Authors Forward -- I am constantly receiving feedback from people who want to know why I ended a story a certain way and then telling me that I should have____(fill in the blank).  Many asked me if I would mind if they wrote an ending to the story.  This happened so many times that I decided to hold

 

The Just Plain Bob Annual Invitational

 

The idea was that I would write a story and then let those who so desired write and submit their own ending.  They could take the story anywhere they wanted it to go. 

 

Last year I wrote the first story for the Invitational, “What to Do About Edie” and the results were disappointing to say the least.  Only two people took up the challenge - two out of the hundreds that always complained.  I began to think that I didn’t give them enough to work with so this year I loaded the story with things that can be played with.

 

 I said in the intro to “Edie” that I planned on doing the Invitational annually every October and the month is now upon us so I am announcing

 

The Second Annual Just Plain Bob Invitational

 

Come on, step up and take the challenge.  Give this story the ending that YOU think it should have.  The only rule is that you have to identify the story and then put your name on it.  Examples might be “Rob’s Choices Invitational” by YYYY, or “JPB Invitational Challenge” by XXXXX.

 

And now --

 

 

“Rob’s Choices”

(An unfinished story by Just Plain Bob)

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I had just gone to the keg to refill my plastic cup when I saw her slip out the door to the back patio.  Normally I wouldn’t have thought anything about it since we were at a party and everybody was circulating and socializing and the patio is where you would normally go for a breath of fresh air.  No, it wasn’t her going out that caught my eye, it was the furtive way she looked when she did it.  You know the look; like you are going to do something you shouldn’t and you are hoping no one notices -- a sort of ‘pre-guilty’ look?

 

I topped off my cup, took a sip and headed for the front door.  I walked around to the back and peeked around the corner.  There was no one on the patio so I walked across it toward the garage and peeked around the corner and there she was.  She was kissing Tim Malloy and Tim had one hand up under her blouse and on her left tit and she was pressed up against him with her left leg lifted and alongside his leg as she rubbed it with her cunt.  I sipped my beer as I watched that kiss that seemed to go on and on and then I turned and went back to the house.  I finished my beer, tossed the cup in the trash can next to the keg and then went on home to my apartment.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I was reviewing my Business Law III assignment when my cell phone chirped.  I answered it and it was her.

 

“Where are you?

 

“Home.”

 

“You are at home?  You just went off and left me here?”

 

“That pretty much sums it up.”

 

“Everyone else is gone.  How am I supposed to get home?”

 

“I see a couple of options open.  You could walk or maybe even hitch-hike.  You could call a cab if you have enough to pay the fare.  You could ask Harry to run you home, but he usually gets so bombed at his parties that you probably wouldn’t want to risk riding with him.”

 

“You aren’t going to come get me?”

 

“Nope.  Don’t think so.  Goodnight Maggie.”

 

I disconnected, turned the phone off and got back to my Business Law assignment.

 

When I woke up in the morning Maggie’s side of the bed was empty which was no great surprise.  She had the temper that was usually associated with redheads and not knowing that I’d seen her with Tim she was pissed at me and her attitude would be “Walk off and leave me?  Well I’ll show you!” and she would stay gone at least until supper time.  She would show up expecting me to be contrite only she was going to be in for a surprise because I wasn’t going to be there.

 

My first class wasn’t until ten and by nine-fifteen I had everything I wanted out of the apartment loaded in my car.  I drove to the campus, hit the bursar’s office and checked on the possibility of a dorm being available.  I lucked out and there was a room available so I took care of the formalities and then headed off to my first class.

 

After my last class I drove over to McKenna Hall and checked in.  The dorm captain walked me to the room, knocked on the door, waited a moment and then used a key to let us in.  My new roommate wasn’t there so as I moved my stuff in the dorm captain explained the rules to me, told me where everything was and then left me to finish my unpacking.

 

I was just about done when a very talk black man walked into the room, took one look at me and said:

 

“What the fuck you doing in my room honky?”

 

“I’m your new roommate nigger.”

 

“I don’t like that word.”

 

“I don’t much care for honky.”

 

He gave me a mean look and then went over to his desk, put down his books and started to strip.  He got down to his shorts, put on a pair of flip-flops, got a towel and a shaving kit and headed for the door.  I went back to my unpacking and he opened the door and then said:

 

“Hey, white boy; if you don’t shower early they usually run out of hot water by nine.”

 

“Thanks Sambo” I said without turning around and then he was gone.  Ten minutes later he was back and I was sitting at my desk reviewing the Managerial Economics material I would need to know if Rayburn hit us the next day with one of his infamous pop quizzes.  The guy looked at me and said, “Sambo?”

 

“What can I say?  Honky gets you nigger, white boy gets you Sambo.  Rob gets you whatever you would prefer to be called.”

 

“I answer to Sam.”

 

“Okay Sam; as I said, I’m Rob.”

 

“You a transfer student?”

 

“Nope.  Just split up with the wife and I’m letting her have the apartment.  I was going to look for another smaller one, but then I thought I would see if I could get in a dorm instead.  Frankly, I’m surprised I was able to get in.”

 

“You can thank me for that.  Every roommate they gave me was white and I’m not all that easy to get along with if you are white.”

 

“Are we going to have trouble?”

 

“Don’t much look like it.  The others would cringe when I would walk into the room.  And go after me the way you did?  None of them had the stones.”

 

“Just why were you so hard to get along with?”

 

“I guess at 6’5’’ and 220 I intimidated them.  They probably didn’t have much experience with my kind and they were scared of me.  It showed and that pissed me off so I treated them like wimps until they finally asked for a room change.”

 

Just then my phone chirped and I looked at my watch.  It was six-thirty, normally dinner time, so the call was probably from Maggie.  I took the phone out and looked at the display and sure enough that is who it was.  I hit the button and said:

 

“Yes?”

 

“Where are you?”

 

“Gone.”

 

“None of your things are here Rob.  What is going on?”

 

“I’ve moved out Maggie.  Like I just said, I’m gone.”

 

“This isn’t funny Rob; where are you?”

 

“I know it isn’t funny Maggie, but I’ve moved out and I’m not telling you where I am.  As for the question you haven’t asked yet Maggie, the “why”, just think on it Maggie.  Think real hard and maybe you can figure it out.  Goodbye Maggie.”

 

I disconnected and it chirped again almost immediately.  The display said it was Maggie again so I turned the phone off and spent the evening getting acquainted with my new roomie. 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

The next morning I turned my cell phone back on and saw that I had eleven voicemails.  I knew that most of them would be Maggie so I deleted them all and headed off for my first class of the day.  If I knew Maggie and her flaming redheaded temper -- and I did -- she would have worked herself into another, “Well I’ll show him” mood by the time she had sent out all the voicemails and she would sit back and make no further effort to contact me.  She would sit tight for a day or two and wait for me to come crawling back home.  By the end of the second day with no word for me she would start calling again and sometime during the third day she would come looking for me.  She knew my class schedule, what part of the library I favored when I went there to study and she knew what time I took my noon meal at the school cafeteria.  I would not be all that hard to find and it didn’t matter because I was going to have to talk to her sooner or later, it was just that later suited me better than sooner.  The more time I put between seeing her with Malloy and talking to her the calmer I would be.  Plus, it would give me time to send a message; a message that when it got to Maggie might make her think twice about exploding on me when we did get together to talk.

 

As I walked from my dorm to my first class of the day my mind was not on Rayburn’s possible pop quiz, but on my marriage.  I fell in love with Maggie the first time I laid eyes on her.  I had come home from school one day to see a Mayflower moving van parked in front of the house across the street.  The house had been up for sale for about six months and it seemed like some one had finally bought it or was renting it.

 

 I was standing on the sidewalk watching when a girl came out of the house.  She was about my age (eleven), had red hair worn up in a pony-tail and when she saw me she smiled and waved at me before picking up a box and carrying it into the house.  Just that quick Margaret Elaine Callahan captured my heart.

 

Fate, being the cold hearted bitch that she was, saw to it that Maggie didn’t feel the same.  For the next three years I watched as Maggie went from boyfriend to boyfriend.  Every time I would ask her out she would say:

 

“Sorry Rob, I like you as a friend, but you aren’t my type.”

 

Her type was the jock hero of the moment.  The star of the basketball team one week, the star of the baseball team the next.  The quarterback until the team went on a losing streak and then she was off to some one else.  I was on those teams, but I was a journeyman type player and never a star so I hardly drew a glance from her.

