FAMILY SECRETS

When I arrived home from work on Friday, Marilyn's car was in front of the house. The guilt that was eating at my guts took another bite and I reached for the Rolaids as I parked my car in the garage.

When I walked in the back door, Carol greeted me and kissed me softly on the lips. "Hi, honey. How was your day?" That loving, knowing expression was on her face. That look always made me wary, as if she knew something I didn't know, but should.

"Long. The week was long." I saw Marilyn leaning against the doorway into the family room. It was the first time I'd seen her socially since Bob's funeral two weeks ago. Oh, I'd seen her at the lawyers' office when we discussed Bob's estate, but that's not the same.

"We need to talk. Go say hello to Marilyn while I make you a drink," Carol said.

Marilyn smiled and hugged me fiercely with our bodies pressed together. "I've missed you," she whispered in my ear.

"I've missed you, too," I said, and I had. I hadn't gone two weeks without seeing her in years.

I plopped down in my recliner, took off my shoes, and set them by the chair. Marilyn sat on the couch opposite me. There was a tiny smile on her face. I hadn't seen her smile since he died. God, I'd missed that smile. Carol brought me my drink, kissed me deeply, and sat down by Marilyn. I reached for the Rolaids again.

"I know what's eating you, Jim, and we've got to talk about it. I'm afraid it'll kill you," Carol said. "I love you. I love you with all my heart. I've loved you since that first date the first weekend of my freshman year."

"I know," I replied. "And I love you, too. I always have."

"I've never doubted that for an instant, but I know you better than anyone knows you. I may know you better than you know yourself." She paused for dramatic effect and her expression made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "And I know Marilyn."

Oh, shit! She knows. She knows, I thought. I finished my drink in one gulp.

"No more booze, Jim. We've got to talk."

"I'm listening," I said.

"Three months after our wedding, Marilyn told me the two of you were having an affair."

My heart was about to explode and the acid boiled up again.

"Did you take your Prilosec?" Carol asked sharply. I shook my head. "I'll get it. Marilyn, get some water."

They both scurried off to return in moments with aid and worried expressions, but they were gone long enough to let me digest what she'd said, and that, more than anything, made my agony decrease.

"Here. You really should take better care of yourself," she said as she handed me the magic pill. Marilyn handed me the water and I gulped it down.

"You've known for twenty-four years?" I said.

"Yes, I have."

"Why didn't you say something?"

Carol looked chagrinned. "I couldn't. I was having an affair with Bob."

"I don't think I heard that," I said.

"Yes, you did," she said. "I was having an affair with Bob while you were having an affair with Marilyn." Marilyn was repressing a laugh.

"You knew?" I asked her.

"I've known since then," Marilyn replied. "When I confessed to Carol, she confessed to me."

"I want to get this straight. You - Carol - were fucking my brother, Bob, while I was fucking Marilyn, his wife?"

"That sums it up," Carol said.

"You're shitting me."

"Don't scream, Jim. I'm right here."

"My God. I don't believe this."

"It's true," Marilyn said.

"It's true," Carol echoed.

"And you both knew?"

"That's right," Carol said. Marilyn nodded agreement.

As I looked at the two woman - one my wife and the other my brother's wife that I'd been screwing for twenty-four years - I knew there was something more each wanted to say. The fire in my belly subsided. I knew it wasn't the medicine. It was the relief from guilt.

"There's something else," Carol said. "Something even Marilyn doesn't know." I'd never seen here look so conflicted and guilty. Marilyn saw it, too, and her eyes cut to me. We waited for Carol to continue.

"I love you, Jim," Carol said with gut-wrenching honesty. She looked away and we waited on her again. When she looked back at me, her eyes were wanton and challenging. "When we decided to have children, I went off the pill," she continued, "But I kept having sex with Bob and I didn't use protection with him."

"Bob could be the father of our children?" I said.

"Yes," she answered. Carol wasn't upset. She was proud.

"Why?"

"For the same reason Marilyn and I decided to keep our affairs secret from our husbands. For the excitement, the thrill, the raw, visceral stimulation of being a secret slut." Carol was aroused, with a wild, wanton look in her eyes. Marilyn was quiet as a church mouse as she took in every nuance of the conversation.

"You liked that?"

"Yes," Carol hissed.

"You like being a secret slut?"

"Yes," she said proudly. She was challenging me. Her back was slightly arched, raising her breasts to me. Her eyes were on fire.

I unzipped my trousers and fished out my cock. "Come here, slut. I have something for you to suck on," I said.

She pounced between my knees. Greedily, she began to suck my cock. Marilyn was cool and calm with a secret smile as she watched my wife acting like a two-dollar whore. I grabbed Carol's hair, pulled her up, and kissed her, a driving, raping kiss. As we kissed, I squeezed her nipple through her clothing. I heard her whimper with need.

I pushed her back down. She tried to reach my cock with her open mouth, but I held her head. "Did you fuck anyone else?" I asked.

"Never," she exclaimed emphatically, but I knew she lied. I shoved her on her back and lifted her skirt. She wasn't wearing panties. She opened her legs wantonly and brought her knees to her breasts. I lodged my cockhead in her slit and she groaned like a bitch in heat.

"Give me a good ride, slut."

Carol came when I drove my cock into her and sweat burst from her like a running stream.

"That's it, Jim. Fuck your slut. Fuck her until she can't walk," Carol whimpered. Another orgasm wracked her.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Marilyn kick off her shoes and wiggle out of her pantyhose and panties. I could see her bush and the bloated lips of her pussy as she began to play with herself.

