The Arrangement Ch. 01

I had been entertaining a slight, nearly subconscious hope that all of this was some sort of dream or elaborate joke. It simply couldn't be happening to me. But the mention of my name jerked the entire situation and all its insanity into raw, sharp focus. What had seemed too distorted and illogical to be true was now a shattering, unavoidable reality.

"Your wish is my command. We're on our way."

With that, he put the car in gear and accelerated slowly away.

"Let's play a game," Kelly suggested.

"What do you have in mind?"

"It's called, 'you concentrate on your driving and I will try to distract you.' You'll like it. Here, I'll show you how it's played," she offered.

The faint sound of a zipper being rapidly opened followed. I chanced a quick look over the seat back. Kelly had turned toward him in her seat and was concentrating on his crotch with her eyes and hands.

"Oh Christ," the man moaned as she pulled his erection free.

"Oooh, Mr. Somers, what have we here?" Kelly inquired with mock surprise as she lowered her face into his lap.

Somers? Where the hell had I heard that name? I clawed frantically through my brain looking for a connection. Oh shit, Carol's husband?

I made as if to rise and end this business once and for all. But once again something stopped me. What would it accomplish? The damage was already irrevocable. The best I could do was prevent an act that had obviously taken place before. It was clear to me that they had been together many times. They were at ease with each other. None of the awkwardness of a first meeting was detectable. Although I would have loved to see the looks on their faces as I reared up right behind them, it would not be worth my own humiliation. If I revealed myself now I could salvage neither my marriage nor my pride.

I still needed some answers. I had learned a lot in the last few minutes; that my wife was cheating on me with someone from work, most probably Carol Somers' husband, and the affair had been going on for a while. But I needed to know more. Where did they go? How long did they stay together? And so I remained where I was, anger and hurt eating at my insides, while an absurd erection forced itself against the fabric of my trousers as I listened to the guy moan while my wife sucked his cock. From the erratic movement of the car I concluded that Kelly was winning the game.

****

I didn't have long to wait for an answer to one of my questions. In just a few minutes I felt the car make a final turn and coast to a stop. The engine died.

Kelly and her lover immediately left the Trooper while I made myself as small as possible, listening to the clicking of Kelly's high heels recede into the distance. I gave them a full minute and then slowly raised my eyes above the lower edge of the window.

My house! We were parked at my house! Goddammit! They do it in my house! Why the fuck don't they go to a motel like most other couples having an affair?

Rage took care of my erection as I emerged from the car. I needed to confirm this guy's identity and then get the hell out of here to do some thinking.

I waited a few minutes to allow my breathing and emotions to calm a little. Then, with great care I approached the stairs leading up to the deck. Again removing my shoes, I silently crept up onto the platform.

Part of the deck was softly illuminated from interior lighting that Kelly had turned down very low. I glanced around and saw that a portion of the deck was in deep shadow. I moved into the darkness and found that it gave me an unobstructed view of the living room only five or six feet away.

"Brad, would you light a fire please?" I heard Kelly call out from the kitchen. Brad? I guess that answers my last question. Brad Somers. No doubt about the man's identity now. The question that remained was what to do with the information.

"Okay," he responded and set to work with a familiarity that confirmed he had done it before. He seemed to know where everything was and he knew enough to walk over and open the slider a few inches to allow the fireplace to draw. That fireplace smokes like hell without sufficient draft. As he positioned the door, we were face to face for a brief moment, mine hidden in deep shadow.

He was a nice looking man of medium height and build, casually but expensively dressed. I would not have expected anything less of a man found attractive by Kelly and married to someone like Carol.

There was no longer any reason for me to stay. I had enough answers. I needed to think. I turned to leave just as Kelly entered the room with two glasses and a bottle of sherry. At the sight of her I stopped.

As she approached, Brad took the bottle and glasses from her hand, set them aside and drew her into his arms. Kelly melted into him, molding her body to his as they kissed.

They broke apart slightly and he began to undo the buttons of her dress. In a few seconds her breasts were free. He bent to take an erect rose-colored nipple into his mouth, cupping her breast with his hand. Kelly moaned, threw her head back, closed her eyes and arched into him. It was a disturbingly erotic scene.