 

  Even though I was smitten by Maggie I wasn’t so enamored that I didn’t have anything to do with other girls.  I ached for Maggie, but I wasn’t blind to the fact that she wasn’t going to give me the time of day date-wise.  We had a lot of the same classes and on any given night of the week you could find Maggie at our kitchen table or me at hers where we would study together.  Always good friends, but never anything more.  So I went out with other girls.  I lost my virginity to Carol Thomas (who had lost hers the year before), got my first blow job from Beverly Holbrook, was taught to eat pussy by Nancy Wilde, had my introduction to anal sex courtesy of Beverly Abbeg and was invited to a gangbang by Pauline French.  But never even a kiss from the one I wanted most.

 

What finally got Maggie and me together was a bad accident.  Her date for the senior prom was supposed to be Chuck Wilcox, the star forward on the basketball team, but the day before the prom on the way to school Chuck ran a stop sign and was t-boned by a beer truck.  It fucked him up pretty bad and he was in the hospital with casts on every part of his body.  Maggie was devastated.  Not because of any great feelings for Chuck, but because suddenly she had no prom date and who could she possibly find to take her at that late a date.

 

She was whining to Bev Holbrook about it and Bev told Maggie that Bev knew for a fact that I was going to the prom stag.  I was going stag, not because I couldn’t find a date, but because Harlena Liss was going to be pulling a train at Billy Neubert’s after prom party and Harlena had promised me first shot at her pussy or ass - my choice - and you don’t take dates to those kinds of parties (unless of course your date was Harlena or Pauline French).

 

Maggie was at our front door at 7:15 in the morning on the day of the prom and she asked if I could give her a ride to school.  On the way she asked if it was true that I was going to the prom without a date and when I said yes she asked me if I would take her.  Now I’d always had this thing for Maggie, but I wasn’t going to let it make me stupid.  I had sure pussy waiting for me after the prom and I knew that the best I would get out of Maggie was a “thank you” and the next day she would be of on her hunt for the next ‘Jock of the Month’.  I told her that I was sorry, but I already had made plans for the evening.  She begged and pleaded and even started crying.  It wasn’t very nice of me, but I tuned her out.  I wanted Maggie with every fiber of my being, but I wasn’t going to let myself be used by her and that is all that my taking her to the prom would be.

 

I know this might come as a surprise to some, but girls are different from boys.  Whereas I could go stag to the prom and not think anything of it a girl ‘just couldn’t do that.’  A girl had to have an escort.  To be alone at a dance and especially at the prom would be an embarrassment not to be suffered.  Not going to the prom because she didn’t have a date would also be an embarrassment.  So Maggie would use me for the evening to keep herself from being embarrassed and I knew it so I said I was sorry, but no.

 

I pulled into the lot at school and before I could get out of the car Maggie said, “I know what your plans are for the evening.  Take me to the prom and I’ll do everything that Harlena was going to do for you and you won’t have to share me with twenty other guys.”

 

That caught me by surprise; both the offer and the fact that she knew about Harlena.  “You can’t be serious” I said.

 

“Dead serious Rob.  I have to go to the prom.  I just can’t be the only girl from our class not there.”

 

That changed everything.  The girl I wanted more than anything was offering herself to me on a platter.  All thoughts of her using me for the night and then going on a jock hunt the next day evaporated.  My ego was such that I knew once Maggie and I had made love she wouldn’t want anyone else.

 

“You sure about this?”

 

“Positive.  Take me to the prom and I’ll see to it that you won’t even remember Harlena’s name.”

 

It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

To my eyes Maggie was the best looking girl at the prom.  She was a standout in a shimmering green dress that matched her green eyes and set off her flaming red hair.  We danced, I held her close and I was in heaven.

 

 Heaven turned into hell in the motel room after the dance.

 

Maggie was nervous as I undressed her.  When I had her nude and touched her she seemed to tighten up.  She didn’t seem to get much out of the foreplay and it wasn’t until I moved between her legs and she looked up at me and said, “Please be gentle Rob; don’t hurt me too much” that it hit me.  Maggie was a virgin.  She couldn’t be I thought to myself.  I knew all the jocks she dated and to a man they were all cock-hounds.  No way Maggie could have dated all of them and remained a virgin.  But still, there she was under me looking up fearfully and trembling.  I couldn’t do it.  I just could not bring myself to take Maggie’s cherry.

 

I got off the bed and started to get dressed and Maggie asked me what I was doing.  I told her, perhaps a little more gruffly than I should have:

 

“I don’t do virgins Maggie.”

 

She looked bewildered when I handed her her clothes and she said, “But I want this Rob.”

 

“No you don’t Maggie; you are just trying to pay a debt.  I’ll wait in the car.”

 

Why didn’t I take Maggie’s virginity?  Because even though I had been sexually active for three years I was still a teenager with a teenager’s usual head full of nonsense and unsubstantiated misinformation.  One of the things I had heard was that if you took girls cherry she wouldn’t have anymore to do with you.  Even if she took to sex like a baby duck takes to water she would always remember that it was you who caused her the initial pain and you would soon be history.  Stupid and I know it now, but as a teenager I took it as gospel.  I loved Maggie and if I took her virginity she would eventually put me behind her.  Hey, teenagers are stupid - it is an inherent trait.

 

Maggie came out of the room, got in the car and the ride home was silent.  When I pulled up in front of our houses and parked it was my intension to walk Maggie to her door, thank her for a good time, kiss her and then drive like a bat out of hell to Billy Neubert’s party to have a go at Harlena.  It didn’t turn out that way.  As soon as I put the shift lever in “park” Maggie was out the door and running up the walk to her porch and then into her house.  I don’t know how long I sat there and stared at that front door before I came to my senses and went into my own house.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I didn’t see Maggie over the weekend and I didn’t doubt that she was avoiding me so I was surprised when on Monday during lunch period she sat down at my table in the student cafeteria.

 

“I’m having trouble with Trig.  Can we study together tonight?”

 

I told her yeas and she said she would be over at seven.  We studied for over an hour and then she asked:

 

“Why did you do what you did the night of the prom?”

 

I shrugged and kept working the problem I was on.

 

“No Rob, I want to know.”

 

So I told her about how I felt about her and that I knew that if I took her cherry she wouldn’t want anything more to do with me when it was over.

 

“Boys really think that?”

 

I shrugged again and she said, “That’s funny.  Girls think just the opposite.  Girls think that their first is the one they are meant to spend their life with.”

 

That didn’t sound right to me.  Guys and girls couldn’t be that far apart in their thinking, could they?

 

“I wanted it Rob.  I wanted to do it.  You can’t imagine how hurt I was when you got up and left me lying on that bed.  I had been fighting guys off for years.  Every guy I dated tried to get in my pants and I fought them all off and then the guy I decided to let have me didn’t want me and walked away from me.  It hurt Rob.  I stayed in my room and cried all weekend.”

 

I didn’t know what to say to her so I just sat there and looked at her until she picked up her books and went home.

 

I didn’t see Maggie for two days and then, all of a sudden, things did a 180 degree turn.  Where before I couldn’t get Maggie to go out with me to save my life now she was all over me.  I couldn’t turn around without Maggie being behind me.  SHE was asking ME for dates.  Did I say no?  Not hardly.  For the rest of the school term we were a couple.  Nothing was ever said about the night of the prom and I kept my hands to myself.  We did some hot and heavy necking, but I didn’t take it any farther because I was afraid I would scare Maggie away.

 

And then, just before graduation, Maggie said, “Rob, I want to do it.  I want to make love and I want it to be you.”  When I didn’t say anything she said, “I want it to be you, but if it isn’t you it is going to be somebody.”

 

I just sat there like a lump.  I didn’t know what was wrong with me.  I’d screwed a dozen girls, had oral and anal sex with them and I’d even peed on Arlene Collins when she’d asked me to so why was I having such a hard time doing it with the girl I had wanted since the first time I saw her?

 

Maggie said, “Pauline and Darlene are going to be doing their thing at Harry Short’s graduation party.  If my first time has to be on a mattress next to them so be it, but if that is what I have to do I will.”

 

The thought of Maggie naked on a mattress taking on all comers sickened me and I took her by her hand and pulled her to her feet.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“To find a bed.”

