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Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 01

By: capecodmercury



Law of the Heart: Consequential Damages Chapter 01

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is an alternate ending to HeadHunterTales's Law of the Heart. It takes place immediately following the events of the fourth chapter in that story. My thanks go out to HHT for the use of his characters. His willingness to let other author's take a shot at finishing the tale is much appreciated. I've tried to write an ending that he said he was not considering.

This is not a stroke story. Nor is it a tale of bloody revenge. If that is what you are looking for, save yourself some time and look elsewhere. This story deals with the emotions created by the situation and the revenge is commensurate with the crimes. 

I have included the last few paragraphs of Chapter four to set the scene.

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Half way to the rooms they stopped. Juan fished in a small pocket in Jill's shirt and pulled out the electronic key card. Then he whispered in her ear. I could see her lift her head from his chest, raise her arm and point to one of the rooms.

It had a door that opened on the beach area as well as into the hallway on the other side. Reaching what I knew had to be what should have been Jill's and my room, Juan deftly slipped the key card into the French door's lock.

"OK Jill, please say goodnight," I begged. "Say goodnight to him and .... and......"

A soft light switched on in her room, and I could see both bodies standing there in the doorway, profiled in the light. He bent down and kissed my wife....she took one of his hands and pulled him into the room, while his other gently pushed the door shut behind them.

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As the door closed behind Juan and Jill, I felt like I had just been stabbed in the gut by a sharp spike. My legs could not support my weight and I stumbled back into the trunk of a tree standing by the edge of the path and slowly slipped to the ground staring vacantly out into space.

The emotions and feelings that I was feeling threatened to overcome my ability to function. My body refused to function. I had no energy to move from where I had fallen. My brain was a pile of mush. Coherent thought was an effort as I felt like my brain was sitting in a pile of cotton.

"Why," I thought numbly. "How could Jill do this to us. I thought that she loved me."

As I sat there, a myriad of emotions and feelings ran through my brain and body. Anguish, nausea, despair, disbelief, I was falling into a pit of depression that seemed to have no bottom. The events of the day kept running through my mind in a loop that threatened to overwhelm my ability to go on. 

It was all I could do to breathe. Even the simplest thoughts were difficult to complete. Over and over in my mind I kept seeing scenes from the past few hours. Jill standing in Juan's arms on the boat with her nipples rubbing against his chest. Jill walking by me as I stood on the dock without noticing I was there. Jill's sexy dance with Juan at the Luau and her sly smile as she saw her breast hanging out of the bikini top. The casual comfort with which Juan took Jill into his arms. Juan massaging and caressing Jill's breasts in the hot tub. 

Mostly, however, I kept reliving the most painful memory of all. Jill grabbing Juan's hand and pulling him into her room.

As these memories ran through my brain, I couldn't help but doubt my actions over the course of the night. "Why didn't I stop her? All I had to do was let her know I was here. If she had known I was here, none of this would have happened." 

For a time, I wallowed in my guilt for what had just occurred. I blamed myself. But, as I looked at the situation, I began to realize that I was not to blame. Jill was the cause of my pain. 

I may not have stopped her, but nobody forced her to act this way. She was responsible for her own actions. If I could not trust her to act appropriately, what type of marriage could we have? I couldn't watch her all of the time.

I began to doubt Jill. Did she love me as much as I loved her? How could she shame me this way and still love me? Even if she thought I wasn't at the reunion, she should have known that my friends and classmates were there and would know what was going on. 

"Even if I did stop her today, what about next time? Did her actions today show how little she cares about me and our marriage?" I wondered.

As these thoughts ran through my brain, I felt a new emotion, anger. As the threads of doubt in Jill grew stronger, so did my anger at how she had behaved. Slowly but surely, my anger overcame the lassitude created by the despair and I decided that it was time to take action. The anger tore away my depression and allowed me the clarity to begin to think and plan again. 

"She may be fucking that bastard Mendoza," I thought, "but, I'm not going to just slink away and let it happen. If I don't confront her and let her know exactly how I feel, I'm going to be the laughingstock of all my friends from law school. Its time that I remind her that she's married. My marriage may be over, but I'm not going to just sit here and let her have her fun. They're both going to remember this night for a long time!" 

As I grew angrier, I felt the adrenaline kick in. This gave me enough energy to get up off of the ground and start moving. I walked quickly towards the room. But, even through my anger, I remained cautious. I prided myself on being a thinking man; I wasn't about to let my emotions cause me to act foolishly. As a lawyer, I knew that I had better plan out how I intended to confront Jill and Juan. 

As I approached the door, my pace slowed and I started to walk as quietly as I could. "Don't get physical," I warned myself. 'You've represented enough guys who get charged with assault for attacking their wives and lovers. It's not going to do you or Jake Jr. any good if you end up losing your license because you take a swing at that asshole. You need to keep your cool. If anything happens let Mendoza start it. All you need to do is go in there and catch them."

Without much hope, I reached out for the door and quietly tried to turn the knob. I wasn't expecting the door to open because Jill was meticulous about locking the door when we were at a hotel. So, I was surprised when it turned in my hand. Another indication of how strangely Jill was acting. 

"Just how much of hurry was she in to fuck this bastard? She never acted this eager with me before. Do I even know this woman?" 

Before I opened the door, I took a deep breath. I knew that what I found inside the room would change my life forever. I knew that I was going to find my wife cheating on me and I wasn't sure if I could take it. But, I knew that I had to confront them so I hardened my heart and quickly, but quietly opened the door and stepped into the room.

I found myself alone in the small living room of a suite lit only by a small lamp. On the table, was a pile of clothes heaped together in a mess that I assumed were Jill and Juan's clothes from that evening as Jill's shirt was sitting on the top of the pile. Off to my right, I could see an open door leading into a bathroom. Straight-ahead was a second door that had to lead to the bedroom. This door was closed.

As I surveyed the room, I realized that there were soft voices coming from the bedroom. Quietly I walked across the room to listen against the door. From the other side, I could hear two voices speaking in soft intimate tones but I was not able to make out what they were saying. Suddenly I heard the unmistakable sound of Jill's throaty laughter. A laugh that told me that she was extremely pleased.

Hearing this laugh was almost enough to make me walk away with my tail between my legs. The last time I had heard that laugh was the night before Jill had left for Miami. Jill had spent the evening teasing me. At dinner, Jill had appeared wearing a mid length wrap around skirt which allowed her to show as much or as little leg as she desired. For a top, She wore a loose peasant blouse with a scoop neck and no bra. The neck of the blouse hung down whenever she leaned over allowing a view of her breasts to anyone standing or sitting in front of her.

The entire meal, Jill took every opportunity to tease. Whenever she got up from the table, she made sure to brush against me as she walked by. She insisted on serving me, smiling as she bent over at the waist giving me glimpses of her breasts nestled in her top. When she sat, Jill deliberately arranged her skirt to show off her soft silky legs all the way to the top of her gorgeous thighs. And under cover of the table, she ran her toes up and down my legs, all the while keeping up a steady conversation with Jake Jr. about his upcoming trip to Grandma's. It was maddening because I wanted nothing more than to throw her across the table and take her, but I could not respond because Jake Jr. was sitting at the table.

At the end of the meal, she snuck up behind me while I was clearing the table and gave me a big hug grinding her erect nipples into my back. With a soft throaty chuckle, she whispered in my ear that she had a surprise for me. When I asked her what it was, she told me that I would find out later. Then she smirked at me and told me that she wanted me thinking about what she had on under the skirt, if anything. 

It was still an hour before Jake Jr.'s bedtime and she continued to tease. Although each glimpse was quick, she kept giving me flashes of her breasts and legs. My imagination was running wild as I tried to catch a glimpse all the way up her skirt, but even with all of her flashing and teasing, she managed to keep her crotch just barely hidden. I tried to grab her a few times to see what she had on under the skirt, but she kept pushing me away with a laugh telling me to wait. 

Although she was forced to be subtle because of Jake Jr., she kept me on a slow boil. Her behavior was flirtatious, not overtly sexual. I knew that Jill was not a tease and that she did not promise what she did not intend to deliver. Her behavior promised that I was going to have a great time later that night. 

Finally, she asked me if I would take care of getting Jake Jr. ready for bed because she had some things to take care of. I told her yes, and she whispered in my ear that she would be waiting for me in the bedroom. 

I've never put my son to bed quicker than I did that night! Usually I love to read to Jake Jr., but that night, I couldn't wait for the end of the story.

A half-hour later, Jake Jr. was snug in his bed and I walked into our bedroom expecting to find Jill barely dressed in something naughty ready for a long lovemaking session. But, she surprised me again. She was sitting on the bed in a mini skirt and tank top waiting for me with her suitcase open on the dresser. When I reached for her, she pushed me away and told me that she needed my help to pack.

For the next half-hour Jill proceeded to model each outfit that she intended to take to the reunion. While the outfits themselves were not too outrageous or sexy, they showed off her body to perfection. Jill had always been the most beautiful woman in our school, and I could see that she had planned her wardrobe to let everyone know that, even with a child, she retained her title.

For her fashion show, Jill had set all her outfits up in the bathroom "I want to give you a private show." She had told me. For each outfit, Jill would come out and strut around showing me the outfit from all angles asking me whether I liked it. Then she would slowly take it off and place it in her suitcase. The result was a series of short, but sexy, strip teases as she packed. 

With each outfit, she also modeled a set of sexy, but tasteful lingerie. Seeing her in it was enough to make me regret that I wasn't going with her, but I looked forward to her wearing it for me in the future. 

She kept up her teasing. She kept her front hidden from me as she took off each set of lingerie. With a sly smile she would turn her back to me as she unfastened her bra, flashing me only an occasional glimpse of an erect nipple as she bent over to place each silky bra in the suitcase. Although I longed for her to turn around, I truly enjoyed the views of her taut panty clad ass as she bent over the suitcase to carefully arrange the clothing with her legs slightly spread. And her sexy banter was quickly driving me to a fever pitch. But, she was careful to never turn and give me a view of the sights I most wanted to see. 

On a couple of occasions, I made an effort to caress Jill, but she was enjoying her teasing too much. She would give me her low sexy laugh and tell me to behave. I let her keep control as I could tell from her playing that she was in a mood that I didn't see as often as I would like. I knew that if I could just hang on, the rewards that I would receive would be well worth the wait. 

For the last outfit, she came out is a sarong type skirt with a tight shirt cropped to show off her tight tanned stomach. She told me she was planning on wearing this outfit to the Friday night Luau. Jill had been working out for weeks in preparation for the reunion and had even gone to a tanning salon. I knew that she was looking good, but I wasn't prepared for how sexy she looked as she slowly peeled off the shirt and untied the sarong and let it drop to the ground. Under the outfit she was wearing a blue bikini. 

The bikini was smaller than any bikini than I had ever seen her in before. The bottoms were thin and high cut on her hips and cupped her mound closely. The top was so small that it was almost a string top. It fully covered her shapely breasts, but was tight and I could see her erect nipples mounding the fabric.

She looked beautiful. With a small smile, she asked me whether the bikini was too daring and slowly took the top off giving me my first good look at her breasts since the show began as she bent to pick up the sarong and put it into the suitcase. She then laughed and turned her back and quickly skinned the bottoms off and threw them into the case as she ran into the bathroom telling me that there was one last item she wished to show me. 

The finale to her teasing fashion show was a black baby doll negligee. The baby doll was so thin and translucent that her breasts were not hidden so much as highlighted. Her taut belly and ass could be clearly seen through the shadow of the silk. As she pirouetted to show off, it floated up to show that she also wore a black silk thong. On her feet, she wore a pair of stiletto heels that shaped her legs and ass to perfection. As she walked towards me as I sat on the bed, she laughed and told me that I had been a good boy and that it was time to unwrap my surprise. 

At her words, I knelt at her feet and, almost reverently began to pull off the thong to get at the treasure that she had been teasing me with all night. As the panties slowly inched down her hips, I discovered her surprise. She had shaved herself completely for the first time in years. 

At this discovery, I couldn't help myself and grabbed her by the hips and pulled her towards my mouth. As I ran my tongue up and down her slit, I found that her teasing had gotten her aroused as well. Her pussy was sopping wet and her delicious juices filled my mouth as I brought her to her first orgasm of the evening. 

Her throaty laughter as she saw my reaction to her newly shaved state is a memory that burned itself into my heart. How I loved her at that moment. Her playful aggression and demands during the lovemaking that followed make that night one that will stand out in my mind for a long time. 

Jill took charge of our sex that evening and controlled the pace and timing of our pleasure. She unfolded the evening slowly and spaced out the orgasms that we both enjoyed, never allowing either of us to rush our pleasure or collapse before the evening ended. At times our lovemaking was fast and frantic. More often, it was slow and languid. Intertwined with it all were delicious episodes when both she and I displayed our oral and manual talents. Finally, she pushed me onto my back and mounted me. As she slowly slid down my cock and brought her nipples to my lips, I could hear her delighted laughter as she rode me to final crashing climax.

And now, I heard that same laughter coming from the bedroom that she shared, not with me, but with Juan Mendoza. Hearing this laughter tore my heart out. It forever tainted one of my most vivid memories of Jill. 

I knew she was no tease. Her behavior had promised Juan that he would enjoy Jill fully that night. By her behavior, she had told me that she had decided to give herself to Juan.

I was unable to stop the tears that began to flow from my eyes. I thought hard about running away, but I knew that I had to face her. I needed to find out why. With the tears flowing freely down my face, I reached for the door and prepared to confront the woman who had just broken my heart.

Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 02



Law of the Heart: Consequential Damages Chapter 02

As I walked through the door, I thought I was prepared for anything. I was even prepared to find them doing things that Jill and I had never tried. I expected to be shocked and saddened by what I found. 

But all of my preparations were for naught. Because, there in the bedroom sat Jill and Juan Mendoza, fully clothed, sitting at a table talking. 

When Jill heard the door open, she turned her head and gave me a look of relief and said, "Damn it Jake, it's about time you showed up. Where in the hell have you been?

As Jill spoke, Juan, with a small smile looked over at me. "Hi Jake", he smirked, "I don't think that I want to be in your shoes right now! Jill's been worried sick over you. She is pretty pissed!"

