“Oh, no, no, that’s not gonna work”, Sherry wailed. “Come on you guys, dish! What’s the sense of having younger, good-looking friends if they won’t tell us about the orgies they attend?”

Alli laughed. “Sherry, you’re so bad! It was not an orgy!”

Rob took Sherry’s side. “Yeah, you guys! It’s part of the friendship code or some such thing, you’re obligated to tell us, or…or…or we’ll take our wieners and go home!”

I laughed. “We can’t, guys, sorry. There’s this thing, this pact, that whatever happens in the hot tub stays in the hot tub; it’s kind of an unspoken agreement – except that everyone says it all the time.”

Alli chimed in. “Yeah, he’s right – and it really wasn’t an orgy anyhow; it was all very…tasteful, and you know, innocent.” She couldn’t quite pull off the prevarication, and she laughed.

Sherry huffed, “Yeah, sure – with Charlie involved! We aren’t his best buds like you guys, but we know Charlie better than that! So everyone kept their swimsuits on, the entire time?”

I shook my head. “Umm, no, not exactly.”

Rob was the first to realize what that meant, and he looked at us, surprised. “So this is a naked party from the get-go? And yet you stayed for it – you two? Okay, now I’m really amazed!”

“And now you gotta tell us all about it!” Sherry seemed quite determined – almost desperate - to have all the gruesome details. “At least tell us who was there! Who got to see you babies naked – and more importantly, who did you get to look at?”

I had to chuckle at her eagerness. “Jeez, Sherry, who knew you were such a lech!”

Rob defended his wife. “Well, she has a point; we don’t get invited to a lot of crazy, naked sex parties, so our only chance to enjoy something like that is…well, vicariously through you, apparently!” He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “You know, maybe you could wangle me in invitation for the next one, and someone there might be kind enough to describe my dick to me; I haven’t seen it since the mid-nineties.” He patted his big beer belly, which would most certainly have kept his dangly bits out of his direct line of sight. I had a hunch he was only half-kidding.

Alli and I laughed, and Sherry patted him on the arm. “Now, dear, you know you’re better off believing me when I tell you what a manly, hung stud you are – someone who doesn’t love you like I do might be more, umm, shall we say… honest!?” We all got a laugh out of that, even Rob. She turned back to us. “You have to at least tell us who was there; anyone else we know?”

Alli and I looked at each other, and I shrugged. “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you that; even the people that left early knew who was sticking around, for the most part.”

Alli nodded. “Yeah, that part would probably be okay to share. Well first of all there was us, and Charlie, of course, and his date.” She proceeded to tell them about Karen – or “DDiamond”, and why she was called that – and the circumstances of her being there.

Rob whistled. “So this thing starts off with wet, naked strippers, but you want us to believe it was what…afternoon tea? A prayer meeting?”

I shook my head. “One stripper, Rob, just one – but she was very attractive, in an exotic sort of way. She was smart too, though, and funny, and very nice. There was much more to her than meets the eye.”

Alli poked me in the ribs. “And pretty much all of her met your eye, didn’t it?” She looked at Sherry, women collaborating, and waved her hand vaguely over her pelvic region. “She was smooth, Sher, waxed clean and totally bare! Davey seemed to enjoy that a great deal!”

“Uh-oh!” Sherry laughed. “Did David embarrass himself?”

“Sherry, give me a break – just taking my clothes off did that, for Pete’s sake!” She and Rob both laughed, and I turned to Alli. “You know, you’re kind of getting into the part of this whole thing that’s supposed to stay private.”

She objected, “Oh c’mon! Rob and Sherry already know us, and they don’t know most of the rest of the people that were there, so what difference does it make?”

That wasn’t entirely true; they both knew Michael and Marci – through us, as both couples were our friends and they had met each other at various parties we’d had, or when we all met for dinner. They weren’t the close friends that we were to each of the two couples, but they did know them fairly well. They also knew Charlie, to some degree, and because Rob is a contractor he often stops by our offices to get information for permits, site plans, contact names and numbers, and things like that. Accordingly, he had met Oscar, and knew Keri, our office manager, quite well. I don’t know if he’d ever met her husband, Don, and didn’t believe he’d ever had any reason to meet Davonn, but he did know a fair number of the players involved.

Alli finished telling them about Karen and her sundry charms. “She was very nice, and very beautiful, too - but she seemed to be quite besotted with my husband – and vice-versa.”

I laughed as I sprang to my own defense. “Oh, right! It wasn’t me she invited to the club for a free lap dance, remember, it was you!” I turned to Rob and Sherry. “Karen seemed quite enamored of my wife’s sexy body – she even offered her a chance to get up on stage and strip with her, said they could do a ‘sisters’ act together. I believe she’s a little bi-, and hoped Alli was too.”

Rob grinned lecherously and put his arm around Alli’s shoulders. “You just let me know when you plan to do that, Alli girl, and I’ll be there, my pockets stuffed with dollar bills!”

Allison was laughing, but blushing furiously. “Thanks, Rob – but bring fives and tens – maybe twenties. Girls like me don’t come cheap, you know!”

Sherry laughed at Alli’s discomfort. “You just never mind all that stripping for my husband! That’s my job.” She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then became serious. “How did you two really manage to convince yourselves to do this? I mean, I know you, Allison, and you blush and get embarrassed if somebody even looks at your cleavage!”

Alli – blushing and getting embarrassed, just as Sherry had noted - said, “Oh Sherry, I do not! I’m not that much of a prude!”

I shook my head. “Not anymore, at least! Sherry, this is actually all your fault.”

“Me? How is it my fault?”

