This contains sex outside of marraige and is not a BTB story. it is about coming to an understanding. No characters under 18 are represented.
Beth was always happy. Ben could tell how happy by whether she hummed or sang. Today she was singing as she put the clean clothes away. Even though she had on headphones she was perfectly on key. He'd noticed that most times when people sang along with headphones they were horribly off-key, but not his beautiful wife. She was perfect...in every way.
He wondered often what she saw in him as he knew she was out of his league. He was a nice guy, 5' 10", 150 pounds. Not funny but not dry either. He had a lot going for him in other ways. He was bright and could fix anything, then he knew languages, 7 to be exact and when they'd traveled he sounded like a native.
Beth, or Elizabeth, was a 10. At 5' 11" she was an inch taller but hated heels so that was rarely an issue. Perfect hourglass figure, what her measurements were he just suspected, but she was blessed with large breasts (he knew what these were, 36D), a narrow waist, and a wonderfully full ass on her flared hips. She was two years older than Ben but graduated from college at the same time. He never asked, and she never discussed why she was delayed.
What he loved most was she had the most positive attitude he'd ever come across. She saw the good in everyone, giving even the worst people they'd met the benefit of the doubt. She was as happy and enthusiastic in bed as she was in her normal life.
* * *
Ben had just graduated from Yale and rather than feeling excited he was feeling despondent. His girlfriend of 11 years had broken up with him the night before they both graduated. Broken up wasn't what exactly happened. They'd gone to a graduation party and she disappeared. He found out from a friend that she'd left with one of her professors and never came home. The next and last time he saw her she was arm in arm with the 50-year-old Sociology professor walking across campus the next day.
When he got back to their apartment, all her stuff was gone leaving just a letter and her ring apologizing. He found out from her best friend that she and the professor had been carrying on an affair since her freshman year and he was leaving his wife for her. He never suspected she'd been fucking another man multiple times a week. The professor wanted to avoid a scandal by waiting until she graduated and went to the party to tell her he left his wife.
Ben was loading up the rental barely aware of what he was doing. He picked up the box containing his books and the bottom ripped out, the contents crashing onto the sidewalk. On top was a framed picture he always liked, the glass shattered. This was too much and he fell to the ground sobbing. He hadn't cried since he was 6 or 7 but he hadn't forgotten how. He was sitting with his head between his knees trying to stifle his sobs when he felt gentle hands pull him against her body.
Elizabeth Reynolds had been heading to her car when she heard the crash and the agonizing cry. She thought she should keep walking but seeing a man in pain, she went over and sat next to him. She pulled him against her and stroked his head. She wondered what caused this breakdown remembering times she'd been similarly affected. She felt deep affection for those who comforted her. When her father was killed in action, she'd collapsed in the girl's bathroom bawling her eyes out until Sharon Evans came in and held her tight.
The strange thing about that was Sharon was more likely to be found with a switchblade than with a tissue but the girl held her and stroked her hair until she cried out. They both missed their next classes but Sharon just held her and rocked her. She never asked what happened. They never really talked again, though they nodded at each other in the hallways. Sharon hung with a pretty rough crowd, Beth, on the other hand, was the school beauty and usually with some guy.
Then a year later, her mother was diagnosed with cancer, and a week after that she died. She remembered lying on the bed holding her mother tight until hands pulled her away. Then a large black nurse held her close as the other nurses pulled the sheet up over her mother's face. That was the last time she'd seen the person she loved most in the world. She had no memory of graduation but had her diploma proving she showed up. She had to get away, had to find out who she was without her parents. She felt as if her family was ripped away from her...as if she no longer had a name.
Comforting someone else felt right, felt as if she were paying it forward.
Ben remembered finally getting hold of himself and pulling away, apologizing profusely. Then he saw who was holding him and was stunned. She had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He wiped the tears off his cheeks with his sleeves and started to stand up but she stopped him.
"Sit," she said softly. Her tee shirt was damp and the concrete could not have been comfortable but she pulled him close again. "You don't need to say anything but you need to get yourself mentally ready to drive. If you feel another wave of sadness when you're driving that thing..." she tapped the bumper of the truck, "you could be killed."
After 10 minutes, Beth, as she preferred to be called, helped him rebox and pack the remainder of his things in the truck. Then after locking the truck, he asked her to dinner, suggesting if she accepted it might be better if they went in her car rather than the rental truck.
As they sipped their drinks, Ben nodded at the beautiful blonde, "I'm guessing you want to know what made a grown man cry," he said softly.
Beth shook her head, "only if you want to tell me. There are some things people prefer to be kept private, others that sharing helps them unburden. Whatever you would like."
Ben told her about meeting Amy in 6th grade at a sock hop. He saw her bright red hair from across the room as she was standing alone under a light. He couldn't describe why but he was drawn to her. She was a slender gangly girl but when he asked her to dance, her face lit up.
They were inseparable all through school and she morphed into a rare beauty. The alphas in the school tried to take her away but none succeeded. They both were accepted at Yale which was perfect. Ben knew that they'd be married right after graduation. He knew that Amy loved him unconditionally.
What he didn't know was she also fell head over heels for her Sociology professor her freshman year. Ben was surprised she'd declared her major so early, especially as it was Comparative Sociology rather than Poly-Sci which was all she'd talked about. He never questioned her meeting with her faculty advisor either, though he often wondered why she never mentioned his name. It wasn't Dr. Wallace or Drake Wallace, it was her Advisor. "I'm going to be a bit late, I have a session with my Advisor."
Junior year, he proposed and she gleefully said yes, putting the ring on her finger. He then shook his head fighting tears, "She held it up to the light, the biggest smile on her face as she admired it, then she kissed me and told me we were going to celebrate after she had her meeting with her Advisor." He took a deep breath and another sip of beer.
Beth couldn't believe a woman would be so cold and she wouldn't have blamed the boy if he threw the beer glass across the room, but he got hold of himself.
"She was late coming back so I was already asleep. She was almost drunk. She told me she was so thrilled she had to show off her ring to her friends who demanded they go get a drink which became two. Then other friends showed up. How fucking stupid was I?" he asked.
Beth shook her head, "I'm guessing Amy's a sociopath. There'd be no signs of guilt since there'd be no feelings of guilt. But, Damn! That's really cold. I still don't get why she accepted the ring, said she'd marry you if..."
"I know, all I can surmise is she assumed the professor would never leave his wife and I was a good fallback. Sucks to be someone's 2nd choice."
