Adultery Cheating and Rivals by xleglover-COMPLETED

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Jen's face went from a smile to a frown. "Oh, hi Claire." She frowned at Claire's blonde hair.

"Hi Jen," Claire said too excited about rehearsal to notice anything else. "I'm late, bye Jen." Then she was gone.

I hugged her. "I missed you."

Her back was stiff. "Has she been here the entire time?" she asked coldly.

"No, not the entire time."

"But a lot, right?"

I gave Jen a "what the fuck" look. She rolled her eyes at me and said "whatever."

She kicked her heels off and gave me a tight smile, "sorry I'm just tired." Just then her phone rang. I looked over her shoulder and saw it was Ricky. She gave me another tight smile and said "I'll be right back."

She went into our bedroom and picked up the phone. "Hi Ricky," Jen said. She whispered so only Ricky could hear, "Why are you calling? I just saw you."

"I wanted to make sure you got home okay," Ricky said.

"Yeah, I got home okay."

The lapsed into silence. Then with a grin Ricky said "It was fun right?"

Jen couldn't help smiling. "Yeah, I had the best time, thanks."

"Sorry again ...," Ricky said, his voice trailing off. Jen didn't answer. They'd talked about this. It was over. She didn't want to talk about it anymore. It hurt too much to talk about.

"I guess I feel like ... like I'm hanging," Ricky said. Grinning to make it sound like a joke, he said "When you dump someone you're at least supposed to give the other person closure. Can we get together tonight? Talk?"

Jen closed her eyes. She felt terrible for him. For both of them. But it had to end. "No, you know I can't," she said.

"Just talk Jen," Ricky pressed. "Why can't we just talk?"

"I told you why. Just stop, okay? I can't," Jen said.

"Come over. Or I'll pick you up. We'll go someplace. Maybe -."

But Jen cut him off. "Okay, okay, will you stop?" Lowering her voice, she said "Ricky, if I come over we'll end up in bed again."

"And what does that tell you?"

"It says we like fucking -."

"So spend tonight with me," Ricky pressed.

"Let me finish," Jen whispered. "We like fucking, but sex isn't love."

"So now you're saying you don't love me?" Ricky said bitterly. "Well I love you Jen. I said it before and I meant it. I guess your words don't mean anything." Ricky's voice cracked with emotion. He had never fought so hard for a girl. Put himself out there so much. Loved a girl so much. And she was dumping him. Just like that. Dumping him.

Jen could hear the emotion in his voice. The heartache. She whispered, "I love you too ba ... I love you too. But I can't do this anymore."

After hanging up, Jen stared at the phone for a long time. Then finally she went into the bathroom to clean up.

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

I heard her in the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth. When she came back out she had her hair in a ponytail. She wore jeans and one of my button down oxford shirts.

She held her wedding and engagement rings, in the process of putting them back on. She looked warily at me.

I scowled at her. "So he's your baby now?" I asked bitterly.

She sighed tiredly, still holding her rings in her hand. "Mike don't start, okay?"

Seeing me bore holes into her with my angry stare she said, "I didn't mean it. You won't let me call you that and sometimes it just comes out. It doesn't mean anything when I call him that."

"So it didn't mean anything when you used to call me that?" I spat out.

"God Mike you're twisting everything I say."

"But you love him right? You told him just now."

"Mike, we've talked about this ..."

"What did he want?" I snapped.

"What?"

"He wanted something, what?"

Jen shrugged. "He wanted me to spend the night."

I looked at her incredulously. "You were just with him for a whole week! Don't I get any time with you?"

"I know Mike, I know it's not fair to you, that's why I'm here."

I looked at her disbelieving, hurting inside. "So you'd rather be with him right now? You're only with me now, for what, out of mercy?"

"No, Mike, that's not what I meant! Stop twisting everything I say!"

I didn't believe her. She wanted to be with him, she was here only out of a sense of obligation. Something snapped inside me. I pointed at the door. "If you want to be with him, then just go. I don't need your pity."

She looked at me disbelieving. Suddenly my hurt and despair turned into rage. "Go!" I yelled jabbing at the door. "Just go!"

When she didn't move, I grabbed the rings out of her hand and angrily threw them out the open window. "You're a cheap slut and I want you out of here! Go! I don't want to see your cheating face!"

Her hand went to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. She ran out of the apartment sobbing.

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

Jen found a hotel somewhere. It was called the Blue Light. She was crying so bad one of the clerks had to show her to the room. Inside, she fell on the bed and curled into a ball, crying. She stayed that way all night long. She kept her phone next to her, hoping Mike would call. But he never called.

Jen went to work but she was a zombie. She was completely unproductive and making stupid mistakes. They almost fired her. But behind the scenes, Jen had a couple of allies. Gary, one of her first mentors. And Johnny, her current boss. Both liked Jen a lot and saw immense potential in her. Clearly she was going through something in her life. So they were patient with her, and covered for her when they needed to.

Jen thought about calling Allie, her best friend. Allie worked at Jen's firm too, but she was in London working on a high profile project. London was so far away, and Jen hadn't talked to Allie in months. Allie didn't know anything about Ricky. Jen didn't know how Allie would react. Probably she would take Mike's side, because even though Allie never missed an opportunity to tease Mike, she was fond of him. Jen couldn't deal with Allie's biting scorn right now. So she didn't call.

About 3 weeks later after Mike threw her out of the loft apartment, Claire showed up at Jen's work. They went for coffee. "I heard what happened," Claire said a few minutes later at Starbucks. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," Jen said. Looking down at her feet, she hesitantly asked "Um, did you and Mike -."

"It was all make believe," Claire told Jen. "We never had sex. Not even once. We went to movies, he helped me with my homework. It was to make you jealous."

"Well, it worked," Jen said with a half laugh, but it was without any humor. She finally looked up at Claire and said "What's with the hair?"

"I'm playing Juliet and the stupid fag director wants a blonde Juliet," Claire said with a roll of her eyes. She added "He's flaming. But he's really sweet." They smiled at each other. Then they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

Finally Jen asked "Have you talked to Mike?"

"Yes," Claire said with a nod. "He's a mess. Drinking all the time. He thinks you love Ricky."

"He hasn't called me," Jen said unhappily, sadness in her voice and face.

"Did you hear me Jen?" Claire said. "He thinks you love Ricky. What's he supposed to think? You went with him to Cancun. You've been practically living with him. DO you love Ricky?"

"Claire ... I don't know," Jen said looking at her feet again. "I'm so messed up right now. I feel ... lost. I don't know." Her eyes got watery and a tear fell down her cheek. She wiped it away with her hand.

Claire looked at Jen as if for the first time. She was stunning, as always. But she'd lost weight, her face held a pallor, and her usual lush silky blonde hair looked dull and only half brushed. She had on no makeup. She wore baggy, boring clothes. This was not the Jen she knew.

"Do you want me to get Mike to call you?" Claire asked.

"No he has to call me on his own," Jen said, wiping away more tears.

Claire looked at Jen scornfully. She said derisively, "Why? Is this some power trip? You want Mike to apologize?"

"No it's ...," Jen sputtered but then her voice trailed off. She struggled trying to articulate what she was feeling. "Mike's always loved me. He needs to love me on his own. He has to call me on his own. Otherwise it doesn't work."

Claire stared at Jen, trying to figure the blonde chick out. Slowly the pieces came together. All her life, Jen had been the prettiest girl in the room, the sexiest, the most popular. But Claire - being a pretty girl herself - knew how that worked. Guys only saw you for your looks. Sure, you could get any guy you wanted, but they all turned out to be creeps, wanting one thing, and when they got it, they dumped you or treated you like shit. Then finally pretty Jenny Johnson meets a nice guy, Mike Andrews. Mike's devoted to her, he cherishes her, he would never treat her like shit. But the bubble's burst on that one. And Jen wanted it back. She wanted Mike to adore her again. (In later years, Jen would phrase it as wanting to be Mike's goddess again."

"It might be too late for that Jen," Claire said looking sad. "I just don't know where Mike's head is right now."

That evening there was a knock at Jen's hotel door. She opened it. It was Ricky. Before she could ask, he said "Claire's my friend too. She's worried about you. You told her not to call Mike so she called me."

"I'm fine," Jen said.

Ricky looked her up and down. Seeing what Claire saw, he said "No you're not." He pushed into Jen's room.

"I don't want you here," Jen told him.

"I just want you to eat something," Ricky said. He sat at the small table and pulled food from the brown bag he was holding. Hot chicken soup. A green salad. French baguette. A big bottle of water.

"I'm not hungry," Jen protested, but she sat next to Ricky.

Ricky opened the soup and got a spoonful. "Come on," he said, offering the spoon to Jen like she was a child.

"I don't want you here Ricky," Jen said.

"I get it," Ricky said. "Just eat some soup. Then I'll leave."

Jen frown at Ricky but she took the soup and spoon from him. She ate a few mouthfuls. She looked at Ricky and he looked at her. Ricky saw a hunger in her eyes and it wasn't for food.

Ricky took the food and pulled her to the bed. Jen didn't resist. She let him kiss her. Let him push his tongue into her mouth. Let him fondle her. Take off her blouse and bra. Let him push his hand into her pants.

Ricky pushed Jen on her back, got on top of her. But she didn't want it that way. Didn't want anything resembling love. She wanted fucked.

Jen wriggled onto her hands and knees. Ricky got the message. He got behind Jen and lined up his cock. He pushed inside her.

Fuck! Jen was tight. After 3 weeks of no cock - even Mike's little dick - her pussy was tight as a virgin teenager's.

He worked himself into her though. He got balls deep. Because that's what he wanted. And Jen wanted it too. She was a horny slut. She adored sex! Loved it!

Afterwards Jen sat up in the bed, next to Ricky. "Do you mind if I smoke?" he asked.

Jen shrugged. It was a non-smoking hotel but she didn't care. Ricky pulled a cigarette from his pants and lit up. "Want one?" he asked.

Jen looked at the lit cigarette. Mike hated when she smoked. It was about his brother Joe, a cancer survivor. "Sure, yeah," she said with a shrug. Ricky lit another one and handed it to her.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

They sat there, naked, sitting next to each other and smoking. Jen had her chin on her raised knees, looking at the blank wall.

"I got the word," Ricky finally said. "Transfer to LA."

"Okay," Jen said softly.

"Are you getting back with Mike?" he asked.

"... I don't know," Jen said, her eyes downcast.

"So come with me," Ricky said.

Jen didn't answer. She didn't look at him. She kept looking at her feet.

"What do you say?" Ricky said, putting his hand on her bare knee. He caressed her knee. Down her inner thigh.

Finally when Ricky's fingertips touched her pussy- the lips still swollen from their fucking moments ago, and filled with his cream - she looked at him. She looked at his handsome face, his ripped body, his beautiful, half hard cock.

Ricky saw the growing arousal on her face. She was insatiable, and he loved that about her. With her blonde hair, blue eyes and beautiful face, she looked like an innocent angel. But really she was a slut.

Ricky pulled her to him. "I can give you everything," he said kissing her. Jen fell into his arms. She kissed him back. This time he took her missionary. This time they made love.

-

They slept together. The next morning Jen said "If I go with you, I'm not making any promises."

"Sure, I get it," Ricky said, his heart leaping at the prospect of Jen coming with him to LA. "This is just a trial run. To see if we work." He grinned that boyish smile and said "I'm okay with being your rebound boyfriend."

"No not even that," Jen told him. "I'm going ... to clear my head. I'll help you get settled. That's all. I'm not promising anything else."

"Jen babe," Ricky said, tenderly stroking her face. "If that's all you can give me right now, then that's what I'll take. I just want to be with you." Ricky could tell she was distraught. Of course she was, her marriage was ending, it was normal to feel that way. He loved her and he knew she loved him. They were perfect for each other. All he had to do was get her away from New York and all the memories. Get her away from Mike. Then he'd win he over. Show her how happy he could make her.

(Author's note: Again, the following is from He Fucked My Girl Part 9 from Mike's point of view)

I didn't see or talk to her for almost 3 weeks. I felt empty inside, a walking corpse. Then she showed up at our apartment. "Ricky's being deployed back to California. He asked me to go with him, help him settle in. He's downstairs, we're on our way to the airport."

"Okay," I said dumbly, feeling numb.

"I need to pack some things," she said.

"Okay," I said again. What else could I say?

A few minutes later she came out with her suitcase. She sat down next to me, seeing the anguish and hurt on my face. She softly rubbed my chest. "I'm sorry I hurt you Mike. You're the last person I wanted to hurt. This thing with Ricky -"

"You don't have to explain," I said managing a smile at her. "I think I understand." I paused, then said "I'm sorry about last time."

"Yeah well ..." she said looking off. She looked sad and hurt.

"I wanted to tell you ... you know Claire? There was never anything between us. We're just friends. I helped her pass her math class."

Jen smiled. "I know, she told me. I thought she'd dyed her hair blonde for you."

"She's in a play ..."

"I know, she told me." Jen laughed. "She was saying some crazy things about what you two were doing. I was pretty sure she was making it up."

"Why? Because she said she liked sex with me?" I said bitterly.

"I like sex with you Mike. I love it. I always have."

"Yeah right," I said sarcastically.

"Mike ... just because I like sex with Ricky doesn't mean I don't like it with you too."

"Jen, don't lie, okay? At least give me that."

She paused looking frustrated. "Mike, you know - you're the one who always wanted to hear about what we did."

"Oh, so now you're going to tell me you were lying all this time, that you really don't love getting fucked by Ricky?"

She squeezed my arm. "Please, let's not fight." She waited for me to calm down. "I'm just saying, I think a lot of what you think about me is in your head."

"In my head?" I laughed, but it was without any humor. "You've been living with him for a month," I said bitterly. "You never came to see me, you never called. You're going away with him again. That's not in my head Jen, that's for real."

"You didn't call me either."

"You were the one fucking him! You were the one falling in love with him!"

Jen looked like she was holding back tears. "And you didn't have something to do with that?"

"I'm just saying ..." I stopped, on the verge of losing it. "Just don't pity me Jen okay?"

"Mike ..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "What can I do to make you feel better?"

"Are you going with him?"

"Yes. I owe it to him."

I looked at her incredulously. "You owe it to him? It's not enough he gets to fuck your mouth and pussy and ass whenever he wants?"

Jen flinched, like my words were a slap across her face. "Is this when you call me a slut again?"

I flinched back at her words. I got up and walked a few steps away. I didn't want to cry in front of her.

She walked to me and kissed me on the cheek. "Goodbye Mike," she said. "Call me sometime, okay?" Then she was gone.

I stood there, unmoving, unfeeling. She'd just broken up with me. Or maybe we'd broken up with each other. It didn't matter. She was gone, and I didn't think I'd ever see her again.

Cheating and Rivals Part 71 (California - Part 3)

The first week in LA, Jen felt like she was sleepwalking. She stayed with Ricky who was assigned a small apartment in officer's country. She didn't know if he broke the rules to have her stay with him. She didn't know what he told his commanding officer, or whoever it was that decided such things. That she was his fiancée? She didn't care what he said. She didn't care much about anything.

Jen kept her iPhone charged and always with her. During the day she put it on the table and looked at it. At night she put it beside her and looked at it. The phone never rang. Mike never called.

Jen's heart would leap when someone knocked on the door. Or when she saw a thin, not quite average height guy with dark hair and glasses in the crowd. She wanted it to be Mike; he flew out to sweep her off her feet and bring her home. But no, Mike never came. He never called her.

Jen didn't have sex with Ricky. The first couple days he made moves on her. But she pushed him away. It wasn't she didn't want him, she did. Their intense attraction for each other was still there. But she told Ricky "Sex confuses things. I can't. I'm trying to figure things out." She could tell he wanted her. Could see it in his eyes. But when she had sex with Ricky, she felt love for him. The way he pleasured her body. The way he made her cum. How could she not feel love for him? But she was confused. She was trying to figure things out. She didn't want those sex-induced feelings of love. She wanted real love. Or she wanted nothing. She just didn't want fake love.

For his part Ricky was patience with Jen. She was here in LA with him. She was living with him. She was there when he got up in the morning, and there when he got home from work. If she needed time, that was fine. He loved her. He was happy.

One evening they went to happy hour with Ricky's friends. Jen wore a simple outfit of a peasant blouse and skinny jeans. Black Hepburn Mia flats. She looked at her phone on the kitchen table. She decided not to take it. That was a big moment for her. It was like, turning a corner on her life. Cutting the cord.

Having taken that first step, Jen decided to dress up a little more. A little more makeup. Sexier lipstick. She put her hair up, the way Ricky liked it. She took off her bra and went bare under her blouse; the way Ricky liked it. Looking in the mirror, she decided she was going to be bubbly and flirty tonight. She was going to get her mojo back. She was going to be Jen again.

Ricky's hands were all over Jen at the bar. Jen let him, and when he kissed her she kissed him back. They ended up fucking in the alley behind the bar. In the alley! They were like 2 horny teenagers. Jen's jeans and panties were pushed down to her knees. Her blouse was open, and Ricky had her pretty face pressed against the brick wall. He pounded her from behind, kissing up her neck, groping her bare tits.

Jen rose up on her tiptoes out of the Mia flats when she came, a long deep wail escaping her lips as she had her first orgasm in weeks. Ricky came soon after, flooding her pussy with so much cum that by the time she got home it looked like she wet herself in the skinny jeans.

Jen looked at her phone when they got home. Her mom called, there were calls from Allie, Melody and Johnny, but nothing from Mike. She dropped the phone on the table, not listening to any of the messages.

Ricky pulled her into the bedroom. Having gone so long without getting anything, he wanted it again. Jen let him. The truth was, her body wanted it to. They fucked until late at night (or really early in the morning), when they finally passed out from exhaustion.

After that, Jen didn't resist Ricky's advances. In fact, often she initiated sex. It was like before. They fucked 2, 3 times a day. More on the weekends, often not leaving their apartment even for food. They'd order in, eat in bed sitting next to each other naked, and then fuck again. Jen had never been more sexually satisfied.

Jen stopped being anal about her phone. She stopped looking for Mike in the crowds. A few times a day, she'd pick up her phone to see if he called. After a while that went to once or twice a day. Sometimes she missed whole days checking her phone. It didn't matter. Mike never called.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Ricky was getting ready for a mission. He wasn't able to talk about it but Jen sensed it was going to be a dangerous mission. That's all Ricky did, dangerous missions. A few times he went away for a couple days to train. When he came back their sex was even more passionate, even more desperate. It was like they both knew it might be their last time.

On a sunny beautiful Saturday, Ricky and his friends decided to go surfing. They drove to Lunada Bay, the famous surfing spot off the Palos Verdes peninsula, just south of Los Angeles. By that time Jen had bought more clothes, including a few bikinis and cover-ups, as they'd gone to the beach a few times.

Jen wore a bikini that left little to the imagination. Ricky picked it. He liked showing her off. In that way he was like Mike. Unlike Mike though, Ricky would never share her. He liked showing her off as if to say to other men, "Look what I got. She's mine. You can look but that's all you can do."

Jen went with it. She let him show her off. She was proud of her body. She liked the attention, she liked men looking at her.

Her bikini was hot pink and mostly strings. The triangle cups covered most of her breasts but not all, leaving some side flesh exposed. The bottom wasn't a thong exactly, but it was low cut and seemingly designed to ride up between her ass cheeks.

Jen spread a blanket on the sand and laid down, intending to watch the men surf and work on her tan. Her skin was already golden from the California sun but you could never get too tanned in her opinion. The other wives and girlfriends weren't as sun worshipping as Jen. Maybe because they lived here and already had their perfect tans. Anyways, they were playing in the water with the boys, leaving Jen alone on the beach.

Jen was surprised when a tall lanky man plopped down next to her. "Oh my god, Goose, what are you doing here?" she said.

"Here a few days," Goose said. "I told you I'm here a lot." He was slurring his words. It was clear he was drunk, even though it was just mid-afternoon.

Goose's eyes slowly traveled down Jen's body, lingering on the small triangles of pink barely covering her tiny tits and sweet pussy. "Nice bikini. Pink looks good on you," he said with a grin.

"I'll make sure to tell Ricky, he bought it for me," Jen said with a flirty laugh. She looked passed his shoulder. "Where's Meg?"

"Back home," he said with a shrug. "This is a work trip."

