They were settling into their new surroundings fairly quickly. Over the years they had become accustomed to moving and starting over. Mickey had spent his first two years out of seminary as a member of the ministerial staff of a large congregation not far from his alma mater. Then it was Texas, where he was assigned to a small church that grew rapidly under his leadership. After ten years, he was reassigned to a struggling congregation in the northeast for two years. He had been successful in engineering a turnaround there, so the rest of his career was largely spent doing the same thing, shuttling from one declining church to the next, usually restoring them to some sense of health before moving on to another.
He and Kate had crisscrossed the country, uprooting themselves and moving every two or three years. The first two moves were the hardest on Kate. She had loved their first little "nest" and she had built so many memories in their second home that it was hard to leave. Aside from the friendships, their only child had been born there. But she came to love the new places just as well. Meeting new people, seeing new things, learning, and expanding herself excited her. She had also found that being a perpetual "newcomer" gave her an insight that served her well when she began working in the real estate industry. She knew what new arrivals were looking for when they were settling in a new place. And the income certainly helped.
If they had taken the time to think about it, they would have realized that each new location developed their relationship in one specific way or another. Those first two years provided Mickey with a very stable schedule. Out the door at 8:30, home at 5:15, and one weekday off each week. It gave the couple a chance to learn about one another and to become accustomed to married life. It was also where they eventually learned how to please one another.
It was their first January together. The busy Christmas schedule at church had come to an end and they were traveling to visit Mickey's parents for a late family holiday. A generous congregant provided airline tickets to the young couple so that they could avoid the possibility of harsh winter conditions as they traveled.
They arrived at the airport early and wandered into a bookstore to kill some time. Mickey browsed news magazines while Kate roamed between the scattered shelves. As she turned down another row her eye was drawn to the bold title print of "The Sensuous Couple." She considered the title briefly before moving on. Stopping a few feet away, she picked up another paperback while she wondered about the possible content of the book that had grabbed her attention. Setting the book back down, she walked farther away, only to return a few seconds later. She nervously looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching before grabbing the book from the shelf. She stepped toward the corner of the store, and quickly perused the chapter titles and read the back cover.
She felt her pulse quicken a bit. This felt like a book she shouldn't have, but even a quick review of its contents told her that she - and Mickey - needed to read it. Or something like it. She wasn't dissatisfied with their love life but she didn't feel satisfied by it either. Without allowing herself to overthink it, she stepped quickly to the counter and bought the book, using money her mother had sent her for Christmas. She dropped it quickly into her bag, glancing over her shoulder one final time.
Mickey stepped up just as the clerk finished counting her change back into her hand. "Find something?"
"Yeah. I thought I might want to read on the plane and I forgot to bring a book. I had that money from Mom." She knew that there was no way she would dare pull that book out in public, and hoped that Mickey wouldn't notice that the book she
had
brought to read had been lying on her nightstand for a week.
It wasn't until they returned home and Mickey went to the office that she was finally able to pull it out. The first chapter seemed fairly clinical. Men and women are different. Sex is important. Couples need to be intimate. These were all facts she readily knew and understood.
The second chapter held the key to what she had been looking for. Sex was about pleasure, and pleasure can be created in a wide variety of ways. Some physical, some mental. Pleasure might be manifested as an orgasm, a physical sensation, or even a charge to the brain and emotions.
Kate was certain that she had never had an orgasm. At least not the way the author described it. And she wasn't sure that she could even say that sex had been pleasurable. Sure, she loved the closeness with Mickey and she knew that he was satisfied. There was physical evidence of that. She had dutifully washed it out of herself every their every encounter.
A chapter or two later, she was no longer sure that he
was
satisfied. Yes, he had an orgasm every time they made love, but was he really experiencing pleasure? Or enough pleasure?
On Thursday of that week, Mickey woke to the smell of bacon and coffee. It smelled like a Saturday. He wandered out to the kitchen to find Kate, in a long black negligee, piling French toast onto a plate. He mentally searched his calendar. It was no one's birthday or anniversary. Her wardrobe indicated that company was not expected.
She answered his unspoken question. "I thought we might do something special on your day off."
He felt the beginning of an erection and thought that he, in fact, might like to "do something" or "someone". He kept his thoughts to himself.
"That would be nice. You look amazing."
"Thank you," she smiled. "Now have a seat. I was just about to come and wake you up."
The thought of her waking him up in that gown - leaning over him in the bed, those amazing breasts suspended right in front of him - added more blood to his growing stiffness. He decided to say nothing.
