All Novel Sweet
148
No one needed to bring up Marilyn’s and Ray’s situation. That had been cemented by their sixth Friday night date. When Ray told her that all his roommates were gone for the weekend to follow the football team on an away game, Marilyn suggested they take advantage of the situation.
“Are you sure about this, Marilyn?” Ray asked as they stared at one another in the quiet dorm room. The significance of the portending event was overwhelming. Marilyn nervously was almost ready to rescind her offer when Ray continued to speak.
“I want to let you know that I have never done this before. I mean, I know how from listening to other guys talking, but I need this to be perfect for you, Marilyn. I love you, Marilyn. I’ve been in love with you from the first time I saw you. And I’ll always be in love with you. Whether you decide, yes or no, I’ll still love you and want you forever.”
The sincerity of Ray’s expression was all that was needed to melt the lingering doubts from Marilyn. She had listened to so many horror stories from her roommates about guys professing their love and once they got a piece of ass, dumping them. Marilyn was resolved that would never happen to her.
Now, her boyfriend had not only said the “L” word first, but he was giving her an out. All she had to do was back down and life would continue as it had. Suddenly, Marilyn knew what she wanted. She didn’t want to look back later in life and see this as a “what if” moment. Ray announced his commitment to her and she had felt the same for him. It was time.
She leaned forward and softly kissed him and began to undress. Ray nervously watched for a few seconds and then clumsily began to shed his clothes. When they were stripped to their underwear, Marilyn crawled into the small bed. Ray turned out the light and followed Marilyn.
Kissing and blindly groping one another escalated the passion. Soon the underwear was discarded as the fire continued to grow. Blindly on top of Marilyn, Ray moved into position. He reached down, desperately hoping to find his way into Marilyn. Marilyn wondered if she should guide him when by happenstance the penis found her vagina.
Her gasp gave proof to Ray that finally he was doing something right. Marilyn held her breath as the engorged penis slid into her. The discomfort… the pain… why did she agree to this. In a moment, the pressure on her hymen disappeared and the pain and discomfort eased. Marilyn realized that her virginity was gone as the penis slid deeper and deeper into her.
Ray was continuing to whisper his love for her as her tears stopped from falling unnoticed by Ray. As Ray inexpertly continued on, they clumsily fell into a rhythm. Ray was excited by the warm moist sensation of being inside Marilyn. Finally, he was finding out what this mystery was about. Due to his excitement he couldn’t last long. A mere five minutes and he was climaxing.
Then it was a matter of declaring his love to Marilyn over and over in the darkness. Thanks to the gift of youth, Ray was able to get an erection three more times during the night and Marilyn accommodated his needs. When the sun rose, Ray was softly caressing Marilyn as she slumbered. When she woke, the smile on her face rewarded Ray and alleviated his concerns.
After that weekend, Ray and Marilyn’s priority were to one another as they fleshed out their relationship. What puzzled their friends was the couple were not cookie cutting identical twins. They argued politics; they debated art; they had different musical tastes. One friend summed it up best, “The only thing the two of you have in common is each other!”
That was enough. Ray invited Marilyn to go home with him during the Thanksgiving break and endured all the jibes at his expense as Marilyn charmed his family. At Christmas, he flew out with Marilyn to her parent’s house and endured their inspection. They continued to alternate holidays and breaks throughout their college careers and were welcomed fixtures in both households. It was no surprise that after graduation Ray asked Marilyn to wait on him as he entered law school.
She followed him and moved in with him as Ray delved into the Socratic legal education. When he passed the bar, both families were joined in a celebration party when he went down on one knee to ask her to marry him. Marilyn’s father smiled at his daughter’s excited acceptance. While he was old fashioned enough not to be 100% on board when his daughter began living with Ray. Ray still respected him enough to ask for her hand in marriage before he proposed. His daughter could have done a lot worse.
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For better or worse, that is what I vowed when I married Ray, Marilyn thought as they waited for another stoplight. I was so ready to accept the better, but when it came time for the worst I certainly showed my true colors. Well, it is too late to turn back the clock, she thought miserably, I lost him and I have nobody to blame but myself.
