The Argument

A crestfallen Tom morosely answered, "You know which story I believe."

He didn't want Jane to suspect the tracker on her car had led him to her. With a feigned sigh of disappointment, he spun his tale. "I really thought I had you this time. I followed you fine from the house but got caught by the light getting off the interstate. I saw you enter the mall but lost sight of you. Must have spent ten minutes driving around that damn mall before I found your car. If I had made it through the light, I would have caught you red handed."

Jane laughed lightly as she started toward her car and called back over her shoulder, "In your dreams. Ta-Ta, Honey. I'm headed home for a nap."

And that Sunday, Jane added stars for Tuesday and Saturday again, now leading six stars to two.

But a new week also gave Tom another chance to lasso this wild wife.

Tuesday was a lost cause again. Jane carefully checked in with Tom's secretary to confirm he was in the meeting where he was supposed to be. Tom still could not bring himself to admit to anyone like his secretary that his wife was busy screwing other men behind his back with his acquiescence. Consequently, the secretary innocently told Jane all she wanted to know.

Tom fidgeted throughout his meeting, certain that Frank was putting his wife through some vigorous aerobic paces while he sat trapped in the meeting.

But hope springs eternal. Jane had mentioned Monday that she had a meeting on Thursday with a firm she had done work with for a number of years. The firm was in Georgetown, Texas, about 30 miles north of Austin and a two hour drive from home. Being out of town would give Jane an opportunity to runup her score on him, and her competitive nature would surely not let the opportunity go to waste. She not only liked to win; she liked to win big. This weakness provided another shot at snaring his wife in her extracurricular amusements.

Jane seemed to believe his tale about following her by sight on Saturday and had not touched or mentioned the tracker on her car. The tracker was still working fine. That was good.

He took Thursday off from work. After Jane dropped the kids off at school at 7:45, she took the loop to I-35 and then headed north toward Austin. Tom followed, staying about two miles behind her and letting the tracker keep him posted on her progress.

At New Braunfels, Jane exited and went north and stopped at a large travel center. Tom followed, and as he passed by the travel center, he saw Jane filling up her Audi at one of the 24 gas pumps. Tom had filled up yesterday so he pulled into the parking lot of a little strip mall about a half mile down the road and waited.

About ten minutes later, the tracker showed Jane driving back toward the interstate. Tom pulled out and continued the stalk of his cheating wife as she headed north on I-35 toward Austin and Georgetown.

Traffic was heavy in Austin as usual, but with the tracker he had no trouble trailing a couple miles behind his wife. About 10:15 they approached the outskirts of Georgetown so Tom sped up until the tracker indicated he was only a half mile behind Jane. Georgetown came and went, but Jane never slowed down.

Twenty minutes later, Tom was becoming increasingly agitated and swore under his breath, "Damn, what is that woman doing?"

He sped up carefully checking each vehicle as he passed it. The tracker showed he was now ahead of Jane, but he had seen no Audi. He slowed down, and after a few minutes, the tracker said Jane had passed him. Again no Audi. He couldn't tell which of about three or four cars that passed him was the one the tracker said was Jane. One thing was for sure, Jane and her Audi had not passed him.

Tom slammed his fist on the steering wheel roaring, "A pox on that damn woman."

With a sinking feeling, he realized she must have slipped the tracker onto another vehicle headed north when she refueled. She had sent him off on a three hour wild goose chase almost all the way to Temple, Texas.

Tom pulled off at the next exit and into a travel plaza. He refueled, parked, took a piss, and ordered a cup of coffee at the cafe. Shaking his head in vexation, he texted Jane: "Hi! How's your meeting going?"

He sipped on his coffee, and a minute later his phone dinged with an incoming message from Jane: "Meeting canceled after I started out. Rescheduled for next Thursday."

Tom texted back: "Oh, too bad. Where are you now?"

Several minutes passed before Jane's reply dinged in: "Very busy right now. Talk later. Maybe Sunday Happy Hour?" and the message closed with a smiley face.

Fifteen seconds later a second text arrived, "And where are you, Dear?" and it too closed with a smiley face.

Tom gave up and began the drive home. He had been outfoxed by his damn wife again.

Tom canceled all of his plans for the weekend and stuck to his wife like white on rice. Friday night they had pizza and watched a movie with the girls. Jane got up for an early morning run, and Tom was beside her matching stride for stride. She announced she was going to the grocery store, and he said he would go with her.

