Unanticipated

This is my shortest story by a wide margin. Many have pleaded for brevity in my storytelling. This is my attempt to accommodate that request. If this shorter story isn't well received, I'll return to my longer format for future postings and acknowledge that I lack the skills to write decent short stories. In the meantime, this is about as brief as I can get. There are no graphic intimate depictions in this story.

Having grown up on a farm, I realized that if I wanted to see more of the world than a trip to the local tractor parts supply store, I was going to have to join the military. Although we weren't dirt poor, we weren't lower middle class either. My mother made my clothes and we never took vacations. Manually loading and stacking bales of hay, straw, and alfalfa occupied most of my day from age seven on up. When I graduated high school, against our parents' wishes, my best friend and I spent four years in the Marines, oorah. We spent time at two bases stateside but ended up being stationed in South Korea and Japan. I felt comfortable being around shorter people because I was only five feet seven inches myself, short but stout.

Because of the cultural differences, we were encouraged to spend most of our leave time at specific American-friendly bars and entertainment. My friend, Hal, and I visited as many tourist attractions as possible, knowing we'd never have another opportunity to see them again. I spent half of my money on the ladies and tried to send the other half back home. Hal had to be treated for the clap several times. I opted for the safer route of condoms and was spared STDs. We engaged in all of the extra-curricular activities that interested us, including the many varied contests that my fellow Marines could dream up. By the time we were honorably discharged, everyone called me Army, even though my name is Calvin Bostic. When we returned home, Hal continued calling me Army and it stuck. The locals picked up on the moniker thinking it to be a slight to my service in the Marines. I never corrected them. In the service, I learned to ignore slights.

Belford, our farming town didn't afford many employment opportunities outside of farming or construction. I didn't want to live far from my mom and pop. I'd seen the world and wanted to settle down. Since I grew up in farming, I decided to opt for construction. I was a laborer and worked hard loading and unloading everything from bricks, blocks, sheetrock, trusses, and, of course, stud lumber. I was sent to deliver and hand-stack loads in locations where fork trucks couldn't negotiate. No stranger to hard work, I could go all day and never wear out. Sure, I'd fade at the end of the day, take a shower and take it easy throwing back a few beers with my friends.

When I first met Stacy at Higgins Restaurant, it was love at first sight. She was the sexiest-looking girl I'd ever seen, and I'd seen my fair share. I must have asked her out thirty times before she said yes. I think she did it to get me to stop asking. We hit it off famously. We got along like two peas in a pod. Two more compatible people were unimaginable. She has it all, looks, personality, humor, and boy did she have curves in the right places and knew how to use them. After nine months of steady dating, I popped the question. We were married six months later. Stacy and I were both twenty-four and couldn't be happier. We talked about starting a family but we agreed to save up a nest egg of enough money to afford a child without putting an excessive strain on our limited incomes. By the time we paid our apartment rent and met our monthly expenses, we were nearly tapped out. We basically lived hand-to-mouth.

Summerville, the third largest city in our state was forty miles away from our Belford hometown. Kensington is a growing bedroom community in which many Summerville commuters lived. Kensington, only twenty-two miles away from Belford was adding new businesses to serve the growing needs of its residents. One such establishment was Stokes Fitness Palace, a co-ed gym that catered to the fitness of both men and women.

"Army, you aren't going to believe the exciting news I heard today."

"Oh? Are they having another sale at the Dollar Store?" I joked.

"No, silly. My friend, Brenda had lunch at the restaurant today, and she told me about a new fitness gym opening over in Kensington. They're interviewing potential hires for the next week or so. She was told the starting pay for the new recruits. Honey, if they hire me, I'll be making about thirty percent more than what I bring home in wages and tips from the restaurant. I could make close to what you bring home. Isn't that wonderful?" She declared. "We can start setting money aside for our family. I want us to finally have that baby we've planned on for so long."

"I hear what you're saying but what do you know about fitness and gyms? Wouldn't you need some kind of degree or something?"

