Adultery Cheating and Rivals by xleglover-COMPLETED

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"I'm wearing a jacket," Jen said as she pulled on a short black jacket.

"Where are we going?" Mike asked as they began walking outside.

"Let's go to Doc Watson's," Jen suggested.

"You think Josh'll be there?" Mike asked as they walked, knowing Josh was a regular at Docs. Josh used to play football at Penn State, although he was a few years older. Jen had hooked up with him. (Author's note: See Life After We Part 5 and Cheating and Rivals Part 8.)

"I guess he might," Jen said.

"Are we going to Doc's for a reason?" Mike pressed.

"They have good burgers baby," Jen joked giving Mike a hip bump.

But Mike didn't smile back. Instead he frowned. The last time at Doc's he wanted Jen to hook up with Josh but she wouldn't, saying she didn't want to cheat on Frank. Later that night she changed her story, saying she didn't want to start something with Josh because she didn't want to spend more time away from home. (See Cheating and Rivals - Part 22)

Why Doc's of all places, especially after catching her in another lie just that weekend? Was Jen rubbing it in his face that she lied to him all the time, but wouldn't cheat on her "boyfriend" Frank?

As if reading his mind, Jen pulled Mike's arm around her. Looking into his eyes, she said "I love you Mike."

"Why Doc's Jen?" Mike asked looking bothered.

Seeing the troubled look on her husband's face, Jen knew this was no time to tease. She squeezed Mike's hand reassuringly and said "I thought it'd be fun to play the game baby. Together. We haven't done that in a while."

Mike's eyes opened wide in surprise. "What about Frank?"

"What about Frank?" Jen said with an unconcerned shrug. "He's just part of our game baby. Our game." She paused a moment, then added "Just like Scott used to be part of our game. But it's always our game honey. Who I play with doesn't matter."

"This is about the Hamptons?" Mike said getting annoyed, feeling like he was being manipulated. They made up last night but deep down Mike was still raw over Jen's lie. He wasn't angry or as hurt but it still bothered him.

"Yes," Jen said hesitantly, hearing the annoyance in Mike's voice. They arrived at Doc's. She squeezed his hand again and said "Let's talk inside baby."

They sat at the bar. The bartender was happy to see them (more like, he was happy to see Jen). "Jen," the bartender said with a big grin. "An appletini right?"

"Hi Patty," Jen said smiling back. "Yes, thanks."

Patty grinned at Mike. "Mike right? Anchor Steam's your drink right?"

Mike couldn't help smiling back at Patty. Friendly and attentive bartenders (with good memories) always made people smile. "Actually a Highland Park please," he said.

"Even better, coming up buddy," Patty said.

"Just one ice cube in Mike's drink," Jen told Patty, squeezing Mike's hand again.

"You got it," Patty said grinning at the couple.

Mike turned to his wife. "You know his name?" he asked after Patty was out of earshot.

"Mike honey, Patty's served us every time we've been here," Jen said smiling at him. Then she thought about it. She shrugged and said "Maybe not last time." She brushed her fingers affectionately through Mike's hair.

"Oh okay," Mike said with a slow nod of his head. He sort of remembered.

"Anyway," Jen began, taking Mike's hands in hers. "Yes, I want to talk more about the Hamptons. I feel terrible about lying. I want to explain more what I said yesterday, about it being part of the game."

"It's okay Jen. I get it. Shit happens," Mike said, annoyance still in his voice. Jen winced at his backhanded rebuke.

"Lying is lying Jen," Mike continued. "I get it though. It's okay."

"It is but ..." Jen said, searching for a way to explain things to Mike. She motioned to Patty (he was fixing their drinks) and whispered "Say you told me to play with Patty. Part of playing might be lying."

"So you're saying, it's not really lying, it's acting?" Mike said skeptically.

"I know I was wrong to lie to you," Jen said squeezing Mike's hands. "I admit that. I was terrible. But it was part of the game. It doesn't count as much."

"I get that Jen. You said that yesterday," Mike said, annoyance and anger still in his voice. "Sometimes when we play the game things happen. I get it."

"No you don't get it honey," Jen said imploringly. "You told Allie if we didn't play the game I'd cheat on you."

