Coercion

An adult stories – Coercion by BumblingFool,BumblingFool Chapter-1

I’m Nolan Rierson, a native North Carolinian, and as I reflect upon the extremely unusual circumstances that have led to the situation in which I now find myself, I am astonished that never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined how the lives of four people could be turned any more upside down than they now are. My wife of 5 years has just pleaded and begged me not to divorce her while, at the same time, insisting that she must spend the next month living with another man as his wife in EVERY way. And as crazy as that sounds, believe it or not, for coercive reasons, I’m actually considering it! Lest you think me some kind of willing cuckold, I assure you I am NOT. It is necessary to explain how the four of us arrived at this crossroad by going back in time to lay the foundation for what I have been imploringly asked to accede.

I dated a few girls to the movies off and on throughout my school years before college/university, however, I never got very far with the girls. My parents were heavily steeped in the Church, always admonishing me to live by the golden rule. Since I was neither a jock nor a genius, it was easy to remain on the outskirts of the social scene. I did ask Charlene Ball to the prom and she agreed, most likely because neither of us was in demand as popular students were. She didn’t know how to dance; neither did I but I wanted to at least try it once. She refused me and remained at the table as I fast danced with another unattached girl on the dance floor. I’m sure I looked just as stupid as I felt but I endured it simply for the experience. Of course, Charlene was ticked off at me the rest of the evening for dancing with another girl. I was unconcerned and never asked her out again.

Lydia…

I had still never been in a serious relationship as I entered college. I majored in Business Administration at UNC-Charlotte while living at home to save money. My parents weren’t wealthy by any means but had scrimped and saved enough to pay for my tuition, books, and fees as I attended our local State College. The cost was barely affordable to them but they assured me that I would graduate debt-free if I completed my degree within four years. Since I had a younger brother, Cole, I had to set an example for him, so I kept my nose to the grindstone.

It was early during my junior year as I was walking to class that I observed a vision of beauty, a goddess hurrying down an adjacent sidewalk wearing a backpack book bag, as did nearly everyone. In her haste, she jogged a few steps now and again to gain distance. She appeared oblivious when a book jostled loose from her backpack and landed on the grass as she scurried on her way. Remembering the golden rule, I called out to her but she was on a mission. I ran across and picked up the book. By the time I had it in my hands, she was entering the building. I ran quickly to catch her. As I opened the door, I saw her enter a classroom down the hall and rushed to return it to her. As gorgeous as she was, there was no way I’d ever forget her face.

The class hadn’t started yet but everyone was jockeying for their seats. As I approached my dream girl, I nobly held the book out to her.

“Here,” I said, almost out of breath with a big smile on my face. “You dropped this out in the yard. I thought you might need it.”

She gave me a stunned look of disdain, which was unexpected. “Well, now I’ve seen it all. You steal a book from my book bag somehow, pretend to be a good guy, and return it to me as a gallant knight? Of all the dumbass ways to hit on me. What makes you think I’d ever go out with the likes of you?” She added crassly. Everyone in the vicinity was now eagerly watching the confrontation.

I was immediately reminded of the phrase, ‘No good deed goes unpunished’. My responsive anger fueled my fiery reply, “Look, Miss High and Mighty. I realize that I’m undeserving to even be in your glorified presence but quite frankly, I don’t care what you think of me. This is your book. I found it on the grass outside as you were running to class. If you don’t want it, I’ll just throw it in the trash along with my opinion of you.”

She angrily snatched the book from my hand and saw her name written inside it. Before she could offer more sarcasm, another girl who had followed me into the classroom spoke to her.

“Lydia, he’s telling the truth. I saw it all. Your bag popped open as you were running, and your book flew out of it onto the ground just as he said. I saw him pick it up and run after you to give it back but you didn’t respond when he called out to you. Don’t be such a rude bitch. Who crawled up your ass today?”

Lydia’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She had embarrassed herself greatly. No longer expecting her appreciation, I seethed, “Forget it,” as I quickly fled the room and rushed to my class. I was a few minutes late, and angry at myself for trying to help someone blatantly unappreciative of my effort to be helpful.

Two weeks later the girl I’d previously believed to be a goddess suddenly and unexpectedly sat down opposite me in the cafeteria as I was taking in an afternoon snack before my next class. I now thought of her as an evil witch.

“You’re a hard man to track down, Nolan Rierson,” she began. “I’d almost given up on ever finding you.”

Surprised to see her again, I defensively inquired, “To what do I owe the honor of ‘Her Highness’ generously gracing me with her magnificent presence?”

“I guess I deserve that. I was extremely rude to you when you returned my book, and I came to apologize for my outrageous behavior,” she offered demurely.

“Apology accepted. Have a nice day,” I quipped as I looked back at my study notes.

Frustrated, she reiterated, “Look, may I have a minute of your time? I promise if you send me on my way afterward, I’ll never bother you again.”

“Fair enough,” I agreed. “What else do you want to say? I accepted your apology already.”

“Yes. Yes, you have, and I thank you for that. I just wanted you to know why I was so rude to you that day. That’s not who I am, or the kind of person I wish to be. You see, I had just caught my boyfriend cheating on me for the third time the night before. I was unduly angry at all men right then. You were trying to be a gentleman by kindly returning my book, and I bit your head off redirecting my anger at you. I was wrong to do that, and I’d like to make amends. It would be my privilege to treat you and your girlfriend to dinner this evening at the fast food establishment of your choice; my budget is limited,” she humorously injected.

After hearing her reasonable and sincere explanation, my opinion of her shifted into a more hospitable category. “I can understand that. Infidelity is a deal breaker for me as well, except I would never wait until the third transgression. I’m a ‘one-and-done’ kind of guy. I don’t have any time for cheaters. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Me too, thanks.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend at the moment but I’ll let you buy me a roast beef sandwich later at Arby’s if you’re serious,” I chuckled.

Her expression transitioned from concerned, to brightly lighting the entire room. “Of course I’m serious. I’ll let you get back to studying. Meet you there at six?”

“Six, it is,” I confirmed and gulped at my good fortune as she left. Every eye in the cafeteria, including mine, remained on her curvy form until she exited. It occurred to me that perhaps I had misjudged her. I was only too happy to spend whatever time she would allow me to later bask in her raving beauty. Needless to say, it was challenging to focus on my studies that afternoon.

She showed up in a short yellow sundress with red accents, very stylish. When we sat down to eat after ordering, I seemed to be the envy of every other guy in the place.

I began, “You seem to know my name. How did you find me?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My bad. My name’s Lydia, Lydia Reynolds. Jocelyn, the girl who put me in my place in front of you that day, said she’d seen you around a few times but she couldn’t remember where. I desperately wanted to apologize to you. I’m a nice person once you get to know me. I do get hit on a lot and thought that’s what you were doing. I’m so sorry. Anyway, after about a week, she remembered seeing you with a guy she’s met before, Steve Bascom.”

“Right,” I rejoined. “He and I have several classes together and hang out from time to time.”

“That’s what he told me. Once Jocelyn recalled his name, I looked him up. I’d never forget your face but I didn’t know your name. I found out he lives at home as you do, so I couldn’t find him in a dorm on campus. The student directory led me to him and he told me where he thought I might find you this afternoon,” she stated proudly.

“Well, in all honesty, I’m glad you went to all that trouble. It speaks well of your character to go to such lengths just to apologize for a rude remark,” I responded.

Lydia turned nervous for a moment before admitting, “Thank you for saying that. You’re very kind. That’s all I had planned for this to be at first, a simple apology. But Steve was very talkative and he spent several minutes talking you up. To sum up the results of that conversation, I’m convinced that you’re one of the very few good guys left. I’ve dated enough bad boys to last me a lifetime. It’s about time I started looking closer at a man’s heart and his character. I’ve overlooked that in the past and it’s caused me a lot of heartaches. What I’m trying to say here, Nolan is that if you can spare the time, I’d like to go out with you so we can get to know each other better.”

To call me shocked would be an understatement. The most drop-dead gorgeous woman I’d ever seen was asking me out on a date, and from appearances, not just one. I was simultaneously confused and elated. Why would this vision of beauty want to spend time dating a nobody like me?

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I instantly replied, “Sure, I’d love to.” And that was the beginning of our whirlwind romance. We soon became inseparable. She was always invited to the best parties and I accompanied her as her plus one. I received more than a few puzzled looks from others when she introduced me as her boyfriend. As did I, everyone who met us knew she was way out of my league. Yet here we were, a couple in love. My parents thought I’d won the love lottery when they first met her. Lydia was one of those rare girls who were beautiful inside and out.

Lydia lived on campus and shared a dorm room with Jocelyn in a co-ed dorm, which meant that I could visit her there, of which we often took advantage. Every night that Jocelyn was out with her boyfriend or on a girls’ night out, we released all of our urgent passions on her bed, to the point of exhaustion. She never allowed me to leave her room without a satisfied smile on her face. I would call our sexual chemistry and compatibility 100%. The queen happily bedded her royal stud.

One Saturday night, we attended a large frat party. We were chatting with several of her friends when Lydia suddenly tugged at me asking that we immediately leave the party and go to a movie instead. When I asked why she pointed to a very tall guy across the room who was being received with much fanfare.

I questioned, “So? That’s six-feet-seven, Findlay Stevenson, our basketball team’s best forward. Everybody knows him. I hear he’s being scouted by the Charlotte Hornets for the NBA, probably the most popular guy on campus. Why do you care that he’s here?”

She leaned over and gently whispered in my ear, “He’s my ex-boyfriend, the one I caught cheating on me. I don’t want to be around him with you. He can be a real asshole at times and I don’t want to test his mood tonight. He’s the jealous type and, for some reason, thinks he still owns me and also thinks he’s God’s gift to women. I want to avoid a confrontation. Let’s get out of here, please?”

“Your ex-boyfriend is the sky king, Findlay Stevenson? I’ve heard he has an enormous souvenir panty collection. Now I understand. Sure, let’s go.” Oddly, we never ran into Findlay again, even though we attended all the popular events. Her many friends were becoming more accepting of me and included me in their conversations. If anyone ever acted haughty toward me, Lydia set them straight immediately, intolerant of a single condescending remark. I was her man and she made sure everyone knew it. She was a force-of-nature confidence booster.

For that, and a myriad of other reasons, I asked for her hand in marriage early in my senior year. She said yes without hesitation. Both sets of parents were thrilled, surprisingly hers, even more so. They deemed me to be a good fit for their daughter. We set the date for a June wedding following graduation, allowing nine months for the women to plan for the big day. Her parents lived in Spartanburg, South Carolina only seventy-five miles from Charlotte. She wanted to get married in her home Church there but agreed to live with me in a suburb of Charlotte where we’d planned to live and work. I was doing well in my studies despite her distracting me. Life was perfect.

A month later after an awesome night of passionate lovemaking, Lydia and I took a shower together and playfully cleaned each other up. She could take the most mundane thing in the world and make a super-sexy game of it. How I loved that girl.

As we were lying together on the bed afterward, she commenced, “Nolan, what do you think of Jocelyn? Do you think she’s pretty?”

“I wouldn’t say she’s anywhere near your class of beauty, my love, but she’s attractive in her own way I suppose. Why do you ask?”

“Have you ever imagined being with her, you know, making love with her?”

“Lydia, I swear. YOU are the only one I want to be with, no one else. I have never mentioned Jocelyn to you in that way. She’s your roommate, nothing more. I have zero interest in her. I am going to marry YOU, and I never think of her when we’re making love.”

“No, silly,” she defended. “I’m not worried about you leaving me for her. I’m not jealous about anything like that at all. It’s just…”

“Just what, girl? Say it? What are you getting at then?” I queried.

“Okay, there’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you for several days now. Could you please hold off on any questions or comments until AFTER I’ve finished explaining what’s on my mind? Could you wait, please?”

“Sure baby. I’m all ears and my lips are locked. I won’t say a word until you tell me everything that’s on your mind.”

