The Love Shack

"I think we were all living vicariously through their tales. Will started pushing it. Grace was right there, flashing panties and boobs, distracting the guys. Then they would trade off, her talking to us, him telling the guys what an adventure it would be. And it would be safe. We'd stick to just us, be circumspect, and never say anything out of turn. He said the group they left had been going strong for twenty years."

"It was just bullshit, at first, but the seed had been planted. Then we got to speculating how we would do it, when we could do it. We discussed health issues and again it was Will who said we should always have a rule calling for clean bills of health. Then, even if it was not openly discussed, came the planning. Everyone knew but you. Will said you would be the hardest to bring around, and we should ease you into the idea. Then came the night of the hot tub. We were all pretty buzzed, and when the clothes came off we all got got horny. You seemed amused by what we were doing and we thought we'd go for it, push it as far as we could. IF Jason hadn't accidently unplugged the tub and the jets hadn't stopped, who knows where it would have gone? But it did and it was too much, too soon. I seriously thought you were going to drown Will. Jason had bruises for weeks."

Jason joined in. "Looking back, we know it was wrong to blindside you like that. I wanted to be upfront from the start, but Will talked about how well he knew you and it was better to ease you into the idea."

I just looked at them until they begin shifting uncomfortably. "Have you done anything yet?"

"No. Will pushed to just go ahead without you, allowing Bonny in, but she nipped that in the bud pretty fast."

"'That would be cheating, and I will never have an affair behind my husband's back. He has to be with us, all or nothing.' I can still see the fire in her eyes. It's made Will fixate on her, but other than the discussion we had the day after you left, she hasn't spoken to him, or any of us until just recently. We still have our wine parties, and the subject always comes up."

"Is Bonny still wanting to go ahead?"

Annette looked down at the kitchen table, swirling her wine glass. "I'm sorry, Grunt, but she does. It's tearing her apart. She says it will be just the one time and then it will be over. Then, when we all talked we would have shared memories. We're all getting older honey. She wants to do it before menopause sets in, while she still feels sexy and attractive."

I got up. "I'm going home now. You've given me a lot to think about. I feel like I need to talk to everyone who wants to participate, one on one, try to get the big picture. All except Will or his wife. I still think they were trying to stab me in the back and I don't want anything to do with them. I'll have Jules look for a spot suitable to your needs, Jason."

I went home and told Jules about the project, asking her to keep an eye out.

..............................................................................

Jason put the word out, and I began to have visitors at my office. Everyone knew I tended to do my paperwork just before the end of the business day, and that's when they would come. John. Jules' boyfriend, was first. Even though Jules had moved back home they still saw each other. I never really talked to him that much before, but it only took me about five minutes to figure out he had no backbone at all. In fact, he seemed quite submissive. Maybe that's why she kept him around, but Jules tended to gravitate to confident men, and I knew he had a limited shelf life.

He was almost pathetic in his eagerness to tell me what he thought I wanted to hear, and I dismissed almost everything he said right out of hand. I did ask him a few questions.

"You were married before, right?" He nodded.

"Why aren't you now?"

He struggled for a minute trying to figure out how to phrase it. "We started out really well. Then after about four years we started drifting apart. Then she had girl's nights out with her friends, and after about five months she came home grinning.

"She was a little mussed and I noticed her hose was missing. 'I won't lie to you. I met a guy, we were drinking, he was pretty, and the first thing you know we were in a motel. I loved it! If we stay together, you will have to get used to the idea of that I'll play from time to time. I'll always come home though, and will be as discreet as possible. If you still love me, take me to bed now! I'm still revved up and this would be the perfect end to a perfect evening'."

"What did you do?"

"I... I fucked her. She was a wild woman, it was probably the best sex I ever had. She apologized the next day, but two weeks later she went out on a date. She always insisted that we have sex as soon as she got home. Finally, after six months she just didn't come home. By then, I was tired of the whole mess so I welcomed the divorce."

It probably hurt him, but I was pretty blunt.

"It occurs to me you have a taste for humiliation and sloppy seconds. Is this your way of reliving your marriage? If it is, I have to tell you it will end badly, especially with Jules. She needs a confident man and you ain't it, bubba. Honestly I think the only reason she's still seeing you is so she will have a partner when the swapping starts. Your use-by date is approaching pretty fast."

Most guys would have been angry. He just sighed. That was pretty much the end of the discussion.

................................................................................................................

I talked to Jules next, taking her to lunch without Bonny, getting takeout and going to our venue and sitting in the picnic area.

"Jules, are you sure about this? I know what we did in the past, but that was just a bunch of kids fooling around. No one was bound to anyone back then. Now, we're mostly married, bonds going back decades. Is it really worth it to possibly damage relationships, maybe beyond repair?"

