Jumping Ship

Thanks to Randi and a few others for pulling me out of hibernation. Many thanks to her and George for editing this.

*****

"So, you two already had sex?" Frank just barely managed not to croak while he asked, hating his weak voice almost as much as the bad news he was receiving. He blinked to conceal his watering eyes, or maybe to make the nightmare go away. It didn't. He was standing in his living room, staring at his wife of four years as she held hands with some person called Ralph. He looked like, and was, an ex-jock, a bit of a bully when he could get away with it, and a successful car salesman.

"Frank, please... I'd rather not answer that," Anna said in the most compassionate voice she could muster, answering it anyway.

"Were there others?"

"Frank..."

"I mean while we were married."

"Frank, knowing that would only hurt you," she said soothingly, confirming it again.

Damn, Frank felt like a total fool, thinking he had the ideal marriage, even bragging about it when he was with his friends. Now, he had to wonder how many of them had been banging her, laughing their asses off while he praised her.

"I thought you loved me," he whimpered, hating how weak he sounded.

"And I do, you have to believe me. You are gentle, caring, loving, and I love that about you, but that's not all I want from life. Ralph is bigger, more muscular, more demanding, manlier, leading the way instead of merely suggesting things. He... he makes things happen, Frank, in all sorts of ways." His smirk and her blush left no doubt what she meant.

"And he has more money."

"And he has more money, yes. I don't want to spend my life just scraping by until it ends. I want to go places, see things, try everything life has to offer."

Frank just couldn't imagine a life without his beloved wife. She was the one and only for him. Although she had hurt him immensely, he was willing to swallow his pride, to overlook her cheating, to make a fresh start and try to mend his marriage. She was still his woman. He was willing to fight, to take some of the blame if necessary.

"Anna, I know that I've neglected you a bit to get my business started..."

"Frank, I could have worked with that if this business of yours would ever have led to anything, but it won't. You know that as well as I do."

"Anna, I love you. As soon as my business takes off we'll have plenty of money," he said, ignoring her pessimistic view.

"In a way I still love you, too, Frank," she said, almost managing to look as if she really meant it, "but that isn't enough. I'm really sorry to hurt you this way, but we're finished. Don't try to fight it; it will hurt less if you just accept it and move on."

Ralph had watched the spectacle with a smirk on his face. He could wipe the floor with Frank with one hand tied behind his back, and Frank knew it. It was far more amusing to watch Anna deliberately break his heart and his balls while still claiming to love him, in a way.

"Be good, okay? I know you will. You will find someone else soon. Goodbye, Frank," she said, gently but firmly. Frank tried to turn around before they could see his tears start to flow, but he was too late. Anna gasped and Ralph snickered.

"Ralph!" she scolded. She asked herself again if this was her best move. The decision had been made, however, and she'd have to go through with it.

*****

Four years later Anna and her husband stood in front of this huge sterile looking mansion. Both were tense; too much depended on this meeting. This was very hard for both of them. Finally, Ralph got up the nerve to ring that damn bell.

"Anna," the man opening the door said simply, not showing as much surprise as she had expected at her unannounced appearance.

"Frank? Is that you?" The guy vaguely resembled her ex-husband, but his looks just exuded money. He was clothed expensively, but casually. He had also lost a lot of fat and gained a lot of muscle and as a result, his stance was completely different. He also exuded a subtle sadness.

"Please, come in," he answered in the same neutral tone.

Tentatively, they followed him into the large foyer and into a living room. Everything was vast, modern, stylish and mostly white. The whole house looked fresh from an architecture magazine, yet it seemed lifeless. It felt like a high-end furniture store. Anna was undecided whether she should be happy about it or not. No, the more she thought about it, the more horrified she was. She had casually destroyed this man. He was obviously living alone. The house looked as if there never had been a female living there. It managed to look both expensive and depressing.

"Frank, how are you doing? How have you fared after I... after our split?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, you look good. You have plenty of money now."

"You're well informed." His tone was so damn neutral.

"Yes, we've all heard about your success. All of our old friends..."

"Are probably still laughing at me," he interrupted her.

"What? You think... Oh, no. None of them know about my... indiscretions." 'Except the ones I fucked', she thought.