Although I could feel the stirrings of another erection, I lacked the stomach to watch any longer. Stealing quietly from the deck, I abandoned Kelly to her lover, probably forever, and relinquished my last opportunity to stop the insanity that had overtaken my life.

After retrieving my bag and laptop, I leaned against the Trooper to consider my options. There were very few, at least for the remainder of the night. A motel seemed like the best idea. It would provide a chance to lick my wounds and decide how best to handle tomorrow and the rest of my life.

I decided to call a taxi and have it pick me up at the end of the road, far from the house and far from the prying eyes of Mrs. Henderson, the neighborhood gossip. I knew she would go berserk trying to figure out why I was being picked up by a cab at the end of my own driveway. I also understood that Mrs. Henderson was the reason why Kelly and Brad met in the DataTech parking lot. It was unlikely that Brad could simply walk from his house to ours without drawing the attention of the notorious busybody.

Pulling my cell phone free of a jacket pocket, I quickly discovered that my bad luck for the evening had not yet run its course. Fuck! A dead battery.

Carol's house seemed like the only remaining option. Besides, Carol was involved. She just didn't know it yet. In fact, Carol presented an interesting problem. She had a right to know what was going on, but I wasn't certain it was my responsibility to tell her. If I kept this to myself, she might never know, and therefore be spared a great deal of hurt.

Unfortunately, that would leave Brad to get off without a scratch. My desire for revenge made that outcome unpalatable. I wanted Kelly and Brad to pay for what they were doing. Exposing them would accomplish that but it would hurt Carol. Kelly and I were probably finished but I wasn't sure I should be the catalyst for trouble between Carol and Brad. Still pondering, I set off for their house, baggage in hand.

As I approached the front door, I realized the house was almost totally dark which helped explain why Kelly and Brad had not noticed that Carol was home when they drove by. Of course, Kelly's face was buried in his lap and he was understandably distracted.

I rang the doorbell and waited.

****

"Scott, what's wrong," asked Carol as she held the door open and beckoned me inside? "You look like you've seen a ghost." I entered the house, leaving my bag on the porch.

"Something like that. Carol, I'm sorry to bother you but I really couldn't think of anywhere else to go. I need to use your phone. My cell phone died."

"Of course, but what's the matter? You are white as a sheet. Are you ill? Has something happened to your wife?"

"In a manner of speaking. Look, I really don't need to be bothering you with any of this. If you'll just let me use your phone, I'll call a cab and be on my way in a few minutes."

"Tell you what, you sit right here and I'll fix you a cup of coffee," Carol directed as she escorted me to a stool at the breakfast bar. "After you've rested a bit, you can call anyone you like, although I'd be happy to give you a lift wherever you need to go." She seemed sincere.

I watched her from across the bar as she moved about the kitchen. Once again I was struck by her incredible beauty. Clearly braless, she wore a flannel shirt and the jeans she had mentioned at the airport. Her hair, down as advertized, was the extraordinarily fine hair of the genuine blonde, the kind that escapes from any styling effort to float in wisps about the face. Despite the fine texture, her hair was luxuriantly full and thick. She wore it very long, nearly to the middle of her slender back. She wore no shoes. There is a special femininity about a barefoot woman, earthy and exciting. Carol's looks, and the graceful way in which she moved, presented a breathtaking picture.

She placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of me and pulled a stool up to the other side of the bar. "Ok, why don't you tell me about it? I really don't mean to pry, but I sense woman troubles. Maybe I can provide a different perspective."

"Believe me Carol, you don't want to know. I have no business being here and bothering you. Let me call that cab and I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes."

"That's nonsense. Bothering me I mean. Whatever the problem is, it may not be as big as you think. After a few minutes to think clearly and maybe get a thing or two off your chest, you'll probably realize everything has been blown out of proportion. Besides, I have plenty of time on my hands. Brad is apparently working late again. My own fault since I didn't call to tell him I'd be home early."

