“Ah, there you are. Anne-Marie said I would find you out here tending to the cooking of tonight’s New Year’s Eve repast.”
Chuck watched Renee stride toward him across the back deck of the beach house. She was an elegant and truly beautiful woman; fairly tall, maybe five foot eight or so, with shoulder length, honey-blonde hair and smokey gray-blue eyes. She and her husband, Henri, were a little older than Chuck and his wife, Anne-Marie. Renee and Henri were maybe in their mid thirties.
“Yes indeed,” Chuck replied. “I put the prime rib on earlier so it should be ready to come off in about an hour. Dinner will be served about 7:30, right on schedule.”
Renee handed Chuck a bourbon and water; its rich mahogany color suggested a stout libation of mostly bourbon. Renee took a sip of her white wine and quipped with a delightful French lilt, “Anne-Marie said you were overdue for a refill and that I should make a whiskey cocktail and then deliver it to you.”
Renee’s spicy, and slightly earthy perfume wafted pleasantly to Chuck providing a pleasing and exotic tang in his nostrils.
Renee and Henri were from Quebec and spoke with the distinct Québécois French accent. They were part of the annual migration of snow birds to this part of northwest Florida, snow birds being the traditional local term for the Canadians who fled south for part or sometimes all of the winter. The Canadian couple arrived at their rental house next door yesterday after a several-day drive from Quebec. They had spent Christmas with family back home in Canada before departing on their sojourn to warmer climes.
Chuck and Anne-Marie observed the Canadians arrive and unpack their car about noon yesterday. Chuck and Anne-Marie strolled over, and after introducing themselves, they warmly invited their new neighbors to share New Year’s Eve dinner with them. Renee and Henri graciously accepted the offer with the proviso they would supply the dessert and wine.
Renee walked over to the grill and sniffed the titillating aromas emanating from there. She bubbled, “It smells divine; can I peek?”
Enchanted by the beautiful woman, Chuck quickly replied, “Certainly, I need to baste the meat again, anyway. I do that every fifteen or twenty minutes just to keep it moist.”
After the grill was opened, the meat basted, and the prime rib admired, Renee turned and looked out across the Gulf. The moon had not yet risen, but the clear sky sparkled with a myriad of stars. Few of the adjacent beach houses were occupied at this time of the year, and lights from what passed for the downtown of their beach village a little over a mile to the east twinkled weakly. The deck was subtly accent lighted, providing a pleasant subdued aura.
Renee sighed, “It is so beautiful and relaxing here. And warm. You don’t even need a sweater tonight.” Renee laughed, “I spoke to my sister in Quebec before we came over, and it is minus eleven degrees there. That is Centigrade, I don’t know what that is in your Fahrenheit.”
Chuck replied cheerfully, “Well, that means it is mighty cold up there; I know that much. We are having a bit of a warm spell right now. It is usually a little bit cooler than this around New Years.”
Chuck waved indicating the deck chair next to him. “Here, sit down and enjoy our delightful evening weather. What are Anne-Marie and Henri doing in there?”
Renee shot Chuck a sideways glance and an enigmatic smile before sitting down and replying, “Oh, they are organizing the rest of the feast for tonight and who knows what. Henri loves to play chef. He will do a magnificent creme brulee for us for desert, so be sure to save room. This morning Anne-Marie told me you two own this house and are not renters. It must be an absolutely delightful place to live.”
That morning the couples had bumped into each other while walking on the brilliantly white sand beach alongside the Gulf of Mexico. They decided to continue the mile or so to the seaside village. There they enjoyed a pleasant lunch of the local fish chowder accompanied by a French baguette and a bottle of Sancerre. The weatherbeaten fish house where they ate looked dilapidated but served extraordinary local seafood fare and kept a decent wine list.
Walking to and from the restaurant, the two men strode briskly ahead while they got to know one another. The two women trailed along behind the men, chatting amiably. Chuck noted Henri was tall, a tad over six feet, and his muscular build revealed that he was a gym rat. In fact, both Renee and Henri had the well toned look of serious exercise devotees. Chuck envied Henri his rugged, strong-jawed, Marlborough-cowboy look that was once popularized in old TV cigarette ads.
Henri’s manly physique made Chuck reflect unfavorably on the pudginess creeping up on him as he approached thirty. Okay, this new year he swore he really would start a vigorous exercise and weight loss program.
The men’s conversation revealed Henri was a financial manager for a collection of wealthy Canadian clients that allowed him considerable freedom of time and location in his work. Renee practiced psychology in Quebec for a few years after med school. Today, she still continued some consulting with an old university friend in private practice. However, she devoted increasing amounts of her time to a thriving writing career.
Chuck, in turn, informed Henri that he and Anne-Marie were childhood sweethearts from Milton, Florida, twenty miles or so inland to the north; they both attended Florida State and married as soon as they graduated. He was a financial manager for a technology firm in downtown Pensacola. Anne-Marie taught at the local elementary school in the beach village.
Chuck shifted from his reflections on this morning’s walk back to Renee’s question on the beach house. “Yes, we are year-round residents. Not too many of us here. During the summer they call this the Redneck Riviera, and we are jammed. In exchange, winter is delightfully tranquil.”
Chuck was mesmerized by Renee’s beauty and cosmopolitan charm and had been since they met yesterday. He was anxious to keep her attention and stammered on, “The house was left to us by my grandparents when they passed away a few years ago. Grandpa was a paving contractor in Milton and made quite a bit of money when I-10 was built back in the 60s and 70s and then he expanded into building construction. He used his own crews to build this house about fifteen years ago: reinforced concrete, impact resistant glass, reinforced metal roof, whole-house generator, five feet above the hundred-year flood… Grandpa did everything he could think of to make a solid, hurricane-resistant house.”
