The Shows Must Go On

This is the fifth part of a series about four friends (two couples) who have developed a very sexual relationship over the last few weeks. The characters make much more sense if you have read the earlier parts.

This is the longest part, and contains the least sex, with an extended middle part with very little action, but was necessary in the overall lives of the four. I apologize for the length, but it seemed impossible to break in the middle. I promise chapter 6 will be shorter and less talking.

I struggled with the category for this chapter. All the earlier parts clearly belonged under Exhbitionism, but that was only present in much smaller portions here. Anal and Lesbian are also present, but I ended up in Erotic Couplings. This is not a classic Erotic Couplings story, but the final part does represent a re-discovery of each other.

This part begins the night after Audrey has performed a live sex show, partially with her lover Tim. Alan and Lisa, a married couple, were the audience and had some active participation in the goings on. Like the last three chapters, this one is told from Lisa's perspective.

*****

I wake up to Audrey's voice.

"Oooh, that's it. Now lick a little higher. But slow down just a bit. Oooooh."

Am I dreaming about her now? No, soon I realize that her voice is real and it is coming from the guest room next door. She must be really loud to be heard so clearly in here. Alan is up somewhere -- he usually sneaks out before I'm awake -- but surely it's Tim whose tongue is being ordered about.

"Push your fingers in me. No, use more. Your whole hand. Mmmmm. Harder now. And DON'T STOP with that tongue! OOOH! YES!"

While Audrey is sounding more desperate, my own pussy is calling to me; I reach my hand down to assuage its needs. The dampness confirming its interest in the soundtrack being played out down the hall.

"YES YES YES AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The shriek penetrates the whole condo -- and probably several neighbors' too -- lasting for at least thirty seconds.

Rats, a little too quick for me to catch up.

Then, a much softer voice, barely audible at first, comes through the wall, "I need Ben now. Give me Ben. Oooh, there he is. But take your time, Push him in slowly. oooooh that's it. That's what I need. God, I'm so full! ooooh."

The sounds are getting louder as I listen.

That's the music I need to masturbate by, fingers back hard at work.

Audrey's moans become sharper, almost squeals, and are now harmonizing with grunts from Tim. Their duet quickens and comes to a climatic crescendo, but still much softer than the earlier shriek.

In the master suite, the finale is a trio, with my soft moans joining their squeals and grunts. A nice, gentle orgasm; a good wake-up exercise.

I pull my kimono on, not worrying if Audrey or Tim gets a quick flash. Audrey had seen me fully naked in the lingerie shop two weeks ago. And they had both watched me masturbate, even if mostly clothed, just last night during Audrey's performance. Things have changed a lot for me over the last three weeks.

Audrey and Tim are just coming out of their guest suite, as I walk by. Tim seems more or less dressed, with shorts and a tee. Audrey is also wearing a tee, maybe one of Tim's, but almost certainly nothing else. From behind, I can see flashes of her cheeks on each step. As Audrey turns towards the kitchen, I can see her large tits bouncing with each step she takes, her hard little nipples clearly outlined through the fabric as they move.

All three of us come into the kitchen, where Alan is working on breakfast.

"Always nice to work to the sounds of love," Alan says, watching for any reaction.

"Did you enjoy our performance?", Audrey asks, "We were hoping you would."

"My ears were not the only part of that woke up," I admit, smiling contentedly. "If only I could bottle that sound."

"You mean, like this?", Alan asks, putting his phone on the counter and pushing something on the screen. Sounds emerge from the phone,"Oooh, that's it. Now lick a little higher." Alan taps his screen again and the sounds halt.

Audrey laughs a little and feigns shock.

"You didn't think I would miss recording that, did you?" Alan responds, putting the phone back in his pocket.

More fodder for him to perv out to, I think.

"I hadn't planned on feeding four this morning, some of whom may have worked up an appetite already, so I had to scrounge a bit," Alan announces, "Black forest pancakes, sausage, and fresh fruit. I can throw together some greens if anyone wants any. And the coffee is already made."

"Your scrounging is more than anyone else's feasting," Audrey says, "No wonder Lisa feels like she needs to hit the gym several times a week."

With my full cup already in hand, I scurry over to give Alan a good morning kiss.

While Alan makes the pancakes, the other three of us sit at the kitchen table, Audrey on the far side of the table, directly opposite me, with Tim beside her. Leaving Alan the cook's seat, next to me.

Audreys shirt, which had barely concealed her privates when she was standing, has ridden up, no longer even a pretext at providing any modesty. For the second time in three weeks, I am looking at another woman's pussy, while sitting in this same chair. And what a beautiful, meaty pussy it is. I have to admit that I am definitely sexually attracted to Audrey's body. Whether I am generally now bi-sexual or not remains to be seen.

"Oh, I've got an overnight trip with Marty, Wednesday and Thursday," I announce to the others, shifting my thoughts away from places I'm not ready to go this morning.

"What time is the flight?" Alan asks.

"Oh, we're driving or at least Marty is. He will pick me up here around 9:45."

"Same car, but separate hotel rooms, I hope," Alan asks with just a touch of concern in his voice.

Audrey and I both laugh.

"Are you really being jealous of Marty?" I ask, "You have met him, he is the sweetest, safest man I have ever known. He is like the uncle, or more like great uncle, who supports you no matter what.

"I have been sitting here staring at my friend's luscious pussy. A friend who gave us a sex show last night, where she and Tim watched me masturbate. Then you ejaculated over her already cum-soaked face. And I masturbated this morning to the sounds of them fucking on our guest bed. And you are worried about him?" I ask incredulously.

"Anyway, he will drop me back off here Thursday afternoon around 3:30 or 4," I finish, in a much calmer, almost nonchalant, voice.

"That at least covers some of the week -- I have to wine and dine customers and journalists every meal from lunch Tuesday through lunch Friday," says Alan.

"So we don't have a meal together between Tuesday breakfast and Friday dinner?", I ask, near panic in my voice. "You know how much I hate eating alone." I am starting to sulk.

"Tim's regular Thursday evening aikido is starting back this week, so we could do another lady's night. over here this time," suggests Audrey.

"But I can't cook!"

"There is plenty of leftover jambalaya for the two of you," Alan says.

"You could have dinner with Audrey and me on Tuesday," Tim suggests, "Pizza or something."

"I am not traveling at all this week, so we get three lunches together," Audrey adds.

"I guess I can live with eating Friday breakfast by myself," I concede, "Thanks guys."

"But I am still stuck being a performing monkey for four straight days. What about me?" whines Alan.

"Sorry, you brought this on yourself, boy wonder," Tim says, showing no sympathy. "And is Zardoz Labs feeding you pizza and left over jambalaya, even if it's good jambalaya?"

Everyone laughs and Alan pretend sulks. But I think he is actually pretty nervous about being on his game for so many days and so many meals in a row.

"Audrey, what's our movie going to be next weekend?" Alan asks. He is good at changing away from an uncomfortable subject.

"Audrey was suggesting 'Blue is the Warmest Color' or 'Eyes Wide Shut' last week," I say.

"Very sexy, but also very dark," Alan comments.

"I know, I am trying to think of something that's also a feel good," Audrey says, "We really liked 'Bridges' last week." She reaches over and gives Tim a peck on the cheek.

"But it's still got to have some skin as well!" she adds, "Lots of skin."

"Ask your buddy, she is the certified expert in dirty stories," Alan says, chuckling.

Audrey looks at me oddly.

"He is picking on my choice of courses," I start to explain. "When I went to register for my last semester, I realized I still needed a literature course for my distribution requirements. I love to read, but I don't usually like discussing it. So I signed up for a course called, 'Erotic Literature Through The Ages."

"You guys sure got more interesting choices than we did!" Audrey said, "I would have been all over that one!"

"It was a popular course," I continued. "All the other lit courses were capped at 24 and never filled. This was capped at 50. I probably wouldn't have gotten in if I wasn't a senior -- we got priority. It was the biggest class by far I took. And overwhelmingly women."

"All of us guys were hoping for an erotic art class -- you know how visual we are," Tim said.

"I'm stuck on 50 being a big class. Most of my classes were bigger than that, often much bigger," Audrey added. "But what did you do in the class?"

"We read a bunch of dirty books and talked about them. Some of the guys in the class were hoping to use it to pick us up, but lots of us bad mouthed men in bed generally, so they started to sulk in the corners. We seemed to have a lot of lesbians in the class.

"Of course, I had already been living with Alan for 2 1/2 years and we were about to get married, so I only said the sweetest things about heterosexual sex," I said, giggling slightly and winking at Alan.

"Anyway, we read Sappho, 'Fanny Hill', Lawrence, Miller, Nin, 'Story of O' and some other stuff. Oh, we looked at 'The Kama Sutra' and 'The Perfumed Garden', but they are more sex manuals than stories. And we read parts of '1001 Arabian Nights', the original adult version, not the g-rated version that we learned about as kids.

"We looked at some newer writing as well, ranging from 'Fear of Flying' to 'Black Satin' by Joan Elizabeth Lloyd, a current writer, and some gay-lit book I don't remember (and didn't particularly care for).

"Alan reaped the rewards for that course. I would read a chunk of my reading lying in bed every evening, getting me all hot and bothered by the time he joined me in bed."

"She is downplaying that part," Alan tries to clarify, "If I wasn't in bed with her within 30 seconds of her finishing her reading, she would come out to other room, where I was trying to work or play a game. She would straddle my lap, facing me, stark naked of course. And start taking my shirt off and playing with my chest. Do you know how hard it is to complete a level with a naked woman sitting in your lap biting your nipples?"



"No, but I would love to find out," Audrey interjects, eyeing me.

"And then once I came to bed, she would attack me like she hadn't been laid for months!"

"Oh, poor Alan," Audrey says, "Such an abused life."

"Well we all know what Audrey is like when she hasn't been laid for three months!" I say.

"From what I have seen recently, about the same as when Tim is filling every few hours." Alan adds.

"For all Alan's complaints -- and I didn't hear many at the time -- he didn't have to hear the abuse my gender was giving to his. And that course has been the butt of many a joke by him for the last two and a half years."

"So, oh connoisseur of dirty books, did they make a good move of any of these?" Audrey asks.

Alan answers for me, "I was the movie major and there have been a couple of good versions of 'Lady Chatterly's Lover', which I think she read there. But I have a suggestion for you. It's not a great movie, by any means, but I think it's roughly what you are looking for. I just sent you an IMDB link for it.

"So, mister movie major, how did you make that amazing video we watched last night?" Tim asks.

"I started with one of the two sexiest women in the world, and the rest is easy," Alan answers, putting an arm around me.

"Fortunately, I have the other sexiest woman in the world to help me, even if she insists on flashing her pussy at our best friends during breakfast," Tim responds, "What next?"

Before Alan can answer, Audrey responds by standing up, and putting a foot on her chair, gives Alan and me a more complete look at her privates. She then turns around and bends over, giving us a different view of her pussy and ass. She then sits back down, smiling contentedly.

Alan shifts in his seat to keep his pants from tenting too badly. I just lick my lips.

Trying to ignore Audrey's quick show, Alan focuses on Tim's questions. "I can set up the lighting -- have you thought about where? -- and the cameras. But there is a lot of editing involved. You never worked for the campus TV station, did you?"

"No, but could you teach me?" Tim asks.

"Let me show you what it takes," Alan says and he leads Tim off towards the study.

"Now that they are gone, I have some questions for you," I tell Audrey.

"Fire away."

"How much do the nipple clamps hurt? I have been thinking about them since I saw the display last weekend at that store. I think I would like to try them with Alan, but they scare me a bit."

"I wouldn't recommend you starting with the ones I wore last night. A little strong, and your nipples are so much thicker than mine, I'm not sure they would fit well. But we can find some. Maybe we could stop at the store on the way to meet Tim for dinner on Tuesday?."

"That would be awesome!" I say excitedly, "I want to have a good surprise for him Friday, whether this week goes poorly or well. He won't admit it, but he is very nervous right now."

"I would be nervous too if I had 50 million riding on this week."

"But back to my questions. Talk to me about the butt plug," I request. "Alan and I have done anal a bunch of times and we both like it as a change. It gives me a more intense orgasm than vaginal sex does. I almost always have to get some clitoral stimulation to cum when he is in my cunt, but not always in my ass."

"Well, I've only done anal twice. I enjoyed it the second time, but not the first. But neither was with a lover that treated me the way Alan treats you. And neither of them really knew what they were doing. They had seen it on porn and wanted to try it.

"But I do like the feeling of the plug in my ass," she continues, "I can only leave it in for an hour or so before it gets to be too much, but I know women who leave them in all day. We could wash mine off and let you try it. It's a medium sized one, but that's probably a good starting point given your anal experience."

"Let me go eavesdrop on the guys and see how much time we have," I say, creeping over to near the door to the study. I could clearly hear them talking.

"It really is a lot of work isn't it," Tim says, "And how do you know when to change angles. Like here, how did you know to cut the to back angle before we see you plunge into instead of after?"

So Alan is using raw footage from our video to train Tim. I bet Tim is enjoying that.

"Is there any way I can get you to do it?" asks Tim, "There is no way I can do anywhere near as good of a job as you would."

"I guess I can do it. But I get to keep copies of any of it I want."

"Deal!"

"And think about doing it in our guest suite. Its an awkward time to set up with you moving apartments. And I wouldn't have to lug everything over there and back again. I think we might make another one ourselves the weekend you take Audrey home."

