Todger65 is the saint that edits my musings and I appreciate his help more than I can express.
Poker Night Chapter One
It's not the game that counts, but how it ends
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It is important to understand that over the last five years I have considered myself a traditional wife. I fell in love with my husband Dan and eventually married him. That's it. From then on it was the two of us alone together forever.
Like I say, I'm traditional, not conservative. What I mean by that is that Dan and I have a wonderfully inventive sex life. I love having sex with my husband, but that stuff is between the two of us and nobody else's business. Everyone except Dan sees me as a normal, somewhat reserved, traditional wife. That's the way I was raised and that's the way I had committed to live.
While we had an active and rewarding sex life and we enjoyed some sexy talk to spice things up, we never delved into including others in our fantasies. It wasn't sexy to me as a wife, it was cheating, and I didn't like it. Dan understood my feelings on the subject and never once mentioned anything nasty.
I had a wonderful job opportunity that was literally life changing for both of us. We had to relocate for my golden opportunity, which meant that Dan had to resign from his job. Dan had a bunch of resumes out there but hadn't pinned anything down yet. It wasn't a big deal because my new job paid more than enough for us to live just fine. It was a matter of pride for Dan and his need to do something useful. I knew the job hunt was praying on Dan's mind and I did my best to boost his spirits during his search. I suppose that our situation set us up for what followed.
Here we were, completely uprooted from our previous lives, and trying to settle into our new circumstances. We were in a much better house, with a much larger mortgage, and were totally dependent on my income. It was just a bit scary and I looked forward to the cushion that Dan's employment would provide.
To top it all off, we were alone on our own little island. We had no friends or acquaintances. Our families were hundreds of miles away and it was nearly a mile to our nearest neighbor. My husband and I love each other dearly, but we both needed friends. Men need other men that they can share things with that they can't share with their wives because their wives just don't get it. The same can be said for women. Dan and I were not unique in this regard.
I was in my office, deep into studying contracts, and working hard to get a handle on my new job. I was confident that I would be excellent at my job once I got up to speed. The getting up to speed part took a lot of hours and I often stayed late. It was a temporary thing and I thought that within a few weeks I would be off and running. I would also be working normal hours for the most part.
Dan was constantly on my mind. He was alone at home and my long hours just made his loneliness that much worse. Add to that the fact that I was exhausted most of the time which meant that he wasn't getting that much sex from me. I wanted him to have some fun and make some friends so that he wouldn't feel so alone. I could see the very real problem of him dropping into depression and all of the problems that came with that.
It was late and I thought the office was empty. I nearly jumped out of my skin when my boss, Ted, knocked on the door frame to my office. Ted is a fit and handsome man in his early forties. I may be married, but I still notice nice looking men. That's all I do, notice them. Well, maybe a little more than that in my head, but that's private. I would never admit that I have thoughts that might be considered inappropriate for a married woman, and I certainly won't discuss them. I smiled a bit nervously, "Sorry, you startled me. I thought I was alone."
Ted walked over to my desk, "I'm the one that should be sorry. I never meant to startle you. I do have something I would like to discuss with you, if you have a moment."
I closed the file I had been studying. I planned to leave as soon as Ted and I finished talking. Ted settled into the chair in front of my desk, "Mark from Product Development, Ray from Production, myself, and another guy named Charlie have a monthly poker game. It just so happens that Charlie is moving away, and we need a fourth player. I was wondering if Dan might like to take the place of Charlie.
"Before you answer you need to know that our poker games are kind of unique. We take turns having the poker game at our respective houses. The wife plays hostess and provides the prizes at the end of the game. We are all very good poker players, but don't play for big money. Usually, the big winner for the night is up a few hundred, and that's if he pretty much cleans out the other guys.
"I'm hosting our next game this Friday. It would be great if Dan could play. I have to tell you though, once he is in, he has to stay in until he has hosted the game at least once. It's only fair since he will enjoy the game at the other player's homes. Do you think he would be interested? If he is, would you mind hosting a game?"
I didn't have to think about it, "I'm fine with it and I'll ask Dan tonight if he is interested. I'm sure he will be. I'll let you know tomorrow."
I found out much too late that Ted was working under the assumption that his wife Morgan had sat down with me and explained poker night. Morgan was working under the assumption that her husband had explained it to Dan. Both were wrong. Things were about to get interesting.
Ted thanked me and left my office. I was tired and more than ready to go home. I blame the tiredness for missing some details. I should have asked more questions. Later, I regretted that I hadn't.
As soon as I got home, I poured a glass of wine and sat next to Dan on the couch, I told him about the poker game. It was the most excited I had seen him since we moved. Not only was Dan desperate for something to do, but he also loved to play poker. He'd even played tournaments in Vegas and had been placed pretty high. His custom pickup truck had been paid for with poker winnings.
He was definitely up for it, but I had to rain on his parade a little bit, "Honey, please keep in mind that you will be playing against my boss and two other guys that are pretty high up in the company. Once you start, you can't quit. At least, not until we host a poker night. I guess what I am saying is have fun, but don't say or do anything that might cause problems for me.
"I don't think that Ted would hold my job over my head, but why take the chance. All I'm asking is that you go with the flow, be yourself, and don't burn any bridges. I know the guys will like you given half a chance."
Dan was almost giddy, "I wouldn't do anything that might embarrass you anyway, regardless of who I'm playing poker with. I can't imagine their rules are all that onerous, and I'll follow them to the letter.