Chuck was delighted to see Renee was paying rapt attention to him. He went on more confidently now, “We were working in Pensacola across the bay when my grandparents died. My sister and her husband live in Galveston, and my brother is in DC.” Chuck shrugged and finished with, “So we were the obvious ones to inherit the beach house, but the whole family has a standing invitation to come visit whenever.”
Renee smiled graciously, “It sounds like a family treasure. It is certainly a unique and beautiful setting.”
Chuck, still ill at ease in the presence of such a stunning woman who seemed to hang on his every word, continued nervously, “Anne-Marie says that you will only be our neighbors for a month and then you are off for another month in St. Augustine. That is very different from here, but a lovely town. I am sure you all will enjoy it.”
Renee graced Chuck with a dazzling smile, “Yes, we are looking forward to St. Augustine. We have reserved a cozy cottage in the old city. It should be fascinating.”
Renee took a sip of her wine and explained further, “This is only our second year to be Canadian snow birds fleeing to the American South. Last year we tried Marco Island and Boca Raton but found them a little crowded for our tastes. This is much more restful here. Next year we thought about trying Texas, but that’s such a long drive. I think we will just stick to this part of Florida.”
Chuck wanted to know more about this glamorous woman and plunged on, “Henri told me you are a novelist now. I am afraid I am unfamiliar with your work.”
Renee chuckled, “Oh, I write in French so you would not have run into my novels. My fans are in Canada and France primarily. My publisher is after me to do my next book in English for the U.S. and Anglo-Canadian market to make more money. We will see.”
Chuck inquired obsequiously, “What do you write about? I might have to give your first book in English a try.”
Renee laughed easily and fanned herself in mock embarrassment. “Oh dear, I write sexy thrillers with a psychological twist. The sex sells the books, and psychology is my actual trained profession.”
Chuck smiled ingratiatingly and exclaimed loudly, “How intriguing! Well, I most certainly look forward to reading your first English edition.”
Renee smiled back politely, “I will send you an autographed copy; when I get it written, that is. Actually, my psychology background really helps with character development, and I still do some consulting with an old friend. She specializes in marriage and couples therapy.”
Renee shook her head laughing, “Heaven knows that provides bountiful new material to work with. People are always fascinating, especially when men and women and sex are all intertwined together.”
At that moment, a long feminine giggle drifted from the sliding glass door that led back into the house and that Renee had neglected to shut. A woman’s voice purred, “Oh yes, honey, oh yeees, that’s it.”
Chuck sat bolt upright, spilling some of us drink. “That’s Anne-Marie! What…”
Renee smirked and put her hand on Chuck’s arm to stem his rise. “Oh my! Anne-Marie did not talk to you like she said she would; did she? Goodness, this is awkward.”
Chuck looked at Renee in bafflement. “Talked to me? About what? No. What is going on here?”
Renee beamed a warm smile at Chuck cooing, “Now, now, don’t get excited. Take a sip of your drink, and I’ll explain everything.”
Renee set the example with a sip of her wine. Chuck looked at the beautiful woman suspiciously but followed suit with a hefty slug of his drink. The burning bite of the bourbon seared his senses as he tried to rationalize the enchanting Renee’s calmness that starkly contrasted with his wife’s symphony of happy, carnal cries emanating from inside the house.
Renee swished her blonde hair while leaning toward Chuck keeping her hand intimately resting on his arm. “Now dear, Anne-Marie and I got to talking pretty candidly on our walk this morning. You see… Oh goodness this is so embarrassing.” Renee took a deep breath and continued in a sensual, conspiratorial whisper, “You see, when Henri and I meet a compatible couple with whom we really click, and we are far from home where nobody knows us… well, Henri and I like to… you know, kinda swap partners for a little fun. Some naughty fun to be sure.”
Renee watched Chuck very intensely, gauging his reaction to her announcement.
Chuck stared slack jawed without a sound for several seconds. Then he blew out a long breath, and muttered a slow, noncommittal, “Okay.”
Renee smiled brightly at Chuck patting his arm while continuing to explain with feigned nervousness, “Anne-Marie and I were, you know, talking about this, uhm swapping partners. And, well, she was really excited about the idea. Said you two had thought about it too. You never have tried it though. So she said you two would finally give it a whirl. Said she would talk to you and be ready this evening. Sorta a New Year’s Eve adventure to start the year with a bang, so to speak. So, well…” Renee waved her hand vaguely toward the house where Anne-Marie was producing a steady chorus of happy groans, yelps, and moans.
Chuck felt like he had just been sucker punched. The ground was tilting, and he felt on the verge of falling. He and Anne-Marie had talked about sexual fantasies, certainly. Anne-Marie was a fun, unabashed bedroom partner to be sure. Somewhere along the way, they probably talked about other partners – as a vague fantasy, not for real. Obviously Anne-Marie had thought about it mre than she had spoken about it. Certainly, she had said nothing resembling what the racket from inside his house implied was happening to his wife in there.
Chuck stuttered, “I didn’t know anything; she never said…” He stopped in abject confusion and embarrassment.
Renee shifted her chair closer and patted Chuck’s leg consolingly. Chuck noted the maneuver shifted her blouse to reveal more of the luscious swell of her unfettered breasts. Her perfume swirled around him in a tantalizing cloud.
“Now, now,” Renee comforted, “If you didn’t know, it must be a shock. Take another drink of your whiskey and take some deep breaths.”
