The 80/20 Solution Ch. 09-10

"It is big enough for the Waterway but I wouldn't want to take it too far offshore. So don't worry about that. We can keep in touch although there might be areas where phone service is blank. I'll give you an itinerary and areas where we should be able to talk. The main thing is that I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support in this. It is a long time dream and I would hate to go if I didn't have your support. Have you and Jay decided on what you want to do?"

"No, he mentioned today about renting an RV and traveling the little out of the way roads around the state. We are going to look into that. I don't think that either Jay or I are 'fly to a resort and sit in one place' kind of people. So an adventure like this fits both of us well. We'll see how it works out."

"I know a guy at work who has a really nice RV. He rents it out to a few people that he knows and trusts. I think he mainly wants to keep it running and not sitting getting dirty and rusty. I'll ask him about it, if you want?"

"That would be great. I'm sure that most of the rental places will have high prices for mostly worn out stuff. I think we would like to consider it. You said there were a couple of things you wanted to talk about. What is the other?"

"It was dependent on the first. I said that I have a lot to do to the boat. One of those things is to overhaul the engine. It is one thing to crap out on the lake and another for it to crap out in the middle of nowhere. That is going to take a lot of time. That and the other things that need to be done can be done on weekends but may take more than every other weekend to get done. Wendy wants to learn everything about the boat. She is a wonder about it. So I don't have a schedule or anything but I might need to ask for a weekend or two and maybe even a night or two during the week to get it all done. And Wendy wants to be with me while we do it. That would be a lot of special nights based on what we talked about. I don't want to short change you and Wendy doesn't want to hurt Jordan, but we'd really like to work together on it. So..."

"You want extra time with Wendy although it sounds like work time, right?" He nodded. "I can't think of anything coming up except your birthday that I need you for specifically other than the normal routine, so I say go for it, but I want you for your birthday. As long as Jordan is OK with it, I'm fine just let me know when. Are you going to overhaul the engine yourself?"

"No. I can save $1000 if I pull it and take it to the shop for the work but I'm going to let them do the work. They will reinstall it when it is done. I will probably start pulling it next week. This is their slow season and they gave me a good quote so now is the time to get it done. Once that is done, most of the rest of the work can be done on weekends. We might need a week night or two in June if things don't go smoothly which they seldom do on a boat. But I think that that is it. Wendy is talking with Jordan today about it."

"I'm OK with it. I have a new girl friend I recently met; I can use the extra time to get to know her better and I might just con Jordan into cooking dinner for me some night. Just get it done right. I want you safe."

"That's a deal."

"If it's OK with you, I'm going to take short nap. I then promise to get all the chores done."

"Jay and I slept there last night and I haven't changed the sheets yet."

"That doesn't bother me. I'll be up before noon."

And so the second phase of the 80/20 relationships began to evolve. There were a few minor issues that came up but they were easily resolved. They settled into an every other week schedule like it was normal. Emily noticed that there were more special events than she expected. When she looked it over, it seemed that almost all couples found a reason to have an extra night with their 20 during the two week separation. But she heard no one complain. She and Jay spent their weekends doing a wide variety of activities. They had double dates with each of the other couples several times. Things were going smoothly but she could tell that everyone was looking forward to vacation week. True to his prediction, Rod spent several extra weekends on the boat.

She spent the time with Sandra or doing some extra work. She even took Sandra to a dinner which Jordan prepared. Nikki also came explaining that Jim had been called out of town. They all had a great time getting to know each other and teasing Jordan, the lone male.

She and Jay had rented the RV from Rod's friend for a reasonable rate and spent the vacation week roaming the state and never spent more than an hour on a major highway. They made love every morning and every night and a couple of times in a farmer's field. They added hundreds of photographs to their personal album. Rod and Wendy had a ball sailing the Intercoastal. Paula and Jim went to Boston and hit every show and museum in a 100 mile radius. Jordan and Nikki went to Seattle and spent the week eating in every restaurant they could find. They fell in love with Pikes Peak Marketplace and bemoaned that there was nothing like it near home.

