"Here's your coffee my Dear," Janice Flaherty, school counselor, said in jest, bringing a cup of brewed pod from the staff lounge to Thomas Fredrick, principal. He would in turn bring her with a light pastry or muffin regularilty, from a place he drove by on the way to Washington High School where he served as principal and she the school counselor.
Working together for three years, and having mutual admiration for each other, they had banter and serious conversations sometimes simultaneously. They had drawn comments from the kitchen staff stating things like, "You two act like an old married couple."
"How's empty nesting going?" Janice said, sitting down, taking a sip of coffee, crossing her slender, bare legs drawing Thomas's gaze. She was wearing a light blue dress, showing off her petite silhouette, shoulder length hair groomed perfectly, the edges of a lace bra peaking out from the fabric on her shoulders. She had a soft and attractive look Thomas appreciated coming to work to see every day.
"Larry and I found it freeing," she said with a sly little grin as he was being to thoughtful about his answer. Thomas was hesitant to answer as the kids moving out and the "benefits" that came with it hadn't lived up to the hype in his household. "Changed our marriage."
"We're still 'too busy,'" he said with air quotes then sipping and looking at the skin below her neck and down to her smallish breasts, searching for the nipples usually poking against the tight fabric. "What do you mean by 'changed your marriage'?"
Thomas stumbled upon an article that introduced him to the term "Work Wife" while looking for a birthday present for Janice last year. He smiled as the term talked about all the traits he could see between Janice and himself. They danced around the fringes of flirty, talking about each other's marriages and asking deeper than normal questions.
Janice sat up in her chair, considering his question, legs uncrossed and she leant forward, smiling over her coffee mug, looking up at Thomas showing off her slight cleavage prominently displayed as her dress moved from her skin.
"You've never asked me anything like that before Thomas." she said, in a slightly coy manner, her head tilting and looking him in the eyes, this time with hunger and intent. He was now nervous, but in that sexually stimulating manner. His cock started to grow, the first time in her presence and the first time due to her. "If I'm honest with you, will you be honest with me?"
Thomas was dressed in a black, light striped suit, with the coat slung over his chair, a nice pressed shirt with solid blue tie. She ran her eyes up and down him after that comment, letting waiting for a response, his eyes following hers, hopefully conveying the message she'd been waiting months to deliver.
Her body language, tongue touched her lips and pulled back, he eyes looking left and right as if they were in a public place, not behind the shut door of his office. Thomas's dick was now full erect, poking up at the fabric of his boxers and pants, if she were to look down she would see it tenting him.
"If you're honest, I'm honest," Thomas said, moving around so the dick slid up his pant leg some. "Why re-invent the wheel if I'm looking to take advantage of the kids being gone?"
"Doesn't sound like you want to change your marriage, just get bedroom tips?" Janice said in a snippy tone, put off that he made such a simplistic answer. "I know you've shared some of your frustrations with Melanie with me, but nothing, well, in the realm of changing."
"We're in a rut, looking for any help I guess," Thomas said, but didn't elaborate, he head dropped his head, a little scared at this point as after two years of working together, they finally broached THAT subject.
"Thomas there are a million books on that topic," Janice said, now fully turned off by this direction and the meekness of Thomas. "I've got kids coming in, and if you want marriage counseling I can suggest someone. Have a good day."
Janice sat up, opened the door saying hello to Thomas's pregnant secretary, Kimmy, the perky 20something and headed out. His erection deflated quickly as he stood up, the wet precum was all that was left of their first sexual discussion as work wife and work husband.
Janice smiled walking away knowing she cut Thomas off, but she had bigger plans than just comparing marital bedroom notes, and she did have students coming in she had to meet. Thomas watched her backside sway back and forth walking away from his office.
The pace of the day was the usual frantic as they passed and smiled at each other, their busy schedules only allowing for brief encounters. Students, staff and the onslaught of issues was getting to her, so she just closed the door, turned down the lights and meditated. Today, the topic was - if Thomas was ready.
Janice opened her eyes, after reading all signals today and the past year, concluding it in her head before saying it out loud to herself, "Yes. It is time."
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Thomas's orgasm came quickly. Frustrated he rolled off of his beautiful wife Melanie, kissing her stomach as his tall frame rose up and knelt between her legs, his withering cock sliding out of her.
