She Had a Plan

This is another quick, short piece on a well-worn trope: the wife trying to rekindle passion and desire in a long, otherwise happy marriage. I purposefully left the ending with lots of questions and possibilities. I will leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions. However, if anyone wants to add more, feel free to carry on. I do ask that anyone writing a follow-on please contact me and send me the link to your submission when it is published on Lit. I enjoy reading them to see what others write in response to my start.

Now the Story!

Mary sat quietly in the living room of their substantial home in the Dallas suburbs. There was no place she would rather be than in her home. It's where she and her husband, Eric, raised three children and now eagerly await their first grandchild. Mary spent most of her days at home since retiring from the City of Dallas Public Library System. After graduating from SMU with a degree in Library Science, she built a career and eventually became manager of physical facilities for the Dallas Library System.

The youngest of their three children was now a junior at Texas A&M. David was headed, in his mind, for a career in the military and had been accepted to the Corps of Cadets at TAMU. The middle child, Angela, was in graduate school at Harvard. She would graduate a year later with an MBA in international finance. Her internship with a major banking chain almost ensured her a bright future and a job offer on graduation. The eldest of their children, Douglas, was named after her husband's dad and her dad. Hence, Douglas Albert Hutchins. After attending Baylor University in Waco, he attended the Rice University of Medicine. To his parents' surprise, he opted to pursue a specialty in pediatric cardiology at Texas Children's Hospital. He had been offered opportunities at Duke and two other preeminent hospitals but chose to stay in Texas. Doug and his wife, Julie, were expecting their first child. Like his Dad, he was Texan through and through.

Mary's husband and the father of their three children, Douglas Hutchins, still worked as a commodity buyer for a large partnership in Fort Worth. He mainly dealt in agricultural commodities but occasionally strayed into the currency markets. Throughout the industry, Douglas was considered a guru and was the youngest man ever offered a partnership in the firm, Weeland, Powell, and Murchison. Mary and Douglas were not, by any means, among the most wealthy and influential in the DFW metroplex. However, they had enjoyed a pleasant life lacking nothing, and their children had benefited from Douglas's success.

However, no sunshiny day is ever without its clouds. This was true for Mary and Douglas after their kids left home and Mary retired. Together, they had always planned to travel and start checking off their considerable bucket list once the children were stable and in their own. Mary had anticipated this time of her life. Douglas didn't seem too excited. He kept working as hard and as intensely as he had for years. In fact, he seemed to be more focused on his job now than he had in the past. Mary was concerned and tried to voice her anxiety to Douglas without much success.

Mary's life became a carousel of charity organization meetings and women's groups. Douglas was rarely home before 8 pm, and their intimacy had sunk to the bottom of a well. Sex was a rare event. Mary was approaching her 60th birthday. More and more her thoughts were filled with questions about what was wrong, what had happened, and why. For a while, Mary was concerned that Douglas had a paramour. It didn't take her long to determine that it was not another woman who was her rival, but the firm that had her husband's almost undivided attention.

During her quest to uncover any illicit affairs, Mary had used her time to investigate Douglas's habits. She didn't find any incriminating evidence, although she learned that Douglas had a penchant for some rather kinky porn. One of the websites she found him visiting regularly was called Literotica. At first, she wasn't sure if he was there for the video feeds, the chat, or the stories. The tracking software she installed on his laptop soon told her that most of his time on the Literotica website was reading stories, particularly those in one of three categories: loving wives, BDSM, and Nonconsensual/reluctance. Using her detective skills, she soon found his username and password and gained access to his profile. There, she found the stories he considered his favorites and the authors he chose to follow.

Ever inquisitive (and bored), Mary began reading some of those stories. She soon became fascinated by what she found. It surprised her that Douglas, it seemed, was fascinated with the concept of cheating wives. She understood he was faithful to fault and had made it known from the day they were married that his was a "one and done" philosophy. Mary was surprised that he was spending time reading about cheating wives and vengeful husbands. The thought gave Mary a decided shiver.