“You’re the one that talked Alli into getting her picture done at that glamour shots place at the mall, that ‘Sizzles’ place. As it turns out, she’s discovered that she kind of likes taking her clothes off for other men; a bit of a closet exhibitionist I married! Who knew?”

Alli gasped, “I do not! That’s not what this is about at all – you make me sound like some kind of kinky sex freak or something! Why would you say something so awful?”

Rob and Sherry were laughing at her instantaneous and vigorous denial of my accusation; I’d said it to get a rise out of her, and I’d certainly succeeded! I didn’t go into the way she had greeted me at the door the day that she’d posed for the pictures, massively aroused and already en route to some self-relief of her most urgent needs. That would have blown her denial right out of the water, but I graciously (for me, I think!) let it go unconfuted. Instead, I said, “I like exhibitionists, especially when they look like you! You can exhibit for me anytime!”

Sherry was looking at her. “You told me you were planning on doing that, but you never mentioned how it went. So you had a male photographer, apparently?”

Ali nodded. “Yes, a guy named Derek that works there part-time; he’s a professional photographer – I mean, that’s how he makes his living, but not at that shop. Not just there, anyhow, that’s a fill-in thing.”

Sherry looked thoughtful. “I had a woman that did mine – she was pretty good, I thought.”

Rob whistled. “I’ll say! I do love that shot of you, babe!”

Sherry smiled at him happily before turning back to Allison. “So was your guy any good?”

I laughed. “Was he any good? He talked her right out of her clothes – we should all be so good!”

Alli elbowed me in the stomach, eliciting a sudden grunt from me and laughter from our friends. “Will you stop saying that? He did not talk me out of my clothes…I took them off perfectly willingly, because he was so handsome and virile that I just felt I had to be naked.”

I recognized that for what it was, a dig at me and my male pride and a tease from my playful spouse in front of our close friends. I chuckled, shaking my head, and they laughed at the way she’d so easily zinged me.

Sherry seemed inordinately intrigued by Allison posing for sexy photos in front of a male photographer – and apparently a handsome one at that! “How come you’re so lucky, you get a good-looking guy? All I got was the woman – and she was okay, but…”

Rob chuckled and put his arm around her. “That’s my girl, wishing she had some stud – or pervert - she could undress for. Proud of ya, babe!”

I looked at Alli. “You never mentioned that he was some good-looking stud! No wonder you were so eager to strip for him.”

She smiled impishly. “He’s gorgeous – and I’m sure I’m not the first woman that’s so eagerly undressed for him – but that’s not really the kind of thing a woman tells her husband, now is it?”

I laughed; she was really on her game tonight. “I suppose not – and yet you tell your best friend all about it right in front of your husband, and that’s okay. Color me confused!”

Sherry interrupted. “Never mind all that – do we get to see the end results? You got your pictures back, right?”

Alli nodded, and I told them that they were out of luck on the eight by ten color shot, because it was on my desk at work. They were mildly surprised, until Alli explained that it was not terribly risqué – more along the lines of what Sherry’s own picture had been; glamorous, sexy, but not overly revealing. As we talked I poured a couple of beers into a shallow pan, sliced some onions into it, and put the brats in before carrying the whole thing out to the grill to cook and steam for a while; I’d always had better luck keeping raw, un-pre-cooked brats juicy by partially cooking them this way before putting them directly on the grill to char and brown up a bit while they finished cooking through.

When we mentioned that Allison had the smaller shots – proofs, or whatever they’re called – they prevailed upon her to go get them. She looked at me, and I knew what she was asking: How much do we show them?

I shrugged. “It’s up to you, babe, it’s you in the pictures. Everyone at the party ended up seeing them, and we know Rob and Sherry better than we do any of them.” In a strange way, I wanted them to see the nearly-naked pictures of Allison; she’s an incredible beauty, in my opinion, and it was sort of like showing her off I guess. Showing off what I was lucky enough to have!

Alli objected. “Everyone did not see them! Only a few people – a few I didn’t intend to show them to, yes, but it was still only a few!”

“Like I said, it’s up to you. I don’t suppose there’s any harm in showing them the proofs and rejects of the one he blew up for me, is there?”

Rob laughed. “I can’t imagine that any pictures of our Alli could be called ‘rejects’!” Since I had been with Rob and Sherry on the night that Alli and I first met, they had always taken a proprietary interest in her, and they both loved her deeply.

Alli leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re so sweet, Robby! Okay, I’ll go get them.” She seemed excited about the idea, honestly, and soon returned, a bounce in her step. I noticed that she had brought all of the shots, the proofs of the color glamour shots as well as the more revealing and risqué black and white artistic shots. They admired and complimented her over the glamorous poses, with Alli pointing out the particular one that I had on my desk, framed.

When she brought out the black and white shots, the ones where she starts out in not a whole lot and progressively wears less and less, she first laid them face-down on the table. “Okay you guys, some of these get a little…well, a little more sexy and revealing. No wisecracks, and no making fun of me, okay?”

Rob put his arm around her and squeezed her. “No making fun, I promise; about the wisecracks, though…”

She laughed, and jabbed him in the well-padded ribs. “Behave yourself! All right then, here goes!” She began to turn the pictures over, passing them first to Sherry, who admired them mostly in silence, although she commented a few times on how beautiful and sexy Allison looked or how good the pictures were.

As Sherry passed each one along to Rob, in progression, he at first whistled long and loud, chuckling appreciatively under his breath. As he moved ahead through them he grew quieter, and when he got to the first essentially topless one, the one in which her breasts are almost fully exposed by her open shirt, he stopped and stared at it. He looked up at Alli, and then back at the picture. “I’ll be god damned! My god, Alli, you’re simply stunning! I’m so at a loss for words I can’t even come up with a wisecrack – and that may be a first!”

