Nude Stockings Ch. 03

This is an alternate version to my Nude Stockings stories and explores the same themes. There is a brief nod to the previous stories in this one. I've reused the initial set up so it can be read as a stand-alone story, or you can skip to where the alternate story is indicated. Congrats to VerdugoHills1968 and others who saw this version coming.

I like the loving wives category but it can be difficult to come up with something different, so have explored a slightly alternate/ future world reality. It's a quirky fantasy and nowhere near realism, also a bit tongue in cheek. Please keep that in mind before you read on, I hope you enjoy it!

This story is set in the near future.

The divorce rate had reached another record peak, now 91% of all marriages ended in divorce; driven by ever greater self- absorbance, feelings of entitlement and focus on self- fulfilment. Responsibilities and obligations were now less of a factor than in the past. Even marriages surviving often dealt with affairs and transgressions. Individual expectations now varied wildly; with failure rates so high, attitudes to marriage changed and many discounted it as an option. Marriage became seen as a short to medium term commitment rather than a lifetime one; often it centred on wanting to start a family and might end when the kids were grown.

The punitive approach to men divorcing continued and became more extreme. Women's rights and powerful lobby groups now held sway. Marriage and divorce were now firmly in the hands of women.

With fewer people getting married, both Religion and Government desperately tried to find solutions... the whole principle of marriage was in crisis. This led to a wide range of alternative suggestions including 5 and 10 year marriage certificates, open marriage contracts, fidelity clauses, break points, polyamory and mandatory pre wedding counselling. It seemed society was ever more reliant on psychiatrists and counsellors.

One of the most popular alternatives involved communication of choice by the wife. She would have the option of stipulating the type of marriage she was committing to and communicate this to the congregation. This was seen as a way to share expectations within the couple and their wider network of family and friends, so they knew and could support that decision. The choice was usually reflected in the vows taken but an alternative was the bride's hosiery indicating choice. This stemmed from the wedding garter tradition, where a bride would offer a garter to her new husband.

The couple would have a traditional wedding service and exchange vows in church as normal. In between the service and the night-time celebration, the bride would switch to evening wear. During the change she would present a gift of her stockings in a sealed box to her husband. The colour of her stockings illustrated her preferences; if the groom was content, he would help his bride put the stockings on before attending the celebration.

Grooms hoped for a choice of white, indicating monogamy and lifelong fidelity, but by far the most common choice was nude stockings. These indicated fidelity but reflected being unable to commit about what could happen in the future. After all it is difficult for a 20-year-old bride to categorically state what her 50-year self would do in a world where so much changed so quickly.

There were some rarer choices; red stockings indicated interest in bisexual relations; black, an interest in mixed race relationships. Seamed stockings indicated a hot wife who would be looking for well-endowed partners in addition to her husband. Fishnets indicated swinging and grey being open to sugar daddies.

*****

Despite all of this I wanted to marry my fiancée, Grace. We had known each other since primary school and just clicked, at 16 we were going out and by 22 were finalising our plans to marry.

I was excited, for me Grace would be the perfect wife. As well as her being beautiful we were best friends, and I couldn't wait to commit the rest of our lives to each other. She was engaging, positive and for some inexplicable reason in love with me. At 5ft 8 her long wavy red hair with lighter highlights hung down her back. Her blue/ green eyes literally shone matching her bubbly personality. I loved the way she fretted over gaining weight, I honestly could never see a change, she had a fantastic figure and made it all seem so effortless.

The choice of a wedding these days is anything but straight forward. Her family church was advising use of a marriage 'contract' lasting until any children were aged 16. Neither of us wanted that option, our marriage was more than a vehicle to raise children.

Their alternative was the 'indicated choice' system which we thought suited us better than the other alternatives.

For good reasons most couples agree the approach well in advance. There were some horror stories including a society lady who walked confidently into her reception in seamed fishnets, much to her husband's horror. A groom shocked to see both his bride and chief bridesmaid in red stockings. Seemingly they had selected him together and he quite liked the idea. A wife in nude stockings who had the best man listed for alternate dances with her husband. A wife in black stockings assuring her husband it would only be a couple of times per year and another wife in grey explaining that it was the best financial option, and they would be 'mortgage free' before even thinking about kids.

