The Devil's Bargain Ch. 12

Then Sue ran her fingernails down my legs. It was a startling sensation, because I couldn't see it coming.

- "Ooh - goosebumps." she said.

Then I felt an incredible warmth around my half-hard dick. It took me a moment to realize that it was a face cloth, or a small hand towel. The heat was... impressive. I began to stiffen and grow.

Sue removed the cloth. A moment later, I felt a very warm, very wet tongue flick across the head of my cock. The heat was negligible, after that towel, but the wetness, and the surprise element...

Then I felt Sue's hand wrap around my erection. She gave it an absent-minded stroke or two. I heard a spoon on a dish, or a bowl.

The next sensation was of Sue's lips parting as they spread over the head of my cock, and then taking me into her mouth - and I squealed at the sudden freezing cold engulfing my dick. I spasmed, involuntarily, and stabbed the roof of her mouth and even the back of her throat with my cock. She gagged, and pulled away.

- "I'm sorry!" I said.

- "I'm sorrier - that was a bad idea." said Sue. "Note to self - don't do that again."

- "What was that? Ice cubes?"

- "Ice cream. I'm sorry, Dan. I didn't mean to shock you that much."

- "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

- "Choke me with your dick?" She laughed. Thankfully, she also thought to re-apply the warm towel to my penis. "Does that feel better?"

- "It does - ahh..."

Sue hadn't waited long before removing the cloth, and replacing it with her mouth, which this time was warm - even hot. She's drunk a hot drink, after the ice cream.

My lover gave me a slow, intense blowjob. I've experienced leisurely and unhurried oral, thanks largely to Brenda. But this was intense. Sue wanted me to experience the sensations, and enjoy every moment.

- "I'm... ahh, Sue."

She took hold of my balls as I came, and then swallowed all of my ejaculate, slurping noisily as she did.

Sue covered me with a blanket, but didn't take off the blindfold.

- "Have a short nap." she whispered. "I'll be back."

I didn't nap, of course. Instead, I strained to hear every sound. I heard the fridge open again, and then liquid sloshing into a glass. There were a few noises I couldn't identify.

Sue came back into the living room. She didn't approach me, though; she sat down in her armchair, across from the couch.

The next sound I heard was, by now, a familiar one: the buzz of her vibrator. I swear I could almost smell her, as her juices began to flow. The next thing I felt was Sue straddling my hips, and then I tasted her nipple, as she presented it to my lips.

***

We used the next 'adventure paper' some three weeks later.

- "Camping?" I was confused. She knew very well that we couldn't go away overnight without making arrangements for the dogs, our mothers, and the three houses.

- "In my backyard." she said. "I'll need your help to finish setting up the tent."

I raised an eyebrow. I wasn't sure that I understood the appeal of backyard camping.

"I've always wanted to have sex in a tent." she explained.

Fair enough. I was perfectly happy to help her cross items off her sexual bucket list. It was actually fun to set up the tent, and then to barbecue sausages. Sue was wearing half a T-shirt, which left one shoulder and most of her midriff bare, and a pair of fairly indecent cut-off jeans.

- "You're lucky there are no mosquitoes." I pointed out.

- "I'm lucky to have you." she said.

Her one concession to 'civilization' was an air mattress for the floor of the tent. She lay back on it while I pleasured her with my fingers and my tongue. It might have been only my imagination, but she seemed to come much sooner than usual.

- "Come here." she said, holding out her arms, and spreading her knees a little farther apart.

- "Where's the vibrator?" It was dark inside the tent, and I couldn't see it.

- "Not tonight." she said. "I wouldn't bring a vibrator on a camping trip. I wanted it to be just you and me, tonight."

I wanted to make love; Sue wanted to fuck. We ended up doing both. Sue didn't reach orgasm, but she gave every sign that she was enjoying the closeness, the intimacy - and the unusual location.

***

The other 'adventure papers' were for massages. I was on the receiving end, first, and then got a chance to return the favour. I guessed, correctly, that it would be one of the remaining options, and came prepared with extra towels and an aromatic lotion.

The final adventure was a replay of the first, with the roles reversed.

- "This was meant to be a thank you, from me to you." she said. "But it seems like I'm the one reaping the benefits."

