(Author's Note: Thank you to all who have left comments and sent e-mails. Your ideas and suggestions on what direction you would like this story to take are welcomed, and a couple of themes which I have gotten the most requests for will continue to be incorporated into this story. I'm finding a great part of the fun of writing this is coming up with events to fit these themes while keeping the story at least plausible. My apologies in advance if this takes things in a direction you had not desired; however, I am trying to let the majority rule wherever possible.
Also, this story takes place in a fictional world. Any similarities to people or things in the world we actually live in is coincidental.)
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Tim finished his second beer, closed down the house, and made his way to the bedroom. Gwen was already there, reading, a feeling of content about her despite the day's events. Natalie's admission had somehow made her own just slightly less disturbing, and the afternoon's activity where she now lay had left her satisfied, the inevitable guilt not nearly the crushing doom it had been in the past.
She watched as her husband trudged past her into the bathroom, emerging a moment later in just his boxers. Tim flopped theatrically on to his side of the bed, not bothering to pull the covers back. "Even climbing stairs is getting hard," he said with a sigh. "It's hell getting old."
"If you would just send whoever's with you to get things off the truck, you would only need to take the stairs once," Gwen gently chided as she put her book down and laid her head on his chest. "You certainly hauled enough stuff for Mr. McGilvary."
Tim laughed and put his arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, but I had to. He wasn't a pushover like me." He briefly thought about finding out whether Gwen was up for a quick roll in the hay, but decided against it. Her mood last weekend had been very hard to figure, and their one attempt at lovemaking had lacked something, like she was having second thoughts about her newfound sense of exploration. He was too tired to try and turn that around tonight. Maybe tomorrow he'd have a better read on her...
"Tim?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, I made sure the lid was down on the horses' feed bin."
"No, not that," she said, lightly smacking him on the chest next to her head. "Something...personal."
Warning bells went off in his head, and he was suddenly alert. "Uhh, sure?"
"Do you, umm, ever, uhh, touch yourself?"
Tim's brain went into high gear. She didn't mean jerk off, did she? If so, why was she asking, and how should he answer? He stalled for time. "What do you mean?"
Gwen was silent for a moment, long enough for him to hope she was abandoning this line of questioning. "You know, masturbate." She finally said in a low voice, like others nearby might overhear.
Tim quickly weighed his options. Tell the truth and upset her, or lie and hope she didn't know the facts. He decided the lie was too risky, and too deceitful. "Well, yeah, I guess, every once in a while, why do you ask?"
His wife had still not raised her head to look at him, her hand still resting on his stomach. "I don't know, I was just wondering...I had heard most guys do, but you never said anything about it."
"Well, yeah most guys do," Tim agreed seizing on this as proof he was not wrong to do so, either. "And the ones that say they don't are lying."
"Why didn't you ever tell me before?"
"I didn't think you'd want to hear about it."
"When do you do it?"
He continued to choose his words carefully. "Well, if you're not home, or have gone to bed..."
"Where?"
Tim didn't like where this was going, but knew it would be best to not try and evade the question. "Wherever I happen to be where the mood strikes and I can get comfortable. In here, the living room--"
"The living room! Out in the open like that!?"
He risked a chuckle and decided Gwen didn't need to know about the pool or office couch yet. "It's not exactly out in the open. It's my house. I'm pretty good about not letting people in to watch."
Gwen went silent for a moment, and Tim feared she might be hurt or angry. The silence was killing him, but he didn't know how to break it gracefully. "Don't I satisfy you?" she finally asked in a small voice.
He hugged her tightly. "You absolutely do. Making love to you is very special. It's just that...well, I think we're on different schedules that way. I like to umm, relieve some stress more often than you need to relieve stress."
"It's my job to you relieve your stress whenever you need it," she said softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
"Stop that. It's not your job, and I don't want it to be a job. I want it to be something you want, too. And if you only want it every so often, that's OKβthat's never bothered me, and I'm happy to report that I've got the know-how to take care of myself."