Who's the Hunk?

Who's the Hunk?

By

Laptopwriter

Copyright © 2022

"Wow, who's the hunk?"

Both Cindy's husband, Jim, and their friend, Barbara, were shocked by her question. They hadn't even stepped through the backyard gate yet. Barbara looked in the direction Cindy was staring and saw she was talking about a friend of Adam, her brother-in-law.

"Ah, in case you haven't noticed, I'm standing right next to you," Jim reminded his wife.

"What, I can't appreciate a good-looking stud when I see one?" she asked.

"Well, if you're going to ogle some guy, I'd appreciate it if you'd at least keep it to yourself," Jim responded a little curtly before directing his attention to their host. He smiled, "Hi, Barb, sorry for the rudeness."

Barbara and her husband, Tony, were having an outdoor birthday party for their daughter who had just entered her teens. Barbara saw them coming up the sidewalk and was holding the gate open but hadn't even said hi yet. She decided to ignore Cindy's question.

"No problem, you two, come on in," she said, "still holding the gate.

"Where do these go?" Jim asked as he held up a case of beer.

"There're several ice-filled coolers over by the tree, Jim. A couple of them have soft drinks for the kids but the others are for the beer. Just find an empty one. The gifts go on that table over there," she mentioned to Cindy who was carrying a nicely wrapped box.

Tony, co-host of the backyard shindig, spotted them as they walked in and went over to greet them. "Hey, you two, welcome," he said, kissing Cindy on the cheek. "Jimbo, let me help you with that." As he reached over to relieve Jim of the case, Cindy tried again.

"Hey, Tony, who's the Adonis sitting over by your brother?"

Tony, being a little slow on the uptake and not hearing the previous conversation, hadn't caught on yet. He looked over to where Cindy had indicated. "Ah, his name is Bob something. He works construction with Adam. Why, do you know him?"

"No, but I'd like to," she replied. "I mean... talk about a hunk..."

Tony looked at Jim with shock. He had no idea of what was going on but tried to make light of it. "Better watch it, Jim, sounds like she's on the prowl," he said with a smile.

Jim was just as shocked as anyone. His wife was obviously trying to make him jealous for some reason, but he wasn't about to spoil the party by getting angry so he just laughed it off and forced his own smile. "Yeah, sounds like she's getting ready to trade me in on a younger model."

"That'll be the day," Barbara joked while slapping Jim's arm.

"Well, come on in, you guys," Tony commented. "Barb, why don't you show Cindy where the gifts go?"

When she saw the look on his face, Barbara knew exactly what her husband was really saying. He wanted her to ask Cindy about her behavior. On the way over to the gifts table, she lowered her voice so no one else could hear. "Okay, Cin, what's going on? Did you two have a fight or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that shit. We've all been friends a long time and I've never heard you talk like that in front of Jim. Something's going on."

"I'm just giving him a little taste of his own medicine, that's all. He's out all day running around and batting those baby blues of his at every pretty girl he sees. You know Linda Kingston..."

"Yeah."

"She was in a restaurant a few days ago and saw Jim when he stopped in to eat. He obviously didn't see her. She told me the waitress came over and kissed him. She said they talked and laughed all through lunch, and were flirting with each other the whole time."

"Cindy, he's a friendly, outgoing guy. He's always been like that."

"Having some girl kiss you is way more than just being friendly, Barb. That's over the line and you know it."

"Tony just kissed you on the cheek, a minute ago."

"That's different. We've been friends for years. This is some waitress he obviously flirts with when he goes in there. I don't like it and it sure as hell doesn't pass the wife test."

"The wife test?"

"Yeah, you know; guys use it all the time, only for them it's the husband test. A wife should never do anything in public, or in private for that matter, that she wouldn't do in front of her husband. Well, what's good for the goose, as they say."

"So, you picked my daughter's birthday party to give Jim a ration of grief?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to do anything really bad. I wasn't even thinking about it until I saw Adam's friend over there. He's perfect. I just want to teach Jim a little lesson, that's all."

"Well, do me a favor and don't start any fights, okay?"

"Oh, I won't, besides, look at that guy, he has muscles on top of his muscles; Jim would have to be nuts to tangle with him."

"Well, okay. I see a few more coming up the walk so I have to go do my meet and greet thing. I'll see you a little later. Remember, no fights, okay?"