So he's planning another one. That's exciting. But he is getting another stash of perv material, and I bet he mostly keeps good shots of Audrey. I wonder if he will let me watch them too...

"I'll think about it. I'll have to talk to Audrey too. Although she seemed to enjoy performing out of sight for you this morning."

"She sure did,"

 Alan replies. I can almost hear him smiling.

"Wanna play 'Ghost'?" Alan asks.

"I would love to. I haven't had any time to game for three weeks now. The costs I pay to have the world's sexiest woman fuck me multiple times a day. It's a hard life."


I walk away as they are laughing.

"We have hours I bet -- Alan and Tim just started playing 'Ghost'," I tell Audrey.

"Ghost?"

"Ghost of Tsushima -- it's their favorite video game," I explain. "They go on missions as ninjas or something. Medieval Japan. I have to say the visuals are gorgeous. Before you stumbled into our lives, the upcoming release was the biggest excitement in either of their lives. Now their biggest two excitements have little red nipples on them."

She pushes her boobs up through the tee shirt and jiggles them briefly before saying, "Let's go back to your bathroom. I can wash the butt plug while you get yourself all clean."

"Clean?"

"You don't want it coming out with big brown stains do you? Poop now or hold it in all day. Soaking in the bath is the easiest way to get yourself clean after that."

I start drawing the bath while she goes over to the sink to give the plug a thorough washing. Watching the water fill in, I remember my fantasy bath last Sunday. I tell Audrey about the story I had read and my fantasy I had during my bath.

"Having Alan, Tim and I as the audience isn't surprising. But I wouldn't have expected Mary too," she says.

"She was the audience for countertop cunnilingus, remember? And she did flash me. Twice. She was showing me almost as much of her pussy as you were this morning. Sitting in that very same chair, as a matter of fact. So far, I feel like I might be easy to seduce by any woman who shows me her cunt."

"So are you saying you are Bi?"

"At least for the women I am attracted to. That masseuse didn't do much for me."

By this point, the bath is full enough for me to get in. I slip off my kimono, step up into the tub and slide into the water. Audrey ogles my body as I do so, staring at my crotch as I pull my first leg over the tub wall and in.

She then pulls over the chair from the makeup area and sits smack beside the tub, where my naked body is fully visible to her. Not even any soap bubbles to tease her. But seated as she is, her full pussy is presented to me in all its glory. Again.

We chat and I tell her about what I know about the plans for both our upcoming video shoots. But I am half distracted by her genitals. I want to reach down and masturbate to the view. Or even reach out and stroke her pussy. Or both. But I am not brazen enough to seriously consider either.

As the water cools and when I feel like I'm about to turn into a prune, I climb out of the tub, being ogled again.

"Now what," I ask her.

"Why don't you bend over the tub to give me access," she directs.

I see her rubbing some lubricant on the business end of the plug before I follow orders, presenting my privates for her closure inspection. I can feel her pour some lubricant on my hole and gently push it partway in with a finger. I sense the very tip of the plug slide in before the pressure becomes greater, pushing out on all sides of my anus. As the force grows, it becomes an odd combination of moderately painful and amazingly exciting. Suddenly, it pops all the way in.

"Mmmm," I say contentedly, "That feels pretty good now. And very sexy."

As she pulls her hand away, she brushes along my exposed pussy before grabbing the chair to return it to its usual home.

"Come on in the bedroom so I can get dressed," I request. She sits on the bed watching me, first looking at my newly decorated butt in the mirror and then getting dressed.

When I am decent, she announces, "My turn." and heads into the guest suite. I follow and am treated with a similar show as she puts on the clothes she had chosen for today.

As we had back to the living room, she asks me, "Do you think we can watch your video again sometime?"

"Thursday probably works," I say.

We sit on the couch, almost facing each other, chatting, primarily about work this time. After a while, the guys emerge from the study. Tim is first and comes over and gives Audrey a big kiss. Alan then shows up, and seeing us both dressed, says, "Aw the show is over now."

Audrey pulls up the side of her shirt and peels the bra off, flashing a boob at him, before arranging her clothing back to its proper places.

Tim says, "We should be going -- sorry to keep you so late, sweetie."

"This gave of lots of time for girl talk," I say.

"About?" Alan asks.

"Secrets," I reply.

Audrey gives us both big hugs. And then Tim gives me a big hug too. He doesn't usually hug me. Is Audrey's inclination to hug rubbing off on him. Or is this the result of him watching the explicit footage of me as Alan tried to teach him the art of video editing?

Once they are gone, Alan says, "I have two ideas I want to throw out to you."

"I'm all ears."

"First, I am thinking about how lonely you get when I have to be away for any reason. Between the amount we both work, and having Tim move down here too, neither of us really made any new friends outside of work in the last two years. I am mostly a hermit anyway, but you need a hobby; something that will get you around other people."



"Ok, I guess?"

"You liked the two art classes you took in college -- drawing and composition, right? The Art League has six week mini-courses, meeting every Sunday afternoon. One on basic drawing started last week. With your background, I bet they would let you join late. I just sent you the contact info for the teacher."



"You're right. That sounds fun."

I did a lot of detailed architectural sketches when I first started at work. Now I tend to only do quick sketches and hand them off to an artist on staff. Marty says I am too valuable elsewhere to use up my time there. But I like drawing.

Alan continues, "And you will really like this part -- the next class is figure drawing."

"Oooh, do they have models?"

"The website says 'drawing from a live model', so yeah."

"I will definitely send them mail right now."

"Wait, I need to tell you my other idea, too. I think we should make another movie in two weeks when Tim and Audrey are gone. I was thinking Saturday late afternoon/evening."

"What is our script this time?" I ask.

"I only have a loose idea -- we have lots of time to refine it. I want to flip the sense of the last one. Instead of you seducing me in a pretty soft, sensual feel, I was thinking I would go after you, not violently, but a little forcefully. And I give you oral this time."

"I can see how that could work."

My pussy is starting to feel damp and tingly as I think of the possibilities. The nipple clamps could be a prop. Instead of me stripping, he could rip my clothes off.

I then head into the study to send an e-mail about the art class. I get one back almost immediately, asking if we can meet sometime before next Sunday. Another few e-mails and we are settled on meeting me here Saturday afternoon at two. She wants to see some of drawings to make sure I am at the right level to fit in with the class.

As I come back out of the study, Alan asks, "Rick's?"

I nod my head, and tell him about the meeting Saturday with the art teacher as we walk down. I say, "I think today's class just ended when I sent the mail, so it was perfect timing to get a quick response."

We enjoy a leisurely meal, drink some wine -- enough to relax us, but not enough to impair our judgement or cause us problems in the morning. We talked about almost everything, at least everything except his upcoming week.

We walk back home in the evening air, hand in hand. I think about how much I love him and stop us, in the middle of the street, to give him a big hug and a long passionate kiss.

When we get to the condo, we head to the couch. Instead of the usual TV, we snuggle and kiss for a while, with him fondling my breasts through my blouse and bra, while I rub his penis through his slacks. After a while, my blouse and bra come off and he is pulling off his slacks. Just as we seem to be about to get more serious, I stand up and say, "I have something to show you."

I turn around and slowly remove my only remaining cloths, my slacks and panty, presenting my bare ass for his inspection. Bare, of course, except for the butt plug.

After he has had a chance to realize what he is seeing, I say, "Audrey lent me hers. Do you like? Before you pull it out, I need to feel your cock in my pussy, while that is still in."

He stands up and pushes me over the coffee table, my ass and pussy protruding back at him. He pushes his cock into my cunt. Starting before either of us that ouched my pussy means that I am not as lubricated as usual, so there is more resistance, but as he strokes the juices flow quickly.

The feeling of the plug pushing back at my vagina wall is fabulous. This must be something like what a double penetration feels like. I'm sure he can feel it too. I reach down to my clit, starting the explosion. I cry out and my cunt walls squeeze his cock. But he is determined to hold out for the tighter quarters he is expecting. He keeps pumping in and out as I keep rubbing my clit, until my climax subsumes. He then pulls out of my pussy, still fully erect.

"Take it out now. I NEED it out. FUCK ME IN THE ASS! FUCK IT HARD!"

I feel the tug and then the pop as my ass is suddenly empty for the first time in hours. But it does not remain empty for long. His cock starts to push against the sphincter, not quite closed again, but resisting the attempts of a new intruder. Slowly and gently, the intruder enters the dark tunnel, with all sides closing in. Slowly it pushes forward, until most of his nine inches are inside me. He starts to pull back now, not quite as slowly, before pushing his cock back deeper, a little faster still. Soon he is back to pumping into me, but in my ass instead of my cunt.

"HARDER! FUCK MY ASS HARDER! Oh god, MY ASS!!!"

I have reached back down to my now sopping pussy, twiddling my clit wildly. He is grunting loudly on each stroke,

I break first with a shriek. A few more strokes and his last grunt slides into a loud moan as he pumps his seed into a hole where it can never grow.

He kisses my back and then slowly slides his deflating dick out of my ass.

My least favorite thing about anal, also a problem with several vaginal positions, is having my back facing him. We can't drop straight into hugging and snuggling.

Instead, he helps me up and we walk back to the bedroom, arm in arm, where we can lie in bed properly cuddling until we fall asleep.

I wake up alone in bed. But I can hear cluttering in the kitchen. And, yes, the smell of coffee is starting to waft back to here. I lie in bed contentedly, relaxing, waking up, remembering last night.

It was a wonderful evening. The dinner at Rick's. The walk back home. Making out on the couch. I show him my surprise, the butt plug. He took me more forcefully than usual, pushing me over and fucking my cunt. Until I came once and begged him to fuck my ass. He obliged me, and burst in my back door repeatedly until we both came. Then cuddling in bed until we both fell asleep.

I want to hug him so much now. I grab my kimono, not even bothering to close it and hurry out to kitchen. I'm surprised he's just in his bathrobe, but I don't care. I just want to hug him.

I wrap my arms around him and hold him tight, neither of us talking, just reveling in each other's arms. I relax my grip enough that I can look at his face and coo, "I love you."

His response is a passionate kiss. When we finally break that off, I give him one more squeeze and slide back a half step to a more comfortable conversational position.

Grinning, he says, "I like the Audrey look this morning."

Without being tied, my kimono has slid all the way open, doing nothing to protect my modesty.

"Oh you!" I exclaim as I lightly faux slap him on his exposed chest. His robe has loosened up in our hug, exposing the middle of his chest. His manhood is starting to further open the robe below his sash, apparently fully ready for battle.

"I can see what thinking of her body has done to some parts of you," I tease, "But does she do this to you?"

I reach both hands into his robe, tracing my finger tips across his chest, lightly caressing his nipples as I do. His nipples are very sensitive and I have been ignoring them too much recently; we've both been so amped up in our sex lives that it hasn't seemed necessary.

He has closed his eyes and is moaning softly.

I slide my hands down and push his robe all the way open. I lean down and lick his erect penis that is now fully exposed. His moaning is becoming louder as I take his member into my mouth slowly moving up and down the shaft, lips wrapped around.

He enjoys the sensations for a brief few minutes. But those are not the lips he wants to feel around his cock. He gently pulls my shoulders up, straightening me out, then walks me back until I am against the side of a kitchen chair. I sit, my butt barely on the chair, and lean back, with one arm on the chair back and the other on the table, together holding me up. He leans over me, sucking and nibbling on my thick brown nipples while his hand begins to investigate my folds below.

I am now the one moaning. He pulls back, and bending his knees, pushes back forward, sliding his cock slowly into my slippery waiting hole. He slides his full nine inches into my cunt, before reversing course, sliding almost all the way out again. As he pushes back in, he reaches his mouth down to kiss me, supporting himself on the same chair back and table edge I am using.

This is not the violent fucking of last night; this is slow beautiful love making, the physicality replaced with gentle, loving emotion. He maintains a slow pace, in and out, as time seems to lose any meaning. Nothing except the gentle in and out.

Then the sensations begin to build deep inside me. I usually can't climax without clitoral stimulation, but I can feel it coming now. Deeper and warmer, it wells up. I am suddenly bucking wildly, my cunt trying to squeeze the life out of his cock.

His body responds by quickening his thrusts until soon he explodes inside me, as he groans loudly. He pulls me back to standing, still inside me. I have to stand on my toes, while his knees remain slightly bent to keep our parts properly aligned. After brief hug like this, he pulls out and staggers back a step to sit on the chair behind him.

"My knees weren't going to hold out much longer," he explains, "I think I need to get back in the gym for some leg work!"

I reply with one word, "Coffee!" and turn to pour my first cup of the day. I grab a tissue to catch the glob of cum running down the inside of my thigh and sit back in my chair, now facing the table properly.

"Why the robe?" I ask, after enjoying my first few sips.

"I planned on a little later start today so I could have a more relaxed breakfast with you," he responds, "We won't have much time the rest of the week, so I figured we can enjoy this morning. This was not what I had anticipated, but the robe offered some new openings in the schedule."

Changing the subject, he asks, "It doesn't really bother you that I think about Audrey sometimes does it?"

"I don't think so. It's a little weird for me, especially since I now realize I am lusting after her too," I answer, "Times like the other night on the dining room table, I know you are thinking about her while fucking me."

He blushes.

"But this morning, you were all mine. You lust after both of us, but your love is all for me."

We enjoy our breakfasts, and go our own ways into work, a little later than usual, but both very happy and contented.

