Not with My Wife

Copyright June/2011

There are no descriptive sex scenes in this story.

Just a short little ditty but I would still appreciate your constructive comments, critiques, or emails.

Please enjoy the story.

**********

Rose had seemed a little preoccupied for the last two weeks when she came home from work. Sometimes she would stare off into space and be startled when her husband Mark called her name. If she had her back to Mark and he spoke she would jump and look embarrassed. Almost as if she'd been doing something wrong. Mark began to wonder if she was doing something wrong.

Mark Sawyer worked construction and one day when a supplier didn't arrive with the needed materials he and the others of his crew were sent home early. Think I'll stop by and see if Rose wants to go to lunch, Mark thought as he drove to Silk's Rides.

On his way to meet Rose he thought, maybe I just need to pay a little more attention to Rose. Maybe I should be more romantic; take her out for dinner and dancing more often. Hell it's not like we're old yet. I'm 27 and Rose is a year younger. Rose still has the long auburn hair and slim build she did when we met four years ago. And man those green eyes, Mark thought with a little smile. They still can burn a hole into my heart. The last time we got dressed up she wore those high heels that made her just the right height for me to kiss her without bending over.

Mark shook his head said softly aloud, "We've only been married two years and I'm acting like an old married man. I need to do something because we're headed for trouble." Think I'll stop and get some roses for my Rose, Mark thought. That'd be a good start.

Rose worked for Silk's Rides, a used car dealership. Sam Silk owned the dealership; he was the lead salesman and chief negotiator. Rose was the office and finance manager. The rest of the crew consisted of a two part time salesmen and Jasper the mechanic. One of the salesmen was a college kid going to school on a scholarship. Jacob was the other and at 65 was working to supplement his Social Security checks. Jasper, at 62, was also planning on retiring soon.

Mark was trying to get Rose to find another job. That could be the reason things are so tense, he thought. Mark didn't like Sam Silk at all. He felt the man was a sleaze ball and didn't want Rose around the guy.

He thought back to the last time he and Rose had socialized with Sam about two months earlier. It had been at a party celebrating the best month of sales in the company's history. Mark didn't like the attention Sam paid to Rose but kept his thoughts to himself.

"Yes sir. All my customers rave about the smooth ride they got from Sam Silk," the loud mouthed owner bragged. "So do all the ladies that get to spend time with me. They all say smooth ride Silk." As he finished he laughed, hugged Rose to him and leered at her trying to look down the front of her dress.

Okay that's enough, Mark thought. He took three steps, put his hand on Rose's arm and pulled her gently away from Sam. "Maybe so Sam but this is one lady that doesn't need your smooth ride," Mark said with a false smile. He didn't care if he caused trouble for Rose at work and he wasn't going to let that fool paw his wife.

Mark's thoughts returned to the here and now as he parked his truck in front of the dealership's office. He picked up the half dozen roses he'd bought on the way over to surprise Rose. Even if she can't go to lunch with me she'll know I was thinking about her, he said to himself.

The dealership's office was low and one story, more like a portable building than a true office. The main area was open and had four cubicles with shoulder high dividers along one side. Two offices with full walls were along the opposite wall.

There was no one in sight and hearing voices coming from one of the offices Mark stepped to the door. He saw Sam with his hand on the back of Rose's head holding her to him as he kissed her. She pulled her head back and said, "Stop it Sam. We can't do this, it isn't right."

Rose didn't know why but she looked around Sam toward the door and saw Mark standing there. Her eyes opened wide in shock. Before she could say anything Mark closed the distance between them. Sam saw her surprise and started to turn toward the door.

At 6'3 Sam towered over Mark's 5'10. Not only was Sam taller he was much bigger with a thick solid body that weighed 250 pounds. Mark tipped the scales at 180. He didn't hesitate because of Sam's size and quickly closed the distance between himself and the couple.

Mark wore steel toed boots while working construction and put them to good use. As Sam turned Mark kicked him on the side of his knee. The big man went to the floor grasping his injured leg and moaning. When Sam looked up Mark hit him with a short right hand.

"Not with my wife," he said leaning down. "If you touch her again I'll use my Buck knife to make a eunuch out of you."

"Ma...Ma...Mark," Rose said. She had a tendency to stutter when she was excited, angry, or stressed. "What... Don't....It isn't," she stammered.

"I'll see you in jail for this," Sam said still moaning in pain.

Mark pulled his folding Buck from the sheath on his belt and slowly opened it. "Maybe so Smooth Ride, but it'll be too late for you big man," he said with an evil grin. "I'll get out eventually and when I do I'll be back to keep my promise. You've taken the only thing I care about. Jail doesn't scare me a bit."

"P...P... Please don't Mark," Rose said.

"So he means that much to you does he Rose?" Mark asked with barely controlled anger.

"N...N...No he doesn't M...Mark," Rose stuttered. Taking a deep breath she said, "I don't want you to go to jail."

"Go to your Mom's tonight Rose. Don't come home," Mark ordered. "I don't want to see or talk to you right now."

"But M...M...Mark, I..." Rose began.

