The next morning, after the rousing success of the bath, the massage, the candles…and the sex, of course - I felt so much better that I wasn’t even dreading facing Marci! In fact, when I stopped at Starbucks, rather than take the easy path and order a simple latte for her in lieu of trying to remember her favored but very complicated choice, I dialed my office, hoping she was there. Fortunately she was, and when she answered I said, “I’m at Starbucks; I’ll give the guy my phone, and you tell him that thing you always order and I’ll get it for you and bring it with me.”

I then passed my phone to the barista, and he listened carefully, smiling as he handed my phone back to me. “Got it – and an excellent choice, if I do say so myself; and for you, sir?”

I ordered my usual boring black coffee, the house blend. A “grande”, because simply saying “large” would be far too unpretentious; a simple cup of coffee at Starbuck’s prices demands a certain degree of pretentiousness. But then again, I was there of my own free will, at least in part; the major part of my reason for being there was to obtain a peace offering for my assistant.

As the barista prepared the drinks, the cashier bagged a couple of strawberry Danish for me and I was soon on my reasonably merry way. Once at work, I wasn’t entirely surprised to find Marci waiting for me in my office, seated in front of my desk. When I came in, juggling the two blazing hot coffees and the bag of pastries, she said, “Close the door behind you.”

“Yes ma’am! And how are you this morning?” I pushed the door shut with my foot.

“Don’t try to act so innocent or butter me up with gifts of food and drink! You weaseled out on me yesterday.” So saying, she held out her hands for the food and drink. “Gimme!”

I handed hers to her. “In my defense, I did have a very good reason.”

She smiled. “I know; Charlie told me you had some issues to deal with. Are you feeling better today?”

“Immensely, thanks.” I was a little concerned about just how much Charlie might have revealed; although I knew I could trust Marci to keep any secrets, it would be somewhat embarrassing for me to have her aware of what had happened between me and Alli in my moment of anger and jealousy. “And I’m sorry for the way I left yesterday; I didn’t intend to do that, but Charlie actually had a great idea that I decided to follow up on. So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

She sipped her coffee before answering, and then set the cup on the edge of my desk. “It’s about the party, of course, and what happened between Michael and Alli. He told me all about it later, after we got home.”

“Oh. Well, I think we pretty much got it all talked out – you know, the misunderstanding cleared up.” I looked at her for a moment, but she just waited, not saying anything. “Didn’t we? I mean, I thought…”

Finally she decided to speak, cutting me off. “He feels terrible about it, Dave; like maybe you were left with the impression he was putting moves on your wife.”

“Well, it did kind of bother me a little at first, the way she got so instantly and incredibly involved and aroused, and he got hard about as fast…”

She grinned, shaking her head. “It doesn’t take a lot to get him hard, Dave! Guys like him – and you too, from what I’ve seen – get a hardon if the wind blows; it’s the whole reason they coined the phrase ‘stiff breeze’.” We both laughed. “There was no chance that he wouldn’t respond to Alli, who he thinks is about the sexiest thing on two gorgeous legs!” She paused. “But, you know, he felt bad, thinking you might be upset about it still.”

“Really? Marce, Michael and I talked about it while you girls were in the bathroom. I sorta thought everything was copacetic. And if anything, it was really more like Allison was putting the moves on him! Why is he still worried about it?”

She laughed. “Well, he’s a worrier; he didn’t want some silly little naked grope – or the fact that Alli decide to suck his cock for a few seconds – to become an issue.” She shook her head, still laughing. “What was that little oral moment thing all about, anyhow? That was kind of a shock, coming from Allison; we were stunned! Now, if it had been me doing it…”

I shook my head, laughing. “You know, Marce, I’ve always hated the way you beat around the bush, just never willing to say what’s really on your mind!” I took a bite of my Danish and chewed silently for several seconds. “That was Alli, just kind of clowning around; paybacks for something that happened earlier. Irene did that to me, catching us totally off-guard, and when Alli seemed a little upset by it I made out like it was no big deal, so…”

She laughed again. “Ah! The good for the goose/good for the gander thing – in reverse. We wondered. Tell her he totally enjoyed it, and he’s available if she ever wants to finish what she started…”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll tell her that. So, are we okay? Reassure him that it’s water under the bridge, would you?”

“I will – and yes, I think we’ll be fine.” She sipped her coffee as we shared a moment of silence, just sort of looking at each other. She smiled. “I know this is going to embarrass you and make you blush, but I really enjoyed seeing you naked the other night. You’re very sexy, boss, and you’ve got a hot bod’ and a gorgeous cock!”

I blushed immediately; she’d been right about that, at least! I laughed awkwardly, not quite sure how to respond. “Umm…thanks, I guess? I enjoyed seeing you in all your glory too, Marci. You’re a very beautiful woman, everything I could have ever imagined. Very sexy.”

She looked at me coyly, teasing. “Have you spent a lot of time imagining me naked?”

My blush deepened. “Ahem! Well, as long as we’re being so honest, yeah, I probably have; it all depends on how you define ‘a lot of time’.” We laughed. “You’re a very sexy, sensual woman, Marce. Guys can’t be around you without feeling it, sort of like an aura or something.” I shrugged. “You just are, and I’m not immune to it.”

To my amazement, my words actually made her blush! That was not something easily accomplished with Marci, who could undoubtedly trade sexual jibes, taunts and innuendo with a group of sailors without blushing. “Thanks, Dave, that’s a really nice compliment. Can I tell you a secret?”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing here?”

She laughed. “I suppose so, huh? I loved it when you touched me. I’ve fantasized about you – a lot – and when you touched me…oh my god! Fireworks!”