It really was a mad mad world!

Grace's organisational skills were fantastic, supported by an army of friends and family; the church and wedding service were perfect. We retired for a couple of hours 'rest' before the evening celebration and managed an early consummation of the marriage before getting ready to meet everyone for the evening celebration.

I didn't think twice when Grace handed me a box tied with a ribbon. I opened it and saw them: nude stockings... my heart sank.

Grace tried to explain. "I know you were hoping for white, but the vast majority of brides choose nude these days and it's encouraged by the women's groups, you know white is frowned upon as being too submissive. And those groups are linked to career opportunities and social standing."

I slumped to a chair and thought about stopping the whole thing, requesting an annulment; no doubt there would be punitive financial implications.

Struggling to form words I managed, "And what is it you might want?"

"Nothing Rob, I promise I love you and I want to be the best wife for you. There is no one else and no plan in mind. It's just impossible to predict the future, and it plays out better with the women's lobby. Anyway, who is to say where either of us will be in 20 years' time?"

It was true, the women's groups were only too keen to criticise anyone choosing white, but I thought what we meant to each other was bigger than all of that.

"I know where I want to be in 20, 30 and 40 years Grace; I'm making that commitment to you."

"And I don't have intentions other than spending my life with you Rob"

Christ, I thought, what about when everyone else sees the colour I will be mortified with embarrassment. Grace seemed to read my mind.

"I've talked my options through with your mum and mine, they are expecting this choice. The bridesmaids have quietly let people know as well. So there won't be any surprised or shocked faces. Anyway, when was the last wedding we saw white, it's just not the done thing."

"Shame you never thought to include me in those discussions."

"I tried; I really did but I got so nervous every time. I just kept putting it off; I was scared of disappointing you or even losing you, I still am!"

"I thought we were different to other people, special even."

"We are special, this changes nothing about us I only ever want you. Please say my choice is ok."

Here's the new part of the story:

"No!"

"What do you mean, no."

"I mean no, your choice is not 'ok' and I refuse!"

"You can't, we're already married, and everyone is downstairs for the party. Be reasonable Rob, this is what everyone advised me to do."

"Yeah well, fuck them and the horse they rode in on, you didn't ask me and just assumed I would accept it."

"It doesn't mean anything; don't embarrass me by making me where white."

"Is that the plan dismissing it as nothing serious; and I'm not making you do anything, it's your choice. You don't want to be embarrassed but the idea of embarrassing me doesn't seem to bother you in the slightest. No doubt you think that I should not overreact; it's just my ego and pride after all."

"Well yes actually, now that you mention it, if you loved me you would let me do this."

"If you loved me you wouldn't ask. Why not just wear fishnet stockings and be done with it, then you can fuck whoever you want in the future."

"Don't be ridiculous, I haven't planned anything, and I'll only ever want you."

I frowned at the lack of consistency in her replies and actions. "You always have a choice Grace, so do I, even though that might make my life extraordinarily difficult now."

"Ok, Ok, I'll change to white. Can we just get ready and enjoy the party."

"But that isn't what you want, it isn't a genuine choice. You want an open hall pass option for you in the future, and I'd never know for sure if I could trust you."

"Of course you can trust me; I would tell you if I had any plans..." Grace's voice trailed off.

"Oh, so you would tell me when you intended fucking some other guy."

"That's not what I meant."

"I can't go through with this, and it's too late to change your mind about the colour, we need to let people know the celebration is off."

"What! You can't possibly be serious; we can't just call the wedding off!"

"We can say it's on hold, but that we are having a party anyway. We can be honest about why and say we're still friends. People will understand and respect our decision."

Rob didn't think the wailing and crying could get any louder. Grace kicked the chair over in frustration. Turns out he was wrong, the wailing could get louder, a lot louder. In between all the crying Grace was begging for Rob to go through with it.

