The four sat at dinner, celebrating their common wedding anniversary. Laughter ensued as Alan teased John and Helena about their ‘arrangement’ before their wedding on Alpha.
“Three weeks. How did you manage?” Melissa asked.
“I played a lot of pool, took cold showers and ran several extra miles everyday.”
“He did just fine,” Helena said with a laugh. “It didn’t harm him in the least.”
“Not something you had to worry about,” Alan reassured his wife.
“No,” Melissa replied. “You’d never last that long.”
“I’d never last that long! You’re the one who wouldn’t be able to stand it.”
“Yeah, sure. You wouldn’t last three days, flyboy.”
“Hey, I was on Alpha for five years.”
Melissa merely rolled her eyes and laughed. “And you were a paragon of virtue the whole time.”
“Well…” Alan knew that Melissa was well aware he had several liaisons while on Alpha, none serious or long lasting, but they had occurred, nonetheless.
“Besides, flyboy. You’ve been getting it pretty regular since you’ve come home.”
“I could still last longer than you.”
“Yeah, right,” Melissa said sarcastically.
“All right, Mel. Maybe you should put up or shut up,” Alan challenged her.
“What did you have in mind?” Melissa’s eyes sparkled and she leaned forward, ready to meet any challenge.
“Your parents will be here in three weeks when Geoff and Tori have spring break. We’d already decided to go away for a couple of days then. I say you can’t go until then without having sex.”
“Oh, and I think you’ll be the one who’ll be begging for it before then,” Melissa said. “What do I get if I win?”
“I’ll order those custom sails you want for Windseeker.”
“Nice,” Melissa said with a grin.
“And if I win…”
“Yes?”
“You go down to the Chevy dealer and buy that Corvette pace car edition they have on the showroom floor.”
Helena had been watching her sister and brother-in-law argue with amusement. “Watch it Mel. John would give up just about anything for that car. He’d go for a year,” she teased, cutting her eyes at her husband with amusement.
John put his arm around Helena. “That car won’t be there in a year,” he assured her. “And I think I’m glad. A year would be a long time.”
“And I didn’t make the bet with you. I’m afraid you’d win,” Helena said with a laugh
John leaned over and kissed her. “I’m not so sure.” He looked at the other couple. “So, Mel, are you going to take the bet?”
She grinned. “I think I will. But, what are the ground rules? How are we defining abstention?”
Helena gave a suggestion. “How about nothing below the waist? Kissing doesn’t count, or hugs.”
Melissa and Alan exchanged glances. “Sounds okay by me,” Alan said.
Melissa glanced at the others and back to her husband. “What about a hand job?”
“Not on each other,” Helena said, somehow finding herself the arbiter of this odd bet. John rolled his eyes and Alan laughed. “But I’d think what you do in privacy is your own business.”
“Okay,” Alan looked at Melissa. “When do we start?”
“Right now,” Melissa said with conviction.
“Tonight?” Alan asked, surprised. “But… we have a babysitter.”
The others all laughed. “And those new sails will look wonderful,” Melissa said with a smile. She winked at him. “Want to concede now, flyboy? I can order the sails in the morning.”
“No, I’m not conceding now,” Alan said. “I can do it. I just don’t think you can.”
The waiter arrived with their desert. John raised his glass and wished them luck. “May the best man… or woman,” he nodded at Melissa, “win.”
Alan’s next surprise arrived when after he returned home from taking the babysitter home. Melissa met him at the head of the stairs with a pillow and blankets. “You can sleep in the playroom.”
“Wait a minute,” Alan said with surprise. “I have to give up my bed?”
Melissa kissed him as she passed the bedclothes to him. “If we start something while we’re asleep, we may never know who started it. So, it has to be a deliberate action. Either you crawl into my bed, or I crawl into yours.”
“And if we meet in neutral territory?” Alan asked, thinking of all the other places in the house they had made love.
“Then one person will have to concede before consummation takes place. Goodnight flyboy.”
With a wink she turned and swept through the bedroom door and closed it behind her with a firm click of the latch. Alan stood by the closed door for a minute, stunned. He hated the sofa bed in the playroom. Then he sighed and headed for the other end of the house.
He woke up some time during the night and heard breathing next to him. He grinned and reached over. “Looks like I already won,” he gloated. Then he heard a familiar snort and snore. That wasn’t Melissa next to him! It was Geoff! Alan sighed and turned over falling quickly back to sleep.
