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extracurricular swinging.
 We had a big dust up after everyone left. Aaron walked forward to his ball, and Silas
waited.
 You d never believe it. Aaron shook his head, sounding bemused.  She thought I was
having an affair!
The anger that had shortened Aaron s swing during their last game was missing --
although he wasn t quite back to normal; some tension still ran along his shoulders.
Silas waited until Aaron followed through on his swing before he replied,  She did?
 Yeah. Turns out, while I was busy thinking she was having an affair, she was thinking
the same of me. There were other things, too, but we ve been working through them. Aaron
slid his club home into the bag and sat back into the seat, before driving them up to where
Silas s ball sat, smack dab center in the fairway.
 So the pair of you are back to square again?
Aaron took his time answering, and looked as if he was forming his reply very
carefully.
 Well, yes and no. Yesterday, Grace and I signed a partnership agreement, and besides
my usual every second Thursday golf game where you pile drive me into the ground --
there was a smile on his face as he waved at the ball perfectly placed in the fairway --  I ll
now be working only a collective four days a week. And starting today -- though Emma
doesn t know it yet -- I ve taken a solid three weeks off.
Silas turned to Aaron, surprised.  Hell! When you do it, you don t do it by halves, do
you? Aaron had worked long and hard over the years to make his business successful. Silas
had known that, while it was a big part of who Aaron was, Emma and the kids took
precedence. However, he was also a very responsible man, and sometimes needed reminding
42 Anne Douglas
he didn t have to be there, waiting to fix everything for everyone else. Finally
acknowledging that he could let go and take on a partner was a big step.
 My priorities were fucked up. Emma s the one that keeps me warm at night, not my
damn practice -- it just took me a while to remember that.
Silas extracted his chosen club and moved to his ball. Positioning his feet in an open
stance, he flexed his knees slightly, settling into his body in preparation for his swing. He d
spent a lot of his free time on the course since Joan had died, finding solace in the mainly
solitary sport. As he d walked the fairways and greens, he d contemplated his life and where
it was now going.
Somewhere along the way he d made peace with his life again. And while he wasn t
ready to find someone else to share it with -- he wasn t sure he ever would be -- he wasn t
averse to possibly having a sex life again. Which led him to thinking of something else he d
heard about Friday night: Joel Markim.
 But you said not everything got sorted out? Silas swung, instinct taking over as his
body followed through his stroke. The head of the club hit the ball with a satisfying thunk
that proclaimed he d hit it true, or damn close to it. Both he and Aaron watched the ball fly
through the air and land with a small bounce before it rolled across the green.
 Damn it, Silas. Could you at least try not to show up my poor handicap?
Silas turned to Aaron and saw his sarcastically raised brow and his smile.  Well, don t
spend all fucking weekend in your office, then. You re an accountant, for fuck s sake; you re
supposed to spend at least two days a week on the links. I thought it was a clause in the
Chartered Accountants handbook or something.
Aaron laughed back at him. It was a long-standing joke between them. In fact, Aaron
had done just that when Joan had been in the middle of her seemingly endless series of
treatments. Emma had stayed with Joan, and the pair of them had sent them off for some
Husbands and Wives (and lovers): Par 3 43
 guy time on the golf course. Emma and Aaron truly had been his rocks in a storm over the
last few years.
They pulled up adjacent to the manicured green, and Aaron chipped his shot in from
the offside rough -- unlike their last game, the shot went true on the first try. Then they both
putted -- the one part of his game Aaron did have a handle on.
As they walked back to the golf cart, there was a hitch in Aaron s step. Then he blurted
out,  Can you tell me more about the swinging thing?
Now it was Silas s turn for the hitch in his step.  Um, I guess so. Why?
Aaron turned beet red before he answered.  One of the things that Emma said was that
she missed the raunchy sex we used to have, and I want to do something to break us out of
the only-in-bed-with-the-lights-off sex we ve been having& or not having lately.
 Oh. Aaron really was stepping out of his box lately, wasn t he, Silas thought to
himself.  About that not lately thing, was that part of the got sorted side of the equation?
There was more than just embarrassment; there was chagrin on Aaron s face this time.
 Yeah, I had a urinary infection, and I&  The rest came out in a rush.  A couple of times I
couldn t seal the deal, and Emma thought I d gone off her. I didn t tell her about it, you see,
so she never knew about me seeing the doctor. Then, by the time I was back in fighting
form& well, she wasn t really interested, and I didn t push it. Aaron shrugged then said
quietly,  As for the other, Joan s passing affected us, too.
They both went quiet, reflective, as they moved onto the next hole, making their way
down the fairway with only small talk about the game between them. After Aaron putted
the ninth hole, Silas broke the silence.
 I don t mind telling you about it, but are you sure this is the right thing for you and
Emma?
 No, I m not. But I didn t think it would hurt to find out more at least. Aaron paused a
moment.  We used to do this thing, where we told each other our most outrageous fantasies,
44 Anne Douglas
the ones we knew we d never actually do. Emma once said that she was curious about sex
with another man. I can t say I m all gung ho for the idea, but maybe it will spark an idea for
something else.
 Fair enough. Silas contemplated what to tell his friend, what information would be
the most useful. After all, it wasn t like there was much to it when you came down to the
nitty-gritty; it was just sex at the end of the day, right? Although, there were some protocols
to be observed if they went the club route. The more he thought on what to say, the more
uneasy he got about the whole thing.
Aaron was a private person. He never bragged to the guys, and he wasn t the man
everyone thought was some sort of sex god. He was just Aaron, the guy you went to when
you needed a shoulder. He was quiet and dependable, while at the same time still outgoing. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]