by J. C. Wittol
Why does he have to be so fucking perfect?
“What has gotten into you?”
“Nothing.”
Irritation grew into solid anger, and I shifted away from her. Now, I was pissed. We needed to have this conversation in private. We needed to discuss the chastity device as well, and I was more than a little pissed that she told him about how long I wore it.
Fuck, can’t we have any secrets?
I knew she wanted to be with Collin tonight, but our marriage and family needed to take first place. Collin apparently noticed my mood.
“I agree with Nick.” He got up from the couch. “Why don’t you two talk about it? I’ll head back to the hotel now. Thank you for having me. I enjoyed dinner.”
He gave me a short nod and a meaningful look at Nicole. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she replied.
She stood and slipped her arm inside his.
“Where are you going?” I asked her.
“I left my car at the hotel,” she replied. “Collin’s going to take me back to the hotel, so I can pick it up.”
“Okay. You kids have a good time.”
The sarcasm was thick in my voice. She met his eyes and he shook his head. They walked towards the door. She looked over her shoulder, and her mouth opened to say something, but she closed it after a second.
“Nick.” Collin turned when he got to the door. “Thanks again. I had a good time and you have a great family. I’ll check in with you this week.”
“You’re welcome. Drive safely.”
“I’ll be right back,” she offered as she walked out the door.
I didn’t answer.
The horny couple stepped out the door, holding hands and my anger built. Unable to help myself, I crept over to the window, and noticed that my wife had pasted herself against him again, clutching his arm as they walked to his Range Rover. They looked comfortable together, natural, and my heart raced as anxiety flooded my system. He helped her into his vehicle, kissing her softly before he closed the door. The Range Rover glided down the street, an expensive vehicle I could never afford, mocking me as I stood impotently by the window.
I’d missed too much of the movie beginning to catch up, and I couldn’t concentrate on it anyway, so I checked on the girls. They were engrossed in their own movie, so I took a seat on the floor with them. My anger and anxiety cooled, as I sat with my perfect daughters.
We watched the movie until ended.
Nicole still hadn’t returned.
I’m sure the car wouldn’t start.
The girls went to bed and I grabbed a bottle of water from the pantry.
It wasn’t enough apparently that she spent the day with him; then he came over for dinner, and now she was practically spending the night with him. I also doubted I’d see her much this week. Collin would keep her out, partying with rich celebrities and athletes, until they fell naked into his bed and fucked repeatedly. My hands clenched and unclenched as I continued to stew about the situation.
Despite my best efforts, my imagination ran wild. I kept seeing short, little videos play in my head. Visions of my wife, dancing and enjoying herself, and loving the attention showered upon her by rich men. Nicole would wear beautiful, sexy dresses picked out by Collin of course, and they’d laugh together when they spoke of her cuckold husband. The cuck she married forced to sit at home with only a chastity belt for company.
In my erotic, torturous visions, each night started the same.
They’d fuck in his suite. Then Collin would choose her clothes and she’d dress just for him. A VIP suite would be waiting for them at a nightclub, where she’d spend the night being shown off to his rich friends and potential clients. She’d be all over him of course, lavishing attention on her handsome black boyfriend. The intimacy between them would grow until neither of them could wait any longer. Nicole would happily suck him off in the Range Rover, and they’d spend the rest of the night with their perfect, naked bodies writhing together.
All of these little video vignettes played non-stop in my head, a relentless onslaught of erotic images tailor-made to excite and frustrate a cuckold husband.
Fuck it.
I grabbed a cigar, another glass of whiskey, and went outside to the patio. Nicole hated it when I smoked cigars, but at this moment, I didn’t give a fuck. The night was clear, relatively cool for central Texas, and it was perfect for pissing off the wife. I enjoyed the heady taste of the cigar under the comforting blanket of the night sky. A smile creased my face, and a sense of satisfaction welled up inside, as the smoke curled around me. A small, but necessary act of rebellion, and maybe it was petty, but it felt damned good. I puffed on the cigar and tried unsuccessfully to ignore the one fact that irritated me the most.
This situation turned me on.
I was hard, almost painfully erect, and it pissed me off.
I felt powerless, submissive, and I had no idea if I hated it or loved it.
Thoughts of Nicole and Collin together turned me on. That was nothing new. However, being treated poorly shouldn’t be exciting. I couldn’t determine what irritated and excited me the most; the loss of control, or the fact that Nicole couldn’t seem to control herself around him. Either way, the result was the same; I got fucking turned on by this whole situation.
The more I considered it, the harder I puffed on my cigar, and the worse it tasted. The whiskey washed the bitter taste from my mouth, but didn’t improve my mood. I tossed what was left of the cigar into the metal trashcan. The remaining whiskey found its way into the lawn and I trudged back inside. The person I saw in the mirror as I brushed my teeth looked just like he felt, conflicted and exhausted. I slid into bed and turned off the lights. One thought echoed in my mind as I drifted off to sleep.
If she isn’t here when I wake up, she will find her shit on the curb when she does come home.
