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Click hereHe saw her face was still tense, though.
"What's wrong, Elizabeth?" She shook her head, and he pressed. "Come on, tell me what's wrong."
"You don't understand, Will. I almost lost you. I don't want to go through that again, okay?"
He laughed. "So that's why you still insist being on top every time? You're afraid of breaking me?"
She smiled at this, then nodded slowly.
"Well, as much as I like it, it's getting a little boring. I think I'd rather be dead than have to suffer through just that position for the rest of my life."
Her eyes flared. "Boring is it? Making love to me has become boring?"
"That's not what I meant," he said. "But yes, it's becoming too routine. You're too tentative, and you won't let it loose."
He watched her face, seeing her mull this over in her mind.
"So if ever we get married, and make this permanent, then I suppose you'll quickly tire of the same old same old?"
He smiled. "Oh no, not by a long shot. Then we'll be doing it doggy style, sixty-nine, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, missionary, standing, sitting, bent over the couch. Have I missed any here?"
Her face brightened. "No, that seems to about cover it, I suppose."
"And when all of that gets too boring, I suppose I'll have to invest in toys and the like."
A grin curled her lips. "Toys? Pray tell."
He shrugged. "You know, anal beads, vibrators, dildos, stuff like that."
"You got an ass fetish, don't you?"
"Just your ass."
"And you want to try that sometime, don't you?"
He nodded. "Very much so."
She nodded. "Well, that one's reserved for my husband only, you know."
He knew. They'd had this talk in the past. After her previous career, she insisted that something be saved for her husband, and he intended to fix that issue once and for all.
"Strange you should bring that up," he said, his face getting serious.
"What?"
"Well, you graduate in two weeks, right?" She nodded. "And you already have a job lined up, right?" She nodded again. "And you love me heaps and gobs, right?" She paused, afraid to draw the connections he was drawing. After a moment, she nodded.
Will walked to his jacket thrown over the chair and reached inside. "Then I guess my only question is whether we have to actually be married before you keep your end of the bargain?"
He turned and dropped to his knees. "Elizabeth, will you marry me?"
She looked at his eyes before looking at the large diamond engagement ring in the palm of his outstretched hand.
Her hands flew to her mouth and she tried to hold back the tears.
"You going to keep me hanging here?" Will said after a moment, starting to rise.
She rushed at him and hugged him tightly, pushing him backward into the chair. "Yes," she said, smothering his face in kisses. Then she stood back and watched as he slid the ring onto her finger.
They resumed kissing for several minutes, their hands stroking each other's bodies.
"Wait," Elizabeth said, breaking the embrace and pushing herself away and looking into his eyes. "You're not just doing this for a shot at my ass, are you?"
He grinned. "Well . . . ."
She punched him on the shoulder before falling back into his arms.
* * *
Hollister stood in the studio, staring at each painting for several minutes before moving onto the next. At works in progress, he nodded and sometimes mumbled, at completed paintings he stared longer and more intently, rarely saying anything.
After a half hour and nearly a dozen paintings, he started on a new painting and his body froze. He looked back at the painting he had just come from, then peered deeper into the one now before him.
"Sean," he said, "what's this? I've . . . you've . . . this is new."
Sean saw Aimee stiffen beside him, biting her lower lip.
"You don't like it then?" Sean said.
Hollister didn't answer. Instead, he snuck a peek at the next painting to his right, looking at it before going back to the painting before him.
"No," he said, his eyes now looking at the next three paintings down the line. "No, it's not that. Actually, I do like it. Quite a bit, truth be told. But they're different from what you normally do. The style, use of color; particularly the use of color. Much more bold. Still, really quite good."
Sean saw Aimee's body relax and a smile turn up the corner of her lips. She shot a glance at Sean.
"You're joking," Emily chirped in, seeing the unspoken communication between Sean and Aimee.
