Castles in the Sky

She was getting dressed, he'd deliberately left time as tight as possible so she wouldn't spot the potential trap. He'd separated her from Briony earlier so that the chances of them collaborating were as low as possible. He wanted her to feel love bombed and appreciated, secure and then he could enact his little ploy. He didn't want her with Briony wondering what was going on. He got Briony to dress up, telling her that they were meeting up with Lou's family for a nice meal.

He heard the organ music swelling and he looked over at the family and friends that had assembled for the celebration. Louise was well represented, by her family and by her teacher colleagues. Briony's family were there, he'd greeted them earlier. He'd seen Briony scowl at them as they walked into the church. She knew when she saw where they were what was going on. She couldn't complain, but the look on her face when she realised her family were in on it had told a story. James was happy to have them there, he'd always got on with them as well as Louise's parents.

Briony had gone to the front of the church, a smile plastered on her face for the world to see. James, who knew her better, could see that she was dying inside at being part of this. It felt good, seeing that look on her face and knowing she would have to stand there and see the woman she loved, pledge herself to a man all over again. It was satisfying.

The last month or so had been damn difficult. He'd spent time talking and planning with Nita. He was excited again about what the future held. He loved his wife, he really did. But there was serious payback due for what she'd done to him for the last ten years. Briony had lived in the house rent free basically banging his wife whenever he was away. Louise had enabled it. Sure, she'd kept her wedding vows, she'd not allowed another man into her life. She'd fucked around with a woman, cuckolded him with a woman instead of a man.

The challenge had been maintaining the façade of normality. He'd invented an issue at work that was distracting him. That had helped him. He'd found, even though his wife was cheating on him, that his sex life with her hadn't been affected. He didn't struggle to perform. He found her attractive and alluring. She was beautiful, sexy, and willing between the sheets. A couple of times he did find himself wondering if she compared him with Briony.

A couple of times he wondered if she'd ever let him watch or share Briony with him. Whether it was worth asking her. She'd had the opportunity to do that though, and never had. Because Briony wouldn't share or because Louise wouldn't, he didn't know. But she could have engineered it if she wanted to and the fact she hadn't suggested that one or the other wasn't into it.

He looked at Nita stood next to him and got a smile in return. He'd asked her to be there, to be his Best Man. He wanted her down here, stood next to him. He wanted everyone to see her. She looked radiant in a colourful and elegant sari, bedecked with gold jewellery and her toned belly exposed to the world. She grinned back at him. She knew that this ceremony marked the start of their lives together and she couldn't wait. He knew she wanted him.

He wouldn't do anything until he changed his wedding vows. But once he had, oh boy was he going to have fun. He'd have his wife four days a week in Letchworth and then when he returned to Manchester he'd be with Nita, enjoying her charms. He was powerfully attracted to her on a physical level and she made him laugh, made him think, made him want to be a better man. She completed him as Louise did. She was the Ying to Louise's Yang for him.

He knew that he'd have to get Nita pregnant, just as she knew that she'd be sharing him with Louise. He wasn't going to leave Louise. Maybe one day Louise would decide to leave him, but he wasn't going to be leaving her. Nita had to be alright with that. She said she was, and he believed her providing he could get her pregnant and give her the child that she craved. He was looking forward to it. Consummating his relationship with Nita and becoming a father as well. The idea of having a child with her was compelling, she'd be a hell of a mother and he knew how much it'd make her happy.

He turned to the back of the church as the organ swelled and his wife walked in on the arm of her father. Even at the distance he was, he saw the adoration on her face as she was walked down the aisle and it wasn't difficult to smile at her in return. He could feel his heart beating as he watched her walk forward to join him. He saw her look for Briony and give her a huge smile as she saw her stood there with a matching bouquet. Briony got that look and then Louise's attention was back on her husband and her lesbian lover watched in envy.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Louise knew the words of her vows off by heart, as did James and she said them without fear or reservation. He then said his.

'Louise, you're the person I love most in this life. The centre of my universe, my shining light. Never ever in the years to come, doubt the depth of the love that I have for you. I look forward to us growing old and spending our lives together. Happy and fulfilled. I pledge to look after you, to love you, to support you. To keep you in the manner that you have grown used to. To treat you as my equal partner in life, with the same respect and consideration that you show to me. Thank you for being my wife.'

