Harmless Flirting - Dean's Dilemma

"She whispered, 'I'm going to pretend that I'm naked for you, get lotion on everything, don't let me burn,' and then giggled loud enough for Kacie and Dave to hear.

"Dave couldn't contain himself any longer. He got out of the pool, came over, and said, 'I'll take it from here,' and grabbed the lotion from my hand.

"Sandy rose up on her elbows, giving me a splendid view of her tits. She said to Dave, 'If you have any hopes of remaining my boyfriend, you'll take your medicine and behave.'

"To which he replied, 'What are you talking about?'

"Kacie came over and was motioning her head in a way that showed that she wanted to leave, so I got up and was walking over to gather our things, when Dave spun me around intending to take a swing at me. That attempt to hit me turned out to be a big mistake.

"Alex was right there, spotted the imminent sucker punch coming my way, and laid out Dave before he connected. It seems that Alex always has my back.

"I said, 'Dave, damn it, you... no, actually, it was Kacie that started this. Please, let's drop it, ok?' and held out my hand.

"Sandy came up and said to Dave, 'You better shake it, asshole.'

"Then he said, 'I don't understand why...'

"Sandy interrupted him, 'Your hands stay off of other women, got it?'

"He replied, 'Yes, I got it... sorry,' and shook my hand.

"Kacie never said a word, not even an 'I'm sorry.' Nothing. It was obvious that she was pissed. It was a short, quiet drive back to her place. She got out; I drove home, no one spoke."

Then Dean added, "I was thinking, 'Alex not only has my back, but he's one of the few guys that Kacie has never tried to include in one of her games. Maybe she's afraid of him; hell, he might deck her."'

Dr. Grace asked, "Well, it's apparent that you patched it up, or we wouldn't be here, right?"

"Yeah, the next day, she came over unannounced, probably afraid that I would ignore any calls from her. She apologized for getting Dave in trouble, but felt that she hadn't done anything that wrong. I called bullshit at that. I told her that she deliberately was trying to stir me up. When the game was reversed on her, two things happened, one she got pissed off as hell, and two, Dave reacted without thinking.

"I also told her that I regretted going along with Sandy's revenge plan. I realize now that I should address my issues concerning Kacie, with only her and without dragging others in. We made up, and again she promised to not repeat her actions.

"That's a big part of the problem: she technically doesn't repeat the same exact behavior. After a cooling off period, she finds a new way to press my buttons," he told Dr. Grace.

After that, Dean told her of the incidents with Ben at the picnic, and the previous year's Christmas party where she had got out of control dancing with a different guy. He told Dr. Grace that he had a video of Kacie and that guy and asked if she would like to see it. Initially the doctor declined, but then changed her mind. She felt that, not only could it give her perspective on the accuracy of Dean's story, but also an understanding of Kacie's ability to relate things accurately, when she had her describe the same event.

The allotted time for Dean's session had already run over, but there wasn't another scheduled for an hour, so she had allowed him to finish the last story. Dean hadn't got to the recent incident yet and Dr. Grace decided to take that up at his next session.

Kacie's second session was next up on Dr. Grace's schedule. It consisted of Dr. Grace having Kacie relate her version of all of the events that Dean had mentioned. Several times it was evident that Kacie's relationship with the truth was not as reliable as Dean's. Dr. Grace became fairly certain that Kacie was more aware than she would admit that her game playing was wrong, like an addict denying their dependence on a drug.

Kacie's drug was attention from men. She sought out approval and desire beyond what was normal for most women. Kacie also had a fetish for having her husband take her away from another man, and then aggressively have sex with her. She felt that her need, coupled with the intention to never actually have sexual contact with any of these men, justified her game.

Dr. Grace tried to get Kacie to understand the danger of pursuing satisfaction that way. When a person's mate is not receiving gratification from an activity, especially one that they feel is degrading to them, they will resent you for wanting them to capitulate. She told Kacie, "You enjoy the danger, like a teenager skating on a pond as close to the thin ice as possible. The trouble with pushing dangerous limits all of the time, is that it makes a negative outcome a near certainty. Dean does not like these games that you play at all. He has endured your indulgences up to now, to preserve your relationship, but he hates that you do them. He feels totally disrespected, and has been certain for some time, that your reckless behavior would result in an act that he will not be able to tolerate."