I laughed; he was right, he can pretty much always come up with something crazy to say. I was very proud of Allison, first because she was so beautiful, and so smart and sweet, but also because she’d come out of her shell enough to be proud of the way her body looked – and of receiving compliments on it! I was excited for her, and actually more than a little aroused, I’ll admit, that Rob and Sherry were openly admiring her, and seemed to be looking at her in a whole new way. I’m fairly certain that Allison was too, excited and aroused, undoubtedly once again dampening her already damp little panties!

When he got the last one from Sherry, the one where her panties are rolled halfway down her legs and her perfect body is in full view, her breasts showing, hard nipples and all, and her trim little bush just giving a hint of her sex, with her come-fuck-me gaze into the camera as captivating as the first time I’d seen it, he just held it and stared. “Whoa! Allison, this is incredibly…erotic. It’s the only word I can think of, but yeah. Very erotic. And sexy. You put the Victoria’s Secret girls to shame!”

She was blushing, but she giggled. “Robby, that’s so sweet, but no, they’re all so beautiful and so much younger than me. That’s very nice of you though, thank you.”

Sherry nodded. “You are gorgeous, young lady, very sexy…of course, you had a very talented photographer too, while I…” She paused, and then laughed. “Listen to me! It’s like I’m jealous of you, when I know how young and pretty you are, and I’m so much older – besides, I never looked like this! I’m sorry, baby, you know I love you!” She went to Alli and gave her a big hug. “And your pictures are stunning, so very beautiful. You’re a very, very sexy girl!”

Alli returned the hug, practically wriggling under all the attention, and stroked Sherry’s arm affectionately as she moved away. When she returned to where Rob was standing, Sherry suddenly reached over and grabbed him, right in the crotch, and he jumped and let out a squawk. “Hey! Careful there!”

Sherry laughed and shook her head. “Thought so! You’ve given my husband a very nice little hardon, my dear! I guess I owe you one for that…” she turned to Rob “…and you – are you planning to hold that thought until we get home, lover boy?”

Rob stuttered and stammered a bit, but promised her that he would – and that she was gorgeous, his one and only, and the love of his life – and he seemed very sincere. Then again, she had a grip on his genitals, so I’m pretty sure he would have promised her anything and seemed sincere.

Allison and I were both laughing, while Rob blushed furiously. Alli was also blushing, but flattered, I’m sure, that looking at her pictures had apparently so aroused our friend. We didn’t doubt for a moment that Sherry was being honest about his erection, but it was funny that Sherry had called him out right in front of us – and that Rob was so very red! The man isn’t as impossible to embarrass as Charlie, perhaps, but he doesn’t blush easily.

Allison, to hide her own embarrassment, began to gather up the pictures. “I guess I should put these away before anyone gets themselves in trouble, huh?”

Rob chuckled weakly. “Too late, sweetheart! Hey before you take them away, can I order prints of the ones I want for myself and… owww! Hey, what was that for? Dang, woman!”

Sherry had apparently given his gonads a hard squeeze, playing along with his teasing. She now released him. “Watch it, buster, or you and your little buddy will be amusing each other later, without my help – and without any of Alli’s pictures!” She turned toward Alli. “Now, about this dashing photographer of yours…”

I cut her off. “Oh yeah – that’s what I started to tell you! Without you sending Allison to that photography shop, and her discovering how much she liked taking her clothes off for him…” she tried to object, but I went right on “…we probably would not have done that party, the hot tub thing. It was the fact that Alli found out that it wasn’t all that hard or scary – and was even kind of fun - being naked like that with strangers, basically; after that, doing the hot tub thing was her idea, totally. I had to be dragged, kicking and screaming…”

She finally interrupted me. “You’re such a liar!” Her laughter eased the sting of her words; I knew she was kidding me – and I may have exaggerated just slightly. “He was nervous and hesitant at first – although once he got an eyeful of that Karen girl he didn’t protest as much - but it was not that hard to talk him into it!”

Rob laughed. “I’d of done it – and hell, man, look at me! What were you afraid of?”

“Guys, I work with most of those people, every day; it was more than a little bit weird, let me tell you!”

Rob chuckled at that, but Sherry nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I can understand how that would be rather uncomfortable. I think I’d do better with strangers for something like that!”

I looked at Alli. “See? That’s what I said! Thank you, Sherry.”

She patted my arm. “You’re welcome, dear – now back to whom all was there; you never got past Charlie and his date, we got sidetracked!”

She was right, we had. I looked at Rob. “Do you know Oscar?”

He nodded. “We’ve met, although I’ve never had any reason to work with him much.”

“Well anyhow, he and his wife Irene stayed; they came dressed as a giant penis and testicles, great costume, it was hilarious!”

Sherry butted in. “Never mind that; was he hung?”

Alli held up her hand, her fingers about two or three inches apart; Sherry giggled, while Rob just looked at her and shook his head.

I went on. “A young couple – kind of a new guy, Davonn and his wife Molly. I don’t think you know them.” Rob shrugged, indicating that the name didn’t ring any bells. I thought for a second. “Keri and her husband, Don. You know Keri, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I work with her all the time, when I need information for permits. She’s a cutie - and a sweetheart. How’d she look naked?”

Sherry slapped his arm. “Robert! What a thing to say!”

He laughed at her. “Yeah, not nearly as classy as asking if Oscar was hung, huh, dearest heart?”

Sherry blushed, laughing, reminded of her own eagerness for more intimate data only moments before. I filled in for him. “She looked pretty good, Rob; nice figure, not huge-busted, but really nice tits.”

