Nice Couples Do

by Joan Elizabeth Lloyd

  Tony had heard about the book. If it would only work, he thought.

  It had taken two days for Tony to get up the nerve to buy a copy and three more before he finally had opened it and started reading. He had had his lunch in his office for the next few days while he read and debated with himself.

  He had wanted to mark a section for her, one on touching, but he hadn’t been brave enough. She won’t be as negative if I give the book to her and let her select something, he had reasoned. Will she understand? I don’t want to louse up what I have, but I know we could have so much more. That morning, he had gathered his courage and placed the volume, with the bookmark and the note, on her pillow.

  Tony had been jumpy as a nervous bride all day and had put off leaving the office until he ran out of work on his desk. Hesitantly, he got his raincoat and slowly made his way home. During the trip, he agonized. He could tell her it all had been a mistake. He hadn’t understood about the book. A guy in his office thought she might enjoy it. He could make up some excuse and take the book back.

  He walked into the house, ready to offer some explanation, but when he saw Alice standing in the kitchen making dinner, he knew he had done the right thing, whatever the outcome. I love her so much, he thought. I want to recapture some of that wonderful newness we had when we were first married.

  It was obvious from the strained tone in her voice when she said hello that Alice had found the book, but Tony couldn’t gauge her reaction, not with all the children regaling them with tales of their day at school. There is still time to bail out, he thought. No! I’m going to see it through.

  During dinner, neither Tony nor Alice said much. Each of the three children had a long, involved problem that had to be discussed. It was lucky that they didn’t have to make conversation. They were both too nervous.

  As the children started to clear the dishes, Tony asked, “Did you see the book I left you?” His voice was barely audible and Alice had to strain to hear him.

  She nodded. “I read it,” she said. She stood up and picked up the empty spaghetti bowl. Her hands were shaking so hard that she almost dropped it. “It’s on your bed table.”

  As Alice watched, Tony fumbled with his napkin, pushed his chair back noisily, and hurried upstairs. He’s as anxious and nervous as I am, she thought. I wonder whether he’s as excited.

  Alice finished the dishes and left the children in front of the TV. Slowly, she walked upstairs. Tony was stretched out on his side of the bed, his long legs crossed at the ankles. His straight dark brown hair was slightly mussed and his glasses sat on the end of his nose as he read. Alice smiled. He’s really a very sexy man, she thought. Her eyes strayed to the obvious bulge in the front of his slacks.

  “You understood what I meant?” he asked as he heard Alice come in.

  “Eventually. It frightened me at first, but after I did some reading, I understood. You were trying to tell me something wonderful.”

  Tony grinned. “I love you very much, but there’s so much I can’t talk about.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Really? You marked this section?” he asked, holding up the bookmark.

  “Yes,” she answered shyly.

  “You really mean it?”

  Alice smiled and there was a glint in her eye. Tony had his answer.

  Alice and Tony’s story concerns two people who wanted more from their sex life, two people who now have taken the first step. They have opened a dialogue and found a comfortable way to discuss methods to spice up their monogamous relationship. There are, of course, other ways to find out about each other’s desires.

  3

  UNSPOKEN CLUES

  It is certainly possible to discover your mutual likes and dislikes without talking about them directly. Those discoveries are usually made by accident, though, not by design. It’s possible to try new things when you don’t even know what those things are. Ed and I are proof that mistakes don’t ruin a relationship.

  There are many times when your partner gives you an unspoken clue, some indication that he wants something different or that he’s particularly enjoying some activity. Don’t overlook these. They are valuable on their own and in combination with other ways to share ideas.

  If Maggie hadn’t correctly interpreted Larry’s reading habits, she might never have found the way to enhance their sexual life together.

  MAGGIE’S STORY

  Maggie was not a very good housekeeper. Even while the children were still living at home, she had seldom spent much time on her house. Now that the kids were gone and she was occupied by her full-time job, she left most of the work for Mrs. Kennedy, who came in to clean the new condo every Tuesday.

