Loosening Up Bk. 04 Ch. 16-20

"At the same time, we were friends with three other couples, one of whom were Dori and Ty. Dori was urging the other two through similar challenges. When we got together on most Saturday nights we started to swap partners at first to make out with them, but that escalated. The make out sessions got increasingly sexual.

"Pam came into our lives about that time. We both fell in love with her and she with us, so we invited her to become a wife. A couple of weeks later, Alice had her first sex with another male. She loved it, and so did I -- I was there and saw it happen. I thought I'd dissolve in a blubbering mass of cuckolded flesh, but instead I loved the whole scene. I wasn't humiliated; we don't do that. She fell in love with Owen, and then spent a romantic week with him in Paris and Rome. While they were gone I had Christie and Heather stay with me. Heather and I really bonded, and she also became our wife. Alice's sister showed up for a visit and ended up becoming my fourth wife.

"While all that was happening, we were expanding the number of people we were having sex with. The common thread was that we really liked those people -- even loved them, so that made it easy. One day we decided to live together, so the concept of the Circle was born, and then this cohousing project." He gestured around him at the core, pool, and homes.

Robyn said, "Surely, you don't love all of them the same?"

"No, but close," Dave replied. "I described it to someone once as having multiple children and then getting asked which one you love the most. You love all of them, but an accurate answer to that question depends on each one's behavior that day or even the last hour, how much quality time you've spent with each one, and myriad other things. The difference within the Circle is that many of us try to pick our partners for intimacy based on where we know there might be a deficiency -- in other words, I make love to someone I haven't been with for a while. There are twenty-eight Circle women, and only sixteen Circle men."

"But sooner or later, over some time period, you fuck all the women?"

"Make love, yes."

"So, you've done the young teens -- Rachel and Ashley."

"They're no longer teens but when we first developed our relationship they were, and yes, I do. I love them."

"And you make love to the mature women?"

Dave laughed, "I don't know at what age to draw the line to answer that, but yes. I make love to ALL the women. I love them. Call me indiscriminate, but I have a warm and loving connection with every one of them. A couple carried or carry my child."

"So, you've made love with Elise?"

"Yes."

"The incest doesn't bother you?"

"Consenting adults can do whatever they want about sex. We are sober, conscious, aware, and consenting adults, not under any pressures or duress, and we decided we wanted that kind of relationship. So, no."

"Which Circle members are over forty-five?"

Dave had to think, "The women would include Grace, Donna, Emily, Elise, Joan -- just barely, and Megan. The men include Roy, Derek, Jack, and Paul. Pete is knocking at that door soon."

"To your earlier remark, who has carried your child?"

"Alice and I had Johnny. Pam and I will very shortly have a baby; we opted not to know the sex, so I can't give you a name just yet. I may have been the sperm donor that rendered pregnant Wendy, Holly, Joan, and Susan. Why am I not leaping around, and why aren't the two husbands to the married women at my throat? The answer is that we love each other. We reached the point that's extremely difficult for many American men to contemplate: most of us care little about the paternity of our children. We will ALL raise them together, protect them, educate them, nurture them, and love them, regardless of whose little spermatozoa made the swim upstream to find the waiting egg and do the fertilization thing."

Robyn looked surprised. "That is amazing, controversial, and abnormal by society's standards."

"And what do you say to the critics that might claim the Circle is nothing but a sex club established by a few males so they have a steady supply of pussy available?"

Dave didn't accept the taunt. "I guess I'd say that we might 'appear' that way, but our behavior is to the contrary."

"And what evidence would you cite?"

"Well, Your Honor, I bring forth as evidence the tenet of the Circle dealing with equality of ALL members regardless of age, sex, sexual preference, race, or family status, etcetera. Offers to have relations of a sexual kind are as often initiated by a female as a male. Due to the imbalance between the sexes in our membership, we have F-F-M sessions more frequently that M-M-F sessions, but the women prefer that, and have been vocal about that."

Robyn commented, "Oh, yes, I recall you said something when I asked if you 'let' Alice do something, and you talked about how the females were not your possessions, nor were you theirs. I assume that would apply here."

