Extenuating Circumstances Ch. 01A

David's increasing depression was bothering her, and although she knew things would be back to normal once he got his cast off and was more function, it was still a few months away—not to mention the physical therapy ahead of them.

So she was willing to do this for her husband, knowing he would enjoy it.

Nodding at her husband, she saw him watching her intently, telling her, "Damn Suzie, just thinking about it is giving me a fucking boner," he told her with a grin.

Suzanne wanted nothing more than to make David happy, even if it was something she was uncomfortable with. It was the primary reason she had relented on wearing the bathing. It was as if David was making a statement: 'See this beautiful woman on display before you; well she comes home to me each night.'

Sensing her quietness as an indication of her having second thoughts, her husband quickly tried to convince her, his own voice betraying his anxiousness as he said, "Just flirt with them a bit. Some of these guys are going to see you as a new challenge, so you won't have to lead them on too much. If they get too persistent, you have not only myself to come to for safety, but Henry," he said, indicating the older man waiting for them on the sidewalk.

She grinned at the image of her husband, confined to a wheelchair, and Henry, a sixty-something man being her protectors.

Although she was not feeling a new level of nervousness, Suzanne and David rejoined Henry, the trio making their way around the back of the Meyers' house—David's wheelchair unable to get into the front door due to the steps on the porch.

As soon as they came into sight of the back patio, Suzanne felt as if every set of eyes were upon her. It was at that instant she realized she had left her cover-up at home! She had been so caught up in the conversations with Henry and David, as well as preoccupied at her own exposure, she had completely forgotten to put it back on before they left.

Seeing David and Henry's grins, she realized both of them had silently conspired not to notice her indiscretion, frowning down at her husband who merely laughed.

Looking around at her fellow neighbors, Suzanne became aware of two types of people checking her out.

Before now, Suzanne had always been able to fade into the background, much like Henry being single. Her clothes—even her old one-piece bathing suit—never drawing the attention of those around them.

It was the first time she had been at the center of such attention. Suzanne knew she had a nice body and was attractive to men, but she downplayed it, not only because she was a shy person, but for the last few years was a happily married woman.

But not now.

From the men, she received the look of predators scoping out another conquest, the challenge apparently given and accepted of somebody else's beautiful wife thrown into their 'game.' It was impossible not to recognize the desire in their looks, and Suzanne was unable to shake the thought of each one of them wanting to inspect, touch, and even taste every curve and exposed area of her skin. Their gazes held the question of what was beneath the small straps of cloth covering her, and ultimately, how far they could score with her.

For the women, Suzanne saw the looks of recognition of a new and unexpected competitor to their own game, another adversary who could not only pull other men's attention away from them, but also become a threat for their very own husbands.

Suzanne felt as if she had been placed in somebody else's sandbox and had a new set of toys—some of the kids were jealous, while others wanted to play.

She was completely overwhelmed by the attention, feeling like the proverbial lamb led to the slaughter, and as she looked around at her fellow neighbors, she now saw mixtures of surprise, anger, and open desire. The first emotion was from both the men and women, while the second was obviously from the women. She had now become a threat to the underlying 'one-upmanship' occurring at these parties. Of course, the final emotion came from every pair of male eyes there—including those of her husband and Henry.

For the first time her neighbors were seeing more than just her arms and legs, no longer thinking of her as simply the cute young neighbor.

"Henry!" she heard Neal Meyers' welcome as she watched the man—in his mid-to-late thirties—shake Henry's hand.

"And David, glad you all could make it as well," he said, patting her husband on the shoulder

Suzanne noted he had greeted the men first. Like many of the men in their neighborhood, Neal was a chauvinistic pig, the general thought amongst the men in their neighborhood being a woman's place was either at her husband's side making him look good, or in bed with a man—not necessarily her husband—to satisfy his every whim.

Every other time they had met, Neal had greeted her first. Yet now, with such a simple greeting, she had been delegated from being David's partner to something less, a piece of property to be envied, not a human being to get to know.

Or was she reading too much into things?

