Dirty Pool

"Come on Ese," Renaldo calmly looked at me wearing his best car salesman's grin. "We both know your wife has been eying me all night. Who could blame her Muchacho? Look at me. This Latin lover is one thrill ride that every woman wants to climb onto."

That was it. It was obvious to me what kinds of things my wife was whispering into his ear while he fingered her. Well, I didn't know exactly what she said to him, but I suspected she had made that classic seduction move telling him that she swallows.

As crazy as this all seemed, it all actually started to make some sense. My wife was behind all of this. She was the one that yanked me into the pool hall. She was the one that insisted we play at the bigger table. She was also the one that had been throwing herself at Renaldo all night.

In fact, she all but admitted that she had spotted Renaldo in that group of thugs as we came out of the comedy club. Now it looked like she was trying to make a cuckold out of me. At first she was pretty subtle about it. Even I thought she was just having a little fun. Now things were different. Now she was openly flaunting her desires so that everyone could see.

Up until a few minutes ago I wasn't so sure how far Jennifer was willing to go with this jackass. Up until she let him feel her up it seemed like she might have just been playing around. For most of the night I kind of felt like she was just teasing me by playfully toying with this guy.

Now things weren't so playful. I looked as if this whole thing had become very serious. Jennifer and put out very marriage was on the line, and Renaldo was asking me to bet my wife on a game of pool.

That fucker had some nerve, and I had no intent on giving up quite that easily. So there we stood, nostrils flaring, like two heavyweight boxers about to brawl. Angrily staring each other down. Locked in some sort of testosterone-fueled competition trying to get one another to blink... Neither of us giving an inch.

"Okay," I finally said, breaking the standoff. "Let's just say for the moment my wife would ever agree to such a crazy deal. That's one hell of a price to pay, and you've got no skin in the game. You're going to have to come up with something more if you think I'm going to even talk to my wife about this."

My thinking at that point was pure and simple. I still had quite a bit of cash in my pocket, and access to a lot more. I was sure I had access to more money than this clown could ever dream of having. I was going to try to get him to go for the cash and stop this crazy bet.

"Okay Muchacho." Renaldo grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. "Here are my entire night's winnings." He dropped the cash down on the table, and counted as he poked through it with his finger. "There's thirty-five-hundred American dollars right there. You win and you take it all and go. I win and I keep the money... and you let me fuck your hot little wife."

"Shit you must think I'm an idiot." Holy fuck I was struggling to keep my composure in this thing. "My wife is worth more than that. She would leave me for good if she found out I thought she was only worth thirty-five hundred measly dollars."

"That's the deal. Go talk to your hot little wifey over there and she will tell you to take the bet... okay Muchacho!" Renaldo's voice had become stern and commanding as he switched the grip on his pool cue to hold it like a baseball bat. Clearly, this was a threat of violence if I didn't do what he said.

Not wanting to take a cue stick to the head, I reluctantly went to the cocktail table to talk with Jennifer. When I explained the deal to her, she simply laughed out loud. Then she called me a loser again. After that, she looked over at Renaldo... smiled, blushed, and squirmed. I knew right then that any leverage I had with whatever money I had access to was worthless. I was fucking screwed.

It was clear to me, and for that matter everyone else in that pool hall, that Jennifer had her sexy little hooks set deep into Renaldo's desire and now she was just trying to humiliating me while she reeled him in.

She wasn't just engrossed with the idea of fucking another man. She wanted everyone to watch her beat me down as far as she could. She could have cared less what this kind of bet would do to our marriage, but still I plead my case, and as I did, I could barely keep Jennifer's attention. She just kept making eyes at that asshole the whole time I was talking to her.

Once I finally explained the deal was for a paltry thirty-five-hundred I figured Jennifer would be insulted and flatly refuse, but she didn't. Instead, she just sat there, not saying if she was or wasn't interested, but the look on her face told me which way she was leaning.

"What the fuck Jennifer." I quietly cried out in frustration. "Why do you have to be such a slut about this?" I had to know what I possibly could have done to make her treat me the way she was.

