CHAPTER TWO

All things considered, I was having a nice start to the new year. I had the entire week off of work… even if Bridget wasn’t so lucky. That was one of my bones to pick with company — you can’t even give her a couple days off of travel the first week of the New Year?

But she put up with the hectic schedule remarkably well. Way better than I ever could. It’s funny, with my 100% work-from-home schedule, I felt like a stay-at-home spouse. I always did all the cooking, and because I had the lighter responsibility load, I cleaned and shopped for the two of us. Nor did I mind it. After all, I’d gotten quite good.

I’d mostly left the New Year’s party and Bridget’s conversations with Anthony out of my mind, but as they say, idle hands are the devil’s playthings. Or in my case, an idle mind.

I knew absolutely nothing about this man beyond his name. Did he and Bridget ‘keep in touch’ like he said? Maybe it was a career opportunity. Or hell, maybe it was just one of those bullshit things you say to someone you’re never gonna talk to again. He could have just been being polite.

But no. I had to know. I felt too uncomfortable going straight to Bridget with any inquiries, lest I give off ‘crazy jealous boyfriend’ vibes. So I hit up Matt, the host of the party. If there’s anyone who would know something about this man, it’d be the guy who actually invited him. I texted Matt and we set a time for brunch over the weekend.

=======

“I think I’m still hungover,” Matt joked, sipping on orange juice. “Even a week out.”

We met at a brunch spot near his place. I was happy to make the drive over his way. It minimized any chance he flakes and I’m unable to get an answer. But I tried my best to be casual about the whole thing.

“I think everyone had a good time though,” I said. “People really dig your parties. Ended up being a solid group.”

“You think so?” he said, a tad unsure of himself. “I’m always afraid of mixing friends. You never know how a bunch of random people with only myself in common are gonna vibe.”

“Seriously, you did great. I mingled, Bridget mingled… Everyone was meeting and connecting.”

Matt took another sip of orange juice, happy with my analysis.

“That reminds me…” I continued. “Bridget was chatting a ton with this one guy…” I pretended to think of his name. “Alan? Antonio, was it?”

“Oh, Anthony?” Matt finished my thought. “Cool dude. Super mysterious.”

That’s a hell of an adjective to use. “Mysterious?” I asked. “How so?”

“I dunno. He’s crazy charming, and everyone loves him. But he’s so… unassuming, ya know?”

Yeah, I knew. That’s what I was trying to figure out. “How did you meet him?”

“A friend of a friend, initially. Some guy I don’t really talk to anymore. But I run into him at the gym and we talked there. I’ve invited him to a few things in the past but this is the first time he actually showed.”

“Did he come with anybody? Or was he alone?”

“I think alone…” Matt started to feel uneasy. “Is something going on?”

“No! Totally not. I’m just, like, curious about your friends is all.”

Matt kind of bought my answer, but quickly moved on. “Yo! You know what I actually heard about him through my other buddy?”

Matt looked side to side, making sure nobody was listening in. “He’s a swinger.”

I raised an eyebrow. “A swinger? Like… he sleeps with a lot of people?”

Matt threw up his hands. “Hey, I dunno man! I just talk to the dude at the gym.” He lowered his voice again. “But that’s the second hand news.”

A swinger? Well that settles it. Anthony is absolutely trying to slide in on Bridget. And he’s probably trying to reel her into his perverted little circle…

========

The new knowledge bugged me all week. I wasn’t sure who to be angry at, or even if I should be angry at all. Honestly, I knew very little about this whole situation. I definitely saw Bridget have a good time talking with this mysterious Anthony, and I definitely heard him insist that they keep in touch. Now Matt’s confirmed he’s a swinger. Or, at least second-hand that he’s a swinger. So maybe I don’t know that for sure.

Regardless, my suspicion was enough to confront Bridget. I waited until she got home from one of her work trips and wasn’t in an abrasive mood. Getting ready for bed felt like the right time.

“Hey, babe, can I ask you something?” I muttered, still a little afraid to officially pull the trigger.

“What’s up?” Bridget was brushing her hair in the mirror, ready to get into bed.

I let out a big sigh. “What I’m about to ask you isn’t accusatory by any means. I just want the truth.”

