One Way or the Other

"I'm satisfied," she whispered. "I'm just sorry that you didn't—"

"Fully satisfied?" he asked, propping his torso up on his elbow, looking down into her face, and giving her a serious look. "You're agreeing it isn't all about sex now. Is it true that you are saying you'd like to have a child or two? You're not just saying that to try to please me?"

"It would have been good, I think," she said, trying to be careful with her words. She didn't want to lie to him. "Ellen came into the bookstore with her little girl today. Watching them pick out a book, I couldn't help thinking about what I've missed by concentrating so much on other things. But there's little use thinking about that now, not with—"

"It's not just children," Arthur said. "I haven't been inside you for nearly a year now. I know how much you've always enjoyed the sex, being filled and stretched and worked by me. I have too. I feel bad about denying that to you."

"That can't be helped, Arthur. You didn't choose to have cancer. We have to stick this out together."

"No, I didn't choose to be sick. But I'm aware of the differences in our ages—I always have been. From the beginning, I didn't resent your past—your going with the Sales boy in college."

If only you knew how many boys I'd gone with before marrying you, Lindy thought, but she said nothing. This was not the time for revelations.

"I decided then, when we married, that when I got too old to, you know . . . I knew you wouldn't be too old for it. I decided then that I'd want to turn to someone else."

"Someone else?" Lindy said, surprised and a bit shocked.

"Yes, I decided I wouldn't mind if you had a man on the side as long as we could still be mates in everything else that made a marriage. And I think we may have come to that point."

"May?" she asked. She couldn't give him a dramatic denial of interest—or denial she'd never thought of that herself. She had thought about it herself on occasion. She wasn't a nun; she knew how it felt to have a man inside her and she did miss that. But she didn't regret that she'd decided to keep it in her marriage, to only lay down for her husband.

"Yes, may. I've been thinking of possibilities, but I want you to know now that if you did find someone who could sexually satisfy you—fully—that would be fine with me, if all it was was physical sex. I want you to be happy."

"Well, I guess I should thank you," Lindy said, "but of course it will never come to that." And, of course, it wouldn't. She momentarily went over the thirty-some men living in Wallace and quickly rejected them all. She'd actually gone over this list before, not with any serious intent, of course. She immediately castigated herself for even entertaining the thought, but then her mind went to Sharon Springs. It was a larger town. That was where Arthur worked, but Lindy rarely went there. There was Charlie, the mechanic at Arthur's garage. He was a real hunk—but, no, she wasn't going to go there.

And now she couldn't feel right going there—thinking about the men in Sharon Springs—in case she was slipping and checking out the men in that town as possible sex partners. No, it was a preposterous idea. It was noble of Arthur to consider it and offer it, but it was just too late in life for that. She was matched with Arthur, and there was no reason not to be content and grateful for that.

"And, well, if that man were to give you a child," Arthur said, now lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling, because he couldn't face Lindy on this point, even in the dark, "well that would be fine with me too. It would be more than fine. I'd treat that child just like it was mine. That would be just fine."

Lindy didn't say anything, but her mind was churning. So, what was Arthur saying? Was he not just giving her license to pursue sexual pleasure? Was he going beyond that? Was he saying he wanted a child so badly that he wanted her to sleep with a man and become pregnant by him? Was this more a plaintive request than thoughtful and selfless license?

"And it's just a maybe, anyway," Arthur said. "There still are other options."

He was talking about that new bottle of sex enhancement pills in the medicine chest now, Lindy thought. But if he'd tried them already, they weren't much of an option. Of course, later in the night she discovered that he hadn't opened that bottle yet. That still was there as an option. What was he waiting for? It was true that his doctor had said that the longer Arthur moved beyond the chemotherapy the more likely that his libido would come back—probably with a little help.

* * *

"Do you have Lady Chatterley's Lover? If so, you should let him off." The laugh was dry, familiar.

Surprised and recognizing the voice, Lindy, who had been dusting a bookshelf and hadn't heard the bookroom door opened, turned in shock. "Steve? Steve Sales? What are you doing here?" Immediately, though, she had some inkling what he was doing here.

"I was looking for a good book. Imagine my surprise when I stopped in whatever little burg this is and found such a lovely lady in the bookstore when I had the need for a good book."

"You don't want to read Lady Chatterley's Lover and Wallace isn't a place people just show up to and find old friends."

"I was out trying out my new motorcycle—come over to the window and look at it—and I stopped, surprised—surprised to find a bookstore in a such a small burg. And, surprise, look who is here. An old friend . . . no, an old love of mine. That's what put Lady Chatterley's Lover in my mind. You still with that old geezer?"

"Arthur? Yes, we're married now. We've been married for some time." She'd come forward to one of the picture windows in the front of what essentially was a deep, covered, and glassed-in front porch. There really was a shiny motorcycle parked out front. Steve came over to stand by her. He put a hand on her hip, and she left it there. He was as gorgeous and hunky as ever, and she'd never been able to resist him.