"That's enough, Juan." Snapped Jill glaring at Juan. 

Jill stared at Juan angrily until he ducked his head and mumbled an apology to her. She then looked at him, smiled and her tone of voice softened. "Thank you Juan. I had a lot of fun today. But, its time you left. I need to talk with my husband," Jill paused for a second and shot me an intense look. "Alone." 

With that, both Jill and Juan stood up. Jill walked around the table and gave Juan a short hug and kiss.

"It was my pleasure," replied Juan. "I'm just glad I finally had the opportunity to spend some time with you again. You helped me a lot that first year of law school. I still feel guilty for letting Hector talk me into stealing your law review idea." 

Throughout this interchange, I just stood there gaping like a fish out of water. My mouth was open, and I was trying to talk, but nothing intelligible was coming out. My anger had vanished and I was left in shock. While I felt enormous relief that I did not find Jill in bed with Juan, I still felt uneasy. 

I knew something had happened, but I didn't have the faintest clue what it was. I was more confused than I had ever been in my entire life. All I wanted was for someone to tell me what in the hell was going on.

As Juan started to walk out of the room, he stopped in front of me and looked at me with that smirk on his face that I had grown to despise during law school. "Before I go, Jake, I want to tell you something. Twelve years ago, I made some big mistakes and they cost me any chance that I might have had with Jill. I haven't found anyone that comes close to her.

"My main reason for coming to this reunion was to get her back. I know that she's your wife, but I planned to win her back from you if possible. Last night, I was able to get her to accept my apology and I let her know that I wanted her, but she shot me down. She told me that she would never run around on you behind your back. 

"If I could have stolen her from you, I would have. I tried again tonight. She refused to cheat on you. For some unknown reason, she loves you and you make her happy. For now, I'm happy that she decided to accept my friendship again. But, just remember I'll be waiting for you to blow it with her.

With that comment, Juan walked by me and headed for the door. As he reached it, he turned and looked at Jill. "Thanks for the good time today Jill, I can't tell you how good it felt to kiss and touch you again. If you ever get tired of this guy, give me a call and I'll come running."

With that parting comment, Juan smirked at me again and quickly walked out into the night. I looked over at Jill and she had sat down at the table again. She was staring at the door where Juan had just walked out. From where I was standing, I couldn't get a good look at her face, but there was no disguising her body language. Jill was nervous, but she was also determined.

"Sit down, Jake", she said in a tired voice. "We need to talk." 

I crossed the bedroom and fell into the chair across from her that Juan had just vacated. I was still in shock. Juan's comments to me had been another blow to my system. There was a lot of information in Juan's comments that I wasn't sure how to process. 

I was gratified that Jill had rejected Juan's advances, but the way that she did it made me anxious. Why did she feel it was necessary to limit her statement to running around behind my back? What about her behavior today? Were her actions the actions of a woman that had rejected him totally, or those of a woman that still was interested in seeing what would develop? 

That asshole had just told me that he wanted to steal my wife and admitted to my face that he had kissed and touched her tonight. Why had she acted like she had today and tonight? Why did she spend most of the day with him? I needed some answers or my head felt like it was going to explode.

"Can you please tell me what is happening?" I asked weakly.

Jill looked at me nervously. "Jake, before I tell you, I need to ask you something. I know you've been here since this afternoon. I saw you down at the dock. I saw you watching me at the Luau. Do you like to watch me with other guys? Were you aroused seeing me with Juan tonight? How would you feel if I took another lover?"

It took a moment to process what Jill had said. I understood the words, but I wasn't ready to accept their meaning. She had known I was there? Had she acted to consciously humiliate me? Another lover! I started to fall back into despair. I looked at Jill with an expression of horror on my face. "No. . . No. . . . Jill, how could you even think that I. . . .. Even the thought of you with someone else is enough to make me sick." 

All of a sudden everything that I had seen that day seemed to click into place. "Oh my God, that is what this is all about. That's why you told him that you wouldn't run around behind my back. That's why you spent the day with him. You want Juan as your lover and you want my permission. I thought you loved me, Jill, how could you make a fool of me like this in front of my friends. How could you do this to me? How could you do this to us?" I groaned and put my head into my hands. All of my depression and fears were back in full force and I was beginning to go back into mental overload. I was convinced my marriage was over.

For what seemed forever, we just sat there in silence. Jill just sat there waiting for me as I tried to figure out what had happened to our marriage. When I finally looked at her, I was amazed to realize that she was looking happy. I could see that a lot of the nervousness had left her body. 

"That's a relief," she said with relieved grin. "I have no desire to take another lover either behind your back or with your permission. You are the only man I want. But, I've been worried that was what you wanted and it has been driving me crazy. There was no way that I could accept the possibility that you wanted me to take other lovers and still respect you."

I gaped at Jill trying to comprehend what she was telling me. "How could you even think I wanted you to take a lover Jill? When have I ever told you or even hinted at anything like that. We don't even role-play you're being with someone else. Where did this come from? When has this ever been part of our fantasies?"

"I know," replied Jill with a frown, "You've never said anything, but, God damn it, your behavior has been driving me nuts. You've been sending out all types of signals that I couldn't figure out. You're always letting guys cut in on you when we are dancing. Then, you just sit there when the guy starts to maul me. 

"Whenever we go to a party for your office, you take off and leave me standing in a circle of the guys you work with. I tell you someone is hitting on me and you never react. You just smile and tell me that you trust me to do the right thing. 

"Ever since Jake Jr. was born, I feel like you've been forcing me on other guys. Every year it gets worse. I didn't know what to think. I had to wonder if my taking a lover was some fantasy of yours that you couldn't talk to me about." 

By now, I knew what Alice felt like down the rabbit hole. Everything that I thought I knew and was familiar with was turning crazy. My mind had been through so many shocks that I was having difficulty following what Jill was saying. I was baffled.

"Jill, I have no desire now or at any time to see you with someone else. You've got it all wrong. How could you misinterpret my behavior like this? 

"I haven't been trying to force you on anyone. I didn't realize it made you uncomfortable when I left you with the guys from my office. I figured that you would like the opportunity to talk to some other lawyers. Since you had Jake Jr., you've had to spend a lot of time at home with only Jake Jr. for company. I'm the only adult you get to see on a regular basis. I thought you would want to get out and talk to other adults you had something in common with. I was trying to think of you. 

"I know I let guys cut in sometimes when we dance. I get to dance with you all of the time. I thought that you liked dancing with other guys. I'll admit it; I do like watching you dance, but it has nothing to do with wanting to see you with someone else. I like to watch the way you tease me when you know I am watching. Of course I like to look at you; you are so beautiful. Why didn't you talk to me? You never said anything.

"I know some guys have hit on you. But you always told me that you could take care of yourself. That is why I told you I trust you do the right thing. I trust you to handle any guy who tried something. Up until today, you never gave me any reason to think I couldn't trust you."

As I slowly worked my way through my behavior, could see Jill nodding as she digested my explanations. Slowly an expression of relief crossed her face as understood what I was saying, although she winced at my dig about trust. Jill could see that I was confused at her accusations. After a moment, the relief was replaced with an expression of annoyance. "Alright, then, if that is the case, then, what in the hell was up with your behavior today? Why have you been sneaking around spying on me?"

Although I was taken aback by the vehemence of Jill's question, I wasn't too surprised. Jill had always believed in the adage that the best defense is a good offense. I could tell that she wanted to shift the discussion away from her behavior and onto mine. She wanted to avoid talking about tonight. But this time, I wasn't going to allow it. I wasn't the one that had been all over Juan all night. Tonight, she was going to explain her behavior.

"No," I replied firmly. "Not this time. I'm not going to allow you to sidetrack me. Jill, you do this to me all of the time. I ask you a question about your behavior and you shift the discussion to me. By the time we finish discussing whatever you want to discuss, we never get back to my questions and you tell me that we will finish the conversation in the morning. Then, you spend the night thinking about how you want to respond and give me some prepared answer in the morning and cut off the discussion. It's not going to work this time Jill. I want some answers from you and I want them now!"

As I told Jill that I planned on getting answers, I watched her closely. At first, she looked annoyed that I wasn't willing to play her game and then a little guilty as I described the tactics she used to manipulate me. It never crossed her mind that I saw through her little tricks.

Normally, I let Jill get away with her attempts to manipulate me because I usually get the result that I want. I know that if I let her put me off over night, she will spend most of the night thinking and trying to come up with an answer. It works because it is one of the few ways that I have found to get her to thoroughly analyze all aspects of a situation. When I can get her to think about a problem, she is excellent at examining both sides of the issue. I know she will objectively evaluate her behavior. I might not get a full discussion of the issue that is bothering me, but more often than not, I get the results that I want.

But this time, I wasn't willing to accept this compromise. Her behavior tonight was something that needed to be fully discussed by both of us. I needed Jill to give me a full explanation for her behavior and I wanted it now!

As I looked at Jill, I could tell that she was a surprised at my insistence. She had counted on her ability to control the conversation. She finally gave me a nod of acceptance and told me to go ahead with my questions.

"Jill, I need you to tell me what has been going on since you left for Miami on Thursday."

Jill bit her lip and responded "Honey, I promise that I'll tell you everything that you want to know, but I really think that you'll understand it better if I can give you some context first. We need to talk about the last few years some more. I need you to know what I've been going through. It will help you understand what I was thinking and why I was behaving like I was."

I shook my head and told her no. "Jill, you've already given me some context. You can give me the rest later. Right now, I just want to know what has happened. Up until tonight, I have always trusted you without question. Right now, I'm wondering if I was a fool." 

My response shook Jill up. While I love Jill with all of my heart, she has a tendency to act impulsively. She is so passionate that she rarely takes the time to analyze a situation fully. Rather, she relies on her intuition to come up with a solution and doesn't consider all of the potential consequences of her actions. It works for her because she is smart enough to get out of problems that develop, usually, but even when she succeeds, it drives me nuts. 

I was beginning to suspect that her behavior was part of some convoluted scheme to get a reaction from me. Unfortunately, she had underestimated the visceral level of my emotional response. Now, she was beginning to understand that her scheme had consequences that she hadn't planned and she was getting worried. 

"Oh my God, Jake, please don't say that!" She cried. "You have no reason not to trust me. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or our marriage."

"Then lets deal with this piece by piece," I replied. "First, you said something when I came in that confused me. You said you knew that I was watching you today. How?"

Jill gave me a weak grin and tried to inject some humor into the discussion. "Love, you are a fine lawyer, but you'd make a terrible investigator. I've had my eye on you since this afternoon. I knew you were watching me. I called your office just before lunch to say hi and to find out how the trial was going. Bridget told me that your case had been dismissed and that you were on your way to the airport."

"So you knew I was coming down. Why didn't you leave me a note or something? Why didn't you let the hotel know? They didn't have me on the registration anywhere and wouldn't even tell me what room you were in. Hell, why did you take off on the boat all afternoon?"

Jill sighed and gnawed her lip. "When I got off the phone with Bridget, I wondered why you didn't call me to let me know. I called the front desk and found out that you hadn't left me any messages. I was hoping that you were planning on coming down early to surprise me so I decided to play along and let you. I didn't want to spoil your surprise.

"I'm sorry you couldn't get into the room. When I registered for the reunion, I let the committee know that you were stuck in a trial. They must have understood me to mean that you wouldn't make it at all and told the hotel to take your name off the registration. I never thought about that. I assumed that you were still on the hotel registration. 

"I had made the plans to go out on the boat Thursday night. I didn't see how I could get out of it without spoiling your surprise. Besides, I didn't know what time you would get here. I went to lunch with Sally, Steve and Meredith and then we all went out on Juan and Hector's boat for the afternoon. It was hard not letting them know. 

"I just assumed that if you got here before we got back, you would relax in the hotel room and surprise me when we got in. I thought we could surprise them all when you showed up at the Luau tonight"

I couldn't fault Jill's explanation. After all, she had guessed my intentions correctly. I had wanted to surprise her. It wasn't her fault that I had been inconvenienced by unintended consequences. But, she did have to answer for her actions with Juan. 

"Tell me about last night." I said quietly. "Before he left, Juan told me that he was trying to steal you away from me. He also said that you had forgiven him and he let you know his intentions last night. Is that true?"

"I could have killed Juan when he said that." Jill retorted vehemently. "He was just getting back at me for refusing to go to bed with him by taking a cheap shot at you. That bastard can be so full of shit. He hasn't changed at all since law school. All he thinks about is getting laid. He saw I was alone last night and thought that he could hit on me. The only thing he wanted from me was sex.

"Last night Juan and Hector came over to the table where Sally and I were sitting with Meredith and Steve to introduce us to Hector's wife Maria. When Juan found out that you weren't at the reunion, he started to come on to me. He gave me some line of crap about how much he missed me. He told me that Hector had talked him into stealing the law review idea and that he was sorry for it. He asked if I could ever forgive him and agree to be his friend again.

"The funny thing is," she stated thoughtfully, "the whole law review thing was never a big deal. It wasn't even the real reason I broke up with him. It didn't bother me because I had already decided on a different topic. If anything, his stealing the idea just confirmed what I had already decided; that he was a self centered egotistical asshole. 

"I never loved Juan and there were times that his arrogant attitude pissed me off so much that I didn't like him much either. There was never any chance we would stay together and we both knew it. I was just looking for the right excuse to break up gracefully. His stealing the idea gave me the excuse I needed not just to break up, but also to find some new friends like you and Steve.

"You know that Sally, Juan, Hector and I were in a study group together during first year. My dating him was just something that came out of that study group. The four of us would go out together for some laughs and he made a play for me. I wasn't seeing anyone at the time, so I decided why not. We were never in any type of serious relationship. 

"We did have some fun together, but he was too wild for me. He and Hector liked to party too much. I knew that I had to break up with him and stop hanging out with him. But I wanted some way to do this without looking like a complete jerk. I needed a reason." 

Jill looked down and her cheeks started to burn with embarrassment. "A reason I could tell people without being totally humiliated."

Jill looked over at me and her eyes smoldered. "I've never told you about some of the things he was into. He kept trying to push me to try things that didn't make me feel comfortable. He was used to getting his own way and would try to trick me into doing what he wanted. 

