Hero

Barry didn't want to seem rude or obnoxious but he couldn't help watching Bev as she walked with a gentle sway to her hips on the way to the kitchen. She sure did look different than she did on that terrible night.

"Can I get you anything before dinner? I have some great twelve year old scotch," Carl asked as they settled in the living room. "Or I have beer in the fridge."

"No thanks, I'll just have some wine with the meal," he replied.

"How much longer will you be on crutches?" Barry asked as his host hobbled to the sofa.

"Ah, probably another month," he answered. "It can't be soon enough for me though, I hate these damn things."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I was on them for almost a week after that night."

Bev opened the wine and stuck it in a wine bucket to chill before rejoining Barry and her husband. They were already deep in discussion. Again, Barry couldn't help but notice how beautiful Carl's wife was as she sat on the arm of the couch next to her husband. Carl looked at his attractive mate with pride and put his arm around her waist. She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek then focused her attention to Barry as he continued with his story.

"I was coming home from a friend's house," he told them. "I was just getting ready to pass you as soon as that truck went by. It's a good thing it happened when it did, a few minutes later and I'd have been long gone and wouldn't have seen a thing."

Listening to Barry gave Bev goose bumps. She knew they'd had a close call with death but now they were hearing just how close it really was. A chill ran up her spine. She couldn't stop thinking, had it not been for the man sitting in front of them, they would have both been killed.

"They told us you hurt your knee," Carl said.

"Yeah, it's okay now but it was pretty sore for a while. Like I said, I was on crutches for almost a week. After that I had to wear a brace. I just took the brace off a couple days ago."

"How did you do it; hurt it I mean?" Bev asked.

"It was that damn icy grass on the side of the hill; I slipped as soon as my foot hit it and I went flying down the hill. Your car stopped me, I smashed right into it with the knee," he told them. "At first I was sure it was broken. It literally brought tears to my eyes, it hurt so bad."

Barry was still answering their questions about the accident when Bev announced that dinner was ready. Once at the table, Carl changed the subject.

"Barry," I'm not quite sure how, but Bev and I want to find some way to show our appreciation. Originally we thought of paying for your education, or helping you in your chosen career, but I'm guessing you have all that covered; am I right?"

Barry nodded his head. "Carl I'm one of the chosen few. I wasn't born with a silver spoon, mine was twenty-four karat gold. My dad has more money than I could spend in three life-times. I go to Harvard and when I want to come home for the weekend, dad sends the corporate jet for me. For my twenty-first birthday he bought me a nineteen sixty-four Jaguar XKE and had it completely restored. That's what I was driving that night of the accident. I appreciate your offer but I'm pretty well set for life," he told them.

To Bev and Carl this was not good news. They didn't just want to do something to show their gratitude, it was a need, a deep seeded need they both felt. "Please, Barry," Carl said almost sounding as if he was begging, "think about it. There must be something, some way we can say thank you."

"Well this dinner is a start," he said happily. "I thought Mary Anne, that's our cook, made the best Trout Almondine I've ever tasted, but this is better than hers. Bev if you ever need..." he stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

"If I ever need what, Barry?" she inquired.

"Ah, nothing, Bev," he replied sheepishly. "I just wanted to compliment you on the meal."

"I think he was about to offer you a job as a cook, honey," Carl said with a slight chuckle.

"I'm sorry," Barry said admittedly. "It wasn't meant as an insult, honest. I meant it as a compliment, but...well, sometimes I say things wrong."

Bev smiled; in addition to feeling so grateful to him, she really liked the young man. "Well thank you, Barry. You'll never insult me by praising my cooking, so please don't worry about it."

The rest of the evening went well. Bev served coffee with dessert and they got to know their young savior a little better. They were sorry to see the night coming to a close but it was after eleven and Barry said he had to get going.

"Please," Carl urged, "don't forget to keep us in mind. If there is anything we can do, please don't hesitate to let us know."

"Yes," Bev followed up with what her husband said. "Barry you saved our lives and almost lost yours in the process. Carl and I both are deeply, deeply grateful and truly want to show you how much we appreciate your bravery and what you did for us."

