Tom's work had been planned so he had access to lots of reading material so he could do what he could to come up to speed that first week, but his focus could be getting settled in their new home. They said this wasn't out of charity and once he was on board he would be working hard and needed him to be focused. This didn't worry Tom as he was used to long hours.
The following few days were long with lots of hard work but they threw themselves into it and by the end of the week, they had moved in and largely unpacked. They spent the weekend lounging around their new pool relaxing in the sunshine. On Sunday evening they grilled steaks on their new Grill and sipped wine. As it got later, they heard music and laughter across the fence at their neighbours. They looked over and saw a group of perhaps 20 sitting around drinking and talking. It looked like a nice group of friends about their age, and they wondered what their neighbours were like and if they would get on. Not being much for social events, they didn't want to alert their neighbours to their presence, in case they were invited to join them, so snuck back away from the fence. They had exchanged pleasantries on the first day moving in and they seemed a nice couple, but not spoken to them properly since.
Monday morning Tom left early, wanting to create a good impression on his first full day in his new job. He was expected to hit the ground running (doesn't every company say that), so ended up working long hours, but he enjoyed the work and found it interesting. Sarah busied herself around the house, rearranging furniture and trying new layouts and getting things organized. Each night of that first week, Tom would come home to a completely different lounge layout for him to comment on. They hadn't joined a gym yet, so Sarah had started running, in the early afternoon down by the beach. On the way back she bumped into her new neighbours in their front garden, doing some light gardening. They had previously introduced themselves as Kate and her husband John. Sarah lost track of time as she stood talking, getting on well with Kate especially, who was friendly and outgoing.
Over the following days, Sarah and Kate would bump into each other regularly, as neither worked, starting to become good friends. Pretty soon they were meeting most days for coffee or lunch. Kate was telling Sarah all about the local area and the clubs and restaurants, seeming very knowledgeable, about the local party scene. Sarah was excited hearing about the local parties but also felt it a little scandalous for Kate, a married woman, to talk about some of the wild nights she enjoyed.
One morning Tom was heading out to work when he saw some people leaving their neighbours' house. He didn't think much of it and imagined they were just friends who slept over after a night of drinking. It was a big house with plenty of space for a couple with no children, much like theirs. As he drove away, he looked back and noticed one of the men hugging and kissing Kate, who was dressed in just a long t-shirt that came just below her ass. As Tom watched the man pulled Kate close, reaching under her T-shirt cupping her ass, kissing her deeply.
On a couple of occasions, as Tom was coming home late from work, he would sometimes be arriving as Kate and her friends were going out, dressed for a night in the clubs. He didn't always see John with them, just Kate and the group. Whenever he saw them all, that same guy, he saw kissing Kate previously, would have his arm around her as they walked. Tom wondered if John knew about them, as it appeared far more passionate than just being friends. He was uncomfortable as he wondered if their new neighbour was having an affair. He didn't want to worry Sarah though, who was getting on well with Kate or come across as nosy or a gossip to their new neighbours, so he kept it to himself.
Since their arrival just a few weeks ago, Tom had seen Sarah start to come out of her shell becoming far more confident. She appeared so much happier, and her old-style baggy clothes were starting to disappear to be replaced by far more modern lighter and tighter outfits and her skirts were getting shorter. Tom wasn't complaining as it showed off Sarah figure and her amazing body, but he wondered if it was all Kate's influence.
One evening Tom arrived home and Sarah was waiting for him excitedly. Kate had invited the couple around the upcoming Saturday afternoon for drinks and a BBQ. Sarah had accepted at once, happy that they had found friendly neighbours she got on with. She was excited for Tom to meet Kate and get to know them better while also hoping Tom would have a friend in John. Kate had told her that they had people over regularly so hoped it would become a regular thing for the neighbours.
Tom had a bad feeling. How could he talk to the couple, knowing she was having an affair? Sarah was excited so he couldn't say no, so he steadied himself for an evening of smiling and nodding.
Sarah still hadn't managed to buy a new bikini, so the following Friday she put on her regular swimming costume, covered with a light wrap-around skirt. Tom wore his usual shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. They arrived promptly at 6:00 PM, spending a few hours talking with their new neighbours, about their lives and histories and by the time they had finished eating, they felt they knew each other fairly well. Sarah and Kate talked excitedly about the local neighbourhood and nightlife. Kate talked about how much fun their group of friends have when they go out, extending an open invitation to the couple to join them. No commitments, but they all agreed that sounded like a great idea.