Suzanne, being above such petty thoughts, took the initiative by stepping up to the host of the party saying, "Neal, it's so good to see you," she said amicably.

With her recent conversation with David still fresh in her mind, she threw caution to the wind and moved in close to the man, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek, pressing her body against him.

As if finally realizing there was a third person there, the man looked at Suzanne, and immediately his gaze told her she had been a fool thinking he had been ignoring her. Instantly his look turned from that of welcoming host to predator, and Suzanne felt an inherent urge to run as the man looked at her not as a person, but a piece of meat.

She was ashamed to admit her heart sped up as much from fear as from anticipation.

"Suzanne," the man said, his eyes blatantly devouring her image. "It is such a pleasure to see you," he told her.

Again she wondered if she was reading too much into things, questioning if she had heard an inflection to his voice as the word 'see.'

Then her eyes widened as her neighbor reached out, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her even tighter against him. As he was wearing no shirt, Suzanne immediately felt his skin upon hers, the heated flesh immediately causing her thoughts to vaporize.

She was aware of him leaning towards her, and expecting a chaste kiss on the cheek, widened her eyes in sudden surprise as his lips met hers!

Opening her mouth to say something, she was further astonished when his tongue slid into her mouth, instantly tasting a sweetness upon his tongue from his drink.

And even more surprising was her own reaction, not pulling away like she normally would, but leaning into the kiss, her breasts pressing tightly against his chest.

The kiss was brief, and as he pulled away Suzanne felt her face flush, even as Neal's eyes looked at her more intently.

She stood there like a fool, frozen in place as she watched him smile down at David, both men grinning like they had just won a prize, having peeled away the first wrapping.

She could not believe he had kissed her so intimately, and in front of her husband.

She was still standing dumbly as Neal invited David and Henry into the yard, leaving her standing there in shock.

Watching dumbly as Neal, David, and Henry moved further into the yard towards the patio, Suzanne realized David acted like nothing untoward had happened, that his wife had not just French kissed another married man directly in front him and a group of their neighbors.

Still disoriented, Suzanne looked around, noticing although her husband acted like nothing unusual had happened, other people were displaying a mixture of emotions upon their faces. From the men it was almost a gleeful awareness of a new player to their game had arrived, and recalling her earlier example, she was now the new toy everybody wanted to play with.

But whereas the look from the men was playful, the looks she received from the women were intensely hostile, fully recognizing her as a competitor, somebody not only to outperform, but to keep an eye on.

Neal had made the first move, and had instantly thrown her and David into the new tier of neighborhood one-upmanship.

When Angeline Meyers—Neal's wife—greeted her, it was with a mixture of detachment and rivalry, completely unlike the normal welcomed hug Suzanne had received in the past.

"Suzanne, it's so nice to see you finally break out of that antediluvian mold you were in," she said, her lack of sincerity more apparent than her fake double-D breasts spilling out of her blue swimsuit. "You look exquisite," the woman told her, as Suzanne's female mind immediately deciphered, 'You are the competition. Touch my man and you will pay for it' echoing through her.

As she made her way into the yard, Suzanne was greeted by everybody else—the women acting as aloof as Angeline, while the men were noticeably more physical, several following Neal's example by kissing her roughly on the lips, claiming her for their own. And all of them touched her, pulling her into their embrace as her tits smashed repeatedly against their chests.

She was not so naïve as to mistake the men's attention being anything except attempts to feel her breasts against their bare chests, and knew it would not be the first time she regretted leaving her cover-up at home; however, she was slightly mollified to see none of the other women wearing anything over their suits either—all of them displaying their bodies to all who cared to look.

Ironically, the attention of all the men actually helped her overcome her anxiety, it being replaced by a thrill deep within her body at the sudden attention she was garnishing. But it was still a relief when she was able to finally break away from the flood of greetings, moving to an empty lawn chair by the pool where she set down her and David's outdoor gear they had brought.

Henry soon joined her, his face smiling knowingly as he saw Suzanne attempting to ignore the attention the men around the large yard were paying to her.