Hollister turned and faced them. "Joking?" he said, then saw the conspiratorial looks between Sean and Aimee. His eyes narrowed, then he turned back and paced the last five paintings he's perused. "They're unsigned," he said. "The new ones . . . you didn't . . . ."
"Aimee did them," Sean said. He was beaming now, his arms folded over his chest.
"Oh Aimee," Emily squealed, throwing her arms around Aimee and pecking her cheek before going on. "They're beautiful. I didn't know you were . . . that you. . . ."
Hollister's face became a mask, his arms folding over his chest as he rocked on his heels.
"Did you do any part of these paintings, Sean?"
Sean grinned, but Aimee exploded. "You pompous bastard," she said.
Hollister ignored her, staring at Sean. "Sean, please answer my question."
Aimee started to speak, but Sean silenced her with a hand on her shoulder.
"No, Roger, she did them all by herself. Every last line and splotch."
Again, Aimee started to speak, but Sean shook his head. Hollister turned back to the paintings and looked at the next six in line, both finished and unfinished. As he did so, Sean pulled Aimee over to the sofa and sat, putting his fingers to his lips to keep her silent.
After nearly fifteen minutes, Hollister turned and walked to a chair, sitting and crossing his legs. "Who's the subject of the last three?" he asked.
Aimee looked at Sean, expecting him to answer. Instead, he looked back at her and nodded.
"Jenny Silverman," Aimee said, looking at Hollister now.
"The girl who's father shot Sean?"
Aimee nodded. "And whose boyfriend used to be my husband," she said.
"Why aren't they signed?"
Aimee shrugged, but Hollister just stared back, waiting for an answer.
"They're just practice, I guess," Aimee said.
"You've done others?"
Aimee nodded.
"Then where are they?" Hollister asked, looking around the room at the other paintings as he did so.
"Mostly underneath the ones you're looking at," Sean answered for her. "They were crap."
Aimee shot him a surprised look, and Sean could see she was upset by this. Sean just shrugged in response. Better for her to learn to take criticism now, he thought.
"Well," Hollister said, pausing to look once again at the paintings before turning back to Aimee, "these are not crap. Not exactly masterpieces yet, but definitely not crap."
Sean saw Aimee's lips tighten, waiting to hear the next words.
Sean heard the doorbell in the background just before Hollister spoke again. Someone else–probably Jenny–would get it, though, so he didn't move.
Hollister took one final look at the paintings before fixing Aimee with a stare. "I suppose I have for you only one question." Aimee bit her lip, waiting. Hollister continued, "Do you have an agent in mind yet?"
Sean heard two things at once. He heard Aimee respond, "Do you really think . . . ."
Then he heard a long, high pitched scream from Jenny in the background. "Noooo. . . ."
* * *
When Sean met Cynthia and David at the door, she could see the shock was numbing him.
"I came as quickly as I could," she said, looking over his shoulder.
Aimee was cradling a sobbing Jenny on the couch, rocking her. Cynthia saw tears on Aimee's face as well, her eyes red and puffy from crying.
"I didn't know who else to call," Sean said. His voice was barely a whisper, and he turned and looked at Aimee and Jenny, frozen.
"Come on," David said, guiding Sean by the elbow toward the kitchen.
Cynthia strode to the couch and sat on the end. "Aimee, what is it?"
Aimee looked at her, trying to find the words and choking several times before clearing her throat and speaking.
"It's Tim," she said. "He's dead. Killed himself."
At that, Jenny sobbed louder and Aimee pressed her tighter.
Cynthia's jaw dropped. "When? Why?"
"About an hour ago. They just told us maybe twenty, thirty minutes ago. The police . . . they knew he was dating Jenny . . . that she was here. They told his mother, then they came here to tell us."
"But suicide?" Cynthia couldn't believe it. Big, strapping, cocky-as-hell Tim, always in command of everyone and everything. People like Tim didn't kill themselves. There had to be a mistake.
Aimee said noting in response, just continued rocking Jenny back and forth, trying to calm her down.
