Better Advice Better Marriage

Author's Note: I have posted revisions to Chapters 1 and 2 based on the feedback that many of you graciously provided. I tried to let those comments guide this chapter; I'm sure you'll let me know if I succeeded or not.

In retrospect, Chapters 1, 2 and 3 probably should have been one long story.

I intend to write more action and less philosophical, explanation-of-motivation statements in later chapters.

As always, characters in this story are entirely fictional. All characters engaged in sex acts are over the age of 18. All rights reserved.

--

"I got one! I got one!" Tim yells excitedly nearly dropping his fishing rod as the red and white bobber ducks under the water.

"Set the hook quickly and then reel slowly, steady pressure..." Jon coaches his son. But the bobber suddenly pops back up to the surface and the line races freely back to the dock as the young man furiously winds the line.

"Sorry, champ. I think that one got away," Jon commiserates but takes the opportunity for a teaching moment to demonstrate again how a quick jerk on the line can hook the fish before it spits it back out, without the bait.

The other kids have gathered around now as Jon carefully shows them how to re-bait the line and cast it back out. The dock at the out-of-the-way public park has proven to be an ideal spot for a kid-friendly fishing excursion on this somewhat overcast day. Plenty of small perch and sunfish close to shore. Nothing in the way of trophy fish and so it isn't crowded but lots of activity and interest to keep the young, budding anglers entertained.

"Are we having fish for dinner tonight, dad?" Timothy asks.

"I really doubt it," Jon says. "Your sister has been naming all the fish we catch and I really doubt she's going to put up with us eating 'Scaley', 'Big Eyes' or 'Fred.'"

"And I'm not cleaning them either," Sue remarks lightly from behind his shoulder.

Jon grins at her but speaks more directly to the boys. "Actually, this is a 'catch and release' lake, guys. But are you having fun?"

"Yeah!" Charlie pipes up from over next to his sister. "Bet I can catch more than you today! C'mon, Tim, get your hook baited again; I saw a bunch of BIG ones over by the willow tree."

Jon smiles again at his wife as she watches the youngsters race off after the next big catch. Then, noticing the confusion clouding her face, he follows her gaze past the kids up to the parking lot where a couple of women are getting out of a car in the parking lot.

A brunette steps out of the passenger side and seems to be adjusting her clothes into place while the driver heads back toward the trunk to retrieve a picnic basket. The brilliant red hair of the driver is what draws their attention.

"Isn't that Mandy?" Jon starts to ask, recognizing his wife's marriage counselor even from this distance but stops short when she rounds the car and gives her companion a light kiss and a hug. Even in this enlightened day and age, it is still surprising to see two women behaving like a romantic couple, particularly in this family-friendly public part, a decent drive from the city.

"It sure looks that way..." Sue answers.

"I guess I've always assumed that Mandy was lesbian, the way she spouted off against men all the time. Funny running into her this far from the city."

"Yeah, she's a lesbian all right," Sue confirms. "What seems just a little weird is that I could swear that is Allison Shibley. And I wouldn't have pegged her for lesbian or even bi-curious. And I bet her husband wouldn't either."

"Ouch. That could be a nasty surprise. I guess they could be headed for counseling soon."

"And that's the problem. I'm sure I heard that Allison and Mike were already seeing her..."

"Oh!" Jordan shrieks, yanking furiously on her fishing pole. "I got one, too!"

"Reel steady. Take it easy," Jon calls out heading over to assist the his daughter. "Wonder what she'll name this one," he mutters.

By the time the hook has been successfully removed from "Henrietta" and she has been safely returned to freedom in the lake, Sue has retrieved their digital camera from its bag and pauses briefly behind Jon. "If you've got things under control with the crew here, I might just wander off and see what there is to see over by the picnic tables."

Jon eyes her suspiciously. "I'm fine here now that we've got everybody with a line in the water. Be careful, though, who you talk to and what you talk about."

Sue nods, "Oh, I wasn't planning on having much conversation. Just want to see whatever there is to see here at the lake today."

--

"Mom, can we go over to Charlie's and Ashley's and tell their mom about fishing?"

"After everything is put away and you get washed up. You smell like a day at the lake," Sue chuckles.

