Jordan

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Crushing
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Re: Jordan

Unread post by Crushing » Fri Mar 29, 2024 5:48 pm

Jordan pulled into the parking lot of a sprawling condo complex on the far side of town. She navigated the used Camry she owned with David into the guest parking lot. She pulled into an empty space opposite a neat row of townhouses.

The complex contained a half dozen rows of townhouses arranged around a shared central courtyard. Her destination was on the far side of that courtyard, so she had to walk through the common area.

It was nice. Not fancy, but nice.

This complex was mainly occupied by junior officers and staff non-commissioned officers who worked at the nearby Marine Corps base at Quantico. Many of them had small, young families. Jordan smiled to herself as she walked past a small playground with a stray unpaired children's shoe abandoned on a bench near the swing set.

Jordan checked her watch. It was 7:45. Most of the children were likely being coaxed to bed. Exhausted parents were probably collapsing in front of a TV after doing battle with young children all day.

The air was sleepy. Jordan made her way through the nicely landscaped walkways that moved between the rows of townhouses, observing several neatly organized porches that showed yet more signs of young children. Small bicycles tucked behind grills. Little play kitchens next to stacked adirondack chairs.

Her destination was unit 60. Row 6, first unit on the left. Jordan took a deep breath as the door came closer, trying to regulate her breathing and walk casually.

She was secretly terrified that the military wives would see her and know why she was there. She left her wedding ring locked in the glove box of her Camry to soften the scandal of her being here. Her outfit definitely indicated a date, but not necessarily of the…benign variety…

Shaking her head to herself, she tried to seem casual as she walked. Like she belonged there.

Easy.

Or not.

In her mind's eye, Jordan ran a gauntlet of judgmental looks lurking just behind the front-room window shades of each and every townhouse she passed. Young mothers on the lookout for bad influences in their living space. Hostile, gossipy fingers parting blinds every so slightly, single, squinting eyes identifying her as "that girl…"

Premature tears of embarrassment welled just inside the corners of Jordan's eyes as she approached unit 60 and walked up the two steps to the stoop. She knocked briskly and hastily pulled her phone out of her purse to text her husband.

Jordan: Just got here.

The answer came immediately

David: I love you! 😍

Jordan smiled, put her phone back into her purse, and waited, secretly willing her heart to slow. She made hasty adjustments to her hair as she heard the smooth, heavy approach of his footsteps. The lone inhabitant of unit 60.

The doorknob clicked and the portal opened quickly, confidently and wide.

Jordan, a thin, brunette, 24 year old grad student stood face to face with a tall, dark, broad, 35 year marine captain.

He was nearly a foot taller than her.

Mark smiled warmly as he looked down at his visitor.

"Jordan." His voice rumbled. "Glad you could make it. Please, come in."

He stepped aside to let her walk in.

Jordan shivered.

* * *

Sergeant Mark Rein had just settled down in his camp chair to pass the morning with his book when it occurred to him to check his phone. After his evening and morning with Molly, he had been pleasantly distracted. It was a nice feeling to have someone infatuated with you. He had conquered a married woman, and it had successfully relaxed his tensions to a surprising degree. He hadn't checked his phone since he had taunted his lover's husband the night before. He picked up the phone, entered the code, and unlocked it.

3 messages.

1 message from Shithead. Apparently Chris reached out at some point in the evening, and he had missed it.

Interesting.

He opened the message.

One word.

Shithead: Thanks

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Mark's eyebrows lifted, shrugging off the cryptic expression of gratitude sent by the new cuckold. He'd figure that out later.

Next message.

From Megan Poisson.

He smirked in disbelief. Hard to believe his luck, bedding two married women within a month of his first combat deployment. This could make it much harder to get on the plane when the final orders came.

Megan: Bonjour, Achilles. Hit me up if you're in the mood.

Even more interesting. This could take the morning in a new direction.

Third text…

From Corporal Arnold. Second squad leader.

Arnold: We had an incident last night. Jett got arrested. Underage drinking. They didn't end up charging him. He's home now, no DUI or anything.

Fuck.

Well…fuck.

Mark hit the dial button on Arnold's number. It rang twice…

"Hey sarge, what's…"

"What happened?" Mark cut him off.

"Just a kid at a party. Got caught drunk, didn't run, didn't resist. Cops arrested him, found out he was about to deploy, let him out when his parents showed up."

"Shit. No charges, though?"

"Nope."

"You talk to him?"

"Yep."

"He sober yet?"

"Yeah, I talked to him about an hour ago. He's pretty much shitting himself. First time he's ever been in any kind of trouble. Probably ever."

"Good."

"You gonna suspend his leave?"

Mark sighed. "That's up to the brass. I'm gonna talk to him first."

"OK. Take it easy, it could have been way worse."

"I'm aware of that. Thanks for the heads up."

They hung up. Mark scrolled through his phone contacts until he found Jett's number and dialed it.

It gave half a ring before

"Good morning, sergeant…"

"Good morning my ass, Jett," Mark barked into the phone. "Explain yourself."

"OK, first off, I fucked up. I know it. I'm really, really sorry. I went to this party, my buddies and everything, some girls…"

"I know what a party is, Jett."

"Right, okay…so, I was just hangin' out, and I had a few beers. I'm 20, it's like…I'm almost 21, it's not an excuse, but like…"

"I know how numbers work, Jett. They're not working in your favor. You know how I feel about excuses."

"Right, sorry. So like…the cops show up to tell us to turn down the music, and we do it, and they see some high school kid who was there, and he was passed out…once they started asking questions…everyone bolted."

"You didn't?"

"The high school kid was my buddy's little brother, I couldn't just leave him there. Looked like he needed help. Plus, the party was kinda out in the boonies, I would have had to drive, and I knew I shouldn't…so…"

Mark sighed and rubbed his eyes in exasperation.

"OK," he said at length. "Pack your shit. You're coming back."

Mark could hear the wind coming out of the young marine's sails. There was still a week of leave left. Nobody wanted to be pulled back to base now, especially when everyone else was gone. Jett would have sat at the barracks alone. Missing out.

"Aye, sergeant," Jett replied glumly.

"Keep your phone on, I'm gonna call the captain, make it official."

"I will."

They hung up.

Mark sighed again and searched through his contacts. Normal protocol would have him notify his platoon commander, a lieutenant, but he was out of the country. He dialed the company commander, Captain Wolf. The phone rang twice.

"Rein. What's up?"

"Good morning sir. I'm afraid I've got a marine who was arrested, although they didn't charge him and they let him go last night. He's at his parents' house now."

"Who?"

"PFC Jett."

"Not one of the usual troublemakers. What was he charged with?"

"Underage drinking."

"That's not uncommon."

"No it's not, sir."

The captain sighed into the phone. "Well, what do you think we should do?"

"Let me handle it, sir. Don't revoke his leave."

"If he were physically with you, I'd be more inclined to do that, sergeant."

"I understand, sir.And I agree. But he showed some good judgment in the moment when he was caught. He didn't run from the cops, he didn't get behind the wheel, and there was someone that needed his help, and he didn't leave him behind. He made some bad judgments, but he made some good ones too, when it went down. I'm inclined to reward that instinct. And I'll deal with the bad judgment when leave is over."

"I suppose that's a fair point, Rein." Captain Wolf paused before continuing. "If he messes up again, I'm charging you both."

"Understood, sir."

"Anything else? Are you enjoying your leave?"

Still on the phone, Mark heard a noise behind him. He stood up quickly from his camp chair and turned around, only to find Molly smiling as she walked onto his campsite. She was wearing…good God…

"Rein? You still there?"

"Sorry sir," Mark shook his head to regain focus. "Yes sir, I am…I am enjoying my leave. Some…beautiful scenery up here…"

Captain Wolf chuckled. "I'll let you get back to it. Keep Jett in line, and I'll see you when we all get back."

"Aye sir. Thank you for your time."

They hung up.

Mark took in the new sight. Molly's red hair hung just below her pale, smooth shoulders, her femininity thinly concealed by a sporty black bikini.

Her body was impressive. Especially impressive after having two kids. Her thin, work-toned frame betrayed a physically active life. Her B-cup breasts were cute and soft, half covered by the subtle curves of her bikini top. Her tummy was smooth, soft, and inviting, leading the eye down to her bikini bottom, which took the form of a slight curve on the three sides of an inverted triangle converging in a tuck between her legs.

Molly giggled. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything important," she said playfully. "I actually drove into town to buy this while Chris watched the kids. Do you like it?"

And her legs…Good god. One of those rare women whose legs looked better out of yoga pants than in them…

Molly blushed as Mark looked up and down her body. He raised his finger in the air next to his face and swirled it around, gesturing to twirl. Slowly. She smiled deeply as she turned around, looking over her shoulder as he checked out her back side.

The backside was as appealing as the front. Shoulders, back, all exposed with just a small string stretched slightly above the middle. The bikini bottom was a little wider, covering just a little extra weight. Just enough to make the whole picture…

"Turn around." Molly turned to face him again. "Very nice. I like it." Molly grinned happily.

She hadn't heard a compliment like this in…

And she definitely hadn't heard a compliment like this from someone like…

Mark took a step forward so that their bodies were close together, slipping his hands under the waist of her bikini and pulling it forward so that he could look down the front. Molly blushed more deeply as he ran his fingers over her smooth skin under her bikini bottom, briefly slipping one finger between her legs.

Moist.

He snapped the bikini bottom back into place, and ran his hands up her stomach and over her breasts. He pulled the cups down slightly to reveal her nipples.

Molly bit her bottom lip slightly, then hastily looked around to see if anyone was looking. Mark picked up on the signal and let go of the garment.

"It's good, Molly. It's real good. You ready for tonight?"

"Yeah…" Molly whispered under her breath, looking down shyly. Afraid to admit just how ready.

"Good. Just put a shirt and shorts on over this when you get back."

Molly looked confused.

"You're my girl this week. This outfit is for me," Mark clarified. "Chris should know you're wearing it, but he can only enjoy it if I'm around. Make sense?"

Molly looked surprised, then smiled in recognition. She nodded brightly.

"OK, good. I'll be by for dinner. Same time, right?" Molly nodded again, turning to walk away, subtly emphasizing her steps to draw attention to her swinging hips. She looked over her shoulder to see Mark's eyes still on her and gave a playful finger wave before disappearing down the trail.

"Good God…" Mark muttered to himself. He sat back down in his camp chair and sat still for a moment, waiting for his erection to go down.

He composed himself, he called Jett again.

Half a ring.

"Good morning, sergeant, I'm almost done packing, my dad said…"

"Shut up, Jett. You're not coming back, you're going to stay on leave."

"Really?" Jett's voice betrayed obvious excitement.

"Yeah. I just got off the phone with the CO. I told him he should revoke your leave. He stood up for you. You're staying out on leave because he told me to back down. He pulled rank so I couldn't haul your ass back. You get it?"

"Yes, sergeant…"

"Now listen closely. No more parties. It's family time now. You drink another drop of alcohol and I'll break my foot off in your ass. Count on it. Understand?"

"Yes sergeant."

"You will call your squad leader every night to verify you're sober. He will report that fact to me. Do. Not. Try. Me. I will turn you into my new living room rug. Understood?"

"Yes, sergeant, I understand."

"Good. Let me talk to your mom.

Shocked silence. "Umm, she's not here…my dad is…" Jett stammered.

"Fine, whatever. Whichever parent is closest to you now. Hand them the fucking phone."

"Umm…okay." The phone went silent for a moment before the voice a nervous middle aged man came on.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Jett, my name is Jack Rein, I'm your son's platoon sergeant."

"I thought so…he's mentioned…we've heard about you before."

"Hopefully all bad," Mark chuckled.

Mr. Jett chuckled back nervously.

"I'm sorry to take your time, sir, and I appreciate you talking to me. The command has to address your son's arrest. I just want you to know that he's in no real trouble, but we need to keep him away from parties and friends that might cause this to happen again. He's a good marine and a highly capable machine gunner, and we're deploying in a few weeks. I need him there with us."

"Okay…" Mr. Jett replied uncertainly.

"I've already told him what we need, but I'm just bringing you into the loop. I can't control this when he's on leave, but I'd really like it if he spent the rest of his leave with family. Keep it low key. Just to make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

"Okay. I think his mother will be happy to hear that."

Mark laughed. "Yeah, I guess she would, wouldn't she? Anyway, thank you for your time, sir, and tell that little turd I love him like a brother. And don't tell him this part, but just so you and his mom know: I've got his back."

The line was silent for a moment, and Mr. Jett replied, trying to hide his emotion. "That's good to hear from his leaders. That's really good to hear. Thank you."

"Thank you, sir. And please, have a good day."

* * *

Jordan darted past Mark and into his condo. Mark smiled slightly and shut the door behind her.

She turned around, red-faced.

"I hate the walk up to your place. So many people between my car and your door…"

Mark chuckled. "What are you afraid of?"

Jordan looked down. "I don't know," she mumbled slightly.

"Are you ashamed of me?" Mark asked.

Jordan looked up and shook her head vigorously. "No, that's not…"

Mark smiled slightly and stepped forward toward Jordan, extending his arms around her. She leaned into his chest and slid her arms around his neck. She liked the feel of his larger body against hers.

"It's okay, I get it." he said gently. Jordan could actually feel his deep voice vibrate in his chest where her cheek lay.

Mark held her for a minute, before engaging in polite chitchat.

"How was your week?"

"Fine. Busy, but fine. David and I went on a hike this morning, that was fun."

"Uh huh. See anything?" Mark slowly let go of Jordan, and took a step back.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just nature. Just relaxing." He took her hand, and began to walk away, leading her through his front room. Through a small hallway. Back, toward the kitchen.

Jordan continued to chat nervously as she followed through the neatly kept living room, down a short hallway, and finally into a tidy kitchen with a small breakfast island.

"I fell asleep watching Star Trek reruns," she said nervously, trying to maintain the chitchat. "David loves Star Trek, and I think it's fun too. Have you ever seen it? It's kind of…um…maybe you wouldn't like it…"

Mark had casually led her up to the edge of the island, moved a stool aside, and directed Jordan to stand in its place. He let go of her hand, and walked to the refrigerator. "Would you like a bottle of water?"

"Umm, yeah, thanks…"

Jordan felt silly standing there. This was new. In the past, Mark had her sit in the living room and they would chat for a few minutes before he made his move. Then, after some passionate kissing, he would point upstairs. She would go, he would follow. She was looking forward to that part.

But again, this was new. What was in the kitchen?

Mark retrieved two cold bottles of water and returned to the island, standing across from Jordan.

"I have seen it." He said, responding to her Star Trek question. "I'm actually a fan, although it's not something I say too loud at work." He smiled, and Jordan smiled back. A slight scar was just visible on the ridge of his chin. On the right side, where the skin curved under the bone. She hadn't noticed it before. Maybe the light in the kitchen made it visible.

"Well," she continued, "I fell asleep on the couch, so I was a little groggy when I drove over. I'm all good now though." She chuffed out an awkward laugh.

Nerves. Making the uncertain air between them awkward.

Both unscrewed the caps on their water bottles, and Mark raised his in a toast. Jordan touched her bottle to his, raising an eyebrow at him as she did so.

Mark took a drink, then asked: "Who's your favorite character on Next Gen?"

"Next Gen? Next Generation? You know the lingo!" Jordan laughed.

Mark smiled and nodded.

Jordan began to relax, pausing to think about it. "Well, I guess it would have to be Data. The idea of an android gaining consciousness and trying to understand humans, while not feeling emotions…he's got an interesting…umm…interesting…um.."

As she spoke, Mark had come around the island and stood behind her, brushing her hair back over her shoulder, first on one side, then the other. Then he ran his hand up and down her back, causing her skin to buzz with excitement. She began talking through a shy smile, and fumbling with her words.

"An interesting what?"

"An interesting journey, I guess. A journey of…of…um…of self discovery." Mark's touch became a bit heavier, as if he were signaling something to her. Like he wanted her to do something, but she couldn't know what.

"I suppose he does. Do you think Data eventually discovers himself?" Mark now settled his hand in the small of her back and nudged her forward until she took small awkward steps, her waist gently soon touching the edge of the counter top.

"Hard to say," she replied. "Do you? Does anybody? I think Data thinks he's different…um…what's going on?"

Mark's hand had risen up to between her shoulder blades and he had gently but firmly pushed forward. He didn't speak.

The push became firmer.

Jordan leaned, then braced her body with her hands, and eventually succumbed to the pressure and laid her torso across the counter. Mark gently ran his outstretched palm back and forth over her back again as they conversed.

Their conversation was now marked by incongruity. He stood straight up with one hand holding a water bottle,, she flopped awkwardly on the counter top, toes barely touching the ground. She, too, still held a water bottle, unsure of how to let it go or where to put it.

What was happening?.