Chapter Eight
It never fails.
I woke up, wide-awake about four hours later. Whiskey helped me fall asleep, but I always woke up several hours later, usually with a headache. I read something about the body burning the sugar in the alcohol, and once the sugar was gone, presto, the body woke right up. It could be bullshit, but I was up and I wasn’t going back to sleep. The headache threatening to split my head in two pieces wasn’t helping either.
My hand drifted over to the other side of the bed and found Nicole sleeping soundly. Relief flooded my body as my eyes traveled over her sleeping form. It was an idle boast last night, because I knew I wouldn’t leave her. There was no way I could kick her out either. Yeah, maybe I was pussy whipped, but if you were married to her, you’d be the exact same way. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t believe Collin when he claimed he wasn’t threat to my marriage. To know Nicole, is to desire her, and I couldn’t believe he didn’t want her for himself.
Desire welled up inside me. I brushed my hand over her skin again, and leaned forward to inhale her scent. The soft, inviting smell of vanilla crept into my nose and filled me with even more desire. Her beauty was timeless, and even sound asleep, I found her breathtaking. Her dark, silky brown hair I loved so much, spilled out over her pillow. I ran my lips over the soft skin of her shoulder. I barely tasted her skin as I ran my lips down her arm; slowly I pulled back and took another deep breath.
Despite my desire, my headache wasn’t going away and she wasn’t waking up.
I carefully slid out of the bed and headed into the kitchen where I grabbed my usual bottle of water and two aspirins. I slapped my happy ass down on our comfortable couch, and thought back to Collin’s brief conversation with me about the coming week and his need for a date. On one hand, I appreciated that he asked me directly and privately. I knew he could have had Nicole ask me, and the result would have been the same, but he directly involved me in the decision. That wasn’t the behavior of a guy intent on stealing my wife.
On the other hand, he wasn’t likely to have taken no for an answer and if I had said no, it would have cau
sed another big issue. We’d just finished dealing with the wedding ring concern and we had a good meal at our house, so I didn’t want new issues to crop up. Nicole would love to go out dancing with him and I would probably get a ton of brownie points for it as well.
On the third hand and this hand was the most powerful, the thought of them dating excited me beyond belief. It was super-hot to imagine her dressing for him, dancing with him, standing by his side all night, and mixing easily with his friends. Her social skills were razor sharp, so it’s even possible she would help him gain new clients.
The follow up conversation about the Chastity device was something I preferred to ignore. I wasn’t ready to deal with it yet. While I didn’t mind wearing it, I definitely wasn’t ready to surrender both keys to either Nicole or Collin.
Eventually the headache subsided and I got some sleep on the couch. I felt fingers run through my hair the next morning.
“Hey. You’re going to oversleep.”
Nicole’s voice was soft, but there wasn’t any warmth in it. I sat up, rotated my head in a slow circle, and noticed her expression matched her voice.
“Thanks.”
My response went unnoticed. She walked back into the bedroom without as much as a smile. I sighed. It was going to be that kind of morning and I started rehearsing my apology. The headache hadn’t returned, and the wood floors were cool on my feet, as I slowly walked through the bedroom into the bathroom. I rounded the corner into the bathroom, just as she finished brushing her teeth. She replaced the towel in the little towel rings we had by the sink and met my eyes. When she took a step towards me, I hoped for a hug.
I got a punch in the stomach instead.
“You sir, are a complete bastard.”
I was still bent over holding my stomach, when the follow up punch landed, and I nearly fell when it impacted my arm. Nicole isn’t normally a violent person, so don’t get the wrong idea; but she had clearly moved beyond pissed off and I was taking some hits. One thing was for certain, I had not married some compliant, gentle Latin woman. Actually, I’m certain she came from the complete opposite side of that spectrum.
“Yesterday was perfect until you fucked it up.”
I finally straightened and moved back a step, so I could see the next punch coming. She started listing items, counting them off on her fingers.
“Collin and I had a great morning, dinner was fantastic, the girls had a good time, and you were a great host.” She paused to take a breath, and I could see her momentum building. “Right up until the very end when you got your panties in a bunch and fucked everything up.”
“Can I talk now or do you want to hit me some more?”
My temper was starting to flare as well, but I held it in check. We’d been married long enough for me to know that nothing good happened when both of us lost our tempers.
“What? What? What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Just that I’m sorry.”
I held my hands up to surrender, but also to defend myself in case more punches were heading my way. It paid to be prepared when dealing with this pissed off Latin woman.
“Everything you just said is correct,” I said and then paused for a moment. “But I got a little tense and worried when you and Collin started making out on the couch. Nicole, one of the girls could have come back and saw you.”
“That’s why I moved away from him.”
“I know that, but I honestly thought you were going to drag him into our bedroom.”
“I wouldn’t do that, Nick. Stop it.”
Our conversation was picking up steam and our responses to each other were coming faster and faster.
“I’m just telling you what I saw and how it made me feel. You asked, remember?”
“All right, go on.”
