It was still early, so, after we dressed, we went to the living. This time, Mark didn't leave immediately. Instead, we were talking all evening. Mark and Anna were digging up memories from when they were kids and I mostly listened. They were having a beer and I had a few helpings of Scotch to drown my frustration, which partially worked.

At some point, I couldn't follow the conversation anymore. I only learned their language a few years ago and when I get tired, it gets difficult to process what is said. Anna noticed that and, after midnight, she ended the evening. Mark said goodbye and left.

In bed, I hugged Anna and held her tight. I needed confirmation that she still loved and needed me because I knew that she was also frustrated. Eventually, I fell asleep in her arms.

I woke up three hours later with a terrible feeling of anxiety. 'Why had this happened?' I thought again. I was sure that the main reason for Anna's frustration was that I had not been able to give her pleasure. All kinds of terrible scenarios came to my mind.

There was no way I would be able to fall asleep again, so I picked up a book to ease my mind. Hours later, I fell asleep with the book still in my hands and my reading glasses on my nose.

That's how I woke up around eight. Anna was already on the terrace with a coffee. I joined her and she said, 'Good morning. Do you want a coffee?'

'No,' I said. 'I need a beer.' I had already brought a can and two glasses, poured them, and took a big swig. Anna discarded her coffee and took a sip too.

'How are you feeling?' I asked.

'Okay. And you?'

'Okay, I guess,' I said, followed by a few minutes of silence.

'I need to say something,' I started. 'You can't believe how sorry and frustrated I am. I'm so sad that I was a failure yesterday. And I know that you are sad and frustrated too, because of your unfulfilled desires. I know that you must still be horny and I can't fulfill that. I'm just too messed up now. I would even understand it if you would go to him now and finish it. I'm not sure I would like it, but I'd understand...'

Anna was silent for a moment, and then said 'You know, yesterday when we went to bed, the conversation had calmed me down. But when you hugged me and touched me, I got all horny again. Then you fell asleep and I felt left alone. I actually considered going to Mark then. I was within inches to get out of bed and do it. It took me a long time to fall asleep.'

I was shocked. I know I said I'd understand, but that she had considered actually doing it, hit me hard, and Anna noticed that.

We talked a lot that day, from my side about my lack of performance, and the profound fear that it would happen again. She tried to comfort me and said that it was just a matter of too many emotions. It helped. A little.

Anna's feelings can best be illustrated with the following bit of conversation.

'You can't imagine how this feels,' she said. 'Two nights I satisfied two men, but both nights, two men were not able to satisfy me.'

'I'm sorry,' I said. 'That's my fault.

'This is not about you now. It just means that I am still horny, wet, and unsatisfied.'

I thought about that and realized that this would not be resolved by taking her to bed now. There was a deeper issue here.

'Do you want to go to him now?' I asked.

For a moment she was silent and finally said 'I want to, but...'

'Go!' I interrupted her. 'Go! You don't need my permission, but you have my blessing.'

She leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her drink. 'No,' she finally said. 'I won't.'

In the evening after watching Netflix for a while to calm down, we went to bed, but falling asleep proved impossible. All my fears and anxiety came back to me in full force. I got out of bed, put on a robe, and started up my computer. Maybe some work would calm me down.

It did. It appears that writing documentation for complex software can have a sobering effect. After an hour or so, I lit a cigarette, and then, out of the blue, I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of and I decided to talk to Anna in the morning. I got back in the bed and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning, Friday, I made two cups of coffee and brought them to the terrace. Anna was sitting there in the morning sun, looking at her phone.

'Good morning!' I said.

'Good morning. Did you work last night?'

'Yes, for an hour or so and it helped me. May I tell you?'

'Okay,' she said and she put down her phone.

'First a question: What is it that we need most in our lives?'

'Each other,' she said without hesitation.

'Exactly. And we have that. From my part, there is nothing that can change that. Even until last week, with our sex life in hibernation, we were happy and in love. Everything extra is just a bonus. We have a crazy week behind us, with ups and downs, and it was exciting but also confusing. Maybe it didn't all go as we may have liked it, but last night I realized that it doesn't matter. We expanded our horizons and we explored new things, and that felt good. And from my part, I would like to explore more, even if there's a possibility that things don't turn out as hoped.'

