Want to Bet?

"Hey, Babe! How was your day?" Kate greeted me in the kitchen. A bright smile lit up her face as I dropped my briefcase and kissed her cheek.

"Rough day. We had to let a few employees go." She frowned and managed to look surprised at the same time. "Our orders have gone way down and we had to make some cuts to get through this slow time. Wages in the warehouse have been high, so some of those guys had to be let go. Man, those are hard conversations to have. A lot of hurt feelings. It's not personal, but some take it that way," I explained.

"Awww, that sounds awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that." She pulled a beer from the fridge and handed it to me.

"Thanks, I need a few of these. How was your day at the preschool?"

"Ugh," she winced, "Stupid Jennifer left one of her kids alone on the playground. My class goes out to recess after her group comes in, and this poor little boy was standing by the slide, crying. I know she's only a helper, but Jeez. I brought him in with my class and ran straight into Maddie, our boss. She didn't say a word, just took the boy's hand, and led him to Jen's classroom. Everyone could hear her tell Jennifer to be in her office as soon as her kids were gone. Maddie blew up! I'm sure Jen blames me, but I doubt anything happened beyond her getting yelled at."

Kate has at least three stories a week about her work nemesis that begin, 'You'll never guess what Stupid Jennifer did'. I wondered if Katie had really 'run into' Maddie or if she had run TO Maddie.

"Aww, sorry Babe, sounds like we both had shitty days.

"No, mine was pretty normal. Your's was way worse."

Kate circled behind me, reached up, and rubbed my shoulders. "I have an idea," she said, "let's get out of our work clothes. Then we can go to Bucky's, get dinner and a few drinks, play a little pool and forget about today."

She leaned forward, pressing her chest into my back, her voice low and husky, "And I shaved down there today. You know how horny that makes me." She smacked my ass and walked away, swaying her hips like a runway model.

I finished my beer, grabbed another cold one, and followed her upstairs. When I arrived the shower was running. My cock twitched, thinking about her last comments.

I stripped and stepped in behind her. I took a long pull from the beer I'd carried my beer in with me and wrapped my arms around her, kissing the back of her neck. She leaned back and my cock slipped down between her ass cheeks. Her nipples stood at attention when I brushed one with my palm and rubbed the other with the cold bottle. She took the beer from me, took a long swallow, and set it on the edge of the tub. My freed hands traveled down her stomach, slid over her slick bare pussy, and stopped, finding her hard nub of a clit. While teasing her little button, I moved my other hand between us.

"Do you like my fingers?"

"Oh God, you know I do. You touch all the right places to have me shiver."

"Better than my cock?"

"I like your cock, too." she added, "but your hand makes me cum."

Two fingers slid into her and she moved her feet farther apart to give me better access. I added another finger and slid them in all the way then out a few times. She wiggled her hips and pulled off my fingers when my thumb grazed her asshole.

"Nuh, uh."

"What?" I whined.

"You know 'what' is, off-limits." she answered. She turned around and took my hard cock in her hand. Her fingers wrapped around the shaft and the head poked out. She jerked it back and forth a few times and I groaned. Bending over at the waist, she put the head in her mouth and took me deeper until her bottom lip touched my balls. Twisting slightly she looked up at me, her large green eyes smiling as her lips curled at the edges around my shaft. She then pulled off my twitching cock and stood up. "Do you wanna make a bet? Whoever wins more games tonight," she pointed her thumb at her chest, "gets to tell the loser," she pointed her finger at me, "what to do in bed tonight."

I snorted a laugh as I dried off. "If you are so anxious to spend the night sucking my cock, I guess I'll have to take that bet."

"I did tell you I shaved, right? Now let me finish getting ready so we can go."

Grabbing my beer I headed into the bedroom.

Bucky's Tavern was our local go-to spot. Decent food, strong drinks, a pair of pool tables, and a jukebox filled with classic rock filled all our needs. Over the last few years, we'd become friends, or at least friendly, with the bartender slash owner.

An hour later I was holding the door open for Kate as she sashayed into Bucky's. Kate was on the short side and a little thick, but thick in all the right places, not fat. We worked out a couple of times a week to burn the weekend calories. We were both proud of staying fit, even if age was adding a few pounds. She usually wore clothes to make herself appear taller. Tonight Kate wore a mid-thigh red skirt, a black blouse, and what I called her fancy jean jacket. Three-inch heels made her calves and ass pop. I took a moment to admire her butt and thought about how lucky I was to have her for a wife. I'd changed into jeans and a casual collared shirt. For both of us being close to 40, I thought we made a damn sharp looking couple.

