The Spider Paradine - chapter 3

The Spider Paradine

a short novella by

Josephine S. Vanner

The characters and events in this book are a work of fiction from the author's imagination and in no way reflect any real events or real people.

Chapter Three

Spider, spider, hanging in the web – who is the naughtiest fly of them all.

Harry picked at the invitation card he was holding from Diane and Gerry, as if the envelope contained Anthrax.

Over that past six weeks, Diane and Gerry had been a constant, if unwelcome theme, in Jess and Harry's lives. At first, they both enjoyed the hospitality of their new neighbours.

Dinner followed on from 'Drinky poos', a barbecue, then Sunday lunch and every time, way too much wine and far too much food. Harry got the distinct feeling he was being fattened up for something.

Then there were the constant sexual innuendos Diane and Gerry passed between themselves.

“If that damn woman mentions, blow jobs and spanking, one more time. The blasted female is fixated with the idea.” Harry had said after one particular evening of Diane's insinuations.

This dinner would be the third time Jess and Harry, met Anna and Larry, whilst they both found Larry boring and Anna, strange, they couldn't think of a way to say, no thanks, to the dinner, without hurting Diane's feeling.

Diane used strategy to avoid her invitations being rejected, she was over generous with her hospitality, to such an extreme point that polite minded folks felt obliged to accept her invites in order not to appear rude.

“We could just say no.” Harry half pleaded with Jess and half to himself.

“She's gone to so much trouble.” Jess took the gold guilt edged card from Harry's hand, “Diane's obviously planning on a very special evening and I've no doubt she's invited Anna and Larry as well. I really can't see how we can get out of it with hurting the poor woman. I always feel there's a sense of pathos about her. Beneath that mountain of flesh is a very small and frightened person.” Her tone said they'd have no choice but to accept.

***

Diane, listened to Gerry's contented singing from the upstairs second bedroom, as he rummaged through his toy box of pleasure. He loved to check his toys and did so with great care. She didn't need to see his face to know his lips were pulled into a rare smile.

Each toy would be carefully scrutinized as he decided which ones to show off after dinner, then she was expected to clean the toys he had chosen. She would have to polish the metal ones and oil the leather straps of the others. Gerry would inspect her work to make sure it was up to his standard after she'd finished.

As if I don't have enough to do. Diane grumbled as she chopped, mixed and single handedly prepared the food for that night's special celebration.

Her mind wandered in the direction of how things would go that evening. Maybe Jess and Harry would surprise her and be the most enthusiastic of the group to play the game. Somehow she didn't think so, though.

Larry and Anna, she had no such doubts about. She was sure they'd be more than happy to participate in playing along with Gerry.

Of course, the game hadn't always gone smoothly. It was why they now rented a house. Diane's cheeks reddened with the memory of the last time the game hadn't gone according to schedule. Her plans had been meticulous. She'd chosen two couples who had the appearance of being bored with their lives and their marriages. She wined and dined them, made best friends with the wives and encouraged Gerry and the husbands to enjoy a few nights 'out on the town' before the subject of the game was broached.

The whole unfortunate affair had been a complete disaster. Of course, Gerry laid the blame firmly with Diane. It was all her fault he told her that neither couple were interested in acting out his sick fantasies.

It wasn't her fault, she told herself, it was Gerry's. He'd played golf with one of the husbands and tennis with the other, he should have known their sexual tastes weren't the same as his.

Gerry's humiliation was total. Overwhelmed by shame he moped around the house for a month and stopped going to both the golf and tennis clubs. Diane was left to cope alone with the smirks and snide, behind hands, comments.

In the end, they'd sold their house and moved away from the area. Gerry insisted from then on they rent.

That had been ten years earlier, for Diane, ten long years without her own home.

Enough is enough, she spoke out loud to the empty kitchen as she put the goose in the oven to roast, I want my own home again and I don't want to have to keep moving because Gerry can't get his rocks off any other way than playing his stupid game.

The stairs reverberated with the thud of his size ten shoes coming downwards. She stopped muttering. Thinking quiet rebellious thoughts instead. Diane beat the cream for dessert into submission, the way Gerry had a nasty habit of doing to her.

***

Following his philosophy of never passing up an opportunity, Larry did not share Jess and Harry's reluctance to accept Diane's invitation, “I can't stand the simpering pair of them but she does put on a lovely spread of food. I'll send her a text to say we'd love to come.”

It never occurred to him to ask Anna if she wanted to go. Under the circumstances it was a good thing he didn't. Better for Larry to remain ignorant of his wife's feelings on the matter.

Anna, for her part, relished the idea of meeting Gerry. They'd met each other the day before, quite by chance, in the local supermarket car park.