I am busy all morning getting ready for Wednesday's trip. It's what Marty calls a "dog and pony show" for a new customer. The city has signed a minimal retainer agreement with us, but they don't really understand all the services we offer. Marty usually does these alone, but wanted me to come along this time. He and Audrey are going back for a single day next week.

I review the schedule that our secretary had sent me:

Wednesday

11:00 AM check in at Raddison

12:15 PM meet at city hall for lunch with Mayor Sam Prinner

1:45 PM driving tour of city with City Planner Iris Benoit

4:00 PM meeting with Economic Development Council Chair George Ames

5:30 PM dinner with Ames and Prinner

7:30 PM 30 minute presentation to planning commission in public meeting.

Thursday

8:00 AM breakfast at hotel with Benoit

9:00 AM walking tour of downtown with Benoit

11:00 AM meeting with Benoit and Ames

12:30 PM lunch at city hall with Prinner, Benoit and Ames

The presentation I have to give to the planning commission has me worried a bit. I am using Marty's slide deck, and although I have watched him give it a couple of times, I have never given it myself.

I have also never done any economic dev work before -- I wonder why Eddie is not coming to help with this. But I have read all of our past plans for other clients and know the basic material.

Audrey breaks my thoughts before I can become obsessed, as she sticks her head in and asks, "Lunch at noon?"

"Sounds good -- can you make the reservation this time?"

"Will do. See you then."

I dive back into my prep work, starting with studying the map and each of the neighborhoods in the city. Seeing them in person will help, but it all works better for me if I already understand what the neighborhoods are and how they relate to each other before I get there.

I have just begun sifting through our full economic report on the city -- employment, industry breakdown, median income, education, population demographics, all given city-wide and broken down by zip code -- when Audrey comes back saying, "Let's go eat."

On the walk over, my head is still in work mode.

"How much economic development work have you done here?" I ask Audrey, "Marty wants me to meet with their Economic Development person on Wednesday. I've read our reports and took a class on it in school, but I haven't really done anything."

"I started about four months before Eddie, so I was helping on most of that work until he started, along with my financial management work," Audrey explains, "So I am pretty comfortable with how we do things. Although I do not consider myself an expert by any means. Do you have any questions?"

Unlike most our lunches, our conversation starts today with a good background lesson for me. I am starting to feel a bit better, as she fills in some of the holes I am missing.

"But enough of work talk," Audrey proclaims, "I want to know what Alan thought of the butt plug."

"It got him so excited! We had a relaxed evening and were just necking on the couch, when I pulled my pants down and showed him. He just pushed me over and fucked me, in my pussy, without our normal warmup. I was surprised how I could feel the plug while he was in me. Have you ever been in a DP? Is that what it feels like?"

Audrey shakes her head and says, "Never had the chance -- remember I've only had anal twice. And I'm afraid to let Tim in me while I'm wearing the plug. He barely fits as is."

"And after I came with him in my pussy, he pulled out the plug and took my ass. We both enjoyed that one. A lot.

"I woke up in such a good mood. He was planning on a relaxed breakfast this morning with me -- one of our last meals together this week -- we ended up having a slow comfortable screw in the kitchen. Pretty much like you and Tim had making love a week ago. I never climax without clitoral stimulation, but I did this morning."

"No wonder you were looking so chipper this morning. Tim split me open again last night with Ben, but nothing new or different," Audrey replies. "I am a little worried about him and my flashing Alan. It excites him, beyond any question, but I think it also weirds him out some."

"Alan and I were talking about a similar issue this morning. I tease him about lusting after you and how many hard-ons you give him, often enough that it may say that part of me is uncomfortable with it. And I am sure I do have some jealousy. But I told him this morning that I understand he lusts after both of us, but his love is mine. I can live with that."

"Right now, I think I am lusting after all three of you, all in different ways," Audrey says, "But I love Tim."

We sit for a minute in silence.

"Alan and I started planning our second video, much rougher feel to it," I say to restart the conversation, "We'll make it why you are away at Tim's parents. Have you and Tim thought about yours at all?"

"Tim is more into experiencing life as it comes, less into planning it out," Audrey replies, "So I think he mostly wants me to plan it. Or for it just to work, which is why most of these videos don't. I think you and I will have to plan it, and let Alan fix it up after the fact."

"Oh, and I might start taking an art class Alan found for me," I add, "Drawing. It runs Sunday afternoons. And you'll like this part -- the next section, starting in about a month, is figure drawing."

"Figures?, like figure 8's?" Audrey asks.

"No, like live models. Usually live nude models."

"Will they be male or female?"

"It runs for six Sundays. I suspect there will be some of each. Probably not at the same time, although would be fun to draw!"

"Unfortunately, I don't have an artistic bone in my body or I would love to join you in that class. My dad paints landscapes, even more since my mom died, but I think I got her non-existent skills there. Anyway, they would probably frown on me flashing the model."

We both laughed.

"I should get back to work. Marty wants me to be prepped for lots of different aspects Wednesday. And thanks for the economic development seminar. I feel much better prepared now."

"Before you go, I thought we could car pool tomorrow?" Audrey asks, "Pick me up at Tim's? Then we can go together to meet Tim for dinner and he can drive me back to his place afterwards."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Pick you up at 8:15?"

"See you then."

I spend most of the afternoon, going over Marty's slide deck. I make a few tweaks to match it to my cadence and flow. By the time I head home, I am feeling much better prepared for the trip.

Alan made it home about a half hour after me, looking awful.

"You okay? Everything still looking good?" I ask.

"Yeah, just nerves about tomorrow I think. Tito's?"

"I'm fine with it. Shall we go?"

We order our usual -- including Alan's beer, so he is not planning on working -- and try to relax. I talk about everything that's planned for my trip. My first time presenting our planning services. Working with economic development. How much Audrey helped me with that. Carefully avoiding talking about his showcase. He downs his beer, but only picks at his pizza.

And he is still a basket case when we get back home. He flops on the couch and turns on the tube. TV provides good mindless relaxation for him. I try rubbing his back, his shoulders, his neck and his scalp. I can sense him relax a bit, but he is still one loud bang away from hiding in the corner curled up in a ball.

When we climb into bed, it's obvious there will be no extracurriculars tonight. I lie on my back and hold my arm out, he snuggles up to me with his head on my chest. I gently caress his back until he falls asleep against me.

Alan getting out of bed in the morning brings me barely to consciousness. In the middle of the night, he had rolled over, back towards me, and I had spooned around his back, snuggling up as close as I could. I was still pressed against him, with my arm around his chest, when he arose.

I worry about him, and head to the kitchen to see if I can help.

To my surprise, he seems normal, almost chipper.

"Morning, love," he welcomes me, "Thanks for last night -- I really needed that. And you know that waking up with your breasts pressed against my back always puts me in a good mood."

"You're going to knock them dead today."



"I know I will, or at least I sure hope I will. But it will be what it will be."

He eats a full breakfast, probably hungry after eating almost no dinner last night. He gives me a kiss and heads off to his future. I realize I need to hurry to get Audrey, so I can't linger either.

"Tim's planning something," Audrey says as she climbs in the car, "I don't know whether it is about the trip to his parents or something else, but something's up."

"Oh, before I forget. I think no girls' day on Saturday," I say, "After this week, I really want to just have time Saturday morning to lounge with Alan, reconnect a bit. He was a basket case last night, but seemed okay when he headed in today."

"But we will have dinner and movie that night," I add, "Did you pick a movie?"

"Alan sent me a link about a movie called Emmanuelle and I found a copy to watch last night when Tim was at karate. Have you seen it?"

"No, I have heard the name, but I haven't seen it. Isn't that a porno?"

"Maybe soft-core porn, I guess. Lots of skin, but nothing explicit at all. And it more or less has a plot. Alan was right, it's not great cinema, but it is about what I was looking for."

"Sounds like we have a winner," I conclude. "Can we stop at the store tonight on the way to dinner?"

"The store?"

"The one with nipple clamps. I want to try them this week. If I like them, they would go well with the rougher feel of our movie next weekend."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that plan. I always like stopping there."

Once at work, I dive back into prepping for my trip with Marty. I don't know why, but I have a foreboding about it. Like Marty is testing me. Is he giving me one last chance before firing me? Or pulling me off revitalization projects? Has he realized the rising star hype had no basis?

All I can do is be as prepared as possible, so I continue to consume everything I can about the city and re-reading our economic development plans for the last few similar cities.

I ask Audrey if we can eat here for lunch today, while I pepper her with more economic development questions. If that is my only way forward at the firm, I am going to give it my best shot.

By the time we are set to go, via the lifestyle store, I think I can defend my abilities in economic development.

We leave a little earlier than necessary, to give us more of a chance to wander in the store. We start by looking for nipple clamps for me. She steers me away from the display near the entrance, explaining, "Those are not a good idea for your first set. The ones over there are a better idea."

The second case has much simpler clamps (and MUCH cheaper -- no wonder the others are front and center). She points at a few pairs and asks if we can check them out. I look at her with concern, saying, "I am not getting my tits out here in the middle of the store." Leaving off saying something about the same greasy clerk who was ogling me last time we were here.

"No silly -- your nips are big, about the same size as the tip of your pinky. See how they feel on your finger."

That makes sense. I momentarily wonder how Audrey picked ones for herself, given the small size of her nipples.

I put one on my finger tip. It squeezed it, but not that hard. I squeeze my other pinky with my fingers. I know how hard I squeeze my nipples, so I figure I can compare them.

"Don't forget these will stay on for an extended period. You want it to be softer than you would be comfortable pinching your nipples," she warns me.

I choose a simple pair, that just pinch open, almost like a miniature clothes pin. They also provide a little adjustability in case my calibration was off.

Before we pay, we wander around the store a bit, giving me a better idea of what else is available. There is a section for really skanky lingerie, which all seems terribly made. A section for simple bondage. Sex toys. I notice double ended dongs and harnesses for strap ons. More leatherwear and general sub clothing: collars, leashes and the like. Audrey has to ask me what the tails are. Practical knowledge from my dirty books class! Some other things neither of us know.

I see a display of butt plugs and say, "Audrey, I can buy my own and return yours!".

Before we can look much more, it's time to meet Tim, so I pay for my clamps and the plug I chose and we head over to meet Tim.

Dinner was pleasant but uneventful. I want to get home to rest up for my trip tomorrow. I leave them still sitting at dinner and head off to my dark condo. My plan at this point is just rest until Alan arrives. I assume he will be tired, but want, or even need, some company how ever the day went.

I get undressed and climb into bed expecting to read my kindle. I realize I might as well try out my clamps while I lie here nude. I clamp both my nipples. A little tight, but they leave me tingly. I start reading, going back to the erotic stories I bought a week ago. By the time I have finished the first story, my nipples are getting sore. Audrey was right, it gets much more notable after a while. I loosen the clamps and read another few stories.

Between the literature and the stimulation of my nipples, my crotch is getting squirmy. I put down the reader to focus on my flesh and blood needs. With my nipples already occupied, I have two hands free for my pleasure. One hand focuses on my clit, while I use my other hand to finger fuck my cunt. I quickly climax. Not earth shattering, but it releases some of my angst from the day.

A few minutes later, having recovered from the orgasm, I remove the clamps and drop them and the butt plug into the drawer in my night table. I don't think Alan will look there before I show them to him. I swap to a tamer book, and settle in for an extended read.

I awaken to the front door opening and Alan's voice. I start to go running out, still nude, when I hear a second voice. I freeze and scurry back into our bedroom. I pull my kimono closely around and stick my head into hallway.

"Alan?"

"Where is the love of my life?" Alan says, a bit too loudly, "I need a hug from my Lisa."

I walk down the hallway cautiously. I see Alan, not quite standing straight, with another man standing slightly behind him, partially holding Alan up. As he steps forward, I realize it's Graham Parsons, the president and founder of Zardoz Labs. Alan's boss.

"I'm sorry to wake you Lisa," he says. We have met a handful of times at company events.

"Is Alan okay?" I ask, with concern in my voice.

Graham answers, quietly with a soothing voice, "Alan, Sheila and I stayed after dinner a little while to talk about plans."

Seeing my quizzical look, he clarifies, "Sheila is my CFO.

"Today went very well. I have never seen Alan so animated and full of life as he was all day. And everything with the product went flawlessly. Some of our guests were, shall I say, skeptical?. Alan let them have free rein in front of the whole crowd to try to break the system. They couldn't even put a scratch in it. They are all now true believers.

"Once everyone had gone, and we started our little chat, he kind of shut down. The glasses of wine certainly didn't help. I realized I couldn't risk our most valuable asset driving himself home, so I brought him. He fell asleep on the way over here. A driver is coming at 8:20 in the morning to pick him up. Congratulations, you are about to be VERY rich."

At that, Mr Parsons steps back out the front door, shutting it behind him.

"Did you hear that? Say hello to the genius of the western world! Vinton Cerf and Steve Jobs got nothing on me!", he proclaims, slurring a bit. "Now come here and give me a big kiss."

"Let's get you to bed, big boy," I tell him. I grab him by the waist and try to lead him back to the bedroom.

"But I want my kiss! I am the genius of the western world. No one can say no to me."

I stop and let him bend down and give me a big sloppy wet kiss. After a moment I push his face back and try to start back to the bedroom. This Alan, an arrogant, boorish, selfish one, is not very attractive. I am not in the mood for doing anything with him.

