Couples of South Pointe Lake

8. Reminisces and Kinks

Steve pressed his thumb on the doorbell then waited.  He didn’t have to wait long before the door opened, and it was his friend, Garry, looking equally happy to see him.  He looked nothing like what he was yesterday, tied to a chair watching Ellie and her lover in bed.  As for Steve, he had needed the extra day to gather his emotions about what he intended to do.

“Hey.  What’s up, Steve.” Garry hugged his friend then let him into his home.  “Thought you’d be out or something, or maybe caught up with work.”

“You forget I’ve got all of that set up in my home,” Steve followed Garry into the living room.  “What about Ellie?  She around?”

“Nah.  Off to work.”

“And the kids?”

“Won’t be back from school for another hour or so.  Want something to drink?”

“Yeah, if you’ve got any beer.  It’s early, but I can use one.”

“One beer coming right up.”

Garry left him alone while Steve looked about the room.  Nothing about it had changed since the basketball game last weekend.  He saw Garry’s phone on the table and wondered if he still has the porn flick.  Now there’s an important question: is it porn if it involves you filming your wife with someone else?  Not exactly an answer for the faint-hearted.  The house was quiet.  He remembered what Larry had told him about the two black men and wondered if, by any chance, they were alone in the house.

“Hope you don’t mind a Bud Lite,” Garry returned with two bottles of beer.  “I’ve got some snacks if you mind.”

“Nah.  A beer will do.”

They toasted and drank to their good health.  They talked irrelevant stuff before Steve got down to the crux of his visit.

“Larry was over at my place yesterday.  He mentioned something he observed outside your home, which is why I’m here.” 

“Something mysterious?” Garry inquired with humor.  “I get amused every time you get your serious face on, like right now.  Whatever it is, I’m dying to hear.  What is it that’s got golden boy frazzled about?  He still owes me from that weekend game, you know.”

“Yeah, I’ll remind him of that next time I see him.”  Steve inhaled before unburdening himself of what was on his mind.  “This past weekend that the guys and I came to watch that tournament game, we saw something that kind of shook us up.  We didn’t want you knowing, and I doubt you were aware.  We had a debate between ourselves about it.  It’s part of what’s brought me here.”

Garry sipped his beer.  He wasn’t looking amused anymore, but rather curious.  

“What is it then?  Come on, stop keeping me in suspense.”

“Before I tell you, I want you to know that it wasn’t something we set up to do.  We stumbled upon it by accident, or rather I did.  I’m talking about the porn flick on your phone.  The one that’s got Ellie in it.”

Steve then told Garry what he and the others had watched when Steve happened upon the AirPlay button on his phone, once again emphasizing that it had been an accident.  They watched the video, but turned it off upon Ellie’s arrival, and then made like nothing happened.  Garry remained stoic the whole time Steve talked.  He was so becalmed that Steve thought he had tuned out from listening to his narrative.  He finished the weekend part, then dove into what Larry said he had witnessed outside Garry’s home, and how their talk led to him making this visit.  Garry drank his beer but remained quiet, which made Steve grow uncomfortable as he rounded up his talk.

“I’m only to speak for myself, Garry.  I don’t care about what sort of kink you and Ellie are involved in.  It ain’t none my business, and you’ve every right to tell me to get out once I’m done talking.  I ain’t gonna fret or hold it against you.  I shouldn’t even be here telling you this.”

He wanted to say more but couldn’t think of what else to add.  Silence fell in the room as Steve waited nervously for his friend’s response.  A moment passed, then Garry threw his head back and laughed outrageously.

“That’s all reassuring what you said, Steve.  About you not wanting to come and tell me this, and yet here you are.  I’d say you’re a bit curious, or else you’d have told Larry to go f**k himself.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”

“I’m right about what part?  Being curious, or telling Larry to go f**k himself?”

“I’ll admit to both.”

“You want to know what sort of kinky s*x Ellie and I are involved in?”

Steve was embarrassed by Garry’s bluntness and could barely meet his gaze.  

“Yeah, sort of.”

Garry was all seriousness now.  “If we’re to be frank here, I’m under no obligation to tell you whatever it is you want to hear.  You know that, right?”

“Of course.  Whatever you say, Garry.”

