Wife Wants to Swap

"Channelle, Phillippe, I think we've run our course. I don't think we should swap any more. We can still be friends if you like."

It seemed like a weight was lifted off of Phillippe's shoulders, while Channelle was perplexed.

"I don't understand," she said. "We're all having so much fun, why should we stop."

"Actually, Channelle, I think it's only you and Bob who are having fun. I haven't had fun in weeks, and I believe that Phillippe agrees with me."

All eyes turned to Phillippe.

"I'm afraid that I must agree, Channelle. Things have become...awkward of late."

"Well, I wouldn't want to make things 'awkward,'" she said, "but I don't see how we could be just friends after this." She threw her napkin down and left the room in a huff.

"I think I should go see to her," Phillippe said, "You can see yourselves out?"

We nodded, and he ran after Channelle.

Bob and I left and had a silent ride home.

Bob didn't even bother with the garage door, just slammed the car into Park and bolted to the house, leaving the driver's door open.

I took the keys out of the ignition and heard the front door slam as I closed the car doors and headed to the house, half expecting the door to be locked.

Fortunately, the door wasn't locked, but Bob was pacing back and forth, and he was pissed.

"Just what was that all about?" he asked with barely controlled rage.

"I think I was pretty clear. I believe that our games with Phillippe and Channelle have run their course and are getting a little out of hand. Your reaction does little to convince me that I'm wrong."

He took a couple of deep breaths, turned and walked away. I heard the bedroom door close, and thought that it was a good sign that he didn't slam it.

I spent some time in the hall bathroom getting ready for bed to give him time to cool down. I walked into the bedroom naked, only to find Bob already under the covers in his pajamas. Bob almost never wears pajamas, even in the winter. If he wears anything it's just boxers.

He was also pretending to be asleep. I decided to let him pretend and curled up on my side of the bed facing away from him.

Things were a little chilly in the morning, but we gradually turned to something resembling normal, with no more talk about swapping.

A couple of attempts at socializing with Channelle and Phillippe fell flat, and they finally disappeared from our lives, or so I thought.

A few months later I came home, and was shocked to see Channelle there, sitting on the couch next to Rob, holding his hand in both of hers.

"Abby, I, we have a confession to make," Rob said. "A couple of weeks after you called a halt to the swapping, I called Channelle." He held up his hand to stop me as I got agitated.

"It's not what you think, at least at first. We both missed the camaraderie of our swapping, and were brainstorming ideas of how we could get you and Phillippe to agree to continue.

"We met once or twice a week for coffee or lunch, but were unable to come up with a workable plan. What we did realize was that our attraction to each other was as strong as ever. I won't torment you with the details, but we eventually found ourselves in bed together.

"It was every bit as good as it had been before, but we tried to fight it, knowing what we were risking. Ultimately, we realized that we were fighting a losing battle, and came to what I know will be a painful decision.

"I'm asking you for a divorce. Since I'm at fault, I will be as generous as possible. Channelle will also be divorcing Phillippe, and as soon as the divorces are final, we intend to marry.

"I know this comes as a shock to you, but I see no other option."

They stood up and came over to me, I think they wanted to fucking hug me, or something, but I fought back my tears and walked away until I heard the door close behind them, then I let the tears flow.

I thought about fighting the divorce, but what would be the point? The lawyers would just get richer, and it wouldn't bring Bob back.

I never knew the details, but apparently Phillippe made a similar decision, and all too soon our marriages ended and Bob and Channelle were married.

It didn't bother me that they didn't send me an invitation. I'm sure they knew that I wouldn't go, and didn't want to rub my nose in it, though I certainly knew about it through our mutual friends.

From all appearances they're happy, and just had their first child.

I spent a couple of months in counseling for me to get over blaming myself for opening the door with my big idea to swap.

It still took a couple of months before I was able to put myself out there, but eventually I was dating again, and having a pretty good time of it. I wasn't especially looking for a new husband, but I wanted to make sure that if I did get married again, that I'd have all of my experimentation out of my system.

After about a year, I met Brian Williams, and we were soon exclusive. As we became more serious, I felt the need to explain how I caused my first marriage to implode.

To say that he was gobsmacked would be an understatement, but when I made it clear that those days were behind me, he calmed down, and things settled down.

We were engaged after a year, and married six months later.

It was just after our first anniversary, we were lying in bed after a passionate work out that Brian said the words that sent a chill up my spine.

"What do you think about spicing up our love life?"

I was shocked speechless for a moment, then grabbed my pillow and began beating the shit out of him with it.

"Not on your life!" I screamed. "How can you say that after what happened to my first marriage?"

He wrapped his strong arms around me and smothered me with kisses.

"I'm just joking, Honey. I'm sorry, it was a bad joke."

"Damn right it was, and you're going to pay for it, starting right now," I said as I pushed his head between my legs.

Fuck, he's got a talented tongue, I just might forgive him in a month or two. I don't think he's in any hurry!