Astray?

Dear reader.

There is no explicit sex in this story. This was just something that popped into my mind while walking.

Every resemblance with the real world is coincidental. It's all made-up by me.

SouthernCrossfire still has the patience to edit my stories for which I am grateful.

SC, thank you so much.

____________________

Anna Clipham was contemplating her husband and her marriage.

Sitting comfortably in a beach chair, she was overlooking the lake on a warm Friday in May. At 31, she had been married for five years to Frank after they'd met at the annual party of the company they both worked for. They decided several months before that it was time to start a family. but Anna was hesitant and here she was at the company party for the seventh time, still with no children in sight.

Anna was a happy outgoing woman, working as the receptionist at their firm. She wasn't a beauty as defined by the leading fashion magazines, but she was nice looking and her demeanor made her be noticed and appreciated by the people around her.

Her husband, Frank, older by four years, was a down-to-earth man. Practical, self-made, and very smart, he was also an endurance athlete, not afraid of participating in a marathon or a Kennedy Walk. His first job at the company, beginning when he was eighteen, was as a digger of trenches. Through self-study and hard work, he now managed several teams working in the field, working mostly on major projects from fiber optic internet to electric power grids, even up to complete infrastructure systems. Frank was responsible for the planning and execution of the works. He also was an instructor and coach for people who were studying at the company's training-center. Part of his success and popularity was that one day a week he still had his boots in the mud.

Anna didn't feel happy and now was thinking about Frank and her marriage. Do I love him? Yes! Without a doubt. But he isn't all that exciting. He's predictable and you can depend on him. Is he a good lover? Certainly. In fact, he was always ready to rock her boat and knew precisely which oars to pull.

However, Anna didn't want to settle for predictable; she wanted to be excited again and that was what her new supervisor, Carlos, brought her. Now she was seriously thinking about a fling with him before motherhood began.

Carlos had told her, during a coffee break, that a monogamous marriage wasn't normal anymore and that men who kept their wives from exploring their sexuality were just cavemen. She should do with her body what she wanted because it was her body, not that of her husband. As the coffee breaks with Carlos became more frequent and she continued listening to his thoughts, she'd slowly started to withdraw from her husband

A short way down the embankment in front of her, two of her colleagues sat in chairs seemingly oblivious to the fact that the wind blew their words to Anna to hear. She perked up when she heard her husband's name. Now, suddenly, she became curious.

"Did you take a good look at Frank Clipham?"

"You mean, when he was in the lake? Oh yeah. Now he is a sight to behold. Isn't he ripped? And did you see what he's packing between his legs? I really would like to find him between the sheets."

"Did you hear that Ginny from accountancy almost literally offered herself to him? He didn't even seem to understand what she meant and she is absolutely stunning."

"And not only because he has a good body, he's always so nice, always helpful and friendly. Even if he is management, he always makes time for you. And he doesn't have eight hands like that sleaze Carlos from the reception team."

"Yeah. Well, we can only dream of Frank. He is very married to that receptionist, that blond one. Wonder what he sees in her?"

"I don't know, but it seems Carlos likes her, too; he's been spending a lot of time with her."

"Well, I'll be the first in line for Frank if that sleaze gets his way with her."

"I don't know; you may have to fight me for him," said the second woman with a laugh

Anna was shocked at those words and at the revelations she overheard, so she started to pay more attention to her husband. She watched as he emerged from the lake, water dripping away as his muscles rippled under his skin from his movements. His name was called then; he made small talk with two men she knew were from the ground force. They laughed, Frank punched a shoulder, and then he walked on toward her chair. As he did, he was approached by a woman. She asked him a question and he wrote something on a piece of paper. The woman smiled from ear to ear when they parted.

When Frank arrived at Anna's chair he beamed and asked, "Are you having fun, dear?"

Anna just nodded, her mind running in circles. Luckily. before she had to say anything, Frank was distracted by another woman who came up and asked him, "Excuse me, Frank? Why did you refuse to participate in the 'employee of the year award?"