"Don't worry about it," Mark responded casually. "I could see you being intrigued by Data. Lot of interesting psychology in a compelling android character. What makes a mind, that sort of thing. I can see it." His left hand danced lightly around her back, and she began to relax again. This was…a kind of massage? She could get into that…

"I'm more of a Worf fan myself," Mark continued. "Warrior culture, an ethos of honor, compelling family story. Gels with my own choice of profession, lifestyle. I don't like, speak Klingon, though. I'm not that much of a nerd." Mark chuckled at his own joke. Jordan echoed with her own contented hum. This back rub felt good, even if her legs hanging off the counter was a little awkward.

Mark continued. "But your point is interesting. How do you think Data thinks he's different?"

"Mmmm…That's a tricky question," she said lazily. "He thinks…um…"

Mark casually replaced the cap on his water bottle and set it down on the corner of the counter. He reached around and confidently unbuttoned Jordan's pants, pulling the zipper quickly down to its base. He then gently but firmly grabbed the waistband of her pants on either side of her hips.

"Don't mind me…" Mark intoned, with surprising indifference. "How does your favorite character think? I'd love to know your thoughts."

Jordan's face flustered. "He's..um…very self aware, and he knows he's different, but he has trouble imagining the ways that he's the same. There's more depth…uh…ummm…"

Mark pulled her pants down to her ankles.

"He knows so much about…" Jordan's flustrated responses seemed to annoy Mark as his motions became less gentle. He slipped his right hand around her waist and down the front of her small, lacy pink panties. Sliding his fingers through the soft, downy thatch of her pubic hair, he slipped two large fingers between her legs.

"More depth, you say? Come on, Jordan. Focus." Mark's tone was impatient. "We're having a conversation here. I'm interested in your thoughts."

Jordan was in a fog. She her arousal had been building for much of the evening, and his touch threw her off her usual conversational poise. She moaned as he began moving his fingers back and forth, her moist arousal beginning to coat his fingers.

"He, umm…What are we talking about?"

"Star Trek. Data. Depth." Mark said curtly.

"Umm…I think he's more human than anyone is ready to…ohh…" Jordan abandoned the thought as Mark's masculine middle finger slipped between her labia and penetrated her. Her eyes glazed over as her whole body began to warm to his attention.

"Nothing more to add?" Mark asked innocently.

Jordan moaned in response.

"Okay. Kind of a weird place to end a thought like that, but okay." Mark paused, withdrew his hands, and pulled her panties down to her ankles, just above the crinkled pile of her pants still bunched on top of her shoes.

Jordan's breathing was nudged into an elevated rhythm as Mark exposed her. He stood up, reached his long arm over her back and pressed her head gently down. Jordan surprised herself with her willing acquiescence, turning her head toward the wall and resting her cheek on the countertop.

Cold.

She was now resting entirely on the smooth tile of Mark's kitchen island, cheek on counter, arms spread, right hand awkwardly clutching a water bottle, toes barely touching the ground.

Mark returned his attention to her legs and the space between, crouching at her side and caressing the outer and upper regions with his right hand, and inserting the middle finger of his left hand directly into her warmth. He continued this two pronged approach for a few minutes, responding to the twitches and tensions of Jordan's body until it became clear that her arousal was building toward something concrete.

"Oh my gosh, Mark. What…umm…what are you…"

"Shhhh," Mark hushed her. He increased the pace of his left hand and kept the same, gentle, soothing motions with his right. A wet rhythmic sucking noise slowly rose in the kitchen, followed by gentle, moist slaps. A soft, sustained feminine moan soon followed. Mark sensed the clear signs of an orgasm rising as Jordan's legs began to twitch and her pussy tightened. He increased intensity until her legs began to curl upward, rushing toward the threshold, and then deftly extracted his finger from her body, pulled up her panties, pulled her pants up over them, and stood up to walk out of the room.

* * *.
David paced back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. She had texted about an hour before. It was too early to worry.

Worry.

Not the right word.

Worry implied some degree of uncertainty. And David knew exactly what was going on. Well, not exactly.

He knew where she was.

Although, not really. She didn't give him the address or anything. Just that it was near the Quantico base.

He knew who she was with. Although, not totally. He knew who her lover was, knew his name, knew some things about him. A marine captain she met at school. Tall, handsome, strong. Other physical attributes that were relevant to both their arousal.

David shuddered.

So he knew who she was with. But he had never met the man. He remained a foggy presence in his mind. An idea that was real. Just real somewhere else. Somewhere he didn't have access to.

And it was that thought that upped the tension in this evening's stream of consciousness. The thought of a reality he couldn't reach, couldn't see, couldn't contribute to. And yet this misty reality drove his desire in a way he couldn't comprehend…

He shook it off. What else did he know?

He knew what she was doing. Although, not entirely. He knew that her clothes were likely no longer on her body. The cute pink lacy bra probably rested in a rumpled pile on the floor of this man's bedroom. The cute pink panties that, at some point in the last hour, had dropped around her delicate bare feet before she stepped out of them toward her lover.

Lacy pink panties that matched the ones he was wearing.

David shuddered again, pacing back and forth. His breathing picked up.

He had asked her to cuck him. The look on her face as he asked…

He winced, unsure what to name the feeling that caused the convulsion.

He had asked her to cuck him. She had agreed. The gentle acquiescence of her eyes burned deeply into his mind's eye.

He knew it. There was no doubt. Her panties had dropped around her delicate ankles, resting on her cute bare feet before she stepped out of them.

He was sweating. He paced again.

Her panties had dropped around…

David yielded to the intrusive thought and dropped his pants to his ankles, flipping his shirt over his neck. He tried to step out of his pants, forgetting that his shoes were still on. He awkwardly kneeled, fumbling with the shoes before pulling them off violently without untying them and tossing them aside. He then rolled onto his back like a turtle and yanked his pants off over his feet before standing up and composing himself.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before opening them and pacing again, this time with a much more calm, measured step.

David Stark paced around the interior of the little apartment he shared with his wife, wearing only white gym socks and the lacy pink panties gently strained into a tent by his small erection. He counted off his breaths, one per step, as he slowed the pace of his body.

But his mind and heart continued to race.

He knew where she was.

He knew who she was with.

He knew what she was doing.

He closed his eyes and let the thought off of its leash.

He knew that her cute pink lacy bra lay in a rumpled pile on the floor of this man's bedroom. He drank in the thought of those cute pink panties that, at some point, had dropped around her delicate bare feet before she stepped out of them toward her lover.

David looked at his watch. 8:15. He walked back toward the bedroom he shared with his wife, coming to a stop perpendicular to Jordan's full length mirror.

Only through the corner of his eye could he see himself in this grossly inappropriate situation.

It was repulsive to see, on one level. He looked forward, minimizing his view of himself.

That repulsion was no match for the intrusive thought.

And even with his gaze turned forward, he saw lacy pink panties, standing out against the tamer colors of the room, loudly signaling to him like a nautical flag in a storm.

David looked at his watch again. 8:16.

By now, her cute, lacy pink panties had certainly dropped around her delicate ankles, resting on her feet before she stepped out of them.

Stepped out of them toward her lover.

Before she stepped out of them…

David's trembling hands grasped the waistband of his own lacy pink panties, pulling them over his taught penis and halfway down his thigh.

He let go of the material, watching it fall down his own hairy legs and rest in a delicate pile on top of his own stockinged feet.

Jordan's legs were surely smoother. And her feet would be bare. And so much more feminine…

David stepped out of the panties and desperately grabbed himself, rubbing furiously with his thumb and forefinger. He hunched over as a bright intensity of feeling washed over his body.

Oh God.

David fought to keep his balance.

Oh my god. Jordan is cucking me. Right now. I know it. I asked her to cuck me. I asked her to c…

* * *

It took Jordan a few moments to process what was happening. She didn't quite grasp what was happening in between her rising sexual climax and the feeling of her pants being pulled over her hips to rest on her waist.

It was as if a blanket were thrown onto an open flame. The flame, smothered, the heat remaining.

It was disorienting, to say the least.

Also not just a little bit mean.

Like being punched by a stranger while luxuriating in a warm, thick fog.

Jordan, beyond confused, lifted her head off the counter top, her eyes darting around. Mark was walking out of the room, leaving her torso sprawled awkwardly on the island. She rose up to her elbows and looked over her shoulder.

"Umm…Mark?"

No response. She stood up straight, turned nervously around, and tiptoed into the hall.

No Mark.

She tiptoed down the hall and leaned forward to peek into the living room. Mark was there, sitting in a leather chair, reading a book.

She ducked back into the hall, confused.

A little scared.

Had she done something wrong?

Mark had left her pants button undone and her zipper down. She zipped up her pants and buttoned them, and straightened her shirt, which had gotten slightly rumpled when she was laying on the tile counter top. Running her hands through her hair, she hoped her efforts bought her a little bit of dignity as stepped gingerly into the front room.

They didn't. Mark didn't look up.

She knocked gently on the wall to get his attention, and then cringed, immediately regretting it.

"I can hear you," Mark said gently.

"Ummm, okay…uh…everything okay?"

"Fine. Just reading."

Jordan's face reddened. "Did I, um, do something wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you…you left."

"I did."

Jordan's face warmed further.

"I'm just, uh, I'm just wondering why? Did I do something to offend you? If I did, I'm sorry, I don't really know…"

"You agreed to be here at 7:00. You arrived at 7:50."

Jordan's face burned. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize…um, I'm…I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology."

Jordan looked down, crossing her arms by grabbing her opposite biceps. The standard girl pose signifying the worst kind of feeling: the terrible nexus between humiliated, scared, and insecure.

"Do you want me to go?" she asked, the vulnerability of that feeling lacing the question.

"I do, yes. Your purse is on the end table there." Mark gestured toward the table with the spine of his book.

Jordan stole a glance at Mark's face. It was calm and serious. She looked away and hurriedly crossed the room, grabbing her purse and reaching for the doorknob.

"Jordan."

She turned around, her face bright red.

"I'd like to see you again."

"Okay…" Jordan responded, dumbfounded.

"Before I do, I want you to ask yourself if you actually want me to own your pussy. You have said you wanted that a few times in our previous time together. You should take some time to think about what that will mean. And if you really want it."

"I, um…I just thought that was like..l mean I just said what you were saying…" Jordan mumbled.

"I did say that, but I don't say things I don't mean." Mark's voice narrowed in intensity. "Do you say things you don't mean, Jordan?"

"No, I guess not. I mean…I don't mean to. I guess I just…"

"You need to decide if you mean it. And if you do, you need to act accordingly."

He returned to reading. Jordan stared at him, floored. The clock on the end table next his chair read 8:15.

Jordan's face burned fresh as she hastened out the door of the townhouse and walked briskly through the complex back to her car. Her head spun.

She made it back to her car and fumbled for her keys, wobbling the car key into the ignition.

She paused before turning the key.

She sat for a moment, thinking. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.

She opened up her reddit app, opened up a thread, and began typing quickly with both thumbs.

* * *

David's chest heaved as the shimmering intensity retreated from the tip of his extremities into his body.

His body was hunched over, his torso at a ninety degree angle to his legs, both palms twitching as they clutched his knees.

Gradually, his vision returned to focus as he became aware of the carpet. A small pair of lacy pink panties lay in a petite rumple under his eyes. Four or five small drops of liquid had dotted the material.

His eyes regaining focus, his heart rate slowing, and his breath returning to normal, David stood upright, seeing himself in the mirror.

My God. What have I done?

The dazzling feeling that had consumed his body half a minute before receded into his deepest parts, leaving behind it…

Scorched earth.

Oh my God. Oh my God. I can't believe…Jordan. I have to call Jordan.

Wait, I can't call, she'll get mad…Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck.

David ran back to the living room, grabbing his pants from the floor and wrestling them back onto his body. He grabbed his phone from the coffee table and began to write a text.

"Hey, I need to talk to you. Call me now please…"

He paused, then deleted it. She would think it's an emergency.

It is an emergency.

No it's not. Not that kind of emergency.

Show me a bigger deal than what's happening right now.

It is a big deal.

It's a big deal because you let it happen.

It's a big deal because you had to be a cuck bitch. What the fuck, Stark? What the actual fuck? Are you really blowing up your marriage? For some dumb fuck perverted…

Shit. I have to text her.

Something nicer.

"Can we talk real quick?"

Just hit send before thinking about it, or you'll just be writing drafts all day and end up with a Haiku or some dumb shit. God, Stark. For fucking real. What the fuck?

David stood up and picked up his shirt from the kitchen table, where it had apparently landed when he threw it, and put it back on. He then sat on the couch, tucked his face into his elbow, and bit his shirt sleeve while the emotion rose up to his head. Almost like a vomiting, David couldn't hold back and choked out a few hysterical sobs before regaining composure.

He shouldn't have texted her. What if she calls? What will he say?

She won't want to leave. Telling her to leave would be…

She won't want to leave, but she'll feel guilty, and then you'll make her feel super guilty when she goes to church again. This is only going to hurt you both…

Shit.

He hoped she didn't call.

He stared at her phone, waiting for the call.

* * *

New post in r/sex

u/curly_sunshine_1999

I just got fingered and shown the door. What just happened?

"Umm….Hey reddit strangers,

So I(26F) need help. I've been hooking up with this guy(35M) for several weeks now, and everything's been great so far. He's hot, the sex is amazing, no issues before, it's totally NSA on both sides, blah blah.

So we planned on meeting tonight all week, I come to his place, and I'm running late, my bad, but he doesn't seem to mind at first. So we just talk for a minute, but instead of going up to his room like we usually do, he takes me into his kitchen, gives me a water bottle, bends me over the counter and just starts fingering me."

Jordan's phone beeped briefly. A new text from David.

David: Can we talk real quick?

Jordan shook her head distractedly. David knew better. She closed the message app and returned to her post.

"It's weird, I wasn't expecting it, and I was getting into it, and then just when it's starting to get really good, he stops and kicks me out for being late. I had no idea how to react.

Has anyone else had something like this happen? He said I was late and I should leave. I apologized, and he said it was okay, but still kicked me out.

I genuinely don't know how to feel. I'm kind of mad, but also kinda still hot about it, but also super embarrassed. I'm just really, really confused. What happened? Has anyone else had this happen? What do I do in this situation? Help!

* * *
The emotional roller coaster began to slow, gradually descending into a dark depression.

I have a test Monday. I need to study, but instead I spent all day doing this. I'm going to fail that test.

Jordan is definitely going to leave me for this guy. He seems so much better. It's just a matter of time. How could I let this happen?

I'm not going to get that job. There's no way. I'm too young, too inexperienced. I'm a gosh darn flower truck driver. Who wants that guy running anything?

That thought stuck. David knew he wasn't going to get the job. He just knew it. He also knew he couldn't keep his real job after being turned down for the promotion. Vinny and his guys already had it out for him. They'd make life hell and find a way to push him out.

David sat, slumped on the couch. Morose and flaccid.

He reached over to the coffee table and grasped his laptop, and lazily opened up his resume. He began to update and polish, having not used it since his internship applications.

Probably better send this out to a few places. I'm gonna be jobless soon.

And probably divorced too.

Oh God…

* * *
Jordan's head swirled with insecurity. She tried to keep a level head, but she couldn't keep up with the feelings that were surging in her. Had she been so rude to her host that she had to be thrown out? That had never happened to her before, she had no idea how to fix it.

Her thoughts moved on to other possibilities. Was this Mark's not-too-subtle way of saying he'd grown tired of her? He was a devastatingly attractive man, and she knew he had his pick of women. He had alluded to others. Maybe he'd gotten what he wanted from her and was ready to move on…

She recoiled at the thought of being rejected so callously. Indignation followed the fear. Who did he think he was? To just grab her, bend her over…do…that…and then throw her out?

No. Something else was going on. She checked her reddit post. A few snarky comments had populated the thread. About punctuality, someone calling her a slut…someone saying she'd been assaulted and should call the cops…this wasn't going anywhere. Maybe some people responded with private messages.

She opened her inbox. A sadly predictable chain of one-word messages from men who were as stupid as they were horny…a couple offering to show her their penis or offering to "finish the job" for her…

…this was a bad idea…

…wait.

One DM was different.

Title: Submissive?

She opened it.

u/please_yssir: Hey girl, just reaching out because I think u might not rlize ur being dommed. Might be shady or dangerous, but might be fun 2. Depends on the guy, and if ur into it, if ur submissive. Hit me back if you wnna chat.

Jordan read the message a few times.

Submissive?

Jordan had enough education in psychology to come into a bare familiarity with the concept of sex and strategic power, and with the psychology behind sadomasochism. She had always imagined this kind of dynamic to exist among more…extreme personalities than hers.

Or it might exist in marriages that had grown so sexually stale that theatrical experimentation was necessary to keep the spark, or grow it.

The insecurities returned. Was Mark tired of her already? Or was this sadomasochism thing just…his thing? Should she play along next time?

She wasn't sure she wanted to.

