“Okay,” I said aloud, “what’s the next subject of conversation?”
“Fellatio?” Erin suggested.
“Giving head,” Leah said.
“Blowjobs.”
“Sucking dick.”
“Deep throating.”
“Pole smoking.”
“Playing the skin flute.”
They collapsed in a fit of giggles.
“Oh my gosh,” Christy said softly.
“See what you started?” I said.
“Sorry,” Leah gasped, still laughing. “We get a little carried away sometimes.”
“’Specially when it comes to our favorite pastime,” Erin added.
“Yeah, but they’re different,” Leah said. “Yours is sucking. Mine is swallowing.”
“They’re the same thing.”
“They are not.”
“Let’s ask Christy,” Erin said. “Which do you prefer, sucking or swallowing?”
“I… um… both?” She glanced at me uncertainly.
“Maybe let’s try a different subject,” I said.
“Sorry,” Erin said. “We’re just having fun.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Leah added. “We should probably settle down.”
“No, it’s okay,” Christy said. “I just… I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“Pretty awesome, huh?” Mark said. “They’re even better t’gether.”
Leah cringed.
“It’s okay,” I laughed. “Christy pretends to be innocent, but she notices a lot. Besides, we’ve dropped a lot of clues tonight. She probably figured it out a while ago.”
“Figured what out?” Mark said.
“That you and Leah and Erin are going to spend the night together.”
“Oh. That. Yeah.” He looked at Christy. “Sorry if we shocked you.”
“No,” she said quietly, although she was a lot more sober than she’d been a few minutes earlier.
“Well,” Leah said, “that’s probably our cue to take Mark to bed so you and Paul can talk.” She glanced at Erin. “You ready?”
“Oh my God, yes. I’ve been ready all night.” She turned to Christy.
“Sorry. No offense, but we were kinda on our best behavior with you here.”
“That’s okay,” Christy said. “Thank you. Sorry if I… um… made things awkward.”
“No, no, no, it isn’t that,” Erin said hastily. “We didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. Paul’s right… we can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.”
“It prolly didn’t help that we’ve been drinking,” Mark said.
“It’s okay,” I said. Then I stood to get things moving. The others did too, the girls more steadily than Mark.
“Whoa,” he said. “Musta drunk more’n I realized.”
“I’ve got you,” Leah said as she slipped an arm around his waist.
“Yeah,” Erin said, “we’ll take care of you.”
“You always do.”
“You take care of us too,” Leah said.
“Yep, my pleasure. G’night,” he said to us. “Pleasure to meet you, Christy,” he added, speaking slowly. “Sorry I… you know… got so drunk.”
“It’s okay. Nice to meet you too. Have a nice night. Sweet dreams.” She swallowed a laugh.
“Long story,” I explained to Leah and Erin’s curious looks. “It’s nothing bad, though.”
They nodded and guided Mark toward the guest bedroom.
I put my arm around Christy. “Well, that was… interesting.”
“You can say that again.” She looked up at me. “Are they really going to…? You know? Both of them?”
“Yep.”
“I thought I was crazy…”
“Nope. Just perceptive.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“C’mon,” I said. “This is probably a longer conversation, and the hot tub seems like the place to have it.”
“Yes, sir.”
So we headed back outside. I turned on the jets and tub light and then followed Christy as she descended the steps.
She sighed, sank to her neck, and floated in the middle, while I took a seat on one of the benches. Then she sort of swam around the tub for a few minutes, until she finally settled on the bench opposite me. She sat on her knees, with the tips of her breasts peeking through the bubbling water.
“That’s what you want me and Wren to do,” she said at last, “isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s it? Just… ‘yes’?”
“To thine own girlfriend…,” I said. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but… yes.”
“Complicated how?”
“Well, it depends on what you want. If you want to sleep with Wren and me together, we’ll do it.”
“What if I say no?”
“Then we won’t.”
“Simple as that?” She raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Simple as that. You say no, it won’t happen. And not just with Wren.
With anything.”
She thought about it for a moment.
“You know I want to have sex with you,” I said at last, and she nodded.
“And I’ve had plenty of opportunities.” Another nod. “But we haven’t done
it. Why not?”
“Because I said no.”
“Ding, ding, ding.”
“It can’t be that simple.”
“It is.”
“But… you’re a guy.”
My eyebrows shot up. “How’s that work?”
“You can do anything you want.”
“Just because I’m a guy?”
“Well, can’t you?”
“I could,” I said slowly, “but that doesn’t mean I should.”
“I don’t understand.”
I gathered my thoughts before I spoke. “Are we a partnership,” I said at last, “or am I in charge?”
“Well… both.”
“Think about your parents. Is that how their relationship works?”
To her credit she thought about it instead of arguing. “I guess not.”
“Right. Your dad is in charge, on the face of things, but your mom more or less runs things at home. And she has a say-so for big decisions, like his career. Do you think he’d ever do anything if she said no?”
“Maybe,” she said tentatively. Then, “No, probably not.”
“Right. And they’ve been married… what? Thirty-five years?”
She nodded.
“So they make it work, and they respect each other. My parents are like that too. I want our relationship to be the same as theirs.”
“The same as your parents and Susan,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
“But with me and Wren.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Maybe I want that too. But… what if I’m scared?”
“Of what?”
“The same as always, losing you.”
“To another woman?”
She nodded.
“Well, I know the difference between sex and love.”
“That again?”
“’Fraid so,” I said gently. “I want to have sex with you and Wren, but…”
I stopped and wondered if I really wanted to say what I was thinking. I
almost chuckled when I heard my grandfather’s voice: Faint heart never won fair lady.
“But what?”
“But I’m not in love with her.”
Christy nodded absently before my words sank in. Then she stared. “Hold on,” she said at last, “d’you mean…?”
“Mmm hmm. I’m in love with you.”
She launched herself across the hot tub. I recoiled into the wall and caught her by reflex. She planted a bouquet of kisses—on my chest, neck, and face—and punctuated every one with “I love you!”
I finally managed to draw breath to speak, and I lifted her into the air simply to get her to pay attention.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lemme see if I have this straight,” I said wryly.
“You’re saying you love me?”
She gave me the happiest, goofiest grin I’d ever seen. Then she nodded with manic enthusiasm. “Say it again,” she begged. “I wanna hear you say it again.”
I started to tease her but thought better of it. Instead I lowered her until her eyes were level with mine.
“I love you,” I said simply.
She kissed me, long and deep and full of pent-up desire.
My dick sprang to attention, and part of me wanted to ease her onto it.