"I can't make it at 1:00, how about 11:00?" I asked Beth as she walked out the door with the papers my wife had told me to give her.
She just laughed. It was a running joke with us. They had recently installed a pool and hot tub, and her husband had wanted her to get in it naked. She was a pretty demure woman when it came to things sexual, and the fact that the six foot fence didn't block much of the view from the surrounding neighbors didn't help.
"You never want to get in the hot tub," he groused, half-drunk, one evening.
"Sure she does," I joked. "We have a standing 1:00 AM engagement, as soon as you and Traci go to sleep. Same time tonight?" I asked, redirecting my question to Beth.
It got a general laugh, part of which was the fact that everyone knew she and I were night owls, whereas our spouses liked to hit the sack before 11:00.
My wife got the biggest kick out of it, constantly joking about it. On my part, I often thought about how nice it would be if it was more than just a joke.
Beth was the prettiest of our friends. She ate horribly, including too much Coke and chocolate, but it didn't seem to matter. She was slender, with a dynamite body, that she was encouraged by her husband to display. He was always taking her out and buying her sexy, tight fitting clothes to show her off.
Her face was cute, but not stunning. She had a small gap in her front teeth, and her features were quite sharp. Her blonde hair was usually a bit disheveled in our day-to-day meetings, brought about by the efforts to keep two young boys in line, I'm sure. But she cleaned up nice, and at our outings and parties, she was always the sexiest thing there.
I'm sure I'd get disagreement from some who would argue that my wife, with her voluptuous natural figure, pretty blue eyes and big blonde hair, was the equal of any present. I'd cede the point. Let's call it a tie.
But the fact of the matter was, I'd love to do Beth, and was tempted to push the envelope way beyond anything we'd tried before.
My wife was out of town, with our daughter, for the weekend. Beth's husband was out of town on business of some sort, which had spurred a fight the day before when I'd been over visiting. Her boys had left for camp that morning, and she had declared she was going to spend the first day of her freedom just relaxing.
"Ok, eleven it is!" I called out to her, with every intention of showing up in her hot tub at that time. The new 8 foot fence made their backyard a lot more private than previously, and I knew she'd be up at that time. If things went bad, I could just call it a joke and probably get away with it.
* * *
At five minutes to eleven, I threw on my day pack and stepped out to the alley behind our homes, walking down the few houses to where Beth lived. The backyard was dark, but the lights in the house were on.
I let myself into the backyard, and walked over to the pool panel in the corner. I turned the hot-tub on, using the pool-side controls, as well as the tub lights. I took the bottle of Chardonnay out of my pack, along with two plastic wine glasses, opened the bottle, poured the glasses full, and set them down on the stone rim of the hot-tub, before climbing in myself.
It was still pretty warm outside, September in Ft. Worth tends to be that way, and the water didn't have to heat up much to be very relaxing. I looked across the yard into the large picture windows about 20 feet away, providing a clear view of the living room. Beth was clearly outlined, standing in the window looking out at me. I imagine she was trying to figure out what I was up to.
Although we didn't avoid the subject of sex in our conversations, I'd never hit on her, although she knew that I found her attractive. My wife was her best friend, and they talked every day. A day didn't go by that I didn't hear about how much she and I were alike. My wife Traci, and Beth's husband were almost polar opposites from us, and very much alike themselves.
Of late, there had been a bit of sexual tension to our conversations. The girls discussed EVERYTHING, and just as I knew that she was no longer enjoying sex with her husband, and had agreed to have sex on a regular basis to keep things civil; she knew that Traci and I were in a bit of a rut, the job, and stress, lack of exercise, and the small child restricting our sex to less than once a week.
She also knew that of all our friends, I found her the most attractive by far. She had appeared surprised by that. Two of our friends were 'trophy' wives, with the best physical attributes that money could buy. But both Beth and Traci were 100% natural, and simply beautiful.
Finally, the back door opened and she walked out to confront me.
"I can't believe you." She laughed, looking at me lounging in her back yard.
"C'mon in, the water's fine," I answered.
She looked at me oddly for a moment then turned and walked back to the house.
"Oh well," I thought, "I gave it a shot. Anything comes up I'll just laugh it off as a joke."
I drained my cup and was preparing to hop out of the tub, when Beth showed back up in a robe.
"You know, we probably shouldn't be doing this," she said, as she lowered the robe off her shoulders, revealing her sinful body in a small bikini. The size of her swimming attire hinted that she might be entertaining less than angelic thoughts herself. It was encouraging.
I didn't say anything as I extended my hand to help her step in, and then offered her a glass of wine as she got comfortable.
I refilled my glass. "It's a beautiful night for it. Just a little bit chilly and the water feels great."
"So what are you doing in my hot-tub, Alex," She asked me between sips.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Beth had started a business painting murals and designs on walls in homes, and painting personalized items. Starting slow, she was starting to pick up some business. I had helped her create her original business cards, flyers, and portfolio. She didn't really need the money, although her husband was in sales, and there were occasional tough times. I think she just liked the independence and the control over some part of her life.
"I think it's time we stepped up 'Daisies and Dinosaurs'," I told her. While we finished the bottle of wine, we discussed setting up a web-site for her, along with a business email (no more dd1098@AOL.com). We talked about some of the business she'd been getting, and taking some better photographs for the website. I was also encouraging her to raise the prices she was charging for some of her work.