Jordan shook her head and hit reply on the message.

u/curly_sunshine_1999: Hello, hi, I'm not sure I know what you mean. I'm not going to like, a sex dungeon or anything. Am I missing something?

u/please_yssir: lol u don't need a dungeon. It's just about sexual style, u know? Frm what u said, sounds like your guy is playing with ur head to dom u. A head game to get u in subspace.

u/culy_sunshine_1999: I'm sorry, I'm kind of new to this. What do you mean subspace?

u/please_yssir: lol its like where ur heads at when u get together. Like, u get into subspace, like ur playing a part in a movie and ur the sub character. Hes the dom. So u dont just act submissive, u feel submissive. Its soooo good if ur dom is good.

u/curly_sunshine_1999: So it's like a play? I'm supposed to act out a role when he's like this?

u/please_yssir: Kinda, but more like you turn into the role. If you act, its 4 him. But if u become sub 4 urself its 4 u. It's hard to xplain, but dont knock it till u try it

u/curly_sunshine_1999: I think I understand. Thanks for explaining that, that's helpful!

Jordan did not understand. She ditched the thread, typing into the search bar.

"Submissive"

She found a new thread. r/submissive.

She blinked in surprise.

A waterfall of discussions, rants, testimonials, questions. There was a surprising amount of activity here.

Jordan began selecting a few threads, reading through them. A mix of genders and education levels. Most, however, seemed significantly more articulate than her previous interlocutor. And she needed some clarity if she was going to understand this…

Some of the messages creeped her out. Those were the ones where people sounded either like cult devotees or hostages. She worried about the rampant abuse that could result from some of the situations described.

But others she found striking. Even a little exciting. Testimonials about sexual devotion that despite her reservations and confusion, warmed her.

After several minutes of browsing, she copied her original posted question and reposted it in the r/submissive thread. She changed the title slightly.

"I just got fingered and then told to leave. Did I do something wrong?"

She left the body of the question unchanged, and posted. Responses came quickly.

One:
-Sounds hot. Punctuality play. Don't be late, haha!

Another
-Sounds more like an asshole than a good dom.

A third:
-I think we need more context. It sounds like you're new. Have you two played with d/s stuff before?

Jordan replied to the third.
-Sorry, I'm new, what's d/s?

-dominant/submissive.

-Oh, okay. No, I don't think so. I mean, kind of. We don't wear special outfits or do handcuffs or whips or anything. He did say that he owns me, but I thought that was just kind of dirty talk. I don't know, I've never had a relationship like this before. I'm kind of inexperienced.

-OK, he said he owns you, and that didn't seem weird to you?

-Of course it seemed weird! It was also kind of exciting at the time, so I went with it. You know how dirty talk is.

-Yeah, I think he was sending you signals you didn't actually understand. You said you went with it, did you like that idea? Like now that you're out of the moment, is it still exciting?

-I mean, yes, kind of. I was really just excited to tell my husband about it, because he gets excited about that kind of stuff.

-Wait, you're married? OK, you're adorable. This level of newbie energy never happens. I love it. Okay sweetheart, you might not know if you're a sub, but I am. Ask me anything, and we'll figure it out together.

-Okay. I'm so confused…thank you!

* * *

Mark now had the rest of the afternoon to himself. He picked up his beach chair and carried it out to the sand, setting it out to watch the tide come in. He thought about taking a quick trip around the bay before dinner. Maybe after he read a few more chapters.

He loved having nothing to do every once in a while.

As he reached for his book, he remembered an unanswered message.

Megan.

He smiled to himself and pulled out his phone one more time. He opened the message and read it again.

Megan: Bonjour, Achilles. Hit me up if you're in the mood.

He paused before responding.

Mark: Bonjour, Meg. What mood would that be?

He smirked again, fully expecting her not to respond. He set his phone down on his lap and opened his book.

When the phone vibrated.

That was quick.

Megan: Any mood, really. Just wanted to chat

Mark: Well, I'm here. Everything okay? You and Frenchie enjoying family?

Megan: Ummm…mostly. You know how it is.

Mark: I don't actually. Just me and my mom before she passed.

Megan: Oh right, I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry Mark. That was really insensitive.

Mark: No, it's okay. No worries.

Megan: What are you up to?

Mark: Just reading, actually. Don Quixote.

Megan: God, that's so hot.

Mark: lol

Megan: I mean it as a joke, but it actually kinda is, lol. Not to be too forward, but, you know?

Mark: Yeah, I figured you'd go for bookworms.

Megan: Yeah. How is it?

Mark: Really fun. I'm having a good time with it.

Megan: I read it in college. I liked it too. You ever think of going on a quest to impress a lady?

Mark: Occasionally. That might just be my whole life, though.

Megan: Haha, right… You don't have to go far to impress a lady.

Mark: That's good to know, I guess. So what's up? You just bored?

Megan: Kind of.
Megan: I was just thinking about the night we spent together, wanted to check in.

Mark: OK. I'm certainly okay, as long as you and J are. You guys good?

Megan: OMG I can't keep J off me. We've been at it like rabbits. We're fine, I assure you.

Mark: He know you're texting me?

Megan: He's next to me on the couch, pretending not to be sneaking looks at the text chain.

Mark: Lol. So that's a yes.

Megan: It's a yes.

Mark: Well, how do you feel about it?

There was a pause. Mark worried he touched a nerve. The old fears that this would drive a wedge between his best squad leader and him began to

Megan: I kind of want to do it again, if you want to do it again.

Mark blinked hard.

Mark: I thought it was like an experiment thing. You try something crazy, and we have a little fun, and then stay friends, right?

Megan: Yeah, I think it was. But J loved it, and I'm finally okay admitting…I liked it too.

Mark: Wow. Meg…That's a lot.

Megan: No pressure or anything. But I know there's a week or two after leave before you guys ship out…can we maybe do another night?

Mark: I mean, I'm obviously down. Who would turn that down?

Megan: You mean you want me too? I was so scared you were like, doing us a favor.

Mark: Meg, we talked about this already. I really enjoyed myself. Of course I want you. Are you totally sure J is on board with this?

Megan: He just said yes really loud while playing his video game. I think he's on board.

Mark blinked in surprise again.

Mark: Wow. Okay. Let's do it.

Megan: Wow, OMG, I'm relieved. I was so scared to have this conversation, you have no idea.

Mark: I'm glad you found your courage. It obviously works for me…

Megan: Can I ask you one thing, though? Like a favor?

Mark: Sure.

Megan: It's stupid…

Mark: It's not stupid.

Megan: OK, don't laugh. Could you call me Briseis again?

Mark laughed. It was a strange request.

Mark: Sure, no problem. Can I ask why?

Megan: I'm kind of…it's kind of like role playing. I like being your slave girl, I guess. I like it that you kind of…
Megan: I like it that you kind of own my body, you know? I think it's hot. I liked how it was kind of like that when we were…

Mark: Wow. Okay, I think I get it. You like to be owned?

Megan: Lol, I guess. Yeah, I guess I do.

Mark paused before answering again. Squinting, he took in what she had just confided to him. Then he responded.

Mark: I'm going to change your contact from Megan to Briseis. Once that is done, I want you to talk to me like you would talk to your sexual master.

Megan: 🥵

Mark: Do you understand?

Megan: Yes.

Mark: Very well. I will change your contact now, and then I will send you a text referring to you by your new chosen name. From that point on, I will own you sexually. Understand?

Megan: Yes. 🥵

Mark changed the contact info, leaving her real name in the contact notes, but changing the contact title. No last name. Just Briseis.

Save contact.

Mark: Briseis.

Briseis: Yes, master.

Mark smiled to himself. This was going to be fun.

Mak: Briseis, go into your bathroom, remove your clothes, and take a picture. Then show that picture to the man currently sitting next to you, and take care that he watches you send that picture to me.

Briseis. Yes, master.

Mark smiled as he felt his cock stir. He replaced his phone in his lap and returned to his book.

He took out a pen and marked the following observation from Sancho Panza:

"I’ve always heard the old folks say that if you don’t know how to enjoy good luck when it comes, you shouldn’t complain if it passes you by. It wouldn’t be a good idea, now that it’s come knocking, to shut the door in its face; we should let the favorable wind that’s blowing carry us along.”

Twenty six years old, sergeant of marines on the cusp of his first trip into war. Mark felt the urge to enjoy the luck that seemed to be knocking down his door lately.

His phone buzzed in his lap.

* * *

Jordan's face burned as she walked quickly through the condo courtyard. The sun was all the way down now. Most windows were dark or dimmed, all doors were closed. Most children were in bed, most parents squeezing a little relaxation out of the fatigued hour.

9:15. Jordan had spent the last hour learning new things from her new internet friend.

The things she had learned were daunting.

Intimidating.

Exciting.

Terrifying.

She had weighed whether to take that bundle of emotions back home to her waiting husband. It seemed to her the obvious right thing to do. She had been thrown out of her lover's home. She had a sexual encounter, which excited her. He would find it arousing, even thrilling. He would welcome her home, care for her, provide her emotional support. They could figure out what to do together.

She could also share the things she learned while scrolling through her phone in the car. The things she learned while discussing this strange, scary sexual dynamic with a woman who had experienced it. David would go absolutely wild at the prospects. And she would stay out of danger. It was a win win.

She definitely knew that she needed to process all this new data. It would be foolish to return to a situation she didn't understand, especially when she wasn't thinking clearly. This is exactly the kind of situation she had been raised to avoid. The very temptation she had been brought up to reject. This was wrong, and she knew it.

This was not who she was. Sensible, level headed Jordan Stark-Simms, a Ph.D candidate in psychology studying under one of the world's foremost researchers. She needed to leave this situation and go home to her husband. She needed to turn around, walk back to her car, and drive home. And she needed to do it now.

Jordan knocked gingerly on the door of unit 60.

A few seconds passed, then heavy footsteps grew steadily louder as they approached the other side of the door, never quite reaching the intensity of Jordan's own heartbeat.

The door opened.

Captain Mark Rein visibly surprised to see her. He quickly regained the composure of a stone face.

"Jordan. You're back. Is everything alright?"

Jordan began visibly shaking. Mark softened slightly and opened the door wider, ushering her inside.

In the dim light of his living room Jordan hoped the redness of her face might not be too obvious. She walked toward the coffee table, noting the book still on the table. Against the Day. The same book he was reading when...Jordan made a mental note to look it up later, after

"Jordan, is everything okay? Are you okay?" Mark repeated himself.

Jordan took a few seconds to compose herself, then took a deep breath, unconsciously, fumbling with the small, thin gold cross on her necklace.

Slowly but deliberately, Jordan lowered herself to her knees, bowing her head down to the ground and releasing the jewelry from between her fingers before resting her open palms gently on her thighs.

A slight smile broke through Mark's stony face. Again, he quickly suppressed it.

"Good evening sir," Jordan said in a soft, low voice, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her knees. "I want to offer my apologies for making you wait for your pussy this evening. I want to offer my body to you now. If you want it.

subtoall
Pervert
Posts: 633
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 6:12 pm

Re: Jordan

Unread post by subtoall » Sat Mar 30, 2024 8:09 pm

Fantastic writing. I can't wait to find out what Vinny has in store for our gentle cuck.

Tire_Kicker
Trainable
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2023 8:28 pm

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Tire_Kicker » Sat Mar 30, 2024 8:58 pm

David is growing a set! Fuck yeah Dave, git you some...

Jacko
Experienced
Posts: 115
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:06 pm

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Jacko » Mon Apr 01, 2024 8:07 am

Tire_Kicker wrote:
Sat Mar 30, 2024 8:58 pm
David is growing a set! Fuck yeah Dave, git you some...
LOL what? Set of breasts maybe. He just jizzed into pink panties while thinking about his wife with Mark, then got remorse for cumming without permission ...

Tire_Kicker
Trainable
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2023 8:28 pm

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Tire_Kicker » Mon Apr 01, 2024 4:52 pm

Jacko wrote:
Mon Apr 01, 2024 8:07 am
Tire_Kicker wrote:
Sat Mar 30, 2024 8:58 pm
David is growing a set! Fuck yeah Dave, git you some...
LOL what? Set of breasts maybe. He just jizzed into pink panties while thinking about his wife with Mark, then got remorse for cumming without permission ...
Right? But hey, he did have that little epiphany for a minute there. Can't help cheering for the little guy, it could happen if all the cards fell his way. Go David!

Crushing
Virgin
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 5:34 am

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Crushing » Wed Apr 03, 2024 4:03 pm

Jordan looked down at David through half-closed eyes. Leaning back in a kitchen chair, she was uncovered from the waist down; her pants lay crumpled at her side, accented at points with lacy pink cloth sticking out of the open waistband.

David knelt quietly, cleaning his wife. Her legs wide and her posture relaxed as she held her husband's head between her legs. He matched her level of comfort with an uncanny level of his own.

No words were exchanged. Just a wet smacking as he alternated between deep, appreciative kisses landing in Jordan's fluffy thatch and a gentle probing of her inner parts with his tongue.

David relished the taste of Jordan. Especially so when the signs of her arousal were so clear. She had quietly entered the house moments before, a kind of calm glow hanging about her, simply removing her shoes, pants, and panties before turning a kitchen chair toward the living room, sitting down, and opening her legs.

A moist, reflective glint darkened the auburn hair between her legs, accenting the light brown hair that crawled upward toward her waistline.

Sweat damped hair. Tangled.

And, as it turned out, full of viscous surprise. David found that out after kneeling instinctively between her open legs. He dove in hungrily while Jordan ran her fingers wordlessly through her husband's hair.

Her unique taste was punctuated by another. David had tasted it before, and was still unready to name the taste, or the experience to himself. It was simply…

"Another man's cum?"

A gentle, feminine voice kicked a delicate hole in the heady silence.

David started and looked up at Jordan, shocked at the interruption. He raised an eyebrow, not understanding. Or perhaps pretending not to understand. In the depth of his moment, perhaps he didn't know himself which of those was true…

Jordan repeated herself. "Are you enjoying the taste of another man's cum?"

David was shocked. She named it. Named the act.

It was a knockout punch. He wasn't ready to answer, and fought hard to push down the shame rising in his throat. Instead, wordlessly, he returned his burning face between her legs.

Jordan smiled and hummed in pleasure.

"That feels so good, baby. Keep doing that."

David's heart began pounding at the encouragement.

A few minutes more, and the second flavor that punctuated the first began to diminish, replaced by new arousal. David tried to match her rising enthusiasm, lapping up waves of his wife's arousal. She began moaning more audibly. David stole a glance upward, looking past her shirt to her face. She had leaned her head back, face toward the ceiling, and the gentle playfulness of her hands in his hair intensified as she began grabbing and pulling tufts of his hair.

David had not experienced this kind of reaction from his wife before. He began flicking his tongue with more excitement. Jordan's hips began to buck gently, her grip on his hair tighter. It began to hurt his scalp.

Her moan rose in intensity.

Then it rose in pitch.

Finally, her legs snapped together around her husband's face, her knees rising up toward her chest. David leaned into her body to keep her from slipping out of the chair.

The tension held for a few moments before Jordan gradually relaxed her legs, releasing her husband's head. David kissed her cleft gently and sat back on his haunches.

"David…" Jordan heaved, her glassy eyes filled with surprise as she fixed on her husband, still kneeling before her.

"David…you made me cum…"

* * *
Mark found little Max with his head poking out of a tangle of driftwood halfway between his own campsite and the Cohen's. Trying to fight his way loose, Max wiggled back and forth between two long, wrist thick branches wedged under a large log.

Mark approached quietly on the boy's blind side, trying not to be noticed. Max alternately squirmed, turned himself, and tried to lift one branch or another to create enough space to squeeze through.

Nothing was working.

Mark watched him work on it for a while before he cleared his throat to alert Max to his presence.

"Oh hi, Mr. Rein. I'm stuck in a forest. I think it's magic"

"That's a forest?"

"Yeah, it's a little one. But there's a curse on it. I thought there would be treasure in here, but now I'm stuck."

"Well, that happens sometimes with magic forests…" Mark waded into the pile of driftwood until he found the large log resting on top of the two branches holding him down. He squatted down next to it, locked his hands under the bottom, and stood up, wrenching the other branches free.

"Snake yourself under here, buddy. I'll hold this up until you're through."

"OK…" Max crawled through the tangle of branches until he made his way between Mark's legs and out to the beach. Mark grunted and dropped the log.

"Wow, You'e thtrong, Mithter Rein…" Now it was Mark's turn to be surprised. Lucy had walked up behind him as he was lifting the log. Mark grinned as he turned around to see her.

Molly was there too, watching him.

"Thank you again, Mark…wow, you're always getting Max out of jams, aren't you?"

"He seems to find his way into jams, but that seems like just what a kid his age should do…don't you think?" Mark grinned.

Molly smiled widely at him and nodded.

Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, her t-shirt hanging loosely down over the waistband of her clean, sporty exercise pants.

"When Mackth got thtuck, I went to get mom to help becauth I couldn't move the brancheth…" Lucy explained, bringing everyone up to speed. "Wait, where did you come from, Mithter Rein? Are you going kayaking? I don't thee your boat."

"No, actually I'm going to have some dinner with you guys, if that's alright. Your parents invited me."

"Yeah!" Max shouted jubilantly. "Can you show me how to do a fire start again too?"

