A Midsummer Masquerade

Waiting in line, he remained calm as the elderly woman in front of him set her purse down on the counter. She spent over 5 minutes looking for a coupon she swore she had. While digging in her purse, Colin looked up at the employee behind the counter and smirked. The woman smiled back and tried her best to remain professional in front of her elderly customer.

After a few more minutes, the old woman eventually paid for her items before Colin walked up to the counter.

“The usual?” Tori greeted with the biggest grin on her face.

“You make me sound like an addict.” Colin chuckled, resting his arm on the counter.

As Tori gleefully went to grab his medicine, Colin glanced up, discreetly admiring her from the counter. Tori was in her late 30s and just recently finalized her divorce. In the past few months, she and Colin had gotten to know each other quite well. Every time Colin would come in to pick up his prescription, she would be there with a bright smile on her face.

They had so many things in common. Similar tastes in music, life goals, their love of mystery novels…the list went on. Tori also looked very good for her age, especially since she was two years younger than Colin. In his book, Tori was a perfect ten. The only downside…was that Colin was married.

Colin met his current wife Stephanie four years ago. She already had two boys from her previous marriage and always kept a tight leash on her husband. Colin’s a smart, caring individual with not much of a backbone…unlike Stephanie who’s conniving and controlling. She’s a stay-at-home mother that always took advantage of him. Since Colin had a lucrative job, Stephanie didn’t have to work.

Shortly after they tied the knot, Colin’s sex life came to a grinding halt. He’d always initiate his wife for some intimacy, but her never-ending excuses were all that he got. He’s always wanted a child of his own and made Stephanie well aware of this, but sadly his needs were never met. Thoughts of divorce did run through his mind, but if Stephanie got the slightest hint that he wanted to end things, she would take everything from him…just like her last husband.

After reaching for his medicine, Tori walked back to the register and handed him the paper bag.

“Anything else I can do for you, Colin?” she asked in a tone that suggested there could be something else on Colin’s mind.

“Not today I’m afraid.” he nodded before thanking her.

Colin then waved to Tori as he made his way to the exit. After a 10-minute commute, Colin eventually pulled into his driveway. While it may be “their” home, the house technically belonged to Stephanie which she got from her previous marriage…she just never got around to putting Colin’s name on the title.

Noticing an extra car in the driveway, Colin casually walked up to the house before he greeted his wife and guest. Opening the door, Colin stepped in and saw his wife sitting at the kitchen table with their neighbor Allison, both staring back at him. He heard them talking just outside the house but their conversation abruptly stopped once Colin walked in. It was obvious his wife and her friend were talking about something that they wanted to keep private. Nevertheless, Colin just smiled and politely nodded at everyone.

“Oh, hello!” he greeted. “Wasn’t expecting any guests. I hope I am not intruding.”

“It’s okay dear, could you check on the boys upstairs?” his wife answered. “They have been rambunctious all day.”

“Sure thing honey.”

Turning towards the stairs, Colin walked up the steps before arriving at the boys’ bedroom. He heard his wife continue talking to her friend once he made it to the top step.

Colin peered into the boy’s bedroom and saw that they were just playing video games. While spotting nothing out of the ordinary, Colin continued past their room and walked into his upstairs office.

Going over the mail left on his desk, Colin could hear his wife and Allison carrying on downstairs. Colin didn’t care much for his wife’s friends, however, Allison was the only one he actually liked.

Whenever Allison and her husband would come over, Colin and his wife would hear many crazy stories from their college days as swingers. While Colin’s marriage was essentially a dead bedroom, hearing about their escapades made him slightly jealous. Sometimes, his intrusive thoughts made him wish they offered to swap partners for a bit just so he could get laid for once.

While Allison was one of his wife’s best friends, she too noticed Stephanie’s controlling behavior toward Colin. She had politely confronted Stephanie about this before, but of course, Stephanie tends to let things go in one ear and out the other.