"He lives here with you?"

"Yes."

"He's here now?"

"No. He's over in Sharon Springs. We have a bigger bookstore there. He runs that. But that doesn't explain what you're doing here. How you found me—and why. Where do you live now; what do you do?" She really wanted to know what his attachments were, but she didn't dare ask. But she also wanted to know how and why he'd found her—what he wanted. He was stroking her hip with a thumb. She guessed she knew what he wanted. She couldn't deny it was what she ached for as well.

"I'm still living in Aurora. I sell Cadillacs now. Fancy that. But I still like motorcycles and this is a new one. I'm on a road trip to try it out."

"A hundred-mile road trip into another state, turning your nose to flat, dull landscape?"

"It's the best way to concentrate on what a new machine does—not to be distracted by the surroundings. I've tried everything except how it is with another person on it with me. It's a nice surprise to find you here. You can help me. Go for a ride with me. Is there someplace nice around to head to?"

"Someplace nice? Here in nowhere western Kansas?" Lindy asked, with a snort. "I can't go for a ride with you. I have a bookstore to tend to."

"And all those people lined up to buy a book, I see." He looked around and smiled. He went to the exit door, opened it and looked up and down the street. "They must be just down the road somewhere we can't quite see them, marching this way to buy a book." He saw the Open/Closed sign on the door and turned it so the "Closed" showed to the outside. "There, it's as easy as that. It's a beautiful day. You need to get out. I know you like to ride motorcycles. You always liked to ride mine . . . and me." That last thought cleared up in her mind why he was here. She felt so helpless in defense against him. She didn't want to defend anything.

He put an arm around her waist, and she couldn't keep herself from leaning into him and putting her head on his shoulder. His hand brushed on of her breasts and she turned her face to him. They kissed. It was short, tentative, but they both knew there would be more. The hand brushed down across her belly, and he touched her in the V of her shorts.

"Now, you were telling me about whether there's a lake or a river near here. I'd like to see more trees than you got in this little burg."

"The Smoky Hill River is about three miles south on State Route 26," she answered, not being able to resist him, more than halfway thinking Arthur didn't want her to resist him. "There are trees along the bank there."

There were indeed trees along the back of the Smoky Hill River, which was more a babbling brook. But the babbling added to the atmosphere. They were lying on the riverbank, Lindy on her back, Steve stretched out beside her, his head propped on his bent arm, looking down at her, and his other hand stroking her pussy. She was conveniently wearing men's cut-off jeans shorts and a buttoned blouse. The shorts were undone, unzipped and flared now, her panties were pushed down, and Steve's fingers were playing in her pubic V and in the folds of her cunt, rubbing her clit, and pressing inside her. Her blouse was unbuttoned and flared, her bra, which hooked in front, was undone, and Steve had already played with her pendulous breast. They'd done all the kissing and touching they needed to do to get on with it. She was wet and he was in erection. It was showtime.

"You gonna fuck me now, Steve Sales?" she asked, her voice dreamy. He was unzipped and his shorts were flared open as well. Her left hand was gripping his erection.

"Are you gonna let me?" he asked.

"Why are you really here? You didn't just happen upon me. Did Arthur call you and give you his blessing for this? Is he paying you?"

"I don't need no money to want to screw you, honeypot. You were always ready for it before, and I've been ready for another round all these years."

There was no doubt that she was ready and willing for it now.

He leaned his face down to hers and took her lips with his. He slipped two fingers into her cunt, pressed the heel of his hand into her clit, and began moving the fingers in and out, fingerfucking her. She arched her back, raised her pelvis into his hand, and groaned. Her hand was stroking his cock. He pulled away from her lips but only to lower his head and to suck the nipple of one of her breasts into his mouth and run his rough tongue over the nub. She responded with a deep moan.

She was quite aware that he hadn't responded to the question of whether Arthur had a role in this, but she didn't give a shit about that now. Steve was with a young, virile stud. She was with Steve. At the base of her mind she believed that Arthur had set this up and wanted her to give into it.

She gave into it, rocking against Steve's penetrating fingers, feeling herself rise up into the clouds of sexual pleasure, until, giving a little cry, she pumped herself on his controlling hand vigorously until she exploded. And then again, and again.

"So, I asked before," she whispered when she could get her breath, "you gonna fuck me now, and did Arthur put you up to this?"

"I want to go back. I want you to fuck you on your husband's bed."

"Before . . . you wanted to do it on his desk. Now you want to do it on his bed. You jealous of Arthur?"

"Arthur has you and I don't. I'm not used to not getting everything I want—especially women. Especially sexy women like you. You gonna let me fuck you? Are we gonna go back to your little burg and your husband's bed? You gonna lay down for me, sweet thing, and open your legs to me?"

