When everyone had gone, Hanna made her way back into the house, where she found her husband sitting on the couch as he stared off against the far wall, looking lost.
"You okay?" she asked him. Hanna knew she'd never been in love with Curtis, but she did love him like a family member. And since she wanted what's best for him, she begged off from their discussion for a moment so she could give Scottie a quick call.
The redhead sounded anxious to hear from Hanna and had Haley hanging over her shoulder, trying to listen in.
"So, how did things go?" Scottie asked.
"Irritatingly good," Hanna replied.
That drew a laugh from her friend who said, "How so?"
"Well," said Hanna, "he's given in to my every condition for staying so far. Even the ones I thought he would be an ass about giving in to, he didn't. Well, let me rephrase that; he was an ass over them, but he did give in when I gave him an ultimatum."
"Ahhh," Scottie replied, Hanna's dilemma starting to take shape in her head. "You're afraid you might have to have the cuckold discussion with him, aren't you."
"Yeah, I think so, which I wanted to avoid doing because he will be completely against it," Hanna said in almost a groan.
Sounding confused, Scottie asked, "Wait, isn't that what you want?"
"Yes and no," Hanna answered. "Yes, because it frees me up to do what I want to do. And no, because for some odd reason, I'm afraid he will accept and I don't want him there enthralled to me. I want him to have a life of his own."
"So, you don't want him to be a caged cuckold?" Scottie asked.
"No, I know now that I never loved him. At least not a romantic kind of love. It's not like you and Bruce. Having him there would just be a reminder to me of a life I no longer want to think about."
Scottie said, "Then you need to make the things in your sex talk so distasteful to him that he has no other option but to say no. Tell him you think you want your ass licked and want to try anal, both giving and receiving. Oh, and you want to have a threesome with your friend Scottie. If that doesn't work, then tell him you've discovered that you have a dominant streak, and you need him to wear a collar and be your submissive. Also, your secret desire is to pee on him."
Hanna flushed, letting out a little giggle as she said, "Please tell me you haven't done all that stuff."
"Of course not," Scottie said coyly, "I'd never wear a collar."
Hanna laughed, "One of these days, you and I have to talk."
"Yes, my queen," Hanna said teasingly.
******
Curtis was still sitting on the couch when Hanna finished with making her phone call. The closer she got to him, the further he seemed to sink back into the sofa. Meek didn't even begin to describe her husband.
"Curtis, right now, our sex life consists of you climbing on top of me and inserting yourself into me dry. You then pump away for two minutes and cum in me before jumping up and running to the shower to wash away all traces of me. There's no foreplay to try and get me wet beforehand. Just you, forcing your way inside me and taking your pleasure as quickly as possible."
"I thought we were trying to have a child," Curtis said incredulously.
"Well, thank goodness that never happened," Hanna said with sarcasm, "But did you know, honey, some people have sex for more than procreation? There are rumors that it can be fun, though I wouldn't know."
"This kind of talk is inappropriate, Hanna," Curtis said, blushing profusely. "We make love for a reason, and that reason isn't for our self-gratification."
"At least not the way you do it," Hanna snapped back in reply.
Curtis said nothing. He just seemed to fade further into the couch, becoming more insignificant each moment that passed.
"Let's not call it, making love, either, Curtis. Because I'm not in love with you and you're not in love with me. We care for each other, maybe even love each other like a brother or sister, but we've never been in love. I'm not even sure you're attracted to me."
When Curtis finally spoke, he sounded as if he could see the reality headed towards him. His marriage was over, and he would have to face the indignity of being a divorced pastor.
"So all this tonight? It was just a farce, wasn't it?" Curtis asked.
Rather than answer his question, because she still didn't want to lie to him directly, Hanna said, "Want to save your marriage, Curtis?"
"Y...yes," he stuttered, sounding all that not sure.
Hanna started to remove her top. She was unbuttoning it slowly as she spoke.
"I'm going to give you one more chance, honeyβone last opportunity to perform your husbandly duties the way any good husband should. Most men are excited by the prospect that they can make their wife climax. It's my understanding there are even men that can do it repeatedly."