Betty's Story

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This story is submitted for the

Pink Orchid 2023 for Women-Centric Erotica Challenge

. It has the features of several erotic categories and I have chosen Erotic Couplings as the one with the best match. That being said, there is little description of sexual activity.

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"Good morning, Sarah. Anything happen last night I need to know about?"

"Oh, Hi, Jenn. Yeah, Miss Betty passed."

"Aww. Too bad. Did she suffer at all?"

"No. She apparently went to bed like she always did after dinner and when I went in to check on her at the beginning of my shift, she was gone."

"Well, in a way, good for her. After ninety-three years, she wanted to go."

"Yeah. Ever since George died, she's been so unhappy."

"You're right. I know she missed him terribly," Jenn added with a silent nod.

After a few seconds, Sarah asked, "What do you think was the story between them, anyway? I mean, they weren't married or anything."

"They were very, very close."

"Yeah, but it seemed like there was so much more. Working nights, I never got to talk with her that much. Did she tell you anything about them?"

"Uh, maybe a little..."

"Well, out with it. What, were they lovers or not?"

"Uh, she made me promise to never tell her story to anyone until she was gone. She wasn't ashamed, she just didn't want to be judged by anyone while she was still alive."

"What about her kids?"

"Poor thing. She only had the one son and he died in his forties, so she was all alone here at the end."

"So, no family, no kids, everyone gone. Right? Then maybe you can tell me a little about her story. I know some of these older folks have wonderful tales to tell..."

Jenn sighed deeply, looked around the nursing home and said, "It's a long story, one I can't tell here in a few minutes. Maybe we can meet sometime over coffee when we're both awake?"

"Sure. I'm off next week for a mini staycation. Let's get together on your day off."

"Wednesday. Do you want to get together morning or evening for some coffee cake with our mud."

"How about three pm. That way I can continue to keep my sleep cycle about the same, OK? Oh, and the only other thing which happened last night is Mr. Wilson went back to the hospital but should return tomorrow. Hope you have a good day and I'll see you Wednesday," she said as she packed up her things and prepared to go.

The following Wednesday, Jenn baked a nice coffee cake, brewed some exotic Kenyan coffee and greeted Sarah shortly after three. "Here, have some sweets. I think you'll need some calories since Betty's story is quite long."

"Mmm. Smells good. So, what's the big story, anyway?"

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Elizabeth was born right after the depression hit but her family managed to survive without too much trouble. Her father was a grocer and he always managed to bring home enough money plus older fruits and vegetables as well as slightly stale bread from the store, so Betty was never hungry and actually had a fairly decent childhood.

She did well in school and surprised her parents by deciding to go to college, the first in her family to do so. On a full scholarship, she was accepted to Paffington State College where she joined a sorority. Another freshman named Ginger ended up being her roommate. The two bonded quickly. Betty had planned on being a home economics major but Ginger convinced her to try elementary education, a field where she could truly have a career. They shared many classes over the four years, participated in sorority affairs together and graduated at the same time.

In Betty's junior year she met a tall, thin but handsome fellow student named Robert at a Greek mixer. She agreed to a date, which led to a second and a third. At the end of the third date, she allowed him to kiss her, something she found quite pleasurable. Within a few months they were known to steam up the windows in his car with some hot and heavy petting at the end of their dates. Betty found herself getting extremely excited on several of their sessions and decided to push things a little further. What Bob didn't know was she had had sex previously and although it wasn't satisfying, it gave her the courage to get closer to Bob.

After going to a drive-in movie which neither of them watched, Betty looked at Bob straight in the eye and said, "Honey, do you think we are, uh, are we going to take this a bit further someday?"

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"Sex, Bob. Are we going to have sex?"

"Are you sure you know what you're asking?"

"Of course, I do. You know, we get naked and this little friend of yours that I've been able to meet puts on a rubber and, you know, you put..."

"Betts, I know what sex is. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

"It is the nineteen-fifties and I do have an understanding of the facts of life. My question is: are we going to do it?"

