Weekly Sessions

Brad said, "I thought people were so absolute about trust."

I said, "You can be that way if you want. I liked the way you said it a moment ago; you trust your partner to stick by your contract and the boundaries you agree upon."

Lisa said in a philosophical way, "Or we could have boundaries that are a little vague, and then be tolerant, and deal with situations as they came along - be happy or sad, based on how we think. Therefore, I shouldn't feel that a trust has been violated."

Brad said, "Situational ethics."

I gave them a hypothetical situation. "You said you were seeing Mike and Jan this weekend. How does that make you feel?"

Both said happy, glad to have friends, and pleased about getting together again.

I went on, "So Brad, how would you feel if midway through the evening, Lisa and Mike excused themselves and went up to his bedroom to make love for an hour."

Brad blanched. "Errr, awkward. I'd wonder how Jan felt. I'd feel a mix of happy and sad, aroused and rejected, excited and jealous. I can't put a single word answer on that situation. You just scrambled my brain. Somehow, I've separated what Mike and Lisa have done from the being our friends and seeing them on Saturday."

Lisa said softly, "We should talk more about that on our next date because exactly that might happen - at least, I could imagine Mike making that offer."

Brad swirled around and looked at Lisa. "Oh."

I asked Lisa, "What would Jan do?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been in this situation before. Mike assured me about their open marriage, but I don't know what that looks like in practice when we're in their living room, and something starts to happen."

I suggested, "When you two talk, please speculate about that situation more. Consider the options and the various feelings you would both have. I recommend you have this conversation in detail before you see your friends, and that you review the boundaries and expectations you have for that evening."

After a long silence I redirected the discussion again. "I wanted to come back to our brief chat about your financials. I want to get you talking about some boundaries about spending money, debt, and budgeting." The discussion took off from there for the rest of our hour, and we parted having many open issues for them to consider or for us to talk about next time.

Week 5

I started this week's session with my more generic start; "Why don't one of you set the topic for the next hour, or if you have something you want to share with me please do."

Brad and Lisa looked at each other, and they both blushed.

Lisa began somewhat hesitantly, "It's been a busy week I think, but we've moved a long distance in our relationship."

Brad said in a low tone, "I moved back home at the beginning of the week, so we're living together again."

Lisa added, "And we're ... romantic again too. I mean we make love."

Brad urged Lisa, "Tell Dr. Cole about Saturday." I detected a forced neutral tone to his voice.

Lisa took hold of Brad's hand after his suggestion. It was the first time they'd sat on the sofa together, a more than symbolic move about their partnership.

She said, "Well, we spent several hours on Saturday talking about what might happen that night with Mike and Jan. We ran all sorts of scenarios and talked about our boundaries, and reactions and emotions."

Brad interjected, "I encouraged her to go off with Mike if the opportunity presented itself. I already knew they'd been intimate, so what was another time. I wanted to see how I felt - how we felt - afterwards."

Lisa said, "So we had dinner with Mike and Jan, and then ... well, Mike just sort of pulled me away at one point and we went upstairs to their guest room and made love for ninety minutes. Actually, we made love twice, and Mike ate me to a half dozen other orgasms during that time too. He loves to eat pussy, and I think he's good at it. Oh, Brad's even better, but ... well ..."

I resisted saying anything, but I was enjoying the recounting. I actually chortled at her embarrassment, but generally we'd moved beyond that.

Brad said, "After Mike and Lisa went upstairs, I had no idea what to do. I helped Jan clear the dining room table, and our conversation was functional, you know, 'Would you get the butter dish? I'll bring the plates from this side of the table.' We stacked the dishwasher and put leftovers away, and made the kitchen spotless. I was nervous so I started to clean everything in sight."

Brad chuckled, "Jan eventually stopped me. We'd been at it for over twenty minutes. She backed me up against one of the counters and kissed me. I was speechless. She said, 'Brad, relax. It's OK what Mike and Lisa are doing, and I encourage it. I know that you know we have an open marriage; this is one way it plays out."

Brad said, "I was holding onto Jan's hips and she was right in front of me. I felt some real chemistry with her, but I wasn't ready to do anything serious with her. My head was all messed up thinking that my wife was upstairs fucking her husband, and we had just finished the dishes - how mundane given what else was happening."

