I stared for a long while at the photograph of the pile of clothes on the hotel bedroom floor. I zoomed in on the details. I tried to identify each item of clothing; which were Maggie’s and which were not. In a corner of the picture, I could make out what looked like a pair of small, sheer panties, which removed any doubt in my mind about how far things had gone. The clothes seemed to be left where they fell, with no attempt to tidy them. I imagined them being flung there in the heat of passion.
All my resilience seemed to ebb away in the darkest part of the night, just before dawn. It was too early to try and contact Maggie. I felt alone, and I was cross with myself for ever letting things go this far. I was jealous of the young, fit Marine that had been able to spend the night ravishing my wife. Once again, reminding me of that first time that Maggie had sex with Simon, I wondered where this left my marriage.
I was coming to the conclusion that I was just not cut out to be in a more open marriage. It still hurt that Maggie hadn’t told me that Michael was black. Surely that was a detail that she could have shared before I saw the picture. Was she just testing me? Did she enjoy torturing me? Was my sweet-natured wife really like that?
I got up and made myself a cup of coffee. I was struggling to hold back my tears. As I sat down, the first signs of dawn were showing through the kitchen window. The coffee seemed to help me think more clearly. At each stage of the run-up to the evening and during it, Maggie had kept me informed and sought out my view. Even after I saw her with Michael, I had not raised any objections. I had told her that I was excited, and wanted to know what was going on. That last picture simply confirmed what we both understood could happen.
I knew it would be difficult, but I felt that I had to wait until Maggie came home and we had the chance to talk through what actually happened before I challenged her.
I stared into space slowly drinking my coffee, frequently looking back at the picture on my phone and imagining what could have happened – and what still might be happening. They could still be naked in bed together. Maybe even still having sex and enjoying each other. I remembered that Maggie had said that Michael was planning to get away in the morning to visit family in the north. Maybe the sight of my naked wife would change his plans. Maybe she wouldn’t be back until much later. Or even tomorrow. Or…
My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it expecting to see a message from Maggie. It was a message from Kat: “Good morning, hope you had a good night. All still well?”
I replied: “Up early. Struggling a bit this morning, but coffee is helping.”
I didn’t want to appear to be a complete wimp, but Kat seemed to realise I might need reassurance. The phone buzzed again.
“Fancy meeting somewhere for breakfast? I’ll have Sophie with me.”
I realised that if Kat had her daughter with her, it would limit what we could discuss, but I decided that I needed a distraction and some company would help to stop me obsessing about Maggie and Michael. An early breakfast out would be better than hanging around at home waiting to hear from Maggie.
We agreed to meet within an hour at a trendy cafe in town.
When we met up, things seemed better. I had worried that Kat’s daughter might make things a little awkward, but having a teenager with us brought me out of myself. It always seems easier to talk to older children when you’re not their parent, and Kat, Sophie and I had a good time drinking coffee and sharing lots of breakfast treats. I didn’t get the chance to show Kat the picture I’d been sent, and almost forgot about it.
We were about to leave when I got a message from Maggie telling me that she would be arriving back at the station around noon and would be home soon after. We weren’t far from the station, and so I decided to stay in town and meet her off the train. Kat asked me if things had gone much further in London, and I confirmed that they had. Sophie remained unaware of what we were talking about, but Kat could see that I was feeling uncomfortable about last night.
So Kat and Sophie stayed on a while too, and we did a little clothes shopping, where I consistently took Sophie’s side against her mother in agreeing with her choice of new clothes. It was all good-natured, and just what I needed. I loved Kat for being there for me.
We parted shortly before Maggie’s train was due to arrive. Without saying anything, both Kat and I knew that I should meet up with Maggie alone, and we should avoid any awkward questions in front of Sophie.
I arrived at the station just as Maggie’s train arrived. I saw her on the platform, now dressed casually wearing a coat over a high-necked sweater and jeans and wheeling her small suitcase behind her. She looked tired, her hair was a little out of place, but she still looked the same as ever; my lovely wife. She seemed pleased as she saw me walking towards her. I was practically running when I reached her and as we met I hugged her, and I couldn’t hold back from crying. It made her do the same. She spoke quietly in my ear.
“I didn’t want to upset you. I’ve made you unhappy? I’m so sorry. I love you.”
I got back in control of myself.
