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Richard and Caroline: Chapter 3

03-Jul-09

They were in my bed—our bed. I could’ve gone in and stopped them. Instead I perched beneath the open window and looked in, unseen. They had the light on, like they were daring me to watch them. She rode him in a classic Reverse Cowgirl. She never did that with me.

When I had sex with her, it was almost always me-on-top, standard missionary position, boring and mechanical and not really even very effective.

She let out some over-the-top moans. She pulled his hands up to her breasts and let out a chorus of sighs and coos, feeding his ego. I could tell it was fake. Her face obscured from him, she glanced at the bedside clock. I was due home an hour ago.

Caroline suddenly pulled up and Brian’s cock slapped against his stomach.

“Not so fast, I’m not done with you yet.” She backed up and straddled his neck, burying his face between her legs. “You’re gonna be a marathon man tonight.”

He pulled back a bit. “I can go more than once, you know.”

“I’m planning on it.” She pushed back against him.

She had her back to me now, and when she leaned forward I could watch Brian work. His technique was sloppy and immature, but Caroline moaned ecstatically. Boy needs some pointers, I thought. Instead I pulled my own dick from my pants and breathed a quiet sigh of relief from the straining.

Maybe ten minutes later, Caroline decided I wasn’t coming home after all. She went back to riding him, still facing away, still moaning and encouraging him.

“Oh God, I’m gonna come baby!” Brian called out, thrusting his hips upward.

“Yeah, come on, fill her up,” I whispered, stroking myself harder.

Brian grunted and shoved himself upwards one more time, holding his hands on her hips and pulling her down onto him. I came along with him, shooting onto the side of the house.

My eyes closed and I sunk down onto my knees. I bit back the hot, angry tears that had started forming and placed my hand against the wall. I could hear them talking inside.

“That was fun. I’m gonna grab a shower.” I could hear movement as Caroline stood up. “You want a drink or something?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Brian’s voice sounded dull and uninterested now. I heard a kiss, then the door.

My knees dug deeper into the flower garden. Caroline and I had planted it when we first moved into the house; it ran all along the perimeter. We had spent hours in the garden shops, picking out the perfect colors and textures. Caroline had, at least. I’d mostly hauled things to and from the car.

I could barely hear the shower running. I sat still for a moment, taking shallow breaths. Above me, Brian started to snore lightly.

“Marathon man my ass,” I said aloud. I stood up, zipped my pants, and punched the side of the house as hard as I could. Tiny spots of blood smeared across my knuckles.

I slept in my car that night.

——

The smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the air. I put pancakes down on the griddle and switched the coffee pot on. Halfway through I ran across the house to crack open the bedroom door, then ran back to pull the pancakes off before they burned.

I had the table set with a magnificent assortment of breakfast foods. Toast and jam and fresh fruit and  juice, along with what I was cooking.

It took a few minutes, but I sat and waited. Soon, I heard stirring from in the bedroom and Caroline poked her head out the door.

“Rich, that you?”

“No, some burglars broke in and cooked you breakfast. I was hoping you’d help me load the TV into my van afterwards, though.”

She stepped out, pulling a robe around herself. I could see that she was naked underneath. Brian followed, dressed only in his boxers. When he saw me sitting at the table, he ducked back into the room and grabbed a t-shirt from the floor.

“Ha ha, what’s all this?”

I stood and pulled a chair out for her. “Well, I got stuck at work last night, and by the time I was done it was so late that I didn’t want to drive home. I felt kinda guilty about sleeping there, though, so I figured I’d do something nice for you.”

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek before sitting down. “Aww, thank you. That’s so sweet.”

I put the pan of eggs down in the middle of the table, followed by the pancakes and bacon. Brian sat across from Caroline. I poured us each a cup of coffee.

“So what did you two get up to last night?” I asked, pulling a stack of pancakes onto my plate. I idly drizzled maple syrup over them, pretending to be a lot more interested in doing so than I was.

Brian cleared his throat. “Nothing. Well, we went out to dinner and then we came back here and watched some movies. Nothing exciting.”

Caroline laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t say nothing exciting.” She crossed her legs and let her robe fall open a little.

I gave her a small grin. “I’m certain you two found some way to pass the time.”

I sat down and passed a plate of sausage to Brian. I let him load up his plate before I stood back up.

“Oops, forgot the maple syrup.” I pushed the plate of pancakes in front of him. “Let me get that for you.”