It was Alli’s turn to chide me for being so tacky, while they laughed; I’d thought we were taking turns on tacky! She then named the final couple that had attended. “Oh, and Marci and Michael were there!” We’d left them for last on purpose, by unspoken agreement, one of those things a husband and wife are psychic about; we knew full well that Rob had a huge crush on Marci – and that every woman that saw Michael’s physique and good looks, including Sherry – maybe especially Sherry – dampened their panties over him!

The way we suddenly had their full attention – Sherry’s head snapping around from where she’d been starting to tear up lettuce for a salad at the mention of Michael’s name – was priceless! We burst out laughing, but Sherry quickly brushed it aside. “Yeah, yeah, very funny!” She grabbed Alli’s arm. “So tell me – is it true what they say about black men?”

Allison played it perfectly. “Oh c’mon Sherry! That’s just a myth, total nonsense; don’t be ridiculous!” Sherry almost seemed to deflate, she was so disappointed! That’s when Alli played her trump card. “But in Michael’s case…” She held her hands up like a guy telling about the one that got away, about a foot of open space between them; it was probably a slight exaggeration, but not by much, I don’t think.

It worked perfectly! Sherry gasped. “Are you serious?”

Alli was laughing. “Yes! I’m totally serious – huge, Sherry, totally scary, big, enormous cock!”

“Oh my god! Tell me! I want to know about every inch, every curve, every vein, every little detail! You are talking about hard, right?”

Allison was still laughing. “Yes, of course, at that size! It was pretty impressive in its normal state too, though!”

Sherry looked like she was about to have an orgasm just thinking about it. “Tell me everything! Was it thick, too? Was it gorgeous – oh, and was he circumcised?”

Alli shook her head. “Yes, yes, and no, in that order.” Allison was laughing at her friend, but I could tell that she was turning herself on a little bit too, remembering.

“Ooh, perfect! Tell me more!”

Rob broke up their little conversation about big things. “Hey! I’m right here! Hello! Can we stop talking about another man’s oversized endowment for a minute? Women...jeez!”

Sherry shushed him impatiently. “Why don’t you and David go outside now – isn’t there something you two should be doing that involves fire?” She turned back to Allison. “Details, girlfriend, details!”

Alli laughed again. “Davey, it is about time to go ahead and put the brats on the fire, isn’t it? Why don’t you boys grab a fresh beer and go take care of that, while we discuss manly things?”

Sherry giggled, and Rob sighed as he snagged a couple of beers for us and we wandered out onto the deck. As I pulled the door closed, the last words I heard from Alli were “gorgeous”, “huge”, and “arousing”, so I was pretty sure she was talking about me! It was chilly outside, but not terribly cold; as long as we stayed near the hot grill we’d probably be warm enough, although Rob does seem to be less affected by cold than I am, maybe because he works outdoors and in unfinished and unheated buildings so much more.

Rob chuckled. “Sorry, bud; I have to apologize for my horny wife, but she’s basically been creaming herself over Michael ever since you introduced us several years ago. Serious case of hot pants on that girl, and I’m not even sure if it’s the whole black guy thing, or if she’s just a closet size-queen.” He laughed. “Embarrassing, huh?”

I smiled at him and clapped him on the back. “No sweat, Rob. To tell you the truth, Alli had a pretty powerful reaction to him too – and let’s be honest, Michael is quite a specimen - but I ended up reaping the benefits, so it worked out. Just like it no doubt will for you in a couple of hours!”

As I used tongs to move the brats from the steaming beer bath to the grill surface, he brightened visibly. “There’s a thought! So, tell me about Marci – is she as damn sexy as she seems like? I swear, every time I get near that woman I get a stiff muscle!”

I laughed as I dumped the pan of beer and onions into the flower bed below, thinking too late about Ruby, and then hoping she wouldn’t eat the onions! We sat down on a couple of our deck chairs. “That’s not a muscle, my friend.”

We had talked about Marci before, of course; it’s what guys do; actually, it’s what girls do too, I’ve discovered, but apparently we’re not supposed to know about that – or maybe we’re just supposed to keep pretending that they’re classier than us.

In any event, Rob agreed with me that, while Marci is not some gorgeous hard-bodied twenty year-old, there is something so powerfully and overtly sexual about her that it’s almost like an aura. She’s just a very sexy, sensual, woman. She glows, radiating sexuality, a warm, welcoming vibe toward men, and I know that Rob and I were not the only males to sense it because I’ve watched any number of otherwise intelligent men trip over their own feet around her. Marci is apparently some kind of sex goddess, and men pick up on it quite readily.

I answered him thoughtfully. “Yeah, Rob, she’s a sexpot. Every bit as alluring naked as she is dressed, if you can imagine!”

He snorted. “Huh! Idiot! As my wife would say, details, man, details!”

I told him a little, about her big, beautiful stiff nipples and large soft boobs; stuff he pretty much knew, but had never seen uncovered. I told him about her tightly trimmed blond muff, but did not tell him about the groping and touching, or about her and Michael going at it, or about how she’d made that entire huge, black cock of his disappear inside of her. Those were the party details covered by the pact, I felt.

He got that faraway look in his eyes, and seemed to go away to his happy place for a brief time.

When he finally returned, it was almost as if he’d had to shake himself to break free. “Mmm, luscious Marci, what a gal!” He looked at me solemnly for a moment. “Those pictures of our Allison, Davey boy, those are stunning! She’s so sexy, and just drop-dead gorgeous. I do appreciate you two sharing them with us; that was very daring of her, but…touching, I guess, that she trusts us that deeply.”

“Hey, if we can’t share naked pictures of my wife with our best friends…” I left it unfinished, and we both laughed.

I stood up to turn the brats over on the hot grill. While my back was to him, Rob said, “So what do you know about this photographer guy?”

