What Friends Do

Todger65 worked his magic again. Every time I get his corrections back, I bruise my forehead by slapping it so much.

This is a story of true friendship and love.

What Friends Do

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"I feel so sorry for Jennifer. Since Rob died, she has been so withdrawn. She's like some sort of sad zombie, just stumbling through her days."

I understood where my wife Lisa was coming from. Jennifer and Rob have been our friends for five years. Rob died suddenly, horribly, a year ago. Some idiot believer of conspiracy theories decided to take out some of the local government. Rob happened to be in the city building paying his water bill when the idiot opened fire. The only thing good about the entire stupid incident was the idiot getting shot multiple times by police. I was glad to hear that he took hours to die. I wanted him to suffer. He has a name, but I won't refer to him as anything but 'idiot'.

Jennifer was a beautiful and vivacious woman before the incident. Now, she wore Rob's old sweats almost exclusively. The last time she dressed up she wore a black dress at Rob's funeral. Her face rarely held an expression. She only left the house when she had to. It was sad and a waste of a wonderful human being.

Lisa is Jennifer's best friend, and she works hard to help her. Lisa practically lived with Jennifer during the first months after Rob was killed and spends every moment she can with her now. I think that without Lisa's constant support Jennifer would probably not be with us.

The entire situation was sad. It didn't help that it was so unnecessary. A minimal amount of research would have shown the idiot how wrong he was. I don't think he really wanted the truth. I think he wanted to strike out at people he felt held power over him. His only accomplishments were to spread misery to underserving people and to die suffering.

I pulled Lisa close and held her tight, "Sweetheart, you have done everything you possible can. I have wracked my brain for something that might help her."

"Me too. She won't go out socially no matter how much I prod her. She won't go shopping except to get groceries. She has separated herself from the world. She needs to be held and loved and made to smile again."

I held her for a while giving it some more thought. Lisa's statement about Jennifer needing to be held triggered an epiphany, "Lisa, we need to get Jennifer laid. She needs a kind man, or woman, to hold her and make her feel again. She needs to realize that though Rob is gone, she is still a beautiful woman who deserves to feel more than grief and loss."

Lisa's arms squeezed me, "She needs someone like you. Now we need to figure out how to find him and get Jennifer to cooperate."

The following evening Lisa and I were relaxing on the couch. She had just returned from her evening visit with Jennifer. I could see that she had something stewing in her head, "Watcha thinkin about babe?"

"I had an idea today about a way to help Jennifer. I need your help to make it work."

"You know I would do anything I can to help you and Jennifer. What could I possibly do that you haven't already?"

"Seduce her."

"What! Honey you can't be serious. There are so many ways something like that could go wrong and makes things much worse. Not to mention the fact that you are my wife, not Jennifer."

"I understand all of that. I have been thinking about it all day. You are an amazing husband and lover. Jennifer is my best friend, and she is suffering. I know that you would be the perfect man to make love to her, to get her living again."

"Even if she went along with it, I would be cheating on you."

"I don't look at that way. It would be cheating if you had an affair with her behind my back. I want to share the joy you give me with a friend I love who is in desperate need of joy. To me it is an act of love, not betrayal."

"I hadn't thought about it that way. In my head it sounds reasonable. Reality is a whole other thing."

"It's not like I am asking you to screw some skank. I know how attractive you think she is."

I chuckled, "I would have to be on drugs to not notice how hot she is. But say we did what you are suggesting, what happens after? Jennifer's mental state is fragile now. We are not therapists and we could make things worse."

"I realize that. We must not push too hard. Each step of the way must be because she wants it. I don't want her to regret anything she does."

"I can't say I am comfortable with this yet. Having said that, how do we pull all of this off?"

"Dancing."

"Huh?"

"You are going to need her help learning to dance. You want to learn so you can teach me. I have always wanted to Tango with you, and not just in bed. It won't be a lie and Jennifer is a wonderful dancer. It will get her out of her house at a minimum. She will be spending time with people that care about her even if the seduction part doesn't happen."