“Can you grab the orange juice, too, sweetie?” Caroline said as I started to head into the kitchen. I nodded at her.

I set the juice in front of her, then crossed around the table and stood behind Brian. I put the maple syrup next to him and braced myself. My heart was up in my throat and I could feel my stomach tightening. I put my hands on his shoulders and started massaging; his head shot up and he looked at me. I leaned down.

“You came in my wife,” I whispered in his ear. His eyes grew wide and he tried to stand up, but I firmly pushed him down. “Look at her,” I said loud enough for Caroline to hear.

“Look, Richard, I didn’t…” he tried to start.

“I saw you last night. I watched you fuck her without a condom.” I moved my hands closer toward his neck, and when he flinched I held them still. Caroline was leaning back in her chair, sipping a glass of juice, watching intently. “Don’t worry, this is what she wanted.”

“What?” he asked, looking over at her. She didn’t say anything, just kept watching.

I pulled my hands up. “Take your shirt off.”

Brian gave Caroline a helpless glance, and she nodded at him. He pulled it over his head and threw it to the floor. I put my hands back on his shoulders.

“He’s really quite pretty, isn’t he?” I ran my hands down his arms, stopping at the elbow. Goosebumps popped up on his forearms and I leaned down into his ear again. “Don’t be scared, I’m not going to do anything.”

That really only seemed to make it worse.

“He’s got nice arms. Very well-toned. How many days a week do you go to the gym?”

Brian looked over at Caroline again. She just gave me a half-smirk and set her glass down on the table. He glanced over at the door, then down at my hands on his arms. I put my palms over his biceps and squeezed.

“I asked how many days a week you go to the gym.”

“Uh, three. Four sometimes. I try to go every other day.” His voice was breaking. “Look, dude, I’m sorry about–”

“That’s a tight, flat stomach, too, isn’t it Caroline?” I pushed my hands down his chest and placed my flat palms on his stomach. My extended fingers touched the top of his boxers. “You think he’s hot, yeah?”

Caroline gave me an eye-roll and soft chuckle.

I leaned forward and pulled his underwear off. He lurched upward, but I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down again.

“Rich, dude, what are you–?”

“How big’s your dick?”

“What? Caroline, tell him to stop this.”

Caroline shifted her legs around, letting her robe fall open and exposing her breasts. She didn’t say anything.

“I asked, how big’s your dick?”

He closed his eyes and started breathing shallowly. I resumed my shoulder massage. A moment passed, but Brian hadn’t answered my question. I reached down and spread his legs, letting his dick droop down between his legs.

“Caroline, stand up and give him a show.”

Part of me wasn’t expecting her to, but she stood and pushed the robe off of herself. She leaned back against the wall, shoved her hand between her legs, and started pleasuring herself. Her eyes wide open, she watched my hands play on Brian’s shoulders, up and down his arms.

“You like watching me play with your boy toy, don’t you?”

She gave an enthusiastic nod. I looked down at Brian; he was watching her, half-hard.

“And you like watching my wife play with herself.” He bobbed his head slightly upward in agreement. His breathing was still shallow and his face was flushed. I reached down and started stroking his dick.

“I just want to know how big it is,” I whispered in his ear. “Bigger than mine? Does she tell you how much she loves it when you’re fucking her?”

“Yeah,” he said, staring down at my hand. “She tells me I do things to her that you never do.”

“Is that true, Caroline? Does he?”

She nodded at me and moaned. I was still absently stroking Brian, his dick now fully hard in my hand. He was bigger than me.

I leaned down again, whispering “What do you do to her?”

“She said, ugh,” he took a second to groan and pant. I was stroking him harder and faster. “I make her come with just my big cock. She said she loves it… oh God please stop, Richard.”

Caroline let out a gasp and a long, low moan.

“She got herself off watching me torture you,” I whispered to Brian. “You got her off just by sitting here.”

Brian panted and tried to squirm out of the chair, but I held him down with one hand.

“Please, Rich, please don’t–” he begged, but it was too late.

I felt his shoulders tense up. He groaned and exploded all over my hand, shooting up onto his plate. He slumped down, his chin resting against his chest.

I stood behind him for a moment, staring ahead at Caroline. She had reached down to grab her robe and was avoiding looking at either of us.