"Don't come home," Mark repeated with a look that could kill. He bent down and leaned close to Sam. "This is your lucky day smooth ride. I decided you aren't worth going to jail for. At least not yet." Mark turned and left the office.

Rose heaved a big sigh of relief that Mark hadn't seriously hurt Sam. She was shaking and by the time she gathered herself to follow Mark, he was already gone. She knew better than to go home right away from the look in Mark's eyes. That look was so far beyond anger that Mark wouldn't listen to reason.

Rose had only seen that look once before. She and Mark had been married about six months and were in a dance hall. They were celebrating some dumb anniversary like the first time they kissed or something. It was just an excuse to laugh, dance and enjoy each other's company away from their little apartment.

Some urban cowboy grabbed Rose as she walked by his table. He pulled her to him and forced a kiss on her as he rubbed his hand over her rear. It took two bouncers and one of Mark's friends to pull him off the cowboy even though the man was almost as big as Sam. Mark was in a blind rage and had been doing his best to beat the man to death; he had the same look in his eyes then. If Mark has a fault it's his temper, Rose thought. It takes a lot to make him really angry but once he is you can't reason with him.

Rose waited for almost four hours before she went home. She wasn't going to let Mark sit and stew over night about what he'd seen. Rose quietly entered the house that she and Mark rented fully expecting to see him sitting in the kitchen or outside on the big deck. Maybe by now he's calmed down enough to listen to me, she thought. Mark wasn't in the kitchen nor was he out on the deck

Rose checked the rest of the house with the same results. He just wasn't there. Then she realized that Mark's truck hadn't been in the driveway. She had a bad feeling and went to Mark's side of the closet. His clothes were gone with just a few empty hangers lying on the floor.

Mark's side of the bathroom vanity was also empty. Checking the garage she saw that his big tool box was also missing. "But Mark, I didn't do anything," she softly whispered.

**********

It was noon on a Saturday and Mark hated the weekends. During the week he could keep his mind occupied with work; he didn't have to think about anything else. But on the weekends he would miss Rose and their life together. I got two more days to wonder what went wrong, he thought. Why did Rose start up with that ass Sam Silk. The guy's a sleaze ball. He finished his beer and motioned for another one.

Several times he'd thought about calling Rose but each time he saw her and Sam kissing and heard Rose's words. "We can't do this Sam."

Hell if I get wasted I won't have far to crawl, he thought for the hundredth time. Mark was renting an 8 by 38 house trailer that sat about 20 yards from the back entrance to the bar.

Four hundred miles from home and for almost four weeks now Mark was working for a local home builder. He put in his hours and came back to the Crossroads Saloon. Mark would drink until he couldn't see straight and then walk out to the trailer and collapse but he always made it to work the next day. Even hung over Mark was a better finish carpenter than anyone else on the crew.

The waitress set down his fresh beer. "Put it on your tab honey?" She asked already knowing the answer. Sally smiled and flirted and tried to get some response from the handsome young man. He's right nice looking she thought. Tall without being too big and with that dark hair and those blue eyes he could make a girl's heart sing. Sally thought she'd like to be the one to help him get over whatever was bothering him.

"I got it," a man said. "Bring me a cup of coffee please." He sat down at the table across from Mark. "Little early for beer isn't it?" Billy Ray Talbert asked Mark.

"Damn Billy Ray, it's good to see you," Mark greeted his friend, slurring his words. "Been what, six or eight months now?"

"Bout that," Billy Ray replied. "Like I said, it's a bit early for beer isn't it?"

Billy Ray Talbert and Mark Ramsey had been friends since high school. They played together on the only football team from the school that had won the state 2A championship. Billy Ray played guard and blocked for Mark at running back. Their friendship almost came to an end in their senior year.

Betty Lou Jordan was a pretty girl and knew it. She was also a party animal. Betty Lou decided she could play around and keep Billy Ray as a safety net in case she needed a date. Mark caught her in the backseat of a car with a boy from a school in the next town west. It was at a neighborhood BBQ that Mark told Billy Ray what he'd seen. He didn't want his friend to get too serious about this girl and get hurt.

Billy Ray hit Mark twice and knocked him down. "You're a liar. I thought you were my friend," Billy Ray yelled. "Stay the hell away from me."

One week later Billy Ray was sitting on Mark's front porch waiting for him to come home. When Mark walked up Billy Ray handed him a beer. "How y'all been?" Billy Ray asked as if nothing had happened between them.

Later Billy Ray told Mark that he'd see Betty Lou riding around with that same kid from the other school. The boy drove a convertible and Betty Lou was all but sitting on his lap.

"Guess you was right," Billy Ray admitted to Mark.

"Yeah, but I wished I weren't," Mark replied.

Their friendship was back on and just grew stronger over the years.

"It's five o'clock somewheres Billy Ray," Mark answered the question about the beer. "Just getting a jump on the crowd."

Billy Ray drove a semi and he'd been looking for Mark in every little town, truck stop and big city he went through. He'd seen Mark's truck parked beside the saloon and stopped to try and talk some sense into his friend.