I was amazed! This was Michael’s woman, huge, muscular, perfect physique and hung like a horse Michael, and she was saying that I was her fantasy and that my touch had turned her on! Trying to ignore the fact that I had a boner you could use as a crowbar, I smiled at her. “Wow, Marce, that’s such an ego boost I can’t even begin to tell you! And of course, you could easily tell how much I was enjoying touching you too…it was fairly obvious, after all.”

Her eyes went to my crotch; I was pretty sure she could see how her words were turning me on! She smiled. “Yes, I could tell…and I was dripping, just imagining that hard cock of yours in me! It was fun; I’m so glad that you and Alli stayed, you two are our closest friends, and it made the whole party so much better having you there – so much more fun.”

“Thanks, Marce; we enjoyed it. I was hesitant, but it turned out to be a lot of fun – and it paid dividends over the weekend! Man, me and Alli were both so turned on by all of that…amazing!”

She laughed. “Us too – we humped like bunnies all weekend. We even started right there at the party!”

I chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, I know – I was there, remember?”

“But you guys didn’t, huh? You waited?” She was looking at me, as I sat there thinking how surreal this whole conversation was.

I shrugged. “Sort of…not really. We just didn’t feel right about doing that in front of everyone. Still rookies – you know, kind of a little shy about going that far.” I didn’t tell her that we’d fucked in the hall as we’d peeped at her and Michael going at it so vigorously on the bed.

She giggled. “Not me, boy! No modesty here, I needed that big old horse cock of Michael’s right then and there!”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Jeez, Marce! Yeah, we kind of sensed that; we were a little curious what you did with all of him. You made it disappear like magic…Michael’s a bit, um, huge, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

She laughed again. “Oh yes, I sort of noticed – some time ago, actually. My guy is seriously hung; I love it!” She wiggled her eyebrows at me and gave me a playful smile. “I never really contemplated doing this with you, Dave, but we can have a detailed discussion of my vagina and how I can handle that big cock if you really want to. I mean, I’m okay with discussing my pussy in detail with you, but I’m sort of surprised…”

I cut her off, making the ‘T’ of a time-out signal with my hands. “Whoa, nope, time-out; we don’t need to go there! I’ll just accept that the two of you are sexually compatible and everything is beautiful. No details, thanks anyway.”

“Ha! Thought you might feel that way. You’re such a coward!” She was laughing at me, the way I’d so quickly bailed out.

“No, I just prefer not to ruin the mystery of things; sometimes it’s better to not know all there is to know about everything – like magician’s tricks, what sausage is made of, the intricacies of your pussy, stuff like that.” I chuckled. “You can probably call Alli and talk to her though; I think she was amazed that you could take all of him – you know, the way you could, umm, do that. Amazed and curious.”

She smiled. “I may just do that! Believe it or not, we girls enjoy talking about sex almost as much as you guys do…maybe more.”

“Don’t doubt that a bit – just make it clear that she doesn’t need to share it with me, will you?”

She laughed. “Will do…hey, anyway, Michael and I want to take you two out to dinner to apologize for any misunderstanding the other night.”

“Oh, Marci, that’s not necessary! We don’t expect you to do that, there are really no remaining issues, I don’t think.”

“We’re not talking anything real expensive, boss; maybe Chubby’s or something like that. It’s our turn anyway, you guys bought last time.”

“Well, when you put it that way…sure, we’d love to get together with you again. I’ll have to check with Alli, see how all of our schedules line up. Can I let you know?”

She rose and headed for the door, taking her remaining coffee with her. “Please do – whatever works out, no rush. Plus, we want to talk to you about something – the two of you.”

“You’re just gonna leave me hanging, huh?”

She looked pointedly at my crotch. “You don’t look like you’re hanging from where I’m standing!” My blush renewed itself, and she laughed. “Not any big deal, just a thought and a question; something we’d like to discuss with you. Let me know about dinner.”

“I promise. Just need to touch base with the little woman.” She laughed as she left, shaking her head, knowing I’d been kidding with that phrase.

As it turned out it was quite awhile before we could make dinner plans, all the planets of our schedules not aligning for almost two weeks. In the interim it was life as usual; work, going home, mundane things, and making love to the most amazing woman ever, which is never, ever one of those mundane things.

Allison was excited about her upcoming photo shot, the modeling gig for Dunstan’s; her excitement was probably roughly matched by my trepidation, but her anticipation was such that I knew I couldn’t ask her not to go through with it. It wouldn’t be fair to her, especially when it was based on nothing other than my own insecurity…even if that insecurity was driven, in part, by the fact that she’d called out the photographer’s name in the heat of passion.

When the time came it turned out to be something less than either of us had anticipated. It was merely a photo-shoot of a spring sportswear line, after all, and for her that meant a lot of time changing outfits, a lot of time having hair and makeup people working on her, and then a lot of time in front of hot lights and cameras, posing. At the end of the first day she was mostly just tired and grumpy, not horny at all in the way her private session had left her!

There were four female models, including Allison, and three males to do the menswear line. They shot for several hours on a Wednesday, a week and a half after the Halloween party, and planned to wrap up on Thursday; unfortunately, the weather had other plans and we got almost six inches of snow overnight Wednesday into Thursday, which was when “Derek” had been hoping to shoot some outdoors shots along a nearby creek. Instead he did a few more studio shots on Thursday, and made arrangements to shoot in a local greenhouse on Friday, the day we had finally agreed upon to have dinner with Marci and Michael.

Tardani’s Nursery, where the greenhouse was located, actually had three large greenhouses; two of them were fallow this time of year, waiting for all of the trays of flower and vegetable seedlings to be started in the late winter to early spring. The third housed tropicals; succulents, orchids, and the like, indoor plants and specialties from small trees and shrubbery to philodendrons, dieffenbachia, cactus, small palms and such. It was this one they were going to use for a “spring-like” setting to show off the spring sportswear.

