Change

Things became a lot clearer that night when Darlene got home from work.

She rushed around and made us a great dinner. Tina wasn't there and Darlene said she had some studying to do with her boyfriend and would be home late.

After a great dinner, she asked me if I wanted a beer or some other kind of drink - mixed drink, maybe?

"Ah, honey - now that I'm home with you I don't need anything alcoholic. I am just as happy as can be."

I thought I heard her say under her breath something like "you're going to need it."

Then louder, "Joe, you KNOW how much I love you, right? After your homecoming I also hope you know how much 'in love' with you I still am, right?"

I'm just a country boy, not real bright in all kinds of ways - but I didn't have a good feeling about these questions Darlene was posing.

"I love you too, Darlene - and more now than when we were first married. And if by 'in love' you mean sexual desire - well, it's there. It was ALWAYS there - and I never even looked at another woman the whole last year...you didn't look at any men, did you, Darlene? Honey?"

Darlene got real red in the face. Then she started crying a bit but I could see her pulling herself together.

"Joe, I want us to be together just like this the rest of our lives. But with just a little bit of a change. Nothing that will affect our love, our life together, in any significant way."

Here she took a big breath.

"At the start of the new school year, I noticed one of our new teachers had the same name as this boy I once knew in high school - Archie Millikins. Then Tina came home one day and was just raving about her new English teacher - Archie Millikins. I couldn't help wondering if it was the same boy. I mentioned that coincidence to Tina and she told him about it. About a week later he had to come to the district offices and he looked me up. It WAS my Archie and he was real excited it was me - the girl he used to know and actually date. We started having lunch together about once a week and really just when it was convenient for both of us, having to be in the same area by happenstance.

"Joe, he was my first. You KNOW I wasn't a virgin and it was Archie. And he was the only one. We only did it a few times and it wasn't that great back then. Our shared inexperience and all. But it was memorable and a cherished memory. I don't know if I really loved him then, but I know I had a crush on him. The only boy I ever felt that way about - until the first time I saw you. We never really broke up, except that Archie's family just moved away halfway thru our senior year."

"Well, I'm ashamed to tell you but those feelings started coming back to me. Joe, Archie is such a great guy. Smart but never snarky. Witty and charming in a kind of shy boyish way even now when he is our age. And we went out one night for a dinner and drinks and just talk - but we ended up in bed. I had two drinks but I wasn't drunk. I wanted him like I wanted him back when we were in high school."

I started to interrupt - point out she wasn't a teen girl in high school anymore but a grown woman, a mother, and a married grown woman. But I held my tongue and just looked at her.

"Joe, I did feel so guilty afterwards. I had cheated on you and I didn't really know why. I loved you when I did it. I wanted it to be you but I also wanted it to be him - and he was the only one there.

Uh, I tried but I just couldn't stop seeing him. He kept telling me he still loved me. He had always loved me, even when he was dating other women and the one time he got married himself."

"Okay. You couldn't stop seeing him while I was gone and you were all alone...is that what you mean?"

She turned red again and looked down. In a small voice she said, "I still can't stop seeing him. Not forever. I didn't see him this whole weekend, but I still want him. AND I want you. I can't help it. I can't help my feelings. Oh, Joe - what are we going to do?"

Indeed. What are we going to do? I needed more info.

"How often do you see him? Do you get together."

More blushing. I didn't know a woman could GET that red in the face.

"Every night, Joe. Basically he has been living here the last two months. We've been very discrete about it. He still has his apartment as his official mailing address."

Ah, discrete my ass! No wonder I was getting such strange feedback from so many different people! This woman was delusional.

"Oh, so Tina knows...does she approve?"

"Tina likes him, Joe. I think you will too, after you meet him..."

"Oh, I'm SURE I will." Sarcasm never helps but I literally could not help myself.

"So, I guess you want me to move out?"

"No. No! Joe, I want you in my bed right here just about every night!"

Just about. Interesting.

"So Archie moves back to his apartment?"

"Joe, you are going to think I'm crazy but I want Archie to stay here, too. We can just rent a room to him as far as everyone else knows. You get me first Joe, almost any night you're home. Just occasionally I might sleep overnight in Archie's bed, when you're here. Normally Archie and I will have our private time whenever you are NOT here. You won't be deprived of sex, Joe - EVER. I'll make love to you the same day Archie wants me if you want me to. Archie understands this and agrees with it. I'll do you and Archie at the SAME time if necessary to fulfill your needs. It's my total commitment to you and to us."