He saw the tears pricking her eyes as he finished his vows. She hadn't taken her eyes off him for the whole ceremony. It wasn't just him that could see the love radiating from her, everyone in the church could see it. She was glowing with it. It surrounded her like an aura. He walked out with her on his arm into the sunlight and they posed as the photographer he'd organised captured their happy time.

He'd put on a big party and the event went off without hitch. He danced with Briony and thanked her for being there. He couldn't say too much. Part of him wanted to rub her face in the events of the day. But he knew even though she didn't suspect that he knew the truth about her and Louise; he knew that she was hurt by the ceremony. So, he was nice to her.

He made sure that he introduced Nita to Louise and Briony. It was the first time that they'd met. Neither of the Letchworth ladies had any idea that his Operations Manager looked anything like this. They hadn't placed who she was until they were introduced. Both had clocked her standing next to James, but neither knew who she was or why she was there.

'You're his Operations Manager?' All of them could hear the surprise in Louise's question.

'I work for the company, so not really his Operations Manager. Or not one hundred percent his. But yes, I run the Operations team.'

'He doesn't talk much about his time in Manchester. He's mentioned you, but he hadn't described you.' There was a tone of reproach. Nita glanced quickly at James and smiled.

'Well, dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians. Jim, you've never told your wife about me? How rude!'

James nearly spat out his drink at her words and he saw the startled look cross his wife's face.

'He talks about you two all the time.' Nita finished, working hard to keep an innocent look onto her face.

Louise laughed. 'I'm sorry. That must make for dull conversations.'

Nita shook her head. 'No, I've loved hearing about the two of you. He's a lucky man to have you both in his life. I'll have to get photos of the two of you girls together, the guys at work would love to see them.'

James had to stifle a grin as he listened to her straight-faced teasing of Louise and Briony. He could see them preen at her words.

'His reputation will be going up; I can tell you.'

'Did anyone else from the company come down? I keep meaning to come up to Manchester and see the factory. I just never seem to have the time.'

'No, I'm the only one who came down. We landed new listings last month and it's put us under pressure. We're creaking a bit trying to get the orders out on time.'

'It must be hard. You're quite a small team, aren't you? It's kind that everyone is chipping in to try and make it work.'

Nita goggled in astonishment at that remark and looked at James who shrugged.

'We don't talk about work when I'm back home. There's so much other stuff going on, things to do. You know. It doesn't come up. The two sides of my life are quite separate and I want to keep it that way if I can.'

Louise looked at her, she could see the surprise on Nita's face. 'What am I missing? Did I say something wrong?'

Nita shook her head. 'No. No. Nothing wrong. But we're not a small company. We employ over a hundred people. We're one of the largest e-liquid companies in the UK.'

'What?' Both Louise and Briony nearly exclaimed the same thing simultaneously. They looked at James who shrugged.

'Two parts separate. You guys aren't interested in what I do. The business pays the bills. You don't ask about my work or how I spend my time away.'

'How big are we talking?' Briony asked, curiosity clear in her face.

'Turnover last year was what? North of twenty mil.'

'Bloody hell!'

'Hey, don't go getting any ideas about divorcing me and taking me to the cleaners.' James said in mock horror. 'That's turnover, not profit and we've only just renewed our vows.'

'Don't even joke about it.' Came the hard response back from Louise. 'Don't even joke. I love you and I absolutely love the life I have with you.' Her gaze covered James and Briony. 'You heard my vows. You see them every time you come into the kitchen. They are the heart of our marriage and the heart of our house. You know I stick to my word. I love you and our marriage will not end with me divorcing you.'

James laughed as she finished. 'Looks like your stuck with me then. I want our new vows alongside the old ones so we can see what the marriage means to both of us. I also have no intention of going anywhere. Well, apart from in about an hours' time when we get collected by a limousine and taken away for our second honeymoon.'

He clocked the look of displeasure on Briony's face and rapt surprise on Louise's. 'Second honeymoon?'

