Jacob Jones was sitting at the bar in the hotel lounge, eating his dinner on yet another lonely Thursday evening. The restaurant wasn't crowded, but he felt even lonelier when he was sitting at a table alone. When he was sitting at the bar, he could at least pretend that he was with another patron or seek out the bartender for companionship.
Jake was almost finished with his dinner when he finally took notice of the couple as they were returning from the dance floor. They were obviously hooking up. The rings on the forty-something woman's fingers left no doubt that she was married. However; their demeanors made it equally obvious that she wasn't married to him. He was obviously more than just a few years younger than she. Jake wasn't judgmental. While he had never crossed the Rubicon of adultery, he knew that many, perhaps most, chronic business travelers did. Jake couldn't deny that he had occasionally indulged in some extramarital flirting during his business travels. Everyone did, at least inadvertently. His flirting was usually very casual, really incidental, with women who were safely married. Such innocent dalliances with the women he interacted with alleviated the loneliness of being away from home for a week or weeks at a time. He had however succumbed to the temptation to indulge in some extramarital dancing. These incidents had been perhaps less innocent than Janine's occasional wives night out with her friends because there had been no one that they knew with him to hold him accountable.
Jake appraised the woman who now seemed to be so precariously perched on a barstool with her legs crossed somewhat demurely. She was about the same age as Janine. She was a blonde rather than a brunette. He had noticed that she was shorter than his wife which made her look a bit heavier. The jacket that matched her skirt was unbuttoned so as to not conceal her breasts. Although her breasts were not as large as Janine's, they were more than adequate to provoke a man's attention. Her breasts were all the more adequate to provoke attention because her blouse was also unbuttoned far enough to really flaunt her cleavage that was enhanced rather than concealed by her lacy, white bra. Her skirt had an above the knee hemline and a slit that was adjusted to reveal plenty of thigh. While she wasn't beautiful, most men his own age would be delighted if their wives looked like her. She had that somewhat sexy but normally not slutty look of a respectable, church going, PTA attending, soccer mom.
Jacob appraised the man that the respectable, blonde, PTA attending, soccer mom was hooking up with. He was not only younger than she but also much taller. He was slim but muscular, without the spare tire that afflicted Jacob. Jake suspected that Jamal could break the Lothario in half, but he was impressive. He was also very Black.
Jacob wasn't judgmental. While Black women never seemed to be receptive to even innocent overtures from a white man, white women, especially married, white women, often seemed to be very receptive to overtures from Black men. Such flirtations usually didn't seem to go beyond flirting, but the fact that these seemingly innocent flirtings occurred so frequently revealed much. The taste of doubly forbidden fruit must be doubly enticing. Black men were drawn to such maturing, married, white women just as sharks were drawn to their preferred pray.
While Jacob had never kept any statistics during his business travels, it seemed that most of the married, white woman that he had noticed hooking up were hooking up with Black men. It actually seemed logical. If a woman was going to violate the taboo against adultery, she might as well also violate the taboo against interracial sex and the even more profound taboo against interracial adultery.
The extramarital flirting escalated. The Black man was now standing closer to the woman who remained seated on her tall barstool. She nervously shifted position, facing more towards him. She then casually uncrossed her legs then crossed her legs again, but Left over Right rather than Right over Left. Her movements caused the hem of her skirt to shift higher. A brief glimpse of bare inner thigh revealed that she was wearing stockings rather than pantyhose. Even more alluring was the briefer glimpse of blonde pubic hair that confirmed Jake's earlier suspicions that she was going commando. Her Black paramour interpreted the brief beaver shot as an invitation. He casually draped his arm over her shoulders. When she didn't protest, his hand slyly migrated until he was cupping her breast in his palm. She still didn't protest.
As the couple continued to flirt, the woman absentmindedly toyed with the buttons of her blouse. As Jake watched, first one more button was unbuttoned then two and then three! Her blouse was unbuttoned down to her navel! Jake noticed that her nipples and large, dark aureoles were prominently revealed by her lacy bra cups.
After several more minutes of not so innocent, extramarital flirting, the Black suitor assisted the white, married woman as she climbed down off of her bar stool. As he ushered her off to the elevators, his hand slipped inside the gaping neckline of her blouse so that he was once again cradling her breast that was now nearly naked.