I looked into her beautiful face, totally open and without guile, concern for a relative stranger plainly written on her face. How could I tell her? How could I describe what I've seen? She seemed so honest, so unsuspecting, and so unprotected against that kind of hurt.

Something must have crossed my face. Looking a little alarmed, she reached over to touch my hand.

"Tell me. Is it another man?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes, trying to decide whether I had an obligation to deal her such a blow. I concluded that I did not. Instead, I provided a very sketchy account of the past hour. Omitting virtually all of the details, I revealed only that I had seen Kelly with another man, that their intimacy was undeniable, that she did not know I'd seen her, and that I regretted catching that early flight. I offered the opinion that I would have been far better off not knowing at all. If the affair ended soon I would have been none the wiser.

"Oh Scott, how awful for you. I know you are deeply hurt but in the long run it will prove to be best that you know. If it were me, I'd want to know. At least if you know the score, you can make your own choices. I can't stand it when someone makes decisions for me without my knowledge and consent. Before you flew home today, you were an unknowing victim without options. At least now you can participate more directly in your own life, even if it hurts."

"So you believe knowing the truth is better regardless of the circumstances?"

"You bet. If Brad ever cheated on me, I'd want to know so I could make whatever decisions were needed to reestablish balance in my life. Not only that, I would deeply resent anyone who knew about it but didn't tell me. A secret like that wouldn't belong to them, it would belong to me."

"Wouldn't you feel anger toward the person who delivered the bad news?" I asked, sensing where this conversation was heading.

"Maybe a little at first. Who doesn't want to shoot the messenger when they hear bad news? But I think my anger would be brief if the disclosure was handled with kindness."

Carol had said all this with strength of conviction that told me she might be far tougher than her appearance had first led me to believe.

I realized that I did not want this beautiful woman to feel resentment toward me. Sooner or later Brad and Kelly would make a mistake if their affair continued. At the moment no one knew I had identified Kelly's lover, but I probably would not be able to protect that secret forever. When Carol found out, she would see me as part of the deceit. For some reason, Carol's continued good will toward me seemed very important.

Carol's hand still rested on mine. I placed my other hand on top of hers and swallowed hard.

"Carol," I croaked, "Brad is not at work. He's at my house."

She sat there, expressionless for a moment but staring intently into my eyes as though looking for any hint of duplicity. Apparently she found none. Her shoulders sagged a little.

"You've never met Brad. How can you be sure? Are your certain you haven't made a mistake?" she asked hopefully.

"I was in a position to hear them talking. She used his full name. Unless there is more than one Brad Somers who works at DataTech, it sounds like it has to be your husband. I'm really sorry, Carol. I wanted to keep this to myself but you made it pretty plain that you have a right to know."

"How do you know they're having an affair? Maybe they're just working on a project from DataTech."

"No Carol, it was pretty obvious."

"Did you actually see them?"

"Yes." I didn't really want to go into the details but I couldn't think of a way out if she kept pressing me.

"How did you see them? Were you in the house with them? Were you really close enough to know what was going on?" she asked, her expression bleak.

I sighed. There was no escape. Leaving out my ride in the Trooper, I described what I had seen at the house and how I had come to see it. Although I was as gentle as possible, when my tale was completed a tear rolled down each of her cheeks. She dabbed at it with a dishcloth.

"Why didn't you stop them?" I had been waiting for this question. "You certainly had the opportunity."

"I started to but I had to know who she was with. By the time I figured out who he was, it was pretty plain that tonight is not the first time they've been together. You can tell by looking at them. Stopping them would not prevent the damage that has already been done and would only produce a messy scene. I didn't know how to deal with what I was seeing. All I could think of was running away." Carol squeezed my hand in sympathy and took a deep, but ragged, breath.

"Take me up there. I have to see for myself."

"That's not a very good idea. When I left they were just into the preliminaries. Whatever is going on now is certain to be worse. It sure as hell isn't anything I want to watch. You don't need to see that kind of thing either."

"Bullshit, Scott!" she exclaimed, raising her voice." I want confirmation! Who the hell are you to protect me anyway? If you don't have the stomach for it, tell me how to get up there without being seen or heard and I'll go myself. I'm not sure how to deal with all this but the actions I take will be based on what I see for myself, not on what you tell me."

