New England Triad Ch. 07

Beth had a little smile. "At the time," she repeated.

Ann smiled back. "We had dinner, went dancing, and spent the night together."

"Tell me more."

"Well, I do like Justin a lot, but there was no really compelling reason to sleep with him. I did anyway. Because we still liked each other, and I was horny, and he was very attractive, and he wanted me too, and maybe I felt I did owe him a favor or two from freshman year. And, poor little me, there I was all alone in a strange city--apart from seven friendly colleagues, of course.

"And conceivably, I might have wanted to send Stephen a little message about sauce for the goose and so on. Plus--I hate to sound racist--but I had never had sex with a Black man before, and here was a chance to cross another item off my bucket list."

Beth was excited. "How wonderful! And how was it?"

"It wasn't earth-shattering, but a good time was had by all. Justin is a good and a considerate lover, and I did come three times with him--plus once again the next morning. He had no complaints, either. I gave him access to everything before the night was over. The main thing about the blackness was... how beautiful our skins looked together, tangled up with each other."

"He wasn't built like an Arabian stallion, then?"

"He was built just like... like anyone else, I'm either pleased or sorry to say." She had caught herself just before saying "like Stephen." Then she wondered why she had censored herself. Is it impolite to acknowledge that the naked woman in bed with you is also your husband's lover? Ann wished Miss Manners would get away from who should pay for the bachelorette party and instead discuss some of today's more pressing etiquette problems.

"That is a beautiful, lovely story, Ann," Beth said. "Not about his dick specifically--I mean the whole story. I'm impressed--maybe a little surprised too."

"I surprised myself--and also Stephen, as you can imagine. I haven't done a lot of playing around since we married--with that one major lapse I told you about vaguely, and that was several years ago. Then you led me astray in August; then Justin led me astray in September; and now you led me astray again today."

Beth smiled then gave Ann a quick kiss. "My, you lead astray rather easily, don't you?"

"These days, yes."

"Where's Justin live?"

"Somewhere west of Boston, I guess. He works at Hitachi in Waltham."

Beth found her smartphone then climbed back into bed. "What's his last name?"

"Abernathy."

"Middle initial?"

"Seventeen years ago I could have told you."

"Here he is. Yep, he lives in Waltham. Want his phone number?"

"I have it."

"Want his address?"

"I'll find it if I ever need it."

"He's only about an hour and a half away."

"Beth, are you encouraging me to be unfaithful to my husband?"

Beth retreated. "Sorry, Ann. I just got caught up in the romance and excitement of it all."

They hugged. "If anything develops further, I'll keep you posted, okay?" Ann said. "The phone reminds me, though. I'd better tell Stephen I'm still alive."

She retrieved her own phone and typed a text message. "Am at Beth's. Let's have dinner late. XOXOXO." She showed Beth and then pressed SEND.

"Now he can spend a half hour pondering whether those hugs and kisses are for him or a description of what you and I are doing."

Beth was about to say, "Let's make it a description," but she paused. Is that what she really wanted at the moment?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car in the driveway. "That sounds like Dev. Shall I close the bedroom door?"

"Don't bother," Ann replied. "A closed bedroom door will look even naughtier than an open one. Caught with my pants down again!"

"Down, off, and lying at the foot of the bed, right next to mine!" said Beth. "But the Open Door Policy is fine with me."

Dev puttered around the first floor for a couple minutes. Beth thought, she's noticed my car in the driveway, the two coffee cups in the living room, and my absence from the first floor. Let's see if she's bold enough to come up and say hi to the two of us.

Of course she was. Dev strode into Beth's bedroom, smiling, and walked over to Ann's side of the bed. She squeezed Ann's hand.

"Ann? Hi, I'm Dev, the housemate. How nice to meet you at last!" She acted as though finding two naked women in Beth's bed was not remarkable in the least. She's good, thought Ann.

Dev quickly appraised Ann's face and the exposed half of her body. Lovely, she thought.

"Dev, I'm delighted," replied Ann. "How are the rats behaving today?"

"Oh, they're still fat and sassy--though I'm afraid their days are numbered." She sat on the edge of the bed, next to Ann. "I must say, it is nice to spend a little time with my fellow bipeds for a change. There aren't many of them around the lab on weekends. I had to get Campus Security to let me into the building today."

Beth shot her a look that Dev correctly took to mean, "Not one word about that golden shower with Stephen." Dev replied with a little smile that meant, "Got it."

"Care to join us?" Beth asked, confident that Dev knew the best answer.

"It looks very tempting," Dev replied, "but there's some things I need to do downstairs, and I'm dying for a snack." She stood. "Can I bring you guys anything?"

Both shook their heads no.

"Dev, will you take our picture?" Ann asked. "My phone's right there on the table."

Dev was glad to oblige.

Then Ann asked, "Now again, with the sheet off?"

Dev pulled the sheet all the way back, framed and snapped another shot, and handed the phone back to Ann. Ann and Beth looked simply beautiful, she thought, side by side and naked. Those breasts of Ann's--just a little on the small side but so beautifully shaped. And the pale pink of her areolas and nipples.... How long had it been since she, Dev, had made love to a woman? It had been a while.

The three of them reviewed the two photos. "Very nicely composed!" Ann said. "Thank you."

Dev smiled. "I live with a graphic designer. Maybe some of it rubbed off. See you guys later."

"Plans for the photos?" Beth asked.

"No. Just a souvenir of a lovely day. Maybe I'll show them to Stephen next time he's having trouble getting it up. Want copies?"

"Sure."

"These stay off all social media, right?"

"Of course."

Ann sent the copies. "Come to think of it, I'll send the photos to Stephen now. Then can you take me home?"

Beth smiled and kissed Ann's cheek. "I hope you have a nice evening."

Beth couldn't help feeling a bit jealous and possibly just a bit miffed. Now Stephen would be likely to pounce on Ann as soon as she walked through the door. But there'd be no Stephen or any other man waiting to pounce on Beth when she got back home.

Conceivably she could insist on entering Ann's house with her and forcing another threesome. Conceivably she could stop at a bar on the way back and see if anyone looked worth picking up. Conceivably but not likely.

Ann realized what had happened. "Beth, I'm sorry. I just wasn't thinking. Please forgive me."

That helped. Beth forced a smile, and she squeezed Ann's hand. "Of course."

But the fault wasn't really Ann's, Beth knew. Ann and Stephen were well and truly married to each other. At the end of the day they had each other. Every day. And every morning they had each other.

And at the end of the day, Beth had... what, exactly? Some love in her life, true. Recent memories of good sex, true. Those two were not nothing. Were they enough?

It had been Stephen who had framed the question, just Thursday. What exactly did Beth really need and want? And was an affair with a married man any way to get it?

Beth still wasn't quite sure how to answer the first question. But she had a sinking feeling that, deep down inside, she kind of knew the answer to the second.

************

Author's note: Thanks for reading Chapter 7. If you'd care to leave a comment, that would be great. I try to reply to all signed comments that are at least reasonably civil.