The next morning was Saturday. Melissa was fixing breakfast when Alan came downstairs. She gave him a welcoming smile. Geoff bounced along beside him, already in his baseball uniform. John coached Geoff and Tori’s team and the whole family usually spent Saturday morning at the ball field. Alan gave Melissa a quick kiss and proceeded to pack the Navigator with ice chest, folding chairs and a box of toys for Robbie, Sam and Susie who were all too young to play on the team. Robbie and Sam usually found the dirtiest spot possible to build roads for their toy trucks and cars, and they frequently had to be hosed off before Melissa and Helena would allow them in the car. Alan packed a change of clothes for each child and Melissa leaned out in the garage to suggest a picnic at the beach before they came home. The weather was perfect.
The Koenigs joined them for the picnic and the children spent the afternoon playing in the sand and surf. The water was still a bit chilly for swimming, but John and Alan changed into short wetsuits and surfed for a while before the children began to tire, the youngest needing naps.
Home again, there was plenty to do unpacking the car, getting the kids clean and fed. It was well after dark by the time the kids were all bedded down and Alan settled on the sofa. He turned on the TV and began clicking through the channels. Mel came down the stairs with a basket of laundry. She returned to the sofa and curled up next to him. He put his arm around her and they both turned their attention to the comedy. Before long his hand began to roam and she turned to kiss him. As his hand began to move lower he remembered the bet and pulled back.
“Oh, no. I’m not doing it.”
Melissa laughed. “I’d really love to have those new sails.”
“You move to the other end of the sofa,” he ordered.
Melissa continued laughing, but complied, moving to lean against the other end of the sofa. He gave her a kiss after the movie was over and headed for the sofa bed in the playroom.
Sunday he had already reserved a tee time for them. They played a round of golf, leaving the three kids at the supervised play area at the country club. They kept their hands to themselves.
Day three was a workday. Alan’s back hurt from sleeping on the sofa bed and he was not in a good mood. Some days at the office, his path didn’t cross Melissa’s at all. She followed her own agenda, coming and going as her duties required. Alan was going over some geological reports from the Rock and trying to determine the best place to locate some of the areas of the hotel they were designing. He stayed in his office, close by his computer. Melissa seemed to be going back and forth down the hallway an awful lot. He kept getting a whiff of her perfume as she passed by his office door.
He went to lunch with John and Mel seemed to vanish after that. She must have had some kind of business lunch or she might be with the kids for the afternoon. Unlike when Geoff was a baby, they now had a housekeeper who was there until early afternoon. Mary Ann had been with them since Robbie was born. She kept the house spotless, started supper from a menu Melissa would leave for her, and picked up Robbie from pre-school at lunchtime. Melissa tried to set her schedule so she could be home in the afternoon, working from her home office while the two younger children napped.
When he got home, the boys begged him to swim. Melissa and Susie joined them, splashing in the shallow end by the steps. Susie was scheduled to start swimming lessons next month. She was already fearless in the water, standing on a step and leaping into her mother’s arms. Melissa was already starting to teach her to hold her breath, blowing into her face gently to get her to hold her breath, then quickly going under with her and coming back up. Giving Susie plenty of praise for holding her breath. Alan noticed that Mel was wearing that hot pink bikini of hers. She filled it out well. Even though she hadn’t nursed in months, the top appeared to strain across Melissa’s ample breasts.
After dinner and the bedtime routine, he sat in the playroom with Geoff for a while, playing a video game. He sought out Melissa early, gave her a chaste goodnight kiss and headed to the sofa bed again. He noticed a light on in his bedroom across the second floor balcony. Mel was doing yoga exercises before turning in. His hand moved to his crotch as he watched the motion through the sheers on their bedroom window. Then he turned away. Melissa was not winning this bet.
It started to look like Mel was teasing him. He noticed her perfume more. She seemed to brush against him when they fixed breakfast together, or played with the children, or sat at the dinner table. He tried to keep his good humor, and began to playfully steal kisses from her, or come up behind her and kiss the back of her neck. She tasted good. She would reward him with a smile or a squeeze of his hand.
She was definitely teasing him. She usually arrived home before him and would be wearing a halter-top and short shorts. She would bend over to pick up a toy on the floor, letting him get a peak down the halter. She would touch him when they talked. Leaning over and placing her hand over his, stroking the back of his hand as they talked. At work he noticed how short she wore her skirts and the way her hips swayed when she walked in those high heels. There was only two weeks to go till his new Corvette. He wasn’t going to blow it now, no matter how much she enticed him.
