Narrowly Averted

My name is Dave and I'm a mechanic. Call me what you want, I don't care because I make good money and I do a job I love. I probably wouldn't have been where I was if it wasn't for SFC Wheeler, my recruiter. Ever heard the phrase, "My recruiter lied to me?" No shit, there I was, at MEPS getting ready to in-process and wouldn't you know it, my slot to learn a language and interrogate people just doesn't line up with what I was told. I had planned to ship for Basic Training right after high school.

SFC Wheeler just happened to know that there was a slot for a wheeled vehicle mechanic that will match up perfectly with my plans and damned if there is even a bonus for me if I complete training. MF'er never bothered to mention that if I waited 2 months for the training slot that I wanted there was a much bigger bonus. He had to make mission....

So, 6 years later I'd gotten to be really, really good at fixing broken vehicles. Most of my peers rely on the manual and all the aids to fix things. Lazy motherf'ers. My work is flawless and I get it done in half the time and I love doing it. So, when they offer me a contract to stay and maybe see E5 I tell them to go to Hell!

You see, there are all these ed centers on Army bases and you can take a lot of classes remotely for free or just rely on tuition assistance. I had finished a bachelor's degree in business after my second deployment to Iraq. Aside from watching movies, working out, or marking off the days until we rotated home there really isn't a lot to do when you are off-duty. So, I worked out, took classes and got my education knocked out so that I would be able to do something that paid better when my Enlistment was up.

I moved back home. Smaller town in Tennessee, enough said. I had a healthy savings account and I had 2 years to do with the Tennessee National Guard, which would keep a little money coming in until my mandatory service obligation was over. Bet you never heard of that. If you Enlist, they get you for 8 years...a certain number active and the rest in the Reserves or the Guard.

Our mechanic section was pretty damn good and almost all of us were mechanics on the outside. I found a job working a few towns over and took advantage to learn how to fix more civilian vehicles. Turns out I was just as good under the hood of a Honda as I was under the hood of an LMTV. I worked there for a year and I decided that my GI Bill was calling. No, I wasn't trying to get out of turning wrenches, but I was going to back to school and get certified on a couple of the high-end brands.

My 30^th birthday was spent under the hood of 2 Mercedes-Benz and one Lexus. My buddy from the Guard, Brandon, and I had started our own place near a big Tennessee city that starts with an N. Turns out that not everyone in that town drives a Ford pick-up and there was lots of work for mechanics who were certified and worked for about $30/hour less than the dealerships. The dealers did all the warranty work and we took a big chunk out of the rest.

I was just finishing with the nice Lexus when I looked over at the office area and fell in love. Brandon and I do the management shit before we open and work from 8-2 on vehicles and then spend the last 3-4 hours back in the office. We both agreed that we wanted to be hand-on owners. The gorgeous blond in the office quite literally took my breath away.

"Ma'am, I understand that your boss really needs to get his car fixed today because big clients are coming to town, but our schedule is packed." Cheryl is our receptionist. She doesn't estimate work, she just greets people, takes their keys, and has them swipe their credit cards when we are done. Part of what I do when I work in the office is process job orders. We get 80% of our business off the internet. I hired a really smart web developer to build and maintain our website. She's my sister and she's Brandon's wife. Don't get me started on how much I hate the second part of that.

"Is there something I can do to try and get his car moved to the front of the line? It's really important." The voice was high and sweet and the curvy body coupled with the classy business attire really lit my fire. I can appreciate a girl in daisy dukes and a tank top, but a woman who is dressed classy takes the cake almost every time.

"Ma'am, what do you need?" I offered as I sauntered up to the reception desk where Cheryl had been laying out the facts. I wasn't about to undercut her, but I wasn't above trading a little elbow grease for a date with a girl in need. Long story short, it worked. Jenna got her boss's car fixed, I got a date and 18 months later we got married.

Now, I could claim that our courtship had been a sex-fueled rush to the altar and in some regards that would be true. I was not stupid enough to forgo a prenup because my partner reminded me that I'd insisted on one when he got married even though he was marrying my sister. Jenna was not happy about the prenup because she felt like I didn't trust her and she only relented when she found about Brandon and my sister's prenup. Otherwise, Jenna was a fantastic girlfriend and the sex was incredible. The three years of marriage was outstanding as well. Then she got hired by a tech company that had recently relocated part of their team from Silicon Valley to Tennessee.

I've heard stories that morality is a crypto-currency in the bay area around San Francisco. The kind of money that rolls around let's guys with high libido and terrible social skills get into a lifestyle of drugs, sex and debauchery. The women get into it because they are either paid to, are hoping to hook one of the internet billionaires in the making or they've been exposed to it for so long that they just embrace it.

Those views came with a part of the team who relocated to Tennessee. The first company party that we went to, I almost got in a fight when some highly paid asshole asked my wife to fuck and when I objected pointed to his wife across the room and assured me that she'd play along. Jenna quickly got me out of the situation and we had a long talk about things when we got home.

