John and Ben sat in a corner of their local pub half finished pints of lager in front of them. Both guys were in their early forties, but couldn't have been more different. John was slim and although good looking, nothing out of the ordinary, Ben on the other hand was mixed race, tall and muscular. He had black hair that sat in unruly curls on the crown of his head, with a number one fade at the side.
The two friends were deep in conversation, keeping their voices low so that any other customers couldn't eavesdrop, not that there were that many customers in at 2:30pm on a wet Tuesday afternoon.
John was the more animated of the two as his friend listened to his story with deepening interest and obvious sympathy.
"I'm telling you mate, I think the bitch has healed up. She hasn't let me near her in nearly a year, "John complained, "I mean it's not the menopause, fuck she's only 38, for god-sake. She just isn't interested in sex, well not with me, or any form of intimacy for that matter."
John and his with Beth had been married for eighteen years. They met at high school and started dating when they were in there late teens. Beth had a reputation for being a bit of a wild child and there was more than one lad claimed to have fucked her in some quiet secluded place or another. When John had captured her heart, she swore that most of the tales of her promiscuity were, in her words, "A load of old bollocks," but John had always wondered.
John still wasn't sure to this day what it was Beth had seen in him. He had been painfully shy as a teenager, gauche and innocent. He had only had one other girlfriend of any note a brief affair that lasted three months, before she went off with an older lad who had a sports car. John, his confidence in tatters, had been totally amazed when one night at the local bowling alley, Beth had sidled over to him and after flirting like mad, had kissed him for the first time.
That night he walked her home and on the way they had stopped in the summerhouse in the local park and snogged like teenagers do, as she played with his decent sized cock, and he had fingered her to a noisy orgasm. From then on he was hooked and they were an item.
For a girl with a reputation for casual sex, Beth was remarkably reserved and made John wait for almost four months before their heavy petting turned into their first session of love making.
Her parents had gone away for the weekend leaving her at home. They knew John would be staying at the house and being liberal and progressive parents, had only insisted that Beth take adequate precautions. Little did her mother know that she had already taken care of that little issue and had been on the pill since she passed eighteen.
That first night they slept together was a whirlwind of passion. Beth wasn't a virgin, but equally she wasn't massively experienced having, in reality, only had sex with three other boys. John also was not a virgin, but in his case his two experiences had been a quick three minute wonder with a girl from the next road to where he lived, and a d*unken, barely remembered fuck, with a friend and his girlfriend at a party.
With so little experience they fumbled through the first quick coupling, before taking more time over the rest of their night together. They told each other what felt good, Beth took the lead mostly, but then had John tie her up and ravage her, she'd loved that especially when he had wanked off into her face after spanking her and fucking her first.
Over time they grew to know each other, both physically and emotionally. Beth had been very touchy-feely as had John, but now as he sat telling Ben all about the sudden end of their sex life, he wondered if she had found another love to give herself to.
"Mate, I just don't know what to do," John whined, "I mean, there hasn't been an argument, nothing bad, it's just like she threw a switch and turned out the light."
Ben had sat listening and now spoke for the first time, "It sounds like you could be right. Has she changed what she does, apart from pushing you away?"
John sat thoughtfully for a minute and said, "She does dress a bit more provocatively, but then, as you know she always did like to show a little too much flesh. She doesn't leave her phone lying around quite so much, but I don't know her password anyway, so I couldn't get in and have a look even if she did."
"Does she know yours? Ben asked.
"No, it's something we never did, we do value each others privacy. We don't even have a joint bank account except for the money for bills which we pay into and split 50/50," John replied.
"Well mate, in my opinion, there is definitely something not right, thing is what do you want to do about it?"
"I don't know, it's so difficult. If I make too much fuss, I risk driving her away, if I say nothing, I feel like I'm going insane," John answered glumly.
Ben thought for a minute and then said, "Why don't you test her out? If she has cheated once, then she will probably be open to doing it again. So get someone to try seducing her into an affair and see what happens."
Now readers, I don't know about you, but I can see that idea is fraught with risk. Quite apart from the chance of losing Beth completely, John risked never really knowing unless the person was someone he completely trusted to be open, honest and walk away at the end.
John looked at Ben and said, "Mate, this sounds bizarre, but you and I have been such close friends since we were kids. I trust you implicitly. Oh, no I can't do this, but...."
Ben finished the sentence for him, "Would I try to seduce her for you and let you know what is happening and then if she goes for it tell you and then walk away and leave you to deal with her."
John looked at his old friend and bit his lip, then nodded sadly. "I know I risk you fucking her, and I know you are loyal to me and would always tell me everything and not keep anything back. I need to know Ben, I can't go on like this!"
Ben reached out a hand and placed it on his friend's hand in a gesture of friendship and empathy. "John I'll do it, but I promise, I won't do anymore than it takes and I will run everything by you before I do it and catch up with you before we move on to anything more. I know you trust me and you love me like a brother, and I won't risk that, not for a cheating split-arse."
John reeled as if slapped, "Ben is that how you genuinely feel about her?"
"If she is cheating on you brother, then yes, that's how I feel about her. Hey look on the bright side, she might be disgusted and come running to you to tell you what I have done. Maybe you misjudge her and maybe so do I, but you will never know if we don't put her to the test."
John looked at his friend and held out his right hand, "Deal?" He said.
Ben took his paw in his larger hand and looking him straight in the eyes said, "Deal. I will get started later on tonight and message her. Let's see what happens and I genuinely hope it's nothing."
With that the friends finished their beers, before John went to the bar and ordered two more. He stood there looking at his friend with his guts churning. A wan smile painted his face, but inside he felt sick with nerves. What had he just started, where would this end? As he paid, he wondered if he had made the right decision, but in his heart of hearts he knew it was too late to go back. The next few weeks would be interesting to say the least. |