“I’m fine really. Just pleased to see you.”
We walked together hand in hand to Maggie’s car, where I helped her load up her case. We then drove home in separate cars, and I took the time to plan what I would say. In the end, I decided I should try and say as little as possible, and wait for Maggie to say what she wanted to say.
Once home, I made a pot of coffee and we sat at the kitchen table. Maggie didn’t speak much, and it was clear that she was very tired. I tried to keep smiling and so, despite my plan, I ended up doing most of the talking. I told her about my evening in the pub and how Kat, Sophie and I had met for breakfast. She seemed happy for me to do the talking.
Once she had drunk a cup of coffee and had a refill, I tried to find out more about her night in London. I tried not to press her too hard.
“I know you’re tired, and I don’t want to put you under pressure, but it won’t surprise you to know that I want to find what happened last night and how you are feeling about it.”
“I really want to tell you everything, and I was planning to try and work out everything in my head on the train home so that I can make sense and not miss anything out. I ended up too tired and fell asleep for some of the way. I know it’s frustrating for you.”
“Just tell me one thing. Is there anything I need to know straight away? Are we alright? Did you have a good time? How late did you get to bed?”
“That’s more than one thing.”
I realised that I couldn’t hide how anxious I was.
“Sorry, just tell me what you are ready to share. I’ll try and be patient.”
“I’m so tired. I will tell you everything, but it might take me a little while. I can say that I’m glad to be back with you in our house. I had a wonderful time, and I’m so grateful to you for supporting me. I was up late. When I got up this morning, I regretted sending you that last picture, but at the time I thought that you liked the idea of me doing naughty things with Michael. I was still feeling light-headed from the champagne, but when you didn’t reply straight away I thought you were upset. When I woke up, Michael had left and I wanted to catch a train home as soon as possible, which meant a bit of a rush. Then I wasn’t sure what to say.”
I suggested that Maggie take a long bath and then, when she felt up to it, we could talk a bit later. She gladly agreed and I went to our bathroom to draw a full and very warm bath. I added lots of her favourite expensive bath oil under the running tap.
Maggie entered the bathroom in a bathrobe. I got up to leave her in peace. She asked me to stay with her, and slowly untied her robe, and let it fall to the ground.
She stood still with her arms by her side and her legs slightly apart so that I could take in her naked body. This was not how Maggie used to behave, when she would avoid spending too long naked with me. I realised that she did not mind me looking and so I studied her body, which was familiar but also different.
She had pinned up her hair, which seemed to emphasise how naked she was. For the first time, I noticed a couple of dark red marks at the base of her neck. Her small breasts also had red marks close to the nipples and when I looked down towards her shaved pussy, I could see more marks, which I was sure were signs of some very rough activity. Whether caused by hands or someone’s teeth, I could only guess.
I could now see for myself her shaved pubic area. I wondered whether shaving had drawn attention to how the lips from her pussy protruded between her legs, or whether they were actually more prominent after her night of sex with Michael.
This was my wife after a night with another lover. My jealousy was close to erupting. She was still my Maggie, but there was also something unfamiliar about her. She had offered so much of herself to Michael in a way, it seemed, that she had never done for me. Her lover had experienced her shaved pussy before I had got the chance. Yet it was also amazing to see how my wife was changing, and I remained determined to try and keep my mounting envy and jealousy under control. I needed to find out how this had all happened. I could also feel my cock harden as I looked over her.
Maggie waited while I examined her. I smiled at her what I hoped was a reassuring smile, and she smiled back. I wanted to show that I appreciated how she was displaying her marked body for me, which seemed to show that she wanted nothing hidden between us.
“The bath is ready and, as much as I love looking at you, I don’t want you to get cold.”
Maggie slowly and gracefully got into the bath. She closed her eyes as the warm scented water encased her tired body. I spoke quietly to her, sitting on the floor next to her.
“Are you sure you want me to stay?”
“I’d like that, if you don’t mind. I’ll try and tell you more, if you can be patient with me.”
“Take your time. I’ll try not to rush you, although you know I’m desperate to know.”
“I know, just give me a moment.”
I got the chance to examine the two marks on her neck. They were slightly raised. I reached out to touch them gently and Maggie opened her eyes and seemed to jump in the bath.
“Sorry, do they hurt?”
“They’re a little sore. I guess I’ll need to wear a high-necked blouse to school on Monday.”