“And if I’m to be more serious,” Garry continued as if he hadn’t heard his friend.  “I doubt you’d consider this line of conversation a comfortable thing to sit through.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you’re a straight-arrow type of man, Steve,” Garry said.  “Everyone knows that about you.  That’s not me sounding sarcastic or putting you down; I’m simply telling you like it is.  I’m not talking stocks and numbers to you or lecturing you on fine points of time-sharing and real estate like Larry.  This is a whole other thing entirely.  To know about it means to learn about it, and that can only lead to one thing, and I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

“You’re getting me more curious than ever.  What sort of thing can this possibly lead to?”

“It’s a life-changing experience,” Garry said gravely.  “That might sound vague and ominous, and who knows, it might be for someone like yourself.  But trust me, if you believe what you mentioned about not caring to know about what Ellie and I do behind our doors, then I’m gonna give you the chance right now to stop and walk away.”

It was Steve’s turn to contemplate once more, and his silence was a bit longer than Garry’s.  A line had just been drawn and between them.  Steve knew this and recognized that he was skating a few inches from crossing it.  He was simultaneously afraid and curious about what lay on the other side.  Besides curiosity, he felt a part of him drawn toward it like a moth dancing around a light bulb.  He sensed inevitable doom and gloom, but so was the attraction to cross to the other side of the line.  Who knows, he might end up liking it.

He drank his beer, drawing some measure of strength from the alcohol as it hit his gut.

“Garry,” he said carefully, “We’re still friends, right?”

“For sure,” Garry replied.  “Of course we’re friends, Steve.  I do mean that.”

“All right then.  I’m glad we’ve gotten that out of the way.  Now, why don’t you quit with all the suspense and tell me what it is you think I might be afraid of.”

And just like that, Steve took a bold step beyond the threshold of the drawn line.

*          *          *

Ollie Moss looked at his glass of bourbon as if someone had slipped a Valium pill inside without his knowledge and was certain the drug was starting to work on him.  Either that or he was getting stone drunk fast, this being his first glass of the day since returning from work an hour ago.  Finding nothing out of place, he turned his look of disbelief to Steve, who had stopped by to inform him everything regarding his conversation with Garry.  Ollie drained his glass and took a moment to savor the liquor as it swirled down his throat to his gut.  Steve had his glass of beer in his hand, but so far had only drunk it halfway since he had been doing the majority of talking.

“Gaddamn, Steve-O, he told you all that for real?”

Steve nodded.  He bore a look of weariness on his face from him still reeling from his conversation with Garry.  He had returned home almost in a daze.  He forgot about his work, deciding instead to lounge on a sofa while ruminating on what his friend had shared with him while Snuggles came and laid on his chest for comfort.  He never did assume preparedness for what Garry told him.  Having revealed to him a bucketful of secrets, Steve was confused about what to feel.  He had been neither aroused nor repulsed by his friend’s revelation.  Unfortunately, by the time Garry got done talking, it was too late for the clock’s hands to get turned.  There was no way Steve could return to his previous state of ignorance anymore.  

Who else would be better to share this news with than Ollie.  After getting some rest on the sofa, Steve called Ollie up and made plans to come by his home once he returned from work.  The time now was 6:34 p.m.  He had spent an hour giving Ollie a verbatim of his conversation with Garry and now felt more tired than ever.

 “Have you ever stumbled upon the term ‘cuckold’ before, Steve?” Garry had asked him.

Steve ran the word through his memory and came up blank.  “No.  Am I supposed to have heard of it?”

“I won’t know,” Garry replied while gazing into his beer as if for solace.  “I don’t figure you would have.  Like I said, you’re way too straight and narrow; it’s shocking.  Not saying that’s your fault, this just ain’t the sort of thing a man like you would concern himself about unless you deliberately seek it.  Ellie and I have gone through an enormous change in our marriage.  Thinking about it, I can barely remember how it began.  I know it started way before I got to be self-aware about it.  For years, we felt like prisoners chained to this life: everything looked the same with little or no change.  We needed some new in our life.”

“You guys were having some sort of mid-life crisis,” said Steve.  “Trust me, I’ve been there before.”

“Call it what you want.  It hit us hard, and we were like two people adrift at sea; we couldn’t find the shoreline.”

“What’s any of that got to do with this cuckold thing you mentioned?”

