I watched as my wife applied the finishing touches to her lipstick and then turned to me.
"Right, I'm ready now, can you give me a lift?"
We headed downstairs and out to my car. It was then just a fifteen minute drive to the restaurant where Kim was meeting her boss. She worked as assistant credit controller at an engineering firm and her boss was moving to a new job in Scotland. There had already been an evening out with various of the work staff, but Steve intended tonight as a thank you to Kim for all her help during the four years they had worked together.
If you're already jumping to conclusions about the nature of their relationship then forget it. Kim was a virgin when I met her and although she was now 36 and no longer a naΓ―ve eighteen year old, she was still rather conservative and I had no reason to doubt that she had been faithful to me (as indeed I had to her).
In fact I often wished she would be more adventurous. She did like sex, no question of that, but she was rather inhibited and anything other than plain vanilla sex was greeted with a degree of suspicion.
After we had been married for several years I initiated a conversation about sexual fantasies and that in turn led to me suggesting that we try swapping with another couple. Kim immediately vetoed that and when I said that a threesome with another man might be interesting she was shocked and said no.
Kim had said that there wasn't anything she fantasised about, but several months later we went to the movies and saw The Accused. It includes a rape scene which I found very harsh and said as much to Kim afterwards. To my surprise my shy, conservative wife said that it had turned her on. Naturally I questioned her about this and she rather haltingly confessed that she did occasionally fantasise about being taken very forcefully by a dark handsome stranger. It wasn't exactly rape she said, but her suspiciously feeble protests would be brushed aside as the stranger took his pleasure. She insisted that it was just a fantasy and that she had no interest in the reality (and I'm sure that was the case), but nevertheless it was an intriguing development.
I think that's what really sparked my interest in watching while Kim had sex with another man. I'd had vague ideas about it floating around in the back of my mind for a while, but after Kim's confession those thoughts became much more focused and I began to see it as a possibility, rather than an unachievable fantasy.
The subject was mentioned from time to time and Kim came to accept that it was a definite turn-on for me. Nevertheless she made it clear that while she wasn't averse to it as a bit of fantasy pillow talk, she wasn't interested in turning it into reality.
So that was the background to tonight and as we drove to the restaurant I think we were both aware that during the fifteen years of our marriage this was the closest we had ever been to Kim going out on a date with another man.
I was sure Kim was conscious of it because she seemed rather nervous and chatted a bit more brightly than she would normally have done. Perhaps that reflected a level of excitement about tonight, and if it did that was fine by me.
I should perhaps add that I'm forty two, so six years older than Kim, while Steve is thirty-nine. I've met him a few times and he's a very pleasant, likeable guy. I know he thinks very highly of Kim, not least because she's very conscientious and good at her job. However Steve has been divorced for at least six years and I was sure there must have been times when he looked at this beautiful woman who was working for him and wondered what it would be like to go to bed with her.
It would be surprising if he didn't because Kim was very attractive. Her looks were much better than average β a beautiful face, long dark curly hair and a lovely figure with superb 36D breasts.
So I was delivering my wife to another man for something that whilst perfectly respectable, did have more than a hint of a "date" about it. There was no question that Kim had dressed the part. Not that she looked even remotely slutty; she'd chosen a very smart blouse and skirt, but for underwear she'd picked a lacy black bra and pants set and some lace-topped stockings which I had bought her and which were only used on special occasions.
We arrived at the restaurant just as the taxi which had brought Steve was leaving. So we shook hands and I was able to have a brief word with him. I repeated what I'd already said to Kim that if he wanted to avoid the hassle of a taxi home then the spare room at our house was available. He thanked me for that and said it probably wouldn't be necessary, but he would bear it in mind.
I gave Kim a peck on the cheek and she confirmed that she would ring later when she wanted picking up. Driving home I couldn't help thinking back to Kim sat at her dressing table smoothing her stockings into place with that wonderful sensuous motion which women often use. What was it about stockings that was such a turn-on? There really is nothing better than sliding your hand across the sheen of silky stockings, onto soft warm flesh and finally a welcoming pair of damp panties.