Chuck did as she directed and in a minute recovered his composure.
Renee beamed at him, “There, there, that is better, much better. Now let’s consider this realistically like grown adults. We are only talking about a little fun, some recreational sex here among friends. Nothing serious.”
She waved toward the house from whence Anne-Marie’s ongoing lusty vocalizations flowed without pause. “Anyway, I am afraid that it is too late to change your wife’s mind at this point.”
Renee punched him lightly in the arm and teased, “Come on, don’t you want me? You are going to hurt my feelings.”
Chuck’s mind was working sluggishly trying to comprehend all he had learned in the last few minutes. God, Renee was a magnificent creature, finer than any woman he had ever been with, not that he had ever been with many. Of course he wanted to screw her. As Renee said, it was obviously too late to change Anne-Marie’s mind about sex with Henri.
Chuck smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and said decisively, “Sure, Why not? So now you and I, uhm,” Chuck waved his hand around in a vague circle.
Renee gave a delighted little laugh and bubbled, “Absolutely! Yes my dear, you get to fuck me to your heart’s content, just as Henri is doing with your wife right now.”
She went on briskly, “However, we have found it is particularly fun, and it increases the fire, if you catch my drift, when only one couple at a time has sex. The anticipation and stimulation of having to just sit and listen while your spouse is having really intense sex makes your own follow-on twice as exciting. You’ll see.”
Chuck looked at her doubtfully, “Really?”
Renee chuckled, “Oh yes, trust me. I have been down this road before. Anyway, I am a professional psychologist trained in such things. You will love it. We get to be second which is always best.”
Chuck laughed doubtfully, “Okay, if you say so. So when do we, you know.”
Renee simpered teasingly, “Oh, so now you can’t wait to get into my pants. We’ll let Henri and Anne-Marie have their fun before supper while we enjoy this delightful evening weather and eavesdrop. Everyone will be too full after this feast you and Anne-Marie are putting on to do anything robust afterwards tonight. Instead you come over to my place tomorrow at 10:00 am. I’ll send Henri to Anne-Marie at your house. Then it will be our turn to fuck like rabbits, and theirs to contemplate! It will be great. Just wait and see.”
It all sounded pretty crazy to Chuck, but he was on the verge of getting laid by the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on outside of the movies and Playboy magazine. He was hypnotized by this beguiling siren. Oh, what the heck? Chuck blurted, “Alright, I will put myself totally in your hands.”
Renee smiled smugly, “Good, Good.”
Anne-Marie’s medley of happy sounds shifted to a staccato, “Oh, oh, oh” culminating in a squeal of orgasmic delight.
Renee and Chuck looked at each other in embarrassment and then giggles convulsed them.
Renee caught her breath first and gasped out, “Oh my, somebody is certainly having fun in there!”
Chuck could only nod his head as he wiped tears of amusement from his eyes. He hoped they were tears of amusement and not something else.
Renee watched Chuck shrewdly. She thought things were going quite well. She had correctly judged Chuck as an amiable man who could be manipulated. Anne-Marie was the social dynamo of the couple and key to their behavior.
Renee had lied to Chuck. She had thoroughly researched Chuck and Anne-Marie long before leaving Quebec and developed a detailed psychological profile of each one.
Renee and Anne-Marie had not discussed swapping mates on their walk. However, Renee had observed that Anne-Marie was thoroughly captivated by Henri, as were most women. Anne-Marie kept slipping sly, lascivious glances at Henri as they all strode to and from the restaurant today. She was all but drooling over Henri at lunch but trying to be discrete about it. Neither man noticed, but Renee certainly did.
Renee surmised that since Chuck and Anne-Marie had been high school sweethearts and attended college together with quick, post-graduation nuptials, Anne-Marie’s experience with men was likely very limited. She had been married long enough now that the traditional marital seven-year itch was probably in full bloom. Teaching at an elementary school in a predominately female adult environment further limited her exposure to men. Oh yes, this girl was a plum ripe for the picking, and Henri was just the man to harvest her.
Women were fascinated by Henri and couldn’t keep their hands off of him. He was definitely male eye candy for the girls. In exchange for occasional indiscretions by Henri, Renee got to enjoy her own dalliances when she wished also. They didn’t over do it, just enough to spice things up.
Tonight when Henri and Renee first arrived at Chuck and Anne-Marie’s, they reversed the story that Renee told Chuck and tailored a different story for Anne-Marie’s consumption. While Chuck was isolated and alone on the back porch, the pitch to Anne-Marie was that Henri and Chuck had discussed swapping partners. Chuck was the one that agreed enthusiastically to the proposition.
Anne-Marie bought the tale hook, line, and sinker. After all, getting laid by Henri was what she had been fantasizing about all day. And then it turns out that her husband said it was okay. It was all just too good to be true!
Anne-Marie’s response to the mate swapping proposition had been a quick and enthusiastic, “Sure, if it’s okay with Chuck, absolutely yes!”
As Anne-Marie and Henri began to get aquatinted on the couch in the den, an amused Renee watched while she fixed Chuck’s drink. Things were heating up nicely on the couch when she exited to deliver Chuck’s drink on the deck. Now twenty minutes later, Renee and Chuck sat in the pleasant evening air smiling and giggling at each other as they listened to the amorous pair inside.
Anne-Mare was enthusiastically purring, ‘Oh yes, baby. Oh yes. Come on. That’s it. Oh God, that’s good.”
The night air began to reverberate with the rhythmic slap of flesh on flesh. Henri was grunting with effort as he enthusiastically plied Chuck’s wife, and she responded with matching passionate effusions.