Barry smiled and turned toward the door to leave; he reached for the knob then stopped and turned back to his host. "You really mean that, because I just thought of something."

"Yes," they both said in unison. "Just tell us, what can we do?" Carl asked excited with the prospect of fulfilling their obligation.

"I...ah, I want a weekend with Bev as my sex slave."

Both Carl and Bev were stunned into silence for a moment. Carl started to grin, "I know you're joking, Barry, but that's not really very funny."

"I'm not joking, Carl. You wanted to know how you can repay me; well...Bev is a beautiful woman. I've been watching her all night. I can't think of anything better than having her to myself, doing whatever I tell her to do for a weekend. You wouldn't have to worry about her. I wouldn't let anyone else touch her. It would just be me and I wouldn't hurt her."

Carl strained to read Barry's face. He still couldn't believe he was serious. How could such a brave young man, a man who risked his own life in the performance of such a heroic, unselfish act, even contemplate such a selfish, evil thought?

Carl prayed their rescuer would break into a big grin and chuckle out an, "only fooling," but it didn't happen. He could feel his blood coming to a boil.

"Barry I think you should leave now," Carl said trying to control his temper.

"I see, so you didn't really mean it when you said you'd do anything to repay me for saving your lives. Hell Carl, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't even have your wife. I don't think it's too much to ask."

"I said it's time for you to go, Barry...NOW!"

Barry turned to Bev and tried to take her hand but she jerked it back. She looked as if she was still in shock from his proposal. "Okay I'm going, but think about it. You guys were the ones who said you had an obligation, alright I'm telling you how you can fulfill it."

He turned and left. Carl almost fell trying to slam the door while balancing on his crutches. He looked at Bev. She had a blank stare on her face. "Do you believe that? I don't. He was so nice all night long and then he comes out with something like that? Damn him!"

Bev was more dumbfounded than angry. After hearing Barry tell his story and reading the accident report she had developed and extreme need to reciprocate somehow. She didn't think her conscience would allow her a moment's peace until they found some way to do something in return; but what he suggested...well, the cost was just too high. "What'll we do?" she mumbled.

"What do you mean, what will we do? What can we do...nothing. I'm still having a hard time believing he was serious. Maybe he just has a weird sense of humor or something-I don't know. Hopefully he'll call tomorrow and say he was just kidding."

The more he thought about Barry's request, the angrier Carl became. He had really liked the kid and had anticipated a life-long friendship with him. Now he felt as if he'd been stabbed in the back. It was a betrayal and it hurt.

Bev was still too dazed to even know how she felt yet. All she knew was that she had to find a way to reward Barry for his heroism, but this...this was emotional blackmail, this was immoral. There was simply no way she could go through with what he was asking; and even if she could, how would it affect Carl? Could he live with it, could she? No, there had to be another way...there had to be!

She looked down and realized her hands were shaking. She couldn't deal with this right now. She needed time to think. "Ah, let me clean up a little and then let's go to bed, okay?" she asked needing a distraction.

"Okay, honey; can I help?" asked Carl.

"No, babe. Thanks for offering but I can handle it," she said already picking up some of the dirty plates. "Why don't you go on to bed, honey. I'll be up in a few minutes."

"Yeah, okay, if you're sure you don't need me to help."

"No, I can take care of things down here, you go ahead," she responded. She just needed a few minutes alone to clear her head. "I'll be right up."

Barry's words were still thundering through Carl's mind as he climbed the stairs. He just couldn't figure it out; he seemed like such a nice kid. Hell, he saved their lives, how the hell could he turn out to be such an asshole? It didn't make sense. Carl was shaking his head in disbelief as he reached the top landing and headed for the bedroom.

A few minutes after Carl crawled under the covers he was joined by his lovely wife. She cuddled into the nook of his shoulder and laid her arm across his chest.

"Damn, Carl, you're so tight your muscles are actually twitching, honey. Are you so upset with what Barry said?"

"Hell yeah I'm upset; aren't you? He's lucky I'm still on crutches or I might have wrung his fricken neck. I just can't get over the nerve of that little punk."

