Best Laid Plans of Wives 'n Friends

"No...no...no! You're not doing what I asked you to do. You've fucked my husband twice..."

"Four times," interrupted Jenna, trying and failing to not sound smug.

"What!" screeched Lexi. "What do you mean, 'four times?' I only heard about the one the other night, and then last night."

Pretending to be lost in her thoughts and speaking to herself, Jenna mused, "Well, I guess it kind of depends on how you're counting. I mean, Evan's a fantastic lover. There was the first night, which you already know about. We went swimming again the next day, and we got so worked up teasing each other, that he just took me in the shower afterwards. Last night, he was like an animal. He bent me over the kitchen table after dinner, lifted up my skirt and just went to town. Then...are you sure you want to hear all this?" she asked.

"Of course I don't want to hear about this!" snapped Lexi. "You're supposed to be getting me the evidence I need, not trying to wear his dick off from overuse."

To this point, Jenna had been at least attempting to play nice with her friend. "It could be you trying to wear his dick off, you know. Nothing says you can't come home, strip down, and beg him to give you all the loving you can handle. Instead, you'd rather trick the man you say you love, so that you can have an affair with some stranger, just to satisfy your curiosity. Don't get mad at me because your stupid plan to cheat on your husband isn't working."

In the silent pause that followed, Evan wondered if Jenna was finally getting through to his wife. Do I even want her back? he thought. Jenna is younger and hotter, and she clearly wants to be more than friends. Even if Lexi comes back now, can I ever trust her again?

Her response put paid to that. "No, I'm sorry. You're right. I just thought this would be simpler and easier. It seemed so straightforward in my mind. Keep going."

Jenna reached out and took Evan's hand in sympathy. She could tell how difficult this was for him. In truth, she was wanting to reach some sort of resolution sooner, rather than later, herself.

"What if we change the game, Lexi?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the camera thing hasn't worked out. Maybe you can come home and 'catch us' in the act." Evan's head jerked up in surprise. Jenna held up a hand to forestall him saying anything.

Lexi was clearly thinking about it. "I don't know...do you think it would work? What if I come home and missed it? Then he'd want to know why I was home early. Besides, how would I know when to burst in? Are you going to pause and say, 'Just a second, I need to text your wife?'"

"Hmm. That's a good point. What if I convince him to take me up to East Point Park this evening and you catch us making out? You could claim you were suspicious and followed him. Would that work?" East Point had a reputation as a kind of open-air meet-and-greet for more adventurous lovers. Officials generally left it alone, but there was the occasional report of an arrest for indecent exposure or lascivious behavior associated with public dogging.

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything that might move this forward."

"Okay, I'll let you know when we're on our way."

They rang off, each with a different understanding of what the evening would entail. Jenna refused to let Evan in on her plan, other than to beg for him to trust her. So far, she hadn't led him astray, so he agreed to continue following her lead.

The three principals in this drama each spent the day anticipating the evening to come in different ways. Lexi was both excited and fearful that she'd finally get the proof of Evan's infidelity that she needed to go through with her plan. She wasn't looking forward to the confrontation, but she still thought this was a temporary event that would eventually be forgotten moving forward. Jenna was carefully mapping out how to get Evan to the rendezvous without exposing him to any danger of discovery from his wife. Her growing affection for Evan and disgust with Lexi had her shifting her goals from simply teaching her friend a lesson to eventually replacing her in Evan's life.

Evan, for his part, was simply growing more and more disgusted with the entire charade. Part of him simply wanted to walk away from the game entirely. To this point, he'd been the only one who'd actually done anything wrong, as far as he knew. And Jenna, whatever her motivations, was his ally in betraying the woman he'd pledged to love and support to the end of his days. He wasn't sure, regardless of what happened with Lexi, if he could trust Jenna enough to forge a new life with her, either. He certainly wasn't looking forward to any sort of confrontation with his wife this evening, but he trusted that Jenna would follow through on her promise to keep him safe.