Jane replied, 'You don't need to, Dear. I won't be long. Somebody has to stay here and watch the girls. Since you didn't play golf today, you can loaf here at the house with them."

Tom replied with a smile, "Oh, no thank you, we will all four go to the store." He might not be able to catch her, but, by God, he could ruin any of her erotic plans for the weekend.

Jane sighed with exacerbation, "Honey, why do I feel like I am wearing a chastity belt this weekend?"

And so it went until Sunday happy hour rolled around for the weekly Manhattan and scoring report.

Jane was in a long red dress with a long slit up the side and a plunging neckline as though going to some gala. She exuded sensuality and serious sexual potential energy. Jane fixed their drinks.

She set his drink in front of him and said with a reproving tone, "You know, Dear, you were a real prig this weekend."

He smiled and started to reply, but she waved him off and went on in a perky voice, "But no matter; water under the bridge now. By the way, I had a delightful chat with your secretary the other day. She is such a charming girl."

Jane sipped her drink thoughtfully and continued with a smile, "She said you and your boss have a trip to Atlanta next week. Leave Tuesday on the 9:00 am flight and get back on Thursday at 9:15 pm. Mercy, you have been so busy at work, it must have slipped your mind, and you forgot to mention it to me."

Tom winced and replied carefully, "It is tentative; it may still fall through."

"Oh balderdash. The secretary says she bought your tickets last Monday, and they are nonrefundable, much cheaper that way."

Jane grinned with a merry twinkle in her eye, "No, no, I think you were thinking that when the cat is away, the mice will play. I would worry about that too, if I were you! After all, I did miss my usual weekend pick-me-up because of your interference."

Jane pulled out her sheet of stars to score the calendar. "But let's see what we have this last week. One for Frank on Tuesday, as usual. Then as you no doubt surmised, one for Thursday

"Officially, after the meeting in Georgetown was canceled Thursday and I was part way to Austin, I took the opportunity to drive home through the Texas hill country. After all, it is the wildflower season, and the bluebonnets are lovely right now.

"Unofficially, perhaps the meeting had been rescheduled to the following Thursday last Monday by email. Perhaps your friend, whom I usually enjoy on the weekend except for this last one, may have treated me to a stay at a B&B up in the hill country. They have a special day rate from 10:30 until 3:00 during the week that provides a cute one bedroom cottage and a picnic lunch with a bottle of wine.

The B&B hostess says shoehorning paying day guests in between overnight guests who check out by 10:00 am and check in after 4:00 pm has proven quite a boon to their bottom line. It seems to be popular with couples from Austin and San Antonio, especially those not married to one another.

Tom listened to his wife with resigned amusement. "Uhm, the latter tale sounds more like you. Ok, when did you figure out the tracker?"

Jane smiled, "That was clever of you. But after you showed up at the mall, I suspected you might have done such. I found the tracker but left it in place. While refueling Thursday I got to chatting with two female Air Force lieutenants who were refueling next to me. They had been TDY to Randolph AFB here in San Antonio and were returning to their home base at Vance AFB in Oklahoma. After I explained my husband was following me on the way to an assignation with my lover, they were delighted to take the GPS tracker with them. I hid my car behind some trucks and watched you come back down the road trailing them thinking they were me. It was a hoot."

Jane had made a double batch of Manhattans and poured them each a refill. Jane passed Tom his glass. She took her glass and strolled around the bar to nestle up against Tom, running her hand lightly down his throat and chest.

"Well Tom, this bet has certainly livened things up. Frank has raised my aerobic fitness to new levels, for sure. Your mystery friend has also been very busy diddling your wife behind your back. And to be quite honest, your wife has thoroughly enjoyed being diddled."

Tom could not help but react to his wife's blatant sexuality and hardened as she spoke and stroked his throat and chest.

He choked out, "So I have noticed. And does my friend have a name? Does he know about the bet?"

Jane kissed Tom's throat and ran her hand along his cheek. "Oh yes, but you will have to catch us to find out who he is. He only wears that distinctive cologne when he is coming to fuck your wife, so don't expect that to help identify him. And yes, he knows about the bet and his contributions in helping me win."

