Carrying On Ch. 04

"I figured," Carl said seriously. "Listen, we need to talk. I just want you to think about..." I cut him off with a raised hand.

"No lectures," I repeated. "Unless you've come to drink with me or to tell me that Becky and Lauren are the best of friends once again, I'd appreciate being left alone."

"They're working on it," Carl said. "They've been having mediated discussions, with Jeanna as the mediator. Things are improving and hopefully will be back to normal soon."

"Good to hear that progress is being made."

"Now you can come home and stop all of us worrying." Carl sounded like a parent admonishing their child. "We've been worried about you, off somewhere pickling your liver and not giving a fuck. How the fuck are we supposed to get things back to normal if you're off going rogue?"

"I'm sorry that you guys are worried, but everything is being dealt with. If Becky and Lauren are coming around like you say, then when they get their shit together, Becky and I will sort through our bullshit."

"Does your plan of fixing things involve drinking yourself stupid?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it does at the moment. That is my professional opinion, in case you were wondering."

"Well I hope you guys fix your issues quickly, because I'm getting tired of it all."

"Really?" I rounded on Carl quickly, venom dripping with every word. "We aren't having 'issues'. She threw her fucking wedding ring at me and basically told me to go fuck myself. Things are looking pretty grim for Becky if they don't sort their shit out. Come find me when they're ready." I turned back to my drink, ignoring Carl as he stared at me.

"I didn't know she threw her ring at you," Carl said softly. "Nobody ever told me what happened. I'm sorry bud. I'll... uh, I'll leave you to it." He stood, patting me on the shoulder before heading for the door. I thought about apologizing, but dismissed it. Carl would forgive me in time and I was less than willing to give a fuck right now.

"Sam!" I called, lifting my glass. "Whenever you get a chance."

***

Two days later I returned, sitting in my customary spot near the end of the bar with drink in hand. The place was fairly quiet, being a weeknight, and Sam was able to sit and talk for a bit. We had grown close over the past week or so, talking about life and the crazy adventures we'd had. I told him of my time overseas, while he regaled me with stories of growing up in Maine. From what he told me of the winters there, I'd stick to watching it on TV.

Carl and Tyler came and sat down next to me, one on each side, and ordered drinks. I wondered briefly if they only showed up here to harass me and get free drinks, but dismissed the notion. I knew deep down they kept coming back because they were worried about me, though I had told them to stop. Things were fine, I was just working through my problem as so many other had and will do. Can't they just give me some God dammed peace and quiet?

"Andrew, I know you don't want to hear it, but..."

"Then why are you saying it?" I asked, cutting Carl off.

He looked at me, seeing the pain and alcohol in my eyes. I saw him register that he wouldn't get through, the hurt in his eyes. He had probably come to admonish me again for drinking my problems away, but I was having none of it. He finished his drink and ordered another, sitting in silence and not looking at me.

"Drew, how goes the soul searching?" Tyler asked, stealing a cigarette from my pack. He grabbed one for me as well, lighting it and handing it over.

"I think I'm making progress, though I suspect it will be for nothing."

"Why?" Carl asked. "Why go through all this if it's for nothing?"

"Well, the best laid plans never survive first contact with the enemy. Once I compare what I have found against what Becky has found, things may turn drastically different than I expected."

Carl gave a small laugh and turned to me. "You wouldn't know what the hell she's thinking because you're not there. You don't here the fighting between her and Lauren while they try and work out their problems. You can't here her sobbing at night, wishing you would come home and tell her everything's all right. You wouldn't know how torn apart she is, because you're not there!"

"Good!" I nearly yelled at him. "Then she can feel what she fucking did to me."

"Is that what this is all about?" He asked. "Are you punishing Becky for hurting you? Because if so, she's been punished enough. Now you're just being petty."

"Listen fuckstick, this isn't about punishment. This is about me finding out if she really wants us back together or if she's gonna stay mad about this forever and leave it hanging as a black stain on our relationship. If she can't admit that she was wrong and make amends to those who she wronged in the process then how can we progress further? I've already left a trail of destruction in my wake, we don't need one from her as well.

"That might be an understatement," Carl said.

