The Business Deal – Part 17 – [MF][MF][Seduction][Cheating][Non-Consensual Consent][Swapping]

Part 17

He saw her face and he lost all semblance of control and reason. They looked at each other for a brief second and he strode quickly to her, sweeping her into his arms. He held her tightly against his body as her arms wrapped around his neck and buried her head. Her hair, his natural aroma, the feeling of her hands on his skin, the strength in his arms. They were together at last.

Tami’s body shook and heaved against Jon’s, whose own body held back heavy sobs and labored breathing. Her tears flowed down his neck and onto his chest.

“I love you Tami. I love you I love you I love you oh my god I love you.”

“I love you too Jon, my Jon.” Tami was able to say between choked cries.

They held each other for a long time, losing track of the minutes. No one dared talk first in order to not break the spell, the perfect silence. They knew they had so much to discuss, so to break the embrace was to give in and surrender to the inevitable conversation they would have to have today.

It was Tami that gave in and loosened her grip around Jon’s neck. He reluctantly released her slowly, but kept his hands at her sides and stared into her eyes.

“It’s good to have you home,” he said.

“It’s good to be home. All I wanted was to come back to you, to here.”

“Yes, I needed you back. Wanted you back. I love you.”

They held each other again, but only for a few seconds before Tami let go and took Jon’s hands in hers.

“I know we got a lot to talk about and we will, and I know I just got home and want to see you, but I really need a shower. Alone please, can you give me a little time?”

Jon was slightly taken aback, but what could he say? Force her to talk? Sit her down and do it all now? No, he had to let her talk on her time.

“Yeah, sure, of course honey. I’ll, uh, I’ll wait out here I guess.”

She put her hand to his cheek in a tender caress.

“Thank you, I just need to rinse off and get into my own clothes. I’ll be right back. Promise.”

“Ok.”

Tami moved slowly, but made her way to her room. It was spotless. Everything made up and perfect. She closed the door and turned back to look at the bed. She began to cry and struggled to get it under control. Not here, not now.

She picked some clothes from her drawers and walked into the master bath. The water began to flow and she stepped in. Her shower. Her home. Her space. The hot water traveled down her body and rinsed the day and her journey away. She had told Jon just a few minutes, but she stood there motionless for perhaps twenty. Finally, she shut the water off and stepped out to dry herself and change.

Jon was sitting at the dining room table, silent and blank. Tami’s heart broke at the sight, but she remained resolute. It was time to begin the discussion. She sat down across from him at the table. Jon smiled at her and extended his hand, palm facing up. She placed her hand in it and squeezed.

“I’ve missed you,” Jon said.

“I’ve missed you too,” Tami replied.

There was silence. Neither one knew how to begin the conversation and small talk eluded them. They would look at each other and then avert their eyes downward or to the side, seeking anything but to make eye contact with the other person. It’s not what either one of them imagined would happen.

Jon spoke eventually.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what grand and amazing thing I would say when you got back. Trying to think of that one thing I could say that make it all better. But I haven’t been able to think of that thing. I just keep coming back to, I’m sorry. For so many things.”

Tami looked at Jon and offered a wane smile.

“It’s alright. You don’t need to say sorry. It wasn’t your fault. It was just…circumstances I guess.”

“Pretty awful circumstances I would say.”

“Yeah, well, if we could all choose our own circumstances there would probably be a lot fewer unhappy people in the world.”

“I suppose so, but all I care about is our circumstances. And what happens now.”

“And what is it that you want to happen now Jon?”

“I want things to go back to normal. I know that may take a while but whatever we need to do to put this behind us and move forward. I’m all for that.”

“You mean just go back to the way things work? Just pretend like this never happened?” Tami looked dubious.

“Well, I know that it’s not something we just forget about but essentially yeah. I assumed we would live our lives and move past it.” Jon shrugged his shoulders, but was not as casual as he appeared.

“So, I know what you mean, but this isn’t something that we can say just happened and then we forget about it.”

“I don’t understand,” Jon said, looking concerned and confused. “You said you could do that. You promised me that’s what would happen. That you could forget about it.”

“I know that’s what I said before I left, but now being back, I don’t see how it’s possible. It ended up different than when I left.”

Jon was becoming visibly angry. He withdrew his hand from Tami’s and sat back in his chair. Tami was hurt that he broke the contact and she folded her arms across her body.