 

It was the same motel and the same room as the night of the prom.  We undressed and she lay down on the bed and looked up at me.  The expression on her face was a “deer caught in the headlights” look and I wondered if she was having second thoughts.  No matter, I wasn’t.  I got on the bed with her, took her in my arms and kissed her.  She was hesitant at first, but then her tongue flicked at my lips and I sent mine into her mouth to tongue wrestle with hers.  I broke the kiss and kissed my way down to her breasts.  I tweaked the nipple of her right breast with my thumb and fingers while I kissed and licked the left one.  Then I switched over and my mouth gave her left breast equal time.  She moaned and writhed under me and I started kissing my way down her body.  When I reached her belly button I tongued it while my right hand rubbed her pussy.  She moaned and I worked a finger into her and she moaned again.

 

I had two fingers working in her when my mouth got there to take over.  She gasped as my tongue entered her and her hands went to the back of my head.  I found her clit and went to work on it.  “Oh Jesus yes” she moaned as I sucked on her little button as my fingers back to working in and out.  I kept working on her until she had an orgasm and then before she was recovered from it I moved up and pushed my cock into her.  I shoved hard and her eyes shot wide open and she gave a little scream of pain and her hands went to my chest as if to push me away, but I put my hands under her ass and pulled her up towards me as I began fucking her.

 

It took a minute or two of hard driving in, pulling back and then driving in again before I felt the tension start to leave her body and then another minute or so before I felt her pushing up to meet me.  I came before I could get her to an orgasm so I quickly pulled out and moved down and went to work on her clit again.  I brought her to orgasm and then snuggled up next to her and held her.

 

After a minute or so she said, “I want to do you now” and her hand moved down and started fondling me.  I started to respond and she moved down and took me in her mouth.  It turned into a sixty-nine and then we made love a second time and were able to climax together.  I took her in my arms and held her to me and after a minute or so she said:

 

“I should hate you.”

 

“Why?”

 

“If you had done this the night of the prom we could have been doing it steady since.  Instead, you make me wait and miss out on all the fun we could have had and I should hate you for depriving me.”

 

“Is that your way of saying that you want more?”

 

“Yes, but not tonight baby; you’ve worn me out.  Maybe tomorrow?”

 

Tomorrow it was and the next day and the day after that and the day after that and on and on.  Maggie and I spent the entire summer looking for places to get horizontal.  As fall approached Maggie started getting teary.  I was going to be attending State and it meant that we would be separated since Maggie wasn’t interested in going to college.  The closer fall got the more upset Maggie got and then about two weeks before I was going to be leaving Maggie said:

 

“Let’s get married.  We can get an off campus apartment, I can get a job and we can be together.

 

That caught me by surprise.  I figured that I’d finish college, get a job and then get married and here was Maggie trying to move marriage to the head of the line.  She was looking at me expectantly and I didn’t know what the hell to say.  Hell, I was only eighteen going on nineteen.  Was I ready for marriage?  I knew kids who had gotten married at eighteen, but for most of them it was because they got the girl pregnant and had to get married.  I guess Maggie had expected me to jump up and say, “Yes!  What a great idea” and when I didn’t she turned on the water works and a tear ran down her cheek as she said:

 

“I thought you loved me, but I guess all I am to you is easy pussy.”

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

“You are nowhere near being ready for marriage” her mother said.

 

“I absolutely forbid it” her father said.

 

“You need to finish college first” my mother said.

 

“Don’t let your little head do the thinking instead of the big head” my father said.

 

“I now pronounce you man and wife” the Justice of the Peace said.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

College was not going to be a financial problem for me as my maternal grandparents had set up an educational trust fund for me.  When they set it up they had allowed for things like inflation and the fact that I might prefer off campus living instead of a dorm.  Maggie and I drove up to State the week before classes started and found a one bedroom apartment.

 

Contrary to what our parents expected things were fine for the first three years.  Maggie found a job and the two of us were very happy in our little one bedroom home.  Right up till the night of Harry’s party when I saw her wrapped around Tim Malloy.  Of course once I saw that I started wondering how long Maggie had been doing that kind of shit.  Was Malloy the first or just the latest or had it had been him for some time?

 

I didn’t know what I was going to do with Maggie, other than kick her to the curb, but I did know what I was going to do to Malloy.  I began with a whole bunch of half-baked plans and elaborate scenarios for revenge.  I talked them all over with Sam and he laughed.

 

“All he is is a pussy hound like most guys.  A bitch gives him an opening, hints that she’ll go and he gives her a sniff.  Just kick his ass to teach him to stay away from some other dude’s woman and be done with it.”

 

“You’re right” I said as I stood up and grabbed my car keys.

 

“Where you going?”

 

“To get the job done.  I know where to find him.”

 

“Hold on hoss, I’m going with you.”

 

“Better not.  If things go wrong I mighty find myself sitting in the back of a police cruiser.”

 

“Wouldn’t miss it.  Never seen a white boy get pissed and get down.”

 

“You’re kidding.”

 

“Nope.  Didn’t have too many of you folks in my neighborhood and the ones that were there spent most of their time looking over their shoulders and being scared.  Besides, you need someone to watch your back.”

 

“You just met me Sam.  Why the hell do you want to get involved?”

 

“Entertainment white boy, entertainment.”

 

“Okay Sambo, let’s go.”

 

Tim was right where I thought he would be.  He was drinking beer and shooting pool at Roddy’s Roadhouse.  Sam and I took a seat at the bar and watched until Tim said he had to be leaving and then we got up and went outside.  Tim came out and headed for his car and I called to him.  He turned, smiled and said:

 

“Hey Rob.  Should have gotten here earlier and we could have played some eight-ball.”

 

“Actually Tim, it is your playing that I want to talk about.”

 

“My playing?  What’s wrong with the way I play?”

 

“Its not the way you play Tim, it’s who you play with.”

 

“You aren’t making any sense here Rob.”

 

“That’s only because you don’t know that I saw you and Maggie out behind Harry’s garage the night he had the party.”

 

I saw him stiffen and I said, “That’s right Tim, I’m here for some payback.  So what it is Tim, is that since you went after a piece of my wife’s ass I’m here to tear off a piece of yours.  Only I’m not sneaking around behind your back like you and Maggie snuck around behind mine.”

 

Tim threw up his hands and said, “Whoa up Rob.  If you are going to fight everyone who tries to get some off Maggie you’ll be fighting once a night for the next six months.”

 

“The only ones I’m going after Tim are the ones I know about and right now that is you.  Are you familiar with the phrase “Christ died for your sins?”  That is what is happening here Tim; you are paying the price for everyone else” and I hit him.  He rocked back and I moved in and hit him again.  He went to his knees and I hit him a third time and then I put the boot to him.  I gave him a half dozen shots to his ribs and three to his package and I was about to give him a fourth when I heard a commotion behind me.  I turned to see Sam standing there with a foot on the neck of a man lying on the ground and his hands around the neck of a guy who was struggling to stand on his tip toes.

 

“They were a little upset with what you were doing.  I figured that you didn’t want to be bothered so I sort of detained them.”

 

“The one you are standing on is his brother.  I have no idea of who your new dangle-toy is.”

 

“No matter.  You done with the one on the ground so I’ll let them go and if they want a piece of you I’ll see to it that it stays one on one.”

 

He took his foot off of Bruce and dropped the one he was holding and then we waited to see what would happen.  The one dropped took off running and Bruce sat up gasping for air.  When he got his breathing under control he crawled over to Tim who was in the fetal position and cupping his balls and moaning.  Bruce looked up at me and asked:

 

“Why?  Why did you do this to him?  You were supposed to be his friend.”

 

“I was, right up to the point where he fucked my wife.  When he recovers tell him that the next husband might not be as forgiving.  The next guy might come looking for him with a gun.”

 

I turned to Sam and said, “Lets head on over to Angie’s and I’ll buy you a beer.”

 

“Or three.”

 

“Or three.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I figured that I wouldn’t get a visit from Maggie until the third day after I moved out, but she had apparently heard about my little talk with Tim and I found her waiting outside the classroom of my last class before lunch.  I saw her when I came out the door, but I ignored her and headed for the school cafeteria.

 

“Rob, wait up Rob” she called after me, but I kept on walking.  I heard her coming up quickly behind me.  “Rob, wait; damn it Rob wait up, we need to talk.”

 

I kept on walking until I got to the cafeteria where I grabbed a tray and got in line.  Maggie stood off to the side and waited until I reached the cashier, paid and headed for a table.  As soon as I sat down she took the seat opposite me.

 

“I heard about what you did to Tim.  Why did you do something stupid like that?”

 

“It is what I do to guys who fuck my wife.”