As I returned to my seat, I gave him a brief synopsis – that he was a pro that worked at Sizzles as a sideline, to build up his portfolio and maybe earn a few extra bucks at the same time; that he was obviously talented, and loved to work in black and white; that he had made Allison feel very comfortable, and worked well with her; that his assistant – a female - was apparently always present. “Oh yeah, and get this, Rob! He landed the advertising work for Dunstan’s, and he’s hiring Alli as one of his models! She’s pretty excited about it.”

He didn’t seem to think that was good news. “Uh-huh. And how do you feel about it?”

“Me? Okay, I guess. She’s looking forward to it, I think, to raise some money for her shelter.”

“Do you trust him?”

I shrugged. “I’ve never met him; I trust Alli.”

“Don’t be so hasty, Dave; you could be making a huge mistake.”

“Oh come on, Rob! This is Alli we’re talking about! I know she loves me, and that’s all that matters, right? She’d never do anything to hurt me.”

He grunted. “Maybe. I don’t know; these artistic types, women tend to fall for them – you know, pale, scrawny, malnourished and tragic waifs with big soulful eyes and so much angst and torment to express in their ‘art’…” He made air quotes around the word ‘art’.

I laughed. “I don’t think he’s one of those. He’s a professional photographer, and pretty successful, I gather.”

“Yeah – and your wife says he’s good looking, and he makes her laugh, and she’s so comfortable around him that she strips. Nude, Dave. This is Allison, my friend, your sweet, innocent wife, taking her clothes off for a guy she’s known for what, maybe a couple of hours? Alli? There’s something weird about that, is all I’m saying.”

I frowned. “You know, as my best buddy it’s your job to reassure me, not totally freak me out! I mean, damn, Rob…”

“Oh. Well then forget I said anything! I mean, I’m probably just paranoid, but with such a young, gorgeous wife, and some sneaky, good-looking photographer with a smooth line…”

“Rob, stop! Jesus!” He really was starting to get to me. Alli and I love each other too much; we’re too good together for anything like what he was talking about. I felt very sure of that. That kind of thing only happens to other people! “I’m just not going to worry about that, Rob. Alli is my life, and she knows that; I trust her with my life, my heart…I’d trust her with anything.”

He looked at me for a moment, his eyes searching my face, and I could see his concern and love for me and Alli in his eyes. He shrugged. “Nobody knows her like you do – and nobody knows you the way she does. I’m sure you’re right, and I’m just being an old fool.”

“Yeah, well…” It was one of those tender, touching moments that are far too awkward for male friends to talk about out loud, so we didn’t. I turned back to the grill. “Hey, buddy, I think these brats you brought are about done; shall we take them in and dine with our pretty ladies?”

He laughed. “Yah, you betcha! - that’s my Wisconsin-style bratwurst talk; pretty good, right?”

I chuckled, the tension broken. “Yah, you betcha! How ‘bout dem Packers, hey?”

“Yeah, that sucks, Dave – don’t give up your day job. Grab your wieners before you embarrass yourself any further.” I moved to take them off the grill and put them on the plate I’d heated for the purpose, and we headed in, laughing.

We were chuckling still as we went in the door, whereupon Sherry wailed, “Robert, we need to buy a hot tub!” That turned our chuckles into laughs, just at the degree of horniness in her voice! There was little doubt about what had spurred her request.

Rob just nodded calmly. “Yes, dear, I’ll get on that first thing in the morning. Now, who’s ready to eat?”

As we sat down to eat, she continued to press him to get a hot tub. When she began to realize that she was making no headway, she turned to us. “Well then, you guys get one! But you have to invite us to all of your parties – and Michael too, of course.”

Rob nodded, grinning between bites of his brat. “Very subtle, baby, nicely done. Nobody will ever figure out that you might just have ulterior motives…”

I smiled at her. “Can we invite Marci, too? Her and Michael seem to come as a set, you see. Seriously, Sherry, we don’t have that kind of privacy in our back yard, not like Charlie, and neither do you. There are other considerations too…such as the fact that I don’t want a hot tub; too much maintenance.”

We settled down and ate, Sherry sulking, but clearly plotting. Somewhere along the line Alli had told her about modeling for the Dunstan’s ads; Sherry was plainly envious, but proud of Alli, not jealous. She was happy and excited for Alli, as I was, but I couldn’t help but notice, thanks to Rob and his concerns, that now that we were off the subject of Michael and his huge cock they seemed to bring Derek, the photographer, into the conversation repeatedly. It began to chafe…just a little, but it was there.

We finished eating, and they helped us clean up a little bit, and then we just sat and talked for a while, as friends do, random subjects with no goals in mind. We had obviously whetted their appetites for more information about the party, and what had gone on, but other than telling them who was there and a bit of information about the various players, we had remained mum about the sexual actual activities that had occurred, in keeping with the code. Mostly.

They stayed late, after ten o’clock, all of us simply enjoying each other’s company; as they were leaving, Rob again requested a full set of prints of all of Alli’s sexy pictures, whereupon Sherry ushered him out the door, telling him that nobody wanted to be left with the mental image of him jerking off while he admired erotic pictures of my wife. She made us laugh, and Alli responded, “Thanks so much, Sherry! That thought would have never entered my mind without you painting such a vivid picture!” She kissed Rob on the cheek as he gave her a goodbye hug. “Robby, you just go ahead and do whatever you want while you think about my pictures – I’d be very flattered – and I’ll talk to Derek about getting you your own set.”

That last was said jokingly, to get a rise out of Sherry, but there was Derek again! It was really starting to bug me! It didn’t help that when Rob and I shook hands, he quietly said, “Remember what I said about that photographer. Be careful what you wish for.”