"Don't you think you've had enough beer?" Billy Ray asked. "Rose is lookin for you. Hell all your friends been looking for you. She's about to go nuts. Maybe you oughta go home and talk to her."

Mark looked at his friend for several seconds. "Reckon you're right Billy Ray." He paused for a few seconds more and added, "I've had enough beer this mornin." He emptied his bottle and shouted to the waitress. "Hey Sally bring me a double Jack Daniels and water on the rocks and forget the water."

Billy Ray shook his head. Mark always been real stubborn, he thought. "Drinkin don't solve your problems you know?"

"Maybe so," Mark replied. "But it sure does help you forget them for a spell."

"Rose told my Judy what happened. Wasn't what you think Hoss." Billy Ray chuckled and said, "Sam's wife, Nelly, has filed for divorce. She's got him by the short hairs."

"There you go. Why would Nelly divorce Sam if nothing happened between him and Rose?" Mark asked.

"Nelly said that the fact that he even tried something was enough reason to shine him on. You know she caught him a few times before don't you?" Billy Ray thought for a moment. "Why don't you leave your truck here and ride back with me? We can come back and get your truck later."

"Can't, ever if I wanted to, and I don't," Mark answered. "I gave my boss my word I'd stay around long enough to finish the house we're building." Mark took a drink of the whiskey and added, "Stop back in on your next trip through buddy and I'll buy you a beer."

**********

"I'll have what he's having," Rose said as she slid into the booth opposite Mark. She put a small suitcase on the floor beside the booth. It was six days after Billy Ray has spotted his friend.

Mark looked up in shock. Staring at Rose for about 30 seconds he noticed that she had a sadness about her that wasn't there before. Her face had a few worry lines that were new and she'd lost weight. Finally he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Billy Ray dropped me off on his way through town. I've come to take you home." Before Mark could respond Rose said, "It wasn't what you thought honey. If you would've talked to me before you stormed out we wouldn't be here."

"I know what I saw Rose," Mark told her. "You'd been moody and all for two weeks. Maybe you were thinking about or had already been with Sam."

Rose snorted a laugh. "Sam had been flirting and putting moves on me for those two weeks. I was upset because I thought I was going to have to quit my job and I like the work. I didn't care much for the boss but I liked the work. And I'd rather be with a baboon than Sam."

Mark stared at Rose for a long time; she smiled and stared right back at him.

"If I come home and I said if...then you have to quit workin for that asshole," Mark stated. "No arguments, no debate; just quit that job."

"How about if I keep the job but don't have to work for Sam?" Seeing the question on Mark's face she continued. "Sam is no longer working at Silk's Rides. His wife Nelly is the real owner. She kicked him out of the dealership and out of their house. Nelly's got Jacob running the sales end of the business. He's hired two more college kids and got Jasper an assistant in the shop. I'm still running the office and finance section." Rose smiled and added, "Nelly even gave me a big raise."

"Billy Ray said somethin about Nelly catching Sam whoring around before," Mark said. After a few seconds he asked, "Why isn't she mad at you too?"

"Funniest thing. I guess he was bringing his honeys back to the office so Nelly had it wired for video," Rose explained. "She saw that I wasn't responding to Sam and was trying to get away. That's about the time you walked in"

"There's a video you say?"

Rose smiled, nodded and reached into her purse. She pulled a DVD case out and slid it across the table to Mark. "This is the video of what happened that afternoon. I brought it to prove to you that I didn't do anything wrong."

Mark picked up the DVD, turning it over and over in his hands. He slid the case back across the table toward Rose. "I can't go home with you Rose," Mark said. Her smile disappeared and her eyes began to get tears in them.

"I'm too drunk to drive and unless you've learned how to drive a stick shift we can't take my truck. We're stuck here until I sober up," Mark said. He smiled and took her hands across the table.

Rose almost squealed in excitement and slid out of her side of the booth, came to his side of the table and jumped onto Mark's lap.

"Sally bring me the tab will ya?" Mark yelled across the saloon. "I think I've had enough."

The young waitress smiled and waved back at Mark. As she turned away the smile faded from her face. There goes any chance I had, she thought. I just knew that woman was trouble when I saw how Mark looked at her.

**********

Rose wrinkled her nose as she stepped into Mark's small trailer behind the saloon. "This is where you've been living?" She asked with a frown. Then muttering to herself she said, "No wonder you got drunk all the time."

"What?"

"Nothing dear," Rose answered.

"I'll have to go see my boss tomorrow and tell him not to count on me for the next job," Mark said. "Got about two days more to finish the job before I can leave. But looks like I'm goin home."

Rose was so happy and relieved she laughed. "I'm tired. Where do I sleep?" She asked with a sly smile.

Mark grinned and pulled her to him. "With me, Mrs. Sawyer."

They spent the night in the small trailer but the lack of space didn't bother them.

As they crossed over a large river on their way home two days later Mark rolled down the driver's window of his truck and slowed down. He threw the DVD case into the water as they passed over it. Rose looked at him in surprise.

"Don't need to see that ass forcing you to kiss him.

Not with my wife. Not if I want to stay out of jail."

The End