"Do you want to know the real reason I broke up with him? I discovered that he and Hector liked to switch beds in the middle of the night. They would get up to go to the bathroom and they would switch girlfriends. I caught on and hit the roof. They thought it was a big joke, but for me, it was the last straw. The night I found out was the last night I slept with Juan. 

"I didn't want anyone to know why we had broken up. I felt embarrassed. I had no way of knowing how many times that it had happened before. I thought that if the word got out, I would look like a fool. 

"So, when I found out that he stole an idea from me for the law review, it gave me an excuse that I could use. I pretended that it really hurt me and broke off all contact with him. As another benefit, Sally stood by me and dropped out of the party crowd as well, which was good because she was hanging on by the skin of her teeth. 




Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 02



"Last night when Juan came on to me, I figured something out. I don't think he even knew the real reason I broke up with him. He didn't think that sharing me with his brother was that big a deal. He never saw how much that bothered me."

Jill glared at me. "I know you said you didn't want context, but you need to know this. I've always remembered the humiliation that I felt when I caught Juan and Hector switching off. That is why I got so bothered when I thought you were trying to force me on other guys. It brought back everything that I felt back school."

Jill's confession was a total surprise. During the entire time we had been together, she had never told me why she broke up with Juan. I had assumed that it was because of the law review article. It made me wonder what other secrets that she may be hiding. I motioned for her to go on.

"So, last night, when Juan asked me to forgive him for stealing the law review idea, I said OK. I never really hated him; I just didn't trust him. I knew that when it came to women he had the morals of a snake. As a boyfriend, he was a disaster, but he can be a fun guy to hang around with, just as long as you realize he only thinks about himself. 

"But did he hit on you?" I interrupted. "What about his comment that he told you that he wanted to get back together with you? Did that happen or was he just full of shit?"

"Yes, he hit on me. I told you that he has the morals of a snake. He gave me a whole line about how much he missed me. When he told me that he wanted to steal me away from you and for us to get back together again, I laughed in his face. I told him that all he was looking for was some easy pussy and that he could peddle his bullshit somewhere else. We all had a good laugh over it because he was so obviously full of shit." 

Jill looked at me seriously. "Jake, I know Juan pretty well. He was just trying to piss you off and get back at me for rejecting him. He didn't want to get back together with me; he just wanted me to fuck him. He likes to play around too much. I won't deny that he has been trying to get me into bed since I got here. 

"But, for him it's just a game. He's never been faithful to anyone in his life and he can't believe that anyone else can be faithful either. He doesn't understand how important trust is to a marriage. All he was looking for was someone to fuck for a few days before we all went back to our lives. " 

"Is it supposed to make me feel any better that all he wanted was to fuck you for a few days? That he was willing to jeopardize our marriage for a casual fuck?" I asked Jill bitterly. "Why in the hell did you keep on hanging around with him if he was hitting with you? I'm going to kill that asshole!"

Jill looked at me with a look of exasperation. "Jake, you told me earlier that you trusted me to take care of myself. There is no way that I am going to fall for a line of bullshit like that. I've been dealing with wolves like that since I was sixteen. If I avoided every asshole that hit on me, I'd never leave the house." 

"Why did you tell him that you wouldn't run around on me behind my back?" I asked. 

"You've got to understand what was going on. We were all sitting there drinking and getting silly. After I laughed in his face, his hitting on me became the running joke for the evening. Nobody, including me, thought that his pick up attempts were serious. 

Everyone was ragging on him for getting shot down and he kept giving me worse and worse lines while we all laughed ourselves silly. I kept on telling him no. Right before the end of the night, he gave me the worst line that I had ever heard and begged me to stay with him forever. I told him to dream on and started to walk away. At that, he said enough with the bullshit, and flat out asked me what it would take for me to sleep with him again. I was getting annoyed at that point and told him that I would never run around on you behind your back. It was a stupid comment that didn't mean anything. 

"You've got to believe me," Jill pleaded, "I can't believe that Juan even mentioned it. Everyone knew I was joking. Ask Steve if you don't believe me. Juan was just trying to make trouble for us because he tried to get me into bed again tonight and he thought that he had succeeded. When I let him know he had got shot down again and wasn't going to get laid, he wasn't happy. I think he hoped that if he pissed you off and you stormed out that I would run crying to his arms." 

For the moment, I decided not to ask Jill any more questions about the previous night. I had no way of corroborating her statements. I was disturbed that she had never told me the truth about her and Juan, but, to be honest, we rarely talked about our old relationships. 

What bothered me more was why she had decided to renew their friendship. She admitted that she knew he would hit on her. How could I harmonize that fact with her prior statements that it bothered her when she got hit on? Why was Juan different? How could she be so blasé about it? Couldn't she see how that might look to other people? 

I also was not ready to confront her on the reasons why Juan thought he was going get her into bed tonight. I needed more facts first. So, it was time to ask her about something else.

"Can you explain to me why you were out on that boat with Juan and Hector today? I thought you would be out on the cruise with the rest of the reunion. What were you doing out there?"

Jill got up from the table and went into the other room. A few minutes later she walked in with a bottle of our favorite wine and two glasses. She poured us each a glass and looked at me with a wry expression on her face. "I picked this up Thursday thinking that we could have a romantic drink by candlelight the night you came down. Might as well open it now since I don't know how much romance we are going to have tonight.

"O.K., the boat," she went on with a sigh. "The quick answer to your question is that while we were drinking last night, we got to talking about the events that the reunion committee had planned. None of us were that excited about spending an afternoon on a tour boat floating around Miami harbor. When Juan and Hector invited us out on their boat for the afternoon to go snorkeling on the reef we jumped at the chance. You know how much I used to love to snorkel when we lived down here. I thought it would be safe since Steve, Meredith and Sally was invited too."

Jill looked at me nervously. 'Don't get mad, Jake. We did get a little wild on the boat. We were all drinking and Juan brought out some really good pot. After we got done snorkeling, Hector's wife Maria took off her bikini to sunbathe. I couldn't believe it. Then, the guys start to tease us too and Sally, Meredith and I got talked into taking our tops off too. I swear nothing else happened. I know I shouldn't have done it without you there, but you never object to my taking off my top when we go to topless beaches."

"So all that happened is that you took your top off and got wasted?" I asked incredulously. "How about Juan? Did he flirt or hit on you any more?"

"Of course he did. He has a one track mind." She replied, "but I shot him down. Jake, you know he's a pussy hound, but he's harmless. I know how to handle him." 

As Jill was talking, I could see the realization dawn in her eyes. "You're worried about Juan and the way I acted tonight. You think I'm attracted to him. I told you, I don't want to have an affair with anyone, especially Juan. After that crap he pulled on me with Hector I wouldn't sleep with him if you paid me. 

"Tonight started out as a setup to see how you would react. I was using him because you knew about our past history. Come on Jake, even if I did want to cheat on you, do you think I would be so dumb as to do it in front of Steve and Meredith? The only thing that happened was we all got a little stupid and took out tops off."

Jill was right. I was still worried about her and Juan. I had seen how they had danced tonight and how she had let him touch her in the hot tub. The prevarication in her comments bothered me too. She was acting like the lawyer she was and leaving herself some wiggle room. 

Another problem was that she still hadn't told me the whole truth about what happened on the boat. From what I had seen through the binoculars, I knew that she wasn't telling me everything. I saw her behavior. She had not acted like she was rejecting Juan. If anything, she seemed to be encouraging him. But I wanted to give her one last chance to come clean. "What happened to the top of your bikini? You didn't have it on when you came ashore." 

Jill frowned at this question and played with the edge of her glass for a moment while deciding how to phrase her answer. "It got lost. On the way back in, I went to put my top back on and couldn't find it. Sally had tied it to one of the bumpers. When she told me, I went out on deck to get it before we reached shore and Juan came with me to give me a hand. He was finally able to reach out and grab it, but the son of a bitch started to play around and wanted to play keep away with me. He wanted me to rub up against him while I was reaching for the top so he could grab a cheap feel. When I told him to stop playing around and give me the top, he let it go." 

I shook my head. She still was not telling me everything. "Jill, I saw you on the boat. It sure looked like you were having a good time with Juan. I'm having a hard time believing you when you say nothing happened."

"What? How did you see us?" she sputtered.

"I was sitting on the dock waiting for the boat. Someone lent me a pair of binoculars and I watched you as the boat came into the marina. I saw you standing next to Juan on the deck topless. You two seemed pretty affectionate. I watched him throw your bikini top away. You weren't mad. It looked like the two of you thought it was a big joke."

Jill was getting annoyed that I wasn't accepting her explanation. She took a deep breath to calm down and tried to explain her behavior again. "Jake, I told you, we were pretty wasted. You know how stupid things seem funny when you're high. Of course Juan was laughing; he thought that it was a hoot that he had tossed my new bikini top overboard. I've already told you that he was hitting on me, but I had it under control. 

"Yes I might have been laughing too. I was trying to be a good sport about it, but I was angry with him too. That was a brand new bikini and you never really got a chance to see me in it except for a few seconds the night before I left. What you saw was my telling him that he was going to replace that bikini if he knew what was good for him."

Suddenly Jill got a horrified look on her face, as she thought about what I had said. "Oh shit, I know what's bothering you. If you saw Juan fooling around with my top, you saw him grab me too. Please. Tell me what you saw. Please tell me you saw everything."

With a toneless voice, I told her, "I saw him say something to you and then grab you around the waist and hold you tight. I didn't see you pull away. You seemed pretty happy to be in his arms. The boat hit a wave and I saw your nipples bouncing up and down on his chest. That was when I stopped looking. 

"I thought you told me nothing happened." I accused.

"Nothing did happen Jake!" She pleaded. "When I told Juan he owed me a bikini, he laughed at me and told me that he would gladly buy me one, but that he needed to check my measurements. He was fooling around and grabbed me for a hug. I lost my balance when he grabbed me and we hit that wake. The only reason I grabbed him back was because I was trying to get my balance. 

"I pushed him away as soon as I could. I got pissed and told him that he had gone too far. I wasn't happy about it at all. Ask Steve if you don't believe me. Please tell me you saw me whack him and walk off. The whole thing didn't last for more than a few seconds before I was able to get him off me. I then went downstairs to get a shirt on."

I shook my head to let Jill know that I hadn't seen her push Juan away. Once again, my investigation has hit a dead end until I could talk to Steve. I had no way of knowing whether Jill was being honest with me. When Juan had grabbed her, I wasn't looking at her reaction; the sight of her nipples bouncing over his chest mesmerized me. Frank had taken back the binoculars after only a couple of seconds so I hadn't been able to see anything else. Had this been an unlikely coincidence? I needed to find out more.

"What happened after you got off the boat?" I continued. 

"As we were pulling up to the dock, I recognized you. I could see you sitting there in the sand in that ridiculous hat with your pant legs rolled up. I was curious as to why you were sitting there and hadn't changed, but I was glad to see you. I waved to you as we were getting tied up, but you didn't respond. I don't know if you could see me. 

"I hurried into the cabin to grab my stuff and started to walk up the dock with Sally. I was expecting you to stop us when we got off the dock. When you let Steve and Meredith walk by you without your saying hi, I figured that you wanted to surprise me first. That is why I walked by you. I kept on expecting you to grab me and give me a hug. 

"When you just sat there, I wasn't sure what to do so I kept on walking up the path to the hotel. I was confused and hurt. I didn't know why you were pretending not to know me. I was wondering what type of game you were playing. I just kept walking back to the hotel while I tried to figure it out.

"The closer I got to the hotel, the more confused I got. I needed to talk to you, but I didn't feel right about announcing to everyone that you had been sitting there and just let us all walk by. I couldn't understand your behavior and I didn't want to embarrass you. I was trying to figure out a way to get away when I remembered that I had left my rings on the boat."

"Your rings?" I interrupted.

"Yes, my wedding and engagement rings. I took them off before we went snorkeling so I wouldn't lose them. I left them in a cup in the cabin. When I saw you at the dock, I wanted to get off the boat as soon as possible to see you and forgot that I hadn't put them back on yet. 

"Getting my rings gave me the excuse I needed to get back to the dock. I told everyone that I needed to go back to the boat to get my rings and that I would see them later. Juan wanted to come with me, but I told him that he needed to go buy me a bikini for the Luau. I was still pissed with him for grabbing me and I didn't want to be alone with him.

"Besides, I didn't want anyone to come with me because I wanted to talk to you alone. I wanted to find out why you didn't stop me. I needed to find out what was going on. So I started to walk back to the dock. I saw that guy you had been sitting with on the path and he kind of leered at me as he walked by. 

"Oh shit," she exclaimed with a rueful laugh, "he saw me topless too, didn't he?"

I gave her a terse nod to let her know she was correct. She shook her head and went on.

"When I got to the dock, I started to look for you, but I didn't see you anywhere. I saw your briefcase next to where you had been sitting, but you weren't there. I walked down the dock and walked past Juan and Hector's boat to see if you had walked out to the end of the dock. 
 "When I turned around, I saw you get off of Juan and Hector's boat and almost run down the dock. I started to walk back down the dock to you, but you grabbed your stuff and headed towards the marina. I couldn't understand why you were ignoring me, it really hurt," she said quietly.

As Jill told her story, I began to feel uncomfortable. Was I was partially to blame for what had happened? Had my passivity driven her into Juan's arms? 

"I didn't see you." I told her honestly. "When I got off the dock, I looked up and saw someone coming down the path from the hotel and I was afraid that they would wonder why I was hanging around the boat. So, I went over to the marina."

"I still want to know, Jake. Why did you let us walk by you at the dock? Why didn't you stop me?" Jill asked earnestly.

"I'm not really sure," I admitted. "The stuff I saw you doing with Juan through the binoculars surprised me and I wasn't thinking very clearly. What I saw was my wife behaving in a way that I did not expect. I guess I needed some time to think and calm down before I started to talk to you."