"What, about my trail of destruction?"

"Yes. It's more like Hiroshima after the bombing, though who cares right? As long as you're in drunken bliss, it's not your concern what happens."

"And who, pray tell, am I harming right now, aside from you?"

"Becky, Lauren, Jeanna and Tyler for starters. I could continue with family members if you'd like."

"No need, I can see how my drinking is harming them by proxy, I guess."

Carl stood, finishing his drink and looked at me, then to Tyler. He shook his head as Sam walked by. "Sam, I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" The bartender asked.

"For this." I knew what was coming. He cocked his fist back and hit me square in the jaw. I gotta admit, though he doesn't look like it, he has some power behind him. I was nearly knocked off my stool, grabbing at the bar to prevent my fall. Fuck, that hurt. I grabbed the bar napkin from beneath my drink and spat blood into it, the metallic taste strange as it mixed with the residual whiskey flavors in my mouth.

I looked back at Carl, who had paled slightly. I'm sure there was hatred burning in my eyes, though I didn't feel it in my soul. He had hoped to put me on the ground, that much I could see. When he had failed, he expected me to retaliate. I had no such intentions. Things were bad enough right now and I didn't need bad blood between us. I looked at Tyler, who sat there in shock at what had just happened.

I could feel the rage starting to boil just beneath the 80 proof. I wanted so bad to hit him back, to make him understand what he had done, that there would be a retaliation. I knew, though, that it would only make things worse. It gave me some comfort to see the knuckles on his right hand had turned red, and were no doubt hurting him. He had caught me good and my jaw ached, but making this into a big deal wasn't going to fix anything.

"Well, now your drinking has hurt everyone, and you," Carl said, turning to leave. "Think about that for a while."

I looked at Sam, who stood there dumbfounded. He had been sure I was going to strike back, which would have necessitated him throwing out his best new patron. I think, at this point, I was keeping his bar in the green single handedly. I called his name, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Sailor Jerry please, Sam," I said, handing him my credit card. "Leave the bottle."

***

It took nearly a week, but I finally decided to head home. Carl had really knocked some sense into me, literally. My jaw had stopped hurting, to be replaced with my internal organs as my body fought to reject the vast amount of poison I was dumping into it. I hadn't checked my account, but I was sure I'd be working a lot of overtime to pay off the bills to Sam's bar. Tyler had been outside when I pulled up, sitting on the porch, in the freezing cold, smoking a cigarette and looking at something on his phone.

He didn't say anything to me when I got out of the truck, just grabbed my bag and slapped me on the back, that big smile of his radiating now that I was home. Carl, Jeanna and Lauren were sitting in the living room, with Becky off in some other part of the house. They all stood up and came to say hi.

"Sorry about the smack I gave you," Carl said. "I figured if you wouldn't respond to words, maybe actions would help."

"Well, good thinking," I said, rubbing my jaw. "I'd have never known you could nearly knock my ass onto the floor with that skinny ass frame of yours." Everyone giggled and Jeanna leaned her head on his shoulder. "Definitely got a good arm on you."

Becky had heard us talking and had come out of our room. She saw me and came running down the hall. Tyler hadn't been fast enough to move out of the way and had been shoved aside by her shoulder. She jumped into my arms, letting me spin her around. We shared a kiss and I held onto her as I addressed the rest of the group.

"What's for dinner?"

We had Jeanna's famous spaghetti, which Carl might have actually been more in love with than he was with Jeanna. He had three plates, wolfing it down like a prisoner about to face the electric chair. We talked about what everyone had been up to since I'd been gone, leaving the stressful bullshit aside. There would be plenty of time to deal with that later.

After dinner we went and sat in the living room, curling up with our respective spouses while Tyler and Lauren sat in the chairs. The TV was on, but nobody was really watching it, preferring to sit quietly until someone brought up what we were all thinking about.

Time to fix all this mess.

"So Becky, I take it you and Lauren have worked everything out between you?" I asked her.

"We have," Lauren said. "It was rough, but we got down to the heart of the matter and are better for it."

"Yeah," Becky added, "I understand that I freaked out over nothing and have done what I can to fix it. We're all good now."