“Thank you, sweetie. You’re the best man for me in the whole wide world, and nothing’s ever going to change that. Nothing. But Jocelyn and I have been talking a lot lately, and she thinks you’re, well, she thinks you’re hot, to put it bluntly. You have no idea how it makes me feel to hear her say that. I mean, sure, I know how hot and exciting you are but to have outside validation from someone like her to appreciate you in the same ways I do, I don’t know, it just does something to me, makes me tingle all over. Other than you, she’s my best friend and I value her opinion. And when she speaks so highly of you, saying she wants to make love to you to sample all of your wonderfulness, how could I ever become jealous of such a thing?”

Lydia continued, “We’re going to be married in June and I can’t wait for that to happen. I want to give you babies and live the dream life that we both imagine for ourselves, together, forever. Yet, there’s a certain part of me that wonders why we shouldn’t expand our horizons a little bit, you know, sow some wild oats before we officially tie the knot. Once we’re married, there’ll be no more chances for anything like that for either of us, and that’s the way it should be. But I was just bouncing some ideas around with Jocelyn a while back, and thought, what would be so wrong with opening ourselves up as a couple, and doing a little experimenting before that door closes forever? I don’t mean on any regular basis, you know, just now and then. Think about it, maybe Jocelyn could bring some new techniques and enhancements to your lovemaking that you could share with me in turn. And maybe I could learn a thing or two from someone else to help us up our game, to become the best possible passionate lovers we can be to each other. It doesn’t have to be Jocelyn if you don’t feel that way about her. You could practically have your pick of almost any girl on campus and spread your wings a bit. Doesn’t it make perfect sense to try to do everything we can to enhance our future lives together as we walk together toward the path of holy matrimony? Okay, thank you for your patience. What do you think about my suggestion, sweetie?”

I sat there stunned. My mind was reeling. We’d just had what I was already imagining was the best sex of my entire life, and here she is suggesting it was not enough?

“Honey? Why aren’t you saying anything? It’s your turn to talk now. Go ahead, sweetie.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I have no idea why she was suggesting this. I never expressed any desire to be with anyone but her. I needed more information, so I took a deep breath, exhaled, and tried to put together a coherent response.

“Lydia, honey, are you unsatisfied or unfulfilled in some way with our sex life? Am I not enough for you?”

“What? No, sweetie. You’re looking at this all wrong. I’m completely satisfied with you in every way. It’s not that anything is missing or insufficient in our relationship. That’s not it at all. I was only thinking; what if there was something that either you or I could ADD to our love life, things that neither of us would be aware of but could still enhance our intimacy once we’ve both experienced it? Don’t you see what I’m getting at?”

“Oh, I hear what you’re saying loud and clear. But I do have a question or two. Is that alright?”

“Of course sweetheart, that’s what we’re doing right now, discussing this for both of our benefits. Ask me anything, anything at all.”

“Okay, it seems that you and Jocelyn have already discussed this without me and both of you suggest her for me as my first sex partner. Did I get that right?”

“We did discuss it, yes, just two girls exploring different ideas and options and bouncing them off each other. We both thought that, since you know her so well and she’s my bestie, well, it was just a suggestion. If you have someone else in mind, all you have to do is tell me.”

“I see. That’s not where I was going with my question. My question is this, if you two have already proposed that I should sexually experiment with Jocelyn, please tell me dear, who did you have in mind that YOU should sexually experiment with in your free-spirited trysts?”

A look of nervousness overtook her as she averted her eyes endeavoring to be coy about her response. “Oh, no one specific. I haven’t given it a lot of thought, to be honest. I was mostly concerned about you being happy with whoever might be with you.”

“Come on, now. You can’t tell me that at least one man’s name hasn’t crossed your mind. Surely you have at least one name you can give me to allow me to have a complete perspective of what you’re suggesting.”

“Well, since you’ve put it that way, there might be one name that just popped into my head for possible consideration.”

“And who would that be?”

“Well, whether you know it or not, Jocelyn has gone out a few times with Findlay recently.”

“I see, when you say Findlay, do you mean Findlay Stevenson? Your ex-boyfriend? The one you caught cheating on you multiple times? The one you have avoided at all costs to preclude any confrontations? That Findlay Stevenson?”

She just quietly nodded.

“If you were avoiding him before, why do suddenly think he would now be your perfect sex partner?”

“Don’t be silly, YOU’RE my perfect sex partner, sweetie. But there are a couple of reasons I might consider him. First and foremost is that since everyone knows you and I are engaged to be married, he no longer considers me his property. He has accepted that the better man won, you! So he’s no threat to us in any way. Secondly, it’s because of his cheating ways that make him a good candidate. He gets around to more than a few of the women on campus. So he has experienced many more potential opportunities to learn the best of the best techniques to please and satisfy a woman in every way. I could learn everything I could from him and bring back those things for you and me to try out, to discover if they may be techniques that could enhance our own sex life. Does that make sense?”

Chapter-2

“I see. Let me ask my second question. Have you been sexually intimate with Findlay Stevenson in any way since we began dating? Have you already tried him out in that capacity?”

“What? NO! No way! That’s why we’re talking about all this now and being completely upfront with everything. I would never do anything like that behind your back. If you recall, it was me who dumped him for cheating, so that should tell you something.”

After another big breath, and sigh of relief, I elucidated my position. “Honestly I have no idea why Jocelyn would admit to you, her best friend that she would like to fuck your fiancée. That’s outrageous from my perspective but I’m not about to tell you who you can and cannot have as friends. I give you my word I’ve never led her on, not a single time. But apparently, she has misinterpreted some of my innocent behavior as flirty or sexual interest in her for some reason. Therefore I will avoid her as much as possible from now on. I don’t want you to ever doubt my intentions or commitment to you.”

“But….”

“…I’m not finished, hold on,” I interrupted. I don’t want to EVER hear of or catch you in the presence of Findlay Stevenson. I despise him for the way he treated you. If you were ever sexually intimate with him, it would mean the end of us, and I mean that. Instead of thinking of the wonderful tips and techniques he could teach you while you were with him, it would only produce rage and hatred in me of the highest order. Instead of enhancing our relationship, it would destroy it. I hope I’ve made myself perfectly clear. Now is there anything at all about what I just said that you don’t understand?”

She sadly shook her head no. She knew I meant every word I had said and there was no further need for discussion on the subject.

“Honey, can you forgive me for even suggesting it? Now that we’ve said it out loud, I am in complete agreement with you that it is not for us. When Jocelyn and I discussed it earlier, it seemed reasonable at the time. The way you put it makes much better sense. Can we put this nonsense behind us and make love one more time before sleep finds us?” And we did just that.

The only thing that changed in our circle of friends is that I started avoiding Jocelyn just as I’d promised. Lydia pleaded with me several times not to blame her for desiring me but I never wanted to give Lydia any reason to question my fidelity. I was never rude to Jocelyn, I simply avoided interacting with her.

Both of us were doing well in our classes but midterms were fast approaching, so we saw a little less of each other as we tried to drill more of the course material into our brains. On a Thursday night, eight weeks into the semester, Lydia and I talked briefly on the phone before her dorm room was to be stormed by a half-dozen other ladies cramming for one of their mid-term exams which were to take place the next day. After exchanging words of love, she said she needed to take some NoDoz alert pills to stay awake late into the night because they had planned on studying long and hard together until around 2 am. I chuckled at the thought of all those scantily clad girls playfully bantering the night away.

For some reason, I couldn’t get to sleep, and the thought of seeing all those perky braless tits pushing their pointers and tenting their thin tops got to me. McDonald’s fries with Cook-Out milkshakes were very hot commodities during times like these, so I decided I’d help them out and perhaps catch a few innocent eyefuls of hard nipples before getting kicked out. I picked up a dozen orders of fries and eight vanilla milkshakes to rescue these damsels in distress from their dreary course review and showed up at Lydia’s dorm room at 11 pm to become their collective hero.

I started to knock so I wouldn’t startle any unsuspecting females but didn’t hear any of the expected giggling or laughter as I stood listening outside the dorm door. On the contrary, what I heard sounded much like a woman engaged in passionate sex, MY woman. It was definitely Lydia’s voice, not Jocelyn’s. I became aroused at the thought that perhaps the girls had finished their studies and departed, leaving Lydia to rub one out to try and get to sleep more quickly. Since I had a room key, I left the two bags of fries and shakes on the floor outside the door and quietly let myself in the darkened room, making no disturbance.

As I tiptoed toward Lydia’s bed, there was no mistake. She was getting seriously fucked by another man, not me. The shadowy room concealed my presence as they noisily continued their energetic fuck session. The curtains were slightly parted, allowing the parking lot lights to shine directly onto the rutting couple. Her ex-boyfriend, Findlay Stevenson, was helping himself to what I had believed was exclusively mine. I was enraged in light of our previous conversation. My eyes were adjusting to the dim room. I saw the glint of a reflection on the adjacent desk. It was her engagement ring. I didn’t know whether to be pleased or angry that she had removed it to have sex with him. More than likely, he didn’t want her to wear it while she was his. I slid the ring silently into my pocket as I pulled out my cell phone.

I began recording the scene before me as my perfect timing caught their breathy verbal exchange.

“I’m getting close,” Lydia panted. “God yes, fuck me hard with that big cock. I want all you got!”

“You like that?” He breathlessly replied. “You like what I have better than Mr. Dependable? Huh? Say it, tell me how much you love this cock,” he demanded.

Mr. Dependable? Is that how she referred to me? She’d never called me that to my face.

“I’m addicted to your cock, Findlay. I NEED it. I CRAVE it! You know I’ve never gone more than three days in a row without you fucking me ever since we first met. Oh, FUCK!” She exclaimed.

“What about your Mr. Dependable? What does he get?” Findlay gasped as he plowed her furrow.

“He only gets your leftovers. After we’re married and I go off the pill, you’re gonna fill my belly with your babies, and he’s gonna raise them as his own. Why couldn’t YOU marry me instead? Almost! Almost there! FUCK ME!”

Encouraged, Findlay slammed into her fiercely, “You know I can’t be tied to just one woman. I’m a free spirit that can’t be tamed. That’s right baby, I’m gonna be the only one to fertilize your eggs and Mr. Dependable can take care of them for me.”

At that, the two of them arched and began crying out and screaming their passionate releases to the world. I stopped recording. Lydia had gifted me a gold necklace with a cross on it as a Christmas present to impress my religious parents. I grabbed it, breaking the chain off my neck, and silently placed it on the desk along with the room key where her engagement ring had been placed. I slipped quietly out of the room before their urgent groans subsided. Lydia Reynolds would forever be in my rearview mirror.

As I drove back home, tears finally emerged from my eyes as the immense loss overtook me. I pulled off to the side of the road and sobbed for two minutes as it all sunk in. She had never stopped being intimate with her so-called ex-boyfriend even though we mutually agreed to exclusivity. She’d lied right to my face since day one. She looked down at me merely as a stable, dependable meal ticket, while she planned on allowing Findlay to breed her and try to pass his spawn off to me as my own. I had never experienced such betrayal and treachery before. I quickly regained my composure regretting that I’d ever met her.

I turned my cell phone off and put it on the charger, took one of my mom’s Ambien pills to help me sleep, and plopped into bed. I needed to rest for my own mid-term exam the next day. I’d decided not to confront the slut that night. As much as I hated what she was doing behind my back, I didn’t want her to fail her exam but she will be banished from my life now. It’s just the way my parents raised me.

On Friday, my exam was mid-morning, and hers was mid-afternoon. I didn’t expect to hear from her until after her exam. Sure enough, I received a call at 3:45 as both of our last classes of the day were letting out.

“Hey, babe. How’d you do on your exam?” She bubbly asked.

“I think I did well, you?”

“After all the hard cramming we did last night, I think I did pretty well too,” she enthused. Her double entendre was not lost on me. “By the way, honey, I found the cross I gave you for Christmas in my room this morning. Do you remember losing it? Jocelyn says she doesn’t remember seeing it before this morning. Another strange thing, somebody left fires and shakes outside our dorm door. Jocelyn brought them in but she doesn’t know where they came from.”

“You’re right. I lost that cross among other things,” I added.

“What other things, sweety?”

“I hear that you’ve been seeing Findlay Stevenson behind my back. Is that true?”