"Which makes sense cause you're on the beach," Jen teased.

"That's the Marine life," Goose said with a crooked grin. "Work hard, play hard." He reached over and flicked the thin pink string by her neck. "So how exactly does this work?"

"It ties at my neck, back and sides," Jen said with a grin. "Pretty standard bikini technology."

Still grinning, Goose curled a finger in the string and tugged at the cup. "I mean, how does a tiny thing like this stay on?" He tugged a little more and the dark of her areola came into view. He tugged a little more and her nipple popped out.

"You play a dangerous game," Jen said, although she made no move to stop him.

"And you're a cock tease," Goose said, rubbing his thumb over her bare nipple. Her nipple got hard and her breathing got heavier. "God your body's perfect. I've wanted to fuck you the moment I saw you."

"What would Meg say?"

"It gets her hot," Goose said simply.

"What?" Jen said not understanding.

"Meg likes watching me fuck other girls," Goose said. "It gets her hot."

"What?" Jen said again, her lips parting into a surprised O.

At that moment Jen saw Ricky swimming over towards them. She fixed her bikini top and Goose scooted over, creating a respectful distance between him and his best friend's girlfriend.

Jen was panting, she had her cum face on. She didn't want trouble between Ricky and Goose. So she jumped up and ran to Ricky, who was just emerging from the water. "Teach me how to surf," she said tugging him back into the water.

For the next hour Ricky taught Jen how to surf. She was good for a beginner. She had good balance from her experience in gymnastics and dancing. A few times she wiped out though. There was a monster wave when she really wiped out and Ricky had to save her. She thought she was going to die but really she'd been in no danger at all. But still it'd been an epic wipeout.

As it got dark the couples separated and went home separately in their cars. Jen didn't see Goose. She assumed he got a ride back to the base with someone else.

Jen and Ricky got in his car. It was a rental, some kind of Ford sedan. Ricky was about to start the car but Jen stopped him. "Wait," she said. The lot was empty, they were the last ones. It was almost dark outside.

Jen pulled the strings of her top and bottoms. She pulled out Ricky's cock and went down on him. When he was hard, she got on top of him. She guided him into her. He penetrated her easier now. Her pussy was more used to his size.

"You're horny," Ricky said looking into her beautiful face.

"Yeah," Jen agreed, panting as she rode him up and down.

"Goose hit on you?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Is that why you're hot?"

"Yes," she told him.

"Do you want to fuck him?" Ricky asked looking into her beautiful blue eyes.

Jen wrapped her arms around Ricky's neck, still riding him up and down. She moved her sexy lips up his neck and breathed into his ear, "Do you want me to fuck him baby? Would that turn you on?"

Ricky glared at Jen. He lifted her off his cock and threw her back into her seat. "I'm not fucking Mike okay?!" he yelled angrily.

Jen curled into a ball, hugging her knees, and cried. After a moment Ricky softened and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said. But Jen kept crying.

They made love when they got home. They made love the next morning. They didn't talk about what happened in the car.

Ricky had to go away on another training exercise. He pulled Jen into his arms and looked intently into her eyes. "Don't fuck Goose," he told her. "I don't want you to see him."

"I won't," Jen said, pulling away from him. She glared at him. Then she softened, and rubbed his shoulder. "I won't," she promised. Then she rubbed lower, and lower. Eventually she was on her knees going down on him.

Later that night Jen was studying her checkbook. She was getting worried about her money situation. She was paying half of everything with Ricky and funds were getting low. She and Mike each had a checking account, and they had a joint savings account. So far Jen had only spent money from her checking account; she felt justified doing that, as that money was hers. But she didn't want to go into the savings account as that belonged to Mike too.

How did married people do this? Divide their assets? Jen didn't want to think about it.

Jen started thinking about getting a job. Something in marketing, maybe even a dancing gig. As she considered this, she wondered if she would ever go back to New York. She wondered if she would ever see Mike again. It made her sad. She pushed it from her thoughts. She didn't want to think about it.

There was a knock at the door. Her heart didn't leap anymore. She knew it wasn't Mike. And when she opened the door it wasn't. It was Goose. She wasn't even surprised.

Goose was holding a bottle of red white. He opened it while Jen got glasses. They sat in the small TV room and talked as they sipped the cheap red white.

"So you moved here with Ricky," Goose said. "I wasn't sure you would."

"I wasn't sure I would either," Jen said.

"Ricky's crazy about you," Goose said. "He ask you yet?" Ask you to marry him.

"Nope."

"Meg thinks he will. So do I. What will you say?"

Jen looked down, not answering at first. Finally she said "I'll think about it when it happens."

"You're a cold bitch," Goose said with an admiring grin.

Jen shrugged. It was a "whatever" shrug.

"Meg thinks there's another guy," Goose said. "Is there?"

"Huh," Jen said with a half laugh. It never fails ... a woman's intuition.

"Is there?" Goose asked again.

"Yeah, there is," Jen told him. She drained her glass and held it out to Goose. He refilled it. "So Meg likes seeing you with other girls?"

Goose nodded. "She thinks it's hot, other girls wanting me."

Jen laughed again, but it was without any humor. Goose and Meg sounded like her and Mike, but in reverse.

"You think it's weird?" Goose asked.

"I don't know," Jen said. "I guess as long as you're happy."

"We are happy," Goose said. "Very happy."

"So you have a 24/7 hall pass?" Jen asked.

"Pretty much."

"How does it work?"

"You're getting kind of personal," Goose said.

"You started it," Jen said.

"No you asked me," Goose said. "You started it."

"No you told me yesterday on the beach," Jen reminded her.

"I was drunk," Goose said.

Jen shrugged another "whatever" shrug. "So are you gonna tell me?"

Looking sheepish, he said "I'd appreciate if you don't tell Ricky."

Jen shrugged again. She wasn't going to say anything to Ricky. "Does Meg fuck around too?"

"No way," Goose said. "That's not how it works."

"So how does it work?" she asked again.

"Just me and other girls. Meg likes to watch. Sometimes she plays too. A threesome. But mostly she likes to watch," Goose said. "If she's not there, I tell her about it. I record it if I can."

Jen laughed again. They sounded just like her and Mike.

Goose read her laugh wrong. He said "You think we're freaks. Listen, we love each other. More than a lot of couples. How happy are people really? What's the divorce rate? Me and Meg love each other. We'll always be together."

"I get it Goose," Jen said. She said sincerely, "You two sound like you really love each other. You really ... adore each other."

"We do," Goose agreed. He seemed mollified by her sincerity. "More?" He offered her more wine.

"Sure," Jen said holding out her glass. As he poured, Goose looked at her chest.

Jen was braless under her t-shirt. She hardly ever wore a bra nowadays. Ricky preferred her that way. And her breasts were tiny, she didn't need the support. Mostly she only wore a bra when she didn't want her nipples to show, like if she was going to an official function with Ricky.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

But tonight she was hanging at home in a t-shirt and yoga pants, and she was braless. Goose could see the dents her nipples made in the light cotton material. He could even make out the dark of her areolas surrounding her nipples.

Goose put their wine glasses on the table. He leaned forward and kissed her. Jen kissed him back. He pushed his tongue into her mouth. She sucked on his tongue, twirled her tongue over his.

"Can I record this?" Goose asked, breathing hard.

"What?" Jen asked between pants.

"Can I record this for Meg?"

Jen hesitated, then said "Will you keep it private?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Okay, yeah, okay," Jen said.

Goose lined up his camera and hit record. Then he returned to Jen. His hands went to her breasts, fondling her over the t-shirt. Soon his hands were going under the t-shirt. He pulled her t-shirt off. Jen put her arms up to help him. Goose looked at her bare tits for long moments. He cupped them, appreciating their perfection, the way they sloped downwards in a feminine way, and then glided upwards, making her nipples point towards the sky. The definition of perkiness.

He kissed down her breasts and nipples to her stomach. He reveled in her sexy flat tummy, running his hands up and down, kissing around her belly button.

He got on the floor, kissing and stroking her legs, and her ass. "You've got the most fantastic legs," Goose gushed, caressing her toned thighs and shapely calves. He pulled off her yoga pants and thong. Jen raised off her butt to help him. He gazed longingly at her pussy. "I like this," he said, stroking the tiny, trimmed landing strip of natural blonde hair.

"Thank you," Jen said.

"Some girls go completely bare," Goose said continuing to stroke her. "But I like a little bush. I think it's prettier. Sexier."

"Thank you," Jen said again, not knowing what else to say.

"God you're so beautiful," Goose gushed, running his eyes and hands all over Jen's body. "I've wanted you ever since I first met you."

Jen looked at him. She wondered if he was being sincere. Or if he was saying things he knew Meg wanted to hear. Did she do that? Say things to her lover she knew Mike wanted to hear? Sometimes. But most times things came out naturally. That's why she got into trouble so much. When she was fucking, when she was with a guy she was really into, she had no filter. Things just came out.

Jen worked on his belt and zipper. She pulled him out and stroked him. She went down on him. He had a good cock. Not as big as Ricky's but bigger than average.

"Fuck me from behind," Jen said, pulling off his cock and getting on her hands and knees.

Goose got behind her. He leaned over and whispered in her ear "Are you on the pill? It's better for Meg if I cum inside you."

"Can I trust you?" Jen whispered.

Goose nodded. He said, "Yes. Can I trust you?"

"If you trust Ricky, you can trust me," Jen whispered. Ricky was the only man she'd been with for months. "And yes I'm on the pill," she added.

Goose nodded, satisfied. He pushed inside Jen. Her pussy felt wonderful. Silky smooth, although looser than he expected given how petite, slim and tight her body was. But then, he'd seen Ricky's junk in the locker room so he knew the kind of abuse her pussy was taking on a regular basis. Ricky's big cock was ruining her pussy for other men.

Goose fucked Jen hard, wanted to give Meg a good show. He was proud of himself when he made the super hottie cum. Then he ejaculated inside Jen and on her back. He knew Meg liked seeing that. She'd watch the video over and over and cum when she saw his sperm shooting onto Jen's sexy back.

Afterwards Jen quickly cleaned and dressed, feeling weird. The sex hadn't been satisfying. She'd cum but they'd been no release, not really. She clutched her arms around her, no longer wanting Goose to see her nipples.

"It's going to be weird seeing Meg," Jen said sheepishly. "I don't know what I'm going to say."

"Don't say anything," Goose told her. "It's more exciting for her if she thinks you think I'm cheating on her."

"Really?" Jen said surprised. "But she'll hate me."

"No she won't," Goose assured her. With a grin he said "She thinks I'm so hot, no girl can resist me."

Jen smiled, marveling at him. "God. She really loves you, huh?"

"Yeah," Goose said grinning at her. "And I really love her." He hesitated and gave her a long look, as if studying her. Then he said "You know, usually I'm not this open. In fact you're the first person I've ever told. But you're easy to talk to. Ricky's really lucky. I hope you guys work it out. I really do."

"Yeah, well ...," Jen said, looking down at her feet. Later, after Goose was gone, Jen curled herself into a ball and cried herself to sleep.

Cheating and Rivals Part 72 (California - Part 4)

Jen felt guilty. She didn't feel guilty for sleeping with Goose. Or breaking her promise to Ricky not to sleep with him. Jen felt guilty because she didn't feel guilty.

So Jen got a job. It was a marketing gig for a small but affluent firm in Santa Monica. They gave her a great office with a view of the Santa Monica pier.

When Ricky got home from his training exercise she told him the news. He was all smiles because he knew what that meant. "So you're staying," he said, a big grin on his face.

"Well, for now," Jen said.

Ricky shrugged, the big grin still on his face. He'd take that answer. For now.

They went to dinner. Jen wore her hair up. No bra. A short skirt. Stockings. High heels. Just like Ricky liked.

Jen walked close to him. She held his hand. She snuggled into his arm whenever he offered. She listened attentively to whatever he said. She laughed at all his jokes. She smiled into his eyes. She gave him all her attention.

She wondered to herself if she was doing this to make up for cheating on him. And to make up for not feeling guilty about it. But eventually she realized she was having fun. She was giving herself to Ricky and it felt good. She was content, happy.

This continued for weeks. Jen lavished attention on Ricky. She even offered to cut her hair for him. "No, I like your hair long," he said, twirling a long blonde lock in his fingers. "I just think it's sexy when you wear it up." So Jen kept her hair long. But she always - without exception - wore her hair up when she went out with Ricky.

The next day Ricky came home with a package. "You know you said you'd cut your hair for me?" he said grinning.

"Change your mind?" Jen said grinning back.

"No but, it'd be hot if you wear this again," Ricky said handing her the package. Jen looked in the bag. Inside were about a dozen g-strings, different colors, some made of lace, others satin, a few silk.

"Oh my god, more ass floss," Jen said with a giggle. But she stripped and modeled them for him, even strutting around wearing nothing but a g-string and spikey high heels. Ricky fucked her wearing a black silk g-string and black Jimmy Choos. Every day after in LA, Jen wore a g-string (or nothing).

Jen openly told Ricky she loved him. And not just when he said it to her. She said it when they woke up in the morning, and before they fell to sleep at night. She said it when they talked on the phone. She said it in texts. She said it when they made love (which was often, at least once a day).

"You seem happier," Ricky said one evening as they relaxed on the sofa, his arm around her.

"I am a happy," Jen said, her head on his chest. She was playing with the buttons of his chest.

"Are you as happy as before?" Ricky asked.

"You mean with Mike?"

"Yeah."

Jen thought about it. "It's a different happy," she said.

Ricky hesitated, then asked "But you're happy with me?"

"Yeah, I just said that."

"So does that answer the question?" he asked.

"What?"

"If you met me first, before Mike, we would've ended up together."

Jen didn't answer for long moments. Finally in a soft voice she said "... yeah I guess."

A few days later Jen was getting ready for work. Ricky had already left. She was about to slip into her dress when she looked into the mirror. She wore one of Ricky's g-strings. She wasn't wearing a bra. She looked at her blonde hair. It was still long. But she'd offered to cut it for Ricky, up past her shoulders. She pulled her hair up, pretending she'd cut it. Her left hand came into view in the mirror. She was ringless.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Who am I?" she said to the mirror. She shook her head, confused. Then the moment passed. She finished dressing and went to work.

One morning Jen woke up, something nagging at her. She looked at the calendar and realized what it was. It was Mike's birthday.

At work she looked at her iPhone for what seemed like hours, trying to decide if she should call him. Wish him happy birthday. Along the way she convinced herself he would call her. It was his birthday after all. He would use this opportunity to finally call her.

Jen thought about what she would say to him. She wasn't sure. Actually, she was. She wanted to tell him everything. All the good things and bad things. Surfing in Lunada Bay, wiping out, her new job, all the nice people she'd met, what happened with Goose and Meg, even all the incredible sex she was having with Ricky. She realized she really missed Mike. She wanted to hear his voice. The last weeks and months she'd pushed him out of her thoughts. On purpose she pushed him out, because she needed to do that to survive. But she really missed him. She really wanted to hear his voice.

Jen got home and she kept her phone close. She was positive Mike would call, certain of it. The thought made her happy, giddy even. She was going to talk to Mike. She was so excited. She couldn't wait.

It was Monday night and Ricky invited some friends over to watch Monday Night Football. Jen played the perfect girlfriend, serving pizza to the guys, making sure they had fresh beers.

Ricky's friends eyed Jen up and down, as they always did. She was a fucking knockout, like a Hollywood movie star and Playboy centerfold rolled into one. But they knew she was Ricky's girl. They could look all they wanted, flirt with her, maybe cop a quick feel, but they all knew who she was sleeping with at night. And they knew if they went too far with her, Ricky would kick their ass.

Jen happily bopped around, all smiles, being a social butterfly. Everyone noticed how happy she was. Ricky noticed. "What's gotten into you?" he said grinning, putting his arms around her waist and hugging her. "You're so happy today."

"I don't know," Jen said with a shrug, a big smile on her face. "I can't be happy?"

"I like seeing you this way," Ricky said, smiling into her eyes. "Reminds me of college."

At half time, Ricky pulled Jen aside and gave her the hard news. "I'm being deployed," he told her. "In a couple days."

"Oh," Jen said.

"I'll be away a couple weeks," he said. "Then I'll be back."

"Will you be back?" she asked. She knew this mission was dangerous. All his missions were dangerous. Would he die like Paul?

"I'll be back. I swear," Ricky promised. He pulled her into his arms and they hugged and kissed.

It was about the fourth quarter and Jen was cleaning the dishes. She was thinking about Ricky's upcoming mission. Then she heard her phone ring. Mike! She ran out into the family room.

"Ricky, my phone!" she yelled. It was beside him.

But Ricky was half drunk and in a mischievous mood. "What, this?" he teased, playfully dodging Jen's hands as she tried to reach for it.

"Give it to me Ricky! Give it to me!" Jen cried as she tried to get her phone from him.

The phone rang two times, three, four, five times. Then it stopped ringing. Finally Jen got the phone from Ricky. She looked at the caller id. It said "anonymous."

"You shithead!" Jen screamed at Ricky. "Don't ever do that again!"

"What?" Ricky said suddenly sober. Why was she going so crazy over a phone call?

"It could've been Mike!" Jen cried, pounding him on the chest. Suddenly she was crying. She ran into the bedroom and slammed the door shut. Ricky immediately ran after her.

One of Ricky's friends said "Who's Mike?" The others shook their heads, mystified.

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

When Ricky got home from work the next day Jen was waiting for him. She was sitting on the sofa. Next to her was her suitcase. She looked distraught.

Ricky understood immediately. "So you're bailing on me," he said.

"I've got to go home," Jen said. Her eyes were red. She'd been crying all day.

"I'm getting deployed tomorrow and you're bailing on me," he said scornfully. "Real nice Jen. Real patriotic."

"It's not that," Jen said, her eyes watering up with more tears. "I'm not leaving because you're leaving."

"So stay," Ricky said pleadingly, sitting down next to her and taking her hands. "This mission's dangerous but I've made it through worse. It's what I do. But I'll be back. I promise I'll be back."

"It's not that Ricky," Jen said, tears falling down her pretty cheeks. "I need to go home. I need to be with Mike."

"But why? We're perfect for each other."

"I'm lost Ricky," Jen said. Her lower lip was quivering.

"That's no reason to go back," Ricky implored. "You need to give me more time. Give us more time. We're happy together. You're happy. You love me. You tell me all the time."

"I don't even know what love is anymore!" Jen cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. "All I know is I'm lost. And if I don't go back to Mike I'll stay lost."

"Please don't do this ...," Ricky said. He was begging now, and crying. It was hard to see such a strong man beg and cry.

"Remember you said, it doesn't matter who you start with? What matters is who you end with?" Jen said, looking pleadingly into Ricky's eyes, trying to make him understand. "I start and end with Mike. He's my ending. If I'm not with him ... I'm not anything."

Jen cried on the taxi to LAX. She cried on the flight to La Guardia. She managed to pull herself together on the taxi to the loft apartment. She was anxious and scared as she approached the door. When she opened it her worse fears came true. The apartment was empty. Mike was gone.

Jen collapsed to the floor, whimpering, hugging her knees to her chest. It was too late. She was lost. And her rock. Her best friend. Her soulmate. The only man she ever truly loved. He was gone.

*****

Author's note: The story of how Mike and Jen got back together is in He Fucked My Girl Part 10.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Cheating and Rivals Pt. 73-76

Cheating and Rivals Part 73

"So that's it," Jen said anxiously after she finished the story. She looked worriedly at Mike. She felt anxious, scared.

Mike didn't say anything, as if absorbing the story, trying to process all the new information.

"Please tell me what you're thinking," Jen pleaded, pressing his hands in hers. "Please Mike ..."

"You lied," Mike finally said, his voice soft as if trying to come to grips with the truth. "You said you didn't fuck Ricky, but you did."

"Yes ...," Jen admitted.

"All the time," Mike said. "You fucked him all the time."

Jen grimaced. "Yes," she said in a soft voice. Her eyes teared up. "I thought ... I wanted you back. I thought if I told you the truth, you wouldn't take me back."

"You said you went there to help Ricky settle in," Mike said.

"It started that way," Jen quickly said.

"You lied!" Mike said suddenly angry, his eyes tearing up. "You said you went to prove to me you were over him! But it was a lie! You were never over him!"