"But I want more of a kiss. And a boob. I need one of Lisa's big boobs. Anyone who crosses me will be sorry -- you have to do what I say."

He tries to reach into my kimono. I work to keep it pinned closed between our torsos as I try to drag him to bed. But he is forceful and manages to reach a hand in, clumsily groping my breast.

"NO!" I snap sharply, "You need to get in bed." I manage to step back away from him and pull my kimono back closed.

"But I WANT the booby!"

"I don't need this!" I snap back, "Put yourself to bed, you fucking asshole!". I turn and start to walk away.

He grabs me and yanks me back, as I struggle to get away. He reaches one hand under my ass, feeling me up forcefully and clumsily. The other has a hold of the side of the opening of my kimono.

Suddenly, "RRRIIIIIIIIPP!"

A big tear has formed across my kimono. The kimono he gave me on our wedding night.

"LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE YOU BIG FUCKING OAF! SLEEP OUT HERE FOR ALL I CARE. BUT DON'T BOTHER ME AGAIN!" I stomp off into the bedroom.

As I slam the door to our room, I can hear him sobbing out there. Fuck if I am going to go reassure him, that arrogant prick.

I lie in bed fuming. I can still hear him crying, broken by occasional calls of "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry". You better be sorry, you bastard.

As the fury ebbs, the sorrow rises. I start to cry, then sob. Is fame and fortune going to turn my beautiful Alan into that ugly beast I just saw? The torn wedding kimono feels like a symbol of our marriage right now. I cry myself back to sleep.

I wake back up to the sound of our shower running. Rolling over, it doesn't look like his side of the bed was slept in. All my fears about our marriage come rushing back in.

Alan comes out of the shower and sees me awake. "I am so sorry. I understand if you don't forgive me. I am not sure I will ever forgive myself."

"I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm still pretty pissed. But I am more upset by who I saw last night. If that Alan is who comes along with the fame and fortune, count me out. You will need to go that journey alone. The next two days while I am gone give you a chance to think about how you want the rest of your life to go."

We leave the conversation there as he gets dressed and goes out to meet the car picking him up. I can't believe I just threatened to leave him. But I can't believe that was him last night.

How am I going to face my trip, starting off like this? I still don't know if Marty is getting ready to demote me. Or fire me.

I text Audrey and ask if she can come over until it's time for me to leave.

As soon as she walks in the door, I run up to her, give her a hug. And start crying. Really sobbing.

"What's the matter, Lisa?" she asks, "I'm here for you."

"I told him I am leaving him. He ripped my kimono. Marty is going to fire me," I rattled off in no particular order.

"Slow down and tell me exactly what happened," she asks, firmly but reassuringly.

"Graham Parsons, his boss and president of the company, brought him home late last night. He was more than a little intoxicated and VERY full of himself. He was not the Alan I had ever known and he was just short of raping me. He ended up ripping my kimono. I stormed off back to bed and slammed the door. I don't think he ever came to bed last night. A car came to pick him up right before I texted you. He tried to apologize this morning, but I threatened to leave him if that other Alan ever shows up again. He was pretty shaken when he left."

"As he should be," Audrey says. "No matter what else Alan is or isn't, he isn't a fool. He knows you are his existence. I think he will be begging for forgiveness and promising never again. And if the attention he's getting now blinds him to that, it's time to move on, as painful as that will be. We will have a spare bedroom if it comes to that.

"The question is, are you going to be willing to accept an apology?"

"I don't know yet. I really don't. It's not going to be easy. And if I do forgive him, it will be a while until I fully trust him again."

"Sounds about right. But do try. He is a good man at heart," Audrey replies. "But why is Marty firing you and what does it have to do with all this?"

"I don't know he's firing me, but I can feel something is up," I say. "Kind of like you know something is up with Tim. I worry this trip is my last chance before he fires me, or at least demotes me somehow."

"There is no way Marty Martin is going to fire you. You are the rising star of the company. He's probably going to promote you or something."

"Do you really think so?"

"Count on it. It's good news on the trip."

We sat, drinking some coffee, sometimes chatting, sometimes just sitting quietly.

I realized Marty was going to be here soon, so I went to get dressed and pack for the trip.

"Should I clean up our coffee cups?" Audrey asks.

"Let the bastard clean up for once."

I look out the window and see Marty's car pull up. We walk out the door together. I give Audrey a big hug, saying, "Thank you. I really needed you today."

"We're here for each other. Have a good trip. And try to ease up on Alan. You know how much of a basket case he was Monday night. All that had to come out somehow. And he couldn't do it at work."

"Thanks again."

I wipe a few tears from eyes as I climb into Marty's car.

"Are you alright?", he asks.

"Alan and I had a major fight and I'm not quite over it."

"Are you okay with the trip?", he asks.

"I'll be fine. It's actually probably good to get away for a couple of days so we each get some perspective," I reply, somewhat confused and defensive about his prying.

"I am so glad you and Audrey have become so close friends," he says, I guess trying to change the subject. "You will both be very good for each other."

I wonder how well he really knows either of us.

"So how is Alan's showcase going?"

Hold on, how the hell does he know about that?

After a moment he adds, "Is that what the fight was about?"

As I listen, his innate charm starts to calm me down. I answer, reflexively and honestly, "Yeah, he came home late last night with a little too much wine in him. And a lot too much arrogance in him."

"So the day went well I take it? I haven't talked to Graham about it yet."

"You know Graham Parsons?"

"We are old friends. Remember I know almost everyone. Maintaining relationships is one of my main talents. I actually put Alan's name in his ear when you moved down here. I did it mostly for selfish reasons at the time, but now he thinks he owes me big time."

"How did you know about Alan?"

"I had dinner with both of you the day I recruited you. My other talent, really my biggest talent, is being able to get a good read on people very quickly. If they aren't introspective, I think I often have a better read on them than they have on themselves. And for important hires, I compliment my sense with my own form of background checks. Using some of my network I have built."

"What did you find out about me? And from whom?" I am a little terrified at the moment.

"Let's see. I talked to Sally Farnham and Bob Stamp that I can remember. And Jose Gutierez, he's the one who first told me about you."

Sally Farnham? Oh, Dr Farnham. Oh my god, she taught my dirty books course. What did he hear from her? Dr Gutierez was my economics advisor. And Bob Stamp was the town planner I interned for and wrote the plan for.

"And Sally and Jose also told me their sense of Alan. Sally seemed to have a more intimate view of your relationship, which I guess you had talked about frequently in one of her classes. They both thought very highly of him.

"I would be a little saddened and disappointed if there is a real problem there. But fame and fortune can corrupt in ways that are hard to foresee."

"Yeah, Mr Parsons told me I was about to become very rich."

"I guess it is going well enough to drive his IPO. Graham may be insufferable for a while."

We drive for a while in silence before I come back to this conversation. "Why do you think Audrey and I will be good for each other?"

"Audrey will get you to open up. You have an enormous amount of talent that is still all bottled up. And you will give Audrey the stability and support she needs to fulfill her potential."

I wonder if he knows the kind of opening up she is bringing me to.

"Do you know her new boyfriend?" he asks. "Will he be good for her? The last one -- what was name? Jack -- was an asshole. I wish she had never gotten together with him. At least she is getting laid again. I was about to give her a vibrator and tell her to take the day off before she bit someone's head off."

I can't believe he just said all that. He really does have a better read on us than I ever would have guessed.

"Her new boyfriend is Tim. He's been our best friend since college days. He will be tremendous for her. They are moving in to a new apartment together the week after next."

"Given her attitude and the difficulty she has walking some days the last few weeks, I knew they must be good in bed together. Just out of curiosity, did you set them up together?"

"Yeah, I invited her to a small get together at our place, a poker night actually. It just took off very quickly from there." I realize I am blushing a bit as I say that.

"She's back to her wild ways again, huh?"

Looking at my surprised look at that comment, he clarifies, "You don't think you are the only one I looked into do you? I assume she has told you stories from her college days. And her 'old bastard' story?"

I nodded and then ask, "I can't believe she would have told you the old bastard story, did she?"

"No, remember, I know everyone. I know the old bastard himself. Stan Cooper. He and I went to prep school together. We both knew the other was recruiting her. I was relieved when he blew the interview because there was no way she would have joined us without that.

"By the way, she was right. He is an old bastard. And a misogynistic pig to boot. Funny thing is he wanted to hire her after her outburst. Said it showed she had balls. I guess she never took their calls."

I cannot believe we are having these conversations. So not what I was expecting on the drive.

After a while, I ask, "What are you looking for from me on this trip. I was a little confused -- and to be honest concerned -- about why I was on this trip. You usually do these alone. And you can do them in your sleep."

"I'm pretty sure you are ready to take on a bigger role. In fact, I am counting on it."

I hope he will elaborate more, but I guess I will have to wait.

The conversation the rest of the drive is more what I expected; we talk about the details of the meetings. He knows a few of the people involved -- of course he does -- and warns me about some booby traps that can arise.

He is impressed, but seemingly not surprised by how much I have mastered the state of the city and its neighborhoods.

When we pull into the hotel, he says, "I need to run up to my room and change. It looks like you dressed for the day already. I usually find its more comfortable to wear something more relaxed for the drive. But it has bit me once or twice when there were unexpected delays and I don't have time to change."

Okay, he is hinting that I should wear comfy clothes on the drive, but being careful not to criticize my choice.

Lunch with the mayor goes well. Marty doesn't know him, but they have a couple of friends in common -- what else would you expect from two people whose livelihood depends on maintaining wide networks? I mostly sit and let Marty schmooze.

The drive with the planner is my chance to shine. When we are introduced, she says, "I have heard so much about you -- I was really looking forward to meeting you."

She is impressed with how much I already know about the city; this allows her to focus on her insights into the issues with each neighborhood, which I listen to intently. We hit it off really well.

Our last meeting of the afternoon is the first time Marty and I share the spotlight. George Ames, the economic development chair, is eager to tell us his vision about where the city should go. We each ask him detailed questions, some of which he has obviously already considered, some of which cause him to stop and think. He is also impressed with my incoming mastery of the state of the city. All my work is at least paying some dividends.

We go straight from that meeting to dinner with the mayor. George keeps saying "we" and "us" when talking to the mayor; he is clearly on board with working closely with Martin and Company. One point for our side.

The presentation, one of my biggest fears, goes reasonably well. I start out a little nervous, but I relax a lot by about the third slide. I think I do a pretty good job answering questions from the planning board, but some of the public questions catch me by surprise. Marty steps in and handles two of them.

On the way back to the hotel, Marty says, "Be sure to talk to Alan tonight. Try to forgive him, but never let him forget. He will need your help if he can keep that monster controlled."

"Yeah, he already texted me asking if we could talk. Thanks for the advice."

I am amazed at the insight I am getting from Marty. I always knew he related to people well, but I always assumed that is just part of his sales schtick. But I appreciate finding support from an unsuspected source. I need it right now.

And I'm pretty sure I am not getting fired now.

Before I call Alan, I text Audrey. You were right, he's not firing me. Had a very good (and surprising) talk with him. Lots to tell you about tomorrow at dinner. Thanks so much for being there this morning. Time to call Alan.

I take a deep breath and make the call.

"Lisa? Thanks for calling. I have been worried sick about us all day. I am so sorry for being such an asshole last night."

I can tell he is crying.

"I am trying to forgive you. Marty says I should forgive but not let you forget."

"You told Marty about last night?"

"Not the details, but he asked me what was wrong when I got in the car. Thank god for Audrey coming over or I am not sure I could have gone today."

"Yeah, she texted me saying she had been over. She read me the riot act. She threatened to beat me to a pulp if I ever treat you that way again. With Tim as her backup. And we both know what Tim can do with his karate."

I laugh a little. It's good to laugh with him.

"So how did your day -", we both say, almost in unison.

"You first," he says, "Tell me about your trip."

I talk about how well the business side of the trip is going. The meetings. My presentation.

"But the most amazing thing today was talking with Marty. He knows everything about everybody. He's the one who put your name in Mr. Parsons' ear. He knew all about your showcase. He had talked to Dr Farnham about me. You know, my dirty books professor. I guessed she relayed some of things I had said in class about us.

"And he knows all about Audrey's exhibitionism. I think he has a pretty good guess about what happened at the poker game. He was glad she found Tim. He actually told me he was about to give her a vibrator and send her home for the day if she didn't get laid soon. That's almost a direct quote."

"Wow, that WAS an amazing talk."

"And he's not going to fire me!"

"Did you think he would?"

"There were things that felt different about this trip. Odd. Which had me nervous. Audrey told me I was being silly."

"Good for her!"

"Anyways, I think he is going to give me some sort of a promotion or something. He said he wants me to take on a larger role, but didn't expand on that."



"Why didn't you tell me you were nervous about the trip?"

"You had your own worries. I didn't want to pile on to them."

"I'm so sorry!" I can hear him start to cry again.

"So how did your day go?" I ask, trying to keep his spirits up.

"Today was SOOO much easier. We had convinced everyone that it would work yesterday. So mostly they wanted to know technical details and things like that. You know I can ramble on about that forever. To be honest, I think some of them just wanted to meet me, to be able to say that they know Alan Williams."

"Is it really going to be like that?"

"Seems so. I already have two magazines asking for interviews with me they can run post-embargo. The writer from 'Wired' thinks I'll be the cover story. And after talking to Sheila and Graham, and depending on how the IPO goes, I was probably being conservative. I have a good shot at pulling a nine figure pay day. I will have constraints on when I can sell the stock. but we are going to be rich.