"Don't worry about them, they're all just jealous they've never paid attention to you before," he told her, guessing some of her thoughts. Seeing her roll her eyes, he smiled and said, "Honey you look fantastic, and don't let any of those other women make you think otherwise. As I told you before, they now realize they have competition," he smiled at her. "Soon they'll realize there is NO competition—you are the most stunning woman in the neighborhood," he told her with a smile.

Suzanne felt grateful for the man's kind words, realizing he was correct in one thing, she had nothing to be ashamed of—she spent a lot of time maintaining her figure and was proud of it, so why not show it off?

It was something her sister had told her often enough, Jenny always being the one to flaunt her body.

Feeling more at ease from Henry's words of encouragement, she pulled out her and David's things and set them on the table, turning back to the bag to get out their beach towels.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Henry take her sunblock off the table, immediately thinking it to be rude for using it without asking, although they had plenty to share.

"Here, let's make sure you don't burn that pretty skin of yours," Henry said, suddenly breaking her train of thought.

Before she could say anything the elderly man squirted some sunscreen lotion in his hands, rubbed them together, and dropped to his haunches in front of her. Then, to her surprise and astonishment, the elderly man began smearing the lotion on her legs, first on her lower left leg, then the other!

As her neighbor literally felt up her legs Suzanne looked across the yard in surprise at David, who was watching them from the periphery of the patio. She was further shocked when her husband merely smiled and shrugged, his attitude telling her to let the old man have his fun while she stood blushing in embarrassment at the old man's forwardness.

Looking around the rest of the yard, she also realized many of the other men were watching intently as well, staring as the old man's hands slid across her skin.

It was almost like the commercial when everybody stops what they are doing, she thought, Suzanne looking around to see practically the entire yard of guests' attention upon her as her elderly neighbor worked sunblock into her legs, once again feeling her entire body blush.

She had known several of these people for years, and yet they now looked at her like a complete stranger as Henry, a retiree in his sixties, applied lotion on her body, his hands gliding across her skin while she merely stood there.

Looking over at a group of men who had been talking while drinking, she saw them all watching her intently, lust and desire radiating from their gazes.

Although her throat was dry, she swallowed, feeling an odd rush of emotions within her, the innate knowledge being the understanding every man there wanted to touch her, to possibly sneak a more intimate gropes, and ultimately, they wanted to fuck her. Their heated gazes once again caused her body to heat up, her pulse and breathing becoming shallow and fluttery at their attention even as she felt her core throb with desire.

And to her embarrassment, Henry's touch, although innocent, began to affect her. It had been far too long since her and David had been intimate she realized, and all her pent up sexual tension was involuntarily rising to the forefront as her very own biology and physiology reacted to the firm strong hands of a man sliding and kneading across her flesh.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Suzanne said quietly, more to herself than Henry, as the man continued to rub the lotion upon her, his fingers digging deep into her pliable flesh.

His administration of the lotion was more a sensual massage than a neutral application as he moved up past her knees and began kneading her lower thighs. And as his hands moved even higher up her thighs, Suzanne suddenly became both frightened and embarrassed.

"Uh, I can get the rest, thank you Henry," she said, forcing a smile.

Once again Suzanne glanced at the group of men intently watching her as the older man squeeze and stroke her flesh. Although they had obvious salacious thoughts, Henry seemed to be merely kind. The matter-of-fact way he ignored her comments apparently meant the old man saw nothing wrong with touching her, and for all appearances, had an honest concern for her wellbeing.

"Nonsense," the elderly gentleman said to her with a smile. "I can't have my partner getting sunburned. It's a good thing this is water-proof sunblock, so we won't have to worry about you getting burnt in the pool," he told her. "You know, I worked with the chemist who designed the formula for this," he said matter-of-factly, his hands now wrapped around both her thighs as he continued to apply the sunblock lotion.

Suzanne was taken off-guard as she looked at him in complete bewilderment. Instead of commenting about her body, the man was wanting to talk about the sunblock?

"What?" she asked perplexed.