 

“Is that why you moved out?  You think I screwed Tim?”

 

“No ‘think’ to it Maggie.”

 

“Where the hell did you get that ridiculous idea?”

 

“Well let’s see now.  You are behind Harry’s garage, your leg is lifted and you are rubbing your cunt on Tim’s leg.  You have your tongue as far down Tim’s throat as it will go and he has his hands up under your blouse playing with your tits.  With me so far?”

 

 I saw her face go pale when I said that and I went on.

 

 “I didn’t stick around to see you go to your knees and suck his cock or wait for you to turn around and lean on the garage so he could fuck you from behind, but I don’t doubt for a minute that those things -- and more -- happened in the three hours between when I left the party and you called me.  And it would not surprise me one iota that you spent the hours between when you called me and when you finally came home the next day in his bed or someone’s bed.  Oh yeah, one more thing.  Before I smacked Tim he told me that if I was going to fight everyone you had been with I’d be fighting every day for the next six months.  I think that about sums it up so would you mind leaving so I can eat my lunch in peace?”

 

“Oh come on Rob, you can’t possibly believe that I would screw other guys.  We are married for Christ’s sake.”

 

“I never would have believed that you could do what you did Maggie, but I saw it with my own eyes.  I stood there for almost two minutes and watched Maggie.  You two were so wrapped up in each other that you didn’t even notice me standing there.  I don’t believe in or practice denial Maggie.  I saw what I saw and that is all there is to it.”

 

“I swear to God Rob that I have never slept with another man since the first time you and I made love.  I’ve teased and I’ve flirted and I’ve led a few assholes on when they took shots at me even when they knew I was married, but I swear that I have never - never Rob - been unfaithful to you.”

 

“Sorry Maggie, but after what I saw I just can’t believe you.”

 

“You have to believe me Rob, you have to!  I wouldn’t lie to you baby, I love you and you know I do.”

 

“No I don’t Maggie.  No way you could love me and do with another man what I saw you doing with Tim.”

 

Her shoulders slumped and she looked down at the table.  “What are you going to do?”

 

“Short term I’ve already done it.  I’ve moved out.  My trust fund doesn’t cover attorney’s fees for divorces so I’m stuck being married to you until after I graduate, find a job and save up enough to pay for a divorce.  As far as you are concerned the rent on the apartment is paid up till the end of the term so you have that long to come up with the money to keep it or find something else.  Check with one of your lovers; maybe one of them will take you in.”

 

“Damn it Rob!  I do not have any lovers.  I have not had sex with any one but you in my life.  Okay, I’ve done a few stupid things like what I did with Tim, but I only did that to bust his balls.  He knows I’m married and he is supposed to be your friend, but he has been hitting on me for months.  I just decided that it was time to crank him up and send him home with a big case of blue balls.  I did not fuck Tim and I have not fucked anyone else.”

 

“The problem Maggie is that I only have your word for that and I don’t trust you any more.  Now will you please leave so I can eat?”

 

“No Rob, I’m not leaving.  We have to work this out.”

 

“Okay Maggie, stay.  I wasn’t all that hungry any way.”

 

  I stood up, threw my napkin down in the middle of my tray and then walked away leaving her at the table.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

That evening I got a call from my mother.  “Rob honey, I just got off the phone with Maggie.  The poor girl is crying her eyes out.  She says you left her over a silly argument over some flirting.  She says you won’t even talk to her.”

 

“That’s not quite true mom.  We didn’t argue about flirting.  We didn’t argue at all.  I caught her doing something physical with another guy; something that no married woman had any business doing so I left her.”

 

“Still Rob, you need to sit down and talk it out with her.  That’s what marriage is about honey; working through your problems.”

 

“This isn’t any little problem to be worked through mom.  I caught her doing something sexual with another guy.  In my eyes what marriage is all about is fidelity.  She failed the fidelity test mom and we are through.”

 

“Are you sure about that Rob?  Are you certain there is no mistake?  That maybe what you thought you saw could have been wrong?  Could maybe have been something else?”

 

“No mistake mom; it was as clear as daylight.”

 

“Rob, I think….”

 

“Enough mom!  I caught her red handed and we are through.  Now leave it alone!”

 

The advantage of being 6’1’’ when you are up against 5’2’’ is long legs.  When I came out of my first class the next day I found Maggie waiting for me in the hall.  I turned and headed away from her walking as fast as I could without breaking into a run.  Her shorter legs couldn’t keep up and her, “Wait Rob, please wait” grew fainter and fainter with each step I took.

 

I passed on eating lunch at the school cafeteria so she couldn’t catch me there and when I saw her outside my last class I outpaced her again.  The next morning she was again outside in the hall when my first class ended.  I decided not to walk away from her and instead I walked up to her and went on the offensive.

 

“Stop bothering me Maggie.  I am not going to talk to you because I will not believe one word you say.  What I saw you doing with Tim killed it for us.  What I saw was a married woman being a slut with another man and I don’t care what the reason was.  For as long as I watched you were his slut and I have no use for a slut as a wife.  You can paint whatever you did any color you like, tell it anyway you like, but I will not believe a word you say.  You can talk till you are blue in the face, but I do not trust you anymore so I am not going to believe a word of it.  To me your word is worthless.  Accept it Maggie; accept it and leave me alone.”

 

I turned and walked away from her and she did follow me or call after me.

 

My little speech must have taken because the phone calls stopped and I didn’t see her again.  Maggie’s job wasn’t anywhere near campus and there wasn’t anywhere that I frequented in the neighborhood where our old apartment was so we never even accidentally ran into each other.  As far as I was concerned all that remained of my relationship with Maggie was the need to take care of the legalities of ending the marriage and it would be a while before I would be financially able to do that.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I was used to an active sex life, both before Maggie and with Maggie, and with Maggie out of the picture I began to look around.  I had never been unfaithful to Maggie even though I’d have a lot of chances.  I went looking for some of those chances and found that several were still there.  Legally I suppose that it met the definition of “infidelity” but I didn’t see it that way.  My marriage to Maggie was over except for the paperwork so I did not consider what I was doing as being unfaithful.  I had nothing to be faithful to, right?

 

I didn’t hook up with anyone as a steady although I could have, but I was still legally married and I couldn’t offer anything but a good time.  Luckily that seemed to be enough for most of the women I dated.

 

Sam and I had bonded and I started going out drinking with him a couple of times a week.  One night we were sitting at a table at O’Rielly’s when Sam looked up and said:

 

“Here comes trouble.”

 

I looked over my shoulder and saw Tim, his brother Bruce and two other guys heading for us.  I stood up and got ready to meet whatever was coming and not liking the situation one bit.  Even if Sam joined in (and I knew he would) and took two of them that still left two for me and while I knew I could hold my own against one I had serious doubts that I could take on two at once.  As Tim walked up he said: 

 

“Hey man, I didn’t come here to fight.  I ain’t happy with what you did to me, but what the fuck, I was trying to hustle your wife so I can’t blame you for being pissed.  But I need to tell you man, that I never fucked Maggie.  I tried like hell but she would never go for it.  I thought I had her that night behind Harry’s garage, but it never happened.  We got to the point where I had my dick out and then she said she had to go.  I pointed at my hard on and told her she couldn’t leave me like that, but she laughed at me and told me it was what I deserved for trying to get in the pants of another man’s woman.  I never fucked your wife and even though I told you you would be fighting forever if you went after every guy who went after her I never heard of anyone who actually scored.”

 

“That’s it?  You came looking for me to tell me that?”

 

“I didn’t come looking for you.  We came in here to shoot some pool and drink some beer.  I saw you sitting her and I don’t want no more trouble so I come over.  God’s honest truth man, I never did your wife.”

 

Then he and the other three headed for the back of the bar where the pool tables were.  We watched them go and Sam said:

 

“It looks like she was telling you the truth.”

