Carnal Passions Presents
Reconcilable Differences
By
CC Kaufman
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Carnal Passions
A Division of Champagne Books
www.carnalpassions.com
Copyright 2011 by CC Kaufman
ISBN 9781926996738
December 2011
Cover Art by Petra K.
Produced in Canada
Carnal Passions
#35069-4604 37 ST SW
Calgary, AB T3E 7C7
Canada
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Smashwords Edition
ONE
He thrust into her, groaned, laid still for a few seconds and then passed out on top of her. In an effort to urge him on she tried to flex her vaginal muscles, while moving her pelvis, only to feel him wilting inside of her. Damn! Julie squeezed out from beneath him, anger boiling up within her as she stared up at the ceiling. I don't need this. What she hoped would be a nice romantic evening turned into another typical night of him drinking too much and her not drinking enough. Why should I have to drink to make sex bearable? Why doesn't he want to make love with me, not just screw?
"I don't get it" she said aloud. "What am I supposed to do?" Her anger gave way to despair. Over the last two years, their sex life had practically disappeared. She seldom became aroused, rarely achieved orgasm, and worst of all realized that she found it easier to avoid having sex than to bear the disappointment.
When Bruce rolled over on to his back she left the bed to dress, quietly moving into the kitchen before he started his infernal snoring. God, she thought, are they all like that; drink too much, don't worry about satisfying her, get their rocks off, pass out, and snore? What a life! A good father, and provider; she would not want to be with anyone else, however a sex life would be nice. Discussion didn't work, she broached the subject several times with no result. He would only say, "I'm sorry I guess I drank too much", or I'm sorry honey, but I'm under a lot of pressure at work and I'm tired." Not too tired to go out with his buddies to watch football she mentioned, which would only make him angry. I'm the mother and the wife, but not the lover or friend. I'm disappearing. The anger returned when she felt the tears run down her cheeks. She hated crying women. Is it like this for anyone else? I wonder if Darlene has the same problem.
Bruce and Darlene's husband, Frank, have been best friends since high school. The four of them socialized quite a bit. She considered Darlene a good friend, although they were not extremely close. Maybe I should go out of my way to talk to her more, she thought. She missed the friends that dropped away over the years; someone to talk to, to exchange ideas with to help get a different slant on things…like sex. Her thoughts strayed to high school and college. Never a sexual dynamo she didn't experiment much in those days, although she did enjoy sex when it was spontaneous and new.
What happened? Darlene might have some ideas. They met for lunch once a month and she made up her mind this Tuesday they would talk about their sex lives. Her list of alternatives was short; Bruce refused to consider counseling insisting they didn't have a problem and that "I'm not letting some stranger into our private lives, that's bullshit!" In her opinion divorce was not an option—just the thought frightened her. After all, someway, somehow we will eventually reconcile our differences.
~*~
Julie glanced around the restaurant as she sipped her tea, at the same time tapping a staccato rhythm on the glass table with her fingernails. She always managed to be five minutes early, Darlene fifteen minutes late. Some things never changed. She spotted Darlene walking into the dining room, watching her as she made her way through the maze of tables to theirs. She looked great; her nationality was difficult to pick, maybe Italian, maybe Spanish. Julie knew in fact she claimed Scottish mixed with Jewish and Italian.
Makeup perfect, Darlene projected confidence. Her long, dark hair swayed as she walked, skirt showing just enough leg, blouse just enough cleavage. I wonder if life would be better if I had boobs that big? Not that she had none, a trim thirty four B, she never felt she was lacking but sometimes wondered what it would be like to have just a little more. Darlene looked to be at least a C, not huge, but God knows the men noticed. She looked a little frustrated Julie thought. Her dark eyebrows were furrowed.
"Sorry, I had to stop to get gas." Darlene said. "What is it with Frank? He never buys gas! Does Bruce do that?"
"He never drives the wagon. It would be too…I don't know. You know, unmanly?"
"Oh right, the whole jock thing." Bruce claimed State all star status in high school football followed by first team in college.
They air-kissed before Darlene sat.
The waiter approached the table to take their order. An image of a greasy cheeseburger with fries danced through Julie's head. They both ordered salads, Darlene white wine, Julie iced tea.
"You really should have wine," Darlene said. "It would loosen you up."
"I have to drive and run some errands."
"So do I, a little wine actually helps."
"Maybe next time."
The conversation during lunch went the usual way, kids, taxes, various relatives; until Julie brought up sex.
"What's wrong?" Darlene asked. "Is there a problem with you and Bruce, what's going on?"
"No, it's nothing like that. I've just been thinking. Are you happy, I mean happy with the way…you know, with your sex life?"
"I'm not sure what you're getting at," Darlene said.