Would Steve get the opportunity to discover that Kim was wearing stockings? I very much doubted it, but there was a definite pleasure in mulling over the possibility of it happening. Let's face it they were effectively on a date, they were away from their normal work surroundings and dressed in a way that recognised that. The novelty of the situation was bound to register quite strongly with both of them.
Steve would have to be brain-dead not to be aware that he was dining with a very attractive, very bedworthy woman. That much was obvious; I found it more intriguing to consider my wife's behaviour. Without going over the top she had prepared herself quite carefully for tonight; if she was single and it had been a straightforward date then her preparation probably wouldn't have been any different.
Was she sat now enjoying a bit of mild flirtatiousness between herself and Steve, aware perhaps of an unmistakeable moist arousal between her legs?
I must admit I spent a fairly restless evening surfing between different TV channels and never able to concentrate on anything for very long. Eventually the phone rang and Kim asked if I could pick them up.
"Steve would like to take us up on that offer of a bed for tonight. Are you sure that's OK with you?" I was happy to assure her that it was fine by me.
Driving to the restaurant I had to remind myself not to read too much into this. It might sound very hopeful to me, but equally I could be reading far too much into what was simply a matter of convenience.
When I got to the restaurant Kim and Steve came out almost immediately. I held the rear passenger door open hoping they would get in together, but that point was lost on Kim who told Steve to go in the front and she would go in the back. If that was a minor setback the obvious plus point was that they had clearly had a good evening. There was nothing specific, but you couldn't miss the happy, relaxed atmosphere that surrounded them.
The drive home passed fairly quickly. I followed the conversation carefully listening for any hints of attraction between them, but couldn't really detect anything. However it was obvious that Kim had had a bit more to drink than normal. Not that she was drunk, but she did seem a little "over-relaxed". I found out that she had had a glass of wine whilst waiting in the bar area, then they had ordered a bottle of wine with the meal and Kim had drunk most of it.
I reckoned that was probably an ideal amount, enough for her to shed some of her inhibitions, but not so much that she became ill (which I had seen just once before).
Once we were home I opened a bottle of wine and we sat down in the lounge and had a very relaxed conversation. I'd made sure the main lights were off and had left on a fibre-optic lamp whose changing colours gave the room a soft, warm light.
There was some chat about Steve's move and the huge distance between Kent where we were now and his new job in Glasgow, but all the time I was looking for an opportunity to steer the conversation into more intimate areas. I did wonder if I could slip in some mention about Kim wearing stockings, but a suitable opportunity never seemed to arise and it seemed clumsy to just blurt it out.
In the end I realised the obvious thing was to put some music on. So I picked out one of Kim's favourite CDs with a slow, sexy number which I know she loves. True to form when that track came on it immediately had her attention. Neither Kim nor I are anything much as dancers, but she does have a weakness for shuffling round to a smoochy number.
So I asked her to dance and with only a brief hesitation we started shuffling round the floor together. I didn't wait too long before suggesting that Kim ought to have a dance with Steve.
"Have a go with Steve, it might be the last opportunity you get" was how I put it. The ambiguity of my words wasn't lost on Kim because our eyes met briefly and there seemed to be a flicker of recognition about the situation I was trying to coax her into.
Anyway it was now Steve's turn to shuffle round with her and he chose not to take any risks, placing his hands on her hips while she put hers loosely round his back. My mouth felt strangely dry and I could feel my heart beating much faster than normal, but I managed to make the words sound reasonably casual.
"You can kiss her if you like β it might be the last opportunity you get." Steve looked at me quite sharply and I simply winked in reply. There was a moment's puzzlement and then he smiled. He was probably unsure exactly what I had in mind, but clearly he was happy to find out. He leaned in towards Kim and kissed her briefly, but firmly on the lips, then he leaned in and kissed her again, this time a proper, longer kiss.
Kim had stopped shuffling round and stood there rather stiffly, not responding to his kiss, but not doing anything to stop or even discourage him. I thought that was distinctly hopeful. The kissing continued and Kim was starting to respond, but I felt that if this was going to develop in the way I wanted then I would have to provide some encouragement.