He decided to fight fire with fire. He deliberately began to take showers later at night, when she was doing her exercises in the bedroom. He would kiss her goodnight when he finished, wearing only a towel. That he was interested, she couldn’t help but notice, but he would head for the playroom and the sofa bed with determination. She knew where to find him. He kept his hands above the waist as the rules called for, but they grew more bold above the waist. As they played golf the next weekend, he found several fairly secluded places to give her long kisses, touching her in all the places above the waist that he knew drove her crazy.
By the sixteenth hole she asked, “Want to take me right here, flyboy?”
“It’s your call, love,” he said. “Just say the word.”
“Not me, flyboy. But it looks like you’re getting a bit antsy about this.”
He gave her another hot kiss and breathed into her ear, “I’m getting that Corvette.”
Melissa just laughed and returned to the game.
During the next week, he was so aware of her presence whenever she was around he could barely think straight.
One afternoon late in the week, John punched him in the arm. “Earth to Carter. Respond please.”
“What?” Alan asked, confused.
“She walked by two minutes ago, pal. Just take her to bed tonight and get it over with.”
“Not a chance. She’s not winning this bet.”
“You can’t even think straight anymore when she’s in the room.” John said with a laugh. “Those Thompson twins certainly have us under their spell.”
Alan laughed. “I guess they do. But I only have about a week to go.”
“Have you had a good night’s sleep since this started?”
“Not really. I wasn’t expecting to be evicted from my bed. But that Corvette’ll be worth it.”
“Look, Alan. Will you please just order her the sails and take her to bed. She’ll let you get the Corvette anyway.
“And I’ll never hear the end of it. No. I’m going to win this bet even if it drives me crazy.”
“Well, why don’t we head for the Rock for a couple of days next week then.”
“We don’t have any good excuse for going up there right now.”
“I do. I might get you to concentrate if we’re twenty-two thousand miles away.”
“It’s not that bad.”
John shook his head and headed for his own office.
The weekend was hard. They took the kids to a movie on Saturday afternoon. Robbie sat on one side of Mel, Geoff on the other side of Alan, and Susie on his lap. Mel kept leaning over him and brushing her breasts against his arm as she passed the bucket of popcorn between the two boys. He finally slipped Geoff a five and sent him to get his own popcorn. Then he put his arm around Melissa and copped a feel in the dark. He could tell she was enjoying it. Her nipples were tight against his fingers. She turned and kissed his ear, exploring with her tongue until he was nearly crazy.
They didn’t play golf this weekend. Mel made a big breakfast and they spent a leisurely morning on the sofa reading the paper while the children played. After they read the paper, they played a game of pool. Mel seemed to choose the shots that let him look down her shirt. Geoff had been invited to a birthday party. Melissa took him on Sunday afternoon while Alan stayed home with Robbie and Susie. He put them both down for a nap and headed for his own bed for a nap himself. It was like heaven, and he pulled Melissa’s pillow to him. It smelled like her.
He woke, startled, from an incredibly erotic dream when he heard the door slam downstairs. He got up and checked on the children before Mel came up the stairs. Susie was still napping. She was a terrific sleeper and would sleep the afternoon away if they let her. Robbie was awake and playing with his trucks in his room. He joined Robbie on the floor of the bedroom. They had a whole city of cars and trucks on the floor. Geoff and Melissa joined them. Geoff shared his candy from the party with his brother. They crawled around on the floor with the trucks and Alan couldn’t help but notice Mel’s long tan legs. They were a great distraction.
He spent the week counting down the days. He took the boys to the ball field two nights. Geoff had practice and Robbie went along for fun. Mel stayed home with Susie.
Whenever they were in the house together, there seemed to be some kind of electricity between them. They met each other’s eyes across the room and smiled. Just a touch, a finger against a shoulder or an arm, sent fire through each other. Their goodnight kisses grew longer and hotter. Pulling himself away grew harder every day.
On Thursday night he almost gave in. She felt so good, pressed against him. They stood in the hallway outside their bedroom door. It would be so easy to take her in his arms, carry her to the bed and do all the things he’d been dreaming about, and daydreaming about, for the last three weeks. She gave a little moan as she pressed against him and he almost gave in to his fantasy. But no, he pushed her back, gave her a smile and said ‘Tomorrow night.” She looked disappointed as he walked down the hallway which suddenly seemed twice as long as usual.
