My wife, Bridget, was at home already, as was her usual routine, when I arrived that Friday afternoon. I heard her in her office working. Bridget is a freelance analyst and consultant for marketing, among other things. She works from home mostly.
"Frank?" She called from her office. "Come in here."
I walked into her office and there she was, at her desk with her back partially to me. She was in a black business suit and heels. Actually, she was only in her jacket and white blouse on top. She had taken off her skirt or pants, whichever she wore today. Her jet-black hair was in a tight bun with a lock of hair seductively falling loose of the side. Her reading glasses were resting midway on the nose of her bridge. She knew I loved the sexy, seductive librarian/teacher look. She turned around to look at me, her legs crossed. She was wearing black stiletto pumps. And no panties. Her makeup was dark, giving definition to her best features – her lips, her eyes. She had large hoop earrings on. They seemed almost out of place.
"Get on your knees," was all she said, as she reached for her cigarettes and lighter. I did what she said, more so indulged her than obeyed her. I wondered what she had in mind today. She took a long, deep drag as she lit her cigarette.
"We have to have a conversation," she said as she exhaled.
I had wondered when this was coming. Something had changed in our marriage in the past nine months or so. It was never an abrupt change so that I would notice and question it, but more subtle, so that it settled into the landscape of our lives, our bedroom and sex life without disrupting the equilibrium or routine. After the New Year she had stopped shaving her pussy. Well, not completely. She shaved her pussy lips, but let her mons go feral before manicuring her thick, jet-black hair into a nice little hairdo, usually a heart or triangle. I prefer a shaved pussy, but didn't make a scene about it, thinking it was a temporary change of pace for her. Originally Bridget was very self-conscious about her hair down there. If left to its own devices, untended, it was quite the jungle, with hair appearing damn near her navel.
There were other changes, of course. I'd noticed her style of dress had changed somewhat. It was more feminine, if not likewise harsh in a certain way. Today's business suit was a prime example. I had no complaints about that. She wore heels more, and stockings, sometimes with a garter belt, sometimes the stockings that stay up on their own. She shopped generously for herself at Victoria's and elsewhere. She still had a great figure for a lady about to turn 45. Mid-height, weight never above 130 – discounting being pregnant, of course – and a bust that was still pert and full, a nice C-cup with big, responsive nipples. Bridget tended to herself quite well these days, with salon and spa time. Given she was a breadwinner in her own right with her hard-earned income, it was her prerogative. And frankly, I liked that she was keeping herself more feminine, with nails and such. But she had started doing them a little longer, closer to talons than a typical manicure.
Ironically, though, Bridget was smoking more. Not that she ever was a heavy smoker. If she smoked a pack a month it was a lot for her; now, more like a pack at least every two weeks. I never complained or made a deal about it. I figured it best to deal with it as with a rebellious teenager. Address it, you get counterproductive results; ignore it, and usually it goes away of its own accord. But Bridget wasn't a teenager. She was a very intelligent lady who had her shit together. Frankly, it sometimes turned me on when she smoked. It made me think about her sucking my cock. She knew this, too. All to well.
Therein lies another evolution in our lives. Our sex life had definitely evolved over the past year. Gone were the times when I got head on demand. Bridget hadn't sucked my cock in months. She told me she didn't like sucking cock anymore and wasn't going to indulge me. She found it demeaning. I tried to figure it out but Bridget closed the conversation curtly and wasn't open to revisiting the subject. A good thing gone up in smoke it seemed, at least for the time being. There was a time not so long ago when I could get head on demand, with her swallowing or even taking a facial. She never minded if I took her hair in my fist and bobbed her head on my cock to my complete satisfaction. And she never minded if I talked dirty to her, calling her cocksucker and the like. In lieu of head I occasionally got a handjob these days. More often though it was me jerking off for her. What had certainly increased was me licking her pussy, especially after the less-frequent occasions when I did get to fuck her to cumming inside her. I have never been a fan of cleaning out creampies, but I just tried to go with the flow, figuring it was a phase for her.
Her vocabulary had changed, too, and not only in bed. My lovely wife of 20 years demonstrated that she had a very dirty mouth. Pussy became cunt, for example. She was more verbal overall, especially in bed. I've always loved dirty talk, so this was not a point about which I would complain. But it was a datapoint in all this evolution of Bridget.
I chalked most of this up to, for lack of better terms, a mid-life crisis. Although it really wasn't a crisis all-in-all; just an unexpected and not entirely welcome evolution in Bridget's womanhood it seemed. When she got a tattoo after turning 40 and a piercing in her labia, I didn't protest. The tattoo of chinese symbols at the base of her neck actually looked hot, and kind of turned me on when she let me take her from behind. And the piercing would lightly tickle my balls when I fucked her, too.
"What's on your mind, Baby?" I responded to her, not really sure how to respond. I was trying to keep an open mind, but 'we have to have a conversation' usually doesn't have a good outcome. But I was trying to stay positive and keep an open mind on the subject.
"First," she said to me after a moment of looking at me while she smoked slowly, purposely, seductively, "This really isn't going to be a conversation. And don't call me Baby anymore. You can speak when I'm finished and I tell you you can speak. Nod if you understand."
"It's OK, I'm sorry, just tell me what you need to tell me," I said. "I'm here for you." I was trying to be supportive and not let the situation become aggressive or antagonistic. I still had an ominous feeling about where this was going.
Bridget exhaled and then suddenly leaned forward and slapped my face, hard. One of her long nails cut my cheek under my eye. Her eyes seemed like they were on fire. "I SAID, shut the FUCK up, listen and nod if you understand!"
I was taken aback by her aggressiveness and her loss of temper. Bridget had never raised her voice like this, even during the relatively few arguments and fights we had had in our marriage. I nodded meekly, trying to bring down the temperature of this exchange. A thought crossed my mind fleetingly. Bridget had been working out at the gym more. I had noticed she was gaining quite a physique. Not just toned, but also she had gained some muscle mass in the process. I wondered if she had turned to steroids for this, and if this wasn't a 'roid rage of some sorts. My mind was all over the place under the circumstances.
Bridget settled back into her high-back leather office chair and continued smoking for a moment, seemingly regaining her composure. She continued with her "conversation."
"For 20 years I've been taking care of you, the kids and this house, and working at the same time, making as much or more than you over the years," she said. "Things are about to change. Whether you like it or not." Her tone was not contemptuous, but cold and direct. She had obviously thought a lot about this – for how long, I wondered.
"I haven't decided on all the changes I want at the moment, but for now," she continued, taking a long, dramatic drag on her cigarette, "Here are the terms: 1)I'll be taking over all household and financial decisions in our marriage; 2)once the kids are on their way to college this fall, we'll sell this house and downsize to a smaller place; I plan to travel, and no, you will not be with me most of the time; 3)there will be changes in our sex life, too; I don't plan to leave you high and dry, but there will be distinct changes; we'll get to those later. For now, we'll take care of the mundane, the business and financial issues. You have time now to ask any questions you need before we move on to the next phase in our marriage."
I was still trying to take onboard all that she had just told me. It didn't seem rehearsed, but it definitely was not a whim that came up this morning in the shower.
"Are you having an affair," was my first question.
Bridget laughed. "Not exactly. I've been seeing a woman off and on for a bit. Not too frequently."
That struck me. Bridget had never given any indication of any interest in bisexuality. "Are you going to take a lover?" I asked. "A man?"
