“Do you ever feel that sometimes we’re moving away from people?” she said at last. “Not physically, like moving to a new place, but you know what I mean. The closer you and I become, the further we move away from our friends.”
I thought about it and shrugged.
“Maybe you’re right. Not Brooke. I’m closer than ever to her. And Erin. She’s like my new sister. Oh my gosh, I hope she and Leah are having fun. Has your mother had a postcard? Never mind, I’ll ask her next time I see her. Anyway, where were we? Oh, right, moving away. So… yeah. Sometimes I feel like Wren and I are moving apart. Not for real, and not in a big way, but she and Trip have their lives, you and I have ours. Like tonight.”
I nodded.
“We should do this more often,” she said with a smile. “I like doing all the talking. I don’t think I wanna do it all the time, though. Like, when your finger was first broken, and I had to be on top when we made love. That was really fun, but not all the time. I need you to hold me down and fuck me sometimes. Mmm, that sounds fun.
“Unh! What do you mean, ‘Maybe’? Paul Dean Hughes, I don’t think you understand how horny I am. Like, all the time. Especially since we couldn’t do much while I was on my period. You know how I get. I love our morning blowjobs, but I need more.
“Speaking of which,” she continued, “I think you should start going for a run in the morning again. I like when you come home and ‘catch’ me playing with myself. I get so worked up while you’re gone. You probably think I’m crazy, but it’s some of the best sex we have. I know it’s plain vanilla, but I love feeling you come inside me.” She thought of something else and sighed.
“I should probably thank my mother,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t be on the pill if she hadn’t told me to. I can be very stubborn sometimes. Oh, don’t act so surprised. Of course I know how I am. So you’d better be glad my mother’s more liberal than I ever realized. Never in a million years…” She fell silent but then shook herself.
“Anyway, you should thank her. If it weren’t for her, we’d still have danger week. Then where would we be? Exactly. You’d have to pull out and come somewhere safe. And I’d have to worry about my stupid calendar and whether I did the math right. Ugh! No, thank you.
“So, that’s why you should start going for a run again. I want to feel you inside me. It isn’t the same when I suck you off. Don’t get me wrong, I like that too, but it’s better when we make love. Better for me, I mean. Is that okay?”
I nodded earnestly.
“Oh, thank you, thank you. I knew you’d see it my way. Yes, I know,” she said, “you work hard to make me happy too. And I am. Happy, I mean. Mmm, speaking of which, when were you going to tell me about the new couple? Wren mentioned them. Trip told her. Duh. Of course he did. You never said anything, Mr. Talkative. Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?
“No? I didn’t think so,” she answered for me. “He said the guy’s really handsome. Carter, right? And Kim, his wife. Trip said she’s absolutely amazing. Like, a ten. She’s a blonde, right? With blue eyes, like me?”
I wobbled my head in a close-enough gesture.
“And she has big breasts. Are they big like Lily’s?”
I shook my head immediately.
“Like Terri’s? Brooke’s?”
No, twice.
“Hmm… Who else do we know with big ones? Not like Susan or your mom? No? Okay, then who? Um… Caroline Bramwell? No. Oh, I know! How about Marianne’s? About her size? Right. A little smaller? And not quite as full? Flatter? Right, more like Nikki’s. Oh, please, don’t look at me like that. I know you checked her out. She’s really pretty. Only, it took you a while to notice, didn’t it?”
I blinked in mild amazement that Christy could extract so much information from my expressions, but she read that as well.
“Of course I understand you, Paul, dear,” she said. “I told you, I’m always paying attention. So, what about Carter? What’s his penis like? You aren’t going to make me guess, are you? Of course you are. And yes, I know all about how they change. They look one way when they’re soft and completely different when they’re hard. Some are growers and some are showers. So it probably doesn’t matter what his looks like when it’s soft. Besides, I’ll see it eventually. So, where were we? Oh, right! You’re going to tell me about them.”
She waited.
“I’m serious,” she said after ten seconds of silence. “Tell me about them.”
I did my level best not to grin, but it wasn’t good enough.
“Unh,” she whined. “Tell me, tell me. Please!”
I swallowed to moisten my mouth, and Christy somehow found a reserve of patience.
“Sorry, I was having fun,” I said at last. My voice sounded rusty from disuse. “And you really can read my mind. That should probably scare me—”
“—but it doesn’t,” she finished. “I know. You do the same to me. Like, when I was talking about Bo and Luke, and you knew what I meant.”
I nodded.
“But now you need to talk,” she continued. “For real. About Kim and Carter. I sort of know what they look like, but I want to hear more. Trip just told Wren that they want to be swingers. Did they come right out and ask? Wait, hold on. Let’s go back. Do you want to? Swing with them, I mean.”
I thought about it.
“I’m sure you do, especially if Kim’s as pretty as Trip says she is, but… I’m not so sure anymore. I used to think you weren’t picky, that you’d sleep with just about anyone, but I was wrong. You’re very picky, aren’t you? Well, you are now, with me.” She thought of something and frowned.
“You’ve changed,” she said. “Since we first met, I mean. And especially since we started sleeping together. Is it because of me? Oh my gosh, listen to me! I’m still chattering. I’m sorry. You were saying…?”
I grinned and moistened my mouth again. “Yes, I’ve changed,” I said slowly, deliberately. “But for the better. I’m more relaxed, now that we’re together. I don’t worry as much. I mean, when’s the last time I actually brooded?”
She thought back. “You do sometimes, but you’re right, not as much.” She rolled her eyes and blurted, “Oh my gosh, last year! After you found out Wren and Trip were sleeping together. Remember? You disappeared for, like, a month! And we didn’t know where you were?”
“It was more like a week,” I chuckled, “but… yeah. I remember.”
“I thought you were going to brood forever. And then you started dating her.” Christy scowled at the thought of Gracie, although she brightened immediately. “But that’s all in the past. You’re mine now, thank you very much. Anyway, where were we? Oh, right, you’ve changed…?”
“I have,” I agreed. “And for the better. All because of you.”
She smiled and kissed me impulsively. Then she faux-glared. “Don’t think you can avoid the question. Do you want to? Swing with the new people? And what about me? I… still don’t want to have sex with another man. Do you think Carter’ll be okay with that? Trip sort of is, but not really. He says one thing to you and another to Wren. She says I just need to give him time, but I’m not so sure. Oh my gosh, I’m doing it again! Sorry. You were saying…?”
I chuckled and kissed her. “I love you. Very much. And I can’t imagine life without you.”
“Thank you,” she said, part surprised, part pleased. “I love you too. And I can’t imagine life without you. But you’re stalling.”
“Not really,” I said. “I’m… thinking. The answer isn’t so simple. And… I guess I don’t know. Carter and Kim… They seem like they might be the type, but we won’t know unless we talk to them. And, I’ll be honest, we shouldn’t get our hopes up. Susan said they’re looking for ‘couples activities,’ but we don’t know what that means. Not exactly.”