“What? Who told you that pack of lies? I haven’t seen him since I broke it off with him, I swear,” she appealed.

“I have a short video clip on my phone. It’s a pretty good likeness of you and him. How about I send it to you and you call me back after you watch it and with an explanation?”

Lydia nervously replied, “Sure babe, I’ll prove to you that it’s not me and set your mind at ease. I’ll call you right back. Go ahead and send it.”

Ten minutes later I received a call from a sobbing Lydia. “It’s not what you think. That was just trash talk in the heat of the moment. It was just that one time, I swear. It’ll never happen again. We can get past this. I love you, Nolan, only you! Who sent you that? How did you get it? Did Jocelyn set me up so she could get you?” She seethed.

I took a deep breath to help me remain calm amidst the firestorm raging in my soul at her barrage of lies.

“Last night, I wanted to be helpful, so I brought fries and shakes over to your dorm room at 11 pm for your study party girlfriends. I let myself in with the key you gave me when I heard strange noises inside that were not laughing or studying girls. I saw the two of you rutting like animals and heard every word you said. I made that recording myself. You two were so boisterously involved that neither of you noticed me standing there. I saw your engagement ring on the desk and took it with me as I left that cross and room key behind. The wedding is off, Lydia. I don’t want to ever see you or even be in the same room with you ever again. By the way, I blind-copied that video to your dad at the same time. I figured you’d lie about why I dumped you. Now your parents will know the truth about you.”

A loud scream at the top of her lungs was heard through the speaker. “You bastard. Why would you do that? Why are you being such a fucking asshole about this? It was only sex!”

“I’m sure your next fiancée will be much more understanding. I guess I turned out not to be the clueless Mr. Dependable you’d believed me to be. Right now, you and your father are the only recipients of that video. If you or any of YOUR friends EVER try to talk to me about us, I’ll send that video to everyone we both know, including your professors and Findlay’s coaches. Loverboy may end up sitting out the rest of the season for bad conduct. They’re your friends, not mine, including Jocelyn. They kept your secret from me our whole relationship. You better make sure to keep them in line and have them ignore me completely. One single word from any of them and the video goes everywhere. I will never trust or believe another word you say. This is goodbye forever, Lydia. Have a shitty life!” And I ended my final call to her. She knew I meant every word. She was the liar, not me. I never heard her name mentioned by anyone on campus again.

Christine…..

I graduated with honors in late May and my parents were as proud as peacocks at my scholastic achievement. I was thrilled to have no student debt and thanked my folks for their prudent and insightful provision. I hoped that my brother, Cole, would be able to end up just as debt-free. No one spoke of the June wedding that wasn’t to be.

However, Cole inadvertently played an important role in my future life. He attended my graduation with his girlfriend, Sonya, for two reasons. One, of course, was to support his big brother. Secondly, Sonya’s three-year older sister, Christine, was also crossing the same stage as me to receive her degree in Library and Archives Management. We all met up together afterward. I had heard about Cole’s girlfriend but had never met her. They looked cute together and I ribbed him about it. However, after introductions were made, very soon a conspiracy emerged. Sonya and Christine’s parents and family had apparently arranged to join my family for a late lunch or early dinner at a local restaurant. As fate would have it, the two family vehicles had no extra room, so I was asked to drive Christine to the venue. By this time, I was completely over Lydia and welcomed the company of a new female. We engaged in some small talk on the drive over.

“Hi, Christine. It appears as though we have been set up and I apologize for that. I’m pleased to meet you nonetheless.”

“Actually, it’s my pleasure to finally meet you in person, Nolan. I’ve learned quite a bit about you and it’s all good. I can hardly believe that we’ve attended the same university for four years and not crossed paths until today when it’s all over,” she asserted.

“You’re right, that’s crazy but you look so familiar to me. I can’t put my finger on it but it will come to me eventually. And what is it that you think you’ve learned about me?” I chuckled.

“Well, for one thing, we’re the same age. Your birthday is three months and twelve days after mine. You just graduated with a degree in Business Administration with honors. You have no student debt, unlike me. You’re a fairly devout Christian who doesn’t go to Church regularly. You interned over two summers at one of the largest banks headquartered in Charlotte and will start an entry-level management position with them on the first weekday in July. I’ve known what you look like for six months now and have looked for you to enter the campus library where I interned. You love breakfast but dislike cheese and onions, which is almost un-American if you ask me.”

“DAMN! What are you? A PI in your spare time? How did you come by all that?” I blurted. She laughed, and when she did, I swear I could see a glowing aura around her head. It was the first time I had even noticed another member of the female gender since Lydia’s betrayal.

“No, not quite. Sonya and Cole have filled me in on most of the personal details. The rest I came by on my own. After hearing so much about you, I looked you up on the campus computer system. Don’t forget, a lot of library science involves computers, and ferreting out pertinent information is my specialty. Your picture ID is in the system as well as your class schedules etc. Cole and Sonya have urged our parents to get together a few times since they began dating so we’re practically family,” she giggled. “But believe me when I say, I had no idea we would be thrown together today any more than you did. But I’m glad we were. You seem to be just as good of a guy as Cole built you up to be.”

I quickly snapped my fingers several times as it hit me. “Now I got it. Indiana Evans. That’s who you remind me of, Australian actress, Indiana Evans. You could be her twin sister, your hair especially, almost identical. I’ve seen her on a couple of shows that always appealed to me.”

“Indiana Evans? Nope. Never heard of her. You say we look like twins? I’ll have to check her out,” she countered.

“Well, she’s very attractive and I guess the best word I would use to describe her and you is, classy. You’re both elegant and classy and I mean that in the best way possible.”

“Why thank you, kind sir. Such generous compliments and we’ve just met. I think Cole’s right. You’re one of the good guys.”

“Well, you know what they say about good guys, don’t you? Good guys always finish last,” I quoted, remembering the betrayal.

Christine looked me straight in the eye with a big smile and said, “Not with me they don’t.”

We had a wonderful late lunch together. Christine and I were once again paired in the seating arrangements which neither of us seemed to mind. She had a clean purity about her that was refreshing. Her openness and honesty were readily apparent. She had no reservations about telling jokes about herself of her childhood blunders and foibles. I had never met a woman so candid and who spoke so plainly. There was nothing deceptive about her whatsoever. She was completely disarming, an open book.

After that first encounter, we began dating. As much as I wanted to maintain the brick wall I had constructed around my heart, all Christine had to do was allow me to kiss her that first time and it came crumbling down into a pile of dust. I had no defense against such pure honesty. She was unlike any woman I had ever met.

Though my job was entry-level management, I was very pleased with the salary. Christine landed a position as an assistant librarian at the much smaller private college, Queens University of Charlotte. The head librarian in charge of the facility was retiring within a year and the previous assistant who had been groomed to replace her suddenly moved to another state when her husband accepted a promotion. Christine’s salary was excellent for the subordinate position, and if she was deemed suitable, would dramatically increase upon assuming the head mantle.

Although I believed my parents to be conservatively religious, Christine gave them a run for their money. As we grew much closer, we had many conversations about our pasts. I confessed my extensive intimacy with Lydia, wanting to have no secrets between us. She admitted to having dated extensively during her first two years of college and drew close to one guy in particular. But she explained that she had never experienced vaginal sexual intercourse and wanted to save her virginity for marriage. He moved on from their relationship when she would not put out for him. She wondered if I would do the same. I explained to her that I completely respected her resolve, and gave her my word that I would never press her for intercourse. That’s not to say that we didn’t engage in some heavy petting sessions during our dates. Numerous times I jacked off in the shower as soon as possible afterward, trying to avert blue balls.

I moved into my new apartment in August, a month after I started working. It was nothing fancy, just a place to offer privacy where Christine and I could hang out together which we did quite often. We double-dated some with Cole and Sonya but they seemed to prefer not being chaperoned by their older siblings. They were glad that we were together and encouraged us both to pursue our relationship to a natural and happy conclusion. Christine nearly occupied my every waking thought. When we were together, everything was right in the world. Although I only knew her for six months, I knew without hesitation that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this pure angel. I took her out to eat at a very fancy restaurant on New Year’s Eve and popped the question. I thought I might pass out she squeezed my neck so hard.

She wanted us to visit both sets of parents that very night and share the good news which included showing off her new engagement ring. All of them couldn’t have been happier for us, my folks finally gaining their first daughter and her parents likewise getting their first son. Cole was now attending UNC-Charlotte himself, following in my footsteps but Sonya opted to go to an elite college five states away on a full scholarship. We didn’t give their long-distance relationship very much of a chance at continuing, although it has happened before.

Although wedding planning within six months would prove challenging, Christine wanted a summer wedding during Queens University’s light-duty summer session. Paid students were assisting her until a qualified applicant could be located to fill the assistant position. She was promised the promotion to head of the library facilities as of May first. Our lives were about to change for the better. Although Cole and Sonya were still dating over the summer, we’d heard that they were no longer exclusive owing to the distance and circumstances.

It was a lovely June wedding. Sonya served as Christine’s maid of honor while my dad fulfilled his role as my best man. When I saw the blood, I knew she was a virgin true to her word. Christine moved into my apartment after returning from our week of honeymooning on Grand Cayman Island.

Chapter-3

All of our finances were combined as we held joint checking and savings accounts. We were saving for our first home as we began paying off her student loan. After the bridal showers and wedding gifts, we were well-situated to embark on our new life together. That is until it hit a snag.

We had gone to Gatlinburg, TN for our first anniversary. There were many things to see and do which didn’t overly tax our budget. We were making the 3-1/2 hour drive home and were passing through Asheville, NC when a drunk driver crossed the white line crashing into the driver’s side of our car. The impact was unavoidable from our lane. I remembered nothing of the collision until I regained consciousness on a gurney being rolled into the hospital. Christine’s shouting at the doctors and staff was almost ear-splitting.

“Get this man evaluated and get him treated NOW! He’s just come from a terrible car accident, and I believe he has internal injuries!” She continued shouting.

“I don’t care what you need to do or how much it costs! Money is no object! I’ll sell everything I own! Get him the very best care right away! If he needs a kidney, pancreas, spleen, or ANYTHING else, you take it from my body right now, you hear?! Take the beating heart right out of my chest but don’t you DARE let anything happen to this man!!” She sobbed.

I was strapped to the gurney and couldn’t move but I heard her shout at me once more as they were wheeling me beyond the point where she was allowed to be, “Nolan Rierson, I love you! Don’t you ever give up! Fight for us, my love, fight! I’ll be right here when they’ve fixed you up!” If I didn’t know it before, by God I knew it right then. That woman loved me. She loved me with sacrificial love, unlike anything I could ever imagine. There was no doubt in my mind that she meant every word she had said with all of her being.

Later that night, I regained consciousness in my room. I had pain radiating from all over my body. I felt a warm hand gripping mine and I squeezed it instinctively.

“He’s awake! He’s awake,” Christine excitedly blurted. I saw my dad rise from his chair and walk over to me.

Christine was gently kissing my face when he asked, “You gave us a bit of a scare. How are you doing, son?”

My throat was parched and I pointed to the nearby glass of water. Christine let me sip a swallow through the straw.

In a graveled voice, I responded, “What happened? How bad was it? I feel like a bomb went off in my lap.”

“From what I’ve been told, that was nearly the case,” he informed. “Christine here told me that right before the drunk driver struck your car, you slid your body over as much as you could, placing your back to her, and wrapped your right arm around her to lessen the impact. You took the brunt of that collision, son. Christine made it out with barely a scratch. I never expected any less of you. It’s what a husband does for his wife but it opened you up to more injuries. Christine didn’t want me to tell you this but after he struck your front end, his car spun around and struck the rear of your vehicle a second time, rupturing your gas tank. The battery wiring had shorted and started an electrical fire in what was left of your engine compartment.”

