The bar in 54 West was packed two deep when Kim got there after leaving work on Friday. She spotted her husband, Rick talking to his best friend, Rob and another woman at the far end of the bar. This must be the enigmatic Alison that Rob had been seeing for the past month, she thought to herself.
Kim did a quick appraisal as she approached the trio. The woman was tall, maybe five ten, and model thin. She had beautiful shoulder length brown hair enhanced with subtle highlights. She was dressed casually, but in very tasteful clothes. Her skinny jeans looked like they were painted on, and her white cotton blouse was smartly tailored. The first impression was very flattering.
Rob was facing her direction, and spotted Kim first. His face broke into a wide smile as he told Rick that she had arrived. Rob then glanced nervously at the girl at his side, as all three of them turned towards the newcomer.
Kim first gave her husband Rick a generous kiss on the lips and a warm hug, then she turned to Rob and gave him a similar greeting. Finally, she turned to Rob's friend and extended her hand with a smile.
"Hi, I'm Kim Anderson, Rick's wife." she said.
Alison smiled back at Kim and shook her hand, saying simply "Alison," by way of introduction.
Rob quickly waved the bartender over and asked for a special bottle of wine to be opened, because he knew it was Kim's favorite. The group exchanged pleasantries, and now both girls busied themselves with assessments of each other.
Kim had already gotten as much information about Alison as she could from Rob. She had carefully probed and inquired over the course of several conversations to piece together a picture of the new woman in his life.
She knew, for instance, that Alison was thirty-four, five years younger than Rob, childless and once divorced. She was the HR manager for the regional office of a national software and consulting company based downtown. She had recently moved to the area to take her current position, and went to the same gym as Rob, which is where he met her.
Rob had been seeing Alison for about a month, which qualified as a major accomplishment for Alison. Kim knew that Rob tried to avoid romantic entanglements with women, and she acknowledged that her strange relationship with Rob was one of the main reasons for that. She had been having sex with Rob, with her husband's knowledge, consent, and occasional participation, for several years.
Kim was happy that Rob had met a woman that he seemed to click with. She worried sometimes that her relationship with him had grown too emotionally dependent on his part. While she loved him as a dear friend, she was committed to her husband and their marriage. The sexual component had been a result of experimentation with others that she and Rick got into, and found they enjoyed. Rob seemed like a perfect partner to both of them. They were all friends before they became sexually involved, and Rob was very much the swinging bachelor at the time they decided to include him in their lifestyle. Above everything else, Kim wanted Rob to be happy, and she knew that probably meant him finding another woman and settling down with her. Kim would miss the wonderful romantic liaisons with him, however.
Alison had been looking forward to meeting Kim almost since she met Rob. On their very first date Rob received a strange phone call from Kim, and though it sounded like an ordinary friendship between Rob and this other couple when he described it, Alison had a feeling there was more to it. In the period since that first date, there had been other hints and clues. Rob talked about Kim and Rick both in glowing terms, but he seemed to have a special affection for Kim. Rob informed Alison that Kim was planning a birthday blowout for him, to celebrate his turning forty in another week. Rob was also evasive about his past romantic interests, but spoke frequently about how much time he spent with Rick and Kim.
At first, Alison was convinced that Rob was having an affair with Kim. However, the more Rob talked about the couple, the less that explanation seemed to fit. Rob frequently spoke about Kim and Rick's relationship in glowing terms, finally admitting that it was the kind of marriage that he wanted, too. When Alison asked him what it was about his friend's union that he most admired, Rob couldn't articulate it. It made no sense to Alison for him to talk like that if he was having an affair with Kim.
Alison was usually very good at reading people. It was almost mandatory to be successful in her line of work, and she was sure there was a missing element that would answer her questions, if she could just put her finger on it. She decided to watch this beautiful girl carefully, because all the clues to the missing element pointed to her.
Kim could feel Alison's eyes on her as the evening progressed, She knew that Alison was confused about Rob and was hoping to get answers from her, but she was also pretty sure he had not told her anything about their relationship. She found herself liking Alison as they talked and got to know each other. Alison was pretty and smart, and she seemed to treat Rob well, which was important to Kim.
The conversation devolved into two, one between the guys, whose attention was now being drawn to the TV over the bar where the basketball finals were on, and a more quiet conversation between Kim and Alison that Alison steered into personal relationship territory.
Alison finally decided to address the problem head on, like she would with one at work involving two co-workers. She looked at Kim and said, "Rob and I are having a lot of fun together. He is such an outgoing guy, and he really knows how to sweep a girl off her feet, but he is holding back on me when it comes to his feelings."
Kim felt compassion for Alison, and knew she could provide the answer that she was looking for, but she didn't want to ruin the relationship for Rob if the truth was going to be a deal breaker for Alison. She considered how to deal with the problem.
"You need to know a few things about Rob," she started. "He is a wonderful guy. He is generous, loving, and will give you the shirt off his back once he trusts you as a friend. He is kind of guarded around women though.