Cynthia sat watching, unsure what to do. She didn't realize she was stroking Jenny's back until she saw her face turn to her, a mask of anguish, and fall into her arms. Without conscious thought, she felt her arms open and pull the girl toward her.
After a few minutes, Cynthia heard the whistle of a tea pot. Moments later, she saw David enter from the kitchen carrying a tea pot and some mugs, followed close behind by Sean carrying the remainder of the mugs and a pitcher of milk.
David nodded Sean toward a chair and poured tea into the mugs, handing them out to Aimee and Sean. He then held a mug toward Cynthia and nodded at Jenny.
"Jenny," Cynthia said, "drink some tea. You'll feel better." She tried to gently push the girl away from her shoulder and toward David, but Jenny held on tightly.
David kneeled next to them. "Please, sweetie, have some tea." She turned her head to look at him, and he tried to smile. "Tell you the truth, you'll still feel like shit, but at least you'll have something warm in your belly, okay?"
Cynthia felt Jenny nod against her shoulder, and she saw a shaking hand reach out and retrieve the mug of tea. After a minute, the sobbing had subsided and Jenny was sitting on her own.
David nodded his head toward the hallway and Cynthia rose and followed him there.
"This one's kind of out of the blue, huh?" he said when they were alone.
Cynthia nodded. She was unsure what to do, afraid any reaction would set David off and bring up wounds that had just begun healing.
"Can't say as I'm really all that upset," David continued, "but still, can't say as I'd want the rotten prick dead." He looked over his shoulder and at the three sitting like zombies in the living room, cupping their hot mugs and staring vacantly into space.
David looked back at her. "Why's Sean taking this so hard?" he asked.
She heard concern in his voice, and thought hard trying to come up with an answer. "Probably because he just went through something like this awhile back. When his wife died." She looked at the three of them, and Sean was now staring at Aimee, his pain obvious. "And because I think because she's hurting so bad, too. Y'know, like if I was in pain because my brother or someone died. Wouldn't you be hurting, too?"
He nodded. "Okay," he said, "that makes sense. So what do we do?"
Cynthia chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before answering. "I think we've got to get Jenny out of here," she said.
David raised his eyebrows.
"Sean and Aimee can take care of themselves," she explained. "They'll work through it. Sean's only hurting because Aimee's hurting–mostly, at least–and Aimee's already divorced from him. She'll get over it quicker because she's got Sean. But leaving Jenny here just seems . . . I don't know . . . I think that'll drag all of them down. She's now lost the only two men in her life, her father and her lover, and she'll take awhile. I think she'll keep that festering here with Sean and Aimee." She looked at David, who was watching the three in the living room as he listened. "Don't you think so?"
He turned back, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "Yeah," he said. "I guess you're right. But she's . . . well, a stranger. You sure you want this?"
Cynthia shrugged. "No, I'm not. But I don't see any other way around it, dear. She's alone. Her parents and boyfriend are gone. I'm pretty sure she was an only child. I don't know about aunts and uncles, but I haven't heard her speak about any of them, either. Not since her dad was killed. And we can't let her go back to her apartment–theirapartment–all alone."
"Fuck, even I'd kill myself in her shoes I guess." David let another breath out, then pulled Cynthia into a hug. "Are you sure you'll be okay? You know, with everything we're . . . . I mean, you're pregnant, for Chrissakes. This won't be too much on you?"
"No, dear," she whispered into his ear. "I helped Sean through it once, and he was a total stranger, too. I suppose I can do it again."
David looked down at her and tried to grin, but she could see it was forced. "You're not going to try to help her through it the way you helped Sean, are you?"
She knew what he was talking about, and she smiled. "No, David, I don't think I swing that way."
* * *
Aimee was surprised to see Will and Elizabeth at the funeral, and she approached their table at the luncheon afterward.
"This is a surprise," Aimee said, sitting across from them.
Will crossed his throat and looked at Elizabeth, who in turn looked at Aimee.