Jill nodded thoughtfully. "I think I understand. When someone you love acts in a way that you don't understand, it hurts. I know that it hurt me when you walked away from me. I couldn't understand why you were pretending that you didn't know me. I thought about chasing after you, but I was getting angry with you. The whole situation just seemed like an escalation of the way you have been behaving these last few years. I was wondering why you had come down if you weren't going to let me know you were there. I got so upset that I just couldn't face you."

Jill shook her head and grimaced. "You didn't let me know you were there because you didn't understand my behavior. I didn't talk to you because I was upset at your behavior. How the fuck did we get ourselves into this mess?"

"I don't know Jill," I replied. "I'm still looking for answers. Tell me what else happened."

"I watched you walk towards the marina. I was getting angrier and angrier with you. I decided that I was going to get my rings while I thought about what to do. I went out to the boat to pick up my rings." Jill looked at me with an anxious expression. "Jake, please tell me that you have my rings. I couldn't find them anywhere on the boat."

Without a word, I pulled the lace from around my neck. At first, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw her rings, but then her eyes widened when she saw that there were three rings on the lace. She quickly glanced down at my finger to confirm that I had taken my ring off. I just dropped the lace on the table between us and let it lie there. With a trembling hand, she started to reach for the rings, but I lifted my hand to stop her. "Let's finish the story first." 

Jill paled when I stopped her from picking up her rings. She looked at me for a long time gazing into my eyes trying to tell what I was thinking and feeling. I did my best to keep my emotions in check and just waited for her to continue. She finally took a sip of her wine and went on.

"When I couldn't find my rings, I almost panicked. I didn't know if you had taken them or if they had been stolen by one of the dockhands. I thought about telling Juan or Hector, but I didn't want to get you into trouble if you were the one who had taken them. I looked over at the marina but I couldn't see where you had gone. I didn't know whether I should look for you or not. I decided that the best thing to do was to go back to my room in the hope that you would meet me there.

"On the way back, I stopped at the front desk to see if you had left a message for me. The clerk told me that you had stopped in earlier and explained that she couldn't let you in because you were not on the registration. She also said that you had told her that you would meet me at the dock. 

"That let me know why you hadn't changed, but it still didn't explain your behavior. I explained to the clerk that you must have missed me. I fixed the registration and picked up your key." 

Jill stood up and went over to the bedside table where she picked up a key card. With a pointed glance down at the rings still sitting on the table she presented the key to me. I took it without comment and gestured for her to continue. 

"Juan found me in the lobby and came over. Now that he had sobered up a bit, he was apologetic for grabbing me and for throwing the top overboard. I think he realized he went too far. He took me into the resort boutique and showed me the bikini he had picked out for me. He bought me that new bikini that you saw me wearing tonight. He wanted to buy me some other stuff too, but I wouldn't let him." Jill snorted. "That was Juan all over. When we were going out he would screw up and then try to make it up to me by buying me a gift."




Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 02



Jill looked over to where the bikini was lying on a dresser. She gnawed her lip nervously. "Jake honey, I know you might be wondering about that bikini. I never would have picked it out for myself; it's a lot racier than I am used to. I should never have let Juan pick it out for me, but I was still worried about you and just accepted whatever he gave me. I just wanted to get away from him and get back to the room. I didn't even try it on until I was getting dressed later.

"I went back to the room to shower and get ready for the Luau. I was still hoping that you would call me or come to the room, but you didn't show up. So, I called my parents to talk to Jake Jr." Jill looked over at me with a disgusted look. "Imagine my surprise when they told me that you had just called and told them you were finishing up some work and hoped to get down to Miami later in the weekend."

Now it was my turn to flush and look away. I still didn't know what possessed me to lie to her mother. Jill just looked at me for a moment and continued.

"When I found out you had lied to Mom about being in Miami, I got really angry at you. I didn't know what type of game you were playing, but I was getting tired of it. I wanted to spend time with you, but I decided that I was going to let you make the first move. The only possible explanation that I could think of was that you wanted to watch me with some other guy."

At this point, I had to interrupt. "Jill, I'm still wondering where you got this idea. It just doesn't seem like an idea that you would have come up with. I still don't know why you never talked to me about this."

"I told you before," Jill answered quickly. "I thought that it fit your behavior. It was an explanation why you never stopped other guys from hitting on me. You never got mad or showed any reaction." 

As Jill gave her explanation, I still wasn't satisfied. I couldn't believe that this was her idea. It just didn't fit her way of thinking. If anything, it reminded me of Sally. I just stared at her and shook my head. 

'Jill, you're not telling me everything. You didn't come up with this on your own. Who put you up to this?"

Jill looked away with a guilty look. She wouldn't even look me in the eye anymore. Suddenly I realized that I already knew the answer.

"It was Sally, wasn't it? She was the one who put this idea in your head." 

Jill didn't need to say anything. I could tell from the look on her face that I had figured it out. "How did this happen. How did you two ever get started on this?"

"I don't really know how to explain it." Jill said softly. "Sally and I have talked about this a lot over the last few years. I think it began when I complained about how you had acted odd at a party. Sally started to ask me some questions and the next thing I knew I was telling her all about the party. After that, every time we talked she brought the topic up. 

"The longer we kept on talking about it, the more she asked me. She told me that I needed to watch your behavior at the parties. She got to the point where she wanted to know everything. What I was wearing, what I did, what the guys I danced with tried to do, and most of all, how you reacted to what went on." Jill blushed, "she even started to ask me what happened after the parties.

"After a while, she told me that she thought that you were acting like a voyeur. I laughed it off at first, but she kept on insisting. Later on, she started to suggest that maybe it was something else entirely. I had admitted to her that you always seemed to watch me closely when I was dancing or talking to other guys and that you looked like you enjoyed watching me. She started to suggest that maybe your behavior was a sign that you wanted me to take a lover.

"That's bullshit, Jill and you know it. Of course I enjoy watching you dance. I always have. You're a great dancer and I love watching how sexy you can be when dancing. I enjoy it because I love you, not because you're dancing with someone else. Just because I allow you dance with other guys and smile doesn't mean that I want you to fuck someone."

Jill looked troubled at my comment. I gestured for her to continue. "About six months ago, she sent some stuff to me. It was all about husbands who like to watch their wives with other men. She said that it was a cuckold lifestyle choice and that some guys had a sexual fetish where they wanted their wives to take other lovers. We talked about it and I looked at it. There seemed to be two types of fetishes in the stuff she sent me. One type was a husband who got sexually excited by sharing their wives with other guys. These guys might want to join in, watch or just hear about their wives with other men.

"The other type she talked about really disturbed me. She said that a lot of men liked to be humiliated by their wives and their lovers. These were guys that may not even be allowed to have sex with their wives any more. She said that the wife controlled what went on and the husband served the wife in the ways she wanted. She called these guys wimp husbands. 

"When she showed me this stuff, I got mad at her. While I didn't understand your behavior, I couldn't believe that you would want anything like this. I totally rejected the idea that you might be some type of wimp that would get sexually excited by being humiliated. You've always been a nice guy, but you've never been a wimp."

'Thanks for having that much faith in me." I interrupted dryly. 

"Do you want to hear this or not." She snapped. I indicated that I was sorry and she glared at me a moment before going on.

"I also didn't think you were a voyeur. You've never shown much interest in watching other people have sex." Jill stopped for a moment and stared at her glass. She seemed hesitant to go on. She drew a deep breath and continued. "I was, however, concerned that you might want to share me with someone else. After my experience with Juan and Hector, I had personal experience that some guys found the idea of sharing a woman exciting. 

"I think Sally picked up on my hesitation. She started to focus on this possibility in our conversations. She kept after me to think about it. I told her you weren't like that, but she reminded me that sometimes people change as they get older and that maybe you had changed too. 

"Sally kept telling me that I needed to test you. She said that the only way that I would ever find out if this were what you wanted was if I tried it. She wanted me to start dressing more provocatively when we went out. She wanted me to flirt with guys at parties to see your reaction. She even suggested that I try flashing other guys. 

"I told her absolutely not. There was no way I was going to flash or flirt with anyone but you. She then suggested that I loosen up while I was dancing and not try to stop the guys who wanted to cop a feel. She said I should watch for your reactions to see how excited you got. She told me that I could tell how much my dancing with another man excited you by how ready you were to make love after we got home."

I shook my head with disgust. "She's feeding you crap Jill, can't you see it? I always want to make love to you after we go out. We've done that ever since we got married. You've always liked to tease me at parties, either when you are dancing or just by whispering in my ear. You always make sure that you tease me enough during the night to keep me ready. I've always looked forward to our nights after we get home from parties."

Jill smiled at me. "I know. I looked forward to those nights too. That's why, until tonight, I've never really done what Sally suggested. I never flirted with anyone else or let a guy feel me up too much when dancing. I did take her suggestion to watch you to see how you reacted, but I never acted like I wanted to fool around with anyone else."

"I know you haven't Jill. Today was the first time in our entire marriage that I ever doubted your faithfulness to me. That is why it hurt me so much. What else did Sally want from you?"

With embarrassment coloring her voice, Jill went on in a voice just barely above a whisper. "Sally also started asking for details about our love life. She wanted to know how you liked to make love and what our favorite positions were. She asked me how often you went down on me and whether you would eat my pussy after we made love."

This was too much to take. In a disgusted voice I interrupted Jill. "So, what you are telling me is that Sally wanted to know whether I was willing to eat a cream pie. Whether I was willing to clean you out after sex. 

"Jill, I'm not an idiot and I'm not naïve. I probably know more about this than you do. Over the past ten years, I've had a lot of clients who got into trouble because of sex and marital issues. I'm familiar with cuckolds and so called wimp husbands. I've had to deal with the aftermath when a wife tried to force a husband into this lifestyle without his consent. Trust me on this; I have no desire to share you with any other guy. I am not interested in being a cuckold in any way shape or form. I'd rather die than be humiliated by you."

I slowed my rant and went on in a persuasive tone. "Jill, can't you see what Sally was aiming at? She was asking about our love life because she wanted to find out if you were in charge. She wanted to know if I went down on you so she could suggest that I would like to clean you out after you fucked some other guy. She was trying to persuade you to cuckold me."

As I made this accusation, Jill flushed and looked away. I could see that I had hit pay dirt. I went on gently. "I need to know Jill, did Sally ever try to talk you into this lifestyle. Did she ever tell you that you should take another lover?"

Jill refused to look me in the eyes. "Yes," she said softly. "About a month and a half ago. She said that a lot of women liked the freedom and power they received in a cuckold relationship. She told me that I should give it a try to see if I liked it too. She told me that I should take a lover." 

Jill looked over at me with a pleading expression. "Please believe me, I told her no. I believe that a marriage means that you are faithful to your spouse. I couldn't believe that she even suggested it. I hung up on her and wouldn't talk to her for almost a month. She finally emailed me an apology and told me that she would never suggest it again. This reunion is the first time since then that I have really talked to her."

By now, I was pretty sure that I knew what had happened. It looked like there was a fetish involved. But the one with the fetish was Sally. 

"Jill, can't you see that Sally was way off base? She was trying to get you to live her fantasies. Don't you see that if you had listened to her that it would have been your life that would have been ruined? " 

I shook my head sadly. "Some of the worst cases I've ever had to deal with came out of situations where a wife tried to cuckold or humiliate her husband. I'm sure that Sally gets off on reading about this type of shit, but in real life, it can create a nightmare. You took Family Law school. You know how cheating can destroy a marriage. Most men aren't going to take it if their wife tells them that they want someone else in their life. 

"Jill, I have no desire to see you with anyone else. I never knew about Juan and Hector. I can sort of understand why that would influence your thinking. But, I'm not Juan or Hector. Have I ever been anything but honest with you? Have I ever tried to trick you into anything that you didn't want to do? Can't you understand that if you acted on your assumptions you would have destroyed our marriage?

Suddenly, a sickening thought occurred to me. "Jill, you said that Sally tried to talk you into taking a lover a month and a half ago. I found out about my trial about that time. Did Sally know that I might not be at the reunion when she made this suggestion?"

Jill stared at me with a horrified look. I could see her trying to think back at the timing of the events. She was trying to remember what had happened. "I'm not sure. Are you suggesting that Sally was trying to get me to cheat on you at the reunion?"

"You tell me Jill. You've been with her, not me. You're the one who has talked to her. Tell me, did you talk to Sally before you came down to the party tonight? Did she know I was here?"

"Yes, I had to tell someone. She is the only one I told. I was so upset that you had lied to my parents that I needed to talk to someone and get some advice. So I called her and she came over to the room."

"What did she suggest Jill?"

"Sally told me that it was time that I finally found out what type of man you were." Jill responded with a frown. "She told me this was the perfect opportunity. I needed to go to the party and act like I didn't know you were there. She wanted me to respond to Juan and see how you reacted. She promised to watch you for me and see how you responded." Jill looked over to me with a troubled look. "I didn't say I would do it, but I couldn't tell her no this time either. I wasn't sure what I would do." 

Jill's answer confirmed my suspicions. Sally had been the architect for tonight's disaster. The only thing that I wasn't sure of was her motivation. Was she just a voyeur herself or was she really trying to convince Jill to cuckold me? This idea of testing me was so absurd that I couldn't believe that Jill went along with it. 

I just looked at her and shook my head. "I really want you to think about Sally's role in all of this. What was she trying to accomplish? Why is she so interested in getting you to flirt with some other guy?"

"I should have known from the start that Sally put you up to this. Every time there's trouble, I look for Sally. I know she's the cause somewhere. Why do you stay friends with her? She's always pushing you to do things that you shouldn't." I sighed, "tell me the rest."



Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 03



Law of the Heart: Consequential Damages Chapter 03

"Tell me the rest." I sighed.

Jill looked at me sadly and went on. "I started to get dressed for the party. The sarong and top that I wanted to wear is really a beach cover-up, so I put on the bikini that Juan had bought me. That is when I saw how small it was. I didn't want to wear it and went to find something else to wear, but Sally stopped me. She told me that the whole outfit was really sexy and that you would get really turned on seeing me in it. I still wasn't sure, but she kept trying to persuade me. She was telling me that the bikini would be covered up anyway. 

"I finally realized I had to wear it. I didn't really have anything else appropriate to wear to the party. Since Juan tossed my blue top in the water, this bikini was the only suit that would fit under the top I was wearing.

