86 comments/ 39870 views/ 35 favorites Living with the Lie By: StangStar06 Hey Folks, I took some time off to enjoy part of the summer. My beautiful wife and I, loaded up two of our favorite Mustangs (My Boss 302 and my Yellow 06 GT) and we took several really fun road trips. This is the first thing I wrote when I got back. I'm really interested in hearing what you guys think about it. The thing I wanted to try this time is to making the protagonist a little bit less perfect as you guys have wanted to see, but also make the cheating a little bit more spread around too. So in this case, all of the people involved are human. They all have their failings. I hope you can still find someone to root for though. There two versions of this story. I'm sure you guys know where to find the second one. And sometime in the future there may be an alternate ending that isn't out yet. This version is shorter and leaves things in an interesting place. As usual, thanks much to the man behind the scenes, the incredible Barney-R for cleaning this mess up. SS06 * * * * * * Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer. I have no idea who originally coined that phrase. I heard it in the second Blade movie. Wesley Snipes took a few moments as a break from killing Vampires to spout wisdom. The problem is that in real life, just like in the movie, it's sometimes really hard to distinguish just who is actually your friend and who's your enemy. Right now, I'm really confused. Nothing is really as simple as it seems. Over the past few years my life has become really fuckin' complicated. The guy I grew up hating, who became pretty much my worst enemy is now pretty much my best friend. But I'm living a lie and not very sure that I'm a very good friend to him. My beautiful wife and I are here at the local hospital, trying to calm him down as we await the birth of his child, but again everything isn't really as it seems. As we wait for the doctor to come out and tell us whether or not everything is alright, I debate coming clean. I've always been an honest man and keeping this secret is driving me crazy. On the other hand revealing the truth could destroy two marriages. In this case perhaps living with the lie is the best thing for all concerned. After all, we're all relatively happy. Who am I to fuck with fate's plan? My name is Gerald. My friends call me Gerry. It seems pretty normal doesn't it? The problem is that my parents had a really fucked up sense of humor. Our last name is Louis. See the problem? Yep ... All through school, my teachers would take attendance and the entire class would roll on the floor laughing when they called out Gerry Louis. The name thing actually worked in my favor though. It served as a great ice breaker. So in a very short amount of time, everyone knew me. I became relatively popular without having to do anything. Some of the other guys who had to work to get the same kind of attention didn't like that. In a small town where everyone knows everyone else and their business, those things are hard to get over and even harder to forget. So by the time high school had ended and we all headed for the local college our roles and our places in the town's pecking order had long been established. Occasionally, one of us discovered a new skill or talent, or acquired a new possession that raised them up a bit. But it was also quite common for us to discover a new weakness or embarrassment that lowered them on the totem pole, either temporarily or permanently. There were some things that simply never changed though or were never forgotten. Whether good or bad, they were permanently chiseled into the firmament of our lives. On the negative side of things there were things like Jim Nabors pissing his pants in the first grade. Some of the people we know are still laughing about it now and Jim left town right after high school. He went to college out of state and has never returned; even for a visit. On the positive side, Laci Kincaid was the prettiest girl in town. She had been in kindergarten when we all first met, and it was still true to this date. Laci is an amazing woman. She is beautiful beyond belief, but also as sweet as the day is long. The only problem for me was that she was the longtime girlfriend of my nemesis. Whoah, Yep, I said nemesis. And No, I'm neither a super hero or super villain, but I do have a nemesis. I guess you could call us good natured rivals. Or you could say that we were friendly competitors. But neither was actually true. You see in order for there to be competition both parties need to know that they're competing. I never realized it until we got to college. There's also the fact that in order for the competition or rivalry to be friendly or good natured, it has to be fair. And ours wasn't. I found out after we'd graduated that my rival, Dean Martin, had cheated on everything that we had ever gone against each other on. Our last year in college, we found ourselves competing against each other for homecoming King? I found out six months later that I had actually won, but Dean had stuffed the ballot boxes. He HAD to be king. We all knew that Laci was going to be the Queen and there was no way he wanted her spending the entire homecoming dance with some other guy. But as usual I let it go. I am and always have been a survivor. I generally never sweat the small stuff. I've also learned to pick my battles and to make lemonade whenever necessary. I firmly believe in the balance, even though it sometimes takes years to swing back in the other direction. As a matter of fact, four years ago, at twenty two years old, clutching my freshly minted engineering degree, I thought the balance had finally swung in my direction in an extremely aggressive manner. The reason I believed that was because a few weeks after our graduation party and incredible thing happened. It was almost like an explosion. Miranda Swainpool moved into town. Just the act of her moving into our town to live with her elderly aunt changed the dynamics of our entire social pecking order. All of a sudden, several long term relationships were ended or put on hold. Miranda, although a different type of beauty, easily rivaled Laci. They were complete and total opposites. Laci had long flowing blond hair that she kept at about mid back length. Miranda had shiny dark hair that was cut in kind of a page boy style that ended at her chin. Laci was about 5 foot one on a good day. She had a very petite build with very pert breasts and a tight butt. Miranda on the other hand was taller but still no giant at five foot four. But her body was much more substantial. She was still on the slim side, but she had big boobs and a nice round jiggly butt. Laci was the beautiful, almost sickeningly sweet type of girl who was usually the prom queen. Miranda on the other hand exuded sex appeal to an alarming degree. Laci looked awesome dressed up in a gown. Miranda rocked jeans and swimsuits like no one we had ever seen. No one in town was more pissed off when Miranda moved into town than Dean. The day before graduation, he was as usual gloating and on top of the world. He had managed to get Laci to agree to marry him. Their engagement had been the talk of the town. I'd always had a soft spot for Laci. I'd always hoped that someday she would wake up and realize that Dean was pretty much an asshole and give me a shot. But the news of their engagement had me as usual looking to whip up a batch of lemonade. And for once I had the feeling that the lemons life had thrown me, were going to produce a batch of really bitter tasting lemonade. I was, of course, wrong. Life, it seemed, favored me in this case. Because with Miranda moving into town on the day after Dean had announced his engagement to Laci, he was totally out of the running. All he could do is stance there with his mouth open as almost every guy in our age group made fools of themselves trying to impress her. And the way guys in town talked about Miranda only served to make her arrival even more newsworthy. When Phil Silvers declared Miranda's ass a work of art, and described it, all Dean could do was look over at Laci's ass and wish. When Bob Hope swore that Miranda's breasts were like two succulent cantaloupes fighting to escape her blouse, Dean looked over at Laci and literally frowned. For once timing and the situation put the ball in my court. So what did I do? Absolutely nothing. While every other guy in our age group and some that weren't, made fools of themselves trying to impress her. I played it cool and waited for my chance. Miranda met people, socialized, and dated a few of the guys during the first couple of weeks before we got together. I thought that was a good thing. It would give her a chance to compare me to them. My mom was friends with Miranda's aunt. So when Miranda started moving into her new room in her aunt's house, I was tasked with helping to move the larger pieces of furniture. I was also roped into helping her paint her room. At the end of three hard days of putting up shelves and other tasks to make Miranda cozy in her new space, her elderly aunt suggested that the two of us should do something to unwind. I offered to take Miranda out for a movie and maybe some ice cream afterwards. She eagerly accepted and I was off to the races with a big head start on the others. Miranda was actually two years older than me but twenty four months didn't make a bit of difference. Over the next four years we both got jobs, we dated and we got married and bought a house together. Those first four years out of college were a time of growth and huge changes in our lives as we all became fully functioning human beings. The pecking order changed for us as adults. The things that were important in high school and college no longer mattered as much. Nowhere was that as obvious as with Dean. He graduated with a GCD, basically a general college degree. He became a salesman. I, on the other hand, had spent four years as a manufacturing engineer in the nearby auto plant. Dean and I had taken different paths and it began to show. One of the funny things about our situation was the fact that a large group of us had known each other and grown up together practically from the cradle. We still manage to hang out in the same places and do the same things. A large part of that of course was simply the fact that in a relatively small town, there are only so many places to go. So if the over forty crowd hangs out in one bar, the over twenty crowd is going to hang out somewhere else. And that's where we begin our story. There's a bar on the east side of town called the Boar's Nest. It's run by a guy who has obviously watched too many episodes of the Dukes of Hazard. He grew up with us. He actually wanted us to call him Boss Hogg. But we've always called him Porky. It's the same animal, but with a slightly different connotation. The Boar's Nest is many things to many people. They have any and everything you would want to see or do. It is equal parts, neighborhood bar, sports bar, strip club, rock club and country bar. It all depends on when you go. I had played in the Boar's Nest with my Hobby band so many times over the last three or four years that I actually kept a guitar in Porky's office. Hanging out there was a normal thing for a lot of us. So it wasn't unusual for Miranda and me to head over to the nest after dinner on lazy Thursday night, for drinks and conversation. It also wasn't unusual for Laci and Dean to be there as well. Rumors around town said that everything wasn't all tea and crumpets for Dean and Laci, but they put up a good front in public. I couldn't exactly call Dean and I friends, but we'd mellowed over the years. On the other hand Laci was very high on my list. Unfortunately, Miranda and Laci got along like oil and water. They just didn't mix well. So when I waved at Laci as Miranda and I walked in, it earned me an elbow to my ribs, from my wife. "Why the fuck are you waving at that bitch?" hissed Miranda under her breath. "One: I've known her all of my life. And despite the asshole she's married to. She's a nice person. "Two: It's called manners. If you don't like her, don't wave to her. But she's never been anything but friendly to you since you moved here." "Gerry, Sweetie, I'm sorry," she said. "But that whore wants you. I can see it in her