Nate and June

Chapter 1

June poured herself another cup of coffee. Today she hoped to finish plans for their summer rental at the Cape. With both kids engaged in summer-abroad programs arranged by their respective colleges, June planned to vacation with Nate as a couple again for the first time in almost twenty years. After much online searching, she had found a rare small private bungalow right on the beach. She was expecting this morning to get an email with the lease agreement from the real estate agent.

She settled into her cozy office in the den, and checked her email.

The message from the real estate agent had not yet arrived. In her inbox were four unread messages. Three were spam from vacation rental agencies. June wondered how the spammers always seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

The fourth message was from an gmail address that started with the word "Jefferson", and had a subject heading: "Thinking of you."

Glen Jefferson and June had a fling in her junior year of college, and about a year after she had started dating Nate. She and Nate had been having some first-year dating squabbles, and had broken up briefly just before spring break. June's affair with Glen lasted for the better part of a weeklong party in Ft Lauderdale. Though they did not know each other previously, they were from neighboring dorms back at the university. Glen was a journalism major. In Ft Lauderdale they had been introduced to one another by a mutual friend at the beach on the afternoon of the first day, when too many sugary rum drinks and had rendered June a little more flirtatious than normal. She and Glen were paired in a coed-two-on-two volleyball game in which they scored not a single point. Thereafter, they hung out together, partying with throngs of rowdy undergraduates by day and shacking up together in his beach-front condominium by night.

On the last day of spring break, June dumped Glen unceremoniously. Soon after returning to campus, she got back together with Nate, and they had gone on to finish school, get married and raise a family together.

June opened the email.

She was dumbstruck. The attached picture showed twenty-year old Glen standing with his back against the wall in a small sunny room. He was naked. Kneeling in front of him, with her back to the camera, was a woman whom June immediately recognized as her twenty-year-old self, also naked. A long red braid dangled down her back, and her round ass rested lightly on the heels of her bare feet. Though the back of her head obscured her identity, there was little doubt about what she was doing in the photo.

There was no text in the message.

June began to panic.

Her affair with Glen had been one of the few things that June had been dishonest about with Nate, ever. She never told him about it. Even worse, she had lied to him when he asked about Glen after hearing a vague rumor from a mutual friend. She told herself at the time, that she lied because there was no need to complicate things. And besides, she and Nate had been broken up, hadn't they? But truth be told, another reason she lied was that she didn't have any reason to think that Nate would ever find out what had happened between her and Glen. Shortly after their breakup, Glen had transferred to a different school.

But whatever her reasons had been at the time, she knew now that this lie was about to unravel. And she was uncertain, after almost twenty years of marriage, how her relationship with Nate would fare after such a moment of truth.

Wrapped up in worry, June had not yet paused to consider how this picture had been taken in the first place. She knew that she had not willingly posed. Glen had obviously taken it without her knowing, probably with a hidden camera. The creep.

She replied to the message, giving her best impression of nonchalance.

"Hi Glen.

I didn't know you kept a souvenir of our trip to Florida. Not such a nice thing to do to an unsuspecting gal, is it? Hope you are well.

All the best, June"

She went back to studying the picture. At least there was no way to tell it was her, except by those who knew all the details about her carrot top and freckled back. But did he have other less discreet shots? With all the fooling around they did that week, if he had hidden a camera, there was no end to the possibilities of embarrassing pictures he might have.

As if reading her thoughts, the computer announced with a beep the arrival of a new email message. It was from Glen.

Again there was an attachment. This one was a black and white shot of June standing on the deck of the condominium, holding a mug of coffee. In the background the surf and sand of the beach appeared deserted and the glow of the sky indicated that the sun was about to rise.

And June was naked, smiling impishly at the camera. She did remember getting this picture taken.

This time there was some accompanying text.

"Hi June.

I know, I could have just gotten the t-shirt, but somehow these souvenirs seem more personal. About that last pic - I guess I never told you I had a remote camera trigger that I was playing with as part of my photography course throughout that spring break. That was one of my favorite shots of the week. There's another couple I really like from that same evening. You remember when we did that standing 69 thing?

