Chapter 4 Pandoras Lunchbox

The next morning, Karla awoke with a start, her heart racing and her body flushed with the lingering effects of her dreams. Flashes of Ted, Matt, and herself tangled together in a sweaty, passionate embrace still flashed across her mind. She fought the urge to just roll over and go back to sleep. She deserved a break, right? But deep in her mind, she knew that to do so would only cause the work to continue to build on her desk. Skipping work wasn't worth it anymore. Besides, she needed to get a few things off her mind with Matt and Ted.

As she went through the motions of her morning routine, Karla couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something had changed. Something was different now, but she couldn't quite place it. She thought back over the events of last night. Matt's revelation that he was using their sex pics as jerk-off fodder didn't come as much of a surprise, given Matt's overactive libido. She was, however, quite surprised by the level of her own arousal at the thought of him sharing those pictures with someone else, having a strange set of eyes wandering over her bare flesh exposed as she gave herself over to her lover. Matt has chosen some very juicy photos to include in his flash drive 'spank bank', including several of Karla deep-throating his cock. There was a series of her lying on her back with legs spread wide, panties hanging off her ankle, and fingers spreading her swollen labia as though inviting the viewer in for a taste of her copious lubrication drooling out of her vaginal entrance to trail down across the ring of her sensitive anus. And of course, those ultra-explicit photos of her face down on the bed, hand reaching back to spread her cheeks wide, prompting her tight puckered asshole to gape open just a touch and Matt's cock waiting just on the edge of the frame.

Matt loved anal sex, and after years of denial, Karla was finally able to admit that she actually liked it as well. By invitation only! Interestingly, Matt's penis was ideally shaped for anal penetration, with almost a wedge-like overall shape, a smaller head attached to a gradually widening shaft. Together, they had decided that his penis was similar to the rest of his body - perfectly average in height/length but thicker than most. And most of the time, Matt's cock was all she needed to be satisfied. (Well, that and her Hitachi). If she were honest with herself, she didn't know any different. Matt was the only lover she had ever had. They were each other's first and only (at least, to her knowledge).

And now these fantasies of Ted had cracked open a door in her psyche that she couldn't seem to close. It was as if a Pandora's box of hidden desires and uncomfortable truths had been unleashed, and now she had to find a way to deal with the consequences. For reasons known only to her subconscious mind, Karla found herself slipping the flash drive into her purse as she made her way out the door.

As she drove to work, Karla's mind kept drifting back to Ted's lunch invitation. She had been so quick to dismiss it yesterday, too rattled by the incident in the mailroom and her own conflicted feelings to even consider it. But now, in the cold light of day, the idea of confiding in someone - of having a sympathetic ear and a fresh perspective on her situation - held a certain appeal. Especially in light of her growing frustration with Matt. He had practically pushed her to accept an invitation from another man! Even after she told him about her suspicions that Ted had ulterior motives.

"It's just lunch," Karla told herself as she pulled into the parking lot. "A chance to clear the air and maybe gain some insight. It doesn't have to mean anything more than that. Besides, it will be nice to be able to talk to someone. Even if it is... him."

Karla tried to convince herself it was innocent, her intentions were pure, but deep down Karla knew she was walking a dangerous line. By agreeing to lunch, she was stepping closer to the edge.

Taking a deep breath, Karla gathered her things and headed into the office. She had made her decision - for better or worse, she was going to have lunch with Ted. She just hoped that her own curiosity and confusion wouldn't lead her somewhere she couldn't come back from.

As she settled into her desk and began sorting through the morning's emails, Karla's phone buzzed with a new text message. Her heart did a backflip as she saw Ted's name on the screen.

"Still on for lunch? I know a great little Italian place around the corner. Meet me in the lobby at 12:30?"

Karla's fingers hovered over the screen, a battle raging in her mind. This was her chance to back out, to put an end to this dangerous game before it went any further. But even as the sensible part of her screamed to shut it down, another voice whispered seductively in her ear - the voice of temptation, promising excitement and revelation if she just had the courage to say yes.

Before she could second-guess herself, Karla typed out a response and hit send.

"See you then."

There was no going back now. With those three little words, she had opened the door to something new and... completely terrifying!

