The Rose and Crown

Another week, another effort!

No real sex I'm afraid, but the ending might suit some better than some of my stories have.

Hope you all enjoy it.

---------------- -------------

Bloody hell!

I don't understand

I'm really fucked up.

Damnit I'm just so lucky to have got away with it.

I mean really ___ Bloody hell ___ how have I got away with it?

It was her fault really, but maybe I over reacted.

No!

NO!

No way did I over react. I'm feeling pissed off at the moment but I'll settle down.

Hell fire ___ Just listen to my story and see what you think!

Shit ___ No really ___ it's not easy. Just listen and see what you think.

__________________ ______________

Carrie and I got married six years ago.

Everyone describes their wife in these stories as some thing exceptional, and I can understand that, because I've had a bit of time to think about it. My missus, Carrie was a real 'looker', no doubt about that.

Exceptional?

I don't know.

Pretty __ slender ___Sexy __ Nice boobs ___ Long legs ___ Well, yes __ OK.

Judge for yourself ___ I know I fancied her.

I'd known Carrie for a long time, since we were teenagers in fact. I was a few years older than her though, so for me she had always been just the young girl down the street.

Then when she was fourteen, something happened that seemed to lock us together. I was just about to go off to University, and had left my pals after an evening in the pub. It wasn't too late, but was just getting dark when I took a short cut through the local park. Just as well I did maybe, because I came upon young Carrie being annoyed by a couple of boys of about her age. I say annoyed, but it was more serious than that, and if I hadn't come along at that moment, then who knows what might have happened.

Well, her version has always been that I waded in like some hero and saved her, but the reality was that once I confronted the two blokes, they took fright and took off.

Either way I became something special to her, and for the rest of the summer I kept noticing her, not quite following me around, but certainly doing her best to be wherever I'd be.

My pals took the piss of course, as at eighteen I was far too old for her, but even then I had to admit, she was a very pretty young girl, with, even at that age, the most superb pair of long shapely legs.

Then I went off to study for three years and hardly saw her again, till I went back after graduating, and spent a long summer there before I went off to my new job.

By then of course, it was her who was eighteen, and me nearly twenty-two. A somehow different kettle of fish altogether, which, matched up with quite what a beautiful young woman she had matured into, made her continuing affection for me extremely acceptable.

We got together, and became boy friend and girl friend, walking hand in hand in the park, and kissing and cuddling whenever we had the chance.

By then I was hardly still a virgin, but she was, and despite several near misses, that is what she remained. That's not to say that I didn't make myself acquainted with the wonderful softness of her lovely pussy, or discovered how it tasted, but that was it. It didn't worry me too much, as underneath I still imagined myself as her protector, and Carrie still told people about the time I had 'saved her from a fate worse than death'.

I'm pretty sure Carrie fell even more deeply in love with me that summer, and in all honesty, I couldn't have been far behind.

But it wasn't to be __ not then at least, and despite openly discussing other possibilities, we sadly parted company, as she went off to Leeds Metropolitan University, and me to my first serious job in Bristol.

We couldn't have been much further apart.

She swore to be faithful to me, but I took that with a pinch of salt. I'd just spent three years as a student myself, and was well aware of how things change, and what temptations there were.

I did visit her a few times, but the last time it was so obvious that she had another life to worry about, and we simply drifted apart.

That could have been it of course, as I certainly didn't hang around, becoming for a few years a bit of a party animal on the Bristol scene, and going through a succession of different girls. But then I changed my direction a little, and ended up back nearer home, and Carrie came back into my life. She'd graduated by then, and was working already when her parents invited me round. I have to say that the first welcome I got from darling Carrie was a little less warm than I expected, but that soon changed. Indeed she had changed herself, had grown up, become more sophisticated, more worldly wise. And yes, she had lost her virginity, and unfortunately it hadn't been to me.

No matter really, and who was I to complain.

Then one evening she told someone I was still her special hero, and we seemed to be back where we'd left off.

I renewed my acquaintance with the inside of her panties, and this time it didn't stop there. We were soon screwing away like bunny rabbits, and the more we made love, the more we fell in love.