He continued, “When she smelled gas and saw the fire, she knew you were sitting in a ticking time bomb. She freed your seatbelt and dragged you out and away from the car. She saw one of your legs flopping around and knew it was broken but would rather risk further damage than lose you to an explosion. She pulled a muscle in her shoulder getting you to safety. Sixty seconds later, the gas ignited and destroyed what was left of your car. It’s a total loss, I’m afraid. It seems to me you both did everything you could to protect one another. I’m so proud of you two, buttons have been popping off my chest. They’ll only let two in here at a time. Others are waiting out in the lobby, I’ll go send your mother in.” He patted my leg gently and left the room.

“Hey, baby. I’m so happy you’re going to be okay now. When we first got here, I was white as a sheet. I thought you might die. I don’t ever want to be scared like that again as long as I live,” she tendered.

“Thank you, sweetheart, for saving my life. I might well have died were it not for you,” I added. “Dad never said, how bad am I?”

“Honey, it was you who spared me severe injury. You held me so tight when I slammed into your back on impact, you absorbed all of the damage. I’d probably be as bad off as you, had you not done that. I’ll always love you for that. Thank you. The doctors told us your left leg and ankle are broken in several places. They’ve put metal rods to set them back and aid in healing. Your left arm is also broken in four places along with three broken fingers. The airbag helped a lot but the double whammy jostled us around pretty violently. You have a cervical collar to limit movement of your neck until the inflammation is under control. You have three cracked ribs and a lot of internal bruising but all of your organs seem to be intact, thank God. I’ve never prayed so hard in all my life.” She gave me a loving kiss as her tears spilled onto my face.

My mom soon appeared as well as her parents and Cole. I felt loved and appreciated. I was discharged after three days. All I needed to do now was heal. Mom and Dad insisted on us staying with them at least until Christine’s pulled shoulder muscle healed up. The inflatable casts on my arm and leg weren’t heavy but I still needed a wheelchair to get around. Crutches weren’t an option given my circumstances. After a week of being waited on hand and foot by Mom, we returned to our apartment, and Christine and I developed a workable system that allowed us to manage until I became ambulatory. The drunk driver’s insurance paid for everything, including wheelchair-accessible transportation to and from work every day for up to three months. Forty grand was allocated for pain and suffering above our medical expenses which added to our nest egg toward the purchase of our first home.

Christine was my nurse Nightingale and took excellent care of me in every way. Without even asking, she gave great hand jobs and blow jobs until we were safely able to resume regular sex. When the doctors finally pronounced me capable of walking, we resumed our normal life. One of the first crazy things we did that we had never even considered before was getting a tattoo. She had an inch-and-a-half red-shaped heart tattooed on her left hip right below her panty line. In the center of the heart was the distinct outline of a key slot. At the same outing, I had a tattoo done of a red-shaped heart on my chest with a key dangling below it. It was our own personal symbolism, her way of saying to me that my heart holds the ONLY key to her heart.

Queens University was readying for the start of the fall school year and Christine was working hard to maintain a smooth running operation in the library and media center. She never hesitated to grab a bull by the horns and do whatever was necessary to get the job done and I was very proud of her accomplishments.

We purchased a house in Belmont which was about twenty minutes from both of our work locations. It offered a nice suburban setting away from the hubbub of Charlotte proper. We were as happy as we could be and had even mentioned starting a family. We’d hoped to put her student loan behind us first before she stopped taking the pill.

It was the year of our fourth wedding anniversary when Christine came home from her university job one afternoon recounting her day. A new woman named Abby Sinclair had been hired as her assistant. She was pleased that the university HR department finally got around to filling the empty position and welcomed the added help.

I, being the usual lecher that I am, asked for a detailed description of Abby’s physical attributes. Christine jokingly blew me off by saying if she accurately described her, that I might want to have sex with her, so I dropped it. She did admit that she was a beautiful redhead about our age.

I didn’t give it any more thought but every evening at dinner, Christine constantly said Abby this or Abby that. She gushed over her non-stop indicating that Abby was her new best friend. I didn’t mind this new development but began curiously wondering more about what this Wonder Woman looked like. After six weeks of daily updates on how close the two women were growing, Christine came home one Friday saying that Abby’s husband, Justin Sinclair, had picked them both up for lunch that day at the campus and had taken them out to eat. She said that Abby’s husband was exceptionally nice, finally able to meet the woman his wife had spoken so highly of.

She described Justin as intellectually stimulating with an impressive mental aptitude. Abby seemed to revel in Christine’s mental connection with her husband and commented that it was great that they got along so well. She exhibited no jealousy whatsoever about her husband’s interaction and connection with her best friend, Christine. Abby trusted and loved Justin with all her heart.

Christine informed me in no uncertain terms that we were going to meet Abby and Justin for dinner the next day. Resistance was futile as the Borg would say. I only hoped that this would not be another pair of her stuffy, boring college friends. Talking about philosophy or history wasn’t my idea of having a stimulating good time. She said that Justin would be taking care of the reservations and that they would stop by and pick us up at 7:30 pm and that was that.

Saturday at 7:25 pm, a black Lexus pulled into our driveway to pick us up. A tall, dark, and handsome man dressed in an impeccable dark gray pinstripe suit exited the driver’s seat and opened the rear passenger door for us.

“So nice to see you again, Christine. Thank you both so much for joining us tonight, our treat. You must be Nolan. I’m Justin, Justin Sinclair, as he shook my hand with a firm grip.

As men do, we instantly sized each other up, standing nearly toe to toe both surmising that we’d each come out on top in a fight. I smiled politely for Christine’s sake and said, “So nice of you guys to invite us out. It looks like perfect weather for a perfect evening.”

As I slipped into the back seat behind the front passenger seat, although I couldn’t see anything but a bit of red hair from my vantage point, I quickly spoke, “Abby, I take it. I’m Nolan but I guess you know that already. I just wanted to introduce myself.”

“Hi, Nolan. Christine and I have talked for so long about the four of us getting together,” she giggled. “I’ve been looking forward to this night for so long. As Justin said, thanks for joining us. We hope that this is the first of many such outings.”

Christine and Abby became two chatterboxes the entire drive to the restaurant. Justin chimed in here and there but focused mainly on his driving. When we arrived at the valet service, I quickly stepped out and helped Christine out. Then I opened Abby’s door and politely reached for her hand as she stepped out of the car and into the light. When I finally clearly saw her face, my jaw nearly dropped. I was stunned at her beauty. She presented me with a huge smile and held onto my hand a little longer than I had expected. I suddenly realized that this was going to be a very interesting evening, very interesting indeed!

Justin guided us into the restaurant as if he owned the place and we were seated very quickly. As we took our seats, Abby was seated directly across from me and Justin was across from Christine. Abby looked stunning in her little green dress. Her gorgeous red hair cascaded down her shoulders perfectly framing her cherub face. As beauty goes, she was easily in Lydia’s class and very easy on the eyes.

“It’s nice to be able to finally put faces to the names Christine has talked so much about. Now that I can see you much better in the light, your face reminds me quite a bit of British actress Ellie Bamber.”

“You flatter me, Nolan,” Abby replied. “Christine tells me that you said she reminds you of Australian actress, Indiana Evans. So here we are, two famous actresses spending time with two American hunks. I hope we can avoid the paparazzi,” she chuckled.

“It’s readily apparent that Abby has already filled you in on Christine and me, Justin. Since I’m sure I know the least about you two, can you fill me in a little bit about yourselves?” I asked, looking at Justin.

“Of course,” Justin responded without hesitation. “I’m not sure how much Christine has told you about us. You know how forthcoming women are with each other. I studied law, originally intending to become an attorney but my heart wasn’t in it. My inquisitive mind compelled me to seek a job opportunity in an area that would challenge me mentally on an ongoing basis endeavoring to solve puzzles and answer serious and sometimes very challenging questions. I changed my studies to focus on law enforcement. I now work with the Charlotte Police Department in that capacity as a lead detective, helping to solve crimes and uncover the truth behind sometimes obscure evidence. It is a rewarding occupation to bring justice to those who deserve it.” Abby placed her hand over her husband’s and smiled with pride at his status in her eyes.

We placed our orders as the music began to play. There was a dance floor but no orchestra or band but there was a D.J. As we waited for our orders to come, Justin asked Christine to dance and she eagerly agreed after briefly looking my way. I, in turn, offered my hand to Abby who instantly rose. There were quite a few others already on the dance floor. We talked as we danced.

“How did you and Justin meet?” I politely inquired.

“We met through mutual acquaintances,” she responded. But Justin and I haven’t made a lot of true friends yet. Christine is an awesome personality. She and I hit it off right away and you and Justin might be embarrassed to learn how much we have both shared about our private lives. When I saw the picture on her desk of the two of you together, I felt an indescribable attraction that the four of us could become best friends. Based upon everything Christine has shared, I sure hope that is the case.”

Upon our return to the table, Justin and Christine were already engaged in intellectual oddities as if they were testing each other’s trivia capacity. Abby and I just looked on in amazement at the weird facts they were bandying about as if they were commonplace. I did find out later that night that Justin was a member of the MENSA society.

Recognizing that the conversation was stilted toward highbrow intellectualism that only he and Christine would enjoy, Justin quickly evolved the atmosphere to joviality, regaling side-splitting humorous anecdotes that were a bit risqué but appreciated nonetheless. A very good time was had by all. Abby paid equal attention to Christine and me both, which made the night exceptionally enjoyable. Now that the ice had been broken, on the drive home we four agreed to make this a regular thing.

We started off making Saturday nights a regular date night which soon evolved into many Fridays as well as Saturdays. Often as not, we’d take turns visiting each other’s homes and sharing wonderful evenings watching movies, and playing card and board games. During the summer we often went to the beach where the girls were scantily clad to tease Justin and me. Christine and Abby seemed to feed off each other’s bravado, challenging one another to be more daring in public. Christine began wearing low-cut, short dresses that she’d never considered before.

The four of us became inseparable and heavily flirted without overt touching. I had never known Christine to be so brazen publicly or privately before with another couple. If we went bowling, roller, or ice skating, we’d pair up with our opposites to keep everyone’s juices flowing. Christine would usually attack me demanding to be sexually satisfied upon our return home after visiting with our best friends. I wasn’t about to complain and I must admit that on more than one occasion, I was thinking of Abby while having sex with Christine.

On one Sunday afternoon, we went to a fairly secluded beach where Abby wore her skimpiest bikini yet. Her C-cup breasts were punctuated with her large pointy nipples which announced themselves clearly when aroused, which was often. Surprisingly, Christine donned a nearly-nothing, postage-stamp bikini. The nipples of Christine’s double-D breasts were barely covered. It was uncharacteristic of her to wear any kind of overtly revealing swimsuit. Abby had worn her down to go with the flow. Justin and I also wore barely-there speedo swimsuits. Quick nonchalant glances revealed that we were both packing about the same size equipment.

After the day’s fun and flirty activities in and out of the water, we partook in a planned picnic supper on the beach as we let the sun dry us off. After several glasses of wine and in our nearly naked state, Justin broached the subject of what he had hoped would be the next step in our relationship.

“Nolan, Christine, you guys are the best friends we have ever had as a couple, hands-down. We’ve never had as much fun before as we have with you two. We seem to enjoy the same things, whether it’s telling redneck jokes or discussing the mathematical nuances of the golden ratio of the Nautilus shell; you two are the most interesting couple Abby and I could imagine having for best friends. And on top of your stimulating brains, we find you two to be very attractive, physically. Abby and I hope that the feeling is mutual. We have immensely enjoyed our innocent flirting and teasing. What we’re trying to say here is that we were wondering if you two would consider taking the next natural, progressive step with us.”

He continued, “Nolan, I want to assure you that I will NEVER ever try to take Christine away from you, and Abby has no designs whatsoever to ever come between you and your husband, Christine. I love Abby to the ends of the earth and I will never leave her. I believe she loves me the same way and we have total confidence in our undying love for one another. That being said, we see no harm in expanding that boundary to include you two in our inner circle. We’re hoping you would consider intimate sharing. Some might call it swinging. We’re not talking about any kind of gay or lesbian activity here, strictly heterosexual. We’ve never felt this way about another couple before and are hoping that perhaps you may have had some similar thoughts yourselves. If you say, yes, then fantastic. If you say, no, then that’s okay too. We don’t want anything to ever damage our friendship or come between us. We have too much respect for you guys to ever allow that. What do you guys think?”