You got married to Nate, right? I read in the alumni magazine that you guys were still together. You think he might like an old picture of you?

Best, Glen.

P.S. I need a new screensaver. Would you send me a picture of yourself? Anything is OK, as long as you're naked. And outside. And doing a cartwheel. If I get this by tomorrow at this time, I'll destroy all my old photos of you."

Chapter 2

...two months earlier.

Glen had gone into journalism, and then into public relations. When he ran into Nate at a conference earlier in the month, they recognized one another as former classmates in college.

Nate stifled his angst about Glen long enough to greet him with a friendly handshake and an invitation to get a drink. Over their beer he asked Glen about the rumored tryst with June that he had wondered about for years. Glen, who had apparently taken the breakup with June harder than she did, put the pieces together.

"Oh, you're June's Nate! Right. Yes, you were the estranged boyfriend," Glen said.

He thought for a moment before continuing. "Well, sure, June and I had a grand old spring break hook-up, and then she broke my heart. The bitch."

Nate scowled. "You're talking about my wife. Glen."

"Really? You two got married? No shit!" Then he paused. "Sorry, but she did break my heart."

Nate conceded, "After twenty years together, Glen, I can confirm that sometimes she can be a bitch. So, I guess there's no need to apologize. But I'm glad she came back to me." He raised his glass.

Glen clinked it. He was surprised by Nate's camaraderie. This gave him an idea.

"I'm thinking about telling you something, Nate," he said cautiously. "I'm married too now, and I'm wondering what I'd want you to do if our roles were reversed."

"Go on," Nate prodded, after Glen paused.

"You see, while we were on that vacation, I took some pictures of June, and she wasn't always wearing so much. And worse, I took some of them using a hidden camera and a remote trigger, as part of what I pretended to myself at the time was part of an avant garde art project. Those were even more provocative and involved some bedtime activities. It was a dickish thing to do I guess, but I figured if I didn't share them with anyone, it was my own business," Glen concluded.

"For fuck's sake, why would you tell me that!?" Nate replied, horrified. "Too much information, dude. Now I have to go around not only knowing that you fucked my wife, but also that you've got pictures??" Nate grimaced.

Glen shrugged. "She wasn't your wife then, Nate. Besides, you guys were broken up. I'm telling you because... well I don't exactly know why, to tell you the truth. I looked at those pics plenty in the old days, but I haven't seen them in years. They're in my attic, tucked away somewhere my wife won't find them. Sorry I brought it up. I guess I might be still a bit of a dick. Tell you what, I could dig them up and send them to you. Consider it a belated wedding present."

Nate shook his head. "Glen, you're a piece of work. I'd have been happier never knowing they existed. Why would I want pictures of you fucking my wife?"

Glen shrugged. "Most of them are just beautiful candid shots of her at age twenty, Nate. I'd love to have those of my wife, whatever the source."

Nate demurred. "I think I would prefer it if you would just destroy them."

Glen raised his glass. "Of course. Done. The day I get home."

That was when Nate got the idea that he could make use of this bad revelation. He said, "On second thought, Glen, now that the genie is out of the bottle so to speak, how about if you send me the pics?"

"You would want to see them?" Glen asked, surprised.

"Well not all of them, Glen. But I think I might use it to get a little payback with June for deceiving me about you," Nate smiled.

Glen's eyes widened "She never told you about us?"

"Nope," Nate said.

"Dude! I told you she was a bitch," Glen laughed.

Nate shook his head "Nah, she's just a little deceptive. But I might be able to set that right."

Glen nodded. "You got it man, I'll send them next week."

Chapter 3

Nate's plan was simple. He would establish an email address that looked like it was from Glen. Then he would use the contents of the tape to blackmail his adorable wife. He didn't know exactly where he would try to go with this little scheme, until he saw the pictures.

Glen had, true to his word, sent a manila envelope that contained about 100 photos of twenty-year-old June. It came on a Saturday. Some were clearly posed, most were candid. And there were a few, maybe six or seven, that made Nate wince. They showed Glen and June on a bed full of rumpled sheets, both naked, and engaged in various sex acts. The feelings they evoked in Nate were a confusing mixture of carnal attraction and jealous anger.