Mel was staying home with the kids on Friday. Geoff had the day off from school. Her parents would be arriving this afternoon, picking up the kids and their cousins and taking them all to Disney World. This would be the first time Susie would join them. By the time Alan got home from work, the kids would be gone, they’d have the house to themselves, and he would have won the bet.
He could barely get anything done at work. John told him to go home, but he knew he had to wait until this evening to win the bet, so he didn’t want to be at home. He finally closed the door to his office and sat at his desk, losing games of solitaire on the computer. He called and ordered Mel’s sails. He had won the bet and stayed away from her, but she had also stayed away from him for the full three weeks. He knew just what she wanted, and the sailmaker had all the information on their boat, so it was just a matter of getting the sails made. Mel would be surprised, but pleased.
Traffic on the way home was an utter annoyance. The start of spring break for kids in their district created even more traffic than usual. Many people were trying to head out of town for the week. Normally, the trip from office to home was only about fifteen minutes. Forty-five minutes later, he pulled into the driveway. He entered the house through the garage door and found a pair of Mel’s panties tied to a string. He grinned. He knew this game. He untied the panties and stuffed them in his pocket. Then he began rolling up the string. It led through the kitchen and into the living room. There was a stocking draped over one of the chairs the string wrapped around. He added the stocking to his collection and moved on.
A lacy black bra adorned the newel post. All the items held the scent of Melissa’s perfume, the one that drove him crazy. He followed the string up the stairs and to the bedroom door. He opened the door and looked at the bed. The covers were pulled back, but there was no Mel.
“Took you long enough, flyboy,” she said. She was reclining on the chaise lounge by the north window. She wore a black negligee with a little black and red bustier underneath. Black net stockings were held up with red garters trimmed in red and black feathers. Black mules with stiletto heels were decorated with red feathers.
He couldn’t remember ever wanting her more. He stood across the room and stared at her. There was a wine bottle in ice on the table beside her with two wine glasses sitting nearby. There were several dozen candles burning around the room.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” he stated fervently.
“Where’ve you been?” she asked.
“Traffic. It was awful.”
She nodded, then stood and stretched. “Want some dinner?”
“Later,” he said, moving to her and taking her in his arms.
“I was hoping you would say that.”
Their lips met and he pressed against her, wanting to climb into her and consume her immediately. Her hands were under his polo shirt and she was pulling it over his head.
“I have been wet for the past three weeks,” she said. She unfastened his fly and pulled down his pants.
“I would have been happy to help you out.”
“I’ll bet you would,” she laughed softly then pulled him down onto the chaise lounge. “We’ll go get the Corvette in the morning.”
“Late, in the morning.” He kicked off shoes and pants and pulled her onto his lap. She had very conveniently left off the panties that matched the bustier. He began to unlace the bustier with one hand while exploring between her legs with the other.
She moaned. “I want you inside me. Now.”
She sat up and straddled him. Taking him in her hands, she guided him, into her. She moved up and down on him and he moaned with the sensation. They rolled over, still together, and she clasped him to her. He pumped against her. “Mel! Oh, Mel!”
“Alan! I want you all night long.”
With a shout he pumped into her with all the pent up frustration from the past three weeks. She screamed with the pleasure of it.
They rolled onto the floor and then she was on top. She reached above his head and he pulled down the top of the bustier, claiming a nipple with his mouth. She opened a basket next to him and pulled out a warm, moistened towel. With a grin she met his eyes. She pulled back and he said, “You thought of everything.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Wasn’t anything else to do in that big bed all by myself.”
“I’ve missed you.” He lay back and relaxed as she cleaned him up and freshened herself. She kissed and caressed him. He moaned and she continued her ministrations.
“You must have,” she observed. “Ready again so soon!”
She mounted him. Their eyes met. He finished removing her bustier and negligee and ran his hands down her body. They moved together with a slower rhythm this time. Taking the time to enjoy the sensations. Mel leaned forward so that Alan could take her breasts in his hands, toying with her nipples. Their lips met in a long deep kiss as they climaxed. She relaxed against him and he pulled her close to him.
“That was a good start for the evening,” Alan said breathlessly.
“Mmm, yeah. Maybe Helena was right. Abstaining for a little while makes it better.”
“Could be…” Alan said, his hands already moving over her body.
“Perhaps we should do this more often.”
He kissed her ear and nibbled at her earlobe. “Mel?”
She sighed. “Mmm?”
“Not on a bet.”
Melissa laughed. It was going to be a wonderful night.
Maureen J. Long