The couple paused at the elevator to talk. No doubt they were deliberating about whose hotel room they should go to. Jake watched as the woman pressed the up button. He speculated that she had insisted on going to her room rather than his so that any late night phone calls from her husband would not go unanswered. Jake had often received such seemingly innocent yet inquisitive phone calls from his wife. These calls were always made to his hotel room phone rather than his cellphone. He had on occasion made such inconvenient phone calls to Janine whenever she was away at teacher conferences. Everyone knew but refused to acknowledge that the ritual of the evening phone call was intended to verify a traveling spouse's location and to detect or at least deter infidelity more than alleviate loneliness.
The bar tender was obviously bemused by the taboo tableau when he approached Jake to offer him another drink. They both watched as the newly hooked up couple stepped into the elevator. Jacob speculated more than asked, "you must see that every night."
"I do see that most week nights," the bartender confirmed. "On weekends, the women are less likely to be married. However; when a obviously married woman hooks up with a Black man on a Friday or Saturday night, she often has her husband either with her or lurking nearby. I guess that going on Safari really isn't such a taboo anymore."
Jacob examined the bartender more closely. His graying hair contrasted with his complexion. He looked to be well into his fifties. He was also very Black. He was also a stranger. He didn't know who Jake was beyond his room number and maybe the account number for his room. Everyone's anonymity was assured. "You ever get in on that type of action?"
"Once in a while, but not as often as I used to," the bartender revealed. "It's easier to hook up when you're a Black man. Women like to dance. Black men are acculturated to be less inhibited about dancing then white men. Fred Astaire, Danny Kaye and Gene Kelly would be spinning in their graves if they could see how up tight most of you white men have become. The idea of hooking up with a white woman, especially a married, white woman, is every Black man's fantasy. I guess that it is a form of reparations. If a maturing, married white woman wants to go dancing without her husband, it is almost inevitable that most of the men who are interested in dancing with her will be Black."
The bar tender took a few moments to stow some glasses before he continued. "Most White women are also curious about Black men. The stereotype certainly stimulates their curiosity. When there are almost ten times as many White women as there are Black men, the odds are stacked in the favor of any reasonably decent looking Brother who goes on safari. I can't honestly claim that I measure up to the reputation. However; I never get any complaints from the few white wives that I have seduced when they realized that I'm maybe only just a little bit above average," the bartender revealed with unexpected, almost unwelcome candor. "I honestly don't think that I am that skilled a lover either, but the mystique ensures that I can still rock a White, married woman's world. Have you ever taken your own wife on safari?"
Jacob could have refused to answer. Perhaps Jacob should have refused to answer. He answered anyway. "I've never taken my wife on safari. However; I am becoming worried that she might be going on safari without me."
A man at the end of the bar that Jake had not taken any real notice of spoke up, "don't let the anxiety get to you. If it happens, it happens. If it happens, it isn't the end of the world. If it happens, it will not be the end of your marriage unless you insist upon it. Better that your wife hooks up with some Black stud who just wants to fuck her than have an affair with some White guy whose seeming devotion will inspire her to divorce you so that she can marry him."
Jake appraised the man. The man was about ten years older and maybe twenty pounds heavier than Jacob. Judging by his collar, he was obviously a preacher man. Equally obvious, he wasn't a Catholic. Jake noticed the wedding ring on the man's finger. He couldn't resist the urge to ask, "has your wife ever gone on safari?"
Jake was amazed when the man answered without hesitation or embarrassment, "yes. I've taken my wife on safari, several times, just as our bartender describes. She'd also been on secret safari by herself a few times, mostly back when I was in seminary during our newlywed years. I was to devoted to my studies to keep her satisfied. My wife going on safari during those early years wasn't really a threat to our marriage. It probably saved our marriage. She was reasonably discrete about it. I was of course suspicious, but since I asked her no questions, she told me no lies."
The preacher man took a long sip of his drink. "Unfortunately; the guilt about these early flings provoked a lot of regrets. My wife's regrets eventually inspired her to have a more serious affair years later, well over a decade ago. Her affair was with a White man whom she imagined would become her new husband after I divorced her in response to her impending confession. That affair nearly destroyed our marriage. Obviously; we reconciled. As part of that reconciliation, we reached an understanding. My wife is free to go on safari, but only occasionally. Usually; I take her on safari but we have an understanding that she is free to go on safari by herself as long as she keeps it casual and is discrete but not deceitful about it. Going on safari motivates her to keep in shape and helps her to feel young. Her going on safari keeps me from getting complacent or forgetting that she remains an attractive woman."
