Both thrashed in their chains as he looked back and forth between them. His eyes settled on Kyle. “I’ll do her first because you love to watch.”
Kyle shook his head and yelled behind the tape as Christophe grabbed Julie’s body and held her tight, her thrashing stopped instantly and she looked at him longingly. A kiss he placed on her cheek before he ran his mouth to her neck. She stretched it for him and he bit her. A scream came from beneath the tape and she fell limp in his arms where he left her hanging in the chains.
Turning to Kyle he said, “I’ll see you in a few days, on the other side of this. Don’t worry.” His mouth landed on his cheek, leaving a kiss there then he closed his teeth on Kyle’s neck, making his body go limp.
The night was dark, no moon lit in the black sky. Christophe flew down to the lawn of his home. A bottle of wine in his hand. Opening the door to his house, he found the living room filled with light and music playing on the radio. The smell of pasta boiling and a sauce made with sweet basil filled his nose. “Hello?” He moved slowly into the house, closing the door behind him. “Anybody home?”
A giggle came from the bedroom and he followed the sound. As he opened the door, he found Julie and Kyle flying about in the large room. They waved at him and smiled.
“See, I told you it would all be okay,” he said as he opened the wine and they came down to take a glass. “Now we can be together forever.”
Julie took a drink then pressed her red lips to Christophe’s before turning to kiss Kyle. Both men took her hands and led her out of the bedroom.
The End
Let’s Swing
Chapter One
Paul was sitting in his office as usual. He sighed, and glanced around at all the other bored faces around him. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling, only to feel utterly demoralized. It seemed that no matter where he looked he was confronted by a bland scene that completely numbed his soul and eroded a sense of purpose he once felt. Oh, where had his life gone? He looked at his desk and almost groaned. At one point he had been full of life, or at least it had seemed so. When he was younger he had seemed so full of vigor and drive. He planned to save the world, or at least have an impact on it, but as the years went by he had lost some of his ambition. Life seemed to roll by on autopilot. There was nothing he needed to accomplish; he was settled at work and had enough money to provide for his wife, but well, that was another story.
Paul rose and decided to take a break. He walked past the cubicles and was greeted by the sounds of phones ringing, fingers typing on keyboards, and printers working overtime. The thick, strong coffee did nothing to relax him but at least it gave him a break from staring at a screen. He rubbed his aching eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Long day?” Steve asked, he just walked into the break room.
“Aren’t they all?” Paul replied, and the two of them shared grim smiles. Steve poured himself some coffee while Paul sipped his. They both leaned against the counters and shared some small talk about the business, which bored them both, but it seemed to be the standard direction that conversations went in.
“How’s things at home?” Steve asked. The fact that Paul was having marital problems was no secret around the office.
“Things are okay I suppose. Maybe it’s normal after you’ve been together for as long as I and Helen have, but things feel so…normal, it’s like there’s nothing exciting anymore, like we’ve discovered everything there is to know about each other.”
“That’s why I’ve avoided the married life. I get to do what I want, when I want, and it’s perfect.”
“Yeah, yeah, well, I was never any good at being single anyway so I know I’m not missing out on anything. And if you’re going to tell me that you’re out getting laid every weekend I know that you’re lying. I follow you on Twitter remember, what was it last weekend, staying at home and watching seven movies in a row?”
“Okay, and what were you doing?” Steve challenged. Paul rolled his eyes.
“Not getting laid, that’s for sure,” he said.
“How long has it been?” Steve asked. Paul had to count the months in his head, and just got more and more depressed when he came up with the actual number.
“You know, it’s been so long I can’t even remember for sure. Probably either around Valentine’s day or my birthday.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t memorable either way.”
“That’s my wife you’re talking about,” Paul said, in mock offence. Both men laughed and Paul sighed. “Nah, it’s been a long time since I’ve had anything close to passion. It’s not been like that since the honeymoon. In all honesty sometimes I wonder whether she still loves me or if we’re just together out of habit.”
“Sheesh, that’s depressing.”
“Tell me about it.” Paul receded into his own mind as he thought about the years he’d spent with Helen and how their love had changed over the years. When they’d first gotten together as teenagers they were full of abandon and could barely keep their hands off each other, but the years rolled by gently and they fell into a solemn rhythm, and the flame of passion had quickly turned from a blazing inferno to dying embers, and Paul didn’t know how to ignite the spark. He still loved her, of that he was sure, but it was more of a comfortable love than anything else, and he loved her because they had invested too much in each other to do anything else. He certainly couldn’t imagine pursuing anyone else, primarily because it was scary to think of entering the dating scene once more now that they were middle-aged (and coming to terms with their age was a challenge in and of itself). Sadly, it was something that Paul was simply resigned too. He didn’t see how it was going to change.
“I guess that’s just life though, eventually you get to a point where you’re just going through the motions and everything loses the excitement it once had,” Paul added.
“Yeah, those people that wish for immortality are fools, who would want to be cursed with an endless life where everything just gets boring?”
“Heck, it already feels like I’ve spent a lifetime in this place, and I can’t imagine a worse hell than this.”