"Sure thing, buddy," Mark chuckled.

The siblings took off running toward the campsite, leaving Mark and Molly to walk along behind.

"I'm glad you came along. Might have needed to get you anyway to get him un-wedged from there. Looks like he stopped crying by the time you got there, though. Lucy said he was pretty upset when she couldn't help him out."

"Yeah, he's tougher than he lets on. Sometimes boys take a while to learn they're tough. Letting them wrestle with things by themselves is important. Within reason, of course. I hung back for a while, and he actually got pretty close to getting himself out."

"Well, anyway, thanks. You ready to eat?"

"Is dinner ready? I'm a little early."

"You are a little early, we weren't expecting you for another hour. We haven't started, but we're pretty laid back today. I can get it started if you're hungry."

"No rush." Mark looked over at her as they walked, catching her looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Actually," he continued, "I think I'd like to go for a little swim first. Maybe take the kids?"

"Okay…that sounds fun…" Molly replied, surprised.

"So go ahead and take those clothes off when we get back, I want to see you in that outfit again."

Molly blushed deeply. "Oh, that's why you want to go swimming…" she said under her breath, smiling to herself.

"Well, partly…Maybe mostly. Either way, I want to see it before the sun goes down."

Molly blushed and said nothing.

They came at length to the family campsite, finding Chris busily sorting through the cooler, pulling out small packages of meat and cans of beer and soda, and placing them on the picnic table.

"Hey Chris, how's it going?" Mark called out as he walked confidently onto the camp site.

"Hey Mark, how are you?" Chris replied

"Fine, thanks. How's your day been?"

"Not bad…not bad at all." His tone was noticeably more genial than in previous encounters. "You want a beer?"

"Not yet, thanks." Chris nodded, then sat back down on the picnic table bench.

Mark continued. "Actually, I thought it might be nice to have a quick swim before dinner." He turned to the children. "You guys want to come?"

Lucy and Max cheered, shouting over each other as to who got to swim with Mister Rein. Mark laughed out loud.

"Great. Well, let's do it. I'll need to borrow a towel if you've got one…"

Mark pulled his shirt off over his head, revealing his broad, toned upper body. Chris looked at Molly instinctively, whose head was subtly cocked to one side–leaning in Mark's direction as he disrobed.

"Would you like to come along, Chris?" Mark asked.

"No, I think…I'll just hang back, you guys have fun. I'll get dinner started."

He grimaced, and then pushed a smile through it.

"Your loss, friend. If you want to come along, please do. The more the merrier. Molly, I'm assuming you're coming?"

She paused.

Then smiled and nodded. "Of course. Kids, grab a towel and meet back here in your suits. Max, you stay close to Mark in the water, okay? The waves make the water deeper and they can pull you right out to the ocean."

The siblings dashed into their tent to grab towels. Molly stood up, looked at her husband, and pulled her shirt over her head. Chris' eyes bulged as he saw his wife reveal herself in sexy new attire.

Noting his reaction, Molly wiggled slightly as she dropped her sweatpants to reveal the rest of the outfit. She stepped out of her pants and sat down next to her husband for a moment, strapped on her sandals, and finally whispered something in his ear as the children came crashing out of their tent again. Molly stood up energetically, and clapped her hands together.

"Ready kids?"

The two took off out of the campsite and shot toward the water. High tide falling.

Mark stood up next to Molly and nodded knowingly to Chris.
"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready…" Molly said. The two grabbed towels and walked out after the kids.

Chris watched them go. They walked easily together. Naturally. As if they belonged together.

He watched Mark's hand slide around his wife's waist, slide casually over her rump, and then squeeze her right cheek playfully, holding his handful firmly for a moment before releasing and raising it again to her waist.

As they took the last steps out of the campsite, Chris heard his wife giggle with delight as she felt the squeeze.

* * *

6 'o clock Sunday evening brought a gentle knock on David and Jordan's front door. David, dressed carefully in a clean polo shirt and slacks walked briskly across the living room to answer it.

"Hi! Welcome!"

The greeting was echoed with enthusiasm as Hamad shook David's hand with a big grin. "Thanks you for inviting!"

"And you must be Aisha…Hamad has told me many good things about you, welcome!"

The young woman, dressed modestly in loose fitting jeans, a long sleeved top, and a richly colored hijab smiled shyly and nodded in acknowledgment as she shifted a baby seated on her hip.

Jordan, still wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen just as the little family made their way into the living room. She moved like metal to a magnet as she saw the baby girl on Aisha's hip.
"So adorable! What's her name?"

"Her name is Fatima," Aisha replied proudly, her shyness melting under Jordan's enthusiasm for her baby.

"She's so beautiful, oh my goodness! She just lights up the room!"

David and Hamad stole a glance as the women fell to cooing around the baby. David, always delighted to see enthusiasm in his wife, struggled not to laugh. Hamad pretended to be laughing at their wives' excess, but was clearly proud that his new baby evoked such an enthusiastic response.

David offered them a seat, and Jordan returned to the kitchen to tend to final preparations for dinner. They chatted amiably, mostly about the baby, when Jordan called out of the kitchen.

"Aisha, could you give me a hand with something?"

The young mother stood up quickly and handed the baby off to Hamad before joining Jordan in the next room. Hamad began bouncing the little girl on his knee.

"So, you the next boss man, eh?" Hamad said with a grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," David said evasively.

"Everyone said they going to make you the boss. You had the interview, you had the fancy clothes. I saw you Fridays…"

David chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I got an interview, but that doesn't mean anything. I guess we'll find out when they tell us. I haven't heard anything."

Hamad chuckled back. "You interview, you good guy. Hard worker. They will give you the job, and you will give me a raise!"

They laughed, and both women peeked out from the kitchen. "What's so funny?" Jordan asked.

"Just work stuff…" David threw back.

Jordan squinted and stuck out her tongue playfully, brandishing a wooden spoon. The women disappeared back into the kitchen, and started giggling between themselves.

"No, seriously…" David said with a low voice, "I'm really not sure I'm going to get it. To be honest, I'm not feeling too confident."

"You good man, Dafid…" Hamad responded, patting David on the back. "You get good job here, you get good job somewhere else. You be okay at the end. But I think you get the good job here."

David smiled at the compliment.

"David?" Jordan peeked out of the kitchen again. "Can you set the table? We're just about ready here…

"Yeah, of course…"

* * *
Molly sprawled contentedly on her back, looking up to the dome of Mark's tent. The racing heartbeat had slowed, her pulse slipping down to a resting rate, perhaps dreamily a touch below resting rate. Her breath, only recently filled to capacity in a series of desperate heaves, was also settling into rest.

All in all, the rhythm of her body was settling after wrestling with frantic arousal for what seemed a very long time. She rested in the dark of the warm summer night, content and half exposed on top of a few more blankets she had snuck over from her campsite earlier that day.

Mark had left the tent a few moments ago. He had wrestled his board shorts back on his body, unzipped the door, and walked out to get water bottles for them.

Molly still wore the bikini top that had aroused Mark to his most recent passion. Her bikini bottoms had been pulled off earlier, and tossed to the side somewhere.

With the tent door still open and the young mother sprawled lazily on the tent floor, Molly's naked sex was exposed to anyone who might walk by.

A fact that would have paralyzed her with fear and embarrassment only a few days before. Now she was too exhausted to care.

Maybe it wasn't exhaustion, though. Something else…

She reached up and stretched, feeling her muscles relax, and running her hands down her torso. In spite of herself, she felt a little shy as she slipped her right hand between her legs.

Wet. Very wet. She didn't know if she had ever been that wet before. She was definitely passionately aroused, and she knew her body was responding to that arousal. But some of that moisture wasn't her, she realized as she probed herself in a daze. it was left by

Him… She closed her eyes, moaning to herself.

A rustling at the tent door snapped her out of it. She sat up hastily and covered her sex with her hand.

It was Mark. He motioned for her to come out of the tent. She looked around, confused for a moment, then fumbled around the darkness to find her bikini bottoms…

"No. Just come out. It's dark, and it's one thirty in the morning. You'll be fine."

"Umm, it's okay, just a second…" Molly hesitated, reaching under the blankets to find it. Mark's hand appeared in front of her face. She stopped searching and nervously took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet through the door of the tent.

Molly stood in the open air of Mark's campsite.

Top covered by a thin bikini bra.

Bottomless, bare assed, and shaved.

The air was strikingly warm for the hour. Nevertheless, Molly shivered and covered herself. She felt further hints of moisture gather around her fingertips as they fought to save her modesty. Some of that moisture seemed ready to drip down her thighs.

His moisture.

That train of thought was interrupted by Mark extending his long arms around her and pulling her body into his embrace. Molly turned her head to rest her face on his chest.

She rested here for a few moments until their breathing slipped into rhythm with each other. Then, she broke the silence by giggling.

Mark pulled back, looking down at her. "What's so funny?"

Molly involuntarily covered her mouth with the flat of her hand, stifling the giggle. "I don't have any pants on…."

Mark chuckled. "No, Molly. No, you don't."

He broke the embrace, reaching back to his picnic table to grab the two water bottles he brought out earlier, handing her one. They held playful eye contact in the dim starlight as they twisted the caps off their bottles. Mark held his out in a toast. "To proper hydration."

Molly grinned and tapped his bottle with hers. "Cheers."

They drank deeply. Mark finished his disposable bottle in one shot, crushing it with his fist and tossing it into his refuse bag. Molly took longer, taking many long sips. Mark didn't mind. This allowed him to look up and down her body, appreciating the reflection of the moon on her pale, exposed skin.

She finished her drink and delicately placed the bottle in the bag.

"Let's take a walk," Mark suggested.

"It's late…" Molly replied.

Mark pouted playfully. "Awww, you don't want to take a walk with me?"

Molly giggled again. "No, that's not it, it's just…it's late."

Mark furrowed his brow and his face turned serious. "It's a beautiful night, Molly. The stars are out, the moon is bright. It's warm and we're in a beautiful place. We shouldn't miss moments like this. I want to take a midnight walk on the beach with my girl."

Molly melted slightly at hearing herself referred to as this man's girl. She hadn't felt like anyone's girl in…

"Actually…why not? What with the stars being pretty and all. Just let me find my bottoms…" she giggled and turned toward the tent door.

"No."

Molly started at the sound. The playfulness and charm had dropped from his voice. The tone was somber, commanding. Like the tone she overheard when she walked in on his phone call earlier. '

"Sorry?"

"I said no." Mark's voice lowered another half pitch. Molly's mouth opened slightly in shock.

"I don't understand…no what?"

"Don't get your pants. In fact, take your top off."

Molly's mouth opened wider. Mark's tone softened slightly.

"No one's around, it's late. I want to see my girl walk naked on the beach."

"Ummm…"

"Are you my girl this week, Molly?"

Molly could feel her face burning as her heart began to pound.

"Are you?"

She lowered her head.

Mark let the silence speak for him.

"Yes…" she said finally. Quietly.

"Yes what?" Mark's voice softened a little more, a hint of the playfulness returning.

"Yes…yes, I'm your girl this…"

"Stop there. Say it again." Molly smiled in spite of herself.

"Yes, I'm your girl."

"Good. Prove it."

Molly smiled again, heart pounding. She reached behind her back and unclasped her bikini top.

Her last bit of covering fell to the ground, leaving her pale, soft breasts exposed to the starlight.

Mark smiled and said nothing, but extended his right hand. Molly smiled and nervously took it with her left. He grasped it in hers, squeezing her wedding ring gently between his thumb and forefinger.

He felt his cock stir as they walked out toward the water.

And from a concealed space behind Mark's 4runner on the edge of his campsite, a hungry set of eyes saw a tall man in board shorts lead a thin, pale, nude woman out onto the dark, deserted beach.

Mid tide. Rising.

***

Baby Fatima was fast asleep on her mother's lap. David and Jordan chatted amiably but quietly with their guests over coffee, afraid to wake the baby.

The meal had been pleasant. Aisha had turned out to be much more lively company than she seemed at first, as Jordan's gregarious temperament had helped her relax into easy conversation. Once the shyness wore off, all four were bantering like old friends.

Naturally, the major lifestyle overhaul of a new baby was a major part of the conversation, as both the new parents expressed concern and frustration at their mounting expenses and pressures on Hamad's hourly income. Despite his mechanic skills and work ethic, they couldn't seem to get ahead. Hamad's joke about needing a raise seemed like less of a joke. He seemed to really count on David's promotion to help his family.

David was unused to the feeling of another full grown man depending on him. To feed his family. This was serious. David was sure he could look into the raise if he got the job, but he wasn't sure it would be the right decision for the business. He just didn't know enough yet. And at this point, his certainty that he would be passed over for the promotion was solidifying. Yet he still wanted to help.

"Have you ever thought about opening your own shop?" David asked Hamad thoughtfully.

Hamad seemed surprised. "My own shop? I need more money, not less. I don't have tools, I don't have garage, I don't have money for signs or other workers…I cannot afford."

David nodded gravely. Jordan and Aisha fell silent as the lighthearted conversation turned serious.

David had his business face on. It was a rough analog to Jordan's dissertation face. Serious. Focused. He was moving things around in his head. Thinking through contacts, obstacles, assets, risks, possibilities. Getting things in order so he could charge at them full speed. He was getting ready to move on something. Boldly.

Jordan loved that face. It was David's time to shine. She smiled to herself, and offered a thought to ease the conversation in a more hopeful direction.

"Hamad, if you had the money, would you want to own your own shop? Having the money is one thing, but actually wanting to do it is another thing entirely. It can be a headache, there is a lot of work in owning your own business. But you can do very well for yourself if you do it right."

Hamad squinted at the floor. "I would love to start my own…It is my dream. But it is so hard to get started. I try to save, but…" He shrugged sadly and looked over at Aisha and the baby.

"Have you thought about investors?" David interjected.

"Who would invest? I don't know anybody. Maybe after you become boss man's boss man, you can invest!" Hamad laughed.

"If I become boss man's boss man I'm going to be more interested in keeping you working for me." David grinned. "But if you had someone, maybe a group of people who help get you started, help you run things, you can share some of your profits with them. They'll get you tools, a place to work, some advertising maybe, and help you with payroll for a helper or another mechanic. If you got all that in line, what do you think?"

"I'd say yes!" Hamad "Do you know investor?"

"I intern for a pretty big accounting firm, and I know a couple of our firm's clients who might be interested. I can't promise anything, but I have a good relationship with a couple of them. I could try to talk to them for you, maybe set up a meeting?"

Hamad looked stunned. He looked over at his wife, whose face lit up in surprise.

"So that's a yes?" David half smiled through the question.

"Yea…yes! Thank you!" Hamad exclaimed.

"Don't thank me yet. Let me see if I can fix a meeting. You'll need a business plan, though. I can help you with that. Do you need to head home now or can you hang out for a little while?"

"We can hang out…" Aisha blurted out. Hamad was still stunned, and simply nodded. David reached for his laptop.

"Let's get some rough numbers together. While I look up startup costs, I want you to think about what kind of customers you can line up. Do you have any special certifications? Any friends in the business that need a subcontractor? Any big shops that can't handle all their work? That can be a good place to start. Maybe we can pay them a visit this week, see if they're interested."

Hamad nodded, bewildered. "I visit, sure. But I don't know how to talk business, just engines and cars. You come too?"

"Of course…" David said, seemingly oblivious that Hamad was moved by his willingness to help him. "For now, let's get it all on paper, so we can make you look like a good investment. Here, let's move back to the table so I can type easier…"

The two men stood with David's laptop and moved to the adjacent room to work. Jordan beamed with pride. This was the man she fell in love with. Selfless. Competent. Bold. Hardworking. He looked so handsome with his business face. And the look of surprised gratitude from their new friends was icing on the cake. She blinked hard to hold back tears. Then she turned to her guest.

"Aisha…you mentioned you like to read books. What are you reading lately? I'm always looking for the next best book I've ever read…"

* * *

The moon had passed zenith, and the night had cooled a bit. Molly lay on her side, naked, tucked in between the chest and the muscular arm of a man she had met only a few days before. Her two children were asleep a mere two hundred yards away. Her husband was there with them…but as to whether he was asleep or not, she didn't know.

But Molly was awake.

She pulled the camp blanket a little higher over her shoulders. The tent dome was now open to the sky–after their walk Mark had removed the rain fly so they could look up to the stars together.

Mark, as it turned out, knew a surprising amount about the constellations in the night sky. He had casually pointed out things she had never learned, speaking with a confidence and passion of one who had spent a lot of time looking up at the night sky. She had walked alongside him as he talked, cool water lapping around their feet and ankles as they moved in the moonlight. In many ways, it felt like the kind of first date she dreamed about as a little girl. With one notable difference.

She had been naked.

Mark had insisted she remove her clothing, and she had agreed. Initially, she thought it was a kind of dare–that she would dart out 20 feet or so onto the beach and then run back in, giggling at the shocking thing she was doing. That he would laugh at his prank and then playfully toss her a shirt and some pants. Or they would find her swimsuit together, then watch her slide back into it before they would leave to go on the walk along the beach as normal.