“It has everything to do with it, Steve,” Garry was bright-eyed and strained.  He felt that what he wanted to say was way too intricate and complex to put through in words.  “I ignored the signals way too long.  I never realized how bad things were with us, not until Ellie began clueing me into the shape of things around us, and I got to see things from her perspective.  Look at everything around you, Steve,” he waved his hands about the room.  “This is all stuff that’s around us.  Expensive stuff, no doubt, but under the scheme of life, it’s worthless compared to what’s foremost in life.  I’ve got plenty saved up to guarantee Ellie and I to live comfortably however we want, including the kids.  But that’s all worthless if I ain’t got a sense of yearning in my life.  It’s like this, Steve.  Pretend someday you wake up next to Angie, and you’re looking at her for the longest time, and somehow you forget why you married her, or for whatever reasons you two are still together.  You’ve sort of lost all sense of love and desire for her.  How do you think you’d feel when that happens?”

“I don’t know, Garry,” Steve tried to be as honest as he could.  He was fascinated by Garry’s harangue, yet considered himself light-years from ever comprehending what it all meant.  

“Of course, you don’t.  And I pray the day doesn’t come that you will but trust me when I say that it will.  You might shake your head and think it won’t, but it’s gonna come.  And then you’ll realize how empty and meaningless everything else is around you.  That you’ve lost all sense of desire for the one woman you consider yours.”

“Not for as long as I’m still married to her,” Steve argued mildly.  “I won’t mind losing some desire as long as I don’t hand her out to some bloke with a swinging d**k to f**k.  That ain’t right.”

Steve stopped himself from babbling further.  He couldn’t believe he was getting unceremoniously judgmental by what his friend implied.  Garry might as well have told him that he didn’t bear any testicles in his jeans.  That akin to him declaring that Steve was incapable of f*****g his wife and so needed to employ a stranger who can.  He looked at his hand clutching his glass of beer and drank a measure of it to calm his nerves. 

“I’m sorry, Garry.  I just can’t see what’s good in letting another man in my bed with Angie.  No disrespect to you, but I don’t buy that philosophy.”

“You’re looking at it from an adulterous angle, and that’s not what this is about, Steve.”

“What other angles would you want me to view it from then?  I’m sitting here trying to wrap my head around this thing, and I simply can’t.”

“If you can’t, well then consider yourself lucky for that,” Garry politely offered.

“Is that what this cuckold thing is about?  To help you regain whatever so-called desire you’ve lost for Ellie?”

“Sort of, yes.  But there’s more to it than you can accept.  It’s about serving something bigger than you.  It’s a spiritual awakening that’s about giving.”

“Giving?  You mean handing her to someone to have s*x with?”

“I’d prefer to use the word ‘sharing,’” Garry explained.  “The giving is the sharing part.  There’s also the submissive angle.”

“Submissive?”

“It’s not every man who can stand to watch another man bang their wife, Steve.  Especially one who does a good job of it.  You know that.”

“Damn right, I do.  If I came home and found another man on top of Angie, I’d definitely lose it.  That’s f*****g worse than cheating.”

“That might be so,” Garry agreed.  “But would you still call it that if you were the one who gave her a hall pass to go out and do whatever she wanted?”

“Come on, Garry.  We’re jumping ahead of ourselves here.”

“Or how about this then.  What if you both gave each other a hall pass to do with anybody however you want, except in your case, you’d rather she gets her fun than you getting yours.  How does that sound?”

Steve was stymied by the question and couldn’t think up a straight-forward answer.  The question was way over his head—something he doubts he would ever consider himself having.  And why would he?  He and Angie had a terrific marriage going for themselves.  Sure, they’ve had the usual bad times and good times in their eleven years of marriage, but thinking about calling it quits had never once been an option.  He could only speak for himself, however.  There had been that one cheating incident nine years ago that turned into a significant issue.  Angie had left him temporarily and moved back to stay with her parents while he fended for himself alone.  The days had gone into weeks, during which time he had been feeling miserable he had gone looking for her and apologized.  She apologized as well, and then returned home with him.  That had been their one serious clash to date.  If there had ever been a time most deserving of a hall pass, it would be that period.  The thought had then occurred to him, but never did he act upon such wish.    

A phone suddenly rang, cutting short his train of thought.  It had been a business call for Garry.  It was the perfect opportunity for Steve to end their conversation and return home to sulk, after which he called up Ollie, and now here he was.