Steve murmured in agreement. “Still, it’s not all bad. Are you going to the party?”
“What party?”
“I don’t know what it’s for, we just got an e-mail about it. Probably something that doesn’t matter, but a party is a party.”
“Yeah, but they never turn out to be very fun, I don’t know if I can be bothered, it’s not like I’ll be missed if I don’t go.”
“I think he wants everyone there, it’s not just for us but for our partners as well, and you know what that means,” Steve said with a knowing smile and a leering wink, “his wife will be there.” At that Paul’s heart beat rapidly and his throat dried. He swallowed, for their bosses’ wife was the most beautiful woman Paul had ever seen, and he knew how wrong that sounded considering that the title should have belonged to his wife, but there was no-one who could compare to the exotic beauty of Isabel. Paul flushed as he thought of her, and glowed with embarrassment because in the private moments when he was pleasuring himself she was often the queen of his fantasies, and he soon reconsidered his initial reluctance to attend the party.
Chapter Two
When he arrived home he kissed Helen on the cheek but it was mostly an empty gesture as it was borne out of habit. She was sitting on her laptop, tapping away on one of her forums, and barley responded to Paul’s arrival. He took a moment to look at her, to really look at her and try to see the woman he fell madly in love with. The blonde hair had faded a little and lost its luster, and the formerly flawless skin now had some creases, but the sparkling eyes were still the same, and she had maintained her slim figure throughout the years, although it came with a price because she was always weighing herself and constantly on a diet. Paul glanced down at his own slightly swollen belly and pursed his lips. Perhaps he could do with some discipline.
“How was your day?”
he asked as he went into the kitchen and pulled himself something to snack on.
“Oh, you know, pretty standard,” Helen called out from the front room. “Yours?”
“Yeah, the same, business as usual, although we have been invited to a party.”
“Is it one of the normal office parties?” Helen asked, with a pointedly disheartened tone. Paul came back into the room, chewing on an apple. The fruit crunched between his jaws and some of the juice flowed out and dripped around his chin.
“Pretty much, but all the wives and partners are invited, I think it’s a big deal. Jack’s asked everyone to come so we’d better make an appearance at least.” Paul didn’t notice it, but at the mention of his boss Helen’s eyes lit up, for she too had been harboring a secret crush. She bit her lip and naughty thoughts flashed through her mind.
“I suppose it won’t hurt to make an appearance,” she said, and the two of them became lost in their own worlds of fantasy where they could enjoy the pleasure of other bodies. They went to their separate rooms and the evening passed like any other, with the two of them getting on with their own things and not getting in each other’s way. When it came time for them to curl up into bed they gave each other a peck on the cheek and turned off the lights.
After a few moments Paul coughed, and eventually spoke.
“Helen, are you awake?”
“Yes Paul. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I was just wondering if you wanted to have sex?”
There was a moment of silence, and then Helen responded. “Not right now Paul. I’m not really in the mood.”
“No, I didn’t expect you were but I thought I’d ask just in case. Do you think…do you think we’re okay?” he followed up, his voice trembling slightly. There had been a couple of times in the past when they had talked about their issues but they had never had a full blown discussion about it, time had simply melted along until they had reached a point when there was barely any attachment at all, other than the vows they had spoken on their day of matrimony and the rings they wore on their fingers.
“What do you mean? We’re fine, why, are you feeling ill?”
“No, I don’t mean like that. I mean us, our marriage. Are we happy? Sometimes I don’t know anymore. I was just thinking about it and it feels like we’re stuck in rut. I think we have been for a long time, and I’m not sure how we can pull ourselves out, but I think we need to talk about it.”
Although she didn’t respond right away Paul could feel Helen move beside him, and when he looked over at her he saw a vague form move in the darkness. Then the light from a bedside lamp filled the room, and he had to blink as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. Helen pursed her lips and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she exhaled deeply.
“Why bring this up now Paul?”
“Why not? I think we should at least talk about these things?”
“Things were fine. We shouldn’t talk about them, they’ll only rock the boat. What do you hope will happen? That we’ll talk about things and we’ll realize we have a problem and we’ll end up divorcing each other. We could have just carried on as normal.”
Paul looked nonplussed. “Or we could actually find a way to solve our problems and work through them.”
“If you really want to talk about things then we can, but I’m just warning you now that sometimes it’s best to leave these things alone.”
“I think we need to talk about them. We’re not the same people as we used to be. What happened to us? What was the point when things started to go bad between us?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think there was a point. I think it’s just something that happens between married couples, it’s the way things go,” she said, shrugging.
“No, I don’t accept that. I think that’s just an excuse people give so they can settle for an unhappy relationship. We can work at this, we can get back to the way things were. I don’t want us to end up as two strangers living in the same house, I want to live up to our vows, I want us to be there for each other, I want to share my life with you, all the good and the bad.”
Helen smiled at him and rested her hand in his, and squeezed it lightly. She rested her head on his shoulder and he leaned over to kiss it tenderly.
“You’re a sweet man,” she said, “but what if it’s too late for us? What if we’ve waited too long to be happy?”