Marriage followed, as sure as morning follows night, and six years later we were still as much in love as we ever had been.

Carrie was sometimes a bit of a prude, didn't approve of all manner of things, but never pushed her views too far, so it never was a problem.

We were happy ___ really happy, and the future looked bright.

My problem started when my company decided to promote me. No problem with that, except that it was to the fine city of Leeds, where my loving wife had spent her years at the university. It was that or the Middle East, and since we wanted to start a family, Leeds just seemed to make more sense.

No problem there either ___ at least not for the first couple of weeks, while we found ourselves a temporary rented flat, and settled in. I knew I'd miss going to watch Arsenal play football, and Leeds City was hardly going to replace them in my affections. After all, Billy Bremner and crew had long since retired. But overall Leeds seemed not a bad place to be in.

For those of you who don't know it, it is a very lively city, with lots of nightlife.

Then one evening she suggested that we do a bit of a tour of the city, and look in on a few of the places she used to frequent as a student. We had a drink in a few of the student pubs, but even Carrie felt a bit out of place since it had been eight years since she had graduated from Leeds Met.

We ate at a restaurant where she had worked for a while, but even there she found nobody that she remembered. Even the decoration had changed and it was obvious that she was feeling a little disappointed with the evening. It simply didn't have the magic that she had been hoping for.

Strange just how a little thing like a place re-decorating since you were last there, can really make someone so utterly disappointed. The whole evening looked as if it was going to end so poorly.

"I know," she declared at last. "There was a little pub on the edge of town that I worked in during my final year. It wasn't a student pub, so maybe some of the locals will still be around."

It was still early evening, so we walked hand in hand through the city centre like the two lovers we were, not bothering with the car, till at last she led me down a couple of back alleys, and the nature of the buildings began to change. From bright city lights to shabby back street houses and crumbling workshops.

"Was it like this when you were here?" I asked Carrie doubtfully, and she laughed, telling me that it hadn't changed. She'd lived not far away in some cheap flat that she had shared with three other girls, one of whom had worked in the same pub as her for some time.

"Just round this corner," she told me at last, the joy in her voice so obvious that it made me grin, and then there in front of us was a grimy looking pub that I wouldn't normally have dreamt of going in on my own, no matter with Carrie the way she was dressed.

Not that she was dressed slutty or anything as that simply wasn't her style. Carrie was the epitome of smart in her appearance, from her neatly shortcut dark hair, to her smart suits and formal high heels. That evening was an exception and she'd worn a short skirt. Not very short at all, but for her just a little more daring than normal. I'd joked that maybe it was to remind her of her student days, but on reflection, just perhaps she had some idea of how the evening was going to pan out.

Maybe not though ____ No __ I think if she'd known, then she wouldn't have left out flat.

The Rose and Crown the pub was called, with two typical, big, period, etched, multi coloured windows to the front, that no doubt looked very fine in their day.

"You're sure this is it?" I queried hesitantly.

"Of course," she replied. "Not so bad once you get inside."

With that, she flashed me a beautiful smile, the one I'd love so much since I'd known her as a young girl, and pushed open the pub door.

Little did I know at the time that I would never feel the same again about that smile!

I followed her in and she was right. The interior was old fashioned, but quite clean, with a long dark wooden bar, and a lovely old mirror behind. And the windows that looked so grubby from outside, actually looked fine from within as the lights from the street lamps shone through them, giving the bar a warm sort of glow.

Carrie stood there entranced, at last recognition registering on her face.

"It hasn't changed a bit," she said quietly to nobody in particular.

"I shouldn't think it's changed much in fifty years," I added, which made her giggle a little, and squeeze my hand as she looked lovingly up at me.

"Oh look Terry, look!" And she was off, letting go of my hand, and scooting across the wooden floor to the other end of the bar.

"Hi there, remember me?" I heard her say to the barman, who turned round to look at her. He looked her up and down appraising the pretty young woman in front of him. Then a smile came to his face as he recognised who had just greeted him.

"Carrie," he cried. "Is that really you Carrie?"