- "Don't worry; I'm going to enjoy every minute. And I'm pretty sure that I'll be doing some reaping and some sowing."

- "You're such a pervert." she said, chuckling.

- "That's pretty brave, coming from a woman wearing a blindfold. And if I recall correctly, weren't you the one who came up with these... adventures?"

- "Maybe... and maybe we can both write the next batch..."

***

We did Christmas Eve with Mom, and Christmas morning with Sue's mother. Honour was thus preserved, and we avoided most of the unpleasantness. Mom was actually reasonably pleasant.

On Boxing Day, we were invited over to George and Anna's. The Bennetts were there, too, with their daughter. I was glad that they'd made friends in the neighbourhood.

And then I was trying not to stare too hard as Lisa greeted us. She had changed. It wasn't something superficial, like her hair, or her clothing. No, she had more... presence.

I gave her a brief hug, but she hung on longer - and a little tighter - than I'd expected. I'm sure that I was blushing a bit as I started the introductions.

- "Sue, this is Lisa - Freya's favourite substitute walker." Oops. I probably should have thought twice about that one. But it was literally true: Sue had walked with Freya and me, whereas Lisa had taken over for me hundreds of times.

- "I'm so glad you came." said Lisa, as she gave Sue a hug too. "This is Paul."

He was a tall, handsome fellow. I resisted the temptation to tell him that he was an incredibly lucky fellow. Instead, I just shook his hand and said: "Pleased to meet you."

- "Thank you, sir." he said. "I've heard a lot about you."

Okay, the 'sir' was unexpected. But I was twenty years older, so it might have been simple respect for his elder. Okay - the truth? I didn't want to dislike him just because he was with Lisa. That would have been... juvenile? But I actually didn't dislike him. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and well aware that he'd won the lottery when it came to girlfriends.

I stayed close to Sue, well aware that she didn't really know anyone here. She'd met George and Anna before, but only in larger gatherings, like a barbecue or backyard party. Lisa, of course, went out of her way to involve Sue in the conversation - especially about dogs. Meanwhile, the Bennetts were happy to share their impressions of the neighbourhood after a year and a half of living in my old house.

No, I didn't feel any pressure to speak to Lisa. We'd been communicating by email for the past two years; I knew pretty much what she'd been up to, just as she knew about me - and we both had additional sources of information in her parents. I was happy just to see her, and to hear her voice.

It was fairly obvious that George had taken Paul under his wing, so to speak. He clearly approved of his daughter's beau. Perhaps he liked the idea of Paul as a prospective son-in-law. Anna was busy hosting, of course, but I did notice that she didn't fawn over Lisa's boyfriend quite as much as her husband did. Maybe it was the simple fact that George didn't leave many opportunities for anyone else to get a word in.

The gathering was fairly warm. I'm sure that the Bennetts, Sue and Paul all felt very welcome. It was a feeling I'd experienced many times before with Lisa's family. They had that gift.

We left at a reasonable hour.

- "You weren't too freaked out?" I asked Sue. She knew very well that I had dated Lisa for over a year. But it's one thing to hear that your lover was with a much younger woman - it's quite another thing to actually meet her. Sue didn't flip when I first told her - which was a credit to her. Still, I'd been a little worried about tonight.

- "No. She was just... so nice. I mean, so are her parents - you were so lucky to have them as neighbours." said Sue, with a little trace of envy in her voice. "But Lisa is... special."

- "She is. I'm glad that you got along."

- "How did you do with Paul?"

- "Oh, fine. George monopolized his attention, most of the time. He made me feel a bit old, to tell the truth."

- "When he called you 'Sir'?"

- "You heard that?"

We'd arrived in front of Sue's house. I never presumed that she was going to ask me in; I waited to be invited. Some days, she just sighed, and told me not to be an idiot. Other times, she grew mildly annoyed. Tonight, though, she touched my arm.

- "Will you come in, Dan?" she said. "I have eggnog and rum left. Plus I'm feeling a powerful urge to reclaim my man."

- "Reclaim?"

- "Mark my territory?"

- "I think I like these urges of yours."

- "Oh, you will..."

***

There was no other Lisa-related fallout after that. It was too bad, in a sense, because a slightly jealous (or possessive) Sue was a force of nature. I remembered how her meeting Aarti had provided the catalyst for the start of our relationship.