"And that goes for you, too, Charlie and Ashley," Jon addresses Lynne's kids. "Don't go running off home until the fishing gear is put away."

Sue smiles at him as the kids dash off. "You're a good dad. And a good, 'positive male influence' for a single mom's kids."

"Doesn't hurt to teach them a little responsibility."

"Okay, now tell me about your foray over to the picnic area. You came back looking like you had seen a ghost. Did you talk with Mandy and what's her name? Allison?"

"No! I didn't let them see me or know that I was there. Damn, Jon, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. This was not some little chance picnic to an out of town park. They were all over each other!"

"Wouldn't have believed that Mandy would be in a lesbian relationship?"

"No! That doesn't surprise me at all. It is that she would be in what appears to be a pretty steamy romantic relationship with someone coming to her for counseling."

"Stuff is all put away! We're going over to Charlie's!" Timothy yells as a whirlwind of children blows out the backdoor.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour! Be back by then!" Sue yells at the retreating backs of her children.

"Are you beginning to come around to my view of your ex-marriage counselor?"

"I am seeing more of her faults, yes." she grudgingly admits. "The rape accusation was totally outrageous; completely out of bounds. Now this."

"I'm glad you didn't go and talk to Mandy that night. I'm glad it was Lynne you decided to share with."

"After you left that night, I did some serious thinking. I went over to Lynne's and we talked for a long time. Well, I talked a lot and she listened. The more I talked and explained what I had tried to do -- argue with you and keep you off balance and... make sure you needed me more than I needed you," Sue at least has the decency to blush at this frank admission, "the more horrified she became. I mean, she thinks you are the best guy ever. She didn't understand why I was being such a shrew. She basically told me that I've been a manipulative bitch."

"I've always kind of liked Lynne," Jon gives her a tight smile. "I'm glad you talked with her that night. But it sounds like she might have been a little harsh with you."

"Well, maybe it was deserved. I realize now just how extreme Mandy's agenda has been. I realize that I have pushed you to do things for me, in exchange for sexual favors. I realize that I betrayed you by letting this argument over gender equality and female independence come between us. It woke me up to the reality that Lynne was right. I have been a manipulative bitch. I'm sorry, Jon."

Jon looks are her with new appreciation. He knows it has to be really hard to admit that. He struggles for a moment about what to say back. "Yeah, you

have

been a manipulative bitch" doesn't feel like a good and diplomatic reply.

"I'm sorry, too," Jon says.

"Sorry about what?"

"The truth is: we have a communication problem. We argue a lot but we don't really talk about what we want, about you and me. And that started, really, when I stopped going to counseling with you. I was just so put off by Mandy and the things she was saying, the way she was constantly attacking me -- everything was my fault..."

"She wasn't saying

everything

was your fault..."

"Probably not," he concedes. "It just felt that way. Regardless, I WAS wrong when I stopped going because that allowed us to stop communicating. The conversations between us on the subject of sex stopped. I was wrong and I shouldn't have let that happen."

Sue nods, grateful that he is willing to accept some of the blame for their troubles.

Jon continues, "That meant that the conversations that you and Mandy were having about our difficulties was the only conversation that was happening. I'll accept my part in putting you into a place where her somewhat extreme views were the only ones you were hearing since that was the only conversation taking place."

Again she just nods, so he goes on, "So, let me say I am sorry. I stopped fighting

for

our marriage and started fighting with you

about

our marriage. I want to correct that. I want to fight

with

you to save our marriage. I want to be on your side as we fight together to make our marriage better. That means being honest about what you need and honest about what I need. Experience says that won't be easy. I might have to admit I was wrong." He smiles at her. "And maybe even admit that in

some

places and at

some

times, Mandy might have been right."

"I like you characterizing it that way. I like seeing the fight in you -- the passion -- and I'm glad to feel like I am on your side."

"Okay, then, let's talk. You started on this 'BJ Day' thing and what I need, physically but we haven't talked enough about what

you

need."