eyes." "Yeah," I laughed. "She wants me so much that she married the guy I hate most." We sat down at the table with most of our friends and started to relax. After a few moments and a beer or two our argument was forgotten. I talked cars with the guys and Miranda rolled her eyes. There were a couple of guys there that loved working on cars as much as I do. They were eager to listen to me talk about the modifications I'd done to my Mustang. I noticed that Laci and Dean were sitting off at a small table on the side and were arguing as usual. Dean stood up and walked over to me. He'd always been bigger than I was. I'd always been a lean track athlete and Dean was a more muscular football type. I still ran a lot, but most of Dean's exercise since leaving school came from pushing himself away from the table after a big meal. "When was the last time you fucked my wife?" he asked me drunkenly. "I should beat your ass." "About three minutes ago," I said calmly. "We were doing it while you were screaming at her. That's why she doesn't pay you any attention." "Go home Dean you're drunk," said Miranda, beside me. "He's never touched your little blond Barbie doll. I keep him on a very tight leash." "You'd better," he said to her. "I should beat your ass," he said to me again. I just shook my head and went over to throw some darts with a couple of guys I knew. Maybe an hour later, a not so drunk Dean came over and acted like the incident had never happened. He and I were just about to have a game when Porky wandered over to me with a look on his face that told me he wanted something. "Gerry Louis," he said. "I need a favor and it's not funny." "Ha ha," I laughed. "Seriously, Gerry, the band I hired for tonight is running late and the crowd is getting a little bit restless. I spoke to your guys, luckily they're all here. Could you guys do a couple of songs just to tide me over until my band gets here?" He asked. "We haven't rehearsed or anything," I said. "You guys are great," he said. "You've been playing together since you were in high school. You don't need to rehearse. Come on Gerry, if you do me this favor all of your drinks and eats are on the house ...your wife's too." "Oh all right," I said. * * * * * * Laci I was angrier than I had ever been in my life. I think everyone in town knew that Dean and I had been having problems in our marriage. I don't think they knew what the problems were about though. I was twenty six years old and we'd been married for only four years, but I wanted out. I had been trying for months to get Dean to give me a divorce. Our problems had been building lately, but they had started during our first year of marriage. Who am I kidding? Our problems had started in college. They had begun before we had ever graduated and got married. We never should have gotten married on the first place. We were too different. In a lot of ways I blame small town mentalities and our town in particular for the entire fiasco. There was simply too much Americana, too many traditions and long held expectations to contend with. And I in a ridiculous display of gutlessness played the martyr to the unrelenting weight of what everyone thought I should do. People always want the fantasy. They always want to see the head cheerleader and the quarterback end up together. They always want to see the fairy tale. But in the fairy tales the story ends when the princess marries the prince. No one ever asks what happens next. I can't claim to know what happens in every fairy tale, but in mine, I'll tell you that the fucking Prince turned back into a frog almost immediately after the wedding. And it's my own fault. Oh sure, there were a bunch of others, who advised me. They were supposedly wiser, older people, including my parents, who all had my best interests in mind. But they all dropped the ball and helped me to make a decision that I knew in my heart was wrong. I've always been a small time girl with small time dreams. I don't need a huge house and millions of dollars. I don't need to be famous. I just want a nice house, a man who loves me and a family. When I started school, I found out that somehow I was pretty. It came as a big surprise to me. I looked just like my sisters. I thought that I was as plain as grass. But the next thing I knew there were all kinds of boys being nice to me and making fools of themselves over me. I tried to do as my parents and my sisters told me to do. I was as nice as I could be to everyone I met. But somehow it just seemed to make people like me more. When I did get to the point where I started to like the boys too, it never seemed to work out. I was always attracted to the boys that were nicer. But somehow they never asked me out. It was always the more aggressive ones who asked me out. By my second year of high school my life was pretty much set. I was a cheerleader and it was kind of expected that I would go out with some other popular person. Dean and I kind of migrated together. I guess that it was actually more his machinations than a natural migration, but we ended up together just the same. After a couple of years together, it just seemed that going with the flow was the easiest thing. Every time that I even suggested that we should go out with someone else just to see what it would be like, he got upset. By the time we were in college, Dean was like a member of my family already. He seemed to win at everything he tried and my parents were very sure that he would be successful at whatever he ended up doing. But it was all an illusion. I didn't find out until a couple of days after we graduated that Dean was not the homecoming king. My boyfriend had cheated. He had not only rigged the contest, he had cheated on me to do it. There was a girl on our class who was a well-known slut. Every town has one. Our town had Leslie Wisdom. Leslie was the smartest girl in the class and wasn't very nice either. She was a big girl and although she got a lot of dates, she'd never had a boyfriend. According to the rumors, she'd had sex with most of the boys in our class at one time or another. Leslie was always volunteering for any committee she could get on, and was so smart that her organizational skills were important. Anyway, Leslie was in charge of counting the votes for the homecoming court and assigning the positions. It turns out Leslie knew ahead of time that statistically, based on the early votes, Dean was going to lose. Apparently it was some sort of backlash. Dean was always nice to me, but he was some kind of an asshole to everyone else. I found out during an eye opening talk with Leslie a few weeks after my wedding that Leslie, in exchange for sex with Dean, had falsified enough votes for Dean to eke out a very close victory over Gerry Louis. Actually, the talk with Leslie was like discovering that there was no Santa Claus and my entire life was a lie. I had just gotten back from my honeymoon. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Dean found sex with me disappointing. After waiting six years to get into my panties, there was no disguising the fact that he didn't get what he thought he was going to get. But seriously, what did he expect? I was a virgin. I was actually disappointed that he was disappointed. I was actually pissed that he'd lied to me. Dean had too much experience. And if we were supposed to be saving ourselves for each other, where the hell did he get it? Living with the Lie He shrugged it off, but it was Leslie who opened my eyes. Dean had fucked half of the girls in our class at one time or another. He'd fucked Leslie to be the homecoming king, but before that he'd only laughed at her because she was beneath him. Dean was too special to fuck fat girls ... Unless he needed something from them. And for Leslie, of the twenty boys in our class there were only two or three left that she hadn't fucked. Gerry was at the top of her list. But she was sure it would never happen. The biggest thing Leslie had told me was that my entire life was fake. I was fake. For most of my time in both high school and college, the deck had been stacked in my favor. Teachers had given me higher grades. Contests had been ruled in my favor when close. Positions and memberships had been opened for me, and a lot of other things had come my way. Not because I had earned them or deserved them, but because I was pretty and everyone wanted to be a part of the dream. It had been the same for Dean. The big difference between Dean and I was that Dean knew about it. He knew that as long as he was the prince to my princess, referees would give him the close calls. He could get away with things on the football field unless they were blatant, because everyone wanted to see the golden boy win. I was stunned. Leslie told me that if I thought my life was tragic; imagine how Gerry had to feel. He'd gone through our entire life always coming in second to Dean, mostly because the deck was always stacked against him. He was the nicest boy in town. He was kind. He was sweet. He was funny. He was smart and he worked his ass off, but he was never going to win. And the one time he had the chance to, my boyfriend had fucked him out of it. A big part of it was simply because of his personality. Gerry was so good at coming in second. Everyone knew that he had the class to accept it gracefully. He never got angry no matter how hard he worked, or how strangely the points seemed to be tallied. With Gerry there would always be a cheerful acceptance. In those small town contests, no one ever wanted to see a scene. And Dean would have showed his ASS if he ever lost. Dean would have pissed all over the floor and whined like a baby about how unfair things were. So whenever things were close, the golden boy got the prize. There was more to the story too. Leslie told me something that only Gerry's closest friends knew. Gerry'd had a crush on me for years. He had never acted on it or even mentioned it because, I was Dean's girl and Gerry wasn't the kind of guy to hit on someone in a relationship. I guess telling me all of that was Leslie's way of letting me know that real life wouldn't be like our school years had been. The playing field had shifted. The fantasy was over. I wasn't as smart as I thought I was. My boyfriend was a liar and a cheat. And in the new reality, being pretty and sweet no longer meant shit. A few days later, things got even worse. Miranda came to town and everything changed. I was no longer totally alone and unrivaled atop the town's totem pole of attractiveness and appeal. It took a few days to settle in but it was apparent that while I was probably still the prettiest girl in town and the nicest. Miranda was clearly the sexiest, the best built, and the most exciting. It was even more apparent that Dean was pissed. We were still newlyweds; we'd been married less than two weeks. People were still patting him on the back and telling him how God Damned lucky he was to have me all tied up ... And then hurricane Miranda hit our town. Dean was used to having the best of everything. And it was apparent that between Miranda and me, Dean thought that he ended up on the losing end. I saw him comparing the two of us, although he tried to act otherwise. I saw him look to my breasts and then back to those mountains on her chest and frown. It only took a few weeks before Miranda ended up with Gerry, and Dean got even more pissed. And for the past four years things have been going downhill for us. It's hell knowing that your husband looks at you as being an also ran, or a consolation prize. It's even harder when your husband believes that he deserves or is entitled to the best of everything. Of course the fact that Gerry had busted his ass both in school and outside of it meant nothing to Dean. He was constantly complaining that Gerry got a better job than his because he was sucking someone's dick. It was stupid. I kept trying to explain to him that Gerry was an engineer because he got a degree in engineering when we were in college. Dean had expected to go into football so he took only general education classes and ended up in sales. It didn't matter to me in the least. But Dean could not handle being second best or third best in anything. And Gerry having a much better career and making a lot more money was hard on Dean. But things were rough all over. Seeing how Gerry