"Are you saying that I've lost him? That I've let it go so far that I can't win him back?" Kacie asked, becoming desperate.

"Mrs. Brown, I have to be honest. Right now, I'm not sure I would recommend to Dean that he continue the marriage. Your wants and needs are toxic to your husband. You would have to convince him, that you now fully understand the damage that you've caused, and that you would never again engage in active solicitation of other men's attention, of any type. Honestly, I'm of the opinion that you have not accepted your part in the marital conflict, instead you continue to try and justify what you do as being within normal boundaries.

"I would also recommend that, no matter the outcome of your marriage, you stop drinking. Clearly, you make awful choices when you have alcohol," Dr. Grace concluded.

"I would quit drinking if I can get him back," Kacie said.

"You should stop drinking alcohol, period. As for the other, I do not believe that you see the harm. It is my opinion that you are only looking for a way to avoid divorce, let the heat die down and then maybe try a slightly different tactic. Think about what you truly want. Take a hard look at what you do, try to imagine your reactions if Dean was playing this game with other women. I'm going to meet with him tomorrow. After that, perhaps, we'll all meet together." Dr. Grace said as she ended Kacie's second session.

Dean was more relaxed for his second interview with Dr. Grace, since he had accepted, at least mostly, that she would be fair in her assessments.

"Mr. Brown, how are you today?" asked Dr. Grace.

"I'm alright, I guess, but I'd like it better if you would call me Dean."

"Then you'll have to call me Joan... Dean."

"Ok, that's settled. What do you want me to drone on about today, Joan?"

"Well, Dean, I don't think of your conversation with me as droning at all. I find you very intelligent, perceptive and, most of all, honest. Tell me about the day that set you and Kacie on the path to divorce."

"We got a new neighbor two years ago. For the first several months, we had only brief contact with Rich, but as time went on, we became more friendly. We invited him to come over for an occasional BBQ and I asked him to join our Saturday golf group. Eventually, he became comfortable enough to confide that he was divorced, because his wife had been cheating on him.

"Kacie bought that explanation right away, but I felt that something was a bit off-center. I paid attention to the way that he interacted with the women at the golf course, and with wives of my friends at get togethers. He seemed to get a little too cozy, too quickly, but never did anything that caused any of the guys to call him out.

"I mentioned my uneasiness to Kacie, but she pooh-poohed the notion. She challenged the idea, pointing out that I didn't have a shred of proof, and warned me against talking to the other guys about it. I had to admit that I didn't have one single event that I could point to as proof, so I dropped it. I also couldn't point to any behavior involving Kacie. Actually, I felt that she was more likely to be inappropriate than he was.

"As the summer progressed, we invited Rich over for BBQs and dips in our hot tub, even when nobody else was coming. Hell, he was right next door, newly divorced, and sure seemed to appreciate having company. The only trouble was, I still had the nagging feeling that he was not above nailing Kacie, if the situation presented itself," Dean said.

"So, you didn't block any contact with Rich, even though you had these premonitions?" asked Joan.

"No, I didn't have anything tangible, just a gut feeling. I was concerned that Kacie would become so comfortable with him, that she might invite him over for tubbing when I wasn't there," confessed Dean.

"Did you mention to Kacie that you would not be Ok with her and him doing that?" Joan asked.

"No. Actually, the wheels came off the wagon before that came up, although I'll bet anything that conversation was coming soon. I thought if I kept Rich's contact with Kacie limited to only when I was present, that I could head off any attempt by him to move on her. The trouble with that plan was, that it did not account for an initiation of her game with Rich as a target. A target that she might not be able to handle.

"Then came the fucking day that changed everything. Rich, Alex and I were scheduled to play golf that afternoon, followed by a BBQ at our house. Alex was to stay for a bite to eat, but had a date, and was going to leave right after he ate.

"With our golf game over, we came home and got into the food Kacie had made ready for the grill, the finishing touches being my job. Shortly it was apparent that Kacie had been sipping wine coolers all afternoon and was a bit tipsy. She was being more friendly than ever with Rich. They were sitting on the swing, while I tended to the ribs, brats, and baked potatoes. Every so often, I would hear her laugh as they talked, her hand resting on or rubbing his knee.