  One Saturday morning while her husband, Larry, was out doing some shopping, Maggie decided to tidy up his bed table. She picked up and neatened a pile of books, heaps of old mail, and a stack of old magazines. As she straightened a bunch of car catalogs that Larry had accumulated, one, smaller than the rest, fell out of her hands. Maggie set the now-neat pile down and bent over to pick up the fallen booklet.

  As she glanced at the cover, she expected to see a photograph of the latest in Detroit’s arsenal. Instead, she gazed at a picture of a woman’s voluptuous body, dressed in a revealing red teddy with long red stockings connected to lacy red garters. Maggie stared for a moment at the sensual expression on the woman’s face, then she noticed a man’s hands, just visible around the woman’s waist.

  She turned the catalog over and saw that it was addressed to the previous occupants of their condo. Even after six months, the post office was not totally clear on who lived where. Although the number was dwindling, a few pieces of mail, this among them, were still being misdelivered.

  Maggie sat down on the edge of the king-sized bed and opened the well-thumbed catalog. She turned page after page of erotic photos of women in expensive, revealing underwear, bodysuits, lounge- and nightwear. In many of the pictures, handsome half-dressed men could be seen taking obvious pleasure in gazing at their ladies.

  After looking through the brochure twice, Maggie carefully returned it to the middle of the stack.

  Over the next few days, Maggie’s mind often strayed to the pictures in the catalog. She could still see the looks on the faces of the men as they gazed at the scantily clad women.

  Maggie and Larry had been married for twenty-three years and, until now, she had given little thought to how Larry saw her. She knew that she was not a beautiful woman. She had always wanted to lose twenty pounds but never had. Her face was plain and she had a considerable amount of gray in her hair. But if Larry enjoyed looking at pictures like those in that magazine, maybe he would enjoy looking at her dressed in something sexy. If she could get him to look at her the way those men looked at those models…

  For weeks, she fought the temptation to buy something from the catalog. That was just what the company wanted women to think, she said to herself. They are in the business of selling lingerie. Of course they posed the pictures that way. They want silly women like me to believe that clothes can make a woman sexy. She thought about her forty-seven-year-old body and shook her head. No way would this unsexy woman look sensual in skimpy underwear. Rather, I would look like an overaged hooker in any of that stuff.

  But still, Larry had saved the catalog, and the catalog’s position in the stack changed frequently. He obviously looked at it often.

  Larry and Maggie’s sex life was pleasing to them both, but the teenage passion that they had felt when they first married had cooled over the years. They made love once or twice a week and both seemed satisfied with the arrangement. Larry made an effort to see that Maggie was satisfied, and Maggie did the same. The pressure of their hectic jobs and Larry’s ailing parents had taken a toll over the years, however.

  Early one afternoon, on an unexpected day off, Maggie withdrew the catalog from the stack and carefully studied it. She selected a particularly revealing black teddy with long black garters and a pair of black stockings with flower
s woven into the design.

  Maggie realized that if Larry saw the package, the return address would be a dead giveaway. Then she wouldn’t be able to change her mind and return the stuff. So she called her sister and asked whether she could have a package delivered to her house. “A surprise for Larry,” she told her sister, not elaborating. When they had agreed, Maggie dialed the toll-free number listed in the catalog and ordered the items.

  A few weeks later, she picked up the package from her sister’s house without satisfying her sister’s curiosity about the contents. She’ll think I’m some kind of old fool going through menopausal craziness.

  That evening, Maggie and Larry were lying in bed, watching a rerun of “T. J. Hooker.” Actually, Larry was watching while Maggie agonized about how she was going to arrange the rest of the evening. When she had arrived home, she had been too nervous to open the package. Instead, she had hidden the still-unopened box in the bathroom along with a pair of shoes, just in case. She knew that she’d better either wear the items tonight or send them back. By tomorrow, her courage would be gone.