"Baby, I know you are dead set against cheating in marriage, but what you saw tonight is just how they live. None of them believe in God, and if they do they just assume that He will let them do whatever as long as they make big donations at a church. Their lives are about money, work and blowing off steam however they want." Jenna didn't sound impressed as she explained things to me. I'm not especially strict in my approach to religion and I don't care what someone else does in their bedroom as long as everyone knows up front. I am 100% dead set that cheating is cheating and it is a death sentence for a marriage.

"I get what you are saying. I was just taken by surprise at the brass balls on that guy. That kind of stuff won't sell with a lot of people in Davidson County. Do they just assume that they have so much money that they can just do whatever they want and nothing will happen?" My time in the Army had not let me remain a prude. On deployments, things got pretty twisted at times with some chicks being passed around from guy to guy and them loving it. I'll never forget the one gal who caught my eye. She smiled when I started chatting her up and said, "If we were back home, I would be all over a guy like you, but over here I get to pick and choose and I'm going to enjoy it while I can."

"They are used to the way things are in California. Nothing matters there. The only sin is not getting funding for the next start-up. Two of the girls in my office came here because they were sick of the culture and hoped to find something normal here." I understood then how she was so knowledgeable after only 6 months on the job. We talked about the party and reinforced our understanding of fidelity when I fucked her brains out. One nice thing about working with my hands all week is I was just as strong as I was in the Service and with the help of a personal trainer at a Crossfit gym I was probably in better shape now.

One thing became clear about Jenna's job. The hours were crazy. If there was a deadline even the staff in her department burned the midnight oil. They were not writing code or anything, but they helped out around the periphery to make sure that nothing intruded on the engineers.

"So, something kinda weird happened last night." Jenna looked worn out after the last couple of weeks at work. If she'd gotten home before midnight, it was an early night.

"Really, what's that?" It was Saturday morning so I wasn't going to work. We were sitting together at the kitchen table while she had her first cup of coffee and I ate breakfast after a workout with my trainer. She was wrapped in a soft robe, her long blonde hair tied up in a messy knot on top of her head. If I hadn't been one step away from just lying on the floor like a dog when he's spent, I would have been hauling her sexy ass into the bedroom for sex.

"One of the bosses asked if we would like to come to the launch party. When a product goes live, they will throw a pretty big event to celebrate. Considering that the clients for this project are from New York City, it will be a pretty big deal." She had a faraway look on her face like she was imaging this party already. Jenna likes to get dressed up. I think it's part of what makes her career so interesting to her. I'm a jeans and t-shirt guy for the most part. When we go out, I have to wear one of the thousand dollar suits she picked out for me because otherwise I look like a fool compared to her. Unwrapping her when we get home is worth it.

"Ok, when is this party? Do I need a new suit or something?" Our shop was doing really, really well, so dropping a bundle on new clothes wouldn't hurt me any.

"Yeah, I am going to pick something out for you. That's not what was weird. My boss asked me if you would ever consider swinging. I know that we are committed to each other and that cheating would end our marriage. I told him I didn't think you would be interested. He seemed disappointed." She turned and looked me directly in the eyes when she stated that cheating would end our marriage, but looked away when she said he was disappointed.

"You know, in some places just having that conversation could be considered sexual harassment. Why would he ask if I was interested in swinging? It's like he's assuming that you would be down for it if I was." I felt really uncomfortable with how this conversation was going. I'd never really considered swinging because, well, I'm a jealous asshole. I can't imagine a situation where I would be ok sharing her.

"Don't get all pissed off. Taylor is gay. He doesn't want to fuck me, but I think he knows that there is going to be lots of shit like that going on at the party. If we stay for the after party it will be like we are agreeing to participate. What happens after hours is basically don't ask, don't tell." My simmering temper must have been more obvious than I thought. Jenna got up from her chair came to straddle me on the chair. I was sweaty from the gym and tired as hell, but she was naked under that robe and when she kissed me hard and put her fingers in my hair on the back of my head, I had all the motivation I needed.

The launch party was a month after our Saturday morning conversation. Jenna had mentioned the after party at least three times the first week, 5 times the second week and I lost count how many times she talked about it the third. The Saturday 7 days before the party I knew something was off.

"You won't believe who is going to be at the party?? Mark Zipperbag!! I guess he is tied in with some of the VC's who were in our second round of funding...." She kept babbling on and on about the company, the party and the people who were going to be there. Her transformation since she had started working there was pretty incredible. She'd always been into social stuff and that had been part of what let her enjoy being the personal assistant when I met her. I had thought that when we got married, she was going to want to settle down a bit and build a life centered on us.

"Ok, ok... I get it, you really, really want to stay for the after party and get to meet all these people. So, if we stay does that mean?" In my head I knew that I was taking my first step down a path I didn't want to go, but I'm a small-town guy and making my wife happy matters a lot to me.