Steve fucked her on the bed she shared with Arthur in the small house in Wallace. He was so anxious to be in her that he bent her over the bed on her belly as soon as they entered the bedroom and stripped her shorts and panties off while she unbuttoned and flared her blouse and unhooked her bra. Covering her from behind and above, he slid inside her, grasped her ample breasts in his hands, and worked them in rhythm to his thrusts. She groaned upon the painful entry and then gave a little laugh as he began to pump her.

Steve came quickly the first time, both of them crying out as he tensed and released, creaming her deep inside, and held there, incasing her body, both of them panting, working to get that under control, and Steve whispering dirty comments in her ear as he moved to another erection. Lindy turned her head and looked over to the window into the side yard. Arthur was standing at the window, watching them. It was just like that first time, back in his darkened classroom at the community college in Aurora. She had seen him then. When she told him she had, he showed no embarrassment, just saying that the two of them, Lindy and Steve, fucking, had been a work of art. He had stood at the door to the classroom and watched Steve fuck her on his desk through the window in the door that day and was doing it again through the bedroom window today. He hadn't gotten angry about it then. He'd just maneuvered Lindy into marrying him—and he'd fucked her on his classroom desk more than once himself.

He didn't look angry now. He wanted to watch them do it. That's why Steve didn't do it on the riverbank. Arthur wanted them to do it where he could watch. Well, all right, she thought. She'd give him something to watch.

So, she was right, Lindy thought. Arthur had arranged this. He'd arranged it for her to enjoy—and for him to enjoy watching—and he didn't care if she got pregnant from it. He wanted her to get pregnant.

Steve turned her over on his back on the bed and moved in between her spread thighs. She lifted her pelvis high for him, and he slid inside her. Moaning deeply, Lindy moved with him, rocking against his pelvis, taking him deep inside her and moving on the hard shaft. They fucked longer, more languidly, this time, and when he came, it was in several long flows, filling her. When, clutching the tips of his bare shoulders with her digging fingernails and crying out, "Yes! Yes!" she managed to come together with Steve, she looked over at the window. Arthur was still, briefly there, but then he was gone.

At the door at the front of the house, Lindy stood and watched Steve mount his bike. He was as sexy in doing that, in putting a bike between his legs, as he had been in mounting her. The attraction they'd had for each other in high school and junior college was still there.

"You gonna let me come back and see you again, honeypot?" he asked, giving her a sexy smile.

"Is it what Arthur wants?" she asked.

"Is it what you want," Steve countered with.

"Yes," she answered, not avoiding the truth. But she knew now that it was what Arthur wanted too, and she wanted to please Arthur. They were putting a brave face on it, but Arthur and she—and the doctors—all knew Arthur was on a downward slope.

Steve laughed. "Then I'll be back."

* * *

Lindy was in the kitchen starting to prepare dinner when Arthur came home that evening. He walked by her and went into the bathroom, when he came back in about twenty minutes of messing around in the bedroom, he seemed keyed up. He came in behind her, put his arms around her and kissed her on the throat.

"Is dinner something you can't leave for a while?" he asked.

She wasn't being caught by surprised. She could feel him pressed in behind her. Arthur was a big man where it counted most. He was both longer and thicker than Steve was, for instance, and Steve was divine. Lindy began to tremble. He'd opened the pills—the enhancement pills—in the bathroom medicine chest. It was obvious from what was poking at the small of her back.

"Yes, for as long as you want."

"Good," he said.

"You watched us from the bedroom window," she said. She wanted that cleared up off the top.

"Yes."

"Because you wanted it—and you arranged it."

"Yes. God, that was sexy. I have pills. I wanted to save them until I watched you and Sales again. Let's go into the bedroom."

"Yes," she answered. "Unless you don't want that to be, Steve will come here again."

"Just let me know when."

Arthur fucked Lindy on the bed for the full two hours that the pills kept him hard. And he breeded her too—once in a doggie and once in a missionary, mimicking at least some of which Steve did with her earlier in the day while Arthur watched. Then, to let him know she was having as good a time as Arthur was, Lindy put him on his back on the bed and rode his shaft in a vigorous cowboy position. She got three ejaculations, deep inside her, out of the man before they both collapsed in exhaustion.

With luck, that should do it, she thought, although they'd do it again the next day and the day after that. The bottle of pills was full, and Arthur's little game had energized them both. She would be ovulating tomorrow. The timing was great.

One thing, though, she knew Arthur would wonder for the longest time whose child any that materialized from this was. She knew whose child it would be. She just didn't know how long into the waiting she wanted to go before letting Arthur know to get a little back at him for taking this approach. She knew it would be Arthur's. What Arthur didn't know was that Steve Sales hadn't changed. He'd only fucked her in the ass.

But then, again, if it didn't take this time, could be it might be Charlie's at the garage over in Sharon Springs.