Chuck’s attention was riveted on the open door from which his wife’s lusty cries wafted. Renee watched him intently, in a manner somewhat akin to a cat watching a mouse trapped in its paws.
Renee whispered silkily, “When Henri studied economics at the Sorbonne in Paris, he supported himself back then as a male fashion model and popular gigolo to the elite. He was quite popular with actresses and rich trophy wives of Parisian society. Your wife is getting the fucking of a lifetime in there by a consummate professional.”
Chuck did not respond, but Renee knew her verbal barb sank deep into sensitive male flesh.
Finally, after what seemed an interminable period of steadily escalating passion from inside the house, Henri gave a bellow as he came inside Anne-Marie. She answered with her own primeval cry of pleasure.
Renee chuckled, “Mercy me, that certainly sounded productive. I can hardly wait until tomorrow.”
Chuck found himself almost painfully aroused by the erotic performance by Henri and his wife and, of course, by the beautiful Renee sitting next to him and flirting unabashedly. “Well then, perhaps we should…”
Renee playfully cut him off with a finger across her lips, “Hush. Don’t tempt me. No, we will stick to the plan. That will be better.”
Anne-Marie’s voice interrupted them. “What is this? The door is open. Have you two been eavesdropping on our X-rated performance the whole time? Shame on you. Can’t a naughty wife have any privacy any more?”
A laughing, naked Anne-Marie was standing in the doorway looking out at them on the deck. Her hourglass, feminine figure was silhouetted erotically by the lights behind her. She was a petite woman but not a beauty in the Hollywood mold. She presented more the cute, wholesome, girl-next-door look. Her bubbly, outgoing friendliness and good humor combined with her pleasing physical looks to make an altogether delightful woman.
Chuck was taken aback and suddenly felt unsure of himself and was at a loss what to say to his freshly laid wife.
Renee rescued the potentially awkward scene with a laugh and exclaimed, “So my dear, what do you think? Are you a very satisfied woman now? It certainly sounded so.”
Anne-Marie replied enthusiastically, “Oh yes indeed!” She glanced at Chuck curiously, “Well honey, that was really something. Guess it is your turn to give it a whirl tomorrow morning.”
Chuck could only nod and mumble, “Yeah, that’s the plan.”
Anne-Marie laughed good-naturedly at her husband’s embarrassment. She was amazed her conservative husband had gone for this. She was even more amazed she had, but that Henri… Oh my goodness, his performance was even better than the package promised.
Anne-Marie shifted into a business-like tone. “Well, the meat should be about ready to come off the grill soon. Chuck can you tend to that shortly, and in a little bit, you can carve for us. Renee, could you pop the bread in the oven in about ten?”
She contemplated her disquieted husband with a bold, amused gaze and announced with a lascivious grin, “After that fucking I just had, I am absolutely starving.”
Anne-Marie turned and started down the hall calling back to them chuckling, “Henri is taking a shower in the guest bath. I will grab one in our bedroom. I would love to help Henri but suspect we would be late for supper, if I did!”
Renee and Chuck watched in bemused silence as the naked, happy Anne-Marie sashayed down the hall to the rear of the house.
They looked at each other conspiratorially as Chuck commented wryly, “Well, I think my wife certainly had fun.”
Renee whispered thoughtfully, “Oh, she most certainly did. Of that, I am quite sure.”
Renee finished her remaining wine in one gulp and set the glass down on the adjacent table. She said quietly and firmly, “Chuck, I am afraid I have not been totally honest with you.”
Chuck turned to her in surprise, “What? What do you mean?”
Renee gave him an insincere smile, “Let me explain. My friend Jean, the psychologist with whom I consult upon occasion, enlisted me to help her with a research grant from the Canadian government that she was awarded several years ago. The grant is to collect and analyze data on the mental health effects of adultery.”
“Adultery,” Chuck said slowly and suspiciously.
Renee bobbed her head enthusiastically, “Yes, that’s right, adultery. We accumulated plenty of case studies and data for everything but need one more specific type of case study data.”
Chuck stared hard at Renee and said quietly, “And that would be…”
Renee stared quietly back at Chuck without blinking, “The case of an adulterous wife who is having sex with another man and her husband is unwilling or unable to prevent it. For this data set we need for the wife to have sex without the husband’s encouragement and for it not to be in a tit-for-tat arrangement. It needs to be one of the classic cuckold situations, so to speak. However, to set the base guidelines, we need cuckolded men who have no fetishes along that line – we are looking for the so-called typical male response to being cuckolded. You are case study number three. One and two, we did last year, and four we will do in St. Augustine next month.”
Chuck shook his head angrily, “Renee, you are out of your mind. Anne-Marie and I will never be part of that.”
Renee smiled compassionately, “Ah my dear, I am afraid you already are. Anne-Marie thoroughly enjoyed the first step, and I am sure she is looking forward to more. You sat here and passively listened the whole time your wife was getting fucked. I am looking forward to doing some psychological testing and interviews to get your mental state and reactions to it all.”
“We were tricked. It is not fair. We are done with this nonsense.”
Renee laughed, “Oh Chuck, come on, let bygones be bygones. Besides this is for science and the good of society.”
Renee’s voice hardened, “Anyway you really have no choice. This is like Thucydides’ ancient Melian dialogues with Athens. I have the power; you can do as I say or suffer the consequences. Fairness doesn’t matter.”
Chuck looked at Renee in bafflement. “What are you talking about? You have no power over us.”
Renee smiled smugly, “Oh, I don’t know about that. I did my research before arriving. You and Anne-Marie were hand picked for your roles months ago. Let’s consider a few things.”