"But I don't want any of it, the money or the fame, if it costs me you. I need you. Please forgive me." He starts to cry again.

"We'll see when I get back. It's not all going to be easy. But I do love you and that's a start."

"I love you, too."

"We both need the rest for tomorrow. Are you at home?"



"No, Graham thought I should spend the night here with you gone and after he needed to drive me home last night. So he got me a suite at the hotel. I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I love you."

With that, I end the call.

Marty and I have breakfast with Iris, the City Planner. She was happy with how we handled the board meeting last night. Marty bows out of the walking tour, saying he needs to make some phone calls.

Iris and I continue to get along well and she is really excited to do a revitalization plan with me as we discuss opportunities for buildings and vacant lots and entire blocks. We catch up with Marty for our meeting with Iris and George, focused on Economic Development. They seem like they are both ready to launch something big. They help us sell the plan to the mayor at lunch before we hit the road.

"Did you talk to Alan last night?" Marty asks as soon as we are clear of the hotel.

"Yeah, it's going to be a long road, but we do love each other, so I hope we can heal the wounds. And it does sound like we are going to be rich. Not sure how I feel about that."

"Are you going to keep working?"

"Yeah I have no interest in being the idle rich."

"Good, both selfishly and for you. You will be much happier if you stay yourselves, despite the money. And I think I have a pretty good idea of the range of money you will be seeing. But selfishly, I would hate to lose you from the company.

"What I am about to tell you has to be kept a secret. And it is not etched in stone, but I would be shocked if things don't go how I am about to describe them. I checked in with the other partners this morning, and we all green lighted this step. You can tell Alan about this, I don't want to strain any more bonds there, but no one else. Not even Audrey, Or Tim was it?"

I nod, not sure at all what was coming.

"You know that I founded 'Martin and Company Consulting' 25 years ago. All of us, the partners, were mostly in our 40's, all at the peak of our individual consulting careers. We used our combined experience to build the company that is thriving today. I view it almost as one of the 60's-70's super bands, like Cream or CSNY.

"But like them, we are all getting old. Some of the partners are trying to find a way to retire soon. I have been working to keep them connected for the time being. Five years ago, I knew this day was coming. The other partners wanted to go find clones of their younger selves. But the reality is their younger selves would not have joined an established firm; the ability of creating the firm was part of the appeal when I brought them in originally. I argued that we would have gotten yes men and copycats, not the people we needed to lead the company for the next 30 years. My plan, and it took some work to get the other partners to buy into it, was to find a team of up and coming superstars, before they had made their mark.

"My major task for three years was to find them. Find you. I reached out to my network, especially college professors, to watch for potentials for me. Jose pointed you out to me, even before the media had picked up on you. Audrey's finance professor alerted me to her potential. For Michelle, it was her MarCom professor. A friend was working where Eddie had been hired out of college and thought they were wasting his talent, and so sent him my way. Javi dropped to me out of the blue; I really need to get better connections into the hispanic communities.

"Not everyone that got sent my way passed the sniff test, and a couple got away. But the five of you became my dream team. You are the first, but over the next few weeks, I am getting a chance to meet with each of the four of you to talk about the future."

"Excuse me, four? If I can ask, who didn't make the cut."

"I have found I don't trust Eddie. We are actively looking for a new Economic Development analyst. Eddie doesn't know yet. We will keep him on, as is, until we find that person. Or until he quits. Once he is gone, I am looking for you and Audrey to pick up his work and then to train up the new person."

That tracks, I thought to myself. Audrey and I referred to him as sleazy Eddie between ourselves, even before we were close friends.



"THAT's why you had me do the Economic Development work on this trip," I say, explaining the situation aloud, "Audrey has already done some of it. She helped me immensely getting ready for it on this trip."

"And you handled it masterfully. At least as well as Eddie would have."

"I was worried you were seeing if I could at least handle that before you fired me."

"Fired you!? I should have seen you would worry about that. You are our superstar. The one person building our reputation right now. The New York Times may be have been full of hype when they called you 'the rising star', but it's absolutely true now. You have done, what nine revitalization plans for us so far?"

I nodded.

"They are probably nine of the ten best plans this company has done. I have done, since that was my area. I don't have your genius for it. And it's never cookie cutter for you. I had a few tricks I could mix and match. You can look at a neighborhood and see what it could be. What it should be. None of those nine plans are fully realized yet, but as they become so, you are going to be looking at award after award after award. You won't be a rising star, you will be THE star. And towns and cities will be knocking down our door to get access to you. And not just in this country."

Is he really talking about me?

"You saw how Iris was honestly excited to be meeting you. I think you might be her hero. Already."

I could see it now, but it had not occurred to me when I was meeting with her.

"So the plan is to promote the four of you to Senior Analyst within the next five months, maybe sooner than that, but at least before the end of the year. That's when I kind of expect Eddie to quit, if we haven't let him go already. Next summer, the four other partners will retire and the four of you will be made full partners. I will stay on half-time for the foreseeable future, both as chairman and as a mentor to the group of you.

"One of you has to take over being president and chairperson before I leave altogether. My money is on Audrey. She has an inner strength that is rare. And people are willing to follow her."

He pauses for a moment, letting this all sink in. He then asks, "What are your thoughts right now?"

"To be honest, sir, I am too flabbergasted to give a coherent response. Excited. Exhilarated. And not telling Audrey will be hard."

"Consider it your first test of the next phase of your employment. I am hoping to give this same pitch to her next week on our trip. You can talk about it, just between the two of you still, after that. I will tell her she should tell you it's okay to talk about it.

"And don't call me sir. Call me Marty. Even if it's not final yet, I consider you a partner now. I will continue to give you advice, but hopefully that is as a friend, not as your employer. I hope we can treat each others as peers now. You probably noticed the difference in our conversation on this trip. We need to be careful about how we show that around the firm until the other three know, but this is the tone I want to keep from now on, when possible."

I am pretty much in a daze the rest of the trip. Marty lets me ride in silence.

After a while, I say, "it's going to be a big week next week for Audrey. Two days after your trip, Tim is taking her up to meet his parents."

"That's a big step. How is she dealing with all this?"

"She is walking on air most of the time she talks about Tim. I was frustrated and tired last week when Alan was working really long hours. Her exuberance was contagious and helped get me through."

"I tried to help by having that chat in the kitchen with you when you looked so depleted. You were standing there, just drinking a cup of coffee. I knew she was gone, so I figured you needed someone to talk to."

"That was intentional? That chat was a godsend to me. Thank you so much."

"It's what friends are for."

"Oh my god!", I suddenly exclaim, "I know what Tim is up to."

He looks at me quizzically.

"Audrey has been worried that Tim is plotting something. I bet he is getting ready to propose. Given his history, I bet he proposes Wednesday night when she gets back from your trip."

"Well that will be a day she will never forget."

I hesitate for a moment, but decide to share the bar story with Marty, saying, "I have seen some of her strength. She wanted to teach me some pool in a bar, but three young punks started harassing us. She humiliated the leader on the table, but he was still giving her sass. So she laid into him. She just seemed to grow into this towering figure as he shrank down. The women in the bar stood and applauded her. They actually clapped. And he has to be polite to every woman he meets for the next three months.

"That was the first time I saw that strength in her. I think we all would have followed her to the gates of hell at that moment. She could be a great president."

Marty just nodded. And smiled knowingly.

I have a few hours to kill after I get home before Audrey will get here. Alan did clean up the mess I left. I wonder when he managed to do that. He must have come by the condo some time today.

I decide to soak in the tub to unwind and process what has just happened to me. I drop my clothes in the bedroom. Before heading in for my bath, I notice my ripped kimono is gone. He must of grabbed that too. Probably threw it away to try to bury the memory of Tuesday night. I can't really blame him.

I draw my bath and slide in. I think about what is happening. I am going to be a full partner in one of the premier consultancies in the country. Before my 25th birthday. He's right. Iris was really excited to meet me. I MIGHT have been her hero. But we still worked really well together. I need to make sure this doesn't blow up my ego so I stop listening to the "little people".

That thought turns my mood a little darker. I sound almost as bad as Alan was. Now I am thinking about Alan and our problems. But maybe it gives me a little more sympathy, too. I can see where the arrogance can come from. And I already had my five minutes of fame. His parents' don't have an NYT article about him permanently posted to their refrigerator.

But he didn't have to treat me that way. I can't let him take me for granted. Audrey seems to be helping on that front. Thank god for her. I am so excited for her right now. She won't believe when Marty tells her next week. I have to be really careful not to spill the beans til then.

Thinking about Audrey, makes me think about sex. And our movie. Maybe watching it will make me think about Alan in a better light. I climb out of the tub, throw on some comfies, and head to the study. I put my headphones on and start the movie. I still look sexy as hell in the school girl outfit. But the song makes me wonder, do i still want to please him? This healing is going to be hard.

Speaking of hard, I watch myself pull his cock out of his boxers again. Watching, I want to suck his cock right now. At least I still do lust after him, I guess. I keep watching, starting to feel aroused for the first time since he came home Tuesday night. Just as I watch the cum dripping out of my screen pussy, I feel a hand on my shoulder.

I scream and turn to see Audrey standing behind me. For the second time in just over a week, someone scared the shit out of me while I was watching our movie.

"Sorry -- I knocked but there was no answer, so I let myself in."

"Alan did the same thing to me last week. Damned headphones."

"So how was the trip? And, more importantly, how are you and Alan doing?"

I told her about our conversation last night. Marty's advice to forgive but not let him forget.

"That sounds like good advice to me. It does seem like maybe you did have an interesting conversation with Marty."

"Yeah. he is so much more aware of us than I think we appreciate. And he knows about our past too. He knows about your wild days in college and my dirty books class. He knows about you calling that regional manager an 'old bastard' -- and he says you were right. And apparently the manager tried to get you hired even after that. Did you not take their calls?"

"They probably called when I was crying for two days. I didn't take anyone's calls then. They were really going to hire me?"

"Yeah. The old bastard told Marty he thought you showed balls. But Marty was worried about your mood last month. He told me he was going to give you a vibrator and send you home for the day if you didn't get laid pretty soon."

"He said that!?"

"Yeah, almost verbatim."

"Never would have thought it of him. Hmmm."

"He wanted to know about Tim. He was worried about you hooking up with another Jack. He really disliked Jack."

"Well he got that one right."

"When I said I had invited you and Tim to a poker night, he wondered if you were back to your old habits. I think he had a pretty good guess what went down that night. He also said it was pretty clear the sex with Tim was good."

"He really doesn't miss much does he?"

"It turns out he also got Alan his job, and knew about Alan's week. He knew Alan was about to get rich. Alan told me his estimate of $50 million was too conservative. I am going to have to get used to this idea of being rich. Marty wanted to make sure I wasn't going to quit.

"He also said he was really happy about us becoming good friends. I would give you support and stability. And you would get me to open up. I almost laughed about some of the ways you have gotten me to open up, thinking he couldn't mean that. But now I'm not so sure.

"And he says you have more inner strength than almost anyone he knows. You impress him a lot."

"Wow, that was some interesting conversations you had. I am curious what he talks to me about next week."

"I am looking forward to talking about it when you get back. But for now, shall we heat up dinner?"

"But I was promised dinner and a movie," she points out. "Can we just watch your movie first before we eat?"

She pulls Alan's chair over by my screen. I put the sound back over the computer speakers and restart the movie. She watches the movie with one hand on my thigh and one in her crotch. Over her pants at least.

After the movie, we head back to the kitchen and eat our leftover jambalaya. I realize I am still somewhat amped up from watching our movie, twice now. I would probably have taken care of myself after my viewing had she not shown up. Which makes me think of the nipple clamps.

"I tried out the nipple clamps Tuesday," I tell Audrey, almost excitedly, "Until Alan ruined the evening. You were right, by the way, I needed to loosen them more than I expected when they had been on for a couple of minutes. But now I don't think I need them for the movie any more. There is no way we are making one next weekend. And even if we start making them again, it's going to be a while before I could make the one we had imagined -- I thought we were going to open it with him literally ripping my shirt open." I am getting morose again.

"I can see where that would be a bad idea," Audrey says. "But I have an idea for my next show that I need to ask you about."

"What's the idea this time?"

"I want to use you in the show. Would you do it?"

I am getting wet thinking about, but then I say, "I'm not sure that's a great idea."

"I know you will have to ask Alan about it. I haven't asked Tim yet -- I was waiting to hear your answer first -- but I will guarantee he will be drooling over the idea. Guys love watching girls get it on. And he has wanted to see more of you ever since that dinner when you flashed him."

"Yeah, I suspect Alan watching the two of us together is high on his fantasy list. How do you envision it working?"

"Well I would start alone, stripping in front of all three of you, kind of like last week."

As she says this, she follows along the narration, taking off her clothes, watching me as she does. She does seem to treat our condo as clothing optional. I am definitely very wet now.

"I start playing with myself"

She performs what she is describing, with a hand in her pussy and one on her tits.

"But I need more than my own hands, so I come over and lead you into the middle, where the guys can see both of us.

"You put your hand in my pussy, while I pull off your clothes for them."

She pulls down my sweat pants. I take the hint, massaging her pussy pausing only while she pulls my shirt over my head. Her cunt is so wet. I slide three fingers into her and she moans. She reaches down and starts working on my pussy. It feels so good. It is not going to take long for her to get me off.