The first Friday Night back lasted late as each couple talked about their fabulous vacation. There were a lot of pictures to share. Toward the middle of July, Emily noticed a subtle change in Rod. He seemed a little more remote. Jay said the same seemed to be true about Paula.

On Wednesday, Paula called her at work and asked if she could bring up something at the Friday night get together. Wendy asked the same thing. While not knowing anything for sure, Emily had the feeling that their cozy arrangement was about to make a major change. She didn't know who might be hurt and how the change would affect everyone else.

Friday night, she went to Wendy and Jordan's with a serious look on her face. Even Rod asked if she was OK. He had also been pre-occupied for over a week but she answered him with "I'm OK. I just have a couple of things on my mind." When they arrived, Jay met her at the door with a kiss. He looked at Rod who just shrugged his shoulders. Jay took her hand and led her to the love seat and got her a glass of wine. She just held it between her fingers.

Once they were settled, Paula stood up and began, "Hi everyone. I told Emily that I wanted to present the group with something and she agreed. I then talked with Wendy and she has a similar problem so we are both going to talk tonight. Please bear with us, this may take some time. When Jim and I went to Boston for vacation we had a great time as I have told you. What I didn't say was that one of the museums had a posting for an internship. On a whim I applied for it. I didn't for a minute think I would even be considered. To make a long story short, I have been offered the internship in Boston from September until after Thanksgiving. In the meantime, Jim discovered that an old college friend has started a business up there who needs the skills Jim has. As a result we have been talking about possibly going up there for the next three months to take advantage of these opportunities. I talked to Jay Wednesday night about it. I know that it is sudden but we have to make a decision quickly. Jay has given his approval to go. Jim also talked to Nikki about it on Wednesday, and she has also agreed. Now we want this group's input. We aren't sure how to proceed. Now, I'm going to turn it over to Wendy."

Wendy stood and started to speak. "Actually, it Is Rod who needs to talk but he is still uncertain about what he wants to do. I have pushed him to bring it to the table tonight. Please be gentle with him. Honey, the floor is yours." She took Rod's hand and pulled him up.

Rod began hesitantly, "Like Paula, I found something while on our vacation. I found that I love the freedom of sailing the open waters. The thought of going back to a job in the office almost made me sick. We went to a boat show while down there and I found myself captivated with a boat designed to sail blue water. To make a long story short, I no longer dream of a week on the Intercoastal, I dream of sailing the Caribbean for two or three months. I found out that I can get work in almost every small town and port wherever I go. I have not gotten my thoughts clear enough to even mention it to Emily yet. This is the first time she has heard this. Wendy talked to Jordan last night but I don't know what his reaction is. In short, I am terribly confused and I don't know what I want to do. That's my story."

Everyone was silent. Everyone was waiting for something to happen. Suddenly Emily handed Jay her untouched wine and she stood up. She had a stern resolve in her eye.

"I am hearing that four of our spouses want to go away for three months with their 20 and leave the rest of us to fend for ourselves. I am going to pull no punches and I want gut wrenching answers from the four of us when I ask. First, I have never denied Rod his dreams. Some of them I can't or won't be a part of but I love him too much to deny him anything. But this is by far the biggest thing he has ever dreamed about. It is life changing. It could bring about the end of our marriage. Rod, I will not deny you this dream; I am scared, I haven't had any time to think this through, but I trust you and will not stand in your way of fulfilling your dream." She looked Rod squarely in the eye as she said this.

She turned to Jordan and looked him in the eye, "Jordan my big hearted friend, my husband wants to go away for three months of freedom on the ocean. He wants to take your wife of ten years with him. How do you feel? I'm not asking what you think; I'm asking what you feel."

Jordan cleared his throat. "Emily, to be totally honest I don't know what I feel. I love Wendy and that won't change but since she has discovered sailing with Rod, she is a changed woman. I love her more now than the old Wendy. She is kinder, softer, and gentler. Whatever Rod did to her or for her, I am eternally grateful. On a selfish level, I will miss her if she is gone for three months, but I will survive. I have you, my friend, and Nikki, my lover, to lean on. I would survive without you two, but I will survive more easily with you two at my side. Last night I said these same words to Wendy. I don't know what the future will bring, but I am not afraid of it. That is about the best that I can say."