"Of course, it's part of the egalitarian part of our creed. In love, we are all equal."

"And Mr. Owen Bennett, billionaire extraordinaire, doesn't get preferential treatment?"

Dave shook his head. "Not to my knowledge. He is quite insistent about not getting any favoritism. We have rarely taken advantage of him. The last time was when several of us joined him to fly to Topeka on very short notice when one of our Circle members piloted and survived a major plane crash. Before that, I'd have to think hard."

Robyn knew the story and nodded.

Dave laughed, "I can show you a check that Alice wrote a few years ago to Owen for $145.00. In the memo space it says, 'For three tattoos'. Our first encounter with Owen, other than Alice flashing him, was when she engaged him to put three tats on her body. When all our relationships with him started and cemented, that's all we thought he was -- a guy who worked in a tattoo parlor."

"That's amazing. I'd like to hear that full story sometime."

"Get Alice to tell you. There was some sexy stuff attached to it because we were in the process of loosening up, and her run-in with him and subsequent actions were all part of one of our challenges."

"That's cute."

"And you weren't jealous?"

"Of Owen or of any of the men that have made love with Alice or my other wives? The answer is solidly 'No'. I experience compersion over the situation; meaning I hope they are having a good experience and feel loved by whomever they chose to be with -- to make love with. Let me ask you, how did you feel seeing Jason make love with Susan while Dale was loving you?"

"Oh, right to the point. Some brief background. Jason and I have not been swingers or swappers before. We just got to loving Susan so much that we wanted something more in our relationship with her. Dale would come around too, and he's so likeable that he's also hard to ignore. I cautiously approached Susan one day, not too long ago. We kind of knew something about the Circle from the legal work Jason did for you, what he learned then, and subsequently small comments Susan would make about her weekend or such.

"Anyway, Susan lit up with enthusiasm about us doing something sexual together. She said she'd love it and knew that Dale would as well. That led to last week when we swapped.

"I loved the experience. I love Dale. He was so careful and romantic, but different and demanding in his own way. At the same time, I was unsure of what Jason would think of me fucking Dale, or how he'd end up feeling about Susan after they'd made love a couple of times and then slept together. It was only after we got home and talked that I really felt better about things. Was I jealous, I was but it went away; I was unsure of myself and how our marriage would handle this situation.

"And, I know, you'll tell me that we should have had the discussions about how we'd feel BEFORE we did the swapping, but we didn't. All we felt then was the lust and desire to be with them as a couple -- our affection."

Dave said, "So, how do you feel now? You were together again this afternoon, right?"

"Yes, and it was much better."

"But there's still a little uncertainty. Jason might fall in love with Susan and run away with her."

"I guess that's the feeling but I know he wouldn't."

"So, extrapolate out to how you'll feel after having swapped a hundred times. All that uncertainty is gone. The newness is gone. Love has replaced a lot of the lust. How do you feel?"

Robyn smiled, "I guess I'd feel really good about being together with them. We wouldn't feel we even needed to be together in the same room or be doing something at the same time, either. We could just 'be' whatever we wanted to be."

"THAT is how the Circle feels. Those are how every relationship in the Circle feels. It's comfortable, loving, a little lusty -- and we do things to help fuel that, and all the good things."

"And people don't get their nose out of joint that you went off with Patti last night, but I wanted a shot at you?"

"I think we all take the long view. If that were the situation, you'd say to me, 'I wanted to be with you, but you had Patti for the night. Can I get on your dance card for tonight?' Women can ask the men just the way men can ask the women."

Robyn leaned forward and kissed Dave on the cheek. "You were with Patti last night, and I wanted to be with you. Can I get on your dance card for tonight?" She looked at him with a serious visage.

Dave only said, "Maybe. I really do have to think about it."

Saturday morning Dave was again serving breakfast for the Circle and the few guests that had stayed over. Elise was helping him along with Abby and Patti. Patti and Ken had made it back to Sarasota the evening before on the now regularly scheduled Atlantic Airlines flight from Raleigh to Sarasota. Ken was worried because the flight was only about sixty percent full. They needed higher load factors to sustain the route, but the winter season was coming and demand would rise.