"Don't what the fuck me mister." She sharply responded louder than I would have liked. "We talked about this. This is exactly what you said you wanted. You said you would like it. You said it would be a pleasure to watch me do this. You even said it would turn you on. I'm sorry if you don't like how this is going, because it's way too late for you to back out of this now."

Jennifer was right. I remembered now. We really had talked about her doing this, and this was her weekend to be in charge. I was hoping she would see what this was doing to me and call it off, but I just couldn't get past one fact. I actually did tell her I wanted her to do this.

I had told her about this fantasy a couple of months ago. Back then, it was all just idle talk. I never thought it would amount to much, but there she was doing exactly what I never thought she would have the guts to do.

Now I just wanted her to stop, but she wouldn't. She just kept on flirting with Renaldo, quietly offering him her sex, and pushing me deeper and deeper into Renaldo's dime store hustle.

All I could do at this point was shake my head in disgust. Whether we talked about this or not, I just couldn't believe how over the top she was acting. In all the time I'd known her I'd never seen her like this. I tried to reassure myself that this was all just an act, but the way she was going after this guy looked far too real.

Then it dawned on me. This wasn't my wife's fault. I realized this whole thing really was my fault. I was the one who brought this up all those months ago. I was the one who admitted that it would be a pleasure to watch her do this. I was the one in control here. What the hell? Why didn't I have the sense to put the brakes on and not let this ridiculous hustle even get started in the first place?

Well I thought I was in control, but I wasn't. Not really anyway. Renaldo had instructed me to go talk to Jennifer about his outlandish offer, and I had done just that. Of course I presented his bet the worst possible light hoping she would reject it. That didn't work. No matter what I said, I couldn't get Jennifer to say yes or no. She simply left it up to me. She told me I had to decide.

So it was up to me to tell Renaldo whether or not I would bet my wife on this final game. It seemed like I had a choice, but I really didn't. My second option wasn't any better. If I didn't make the bet. If I just decided to just walk away... I'd lose the chance to win back my wife and Renaldo would take Jennifer from me anyway.

I stood in front of Jennifer looking for a sign. I wanted to know what she was doing by not giving me an answer. I had hopes that she was just testing me.

Maybe that was it. Maybe she wanted me to show her how important our marriage was. Maybe she wanted me to make a stand. The last thing I wanted to do was make the wrong move here. The wrong move here could easily be taken as my blessing for her to go and fuck this asshole. If I made the wrong move, it didn't really matter if I won or lost this next game.

I had no idea what the right move was, but the way this was playing out, everything seemed wrong. The only thing to do now was go back to the game table and work something out with Renaldo.

Once again, I shook my head in apparent disbelief. Then slowly walked away, leaving my wife at that little cocktail table, hoping like hell she would stay there and let me work this thing out in my own way.

As I approached my adversary I looked him right in the eyes, taking my time all the way there, making him wait to find out what Jennifer had said about his offer. When I was mere inches away, I finally spoke... "Renaldo," I slowly and carefully started to ask. "Have you ever made a bet for the pleasure of a woman before?"

"No Muchacho. This is my very first time. But your wife, she is so fine I just cannot help myself."

"Pick up your money." I said holding my cue in the same threatening manner as he was. "No amount of cash is worth losing my wife over."

There, I had told him. I did it. I had made my stand, and I hopped like hell this was what Jennifer wanted.

At that point Renaldo and I both looked at Jennifer to see what she thought. As soon as we looked, she pushed her hands down between her legs, tucking in the skirt of her dress, subconsciously trying to hide the fact that her pussy was wet and swollen with desire.

I couldn't believe how openly and overtly my wife was pining for this asshole. She was acting as if Renaldo was so sexy that she just couldn't help herself. She was acting... well acting as if I had never even mattered to her in the first place.

Renaldo and I turned back and resumed our stare down. Like a couple of gunslingers in an old west standoff, we just stood there a couple of feet apart, glaring at each other. I knew he could crack me over the head with his cue stick, and he had to believe I was ready to do the same thing to him.