"I was! I broke up with him in Cancun!" Jen said pleadingly, tears in her eyes. "But you kicked me out! You threw out my rings! You never called! Don't you see? It all got fucked up!"

"But you don't love me!" Mike said. Tears were falling down his cheeks.

"I do!" Jen insisted. "I do love you!"

"You love me because I take care of you," Mike said, his wet eyes looking into Jen's. "Because I'm your rock. You don't really love me."

"Mike that IS love!" Jen insisted. "And that's just part of it! There's a lot of reasons why I love you!"

"You love me like a friend. Because I take care of you."

"That's not true!" Jen cried. She was balling now. She tenderly caressed his face, looking pleadingly at him. "That's not true baby! It's not! I love you Mike! I do!"

"All these years ...," Mike began. His anger and jealousy surged again and he yelled, "You lied to me! For years! Whenever I asked you said you didn't! But you lied! You had sex with Ricky all the time! ALL the time! You only left because he got deployed!"

"That's not true!" Jen screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks, pounding her thighs in frustration. "Didn't you hear what I said? That's what Ricky said but I told him he was wrong!"

"But you fucked him! You lied to me!"

"I had to! I was afraid you wouldn't take me back!"

"You loved him! You told him all the time!"

"I was so fucked up Mike!" Jen cried. "I didn't know what was going on! It was like with Frankie! And Clint! I was lost without you! I didn't know what was going on!"

"But you almost stayed with him! You were talking about marrying him!" Mike cried. Now tears where flowing down his cheeks. "If you got that close, why are we playing the game with him again?"

"It was your idea!"

"But you let it happen! Why Jen? Why?!"

"Because I thought it would turn you on! You love the risk! It turns you on!"

"But you almost stayed in California with him!" Mike cried. Then he got it. He said "You WANT to be with him again! Because you STILL love him!" It was so obvious. He was stupid. Such a fool.

"No Mike, god, that's not true!" Jen said, clutching his shirt and crying into his chest.

They clutched each other, crying. Finally they calmed down. After a while, Mike said in a calmer voice, "You told me, after you got back from LA, before we got back together, you slept with Gary."

"Yes," Jen admitted in a low voice.

"Did you see Ricky?" Mike asked. "When you were back in New York? Before we got back together?"

When Jen didn't answer he knew she had. "You did!" he said angrily. "Tell me Jen!"

"He got home from his mission," Jen said in a small voice. "He came to see me. You weren't there. I was alone."

"Did you have sex?" Mike asked, but he already knew the answer.

Looking at her feet, she whispered "He stayed with me. At the Blue Light hotel."

Mike was silent, processing this. Yes they fucked. AND he stayed with her.

"Was that the only time?" he asked, his voice low and throaty.

Jen shook her head, looking ashamed and regretful. "He stayed with me a few times," she said.

"When was the last time?" Mike asked, his voice barely audible.

"You never called. You never tried to find me," Jen said pleadingly. "I thought you didn't want me anymore."

"When?" Mike pressed. "When was the last time?"

"... I was with Ricky the day you called me," Jen finally admitted.

Mike stared at her. They'd met for coffee the next day. Which meant, when they were making up, getting back together, Jen probably still had Ricky's cum inside her. Even if she cleaned up, even if she douched, Ricky was still probably inside her. His sperm had been still inside her.

Despite his heartache, his jealousy, his hurt, that was too much for Mike. He pulled Jen to him and kissed her. Jen kissed him back. He urgently undressed her. She undressed him too. Mike needed her. Jen needed him just as badly.

Their love making was frantic and it only lasted a few minutes. When it was over Mike collapsed on top of Jen, crying. Jen was crying too. She held Mike tight and said over and over again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"I thought you got over him," Mike said, tears in his eyes, his voice filled with emotion. "In California, I thought you got over him. That's why I agreed to Ricky again. Because if you got over him once, you'd get over him again. But you never got over Ricky. And you still love him. You never stopped loving him."

"Mike that's not true, you're reading it all wrong," Jen pleaded, hugging him even tighter.

"And now he's part of you even more."

"He's not," Jen insisted.

"You're pregnant with his baby!" Mike snapped. "Even if I'm the father, he's still part of you! You're no longer just mine!"

"No baby, I am, I am yours, I belong to you, just you ...," Jen said, crying into his chest, holding him tight.

They pulled themselves together by the time Maggie dropped off Anna the next morning. Mike and Jen tried to act normal for their daughter. But Anna was perceptive and they were her entire life. She noticed the tension and was sulky and cranky the entire day, acting up, talking back, crying.

That night, out of the blue Leo called. Leo was Jasmine Kelly's campaign manager. "You haven't been at meetings," Leo said to Jen, a disapproving frown in his voice. "You're coming to the rally on Saturday right?"

"I don't know Leo," Jen said tiredly. "I've got a lot going on. Jasmine doesn't need me."

"She DOES need you," Leo insisted. "The campaign's wearing on her. The craziness of the national campaign isn't helping. Donald and Hillary going after each other like 5 year olds. It's impacting down ballot races. Jasmine's tied to Hillary, so she's getting hammered with email and foundation questions. With everything going on in the national race - with Obama being there - the rally's getting a lot of attention. Jasmine's on edge, her race is close, she can't afford to make a mistake. She needs all her advisors Jen. She listens to you. You have to be there."

"Leo, I don't know ...," Jen said.

"Did you hear me Jen?!" Leo said forcefully. "I have no clue what Trump's going to say next! I have no clue what else WikiLeaks has on Hillary, or if there's more emails! We're going to have to spin, deflect, pivot, on the fly. I need all of Jasmine's surrogates at the rally. You're one of her best. I need you there Jen! You owe me this!"

"Shit," Jen said under her breath after hanging up with Leo. She didn't want to go to the rally. She needed to be with Mike. He was really hurt. She'd really hurt him.

"I'm being guilted into going to Jasmine's rally this weekend," Jen told Mike that evening.

Mike nodded. He was interested in politics and was following this race closely, because of Jasmine. "The race is close. I'm sure she needs you there," he said. "But ..."

"What?" Jen asked.

"I think Anna really needs you now," Mike said. "She senses something. She's probably too young to understand anything. But she senses something. And she doesn't see you as much as me. I think she needs you now."

"Well ...," Jen said, thinking about it. "I guess she could come with me."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I think so," Jen said. "There are kids at rallies. Politicians love kids. And I don't have much to do. Mostly on call in case something comes up. A few minutes in the spin room. It would kinda be a fun mommy - daughter weekend. Maybe Anna can meet the President, get a picture with him."

"You're not ... planning to spend time with Ricky? Or Frank?" Mike hesitantly asked.

"No Mike, no," Jen said, taking his hands and looking into his eyes. "I mean, Frank and I talked about it, but that was weeks ago, and not anymore. And no, not Ricky. I would've told you Mike." Seeing his skeptical look, she said "I'm trying to be better. I told you everything about LA. I could've left stuff out but I didn't. I know you're upset. But you've got to give me some credit for trying."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Mike nodded, but there was uncertainty and reservation on his face.

"Will you ever trust me again?" Jen said, looking sad and regretful.

"I love you," Mike said.

"Love's not the same as trust."

"I know. Sometimes, love's not the same as love," he said bitterly, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Jen winched like he'd hit her. She looked tortured. With desperate sadness in her voice she said "You're reading it all wrong. I love you. How can I prove it to you?"

"I don't know," Mike said, feeling just as sad. He wanted to trust her. He wanted to forgive her. But he couldn't. He wasn't there yet. "You lied to be Jen. You lied for years."

"About something that happened years ago," Jen said looking pleadingly into his eyes. "Because I wanted you back. And you never really asked. Not really. When you did, I told you everything. I didn't leave anything out. Ask Ricky if you don't believe me."

"I'm not going to fucking ask Ricky," Mike hissed. He glared at her and they lapsed into silence.

"What now Mike?" Jen finally asked.

"You have to stop seeing Ricky," Mike told her.

"Okay," Jen said softly, looking down.

"You WANT to keep seeing him?" Mike said incredulously.

"No Mike I said okay."

"But you want to keep seeing him," Mike said. "I can hear it in your voice."

"Mike baby, no, I don't," Jen said, hugging his arm.

But Jen didn't say what Mike wanted to hear. She didn't say she was over Ricky. She didn't say Ricky was out of her life. She didn't say she didn't love Ricky anymore. All she said was "okay."

That's when Mike knew. Jen wanted Ricky in her life. She wanted to keep seeing him. Yes, right now, because he was angry and hurt, she'd stop seeing him. But it was temporary. She knew in a week, a month, he would give into his cuckold fantasies. Agree to her seeing Ricky again. She knew the danger and risks excited him. She knew he was intoxicated by the emotions. So of course he would give in. Let her be with Ricky again, to continue their wild and passionate romance. While he remained her rock, her emotional safe haven, adoring her, treating her as his goddess.

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

Saturday morning, Jen was getting ready for the rally. Mike was with Anna, helping her pack and dress.

Jen walked over to him. Her hair and makeup were done but she wasn't dressed yet. She was wearing her white fluffy robe.

"So I want to ask you," Jen whispered into his ear. Anna stood a few feet away, looking in the mirror and fusing with her dress. She was only 4 but she was already a fashion plate like her mother. She'd had the best time shopping for a new outfit for the rally with Mike (Jen had been at work). She was incredibly excited for a weekend with mommy!

"Yeah?" Mike asked, his attention split between Jen and Anna.

Jen took his hand and pulled it to her leg. Mike's eyes rose. He felt silky nylon. He quickly looked down. She was wearing hose.

Jen pulled his hand up her robe. Mike felt elaborate lace. She wasn't just wearing hose, she was wearing thigh high stockings.

"I want to start wearing stockings and high heels again," she explained in a low voice. "For you. All the time, like I used to. Stockings and garters, short skirts and tights, pantyhose under jeans. For you. But do you want me to start today?"

"You said you're not playing," Mike whispered. He felt himself getting hard.

"I'm not, especially with Anna there," Jen whispered. "This is about you baby. For you. But do you want me to start today?"

"I won't be there," Mike whispered.

"I know. But you like thinking about it right?" Jen asked with a grin. She was right. Mike liked thinking about his wife all glammed up and getting checked out by other men.

"Yes," he admitted with an excited smile.

"Anyways I was thinking," Jen said, playing with the buttons of his shirt. "The freaking rally's here in New York. The campaign team is just staying at the hotel because Leo wants everyone super focused. But there's no reason you can't join me and Anna after. It'll be fun, like camping out."

"Oh. Thanks but, I'm actually looking forward to being alone," Mike sputtered. "To think about things."

"LA?" Jen asked. But she didn't need to ask. She knew it was LA. Of course it was LA.

"Yes."

"I should've left parts out," Jen joked with a humorless laugh.

"No, I'm glad you didn't," Mike said, squeezing her hand. "I'm just still processing it all."

Jen looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry I lied," she whispered, pained emotion in her voice. "I just wanted you back so much." She gave him a scared look and said "I'm afraid you won't be here when Anna and I get home."

"I'll be here Jen, I promise," Mike said.

Jen looked at him for a long moment. She took his hand and put it on her stomach, inside the white fluffy robe. "This is your baby Mike," she told him. "He's going to need you."

"He?" Mike asked.

"I think it's a boy," Jen said. With a sheepish smile she said, "I know it's crazy. I just feel that way. I want to name him Mike Jr., after his father." She smiled at him and nudged her shoulder against him.

"We can't do that, he's not our first," Mike said referring to tradition, nudging her back. Now their sides were pressed together. "If it's a boy, I'd like to name him after my father. Peter."

"I think that's a wonderful idea. I love your father," Jen said beaming into his eyes. She took his arm and hugged him. "Peter Michael Andrews. I love that name. What do you think Anna will think?"

Mike looked at their daughter. He said "I think Anna and Peter will be best friends."

Cheating and Rivals Part 74

Anna was a big hit at the rally. Leo - already twice a grandfather - was really taken by her. He walked Anna around introducing her to people. Anna liked Leo. That surprised Jen (since usually Anna was standoffish to men) but then she realized it made sense, as Leo was kind of like Mike, and Anna probably sensed that.

The rally was just beginning with people still filing into the big ballroom. There were a series of speeches planned, culminating in a speech by President Obama where he would endorse Jasmine, and then a speech by Jasmine where she would formally accept the New York Democratic party's nomination as its candidate for the US Senate.

"Thanks for coming," Deidre said, sidling up to Jen. She gave an apologetic smile and said "I heard Leo twisted your arm."

"No, not at all," Jen said being polite.

"Your daughter's beautiful," Deidre said, looking at Jen. "Just like you."

"Oh, ah, thank you," Jen said looking down at her feet. For some reason Deidre's compliment made her feel awkward.

"Have you ever thought about running for office?" Deidre said. "You're beautiful. Smart. Quick on your feet."

"Me? God no," Jen said with a laugh. "I think I'm too liberal."

"What do you think about gay rights?" Deidre asked, abruptly pulling the issue out of the air.

Jen didn't hesitate. She said "I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want, as long as they don't hurt anyone else."

"What about gay marriage?"

"If people love each other they should be allowed to get married," Jen said. "It doesn't matter what their color, religion or sexual orientation is."

Deidre grinned. "Maybe you are too liberal for public office," she said with a laugh.

"Probably," Jen said with a laugh back.

Deidre moved closer and said "I always liked Mike. I don't think he was ever happy with Jasmine. I always felt he was thinking about you. I'm glad you're back together. I'm glad you have each other."

Jen stared at Deidre. "Thank you," she finally said.

Deidre saw something in Jen's face. Heard something in her voice. She asked "Are you two okay?"

"You know ... there are always ups and downs," Jen said with a pained smile.

"But you love each other right?" Deidre said.

"Yes, we definitely love each other," Jen said firmly.

"Well, you know what they say, love conquers all," Deidre said with an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, that's right," Jen said with a smile back.

"I better check on Jas," Deidre said, turning away.

"Hey Dee," Jen said.

"Yes?" Deidre said turning back to Jen.

"I'm glad you and Jasmine have each other too," Jen whispered, looking into Deidre's eyes.

Deidre stared at Jen, looking surprised. Finally she gave Jen a shy, appreciative smile. "Thank you," she whispered, emotion in her voice.

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

"You'll share my room tonight?" Frank whispered to Jen a few minutes later. Anna was still with Leo.

"No Frank," Jen whispered back. "I have Anna with me."

"Why did you bring the child?" Frank said scornfully.

"That child is my daughter," Jen told him. "And anyways, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry Frank. I really like you. I want to be your friend. But that part of our relationship is over."

"It's over when I say it's over," Frank commanded.

"No Frank," Jen said firmly. "It's my life. It's my body. It's over Frank."

"This is about Ricky?" Frank whispered angrily.

"No, it's about me," Jen told him. "Things run its course. I like you. I want to be friends. But I don't want to do that anymore."

"Jenny I'm disappointed in you," Frank said angrily. "I will not be lied to."

"I'm not lying," Jen said.

"You said it's not about Ricky," Frank said. "If that's true, why did he just walk into the room?"

Jen looked over at the door. Oh fuck, Frank was right. It was Ricky!

Jen looked over at Anna. She was still with Leo, happy to get so much attention. "Excuse me," she said to Frank and hurried over to Ricky.

"What are you doing here?" Jen whispered to him.

"Hey babe," Ricky said grinning at her.

"Are you crazy coming here?" Jen hissed in a low voice. "If Mike finds out, he'll think I planned this."

"Calm down, I just want to talk to you," Ricky whispered back. "What Mike said, play it by ear. You agree that's bullshit, right?"

"You want to talk about that now?" Jen whispered, looking incredulously at him. "I'm working. I'm with Anna. The freaking President's here."

"It's important Jen. It's my baby."

"It's Mike's baby!" Jen hissed in a low voice. "And everything's changed. We can't see each other anymore."

"Why?" Ricky said his eyes narrowing.

"I told Mike about LA," Jen said.

"I thought you already told him," Ricky said.

"Not everything."

"Why not?"

"Well, let's think about it Ricky," Jen said sarcastically. "If I told Mike you wanted me to divorce him and marry you, I don't think he'd ever let me see you again, would he? But after the other night I told him. I had too. And he freaked. So we can't see each other anymore Ricky."

"Wait, wait, just slow down," Ricky said, his hands out. He glanced around. There were too many people here. "Come on, let's go outside. We can't talk here."

"Anna's here," Jen reminded him.

"Come on Jen, you can't just drop this on me without giving me a chance to talk," Ricky said with exasperation. "My sperm made that baby."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Might have," Jen corrected him.

"Might is still enough reason for you to talk to me," Ricky pressed. "Just a few minutes, that's all I'm asking."

Jen sighed. She looked over at Anna. She was still with Leo. Then she saw Deidre standing close by. "Wait here," she told Ricky.

Jen moved over to Deidre. "Hey Dee, I have to take care of something. Can you watch Anna for a minute? She's with Leo, but just in case."

"Oh sure, Anna's so sweet," Deidre said, looking pass Jen's shoulder and seeing Ricky. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to take care of something," Jen sputtered.

Jen and Ricky found an empty hotel conference room. "Okay, what? Talk," she said impatiently. She needed to get back.

"You cannot do this to me again Jen," Ricky said. "You can't just run out on me. Not again."

"I told you we were just having fun."

"Things are different Jen. You know they are." He was talking about the baby.

"Ricky, we've talked about this," Jen said with frustration. "I'm sorry but you do not have any rights here."

"I'm not talking about rights! Do you see me going to a lawyer? No! I'm talking about us!" Ricky took Jen's hands in his and looked into her eyes. "What we're feeling. We love each other Jen. You can't just dump me and pretend there's nothing there."

"I never said there's nothing there," Jen said, pulling her hands away. "But Ricky, Mike is really upset. We can't do this anymore. This is my marriage. I'm not going there again."

"I told you I'm not trying to take you from Mike! But you can't just dump me! I have feelings too! I love you Jen!"

"Ricky ...," Jen lamented, pain written on her beautiful face.

"Listen to what you said. You didn't tell Mike about LA, because then he wouldn't let us see each other again. See? You wanted to see me again."

"That's not what I said."

"It is!"

"Then it's not what I meant!"

Ricky looked at Jen, angry and frustrated. Then he forced himself to calm down. "Jen, come on, come on," he said soothingly, pulling her to him. "I get you need Mike. I understand that now. But you need me too. I know you do."

"Ricky, stop," Jen said trying to pull away.

"Come on Jen," Ricky said, nuzzling up her neck. "We need each other. You know it. We do. We're connected." As he spoke Ricky kissed behind her ear. He ran his hands to her ass.

"We CANNOT do this here," Jen protested, trying to pull away. "Anna's here."

"So is the President," Ricky said, reaching between then and fondling her breasts over her dress. "This is the safest place in the world."

"Ricky no," Jen said, but her words came out like a moan as he kissed her neck and fondled her breasts.

Ricky twisted her around so now her back was to him. He bent her over a table. He pulled up the skirt of her dress. For a moment he enjoyed the view of Jen's sexy ass framed by the garter belt, and her long shapely legs in the silky nylons. Then he quickly pulled out his cock, knowing they didn't have much time. With his foot he nudged Jen's legs apart a few inches, her high heels scbanging on the hardwood floor. He tugged her thong to the side. He ran his cockhead along her slit. She was soaking wet.

Jen felt Ricky's fat cockhead pressing against her pussy lips. "Ricky please," she whined, but she was no longer trying to get away. "Oh god," she cried as he penetrated her. His thickness hurt but it felt so good too.

Ricky pushed all the way inside, then moved back and forth. "Just finish fast," Jen said pleadingly. She knew this was wrong - so wrong! - but god it felt good! Her fingers clenched the edge of the table and her eyes were squeezed closed as Ricky pounded her from behind.

"My baby's inside you," Ricky said, caressing her still flat stomach as he fucked her. "We're connected Jen. More than before. We'll always be connected."

"No Ricky ...," Jen objected but her words came out like a long moan. Positioned behind her, and the way she was angled bent over the table, his thrusts were hitting and rubbing against her clit and g-spot. Also his hands were under her, mauling her tits, pinching her nipples. And his lips were on her neck, kissing up behind her ear. Her eyelids fluttered. Her body tingled. It was like a wave, starting from her pussy and building to a crest. About to crash over. She was cumming.