It wasn't crowded, being somewhat early in the evening and we sat at a high top near the bar. Bucky's wasn't large. Along one wall was the bar, the rest of the space mixed with a couple of high tops near the door and some more low tables filling into the back. In the rear corner was a small stage where a musician or duet would sometimes play. Unfortunately, the stage was empty tonight. Next to the stage was a door that led to the pool tables and bathrooms.

The waitress placed a margarita in front of Kate and a Budweiser by me. "Mike said you'd want to start with these."

I called over to the bartender, "Thanks, Mike! You're the best." It is wonderful having the guy that runs the place know what you drink. He gave a wave of acknowledgment and a thumbs up.

We ordered some appetizers and spent the next couple of hours eating, drinking, flirting, and relaxing. The tables around us had filled up and the noise level had risen. I glanced at my watch, surprised to see we'd been there close to three hours. My next realization was that I had a nice buzz going and the stress of the day had dissipated. I looked up at Kate and she was staring at me. She licked her lips and rubbed the back of my hand, both indicators that she was well lubricated, too.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her. How different the night would be if she'd said 'fine' or 'good' as I'd expected.

But instead, Kate said, "I need to pee." She stood somewhat shakily and walked towards the pool room, where Bucky's bathrooms were located. I sighed and motioned our waitress to bring another round to the pool room. Kate would want to play at least one game.

Kate loved playing pool. Her family had a pool table when she was growing up, and they played all the time. She was pretty good, too. Better than me. We didn't have space for a table in our house, so this is where she got her fix. We usually played in pairs for small amounts of money at Bucky's. It was two dollars a game to release the balls. The winner stayed and a new challenger would pay for the next game. Sometimes people would play for a little extra something, five or ten dollars or a round of drinks.

While Kate was freshening up in the bathroom, I got quarters from the change machine, released the balls, and racked them up. When it's only Kate and I playing, she breaks. She enjoys it, and to be honest, she's better than me at that too. Kate came out of the ladies room and saw we had fresh drinks and a ready table, a big grin spread across her face.

"Are you ready to get your butt kicked?" She took off her jacket, picked up a cue stick and rubbed chalk across the tip.

Kate is competitive. Very competitive. Ultra competitive. Her dad had coached her and her brothers in youth sports. She had been both a good athlete and always pushed to win. Being a tomboy with three older brothers helped develop her confidence and competitive spirit. I'd learned that I didn't like losing to Kate; she wasn't a particularly humble winner. While our competitive spirit was usually an asset, it drove us to talk ridiculous smack to each other. We would wager on practically anything.

"You know why I shaved today?" Kate asked across the pool table. I didn't respond. "Yeah you do. You still owe me from our last pool game. You should pay up tonight." She made a "V" on her chin and lewdly stuck her tongue between her fingers. Now I knew she was definitely feeling her drinks. "Are you gonna pay up tonight? I'm calling in my chit."

"I'll pay up tonight." My cock twitched in anticipation.

Kate stood on her tiptoes. Her height was an inconvenience playing pool that she overcame. She crouched over the table and looked down the barrel of the stick. Kate slammed the cue forward to maximize her power and her chest almost touched green felt. The white ball raced down the table and cracked into the triangle of colorful balls sending them bouncing off the rails.

"Yessss!" She hissed as a striped ball fell into a pocket. She sank three more striped balls in short order before missing. I sank a couple balls. It went back and forth like this a few times until she made the black eight ball for the win.

"Woot! Woot! Rack em up, bitch!" Kate pumped both arms into the air 'raising the roof'.

I snorted. "Overreact much?" I did as ordered and racked the balls for a new break.

Kate took a long gulp of her drink, finishing it. "Ne-verrr." She was having a good time at my expense, but I didn't care. I had married her because she was loud and fun and aggressive. It brought out some of the same in me, It was fun and there was nothing riding on the outcome.

Kate broke the balls again, but didn't sink any. I made three then missed. She sank one but her second shot was off by a millimeter and it bounced away.

"Nice shot, Rat." The loud female voice dripped sarcasm and both our heads whiplashed towards the door.

Kate glared at her, "What did you want me to do? Leave him out there?"