"Oh my gosh, it would be so fun. They have this incredible suite that we are putting together and the catering is from this incredible exclusive chef that they are flying in just for that night. I saw the invoice and it cost $50k to get him to come and do this!" My question had set off a firestorm. If she had been excited before she was like a kid the night before Christmas now. I let her carry on for a good ten minutes with all the details that I really didn't care about.

"Jenna, you are avoiding my question. If we go the after party, are you expecting me to let you fuck one of the celebrities that you have been going on and on about? Am I supposed to just sit around like some lame-ass piece of crap while you party?" The tension in my stomach was worse than the first time I'd been part of a convoy in Afghanistan. We had been transporting support equipment to a forward base and the pre-executing brief indicated that enemy contact was likely. I felt like Jenna's answer to this question was just as dangerous.

"Well, I don't know for sure. It's not like I am going to be the only pretty girl there and a lot of the guys in this crowd are gay. I guess it's possible that one of them would want to hook up with me and if we are at the party, it's kind of expected that people get together. I mean, there are going to be some gorgeous women there so maybe you would find someone you would want to hook-up with?" She wouldn't look at me anymore. I could tell that she expected that I was going to be ignored because I wasn't part of the in-crowd. What a kick in the nuts. My wife was telling me that I wasn't good enough to get a date at a swinger's party.

"Let me get this straight, you want an open marriage? After 3 years of marriage, you want us to be able to fuck other people, but still live together like this? Or is this a one-time thing?" I was a red-blooded man and her disrespect stung. If she wanted to play this game then I was going to play too. I didn't want this, but I would be damned if I was going to be some kind of beta-male cuckold.

"What?? I don't want an open marriage? Why would you say that?" Jenna turned to look at me then. My tone and assertion seemed to have taken her by surprise.

"Well, that's what you're saying. You want us to go to this party and hook up with other people outside our marriage, right? If this is going to happen every time there is a launch party or whatever then we are either swingers or in an open marriage. If you want to go there then I am going to insist on an open-marriage and we will get a postnuptial agreement done." I wasn't going to be tied to her little circle of friends if she wanted this. I had no problem getting dates with good looking girls before I got married to Jenna and I could go back to that. The truth was that if we had an open-marriage it would just be a matter of time before we got divorced.

"No, I don't want that. I guess I didn't think you would want to hook up with anyone really. This isn't how I thought you were going to react." She seemed genuinely confused. My reaction was completely in character for me and I couldn't understand how she didn't see that.

"Did you expect that I would be ok with you fucking other people and I would just sit around and accept it? Do you know me at all? I'm no fucking cuckold, Jenna. Bullshit!! Maybe we should just cut our losses now and start the divorce proceedings? With the prenup, I could probably have initial divorce orders by Friday and you can do whatever you want at the party." Jenna really seemed to have expected me to be ok with being her beta-male husband. After knowing me for almost 5 years that was completely stupid.

"No!! That's not what is supposed to happen. You are supposed to love me so much that you will be ok with me having this experience. My friends' husbands all understand that at these parties the VCs and other executives are on a different level than they are and just accept that their wives get to be with them. If a husband really loves his wife, then he will be ok with her being with someone like these guys." I felt like I was hearing her parrot something she had heard so often that she actually believed it. It was like those idiots on cable new who think that if they tell a lie often enough it will somehow become true.

"Horseshit! If a wife really loves her husband than she would never want to be with another man who wasn't her husband. Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit. If that's what you think then we need to end this right now. I've loved you enough to take care of you, to provide a very nice standard of living and I've been completely faithful to you. That's what a husband does. He doesn't sacrifice his self-worth because his wife thinks some guys at work deserve to have sex with her." I stood up from the table and walked up to our bedroom to shower. I couldn't talk with Jenna any more or I was going to completely lose my mind.

Hot water from a high-pressure showerhead is the best thinking aid I know. Everyone gets clarity in different places and mine was the shower. The door to shower opened and Jenna hurried in and wrapper her arms around me. She was crying.

"Don't leave me... Dave, I love you. I was wrong. Please, forgive me." I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me. This was the woman I loved. Soft, tender and sweet with a heart big enough to put up with selfish bosses and even my weird family. She was the woman I wanted to bear my children because she would love them completely and would raise them right.

"Jenna, you realize you have to quit that job? We don't need the money." I was kissing her forehead and trembling because I had gone from fiery anger to relief in an instant.

"Ok. Just don't leave me. I can be silly and I believed the stupid shit my co-workers were telling me. I'm sorry, Dave. I love you. I can't lose you. Not for anything" She started kissing me in the shower and the rest was blissful and the ultimate conclusion to the greatest threat our marriage would ever face.

10 months later our first child was born, a daughter, and Jenna was everything that I hoped she would grow into. Three more children would follow and my life was amazing. I still had to work my ass off to provide for them, but evenings were spent at soccer fields and dance recitals. Weekends at the lake fishing and watching my sexy wife wake-board behind our boat while the kids cheered. Sure, there would be hard times, but I knew that Jenna would always choose me and everything else I could manage.