“Rob, give it a rest! Everything is fine.” I exchanged a goodbye kiss with Sherry, and they departed, leaving the leftover beer and the remainder of the uncooked brats with us.

After they left I took Ruby for a short walk, and when I returned we made our way up to our bedroom, where I stopped at the end of our bed. I looked at Allison, who looked relaxed, happy, and beautiful. Always beautiful. “Well, after a less that auspicious beginning, that was fun. A nice surprise, huh?”

She flowed softly into my arms. “It was; they’re fun, even if Sherry does get a little silly when she’s horny and drinking!”

“She liked the whole ‘Michael’ aspect of the story, didn’t she?”

Alli laughed. “Oh my! I was starting to think I’d have to go get my big black vibrator and loan it to her, right there on the spot! Yes, I would say that she was very…intrigued.”

I chuckled. “Understatement of the day! But then, you seemed very ‘intrigued’ by him too, as I recall.”

She laid her cheek against my chest, hugging me. “Mmm yeah – but he’s not my type. You, on the other hand, are exactly my type.”

“Yeah. Me and Derek, right?” I don’t know why I said it; I shouldn’t have, it was stupid and petty, and to make it worse there had been an edge of that pettiness – sarcasm, or something else small and mean - in my voice.

She heard it, and leaned away from me, looking up at my face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine. You sound upset. Are you upset about something?”

“No. I said I’m fine. Can we drop it?”

“David, what’s wrong? We’ve been having so much fun, and all of a sudden you get all cold and distant. Honey, what is it?”

“Nothing. It’s stupid, just me being an idiot. It will pass. It always does.”

She stepped back, her hands sliding down my arms to mine, until we were holding hands, and then she leaned away, to arms-length, our fingers intertwined as she studied my face. Neither of us spoke, we just looked at each other, her trying to discern the cause of my sudden mood, and me with my breath catching in my throat as I again, for the millionth time, found myself in awe of her beauty.

She soon moved back into my arms, molding her supple body to mine, her face against my shoulder. Very softly, she said, “Is it something about Derek? Are you upset that I’m doing that modeling next week?”

I didn’t answer immediately, partly because I didn’t want her to know how silly and paranoid I was being…and partly, I suppose, because I was afraid I’d find out that I wasn’t being silly and paranoid at all. When I finally did answer, I was as honest as I could be. “Yes…and no.”

“What does that mean?” She kept her head against me, not looking at my face.

“It means yes, it’s something about Derek, and no, I’m not upset about the modeling – other than the fact that it’s with him.”

“You know you have nothing to worry about, right? David?” When I didn’t answer, she separated from me and led me around the side of the bed, holding my hand. When I sat down, she lowered herself onto my lap and put her arms round my neck. She kissed me, slow and sweet, and then just looked into my eyes. “Tell me. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

I laughed, somewhat bitterly. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“No. I promise.”

I sighed. “It’s the whole thing with this Derek guy. I mean, I thought I had pretty well come to grips with the idea that he had seen you naked and taken those pictures…in reality, I think it’s more about the fact that you felt comfortable enough to take your clothes off around him – and that you became so aroused by that, maybe. I thought I was okay with that, though. That I’d dealt with it.”

“But you haven’t.” She said it as a statement, not a question; she was right.

“No, I guess not.”

“David…” She just looked at me, hurt and worry in her beautiful eyes.

“Tell me about him.”

“What? Really? How will that help?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know; maybe it won’t. But then, maybe it will. You think he’s handsome, I guess?”

She slid down and laid her head on my chest, snuggling into me. “He is nice looking, yes.”

“What does he look like?”

She thought about that for a moment, and then laughed softly. “A lot like you, actually. He’s about your height, maybe just a tiny bit shorter; similar build, just a nice male physique, nice shoulders, not too skinny, not too fat, not all bulked up like some gym rat. Just…nice. Handsome.” She paused again, thinking. “His eyes are blue, not hazel like your pretty eyes. His hair is brown, slightly darker than yours, but going gray along the sides – he sort of looks like an older version of you, in some ways.”

That surprised me! I’d had him pictured in my head as being about Alli’s age. “Compared to you, babe, I’m an older version of me! But he’s older than me - than us?”

She looked up at me, surprised. “Yes – didn’t I tell you that?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. So how old a guy is he – ancient, I hope?”

She laughed. “No, not ‘ancient’. We didn’t talk about it, but I’d say maybe late forties. Fifty, possibly. Not real old!”

“I guess not. You seem to have a thing for older men like him and me, huh babe?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think age matters, honey. I have a ‘thing’, as you call it, for nice men; men who are kind, and gentle, and easy-going, men who are strong, and confident in themselves so that they don’t always have to act so tough. Mostly, I think…men who are willing to be open and honest with me, and who don’t pretend to be something they’re not.” She chuckled ruefully. “Known a few of that type – no thanks!”

She thought for a moment. “I like men who are respectful to women, and not intimidated by smart, talented, self-confident ladies. I like men who are good bosses, that can get the most out of their people, but by leading and inspiring, not by threats and intimidation, guys that care about things being done right and making sure those around them do too. You and Derek have that ability in common, that kind of leadership.”

She remained silent for a time, but I could tell there was more she wanted to say, so I kept my mouth shut; soon, she went on. “I like good men, and men that treat me with respect, like you always have. And men who trip over their own feet and get all tongue-tied because they’re so nervous when we first meet.”

I laughed. “Me again, right?”

She kissed me. “Yes, you. Is there anything else you want to know?”

I thought about it, knowing I should let sleeping dogs lie, but, being the masochist I apparently am…”So, since Derek sounds like he’s as wonderful as me, I assume he’s married?”

