Reluctant Cuckold by David McManus Read Free Book Online Page B

ended up back here. We had some time before meeting her mom for dinner, so we took a walk through the Park. We ended up by the zoo and were like, ‘Let’s check out the animals.’ ”
     
    “Cool. How was the zoo?”
     
    “Well right before that, we stumbled upon a fight between a clown and a magician.”
     
    “A fight?” I asked.
     
    “It was like a turf war fight. I think the magician had set up shop right by the clown’s usual spot. It was the place where two pathways intersect before you enter the zoo. That’s prime real estate right?”
     
    “Yeah,” I said, just following along.
     
    “Well, the clown was pissed. I mean fuming. ’Cause the magician had a crowd of kids around him and the clown had lost his audience to the magician. So the clown started swearing ‘This is my fucking spot.’ The magician hollered back, ‘Stop scaring the children.’ He’d go back to doing his magic, but with the clown yelling ‘Fuck you,’ the parents got their kids on out of there, so they were both SOL.”
     
    “Wow,” I said.
     
    “Yeah, it was interesting. So then we were like, we’re right here, let’s see the zoo.”
     
    “Sure.”
     
    “Well, the main zoo was OK. We’ve been there. Central Park ain’t no Bronx Zoo.”
     
    “No, it’s small—a twenty minute zoo.”
     
    “Yeah, so we checked out the Children’s zoo. I don’t know why we’ve never gone.”
     
    “How was it?”
     
    “It was fun, actually. You just need to make sure to bring quarters.”
     
    “Why?”
     
    “Leah had some on her, so we were OK. What makes it fun is feeding the farm animals. An animal gumball machine spits out these pellets. I guess sheep and goats just love them pellets, ’cause they run up to you and eat them right out of your hand.”
     
    “Sounds fun,” I said, “and how was dinner?”
     
    “One last thing,” she said.
     
    “Yeah sorry, what’s that?”
     
    “The last animal was this weird platypus-looking thing. The only animal by himself. He was shy and wouldn’t come out with all the kids by the fence. But when the kids left, he came right up to me. And his tongue was sandpaper rough, an interesting texture. I fed him all the pellets I had. And then he looked me in the eyes with this forlorn expression that said, ‘Please don’t go.’ ”
     
    “Please don’t go?”
     
    “Yeah, and I felt bad leaving, because his eyes would follow me. So I went back to pet him again, like to tell him he’d be OK. And he looked up at me like ‘I know I’m ugly looking, and all the other animals make fun of me, but I’ve got a heart of gold and you’re the only being besides my mother who really understands me. Please take me home with you.’
     
    “I swear to God, Dave,” Ashley continued, “I felt so bad having to say goodbye to his sad little face.”
     
    I just smiled.
     
    “What do you say,” she added, “late tonight—you and me—we’ll sneak in there and rescue that little guy?”
     
    “What, your Platypus friend? Steal him from the zoo?”
     
    “He doesn’t want to be there. “
     
    “And then what, as we have this thing in our cab?”
     
    “We take him here. He would love this place. That room would work for him. We clear it out, throw down some hay, and give him a little basket for sleeping.”
     
    Suddenly she looked at me inquisitively and asked, “Are you OK?”
     
    “What? Yeah.”
     
    “You seem really quiet … distracted.”
     
    “Oh yeah, maybe I am—you know with work tomorrow—but I’m fine.”
     
    She stood up, leaned over me, and began rubbing my shoulders. “You seem really tense, honey.”
     
    “It’s just thinking about work.”
     
    Then she came back to the sofa and started kissing me. Under normal circumstances, this would lead me to getting her clothes off and having sex. But I was nervous, self-conscious, awkward.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Monday was a new day.
     
    And while I dread the weekly managers’ meeting that starts