The Empty Chair
Part Two - His Girlfriend
I usually
enjoy Thursday evenings, when Christine, my Wife, and I sit down for the
evening together and talk about what we have planned for the Weekend ahead. A
bit of gardening perhaps, a garden centre for some plants and a coffee, a trip
to the coast for the day or even going to see her Mother in Chertsey. But not
tonight; my Wife was out to dinner with my Boss, Geoff, at his Sister's house
as his 'plus one'.
It was
already clear to me that she had wanted to go on what was effectively a date,
and that she had found him attractive. How had she described him? As I sat
alone in our lounge I recalled her words. "A big attractive hunk of a
man" she had said and there was little doubt in my mind that she had meant
it. I didn't buy the 'getting him out of a bind' excuse she had given me for
going out with him, but at least she had the good grace to tell him that she
would only go if I was okay with it. I had said yes, but all the same, my Wife
was out on a date with another man and my emotions were as confused as I had
ever known them.
It was about
a eleven forty five when the headlights of Geoff's big car swept across our
curtains and filled the room with an odd yellowish glow casting shadows that
moved across the wall. The lights went out and I sat and waited for Chris to
open our front door and come into the entrance hall. However, it was just after
twelve when she walked into our lounge and said hello!
It took less
than a second to see that she had enjoyed the evening and the company she had
been with. Her eyes shone with pleasure and fun as she sat down and faced me.
There was a different air about her - she was no longer my Wife Christine, but
now a beautiful desirable young Woman. Something had changed her; she was the
very same lovely girl I had married but the person who sat before me was
excited and happy, which consequently made her both alluring and exciting.
 |
... made her both alluring and exciting. |
"Did
you have a nice time Dear," I asked lamely, already knowing what her
answer would be.
"I have
just had a nice meal with some lovely people," she responded, "and my
companion for the evening was both gentlemanly and good company. So yes I did.
How about you Pete, did you do anything special this evening?"
"I just
sat and watched television," I replied, aware just how banal my reply must
have sounded to her.
We chatted
some more as we went to bed, mostly about Geoff's Sister (Gwen), the others at
the party and the reaction of his Sister's journalist friend who apparently
been looking daggers at her all night. Clearly the 'Leftie' journo
Rebecca had had her pretty nose put out by Christine hanging onto Geoff's arm
that evening.
"G'night
Dear," she said sleepily as her warm lips touched my cheek. I was hoping
for more in the way of loving, but the contented sigh from my beautiful Wife
that was quickly followed by her regular breathing told me that my hopes were
dashed.
"The
Boss wants to see you." It was Tina his PA who had come to my desk to let
me know that Geoff wanted a word.
"What
about?" I asked, but as I asked, I was thinking that it was probably
something to do with his date with Christine.
"Those
absentee figures you gave him, I should think Pete," replied the sexy
little brunette who usually sat like a fierce sentry at her desk outside his
office door.
"Like
hell it is," I thought. And I was not wrong.
Geoff looked
happy and welcoming when I entered and gestured for me to sit down in the chair
opposite his big desk. He went straight to the point.
"Pete,
let me say right here that I am grateful to you for letting your lovely Wife
come with me to my Sister's last night," he said enthusiastically,
"and let me tell you that Gwen took to her straight away - as did I of
course. And I have to say that she held her own with that snotty
'blue-stocking' journalist. It was great to watch. They hated each other on
sight and the sparks flew between them all night. Such fun!"
He was
clearly enjoying himself with his recollections of his evening with my Wife so
I just sat and listened to his enthusiasm without following too much of it or
bothering to answer, that is until he said, "..... brains as well as
beauty. You have a rare Lady there Pete."
I couldn't help
myself, but his last comment irritated me. "I know!" I interjected
sharply, "and I am glad that you both enjoyed yourselves Geoff, but Tina
mentioned the absentee report."
He looked
uncertain for a second, as there had been no such report, but then I saw the
realisation on his face that it had been my excuse to come and see him earlier
in the week to cancel their date. And then he understood astutely what the
reason was for the mysterious absentee figures.
"You
only had to say no Pete," he said quietly, at which I regretted my
outburst immediately.
"I was
just being stupid," I replied - weakly - again!
"You
have every right to be concerned, but there is no need" he said,
"nonetheless I would like you and Chris to accept an invitation as my way
of saying thank-you."
I was
intrigued but said nothing.
"The
weather looks good for Sunday." he continued, "How would you both
like to come over to my place for the afternoon. I have a pool so you can bring
your swimwear with you. How does that sound?"
"Sounds
lovely," I replied, feeling that sense of impending doom that I had felt
the night before, "I'll ask Christine this evening."
"Good
idea Pete. But I asked her already."
'Of course
you did.' Some things were becoming very clear to me now.