"Oh Ricky fuuuuuuck!" Jen wailed as she came. She smashed her hand over her mouth to muffle her cry. Her body tensed and she flexed onto her tip toes, arching out of her spikey high heels as orgasmic pleasure flooded her body.

Feeling Jen cum, Ricky let himself go. He gripped her hips hard and pounded her, and then he pushed in deep. He stayed deep inside her as his back arched, his body quivered, and his head rolled back, powerful jets of his sperm flooding her pussy. Jen gasped as she felt his powerful ejaculation splash against her walls.

"Oh my god I can't believe we did this!" Jen said panicked. She pushed Ricky out of her and immediately felt his cream spill out of her pussy. "Oh god!" she cried, grabbing at tissues to wipe herself.

"Jen we've been gone 5 minutes," Ricky pointed out unconcerned, frowning at her panic.

"My baby is in there!" Jen screamed. "Go away! I don't want to ever see you again!"

Jen hurriedly pulled down her dress and ran a hand through her hair, and then ran back to the rally, her high heels clicking on the hardwood floor.

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

Mike walked the streets of New York City, thinking. It was an unseasonably chilly evening but he didn't notice. He was lost in thought.

Jen lied to him for years. She didn't go to LA just to help Ricky settle in. They didn't break up. For weeks - months - she was his girlfriend. They fucked constantly like newlyweds. She almost stayed in LA with him. If he hadn't gotten deployed, maybe she would have. Maybe she'd be married to Ricky now. Even today, she still loved him.

Honestly Mike was less concerned about the sex. It was how close they got. The fact Ricky asked Jen to stay with him. The fact she considered it. All the way until the end. Even after she moved back to New York they kept seeing each other. Ricky kept fucking her. Holding her hand. Spooning her in bed. Helping her with migraines. Trying to take her as his own.

And now Jen was pregnant with Ricky's baby. She was linked to him. Their lives were intertwined together. Forever. There was nothing Mike could do.

Jen would spend more time with Ricky. It was inevitable. A few nights a week. Maybe weekends. She'd do her best to work around Anna's schedule, so their daughter wouldn't notice. But still it would be like last time. Maybe he'd get 4 days and Ricky 3. Jen would say "Mike I'm with you more than Ricky." Like that made it all better.

It was clear Jen wanted to keep seeing Ricky. She had a lot of chances to say otherwise but didn't. She only ended it when he pushed. Like last time. But Mike knew she'd eventually get back together with Ricky. Either with his blessing, or behind his back. There was something between them. Some hold Ricky had on his wife. It was chemistry, pheromones. Jen wasn't able to resist him. The fact they liked each other - they connected on an emotional level - only made it worse. More than like, Mike knew. They loved each other.

Mike was afraid he was going to lose Jen. In retrospect, there was no real risk with Scott or Frank. They were exciting and fun but never serious threats. Drums was an ass. Maybe Tom posed the most risk, but he overplayed his hand. Jen dumped him when he got too serious.

Ricky was the definition of "too serious." Yet Jen wasn't willing to end it with him. She wasn't dumping him. Not this time. She wanted Ricky in her life.

A word kept pushing into Mike's head. Polyamory. Where Jen loved - truly loved - more than one man. Where he had to share Jen's heart and soul with Ricky. Truly share her.

Mike didn't want to lose Jen. He didn't want to lose Anna. But could he handle a poly relationship? In the past he always said no. He always said he could share her body but not her heart. Now he was faced with it, for real. Share Jen, or lose her completely.

But sharing Jen wasn't going to be 50/50. For sexual pleasure, Jen already looked to Ricky. For fun at parties and going out to bars and dinner, Jen gave Ricky most of her attention. Mike was shy and reserved. When they were together, the 3 of them, he was in Ricky's outgoing and charismatic shadow. Ricky had replaced Mike in so many ways in Jen's life. What was left?

Well, a lot was left. Important things. Like being a good father. Supporting Jen emotionally. Being her rock. All those things were really important.

But would Ricky replace him there too? It's not like Mike could replace Ricky. He didn't have the body or the personality. But Ricky could learn. He was already doing it. Like, the way Jen turned to Ricky with her migraine, instead of him. Ricky said it. In LA he told her "I can give you everything Jen. I'll take care of you. I'll love you. I'll give you all the sex you want. I'll give you everything."

So many poly wasn't even an option. It might start that way. But eventually Ricky would replace him completely. And then Jen would sit him down. They would have a teary eyed conversation where Jen would say "it's not working anymore." "I've moved on." "I'll always love you but I want to be with Ricky." "He asked me to marry him. I said yes." "I'm sorry Mike. We'll always be best friends."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

They'd divorce. Work out joint custody for Anna. Not with the new baby though. With Jen married to Ricky, with Ricky the true father, he would have no rights.

Mike saw all of this in his head. Like a movie playing in the theater. Losing Jen. Losing his unborn son. Maybe even losing Anna, as she bonded with Ricky.

Mike found himself on the Brooklyn bridge. God he'd walked a long way. He gripped the rail and looked over the edge.

Mike thought about jumping off. Just end it. His misery. His self-pity. He disgusted himself. He hated himself.

Just jump. Man up for once. Make it easier for everyone. Jen would mourn for a while. Then she would marry Ricky. She'd be happier with him. Anna would be sad. But she was young, she'd get over it, especially when Jen and Ricky gave her a new brother.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut as he gripped the railing. The pressure came. The PTSD. Like the weight of the world pressing down on him. He found it hard to breathe. The terrible, debilitating anxiety. It was like physical pain. In the past he fought against it. Mind over matter. But this time he let it come. He lowered all his defenses. He let it pound on him, crush him. He let it destroy him.

A step. A leap. That's all it would take. And it would be over. He would have peace. Everyone would be better off.

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

"God I'm so bad," Jen lamented to herself as she rushed panicky back into the ballroom. She was wicked! Evil! Deplorable!

Luckily the ballroom was huge and crowded so no one noticed her absence. But still ... she let Ricky take her! With Anna here! And after she promised Mike to end it! She was a cheat! A liar!

Jen was relieved to see Anna still enjoying herself with Leo and Deidre. But she knew Jasmine's main lieutenants were busy with the program about to start. She thanked them and walked Anna back to their table.

Jen sat with Anna in her lap as the speeches started. As she hugged her innocent 4 year old, she felt dirty; whorish; appalling. Ricky's sperm was leaking out of her, making it worse. Her thighs felt wet. Probably the tops of her stockings were too. With Ricky's seed. Jen felt like she wanted to die. She was the most horrible person in the world. Here she was, holding her daughter in her lap, her husband's daughter, yet she had another man's cum inside her pussy, leaking out of her.

What was wrong with her? She promised Mike - her sweet Mike - she would end it with Ricky. Just this week she promised. But she already broke it! Again! Why couldn't she keep her promises? Why did she always lie? And not to anyone, but to Mike. Why did she always lie to the person who meant more to her in the world? What was wrong with her? How could anyone be so horrible?!

A bombastic speaker - Elizabeth Warren - was at the podium. She talked about Donald Trump and got the crowd fired up. "Donald Trump criticizes Gold Star parents!" she yelled. "What do we say?"

"SHAME!" the crowd yelled back.

"Donald Trump won't release his tax returns! What do we say?"

"SHAME!"

This went back and forth, back and forth. But Jen wasn't thinking about Trump or Clinton or Jasmine. When people yelled "SHAME!" she was thinking about herself. She was shameful. And everyone knew it. They were yelling "SHAME!" at her. And she deserved it. She deserved all of it.

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

"I wish to have a word with you," Frank said to Ricky during a break between speakers. "Do you know who I am?"

"Frank Tower," Ricky sneered. "The asshole who got me transferred here. I have nothing to say to you." Ricky turned away.

Frank grabbed his arm. "Don't you dare turn away from me!" he hissed.

Ricky coldly looked at Frank's hand. "Get your hand off me. Or lose it."

"You're threatening me?" Frank said with a derisive laugh. "I see you DON'T know who I am."

"This is what I know," Ricky hissed. "I don't like people fucking with my life. So you can go fuck yourself. Here's something else I know. Jen's pregnant with my baby. And I just fucked her in the ballroom outside. So I don't know what game you're playing old man. But let me clue you in. You lost."

A few minutes later Frank motioned Hugh over, his body guard. "You see that man over there?" he said.

"The Marine?" Hugh said looking where Frank was pointing. Ricky was wearing his formal dress uniform.

Frank nodded. He said, "I don't care how you do it. I don't care what it takes. But after tonight I want him dead."

Hugh stared at Frank. Finally he said "Yes sir."

"And Hugh?" Frank said in an almost matter of fact tone.

"Yes sir?"

"I want it to be painful. And just before he dies, I want him to know I ordered it."

Cheating and Rivals Part 75

Mike squeezed his eyes shut as he gripped the railing on the Brooklyn Bridge. He felt the terrible, debilitating anxiety crushing down on him. A step. A leap. That's all it would take. And it would be over. He would have peace.

But Mike promised Jen he would be there. Anna needed him. And also, the new baby needed him. Ricky might be able to replace him as Jen's husband. He might be able to give HER everything she wanted. But Ricky wasn't a parent. He didn't know how to be a father, probably didn't care either. When they went down this path - when he encouraged Jen to take Ricky's seed without any protection - Mike promised Jen he would be there no matter what. Mike had made promises, he had obligations, responsibilities. Taking the leap wasn't manning up. It was the opposite, the coward's way out.

Mike released the railing. With his eyes closed, he pushed back against the pressure, the anxieties. He put his defenses back up, the ones the doctor taught him, and the others he taught himself by just living. Surviving.

At that moment 3 black SUVs raced towards him and came screeching to a halt. Red lights were flashing and sirens blazing. Mike saw them and took a step back. But there was no getting away. They had come for him.

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

"I spoke to Ricky," Frank whispered to Jen. They were at a break between speeches and the band was playing. Anna was a few feet away, dancing and charming everyone around her. Anna could really dance. Her grace and athleticism were amazing. Jen watched her proudly. Jen had danced all her life; people always told her she had a lot of talent. But Anna was better, way better. And, like all parents, Jen wanted more for her daughter so she couldn't be prouder. Mike dreamed about Anna on Broadway, her name in lights. Even though she was only 4, Jen could really see that happening. Anna had such an incredible future in front of her.

"I spoke to Ricky," Frank said again.

This time Jen heard him. She turned and looked at Frank.

"You're with child," Frank said bluntly.

Jen didn't say anything. But after a moment she nodded.

"Is there a possibility it's mine?"

"No," Jen said. At that moment she knew with certainty Frank wasn't sterile. But there was no way the baby was his. She'd been on the pill or used the sponge with him. And the timing was wrong.

"Who -," Frank started to ask, but Jen cut him off.

"Mike is the father," she said with finality.

"I see," Frank said, cold hard steel in his eyes. "In that case, you won't mind if Ricky goes away."

Jen heard something in his voice. Something about "goes away." It made her scared. "Don't do that Frank," she pleaded. "Don't hurt Ricky. Please."

"Why? Do you love him?"

"He's my friend."

"Do you love him?" Frank pressed.

Jen didn't answer for long moments. Finally she said "He's my friend. We have a lot of history."

"I'm aware of some of your history," Frank said.

"Please Frank," Jen pleaded again, reaching out and touching his arm. "Don't hurt Ricky."

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

Jen was mingling in the crowd with Anna on her hand when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned. It was Lou.

"My god, Lou," Jen said surprised. She smiled and hugged him. "Where have you been? You're not working for Frank anymore?"

"No, I ...," Lou began. He looked at Anna and smiled. "You must be Anna. Boy, you're a pretty girl. Can I talk to your mom for a minute?"

Anna frown at Lou. But she nodded and bopped over to Deidre, her new best friend.

"Lou please don't dump drama on me," Jen said with a pained face. "I've already had too much today. Please do not tell me you stopped working for Frank because of me."

"Okay I won't," Lou said. "But just so you know, I stopped working for Frank because of you."

"Oh god," Jen lamented under her breathe. "Why Lou? What did I do to you?"

"It's not what you did to me," Lou said. "It's what you're doing to your husband. You're disrespecting him."

"What?" Jen said, both surprised and offended. "Lou, you don't know me and Mike. We swing, okay? We have an open marriage. Everything I did, Mike knows about. I have his permission."

"I doubt that," Lou said skeptically. "I mean Jenny - do you even know who your husband is?"

"Of course I know who he is," Jen snapped.

"I mean at CATF."

"He's an analyst," Jen said.

Lou laughed. "An analyst?" he said incredulously. "Jenny, Mike is not just an analyst," he said, emphasizing "an analyst" as if to put quotes around it. "He has a code name. They don't just throw code names around. It means something. They call him the Phantom."

"What?" Jen said not understanding.

"Do you know why they call him that?"

Jen was staring at Lou now. She shook her head no.

Lou said "It's an African legend. They say the Phantom walks in the shadows. He's the guardian of the innocent. The fighter of injustice." Lou grinned and said "Freaky stuff huh?"

"Yeah freaky," Jen said softly.

"That's who your husband is Jenny," Lou said. "From what I hear, the people at CATF, the people he works with, he's like a superhero."

"When he worked with me, they called him Gandalf," Jen said. "They called his software the Ring."

"From Tolkien?" Lou asked. Jen nodded.

Lou shook his head in wonder. "He's saved a lot of lives Jenny. A lot of the stuff in the papers, the war against terrorism, our wins, Mike was behind a lot of it. He's the reason they happened. Maybe it's none of my business. But Mike is a hero. And you're disrespecting him."

"I'm not," Jen said. "This is us Lou. This is what we do. Just the other day, Mike told me he wouldn't be happy if we didn't play the game. That's what we call it."

"I think you're manipulating him," Lou said with disapproval in his voice.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Jen gawked at the ex-CIA agent. "How dare you Lou," she said angrily. "You don't even know me. You don't know Mike. Maybe what we do, it helps him think. It inspires him. To be the freaking Phantom. Did you think of that?"

Lou was about to respond when he saw commotion at the front of the room. Worried looks. Urgent conversations. Around the President. "Something's happening," he said, suddenly concerned.

"What?" Jen said, turning to look where Lou was looking.

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

Mike stood startled as big men in dark suits jumped out of the SUVs and ran towards him. Leading the way was a balding man in a wrinkled polo shirt and khakis. "Allen, what are you doing here?" he asked, both surprised and relieved to see the older man. Allen was Chief Scientist of CATF.

"Mike we've been looking all over for you!" Allen yelled frantically. "We've got to get to CATF!"

Mike's body tensed. "Allen what has happened?" he asked.

"The Twins!" Allen said, panicked. "They've got the President's daughters! The terrorists! They've got them!"

Cheating and Rivals Part 76

The Secret Service cleared out the ballroom. The huge ballroom was empty now, except for the President and his team at a hurriedly organized command center at the front, and Jasmine's team mingling around the periphery.

"What's happening?" Jen asked Leo.

"The President's set up a war room here," Leo said gravely. "Every second counts. He doesn't want to lose time flying back to DC."

"What should we do?"

"Jasmine knows the First Lady. She's with her now."

Jen nodded slowly, thinking about what the First Lady and the President must be going through with their 2 daughters kidnapped by terrorists. She said "I should go home."

"It's up to you," Leo said. "But your husband's probably at CATF by now."

"You know who my husband is?" Jen asked. She meant his role at CATF.

"The Phantom? Yes."

"Am I the only person who didn't know his codename?" Jen lamented. She was joking, but not joking. Yes, she lied to Mike about LA and other things. But he kept a lot from her too.

"Don't worry about it," Leo said with a sympathetic smile. "They're trained to be secretive. The spooks. Not many know. I do only because I used to work at CIA."

"Oh," Jen said, looking over at Lou. How did he know?

Leo followed Jen's eyes. He said "Lou used to work for me at CIA. I recommended him to Frank."

"Leo, are we going to be able to get the girls back?" Jen asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Leo said honestly, looking resigned. "Every minute - every second counts. We need a break now. In the next hour. Otherwise, we'll never see those girls again. Alive anyway."

A little later, Ricky sidled up to Jen. "We need to talk."

"You need to leave!" Jen hissed in a low voice. "If Anna sees you ..." She was so fucked if Anna recognized Ricky and then told Mike. He'd think she planned this rendezvous. Her thighs felt moist as he continued to slowly leak from her pussy, making her feel even more wicked and shameful.

"I'm sorry about before," Ricky said regretfully. With a boyish grin, he added "I can't control myself when I'm around you."

"Anna's here Ricky!" Jen said with exasperation.

"I know. I'm a total asshole. It'll never happen again," Ricky promised. "But she's okay, right? So I learned my lesson and everything's okay."

"It never happened!" Jen said urgently. "You can never tell Mike!"

"I won't, I promise," Ricky swore.

"I'm such a fuckup," Jen lamented, cursing herself. She looked nervously at Anna. She was with Deidre. "We're over Ricky. I promised Mike."

"It's not just up to you."

"It IS just up to me!" Jen insisted.

"There's a reason you didn't tell Mike about LA," Ricky told her. "There's a reason what happened before happened. We can't resist each other Jen. It's not just the sex. We love each other."

"We are NOT having this conversation here!" Jen hissed in a low voice.

"Okay, okay, I'll be cool," Ricky said, reluctantly relenting.

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

Allen rapidly filled Mike in during the flight to CATF, and as they hurried through the CATF corridors to the Bunker (the Bunker was CATF's command center). Getting to the Bunker required going through a number of automated doors that opened only with voice recognition or other biometrics, like eye or finger print scan. These automated doors were monitored and controlled by CATF's sophisticated security system. The security protocols and level of biometric checks increased the closer you got to the Bunker.

Allen hurried into the Bunker but Mike paused at the doorway, taking it all in. The Bunker was packed and ablaze with activity. It was total chaos though. Mountains of information was coming in and people were scrambling to make sense of it all, trying to find leads to locate the girls.

Mike saw Maria Fernandez desperately working on software to help analyze the information. Maria led the search and rescue component of CATF. Most of the burden of finding the girls fell on her shoulders and Mike could tell she was feeling the pressure. She looked desperate and almost in tears as she frantically worked with her team to pull leads from the information. But it was like a needle in the haystack given the massive amount of information, from public and private CATV cameras throughout the Washington DC area, security officer and FBI reports, witnesses ...

Mike was able to monitor Maria's work on the big screens above her team's computer terminals. He saw she was trying to adapt the software he wrote to find Willy to help sift through the data. Mike shook his head, immediately knowing it wouldn't work. With Willy, Mike figured out Willy liked beer and Taco Bell; he'd been able to focus on Willy's location using that information, which he thought of as a "tell." But Maria didn't have any tells for the terrorists. So, trying to use his Willy software wasn't going to work.

Mike saw Abraham and Brent on the other side of the room in a fierce debate. Many of the other Young Turks and Brain Trust were there too. Mike looked at the big screens above their heads. What the fuck? They were working on the Q program! Mike shook his head in disgust. Sure, a quantum computer would be real handy right now. But they'd been working on the Q program for months (years for Abraham and others of the Brain Trust) and there was no way they were going to solve the X factor problem in the next couple hours. And Allen had made it clear. They needed a solid lead to the girls' location in the next one or two hours, or the chance of finding them were dim.

Mike shook his head as he scanned the room. It was bedlam. People wasting time on dead ends. And they were scattered and uncoordinated, working as individuals instead of a team. No one had even bothered to pick up the yellow tennis ball.

To Mike though, the solution was obvious. Scientists and computer science geeks were always looking for the "elegant" solution. That's what Maria, Brent and Abraham were doing. But there was no time for that. Sometimes you had to brute force it. Sometimes you just had to take a hammer and fucking pound that square peg through the round hole.

But Mike couldn't write the code himself. While the solution was obvious it was going to take a lot of work, and it had to be done immediately. There were dozens of skilled programmers in the room. They were all working on different things: Maria on the Willy code, Abraham and Brent on the Q computer, clusters of people working on other ideas. Mike needed to corral everyone in and get them working as a team. On his idea.