'Yep, and it's a woozy. Two weeks of sun, sea, sand, and serious shagging.'

'Two weeks?' Briony chimed in. James smiled at the thought of her sat at home by herself whilst he was nailing Louise in the sun for a fortnight.

'Yeah, I wanted longer but that's about all work can spare me for. But when I get back, I need to catch up in Manchester. So, my plan is two weeks with you on our honeymoon and then two weeks in Manchester.'

He could see Briony working out that she hadn't lost out. She didn't know that James was going to come back from his honeymoon with Louise and then surprise Nita with a holiday for the two of them together. It was all arranged and paid for. It was his way of saying a sincere 'thank you' and to start their new relationship off with a bang.

'Oh, Wow! That's incredible!'

'I've sorted the bags out, so don't stress. It's all organised. Make sure you say your goodbyes to everyone tonight.'

James circulated around the party, speaking to the guests, thanking them for coming, making sure that everyone enjoyed themselves and had everything that they wanted.

He wound up outside on the veranda with Nita, she was grinning at him.

'Well, you did it. New vows in place. Marriage mark two now in play, you happy?'

He nodded; he could feel the effect of the alcohol.

'Two weeks to relax and make sure she's all good.'

'Then you're mine, white boy.'

He nodded. 'Yep, I'm yours.'

'You need to understand James, no messing now. Letchworth stuff stays in Letchworth, Manchester stuff in Manchester. I'm not going to listen to complaints about your wife. When you're with me, you're with me.'

'I'd been thinking about that as well. Same conclusion.'

'Good. Does she know where you're taking her?'

James shook his head, a smile playing across his lips at her question.

'Nope. It'll be a surprise.'

'It will be. Lesbos, not exactly subtle. I wonder if she'll say anything.'

'If she does, she does. It's a hotel with a great reputation, on a famous Greek isle. Plausible deniability. My money, she'll wonder, but won't have the balls to call me out on it. Anyway, I've committed to you. I've committed to her. I just hope ...'

'Shush. I know how important your marriage is to you. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardise it. I love you and I'm chuffed as nuts we've found a way to be together. I'm excited to see where it goes. I promise you, if it goes tits up. There'll be no blowback.'

'Thank you, but we ain't going to go tits up. I want you to be the mother of my children. That means we're for life, come hell or high water, we'll be part of each other's life.'

He was rewarded by a broad grin. They both turned at the sound of a knock on the door behind them. They saw Louise.

'Can I interrupt?'

'Of course, come join us.'

She nipped out and stood next to James. He hugged her close to him.

'Thanks for organising this. Everyone seems to be having a really good time. There was money dropped here today.'

'Briony seemed to have her nose a bit out of joint. I hope I haven't upset her.'

Louise shook her head. 'Briony's Briony. She'll get over it. She's happy that I've had such a magical day.'

'We need to fix her up with someone special of her own.' James said, curious to poke the sleeping dragon a bit.

'I think she's happy with things the way that they are.' Louise answered smoothly.

'I don't know, perhaps if she got laid, she might be a bit happier with life.'

'James, don't be so rude!' Nita exclaimed. 'Would you say that to her face?'

He nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

'Oh, hell yeah. I think regular sex would mellow her out. I think it should be my aim in life, getting her someone to put a smile on her face. She needs a significant other in her life. Someone to ring her bell.'

Nita was shaking her head at his words. He could see that Louise was thinking of the right thing to say.

'What makes you think that she doesn't get enough sex already?'

'I think if she's getting a regular seeing to, then whoever it is, is dialling it in. I don't think they know how to properly satisfy a woman. If she had someone who could make her toes tingle, I'm sure she'd have introduced us before now.'

Nita was struggling not to laugh at the conversation.

'She might just be enjoying herself when your away. Have you thought of that?' Louise asked.

'What restricting herself to three days a week? Purely to keep her screams of ecstasy from keeping me awake. She's never that thoughtful or considerate! Nope, I think if she's getting some, clearly the quality is low or we'd know them.'

Before the conversation could go any further, Briony popped out to join them.

'Your Limo's here.'