When the time came, Evan and Jenna piled into his SUV and headed to the point. In the late summer, there was light enough to see until well into the evening. They pulled into a spot that was somewhat removed from the other vehicles in the lot, but made no move to leave the vehicle. Jenna reached over and took his hand, but otherwise, there was no communication between them.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before he saw the little car belonging to Morgan Shaw slide into the lot. As it passed by his parking spot, Evan could see that Morgan was at the wheel. Briefly, he caught a glimpse of his wife's head peeking up from the rear seat before hiding again. The conspirators cruised around the little loop without stopping until they reached the far end, where the exiting vehicles would rejoin the main road. From there, they'd have a clear view of Evan's vehicle.

"Showtime," Jenna softly said. She turned to Evan and said, "Here's what you're going to do. We're going to start making out, and we're going to start getting passionate. Then, just when it looks like we're going to start getting serious, you're going to push me away. We'll talk for a few minutes, and then you'll leave the truck and starting walking down the path into the woods alone. You have your phone? Good. I'll text you when it's safe to come back. Got it?"

Evan looked at her in confusion. "What do you think is going to happen?"

"I think Morgan and Lexi are going to think they're about to catch us, but when you leave, they're going to want to know why. I'm going to tell Lexi that you said you can't do this with me anymore, and took off. It'll just make her that much more confused."

He thought about her plan. It seemed simple enough, so he shrugged and leaned in to give her a kiss. Knowing that his wife was probably watching at that very second, he felt a spark of unexpected excitement, followed quickly by the guilt of knowing that he was kissing a woman not his wife, and why. Their kisses were getting a little more passionate, and when Jenna's hand reached for his crotch, he jerked up as if shocked. He pushed her away, firmly enough to be deliberate, but not hard enough to hurt her. "I can't do this anymore," he said.

"Good," she said with a smile. She didn't understand that his statement was real, and he didn't feel like disabusing her of her misconception.

Without another word, he swung himself out the door and stormed off. It happened so quickly, he caught Jenna by surprise. She was reaching after him, just as a jilted lover would.

He neither saw her response, nor noticed the pair of women who quickly ducked into the shadows as he exited his vehicle. When he was firmly gone, the pair approached the open window.

Jenna was turning over Evan's actions in her mind. Something about the way he'd said what he said, and the look in his eye as he said it, told her that it wasn't all an act. The thought that her dream was drifting away brought a tear to her eye. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, she didn't hear the approach of their observers until Lexi's face appeared outside her window.

"What happened?" she hissed.

Jenna jerked in surprise. Seeing Lexi's face, she suddenly felt guilty for the things she'd done with her best friend's husband. Even if it was her idea, the reason Jenna had agreed was different than the reason Lexi asked, and that was a betrayal. In the fading light, though, Lexi probably couldn't see the blush in her cheeks.

Recovering from the shock of Lexi's appearance, she said, "I don't know. He just pushed me away and said, 'I can't do this anymore.' Then he jumped out of the truck and went for a walk."

Lexi frowned. "When's he coming back?"

Jenna shrugged.

"So, the whole week's been a bust. That's just great," groused Lexi.

"It doesn't have to be a bust," interjected Morgan. "We can still hit that club on 47^th and find someone to take back to my place for the night."

Lexi still seemed reluctant. "I don't know. I swore to myself that I wouldn't cheat on Evan until he did it."

"But he did do it," pointed out Morgan.

Lexi looked at her. "We all know that, but without proof, it might as well have not happened."

"Well, then, don't let him get proof on you either. I don't see what the problem is," stated Morgan.

Frowning, Lexi looked Morgan in the eye. "How much would you pay for a random cock? Because, there's a lot of money on the line here. If he could prove that I had an affair, it would cost way more than it could possibly be worth. That's the whole point of getting Jenna to seduce him. I need the leverage or it's all for nothing."

Jenna had been taking in the conversation in silence, but she spoke up. "I don't think it's going to work anyway."

"What do you mean?" asked Lexi.

Chewing her lip, her brow creased in worry, Jenna replied, "Something about the way he said what he said, and the way he left, makes me think that he wasn't just playing along. I think he's really done."

"Like done, done?"

Jenna nodded.

"Pff," Morgan scoffed. "He's not done. He's a man. Men think with their dicks. Let me have a crack at'im. I'll get you what you need."