“It’s a pity Michael didn’t think of that before he marked you all over.”
“I didn’t stop him. At the time I was excited and I remember thinking that you might be excited to see a souvenir of my night as a ‘hot wife’. I guess I got that wrong; it was a stupid thing to do. I’m not proud of acting like a teenager after a few glasses of champagne.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, it just takes a while for me to take it all in. I realised that if he went back to your room, he’d make a move on you. I shouldn’t be surprised; most men would. I wondered whether he would even notice the view of the park outside your room.”
“Actually, we just stood with a drink for quite a while and talked. Michael was the perfect gentleman.”
“It doesn’t sound like it. Getting a married woman to let him into her hotel bedroom where he seduces you doesn’t sound like a perfect gentleman to me. From the marks on your body and that photo from your room, he obviously didn’t hold back ripping off your clothes and doing lots of things to you.”
Maggie closed her eyes and seemed a little exasperated at me. She carried on speaking calmly.
“Don’t you see what happened? I invited him to my room. I initiated the physical part. I started kissing him. I pressed myself on him. I took off my dress. I was light-headed from the drinking, but I knew what I was doing. I thought you had been clear that you didn’t mind, that you wanted me to be a hot wife. Which is why I thought the picture of our clothes would make you happy. Maybe I should have thought more before sending it in the middle of the night. But don’t blame Michael. He didn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to. I wasn’t a victim. I wanted it to happen. I encouraged him every step of the way.
Maggie’s eyes were now open and she was looking directly at me. “Do you still want to know everything? Will you be able to cope?”
She lifted her arm out of the bath and her hand found mine. She continued to look at me and wait for me to respond.
I leaned forward and kissed her on her lips. She gently kissed me back. I spoke calmly and quietly.
“I knew what was likely to happen. You gave me lots of chances to stop you, but I did want you to do what you wanted. I think that it seems to have changed you in a good way. As long as you still want me with you.”
“You shouldn’t need to ask. I have always been clear that this is not in any way about a lack of love for you. You are my soulmate.”
“And Michael?”
“I’ll tell you what everything. It was a special night, a one-off.”
“But you’ll be in the classroom working with him again on Monday.”
I realised that this questioning might not be wise, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Michael knows that on Monday everyone will want to know what happened, and we’ll tell them everything up to when we left the dance. Then we’ll say we went our own separate ways. Michael left early this morning and we didn’t see each other.”
“When did you plan all this?” I asked. It seemed to me that they had planned everything all along.
“We messaged each other this morning when I was on the train. You can see the messages on my phone if you don’t believe me. If you can cope with that. I’m too tired to argue; if you can’t bear to hear the truth let’s leave it.”
“I can cope. I trust you and I don’t need to see the messages. I’m just trying to understand. I’ll let you explain. I do worry about what happens next between you and Michael.”
“We have to make sure that we don’t let what happened affect how we behave at school. From now on we’re just colleagues who happen to be friends.”
“And you really initiated everything?”
“Everything that went further than two colleagues should. I heard music from the dancing and, once you said you were okay, I suggested to Michael that we go to the dance. I enjoyed dancing with him and when he held me close it excited me. I could feel that it also excited him. While we were dancing, I described my room and asked if he wanted to see it. When we were in the room I asked him if he wanted a drink. And I started to kiss him. I unzipped his trousers because I wanted to feel him.”
“Why did you do all this with him? You’ve never been so forward with me, let alone anyone else.”
“I honestly can’t explain. I was feeling light-headed, and I drank more than I’m used to. I was in a good mood because we had won the award. I just wanted to be different.”
“Was it because he was black?”
Maggie answered quickly but was defensive.
“That had nothing to do with it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he was black beforehand?”
“It didn’t seem necessary before last night, and then I guess I wanted to see your reaction. Did that upset you more? Would you have minded less if he were white?”
I wanted to to be honest, but I also didn’t like to admit what I was thinking. I tried to explain.
“I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t admit that I was shocked. Did it excite you more?”
This time Maggie did think for a moment before answering.
“Okay, maybe it did excite me. I was curious. And maybe I did think that if I told you earlier, you might have been less ready to agree for me to go. But it was just one of the things that made the evening different. Just about everything that happened was new and made me feel younger and more free. For just one night I enjoyed not feeling like I was a wife and mother, but just an independent woman having a good time with someone new and different.”