Brian’s shoulders jumped in a sob underneath me and I pulled away. He sat with his arms crossed around his chest, looking down, trying not to see me or Caroline. She crossed over to him and put a hand on his arm, but he shrugged her off.

I stumbled backward. “I just—I mean, that wasn’t–” I walked toward the door and grabbed my keys off the hook. “I didn’t–”

Caroline didn’t look at me. Brian didn’t look at her. I walked out.

Richard and Caroline: Chapter 2

03-Jul-09

I woke up with my face pressed against the arm of the couch. I slowly peeled my skin away from the leather and moved to sit up. My back was killing me. I looked down at my arm—it was asleep and had deep red lines on it from where it had been crushed between the cushions. The sunlight streaming in from the window hurt my eyes; I closed them.

Blindly, I stumbled into the kitchen before daring to open my eyes again. I poured a cup of cold coffee and looked at the clock. It was almost two in the afternoon.

“Caroline?” I called out. The bedroom door was shut.

I shook my arm as I walked, alternately holding it above and below my chest, trying to remember which would help it recover faster. The bedroom was empty. Our bed was still made.

The night before, I had gotten in extremely late. I had sat down on the couch to wait for Caroline, like we would do every time we both had a date. When we first opened up our relationship, we decided that we’d wait for one another before we went to bed.

I stood in the doorway, sipping my cold, day-old coffee and wincing at the pain shooting down my arm. My gaze unfocused, I could barely make out the room. I smelled of booze and smoke. Draining the last of my cup, I started stripping out of my clothes.

Feeling refreshed by my shower, I put on an old pair of sweatpants and looked around for my cell phone. It had fallen into the couch cushions. There were four texts I had sent to Caroline the night before, but she hadn’t sent anything to me.

I looked at the clock again. I was starting to worry, she wasn’t supposed to be gone all night. My finger hovered over her name on my phone. I should call, I thought. What if she’s not OK? But that’s stupid, I know where she was and who she was with. It’s fine. I flipped the phone shut. Then I opened it right back up again. I continued that dance for a good fifteen minutes until I heard someone unlocking the front door.

I hastily grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, forcing myself back onto the couch and attempting to look casual. I’m certain I failed.

“Richard’s around here somewhere. Come on in and sit down, let me see if I can find him.” Caroline’s voice sounded through the hallway. Two sets of footsteps made their way inside.

“I’m not getting off to a very good start here,” said the man with her. I recognized Brian’s voice without ever having heard it before.

“Oh shut up, you’re fine.”

Caroline poked her head around the corner. I looked up and pretended that I had just noticed her.

“Hey babe, where ya been?”

“Sorry, Brian kept me out a little longer than we had expected.” She walked over and pulled me up off the couch. She kissed me and I could smell smoke and Brian’s cologne. I flinched away a tiny bit. “Oh. Sorry. Guess I haven’t brushed my teeth yet. You hungry?”

I didn’t answer. I looked over at Brian, who had appeared in the entryway to the living room. He was wearing tight jeans and a t-shirt that clung to his skin, emphasizing the toned muscle in his stomach and arms. I felt conscious of the slight rounded belly poking out the top of my sweatpants. I sucked it in and tried to straighten up my posture.

“I’m gonna go get cleaned up, then we can go get some lunch or something.” Caroline gave me another peck on the cheek. “Go put a shirt on, I’m starving.”

Brian stood in the entryway still, trying not to look at me. I nodded at him, then went to the kitchen. “Coffee?” I asked.

———-

“Can you believe it? Brian’s been telling me all about his design business.” Caroline was gesturing wildly, her eyes wide and her lips fixed into a permanent smile. “Oh, hey, tell Rich about the guy’s house you told me about last night.”

“Oh, I don’t think–” Brian smiled demurely at me while he spoke, but Caroline cut him off.

“Sex dungeon. Swear to god. He showed me pictures of it.” She sidled up next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. “Maybe we should look into having one done. Get ourselves a nice friends and family discount, eh?”

I gave a polite chuckle and sipped my drink.

Caroline had sat next to Brian when the waitress showed us to our table. She rearranged the placemats and put her jacket next to me, near the window. The two of them played footsie like a couple of horny teenagers.

I imagined him fucking her.

“What can I get for you, sir?” The waitress surprised me. I glanced across the table; Caroline was running her palm down Brian’s stomach.

“Chicken Caesar, no dressing.” I handed her the menu and she turned to Caroline.