As Alli explained it, Derek felt that he could work with the live tropical greenery to provide an appropriate setting and background, and that the filtered lighting of the greenhouse – supplemented by his own lighting equipment – would be a very good combination. It was a large logistical problem more than anything, apparently, and she’d left early to see if she could be of any help with the transport and set-up of equipment. Accordingly, she had driven our pickup truck.

In any event, that evening, when we arrived at Chubby’s (Marci had ridden over with me, straight from work) our timing was such that we followed Michael’s white Yukon into the parking lot. Somewhat to my surprise, because I hadn’t heard from her, Allison was already there. In fact, I ended up parking right alongside our old truck.

I looked around for her as the three of us walked in together, and spotted her at a round table near the bar, laughing and conversing with two other women and three men…all of them quite good looking, physically fit, and well put-together. It wasn’t a giant leap to figure out that these were probably some of her fellow models from the sportswear shoot. It was, without question, the best-looking group of people in the place – maybe the best looking group ever at Chubby’s!

As Michael and Marci proceeded to get us a table, I crossed over to my wife and bent to kiss her, getting an enthusiastic hug and kiss in return. She introduced me to her new friends – Ron, Zach, and Tim in the male contingent, and Amy and Kris completing the distaff side. The fourth female model, Diana, had been unable to join them. Up close or from a distance, all six of them were beautiful enough that I quickly realized that I was now the answer to the question: “Which of the items in this picture is different from the rest?”

We made small talk for a few minutes, asking and answering things about the weather, their photo shoot, their modeling, where they were from, what I do for a living – the usual stuff. When Allison and I were ready to depart, to go join our friends, it quickly became apparent that they were a very ‘touchy-feely’ group, hugs all around and promises to stay in touch more than abundant.

Even I got hugs from the two very attractive women, which was nice, and from Ron (I think), which was awkward. Alli did as well, giving and receiving enthusiastically, including one big kiss, smack-dab on the lips, from the one she’d introduced as Tim…I think.

As we turned away, I said, “What’s with all the hugging…and that kiss?”

She laughed. “Apparently models are really ‘touchy’ people – and Tim’s just a big old kisser. A pretty good one too, and so handsome – and he looks really tasty in a tiny pair of bikini briefs, let me tell you!”

“You saw these guys naked?”

“No, not naked, just in undies as we all changed clothes a hundred times. There’s no time to be modest, it’s just out of one outfit and into the next!”

“Oh. Jeez, I didn’t realize that, I just assumed you’d have privacy for that.”

She laughed. “Me too, but I got educated pretty quick! Davey, just so you know, I’m just teasing you – Tim is one-hundred percent committed, dedicated, and unquestionably gay. He also likes to kiss, but Ron is his current main squeeze - although Ron claims that he’s very ‘open-minded’, by which he means bisexual. But yes, they both look very nice in their Calvin’s.” She laughed. “Zach is the only straight one of the three, but he’s dumber than a box of hammers.”

I chuckled, admittedly relieved that at least two of the three guys had leanings that might not draw them to my wife; they were very good-looking guys. “That’s not a very nice thing to say!”

She laughed again as we neared our table, Michael and Marci watching us approach. “Well, I can’t help it, he just is! He’s nice, very good-looking – and hung, I might add, but he’s a total horndog; the guy is a walking erection – but there are just no lights on upstairs, you know?”

I laughed. “It could be a blood supply issue, it sounds like.”

She giggled. “I hadn’t thought of that!

As we arrived at our booth and prepared to slide in across from our friends, I stepped back to make way and noticed for the first time that Alli was wearing a pair of jeans I’d never seen before - jeans with no rear pockets, and with a row of rhinestones across the back seam below the belt line and down each outside seam on the legs to a few inches down each thigh, perhaps a foot below her slender hips.

A finely-woven blue denim-like fabric, they fit like they had been spray-painted on, tight on her legs, snug through the crotch, and they made her ass look simply spectacular – or maybe her ass made the jeans look simply spectacular. Either way, it was a great combination.

Marci noticed the same time I did, and whistled. “Wow, girlfriend! Great pants – is that something you modeled today, for Dunstan’s?”

Alli smiled, bending to give Marci a hug and Michael a kiss before sliding into our side of the booth. “Yes, and Derek told me I should keep them! You’ll be happy to know that he said I had the best ‘jeans-ass’ for the shot, so I got to model these for the ads – and they ain’t cheap!”

Michael laughed. “Well, I’m not sure what a ‘jeans-ass’ is, but you do have a very fine ass, my sexy friend.”

I was still a little stuck on Derek complimenting my wife’s ass, and then giving her an expensive gift. “You get to keep the clothes you model, plus you get paid? Nice deal – how much does a pair of pants like that sell for?”

Alli shook her head and laughed. “No, we don’t get to keep all of them, but since they couldn’t sell these now anyway, he said he’d clear it with the marketing rep for the store – and so here I am – and these were marked a little over three hundred and ninety bucks!”

That made no sense to me. “But if you get…”

Marci interrupted. “What she’s so delicately trying to say, you big klutz, is that she had to model those with nothing underneath, and so they can’t be sold now. Health laws, Dave – no panties, no sell!”

I looked at Alli, who was blushing. “So you’re not wearing anything under those? Still?”

She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows at me playfully, still red in the face. “Nothing comes between me and my designer jeans, bub.”

I looked at her, and then across at Michael, who gave me a raised eyebrow and a grin. “Don’t know about you, but that’s going to be on my mind all evening – and I don’t give a crap if she is your wife!”