Frank answered, "Because I think it's utter nonsense. Why do we need a competition and an award to become good employees and be nice to one another? That should be common practice."

The woman looked thoughtful and took off.

====

That evening, on the dance floor, Anna was claimed by Carlos. He ground himself against her in the slow dances and she could feel his hard dick throbbing against her thigh. She saw Frank looking disappointed but she didn't care. What she didn't see was Carlos smirking at him.

At the end of the evening the CEO asked for everybody's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the awards."

There were a number of awards of various types, but it was at the end of the evening when the 'Employee of the Year award' was announced.

The runner-up went happily back to his seat. Then the winner was announced and called on the stage.

The young man was visibly embarrassed when the CEO handed him the plaquette and his check before shaking his hand. The winner whispered something to the CEO, who nodded his agreement, and then took the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we all know that I wouldn't stand here if Frank Clipham had allowed his name to be placed in the competition box. This afternoon, Nancy asked him why he didn't and the short of his answer was that the goal of the competition should be common practice. And people, Frank leads by example. There are very few people in this hall who didn't ask but still got good advice, a motivating word, or a direction to wherever they needed to be from him and when they really needed it. Frank, where are you?" the man called out.

Frank was forced to his feet. He actually dreaded this attention, but his assistant relentlessly went on. "Frank took me under his wing like so many people in our firm. He is always approachable and even now he works one day a week with the ground force because he needs to be 'grounded' so he can't forget what he is asking from these people. Frank, this ought to be yours, so I've decided that the plaquette will be in your office and I will donate the check to a charity of your choice."

Frank sat down abruptly. Tears formed in his eyes but his ordeal wasn't over. The CEO took the mike again, "This ends the official part of the day. Now we have an unofficial part. The employees had another vote. The popular vote for colleague of the year. Everyone who voted donated money for a charity of the winner's choice and the company doubles that. Without any ado, the winner is Frank Clipham!"

Under much cheering, Frank was pushed to the stage. He was handed the money as the CEO shook his hand and whispered something in his ear. Frank nodded and then stammered, "I am overwhelmed. I don't know what to say and I can't tell you what this means to me. Thank you has to suffice. Sorry." Then he went back to his table.

Anna sat at another table, sneakily being plied with lots of alcohol disguised in sweet tasting cocktails by Carlos sitting next to her. Under the table he was holding her hand, occasionally caressing her inner thigh. Carlos was muttering something about 'idiots'.

Frank looked around, trying to find Anna in the crowd, but he didn't spot her and she didn't go up to join her husband.

There were two more dances and the festivities were at the end. Again, she didn't dance with Frank but with Carlos. He ground his hard member against her mound, leading her to become wet from the man's desire. When people started to leave, he whispered in her ear, "Leave the wimp. Come with me!"

She almost caved. She wanted to say yes when Frank appeared with her coat and an unhappy look on his face. She had a change of heart and said to Carlos, "Later."

Fifteen minutes later, they were in the car with the ninety-minute drive ahead of them. For a while they rode in silence, with Frank behind the wheel, silent and brooding, and Anna looking out into the dark. Nothing had been said between them, but suddenly Frank spoke and shocked Anna out of her reverie.

"You know that I love you, don't you?"

Anna just nodded affirmatively.

Frank went on, "I've noticed during the that last couple of months you don't seem to be happy with me anymore. You're getting more and more distant and when I try to talk to you, you give me the proverbial cold shoulder."

He looked sideways straight in Anna's eyes and asked, "Do you want a divorce? I don't want to stand in the way of your happiness."

His words hit Anna like a missile and exploded in her mind. She stammered, "Where does that come from?"

Now the genie was out of the bottle Frank felt relieved and answered with more conviction and strength in his voice. "Your behavior tonight was the last straw. You ignored me the entire evening and didn't even join me when they handed me the awards. Even now you don't contradict me right away. No, you don't have to answer now. Tomorrow, I'll go on a hike so that you don't feel pressured by my presence and that will let you have time to think and decide. When I come back, we'll talk and we have to make a decision."

