Ida closed her eyes and held her husband tightly to her body as they danced to a slow though swinging tune best renowned for its release by Neil Diamond. Her mind was focused on the feelings that had coursed through her body a few minutes earlier as she had danced to a similar love song with Josh. She felt the remnants of her juices that had flowed from her feeling his warmth and his erect penis pushing into her stomach.

Just knowing how her body had reacted was enough for Ida to feel extraordinary. She wondered why Josh could make her body feel like this when her husband, Jon no longer did the same for her. She admired her husband and knew that deep down she loved him like no other person she had ever met and yet it was Josh who made her so sexually excited that she had flooded down below. “Why,” she asked herself, “why, not Jon?”

She felt Jon tighten his hold on her body as they moved in perfect tune to the music and it sent a shudder through her body. Jon, of course, felt the shudder and he smiled. Memories of their younger days when they had first fallen in love coursed through his brain. He wished he could recover those early days when nothing mattered to him but Ida and nothing mattered to her but him. But he recognised that those times were long gone. He wondered how they had lost that spark, that desire where nothing had mattered but lying together in each other’s arms after a night out.

But he accepted that those days had passed. He hated the thought but for a while now he was aware that something was missing. It wasn’t love for her that had gone. Neither was it her love for him. They regularly reaffirmed their love for each other but when they lay together it seemed no different than eating their toast at breakfast or sitting together in their car heading to the shopping centre. They liked being together but whatever it was, it had gone. How could they get it back or could they ever get it back?

The only thing that had gone anywhere near regaining that spark was when he had occasionally caught Ida looking at a handsome man, sometimes not so handsome. It didn’t happen very often but when it did his penis sprung to attention and the feelings of lust inside him approached those olden days. It made him wonder, “Did she feel it too?”

There was only one way to know and that was to convince her to flirt with other men. She appeared very reluctant and she even told him that he was weird but eventually she accepted his offer to do so. Now he knew. He was right it did the same for her as it did for him. He saw her excitement as Josh bought her back to their table to insist that she dance for a while with her husband.

Then as he took her into his arms she held him tightly, tighter than she had for years. It was not the spark they once had but it was approaching it. He also detected that odour he had so often detected in their early days, the odour of her excitement that had been missing as they routinely make love on Wednesday and Saturday nights. He knew. He must let her go. He must let her go to Josh. He had to remove himself so that the woman that he loved could find that spark once more. Even if he couldn’t he knew that she could and isn’t that what is important if you love someone? You want to give them all that you can.

“You like him, don’t you,” he broke their silence by whispering into her ear.

“Yes, I’m sorry to say this but yes, I do like him. I enjoyed dancing with him.”

“I could tell.”

“You wanted me to dance with him,” she answered thinking she had to defend her admission in case it upset her husband, the man she loved.

“Yes, I liked watching you with him.”

Ida pushed him back to look him in the eye. “You liked watching me with another man,” she asked as if astonished.

“I want you to be happy. That is my only desire. That is all I want. That is what makes me happy, just to know you are enjoying yourself.”

“I am happy. I don’t need another man to be happy. I’m happy with you.”

“Yes, I know but,” he hesitated before continuing, “but we are losing….,  I don’t know…..,  it’s not the same….,  I just don’t know…,  I can’t explain it but you need more than I can give you these days.”

“I love you, Jon.”

“I know that but you don’t get as excited as you once could, sexually excited, I mean.”

“I guess.”

“But you did with Josh, tonight.”

“I guess." she reconsidered. She knew she should be honest with him, "Yes, I did but I don’t wish to hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me. It excited me too. I got excited to see that you got excited.”

“What are you trying to say, Jon? Are you planning to leave me?”

“No, no way. I’ve never thought of that, not once. I will never leave you. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy.”

“Yes, I know you are happy but not sexually happy.”

“Jon….  I’m sorry. I can’t change my body and how it reacts. It has a mind of its own.” She once more felt she had to defend herself from the feeling of guilt inside her.

“I know and that is why I’m going to catch a cab home and leave you to enjoy the rest of your night with Josh.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea. I don’t know where that could lead. You shouldn’t do this, Jon.”

“Answer me honestly, Ida. Are you saying that you wouldn’t enjoy spending a few hours alone with Josh?”