Lisa sent me an email in early February.

I genuinely liked Sue. I can see the attraction. But It was interesting, too: in many ways, she reminds me of you.

I replied, and said the requisite nice things about Paul.

***

It all started innocently enough - with a haircut.

Perhaps you've had this experience: your significant other gets her hair done, and then asks 'What do you think?'. It can be tricky, especially if you're not prepared - and I wasn't.

Sue had cut off at least twelve inches of her hair. Now I understand that it was her hair, and that she had every right to do whatever she chose with it. I also know that it takes much longer to wash and dry long hair. But the simple fact of the matter was that I didn't like her new style.

Her hair no longer reached her shoulders. It curved inwards on both sides of her face, following the lines of her cheeks and chin. Unfortunately, it made her look like one of the Beatles, in 1964.

I could have made a recovery, and complimented her. I didn't do it in time.

- "You don't like it?"

- "No, I mean, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting..."

Sue took it as a personal rejection. She was under quite a bit of stress, at the time, and this might have been one straw too many for the poor camel's back.

I apologized profusely, of course, and she pretended to accept my apology. I tried to ignore her new hairdo. The truth was, I really didn't like it. To me, it spoiled her looks. Yes, I felt like an idiot. Sue was the same person. Her personality hadn't changed, nor had her excellent body. But every time I saw a photo of her with longer hair, I mourned.

Easy enough to get over, right? Except that I now began to notice a few other things that made me uncomfortable.

March and April were messy months. We'd had a lot of snow over the winter; now it melted early, leaving vast puddles and huge expanses of mud. The leash-free park and our usual dog-walking spots were just awful. The dogs didn't care, but they practically needed a bath before they could be allowed back in the house.

I just happened to notice that it was beginning to wear on me, because I was walking both dogs more often. After a walk, I had to take them over to Sue's, wash Gucci off and towel him dry before depositing him inside, and then take Freya home, and then wash the dry, caked (and cold) mud off of her.

Not the end of the world, right? But I started counting. In May, I walked both dogs by myself nine times. That's an average of twice of week.

I also cut Sue's grass three times in May - and her Mother's twice. Again, these are things you do for your friends - and especially for your loved ones. But on the other side of the ledger, we went out together exactly once that month.

That's not to say that we didn't get together, because we certainly did. But only one date. And then there was another alarming trend. We'd only had sex seven times in May. No adventures, either.

I was taking stock. Sue had been swamped at work since the New Year. Now, though, she was plainly overwhelmed, and bringing it home with her in the evening. To make matters worse, the Heart and Stroke Foundation was making greater demands on her time - and it appeared that Sue had never mastered the essential skill of saying 'No'.

Except to me, of course. She couldn't go out with me because of the work she'd brought home. Saturday was out of the question, because of some charity event. I was walking both dogs and cutting her grass to give her more time to catch up.

I went so far as to prepare meals at her house, so that she wouldn't have to cook (or even shop for groceries). She appreciated the effort on my part, she told me, but I could see that I was actually adding to her stress, because now she felt obliged to have sex with me, when it was one of the last things she wanted to do.

Our sex life was suffering. Even when we did make love, or fuck - and we were down to once a week - it was... disappointing. Sex isn't solely a matter of technique, or of energy. She was tired, out of sorts, and most definitely not in the mood.

Nor was I.

I felt like I was well down Sue's list of priorities. Holly was wedded to her job, so I had experience with that. But Sue's list looked something like this: work, charity, Gucci, her mother, her house, her mother's house... and then me.

Sue had been trying to fit me into her schedule all along. But now she wouldn't change it for me.

In June, I found myself vacuuming her house, and cleaning her bathroom, while she was over at her mother's, doing the same thing. All of this was to free her up for a Saturday evening 'date'. We were going to eat together, and - perhaps - have sex.

She wasn't back yet, so I started prepping the meal. I shouldn't have. It was practically done when my phone went off.

- "Dan?"

- "Is everything alright?"

Sue huffed. "No. It's... aargh! Listen - I'm sorry. I don't think I'll be back for a while. You go ahead."

- "Okay." I said. "I'll leave you a container on the counter. You can heat it up, or microwave it when you get home."

There was a silence on the other end, for just a moment.