"After I got ready, Sally left to go down to the party. She told me she wanted to get down there first so she could look for you. So, I hooked up with Steve and Meredith and went down with them."

"I saw you when you came down for the party. I took a shower at the marina and had a chance to think. I had calmed down and was pretty sure that what I had seen on the boat was innocent." I told Jill. "You looked so beautiful standing there. I was about to go over and surprise you, but Juan got there first. It broke my heart when you let him kiss you and take your arm. All of the doubts that I had been feeling that afternoon came back."

Jill took a deep breath at this revelation and continued with her story. "I'm not sure how much more you want me to tell. For the next couple of hours, I just talked to Steve, Meredith, Juan and Sally. I could see you lurking around the edges of the party and I couldn't understand why you didn't let anyone know you were there. Damn it, I wanted you with me so I could talk to you. 

"I probably had too much to drink and eat. Juan was paying a lot of attention to me, but I wasn't trying to lead him on. I couldn't do what Sally wanted me to do. I just decided to try to have a good time. By the time the dancing started, I was pretty pissed at you. I just couldn't understand your behavior."

"The reason I didn't come over was Juan." I told her. "When I watched the two of you together, I got a strange feeling. I'm a pretty good judge of body language. I got the impression that I was watching a couple. You might not have been leading him on, but you weren't rejecting him either. You certainly seemed to like the attention he was giving you. 

"It was obvious to me that he thought you were interested. Every time I looked he was with you. He kept on touching you in these casual ways that shouted out that he was with you. You didn't stop him or pull away. He kept on getting your drinks. It bothered me to see how much attention he was paying to you. He had a possessory attitude like he was warning off anybody else from getting too close to you."

Jill paled a little bit at this comment. I'm not sure she was being totally honest with herself when it came to Juan Mendoza. She may not have been interested in what he was selling, but she had paid attention to the sales pitch. 

"You're right about one thing." She responded wistfully. "I did have a good time and was enjoying the attention that he was giving me. It felt like how you used to pay attention to me at parties before Jake Jr. was born." She looked at me pointedly. "I couldn't help but compare it to the way you have been treating me at parties lately. Maybe if you had treated me this way more, we wouldn't be having this conversation." 

I let her dig pass with without comment. I wanted to stay focused on her behavior, and on Sally. "While I was watching you, I overheard a conversation between Steve and Meredith about you." I told her. "They were sure that Juan was making a run at you and were worried about it. Jill, it was obvious to anyone who looked at the two of you that he was trying to get in your pants. And Sally wanted you to encourage him? Jill you are a married lady. Forget about me for a minute, didn't you think about how it looked to other people when you spent so much time with Juan?"

Jill bit her lip when I made this accusation. It was obvious that she had fixated on me and hadn't considered anyone or anything else. One of her biggest faults is that she gets fixated on an idea to the exclusion of everything else. She always laughs at me for getting over analytical, but she has the opposite tendency. She goes off half-cocked without thinking about the possible consequences of her actions. 

One thing that made Jill and me such a good couple was the fact that we compensated for each other's weaknesses. I added the note of caution to leaven Jill's impulsive behavior. She added the drive that got me to act and not just analyze. Together, we could accomplish anything. But the more I learned about what had happened, the more I was beginning to realize that this time; our weaknesses had worked against each other to create a horrid mess.

The Sally factor had definitely contributed to the mess. Whenever Sally got Jill involved in one of her hair brained schemes, Jill was the one who ended up with the thorns while good old Sally got the rose. If I compensated for Jill's weaknesses, Sally enhanced them. Every bad trait that Jill had, Sally had in spades. When Sally and Jill together on a scheme, their behavior could only be described as shared ignorance.

What's worse, Sally was an instigator. Sally always encouraged Jill's tendency to jump headfirst into their schemes. Sally usually jumped too, but always made sure that Jill went first. She might have been Jill's best friend, but I never understood why Jill let her cause so much trouble. I could never prove that Sally got Jill into trouble on purpose, but I had to wonder.

I noticed that Jill was staring at me. I had gotten lost in my thoughts about Jill and Sally and our discussion had slowed to a halt. I forced my thoughts back onto the subject at hand.

"Did you say that Sally was supposed to be watching me tonight?" I asked with a frown. When Jill nodded, I went on. "That doesn't fit. If she did look for me, I didn't notice it. I was watching you and the people around you all night. Sally was near you for a lot of the night. When she wasn't with you, she was watching you, particularly when you were with Juan. She spent as much time observing you tonight as I did."

Jill looked thoughtful as she mulled over this observation. I think that she was going to have a lot of questions for Sally next time they talked.

I was dreading hearing about the rest of the evening. I took a drink of my wine to gather my thoughts. I knew that hearing Jill tell me about the dancing and the hot tub would be painful, but I needed to hear her explanation. "I need to hear it all. Tell me about the dancing."

"What do you want to know?" Jill replied in a tired voice. "As I told you, by the time the music started, I was pretty angry at you. I couldn't understand why you were still lurking around and not joining the party. I hadn't been able to see you well enough to see your face so I didn't know how you were responding. Sally didn't tell me anything either. I only knew that you still hadn't come over to see me. It also didn't help that the dancing brought back memories of your behavior at parties over the past few years. 

"At first, the dancing was like we do at any party. I danced with Steve and Juan a couple of times. I know you like to dance so I was hoping you might come out and join the party when you saw I was in the mood to dance. When you didn't come out, I got even angrier at you so I decided to try one of Sally's ideas and turn up the heat a little to see if I could get a reaction from you. 

"That's why I let Juan teach me how to Salsa. That is such a sexy dance that I thought you might take some type of action. So, I allowed myself to get lost in the music and get into the dance. I was hoping that if I got wild enough, you might come out to stop me. 

"After that, you know how competitive Juan and Hector are. When Hector saw that some of the crowd was watching Juan, he had to up the ante to get the attention back. Then, Juan wanted to top him. At first I was just dancing with Juan. We were dancing close, but I wouldn't allow him to touch me like Hector was touching Maria. 

"Hector and Maria were really getting suggestive with their dancing and were feeling each other up pretty good. Juan kept trying to do the same with me, but I wouldn't let him. That is why I put my hands on his shoulders, to keep him from going too far. All I would let him do is run his hands up and down my sides. Then Hector started to strip Maria and I got worried that Juan was going to try that too.

"That's when I saw you walk into the circle of people surrounding us. At first, I thought that finally, you were going to say something or let me know you were there. But all you did was stand at the back of the circle and watch us. A bunch of times I looked right at you, but you never gave any indication that you noticed. I couldn't even tell what you were thinking. You just had this intent look on your face staring at us. I didn't know whether you were enjoying what you were seeing or hating it. I was watching you hoping to see some type of reaction. If I had known that you were upset at how I was dancing, I would have stopped immediately.

"As you just stood there, the only thought that I had was that I needed to get some type of reaction from you. That was why I let Juan untie the sarong and control me with it. I kept watching you but you still didn't react. I was trying to keep him away, but I couldn't do it. When he pulled our hips together, I figured that would get some sort of reaction, but you still just stood there." 

As she talked about what had happened, Jill started to relive some of the emotions she had been feeling. She glared at me with a defiant look. "By then, I was so fucking mad at you that I gave up. I started to let Juan do what he wanted. I could feel him grinding into me. I knew he was getting hard and. . " 

Jill stopped for a moment and just looked at me. I could see a range of emotions flowing across her face. She remained defiant, but I could also see some guilt and fear. I think she was waiting for me to say something, but I just sat there with a sad look on my face. I couldn't blame this on Sally. Her behavior at this point was all Jill. 

The pain in my eyes told her how I felt. 

As Jill looked at me, her determination faltered. She knew how much hearing this would hurt me. I thought for an instant that she was going to stop as her eyes began to tear up, but then her face hardened into a look of determination. She had decided that I needed to hear this and she went on in a softer voice. "I could feel his erection pushing into me and I didn't want him to stop. I liked it, at that point in time it felt right. 

"After that, I stopped thinking about you and thought only about dancing. It was almost hypnotic. The music, the rhythms and the beat just sucked me into a place where it was just the two of us. He is a great dancer and I found out that the Salsa is as much fun to dance as it is to watch. Some of those moves are so sexy that you can't help but getting turned on. I stopped watching you because at that point I really didn't care what you thought. You had your chance to stop me and you blew it."

As Jill talked, her voice got softer, but it also grew more intense. She knew that she had lost control and she wanted to justify why it happened. The only thing that I couldn't tell was whether she was trying to convince me. . . . Or herself. 

"I got caught up in a rush of sensation that couldn't control." Jill looked up at me pleadingly. "I'm sorry, I know lost control. I'm can't believe it happened. I don't remember what I was thinking only that I needed to dance and that Juan's body felt good rubbing up against me. For a while, all I could think about was the sensations that I was feeling. They overwhelmed me.

"After a while, I was able to deal with the sensations better and I started thinking again. I looked around and noticed that the crowd of people watching us was a lot smaller and you had disappeared again. It took me a couple of minutes to find you again until I noticed you back in the shadows.

"Jake, by that point, I couldn't believe you hadn't stopped me. I was out of control and letting Juan do anything he wanted with my body. I might not have reciprocated, but I didn't try to stop him either. I was damn sure that if my actions were bothering you, you would have stepped forward. All you needed to do was step forward and pretend you had just got there. All I could think was that Sally was right. I thought that you wanted to see me with someone else. 

I shook my head. "Jill, did you ever think about it from my point of view? As far as I knew, you thought I was in Boston. Did you ever think that I might be watching you to find out how you behaved when I wasn't around? You didn't think this through."  

Jill grimaced and acknowledged my point. "You're right. I didn't think about how it would look to you. To be honest, I still wasn't in complete control. I was still caught up in the sensations of the Salsa and giving that most of my attention. 

"But, I was also trying to think about you, and our marriage. I had to know for sure. I needed to know if you wanted me to fuck someone else. That is why I listened to Sally and the others and took off my shirt. I was still trying to get a reaction from you." 

I was stung by her disclosure that she had pushed the envelope to get a reaction from me. I hadn't realized the emotions I had been feeling were not evident. As the night had gone on, I had internalized my feelings more and more. I had been in agony, but I had not let my emotions show. 

I knew that I bore some of the burden for tonight's fiasco. She was right too. I could have stopped it at any time. But, when I was watching it I couldn't do it. That little voice of doubt kept niggling at me. 'What about next time. If you stop her tonight, how would she act some other night when I wasn't around?'

"Jill, we both got caught up in our preconceptions tonight. Without knowing it, we were trying to test each other. You got fixated on getting a reaction from me, and I got fixated on watching you to see if you would be faithful to me. We both made some horrible mistakes and it almost ended up in a disaster." 

Jill acknowledged my comment with a nod. I was relieved that she accepted responsibility for her actions. This boded well for our being able to get past the events of this night. 

"I'm glad you notice how Sally was acting while you were dancing." I told Jill. "It seemed to me that she was your biggest cheerleader. I couldn't believe that she was trying to get you to go wild like that. She seemed to get real excited at the dancing. It was like she was watching a stripper telling her to take it off."

Jill smiled wanly. "She did get vocal, didn't she? I didn't mean for my tit to pop out. I'm not used to wearing a top that small. I'm glad it happened though. It brought me back to reality. 

"At first, when I saw it had popped out, it didn't really bother me, I was going to stick it back in my top and continue dancing. But, that thought was so out of the ordinary for me that it brought me up cold. It made me realize that I was seriously out of control and needed to slow down or else. That is why I stopped dancing."

Jill stopped for a moment to finish her glass of wine and pour another glass. She looked over at me with a troubled look on her face. "Jake, I need to confess something. I told you earlier that I had no desire to have an affair and that I would never do anything to hurt you or our marriage. That's true, but tonight, I was tempted. For the first and only time in our marriage I thought about what it would be like to be with someone else.

"When I stopped dancing, I was so aroused that I couldn't stand it. I wanted to get laid in the worst way. I hate to say it, but the thought did cross my mind that if you weren't going to come in and give me what I needed, then I would let Juan give it to me. I did consider fucking Juan tonight."

I winced at this revelation. It told me that my fears were not as far fetched as she had suggested. "I thought you said that you weren't attracted to Juan." I accused. "You just told me that you wouldn't sleep with him if he paid you."

Jill hung her head as I threw her words back at her. "I'm not attracted to him. The only reason I considered fucking him was because I knew he was ready to give me what I wanted. It had nothing to do with him and everything to do with how I felt. I wasn't thinking straight and was reacting based on my emotions, not my brain. I've heard you talk about how some of your clients think with their dick, well right then, I was trying not to think with my pussy.

"Juan propositioned me when I stopped dancing. He wanted to take me right back to my hotel room and fuck me silly. But, I knew I had to slow down so I told him I needed a drink and pulled him over to the bar. If I had listened to my libido, I would have knocked him over and beat him to the floor. I knew I needed to cool off a little before I did something I would regret."

"At the bar, Juan was still trying to get me to go back to the room with him. I was beginning to come down some, but I was still ready to explode. My brain was screaming at me to slow down and think while my body was telling me to go for it. I knew I needed time to cool off and think about what I wanted. So when Sally and Tom said they were going to join Hector and Maria in the hot tub, I decided to go too." Jill gave a sardonic laugh. 'That's a switch isn't it, getting into a hot tub in Miami because you want to cool off?

"When I got to the hot tub, I was still in the mood for a hard fuck. But, I was beginning to regain control. I knew you were still out there somewhere, but I wasn't thinking about you. I was trying to decide what I wanted."

Jill stopped for a moment and rubbed her neck. "You know, it's ironic. I went to that party tonight thinking that I would force you into taking action. I had never even thought about having sex with someone else since we got married. The idea that you might want me to do it sickened me. And there I was in that hot tub trying to decide whether I wanted to let Juan take me to bed."

Jill glared at me. "If I had let Juan take me to bed tonight, it was going to be by my choice. It was going to be because I wanted it, not because I thought you wanted it. If I had cheated on you, it would have been with my eyes wide open and with full knowledge of what I was doing.