Time to stall a bit. Never go off half-cocked, my daddy taught me.

"Wow. This is all quite a shock to me. Can you give me the rest of the week to think this through and decide what's best - for all of us, me, you, Tina, even Archie? Will you promise not to get together with Archie before Sunday, say? Maybe then we can all meet and discuss it all reasonably..."

Maybe I was so calm because, basically, I WAS all fucked out after this past weekend. Also this all wasn't a total shock. Many of our conversations in Kandahar had been about relationship angst caused by overseas deployments and long absences between significant others,

Also, I had not been totally truthful in stating I had never even looked at another woman. There was a woman in Afghanistan, Lisa, who was about 35 years old and worked for Blackwater in some non-security job - "just paperwork" is all she would say - who looked a lot like Halle Berry at her best but only better, to me. AND she was the sweetest truly stunning woman I had ever met and talked too. She was always very friendly to me and was interested in my life in Tennessee. She was from Atlanta. Nothing ever went beyond just pleasant companionship but I always thought there was a spark there...but what did I know about it? I wasn't a Romeo and never was.

What did I want now? I was thinking I'd give my marriage one final chance. Maybe Darlene would regain her sanity and some smarts this week - and end it totally with Archie. Maybe. Somehow I doubted it. I think she would try to pussy-whip me into agreeing to this...thing. Polyandry co-husbands?

Then I made some alternative just-in-case plans and started a few balls in motion...

All-in-all it was a pretty good week for me. Lots of sex. Blowjobs - GOOD blowjobs - every morning. Thursday night she insisted I fuck her anally. It was OK for me while she acted like it was the greatest thing for her. Somehow it didn't feel as tight as I thought it would - that I had always heard it was. I was just glad I didn't hurt her. She had often liked a finger back there, before, but it gripped my finger really tight all those times before I went away. I always thought it would be a challenge getting my penis in there - but it basically slipped right in with the lube she prepared herself and me with. It actually ended up feeling looser than her vagina. But I did get off myself and felt very relaxed, afterwards. My new life was just chock full of surprises. She scampered right out of bed afterwards and cleaned herself off real well and then came back with a warm washcloth and towel and cleaned me very well, too. Then sucked on my cock some more. I couldn't imagine a real high class whore doing any better. Isn't love wonderful?

Tina and I didn't interact much the rest of the week. I think I understood her smirking now. I guess, somehow, I'd lost her respect as well as love. It made we wonder how Darlene really felt about me? How other people felt?

Friday night I asked Darlene if her mother knew about Archie?

"Well, sure, Honey. You know how close I am with her as well as Tina. Us Clayton girls all stick together..."

"So she doesn't have a problem with all this - what you're proposing?"

"Well, she did at first, of course. We all talked about it for quite a bit. What would everyone else in town think about it? She sure stressed the "discretion" part, since Archie would probably get fired if it all became public knowledge - not that he needs the money, of course. His family is pretty rich. He just really likes teaching and kids."

"Irma didn't question what I would think about it?"

"Well, Mom knows how much you love me - and how much I still love you! And she knows how level-headed you are about all the practical things, so, I guess not."

Irma Clayton definitely wore the pants in her own family. Not her husband. He was a nice guy but almost came across as timid. They were both about sixty years old, but Irma looked like a well-preserved fifty, while Herb Clayton looked and acted like a not so well seventy year old. I was now guessing Irma's definition of "love" was along the lines of "total control for me and total submission for you my Dear Hubby." Darlene had never shown the same tendencies, thank God, before now.

But this discussion helped me formulate both a strategy and tactics to get the second best outcome for us all.

Sunday night was the big meeting - after one final fantastically good fuck with Darlene that afternoon. With a promise that "tonight will be unforgettable for you sweetheart!"

I bet it would. She wasn't backing off her grand utopian plan, apparently.

Archie drove up in his excellently preserved or restored 1967 cherry red Corvette. Having money IS nice - because I was betting he paid top dollar for his ride - rather than doing the work himself.