  “I’ll just be a minute,” she said to Larry, who barely noticed her get up and go into the bathroom. With trembling hands, Maggie unwrapped the box. There they were, the teddy and the stockings. Can I do it? she wondered. Is it worth the risk that he may laugh? Yes! she resolved. It is. And it’s now or never.

  She pulled off her jeans, shirt, and underwear and put them in the bathroom closet. She slipped the teddy on and almost hoped it wouldn’t fit. Then she could send everything back and forget the whole thing. But the teddy closed up the front with long red satin laces and fit just fine.

  She deliberately kept her back to the bathroom mirror while she finished dressing. She knew that if she looked at herself, she’d lose her nerve. She slipped on the pair of black high-heeled shoes that she had hidden there earlier. She used only a small hand mirror when she touched up her makeup. Then she quickly sprayed on a bit of cologne and opened the bathroom door. When she emerged, Larry was facing the TV, his back to her.

  “Larry,” she said softly. “I bought something that I’d like your opinion on.”

  “Sure, honey,” Larry said without looking up from his program.

  “You have to look,” she said, her heart pounding. If he laughs…

  Larry turned, and the expression on his face made all of Maggie’s nervousness worthwhile. He just stared, his eyes wandering over her body. His mouth moved as if to say something, but no words came out.

  Maggie placed her hands on her hips and said softly, “Do you like the outfit?”

  Larry continued to stare.

  “I guess that means you like it,” she said.

  “It looks w-w-wonderful,” Larry said, his eyes never leaving her body. “Whatever possessed you?”

  Maggie ignored his question. “Would you like to touch?” she asked. She had no idea what had come over her. She felt like a temptress.

  Her eyes never left Larry’s face as she walked slowly over to the bed. As her husband reached up to touch the black satiny fabric, Maggie leaned over and pressed the Off button on the TV’s remote control. As she leaned, she brushed the tips of her lace-covered breasts across Larry’s chest. She sat down on the edge of the bed as Larry ran trembling fingers over the sides of the teddy.

  “Feel the stockings,” Maggie suggested. “They are so silky.”

  Larry grazed his fingertips over the nylon and felt the heat from her legs underneath. Maggie took his hands and ran them up and down the garters, then lifted them to the lace over the breasts.

  I’ve never seen him look at me like this, she thought. As she held his hand, she realized that his palm was damp and his breathing was uneven.

  She held Larry’s hand and brushed his palm over her breasts. Her nipples swelled as he stroked the lace. She dropped her hands as Larry continued to caress her body beneath the teddy.

  Without a word, Larry pulled Maggie down next to him and aggressively pressed his mouth against hers. His tongue tore her mouth open and plundered, reaching and touching everywhere inside. His kiss made her breathless.

  He pulled the teddy’s straps off her shoulders and pushed the fabric down to expose her breasts. He took one of her breasts in each hand and squeezed. He pressed his mouth first to one, then the other, alternately kissing and sucking each nipple. He was crazy for her. Maggie now understood the meaning of the word lust, and Larry’s lust was directed at her. She let her body go with the new sensations.

  Larry reached for the soaked crotch of the teddy and pulled the snaps open. His fingers drove inside her wet cunt, plunging and withdrawing until her hips joined his rhythm.

  With one hand, he unzipped his pants and pulled his huge erection free. Still almost fully dressed, he rolled on top of Maggie and drove his cock hard into her wetness. It was only a moment until, with a shout, he came.

  He surfaced and realized that she was not yet satisfied. He fondled her clitoris the way he knew she liked, gradually increasing the speed of his stroking.

  “Oh God,” she said, “don’t stop! Please don’t stop!”

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I have no intention of stopping.” He found her rhythm and felt her swell even more under his hand.

  It was only moments until she climaxed, waves of pleasure engulfing her.

  Later he said, “I’m sorry it was so fast. That outfit made me crazy.” Then he asked, “How did you know?”

  She slipped her hand into the stack of magazines and withdrew the catalog.