treated Miranda was hard on ME. One of the things I noticed as the years went on was that Gerry was like me. He was happy with what he had. He spent his time making what he had better instead of whining about what he didn't have. He treated Miranda like she was special. It quickly became obvious that she WAS special to him. I think that's what twisted Miranda. Over the years she got used to the way Gerry treated her. She also got used to the way the guys looked at her body. She began to think of herself as being something special and that she deserved the treatment she got. "Are you even listening to me?" Dean bellowed. "Shit, I told you it didn't mean anything. I don't love her. I did it for you." His yelling pulled me out of my thoughts and back into our latest argument. When we walked into the bar that evening, before we could even sit down at a table with our friends, I'd caught Dean exchanging knowing glances with one of the new waitresses. It was the same old song and dance. She had big tits. She also had a big everything else, but those lumps on her chest were the main attraction. Gerry had tried to get me to have breast implants several times. I had refused. I kept telling him that if he didn't want me the way I was, to find someone else. I also had to remind him that we couldn't afford them. I had immediately launched in on him as soon as I saw them making cow eyes at each other. "So how many times have you fucked this one?" I asked him. It had happened so many times that I couldn't work up enough tears to cry about it. Naturally he started out denying it. And the girl, sensing that bad things were coming, was smart enough to make herself scarce. We had been arguing and drinking since then. I was only drinking soda, but Gerry was getting drunker as we continued. He wasn't fully drunk but he was on the way when Gerry and Miranda walked in. He was drunk enough to let go of his inhibitions though, and it wasn't a great thing for our future. It was a hot summer evening, and Miranda was dressed accordingly. Like me she wore shorts and a sleeveless top. I think half of the women in the bar were dressed that way. But most of them, including me, weren't built like Miranda. Gerry let out a gasp as he saw her. His eyes bugged out of his head. He'd completely forgotten about our argument. "I hate that lucky bastard," he hissed. "Why?" I asked. "Is he lucky because he worked hard for what he has? Or is he just lucky because you were locked into marrying me before SHE came to town? Tell me the truth Dean. If Miranda had moved to town before we got married, you'd have dropped me like a turd and gone after her wouldn't you?" "Of course not," he lied. What hurt me the most was that even as he denied it, his eyes never left her tits. "Why are you defending that asshole anyway?" He asked loudly. His eyes looked me over as if he could spot any traces of a lie by staring at me. But we had played this game too many times. He was trying to shift the focus away from our argument and onto something else. "You're fucking him, aren't you?" He yelled. He got up so quickly he knocked his chair over. He went over to Gerry and started yelling at him. "When was the last time you fucked my wife?" He screamed at Gerry. Even as he was screaming at Gerry he was looking down Miranda's top. The funny thing about it was the way that Gerry reacted. Unlike a lot of the people we'd grown up with, Gerry wasn't afraid of Dean. Dean was physically bigger, but the two of them had gotten into enough scrapes growing up that Gerry knew he could hold his own against Dean. And since we'd left school Gerry had actually stayed in very good shape, he hadn't just let himself go the way Dean had. Both Gerry and Miranda had refuted Dean's accusation. She had given me the evil eye from across the room. I had no idea why Miranda didn't like me. I'd been trying to be friends with her ever since she moved to town. But for some reason, she just couldn't stand me. Dean wandered back over to me, but he took a side trip and had a few words with that waitress with the udders. She looked at me and laughed so I knew whatever he'd said had been something derogatory about me. I was about to leave when he sat back down. "We just got here. Where are you going?" he whined. "I was just going to leave so you wouldn't have to worry about me keeping you from Miss Titties," I said. "Laci what the fuck are you talking about?" he asked. "I was only flirting with her. Jeezus woman, you are no fun at all. Everybody in this whole God Damned town knows I'm married to you. I was just yanking her chain. What's the problem in having a little fun? Shit!" Even as he slumped heavily into his seat, the waitress marched over and brought him another beer. She leaned over so far to give it to him that her boobs almost fell out of her shirt. She looked at me with a little smirk on her face, as of daring me to say or do anything about it. Before I could respond, I heard it. Things had gotten dull in the bar and porky had gotten Gerry and his band to play a few songs. Even as I noticed the smirking waitress, the band had launched into one of my favorite songs. "So I'm no fun, Huh, Dean," I spat. "Maybe I just need someone BETTER, to bring the fun out in me!" Before he could answer me, I was on my way to the stage and really pissed off. Porky had two hulking bouncers who kept people away from the stage and I eased my way through them. Just as Aaron started singing the first verse, I hit the stage, dancing my ass off. "She loves to dance ... She loves to sing ... She does everything," sang Aaron. I did three pirouettes and an aerial cartwheel. The crowd went crazy. I was as surprised as they were. But my surprise was over the fact that I hadn't fallen on my ass. I guess as they say it's like riding a bike. I had been a cheerleader for most of my life. I still worked out a lot, but at twenty six years old, I felt like an old lady. I danced around the stage mostly by myself, as if I was just dancing to the radio back home in our apartment. The song - Anyway you want it, by Journey was an old chestnut that I had been dancing to since I was a kid. The crowd in the bar had heard the band play it literally hundreds of times and they did a great version of it, but somehow seeing me dance to it added another dimension. Everyone in the bar was rocking to the music and watching me dance. They all wondered what I would do next. When Gerry got to his guitar solo, I did what every kid in the universe has done at one time or another. I jumped right next o him and picked up my imaginary guitar and soloed along with him while shaking my ass to the music. Again the people in the bar loved it. They ate up everything I did. My dance moves ranged from simple cheerleader style jumps and turns to hip thrusts and bootie shaking like a stripper. When the song ended everyone in the bar was on their feet clapping. Unfortunately, there were three people in the bar that were not happy at all. One of them was Dean. Another was Miranda and the last was the manager of the band that was supposed to be playing that night. As I stepped off of the stage with Aaron, I heard porky telling the manager to shut the fuck up or go home. His band was supposed to have been on the stage playing an hour before, so if they didn't like being upstaged, they should get to their fucking gigs on time. Aaron and Jeff the drummer came over and hugged me and told me I could dance with them any time I wanted to. I walked over and hugged Gerry who was putting his guitar in a case. And that was when it all went to hell. "Get your fuckin' hands off of my wife!" screamed Dean. His face was red. His eyes were bugging out of his head and the veins in his neck were standing out. His fingers were clawed as if he was about to use eagle claw Kung fu on Gerry. I should note here that Dean does not know Kung fu. He was just pissed. Everyone there started laughing at him. One of the bouncers pointed out to Dean that Gerry wasn't touching me. He was bent over his guitar case. One of his hands was on the guitar. The other was on the case. I on the other hand had both of my arms wrapped around him. I couldn't help it. Dancing like that was exciting. It was like some kind of drug. I was happier than I'd been since my cheerleading days and I just wanted to share it with someone. "Yeah, Dean," I said. "You said it yourself. I was just yankin' his chain. What's the problem with having a little fun?" "Because the only person who yanks his chain or anything else is me, you stupid Bitch!" screamed Miranda. She was trying to tear her way through the people around us to get to me. A couple of the burly bouncers had grabbed her. They were holding her back so she couldn't get to me. One of them had his hand on Dean's chest, preventing him from getting any closer to Gerry or me. "I've got your fun, right here," hissed Miranda. "As soon as I get loose I'm gonna fuck you up!" "I think some of us have had too much fun already," said one of the bouncers. "You two can wait outside." I almost laughed as Miranda and Dean were dragged kicking and screaming out of the bar. There were all kinds of people coming over to talk to me, but I only wanted to talk to one person. I walked over to him while he, Aaron and the other guys in the band were talking to Porky. "Gerry, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for Dean causing all this crap tonight," I told him. He turned and looked at me with a wry smile. As our eyes met, I swear something passed between us. And suddenly I remembered what Leslie had told me years ago. I knew in that moment that she hadn't been lying or exaggerating. Gerry could barely look me in the eye. I'd known him, man and boy for most of my life, but this was the first time he and I had ever really had a conversation. Sure we'd yelled for the same teams or handed each other the Mayo at a picnic or two. But we'd never really had the chance to connect. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt cheated. All along there had been this amazing person, right in front of me. And I had never had the chance to get to know him because I had ALWAYS been with Dean. Any and every time I had suggested going out with someone else, just to try it, Dean had flipped out. I now know that he was screwing every woman he came across, but he expected me to be faithful to him. Before that moment, I had never considered the fact that anyone else might have been just as good for me, or perhaps better than Dean. Dean had never allowed me the chance to even consider it. "Miranda was just as responsible for the fireworks as Dean, was" he said diplomatically. "And at least Dean was drunk. Randa was just ... Well, that's just the way she is." He shrugged his shoulders as if his wife's behavior made no sense to him either. "Speaking of my better half," he began. "I guess I should go and find her before she gets really pissed at me." As he turned away from me, I remembered that I should probably do the same thing. * * * * * * Dean I couldn't believe they threw me out of the bar. They clearly had no idea who I was. Shit! Maybe they did. There were lots of assholes around who were jealous of me. The bouncers were big guys who were my age or close to it. They were probably losers that I humiliated on the football field. But fuck them. I could only handle one loser at a time. And right now I had to concentrate on the guy who had ALWAYS been nipping at my heels. Gerry was a permanent thorn in my side. But there were things that poor funny little Gerry didn't know. There were so many secrets and lies going on. I had to be careful though. Gerry was always trying to catch up to me, but I was always a step ahead of him. But tonight had shown me that I couldn't let my guard down for a second where that bastard was concerned. Tonight had been a fucking fiasco. First, Laci had started in on me as soon as I got home. Apparently someone, probably one of those bitches in our building had told her that I was cheating on her. We'd been arguing about it all evening. Finally we decided to go to the bar and that dumb assed waitress that I'd been fucking was prancing around and wouldn't leave us alone. The bitch acted like she was my girlfriend or something. Then to make things worse, Jerry and his hot assed wife showed up. The first thing the bastard did when