Author's Notes: First and foremost, Always Faithful is a work of fiction; no characters depict any known persons. To the best of the author's knowledge, there is no women's clothing manufacturer by the name of Business Lady. The prior post ended with Dan joining Laura's BDSM play with her San Francisco neighbor.
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FOUR -- YEAR OF TURMOIL -- 4.4 LAURA DEVOTES HERSELF TO HER SECOND HUSBAND
Laura started her car; she fingered the ruby ring on her right hand before shifting to Drive.
Having Dan with me in San Francisco last week was great. Fucking with Dan and Upper Floor in the fog on the balcony excited me the way I knew it would. Strapped to that thing, strapped down, whipped, and then ass fucked by that Mario was crazy, and you loved it girl, admit it to yourself. You loved the decadence of that sex, and you loved that Dan listened over the phone. That night was pure dirty sex.
A horn honked and snapped her head to reality and her driving.
Dan drove to work deep in thought too, but his thoughts were not at all comforting.
My wife can be a bitch; can be hell, she is a committed bitch. She fucks every man she sees, and now some of the women. She fucks my girlfriend. She fucks my girlfriend who won't allow me more than a sister-kiss even though she likes me, has deep feelings for me. Artsy won't let me get in the batter's box because I am married to Laura, and Laura fucks her brains out.
Dan struggled in his mind all the way to his parking spot. As he locked the car he voiced to no one the final indignity, "She put her rings in the box and is going to live with Greg. She says she doesn't know for how long."
Greg's mind spoke to him this morning too.
I am glad Laura is back; I've missed her. I wish I had never negotiated the Business Lady deal for her. I barely saw her the last time she was in town. I can share her with Dan; after all he is her husband. I actually like Dan, I wouldn't put up with Laura having me as lover if we were married. We could be great friends if I wasn't in love with and fucking his wife.
Greg got on the elevator and shook his head to clear away Laura thoughts and prepare for a day with legal dragons.
Laura had some final thoughts before work. She just sat in her car as she shut it down so she could finish with her personal life for the next eight hours.
My affair with Greg is important to me; I need it. What Greg and I share is more than an office affair, much more. Just face it girl, you are a woman with two husbands, and you have been cheating on one of them because you considered him a lover, not a husband. You need to grow up and be responsible. You can't cheat on Greg with Upper Floor while you are in San Francisco if you are going to be faithful to Greg as a wife to a husband. I need to start treating Greg as faithfully as I treat Dan, and make our marriage as important as my marriage with Dan
. With resolve, Laura opened the car door and walked with spritely step into the building where she worked.
Laura was too busy with work to call Greg and tell him she would go home with him tonight. Greg must have a full day too, he always calls me as soon as I am due back, she thought to herself. She finally called him after three. Hello my darling, I am back. -- Would you let a lady buy you a drink after work? -- I'll stop by your office about four-thirty. -- Bye darling, I love you. They met at their lawyer hangout bar.
They were almost through their first drink when Greg noticed the changes in Laura's ring situation. He took her left hand near the ruby, "Does this mean what I hope it means?"
"Yes."
"How long this time?"
"No set time, a longer time; until you throw me out."
"That won't happen, you know that."
"I've been neglecting you, neglecting us; I want time with you to fix that." They each had another martini and went home. Laura stopped for takeout on the way.
After the first few days, Laura and Greg settled into a typical married life routine. They didn't begin undoing buttons and zippers as they got out of their cars. They didn't have sex in the kitchen or den every night before thinking about what's for dinner. But those first few days were a sexual whirlwind. Laura made sure to strike a pose at the kitchen counter. Greg pulled her onto his lap as he sat in his favorite chair in the den. Clothes flew through the air to be picked up after orgasm, usually after more than one orgasm.
By mid week they took only one car to work; Laura deferred to Greg and let him drive. Laura brought coffee in bed in the morning instead of a sexual romp. They normally went straight home, had a drink to relax and talk about their day, watched the early evening news and then fixed dinner. When Greg tried to help with clean up, Laura chased him out of the kitchen. They made love almost every evening, but at bedtime. They saved their wilder sexual gymnastics for the weekend. Laura and Greg acted like a very normal married couple.
Laura's focus was so totally on Greg she didn't even think of Dan; she didn't call him in the afternoon as she often did from her desk. Laura set a goal to build a married life with Greg, and she succeeded. Greg too settled into place as husband, even though he knew he was husband to another man's wife. It troubled him only slightly; he and Laura had a year's experience with their affair. Greg accepted his love for Laura and their unconventional relationship.
Dan was not as accepting. At first his anger affected his work relationships; he was short with people in the office, short tempered and sharp tongued. His secretary pointed out his attitude after overhearing a phone conversation with a customer. He railed at first, thought some, and knew she was correct. Dan asked her out for a happy hour drink in apology. They had three drinks and she accepted Dan's offer to drive her home. He accepted her offer to come in for one more drink. He later told her he couldn't spend the night, but he kissed her good bye twice at the door step. She looks good standing there nude and waving goodbye. I better be careful, Dan thought.
After spending the evening with his secretary, Dan's head began to clear. He focused on business during the day, and did his best to forget about Laura at night. He had been ignoring Artsy; even when he saw her they didn't talk, not about that weekend. Finally he called her at work. Hi, it's Dan. Have you got a minute? -- We haven't talked lately. -- Yes, I agree we should. - Are you available for a drink and conversation after work? - I think Gilly's might be better, fewer friends to interrupt. I'll pick you up.
Dan whistled approval when he saw Artsy at her gallery; she was dressed like she had been the first time her met her wearing tight jeans and a tighter, rust colored, sweater. She looked good, almost a hot look, but not really provocative. Dan was dressed at the opposite end of the clothing spectrum in a new gray suit of wool and silk. "You look pretty good yourself, but I can't whistle the way you can." Artsy kissed Dan, warm and lip-to-lip, but still a sister kiss.
Conversation started slow; they had a lot to talk about, but both seemed to avoid some subjects. Dan was always comfortable talking art world subjects with his friend so they started there. When a beer's worth of conversation hadn't move them past inconsequential, Artsy decided to give a nudge. "Are you ready to start posing for LF? I want to get that moving."
One of the subjects they had to address was on the table. "LF, I haven't thought about her in any way since that weekend at Mrs. Paton's home."