Christine shrugged her shoulders and immediately replied, “I’m game if you are, Nolan. I realize this is something we’ve never talked about before but we’ll never know whether or not we’d like it unless we try it. It might be fun to do a bit of exploring and see if this is something that could enhance our friendship with them even more.”

I couldn’t believe the words I’d just heard coming out of my wife’s mouth. She and I had talked extensively about my past experiences with Lydia, and her suggestion for an open relationship, with everything going south from then on. Now I was painfully wondering if Christine was already doing Justin behind my back.

“Justin, Christine and I think the world of you two. We can’t imagine having a better set of friends. We feel closer to you two than any other couple we’ve ever associated with. Thank you for thinking enough of us to consider taking such a step. I believe you both are sincere and suggest this out of love and friendship. At the same time, you are very familiar with my Christian roots. My faith runs deep and is an integral part of me. It’s not something that I can shut off whenever I find it inconvenient. As I said, you guys are great but I could never see my way clear to follow through with what you suggest. I’m sorry. I don’t need time to think about it. It’s just not who I am. I hope you understand.”

Justin responded with a big smile, stuck out his hand to shake mine, and said, “Thank you for hearing us out. We completely understand and respect your decision. You never know the answer to a question until you ask it, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Abby and I hope that this suggestion won’t put a damper on our friendship. I’ll not bring it up again.”

“It’s fine, Justin. I was sincere when I said thank you for asking. I’m flattered, really. I assure you that nothing has changed among us. I appreciate you not pressuring us. Now I’ve got some sand under my suit that I feel more so since it is dry now. Christine and I need to be heading on back, so we can shower off this grit and get more comfortable.”

Christine chimed, “See you at work tomorrow, Abby. Okay?”

We all stood up and as was our usual, the girls hugged everyone while we guys shook hands. Christine and I packed up our things and headed home. She knew what was coming the moment her car door was shut.

Chapter-4

“You’re game? It might be fun to explore? Enhance our friendship? Did you conspire with them against me and plan this to blindside me?” I demanded.

“What? No! I simply responded honestly. He asked a question and I answered, that’s all. Should I have lied to him?” She asked.

“Lie? No. I didn’t want you to lie to anyone. I wanted you to act like my wife and at least pretend like our marriage means something to you!” I seethed.

“Our marriage? NO ONE loves you more than I do and never will! You KNOW that. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking of your past with Lydia right then and was caught up in the moment. It must have been the wine talking. But I am NOT Lydia. I will never do what she did to you.”

“However, you were admitting that you were ready to jump into bed with Justin and have sex with him, and I should be okay with that? And my consolation prize is Abby?”

“Of course not. I would NEVER do anything behind your back nor without your express knowledge and permission. As you well know, yours was the first and only cock to ever penetrate my vagina. You’ve flirted every bit as much with Abby as I have with Justin. Can you blame a girl for wondering what another man might feel like? You’ve been with other women but I’m not allowed to even consider the same privilege? And don’t you dare try to tell me you’re not attracted to Abby. I’ve seen your dick get hard from her more than once after you’ve looked her up and down. You’re blowing this all out of proportion,” she asserted.

“Baby, I don’t want to lose you. Maybe we should cut ties with Abby and Justin as a protective measure. Perhaps you ought to go to Human Resources tomorrow and ask them to transfer Abby out of your area and bring in someone else whose husband isn’t trying to get in your pants.”

“What? Why would you suggest such a thing? I love Abby. She’s my best friend. I’m not going to ask them to transfer her.”

“I see. So you believe that I should be perfectly content with another man asking you right in front of me to let him fuck you? I get it.” I said sarcastically.

“You don’t have to be so vulgar. You know as well as I do that Abby is prettier than me. You’d get to be with her if we ever decided to swap with them. It wouldn’t be all one-sided you know.”

“I’m sorry, Christine. I love you too much to ever share you with another man. You are my everything, my whole world. I’d give my life for you in a heartbeat without even thinking. I’ll pass on a dozen Abbys at the same time to keep you all to myself.

We went to bed that night with minimal conversation. She didn’t have a comeback for my last remark. She would never openly declare that she eagerly wanted to have sex with another man outside of our marriage.

A week went by in near-total silence. Christine was unaccustomed to the wall I had constructed between us. This was unfamiliar territory for us. I usually trip over myself to cater to her every whim to make her happy. Apparently, she no longer needed me to make her happy. Her new best friends seemed to be filling that niche in her life nicely. I noticed that she had started humming to herself in the evenings while I occupied myself going over financial work files I had brought home to peruse to occupy my time. At least one of us was happy. Her behavior around me was uncharacteristic. She would usually try to engage me in conversation to work through any problems that arose between us. Quite frankly, I had no reason to change my position on the topic.

On Thursday evening after supper, she finally broke the ice and spoke a full sentence to me.

“Abby and Justin have invited us out to that new restaurant tomorrow night that we’ve talked about visiting. They’ll pick us up here at 7:30. I need you to be dressed and ready to go ahead of time in case I need you to change your clothes. I don’t want you to create a scene with them. I need you to be on your best behavior tomorrow night. It’s important to me that we reconnect with them and pick back up where we left off before encountering this unfortunate bump in the road. So, mind your manners, please, and watch what you say. Don’t make this uncomfortable for anyone, please? I don’t want to lose them as friends. Understood?”

She looked me directly in the eye after making her request known. I simply shrugged my shoulders and walked away having said nothing. She smiled at my silence believing that I would knuckle under and go along with her on this. I’d always catered to her every whim. I’ve watched a couple of football games in my day. Now might be the time to make an end run around her sphere of influence. Since I had still not openly warmed to her with an act of contrition, it was chilly in the house once again that night. No sex for me.

Friday evening, Christine came home from work almost bounding with excitement. I could tell that she was ready to resume the four musketeers’ friendship, paving the way to continue the adventures of the Sinclairs and the Riersons. It was glaringly obvious that friendship with them was her paramount objective. I took inventory of my thoughts. Abby was a beautiful woman but her breasts were not as appealing to me as Christine’s double-Ds. Abby’s smaller chest aside, she sure acted like sugar wouldn’t melt in her mouth when out with us. Justin’s a great guy but he hasn’t done anything for me personally. It still bothered me that Christine would have been on board with his offer of partner swapping but I knew I could never abide that.

“Why don’t you go ahead and get your shower, Nolan? I’ll go through your wardrobe and pick out something for you to wear,” she said tersely.

“You go ahead and get your shower first, Christine. I’ve been taking Tums for my upset stomach, and I think it needs more time to settle down,” I lied.

“What? When did this start? Did something bad happen at work today?” She queried.

“Nothing to do with work. It may be lunch not settling down. I can’t say for sure. Just give me some time,” I affirmed.

“Alright. You go rest a while, and I’ll go get cleaned up,” she acceded.

I rested on the living room couch to avoid interacting with her. She came dressed to the nines. She was still all into the flirty dressing up when going out with them as long as my wife-swapping line wasn’t crossed. I could tell she was still a bit uneasy with me as I hadn’t shown signs of acceptance yet.

“Your turn. I hope you’re feeling better now. I took my time,” she said aspiringly.

“The jury’s still out,” I countered.

“Why don’t you go ahead and get your shower now? Sometimes the warm water, and getting yourself clean goes a long way to feeling better.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot,” and I disappeared into the bathroom but locked the bathroom door. I took my shower but let the water run much longer than needed. I was dried off long before I ever shut the water off. Then I effusively sprayed the bathroom with orange-blossom-scented spray to mask unwanted smells, which, in reality, didn’t exist.

She wanted to know why I’d locked the door.

“To spare your olfactory senses, my dear. I have a bad case of the runs, and I don’t think I should stray too far from a toilet tonight for obvious reasons,” I informed. “I don’t think it would be advisable for me to go out tonight. I’ll just stay here until whatever it is, passes.”

“You’re kidding. You’re still angry with me, aren’t you? Don’t you want to see your friends? You get an erection every time you’re around Abby but suddenly you act like you want to avoid them? Don’t be silly. Get dressed and let’s go. I’ve already set your clothes out for you as you can see,” she insisted.

“Fine, I’ll go but only under two circumstances. Not IF, but when I mess my pants, YOU will clean up my butt all by yourself, and secondly, the next time you get sick, if I think you’re bluffing, you’ll do what I want anyway. Deal?”

She considered it for a moment and replied, “No deal.”

“That’s it then,” I injected. “We’ll just stay home tonight.”

“Let me think about that. If you stay home sick, they’ll understand. But if we both stay home, they’ll take it as rejection. As much as I hate to leave you here alone when you’re not feeling well, I think I need to be there tonight to represent us. You understand, don’t you, Nolan?”

“Of course. You go and have a good time. I won’t wait up for you. Take care,” I said as I walked away back to the bathroom and locked the door again.

I think it bothered her that I acted as though it didn’t matter to me at all, missing out on being out with our best friends. But I was determined to prove a point and wanted to create some leverage to work with. The doorbell rang promptly at 7:30. I heard her call out to me that she was leaving and shouted out that she loved me in front of Abby. I remained silent as she left. I felt a bit of relief as if I had made my stand, and was able to use her friends, something she valued, to get my way. I don’t really have diarrhea. I want to take advantage of the circumstances to make my point.

She arrived home at 11 pm and called out to me. I feigned sleep as she quickly joined me in bed. If she was all revved up like she normally was after an outing with the Sinclairs, I wasn’t going to allow her to use me for her relief tonight. I considered it a tiny victory in my own way.

Saturday morning I followed my nose to the kitchen where she was cooking breakfast. She greeted me with, “Are you feeling any better?”

“Much,” I simply stated.

“Good, have a seat and I’ll get you a plate for breakfast.” After serving me, she asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me about last night? Aren’t you curious?”

“I guess I’m not awake enough yet. I’m sure you’re going to tell me all about it.”

She didn’t like my tone and elected to say nothing about the night other than, “They’ve asked us out again tonight. You pick the place, anywhere you want to go.”

“What if I don’t want to go anywhere?” I posited.

“What’s got into you, Nolan? You’re acting like a two-year-old baby and I don’t like it a bit. I’ve already accepted their invitation for both of us. We’re GOING to go, together! All we need from you is to choose where we go tonight,” she stated defiantly. “We thought that would make you happy.”

I remained silent.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” She urged.

I still kept quiet and just looked down at my plate.

“Fine, go on, get out of the kitchen. I’ll clean up alone. You just go think about whatever it is you want to think about until you decide you’re ready to talk to me as an adult.”

I grinned and left the kitchen, dressed, and drove to Costco. For reasons unknown, I felt at peace in Costco. They invariably have good deals on quite a variety of items and I could browse through the store killing a lot of time. I texted her asking if she knew of anything we needed while I was there. She belligerently texted back, no. I laughed out loud. She was royally pissed at me and I knew it. Usually, I fall all over myself to placate her but this time I have an agenda, and I aimed to see it through. I sprang for the least expensive hot dog meal in the city at Costco while I was there, and enjoyed every bite. I did run into my neighbor, Austin Melton. He was arriving at Costco just as I was leaving. I told him there was nothing left in the store, that I had bought it all.

He chuckled and told me a couple of old jokes that he had only recently heard:

My wife sat down on the couch next to me while I was sitting there flipping through the channels. “What’s on TV?” She asked. “Dust,” I said, and then the fight started.

–

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, “I want something shiny that goes from zero to 150 in about four seconds.”

I bought her a bathroom scale, and then the fight started.

I erupted in laughter at both of his jokes. They were just what I needed to lighten my mood. I left for home with a smile on my face, ready to face any challenge. As I was putting all of my purchases away, Christine made her way to the kitchen to finally engage me in conversation. She had never known me to be so stubborn about anything before, and I’m sure it was unsettling to her. I still felt as though I had the upper hand but she was yet unaware of that status.

“Why did you go to Costco?” She inquired.

“You asked me to think, so I went there to think.”

“And what is it that you think, now that you’ve had a chance?”