'Thanks, Briony.' He paused for a second, before he continued with a grin. 'Please behave yourself whilst we're away. No wild parties or boys.'

'James!' Louise scolded, hitting his arm.

'Ring me if there're any problems.' James told Nita as he moved towards the door.

'Yes, boss.' Nita replied. 'Enjoy your trip. I'll see you when you're back.'

Briony walked out with them and gave both James and Louise a hug before they got into the limousine. James watched her step back to stand next to Nita as the limousine pulled out the drive.

Chapter Six -- Four years and much has changed.

'Honey' Louise wheedled. 'We have to talk.'

James rolled over to face her. There was a faint sheen of sweat and his breathing was slowly recovering.

'The curtains again? If that's it, we don't need a conversation. Just change them.'

Louise playfully swatted him with her hand. 'Dumbass. I want to talk to you about children. The clock is ticking. I want us to start trying. It's four years since we renewed our vows. Four damn years, James. I want your babies. No more excuses, no more faffing around, no dithering or delaying. I want you to make me a mummy.'

'We're having this conversation again. Why? Don't you enjoy the life you have? Children will disrupt it enormously.'

'Babes, I love the life I have. Absolutely love it, but I want kids. Two ideally, but one will do if that's all we can manage. Don't you? I thought you wanted children. You've always said you'd like them. Come on, we've talked about this so many damn times we need to get on with it.'

'Steady Tiger, I do like children. But before we have kids, shouldn't we practice making them a bit more first. I want to make sure when we do it, we do it right.'

James rolled over closer to her and began to kiss her. She broke out of his embrace and swatted him with her hand.

'Oi. That's what happens every time the subject comes up. You take it as an invitation for a shag and we never finish the conversation. We need to talk about this. You keep longing me off, it's time to get serious.'

'Do we though? Do we need to have the same bloody convo again? Can't we leave things as they are? You say you love your life. I know I love mine, why do we have to change it? Can't we count our blessings, consider ourselves the incredibly lucky, privileged buggers that we are and move on. If kids come along, they come along.'

'James, I'm thirty-seven years old. We should've had them by now. I thought this was what you wanted. We've had this conversation so many times I feel like a broken record. I want children, when can we have them? What's the bloody delay?'

'I don't know. Life's good for us; do we really need children? Won't they be an encumbrance?'

'I thought you wanted kids.'

'Not so much anymore. I look at what we've got, the pair of us. Not only in our marriage, but the way that our wider lives fit together and I think that us having children will screw it up. That scares me, Lou.'

'I don't want to jeopardise what we have either. I love the way we are and our wider lives too. What if I promised you that it won't mess things up?'

'I don't know if I believe you'd deliver on the promise.'

'Oh, Wow!' Louise rolled over and climbed out of bed. She started to pull on her panties. James pushed himself up so that he was propped up against the headboard and watched her. She was as trim and beautiful as when they'd first met. Watching her dress felt like one of life's stolen pleasures.

She turned back to face him as she rearranged her panties so they fit comfortably. A simple move that women make, that gives men so much pleasure to see.

'How long have you not trusted me for? Hey? Since when haven't I delivered on a promise?'

James could think of one damn promise, although as slippery as a lawyer, she did have a dodge for that. He knew her well enough not to answer.

'My word is everything to me. You know that. You know me. If I made you a promise, you know I'd deliver it.'

James got out of bed and walked over to where she was stood.

'Trouble is honey, if I was the only person, you made promises to, I'd be happy. But how many other people, how many other promises are there that I don't know about?'

He walked over to his chest of drawers and sorted through to pick out a fresh pair of pants and socks and then went and sat down on the bed to put them on. She just stood, her mouth open, looking at him. Back off James, he said to himself, now isn't the time for this conversation.

'We still going to your parents for Christmas?'

Louise looked discomforted with the way that the conversation had changed.

'Bri's parents. My parents will be joining us there.'

'Oh yeah. I forgot. Briony's parents. I haven't seen them in an age.'

'They ask after you each time I go down there. They'd like to see you; they know you're important in Bri's life and she cares about you.'

'I'm an obstacle in Briony's life that she'd love to remove. Preferably with a gun, but she'd use a knife if one wasn't available.'