Carrie stood there nodding her head in confirmation, grinning up at the tall, lanky barman whose name I never did discover.

I couldn't help grinning myself, as I realised that at last Carrie had found someone who remembered her, and the evening wasn't going to be a total waste after all.

He whooped with some sort of joy, and rushed from behind the bar, taking Carrie in his arms and cuddling her tightly, kissing her full on the lips. The cuddle and kiss didn't last long enough for me to get jealous or anything, but the first uneasy feeling slithered coldly through my gut, removing the grin from my face.

They talked animatedly about things I knew nothing of, and I waited to be introduced.

The talk passed onto people who Carrie had obviously known back then, and I still waited in vain to be introduced.

When another guy walked into the pub, the barman called out to him and told him to come and see who'd turned up. He walked straight by me, and yelled "Carrie," as soon as he spotted her.

Again I had to endure my wife being cuddled and kissed by a man I'd never seen before.

Again I waited in vain to be introduced.

"Karl will be in any moment Carrie," the second guy told her, and to my amazement she blushed. "Thought that would get to you," he added, seeing her reaction.

"Really," answered Carrie. "Karl still comes in does he? He'll really be here soon?"

Who the hell was Karl?

Carrie had never mentioned a Karl before. No reason why she should of course, but I didn't like the way the evening was heading, and I didn't like the way she was ignoring me either.

I was still left there standing on my own, feeling like a spare prick.

I cleared my throat to attract her attention, and when that failed, I coughed loudly.

The barman looked round at me, but Carrie continued to ignore me, deep in conversation with the other man.

"Sorry mate," the barman called over to me. "I'll be with you in a minute."

What could I do?

I could have gone and grabbed her arm or something, but she was so obviously lost in the fun of meeting her old friends, that I decided to bide my time, walking up to the bar just behind them and leant on the counter.

"Yes mate," asked the barman at long last, tearing himself away from my wife. "What can I get you?"

"A pint of best please," I told him. "And whatever the lady wants."

The smile left the barman's face as I said it.

"I don't think this little lady takes drinks from just anyone mister," he snarled at me, evidently totally unaware that I was her husband, or that she was even with me.

"I think she'll have a drink with me," I responded, my temper just beginning to rise.

"Now look here mate," the barman started. "You can't come in here and......"

It was as far as he got however, as at last Carrie turned round, the raised voices at last attracting her attention, and interrupted him.

"It's OK, he's with me," she informed the other two casually, hardly bothering to so much as look over at me.

The barman shut up, but still scowled at me as he pulled my beer.

"That will be two pounds twenty then," he demanded as he pushed the glass over the counter towards me.

"And the drink for the lady?" I queried.

"That's on the house," he brusquely informed me, then promptly asked her what she wanted and poured it for her, without looking back at me.

I stood there sipping my pint, wondering what the hell was going on. My wife was still deep in conversation with the other two, laughing and giggling for all she was worth, as they recounted old stories, and they told her what had happened since she had left.

Karl's name cropped up several times I noted, and a worrying smile flitted across Carrie's face, each time.

She still continued to completely ignore me, and I was beginning to get quite upset at her strange behaviour. I was about to step in between them to reclaim my wife's attention, when the pub door opened and a two big chaps breezed in, one of them white, and the other a West Indian.

"Hey Karl," shouted out the barman the instant he spotted them. "Look who's turned up out of the blue."

So this was the mysterious Karl?

Big sod, and rather tough looking with it as well.

Karl stopped in his tracks when he spotted Carrie, and a huge grin creased his face.

"Bugger me ___ Carrie," he shouted. "Where have you appeared from?"

Without saying anything more, he bounded past me, and as the others moved out of his way, grabbed her and embraced her, Carrie kissing him back as enthusiastically as he was kissing her.

This time it did go on a bit too long for my liking, and the way the others stood there beaming at the two of them as they were locked together didn't help either.

Then his left hand dropped down her back, and cupped the cheek of her bottom.

I'd had enough!

I stepped forward to break it up, deciding that if Carrie was going to allow that, and couldn't even so much as involve me in her friends, then it was time we were going.