“Well, I think more than likely I’m going to be sick again tonight. I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends.” I nonchalantly muttered.

“Sick? Again? What is it this time? Mental illness?” She accused.

“You can tell your friends anything you want. Sure, say I’m sick in the head. I don’t care what you tell them.”

“MY friends? They’re your friends too, Nolan. What is it with you? Why are you so sullen lately? I thought you enjoyed their company as much as I do. Why are you being so stubborn about seeing them?”

“Are you sure you want to know what’s on my mind? After all, according to you, I have the mind and attitude of a two-year-old.”

“Just spit it out, Nolan. What’s eating you?”

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, went to my happy place mentally and calmed myself down to a peaceful demeanor, and replied, “You, my dear. You’ve been acting differently ever since Abby and Justin came into our lives. Whether or not you agree with me is immaterial. It is my perception. When Justin suggests we swap partners, you blithely say you’re game, and because I said, no, you cut me off from sex, hardly speak to me for a week, and expect me to grovel at your feet because you’re not happy about it? You, the woman who saved her virginity for marriage now want to hop in bed with another man to try a different cock? I don’t get it.”

Her eyes large grew at my recalcitrance.

I continued, “As a matter of fact, I plan to be sick every time you want to get with them. I can go visit my parents while you’re living it up out on the town with YOUR friends. You three musketeers can be just as happy without the brooding miserable fourth bringing you down.”

She was trying to think of some clever way to put a spin on her desire to remain their friends after assenting to Justin’s suggestion that we swap partners for sex but she couldn’t. She was in a quicksand of her own making and she was desperately looking for a way out.

“What do you want, Nolan? Evidently, you’ve given this a lot of thought. How do we break this stalemate? Surely you’ve thought of some way to work through this. I don’t want to see our friendship with them unravel, and I don’t EVER want anything to come between you and me either.”

“Tell you what, Christine. I’ll be happy to resume our friendship with them under two conditions. First, if you are willing to forever give up on the idea of us ever swapping with them as long as I’m your husband. If Abby ever brings it up at work, then you immediately shut down all such talk without further discussion,” I explained.

“Done,” she firmly stated with emphasis. “I’ve given a lot of thought to what happened with you and your former fiancée, and I should have been more perceptive about where such things can lead, no matter how innocently they begin. If I ever had any such desires, they’re permanently burned out of me. I’ll never speak of it again and will shut her down if Abby ever brings it up in conversation. It will no longer be a topic for discussion, I swear. And the second thing?”

“I want you to start dressing more conservatively when we’re out with them. Justin has seen more of your body than I ever did before we married, and I don’t like it. I’d love for you to dress as slutty as you dare for me but only for me. If you can do both of those things, then I can suddenly feel better about us, and about going out with them. The ball is in your court, woman. What’s it going to be?”

I could almost see the gears turning in her mind as she considered everything I had just said. I could tell that she wanted to become defensive and argue against my position but she realized that she would be embarrassed trying to explain my ongoing absence. She smiled, walked over to me, hugged me fiercely, and whispered ‘deal’ in my ear. I nearly fainted. Finally, a reprieve, truce, or whatever it could be called was in effect. I felt as if a big weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The dark cloud was being replaced with sunshine.

We went out again with Justin and Abby that night and had a grand time. They were unaware of the power struggle that had just taken place between Christine and me unless Christine had apprised Abby, and that wouldn’t surprise me. After all, Abby was her best friend. Another fun-filled month went by as we four reconnected and thoroughly enjoyed one another’s company. The flirting continued but never extended into overt or intimate touches. Justin remained true to his word to avoid that topic.

During their many talks at work together in the university library, the girls clearly understood that intimate exchanges would never be in the cards, so Abby floated the topic of children with Christine. She and Justin both wanted kids and had talked about them in a positive light numerous times. Christine admitted that we were in the same boat but had not set any specific date yet to start working on our family. It was then that Abby had a creative inspiration.

“I have a great idea, Christine! Why don’t you and I both get pregnant at the same time? Think about it. We could go to the same obstetrician, share baby room ideas, learn how to waddle together and have our babies at the same time. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

Christine considered her suggestion and liked it a lot, “I’ll talk to Nolan about it tonight. I don’t think he’ll require much persuasion. We’ve recently paid off my student loans which paves the way for us to focus on growing our family now.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Abby excitedly shared. “Let’s not say anything to our men. Wouldn’t it be awesome to surprise them both with the news of becoming new daddies at the same time? It would bind the four musketeers together stronger than ever. Just think of the possibilities. Our kids could grow up playing together as best friends. Hey, if one of us has a girl and the other one a boy, they could even grow up in love and get married. How amazing would that be? You and I both know for a fact that our guys would be over the moon with excitement if we gave them the news that we’re both pregnant at the same time. What do you say, Christine?”

“To your point, we’ve both been on the pill for a good while. How would we even know how long it would take for us to get pregnant? How would that work?” Christine astutely asked.

Chapter-5

Abby informed, “As a matter of fact, I’ve been reading up on that very topic as to what happens when we stop taking the pill. The answer ultimately depends on where we are in our menstrual cycles. If we stop taking the pills in the middle of our packs, we could get pregnant right away. On the other hand, if we finish out the month’s pills, pregnancy may be possible later after our cycles get back to normal. We’re both part of the way through our pill-taking cycles right now. Somehow our periods have synchronized. I’ve heard that a lot of close friends do that. Anyway, if we stop taking our birth control pills at the same time near the middle of the pill-taking cycle, then the chances are very good that we could both become pregnant right away near the same time. We could hold off having sex for about a week, get our husbands very randy, and all worked up, then turn them loose on our bodies, draining them of all their baby batter. I bet it would work.”

“You’re on, girlfriend. Let’s do it. Let’s see, a week from now, we’ll be in the middle of our pill-taking cycles. We’ll stop taking the pills a week from today. But are you sure we shouldn’t say anything to Nolan and Justin?”

“Can you imagine the double surprise on both of their faces when we reveal to them both at the same time that they’re going to be daddies now? It’s sure to draw us even closer together.” Abby reassured.

“Alright then. I’m on board. You’ve convinced me. Mum’s the word.” Christine conceded.

At my office, a very large potential client was applying for a huge loan to perform a manufacturing upfit. Since the new client had been assigned to me, it fell upon me to visit their largest manufacturing facility on the west coast to evaluate and confirm their needs, as well as go over their financial records over the weekend to assess their viability to pay back the loan. This task would take me out of town for the entire weekend. I wasn’t given a choice. Time constraints required that I fly out early Friday morning on a red-eye and return Sunday night.

Coincidentally, Justin was reluctantly scheduled to switch his work shift for that same weekend. A night shift detective had a wife in the hospital giving birth, so Justin was volunteered by the police chief to sub for him during nights over the weekend. He hated that shift because invariably many domestic disturbance cases escalated to violence. Christine had planned to fly with me to the west coast to avoid being left alone all weekend but Abby explained Justin’s work situation to her and begged her to stay, and go out with her on Friday and Saturday nights for girls’ nights out. Christine relented and giggled at the prospect of them being two hotties out on the town.

Because I was on the west coast for the weekend, and my schedule was helter-skelter due to the many records I had to evaluate and plant walk-throughs that would require my time, Christine asked me not to contact her after 6 pm California time, 9 pm Charlotte time. It made sense that I would be the one initiating our calls never knowing when I’d have a few free minutes here or there before 6 pm. On Friday, we executed the walk-throughs after the plant closed that afternoon for the weekend, so I was able to talk to her at length before she retired for the night.

Saturday was much more involved. Their entire accounting department was instructed to be at my disposal the whole weekend to provide any needed documentation and answer any financial questions to aid in my analysis. I managed to sneak away for a couple of minutes, right at 6 pm, and gave Christine a call. She was at a club with Abby saying they were having a grand time. I was told that they weren’t planning on staying out much longer. We said ‘I love you’ to each other, and brought our conversation to a close.

Three of the company board members, and their wives were expecting me to relax Saturday night, and let them treat me to an evening of entertainment, California style, so my plate was full as well. Their wives were dressed to kill and occupied as much of my time on the dance floor as possible. I was sure their husbands had instructed them to flaunt their bodies at me for my ‘entertainment’ to help seal the deal but I was a very polite gentleman the entire night. I flew back Sunday night right on time, and Christine picked me up from the airport. We exhaustively rang each other’s chimes that night after I returned.

As expected, the following Friday night, we reconnected once again with our best friends. Abby and Christine acted coyly as if they had been naughty behind our backs when they had gone out the previous weekend but Justin and I both knew better and played along with them in a flirty fashion.

The following weekend, on Saturday night, Christine invited them over for dinner at our house. She served one of her awesome specialties, classic Duck a l’Orange. It was to die for. It was accompanied by green beans and rice pilaf. Abby assisted by making her delectable tossed salad with homemade dressing. Christine’s homemade pecan pie rounded out the meal and everyone was about to bust after over-partaking of the splendid delicacies.

I talked Justin into helping me with cleanup in the kitchen, leaving the girls to relax after having created such a feast. Justin was acting a bit off for some reason that night, not quite his usual jovial self. He seemed to have something on his mind but never revealed anything that was bothering him.

Afterward, the four of us chatted and drank wine in the den as we continued making small talk. Justin suddenly excused himself saying that he needed to get something from his car. He returned within a couple of minutes carrying a manila folder comprising a collection of documents and laid it on the coffee table.

“What is that, Justin?” Christine asked.

Justin paused, took a deep breath, looked very concerned, and then began sharing what had been bothering him all evening.

He opened the folder and produced a five-by-seven mug shot of a twenty-something-year-old black man and showed it to Christine and me.

“Christine, do you know this man?” Look carefully before you respond.

Christine said, “I don’t need to study it, Justin. I’ve never seen that man before in my life. Why do you ask?”

“I’ll get to that in a moment. Can you tell me where you were and what you were doing two Saturday nights ago at 4 am?”

She thought for a moment and responded, “That’s easy. I was in bed fast asleep. What’s with the third degree, Justin? Why are you asking me these silly questions?”

“They’re not silly questions, Christine. I’m deadly serious. Can anyone else verify your statement that you were in bed asleep that Saturday night at 4 am? Anyone at all?”

Christine’s countenance suddenly fell. Justin was all business. He didn’t seem to be joking around like he normally did. She felt the seriousness of his questions warranted a serious response.

“Let me think,” She recounted. “That Saturday night, Nolan was in California working with a financial client. Abby and I went out to eat that night and then drove to a nightclub. As I recall, we got buzzed a bit that night on the wine but I distinctly remember Abby getting me home close to 10 pm that night. Yes, that’s right, 10 pm, right Abby?”

Abby nodded her confirmation of that detail.

“Okay, what happened after that, Christine? It’s very important that you remember any details. You arrived home around 10 pm. What next?” Justin dug.

“Nothing,” she rejoined. “Abby and I had a glass of wine to unwind from the night. Then she left to go home. I went to bed and slept like a log, end of story. At 4 am I was dead to the world. I don’t think I even got up to pee a single time that night. Please, Justin, why are you asking me these questions? What’s this all about?”

He expounded, “The man in that picture is Deshawn Bodega, a two-bit drug dealer. We’ve arrested him a couple of times but he managed to get off each time on technicalities. We believe he had ties to the mob, and their attorneys kept him out of jail. Anyway, that Saturday night, Deshawn was found alone, dead, in a motel room across town. The detectives in charge of the case suspect he was murdered. It’s circumstantial evidence but it’s crystal clear, compelling, and convincing.”

“That’s all well and good, Justin, but why are you asking ME these questions? You can’t seriously think that I had anything to do with that,” she said flatly.

Justin produced another close-up picture of a pair of red designer lacy women’s panties. They had clearly been worn. I looked over her shoulder as he handed her the picture to review.

“Christine, do you recognize these panties? Are they yours? This pair is officially logged into evidence in Deshawn’s murder investigation case.”

I immediately recognized the panties as one of my favorite pairs for Christine to wear.

She blushed, then replied, “I believe I have a pair just like these in this picture. I haven’t worn them in a while. They should be up in my bedroom. Is it important?”

