Love Me Tender - Please Pt. 02

Karen jerked away from her and looked into her face with frightened eyes.

"It's OK. I won't tell a soul," she smiled and turned to give Montrell an air kiss goodbye.

Shaking her head to bring herself back into the present, she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and whispered, "OK girl. This'll work out. I know it. You'll just have to convince him."

Pulling her sleep tee from the back of the bathroom door she opened the door and turned out the light. Ray was still sitting on the bed and she walked over and stood in front of him with her hands on his shoulders.

"Honey? It's not what you think. It was just a friendly thank you kiss for a nice evening. Mike and Donna were with us at dinner and we had a few drinks afterwards. He's the broker at the Tybee Island office and I'll be working down there now and then. Please don't be mad at me. OK, honey?"

Karen straddled Ray's legs and pulled his head into her belly and lifting up the hem of her sleep tee she rubbed herself against his face. She expected him to take a hold of the backs of her thighs and move his hands up to caress her ass but he just sat there as if he were frozen.

"What's the matter, honey? Please don't be mad at me. I told you what happened. It was nothing."

Ray suddenly stood and she almost lost her balance when his sudden movement pushed her backwards. He walked over to the bedside table and clicked on the light. Picking up a folded piece of yellow notepaper he studied it for a second before handing it to her.

"Well now, honey. Why should I be mad? You've explained everything, honey. Oh, by the way, honey, your black friend left this for his favorite white pussy, honey," he said sarcastically emphasizing the word honey each time he said it.

Karen took the paper and unfolding it, she quickly read the note. Ray watched her intently and he saw the color drain from her face. Her eyes opened wide and she put her hand over her mouth as she took in a gasping intake of breath.

"What's this? Where did this come from? You don't think it's me, do you? What black friend are you talking about?"

"Do you really believe I have to answer any of those questions?" he spat. "You know the answers for yourself. Don't try to bullshit me, honey."

"I ... I don't understand where did you get this?"

"It was tucked inside the cup of your bathing suit bra. The one you didn't wear home from Mike and Donna's. I don't know when he put it in there but he sure was expecting another go at your cheating pussy now wasn't he?"

"No, Ray, no. You don't understand. This is all a big joke. I never ... ," her voice faded to a whisper as she collapsed to a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

"Stop lying to me Karen. I'm tired of listening to your excuses and your attempts to justify what you've been doing for the past months. I've seen and heard enough and I'm not going to listen to it anymore."

Karen's mind was thinking at warp speed. She was trying to put it all together and come up with something that sounded plausible.

"Oh, God, please let me get out of this one and I'll never do anything again," she silently pleaded to the heavens.

"No, no, honey. Please listen to me. I can explain," she pleaded with Ray.

"There's nothing to explain, honey. You fucked him and I imagine you fucked several more of your newfound admirers. What happened to my admiration and love for you? Wasn't that enough for you? How many cocks have been in that pussy in the last few months? Huh?" and then in a much louder voice, "Huh?"

Karen could not answer but could only sit there hiccupping from her sobs and holding her hands and the now tear-stained note to her face.

Ray continued. You must have fucked him at the party, didn't you? How did you find the time to do any working out at the gym if you were fucking him every time you went there? Did he fuck you while you were lying on your back doing bench presses?"

"Please ... please, Ray, stop talking like that. I can explain everything. You're the only man I've ever loved. Please stop, you're frightening me. Let's talk, OK?"

Ray did not answer for a minute. He stood over her with his face twisted up and his hands clenched into fists.

"Actually I'm frightening myself. For the first time in our marriage, I want to hurt you," he said in a quieter voice. "I want to physically grab you and shake some sense into your head. You had a husband and a family and now you've thrown them away. I've been blind to your cheating because I loved you and trusted you but I don't feel any love anymore. I don't even hate you. I just don't understand why you would do anything like this and I'm tired of blaming myself for something that I haven't done."

Ray's lower tone of voice raised Karen's hopes for a moment. She gave a fleeting thought to confessing her mistake with Trey in the grotto. She would not say anything about the second time in the grotto and she rationalized that the one in the gym was the result of blackmail. Knowing that Ray would never accept any of her reasoning, she shook her head as if to clear her mind and quickly brushed those thoughts aside.

"I haven't done anything wrong except maybe kiss somebody," she countered. "The people I work with like to be affectionate and I admit I enjoy it too."

"Don't give me that bullshit ..."

Interrupting him she attacked again.

"You're paranoid and you're making this up in your own little mind because you resent the fact that I'm successful and you're not! I have a career while all you have are a bunch of snot nosed college kids that think you're some kind of God. I don't think you're a God and if I was going to fuck someone it wouldn't be a black trainer in a smelly gym," she was on a roll and her mind stayed just ahead of what was coming out of her mouth. "There are a lot of better men than him who would like to get into my pants and I just may let some of them do it to prove that they are better at it than you!"

Ray stood silently and listened to her tirade.

"Get over it. I'm not the same woman you married and I'm never going to be her again. I know what I want and you can be a part of it or you can sit on your professor's throne and watch me get my education somewhere else besides your classroom."

