The Road Ahead Ch. 02

God no she muttered under her breath as I switched off the ignition and pushed the door lock button to unlock the doors with a loud ominous click. I got out and came to her side to help her out and her palm was sweaty as she clutched my hand in a vice-like grip. Together we walked into the restaurant and I told her to find a seat while I picked up a couple of salads. I notice she found a small table in an un-crowded corner behind a five foot high wall partition and took a chair that would place her facing into the corner and away from the line of sight from other customers. I smiled that she had been able to find such a secluded and hidden site.

I collected our salads, picked up condiments dressings and utensils and then took them all on the tray to our table. I sat down briefly in the chair facing out and looked around to what I could of the general area. Since it wasn't during a meal-time rush we were essentially to ourselves. Sandy looked nervous, but excited, and I smiled slightly as I told her to trade seats with me. "I'm left handed." I said. "That way I won't be elbowing the wall." I couldn't hide my smile as I stood; Sandy knew the real reason I wanted her facing out into the room. She looked around furtively, took a gulp of from her drink to moisten her parched mouth and then quickly moved to the seat I had vacated, keeping low and behind the partition while she did.

We started to eat and I noticed that Sandy picked at her own salad as she kept looking around. I'm not sure if she wanted to make sure no-one came into the area, or was hoping someone would. While I was busy eating I noticed her freeze as her gaze locked on someone or something else. I heard the noise of a chair moving and someone sitting down and knew someone had entered the area. I tried to be natural as I looked around and over my shoulder, and saw that a man, probably in his early fifties like us had sat down. He was alone and chosen one of the four chairs that gave him direct line of site to Sandy. I know he didn't want to seem obvious in his interest, but there was no mistaking the fact he was.

Sandy was so focused on the new arrival, she hadn't seen me look, and I asked her what was wrong, since she was still frozen in thought and not eating. She looked back at me with suddenness since I had interrupted her and said that a man had just sat down opposite her. "So," I said. "go on, you're not eating."

She started picking at her salad again between quick glances to see if the stranger was looking. When I interrupted her again, asking what was wrong. She whispered, loudly enough that he could probably hear, that he was looking at her. I could see the bumps from her hard nipples plainly so both the man and I knew she was turned on, unless he was dense as a hockey puck.

"So," I said. "You know you're an exhibitionist; you want him to look." I wanted the man to hear me, to know that I knew, and that I was encouraging her. I remember a segment in a pornographic DVD of "Sunshine Skirt Chasers", where a beautiful girl in Florida sat in a booth much like this one in probably a Dunkin Donuts shop. That seemed to be a favorite flashing venue for the producer, and as I looked around, I was struck with the similarities.

In the segment, the girl was wearing a much more conservative floral print dress that buttoned all the way up the front. As she looked nervously into the camera, pulled her dress up and scissored her legs open and closed to show she had already taken off her panties in the library sequence. The girl ended up unbuttoning each and every button, showing she still had her conservative white support bra on. She stood, with her dress fully unbuttoned and pulled apart so you could see the full nakedness of her body, and it seemed she would slip the dress from her arms and remove her bra as well, but alas you didn't see her fully nude until she stripped naked at the side of her van and re-dressed in other clothes.

I remembered the segment well, the natural nervousness of the girl made it seem very real, and yet it was done as a commercial production. I wanted to see the same nervousness in Sandy and wasn't disappointed at all. I wanted the man to see it as well. After what seemed like an eternity of fidgeting, crossing her legs, then re-crossing them the other way several times, Sandy looked directly at the man, not pretending or avoiding visual contact. He must have looked at her and signaled his real interest, because she smiled back, and then biting her lower lip, she squared in her seat to face him. Slowly she started to part her thighs.