"When Juan started to give me that backrub it felt real nice. It relaxed me totally and gave me some time to think. When he started to caress me, I didn't try to stop him. I probably shouldn't have allowed him to do it, but he did keep his hands outside my top. I was still trying to decide whether that was really what I wanted. 

"I knew that I had to decide soon because I could see that Hector was starting to get carried away with where he was putting his hands on Maria and I knew that Juan would be starting to try the same with me soon. I didn't want to get aroused again while I was trying to decide what to do and that pot that Hector pulled out didn't help matters any. I found myself remembering the times that Juan and I had made love when we school and thinking that maybe it wouldn't be that bad to sleep with him again. 

Jill stopped talking and stared off into space for a moment. I could see that her face was flushed. The memories of the evening were vivid and she was recalling some of the emotions that she had felt. It was almost as if she could feel his hand slowly caressing her breasts under the water. All of a sudden she shook herself and realized what she was doing. She took a sip of her wine and finished her story.




Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 03



"Strangely enough, it was Sally that made me realize what I was doing." Jill said with a snort. "I could see her staring at Juan and I and I could tell that she was getting off on what he was doing. She was paying more attention to Juan than she was to Tom and he was the one that was feeling her up. When she made her comment it made me pay attention to what was happening, to what I was doing and to where it would lead. I stopped and asked myself whether I really wanted to cheat on you. 

"When I asked myself the question, the answer was simple. I couldn't do it." 

Jill stared at me. "I finally understood what I was doing to you and to our marriage. It disgusted me. I decided once and for all that I would not and could not sleep with anybody else as long as we were married. I was sick of the games you had been playing, But that was no excuse for my behavior. 

"I decided to do what I should have done a long time ago. To ask you flat out what you wanted. I was hoping that you would not ask me to sleep with somebody because that would have ended our marriage. I can't respect a man that wants to share his wife with other people. Jake, I do love you, but you need to know, I made this decision because of me. I couldn't live with myself if I cheated on you, with or without your permission. 

'That's why I got out of the tub so abruptly. I felt disgusted with myself for sitting there letting Juan caress me. As soon as I had made my decision, I lost any arousal that I was feeling. I got totally turned off. It didn't feel good any more it made me nauseous. 

"I was totally exhausted. I had been riding my emotions for a long time and when the good feeling went away, I crashed. At that point, I didn't care if you came out of the shadows or not, I just wanted to go to bed. 

"When Juan got up to 'help' me, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I didn't have any desire to be with him, but I didn't know if I had the energy to fight him off either. I was trying to decide how to tell him that the night was over. Then I saw him whisper to Hector. I could tell that bastard thought he had me and was already planning a little switch with Hector for later that night. 

"Then I saw you standing there watching us. You weren't moving; you just stood there and stared at what he was doing. It was like you were all conspiring against me. You were waiting for Juan to fuck me. Juan was arranging for Hector to fuck me. And nobody was asking me what I wanted. 

"I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill all of you. I was furious. I was tired of your games. I was tired of Juan and his games." Jill's eyes blazed. "I wanted to tell you all to leave me the fuck alone. 

"I decided that it was time that I paid you all back a little. So help me God, Jake, I wanted to make you all suffer. 

"I decided that if you wanted to watch me so bad, that it was time you learned where it might lead. I wanted you to believe that I was going to fuck Juan. I wanted you to know the consequences of just standing there. I wanted you to wonder whether I had found someone I wanted to be with more than you. I decided to let him walk me back to the room. 

"When Juan grabbed my clothes and put his hand around my waist and cuddled me into him, I let him. You know I'm not a tease, but I teased Juan to get back at you. I wanted to hang on him so you would know I what I has decided. I didn't want you to have any doubts as to what was going to happen when we got into the room. When he opened the door and leaned down to kiss me, I made sure that it was obvious that I was pulling him into the room. I didn't want any doubt in your mind that I was the one that wanted Juan to stay. 

"Teasing Juan was part of my plan to pay you back. If you hadn't been there, I would have just told him to drop dead at the hot tub. But, he deserved it too. He needs to learn not to fuck around with married women. If he was led on to believe that I was ready to fuck him, then tough shit. I wanted to make sure that he knew exactly what I thought of him and his brother and their little sex games. 

"After Juan closed the door, he tried to pull me into an embrace. I could see him looking for the bedroom. He wanted to get me out of that bikini and into bed as quickly as possible. He tried to kiss me and remove my top, but I slapped his hand away and told him that it wasn't going to happen." 

Jill snorted. "He was as confused as you were when you came in. I grabbed my clothes from him and told him to get his ass in the bathroom and get dressed. He kept trying to grab me. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He thought I was fooling around and teasing him. He kept telling me how good he was going to make me feel. He didn't believe me until I slapped his face and told him that if he touched me again I was going to scream. After I slapped him, I told him to shut up and that we would talk after we got dressed.

"I think that convinced him that I was serious. I managed to get into the bedroom and locked the doors while I got changed. I looked out the bedroom window when I went in to get dressed. I saw you just sitting there with a dazed look on your face. I have to tell you it felt good. I still couldn't tell what you were thinking, but I had finally gotten a reaction from you. I could tell you were shocked that I had let Juan into the room.

"I was pretty sure that you would finally take action. So, I decided that I needed to deal with Juan quickly. I was hoping that I would have enough time to deal with Juan before you decided to come in. When I went back out to talk to Juan, I made sure that the front door to the room was unlocked. I didn't want to put any barriers in your way when you came in. I also thought that it would be best if Juan and I talked in the bedroom, that way I could check on you out the window. 

"When I came out of the bedroom, Juan had gotten dressed and was just standing there. He didn't know what had happened. I told him that he needed to keep his hands to himself and that I had some things that I needed to say to him before he left."

As Jill explained what had happened, I was struck by something that didn't seem to fit. "Hold on," I interrupted. "How did Juan find out I was here? Did you tell him that I was watching you tonight?"

"No. The only one that knew was Sally." Jill looked uncomfortable as she searched for the proper words. "Jake, I wanted to teach Juan a lesson about chasing after married women. But, I know Juan and knew that when I tried to tell him off for hitting on me, he was going to throw my behavior back in my face. He thinks that my response justifies his behavior. He was wrong for hitting on me, but I didn't have to respond either." Jill blushed. "After all, I had to accept the fact that I lost control 

"When I started to talk to him, I told him that I didn't appreciate his continuous hitting on me since I got here. I told him that he should never have tried anything in the first place because I was married, and that he should have definitely stopped after Thursday night when I told him I wasn't interested. I wanted him to realize that he was playing with fire when he hit on married women and that his actions could affect both her marriage as well as him.

"Sure enough, he tried to justify his actions by how I responded to him. I told him that wasn't the point. That just because I finally responded didn't justify his actions. But I could see that he wasn't convinced. So I tried a different tactic. I told him that he was risking both my marriages and his own well being by hitting on me. I wanted to show him how dangerous it was to chase after a married woman so I told him that I had checked my messages and that you had called from the airport an hour ago to tell me that you were on your way. I told him to think about how you would have reacted if you had caught us in the hot tub." 

I interrupted again. "Wait a minute. You told me a while ago that his hitting on you was just a game. That it didn't mean anything since he had the morals of a snake. Now you are telling me that you tried to teach him a lesson. That doesn't fit.

Jill smiled at me sadly. "Jake, I know you have no reason to like Juan. I'm not too fond of him either right now after that shit he pulled as he was leaving. There's no discrepancy. Juan does have the morals of a snake. He can't imagine that a woman is going to be faithful because he has no concept of fidelity. He just saw me as pussy that might be available to him. He didn't think about my marriage at all.

"I didn't mean to imply that his hitting on me was acceptable behavior on his part. It wasn't and I let him know it. I told you it didn't matter because I didn't think I was susceptible to falling for his line of bullshit. When I found out how close I had come tonight to screwing up our marriage, I wanted him to know just what I thought of his behavior."

At this comment, I gave a little snort of disbelief. Jill may have thought she had warned Juan off, but his comments to me indicated that he hadn't learned his lesson. I decided that I wanted some pay back too, but now was not the time to discuss it.

"Jill, one more question. Right after I came into the living area, I heard you laughing in the bedroom. That special laugh you use when you are pleased with yourself. Its something that I always associate with the feelings we have when we make love. It tore my heart out. It was almost enough to make me run away. Can you please tell me why you were laughing like that with Juan?" I pleaded.

Jill could see the pain in my eyes as I dredged up this memory. She looked confused for a second and then started to laugh. "I was laughing at Juan. One of the last things that I said to him before you came in was that, after he left, he had better tell Hector not to come by later since I didn't think you would be pleased. I was laughing at the look on his face. He didn't realize that I had caught on to his little plan with Hector to share Maria and me. 

"And then you came in." Jill concluded. "I'm glad you finally got off your ass and did something. Now, maybe we can put this all behind us." With that Jill stood up and walked into the bathroom. I just sat there and thought about what she had said. 

By now, I was feeling guilty about my behavior at the Luau. Why didn't I intervene? Was I partially to blame for what happened? What character fault of mine stopped me from stepping out of the shadows? I knew I was not a voyeur; I got no sexual satisfaction out of watching Juan with my wife even though the dance was incredibly erotic. Why didn't I act?

I have always considered Jill's tendency to act impulsively as one of her biggest character flaws, and certainly, I could see how that flaw contributed to tonight's disaster. It was obvious that she did not think about all of the consequences of her behavior, but wasn't I suffering from the opposite problem? Had I gotten to the point where analyzing the consequences of a situation had become such a fixation that I forgot that analysis without action is mere mental masturbation? 

As I reflected on my behavior over the day, I realized that I had let my analytical nature take total control of my actions. My heart had shouted at me to go up to Jill, but I didn't do it. Jill had shown me that she was strong enough to hold off her emotional nature long enough to think through her decision. What did my failure to act show?

Tonight, I had kept on telling myself to wait until it almost became too late. How can I blame Jill for getting fixated on getting a reaction from me when I got fixated on trying to figure out her behavior? I believed Jill when she told me that she had tried to get a reaction from me. I believed when she told me that she had tried to catch my eye. 

Jill came back from the bathroom and looked at me. "OK, Jake, what do we do now? Are you staying or do you need more time to think? I've tried to explain myself. What about you, are you ready to explain your actions to me?"

"Jill, I'll try." I replied. "But, there is something you need to know first. I don't know if you are aware how close our marriage came to ending tonight."

Jill shook her head frantically and opened her mouth to interrupt, but I raised my hand to stop her.

"I wish I could give you a reason why I didn't stop you tonight, Jill." I said miserably. "The entire time you were dancing and were in the hot tub, I was screaming inside my head for you to stop and think about us. You were tearing my heart out. 

"But, I was frozen. It was like I was watching a train wreck and couldn't take any action to stop it. I could see you losing control and I could see that Juan was taking advantage of what was happening, but I couldn't move. All I could do was watch and listen to Sally and the others cheer you on. 

"I got so damn involved in figuring out what was going on that I forgot that I had to act. Every time I thought about confronting you, something else would happen and I would start the cycle of analysis again. I'm sorry that I let you down. You've shown me that I need to look at my behavior and see how screwed up I've gotten. 

"But, you screwed up too. Jill, you know that it doesn't bother me when you dance with someone else. I didn't even mind watching you Salsa too much, at least until you lost control. But your behavior at the end of the night almost killed me. I couldn't believe how you were dancing at the end or your behavior in the hot tub. And when you pulled Juan into the room. . .." I stopped and shook my head. 

"What would you have done if I hadn't got off my ass and come in here?" I asked.

Jill looked puzzled for a moment. "If I saw you leaving, I guess I would have tried to catch you. But it doesn't matter; I had already decided to ask you about your behavior."

I shook my head. "Jill, you are still not seeing the whole picture. Right now, I'm not concerned with my behavior. It's yours that I 'm looking at. Jill, I almost didn't have the courage to enter this room tonight. A half dozen times, I almost turned around and went back to Boston.

"If that had happened, how would you have been able to convince me that nothing happened between you and Juan? I thought our marriage was over as soon as you shut the door. I wasn't coming into the room to stop you. I was coming in here to confront you and tell you that the marriage was over."

As I let this statement hang in the air, I could see the color slowly drain from Jill's face. She finally realized that if I hadn't come in, our marriage would have been over. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks.

"Jill, you need to think about how your actions looked to others. I know you fixated on my behavior, but did you even think about how your behavior looked to our classmates? Watching you and Juan dance was like watching you two have foreplay. Think about how that looked to our classmates? Even if you did get carried away trying to get a response from me, you should have remembered that other people were watching you too. 

"Jill, you knew I was here, but the rest of the class thinks I'm in Boston. All they saw was a married woman practically fucking her old boyfriend on the dance floor while her husband is 2,000 miles away. I bet half the class thinks that you are fucking Juan right now behind my back. 

"Did you think at all about perceptions? Hell, Sally and some of the others were cheering you on like you were a stripper. The reason why you lost your crowd is that you went too far. People walked away because they were embarrassed about how you were behaving. 

"There is one other thing I need to know. Would you have behaved this way if I hadn't been here? Would you have danced the Salsa with Juan the way you did?"

As I spoke, Jill's eyes widened and the tears began to flow more freely. She was finally beginning to understand the consequential damages that might have resulted from her behavior tonight. She was starting to realize that her behavior could have unintended consequences. 

Strangely enough, now, more than ever, I felt that I knew Jill and could trust her. Deep in my heart I knew that she would never have acted like she did if I hadn't been there. Somehow, even after seeing how she had acted, I had regained my confidence in her. Even if she had acted without thought, I knew she had acted with love.

"Jill, I think that we still have a lot of issues to work out but not tonight. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Of course I'm staying." 

With this final statement, I reached over to the middle of the table and picked up our rings. With a feeling of relief, I untied the lace and dropped the rings into my palm. I then reached over and slipped her rings back on her finger and handed her my wedding ring as well. She smiled and put it on my finger.

"Can we please go to bed and finish this in the morning?"

Jill smiled and nodded and grabbed my hand as she stood up. She started to walk over to the bed when she stopped with a strange look on her face. "Jake, where is your stuff?"