"Well, I'm glad I didn't sleep through this."
She slid the plate of French toast toward him. "The syrup is warm and I think the bacon is how you like it."
Breakfast was delicious and Mickey was too busy devouring his to notice that Kate was merely pushing her food around her plate.
"I need to tell you something," she began. Her voice sounded serious.
"Sure," Micky answered, mopping up the last of the syrup with his final piece of bread.
"I lied to you."
She now had his full attention.
"At the airport. In the bookstore."
He couldn't even remember a conversation in the bookstore.
"I bought this." She pulled the book off of the chair next to her and handed it over to him. She waited nervously for his reaction.
"Why wouldn't you want to tell me?' He flipped through the pages.
"I don't know. It kind of seemed, you know, wrong or bad."
"Is it pornographic?"
"No! It's just about, you know... things we don't talk about usually."
That was evident to him just by reading the table of contents. There were a couple of chapters that particularly caught his eye. There would be time to review them later, he knew.
"So, why did you buy it?"
Kate took in a long breath, held it, and finally exhaled. "I don't know. Curious, I guess."
"About?"
She shrugged. "All of it, I suppose. Are we doing it right? Are we missing something? Sometimes it just seems sort of... I don't know... monotonous. I hear people talk about sex like it's some dark, hidden, wonderful, mystic, addictive event. It doesn't seem that way to me, so I just wonder what we... what I'm missing."
She was immediately sorry she said it. She could read the disappointment on Mickey's face. She hadn't meant to hurt him. He stayed silent far too long.
He stifled his impulse to respond. In a rare moment, he allowed his thoughts to gather before his words. He wanted to satisfy his wife. Obviously, he was failing. But as he thought about it, he realized that the only thing he knew how to do was penetrate her and thrust repeatedly. It was enough for him, so he had assumed it was enough for her.
"Mickey?" she waited.
"I don't really know what to say."
'Are you happy with what we do? Maybe there's just something wrong with me." She paused for a moment before adding, "But after reading the book, I'm not sure there is."
He was happy. Sex felt good. Wasn't that all there was?
"What do you mean," he asked.
"Can we do something different today? I don't mean something crazy, there's just something I'd like to do for you."
His dick twitched again. Before he could respond, she stood. "Tell you what, clean off the table, and meet me in our room when you're done."
Three minutes later he stepped out of the hall into their bedroom. It was dark. Kate had removed the blankets from the bed and was lighting candles. Naked. She turned toward him as she lit a taper on the dresser in front of the mirror. The soft warm light illuminated the left side of her body. The flicker of the flame caused the shadows to dance on her skin, enhancing the line of her cleavage, and the mystery of her sex. She reminded him of the centerfolds he had peeked at in Tom Domato's brother's magazines when they were kids.
She was striking. Her large breasts were her most dominant feature. Full, topped with large pink areola and stiffening nipples. They seemed unaffected by gravity. Her hips were full, too. She was "womanly". Not fat. Her belly was flat and her arms were taut. She had been graced with elegant cheekbones and warm blue eyes. And this was the first time he had ever been able to study her and drink in that view.
He stopped in the doorway, as though he were afraid to enter. She saw his eyes run up and down her body. She was slightly embarrassed. Letting him look so brazenly was difficult for her. She had spent her life keeping everything covered. Even when they made love she made sure the lights were off and she was safely under the blanket. And now, here she was, completely exposed to him. She had seen him twice. Both times coming out of the shower. And both times she felt herself blush.
And just like those times, she could feel a certain warmth between her legs as he looked at her.
She finally broke the silence. "Lie down please." She gestured toward the bed.
He took in one final glance before stepping into the room.
"Oh. First, take off your clothes."
He looked surprised but complied quickly. She noticed that his penis was long and hard. It had never looked like that in the shower. She instructed him to lie down on his stomach in the middle of the bed. She watched him maneuver his penis between his legs as he did.
"Put your hands over your head," she instructed.
"She's obviously given this a lot of thought,"
he thought as he slid his hands up, trying to find a comfortable position. He eventually grasped his left wrist with his right hand.
She reclined next to him, then slowly ran the fingertips of one of her hands from the base of his neck to his tailbone.
"Comfortable?"
"Yes," he lied, not wanting to tell her that everything she had done was creating enormous pressure in his shaft and that it was uncomfortably pressing against the mattress.
"Good. So I want to try something. I think you'll like it."