“The subject never came up, but I don’t think so.”

“No? Why?”

“Well, for one thing, he wasn’t wearing a ring.”

“What, you checked for that?”

She laughed softly. “No, not specifically, but I noticed his hands. He has beautiful, amazing hands.”

I frowned. “His hands? Why in the world would you notice his hands?”

She snuggled against me, and I felt rather that saw her shrug. “Well, they’re right out there, holding the cameras, and he was always changing lenses, and filters, and backs, adjusting lights and stuff, taking things apart and putting them back together, sometimes tiny things. He has very graceful, talented hands, long, slender fingers that looked like he’d just had a perfect manicure. He just had this tremendous…” She paused, searching for a word “…dexterity, I guess, amazing agility, and a very soft, gentle touch.”

I’d heard the whole thing, the whole moving rhapsody about his wonderful hands, but the part that stuck in my head was the part about his ‘soft, gentle touch’. “Wait a second, Alli; he touched you?”

“Well yes, of course! They both did, him and Jennifer, arranging my hair, or my clothes – such as they were!” She laughed softly. “He’d also position my arms or legs. Or tilt my chin up a little, or down, maybe get me to turn my head, or lean a little bit one way or the other. He was very particular about every detail, every hair, and every part of every pose. That’s why the pictures are so good!”

“I suppose. I still don’t like the idea of him touching you so casually.”

“David, there was nothing sexual about it! He was just doing his job and being very professional.”

“Uh-huh. And yet, you were so aroused you couldn’t even wait for me to get home. He may have thought there was nothing sexual about it, but you…”

She cut me off. “Stop it! That was because I was posing for the pictures, and it turned out that doing that, well, it made me very aroused.”

I decided not to get in a fight with her over something so trivial. I took a different tack. I reached up and gently pushed her hair back from her face, letting my fingers graze her cheek and neck. “So when he did things like this…” I softly touched her neck “… when he was just arranging things, that had no effect on you?”

“Mmm…no, but when you do it…”

“Uh-huh, I see.” I tugged the belt of her robe, opening it, and pushed it back to the sides, my fingers lightly touching her, on the arms, the chest, her breasts; I popped the front clasp on her tiny leopard bra and pushed the cups aside, then pulled at her short robe until I had it arranged the way her shirt had been in the one particular photo; open, but held back by her erect nipples, exposing her breasts. Her nipples were already hard, before I touched them, but they seemed to stiffen further as my fingertip grazed them. “And when he arranged that white shirt for that one shot, like this, and had to touch you, that didn’t contribute to your arousal at all?”

“Mmmm! Maybe a little – but Jennifer started that set-up, he just perfected what he wanted.”

“So he did touch your breasts?”

“Not like you do – like you are! He mostly just touched the shirt.” Her eyes were starting to take on that smoky look of arousal, and I knew that it was partly due to me, and partly due to her remembering her photo session – and his touch.

“Mostly the shirt, I see. But your nipples?”

“David!” She hadn’t said no, that he hadn’t touched her nipples, so I knew that ‘David’ meant yes. She felt the need to expand – and demur, all at once. “He may have – just barely – but it was while he was getting the shirt front just right. He probably just touched me with the fabric.”

“Oh. Well, with such graceful, talented fingers, he could do that, I suppose. But he didn’t do this?” I rubbed my fingertips across the erect rubbery buds of her nipples and the slowly circled her areolas, and heard her suck in a shaky breath.

“God, you’re making me crazy! No, he didn’t do that!”

“Did you want him to?”

She didn’t answer, and when I looked up at her face her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted. It seemed like she was beginning to breathe more rapidly, maybe with a little ragged edge to it. “Would you have stopped him, if he had touched you like this? If Jennifer hadn’t been there, and he had touched you this way, would you have stopped him?”

“Mmm, god, Davey…!”

She’d made no denial, she hadn’t said that yes, she certainly would have stopped him! She was becoming very aroused, her memories, her fantasies, and my touch lighting her fire, electrifying her sex. Unexpectedly, so was I, my cock hard and throbbing under my sweatpants, stretching its little pouch. I leaned in and kissed her nipples, and then licked them, which turned into gentle sucking, first one and then the other until they were flushed and rigid, hard and slick with my saliva. Nuzzling them, I said, “And he didn’t do this either, I suppose. Do you wish he had? Did you fantasize about it?”

“Oh my god, you’re so good at this! But so mean… Davey, this is torture, what you’re doing, so cruel.”

All of that, and she never denied wishing he’d done more, never denied fantasizing about him, this older man with the beautiful hands. I laughed, maybe with a bitter edge to it, but she didn’t notice. “Yeah, that’s me, so cruel. Just your husband, left wondering…” I paused, then pushed her back on the bed - roughly, not gently, so that she was laying down, her legs still hanging over the edge.

I tore her robe open and loomed over her, first sucking hard on her nipples and then kissing my way down her stomach, across her ribs, nipping here and there to elicit small gasps of pleasure and pain. I dropped to my knees on the floor, between her legs, and practically tore her little leopard thong off of her, casting it aside. Her sex was wet, puffy and aroused, pink and glistening with need, the tiny dark hairs around it wet and matted and her small opening glistening with the juices that oozed out of her.

Without any preamble, without any gentle teasing or further foreplay, I buried my face in her sex, lapping at her hungrily, pushing my tongue as deeply into her as I could, hearing her cry out. I found her hard clit, rigid and jutting, and sucked at it greedily. I tasted us, our combined taste from earlier in the evening, but mostly her, her intense arousal triggering a copious flow of her sweet juices, and I swallowed her need, tasted more, and licked hungrily at her horny, wanton pussy, knowing that I – combined with her fantasies – was driving her toward an intense orgasm.