"So, the problem here is that what turns me on isn't necessarily physical or even overtly sexual. It is our relationship, your commitment to me and our family. I love that you work to provide for us and come home after a hard day's work. I'm proud of you, Jon. You do good work. I love that and I love that you do stuff around the house because it is

our

house and we share it together and we share the work together. When you do something nice for me, that shows me that you are thinking about me and my comfort. That shows your love to me and that makes me want to be intimate with you."

"That is dangerously close to 'doing chores to earn sexual favors.'"

"It is," she reluctantly agrees, "and maybe that is how I got off-track with this, too, because when you do things like that, it puts me more in the mood and I am naturally more likely to respond to your sexual advances. It is just something about me -- you doing things, chores maybe, makes me love you more and so it is a natural extension that I end up 'rewarding' certain behavior."

"But you do see how it puts 'conditions' on our intimacy and creates an adversarial relationship between us, right?"

"Yes, I do now. But I can't help what turns me on. Like taking care of the kids even more! You being a good father is part of our relationship and really, really arousing to me. It shows your love and commitment to us, to our relationship, to our family. That kind of thing really puts me in the mood to be close to you."

"So, this whole family outing today? The fishing trip? That makes you horny?"

"Sort of," Sue smiles shyly. "I like seeing you as the father of my children; I'm proud of you when you are a good role model for Lynne's kids. You are the best dad in the neighborhood and I'm married to you. I get to give you blow jobs whenever you want."

Jon smiles at her, grateful that they are actually talking about sex and not fighting about it. "And what if I wanted one right now? Right in the middle of our serious conversation?"

"Then I would be obliged," she grins, sliding to her knees, "to respect my man's desires." She unbuckles his belt. "And do my duty as his wife and serve his needs." She begins fishing around in his boxers for his rapidly thickening cock. "Thus proving that he is a pig like all men, who will do anything for sex."

She tries to get her lips around his head but he pulls back.

"As much as I like your mouth there, I'm not willing to do this if that's what it means."

She looks up at him adoringly from her knees.

"I'm kidding, honey. I am not going back to that old argument. Yes, men will do just about anything for sex but that is not why I am doing this. I'm doing it because I love you and we both want to. We can continue our conversation when I'm done here. I did promise guilt-free BJs all day today."

Dammit. He knows he is wrong, that he is losing an element of the battle with this, but she looks so delightful like this -- on her knees, staring up at him.

"You're manipulating me," he says huskily.

"Yes," she admits. "But I really do want your cock in my mouth. I really want to honor my promise to please you today. I want to do this for you to show you that I love you and because I want to demonstrate to you that I am committed to pleasing you, not because of anything you did or did not do today."

She continues, "And I want to do this because it makes me horny, too. I like having your cock in my mouth. It makes me feel connected to you."

"You've never admitted that before. You always said you didn't like sucking me."

"I didn't. I had convinced myself that taking your cock in my mouth was demeaning to me as a woman. But I knew you liked it, so it was a bargaining chip, something that I could hold over you. If I admitted I liked it, even to myself, that granted power to you. When it was a 'favor' that I only sometimes did for you, that gave me the upper hand."

"You denied yourself something you liked just to maintain the upper hand in the balance of power?"

"It sounds pretty stupid when you say it like that, but yes, I did," she admits guiltily, searching his eyes and seeing the disapproval, the disappointment in them. She would do a lot to erase that disappointment on his face.

"Well, let's fix that. Let's give you something we both want. Open your mouth, bitch."

Anger flairs in her at the b-word but in her horny state and knowing what she has promised, she obeys, receiving and accepting his tumescent manhood as he thrusts forward. It is a connection, an intimacy and her anger rapidly turns to lustful passion; her accommodating of his demands turns into a hunger to please him. She marvels in the truth that she loves having him in her mouth, that intimacy that she holds his pleasure in her mouth and hands. And she admires the strength in him, the desire, his hunger for her.

She sets out to show her love and devotion, her remorse for how she has manipulated him. He moans in pleasure.

"Mmmm, that's good, lover."

I've moved up from 'bitch' to 'lover'

, she gloats.

Amazing how cock sucking can change attitudes.

Jon picks up the camera from the kitchen counter while she works. "Mind if I peruse the pictures you took today while I enjoy what you are doing?"

She pauses momentarily. "You just want to see girls kissing girls."