Hearing them talk in the background, Colin checked his bank statements and caught himself up on bills. He then carefully pulled out a white envelope containing a little over two grand. Re-counting the money inside, he then reached for his wallet and added a few more hundred dollar bills before hiding the envelope in a discreet location.

Standing back up, he made his way out of his office before hearing the sound of the front door opening. Walking downstairs, Colin noticed his wife waving her friend goodbye as Allison walked toward her car.

“What’s that?” Colin asked, pointing to the card in his wife’s hand.

“Yes…about this.” Stephanie sighed before closing the front door, “Listen, Colin. Can we talk?”

“Sure, is everything okay?”

“Well…I’ve been thinking about us a lot more lately,” she murmured.

“Okay?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I feel like our relationship has lost its spark.” she vented.

“Lost…its spark?” responded Colin as he had a look of concern on his face. “What do you mean darling? I’m doing everything that I possibly can.”

“Colin…it’s, well…we’ve been together for four years now. I just feel like our relationship has been kind of stagnant.”

“Stagnant? What would you like for me to do?” he calmly asked. “I tried to initiate sex but you always-.”

“Seriously, Colin?” Stephanie groaned. “That’s all you ever think about.”

“But sweetie, it’s just that I am always initiating and you-.”

“It’s because you always ask me at the wrong times!” she fumed.

After raising her voice, her two sons shuffled down the stairs as they heard their mother shouting. Both Colin and Stephanie looked over at the stairs, noticing the boys peeking around the corner.

“It’s okay guys. Your mother and I were just talking,” Colin said in a soothing tone.

“Are you sure? It sounded like y’all were fighting.” they meekly responded.

“Boys, bedroom. Now!” Stephanie demanded with a snap of her finger.

Hearing them hurry back to their room, the adults remained silent until the bedroom door closed.

“So…what would you like for me to do dear?” Colin sighed, glancing over at his wife.

“Well, Allison actually had presented something to me that might spice things up,” Stephanie responded by handing Colin the card.

“What’s this?”

“You know how Allison and her husband were swingers back in the day?” she asked.

“Yeah?” he hesitantly responded.

“So, they were invited to this swinger party that’s happening tonight and they had to cancel at the last minute,” she explained. “I told her about us and she asked if we could go in their stead. We talked and both of us agreed that this might really help our marriage.”

“Help?” Colin flinched, “Wait, you want to have sex with other men?!”

“Colin, honey…I think you are overreacting. It’s a swinger party. We ‘BOTH’ could possibly have sex with other people. It’s not cheating if we both consent to it.” she responded while gently placing her hands on his shoulders. “Who knows…before the night is over, you might get lucky with multiple ladies.”

“I…I don’t know about this.” he sulked, “It just doesn’t feel right.”

“Look. If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. I’ll remember that the next time you ask for sex.” Stephanie pouted while folding her arms.

Staring down at his feet, Colin cowardly stood there contemplating what to do. He knew there was a very likely chance that if they both went to this party, his wife would easily find a guy to fuck.

Stephanie was a pretty woman with a nice set of D-cup breasts. She’s got some wide hips and a large ass that was very proud of. Colin was confident that she could charm any man at the party to sleep with her.

“You want to go…don’t you?” Colin mumbled as he glanced at the invite in her hand.

“I think we both do.” she consoled him. “Trust me, this will be good for us. Just think of this as like a hall pass.”

There was a moment of silence as Colin thought about this party. He knew it would be a big risk if he went through with this. Colin then took in a deep breath and looked up into her eyes.

“If you think this will benefit our relationship…then let’s do it.”

“Oh, I knew you would pull through for me!” his wife cheered as she gave him a peck on his lips. “The party starts at 5 pm. It’s at an Airbnb just on the other side of West Chester. Just wear something simple but nice. I am going to figure out what dress to wear. Allison already lent us some masquerade masks for us to wear.”