Jennifer loved to dance. So much so that she had run a dance studio before Rob died. She lost all interest in the studio after his death and had her lawyer sell it. Rob on the other hand had all the rhythm and coordination of a ruptured duck on ice. He had been a horrible dancer. I had often danced with Jennifer with his encouragement when the four of us went out clubbing.

"I would love to learn how to dance like that and it will help Jennifer. I am not sure about the seduction part. We will have to wait and see about that."

Lisa smiled. She knew that once her husband held Jennifer in his arms he would come around to her way of thinking.

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Lisa

Jennifer lived just two doors down from Steve and me. I stopped by for our daily morning coffee. As usual I let myself in and as usual Jennifer was in the kitchen waiting. She sat at the kitchen table staring off into space. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing Rob's old sweat suit. She looked horrible and she stank. I was nervous and a bit apprehensive. If my idea didn't work, I was out of ideas. I was very afraid I was going to watch my friend fade away until she decided to die.

I tried to engage her in conversation and got the usual one-word answers. I couldn't stand the state she was in anymore, "Jennifer, come with me."

She was resistant at first as I tried to pull her to her feet. Eventually she capitulated and allowed me to lead her to her bathroom. The room was, like the rest of her house, antiseptically clean. The only thing she did was clean her house obsessively and practice dance until she dropped. I found it odd that her house was that clean and yet she neglected herself. That was about to stop.

I started to pull the sweatshirt up and she resisted, "Stop resisting me. You stink and we are going to clean you up. You can help me, or I swear I will get a bucket of cold water and throw it on you. One way or another I will get the stink off you."

She didn't say anything, but she allowed me to remove her clothes. I got her into the shower and undressed so I could join her. I washed most of the stink off her and decided to wash her hair before touching her intimate parts. I washed the dirt and oil out of her hair and squirted the rinse onto her head. So far, the process had been efficient and unemotional. I decided it was time to take advantage of the intimate setting to get her feel something besides grief. We sat on the shower floor and I massaged her scalp slowly. After a while I heard her sigh as the tension eased. I continued and expanded the massage to her ears, down her neck, and to her shoulders.

She leaned back against me as I ran my fingers through her hair, and she began to cry. I held her close sobs wracked her body. I had not heard her cry since the funeral. She cried for a good while until, eventually, I helped her stand and rinsed her hair. I soaped up my hands and ran them down her belly to her crotch. Her pubic hair had gotten a bit out of hand and I had to soap my hands again before sliding my hand between her legs. I separated her labia with my fingers and ran my soapy fingers over her. At first, she stood there passively as I washed her with my hand. The feel of my soapy hand on her crotch eventually elicited a nearly inaudible sigh.

I was thrilled that she responded to my touch. My friend was still with us. She hadn't left the world completely. I continued to slide my soapy hand against her crotch, lengthening the stroke so that my hand rubbed her clit. She relaxed against me and I ran my other hand up to caress her nipple. She moaned and I stopped long enough to turn her around. I kissed her lips softly as my hand continued to 'clean' her vagina. She panted as I increased the pace of my cleaning and responded when my tongue entered her mouth.

I had never been with a woman, but my friend needed me. Fingering her to orgasm might help, but it didn't seem intimate enough to me. My mind made up, I kissed her neck and nibbled on her ear. I took her nipple into my mouth and flicked my tongue against its hardness. I kissed my way down her belly and got on my knees. I lifted her leg and moved under it, letting it rest on my shoulder. Without further thought, my mouth was on her mound and my tongue began to lick her crotch. Her movement as I licked her directed me to what she liked. Soon my tongue was sliding rapidly across her clit.

I felt her hands on the back of my head and she held me tight as she thrust her pussy hard against my tongue. She shook and almost fell as the orgasm she needed so much washed over her. When the shaking stopped, I kissed my way back up her body and to her lips. Her arms flew around my neck. She could barely stand, and I wrapped her in my arms. She was crying and kissing me at the same time while her arms held me so tight I could barely breath.