The other two categories that Douglas seemed to favor surprised her even more. An interest in non-consensual sex was as far as she could have guessed that he would find erotic. Likewise, he had never brought up to her anything that hinted at BDSM. As she read many of the stories on his favorites list, she often shook her head in disbelief that her husband liked them.

On a lark, Mary created her own account on Literotica so that she could read some of the thousands of other stories on the website. Broadening her interests, she began to sample stories from all the categories, even favoriting some authors. Anyone who noticed would have seen that Mary was spending more and more time on the Literotica site. Her interests began to narrow, especially to stories where a wife tried to capture a husband's attention after many years of marriage. To Mary, these types of stories seemed all too close to home.

As a librarian with a minor in English in college, Mary didn't take long to start writing her own stories and submitting them for review. At first, the comments and ratings were disappointing and, sometimes, rude and distasteful. However, she kept at it, studying in the forums and reading the comments. Slowly, her ratings and reviews improved.

Certain things began to catch her attention in the stories. As she read, she noticed that many stories shared things in common with her own plight. Making notes, she soon had a journal filled with references to stories that mirrored parts of her life with Douglas. During this time, Mary made a mistake common to many who fall for the allure of Literotica. She forgot that what she was reading was fiction and began to accept the premises and concepts in the stories as truth. It wasn't long before her reality began to meld with the fiction, and a plan seeded itself in her mind. At first, it was tenuous and elemental. Over time, as she read and wrote, the plan took shape until she believed she was ready. Her goal was to reignite the passion her husband had for her years ago and restart the fairy-tale relationship she had created in her mind.

Mary, falling back on what she was comfortable with, laid out her plan as a narrative. It let her look at the possibilities, the pitfalls, the options, and consider how this might play out. Her plan seemed so simple that she couldn't envision that it might not work or could go horribly wrong. Almost snickering to herself, she began to formulate her assumptions.

Writing her story took several more days. Once it was completed, she re-read the entire thing. To her surprise, reading her own creative writing left her a little flustered and more than a little sexually excited. The story centered around a couple much like her and her husband. They had been married for years and settled into a comfortable lifestyle. She had, in fact, modeled her characters in detail after herself and Eric. In her story, much like herself, the female character wants to re-invigorate her marriage and, knowing the husband's proclivities, she sets up a scenario she believes will excite her husband and rekindle their relationship. The character of her husband in the story routinely looks at photos and videos that depict a willing hot wife satisfying her husband's fantasies about a mock rape and subsequent gang bang, mirroring what she perceived to be Eric's fantasies. Setting the story aside, she considered her next steps.

Recognizing the potential risks, Mary decided the best course of action was to feel out her husband and gauge his reaction through careful fantasy play. Adopting a strategy of increasing intensity, she mentally laid out her plans for the next few weeks. She set about putting the first stage of her plan into action within the next few days.

A few evenings later, Mary initiated her plan. She had made a wonderful dinner with wine and a dessert. When planning the menu, Mary knew that if the meal were too large or heavy, Eric would want nothing more than to go to bed early. The menu she chose, while delicious, was also rather light, as was the dessert. Later, as they prepared for bed, Mary disappeared into the bathroom. When she emerged, she found Eric leaning against the headboard on several pillows. He held the TV remote and flipped through channels. Mary stepped into the bedroom and waited until Eric glanced at her. She nearly giggled as his mouth opened at what he saw.

Mary stood framed in the doorway of the bathroom wearing a matching lingerie set featuring a half - cup bra that exposed her nipples, a matching panty, garters, and stockings. She stood, one arm over her head resting on the door frame, half turned toward him so that he could see her silhouette, and her left knee cocked up along her right leg. She thought it was provocative.

Eric seemed to think so as well. Mary noted that his boxer shorts almost immediately took on a tent-like appearance as his cock rose. Still holding the remote pointed at the TV, Eric found his voice.

"Mary. What the hell?"