I could only chuckle and shake my head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll be doing the same, and still would if it was Marci, too! Umm, you are wearing yours, aren’t you, Marce?””

Both women laughed, and Marci said, “Yes, I am; but listen to you guys! It’s not like she’s wearing some short skirt and you’re going to get a peek – she’s in denim pants, fellas; you can’t tell a thing.”

Allison agreed, nodding. “Yeah, why is that so fascinating to you guys? I’m totally covered, you know.”

Michael and I looked at each other and shrugged, and he said, “There’s just something about knowing, about a woman in no panties…it’s a fun little bit of information to have. Sexy, you know.”

Marci looked at me. “And you’d really obsess over me in no knickers, huh, boss?”

I laughed. “Oh yeah! I’m not sure ‘obsess’ is the right word, but yeah. I’d be aware, let’s say.”

They looked at each other and laughed. Alli poked me gently in the side. “You guys are so weird! We wouldn’t think twice about you guys with no underwear under your pants!”

Marci objected. “Speak for yourself, girlfriend! I’d spend the whole day checking for telltale bumps and bulges and identifiable objects!”

Michael grinned as he put his arm around her. “That’s my girl, always keepin’ it classy!” We laughed at Marci’s unabashed horniness, and she laughed along with us.

We chatted, ordered our food, talked some more, and ate our dinners, the same good, delicious, well-prepared food we always relied on at Chubby’s. Afterward, when our table had been cleared, we just sat and talked. And drank. Michael and Allison’s erotic moment at the hot tub party was not brought up, my assurances that it was all water under the bridge apparently enough to ease any remaining angst they might have felt.

As the conversation slowly wound down and the evening got late, I began to sense that there was something, some other reason they’d wanted to have dinner with us, some issue or something they wanted to discuss, but they didn’t raise anything. It felt as though we’d consumed enough alcohol to lower any inhibitions they might be feeling, but still there was nothing. At one point Marci and Alli excused themselves to use the ladies, and I thought Michael might clear the air, but we just talked sports – and Alli’s ass as they walked away from us.

When they returned, Marci reached out and dropped something in front of me, and it took me a moment to realize that it as a pair of lacy black panties…obviously worn, very recently. I may have gaped for a moment, but then I snatched them off the table. “Jeez, Marce!”

Sometimes I felt like I spent half my life saying that! I could feel – or, at least I imagined I could feel – the warmth of her body still in the lacy material, and I was sure I could feel a small trace of slick dampness against my fingertips. I could feel my cock begin to harden, and I resisted the urge to raise the little panties to my nose to sniff them. It almost seemed like the most natural thing to do, but I resisted.

I looked at her. “So now you’re also…”

She laughed. “Yup! And I happen to be in a skirt, if you’ll recall.”

I groaned. “Yeah, I recall.” The three of them laughed at me, but I didn’t care; by that point my erection had blossomed magnificently! I shook my head, blowing out a breath. “Great! No evening is complete until Marci is out of her panties!” They laughed. “On that rather enticing note, we should probably call it a night, wouldn’t you say?”

They looked at each other, both of them sobering quickly, and then looked across at us. We were all leaning forward, over the table, a couple of us with our elbows resting on it. Michael broke the silence. “Actually, there was something we wanted to talk to you about - to ask you, before we go our separate ways.”

We waited, but neither of them elaborated. They looked at each other again - nervously, I thought - and then Marci finally blew out a pent-up breath. “Okay, here goes... and don’t get upset, okay, because it’s just a question.”

If she was trying to be sure she had our full and undivided attention, she succeeded. We waited, perhaps more warily than we had been a moment before. I tried to smile, to encourage her, because she seemed so uncharacteristically nervous.

She smiled back, and visibly relaxed. “What we were wondering is, if you guys had ever thought at all about swinging – you know, what you’d think about it…?”

Almost as if we’d spent days working on synchronizing our movements, Alli and I both leaned back in our chairs at the exact same moment, in the exact same way. A body-language expert could have used us for a case-study; so plainly and obviously did we physically and mentally draw away from her question!

We stared at them. I looked at Alli. Alli looked at me. We looked back at them to find them watching us, their eyes shifting back and forth between me and my wife, waiting for a response, none of us saying a word for what seemed an interminable time period. Finally, I cleared my throat, and just to break the awkward silence, said, “Just to be sure we’re clear here, so that we’re on the same page, we’ll assume you’re not talking about anything that involves any actual playground equipment…”

Michael laughed a split second ahead of Marci, who joined him. He shook his head. “No, no actual playground equipment…well, not necessarily anyway, although I suppose… No, never mind, that’s for more advanced players.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “The look on your faces was priceless! Just so you know, we’ve never done it either. We’ve talked about it though, sort of played around with the idea a little bit, fantasized…”

Marci picked up where he left off. “We just thought it sounded like it could be a lot of fun, something exciting and sexy to try out. You know – fun play.”

Alli smiled at her. “I suppose it could be a fun fantasy, but in all honesty I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it. I mean, we know it exists, that people do that kind of stuff, but it’s just not something we’ve ever considered getting involved in.” She looked at me for affirmation, and I nodded; she returned her attention to them.

“Have you? Seriously considered it, I mean?”

Marci first shook her head no, but then seemed to reconsider. “No...well, maybe more so here lately. We’ve thought about it for awhile, but just could never come to grips with the idea of meeting some strangers just for that.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah. It’s just something that would be for fun, of course, but it’s still a very personal and intimate thing. The idea of getting together with people we’d hardly know, just for sex…” He shook his head, and then shrugged. “That just didn’t seem very appealing – not to us, at least.”