She held up one finger, “First, in the long run, how will that delightful but very traditional wife of yours feel about you sitting here listening to her fuck another man, and neither trying to stop her nor doing anything about it. If done in the cause of science, now, that might be a mitigating circumstance.”
Renee popped up a second finger, “As you mentioned, this is the Redneck Riviera, a much more conservative bible-beltish part of Florida than further down the peninsula. How will all of your friends and colleagues feel about your wife cuckolding you while you listened. You will be the laughing stock of the county. Not her, just you. Such is the fate of the cuckolded husband in our society.”
Renee raised another finger, “Third, you are on the vestry of your church, and Anne-Marie teaches the high school girls Sunday school class. What do you think will happen when the tale of the adulterous wife and her cuckold husband listening to his wife’s enthusiastic antics with another man becomes known around town and the church?”
“And finally and most damaging of all,” Renee raised a fourth finger, “Your political aspirations. You are an elected county commissioner and have done very well. Senator Finch is retiring and has already talked you into running next November to replace him in the Florida Senate. You two plan to announce this next month. With his endorsement you will be very competitive.”
Renee shrugged and exclaimed expansively spreading her arms wide, “Who knows? By the time you are forty you are likely to be governor or maybe a representative in Congress in DC and eventually maybe even a U.S. Senator.”
Renee’s voice hardened as she said slowly, “And all of that goes down the drain, if word of your wife openly cuckolding you leaks out. Poof, that would be the end of your political aspirations. After all, remember what just happened when word got out about poor Reverend Falwell watching his wife have sex with a pool boy. And one he paid to screw his wife no less.”
Renee sighed and urged earnestly, “Come on Chuck. The Melians defied Athens. The men were all killed, the women were raped, and then the surviving women and children were sold into slavery. Being right accomplished nothing. Fairness and justice failed to come to their aid. Just cooperate with us in the study and everything will be great.
Chuck stared at Renee in silent stupification.
Renee continued placatingly, “Look, your wife will certainly enjoy herself, as you just saw. No harm done. We are all adults here. Tell you what, we will even kick in $5,000 to the PAC for your political campaign just to sweeten the offer. We are authorized to provide financial compensation for being an experimental subject in difficult studies like this.”
Renee waved dismissively saying forcefully, “Then we will be out of your life. That money will give you the assets to kick off your campaign early and attract more funding.”
Chuck grunted without enthusiasm, “Right. And what keeps you from continuing the blackmail in the future?”
Renee nodded and smiled knowingly, “Very good point. If you and Anne-Marie voluntarily participate in the study, my colleague Jean and I are doctors, so your privacy is absolutely protected by law in both the U.S. and Canada. The data will be anonymous when released, and only Jean and I will know your true identities. For us to reveal your identity to anyone would bring draconian government retribution, loss of licences, and maybe even prison time.
“If you do not participate?” Renee threw her hands up in the air, “Voila, no protection. The town has hot new gossip to enjoy, and your reputation and political career are in the toilet.”
Chuck stared stonily at Renee for several minutes while she returned his stare with a calm, cherubic smile.
Finally, Chuck whispered, “I really don’t have a choice, do I?”
Renee stared at him eye-to-eye and slowly shook her head no.
Chuck released a long, drawn-out sigh, “What do I have to do?”
Renee smiled happily, “Great. You actually don’t have to do anything much really. Your wife, on the other hand, will be quite busy! We have the whole case study test protocol already worked out.
“Okay! Tonight, we just go along as though the partner swap is real. Tomorrow, you come over to my house as planned, and Henri will return here to Anne-Marie. They are nominally supposed to behave themselves. However, I’m sure Henri will have no trouble convincing your wife to lift her skirts for him again.
“Anyway at that point, I will give you some psychological tests and do in-depth interviews about how you feel about Henri having sex with your wife tonight and then again tomorrow while we talk. I am a very professional interviewer; soon I will know more about you than you do yourself. Your wife will think you are having sex with me while she is getting happily laid by Henri. Alas mon ami, that is not in the cards for you.
“For the first week, we will follow this same pattern of Henri screwing your wife and you having tests and interviews whenever Anne-Marie wants to initiate a swap. She will continue to believe you are having sex with me. Judging by tonight, I suspect there might be several so-called swaps! If she gets shy, I will nudge her along to keep going.
“The second week begins phase two. I will tell Anne-Marie she can have Henri whenever she wants; it doesn’t have to be a tit-for-tat swap. Just let me know, and I’ll send Henri right over.
“She will now begin essentially screwing Henri behind your back and taking control of her affair. From past experience studying adultery, I am sure she will not mention these extra freebies to you at this time.
“However, I will call you whenever she has sex with Henri. You and I will do a quick phone interview about your feelings and follow up with more extensive data collection when we can fit it in. Since Anne-Marie is home from teaching school by 3:30 and your return from work is usually 6:30 to 7:00, she will have ample opportunity to enjoy her indiscretions with Henri without your knowledge. Except, of course, I will call you each time she does to gauge your reactions.”
Renee continued thoughtfully, “We will see how Anne-Marie’s phase-two affair develops before starting the third and final phase which I expect will be about the beginning of the third week. At that point, you, Anne-Marie, and I will sit down, and I will explain everything. Just lay it all out there in the open.”
Chuck laughed cynically, “Boy oh boy, is that going to be interesting.”