Nate brought he photos to his basement office. June almost never interrupted him there. He used his private all-in-one -printer to scan them all into his computer. Then he sat at his desk for about two hours, scrolling through the photos.

He resolved to turn this into an opportunity. He created the phony gmail address, and sent the first email "from Glen" to his wife.

Her response had tickled him. "Hook, line and sinker, babe," He muttered to himself before sending the second email. In it he attached the photo showing her giving his rival a BJ. And he made the request that she snap a shot of herself outdoors doing a naked cartwheel.

Nate sincerely doubted that June would go so far as to take a picture of herself doing a naked cartwheel, let alone send it to her ex-boyfriend! Indeed, he had proposed that knowing it was well-beyond the pale, just hoping to get a visceral reaction from her.

So, when he checked his email account on Saturday at noon, he was surprised and more delighted than he should have been to see what June was willing to do.

Her reply email message, with no subject heading, contained a zipped jpg file and a brief text message. The message read:

"Dear Glen,

Thank you for agreeing to destroy the pictures. Needless to say, those pictures are a little too graphic and are best left to the mind's eye from my perspective. I appreciate your not sending them to Nate. I attach a snapshot that was extremely embarrassing for me to get, to complete my part of the deal. Please let's let this be the end of the matter.

Best, June."

Nate unzipped the picture, and gasped. It was remarkable. Nate recognized the background as a grassy field at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in their neighborhood. Jane had obviously set up a self timed camera on a tripod, and had stripped naked to take a picture of herself doing a cartwheel across a field of grass. She was careful to face away from the camera, but the shot caught her sunlit form right at the midst of the flip, with her legs splayed high overhead and her gorgeous ass clenched in midair. She must have done this in the midst of her normal 5AM jog.

Nate copied the image to his hard drive, and pondered his next move.

Chapter 4

June knew that this was probably not yet over, but hoped to buy time with the cartwheel shot.

She got a return email within a half hour of uploading the image that had taken her several hours to get. She had to scan through dozens of self-timed naked cartwheel shots before she got one that concealed her identity adequately. Fortunately, she had not been seen, at least as far as she knew!

This time the reply email had no attachments. The text read:

"Dear June,

Great shot. I will treasure it. True to my promise, I destroyed the photos. I did digitize them first. The digital copies can also be erased, but that is going to take a little more effort on your part. But I promise this time to erase all copies of the evidence.

It's time for Nate to get some pleasure out of this thing. (Did you ever tell him about our fling?). Here's how you get me out of your life for good, and destroy the evidence too. We're going to get two more pictures over the next two days. Consider it my way of celebrating the Memorial Day weekend.

The first, due tomorrow by noon, will be of you giving our old buddy Nate a hummer, all the way through climax. Of course, you will be naked. How you explain to Nate what he's done to deserve this treat is up to you. And this time, I want to see your beautiful face clearly in the pictures.

I've posted the cartwheel pic online at the site linked below. Take a look. If I don't get what I want by tomorrow, the rest of your pics go onto that site, with email links to Nate and to the alumni from our class. Do you keep up with any of them?

Alternatively, if I get what I asked for you're only two days (and a little more fun) away from freedom.

Love Glen."

June checked the web link. She had to register for an account to see the post. After she did, and got the confirming email, she went to the site and looked at the links to user-uploaded photos. There it was!

This was not a picture that June wanted to see circulated among the alumni in advance of the 20th reunion, and she damn well didn't want the link to be sent to Nate! She would simply have to talk to the nice webmasters at the Beach Club about having this pic removed! But first, she had to reply to that scoundrel, Glen.

She decided that she would push back.

She wrote an email.

"Glen,

I got your message. Pretty rotten of you to destroy the pictures but save digital copies. Of course, no less rotten than making some of those pictures without my consent! This blackmail thing is too much. I certainly can't trust that you would be any more discreet with any new pictures you might get.

June."

Within minutes she got a reply.

"Dear June,

Now that's no way to talk. I think I have been quite discreet. Let me show you what indiscretion would be like. Then we'll chat again.