“Ok, see that’s not what we agreed on. I didn’t want you to go and you said you could forget it, it would be ‘just sex’ and you could bury it just like all those other guys and now you’re back and it’s “Oh, no, I can’t ever forget it.’ So did everything go so great that you don’t want to forget now? Is that the deal?”

Jon was letting his anxiety turn into anger and was lashing out at Tami, even though he knew this was a dangerous path and one he shouldn’t walk on. She was there, not him, but if she couldn’t forget it, why? What happened that now she can’t forget? Something must have really happened that formed such a lasting memory, and this increased his fear and nervousness about his place.

“OK, first I know what I said, but that was in the moment of thinking I’ll be back home that night. I was going to go to a hotel and then, you know, whatever, and be back in a couple of hours. Not after a weekend and… just, that.”

Tami was now annoyed and feeling her anger rise. She didn’t want to be blamed for anything. There wasn’t anything she felt the blame for, and she was not going to be called out by Jon about something that was said before it all went to hell in the car when Stephen got her.

“Second, I am not going to go into what happened. We know what the deal was and it happened. That’s it. So, OK, I guess that part I want to forget, you know, being somewhere I didn’t want to be because some old guy paid my husband a lot of money and gave him a promotion so he could fuck his wife. Not my call on that one. What I am saying is that it got way out of control and no, we are not going to forget what happened so we might as well deal with it.”

“Well, how could I forget in any case, since I’ll be seeing him every god damn day and all he’ll have to do is look and me give me a little smile and I’ll know, he’ll know, god knows who else he tells there. There’s Jon, Stephen fucked his wife, loser.”

Tami glared at Jon and was about to lay into him when something occurred to her.

“You know, what I hear you talking about first is how we should stop thinking about what happened to me, not you, how you are affected at work and made to feel bad. And yet, so far, you haven’t even asked if I’m even ok.”

Jon was struck and thought back quickly over the moments since she was home.

“What? Of course I have.”

“No, you haven’t.”

Jon thought furiously again.

“You said I love you, I miss you, and I wanted you home, but nothing was about me,” Tami said. “You didn’t ask if I was physically ok, did he hurt me, did he force me to do anything, how did today go, anything about me. You went right to let’s forget this.”

“Tami…I’m..there is no question I was concerned about you. You got home and all I could do was hold you and tell you how much I love you. I wanted more, but you asked for space so I gave that even though it was hard as hell to have you back and then immediately have you be apart. Then we sat down and I was really nervous and anxious and I’m really not thinking straight, but of course I am concerned about you. I want to know how you are. Are you ok? Did he hurt you at all?”

Jon had said this in a frustrated and fast voice. He really had thought all those things, he really did want to ask if she was ok, but he was also worried about hitting with her too much, too soon. So he held back until they were more comfortable, but he had waited too long, and then he had made it about him out of anger. He was off to a bad start.

“Thank you for your concern…now,” Tami said a little sarcastically.

“I have huge fucking concern for you, Tami. Huge! Don’t ever question me on that!” Jon said a little too loudly, causing Tami to move back a little.

“I have been a mess here, waiting, wondering, trying not to imagine you with him every second of the day…”

“Except when you were fucking Ellen or railing…Anna was it? Or having some chick rubbing her body all over you in a sticky gel? Was that when you were a mess?”

Jon’s brow furrowed into even deeper lines with anger. How dare she call him out for something that she set up.

“I did those things with Ellen because you told me to, because you wanted me to, you said trust you and god damn it, I did. I only did that because I love you and trusted you through all this.”

“Yeah, lots of trust. Well, Tami is off getting banged by the boss, guess I better go to a sex club and drown the pain away in pussy. You know, despite the whole blackmail thing, at least Stephen was concerned about me the whole time, wanting to make sure I was good and ok and enjoying myself in a perverse way. Sure he forced me there, but he sure as hell cared about me.”

Tami had crossed a line in comparing Stephen with Jon, a line she had not ever intended to cross let alone throw in Jon’s face. But it was out and she knew it was wrong. She was too angry to take it back or apologize at that point though.

Jon should have refused to take the bait, but the anger had taken him. The humiliation of everything, the absolute fear he had off going into the office on Monday. He was sick just thinking of stepping in there and having everyone look at him as if they knew what had happened, as if they had all been there with her and Stephen and had seen her do…everything with him. And now Tami saying how Stephen “cared” for her and not her own husband. So it was no surprise when he threw his worst memory and moment back at her.

“Well, thank god I cared enough to not call you when I was railing Anna.”