Archie was a couple inches shorter than me, about 5'9" and he was nice and slim. Probably weighed about 160 or so. He had great hair and he WAS very handsome cute. Like a Brad Pitt or Rob Lowe. And he had that kind of grin that could have been interpreted as a smartass smirk but could charm any (well, most) bad feelings away instantly. I bet he WAS a hit with the ladies - most ladies. Certainly he was with my wife. She grabbed him and hugged him as soon as he came in and blushed again pretty deeply. I got the impression she wanted to throw him down and fuck him right then and there - but she DID control herself and only pecked him on the cheek. Then introduced us. He offered and I shook his hand. This was an after dinner meeting and Darlene immediately said, "you two big guys sit down and relax. I'll get the drinks."

She had asked me what my favorite alcoholic beverage was now, and I HAD kind of gotten hooked on whiskey and coke - like JD or whatever was handy. She bought a large bottle of JD and a case of coke for our pantry the next day.

She brought me a large whiskey and coke and glasses of wine for Archie and herself. She made my drink strong, tasted like. She sat down next to me and nervously tried to get us all relaxed and talking. So we talked about nothing much at first. Archie asked me a lot of questions about my time in Afghanistan and he was pretty easy to talk too. After I had gotten halfway thru my second large stiff drink, I decided to get the ball rolling.

"So, Archie, I guess I have you to thank for my new extremely sexy and skilled lover wife?"

Darlene blushed and said, "No, Joe - it wasn't like that...he just helped me release my normal natural sexuality, if anything. That was all."

"Really? So, I held you back all these years? You were a naturally great deep throat cocksucker and just needed that talent released? You never choked or had any discomfort the first times you did it on Archie, I guess - since it sure wasn't with me..."

"It felt good doing it to Archie, from the beginning. And I also love doing it to you now, too. I wish I HAD done it all along with you. You didn't hold me back, at all. We just didn't do it. Maybe - I don't know - just didn't THINK about doing it..."

"But Archie DID think of it. Way to go, Archie. I thank you. I really do." I raised my glass to him.

Everyone drank some more of their liquid courage.

Darlene decided to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. She had had four glasses of wine by now and was feeling pretty good. I'll bet she was wet - with her two lovers both right in the same room with her. So, "talking about it makes me want to do it. Joe. Can I do it to you, right now, right here? Please?"

"Maybe. How about Archie, though? Don't you want to do it to him? I know you do. Go ahead, do it!" And I winked at her. She blushed again, but went right over and kissed him on the lips deeply. LOTS of tongue. And she was rubbing his crotch at the same time. He had a noticeable bulge. I watched dispassionately. It was just kind of interesting to me, now. Maybe my only chance for a mini-orgy threesome ever, with a stranger woman. Because in my mind Darlene was a stranger woman, not my wife. My wife was gone - had disappeared somewhere the year I had been gone. Maybe this Darlene was just a pod person like in that real old horror SF film, "The Body Snatchers."

She fished his cock out and before it disappeared down her slurping throat I saw enough of it to be impressed. It wasn't pro porn quality/quantity - but it was definitely bigger than mine. A little longer but quite a bit thicker. Only a little diameter increase in any cylinder actually translates to a BIG circumferential and volume increase.

Yep, no wonder Darlene's holes didn't feel all that tight to me, as I kinda expected just subconsciously after a year of rest from my intimate attentions.

After slurping away for a while, she turned to me. "Take your cock out honey, I want you, too!" And she came over and kissed me deeply. Well, I was pretty drunk by now and thought briefly "kiss her after her sucking on that guy's cock????" But only briefly. Thinking had left the building, or I just sent it away. So I experienced my first - and last - orgy.

We did it all. Even a DP with Archie in her front and me in her rear. I came first. Well, Darlene came first and then constantly. I got the definite impression Darlene LOVED Archie's equipment, he was the star while I was one of those "and in a supporting role..." types. Then Archie took my place back there and he came too. While Darlene then had her own final and simultaneous orgasm. We were all pretty exhausted by then and practically passed out from everything. The booze. The sex. The emotional tension. Darlene really got off on Archie and his cock, though. I noticed that. I hoped she would be happy with it alone, hereafter.