Suddenly I stop and pull away from her. "We can't do this. I can't do this. It's wrong."

"You know we both want it."

"Yes we do, but I am still married to Alan and I am not going to risk any more damage by cheating on him. I'm not sure if making love with you is as bad as if I slept with Tim. Or Marty. Or any man. But our marriage is on the rocks right now, and I don't know it can take any more blows.

"I will ask Alan about performing with you -- I don't think that counts as cheating -- but you should probably go now. I am not sure my will power can hold out all evening against my lust for you."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to start something tonight. I will see you at work tomorrow. Still friends, right?"

"Still my best friend ever."

I pull my clothes back on and clean up our dinner dishes, alone. As I do, I think about how I want tonight to go. I am going to put Alan on strict rules. Biggest one will be consent. He does nothing with me or to me without my explicit consent. If he wants to kiss me, he has to ask. And no sex tonight. And I don't know yet for how much longer. We need to rebuild our trust first.

I sit and watch TV until he comes home. Driving himself this time, I assume as I hear his car pull up.

He opens the door, saying, "Lisa? Are you here?" He is carrying a dozen red roses.

"In the living room," I reply, "But you should put those flowers in a vase with water. Do you need me to do it?"

"You are better with flowers than I am. So, please?"

"Before I come in to get them, I want to set the ground rules. If you break these, I am gone. At least for the night. Maybe forever. Understood?"

"Yes, what are the rules?"

"No touching, kissing, fondling, anything without explicit consent. You must ask and wait for an answer. And don't expect many yeses tonight."

"Okay, just having you here is what I really need tonight. I agree."

"Let me grab the vase," I say, coming into the kitchen. "Hand me the roses -- they are a beautiful bouquet. Thank you for these. To show my gratitude, you may have one quick kiss, but no touching."

He obeys exactly, giving me a quick kiss. I can see the tear stains down his cheeks.

"Let's go sit on the couch," I suggest, or maybe it's more a command. "I have some important news I have to tell you. And I do want to hear about your showcase."

I sit on the couch, leaving him enough room to sit beside me without touching me.

"This is a big secret, especially from Audrey and Tim for now," I start, "Marty is going to make me a full partner. He thinks my work is the biggest driver for the company moving forward. Audrey is getting the promotion too, although she won't know about it until next week. He wants her to grow into running the whole company so he can retire."

I continue, "It's not completely finalized yet. The plan is to promote four of us Analysts into Senior Analysts before the end of the year. Then the partners retire next summer, and we become the new partners. Marty stays on half time to mentor us until we are ready to run the company ourselves. Sleazy Eddie is getting let go instead of being promoted. Marty calls us his dream team."

"That's amazing! Congratulations!"



"I am somewhat in a new level of probation, with the secrecy being my first test. He told me I could tell you -- he didn't want to put any more problems into our relationship -- but no one else can know yet. So mum is the word. Now, what about your day?"

"About the same as yesterday. More of the same questions. Graham had me rotating through a new table of eight for each meal. Two more of them tomorrow I guess. I have managed to meet most of the customers and many of the journalists. I did have two customers ask to have their picture taken with me. That was weird.

"We need to start doing real financial planning. Sheila gave me the name of a financial planner she recommends. What are we going to do with all that money?"

"I think we need to figure out about us first. We need to rebuild our trust. I need to know I can trust you. And it's more than trusting you won't maul me. I saw an ugliness inside you that I don't like. I love the old you, the one I married. I worry that the selfie requests and the magazine covers and all the who knows what that is coming will feed that ugliness and it will take over. I don't think I could stay and watch my Alan be destroyed like that."

I continue, "My talk with Marty probably helps some -- my ego is much more resilient than it was 48 hours ago. Maybe I can help fight back against the beast a little more. But I need you to always be thinking about the fight. Keeping that beast locked up. Maybe we can smother it, but I expect it will be a long fight, maybe for the rest of our lives."



Crying a bit again, he says, "I will fight. I promise. And if it takes the rest of our years, I just hope we can spend them together."

We sit for a moment in silence, before I say, "You can hold my hand if you want to."

He grabs my hand and holds it firmly.

After another period of silence, I say, "We need to remember the good times to help us back. Can you show our wedding video on the TV?"

He nods and grabs a remote. He is trying to type something in with it and he is struggling, using just his left hand. His right hand is still tightly clasping my left.

"You can use your right, too," I say, "You can have my hand back afterwards."

He takes my advice and soon we are watching scenes from our wedding day on the TV. And his hand has reclaimed mine.

We both have tears running down our cheeks when the video ends a half hour later. He grabs the remote again and soon a slide show of pictures from our honeymoon flash by the screen. We had spent five days in St John in the Virgin Islands. Five days in paradise with the man you love is a dream.

"We should take another trip there," I say.

"We can go next week if you want."

"I don't think we are quite ready to be back to that, but it's probably a good idea pretty soon. And we can afford to stay in one of those fancy villas now I bet."

"Can I have a hug now," he asks.

"I would like that, too."

We hug for several minutes, both of us crying, until I sit back and say, "We should get to bed. You have one more day to sign autographs or something and I have work to do."

"Am I allowed in the bed tonight?"

"Yes, but no touching, not even snuggling."

"That's enough for me for tonight. I really was afraid I would never see you again."

"Thinking of beds, where did you sleep Tuesday night?"



"I slept for a while on the couch. I didn't feel like I deserved a bed. If the kimono had held, I'm not sure I would have stopped myself. That rip snapped me to my senses"

"I wasn't sure you would have stopped either."

We head back to bed, holding hands as we go. I get undressed and climb into bed. I had thought about wearing a tee or something overnight, but I am too used to sleeping in the nude after five years with Alan. And besides controlling himself against temptations is a good test. I roll over, facing away from him on the bed.

"Can I put a hand on your hip? I promise not to let it wander at all. I really love the feel of the curve of your hip, the softness of your skin. I understand if you say no, but it would make me happy to do so."



I tell him he can. The tender feel of his hand on my flesh is warm and comfortable. I have missed that.

I awaken to the sounds of Alan in the kitchen. Momentarily, I forget all the troubles of the last few days. But then I remember the ugly from Tuesday night. Last night was good though. I do feel more hopeful.

Rats, no kimono to wear. I am certainly not going out in the nude. I throw a tee over me and head out, Audrey style.

As I get towards the kitchen, I smell the coffee. That's one way to win back my heart. He hands me a full cup as I walk up to him. He looks at me expectantly.

"One quick kiss," I say.

He tilts his head down and kisses me. "May I still hold your hand?"

"I grant you blanket permission to hold my hand when you want to, until such time, if any, as I revoke said permission."

"Shifting from urban revitalization to law school?"

"I just want there to be no misunderstandings."

We have a short chat, holding hands the whole time, until he needs to head off for his last breakfast of the showcase. I eat the rest of the food he has laid out for me. Time for the gym, I guess. Between the evening meeting and the breakfast meeting and worrying about my marriage, I didn't manage to get a workout in during the trip at all.

As I settle in for my bike ride, I remember my lesbian voyeurism from last week. Which gets me thinking about Audrey. What do I do about Audrey? I think I can trust her not to try to seduce me for a few days at least. Do I want a lesbian affair? My body definitely thinks so. But I am starting to feel hopeful about our marriage again after two days of real doubts. There is no way I am going to let any sexual urges ruin that.

And I'm not sure that it wouldn't cause problems between Tim and Audrey, which I also don't want to create. I guess I need to be the grown-up for now and keep Audrey more on the straight and narrow. I wonder if points like this are what Marty was anticipating in thinking I would give her stability.

I really do want to do the show with her. I will ask Alan as soon as it feels right to talk about. We may need to postpone her next show as things stand now. Having Alan lust after Audrey while I am keeping a chaste relationship him seems fraught with danger.

My timer goes off and I head into work. I find I dive into work with a new found purpose, no longer worrying about my position or worth. I find myself taking more of a company-wide perspective in the memos I write to the project team.

Before long, Audrey pokes her head by. "I'm sorry about my behavior yesterday. How did things go with Alan?"

"Talk at lunch. Still trying to brain dump the trip and get caught up after two days out."

When we get to lunch, Audrey apologizes again for trying to seduce me last night. "I have been pretty obviously lusting after you for a few weeks. It was a bad idea, but my lust got the better of me," she says. "The deal with all four of us was to take it slow for the next couple weeks, to see where we wanted to go. And that was before your troubles with Alan."

"And we don't want to start any troubles between you and Tim either," I add. "I am going to ask Alan about performing with you, as soon as we are back to sex. I have to warn you that I may need to postpone the next show altogether, depending on how quickly Alan and I heal."

"I'm glad to hear 'how quickly' rather than 'if', which you have sounded like at times. How did last night go?"

I explain to Audrey the consent rules and that we are only up to holding hands, quick kisses and one hug. And that he is willing to live with that for now.

"We watched our wedding video together last night. And then looked at pictures from our honeymoon."


"That was a good idea. Where did you go?"

I forget that I had not met her yet then. "St John in the Virgin Islands. We are talking about going back for a short bonding trip as soon as we think we are ready for that."

"I have never been to the Caribbean. I haven't even left the country. Maybe Tim and I can take a fun trip somewhere exciting."



"St John is actually part of the US. But it's beautiful. I will have to show you the pictures at some point."

After lunch, I dive back into work. I write a summary of the economic development meetings we had for Eddie. Maybe I can avoid meeting with him. I am NOT going to miss him when he's gone. I also sketch out the ideas that Iris and I had been discussing and send them to her for feedback.

Thinking about sketches, I need to find some good drawings I have done for work to show to the art instructor tomorrow. I bring two drawings of a hotel that is being renovated and one of a playground concept. With the week I have had, I had forgotten all about it. It's going to be fun. And that was something Alan got me to do I note, trying to explicitly tally up plusses in my head.

I know Alan is going to be home mid-afternoon, so I leave a little early too. After the week I have had, I don't feel bad shorting Marty a bit today.

As I walk in the door of our condo, Alan is standing there waiting for me. And then he holds something up. It is my old ripped kimono. The rip has been stitched shut. And a large heart has been embroidered across the scar. It is clear that Alan did the stitching himself; neither is vaguely professional looking. I burst out laughing and crying at the same time.

"I tried to fix it. The heart is to show that love can overcome our problems. The patch is to remind me of what happened and what I need to fight against. You told me 'Forgive and Not Forget'. Do you just want me to buy you a new one?"

"No, don't you DARE do that. I will proudly wear this for the rest of my life. I love you!"

I go up and give him a big hug, now just crying.

After a few minutes, I back off, wipe my eyes and say, "I'm sorry, I should probably need to ask for permission too."

"I hereby grant Lisa Williams permission to hug Alan Williams as often and for as long as she wants to, until such time as I explicitly rescind this permission."

I laugh. Then say, "But consent rules are still on for you, buster boy."

"I have big news out of today," he says. "Graham legally declared this to be a successful product launch, meaning a bunch of my options vested. And he promoted me to be Chief Technical Officer. Charles, the VP of engineering still reports to Graham, so it's more of a title change than anything. But he said it will also be a bump in pay."

"Great, more money," I say.

"Seriously, I would like to try to work out how much money we want to keep. I want to create a family foundation or something and give most the money to that. Like one of those ones that fund the PBS shows. I want us to be comfortable and secure, but we don't need to be jet-setting rich."

"Giving most of it away sounds like a good plan. To whom?"

"I don't know the details yet. The foundation would have a board, we would probably both be on it along who knows else. The board would choose worthy causes, based on what guidelines we set up. We probably want the foundation set up by the first half of next year, so we need to do some thinking and research on it the rest of this year.

"But we don't want to give it all away and realize we still wanted something we can no longer afford. So we need to figure our how much to keep," he finishes.

"Well I want a new car," I say.

"Unless you want a Bugatti or something, that is noise," he says, "We want to count roughly in millions."

"Before I was thinking we were going to get rich, I was telling Audrey I would like a house big enough for a pool table and a stationary bike."



"A new house is a good idea. What would you like? How big?"

"It would be fun to buy one of those old dilapidated mansions and do a really good job fixing it up. Maybe one with some land around it so our neighbors don't get upset when Audrey screams too loudly when Tim fucks her."

Alan adds, "And we want a full basement, with a rec room with a pool table, and a workout room with at least a stationary bike. And I want a good gaming room down there. And maybe a wet bar. And a good wine cellar."

"And maybe a stripper pole for Audrey?" I add.

We both laugh.

"So we have a house on our wish list. Refurbishing an old mansion. Details TBD. I figure 1.5 to 2 million for that. Roughly 98 million to go."

"God this really is a lot of money to spend isn't it?"

"It's why we need to think about this a little bit at least."

"How much do we want to travel?"

 Alan asks.

"Travel?" I ask, "How expensive can that be?"

"I am thinking of really fancy trips, like month long African Safaris or hiking the Inca trail. It can get to 50 thousand or more for one trip. Maybe a lot more. If we take two or three a year, that could be a quarter million a year. That would take about five or six million in investments to generate that much spending money."

"We did say hiking the Tour de Mont Blanc would be fun. And we could go ballooning in the Cappadocia. And go to the Galapagos. And the African Safari sounds good. I guess leave a budget for that. But I am going to be working, so we can only go for a few weeks a year. So probably less than half what you were thinking is good."

"Do we want to give any money to either of our parents? Any of your siblings? People will be crawling out of the woodwork who we once knew saying how much money they need."

