“No. It’s just a regular bathroom. The grotto is down the hall, through a separate door.”
“Ah, okay. I thought— I mean…” She searched her memory. “I guess you’re right. It’s been a while since you gave me a tour. Like, when you first moved in. Oh, wow! Has it really been four years?”
“Just about.”
“I guess I don’t remember as well as I thought. Though I could’ve sworn… I mean… Christy’s always talking about…”
“We have an entrance through our bathroom.”
“Ah, right!”
“We use this room for normal guests, too, ones who aren’t swingers.” Like my in-laws. “We don’t want them to wander into the grotto unannounced. Besides, it might raise questions if we had two bedrooms connected by a hallway and a pass-through from the spa.”
“Makes sense,” Allie agreed. “And since I’ve never been asked to spend the night, much less to the grotto…” She was teasing, although she had the good grace to admit it with a wry smile. “Yeah, I know… my fault.”
“Mmm.”
She looked around the room again. “It’s nice.”
“You’re welcome to stay.”
“Tonight? I’d love to, but… How would that work? I mean… what about… you know, your wife?” She frowned at the evasion. “Sorry. What about Christy?”
“What about her? You know about our relationship.”
“Yeah, I know. But… for real, how does this sharing thing work? Do I need to ask first? Do you? Don’t ask, don’t tell? I don’t wanna overstep any boundaries…”
“You aren’t. We have a list.”
“Of playmates?” She grinned, so it was another pun.
“Ha! Yes. Unfortunately, you aren’t a small-p playmate—not officially, at least—but you sort of are. Sorry, I know it sounds like I’m making this up as I go along…” I was pretty sure that Ken had muddied those waters as well.
“No, it’s okay,” Allie said. “I know Christy’s MO. She’s all about hints and suggestions… doublespeak.” She shrugged. “She has to be. She’s a woman.” She sounded annoyed more than condescending.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said.
“What? Sexism? The patriarchy?” She dismissed it with a shrug. “You aren’t the problem. If anything, you’re trying to make a difference.”
I have three daughters.
“Anyway, about this list,” Allie continued. “I’m on it, sort of, but not?” She thought about the situation and laughed to herself. “Christy doesn’t do anything simple, does she?”
“Nope. Not if she can help it. She works behind the scenes, pulling the strings.”
“She sure pulled mine,” Allie muttered, although she didn’t sound resentful.
“Mine too.”
“Yours? How?”
“Well, she was probably hoping this would happen. That’s part of the reason she decided to go with Laurie to North Carolina.”
“For real?”
“Yeah. She had other reasons—”
“Like being a good mom.”
“—but she knew I’d see you at Maddy’s party.”
“Do you think she sabotaged my air conditioner?”
I gave it some serious thought.
“Oh my God,” Allie laughed, “for real? Do you actually think she’d do that?”
“No, but only because she doesn’t know how. I mean, she’s pretty determined when she wants something.”
“No kidding.” Allie fell silent and then nodded. “She has been dropping more hints lately. For the past couple of months, I guess. She also mentioned you’d be alone this week. You know,” she added wryly, “in case I wanted to ‘drop by.’”
I grinned. “To suck me off?”
“Or sixty-nine in the swinger suite.”
“We’re two for two.”
“Mmm.” She moistened her lips and then gave me a speculative look. “Are we going to make it three for three? Not now,” she added quickly, “but tonight?”
“More like five for five—”
“Ha!”
“—but yeah,” I finished. “I just need to talk to Christy first. We were talking about it last night—”
“Wait. You were talking about us? This? You and me?”
I nodded.
“For real? What did she say? Never mind, I can probably guess. Wait, on second thought, tell me.”
“I told her what you said, about just being friends—”
Allie grimaced, more apology than remorse.
“—but she said you were serious. About sex, at least.”
“I was. I am. I mean… yeah. Here we are.”
“Here we are,” I echoed.
“Sagging and stretch marks and everything,” she muttered.
I grabbed my abdomen and searched. “What! Where?”
“No!” she laughed. “I meant me.”
“I know,” I said, serious again. “But you know I think you’re sexy. I’ll prove it if you want.” I reached for her breast. She batted my hand away, but not with any real conviction.
“No, I believe you. And thank you, by the way.”
I decided to play dumb. “For what?”
“You know. For making—” She cleared her throat and scowled into the past.
Fucking Ken, I muttered to myself.
“For making me feel… you know… desirable.”
“You are. Very.”
“I’m not so sure. At least… I wasn’t.”
“I can’t fake a hard-on. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
“No,” she agreed quietly.
“And speaking of hard-ons…” I had a thought and started to laugh before I caught myself. “Sorry,” I said quickly. “It’s just… I mean… I’m turning into Christy.”
“What? How?” She gestured. “Not with a dick like that. I mean, it’s kinda obvious. And your chest is totally bigger than hers. Your arms, too. Goodness gracious, yes!”
“I’m serious,” I protested, but only mildly. “I’m turning into her. She has a knack for manipulating a conversation.”
“‘Knack’ might be an understatement. She’s really good at it.”
“And I just did it.”
Allie furrowed her brow. “How?”
“I said, ‘I can’t fake a hard-on.’”
“Ah, right. Now I get it. ‘Can’t fake a hard-on.’ It’s a good segue to talk about tonight.” She fell silent and considered it. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, I think it was just a good transition. So… let’s talk about it.”
I grinned. She was as eager as I was, especially now that she’d overcome her initial objections.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
“Yeah, I know,” she said, semi-ruefully, “I’m such a needy slut.”
“That’s a good thing. You know what you want.”
“And I’m willing to sleep with my friend’s husband to get it?”
I nodded enthusiastically.
“You’re definitely good for my self-esteem,” she laughed.
“I’m good for the rest of you, too.”
“I wish I had your confidence.”
“You do. You just need a refill. And I’m happy to oblige. Several times, as a matter of fact.”
She snorted a laugh.
“Seriously, though… let’s talk about tonight. The logistics, I mean. I need to call Christy first. Duh. She won’t have a problem with it, but she needs to know that you’re officially on the list.”
Allie nodded comically, and it was my turn to laugh.
“Now you know how I feel!”
“I know how you taste, too. Mmm.”
“Hold that thought. I still need to tell Christy.” I had a thought and winced for effect. “She’ll probably tell Wren. Are you okay with that?”
“I guess,” Allie said after a moment. “She tells her everything anyway. I mean, we all do. Tell each other. Christy knew all about Ken and me. And I know more about you than anyone but her.” She read my polite doubt. “Yeah, okay, maybe not Leah.”
“No, sorry.”