“You sound as though you didn’t want to stay to talk more,” Ollie said after he had finished.

“I guess I was way too overwhelmed by everything he’d told me,” Steve said.  “I needed to get out of there and breathe a little.”

“Man, I’m gonna need me another drink,” Ollie stood up with his now empty glass.  “You okay with that beer of yours, Steve-O?  Need another?”

“Nah, I’m cool with this, thanks.” 

Ollie went to the bar across the room and refilled his glass, then returned to his couch.

“Here’s to your health,” he toasted his friend before taking a sip.  “You told the others yet besides me?”

“If you think that I’d have us convene another meeting like last weekend to hash this all out, you’re crazy.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.”

“Maybe you’re letting yourself get deep in all of this,” Ollie suggested.  “I’ve no idea what Larry thought when he brought it to you in the first place.  None of this is your business or even mine.  But it will be if you take it too seriously.”

“You think I shouldn’t?”

“You should if you want, but it’d be best you knew more of what you’re getting involved in.  You can’t feel another man’s pain if you don’t first learn to walk in his shoes.  I’m surprised you’re only now hearing about this cuckold lifestyle.”

“Sounds like you know more about it than me.”

“Matter of fact, I do,” Ollie said.  “What surprised me that day we saw that movie clip in Garry’s phone was that I never knew they were both into that.  You could have asked Hanna or me about it if you were ever so curious.”

“How come?”

“Hanna and I are swingers, Steve-O,” he said.  “It’s not something we blatantly advertise.  Got to maintain the clean family life so the neighbors here in South Pointe don’t freak out—we do our thing with whatever time we can manage.  Don’t tell me you don’t know what swinging is about.”

“Maybe I’ve been living under a rock all these years because I f*****g don’t.  Is it the same as with the cuckold thing?”

“Sort of, but not entirely.  Hanna and I love having fun with other couples.  Just harmless type of fun.”

“How come you never once mentioned this to me?”

“What?” Ollie pretended to look stunned by his statement.  “And have our secret out there for everyone to know about?  I didn’t think you’d be the sort who would get comfortable knowing such.  Anyway, there’s other things going on I don’t think you’re aware of.  Come over here.”

Ollie gestured at Steve to join him at one of the large bay windows looking out into the driveway.  Ollie pointed to the vacant home that formerly housed the Alvarezes.

“We’re gonna be getting ourselves some new neighbors soon.” 

“How did you figure that?”

“The FOR SALE sign that used to be out in the front yard isn’t there anymore.  A moving truck drove into the compound an hour ago and I saw them moving furniture inside.”

“No kidding.  You have any idea who they are?  I thought you knew who the real estate agent was?”

“They’re under different management.  Who knows, it’s probably going be another married couple with kids, just like the Alvarezes.”

 “Won’t know until they get here.  You heard from Shep today?”

“Nope.  You want to go tell him about this Garry thing?”

“I’m so tired right now, I don’t want to think about this subject for a while.  I’d better be heading on back home.  See ya, Ollie.”

Ollie walked Steve to his driveway and they shook hands before parting ways.  Steve decided he would head left, which would take him toward Canyon Drive, where he would cut through one of the houses there and come out into Vinewood Drive.

He had his hands in his pockets with his head bent down while he took pleasure from the evening breeze.  The sky was turning crimson with dusk.  Several people waved at him along the street, and he responded in kind.  He was coming upon the Alvarezes’ home and looked toward his left, at the enclosed westward gate.  Beyond the gate, he made out the driveway that encircled the compound, ending at another gate at the compound’s east end.  Something Steve saw made him stop.  He hadn’t noticed any vehicle in the driveway when Ollie pointed at the house, not that he remembered seeing any.  But right now, he was looking at a Mercedes parked in front of the house.

Steve didn’t know what compelled him to do what he did then, but he went and pushed open the gate, glad that it wasn’t locked, then strode toward the vehicle.

He saw his reflection in the Mercedes’s window as he approached it; there wasn’t anybody inside.  He looked toward the house.  The sun’s fading light cast a gloomy shadow toward the west side of the compound.  The house had suddenly transformed before his eyes.  It no longer resembled the comfortable edifice that would excite any typical American family.  It looked haunted.  Steve felt the hairs on his arms stand erect as he approached the house.

