Trades

But Dale was more mature now, those crazy college days were long gone.

"Yes, that would be better but I guess we will just need to deal with it." Jeanie answered. They didn't say any more about that, after they hung up Jack went in and watched the movie.

Cheryl brought out some wine, it was good. Later he told her good night and went to his own room. The earlier conversation with his wife popped into his head. But that was nothing, he thought.

Dale of course had to use the facilities, with that bathroom being located right between the two bedrooms, things like that would happen. He trusted Jeanie, it would not be a problem.

Cheryl was wearing her robe during the movie, and he had noticed she had on a pair of white panties underneath when she moved her legs. He was fairly sure that was all there was, but that was no big deal.

She had a right to be comfortable in her own home, they all did.

+++

The long flight home in a cramped airplane was a pain in the ass, finally it landed. Jeanie was waiting by the baggage claim area, lots of people were looking as they kissed like teenagers.

Laughing, Jack got his small bag and they drove home.

Dale wasn't there, he was pulling a shift on Saturday, Jeanie told him he should get home about 6 PM.

That struck him as sounding funny, the getting "home" part. He quickly forgot about that as they took advantage of having a few hours all to themselves.

Jack was in quite a state, having just gone well over a month without sex. Jeanie seemed to be in the same state, she was as eager as he could remember.

Getting him up and ready to go for the third time was a special moment, something they had never done before.

When Dale walked in, Jack was sitting in his chair watching the news. He took one look at Jeanie and grinned. She had that look about her that some women cannot hide.

"So how is it going back home?" He asked, plopping down on the couch.

"Good. We nearly have the first line of machines in, we should have the plant in production in another sixty days."

"Great. We are doing OK here, too. You should take a look at some of the designs, we have a unit that would fit upstairs, it would make a great second bathroom off the other bedroom." He said.

There was more small talk, then dinner was ready. Eating familiar food was great, Jack noticed that Dale reached for some hot sauce.

Later, Jack helped Jeanie clear the dishes like he always did, then when he came into the living room, Dale was sitting in his chair.

Jack felt a minor flash of irritation at that, Dale noticed.

"Oh, sorry." he said, moving to the couch.

"So, when are you flying back home to see Cheryl?" Jack asked him.

"I was thinking in a couple of weeks, we still have some house payments to make up." He said.

It had now been at almost two months since Dale had been home, Jack knew that.

The flight to Shrevesport was uneventful, Jack was already missing his wife before the plane landed.

+++

Two weeks later, Cheryl drove to the airport to pick up Dale. Jack looked up when they walked in the door giggling, both of them tipsy. They must have stopped off at a bar on the way.

Jack understood perfectly, he quickly made himself scarce. But it became clear that Cheryl was not exactly quiet during lovemaking, Jack found himself sitting on the edge of his bed with an enormous erection.

Lord was that woman loud, and it went on and on.

Later, as they all sat around and watched a movie on TV all three of them were quiet. It was like there was some embarrassment in the air.

Dale stayed for three nights, each evening was the same, rather loud. He also noticed that Cheryl acted differently while Dale was there, for one thing, she clearly was not wearing a bra and in the evening while watching TV she came out in her housecoat. That was something Jack already knew, but the robe opened for an instant when she hopped onto the couch with Dale.

That wasn't skimpy or anything like that, but Jack knew Cheryl was nude under the robe and the brief flashes of leg kept his own nerves on edge.

She was acting like a horny housewife and Jack was just part of the furniture.

Jack drove Dale to the airport, his wife was tied up with something and had left earlier that morning.

"I hope we didn't keep you up." Dale mentioned, giving Jack a grin.

"No, not really. I understand." Jack answered.

"Man, it's tough doing this, Cheryl and I are pretty active most of the time. Going weeks without seeing her is the part I don't like."

"Yea, same here. I miss Jeanie, but we have to do what we have to do until the economy picks up." Jack replied.

"It got so bad I actually went to one of those massage places, man, they sure aren't like the ones we have down here, are they?" Dale said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. He had never been for a massage in his life.

"You know, some of the girls don't mind...taking care of things. In Portland, they are all blue noses." Dale laughed.

"Oh." Jack answered. He had never thought of doing something like that himself. He was always completely content with Jeanie, so he had no reason to.

That stuck in his head as he went on to his own job. But it was something he was sure he could never do, no matter how bad things got.