"I can't believe we're having this conversation, I mean, good girls don't..."

"Are you saying I'd be a bad girl if we made love?"

"Well, uh, no, that's not what I meant, uh..."

"What did you mean?"

"I think I'm screwing things up."

"Yeah, maybe you are. But I have a proposal. Give me a kiss, say you're sorry and take me home. You think about it for a few days and let's talk about it Thursday over dinner."

"You're inviting me to dinner?"

"No, Silly, you're inviting me," she giggled, "And I'd be honored to have a burger and a malt with you at the Burger Barn."

"Betty, would you like to go to the Burger Barn with me on Thursday?"

"Why, thank you, Bob, I'd be delighted."

When they talked about things over their burgers, Betty was fairly up front in her discussion with Bob. She told him she was very 'fond' of him, avoiding the 'L' word for the time being, and she found herself getting very excited when they made out. And she wanted to prepare for the possibility of sex by having him get condoms.

Once he got up the nerve to buy them in spite of the pharmacist's look of disapproval, it was only a short time before they were able to travel to a nearby town and check into a motel consisting of several small cabins. At registration, they pretended to be married and spent Friday night and nearly all of Saturday in bed. They were both nervous to begin with but by the end of the weekend they each had figured out a lot about their partner and how to give them pleasure. In no time at all, she realized her previous, brief sexual activity paled in comparison to being with Bob, a man she had completely fallen in love with.

She and Bob grew closer and no one was surprised when he popped the question shortly before graduation. Their plan was to get married once they had jobs lined up. They ended up finding work in a neighboring state and about six months later were married with Ginger being the maid of honor.

Ginger dated several guys during college but wasn't as lucky as Betty in getting her 'Mrs. degree'. She quickly found a teaching job in a nearby community and soon thereafter met a local fellow named George, fell in love and about six months after Betty's wedding, Ginger tied the knot with George.

Although they were several hours apart by train, they wrote letters frequently and managed to visit each other occasionally. Bob and George were introduced and they got along well and even shared a passion for fishing. Sometimes when the 'girls' got together, Bob and George would disappear to drown worms, listen to games on the radio and swap tales and lies.

Within two years of marriage, Betty and Bob had a son but due to severe complications with her delivery, Betty ended up having a hysterectomy and lost any hopes for having another child. Once they got over the emotional trauma of her surgery and quit worrying about birth control, they became rather wild with their sex life. In a rundown used bookstore, Bob happened upon a copy of the Kama Sutra and when he brought it home, it opened up a complete, new world of sexual experimentation for them. Although sex was not discussed as openly then as it is now, Betty felt she and her husband were having a wonderful time in the bedroom where he seemed determined to bring her pleasure before she returned the favor.

Soon after they married, Ginger and George had a son and a daughter fairly close together. Ginger confided to Betty in one letter she was not particularly interested in having any more children and though it was not a common practice, Ginger had her tubes tied a couple of years after their daughter was born.

When the three children were in their teens, Bob was offered a great position with his company back where Ginger and George were living. The two women were ecstatic to be living close together again and they even ended up teaching at the same school.

By the mid-1970s, the two couples found themselves empty nesters with the kids off to out-of-state colleges. The four frequently got together for dinner or to go to movies or concerts. Occasionally the alcohol would flow heavily and the visiting couple would end up staying in the guest room rather than run the risk of driving intoxicated.

They were also known to share a joint now and then but this made them nervous. Marijuana was illegal and both women would certainly lose their teaching certificates if they were caught, even if they weren't charged with a crime. As a result, they would smoke only indoors and when it was windy in case any telltale odors escaped their houses.

The big change in their lives started one warm summer afternoon when the four were drinking beer, getting tipsy and relaxing on Bob and Betty's patio. They were discussing plans for the evening including the guest room arrangements for George and Ginger when Betty suddenly came up with an interesting idea.

"Hey, you two should move next door. Then we wouldn't have to worry about drinking and driving."