“Have I been holding you back all these years?”
“No, don’t think that. I want to be with you and I’m happy to be married to you. It was just nice to not have to be normal, sensible Maggie.”
“So Michael never made a move on you?”
“Quite the opposite. At first, whenever anyone thought we were partners, Michael went out of his way to explain that we were just colleagues. It seemed awkward, so I suggested that it would be simpler if we let people assume whatever they liked. Even if that meant that they thought we were more than just colleagues.
“He said that he would be honoured if that were the case, but he knew I was married and didn’t want to do anything to make me feel uncomfortable. I said that it would be exciting to see what people’s reaction was, and it would only be for the evening. I admit that I did feel flattered that he was happy for people to think that he and I were lovers.”
“I think most men would be happy to be your partner.”
Maggie smiled at me. “You’re biased; you’re my husband.”
“I think I can still be objective. Anyway, when did you decide that you wanted things to go further?”
“The meal was delicious, and we just enjoyed a few glasses of wine and normal polite conversation. Michael was sat next to me and on my other side, I was sat next to a very attractive young Scottish teacher. I guess that she was a little younger than Michael. We chatted quite a bit and she asked if Michael was my partner. I asked her if it would surprise her if I said that he was. She said Michael appeared to find me attractive by the way he was looking at me, but she really had wanted to know because if he was on his own, she might try and see if he would like to spend a little time with her later. I said that for at least the night, he was already spoken for. She winked at me and told me she was jealous, but that we looked like a good match. It did make me feel good, and I started to wonder if I could go further with him.”
Maggie was getting into telling the story and seemed to be more awake now.
“When it was announced that Michael had won his award, we were so excited that we did hug quite a lot. We were both invited to have pictures taken with the award, and this did mean that we ended up close together. We put one of the pictures on WhatsApp, and we were on a bit of a high.”
“You both looked very happy, which I understand.”
“We had more champagne because people kept offering us more. Then as the whole thing started to wind up, we heard that there was dancing going on in the hotel. We didn’t want the evening to end, although Michael was concerned that he needed to get away early in the morning. I was feeling light-headed by this time and I suggested we try the dancing for just a short time. I did check with you.”
“I know. What happened at the dance?”
“We just enjoyed dancing to some lively cheesy music from the eighties, and then some slow songs started. I didn’t want to go, and so we started dancing together. We got closer and I could feel him close. I realised he was quite turned on. I enjoyed being close to him and getting him excited. I started to wonder what it might be like if I could be with him. I did wonder whether he could see past my age, and that I have had children who were old enough to have left home. I guess this was when I really started to want to see if we could go further.”
This was getting to the interesting bit. However, I knew that the bathwater was cooling and I wanted Maggie to feel comfortable. She was being as good as her word and seemed to be telling me everything. I wanted her to take her time so that she wouldn’t leave anything out. I wanted to do this right. I started to get up.
“Maybe this would be a good moment to take a rest from the story. You can tell me more later, but how about I leave you to get out of the bath, get dressed and I’ll go and prepare something to eat downstairs?”
Maggie didn’t seem as pleased as I expected her to be at the suggestion.
“I need to tell you something. I can’t let it wait.”
Suddenly I had a sinking feeling. I thought that we were doing so well and I knew pretty much where this was going. I just wanted the details. What couldn’t wait? Maggie was taking a few deep breaths as she worked up to telling me more.
“You know that neither Michael nor I had planned for what was going to happen later. Even when he agreed to come back to my room, I don’t think he was expecting things to go as far as they did. I was light-headed. So when we started going further and we ended up naked together, it had not occurred to me that I needed anything with me. Any precautions, I mean.”
Maggie always found talking about sex difficult, but I knew what she was talking about. Of course, this would have been an issue. I always made sure that we had condoms with us.
“Please don’t judge me too harshly. Michael would have stopped, but I wanted him to continue. We never used any protection.”
I felt numb. But I knew I had told Maggie about how Kat and I had unprotected sex, and so I was in danger of being massively hypocritical. But the news still shocked me. My wife had been having sex without a condom with another man, when she and I had used condoms for years.
“You had unprotected sex with Michael. To completion. He came inside you?”
Maggie’s reply should not have been a surprise, but it still hit me hard.
“Many times.”