She spoke like she had given it a lot of thought. "I was hesitant at first, but then I'm not taking the risk most of you are. We both know John will never be a life partner, so if we do drift apart, it would have happened anyway. Who doesn't want to relive their glory days? Besides, if I do it, it will give me a chance to keep an eye on you guys. Honestly, when it gets right down to it, Bonny may back out. If that happens, I'm your exit strategy."

"If she decides not to go through with it, she will NOT need an exit strategy. We'll just get up and leave. I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to try to stop us. If I hurt their feelings, I'm sure I'll never lose sleep over it."

We talked a bit more but eventually we were just repeating ourselves so we changed subjects. Since we were sharing a moment I asked her what she thought went wrong with her marriages.

"The first was just a total loser, but I was too much in love with him to see it. He reminded me of you a little, at first. When his true colors started coming through, I knew I had made a major mistake. Did you know one of the worst fights we ever had was over you?"

That kind of threw me. "Why would you fight about me?"

"He had just lost his third job and was whining when I finally lost it. I got tired of hearing his excuses and told him to man up for a change. I used you as an example and he lost it."

"The man never went to college! I've got a Masters in Business! Grunt is a perfect nickname for him, because that's all he is and will ever be."

She grinned at the memory. "I lit him up. Yes, I told him, he's just a high school graduate working construction. However, the man never lost a job in his life. Every time he changed employers, they begged him to stay. He grunted his way into his own company, owns a very nice house and has a wonderful family. What a loser! Let's see, you have a Masters, have been fired three times and quit once, just before they gave you the axe for incompetence; we can just barely afford the rent on this apartment, can't afford to have children, and our vehicles are old and barely running. Yes, education will always trump hard work, don't you agree?"

Now Jules laughed. "I thought he was going to blow a gasket. He even drew back to hit me. I told him to try it, on my worst day I was a better man than he was, and was more than willing to prove it. Instead of hitting me, he just stormed out. I filed two weeks later."

Jules went from a smile to a frown. "Derrick was different. He worked hard, tried to get ahead, he even had a five year plan like the Chinese tried early on in Communism. It worked about as well. He hid everything well; it wasn't until after we had been married six months that the cracks started. The trouble with his plan was that it wasn't his plan. I was of the opinion marriage should be a partnership; his was the woman should be submissive and stay at home. When I disagreed, he got violent. He wasn't afraid to hit a woman, then threaten them with more if they didn't fall in line."

I was shocked. "Why didn't you call me?"

She grinned. "You'd have killed him. No, I handled it my own way. I waited until he went to sleep and then I put a brick in a sweatshirt and wrapped him in blankets. I beat the hell out of him. It took him a few minutes to get out of the blankets, and by then I'd knocked the mean out of him. The last shot was to his balls. I bet he went six inches off the ground and was out cold by the time he landed. I packed everything I wanted, going back and tapping him again every time he stirred. It was probably a long time before he was in the mood for love after I left. Can you believe he had the nerve to call the cops? They came out and interviewed me. I showed them the bruises, black eye, and split lip and told them I didn't start the fight; I just finished it. They refused to arrest me. I heard later his balls were so bruised they almost took one. They should have taken them both. He'd have been a lot calmer as a steer instead of a pretend bull."

"Damn, Jules! Your taste in men sucks. Didn't you ever meet Mr. Right?"

Her eyes clouded for a minute. "I did, but I was really young and I gave him away. I've always regretted it. Besides, as far as swinging, there's one man I've always wanted to try, and no, you don't get to know who it is. I'm hoping there's enough love in your heart to let Bonny have her fantasy, because I'm afraid she'll do it without you, and we both know how that would end. Will you hold me for a little while?"

We sat at the table until dusk, while she snuggled and we watched the birds flit around the feeders I'd built and hung.

............................................................................................................

Next, I talked to Jenny, again at our venue but inside, this time. I made Booger wait in the car. I poured her a white wine I knew she favored and waited until she was in her second glass before I asked.

"Are you really on board with this?"

She said yes, but it came out mighty weak.

"I don't believe you. I think Booger has bullied you into this. Jenny, you're ten years younger than Bonny, and until you, she was the youngest in the group. You've an attractive woman and I'm not above having thoughts of lust about you. You'll be really popular if this thing comes about. Every man will want to bang the hot new bitch. Can you live with that?"

The crudity of my language got to her, so I pressed on. "This won't be love, Jenny. It'll be lust. Crude, unfeeling, get your rocks off rutting. Can you look yourself in the mirror the next morning and not feel shame? Will you ever look at your husband in the same light again, knowing he forced you into this? This is YOUR body we're talking about here. Think Booger will care how you feel as long as he's getting his? He won't, until later. When the rush of lust is over, along will come the second thoughts. Then he'll do what we all will be doing every time we're together as a group. We'll eye each other and wonder if our wives thought they were better lovers, and the wives will be watching each other like hawks, analyzing every word and action, wondering if there's any feeling from their husbands for you. It will become a vicious cycle that has no good ending."