Tami’s eyes went wide and immediately teared up. She brought a hand to her face and could not stop the sobs from wracking her body. She stood up and put both hands to her face, turning away from Jon.

“I swear to God, I don’t know how you could have done that. At that point, I had only been with Ellen, just like you arranged, like you wanted. To actually call me when Stephen was fucking you, to let me hear that, the total and complete humiliation of it, tell me that was you caring about me then. I care more about you than you can imagine, and I always have. I always will.”

Jon stayed in his chair simmering in his anger.

They didn’t talk to each other for a few minutes as Tami got her crying under control. The distance between them was immense as they were each living in their own worlds of pain and misery and fear.

Tami finally turned to Jon, eyes red and puffy, tears along her face.

“Ok, well, I think we got all that out of our way. I probably deserved that one. But this is what I meant by saying that we can’t forget it easily. Outside of regretting every moment I spent with Stephen, I regret that moment the most. It did nothing but hurt you. Deeply. Forever. And I am truly truly sorry. Tell me you can forget that moment someday, though. Tell me that we can just move past it and forget. Tell me we can do that and I will stop saying anything else.”

Jon didn’t say a word. He would never forget it. Never forget the sound of his wife fucking another man while she casually talked with him.

“Exactly. We can’t forget certain things, and in the end, I don’t think that will end up being a bad thing. But the point is, we have to address this head on and deal with it without forgetting, not thinking it can be locked up in a box. Maybe I was wrong about that in the beginning but I was trying for anything to help you understand why this had to happen. Why I felt I had no other choice. If I hadn’t, you…you would have been…” Tami began to cry hard.

“I…did things, Jon, ok? I did them. And I can’t take them back. I can’t explain everything I am feeling. I can’t explain my pain and rage at being treated like an object. Something that was paid for and taken.”

“Tami, I…” Jon began.

“Jon, shut the fuck up for a while until I’m done.”

Jon’s mouth stayed open for a second but he closed it and fell silent, looking at the floor and waiting for Tami to continue.

“You don’t get it, you really don’t. Being a woman, being someone that men think they can own or possess. All they have to do is smile a little, take her out to dinner, show her a good time and her legs should go flying open for all the nice guys. And when you don’t do that, they get mad. They call you a bitch. Show some agency, some control, and they hate you. Have to show you your place. ‘I want that chick and I spent enough money, I am owed some tail’.” She paused and dabbed her eyes.

“And then you get the guys with power and money and boy howdy, they can get a little handsy. How they feel entitled to you. The kick they get making you do what they want, whether it’s work or in the bedroom, anything. And I’ll admit, I’ve been with those guys before, for a little while. Those bad boys, the ones everyone says to avoid but damn, they’re good in bed and it feels good at the time.”

“And one day you wake up and realize how shitty it all is. How shitty it always has been. And so you make a change. You get some control, some power for yourself and your life. Those women then have to deal with the guys who claim they are open minded, ‘she has a past but so do we all.’ Bullshit. They judge you on what you did, ‘you did this for him but not me’. Yeah well, you’re not a manipulative asshole like he was, so there’s that. They look at you like you still have all those dicks in your pussy. Like, once you get fucked by a guy a part of him always stays there. ‘Ah man, she’s been with a lot of guys, she’s used up.’ Must be hard to fuck a woman like that, when she’s got all those old dicks up her vag and in her mouth and ass.”

“Jesus, Tami…” Jon said.

“Shut the fuck up!! I’m sorry you have to hear harsh words, but these are also true words. I’ve been with other guys, Jon. I’ve had other men’s dicks in me, every part of me. For two days I had Stephen’s dick in me and I didn’t want to. But big surprise! It’s not in there anymore! It’s gone and now it’s just me here.”

Jon stood up, crying now and trying to shut the words out, and paced back and forth in the living room while Tami continued.

“Yes, Jon, I had sex with Stephen. Yes, Jon, I had orgasms with Stephen. No, Jon, having orgasms does not mean I had a great time and don’t want to puke thinking about being there. Yes, Jon, he made me talk to you on the phone. Yes, Jon, I should have stopped him. No, Jon, I wasn’t happy about it or want it. Yes, Jon, I had sex with yet another man that I wasn’t expecting. No, Jon, he didn’t ‘force’ me to. No, Jon, he didn’t hurt me. Yes, Jon, I won’t forget what he did anytime soon. No, Jon, I don’t ever want to see him again. And before you ask, no, Jon, their dicks weren’t bigger than yours.”