Emily leaned forward and kissed his cheek and then turned to Nikki. "Nikki, my sweet, sweet friend. Your husband wants to leave you alone to spend time with his 20 in Boston. What do you feel?"

Nikki looked directly into her eyes. "Emily, I am scared. I have never been alone and had to deal with all of the responsibilities of a house, a job, and all that. I love both Jim and Jordan but in different ways. I could survive and live without one but not without the other. I am not as strong as you are. I need support. I have known for some time that Jim isn't real happy at his job here. I wouldn't deny him the chance to change. But as long as I have Jordan to lean on and friends like you I know that I will be OK. That is the best that I can say." She held Jordan's hand the entire time. Emily leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

Then she turned to Jay. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Jay, my lover and friend, your wife has an opportunity of a lifetime but the price of her taking it is leaving you alone. You have me if you want me, but that may not be enough. What do you feel?" She held his eyes with hers.

Jay reached out and touched her cheek. "Emily my love, you once said that most marriages were 60% compatible and 40% differences. In Paula and my case, I think that it is more like 50/50. I have always known that she has a free spirit that if I tried to control her, I would either destroy her or destroy us. I love her because of that free spirit. I sometimes wish I had more of that in me. So like you, there is no way on earth I could deny her this opportunity. I knew the day I married her that there was a high risk that I might lose her one day because of it; but I accepted the risk then and I accept it now. I like Jim and trust him. I would not feel nearly as good about this if she was going alone or with somebody I didn't know. I have concerns about keeping up the house like Nikki said. But I have you and I know that I can count on Jordan and Nikki for support. So I am neither afraid nor scared to let this happen." Emily leaned forward and kissed him on the lips and whispered, "I love you."

She stood up and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment while deep in thought. Nobody made a sound.

Finally, she opened her eyes and began to speak but her voice sounded tired.

"Here is my proposal. For now, all discussions about ending marriages or divorce or anything like that are put on hold until at least December. All of our marriages are put on temporary suspension. Nikki and Jim and Paula and Jay, put your houses on the market as soon as you can. When they sell, each of you take half of the proceeds. Jay will come live with me and Nikki will live with Jordan. The four of you pursue your dreams with all of our blessings but I am afraid we aren't going to be able to provide much other support than our thoughts and love. We will all get together probably in December after you get through and we will see where we are at that time. That is my proposal. It is the best that I can come up with. Now if you will excuse me, Jay if you still want me, take me somewhere and fuck me until I pass out. If you don't want me, I understand, I'll go get drunk or get laid on my own."

Jay stood up and went and took her hand. "You aren't going anywhere without me. Friends please excuse us." And he led her to the door. But Emily stopped and turned back to the group. Tears were running down her face.

"I want to apologize to all of you because I love you all so much. When this started, I saw the opportunity to add more to all of our already good marriages. I knew that there were risks but I probably didn't pay enough attention to them. Now I feel like I have presided over the destruction of four marriages of people I like and respect so much. And I don't like myself very much. Please forgive me." She turned and ran out the door with Jay in close pursuit.

He caught her by the street and put his arm around her and led her to her house. He used his key to open the door and led her inside.

She turned to him and said, "I may run you off, but I don't want you to tell me you love me, don't say nice things about me, just use me. Fuck me, don't make love to me. Fuck my mouth, fuck my pussy, spank my ass, fuck my ass. I don't care. Take me, use me."

He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom and took her clothes off. Then he took his off.

"Alright cunt, get your worthless ass on the bed." She did as she said. "Now suck my cock and I want it sucked like you mean it. Now!"

Her mouth took his cock inside in one movement. She sucked on it and licked and grabbed his balls. He rolled her on her sideand slapped her ass cheek. Her efforts were intensified. "Get busy cunt. I want you to suck me until I cum down your worthless throat. And you better not spill a drop or you will pay dearly."