"Me, too," she said. "Said he had to be there, though. After all they'd been through at the shooting and all. Kind of puts a strange closure to it, I think."
Aimee nodded. Strange as it sounded, she understood. Will's tension relaxed, and he held his hand across the table toward Aimee.
"We're really sorry, Aimee. I know you were divorced and all, but still."
Aimee nodded. "Yeah, can't just shut it all off overnight. And thanks."
Aimee looked at Elizabeth's hand and smiled. "Does that mean congratulations are in order?"
"For what?" Sean asked, stepping behind Aimee and placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Her left hand, babe," Aimee said. Elizabeth held out her hand to Sean, showing him the glittering engagement ring.
"Oh," he said. "Nice ring."
Aimee turned back and up, looking at Sean. "They're engaged, Sean."
He was taken aback, then a big grin split his face. "Oh, that's right. You Americans wear that on your left hand. We do it on the right in Ireland." He looked from Will to Elizabeth. "That's great, guy. Congratulations."
Will and Elizabeth both said their thanks.
"Give you any ideas?" Aimee asked.
"Like what?" Sean responded.
She held her bare left fingers in front of his face and flexed them.
"You're kidding, right?" he said.
She shook her head. "We're not getting any younger here," she said.
Sean cleared his throat, looking around the room trying to spot someone.
"Oh look," he said, pointing, "it's David and Cynthia. We should go say hello, don't you think?"
Will suppressed a laugh, coughing into his hand.
"I don't think you're getting out of this that easily," Elizabeth said.
Aimee pouted her lower lip, but Sean was already striding across the room.
* * *
David couldn't remember being happier in the past year than he was this day. The crisp autumn air carried a slight breeze, the leaves were brilliant hues of gold and scarlet, and everyone around him was giddy with joy. Cynthia held a twinkle in her eye as she held the tiny baby in her arms, while little Sean David Holloway clumsily walked between her and the proud, beaming parents of the baby boy.
Jenny was smiling, too, something she'd done all too rarely in the past eighteen months. She was dressed in a bright yellow dress, and her gaunt frame was filled out some. The crew cut young man holding her hand was lost in his doting on her, and she was enjoying the attention he showered at every turn.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the priest intoned at the front of the church, "will you please rise."
As one, the congregation rose to its feet and the organ began the wedding march.
The bride appeared at the back, aglow in her white gown and gauzy veil. Behind the veil, David saw tears of joy welling in her eyes. At the altar, the groom was beaming, his body a tense coil of giddiness ready to burst at the seams.
"She's beautiful," he heard in his ear.
"As beautiful as Elizabeth was at your wedding," David responded in a whisper.
Will nodded, now cradling his baby girl and kissing her tiny, wrinkled forehead.
He felt a hand take his, a gentle squeeze. "It's good to see everyone happy," Cynthia whispered to him.
David's eyes traveled to Sean at the altar, his chest about to burst from his tuxedo. Then he watched Aimee, clearly restraining herself from running up the aisle into his arms. Roger Hollister led her slowly, beaming to be giving his up and coming artistic star away in matrimony to his best–and most beloved–client ever. Emily, the maid of honor, weeping openly and loudly at the import of the moment. Looking over Will's shoulder was Elizabeth, smiling as she made faces at little Nicole while Will's face was transfixed by a look of contentment. Jenny, on the other side of Cynthia, tears now welling in her eyes as her boyfriend tried to do something but was lost as to what. Finally at Cynthia and little Sean, both beaming their joy.
David pulled Cynthia and Sean to him. "Yes," he agreed, "it's good to see that it's all worked out."