“Honestly. Oh, Jon, honestly, I can’t answer that without hurting you.”

“That’s why I must go. I have to leave you with him otherwise you will be focusing on me and missing out on what he has to offer.”

“Do you understand where this could lead without you there to keep a lid on it, Jon?”

 “Yes, I understand exactly where it will lead and I want you to have that opportunity.”

“Oh, God, I don’t know! You’re starting to frighten me.”

“Yes, you do know. You need to let yourself go, Ida. Enjoy yourself but promise me that you will come home to me immediately afterwards.”

“What do you mean by immediately afterwards?”

“After you make love to him I want to hold you exactly the way he leaves you.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.  Do you mean, unclean?”

“I want to hold you the exact way he leaves you. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, if that is what you want.”

“I’ll leave now. You go back to him.”

“I love you, Jon.”

“I love you too, honey. Remember, this is for me as much as it is for you.”

“I’ll remember that. I hope you remember that you wanted this to happen.”

Jon didn’t answer. Instead, he smiled and walked away towards the back door of the club. He passed the smokers in the lane and walked towards the cab parked by the kerb. Then he had second thoughts so he turned back towards the club. He joined the line and then showed the bouncer his tag to enter the club. He looked across to the table where his wife was leaning forward to talk to her escort, Josh. They were deep in conversation.

Jon ordered a drink as he watched from a distance. After a few minutes, he saw his wife stand. She picked up her purse as if to leave but as she turned to walk away Josh took her by the wrist and turned her around. He took her into his arms and they kissed.

Initially, Ida had turned her head away from him to avoid his kiss but then Jon saw Josh say something to her which made her turn her face back toward him. She then surrendered to him. Jon felt at that moment as if someone had stabbed him in his heart. He lost his breath for a moment then thought, “What the fuck have I done?”

They kissed a second time as Jon was recovering before Josh said something more to her. Jon knew that smile. Josh had won her with whatever he had said to her. Josh pointed towards the door and Jon watched as they both left the club together. He followed well behind and saw them kiss again before getting into his car to drive off in a direction away from Jon’s home. He knew they had gone to a different club or Josh’s home.

Jon felt a sadness come across his mind but at the same time a sexual excitement that he had not felt for a couple of years. He knew how the night would end for Ida and decided as he climbed into the cab that he should check Ida’s pill box to make sure she was keeping up with her birth control but then a much more exciting thought came to him. “No, no, no, don’t think that way,” he quietly said to himself.

“Did you say something,” the cab driver asked?

“No, just talking to myself,” Jon chuckled foolishly not wanting to indulge in conversation as the realisation of what he had just done flooded in on him.

“Where to, sir,” the cab driver asked? 

Jon gave the driver his address to which the driver asked, “No, date tonight?”

“No, my mate was the winner tonight,” Jon answered and even managed a smile although at that moment smiling was the last thing his mind wanted.

“I see.” The driver replied. Jon shook his head wondering if the driver had any idea of what was happening.

Jon slowly opened the door to their house deep in thought. The house seemed cold and dark. He turned on the lights and wandered into the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker. He wandered to the toilet then wandered back and poured himself a hot black coffee. It was then that a feeling of depression came over him. What the hell had he done? The doorbell rang. Jon looked at his watch. It was ten thirty. Who the hell could that be? Maybe it was Ida. She had dumped Josh and had come home to him. He rushed towards the door expecting that Ida would fall into his arms.

….

When Jon had walked away from her on the dance floor, Ida had panicked. She was being left alone with Josh, a man she had only met just a week ago. Certainly, there was chemistry at play there but she really didn’t know anything about him. He could be a mass murderer who preyed on women for all she knew. She had no option with Jon gone she had to return to the table to get her bag, at least.

When she returned to the table alone, Josh looked around the room and asked, “Where is Jon?”

“He’s getting a taxi,” Ida replied.

“He’s leaving,” Josh asked?

“He is, yes, and I had better go as well.”

“Okay, I’ll run you home.”

“No, I should take a cab,” Ida told him.

Josh took her hands in his across the table. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“I don’t have any option, Josh. I’m married,” she pulled her hands away and picked up her purse.

Josh stood and moved across beside her. “Did you and Jon have an argument?"

“No, we didn’t argue.”

“So he wanted you to stay here with me?”