"So, you've heard of my success."

"Right," Ralph spoke for the first time. Frank still couldn't stand the arrogant prick. Nonetheless, the situation had the potential to be entertaining in its own way.

"So, what do you want?" He already knew what they wanted, but he was not about to make it easy for them.

"Frank, I know that you probably don't like me all that much."

'Understatement of the year', Frank thought.

"Still, this visit is just about business and I think it will be beneficial for both of us if we can put our old differences aside."

'Oh, it surely will be beneficial for me', Frank thought.

"You see, Ralph has this business idea," Anna interjected.

"I thought you couldn't be bothered to wait for fledgling business ideas."

She just looked at him, stunned. After a few seconds she regained her composure. "Frank, please don't think that I left you for more money."

"You didn't? You said you loved me, but money was too tight and you wanted to live life to the fullest. Or something like that."

"Frank, you were the most loving, gentle man I've ever known, but you lacked decisiveness. Sometimes I needed someone to just take charge of life and of me."

"And that would be Ralph, the failed car salesman, the guy taking charge of life, right now coming to me, the indecisive wimp, begging for money."

They were both stunned. They had expected some animosity, but not these trenchant and hurtful remarks, delivered in such an irritatingly neutral tone. It was difficult to react, as what he said was so obviously true and they mustn't alienate Frank. Too much depended on this. Ralph was the first to regain his composure.

"Frank, I know we will probably never be friends because of my... well, because of what happened, but this is strictly about business, I am looking for an investor. I have this idea to be a rental manager for companies that are short of..."

"I don't care," Frank rudely interrupted him.

'That was new', Anna thought. Frank had been a remarkably polite man in the past.

"Ah... I see." Ralph tried to hide his disappointment. This was his last chance. He was facing total financial doom if Frank wouldn't help him.

"I will give you money, though."

"What?" they both exclaimed.

"I will make a deal with you, but not the one you had in mind." Frank still spoke evenly and calmly, but there was steel behind his words.

This was not the soft, compassionate and utterly harmless Frank they had left behind. Anna thought it was a shame that man seemed to be gone. In his own way, he was one in a million. He had cooked for her, had pampered her, had made gentle, sensuous love, yet somehow, he hadn't been enough for her. She had come to appreciate the old Frank more and more while living with Ralph, but now the person he'd been seemed to be gone. The motives behind her visit had been slightly different than Ralph's, though her husband didn't know that. She mainly wanted to see if there was any chance of her and Frank getting back together, but that seemed unlikely now. The man she had known seemed to be gone anyway, destroyed or at least altered, by her actions. The loss of this unique sensitive man suddenly weighed heavily upon her.

"I will give you 50.000 Euro: 25.000 in advance, 25.000 after the deal is finished. Will that suit you?"

"Wow, yes. I mean. Man, wow, 50K. That's fantastic. What do I have to do for that?"

"I will borrow Anna for four weeks."

"Oh," Ralph said meekly, surprising both Anna and Frank. There was no indignant outburst, not even a faked one to save a minimum of pride. There wasn't even any hesitation. Ralph was obviously even more desperate than Frank had expected him to be. Anna almost seemed to look pleased. "Ah... Anna? What do you think? Wait, what would be included in that?"

"I will not harm her in any way. I just want to spend a few weeks with my ex-wife. Just for old times' sake, so to speak." The smile he gave the desperate couple was small and wintry, but it was more expression than he had shown so far.

"Oh. Anna, what do you think?"

"Well, it seems it's the only option we have, right?" She tried to hide how very pleased she was with this proposal. She was almost giddy, but if Ralph sensed that, the deal would be over and the perfect chance to win back her ex-husband she had so surprisingly been given would be gone. Ralph seemed oblivious to such subtleties, as he usually was. He only saw the money, as he always did. She saw that Frank noticed everything. He was still as perceptive as he'd always been. Undoubtedly, this, combined with his intelligence, was one of the reasons for his economic success. What had she been thinking when she cheated on this dream man and left him for this poser?