- "Thank you, Dan." she said. "I... I'll make it up to you."

- "You don't have to."

- "Yeah, I kinda do."

Sue didn't mention that evening the next day. She didn't bring it up again.

It was up to me. I gave her two days' warning, and then ordered a pile of Chinese food, including all of her favourites. After that, I put on a movie she loved, and watched at least once a year. I sat at the end of the couch, and began to massage her feet.

She groaned when I started working on her instep. Half an hour later, I moved from her ankle to her calf. Sue frowned.

- "Dan - I really appreciate the food, and the movie. And it's really nice to get a foot rub. But... it's only fair to warn you: I don't have the energy, tonight - if you were thinking of getting amorous."

- "I'm always thinking of getting amorous with you, Sue. You're a beautiful woman, and I'm not blind. In fact, all of my other senses still work. Maybe we should schedule some time to try some new 'adventures'. We could write them together..."

Sue pulled her feet out of my lap, and sat up.

- "Why is it always about sex, with you?" she snapped. "It's not always about what you want. Sometimes other people have to come first."

I was taken aback by the hostility in her voice. "What I want? Isn't sex for both of us?"

Then she said it: "It can't always be about sex. And... it's not always about you, Dan."

In my (admittedly limited) experience, those particular words are sometimes addressed to a ridiculously selfish person, or a complete narcissist. Or, they can be aimed at someone who is neither of those things.

I don't believe that I'm especially selfish. Nor do I believe that I was pressuring Sue for sex. In fact, I was shocked that she said that - and profoundly hurt.

You see, I'd heard those exact words years before - spoken by my wife, Connie. Those words were the prelude to six sexless years, waiting hand and foot on someone who no longer ranked me among her most important people, or even things. For Connie, I was less important than her Mom, Freya, the house, Mom's house, the pool, and Mom's pool.

I'd come full circle. I was right back where I started.

***

Breaking off with Sue... well, let's just say that it didn't go all that well.

- "You're dumping me? Just when I need you most?"

- "You may need me," I said, "but you don't want me. Where do I rank, on your list of priorities? Top twenty? Top ten?"

- "What are you even talking about?"

- "Your mother comes before me. That's understandable. But every time? How hard would it be to say 'Sorry, Mom, I need to spend some time with Dan'? I know where I am, Sue. I come after your job, the Foundation, Gucci, your house, and your mother's house."

- "That's not true."

- "Sue, you said 'It's not always about you, Dan'. The truth is, it's never about me. When you get busy, or stressed, I slide to the bottom of the list of priorities. And you know what? I understand. I want to help out, to lighten your burden. But you don't see that at all, do you? There's no way that you could, and still say what you did."

- "You're being over-sensitive. They're just... words."

- "The exact same words that my wife said to me, as she cut me off physically and emotionally. Words matter, Sue."

I gave her the dog-walkers club. I started taking Freya to new parks, and new paths. I wasn't going to compete for the loyalty of our neighbours. Sue had known them longer, and might need them more, in the immediate future.

***

I'm so sorry. wrote Holly.

How are you? asked Lisa.

Not too good. How on earth had I managed to put myself into the very same situation that had led to me accepting Tansa's bargain?

I'm not suggesting that I regretted the contract. Holly and Monica were both positive memories for me - and Holly might be more than just a piece of my past. Despite the way we ended, I couldn't think of Aarti without a slight shiver of amazement.

And Lisa...

Okay, I probably could have done without Alanna. And while I'd had some great sex with Kim, I would've preferred not to be involved with her at all, considering what she did to Josh. But I had zero regrets about Brenda.

My memories of Sue would be mixed: a good year, followed by a bad six months, and the pain of reliving my worst moments with Connie. I had a new outlook on Tansa, now - it was the old adage 'Be careful what you wish for - you may get it'.

Of course, I invoked the broken heart clause with Sue. It didn't matter: there was no 'pissed off as hell' clause. Ron would just shrug when he saw me. He desperately wanted to ask, but he was also loyal to Sue. None of the other dog walkers wanted to take sides.

Pete and Brenda listened sympathetically, but I didn't want to overdo it. They needed time for each other, and I had no interest in becoming a permanent third wheel. It was time for me to find a hobby.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men can't compete with the sort of curves that life likes to throw at us.