Mike knew what he had to do. He needed to take control. He needed to lead these people. But the prospect was daunting. It was the PTSD. He suddenly felt distressed and scared, and had the urge to run away. Behind him someone shouted and Mike cringed, as if scared he was being attacked. His head clouded up and he found it hard to concentrate. Then came the anxiety. The overwhelming anxiety that was so debilitating Mike wasn't sure if he could keep breathing or take a single step forward, much less take control and lead all these people.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

But then Mike thought of the 2 girls. They were running out of time. They needed to find them now.

Mike clenched his eyes shut. He gathered himself. Mind over matter. He willed the demons away. He forced himself to take that step forward. And then the next step. And the next.

People turned to look at Mike as he walked into the room. The room went silent.

With everyone looking, Mike picked up the yellow tennis ball.

Everyone looked scared. Desperate. Mike needed them at their best. And people weren't at their best when scared.

So Mike gave them a cocky grin. It felt unfamiliar on his face but he faked it. Forcing levity into his voice, he said "I've done stuff a lot harder than this. Got me thrown into jail. Place called CATF. You might've heard about that."

People chuckled and laughed. The tension in the room eased down a notch.

"We're going to solve this problem with binary trees," Mike told them. "We're going to run the data through recursive if-then statements. We'll filter the data down to get our focus, the tells. We'll use the tells to find the girls."

"You want to use conventional code?" Maria said skeptically. "Mike the data set is huge. This is the ultimate Big Data problem. We need a Big Data solution."

Mike shook his head. "No, we don't," he said. "Not if we have infinite computing power."

"How do we get that?" someone said.

"We've already got it. The combined computer power of the US government," Mike told them. "We drop the firewalls, link them together, suspend all other programs, run the computers in parallel." Mike looked at Colonel Banks and JJ who were standing across the room. "Can you get authorization? We need it now."

Colonel Banks was looking at the yellow ball in Mike's hand. "I think we can manage that Mike," he said with a satisfied grin. He gave JJ an "I told you so" look. JJ nodded grudgingly.

Alan Bigebers (Mr. Big) stood in the shadows, away from everyone else. He looked curiously at Mike but didn't say anything.

Mike turned back to the team. He forced that cocky smile again and said "Okay, this is what we're going to do ..."

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

"This is a Constitution crisis," Leo whispered to Jen as they both worriedly looked at the President and his team across the room. "The President cannot do his job with a gun to his daughters' heads."

Jen understood immediately. "He'll do whatever ISIS wants," she whispered back.

"Exactly," Leo said glumly.

"So what do we do?"

"Well," Leo said thoughtfully. "There's the 25th amendment ..."

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

"The 25th amendment won't solve anything," JJ hissed to Colonel Banks. "The VP has lived with those girls for 8 years. They're his kids too. Transferring power to him won't solve the problem. We have to implement the Independence protocol."

"That protocol's theoretical," Banks said gravely.

"It was designed for exactly this situation," JJ told him. "The Big 4 is unanimous. We go with Independence."

"I'm a member of Big 4," Banks reminded him.

"Then what say you Ethan?" JJ said challengingly. "We can't allow the President and VP's decisions controlled by ISIS. You know that's unacceptable. We must implement Independence."

"What's Independence?" Mike asked as he entered the room.

"I thought that door was locked," JJ said frowning at Mike.

Mike shrugged. "What's Independence?" he asked again.

"Where are we Mike?" Colonel Banks asked, avoiding his question.

"We should have something soon," Mike said. "We have the tells. Now we're running the Willy code. So what's Independence?"

"You're not cleared for that," JJ scoffed dismissively.

Mike sensed this was important. Pressing, he said, "You said we can't allow the President's decisions controlled by ISIS. So we have to implement Independence. What is it?"

"Okay Mike, you want to be brought in?" JJ angrily said. "Protocol Independence is a contingency plan. We try to save the girls. But if that's not possible, we make sure they can't be used as hostages against us."

Mike's eyes grew wide. "You murder the girls?" he said shocked and horrified.

JJ glared derisively at him. "What? You think we're playing games here? Grow up Mike. Freedom has a price. Are you really that naïve to believe this doesn't happen?"

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

"You can't do this," Mike said as he rushed after Colonel Banks. "Independence isn't freedom. It's evil."

"I need to get ready Mike," Banks said, entering his quarters. Mike followed him in. He watched as Colonel Banks weaponed up.

"You're leading the mission?" Mike asked.

"It's what I do," Banks said with a shrug.

"You can't do this Colonel!" Mike said. "You can't kill those girls! That's murder! It's evil!"

"I do MY job to protect our country!" Colonel Banks yelled defensively. "Now you do YOUR job! Find out where those girls are!"

"Take me with you!" Mike said.

"On the mission?" Banks said with an incredulous laugh. "Mike do you own a gun? Have you ever fired a gun?"

"Let me try to save them!"

Banks stared at Mike. What was this frail, college professor type going to do? Get in the way of a bat? In the way of a runaway truck?

Banks looked down, glaring at his feet. Mike's show of courage shamed him. The purity of his ideals shamed him. Once Banks had been idealistic, like Mike. But that was a long time ago. Looking troubled and frowning, he said "The world's dangerous Mike. Sometimes we have to do things ..."

"This isn't right Colonel. It's evil!" Mike pressed. "The means don't always justify the ends."

Another frown passed Bank's face. But the decision had been made. Shaking his head, he took his gun and pressed it into Mike's hands. He said "Take this. If you're going to stay in this business, you should learn how to use it." Giving Mike a fierce grin, he added "You know you're doing the right thing when they're shooting at you."

There was a knock at the door. It opened and Mitch looked in. "The team's in the briefing room," he told Banks. Mitch looked as troubled as Banks. He looked at Mike. "Phantom," he said with a nod of his head.

Mike nodded back. Then the men were gone. Mike stood there for long moments, holding the gun but feeling powerless.

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

Mike was back in the bunker, feeling disoriented. What was he doing here? Locating the girls, just so the government could kill them? Who were the good guys and bad guys? Where was the line?

Mike looked at one of the big screens on the wall. It was a live feed from Jasmine's rally. He saw the President and First Lady, looking worried. Did they know what was about to happen? Did they know about the Independence protocol? Or was that something government lifers like JJ and Banks kept to themselves?

Mike watched as Jen and Anna came into view on the big screen. He was surprised they were still there. But then, probably Jasmine was supporting the President, so of course then Jen would stay to support Jasmine.

Then Mike saw something else and his whole world turned upside down. Behind Jen, in the distance. He saw Ricky.

Mike staggered into a chair, barely able to think. Jen was with Ricky. She lied again. Again! And Anna was there. She was with Ricky with Anna there. Jen wanted to be with Ricky so much, loved him so much, she was with him, even with Anna there.

Suddenly Mike felt like his marriage was over. Maybe not suddenly. Maybe it'd been building. Maybe it was inevitable.

There was only so much a man could take. Yes, he had cuckold fantasies. But even he had limits. How could he stay with Jen after this? After all the lies? All the betrayals? All the countless lies?

But the thought of life without Jen made him numb inside. That wasn't life. It was death.

And then there were JJ and Banks, and Independence. That was another betrayal. Not against just Mike but the whole country. Against the idea of America. It made Mike feel even more dead inside.

Mike wanted to be alone. He wanted to go away, far away, and not be bothered by anyone. Fuck JJ and the government. Fuck everyone. Fuck Jen too. He didn't care anymore.

So Mike pulled his iPhone from his pocket. He placed it on the table. He whispered "Siri - upload and execute."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Cheating and Rivals Pt. 77-81

Cheating and Rivals Part 77

The Bunker was tense as Colonel Banks and the strike team approached the old warehouse close by Nats Park identified by Mike and his team. They followed the strike team's progress on the big monitors on the walls. But Mike barely noticed. He felt dead inside.

Mike felt claustrophobic in the Bunker. He didn't care about the mission. Frankly, at that moment, he didn't care about the 2 girls. He left the Bunker and went to his dorm room. He laid in the bed and stared aimlessly at the ceiling.

Sometime later there was a knock at his door. Mike didn't get up. After a moment the door opened. It was Mitch. He had a grim expression on his face.

"We got the girls," Mitch said. "They're safe."

"Good," Mike said, standing up. He frowned at Mitch. It was good news, so why the grim face?

"Ethan didn't make it," Mitch told him, a dark shadow over his face. "The girls were boxed in. He led the charge. He saved the girls. But they got him."

Mike slowly nodded, processing this information. He felt his eyes watering up. Colonel Banks had been his jailer. His torturer. His tormentor. But also Banks had been, in a way, his mentor and supporter. And maybe even a friend. "That's too bad," he managed to say, his voice almost cracking with emotion.

"Ethan got this, from the leader," Mitch said. It was a cell phone. He offered it to Mike.

Mike took the phone from Mitch. Also a folder paper. It was covered with blood. He looked questioning at Mitch.

"Ethan wrote that, just before he died," Mitch explained. "He told me to give it to you."

Mike stared at Mitch. Then he stared at the folded piece of paper, covered with Colonel Bank's blood. It literally held the proud soldier's last thoughts, before he died.

Mike opened the paper. It said "Do your job!"

Mike closed his eyes. The quantum computer. If they had a working quantum computer, none of this would have happened. The terrorists' plans and communications would've been opened to them. They would've known about the plans against the President's daughters weeks ago. They could've stop them. None of the good guys had to die. Ethan Banks would still be alive.

Mike felt responsible. He'd held back. Not completely. But his heart had never been into it. All because of his "superior" morals. Now Mike had a taste of how the world really worked. Morals and idealism were fine in theory. Standing on your high horse maybe felt good. But there were consequences. In the real world, people died.

And then suddenly it clicked in Mike's head. It was like pieces of a puzzle coming together. Or, maybe, the clouds parting and secrets revealed.

Mike knew how to solve the X-factor problem.

Clutching the cell phone, Mike pushed passed Mitch and ran into the corridor. "Where are you going?" Mitch yelled.

"The Bunker!" Mike yelled back.

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

The mood in the Bunker was sober. Even JJ looked grave. Colonel Banks was well respected and liked. It seemed like the victory of saving the girls was negated by his death.

Suddenly Mike burst into the room. "Plug this in!" he yelled to a technician, handing him the cell phone.

"Mike, what?" Maria said.

"I know how to solve the X-factor problem!"

"What?" Maria said.

"Not a complete solution but I think it'll work!"

"What? How?" Brent and Abraham said at the same time.

"I can be the X-factor!" Mike told them. "I can watch Hal's decision tree and nudge him when he's going in the wrong direction!"

"That's not possible," Brent scoffed. "Hal's too fast. You can't even read it. How can you understand it?"

"I don't need to understand it!" Mike said excitedly. "I can see it! I can feel it!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Maria said, trying to calm everyone down. "Let's say you can feel it. What do you mean by nudging Hal? Nudge him how?"

Mike shook his head in frustration. It was all so obvious! Why couldn't they see it?! He just needed to get to a computer, access Hal's code. He could make the changes himself. But he knew it would take time. And his instincts were screaming this was urgent! Colonel Banks died for this! They had to get into the ISIS leader's phone, and they had to do it now!

Maria saw Mike's frustration. In a soft calming voice, she said "Mike, we're your team. Tell us what you need."

"I need ... there's got to be ...," Mike sputtered. In his head he saw these things as patterns. As colors. As geometric shapes. It was hard to put into words. "I have to be able to slow Hal down, and speed him up ..."

Maria pursed her lips, thinking, applying Mike's words to what she knew about Hal's complicated algorithms. "You mean growth and delaying functions?" she said, translating his thoughts.

"Yes!"

"Exponential?" Brent asked.

"No, not sensitive enough."

"Logarithmic then," Abraham said.

"Yes! In all directions ..."

"Multi-dimensional? Like a matrix?" Maria asked.

"No, too confining ..."

"I don't know ...," Maria sputtered, looking at Brent for help.

"He's talking about a sphere," Abraham offered.

"Yes!" Mike said. "That's it!"

Brent, Maria, and Abraham looked at each other. It was going to take a lot of work to Hal's code. But now they understood what Mike needed. They went to their respective teams and began working.

***********

The updates to Hal were almost complete. Mike stood by his terminal, watching their progress on the big screens on the wall. Alan Bigebers approached.

"I've tied everything into the user interface," Big told Mike. He pointed to some icons on the screen. "You can control Hal here."

"Thank you," Mike said, his eyes still on the screens.

"The other day when we talked," Big said. "Four zeros. Captain Kirk's destruct code right?"

Mike turned and looked at Big. After a long moment he said, "The last time we ran the simulation, you slowed Hal's decision trace. I need it to run real-time."

"You got it Mike," Big said agreeably. He looked intently at Mike and whispered "But tell me. Are you a good guy or a bad guy?"

Mike stared at Big for a long moment. Then he turned back to the screens.

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

The GUI was a series of 7 concentric circles with the ISIS leader's cellphone at the center. Each circle represented a layer of defense, the outermost (layer 1) being the weakest, the innermost (layer 7) the strongest.

Hal quickly defeated layers 1 and 2 with those layers vanishing from the GUI. It took longer but then layer 3 disappeared. Mike didn't have to do anything. Hal had gotten through layer 3 before.

"This is it," Brent said. The intensity in the room increased. They'd never gotten pass layer 3.

Mike concentrated on the 1s and 0s flittering across the big screen. They were moving too fast to be intelligible. Mike's finger tips hovered just above the screen icons. With a light touch he pressed the buttons, nudging Hal this way and that. The layer 4 circle went from dark blue to light blue to still lighter blue. The circle hovered there, almost but not quite disappearing as Hal, with Mike's help, attacked the layer 4 defenses. Suddenly the layer 4 circle disappeared! They were through!

"Holy fuck," Brent gasped. "He's doing it."

Now people turned to watch Mike. His eyes were locked on the big screen, his hand hovering over the control icons. But sometimes he closed his eyes. It was like he was Hal.

"How's he doing it?" someone said. "His eyes are closed."

"I don't know. The Force?" someone else quipped.

The layer 5 circle disappeared. Then layer 6.

"We're almost through," Maria said excitedly, her eyes going between the big screen and Mike. "Just layer 7 left."

JJ was watching too. "Come on kid. Do it, do it," he said in a low voice.

Suddenly the layer 7 circle disappeared! The door to the cellphone was open! Mike was breathing hard from exertion, his brow covered with perspiration.

Maria's fingers flew over the keyboard as she ran searches against the ISIS leader's emails.

"Look for Twins!" JJ yelled.

"I know! Do you think I'm stupid?!!" Maria snapped.

Then Maria found the key email. She displayed it on the big wall screens and the entire room read it. That's when they knew the truth. Twins didn't mean the 2 girls. It meant 2 operations.

JJ was on the phone immediately. "Crash it down! Crash it down!" he yelled, shouting the Secret Service code phrase. "The girls were a diversion! The real target is the President!"

"No," Mike said, staring at the screen, the one word coming out like a painful groan. "Jen ... Anna ..."

Cheating and Rivals Part 78

Mike rushed to the exit.

"Where are you going?!" JJ yelled.

"I've got to get to the rally!" Mike said. "My wife and daughter are there!"

"No! You've got to stay here!" JJ ordered. He motioned towards Mike's computer station. "We've got to decrypt more emails! We might be able to break ISIS right now! This is our chance!"

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"My family is there!" Mike yelled back. He moved towards the door.

"Seal the door!" JJ ordered. The doors swished closed and locked. "Mike you're not going anywhere!"

Mike looked at JJ. "It's my family," he said. "Hal, open the door." The door immediately unlocked and opened. Mike stepped out and said, "Hal, lock the door." The door immediately closed and locked.

"How did he do that?" JJ said shocked. Brent, Abraham and Maria shook their heads, looking bewildered. Big, his head tilted, looked curiously at the door.

JJ glared at no one in particular. He picked up the phone. "Mitch, where are you?!"

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

Mike was in the garage, looking for a car with keys in it. All of a sudden Mitch was there. "I can't let you go Mike," the assassin said.

Mike looked at Mitch. He said "If you could've saved your wife, would you have? Wouldn't you have done anything?"

Mitch closed his eyes. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. "Come on," he said irritably, turning and running the other way.

"Where are we going?" Mike shouted, running after him.

"You can't fucking drive to New York!" Mitch yelled back.

Mike and Mitch were in a high speed military helicopter. Mike looked out the window, willing the helicopter to go faster. "You know it's over," Mitch told Mike sagely. "These things last minutes. Seconds. Whatever happened already happened."

Mike picked up the radio but Mitch shook his head. "You won't get anyone. I've already tried. It's chaos out there." After a moment he asked "Mike, how did you control the doors? How'd you do that?" For a high security location like CATF, there was nothing more serious than the ability to lock and unlock doors. Mike's ability to do so, seemingly at will, bypassing all the biometric controls, was a major security breach.

Mike didn't answer. He turned and looked back out the window.

Mitch frowned. He said "You know when this is over, you're going to have to answer questions."

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

Mike rushed into the ballroom. Mitch was close behind, flashing his creds to get past the security officer, FBI and Secret Service.

The ballroom looked like a warzone. There were bloody bodies everywhere. First responders were helping the wounded. Mike quickly scanned the faces. He didn't see Jen or Anna.

Then he saw Ricky. He was covered with blood and bandages but alive. Mike ran over. "Ricky, where's Jen and Anna!" he asked desperately.

"Mike ...," Ricky said, his voice trailing off.

Mike grabbed Ricky's shoulders. "Are they alright?" he asked, panicked. "Is my family alright? Ricky! Where are they?"

"Mike ...," Ricky said. He looked distraught, disoriented, weary.

"He's in shock," Mitch said.

"Where's Jen and Anna?!" Mike yelled, shaking Ricky's shoulders.

"He can't answer, he's in shock!" Mitch said again.

Leo approached. "Come on, I'll take you," he said looking grim.

"Take me where?" Mike said looking scared.

"Come on," Leo said again.

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

It happened so fast.

First there was jubilation with the news the girls were safe. The mood in the ballroom went from funeral to celebration with the news, and it practically became a party. Someone even called back the band and they reopened the bar.

Jen looked for Lou. She saw him across the room huddled with FBI agents. They locked eyes and she gave him a questioning look. "Was it Mike?" she silently asked. "Did he find the girls?"

Lou grinned at her. He nodded. "Yes, it was the Phantom," he silently answered.

Jen broke into a big smile. HER husband found the girls. Mike saved them. He was a hero. She was so proud to be his wife!

But then it all changed.

She heard dark suited Secret Service agents scream "CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!" And then it was chaos. The Secret Service agents surrounded the President and First Lady, forming a defensive perimeter. Lou and Ricky bolted towards Jen.

"Anna!" Jen screamed. She didn't know what was going on but she wanted her daughter. A moment ago she'd been dancing to the music. Jen saw her, 20 feet away. She ran towards her but 20 feet seemed like 20 miles.

"Mommy ...?" Anna said, looking scared at all the commotion and sudden tension in the room.

Suddenly men with dark complexions burst into the room. There were dozens of them and they all were heavily armed with automatic weapons. Bullets started flying, mostly towards the President, but everywhere, at Jen and Anna too.

Deidre froze. Jasmine leaped through the air and pushed her best friend to the floor, yelling "Dee get down!"

Jen ran towards Anna but she was too far away. Lou tackled her to the ground, shielding her body with his. "Anna!" Jen cried frantically.

"Stay down!" Lou yelled, pinning her to the floor underneath him.

Hugh ran to protect Frank. But Frank yelled "Not me you fool! Protect the child! The child!"

Hugh scooped Anna into his arms and threw himself to the ground, protecting the 4 year old with his body. Frank leaped onto Hugh to further protect Anna and, ironically, also protect his bodyguard.

Ricky was close to Lou and Jen. They had some cover behind upturned tables. He evaluated the battle with an experienced eye. It wasn't going well for the Secret Service. They were fighting valiantly but they were outmanned and outgunned. They needed help.

"Do you have a gun?" he asked Lou.

Lou nodded. He handed Ricky his handgun. "Is that real?" Lou asked, motioning towards the Medal of Honor metal on Ricky's chest. When Ricky nodded, Lou said "Make them count." Ricky nodded again. He was familiar with this gun. It had 12 bullets.

Ricky crouched like a panther, preparing to strike. "Ricky," Jen said worriedly.

Ricky gave her a confident grin. "Don't worry," he said. "This is what I do." Then Ricky leaped from the table, firing the gun with deadly accuracy.