+++

Jack's own trip home a few weeks later was similar, Dale came and went and somehow it had settled into being...normal?

"I found one." Dale told him with a huge grin while they sat outside having a beer.

"Found one what?" Jack had no idea what he was talking about. Dale was on his 3rd beer and getting talkative.

"One of those gals that will, you know? After a massage?" Dale grinned.

"Oh? Who?" He asked.

"Her name is Marty, she works upstairs at a hair salon. Man is that a kick, bunch of old ladies sitting around downstairs with their heads stuffed in dryers, she takes me up to this little room. Sixty bucks, nice rubdown and then she gives a hand job for $20 extra, she is good at it too."

"Really? But...what about Cheryl?" Jack asked.

"Cheryl knows. Hell, there is no way I can go 5 or 6 weeks with nothing. It's just getting jacked off, it ain't like I have some bimbo on the side and am sneaking around." He laughed.

Jack didn't know what to say about that.

"You should give it a try, I have the number of the place I used to go back home. Here, if things get too tough, go for it. Ask for Clarice, tell her I sent you." Dale reached in his wallet, handed Jack a card.

Jack looked at it. The message on the card made it rather clear what was offered.

Not thinking, he stuck it in his wallet.

+++

Jack was scheduled to fly home a few weeks later, at 4 in the afternoon his department manager asked him to come in on Saturday to help with a problem they were having with one of the big machines.

Jeanie was unhappy about that when he called, but there was nothing Jack could do.

Then when he got to the plant, the problem turned out to be simple, and he had things up and running within a few hours.

He glanced at his watch, no way could he make his flight now, so he headed back to Dale and Cheryl's place. He stopped at a store and did some quick shopping.

Cheryl had become much more relaxed about Jack being around, she often wore her pajamas and clearly nothing else. They weren't skimpy or anything but they did cling to her body, Jack noticed that.

Jack walked in, sat down the bag of groceries. There was no sign of Cheryl, he was putting the purchases away when he heard a whimper.

It sounded like she was crying, coming from the den Dale had built off to the side.

Jack went in there, and came to a stop. Cheryl was lying back on the big couch, masturbating with a large dildo.

One hand was on her breast, the pajama top pulled up, the other was between her legs, working the pale colored thing in and out of herself.

Her eyes came up to meet his, they flashed open in shock and she rearranged her clothing quickly as Jack beat a hasty retreat, mumbling apologies.

Jack went directly to his bedroom, closed the door. He sat there trying to control himself, the vision of her lying there like that just would not leave his thoughts. He found himself painfully erect.

It was nearly an hour later when Cheryl softly knocked on the door.

"May I come in?" She asked.

"Sure. Yes." Jack called out.

Cheryl was fully dressed, her face was red.

"I wanted to apologize, I didn't expect...?" She said.

"It's all right, this is your house. I should have made some noise or something. It's just that...I am sorry, it's my fault." Jack stammered.

"Dale and I..we are..you know...active? This is driving me crazy!" Cheryl blurted out.

"I understand, I am in the same boat. I was planning on being home this weekend, with Jeanie and..."

"Let's don't tell Dale, OK? It's embarrassing enough as it is." Cheryl told him.

"I won't, but there is no reason to be embarrassed, OK? Some things are just natural. We both should try to understand and make the best of things."

Cheryl nodded, then went back to her own room.

Jack did his best to put seeing her like that out of his mind, but that night was a miserable one.

Now it was going to be at least two weeks, perhaps longer before he could fly home.

It didn't help one bit that Dale arrived the following weekend, there was another two days of loud noises coming from the other bedroom.

Finally Jack could not stand it, he called and got an appointment with Clarice at the local massage parlor. She turned out to be an oriental woman, in her 30's, small and happy acting.

He felt gulty the entire time, when the women began to use her hands on him he closed his eyes and tried to think of Jeanie.

Instead, the vision of Cheryl lying there with her legs spread, working that big dildo popped in, and Jack blasted off.

It did make Jack feel better and stopped the almost painful feeling, even though he also felt guilty at the same time.

It didn't help at all that as soon as Dale was on his way back to Portland, Cheryl came out wearing those pajamas in the evenings.

That he noticed.

They outlined her figure much more than the heavier robe she wore when Dale was there. A few times it was like she was perhaps teasing him some?