"I thought you might like this."

"Umm... Yeah. I do. But what prompted it tonight?"

"Oh, come on, Eric. Things have gotten a little stale around here. Let's get out of our rut and spice life up a bit."

Eric couldn't argue at that point. As the blood rushed from his big brain to his little brain, his concentration slipped, and a new train of thought hit the tracks. Tossing the remote control toward the bedside table, it bounced and skidded off, landing on the carpet. Eric's open mouth spread into a grin.

Taking his actions as a cue, Mary crawled over the foot of the bed and up over his legs. As she settled down across his thighs, Eric saw that the panties were crotchless. When Mary reached for his boxers and slipped his now engorged cock from the fly, he watched in amazement.

"Jesus, Mary. What's gotten into you?"

With a giggle, Mary stroked her hand up and down his cock.

"I hope this gets into me."

With that, she rose onto her knees and took a half step forward. Guiding his cock with her hand, she lowered herself onto him, feeling his cock slip easily into her waiting pussy, filling her. Her eyes closed, and a groan escaped from her lips. Without moving, she sat there, enjoying the fullness inside her. Eric watched, wide-eyed with surprise. Automatically, he put his hands on her waist and lifted his hips slightly. Together, they moved rhythmically for several minutes before Mary spoke.

"God, Eric. This feels good. I had almost forgotten how good it feels."

"Yes. Don't stop."

They enjoyed each other for a few more minutes before Mary spoke again.

"Eric. Tell me a fantasy. Tell me something wild and arousing."

That seemed to put Eric off just a bit, and he stopped moving, his eyes open to look at her.

"Where did that come from?"

"I want to know what excites you."

"Hell. You excite me."

"Come on, Eric. It's been weeks since we even made love, much less get wicked. Tell me what is in that mind of yours. What would turn you on?"

Eric looked up at the ceiling as Mary began to move again on top of him. As he let his mind wander, his hands did the same, moving up to cup and caress her breasts. He heard her groan slightly at his touch.

"I don't know."

Breathlessly, she leaned down and kissed him and whispered, her lips brushing his.

"Tell me what wicked things you would like to do."

Instantly, his mind flashed back to the video he had watched a few evenings before. Mary had been at a hospital auxiliary meeting, and he had gotten bored. Remembering that scene, it occurred to him that as he had watched the video, he had, almost absentmindedly, put Mary into the scene. Conjuring the images from his memory, he saw Mary being accosted by a group of 6 men who had her in a dingy warehouse, where they began to taunt and humiliate her. In time, they had stripped her as she protested and fought, and then the six men took turns with her. In time, her protests had turned to rabid consent as she exhorted the six men to fuck her in every conceivable way and place. Eric began to recount the fantasy to Mary.

To his surprise, she responded with even more energy in their loving making. Eric suddenly realized that it was no longer lovemaking; it was fucking. She was hammering herself up and down on his cock as he squeezed and mauled her breasts with his hands. Her small cries of passion were now loud wails of need and lust. Eric worked at lifting his hips to meet her downward thrusts. Their orgasm was simultaneous, noisy, and lasted several seconds. Mary collapsed forward onto his chest, panting. Eric lay looking over her shoulder at the ceiling over the bed, trying to understand what had happened.

After a few minutes of recovery, Mary rolled off onto her side of the bed. Looking at her, Eric saw a mixture of satisfaction and lust.

"Christ, Mary. What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know, but it was spectacular."

Eric moved on the bed and then grimaced.

"And I'm lying in the wet spot. It's huge."

Mary dropped her eyes.

"I might have squirted just a little when I orgasmed."

Eric sat up and looked at the drenched sheets. His eyebrow went up as he spoke.

"A little. We are going to need to change the sheets."

Mary answered with an embarrassed giggle. She swung her legs off the bed and headed down the hall to the linen closet for a fresh set of sheets. As she came back into the room, Eric was in the bathroom. Quickly stripping the soiled linens, she was about to remake the bed when Eric appeared.

