Chapter 3
I was still trying to figure out what was starting to take place in my wife and my relationship with the advent of our trainer Trace. Call me suspicious, or paranoid, but I felt that I was watching my lovely wife become infatuated with our young neighbor.
After hanging up the phone and agreeing to have him over for dinner and relaxing, I headed back to the shower. Rochelle was finishing drying off from her shower, and looked intently at herself in the mirror - inspecting her changing body.
"Looking good there babe!" I stepped into the tub and drew the curtain.
"Think so?"
"Absolutely! I always thought you did - it's just firmer now. And a lot sexier!" I spoke louder due to the shower running.
"Oh, I don't know. I still feel fat, but I AM noticing the difference since we started taking better care of ourselves and exercising."
"You will always be perfect in my eyes - no matter what you look like."
"That's so sweet! I love you Tom, but you're just saying that because we're married - and you know that I'll put out because of your endearing words."
"Believe what you want - but it's true."
"So, are we still having dinner poolside tonight?" she queried.
"That's the plan. Are you good with that?"
"Sure. Did Trace say he was joining us?"
"He did...." I drew it out longer as if I was asking a question.
"What?"
"Why the sudden interest in his joining us?"
"Oh nothing, I was just curious if he said he could or couldn't make it for dinner."
"He said he decided to take us up on the offer."
"Good," there seemed to be a grin attached to that response.
"Good? ....... Implying?" I kept trying to dig.
"Good that he doesn't have to be alone since his parents are going away and his girlfriend recently dumped him, so I think it would be good for him to get that out of his mind."
"Fair enough....and that's it?"
"What else would I mean by it?"
"Never mind - it's just paranoia on my part."
"Paranoia? Like you're jealous of him? Seriously?!!"
I shut off the water and drew the curtain "Well, yeah. Didn't we just talk about it when you were
showering?"
"Honey...awe, that's so sweet, but you don't need to be jealous. That whole interaction at the gym was totally spontaneous, and there is no way a 20 year old would be interested in a woman that's close to his mom's age!"
"Uh, yeah"
"What does that mean?"
"You are thinking with your heart, and not like a guy. I was 20 yrs old at one point too."
"What, you had the hots for one of your friend's moms?"
"As a matter of fact, I don't even think I was 20, maybe 17, and yes, Sean's mom was HOT!!!"
"Really?!"
"You're just assuming that because you're on the older end of the equation that he wouldn't be
interested. Granted, it wouldn't be on the relational level that women so much dream about, just sheer hormones from his perspective."
There was a long pause as if she was trying to digest it.
"So, are you going to tell me that you NEVER had a crush on one of your friend's dads, or maybe you babysat for someone where the husband was a hunk?"
"Well..." she finally admitted.
"See? And you're going to tell me that it was LOVE?"
"Okay, I see your point. But there is no WAY that Trace is like that."
I smiled and laughed out loud "SURE..."
We both agreed to let it go as we got dressed. I hurried to fire up the grill, and get dinner started. Rochelle readied the table by the pool; all three place settings. This was going to be a
relaxing weekend with my wife.
"So, where do you want to go for our reward?" I asked as I flipped the chicken.
"I've always wanted to go to LA to tour the photography galleries they have there."
"Hmm. I may even enjoy that myself. Why don't you start looking at which ones you'd like to visit, and we'll plan a trip within the next month or two?"
"That would be awesome!" as she beamed with delight.
"Hello." The call came from across the yard.
We both looked and saw Trace walking towards us from his house.
"Welcome," we said in unison.
"Your timing is perfect for dinner." I removed both chicken and vegetables from the grill and on to the serving tray.
"I brought along a bottle of Merlot. I hope it's the right kind." He handed it to Rochelle.
"You didn't have to do this," she said as she took the bottle from him and gently grasped his arm with the other hand.
"It's only proper."
"Quite the gentleman there Mr. Trace," I said as we all headed towards the table to eat our luscious dinner. "Please, take a seat, and we can dig in."
"Thank you."
Dinner was awesome; both the food and the conversation. Trace is soft spoken and he's
got a good head on his shoulders. I was impressed with his demeanor and courtesy. It was the first
time that we got to spend some personal time with him away from the gym. Not that we didn't know
him in a personal setting; it was usually when he was with his girlfriend Amy that we got to know him. We asked him about school, what his plans were for his future, hobbies other than the gym, and then Rochelle had to go there.....
"So, I'm sorry if I was too pushy in the gym, but I was just curious as to why Amy decided to reclassify your relationship to 'just friends'?"
"Uumm. Well...," he looked at her first, and then at me, "I'm not sure I completely understand myself."
"That's terrible. She didn't actually tell you why?"
"Yes and no."
"What? So what was it that she did say?"
I decided I should jump in, "Hey babe, look, let's just let it go. I can see that it's too uncomfortable for...." I was cut short mid sentence by Trace.
"No, it's okay," he said moving forward on his seat.
"Trace, honey, it's okay. Tom's right, we don't need to pry. Besides, tonight was supposed to be getting your mind OFF of it, not scrutinizing your relationship. Women just always want to know." She placed her hand on top of his. I noticed that her hand, which is relatively small to begin with, was dwarfed by his huge mitt. Hmmm....I never realized his hands were so large.
"It's okay Mrs. Hunter, I should talk about it."
"Not until I clean off the table and break open that wine," she said with a glimmer in her eyes.
We all stood up and took our respective dinnerware into the kitchen, opened the wine, and poured a glass for each of us. Casually we strolled back to the pool, and each one of us reclined on a lounge while our conversation continued.
"So, as much as I thought we were getting along, she said that it wasn't working for her. She really liked me, and we had fun together, but ...." his voice trailed off as he searched for the right words. "It's just that when we became intimate, it wasn't right. God, this IS kind of embarrassing."
"Awe, sweetie, I think I understand. It's just that she felt things were going too fast, and she wanted to wait for marriage or something like that?"
"No......not quite." He shifted in his seat.
"Okay, now I am TOTALLY lost."
"We were fine; or so I thought. It's just that when we tried physically it didn't work."
Both Rochelle and I looked at each other pretty much realizing what Trace said without saying it. I replied back to him for both of us.
"Okay Trace, I think we understand, but my question is; was Amy a virgin?" I shifted in my seat.
A chuckle escaped from him. "No. She wasn't a virgin."
I laughed out loud. "Weeellll, ....okay then. Anyone want some more wine?" as I took the bottle to fill my own glass. Trace held out his glass but quickly diverted his eyes from me, knowing that I understood that he truly was gifted in the cock department. That was different; he blushed like he was embarrassed by the revelation. I smiled back and gave him a wink as I refilled his glass. I guess what Rochelle said earlier in the shower was just confirmed by the owner himself.
"Babe, would you like some more?"
Rochelle was daydreaming when she looked up at me and smiled holding out her glass. "Yes please."
I sat back down in my lounge chair, and everyone all of the sudden had absolutely nothing to say. We just all stared at the pool, and smiled at each other courteously. It was a tense environment; we realized what had just transpired.
Rochelle broke the ice. "So Trace, what do you have planned for your weekend since mom and dad are out of town?"
"Nothing really."
"No big party with friends or anything?"