Author's Note: Big thanks to blue-scorpio for helping me with edits on this edition and the previous one. Part two picks up the morning following the first installment, so I would definitely recommend starting with Part 1 if you haven't already. This part contains recurring themes from the first, although the characters and setting develop a bit more and the characters continue to take baby steps on their explorative journey as they each develop their roles in the dynamic.
And one last thing, as I said in the first episode, I plan on going pretty wide with this series, and while there are infinite possibilities, my imagination is anything but. Feel free to submit ideas in the comments or by PM. If I end up running with your idea, regardless of how much it's bastardized, I'll be sure to credit you in the authors note featuring your idea.
A big thanks to all the people who reviewed my first story! I hope you all enjoy the second part as much as the first!
Carnal Nights: Part 2 - Dennis' Penance
Of the two of them, Amy was the early riser. Her morning routine kicked off with a 5am alarm clock. She rolled out of bed still a bit groggy and hit the bathroom. Their master bathroom was any woman's dream. It was large, spacious and contained all of the modern amenities. The room was the width of their bedroom and about half as deep. Walking in from the bedroom, directly ahead was a his-and-hers vanity. The twin sinks each had their own toothbrush holders and a cabinet and three drawers below. A large mirror ran the length of it, stretching from the vanity to about a foot shy of the ceiling leaving space for a large light fixture. To the left of the vanity was a bidet style toilet backdropped by a shelf for towels that had a towel rack suspended below it. Running the length of the adjoining wall, and about four feet in depth, was a tiled shower stall enclosed by sliding glass doors. Against the wall bordering the bedroom, and directly to the left when entering, was an oversized Jacuzzi style tub that could comfortably fit two adults with room to spare.
On the way in, Amy grabbed her workout outfit off the dresser and when she arrived, used the toilet, washed her face, brushed her teeth and then brushed her hair and pulled it back into a tight bun. She held her gaze on her reflection in the mirror a little longer than normal, taking in the outfit one last time before getting undressed. Today she went with one of her favorite sets, a tight pair of black 3" high rise shorts and a matching black crop top tank, no need for panties. She checked the temperature on her phone. Another warm and clear July morning, she thought, perfect for a morning swim in the pool.
Swimming was Amy's favorite form of cardio in the summer. Their rectangular in-ground pool was just big enough for her to do laps, the deep end was deep enough that she couldn't touch the bottom without being completely submerged, and the 8-person hot tub made for a great place to recover. She grabbed a clean towel off the shelf and silently opened the door to the bedroom being careful not to wake Dennis, but when she went to tiptoe over to her dresser she was surprised to find that he wasn't there. She couldn't remember if he was still in bed when she woke up, and felt bad that she might have woken him up. She flicked on the lights and slid open the dresser drawer with all her swimwear. After digging around a bit, she settled on a sleek black seamless two piece that had a scoop neck bikini top with spaghetti straps and brazilian cut bottoms that had a thong back. Content with her selection, Amy headed downstairs where she could hear Dennis doing something, but didn't bother to investigate. She stopped by the kitchen, which was filled with the aroma of fresh coffee, grabbed her premade bottle of pre-workout supplement and went straight down into the basement weight room.
The big selling point for this house was the huge basement, it covered the entire footprint of the house, including the attached garage. To enter, there was a door in the kitchen that led down a set of stairs hugging the back wall of the house. One of their first projects when they moved in was to finish the basement and break the massive space down into several smaller rooms. To the left of the stairs, there was a hallway with three doors on the right, and two on the left. The first door on the right was the laundry room. It had the usual amenities, a washer and dryer, a countertop with a sink and cabinets above for cleaning supplies. Along the back wall centered from the corner was a wall mounted television. The next door on the right contained Dennis' failed project room, the place where Dennis' brief hobby interests went to die. Amy avoided it at all costs. The door on the end was a small half bath and Amy's first stop. She dropped her swimsuit and towel on the toilet seat and closed the door. On the left side of the hallway were the two biggest rooms. The one further back was for "storage", but they'd never really found it practical to store things there. Finally the door closer to the stairs led to their home gym.
The basement gym was pretty well made up for home fitness, even though it only took up about a quarter of the total space down there, it was spacious. Amy and Dennis, but mostly Amy, had everything they needed to do a full workout without even leaving the house. The walls were lined with dumbbell racks and barbell weights
In the far corner was the weight bench, and they even had a cable machine setup right in the center. The wall bordering the hallway had mirrors on it from the floor up to about chest height, the back wall had another TV mounted, with some yoga mats rolled up in the corner. The area directly inside the door was open space big enough for two people to stretch or do yoga at the same time. The entire floor was done up with soft foam padding with holes cut out where equipment needed to be anchored into the concrete.
Amy pulled up a guided yoga class on her phone and cast it to the TV, then she put in her ear buds and cruised right through the class and onto the weights. About thirty minutes later, she had done enough to work up a sweat and called it a day. She felt like it was a good session, but knew deep down that she was a bit distracted throughout. The whole time she thought about yesterday, especially how it ended, but she kept getting caught up on her ultimatum. She said the words and she meant it last night, but she had no idea what they meant. There was no doubt in her mind on what she didn't want. She knew what she was sick of, and how she felt, but she had no clue what she wanted, or how Dennis could possibly give it to her and ultimately how it would make her feel. More importantly, she didn't have a clear vision of what their lives would become. She felt like this could be the gateway to becoming the sex crazed swinger couple of the neighborhood. Even though she teased Dennis last night about having sex with another man, she wasn't sure she really meant it. Thinking about it a little more, she figured maybe it could be fun. Dennis' didn't have a small dick or anything, she thought, but if things continued on, especially if they indulged in his chastity fetish, why should she be punished? Dildos and toys are cool and all, but there's really no substitute for the real thing. All she could do was wait and see what the next twenty-four hours would bring. She could worry about reigning it in and setting limits as they went along if Dennis managed to convince her that the trajectory of their marriage had changed.
Amy straightened up after herself in the home gym, finished off her drink, and stepped out into the hallway, turning the light out behind her. She walked down to the half-bath to change into her swimsuit. The swimsuit she grabbed was last year's skimpy tanning suit, but it was probably her favorite for swimming laps as well. The material fit snug, almost to the point of being undersized, and she never had to worry about it falling off as she whipped back and forth across the pool. Going forward, she decided she wasn't going to maintain her hyper conservative form of modesty when the kids were around either. The thought of the neighbors seeing her in such tiny swimwear seemed more exciting now than it ever had before, but she was fairly confident that the privacy wooden fence enclosing their yard did a better job at interfering with prying eyes than even the most modest clothing choices. What's the big deal, she thought, she's keeping everything covered that would need to be covered to be on network television.