"No fights, Barb, I promise."

She glanced around and saw Jennifer, the guest of honor, talking to her friends and decided to go over and wish her a happy birthday. Jim had just finished helping Tony put the beer away and had the same notion. They both arrived at the same time. Cindy spoke first.

"Congratulations, honey, you're officially a teenager. You can really give your parents hell now," she laughed.

"That goes for me, too, Jen," Jim chimed in, "the congratulations part, I mean; I'm not too sure about the giving your folks hell part," he teased.

Jennifer laughed at Jim's joke. It was common knowledge in their circle that she'd had a crush on him since she was a toddler. "Thanks," she responded while giving Cindy a hug and Jim a kiss on the cheek. "These are my friends, Coral, Cathy and Debbie," she announced.

They both talked to Jen and her friends for a few minutes but Cindy was anxious to continue with her plan to teach Jim a lesson. "Honey," she addressed the birthday girl, "I'm going to go over and say hi to your uncle. I'll see you later."

Jim was going to stroll over with her when he saw Tony motioning to him. As Cindy started walking, he commented, "Be good." She just gave him an evil look.

Jim approached Tony who was still standing by the coolers. "What's up, buddy?"

"I just thought I'd warn you, Barb talked to Cindy. It seems you've been flirting with some waitress. Cindy heard about it and has it in her head to teach you a lesson. I'm guessing that's what all the 'hunk' talk is about."

Jim thought for a moment. "I don't know what she's talking about. I haven't been flirting with any waitress that I know of. Did she say where this was or who supposedly saw me?"

"I don't know, I don't think so, but I'm pretty sure she's planning on using Bob to try and make you jealous, so try to stay cool, will you."

While Tony and Jim were talking, Cindy approached her target. "Hi, Adam."

"Hi, Cindy, how are you?"

"Okay, I guess. Who's your good-looking friend?"

While Adam's mouth dropped open, his friend stood and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Bob. I assume you were talking about me, weren't you?" he said with a charming smile.

"Who else?" she replied.

"Ah, Cindy," Adam cut in, "where's Jim?"

"He's over there talking to your brother. I'd sure like one of those," she said, indicating the beer Bob was holding."

"Hey, Adam, why don't you be a gentleman and get the lady a beer while we get better acquainted?"

Not wanting to be impolite, he obliged. As soon as Adam started for the coolers, Bob offered Cindy his vacated seat. As she sat down, she glanced over to see her husband glaring at her. It made her smile to know her plan was working. She turned to start a discussion with her new friend.

When Adam reached the coolers, he approached Tony and Jim. "Hey, what's doing with Cindy?"

"Why, what'd she do?" Jim asked.

"She's coming on to Bob, over there."

"Who is he, anyway?"

"He works with me. We're working on that big high-rise downtown. I've known him for about six months. He seems to be okay, but he's definitely a lady's man and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him when it came to women."

"He didn't bring a date?" Jim asked.

"No, well, it was kind of a last-minute thing. He was supposed to play golf today. We were just getting off work last night around five when he got a text, canceling. He started moaning about not having anything to do today, so I invited him to the party."

Jim at least knew what his wife was up to; he just wasn't sure how to handle it. He knew his wife well. Once she got a burr under her saddle, she wouldn't let it go until she was sure she made her point. If he ignored her, it might encourage her to go further than she intended. On the other hand, if he confronted her, Bob might try and make trouble. He was going to try and avoid that at all costs. "Adam, do me a favor, will you? Just keep close. Let me know if you think things are getting out of hand."

"Will do, Jim." Adam reached into a cooler for a cold beer and walked back to Bob and Cindy who were engrossed in conversation. Adam handed Cindy her beer and pulled up another chair. They were still talking, but he thought it was time to butt in; maybe Bob would take the hint.

"Hey, I saw the pictures Jim took of that lumber yard fire the other day. He really is a great photographer. Is he going to enter that press photographer's contest again this year?"

She seemed a little perturbed that she and her new friend had been interrupted, but didn't want to be rude to Adam so she politely answered. "I would imagine." She turned and saw Bob with an inquisitive expression. "My husband is a photographer for 'The Tribute.' she explained. "Last year he won several awards at a state contest they have for press photographers."

"Oh, I see," he responded. "That's him over there--right?" he said, looking over with a slight sneer.

