“I can show you my driver’s license.”
He seriously considered it before he changed his mind. He laughed instead. “Sorry. Sometimes I’m too much of a lawyer. Kim gives me a hard time about it. She says I need to loosen up.”
“Do you?” I asked mildly.
“Yeah, maybe.” He grinned. Then a flicker of uncertainty crossed he face. “How can you be so nonchalant? I just said I want you to fuck my wife.”
I decided to come clean. “Well, there’s a reason Susan introduced us.”
“She hinted as much. And I probably know already. But… I’d like to hear it from you.”
“My parents are swingers. I grew up in the lifestyle. Started when I was fifteen.”
He’d been expecting the first part, but the last part surprised him.
“Wow. For real? Fifteen? I’d barely made it to third base at that age!” he laughed. “I should be asking you for advice.”
“You’re more than welcome to. I’ll tell you the truth, not what I think you want to hear. I mean, yeah, I’d love to have sex with Kim, but not at the expense of our friendship.”
He cocked his head and studied me. “You really mean that, don’t you? That we’re friends, but more importantly, that you won’t tell me something just to score a piece of ass.”
“Even one as nice as Kim’s,” I agreed. “Listen, I don’t wanna sound arrogant, but I can have sex with just about any woman I want. I mean, as long as she’s into me and wants it too.”
“Christy doesn’t mind?”
“Well, this is theoretical,” I corrected. “But my point is that I could be Don Juan and sleep with a different woman every night. I don’t make friends that easily. Not real ones. So, yeah, I won’t give you advice that might jeopardize our friendship.”
He took a moment to absorb what I’d just said. “I’m normally a pretty good judge of character,” he said. “I do criminal defense, too, so I deal with my share of scumbags and lowlifes.” He laughed cynically. “Some wear prison uniforms, some wear thousand-dollar suits. But they’re all the same, once you learn to spot them.”
I nodded at the wisdom of it.
“You aren’t one of them, are you? You’re like me. You’re trying to be one of the good guys.”
“Trying to be,” I agreed.
He nodded and thought about it some more. “I still want to take things slow.”
“That’s fine. But I still want to know what you get out of it.”
“Ah, right! Sorry, I didn’t answer, did I?”
“No, but let me ask a different way. What do you want to happen? You want me to fuck Kim. No problem, as long as she’s willing. You want Kim to have sex with Christy—”
He shot me a surprised look, although he recovered quickly. Then he laughed. “I should’ve known you’d figure it out.”
“It was kind of obvious,” I chuckled. “The ‘risqué photos’ were my first clue, but you also wanted Christy to help her shave. That’s pretty intimate. Even if they don’t spontaneously have sex— Don’t get your hopes up, sorry. That only happens in porn, not real life.”
He grinned guiltily.
“But it’s still a good way to get Kim comfortable with the idea,” I finished.
“Was it really that obvious?”
“How long have you been an attorney?”
He frowned but answered, “Three years.”
“And you can already pick out the scumbags from the good guys?”
He nodded.
“Well, I’ve been a swinger for a while…”
“Ha! So you can spot the clues as easily as I spot lowlifes? Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Let’s get back to what we want to happen,” I said. “This is where I tell you that Christy doesn’t have sex with other guys. It isn’t personal,” I added.
He frowned but then adjusted quickly, while I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“Interesting,” he said calmly. Then his expression sharpened. “Is it your rule or hers?”
“Does it matter?”
“Not really.” He shrugged. “I’m just curious.”
“It’s her rule. And I respect it. I respect her.”
“Right. Another thing we have in common.”
“Yep. That’s one of the reasons Christy likes you—you respect women.”
“I try. I’m probably more of a male chauvinist than you think, but at least I’m aware of it.”
I nodded, and we fell silent.
“Do you mind if I ask…?” he said after a moment. “If Christy doesn’t have sex with other guys, what’s the quid pro quo here? Sorry, that’s a legal term. It—”
“I know what it means,” I said. “Something for something.”
“Ah, right. I should’ve known.”
“The ‘something’ is in the semantics.”
“How?”
“Christy’s definition of sex is ‘penis in vagina.’ She doesn’t do that with other guys. ‘Penis in mouth’ isn’t sex. Not as far as she’s concerned.”
He laughed and nodded. “Kim said they had a long talk about giving head. So I was wondering…”
“But you’re fine with it?” I prompted. “Only getting blowjobs?”
“Yeah, I can live with that.” He laughed at his answer. “No, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Good. ’Cause she really likes doing it. And… not just guys.”
“I figured,” he said. “Kim said she thought she might be into that. Girl-on-girl, I mean.”
“I just call ’em ‘bi,’” I teased.
“Yeah, you would.” He paused for a moment and organized his thoughts. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to review and make sure we agree on what we’re talking about.”
“You’re a lawyer, all right,” I chuckled.
“Yeah, I am. But I don’t want any misunderstandings. I like you and Christy, but I love Kim.”
“Exactly. Same here.”
“And just to be clear, I want some time to consider it and talk to Kim before we do anything.”
“You’d like to review the contract before you sign it.”
“Right. So, sex with Kim is definitely on the table. Sex with Christy isn’t, but blowjobs are.” He waited for me to nod. “Any other boundaries? Do you care if I come? Where?”
“Wherever Christy wants. That’s up to her. What about Kim?”
“The same. Although,” he reconsidered, “she’ll want you to decide. So, wherever you like most.” He stopped and thought about it. “I have a request, though. I’m not a fan of sloppy seconds.”
“Gotcha,” I agreed. “Don’t come inside her.”
“I don’t object,” he added. “She’s not going to get pregnant. But I’d prefer if you didn’t, especially if I’m not done with her.”
“Noted,” I said in a fair imitation of him, although he was so focused that he missed it completely.
“How about oral on them?” he asked. “I’ll be honest, I’m dying to go down on Christy. I’ve been thinking about it since I first saw she was shaved. Do you mind? Does she?”
“Not at all. Same with Kim?”
“The same,” he agreed.
I thought of something and laughed.
“What?”
“This feels a little weird. Not bad-weird,” I added quickly. “But I’ve been a swinger for years, and this is probably the first time I’ve ever gone into this level of detail before we’ve even done anything.”
“Welcome to my life,” Carter said. “I’ve been thinking about this for a year. Maybe longer. I’ll be honest, the fact that you have experience makes it easier. And we can speak frankly. It also helps that I trust you. I know we only just met, but you’ve been… very honest. And forthcoming. It’s a refreshing change from my line of work.”
We nodded and exchanged smiles, although he grew impatient and glanced toward the bungalow.
“I wonder what’s taking so long.”
“Relax,” I laughed. “The first time takes a while. Several passes, at least. It isn’t difficult, but it isn’t like shaving your face. Besides, it’s a very sensitive area, with lots of nooks and crannies.”