he walked in was to wave at my wife. Okay, she waved at him first. But that didn't mean that he had to wave back. Shit! Laci waved at everyone. But there was something about the way they waved at each other. I decided to use it to take Laci's attention off of what she thought I was doing. I pretended to be drunker than I actually was. I went over to Gerry and accused him of sleeping with Laci. That was funny. The only person in town, who was less likely to cheat than Laci, was Gerry. But getting away from Laci for a few minutes was a good thing. It was really good when it got me a closer look at Miranda. Even four years after arriving in town, the bitch was, if anything, even hotter. Her tits just cried out to be squeezed and sucked. Her ass was perfect. It was curvy and round without being a big sloppy ass that jiggled. The things I would love to do to that ass could fill up a phone book. She looked at me like something she needed to scrape off the bottom of her shoe. For the past four years, the bitch had been devoted to Gerry. She was on him like a fuckin' barnacle. If you saw Gerry, you saw Miranda. She even showed up at his job two or three times a week to have lunch with him. I'm not sure if it was love, paranoia, or something else. Gerry had somehow lucked into a cushy job in the engineering department at the auto plant one town over. From all of the local gossip, he was doing well and had been promoted several times over the last four years. That was a job that should have been mine. I had never gone into engineering because I was terrible in Math. But shit they have calculators for all of that shit now. I should have been an engineer. Miranda, like me had a very hot temper. She was also as single minded as I was. The only difference was that she focused on one fucking thing to the exclusion of everything else. And that thing was Gerry. I was sure that she knew how many times per minute his heart beat. And Gerry was devoted to the bitch. She had the best of everything. Her fucking car was better than mine. Their house was better than mine. They were always taking vacations and he was constantly buying her shit. It was revolting. When his little band rehearsed, she was there. She was always perched on top of his amplifier, doing something on her phone with those long sculptured legs of hers dangling to the floor. Like most of my competitors, I knew everything there was to know about Gerry. He loved Miranda, but everyone in town knew that. The thing that almost no one knew though, was that his love for Miranda was like the parts he made out at that factory. It was manufactured. Gerry had gotten so used to losing to me for most of our lives that he developed the skill of settling. Unlike me, Gerry could take something that was second best and be happy with it. In Gerry's mind he had settled for Miranda. Living with the Lie It wasn't a case where there was anything wrong with Miranda, far from it. Miranda was the hottest woman in our town. But in Gerry's mind, no woman in the world could ever equal the bitch I was married to. Shit, half of the guys in town were gaga over her. None of them knew that Laci was way, way, WAYYYYY, over-rated. Yep, Laci had that cute little smile and those Crystal clear, innocent blue eyes. You could check those off the list. She was as sweet as any woman could be. And that was how the bitch trapped me. I am a creature of habit. By the time we hit high school, I knew that I was destined for great things. I accepted only the best and went after everything I wanted. It only seemed logical that I should have the prettiest girl in town on my arm. So long before any of the other guys in our high school were even dating anyone seriously, I had Laci. I was bigger and more aggressive than most of the guys in our school. I was also popular and on the football team. So any other guy that even thought about dating Laci, either got hurt or shunned. But there were problems between us almost from the start. We made a pretty picture together, but our personalities simply didn't mesh. We held it together all through high school and started making plans for our life after school. I wanted to play pro football and then get into some facet of the entertainment industry. I thought that maybe I'd be a sportscaster or do a few movies. I'd be great in action movies. I can point a gun and yell, "Ah'll be Bach," with the best of them. Laci wanted a nice house on a few acres of land. She could never decide whether she wanted to have a large garden or a horse or two. The whole thing revolted me. I saw us living in New York or California. Laci wanted kids. Every year she became more insistent on starting our family as she called it. I'd seen kids. I was very much underwhelmed at the whole thought of having one of those whiny, smelly, mewling little attention grabbers ruin my life any time soon. Several of our friends had already started having kids and their lives were hell. Everything I had done, almost from the beginning with Laci was to promote our image. The kids and even the teachers ate that shit up. I found myself getting grades that I knew I hadn't earned. I chalked it up to the fairy tale. There were times when I would add up all of my scores and figure that I had a shaky C which would be just enough to keep me on the team. Then when my report card came, I was always shocked to find that most of those shaky C's were B's or better. After a while, I just came to expect it. And as a rule, I just never worked very hard in class. It seemed like such a joke to see Gerry busting his ass, studying both before and after he went to track practice. He always had a book under his arm or under his nose, even at lunch time. But my downfall came just before graduation. I had heard people all over town talking about how school was over and we would all be entering the work force and the real world. A couple of guys in the locker room even whispered that maybe they might try taking a shot at Laci; after all we were adults now. Those college things like "going steady," didn't mean shit anymore. It wasn't like I was married to her. So I did the single dumbest fucking thing I have ever done in my life. And still it almost blew up in my face. Right before our graduation ceremony, I dropped to one knee, in full view of our classmates and teachers. I begged her to marry me and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Other students, parents, teachers, school administrators and even the guest speakers were all on pins and needles waiting for her answer. Laci and I had been going through a rough patch. She had been talking again about casually dating a few other people in response to the rumors about me screwing other girls during our last two years in college. As she looked at me, there on one knee with the ring extended and holding my breath, I saw it in her eyes. I couldn't believe it. The bitch was going to turn me down. I whimpered like a puppy and the crowd got behind me. I added a second verse to my proposal that was even sappier. "Lace, I'm not perfect," I said. The crowd oohed. "I've made a lot of mistakes," I continued. "But I've always loved you from the bottom of my heart. And if you'll let me ... I'll spend my entire life making you the happiest woman alive ... Please?" I think even Laci knew that if she's turned me down after that pile of bullshit, she'd have probably been tarred and feathered." "Okay," she said quietly with a little nod. The entire building erupted with cheers and screams. Even the two assholes that I'd heard talking about taking a shot at her were clapping. It was sooooooooo fucking dumb. I basically ruined my fucking life. For the next month or so I was locked into planning the God Damned wedding. Between my mom, her mom and Laci, I was constantly surrounded with women that I had no chance of fucking. People all over town were giving us all kinds of gifts and money. Our honeymoon was something that we never could have afforded otherwise. And I kept telling myself that only a few hours after the wedding it would all be worth it. I would be able to tap into something that no other man on the planet had ever touched. I was sure that Laci's pure, untouched pussy would be one of the crowing achievements of my life. No one could have prepared me for the things that happened once we got into our hotel room. Laci had no idea how to do anything. She was pure and untouched alright. She was also a sexual idiot. I stroked those long thin legs of hers that every guy in town had dreamed of being between ... And nothing happened. As far as getting her turned on was concerned, I couldn't even find the switch let alone push her buttons. She just sat there asking me what she should do. I could tell she was willing, but she wasn't turned on at all. For all the heat she showed, we could have been discussing the choreography for a new cheer. She was happy, she was enthusiastic, she was willing, she was interested ... It was awful. I told her to take her clothes off. She did it right then. She folded each piece of lingerie and placed them in a special delicates laundry bin that she had bought just to protect her lingerie. Then she sat there on the bed as naked as a jay bird and just as innocent. She didn't cover her perky breasts at all. And surprisingly considering the fact that we were supposedly about to fuck, her nipples weren't even firm let alone rigid or hard. I took my clothes off. The thought of sinking my dick into that pristine pussy had me as hard as a rock ... Maybe two rocks ... Okay my dick was a hard as whatever's harder than a rock. Laci just sat there smiling as she looked at it. It was embarrassing. Women are not supposed to react to a guy's dick like that. I was expecting worship ... Like I got from all of the slutty girls I had fucked. Or maybe since she had no experience, I expected a little bit of fear. I craved the sight of her wondering how I was going to stuff that huge monster in her tight and tiny little pussy. But it never happened. She just sat there smiling like an idiot. And then she ruined our wedding night. "Is that your penis?" she asked. "It's really not a huge angry thing like they describe in the romance novels is it?" That was when my dick began to deflate. She reached out and poked it with one curious finger. "Hmm ... It really feels more rubbery than hard. Is that normal?" she asked. I had no idea how to react to that. "Hey, it's shrinking!" she exclaimed. "Is it supposed to do that?" "Maybe you could help to bring it back," I said. "Sure," she smiled. I was sure that I was about to have a blowjob that was as special and magical as if it had been given by a unicorn. My dick lurched at the thought of being enclosed by that beautiful mouth, at last. "How do I do that?" she asked. "We could start with a blow job," I said smirking at her. "Do you know what that is?" She looked at me like I was out of my fucking mind. "You want me to put that thing in my mouth?" she laughed. "I'm your wife now Dean. I'm not some slut that you're banging in the back seat. We're supposed to make love ... We're supposed to make babies. This is supposed to be the most special night of our lives ... Now get over here and do something." She just sat there on the bed with that innocent but stupid look on her face. "Hey, I thought you knew how to do this," she said. "That was the reason you cheated on me before we got engaged wasn't it? You said that one of us should know how to actually do this?" She was so cheerful and so innocent that she had absolutely no idea what she was doing to my ego. My dick had shrunk so much that it was dwarfed by my balls. Any smaller and it would have been inverted. "Wait a minute," she said. "I'll get my phone and look up a video on you tube to show us how to do it." Truthfully, I had never been with a virgin before. I had no idea how to teach her about sex. And everything she said seemed to deflate my ego. It's a lot easier to get a slut horny than it is to arouse a virgin. Let's just say that it took us a few days to have sex. Let's also say that it was not the momentous experience that I had anticipated. We returned home with her glowing with the first blushes of expected marital bliss. We also returned home with me feeling cheated, and trapped. Every guy in town was looking at me and expecting to hear juicy stories