“We might as well talk about the elephant in the middle of the room.” Ben poked at Stef’s forearm. “Not that you’re an elephant. Hippo, or rhino, maybe…”
“Shut up!” She made a face at him then, and couldn’t help smiling a little. She reached for the potatoes and plopped some onto her plate, passing the bowl to Ben. “I just… I guess I’m a little scared.”
“Fair enough.” Ben handed the potatoes to Evan, who had rolled his chair up to the table. “Me, too.”
“Yeah?” She cocked her head at him, tucking a long stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Of what?”
“I guess the same things you are.” Ben took the peas from her. “What if this jeopardizes our friendship?”
“God, these things are always so messy.” Stef slid the platter of meat toward Ben.
“Life is messy.” Evan pierced a bloody piece of meat. “People walk out in the street and get hit by buses. People get blown up by terrorists in their own office buildings. People crash their motorcycles and end up paralyzed.”
Stef and Ben looked at each other and then at Evan, who was attacking his slice of roast.
“What?” Evan asked, chewing furiously.
Ben leaned back in his chair. “Well, what if we set some…ground rules?”
“Like what?” Stef chewed thoughtfully.
“Whatever makes us the most comfortable, I guess.” Ben shrugged. “Or maybe just ruling out the things that make us uncomfortable?”
Stef made a face. “Sounds so clinical.”
“For now,” Ben replied, his dark eyes piercing hers. “This is just the preliminaries.”
“You know what I want,” Evan said. “What I really want is for you to give Stef something I obviously can’t.”
“Evan-” Stef frowned.
“Ben, listen,” Evan went on, as if she weren’t there. “I think we already know the ground rules. I talked to you about this before. You pretty much know how I feel.”
Ben nodded.
“And Stef knows how I feel. And I know how Stef feels-even if she says she doesn’t.”
She fingered the edge of the tablecloth, not looking at either of them.
Ben frowned. “I don’t want to do this if she doesn’t want to, though, Ev.”
“She does,” he insisted. “Don’t you, baby?”
Stef bit her lip, looking first to her husband, and next to Ben. Then she picked up her glass of wine, nodding slowly. “Yes.”
“I guess that settles it.” Ben let out a pent-up breath.
Stef stood, taking her plate to the sink. She stayed there, loading the dishwasher, while the conversation turned once again to the two men’s work. Evan watched his wife 183
as she stooped to load the plates and glasses, the shimmery green dress sliding over her curves. He noticed Ben watching her, too.
When Evan grabbed his plate and, with one hand, turned his chair and wheeled toward the sink, Ben took the cue and started clearing the table.
“Thanks,” Stef murmured to both of them, but she was smiling at Ben as she took the platter of meat.
Evan knew that smile well.
“Nature calls!” Evan backed his chair up and turned it toward the doorway. It was just an excuse to leave them alone for a while. He could empty his bag whenever he wanted. He stopped by the living room to turn on the stereo. By the time he got back, the dishes were done, the food was put away, and Ben and Stef were sitting on the sofa talking. It took him a hell of a lot longer in the bathroom than it used to, that was for sure.
“What are we talking about?” Evan asked.
Stef smiled and Evan noticed that her hand was on Ben’s. “You.”
“Guess that’s why my ears were burning.” He smirked. “Nothing too terrible?”
“Just making fun of your scrawny chicken legs.” Ben grinned and stretched.
“Hey, I take offense to that,” Evan scoffed. “They were always scrawny.”
Stef laughed. “It’s true. Scrawny and pale.”
“Not like Ben over here.” Evan rolled his eyes at him. “Mr. Outdoors, right?”
“Night and day.” Stef smiled. Evan could tell she was feeling the effects of all the wine they’d had tonight. She was leaning back into the couch, curled up like a cat, her feet tucked under her. “Oh, god, I love this song!”
“I know.” Evan smiled.
Stef grinned and winked at Ben. “The blues always makes me want to take my clothes off.”
“Don’t let us stop you!” Evan laughed.
“Dance with me.” Stef held her hand out to Ben and he took it, following her to the middle of the living room floor.
She began to dance, her hands above her head, her body undulating to the music. Ben put his hands on her hips, watching the shift of her dress over them, like green fire under his fingers. He barely had to move at all, she did all the work, like she was putting on a show for him-for them.
Turning so she was facing Evan, she wiggled her behind into the saddle of Ben’s hips as she danced, her eyes half closed and her lips parted. Evan thought she had never looked so beautiful before. She rocked her hips back and forth to the beat, and when Evan met Ben’s eyes, he could see the lust burning there. He didn’t blame him in the least, but it made his throat tight and his chest hurt to see it.
The song was a true blues lick with a mean harp playing over the steady beat.
“Goin’ up, goin’ down… Anyway you want me…”
Stef’s body moved up and down to the song’s lyrics, her skirt rubbing against the denim of Ben’s jeans, making it ride high up her thighs. Evan watched as the hem of her dress played peek-a-boo with the elastic tops of her stockings, his whole body filled with a white heat.
Stef turned back toward Ben, snaking her arms around his neck as she moved her belly against his, and Evan watched her ass moving in the same little circles she used to make when she was sitting up on top of him and riding his cock. Watching the motion made him feel dizzy. He hadn’t seen her do it in years, and it made him grit his teeth with lust and envy.
Ben made a small sound in his throat, and his thigh moved between hers as they danced together, their bodies moving in unison now. Evan watched his friend’s hands moving slowly over the rounded globes of his wife’s ass, his fingers slipping over the smooth material, edging it up and up and up. Stef was sliding up and down Ben’s thigh, her head so far back that her long, honey-colored hair almost touched the hands groping her behind.
Evan watched as Ben found the smooth skin of his wife’s thigh between panty and stocking, his fingers gripping her there. Stef moaned, turning her face up to him, and Evan watched them kiss. He had seen them touch lips before-a perfunctory caress-but this was no brief thing. It went on and on as they rocked together, their mouths slanting, greedy, tongues meshing. Evan’s knuckles were turning white on the wheelchair handgrips, but he couldn’t take his eyes off them.
Stef moaned against Ben’s mouth, and the sound send a shiver through Evan.
She was most definitely enjoying herself. The way she rolled her hips and how her hands gripped Ben’s upper arms made Evan sure she had really wanted this, even as much as she had denied it. She hadn’t wanted him to feel slighted. He understood that-but he had somehow suspected she wanted more, and now he was sure.
“Jesus,” Ben whispered as their kiss broke. “Stef…”
“Come on,” she murmured, and Evan saw her hand slip between Ben’s thighs to rub the bulge there. She turned and took his hand, leading him. Her eyes met Evan’s 186
and he smiled at her as she leaned down to kiss him, something hard and fierce and briefly deep. He was grateful for it.
“Aren’t you coming?” She looked over her shoulder to Evan as she led Ben toward their bedroom.
Evan’s hands were trembling on the wheels of his chair as he rolled slowly after them.
“Unzip me.” She turned around and held her hair up out of the way. Both men admired the smooth curve of her shoulder and the small curls at the nape of her neck as Ben slid her zipper down, exposing her bare back and the lace edge of her black panties.