After arriving at home, Frank said, "I'll sleep in the guestroom. I'll be leaving very early. Good night."

Again, Anna was shocked to the core. She also was a bit drunk and feeling very horny. What just happened? she wondered. We're not sleeping together tonight?

Before she could object, Frank disappeared into the guestroom. A few minutes later he emerged again to collect his walking gear from his cupboard and then he was gone again.

When Frank walked out of their bedroom, Anna felt as if she had been stabbed. She tried to sleep but sleep avoided her and she started to re-play the events from the day in her mind. Suddenly, she remembered the little conversation between the two women and the comment about Carlos. Also, the alcohol started to wear off and she began to think more clearly. What would have happened if she had indeed gone with Carlos instead of her husband? It was too much and she was too tired; she finally drifted off into a restless slumber.

At 3am, she woke with a headache, feeling nauseous, and with a dry mouth. She quickly got out of bed and made it just in time to donate her stomach contents to the sewer gods rather than all over the floor.

Relieved, she went into the kitchen to look for some paracetamol. On the kitchen table stood a glass with two dissolved tablets, a pitcher with water, a small vase with a few sprigs of wild flowers in it, and a note.

I'm out. You'll probably be looking for this.

Next to the note were Frank's keys and his cell phone.

Anna started to sob; this was not how she wanted it. It had all gotten out of hand, all because she wanted some excitement. While she waited for the painkiller to do its work, she started to think why her marriage almost became derailed.

It all started very innocently with Carlos making flattering comments on her hair. Then came the compliments on how sexy she looked. Lots of compliments.

After a month Carlos invited her for a cup of coffee under the guise of a performance review. Slowly he began whittling away the image she had of her husband, turning Frank into a shallow-minded, boring person. At the same time, Carlos bragged about his visits to the museum and the theater, showing how worldly and exciting he was. Under this barrage, Anna forgot things Frank had arranged for her, like the champagne breakfast in a hot air balloon.

Finally came the subtle caresses. First, he touched her hands and then the sensitive inner side of her arms before finally touching the nape of her neck. She didn't object, and, in fact, had come to enjoy his touches. Looking at it in hindsight, she suddenly realized how dangerously close she'd been to killing her marriage, if indeed, it could still be saved.

How, for Pete's sake, could I have been so stupid?

The headache abated a bit as she thought it through. Frank wouldn't come home for a while so she went back to bed to try to get more sleep.

Anna woke up to the sound of the land-line ringing. Looking at her alarm clock, she saw it was 10 o'clock. She picked-up the receiver and answered, "Frank?"

The reply came not from Frank but from Carlos! How had he gotten her private number? She pushed the record button and stammered, pretending to be still half asleep, "Why are you calling me? It's my weekend off."

Carlos' answer was smooth. "I just wanted to check to be sure that husband of yours didn't do you any harm, that he left you alone. He didn't seem very happy yesterday evening. And now that we're talking about that, neither did you."

Anna was wide awake now. Again the memory from the conversation between the two women surfaced and she decided to put an end to her flirtation with Carlos. "Why would Frank harm me? And yes, he left me alone. He's out hiking."

"Shall we talk about it over a cup of coffee? I happen to be in the neighborhood."

Wanting to end the call, Anna replied, "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"I insist. I'll be there in half an hour."

Thirty minutes later, Carlos rang the doorbell. When Anna answered, he said, "I really wanted to see if you are alright. If I can believe the grapevine, your husband is quite a neanderthal." Even as he spoke, he was ogling her body under her thin dressing gown.

Anna became upset and shouted, "My husband is not a neanderthal! He is the kindest man I know, present company included. Now get lost! We'll have a serious talk on Monday morning in the presence of someone from HR."