“Yes, he did but I’m married.”

“You took a vow to love honour and obey, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but this is wrong.”

“Why is it wrong, Ida? Jon wants it, you want it and I can’t think of anything more that I would ever want than to hold you in my arms tonight. Look at me!”

Ida looked up into his eyes as he attempted to kiss her but he had surprised her so initially, she had turned her head away to prevent him from kissing her. “Jon wants me to kiss you,” he told her. “You took a vow to obey him,” Josh said with a grin. The grin won her over not what he said. Ida knew at that instant that he had her. She would no longer resist him.

“Fuck it,” she said and placed her arm around his neck and pulled his face down to hers. Once more she felt his body against hers and once more she could feel his erection pushing into her stomach. Her juices were flowing as if a dam had burst inside her. They broke their kiss and she told him, “We have to leave. My neighbour and her husband are here and she is a sticky beak, gossiper.”

Josh led her out the front door. As Josh passed the bar he ran his eyes across the men standing at the bar and saw Jon sitting alone in the furthest corner with his head bowed. He quickly switched his eyes away from the bar not wanting to give Jon an opportunity to stop them from leaving which he thought might happen if Jon knew that he had been spotted.

They climbed into his car and he headed towards his unit.

“Where are we going,” Ida asked as they sped along the highway.

“I thought we might return to my unit for some privacy.”

“Yes, that would be nice but can I trust you?”

“I know what the word no means if that is what you are asking.”

“Good, that is all I need to know.” She thought for a moment then added, “not that the word is likely to come up.”

“So I’m not allowed to say no then,” he said with a chuckle.

“Not if you want to carry out Jon’s wishes,” she replied with a laugh.

“Well, it looks as if Jon gets everything that he wants tonight then.”

“Yes, it is looking more and more like his wish is our command.”

“I like your husband.”

“Josh, it is important that you know upfront that I love my husband. He’s my whole world and if he didn’t want this thing, it would not be happening. When the time comes and he tells us it must end then I will be walking away. When that time comes I don’t want you to protest.”

“Yes, I knew that but until then we must enjoy what he offers us and give him no reason, none at all for him to want you to walk away.”

“Okay, then we have an agreement then. This is a sexual affair and not a love affair.”

“Agreed,” Josh told her as he parked outside his unit.

….

Jon swung the door open expecting Ida to be standing there waiting for him but instead it was the neighbour’s wife, Carole. The smile disappeared from his face instantly. Before he could speak she threw her arms around him to give him a hug.

“Are you okay, Carole,” he asked her, “It’s not Geoff is it?”

“No, Geoff is alright. That is more than I can say about your wife, Jon.”

“Ida, what’s wrong with Ida?” Jon asked struggling to get free from her arms.

“We were out tonight and Ida was with a strange man.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Jon told her, “for a moment there I thought she may have been in a car accident or something.”

“It’s worse than that, Jon. She was kissing another man. Can I come in to console you?”

Jon thought quickly. “You mean her cousin, Josh. You saw her with Josh. Carole, he was her cousin, Josh.”

“She kisses her cousin?”

“Yes, they are a very close family.”

“Pphhheeeww,” Carole said, letting him go as if she had just been forced to eat manure, “No cousin of mine would get away with kissing me like that.”

“As I said, they are a very close family and families come together more when one of theirs passes.”

“Oh, a family member has died?”

“Yes, a distant relative has passed away.”

“If they kiss like that for a distant relative I’d hate to see what they might get up to if it was someone close.”

“It was a distant relative for Ida but very close to Josh. She would have been consoling him.”

“I see.” Carole stated, “I guess I feel like a bit of a fool then.”

“Why?” Jon told her with a grin, “It’s good to know that the neighbours are looking out for me but I am a bit concerned though, Carole.”

“Concerned, why?”

“Well, you know this neighbourhood. If anyone saw you hugging me like that they might get the idea that you were trying to seduce me given my wife was not here to keep an eye on you. You know how people talk and how rumours start, don’t you.”

“Oh, I’d better get home then.”

“Yes, that’s possibly a good idea. I’d hate Ida to think that you were over here trying to seduce me while she is looking after the family business.”

“Oh, yes, good night then. Tell Ida we are thinking of her and her family.”

“I’ll do that. Good night Carole. Tell Geoff I said hello.”