I was intensely aroused, aching sexually, but also angry, hurt, jealous, frightened, so many things combined into this harsh, intense bout of sex with my beautiful wife, and when she came it was sudden, and thunderous, and she cried out, “Oh my god, ohh, fuck, Derek, oh my god! Oh God!”

It was as though someone had stabbed a red-hot rapier through the top of my skull and straight down my spine, hearing his name at that moment an incredibly painful thing that seemed to send shock waves to every nerve ending in my body. I went rigid, as rigid as she was, every muscle tensed but my face still at her sopping sex.

Involuntarily I jerked away from her, right at the peak of her orgasm, as she was crashing in the waves, leaving my part unfinished. I pushed at her. “Up! Up, get on your knees!”

She looked at me, dazed and surprised, her orgasm still going on in her body. “What? Davey, what?”

I was tearing my sweats and thong off of me, yanking my t-shirt over my head, my cock standing rigid and throbbing in front of me, a rapier of my own. “Up, I said! Get on your hands and knees!” I slapped her ass, and not gently or playfully as I had earlier.

She was almost too dazed from her massive but interrupted orgasm to comprehend what I was saying. I pulled and pushed at her as she struggled to her knees, and then pushed her forward, so that I could kneel behind her, and when I did I slammed myself into her with no warning, burying my angry and aching sex to the hilt in her steaming cunt.

She cried out, surprise and shock in her voice, but her orgasm immediately blossomed anew and she gasped and moaned and thrust back against me. That just seemed to feed the rage or whatever it was that was burning white-hot in my head, and in my loins, and I took her. I didn’t make love to her, my beautiful, gentle, caring, loving wife; no, I took her.

I assaulted her, one hand on her shoulder, holding her back against me so that I wouldn’t knock her down, and the other entangled in her hair, a large handful of her beautiful auburn locks in my hand like a bridle, pulling the reins and her head up and back as I slammed into her, driving to full depth on each angry thrust. I’d never used my cock or my body as a weapon before, but I did then, brutally and harsh, and she cried out and came yet again, somehow further enraging me!

I moved my grip to her hips, grabbing her roughly, my hands digging into her flawless skin, and pounded her, our bodies slapping together in a loud, angry staccato of flesh on flesh as I drilled her, fast and hard, trying to punish her for calling out his name…and she came again.

I overpowered her with my body then, pushing her forward, driving her down so that she collapsed onto her belly as I continued to thrust into her. She drew her knees up and arched her back to thrust her ass – and her pussy – up to me, and I slammed down into her, no finesse, no love, no caring or gentleness, and I went on and on, skewering her on my hard and hateful sex. I kept it up until she was whimpering and moaning, calling out my name, and then I came, deep inside of her, throbbing and pumping and filling her with me, her husband, as if I could wash all memory and all thoughts of Derek out of her and away with a spray of cum.

I didn’t stay to enjoy the afterglow. No, I pulled out of her when I was finished ejaculating my anger and jealousy into her, and fell over on my back gasping for air, limp, weak, my rage, anger and brutality suddenly gone. We both lay there, not speaking, breathing heavily, completely exhausted. It was several minutes before she said, “Oh my god! What was that?”

I didn’t answer immediately, suddenly far too ashamed to tell her what that had been. Eventually I said, “I needed you.”

She laughed softly. “Well you can need me like that anytime you want to! My god, you were an animal!”

“Yes, I suppose I was.” She wasn’t supposed to enjoy it, but she had! It didn’t ease the sting of the knowledge that what I had done to her had not been out of love, or out of need. It had been out of anger, jealousy, and pain.

She reached out and touched me. “I’m amazed that you still had that kind of arousal – and energy – left, after the weekend we just had! You’re amazing.”

No, my sweet, beautiful girl, I’m not amazing; loathsome perhaps, disgusting… anything but amazing. “Yeah, I’m something.”

“You sure are! You wore me out, I need to sleep now.” So saying, she snuggled into my side, pulling my arm around her protectively. It dawned on me that she had no idea that she’d called out Derek’s name, no clue of the latent jealousy and rage she’d unleashed in me! She’d never called out another man’s name in the throes of orgasm before – or if she had, it had been one of our fantasy players, like “Boris”, who didn’t exist except to the extent that I was him, so her calling out that name had been meaningless and forgotten.

Derek, however, does exist. Derek had seen my wife naked, charmed her, had many pictures of her in various states of undress, many of which even I was completely unaware, I’m sure. He had touched her body, and she liked him, admired him, and she’d become aroused, and Derek was only too real. Much too real. And she’d called out his name as I’d made her come.

She fell asleep quickly against me, in my arms, exhausted and sated, and my tears started. They were tears of hurt, and pain, and jealousy, yes, but more than that they were tears of shame, of disgust and self-loathing, anger and embarrassment directed at myself for how I had treated Allison, even if she was unaware of what I had done. She loved me, was all, and I’d assaulted her, almost raped her.

She was soft and warm against me, this woman I love so much, and she smelled of sex, and of flowers, and her shining hair splayed softly across my chest, and my tears flowed because of my self-hatred for how I had treated her, not with respect and love, but with anger, jealousy, and rage, and a desire to hurt and punish her for an innocent mistake. I despised myself for my meanness, and pettiness, and my lack of control. I wasn’t sobbing, just quietly crying for what I’d done, what I’d become, and what I’d lost. My shame and anguish knew no bounds.

Eventually I ran out of tears, and I laid there and listened to her soft, even breathing, the gentle, sleeping sound of this incredible woman that is my whole life, my world. Often, listening to her breathe will help me to sleep.

Not that night; that night I lay awake for a long, long time.