Competing

Mary was eying up the small cakes in the coffee shop display. She already had a buttered muffin on her tray to go with the latte she had ordered, but there was a nagging desire to grab something with cream or icing as well. She was resisting because she knew it was comfort food but her resolve was weakening as she felt she needed some comfort right now.

"Honey!" Slender bare arms wrapped themselves around Mary's waist, fingers with too many rings clasped to hold her and deep red lipstick was deposited on her cheek by the woman leaning over Mary's shoulders.

It could only be one person.

"Hello Kat," Mary grunted, prising herself free from her friend's grasp.

"Oh .. naughty. No donuts unless you're going to join my aerobics class." Kat said grabbing her own tray and dumping a piece of chocolate cake on it.

"Sigh, I know. Straight to my thighs."

"Hey, why so down?"

"It's .. personal."

"Do tell." Kat grabbed a fruit juice so that she wouldn't have to wait for a coffee as Mary's had just arrived. "Okay, a quiet little booth and then you can tell."

Any other day, thought Mary, and she would have been glad to see her friend. Then she thought about it and realised that Kat was probably just who she needed. The pair took their lunches out onto the little balcony that overlooked the street and the noise of cars passing provided the privacy they needed.

"It's Geoff. He's having an affair."

"What!" Kat looked genuinely surprised. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

"Well .. it's little things .."

Kat jumped straight in. "So you've no proof."

"No. But it's lots of little things. He's spending more time at the office, he comes home tired, he .. we .. we're not making love any more. He's lost interest."

"Um, reality check." Kat frowned, knowing her friend wasn't going to like what was coming next. "You put your love life on hold, remember?"

Mary blushed. She really did tell her friend everything, all the things she was too embarrassed to tell her husband. "The infection's cleared up now, but even though I've hinted Geoff isn't interested."

"You didn't tell him about the infection, you didn't tell him why you didn't want to have sex and now you're wondering why he's not picking up hints? Mary - no wonder you're not getting shagged."

"Or he's having an affair." Mary said, stirring another spoonful of sugar into her coffee.

"If he's having an affair. Do you have a suspect?"

"Devon, his boss. She's so pretty, legs up to .."

"I know her," Kat cut in. "We met at that dinner party at your place last month."

"Oh yes. You two really got on with each other." Mary murmured. "So you know what I'm up against. She's gorgeous and she wears those slutty outfits."

"Like me?" Kat joked, then became serious again when she saw the pain clearly etched on her friend's face. "Look - proof before you worry yourself into the ground. If he's late tonight ring his number and see if he's in the office, and if he is, ring Devon's number and see if she's there too. Go through his pockets.

"We'll meet here for lunch tomorrow, and if he is having an affair .. well then we'll work on a battle plan to deal with it."

Mary smiled. She was so glad that Kat hadn't dismissed her fears out of hand.

##

Mary was even more depressed the next day as the pair took their balcony table again.

"I have proof," she said simply, and stuffed a spoonful of mud cake into her mouth.

"He was at the office with Devon. He even admitted it, made up some story about Devon asking him to stay late to help her move furniture."

"Well, suspicious but not impossible."

"So I went through his jacket pockets while he was in the shower and I found a pair of panties, red satin with black lace. Not even fresh, they needed to be washed."

Kat started to come up with possible explanations but she could see that Mary had already made up her mind so she shut up.

"What am I going to do, Kat?" Mary whispered. "I still love him but I can't compete with Devon."

"Yes you can!" Kat stated emphatically. "I promised you yesterday that we would have a battle plan and we will. As I see it you have three options; divorce, surrender or fight.

"Divorce - you gather some more evidence and take him to the cleaners .."

"No."

"Surrender - you go on being the good little wife and accept that your husband is making love to another woman."

"No."

"Then that just leaves fight. You have to compete with Devon and you have to win."

"I can't compete with Devon," Mary protested. "She's better looking than me, she has that fantastic body, the hair, the clothes .."

"You can compete. Devon isn't that much prettier than you .."

Mary had enough self-image to look hurt.

".. the hair comes out of a salon and you have a definite advantage in clothes."

"No I don't. She has all those dresses with cleavage and splits and things. I have nothing like that."

"Which is part of the problem," Kat teased her. "But you do have an advantage in clothes; Devon's limited to what she can wear to the office - you are limited to what you can wear in your house." Kat arched her eyebrows suggestively.