"Uh, yeah! What self-respecting chauvinistic pig wouldn't?" he grins down at her lasciviously, pleased that she isn't trying to stop him. Her betrayal of Mandy in taking the pictures and now sharing them with him certainly testifies to her changed attitude.

"Pig," Sue mutters between licks. "What is it with you guys and girl-on-girl action?"

Jon turns his attention to the little screen on the camera. Sue has done a remarkable job of capturing the lesbian lovebirds on their picnic adventure. In reality, the pictures are hardly pornographic, most of the kissing and groping happening over top the pair's clothes and the distance and angles aren't sufficient to show hardly anything. Still, even the casual observer can clearly see what is going on.

"So, you think Allison and... what's his name?"

"Mmph." Sue pulls her mouth off his cock. "Mike. You met him at Robinson's Christmas party."

"Really?"

"You'd know him if you saw him."

"Okay. Whatever. You think Allison and Mike are seeing Mandy for counseling?"

"Mmm," she hums around him. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure of it. I think they are separated and headed for a divorce but they have been working with Mandy for several months now."

"Forgive me for saying so, but I don't think she can be helping their marriage very much if she is dashing off for an illicit rendezvous with part of the couple. Sounds more like she has been seducing her patient, not giving advice on saving their marriage."

"I know. That's why I took the pictures. I can't believe she would be so unethical as to be having an affair with one of her clients."

"Hmm. Mandy behaving unethically? Imagine that," Jon says sarcastically, a pretty dumb move, really, since his cock is in her mouth.

"Ow! Careful there with the teeth," he flinches but she just chuckles.

Men! How easily controlled

. But she does continue with her task.

"Not only unethical, but just not very smart. Wouldn't you think that she would wait until the divorce is final? Or keep it to a discrete, sleazy, by-the-hour motel?"

"I wud fink," she nods around his fully erect cock now in the back of her throat.

"That feels really, really good by the way. I do appreciate you going out of your way to make this feel good."

"Hello!" Lynne calls through the screen door causing a mad scramble by the couple to make themselves presentable. Jon's cock exits Sue's mouth with a noticeable "pop" and he scrambles to get tucked in.

Sue hops up from her knees, hastily wiping the drool from her chin and blushing furiously.

"Oh, uh, hi, Lynne! C'mon in," she sputters as Jon turns his back to the door, trying to zip up around his bobbing and weaving cock.

Lynne belatedly realizes what was happening as she steps into the kitchen. "Oh, sorry. Hope I'm not interrupting..."

"No, no, that's alright..." Sue lies unconvincingly. "We were just... uh..."

"This is BJ day, isn't it?" Lynne knows her friend too well and easily recognizes her failed attempt to come up with anything plausible to say.

"Well..."

"Shit. I'm so sorry. I'll just be going now."

"No, no. That's okay," Jon remarks. "Mood broken now."

"Damn. My timing is pretty lousy, huh? Sorry about that."

"Our own fault for doing it right here in the middle of the room. Better you catch us than the kids. What can we do for you, Lynne?"

"I just came over to thank you guys for taking Charlie and Ashley today. They had so much fun; they are just bubbling over about it. It was really nice of you to include them in your family outing."

"They are good kids, Lynne. It wasn't that much trouble to throw an extra couple of fishing poles in the car."

"You don't know how much it means to a single mother, though, to get a little break and for them to get some good, quality time with a 'normal,' healthy family. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

"Happy to do it."

"Well, I want to return the favor somehow. How about you two pick a date night, some night? I'll watch the kids and the two of you just go out to a movie. When was the last time just the two of you went out?"

Jon looks lovingly at his wife. "Dinner and a movie? A chance for us to talk? I mean really talk?"

"Next Saturday, then? You two lovebirds make yourselves a date. It would be my pleasure to give you that. Now, I'll get out of your way so that you can... get back to what you were doing."

Before that happens however, the female half of the younger crowd comes giggling in the back door.

Sue looks at Jon, shrugs and they snicker together before heading to the kitchen to start on supper. Lynne smiles at the two of them before heading back to her house, pleased to see them having a civil conversation and apparently enjoying each other's company.

--

After the dinner dishes are done and the two are along again, Jon and Sue resume their conversation.