Whenever the topic of clubs or nightlife came up Tom went quiet. He was worried about saying the wrong thing or spilling that he saw Kate leaving with, what appeared to be her lover, so he tried to keep quiet and nod a lot. Sarah sensed Tom wasn't himself and turned and asked.
"Are you OK, you seem quiet tonight?"
"I'm fine, maybe just a little tired"
He didn't want to say the real reason.
They had eaten the food that John had grilled and had a few glasses of wine and we're feeling relaxed. Sarah was talking to John when Kate stood up and said, "who's going to give me a hand to clear up and get dessert?"
Sarah turned to Tom, "give Kate a hand honey, I'm talking to John."
Tom reluctantly got up and helped carry all the dirty plates into the kitchen and started to rinse them for Kate to put in the dishwasher. As they finished Kate turned to Tom.
"Is there something wrong? Whenever we talk about going out or our friends, you look uncomfortable?"
Tom felt it best to come clean and tell Kate that he knew what was going on. At the very least he would feel better and perhaps she would be a bit more discrete so Sarah wouldn't find out.
"I know you are having an affair. I saw you the other morning." Tom said bluntly.
"Oh, what makes you think I am having an affair?"
"I saw the guy kiss you and feel you up as he left. I have also seen you going out at night with the same guy, with his arm around you.
I want you to know I haven't said anything to Sarah."
"Oh sweety, let's get the desert and not talk about it here," Kate said smiling.
Tom felt better getting it off his chest but still felt there wasn't any closure on the issue.
Kate carried the desert out to the patio while Tom carried the plates. As they all started to eat, Kate said.
"I have found out why Tom is quiet and looking so uncomfortable"
Sarah looked at Tom with a worried expression. "What's wrong Tom?"
Tom sat there like a deer caught in headlights.
Kate went on, "He saw Neil leaving the other morning and he got a bit handsy as I said goodbye. Tom thinks I am having an affair and didn't know what to say."
Sarah looked at Tom with a questioning look. "You never said anything," she said.
"I didn't think it was any of my business and didn't want to gossip"
"Thank you, Tom, for being discrete, it's good to know we can trust our neighbours. There is no reason to feel uncomfortable, so you don't need to worry. Neil is a Friend with Benefits and John is fully aware."
John took over "It's OK, it's something we both enjoy, and I am fully aware of Kate and Neil and their relationship."
"Oh wow, we have heard about this sort of thing but never.... I don't know what to say, but so many questions," said Sarah.
John went on "It's a bit of a long story. You see, when we got here, we found like you, a very liberated and open community. We had never been anywhere like it before. You may have noticed, the beach life, attracts people who are drawn to that sort of lifestyle and they tend to live life on the wilder side.
We enjoyed it as well and found it so intoxicating, so started going to bars and clubs. Well, one week I had to go out of town on Business and Kate went out with some friends. She had too much to drink and some guy managed to get her back to his apartment, where they fucked. When I got home, she confessed all in tears and we talked and agreed one mistake wouldn't be grounds for ending our loving relationship, but we had some rocky weeks ahead."
Kate went on "I felt terrible, and we had a few rocky months with counselling and we were getting through it when John had a major health scare. He's ok now but it was bad for a while. At the time, we stopped doing everything we enjoyed like going out and our life just became hospital and home. As you go through something like that you get a fresh perspective on life, so as he recovered, we thought about what was important to us.
We realized life is too short to not enjoy life."
John picked back up "Yes, you see we had stopped having fun and living because of my illness. We talked a lot about life and the flip side of that. You know life is too short to not be enjoying it, so we decided to start having fun again and live life to the fullest. That included going to bars and clubs. A couple of weeks later it happened again. Kate went out with friends and ended up getting fucked."
Kate looked sheepish, laughing "What can I say. I have no willpower and once I get exposed to the raw sex, I just melt, it excites me. Anyway, we talked with our fresh perspective on life. John and I agreed that we wanted to experience life and sex is part of that. We didn't want any guilt or bad feelings to ruin things as it was part of enjoying the wild lifestyle here. We also didn't want to be dreading the next guy to get me drunk and into bed, we wanted to go in eyes wide open and us in control."
"So, we enjoy life. We agreed that what happens, happens and as long as we come back to each other and are open and honest we are both very happy. Neil is Kates latest friend with benefits. He comes around most weeks, so don't worry if you see him around."
Tom and Sarah were speechless. They sat there for a few minutes before Sarah spoke. "I don't know what to say. I appreciate you being so open with us, that must be hard for you to talk about."
"That's Ok, it's a lot to take in out of the blue, but we are all about being open and honest."
"Don't you get jealous?" asked Tom.