“What will you two be having?”

You two. The words struck me. I stopped listening. Brian made her laugh, and he was charming. His squared chin was covered in a two-day beard, but it just helped to bring out the shaggy blonde surfer. His hair was still mussed from the night before—or maybe he meticulously arranged it to look that way. His blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and curiosity as I ignored the conversation. Caroline hung all over him.

I imagined him fucking her.

Caroline didn’t notice how quiet I was, but Brian did. We finished our lunch and decided to talk a walk through the shopping district. Well, Caroline decided. As soon as the check was paid, she was dragging Brian out of the restaurant by the hand, expecting me to follow with her purse.

“So this is kinda awkward, huh?”

Brian and I were sitting on a bench outside, watching the people pass by on the pedestrian mall. I turned my head toward him and kicked the bag sitting by my feet.

“It’s all right.” I hoped to dissuade him from talking to me. For a minute it seemed like it had worked.

He fidgeted with his hands, nervously looking around, as if he was expecting someone to interrupt him. All of a sudden he turned his entire body toward me.

“Look, this is weird, but I want you to like me.”

“Oh?” I said, acting as nonplussed as I could manage.

“It’s just that from everything Caroline has told me about you, you’re a pretty awesome guy. I really like Caroline, and I really want to be a part of her life. That means that I’d be a part of your life, too, and –”

I reached over and grabbed him on the shoulder, shutting him up. “Let me stop you there. I don’t decide who Caroline dates. You don’t need to be in my good graces in order to be in hers.”

Brian looked down for a moment, not taking my arm off of him. “I know that, but… I guess what I’m saying here is that I want all the parts of her life to mesh so there isn’t any conflict. I don’t want to be a problem between you guys.”

I didn’t say anything. He was quiet for another few moments.

“Do you like me?”

I thought for a second. “No. Not really.”

“Oh.”

I let him hang for a while, sadistically enjoying him twisting in the wind. I wasn’t even certain why I enjoyed it, but the incident put a small smile on my face that I kept all day.

“I don’t really know you well enough to. Caroline says nothing but good things, though, so that’s enough for me. For now.”

His face flushed and he seemed to slacken on the bench, slouching down a little. He smiled at me.

“So I guess that means I have to keep trying to impress you, huh?”

I rolled my eyes and gave him a sarcastic smile. “Well you’ll have to start trying a lot harder.”

——

“You broke the fucking rules!” I slammed my fist down on the countertop, rattling glasses and knocking over silverware. “What, is this a fucking game to you? Maybe we shouldn’t have any more rules at all.”

Caroline sat on the couch with her arms folded across her chest. She was turned defiantly away from me, looking at me through the corner of her eye.

“Yeah, that’ll be fun. Maybe I’ll fuck some whores, get ‘em pregnant. Or fuck some ugly guys in the mall bathroom. Bring home all kinds of fun new diseases.” I turned around and kicked the base of the wall; the paint chipped off and a picture frame shook. “Won’t matter to you, huh?”

“Calm down, Rich.” She sat still, impassive.

“No, I will not calm down.” I pointed at her, making sure not to close the distance. “I slept on that couch all night. I was worried sick. I sent you message after message and you ignored me. You slept over with a guy I hadn’t even met yet, without telling me. I have a right to be mad.”

“You do. But I will not talk about it with you until you’ve calmed down.” She kept a calm, even tone. It was infuriating.

“No. You know what? Fuck you.” I grabbed my car keys and walked to the door. “Maybe it’s your turn to worry about me for a while.”

I found myself at the bar again. It was barely dark outside and I had a drink in my hand. I checked my pocket. I didn’t have cash for a hotel room; I barely had enough to pay my tab. My wallet was sitting next to my phone on the dining room table.

She’s crying her eyes out, I thought. I threw my head back and looked up at the ceiling. I should go back. Shit, no, I can’t go back now.

I fished around in my jacket pocket, hoping to find a cigarette. I had quit months ago. I pulled out a small slip of paper with an address written on it.

Can I…? I wondered. I drained my glass and slammed it down on the table.

Without thinking, I got into my car and headed to the address I had found. I pulled up next to the house and saw a light on outside the front door. There was a car in the driveway. I sat in the street for a minute, maybe longer, staring into the window. The TV was on, making the walls inside flicker blue and white. Long shadows played on their surface, jumping back and forth.