"Well, I've never been real…overactive I guess you would say, but it seems like I'm not really satisfied. Like there should be more…"
Darlene tossed her head back as if looking up at heaven. "Oh you mean like the men in our lives should actually satisfy us now and then! Well, I tell you what; I just take matters into my own hand if you know what I mean. That works for me."
Julie stared at her for moment before she spoke. "Oh! Okay, I get what you say. Okay."
Darlene reached over to briefly hold her hand. "You don't do that do you?"
Julie felt embarrassed, more because of the fact that she was embarrassed to begin with. "Well yes, sometimes, sure, but I want more than that."
Darlene laughed before taking a sip of wine. "Yeah don't we all. Hmm. Maybe we should work on that. You know what we need to do?" Her lips turned up into a sly smile, her brown eyes sparkled.
"What?"
"We need to talk about this more. What we need to do is to have a girl's week-end together. And I know the perfect way."
Julie remained silent, not sure what to say. Darlene leaned forward. "Look, the guys are going to San Diego to the ball game in a couple of weeks, right?"
"Yes, right," Julie said.
"Okay, they'll be gone for the whole week end. Instead of being good little wives and staying at home with the kids, I say we get your sitter and mine to stay at your place with the kids. You and I can stay at my place, hang around the pool, maybe go out at night, or do whatever we want." Julie could see the enthusiasm on Darlene's face. It wasn't a bad idea.
Darlene continued. "It will be fine, we can keep in touch with the sitters, and we're only ten minutes away if there's a problem. It'll be fun!"
Julie picked at her salmon salad as she thought about Darlene's suggestion. She seldom did anything different. Her friends and family were always urging her to loosen up and live a little, so why not? It made sense. Her frustration level made any change sound good.
"Well I suppose it would be fun, it will give us a break from the men and the little ones. We could go by to check on the children once in a while. Yes, I need to do something different, but instead of using your sitter with mine I'll ask my mom to come over. She would love to spend the time with the children. Mom gets along well with my sitter, so that would work just fine."
"She knows your sitter?"
"Mom has known that family for years. Lindsey is like a granddaughter to her."
They spent the balance of lunch planning possible scenarios for their weekend.
TWO
The two weeks leading up to their planned weekend passed quickly. Both Bruce and Frank liked their idea of the girl's week end; of course they were both so psyched about the football game they would agree to anything. Julie found herself happier because she had something to look forward to. Bruce teased her about her and Darlene picking up strange men. She assured him that was not part of the plan. It wasn't, was it? She knew Darlene could get a little wild when she had a few too many drinks, but had never witnessed anything such as that. Just the thought made her a little nervous.
~*~
On that Friday the guys left work early to get a head start on the drive to California, which left Julie the balance of the day free. She took the opportunity to enjoy a nice lunch at home with her mother. After lunch, they spent the rest of the afternoon setting up meals and arranging places for everyone to sleep. When they were finished with the preparations, she drove to Darlene's to pick up her two children, stopping along the return trip for her own sitter, Lindsey. The last detail before she would leave for the weekend was to make sure all of the children were settled with Pizza and movies. She bid her mom goodbye.
"Enjoy yourself," her mother said. "You deserve it. And don't worry; we can handle the children just fine."
~*~
Although they were close in proximity, the homes in Darlene's neighborhood were one step up from what she and Bruce could afford. Julie knew for a fact that Darlene's home had been inherited from her mother, a sad situation, but a great boost for a young family. Julie admired the older, conservative ranch home with the established foliage. It wasn't huge; a basic three bedroom design, the rooms only slightly larger than hers, but with an additional family room and the large back yard with pool, it seemed a mansion.
With a small overnight bag in hand she rang the bell, not sure what to expect. Darlene greeted her with a hug and what looked like a Martini. She looked great, wearing a smart black dress that showed off her figure. Her hair, as usual, hung in a lazy wave past her shoulders, shining and dark.
"You look great!" Julie said.
"Thanks, so do you. Let the games begin!"
"What's this?" she asked taking the drink Darlene offered.
"It's a little something special Frank invented. He calls it a Maxwell Silver Hammer. I just call it a Silver Hammer.
"Good name, what's in it?"
"Chilled Silver Patron Tequila with just enough Amaretto to give it some color, mix like a martini and serve it up with a sliver of lime."
"Tequila always knocks me on my ass," Julie said tasting the drink. "But this is really good."
The drink tasted great. Julie usually made a point of staying sober because Bruce didn't. Free of the responsibilities of the children, tonight she could indulge as she saw fit since they were taking a cab. They planned to go to one of the best restaurants in town followed by a quiet evening at Darlene's to relax and swim. Anxious to get out the door, they downed their drinks in what for Julie was record time. Darlene gave her an appraising look as they were about to leave.