  Larry looked embarrassed. “I never imagined it would excite me so much to see you wear that outfit. God, you’re beautiful.”

  Maggie knew she was not beautiful, but it didn’t matter. “I’m only sorry I didn’t buy an outfit like this sooner.” She held the catalog up and opened to the first page. “Would you help me pick out another one?”

  Within a month, Maggie had a large wardrobe of sensual underthings that she wore frequently. Larry sometimes secretly bought special items, wrapped them, and presented them to his wife with great ceremony. Their lovemaking took on a whole new aspect.

  They had a particularly enjoyable evening one Saturday. As they were dressing to go to dinner with friends, Maggie allowed Larry to touch her white lace half bra and matching tiny panties. Then she pushed him away and quickly pulled on her slacks and sweater. Larry could barely wait to get her home.

  For Larry’s birthday, Maggie picked out a specially outrageous one-piece see-through jumpsuit. The night of his birthday, she put the jumpsuit on and tied a wide red ribbon around her waist. As he untied the ribbon, she said, “Since I am giving myself to you, let’s just call this outfit Gift Wrap.”

  I learned early in my sexual life how difficult it was to discuss what I liked or what I wanted my partner to do. During sex, it was almost impossible for me to say something as simple as “Could you do that again?” much less “Could you do that differently?” I think back now and lament. My sex life as a young-married could have been so much richer and more rewarding for both myself and my husband had either of us been able to talk before, during, or after sex. In the later years of my marriage, I thought about trying to discuss how to attempt the kind of sex I read about in books, but old habits die hard.

  Throughout my relationships, I have used body language to suggest different positions or activities and so has my partner. The suggestions that I have made this way have been properly interpreted about half the time and I’m sure that I’ve interpreted my partner’s actions with about the same success. You probably know the signals, subtle though they may be, that your partner sends during lovemaking when she wants a certain type of touching or a particular position.

  When it comes to new adventures, physical reactions can be very instructive if you are tuned in. Dave discovered his wife Judy’s favorite sexual fantasy during an ordinary outing to a local movie. Fortunately for both of them, Dave was tuned in to Judy’s nonverbal clues and he was willing to take a big ri
sk and try something creative.

  DAVE AND JUDY’S STORY

  Dave and Judy sat midway back in the darkened theater. After about an hour, Dave started to shift restlessly in his seat.

  Why did I let Judy talk me into seeing this turkey? he wondered. She knows that I don’t like war movies.

  The film was a recent remake of a 1942 World War II movie, updated with R-rated scenes filled with blood and sex. The plot was predictable. The beautiful Nazi spy, played by a voluptuous brunette, had been trying to get some top-secret plans from the hero. Now she had fallen in love with the handsome flier and was being taken to task by her superiors.

  “We are holding your sister,” the actor said in a poor imitation of a German accent. The Nazi officer led the heroine down a set of old stone stairs to the basement of the château.

  The picture changed to a shot of a small dungeon-type room, where the heroine was looking through a small barred window. Her sister was standing half-clothed on the far side of the room, with her back against the stones and her wrists spread over her head, tied to rings in the wall. A Nazi lieutenant with tall, shiny boots marched back and forth in front of her and taunted her with lewd accounts of what he would do with her if her sister, the spy, didn’t cooperate.

  Suddenly, Dave realized that Judy’s grip on his hand had tightened. Her hand shook and her palm was sweaty. He turned and looked at his wife. Although Judy’s face was illuminated only by the light from the movie screen, Dave could see that it was flushed and her lips were slightly parted. She stared at the girl who was tied to the wall and being teased by the lieutenant with the shiny boots.

  Dave had never seen his wife like this, except when she was very excited in bed. He leaned over and whispered into her ear.

  “Do you like what you see?” he asked.

  Dave’s only indication that she might have heard him was an increase in Judy’s breathing rate.

  She didn’t answer because she was lost somewhere between the theater and a cell in Germany, but she didn’t have to answer aloud. Her face and body language told it all.