"Yeah, I know, it was completely unexpected; but don't forget, that little punk risked his own life to save ours. We wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him."

"I know, that's what makes it so fucking aggravating. How can anyone take such an unselfish, noble act like that, and turn it into a selfish, amoral, deceitful..." Carl let the words hang without finishing.

"Okay, okay, try to relax honey. You'll be having a heart attack at this rate. Just forget about it. Come on," she said pushing on his side, "roll over on your chest and let me give you a nice massage. I haven't done that in a while and you could sure use one."

Carl agreed; even his jaw muscles were clinched tightly. Bev worked her magic fingers along his neck and back relieving a lot of the tightness. She scooted down to the end of the bed and massaged the sole of his foot, the one that wasn't in a cast, then worked her way up his legs. By the time she reached his butt she was too turned on to ignore the sack peeking out between his legs.

"Ahhhhh," he moaned as she slid her hand under his testicles and tenderly caressed them with her delicate fingers. He was certainly a lot more relaxed now than when she first started. While still gently kneading his balls, she crawled up a little higher on the bed and started kissing him all over his back.

Carl turned on his side to better face his wife and reached up putting his arm around her neck. She let out a playful scream as he turned back over literally pulling her over with him. They lay face to face just gazing into each other's eyes. Without looking away Bev reached down and felt his rod of steel.

"I thought guys were supposed to take longer to recuperate when they got to be your age," she said with a smile.

"Not when they have the sexiest woman in the world for a wife," he replied lightly stroking her face.

"Roll over on your back stud, this sexy woman is going for a ride." She was so wet there was no need for any foreplay. She carefully swung her leg over and rode them both to ecstasy. Neither of them had any trouble falling to sleep after that.

When Carl awoke the next morning, his first conscious thought was of Barry's insidious demand. He tried to force it from his mind as he heard his wife waking up. With an affectionate moan, she nestled her head against his chest a couple times before looking up at her mate with a big smile.

"Good morning, sweet heart," she said before laying her head back on his chest. She felt his hand tenderly rubbing her naked back.

"Good morning, honey, did you sleep well?"

"Ah huh," she lied. Actually Barry's suggestion for repayment had been on her mind too. Not since she'd taken her vows had she ever considered breaking them. Just the thought of being with another man was enough to make her sick, but this was different; she had never felt so strongly obligated to anyone before. She prayed her husband was correct and Barry would call back saying it was all a joke. She knew he wouldn't though. She saw the look in his eyes when he made the proposition, it was sheer lust. No, there was no doubt about it, he was serious.

They were both a little more quiet than normal at breakfast. Bev knew her husband's calm demeanor was anything but; under that apparent tranquility he was still seething. He wanted to rip Barry's head from his shoulders and piss down his throat. She knew her husband very well.

Her own feelings; however, were a little more complicated. Oh she was pissed as well; pissed because she felt trapped. Just the thought of hurting her husband and sleeping with another man was completely and totally foreign to her, but could she live with the alternative? How do you not reciprocate for something as monumental as saving a person's life? My God, she kept thinking, he almost died saving us. How in the world do you simply shrug off something like?

She wasn't about to say anything to her husband-not yet anyway. She would wait until he calmed down some. But even then she wondered how to even broach the subject without hurting him.

Even though it was almost constantly on her mind, Bev didn't dare mention anything for several days. It had been almost a week since having their dinner guest. They had just made love and were now cuddled in each other's arms. Carl seemed peaceful. She thought it was probably as good a time as any.

"Carl, honey we need to talk about Barry," she said very cautiously.

"Barry; why, what's there to talk about?" she could still hear anger in his voice at the simple mention of his name.

"Honey the man saved our lives, we can't just forget about it."

"The hell we can't. The little prick can go fuck himself because he's sure as hell not fucking you." Carl thought for just a second, "What do you mean we can't just forget about it? You're not suggesting you do what that asshole wants?" he asked in a very menacing tone.

When Bev didn't say anything he took that as an affirmative. He angrily threw the covers off and reached for his crutches.