“Very,” he stoically said. “Would you mind going and checking right now?”

Christine defiantly sprang to her feet and bounded up the stairs to our bedroom where she searched for them. She returned empty-handed after a few minutes. “I used to have a pair just like them,” she admitted, “but I can’t find them right now. They seem to be missing. What difference does it make if I have a pair of red underwear just like those?” She demanded.

“Man, this doesn’t look good. Doesn’t look good at all,” Justin mumbled. “The panties in this picture were located just under the edge of the bed in the motel room where Deshawn’s body was found. Our forensics lab has thoroughly tested them for DNA. There is semen on the gusset of the panties and a female DNA sample was readily retrieved from the panties as well. The semen is established to belong to Deshawn Bodega. The female DNA residual on the panties belongs to you, Christine. That’s why I’m asking you these questions.”

“ME?! You say it’s my DNA? Impossible! That’s impossible, I tell you. How can you say it’s mine? How could you possibly know that?” She angrily demanded.

“The last time we went to the beach,” he began, “your hairbrush was left behind. Abby grabbed it and planned on returning it to you. Your hair samples in that brush are an identical DNA match to the female DNA left on the panties found in the motel room with Deshawn’s body.”

“This is crazy, absolutely insane, Justin. A random drug dealer turns up dead, and right off the bat you somehow suspect me? Why on earth would you even think to test MY DNA against what was found on those panties? What possible reason possessed you to even consider such a thing?”

“An exceptionally compelling reason, Christine. Are you certain you don’t have anything else you want to tell me beforehand? Do you really want me to produce incontrovertible evidence?”

“I’ve got nothing to hide. You’re doggone right I want to see your evidence because there can’t be any,” she emphatically affirmed.

Justin slowly removed another crystal clear eight-by-ten color photograph from the folder and handed it to her. As she and I looked at it, total shock set in. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed it possible, not my wife, my Christian wife, the woman who declared her love and fidelity to me.

Christine was holding a high-definition picture of her lying naked on a bed, intertwined with a man, the same one identified in the earlier photograph. They both appeared to be asleep. Her face was shown only from the side, so she might have protested saying it wasn’t her as her face wasn’t clearly visible. However, there was an unmistakable red heart-shaped tattoo on the woman’s left hip right below the panty line, and yes right in the center of the heart was the distinct outline of a key slot. Our tattoos were custom designed. No one else would have one exactly like that in precisely the same spot.

And to top it off, her hand was positioned in such a way that it clearly showed her wedding ring, the very ring that I put on her hand five years ago. It was undoubtedly her. As much as I hated to admit it, there was no denying that my wife was naked in bed with a known drug dealer. What’s more, his spent cock was resting against her leg with semen dribbling out of it. Any reasonable person looking at this photograph would readily conclude that they’d just had sex. I was ready to vomit at that thought, and I turned away.

Christine looked like a fish, her mouth moving up and down with no words coming out. She was speechless. “This can’t be,” she finally stammered. “I mean there’s no doubt that it looks like me but I can’t explain it. Nolan I swear, I mean I swear to Almighty God that I never knowingly did anything like what you see in this picture. I never had sex with any other man! Much less a criminal drug dealer! You’ve got to believe me!”

My world was shattered. Here we were faced with damning evidence that she had fucked another man who she claims never to have met.

“That’s not all, there’s more, I’m afraid,” Justin added.

“More? What could be more than this?” She shouted shaking the damning evidence in her hand.

“There were two syringes found on the scene, Christine. One of them was analyzed and determined to have contained a knockout solution which would have rendered Deshawn immediately unconscious upon injection. The second syringe contained a solution of fentanyl, a super-potent synthetic opioid that took his life in less than a minute. Both syringes were found empty at the scene, and both substances were identified to be in his bloodstream. The small injection site on the side of his neck suggests that someone injected him with the knock-out solution to render him unconscious. After he was immobilized, the kill shot was administered which took his life. There’s no way he could have injected himself with the fentanyl with the quantity of knockout solution determined to be in his veins. He was murdered and detectives are trying to identify the prime suspect,” Justin explained.

“Okay, okay, I hear what you’re saying, Justin,” Christine urged, “but even though it looks like I was there, that doesn’t mean I killed him, right? I don’t even know the guy, never met him before, I swear it on my mother’s life. It wasn’t me that murdered him,” she heaved.

“That’s simply the strangest, most inexplicable thing, Christine. I pulled your fingerprints off your hair brush. They match the fingerprints on both syringes, not just one but both. There are only one person’s fingerprints on both syringes, Christine, and those prints belong to you.”

Christine abruptly sat down on the couch to prevent herself from passing out. She didn’t know what to think. In a daze, she blankly offered, “I guess I have no choice but to go to the police and get this straightened out.”

“And just what would you tell them, Christine?” Justin inquired.

“I’d tell them it wasn’t me. I was never there, and I didn’t kill anybody; that’s what I’ll tell them,” she huffed.

“Just to be clear, let me get this straight,” he began. “You say you never met this man, right?”

“Right.”

“Yet, in your own hands is pictorial evidence that suggests that not only did you know him, you knew him intimately, would you agree?”

“I would say no but I do agree that it looks that way from this picture.”

“You also say your red panties are missing, yet an identical pair was left on the scene with both your and his DNA from apparent sexual intercourse on them, right?”

“If that’s what the report says,” she added.

“And you say you were alone in bed at the time of his death, 4 am, right?”

“Right.”

“Yet you have no witnesses whatsoever who can verify your alibi, correct?”

Christine looked defeated down at the floor. “That’s right. Nolan was out of town. I was at home by myself.”

“So basically, to sum it all up, you have no alibi; your DNA is present at the scene; it appears as though the two of you were sexually intimate; he was murdered; and your fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. Do you want to know what our detectives think? They believe that this woman was involved in a sexual affair with Deshawn, and lured him to the motel room for sex. Then, after having sex with him, rendered him unconscious and gave him the overdose to kill him for one of several possible motives, jealousy, money, drugs, cheating, take your pick. In their eyes, you had means, motive, and opportunity. We’re talking a minimum of ten to twenty years in prison no matter how you look at it. They only have one big problem.”

“What?” Christine asked inquisitively.

“They don’t know who you are. The detectives on the case have your DNA, your fingerprints, and this picture without your identifiable face. They have no idea how or why this picture was taken and left at the scene, or who the woman is. It’s almost as if this was a professional mob hit and someone is trying to frame you for it. You’re in the clear, Christine, as long as they are unable to identify you.”

Christine’s eyes became as big as saucers. She was finally beginning to realize her plight.

Justin asked, “Right now, you have an even more pressing concern than the law, Christine, and that’s Nolan. What are you going to do about him?”

“What do you mean? What about Nolan?”

“Well, he’s been your husband for 5 years, and you made such a big production about waiting for marriage for sexual intercourse. Now he has seen damning evidence that you’ve already had sexual intercourse with another man. How do you think HE feels about you being with this man?”

“But I wasn’t, I didn’t. I mean I didn’t have sex with that man no matter what the picture looks like. I know me and I would never do that,” she vowed.

“It’s not me you must convince, Christine. It’s Nolan. No matter what you say, without any evidence whatsoever to the contrary, without a doubt, a jury would quickly convict you based upon everything you now know. Nolan is not a panel of 12 people. He doesn’t need a jury. He will either make his own decision to kick you to the curb and divorce you based on what he’s already seen, or try to work it out with you to save your marriage which hangs by a thread. But I can tell you this for certain; if you are convicted and go to prison, he will unquestionably divorce you. By the time you are released from prison, he’ll be married to another woman. His children and grandchildren will never know you existed.”

Christine was shocked to the core at the mere thought of such loss. To lose her freedom, her husband, and her future progeny simultaneously was unfathomable to her. She looked to me for encouragement or some kind of support. She found none. I couldn’t even look her in the eyes. My pain and rage would have toppled her emotional stability if conveyed. She knew that she was in an impossible, dreadful situation, and could see no way out. The fleeting thought of taking her own life quickly passed through her mind. Justin was an exceptionally intelligent man. Perhaps he was aware of a way she might mitigate her present circumstances. But he was right, what about me? I was in a whirl about how I felt about my wife. It was as if Lydia’s betrayal was being relived and the prospect of that was unbearable.

Chapter-6

My wife reached out to me, “Nolan, honey? You have to believe me. I didn’t do this. I’ve never cheated on you. You KNOW I would never do such a thing. It disgusts me more than you to look at that photograph. I have no idea where it came from or how I came to be in it. I admit that it looks really bad for me but you KNOW me. Please tell me you believe me,” she pleaded.

I looked at her. I needed answers, answers that seemingly were in short supply. “Christine, you swear you haven’t cheated but the picture says otherwise. If you don’t want me to divorce you, give me a reasonable explanation for that picture, and all the other evidence stacked against you. Give me something to work with, Christine, SOMETHING!” I urged.

Divorce? She tried to think of any explanation that might appease him but she came up empty. “I don’t know, Nolan. I don’t know how or why this is happening to me. All I know is that I didn’t do it. I need you to trust me, honey. I love you, only you, and I need you on my side.”

I wasn’t convinced. “I’m afraid I need more than ‘I don’t know’, Christine. If the circumstances were reversed, what would you do? I’ll tell you what you would do. You would kick me out so fast it would make my head swim. That’s you in that picture; there’s no doubt. Who would know to fake your custom tattoo or your wedding ring? It’s not photo-shopped. It’s the real deal, and you have nothing to say in your defense? I can’t deal with this, Christine. It’s too much.”

Justin, sensing the dire urgency of the situation stepped back into the conversation.

“Listen you two. You’re both in shock over this right now. I can see that the overwhelming evidence is unexplainable at the moment. I can’t explain it myself. The only notion that makes any sense to me is the mob or mafia. If they came to you unaware in the wee hours of the morning, rendered you unconscious somehow, kidnapped you, carried you to the motel where Deshawn was, staged the photo, planted the DNA and fingerprint evidence while you were there, then brought you back home, leaving you with no memory of it at all when you arose Sunday morning; it’s quite a stretch for anyone to believe. Why the mob would go to so much trouble to frame you for the murder of a lowly drug dealer is a mystery. It defies logic and common sense. We may never uncover the unfiltered truth here but I have a couple of suggestions that may enable the two of you to get through this, and possibly keep you out of prison, Christine. That is if you’re interested.”

“You bet I’m interested! There’s got to be a way out of this. How do you see that happening, Justin? Please tell me you have a plan.”

“As strange as it may sound, I’m inclined to believe you, Christine. You’ve been very convincing. But I’ve been involved in enough cases that my gut instinct has been fooled before. As I said, your first priority should be securing Nolan’s trust. If he leaves and divorces you, your future outlook would be very drab indeed. I have an idea that may just help you both in that regard. There’s a friend of mine on the force who has one of our older models of lie detectors in his vehicle tonight. If I make a call, he can be here in about ten minutes. Although I place a lot of confidence in lie detectors, as you both know, their results are inadmissible in court. But if you pass a lie detector test right here, in front of Nolan, he just might find enough spark of belief to stand by you and support you. Are you up for something like that, Christine? Do you think you could pass a conclusive lie detector test?”

Christine looked defiant as she hardened her face and said, “Bring it on!”

Justin made a quick phone call, “My friend on the force lives nearby and he’ll be here in just a few minutes. When he arrives, please do not ask him for any identifying information or speak to him. As an officer, he is legally obligated to report back to the precinct everything he knows or learns about any ongoing case. If he doesn’t know who you guys are, and he doesn’t hear anything incriminating about what you may be involved in, then he will not be placed in a position to turn you in. Okay?” We all quickly agreed.

The doorbell rang about ten minutes later. Justin went to the door and a non-descript, average-looking man entered. “Good, you’re here,” he appreciatively said to his friend.

Justin continued, “Christine, how about sitting in a chair next to the door that leads to the hall? My associate will hook you up with the wires and sensors and connect them to his trusty machine which he will set up on the other side of the closed door in the hallway, remaining out of earshot of the specific questions I’ll be asking you.”