But he had confidently taken her hand and walked out on the beach at a leisurely pace. She passed 20 feet. 50 feet. 100 feet. 100 yards. By then they were at the water's edge. He turned and walked along the beach. She had panicked, squeezed his hand, looked over and around for any strange eyes on her exposed body. Thankfully, there were none.

Then, she surprised herself by settling into the experience. As if nothing strange was going on. As if she actually had clothes on. As if nothing whatsoever was out of the ordinary.

Now, she reflected on that feeling. She felt…safe. That's what it was. This man would protect her if something or someone unexpected had come up, Had some unexpected set of eyes popped out of the bushes, he would have covered her 5 foot 5 body with his 6 foot 4 body. Because she was his girl. She would do what he wanted, and he would protect her. Look after her. Take care of her when she was so vulnerable. That was it, she thought to herself. That was the feeling. She felt…safe.

She breathed in deeply and sighed into his chest as it rose and fell in steady sleep.

Her memory drifted more deeply into the last few dreamy days.

Remembering him spending a whole morning building an elaborate sand castle compound with her children. Which her husband wouldn't do.

She thought of other things he did that her husband wouldn't do.

He took them out kayaking, spending his whole day with strangers on a deserted island a mile offshore from a public beach searching for "treasure" with children that weren't his.

He dove aggressively into the ocean when Max had slipped out of his life jacket. Pulled him to safety. Gently patted the water out of his lungs as he sputtered and cried.

He talked to Lucy about her books. Shared stories from his own.

He patiently taught Max how to build a fire.

It was exactly what she had hoped would come from this vacation. A man had spent time with her. Meaningful, happily, freely given time. He had looked after, played with, taught, and protected her children. Then, after the sun had set, after the fire had burned down, and after the children had gone to sleep, he laid her down in his tent and took her body.

Molly inhaled deeply again. Then exhaled. The problem with this reflection is that the man who so fully realized her hopes for the week was not the man to whom she was married. Furthermore, upon reflection, changing out the man who was supposed to provide these things for her with another available man didn't bother her as much as she thought it should. Or, it didn't bother her at all, really. Which was, in its way, worrisome. She worried, briefly, that the scandal of this week would gnaw at her conscience later. That she would feel ashamed. That she wouldn't recognize herself in the mirror anymore because of the decisions she had made, and the days…and nights…she had enjoyed. That this encounter was tawdry, beneath her sense of morality.

But then she remembered all of those other things again, all those things Mark had provided without prompting or obligation, and she sighed deeply into his chest again. And then, she found her fingers gently caressing Mark's wide, muscular, tan chest.

Chris' chest was narrow. Pudgy. Pale.

She shook the thought off. Her hands slipped lower, caressing his firm abdominal muscles.

Her husband's belly was not large, but it was soft. Betraying his sedentary lifestyle.

Mark's lifestyle seemed much more active…she didn't know the details of physical training marines subjected themselves to, but clearly something was working.

Her hand descended further.

There it was.

The biggest difference.

Mark's penis was thick. Heavy. It hung noticeably lower on his body when he stood. When hard, it was intimidating. Enticing.

Chris' penis was…

She shook off the thought. Instead, she allowed herself to imagine a little fantasy. A playful exchange between herself and Mark. What she would have tried to initiate if he hadn't been asleep. She would have teasingly wrapped her hand around his heavy cock and said in a quiet, singsong voice:

"look what I found…"

She ran her fingertips up and down his cock as her own playful words ran through her mind.

Look what I found…

It began to grow slightly under her hand as the answer occurred to her.

"I found…a man. A real…man." She thought to herself.

She breathed in deeply one more time. She didn't want to disturb him, and normally she would be scared. Scared of asking too much. Scared of bothering him.

But now she felt safe. She had named the feeling. She was safe. She gently ran her hand up to his chest and rested her flat palm on his chest, pressing down slightly and shaking gently.

"Mark…"

He groaned slightly and opened his eyes. He blinked through the fog and turned his head to look at her.

"Everything okay?" he inquired sleepily.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I...um...Can we…um…can we go again?"

Mark smiled.

"Yeah," he whispered gently. He kissed her. She closed her eyes and returned his kiss. "Yeah, we can go again. Lay on your back…"

* * *

Jordan looked down the galley kitchen toward the table where David was working. He and Hamad had been hunched over his laptop for more than an hour, gathering what information they needed. Then, when David said he had the basic information he needed to finish the business plan, the other young couple had left, taking the baby home to bed.

They had left with excited, hopeful smiles on their faces.

Something her husband had made happen.

Jordan grinned to herself in pride. After they left, she had quietly offered to handle the dishes (usually a shared responsibility) while David typed away, organizing a business plan for a mechanic he was friendly with.

Not a family member.

Not a lifelong friend.

Just a nice man with a new baby he wanted to help out.

She began humming to herself. Humming the songs she sang in the church choir that morning. She found herself looking out of the corner of her eye at her husband, concentrating hard on his work.

She still had a little bit of a crush on him. Especially when she saw him like this. Helpful, hardworking. So giving and caring. The man she fell in love with not so long ago.

As she finished placing the last dishes in the drying rack, she thought she should do something nice for him. Something thoughtful.

She thought about taking his hand and leading him back to the bedroom. But she didn't want to break his focus. She would definitely make his night a happy one when he did come to bed, but if she took him now, it would interrupt the very activity that made him so charming to her.

Catch-22.

She dried her hands, and went to the bedroom to change into pajamas. She took off her outer clothes and bra, then put on loose, comfortable pajama pants and a small, thin t-shirt so David could see her chest without a bra. She smiled in the mirror, then tied her hair back in a ponytail. Then, surprising herself, she winked and kissed at the mirror.

So unlike her…but she had felt more cute and frisky lately. Something about her recent experiences was giving her new confidence…

She had an idea. Something nice to do for David.

He had a big day tomorrow. He'd find out about the job. He'd be nervous.

Jordan wasn't worried. She knew it was going to go well. She knew he was about to get a promotion well out of proportion for his experience and current role. He would blow the roof off of that place, he always did. Albeit in a quiet, diligent way. No showboating. Just cool competence and hard work. Success tended to follow.

God, she loved him.

She walked back out to the living room, noting David's attempt to subtly glance at her chest as she walked into the room. She smiled to herself as she sat down on the couch and rifled through her school bag. She found her steno notebook and a pen, then stood up and walked over to the table. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, whispering into his ear:

"I love you, David. You're my hero…"

David blushed as she walked into the kitchen for a moment, then returned.

She sat down at the table in the chair opposite her husband and set down a pink lady apple, casually but conspicuously, next to her notebook and pen. She shot a playful glance under her eyebrows and across the table, noting David's keen eye on what she was doing. She looked down and opened her notebook to a blank page.

She removed the cap from her pen, stared thoughtfully at the blank page for a moment, and then began writing.

"Do your work, David…"

* * *

Chris Cohen paced back and forth between his family campsite and the shower house. It was after 2 o'clock in the morning.

He had not slept well for a couple of days.

Just after midnight, his wife had followed her new boyfriend away from the campsite.

Prior to that, the three had chatted amiably after the kids went to bed. The fire slowly burned down, the flames carefully tended by Mark. Each time he had added wood or moved the fire around to stoke the flame, he moved his camp chair a little closer to Molly. Eventually, she noticed his movements and began to subtly move closer to him. By the time the fire dropped down to cinders, the deep sleep breathing patterns coming from the children's tent was apparent, and Molly was making unambiguous eyes at Mark.

As they stood to leave, Chris' penis stood with them. He, however, remained seated, face turned away, and burning.

He waited in angst for several minutes. Who knows how long, really. Then, against his better judgment, he walked down the camp road, quietly, keeping his head low. He approached Mark's 4runner and nervously peeked into the empty front seat. Nothing. He moved to the side. Nothing in the back seat. Crouching awkwardly on the driver's side, he squatted down, leaning back against the the rear wheel of the vehicle.

He held his breath and focused.

Then, he heard it. Molly.

Breathy.

Low.

Desperate.

She was still quiet, but clearly struggling to control the noises she made.

He craned his neck around the back of the 4runner, but couldn't see much. Just a blank wall of a medium sized dome tent, the rain fly secured tightly over the top.

The sound grew clearer though…now he could hear a new sound rise, a gentle slapping in a brisk tempo.

Mark's balls slapping against his wife.

Chris grabbed at himself, finding his own desperation down the front of his sweatpants.

His body relaxed into a deep focus as he began to touch himself, stimulated by the muted sounds of his wife's pleasure. A small wet spot appeared on the front of his sweatpants.

At intervals, he noticed her breathing would quicken, then go silent…as if she was holding her breath for a moment before starting again…

She was having an orgasm.

She said…he remembered she had said she couldn't come from sex…

It became a cycle every now and then, with more time passing in between each cycle as Molly became exhausted.

She was cumming for him. Over, then over again.

Chris shuddered at the new revelation and stroked himself more desperately. As another breathless silence spread over the campsite, punctuated by the soft, rhythmic slapping, he felt his own orgasm approaching.

A new breathless silence was rising. He leaned into it, waiting for evidence of another quietly climactic release from Molly.

But as he leaned into the silence, the brisk tempo of smacking skin suddenly halted, followed by a low, masculine groan.

Mark had released inside his wife.

Chris' heart stopped.

Molly let out a long, low, contented moan.

The small wet spot on Chris' pants grew.

He let go of his desperation and buried his face in his hands.

Uscgamecoc91
Prepubescent
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2023 12:11 pm

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Uscgamecoc91 » Fri Apr 05, 2024 9:28 am

Absolutely Amazing Character development.

Great Writing.

Thank you!!!

kinkydetroit
Experienced
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:19 am

Re: Jordan

Unread post by kinkydetroit » Fri Apr 05, 2024 12:28 pm

Fantastic story, I check daily for updates.

Crushing
Virgin
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 5:34 am

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Crushing » Fri Apr 19, 2024 7:58 pm

A gentle vibration buzzed Jordan awake in the pitch black of an all-too-early Monday morning. She reached down and pulled her phone out of her pajama pants pocket.

Normally she didn't sleep with her phone in her pocket, but she didn't want to wake David.

2:25 AM.

God, what a horrible hour. How did David do this every weekday? He was up at 3, out the door by 3:30, and delivering flowers from 4 until…usually early afternoon, but…

Groggily she came to the realization that she didn't even really know what his shifts were. He worked himself to the bone and never complained, never even mentioned his horrible hours. He just quietly, reliably provided for their needs. And most days, he had dinner waiting for her when she got home.

God, what a man.

Jordan looked over at her sleeping husband, and then slipped gently out of bed, trying not to disturb him . She walked quickly to the bathroom and shut the door before turning on the light.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Standard bed-head, maybe some sleep crust in her eyes. She still wore the tight shirt from the Sunday night teasing she had dangled in front of him. But David had stayed up working, and she had fallen asleep. Her plans to ambush him for some love were thwarted.

Hence the early alarm.

She ran a brush through her hair, washed her face off, brushed her teeth quietly, and took a big swig of mouthwash to stave off the dreaded morning breath. Standing up straight, she noted how her breasts seemed perky and her nipples visible through the fabric. She smiled to herself, knowing what her husband liked to see. She pulled her pajama bottoms and panties off, folding them carefully and placing them on the counter. Spritzing one modest puff of a light perfume under her chin, she squinted one more time at the mirror, shook out her hair one more time, and smirked at herself in reflection.

Showtime.

She turned the light off before quietly opening the door and tiptoeing back to bed. She checked her phone one more time. 2:28.

Gingerly, she slipped back into bed and pulled the covers over her. David groaned slightly but didn't wake up.

And she waited. Until…

2:30. Jordan's phone, no longer silently buzzing, blared out in the familiar alarm tone used by David to wake him for work. A tone she would have ignored any other day. David groaned again and reached for his phone on the nightstand near his side of the bed.

David's phone was dark.

He uttered a quizzical grunt, then activated the phone, noting that no active alarm was on it. And it was going 30 minutes earlier than...

It was that kind of morning, apparently. Where small changes in routine are so utterly confusing as to render one helpless and frustrated. He looked around the room, confused. What…? Where…? How..?

"David…"

David squinted in further confusion at his sleeping wife.

Wait.

She wasn't sleeping.

It was dark, but he could tell from her voice that she was wide awake. Or at least more awake than he was…Was the alarm coming from her pillowcase? What the hell was..?

Jordan giggled and pulled him onto his back, rolling on top of him. She began kissing his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, his neck. Then she began planting deep kisses on his mouth, which he instinctively–although still in a deep haze of bewilderment–returned.

Jordan spread her legs over his waist, and tucked her knees up, doing a push-up on his chest until she sat upright, straddling him.

"Jordan, what are you…it's so early…"

Jordan giggled in response. She leaned forward in the dark and turned on the lamp on David's nightstand. The dark retreated slightly, casting orange light on her torso.

"I woke you up early, silly. It's a big day for you, and I want you to feel confident…"

Accompanying that thought, she playfully grabbed his hands and pulled them up to her face. She kissed each one of them deeply, then slowly lowered them, palms open, onto her breasts.

"You worked late last night, David…I didn't have a chance to jump your bones before I crashed out…but I loved watching you work. You're so helpful, so selfless. I love that about you…go ahead, David, play with them. They're yours…"

David's sleep fog was breaking apart in the light of this unprecedented development. He smiled groggily as he stroked, squeezed, and fondled his wife's breasts while she smiled permissively down at him.

"I just need you to know how much I love you, David. How proud of you I am. How lucky I know I am. You're going to do great today. No matter what happens, you need to know I'm with you."

She leaned forward again and kissed him deeply. He began to grunt less in confusion and more in delight.

Jordan sat upright again. "Do you want me to take my top off for you, David? That way you can see my boobs better? And play with them?"

David had never before seen the coquettish style of sexual enticement that his wife was currently displaying. He didn't know exactly how to answer a question with such an obvious answer. In keeping with his usual awe of his wife's charms, he simply grinned and nodded with a gesture not unlike Dopey Dwarf from the Snow White cartoon.

Jordan giggled, and pulled her top off over her shoulders.

David was caught in the headlights.

What a way to start an early shift…

Jordan giggled at her husband's frozen reaction and repeated her earlier action of gently kissing his hands and placing them on her now bare breasts.

For a while, she simply smiled down demurely at him, enhancing the feeling of the new and the naughty she was cultivating so well. Then, she began bucking her hips slightly, forward and backward, forward and backward.

David looked down for the first time, and noticed with shock that Jordan was in fact completely nude. Her light brown fur was pulsing slightly from the back and forth motions as she rubbed herself on him.

"Would you like to feel something else, honey?" Jordan asked innocently, looking down toward where their bodies were meeting. David let go of her breasts and began tracing a line down to her lower half. Slipping a finger between her thatch and his own pajama pants, he was shocked to find her wet.

Very wet.

He looked up in surprise. "How..?"

She smiled down at him. "Well, mister questions…I happened to start getting this way last night when I saw you spring into action to help your work friend change his life for the better forever. Actually, if I'm being honest, it really started when I saw you bouncing little baby Fatima on your knee, but I don't want to get ahead of myself."

David's jaw dropped.

"I get hot when I see you at your best, baby. When you're my David. When you're the full, all the way, no holds barred David. I guess you didn't know that…"

David shook his head in disbelief.

"Anyway," she continued in mocking exposition, "I came to bed, and just laid here for a good long while, hour after hour, with a needy body and no man to help me…"

Jordan felt David's already stiffening penis get noticeably more rigid.

She smiled again, and pulled his left hand up to her right breast, leaving his right hand to explore the wetness under her downy thatch.

"Yeah, keep doing that, baby…that feels good…anyway, I ended up almost sending a message to someone else, but I thought…no, I want my husband tonight…"

She leaned forward and kissed him deeply on the mouth before making her way to his ear.

"But my husband never came to bed…"

David began responding to her hip thrusts with some involuntary bucking of his own.

Jordan maintained the tight distance between her mouth and his ear, holding him at whisper distance:

"What's a girl to do, honey? I went to bed…wanting…"

David frantically let go of his wife's body and shoved the waistband of his pajama pants down. As she felt his stiff penis nudging around her opening, a sly grin broke across her face.

* * *

Molly Cohen was having a wonderful vacation. She had made the transition to motherhood early in life, so she had been busy with small children more or less directly out of high school. She had worked her way through nursing school with those small children. She had then taken on the busy, ever-shifting life of a career hospital nurse with those children, constantly juggling childcare and patient care. Both aspects of her life often had her staying up late and getting up early. Both aspects of her life had her running constantly, working constantly, and attending to the needs of others. Constantly.

She had known Mark Rein for 5 days now. They were nearly the same age–her 28 years to his 27–but he seemed younger. It was the circumstances of her life–the demands of those who depended on her that made Molly feel older. But in another life, if she had taken another path, she could easily have seen herself dating this man. And seeing how he interacted with her children, how easily he played with them, how easily he engaged them on their level, how much satisfaction he took in teaching them little things, how instinctively protective he was of them, Molly could not stop the intrusive thoughts–the fantasies–imagining her life deeply entangled with his.