"You don't mean I should lounge around the house in a frilly nightie like some old tart?"

"No." Kat stated firmly, waited until Mary's tense posture relaxed, then hit her with the finisher. "I'm thinking baby-dolls, stockings, six inch heels, some lingerie that doesn't cover all access points."

Mary almost fell out of her chair. Her mouth opened, closed and opened again without her saying anything.

"Right," Kat said. "Call your work, tell them you're taking the afternoon off and then we're going shopping."

"I can't," Mary finally found the voice to protest. Kat reached into Mary's bag, took out her cell phone and easily fended the smaller woman off as she hit 2 on the speed dial.

"Hello. This is Dr. Patton. Mary can't come in to work this afternoon because of a personal problem. I would be glad to tell you what it is in detail .. very well then. Thank you."

Kat switched off the phone and smiled impishly at Mary who looked absolutely horrified.

##

"So, how'd it go? What did you wear?" Kat demanded, leaning over the table.

Mary spooned sugar into her latte and eyed up her half eaten éclair in preference to making eye contact with her friend. "Okay, sort of. I wore that satin chemise but it was too short and you could see my panties, and those stockings wouldn't stay up so I gave up on them. And my dressing gown."

Seeing Kat roll her eyes in despair, Mary went on, "It was cold, and it was the nice pink one you gave me for my birthday last year."

Kat sighed. "At least tell me how the sex went."

Mary blushed, and took a big bite of her éclair to give herself some time. Kat waited though and Mary knew she couldn't escape.

"Well, Geoff was more surprised than excited I think. We kissed in the hall, I made him a drink and sat beside him in the lounge and we sort of kissed a bit more. Then we went to bed and cuddled for a bit. Geoff was pretty tired." Mary concluded lamely.

"Probably already shot his bolt," Kat teased and then had to resist the urge to apologise. Mary needed to toughen up, maybe get a bit angry, if Kat's plan was to work.

"Okay," Kat said. "Here's what you need to do if you want to be first on Geoff's list."

"I want to be the only person on Geoff's list," Mary said, finishing off her éclair while listening to Kat.

##

Mary had thought of staying home for lunch but she knew Kat would track her down. So she wearily made her way to what was becoming their special table out on the balcony. Kat was waiting and could barely contain herself as Mary put her coffee and cheesecake down on the table.

"Details," Kat demanded eagerly. "The waist cincher?"

"I tried," Mary said weakly. "But it was too tight for me to do up the clips and I couldn't get the suspenders to look right."

"Sigh. I'll come around tonight and show you how to do it. So what did you wear?"

"Pink stockings, with the stretchy bit at the top. The french-knickers, a cami and my old pink heels." Mary said quietly. "No bathrobe," she added to give herself some credibility. "I turned up the central heating instead."

"And the sex?"

"Do you really .."

"Yes. I need to know so we can spot the critical point where he prefers you to Devon."

"We cuddled on the couch, and he rubbed my breasts through the cami and it was quite nice, but when we went to bed he was still a bit hesitant and we just sort of played around with each other. I think he came."

Mary sounded like a kid trying to bargain a D up to a C minus on her report card.

"What time does Geoff get home tonight?" Kat asked.

"About six."

"Right. I'll be there at five. I'll dress you. You won't change anything. And tomorrow you'll tell me about how he ravished you on the doorstep in front of all the neighbours."

Mary sank in her chair and wished she had some ordered whipped cream to go with her cheesecake.

##

"I felt like a complete tart!" Mary protested as soon as Kat arrived at their table the next day. "I don't even know what you call some of the stuff you dressed me in. Where the hell did you get it? We certainly didn't buy it the other day."

"Basque, re-enforced elasticised waist, underwired half cups, eight suspenders." Kat rattled of as though Mary needed to know. "From one of my favourite shops downtown. It's a shame we're not closer in size, I could let you borrow such sexy stuff."

"Don't."

"But it's working." Kat said. "Geoff was home early, I had to slip out the back. No fireworks on the front step though, I noticed."

"I couldn't go to the door dressed like that! I waited for him in the lounge." Mary paused. "He did look excited though. Eager for once."

"There you go."

Mary frowned but couldn't hold it. "We .. we had sex last night .. sort of."

"Sort of? What does that mean?"

"He penetrated, for the first time in ages. But, it didn't last very long. We didn't cuddle much before either."