That certainly caught her attention. “What do you mean… Justin, what are you talking about?”

“That guy, Anthony…. from the party. Are you… are you cheating on me?”

She stared at me silently for a moment. She let out a big sigh.

“No. I’m not cheating.”

Her answer felt honest, but the tone was strange.

“However,” she continued. “We’ve been talking.”

I let my head down. “Bridget… I told you, I’m working on things in the bedroom.”

“I know you are, but—“

I was starting to get pissed. “But to start talking to another guy? Like, seriously?”

“No, listen, Justin. I’ve been talking to him about… something else.”

I almost laughed in her face. “Something else? Oh, do tell!” I was dripping with sarcasm. “Do tell what other, ‘non-sexual’ stuff you’ve been discussing with the guy you were totally interested in at the party. I’d love to hear it!”

“Will you just fucking listen for a sec!?” she screamed. I calmed down to let her talk.

“Anthony approached me at the party. That’s true. But he didn’t try to have sex with me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really?”

“He wanted to have sex with us.”

I froze. “Wait… what?”

Bridget was dead serious. “He wants to join.”

I fully suspected that this guy was a swinger. And yes, I knew what that meant. But never did I think that I'd be part of this nonsense. I thought he was exclusively going for Bridget.

I started to laugh — partly at my misreading of the situation, but mostly at the absurdity of his request.

But Bridget wasn’t messing around. “Why are you laughing?”

“Are you kidding me? Because the guy wants to have a three-way! With us! That’s fucking crazy!”

“Why is it so crazy?” she asked. “People have three-ways.”

“Ha, yeah… but like, not us.” I kept laughing, but she kept staring. “…not us, right?”

“Why not?”

This was no longer funny. Bridget, somehow, had it planted in her head that this was a real possibility.

“You can’t be serious, Bridg… You’re actually considering this?”

“Justin, it’s not like things have been going well in the bedroom. I mean… maybe we need to shake things up.”

“But… another man? Why can’t it be a chick or something?” I proposed.

“I’m sorry, but do you see any chicks lining up and offering three-ways?”

She had a point. “Okay, sure… but, who says I’m not gonna veto having another dude in my bed?”

“Our bed. And honestly, are you so insecure in your sexuality that another guy would ruin things?”

“I mean, I’m straight… So you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t want another naked man in my bed.”

Bridget was getting a little frustrated — perhaps because she knew I had a point. She scooted closer to me on the bed, and held both of my hands.

“Justin, I love you. I… I may not have shown it well recently, and maybe that’s my fault. But I want this to last. I want us to last. And God knows we’ve been teetering on the edge of trouble for a while now.”

I looked deep into her eyes. This was the Bridget I knew. This was the old Bridget.

“I’m sorry for not being transparent with you. I was going to bring this up. Honestly. I think part of me needed to be convinced it’s not crazy too.” Bridget let out another big sigh. “But fuck… I have a good feeling about this. I really feel like a spice of passion can be good. I can remember what it’s like to feel good again, and maybe you can learn a few tips. This will fix us. I know it will.”

Maybe I was losing my mind, or maybe I just missed this Bridget too much and wanted her back.

“I love you. And I love you enough to trust your instincts. If you really, truly believe this can be the spark to save us… then we can try.”

She smiled warmly back. “I love you, Justin.” She leaned in to kiss me. It was our first in many days — maybe even since the party. But this one was so much more passionate… so much more real.

“But I reserve the right to call it off after the first try,” I added. “We need to be on the same page at all times.”

“Agreed. This isn’t about Anthony. It’s about us.” I fully believed Bridget wanted our relationship to be saved just as much as I did.

“I’ll set something up for next weekend,” Bridget said, rolling onto her side of the bed. “I’ll make sure everything’s in order. All you gotta do is show up.”

We turned off the lights and went to sleep. It was another sexless night — one of so, so many. But the prospect of intimately re-connecting with Bridget was thrilling… even if it meant there’d be another man in our bed, sharing some of those thrills.

========

The remainder of this 18-chapter, ~40,000 word novel is available on Kindle. Link below. I hope you enjoy! It's my favorite one I've written so far :)

-Jennifer

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1PPK25S