She loved how he called her "my girl." She was keenly aware of the outrageous nature of that appellation as a married woman. Nevertheless, she loved it. She got butterflies in her stomach everytime he said it. She never had the courage to return the designation out loud, but she secretly wanted to call him "my man."

However, while she didn't allow herself to say that out loud, she relished thinking it to herself. In her mind, in that hazy middle ground between fantasy and reality that makes up every truly great vacation, Molly had a new man. And Molly and her man were having a perfect week at the beach. Each morning as the light slowly rose, Molly would wake up naked and slip away from Mark's bedding, wiggling into her clothes before exiting the tent and returning to her campsite before Lucy and Max woke up. On these occasions, Chris was usually up and waiting for her. She would plant a small peck on his cheek and start gathering things for breakfast.

This was what happened on Tuesday morning. And Wednesday morning. And Thursday.

By Friday, the day before everyone was set to leave for home, Molly found Chris already making breakfast as she slipped back into the home campsite. The kids were already stirring, but not yet up. Thank God.

"Molly…" Chris said, bent over the grill cooking sausages. The smell was delightful, but his intonation was ominous.

"Yeah honey?"

"We should…we should talk about stuff."

Molly's heart sank, and her face fell. The real world was beginning to creep in. Mark had to head back to his unit to deploy tomorrow. The Cohen family, too, had to leave tomorrow, and she loathed it.

"Yeah, Chris, we should talk about stuff. But…not now, the kids will be up soon…"

Chris didn't respond, and didn't look up.

"Thanks for making breakfast, Chris," she said, affecting a conciliatory tone. "It smells yummy…"

Chris just nodded.

She sat down on the bench and looked down at her feet. The deep contentment of waking up next to Mark. After spending the night with him. God, it was good. It was too good to last.

The shuffling from the kids' tent turned into the unmistakable sound of children shoving each other and whining. Eventually the sound of a zipper announced a wild haired and bright eyed Max stumbling through the door and dashing toward the bathroom in the shower house. Lucy sleepily followed, nodding with a formality becoming her precociousness.

"Good morning mother. Good morning daddy. Good morning Mithter Rein…"

Molly looked up to see that Mark had quietly slipped into the site and was standing across the cold fire pit from her. He was dressed casually: board shorts, sandals, and an olive green t-shirt with some numbers on it. He had some stubble–a vacation break from his strict shaving routine. He was smiling warmly as she looked up. She broke into a bright smile as her eyes met his.

With all adults properly greeted, Lucy glided away toward the bathroom. All three adults watched the precocious nine year old make it into the ladies side of the shower house, the door shutting behind her. Mark grinned and walked boldly up to Molly, planting a kiss on her forehead as she looked down and blushed. The two embraced playfully, her head on his chest.

It was cute.

It was fun.

Chris seemed less inclined to find it fun.

The embrace broke as the men's door of the shower house opened with Max toddling out and making his way back to the site. Five days ago, he would have been clinging to his mother's legs all the way to the shower house and back. For some reason, Molly observed, he had a little more confidence. Maybe just a week in a different place. Or…some other reason.

Max spotted Mark about halfway between the shower house and the site and broke into a dead run to meet him. Mark sat down casually on the picnic table bench just before the boy ripped into the campsite full speed, tripping over a tree root and splaying fantastically onto the grass. Molly instinctively moved toward him, but was surprised to see Mark gently holding up a hand, advising her to wait. She stopped, holding her breath.

She knew her son. The wailing, the drama, the tears were only seconds away…

"You all right buddy?" Mark asked casually. Max picked himself up, a little bewildered. "Yeah, I'm okay. I've got green stuff on my knees though…"

"Let me see," Mark said, maintaining his casual tone. Max limped up to him, the limp emphasizing the bravery of pushing through this major incident without crying.

"Yep…" Mark observed. "Just a grass stain. The green on the grass gets on your skin sometimes if you slide on it. Kinda cool, no?"

"Yeah…" Max agreed.

"It's kinda like…snot-colored, isn't it?" Mark wrinkled his nose at the boy.

Max giggled. Molly smiled to herself.

"You know," Mark continued, "when I was in boot camp, they made us go in a gas chamber. It was pretty scary, and I coughed and coughed, and it was crazy. But what I didn't know was how much snot would come out of my nose after I got out of the building."

He gestured, making the sign of a waterfall falling out of his nostrils.

Max giggled. Molly covered her mouth casually to hide her own laugh as Mark continued his story, distracting Max from his skinned knees as Lucy made her way back into the campsite. She walked over to the grill and hugged her father around his waist, holding him as he cooked breakfast.

"That thmellth good daddy. Do you have any more work to do today?"

Chris paused, weighing a response. "No, I don't think so."

"That'th good. We're going on a hike later, and I'd like it if you could come. I found thome interethting thpecieth of flowerth I can show you."

"That'd be great, sweetie. I'd love to see anything you want to show me."

Behind them, Mark, Max, and Molly giggled at some amusing turn in Mark's story.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, sweetie…" Chris said, reaching for the plates to scoop eggs and sausages on to.

"Mom thmileth a lot when Mithter Rein cometh over."

* * *

David pulled into the dark parking lot, turned off his headlights, and turned the car off.

He was early. Normally he arrived around 3:30, but Jordan had gotten him up early in the most energizing way he could imagine. She had woken him and…

David closed his eyes, savoring the memory. Jordan had gently shaken him awake and climbed all over him, inviting him to enjoy her body, actively placing his hands on her breasts, even guiding his stiffness toward her…

He had ejaculated just as he began to feel the down between her legs. It was powerful, seizing his whole body. Jordan had smiled, a look that signified something between shock and amusement.

She had squeezed him until the last drop or two squished out of the tip, then looked down at her thatch and dabbed the few drops that stuck there away as well.

She had giggled, leaned down, kissed her husband, and rested her nude body on top of him.

After he finished, she had felt a little bit tense as she laid on top of him. Tense but loving. Her face had lilted to the side and come to rest on his chest.

David had been enthralled by her enthusiasm, and had been embarrassed at by own. They had held each other for about ten minutes when Jordan had fallen back asleep. He had gently moved her to her side, where she had murmured something approaching "love you so much," and he got up, got dressed, and left early.

She had gone out of her way to make him feel like a man.

Now…that was a hell of a feeling. Again…what a way to start a day.

David got out of the car and looked around the dark lot. Today he would find out one way or another if he would be running this place. He glanced around, noting things that needed to be fixed, cleaned, updated, upgraded. He made a list in his mind to present to the board if they offered him the job to show his readiness to take the wheel.

Jordan had seemed convinced that this was going to work. If she was right, his life would change drastically between the beginning and end of his shift. He'd have to figure out how to deal with some of his more hostile co-workers on the dock. With Vinny. But the promotion and his position over their paychecks would be sufficient leverage for now. The respect could come later after he established himself.

And the pay. And the benefits. He could get Jordan her own car. They could look into buying a house instead of renting a tiny one bedroom apartment. They could get a dog. They both loved dogs.

His pre-dawn reverie carried him through the double doors into the dock. All eyes stopped and turned to him. The dock fell silent.

Had they heard already?

David looked around, unable to read the vibe in the room. Steve appeared at the dock manager's door, beckoning David in. His face was stony.

It didn't look good.

As David walked to the office, Steve motioned behind him, and Sherry, the early morning dock secretary, walked out with her head down.

Followed by a sneering Vinny.

David blinked in surprise as Vinny passed by, then followed Steve into the room.

David shut the door behind him, and sat down nervously across the secretary's desk from Steve. The surroundings weren't very impressive. Decades old wood paneling, a veneer desktop with coffee stains, and memos from who knows when hanging awkwardly from old thumbtacks that swung back and forth when the door shut. But after a few seconds of silence, everything fell still.

"So, what's up?" David asked, puzzled.

Steve looked down and to the side, and he seemed to be chewing absently on the inside of his cheek. He didn't answer for a minute. Finally, he answered.

"Two things happened independent of each other this weekend, Stark."

David gulped.

"First, we had to give the job to someone else. I didn't know that one of the senior board members had a nephew. The nephew is getting the big chair. It's bullshit, but that's how it goes sometimes. I want you to know, and I want you to remember that right here, right now, I'm telling you that you did a great job, you interviewed perfectly, and I fought for you until the board voted on Friday night. It just wasn't meant to be."

David took a deep breath, and sighed out. "I kind of figured, when I didn't hear anything…"

"The second thing…" Steve interrupted.

David waited before following up. "What…uh…what's the second thing?"

"The second thing is this." Steve pulled out a small sheaf of printer paper folded in quarters and handed it across the desk to David. "This was handed to me on Friday after you left. I didn't read it until this morning when he asked me about it. So I haven't given it as much thought as I might have wanted to otherwise. I'm still…uh… reacting to it."

David gingerly unfolded the paper, finding in the crumpled papers a hastily xeroxed copy of one of Jordan's letters to him.

His heart stopped.

"The dock supervisor from your shift brought these papers to my attention. He said he thought I should know about them before I promoted you. He doesn't know that we aren't promoting you, but he clearly thought this would make a difference."

David gulped.

"I'm assuming you recognize these?"

"Yeah…" David responded at length, his voice gravelly and just above a whisper. "Yeah, I do. Not sure where he got them."

Steve paused, leaned forward on the desk, and clasped his hands together.

"Stark, I'm not about to intrude on your personal life. I don't know what this is about, but it is pretty shocking. Now let me be clear: I can't, and I won't, make any personnel decisions based on information of this kind unless it affects your work. And whatever these documents represent about your personal life, it has to be said, you're a model employee. Obviously, you have a job here as long as you want it."

David's face burned. He found himself curling into himself defensively. The desire for the roof to collapse, to bury him and his boss, along with the whole dock and its workers, was too cliche. Too small scale. To escape this level of humiliation, David wanted the entire world to end, right there. Right then. Just the whole damn globe to collapse or explode. Where's a Death Star when you need one?

But all he could do was grunt in acknowledgment, and then clear his throat.

"With that said, Stark…well…you've got an enemy out there. Not a very smart one, but a committed one. What you do with that information is up to you."

David looked down at his feet, holding back tears.

"You need a minute, son?" Steve asked gently.

David shook his head.

"All right. I'm sorry, Stark. I'm sorry on a bunch of different levels. I really saw this going a different way. But I didn't want you to think Vinny won. He didn't get to me before the decision was made. But I know guys like that. He doesn't like you. And he's gonna keep on…."

David clenched his teeth, gritted them together, and then inhaled sharply through his nose. He wiped the corners of his eyes, looked up, and locked eyes with Steve. He stood up and extended his hand across the desk.

"Steve, I can't thank you enough for the opportunity to shoot my shot. It means the world to me."

Steve was slightly taken aback at David's quick return to dignity. He stood up, grasped David's hand, and shook it firmly. "Good luck, Stark. What are you going to do?"

"Not sure yet. But I'll figure out something."

Steve smiled, still surprised, but visibly relieved. "I believe you will."

David released the handshake and turned around to head out the door. As he grasped the doorknob, Steve called out one more time.

"Stark…"

David turned to look at him.

"Keep your head up, son."

David nodded and turned the knob.

* * *

With the tines of his fork, Chris chased the last remains of his scrambled eggs around his plate. The result was an intermittent tapping, scraping, metal-on-porcelain sound. An irregular but noticeable and somewhat cutting background noise to the laughter and easy repartee between his wife, his children, and this new guy.

Beefcake McDickface.

Sergeant Douchebag.

In his mind's eye, Chris glowered across the campsite at the intruder. This…interloper. He had read and reread the text chain he exchanged with Mark on Monday night. He had entered Mark's number into his contacts as Douchebag.

The balls that guy had to say the shit he said. The sheer arrogance.

In addition to the text chain, Chris also had the one private confrontation the two men had running on a loop in his head.

When he had challenged Mark, confident in the relatively safe rhetorical position of a seemingly absurd question:

Did this jarhead square jawed asshole really, truly, honestly think he could just walk in and supplant the husband and father of a family? Did his physique, his tan, his…fuck it…his masculine whatever and how much ever…did he really think he could just…take over?

It was Mark's response that lived rent-free in Chris' head.

"I don't think I can do that. I know that I already did…"

Mark's response rolled over and over in his mind. Dimly lit but sharply recent memories accompanied the looping phrase.

"I don't think I can do that. I know that I already did…"

Molly walking away from the campsite that first night. Ostensibly to refuse Mark's advances. Later, the dim silhouette on the wall of Mark's tent, her face buried in his sleeping roll and rump raised to meet him.

"I don't think I can do that. I know that I already did…"

The half-moon light that made him question whether he really saw her drop her bikini top, take the usurper's hand, and follow him, nude and giggling, onto a public beach.

"I don't think I can do that. I know that I already did…"

The muted but poorly concealed sounds of her rollicking pleasure as she lay under him, as he took her. His low, menacing growl as he released into her.

"I already did…"

"I already did…"

"I already did…

"...two separate cars?"

Chris snapped back into the moment. Molly was standing over him, her hand out to take his now empty plate.

"Sorry? I was thinking of…I was…distracted," Chris sputtered.

"I was saying if you can make it, we'll need to take separate cars so we have enough seat belts. The trail Mark wants to show us is only about ten miles away, but since there's 5 of us…"

"Right. Um…okay. Well, I'm not sure I can get away…"

"Daddy…" Lucy objected. "Daddy, I want you to come…I thought you thaid you'd come…"

Chris looked at Lucy, pouting, a half minute away from actively pretending not to cry. He looked up at Molly, whose eyes were pleading, and then down at Max, who stopped playing with a rock pile he'd made for long enough to hear if his dad would leave the computer for a morning to go on a hike with them.

He was silent, unsure of how to navigate the situation, when Mark's low voice broke the silence.

"We'd love it if you came, Chris. The more the merrier."

Chris' stomach turned. Who's the "we" in that sentence? Who the fuck does this guy think he is? He wanted to stand up and tell Mark to get the hell away, and leave his family alone. He wanted to spartan kick that statuesque douchebag straight into next week. But all he could come up with was…

"Okay, sure…"

Lucy cheered, jumped up, and ran over to hug Chris' knees. Mark grinned, and Max inexplicably began stuffing the rocks into his pockets. I guess he thought he'd need them later..?

He looked up to find Molly smiling at him.

Chris softened. He hadn't seen her smile like this in…

"Yeah," Chris said. "Yeah, let's do it! Everyone got your sunscreen? Bug repellant? Snacks and water? Let's do this!"

Lucy grabbed Max's little backpack and helped him put it on before slithering into her own. "I want to ride with Daddy!"

"I want the front seat!" Max shouted over her.

Chris hastily changed from sandals into walking shoes before shoving some things into a backpack himself.

"Mol, you got everything you…"

He looked up to see Mark and Molly walking away. Down the path toward Mark's campsite, and his old 4runner.

"We'll follow you!" Mark called out over his shoulder.

Chris felt a pit in his stomach. He tried to shake it off.

He threw his backpack in the backseat next to Lucy, then got in and started the car.

"Wait, do you know where this place…" he asked into the air.

Lucy rattled off the name of the trail, accented with erudite lisps.

"You turn left out of the campground, then it'th a few mileth till the turnoff. Here, daddy…I'll put it in the G.P.eth for you…" Lucy leaned over the front console into the front seat, expertly typing into the on-screen navigation, then sat back into the back seat, buckling her seat belt.

Where did this kid come from? He chuckled to himself with pride. So smart…

"Okay, here we go…" He said, pulling out. He adjusted his mirror as he pulled onto the road.

Mark was directly behind him in the driver's seat of his 4runner. Next to him was Molly, beaming and chatting, her shiny red ponytail swaying in sympathy with the shifting tilt of her head in conversation.

He felt his stomach turn again.

"Is the turn up here, honey? Did I pass it?" He asked Lucy.

"No daddy, it'th a wayth further. Jutht follow the map…" Lucy said matter of factly. He glanced down at the map.

10 minutes to destination.
Turn right in 2.4 miles.

He checked his rearview mirror again. Mark in the driver seat, but…

No Molly. She was gone.

Chris did a double take. Where..? He turned quickly around to look over his shoulder behind him, then looked forward again quickly. He checked the mirror again, looking more closely.

It was easy to miss. Almost invisible unless you knew what to look for.

Barely cresting the steering wheel of the old 4 runner, the curve of a shiny red ponytail was gently bobbing.

Up and down.

Up and down.

* * *

David opened the creaky dock office door and walked out toward his truck bay.

Vinny was waiting for him there.

David ignored him, striding purposefully by the taller man to pull open his delivery truck door.

"Hey Stark. Did I say you could walk past me?"

David turned and squinted.

"Didn't know I had to ask permission. Is that a new rule?"

"Yeah. For you it is. Got it?"

"Ummm…okay…"

"Uhhh, okay…" Vinny repeated his words back to him, mocking in a gutteral tone.