I speculated to Brad, "Do you suppose Jan knew how you were feeling?"

"Oh, I'm certain of it. She described exactly my crazy state of mind to me, and I agreed. And then, she kissed me some more and we got into it, moving from kisses to deep French kisses that really connected us on many levels. We talked about those connections. We just stood there in the kitchen making out. The more we did, the more fabulous that I thought the experience."

"Jan eventually pulled me into the living room, and we sat on the sofa with Jan in my lap. She's small - I even call her my Pixie friend sometimes. Well, the Pixie and I made out, but we also talked about open relationships and how they work. Jan talked a lot about jealousy and a term I hadn't heard before called 'compersion' - sort of the opposite of jealousy. Even as we talked she had me feeling her breasts."

Brad continued, "Jan told me how she felt about Lisa and Mike fucking upstairs. She wanted both of them to fall in love and connect in mind, body, and spirit on many different levels. She wanted both of them to feel not only the joy of the physical connection, but also not be burdened by guilt about being away from the two of us while they made love, and thus enjoy the higher plane aspects of their coupling. She pointed out how useless jealousy was, and how much of it was a learned emotional response to certain situations dealing with lack, or fear about an undesirable result such as separation."

I commented, "You already knew some of that pain."

Brad said, "Yes, and Jan built on that. She asked me whether my separation from Lisa had been that bad. I told her yes and no, talking about the parts that were bad first. Jan linked what I'd been feeling to jealousy, and then one by one she linked each of the bad things I'd been feeling to jealousy. It was as though she could blow each concern to smithereens and make them go away. I ended up feeling a lot better about Lisa, her relationship with Mike, my relationship with Sarah, and my new relationship and making out with Jan." Brad's voice sounded more upbeat as he talked.

Lisa said, "When Mike and I came back downstairs, we caught Jan and Brad really making out. He had her top off and was sucking and teasing her breasts and nipples. Jan really looked happy, but Brad looked as though he'd been caught red-handed, so to speak." She laughed.

"Jan got up and went to Mike, and planted a lot of kisses on him. Brad came to me, and we kissed to. I thought it would be awkward, but he seemed to be really relaxed about the past couple of hours when I'd been fucking Mike."

Brad said, "I was. Somehow, based on talking with Jan, Lisa wrapping her pussy around in a caring way as Mike thrust his cock into her didn't seem that big a deal, even if they were falling deeper in love. Lisa had assured me that she loved me - that I was her primary relationship, and I fell back on those words and trusted that she meant what she said."

I muttered, "Trust again."

Lisa said, "We talked about trust. We both promised that we wouldn't say things we didn't mean. So when I assure Brad that I love him, I mean it with all my heart. I'm not going to lie to him, or tell him things I think he wants to hear."

Brad volunteered, "Lisa told me several times since we last met how important Mike is to her and how she loves him - and Jan. Based on what she said, I know it's not just the sex. She feels a resonance with them that is rare. In my own thinking, I've come to realize that I can't be everything to Lisa that she wants or needs. Mike can apparently fill many of those voids, and I'm glad that he can make her more satisfied and happy."

I asked, "How do you feel about Mike and Jan as a couple?"

Brad responded, "I feel closer to them now than before. I see how much Mike and Lisa care for each other, and I support Lisa in that. I also see how Jan and Mike love each other, and I got vibes from Jan that she wanted me too. If we'd had longer to get acquainted we could have made love. I feel flattered and honored about how we feel about each other."

Lisa said to her husband, "Jan does want to make love to you. She told me." Brad just nodded at her comment.

Brad said, "If I could change the subject slightly, I also saw Sarah on Tuesday over a long lunch hour. After we talked for two hours and I told her what was going on, and how things were changing, we went back to her apartment and made love."

Lisa chuckled, "He came home that night all horny and eager to fuck me too, but he was also feeling guilty. Sarah had left him all turned on, and I got some collateral benefit from their afternoon rendezvous. I don't know how often they did it, but that evening Brad took me twice - both times in the living room where we hadn't made love in years. I think my knowing about it and emphasizing that I sanctioned their alone time helped assuage Brad's guilt."