Numbly, I got out of the car, leaving it running. I strode up toward the door and knocked loudly. I looked back at the car. I still had time to run, I could make it without anybody seeing me. But I took a deep breath and faced the door.

“Hi,” I said. Chris looked at me with mild surprise on his face. He didn’t say anything. “Sorry for dropping by unexpectedly, but…”

I didn’t have a way to finish my sentence. He continued looking at me with a blank stare. I inhaled and tried again.

“OK, I hope this doesn’t come off as stalkery, but I came by without really even knowing why.” I turned my head to the side. His gaze hadn’t softened. “I was just having some issues with Caroline, and I was driving around, and I wound up here.” I couldn’t look him in the eyes. Mine felt dry and hot, as if I was going to start tearing up. “I might also be a little drunk.”

Chris sighed and stepped aside. “Come on in, sit down.”

I muttered a silent thank you and pushed inside. I sat at the kitchen table while he ran outside and grabbed the keys from my car. He sat himself across from me and looked at me.

“So what’s going on?”

I put my hand to my forehead and rubbed my eyes. “I dunno. Caroline broke the rules we agreed on. But I’m—I dunno.”

“Meredith’s gone for a couple of hours. You can’t stay though.”

“What?” I looked up at him, feeling my face drain and trying to look apologetic. “No, that’s not what I wanted.”

“Oh?”

“Like I said, I don’t know why I wound up here. I just—I don’t want to go home right now.”

“Well then I guess you need to figure out where you do want to go.” He stood and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator, popped the top off, and slid it in front of me. “Or where you want to be, I guess.”

I took a swig and raised the bottle up in thanks. “I don’t even know why I’m so mad. We’ve both broken the rules before. Fuck, I broke the rules with you guys last night.”

Chris sat back down. “Oh?” he said again, taking a drink of his own beer. The laugh track to a sitcom played softly from the other room.

“I didn’t tell her I was going out with you.”

“Why not?”

I ran my finger over the ridges on top of my bottle. The condensation was making my hands slick.

“I didn’t even decide to until after she was already–” I trailed off, taking another long pull of beer.

We sat in silence for a moment. I looked up at the clock on the wall. I had been gone for a few hours, and I had calmed down.

“It’s late, I’m sorry that I—” I looked down again at my half-empty bottle.

Chris stood, reaching down for my hand. “It’s all right.” He pulled me up and walked me to the door.

“Thanks again,” I mumbled, pushing my way out front, feeling more and more desperate to leave and stop embarrassing myself.

He put his hand on my arm and stopped me. “You shouldn’t come back unless Meredith invites you.”

“What? I–” My shoulders slumped and I turned away from him again. “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

“Have a safe trip home.”

“Caroline?” I called as I walked into the hallway. The lights were all off. I looked in the bedroom again, the bed was still made.

I grabbed my cell phone from the table, there was a message from Caroline. Out with Brian. I set it back down.

“Yeah, sure,” I said out loud to nobody.

Richard and Caroline: Chapter 1

03-Jul-09

“I’m going out with Brian tomorrow.” Caroline set a place in front of her. I stirred the sauce and didn’t say anything. “It’ll be date number three, you’ll have to meet him soon.”

“Yeah,” I said, “I don’t know when I’m going to have the time this week. Things are kinda busy at work.”

She walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a set of glasses from the cabinet. “That’s OK.” She kissed me on the cheek. “We’ll work it in. You know, he’s kinda nervous about meeting you.”

“Well, wouldn’t you be? I’m a big scary man.” I offered her a taste of the sauce. “Plus he’s fucking my wife.”

“And doing it very well, I might add.”

“Not as well as me, I hope.” I gave her an exaggerated fake pout.

Caroline came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my chest. “Nobody’s as good as you.”

I turned back and kissed her. “Obviously. It’s just nice to hear sometimes.”

I spent the night shut up in the office, browsing profiles online. I kept coming back to Brian’s. There was all the typical shit. A picture of him drinking a beer at a party. A self-portrait in front of the bathroom mirror. And, of course, several pictures of his cock. Caroline always did pick the classy ones.

When I was certain she had gone to bed, I sneaked out of the office and foraged for food. I hadn’t eaten much during dinner. Her cell phone was sitting on the table.

Brian: Have you asked him yet?

Caroline: No he wasn’t in a good mood.

Brian: But we can still meet up tomorrow, right?

