina, and waved to Brad and Blanche.

Gina said, "Do you think she married him in part because of his name?"

Mike laughed. "They're from Minnesota, not Tennessee."

Gina said, "That would be N'walins. I apologize for the dance. But you gave it right back to me."

"Not you, babe. I trust you. To him."

She smiled. She thought to herself, 'He's so nice, but I need to keep myself in check.'

When they were home, Mike decided to be proactive. As Gina dropped her dress onto the floor, he made his move. He was very strong, and he lifted her into the air and whirled her around before depositing her onto the bed. He was on her and had her panties off in a trice. She was laughing and squirming, making a half-hearted try to get away. But she failed, much to her benefit....and his. There was a storm first, and then a small lull was followed by a steady stream of high level pleasure for both of them.

After, Gina was thinking about how great sex between them had always been. And she also had thoughts about Brad. She felt a little guilty about it, but it was only after they were finished, when she began to wonder how long it would take Brad to make her come as hard as she just had. There was the fleeting feeling that she'd like to find out.

Mike said, idly, "I know you have some randy thoughts about that guy. And I know he has the same for you. Are you....safe?"

Gina didn't lie. Fudged is how she'd have put it. She said, "He's young, big and quite attractive. But I'm fully aware of all that, and I won't allow any play time. At all."

"Okay. Just remember your promises, Gina."

"I will."

Yet the long lunches began in February. The declaration of lust was in April. Mike was aware of all of this. Unbeknownst to Gina, or anyone else at the firm, one of her partners, George Bivens, had been a long-time client of Mike. And so, Mike asked him to keep an eye out, and he agreed. Neither of the men wanted the business relationship to become public knowledge, though. Their communications were done by burner phone.

Mike had also spoken to Rita and Tomas, along with one of their younger associates. A youngster was sent out to get three cheap phones from the convenience store. They set up a code. It was a numeric scale, representing the amount of physical damage to be inflicted. Tomas' associate had several youngsters with bicycles keep a watch on Bradley Dubois, and record his habits. The kids watched before and especially after school. An older guy took the lunch shift.

Mike knew that Gina was falling into temptation. He was aware of the kiss. And he was aware that that was the only sexual contact between the two.

The kiss was three weeks before Gina's declaration. She had decided that she couldn't cheat on Mike. But she had also decided that she deserved some time alone with Bradley. A new cock. A bigger one, too, after all these years. She didn't believe that Brad could give her the great sex she had with Mike. But, she wanted to have another, younger man. For a while. Not so long. So, she came up with the open marriage thing. It wasn't ideal. She had often worried about Mike's feelings for his attractive secretary, Ellen Grove. She saw a chance that, given the hall pass, Mike might get in far deeper that she felt comfortable with. Ellen was divorced, thirty-eight, with two kids in school. She had worked at Mike's office for eight years, and it was obvious to Gina that Ellen wanted Mike and vice versa. But Gina knew that Mike wouldn't stray. He was a man who kept his word, and he had made her a promise.

Still, the temptation of Ellen was the one way Gina thought that she might get Mike's agreement. What a fool she'd been. His stoicism in the face of her proposal showed her how far from the truth she'd been. She had no idea what Mike was thinking, or what he would do. She was unwilling to simply put the plan aside. Now that it was in the open, she intended to push the matter. Except.....she might lose Mike. She might have already lost him. She heard the front door close, and his truck start. She cried herself to sleep.

Mike went to his office, where he had a cot. He watched an early season baseball game, and fell asleep. Too many swings for the fence, not enough stolen bases or hit and run plays.

When Gina woke in the morning, there was no Mike next to her. No Mike in the house. No Mike expected back anytime soon, if at all. It was Tuesday. She got up and discovered that he had taken his razor and toothbrush, his jeans and shirts. His running gear. He must have been expecting something, because he hadn't had time to pack up before he left after her speech. She thought about things, and realized that this last insight was the first systematic thought in her head - about this problem at least - for some time. Yet she had always been a systematic thinker, almost like a chess player. What the fuck had happened to her?

She decided to do an analysis of the situation, as if she were prepping a case for court. Just to see if she could again become herself. Analyze backward from what she knew. Put yourself in the opponent's place to see what he (yes, he) might have seen and reacted to. Finally, what choices would the opponent have made, and why? And what choices could she make?

Mike was cold, and exhibited no emotion in a situation where he should have been shocked and either angry or very sad, or both. So.....he had had time to ponder the situation. He had known something, at least about her fooling around with Brad.

How had he known? She thought. The holiday party, and his interaction with Blanche. From that time, he must have been on alert. She knew him. If he was worried about Brad, he would have taken some action. What would he have done? At that point, he couldn't have been sure that she would fall to Brad. In fact, he probably thought she'd get over it without him having to do much. But he would keep an eye on the situation.

How? His neighborhood buddies. They had a lot of resources. That meant that he probably knew about the lunches, and even the kiss. Still, that was a long way from what she had actually done to him. He could not possibly have anticipated her speech. Because all she had done was some lunches and one not very sexy kiss.