about the honeymoon and all of the freaky things I had made Laci do. They all had this far away look in their eyes that told me that they all wanted to be me. I couldn't disappoint my fans. So I just told them that a gentleman never tells. "But you always tell," they claimed. I realized then that I owed them something. They had bought into the fairy tale, after all. It was up to me to keep their fantasies alive. So the first weekend after we'd returned, we were at a party that one of our classmates was having. I had decided that the best way to shut the guys up would be to give them what they wanted. I was telling them a made up story about bending Laci over the dresser and fucking the tropical shit out of that pussy. At first they were completely into it. Then I noticed that the crowd was thinning out. "Hey, where are you guys going?" I asked. "Don't you guys want to hear about Laci's first blowjob?" "Maybe later," the last guy said. "Miranda is here." "Who the fuck is Miranda?" I asked. He just left me there, running outside into the backyard. I followed them out of the house and looked around the yard. I saw all of the women gathered together and they were all looking in the same direction. As I looked in that direction as well, my eyes exploded. The woman I saw was better than Laci in every way, shape and form. Her tits were incredible. Where Laci had a nice little butt, this woman had an ASSSS! When she walked, I could almost feel the pussy rubbing itself together between those legs. I was incredibly pissed. My eyes were as big as trash can lids and my tongue was dragging the floor. Then an even worse thing happened. Rick, they guy who'd brought her to the party, brought her over to meet me. Why was it worse? The bastard was rubbing that shit in my face. He was one of the guys who'd talked about making a play for Laci. And as he introduced me to Miranda, he told her that he didn't have to worry about me trying to steal her from him. The mother fucker described me as ... SAFE! What the fuck did he think I was? Did he think that I was some kind of toothless old lion? Did he think it was funny? Shit Gerry Louis was funny. I was a threat. Leaving that bitch around me was the quickest way for her to get FUCKED. But he did. She looked at me as if I was an insect. "Just got married huh?" she asked. I got even angrier. People mad always described Laci's voice as being musical and soothing. This woman had a voice like a God Damned phone sex operator. Just hearing her talk made me want to fuck her, and she knew it. "So what's it like being married?" she asked. I had no idea how to even answer that. "I moved here to put my old life behind me and get married myself," she said. I was sure I was slobbering and gibberish-like sounds were coming from my mouth. I had to up my game. "So how did you and Rick meet?" I asked. I was wondering what Rick who was one of my linemen had going for him to land a woman that hot. "Who?" she asked. "Rick," I repeated. "The guy you came to the party with." "Oh, him," she smirked. "I heard that everyone in town would be at this party. I had to come just in case the guy I'm interested in shows up." "Who are you interested in?" I asked. "You probably don't know him," she said. "I can't see him hanging out with you." "I know everyone in town," I said. "I'm kind of popular." "Yeah but anyone who'll kiss ass and suck up to people can be popular," she hissed. "I've been talking to people around town and from the things I hear; you seem to be kind of an asshole. I don't see you being friends with Gerry." My head exploded. "Gerry?" I yelled spitting my beer onto the grass and narrowly avoiding spraying her. "You can not be talking about Gerry fuckin' Louis!" "That's the man," she said. "That's the plan." I can still remember the confident look on her face as she'd told me that nearly four years prior. I had to admit that she had accomplished her goal easily. She had Gerry wrapped around her little finger. But she was just as wrapped around his. As I watched one of her extremely sexy legs flashed out kicking the door to the bar in frustration. The way her ass moved with the kick and then settled back into place was mesmerizing. As usual when I watched her, my mouth dropped open. As if she could sense me staring at her, she turned to me. "Get your fuckin' eyes back where they belong," she hissed. "Fuck you," I hissed. "I'll bet you wish you could," she smirked. "I'll bet even now you're thinking about sucking my big old titties while you push that meat stick in my tight little pussy." Then she started laughing at me. "Too bad you can't," she quipped. "All of this ..." She pointed at her body. "... Belongs to my Gerry." She turned and one of the spotlights that surrounded the bar showed the tramp stamp just above her magnificent ass. Maybe it was her kicking the door, but something had brought the top edge of her tiny shorts low enough that I could see the tattoo. It was a heart with vines and roses looped around it. The thing that pissed me off the most was seeing Gerry's fucking name on that tattoo. "Do us both a favor and keep your little blow up doll away from Gerry," she said. "Likewise," I spat. "Bullshit," she said. "She waved at him first. She dragged her skinny ass up onto that stage when she had no business up there. She was the one rubbing her boyish little bootie on him, not the other way around. And you looked really fucking stupid screaming get your hands off of my wife, when HE had his hands on his guitar and she was draped all over HIM like a cheap suit ... You'd better put a leash on that bitch before I hurt her." We both reacted as the side door to the bar opened. As Gerry stepped out, she headed for him like she had a rocket up that magnificent ass. But she pulled up when she saw Laci coming out of the same door at nearly the same time. "You just can't seem to stay away from her, can you?" she yelled. "Huh?" said Gerry. The confusion on his face alone told me everything I needed to know. My old pal Gerry was a schmuck. He had no idea what was going on around him. I could also tell that that his hot ass wife was so angry and so territorial when it came to him that she wasn't thinking clearly. Gerry's reaction to the situation should have told her that trying anything with Laci was the farthest thing on his mind. Gerry is simply not the cheating type. The last thing I zoomed in on was Laci. My little wife was the most conflicted and the most emotional of the three. But I'd spent the most time with her. So for me she was actually the easiest to read. She was tired of my shit. She was also looking to give me a dose of my own medicine and she had finally noticed the fact that Gerry liked her. If Miranda hadn't been around to play guard dog, I think there is a serious chance that Laci would have made a play for Gerry. I think that stupid waitress tonight was the straw that broke the camel's back. And to tell you the truth, I was getting to the point where I was ready to let Laci go. I just wanted to get something out of the deal. I had the beginning of an idea in the back of my mind. * * * * * * Gerry The ride home was silent, with Miranda just sitting beside me so quiet that I knew what was in store for me when we got home. I tried to zone out and just listen to the sound of eight forged pistons directing their fury through my Mustang's Magnaflow performance exhaust system. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on. The only thing logic seemed to tell me was that women are crazy. It had started out with Laci waving at me. She had done that lots of times, but somehow that wave seemed different. Was it actually different? Or was I just allowing my mind to project more into the wave than there really was. It sure seemed to get Randa pissed though. Then there was that blowhard Dean, flat out accusing me of sleeping with Laci. Again, maybe there was something to that wave, because it seemed to be what set Dean off too. But then when Dean got drunk, anything could set him off. I wondered if Laci actually was cheating on Dean. Shit, if that was true, or even if he only thought it was true, it would be enough to drive anyone crazy. And when we're talking about Laci, who was somehow more than just an average woman ... Who knows what he could be capable of. If I had married Laci, I'd want to kill anyone who tried to come between us. But then that's just me. I think I would want to kill anyone who tried to come between Miranda and me, as well. Then there was Laci herself. What the hell motivated her to jump up on that stage with us? One thing is certain though; she can still dance her ass off. But her rubbing her ass on me was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. It sure pissed Dean off. Unfortunately Randa didn't like it much either and I can't say I blame her. A few moments after getting onto the freeway I noticed a Michigan state police cruiser behind me with his lights on. My mind had been so busy thinking about my night that I had just let my pony go. "License, registration and proo ..." he began. I could tell he had just seen Miranda. He almost forgot about me as he scoped her out. "Officer, here you go," I said handing him my license, proof of insurance and registration. "Uhm, Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?" he asked. "I'm really hoping it wasn't to give you the chance to stare at my wife," I said. "Do you know how fast you were going, sir?" he asked nervously. "About eighty," I said. "Sir, my radar pegged you at over 90 and accelerating," he said. "It's a good thing I pulled you over when I did. If you'd been going a few miles faster you'd be on your way to jail." He went back to his car and ran my information. He came back almost ten minutes later with a ticket that had to be two feet long. He folded it over and pointed out the information about going to court and the instructions on how to go about reporting. "I gave you a break, sir," he said. "I only wrote your ticket up for eighty." "Thanks, Officer," I said. "How much is the ticket?" "Oh we don't have that information, sir," he said. "That depends on the municipality you were in when we pulled you over. Like I said, you were lucky I caught you when I did." Living with the Lie "I guess we're both lucky that I'm a law abiding citizen," I said. He looked at me in confusion. "If I weren't, let's face it, you're a state cop. But this city is my stomping grounds. I know every nook and cranny of these roads and my Mustang is a lot faster than that crappy Charger of yours." "Drive safely, Sir," he said. "I've never gotten a ticket," said Miranda after the cop turned and drove to the next exit so he could go back to the billboard he was hiding behind. "Miranda, you're so beautiful that no cop is going to write you a ticket," I said. "Stop lying," she said angrily. "Miranda, everywhere we go, every guy we run into just stares at you," I said. "That's not my beauty ... That's my booty," she said. I laughed at what she'd said as I turned onto our street. "You really have no idea of the difference, do you?" she smiled. "I guess that's one of the reasons I fell I love with you." "Randa you embarrassed me today," I said as we walked into our house. She just laughed. "You think it's funny?" I asked. "Okay, that was funny," she said laughing even harder. "Gerry Louis asking me if something is funny." She saw that I was serious and came over to hug me. "Do you love me Gerry?" she asked. "Of course I do," I spat. "I always have and I always will." "I believe you," she said. "Am I pretty?" "Definitely," I said. "Am I as pretty as Laci?" she asked. "Prettier," I said. "Your face, that olive skin and the way it contrasts with those light eyes make you almost other worldly beautiful. I also love how full your lips are. Sometimes I just want to chew on them. And I love waking up and just watching you while you ..." "You see, Stupid? That's what I'm talking about. I can't lose that, God dammit, I just can't," she cried. She was almost in tears. "Randa, what the hell is going on with us?" I asked. "Ever since I came to this town it's been the same thing," she began. "All I've ever heard is how pretty Laci is. Everyone seems to think that she's the pettiest woman in the universe. I also hear that I'm ALMOST as pretty. As a consolation prize I hear that I'm SEXIER ... I guess that means that I'm more likely to fuck them. But I'm not, Gerry. I love you more than anyone on earth, but even you follow Laci around like a lovesick puppy. I know that before I came here, you like every other guy in town worshipped her. I also know that things between her and that gorilla she's married to aren't good. I've heard about how competitive you and he were all through school. I also know that he cheated in a lot of those things. So ... in most people's minds you and he aren't really like number one and number two. You're more like number one A and number one B. And it just seems like Laci has decided to give up number one A and upgrade to number one B. Let's face it Honey, Dean peaked in college. Since then his stock has clearly gone down. He's getting fatter, while you've gotten better. His job sucks, you have a great career going and you're on your way up in your company. And besides that I've already mentioned how much I love you. Laci can't have you, Gerry. She needs to back off. You belong to me and unlike a lot of the people on this town, I have no intention of just lying down and letting her have you. Did you even notice how brazen she was jumping up on that stage and rubbing her ass on a married man? You claim I embarrassed you, but what I should have done is snatched her little ass off of that stage and beat the fuck out of her, right there in that bar..." I started laughing then. Miranda isn't much of a fighter. And although smaller, Laci is much more physical. But from the look in her eye my wife was 100% serious. "Okay, Randa," I said, taking her hand. "You know me. I admit that before you came to town ... maybe I did have a crush on Laci. Like you said, we all did. But I married you. I married you because I love you. I didn't marry you as a consolation prize. I married you because I wanted to spend my life with you. It's like back when I was a kid, I wanted to be a NASCAR driver. Now that I'm an adult, I have different dreams. My reality is that I would have been at best an average race car driver, but I'm a star as an engineer. And it's the same thing with Laci. She was someone I liked as a child. She was a fantasy, but you're my reality, Honey. And I'm exactly where I want to be." Something changed in her eyes then. It was as if a switch had been triggered. "Well, I'm not," she spouted. "Where do you want to be?" I asked. "Randa, I'll do anything you want. All you have to do is t ..." She put her finger over my lips and took my hand. She pulled me over to our sofa and placed the hand that she was still holding onto her breast. I got the hint and squeezed it gently, causing her to let out a moan of pleasure. Only moments later we were both naked and rubbing each other. As I sucked away at one of her sensitive nipples she pushed my head away. "I'm not sure you can handle those," she smirked. "Your fantasy woman has those tiny little A cups. These are double D's. There's probably too much tittie there for you." Even as she said it, she had taken my rampant erection in her tiny hand and pushed herself down onto it. "Now this fits just right," she groaned. "Nobody fits me better, baby." I knew that Miranda hadn't been a virgin when we got together. She was a couple of years older than Dean, Laci and I and she'd grown up in a much bigger city. But after all of the Laci and Dean bullshit that we'd gone through that evening, I couldn't resist yanking her chain a bit. "Not even Dean?" I asked as a joke. "Definitely not Dean," she replied without even thinking about it. And suddenly the wheels came off. My dick wilted and I straightened up, looking over at her. "What's wrong?" she asked, a look of alarm was written all over her face. "No wonder you're so worried about me and Laci," I spat. "You're the one who cheated. When did you fuck Dean?" "I ... I ... never have," she said. But she didn't seem convincing. Suddenly I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I just needed to get away from her and out of our house. I grabbed my pants and put them back on. I was pulling my shirt over my head before she noticed that I was leaving. I grabbed my keys from the kitchen counter and left. It's funny; my red Mustang GT looked black in the dark. But the engine still sounded like the roar from the guardian of the gates of hell as I started it. Seconds later I was tearing my way down our street and back towards the freeway. My iPhone chirped from the seat where I'd thrown it when I got into the car. I glanced at it and saw that it was Miranda calling me. I reached over and turned the phone off. * * * * * * Laci I didn't say a word. I walked right past him and over to the car. I held out my hand and he gave me the keys. We'd gone through this routine enough times not to need words. "Lace, what the fuck?" he bellowed. "You were acting like ... Like some kind of whore. What the hell was on your mind with that shit? You got up on the stage dancing like some kind of stripper and rubbed your ass all over Gerry. God damn it! If you had to pick a person to twerk on, why the fuck did it have to be Gerry fuckin' Louis? Isn't it bad enough that he had to go out and get a better job than I have? He also drives a better car than I do. And everyone in this dumb assed town acts like he's some kind of God Damned saint. Then you have the fact that his fucking wife is built like ... Fuck! Why did it have to be him?" His whining broke through my decision to remain silent. "You started it," I yelled equally loudly. "Every time I turn around you're screwing some waitress, or some stripper, or some female gas station cashier. Do you ever think about how that makes me feel? Every time I go shopping, I get those looks. You know the ones where I can just tell the person is thinking, "Oh boy. There's poor stupid Laci. Her husband is fucking everything in a dress or skirt that he comes across. Just how dumb is she? She has to know." So maybe it's time I let them know that I not only know, but I'm going to do something about it." "Lace, it doesn't mean anything," he said quietly. "You know I love you. I always have." "Yeah Dean," I said. "It means something. It means that everyone thinks I'm not enough for my husband. It means I feel like shit every time you do it. And ultimately it means that maybe the two of us should separate and find someone to be with that we can be happy with." "Are you talking about wife swapping?" he asked. "Like Gerry gets you and I get ..." "No that's not what I'm talking about," I snapped. "I'm talking about the kind of separation where we live separately, split up our finances and end up divorced asshole. And I'm bringing it up as a last ditch effort to save my self esteem. Not just so you get the chance to play with Miranda's big ass titties. Besides if you even tried to touch that woman, Gerry would hurt you." "Are you kidding?" he asked. "I played football. I could ..." "You could throw your back out trying to get out of his way," I laughed. "But this isn't about Gerry. This is about you and me. I know in high school and college you acted like I was some kind of trophy or symbol that you had won, but if you keep screwing up, you're gonna lose me. The next bimbo, I hear about will be the last one." "I hear you," he said. "Dean, don't just hear me," I said. "Listen to me. If I still matter to you at all, you need to quit. Tonight is a new start for us, but it's the last one." "Then it needs to work both ways," he grumbled. "No more twerking on guitar players in crowded bars." "Any way you want it," I smiled. "I hate that fuckin' song," he grumbled. Over the next few days things got really tense between us. Not only was Dean really cranky, he was following me around like a dog in heat. I suddenly realized that our sex life which had never been very robust was trending upwards. Unfortunately, I didn't like it. I also noticed that Dean was following me around everywhere I went. Any man I spoke to ended up getting the third degree or threats of physical violence from Dean. "This works both ways," he told me. If I even think you're cheating on me, my revenge will be swift and vicious." * * * * * * Miranda It had been the worst week of my life. Gerry would barely grunt at me and even then only if I was standing directly in front of him and he needed to get by. He refused to talk to me for any reason. He wouldn't even let me explain. I tried writing him letters and even email and text. He simply refused any type of communication with me. I kept trying to explain that it wasn't what he thought, but he was simply too pig headed to even give me a chance. I was hoping that while we were at the bar for our regular weekly socializing session we could finally talk and get to the bottom of our problems. I drove my car to the bar. I knew that Gerry would be there but I often drove alone if he had to work late or just stayed there. And he'd stayed late every night this week. He'd also gone in early. That hurt me because I loved having breakfast or just coffee with him every morning. But what hurt me even more was the look on his face. Gerry looked as if the most important person in his life had betrayed him. My heart went out to him, but he still wouldn't speak to me. At the same time, I suddenly realized something. The way he looked at me had changed too. He looked at me like Armor all. Gerry only used Turtle wax cleaning products on his Mustang. One year, for our anniversary I had bought him an Armor all car cleaning kit with an array of their products. He'd smiled at me and thanked me, but it was clear that something was just a touch off. I overheard one of his friends laughing when he explained that to him the Armor all products were okay, but they just weren't as good. For all of our time together, Gerry had treated me like I was special to him. I realized finally that my jealousy of Laci had been born and bred in my own mind. Gerry had never treated me any other way but special. I wish I could have seen that before all of our problems had begun. I sat down at the same table where we always sat. The guys in his band waved at me as I sat down. Only Aaron and Gerry hadn't arrived. After waiting for nearly an hour Gerry wasn't there. Aaron came in and told the guys in the band about an accident on the freeway that had traffic backed up. Aaron had been able to cut through it on his motorcycle but cars weren't moving. "Don't worry Miranda. I saw his Mustang on the road. I'm sure they were headed here," said Aaron. "What do you mean they?" I asked. "Laci Martin was in the car with him," said Aaron. "What the fuck did you say?" screamed Dean from across the bar. Dean came across the room and towered menacingly over the small singer. "Gerry was giving Laci a ride," repeated Aaron. "I'll bet SHE was giving HIM a ride," laughed someone in the bar. "Aaron, are you sure it was Laci?" I asked. "Oh yeah," smirked Aaron. "Everyone in town knows that head of hair." "That bitch has a car of her own," hissed Dean. "I fuckin' warned her ..." "What are you talking about, Dean?" I asked. "Nothing," he said. But for the first time ever he was shaken. His image of supreme confidence seemed to be cracked for the first time. If Dean had been a normal human being with feelings, I'd have almost thought that he was hurt. I pulled him over to a smaller table. "I know Laci's been pissed at me," he said quietly. "I deserve it. I've cheated on her a lot. But ever since last week when we ... I've kept my word this time. I haven't done anything. I can't believe this. It hurts really badly." "I know what you mean," I said almost in tears. "Gerry's been pissed at me for about a week." I didn't want to tell him why. I didn't want anyone to know. Besides the asshole knew what had happened, he'd been there. "Oh shit," he spat. "This is a revenge fuck!" "A what?" I asked. "Gerry's pissed at you, Laci's pissed at me. You hate Laci and Gerry has a very low opinion of me. It's perfect. If Gerry was really passed at you what's the worst thing he could do to get back at you?" he asked. It all suddenly made sense. "I'm gonna break her ass in half," I said angrily. "No you aren't," he said. "You won't have time. You'll be too busy picking your husband's teeth up off of the floor." Then he suddenly stopped and looked at me. "Let's not get mad. Let's get even." He quickly filled me in on his plan for