We were all silent, Marci and Michael knowing what they were leading up to, of course, and Alli and I fairly confident we also knew at this point. Not surprisingly, it was Marci that finally broke the silence and laid all the cards on the table. “So yeah, we were curious if that might be something you two would have any interest in, or even want to talk about and explore – you know, with us…no pressure though! We have no expectations or anything, and if it’s just not something you have any interest in at all, for any reason, please feel free to say so!”

Michael nodded, backing her up on her final point. “You won’t hurt our feelings or anything like that if you say no, and you know our friendship is the most important thing.”

While I was searching my brain for a polite, painless way to tell them that we really weren’t interested – because, despite the fact that I was at least intrigued, there were far too many reasons not to be – Alli shocked me by saying, “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to at least talk about it, right?”

I looked at her, and got one of those “What else could I do?” kinds of looks in return, accompanied by a small, self-conscious smile. I think she could probably read the incredulity on my face, because she turned to them and said, “Sure, we can always talk about anything; you guys know that! So are we talking hypothetically, as in, what’s your opinion about it, or what?”

Michael and Marci nervously looked at each other again, and it occurred to me that they were very uncomfortable even bringing it up; that they had really gone out on a limb, and left themselves open to possible pain and rejection, or worse. That they had decided to forge ahead anyway told me that it was something important to them, and that they had put a lot of faith in us by even asking. I was glad for their sake that Alli had agreed to at least listen, and possibly discuss it…before we ultimately rejected the idea out-of-hand. A flat, unequivocal no from me would have been a poor response.

Marci finally replied Alli. “Hypothetical…yeah, I guess, but not our opinion of it so much. More like if we ever would, or could, and how – you know, what would make us want to do it, or make it something we’d be comfortable trying. And with who…or whom. Whatever.”

Michael nodded. “Exactly! And for us, a big part of it would have to be that we were sharing with someone we trusted and cared about, that we knew we could trust with each other – people that were happy and secure in their own relationship, so there wouldn’t be any… umm, what’s the word I’m looking for…?”

“Attachment issues?” They all three looked at me when I supplied the answer, since I hadn’t spoken for awhile. “What? That’s what you meant, right?”

He agreed. “Yeah, just what I was trying to get at. If both couples love each other, as you two do, and we surely do, then there’s no chance of things getting complicated emotionally, right?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know about ‘no chance’; less chance, certainly, but there’s still that element involved. It’s a risk. And you’re talking about just one other couple, right? Not a group thing or party sort of deal?”

Marci answered. “Oh, yes – we’re not ready to be quite that adventurous – we’re not even really sure we’re ready to be any kind of adventurous!”

I laughed. “Just sort of testing the waters then, I guess. If it’s only two couples involved does that even qualify as swinging? Isn’t that just wife-swapping?” I remembered as I said it that they weren’t actually married, but it was as good a description as any. They seemed very married to us, as long as we’d known them as a couple.

Alli poked me. “Hey! If anyone is going to be a commodity here it’s going to be you guys – let’s call it husband-swapping – or boyfriend, in Michael’s case!”

Marci agreed, laughing. “Yeah, I like that! So, what do you think?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know…it’s a lot to absorb, to think about.” In truth, the thought alone made me ache with jealousy, and made my insecurities about myself flare up. I knew that Alli was very attracted to Michael – and he to her - so the thought of them actually together, doing things…it was painful. It was also intensely arousing, for some strange reason.

In addition, there was the fact that I had been very attracted to Marci for some time, and the hot tub party had only intensified my sexual fantasies about her…still, we worked together! So many complications, so much risk, so much opportunity for something intended to be only fun and games to explode in our faces. “I just don’t know, guys; you’ve obviously spent more time thinking about it than we have. Where do you stand, and what concerns have you talked about?”

They both laughed, and Michael leaned forward, closer to us before speaking. “Mostly we’ve talked about how to broach the subject with you guys! We had no idea how you’d react…but then, after the party, with the touching and everything, it seemed a little easier.”

Alli giggled, and then shocked me again. “Yes, once a woman has had your dick in her mouth, you can pretty much talk to her about anything, right?” He had his baseball-mitt sized hand resting on the table, and Allison reached out and put her hand on his. Hers looked like the hand of a child, by comparison. “That was fun – and very arousing. But you and Davey almost had words over it too, right?”

Michael and I looked at each other, and I nodded. “No ‘almost’ about it – we did have words; but it was okay, we kind of came to an understanding that it was all a misunderstanding.”

He laughed before taking Alli’s hand in his, her small hand disappearing into his huge paw. “Yeah; we pretty much decided that it was all your fault.”

She yanked her hand free. “What? My fault!? What’s that supposed to mean?”

He was laughing. “Well, you were looking so sexy and rubbing that luscious body of yours up against me, putting all these thoughts in my head…”

Marci was laughing too. “Oh yes, it’s always us women that are the evil temptresses that lead you men astray! Like you were just an innocent bystander, huh, baby?” She patted his cheek as she said that – and none too gently it seemed, possibly more of a slap than a pat. With his size he just absorbed it, barely seeming to notice.

I looked around first, to be sure we weren’t being overheard; the place had largely emptied out as far as the tables were concerned, although there were still a good number of people around the bar, and guys playing pool and darts. Seeing no one nearby, I tried to refocus us on their original question, to stop beating around the bush and just get it out there. “So what we’re talking about is you and Alli having sex, and me and Marci having sex, to put it bluntly. Right?”

Michael nodded. “Yeah. That’s it I guess, in a nutshell. We wanted to float the idea and see what you two might think – and we don’t expect you to answer tonight!”