I'm sure he told you that he built his business from nothing. He started with a pickup truck and a crew of day laborers and created a successful real estate development company. Once he became successful, a lot of women went after him. He realized most of them were after his money, and he built emotional defenses to protect himself. He told me he met you at the gym, and that makes sense to me. He could approach you there and assume you would think he was just a jock. I think he probably felt that it gave him a more accurate idea of whether you were interested in him, not knowing he had money."
Kim paused, and Alison pondered Kim's explanation.
"I am sure you are right." Alison admitted. "When I met Rob at the gym, well, I was thinking of having a mainly physical relationship with him."
Alison blushed, causing Kim to laugh out loud.
"Honey, you don't have to explain yourself to me on that subject. Rob is one gorgeous hunk," Kim said. She glanced at the guys, who were paying no attention to the girls. She added conspiratorially, "If I wasn't married to Rick, I would be all over Rob myself."
Alison smiled, glad that she was getting Kim to open up with the help of the wine they were both enjoying. She decided to go for broke and see how Kim reacted.
"Actually, at first I thought you and Rob were having an affair." she said to Kim.
Kim stopped laughing, and realized she had put herself in a corner. She didn't want to lie to Alison, but she didn't think she was ready to hear the whole truth yet either. She decided to tell an evasive truth, and see if that would satisfy Alison for the time being.
"I have never had sex with Rob, or any other man, behind my husband's back." she said carefully.
Alison sensed that Kim was being truthful, and apologized, "I'm sorry, now that I know you I don't feel that way, it was just an initial impression. Maybe I am a little jealous of how close all of you are, since I am just getting to know Rob."
Kim relaxed and put her hand on Alison's arm. "Don't worry about it, I like you and want you to become closer to Rob, too. He deserves to meet a nice girl and settle down."
Kim decided to turn the tables on Alison, "I mean, the problem is just the emotional part, right? You guys are doing okay with the physical relationship, aren't you?"
Alison blushed again at the directness of the question. Even though it was very personal, she knew that she had given Kim the opening with her own inquiry about an affair. She also had a strange feeling of Kim challenging her with the question.
"Absolutely no problems there!" she stated, adding sotto voce, "the man is insatiable. He would take me every time he sees me, if I let him."
The two women smiled at each other, each feeling that they had gained an understanding of the other, and an insight into Rob's relationship with them. Alison was glad to have an ally in her pursuit of Rob, and Kim was happy to see that Rob was apparently entering a romance with Alison, and not holding out hope for a relationship with her that would never happen.
Kim was feeling antsy, so she suggested to the guys that they skip dinner and find a club to go to. The group had been snacking on appetizers during happy hour, so the guys were in favor of the idea. Rob insisted on driving, and after he picked up the tab for the group they followed him outside to his car.
They talked about where to go as they walked to where he was parked. Rob pointed out that it was still too early for most of the dance clubs, so he suggested the jazz bar that was his favorite hang out. Kim didn't say anything, but she was a bit apprehensive at his suggestion to return to the place where she and Rob had entertained his business associate so recently while Rick was out of town on business. Rick knew about it, of course, but a comment from one of the workers at the club could further confuse Alison and invite more questions.
When they arrived, Rob jumped out of the car at the curb and came around to open the doors for the girls. An employee of the club appeared to park the car for them, and the four entered the lounge. There was a different band playing than the one from their last visit, but they got the same premiere booth location due to Rob's generosity in tipping the hostess. No one who worked there commented on Rob and Kim's last visit, though Kim could tell that the hostess recognized her when their eyes met. Once again, Rob's generosity when dealing with people proved useful.
When they slid into the booth, they ended up boy, girl, boy, girl, with Kim and Rob together in the center and Rick and Alison on either side of them. The waitress promptly collected their drink order, and left them in an awkward silence.
"Tell me how you guys all got to know each other." Alison said.
The guys, true to form, both looked at Kim with an expectation that she would handle the task. "I met Rick when I was a senior in college," she explained, "at a party a friend of ours threw. Rick stopped by with one of his buddies who was seeing the girl who hosted the party. Since we were both there as singles, we started talking and ended up pouring our life stories out to one another over the course of the next four hours. Rick finally asked me out on a date at the end of the night. I think sticking my tongue down his throat just before he left sealed the deal on that one."
Kim smiled at Rick and he gave an embarrassed grin, as everyone chuckled.
"Rick and Rob have known each other since childhood. Rick was best friends with Rob's older brother, Jeff." Kim added.
Amanda turned to Rob and said, "I remember you mentioning your sister, but you didn't tell me that you had an older brother, too?"
Rob looked at the table and said, "He died in an accident while I was in high school."
Amanda's hand flew to her mouth and she said, "Oh Rob, I am so sorry... I didn't have any idea."
Rob pulled her hand away from her mouth and held it in both of his. "It's okay, I should have mentioned him to you before, but it's not easy for me to talk about."