His conversations with Jeanie helped a lot, he wanted desperately to tell her what he had done, going to that massage place. Jack and Jeanie were comfortable enough with each other that he felt he could talk to her about it, but he wanted it to be in person, not over a long distance telephone call.

Finally Jack flew back home, he had 5 whole days this time. The two of them were in bed nearly the moment they were inside their door.

Later, Jack mentioned the accident with Cheryl, then he admitted going to that seedy massage parlor and letting Clarice masturbate him.

There was no mistaking the hurt in her eyes, even though Jeanie tried to hide it.

"I'm sorry, honey. I was just going crazy is all." He told her.

"Well, so am I, but I don't go out and do anything like that." She replied.

"Maybe you should, if it's just...you know...hands? It wouldn't hurt anything." He told her.

"You just want permission." Jeanie accused.

"No! It's not that. It's just that..we have to figure out something."

Jeanie didn't answer, she just got up and went into the kitchen, busied herself.

Dale came home, it didn't take but a few minutes and he figured out that something was up.

Jack told him the truth when he asked point blank.

"Oh. Is that all? Hell, why don't you take care of Cheryl when you need some, maybe I can take care of Jeanie? That would work and neither one of us would need to go to any parlor?" Dale said.

"What?" Jack asked him.

"Hey, it's no big deal, all four of us are active and it's a long damned ways home. Besides, Jeanie has a great looking set on her, I wouldn't mind one bit!" Jack realized that Dale had his fair share of drinks down him.

He felt like popping Dale one for saying that, but he was just drunk.

Jack went in to bed, Jeanie joined him a bit later. They made love once again, she never mentioned Jack's indiscretion.

"You are kidding me. Dale said that?" Jeanie asked when he told her later what Dale had suggested.

"He was just drunk." Jack said.

"I guess I am worried, this is all a bit of a problem, isn't it?" She told him.

"We will just have to deal with things as best we can." Jack answered.

+++

The flight home seemed to take longer than usual. That was how Jack was now seeing it, going "home."

A few nights later, Cheryl came into the living room and sat down. She appeared to be wanting to say something, but it took awhile.

"Dale and I had a talk." She finally said.

"Oh?" Jack answered.

"Yes, we discussed the situation, and he said we were all being silly."

"How so?"

"You know, living like this but all of us miserable most of the time. About sex, Jack." She looked him right in the eyes.

"Sex?" Jack asked, puzzled.

"Dale gave me permission, so if you want to, that is."

"I can't, I just can't...Jeanie...I couldn't."

"Jack? She already is."

"What? No, she wouldn't."

"Yes, she would." Cheryl smiled.

"How could you possibly know that?" Jack asked her.

"I called her, she told me. She said she didn't want you going to some sleazy place, that it would be better this way. She asked me if it was OK to be with Dale and I told her it was fine."

Jack felt his face flush, he just stared at Cheryl.

"I was thinking that by now you would have done something, made some kind of move but you haven't, so now I am asking."

"No! Jeanie wouldn't, I know her!" Jack blurted out.

"Yes, she would, Jack. In fact, I know she already has, so it's OK for us." Cheryl was acting mildly peeved now.

"Don't you like me?" She asked when he didn't answer. Cheryl stood up, reached up to undo the buttons on her pajamas.

"Stop that!" Jack told her. He got up and went to his room, shut the door. Then he reached for the phone.

Jeanie answered on the 5th ring, she sounded out of breath.

"Hi, honey!" She said brightly.

"What's going on?" Jack demanded.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Have you been fucking Dale?" Jack asked, getting right to the point.

"I...Jack? Don't you want to be with Cheryl?"

"No, I don't."

"Really? But you have been going to that rubdown place?"

"That was just once, and I told you about it. It won't ever happen again."

"Oh, is that Jack?" He heard Dale's voice in the background.

"Jeanie, what in the hell is going on? I don't want you and Dale to...?" Jack's voice broke.

"Dale, stop that!" Jack heard Jeanie say, then she came back on.

"Jack? It's too late, honey. I thought that you and Cheryl...?...Oh, God. I'm sorry." She told him.

Jack hung up the phone.

Cheryl was standing at his door when he looked up, she had her arms folded across her chest.

"Well. I guess not, huh?" She turned and walked away.