I shook my head. “No, I can probably answer right now. First, let me state that I’m very attracted to Marci; I don’t think that’s any big secret, and that aspect of it is very…enticing, I guess. And we’re flattered that you think of us this way, the trust and everything. But I don’t think I could take the idea of Allison with anyone else. I’m just way too jealous for that. And yeah, sorry, Michael, but that includes you, even though I trust you and love you like a brother.” In reality, the thought of my wife with this black stallion was excruciatingly painful and almost as excruciatingly exciting at the same time. But only almost.

None of them spoke. They were all just looking at me, giving me time to speak my piece, since I had been the first to step forward and do so. I went on. “And then there’s the aspect of me and Marci working together. I think anything intimate might make that hard to do, to continue our work relationship.” I laughed. “Even though the topic of sex is a frequent one in the office, the actual fact of it is not. We work so well together, and I don’t want to screw that up.”

Marci was the next to jump in, taking her cue from my concerns about work. She shrugged - her generous breasts shrugging right along with her, as I couldn’t help but notice. “I don’t think that would be an issue for me. I can separate the business from the personal, Dave. Hell, I already admire your bulge in certain pants and get all hot and wet in the panties fantasizing about you at my desk – a little actual carnal knowledge isn’t going to change that very much!”

Michael and Alli were laughing, as they often did when Marci got on one of her sexually explicit rants – often at my expense - as I sat there blushing. “Thanks, Marce; that’s not going to make me uncomfortable around the office at all! What crazy idiot hired you in the first place?”

She laughed. “You did – and you know you can’t live without me!”

I laughed. “Careful, or I might decide to test that theory.”

She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Nah! Even though you’ve got nice balls, you don’t have the balls to fire my gorgeous ass!” She became serious. “And just so you all know, this was my idea, not Michael’s. I’m the one that was pushing to make my fantasy a reality because I really, really like you - although I will say that when he understood that it meant he might get to fuck Allison, he jumped on the bandwagon very quickly!”

Alli and I looked at each other. She was blushing at Marci’s words, as I’m sure I was. It’s not every day that your close friends tell you that they fantasize about you – and want to have sex with each other’s spouses! In fact for us it was a first-ever sort of thing, and while we were very flattered and intrigued, what we were most of all was stunned, and perhaps confused, and certainly conflicted.

I shook my head. “Look, I’m very flattered, really – we both are, like I said, that you would think of us like this – but I just don’t think that I could ever get past the jealousy issue. Just the idea of it…”

Michael cut me off. “Dave, do you think you’re the only one that would be jealous? I’d be crazy jealous of Marci being with you! Hell, I already am sometimes, just knowing that she spends every day with the guy that she fantasizes about!”

Marci nodded. “Me too! I mean, look at Alli – she’s a professional model, she’s gorgeous, and that ass in those jeans is something men salivate over – and that’s who we’re talking about my guy screwing! Of course I’d be jealous.”

Alli laughed, blushing. Thanks, Marci, but I’m not a professional model! It’s just…something that came up. And I would be too, by the way! Jealous, I mean. Davey already thinks you’re about the sexiest, most sensuous thing ever…how did you put it, honey? Oh yeah! He says you just give off this sensual, sexual vibe that guys can’t resist! I think I’d feel very jealous.”

At long last, it was Marci’s turn to blush as Michael frowned. “Yeah, I see guys not resisting that vibe thing of hers all the time – makes me crazy. It’s like bees to honey. Hell, she hooked me on her first cast, just wiggling that fine ass!”

They were bantering back and forth, but I was still hung up on the idea that they would all be jealous and angst-ridden about trading partners as well, just like me; for some reason, I’d thought I was the only one that would feel that way! It made perfect sense that they would too, of course; they loved each other, and I know Alli loves me, but I’d just never considered it. It was an eye-opener, to say the least.

I looked around the table at each of them, my wife and my two friends, and laughed softly. “You know, I never thought about the fact that you would all feel as anxious and jealous about it as I probably would. Weird, but that possibility never even occurred to me!”

They all laughed, and Allison leaned over and kissed me. “Well we would, you silly goof! You’re not the only one that would be nervous – or jealous - about it.”

I shrugged. “Then why even do it? I mean, if everyone is uncomfortable, anxious, all that, why put ourselves through it?”

Nobody answered immediately, but after several seconds Marci fielded my question. “That’s part of it, boss. Anything you do that’s new and exciting, there’s always an element of something like that – risk, anxiety, stretching our limits, breaking down our personal barriers…right?” She looked around at us. “Anything that really gets your blood pumping and your adrenaline flowing, whether it’s jumping out of a plane or having sex with someone new and different, the anxiety goes with the excitement. A new thing, an element of risk, a first time…that’s the stuff that reminds you that you’re alive!”

She was right; for me, though, probably the riskiest non-business thing I’d ever done – other than taking off my clothes and jumping into a tub with a bunch of other naked people – had been clumsily approaching Alli that very first time. In this very same restaurant! That had been a sink-or-swim moment for me, one that I’d sensed might well affect the course of the rest of my life. It seemed to me as though that one had panned out particularly well!

“It’s a good point, Marce.” I felt Alli’s hand on my leg, her touch encouraging me by declaring our solidarity. I felt like she was letting me take the lead and would stand with me whichever way I went. That was a good feeling, because I’d had the sense that she would be disappointed if I flatly declined the opportunity for us to swap with them. I looked at Michael and Marci. “So how do you guys envision this happening?”

Michael frowned again. “What do you mean?”

“Well, what did you have in mind? Separate homes, separate bedrooms at the same place, all in the same room…maybe a hotel room – or rooms?” Alli’s fingertips touched the ridge of my hard cock at that moment, and I heard her make a tiny “Mmm” sound in her throat; I had no doubt that she was as aroused by this whole concept as I obviously was...despite our very legitimate concerns.