“I don’t think there’s a time limit on these things Helen. All we need to do is communicate the things we want and then work out how to make them happen. Things aren’t really that difficult, it’s just that we make them difficult because we don’t talk anymore.”
“Okay then, what is it that you want?”
“I would like to have sex with you,” he said, and Helen rolled her eyes.
“That’s all you ever want.”
“That’s because we never have it!”
“We had it on Valentine’s Day.”
“It’s nice to know one of us is keeping track.”
Helen sighed again, and Paul felt his temper flare. This conversation had been a long time coming and now that it was happening he felt the years of frustration flow out of him, although he tried to maintain a calm tone for the sake of keeping it civil, otherwise it would erupt into a full-blown argument and that wouldn’t be productive for either of them. He took a deep breath and waited for Helen to speak again, knowing that he didn’t want to turn this into a lecture and that the problem was with both of them, so she deserved her say as well.
“Look, Paul, the thing is, I mean, do you really want me to be brutally honest?”
“Of course, we’re not going to get anywhere if we lie to each other or keep things hidden.”
“Okay,” she said, eventually relenting, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you. You see, the thing is Paul, the plain fact of the matter, is that I don’t find you as sexually attractive as I used to. You’re not the same man as you used to be. There’s no spontaneity anymore, there’s nothing exciting, and it doesn’t lend itself to stirring my deepest desires.”
“You read too many romance books, that’s what it is,” Paul mumbled, his pride hurt by her words, “not every man is some hunky billionaire. I’ve given you a home, everything you’ve ever wanted, and this is a two-way street. Did you ever think that the reason why I’m not spontaneous is because I know if I was you’d just shoot me down?”
“All I’m saying is that it’d be nice to feel something out of the ordinary for a while. You know, I was speaking to some of the women on the forum about this and they said it’s completely natural. We go through changes you know, and as women get older they get more sexually confident and want to experience new things, but men get used to certain things and just want to get in and out. That’s why you get so many women going with younger men, because they both want to express their sexual freedom.”
“Are you saying you want a younger man?”
“No, I’m just saying that I think it’d be a change of pace if we both maybe explored different things. We both have things that we like and that we don’t like, and we’ve only ever slept with each other. I’m sure there are other women you’ve fantasized about.” Paul squirmed at this uncomfortable line of questioning, but it was plain by the look on his face that it was true, and he couldn’t deny it.
“There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s perfectly natural,” she said.
“But I don’t understand what it means. Do you mean you want to sleep with someone else? Wait – are you telling me you’re cheating on me? Oh God, who is it? No, I don’t want to know, just, please, Helen, don’t do anything drastic, we can work this out.”
Helen burst into laughter. “Don’t be so silly,” she said, “Do you really think I’m that cold-hearted? I do value our relationship and I know cheating would just end things. I don’t want that to happen. I want the same thing as you,” she said, and Paul felt reassured by this.
“But then what are you saying?” he asked.
“Have you e
ver thought about swinging?”
“Swinging?”
“Yeah, we could find another couple and just, you know, swap.”
Paul stroked his chin. The idea was certainly exciting but the more he thought about it the less sure he was of wanted to think about his wife with another man.
“I’m not saying we have to go straight for it, but we could think about it and maybe go to one of the meetings. There are a few clubs around, it’s supposed to be safe, and it’d just be meeting people who are in the same position as us, just wanted to inject a bit of spice and romance into their marriage. We might learn some new things, and then we can come back and show each other.” As she said this she leaned into him and spoke in a breathy voice, which did more to turn him on than anything had in the last few years.
“You’ve been looking into this already then?”
“Some of the girls gave me a few links for research purposes,” she said, looking at him coyly. She bit her lip and looked into his eyes, and for the first time in a long time there was a moment of electricity between them. Being together in that bed made them feel like they had connected with each other again, and the two of them cuddled together like they used to. Paul’s mind was alive with possibilities, because he started to think about the different women he could sleep with. It wasn’t that he wanted to cheat on her but he did consider himself a red-blooded male, and it was only natural to wonder what mysterious delights waited for him in this new, unexplored realm.
They went to sleep both feeling like they had made progress in their relationship and were hopeful for the future, even though they weren’t entirely sure what it would bring. But for the first time in a long time they both felt excited about what was to come.
Chapter Three
In the days leading up to the party Paul was in more of an upbeat mood than normal. Those at work noticed it, for it was a marked different to his normally gloomy countenance, but when pressed he would not tell them why things were different, and merely implied that it was something to do with his life at home, and left the rest to the imagination of his colleagues. They hadn’t arranged to go to any swingers’ parties yet, although they had looked into a few in the area and some seemed promising, although they were apprehensive about meeting anyone they knew. The office party came first though, and the two of them were getting ready. Being in the buoyant moods they were, they both decided to put more effort into their outfits than usual, and looked smart. Helen wore a long backless black dress that had sparkles woven into the fabric, so when any lights shone on her she looked like a precious jewel. Paul dressed in a tuxedo, and the two of them made quite the pair. They made their entrance and all eyes were on them.
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