**** Interlude ****

In the weeks and months that followed, the Ballroom Battle (as it became known) was studied and analyzed more thoroughly than any firefight in history. Ricky's impact on the battle was the most controversial issue; years later it was still hotly debated. Many experts argued his brief crossfire gave the Secret Service the breather they needed to close ranks and reorganize their defenses. Other experts disagreed, arguing Ricky's 12 bullets had no meaningful impact given the thousands fired by both sides. The experts were split about 50-50. Everyone agreed though Ricky showed uncommon bravery and represented the best of our country's armed services.

The experts also agreed on this. The difference between winning and losing - with losing meaning the likely capture of the President and First Lady and the death of everyone else in the ballroom - was the advance warning from CATF. Because normal response time for reinforcements was 90 seconds. That's in the book, the Secret Service's strategies for protecting the President are based on it. But in the Ballroom Battle, because of CATF's warning, reinforcements arrived after only 57 seconds. 33 seconds. Only a few heartbeats. But it made the difference between winning and losing.

So many people died protecting the President. The country mourned. The people needed heroes. There were many to choose from. Most of all, Ricky, the Metal of Honor warrior who fought so valiantly. And Colonel Banks, who died to save the President's girls. Their heroism helped the country heal and move forward.

CATF's contribution was downplayed and the details muddled. Because the government couldn't let the public (and its enemies) know it had a working quantum computer. And also, because of what happened later. So Mike's role in the Ballroom Battle - and saving the President's daughters - was hidden. It became one of the country's most closely guarded secrets. Mike got no attention, no metals, no credit. He preferred it that way. And the few who did know thought it was fitting. Because the Phantom walked in the shadows.

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

The first to arrive were the security officer. A dozen burst into the room. The street cops though were no match for the terrorists' zeal and automatic weapons. They all went down. But they bought time.

Next to arrive were a group of FBI agents from a nearby field office. They were better trained and armed. The terrorists had to divide their forces to fend off the FBI, delaying their advance on the President.

Finally the Secret Service quick response team and elements of the National Guard arrived. That's what really turned the tide. Within moments the Ballroom Battle was over. It was a victory; the President and First Lady were safe and unharmed. But even in victory there are loses.

"Are you okay?" Lou said, getting off Jen.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so," Jen said.

Then she heard someone scream. "Deidre!" Jasmine cried, tears in her eyes. "No! Deidre!"

Jen looked over. Her mouth opened in horror. Deidre's body was bloody. She wasn't moving. Somehow, even though Jasmine shielded her, she'd been hit by a bullet. She was dead.

Jen rushed towards Frank, Hugh and Anna. Frank got off Hugh and then Hugh got off Anna. Jen's eyes went wide. "NO!" she cried running to her baby. "NO!"

Hugh was covered with blood. But it wasn't his blood. It was Anna's. Somehow, like Deidre, she'd been hit even though shielded.

"NO ANNA!" Jen cried, running to Anna and cradling her baby's limp body in her arms. "ANNA NO!"

Cheating and Rivals Part 79

"Anna! Anna!" Jen cried.

"Mommy?" Anna said weakly, her voice barely audible.

Relief washed over Jen. Anna was still alive! But there was blood everywhere! "Please someone help me! Please!" Jen begged.

Jen felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up. It was Jasmine.

"Let me see," Jasmine said calmly, getting on her knees and inspecting Anna. She quickly found the wound. It was her leg. Jasmine looked worried. The wound looked horrible. Frank stood close by, looking too. Like Jasmine, he'd been around, he'd seen his share of gunshot wounds. Jasmine and Frank shared a knowing look. This was not good.

Jasmine skillfully stopped the bleeding. But it was temporary at best. "We need to get her to a hospital!" she said urgently.

"Mercy Hospital's not far away!" Lou said. "But probably the roads are blocked!"

"I'll run!" Jen said picking up her baby.

"Lou, you lead!" Frank said taking control. "Hugh, you take the rear!"

"I'll come too," Jasmine said. She wanted to be there in case she started bleeding again. She saw Frank glance at Deidre and said "For now we focus on the living."

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

"Jen! You're okay?!" Mike said bursting into the hospital with Mitch close behind. His eyes and hands were all over her, checking if she was hurt. "You're okay? Where's Anna?"

"Oh Mike she was shot!" Jen sobbed, falling into his arms. She was crying uncontrollably.

"What?" Mike said, his body suddenly numb.

"She's barely hanging on!" Jen cried, her face soaked with tears. "But the doctors say, even if she lives, she might lose her leg!"

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"What?" Mike said, his head and heart trying to come to grips with their new reality.

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

"So how'd he do it?" JJ asked Abraham, Brent and Maria. Big was there too. So was Allen, the chief scientist of CATF. They were in a secure conference room deep inside CATF.

"We found a virus - a control program - in Hal," Brent said.

"Mike infected Hal with a virus?" JJ said incredulously.

Brent nodded. "That's how he controlled the doors. It's gone now. We removed it."

"Is it easy to hack into our systems?" JJ asked. "The ones that control the doors?"

"No, it's not easy," Abraham said. "They're our most secure systems. It's not easy at all. But this is Mike."

"But you removed it," JJ said. "So it's over?"

Brent looked at Maria and Abraham. They hesitantly nodded. "Yes sir, we think so," he said.

"You don't sound convinced," JJ said frowning.

"Well sir, it doesn't make sense," Maria said. "The virus was right there, in plain sight, easy to find. This is Mike. He invented the cloaking device. Why didn't he hide it? And, the metadata seems to indicate the virus is old. Like he uploaded it weeks ago."

Allen shook his head worriedly. "Something about Mike," he said, remembering what happened with Liberty-gate. "You can't underestimate him because he's quiet. You have to assume he's smarter than all of us."

"Well we know that," Maria said with a humorless laugh. Abraham and Brent chuckled too.

"But not just math smart or computer smart," Allen said. "In his own way Mike is very manipulative. Cunning."

"I think I know what he did," Big said, speaking for the first time. He looked grim. "It's not good."

"What?" JJ said.

"I found this on the security tape," Big said. He pressed a few buttons and a video played on the big wall screen. It was Mike in the Bunker, at his computer station. They watched as he placed his iPhone next to the computer. Then they heard him whisper, "Siri - upload and execute."

"So, what are we seeing?" JJ asked. "What did he do? Upload another virus?"

But Brent, Abraham and Maria immediately saw the implications. They looked alarmed. "When did he do this?!" Abraham asked urgently.

"Look at the timestamp," Big said, motioning to the screen. They all looked.

"Oh fuck," Brent said worriedly.

"Mike, god, no ...," Maria lamented.

"What?!" JJ yelled. "What did he do?!"

"Yes, he uploaded a virus, probably another control program," Big said. "But he uploaded it when the computers were linked and the firewalls down."

JJ's eyes went wide. "Are you saying he infected every computer of the US government?" he said in a low voice. "He can control all our computers?"

Big nodded. "And I can't find the virus. I've looked. This time he's wrapped it in his cloaking device."

JJ stared at Big. Then at Abraham, Maria and Brent, processing this information. Finally he picked up the telephone. He said "I need to speak with the President."

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

Mike went up to Frank, tears in his eyes. "You know doctors! The best doctors! You know them!" he said frantically to the older man.

"Yes ...," Frank said.

Mike grabbed Frank's arms. "Please call them! Get them to help Anna! Please! I'll do anything!"

"Mike. I've already called them. The best are in there, right now, with your daughter."

"She might die! She might lose her leg!" Mike said desperately.

"I know," Frank said. "I'm sorry."

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

Mike and Jen waited for hours as they operated on Anna. They huddled in a corner, arms around each other, hands locked together.

"I should've been there," Mike said, tears flowing down his cheeks. "I could've protected her."

"Hugh and Frank were with her," Jen said.

"I'm her father!" Mike cried. "It was my job to protect her! If I'd been there she'd be here now! I would've protected her!"

"Mike it's not your fault, there's nothing you could have done!" Jen said. She was crying too.

They hugged and cried and held hands some more. Eventually Jen whispered "Ricky was there. At the rally. I didn't plan it. He just showed up."

"Okay," Mike said in a barely audible voice. With dread in his heart, he said "You had sex." It was half question, half statement.

Jen didn't answer for long moments. Finally she whispered "... yes."

They lapsed into silence. Finally Mike said "I think we should separate."

"Mike, no ...," Jen said.

"I think you need to figure things out," Mike said. "I need to figure things out."

"No, we don't need to figure anything out!" Jen said desperately, her hands clutching Mike's shirt.

"I think ... I think we do," Mike said. They were both crying. They held each other as they cried. Tears for their child. Tears for their marriage.

Cheating and Rivals Part 80

"Anna will be okay," the doctor told Jen and Mike.

Jen and Mike cried and hugged. Then they hugged the doctor.

After a few moments, Mike asked anxiously, "Her leg?"

"We were able to save her leg," the doctor said. He looked weary. They'd been operating for hours. "After she heals she'll need extensive physical therapy. It'll be a long process. But in time she should be able to recover almost fully."

"Almost?" Mike asked.

"She'll probably have a limp," the doctor said.

"But ... she's a ballerina," Mike said. "A great dancer. And gymnast."

The doctor frown at Mike. "Anna's a different person now. Will she be able to dance like before? I'm sorry but no. She's not the same as before. And she's old enough to realize the differences. You have to help her through this. If you're sad, she'll be sad. The important thing is, she's alive."

"Mike the doctor's right," Jen said, joyful tears falling down her cheeks. "Our baby's alive. She's going to be okay. That's all that matters." She hugged Mike, and Mike hugged her back. But the doctor's words ran through his head: "Anna's not the same as before."

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

"How did you know how to help Anna?" Jen asked Jasmine. They were in the hospital cafeteria drinking coffee.

"You probably think I used to model," Jasmine said with a grin.

"No, I mean ...," Jen sputtered.

"It's alright," Jasmine said still smiling. "I actually did model for a while. Back in high college. But I volunteered at a hospital too. The emergency room."

"Oh okay," Jen said, understanding now. "I'm really sorry about Deidre."

"Thanks," Jasmine said looking down. "I'd ... rather not talk about it," she said, chocking up and barely holding back tears.

"I get it," Jen said. After a moment she said "Anyways ... I wanted to thank you. Working on your campaign ... I think you're an amazing person. And the way you helped Anna. I'll never forget that."

Jasmine was embarrassed by Jen's unabashed praise. "Well, I guess then I can count on your vote," she said with an embarrassed laugh.

"Jasmine I will always vote for you," Jen said looking into Jasmine's eyes. "I swear to god, for the rest of my life, I will always vote for you."

"Well ... thanks," Jasmine said, shyly looking down at her feet. Then with a lopsided grin she said "So I guess we're friends now."

"Yeah, we're friends," Jen said. She reached out and took her hands. She said, "And Jas ... I'm really sorry about Deidre."

Jasmine looked away, clearly trying to hold back tears. "Back in college, we went to Venice, it was our first trip together," she said, smiling at the memory. "They make lace there, you know? We found the prettiest hat, it was made of black lace. Deidre said I could wear it to a state funeral someday. She was always planning like that. She was more into my career than me."

"She loved you," Jen said, squeezing Jasmine's hands in hers. "She was supporting you. That's what you do when you love someone."

Jasmine nodded, a tear finally falling down her cheeks. "But now all I can think about is if I should wear that hat to Dee's funeral. I want to, but I'm afraid Dee would want me to save it."

Jen pressed Jasmine's hands in hers again. "You know what? I think Dee would want you to do whatever makes you happy."

Jasmine nodded again. "Then, I think maybe I'll wear the hat," she said, tears falling down her cheeks. "Because then, during her funeral, I can think about Venice."

"I think you should do that," Jen said encouragingly.

Suddenly Jasmine collapsed into Jen's arms, crying uncontrollably. "I really miss her!" she wailed.

"I know honey, I know," Jen said holding Jasmine tight.

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

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Mike and Jen were exhausted from all the worry and being at the hospital 24/7. The doctor told them to go home and rest. He assured them Anna was fine and would sleep through the night, given the meds she was on. Maggie came to the hospital to be there in case Anna woke up. So Mike and Jen went home to their loft apartment.

"There're releasing Anna in a few days," Mike said. "We should talk about -."

"Please don't," Jen begged, covering her ears. "Please don't say it again."

"Jen ..."

"Anna needs us together," Jen said pleadingly. She pulled Mike's hand to her stomach. "This baby needs us together."

"I can't ...," Mike began, his face tortured with angst and regret. "You love Ricky. I can't live with that."

"In California I chose you," Jen told him, squeezing his hands in hers. "I know I lied. But I still chose you. And I choose you now. I'll always choose you."

"I can't share your heart Jen," Mike said, his voice choked up with emotion.

"You're not!" Jen insisted. "I belong to you! Only you!"

"How can you say that?!" Mike asked with exasperation. "You love Ricky! You can't resist him!"

"Baby -."

"Don't deny it!" Mike said, anger and hurt spilling over. "Don't lie to me again! I can't take it!"

"Mike baby," Jen said soothingly, her fingertips caressing his face. "I wasn't going to say that. You're right. Right now, Ricky's in my head. But you've seen me this way before. Like Scott, remember? Yes, I have feelings for Ricky. But that always happens too. It's happened every time. See? It doesn't mean I don't only belong to you."

"But this is different Jen!" Mike told her, anger and hurt in his voice. "You know that! In California you almost stayed with Ricky!"

"Because I thought you dumped me," Jen said pleadingly. "You didn't come get me. You never called. I came back to YOU. Remember? Even though I was hurt and confused, I still chose you. See? It's just like now. I choose YOU."

Mike scowled at Jen. It was always like this. She was always able to turn things around on him. Make terrible things sound so trivial. She always sounded so reasonable.

Mike and Jen took a shower together. Mike gently washed Jen's pussy with soap. "You fucked Ricky at the rally," he said.

"Yes," Jen said, her eyes downcast with shame.

Mike thought about it. This was her first shower since then. As he washed her thighs and pussy lips, he was washing away Ricky's dried cum.

Mike forced these thoughts from his head. He asked "Where was Anna?"

"With Leo and Deidre," Jen said. "We were only gone a few minutes. She was okay." Then looking down she said "I'm a terrible mother."

Jen took the soap and washed Mike's body. She got to his cock. He was hard. She gently washed him, stroking his shaft with her soapy hands. Then she got on her knees and took him into her mouth.

Mike staggered back to the tile wall as he felt Jen's sweet mouth and tongue work on his cock. His hands were open and he pressed them against the wet ceramic for balance. Jen stroked him with her hands and sucked him with her mouth. Then with one of her hands she pushed his legs slightly apart. Still sucking him, she caressed his sandbar and tickled his asshole. Mike gasped, his head rolling back. A moment later he came and Jen swallowed it all.

Afterwards, with their bodies naked and still damp from the shower, they got into bed. They were on their sides looking at each other. "I won't see Ricky anymore," Jen swore. "I promise."

Mike interrupted her. "Don't," he said wearily. "Stop making promises. Stop lying. Please just stop."

Jen flinched like Mike had just hit her. "Mike ...," she said, tears filling her eyes. "I love you."

"Do what you need to do with Ricky," Mike said, weariness and resignation in his voice. "Do whatever you want. Get him out of your system. But I don't want to know. Don't tell me."

"Mike no," Jen said desperately. This wasn't how their game worked. It sounded like a separation. Living under the same roof, physically together, but emotionally separated. She said pleadingly, "I don't want that. I won't see Ricky anymore. I won't. It's just a stupid game."

"It's not just a game this time. You're pregnant. So it's not a game. We can't just end it," Mike told her. "Do what you need to do with Ricky. Do whatever. Get him out of your system. Just don't tell me. I don't want to know anymore."

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

"So we're agreed," JJ said. He was in a meeting with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the FBI and NSA Directors. The Big 4. Colonel Bank's seat was empty. For now, JJ was serving as acting head of CATF. Allen and Big were there too.

"We take Mike into custody," JJ said. He was calm, as if reciting a grocery shopping list. "We force him to remove the virus. Then we eliminate him so he is no longer a threat."

"No we're not in agreement!" the FBI Director snapped. "What if he has a dead man switch?"

"We'll get that from him too," JJ promised.

"But there's no way we'll know for sure until it's too late!" the FBI Director said.

"I agree," Allen said. "Remember during Liberty-Gate? He didn't say anything."

"That was Banks," JJ said. "My methods are ... more effective." The room went silent and the people in the room inwardly shuddered. They all had heard about JJ's "methods."

"You're forgetting something," Big said. "If there's no Mike there's no quantum computer."

"Someone else can do what he did," JJ said.

"We've tried," Big said. "Brent and Maria, Abraham, Allen, I've tried too. Maria got the closest. But no one got pass layer 5. We need Mike."

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

"I heard you were here," Jen said a couple days later, walking into Ricky's hospital room. She closed the door behind her. "Are you okay?"

"Just a couple bullets. I've gotten worse," Ricky said, grinning at her. "I heard Anna's okay. That's great news."

"Yes, thanks," Jen said, her eyes downcast.

"It's really good to see you Jen," Ricky said. "You look incredible as always."

Jen shrugged but didn't reply. She was wearing a cotton top, jeans and black flats. Her long blonde hair was in a barely brushed ponytail. She wasn't wearing any makeup. Still, Ricky was right, she looked beautiful. She always looked beautiful. "You were really brave in the ballroom Ricky," she said.

"I didn't do anything," he said modestly.

"You did," Jen said. "That's what the papers say. If not for you, we'd all be dead."

"Well I don't want you dead," Ricky said looking into her eyes. "Or Anna." With a chuckle he added "Or me."

"Anyways ... I just wanted to thank you," Jen said. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you" she said into his ear. They looked at each other for a few moments. Then Jen said "I should get back" and turned to the door.

"Wait," Ricky said, grabbing her hand. He pulled her close. Then he ran his finger along the neckline of her blouse. The neckline swooped down a little. Ricky tugged it down more so her bra came into view.

"What are you doing Ricky?" Jen breathed, although she didn't try to pull away.

"It's just ... when we're together ... can you feel it?" Ricky said. He reached into her blouse and pulled her bra up so the cups rested above her tits. Her nipples were hard.

"Yes," Jen admitted in a soft voice. Like Ricky, she was breathing hard too.

"Can you, please ...," Ricky asked, pulling her hand under the blanket.

"Ricky ...," Jen protested, looking nervously at the door.

"The nurse was just here," Ricky whispered. They were alone but it still felt like they had to whisper. "She won't be back for at least an hour." He pulled her hand to his cock. He wasn't wearing anything but a hospital gown. Her hand was on his bare cock. He was hard. "Please," Ricky said.

Jen knew it was wrong. She knew it was wicked. She heard the chants again. "Shame! Shame! Shame!" But she couldn't help herself. She stroked him.

"Yeah," Ricky moaned, his eyelids getting heavy. He reached into her blouse from the bottom and cupped her breasts. He fondled her as she stroked him.

Jen pulled the blanket back. She looked at Ricky's big, hard cock. She was already wet. The sight of his gorgeous manhood got her wetter. She moved closer and pulled her ponytail to the side. With another nervous glance at the door, she went down on him. As she sucked him, she reached into her jeans and fingered herself.

Afterwards Jen was in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She hated what she saw. She despised herself.

Usually she'd tell Mike. He'd get mad and upset but excited too, and they'd have sex, often more than once. Eventually he'd forgive her, call her his goddess, tell her he loved her, and she'd feel better about herself. That's how the game worked. But now Mike didn't want to know. So Jen had to live with it. The shame. The guilt. The sluttyness.

Jen gripped the sink, trying to compose herself. She washed her hands and face. She brushed her teeth. Then she went to be with Mike.

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

A few days later, Anna came home in a wheel chair. The bullet shattered her knee. It would be a long time before she would walk again, even on crutches. And a long time after that before she would walk without aid.

A few days later Mike was with Anna while Jen was with Jasmine Kelly. Jen was trying to support Jasmine with the loss of Deidre.

Mike and Anna were sitting on the sofa watching Sesame Street. Anna's leg was propped up on an ottoman. Mike's arm was around his daughter.

On the screen, Elmo was singing and dancing with Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Abruptly Anna asked "Daddy, will I ever walk again?"

"Of course Banana you'll walk again," Mike told her.

"Will I ever dance again?" Anna asked.