The skirt of her silky nighty was at an almost modest height about half way up her thighs as she sat up straight or slightly forward; during the shifting and fidgeting, I'm sure the man had seen her pussy, but the glimpse was so fleeting he probably wasn't really sure what he had seen. Her knees were about fifteen inches apart and he could have seen everything even with the soft red skirt partially hiding things, I know I could and he had a better line of site than me even if he was further away. I turned to look at him, and he was smiling and gesturing for her to move her legs further apart. Neither Sandy nor I wanted to upset or offend someone who wasn't interested, but this stranger definitely was.

The man's interest made Sandy bold, and she spread her legs as far apart as she could, and then pulled the hem that was already pulled higher up to her waist to reveal her whole naked sex to him. My cock was rock hard and as I quickly looked, the stranger's was as well. He was openly stroking it as it snaked down the leg of his pants. I looked at Sandy and broke into her fantasies as I said, "Show him your tits, pull it up more." She was lost in lust as she looked ready to start masturbating right there in front of us, but I had shocked her. With eyes glazed by lust Sandy stared at the man and pulled her gown up above her tits, just under her chin.

Sandy fed some of the material into her mouth and bit down tightly to hold it there while she released it from her hands and moved them to her throbbing nipples. Her eyes closed as she worked her erect buds between thumbs and fingers, pinching them firmly, and then one hand trailed sensuously down over her naked tummy, through the soft black hair covering her mound and slid the fingers into the dewy slit between her red and swollen lips. The slick moisture was obvious and her fingers glistened before she slid them deeply into her waiting tunnel. She was going all the way with this as she stuffed two then three fingers deep into her and then brought her other hand into play to concentrate on her clit as she shamelessly masturbated in front of us.

I was too absorbed watching Sandy to notice or care if anyone else had come onto the scene, and I suspected the other man was as well. Sandy fingers worked fast and desperately to bring her to an orgasm that had her bucking on the wooden chair. I thought I would cum if I touched my cock anymore and gripped the table top with both hands while I watched her shudder and quiver and shake through a tumultuous orgasm.

It wasn't until she released the material of her nighty from the grip of her teeth and let it fall back into place as she slumped back in afterglow that I took stock of the situation. The man and I were still the only others there and he looked more spent than either of us. A large wet spot had formed in the upper leg of his pants, where he had splashed a full load of cum. All of a sudden, Sandy and I both scrambled quickly to make sure we weren't leaving anything behind like wallets or cell phones, jumped up and ran from the store. We must have looked like burglars on the getaway as we left everything else on the table and rushed to the car.

As we drove away, I said shaking, "I don't believe what we just did."

"We," squealed Sandy. "I'm the one who masturbated in front of strangers."

"Strangers?" I asked. "It was just me and one stranger." I reminded her.

"Someone others were just coming into the area." She said. "That's what made me cum so fucking hard. Thank heavens they changed their mind...but I wanted them to, I wanted everyone to come in. That's the first time I've been over the top like that since I first started stripping and really loved showing off.

We giggled and laughed and relived the entire thing several times in conversation before we got back to Sandy's place. When we were relaxed and back in the great room talking, like we had been earlier, Sandy was still wearing the nighty. The visions the red fabric called up made me content to let her keep it on for a while.

"What was the most exciting thing Darren made you do before I confronted you?" I asked, and casually picked up my notebook to add to my notes.

"I think I've told you about all the things I did. I don't know if taking my panties off in our neighbor's driveway while she was looking, or being fucked in the salon by Darren's friend while others watched was more mind boggling." She said. I think in general, shocking people gave me a real kick. I didn't have to show my nudity to someone who knew me to be thrilled. To let them in on what I was doing seemed shocking enough. Teri didn't see anything, but I was really excited by what I knew she was guessing and figuring out."

Did it make you excited to imagine me finding out?" I asked, and I knew this question really hit hard. Sandy looked at me for a long time as she carefully considered what to say, and how to say it. "Trying my best to honest Ted," she said. "The things that were happening to me...things I wanted to happen and let happen were completely exciting and addictive Ted. But there was another element added to it when I considered you and the kids. Doing dirty nasty things that were forbidden was terribly powerful, but doing them to, god forgive me, to such innocent and decent people as you and our family made me feel so guilty and slutty, that I knew I didn't deserve you."