"That's him," she replied in a dismissive tone, an inflection that neither Bob nor Adam missed.

"I like working with my hands," Bob countered, "building strong, giant structures that will last for a hundred years, that's my reward. Yours, too, right old buddy?" he asked Adam.

What could he say? "That's a good point, Bob."

Assuming Bob just put an end to the little chit-chat about her husband, Cindy immediately picked up on the conversation where they left off, pretty much leaving Adam out of the loop. He felt like an idiot. He'd heard Bob use that same line about building with his hands on women in bars before. It always seemed to impress them and here he gave Bob an opening big enough to drive a Mac truck through. Feeling he was doing more harm than good, Adam excused himself to go over and wish his niece happy birthday for about the twentieth time.

Jim was making the rounds, socializing with the others but never really took his eye off of Cindy and lover boy. None of the guys he talked to made any reference to his wife laughing it up with another man, but the women were starting to talk. He even overheard Jenny talking to her friends.

"He's a newspaper photographer," she told her classmates. "My dad says he gets in and out of scrapes all the time because of his job. I'm surprised he doesn't go over there and punch that guy in the nose."

Jim chuckled to himself. Unfortunately, it wasn't Bob's fault, not really. It was his wife's, and as much as he sometimes felt like it, he'd never strike her or any other woman. He glanced over and saw an empty beer bottle sitting on the ground next to Cindy's chair and another one in her hand already. She was inclined to drink more when she was nervous. This was not good. Bob had three empties sitting next to his chair.

Just then he heard Tony, "Is everyone getting hungry?" He was standing at the grill. Jim had been so preoccupied thinking about Cindy that he hadn't even noticed the smell of grilling meat. "We have hamburgers, brats and chicken patties," Tony announced. "Potato salad and other goodies are on the table over there. Everyone start grabbing your plates."

Jim thought it would be a good time to separate Bob from his wife. Maybe the two of them could find a nice quiet corner to eat and he could find out more about who he was supposed to be flirting with.

As he turned in their direction, he saw the two potential love birds set their beers down beside their chairs and stand up. Evidently, Bob had decided she was his for the day and possessively took her by the elbow.

"Not on this planet," Jim mumbled to himself. He quickly walked over. "Ah, excuse me, you want to take your hand off my wife?"

Bob immediately released Cindy's arm and held up both hands with his palms facing Jim. "Sorry," he half chuckled. "We were just on our way to get some food."

"Yeah, well I can take it from here, thanks," Jim angrily replied. He took Cindy's other elbow and literally walked her over to the food table.

"What's the matter with you?" Cindy asked, "That was extremely ill-mannered."

He ignored his wife's comment while maneuvering her in front of him as they joined the chow line. "Get some food," he flatly stated. "You and I are going to go over there by the shed and talk while we eat."

Adam saw the exchange between Jim and Bob. Since his coworker was alone for the first time in a while, he decided to take the opportunity and talk to him. "What the hell are you doing?' he angrily asked. "She's married to one of my brother's best friends. Leave her alone."

"Hey, man, you should be telling her to leave ME alone. She's the one hitting on me. I'm just being polite."

"Polite, my ass. I mean it, Bob. Look, if you think you stand a chance at getting her in the sack, forget it. She's using you to get back at Jim because she thinks he's been flirting with some waitress. Don't get in the middle of it."

"Hey, listen, married or no, I've never turned down a fine piece of ass like that in my life. I know women and I think you're wrong about her using me. She's genuinely interested, I can tell."

"I think you should go. This is my niece's birthday party and I don't want any trouble."

"Okay, okay, you win; if she comes over again, I'll send her right back to hubby, okay?"

"If you don't, you're out of here, I mean it, Bob."

"Scout's honor," he responded while holding up the three-fingered Boy Scout salute. "Now, can I go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Cindy wasn't really upset by Jim getting between her and Bob. For only knowing one another for a couple of hours, he was already starting to get a little too touchy-feely, not to mention all the sexual innuendos he was spouting; although, it was kind of fun to see how easily she could manipulate a man like that when she put her mind to it.

Still... she could tell by the way he had taken her by the arm that she had pushed her husband as far as she dared. She promised Barb no fights and Jim had already demonstrated he wasn't intimidated by Bob's muscles. She needed to spend the rest of the day with her hubby. She just hoped he'd learned his lesson.