"I've become very aware over the years, of the moves she makes when beginning to play her game. This looked like that to me. Then she acted as though she was going to slip off of the swing, encouraging Rich to grab on to her, 'to prevent her from injury.'

"All 'innocent' right? But after preventing the 'accident,' his hands didn't leave her, nor did she take her hand off of his leg.

"In fact, her hand had moved to above his knee and a slight massaging action by her fingers was visible while she gave me a smirky, inebriated smile." Dean paused.

"Alex came up to me and asked, 'You want me to fuck him up?' He related.

"Did you consider putting a stop to it, right then?" Joan asked.

"I did, in a way. The food was ready and I got them to the table, with me in the middle."

"Ok, I'm guessing the hot tub was next?" Joan said.

"Yes, it was. After grill clean up duty, Alex hit the road, and I went into the bathhouse to get into my suit. Rich came over for the BBQ wearing his, so we both grabbed a beer and got into the tub. When Kacie came into view, I could not believe that she'd chosen to wear such a skimpy suit with Rich there. Then, as if to rub my nose in it, she entered the tub in such a way as to give Rich a close up look at her near naked ass. The thong in the back was just a tiny strap right up her ass crack, barely hiding her asshole from him.

"It was very telling to me that she chose to do that. She could've easily entered and sat down next to me, only giving him a glimpse instead of the filthy display he received.

"Next, with her between us, Rich was in a better position to ogle her nearly uncovered breasts which were floating in the bubbling water. If that wasn't bad enough, when Rich finished his beer, she jumped up, nearly losing her top and volunteered to get him another one, parading her ass for him again.

"The cooler was at the top of the tub's steps. Of all the ways to get a beer out, she chose to bend at the waist, giving the most explicit ass view yet. Then she asked me, 'Hun, do you want anything?' When she asked, she wasn't looking at me, she was looking at Rich, making sure he was enjoying the show. I couldn't see, but I would not be surprised if she was winking at him when she said it..."

With the pause, thinking that he had finished, Joan asked, "Is that when the fight started?"

"No, but thoughts of divorce were in my mind. That wasn't even the end of the hot tub antics. She finished her drink and jumped up to give an encore. However, this time, I'm pretty sure that one of her boobs popped out in Rich's face. I saw her adjusting her top, like she was putting one back in place, but since her back was toward me, I couldn't actually see that her tit came out. Her response while fixing her suit, was giggling like she had just done something naughty. Then she did a repeat of displaying her ass at the cooler.

"I needed to piss, so I got out and went into the bathhouse. There's a vent that you can see through if you are standing to pee. I couldn't hear what they were saying with the pump on the hot tub running, but I could see Rich saying something to her. She would shake her head no, but then giggle and reach over and touch his arm. I'm not a lip reader but I'm pretty sure she said to him, 'Rich, you are so bad,' and then something else that I couldn't make out.

"Before I went back to the tub, I had decided to contact an attorney to get a handle on my options. When I did go back, Rich decided that he needed a piss break also, and went to the bathhouse. This is when the fight began that night.

"I spoke first, 'What the hell is with you wearing that fucking skimpy suit, with your ass and tits hanging out all over the place, especially in public?'

"To which she answered, 'We're not in public, we are in our own back yard.'

"Can you believe it? Then I pointed out that Rich was there, but she just said that he didn't count. What?!!

"Then I told her, in a very indignant tone, 'You might as well just go ahead and take that tiny top clear off,' to which Kacie replied defensively, 'What the hell are you talking about?' Of course, she knew damn well what I was pissed about.

"Then I angrily said, 'You've been wanting to show Rich your bare tits all night, just go ahead and do it, I'm sure he'll love it.'

"To which she replied, 'If you are going to be like this, maybe I will.'

"I was very mad at this point so I upped the challenge, 'You may as well let him suck on them too!'

"She decided not to back off and met my challenge with one of her own, 'Maybe I'll do just that!'

"I'd had enough, so I got out of the tub to get away from her. I also had not realized that the tub pump had timed out and that Rich likely had heard much of the last part of our argument.