"I don't know what their requirements are for any of these positions, and I'll never know unless I go for an interview. Connie said she'd come in early and cover for me so I can go to Stokes Fitness Palace for an interview and I'll stay over a couple of hours and cover for her this evening. Brenda said she heard that they take walk-ins, no appointments necessary."

"Honey, I don't suppose it would hurt to find out what kind of job opportunities they're offering, and there aren't many other prospects here in Belfort. If you were to get the job, you'd have to commute the distance every workday. I wouldn't get my hopes up but sure, give it a try."

After work the next day.......

"You aren't going to believe this, Army but they offered me a job!"

"At Stokes Fitness Palace in Kensington that you told me about?"

"Yes! They're going to start me at twenty-five percent more than I'm making now and after a two-week performance evaluation, they'll up it to thirty percent more just as Brenda said."

"That almost sounds too good to be true. What is it exactly that you'll be doing for them, Stacy?"

"That's the best part, Army. They have their own in-house on-the-job training program. They'll teach me about all of their machines and strength training equipment. Once I'm up to speed, they'll make me a floor manager. I'll help anyone inexperienced with the equipment. They said that, over time, if I apply myself, I could become a trainer which could add another twenty percent to my salary. Isn't that wonderful?" Stacy excitedly declared.

"When do they want you to start?"

"I told them I'd need to give at least a one-week notice at the restaurant. I don't want to leave them in a bind. They said that would be fine with them. Are you still okay with this, Army? It looks like we'll be able to start setting more money aside now to grow our family. As soon as you think we can afford it, I want to have your baby, honey," Stacy cooed.

"Nothing would please me more," I assured.

At first, Stacy wore conservative attire to her new job, conventional pants with colorful button tops. After a month, she purchased five pairs of yoga pants with matching halter tops. She said her attire needed to be reflective of the gym atmosphere. I could understand that. Three months later, she began wearing spandex short shorts. I didn't like that because I could see her camel toe. She just blew me off as being overprotective and showed me pictures taken in the gym proving that all of the other girls were dressing just like her. She even started receiving cash tips from some of the guys that she helped in various ways. To calm my fears, I took off work early one day and dropped by Stokes Fitness Palace unannounced.

I watched her closely for a couple of minutes before she recognized me and rushed over to greet me. She was not doing anything inappropriate or flirtatious that would cause me to worry.

"Hi, baby! What are you doing here?" She enthused.

"I just wanted to see where my wife works. This is a very nice facility. I'm impressed."

"I'm tickled that you stopped by, Army. Come on, let me introduce you to my supervisor," she insisted.

She walked me over to a hulk of a man. "Gerald? This is my husband, Calvin Bostic. Everybody calls him Army. Army? This is Gerald Jenkins. Everybody calls him Goliath for obvious reasons."

As we shook hands, Goliath tried to intimidate me with his grip without being overtly obvious. He was strong as an ox but I didn't flinch. He was easily 6'2" (188 cm) to my 5'9" (175 cm). I knew my weight to be 175 stocky lbs. (80 kg), and estimated his to be at least 245 lbs. (111 kg) of lean muscle mass. He was ripped, an obvious bodybuilder, a perfect advertisement for the fitness center. We both smiled effusively for Stacy's sake. Someone called him away so Stacy gave me the grand tour and explained much of their operations. I did see two other female coworkers who were dressed similarly to her. I'm glad I stopped by. It eased my mind considerably.

Not long after that encounter, Stacy began coming home with an elevated libido. We were having raucous sex nearly every night. She attributed her augmented appetite to her workouts, fitness, and healthier eating habits. She'd lost some fat and replaced it with muscle. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I accepted her new libidinous energy with equal enthusiasm which typically left us breathless after every coupling. She never mentioned any of the guys she worked with, not even Goliath which I took as a good sign. Then came the day that changed our lives forever.

Friday night, Stacy brought up a change in her schedule.

"Honey, I know I don't usually work weekends but they're having a big promotion going on at the gym tomorrow and they need all hands on deck. There's a very special event taking place at 7 pm. It's a special function not open to the general public, but they want all spouses to be present. I want to show you off to everyone as my husband. Will you make it a special point to be there? Please? Pretty please?" She asked, batting her eyes at me in her coquettish manner.