Her sobs abated and we stood in the shower as the last tears were washed away. We kissed again, deeply, lovingly, then I turned the water off. I dried us both off and we exited the shower. She kissed me again and for the first time since her husband died, she looked at me with clear eyes, "I love you Lisa."

"I love you too. We are not done yet. Your nails need trimmed and I'll take you to the salon for that. I'm going to trim that shrub between your legs."

I grabbed a towel and took her hand in mine. We walked to the bedroom and I laid the towel on the bed, "Tell me where the scissors and razor are then lay down on the towel."

When I returned with the necessary tools, she was laying on the bed. Her eyes followed me as I entered the room and walked over to her. Her smile brought tears to my eyes.

Her voice was soft, "Before today I have never seen you completely naked. You are incredibly beautiful."

I blushed at her praise, "You are beautiful too. And you will be even more so when that tumbleweed between your legs is taken care of."

The process of trimming and shaving her was extremely erotic for me. It must have been for her as well. As I moved her labia back and forth while I shaved her, I couldn't help but notice her wetness. I cleaned up the mess and put everything away. I walked back into the bedroom moved between her legs to check my work. I told myself as my mouth enveloped her that it would be awful to leave her in such an aroused state. My fingers slid into her while my tongue worked her clit. It sent a thrill through me when she orgasmed.

I crawled up the bed and kissed her deeply. She kissed me back with enthusiasm and I almost came. My relief at her response was indescribable. We got under the covers and held each other, just enjoying the closeness. Nothing was said for the longest time and I didn't mind. I was willing to wait for her to say something, anything really.

I heard her sigh softly, "If I had known being with you would be like that, I would have done it years ago."

I chuckled, "Yeh, me too."

"I have a dumb question."

"OK"

"What day is it?"

"It's Monday."

"What's the date?"

"The fourteenth of June."

"Huh. I didn't realize that it had been so long since I paid attention. I will always remember this date."

"Why?"

"It is the date my friend that I love made love to me for the first time." She rolled onto her side and looked into my eyes, "And the date I first made love to her."

She leaned in and kissed me softly at first, then with passion. Her hands began to wander over my body. Her kiss wandered from my mouth down my body, making wonderful stops along the way. When she moved between my legs and began to make love to me with her tongue it was amazing. My concern for her, my relief that she was coming back to me, and the eroticism of the moment combined into an explosive orgasm. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before and it was magical.

We spent the morning in her bed. The mechanics of pleasuring each other at the same time were relatively simple and we figured them out rather quickly. We climbed out of bed long enough to have lunch and a glass of wine. I nearly sobbed out loud when I said something funny and she laughed. She saw my tears and immediately embraced me. I had to remind myself that one day doesn't fix everything. My friend, my lover, needed a lot more help than one day provided.

After lunch we gathered up the nasty underwear and stinking sweat suit she had worn for who knows how long. I walked with her as she went outside and dropped them in the trash bin. She started to cry, and I held her, "Jennifer, please listen to me. All you did was throw away some stinking clothing. You don't need it to feel Rob. He will always be with you."

I walked with her back inside. We laid back down with our clothes on and snuggled together. I woke an hour later and watched her as she slept. Her face had lost that clenched grieving look. She looked more alive and very beautiful. She woke to my kisses on her face and smiled up at me. We kissed for a while and laid together, just enjoying the closeness.

After a while I decided to take the next step, "Jennifer?"

"Hmm?"

"If you can, I need a favor."

"Of course."

"Wait till you hear the favor."

"OK"

"Steve has always wanted to learn how to tango so he could teach me."

"He has a good feel for dancing, and I would have been glad to teach him. All he had to do was ask."

"He was always too shy to take lessons at the studio. I think he would give it a shot if we could do it at our house. Would you teach him, us?"

"Yes, I think it will be good for me too. It's time I got out of the house more."

"Can we start tonight? You can come for dinner and then dancing!"

She smiled and it gladdened my heart, "OK, I'll be there."

"One more thing. I am going to tell Steve what happened between us today. I know he will be as happy as I am that it did happen. I love you both and there can be no secrets between us. Well, maybe one, but hopefully not for long."

