"No… you've probably just seen me," she said, looking hard at him, and then leaning back. "Bob and I live two doors down from you and Rita."
Owen thought about that for a moment, and then his face brightened with a sudden understanding.
"Of course," he said as though he had just stumbled on to some brilliant thought. "Well… it's nice to be talking to you. I'm sorry that Rita and I haven't been making the rounds in the neighborhood. She and I are just a little new to the ways of the suburbs. Both of us come from the city, you know, and making the…"
"No need to apologize," Tina said quickly. Now that she had him talking, the last thing she wanted him to do was feel as though he had done something wrong. "Bob and I know how it can be. When we first moved here, we didn't know a soul, and it took us some time to make new friends. Someone has to make the first move."
Owen felt instantly relieved. Talking to this lovely woman was a pleasure. She was friendly, open and casual. He had at first thought that he would have to go into some long speech about how he was married and wasn't playing the field anymore, but now that he knew a little more about her, he began to feel as though he had known her for a long, long time. Some people are like that, he thought quickly to himself as his eyes lingered on the generous swell of her breasts pushing out her light cotton blouse. Some people make you feel at ease right away.
"I'm really glad we met," he said finally, remembering that he was married, and was therefore entitled to do little more than just look and not touch. If he weren't married, he might make a play for her, even though he knew she was. One of the things Owen had no hang-ups about was making it with married women. Shit… if they wanted to have some guy besides their husband fuck them, that was all right with him.
"So am I," she said, fully meaning it. This was the closest she had been to him, and she could see that, if anything, she had under-estimated him. She wasn't sure, but she believed that she could see a swelling of his cock under his pants… a swelling that told her he would be able to satisfy her in bed many times over. She could tell that he was staring at her breasts, and that made her feel very happy. If she could get the least bit of arousal out of him, there was an opening.
"Now that we've met," she continued, "what would you say to you and Rita coming over to our house some time in the near future? Bob and I love to entertain, and we would be very happy to have you two over."
"Why… that would be very nice," Owen said. "Of course, I'll have to talk to Rita about it, but I'm sure she'll go along with me. She hasn't said as much, but I'm certain she would like to meet new people."
"Is she a little shy about finding new friends?"
"Well… in a way. She can be very outgoing when she wants to be. I think living out here has really thrown her for a loop."
He finished taking off his skates and placed them in his bag. Then, standing up, he looked down at the lovely woman.
"Shall I walk you to your car?" he asked, offering her his arm.
As they left the ice rink area, Owen pulled himself up next to her, delighting in the excitement that seemed to flow from her.
"What does Bob… your husband… what does he do for a living?" Owen asked, thinking that it would be a little better if he made sure that he and Tina remained just friends. He didn't want her to get the idea that he would fuck her. Even though he was certain he could get a lot of pleasure out of it, he had never been able to handle more than one girl at a time. He would go from one to another… sometimes rather quickly, but he would never have more than one girl at a time. Things could get out of hand then. And having an affair would be harder than having two girl friends. A wife can get pretty mad…
What are you thinking about Owen, he thought. You can't even be considering fucking this woman. Just forget it. You're not in college any more. You have a wife and a job and a home…
"Something tells me that you weren't listening to me," Tina's voice broke in on his thoughts. "That's not very nice, asking me about my husband and then drifting off like that."
"Uuuuuummm? Oooooohhh… I'm sorry," Owen said, remembering that he was talking to her, and not trying to work out his whole life around her. "I was thinking of… of a personal matter."
"That's all right," Tina said. "Like I was saying, Bob is a computer programmer with several banks in Buffalo. If I may be allowed a little wifely pride, his services are in great demand."
And as she said that, she broke up into peals of laughter. It had been unintentional humor, but the pun fit. At all the gatherings of the group, most of the wives wanted Bob's "services", and would sometimes fight to get them.
"What's so funny?" Owen asked, feeling a little left out.
"Ooohhh… I was just thinking of a personal matter," she said teasingly, evasively.
"Your personal life is that funny?"
"It can be… sometimes."
They reached her car and Owen opened her door for her. Larry was sitting in the back, reading a comic book.
"Hi, coach," the young boy said.
"How's it going, Larry?" Owen said, both glad and a little unhappy that Larry was around. He would have liked to spend a little more time with Tina, but having Larry around sort of took that decision away from him. It was probably for the better, since he knew he could get into a lot of trouble with Tina. He wasn't sure but that she might still be coming on to him, in her own way, and he would like to have explored that possibility. Well… there was plenty of time to get to know her better.
"You and Rita will give us a call soon?" Tina asked as she climbed into her car.
"You bet," he said, just a little too quickly. Damn, he might still be attracting women, but he was losing the touch once he had them. He was being just a little too obviously anxious, and he remembered a lesson he had learned long ago… Never tip your hand too early. That was what he was doing now, and as he watched Tina drive away, he felt like a little school boy talking to a girl for the first time.
And then, again, he remembered that he was married…
His mind was becoming confused with several conflicting thoughts. If he were still single, he would probably have made a pass at Tina. The more he thought about what had happened, the more he was convinced that he had done just that. He had made a pass at her, though it had been a very mild and clumsy pass. And he hadn't wanted to do that anyway.
"Jesus," he said out loud as it suddenly dawned on him that it was colder than a witch's tit. Skating around the rink had made him work up one hell of a sweat, and that sweat was making him feel chilled now.
He hurried across the lot to his own car, feeling a little better, now that he was out of the wind, and remembering that he was hungry. Rita had better have quite a meal ready for him. He felt as though he could eat a horse.
Rita stared at the clock, wishing that Owen would come home soon. She had been walking around the neighborhood, trying to think of the words she would use to tell him that he was failing to satisfy her. She had run through dozens of conversations in her mind, but none of them had turned out the way she had wanted. She had a fair idea when he would be coming home, and as that time approached, she could feel herself getting anxious and nervous. She really had no idea what Owen would do when she told him. Nothing like this had ever happened to her and she was pretty certain that a man like Owen would take it pretty hard. He might not even believe her. After all, he had been one of the most popular men in college, and she knew he had pleased a lot of women. His pride was at stake, and he was liable to lash out at her.
That's silly, she thought to herself. Owen loves me. There's no reason why he shouldn't know about his failure. There was nothing wrong with him. He's just under a lot of pressure, that's all. He was all right in the beginning. There's no reason to think he can't be all right again.