“Fancy a coffee?” Gerry asked. He'd insisted on helping Anna as she put the shopping into the boot of her car, pushing his front against her back as he did so.

“Why not?” She replied as his hand found her breast. Making sure none of the others shoppers were watching, he'd unobtrusively slid his hand under her jumper and squeezed her nipple. She'd responded with a yelp of pleasure. The feeling that had pounded between her legs was a sensation, Larry, had never managed to arouse in her.

“Sounds okay good to me.” Anna answered her husband trying not to give away her eagerness as the heat between her legs began to throb from the memory of Gerry's warm pinching fingers.

***

Diane leaped at the sound of the doorbell, it rang through her with a hot needle of expectation. The first night of the game always made her nervous. Tonight she hoped would be different. She planned this would be the last time they played the game – ever. The thought of the game's finality was giving her a sense of anticipation she hadn't expected. For once her sexual desires were aroused by the game.

Gerry, Diane knew by experience had started to play the game. He'd been cool to the point of coldness to Anna, and overwhelmingly warm to Jess as the two women entered the house.

That meant he had already made his first approach to Anna. And by Anna's puzzled expression, she'd reacted to him in the way he'd wanted. Jess on the other hand pulled away when Gerry's kiss on her cheek began to travel towards her lips.

Diane, as coordinator of the game, diverted Harry's attention from Jess, as Gerry made the provocative move on his wife.

“Champagne?” Gerry asked the room with a benevolent smirk as he popped the cork on a bottle of Moet.

Diane passed the glasses around and waited for Gerry to make his usual toast.

“Here's to good friends and pleasurable encounters with them. Cheers.” He lifted the glass to his lips with a nod of satisfaction as his guests did the same.

The starter, lobster bisque, was delicious, Larry praised the chef between noisy spoonfuls.

He ate through the roast goose constantly commenting on what good a cook Diane was and how rotten a cook, his own wife had turned out to be.

Dessert an elaborate affair of chocolate layered cake, stuffed with succulent ripe strawberries and thick whipped vanilla cream, gave Larry a gourmet's orgasm with the first mouthful.

Unused to such lavish compliments, a delighted Diane drank far too much wine. She was over full from eating large portions of her own efforts and perilously drunk from mixing her drinks of champagne and red wine.

“Coffee, mints and brandy?” She asked slightly slurring her words. She pushed her chair backwards and slung herself around and away from the dinning table.

Diane's bowels loosened by the excess of food and wine, trumpeted from out of her insides, a loud fart.

A stunned silence passed around the table until it was broken by Larry sniffing the air and Gerry bursting into laughter.

Red faced and wishing she could die on the spot, Diane breathed her apologies in between Gerry's raucous laughs.

“I could hear your bum cheeks flapping as you trumped.” He tormented at her embarrassment.

Forcing herself not to cry, she fled to the sanctuary of the kitchen and made coffee. It took Diane sometime to compose herself, when she did come back to the table, the topic, thankfully, had moved away from her flatulence.

“You were telling me about the people you know who enjoy extra marital sex.” Gerry was asking Larry.

She noticed he wore his composed expression, as if it wasn't the content of the subject that mattered - but the person telling the story. He'd become an expert at getting people to tell him more than they intended.

“Couple of the lads who work for me are always at it. And of course, my brother. I don't think he's been faithful since the day after he got married.” Larry chortled 'what a lad' laugh.

“What about you?” Gerry asked Jess and Harry jointly, “Do you know anyone who likes to play away, as it were?”

He's leading the conversation towards the game, soon he'll talk about his toys - then we'll see who will play.

Diane had heard all this before, she felt an intense weariness crawl over her as she waited for her husband to begin winding his path toward his real interest - the game.

“My hairdresser where we used to live. We thought we knew them really well, until her husband asked us if we'd like to join them at their swingers club. I didn't fancy him, so we didn't bother.” Jess replied.

Gerry produced a dazzling smile and his eyes shone with a lively hope.

Anna, now very drunk, waved away Diane's offer of coffee and took a brandy, gulping it down in one quick swig, motioning her glass for a top up, she blurted out ,“My husband likes prostitutes.”

Five pairs of eyes swiveled in Larry's direction, “She's pissed. Doesn't know what she's saying.” He mumbled into his coffee.

“Yes he does. It's the only thing he's happy to pay for himself.” Anna's resentment at having married a rich miser rose to the surface of her dissatisfaction.

Gerry pushed his chair away from the table. “I think we'd be more comfortable in the other room. I've got some things I'd like to show you all.”

Diane waited for everyone to leave the room before she raised a large buttock and let rip the second fart she had so desperately been squeezing silent, then she went to join them.

Next week - The final chapter

The skimpy thong revelation.