Mike kissed the top of Anna's head. He was holding back tears. "Yes baby you'll dance again," he said, not knowing whether it was true or not. He struggled to keep his voice from cracking. "But Anna, there's a lot you can do. There's a lot more than dancing."

"But ... that's what I'm good at daddy," Anna said looking up into Mike's face with her big blue eyes. Then she started to cry.

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

A week later Mike and Jen were in bed after putting Anna now. She was snuggled in his arm. "You never told me they call you Phantom," she said, stroking his chest.

"... yes," Mike said after a few moments.

"Why?"

He shrugged, not sure himself. He said "We're not supposed to talk about work."

"I heard it's really special," Jen said.

"Who told you?"

"Remember Lou? Frank's bodyguard? He used to work for CIA. And Leo knows too."

Mike nodded but didn't say anything.

Jen got up on her elbow and looked into Mike's face. "You found the President's daughters," she said. "You saved them."

"It was a team effort," Mike said with a modest shrug.

"Mike you're a hero," Jen said. "Sometimes you have to let people give you compliments."

Mike looked down. "If I was a hero, Anna wouldn't have gotten shot. She'd still be able to dance."

"Baby there's nothing you could have done," Jen insisted. "Anna's alive. She has her whole life ahead of her. That's all that matters."

"Yeah I know but ...," Mike began.

"When I was a girl I wanted to dance," Jen told him. "Then Spring Awakening happened and I almost did dance. But I'm not dancing and it's okay. Anna'll be the same way. She'll find something else to do and forget all about dancing. She's only 4 Mike. It's not as bad as you think. All that matters is she's okay."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Okay," Mike said, but he wasn't sure. Jen snuggled back into his arm. Mike absentmindedly played with her long blonde hair, twisting silky locks in his fingers.

After a few moments he said "I read they're thinking about giving Ricky another Medal of Honor."

"Yeah I saw that too," Jen said softly.

"You haven't talked to him?"

"Not lately," she said evasively. It was true. She'd hadn't talked to Ricky since the hospital.

"It's a big deal," Mike said. "It's rare to get 2. I would've thought you would've talked to him."

Jen shrugged but didn't say anything. They lapsed into silence.

Finally Mike said "You can talk to him if you want."

Jen got up on her elbow and looked into his face, as if studying him. She said, "We'll see ..."

"The papers say he was really brave," Mike said.

Jen shrugged again and said "A lot of people were brave. Frank and Hugh protected Anna. Lou protected me. Yeah Ricky was brave, but they were brave too."

Mike remembered what Colonel Banks said. "You know, I've never fired a gun."

Jen got up on her elbow again. "Of course you haven't. That's not you," she said consolingly. "But you've brave Mike. You're the bravest man I know."

Mike nodded and gave her a weak appreciative smile. They lapsed into silence again. Eventually Mike said "But you think Ricky's brave too."

Once again Jen rose up and looked at her husband. "Baby, what do you want me to say?" she asked.

Mike shrugged, not answering.

Jen affectionately stroked his cheek. "Oh Mike, you're so complicated," she said with kind, understanding smile. In a soft voice, she said "Can I tell you something? About LA?"

"Yes," Mike said.

"I think about it sometimes," she said. "It gets confusing in my head. Because sometimes when I remember, it's you not Ricky."

"What?" Mike said not understanding.

"Like, remember I told you about going surfing? In Lunada Bay? When I think about it sometimes, it's you not Ricky. It's you teaching me to surf. It's you saving me after I wiped out."

"I don't know how to surf," Mike said, still not understanding.

"I know," Jen said, hugging his arm. "I mean, I don't understand myself. But sometimes when I think about it, LA feels like a pretend trip. Like an adventure. But with you, not Ricky."

Mike stared at his wife, trying to understand, trying to figure out how this new information fitted into the complicated jigsaw puzzle of his emotions.

Jen took off her white nightie and VS cotton panties. She pulled down Mike's boxers. He was hard. She kissed his lips and said in a soft, husky voice, "Yeah, Ricky was brave. He was freaking awesome. Is that what you want to hear baby?" She felt his body shudder with lust.

Jen got on top of Mike and guided him into her pussy. He was so hard. She kissed him as she slowly rode him. "But you're still the bravest man I know," she said as she made love to him.

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

"What have you found?" JJ demanded.

"Mike definitely uploaded something to our computers," Big said. "We can't see what, because of his cloaking device. But you'll remember the cloak isn't entirely invisible, if you know what to look for. There's definitely a blob of code in our computers."

"This is an unacceptable situation," JJ said tersely. He looked angry. And scared.

"I don't get it," Allen said looking thoughtful. "I thought we'd turned the corner with Mike. Everything was fine. Why did he do it?"

Later JJ pulled Big aside. "We implemented the Independence protocol," he whispered. "Mike found out. That's why he went AWOL."

Big's eyes widened. A chill ran down his spine. Independence. They'd actually been willing to kill the President's daughters. "I see," he said. He managed to keep his face neutral but inside he was horrified.

"I need you to neutralize the virus," JJ ordered. "Whatever it takes. Flush the computers if you have to. I don't care. Just get that virus out of our computers."

Big nodded slowly. "And after I do that ... what happens to Mike?"

"You take care of the computers. I'll take care of Mike," JJ told him.

Cheating and Rivals Part 81 of 82

Jen's iPhone rang. She looked at the caller id and frowned. Moving into the bedroom, she pulled her long blonde hair to the side and brought the phone to her ear. "Hi Ricky," she whispered.

"Hey babe," Ricky said. "You haven't been around."

"No ... we brought Anna home," Jen whispered.

"She okay?"

"Yes, but, well ... first she has to heal. They'll be operations. Then PT," Jen said her eyes downcast.

"She'll be okay," Ricky assured her. "She's young. I've seen a lot worse. She'll get better. It's just a process."

Jen nodded but was uncertain. She was just as worried about Anna as Mike. But she had to be upbeat, because otherwise she feared Mike might fall over the edge. Her husband was like that. Moody and brooding. Self-reflective to a fault. Prone to letting his imagination and "what-ifs?" run wild and get the best of him, and if he fell into the abyss then Anna might follow because the 2 were so close. She had to be positive and optimistic for both of them. But inside, she was scared for her daughter. Anna was all about energy and athleticism. Now it was going to be a struggle - a major challenge - to just walk again. How would that affect her?

"They're releasing me in a couple days," Ricky said. "Can you pick me up?"

"When?"

"Wednesday I think."

Jen hesitated, then said "Okay. I'll see you Wednesday."

On Wednesday, Jen and Mike took Anna for a followup doctor visit. When they got home they had lunch, then Anna took a nap. She was on pain pills so she would sleep until dinner.

"So I've got an errand," Jen hesitantly said to Mike. "... if that's okay."

"An errand?" Mike asked looking at her.

"Um, yeah, an errand," Jen said looking back at him. "If that's okay." They looked into each other's eyes, silently communicating. And not communicating. That's what Mike wanted. He didn't want to know anymore.

"Yeah, okay," Mike said looking away. He felt tortured inside. Jealous, hurt, disappointed. But excited too. The conflict showed on his face.

Jen saw it. She affectionately caressed his cheek. Then she kissed him and said "I'll be home by dinner. I'll make spaghetti and garlic bread." It was one of Anna's favorites; and Mike's too.

"Okay," Mike agreed, still not able to look at his wife.

Jen kissed him again. "I love you Mike," she said. Then she left.

Mike's insides were churning. It was like his heart was in a death grip. Their game was different now. It was more than just physical attraction. More than just infatuation. Jen was pregnant with Ricky's baby. So they were bonded forever. And Ricky wasn't an ass like Colin, Drums and Scott. Physically he was everything Jen wanted. But he wasn't a jerk like those other alphas. He was a good guy. On top of that he was a Real American Hero.

Mike had a choice. Share Jen with Ricky, her body and her heart, in a poly relationship, and lose his soul and whatever he had left of his manhood. Or leave Jen, and lose the only girl he ever loved - would ever love - in his life. What a choice. Lose-lose. He also knew that even if he picked Option 1, it might turn into Option 2, and that would be even more painful as he slowly lost her completely to Ricky.

Mike forced these dark thoughts away. He had something more important to think about. Anna. He had an idea. He got his computer and started working.

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

"So how's it going?" Ricky asked when they got to his new apartment.

"It's going," Jen said with a shrug.

Ricky hooked his finger in the waist of her skinny jeans above the zipper and pulled her to him. "You hear I might get another Medal of Honor?" he said with a proud grin.

"Yeah. You'll be the 20th person to have 2" she said with a grin back at him. "That'll be awesome Ricky."

"It probably won't happen," he said with a shrug. "They changed the rules. You can't get two anymore."

"Yeah but just being nominated is a freaking awesome honor Ricky," she gushed. "I'm really proud of you."

Ricky grinned at her. "You're following this?" he asked, clearly pleased.

"Well that's all CNN's talking about," Jen said smiling back at him. "You were really brave Ricky. You deserve it."

"Thanks," Ricky said, his eyes sparkling. "It makes me feel good to hear you say that. I want you to think I'm brave." With his finger still in her jeans he pulled her closer.

"Well of course I think you're brave," Jen said with a half laugh, trying to pull away from him. But Ricky held her close and she didn't try to fight it.

"So what's this?" he asked with a grin, rubbing her flat stomach with his thumb.

Jen pulled her top up a few inches, exposing her sexy flat stomach. She was wearing pantyhose under her jeans. The nylon waist stretched to just above her belly button.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"It's getting kinda chilly," she explained.

"Football season," Ricky said, his eyes on the nylon. "I'm glad," he said, still caressing her with his thumb.

"Why? Because football?" Jen asked.

"No. Because you're wearing this," Ricky said with a chuckle. He was hard in his pants. Like Mike he had a major leg and stocking fetish. And no one was sexier than Jen; she had the best legs in the world. The prettiest feet too.

Looking in her eyes he said "You're the prettiest, sexiest girl I've ever met." Then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth. Jen kissed him back and twirled her tongue over his.

Their kissing quickly became passionate. Ricky picked her up and carried her to the bed, their lips never parting. He quickly undressed her, pulling off her skinny jeans. Jen looked achingly delicious with her long sexy legs encased in nude nylon. She was wearing a thong though, not a g-string. "You'd be even sexier in a g-string," he joked as he kissed up her neck.

Jen didn't answer. She had a major cum face on and her hands were on his pants, urgently working on his belt and zipper.

Ricky pulled her pantyhose and thong down to her knees. Then he roughly pushed her onto her hands and knees and fucked her from behind. He fucked her hard and Jen shrieked as she came on his cock.

Ricky continued to relentlessly pound her pussy. Finally he came, penetrating her to the hilt and ejaculating jets of hot cum into her willing pussy. Jen gasped and cried "Oh god Ricky yeah cum inside me!" as she felt him hitting her walls, the exquisite sensations so intense she shuddered with a series of mini-orgasms.

Afterwards Ricky tried to snuggle (like they usually did) but Jen wiggled from his grasp. She untangled her body from his and quickly dressed. "I've got to go," she said pulling up her thong and pantyhose, and then wiggling back into the skinny jeans.

"You just got here," Ricky said, clearly disappointed. "It's not even 3."

"I've got to go to the market, for dinner," Jen explained, reaching behind her to fasten her bra, and then pulling her blouse back on.

"You got room at the table for one more?" Ricky said with a grin, inviting himself to dinner. "We'll go to the market together. It'll be fun."

"No Ricky," Jen told him. "We've got to be careful with boundaries now."

"Why? Because you told Mike about LA? Because Anna's hurt?"

"Because of everything," Jen said. She put her hand on his shoulder for balance to put one pointy toe flat on. Then she switched hands and put on the other black Mia flat.

"And because you're pregnant too, right?" he said.

"Yeah that's a big one," Jen said with a half laugh but it was without any humor.

"But then that makes no sense," Ricky said, pulling her to him. "We should be spending more time together, not less."

"Ricky god, you don't really believe that," Jen said incredulously.

"You said I'm brave," he reminded her. "You're proud of me."

"Yes you're brave, I can never thank you enough for what you did," Jen said, giving him a kiss on the lips. "But do you know Mike saved the President's girls? He found them."

"I didn't know that," Ricky said with a thoughtful frown. With a shrug he said "I never said Mike wasn't a smart guy."

"He's way smarter than smart," Jen said pulling away from his arms. "And he needs me." With regret she said "I shouldn't even be here."

Ricky pulled her into his arms again. "Then why are you?"

"I have no freaking clue," Jen said with another humorless half laugh.

"Yes you do," Ricky said. "Because we have chemistry. And we love each other."

Jen looked into Ricky's eyes for long moments. Finally she pulled away. "I really have to go." She kissed him on the lips. "I'll see you Ricky." Then she was gone.

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

Jen was home by 5, holding a big bag of groceries. "Is she still asleep?" she asked.

"Yeah," Mike said his eyes downcast. Jen noticed he didn't ask about her "errand."

"Hey," she said softly, bumping up against him. She hugged him. "I missed you."

"It's only been a couple hours."

"I still missed you," Jen said. She held Mike tight so his face was pressed in her hair. She imagined what he was smelling. The vanilla and strawberry of her shampoo. The floral scents of her perfume. And the musky sweat of sex? The masculine scent of Ricky's cologne?

"You should shower, before Anna wakes up," Mike said. His voice was barely audible, hoarse. Jen heard a lot in it. Sadness and hurt, yes. But excitement too. A lot of excitement.

"I don't think I have time," Jen said. "I'll start dinner."

Jen felt Mike's eyes on her as she sautéed the onion and garlic and diced the tomatoes. She got on her tiptoes to reach for oregano. She felt her blouse raise up, revealing her stomach.

"Let me help," Mike said, moving next to her. He wasn't that much taller but he was tall enough. With one hand he reached for the spice. He put his other hand on Jen's back, right above her ass, on the nylon of Jen's pantyhose.

"Thanks baby," Jen said as he gave the oregano to her. Mike's hand was still on the waist of the pantyhose stretched tight up to her belly button. He was looking into her face, as if asking a question. She said "Remember? I'm wearing hose again."

Jen moved a half step closer so their hips touched. Mike continued to caress her back over the pantyhose with his thumb, just as Ricky had done not too long ago. He didn't say anything but Jen could see the excitement in his eyes.

Jen moved her lips up his neck. She breathed into his ear "Do you want to hear about my errand?" She was purposely using his fantasies against him. She wanted him to be interested again. Their game took 2 people, both of them. If Mike wasn't involved, then it wasn't a game. It was just her fucking another man. That was bound to drive them apart.

Mike abruptly pulled his hand away, moving away from her. "I told you I don't want to know," he said suddenly annoyed, glaring at her.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Jen said hugging him. She was alarmed, disappointed, and her eyes watered up. Her marriage, her relationship with Mike, it was broken and she didn't know how to fix it. She was paying for all the lies. All the broken promises.

They heard Anna stir. She couldn't walk, couldn't even get out of bed by herself. "I'll get Anna," Mike said pulling away.

"Okay," Jen said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'll take a quick shower."

They ate dinner and played board games and puzzles with Anna. Then they gave Anna a bath and put her down for the night. After they sat on the sofa and watched TV. Jen was snuggled into Mike's arm. The Mets were on.

"How are they doing this year?" Jen asked.

"They suck," Mike said disgustedly. Then with incredulity in his voice he added, "But they made the playoffs."

Jen slowly nodded. Then she got up and sat on Mike's lap, straddling his thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "You know you said you have a Jen Meter?" she said. "I have a Mike Meter and it needs filled up."

"Okay," Mike said. He hugged her back but there was still sadness there.

Jen sensed his sadness. She was sad too. It felt like they were worlds apart. "This isn't right," she said. "We play the game together. If I can't tell you about it, it's not our game."

"It hurts too much," Mike said.

"But why?"

"Because I don't know how it ends," Mike said. "Because now Ricky's part of you." He was talking about the baby inside her.

"You're the father," Jen insisted.

"You know it's more complicated," Mike said. "You love him. And don't say you'll end it. It'd just be another lie."

Jen grimaced like Mike had hit her. "Mike, god, I wish you could see inside my head," she lamented, laying her forehead on his shoulder. "You'd see my feelings for Ricky. A tiny little dot. Then you'd see my love for you, a big huge balloon. You'd know I'm telling the truth."

"But if Ricky walked in here now, you'd fuck him," Mike hissed bitterly. "Even with Anna here. Like at the ballroom. Like today."

Jen winced again, knowing he was right. He was right, and he didn't even know about the blowjob at the hospital. In her head she heard the chants again. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! "I don't know why I'm like this," she said helplessly.

"You're always like this," Mike said.

"But then it eventually goes away. It always does," she said, hoping she was convincing him.

"Not this time," Mike said.

"Why?" Jen said frustrated.

"Because you're pregnant with his baby!" Mike said with exasperation. Why couldn't she see this?!

Jen started weeping. She wasn't getting through to him! It seemed hopeless! "Baby please make love to me!" she begged as tears ran down her pretty cheeks. She clutched him, not letting him go. "I need you Mike! Please!"

They made love. Afterward Jen held Mike tight. "Mike?" she asked in a little girl voice. She sounded uncertain. Desperate. Scared.

"Yes?"

Jen hesitated. Then she said "Maybe I should get an abortion."

Mike pulled away and looked at her. "We can't do that," he said horrified.

"I just want us to be right again!" Jen said, crying again. "I'll do anything!"

"It would kill us," Mike said.

"No it won't!"

"Because you'd hate me," Mike told her. "And you'd hate yourself." Now they were both crying. They held each other that way, weeping long into the night.

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

Big approach Maria. "How's it going?" he asked.

"Mike's virus is a fucking nightmare!" Maria snarled, angry and frustrated. She looked like she was about to pound the keyboard. "It's slippery! I can't get a hold of it!"

"JJ wants to purge the computers and reboot from secure storage," Big said.

"That might work," Maria said with a shrug. She thought about it. Yes, that would work, but it would take a lot of time. "Should we do it?"

Big sat down next to Maria. He put a small black box next to her keyboard. "What's that?" she asked looking at it.

"Neutralizes bugs," Big said.

"I sweep for bugs every day," Maria said.

"You won't find these bugs," Big whispered. "JJ's bugs. He's everywhere. Big Brother."

"What are you saying?" Maria said, a chill running down her spine.

Big looked into her eyes. He whispered, "I'm saying, the moment you destroy the virus, that's the moment Mike Andrews dies."

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

"What's wrong?" Jen asked Maria. She called an hour ago and sounded frantic. Now they were in a Starbucks.

"You need to talk to Mike," Maria said, nervously looking around the crowd. She sounded scared. Terrified. "He's not answer my calls. I don't think he trusts me."

"Wait Maria, slow down," Jen said frowning. "What happened?"

"We don't have much time," Maria said, laying Big's black box on the table. She looked around nervously, as if expecting big scary men in dark sunglasses and black suits to burst into the Starbucks at any moment. She was paranoid and scared. "The Ballroom Battle. That day." she whispered frantically. "Mike uploaded a virus. Into all the computers."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"What? Why?" Jen said. Now she was scared too.

"I don't know why!" Maria said frustrated. "Big won't tell me!"

"Who's Big?" Jen asked.

Maria shook her head impatiently. "People are scared Jen! Dangerous people! You don't want these people scared! They do terrible things when they're scared! You have to get Mike to delete the virus!"

"But then what happens?" Jen said.

"I don't know," Maria said looking uncertain and helpless. "I ... I don't know."

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

Jen sat in the Starbucks a long time after Maria was gone. Thinking. Thinking about Mike and Anna. The baby inside her. And Ricky. Thinking about how she wasn't able to control herself around him. Thinking about how she was hurting Mike. How she might be losing him. How her life was falling apart.

Then, of all things, she thought about chocolate. Then she remembered a travel magazine she read once. And just like that, she knew what she had to do.

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

"I understand from Leo you want to talk to me," JJ said to Jen. They were in JJ's hotel room in New York City, sitting across from each other.

"Yes," Jen said. "I think I understand the situation. With my husband. I have a proposal."

JJ took a long look at Jennifer Andrews. Once again he was struck by her loveliness. She was easily the most beautiful girl he'd ever met. And she was smartly dressed in a body hugging dress. JJ noticed how the skirt hiked up pass her knees as she sat with her legs crossed. She was wearing hose and designer high heels. She had the most wonderful, alluring legs.

