Love of the Game

He looked at her and smiled and held out his arm as he said, "Let's go home before these other guys try to make love to you." They all watched them leave and Nina didn't turn the porch light on until she was in the car. They saw her wave and then they were gone. Jeb just shook his head and said, "What an amazing transformation. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would never have believed it."

Linda looked at Tony and said, "Jack will never know the high price he paid for his irrational actions."

Tony said, "The day will come in the not too distant future when he'll realize what an amazing woman he has lost but it will be too late." She smiled again and said, "Well goodnight everybody. I'll keep you posted on events in the coming days." Tony followed her out and after a wave and a thank you he got in his car and left.

Mark pulled Kathy into an embrace and said, "We all talked about how brave and strong Linda and Sandy have been but to me you are right up there with them. You only started this to help Nina. This wasn't something you could see yourself getting into and yet here you are, the best looking and the sexiest of them all. Outside of Nina of course."

She kissed him and said, "Thank you Mark. Jeb and I want to get together with you and Nina soon and talk."

"You name the day love."

Jeb held Nina and said, "You my love were the one that started this and for that among other reasons I love you and admire you more than I can say."

"Thank you Jeb. I can only say it's a good thing this night stopped when it did because my reasoning and self control was abandoning me and you were in the center of all of that." They shared one more kiss and then Kathy and Jeb headed home as Nina and Mark turned to each other as she asked him, "You tired?"

"Never too tired for you honey. Let's spend the day tomorrow resting and talking about the things that have happened and been said but tonight I have other plans for us."

"So do I."

Chapter Nineteen

Just before lunch Tuesday Jeb called Mark and asked him, "Can you get away for a long lunch?"

"I think so. I usually go about noon and I think I could stretch it until one thirty. Something wrong?"

No nothing wrong but I'd like to talk to you without the women around."

"Sure. Can you meet me at the Cambridge Inn? Their booths are good for quiet conversation."

"Sounds good, Cambridge Inn at noon. See you there."

When Mark got to the restaurant Jeb was already there and nursing a cup of coffee. When he saw Mark he said, "I got here a little quicker than I expected. Good coffee here."

When the waitress came over Mark ordered a sandwich and coffee but Jeb was sticking with just his coffee. Jeb asked, "How's Nina?"

"Great, Kathy?"

"Fine, great even. You two recover from our last Saturday night game?"

Mark smiled and said, "We didn't get a lot of sleep after you and Kathy left."

Jeb smiled and said, "Yeah us either. Have you and Nina talked about our last get together?"

"Two or three times and for quite awhile."

"How does she feel about what happened or how the evening went?"

"She still can't believe that so much happened." Mark hesitated and then said, "I may be saying something that Nina wouldn't want me to say, I don't know but...

well emotions and...I don't know how to say it...desires I guess were running high for most of us and probably all of us, especially for the last half of the evening. Nina admitted that she had thoughts and urges that were so strong they bothered her. I mean some things really seemed to push her buttons and she admitted that things that she thought about before as...oh damn it Jeb she's talked about you in the past and...I mean about you know...as a fantasy I mean. She admitted that she has entertained ideas of being with you. Then Saturday night I guess they were really strong for her. She's made a few comments here and there before but nothing like she did Sunday."

"Mark don't work so hard at it, I understand what you mean. Listen, the thing with Jack wanting Nina...I can understand that very easily. The way he went about it was sick and juvenile but the desire for her is easy to understand because I feel the same way about her. Don't get me wrong I love Kathy more every day but...I don't know if I can even understand it let alone explain it so it makes sense. On top of that Kathy told me that she thought Tony was so hot, but then she added that better than that she thought that the only person she felt she could love almost as much as me is you. It looks like we may have created a serious problem with our Saturday night antics." Mark had told Kathy Saturday night that he loved her so very much but he didn't know if he wanted to admit that to Jeb.

"Jeb I think we did create a problem but I don't see it as something that we can't work through. I have strong feelings for Kathy too and have had for some time, not just because of Saturday night. She is a very good looking woman that I have so much admiration and respect for. I haven't been able to sort it out either, but I better tell you that...."

"Hey can that be Mark and Jeb?" Both of them turned toward the sound and saw Thad Samuels coming toward them.

Mark smiled and said, "Well if it isn't Thad, how the hell are you?"

"Doing great and it looks like you two are as well."

"Doing fine. Where the hell have you been the last three years?"

"Well as you know I resigned from Charter Industrial. I went on the road with Winters Products for the last two years. Just changed jobs last week in fact. My then wife didn't do well with me on the road so much. She liked the money and managed to spend a lot of it but then divorced me six months later." Jeb moved over and Thad sat down and continued. "So I remarried about six months later and now I'm working for Jerry Collins over at Pioneer designs. You two still with Patterson?"

"Yeah still there. One step up the ladder but pretty much the same job."

Jeb asked, "You living around here again?"

"Yep. We're over on Piedmont out toward, well just past the city limits."

"Nice quiet area."

