[Unlike many Loving Wives stories, I don't think this one will leave you mad, sad, or ill. I'm pretty happy with it, but I'd like to know what other folks think. Please leave feedback and comments. Thanks for reading.]
"I'm George, but my friends call me Cam," he said to the middle aged man sitting at the lunch counter next to him.
"Camp?"
"No, Cam, without the 'p'. It's a long story."
The two men were eating in a tiny diner in Texas that would have been more typical in New England. They'd seen each other there before, but this was the first time they'd spoken. Cam was a bit shorter, younger and less stocky than the other man, Billy. Cam had just sat down at the only available spot in the place, and in Texas, it's pretty normal to jump into a conversation with a total stranger. Actually, having seen each other before, they weren't really total strangers.
Cam was a good talker, but mostly he was a very good listener. He vacuumed up tidbits of information from everyone he met, and he put it all in the vault. Later, he would reconstruct what he thought someone's life was like from these tidbits, and he was pretty accurate most times. He had the knack of all con men to fit in with whomever he was with. This rare ability had led to the creation of his personal fortune, which was considerable, and which allowed him to be retired at just barely 40 years of age.
All through lunch, Cam subtly milked data from Billy, who was totally unaware of what was happening. Billy was like that. All of his personality was right there on the surface, and he was wide open to the world. By the end of the meal, Cam knew that Billy's wife Laura was a librarian, that they had no kids because she couldn't conceive, that they owned a nice little house in a certain part of town, and that he owned a nice custom cabinet shop. From intuition, Cam also was sure that something was not quite right at home, and that it probably had something to do with twenty years of marriage and midlife crises.
Cam had also planted information in Billy's brain. Cam conveyed that he had independent means (he was not really wealthy, but comfortable), that he was unattached but quite a student of women and their psychology, and that he was a fun guy know.
"Hey, man, it was good to meet cha. I come in here most Mondays for lunch, so I might see you again sometime." Cam shook Billy's hand as he left. It was a good, strong, manly handshake.
-----
"Baby, what's wrong? We haven't had sex for a couple of weeks, and it's Saturday night. I took you out to dinner. I would think that would count for something, but now you say you're all tired and you just wanna talk."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm just not in the mood right now. I've got things on my mind. I just wish you'd hold me and talk to me for awhile. Maybe I'll feel more like it in a bit."
So Billy held her in his arms on the couch. Within half an hour, he fell asleep while Laura continued to talk. When she heard him snoring, she extricated herself from his arms and plodded off to bed. Before she dropped off to sleep, she rubbed herself to a mild and relatively unsatisfactory climax.
Their Saturday nights had gone like this a lot over the past couple of years. After Laura passed 40, especially. Billy just kept on plugging along, but that 40th birthday had a stronger effect on Laura. Her sex drive had actually picked up in recent years, but it was different now. She had great orgasms when she had time to work up to them, and she liked the buildup almost as much as the climax. But when she was rushed, the ending was often a letdown. And Billy was always in a rush.
-----
When Billy walked into the G/M Diner the following Monday, there was Cam seated at one of the few small tables in the place. Cam waved him over and they shook hands before Billy sat down.
It turned into a fairly long lunch as Cam worked more and more details out of Billy. He was so sympathetic, such an understanding friend, as if they were old buddies. He interjected just enough to keep the conversation going in the direction he wanted.
"Man, I don't like where this marriage is headed. I still got needs, you know? And I still love Laura, and I think she loves me. We just don't connect like we used to. She used to be all over me in the old days. She's still a beauty. But I don't want to just look at her for the next 30 years, you know?"
"Buddy, I know exactly what you mean. I'm tellin' you, man, I knew a couple just like you guys a few years ago. Hittin' middle age and gettin' out of sync sexually. It looked like they were headed for a split, or a long dry spell, anyways. Lucky for them they figured a way out of it."
Billy perked up at this last bit.
"Tell me, man, what did they do?"
"You're gonna think this is crazy, and it may be. But it worked out for them. I know. I talked to 'em a couple of weeks ago, and they're happier than ever."
"Come on, man. Gimme the details."
"Well, if you think you can handle 'em. Understand, this is not for everybody. Most people wouldn't even attempt it, but maybe most people don't have as good a relationship underneath everything as you guys do," Cam replied.
Billy just nodded and looked at Cam expectantly.
"They thought about a therapist, and they actually gave one a try, but it didn't work out. The therapist was fine for the lady. Wanted them to talk everything to death and work sex back in a tiny bit at a time. The guy got bored with the whole thing. In the end, they got somebody to get involved with them at a more, shall we say, basic level. Think 'threesome'."
"What do you mean? They got some gal to have sex with both of 'em?"
"Not a gal. A second guy. Me."
Billy sat back, his arms out to the sides, smiling and looking very skeptical.
"Oh, man, I thought you were serious for awhile. You had me going. Get outta here with that stuff."
"It's true, man. It changed their lives. I told you I was a student of women and relationships. I understand people. I'm a good mediator, if I do say so myself. I'm not saying it would work for you. I'm just saying it worked for my friends."
Billy sat stunned. He had never considered the idea of another person sharing his marriage bed. Well, he had thought a time or two about having two women. What man hasn't fantasized that? But another guy? Fucking his wife? Billy didn't think he could ever handle that.
"I don't know, Cam. I don't think I could ever share Laura with another man. She's too precious. And you know, I don't think she would ever agree to it, either."
Cam leaned in and spoke low and serious.
"I understand, buddy. It's a big decision. I mean, the payoff could be like hittin' the jackpot, in terms of your future and your relationship. But it takes a real secure and confident guy to pull it off. Or some wimpy guy who likes being humiliated. We both know you're not one of those wimpy types. You'd just have to decide if this was right for you."
"Hey, man. I gotta go back to work now. Lemme get your phone number."