Nodding his head, Colin and Stephanie made their way to their bedroom and proceeded to get dressed for the party. While taking his time getting ready, Colin couldn’t help but notice his wife eagerly going through the clothes in her walk-in closet. Her excitement made him self-conscious as she hadn’t shown this much enthusiasm for him. Colin wanted to point that out, but he felt it would be best to keep it to himself to avoid conflict.

At about 4:30 pm, Colin was pacing around the living room, ordering pizza over the phone. Upon paying for the food, he lifted his head as the call ended. Stephanie came walking in with her phone up to her ear. Colin could hear Allison’s voice on the other line as his wife shared her excitement with her friend about the party.

Stephanie was wearing a bright red dress that showcased her breasts quite nicely. She had styled her hair with a few curls and Colin could smell that she was wearing her favorite Dior perfume. She also had two masquerade masks in her left hand. For a swinger party, she was dressed to the nines.

“You look beautiful,” Colin said as his wife ended her call.

“Thanks, it’s been a while since I wore this dress.” she smiled while putting her phone in her purse. “What should we do about dinner for the boys?”

“I already ordered pizza for them.” Colin responded, “It should be delivered here in about 30 minutes.”

“Great! We should get moving.”

Opening up the front door, Stephanie shouted for her two sons to come downstairs. While hearing their heavy footsteps march down the steps, Colin checked his phone, noticing that he got a text from Jeremiah, an old friend of his.

“Yes, mom?” they asked.

“Listen, Colin and I are going out on a little date tonight,” Stephanie said while pulling the strap of her purse over her shoulder, “Pizza will be delivered here in about thirty minutes. You two stay on your best behavior…go it?”

“Okay, thanks, mom!”

After blowing them a kiss, Colin and Stephanie made their way to his car and pulled out of the driveway. Before turning onto the road, his wife grabbed her phone and proceeded to text Allison.

“Oh, honey. Before we go to the party, we will need to stop by a pharmacy real quick.” Stephanie commented.

“Okay. You need me to pick up some medicine for you?” he asked.

Setting her phone down, Stephanie paused for a split second before asking him for her favor.

“Allison said that we will need to pick up some pregnancy tests and possibly some Plan B.”

“Oh,” Colin murmured as the uncomfortable sound alerted his wife.

“Are you okay with getting those things or should I have to do it?” his wife asked, tilting her head toward him.

“Nah, it’s fine. I got them, sweetie.” he timidly responded.

After a quick ten-minute drive, Colin pulled into the parking lot of his go-to pharmacy. While letting his wife relax in the air-conditioned vehicle, Colin headed inside the building.

Upon passing through the automatic double doors, a familiar smile greeted him from the other end of the store. Nervously walking towards the counter, Colin felt his hands starting to sweat. He patted his palms on the sides of his pants before standing in front of Tori.

“Hello, stranger!” she grinned, “Surprised to see you back so soon.”

“Hey!” Colin blushed. “Yeah, uh…I need to grab a few things.”

“Well, what can I help you with?”

“So, I am going to a party here shortly and I was asked to pick up some pregnancy tests and morning-after pills.” he awkwardly responded.

“Oh…it’s ‘that’ type of a party, isn’t it?” Tori asked as she raised an eyebrow.

“It…it is.” Colin nervously answered.

Giving him a questionable stare, Tori reached down below the counter and pulled out a few boxes of pregnancy texts and two boxes of Plan B. Sliding the items on the counter, Tori glanced back up at Colin.

“Will these be enough?” she said in an ominous tone.

Looking over at the boxes, Colin glanced up and nodded.

“Yes. These will do.”

Upon ringing him up, Colin paid for the items while Tori bagged them. After placing his receipt in the plastic bag, Colin grabbed everything and waved her goodbye once more.

“Thank you.”

“Good luck,” Tori responded with an equivocal wink.

Walking past the automatic doors, Colin made his way back to the car. Handing his wife the bag, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards the party.