The funny thing is I never saw it coming. First, came the little pep talks in John’s office. Then, it escalated to going out to lunch with him. Then, every now and then they would go have an after work drink. Oh, it was all innocuous. Other people were included on most of the get togethers and John never tried to say or do anything in private.
He still remained as a sounding board while I vented. He never tried to belittle Ray while I vented my pain and frustration over Rachel. He always gave me good advice to keep communicating with Ray. But that was easier said than done as time went on.
Then came that lunch where it was just the two of us. I was having a particular bad day and was close to losing it. John took me to a quiet restaurant and sat and listened while I vented for an entire afternoon. He reached and held my hand as I explained the pain I was undergoing. When it came time to leave, he gave me a hug, as a sign of empathy before I drove home. I was happy that I had a friend I could talk to.
Marilyn got home and steeled herself to start caring for Rachel. Ray and she were in agreement that Rachel came first. Whatever else was bothering them would end when they set foot in the house. They would tend and care for their daughter and deal with the minor stuff later.
That night Ray didn’t come home till midnight. She began worrying after it got to seven p. m. It was his practice that he would call if he was working late. When Rachel asked where her daddy was she told her daughter he was working late, but he would look in on her after she went to sleep. She began calling him and the phone went to voice mail. She kept leaving messages, but she didn’t get a call back.
When he arrived home from his taxi ride, Marilyn was seething. His suit was disheveled and he was reeking of whiskey. She started to light in on him, all the while trying to keep the noise level down not to disturb Rachel’s sleep.
He tried to stand erect, but the liquor was making that impossible when he point blanked asked if she was having an affair with John Tullos. Without waiting for an answer he staggered upstairs and spent a moment just watching Rachel sleep. Then he went to the guest bedroom and shut the door behind him.
The next morning, Marilyn was busy preparing breakfast when a hungover Ray stumbled into the kitchen. By way of greeting him, she dropped his plate of food haphazardly in front of him. When he realized that no fork, knife, or spoon would be forthcoming; not to mention a cup of coffee he sighed and got up to tend to those matters. Finally as he sat down, he watched as Marilyn made no sign of noticing him as she furiously chewed her food.
She wolfed down her breakfast and got up and noisily dropped her plate into the sink. Then she began to walk out of the kitchen. Right when she got to the doorway, she spun around and said, “You want to tell me what the hell brought that on?”
Ray wasn’t sure if the accusatory treatment was any better than the silent treatment. Still he replied, “Yesterday, while you were getting all comfy with your boss at lunch, one of the senior partners at the firm spotted the two of you. He thought I would like to see what my wife was up to. Imagine my surprise when I saw my wife holding hands with another man on the photos he took with his smart phone. Not to mention the really good shot of the two of you hugging. Yeah, that really made my day!”
Dropping the sarcasm, Ray continued, “It was bad enough knowing that the jackass would take the photos to every single partner in the firm and use it as ammo to keep me from being made partner. But, the real icing on the cake was getting sick to my stomach at the very idea that the woman that I have loved from the moment I first set eyes on her looking at another man like you used to look at me.”Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
The soul wrenching despair in Ray’s voice tore at Marilyn’s heart as he continued.
“So, I spent the rest of the afternoon sheltered in my office; not taking any calls, not doing any work. I just sat there with my whole world being turned upside down… again.”
“Ray, I’m sorry! I was having a bad day and John suggested we have lunch. All he is to me is being my friend. All the body contact was just a way of showing empathy from him. I was upset and he kept telling me that I needed to talk to you.
Believe it or not, John has gone out of his way telling me that I needed to understand how all this is hurting you as well. Every time we talk he is asking me how you are doing. You don’t have to be afraid of him, Ray! Most of the times he takes your side about every argument we have!”
With that Ray stiffened, “Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that you’ve been telling this guy what has been going on in our family? You won’t talk to me, but the first chance you get you go and run to your boss and talk to him? What the hell do you talk about Marilyn? Do you talk about me? Do you talk about us?”
The guilty look on Marilyn’s face was all Ray needed to see. Without finishing breakfast, he got up and put his plate in the sink and began to wash the dishes. Marilyn, stood there trying to think of something to say that would not pour gasoline on the inferno raging between them.