I smiled, "Spontaneous combustion?"

Brad snorted, "It did seem like that. Having open sex with two women the same day was an ego trip I hate to admit to you. I got off on it. Sarah and I agreed to get together so long as it's not upsetting Lisa. We like each other, and this time formalized our friends-with-benefits status. Sarah had a lot of love for Lisa; she doesn't want to see her friend hurt."

I turned to Lisa, "How did it feel having Brad come home to your arms from Sarah's?"

Lisa grimaced but then smiled. "Well, not bad at all. I'd been with Mike over the lunch hour that same day. Brad sort of got sloppy seconds. He amazes me too. He ate me out for twenty minutes before we fucked the first time, and I know I was still seeping Mike's cum." Lisa blushed at her admission.

Brad just shrugged, apparently unbothered by what had transpired.

I asked, "Have you talked about birth control? I'm just curious about what might happen."

Lisa said, "I'm on the pill, but Brad and I have talked now and again about starting a family."

Brad nodded, "I'm ready, although I think we should let another year pass, to see how we come out of all this."

I added to Lisa, "There are probably boundaries in this area for you, especially if you and Mike are going bareback, as it sounds. Lisa, would you come off birth control and continue to allow both men to be intimate with you with the possibility of pregnancy by either one?"

Lisa thought for a moment, "Brad, what do you think?"

Brad responded, "If Mike made you pregnant I'd be a real cuckold and I don't think I could handle that, nor raising a kid that isn't mine. I know there are other guys who could, but not me."

Lisa turned to me, "There's your answer; and that's fine with me. I'd have Mike start to use condoms, and maybe avoid intercourse when I'm at my fertility peak."

I asked, "Do you know if you can have children?"

Both Lisa and Brad shrugged. She said, "We know of no reason we can't. We've just been career focused, but that's changing now."

I encouraged, "Just so you know, I support your idea of waiting a year or so before taking that plunge, especially as you're coming off a rocky period that in some ways went on for years. I've seen others have children to try to fix a marriage problem, and usually the problem persists, maybe even becoming aggravated because of the time both parents have to spend on the baby. The results are not always good."

Lisa volunteered, "Brad will be a great father when it happens. He's so caring when we're around little kids. He plays with them and gets right down at their level. They love him too. There's always laughter."

Week 6

"How did this past week go for the two of you?" I smiled at the couple cuddled next to each other on the sofa. They were sitting tightly together and holding hands.

Lisa smiled and Brad blushed. She said, "We had another breakthrough of some sort, I think."

I looked with raised eyebrows encouraging either one of them to say more.

Brad took the initiative. "I made love with Jan while Lisa was with Mike."

Lisa took hold of Brad's arm and pulled it to her generous chest. I couldn't help notice her cleavage. She said, "We even did it for a while in the same bed. It was so sexy and erotic."

Brad blushed scarlet but added, "I never would have thought I could do that, but we did. We switched back and forth a few times, and while Mike and I were in recovery mode, Jan and Lisa put on a sapphic show for us, eating cum from each other's pussies. It sounds gross, but it was unbelievably arousing."

I had to suppress my own arousal as the story unfolded. "Ummmm."

Brad said, "Jan and Mike came over to our house on Saturday for an evening cookout. It was a warm night, and we have a pool and Jacuzzi. After dinner, we all stripped down and went swimming. Lisa went right over to Mike, and it was arousing watching the two of them make out, particularly when she had him sit on the side of the pool and she gave him one of her world-class blowjobs. Jan had me sit, and turned out she can do some pretty amazing things with her mouth and tongue too."

Lisa said, "After a while we kept the same partners but switched who was getting eaten or sucked on; and after that, we got on some chaises on the pool deck and started to make love. It was so romantic doing it in the night air. After the first round, we went inside and showered together - we have a large shower stall that can hold four people nicely. We had a second round in our big bed, and then Jan suggested that we get together. I hadn't been with another woman since college, so it felt good finding my bisexual roots again."

I asked Brad, "Does it bother you that Lisa is bisexual, or for that matter Jan?"

