God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son,"
Abe say, "Man, you must be puttin' me on."
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
Next time you see me comin', you better run."
Abe said, "Where you want this killin' done?"
God said, "Out on Highway 61."
Words and music by Bob Dylan.
ABE
Abe Bellin was an average guy, with an average wife, Abigail. But they both cleaned up good. Abe was a salesman for a software company, specializing in programs for law firms, and other independent businesses. He made good money.
Gail worked for a law firm that did small claims, divorces, and general practice. She was also well compensated. Consequently, they had a nice four-bedroom house with a pool, in a medium suburb of D.C.
Abe was 5'8", 140 pounds, brown, curly hair and soft brown eyes. All in all, he looked soft. He was in quite good shape, due to his home gym. But he had a 'body fat' look about him. He'd been a good athlete in high school, but when he went out for the basketball team freshman year at college, the coach took one look at him and waved him off. Abe didn't mind that so much. He could just play intramural ball, and get more time to study.
Abigail was 5'4', 122 pounds, light brown hair and eyes. She was pretty, without being all that noticeable.
But Abe noticed her.
He noticed in their junior year, when both took an advanced math class. What he noticed first was that Gail was very smart. Then he noticed that she looked just fine. Gail noticed that Abe was smart. But she also noticed that he looked like a softy. Still, when he asked her out, she accepted. Smart was a good start. Maybe if he hit the gym.....
Gail never had trouble getting dates. Abe did, sometimes. Nevertheless, when they met, neither was a virgin. Abe had an older woman neighbor at home who had taken an interest in him, and then taken him in interesting ways.
Gail had a steady guy in high school, and the summer before she left for school, she let him in. She liked it. So, she continued to let him in. In various ways.
Abe took Gail to a place outside of town which featured good food and dancing. Gail liked the meal, but especially the dancing. Abe was a good dancer. And she found out that he was the starting point guard on the intramural basketball champs - two years running.
She began to recalibrate about him. She accepted his offer of another date. And she gave him a nice kiss before she went inside her apartment door. The dancing had been hot - for both. So, they both took measures when alone after the date. Gail decided that after the next date, she'd see about him.
As it turned out, Abe had a game on that Friday. When he mentioned it, Gail decided to go see him play. His team won a thriller when Abe stripped the ball from his opposing guard, and passed to his big man for the winning basket. She was no sports fan, and Abe didn't score a lot of baskets. But she noticed that the guys he guarded also didn't score much. And she also noticed that Abe ran the offense the entire game. He never had a rest. And he wasn't worn out at the end.
When Abe picked her up Saturday night, he took her to another restaurant, and they ate pizza. Then they went to a college sponsored dance. They danced for quite a while, then sat for a rest. A big, dark-haired guy came up and asked Gail to dance. She looked at Abe, and he nodded. So, she danced with him. When the number ended, the guy - Bob Beam - whispered to her. She shook her head and started back to Abe. Bob grabbed her arm and pulled her around. Abe was right there, stepping between them and breaking his hold on Gail's arm.
He said, "Hold up, man!"
Beam tried to shove Abe, but instead of making that sort of contact, he fell down. She wasn't able to see what had happened. But she did see Abe step on Beam's elbow - hard. Then security came and broke it up They sent Beam outside, holding his arm.
Gail and Abe sat for a minute. He got her some wine. She asked, "How did you manage that, Abe?"
"Manage what?"
"Bob was....I mean he's a big guy and he ended up on the ground."
"He was probably a little drunk. Fell down."
She chuckled at him and said, "Abe, I went to your game last night. I saw you play. You look one way, but you.....seem to get what you want."
Abe smiled at her. He asked, "Will I get what I want tonight?"
She stood right up, grabbed his arm and said, "Absolutely." They went back to her apartment, which she shared with Dora Glaston. Dora was out.
Gail took Abe to her bedroom, and gave him a super-hot kiss. From there, Abe took charge. He showed Gail some things he'd learned from his home-town squeeze. It took her quite a while to recover.
Eventually, she propped herself up on her elbow and said, "Abe, you're just full of surprises. Good ones, too."
He stroked her hair, and said, "Wanna see what else I'm full of?"
She did.
The two of them were inseparable for the remainder of their college careers. Gail got into law school in D.C. Abe and she married after graduation from college, quietly with only family.
Abe got his job selling - a tradition in his family. He was very good at it, and put Gail through law school. She went summers and was out early. As she graduated, they had a daughter, Ellen, and soon a son, Cameron. Gail got her job with the law firm when they were each in grade school. Before that she did piece work legal research from home.
When Abe and Gail had enough saved, they bought the house in Fairfax. They were each thirty-four. Their kids were eight and ten.
Life in the suburbs was peaceful. The houses around them were also occupied by couples with children. There were some older couples, retired. But mostly people in their age group, some a little younger, some a little older.
Abe and Gail became good friends with several other couples in the area.
Bella and Grant Dawson had kids in the same school as did Abe and Gail. The four struck up a friendship quickly. Gail and Bella were soccer moms together. Abe and Grant played basketball and baseball in a local rec league. Bella taught at the local elementary school.