"Come on Jen," Mike said in a 'what else should I think' tone of voice. "You cheated on me twice. And you lie all the time."

"But you're mixing them all up," Jen said, shamefaced yet exasperated too. "I did cheat, I was terrible. But that was before we started playing the game. I won't cheat on you again Mike. How can you think that, after all that's happened?"

They stopped talking as Patty approached. Patty sensed they were having an intense conversation so he served their drinks then slipped away into the background.

They sipped their drinks in silence. Finally Mike said "Sometimes I think we look at the world differently."

"We don't honey," Jen said reaching for his hand. "I won't cheat on you again. I don't want you to think I will. I won't cheat on you. And I'll never leave you. When we're playing the game it might feel that way. But that's just the game. It's not real. Okay?"

Mike stared at Jen. It was like she was reading his mind, addressing his concerns and insecurities from the other night. "Yeah, okay," he said, squeezing her hand back.

"I'll never cheat on you again Mike," Jen said again, imploringly. She wanted him to believe her. "When I lied at the Hamptons it was part of the game. It wasn't real. Do you see the difference?"

"Yeah, sure baby," Mike said. He did understand too. At least his head understood. But emotionally it was still troubling.

Jen saw he wasn't completely convinced. But he wasn't angry or annoyed anymore. Maybe that was the best she could hope for. After all, she was married to him but she played with other men. She got emotionally attached to other men. It was a fucked up lifestyle. But she wasn't ready to end it with Frank. And Mike wasn't asking her to. So maybe this was the best they could hope for. For now while they continued to play the game.

Jen pulled his arm around her, positioning his hand under her top so his fingers were on the waistband of her pantyhose.

"I thought I'm not allowed to touch this," Mike said caressing the nylon above her jeans.

"That's just a game baby," Jen assured him. "I'm your wife. You can do anything you want."

"You're not wearing high heels," he pointed out.

Jen poked his ankle with the pointy toe of her Mia flats. "Don't tell me you don't like it," she said with a playful smile. Mike grinned at her. She was right, he loved her in the pointy toed Mia flats, especially when she was wearing Capri jeans and he got to see her shapely nyloned calves. Jen was happy to see Mike smile.

"Do you love Frank?" Mike asked abruptly.

"That's changing the subject," Jen said with a laugh.

"Not really," Mike said. Jen knew he was right.

Mike expected her to say something evasive like "When we fuck I feel love for him, but that doesn't mean I love him."

But at that moment Jen was extra sensitive to being truthful and open with her husband. So she said "I've known Frank forever. I had a major crush on him in high school. I still can't believe we're involved."

"Involved?" Mike said with a laugh. "Just say you're dating."

"Okay, dating," Jen said with a laugh back. "It's hard to believe. He's so much older. He's Sophie's dad. I looked up to him for years. I still do."

"So you do love him," Mike said, his words half question, half statement.

Jen shrugged. "I feel something for Frank but honestly I don't know what it is," she said. She looked at her husband. "Does that upset you?"

"Yes" Mike said honestly. It turned him on when Jen developed feelings for her boyfriend. That's what he wanted, what he encouraged. But it always bothered him too.

Jen took his hand and kissed it. "Do you want me to stop seeing Frank?" she asked.

Mike hesitated only a moment. "No," he said.

Jen was relieved. She would break up with Frank if Mike wanted, but honestly she didn't want to. Not yet. She looked at her husband. She saw excitement in his face. Good.

"Do you want to play the game baby?" she asked.

"Yes," Mike said excitedly.

Hearing that, Jen snuggled more into him. His arm was still around her, his hand under her top and on her pantyhose. He was caressing the nylon. She knew he loved it.

Jen took his wrist and pushed his hand down off her pantyhose. Now his hand was on her jeans. Her message was clear. In their game, even though he was her husband, the pantyhose weren't for him. They were for Frank.

********************************

It didn't take Lou long to get the information Frank wanted. Less than a day. He still had a lot of contacts in the CIA. And Frank had access to a great deal of government information (through his many government contracts). Frank's access was mostly limited to financial data. But that's all Lou needed. As the saying goes, you just need to follow the money.