"I wanted you to find out even though I was sure our marriage would end. I know you don't believe I loved you, and that I probably never had, and that I somehow I didn't love the kids or resented our life together, but I don't think that's true Ted. I think I did love you all...because I never stopped loving you all."

"A lot of people don't think it's possible to love someone Sandy, and then knowingly hurt them." I said. "But I don't agree. We both loved or kids, equally but still differently. We loved each other still differently than we did our kids, and our family differently than we did each other." Sometimes we do things in response to a need that hurts someone else we love because those same things conflict with what we ordinarily do to show our love for the someone else. Your love for yourself became more important to you than your love for me or for us, and it revealed different needs that you wanted to satisfy."

"That makes me sound like a really selfish bitch." Sandy said.

"You were." I added. While we were at Wendy's today, you were thinking about your need, and how much you wanted to shock us." Sandy looked concerned, maybe threatened at what I said, but it was true. "The difference now is that you knew I wanted you to do what you were doing, and in addition to wanting to shock me, you wanted to please me as well. The thing that made it different was that we were doing it together."

"That's true," said Sandy. "But like I was hinting at a few minutes ago, there was an element of the forbidden that was made more dramatic when the ingredient of me cheating on you was included. Why didn't I feel like I needed to cheat on you today in order to get the full kick out of what was happening?"

"Circumstances are different today." I said. "In the first place, we're not married anymore."

"I know." Sandy said, in a subdued way. We both paused for several moments while we considered all that we had said and what was still on the table. "Ted, I know we haven't said anything and I don't want to say anything now that might get in the way of how much I enjoy the time we've been spending together, but both of us have admitted that we still have feelings for each other...have you ever wondered if we might get back together, officially...I mean have you ever thought we might marry again?" She asked seriously.

"I don't know." I said, I haven't even started to really date again yet, so I'm not serious enough with anyone to think about getting married yet." I kept a straight face but Sandy quickly saw through my little charade.

"You know what I mean you shit." She said broadly grinning.

"I've thought of the possibility Sandy." I admitted.

"If I've got this selfish side to me, wouldn't we be doomed to disaster then...if we were married again I mean." Sandy said somberly.

Sandy, any marriage is doomed to failure unless the man and women determine ahead of time to take divorce off the table, and resolve to COMMUNICATE!"

"You mean that communication is the key, and it will fix any problem then." Sandy said incredulously.

"Hell no," I said firmly. "COMMITMENT is the key, equal commitment by both. Communication is the door that has to be unlocked by the key, but beyond that nothing will happen if the unlocked door swings open and either party waits outside, or is left behind."

"Do you mean that if we were committed in marriage, and communicated honestly, that we would end up doing things like we did today, wild things like Darren and others have made me do?" She asked. Her nipples were hard again and she was fidgeting in that deliciously exciting way.

"I'm saying that anything is on the table for discussion and agreement or compromise Sandy. I'm feeling pretty selfish myself now days so any couple needs to be unafraid to discuss even the nasty little wicked fantasies that excite them." I think you enjoy being led into wild situations, but if I guess wrong, you need to have the courage to correct me. You need to guess what I like as well and I have the responsibility to set you straight if necessary. The important thing is this, we would both need to share our fantasies and honest hopes with each other, and above all, at least have the courage to think about, imagine and guess what the other needs. If we were confident with each other and our marriage, we shouldn't be afraid of screwing things up with the wrong guess. If you made a mistake, I wouldn't throw you out; commitment would still be the key."

"OK, take today as an example, another man became involved, at least to a limited degree. What if we were married and...things got out of hand. I got too excited showing off, and he did to. I don't think he would have ended up fucking me in Wendy's, but who knows what could have happened, when risk is part of the thrill. What would have happened if someone else would have fucked me, and you and I were married?" There, she had said out loud what both of us had wondered and worried about, at least once since these feelings had started to grow between us again.