________________________________________

The morning seemed to crawl by, with Karla constantly watching the clock as the minutes ticked by towards the noon hour. At 12:30 sharp, Karla saved her spreadsheet, locked her laptop screen, grabbed her purse and phone, and made her way to the lobby with her tummy fluttering with a mix of nerves and anticipation. She spotted Ted almost immediately, leaning against the wall near the entrance. His eyes lit up with surprise as she walked into the room.

"Karla, hey," he greeted her, stepping off the wall to meet her halfway. "I have to admit, I wasn't sure you'd actually come. I thought maybe I'd pushed my luck too far with the invitation."

Karla felt herself blush, memories of the last few days flashing in front of her mind's eye. "To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd be here either," she admitted, trying to sound nonchalant. "But I figured, what's the harm in a nice friendly lunch between work colleagues, right?"

"Exactly, just a harmless little lunch date, nothing to worry about. Are you ready to go? I'm parked just around the corner if you're okay riding with me. Or we can meet there... totally up to you." Ted motioned started towards the lobby exit, ushering Karla outside.

"I'll just ride with you, if that's okay," Karla responded, half-wondering if she would be better off driving her own car just in case things got weird and she needed to make a quick getaway.

"Fantastic! I've been wanting to take you for a ride for a while now," Ted grinned, holding the door open for her with an exaggerated bow. "This restaurant is amazing... life-changing even," Ted said with a wink.

As they stepped out into the bright mid-day sun, the feeling that Karla had upon waking came washing over her once again -- something was different, something had changed. Karla held her skirt down as she stooped down to slide into the passenger seat of Ted's commute-worn Toyota Camry. "I've had this piece of shit for almost 15 years now, coming up on 250k miles and it just keeps going! Don't worry, I'm sure it will make it around the corner and back. You don't mind pushing a little, right?"

Karla laughed. "It sounds like Matt's old car -- he drove that thing until it practically fell apart!" She smiled at the memory of Matt's old AMC Eagle, perhaps the ugliest car you could possibly imagine but perfectly acceptable as transportation for two dead-broke college students. Boy, if that back seat could speak, she smiled to herself as long-forgotten memories flooded back, memories of drives down dusty back roads, of parking by the railroad tracks and making out with Matt like they were the only two people in the world, at least they thought they were, until the train conductor blasted the air horn to show his appreciation for the skin show. Matt could only help but lift his head out from between her thighs long enough to give a thumbs up to the passing freight train. Karla caught herself smiling dreamily at the memory and the reality of her situation snapped her quickly back to full attention.

True to his word, Ted was the perfect gentleman, walking around to open her car door, offering his hand in assistance as Karla struggled to maintain modesty after her skirt rode high in the passenger seat.

They ordered quickly from the lunch menu, bottomless soup and breadsticks were always a favorite and came out from the kitchen quickly in case they needed to cut their lunch short.

As they settled into a cozy booth at the restaurant, Karla felt herself beginning to relax. The bustle of the noontime lunch crowd, the dim lighting, and the delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen all combined to create an inviting atmosphere. But more than that, she found herself becoming more comfortable with Ted's presence. His easy smile and undivided attention were comfortable and made her feel truly at ease.

"So, tell me about yourself, Karla," Ted prompted, leaning forward with genuine interest. "I feel like we've worked together for a while now, but I don't really know that much about you outside of the office."

Karla smiled, Ted's sincere curiosity disarming her. It had been a while now since someone had asked her about herself, had seemed to truly care about her thoughts and experiences. With Matt, conversations seemed to always center on mundane details of daily life -- the grocery list, or perhaps he would launch into one of his rants about his classes or endless research projects. She couldn't remember the last time he'd just looked at her with the kind of focus and attention that Ted was giving her now.

"Oh, you know... not much to tell, really," she demurred, concentrating intently on folding her straw wrapper into a tiny little accordion. "I'm just an ordinary girl doing ordinary things."

Ted shook his head, chuckling softly. "Karla, you are anything but ordinary. From what I've seen, you are smart, funny, incredibly hardworking and detail-oriented. There is more to you than meets the eye, although you are certainly easy on the eyes as well," he said with a wink.