Finis
Author's Comments. All right, here it is, the unanswered questions. First, the most glaring absence is an explanation for Tim's suicide. This should be self-evident, though: He finally realized the import of all he had done and, sensing this, could not live with the guilt. This was made painstakingly clear in the scene in the mental hospital, and I saw no reason to add another scene to spell out that he was crushed irrevocably. How did he commit suicide? Who cares is my simple response. It's irrelevant. What's relevant is that he did commit suicide. Frankly, it was tough enough killing the rotten bastard off–and the main reason this story took so long; I really wanted to marry him off to Jenny–without having to go into the gory details. Still, I just couldn't have him and Jenny living happily ever after because it wasn't believable. How could they really be happy together when she knew how they'd met, how he was at least partially responsible for her father's death, and how he'd probably revert to his old ways? It seemed easier, and happier, to kill him off and show Jenny finding happiness.
Another glaring omission is whether Aimee was successful as an artist. The final scene indicates she now has an agent and is an up and coming star. In the art world, this seemed believable and a sign of things to come. Ergo, enough said.
If you spot any other omissions or have any other questions, send me a comment or questions and I'll do my best to answer.
Thanks again for taking the time to slog through this convoluted mess!
- COMMENTS
A lot of relationships to keep straight as the plot(s) develop but a worthwhile read.
I enjoy your writing. Your realistic bur captivating plot, your characters and their complex descriptions make the a very enjoyable read. I didn't want it to end!
Corrupt cops. Whores with a heart of gold. Gotta be a few other cliches we can squeeze in.
A good story. I think you "fleshed" out the characters a little too much at times but overall a good tale that I am pleased to have read. I think the "arse" play was a little too much with all of them wanting to do it and enjoying it. Not my reality at all. LOL
Was this long story worth slogging through? I agree with Rehnquist, it is a “convoluted mess”! Also, this story is certainly not as compelling as many of Rehnquist’s other fine efforts. It seems that along the way, our author has developed an anal sex interest, or at least most of his characters have. I can’t give this one more than 3.5 stars⭐️.
I love your stories. I left this for last, probably because of the category you put it in. I was really afraid you were going to kill off Sean so he could reunite with Holly, but that will have to wait. I thought Cynthia was going to finish her degree but raising a child is infinitely more fulfilling. I know this was written 15 years ago so I don't know if you'll see this comment, but I hope you are doing well (and thinking of writing again!). :DD
It was not a convolution mess. It was well done from start to finish. I rate all quality stories with 5 stars. Those that I believe to be less than quality, I do not rank after reading. I feel this writing to be the same quality as “When We were Married “ by Daniel Q Steele.
I'm going against the grain in voicing some mild criticism with this ambitious story. Normally for me, when reading a Rehnquist story, I can vividly picture the characters in my mind. That picture is drawn from a combination of physical description and personality. Not so this time. I never got a clear picture of Cynthia or David. To me, other characters were remarkably drawn especially Tim, Elizabeth, Aimee and Sean. Maybe that was done intentionally based on the importance of the character to the story.
Another criticism was in the use of anal play. Granted, it could be new and exciting for one or two couples but should not have been included in almost every sex scene. For Elizabeth who was after all, a sex worker, reserving that for her husband was realistic. But for a lot of the others, it seemed somewhat artificial and I found myself breezing through some of the sex scenes.
Finally, the evolution of the characters was really interesting, especially Sean. As the story unfolded and Sean went from the helpless boy to the person who brought out the best in everyone. That evolution made this story so engaging. Cynthia's development was also quite compelling.
Overall, one of the more ambitious works and really good, but a few adjustments were needed to make it great.
It was an amazingly ambitious and quite a tapestry tale of interweaving characters and coincidences.
I don't know how managed to chart the complicated plots and subplots so thoroughly.
Not the usual infidelity and BTB.
Kudos for creativity and effort author.
Love all of your stories. Since Google deprived me of Kindle I have resorted to reading Literotica. Mostly non erotic tbf.
Fyi we Irish also wear wedding and engagement rings on our left hands.Thanks for the entertainment
Thanks for all your effort and time writing this long saga. Guess Tim did deserve to die, killed in the line of duty would make him heroic, suicide or a car accident is okay. Very pleased that all the other "couples" overcame their difficulties.