"Well, I gotta load these carts and get going, Vinny. That okay with you?"

"Yeah, Stark. Just remember, you play by my rules now. Got it?"

David rolled his eyes at him. "I thought that was always the deal, Vinny. Aren't you my supervisor? Isn't that the whole basis of this little social contract we got going?"

Vinny snorted. "Smart guy. Smart. Guy. Yeah, I guess we got a contract going. I know you thought you was gonna be boss. I fixed that."

"Did you now?" David responded, smirking. He set down a flat of flowers on the cart and walked toward Vinny.

He had had enough.

Vinny squinted in surprise. To see David gesturing in challenge toward him. "Yeah, I did. And since you brought up our contract, we gonna re-negotiate now." He grinned triumphantly.

"Okay." David replied calmly.

Vinny stared back through narrow eyes. David smirked again.

"I'm waiting."

Vinny took two steps toward David. They were within arms reach of each other. David didn't flinch. Didn't react. The dim light of an early morning dock glinted off the concrete floors, the steel posts, and the kaleidoscope of commercial flowers ready to be loaded and delivered.

"Number one, you my bitch now."

"I wasn't before?" David responded calmly.

"Yeah, but you really my bitch now."

"Okay."

"Two…I'm docking your pay."

"Why?" David's eyes narrowed in amusement.

"Because you my bitch now…"

"I see." David took a half step back, and returned to stacking flats of flowers onto a cart. "I think we should probably call that subpart b of point 1 on the contract, seeing as all of your terms seem to just be variations on a theme of 'I'm your bitch.'"

Incensed, Vinny grabbed David by the back collar and yanked him off balance. A tray of pink carnations spilled to the floor, scattering everywhere. He spun David toward him, getting right in his face.

"You gonna be a smartass to me? I ain't gonna take no shit from no cuck. You get me?"

David simply stared back into his eyes. The entire loading dock halted. All eyes were on Vinny and David. Vinny and David's eyes were on each other.

"You. Get. Me?" Vinny growled again. The dock employees began to gather in a wide semicircle around them.

"I'm sorry…" David said after a pause. "I wasn't listening. What did you say?"

A blinding light flashed in front of David's eyes as Vinny's forehead smashed violently into David's nose. David staggered back, blinded by pain and shock. He took a moment, shook his head, and checked his nose. Not broken. He looked up at Vinny, whose eyes were boring into him.

David straightened his shirt, stepped back, and bent down to return what undamaged flowers were on the floor back to their tray.

"You want me to talk louder, cuck?" Vinny yelled, echoing down the loading dock. "I said, you show me respect or I tell everyone here that you're a cuck. A for-real cuck! Your wife fucks around and your bitch ass loves it. I'll tell everyone!"

Vinny's bellowing bounced around the length and width of the dock, filling the silence as everyone watched the confrontation.

David finished gathering the flowers and replaced the tray on the rack before turning to face Vinny again.

Vinny sneered in triumph. "Yeah, cuck. Yeah, bitch. Watch me. I'll tell everybody!" Vinny repeated himself, lower but still quite audibly.

David took a deep breath. "I think you just did tell everybody, Vinny."

Vinny squinted in surprise. "I'll tell Steve. I'll tell Steve everything."

"You definitely already did that, Vinny." David pulled the papers out of his shirt pocket. "Steve gave these back to me."

"Yeah…" Vinny said triumphantly. "Yeah, see?"

David checked his nose again. It was tender. Swelling a bit. Not bleeding, though. He walked toward Vinny again, tucking the folded pages back into his shirt pocket.

"I do see, Vinny. But…I'm not sure that you do."

Vinny smirked, looking around the dock for approval as a chuckle rippled through the workers.

David motioned to one of the nearby workers, a smoker, to lend him his lighter. He paced around the perimeter of the observers in a semicircle, moving around Vinny as he held his sneer.

"You might want to educate yourself, Vinny, speaking of smart guy stuff, on what leverage is. You know what that term means? I doubt it. I know you don't know how leverage works." He stopped in front of Vinny again. "You want to renegotiate our little contract, that's fine. But you pissed away your leverage."

David now had everyone's attention. He felt like he was in a movie. He began flicking the zippo open and shut, open and shut. The flame popped up, then went out. Popped up, went out.

"You thought you had some leverage on me," David continued. "Great. Good for you. Bad for me, maybe. Then, you tried to use it. Great. But you popped early. Sad. Embarrassing, really, when you think about it."

"What the fuck are you talking about, bitch?"

"You already told Steve," David snapped back, exhausted at Vinny's inability to follow his explanation. "Steve knows. Then, you just…yelled it to everybody. Everybody knows. If you want leverage over me–it's the threat that holds it. Telling everybody…now the threat means nothing!"

David flipped the lighter open again, the small flame holding steady.

"You basically planned a bank robbery for half an hour after you burned the bank down. The money's all burned up now. You gotta do stuff in the right order, Vinny. "

The dock erupted into laughter. Vinny whirled around, glaring at his subordinates.

David waited for the laughter to die down before continuing. He touched his nose again. It was definitely swelling. Maybe it was broken, after all…

"Also, leverage, much of the time, is about not doing something. About holding back. You blew it all."

Vinny's sneer was unbroken, but his eyes registered confusion. David's eyes rolled again in exasperation.

"I don't know what you think you know about me, Vinny…" He pulled out the folded papers, flipped open the zippo, and lit the bottom corner. The flame sputtered for a moment, then grew until David let the flaming mass drop onto the concrete floor. "I don't know what your actual plan was, or if you even had one. I only know one thing for sure."

David pointed down to the flames at his feet. "I know you know how to make one copy. Do you know how to make two?"

Vinny's eyes widened.

"Didn't think so." David stomped on the flames as the blackened paper crumbled apart. He turned around and lifted the last flat of flowers onto the rack before reaching for the broom to sweep up the trashed flowers and paper ash.

"Yeah, well I know one thing." Vinny shouted as the semicircle started to break up. "I know…I know you're a cuck." He grinned in triumph, waiting for the dock to laugh.

Nobody laughed.

David completely ignored him, pushing the wheeled cart of flowers onto the truck, disappearing into the dark.

Vinny doubled down, yelling after him:

"Tell that wife of yours I'm up next. I'll fuck her good. Fuck her like you can't. I'll make that little cunt beg for…"

David flew out of the darkness and tackled Vinny to the ground. The workers, most of whom had begun walking back to their own loading bays, rushed back to see David throwing his hands desperately at Vinny's head and body. Vinny just laughed and parried the smaller man's attack, continuing to taunt as he did. The dock erupted into cheers, jeers, and laughs as Vinny reveled in the reconquest of his audience.

David, aware that his flurried ground fighting was accomplishing nothing, stood up and brushed himself off. He wiped his face with his sleeve and tried to turn back to his work. The crowd died down again, spurring Vinny to scramble to his feet and stoke the conflict.

"I ain't gonna be tackled by no cuck-ass bitch. Come back here, you little cuck-ass bitch." David grabbed another roller cart and, red faced, rolled it toward the truck.

Infuriated, Vinny ran up behind him, grabbed the back of David's head and slammed it into the metal cart. The metallic clink of teeth to metal drew a pained gasp from the other workers. David hunched over, holding his mouth. Blood pooled around his fingers and began to bead toward the floor.

"Yeah, bitch, that's what I thought!" Vinny drew back his right foot and swung the pendulum directly into David's side. David tipped over on his side and curled into the fetal position, covering his face. Vinny kicked him again.

Then again.

And again.

David's silence turned into involuntary moans and exhalations as Vinny's rage boiled over. Finally, he leaned over and, with three quick blows, jackhammered his fist into David's temple.

David Stark, with his characteristically pressed, tidy, tucked, and clean work shirt now uncharacteristically rumpled, untucked, and bloody, went limp.

Guhunkadorn
Trainable
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2023 12:15 pm

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Guhunkadorn » Sat Apr 20, 2024 5:16 am

O man...this story elicits emotions across the board....excellent writing.

Crushing
Virgin
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 5:34 am

Re: Jordan

Unread post by Crushing » Wed Apr 24, 2024 7:45 am

Jordan mumbled in protest as her phone buzzed.

6:30.

Daylight was well on its way up–morning light pushed through the closed white blinds and cast a blue-gray glow spreading through the bedroom. She hit snooze on her phone and laid back into her pillow, tucking her hands back under the covers. As she did so, she felt her own warm, soft skin under the sheet.

She was naked.

Suddenly, the events of the early morning flooded back in her memory's eye. She had woken up early to give David a sexy surprise. She had taken off her bottoms in the bathroom…and her shirt was…

She looked over toward the window to see her crumpled t-shirt half draped over David's nightstand where she had thrown it.

She had teased him, woken him up early. She had playfully announced her intentions. She had climbed on top of him, and he had gotten excited as she reached down…

Jordan smiled to herself at the memory of David's penis twitching, diminutive but violent, in her hand. He had ejaculated instantly at her overtures alone. She had wanted to give him sex, but…

She had cleaned herself up, then laid down to snuggle him until he recovered. Maybe he'd want to try again before he left for work..?

But, apparently, she had fallen back asleep. It WAS 2:30 in the morning, for heaven's sake…

Jordan now explored her nude body, running her palms and fingers over her breasts, down her tummy, and down the front of her legs. On the way back up, her legs parted to let the fingers of her right hand find…

She was wet. She wasn't lying to David earlier when she said she had been turned on. She had gotten even more excited as she mounted her husband, and, without actually enjoying him inside her, she had fallen back asleep with a warm, fuzzy, but dimly frustrated feeling of confidence.

Apparently, residual feelings of warm, fuzzy, confidence dimly tinted with frustration had followed her through sleep. She kept her right hand fingers between her legs and reached for her phone.

6:34.

She had until 7 before she really needed to get up and get ready for class…

She set her phone down and returned her left hand under her covers. The playful caress of her right hand fingers stirred the warmth of her bodily feelings, and she began to lightly pass her left hand over her nipples.

One after the other.

She began to imagine the early morning she hoped for, where she would present herself to her husband.

Where he would attend to her needs hungrily.

Kissing her mouth, her neck, her collarbone.

Kissing and gently licking her breasts…sucking her nipples, driving her crazy…

Jordan moaned as the warmth between her legs began to concentrate. She shifted the broad caresses of her right hand fingers to tight, light circles around her stiffening nub, letting out a gentle moan as she did so.

She imagined her husband, himself clearly on fire with her body, climbing between her legs and jamming himself into her. She imagined him grunting in passion as she gently caressed his face. She imagined looking into his eyes as he became more desperate…

Jordan's phone buzzed, breaking her concentration.

She took her dry left hand and, without looking, hit the button to silence it. Hopefully that shut the alarm off, instead of just activating the snooze…

She should have just turned the alarm off…

That thing would keep buzzing every nine minutes…

She returned her concentration to the sensations warming and intensifying between the middle finger of her right hand and the moistening space between her legs. She began to put more pressure on her caress, moving her finger back and forth between her lips…

A muted squishing sound began to nudge its way through the sheets and bedspread, subtly making itself known in the growing dawn light of the bedroom.

Her mind returned to her fantasy. She imagined her tall, muscular husband between her legs, thrusting desperately, his deep voice giving her both gentle affirmations and firm instructions, guiding her to give him pleasure. HIs large cock causing…

She started to herself as she realized that the body in her fantasy had shifted its person. The man between her legs was now tall. His voice was deep. His cock…

Jordan's moan dropped in pitch as she realized the man in her imaginary bed was now Mark. Instead of giddy, short, and desperate hip thrusts, she was now receiving long, confident strokes that stretched her.

Filled her.

She moved her left hand down between her legs, moving one finger deep into her wetness, then a second as her right hand continued the back and forth motions above it.

Jordan's deliverance began to present itself.

The voice of Captain Mark Rein was now the only sound in her head, the low resonance of his words adding to the intensity of her pleasure.

"Are you going to give me what I want, Jordan? Are you going to give it to me..?"

"Yes…" Jordan gasped as her orgasm rushed forward to meet her. "God, yes…yes…"

Her phone buzzed again, breaking her focus.

"God, dammit!" Jordan cursed the phone, throwing down the covers and grabbing the phone, leaving a subtle trail of slime on the screen as she opened it.

She looked for the alarm shut off, but the alarm was not the display…

It wasn't an alarm. It was a phone call.

Jordan, confused, stared at the screen, until she gradually came back to herself.

She didn't recognize the number. The caller ID said "CONTINENTAL LOGISTICS."

The warehouse. David was calling. Her heart leapt in excitement for him. He must have gotten the job! Why didn't he call from his cell..?

Jordan swiped right on the screen, smearing the liquid a little more, as she answered and lifted the phone to her face.

"Hello?"

* * *

The hike had gone well so far.

Friday's picnic lunch was, for the first time that week, packed for five. The little troop had settled down about fifty yards back from a riverbank, a few miles inland from the ocean. Molly dug into her backpack to distribute sandwiches, each one carefully customized to everyone's taste.

Peanut butter and jelly with the crust off for Max.

Peanut butter and jelly with the crust on, cut in triangles for Lucy so that she could demonstrate the Pythagorean Theorem with one half of the sandwich to anyone who would listen while she ate the other half.

Tuna fish with light mayonnaise for Chris.

Turkey with fresh lettuce and tomato for her.

And more recently, she had figured out how to load bread down with juicy roast beef for their new family friend, a young infantry marine set to deploy to the middle east in a few weeks.

Lunch was idyllic. Mark watched with amusement as Lucy and Max competed with each other for their father's attention. He was locked in to both of them–a complete about-face in attitude from the beginning of the week.

Molly beamed as she watched Chris divide up potato chips out of the shared bag to each of his children as they chatted with them.

"You thee, daddy, the thquare of the long thide here, known ath the hypotenuth, ith actually equal to the thum of the thquareth of the other two thideth when you add them together. And that ith true for every thingle triangle with a ninety degree angle in it. Every thingle one."

Chris nodded, interested. "That's really interesting, Lucy…where did you learn that?"

"I watched a video about it on the internet…mom found me thome youtube channelth that teach math thtuff…I like shapeth and geometry."

Max was less interested in conversation, attempting instead to squeeze half of his sandwich into some kind of shape to display for his dad with pride.

"It's a duck!"

Chris, vocalizing his pride at Max' sculpting ability, gently suggested eating it instead.

Mark took a large bite of roast beef before looking over at Molly. "You've got a hell of a little family here, Molly," he said through a half-chewed bite.

"Eckthcuthe me, Mithter Rein…" Lucy interrupted, "we don't talk with our mouth full…"

Mark nodded gravely and swallowed. "Quite right. Of course. Thank you for reminding me."

Molly's mouth was full too, and she covered it to keep from spitting out the sandwich with her laugh.

Everyone chewed in silence for a bit, until they were nearly done eating. The hike had tired out the kids, although they would not admit it. The sound of the river running over the rocks gave the scene an added air of tranquility. Then, with one bite left in her sandwich, Lucy spotted a river otter and took off after it. Max dropped his squished last bite in the dirt and tore down toward the river bank after her.

Molly, Mark, and Chris watched them go. Each waited for another to speak, but no sound came other than the nearby flow of water. Finally, Chris, avoiding eye contact with his wife and her lover, walked down toward the river to look after the children.

The silence continued for a little longer, then Mark spoke up.

"I have to leave tomorrow. I have to report back before my platoon starts coming back from leave."

Molly sighed. "We have to leave tomorrow too. We've got a full day drive, and I have a shift on Sunday. Vacation's over, I guess."

Silence.

Then Molly: "Chris is…acting different. Obviously things have changed."

Mark nodded, waiting for her to finish her thought. She seemed conflicted.

:"They kind of changed because I got so frustrated with him…and now…look at him…"

Mark chuckled. "No accounting for it. Lucy and Max are loving it. It's cool to see."

Molly laughed back, a little sadly. "God, I hope it lasts. I kinda came to your tent that night because I was…I don't know…I guess I was done with him. At least in that moment. I thought I was being selfish. I mean, I am being selfish…but I wasn't expecting this to happen." She gestured toward the riverbank, where Chris was now wading in the water with the kids.

"What do you mean?" Mark turned toward her.

She stayed facing forward. "I finally came to you because I was just…so done. I needed a break. Or maybe I needed to convince myself that someone good would want me. I didn't know what would happen. I thought he'd just keep ignoring me, and it would give me the kick in the pants I needed to leave. I didn't see this happening. It's like…you showed up and…he pulled his head out of his ass? I'm just…I'm really confused."

Molly hung her head, letting out a single gasp of a laugh in frustration.

Mark grimaced as he turned to face the river again. "Anything I can do to help?"

Molly was silent, thinking what to say. Then she was silent in a slightly different way, thinking about whether to say it. Finally, she jerked her head toward Mark.

"Screw it. Yes. I just need to say some things and get an honest answer from you."

Mark raised an eyebrow, and turned to face her. "Okay…Fire away…"

Molly hesitated again.