"What kind of promotion, Stacy? You know I'm not going to sign up for one of their programs. I get plenty of exercise making deliveries."

"I promise, they're not going to try to sign you up for anything."

"Well what is it, then? Are you getting an award or something?"

"Could be," she said evasively. "After this promotional event, we may be able to start growing our family sooner rather than later. You'll just have to come to find out. I'm not at liberty to say anything more."

"Well, I reckon I'll be there then, and see what the big deal is that you're talking about."

That night, she wore us both out so exhaustively I could hardly move. She had already left when I woke up Saturday morning. I called my buddy Hal and spent a chunk of the day helping him work on his car. He was always doing something to it to sport it up a bit or increase the horsepower. I told him about my conversation with Stacy about tonight's mysterious event. I shared with him that my Spidey-senses were tingling but I couldn't put my finger on anything.

"Hey, man," Hal began, "Why don't I come with you tonight to have your back if you have any concerns? And on top of that, come on in the house and let me show you my latest gadget I won in a poker game a couple of weeks ago. It's a compact ink pen voice recorder. It records up to seventy hours on a single charge. It has a built-in USB adaptor to download the recordings. A twist on the top turns it on. It writes perfectly as a pen so no one is the wiser. A buddy of mine who lost it to me in the poker game bought it to record his girlfriend's orgasms as they had sex. I've tested it. It picks up clear audio for about forty feet away."

"Wow, this is like a spy gadget. I don't think it will be needed but it won't hurt to have it on me just in case. Thanks, Hal."

The two of us showed up at the Stokes Fitness Palace a few minutes before seven. A burly man came to the door asking for ID. I showed him my driver's license, and he nodded his approval.

When Hal moved to enter with me, the guy stopped him and said, "Sorry bud, this is a closed event and you're not invited, only Mr. Bostic."

I looked the guy in the eye and said, "No problem. Come on Hal, let's go. If you can't get in, then I can't either. Hey bud, be sure and tell Stacy Bostic that her husband tried," as we started walking back to Hal's car.

"Don't leave, sir. You're a VIP guest. Alright, we'll let your friend in. Come on. But I'll need to collect your cell phones before you enter. As I said, this is a private event and no recordings or photos are allowed." We reluctantly handed him our phones, and he slid them into individual manila envelopes and marked them with our names. "They'll be returned to you upon leaving the premises. For your security and protection, these envelopes will remain sealed until they're returned." He locked the door behind us as we walked into the main gym. We saw two large tables with peg handles on top in the center of the gym with a large group of men standing around, working out, or warming up for something. Our escort asked Hal to wait in the gym while he conducted me to an office where Stacy was waiting. I nodded to Hal that I was okay. He relaxed and started wandering around the gym. We entered an office and the door was closed behind us.

I saw Gerald 'Goliath' Jenkins seated at a table across from me. Stacy was at his side wearing a dark robe of some kind. Five other guys suddenly appeared behind me who had been waiting for my appearance.

"Hey, Stacy, what's going on? Why are you in a robe and not your regular clothes?" I asked.

Stacy looked nervously over at Goliath after my question, and he nodded at her before commanding, "Show him."

Stacy, almost shaking demanded, "Do you SWEAR he won't remember a THING? Not a single thing?"

"I swear it on my life, sweet pea. Go ahead and show him."

Stacy removed her robe leaving her wearing the most nothing bikini bathing suit I had ever seen in my life. There were three postage stamp size pieces of fabric barely clinging to her body by thin spaghetti straps. There was virtually nothing left to the imagination.

"Stacy, I asked you to tell me what's going on! Why are you nearly naked in this room in front of all these men? Have you been cheating on me? Is this your way of rubbing it in my face?" I heatedly asked.

"Army, it's not what you think. Well, it sort of is but it's not really. Honey, it's wonderful. After tonight, we'll finally have plenty of money to get started on our family. We won't have to wait any longer to begin making babies. That's what this is all about, really. I'm doing this for us."

"What are you talking about, Stacy? Put your clothes back on and let's leave this place right now. Come on."