This was a teriffic read. The characters were well defined. Most of the comments seemed to focus on Cynthia and David. Both were believeable and unlike many stories of this nature, seemed willing to share responsibility for their marital problems. I thought Rehnquist did an excellent job of illustrating how Cynthia and David learned about mistakes they made in their marriage in real time. For example, when David had his sexual encounter with Aimee, he questioned why he never thought to experiment with Cynthia. This process made these characters more believabke to me,
My favorite couple however was Elizabeth and Will. I really enjoyed her pleasant surprises during their first encounter. Both seemed almost pure. I also really enjoyed the women's relationship particularly Cynthia's and Aimee's. How it evolved was a remarkable bit of story telling.
On the negative side, there's a little bit of criticism deserved over the ease with which every woman achieves multiple orgasms and particularly how easy it seemed for all couples to synchronize their orgasms. Maybe that"s just the bature of these stories, but through personal experience, multiple orgasns, at least with my wife, is an unfulfilled dream.
All in all, a great read and wonderfully drawn characters.
Tom from NC
Wow, loved it, although my adhd/dyslexic butt loved it but i sort of creaTED a program of sorts to just to keep track of the linkages between the characters not sure why I had such a hard time in this one have not had that issue with other stuff he wrote thax for a great read
"David chose Tuesday nights to try and work around Cynthia's schedule. Since they had joined the Club two years after their marriage, just when the business was taking off, she spent every Tuesday afternoon playing tennis. David didn't play tennis, and didn't really like the Club all that much, so he stayed late and tried to coincide his return from work with her return from the Club. That used to be at seven or so every Tuesday, but it started getting later. He'd come home at seven thirty and wait an hour or so before falling asleep on the couch; then he'd push it back to eight thirty, and he'd be dozing off when she traipsed in at nine; so he made it nine and she'd be out until ten. He finally gave up, decided it was best they each have a night to themselves, and decided to spend his nights in the dark solitude of his office, working on coding in advances to the software."
Why was this never discussed in the reconciliation talks with Cynthia and David? Shit she really created her own mess. Yes he didn't give her enough time
at home but they acted like two ships passing in the night on Tuesdays. Wtf? Missed chance to dig into something deep.
And btw there seems to be a whole lot of anal in this fictional county. I went to school at UW-Madison. I don't remember so much of that going on. Apparently no one worries about STDs or pregnancy either.
There are very few husbands that would have forgiven and taken back Cynthia regardless of how much they loved their wife beforehand. David had to see past the betrayal, re-examine his own fault in the marriage, re-examine his sexual desires, and go about talking to Cynthia again knowing that her response to the troubled marriage was really, really bad. Take a big man with a big heart. Just doesn't seem likely given the way it progressed and how sordid her affair was. There is surveillance going back four months but easily could have gone back a year based on his discussion with Alexis. It is never clarified. Also while Cynthia never did certain things she certainly did rough sex with Tim repeatedly.
Would have liked David and Cynthia to have a conversation about how the Tuesday night dynamic happened. Not the core reason she cheated but how she was convinced he was having an affair. How he didn't like the Club and the tennis and worked a bit later, returning home finding her not there, rinse and repeat until he thought she could have a night alone while he worked to save time the rest of the week. Would have loved to see her reaction. She kept coming back after the trysts and didn't see him. Terrible but avoidable miscommunication. Showed the flaw in their marriage. I am sure they would discussed this in their reconciliation talks but would have loved to see the reaction. Also her bringing up the fact she was convinced he was cheating and that while flawed that was her perception would have been an important talking point also. Instead too much emphasis on the interconnected side characters.