"Not with another man's wife!" Jack shouted after her.

Jack was on the next plane home. He told management he had to go, they told him he couldn't be spared.

"I quit, then." He told them.

+++

There was no sign of Dale's car when the taxi pulled up. Jack went inside, Jeanie sat there on the couch, her hands folded in her lap.

They looked at each other, Jeanie appeared frightened. He walked past her into their bedroom, everything was neat as a pin like always. He unpacked his suitcase, Jeanie was still sitting there when he came back out.

"Where is Dale?" Jack demanded.

"He moved out." She said.

"Probably a good thing." Jack went and sat in his chair.

"So? How long has all of that been going on?" He asked her.

"About a week." Jeanie looked down.

"A week? A WEEK? How many times, god damn it!"

"I don't know, four or five I guess."

"Why?"

"You were..? I thought you wanted to. Cheryl called and told me that Dale said it was all right, so I thought the two of you were doing it. But you didn't, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

"I would feel better if you had."

"She isn't my type, and I wouldn't do that to you." Jack said.

"You went to that parlor place, honey."

"That's different."

"How is that different. You can but I can't?" Jeanie looked miffed now.

"Where is Dale?"

"I don't know and I don't care. He isn't a man like you are, he only...got me off one time. I made a mistake, I thought you wanted...?"

Jack thought about that, he had heard Dale and Cheryl many times, somehow he doubted the man was inadequate.

"Oh hell, this being apart all the time doesn't work." Jeanie interupted his thoughts.

"I know. I quit that job."

"Good. Now what are we going to do? Do you want us to break up?" Jeanie asked.

"Do you want to?"

"No. I want to be with you, honey. I will do anything you want me to."

"I have to ask. Did you do it in our bed?"

"No. Upstairs, in the spare room."

"I can't believe you could do that." Jack told her with a sigh.

"I didn't believe you would either, but when Cheryl told me...? It sounded like you two were?"

"Why didn't you just ask me?"

"I don't know."

+++

Jack stayed upset, he finally understood that the combination of what he had done, then Dale was being pushy, topping that was Cheryl's phone call?

He went down to Dale's place of work, but was told that Dale had quit and was gone. Jack didn't blame him one bit for that.

It was all a mess, he was having troubles coping with it. Even worse, the one time he had seen Cheryl lying there naked, using a dildo on herself kept sliding into his thoughts.

"I should have just fucked her senseless!" He thought bitterly to himself. At least then he and Dale would be even, maybe then he could cope?

Over the next few weeks, Jack looked for work, finally landing a job in a repair shop working on engines. He did have a background in that which helped a lot.

It was in his mind to leave Jeanie, end things for what she had done, but he was guilty himself. Besides, he did love that woman, doing without was as hard on her as it had been on himself.

It was a struggle, but finally Jack did manage to come to terms with it. Still, it was a couple of weeks before he and Jeanie once again made love.

She was extremely happy about that, things could just go back to normal, everything would be all right.

But even though Jack didn't bring the subject up any more, Jeanie was well aware that he was not pleased.

One evening, she did ask him if he could ever forgive her.

"I should have screwed Cheryl, maybe I would feel better about things." He told her bitterly.

"I wish you had!" Jeanie told him as she slid her hand down the front of his jeans. She knew that worked very well to take Jack's mind off of things.

+++

About a month later, their phone rang, Jeanie picked it up. There was a long conversation, quite a bit of laughing and giggling which he wasn't following from just one side of the conversation.

"Great! I will pick you up." Jeanie said and hung up. Then she turned to Jack.

"That was Cheryl, honey. She and Dale broke up, so I told her she can stay here until things are settled."

"What? You told her she could come here?" Jack exclaimed.

"Yes, I did!" Jeanie said stubbornly.

Jack was sitting in his chair when Jeanie and Cheryl arrived from the airport. The two of them joined him in the living room.

Cheryl had always been aware of her husband Dale's extra activities and she had finally become fed up with it.

"When Cheryl called me, we talked and decided this was the perfect solution."

"I don't get it?" Jack said.

"Well, back when Jeanie and I decided, Dale was of course easy but you? You just wouldn't take the hints." Cheryl gave him a big smile.

"Hints?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, then when you sneaked off to one of Dale's massage parlors and we found out, that hurt. I mean, I was right there and all you had to do was ask." She grinned.