I only managed one step forward, and was bought to a sudden stop by a large strong hand on my shoulder, gripping me hard.

"Wouldn't if I were you mate," came a deep voice from behind me, as I realised the black guy had anticipated my move, and stepped forward to prevent it.

"Get your hand off me," I told him angrily, trying unsuccessfully to throw him off.

All four guys turned on me at that point, all squaring up at me expecting trouble.

"Oh leave him alone," Carrie told them before anything happened. "He bought me here tonight. He's OK. He won't cause any problems."

All this without so much as even looking at me, or acknowledging me in any way. Her head turned towards me for a moment, but our eyes never met.

Bought her here did I?

No mention that I'd known her since she was a kid, and that I happened to be her bloody husband.

"Stay cool man," the big black guy told me, more than a hint of a threat in his voice. He let go of my shoulder, but eased me back away from the group around Carrie, inserting his huge frame between them and me.

I couldn't believe what was happening!

An icy cold lump started to form in my gut.

Twenty minutes ago I had been hand in hand with my loving wife, almost skipping happily through the middle of Leeds City centre, as much in love as any couple could be.

That to this in twenty short minutes. Left on the sidelines, and shut out by my wife and her friends.

They made a move over towards one of the tables, as the pub started to get busy.

I saw several attractive if slutty looking women come in and talk to Karl or his sidekick, before going out again, or taking their place at the bar.

I wasn't such an innocent abroad not to recognise exactly what the women were. Or to be more precise, what they did for a living.

Bloody hell, my somewhat prim and correct young wife, was being friendly with a pimp.

He must have been. Karl must have been a bleeding pimp.

Surely she wasn't so simple minded not to recognise what was going on around her?

Enough! Whether she liked it or not, Carrie and I were getting out of there.

"Carrie," I called sufficiently loudly that she couldn't pretend not to hear. "Time we were going Carrie. Come on now ___ it's time we were off."

She looked over at me and the smile drained away from her face, only to be replaced by an agitated look.

She didn't even say no. She didn't say anything at all.

Carrie just shook her head at me, and turned back to her friends, the smile returning, and before long she was giggling like a little schoolgirl, apparently having forgotten that I was even there.

"Play it cool, or piss off man," said the deep voice at my elbow. "I won't warn you again."

"Now look here...." I started to protest, but he put his huge hand on my chest and pushed me firmly away from the group sat around the table, and back up to the bar.

"The lady doesn't seem to want to know you buster," he informed me. "Stay there and wait for her if you want, or go home. Go find yourself another date for the night. Or better still try one of our ladies."

Without waiting for me to say anything, he beckoned one of the women over, and she responded immediately, trotting over on her high heels to stand right beside me.

"This is Sally," he told me. "It'll cost you but she'll look after you tonight. Just piss off with her and forget about the little lady over there. Her and Karl have a lot of catching up to do. Sorry if your date didn't work out as you expected tonight, but that's life."

He backed off and went back to the table, leaving me speechless with rage.

"Don't push your luck handsome," the prostitute, Sally advised me. "The pair of them are not to be messed with. Just let her go ____ She's pretty enough, but better to find yourself another girl for the night."

I looked at her in disbelief.

"She's not my girl friend, she's my bloody wife," I found myself hissing at her.

"Oh shit," the girl, Sally exclaimed, her face clouding over. "Oh shit ____ that's bad. That's really bad."

I went to make my move back over to the table, but this time it was Sally who blocked my move.

"Hang on handsome," she said to me. "You really don't want to do that."

"What the fuck am I supposed to do then for Christ's sake," I demanded in frustration.

"Let me go and have a word with her for you," she offered. "You're not kidding me are you? She really is your wife."

The look on my face alone was enough to convince her, and holding up the palm of her hand towards me to make sure I didn't follow her, she slowly threaded her way through to the table where Carrie and the others were sitting.

I watched as she bent down and whispered something in Carrie's ear, and then Carrie looked up in my direction, for the first time since she'd entered the pub, her eyes meeting mine.