Jason and Robyn showed up with Dale and Susan, as Dave expected. He gave them all Circle welcomes, and then took their orders. Robyn reminded him that he had her on his dance card for that night. Dave teased back that he could never forget but still had thinking to do.

At ten o'clock that morning, Dave's phone rang while he was sitting with some of the breakfast crew.

"Dave, this is Jim Parker, from work."

"YES, SIR." Dave almost snapped to attention. Jim Parker was James Elsworth Parker, the chief executive officer of the entire electric utility. He was like God.

"Nothing too urgent, but I have a request. There's a group of us meeting at one o'clock this afternoon to go over some disaster planning scenarios. Derek and I were hoping that you could join us. It'll probably go a couple of hours, but everyone's schedule is so tight I thought we might squeeze in the meeting on a weekend day. There's no preparation, the dress is very casual -- jeans, loafers, and golf shirt for me, and the concern is for us to avoid what happened in Puerto Rico or Houston next season."

"I'll be there. Executive Conference Room?"

"Right. See you then."

Holly was nearby with Nancy. "You got called onto active duty?"

"Just for an ad hoc meeting this afternoon. We'll see what comes out of it."

Nancy said, "You want me to come in with you, maybe to be your back up?"

Dave thought and nodded, "If you don't mind. Anything I need is apt to end up being clerical and administrivia."

"That's fine. Why don't I make a batch of cookies for everyone?"

"Oh, now that's a sweet idea."

The meeting when Dave got there consisted of the top twelve executives of the utility and Dave from overhead lines. Nancy delivered her cookies and then took up a station in one of the small conference rooms down the hall. The fact that Dave's 'Number Two' was nearby was not overlooked.

Jim Parker called the meeting to order, and then passed out about a ream of reading material to each person. Included were the newly issued reports on the devastation to the power systems in Houston and Puerto Rico. He commented on the existing plans the utility had to create a command center, to staff up the telephones, and to disposition resources ready to spring into action after a named storm had passed the vicinity.

The utility had been the butt of considerable criticism over the past twenty years as any named storm hit the Florida peninsula. Jim set the bar high, by stating that he wanted to get plaudits from the press corps and various emergency centers, rather than the typical 'ah shits' the company had usually received. There was some discussion as to whether that was even possible. Dave thought it was because he saw how poorly organized everyone had been for those hurricanes.

After some discussion and acceptance of the reading assignments, the group set a time to meet again, and dispersed. Dave walked down the hall and collected Nancy, the met up with Derek, and together the three of them drove back to the Circle.

Dave sat alone for a while and made some notes stemming from the meeting. They were new things the utility should do to prepare the utility for a major hurricane. Given that they serviced the entire state and even parts of adjacent states through reciprocity agreements, and given the state's vulnerability to tropical storms, and given the increasing intensity of the storms due to climate change, he knew they'd be hit hard very soon -- again.

Robyn and Amanda were talking with Bobbie and Patti on the patio when Dave and Nancy came onto the patio to see what was going on. The former two were concentrating on the remarks Bobbie and Patti were making, apparently in response to their questions. Nancy went off to change her clothes to more casual attire.

When Dave appeared at the table all four women looked and gave him flirty smiles and welcoming comments. Patti reached out and held his hand. He suggested he get them refreshments and a few minutes later he returned with a bar tray full of drinks. He sat down between Amanda and Robyn.

Dave asked, "Where's Jason?"

Robyn rolled her eyes, "Getting a few more billable hours. He should be here any minute. He and I need to have a chat about work-life balance."

Amanda suggested, "Call him. Tell him there are four willing females awaiting his presence. Nancy will be back in a few minutes, make that five."

Robyn took her cellphone and typed out a text message and sent it. She turned to her companions and said, "Jason is pretty literal. I told him just what you said. He'll think you really do want a piece of him."

Bobbie teased, "Maybe we do."

Patti added, "He could have a piece of me. I thought he was really nice when I met him."

Bobbie said to her, "Jason apparently got a large piece of Susan, and she liked the non-billable time he spent with her."