Karla blushed. "Well, thank you. I appreciate the compliment. I'll admit I have a hard time seeing myself in a positive light. My husband Matt is good at everything he does and I'm just... not. I'm not sure what he sees in me sometimes."

"Well, unless he is completely blind, he would see what I see... if I may?" Ted said with a smile. "A strong, beautiful young woman ripe with potential."

Karla blushed at the compliment.

"So I'm curious --" Ted continued, "how long have you and Matt been together? You're not old enough to have been married for more than what... a couple years?"

"We were high school sweethearts," Karla explained. "Then dated all through college and he finally proposed fall semester of his senior year. We got married during the Christmas break. Then, after he was accepted into grad school at Prestige, we packed everything we owned into his pickup truck and drove across the country. We rented our apartment sight unseen, got a second-hand dining room table from Matt's brother, and then he started school in the fall while I went to work."

Ted nodded, listening intently. "And are you planning on going back to school someday?"

"Yeah, I hope to someday," Karla sighed. "I only had a semester or two left, plus practical exams. But that's going to have to wait for now, I'm afraid. There's no way we could afford tuition here."

"Matt is lucky to have your support! I'd love to have a sugar mama like you!" Ted chuckled.

Karla's eyes dropped to the straw wrapper accordion she had been fumbling with all lunch. "Matt is great... I'm lucky to have him," she said, trying to convince herself that those words were true.

Ted, sensing the change in her demeanor, leaned forward and gently asked, "Is something wrong, Karla?"

"No, nothing is wrong, Ted, I'm just all confused. My head is spinning. I mean, last night when I told him about you inviting me out for lunch, I was expecting him to be... I dunno... upset? Jealous... maybe? Instead, he was actually encouraging me to accept your invitation. Doesn't that seem off to you?"

"I guess that depends -- did he say anything else about it? After all, this is just a friendly lunch between co-workers, right?"

Karla felt her defenses dropping rapidly. She hesitated, biting her lip, then the words tumbled out in a rush. "Okay, so... there's more. Yesterday, when I was doing laundry, I found a flash drive in his pocket. It was full of pictures that he had taken of us... you know, having sex." She cringed inwardly, her face heating up. But beneath the shame, a tiny spark of something else flickered to life -- a forbidden thrill at the idea of being seen so intimately.

Ted's eyes widened, his attention fully locked on her now.

"When I confronted him about it," Karla continued, her voice low and trembling slightly, "he said that he will occasionally take a break from his studies to 'blow off some steam' or whatever. I just-- I'm terrified that he's showing those pictures to all his friends in the lab. God, I would be absolutely mortified!" Her stomach churned at the thought, a wave of nausea and betrayal washing over her. And, to her surprise, just a hint of naughty arousal. The thought of strangers' eyes roving over her naked, exposed body, watching her most private moments filled her with a shameful, illicit, almost primal lust.

Ted paused for a moment before responding. "Karla, Matt is a very, very lucky man, and as a fellow man, I can tell you that I can completely understand why he would want to keep those pictures handy for 'inspiration.' I mean, hell, I'd give my right arm to see what was on that flash drive. It's just a guy thing... I wouldn't read too much into it." He shifted in his seat, trying to conceal the growing bulge in his slacks.

"If it was just that, I wouldn't be that concerned," Karla continued, the words tumbling out freely now. "But then he goes on to say that he feels selfish keeping me all to himself and that he loves seeing me experience pleasure as much as he enjoys physical pleasure himself. What does that even mean?"

Ted, not wanting to push his luck, offered his measured perspective. "It sounds like Matt wants you to be happy -- is that a bad thing?"

"Of course not, but why isn't he more protective of our relationship? Is it normal to encourage your wife to hang out with other guys?"

"I get it," he said softly. "Marriage is tough, especially when you're not always in the same place, physically or emotionally."

Karla cocked her head, curious. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Ted sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I am, actually. My wife and I... we have a bit of an unconventional arrangement."

Karla's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're married? I had no idea."

Ted nodded, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, going on five years now. My wife, Mei-Lyn, is an architect. She had just started her career when we started dating, so when I proposed, the only way it was going to work without destroying her career was for us to live apart, for now, at least. She works in Boston, it's only a 2-hour flight from here on Southwest. She shares an apartment with two other girls from her firm during the week, and we alternate weekends either here or at her place."