"So, just so we're clear Lauren, no more sleeping in our bed. If you need to sleep next to someone, go invade Tyler's space." The others chuckled while Tyler protested.

"Why do I have to share my bed?" He groused.

"Oh come on," Lauren said, "You're just hoping that I'll share all this," she indicated her body with her hands, "With you." The rest of us had a good laugh at that.

"Carl," I said, turning toward him. "Thanks for knocking some sense into me. With that said, next time I will hit you back. I know how good your medical is, so I'm not worried there." He chuckled and nodded.

"Don't worry, only in extreme cases will I poke the bear," he said.

"Guys, I'm sorry I've been AWOL these last few weeks, I just had to let things settle out here. Y'all had to fix yourselves before I could come back, because I cannot be objective around you guys. I needed space to clear my head..."

"And wreck your liver," Carl added.

"...Before I could come back and make sense of this. I hope that, in time, you'll forgive me."

"Of course," Jeanna said. "Though we hate to admit it, you're like the glue that holds us all together."

"Not glue," Tyler said, "he'd eat the glue. More like duct tape."

Through the laughter I reminded him that we were both Marines, and that he would probably beat me to eating it. This caused more laughter. It was good to see everyone laughing again. We talked for a while longer before people started turning in for th night. I stayed up for a while with Becky not wanting to leave my side. We cuddled in silence for a while, holding one another close and enjoying being back together.

True, all was not just magically fixed, but some things could wait until tomorrow. Tonight was about a reunion. A reunion of love between my dearest Becky and I. She snuggled into my chest, her head resting in my lap and her hand tracing back and forth along my pants. I wanted so badly to take her, right here and now, damn who would possibly see us. I had other plans, however. Tomorrow I had some errands to run and some minor modifications to make to our bedroom.

***

Becky had gone out with Jeanna to get groceries, a task which I profoundly hated. While they were out I headed into town to find what I needed. A trip to the local hardware store got me an anchor bolt as well as a length of chain to attach to said bolt, which would then be attached to the ceiling. I then went to the only adult store in town.

Being the only source around to find adult related items, aside from the interwebs, had given them an advantage. They seemed to get quite a bit of business, judging from the lack of many available spaces in their considerable parking lot. I went in and was assisted by a kind young woman who reminded me of Lauren. She showed me where the outfit I was searching for was, assisted me with the appropriate size for Becky, and held it while I picked out a few more things for her.

All told, I left with the schoolgirl outfit, a few vibrators and one that had a remote control, all for a reasonable price. The lady had been skeptical at first of the person I was buying it all for, until I showed her a picture of Becky.

"Damn!" she exclaimed. "I might have to borrow her some time." She gave me a wink and a nudge.

I smiled. I hadn't failed to notice that the Good-Looks-Gods had been kind to her. "Good luck. If she'll have you, it won't bother me at all."

"Where might I find her?"

"Trying to set something up already, huh?"

She grinned, her face turning a little toward the red side. "Just inquiring. You never know what fate has in store."

I smiled, though her comment about fate had thrown me off a bit. "Smokey's."

"What about it?" She asked.

I said no more on the subject. She was persistent, but I wouldn't divulge anything more. She kept pestering me about it while she helped me find toys that Becky might like.

When I was on my way home, I sent a text to Becky, asking how their trip was going. She said they were out doing girl shopping and would be back in time for dinner. I tossed the phone into my cup holder and smiled, cranking the music up louder. My plan was coming to fruition with almost a concerning level of acceptability. I had thought this would take at least the better part of the day to get done, dodging Becky so she had no idea until she went to get changed after dinner, as she usually did.

I got home and found Tyler playing video games. I stopped to watch on my way back to the bedroom, seeing him get mercilessly owned at some first person shooter. He swore as he got killed, his assassin running past him to find the next target. He hadn't heard me come in and I startled him.

"After three combat tours, I kinda expected better of you."

"Jesus, man," he said with a start, leaning back on the couch. "Scared the hell outta me. Where you been?"

"Shopping for Becky. Something special for tonight," I said, showing him the bags. His face became a confused mass when he saw the hardware store bag and the unmarked black bags.

