Roger Grayson - The friendly couples

The bubble-topped bath water remained hot after twenty minutes. Janet Richards sat low in the tub allowing the water to barely cover the tops of her rich firm breasts. She blew at the bubbles and scooped them in her cupped hands, building small mountains on her slightly rising chest, each breath breaking hundreds of the small transparent rainbow colored balls as they crackled furiously around her.

She stretched her arms straight above her head and leaned back, stiffening her legs in the tub and raised her body halfway above the snowdrift of bubbles, displaying the long lean lines of her young, voluptuous body. Her skin stretched taut against her ribcage, giving definition to her curvaceous lines that ran to the slight bump of pelvis that pointed out softly near the crest of her hips.

At twenty-seven Janet had lost none of the desirable form she had acquired not long after her seventeenth birthday. Her body kept its shape with exercise on the tennis courts or in a swimming pool. She had much to be proud of, her husband, Greg was always telling her.

She yawned in her catlike stretch and threw her head back, disposing of the bright towel she had wrapped around her long blond hair. Though slightly damp with the humidity in the room, her hair still shone with a bright lustre and an almost majestic fullness piled high atop her head. She bent forward and pulled the plug to release half the water so that she could refill the tub with more hot steaming water. She intended to soak another fifteen minutes before finishing her bath.

It was only four thirty in the afternoon, but Janet was preparing herself for a special night, she thought happily, as the almost scalding water poured itself into the tub from the steam fogged faucet. Greg had received notice of his promotion yesterday morning. He was now a branch manager of a nationwide loan and savings company. She was proud of her husband and his ability.

She took particular care pouring two more cap-fuls of bubble bath into the hot water as she thought of the night's entertainment that lay before her. She and Greg were to be guests of Martin and Darleen Kelly for the evening to celebrate the promotion.

Greg worked with Martin and though they had known each other only a few months, the two men had become fast friends, as well as the wives. The two couples had shared a great many evenings' entertainment together and now, tonight, they would again celebrate with added fervor. The Kellys knew how much the promotion meant to both Greg and Janet.

Curious and apprehensive she thought about what would happen when they went out. Greg had told her that they were going to a topless nightclub near downtown Los Angeles, about thirty minutes from their Hollywood home. Born and raised with all the modesty the Midwest had to offer, she was not sure how she would react to the bare breasts of other women as they bobbed and swayed to psychedelic music in front of a large crowd of people.

She felt she would be too embarrassed to stay through an entire show, but with all her courage she had tried to seem pleased when Greg had told her where they were going. Besides he had already reserved a table at Martin's suggestion. The Kellys were footing the bill, but wanted Greg to pick the entertainment he wished to see. Janet was not sure what to think when she heard that he wanted to see a topless show. It was so unlike him.

Her thoughts were broken by the loud ringing of the telephone in the bedroom. She turned her head toward the open door, knowing for some unexplainable reason that Greg was calling. She lifted herself quickly from the tub, threw her robe around her shoulders and hurried to the bedside phone.

"Hello, darling," she said, cradling the receiver between her chin and shoulder.

"How did you know it was me," Greg asked.

"Oh, I'm just telepathic," she giggled.

"Well, tell me if you were telepathic about this," he said. "You have to pack a bag for me. I've been called to Dallas."

"Oh, no, Greg. Not tonight!"

"I'm afraid so, honey. The call came just ten minutes ago. There's an important meeting of branch managers from the larger cities. Speculation is that names are to be mentioned for nominations for three new district managers. Even though I was promoted only yesterday, there's a rumor that I'll be nominated as a possible selection for the future. So… The party will just have to wait. I'll be home in half an hour. Bye."

Janet didn't answer but only listened to the click on the other end of the line. Oh, why, she thought. Nothing ever seems to turn out right. Day and night he was away from her, working and slaving twelve to eighteen hours a day. For the last year he seemed to pay no attention to her, only his job. He should have married the finance company, she thought.

Halfheartedly she walked to the closet, slid open the door and began selecting clothes for him to take. I shouldn't think that, she considered. Greg is working so hard so that we can have a better future. She felt a pang of guilt for being mad at her husband. After all, his last promotion had meant another thirty five hundred dollars a year, and he seemed so enthusiastic about the Dallas meeting. Perhaps she was wrong in being so quick to judge him. His neglect in the bedroom was only from exhaustion, and exhaustion she thought was the result of his loving her. But it had been months… three months since he had touched her.

She stood before the mirror, her robe falling from her shoulders. Her hands cupped her breasts while she examined them carefully in the glass. There are no signs, she thought. Age hasn't come for me yet. For a moment she took a quick inventory of the rest of her body and decided that it was as good as it had ever been, then turned to continue the packing.

At five o'clock the front door opened. "Honey, are you dressed? Martin's with me."

Oh, no! she thought, when she heard his voice from the living room. She had hoped for at least a few minutes alone with him before he had to leave. Opening the bedroom door, she could see her husband mixing a fast Martini behind the bar in the den. She glanced at the gray flanneled back of the six foot, grey templed man standing in the center of the room, Martin Kelly.

"Hello, Martin," she said.

He turned to look at her, greeting her with a large grin as he always did. She smiled back at the soft, grey eyes that always seemed to penetrate her when they looked in her direction. Martin Kelly had no excess on his face or his body. Janet admired him for a quick second. She always marveled at how well he looked. Except for the greying temples she would never have thought him to be a day over thirty-two or three, but then, forty wasn't old either.

She walked past him and met Greg halfway across the room. He gave her a drink and handed one to Martin, neglecting to kiss her on the cheek as he had done for the first three years of their marriage. But had sadly neglected doing it since they had moved from Louisville. For some reason he hadn't had the inclination to give her that little kiss of reassurance that she needed so badly each time he came home in the evening. "To Dallas and a quick trip home," Martin proposed and the trio drank to the toast. Janet downed her Martini in one unusually quick gulp, the disappointment readily apparent in her face.

"Hey, that is not like you at all," Martin smiled to her and gestured playfully with his finger.

And Greg didn't even notice, she thought rather bitterly, "It was too good to waste by letting it warm," she smiled grimly back at Martin, not even looking at her husband. "Besides, I have to celebrate my husband's promotion all alone tonight, so I may as well get started early."

"That's almost right," Martin said and turned to Greg with a twinkle in his eye. "Shall I tell her?"