Julie Hines sat in stunned silence, unable to believe the words that spewed from her husband's mouth. "You want me to do what?"
Bill Hines made a gesture with his hand. "No big deal, just have sex with the Greg McKenzie."
"No big deal, huh?" She looked at him as if he were an inmate from an asylum. He had always been an off-the-wall guy, but this- "You're crazy, you know that? Why should I screw another man? What's wrong with
our
sex life?"
Bill sipped his coffee. "Well, it's kind'a shrinking, wouldn't you say?"
Her mouth dropped open. "What? You're the only one that's shrinking. Besides, how
would me having sex with another man help?"
"I dunno. Just thought it'd be exciting for you." He paused. "Wasn't the sex you had with your uncle and brother exciting?"
Julie looked down at her folded hands, trying to hide the flush of embarrassment. "That happened before we got married."
"I know, but that doesn't make it less exciting. C'mom, whadda got to lose?"
"Only my self-respect." Julie shook her head. "No, I don't think I can do it."
Bill nodded and pushed away from the table. "Well, just thought-"
"Wait a minute! Does Greg know about this?"
He hesitated. "Well . . . sort'a."
She looked away. "I might have known."
"Look," Bill said, getting up from the table, "take the rest of the week and think about it?"
"I don't have to think about it. No!"
Julie waited for a few minutes after Bill went to bed, then poured a glass of wine. Something about this didn't smell right. What would her husband gain by this? As she sipped her drink, visions of having sex with Greg McKenzie intruded her thoughts. More than eight years had passed since she had a strange cock inside her. How he would feel inside her?
Like a mental light switch, her thoughts turned to the incestuous affairs she had with her brother and uncle. They were delicious times she tried to forget, yet the illicit sex kept breaching to the forefront of her mind.
The week passed with agonizing indecisions. Each hour, each day, the same questions rumbled through her brain. If she went through with this, would Greg be pleased with her? Was she beautiful enough? Would he be satisfied with her small breasts? Could she do all the things to him that she did with her husband? She doubted any of this would make a difference. Men were men. Still the same questions rolled off her silent lips, until the more she tried to make sense of it all, the more indecisive she became. But after much probing and urging from Bill, she reluctantly decided to go through with it.
Delighted, he and Greg installed a gate in the rear side fence. Now they could go to each other's house without being seen from the street. But it didn't matter. They owned the only two houses at the end of a short cul-d-sac.
Friday evening-8:30. Flashes of lightning heralded the approach of another thunderstorm. Bill escorted Julie across the backyard. At the gate, she paused and gave him a nervous smile, then passed through the gate without saying a word.
Greg stood on his large deck and watched her hurry across the lawn, trying to dodge the pellets of rain drops. The jiggling beneath her peasant blouse revealed no bra. "Hi," he said as she mounted the two steps. He put an arm around her narrow waist and led her through the sliding glass doors into the family room.
Julie stood like a zombi, arms dangling by her sides. She felt as though a giant tape worm had taken residency in her stomach. For the hundredth time she wondered if this was all a big mistake. Did she have the nerve to go through with this, despite what her husband said? Yet, in spite of the fascination, the image of an unfaithful wife gnawed at her soul.
Her heart raced as Greg ushered her down the hallway. When they came to a set of double doors, he stood aside and gestured toward the open door. She stepped in.
Her breath locked in her throat. The master bedroom bore the look of a celestial love chamber. She took it all in-the soft red lights splashing up from behind the tufted burgundy headboard, the beveled mirrored ceiling that reflected the king-size pedestal bed below. Outside, the storm howled, and the distorted shadows of twisting limbs and leaves dancing across the back of the satin drapes served only to underscore the seductive scene.
While Greg went to the kitchen to make them a drink, Julie moved to the end of the bed. She dragged the fingers of one hand over the heavy red quilt, wondering if tomorrow morning would be troweled with layers of guilt. Using her toes, she pried off her flats and, with a sigh, lowered herself on the edge of the bed.
A few more minutes oozed by before Greg returned with their brandies. He handed Julie her drink and sat beside her. They sipped in silence. As anxious moments passed, the storm had intensified, and the wind pushing through the slats of the fence howled a mournful song. She couldn't believe this-about to fuck another man.
"Nervous?" Greg asked.
"Yes," she said softly, and let a kernel of time pass. "I've never done this before. Bill is the only man I've ever had."