"Mary. Did what I described excite you?"

Mary kept unfolding the fitted sheet and spoke without looking at Eric.

"Yes. And I think it excited you as well."

"It did. But. You find the idea of being raped sexually exciting."

"Of course not. Rape is not about sex; it's about violence and control. In your fantasy, the woman seemed to be a willing participant, especially at the end."

Eric thought about that for a few minutes as he helped Mary spread the top sheet on the bed and get it into position.

"Did you find the idea of having sex with six different men exciting?"

"The way you described it, I did at the time."

"You wouldn't really want to do something like that, would you?"

"Not at all. You know, we both have serious concepts of fidelity."

Mary was putting the pillowcases on the pillows as Eric replaced the bedspread and smoothed it into place.

Mary began to remove the lingerie, dropping it into the clothes hamper in the bathroom. Eric watched as she came back to the bed and climbed in naked. She usually wore some kind of pajamas or gown to bed. Eric watched her and then slid into his side of the bed. She snuggled up to him as he lay on his back, putting one leg across his and laying her head on his shoulder. In the dark, Eric heard her voice, quiet, almost a whisper.

"Eric. You wouldn't really like to watch me in a situation like that, would you?"

Without hesitation, Eric replied.

"Of course not. It would drive me crazy to watch you with another man, much less six men. Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know. You seemed to have such an intensity as you described that fantasy that it almost seemed as if you had played it out over and over in your mind."

Eric was quiet for a few minutes before he spoke.

"Mary. I fantasize about many things. Some of them much less intense than this one. Some are even darker than this one. They are just that. Fantasies. I would never indulge in them for real."

Eric was silent again for a few seconds before he spoke.

"What about you, Mary? Do you have fantasies?"

The question took Mary by surprise. She hadn't thought about it, but when he asked, she realized that she did have fantasies of her own. They weren't as detailed or as well-thought-out as Eric's, but they were there, in her head.

"I suppose so. Nothing like yours, I don't think."

"Tell me."

Suddenly, Mary was flustered as she struggled to find words.

"I don't know, Eric. I mean, mine are just blurred images."

"Of what?"

"Having sex mostly."

"What kind of sex?"

Mary fidgeted uncomfortably against him before she spoke. She was thinking back, trying to visualize some of the fantasies she had while masturbating.

"Mostly about you."

"Me? You mean you don't fantasize about other men."

"Most of the time my partners are faceless. They are just anonymous men giving me pleasure."

Eric was silent for a few minutes.

"Would you want to experience that? Would you like to hook up with an anonymous man to have faceless sex?"

Mary raised on her elbow and looked him directly in the face.

"NO! Not ever. It's just a fantasy that I have when I am masturbating."

Eric looked at her in silence.

Mary laid her head back on his shoulder, and they were silent for many minutes. Finally, Eric spoke softly.

"Thank you for tonight. It was a welcome surprise. Where did you get the idea?"

Mary whispered her answer.

"From a place called Literotica."

To her surprise, Eric chuckled.

"I read stories on that same site. Some of them are really hot."

Running her fingernail on his chest, Mary nodded in agreement.

"Yes. They are. I have written a couple myself, but I haven't put them up on the site."

"I would love to read them."

"Really. I don't think they are very good."

"You might be surprised. If they are, I think you should publish them and see what other people say. Can I read them tomorrow?"

"Of course. I would love that."

Eric turned Mary's head upward and kissed her intensely. As he broke the kiss, he spoke again.

"I've been thinking. It's about time I started cutting back at work. Maybe we can collaborate on some stories."

"I would like that. Very much."

They lay in the dark in each other's arms. Soon, Mary heard Eric begin to snore softly. She smiled to herself, content. It might not have been her exact plan, but it seemed to have achieved her goal. The thought of tapping into Eric's imagination and what it might mean for their sex life gave her a little shiver. This new paradigm in their lives had some exciting possibilities. As she dozed off, she wondered where this would lead and how it would play out in their future.