Renee arched her eye brows and blew out a breath, “Yes, that is going to be unpredictable. It was very interesting with the two case studies last year. Anyway, I expect a range of emotions shooting through disbelief, anger, embarrassment… who knows what all. I suspect that after some initial turmoil, she will settle down. I am pretty sure she’ll end up with some combination of bemusement at the situation and anger at you.”
“Chuck exploded, “Angry at me! Hell, she is the one cheating, not me!”
Renee nodded sympathetically, “Oh, it is just human nature to blame somebody else. She will overlook her complicity in this little affair. I suspect Anne-Marie will rationalize it in her mind as some combination of you being to blame for tricking her and doing good for the cause of science. That way she can enjoy sex with Henri with a clear conscience. At this point, essentially your wife is free to continue screwing Henri, and you are forced to play the role of the unwilling cuckold but without any grounds to remonstrate against her.”
Chuck grunted, “You know I am not thrilled with my role here.”
Renee patted Chuck’s arm consolingly, “It’s for a good cause, dear, and it will all work out for the best. Let’s say we increase our contribution to your PAC election committee to $10,000, that should help.
Chuck nodded and said softly, “Doesn’t hurt, I guess.”
Renee continued in a brisk, businesslike tone, “I will start running tests and interviews with Anne-Marie during the third phase, but it is your data that is the most important for us to get. You know the…”
Chuck grumped, “Yeah, I got it. The feelings, emotions, and mental health of a normal, as yet, unwarped, husband who knows his wife is fucking another man, and he can’t do anything about it.”
Renee smiled, “Exactly, indeed you understand. This is where I expect things to get interesting. Based on the research I did on your wife earlier, I think she will get pretty bold and begin taking Henri right in front of you, just out of anger. Probably initially inviting him over while you are home and then taking him to the back to screw, sorta like tonight. However, eventually, and I may have to push her into doing this, I want her to have sex with Henri while you watch at least a couple of times during the final two weeks of the case study.”
“Oh come on,” Chuck groaned. “You gotta be kidding.”
‘No, no, it is important. I will wire you up so we can record breathing rate, blood pressure, pulse, and level of arousal while you watch. I check your arousal level manually, by the way. We have a point system for scoring the level of male arousal. We will have to film it too so that we can correlate your responses to what your wife is doing with Henri – it’s very important data.”
Chuck looked at Renee in total bewilderment and shock.
Renee laughed lightly, “Goodness me, your wife left us chores to do to get ready for dinner, and we have just been sitting here chatting away like intimate old friends. We better get cracking, if we are going to get everything done before our spouses get back from their showers.”
Renee gave Chuck a dazzling smile, “After all, Anne-Marie did say she was starving after that world-class fucking Henri provided her!”
JANUARY A YEAR LATER, TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
Renee sat sipping her coffee at the café on the ground floor of the high-rise, downtown Marriott. She waited patiently listening to the on-hold elevator music on her cell phone.
She and Henri had rented a beach house in Fort Walton Beach for their two-months as snow birds this year. Their beach house was located about two-and-a-half hours west of Tallahassee and roughly forty-five minutes east of Chuck and Anne-Marie’s beach house. They were spending a few days visiting and exploring the state capitol.
Finally, a familiar male voice came on the line. Chuck said “Hello Renee, we haven’t talked since before Christmas.”
Renee made a point to call Chuck and Anne-Marie individually every month after the case study ended just to be sure they were doing ok. Clinically, they actually did great through and after the case study. After the initial rough spots, they spoke of it with a combination of embarrassment and amusement now.
“Good morning Senator, congratulations on your overwhelming victory last November.”
“Why, thank you Renee. Your cash contribution really helped kick us into high gear early. It was the critical seed money to get us rolling. And, by gosh, that Anne-Marie took to campaigning like white on rice.”
Chuck continued, “By the way, she took off from work to attend the swearing in ceremony and the opening session this morning. She just left for home a little while ago. She has to be back to teach tomorrow. Look, I would love to chat, but I have a lunch committee meeting in ten minutes.”
Renee did not tell Chuck that she and Henri had been in the gallery and watched Chuck take the oath while Anne-Marie held the bible for him. Instead she replied pleasantly, “Oh absolutely, I won’t hold you up now. I’ll call you for our monthly follow-up counseling session in a couple of weeks.
“We have turned in our report, by the way. The technical review committee gave it unanimous thumbs up and were very impressed with the thoroughness of the data. Jeanne and I have started a paper on the results for the annual international psychology convention on human sexuality this fall.”
Chuck laughed, “Well, I guess Anne-Marie and I are famous now and fortunately anonymous.”
Renee laughed also, “Absolutely anonymous! However, I have a package for you and need a mailing address.”
“Oh, well thank you. You can just send it to my office here at the State House. For the next couple of months I will be up here during the week and home on weekends. What is in the package?”
Renee replied, “Oh, I finished my first novel in English. I have the autographed copy I promised you on New Year’s Eve, a year ago. The cover is a little racy to send to your office. How about your hotel?”
“Sure. The Exeter Extended Stay Hotel at 1112 State Street. What’s the book about?”
Renee laughed pleasantly, “It is sort of a Lincoln Rhyme meets Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The story is set in Quebec at the end of WWI. A soldier returns to his wife and resumes his duties as a police detective. He is sexually disabled by his war wounds so he allows his young wife some extramarital freedoms. In one of her liaisons, she learns of corruption at the highest levels. She operates as her husband’s Mata Hari collecting damning evidence that brings down the crooks.”
Chuck, chuckled, “That sounds very intriguing and sexy. I look forward to reading it.”
Renee replied with a smug smile, “And I look forward to hearing what you think. You might find the detective and his wife particularly interesting, by the way. Well, I better let you go to your meeting. Au revoir.”