“Then you came back and wanted to play twenty questions; acting all coy and sly, while throwing me a little pity-affection. Oh, and one other thing, where the fuck do you get off telling Collin about my wearing the chastity belt?”
“Fuck you,” she bit back. “I was just trying to get your thoughts on dinner, and Collin already knew about the chastity thing!”
“Bullshit! You had another agenda and it was fucking obvious.” I paused. “What was your plan? For Collin to spend the night at our house? No, that’s not long enough for you, how about a weekend?”
“Wait-“
“You can’t wait to fuck him in our bed, can you? Put on a show for your pathetic cuckold husband, and seal the deal with Collin. Were you and Collin planning to leave me locked in the Chastity device forever?”
Her mouth dropped open, but closed just as quickly. She shook her head and stepped closer, her finger pointing at my chest. “Okay, now you’re being a bastard again. Will you give me a chance to respond, or are you just going to continue insinuating that I’m a complete slut…and a bitch?”
I stepped back, took a seat on the edge of the bathtub and motioned for her to continue.
“Yes. Collin turns me on. You know that already. Quit acting like you’re shocked every time you see it.” She pointed her finger at me. “None of this should be a surprise to you.”
“And?” I glared back at her. “What’s your point?”
“My point.” She took a deep breath. “Is that your insecurities are the root of our problems, not me and not Collin.”
I rolled my eyes and stood. “Whatever.”
“Wait. Let me finish. Collin and I both take great care to keep you informed and involved. You can’t deny that, Nick. We discuss everything with you, before it happens. I have given you no reason to suspect that our marriage is in danger or that I might leave you.”
Silence.
She was right.
“Answer me. Have I given you any reason to suspect that you’re losing me?”
“No,” I admitted.
“That’s right and I never will.” She paused. “Collin asked your permission to take me out this week, didn’t he?”
My answer was more sullen silence and I found myself looking more at my feet than at Nicole. Finally, I threw out the answer. “Yes.”
“It was his idea to approach you directly. I offered to ask you for him, but he wanted to talk with you about it himself.”
“So?”
“If you’d stop acting like a complete ass, you’d realize these concerns are all in your head. Collin and I have treated you with kid gloves since we began.”
My head was spinning as I thought about her words. I realized she was right. Now the question was going to be whether my pride would allow me to admit it or not. She watched me work through the situation. The expression on her face lost its hostility, and transformed into the patient, loving expression I’d loved since we married.
Finally, I held up my hand.
“Okay. I guess I over-reacted last night and I apologize. I just wish you and Collin would be careful while we’re here at our house.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re also correct that I tend to make mountains out of molehills and I will work on it. I promise. One thing though, I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where you and Collin just do whatever the hell you want and I go along with it.”
That earned me a genuine smile and she came over, kneeled down and hugged me. The smell of strawberries entered my nose and I recognized the scent of her shampoo. Her hair was still a little moist from the shower and I held her tightly to me. She loosened her hold on me, after a few minutes and kissed me softly.
“I love you. Are we okay?”
“Yeah, baby. We’re okay. I’m sorry.”
“You’re forgiven. Now we have to get ready for work.”
Our week progressed normally. My big opportunity, that still can’t be named, was progressing well. My boss and I had regular meetings with senior management. I did the majority of the speaking, despite my boss initially telling me I would have be playing a support role. As we were leaving a meeting, I asked him about it.
“Nick, I want s
enior management to see you as the point person on this opportunity. They already know what my role is, so this is a good opportunity for you to shine and them to get to know you better.” He stopped and faced me. “Believe it or not, most promotions at this level are based on your personality. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t qualified, now they want to see if they can get along with you, or if you’re just an asshole.”
“Gotcha. Thanks, Brian. I appreciate your support.”
“You’re welcome. You deserve the opportunity, but it’s up to you to make it happen. I can get you on stage, but you have to dance. Understood?”
“Completely!”
The remainder of the day was spent with my team going over ‘what if’ scenario’s. The bottom line is that opportunities like these didn’t happen often. We’d have some serious competition and we were trying to brainstorm different competitive scenarios. As we discussed the overall situation and tried to out-think our competition, I realized we needed more information. I knocked softly on Brian’s door.
“What’s up?”
“We’ve been going over the entire account several times and we’re trying to get a sense for what the competition might do on this account.” I paused. “But I’m a bit worried that we don’t know enough about the decision makers. What things do they value? What are they looking for in a business partner? How do we help them achieve their own goals?”
Brian smiled at me and said nothing, so I continued.
“I can’t help thinking that their decision will be based on more than the price of our product. Do you have any information that can help us?”
“I was wondering when you were going to get around to asking that question. Your team has been focused almost exclusively on price, which is fine at first, but I was hoping you’d make the leap to offering value over price alone.”
He motioned for me to a have a seat and we spent the next two hours going over each individual decision maker. It was unusual for me to profile an individual, their likes and dislikes, trying to get a sense for what they valued in a business partner. It was almost like playing poker. Trying to determine if someone was bluffing or not.