"It had been awhile," he said, one of his usual excuses when he was pre-mature. She lay motionless and looked up at him sort of blankly.
"It's okay," she usually said and said again. "It was nice."
She went into the bathroom, her tall slender frame, 34c breasts bouncing beautifully after 50 years. He rolled over in bed, recounting her busy evening which included dinner, her either on her phone or computer with the TV showing some "Housewives" program on Bravo in the background.
His evening for Thomas consisted of him alternating from napping, playing with the dog, doing his own computer work or watching sports in another room. Having been turned on earlier, he threw out there, "You wanna get naked?"
That worked, but now laying in bed, he thought of Janice, how she ended their conversation. He wondered if he blew it, and what "it" was that he might have messed up. Did he really want some sort of extra-marital relationship?
Thomas and Melanie had gone to bed early around 9 p.m. as they both worked out most mornings very early. He felt good about initiating sex, even though it was uninspired at best, and now he was thinking of another woman.
He felt his wife get comfortable and then he slipped out of bed.
"I forgot a report I need done for tomorrow," he said, lying to Melanie. She muttered a tired 'okay' and he slipped downstairs with his phone, in his bedtime shorts and T-shirt.
Thomas got downstairs and sat in the darkness, feeling a need to reach out to Janice. He scrolled her name on his phone, got the message function up, three times typed a message and deleted each one He was not happy with any of them and was somewhat nervous about contacting her off hours.
'No', he thought 'it's okay, there's something there and he typed again settling on - "You up?"
Thomas stomach churred, his thumb close to 'send' but stared at it for five minutes. He knew there was no turning back, finally hitting 'send' and waiting. He didn't expect bubbles right away but after a few minutes, dejected he got on his computer.
Searching the topic "empty nest" was yielding several good title, when the text feature connected to his phone and flashed.
"For your own sake lets chat on the AP 'kik' - and my username is L&LACE1918"
Excited he went to the AP store, downloaded and joined kik, deciding on "fiftyfitinfidelity22" as his username.
He searched, found her name and sent a "I'm on"
Janice was much faster in her response on the application, immediately issuing a "Hi" and then, "If we're going to communicate socially it's not trackable here. For your sake not mine."
Thomas froze, the words communicate socially, and then the movement upstairs of Melanie going to the bathroom. He felt dirty, he felt guilty, his penis deflated quickly after coming to life signing up and he was ready to shut off his devices and rush upstairs to the comfort of his marriage bed.
"What's your username about?" flashed quickly, the question froze him, it made a low sound Thomas nervously fumbled with his phone, shutting off it's notifications. She had drawn him back into the conversation.
"Well, I'm in my 50s, am pretty fit and this is a question of 'fidelity' and/or 'INfidelity'. Make sense?"
"It does," she said, and then followed up with, "You're more comfortable writing than speaking on this topic. Fidelity?
"Yes, I always have been" he responded, then tried to pick up their conversation from today. "Where did I upset you today?"
"(shrugging emoji) Perspective is what changed and I thought you were ready for a more in-depth conversation than just marital sex tips."
"How do you view me at work?" he threw out a quick, very open ended, depth seeking question.
"My boss," she said and left that hanging there. Thomas got nervous and began typing, but she cut him off.
"You don't have to respond, let things sit sometimes," she fired quickly.
So he let it sit and sit and a few minutes later a long message came through.
"I view you through many lens. My boss. A man, tall, handsome, confident as he works. A caged spirit, struggling to act on impulses, still trying to figure out how he got here and why so many opportunities pass. I see you having many traits that many people in the world would value. But I also see someone wanting less responsibility, to be led, rather than always leading."
"Can I be honest?" he replied. "With a simple cliche'?"
"Sure," she said. "Be ready for a deeply simple question that will require a deeper simple, response."
An "oxymoron" phrase, Thomas thought but let it slide as he had his honest, researched, appraisal of her ready in his mind.
"I view you as my 'work wife' sharing a lot of intimate things outside the obvious sexual ones," Thomas replied, waited, happy with his assessment.
"I like that," she said, getting the rise in his shorts started again. Her next question was simple and deep. "Yes or no, if sex was metaphorically on the table, would you hesitate, or take me?"
"Yes...and that's another question that can not be answered yes or no", Thomas said with a smile as he hit send, knowing what his simple and deep response was to how she worded that question.