The Naked Truth

The Naked Truth

Ginny got out of her 1978 Ford Fairmont and opened the front door. As she stepped inside, the sound of classical music greeted her, its soft strains emanating from the far side of the house. The dim glow of candles flickered from the living room, casting dancing shadows on the walls. She knew exactly what that meant. She took off her coat and walked down the entry hall, removing her shoes and blouse before stepping into the living room. There, on the area rug, lay her husband, Dane, naked with his eyes closed. Ginny's nerves began to tighten as she looked him over; he was tall, with broad shoulders and a deep chest, and had blond hair that swept over his brow, perfectly complementing his athletic and toned body. But now was not the time to admire his perfect physique; lying naked on the floor meant only one thing—they needed to have a talk.

They had discovered that having arguments while lying naked on the floor in a candlelit room with classical music in the background was the perfect antidote to the yelling and cursing that these long talks sometimes brewed up. A year prior, they had gone to see their favorite comedian, and as part of one of his jokes on relationships, he said that men and women cannot fight if they lay next to each other naked. After the show, they laughed and decided they would try that tactic next time. It worked, and slowly they added the other elements—candlelight and soft music—to perfect a technique they once found laughable.

Ginny continued to silently undress and lay next to her husband.

"Bad day at work?" Ginny said tensely after a few awkward moments of silence.

"Worse than that…I feel so awful. I can’t even believe that we’re going to have this conversation," Dane said without opening his eyes.

Ginny swallowed hard. She hated confrontation, but in any long-term relationship, they must come eventually, even if he was going to call her out on her extramarital affair. "What’s going on?" Her voice creaked.

"You remember when we promised each other on our wedding night that we could say anything to each other?" His eyes opened now as he turned his head toward her. She saw panic and pain in his eyes.

"Yeah, I remember. I also remember that it is hard to do." Her own panic started to rise. "It’s hard to tell…everything." The conversation was quickly getting deep, and he had not even let on what this was about yet.

"Something happened today…after lunch. It’s tearing me up inside."

She closed her eyes now and concentrated on breathing, slow and even. Did he know? Had he found out about her relationship with Kirk, her coworker? "What happened?"

"Well…ya’ know the new girl at work? Stacia?" His voice cracked, and Ginny saw a tear fall from his eye and down his temple. "She kissed me…I didn’t kiss her—she kissed me. I went into the storeroom to get more printer paper, and she followed me in there, and backed me into a corner. I reminded her that I was happily married, but she said she didn’t care. She leaned in and kissed me. Of course, I took off immediately, and went back into the showroom where everyone else was."

Ginny, relieved, pictured the scene in her mind. She had met Stacia the week before, and she was cute. Cute enough that most women would explode knowing their man was working with a girl like that. But the bleach-blonde hair and the enough-makeup-to-choke-a-horse look just made Stacia look trashy. Jealousy was not the emotion Ginny had felt when she met her; it was more like sympathy. Ginny was not a bombshell herself, but she knew she was not unattractive. She barely wore makeup at all, preferring the ‘girl next door’ look. She had a petite frame that most called waifish and was only 5’1, but she was content with being small. She realized that her looks never turned heads, but she would win the race, slow and steady. The blonde bimbos would get the first glance, but Ginny’s charm and intellect always triumphed.

She and Dane knew each other in high school but never dated. Every time one of them became single, the other was in another relationship. They ended up at the same college, and the trend continued there—they were never single at the same time. She knew she was not Dane’s ‘type,’ considering all his girlfriends were blondes or redheads and could get a job on any runway they wanted. But after college, when he finally tired of chasing the next new flavor and was ready to settle down, she was who he ran to. They were married a year after they graduated.

"Did she try it again or say anything after?"

"No, not at all. I avoided her all day, but every time I looked up, she was across the room, staring with an impish grin."

Dane had once been everything Ginny had wanted, but after they got married, she soon began to have doubts. She had thought that with his athletic build and self-assuredness, he was the man of her dreams, only to find out that he was soft and timid and not the masculine protector she’d dreamt of. The strong arms that had often turned her on diminished under the tears he’d shed when he read a Nicholas Sparks book. Who does that? She realized she married the embodiment of a seventeen-year-old girl in the body of a Greek god. While he cooked and cleaned for her, she dreamt of another’s arms.

"I’m not mad."

"You’re not…what? Really?"

"Really. It’s not like you’re the one that pursued her." Ginny closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, glad that this had gone another route than she first expected. "Then I would be furious. She’s just some lonely girl trying to take what’s not hers. Those people are out there…greedy people who don’t care about relationships and just accumulate more and more, never thinking twice about who they’re stealing from." Before her own guilt could turn on her, she raised up on her elbow and placed her other hand on his shoulder. "It’s okay, really," she said as she realized that any real man would have taken Stacia up on her offer. The fact that he was more invested in her feelings than interested in a hot body like Stacia’s made her lose the last ounce of respect for him.

"Ginny, I appreciate that, but it gets worse."

"Okay, go on." She lied back down.

"I liked it…I mean, it was a horrible thing to go through, but if we’re being honest, I have to admit I felt good…afterward, I mean. It made me feel…well, wanted. Still wanted, ya’ know? Like…even though I am 28 years old, I still have it." He turned his head toward her and asked, "Does that make me a bad person?"

What’s with the insistence on communicating? Oh my God. This is what men hate about women—they have to sit there and listen to this crap day after day. She decided then that she would have to break it off with Dane and soon.

Ginny smiled. "Not at all. You’re attractive; I guess I don’t tell you enough. But I guarantee that more women would hit on you if you weren’t wearing a ring…not that I am giving permission, mind you, but you’d feel more wanted if girls thought you weren’t taken." Ginny smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I appreciate you telling me this, though," she sat up and rubbed her lower back, "but you’re not in trouble."

Dane sat up, as well. He rubbed his eyes and ran a finger down her back. A slight shiver went up her spine, and goosebumps erupted over the area he touched.

Ginny squirmed. "Hey now, don’t you have a poker game to go to at 6:30?"

"Nah, I canceled tonight." Dane shifted his weight and slid in behind her. "I didn’t know how long this talk would take, and I didn’t want to have to stop in the middle to call the guys." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her ear before whispering, "I’m going to take a shower…want to join me?"

"You bet. Go get the shower ready, I’ll be in there in a second."

Dane stood and walked to the linen closet outside the bathroom, grabbing two towels before stepping in. Ginny hopped up, grabbed her clothes, and headed to the bedroom. She waited until she heard the shower curtain close before fishing her cell out of the pocket of her pants. She sat on the edge of the bed as she pulled up her contacts. She scrolled down until she got to Kirk’s name, tapped the screen, and sent him a text.

• Gotta cancel tonight, hubby not leaving for poker. Call u tomorrow -

As she sent the text, Dane called out from inside the shower, "Water’s warm. You coming?"

Ginny deleted the message off her phone and yelled out, "Yeah, on my way."