“Alright, fucking Christ, Tami…”

“Oh you were going to ask at some point, and if you didn’t you were always going to wonder. Guys always do. And thank God he wasn’t bigger than you because if that came out your male ego would just shatter into a million pieces. I have never had a greater lover than you, Jon, AND I have been with someone who had a bigger dick. It doesn’t…fucking…matter.”

“I was never going to ask!!” Jon shouted, while knowing damn well he had been thinking all day about how he was going to bring it up with her.

“Sure, ok,” Tami said with complete disbelief.

They stood on opposite ends of the room, not facing each other and crying softly. The silence between them was deafening.

Jon realized everything he was doing wrong by giving in to his anger and his pain. There was no place for it. His wife had helped him. Saved him. And he was lashing out at her? You stupid motherfucker, his inner voice said.

His wife. His Tami. His soul. All this pain was crippling and yet he couldn’t imagine life without her. He couldn’t imagine how he had ever lived without her. That life simply didn’t exist. At one point she was there and it was as if he had merely woken up and this beautiful woman was in front of him. He remembered the early days of insecurity from learning about her past. But, he had moved past it quickly, he had accepted it, he looked back at his life and relationships and knew he couldn’t hold anything back against her. She simply made him happy, always.

He remembered that one day when he knew for sure. They had been dating for about two months. She had gone to a party with Ellen and he was going to be there later. He got a frantic phone call from Ellen. Some drunk dude had been hitting on her and wouldn’t take no for an answer. How soon could he get there? He positively flew to the house where the party was at. It was no more than 15 minutes but it was long enough.

When he got there, two cop cars were outside. Jon raced into the house and found the two of them on a couch crying. Tami saw him and leapt into his arms and they held each other forever. Apparently, he grabbed her arm and was trying to pull her away. A couple of guys saw and got the drunk guy under control and called the cops. He was arrested and Tami was alright, shaken up but alright.

He hadn’t been there for her. He hadn’t protected her. There were feelings of guilt, but much more so, it was about wanting to always be there for her. He wanted her to never want, to never feel unsafe, to always feel loved and cared for no matter what may happen. He promised that would never happen again.

And it did. Friday. When Stephen came by and this time the guy took her away, right from under his nose. And it crushed him.

Tami heard Jon say something but couldn’t make it out. His back was to her and his body was shaking from sobs.

“Did you say something, Jon?” She asked roughly, still angry at him.

“I said I…” and he mumbled something again.

His crying seemed to be getting worse. She started to get worried. Tami took a step or two towards him.

“I’m sorry, Jon, I can’t make it out. Please tell me.”

Jon said much louder, “I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t protect you.” And he sank to his knees.

Tami rushed to his side, kneeling down by him with her hand on his back.

“Jon, please, no, that’s not it.”

“I couldn’t protect you I couldn’t protect you I couldn’t be there for you I lost you I lost you…”

Over and over Jon cried. Tami desperately tried to calm him, holding his shoulders and calling his name.

Suddenly, Jon turned and embraced her in a tight hug, crushing her against his body and placing her face against his cheek and the hot tears falling down his cheek.

“I love you Tami, I love you, I love you with all my heart…I just want you with me. I don’t ever want to lose you. I can’t lose you. I’ll do anything. Anything Tami. Please just tell me what to do. Tell me what you need. I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I love you.”

Tami lost her resolve and cried harder.

“I love you too, Jon. My dear Jon. No, please stop, I just want you too. I just need you. Please, stop. I love you.”

They were a jumbled mess for a long time, each repeating affirmations of love and devotion to each other. The rage and anger had escaped their minds and bodies finally. The bile that had built up inside released and, while the expulsion was painful, the treatment had begun. They had been lost when Tami got home. Now, Jon and Tami were beginning to find their way back, in their hearts and their minds.

Their crying slowly subsided as they remained on the floor. The darkness was closing in as no lights had been turned on before the talk began earlier. There were sniffles still, but the tears were worn out, drained from their body.

“I, uh, I’m sorry Tami. I let you down when you needed me most and then all I’ve done is made it about me which was the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever done.”

Tami held him and stroked his hair.

“I’d like to think when you bought me that Indian curry once, the night before my first job interview, was your stupidest thing ever.”