"You don't want to do that. I'll deny everything or tell them that you lead me on," threatened Carlos. "After that, I'll make your life hell at work."

Anna slammed the door shut. She checked whether their smart doorbell recorded everything. Then she came to a decision. She had been so stupid to fall for the sly talks from that creep. Now she had to make it up to Frank. But how?

She started with shredding the strips with her birth control pills. After that, she crafted an IOU on the computer to be printed on a card. It said,

Everything.

My body, my soul, my loyalty and my love.

On the other side she wrote, Please forgive me for being so stupid and for being such a witch for the last 5 months. The man short circuited my brain and I let him. She signed it with her name.

When done, Anna felt an enormous relief and a freedom like she had freed herself from the web Carlos had weaved around her. Finally, she came up with an idea how to convince Frank that she had so much regret and that it would never happen again.

It was 6pm and Frank had still not returned. Anna became worried.

At seven, he finally staggered inside, looking apprehensively at Anna.

Anna was anxious too. She was wearing her dressing gown again, but this time, she was stark naked under it, to show her breasts with the prominent nipples on her dark areolas and her short-trimmed bush. She wore his favorite perfume and a touch of make-up.

Seeing him, she ran into Frank's arms, kissed him and whispered, "My behavior, the last few months and specifically yesterday evening, was inexcusable. I know that you are too tired to let me show you how much remorse I have. That will come tomorrow if you still want me as your wife. But I promise that I am yours. Body and soul, forever." And she gave him the IOU.

Frank's face lit up despite being completely worn out. He whispered back, "I was so afraid of losing you to that creep yesterday."

"That creep will get his due. For now, you stink and need a bath but first I have soup and fresh baked bread. We'll take a bath afterwards. Then sleep. And don't you dare use the guest room."

They sat together in the bathtub, with Anna positioning Frank between her spread legs. She was washing and massaging every part of him she could reach. When she came to his penis, she softly stroked it and cupped his balls with her other hand while pressing her breasts into his back. She said seductively in his ear, "This morning I shredded all the strips with the pill. I'll be ovulating soon now. These beautiful parts of you will have to perform then."

The next morning, a Sunday, Anna woke to the glorious feeling of her husband's arm around her and his hand on her breast. She reached back and started to massage his penis. Soon after they were making love. Frank still was tired so Anna, on top, did all the work. Sated, they started to talk over the breakfast Anna had prepared the evening before.

Anna explained that Carlos started to work on her from the beginning and how she called it, short-circuited her mind. She told him how Carlos had set out to diminish Frank's stature very subtly, how he'd started to seduce her. She told what the women talking at the party had said about both men and how Carlos had tried and succeeded in getting drunk. Finally, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she told of how she'd almost given in but hadn't only because Frank had been standing there with her coat.

"Carlos didn't give up, though. He came here this morning and, when I wouldn't let him in and told him to go, that his hold over me was finished, he threatened me. I got it on the doorbell camera."

Frank took her in his arms and held her as she cried, apologizing and asking for his forgiveness. "It's okay, sweetheart. We'll get through this together."

When the tears ended, Anna looked at Frank and asked what the CEO had said to him.

"He wants me to come to his office tomorrow morning to talk about the possibility of me becoming the manager of a new division, that of water-management. It will be a big promotion if it goes through. You'll be here with me for it, right?"

"Definitely," she said. "Always."

Their lips connected and Frank picked up Anna and carried her back to their bedroom. Later that afternoon, he called the CEO to discuss the proposed new division and, more importantly, to file a complaint against Carlos.

Epilogue.

Carlos had been fired that same day Frank had his phone conversation with the CEO.

The following day, Frank and the CEO met and set the wheels in motion to establish the new division Frank would head. Three months later, the division was operational and its workload was growing. However, on this particular morning, Frank and Anna were going to be a few minutes late getting to work.

They were looking with amazement and happiness at the third pregnancy test Anna took to be absolutely sure. That test showed, just as the other ones, two stripes.

They were going to be a family!

.The end