Jane ran her hand down along Tom's crotch stroking his erection through the fabric. She murmured in Tom's ear, "Does your wife getting regularly diddled by other men turn you on, Tom? You certainly are turned on now. During March when I have been very, very naughty, you can't seem to keep your hands off of me. I don't think our sex life together has been this hot since our honeymoon."

Tom was breathing heavily and said carefully, "It's not the other men. It's your new raw sexuality. This bet has brought out a lascivious aggressiveness I have never seen before. I am captivated by it; not to mention also frustrated and jealous. No man alive would not want to fuck you silly when you are like this. And at the same time, your husband would also love to tan your bare bottom."

Jane smiled seductively, "Why thank you, Dear. You say the nicest things. When we put the girls to bed tonight, you can do just that, all of it!"

And so ended the third week in March. With one week to go in the bet, Jane led eight stars to Tom's two. It was turning into a rout.

On Monday, Tom made a couple of random checks back at the house to keep Jane honest. She just grinned and said, "Don't fret; I am resting up for your trip."

Tuesday morning came, and at 7:30 am Tom left for the airport. Jane walked him to the car, warmly kissed him goodbye, and whispered in his ear, "A girl must make hay while the sun shines." She stepped back with a smile and waved enthusiastically as he pulled out and headed to the airport.

There was nothing Tom could do to control his wife while he was in Atlanta. But on his return, he took Friday off and never let his wife out of his sight until the Sunday, 31 March Happy Hour.

Jane was in a perky moody while she fixed their, now traditional, Sunday Manhattans. As she passed Tom his drink, she said with a seductive smile, "Well Honey, this marks the end of our wager. But oh my goodness, I am afraid interlopers have collected a bumper harvest of forbidden fruit from your private orchard this week. Shall we make our final tally of the score?"

Tom smiled ruefully, "Well, the score may be one sided this time, but I got sandbagged. I still think I am right. You just caught me off guard."

Jane laughed derisively, "Honey, I am always game for a rematch; this has been fun. They say a stubborn man cannot change his mind even when the facts show the error of his beliefs. I'll be happy to show you more facts a second time."

She shook her head in mock disgust but was actually in a happy, playful mood. "Ok, big boy let's see how this final week went. She stuck a star on Tuesday saying, "Frank of course," and a star on Wednesday saying "your friend again."

Jane looked at Tom thoughtfully, "I could argue for two stars each for Tuesday and Wednesday. I invited Frank to stay for lunch and an afternoon repeat, and your friend took the whole day off Wednesday to thoroughly entertain your wife. What a thoughtful man."

Jane smiled and winked at Tom, "But we won't get hung up on the details."

She put a star on Thursday.

Tom grunted resignedly, "Frank or my mysterious friend?"

Jane laughed gayly, "Oh, neither. Remember my meeting in Georgetown was rescheduled to be on Thursday. One of the plant engineers there has had a crush on me for years. He has asked me to lunch a number of times, but I always demurred feeling it might get awkward. But now?"

Jane gave a Gaelic shrug and continued, "I took a page from your play book with Brandy. I invited him to lunch at a boutique hotel back in Austin and let nature take its course. I think he has an even bigger crush on me now. Fortunately, I had already arranged for Jeannie to pick up the girls after school in case I was late getting back."

Tom blew out a breath, "Ouch. I guess the score is eleven to two; you won this time I still think I got ambushed unfairly though. I'll have to think about a rematch."

Jane laughed gayly, "Silly boy. I am not through yet." She placed a star on Sunday 31 March.

Tom exploded, "That can't be right. I have been with you every step of the way every day since I got back. You would never have a chance to do anything without me knowing.

Jane was smiling, "You have been with me every step of the way except ..." Jane opened her eyes wide, quetioningly.

Tom realized what she meant, "You have to be kidding."

"Nope. Once a quarter, you usher at church, and I help with children's Sunday school and chapel and that was today. You went to adult Sunday school and ushered at 11:00 church. I swapped my assignment with Martha. She took over for me today, and I'll do hers next Sunday."

Jane shrugged and grinned mischievously, "The rear parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express is adjacent to the church's back lot. What can I say. Score is twelve to two; you lost big time."

Tom shook his head in frustration and groaned.

Jane chuckled, "Oh Honey, this was a duel of wits; unfortunately, you came to the fight unarmed."