Caroline: Yeah, that’s fine.

Brian: Good. I’m gonna make you moan like–

I didn’t finish reading it. I carefully set the phone down and crept into the bedroom. Caroline’s laptop was open on the bedside table, and her webcam was turned on. I lay down next to her and reached down between her legs, perhaps a bit more roughly than I should have.

“Mmm… I thought you weren’t coming to bed.” She didn’t open her eyes, but her breathing got a little heavier.

I looked at the camera fixed on us. “Is he still watching?”

She glanced up and I felt her smile. “Yes.”

“Good then.” I started unzipping my pants. “Let’s give him a show.”

“So how do I look?” Caroline was wearing a yellow sun dress and sandals. I spun my finger in the air and she twirled for me.

“Pretty as a picture.”

“Good!” She reached down and grabbed my arms, pulling me up to stand in front of her. “It’s always nice to see my hard work being appreciated.”

I kissed her. “So what are you two crazy kids doing tonight?”

“He’s taking me out to dinner, then we’re going to see some live performance or whatever at the park, and then back to his place for drinks.” She smiled slyly. “Among other things.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “You’re insatiable.”

“Doesn’t stop you from trying.”

I looked over at the clock on the nightstand. “You’d better go before I start putting in an attempt. You’ll be late.”

Caroline gave me a quick, chaste peck on the lips before she left. “Bye, love you. Don’t wait up!”

——————-

I sat in my corner table and nervously played with my drink. Every time the door opened my eyes darted to it, but then I looked away. Wouldn’t want to seem too anxious.

A couple walked in and I raised up my head, but it wasn’t who I was waiting for. They sat at the bar and he waved at the bartender, as if they weren’t the only people there. She was a lot prettier than he was and he made sure to flash some money to make up for it. The bartender smiled and did his job, trying to make the man look as important as possible. He knew how to earn a tip.

I caught his eye when he turned to make a drink. I saw an eye-roll and a soft chuckle. I returned it with a smile.

Wednesday night made for an uninteresting crowd—what little crowd there was, anyway. My rum and Coke was half gone and I was thinking about getting another. I pulled my cell phone out of my jacket and checked the time. They were twenty minutes late.

Caroline had sent me a text message telling me where she and Brian were. The concert was over and they were heading back to his place for the night. I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and looked over at the door again.

Meredith recognized me as she walked in. She pulled Chris behind her and they both sat down with me.

“Richard?”

“Yep. Meredith and Chris?”

“That’s us. Sorry we’re a little late. You know men, they refuse to ask for directions.” She looked at Chris and the corner of her mouth twitched. She paused. “OK, that was a lie. Car blowjob.”

I laughed. “Well if I had known that, I’d have waited in the parking lot.” Chris’s ears turned pink but he laughed with me. “Can I get you guys some drinks?”

“No, that’s OK. Chris will get them.” Meredith looked over at Chris and nodded. “Get me something girly.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Chris stood up. “What were you having, Richard?”

“Huh? Oh, a rum and Coke, but–”

He cut me off. “Be right back.”

Meredith turned to me. The soft, dim lighting made her blonde hair seem to glow. She wore a low-cut red blouse and jeans, looking like someone who had struggled to pull together an outfit that was casual enough. For a moment I appreciated how easy it was for men to go out. Button-down shirt, jeans, and a sport coat. I wondered if I hadn’t tried hard enough.

“You’re cuter than your pictures.” Meredith pulled me away from my few seconds of reflection. “That almost never happens.”

“I dunno, you’re pretty cute yourself.” I chewed my lip. “There’s really no way for me to return that compliment without being a little insulting.”

She laughed. “I think I’ll just pretend you found a way.”

“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “Anyway, I don’t photograph well. Pretty much every photo I’ve taken in the past three years has made Caroline look gorgeous. I think she might actually try to make me look schlubby so she looks better!”

“Well that’s just paranoid.” She looked behind her, making sure Chris was talking to the bartender. “I totally do that to Chris. Nothing makes you look hotter than having a schlub next to you.”

I laughed again. “I knew it.”

“So three years, huh?” she asked. I nodded. “How long have you two been in the lifestyle?”

Chris appeared behind her and put an orange-colored drink on the table. He handed me another rum and Coke.