Glen"

Shortly thereafter, Nate came bounding up from the basement to find Jane at her cozy desk in the den. He was grinning broadly.

"June, I just got your email! From a new Yahoo account? Anyway, thanks! It's really great. What man has a wife who will send him pictures of her doing a naked cartwheel?" Nate took a breath. Then he asked, still smiling, "What possessed you, babe? If this is your midlife crisis, I'm loving it."

June quickly inferred that Glen must have sent Nate yesterday's snapshot, under an assumed email address. Her mind raced. She laughed nervously, trying to disguise her surprise. "Consider it an early birthday present."

She knew now that it would be impossible to explain this whole debacle to Nate. She had to keep him from seeing the rest of Glen's photos.

June was a fast thinker. She formulated a plan to bide for time, even as she spoke. "And if you play your cards right, you might get some more early birthday presents today," she winked. Nate's birthday was the following week.

She knew now that Glen was capable of wreaking serious damage. Already in deep, June decide to at least get the picture she needed to comply with his ultimatum. She could decide later whether to send it. She kissed Nate and told him she was going to take a shower.

He wandered back to the basement.

June set her phone camera to record timed photos in the bedroom, and tucked the phone discreetly into a pile of clothes on her dresser. She noted to herself how she was about to do the exact thing she had faulted Glen for, taking hidden photos! But she was being extorted, so at least she had an excuse.

The phone camera was unobtrusive and quiet, and she felt sure that Nate would not notice it. She framed the bed in the shot, and then stripped off her clothes. She had a quick shower, then dried herself off.

"OK, time to do this" she said to herself, dropping the towel to the floor.

She wandered down to the basement, where Nate was working on building a birdhouse. Entering his workshop space, naked, she declared: "Hey there. Looking good."

"Wow! So are you." Nate replied, open jawed.

"Well, I was just wondering if you would join me in the bedroom for a few minutes," June smiled. She grabbed him by the hand, and led him upstairs. Nate was too excited to speak. He knew what was coming: a bit of oral satisfaction that he hadn't experienced in almost five months, since New Year's Eve. She pulled his tee shirt over his head, and unbuckled his belt. Then she unzipped his pants and pulled them down, along with his boxer shorts. He stepped out of the pile of clothes at his feet. By now his cock was at attention. June pushed him back to the bed, and he lay back, his legs dangling over the edge. He was perfectly centered in the frame that June had prepared. She kissed him on the mouth, and then said: "OK lover-boy, I have that other birthday present for you. Lay back and enjoy."

She slid off of the bed and took up a position on her knees between his dangling legs, "Mmmm. I think someone's gabout to get lucky," she said. Nate gave her a stupid grin. Then he got the best blow job of his life.

Nate could barely believe his good luck. "Wow, that was great, hon. Certainly the best present I have ever gotten. I don't know how anyone could top that."

"My pleasure," June replied, wiping her mouth.

Nate went back to the basement, preparing his next email even before he got the inevitable and invaluable set of photo uploads from his unsuspecting wife.

Chapter 5

"Dear Glen,

The last time I sent a photo, you uploaded it to the web. I have another one for you, and I'll send it, but only if you promise never to upload it to the web, no matter what.

June"

Nate got the email and sent off a terse reply.

"Dear Sweet June,

You make a good point. I can imagine it might be hard to trust me. On the other hand, I'm sure your boss would just love a link to the pic of your naked cartwheel. Has he seen your tramp stamp?

In any case, I've been a bit misleading, but I haven't lied. And I promise never to upload the image you are about to send, for any reason.

How's that?"

Love, Glen"

June expected a quick reply, and she was not disappointed. Reading it, she sighed. It was about the best she could have hoped for. (and no, her boss was completely unfamiliar with her tramp stamp!) She carefully scanned through the explicit series of pictures on her phone, and uploaded one that caught her body and face in profile, with her lips wrapped around her partner's tool. Nate's head was not in the frame. She decided that was a criterion for the photo she would send, then laughed to herself at her screwy logic. "Who am I kidding? I'm in this picture, buck naked, playing the skin flute. Who am I protecting?!"