"Carl where are you going?" she pleaded.

He stood and turned toward her. Even in the darkened room she could see the anger in his face.

"I'm going down stairs. I'm not sleepy anymore." He started toward the door then stopped and looked back. This time it wasn't so much anger as it was sadness. She could hear it as he spoke. "I can't believe you would actually consider cheating on me with that prick," he hung his head and slowly shook it in denial, "I can't believe it," he said again before heading for the door.

"Carl wait, please; Carl..." she yelled but he didn't stop. She caught up with him just as he was maneuvering down the stairs. "Honey please, we need to talk about this; we have to do something. If we don't find a way..."

"There's nothing to talk about," he yelled cutting her off. "You want to be his fuck slut, go ahead, but I won't be here when you get back!"

"Carl, please don't say that," she said bursting out in tears.

He turned when he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw his wife still a few stairs up, holding on to the handrail for support as she crumpled in near hysterics. He had never seen her like that; not even when her mother died. Carl hung his head, now feeling guilty.

"Come on," he told her using a much gentler tone in his voice. "Let's go in the kitchen, I'll make some coffee."

He had already started the pot brewing by the time Bev composed herself enough to make it to the table. She was wiping her eyes with a tissue when he set a cup down in front of her.

"Please, please, I'll never mention it again, but please don't ever say you're going to leave me, Carl; I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," she sobbed.

He stood next to her for a few seconds. Did he really say he'd leave her, he wondered. Thinking back he knew he did, but he was just so damn angry.

"Honey," he said switching his crutch to the other hand so he could put his arm around her, "I'm sorry I said that. I'm not going anywhere. Please don't cry." He leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek.

Before he could straighten back up she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck almost making him lose his balance. He could taste her tears as she pressed her lips to his with desperation. He put his hand behind her head and kissed her back, returning her passion.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she cried, still sobbing.

"Me too, honey. I didn't mean to say that; I...I...it's just the thought of you..." he had to stop talking and sit down as tears were now flooding his own eyes and spilling down his cheek. Carl reached across the corner of the table, took her hand, and kissed it.

"What do you say we just microwave the coffee in the morning, huh?" he asked.

Bev was still sniffling and wiping her eyes when she just nodded her head. He turned the coffee pot off and they went back to bed. Carl lay on his back with his arm around his wife as she rested her head on his chest. He could feel her still sob once in a while until she finally fell asleep-something he was still having trouble doing.

Bev didn't mention Barry again but Carl could read her like a book. The things she said and did, he knew damn well she was fighting internally with her emotions, but just what those were he could only guess. He understood her fierce sentiment of obligation. He understood the guy saved their lives, but that did not give the bastard the right to screw his wife and the thought of her even considering it hurt to the bone.

Bev could see it in his face; the hurt. Every time she looked into his big brown eyes it was there, she recognized it, and it was killing her. Never in her life had she been so conflicted about anything. She had no idea how to handle her feelings.

Finding some way to reciprocate for what he did was more than an obligation, it was a requirement of her character. It's the way she was brought up. If someone does something nice for you then you do something nice in return. Her late father taught her that. This was more than just something nice; my God the man saved their lives. She wondered what her dad would do in her situation.

She desperately wanted to sit down and talk to her husband but was terrified she could do real damage to their marriage. She couldn't bear the thought of hurting him again. She thought just a second about trying to comply with Barry's demands without Carl knowing, but she knew that wouldn't work. There was no way she'd ever be able to hide her guilt. Carl would know in an instant.

The more she thought about her situation the worse she felt. Several times over the last couple weeks she had to find a place to hide from Carl so she could have a good cry.

It was during this time that Carl could feel a wall building between them. It was subtle but it was there. Never in all their years together, had that happened before...never. Carl knew something had to be done. They had to get everything out in the open and he was hoping he could control his temper enough to be able to have a real discussion.

Bev was silent when he asked her to sit down at kitchen table. She knew it was coming and was afraid it would develop into another fight. She didn't want that. She wanted her marriage back the way it used to be, blissful. She looked into his stern face and could feel the moisture in her eyes before he even said a word.