"That's a wild idea. What do you think, George?" asked Ginger.

"I dunno, Gin, but I do know when you two girls get a crazy idea, well Bob and I have found it easier to go with it."

"George, how could you say that?" laughed Betty.

"George is right, Honey. I have to agree with him one hundred percent. You two get ahold of something and we merely step back and say those two little words that keep every marriage together: 'Yes, Dear'."

"As long as you know who's in charge!" laughed Betty, "Gin and I are OK with it. Now really, why can't we live next to each other?"

"Our neighborhood basically sucks and we've even kicked around the idea of moving but have been too lazy to do anything about it," said Gin.

"George, what about around here. Have you considered that?" asked Bob.

"Well, no, mainly because we've not done anything serious about the idea of moving."

"Betts, any houses for sale in the area?" asked Ginger.

"Not that I know of. Why don't you guys check with a realtor and see what's available?"

The topic of conversation drifted off in another direction as the alcohol flowed and the bar-b-q slow-cooked on the grill.

A couple of weeks later Ginger told Betty there were no available houses in the immediate neighborhood. The two women went to Betty's neighbors and asked if any were considering moving only to be met with negative responses. That evening Betty told her husband about the disappointing day.

"Once we got to talking about it, I got pretty excited. I mean, we spend so much time together and having them closer would have been fun."

"You're right, Hon, but I like this house."

"So do I! Well, it was worth thinking about."

When they were snuggled in bed several evenings later, Betty abruptly sat up in bed and shook Bob's shoulder.

"What? I was almost asleep!"

"Sorry, but I just had a great idea. Why don't we both move to new houses next to each other?"

"Huh? Uh, well, we could, I guess, but finding two for sale next door to each other would be tough."

"Maybe we could build! Maybe we could find a property and split it and put up two houses. They wouldn't need to be huge, only two bedrooms, you know."

"Yeah, could work, I guess. Look, I need my sleep. Let's kick this around tomorrow."

The next day Betty called in for a substitute teacher before driving to the realtor's office. There she inquired about property for sale and was told a five-acre piece had recently come on the market. It was a medium-bank waterfront property on Indian Lake a few miles out of town. They went to view it, discussed subdividing it and by evening, Betty was ready with her plan. She invited Ginger and George over for dinner, fixed a nice little meal and cracked a bottle of wine. Once dessert had been served, they retired to the living room.

At a pause in the conversation, Betty announced, "Hey, guys, I've done some research today with Vanessa at the realtor's office and I've got an answer for our living situation."

"Yeah? What is it?"

There's a five acre parcel out at Indian Lake for sale. It's right on the water and has fabulous views. We should buy it, subdivide it and build our houses next to each other."

"How much?"

"Ten thousand."

"Ten grand! That's outrageous. The average home around here only costs forty or something like that," said Bob.

"But Honey, that's only five grand for us and five for them. We could build some nice smaller homes in the mid-thirties, I'm sure."

"The cost of bringing in power and driveways, well, I think it would be more than we might think," jumped in George.

"Wait," said Ginger, "We'd only need one driveway to the houses and it'd split at the garages. Same thing for power. One line along the driveway for both houses. Oooh, Betty, I think it's a great idea. I can hardly wait."

The men were more skeptical about the idea but all agreed to go with the realtor to view the property. It was beautiful. Vanessa explained how subdividing worked, gave them advice on building ideas and before they knew it, they put down a deposit.

After hiring a contractor who promised them a discount because the homes would be nearly identical and at the same location, they finalized the building plans and formally purchased and subdivided the property.

The next twelve months were hectic with house designing, permitting and the eventual construction but at the end of the time, the two couples had their dream homes. They were modest in size, were virtual mirror images of each other with only some differences in trim packages and were only twenty feet apart due to required setbacks. They shared a single long driveway and a common parking pad between the two garages. Only because the building code wouldn't allow them to construct one large deck in back, they installed two separate decks but laid a simple brick pathway between the two. They spent much of their free time enjoying the view from one or the other deck while sharing conversations, alcohol and even an occasional toke without worrying about the neighbors.