The look on her face was priceless. I kissed her hard before she could ask any questions. We sucked face for a while, and I left for home. I couldn't wait to tell Steve everything that had happened.

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Steve

I walked into the kitchen from the garage to find my smiling wife waiting me. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me with enthusiasm. When we finally came up for air, I squeezed her in a hug, "That was by far the best welcome home I have had in a long time. What happened that has made you so giddy?"

"Last things first, Jennifer is coming to dinner tonight and she has agreed to teach you how to Tango!"

"Wow, that is amazing! You work fast. You said last things first so what is the first thing?"

"Well, you know she has obsessively worn that sweat suit. What you don't know is she hasn't been taking care of personal hygiene. I walked into her kitchen this morning my eyes nearly watered from the stink. I decided enough was enough and dragged her to the bathroom.

"I got into the shower with her and got her cleaned up. I washed her hair and massaging her scalp. She seemed to be responding to my touch, so I massaged her shoulders a bit. She really started coming around when I cleaned her vagina with my soapy hand.

"Well, one thing sort of led to another and I ate her pussy in the shower."

"SAY WHAT!"

"I know! She orgasmed for me! Can you believe it!"

"I'm still getting my head around you going down on her!"

"That's not all."

"Holy shit! There's more?"

"Well, her bush had gotten way out of hand, so I had her lay down on the bed and I trimmed her up. The process left her pretty wet and I couldn't just leave her like that, so I went down on her again. She really liked it."

I could only smile while my dick got as hard as rotational mathematics, "Uh huh, you don't say?"

"I do say. After that she decided to return the favor. We spent most of the day making love. I even got her to throw out those nasty sweats."

I was in awe of my wife, "You must be emotionally worn out."

"Nope. I am giddy with excitement. You know I have never had sex with a woman. I am so glad Jennifer was my first."

I kissed my awesome wife. When we finally came up for air I grinned, "I would have loved to see that. It must have been hot as hell!"

She slapped my arm playfully, "Typical male. It was loving and wonderful. Best of all it was cathartic for both of us. She got to break out of her grief for a time and I got my friend back. We just need to make sure we move slowly. I don't want her to think we are using her or patronizing her."

"Of course, babe. I think tonight we leave the hanky-panky out of the equation. Unless, of course, she initiates something. Even then we need to move carefully."

I helped her get dinner started then went to the living room to arrange the furniture. I rolled the rug up that protected the hardwood floor. When we moved into the house, I tore out the old carpet and discovered the hardwood floor. I restored the wood to its former glory and now it would make a wonderful dance floor. Lisa helped me move the couch over by the wall. I took care of the chairs myself, then got the audio system ready. I am an audiophile and the system I have assembled provides amazing sound quality. I queued up some romantic music and let it play. Jennifer would bring the Tango music with her. I had equipment that could play it regardless of the format.

I was tinkering with my audio gear when Jennifer walked in the front door. I turned at the sound of the door and froze. Jennifer was wearing form fitting dance wear. She hadn't stopped dancing during her grief. Lisa told me she would often find Jennifer wearing that awful sweat suit, collapsed in exhaustion on the floor of her home studio. She would dance obsessively for hours.

The muscles in her legs drew my eye to the gap between her thighs. I could see the outline of her labia and quickly raised my eyes past the curve of her hips. I managed not to stare overly long at her amazing breasts before looking at her face. She was looking at me directly for the first time since before Rob's death.

My face grew red from embarrassment, "Sorry Jen, I didn't mean to stare."

She walked over to me and her eyes would not meet mine, "Did Lisa tell you about today?"

"Yes, she did, and I am very happy for both of you."

She looked up and met my eyes, "Really? I don't want to cause you two any problems."

"You are never a problem for us. We love you Jen and want you to be happy."

I stood in shock when she hugged me. I snapped out of my shock quickly enough to hug her back. She leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder. We stood like that for the longest time. I regret to say my cock was taking the closeness personal and was ragingly hard. I could feel her belly rubbing against it and in my head, I was cussing my lack of control.