"Yeah, it seems so." Ralph, too, was trying to hide his elation. This was the miracle he had been hoping for. This was the chance he needed, and he was going to make it count. He could surely do without her for a few weeks, although he would miss her terribly, and having to hand her over to her wimpy ex rankled. Even though he probably didn't show it as much as those unmanly, so called modern men such as Frank would, he really loved her. The thought of pimping her out was distasteful, but it felt like an acceptable sacrifice for their long-term future. In no time, he would be richer than even Frank was, and then the idiot would be quickly forgotten. "When would it start?"

"Your decision. You will get the 25.000 as soon as we start."

"Anna?" Ralph asked, hoping she would go along with this.

"I'd have to stay here right now? I have no clothes with me."

"Oh, don't worry. We will purchase whatever you need," Frank explained.

"We will? Oh, wow."

Ralph felt a bit uncomfortable upon hearing this. Financially, things had gone wrong ever since he had managed to lure her away from her loser husband. Money had been tight for a while now, and Anna had a shopping backlog. He couldn't compete with Frank economically, and for the first time he had an idea of how Frank must have felt when the roles had been reversed four years ago.

"Well, I guess... I... I could certainly use some cash injection as soon as possible. What do you think, honey? Would it be okay if you stayed here immediately? I don't want to think about it too much anyway, or I'll lose my nerve. Better to get over with it right now."

"Hmm, I guess..." Anna started, trying to sound more reluctant than she was. "I guess I'd be up for it."

"You don't love him anymore, do you?"

"Ralph, this is difficult enough, please let's not complicate things further by digging up old feelings and memories. Keep in mind that I'm doing this for you. That should be proof enough of my love." She spoke gently and calmly, very much as she had four years ago when she told Frank she was leaving him. She laid her hand gently on her husband's arm and looked into his eyes, willing him to believe her. She needn't have bothered: right then; he was completely blinded by greed.

"Okay then. I'll leave immediately. It's probably the easiest... hey... What about my money?"

"Oh, sure. Wait, I'll get it."

"Don't we need some kind of contract?"

"No, Ralph, that wouldn't be enforceable anyway. I will just give you the money and she stays here. Why wouldn't I trust the two of you?" Frank said, still in that maddeningly neutral tone of voice. That hurt her a bit, but, once again, Ralph didn't seem to notice. She suddenly felt a bit disgusted with him, and with herself for choosing him as her husband.

Frank was amazed at how easily they had given in. He had expected their visit and had hatched his plan a few days earlier. It had all gone more or less as expected, but he had counted on a tougher sell and a higher price. Even 100.000 or more would have been pocket change for him, and totally worth it.

Frank went to his office, retrieved 25.000 from the safe and wordlessly handed them Ralph, avoiding touching his skin. Ralph looked at the bundle as if he had just won the lottery. Frank knew it wouldn't last long. He was deeper in debt than Japan, and his so-called business plan was laughable. Still, it was his last hope, and he clutched at it.

"Okay, man. Thanks, I guess..."

"You can leave now, Ralph."

"Yeah, yeah. I just want to kiss her goodbye, you know?"

"No. She's mine now. You have the money, the four weeks have already begun."

"What? Oh, okay." Amazing. Nothing hinted at the arrogant, ruthless prick anymore who had taken away his wife. He was already a defeated man and more bad news were surely about to come. This guy was carrying around a big, blinking neon sign saying "loser." Frank thought that he probably at least suspected that himself, and he almost pitied him. "Okay, I'd better leave, then." Amazingly, that's what he did, without further fuss or another word. Frank returned to where Anna was waiting.

"Ah, there you are. Where's Ralph?" She carefully avoided using the word 'husband'.

Instead of answering, he just approached her, took her head in his hands and kissed her deeply and passionately, meeting no resistance at all. After a short hesitation, she was even enthusiastically participating. Yes, she remembered, no one could kiss like Frank. She also remembered that no one could massage her feet like him, no one could match his cooking skills and no one could make tender and caring love like him. All he lacked four years ago was that tiny bit of male aggressiveness and forcefulness, but she was certain he'd have it now. And, of course, money.

As he was starting to finish what she perceived as the kiss of the century, she was reluctant to let him go; her pussy was already tingling.

"Wow," she finally exclaimed, still a little out of breath. "Wow. You've surely not forgotten how to do this."

"I haven't had much training, though."

"Don't tell me..."