JJ refocused on the moment. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "I'm listening," he said, his eyes returning to look at Jen's cover-girl beautiful face.

"I'll get Mike to delete the virus," Jen said. "And then you leave us alone."

"That's your proposal?" JJ said with a skeptical, condescending chuckle.

"I'm the only person in the world he'll listen to," Jen told him. "He'll delete the virus. We'll move away. You leave us alone. You, CATF, the government - just leave us alone."

"You'll move where?" JJ asked.

"The Canary Islands," Jen told him.

"The Canary Islands?" JJ said with an amused, incredulous laugh. "Why there?"

Jen gave him a "that's none of your business" frown. She said, "And we get our money back. All of it. You do that and I'll get Mike to delete the virus."

"That's all you want?" JJ said with another dismissive, sarcastic laugh. "And I'm supposed to trust you?"

"Mike is smarter than you," Jen said with a hard look at him. "He's smarter than all of you. This is the only way you'll get rid of the virus. And if you don't say yes I'll go to Jasmine. She'll talk to the First Lady. He saved the President's daughters."

"And embarrassed the President with Liberty-gate," JJ reminded her. "And is now considered as dangerous a threat to the United States as ISIS."

"That's bullshit!" Jen said, her anger flaring.

JJ shrugged. In a calm, reasonable voice he said "But, I agree, your husband's been helpful. Maybe we can work with this. Mike deletes the virus, and he does it in front of my people so we can confirm it. In exchange, he's exiled. And he gets his money back. Is that the deal?"

"Yes," Jen said. She waited anxiously as JJ thought about it.

Finally with a shrug JJ said "I suppose this works. I'll take it to the President." He stood up and offered his hand to seal the deal.

Jen looked at JJ for a long moment, studying him. She was surprised he was agreeing to everything, and so fast. Still, she was getting everything she wanted. "Okay," she said. She stood up and took his offered hand. JJ wasn't a big man, but Jen was tiny, so her small hand disappeared in his.

JJ's hand closed on hers. He pulled her closer. "The President's more likely to agree if I recommend he agree," he said, a lustful smile on his face. He caressed her silky soft palm with his thumb.

Jen jerked her hand away, glaring at him.

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

Later JJ met with Mitch. He handed the assassin a single sheet of paper.

Mitch looked at the paper. It was a kill order. "Why?" he asked frowning.

"You know why," JJ said in a hard voice. "Mike Andrews is a liability. He'll delete the virus. Then you'll do it, after he gets to the Canary Islands."

"The Canary Islands?" Mitch asked. JJ shrugged like that was an irrelevant detail.

Mitch looked troubled as he re-read the order. But he knew it was dangerous to oppose JJ. The President and other elected officials, they just occupied space. They were temporary wall ornaments. But JJ was a lifer. His reach was long. He was dangerous and vindictive. You didn't cross JJ. So Mitch nodded at JJ and put the paper in his pocket.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Cheating and Rivals Pt. 82

Cheating and Rivals Part 82 (the last chapter of this story)

Jen took a shower after getting home, standing under the hot spray of water for a long time. Then she dressed in a casual top and yoga pants. Her pretty feet were bare. After putting Anna down for the night she told Mike about her meeting with JJ.

Mike was shocked. "You want to move?" he asked.

"I want us to move away," Jen said, emphasizing us. "Like we used to talk about. Remember? We talked about moving to Penn State."

"The Canary Islands aren't Penn State," Mike said. Frowning he said "You're running away from Ricky."

"We need to be just us again Mike," Jen said pleadingly. "After everything that's happened. We need ... I don't know ... a sabbatical. Just us. We need to reconnect."

"Because if Ricky's around, you want to be with him," Mike said with bitter sarcasm.

"No Mike that's not true," Jen insisted, taking his hands in hers.

"That's how you are, right now!" Mike snapped.

"That's why I want to move away!" Jen said, pressing his hands in hers.

"So you're running away!" Mike yelled, his voice full of emotion. His insides were churning. And the churn would never end, the angst and doubt and jealousy would never end, not this way. "I can't live that way Jen. I'll always know you want Ricky more than me. I'll know the only reason you're still with me is because we moved away." His voice quivered with emotion and his eyes teared up.

"That's not true Mike!" Jen insisted, her eyes tearing up too. "I know you think that. That's why we have to go away. So you'll see it's not true."

"That makes no sense!" Mike yelled.

"It does baby, it does!" Jen said desperately pulling him to her and hugging him.

Later they were in bed, making love. Jen was on top. She was leaning over, resting on his chest, her arms around his neck. She softly kissed him as she slowly rocked back and forth. "It would've been better if I told you about LA before playing with Ricky again," she admitted between kisses. "At some level though, it turns you on, what happened, right?" Jen kissed him again. "Like, if I told you a year ago ... before all this happened ... it would've gotten you hot. Ricky asking me to leave you for him. Right? Because that's what your cuckold fantasy's about really."

Jen knew she was right because she felt Mike's hard cock jerk inside her. But she also saw the hurt and agony on his face.

"Fantasy only goes so far," Mike said sullenly, voicing the emotions on his face.

"I know baby," Jen said soothingly with another soft kiss on his lips. "I'm just saying, if I told you before all this happened, LA wouldn't be bad hurt so much, right?"

"Yeah I guess," Mike admitted. He looked into her pretty face and caressed the soft sides of her small perfect breasts as she slowly moved up and down on him.

"You'd probably ask me to tell you over and over," Jen said with a knowing smile. "Ask me what I did, what I said, how I felt, right? Especially what I was feeling. It'd get you so hot and it'd be good hurt, not bad hurt. You'd be all over me. Probably we'd fuck like rabbits for weeks. Months."

"I don't get what you're saying," Mike said confused.

"That's why we're going away baby," Jen told him. "To get back to that. Where Ricky's just a hot memory."

"You're not making sense!" Mike said, frustration, hurt and anger in his voice. "Ricky's not a memory! You're with him again! Right now! You love him! You're pregnant with his baby Jen!"

"And I know to you, all that really matters," Jen said calmly and soothingly with another soft kiss to his lips. "But to me, all I care about is you. That we're together. And Anna's alive. And I'm pregnant with YOUR baby and this time you're with me. That's all I care about Mike. And Ricky's not part of any of it. I know you don't see it now. But you will. That's why we're going away."

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

"Canary Islands will be good for Anna," Jen said later as they lay on their sides looking at each other. "It's hot all the time. We'll buy a house with a pool. You know she's like a fish. Her hurt leg won't matter so much in the water."

In the end that decided it for Mike. He still felt like he was winning Jen only by default. That she was staying with him only out of a sense of guilt and obligation. But he would do it for Anna.

"JJ agreed that easy?" Mike asked the next day as Jen recounted the conversation again. "I delete the virus. They leave us alone. They give us back the money. He agreed to all that?" He looked surprised, incredulous even.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Jen said. "But he did, he promised to recommend it to the President." She glanced away, avoiding her husband's eyes.

Mike stared at Jen, studying her.

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

A few days later, Jen was with Ricky. She told him she was going away, with Mike and Anna. And with the unborn baby inside her.

Now Ricky was fucking her. Jen was on her hands and knees and he was fucking her from behind. He was pounding her so violently she squealed with each thrust, each explosive thrust hammering her pretty face into the mattress. It was like he was punishing her pussy for leaving him.

Jen came on his cock. Her slim fingers desperately clawed at the sheets as Ricky pushed her over the edge. Her pretty toes curled in her spikey high heels as orgasmic pleasure flooded her sexy body. She moaned and whimpered into the pillow as Ricky fucked her through her orgasm, extending the delicious pleasure for what seemed like forever, as if wanting to forever imprint into her heart and soul what he was able to give her body (and what Mike could not).

Then Ricky flipped Jen over onto her back. He pushed back in, connecting their bodies again. Now they were making love, not fucking. "You can't leave me," he said, looking into her eyes.

"I have to," Jen said looking back.

"Mike can go," Ricky pleaded. "Stay with me."

"I can't."

"Just part of the time."

"No Ricky I can't do that."

Finally Ricky came. As always he came a lot, and the feel of his powerful ejaculation inside her made Jen gasp.

Afterwards Jen hurriedly untangled her body from Ricky's. "I've got to get home," she said as she smoothed her stockings and wiggled back into her dress.

"When are you leaving?" Ricky asked. He looked resigned and sullen.

"Soon," Jen said looking at him. She brushed her hand through her long blonde hair. She pulled the skirt of her dress down. "A few weeks."

"You don't even care ...," Ricky said, his voice trailing off with emotion.

"I care Ricky," Jen said, moving to him and stroking his cheek. "But you knew from the start. I told you. Just fun, remember?"

"God you're a heartless bitch," Ricky snapped angrily. "You're doing it again. Dumping me. Just like that. Over."

"I have a husband and daughter," Jen reminded him. "You knew that going in. I never promised anything. Not even once."

"But what about this?" Ricky asked, touching her stomach.

"We don't know for sure," Jen said. She said pleadingly, "Don't do this Ricky. Let's stay friends."

"Friends ...," Ricky said, distaste in his mouth, like it was a four letter word.

"Friends is a good thing," Jen said, affectionately running her hand through his hair. "We'll see each other again. Maybe next time you'll be married, and we'll smile at each other and remember the fun times."

Ricky laughed at the idea, although it was without any humor.

"You never know Ricky," Jen said, still running her hand through his hair.

"I saved you. I saved Anna," Ricky said. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"It counts for a lot Ricky," Jen said softly, kissing him on the lips. "It does," she said, kissing him again. "I'll always remember what you did," she said, kissing and hugging him.

"I love you," Ricky said sounding heart broken.

Jen didn't reply. But she kept hugging and kissing him, and she felt her eyes tearing up.

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

Mike was at home, moments after Jen left for her "errand." She promised it would take no more than a couple hours. He looked anxiously at the clock, wishing she was already home. He wanted her to be just his again. But would she ever be? Or would her heart always be divided between him and Ricky?

At the moment Mike was troubled by more than that. He went into Jen's closet and looked in her hamper. He found her dress from the other day, when she met JJ. Jen's clothes always fascinated him. Mike was able to scrunch up the dress and almost hold the entire thing in the palm of his hand. How was it possible this tiny, filmy swatch of material was able to cover up her sexy body?

Mike pressed the dress against his nose. He smelled his wife. The vanilla and strawberry of her shampoo. The floral scents of her perfume. The sweet, delicious scent of Jen. He loved the smell of his wife.

Mike frowned. Was there something else too, in her perfumed dress? He inhaled again and his frown deepened.

*********

As she promised, Jen returned home within a couple hours. Mike was waiting for her. Anna was in bed, already asleep for the night.

"You okay?" Jen asked, sitting down next to him on the sofa.

"Yeah," Mike said, running his eyes up and down her body. She looked devastatingly beautiful. Achingly beautiful. "How was your ... errand?" he hesitantly asked.

"You want to talk about it?" Jen asked.

"... yes," Mike said after a moment's hesitation.

Jen scooted closer on the sofa and laid her head on Mike's shoulder. "Ricky's not happy," she said.

"How about you?" Mike asked, an anxious lump in his throat.

Jen hesitated, then said "Would it be terrible to say I'm sad? A little?"

Mike swallowed hard. Jealousy, doubt, angst, they churned in his stomach. "No it wouldn't be terrible," he said in a barely audible voice.

"It's just ... endings are sad," Jen said, trying to explain.

"I get it," Mike said softly.

"But we're not ending," Jen said hugging his arm. "We're forever. That's all that matters."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Yeah ...," Mike said, his voice trailing off. But in that one word Jen heard his hurt and agony.

"It just a game Mike," she said. "It hurts sometimes. It's like baseball. It hurts when the Mets lose. But you get over it because it doesn't really matter."

"What about the baby?"

"The baby's you and me. And Anna. Our family. Right?"

"Right," Mike said, although there was still hurt and uncertainty in his voice.

Trying to ease the tension, Jen joked, "You know, I get bitchy when I'm pregnant. And I'm gonna get fat and ugly. So get ready mister."

"You'll always be the prettiest girl in the room," Mike assured her.

"And your goddess right?" Jen asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Yes, right," Mike said.

Jen smiled at him. She'd rather he said it, instead of her asking him, but hopefully they'd get back to that. Hopefully.

Jen leaned more into Mike's arm. She pulled his hand to her thigh. "So, you like this?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, caressing her firm thigh over the silky nylon. He edged his fingers under her dress. He felt the lace of her stocking tops. They felt moist. He tugged up the dress and looked. Her thighs were moist too. Ricky's semen, leaking out of her.

Mike was suddenly inflamed with cuckold lust. He pushed Jen onto her back and pushed her dress up to her waist. "You're not wearing a g-string," he said, seeing a thong.

"I'm not playing that game anymore," Jen assured him.

Mike pulled the thong down her long shapely legs. It was soaked with Ricky's cum. He moved up between her legs like he was going to eat her out.

"Mike ...," Jen said, squeezing her legs together. She knew Mike wasn't into cream pies (perhaps the only cuckold kink he wasn't into).

"I want to make you cum," Mike insisted, parting her legs again. He was dizzy with cuckold lust. He got onto his knees on the floor and went down on her used, messy pussy.

Mike was a master at eating pussy. He soon had Jen writhing and clutching at the sofa cushion. Within moments Jen's back arched off the sofa. She moaned as she climaxed on Mike's tongue.

Jen was panting as her orgasm subsided. "Come here baby," she said, pulling him up to her. His face was wet from her and Ricky's juices. She cleaned him by kissing and licking all over his face.

They switched so now Mike was on his back and Jen on top. Jen pulled his cock from his pants. With her skirt still around her waist, she reached down and guided him into her. She moved up and down on him.

Mike reached up behind her. He unzipped her dress. Jen pulled it down off her shoulders so now the dress was like a belt around her waist. Jen reached behind her and unsnapped her bra. She dropped it on the floor.

Mike cupped and fondled her small perfect breasts as Jen slowly rocked back and forth. "Feels good baby," Jen moaned as he gently rubbed her nipples.

"You cum on Ricky's cock?" he asked.

"Yes," Jen said honestly.

"Are you going to miss him?"

Jen stared at Mike, not answering at first. She thought about lying to spare his feelings. But she had to be honest if they were going to get through this. She finally said, "Yes."

Her one-word answer was like a knife to his heart. But at least she was telling the truth. "We'll find you a new boyfriend," he said with a grin.

"Oh we will, will we?" Jen said with a grin back.

"Probably a lot of handsome French and Spanish men in the Canaries," Mike joked.

"And British, and Italian, and German," Jen said with a grin.

"That's how you picked the Canaries?" Mike asked.

"No," Jen said honestly. "But it's where Europeans holiday. Anyways it doesn't matter. I'll be big and fat."

"And the prettiest girl there," Mike said. He grinned. "Guys like fucking pretty pregnant girls. It's a thing."

"A thing," Jen repeated with a laugh. She tilted her head and asked "So we're going to keep playing the game?"

"Yes, I think so," Mike said. "Don't you?"

Jen didn't answer. But she wrapped her arms around Mike's neck. They kissed as they made love.

~~~~~~~ The End ~~~~~~~

Epilogue (1 of 7): Mitch and Big

"What's that?" Mitch said as he sat next to Big at the bar. "Poison?" Big was staring at a tall glass of clear liquid. He looked bothered. Distressed.

"Water," Big said, pushing the icy glass away. The 2 men went way back. They were meeting at Big's request. "So during the rescue mission, Independence was active," he said. His words weren't a question, or a statement. They were an accusation.

Mitch went cold. "You heard about that," he said.

"You think it's going to stay a secret?" Big snapped incredulously. "Has JJ gone mad?"

"It wasn't just JJ," Mitch told him. "The entire Big 4."

"You know they rubberstamp anything JJ wants!" Big scoffed derisively. "They fucking implemented Independence," he said shaking his head in disgusted wonder. Then he added judgmentally, "And you went along with it."

"I don't exactly make the rules Alan!" Mitch hissed angrily. "And maybe you forgot, but we got the girls! And a good man went down for it!"

"Okay, okay," Big said, surrendering the point. They lapsed into silence.

Eventually Mitch whispered "I got a kill order. For Mike."

Big wasn't even surprised, not after Independence, not after what JJ said. "What are you going to do?" he whispered.

"I'm thinking about disappearing," Mitch whispered. "You might want to too. It's not going to stop with Mike. You know about Independence. You're a loose end."

"I've got a wife, kids," Big said looking worried.

"More the reason," Mitch said, giving Big a sympathetic look. Even without a family it was going to be hard enough for him to disappear. But with a wife and kids? JJ's reach was long; his extreme measures legendary. Mitch worried for his friend.

At that moment Mitch's phone buzzed. So did Big's. "Holy fuck," they both said, staring at the text message in shock.

JJ was dead. Killed in a car accident. His Samsung phone exploded, sending his car out of control and over a cliff. He died from the impact and resulting fire.

"How ... convenient," Mitch said, looking stunned.

"Yes, convenient," Big agreed, feeling just as shocked. They looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

Epilogue (2 of 7): CATF

"So that's it?" Maria asked as Mike finished. She was frowning.

"Yes," Mike said as he pressed a few more keys on the computer keyboard. "The virus's quarantined."

"We'll need to study the tape," Brent said. He was frowning too. It'd taken Mike less than 10 minutes to isolate and quarantine the virus. Mike made it look simple, but Brent understood less than half of it. He looked at Maria and Abraham. They looked just as bewildered. It was going to take a lot of time to study the tape and figure out what Mike did. And also study the virus itself.

Abraham was thinking the same thing. He asked, "Mike, do you mind if we call you, if we have questions?"

Mike hesitated. They were supposed to leave him alone. He was supposed to be out of CATF, completely. Then he remembered Colonel Banks and his message. Do Your Job.

"Yes, okay," Mike finally said.

"We're going to miss you Mike," Maria said, a melancholy smile on her face. "This is for you." She handed him a glass display box. Inside was the yellow tennis ball.

Mike smiled, and felt flattered. He also knew he would miss CATF. Not just Maria, Brent and Abraham, but the Young Turks and Brain Trust, and everyone else. For a while, he was part of their team. They were good people. He was proud to have worked with them.

"Thank you," Mike said, his voice hoarse from emotion. He clutched the glass box tightly in his hands.

Maria, Brent and Abraham escorted Mike out of CATF. Then, as they turned the last corner before the exit, Mike abruptly stopped, stunned. There, lining the hallway, was everyone. The Young Turks, the Brain Trust, the other engineers and scientists, the technicians. They were all there. To say goodbye.

As Mike walked the hallway, they smiled at him. There were goodbyes and wishes of good luck. Lots of handshakes. Some nodded and said "Mike." Others nodded and said "Phantom."

Once outside CATF, Mike took a moment to gather himself. Then he walked to his rental car for the drive to the airport. When he got to the car Mitch appeared.

"You forgot this," Mitch said. He handed Mike a package. Inside was Colonel Bank's gun.

"You keep it," Mike said, pushing the gun back into Mitch's hands. "Banks would rather a real soldier have it."

Mike opened the car door and was about to get in when Mitch stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He said "Because, you don't need a gun, right Mike?"

Mike stared at Mitch for long moments. Then he got into the rental and drove away.

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

Later, Maria, Brent and Abraham were clustered around a big computer screen. Big walked in and asked "So what's in the virus?"

"An incredibly complex control program," Brent said.

Big frowned. "So, what would Mike have been able to do with it?"

"We're still studying it, but probably anything he wanted," Abraham said.

"Jeez," Big said shaking his head. Then he noticed they weren't looking at the control program but something else on the big computer screen. "What's that?"

"Donald Trump's tax returns," Maria said, her eyes locked on the computer display. "They were part of the virus package."

"Mike hacked into the IRS?" Big said with a laugh.

Maria grinned. Then she motioned to the tax returns on the screen. "Trump is such a shit," she said with a disgusted laugh.

Next Up - Epilogue (3 of 7): Ricky & Chocolate

Epilogue (3 of 7): Ricky & Chocolate

Jen's iPhone rang. It was Leo. She talked to him for a few minutes. Then she hung up. "That was Leo," she told Mike.

"What'd he want?" Mike asked.

Jen hesitated, then said "They're having a ceremony, at the White House. For the people at the Ballroom Battle."