They both loaded their plates with food and Jim pointed toward the shed, away from the crowd. When they got to a nice quiet spot, he handed Cindy his plate. "Here, hold this while I grab a couple of chairs. I'll be right back." As angry as he was, Jim was still a gentleman and held the back of her chair while Cindy sat down. He pulled his own alongside so they could talk discreetly.

After a few bites, Jim couldn't hold it in any longer. He was nothing if not direct. "All right, what's this nonsense about me flirting with some waitress?"

"You tell me."

"Cindy, damn it, you know how I hate playing these stupid word games. Where was all this flirting supposed to take place... when?"

"I'm not sure where. It was last week some time."

"Well, that sure narrows it down, doesn't it."

"Well, I'm sure you know better than I do, or do you flirt with all waitresses?"

"Look, waitresses have a tough job. I say hi, I smile, I joke around a little, I..."

"Kiss them," Cindy intervened.

"Kiss them?"

"That's what I was told."

"Then one of two things is happening here, either it's a case of mistaken identity, or you're being lied to because you're the only woman I've kissed since we started dating."

Cindy looked into his eyes. Whether she really could or not, she always felt she could tell if he was lying or not by his eyes; but then, she wasn't really sure because as far as she knew, he had never lied to her. "Why would someone tell me they saw you kissing a waitress if it wasn't true?"

"Beats the hell out of me," he said, after taking another bite from his burger. "She's your friend, ask her."

"How do you know it's a woman?"

"It sure as hell better be a woman. If you have a man friend telling you he saw me kissing a waitress, you answered your own question."

At first, Cindy thought that maybe he did see her friend in the restaurant and kissed the waitress anyway, not even caring that it might get back to her, but she wasn't sure what he meant by his last statement. "What do you mean, if it's a man I answered my own question?"

"Simple, if it IS a man, he's hot for you and trying to make trouble between us; he's probably thinking he may have a shot of getting into your pants by being a good friend and giving you a shoulder to cry on."

"Oh, that's ridiculous."

"Is it? Think about it. WAS it a man?"

"No."

"Okay, then we're right back where we started. You'll have to ask your friend why she's lying to you."

There was an uneasy silence while they both finished their lunches. When they were done, Jim had a few parting words. "Now, this is Jenny's birthday party and I'm not going to ruin it by fighting with your boy toy; so, if you continue to throw yourself at him like you have been, I'll just leave you here and you can find your own way home. Either that or you can spend the night with Mr. Muscles, in which case you won't have a home to come back to. Got it?"

She was a little shocked at the extent of his anger. "Jesus, Jim, take it easy. I'm not going home with Bob. The thought never even entered my mind. I was just trying to show you what it felt like to have your spouse flirting with somebody, that's all."

"Well, now you've shown me so it ends here." He stood, took his wife's paper plate and empty beer bottle and walked over to dump everything into the trash can. As he turned around, he was happy to see his wife right by his side.

Bob, on the other hand, was not happy at all. He had been sneaking peeks at the two of them talking while sitting by himself, eating his chicken patty. Not for a single minute did he believe she was just using him. She was hot to trot; there wasn't a shred of doubt in his mind. He was already visualizing her standing naked in front of him.

Unfortunately, as he saw it, Bob also recognized the need for secrecy. Earlier, he had hoped they could sneak away to an upstairs bedroom or maybe out to his car, but anything like that now was off the table. They were being watched. No, he'd have to postpone ravishing that luscious body, at least for a little while.

There was still plenty of party left, and despite their underlining issues, Jim and Cindy were determined to enjoy themselves. She stuck pretty close to him for the rest of the day, wandering off now and then, only to talk with friends, but always finding her way back to her husband.

The only time Cindy had any more contact with Bob was when everyone gathered around to sing "Happy Birthday," and watch Jenny blow out the candles on her cake. Bob took the opportunity to sneak in beside her and rub her ass while everyone was singing. At first, she thought it was Jim, but he was on the other side of her. When she glanced over, she saw Bob with a shit-eating grin on his face.

She couldn't believe his boldness. She quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching but everybody had their eyes trained on Jenny. Under any other circumstances, she'd have slapped him, but she knew it would start trouble, something she desperately wanted to avoid; besides, she thought, it was really her own damn fault for leading him on as she did. If she got the chance, she'd apologize to him and tell him she really wasn't interested.