Finally, Renaldo broke the stare down and turned his head towards the table where he had been shooting pool with his gang of wannabes before this whole mess got started.

"Gina." He shouted. "Gina... Get your ass over here."

That shout had left barely left Renaldo's lips, when a young Hispanic woman came running from a group near that other table to stand by Renaldo's side. I assumed that this must be Gina, and I couldn't believe how strikingly beautiful this young woman was.

"See Muchacho? Look at what a dutiful woman does for a man like me. Is your woman dutiful? Would she honor you like this?"

I didn't understand how he did it. He had the young woman he called Gina under his complete control, and he seemed to be gaining that kind of control over my wife as well. I didn't like this one bit, and the bet just kept on escalating. There wasn't much I could do through. With Renaldo's gang of thugs all around, there was no way I could put a stop to this hustle now.

"Now understand that I've never made a bet like this before Ese." Renaldo continued to try to entice me with his bet... "But I think your wife, she is really fine. So here is my final offer. You take all of those thirty-five hundred dollars and put them in your pocket right now. The money is yours to keep, as long as you play me just one more game. If I win that game, I take your wife for the entire weekend. If you win, you take Gina."

I looked at Gina, almost disbelieving what I had just heard. It seemed that Renaldo had the perfect bait for this kind of bet right there in the gang member he called Gina. With her full lips, flawless skin, and beautiful dark eyes, there couldn't be a man alive that would say she was anything but beautiful, and Renaldo had all but offered her to me.

Then I realized that Renaldo still had virtually no skin in the game. Offering to let me take some random gang member for sex if I won was a far cry from me giving up the woman I married if I lost.

Renaldo didn't care for Gina. She was likely some prostitute they had picked up somewhere along the line. If did win, I wouldn't really be taking anything away from Renaldo. Even so, the thought of actually fucking a woman as beautiful as Gina put a smile on my face for the first time since this ridiculous poolroom hustle had begun.

It was at that point in the hustle I decided that two could play at this game. If my wife was so willing give her sex to another man if I lost, then I damn sure had no problem making love to another woman if I won. At least that was the way I wanted Jennifer to see it. Surely, my wife would call this thing off knowing what the stakes were now.

But I wasn't exactly home free. My newfound smile, and what I wanted to say to Jennifer, all rested solely on the shoulders of Gina. I couldn't imagine this beauty wanting to have anything to do with this bet. There was no way she wanted anything to do with me.

Gina didn't have a thing for me. She hadn't been flirting with me all night, and she damn sure hadn't been rubbing her body all over me and putting her hands in my pants the way Jennifer had with Renaldo. I was certain Gina would refuse to be a part of this god forsaken bet walk away.

Then it was as if Renaldo was reading my mind. The very next thing out of his thug-ass mouth was, "You are good with this bet right Gina? If I lose this game, you are going home with this hombre, right?"

Renaldo was at his domineering best, telling Gina exactly what she was expected to do. Even though he had posed it as a question, he was still simply giving her an order. Renaldo's order to Gina was even punctuated by an intimidating scowl.

Gina looked at me and shrugged her shoulders, obviously unimpressed with anything about me. Then she looked at my wife... then back at me. Not seeing an out, she looked up at Renaldo and without a word shook her head yes, complete with a sly smile.

I should have guessed. It seemed like the two of them had done this before. Gina had probably been in on this hustle from the very start, and they didn't plan on losing. My guess was they even had a plan if Renaldo didn't win. I figured she would just run off when I wasn't looking and rejoin the gang at whatever shithole it was they called a hideout.

Whether she was in on the hustle or not, Gina's agreement to be part of the bet was all I needed. Just the thought of me being with Gina would certainly make my wife think twice about what she was doing. I looked at Renaldo and wrenched my mouth to one side as if I were deep in thought.

Then I relaxed my aggressive posture a bit and said, "Well that's a more equitable offer than your paltry wad of cash." Standing there trying to act like I all of the sudden I magically knew the exact value of everything. "Let me take this offer to my wife and see if she is game."