"Before I retired and started my lawn services I worked for a chemical company designing various products. You know, bases for make-up, deodorant, things like that. I was part of the group that designed the formula for water-proof sunblock," he told her.

Suzanne though it odd, being felt up by a man, dressed in nothing but four triangular pieces of cloth exposing over ninety-five percent of her body, and all he wanted to do was talk about his work.

Surprisingly she felt insulted. Henry's apparent lack of interest in her body unreasonably caused Suzanne to become upset. It was ironic, having been upset at first thinking he was taking advantage of her, and now upset he was NOT taking advantage of her. Instead, the man's thoughts and attention were on the goddamn bottle of sunblock! Here she was, wearing barely anything, exposed before a yard full of men, and the only one of them with his hands all over her was the one least interested.

She felt Henry's hands moved up her right thigh as his left hand slid around behind her hip. Suddenly Suzanne's eyes open wide as the old man began rubbing the lotion upon her bare ass cheek!

Before she could even say anything, she let out a surprised gasp as Henry's other hand slid between her legs, rubbing the lotion on the inside of her thigh. But Suzanne's embarrassment was not due to that particularly action, but from the back of his hand gently pressed and sliding against the crotch of her bikini.

Henry continued to be oblivious as to what he was doing to her beyond applying the lotion, and Suzanne suddenly started perspiring as she shamefully began to feel arousal, the gentle touch moving across her crotch awakening her pent up desires.

Glancing around in alarm, Suzanne saw everybody's attention at the party was now upon them, the entire yard watching as a man over three times her age ran his hands over her ass and between her legs.

To her relief—and shamefully some regret—Henry did not spend much time near her intimate places, instead leaning up to begin smearing the lotion across her stomach. Even though it was not necessarily as intimate part of her body as her ass or crotch, the familiarity and exposure in front of the entire party was humiliating.

And yet Suzanne stood there meekly, letting the man's hands slide across her body as not only her very own husband, but the rest of the guests watched.

Before long the old man stood up, and grasping shoulders, spun her around.

Without a word she complied with his silent command, allowing the old man to smear the lotion upon her back, then her arms, and finally her shoulders.

She was surprised at the firm strong feel of Henry's hands digging into her flesh, and when he finally turned her around to face him, without a thought Suzanne took a deep breath, causing her chest to puff out like a female bird's response to an anticipatory mate.

It was with some surprise to her when Henry handed her the bottle of sunblock, saying, "Sorry, I don't want to get too forward with you," he said apologetically.

Suzanne looked at him trying to hide her confusion and shameful disappointment. Apparently her ass and crotch, as well as the rest of her body, was something acceptable for him to touch, but her breasts were off-limits.

Again she was surprised at her own response, her body not only expecting, but willing to allow the man to apply the lotion to her chest.

Quickly trying to mask her feelings, she squirted some lotion upon her hands and finished applying the lotion, embarrassingly aware of the other men's envious and lustful stare as she worked the lotion into her exposed chest.

Suddenly Henry grasped her around the waist as Suzanne let out a loud yell in surprise.

Pulling her against him intimately, Henry yelled out to everybody at the party, "By the way, I wanted to let everybody know since David Carter is unable to participate in the games this year due to his unfortunate accident, Suzanne has graciously accepted my offer to stand in as a replacement," he announced.

Suzanne was aware of all the looks focusing upon her, the men showing obvious jealousy aimed towards the old man, while surprisingly, she saw a few women smile, realizing they thought it cute she was taking pity upon their neighbor and humoring him.

"Isn't that right honey?" Henry said.

Suddenly Suzanne let out another squeal of surprise as Henry slapped her on the ass, the loud 'Smack!' carrying across the sound of the music. Meanwhile everybody around them burst out laughing—including her own husband!

Suzanne looked at Henry in dismay and confusion, but the man had already turned away, his attention not even upon her as he walked towards the men watching her earlier. To her disgrace, she watched as they greeted the old man, slapping his back and loudly congratulating him on the opportunity to finally participate in the games at the party.