She was full on crying now, and didn't fight me while I cuddled her, telling her how much I had always admired her as a person. She finally stopped crying and started hiccupping, then she grinned.

"You don't waste too many words, do you, Grunt? I've been thinking along the same lines, I just didn't have the nerve to articulate them. I'm really going to have to think about it. Booger will not be happy."

"Booger doesn't have to live with you, you do."

She smiled and tried flirting. "You'd really turn down a shot at the younger hot new bitch?"

"If this ever happens, I'll beat the rest of them to a pulp to get to you first. Count on it."

She giggled. "If we do it, I'll make sure you're first. Maybe the last. We'll just lock the door and spend the night getting to know each other better."

"Go away! You're giving me an erection thinking about that hot little body! Seriously, Jen, be true to yourself first."

She got up, surprised the shit out of me by giving me a steamy kiss with as much tongue as she could. Then she pulled back, giggling again, and swayed to the door, knowing I was watching that toned ass sway in the short dress Booger probably made her wear. She stopped just before the door, looked over her shoulder and winked. Then she did a little wiggle and the dress pooled at her feet, leaving her in just high heels and a tiny thong. She twirled around slowly a few times, giving me a good look, then grabbed the dress and unlocked the door.

"This is a just a sample of what could be yours. Booger is going to go out of his mind when I go out this door in just my panties. I won't talk about anything and his imagination will go wild. By the way, he hates it when you call him Booger. Do you want me to send him in?"

"I don't give a shit what he thinks. I don't need to talk to him, everybody knows exactly where he stands on the ldea. You're too good for him, Jenny. I hope you realize it before it's too late."

.......................................................................

Just as I didn't need to talk to Booger, I didn't need to talk to Will or his wife. They were the ones spark plugging the idea to start with.

I did talk to Jason. He grinned and told me he spent enough years living a rock and roll lifestyle to know what he was getting into, and Annette had lived with a guy that was into swinging, so she was cool with it.

"You really don't think this will ruin friendships?"

"It might. That's why Annette and I decided I would not take a turn with Bonny. I want to be able to look you in the eye."

"I believe you, but in for a penny in for a pound. If I go, Bonny will be fair game and I'll never hold it against you."

He grinned. "Well then, I accept. It will be all right, Grunt, as long as everyone maintains control."

I agreed, wondering how a bunch of naked people with free passes and quantities of alcohol could maintain control.

...............................................................................

There was a late addition. Well, two. Vickie and Rhonda, two of the girls that hung with us when we were younger, were still good friends with Annette. She let it slip one night after a few drinks, and they wanted in. None of us knew it at the time, but they were lesbians and lovers even back then. When they showed up, I asked them if they expected the men to leave them alone.

"God, I hope not! That would defeat the purpose. We're lesbians, honey, but we're not fanatics about it. We enjoy a good hard dick every once in a while. You should remember, you've been with both of us. This will be a lark for us. A few hard dicks, and then back to our lives. We'll use the night to fuel fantasies for years to come. Let us in, baby, we can handle it. Don't tell me you wouldn't like to get your hands on these one more time."

Rhonda had remained thin. Vickie had probably gained thirty pounds, and it all landed in her boobs. They were huge when we were young, now they were wonders of nature. She yanked her top up along with the industrial strength bra she was wearing. They sagged a little, but they had since she was 16. Instead of sagging more, they just seemed to stick out even farther. She had the largest nipples I had ever seen.

They laughed at my expression while Rhonda helped her harness her breasts. She took her own sweet time, tweaking her nipples until they were hard as rocks. That didn't really help with the reharnessing any.

They kissed me on my cheeks and promised a lot more if they were invited.

........................................................................................................

I thought about everything I had discussed with the players for a while. I even did a little research on the internet. Everything I learned depressed me more. Judging by what I'd learned, swingers were less than one per cent of adult couples, and half of them divorced shortly after starting the lifestyle. Those who did it only once fared better, but within three years of it happening, half those couples divorced.

Bonny was extra attentive, but I could tell she was quivering with the possibility we were going forward. Jules wisely held her own counsel.

One night just after we ate dinner I looked at them.

"I'll do it."

There was a collective drawing of breath and Bonny finally asked. "Do what, honey?"

"Swap. One time only, never to be discussed again when we're done. And I'll have conditions."

Bonny threw herself onto my lap followed by Jules. Then they tugged me up.

"Screw the dishes. Come on honey, we're going to give you a little trial run."

END OF PART ONE