"Please, please Rob, go through with it, this is all a terrible mistake."

The noise quickly brought a delegation to the room. Her father was first there berating me for upsetting his 'princess'. He was irate, reminding me they had shelled out over £30k for the wedding and that I needed to grow a set of balls and man up

I could only chuckle in response, "Man up by allowing my wife to walk all over me and accept other men fucking her, how is that working out for you?"

He went puce; I thought he might actually explode. Seemingly the alternative to me not 'manning up' would be a severe beating by him and Grace's brothers.

The bridesmaids were equally upset with how I was treating Grace on her wedding day and reminded me (again), that no man had the right to tell a woman what she could or couldn't do. Times were changing and modern marriages often involved external liaisons. They didn't seem to realise those comments clearly conflicted with Grace's nothing planned stance.

It was her mum Linda, and her best friend Doreen who was chair of the local women's guild, who stole the show though. Doreen outlined that unless I went through with it; the guild would ensure I lost my job and block any prospect of another. What's more our recent mortgage would be declined; in effect I faced the prospect of being jobless and homeless.

I glared at Grace, "How loving of you all."

It was Doreen who spoke next, "It's natural to have doubts Rob, but we are here to help you make the right decision. Now you will be escorting Grace to the reception, and we will continue the celebration. Oh and Grace, you will wear the nude stockings, not white. It is completely unacceptable for a husband to pressure a wife's freedom to choose."

I replied, "Well at least we are agreed on that, she should wear nudes, that is what she wants after all."

They weren't quite sure of what to make of that statement.

Doreen continued, "Don't make things difficult Rob, you're a nice guy and I wouldn't want to arrange some jail time for you until you cooled your heels."

I was on the verge of telling her to fuck off when Grace spoke to me gently.

"I'm sorry Rob, this is all so wrong. I promise to make it up to you, can we just get through tonight and talk about it in the morning. I really do love you and I'd be destroyed if my actions have made you doubt that. You mean the world to me."

My parents had also arrived in the room advising I should go through with it, and that it didn't mean anything.

In the end the pressure was too much, and I bowed to it. I agreed to go through with the reception. I tried rationalising that it was a women's guild thing and that it meant nothing. Even if Grace had some idea of a future romance, she would clearly know now, that it was never acceptable and would end us.

The team of bridesmaids began to repair Grace's makeup, hair and outfit. She seemed to recover quickly, and I escorted her down to the reception; we barely spoke. Grace mingled with guest as though the last hour hadn't happened, seemingly treating it all as an irrelevance. I could feel Linda and Doreen's eyes boring into me looking for signs of rebellion. Then I remembered with dread that I had to get through the evening speeches.

Grace:

What a complete disaster. I knew Rob would have doubts, but he went ballistic. The conversation was a nightmare, my excitement evaporating quickly; overtaken by panic when I saw the way Rob was looking at me.

I wish I had never listened to my mum. Even as I was repeating what they had advised I was struggling to justify it. There was immense pressure to choose the nudes. My mum insisted it would give me the upper hand in our marriage. What's more if I got curious, I had the ideal excuse, as in effect Rob had accepted my choice.

I really didn't have any plans to cheat, although the idea of nudes on my wedding night was quite thrilling. I wondered if some of the guys might try it on with me. Every bride wants that don't they, hoping every male in the room desires her, wishing they were going to be her groom. My maid of honour Evie had worn them and I could see how all the guys looked at her. She danced with a young footballer; I remember seeing him and thinking he was absolutely gorgeous. They had exchanged numbers and six months later she was embroiled in a passionate affair. Her husband Michael knew but could do little about it. I only wanted Rob, but the idea of a bit flirting and being desired was appealing.

I was gutted at how reacted. He just seemed so sad and disappointed in me initially, until the anger took over.

The others all started giving him a hard time. It took seven of us brow beating him to go through with the reception; what a way to start our lives together! I realised everything else was unimportant, I just wanted Rob and how happy we had been just hours earlier exchanging our vows. I would make it all up to Rob later, switching to the white stockings when we were alone together and swearing to be faithful to him forever.