We were both quiet as we independently considered the implications of Sandy's question. Were we coming to agreement or headed for compromise. I wondered just where in hell all this was going and wasn't sure I had thought it all out ahead of time well enough to open my mouth. "I think if fair to admit that doing something socially or morally wrong can become addictive, because there may be too much short time pleasure to resist a second or third time try at the same thrill. That's what trapped you in the first place." I said. "And then there was no turning back. Neither of us knows for sure how to answer that question, and the old caution comes to mind, be careful playing with fire, because you just might end up getting burned."

"To be honest Sandy, the biggest problem with what you did while we were married really wasn't limited to the fact you had sex with someone else, multiple times. It was that you stopped loving me equally. Your selfish side took over and ultimately, part of your pleasure came from doing what you could to hurt me, and cause me pain." Sandy's head shot up and there was the clear sign of defense and denial in her eyes.

"Come on Ted, I've admitted to being selfish, but it was in spite of the pain I knew I would cause you, not in any way because of it." Sandy stated forcefully. "I loved you and the kids; I told you I still do." She said as her eyes filled with tears and she openly sobbed.

"I'm not trying to hurt you Sandy." I said softly. "I just want us to both be honest. We sometimes do the very things we don't want to because our minds become so attached through a guilty conscience that we can't think of a positive alternative. We become trapped by our own conscience and the very despair that's caused by the things we choose. When people refer to self abuse, it goes far deeper than masturbation or self gratification. We abuse ourselves and all of those around us in a never ending spiral downward. It may seem weird, but the love you professed for me and the kids became a catalyst for destruction that you couldn't break away from."

"The only difference now is that we both know this, and if we got married again, we would be going into the relationship with eyes wide open." I said to reassure her. "I was quite certain that you were worried about this a little at least, because I think you know that cheating itself became a big part of the thrill. You were afraid to tell me, not just because you were afraid of the consequences, the longer you snuck around and cheated the bigger the consequence bomb became, so there was incentive to watch it grow; like trying to see how big a bubble you could blow with bubblegum or how big you could blow up a balloon before it blew up with a bang."

"Another difference now though, is that you know what would happen if you tried to leave me behind sexually again. I would expect the same from you if I left you behind. Once again, the key is commitment, the doorway is communication. When I get married again...if I get married again, my partner will be willing to place and consider everything on the table and will commit to work on an equal footing with me." I left it at that, wanting her to take a long, long time to think about things before I considered proposing again. I had learned after the divorce to hold back a little; declarations and promises of love are meant for willing ears, not impatient tongues. Some people call it "playing hard to get".

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Ted and Sandy go forward with their life in the North West, and incorporate activities with the other characters that have been introduced in their story and with Cyn and Craig. If you're bored with their lives and philosophies and the wild things they have done and might do, I'll bid you farewell and wish you a good life.

If you're interested in peeking in on their lives some more, let me know. Maybe if you have a favorite fantasy, they'll be happy to act it out, please share it with me. If any of you have photos that help illustrate the fantasy, I'll try an illustrated version, or if you prefer, I'll just keep the photos and ideas for your own private inspiration to me.

Thanks for staying with me on this work; the stories all relate, except the ones about Lynette. Like I said it's been extremely taxing, and if no one other than me read it, it would have been OK anyway. The fact that thousands of others have read the stories as well humbles me, and I truly appreciate the time you aloud to feel good or bad for the characters involved.

All of the comments are accepted, those that are negative as well as those that are insightful, I just enjoy the positive or constructive ones more. I feel deeply for the bitter ones that reflect pain and hope the best for you. It's like a favorite commentator on the radio said last night; "When you allow yourself to hate someone else, or to harbor anger, that person you hate has control over you." So be careful who you give that power to.