As I reached to take her hand, Goliath stood up and moved in front of her. "I'm afraid I can't allow that Army. Stacy's here for the night. You'll get her back safe and sound tomorrow but tonight she belongs here, and there's nothing you can do to stop it," he announced haughtily.

"The hell I can't," but as I moved to grab her away, the five guys that were behind me quickly surrounded me and held me firmly in place.

"Don't hurt him," Stacy shouted. "If so much as a hair on his head is harmed then the deal is off."

Goliath acknowledged her remark and nodded at the boys to be careful with me.

"Why don't I bring you up to speed, Army? What did you do in the Army, anyway?"

"I was never in the army. I served in the Marines. I was nicknamed Army."

"Why the hell did they do that? Did your buddies think you weren't good enough for the Marines?" He chuckled.

"Somebody better tell me what's going on here or there's going to be hell to pay!" I yelled.

"Okay, okay, Army. I hear you. Well here's the deal. I like your little wife Stacy here quite a bit. I've been flirting heavily with her for a good while trying to get into her panties but she just won't give it up. We've done a lot of passionate kissing and making out. I know I sent her home horny as hell on many occasions but she refused to let me sample the goods. I've talked to her extensively about what it would take. When she shared with me that you two were trying to build a nest egg to grow your family, I gave it some thought and came up with an idea. I told her I could put out some feelers for an arm wrestling contest. If I could get enough interest, she could split the pot with the winner if the winner was also guaranteed a full night of passion with her. She rejected the idea at first but over time began asking me questions about the amount of money I was talking about and how many contestants there might be. I knew I had her hooked then. I just had to develop the specifics of my plan."

Goliath continued, "I knew she was just as hot for me as I was for her. I told her that if she worked with me, she might walk away with twenty thousand dollars and get to share a night of passion with me. She asked me how we could do that. I asked her to make a nude masturbation video at home alone, that I could show to potential contestants to garner their interest in competing both for the cash prize and a night with her. The entry fee was set at one thousand dollars. When enough people showed sufficient interest, I began setting it up. But there was still one problem. The cheating angle continued bothering her too much, so I had another brainstorm. I asked her, 'What if you, Army, had the opportunity to compete as well? If you miraculously won, then she wouldn't be called upon to provide the night of passion and you two would walk away with all of the money. The slim potential that you could stop her was enough to convince her to consider it."

Goliath took a sip of water and continued, "She still had the sticking point that you would never allow such a thing to take place without it adversely affecting your marriage, perhaps even ending it. The girl loves you, I'll give her that. So I came up with a solution for that too. After you lose and the contest is over, these five boys here will bring you back to this office and get you stone drunk. Then they'll give you a dose of Ketamine, a drug used by veterinarians as anesthesia for horses and other animals. People found that it works great as a date rape drug because not only does it erase your memory for about twenty-four hours, but it also quickly metabolizes in the body and can be difficult to detect with drug tests. Street names for it are Special K, Cat Valium, or Kit Kat. That's why I can tell you everything honestly with impunity because you won't remember a single word spoken to you tonight, nothing, nada, zip."

"So, there are forty men signed up to compete for the cash prize and a night with your wife. I'm the strongest man in this building by far. I've let them all think they have an equal chance at winning but they don't have a prayer. I'm going to win the forty grand, split it with Stacy, and fuck her every which way all night long while you're getting drunk and forgetful. You'll be taken home tomorrow to sleep it off. I'll drop your wife off at your home after I simply can't get it up another time. When you eventually wake up, she'll tell you how she won twenty thousand dollars in a contest and you two lovebirds can start making babies to your heart's delight. You won't remember a thing, she'll have her money, and I'll have done my best to wear out her pussy all night long."

"You just made a big mistake, Gerald," I cajoled.

"Oh yeah? What's that," he smirked.

"You just told these five goons your plan, so why would they have any interest in detaining me now?" I inquired.

"It's a fair question," he surmised. "These five know better than anyone else that they stand no chance against me. So they've already been paid in full in advance by your lovely wife here to look after you and make sure everything goes according to plan, so they will not be competing tonight."