Bryan awoke feeling groggy and spent. It took him a moment to realise he was in the spare room instead of the marital bed, another to remember that his wife had been in bed with him. She was no longer here and he heard children’s voices from downstairs, but he felt no desire to move.
Bryan lay on his back, his head on the pillow, gazing at the closed curtains with bliss and trepidation. He had had sex with two women last night, one after the other, and he felt good about it. No, he felt great about it! He felt like climbing onto his roof and shouting it out to the world!
He would do the exact opposite, of course. He would keep it top secret, and not just for the women’s sake. Bryan thought of his male colleagues at work and realised he could think of only one man he would trust enough to confide in — and even he would say, ‘Keep it to yourself.’ Men who succeed with women are deeply resented by the men who don’t, and Bryan didn’t need that kind of grief.
He heard hurried footsteps on the stairs and the door opened. It was Becky. She was in her bathrobe, her face without makeup and she looked absolutely beautiful. He watched her walk barefoot around the bed, back straight, her stride confident, her glance at him full of love and amusement. She was so different from the impatient, complaining wife of yesterday morning.
Becky pushed Bryan’s leg aside so she could perch herself on the bed. She leaned on his raised knee and looked down at him.
‘Hello, handsome,’ she said.
‘Morning, beautiful.’
‘And how are you feeling?’
‘Pretty damn good.’
‘I’ll bet.’
She bent down to give him a big sloppy kiss, their tongues greeting each other. Then she forced herself to stop and sat back up.
‘We have a situation,’ she said.
‘Oh?’
‘Sarah was rather hurt that you disappeared from the bed in the middle of the night to come and sleep with me.’
Bryan let out a huff of annoyance.
‘She was the one who said, “Be utterly selfish”.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ said Becky. ‘But when a woman gives her husband permission to spend the night with another woman, I think Sarah expected that he’d want to make the most of it, not leave at the first opportunity.’
‘That’s not how it was.’
‘Darling, you don’t have to explain it to me!’
Becky leaned forward and put a hand on his cheek.
‘I love it that you stole into my bed in the dead of night and fucked me into the Wide Blue Yonder. Sarah knows that too. She’s not stupid. She knows she’s being unfair, but this is about feelings not fairness, and I want to do right by her.’
‘And how do you propose to do that?’
Becky straightened her back and took a deep breath.
‘Here’s the plan,’ she said. ‘Tara and Max are downstairs having breakfast right now. When they’re done, we’re going to drive up to the Paradise Play Park, next to the multiplex.’
‘And when you say “we”, you mean you, Sarah and the kids?’
‘Yes.’
Bryan stared at the curtains, his mouth tight.
‘Darling, Sarah and I need to talk,’ said Becky. ‘And the play-park will be perfect. The kids will be off on the trampolines and slides, while Sarah and I can have a private conversation while keeping an eye on them from a distance. And you can have a morning to yourself!’
Bryan gave her a look. Becky moved closer to him, leaning on his chest and looking him in the eyes.
‘Listen, I know I fucked up,’ she said. ‘And I’m sorry.’
‘Becky…’
‘No, hear me out.’
Becky took a deep breath.
‘I was a coward,’ she said. ‘I brought Sarah into our lives and then chickened out when things got real. And the only reason last night happened was because Sarah had the guts to be honest with me — to tell me things that fucking hurt, but which I needed to hear. But now she’s the one that’s hurt and I’m the only person she can talk to. Who else can she tell? Anyone else will think she had it coming because she had sex with a married man! So I want to be there for her as a friend.’
Bryan gazed at Becky, once more impressed at the change in her. She put a hand over his eyes.
‘Don’t look at me like that,’ she said.
‘Why not?’
‘Because I need to shower and get dressed. And when you look at me like that… well, let’s just say it distracts me.’
Bryan removed Becky’s hand and sat up in bed. He took his wife into his arms and drew her into a hug, holding her in a way that was loving rather than sexual.
‘I love you, Rebecca Sandford,’ he said. ‘And I love the honesty you are showing right now. I want you to know that I see it.’
Bryan felt the woman’s arms tighten around him. She squeezed him as hard as she could and her mouth went to his ear.
‘Thank you,’ she said, and her voice was thick with emotion. ‘It means so much that you say that.’
She moved back to look him in the face. Becky seemed almost on the brink of tears, yet there was also hunger and need in her expression. She shook her head roughly.
‘Fuck it,’ she said.
She moved off the bed, pulled the duvet aside to reveal her husband’s naked body, then undid the belt of her bathrobe. Within seconds, she was on top of him, riding his cock for a pre-breakfast orgasm.
*************************
The Paradise Play Park was housed in a building originally designed as a sports centre. Becky and Sarah parked their cars in the giant car park serving the whole complex and opened the back doors for their respective children. It was just past ten o’clock and there were a few other cars, but Becky knew it would be packed by lunchtime. As she watched Sarah straighten her son’s coat and lock her little black Fiat, she wondered if they were still going to be friends after this conversation.
They paid the entrance fee and headed for the section marked ‘5-11 years’. You could still tell this was a huge gymnasium despite the flowers, balloons and animals painted on the walls. The structure containing the ladders and slides and crawl tubes and mini-trampolines ran all the way along the length of the gym, and was covered with so much padding and netting that a kid had to be truly ingenious to hurt themselves in it. Most accidents were caused by other kids, and three stewards wearing green polo shirts wandered around keeping an eye on things.
Running parallel to the maze of attractions were rows of trestle tables and benches. This was where parents could read a book, drink coffee or chat, while being able to watch their kids from a distance. As it was early, only a dozen or so seats were taken, so Becky and Sarah chose a spot in the far corner. Tara and Max were impatient to go and both mothers virtually had to hold them in place as they took off their shoes and reminded them where they were sitting. Then off the kids ran, like greyhounds when the traps are opened, leaving the two mothers holding their shoes and sweaters.
‘Oh, to be young again,’ said Sarah wistfully.
‘You are young,’ said Becky.
‘You know what I mean.’
Sarah began organising their little camp, piling coats and shoes together. Becky went to get coffee and before long the two women were sat next to each other, quietly talking as the screams and laughter of children echoed around the hall.