getting revenge on our spouses. Naturally he thought that we should have a reverse revenge fuck. I went over to the office and spoke to Porky to get his help. * * * * * * Gerry After a week of being angry at Miranda, I missed her enough that I thought we should talk. It was time for us to sit down and discuss our differences like reasonable people. I guess I was ready to listen to what she had to say and then we could move on to the next step. But if she had cheated on me, the next step was a divorce. Ever since she'd revealed that she'd done something with Dean, I just felt sick to my stomach. I had been making it through the week by simply continuing to move. I woke up, showered and immediately left for work. I stopped off at the diner in town for breakfast and after being there every morning for the past week, I was a regular. While I was at work, I was in my element. It was my bastion of normalcy. Working was an escape from the problem, so I stayed there as long as I could. When I got home, most nights I went out to run and then made myself something eat. I cooked for myself whether Miranda had cooked or not. I guess I needed for her to know that I simply did not want to have anything to do with her. The worst part was that I had booked a cruise for the two of us as kind of a surprise vacation before any of this bullshit had happened. There was no way I wanted to be stuck on a boat with a woman who had betrayed me. On the other hand I was finally ready to talk to her. I had no idea what to do. Maybe I had over-reacted and it wasn't what I had thought at all. At the same time, she knew more than anyone else how I felt about Dean. She had to know that doing anything with that bastard would be the kiss of death for us. Another thing that galled me was how hypocritical she was. She spent hours railing me because Laci had given me a hug and danced next to me on a stage, while she herself and at least a hundred other people were there. But all the while she has some sort of secret going on with Dean. There was too big a chance for things between us to go to hell, for us to go on vacation together. I decided that on my way home I would stop and see if it was possible to get out of the cruise. I had almost forgotten that it was my night to go to the bar. I was running late leaving work because of a problem on the shop floor that had to be resolved before I could leave. In a way I was glad that Miranda and I were arguing, because if we weren't she'd have called me twice and then came to the plant. By the time I got out of the plant it was almost six o' clock. I stopped by the travel agency in town. It was far more personal than booking the cruise over the Internet. In a small town there tends to be a lot more face to face business. Mrs. Martin was just getting ready to leave as I walked in the door. As a matter of fact she'd already put out her "closed," sign. "My favorite customer," she said. "Are you here to upgrade?" "Actually I'm here to cancel," I said. "Things really aren't going the way they should be for Miranda and me. So maybe this isn't a good time for us to go away." "Sorry to hear that," she said. "It's after five ... So let me call the cruise line first thing in the morning and see what I can do. If I can't get them to cancel your passage, maybe I can get them to let you defer the trip until a later date, okay?" "Thanks," I said. "What's that look for?" she asked. "I was just wondering whether or not there'll be a later date for us," I said. "Of course there will," she smiled. "The two of you were made for each other. That girl loves you like nothing I've ever seen. I wish my son's marriage was as strong as yours." She was so sweet. There was no way I could tell her that her asshole son was probably at least part of the reason for the failure of my marriage. As I turned to leave she got a phone call. She spoke briefly and then turned back to me. "So ... Gerry do you think you can do an old lady a favor?" she smiled. "Sure where's the old lady?" I asked. "I'm talking about me silly," she smiled. "You are such a charmer. No wonder Miranda loves you so much." "Anyway, my car is in the shop. My daughter was supposed to pick me up today. She's running late, so could you drop me off at that bar you guys hang out at. Either Laci or Dean can run me the rest of the way home from there," she said. "Sure, no problem," I said. We walked out to the parking lot and I opened the door for her. "Oh my!" she said. "This is really nice in here. It's too bad you're married. You could get a lot of women with this car." "Are you making me an offer Mrs. Martin?" I said. "Ooh you're smooth," she laughed. "What a joker." We'd been driving on the freeway for about five miles when we got to the scene of a terrible accident. The police had diverted traffic down to only one lane while they cleaned up the debris and tried to do their investigation. There was still broken glass and small sharp pieces of metal littering the road surface. The fact that everyone driving by had to slow down to gawk at the accident didn't help much either. Living with the Lie "Gerry, pull over!" said my passenger suddenly. She was pointing to the shoulder of the road where a couple of cars had pulled over. There was a tow truck talking to a couple of people. She got out of the car and went over to the truck. I followed her and noticed why she'd wanted me to stop. One of the drivers waiting on the tow truck was Laci. "No wonder you couldn't pick me up," Mrs. Martin told Laci. Laci hugged her mother warmly. "Hi Gerry," she said equally warmly. "Is this your rescuing damsels in distress day?" I nodded nervously. And she laughed. Our eyes met and it was as if she could read my mind. "Oh come on Ger, even she wouldn't expect you to leave me stranded," she smiled. "I'll sit in the back; my mother can have the front seat." I started laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked. "It's a good thing you're tiny," I said. "I don't think my back seat was designed for fully grown human beings." Less than twenty minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot outside of the Boar's nest. I had to help Laci out of the back seat. Mrs. Martin walked over to Dean's car. I think the ride was a bit intense for her. Laci told her she would send Dean right out. I hugged Mrs. Martin and went into the bar to find Miranda. I knew something was off as soon as I stepped into the room. Laci was standing in front of the door to one of Porky's private rooms. "If he's in there with some skank it's over," she screamed. She started banging on the door. After a few minutes Dean opened the door. The look on his face told me that he'd been caught and he knew it. I felt like laughing at him, but I didn't. Deep inside, I felt glad that the bastard was about to get what he had coming to him. Surely Laci would divorce him this time. On the other hand I felt a surge of fear. If things were over between the two of them, would he go after Miranda? Laci was crying and screaming at Dean at the same time. "Nothing happened Lace," yelled Dean trying to ward off the tiny woman's blows. Some of them had to hurt because as small as Laci was, she'd always been really strong. Cheerleaders have to be strong to do all of those leaps and flips. Laci suddenly got behind Dean. "Come out of there you whore," she screamed at the woman who was cowering in the room. She suddenly stopped and her mouth dropped open in shock. She turned and looked into my eyes. The look on her face was weird. The rage and pain that she had shown before gave way to sorrow and sympathy. I wondered what was going on in the room. All of the pain I'd felt the week before was dwarfed in the second that Miranda came into view. Dean looked at me and smiled. "I hope it was worth it asshole," he smirked. "I don't even care what the two of you were doing, because I got even. I told you last week what would happen. I think I got the better end of the deal as usual. Laci isn't even that good in bed. She really doesn't enjoy sex. Miranda on the other hand ... You're a lucky man. She just loves to f ..." Before he could finish another word, I was on him. His size meant nothing compared to my rage. My first punch nearly took his head off. He staggered away from me trying to get his mouth to work. "Ger ... Sthop ...was jes ..." he mumbled as is began beating him anywhere I could reach. He tried to get his hands up to protect himself but his guard had no effect on the punches I rained down on him anywhere I could reach. "Fuck it," I said. "You're not worth it." I looked across the bar and saw Miranda. "She's not worth it either. You can have her." * * * * * * Miranda I have no idea what had been on my mind. Well maybe I did. In fact it was the same thing that's always on my mind when I'm angry or jealous. It was pure rage. I hadn't been thinking clearly when I let that idiot Dean talk me into his plan for revenge. Dean had been convinced that he had cheated once or twice too often and Laci had decided to get back at him. He was also sure that she was going to get back at him with Gerry. Once we heard about the two of them getting into a car together our imaginations had run wild. I guess it was a dumb plan to begin with. On further reflection, it seemed like something a high school kid would come up with. How the hell was making Gerry jealous going to help my marriage? I was an idiot. I would never again try to make any decision while angry. But seeing those two faces sobered me up so fast I couldn't believe it. First I saw Laci. I mean I really saw Laci. The first thing I noticed by looking at her without the lens of jealousy and my own self doubts is that she really IS just as pretty as everyone says. The second thing I noticed is that she reminds me so much of Gerry in some ways. There was no guile, no conceit and no traces of evil in her. She was just a woman, like me. As I saw her, my mind replayed all the times over the past four years that she's reached out to try to be friendly with me. I suddenly realized that she wasn't the one playing games; I was. Laci and I could probably have been great friends, but my own jealousy and insecurity had ruined it. I had come to this town to try to rebuild the mess I'd made of my life. Instead of giving myself a real chance at a fresh start, I'd carried all of my petty insecurities and mental problems with me. I had thought that in a town as small as this one, I would simply walk in and have my choice of all the men in town. In the larger city that I'd come from, I was an also ran. It ended up getting me into a lot of trouble. There were a lot of really catty women living there who tried to paint me a certain way because of the way I was built. I ended doing some things I shouldn't have done with a man I shouldn't have done them with and ended up in trouble. It was clear that he wasn't going to marry me. I was also not ready to be a mommy, alone. He paid for the procedure but as much as I tried to keep things quiet, within a few days everyone in town knew about it. I had to leave town to get a new start. I moved here to live with my aunt and apparently became just as catty as the women in my old town. I somehow remade myself in the image of my enemies. I wanted then, to reach out to Laci. I wanted to apologize to her and tell her the truth, but there was no time. My eyes as usual sought out and locked onto Gerry as soon as he came into my line of sight. His face made my stomach churn. I got weak in the knees. The previous week, Gerry had gotten angry at me. He had hurt me by not speaking to me. The reason behind this whole stupid mess was to make him jealous. The plan had backfired. Gerry was beyond jealous. I couldn't believe what he was saying or doing. Gerry was enraged and beating the shit out of Dean. Too many years of belittling and condescending had sealed Dean's fate. Suddenly, Gerry stopped. He said that Dean wasn't worth it. Then he said the words that nearly killed me. He said that I wasn't worth it either and Dean could have me. My heart was beating so fast that I couldn't breathe. Gerry was walking away from me and things were far worse than they were before. I looked around the room and suddenly noticed that every face in the room was on me. They all bore the same look of disgust and recrimination that had chased me out of my last