"No, Rat, you should have come got me. I bet you never even considered actually trying to help me."

Kate shook her head and spoke in a preschool teacher's voice,"So I could leave my kids alone to get you? Then you could leave your kids alone to get him? How do you think Maddie would like that?" Her voice dripped with condescension. "You really are stupid, Jennifer."

"Whatever, Rat." Stupid Jennifer strolled to the other table and stuck enough coins in to release the balls.

I moved behind my wife so I could speak low enough for only her to hear. "Katie, let's finish this game and go."

She turned on me, eyes blazing,"No fuckin' way is she chasing us out of here, Dave," she hissed back in a low voice. The mood in the room had shifted to very tense.

"OK, OK." I held up my hands in surrender. Kate stalked off and went to the bathroom.

A guy came in carrying a couple drinks and a couple shots. They drank the shots, then Jennifer and her man started playing. Not wanting to be too obvious, I pretended to be lining up my next shot and assessed Kate's enemy.

She couldn't have been more opposite of Katie. She was almost as tall as me and thin, with no boobs to speak of. Where Kate had curly auburn hair, Jen had stringy dishwater blonde hair. Kate has full lips with a constant smile, Jennifer has thin lips and a resting bitch face. Jen dressed like a slob in a tee shirt and cut offs. Her man was a little taller than me, but outweighed me by 50 pounds, most of it in his gut. He dressed similar to Jennifer in jeans and a flannel with the sleeves cut off.

Kate returned and we muddled through the rest of the game, not speaking. I ended up winning when Kate scratched on the eight ball. She was fuming. "Fuck!" She exclaimed in disgust as the white ball clicked into the pocket.

There were some snickers at the other table that we both tried to ignore. Jennifer muttered, loud enough to be sure Kate heard, "That's no way for a preschool teacher to talk. Lucky Maddie didn't hear you, she might wash your mouth out with soap."

I set my stick on the table, a sign that I wanted to leave. Kate looked at me and shook her head. Her body language shouted, "No. Fucking. Way."

"Dave, I'd really like another drink. Can you get us another round?" Kate asked, her voice extra pleasant.

"Sure, Babe." I sighed, thankful for a reason to step out for a moment and headed to the bar.

It took less than 10 minutes to get the drinks, but I walked into the World War III of catty insults. The name calling had definitely become nastier.

"...wipe Maddie's shit off your nose for kissing her ass so much," spat Jennifer.

"I'll do that as soon as you get your head out of your ass and actually do some work," fired Kate in response.

"You act so superior, that's why none of the other teachers can stand you."

Kate scoffed,"Oh so I should be more like you? I'll start dressing like a $20 hooker and see how many guys I can pick up on the corner."

"Jesus," I thought as I sat the drinks down,"that was harsh."

"You stuck up midget bitch. You are a shitty teacher, a shitty pool player and I have zero doubt you're a shitty fuckin' screw with that fat ass of yours getting in the way!" In one exhalation of breath Jennifer had trashed everything Katie cared about and laid bare every insecurity. It was a quintuple punch to the gut and the wind whooshed out of her. "There is nothing you can do better than me," Jen added.

The stillness was absolute as we waited for Kate's reply. Voices entered behind me, quieting immediately as they sensed the tension.

"Want to bet?"

"What?"

"Jesus Christ you are stupid!" Katie raised her voice. "You just said you're better than me." She enunciated each word,"Do. You. Want. To. Bet?"

"Yeah, Rat, I do want to bet. What do you want to lose?"

"$1,000," Katie said, "can you afford that?"

"See, that's what I mean...so fuckin' superior. I don't want your money, bitch. You need to get that big ass knocked off your high horse." Jennifer paused for a moment, putting her finger to her lips. "You think you're so great at pool. How about strip pool? Then when you lose all your clothes, everyone in Bucky's can see your big naked ass as you walk out."

Kate, enraged, didn't hesitate. "No, they're gonna see your mosquito bite tits as you crawl out."

Jennifer's smile disappeared at the insult. "Everyone needs to see you for the Cunt you really are, Kate. So after you lose, you're gonna go sit on the band stage, spread your legs and show everyone your big pussy," Jennifer laughed. She picked up her beer, took a swig and held it out towards Kate. "Then you can shove this bottle in it and crawl out."

"You stupid whore."

I'd never seen Kate angry like this and it worried me. The cussing, the insults, the hate towards this woman. I stepped forward to put an end to it. "Kate, I think we should go. You don't need to..."