"I really like you, Mark. I know you're single, and I'm not. I know you wanted to get in my pants, and…well…you did."

Mark chuckled. "Guilty."

Molly smiled, blushing a little before regaining her composure. She took a deep breath. "Do you really like me? Like, really? Like, if circumstances were different, and I was single and unattached, no kids or anything…would you like…date me, or just try to get in my pants? Or ignore me entirely? Am I just your beach girl for the week? Just killing time?"

Mark took a deep breath, a little taken aback at the direct nature of her question. He was surprised she was bold enough to ask it. The press of time seemed to force the issue.

"That's tough to answer, Molly. You're certainly attractive enough."

Molly blushed deeper.

It was Mark's time to breathe deeply and thoughtfully before giving his answer.

"I'm actually attracted to you for more than your body. The fact that you're such a great mom, that you have such great kids, that you're interested and engaged and caring and smart and hardworking. A lot of what makes you attractive is only visible to me because I see you as a great mom. I wonder if you were single…maybe you'd think you had to play games. Maybe we wouldn't connect because you'd be trying all sorts of tricks on me instead of just showing me who you really are. Now you don't have time or energy to play games. You're just…who you are. And who you are with your kids is very attractive to me. All around. Not just sex. You're an impressive person, Molly."

Molly was surprised to the point of tears. She looked away, embarrassed, and wiped her eyes. "That answers my next question then…"

Mark laughed. "You were going to ask if I would date you with kids?"

Molly nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah I totally would. You're a hot mom, Mol."

Molly choked out a laugh despite herself. She looked down at her feet, suddenly shy.

"So now…" Mark continued, "You're wondering whether this sudden attentiveness Chris is showing is…"

"Permanent." Molly finished his sentence.

"One way or the other, things are going to change between Chris and me. At the very least, you've given me…" she looked back up at him, locking eyes. Emerald green.

"I don't know…a little confidence, I guess."

Mark smiled back until it faded into a grimace again. "So can I be honest with you for a minute now?"

Molly nodded easily. She seemed a bit lighter.

"You and me…won't work. At least not now. I'm deploying in like ten days, and I have to stay focused on that. Also, I think your kids are great, I love spending time with them. Under other circumstances, I'd want to keep going. But…"

Mark gestured toward the river, where Chris was wading into the water with Lucy, each holding their shoes over their heads, looking down into the water.

"They love their dad."

Molly nodded gravely. "They do. And I agree this wouldn't work. At least not now. I like you, Mark. I like you a lot. But I have things to figure out too. I'm not going to war, of course…but I have things to figure out."

Mark nodded back. "Life is complicated sometimes, isn't it."

"Mmmhmm."

Mark reached over and rubbed Molly's back. Molly purred slightly at the touch. The silence returned. Then Molly looked over again.

"We still have today."

Mark smiled. "Yes we do…"

"Can I ask you to do one thing for me? And you have to promise not to laugh…"

Mark raised his eyebrow, waiting.

Molly took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Then she looked deep into his waiting eyes with her own emerald greens.

"Tonight, after the kids go to bed, don't hold back. I want you to take everything you want from me before morning. Everything."

* * *

Jordan, staring down at her phone, didn't respond to the small talk in the back of the Uber. The app said they were still 8 minutes away from the hospital, and David was not responding to her calls or texts.

Her driver, apparently oblivious to the context of being routed to the hospital, was persistent. Jordan had quickly thrown on clothes after she had gotten the phone call. With no shower, the first pair of underwear, jeans and t-shirt she could find, Jordan had thrown a hoodie on over her T-shirt and, purse tucked under her armpit, she had run out to the Uber as it pulled up.

Her hair messy, the clear indication of a hasty presentation and no shower, the driver observed the attractive young woman in the backseat of his car with bemusement. She was cute. Slender, auburn hair, magnetic blue eyes. The disheveled appearance must have meant a fun night. He wondered who she had gone home with. Lucky bastard.

"You live in Aspen Towers?"

Jordan blinked, unsure of what he was asking. "I'm sorry…what?"

"Do you live in Aspen Towers?"

"Sorry?" Jordan squinted.

"Aspen Towers. The apartment building across from the hospital? I can drop you…"

"No, I don't live there…I need to go to the hospital, emergency entrance."

"Oh…I thought…"

The driver quickly caught himself and shut his mouth.

Jordan squinted, now irritated. "What did you think?"

"I-I'm sorry, miss," he stammered. "I thought I was taking you home. I hope everything's okay."

"No…" Jordan's emotions welled up and her voice raised in pitch. "You picked me up from home…why would you think I'm going home? My husband has been in an accident, and I don't even…I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude…can you just drive please?"

The pitch of her voice had tipped upward out of her normal, controlled tone. The driver, foot fully in his mouth, just nodded and focused on the road.

Jordan's phone buzzed. She answered and lifted her phone to her ear as the car took a curve and the reflective high-rise hospital appeared.

"Hi Mom. No…I'm almost there, I don't know what happened."

The driver watched her through the rearview mirror as he pulled up to the emergency entrance.

"No, don't tell Dad yet…don't tell anyone, I want to find out what happened first. They say he's stable, but he couldn't talk, I don't know why. I'm trying to call him and he's not answering…"

The driver pulled to a stop in front of the automatic sliding doors marked with red capital letters.

EMERGENCY.

He turned around and mouthed "I'm very sorry" in genuine contrition. Jordan nodded distractedly and nearly fell out of the car in haste. Running through the doors, she wrapped up her call.

"Okay mom, I'm at the hospital now, I'm going in. I'll call you when I know more. Thanks, I love you…"

"Miss!"

Jordan turned around to see the driver again, walking quickly toward her, waving something.

She had left her purse in the back seat. She ran back and grabbed it. He repeated his apologies while Jordan fought back tears once more, nodding in acknowledgment and running to the reception desk.

"Hi, my husband's here, can you tell me where he is?"

The receptionist, an elderly woman with glasses hanging around her neck, calmly turned to her computer screen and waited.

Jordan was flummoxed and breathless. "Do you know where he is? He can't answer his phone…"

"Can you tell me your husband's name, sweetie?"

"Oh, of course, yes. Sorry. David Stark. I'm Jordan…I'm his wife, my name is Jordan Stark Simms, just Jordan Stark, because that's his name…"

The receptionist was used to panicked blathering and simply nodded in understanding. She buzzed a nurse to take Jordan back through wide halls cluttered with empty gurneys and other medical equipment. At length they came to a light blue curtain hanging from a curved track. The nurse pulled the curtain back.

Jordan's hand jerked up involuntarily to cover her mouth. David was laying back on the hospital bed, bleary eyed but conscious, with a large strip of gauze running down one side of his face. One of his eyes was nearly swollen shut, and a large absorbent ball of gauze was jammed in his mouth. He was still wearing his work pants but his shirt had been removed, and bandages were hastily applied around his torso.

"Oh my gosh, baby, what happened? What happened?" Jordan's earlier attempts to hold back tears were now useless. She darted to the side of the bed and tried to find a place to touch his head or face that wasn't injured. She found some space on the right side of his face and cupped her hand around his cheek. She leaned in and kissed him, then turned to the nurse.

"Can he talk?"

"He can, but it will be hard. He lost a tooth, and the one next to it is chipped pretty bad. Nothing life threatening, but it hurts. We've got him on some painkillers, so he'll be a little groggy."

David groaned a little more and tilted his head into Jordan's palm. She turned back down to face him.

"Can you tell me what happened honey? Tell me where it hurts?"

He groaned again, then moved to pull the gauze from his mouth. The nurse stepped in to stop him.

"Not now, sir, we've got to keep that pressure on for a little longer."

She turned to Jordan to explain.

"Apparently there was a fight, or somebody jumped him…whatever it was, he got beat up. He'll be okay, we're waiting on radiology to open up for an X-ray. And we've scheduled an MRI, but so far he looks okay. He's a tough one, your husband. He'll bounce back. He'll need some dental work, though."

"X-rays? MRI?" Jordan asked.

"Whoever it was kicked him a few times after he fell down. We don't think any ribs are broken, but we're making sure any ribs aren't broken. And he was unconscious for a few minutes, so we need to do an MRI and pass it off to a neurologist. But it's precautionary, he really does look like he'll make it out of here okay. Probably today…"

Jordan was paralyzed. Who in the world would want to hurt David?

She found herself growing angry.

The nurse asked her if she had any more questions, and Jordan said no, she'd just wait here with him until he could leave.

She left them alone and closed the curtain.

Still in shock, Jordan began stroking her husband's hair. She leaned down to kiss him gently, and whispered a quick, silent prayer of gratitude that her husband was not hurt worse. Or killed. She kissed him again, and he began to mumble, trying to form words.

Jordan lifted up her head and looked into his glazed eyes. He seemed to be smiling through the pain. Four short grunts came out from behind the gauze.

"I love you too baby, just lie still." Jordan responded.

David shook his head, and reached up to his mouth, tilting the gauze out just enough to make out a few words.

"Ah gor ihd dack…"

Jordan squinted in confusion. "What honey?"

David grunted in sleepy frustration and lifted up the gauze a little further. She winced, seeing the blood saturating the underside of the gauze as he lifted it up.

"I god id back…"

"You…you got it back? What did you get back, honey?"

His eyes widened, locking on to hers, pleading to be understood. After a moment, she recognized the look–a glow in his eyes. Pride. He was trying to brag about something. This was rare, and even more unsettling in the circumstances.

Gosh, he must be really high on those painkillers.

David lifted the gauze up even further, exposing the jagged front tooth, chipped nearly in half diagonally next to an open gum wound next to it. Jordan's heart nearly stopped at the sight. She pursed her lips and covered her mouth again. David seemed unaware that he had completely uncovered the wound, but now his tongue could move freely.

Groggily, he enunciated his words as clearly as the injury and slurring effects of the painkiller would allow. Jordan leaned in, pulling her hair back and placing her ear as close to his mouth as she could get it. Then, with measured enunciation, pausing after each word, Jordan finally understood what he was trying to communicate.

"He got your letter. I got it back for you, baby. I got it back…"

* * *

"I wanna go in Mark's car!" Max broke into a dead run, breaking off from the little hiking troop as they came into view of the two vehicles parked side by side. On the left, a tidy, well maintained and lightly used light blue RAV-4. On the right, a decade-old 4runner with mud splatters down the side, chipped paint, and clear signs of rust over the rear wheel wells.

Max reached the passenger door and began pulling impatiently on the handle to open it.

"It'th obviouthly locked, Mackth…" Lucy observed as she walked up behind him.

Mark walked up and reached over Max's shoulder to unlock the door. Max pulled it open and climbed in.

Lucy was more circumspect. "Mom, ith it okay if we ride back with Mithter Rein?"

Molly looked over at Chris. He shrugged in response.

"Sure kids! You can ride with Mark, I'll ride with daddy."

Lucy reached in to unlock the back door, then climbed in and buckled her seat belt. Mark stepped into the driver's side and reached over to buckle Max's seat belt before fastening his own. He looked out at Molly as she got in the passenger door of her car. Her face seemed strained. Worried. He put the 4runner into gear and pulled away toward the road as Max began asking him rapid fire questions about every scuff and tear he could find on the interior of the vehicle.

In the Rav-4, Molly found herself growing anxious as Chris put the car into gear. That anxiety stood in stark contrast to the emotional ease and safety she had been enjoying that week. With the new man.

Not to mention the excitement.

Chris cleared his throat.

Molly waited.

Finally he spoke.

"What does this mean, Molly?"

Molly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I don't know, Chris."

More silence. Finally, Molly again.

"We had issues before, Chris. I…wasn't happy."

"You seem happy now," Chris added, with a clear bitter edge to his tone.

Molly closed her eyes again, counting to 5. Then 10. When she got to 8, Chris spoke again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Molly just looked out the window.

"I don't know what it means," she said at length with a sigh. "You and I, we have stuff to work on. Or maybe not. I don't know. But yes, Chris, since it seems important to you, I am happy when I'm with him. But I don't know what it means for us. Maybe that this thing has run its course. We have to figure that out when we get home, I guess."

Chris just nodded, grunting in agreement.

Although she tried not to show it, Molly was confused by his reaction. Usually, she spent most of her emotional energy hiding those emotions from her generally sullen, disengaged, or volatile husband. Their arguments usually followed a standard arc: He would vent about everything in his life that was going wrong, with either implicit or explicit references to his misery somehow being the result of Molly's inability to be the perfect wife.

She had been bracing for that level of recrimination, amplified to white hot rage and resentment by the demonstrable and repeated reality of her infidelity over the past week.

She had intended to throw his inadequacies right back in his face. To parade her easy seduction of a new man in front of him. To ensure that he knew, firsthand, that divorce would not leave her out in the cold. That she would neither depend on, nor beg for the largesse of her underachieving spouse, perhaps soon to be ex-spouse for support, affection, and attention.

In a way, she had even looked forward to that. Chris could be so. God. Damn. Frustrating. For once, she just wanted to throw it back at him.

"Yeah," she thought to herself, "I've been unfaithful. It's my fault. But I don't care anymore. I'm not a good enough wife? I'm not giving you everything you need? Well, I'm good enough to make this six foot four muscle man with a huge cock lose his goddamn mind inside me four nights in a row…I can give him all sorts of things. He wants me. What do you think of that?"

She blinked, shocked at the aggression that clouded her thoughts. This wasn't like her…

Chris cleared his throat again. They were pulling into the campsite.

Chris parked the car.

Mark and the kids were already walking out on the beach away from them. He put his hand on his wife's knee and cleared his throat for a third time.

"Molly…"

She looked over at him, a little scared of herself after the aggressive tirade that had just ripped through her normal stream of consciousness, although not spilled into the already tense space between her and her husband.

"Molly…I don't hate this."

Molly looked down at his hand on her knee. Then, looking behind his hand, she saw a small erection pressing against the fabric of his shorts.

Confused, bewildered, and a little scared of herself, Molly looked back up and met her husband's eyes. Chris smiled awkwardly, betraying a vulnerability that Molly had not seen in him since…maybe high school?

She put her left hand on top of his right hand on her knee, and reached over with her right hand to unbuckle her seat belt. She held his gaze as the click and whirr of the retracting seat belt released her.

"I want you to watch tonight, Chris."

Molly let go of his hand, opened the car door and stepped out.

* * *

Jordan sat in the hard chair set next to the rolling hospital bed. Her face was blank, her eyes distant. David had fallen asleep, the painkillers caught up to him. He had already been wheeled to the X-ray and wheeled back. Then he had been wheeled to the MRI and wheeled back. The emergency doctor had come back, indicating he needed a few days rest and he would recover from most of the injuries, but he wanted to hear from a neurologist about the MRI.

So now she was waiting for the neurologist. Nothing to do but think.

David's face was noticeably swollen. The gauze was out of his mouth now, but his upper lip was fat. Every now and then he would breathe in deeply through his mouth and she would catch a glimpse of the jagged wound in his mouth, with half a tooth and a lacerated upper gum.

Her head swirled.

First, with questions. Who did this? Who would do this? David never, ever hurt anyone. All he ever did was work so hard and try to help people. He had mentioned some trouble at work, but the details were always unclear to her, she'd never met anyone from work except Hamad, and she didn't ever get the sense that it was worse than the usual workplace politics. She knew workplace politics. Wherever there was work, there follow workplace politics, right? They don't usually lead to people beating on each other.

Of course, she had never worked on a loading dock, and some things were probably different. Well, obviously they were. Obviously. But even so…

David had said something about someone getting her letter…that he had gotten it back…

Fear grabbed Jordan by the stomach and she doubled over.

A record of her sins…horrible, flagrant sins…she had bragged about them. Bragged to her husband! In writing! What in the world was she thinking?

The fear in her stomach began to turn to horror at the depth of her own depravity. She had simply drifted into this world of sexually permissive…even wanton…whatever it was.

She had cheated on her husband repeatedly.

She had bragged about it, lorded it over her husband…

The fact that David seemed to like it didn't help. True, they "did it" together…but she knew it was wrong. She should have put a stop to it. What if he had "liked" heroin? Should she just go out and get him some so they could both use it? Would that make it better?

What in the world made her think this wouldn't blow up in her face?

She could have gotten pregnant, she could have gotten assaulted or even worse…

The horror in her stomach turned to guilt, and gradually to self-loathing. She looked up at her husband, still sleeping. Face swollen, a visible cut above his cheek, and darkening bruises on the side of his torso.

She didn't know who actually did this. She didn't really know why, or what led to it. She didn't know if it would happen again. She only knew one thing.

This was her fault. She did this.

The blank stare in Jordan's face broke and she began crying again. She dropped her face in her hands, and tried to let it out quietly, not wanting to draw attention to herself or her husband.

After a few minutes, she was interrupted by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up.

"Hey, Jojo, how are you two holding up?" A gentle voice asked.

"Dad…" Jordan jumped up and hugged her father, who held her close as she began crying again.

"It's okay…it's okay. Everyone's still here, everyone's together. We'll be okay. We can work this out, sweetheart…"

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