Anna said nothing, but the smile on her face had returned.

I continued, 'Despite the disappointment, I enjoyed having Mark in our bed, and I know that you enjoyed it too. So I am not saying "Never again".'

'You know,' Anna said, 'You're right. As long as we have each other, we are perfect. And yes, I did enjoy it. But one question: if we would do this again, do you think that you will be able to get hard?'

'I don't know, and I don't care. Let's just take things as they come. Anyway, the opportunity will not present itself anytime soon. Mark's holiday is over and today he will pick up his wife for the weekend.'

Later, on the terrace in the sun, Mark joined us for a coffee. We urged him to tell Elly the whole truth about his gambling problem, and he promised he would.

'Thanks for this week,' he said. 'It was amazing and it made me realize that I am missing a lot of good things in life, because of my addiction. I'm determined to change my life now.' He said goodbye and left for the city.

Anna stood up and kissed me. 'Come,' she said.

Upstairs, next to the bed, she looked at me and started to slowly take off her clothes. Then she kneeled and took my dick in her mouth. No erection problems now. When it was hard as a rock she lay down on the bed, her legs open wide.

'Just fuck me.'

I got on and did just that. I fucked her without mercy. All the emotions of the last few days were coming out and I fucked her as hard as I could. I put her legs over my shoulders, so I could penetrate her deeper. Normally, I have to be careful in that position, because it hurts her if I go too deep. Now I didn't care and neither did she.

'Fuck me harder. Punish me.'

She then turned me on my back and she rode me like she was possessed, our pubic bones hitting each other with every stroke. We would be sore again for sure. When she needed to catch her breath, she got off me but remained on all fours. I got the hint and rammed my dick into her pussy again.

'Yes, fuck me,' she yelled. 'Beat me. Punish me. I've been a bad girl.'

I hit her cheeks until they were coloring red and kept on thrusting. Then my orgasm took me by surprise. I didn't feel it coming, but suddenly I came and put a big load of sperm in her. I didn't want to finish yet, but a man can only handle so much stimulation.

When I slipped out of her, she turned on her back and she took the vibrator from the nightstand. She put it on her clit and switched it to the highest position.

I dove in and started to lick her. I don't usually like to do that after I have come in her, because, let's be honest, semen tastes weird. Men, if you come in your woman's mouth, you're probably not doing her a favor. (Hint: warn her in time so she can make her own decision.) But this time I didn't care. I licked it out like it was whipped cream.

She came. Hard. It seemed to go on forever and eventually settled down a little, but it wasn't over yet. She kept the vibrator where it was, and in the next ten minutes, she had another three or four orgasms. I just watched in awe. Finally, she reached the satisfaction that had eluded her since Monday. After she came for the last time, she said, 'Take it away and switch it off. I can't handle anymore.'

I took the toy from her hand and put it down. I kissed her and said I loved her.

'Do I hear a car?'

I ran to the bedroom window and saw Mark and Elly get out and head to our door. I dressed in a hurry and went downstairs, where they were already at the door. I greeted Elly with two kisses, thinking that there was no way she couldn't smell the sex on me. Then Anna also came down, dressed properly, although I'm sure she couldn't find her panties. I threw them on top of the closet when I took them off.

'A beer, anyone?'

..............

On Sunday morning we were having our coffee in the sun, just after the lovemaking that I described at the end of chapter one. On Saturday it had again been a full house in our corner of the village, and we acted like nothing had happened, except for some subtle innuendos from Anna to Mark. Mark said that he had told the truth about the slot machines to Elly, which explained why she wasn't eager to talk much. Now everybody had left and we were alone again.

'I'm not going to stop this,' I told Anna. 'It's far too nice to go back to our old life now.'

'You know that there will not be an opportunity for Mark any time soon.'

'I know. But you owe me something.'

'What is that?'

'I suggest we find a girl.'

Anna smiled. 'Not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all…'