She redoubled her efforts. He spanked her several more times when he felt her slow down. Finally, he shot a load of cum in her mouth.

"That was a pretty pathetic effort. Get up on the bed and play with yourself until I am ready to fuck you and you better be good and wet because I'm not going to use any lubrication."

She stuck two finger in her pussy and began fucking herself. "Play with your clit too, cunt. I like watching a slut getting herself all hot." She put her thumb on her clit and began to rub. Soon Jay's cock was hard again. "Alright slut, get on your hands and knees. I want your pussy and your ass."

She got on all fours and he positioned himself behind her and found that he easily slipped into her pussy. He soaked his finger in his mouth until it was very wet and carefully put it against her puckered opening and pushed the first joint inside. She gasped. He stroked his cock in and out of her several times.

"OK cunt, now I'm going to ride you until I cum again." He pushed his finger deeper into her ass and began a constant rhythm in and out of her pussy. In spite of himself, he came inside her before she was ready. He pulled his cock and finger from her.

"OK slut, on your back, spread your legs and hold them up with your hands. And don't you dare cum before I tell you to."

He lowered her head and began licking her slit and paying special attention to her clit. He probed her opening with his tongue and tasted his own cum as it sought its way out of her. He wet his finger with her own juices and reinserted it into her ass. His tongue continued its assault on her clit. Finally he could feel her response start to build. Thankfully, he sucked her clit between his lips and began sucking on it. When he knew that she was there, he said "Cum for me now slut, cum for me now." He took her clit back in his mouth and he felt her let go and waves of pent up energy began leaving her body. He released her clit and removed his finger and scooted up and held her in his arms until she finally passed out. He pulled the covers over her and went to the bathroom and washed his hands. Then he went to the toilet and threw up. When he was finished, he rinsed his mouth out and then turned off all of the lights and crawled in to next to her and held her in his arms.

Emily rolled over when she smelled the coffee. The bed was empty next to her. She didn't remember much about last night after she had run out of Wendy's house. She remembered Jay walking her home and putting her to bed. Suddenly she was horrified. She might have said or done something stupid or worse to Jay. She heard a knock at the door and hoped that it would be Jay with her coffee so she could apologize to him. The door opened and Rod stepped in with a tray and two cups of coffee. All of a sudden she was afraid that her worst fears had been realized.

"What's going on and why are you here and where is Jay?" she rambled.

"I'm here because I'm your husband and I want to talk to you. Jay is in the kitchen feeling sorry for himself."

"Oh God, I have to go talk to him." She started to get up.

"No. Sit and drink your coffee. You can see him when we are through; I want to talk to you first. Honey, ever since I first met you, I have realized how smart you are. But I have also seen a flaw in you. It isn't noticeable to everyone but I can see it every now and then again. Remember when you lost the Jenkins account and how you beat yourself up over losing the account. You had worked your ass off for over a month and he still took his business down the street. But that showed your flaw. Like all smart people, you get so deeply involved in things that when things don't work, you only see that you failed and you don't see what is plain to others. Old man Jenkins didn't leave because you failed. You offered him more and better for less than before. But you never saw the truth that he is a cheap old bastard. He went down the street because they offered him a lot less for less. He's already pissed at them and is ready to move on to the next guy who will offer him less for less. It wasn't you at all. What happened last night wasn't your failure. Now let's go to the kitchen and eat some breakfast. You need to mend some fences with Jay."

"I'm afraid to face him."

"Bullshit. Now get out of bed or I'll drag you out there."

"I don't have anything on and I'm a mess."

"Who the fuck cares? Come on."

She got out of bed and he took her hand and led her down the hall. They found Jay sitting in a chair in the kitchen his head in his hands.

"Jay, here she is. She is your problem now." Rod went further in the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee and leaned back against the counter. He reached in his pocket and pressed the speed dial on his phone, waited for it to ring, and then shut it off.