Chapter 1 Getting to Know the Neighbours
Beth and Jane were having a sisterly chat in the latter's kitchen. No, they were not sisters. They were neighbours and had become close friends ever since Beth and her husband, Bob, had moved into their current home just over a year ago.
Beth, aged 38, could be described as petite, pixie cute with blond hair and hazel eyes. Her breasts were proportional to her size, but given her short, slight physique, they were small when compared to taller, bigger women.
Beth's husband, Bob, was also 42 years old. Physically, everything about him was average. What distinguished him was his obvious devotion to his wife. He fawned over her both because he loved her deeply but also because he though she was the sexiest that ever walked on two feet. Every so often he told her so. Flattery never failed to arouse his wife, He flattered her a lot.
The couple married at a young age, in fact as soon as Beth finished high school and he had completed his studies for a Bachelor's degree. Both sets of parents expressed their reservations concerned that they had not learned enough about life and relationships to be certain that their choice was the correct one. The young couple rightly pointed out that it had once been commonplace for people to marry in their late teens and early twenties. They were not doing anything that had not been done before.
Their fears about how the young couple's ability to sustain themselves economically were quickly alleviated by Bob's success in landing a decent paying job with chances to advance his career.
Almost a year later, Beth bore twin daughters and a year after that she bore their son. Since daycare facilities were hard to find and very expensive, and since Bob was already starting to climb the corporate ladder, they made the decision that Beth would become a full-time housewife and mother while Bob focussed on the pursuit of his career.
After the birth of their son, the couple decided against having more children. As they were still in the twenties, they decided to hedge their bets. Beth would use a diaphragm to prevent pregnancy. Sterilization was just too radical for a couple of their age. This choice made them both happy. Neither liked, partly because putting them interrupted the flow of their lovemaking but also because both partners enjoyed the feel of flesh on flesh as they made love.
If anyone had doubted the solidity of their marriage because of their youth, those thoughts were dissipated by the couple's obvious devotion to each other and their children. They touched each other frequently. It was not uncommon for the neighbours to see them take a walk holding hands.
At home, they kissed affectionately and touched each other frequently. Even their kids' friends noticed how 'touchy-feely' they were in comparison to their own parents.
But the couples display of mutual affection was even more extensive than even their own children realized. When they sat together, they would hold hands or pat each other's thigh. When no one was looking, they would snuggle, nibble on each other's neck or ears. Other times, Bob would give his wife a pat or a squeeze on her butt, which always caused her to smile. As far Beth was concerned, Bob had every right to touch her anywhere at any time except in front of other people. In public, Beth was the archetypical, modest, stay-at-home housewife and her husband upright hard-working husband.
If she was cooking or cleaning the dishes, Bob liked to sneak up behind her, slip his underneath her blouse or whatever else she was wearing, and massage both breasts at the same time. Then he would pressed his hard-on against her to let her know how much he loved and lusted after her. She loved the attention and would wiggle her ass against erection. Over the years, there had been many occasions when their fondling and their foreplay turned into sex. Beth loved sex as much as Bob did, perhaps even more because she almost never said no whenever he wanted sex.
When the kids were home, she was always prim and proper and looked the part of conservative suburban housewife. On the rare occasions, when the couple was at home and the kids were in school, or doing extracurricular activities or in summer camp, Beth would dispense with the bra. It felt better to go without. Her perfect breasts and their long nipples invariably enticed her husband. She was a hot little thing. Other men sensed that about her but only her husband knew for sure. Lucky Bob.
Now the kids were gone and living near their campuses in other cities, Beth stopped wearing a bra at home. It was her way of signalling to her hard-working husband that she was available and willing. He would slip his hand under her blouse and play with her breast and stimulate her nipple.
Bob had discovered early in their relationship, in fact when they were dating, that her nipples were major erogenous zones. They were both unusually long and unusually sensitive. The slightest stimulus could cause them to stand erect almost instantaneously. She always cooed when he did that. Even a piece of cloth brushing over them would cause them to stiffen. Beth's breasts were firm and needed no bra. She wore a bra to prevent the stimulation of her nipples and to hide them from the public.
Once she had forgotten to put on a bra before going shopping. As she walked, the motion caused her blouse to brush across her nipples, stimulating them until they stood straight out. When she other people staring at her chest, especially the men, but some women too, she looked down to see her nipples poking out prominently against her blouse. It looked like she had two pitched tents on her chest. Extremely embarrassed by the experience, she quickly returned home and never again repeated that mistake.
Her husband, Bob, had a very different life. He was the breadwinner. He worked hard to provide for his family. He took evening classes to further his education and career. His company soon recognized his talent, his drive and his productivity. It transferred him to its marketing department where he rose through the ranks as the years passed. He was able to earn enough to buy a home and support his young family.