 

“Does it?  What if she did fuck him and then told him he could have more if he came to me and told me what he just told me?  No Sam, it doesn’t matter if he told the truth or not.  The bottom line is that I have no use for a woman who could do what she did and then treat it as just flirting; like it was something that just didn’t matter.  Besides, even if he was telling the truth about himself what about all the others he said I’d have to fight?  He said he didn’t know of any who actually slept with her, but do we know that none of them did?  And even if none of them did do I want to go through life with it in the back of my mind that some day one of them might?  Do I want to spend my days wondering what she is doing when she isn’t with me and when we go out or to a party or something do I want to spend every minute watching her like a hawk to see if she will try to sneak off with someone like she did with Tim at Harry’s?  I don’t think so.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Graduation was almost on me and I’d started sending out resumes.  I had several interviews and finally got an offer from a company in my home town.  To celebrate Sam invited me to a party that a friend of his was having.  Having nothing better to do I said yes.  It was one of the strangest experiences of my life.  There were about thirty people there and I was the only white face in the crowd.  Because I was the only white face I was the focus of everyone’s attention.  Everywhere I looked I saw someone looking at me or several someone’s looking at me and talking so I knew I was being discussed.  There was no hostility, no “What the fuck you doing here whitey,” but it was still very awkward for me.

 

About an hour after I got there a stunningly beautiful girl came up to me and said, “Sam says that you don’t care to be called honky or white boy.  How about paleface?  Could I get away with that?

 

I smiled at her and said, “I make it a practice to let beautiful girls call me whatever they want.”

 

“Ooooh, Sam didn’t tell me that you were a silver tongued devil in disguise.”

 

“I have to have some secrets and it appears that Sam has a few of his own.  For instance, he never mentioned knowing anyone as lovely as you.”

 

“Brothers never pay much attention to younger sisters.”

 

“There is another secret that he kept from me.  He never told me he had a sister.  So tell me, are you going to catch hell for coming up and talking to the pale-faced dude?”

 

“What?  Oh that!  Don’t mind them.  They are just in shock that Sam actually brought a white guy to this party.  Hell, they are all shocked to find out that he even talks to one.  No, all I’ll catch is a lot of questions after our first date.”

 

“Our first date?”

 

“I’ll grant you that it is a little sudden, but you know you weren’t going to ask me so I have to step up and make it happen.”

 

“Why on Earth would you want to date me?”

 

“Curiosity.  There has to be something a little special about a white boy that Sam befriends.  And you can’t refuse.  You just finished telling me that you let beautiful girls call you what ever they want so I choose to call you my date.”  She looked at me for a second or two and then said, “I’m sensing some reluctance here, a hesitation on your part.  You don’t date dusky maidens?”

 

“It isn’t that, and by the way, I prefer Nubian Princess to dusky maiden, but I’m concerned about how dating you will affect my relationship with Sam.”

 

“It won’t bother him any.  You won’t be the first white boy I’ve gone out with.”

 

“Well, there is one other thing.”

 

“And that would be?”

 

“If I have to call you it would be nice to know who to ask for.”

 

“Actually, I kind of like Nubian Princess, but it might cause a little laughter if you called the house and I didn’t answer and they had to call for me.  I guess you had better ask for Alicia.”

 

“When is this big date going to take place and what are we going to do?”

 

“You’re the guy so that’s your department.”

 

“Oh no lady.  This date is your idea so you get to handle it from start to finish.”

 

“Okay, but I’m not picking you up.  You have to come and get me.”

 

“There is one other small problem that you might not be aware of.”

 

“And that would be?”

 

“I’m a married man.”

 

“You won’t be the first of those I’ve dated either, but Sam has already told me about your situation.  Tomorrow all right with you?”

 

“Tomorrow?  What’s tomorrow?”

 

“Our first date silly.”

 

“Tomorrow will be fine.”

 

“You sure seemed to spend a lot of time with Alicia tonight” Sam said as we drove back to the dorm.

 

“She’s a great looking girl.  How are you going to take my dating her?”

 

“She’s my sister and family and all that so I shouldn’t bad mouth her, but I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t warn you to watch yourself with her.  She’s a bit of a ‘wild child’ and she has a mean and evil streak in her that shows up every once in a while.  To be honest roomie, was I you I’d make sure that the first date was the only one.”

 

“Why?  What does she do that’s evil and mean?”

 

“I already said more than I should.  You both are of age so have at it.  Just watch yourself and be careful.”

 

I tried to get more out of him, but I couldn’t and finally I said, “It doesn’t matter.  Next week I’m out of here, sheepskin in hand and ready to take on the world, or some shit like that.”

 

“Got some news for you roomie; Alicia is just here visiting.  We live smack dab in the middle of where you are going.”

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

My date with Alicia was interesting to say the least.  I picked her up at six and we went to Carl’s Chop House for dinner.  We talked over dinner and got better acquainted.  She was a year younger than me, lived alone in a two bedroom apartment and was a legal secretary for a firm of downtown lawyers.  She had been engaged to be married until she caught her guy getting it on with another girl and since then she had gone pretty much dateless.

 

“For a while there I thought all men were pigs.  Now I think maybe only three quarters of them are.”

 

“What is it that you think qualifies me for the other one quarter?”

 

“Who says I do think you are one of the twenty-five percenters?  Maybe I just think you’re cute or maybe I just want to have some fun with a white boy.  Are you Rob?  Are you one of the twenty-five percenters?”

 

“Probably not.  I’m sitting over here looking at you and trying to see through your dress so I guess that puts me in the pig group.”

 

“Or not.  Maybe I’m sitting here trying to see through what you are wearing.”

 

“Curious?”

 

“Oh yes paleface; most definitely curious.”

 

After dinner she took me to the Apollo Club.  It was almost like being at the party where we met in that I was the only white man in the building.  However I wasn’t the only paleface; there were a good half dozen white women there.

 

“Dare I ask why you chose this place for our date?”

 

“To show you off sugar.  She those men with the white women?  That’s what they are doing, showing off their trophys; showing off that they got themselves a white woman.  I thought it only fitting that a black woman come in her and show of that I got me a white man.”

 

“I’m not going to get out of here alive, am I?”

 

“Sure you will.  You might have to fight your way out, but you’ll get out of here alive.”

 

The first two hours were okay.  We drank, talked and danced and I only noticed two or three resentful stares, but I ignored them.  It wasn’t until we moved into the third hour that things got dicey.  We had just gotten back from the dance floor and sat down when one of the guys who had been giving me resentful looks came up to the table and said:

 

“What you doing here with him girl?  You belong over at my table” and he grabbed her arm to pull her up out of her seat.

 

I stood up and said, “Let go of her arm or I’ll break yours off and shove it up your ass.”

 

He let go of Alicia and she said, “Damn Jerome, that’s going to leave a bruise.”

 

“You know him?”

 

“He’s the shit head I caught screwing around on me.”

 

I stood there staring at him and waiting for him to do something.  He stared back at me for several seconds and then spun on his heel and walked away muttering, “Fucking bitch.”  I sat down, took a sip of my drink and looked at Alicia.  She looked away and I knew.

 

“You knew he was going to be here didn’t you?”

 

“He’s always here.”

 

“That’s what this is all about, right?  You saw me at the party and said, “That is just what I need to tweak Jerome’s nose.  I’ll dangle a white boy in front of him.”  You picked me to be the sacrificial lamb.  You brought me here knowing that there would be a confrontation.”

 

She wouldn’t face me so I knew I’d nailed it.  I stared at her for several moments and then said, “You didn’t care that if a fight broke out I’d be here all alone while if things went bad for him he would have all his friends around to help him if he needed it.”

 

“Nothing like that would have happened.  The bouncer’s here wouldn’t let it.”

 

“Oh yeah?  What about what would happen before the bouncers could get to us to break it up?”

 

“Nothing would have happened.  Jerome is an asshole and he only gets brave when he is pushing women around.  He would have never fought you.”

 

“And this is the guy you were going to marry?”

 

She shrugged her shoulders and reached for her purse and said, “Lets go.”

 

“Oh no, we are not leaving.  It would look like I was running away and I won’t give him or his buddies the satisfaction of thinking that.  No lady, you set this up so now you get to sit here and live through it.”

 

I ordered another drink and as I sat there sipping it I remembered what Sam had said.  Alicia did indeed have an evil mean streak.  I finished the drink, ordered one more and when it was gone I told Alicia that it was time to leave.  As I drove back to where she was staying she said:

 

“You were wrong.  Well, you were both right and wrong.”

 

“About what?”

 

“I didn’t date you just to piss off Jerome.  I didn’t even think of that until today.  You told me that I had to be the one to choose what to do and I didn’t even think of the Apollo until this morning.  Yes, I knew Jerome would be there and yes the main reason I chose the Apollo was so Jerome would see me there with you, but I knew there wouldn’t be any trouble.”

 

“You don’t even know me Alicia.  How could you be so confident that there wouldn’t be trouble?”

 

“Jerome is afraid of Sam and he knows if he caused me grief Sam would come looking for him.”