Renee put her phone in her purse and sipped her coffee as she thought to herself. Oh yes, Chuck will certainly recognize the characters.
The detective’s feelings about his wife’s adultery and lovers are modeled on Chuck. And the wife! Goodness, she is a lusty, young minx. The interviews with Anne-Marie provided a lot of insight. But Henri had been absolutely marvelous helping her paint the novel’s vivid sex scenes based on Anne-Marie’s passionate liaisons with Henri last year. Old Chuck is about to learn a lot he didn’t know about that hot little wife of his.
Renee had shared the book with her women’s book club last week. They were scandalized and delighted by the paradoxical hero and heroine.
Anne-Marie shot in the front door of the hotel at a brisk pace. She locked eyes with Renee sitting in the café. Anne-Marie waved and smiled but did not break stride as she strode to the elevators.
Renee smiled and waved back while chuckling to herself. That filly was in heat and all but breaking into a gallop. Well, Henri was waiting for her on the fifth floor to play the stud stallion and would fully service all of her needs.
Renee and Anne-Marie would meet later for a cocktail in the café at five; they had become close friends over the last year. After her torrid afternoon tryst with Henri and companionable cocktail with Renee, Anne-Marie would dutifully hurry home. There she would resume her cloak of chaste senator’s wife, Sunday school teacher and role model for young women, and popular elementary school teacher.
Renee thought back to when she and Chuck sat down with Anne-Marie on the deck of their home at the start of phase three of the study. Renee explained what was really going on. She emphasized the scientific nature of the study and neglected to mention the blackmail and PAC contribution.
Anne-Marie had been horrified, then angry at being tricked, and as predicted she was furious with Chuck. After an initial explosion, she sat in icy silence for a full five minutes thinking and trying to make sense of the crazy situation.
Then Anne-Marie stood up abruptly and gave her husband an angry glare. Then she turned her hot gaze on Renee saying spitefully, “Okay, I’ve sold my soul to the devil. Call Henri and tell him to come over and fuck the ever-living daylights out of me. I’ll await him in my bed. You go right ahead and interview the hell out of my husband!”
As Anne-Marie stomped off in a fury to the bedroom, she called back to her husband, “And remember dear, you got me into this. It’s all in the name of science, you say!”
Renee chuckled at the memory of that encounter. Oh, that girl was some kind of mad. After a very noisy hour in the bedroom with Henri, Anne-Marie sent Henri back to Renee with a message to meet her the following day on the deck to discuss “the situation.” Then Anne-Marie stormed out without a word. She spent the night at a motel, leaving a very unhappy Chuck to stew in his juices alone.
Renee met a much more composed Anne-Marie the following day after Anne-Marie arrived home from teaching school. They sat sipping glasses of wine on the deck in the sunshine of a pleasant north Florida winter afternoon. Renee waited patiently for Anne-Marie to begin.
Anne-Marie snorted and flashed a sardonic grin at Renee. “Well! In all my born days, I would never expect to be sitting here in this situation. Having a glass of wine with the woman whose husband I am screwing with the grudging acquiescence of my husband.
Renee nodded and said quietly, “I understand. It is quite an unusual situation you find yourself in.”
Anne-Marie stared at Renee for a moment and grunted, “Humph… I am starving; I missed lunch today.”
Anne-Marie went to the kitchen and rooted around in the pantry. She returned and sat down in her deck chair and placed an opened can of mixed nuts on the table between her and Renee. Anne-Marie took a handful of nuts and said, “Have some.”
Renee dutifully took a handful of nuts and sat back watching Anne-Marie with an enigmatic smile.
Anne-Marie took a large sip of wine and leaned forward towards Renee. “Now, let me make sure I have this straight. You and your colleague back in Quebec are conducting a government study on the effects of adultery on mental health. You need to develop data on the effect of a wife cheating on a normal husband, whatever in God’s name one of those might be. And the husband knows about the infidelity and can’t stop it. Is this right?”
Renee nodded her head and answered quietly, “Yes, that is right. It is an important piece of data. Depending on the source of your data, twenty to forty percent of divorces cite infidelity as the cause. The actual percentage is likely much higher and hidden behind terms like irreconcilable differences. It is important that we have a real scientific understanding of adultery’s effects to help couples. We can’t rely on hearsay and old wives’ tales. In developing the adultery data base we found we needed to have some solid control data on the effects of a wife’s adultery on a husband under these specific circumstances. It was a hole in our data. We could find no reliable data for this exact condition. Hence, we had to develop the data.”
Anne-Marie sat back in her chair and stared pensively at Renee who remained calmly watching Anne-Marie. Anne-Marie shook her head in disbelief, “This is mighty hard to swallow.”
Renee started to say something, but Anne-Marie waved her into silence and spit out. “It doesn’t matter. We have made a Faustian bargain now, and we are two weeks into your experiment. It is all water under the bridge at this point.”
Anne-Marie took a deep breath and said thoughtfully, “Okay, who gets what from this deal? You and your buddy in Quebec get data you need for some big sex study the government is paying you to do. You also said you would do professional papers based on this that would enhance your professional status. I can easily see your return on this effort.”
Anne-Marie gave an embarrassed grin, “Well, I certainly know exactly what I am getting out of this experiment, the best sex I have ever had.
“But then what’s Henri take? Well, he gets laid which is sometimes all the motivation a male needs to do anything. I guess he also helps his wife out in her big study, although I suspect that is far less effective male motivation than getting laid. You okay with your husband screwing me? That’s pretty odd.”