"On my way to the house, Rich stepped out of the bathhouse. Seeing me fuming, he hesitated. I sarcastically told him, 'I'm leaving, but I think Kacie has something that she wants to show you.'

"I went into the house, got dressed as fast as I could, grabbed my car keys and, ignoring Kacie's plea for me to talk, hit the road..." Dean paused having finished that part of the night's description.

"That was very intense. I understand your anger. Why didn't you stay and talk to her?" Joan asked.

"I didn't want to hear the same BS that she always spreads. About how she was just flirting a little, but really loved me, blah, blah, blah. I knew down deep that if a confrontation was had right then, an end to our marriage was assured, and I hadn't yet decided if that was what I wanted," he replied.

"So, what happened next?" Joan asked, knowing that he was getting close to the blow-up.

"When I got to my local bar, I discovered that I had forgotten my cell phone. I didn't want it to talk to her, but I needed to have it with me. I decided to slip back home, go through the front door quietly, retrieve it and get out. I heard their voices, inside the house, so I crept close enough to see.

"I'll never forget the sight. Her, propped up on the counter, naked to the waist, with Rich sucking one of her tits and fondling the other, while she held his head to her breast. I don't know how I thought to snap some pictures, before going nuts. Maybe it was because my phone was already right there in my hand, turned on, ready. Possibly it was because the sounds that I heard before I saw them, told me what I was about to see. Regardless, I snapped a stream of pictures before Kacie looked up and saw me.

"She screamed something, Rich spun around, saw me and was gone in a flash. I was beyond rational at that point, I suppose. I just grabbed her, causing Kacie to lose the towel, and dragged her cheating ass out to the front lawn, naked, and left her. I said something like, 'You want to show off your naked body so much, go right ahead, knock yourself out.' She begged me to let her back in the house, but I was through. I told her that I was going to divorce her. I left her naked in the yard, and went back in the house.

"I came back out with her cell phone and in the dim light, she thought that it was a gun. Feeling guilty about being caught likely contributed to her seeing things that were not there. Anyway, I threw the phone at her and said, 'Call your fucking sister,' and then I went back into the house taking the spare hidden key with me. I then hurried into the garage and disabled the key pad, while dialing Alex, who was entertaining his girlfriend. He came over within 5 minutes anyway.

"The next thing I knew, her sister, Tammy was screaming so loudly at me that I could hear her while I was upstairs stuffing Kacie's shit into garbage bags. Tammy's husband, Jake started pounding on the door asking for clothes, so I threw a bag out of the upstairs window. I guess they dressed her and went to their place.

"About an hour later, she tried to get the police to make me let her in. That failed though, because the house is in my uncle's name. We were considering buying it, but there was no lease, no agreement and, after that night, no purchase would ever be considered by me. Then came lawyers, court, and you," he finished, having brought Dr. Grace, Joan, up to date.

"I'm going to set up some joint sessions with both of you. I want your word that you will be civil, even if you think she is lying. You will always get an opportunity to refute anything she says, as will she get her chances to challenge you. Mostly I want to see how many things can be agreed upon," explained Joan.

The first joint session included just three of them, Dr. Grace, Kacie and Dean. The meeting did not go well, Dean expressed that his position was unchanged, that he still wanted a divorce. Kacie did not exhibit a remorseful attitude, instead, she was still trying to defend her activity. The one concession that she did make, was an apology to Dean for allowing Rich to have touched her bare chest.

The note that Dr. Grace made in the file was, "Little progress, reconciliation unlikely unless some drastic repentance by Mrs. Brown. Even if she would seek his forgiveness, the husband caught her in the act, not intercourse, but sexual contact enough to hint that a full sexual encounter was interrupted. Wife swears no, but I don't think their marriage hinges on whether or not she was going to do more. For the husband, I believe that the marriage was likely already D.O.A. and catching her compromised, as he did, just sparked his physically throwing her out of the house naked and cemented his desire for divorce."

At the next, and final mandated session, Dr. Grace tried a new tactic. She asked that they walk her through the happenings of the night of the breakup, beginning with the BBQ. At first Kacie denied that there had been contact between her and Rich. When Joan pressed her, she conceded that she did have her hand on Rich's knee. Then she went on to say that her swimsuit was perfectly acceptable. When Joan asked if she had a picture of it, none was available.