Jon involuntarily let out a snort and chuckle. Her first big job interview the next day and he thought that the night before would be a good time to have her try curry for the first time. Tami did great in the interview. She was focused, responsive, and short in her answers, because if she stayed in that chair for one more minute….well, she made it to the bathroom in time after the interview was done.

They faced each other in the increasing darkness, barely making the other’s face out.

“I didn’t protect you. I promised I always would.”

“Jon, there was nothing you could do. And in any case, it wasn’t protection that I needed. I am strong, I can protect myself. I love my knight, but I’m a warrior too. You have always made me feel strong, Jon. That’s what I loved about you. Everyone else always made me feel weaker. You….you always made me something greater than what I thought I was.”

“I’ve never known anyone like you. Ever. I don’t think I will. I don’t want to. I’m sorry if I was a little pitiful there, ‘me me me’ or whatever. I’m sorry I’m still a ‘guy’ in wanting to protect you, to keep you safe. Not trying to be sexist. You are the strongest person I have ever met, Tami.”

“Oh, Jon, I love you trying to protect me. Just, sometimes I can protect you too. Keep you safe anyway I can. I was so scared I could lose you, I…made some bad choices.”

“No, you made the only choices you could. Ellen told me. She said Stephen had some kind of files on me and said I would go to jail unless you complied.”

“Yeah, that scared the shit out of me and I just gave in. I couldn’t let him hurt you. But he’s not going to ever hurt you again, I promise. I took care of that this afternoon,” Tami said.

“What do you mean?”

“This morning…I, uh, ok part of that later…but this morning I left the house before they were awake. Told them I was going to the beach. Instead, I took a ride to the airport and connected through to come home on a commercial flight. I didn’t come home with Stephen. We were originally going to come back early as he had to go to a hotel downtown to meet up with his wife for some business thing. I went to a store and got some fresh clothes, got some lunch, and then confronted Stephen at his hotel. Played some recordings for him that I had made of him admitting he blackmailed me. Told him to lay off you and stick to the agreement. And, uh, he said….he, uh….”

Tami faltered and Jon was concerned.

“He said what, Tami?”

“He, uh, he said that he had some…videos…of us…I am so sorry, Jon, I never saw anything at all and had no idea, I am so sorry!” And Tami began to cry again.

Jon just held her tight.

“It’s ok, don’t worry. It’s ok. I understand. We’ll take care of that soon, I promise.”

“It was so embarrassing. But I stuck it on him and we are at an agreement. If he breaks it I burn him down fast. I think he will stick to the agreement.”

Jon held her. This amazing woman, this woman he didn’t deserve but still had with him.

“Listen,” Jon began saying. “Saturday night, right when we showed up at Maia’s, Ellen told me what happened, with the files Stephen had. I got out of the car and made a call to my friend Chris in IT. Remember Chris? He came over for the Super Bowl? Fixed that laptop issue you had been struggling with? He always liked you, said his wife just adored you. Well, he was pissed when I told him what was happening. No one is surprised but that, but Chris, he was pissed. So he probably broke a few computer hacking laws and got into everything of his on the network at work. He found everything. And I mean, dirty shit. Not just things like women, but embezzlement and lots of other stuff. Highly illegal, all provable, hidden, but not enough to hide from Chris. He saved it all and sent it to me”

Jon held Tami’s amazed face in his hands.

“I might have lost a battle. I am going to win the war. I’ll call him and have him find anything he created on me, and I know he can find those videos somehow. He’s a good guy, he’ll get them deleted. He said he had one password for everything so he’s an idiot in lots of ways. I will protect you because I want to, and I can. And he won’t ever hurt anyone anymore. I promise you, Tami, until the day we die I promise you.”

They hugged tight again and did not let each other go for a long time. Tami loosened her grip and looked at her husband.

“I need another shower with all this crying.”

“Of course, you go on in and I’ll get something ready for us to eat.”

“No, I need you by me. Forever. But for now, I need you to give me something that no one else could ever give me, not for any money in the world.”

“What’s that?”

“After we shower, lie down with me. Hold me. Hold your wife. Tell me you love me. And then….”

Jon held his breath. He wasn’t sure he could be so intimate right away although he wanted it more than anything in the world. They were raw, and he wanted her to feel good and safe at home first. But he would if she asked.

“Yeah? And then….” Jon asked.

“And then tell me exactly how we are going to fuck Stephen.”

Jon’s smile grew wider and wider, as he scooped his wife up and carried her to the shower.

Finishes in Part 18

Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/nq8wnx/the_business_deal_part_17