When I
returned home that evening it was no surprise to me that a large (and
expensive) bunch of flowers had pride of place on the dining table.
“Wasn’t that
nice of him,” Christine said to me as she passed me the small card that had
been attached.
 |
| ‘Girlfriend? Kisses?’ I thought,‘ |
She was only
there to get him out of a sticky situation. Does Chris see it that way? Or is
there something else going on?’
“That’s a
bit personal,” I remarked.
“Mmmm,” she
replied, “I suppose it is.” But her eyes and the ghost of a smile that played
around her mouth gave her thoughts away. And I was starting to worry - even
more.
“We don’t
have to go on Sunday. I could phone him and say you are unwell,” I said,
beginning to feel desperate.
Her response
was immediate. “Don’t be silly Pete. You do not want to insult the CEO of the
Company that pays you.” She was, as always, right - and my future was
sealed at just that one short sentence.
On that
fateful Sunday, as Christine and I pulled in to his drive we both whistled at
the same time at the size and beauty of his house; it appeared that Goeff was
used to everything being big in his life. Godalming in Surrey is one of the
most expensive places to live in England and it was obvious that Geoff likes to
live well in a nice place. His large mock-tudor mansion was set back from the
main road behind a high row of beech trees, and as we drove up a quarter
of a mile long cobbled drive that finished in a small roundabout around a
marble fountain in front of the main entrance we remained equally impressed.
Geoff, to
his credit, greeted us both with equal warmth and attention even though, as I
was beginning to realise, that we were at his beautiful mansion because of
Chris. As he showed us around it was was clear that he was justifiably proud of
his house and the art on its walls, including a painting by Titian looking over
the twelve-seat oak table in the large conservatory that opened out onto the
well tended garden.
"Let's
go and relax by the pool," Geoff suggested.
The pool
area was surrounded by high hedges and was out of sight of the other nearby
mansions; in fact the the whole property was not overlooked by anything at all.
"Oh
yes! You can both change in there," he said as he pointed to a small cabin
set back from the pool between two hedges, "it doesn't get used much
because I usually swim nude, but I guess I should make an exception
today."
While Geoff
had disappeared into the house to change, Chris and me stripped naked and made
ourselves ready for an afternoon of swimming and sunbathing. I had pulled my
own shorts up and Chris had her bikini bottoms settled snuggly over her pretty
arse when she said, "Can you help me with this clasp on my bikini top
please Pete. It won't snap closed properly."
It was true,
the small fastener had been distorted and wouldn't mate properly. The spring in
the press stud socket was bent and wouldn't keep the stud in place, so I pushed
it hard through the hole and it seemed to hold in place. "Just don't do anything
strenuous," I advised her as I opened the door for us to go out onto sunny
pool area.
"What
kept you?" It was Geoff, and he already had his Speedos. In his
suit at work he always appeared to be a heavily built man, but in just his
tight swimming shorts it became immediately clear that Goeff works out in a
gymn. The hard muscles on his arms and legs were complimented by a solid
six-pack stomach above a generous bulge showing through the thin material.
Goeff was very generously endowed, and I am sure, from the sharp intake of her
breath, that Chris was mightily impressed.
"Minor
problem! Fixed now!" I replied tersely - aware of his appreciative but
discrete glance at Christine's lovely body that was enhanced by her pretty red
bikini.
Together we
settled down on three sunbeds and started to talk about each other and to his
credit, just as he had in the house, he included us both in the conversations.
He showed interest in us both which I thought showed a lot of class, as it was
perfectly obvious to me now that where his interests truly lay.
‘Think about
it you twerp. Why would the CEO of a major Company invite a junior manager from
the Human Resources Department to share his swimming pool,’ was my cynical
thought.
Geoff had
brought some drinks down from the house so we spent a good hour chatting away
happily with our ‘new friend’. But the afternoon was warm and the pool looked
inviting so it was with some relief when he suggested that we have a swim.
“Don’t wait
on me to say folks,” he exclaimed, “just jump in when you want. That’s what
it’s here for.”
The water
was warm, clean and very inviting so we all went in together. Geoff immediately
bursting with energy by doing a fast crawl, Chris alongside him with her very
accomplished breast stroke and I followed with a very slow paddle. I cursed myself
for never having bothered to learn to swim properly as they swam away, leaving
me behind.
Geoff and
Chris had done almost ten lengths swimming together, when it happened. The
temporary repair I had done to the bikini top failed and Chris found herself
swimming with her lovely breasts very much on view.
Like the
gentleman that I am, I immediately went to her aid but not before Geoff had
swum up to her, eased the fragile material over her head and tried to fix the
problem. Like me, he also experienced difficulty in making the fastener work
and eventually gave up.