"He doesn't even like you," pointed out Jenna. "You know that, right?"

Morgan waved her hand dismissively. "He doesn't need to like me to fuck me. Hell, hate fucking can be fun, too."

Shaking her head, Lexi said, "I agree with Jenna. You don't know Evan like we do. Getting him to cheat once was probably about as much as I could expect. If I know my husband, he's stewing in guilt and regret right now." She sighed. "I'll be home tomorrow. I'm going to pretend that I don't know what he did and hope that it blows over. Maybe we can try a different approach once he calms down."

The women agreed that it seemed like a smart approach, and after Morgan's car left the lot, Jenna texted Evan that the coast was clear. It was a surprisingly long delay before he responded. "On my way."

Even in the near-darkness, Jenna saw the slump to his shoulders and the way he carried himself. It's all over, she thought. A tear leaked from her eye, but she hastily wiped it away before he got back to the truck.

He climbed in, and without saying a word, started the engine and began the drive back to his house. Jenna watched him surreptitiously, longing to reach over and take his hand, but knowing that that would only end up in causing more hurt. Eventually, she turned to watch out the window as the scenery flew by.

In the uncomfortable silence, the trip seemed to take longer than it should have. Eventually, though, they arrived back at the house. When Evan killed the engine, he sat for a moment, making no move to exit the vehicle. "I think I'd like to be alone tonight," he said softly. Jenna nodded in silence, then quietly exited the vehicle. She tried not to hurry, but she wasted no time entering the house; she didn't want Evan to see her tears.

Evan took a more leisurely approach, but headed directly to his bedroom, nevertheless. Closing the door and locking it behind him, he numbly went through the motions of preparing for bed. It was a long time before he fell asleep, and even once he did, it was about as far from restful as sleep could get.

He arose early the next morning, for a weekend day. Jenna was still awake before him. When he passed through the foyer on the way to the kitchen from his bedroom, he noted her bags, packed and positioned at the front door. Entering the kitchen, he saw that she was just frosting some cinnamon rolls, fresh from the oven.

She looked up and smiled at him, rather shyly he thought, given all they'd shared this week. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table. Jenna wordlessly set a plate with a couple of rolls in front of him, the icing melting into a lake on the plate. She sat down to her own plate and began eating.

Neither said much, the awkwardness between them a palpable thing.

"These are really good," Evan complimented her. "You must have been up for a while to make them."

"Thank you. It wasn't that long, but I wasn't sleeping anyway. And cinnamon rolls just sounded good."

They continued eating in silence. Evan felt like he owed her an explanation.

"Jenna..."

"Don't," she said. She reached over and took his hand. "It's okay. Deep down, I knew. I knew we wouldn't end up together."

"It's not that I don't find you attractive, and I've enjoyed everything this week with you."

"I know all that, Evan. It's in the way you look at me and treat me; you care about me. That means more than you can possibly imagine. But I understand why it won't work, too. So, I'm going to take my memories of this week and cherish them until I find someone to make new memories with."

"For what it's worth, there was a moment there when I started to wonder if it might work."

She smiled sweetly. "It's worth a lot." She stood and started to grab the dishes.

"Leave them. I'll take care of it," he said.

They each felt that the time had come. Evan stood and opened his arms for her. Jenna leaned in and hugged him tightly. They held that hug for a minute, maybe longer, each reluctant to be the one to let go first. Finally, she relaxed. Before stepping away, she reached up and pulled his head towards hers. Gently, she placed a sweet kiss on his cheek. "I do love you, Evan. I hope we can still be friends after this, at least. But if we can't, I'll understand."

Then she patted his cheek and turned away. He didn't walk her to the door; somehow, that didn't seem appropriate. When he heard the front door close, he sat down and sipped his coffee, considering his options for the first day of the rest of his life.

Lexi was a bundle of nerves walking through the door that evening. On the way home, she'd formulated arguments and explanations for as many questions as she thought Evan might ask. Of course, he wasn't supposed to know of her plan, so he might not have any questions at all. Better to be prepared than caught off-guard, though.