Kat took Mary's hand, pulling it away from the chocolate chip biscuit she had been reaching for. "Sometimes, darling, sometimes you have to settle for hot, passionate sex followed by a cuddle. With men two thirds of the foreplay is in the packaging - and we're making you into a hot package."

Mary blushed but it was less embarrassment this time. "I suppose you want to do this again tomorrow, get all the lewd details over lunch."

"Nope." Kat smiled at her friend's surprised and slightly disappointed reaction. "Tomorrow is Friday. Tomorrow I want you to put on your sexiest lingerie, your most decadent perfume and your shortest skirt and highest heels. I want you to go to Geoff's office at lunchtime and have a quickie on his desk."

"I can't!" Mary protested.

"You can. You will. Pre-empt the competition, don't give them a look in."

"But what if Devon is there? They share an office."

"All the better," Kat laughed. "I'll get the details when we go shopping on Saturday morning.

##

"It was so embarrassing," Mary complained as they walked through the mall. "I felt like a hooker wobbling in those heels. One of the office juniors wolf-whistled me."

"And you did the dirty deed on his desk?" Kat asked, steering her friend into a trendy clothing store.

"Not with him!" Mary protested.

"I meant with Geoff, honey." Kat tried not to laugh.

"Oh. Yes. We put a travel rug on the floor and .. it was good. It wasn't 'sort of'. It was nearly like when we first got married."

"Almost there then." Kat commented, and plucked a skimpy black dress off the rack.

"Too small, dear." Mary gently ribbed her less than petite friend.

"Not for me, 'dear'," Kat gave right back and held the dress up to Mary's body.

"No. No way!"

"Yes way. We have to set you up for the whole weekend. Oh, and did I mention you and Geoff have reservations for Piaza Italiana tonight? Very private booths and very discrete waiters."

"Wow. Thanks."

"Your thanks will be details on Monday." Kat said, and dragged Mary even deeper into the store.

##

The first thing Kat noticed was the small filter coffee and asparagus roll in front of her best friend. The next was the electric blue dress with a neckline that was almost daring. It looked hopeful. She sat down, jolting Mary out of a daydream.

"First off," Kat said, not giving Mary a chance to get a word in, "Please tell me you wore the L'Chic to the restaurant after all the trouble we had getting your hair right for it."

"Yes. And I didn't wear any pantyhose in the end." Mary said with something akin to pride.

"Okay. Fancy restaurant, good food, private booth, good looking husband, sexy dress - details girl."

"Well, we held hands, and talked. About having children. And Geoff was kissing me. We could hear the couple in the next booth .. doing it."

"So?" Kat was halfway across the table in her eagerness to hear the next juicy bit.

"We thought that if we could hear them, other people might be able to hear us, so we didn't go any further."

Kat slammed back into her chair. Mary flinched under her friend's angry gaze. "I did .. I did help Geoff under the table." She added to alleviate her shortcoming. Kat looked blank, so Mary explained, "Gave him a hand job."

"Wonder if I can get a refund," Kat muttered. "Couple failed to copulate in spite of your claims to an 'air of romance pervades the restaurant'."

"Don't you dare!" Mary said forcefully, then realised Kat was teasing her. "Besides, it wasn't wasted. We skipped the movie and went straight home. It was good .. both times."

Kat reflected Mary's smile. "And Sunday?"

"Well, I wore the silly apron and cap like you wanted, served him breakfast in bed. But I didn't like it, it was just silly and a bit demeaning."

"If it didn't work for you, then it didn't work. How about the rest of the day."

"We lounged around in bed and played some silly games until lunch time, then we had a bath together. That didn't work very well either, our bath is too small. What are you writing?"

"Just making a note to book you a hotel room with a spa. Carry on."

"We went roller-skating in the park."

Kat arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, I wore the tank top, hot pants and knee socks. Everyone was looking at me, at least until Geoff took off his shirt. A couple of teenage girls hit on him! I was so angry I nearly bit their heads off. Didn't do much for our sex life either, we were so tired and sore afterwards that we just had another bath and went to bed."

"Where you .. cuddled?"

"Yes, but we didn't have sex." Mary said angrily, then clasped her hands to her mouth when she realised what she was objecting to.

"So, what have you got planned for tonight when hubby comes home?"

"Nothing. I think we're both still too sore to want to .. do anything."

"That's the best time to do it," Kat reached in to her bag and pulled out a small purple bottle for her.