"Aargh!"

"It's okay, we have something like nine months to get this figured out. I just wanted to start seeding your thoughts with the questions."

We once again sit silently for a while, holding hands.

"How about dinner?" Alan asks, "I'm not interested in cooking, and I have been eating big meals all week, so something light sounds good. The Deli?"

"Sounds good to me."

And off we go, hand in hand, for some nourishment. The deli is about four blocks away and offers sandwiches and soup. It's mostly for take-out, with only five tables, each designed for just two diners.

We claim one of the tables and sit eating our sandwiches, drinking our iced tea, holding hands.

As we leave, I say, "You may put an arm around my waist for the walk back, if you desire."

He immediately releases my hand and puts his arm around my waist, pulling our hips together. We walk home, not intimately, but our first time connected more than at the hand with neither of us crying.

We head to the couch and I say, "I would like to snuggle against you. May I?"

Alan nods.

I add, "You may put an arm around my shoulder or side, but hands stay in G-rated places"

We lie there on the couch, my head against his chest, his arm over my shoulder for a few hours watching TV and re-accustoming ourselves to feeling of the other against us. When we are tired, we walk back to the bedroom, hand in hand again.

When we reach the bedroom, I say, "You may kiss me before we go to bed."

He gives me a gentle quick kiss.

I add, "You may hold me while you give me a longer kiss."

He wraps his arms around me and holds me for a moment before facing down and giving me a passionate kiss. He stay clenched, kissing on and off for minutes, until, finally, I start to back up and he releases me immediately.

"That's it for tonight," I tell him, almost solemnly, "Thanks for being so understanding today. I know this is hard on you. And thank you for fixing my kimono. I love it, And I love you."

"I love you too. And I will keep doing what you ask, however hard. Being with you is more than enough reward for now."

We both undress and climb into bed.

I ask, "May I snuggle up against you again? That was nice on the couch. But still no funny business."

He lies on his back and I put my head on his shoulder, my chest pressed against his side, and his arm around my back. Similar to earlier, but now it is flesh against flesh. I relish the warmth of his skin against mine, the smell of his chest as I breathe it in. The feel of his arm against my back, gently caressing it. We lie together, in silence, aware that the healing, no matter how slowly, is happening,

I notice that his cock is now erect. I cannot blame him for his body's reaction. But I am also not prepared to go any further yet.

He finally says that he needs to roll over and go to sleep. It has been a very long week. For both of us. He rolls to face away from me. I shift to continue to press against, now my breasts against his back. I know he likes this position. We fall asleep cuddled together like this.

I awaken to the sound of the shower. I slip out of bed and into the bathroom, not bothering to don any clothing. His back is to the shower entrance, so I creep up behind him and wrap my arms around him, hugging him tightly and kiss his back. After a moment, I start to massage his chest gently with my hands, spending extra attention on his nipples. All while keeping my chest pinned against his back. He moans each time one of my finger tips brush a nipple. I slide one hand down his abdomen, until I find his member, partially engorged.

Reaching around him, I slowly stroke his member up and down, feeling it firm up in my grip. Now he is moaning on each stroke. Playing with his nipple with my left hand and his cock with my right, I can feel him tensing up. Soon streaks of white are flying through the shower, before falling to the floor and swirling down the drain. I continue to stroke until his eruption has completed.

He says, "Thank you, I needed that." He turns to face me, hoping to give me a thank you kiss. I put a finger on his lips to silence him and point to the floor so he will stay put. I shift to the back wall of the shower, standing feet spread and forward of the wall. My back leans against the wall and my knees are bent and spread, displaying my pussy to him.

My right hand, which has just brought satisfaction to Alan, now works on my behalf, rubbing my clit. Alan watches with interest. I pause to spread my lips, giving him a better view, then plunge three digits of my left hand into my cunt. After a moment, my right hand moves back to my clit, while I continue to finger fuck myself with the left.

I can feel the orgasm starting. I moan loudly as it overtakes me and my body quivers with the release. My back slides down the wall until I am sitting on the tile floor, my knees still spread, my privates exposed to Alan's lustful stare. After allowing me a moment to recover (and himself a little longer to ogle my pussy), Alan walks up to me and offers a hand up. An offer I gladly accept.

As soon as I am standing, he asks, "May I give you a hug, please?".

"Yes, you may."

We hold each other tightly for minutes, until I finally speak up, "I have an idea. Why don't you finish your shower I so rudely interrupted, then go make me some coffee and one of your scrumptious breakfasts. I am going to soak in the bath for a little while, then we can eat a relaxed breakfast together."

"Sounds like a good plan." And he turns back to finishing washing up.

I step back out of the show enclosure and watch him through the glass. I am starting to see my Alan again rather than the beast that invaded our existence four nights ago. As he turns off his water, I start drawing my bath. By the time he has dried himself off, I am already in the tub.

"May I kiss the top of your head as I come by?" he asks.

"Yes, and I hereby grant you permission to kiss the top of my head when you deem appropriate."

He kisses the top of my head and heads back into the bedroom to get dressed. Soon, I can hear him clattering in the kitchen.

I relax in the tub, thinking over the morning. I had not expected for me to get either of us off like that, but it felt right at the time. And it still feels like I did the right thing. I am comfortable with being with him as long as I am in control. Giving him control, letting him be more physical with me can come later. I think back to how violently he fucked me the night of the poker game, after Audrey's first unplanned show. We were so excited and we both needed that. God that was only three weeks ago. The next morning session of sex was three weeks ago almost to the minute.

When he fucked my ass just last weekend. I was barking out orders, but he was the force. I think there is always some part of violence, of submission in anal. That and the forbidden aspect is the appeal. And just how damned good it can feel. That was the last time we fucked like animals, to use Audrey's phrase. I know I will want that back again. Just not yet.

But, I think, we could have some of the gentle love-making we had Monday morning, before all hell broke loose. That would be nice right now.

I climb out of the tub, dry off, and wrap my newly repaired kimono around me. I love his patch, his heart embroidered over it. I feel almost like a mother, tacking her kindergartener's first picture of a cat to the refrigerator, five legs and all; I love his crude workmanship. It was a work of love.

I walk to the kitchen and he is standing there offering my cup of coffee. I walk past the cup, saying, "May I?"

He nods and I give him a big hug. We stay there, standing in silence for a few minutes. Finally, in my best zombie voice, I say, "coffee..." and break the huddle. I pick up my cup and sit in my chair. Alan cooks the eggs, and sits down, and we eat our breakfast together almost joyfully.

"My art instructor is stopping by at two to look at some of my recent sketches," I remind him.

"With everything that happened this week, I had forgotten all about it," he replied.

"Just a second," I say, getting up and going over to my bag from work. "I brought these home to show her."

I hand him the three sketches I had chosen.

"Very nice! I suspect she will be impressed."



"I just need impressed enough to let me in the class tomorrow."

I change the subject, "So what is the plan moving forward for your project? And are you going to stay involved in it on a day-to-day basis with your new title?"

"The goal is to release it for actual use before the end of the year, so there is lots of work to do. And I will certainly be very involved in that. I was thinking about the group lead and I have decided to ask Li if she is willing to take my old position. I'll still be around too, so it won't be as much as I was doing, and we still need her expertise in planners moving forward as well.

"Graham plans to promote the IPO first quarter next year, with the actual IPO probably in March. That's when we find out how much money we are really talking about. And when Li will have to really run the group on her own."

"How does the IPO work?"

"We will spend about a month making a sales pitch to investment houses, big pension funds, etc. That will mostly be Graham, Sheila, and I out on the road."

"You are going to be traveling a lot?" I ask, sounding very disappointed.

"For the better part of the month, I am afraid. A lot of the valuation we are hoping for is tied to our new AI agent work. My work. My group's work I should say. But I am the face of it. The investors don't know a thing about technology, other than the hype they have read. They want to know if I really am the boy genius on the cover of Wired. It's going to be a long tiring month, making the same pitch day after day. Keeping myself together during the stretch is my biggest fear. I don't know whether I want you to come with me or keep you away from me."

"It's going to be a sucky month for me too. Damn," I respond.

"A few weeks after the promotional tour, Sheila and Graham, along with our IPO underwriters, predict an opening price the day before our stock becomes available. The ideal is to pick a price about 20% below where it will actually sell at. But it's not unusual to go up or down by a factor of two or more that day. That's our big pot of money doubling or halving in day. It's an exciting day, but can also be nerve wracking. Fortunately, that part is mostly for Sheila and Graham to worry about."

He changes the subject, asking, "So are you going to see any short term changes at work with your upcoming big promotion?"

"I have to act normal for the time being, even around Audrey. Don't forget. You cannot hint to Audrey or Tim about what is happening. We only have to stay mum to them for a few more days. Marty is telling her on their trip Wednesday. I guess she is meeting with all the city department heads, the city council, and, oh, yeah, talking to economic development committee. That reminds me, I need to make sure she is fully prepped for that. I got George on board with a rough plan I pitched."

"George?" he asks.

"George Ames, head of economic development for the city. When we met with the mayor and George, he was talking about 'our' plan, meaning the one Marty, George and I had discussed earlier. He and Iris, the city planner, are going to be good champions for us in the city. Marty told me that I may be Iris's hero. I can see how this hero stuff can take you over.

"Oh, and thinking about Audrey, I had a thought about her and Tim when I was talking with Marty. I think he is going to propose to her this week. She thinks he is up to something, but I don't think she has guessed this."

"This soon? It's only been, what, three weeks?"

"It has moved really fast. There is no way they are actually getting married this year. It takes WAY too much planning. And they have what, ten siblings between them, so it will be a BIG wedding. Much bigger than ours was. My bet is next summer at the earliest, maybe even the year after."

"We should give them the condo," Alan says, seemingly out of the blue.

"What?"

"For a wedding present. If we have a new house in two years, we have an excess condo. It is a big present, but what the hell. He has been our best friend forever. And she has become your best friend ever. And it saves us from the hassle of selling it. For what, more money we don't really need?"

"It's an idea. They might not be comfortable with it, but I see the logic."

I change the subject again, saying, "Speaking of Audrey, do you think we will be ready for Audrey's show in two weeks. I was thinking about this yesterday. I didn't think it was fair to have you lusting after Audrey if we were still in a more chaste relationship. I am feeling better about it after this morning, but we still have a ways to go."

"I hear what you are saying, but we have two weeks before the show, so we can see," he replies, "I am feeling much more hopeful about us now, too."

I squirm a little, wondering if I can ask him the big question about her show now. I decide to go for it. "Audrey told me she wanted to do something different for that show."

"And? I get there is more coming."

"She wants me to do the show with her."

"You would strip too? I need to think about that a bit. I know Tim has already seen you naked, just a few weeks ago. But luring him is a whole nother level."



"More than stripping. She wants to do a full lesbian show with me."

"Oh my god. That would be SO hot. I want to see that so much, I can probably let Tim watch too. Probably yes, I think. I need to see how that sinks in. But I will probably have a perpetual hard on while I think about it."

After a moment, he asks, "Are you two lovers?"

"No," I say, "She almost seduced me Thursday night. But I cut it off and told her to go home -- don't worry we're still on good terms. It felt kind of like cheating on you and I won't do that."

"Kind of cheating, I guess," he says. "I may have broken your trust in me somewhat this week, but I still have total trust in you. I don't know whether it would more break my heart or confuse me if I found out you were sleeping with Tim or some other man.

"It's probably some weird male ego thing or something, but sleeping with another woman feels very different. I will tell you what. You can have fun with her under two circumstances: I get to watch or I am away for an extended time, like when I am traveling. Oh, and assuming it's okay with Tim. I owe that to him. Assuming he isn't really fucking you behind my back -- just kidding there -- I hope."

A question pops in to my head and I blurt it out, "Would you want to do a three-some? I'm not offering and I'm not even sure how I would feel about it."

"God, a threesome with you two would be my biggest wet dream I could imagine. If you two tried to seduce me, I am not sure I am strong enough to say no. I think my biggest issue, other than worrying about your feelings, would be Tim. I think I would feel obligated to let you three have a go as well. And I am definitely not ready for that yet. Although it is immensely more conceivable to me now than it would have been before Audrey came in our lives three weeks ago. And she did cum on our table a few times that night, didn't she?"

"I think Audrey's show last week has all four of us wondering whether that is where we are headed. And it's good that we are having this conversation. I hope they are too. I think we need to have a conscious decision about what the boundaries are or we will slide past ones we don't want to."

We sit in silence drinking our coffee for a few minutes, until I say, "We need to postpone making our next movie. Next weekend is definitely too soon. And I loved your idea, but not now."

"Agreed."

We sit quietly for a while longer, until I turn in my chair to face him, open my kimono, and say, "I would like you to lick my pussy, if you would like to."

He doesn't even answer, almost leaping out of his chair on to the floor between us. I spread my legs to let his face, and more importantly his tongue, reach its target. My pussy is already wet before the first touch of his tongue, a long stroke up my slash. He stops at the top and focuses on my nub of pleasure. Both he and it are providing pleasure to me in great quantities at this moment.

I moan and then manage to annunciate, "You may put your fingers in me while you are doing that." He immediately brings his right hand to me, and drives three fingers into my cunt. In and out they go, as his tongue tickles my clit deliciously.

I am moaning louder now, more urgently. But something is still missing. "You may play with my tits as well, while you are doing that," I manage to utter, intermixed with other, non-verbal sounds.