 

“Sure Alicia, but if you had guessed wrong I would have been the one to pay.”

 

As I pulled up in front of the place where she was staying she said, “I suppose given the way the night went a goodnight kiss is out of the question?”

 

“That would be a good bet Alicia.”

 

I got out of the car, went around and opened her door for her, but I didn’t walk her to her porch.  I left her standing on the sidewalk as I drove away.  The next morning I told Sam all about my date with his sister and he said:

 

“Well, I did warn you.”

 

“That you did Sam, that you did.”

 

Sam was going to spend his summer in New Orleans helping a cousin whose house had been badly damaged during Katrina.  We made plans to get together when he got back, shook hands and said goodbye.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Moving back to my home town to go to work had its good side and its bad side.  The bad side was that it put me in almost daily contact with my family and since they lived right across the street, Maggie’s family.  I was staying with my parents while I looked for a place of my own and I was constantly subjected to a bombardment of:

 

“You are not being fair to her Rob; she loves you” and “Rob, you are making a mountain out of a mole-hill” and on and on and on.  Add to that I was seeing Maggie on an almost daily basis since she had quit her job and moved back to stay with her folks while she looked for another job and her own place.  I began to think that she stood inside her house at a window and watched for me to leave so she could come out of her house at the same time.  It happened damn near every morning.

 

I did my best to ignore her, but how do you ignore someone who has been part of your life for almost half of it?  She looked good, but then she had always looked good.  The first week it was just eye contact and I would always turn away.  The next week she waved at me, twice, but I didn’t smile or wave back.  I don’t know what her next step would have been since I found an apartment close to work and moved in.

 

I was three days in my new apartment when the phone rang.  The only people who had the number were my family and work so I expected that it was my mom, dad or sister.  It was Maggie.

 

“Hasn’t this silliness gone on long enough Rob?  I love you and I know you love me.  We should be together.”

 

“We have already had this conversation Margaret.”

 

“No we haven’t Rob.  You got up on your high horse and talked down to me.  We did not talk.  We need to sit down and work things out Rob.”

 

“There is nothing to work out Margaret.  I caught you doing things with another man that no married woman should have been doing.  You seem to think that it is no big deal, that it can be sloughed off and treated as a non-event, but I don’t see it that way.  To me what you were doing was cheating on me - infidelity Margaret - and after seeing it happen I will never believe that what I saw was anything other than the tip of the iceberg.  You can say whatever you want, but I’ll never believe you.  It is over Margaret and as soon as I saved up enough money I will be getting an attorney and going for a divorce.  Goodbye Margaret” and I hung up on her.”

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

The next six months were fairly busy as I settled into my new job and got to know my co-workers.  I was also dating and I had an adequate sex life.  I was straight forward with the ladies; I wore my ring so they would know what they were getting and if they were curious I explained the circumstances to them.  It surprised me, but there were quite a lot of women looking for a “no strings attached” affair and a married man, especially one in my kind of situation, suited them just fine.

 

Sam had come back from New Orleans and we had gone out drinking a time or three and during one of those times he told me that Alicia had asked about me several times.

 

“I think she feels guilty for what she pulled on you.  She asked me to give you her phone number.”

 

“Why?  So she can get me to take her some place where she can get me killed?”

 

“Don’t know what the girl is thinking, but then I never have.”

 

It would have been bad form for me to have wadded up the piece of paper and thrown it away in front of Sam so I put it in my pocket meaning to toss it later and then forgot about it.  I was going through my pockets to check before throwing them into the washer when I found the number.  I looked at it for a second or two before remembering what it was.  I was just about to drop it into the waste basket when for some reason I don’t understand I kept it.

 

A couple of days later I was trying to come up with something to do for the weekend and I remembered that I had Alicia’s number and I said to myself, “What the hell, why not!”  I called her number and when she answered I recognized her voice right away.

 

“May I speak with the Nubian Princess please?”

 

There was silence on the other end for a bit and then, “Oh my.  I never thought I would ever hear from you again.”

 

“There hasn’t been much excitement in my life lately and I suddenly remembered that you seemed to know how to bring some about.  Got a free night this weekend?”

 

“I didn’t a minute ago, but suddenly they are all free.”

 

She gave me directions to her apartment and when I got there at six to take her to dinner she opened the door in her bathrobe.  “I’m running a little late so come on in and sit down and I’ll be ready in a minute.  There’s beer in the fridge, help your self” and then she hurried from the room.  I took a seat on the couch and picked up a magazine from the coffee table and was leafing through it when I heard her say:

 

“Hey, paleface.  Will this outfit do for tonight?”

 

I looked up and saw her standing there absolutely naked.  It was so totally unexpected that I sat there open mouthed and stunned.

 

“Frankly paleface, this is not going the way I expected.  You are supposed to be falling all over yourself trying to get to me.”

 

I finally got control of myself and stood up and started undressing.  “That’s better” she said and then she giggled.  “That’s much better” and she turned and walked into her bedroom.  I followed her into her bedroom and reached to unbutton my shirt and she moved in close and brushed my hands away.

 

“I want to be the one to unwrap my present.”

 

I just stood there as she unbuttoned, unzipped, untied, tugged down and pulled off everything I was wearing.  All I did was lift my feet so she could take my shoes off and get my trousers and briefs away from where they had pooled around my ankles.

 

“Feel free to stop me any time you want to paleface” and she took my cock into her mouth.

 

We never did make it to dinner.

 

Laying next to Alicia and trying to catch my breath I asked, “Why?  What prompted this?”

 

“It is what I planned on doing the night you left me standing on the sidewalk.  Besides, you did say that there hadn’t been much excitement in your life lately, didn’t you?”

 

While she talked she was fondling my limp cock and it was showing signs that it wasn’t going to stay limp much longer.  “How about it white boy; want a little more excitement?”

 

I did!  That night started a hot affair that went blazing along for the next five months and I was seriously considering putting a ring on Alicia’s finger as soon as I could arrange to remove the one from Maggie’s.  I was serious enough about it that I even asked Sam how he was going to like having a honky brother in law.  He didn’t say anything, but I could read his face.  Plain as day it was saying:

 

“You poor sap!”

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I received a letter from the trust telling me that there was still a little over a hundred grand in the trust, but that according to the terms of the trust it could not be distributed to me until my twenty-fifth birthday.  I had two years to wait before I could get the money, but knowing it was there enabled me to see my way clear to take out a loan.  I called and made an appointment to see an attorney and then had him start the divorce proceedings.  Then, because I hadn’t had to use my savings for the divorce I took some of it and went to buy Alicia a ring.

 

I picked one out and then took the afternoon off from work and headed for Alicia’s apartment.  I let myself in and waited for her to come home.  I was in the bathroom sitting on the throne when she came home and it sounded like she had someone with her.  I wiped myself and stood up and was zipping my fly when I heard a man’s voice say:

 

“That’s it bitch, do it.”

 

Curious as to what was going on I didn’t flush the toilet to alert them to the fact that they were not alone and I quietly left the bathroom.  I walked into the living room to find Alicia on her knees sucking Jerome’s cock while she stroked the cock of another black man standing next to her.  Alicia’s back was to me so she didn’t know I was there and Jerome smirked at me and said:

 

“That’s it bitch, suck that hard black cock.”

 

The other black guy was nervously looking from Jerome to me and back to Jerome.  He didn’t know what to do, but he wasn’t about to stop Alicia.  She pulled her mouth off Jerome and her mouth was heading for the other man’s cock when Jerome said:

 

“Black dick is so much better than white dick, right baby?”

 

“Oh God yes, so much better.”

 

“That’s nice to know,” I said, “I’ll include it in my memoirs when I write them.”

 

Alicia jerked her head around and I saw her eyes go wide.

 

“Thanks Jerome; you just saved me from making a very bad mistake.”

 

I walked over and took the box out of my pocket and opened it so Alicia could see what was in it.

 

 “Thank God the salesman said it was returnable.”

 

I closed the box and put it back in my pocket and turned to leave.  Jerome said, “What’s the matter white boy?  Ain’t going to fight for your woman?”

 

“Where I come from we don’t fight over sluts and whores” and I left the apartment.

 

It was too late to go back to the jewelry store so I went on home to my apartment.  I’d been sitting on my couch jumping channels and thinking, “Boy, you sure can pick them Rob” when the doorbell rang.  I went to the door and looked through the spy hole and saw Sam standing there.  I opened the door and stepped aside to let him in, but he just stood there and looked at me and the expression on his face was not a friendly one.