Ray's resolve was faltering. She had some logic in what she was saying and even though it hurt him to hear her say it he had to agree with her in some ways. He was comfortable in his classroom and he knew what was expected of him and he did it. He was the boss there. He was in charge and he did not feel in charge at this moment.

"Look, let's talk this out. OK? I don't want to hurt our marriage anymore than it is already. I've got to understand what is going on. Please?" he begged.

Karen watched as his face crumbled and she thought he was going to cry.

"I'm going to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow and drive to Tybee Island. I don't know when I'll be back and I'll kiss whoever I want to kiss tomorrow and you can't and won't do anything about it!"

Getting up out of bed she walked into the bathroom and quietly shut the door behind her. Once inside she again broke down in tears for a moment before steeling herself and looking into the mirror she saw her tear-stained cheeks and red eyes.

Splashing cool water onto her face made her feel better and when she again looked into the mirror a smile creased her face. She ran her fingers through her hair and held them against her head. She had discovered a new tactic to use in her new life and she was proud of herself for finding it.

"The best defense is a good offense," she said in awe at her own performance and pulling the sleep tee over her head she tossed it towards the hamper and turning out the light strode naked into the bedroom and climbed onto her side of the bed.

She lay there in the darkness, still wearing a smug smile on her face. She waited for his contact when the bed moved when Ray shifted his body on his side of the bed but he stayed away from her. A part of her wanted to turn over and comfort him and made amends to him by having make-up sex but she resisted the impulse. She had the upper hand again and she did not want to jeopardize it and she could not afford to lose it.

Sleep came gently to her and her last thought was that she had escaped the frying pan without falling into the fire.

Ray lay awake for a long time. His doubts as to whether or not she was unfaithful had returned. She had sounded and acted so pathetic during the first part of the confrontation that he wanted to hold her and comfort her.

Her accusations as to his paranoia hit home since he had no real proof. True, she had been skirting the bounds of their marriage vows but maybe she had not taken that step over the line. Maybe she was just enjoying her newfound attractiveness and validation by her peers.

He was deeply hurt by her attacks on his career and his intelligence but he had her cornered and she was fighting for her life when she said them. The note may have been a bad joke but who would do something like that. Maybe the kisses were just friendly. They were a little long but maybe it was more him doing that than her.

A thought suddenly hit him, "Donna, she did it. Somehow she got her hands on Karen's bra at the Cinco de Mayo party and she's the one who did it. She's been pissed at me ever since I turned her down. It all fits together now. God, I wish I could take back what I said to Karen. I'm a stupid fool."

Rolling across the bed he spooned Karen and put his arm around her waist. She stirred and muttered something but she did not wake up.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair and fell asleep.

Chapter 31

Karen awoke the next morning feeling more rested than she had in a long while. She went over the previous night's argument and her challenge to Ray with another smile. Humming to herself she finished her shower and shaved her legs and underarms smooth.

While trimming her pubes she considered shaving it all off but decided she did not have enough time to mess with it. Montrell was supposed to pick her up at seven and she would have just enough time to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee.

Ray had gotten up while she was in the shower and she could smell the coffee he had made. He brought a cup up to her before she was finished dressing and put it on the vanity top. He could see into the bathroom from where he sat on the bed and he watched her apply the final touches to her makeup. Karen was not sure what was going through his mind and she was wary of his intentions. She had no memory of his cuddling her last night and his apology had not registered with her sleeping brain.

Ray walked up behind her and moving her hair aside, he kissed her on the neck.

"Please don't go on this trip," he begged. "Let's spend some time together and get our marriage straightened out."

Wrapping his arms around her from the back he hugged her against him.

"You're right, I am paranoid but you have changed so much and you are so beautiful I'm afraid of losing you to someone else."

For a split second he felt that Karen was ready to turn around and return his hug but she stiffened and stared back at him in the mirror.

"Thank you," she replied. "I've got to get going, thanks for the coffee. Is everything ready for Saturday?"

"Yes, as far as I know," he replied in a resigned voice as she walked down the stairs carrying a small overnight case and a garment bag over her shoulder. "When will you be back?"

"I don't know," she responded and he watched as she walked out the front door.

Ray rushed to the bedroom window to see the same huge man who had brought her home last night get out of the vehicle and put her bags into the back seat. He held the door open and Ray noticed he paid particular attention to what were probably her thighs as she clambered up onto the high seat.

Still holding the door, he smiled at her and she playfully slapped what must have been his hand that was hidden behind the door. The man glanced towards the house and Karen laughed and shook her head while waving her hand in a dismissive gesture towards the house and Ray.

Ray watched as the vehicle backed out of the driveway and sped off down the street.

"You are the biggest fool ever created," he admonished himself. "She fed you a line of bullshit and you believed it. She had you so confused you were doubting yourself. No fool like an old fool and no fool like one fooled by a cheating lover."

Retrieving Trey's tear blurred note from the waste can, he carried it downstairs and put it with the other papers he had collected from the safe a few days ago. For some reason he felt relieved rather than angry. He did not know why and he was not about to analyze the reasons at this moment, this turning point, in his and his family's life.