Pulling into the garage, she was surprised to see that Evan's truck wasn't there. She entered the house, calling for him. "Evan? Evan, I'm home." The house seemed eerily silent. She went from room to room, calling his name and looking for her husband. She made a circuit of the entire place with no luck. She pulled her phone out and checked to see if she'd missed a message, but there were none. She sat down heavily on their bed in frustration. Only then did she notice the envelope propped up on the nightstand with her name scrawled in Evan's distinctive script. Next to it was her husband's wedding ring. Lexi buried her face in her hands and began to weep.

One week later:

"You know, it doesn't have to be like this. I don't care what you did or didn't do with Jenna. It was my fault anyway."

"It's about more than that, Lexi. You may have placed the charge, but I'm the one who lit the fuse. That's on me. I could have held strong. I could have avoided the temptation and turned her away when offered. But I didn't. You could use that as an admission of guilt, I guess, if you want to enforce the pre-nup, but I don't see a reason to play coy right now."

"I don't want to enforce the pre-nup. I want my husband back," she argued. "I...Don't...Care. Hell, I'll share you with her if I have to. I just don't want to lose you."

His face softened and he gave her a little smile. Softly, he said, "You don't really mean that, Lex. And I don't want to live under those conditions, knowing that we're not enough for each other alone. That's really the thing. I wasn't enough for you, or you wouldn't have launched that plan in the first place."

"I was just curious!" she exclaimed. "I didn't want this."

Evan shrugged. "I never even got curious about other women. Having an affair never would have crossed my mind. But when she told me what you had planned...I just saw red. I couldn't understand why you'd set me up like that. I still don't understand it, but how I responded forced me to realize that I'm not the man I thought I was; that scares me."

"I could ask for counseling as part of the proceedings, you know. Any reasonable judge would see the possibility of reconciliation in our story and order it, I think. Why can't we just try it ourselves?"

He shook his head and started to speak. "I don't..."

"There's got to be a way through this, Evan! We've been together too long to throw it all away over some temporary insanity."

Quietly, he replied, "I don't think there is." He closed the suitcase he'd been packing. "I'll touch base when I figure out where I'm going to be living in the future to get the rest of my stuff."

"Why don't you just stay here?"

"I don't think..."

"You don't have to sleep in the same bed with me. We have plenty of room. You can have any bedroom you want. Or, I'll move into one of the guest rooms. It'd serve me right for starting all this." She reached out and clutched his hand in hers. "I don't want to lose you from my life. Even if we're only roommates, you're still the best friend I ever had. I need you."

He thought about it. He honestly did. "I feel the same way, Lex. Honestly, I do. And that's why I have to leave. I'm afraid the hurt and guilt would just tarnish the memories we have." He turned and began to make his way towards the door.

"Are you going to her?" she asked in a small voice. The pain he heard there almost broke his resolve, but this wasn't the time for sentimentality.

"No, I'm not. I can't trust Jenna any more than I can trust you or myself. I don't think I'll be trusting anyone again for quite a while. Maybe ever. Goodbye, Lexi."

She smiled then and said, "No, not 'goodbye.' You may divorce me, but in my heart, you'll always be my husband and one true love. It'll take more than a piece of paper to change that. I don't know what it's going to take to get you to trust me again, but I'm not letting you go that easily. You'll see me again soon. So, there's no goodbye. I'll say, 'See you later.'"

He smiled and nodded at her. Just before he left, she added one more thing. "When you get lonely, call me. I'd rather be your friend with benefits than nothing at all."

He smiled indulgently and said, "We'll see, Lex. See ya later." Then he turned and walked out.

Lexi stared after him for a moment, tears in her eyes. She whispered into the silence, "I love you, Evan. More than I even thought. I'm coming for you. And I won't stop until you take me back."

*****

End notes:

What's worse, emotional or physical adultery? Who suffers more when a spouse breaks the marriage trust? The cheater, or the cheated on? Does it even matter?

I see a lot of stories of cheating, with a whole bunch of different responses. It always seems to be the choice of the cheated on whether there's reconciliation or rejection. I wondered whether the cheater could regret his/her actions enough that it severs the relationship, regardless of the position of the spouse. What do you think?