Another orgasm made Carol spasm in ecstasy. I'd fucked Carol until she lost consciousness on other occasions. When I saw her eyes start to roll back in her head, I pinched her nipple hard to keep her awake. She gasped and tried to focus on me. I knew it was coming. I felt the tenseness in her body, heard her maniacal little laugh. Every fiber of her body tensed. Her eyes were wide open but unseeing as her pussy spasmed like a fist on my cock. She laughed again as she came. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she went limp.

I pulled out. My cock was red and hard and glistened with Carol's juices. I stood, took Marilyn's hand, and dragged her toward the bedroom. She began unbuttoning her blouse. Both naked, we fell on the bed and fucked like animals.

Marilyn was always a different fuck than Carol. Marilyn was as hot, her orgasms as intense, but she seemed more passive, maybe more giving, with a sweet, sensual smile on her face. She whispered sweet words in my ear. When she felt my cock expand, she dug her nails into my ass to hold me in her. We came together.

"Carol's not the only one with secrets," Marilyn said as we lay cooling. "There are things I've never told her. And I know what's eating you. It's not the guilt of cheating on Carol. It's the guilt of cheating on Bob."

"True," I said, and my stomach rolled.

"He knew I was screwing you. He'd known for years." The weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. She stroked my face. "It's all right, Jim. He knew and he liked it. He laughed when he thought about it."

"How did he know?"

"Before we were married, he told me he was sterile."

"My God, I never knew that."

"He said he wanted you to father our children and I thought he meant as a sperm donor. 'No, Marilyn. I want you to fuck him,' he said. I wanted to fuck you. I wanted you as much as I wanted him. So I agreed." Her eyes were twinkling.

"He knew all along," I said.

"It was his idea from the start. He gave me permission, no, he ordered me to have an affair with you and let you father my children, but I wasn't to tell you unless he died."

"That sorry bastard. He always did have a sick sense of humor," I said.

"He's probably sitting on a cloud watching us and laughing his ass off," she giggled.

"Then all the children are mine. Carol's and yours."

"Mine are. I never had a man except the two of you. But I'm not so sure about Carol's kids."

"What do you mean?"

"Carol really is a slut, Jim. I love her like she was my sister, but it's the truth."

"How do you know?"

"She told me about them."

"How many?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I do," I said.

"You have to promise you'll never tell her you know. You have to promise that you'll never leave her, not even for me."

"Why?"

"I don't want to hurt her anymore than I want to hurt you, and she does love you desperately."

"I promise," I said.

"One hundred and eight."

"Oh, bullshit!"

"I'm serious," she said and I knew she was, but I still had trouble believing it. "She told me about every one in great detail. I have it all written down, Dates, names, places."

"I want to see it."

"All right, but you promised."

"And I'll keep that promise."

"What are you to talking about?" Carol said from the doorway. She looked well fucked and in disarray. Her eyes were swollen and soft. Her clothes were a mess.

"Life and sex," I said.

Marilyn had quickly tried to cover herself when Carol entered, but Carol had looked at her unashamedly. I stood, took Carol in my arms, and kissed her. As I did, I unzipped her dress. She helped me get it off her, unfastened her bra, and let it slide to the floor.

Carol had a cool, predator's expression on her face. Marilyn gently threw back the covers and lay back with her hands by her head and her legs parted.

"Anything else you ladies want to tell me?" I asked.

"Marilyn and I have made love a few times. Not often. Maybe three or four times a year," Carol said.

"I want to watch," I said.

Carol shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs and looked at me. Marilyn rolled over on her side and propped her head up on her arm.

"Let's talk a little more," Carol said. "Marilyn's alone now that Bob is gone. All of the kids - hers and ours - are grown. I want her to move in with us. She really is my best friend. Besides, I don't see any reason for you to drive to her house when you want to fuck her."

"I'd like that," I said.

Carol gave me a lewd and happy smile. "We've told you about us."

"Everything?" I interrupted.

"Everything," Carol said firmly. "How about you?"

"Except for Marilyn, I've never cheated on you," I said. "And Marilyn," I said as I looked at her. "Bob never cheated on you except for Carol."

"Thanks for telling me," she said. They both looked like they believed me and were relieved.

"I'm glad all the secrets are out in the open," Carol said. Marilyn and I murmured agreement.

Carol put one knee on the bed. Marilyn rolled on her back again and spread her legs. My cum glistened on her pussy. Carol buried her face in Marilyn's crotch and Marilyn groaned, wrapped her fingers in Carol's hair, and held her there. Carol's ass was in the air. I knee-walked behind her and buried my cock in her wetness. She squirmed back against me as I stared into Marilyn's inscrutable face.

I wondered what other lies they'd told me. Bob had shared with me the proof that Marilyn had an affair with her high school sweetheart, and I knew she'd screwed a friend of mine she didn't know was a friend. I knew Carol played around, but I didn't know how much. That did surprise me.

Bob holding out that he knew I was screwing Marilyn surprised me the most. Bob and I shared everything, or I thought we did. I know we shared Susan Patton, Ginger McGowan, Myrna Myers, and the hookers we took on our annual fishing trip. Now I knew we shared Carol and Marilyn, too.

The ache in my belly was gone. Marilyn had been correct. It was the guilt about screwing her and not telling Bob that ate me up. Keeping the other family secrets didn't bother me. Some things are best left unsaid.

The End
E. Z. Riter