Renee smiled, “Henri and I have an unusual relationship. He supported himself as a male fashion model and gigolo to the elite when he was in the university in Paris. That was before we met. So you see, he has quite a history, shall we say. Women are very attracted to him.”
Anne-Marie hooted, “Oh honey, I can vouch for that. I just can’t get enough of that husband of yours. My toes have been in a permanent curl since New Years Eve.”
Renee smiled, “Yes, I completely understand. I long ago realized that I could never keep Henri to myself exclusively. I have an old flame, an inspector with the Quebec police, who helps me with technical details of police work for my writing. I have my flings with my old flame to roughly balance Henri’s dalliances, like with you. It works for us.”
Anne-Marie said slowly with some disdain, “Folks these days have every kind of way to live or not to live together. Mighty strange.”
Then Anne-Marie gave a sardonic laugh saying brightly, “But, of course, who am I to throw stones. I am screwing your husband, and my husband knows about it. Were you serious yesterday? Do you really want me to let Chuck watch while I fuck Henri?”
Renee smiled again, “Oh yes, that is important data for the study. I suspect you might even enjoy rubbing your sex with Henri in your husbands face at this point.”
Anne-Marie said coldly, “Oh yeah, you got that right, sister. I’ll let my husband know at supper tonight that from now on whenever you want to record data, he has a ringside seat to watch his wife the porn star get it on with the Parisian gigolo. Also, for the duration of this experiment he is on a starvation diet as far as sex goes. I will be getting plenty without his help.”
Renee nodded her head, “That actually will work well for the study. In the first two weeks we have measured a rise in Chuck’s anger, guilt, shame, and jealousy as well as growing erotic response. These increases correlate directly with you and Henri having sex. Your withholding sex and then doing the dirty deed right in front of your husband will further ratchet these emotions up. We want to measure this increased response from the increased stimulation.”
Anne-Marie looked at Renee questioningly, “Erotic response? Chuck?”
Renee chuckled and answered, “Oh yes, very definitely. Some men will be emasculated by their wife having sex with another man and feel threatened by it. However, other men, even if they are furious with the wife, find the wife screwing another man to be erotically stimulating. Chuck is definitely turned on by your sex with Henri, even though he is very unhappy about it.”
“Huh, men!” Anne-Marie snorted in bafflement.
Then Anne-Marie shifted gears, “So you all played a bait and switch on Chuck and me making us think he would get sex with you in exchange for my having sex with Henri. That’s certainly what I believed, until yesterday afternoon. Then I find out the rules are all different for some scientific study. Chuck left sitting out in the cold twiddling his thumbs while his wife enthusiastically balls your husband every time she can get her nerve up.”
She looked at Renee in bafflement, “Why’s he doing this? He’s a good citizen and all of that, but this is more sacrifice than a man would make for science. What is really up?”
Renee chuckled, “It was a fundamental stick and carrot approach. We did apply some basic blackmail to Chuck. It was just a veiled threat to let the word out that he listened at the door that first night while you so enthusiastically cuckolded him with Henri. I pointed out that such gossip would ruin his standing in the community and end his budding political career on the spot. For the carrot, we agreed to contribute $10,000 to his PAC supporting his campaign for state senator in November.”
Anne-Marie exclaimed disgustedly, “Damn his cotton-pickin’ soul. That boy wants to a be big time politician so bad he can taste it. Now he is pimping me out to whore with an ex-gigolo for $10,000.”
Renee said soothingly, “No, no, that is too harsh, Anne-Marie. We try to balance it so everyone gets benefit for participating and helping out in the study. It is for science and the good of society, after all.”
Anne-Marie chuckled as she replied with a pleasant lilting voice, “Oh no, I understand exactly what my husband has done. He’s pimping me for his political aspirations; he obviously must be a natural born politician!
Your husband has screwed me seven times so far. There are fifteen days remaining in the month. From now on, I am going to try to fuck your husband every day and twice on Sundays – more if I can muster the energy and manage the schedule.
Anne-Marie snorted, “And my husband is renting my ass out for less than I could earn as a street whore working Zaragoza Street in Pensacola. All of his wife’s sweaty effort is going to raise capital for his political campaign. What a political genius! I’ll have him know my ass is worth a hell of a lot more than $10,000!”
Renee reply was a drawn out and uncertain, “Sooo, you want to be paid too?”
Anne-Marie laughed humourously, “Oh goodness, no, not at all. We have plenty of money. No, I want to be compensated by a long term post-experiment arrangement. I want to have conjugal rights to your delightful husband once a week for the two months you all come snow birding here to Florida. I will take the payment for my participation in this little experiment in future carnal pleasure rather than filthy lucre. Don’t bother telling Chuck. This will be our little secret.”
Renee replied with a conspiratorial smirk, “I believe we can arrange that without any trouble.”
Renee watched with a smile as Anne-Marie entered the elevator and headed for Henri on the fifth floor. It had been a year since Henri had curled her toes, and Anne-Marie was wasting no time in collecting her first installment for participating in the study last year.
Renee ordered lunch from the waiter. After lunch, she would mail the book to Chuck, explore an interesting looking bookstore down the street, and return to meet a, no doubt, very sated Anne-Marie for a cocktail at five.
Renee sipped her coffee and laughed. Renee the scientist got her data, and Renee the woman got her time with her old flame, the inspector. Anne-Marie was getting her lights fucked out by Henri who was delighted with his part of the arrangement. And Chuck, well, he pimped out his wife for a political contribution that led to his winning his coveted political seat in Tallahassee.
Ergo, everyone got what they wanted most. All is well that ends well.