Rob's Speech:

"As you know, Grace and I exchange vows this afternoon and swore to love, honour, forsaking all others as long as we both shall live."

There was a long pause whilst everyone waited to hear the loving words I would link to those vows.

"It saddens me to declare, that I do not believe Grace understands those vows or means to hold true to them."

There was a sharp intake of breath in unison across the whole audience.

Grace looked scared, fear clearly visible in her eyes, "Please don't Rob."

"I have been informed I will lose my job, home and possibly liberty; if I didn't do as I was told tonight. That seems like a strange basis for a happy marriage, so I am rejecting that choice and will be seeking an annulment!"

I held my hands up to quieten the crowd.

"I don't think they can put me in jail for long and I now feel an urge to travel, so I won't need my home or my job. To my soon to be ex or non-wife, I'd say look at the bright side; you'll probably get promoted for your choice, and they'll find you some other chump for you to marry who won't stand up for himself.

Oh, sorry one final comment, my father-in-law would like to apologise for the disruption and has generously agreed to a free bar in compensation. So, anyone wishing to toast my departure is welcome to join me at the bar, which I hereby declare is very open."

I stepped down off the stage... and bedlam erupted.

Grace seemed to collapse, her bridesmaids and family fussed around her, at least that saved me from more of their immediate wrath.

I saw Grace's father and brothers heading my way, thankfully my groomsmen intercepted them, persuading them a conflict wouldn't be in their best interest. Then they ushered me out of the venue and away to a local pub to avoid more trouble.

As we were leaving Grace's cousin approached, I expected another verbal attack, she was truly stunning, but I braced myself for another put-down.

"I'd have worn white for you Rob, if it's any consolation I think you made the right choice, Grace always was self-centred and a little spoilt, very similar to her mum in fact."

I smiled in return, "That's good to know Emily, and I'll keep it in mind."

We got the drinks in and found a table. The guys started the inquest and I recited all of the conversation and actions of the night. We debated if I had done the right thing.

My best man jake told a story about a couple of guys whose wives had worn nudes but remained faithful for over 20 years of marriage, before announcing they were taking lovers. They didn't think their husbands would be able to do anything about it, and they emphasised making good on the choice of nudes their husband had accepted years earlier.

"Shit! Were the husbands just stuck then, no choices or way out.

"That's the funny thing; the first guy had saved money for years just in case after being surprised on his wedding day. As soon as she fucked around, he took off with a load of cash. His wife spent years tracking him down, by the time she found him, he was living on a remote island in Scotland complete with a new partner and family."

"What about the other guy?"

"Well, he stayed, the wife didn't go through with it but by the time they worked that out, he was fucking the chair of the woman's guild in revenge. He turned the tables on his wife completely."

I laughed, "Have you seen the chair of our guild... Doreen, I wouldn't fuck her with a barge pole."

That creased the guys with laughter.

Another groom recalled a friend of his who was in a similar position and had bowed to the pressure. His wife was now regularly fucking other guys. She had also taken to wearing seamed back nylons.

"So, what's that mean, like fucking hung black guys?"

"Yeah, declared herself a hot wife and queen of spades."

There was general consensus that Grace and the others were bitches and I had made the right decision, but I could see a couple of the guys were unsure. When I asked them about it, they explained it was concern about all of the fall out and potential consequences.

"Maybe we need to get you traveling sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, but I need an annulment first, although we did consummate it if that makes any difference these days."

"They are bound to deny it and make everything difficult for you Rob."

*****

They did try, my mortgage was rescinded. We had just bought it so had virtually nothing invested, and I didn't lose much money. I had to move out anyway and went to a friend's house, he had inherited his family home and owned it outright.

My manager had been approached and instructed to dismiss me. He said he couldn't replace me; there just aren't many specialist electronical engineers around. They applied pressure and, in the end, he let me go. The next day, he subcontracted work to me on a self-employed basis... I made significantly more money.