Rehnquist is an excellent writer. One of the best on Literotica. But I am glad this was not the first of his stories (all 9 chapters) that I read of his work. It seemed quite frenetic with all these interconnected stories. I assume that was the point but in the end the only really strong relationship with nuanced complexity was David and Cynthia. They both had to go through quite a metamorphosis. The first fee chapters were tough to read. Seeming to be all about decadent, meaningless, or hurtful sex. Speaking of sex scenes, as the chapters went on those of David and Cynthia were simply far beyond any of the other couples. Just not even close. But stepping back to characters. Cynthia certainly starts off as appearing to be a prime bitch. We learn (later) that she degraded herself with Tim for four months on every Tuesday night to get back at her husband for feeling abandoned. Yes she enjoyed the sex during her affair but hated every moment of it afterwards yet never got meaningful time from David except for their vacation in May (shortly after the affair started) when she tried to screw him to death. And yet she was a lonely housewife with no desire for children and a non present though endearing husband. The sex was. In some ways no different than reaching for a bottle. Clearly she had a rough childhood and no confidence in being a mother despite David's long-standing desire to have a family. Wouldn't surprise if that rejection caused him to immerse himself moore in his work. On top of that Cynthia was certain David was having multiple affairs of his own and hence used it as justification for her Tuesday night self degrading acts of sex with Tim. Even if Aimee had not told David about the affair when she did, it would have come to light given Cynthia's self destructive tendencies as she was drinking heavily each time to even get the will to follow through with the next week "session" with Tim. Again she felt unloved and debased herself, akin to cutting herself hoping David would notice. Of course the first few chapters we don't know that. And her visceral shock when David makes her realize there never were any affairs on his part is gut wrenching. But her metamorphosis is quite interesting. By being forced to work for a living and on her own she has to be responsible for someone else (though the bathtub 'clinical' handjob seemed like a weird extra experimental sex scene by the author in a bunch of early chapters crammed with them; didn't seem to have much meaning). The responsibility gives her something to do and gets her to have emotions where she can care for someone without sex being involved. This brings her on the road to not just want but demand children in order to reconcile with David later (though he always wanted kids). Meanwhile David's own metamorphosis is interesting. Being what he thought was a loving husband, he feels absolute betrayal and descends I to fury. Revenge fucks with Aimee, one an exhibitionist act while watching Tim defile Jenny yet again on what would have been Cynthia's night of debasement; his experimentation with swingers and other one night stands and a deep seated anger that threatens to eat at his soul. But even though he joins the sex acts he misses the intimacy and love of Cynthia. They did love each other but their marriage was terrible as they were both broken. David with his overzealous working and neglect of his wife, not only sexually as she has a high sex drive, but more importantly emotionally and his time and presence (or lack thereof). It is amazing Cynthia didn't see divorce years earlier. Meanwhile Cynthia clearly needed attention and love from her husband, but also had a broken childhood that messed up her dreams. She ended up doing the one thing she knew was hideous in order to get back at a man she loved but felt abandoned by and who she was convinced was cheating on her, doing it with a pig like Tim in a way that was loveless and debasing. There is also an awakening of David regarding his sexuality and a slightly dominant sexual personality that he has held at bay for preconceived notions of what he thought a married woman like Cynthia would tolerate. And yet he realizes slowly that Cynthia if anything is the opposite with a slightly submissive personality that he had never pushed but Tim took advantage of in continuing to entice Cynthia to keep returning each week. Their road to reconciling themselves sexually, emotionally and mentally is quite fascinating. But to be fair they should have had there own stories. Fitting in three other romances (one ending with a suicide) was too much. Sean and Aimee seemed like a too soon rebound relationship. Will and Elizabeth was the hooker with a heart of gold trope. The most significant thing about Sean was his effect on Cynthia to want children. Jenny didn't fit in at all. Like an extra that got given way too much weight. Tim was such a scumbag with his four hotties a week that why even both with his arc. Who cares. He was mentally deranged treating his wife Aimee with vanilla sex while enjoying degrading acts with four other women each week. He was so over the top, it didn't matter what happened to him and I can see why the author had him commit suicide. He was a plot device that got his own character arc. A lot of this then led to a lot of bloat in the story. Have Will and Elizabeth in a separate story. And make it more complex and nuanced. Have Sean and Aimee in a separate story. Given them more oxygen. And forget Jenny and Tim. Blah. Despite all of this the David and Cynthia arc is the backbone of the story and is solid. Still deserves a 5/5 but could have been so much more without the character bloat and the incessant sex scenes. Again those of David and Cynthia from midway on are helluva well done. The rest were pretty meaningless. Great author just nowhere near his What You Wish For and Lemon sagas. Not even close.
