Author's Notes
This is part 2 of "Beth's Birthday Pass".
I've been intrigued recently with stories about "Get Out Of Jail Free" passes. This is a pass given by one partner to the other allowing the other partner to have sex with someone else one time. In the stories similar to the one here the pass is given by a guy to his girlfriend in order to convince her to marry him because for some reason she feels she is not ready or doesn't have the experience to marry yet, and with the pass she feels comfortable that she could have a fling in the future and it will be okay.
I'd like to acknowledge Tx Tall Tales "That Damned Valentine's Day Card" and Andhym "The Weekend" for their related stories. I'd encourage you to read them as well. I borrowed some main ideas from the former tale but my story branches in a different direction.
For this story I'd like to make it more real and not drift too much into fantasy world. I'm going to split this story into parts: Part 1 deals with (1) why would a man be compelled to offer the pass and (2) what happens at the point when the pass is cashed in. For Part 2 I deal with (3) the aftermath of the weekend. In the next part(s) I'll cover (4) why would the woman in a happy marriage decide to cash in the pass and (5) the conclusion.
All characters in sexual situations are over 18 years old.
********
San Francisco
I had found a liquor store near the park where I spent the worst day of my life thinking to drown myself in alcohol. But by afternoon I was sick of it and switched to water.
Needing to talk to someone I first called my friend Steve but between his advice about divorcing the slut I could tell he was hoping he might be the guy she was considering for her fling. So I called Samantha for a woman's perspective, she was more Beth's friend but we still talked. She could tell I'd been drinking and just advised that I not make any rash decisions and give Beth time to explain.
I returned to the hotel at 7pm. I had considered just going to the airport and taking the next flight home to Chicago, but after a day of reflection I decided that I had made a promise and I was going to stand by that promise, regardless of the consequences.
Beth was waiting for me and had obviously had a rough day. She looked up as I wandered back into the room and started to speak, I cut her off.
"Beth you don't need to say anything. Nine years ago I made a promise to give you a free pass, no questions asked. I promised not to ask why, who, or any details except for when and I intend to stick by my promise. Although I didn't specify I'd prefer if you didn't have sex with someone else in our bed or even in our home, but if you insist let me know and I will be gone during that time. So when?"
She just stared at me, my monotone and lack of emotion took her off guard.
"Ben, I said let's forget about it. I love you and I don't want to ruin our marriage. I can see that you are hurt. Sam called me and told me you talked to her, she said you sounded very upset."
"It's too late to forget it Beth. I've been rolling this over in my mind all day. Just the fact that you brought this up at all is hurtful, I'm not going to pretend it's not. And right after an amazing night together too. I feel like my whole life is torn apart. Nne years ago I made a promise but to be honest I never expected you to take advantage of that promise. I thought we had a good thing and that it would be enough for you. But I was wrong and here we are. I know it sounds unfair that I'm upset but I can't help how I feel. So please just tell me when and whether you want to do it at our home. Then I'm going to take a shower and sleep on the couch."
"Please. This is not what I wanted. I know my timing was bad. There hasn't been any good time to bring this up. Let me explain."
"Right now I really don't want to hear who it is or what I'm missing that he has."
"It's not like that."
"Stop. Let me just ask you one thing and I beg you to be honest. Have you slept with anyone during our marriage?" I looked her directly in the eyes and surprisingly she looked offended.
"No Ben. I have not cheated on you." She said a little coldly.
"Okay then. Let me ask again please, when, where."
"And I'm going to say again, I'm taking it back Forget I asked about it."
"I'm mentally exhausted and sick about this, but I'm not going to leave you alone until you answer my question. When were you
planning
to do this then?"
"Next weekend, leaving Friday returning Tuesday. I'll be out of town." She said and lowered her eyes.
"Okay. Goodnight."
I felt ill. I didn't want to be in the same room with her at that point. After a shower I saw that Beth was on the bed looking at me but she knew I didn't want to talk. I grabbed a blanket out of the closet and layed on the couch. All night I lay awake alternating between rage, fear, grief, and confusion.
I knew that if I said no she would drop it. But what would that do? I'd break the promise that won her over to marry me in the first place. She'd resent me forever and justifiably never trust my word of honor again.
If I let her do this could I get over it? At that moment I didn't think so. But maybe with time?
She had offered to explain. Did I want to know? Would that make it better or worse?
What was so sick about it was that it was my own damn fault! If I had just given her more time back then she probably would have come around. I was just in love and naive. I really, truly thought this would never happen. Would of, should of.
By morning I had made up my mind how to proceed. I didn't want her to do this, but I didn't see any alternative that would not strip my honorable word and make me the bad actor. If I showed how much I hated the idea it would be the same as saying no. At the same time I wasn't going to push her out the door into someone else's arms. So I would stay in the middle, accepting that she was going to use the free pass but nothing beyond that.
As soon as I noticed the sky starting to lighten up I got up. It was Beth's birthday. Glancing at the bed I could see Beth laying there with her eyes open.
"Happy birthday."
"Ben we need to talk. We've always been able to talk. Please let me explain."
"Beth, I love you more than my life. I thought about this all last night and I think you should go. For now I don't want to know the details, maybe someday I'll ask you about it and if you still want to explain we can do it then. For right now I want you to know I honor my word. Make your plans, but I don't want to talk about it anymore right now."
I was not in any mood to continue this birthday weekend, but I steeled myself.
"How about we go get some breakfast?" I offered.
We got ready and went to breakfast. We saw the sights and did the things we had planned. I tried to get into the moment and not let my distress show, but I'm sure it did. She was very attentive to me, even more than usual.
That night she really focused on me in bed, doing all the things she knew I liked. My body was so in tune with hers it never took her too much to get me aroused even with the troubled thoughts in my mind.
----
The Weekend
The week before 'the weekend' was strange. It was like knowing you are going to die and have four days to live. The first night home Beth told me "Ben you are my only love and you can have me any way you want me, I'm yours."
I was thinking how did that square with how she was going to be someone else's in a few days, but I didn't want to spoil what was likely to be our last truly exclusive week together.
I spent my days focused on work. Evenings were a little awkward trying to pretend like everything was normal. She dropped the kids off at her friend Sam's or her sister's each night and we went out every night to a concert, show, or dancing. Every night we had sex like we hadn't done since we were younger.
On Thursday I came home from work and she was making a nice steak dinner with wine and candles and was dressed to kill.