He laughed. “Oh! Well, I guess if we’re down to talking logistics, then that’s a good sign, right?”

We all laughed, some of the strain and nervousness gone. I hadn’t thought about them considering my question to be one of logistics! “Not necessarily; I’m just trying to get a mental image of what we’re discussing, so I can run it through my mind and see how it works. You know, sort of a mental sneak preview.”

He shrugged. “To be honest, you’re a step ahead of us. We hadn’t carried the discussion quite that far. Most of our discussion has revolved around how to even bring up the subject with you two.”

Marci laughed. “Yes – and you wouldn’t believe how hard that was! You’d think that with friends as close as we are it would be easier.” She shook her head. “We should have known you wouldn’t get too weird about it.”

Alli smiled at her before reaching out and taking her hand. “No, we’re open-minded enough to at least listen…at least to you two! Now, if a stranger had suggested it, that would be weird.” We all laughed. She looked around at each of us. “Well, what does everyone think – you know, about location and arrangement and everything, like David just mentioned?”

When we all looked at each other and nobody answered her, she took the lead herself – to my complete amazement! “I think I like the idea of all of us being in the same room – you know, assuming any of this ever happens.” When she saw the expression on my face, she went on. “I just think that if I was going to do something like that, I’d want to be with you…even if I was really with Michael.” As she said that, her eyes went to him and then she quickly looked down at her hands and blushed brilliantly. There was no doubt in my mind that she was extremely attracted to him, aroused by the idea, and probably - sans panties - soaking through her new jeans.

Marci took over. “I agree. Plus the idea of my guy watching me with another man - with Dave – just really does something for me!”

Alli looked at me and nodded. “Yes, that! The idea of you watching me…us…god! That’s just so very, very arousing to me.”

I looked at Michael, and to my surprise I saw in his face what I was feeling; a combination of arousal, jealousy, fear, dread, excitement…so many emotions tied up in their words, in these ideas, and not all of the emotions were good ones. I shrugged, and said to him, “What do you think? I have mixed feelings.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that’s putting it mildly! I don’t know. I think I’d like that, because I’m very visually oriented, but…fuck! That would be hard to watch! I just don’t know.”

I nodded, agreeing. “Yup, my thoughts exactly; total voyeur here. But this is all hypothetical, I think. I don’t see us ever getting past the hurdles and actually doing anything like this. Like what we’re discussing.” They were all looking at me, and my eyes moved from face to face, realizing that they were all closer to accepting the idea than I was. Even Allison. I shook my head. “What? Y’all are seriously considering this? Really?”

Marci nodded. “Yeah, Dave, really. Look, think about it; talk it over between the two of you. Like I said at the beginning, no pressure, no expectations; still and always friends first and foremost. Just consider it, is all we ask…okay?”

Michael was settling up the bill, and I got the amount from him and laid down a generous tip; it was something we’d started doing early on, one couple buying and the other covering the tip. It seemed to make all of us feel like we weren’t being total mooches for the night, and had become our unspoken practice over time.

It was mid-November by then so it was cold outside, probably in the high-teens, and we could see our breath. In the parking lot we made small talk for a few minutes, got our hugs and handshakes completed, and then the two of them got in his big Yukon and headed out. Alli looked at me. “Well, that was unexpected!”

I laughed as I pressed the button to unlock my car. “To say the least! Wow…talk about your surreal conversations!”

She nodded. “Can I ride home with you?”

“Leave your truck here?”

“Yes; your car has heated seats, and one thing these jeans are not is warm! Chubby knows my truck; he won’t care.”

I laughed. “Sure, I’d love the company! Price you pay for showing off that perfect ass of yours, huh?”

“Just start it up and turn on the heat! Brrr!” She was hugging herself, rubbing her arms as she got in, shivering visibly. “We can get my truck in the morning – I’d be almost home before that old thing started to warm up tonight.”

I got it started up, seats on, heat on, and pulled out of the lot. I glanced over at her. “So? How did your photo shoot go today?”

She looked at me, surprised. “You want to talk about that? I figured we’d talk about this whole thing with Michael and Marci.”

“We can – and we will, I’m sure; we have all weekend. I’m just curious how you enjoyed your first professional modeling gig.”

She shrugged. “It was okay. Kind of fun, but a lot of work or a lot of waiting, mostly. I sure wasn’t expecting to have to keep stripping down to almost nothing in a room full of people! Should have known, I guess.”

I looked at her. “But they were all fine with that?”

“Yeah, apparently they just did it, like it was nothing out of the ordinary. You adjust pretty quickly when everyone is so matter-of-fact about it.” She laughed. “Except for Zach, who’s just a horny lech.”

“Yeah?”

“He’s harmless, just obnoxious. I kept my back to him most of the time, especially when I was changing into these jeans.”

I recalled that she had needed to get down to nothing but skin to wear the jeans. “And all of that doesn’t bother you anymore? There was a time, not that long ago, when you couldn’t have done this. Any of this.”

She laughed. “No, I know. It’s funny how quickly you become accustomed to it.” She looked out the window, and then back at me. “We’re shooting some lingerie ads the first week of December, more stuff that won’t break until after the first of the year. On the bright side, it will be just us girls there…and Derek, of course.”

She looked at me oddly as she said it, perhaps sensing my discomfort with Derek. “I guess that will be easier, all female models – no clowns like your buddy, Zach.” I took considerable comfort in the fact that Alli would be just one of several women there. That made it seem less risky, somehow. “Are you looking forward to doing it?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess; the money is good, and Derek promised it would be more fun and less strenuous than the sportswear shoot. He's been a real slave driver these last few days, very bossy – kind of a pain, to be honest.”