Their children were delighted at their parents' situation and visited occasionally staying in the guest bedrooms. Betty and Ginger commuted together and the men shared in the lawn upkeep and house maintenance. Most importantly, Betty and Ginger each enjoyed having her life-long best friend merely steps away.

On one warm and very calm night after they had been in their new houses about a year, Betty had trouble sleeping while Bob snored softly away. As she lay there, she heard a faint noise through the open window. At first, she was unable to determine the cause but after a few minutes, it dawned on her. She could hear Ginger moaning next door! The two couples had built the houses so the bedrooms would face away from the other house leaving the kitchen and living spaces along the near walls. Betty realized Ginger must truly be enjoying herself if her moans were heard all the way from her bedroom to Betty's. She felt voyeuristic and definitely turned on listening to her friend obviously enjoying sex. She nearly woke up her husband but remembered he'd had a rough couple of days on his job and needed his sleep.

Silently, she slipped from their bed and went to the living room where she opened the French door, allowing her to better hear her best friend in the throes of passion.

While she was listening, she felt herself getting more and more aroused to the point she decided to take things into her own hands. While one hand rose up to tease her nipples, the other slipped under her nightgown and to her pelvis. Her middle finger parted her hair and sought out the liquid excitement between her lips. Bringing it up to her pearl, she slowly started a rotating motion which picked up in speed and pressure as her arousal increased.

Betty was no stranger to masturbation. She had done it frequently when she was younger until Bob was on the scene but she still partook occasionally, particularly after reading a racy romance novel. But on that night, she desperately needed relief as she imagined the two going at it next door. And for the first time since she met him, Betty fantasized about George. She liked him and thought he was rather handsome but as he was her best friend's husband, she had never thought of him in a sexual way. And here she was, thinking about how his cock looked, how he would use it on her and how he might pound her until she came and came. As Ginger's moans reached a peak, Betty finished herself off with her own crashing orgasm.

And as she relaxed, she became suddenly ashamed. Ginger was her best and dearest life-long friend. How could Betty even let the fantasy of George cross her mind? How could she look at her friend in the eye on the way to work the next morning? How could she sit with the two of them on the deck and not relive her fantasies she had just enjoyed? Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, she slid back into bed next to her slumbering husband.

As it turned out, Betty was able to carry on as if nothing had happened and within a few days her guilty feelings were no longer first and foremost in her mind. She did, however, fantasize about George a few times over the next few months when she and Bob were making love but the fantasy was eventually replaced by those of a new, young, hot-looking PE teacher at her school.

Months later during a break in their school schedule and after having worked hard in their gardens, Betty and Ginger sat on Ginger's deck drinking mint juleps and talking. When Betty looked back on the conversation, she couldn't exactly remember how they ended up talking about sex but Betty was sure she hadn't brought it up. Maybe they were a little tipsy and one thing led to another until the topic came up.

"Uh, Betts, I've never asked you this but, uh, I'm kinda curious."

"What about?"

"When you were in college, did you ever, you know, have another guy?"

"Sure. You remember Joe, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah, but what I mean is did you and Joe or you and anybody else ever do it?"

"It? Sex, you mean?"

"Yeah. I mean, it seems like all everyone talks about now is sex and women's lib and the pill and all. We came along a little too early for that, didn't we?"

"Yeah, I guess we did. Well, to answer your question, uh, you won't tell Bob any of this, will you?"

"No!"

"George?"

"Absolutely not! This is just between us, I promise."

"OK. If the truth be told, I wasn't a virgin when I met Bob, but it wasn't Joe."

"Really? Why you little...Who was it?"

"You never met him. I went home one summer and worked as a lifeguard at the pool. The head lifeguard was a real good-looking guy and to make a long story short, we ended up doing it in the lifeguards' dressing room a few times."

"How was it?"