"No one. You're the last woman I've touched."

"Oh my God. Oh Frank... I didn't know... I feel..." She looked genuinely shocked.

"Doesn't matter. You can make it up to me now."

Her smile was back in full force. "Oh yeah. Boy, am I going to. When are we going to start? You seem to own me now."

"I do. We start right now."

To her surprise, he just scooped her up easily and carried his happily squealing purchase through the house, obviously headed towards one of the bedrooms. His recently gained muscles turned her on immensely. They were undressed in record time and were hungrily all over each other. Anna couldn't believe how good it felt to make love again after such a long time. Sex with Ralph had been good, as well, but the tender touches, the expert pussy licking, the loving kisses were something she had missed fiercely without even allowing herself to think about it. She was starved for this, for his unselfish way of pleasing his woman. She was resolved to be that woman again in the future. No, she wasn't going to let him get away. This time, she was going to make it count, she thought, just before her mind was cleared by her second climax from his expert tongue.

Before she could return the favor, he already started to mount her in missionary position. She realized that she was now used to giving blow jobs all the time. That was what Ralph demanded and what she willingly gave him, frequently. She also remembered that Frank wasn't used to this, and that was probably why she didn't even have a chance to do it this time. Damn, she really had been a bitch back then. She had lost her respect for him due to his unselfish, caring nature. How crazy was that? She was determined to make it up to him in spades. Just as he entered her, she thought how amazing it was that he had taken her back this gracefully, without much accusation, with open arms. She also realized, approvingly, that his movements during sex were more forceful and demanding than they had been four years ago. This was perfect: the old Frank with a slight dose of Ralph and a lot more money. What a man, was her last thought before his expert fucking sent her into a state of mindless bliss.

After they both lay there for a few moments, holding each other in post-coital bliss, she finally was able to speak again.

"Boy, did I... need that." She caught herself before saying how much she had missed that. Better avoid the past as much as she could, she decided. "That was the best sex ever," and she meant it.

"Yeah, that was quite all right, wasn't it? Hell, that was just great, Anna."

"Yes." To his surprise, a few tears ran down her face. "Thank you, Frank. For everything."

He just nodded and she wasn't able to decipher his expression. Something had changed, but she couldn't tell what. Overall, everything was just great.

"Sooo, my lady. It's four in the afternoon. What do we do with the rest of the day?"

"Oh, I feel so nice. I think I could just relax and..."

"Shopping?" he interrupted her. He knew that would invigorate her. It always had.

She was fully awake immediately. "You think we could?"

"Hmmm, I think..." he inserted a dramatic pause "just do it."

"Whooohoo. Okay, I'm racing you to the shower."

She jumped out of the bed like a maniac, smiling happily.

"By the way, where is the shower?"

She was looking around, still a bit puzzled by the sheer size of the house and even this bedroom.

"That door..."

"Wow." The bathroom alone was as big as Ralph's living room. A tub was standing quite lonely in the center of the room. There was a ground level shower without a stall next to the enormous window, providing a spectacular view. Holy crap, she could get used to this. No, she would get used to this, she grinned inwardly. She would make sure to never lose her grip on that wonderful man again.

*****

The ensuing shopping trip satisfied her remaining female needs completely. After mindlessly spending a few thousand Euro on clothes and female necessities, she again saw how much she would enjoy her new life with her old love. No worries, no bargain hunting, no justifications, no discussions. It was so simple this way: she wanted something, she got it.

At about seven o'clock they chose a top-notch restaurant, and she was almost giggling with happiness upon realizing that the prices didn't faze Frank in the least. That was surely working for her. Annoyingly, Ralph interrupted her new state of bliss by calling her on her old low-cost Android phone. She just clicked him away. Not now, she thought, before smiling lovingly at Frank again.

*****

Anna had no problem at all settling into this life style. In no time, a shiny new cabriolet was parked in the garage for her use, her wardrobe was completely renewed and she had a brand-new iPhone. They had sex at least once a day and it was still as amazing as it had been the first time. For a man who claimed to have had no sex for four years, he sure had improved vastly, or maybe she had changed? Maybe she now appreciated him for what he always had been? Maybe she respected him more because of his wealth? It didn't matter, everything was just great.