 

“Alicia called me.  She was crying hysterically and she told me that you called her a slut and a whore.  Did you?”

 

“Indirectly, but did she tell you the whole story?”

 

“No.  I couldn’t get her to stop crying.”

 

“Well if you want to find out you need to come on in.  My neighbors don’t need to know my business.”

 

He stared at me (actually, it was more of a ‘glower’) for a second or two and then he came in.  I told him to get himself a beer and when he had it in hand and was sitting on the couch I told him the story.  When I was done he shook his head disbelievingly and said:

 

“Two of them?  Jerome and another dude?”

 

I shook my head yes and he said, “Damn!  Two of them.  What the hell is wrong with that stupid bitch?”

 

“I can’t say that you didn’t warn me back in college.”

 

He finished his beer and stood up.  “Where are you going?  The night is young and the fridge is full of beer.”

 

“I’m going to find Jerome and have a little talk with the boy.”

 

“Let it be Sam.  She didn’t have my ring on her finger so she was free to do what she wanted.”

 

“May be, but then I ain’t taking kindly to him going to double team my sister.  Talk to you later” and he left.

 

I heard later that he had found Jerome and had fucked him up so bad that Jerome had to be taken to County General’s emergency room.

 

Alicia tried calling me a half dozen times or so but I guess she finally got the message when I kept hanging up on her and stopped calling.  Alicia and Jerome did put a crimp in my love life.  After seeing her on her knees in front of two guys I thought that it might be prudent to have myself checked out for social diseases and then I stayed away from women until I was sure I was clean.

 

Three days went by and then I got a call from Sam.  “I need a big - and I do mean big - favor from you.”

 

“Name it and you got it Sam.”

 

“Don’t be so quick.  I need you to sit down and talk with Alicia.  She has been a positive basket case since the day in her apartment.  I’m not asking you to take her back or anything like that, just talk to her.”

 

One of the last things in the world that I wanted to do was talk to Alicia, but Sam’s friendship was a big thing to me and so I reluctantly agreed to talk to his sister.  After hanging up on Sam I called Alicia.

 

“Sam says you want to talk to me.  When and where?”

 

“My place and whenever you can make it?”

 

“That won’t do.  I won’t set foot in that place again after what I saw the last time I was there.”

 

“Okay then, you pick the time and place.”

 

“I’ll meet you at Antoine’s at six.  I’ll get one of the tables in back.”

 

I was sitting at a table in the back and nursing a beer when she walked in.  Every male eye in the place locked on to her as she made her way to where I was sitting.  The last time that had happened I remembered sitting there as proud as a peacock and thinking, “Eat your hearts out you guys, that one is all mine!”  Except now I knew that she wasn’t and probably never had been.

 

I did stand and do the chair thing when she got to the table and the waitress appeared as Alicia sat down and Alicia ordered a scotch on the rocks.

 

“A little strong for the girl who always sipped margaritas isn’t it?”

 

“I need something strong for this Rob.”

 

I sat there and waited and finally she said, “I’m sorry that you had to find out about me the way you did Rob. If you had to find out I would have much preferred that it had been from someone telling you.  It killed me to have you see it.  But I guess you did need to see it - to see the real me.  What you saw Rob was me the way I really am.  The me that you saw when we were together was the me I wanted to be.  You saw the me that I tried so hard to be, the me I wanted to be for you.

 

“I don’t know why Rob, but the real me needs to be used and treated like shit.  Assholes like Jerome sense it and move in on me and give me just that.  Every now and then I try to break away from the pattern, but it never lasts long before I’m back being a doormat for assholes.  I had just broken away when I met you Rob and I thought you were going to be my salvation.  To keep you I would have to get clear of and stay clear of Jerome and all of the other assholes.  I love you Rob, I love you and I want you and I knew from the situation that exists between you and your wife that the only way I could have you was to be yours and yours alone.  I tried Rob, God knows I tried, but Jerome and the others were always sniffing around and eventually the real me came back out from where she had been hiding.  I hoped to God that you would never find out and that I could stay with you.

 

“You will never know agony I went through when I saw you standing there looking at the real me.  When you showed me the ring one part of my mind was saying, “Thank you God, he does love me and he does want me to be his” and in the next compartment over I was screaming out “God Damn you God for making me this way.”  The saddest thing is that even if you hadn’t caught me and I hadn’t already back slid and you had asked me to marry you I would have had to say no.  I knew that the real me would sooner or later return and I loved you too much to do that to you. I just could not gamble that I would be able to keep the bad me locked away.  I loved you too much to take a chance on doing to you what Maggie did to you.”

 

She stopped talking and I sat there for several moments looking at her before saying, “So what is it that you want Alicia?  Why meet me here and tell me this?”

 

“I had hoped that you might have cared enough for me to be able to understand that I’m only human and that like most humans I’m not perfect.  I know I have some serious flaws, but I am hoping that it might be possible that we can stay friends.  That I might be able to see you from time to time and talk with you.  Maybe even have a drink or two every now and then.”

 

She looked at me expectantly as I sat there thinking about what she had just said.  On the one hand I had cared enough about her that I was going to ask her to be my wife.  On the other hand there was the image of her on her knees with Jerome’s cock in her mouth.  I didn’t know what to do or say so I took the easy way out.

 

“I’ll have to think on that Alicia.  I won’t make any promises, but I will think on it.”

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

 

 

I was at the end of the dry spell. I had just gotten the call from the doctor’s office telling me I was clean when I got a call from the attorney I hired to handle the divorce.  He’d received a call from Maggie and she had told him that she would not fight the divorce if I would agree to a couple of conditions, but that if I didn’t agree she would fight me tooth and nail.  I asked him what she could do?  We were a no fault state so how could she stop the divorce?

 

“She can’t stop it, but she can slow it down and cause delays and make it a lot more expensive for you.  You make more than she does so if she were to get a lawyer you could very well end up paying her attorney’s fees.  She could petition the court to order mandatory marriage counseling.  She could claim you are hiding assets and on and on and on.  All of which would delay things and make it more expensive for you.   My advice is to agree to the conditions and get it over with.”

 

“What are the conditions?”

 

“She wants you to arrange for a lie detector test.  You pick the tester and she will pay for it.  The second condition is that you be present for the test and that you give her fifteen minutes to talk with you after the test.”

 

“That’s it?  That’s all she wants and she won’t fight the divorce?”

 

“That’s it.”

 

“How do I go about finding a tester?”

 

“I know several.”

 

“Can you set it up for me?”

 

“Can do.”

 

“Then let’s do it.”

 

He called me back an hour later and told me that it was set up for Thursday afternoon at four and I told him that I would be there.  As I drove home I wondered what Maggie was up to.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Armed with the information that I was STD free I stopped at Hogan’s Pub which is where most of my co-workers stopped for a brew or two after work.  There were nine of them there, six women and three men and they made room for me at the two tables they had shoved together.  Three of the women, Merrily, Joyce and Debbie, were girls I had played with in the past.  I’d had short term affairs with all three of them and since none of them was interested in a long term relationship we had parted friends.

 

  I bought a round and then handed Merrily some money to feed the juke box.  I danced with all six of the women, but since Joyce had recently gotten married I knew that only Merrily and Debbie would be open to an evening of fun so I danced more often with the two of them.  I was dancing my fourth dance with Debbie and she moved in close and said:

 

“Made up your mind yet?”

 

“About what?”

 

“About who you are going to take your shot at, Merrily, Joyce or me?”

 

“Why would I take a shot at Joyce?  She just got married.”

 

“Maybe so, but she hasn’t taken her eyes off you since you walked in and the look in her eyes reminds me of a cat who is getting ready to pounce.”

 

“I don’t think I’d be too comfortable around a newly wed wife.”

 

“Okay, so it is down to Merrily and me.  Who is it going to be?”

 

“To be absolutely honest sweetie, it will be with whoever shows an interest in possibly leaving with me.”

 

“What kind of an answer is that?”

 

“An honest one.  I’ve had fun with you both, but both of you ended it with me.  If one of you shows an interest that’s one thing, but because both of you ended the relationship I follow the rule that no means no.  I won’t make any attempt to try and talk either one of you into anything.  As long as I don’t get pushy we get to remain friends.  But, if one of you indicates that she would like to spend a night having some fun that’s a different story.”

 

“Poor Merrily.”

 

“Why poor Merrily?”