"Yeah we like it. Too far from the stores but what the hell we can't have it all. We'll have to connect so you can meet my wife."

"You bet, maybe this weekend."

Just as Jeb and Mark picked up their coffee cups Thad said, "Well not this weekend because a group of us get together ever couple of months and have a poker party." Jeb choked and Mark spilled his coffee but didn't look up as he said, "Oh that sounds good. Guys doing the drinking and swearing. We've done that a few times too."

"Yeah...well sometimes the women join us too and we have a real party but, well that's another story. Anyway, I know how to reach you so I'll give you a call."

"Yeah great. I look forward to meeting your wife."

"You'll love her. Her name is Casey and she's cuter than hell. Okay, gotta go but I'll be in touch. Great to see both of you."

"Yeah take care Thad."

They waited until he was out of earshot and Jeb said, "I can't believe this. We're sitting here talking about serious issues involving poker and he pops up out of our past and has poker parties. Not games you noticed, but parties."

"Yeah I did catch that and unless he's changed I have an idea they are real parties."

Jeb put his coffee down and said, "Okay so you were about to say."

"Where the hell was I?"

Jeb smiled and said, "I think you were about to confess that you like Kathy more than you're admitting."

Mark looked at him a second and put his cup down and asked, "Is it that obvious?"

"Well yes but Kathy also told me what you whispered to her Saturday night."

Mark studied the coffee as it slowly cooled in his cup not sure what to say to that. "It's okay Mark, remember the four of us are in the same situation. What do we do about it? I don't know. Ignore it? That's not an option and we both know it. I don't have the answer but I agree with you we have to work through it. We've known each other for several years and the four of us have been through a lot both good and bad together. Our problem isn't that our situation is bad. Our problem is that our situation is too good. I feel too strongly for Nina, you for Kathy, Kathy for you...well you get the idea. It's a good thing the poker nights are done for awhile because I think the four of us need to do things together. I mean go out to dinner that sort of thing. Maybe things will settle down just by doing that."

"Yeah maybe so. We can't stop doing things just because of some out of control emotions."

"Exactly. Okay, dinner at Pedro's Saturday night and we'll pick you two up at half past six."

"Sounds good."

As Mark ate his sandwich Jeb asked, "What do you think about Sandy?"

Mark laughed and almost choked on his sandwich before saying, "What do I think? I think she is sensuality and sex personified now. Before she was a very attractive but shy woman that I thought leaned on Hank too much. Now I think Hank is going to have a hard time keeping up with her."

"Or keeping her from going crazy and getting into trouble."

"I hope that never happens. I'm going with the idea that once she is home she'll start to settle down. I don't have any illusions that she will go back to her old self though because I'm sure she won't."

"You two sure had each other going at the end of the evening."

"No kidding. I mean she sits in my lap and I'm staring at her nearly perfect tits. Then she wants me to worship them. I wasn't about to tell her no but I was a little afraid of how far she was going to take things."

"She is one hell of a woman that's for sure."

"But not as much true and complete a woman as Nina or Kathy. Better body? Oh hell yeah but I'll take our wives any day and be a very happy man."

"Me too. Well I better get back. Listen let's talk about this again in a couple of weeks or so after we've all had a chance to settle down."

"Good idea." Mark smiled and said, "Tell Kathy I still love her though." Jeb smiled and waved as he turned to go and Mark sipped his cold coffee as he sat there thinking about their conversation before going back to work.

Just before Mark left his office at the end of the day he got a call from Thad. "Mark I'll keep this brief. See if you and Jeb and your wives can join us Saturday night and play a little poker and have some fun."

"Thad I'm eager to meet your wife and I'll ask Jeb but I'm going to have to pass on the poker party. We've suspended our poker get togethers for awhile because things were getting...well we were all getting carried away."

"Hey what's wrong with that? Well anyway, think about it. If not maybe we can get together for dinner one of these days."

"That would be great. You can tell me a little about your poker parties then too."

"Hell yes but I might shock you. Okay then I'll call you in the next couple of weeks."

"Good talking to you Thad."

Mark called Jeb and gave him the message about the poker party and like Mark he said thanks but no thanks.

At six thirty Jeb and Kathy picked up Nina and Mark and made their way to Pedro's. They ordered drinks and Kathy brought up the subject of Sandy, and Jeb and Mark listened as she and Nina talked about her. In the end they had said a lot of the things that Jeb and Mark had said until Nina said, "I'm not as confident as all of you are that she'll settle down now. I hope she does but only time will tell I guess.

Mark took Kathy's hand in his and kissed it and then did the same with Nina's and said, "That's further proof that Jeb and I are the luckiest guys in the world because we have the two of you." Kathy returned the gesture by kissing Mark's hand and said, "I think all four of us are lucky to have each other."

Then Nina said, "Kathy and I have talked about this and we know that you guys have as well. We are all in agreement that we're going to behave ourselves right?"

Jeb glanced at Nina and then smiled and said, "Right. Well we all agree that's what we need to do. Now let's go home and have a drink shall we?"

The End.