Amanda chuckled, "I'm remaining quiet on this one. I'm having a hard enough time convincing Mr. Prentiss here that I am more than willing. I'm even needy and eager to have his very close and intimate presence deep inside me whether the time is billable or not."

Robyn couldn't believe her ears about what she'd just heard. She said to Dave, "Errr, are we on for later tonight? I have the same needs and enthusiasm. You never said a solid yes or no when I asked."

Dave listened and chuckled. "I'll give a definite maybe. You and Amanda need to reach an accommodation that the three of us make that mad passionate love together,and you include the two of you interacting on that basis. Besides that I need a note from your husband that he is aware of what you intend to do."

Bobbie snickered. She knew Dave well enough to know that he would say something like that.

Robyn said in amazement, "You mean that Amanda and I have to have sex together?"

Dave clarified, "No, more than that; you have to make love ... and mean it. It would show a mindset consistent with the values I hold dear -- and those of the Circle. It would also show me that you've both loosened up enough. We are NOT having an affair."

Amanda had been staring at Robyn more intently, no doubt sizing up the woman as a sex partner. Both were sexy, but there was about a twenty year age gap between them, plus Robyn had serious business experience that gave her an air of confidence and self-worth that was palpable and well beyond what Amanda emitted."

Dave posed to the two women, "You might ask yourself why you are feeling that I am the one you want to be with? I know you've met and talked to some of the other men in the Circle. They're just as worthy of your attention, and possibly more willing."

Robyn quickly responded, "I can answer that better than when you asked me something similar yesterday, at least for me. You're the sage and guru in the Circle. You know all of the lore, philosophy, principles, and tenets for the Circle to work well, and you practice them almost religiously. No one else thinks the way you do about your life and the relationships you share, or how you care for your partners. The Circle is a spiritual experience, and you are the spiritual leader. Couple that with your reputation as a superb lover that always makes sure his partner has a fabulous uplifting experience, and you know my reasons."

Dave was taken back by the comments. "I'm surprised by that. I know I talk about the Circle with everyone, but most of it is repetitious, and usually when someone new is around or someone like you expresses even passing interest in joining the Circle."

Robyn then sounded more incensed only she was on verge of laughter, "And I need my husband's permission?"

Dave knew that comment would be controversial. "That's not what I said. I want to assure myself that he is aware of what you intend to do. I do not need to have him find out after the fact, and then come after me with a bat. And, while you're at it, you might suggest to him that he find some female companionship. I think you have two interested friends right at this table."

Bobbie and Patti perked up at the comment. They'd already expressed an interest in Jason. The both grinned in eager anticipation.

Robyn's phone made a sound and she looked at the screen. "He's on his way. Jason should be here in ten minutes."

Patti asked, "Dave, if you're our spiritual leader, I must have missed that class. What did Robyn mean?"

"I guess maybe we didn't cover that side of things. We were probably coming at the Circle from the subject of sexuality rather than spirituality, although I see the two as interrelated.

"To me spirituality is the sum of all the things I need to do to be spiritual -- to be other worldly, in a way, but while I'm in this world. I start with the premise that I am a spiritual being having a human experience. That statement is contrary to what several billion people believe; they see themselves as poor sinners trying to achieve some vague sense of spiritual immortality that involves floating in the clouds playing a small harp and wearing a long white robe, IF St. Peter lets them in the gate. That's downright silly. I think otherwise. I already am a spiritual being, and I've chosen this existence to grow and develop in some way.

"There are dozens of things that I have to do to develop my spiritual skills: love, allow myself to be open and vulnerable to others, develop true intimacy -- beyond sex with others, practice forgiveness, learn to let go of the things that bother me, express gratitude, practice faith, service, remain humble, be optimistic, give up having to be right, be tolerant, compassionate, take risks, and meditate and practice affirmative prayer. I could keep going.

"As I develop those spiritual skills, I practice them in my daily life. My spirituality isn't something that happens only on Sunday morning for an hour. I try to live them in all my interactions and relationships. The Circle is my proving ground. There are others but I think those might be the major ones. I use shorthand, and say that I love someone, but what I'm really saying is that in mind, body, and spirit, we bond in these areas with one another on multiple levels."