I glanced at her. “Uh-oh! Trouble in paradise?” It was the first negative thing I’d heard her say about him; I should have felt bad about the fact that I enjoyed that, but I just couldn’t pull it off!

“No, I know he was just doing what he needed to do to get the job done. Still…”

“You know you don’t have to do this, right? I can front some money for the shelter if you need it.”

“That’s sweet, but we agreed not to make the shelter dependent on our personal finances. No, this is okay – good, even. Pretty easy way to make money, really.” She hesitated, and then plunged. “Derek wants me to work for him next Tuesday, and maybe Wednesday; back in September they shot a pre-Christmas lingerie ad intended for all the husbands and boyfriends finishing up their shopping. It’s supposed to run just a couple weeks before Christmas, when all you guys finally think about starting your shopping.” She laughed.

I looked at her quickly, and then back at the road. “So how does that involve you?”

She shrugged. “They got some new styles in, stuff that came in late, that the Dunstan’s people want in the ad; he needs to take a few last-minute shots.”

“Uh-huh. Okay, why you?” As soon as I said it I realized how it sounded; I’d intended it as a sincere question, as in how had he chosen her, but it came out sounding kind of harsh and critical.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She sounded hurt, not something I’d intended to do.

“Look, I just meant how did he decide on you – just you - instead of one or more of the others? It sounds like he’s only using one model, right?” She nodded, and I rushed on. “I mean, I know you’re the most beautiful and sexy of all of them, but the others all have more experience, don’t they?”

She nodded. “Yeah, they do.” It sounded like my explanation had soothed her hurt feelings. “He said I was the ‘best look’ for it – and I’m local. They all have to travel down from Denver, so it’s not really worthwhile for what might be only a one day job.”

“Oh. Well that makes sense, I guess.” It made sense, but that didn’t mean that I was fond of the idea.

I tried to be cool about it, but she knows me too well. “I know you don’t like him very much.”

“Hon’, I’ve never even met him.” I was turning into our driveway as I said it, and we waited silently for the garage door to go up. I pulled in and closed it behind us. “Look, I’m sure it’s fine. If you want to take the work, take it.” In truth, I wasn’t at all sure it was fine; I don’t know why I felt obligated to pretend as though I did.

“You could always come and meet him, you know. I’m sure he’d be fine with that, and I certainly have no problem with it!”

That sounded to me like a potentially awkward meeting: “Hi, I’m the guy that’s been taking naked pictures of your wife. How you doin’ today, Mr. Baxter?” I don’t know how Hollywood couples, model's spouses, etcetera, deal with that issue, much less married porn actors and actresses. I wasn’t sure that I could, or at least not gracefully.

I shook my head. “Maybe. We’ll see.” Probably never… “Hey, when you go in, kick Ruby out the front door and I’ll walk her for a bit. Then we can get comfortable and talk about Michael and Marci.” She laughed and shook her head in amazement as she went through the door.

Ruby bounded out to me, happy to be out and with her people again, the snow and cold charging her up and making her excited and playful. We wandered on down the street, playing and rough-housing a bit. I discovered that if I tossed her softly-packed snowballs, she loved to catch them in her mouth, and would then snort, sputter, and sneeze and stare at me, waiting excitedly for another.

She took care of business, and I let her just roam and sniff her domain for a bit, enjoying the crunch of the snow under my shoes in the quiet night. When she rousted a rabbit – which shot out suddenly, almost from between her front legs – she gave a start as if to chase it, but when I said her name sharply she stopped and immediately dropped into a sitting position. It ran across the street, and although there were no cars in sight it was very comforting to know that Ruby had listened to my voice and avoided that potential danger!

She was not only an intelligent, gentle, and loving animal, but had also obviously been well-trained. Many times in the coming years I would be thankful that we had somehow come to own her, but I would always wonder if whoever had lost her – or had to give her up – wasn’t thoroughly heartbroken about it.

At home again, I let Ruby in and shed my coat, gloves, and shoes before going in search of my wife. I found her standing in our family room; and boy, did I find her!

She had shed her short, suede snow boots in favor of red, strappy, pointed-toe high heels - five inch heels, which made her nearly my height. She had shed her top in favor of bare skin and perfect breasts. She had brushed out her long, dark hair into a full, wild mane that gleamed in the overhead lights and hung over her shoulders, and which now formed a full, wavy frame around her gorgeous face. She had kept her new jeans on, those painted-on, skin-tight jeans that molded to her long legs, wrapped snugly through the “V” of her pelvis, and so magnificently displayed that fine, round, perfect ass!

The waistband of her jeans arced downward to several inches below her navel, and her firm, flat, sexy abdomen drew my eyes like a magnet. She had a thin gold chain around her neck, and her nipples were hard and erect, and bright pink; her lips were smiling playfully, and her eyes smoldered, dark and smoky with arousal. “My turn to be dressed, stud - sort of, at least. You strip this time.”

I just stared at her, unable and unwilling to tear my eyes away.

“C’mon, stud, get over here and get busy! Every stitch – even your socks. Get naked, mister, bare-ass naked, and do it now if you want any of this!”

I swallowed noisily and reached up to unbutton my shirt, surprised to discover that my hands were shaking enough to make that simple task difficult.

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Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone once again for reading, scoring, and commenting on my story - it means a lot! Also, thank you to all those that expressed their concerns during my recent absence to attend to a family emergency; your concern, wishes, and patience are all deeply appreciated. Things have resolved themselves well.

I will soon post a shorter story - 3 chapters only - that I have written as a sort of a thank you, as well as breather from this long tale. I hope you will watch for it, read it - hopefully enjoy it - and let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading...you folks are the best!