The front door stood open; there was a set of keys dangling from the lock.  The door creaked aloud as Steve pushed the door further to step inside.

The Alvarezes hadn’t been the first occupants of this house, but they had been the ones Steve and Angie met when they first arrived here at South Pointe.  Many people around had similarly always known it to be the Alvarezes’ home; that will probably last until occupants arrive to lay claim to it.  Steve had visited the house countless times and was unprepared for what he saw: an empty shell of a home, devoid of furniture or life.    

The vestibule was empty, as was the living room.  The lightbulb fixtures were empty.  The only light source came from the meager yellow sunlight behind Steve’s back that revealed to him that the walls had acquired a recent coat of paintwork.  The house itself looked impeccably clean.  Steve sauntered into the living room and found the adjoining doorways open and partly dark.  He speculated that whoever owned the car outside was either somewhere on the ground floor or upstairs, but Steve was in no mood to climb up those stairs.  Not at this eerie hour.

“Hi.”

The voice came from behind.  Steve felt a sudden lock in his heart and carefully turned his head and see whom the voice belonged to.  It turned out to be a woman, and as she drew closer, he was stunned to see a black beauty staring back at him, wearing tight jeans and a sleeveless blouse.  Her skin was caramel chocolate.  Her eyes were sharp and seemed to gaze into his soul while her lips bore a mischievous smile as if admitting she had gotten the right response out of him when he saw her.

“I didn’t know I would be expecting company,” she said.  

She wore knee-length booths, but her footsteps were so quiet she made little noise as she glided toward him.

“I’m sorry for the intrusion,” Steve said, finally found his voice.  “I saw the car in the driveway and wondered who it might be.  Are you the realtor?”

She shook her head while still maintaining her smile.  

“I’m no realtor,” she said.  “My name is Yemi.  This is going to be my new home; my husband and I.”

They shook hands.  “Oh, really?  Wow.  I would never have known that.  I’m Steve Miller.  I live on Vinewood Drive, it’s a short walk from here.  I was curious who might be here at this hour.”

“It’s no problem; I was about taking my leave when I saw the door standing open.  I came to inspect my things the moving company brought.  The last thing I want is to find out they forgot something behind.  These days you never can tell with people.”

“You’re definitely right.”  Steve returned to the vestibule with her.  Yemi stopped to pick her jacket that she had left on the stairs.  “Is everything to your delight so far?”

“It sure is,” she said.  “The house is beautiful.  The realtor told me it’s got a rich history to it.”

“I wouldn’t know about that.  Many of us know the former occupants.” 

They came outside, and Yemi stopped to lock the door.  

“This isn’t my first time visit here,” Yemi said as they walked toward her car.  “I stopped by several days ago, but not to the house.  I noticed there aren’t any black families around.  How come about that?”

“I wish I have a sincere answer to that,” Steve replied with a shrug.  “Folks here are welcoming to everyone.  There’s no racial or religious bias anywhere.  At least none that I’ve noticed since my wife and I settled here.”

“How long have you both been here?”

“Going to be eight years in the fall.  The place has been good to us, and the weather is here is gorgeous..”

“Where are you from originally?”

“New England.  My wife, Angie, is from Chicago.  What about you?”

“My parents are mixed,” she said.  “My mom was from North Carolina, but my dad was from Nigeria; sadly, they’re both gone.  I lived in Nigeria half of my life before returning here.”

“And your husband?”

“He’s from Nigeria.  I guess you can say the attraction is inherent on my part.  But don’t worry, you’ll get to meet him soon.  I’d better be on my way.”

“Is it all right to ask how soon would you and your family be moving in?”

Yemi opened her car door and stopped to look at him.  The vehicle’s interior light lit a part of her smiling face.  Steve thought he had never seen anything as enchanting as her eyes ever.  He could drown in her smile.  It had been ages since another woman beside Angie captivated him like that. 

“You’ll have to wait and see.  Thanks for the company.”

They shook hands once more before she then got into her car and shut the door.  Steve felt a tug in her heart as she was about to leave.  He waved goodbye to her as she then drove off.  Steve watched her back headlights as she drove out of the east gate, then turned left and disappeared from view.  Steve followed the same route and hurried for home.