“I’m not
very good with this sort of thing,” he said as he passed it back to her, “I
think it’s completely broken. When I was married, my ex Wife Celia and I used
to swim naked so I never had that much practice in repairing Ladies bikini
tops.”
A decision
had to be made and it was Chris who made it. “It’s quite private and
secure here, nobody can see us. You boys don’t have to wear these damn things
so why shouldn’t I swim dressed just like you two? It's just not fair!”
I was
stunned. My Wife was telling us both that she was happy to bare her breasts to
a stranger. A big handsome stranger who I knew she liked, but a stranger
nonetheless. I was speechless and my mind had gone blank at the thought
of another man looking at, and appreciating the beauty of, Cristine's lovely
tits.
“Well I
don’t mind, if Pete doesn’t,” said Geoff, while studiously averting his eyes.
Chris still
had her hands partially covering her breasts when she turned to me and asked,
“Do you feel comfortable with me being topless Pete? Nobody's looking.”
 |
“Do you feel comfortable with me
being topless Pete?” |
To this day
I don’t now if this little incident had been by design or accident but what I
did know at that moment that if I had said that I was uncomfortable with Goeff
looking at her breasts, then that would be the end of a very nice afternoon.
And I would shown myself to be a prude. So there was no other answer I could
give.
“Of course
not Dear,” was my reply, to which she immediately dropped her arms and swam
away to join Geoff and continue their companionable swim together.
I was still
swimming alone when Chris and Geoff left the pool still chatting intimately and
made their way to the sunbeds together. He then took his own towel and gave it
to her to wrap around her shoulders and to dry her hair, and I continued to
swim, aware that I was, to put it mildly, surplus to requirements.
From the
pool, I could hear their laughter but not make out their conversation. I knew
that it would be seen to be rude to just go over and join in, however something
was telling me that we were coming to the nub of the reason for our visit.
It was a few
seconds before I realised that their laughter and chatter had ceased and
suddenly there was a serious air between the two of them. I swam over to see
what had happened just as Christine replied to a question that Geoff had put to
her.
"Only
if we talk to Pete about it first," she said to him, not realising that I
was nearby with my arms resting on the tiles at the side of the pool.
"Talk
to Pete about what?" I asked, suddenly feeling that the water had chilled
a little.
"Why
don't we all change out of these wet things and go up to the house so we can
talk in more comfort," said Geoff.
"I had
better throw this bikini away," Christine said as we changed back into our
day clothes. I was tempted into sarcasm about it having served a purpose
but decided not to when she put her pretty lace blouse back on without her bra.
She had evidently enjoyed her topless time with Geoff and me and was unwilling
to put her two beauties back in restraint. My Wife's character was changing, right
before my eyes.
 |
My Wife was changing, right before my eyes. |
Geoff had
poured drinks and made some sandwiches that were laid out on a small coffee
table. There were three armchairs that had been deliberately spaced
equidistantly around the table so we could see each other with ease. Chris and
I took our seats as Geoff handed out the drinks.
“I guess
Pete, that you were wondering what this is about and why I invited you both
here this afternoon,” he said.
“It had
crossed my mind Geoff. It’s not every day that the millionaire CEO of a company
invites an undermanager from HR and his Wife to his house. I am
assuming that this is about more than just the dinner party on Thursday night.”
He smiled at
this and responded by saying that it was a fair point. “But I brought you both
here for a reason.” he confirmed. “But first a bit of background for that
reason.”
“Go on!” I
said, sipping my drink and noting that Chris had remained very quiet since
leaving the shed by the pool and was biting the inside of her lip. She does
this when she is nervous.
“I am going
to tell you something that I don’t want repeated please,” he said as he sat
down in the chair facing us both. “I have always been a very driven man Pete;
but you already know this.”
I nodded -
he was.
“It is the
reason Celia and I divorced three years ago. I was always away on business and she was left
at home and although she was a faithful Wife, she couldn’t take the loneliness.
The long hours I worked, the weeks and months away and the inattention took
their toll and she left me. And with hindsight I don't blame her.”
I glanced
over at Chris and I could see that she was emotionally rivetted to what he was
saying. But Geoff was opening up his soul, so we both remained quiet, and a
little nervous.
“The divorce
hit me hard,” he continued; his face reflecting the pain he had suffered, “so I
threw myself into the work even more so. And for the last three years all that
I have done is work, sleep and eat for seven days every week to make our
company what it is today. It wasn’t until my Sister Gwen sat me down and told
me that I was turning into a machine and tried to hook me up with her
journalist friend that I realised just how much of a boor I had become.”
He paused
for breath, took a sip of his drink and continued. Chris and I remained silent
at these heartfelt reveleations; he was clearly getting something off of his
chest.
“And,” he
said - continuing, “it wasn’t until Thursday night that I realised that I had
been missing something good in my life.”
