After the wild night of sex with Lindy and Darby, things settled down for a few days. It almost felt strange to be around the Daniels family and not have some crazy sexual adventure happen, but it did give me a chance to recharge my batteries.
Lindy had a date with her potential basketball lover, and Adam took a girl to a concert, so the kids were keeping busy.
I was able to line up several more new accounts to keep the boss happy and make it worth my while to be in Myrtle Beach. I wasn't having any luck finding a place of my own, but thanks to the generosity of the Daniels, there was no rush.
And then, the scene turned in a different direction and I got caught up in it again.
At dinner, Shannon let us know that she would be off the next day because the golf course where she did her teaching was closing so the crew could aerate the entire course and driving range. Lindy and her friends were heading out for an all-day outlet shopping trip, Adam was going to the beach with his friends and Tom was stuck at his job because he had a deadline to meet for a magazine.
It turned out to be a beautiful day, and I got my appointments finished early. I arrived back at the Daniels' house just before noon and went to the kitchen to rustle up some lunch. There was a note there from Shannon saying she was next door at Darby's pool, so after I ate, I changed and went next door to the pool.
Sure enough, Shannon was there - in all her glory. In all this lust involving her kids and the neighbor, I had somehow lost track of how beautiful Shannon was. But it came back all of a sudden when I saw her rocking a pink bikini, lying in one of the deck chairs by the pool. I was glad I was wearing shades, because my eyes gave her a serious scan as I walked up to her.
"Hey, Shannon. I saw your note and thought I'd keep you company. Where's Darby?"
"She had to go in for the afternoon shift."
"Mind if I join you?"
"Heck, no. Make yourself comfortable," she said with her little bit of Southern drawl.
We chatted for a while, then we both took a quick dip in the pool, and were drying off when Shannon started the conversation again.
"So, how are you enjoying your time down here? Having some fun?"
There was a curious lilt to her voice, but I didn't catch it then, and said, "It's been great. I have no complaints at all. The business is getting better and I've really liked spending time around your family. Everybody's been super nice."
"Especially Lindy?"
Uh, oh.
"Well, yeah, uh, she's been very nice to me," I said, and I immediately starting sweating.
There was a long pause, then Shannon said, "Jared, I believe I know what's been going on between you two ... no, wait, wait ... don't get upset. Sit down, please. Let me say right away I'm not mad about it."
"Shannon, I'm truly sorry, but she came to me, and I, well, I just couldn't say no."
"I get it. Look, I know my job keeps me away from home a lot, but I'm not oblivious to everything that happens here. And Lindy and I are close. In the last year or so, I've known she has gotten more active sexually and we've had some talks about it. I also know she hits up Darby for info because Darby and I have talked, too.
"I don't know exactly how or when you two hooked up, but I have noticed that Lindy has been a lot happier lately, and Darby let me know after I grilled her that it happened - don't worry, it was a friendly grilling."
"Shannon, just so you know, I was trying to play the role of a teacher. She wanted to know a lot of things and from what she said, she wasn't getting anywhere with the boys she had dated. I should have said no, but ... ah ..."
"I know, Jared, she can be very persuasive. And I know she's pretty hot. And really, if it had to happen, I'm glad it was with you because I trust you. So I'm not going to fault you, unless this develops into something long-term. She needs to be with guys her age."
"Don't worry, we talked about that. I think she's already interested in that basketball player, so I might not be needed any more."
Then Shannon took her sunglasses off and kind of raised her eyebrows, and said, "Well, maybe not by her. But her mom might be interested to find out what you taught her."
Well, I was certainly not expecting that. And what did she mean? Did she just want me to tell her what we did, or did she want me to show her? Now I was really treading on thin ice. I decided to let this play out.
"Umm ..."
"Jared, you need to know a couple of things first. We've always tried to have an open relationship with our kids and we've encouraged them to come to us when they have questions, although it sounds like they came to you with questions, too. And that's OK.
"Tom and I are open in our marriage. We know we're both really busy with our professional lives and we can't always be available to each other when we need it. So we've agreed that if a situation comes up with another person, it's OK to go ahead - on a limited basis - and it's worked so far. We have a really strong love for each other and it won't be a problem, as long as we're honest with each other and let each other know when it happens.
"We've both had some short flings, and, if anything, it's made us realize that we're perfect for each other."
I said, "Wow, that's impressive."
"We've made it work, and we're happy. But I have to tell you, we haven't been able to get together for two weeks and I'm horny as hell. Plus, I want to see why it is you've put such a big smile on my daughter's face."