I groaned as I remembered that all of my gear was in a locker down at the marina. "In a locker at the marina. Want to take a walk?"

Jill smiled and shook her head. "Not really. You can get it tomorrow. We can share a toothbrush. Let's just go to bed."

If my life were a story, we would have attacked each other at that moment, tore each other's clothes off and made passionate love for the rest of the night. But, this is real life. Neither of us was in the mood for anything but sleep. We were both exhausted, both physically and mentally. 

We quietly went about the every day chores of getting ready for bed and soon slipped under the sheet on the king-sized bed. I noticed that Jill was wearing her typical summertime sleeping attire, a long tank top that came down to her upper thighs. I was in a pair of boxers. 

When we got on the bed, I stretched out on my back. Although I was tired, I knew that it was going to take a long time for me to get to sleep. I knew that this conversation and the activities of the day would replay themselves in my mind. Jill lay down on her side with her back towards me. I could still see the tension in her body as she turned off the night and muttered a good night. From the way that she was lying, the last thing that she looked like she wanted was to cuddle. 

For an interminable time, I just laid there staring into the darkness trying to make sense of everything that I had heard tonight. From her breathing, I could tell that Jill was also still awake. Finally, I realized that her body was shaking. She was crying softly to herself. 

Almost instinctively, I reached out my arm to comfort her. As my arm touched her back, she turned over and burrowed her head into my chest and started crying in earnest. I just held her and tried to sooth her as she cried herself out. I didn't speak; I just held her and tried to show my love by the way that I held her. Finally, we both fell into a restless sleep holding on to each other for dear life. 



Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 04



Law of the Heart: Consequential Damages Chapter 04 

At first light, I woke from my restless slumber. I carefully disentangled myself from Jill and slipped out of bed. Over the course of the night, I had decided that this morning might be easier on Jill and I if it appeared to our classmates that I had gotten in late last night as Jill had told Juan. I wanted to retrieve my clothing and briefcase from the Marina before any of our classmates were out and about. 

As I tried to quietly get dressed, Jill stirred in the bed and opened an eyed groggily. As she saw me dressing, I could see the fear in her face as she struggled to wake up. She thought that I was leaving for good.

I sat down on the bed and kissed her. "Don't worry, I'm just going to run over to the Marina to get my stuff. I'll be back before you know it. Go back to sleep."

Jill nodded and gave me a sleepy kiss. "Hurry back."

As I walked over to the locker, I tried once again to make some sense of what had happened. Jill and I had skated along the edge of an abyss and barely avoided catastrophe. I knew that we would need to continue to work on the issues that we had both brought up in our conversation last night. We had both acted stupidly and I knew that the emotions that we had felt would need to be addressed in much greater detail. 

I had thought that our marriage had been perfect. I know knew that I had fooled myself. I had been oblivious to what had been happening around me. I resolved to make the effort necessary to make my marriage better and I told myself that I would make sure that Jill made the effort too. I knew that I loved Jill and that she loved me. Together we could resolve whatever issues remained.

Of more immediate concern, I knew that Jill and I needed to decide what to do about today. I knew that I was going to be accosted by classmates who would want to talk about Jill's behavior. Some of these people would be motivated by their friendship for me, but a lot of it would be the petty maliciousness of human behavior. 

I knew that we could avoid a lot of the worst gossip by presenting a strong united front. If we went out in the morning together and I let people know that Jill had told me about her behavior, we would be able to quell a lot of the gossip. We would still have friends asking if we were OK, but those I could deal with. It was the people who took glee in other people's misery that I wanted to avoid.

The bigger question was what to do about Juan, Hector and Sally. I knew that I had to pay the three of them back and soon. I just didn't know how and I wasn't sure that I could convince Jill to help me.

When I got back to the room, I slipped my clothes off and slid back into bed beside Jill. As soon as she felt me next to her, she turned over and reached for me. Last night, we had both been too exhausted to even think about making love. But now, we desperately needed to make love. 

There was nothing exotic or unusual about our technique, nor did we engage in a lot of foreplay. Neither of us was in the mood to tease or deny our partner pleasure. Rather our actions were driven by a hunger to reaffirm our commitment to each other. We both wanted immediate gratification. Jill wanted me inside her as soon as she was wet enough to accept me and I was only too glad to oblige her. 

There was nothing gentle about our sex. It was a rut; I took her to show her that she was mine. She opened up herself to me to show that she wanted me. I drove into her almost frantically with a degree of passion and force that normally would have had Jill begging me to slow down. But today, she welcomed the force of my strokes and wrapped her legs around me while begging me to go faster and harder.

At the pace we were going neither of us could last for long. Jill stiffened and her whole body spasmed in a massive orgasm. As her muscles clenched around me, I roared and shot a massive load deep and collapsed on top of her totally spent. She kept her legs wrapped around my back as she purred in satisfaction. Neither of us wanted to move and break the physical bond between us. We just stayed there until I became totally limp and slipped from her. 

Finally, I rolled off to the side and took a deep breath. Jill was unwilling to let go of me just yet and rolled over and cuddled into me. She bent her top leg and threw it atop my crotch as she ran her hands up and down my torso. I knew that we were not done, but just taking a short break to rejuvenate. For a few minutes, we cuddled in silence, but as time went on, I could see that Jill was still struggling with issues from last night. 

"Jake honey," she murmured as she played with my nipples. "How are we going to get out of this mess? I really screwed up last night. Half the class must think I'm a cheating slut who runs around on you." 

"I hate to say it Jill, but you might be right. But I have an idea. When we go down to breakfast, I'll pull you over my lap, drop your shorts and give you a hard spanking in front of the entire class."

"WHAT!!!" Jill screeched sitting up. I laughed at her reaction as she sat there with a wild look on her face. She glared at me as she realized that she had been had but then dissolved into a fit of giggles as she cuddled back into me. I knew that she would pay me back later, but it had been worth it.

Jill still had a lot of guilt over her behavior last night. I knew that I had to get her mind on solutions rather than the blame game in order for us to move forward. I had needed to break the tension. My joke had the desired the effect. 

"Seriously," I said as she snuggled in. "You might have lost some so called friends last night. Some of those assholes are going to want to take a shot at you and some of the wives are going to want you to stay away from their husbands. Far away. And you know the gossips are going to try to have a field day. At least we will be able to figure out who our real friends are. But I think we can handle it.

"I was thinking about this when I went down to the marina," I continued. "There might be a way to minimize the damage from last night. Most of the class didn't see what happened. A lot of them walked away when Hector and Maria started to go wild. So, while they saw you dance with Juan, most of them left before you got too wild. And the only ones who saw you in the hot tub or leave with Juan were Hector, Maria, Sally and Tom. 

"I think we should use one of your favorite tactics and get proactive. We need to spin the situation, put it on our terms. We need to go out together later this morning and show people that we are very much in love. I also need to let people know that you told me about last night in great detail. If I can cut them off, tell them that I know you acted crazy and that I forgive you, it doesn't give them much room to attack you. It will be a little embarrassing for you, but it will shift the focus of the rumors. People won't think you cheated, they will just think you got wasted and lost control. 

"The other thing we need to make sure of is that everyone knows that while you got wild, nothing really bad happened. So what, you got drunk and danced a sexy dance. It may not be acceptable behavior, but it is forgivable."

Jill looked up at me with a worried look. "What about the hot tub. How can I explain letting Juan feel me up?" Jill grimaced. "Or letting Juan walk me back to the room?"

"What about the hot tub?" I asked. "You got a back rub and he got carried away. If it comes up, I'll let people know that I am willing to forgive you for it, but I am pissed at Juan. He's the one that acted like the jerk. Besides, I think I have a way to keep Juan, Hector and Maria quiet about the hot tub. That just leaves Sally and Tom who actually saw what happened and I don't think Tom will say much." 

I took this opportunity to feel her out on payback. "Babe, you know we have to get some pay back on Juan, Hector and Sally to shut them up, right?"

She didn't look angry which I took as a good sign. She just looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I can see why you want to pay back Juan, but why Hector and Sally?"

"Lets start with Sally first," I responded. "The more you talked last night, the more convinced I became that Sally set you up to cheat on me. She set the idea in your head even before you got here. She was the one who hid your top on the boat. She encouraged you to flirt with Juan last night. She told you that she wanted to watch me for my reactions, but she spent the night watching you instead. Finally, she was the one who seemed to be pushing you to go further and further all night long. 

"The only thing that I can't figure out is why. I don't know if she is a voyeur, has some cuckold fantasy that she is trying to live vicariously through you, or just plain doesn't like me. Whatever the case, she wasn't acting like a friend to you or me. She didn't seem to care if you destroyed your marriage."

Jill absently ran her hands up and down my torso as she thought about what I had said. "I don't know if she tried to set me up in advance," she finally replied, "but she did want me get together with Juan. Now that I think of it, she has been pushing Juan at me ever since we got here. She was the one who waved Juan and Hector over to our table Thursday night." Jill snorted. "She pushed me to accept the invitation on the boat too. I think that I need to talk to Sally."

I decided to press my luck. "How much you want to bet that the first thing Sally does is try to get you away from me so she can get details?"

Jill laughed ruefully. "No bet. I think that you're trying to take advantage of me. Jake, you've convinced me that I need to talk to Sally. I'll make sure that she doesn't talk about last night. Can you trust me enough to take care of it myself? She's supposed to be my friend. I need to find out what in the hell she is playing at. I told you last night, I'm sick of games."

I thought for a moment before nodding reluctantly. "Alright, I'll let you have the first shot at Sally, but let me know if you need any help. I think that I owe her some payback too.

"You also asked about Hector. The reason I think he needs some payback is because he was a willing participant in the switch with Juan. This whole thing about them switching off bothers the hell out of me. That's non-consensual sex. Hell, it's criminal sexual battery in Florida if you think about it. Even if you had agreed to sex with Juan, you didn't agree to fuck Hector. Do you think Maria knows about this?"

Jill shook her head. "No, she's a bit of an airhead and certainly isn't shy about showing off, but she's jealous of Hector too. She made it a point to politely warn me off Hector yesterday. I think that that the reason she shows off is to show him that he doesn't have to stray that he has something good at home. I think that she would kill Hector if she ever thought he was sleeping with someone else." 

I looked at her and went on. "Don't forget the other side too. A switch works both ways. Juan was planning on fucking her too." Jill grimaced and nodded her head. 

Suddenly, plans to pay back Juan and Hector jumped into my mind and I gave her an evil smile. "Jill, do you remember how you discovered the switch back school? What gave them away?"

"Juan has a small mole on the back of his neck. I used to feel it when I ran my fingers through his hair. He also has a scar on his left elbow. Why?"

"I just thought of a way to get back at both Juan and Hector and maybe teach them the dangers of screwing around. After Juan's comments last night, I can almost guarantee that he is going to be a smart-ass today. He's such an arrogant asshole that by now he's probably convinced himself that the only reason you didn't sleep with him was because I was on the way. 

"He's going to try and rub my nose in what happened. I'm going to need your help to stop him. We need to make sure that everyone knows you slapped his face and rejected him. Then I'm going to give him and Hector something else to worry about."

Jill smiled up at me and nodded her agreement. As she snuggled into me, she slid her fingers down towards my groin. "Tell me do we have to get up right away?"

I smiled back at her and let my fingers wander too. "I'm sure we won't be missed for a while. Let's plan on a late breakfast." 

"You know Jake, if you really wanted to, I wouldn't mind a spanking too much, as long as it was between the two of us and not too hard." Jill confessed with a blush. 

I smiled. I had the feeling that Round two was going to be quite different from Round one. "Let me think about that." I murmured as I bent down to kiss her. I wanted Round two to be exciting and memorable for both of us. As I slowly traced my lips down her neck towards her taught nipples, I smiled to myself and thought that it was time to start Round two in earnest. 

An hour later, we had Round three interrupted our efforts to clean up in the shower. I'm not going to tell you if her ass was red or if she had trouble sitting down. After all, a couple needs to keep some secrets.

About eleven thirty, we finally managed to get dressed and headed out arm in arm to grab some breakfast and greet our classmates. I did see some strange looks and knowing smiles flashed my way. I knew that the rumor mill was about to go into full production and that I needed to head them off early before they started to run wild. So, I was glad to Steve and Meredith sitting at a table near the pool area. 

Steve was my best friend at law school and stood up for me when Jill and I got married. I returned the favor when he married Meredith six years ago. The four of us had remained close and got together for vacations whenever possible, but we didn't get to see each other as often as I would like. I knew that, more than anyone else at the reunion, Steve and Meredith cared about Jill and I. They would be the perfect choice to reassure people that I was OK with what had happened the night before.

After hitting the buffet line, Jill and I headed over to sit with Steve and Meredith. A few of our other friends saw us and started to drift over to the table as well. As Steve saw us approach, his eyes widened and I could see the worry on his face. He didn't know how much I knew about what had gone on.

"Jake, when did you get in?" He exclaimed.

'Late last night." I grimaced. "I understand I missed a wild party last night. Jill was telling me all about it in bed this morning." 

I glanced over at Jill pointedly and leaned forward towards Steve and continued in a stage whisper. "Jill tells me that she was a bad girl yesterday. She tells me that she got wasted and did some things that she probably shouldn't have done. She confessed all her sins and asked me to forgive her. What do you think, doe she deserve it?"

Steve and Meredith both looked down at their plates uncomfortable at the question. I let it sit there a second before I started to laugh. "Come on guys. You think I don't know how Jill acts when she gets wasted? She got topless on the boat and got crazy dancing with Juan last night. I love her, and I trust her. She told me all about it."

As I laughed, Steve and Meredith both breathed big sighs of relief. Over the years they had come to care for both Jill and I and didn't feel comfortable sitting in the middle. "I do want to hear about yesterday from you though," I confided to them. "If Jill was that wasted, she might have forgotten about some of what happened."

For the next hour or so, Steve and Meredith, and eventually some of our other friends took turns telling me about what had happened since the reunion had began. They were hesitant at first because they were still not sure how I would react, but as time went on they relaxed and got into telling the story. I just sat there and listened, making sarcastic or humorous comments about my wife's behavior.