“Thanks,” I said, nodding at Chris. He nodded back. “Two years, about. I guess seven or eight months after we got married, we both started talking about opening it up and exploring and being more sexual. She hadn’t really been too–” I paused and tried to think of the right word. “Active. I was maybe a little too much. How about you guys?”

“We’ve been married for eight years now,” Chris said. “We opened it up about five or six years ago. I don’t think there was really any buildup to it, it was just ‘Hey, wanna have sex with other people?’ all of a sudden.”

“I think our sex life is a lot better for it.” Meredith reached down and put her hand on Chris’s leg. “We both love variety and experimentation and all that sort of thing.”

I shifted in my seat, leaning a bit closer. “So do we.” I looked down at my drink, noticing Meredith smiling at me. “So can I assume that since you haven’t run screaming, I pass the smell test?”

She laughed. “Maybe. How do you know we’re not just being polite?”

I lifted my glass. “Polite people don’t usually try to get me drunk.”

“OK, you got us. The drinks were the signal.” She leaned into Chris’s shoulder and looked up at him. “We’re dealing with an old pro here.”

“I don’t know about that. Caroline takes her coat off if she approves.” I tilted my head at Chris. “You know us guys, we have no standards at all. Gotta let the ladies decide.”

“You know, I’d have to say that Chris has way higher standards than I do. I mostly just check to see whether a guy is hot enough. He looks at posture and grammar and so many other things. I think he has a checklist out in the car.”

“It’s true, she’ll fuck anything with a decent haircut.”

Meredith hit Chris lightly on the arm and he playfully flinched away. “Anwyay,” she said, “will Caroline be joining us tonight?”

I closed my eyes for a second, suppressing a sigh. “No, actually. She has a date tonight. I figured since she can have some fun, so can I.”

Meredith broke into a wide smile. “Good! That means I get two boys all to myself.” She leaned forward and I felt her foot on my leg. “We’re going to have to give you a workout. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to have to go back home all unsatisfied.”

I smiled. “So tell me a little more about yourselves.”

———-

Their bedroom was what you’d expect from a couple in their mid-30s. I had done this several times, and still it was always a bit of a shock to see how normal people are. Lacy blue curtains were pulled shut over a window-unit air conditioner. Pictures of their friends and family were posted on a corkboard on the wall. Next to it, a large mirror hung above their dresser. The hamper in the corner was full. I guessed that they had just cleaned that afternoon.

Meredith sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. “C’mon Rich, let’s get to know each other a little better.”

I sat next to her. She leaned over and kissed me, and my hand moved its way up her leg. Chris stood, leaning against the door jamb, watching us. Meredith looked over at him.

“You’re just going to stand there and watch.” It wasn’t a question.

“Sure thing,” he said. He shifted his stance a little. “Will I get to join later?”

“We won’t know that until later, now will we?”

Chris nodded.

Meredith started unbuttoning my shirt. She ran her hands over my skin, making sure that Chris could see everything she did.

He watched us as we undressed each other, as we kissed, as we fucked. I felt her orgasm. I looked at Chris as she did and he smiled appreciatively. When she had caught her breath, she rolled me over onto my back and straddled me.

She leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Tell him to clean me up.”

I cocked my head at her for a split second, then called, without looking at him, “Hey Chris, get over here and clean up your wife for me.”

Meredith locked my legs with hers and spread them apart. Before I realized what was happening, Chris had lunged between them and had his face buried in Meredith.

“He loves this part,” she said.

I chuckled. “I can tell.”

I wondered for a second if I wanted to play along with this part of the game. Meredith had her eyes closed, a distracted look on her face. Chris was groaning, making noises of delight. My leg brushed up against his back; he had stripped and I hadn’t noticed. I didn’t need to be an active part of the night’s activities anymore, unless I took it a step further.

“Is he good at that?”

A smile spread across Meredith’s lips. “You have no idea. Nothing gets him going like seeing me with another guy.”

I reached down and grabbed her legs, pulling her knees up to my sides. “I’ve never had anyone to finish up the job for me. Certainly makes my life a lot easier.”

She let a low growl escape her throat. “You just lay back and enjoy the view. Chris is gonna take care of the rest.”

I pushed my hand down her back and felt the top of Chris’s head. I shoved his face up into Meredith until I could hear him struggling to breathe. I could only make out a string of muffled grunts and an “oh yeah.”

“Who said I was done yet?” I leaned up and kissed Meredith, drawing her down against my chest. “Chris’s show isn’t over.”