He paused, because
as we were all aware now, he was about to get to the point of it all.
“With
Christine on my arm the other night I understood just what I needed. I have
missed female company terribly and it wasn’t until Chris told me, in the car as
we left the party, that she could feel that I was lonely, that I knew what I
wanted.”
“So you need
a Woman in your life?” I suggested.
“Correct
Pete. But not just any Woman.”
He sat back
and watched me as I realised exactly what he was suggesting. “You mean
Christine don’t you,” I exclaimed; pretending to be surprised. I had seen this
coming from the moment we had entered the house. And by her silence and the
pretty red flush to her cheeks, so had my Wife.
“That’s
right Pete,” he replied choosing his words carefully, “I would like to date
Christine. But only if she says yes and you say that you agree to it.”
We sat in
silence for a moment or two as the shock of what he had asked me sunk in. I
needed to say something profound or dismissive but could think of nothing, so
what came next was the first thing to come into my head.
"Do you
mean 'a single date' or do you mean 'dating', with all the implications that
word infers? In other words making my Wife your Girlfriend."
"Yes to
either or both, if Christine wishes it to be so," he replied confidently.
"I am
trying to get my head around this Geoff. Are you really telling me that you
want to have a relationship with my Wife." I remarked, "That's a bit
outrageous isn't it?"
Geoff's face
showed that he had just thought of something. "Chris did say that you are
a little old fashioned Pete. That's a good thing in a man but you should know
that what I am proposing is quite normal these days. Did you know that there
are hundreds of marriages in just this area of Surrey that are, shall we say,
three cornered."
"So you
are saying that the county is full of unfaithful Wives Geoff. Is that
right?" I asked sarcastically, but feeling even more vulnerable than I had
before.
"Unfaithful?
No!" he exclaimed, "But have you ever heard of the word
Polyamoury?"
I shook my
head.
He
continued. "Google defines it as, and I quote - 'the practice of engaging
in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved'.
That cold scientific statement, in most modern cases, is usually defined as a
Wife having a faithful husband and another man in her life. A Boyfriend or
Lover."
 |
... is usually defined as a Wife having a faithful
husband and another man in her life. |
"So are
you saying that Surrey is full of cuckolded husbands," I asked, now very
worried.
"Living
in cuckold marriages that is for certain. But not just in this little corner of
the world - there are thousands all over the Western World. My own Sister Gwen
has a big guy she stays with three nights a week. He was at the dinner party
the other night while her hubby Brian was upstairs working They are good
friends by the way."
"So
what," I said, "that's not thousands is it."
"Okay
Pete, you're not convinced. Tina, my PA, is in a strong relationship with Deven
from the Thermodynamics Department and her husband works across the road from
us in the Council Offices. And George, your Department Head, his Wife is the
long term Mistress of Sir Charles, our Vice President. And they are just two of
at least twenty of our staff who live this way. And that is just our small
Company."
"So
this is what you have planned for Chris and me is it Geoff?" I asked - now
very annoyed.
"I have
nothing planned Pete, I am just saying what's 'out there'. My point is that
this way of life is pretty normal these days. A satisfied Wife with a
submissive husband and a powerful young Lover is, for many, the best of all
relationships. But you are addressing all the wrong questions to the wrong
person."
"How do
you mean?" I asked.
"Not
once have we brought Chris into this conversation Pete," he said,
"don't you think we should? Why don't you ask her if she would like to go
on a date with me. I thought that Tuesday evening might be nice to start of
with."
I was now shaking
with extreme emotions as I looked over at my Wife, sitting with her legs
pointed towards Geoff slightly open, and her nipples clearly standing out
proudly like two coral pink cotton reels through the lace of her blouse. But
Geoff had one more thing to say.
"Ask
her the question Pete. YOU have to ask her. Not me. It is only right that you
become part of the story. And you must tell her that we will both honour her
decision and her wishes."
I couldn't
get the words out. I was shaking like a leaf. Chris had all but told me that
she was attracted to Geoff, so I was trapped. I knew that I should get up and
take my Wife home but I just couldn't. However it was Christine who broke the
silence.
"Well!
Have you something to ask me Pete?" she said quietly.
I took a
deep breath and said. "Geoff has told me that he would like to take you
out on a date - on Tuesday evening. Would you like to? It's completely up to
you - no pressure either way."
She did not
reply to my question, but within seconds she arose out of her seat and went
over to Geoff and sat on the arm of his chair. Leaning her head down to his
upturned face she planted a tender kiss on his mouth.
"I'll
see you Tuesday," she said to him with a lovely happy smile on her face,
"but now I think that it's time to take Pete home."
And with
those words she walked out of the room, leaving Geoff and me both looking,
astounded, at her empty chair.
To be
continued.