I had reasons for wanting the story to be told this way. First, by the tone of my comments, I could make it clear that I was comfortable about what had happened. We turned the story into a good-natured roast of Jill. Sure she got embarrassed as her friends ragged on her behavior, but it was all in good fun. It turned what could have been a poisonous episode into just another war story about the time that Jill got wasted. By addressing the issue head on, we managed to avoid malicious comments or questions about her behavior. 

On a related point, by having my friends tell me the story, I was able to point out that while she had done some wild things, the behavior for the most part was not too over the top. I did this by my questions, comments and jokes. By pointing out the things that she could have done and did not, I minimized her behavior. 

Another task that I accomplished was to shift the blame. I emphasized the behavior of Juan and Sally while minimizing Jill's loss of control. While not accusing anyone of anything, I wanted to get my classmates thinking about whom had started the situation. This allowed me to set up my pay back for Juan as well as I didn't hide the fact that I was pissed at him for hitting on my wife.

In short, I used every trick in my litigator's arsenal to make Jill good and to pin responsibility on the other guy.

My final reason for having the story told is one that I was not too proud of. It allowed me to corroborate Jill's recitation from the night before of those things that I hadn't seen. I was glad to hear that she had told me the salient points with only minor discrepancies. 

Finally, Steve looked over to me with an amazed grin on his face. "I don't know, Jake. If Jill had been my wife and did some of that shit, I would have been pissed at her. I'd probably be at a bar right now wondering if my marriage was over."

I shook my head and laughed. "Steve, you've got to understand. I trust Jill and can forgive her for going crazy every once in a while. Even when she gets a little wild, I know that she is not going to do anything to damage our marriage. Besides, I didn't have anything to worry about as long as it was Juan that was hitting on her. She has better taste than to fall for Juan's crock of bull. She married me didn't she?" 

I looked at Steve with a mock frown on my face. "Of course, if it was you that was hitting on her, it would be a different story. Then I might have reason to get worried." 

Meredith broke in at this point and wagged her finger at Steve. "Don't get any ideas, big boy. You are mine." 

At this comment we all broke out laughing as Steve started to blush. Jill mock growled at me and smacked me on the arm. "Behave."

By now, I was feeling better about our chances of salvaging the situation. Most of the people I cared about from my class had accepted our spin on yesterday. I knew that I would still get some snide comments from the assholes in the class, but I never did care about what they thought anyway. The only thing that still bothered me was Juan, Hector and Sally. None of them had made an appearance yet. 

Almost on cue, Sally walked up with Tom. Although Sally was wearing a pool cover up, it looked like she had thrown it on over her nightgown. From the way that Tom and Sally were holding each other, you could see that they had been busy last night.

I won my bet with Jill. Sally's face lit up as soon as she saw the two of us together. It was obvious she was dying to find out what had happened. She didn't waste any time as she grabbed Jill and asked her to go up to the buffet line with her. Tom just stood there bemused. Sally had gone from clinging on him to ignoring him in a matter of seconds. I gave him a smile and waived him to a seat shrugging my shoulders at her behavior.

Sally and Jill never made it to the buffet. They stopped by the side of the pool and stood there talking. I could see Sally questioning Jill with an excited look on her face. After a few moments, Jill shook her head in disgust and in a loud voice told Sally to shut up. 




Law of the Heart: Consequential...Ch. 04



As Sally gaped at Jill, I could see Jill start in on her. I couldn't tell what she was saying because she was too far away, but it was obvious that she was telling Sally off in no uncertain terms. As Jill's lecture went on, Sally looked around nervously trying to see if anybody was watching.

As Jill's harangue slowed down, Sally tried desperately to defend herself. I could see her pleading with my wife, but Jill wasn't buying it. Jill cut her off at every turn. Eventually, Jill lost her temper and turned to walk away. At that moment, Sally made a mistake that would cost her. 

Sally was standing next to the pool and reached out to grab Jill to stop her from leaving. Jill turned and shoved Sally away. As Sally fell back, she stepped on the edge of the pool.

For a moment, it was like I was watching a movie. Sally teetered on the edge of the pool windmilling her arms yelling as she tried to regain her balance. Jill stood there watching her and with a smile reached forward and gave her another push. Except this time, Jill grabbed hold of Sally's beach cover up and did not let go. As Sally fell back into the pool, the cover up ripped and Jill ended up holding it as Sally fell backwards into the pool in nothing but a short baby doll nightgown. The whole class saw Sally as splashed down.

Sally sputtered to the surface standing in thigh deep water. The nightgown was translucent showing off all of Sally's dubious charms. All of a sudden, Sally turned beet red as she realizes that she was as good as naked in front of everybody and sank back into the water with a groan. Jill looked down at her and deliberately threw the cover up as far away from the pool as possible.

Jill stood over Sally at the edge of the pool and continued to tell her off in a voice that every one could hear. "Stay away from me Sally. If I had taken your advice yesterday, I would have screwed up my marriage to Jake. You almost cost me my husband. You and your fucking perversions make me sick." At that, Jill turned her back on Sally and started back to the table where I was sitting. 

Tom had sat there through this scene with a look of horror. Here was the woman that he had spent the night with getting humiliated in front of his face. He stood to go over to Sally, but I grabbed his arm before he could leave and spoke quietly to him. "Tom, Sally deserved everything that just happened. She has been pushing Jill to cheat on me for months. She gets off on the idea of a cuckold husband being dominated by his wife and her lover. Think about it. Do you really want to get involved in that type of shit?"

Tom looked at me in confusion. He was a nice guy and didn't want to leave Sally in distress, but my words had shaken him as well. He slowly got up from the table and walked over to the pool where he recovered the pool cover up and handed it to Sally as she got out of the pool. It had torn all the way down the sides. It would partially cover Sally, but she would be on display as she walked back to her room. 

As Jill got back to our table, I stood and gave her a big hug and kiss. Looking intently at her I asked her if she was ok. Jill smiled at me wanly and hugged me to her tightly as she nodded. Sally had been her friend for a long time and Jill had been hurt by her actions. 

Jill looked around the table at our friends and shook her head. "I'm sorry about that guys. This reunion has taught me that a true friend is someone who cares about me and accepts me as I am. Life is too short to deal with people who want to screw up my life in the name of friendship." Jill then gave an evil smile, "Besides, she wanted everyone to see my tits yesterday, its only fair that we got to see hers today." 

With that, everyone broke into laughter as they recounted how Sally looked as she fell into the water. It wasn't politically correct, but sometimes a person's humiliation can be humorous. I smiled to myself as we talked. Jill had dealt with Sally, now I needed to deal with Juan and Hector.

About a half-hour later, I looked up from our conversation to see Juan, Hector and Maria walk up from the dock. Juan looked over and saw Jill and I sitting at the table. He nudged his brother and with a smirk pointed us out. After a short discussion, Hector shrugged his shoulders and followed his brother over to the table with Maria at his side.

As they reached the table, Juan smirked at me and walked up behind Jill and started to massage her shoulders. Jill batted his hands away and looked at him with a look of exasperation. "Cut it out, Juan." She snapped. 

Juan laughed and sat down at the table. I could tell that my other classmates were torn between leaving or staying. They wanted to avoid what could be a bad scene, but they felt the curiosity that attracts crowds to accidents and executions. They wanted to see the blood.

After Jill's story last night, I was angry with Juan. He had done everything in his power to get her to have sex with him. It didn't matter to him one bit that she was married or what it might do to our marriage. My emotions were telling me to fly into a rage and start screaming at him. But my plan for payback required me to stay calm and collected. I wanted our friends to see what an asshole he was. I needed to set him up for the fall.

"You know, Juan," I stated mildly, "by now even an asshole like you should be aware that Jill isn't interested in your bullshit. Keep your hands off my wife."

Juan smiled broadly. I could tell that he thought I didn't know what had happened the day before. He wanted to cause trouble. "I don't know, Jake, she seemed to like it when she was in my arms last night."

I snorted in disgust. "Yeah, right. You buy her drinks until you get her drunk and then you start groping her while dancing. That's smooth Juan. Just like the frat boy you are. But, go ahead if you want and try Jill again. I'm sure that she wouldn't mind slapping you in the face again. You must be a glutton for punishment."

I looked at him with a look of pure venom. "Juan, you are a total asshole. You hit on married women. You harass them and keep pushing after they tell you no. You don't care if you destroy someone else's marriage. You don't give a fuck about anybody else." 

Although Juan was still smirking, you could tell he was confused. This wasn't going the way that he had expected. He thought he was going to be pushing my buttons. He wasn't expecting me to attack him on his behavior. He had no qualms about his behavior. He was expecting me to fly off the handle at Jill not at him. At least, I had shut him up. 

I turned to Maria who was standing next to Hector. "Hi you must be Maria. I'm Jake, Jill's husband. Jill told me a lot about you. Tell me, what do you think of Juan's behavior. How would you feel about a woman who tried to continuously hit on Hector?" 

Maria didn't answer. She was uncomfortable in being put on the spot. Maria was the only concern that I had with my plan for pay back. From what Jill had told me, she was innocent. Any revenge that I took on Juan and Hector would hurt her as well. I consoled myself with the thought that she deserved to know the truth. 

I turned to Hector. "And what about you, Hector? How would you feel if someone like Juan made a play at Maria? Do you get pissed at guys who make passes at her?" Hector glared at me. I knew that he was the jealous type, but had a double set of standards. He had a blind spot when it came to the games that he and his twin played. I was going to fill in that blind spot.

"Maybe it doesn't bother you Hector." I continued. "After all, if Juan had succeeded in seducing Jill last night, you were planning on fucking her too, right? Maybe you like to share Maria with your brother."

At these words, all hell broke loose. Hector's face twisted in hate and he took a step forward as if he wanted to attack me. Juan started to swear and jumped to his feet. Our classmates stopped them before they could reach me. Maria reacted as if she had been slapped. She glared at Juan and Hector and then looked back to me demanding an explanation.

I gave Juan and Hector one of their trademark smirks. "What's the matter?" I taunted them. "Didn't you let Maria know about your switching beds?" 

I turned to Maria. "I'm sorry that I had to break it to you this way Maria. Last night, Jill told me an interesting story. It seems that when she was dating Juan, she caught Hector in her bed one night. They had switched beds in the middle of the night. They thought it was a big joke and told her that they like to share their women. Last night, Jill got Juan to admit that they were planning to switch beds if he had succeeded in seducing her. 

"Tell me guys, how many times have you switched beds since Hector married Maria? Did you have any idea Maria that you were getting a combination package when you married Hector? Do you like being shared with Juan without your consent? Jill can tell you how to tell them apart if you want."

With each additional accusation, Maria looked more and more stricken. She stared at Hector and Juan pleading them with her eyes to deny the truth of my allegations. But, like little schoolboys caught with their hands in the cookie jar, they flushed with guilt and looked away. From their reaction she began to suspect that I was telling the truth. Finally she looked over at Jill and begged her for confirmation. 

Jill nodded miserably. "Its true, Maria. I caught them one night when I wasn't as drunk as they thought I was. Juan has a mole on the back of his neck just under the hairline and it wasn't there one night when I ran my fingers through his hair. When I called them on it, they thought it was a big joke. They told me that they did it all the time when their girlfriends were drunk enough. They switch beds whenever they think they can get away with it.

"Last night as I was getting out of the hot tub, I saw Juan whisper something to Hector and Hector nod. Juan was convinced that I was too wasted to refuse him and it hit me that they were planning a switch. That's why I let Juan walk me back to my room. I wanted to confront him. His reaction told me that I was right. I'm so sorry, I wish you didn't have to find out like this."

As Jill spoke, Juan and Hector stood there guiltily. Maria looked at Hector daring him with her eyes to deny it, but he couldn't. She spat at his feet with disgust and walked away. Hector went after her pleading for her to stop, but when he tried to grab her arm, she turned and slapped him in the face. He just stood there dejectedly as she walked away.

Juan still stood at the table and glared at me with murder in his eyes. I turned to him and stared him down. "Its not as much fun when you are on the receiving end is it Juan? How many marriages have ended because of your games? Now, maybe you can understand some of the pain that you have caused. 

"Do you have any idea how stupid these sex games are? You're damn lucky that you didn't succeed in seducing Jill last night. Otherwise you and your brother might be facing sexual battery charges this morning." 

Juan stared at me in surprise.

"You're a lawyer for God's sake." I said with disgust. "Don't you remember that non-consensual sex is a crime in Florida? If Hector fucked Jill without her knowledge, where is the consent? Just get the fuck away from us."

Juan slumped and walked over to his brother. Hector pushed him away angrily and walked after Maria. Juan just stood there for a moment and then walked out alone. Strangely enough, I didn't get much satisfaction from the revenge. It left me feeling dirty. I knew that Juan and Hector had gotten what they deserved, but I was sorry for the pain that I had caused Maria. I could feel the tears as they slowly ran down my cheeks

After the fireworks, the mood at our table was somber. Nobody blamed me for my actions, but my classmates were thinking hard about what they had just witnessed. Jill reached over to me and squeezed my hand. She was crying too. 

Needless to say, the mood for the reunion for the rest of the day was much different from the day before. The drinking slowed down as people remembered what the hard drinking at the Luau had caused. I could see many of my classmates spending extra time with their spouses as they sought to reassure themselves of their own marriages.

Jill and I sat together with Steve, Meredith and a few other friends and quietly relived some of our old times together. We saw no need to get wild; we just enjoyed the friendship that we shared. In some way, we had all grown older and wiser as a result of the day. We all spent a lot of time just touching and smiling at our spouses. Tonight, the hotel rooms of the reunion were going to be filled with the sounds of sweet love. 

Jill and I retired to the room early. We were both exhausted emotionally, but ready to once again consummate our love for each other. As I slipped into bed, I saw Jill leave the bathroom dressed in the black negligee that she had worn in the fashion show. I smiled at her and beckoned her over to sit at the edge of the bed.

"Jill, How would you like to extend our stay for a few days as a second honeymoon? I'm sure that you're parents wouldn't mind watching Jake Jr. for few extra days."

Jill squealed in delight and pushed me over onto my back as she straddled me and covered me with kisses. I had got my answer and I knew that I was in for a long glorious night.