I went over by the cocktail table and talked to Jennifer. This time I purposely stayed out of earshot of Renaldo and Gina. I wanted to be free to discuss how this could go down without them listening. Jennifer didn't seem to be listening either. She just squirmed and wiggled the whole time we talked, and she didn't take her eyes off of Renaldo even once.

I tried my best to remind her of where this hustle was going. I told her that I could easily beat this douche-bag. I also told her what that meant to us now that Gina was involved. I was hoping the possibility of me being with another woman would tone down her slutty behavior... but it didn't.

Jennifer is no dummy. She understood every word of what I said, but she just didn't seem to care. For all intents and purposes, it looked like all she was interested in was what would happen if I lost. I couldn't believe it. Instead of giving in, she actually ramped her slut routine up a notch.

This was it. This was Renaldo's final offer, and Jennifer just kept pushing at me. It seemed like she would accept nothing less than for me take Renaldo up on his stupid bet. In fact, Jennifer pretty much sealed my fate when she loudly ordered me to, and I quote, "March your worthless little dick over there and take the bet already."

From that point on, my wife couldn't stop touching herself, and she made eyes at Renaldo every time he looked at her. It looked as if the very thought of being with him was going to make her cum. Even if I won this ridiculous game, everyone in the place could clearly see that Jennifer was going to leave with the bastard anyway. The mere thought of her making love to that jackass made me cringe.

So off I went to accept the bet. On my way back to the game table, Gina walked passed me to go sit next to Jennifer. Apparently, she had been ordered to go sit with my wife and act as the tender on the table for this ridiculous bet. As she walked by me Gina quietly assured, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Renaldo takes good care of your little wife."

Right then I knew for sure. Renaldo had lied. Of course this wasn't the first time he had wagered for the company of another man's wife. This was a routine for them. Gina had been involved in this kind of hustle more than once, and somehow she was convinced that Renaldo couldn't possibly lose.

This whole thing had become fucking insane. With every step I took, I just got deeper and deeper into this crazy hustle, and whether I liked it or not it was my own wife who was forcing me to keep going. Yeah, some special surprise this turned out to be... "Surprise Honey! You're a cuckold."

I couldn't worry about that now. I really had to keep my wits about me. I knew exactly what I was up against. In any good pool hall hustle, the shark always plays well below his full potential until the very last game... And that last game, I might add, is always some kind of winner-takes-all game where the stakes are so astronomically high that no one in their right mind would agree to such a bet.

The problem is, the design of any good hustle peaks the mark's confidence right before that final game. Along with that false confidence, the hustle has tied a desire for retribution high enough the ridiculousness of the bet no longer seems to matter.

The entire hustle works sort of like a heavily loaded slot machine at a casino. The progression of the bets makes the player feel as if he could win at any moment, but he can't. The longer he plays the more skin in the game he has. Pretty soon he has too much invested to just walk away. So the mark keeps pulling the lever.

Then the unsuspecting slot player is shown how close he is to winning it all. He feels the machine is about to payout, and payout big. This is all by clever design. The machine has been programmed by experts to tempt even savviest of players to ignore the odds and go all-in.

It is all true. Hustles work a lot like those casino slot machines designed to fleece the savvy. I knew full well what was going on. I also knew just how wrong all of this was. Still, there was no way out. There was no way in hell Jennifer was going to let me just walk away from this one now. I had to press on.

The stakes for this game were about as high as anyone could imagine, and I needed to be as careful as ever. I had no idea how good Renaldo really was, but what I did know is that I was about to see his very best. I needed a moment to re-assess the whole situation.

I stepped back and sized this guy up all over again. I knew that Renaldo wasn't the guy who greeted me with a weak and miserable handshake a little over an hour ago, but I still didn't think much of him. Jennifer, on the other hand, was still looking at him as if he had been sent to her from the heavens. She was acting as if he was simply better than I was both at the pool table and in the bedroom.

Even with the offer of Gina on the table. Even with the possibility of me winning and taking another woman as my prize, I was unable convince my wife we should just pack it up and forget this stupid hustle. Even though I'd already accepted the bet, I couldn't have looked more uneasy about playing this game.