She was right. She had just been telling me she reserved the right to be in charge of her own life, to make her own decisions, and here I was trying to intercede.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I guess I wasn't listening very well a few minutes ago. I'll take you up. But wear sneakers and a dark jacket. And do something to cover your hair; it is so light it may be pretty visible in spite of the darkness."

"Good. I'll be right back," she said. "And thank you. I'm sorry I snapped at you. You have been through hell already tonight and you don't need my ill humor." With that she disappeared.

I looked at my watch and was amazed to find that it was only seven-forty and only fifteen minutes had elapsed since I had arrived on Carol's porch. Only two hours had expired since the plane landed. It seemed like an eternity.

Carol emerged a couple of minutes later, a dark windbreaker over her shirt and her hair stuffed under a dark knitted ski cap.

"Let's go," she ordered.

****

No lights were visible in Mrs. Henderson's house when we went by. I fervently hoped she wasn't peering out one of her darkened windows.

Within a few minutes we arrived at the base of the stairs leading up to the deck. I stopped to remove my shoes.

"Where is Brad's car?" Carol inquired, glancing about the driveway.

"At DataTech."

"How do you know that?"

"Look, it's a long story. I'll tell you later. If we're going to do this we need to get started."

Oh shit! I'm going to have to tell her the whole goddamned thing. I had been very careful not to lie to her directly but my lies of omission were about to catch up with me.

Carol looked at me for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Very well. For now," she said, her meaning crystal clear. Fuck!

"Follow exactly in my footsteps. I would guess we are both in for a shocking scene so I am going to ask that you be quiet no matter what you're feeling. You may want to confront Brad immediately but I am not yet ready to deal with Kelly."

"I won't give us away. It may be tempting to crash their party but I'll need time to think too."

I turned toward the first step and felt a hand on my sleeve.

"Scott, I'm being unfair. You have already had to deal with this once. If you don't want to go up, I will understand. Just tell me where to go when I get to the top of the steps. I can handle this myself. You've been hurt enough."

I considered her offer. There was no doubt in my mind that the scene awaiting us was going to burn itself forever into our retinas. On the other hand, I was at least partially prepared. She was not, still harboring some hope that I was mistaken. The blow to her was going to be far greater than the one I was about to receive. While I'd had a little time to reflect on my wife's infidelity, Carol had known about Brad and Kelly for less than half an hour, and then only through hearsay.

"We'll go together."

"One more thing Scott. If we get up there and they're doing paperwork at the dining room table, or working on a jigsaw puzzle, or engaged in any other harmless activity, I'm going to punch you in the nose." There was no trace of humor in her voice.

We started up the steps. As we neared the top, my worst fears were confirmed when I realized I could faintly hear the unmistakable sounds of a woman spiraling upward in sexual arousal. I knew those sounds intimately. Kelly is very vocal.

Turning to Carol, I saw that she could hear them as well. She stood there, a step below me, with one hand clamped over her mouth as she blinked back tears. I could only reach out and hold her other hand while she dealt with the undeniable meaning of those sounds. She closed her eyes and swayed for a moment, clutching my hand for support. In a second or two she pulled herself together and disengaged her hand from mine. She motioned for me to continue.

Twenty seconds later we were positioned deep in the shadows. The scene before us destroyed any lingering hope that we were involved in some elaborate dream.

Years before, Kelly and I had bought a sleep sofa and kept it directly in front of the fireplace. Its stated purpose was to serve as an extra bed to accommodate the occasional overflow guest. Its more common use, as a platform for fucking in front of the fire, was now being demonstrated.

They were both completely naked, their clothing strewn about the room. Brad was lying on his back across the foot of the bed, his head toward Carol and me. Kelly was sitting astride him. She had established a rhythm I knew well. Slowly rising up on her knees until most of his cock was visible between her thighs; she dropped swiftly down to impale herself on the stiff appendage. Each time she completed a descent, she cried out sharply. Brad remained motionless except for his hands, which were occupied with Kelly's perfect breasts as they bounced erotically above him.