Admire how you wove the tapestry of these complicated personalities. Skill and thought.
Good...apart from cheating cunt Cynthia getting away with it....and the fact that all women can look forwards to incontinence since all the males are into the shit hole.
I loved the story and enjoyed ever part except the end. It was rushed as if you simply wanted finished with it and just threw it away. If you were going to kill him off you should have let him do it earlier when he wanted to. Too bad, other than that it was great.
I read the Bar and Grill 1st What You Wish For 2nd this 3rd. I see how you improved. All were outstanding. I think reading in this order made the comments by Sean regarding Aimee's artistry (talking to the subject) more impactful. All are very outstanding!
This was an extremely well thought out plot and well written. I particularly liked the time you took on developing the characters and there were a lot of them. I wasn’t big on David and Cynthia getting back together, given what she did, but your plot at least made it acceptable and not a RAAC. All in all, despite the length, it held my interest the entire way through.
I read all nine stories in 2 days, thought your writing and imagination is great, can't waiting to read the rest of your stories.
I enjoyed this story. I have read it before - a couple of years ago, I think. I enjoyed it both times.
Well........laid out nicely. Wrote very well. Somewhat fragmented at the end. Author's Comments laid several questions to rest. So overall very well done.
What an epic story. The writing is excellent and the characters well developed and even the bad ones got a little redemption. Some of you reason and your characters ruminations on there less than moral actions have actual changed my outlook and condemnation of wives who cheat and walk away from a marriage. It is sad to note with so many failed marriages in this country that people don't live up to the promise made in the marriage vows. Promises must be kept.
only thing good about this crapshoot was that tim dies. fuck that cheating piece of shit. if you ask me, suicide was too easy for him. being beaten to death by one of the scorned husbands would be much better imo.
but entertainingly so.
That all the characters were thrown together pushes credibility a bit.
But it's fiction and you gave us what we came for...Thank you.
It's somewhat common in real life, especially in a small town, for people to discover they are married to the wrong person. That's what I see here. Unfortunately people aren't honest with themselves and almost never honest with their mate. If you don't love someone or want to be with someone else then have the balls to say so. Cheating sucks but staying with someone or not letting someone go that you no longer love is worse.
I understand why you let Tim handle the situation the way you did but that is out of character for a cop or the brotherhood of cops. I don't think the PD would have let one of their own get beat up without a more thorough investigation. And for Jenny to blame Tim for her dad's death isn't logical. He didn't even pull the trigger, but I realize people aren't logical.
BTW, good erotic imagery and prose. Well done. I like your style. I'm doing research by reading as much as I can of several authors on this site. Maybe someday I'll take a swing at my own story.
Nice read. Great spelling and grammar. I am still somewhat put out by the easy ending to all the cheaters, except Tim. I don't give Tim extra blame, even if he was the root cheater. I wosh Cynthia would have had some extra pain and suffering...
What an amazing enjoyable read. Loved the many characters and the twists and turns in their progress to an excellent ending. Thank you.
...read on this site yet. Cleverly plotted and the characters were well filled-out. The plot was interesting and entertaining with something for even the most discerning of us. 5 well-earned stars.
Telling a tail with so main important characters and intertwining theirs stories through one another is a challenge only accomplished authors usually take on and some of those don't succeed. As for your "gaps" at the end I agreed with you and didn't see them as gaps just unimportant trivial details not essential to the tale. Well done.
You set a high challenge to write about so many characters and intertwine their lives into such a well written novel. I feel I have visited the town and met these characters who have shared their romantic relationships with me. Thanks for sharing