 

“Because she isn’t going to get a chance at hearing what you just told me.  Your place or mine?”

 

“Your choice.”

 

“Yours; it is closer.”

 

Debbie loved two things.  She loved to be eaten and she loved anal sex and any session with her started with oral sex.  Sometimes she would blow me and then I would eat her and other times I would do her first and then she would do me, but most of the time we just ended up in a sixty-nine.

 

She liked my cock in her pussy until she got wound up and then she wanted me to push it up her poop chute.  She would bury her head in a pillow and moan, yell and have orgasms until she was as limp as a dishrag. Then she would wash my cock, suck me hard and be ready to go again.

 

She was gorgeous, smart, witty, had a great sense of humor and was fun to be with and I could not understand why some guy hadn’t snapped her up.

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

On Wednesday my attorney called me again.  “I need some personal information on your wife for the polygrapher.  Things she can use in developing questions to use during the test - things she won’t be expecting.”

 

I thought about it for a bit and then gave him a dozen or so things that could be used and after hanging up I wondered again what Maggie was up to.

 

That night I followed Debbie home after work and ended up spending the night.  In the morning she fixed us breakfast and as we were eating she asked:

 

“Are you familiar with the term ‘friends with benefits’?”

 

“I’ve heard of it.”

 

“The reason I stopped seeing you the last time was because it seemed to be leading to something serious and I don’t want that.  It isn’t that I can’t commit, it is just that I can’t stand living with anyone else.  I’ve tried it and it doesn’t work for me.  A week - two weeks at most - and having another person around just drives me nuts.  But as you well know I do have certain needs, so I guess what I’m getting at is asking if a friends with benefits relationship is something you might be interested in.”

 

“To be honest Deb, I don’t know.  I certainly enjoy taking care of your, as you put it, certain needs, but I liked being married and once I’m rid of Maggie I will probably start looking for her replacement.  I can’t see where it would be fair to you for me to spend time with other women and then stop by and visit you.”

 

“Not even if that is what I want?”

 

“Tell you what Deb, we can try it, but once my divorce from Maggie is final and I start looking around we will have to take another look at it.”

 

“That will work for me Rob.  I don’t want to bounce from man to man.  I just want one guy I’m comfortable with, but who knows that marriage and kids are not in the cards.”

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

At nine in the morning on that Thursday I was called into the office and my boss told me that my work hard been more than satisfactory and they wanted to offer me a slightly better position, one with better pay and benefits, but the job involved travel and I could figure on being away from home on the average of ten days a month.  And then he asked me if I would be interested and I of course said yes.

 

All in all the day was shaping up to be a great one for me.  Debbie as a steady with no complications; a promotion at work and once I met Maggie’s conditions that afternoon the divorce would proceed unimpeded.

 

I arrived at the attorney’s office at 3:45 and he told me that the polygrapher was set up in conference room D and that when the test was over the polygrapher would leave the room so Maggie and I could have our talk.  He walked me down to the conference room and introduced me to Joan Foreman who would be administering the test.  She explained the procedure to me and then we waited for Maggie to arrive.

 

Maggie was ushered into the room by the receptionist and when she saw me she smiled and said:

 

 “How have you been Rob?”

 

I just looked at her and showing as little emotion as possible I said, “Okay.”

 

The truth was that I was not okay.  I was great when Maggie wasn’t around, but being back in a room with her changed things.  Talk about mixed emotions!  I hated her for what she had done to me - to us - but at the same time my whole body ached for her.  I had loved her from the day she had first smiled and waved at me.  I still loved her, but weird dude that I am, I was not able to share.  I couldn’t share Alicia with others and I damned sure couldn’t share Maggie.  As much as I wanted her I didn’t want her.  Make sense?  I thought not.

 

The procedure was explained to Maggie and then she took an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Joan.

 

“I would like these questions to be asked at some point during the test.”

 

Maggie sat down on the chair indicated, was hooked up to the machine, a series of questions was asked to establish a baseline and then the test began.  I’m not going to cover the entire test, but it went something like this.

 

“Are you a secretary at Dewey, Cheatum and Howe?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Is blue your favorite color?”

 

“No.”

 

“Do you use any recreational drugs?”

 

“No.”

 

“Have you engaged in sexual relations recently?”

 

I had been sitting there bored by the whole thing and wishing it would hurry up and be over, but that question suddenly had me paying attention.  Maggie was looking right at me when she answered “no.”  I realized that it must have been one of the questions she wanted asked.

 

“Do you reside at 745 Evans?”

 

“No.”

 

“Is your favorite color green?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Have you ever had sex with anyone other than your husband?”

 

“No.”

 

“Do you have a cat named Stinker Bell?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you like meatloaf?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Have you ever satisfied a man other than your husband orally or by hand?”

 

“No.”

 

It went on for another twenty minutes before Joan said she saw no sense in going any farther with the test and she began to unhook Maggie from the box.

 

“According to all indications Mrs. Bartlett has been completely truthful in all of her answers.”

 

My attorney stood up and he and Joan left the room.  Maggie and I sat and looked at each other and finally I said:

 

“Okay Maggie, you wanted to talk so start.”

 

“Do I need to say anything Rob?  You just heard it all.  I never, not once had sex in any form with anyone other than you.  I did not cheat on you Rob.  There is no sense at all to this divorce thing.  I love you Rob and I know you love me.  We belong together Rob.  Please Rob, let’s put our marriage back together.”

 

“This doesn’t change anything Maggie.  You still did what you did and that is totally unacceptable to me.”

 

“I told you why I did it Rob.  It was just to teach him a lesson; that you shouldn’t chase after another man’s woman.  I didn’t fuck him Rob.  I didn’t suck him off or even give him a hand job.  I led him on and then sent him home suffering.  You just heard it all now Rob.  I have never been unfaithful to you.”

 

“Yes Maggie, but when you are finally unfaithful to me, what then?”

 

“When I’m finally unfaithful to you?  Where in the hell does that come from?”

 

“Maggie, you have treated the thing with Tim and all the others you have pulled it on as a non-event; just a little teasing and leading them on before laughing at them and walking away.  What happens when one of them doesn’t let you walk away?  What happens when one of them says, “Oh no you don’t” and throws you down and fucks you?  You going to come to me and say, “Guess what?  A funny thing happened to me at the Smith’s party last night” or would you hide it from me?

 

“Or maybe you would holler rape and get the cops involved.  What happens then when all of the others come forward and say “She was asking for it?  She did the same thing to me.”  What are you going to do - or expect me to do - when a couple that you have pissed off lie and say you fucked them too?  Then the guy who fucked you says, “Hey man, she wanted it; it was all her idea and she’s only crying rape now because she thinks someone saw us and might tell her husband.  Yeah man, I did her, but it was consensual until she thought she needed to cover herself with her old man.”  What then Maggie?”

 

She looked at me like I’d just grown a second head and then said, “You can’t possibly be that stupid Rob.  After all that has gone on since that night with Tim do you really think I would ever do something like that again?”

 

“The problem Maggie, is that I never thought you would do something like that in the first place.  So in my mind now is the thought that if you could do that you could just as easily do something else even worse.  You planted doubt in my mind Maggie and once doubt takes root it never goes away.

 

“To you the thing with Tim was one big joke on Tim, but it was no joke to me.  Every time I see you I see the picture in my mind of what you and Tim were doing.  I see you rubbing your cunt against his leg.  I see his hands up under your blouse on your tits.  I see you shoving your tongue down his throat.  It is there Maggie.  It is in my head and it won’t go away.  I see it in my mind at least once a day.  I saw it in my mind the instant you walked in the door of this room.  I can’t live like that Maggie.  If we were back together I would still see that damned picture in my mind only it would be there several times a day instead of just occasionally.  And because of the doubt you planted Maggie, whenever you weren’t with me I would be wondering where you were, who you might be with and what you might be doing.  You can swear up and down that nothing like that will ever happen again, but the doubt is there Maggie.  The doubt is there.”

 

“I can make you forget it Rob; just give me the chance and I’ll make it go away.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

 

As I noted in the forward I decided to give you plenty to play with.  Sam and Alicia give you an interracial component.  There is the prospective relationship with Debbie.  And what about Merrily and the other girls he works with that he may have played with.  We have a wife who may or may not have cheated (hey, we all know that lie detector tests can be beaten, don’t we?).  And last, but by no means least, a job that will take Rob out of town leaving ample time for things to happen while he is gone.

 

Come on, have at it and show me how you think it should be done.