He smiled, "No. It's sexy. I have no leanings that way, although in the second round I did allow Mike to grab my cock and steer it into his wife. I think Jan got off on that more than I did. Later, I did the same when I put his cock into Lisa. It was a bold and erotic move; I have to admit."

Lisa said in a low voice, "We had a third round too, and we also got together on Tuesday evening."

Brad said in an equally low tone, "I'd been with Sarah over lunch, so by the end of that day I'd fucked three women. This sex is going to my head and making my ego swell." He chortled a little. "I think I'm beginning to really enjoy having opened our marriage."

I asked, "And how are you feeling?"

Brad said with a smile, "I'm hornier than ever, but I assume you mean about Lisa and me. I'm doing OK - better than OK. Now and then I get a twinge of jealousy about her and Mike, but I know they're not going to run off with each other so I can easily talk myself out of it. Even Jan assures me that the two of them are really solid together. I know it's a trust issue again, but I'm making the judgment call that I can trust what everyone is telling me, and that is that despite all the collateral relationships, Lisa and I are each other's home base, just the way Mike and Jan are for each other. Sarah is a beautiful and loving friend, and even she knows that; she used that term about herself and me. I think I mentioned she's newly divorced and not ready to get back into some heated exclusive relationship. She was glad when I told her about Jan. I think she sees how I've mellowed and gotten things to a different place."

I turned to Lisa.

She said, "I had several long talks with Sarah over the week too. We'd stopped talking when she and Brad first got together. I guess it was awkward for her, but I assured her that I was cool with everything that had happened and might happen in the future. Now, it's all out in the open. We talked about feelings and our boundaries and everything."

Lisa paused for a second, "I also feel that twinge of jealousy occasionally just the way Brad does, particularly when Brad is with Sarah because she's single, pretty, and available, but as he said, I'm trusting he's accurate in describing his feelings and what's going on. He doesn't know this yet, but I was thinking about asking her to join us some evening for a ménage-à-trois. I don't know whether she's bisexual, but even if she's not I'd like to see her and Brad together now that we've ironed things out. She hasn't been around recently because of all this craziness."

I asked, "It sounds as though you are still finding and defining boundaries."

Lisa nodded. "Yes, I think we are. The single woman thing bothers me unless I'm in the loop."

Brad said to his wife, "I didn't know you felt that way. I'll talk to her about it. I think she might lean your way but let's find out." He added, "I feel better about you and Mike when I'm with Jan too - way better. We don't have to be in the same room, but just sharing at the same time. Maybe our boundary is that we don't have nooners without permission, or something like that."

Lisa said, "I sort of agree, but that noon-time sex is good. Maybe you and I can figure out how to do more of that to balance things out."

Brad said, "That'd be great. I love making love with you. I do want to keep some spontaneity in what might happen if Sarah and I have lunch. I'll try to anticipate and let you know, and I'll surely tell you when I see you."

Lisa agreed, "I'll do the same, but let's plan our days so we have time at midday for each other."

Week 7

After our discussion got underway, Lisa confided, although Brad was there too, "I think I love Sarah as much as Jan, or Jan as much as Sarah."

Brad said, "Huh?"

Lisa sat back and held his hand tightly, "Honey, I've always loved you, but now I also love Mike, Jan, and Sarah. I'd loved Sarah before as a best friend, but now I find I'm loving her as a romantic partner as well. Is that all right?"

Brad smiled, "Yes, it's all right. Watching the two of you make love to Jan the other night was an exceptional experience. Mike got off on it too."

I asked for clarification, "You had a ... fivesome?"

Lisa said, "Yes. It was romantic, hot, sexy, and orgasmic. I can still think myself into an orgasm just remembering Saturday night. We did about everything with each other short of BDSM, although I did get spanked. Heck, even that made me cum."

Brad chortled, "She was misbehaving."

"How was that?" I asked.

"Jan and Sarah had gone down on her, but at that moment she decided she wasn't going to go down on them. Everyone there had decided on a share and share alike rule in our lovemaking."

Lisa defended herself; "But Mike had just sunk his lovely cock into my pussy."

Brad laughed in a teasing way, "And you couldn't maneuver him around so you could be eating out Sarah or Jan while he fucked you. Lisa, that's not like you at all. You're a woman, and know how to multi-process better than any man."