Then, just over a year ago, senior management offered him a major promotion, one which meant a substantial increase in his salary. It meant having the means to pay for their children's education, pay off the mortgage, save for their retirement, and still have money to spare for vacations and even to indulge themselves in the occasional luxury.
However, there were two catches to the promotion. Firstly, Bob had to work out of the company's headquarters. They had to pull up their roots and move to a location within commuting distance of the firm's headquarters. Although Beth regretted losing her neighbourhood and would miss them, she had no other personal commitments. She was a full-time housewife who had raised three children. Her main concern were her children, two of whom were in college and the third who was about to start.
The move meant nothing to their twin daughters since had already left home to attend college and were were sharing an apartment
However, their son, who still had one year to go to finish high school, was adamantly opposed to the move. He wanted to finish high school with his friends. He had also decided to pursue an education in engineering in a nearby technical college.
Beth and Bob recognized that a move now would seriously disrupt the trajectory of his education and his ambitions. So, they made an arrangement with his aunt, Beth's sister, for him to live with her. She offered to let him live free with her while he was doing his studies in engineering but Beth and Bob insisted that they should pay some kind of compensation. They appreciated her generosity but were unwilling to foist the cost of their son's upkeep on his aunt.
They eventually reached a compromise. Bob would cover his son's direct expenses plus provide a small sum to cover the cost of his food. Leaving their son behind meant with his aunt, Beth and Bob suddenly discovered they had become empty nesters and were about to enter a new stage in their lives as a couple.
The second catch radically changed Bob's responsibilities. Business trips were a very important part of his new job. He would have to travel to support the company's marketing activities across the country and sometimes internationally. He would be expected to attend national and international conferences and seminars much more frequently that had been the case up to now.
Beth and Bob didn't like the idea of being apart for such long stretches. They were close and always had been since they first started dating. They tried to tell themselves that absence was supposed to make the heart grow fonder, but they were already so fond of each other that they could not get any fonder than they already were. So any form of absence would be painful for both of them. They decided it was a sacrifice worth paying because Bob was only one step away from senior management, which meant more pay but less travel. Short-term pain was supposed to lead to long-term gain.
Yes, their love life was good. Before they children came, they had a very active sex life. Children and the demands of making a living dampened down their love life but did not stop it. Their love life could be described as 'traditional' or old-fashioned. As a stay-at-home housewife, her role was to support her man and take care of his needs.
Keeping him sexually satisfied was her wifely duty. As duties went, sex was easily her most pleasurable duty. Truth be told, she loved sex as much as Bob did, if not more. It was not a duty at all. It was fun. She was almost always game for a sexy romp.
Beth knew how to send Bob subtle messages of the sexual receptiveness, but given her reserved and compliant nature, it was usually up to Bob to take the initiative. Beth almost always willingly gave herself to him. Beth liked this arrangement. Her husband knew how to take care of her needs and she happily took care of his.
Beth and Bob frankly discussed the potential impact of his travels on their relationship. They had to ask themselves, and each other, if they could handle separations that often lasted a week. There was also the expectation that, once in a while, a business trip could last two or even three weeks. This was a radical departure from their life style. Instead of being home every day, he would be absent days, even weeks, at a time. What was Beth going to do when she was alone at home? What would she do with her extra time, especially in the evenings? How would she deal with boredom? Bob, at least had his work to keep him busy.
In the end, they decided to take the leap. He accepted the promotion. They moved to their current neighbourhood where they had now been living for just over a year.
* * *
In their new neighbourhood, Beth and Bob had soon made friends with their neighbours, Jane and Tom. They hit it off fairly quickly because the men had similar job experiences in the form of frequent travel while their women had nothing to do but keep house, talk about their grown kids and keep each other company. Not surprisingly, the two neighbouring women saw each frequently except on days when they were particularly busy. This was true for Jane than for Beth. There were days when Beth hardly Jane. She wondered what kept her neighbour busier than her.
Jane was a voluptuous 45-year-old brunette with dark eyes whose height was on the taller side of average. Compared to Beth, she looked very tall. She had wide baby-bearing hips and a generous behind. Although she showed signs of love handles around her waist, overall she seemed to be conducting a reasonably successful battle against middle-age spread. She made an effort to keep herself fit through various forms of exercise and nutritious food. If one had to choose her best physical features, it would depend on your point of view. Some would say they would be her remarkably beautiful well-sculpted legs. But more would point to her very large breasts which still managed to defy the laws of gravity. In short, she was an attractive woman.