Kate spun towards me with a grimace like I had jammed a carving knife into her back.

Jennifer guffawed. I wanted to strangle her. "Your man is a bigger pussy than you are! Who sucks the dick in the family, you or him?" she taunted.

Kate turned back around and spoke to Jennifer. Her voice was calm and deliberate. "You do. You suck the dick, you trailer trash, dumb ass, no tit, idiot bitch. When you're on the stage with that bottle in your pussy, you're gonna fuck yourself with it until every cock in Bucky's that wants to get wet has been down you throat and you've swallowed every last drop they have to offer."

Before Jennifer could reply Kate turned to me and said, "Rack the balls, Dave."

"I know you're anxious to get naked but I don't think you'll go through with it when you lose. I need insurance against you welching,"Jen said.

I was staring at Kate, trying to get her attention, but she was making an effort not to look at me. Jennifer opened the door and called the bartender, "Mike, we need your help in here," she paused listening to a response. "Just get in here! It won't take long."

A moment later Mike rushed in the door, "What's up?"

"We have a big," Jen looked sideways at Kate, making another little dig, "bet and need your help to make sure no one backs out. Insurance, you might say." She looked around, "We all trust Mike, right?" Kate and I nodded affirmation and she continued, "You just need to take some pics or a vid on your phone and if someone welches, send them to the other person, then delete it all."

"What kind of pics?"

Jennifer paused, thinking,"Ok, we'll go in the ladies room with Mike. He'll take a couple topless pics, and...oh I know. Take a video of each of us saying, 'Fuck you, Maddie, I hate kids and your shitty preschool, this is my resignation.'

"Whatever makes you feel good," Kate said, "I'm not going to lose."

"I'm game. Let's go ladies," Mike the bartender led them to the bathroom.

I turned to introduce myself to Jen's man, wondering what his take would be on all this. He was chatting with four men who'd come into the pool room amid all the shouting. My eyes went wide.

"Dave, right? I'm Sal," Jen's man introduced himself. "This is Billy, Jen's brother, and a few of his buddies."

"Hi Chuck, Malik. How you guys doin'?" I greeted the two men I knew.

"Pretty fuckin' bad, Dave. How would you be doin' if you got fired from your job for no good reason?" Chuck asked.

"Assho'," was Malik's only response.

The guy I didn't know spoke up,"I'm Tom."

"Damn, man. Your girl is crazy! We came here to blow off some steam but looks like now we get to see some titties and blow something else! Our loads." Chuck laughed at his own joke. I didn't find it funny but the other guys joined in. "Is that your wife, Dave? Damn she got some big ass titties. No offense, but I'm rooting for Billy's sister. I mean, I'd rather see big titties," he paused and his smile faded, "but mainly because you fucked us when you fired us, so it would be real nice to fuck your wife's mouth."

I turned away and went to rack the balls.

A few minutes later Mike and the girls emerged.

"Good luck, ladies. See you later." he smirked, "one of you, anyway." Mike headed back to the bar area. As the door shut behind him we heard the lock click shut.

"What took you so long, " I hissed.

Kate didn't respond to my question. "Who are these guys?" Kate asked as she noticed them for the first time.

"It's my brother and his friends. They came to play pool with me and Sal. Do you have a problem with it?"

Kate hesitated, then squared her shoulders. She was too far in to back out now. "Why would I care if your brother sees what a whiny whore you are."

Jennifer snorted,"I almost feel bad for you, Rat."

Kate made a point to ignore her and speak to Sal and I. "We agreed on the rules. Basically it's Bucky's bar rules. Playing in pairs, alternating shots, call stripes or solids when the first ball is made, no slop, call your shots." There are more rules in pool that we all knew, but she clarified the rules everyone that played at Bucky's used.

Jen continued, "As for the bet part, we each have three pieces of clothing not including our shoes." I glanced at Kate. Three? "We'll play best of 5. If you lose a game, you lose a piece of clothing. First one completely naked loses."

"Lag for break?" Sal asked.

"No way! Bar rules, remember? We had the table, we break." Kate grabbed her stick and strode over to the table.

Jen and Sal retreated to the other side of the table, put their heads together and started whispering. The four spectators went to the other table and made a pretense of playing, but most of their attention was on us.

"Katie," I whispered loud enough for only her to hear, "do you want to talk strategy?"