"What's this?" Mary asked, taking it and looking for a label.

"Massage oil."

##

"Kat, I've got a bone to pick with you!" Mary stated, slamming her coffee on the table.

Kat put a paper napkin down as a dam to stop the spilled coffee running off the table and on to her legs. "Problem?" she asked sweetly.

"Our bedroom is a mess. The sheets and the rug are ruined. There's oil everywhere. We're probably going to have redecorate, new wallpaper. Does that stuff even wash out?"

"But did you enjoy yourselves," Kat countered, enjoying a vision of how the couple had managed to ruin the wallpaper.

Mary sat down, and giggled as her annoyance faded. "It was fun. It was so .. tingly when he poured the oil on. Maybe we should have warmed it first. He's always had nice hands, and he tended to all my little aches - especially the bruise on my ass I got from roller-skating. It was like .. being licked all over.

"And when I did Geoff .. it felt almost as nice running my hands over his body as having him fondle my body. I couldn't touch his cock though - it looked like it was going to explode and I didn't want to waste it."

Mary 'eeped' and clapped her hands over her mouth. She had been daydreaming out loud and the fascinated smile of Kat's just made it worse.

"You can't stop now," Kat said, brushing a stray hair away from her face. "That would be cruel."

"There's .. there's not much else to tell." Mary said as she composed herself. "We had sex afterwards but it was all a bit silly, and messy. We were so greasy that we were sliding all over the place. Geoff couldn't hold on to me. I banged my head on the skirting board and I think he sprained his wrist."

"But?"

"But," Mary leaned forward and put her mouth by her friend's ear, "I had two orgasms!"

"You go girl!" Kat enthused and gave her friend a huge hug.

"It gets better," Mary beamed. "Devon called him this morning, asked him to work late. He refused."

"Mission accomplished." Kat declared, and kissed Mary full on the lips.

##

Mary enjoyed the stares. The open lust of the guys, the even more rabid envy of the women. Red silk wasn't something any woman could wear, to have it strapless and slit to almost the hip took some serious preparation. Her undergarments alone had cost a fortune.

She could, of course, have just waited in the car for Geoff. That's what she did in the past. She could have gone straight through to his office and given Geoff's work mates only a passing glimpse of her. But she wanted to mark her territory, show the other women in Geoff's office what they would be competing with if they had any designs on her husband.

Only it was Devon who came out to meet her. The woman was still stylishly attractive Mary had to admit, but no longer intimidatingly so. She also looked rather pensive as she approached.

"Mary, Geoff will be a few minutes. Could we talk?"

Mary nodded assent and followed Devon in to the office she shared with Geoff. Mary was pleased to see the two desks were apart, in their own separate spaces.

"Mary. With Geoff and Kat in common I was hoping we could be friends too. I thought we were, but you've been rather cold towards me recently. I want to know if I've done anything to offend you."

Mary was almost bowled over. How could this woman ask a question like that? How dare she be upset by Mary treating her badly.

"I would ask Geoff," Devon continued. "But he's been rather distracted lately. And Kat has just been coy and silly about it. I haven't been able to get a straight answer out of her, which doesn't make sense since she's your best friend. I'm confused, can you tell me what's wrong?"

"You had an affair with my husband - and you have the gall to ask what's upsetting me?" Mary couldn't hold it in any longer. There was a good chance that the rest of the office had just heard that outburst but it wouldn't embarrass her until later.

"An affair - with Geoff?" Devon was stunned. "I never .. I wouldn't. Mary, please believe me, there's nothing like that between me and Geoff."

Mary crossed her arms over her chest and stared her disbelief at the other woman.

"Mary - I'm in a relationship with Kat. I thought you knew? We've been seeing each other since your dinner party."

Mary had to sit down suddenly, not something the dress was designed for and there was a delicate ripping noise from somewhere near the waist. She had to think about this, Devon seemed so genuine that Mary had to believe her. But if Geoff wasn't having an affair with her, then with who?

Or at all? It suddenly struck her. Kat wasn't above pulling a practical joke, she had been responsible for some of the most intricate ones ever pulled at their college. And Kat, while she had always had a steady supply of boyfriends, had never really been much more than a friend to them.

God, how could she have shared a dorm room with Kat, been her closest friend, and not known she was gay. Or maybe she had. Maybe it was something that never affected their friendship so she didn't worry about it.