Also in their group were Nici and Nathan Carson and Paul and Annette Frick.
The elfin Nici was also a soccer mom. She stayed at home with her daughters. Nathan was a lawyer, forty, and made gobs of money in some sort of corporate practice. Abe liked Nici a lot, but wasn't really fond of Nathan (not Nate). Abe thought Nathan an ass, too big for his britches because of the money. Also, because he was a big man - 6'4", 225 pounds, dark hair. A former college power forward.
Paul Frick was also a big guy, and a former college tight end. He was maybe a little out of shape, but he was a truly nice person. His wife Annette was a former college cheerleader, and she was a beauty. Tall, blond and very athletic. Abe thought about recruiting her for his basketball team. When they would shoot around on the local court, she regularly swished jumpers.
The eight of them would get together quite a bit, usually on Saturday afternoons into evenings, when kids' sports were done, and barbecues could be fired up. Beer, wine, and maybe after ten pm some weed, were regular factors in those evenings. Sunday mornings were sometimes hard to take, especially for Nathan, and for Bella. That didn't seem to stop them from indulging, though.
The eight settled into solid friendships. Abe even felt a little better about Nathan. There was always a bit of flirting amongst them. None of it went too far, for some years. Nathan, especially, liked to come on to the other women. He might go a bit too far, get a bit too close, and then laugh it off. Paul and Grant were also not above a bit of horseplay. And the women seemed to like it.
Abe really didn't like it all so much. Of the eight, he was the one who didn't dance too close to the other wives, or tease them with innuendo. He danced close only with Gail. But Gail didn't mind a bit of close contact with the other guys. At the end of some evenings, she would take Abe home and rock his world.
Abe spoke to Gail about the flirting once, back when it first started.
One Sunday morning, after a rousing Saturday night, Abe and Gail were at the breakfast table. The kids were out in the pool.
Abe said, "You were getting kinda close with Nathan and Paul last night. And you were revved up after."
"Abe, just some fun, flirting. It does no harm. You should....you know, join in. I think Annette really would appreciate it. Especially when Paul and I are dancing."
"I don't play that way, Gail. And I hope you keep it to a minimum. Especially with Nathan. He was handsy with you last night, and also with Bella."
"Loosen up. We're all close friends. Well, maybe except for you and Nathan."
"Yeah. Please keep away from him, Gail. He's not to be trusted."
"He's older than the rest of us. He maybe feels insecure."
"Bullshit. And you know it. You're worrying me."
"Relax. I'll keep what you said in mind,"
Abe let it go.
Time moved on and the eight with it. The children were all in high school.
The Saturday parties were still a thing. It was only maybe twice a month and rotated around. There were two hot tubs, which spiced things up. They were at Nici and Nathan's and at Paul and Annette's homes.
Abe thought the hot tub sessions were way too touchy-feely. Especially the ones at Nathan's where all eight could fit into the extra-sized tub. Abe was never comfortable, and Gail knew that. So, she'd always be with Abe in the tubs. The other couples mixed and matched, and Abe knew some hanky-panky went on sometimes. But not with Gail. And not with him. Gail still danced close with the other guys, though. But she didn't do that in her swimsuit after a hot tub session. Abe had specifically asked her not to do that, after she had done it the first time, with Paul and Nathan. That evening, Abe had come close to blowing up. Gail saw that, and backed off.
She and Abe had a heated discussion about it when they got home.
Abe said, "You were basically having sex with those two guys tonight,"
"I was not!" Gail was angry. But she knew that the dancing, in wet bathing suits - hers was a bikini - had been over the line. In fact, with Paul, she was close to an orgasm.
Abe said, "It's got to stop. I really mean that, Gail. If you ended up in bed with one of them, we'd be done."
"I won't. I don't deny that I get turned on. But here we are. Wanna fuck?"
He did. And that ended the discussion.
But Gail did back off from then on, and stayed near Abe in the tubs.
---------------
Nathan was turning fifty. He seemed insecure about it. He was in pretty good condition, but had a lot of work. So, physically, he wasn't quite what he had been.
Nathan decided to have a party week, at a resort downstate. All eight were invited. And only the eight of them. The children were old enough to leave behind on their own. (With an older neighbor to keep an eye out.)
The place was called Sixty-One, after the state route that ran by it. It featured a large pool, riding, tennis, three-par-golf, and other games. Their facility featured a large central room, with a balcony above. The four bedrooms were all off the balcony. The staff cooked, cleaned and set up drinks at any time of day. When Abe looked at the place on-line, he thought that Nathan was dropping a bundle for a week's party.
The birthday party was set for mid-July. Before that the eight had a Fourth of July bash at Abe and Gail's house. All the kids were there, and everyone had a great time. Abe did fireworks. After that party, Abe had fewer concerns about the birthday bash.
But, Monday afternoon Abe got home earlier than usual. He went directly upstairs to piss. He heard a conversation through the window, between Gail, Nici and Annette.
Annette said, "Gail, if you have doubts....."
Nici chimed in, "I know you want some thrills. You can get Abe to agree. Well, Annette can do that."
