Chapter 2: Mason
I decided to rescue my wife and ended my run early. Towel and water bottle in hand, I wandered over.
"Hey, babe," I said, taking a sip. "Who's this?" I asked, glancing at Mason.
He chuckled. "You must be the husband."
I chuckled back. "I think that's the name on my birth certificate. I'm Alden." I extended a hand.
Mason took it. His grip was like stone. "Mason." He glanced at Carolinr with a predatory grin and said, "Your wife and I were just getting to know each other."
Caroline actually stepped a bit behind me, as if hiding, and said, "Alden, don't encourage him. He was just being rude."
"Rude?" Mason asked, his voice dripping with falsified innocence. "I was just paying her a compliment."
"A compliment?" I scoffed. "That's not how you pay compliments to a lady, dude."
Mason's grin widened. "I guess we've just got different definitions of the word 'compliment' then." He turned back to Caroline. "You know, I've seen you around here before. You're always pushing yourself so hard. I admire that."
Caroline winced at the compliment. "Thanks."
"I wonder what other... exercises... you'd push yourself to the limit during."
Caroline's cheeks flushed in embarrassment at the innuendo. "If you'll excuse me, I have to finish my workout." She moved to leave, but Mason caught her arm lightly.
"Wait," he said. "No need to be like that. I just wanted to get to know you better, that's all."
That got a reaction, from both her and me. Caroline was insulted, clearly, but seeing this guy put a hand on her had my blood boil.
I stepped forward, my body tense. "I think she said she's busy."
Mason finally let go of my wife's arm, turning to me. "Lighten up, dude. I was just being friendly." He backed away. "See you two later."
As he left, Caroline stared him down. "What a fucking jerk."
"Agreed," I said.
And yet, watching the dude saunter off and thinking of his interaction with Caroline, I couldn't help but think about my wife's recent experience sexually with her coworker.
She'd had sex with this guy, Justin. It was hot to watch. I'd gotten off watching her beautiful body mating with hism But he'd been an okay guy. Nice. Kind.
But Mason? Mason was an asshole, clearly. And though not the first time I'd imagined my wife having sex with someone, I now had that thought about him; a guy my wife detested.
But the thought of Mason and Caroline having sex did something different to me than with Justin. It made me feel a strange mix of anger and excitement. If they did it, I knew the kind of guy Mason would be. Would I want to see that?
Part me thought: yes.
As we headed over to an area to stretch, I found myself unable to stop thinking about it.
"You okay, babe?" Caroline asked as we both stretched our legs. "You're quiet."
I nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, just tired. That run really took it out of me."
She smiled back, though the concern didn't leave her eyes. "Well, I'll make us an early dinner, then. How does that sound?"
"Sounds perfect," I said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. We finsihed up our cool down. As we did, I decided to ask her, "Hey, weird question: its about that dude, Mason."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Hm? What about him?"
"This is strange to ask but... do you find guys like him attractive?"
"Attractive?"
"Yeah... y'know... tall, muscular, that sort of thing?"
"I told you before: jocks are turn-offs. They're bad boyfriends."
"But I meant on a purely physical level?"
She thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "Sure. I guess. But, you also know, he's an absolute jerk."
"Oh, yeah, of course. I was just... y'know, curious."
She frowned at me knowingly. "Curious... how?"
I smirked. "Just curious."