"Where did you say you kept the earplugs?" He asked.

***

Becky made meatloaf for dinner, not quite as good as Jeanna's cooking, but still fantastic nonetheless. Tyler told us about his upcoming interview at the refinery and Carl and I decided to set some time aside to coach him on what they're looking for. We cleaned up dinner and most people headed off to get comfy for the evening. I watched Becky head toward the room. If the sway of her ass was any indication, she knew I was watching and was hoping I would join her.

In good time, my dear.

I gave her a few minutes and then went into the room. As I figured, she had taken the outfit and headed into the bathroom. I took the opportunity to get comfortable myself, removing my shirt and exchanging pants for shorts. The bathroom door opened, sending tendrils of light into the room around the shapely shadow of a female body.

If anyone else in the house was listening, they might have heard my jaw hit the floor. The schoolgirl outfit was the perfect choice, the extra small button up top was tied around her midriff, the lack of a bra all too apparent. The plaid miniskirt was so small that it barely covered her waist, let alone her ass and pussy. She wore a tight pink thong, showing off her ass cheeks when she turned around.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," she said, sticking her tongue out at me.

I picked my jaw up off the floor, smiling at her as she sauntered over to me. "You like it?" Becky asked, throwing her arms over my shoulders. "I usually wear this for my husband, but he's out of town on business."

"Well, he sure is a lucky man," I responded, playing along. "How he could ever leave you behind is a mystery, but I'm glad he does."

"What're you gonna do with that thing?" She asked, running a hand down to my crotch. I leaned forward and took her hand, bringing around the pair of handcuffs I had waiting. Her eyes went wide as she realized there was a shift in the status quo.

"Use you as I see fit."

I leaned down and clapped the handcuffs on her wrists, one at a time. She looked at me in shock before smiling at me. I sat her down on the bed, where she would be out of the way for the moment. I ran the chain I had bought up through the anchor bolt and back down between us. She was then attached to the chain so her range of motion was limited.

"Do you believe in fate, my dear?" I asked her. She trembled at the sound of my voice, the menace in it, raw and on the surface for her to absorb. She gave a nearly imperceptible nod and a slight whimper, which I took to mean yes. "Then everything that has happened was meant to happen. It was preordained and everything that has transpired to this point has done so to bring us to this inevitable conclusion."

I took in the view before me. Her brown hair flowing down her back, framing her face and stopping just shy of the middle of her back. Her brown eyes shone in the light she had left on and accentuated the sexy schoolgirl outfit she wore. I had picked it out at an adult store a few hours prior, laying it out for her along with her favorite knee high boots and a very enticing letter. She had read the letter and had been getting dressed when I had come in. Just a bit too early. I leaned forward and kissed her lovingly.

That kiss melted away all her reservations. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd never hurt her intentionally, but this was something new to her. I broke the kiss and circled around her, taking in the sight of her body wrapped in a schoolgirl outfit. When I came back to the front of her, I saw in her eyes that she was plotting revenge for this stunt.

Bring it.

"You've been a very bad girl, haven't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"You need discipline, don't you?"

"I do, sir."

"Good, don't go anywhere," I said, turning and heading into the bathroom. I grabbed my leather shaving strop and came back, seeing the look of lusty concern in her eyes. I twirled a finger, indicating she was to turn around. She did, bending over and knowing what was coming. I walked up behind her, placing a hand on one of her firm ass cheeks and giving it a squeeze. I ran my hand back and forth between them and leaned down next to her ear.

"Do you think you deserve a spanking?"

She inhaled sharply, just the thought making her move involuntarily. "Yes, sir. I've been real naughty." I gave her a light smack with the strop, her back arching at the unexpected blow. "Yes, please!" Another light smack came before I replaced my hand, massaging her ass gently. "I've been so bad, I need to be punished."

"Yes, you have been," I said, giving her another smack. "You must recognize your failing," smack, "and be sure to correct it."

"I will sir," she whimpered, "please." I rubbed her ass again with my hand, running my finger down to check the condition of her womanhood. Soaked would be an understatement. If this was any indication, I'd need a rain slicker and possibly an Ark to get through this.