Karla's heart clenched in sympathy. She couldn't imagine being separated from a spouse for that long. "That must be so hard, being apart like that."

Ted shrugged, but Karla could see the sadness in his eyes. "It is, in a lot of ways. We miss each other like crazy, but we knew what we were signing up for when she accepted my proposal. We've had to find ways to make it work. I wouldn't feel right about asking her to give up her dreams to be with me, and there is no way I can leave the family farm right now with my parents' health declining."

Karla leaned forward, intrigued. "And how do you do that? Make it work, I mean?"

Ted hesitated for a moment, as if weighing his words. "We have an agreement," he said finally. "A sort of... open arrangement, I guess you could call it."

Karla's fork clattered to her plate. "Wait -- you're a swinger?!"

Ted held up a hand, shaking his head. "No, it's not really like that." He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "We just both have the freedom to seek out companionship or physical intimacy if we need it, as long as we're completely and totally honest with each other and careful about protection."

Karla's eyes widened in shock. She'd heard of couples having open marriages before, but it had always seemed so foreign to her, so outside the realm of what she considered acceptable. "

"Whew," she breathed. "That's... I don't know what to say. Doesn't it bother you, the thought of your wife being with someone else?"

Ted smiled sadly. "It did, at first. It went against everything I'd been taught about relationships and fidelity. But the more we talked about it, the more I realized that traditional monogamy just doesn't work for everyone, especially in a situation like ours. Besides, why do we have to conform to what everyone else tells us our relationship should be like? Isn't that up to us to decide?"

Karla nodded in agreement. "I guess it should be... that makes sense... as long as nobody is getting hurt."

"We love each other deeply, but we also recognize that we have needs that can't always be met by a partner who's hundreds of miles away," Ted continued. "This is a way that we can both be happy, have all of our physical needs met, and still stay committed to one another. These flings are strictly physical; that is one of our rules. If we ever find ourselves getting too attached, the rule is we have to end things with that play partner immediately."

Karla sat back, trying to wrap her mind around what Ted was saying. She was blown away that Ted had never mentioned being married before, but looking back, she could see the clues were there. In hindsight, she had been so focused on Ted as the sexy guy in her fantasies that she really hadn't learned anything about Ted as a person. She had objectified him, she admitted to herself with a grimace. I hate it when guys do that to me.

And now, 'The Kiss' made a whole lot more sense in the context of Ted's open marriage. He wasn't trying to break her up marriage; he was only interested in a no-strings-attached hook-up. His idea of marriage challenged so many assumptions she'd always held about how a relationship is supposed to work. She couldn't imagine trying to work through a long-distance relationship. Of course, she didn't have a career that would prompt the need for such an arrangement.

Karla shook her head slowly. "I can't imagine being that open with Matt," she admitted. "We've always had a pretty traditional view of marriage. It's how we were raised in our super conservative hometown." She swallowed hard, looking down at her lap. "The thought of him being with someone else... it would destroy me. Which is why he made me so freaking mad last night when he said he doesn't mind when other men look at me."

Karla fidgeted with her napkin, twisting it between her fingers. "It was almost like... like the idea excited him."

Ted's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, Karla - he said that? Matt told you he doesn't mind if other men hit on you?"

She hesitated, biting her lip. "Well, more or less, that was the impression I got."

"That's great! So he doesn't mind if I flirt with you?" Ted said with a wink and a sly grin. "But seriously, I have missed being around you. I hate that I made you feel uncomfortable by kissing you, and I hate that you've been ignoring me around the office ever since. Forgive me?" he asked sincerely.

"Ted, I do forgive you. I want us to be friends. But I don't want to give you the wrong impression. Matt might be okay with sharing me with other guys... or whatever, but I'm not okay with it. At least I don't think so. Not yet. I can sort of see the appeal, but I was raised differently. I think that a lot of guys get it in their minds that something seems sexy because they saw it in a porno once, but real life is different. Some things are better left to fantasy. I'm afraid that if Matt actually were to see me..." Karla blushed deeply, "...kissing... another person, he would flip out."