town. There were a couple of waitresses trying to help Dean up. Both of his eyes were blackened and his face was a mask of bruises. He looked right past me at her. "Laci, baby, wait!" he wailed. "You don't understand!" "That's just it, Dean," she said coldly. "I finally do understand. I understand that I already did wait. I waited too long. All this time I've been waiting for something that never would have happened. Goodbye Dean." She pulled her wedding ring off of her finger. Doing it was painful for her. It wasn't physical pain, but an emotional one. She threw the ring at Dean's feet and followed my husband out of the bar, calling him. I grabbed onto my own finger then, protecting my wedding ring. I got up then and ran after them. I was too late. As soon as I got to the doorway I heard the sound of Gerry's powerful Mustang leaving the parking lot. Tears began streaming from my eyes. Gerry was my life. My jealousy and anger may have just cost me my marriage. Suddenly I felt a hand caressing my shoulder. I turned to the person and just started crying. She hugged me as if I was her child and patted my head until I got my tears under control. Dean tried to get up and groaned loudly while doing it. The woman patting my head suddenly stopped. "Dean, baby, what happened to you?" she cried. I looked up and noticed that the woman trying to take care of me was Mary Martin, Dean's mother. "It's a long story, mom," he said. "I decided to teach an asshole a lesson about messing with married women and it kind of backfired. He didn't react the way he was supposed to." She just looked at him. "And then before I could explain things to him, he just started beating on me." "So who was this asshole?" she asked. "And this doesn't have anything to do with the rumors I've been hearing about you cheating on Laci, does it?" "It was Gerry, the idiot I went to school with. He's always been jealous of me," spat Dean. "Your precious daughter is probably having an affair with him. She's the one who's cheating. Just tonight the two of them were off screwing in that car of his and ... why are you laughing, mother." "Because there's no way anyone could screw in that car. There's simply no room. And once again you're making a fool of yourself. Gerry drove me here, dummy. We picked up Laci on our way here. Not even you would have wanted him to leave your wife stranded out on the road. He was afraid to even pick her up; I think he was worried about what you and Miranda would think. But it's pretty dumb. He sat in the front seat and she sat in the back. They barely spoke to each other, I was there. There's nothing going on between them. The only thing they even have in common is that they're two of the nicest people I know." I started screaming then, I had ruined my marriage for nothing. Dean looked as if he was going to throw up. * * * * * * Laci I ran to catch up with Gerry. Surprisingly, I wasn't even upset. It was as if I'd known deep inside that Dean just wasn't capable of being faithful to me. On some level I guess I always expected him to cheat again. The only surprise was the person he cheated with. I'd always been sure that Miranda loved Gerry too much to cheat on him. Sure, she was jealous to the point of being homicidal, but that was just it. I always figured that she was much more likely to kill some woman for flirting with him too hard than she was to cheat on him herself. As we reached the car, I knocked on the window and Gerry unlocked the door. "I can drop you wherever you'd like, Laci," he said. His voice was shaky and I could tell he was barely holding it all in. "Where are you going?" I asked. "I have no idea," he said slowly. "I guess just away from here." "Hey, that's where I'm going," I smiled. He shrugged his shoulders and pointed the car down the road. For a while, he said nothing. But I could tell what he was thinking. "It's not you, Gerry," I told him. "It's him. Dean could be a great guy. But there's just something inside of him that makes him forget that he's just another person. It makes him think that he doesn't have to wait his turn, or ask permission to borrow other people's belongings. He thinks he has a right to everything he wants. And I can't begin to know what motivates, Miranda. I tried over and over to be friends with her, but she doesn't seem to be interested in anyone except you. She gets really angry when any other woman even looks at you. At the same time, she makes it really clear pretty damned quick that she isn't interested in any other men too. Have you ever seen what happens when a guy she doesn't know tries to flirt with her?" "Yep, I've seen it a time or two," he smiled. "That's why this is so weird," I told him. "I really believe that Dean somehow talked her into to doing it while she was really pissed off, thinking that we were doing something." "It doesn't matter," he said. "She DID it. The reasons and the conditions are unimportant. I've heard a lot of stuff about Dean. But I've never heard he was a rapist. Miranda made her choice. I'm pretty used to picking up the pieces and making something work. I'm just sorry for what this does to you." "Aren't we in the same position?" I asked. Again he looked at me. There was kind of a wry smile on his face. "I'm used to working my ass off and still somehow coming in second," he shrugged. "But you're ..." "But I'm ...?" I asked. "You know ... You're Laci. You're it!" he said. "Gerry, I wish people didn't act like that," I spat. "Do you know that up until I was sixteen and all of his friends wanted to date me, my brother told me I was ugly every day? And I've always envied the way you set a goal and work really hard for it. Gerry for most of my life I've pretty much just sat on my ass and waited for things to come to me. And Dean is the same way. The only difference is that he can usually talk his way into things that people don't want to give him." As I looked out the window, I suddenly knew where we were going. He drove up a driveway and through an open gate into a beautiful yard. I saw a small but really beautiful swimming pool that was surrounded by well trimmed grass. There was a peripheral wall of blooming plants surrounding the pool on every side except one. That side had a set of stone stairs that led up to a spectacular redwood deck. I got out of the car and looked around in awe. Surrounding the yard was a six foot privacy fence that was covered by Ivy and growing plants. There were several hanging plants in fence hangers at equally spaced locations all around the yard. There was a two person hammock on the grass beneath a weeping willow tree. Up on the deck two lounge chairs sat side by side with small end tables on the outsides of them. It was an unusual arrangement and it took me a second to figure out why it was done that way. It would be cheaper and much more common to have one small table between the two chairs. But the person who'd designed the space clearly didn't want anything between the people occupying those chairs. There was an umbrella table on the deck with six chairs around it. A nice gas grill sat near the table with an outdoor bar only few feet away from it. It wasn't the yard of my dreams, but only because my dreams weren't this good. The arrangements of flowers and plants alone would have taken a few years to develop. Most were perennials so they'd come back every year, but planting them and maintaining them would have taken a lot of time and love. That was it. The main thing I felt in that yard was love. The whole God Damned place was put together by a person who loved spending all of his time with the person he loved. "I love what you've done with your yard," I said as we headed for the house. "Miranda did most of it," he said. "We built the deck together and put up the fence, but all of the plants the furniture and the overall look of everything is all her." If I thought the yard was beautiful, the house was another level completely. It looked as if it should have been in one of those magazines dedicated to interior design. I'd heard from a few of my friends about the house, but seeing it was another thing. It just didn't make sense. Anyone who loved her husband enough to do something like this would never cheat on him. Everywhere you looked there were small groupings with two of everything. Everything she'd put together was dedicated to the two of them. I wondered what would happen if they ever had kids. While I looked around Gerry dashed up the stairs and rummaged around for something. He came back down with a suitcase and a duffle bag. We were clearly leaving. "Your place?" he asked. I had no idea of what he was asking. "Gerry, can't I stay with you for a while?" I asked. "I don't want to go home." "You're still going to need some clothes and a few things to make it for a few days," he said. "We should grab them before they decide to go home. I came here first because I figured Dean will need to take his mom home first." We drove to my place next and to be truthful, I was embarrassed for him to see the place. Our yard! Shit even our condo looked like hell compared to his house. After seeing that house, I would probably rather live in Gerry's garage than my own home. "I'm not sure how much time we have," he said. "I'm going to park down the street, so he won't notice me. If he comes back and you decided to stay, flash the lights off and on. If you decide to leave, just come out the back way and we'll leave as soon as you're back." I nodded and ran into the building. It was really hard to resist the urge to kiss him. But somehow I sensed that he wasn't ready for that yet. As assured and confident as he seemed, I had to remember that this was a first for him. It was the first time in his life that he had been cheated on. I'd been through it many times. So many, in fact, that I was used to it. But this time was different. This time felt final. And this time instead of just telling Dean how angry I was at him and stewing for a couple of days or a week, I was doing something about it. I had left him. As I packed a few outfits, I wondered how much of this was really me leaving and how much was just me following Gerry. It felt right. After all, didn't I deserve more than a man who cheated on me every time he felt like it? And hadn't I told Dean that waitress was his last time to cheat on me? In the back of my mind something was going on though. I think that on some level I wanted Dean to show up. I wanted for him to see me leaving him. I wanted him to feel the pain of watching the person he cares most about walk out the door with ... Or choose to be with someone else. I wanted him to hurt the way I did every time he cheated on me. But on another level I sensed that it wouldn't have mattered. Dean was a cheaTER, he would never accept being the cheaTEE. I had forgiven him many times, but I think if it came down to it ... If I ever cheated on him, he would move on. Dean had too much ego to accept something like that. As a matter of fact, I was pretty sure that at that very moment he was probably trying to find a reason to justify the fact that a smaller guy had not only kicked his ass but obliterated him in front of all of his friends. And from what I'd seen other than trying to put his hands up Dean had not been able to mount any type of defense. All in all I'd have to call that encounter a tie. Dean had fucked Miranda, but then Gerry had fucked Dean. I have no idea how Dean had treated Miranda, but Gerry had made Dean his bitch. As far as my hope that Dean would witness my departure went, it was a fruitless hope because he never showed up. I was in and out of the condo in less than ten minutes. Gerry seemed to have a plan in mind because he headed straight for the freeway and seemed to have a destination in mind. I settled into the thick, soft, buttery leather and tried to go to sleep. Gerry didn't seem to be in a talking mood. I awoke to find us zooming down the freeway. The Mustang's engine growled menacingly as we ate up the ground. Gerry was listening to talk radio. It seemed to be a show about sports. The hosts were debating the odds of the Lions winning or even going to the Super Bowl. I looked out the window and sat up in my seat as I noticed that we were driving around the edges of a very large lake. Gerry smiled at me as he noticed that I was awake. I yawned and smiled back.