Oh well. One orgy was enough for me. I wasn't about to live a "swinger's life" or "open marriage" or just be one of two husbands. Like Seinfeld said once when offered his own little threesome orgy (though two women for him!) "I don't like velvet! I'm not going to start wearing silk pajamas and velvet robes all the time. Not happening!" Pretty smart guy for a city slicker, I thought.

The next morning I told them my decision. Just not quite everything that decision entailed.

"Honey, I DO love you more than anything. And I'll do almost anything to make you happy and satisfied, even this kind of relationship. But with just one minor change that really changes nothing that you want. This is the way it has to be. It's simple. We get divorced and then you marry Archie! And then after that I'll be the one renting the room and move back in here. You will still get what you want - the two men you love and who both love you. OK?"

She looked a little puzzled. "But why do that, honey? It's all set and fine just as it is."

"Well, a couple of reasons. Good reasons. First this was all such a shock to me this week I kind of jumped the gun and did something maybe I shouldn't have. I signed up for another year with Zapotec and I am flying out again Wednesday."

"What?!?" She gasped.

"It's another big pot of money that can only help us ALL in the long run. Plus, well, you guys haven't been all that discreet after all. Lot's of people I reconnected with are acting funny around me. I'm pretty sure they know - at a minimum - you were cheating on me. Now if Archie becomes well known as the other man - he's probably going to lose his job and maybe even his teaching certificate - morals clause and all that. But THIS way - it's just "true love" and me even "abandoning you" that justifies it. Your reputation is saved and so is Archie's! And no one gives a crap about my reputation in my career. See how it will all work out so good? We just split the house - on paper - in the divorce and you keep all money we have in the bank. No big deal at all. And ultimately we'll all be together and enjoy a whole lot more of last night's fantastical unforgettable sexual ecstasy!"

Was I good or what? I didn't mention my 401K and that was the one thing I really wanted protected. I'd try to get Darlene to NOT get her own lawyer but just sign what my lawyer prepared with those basics we had just discussed. The new - and very stupid - Darlene would probably do just that. Meanwhile I was headed back to Kandahar and just prayed Lisa was still there. And if not, all the rules had been changed and I was going to hit on anything and everything I could anyway. Who knows? I might get lucky.

And I did. Get a tad lucky. Maybe those SAS folks had the right idea: " who dares, wins!" Lisa was still there and we had a fling. Everyday sex again and it was very good sex. Lisa and I fit together real well. She WAS tight and hot and wet. A tight wet is really good, plus she had that muscle squeeze thing going for her unconsciously as she approached orgasm. It was amazing how her own squeezing was right in sync with my own emission pulsations. And that feeling is almost indescribable. Alas, all good things must end and she headed back to Atlanta and her fiance permanently. She made it clear "us" was over but maybe some just not intimate friendship might remain possible in the future. I hoped so. I liked her as a person just as much as I loved her as a sexy woman.

I still skyped and emailed with Darlene but that was like a joke to me. She kept declaring her great love for me as the divorce proceeded pretty quickly. Yeah - for once, thank God for "no fault" divorce. Maybe the very first chink in her utopian dream occurred when Archie dropped the prenup on her.

"I'm so sorry Baby, but my family insists. All of us HAVE to have prenups. And they are all pretty much the same - protecting our shared family wealth and trust fund. It doesn't mean I don't love you and don't expect to be married to you forever!" He declared with all his boyish charm and sincerity. Shoot, Archie may even have believed it himself. Who knows with a boyish charmer and cold blooded wife stealer?

I didn't hear much from Tina. She did let me know she was getting married to Todd and she wasn't waiting for me to get home. She WAS waiting for Mom's marriage to Archie so that Archie could walk her down the aisle. That almost hurt me, a little. OK, it did hurt but I elected not to dwell on it. Luckily I still had Lisa at that point to help me forget it all.

Lisa knew a little about what was going on, but I spared her most of it. I was too embarrassed for Darlene to actually tell Lisa the whole "two husbands" thing. Well, I was embarrassed that Lisa might think I was such an idiot for marrying Darlene in the first place. But Darlene really WAS a lot smarter and nicer back then! Really. Then the counter argument might be - what did you do to her to make her so stupid? I didn't think I did anything, but it IS hard to prove a negative...