This is a fictional story about a young adult who joins a Master's Swim team full of older men.
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CHAPTER XIII.V - NINE TIMES BLUE
It was dark. The day of fun in the sun was done and, as he waved goodbye to the last of his friends as they drove out of the marina, Geoff looked around and found himself alone once more. That familiar feeling of isolation crept over him and he felt a sudden longing for his wife. Where is she tonight? he wondered. Berlin? Amsterdam? Maybe on a beach in the Canary Islands having sex with her god of a boss? It could be anywhere; he could never keep her schedule straight. The only thing he was certain about was that she wasn't there with him.
That's okay, he told himself. After all, they had an agreement, he and Maggie. He was free to explore his sexual fantasies on the side and so was she. Geoff had no problem with this in theory. He loved having the freedom to fool around with his friends, whether it was hosting orgies at his pool for his teammates, sleeping with his swim coach's wife behind his back, or showing men like Bill the wonders of gay sex. It was wild, and passionate, and just what a man his age could hope for out of life. And at the end of the day, he always came home. If only the same could be said for his wife.
Geoff didn't blame Maggie. For the first two decades or so of their marriage, she didn't work. That's not to say that raising two kids wasn't work, but Geoff's enormous salary was more than enough to get by on, so she stayed home where she was needed more. But Geoff could always tell this drove her crazy. The kids had been his idea and, while she was a great mother, he knew she would've been happier working full time. So when Rick Morris asked her to join his team doing god only knows what, Geoff couldn't stand in her way. Maggie went to work, traveling three weeks of every month, and Geoff was left behind. Their love for one another never wavered, even after Maggie began fucking Rick-after all, that was the deal-but Geoff would be lying if he said he did not miss his wife in her absence.
He lowered his arm and sighed deeply. His stomach grumbled and he realized he hadn't eaten since lunch. He had been too caught up with his catch of the day to think of anything else. Truth be told, he had started the day hating Bill. He remembered the period after Bill and John had split. It was really hard for John, and the fact that John's wife was dying as well certainly didn't help matters. But, if John was okay with Bill being there, then who was he to argue if that man turned out to be this incredibly sexy bear of a man that was willing to let Geoff fuck him? Certainly not Geoff. He opened the door of his 1950 Chevy Corvette and slid inside. The clock on the dash said it was 8:30. He still had time to stop by Maverick's for some grub.
Twenty minutes later, Geoff pulled into the restaurant and, before he knew it, the hot, blond waitress with exquisite breasts was dropping a basket of wings and fries in front of him. A drip of sauce touched her finger as she let go, and she licked it off seductively before turning away. Geoff watched her ass wiggle in those form-fitting shorts as she disappeared back into the kitchen.
As he finished his meal, he dropped some money on the table and made his way back out to the parking lot. The blond was waiting for him on the curb, taking a puff of a cigarette. "That was quite the tip you left in there," she said. Seeing her opportunity for more, she added, "I get off in fifteen."
Geoff looked her up and down and, while the offer was tempting, he just wasn't in the mood. Maggie was on his mind, and he'd rather go feel sorry for himself alone. "No thanks, sweetheart." Without saying another word, he slid back into the car and drove off.
As he wound his way through the back roads on the way home, his mind was absent. There were no thoughts of the sex-filled day he'd had at sea, or the intense bond he felt had grown between he and Bill that day. There was just a distance between himself and reality. It was the way he always got when he was alone. He didn't think it was because of his money, but something in him always felt the need to be entertaining someone. If it weren't his friends, it was his wife. When she was gone, there was no one. And when there was no one, he retreated into himself, leaving him distant and grumpy. As he sank into this state, his conscious took over and, before he knew it, he had pulled into the driveway and was getting out of the car. He reached into the back seat and grabbed his day bag, not even realizing that the lights were on in the house. Seeing them now, he rounded the car and rushed up the sidewalk.
"Maggie!" he called, dropping his bag in the entry as he made his way up the hall. "Maggie," he called again. He rounded the corner into the dining room and saw his wife sitting at the table, a glass of chardonnay in her hand. On her right sat Rick, cutting a nice New York Strip steak. Candles were lit between them. They were having a date in his house.
"What's this all about?" he asked, as he approached the table, all feelings of joy at seeing his wife dissipating. They had an agreement, yes, but there had always been boundaries about it. Those boundaries started with not doing the deed where the other person was! Sure, Geoff had his friends over for a good time, but he only did that when Maggie was out of town, when he knew she wasn't coming home. And Maggie did her cheating on the road, when she knew Geoff was far away. She wasn't supposed to be doing it now!
"Geoff!" Maggie said, surprised to see him. She got up and made her way toward him. She kissed him, but he just stood there. "We set you a place," she said.
He looked at his spot and saw the plate. She had planned for him to interrupt. She wanted to rub her boss in his face. His grumpiness was overwhelming and, while he had wanted to see his wife before, this certainly wasn't what he had had in mind.
"The food is still warm," Maggie continued. "I figured you were out boating or something."
"I already ate," Geoff said, but he sat down anyway.
"Oh," Maggie said. "I didn't know."
"It's fine," he replied, trying to remain civil. "Thanks," he added, as he picked up his knife and fork.
"Good to see you again, Geoff," Rick said, extending his hand. Geoff looked at it suspiciously before taking it, but he didn't offer a response. This is weird, he thought. He was supposed to be the one eating steak with his wife, not playing third wheel to her and her fuck buddy. He gave his wife a look across the table, but she didn't notice.
"Maggie here tells me you're a swimmer," Rick added with an obnoxiously charming smile. "I think that's great. Exercise is one of my passions. No day is complete without at least an hour of high intensity cardio training. In fact, just yesterday I . . ."
Geoff zoned out as Rick began talking about his intense work out regimen. The guy certainly had the body to back up the talk. From head to toe, Rick was nothing but chiseled bronze. There was not an ounce of fat on the man. In any other circumstance, Geoff would be doing all he could to see every inch of Rick's black body, but not tonight. Tonight he was irked.
It didn't make sense; not really. He had wanted Maggie and there she was. Rick certainly wasn't bad to look at and, from past experiences, he was a reasonably nice man. So why did this all feel so fucked up? He wanted to be the happy-go-lucky guy that everyone knew, but in that moment, he just couldn't get it together.
Maggie could sense his frustration. "Is everything all right?" she asked, cutting off Rick's explanation of his gym routine.
Geoff set his knife and fork down and looked across the table at his wife. No, he thought. Everything is not all right. "Can we talk?" he asked.
"Sure. What's the matter?" she said, looking at her husband, before glancing at Rick.
