BED TIME TAINING

 

"I want you back," Samantha said softly when I exited the shower. I cocked an eyebrow at her. "I've never left you," I reminded her.

"I miss you," she said. "I miss waking up next to you. I want you back."

"Okay," I said. "Why don't you talk to Marla and tell her how you feel?"

"I don't want them to think I'm being a stick in the mud," Samantha said.

I dug into one of the drawers for a fresh set of underwear and some shorts. "How about some sort of compromise, then," I suggested.

"We've got two days and two nights left on this cruise. Why don't you propose we realign for tonight, and spend our last night in debauchery? Then, after that, you get to sleep with me all night, every night, for as long as you want."

"You still love me?"

"Of course I still love you. What kind of question is that?"

"It's just that Marla is so gorgeous."

"She is. But, she's not my redhead."

"But she's fun to be around and ... well, you know."

"Hey, Samantha, honey," I said sternly. "I don't understand why you're going all wobbly here. You're still having fun with Carl, aren't you?"

She sighed. "Yeah, but..." she stopped.

"For Pete's sake, Samantha," I snapped after a few seconds of silence. "You're going to have to finish a sentence in order for me to understand what's going on."

"All right," she said her voice steely. "I don't want you to fall in love with her."

"Really?" I tried not to sneer. "Is that it? Or, is it that you don't want me to choose her over you."

That's when the tears exploded. I felt like crap.

"Look, baby," I said. "I love you. You're my wife. I love that you're my wife. I want you to have fun and to enjoy yourself. When this cruise is over you and I are going back to the pad. I'm in love with you. Always have been. Always will be. We fit together. How many times have we both said that?"

"Lots," she managed to squeeze out between the tears.

"See? I'm not choosing anybody over you. You and I are a couple, joined at the hip. You really don't have anything to worry about. I'm not going to run off with Marla and leave you stranded with Carl. I promise."

"How did you know? About Carl, I mean?" she sniffed, pulling a tissue from the box.

"Marla's said some things," I admitted. "She knows he loves her, but she's a little frustrated at his inability to show it. In their sex, you know."

Samantha nodded. "He's very intense," she told me. "At first, I just thought it was the excitement of our situation. But he doesn't ever change. I mean, it's good sex, but he does it like he's in some sort of competition. It seems empty of any feelings, you know?"

"Marla told me," I acknowledged. "He said that he's a fucker, not a lover."

"That's it!" she said. "That says it perfectly."

"Why don't you teach him?" I suggested. "It might come easier from you than from her. I mean, if he gets offended or something, you can just send him back to his wife. But, I'm thinking that if you gave him some gentle instruction, it would improve things all the way around?"

"You think I could do that?" Samantha sniffled.

"Sure!" I confirmed. "Get him to slow down, to start thinking about the process rather than just the goal of getting you off. I know you can do that."

"I've only got two nights, though," Samantha noted.

"So, you don't want me back for tonight?" I grinned at her.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I do. But, you and I have each other for the rest of our lives. I've only got two nights to teach Carl how to make love instead of just fucking," she smiled back at me. "I'm not sure that's enough time."

"Honey," I told her, "if anybody can do it, you can."