What else would he do? Oh, shit! He'd have something ready for Brad. Or, maybe not. Maybe...maybe he had considered that if she strayed, he would just leave her. She rejected this. If it were true, all was lost in terms of her marriage. So, she had to act as if Mike wanted to save the marriage. One way to do that would be threats. He could just say that he would tell Blanche, and ruin Brad's family. Or he could threaten divorce. She saw that both of those apparent solutions were not really solutions. In each instance, if successful, he would have secured her continued fidelity via a threat. He wouldn't see that as a way to have a satisfactory relationship with her.

He had decided that all he could do was watch the situation and do nothing. Maybe if she and Brad had headed for a hotel, he had someone to stop it. Maybe someone to serve her divorce papers right there.

She concluded that, even when he was surprised by her jump to a proposed open marriage, or a date with infidelity at the end, he could only watch, and see what she did. She knew he wouldn't beg. No begging, no threats. That left what he did - nothing. But geez, his version of nothing was icy cold indifference. It left her....floating on a sea of uncertainty.

She called in sick for work that day. She moped around the house and cleaned everything. A calming task. Mike didn't show. She left a message on his cell asking him to come home and they'd talk. No response.

But Wednesday she dressed for work and went in. A chipper Brad met her at her office door. She ushered him in. She was late. It was already ten am. When the door closed, he went to hug her, and she pushed him away.

He said, "What? Do we have a date or not?"

She said, "Yes. So far. But, I told my husband that we were going out, and we'd have sex."

He colored up. "You...Christ, he'll tell my wife. I'm fucked."

She actually laughed at him. "Not yet." She paused. "I couldn't just lie to him, Brad. I love him. I offered him a hall pass. An open marriage. He's over half in love with his secretary. I thought he'd maybe go for it."

"Did he? What did he say?"

"Nothing. He said and did nothing. He was completely impassive. I ran up to the bedroom. I was so frustrated. I expected a reaction. Later he left. It seems to me that he had stuff already packed."

"Maybe he went to sleep with the secretary."

"No. He already had a plan. But he couldn't have known that I'd tell him I was going on a date."

Brad was not stupid, but also not as bright as Gina or Mike. He at least knew his limitations. He said, "What do we do?"

"Nothing for now. I still want you. I'll see about the date. Maybe...we can still go."

"Please, Gina. I don't want Blanche to divorce me. She'll do it if she...."

"Nah. You have young kids. She'll forgive. In time. We just monitor the situation."

They did their work. But Brad was antsy. So was Gina, but she was better at hiding it.

Gina was alone again Wednesday night. She called her dad, and explained. They had a long talk, during which he upbraided her in very unflattering terms. At the end, he said, "That man loves you, Gina. And you used to love him. Maybe you still do. You'll have to let him know that."

Thursday at work, Gina and Brad decided to cancel. Gina said she'd go see Mike, if she could find him. She said that if he was with his secretary, she'd fuck Brad until the sun shone.

Thursday night Gina went to the country club, where Mike always played pinochle in the evening. She got there at eight, just as the game was to begin. Sure enough, there he was. He looked at her with the same impassive face as before. The other players watched this.

Gina said, "Mike, could I have a word?"

Mike walked past her, outside to a patio. He turned to look at her, lifted a brow.

She said, "I called it off. I'm sorry, Mike. I finally thought in an intelligent way about the situation from your perspective. I put you in a bind. I see that how you reacted means that you still want to be married to me. The old me, at least."

"Is the old you still around?"

"Yes. Yes." She started sobbing and ran to him. He held her, patted her on the back. She cried. She said, "I'm so sorry. I went nuts. I'm so sorry."

He held her tighter. They skipped the card game and went home. They went directly to the bedroom, and did their level best to put the entire matter behind them.

On the way home, Mike considered what to do about the message 'six.' He decided that Gina need all his stock of forgiveness.

Brad was a softball player. It was the spring season. He had a mixed league on Tuesdays that Blanche played in. He had an upper-level men's league game - doubleheaders - on Thursdays. He was the captain and coach of that team. He was responsible for collecting the weekly money, because it was pay to play. When the games were over, he had to stay and turn out the lights on the field. He had the key to the light box. He did that same routine that night.

He made his way back to his van after the lights went out. No one else remained in the parking lot. Two masked figures dressed in dark clothing, with hoods up were waiting for him at his truck. One stepped out behind him as he went to stow the equipment bag. That person used a sap on Brad. Brad went down, but not out. He was stunned. He felt hands taking his cash envelope. Then he felt the kicking start. Ribs, ass, nuts, the a few to the face. Not a word was spoken. It ended just as fast as it started. He was in tremendous pain. He lay there, groaning for some time. Then he was able to get to the rear of the van. He sat on the truck, taking stock. He was missing a tooth, and his scrotum hurt like hell. His ribs seemed to be displaced, somehow. He looked for his phone. Gone. His wallet. Gone. He found the truck keys and managed to drive himself to the emergency room.