I grabbed a nearby folding chair and moved it adjacent to the door. Christine took her seat and leaned her back to rest against the wall to calm herself. The unnamed associate attached a waistband sensor and others under her arms around her upper chest. Then he attached a stick-on sensor pad on her wrist and another on her neck. He then routed all the connecting wires underneath the door into the hallway where he set up his small suitcase-sized lie detector machine. Justin informed his friend that he would only ask ten questions, and he would knock on the door to signal to his associate that a question was about to be asked, enabling him to differentiate between topics or questions.

I watched as Justin quickly shorthanded ten questions on a notepad, presumably familiar questions for lie detector tests. He then began.

“Okay, Christine. Here is your chance to prove your innocence to Nolan and the rest of us. Just remain calm and answer every yes or no question that I ask you in total honesty. Are you ready?”

Christine looked over at my concerned expression and nodded her head. “Yes, Justin, thank you. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good. This will only take a few minutes: Question number one,” and Justin gave two knocks on the door to signal the pending question.

“Is your name Christine Rierson?”

“Yes,” she said adroitly.

“Question number two,” followed by two more knocks. “Is your date of birth May 4, 1996?”

“Yes.”

Two knocks. “Excellent. Have you ever stolen anything?”

“No, I have not.”

“Just yes or no, please, no other words.” Two more knocks. “Do you know a man named Deshawn Bodega?”

“No.”

Two knocks. “Do you know the man in this picture that I have identified as Deshawn Bodega? Perhaps you know him by another name?”

“NO!”

Two knocks. “Have you ever knowingly had sexual contact or sexual intercourse with the man shown in this picture?”

“No.” She again adroitly responded.

Two knocks. “Did Abby have you home by 10 pm that Saturday night?”

“Yes.”

Two knocks. “Did you leave the house again at any time that night after Abby left?”

“No.”

Two knocks. “Looking at this picture, does it appear to you that you are indeed the woman in this picture naked in bed with this man?”

“Yes.”

Two knocks. “Did you have anything to do with the death of this man I have identified as Deshawn Bodega?”

“NO!” She emphatically stated.

“Thank you, Christine. I believe that should do it.” Justin opened the door advising the man that he was through. He could pack up the lie detector and reveal the results. After all of the sensors and wires had been removed and carefully coiled and stored, he was ready to reveal his findings.

“Well?” Justin began, “How did she do?”

“Ten questions, right?” The man confirmed.

“Correct.”

His friend leaned over and whispered something in his ear and quickly left the premises.

I couldn’t wait any longer. “What did he say, Justin? Did Christine pass or didn’t she?”

Not wasting any time, Justin reported, “He said he gave her a clear passing score on nine of the ten questions. There was only one question that he discerned a deceptive response from her.”

“Which one?” Christine asked. “I told the truth, I swear I did, Nolan. I never lied!”

“Now just hold on a second, Christine. He said the only question that appeared deceptive in some way was question number three. That’s when I asked if you had ever stolen anything.” Justin offered.

“Stolen anything? Stolen anything? Let me think… Back when I was in high school, and the band members were selling those candy bars to raise money, I remember someone had left their box of unsold candy unattended. I remember taking one that day but then I paid them for it two days later after my conscience got the better of me. Could that be it?” She queried.

Justin confirmed, “I think it must be, Christine. As I said, those tests are very sensitive and very revealing. Even buried subconscious thoughts such as yours could come into play. He said there was no deception in any of your other responses, so I want you to know I believe you, Christine.”

“What do you think Nolan?” Justin asked as Christine looked at me for my answer.

“I’m in a quandary about this whole thing to be perfectly honest. On one hand, she agrees with us that it really is her in that picture, naked, and with another man’s sperm obviously ejaculated onto and likely into her body. The evidence says that his sperm is also in her panties which implies more than a one-time sexual act. Yet, on the other hand, she has no knowledge or memory of it ever happening, and before tonight had no idea who he was. What troubles me most is that no one can offer a satisfactory explanation about what happened that night or why. That is most troubling. I suppose it’s possible that she could have had some kind of psychotic break, repressing her memory of the events of that night as a mental protective measure. A man is dead and no one knows why. If she didn’t do it, then someone went to extremely elaborate lengths to frame her perhaps to deflect the blame from the real killer. But why her? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

“I agree with you on every point, Nolan,” Justin affirmed. “Since Deshawn was associated with the mob, my explanation is the only remotely plausible one I can come up with at the moment. However, the perpetrator or perpetrators did a superb job of planting irrefutable evidence that is both damning and incontestable at the same time. Since she has no memory of anything happening that night other than going to sleep, she’s unfortunately trapped in an ironclad case. Tens of thousands of people have been convicted on far less evidence than has been properly documented in this case.”

“So basically you’re saying that it doesn’t matter whether I’m guilty or not. It all boils down to what I can prove, and right now I can’t prove that I didn’t know him, or murder him. There is too much evidence to contradict my vehement but unprovable denials.” Christine asserted.

“That’s it in a nutshell, Christine,” Justin confirmed.

Christine asked, “So what are my options right now, Justin? You’ve made it quite clear that if I turn myself over to the police, and throw myself at the mercy of the court, no matter what I say or do, I’m going to do some serious prison time, 15 to 20 years minimum, is that about right?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Christine.”

“What are you not telling me, Justin? Earlier, you said you may have a suggestion that might keep me out of prison. I’m very interested to hear what you have to say about that,” she urged.

“Quite frankly, that all depends solely upon Nolan. Before I offer to stick my neck out for you, I need to know for certain where Nolan stands on all of this. I’m sure you’d like to know as well now that you have formally passed the lie detector test with flying colors. What do you say, Nolan? Knowing what you know now, are you prepared to stand behind your wife 100%, and do whatever it takes to keep her out of prison? What I’m asking is do you love her enough to do anything and everything it takes to protect your wife and future mother of your children? I need to know right here and now before saying any more,” Justin stipulated.

Three sets of eyes were now looking intently at me. It was decision time. I had no idea what it was that might be expected of me but then again, did it really matter? He had directly posed the question, was I willing to do ANYTHING to protect my wife and future mother of my children? I quickly thought back to the accident. I had intentionally placed my body in harm’s way to shield hers. But even more impactful than that were the two things she had selflessly done for me. She risked her life to drag my unconscious body from a car about to explode, even though it painfully ripped muscles in her shoulder. But most impactful was her shouting to the doctors to take her organs, even her own heart if need be to save my life. This woman put her all into being with me. She didn’t want to live without me.

There was no decision to make. It was almost as if I was born for this purpose, to protect her, to protect our future family. Our family life would be destroyed if she were to go to prison for any reason, let alone for murder.

I moved beside Christine and firmly put my arm around her as a physical gesture. “Of course, Justin. I will do anything to protect the love of my life. I’d rather die than see her suffer such a fate. Whatever it is, I’m in 100%. What do you suggest?”

Christine echoed, “That goes double for me too.”

Justin hesitated for a moment, looked over at Abby, and then back at Christine and me.

“Okay, here’s the deal. It’s a one-time, take-it-or-leave-it offer. I’ll understand and accept your decision, whatever it may be but I’ll need an answer before Abby and I leave tonight. There is a viable version of this scenario where no one goes to prison or is even charged with a crime. I’m asking you to not comment or ask any questions, please, until after I’ve finished my whole spiel. Then when I tell you, you may say or ask anything you wish at that time, agreed?”

Christine and I both nodded. Justin began.

“Because I’m a detective with the police department, I am legally obligated to immediately disclose any information that I may come across pertinent to any case that we are currently investigating. What I’m saying is that, now that I know for certain that it is Christine in the photograph with Deshawn, if I don’t inform the detectives working the case of my discovery, then I, too, can be prosecuted for withholding evidence from a homicide investigation, and also as an accessory after the fact. I might not get as many years of a prison sentence as Christine would but I’d also lose my job, my pension, my career, and life as I know it. Hell, I might even lose Abby, depending on the length of my sentence. So, you see, Abby and I would be taking an enormous gamble, even risking our way of life by my taking measures to help keep Christine out of prison.”

He continued, “However, Abby and I both love you guys to the moon and back. You’re our very best friends. As far as we’re both concerned, you two are family to us, and we wouldn’t want to see anything happen to ever break us apart, least of all something Christine may not even be guilty of. When Abby and I came here tonight, we needed convincing that you were innocent. I think we all now believe in your innocence, Christine, but as you know, what the four of us believe, and what can be proved are two different things.”

He went on, “Three damning sets of evidence are stacked up against you. The DNA and fingerprint evidence are too plentiful for me to do anything about but the photograph, even though it doesn’t identify your face, it identifies your body. If I stick my neck out and am clever about it, I can make that single piece of evidence disappear forever. That will leave only the DNA and fingerprints. Christine, if I do this, as long as you are not arrested for a crime, your fingerprints and DNA will never cross the police department’s database. You’ll remain off our radar, and this case will be relegated to the unsolved files. Because Deshawn was a drug dealer, I doubt that anyone will miss him very much.”

Justin resumed, “I’ve never tampered with or destroyed evidence before. The only reason I am considering doing this is the love we both have for you two. However, you may not like the next part that I have to say but as I said, it is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. Think about this, whoever may be trying to frame you might eventually discover that you haven’t been arrested for Deshawn’s murder. It is possible that they might check on you or try to abscond with you again to entrap you further before too much time has passed on the investigation. They would know that the department is not going to expend a lot of time and resources on the murder of a known drug dealer. As a result of that logic, I’m suggesting that Christine lay low for a while, and remain off their radar for at least a month at minimum. I’m sure you both will probably agree with me that it would be wise to do that.”

Christine and I looked at each other as we both nodded our heads in affirmation.

“I thought so. So here’s what I require of you in return. Because I’m risking my neck to keep you out of prison, I stand to lose every bit as much as you for my silence and obstruction of justice. And I’d be completely willing to do that for you two, if you’d both be willing to do something for me in return, for us. Christine, during that month of laying low, I’d want you to come and live with me at my home acting as my wife in every way. Abby, in turn, will stay and live here with Nolan and be his wife in every way. If whoever is behind this doesn’t find you living here with Nolan, they’ll never suspect you’d be living with a Charlotte PD Detective. Plus, if you’re with me, I can protect you better than he can because I’m a Police Officer, no disrespect to your husband. By the time the month is up, the investigating detectives will have given up trying to solve the case and move on to other more pressing investigations, and the heat will then be off of you.”

He continued, “You and Nolan can be assured about me not reneging or changing my mind later, and turning you in for the crime. After all, if we swap spouses for a month, I could be charged as a collaborator. There’s no way I’d ever change my mind. Also, I want it to be clearly understood that Abby and I have no plans or designs on changing any marital arrangements. She and I have an unbreakable bond that no one can sever. We will remain happily married until we grow old and die. We want the same for you two as well. We will never try to change any love dynamic between you two. That being said, during the month of the exchange, we want you two to do your very best to satisfy Abby and me including our respective appetites both sexually and emotionally. During the month-long swap, you are both to never deny Abby or me anything, and I do mean anything. You will both be expected to lose any inhibitions and cater to our impulsive desires. If you both do that, then no one will go to prison. If you decide to decline this offer, then I will inform my superiors in the morning of Christine’s identity, and let the chips fall where they may. That’s my offer. I’d like you to take a few minutes to think about everything I’ve said.

Chapter-7

Christine and I stood open-mouthed at what we had just been presented. Our minds were in a whirlwind of confusion and fear. One thing we both knew for certain, after tonight, our lives will be forever changed, one way or another. Either Christine will go to prison for a crime we both believe she didn’t commit but there’s all that damning evidence suggesting otherwise, or we’ll both agree to a month-long wife swap. We looked at each other. Christine was trying to see where I stood before speaking. What she saw was concern, disgust, and my protective instinct all at once. Just imagining her having unprotected sex with that thug disgusted me, whether she killed him justifiably for it or not. My concern was for my family life and the stability that would be ruined if she were to be charged and convicted. My protective instinct still wanted to save the threads of whatever we had left of our love after learning everything tonight. I know I love her, and I have never doubted her love for me.