He reaches with his left hand to fondle my breast before pinching my nipple. The nipple that broke the camel's back. I shriek and arch my back. I grab his head and press it into my crotch, squeezing him with my thighs. I suddenly worry I may be hurting him, and release as he continues to gently lick my outer labia. Damn that felt good.

But I am not done yet. I look around and see no places here that will handle what I want. At least in the comfort I want. I take his hand, and we walk, hand in hand, back into the bedroom.

Once there, I let my kimono slide to the floor and start taking his clothes off, one at a time. He stands perfectly still, moving only when I push a limb here or there to free some garment. He knows he is a doll, my doll, and this is my show.

I gently move him to the bed, where he lies on his back. I crouch over him, starting at the top, giving him a passionate kiss. He reaches his arms up to hold me, but I stop and shake my head; his arms drop back to his side.

I slide down until I am kissing his chest. I slide over and begin to suckle on one nipple while my hand reaches over to pinch his other. He is softly moaning.

I slide further down him, kissing him all the way. I finally reach his manhood, which is fully engorged, waiting for me. I start at the base of his shaft and lick the entire way up to the tip. I pause sightly as my tongue runs out of cock, then blow gently on the tip, then pause again for an agonizing moment. Suddenly, I engulf his cock in my mouth, lips grasping his shaft tightly and begin to stroke up and down, His soft moans have evolved into louder, somewhat shrill groans, almost begging for relief.

But that time is not now and I stop my attention to his cock and slide back up him. I reach a leg across and straddle his crotch. I lower my hips and, rocking back and forth, I rub my pussy along the underside of his shaft, not letting him enter. As he becomes urgent again, I stop, my vulva pinning all nine inches of his penis against his belly. I hold him still until he has calmed a bit again.

Once he is clearly in control of his body again, I raise my hips slightly, releasing his cock, and reach a hand down to ease it into my wanting cunt. My wanton cunt.

He begins to thrust with his hips, but my hand pushes his abdomen down and I shake my head no. He lies still, again knowing he has to follow my rules.

I sit motionless, impaled by his cock, my pussy feeling filled for the first time in almost a week. After I savor the sensation for a few ecstatic moments, I start to slide up and down on his member, feeling him slide in and out of me. I never move quickly enough to bring him back to the precipice, but I can see the need growing in his face.

He reaches his hands up towards my breasts and I shake my head no again. His struggle with his self control is tangible. His testicles, his hips and his hands all screaming to play their part, But his desire to obey me is stronger still and he remains in control of them.

I stop rocking and lean forward, my cunt never releasing his rigid member, and give him a passionate kiss. He returns my passion, but controls his desire to hold my face while we kiss.

I lean back, further than I was earlier, still impaled on him, and begin to rock again. My rocking becomes more rapid. I say, "You may now fondle my breasts, gently." Then add, with a little more urgency in my voice, "And pinch my nipples."



My tits and nipples are soon receiving the pleasure they were seeking. I reach a hand down to find my clit and start to intensify my feelings. I am about to the point of no return, He realizes this and loses control of his hips; they thrust his cock in and out of me. His lack of control quickly spreads to his balls, as their product launches into my cunt, quickly filling me with his cum.

His excitement pushes me over the top, as I explode in a guttural roar. I rock back and forth wildly, as my cunt tries to squeeze every drop of juice out of his cock that it can.

I finally mellow to my state of bliss and I slide off him, reach up to kiss him, and say, "I love you. It's good to have you back."

"I love you too. I missed you."

I snuggle up to him, half laying on his chest, half on the bed next to him. We lie lying together for almost an hour. He occasionally strokes my back and I idly caress his face, his shoulder and his other arm.

He breaks the silence, asking, "May I touch your breast?"

"Yes you may, my love, gently."

He begins to massage my exposed breast, slowly gently. Initially, he avoids my nipple, but gradually, it receives more and more of the attention.

"May I kiss your breasts?"

"Yes you may."

He slides his other arm out from behind me and gently rolls me onto my back. He now kneels over my naked body. His one hand returns to the breast it was fondling earlier, while he begins to lick and suckle my other. He will swirl his tongue around my nipple and then suck the nipple into his mouth. Sometimes he will just suck on the nipple, other times he will gently bite it, sending waves of sensations straight to my loins.

"May I touch your pussy," he asks, almost serenely.

"Yes, please do," I reply, not managing to sound as nonchalant as I had hoped.

He now bends further across me, kissing the other nipple, while the hand, now exiled from that breast, traces a line over my abdomen. I moan loudly when it reaches its destination. My moans become louder and more desperate as he continues his ministrations.

"May I kiss your pussy," he asks, still seemingly serene.

I nod my head, no longer able to produce verbal communication.

He bends down and begins to lick and tease my clit with his tongue. His fingers, which had been on that duty a moment ago, slide down and begin to penetrate me, slowly at first. But sensing that I am not going to last much longer, he increases his pace with both his tongue and his fingers. I am exploding again. Not as forcefully as earlier, but filled with emotion, with love and with joy.

He shifts back and lays his head on my breast. As we cuddle, I almost feel like I have reached nirvana. Eventually, I feel his cock, which is pressed against my leg, start to stir.

I decide to return the favor and push him off me, rolling him back onto his back. I bend over and take his semi-erect penis in my mouth, It quickly rises to full mast and I slowly, lovingly caress it with my mouth and tongue. As he becomes more excited, I bring my hand down below my mouth and corkscrew up and down his shaft in time with my oral attention. Despite his earlier orgasms, he manages to cum again quickly. I take it all in my mouth, then pop my mouth off his cock, stick out my cum covered tongue for him to see and then swallow it all. Maybe I am getting used to the taste. Definitely more comfortable with the texture.

I then look at the clock and say, "I need to get dressed before she gets here. I'm sure she's seen plenty of nude models, but you should probably get dressed too."

I put on a classy but casual outfit. Seems appropriate for the artsy types, I think. I then hurry out to the kitchen to clean up the breakfast mess we left.

By the time the art teacher arrives, Alan is in the study working on something. I answer the door and bring her into the kitchen, recently made guest ready again.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee? Or tea?"

"Do you have any herbal tea? That would be wonderful."

"I can make that while you two talk," Alan says, having walked in from the study. He fills the electric kettle, pushes the button, and brings over a display of herbal teas to show her.

"Thank you, um," she says, not sure what to call him.

"I'm sorry, Ms Shreave," I say, "This is Alan, my husband."

"Oh, please, call me Anne. This is a beautiful place you have and such lovely flowers," noticing the roses Alan brought me on Thursday.

"A gift from Alan, Yes, we are lucky to have this. Alan and I have both had early success in our careers, which lets us have some nice things."

"If I can ask, what do you do?" she asks.

"I am a consultant working to reinvigorate aging neighborhoods in small cities and towns. And Alan just got promoted yesterday to become CTO of a software company."

"CTO?"

"Just means I'm the biggest geek in the place," Alan clarifies modestly,

"We think he is going to be the cover story on an issue of Wired magazine this fall," I brag.

"Really it's just part of a PR campaign my company is about to run," Alan says, again downplaying my comment. I realize I need to help him by not bragging so much. But it is tempting. Oh the wicked temptations of life.

"Wow, it's still impressive. But I bet I couldn't understand a single word in the article. Anyway, you were going to show me some drawings you had done recently. I want to make sure you will be a good fit for the class. They have already started to bond."

I hand her the sketches I had brought home. "The first two are an old hotel that is being renovated for one of our redevelopment projects."

"Oh, that's really good. You have real talent. And it covers the work from the first week nicely. I had everyone drawing boxy things. So far, we have worked around three tables, with four students at each -- although with only 11 students, I have one spot open for you. Anyway each group spends roughly an hour at each station, drawing.

"That first week, one of the three stations was a box of cereal with a milk carton and a cereal bowl. The second was a jumble of kid's blocks, the ones with the alphabet on them. And the third was a rough stack of differing sized books, two of which were hardbacks. They are much harder to draw, you know.

"But your hotel shows that you are really good at drawing boxy things, even with intricate decoration on them. Last week we did curvy things, still standard still lifes. You know, a fruit basket, a flower vase and some large glass orbs. Those had interesting and tricky shadows."

"That would have been fun to try to draw!" I exclaim. "My other picture is a concept piece, not from anything real, of a proposed park for a current vacant lot."

"You did a nice job on this. From your mind's eye only. It's hard to get the lighting done so well on some of these things like the sliding board and this climbing thing. You are definitely ready for this week's drawings. You may show all of us up. So I guess see you tomorrow at one? No need to dress up. We are mostly in tees and sweats. And bring a sketch book for yourself."

"What are we drawing this week?" I ask.

"Soft curves. A rag doll. A folded quilt. And a piece of silk draped over two candlesticks. Oh and don't forget to bring a check for $200."

"I can get that now, if you want," Alan says.

"That would be nice. Next session is $350. We have to pay the models then."

"I wouldn't mind modeling. We get paid, too?" Audrey says as she and Tim walk in the front door hand in hand. Without knocking.

"Audrey and Tim," I say waving at them, "Our best friends. Who sometimes forget how to knock. This is Anne Shreave, my new art teacher."

"Are you serious about modeling? Have you done it before?" she asks Audrey.

"I would like to try it, but I have never done it. Not professionally at least," Audrey replies.

I hear Alan trying to repress a snicker.

"We always have problems finding enough models so I might take you up on that. You do realize it's nude modeling, I assume."

"I was hoping it was."

Anne noticeably eyes Audrey up and down, before saying, "I should be going. It was nice meeting all of you. Audrey, I assume I can reach you through Lisa if I need a model?"

I rush over to see her out the door as Audrey nods yes.

"Thanks for coming over and letting me in the class late," I say to Anne, "See you tomorrow."

As I come back, all of us are looking at Audrey.

"What?" she says incredulously, "Modeling is mostly respectable these days. I get to show my body off to a bunch of strangers without getting in trouble. And I get paid. What's not to like."

Alan laughs, saying, "You managed to time your arrival perfectly I guess."

Alan looks at Tim and says, "Ghost?".

Tim answers, "You're on." And they head back to the study.

I call back, "Don't forget we have to be to Rick's in 3 hours, so don't get lost in there forever."

I then turn back to Audrey and give her a hello hug.

"You look much better than you have. Things going well with Alan?" she asks.

"MUCH better. There are still issues, but today has been wonderful. Four orgasms wonderful."

I recount how I stroked him off in the shower and then masturbated for him. Our breakfast followed by him eating me out. How we then went to the bedroom and spent the rest of the morning alternating between snuggling and some form of sexual activity.

"Sounds pretty wonderful, I have to agree. And something about this kitchen does seem to make him eat you," she says, trying to yank my chain.

"This time, I asked him to," I respond. "He is still on a strict by consent plan. He has to get my explicit permission to do anything more than hold my hand. And I guess I gave him blanket permission to kiss the top of my head when I was in the tub this morning. But it was afternoon before we were dressed and out of bed for good."

"I also had an interesting conversation with him about us, you and I. I asked him about me helping out in the next show. Part of him is squeamish about it, but he REALLY wants to watch us going at it. And I am pretty sure that is going to win out."

I continue, asking, "What do you think Tim is going to say about the idea?"

"I think he will also be salivating over the idea of watching us. As I said, guys really like girl-girl action. And he has already emotionally conceded that all of my sexuality is on display to you two already. Alan really hasn't had to face that yet."

"Cool, so it sounds like we will be a go," I say. "But there was more to our conversation this morning. Alan asked if we were already lovers. I said no, but confessed our near consummation on Thursday. He said we could do what we wanted under two conditions: Tim is okay with it and either he gets to watch or he is away on a trip. He had told me earlier that he is going to be on the road a lot early next year, like all of February or something."

"I will have to sound Tim out then. That's going to be an interesting conversation. Maybe I can use the comforting you when Alan is away approach. I can also see how he reacts to the show."

After a moment, she asks, "Is Alan thinking about just watching or is he expecting it to turn into a three-some?"

"I did ask him that. He says he is not ready for that yet. But only because he would feel obligated to offer me to Tim. I guess I am pretty much in the same boat as him for now. Have you and Tim talked about last Saturday yet? And where we want to draw boundaries?"

"Nothing explicitly. I don't think he would be comfortable with Alan fucking me, A blow job might be okay though."

"We probably need to define the boundaries before the next show. And it's got to be defined by the most conservative of us, which I bet will be Alan. Although he is lusting after you enough, it might be swaying his thinking. I really want agreement before our show. I might insist on it. Just out of curiosity, what would you have done if Alan had pulled his pants down when you were grinding your ass into his crotch?"

"I was pretty sure he wouldn't. I would like to think that I would have just ended the lap dance and moved on to the next step. But, to be honest, I'm not sure I wouldn't have impaled myself on his cock."

"Which is exactly my concern. I don't want to cause a big fight between the guys. And I'm not sure I am ready to watch Alan fucking you."

Audrey and I start to talk about work. I spend the next couple of hours talking about the personalities for her trip and the plan that George, Marty and I had started.

By that point, it was time to get ready for dinner. "Help me choose an outfit?"

We look at a couple of things, but end up with my outfit from two weeks ago: my pink silk blouse, with bra, and my short blue skirt. Even the same world famous panty. I am hoping to be noticed by Alan sooner than last time I wore this.

Alan notices the outfit the instant he emerges from the study. He walks up to me. "May I give you a kiss?"

"Yes I say, and let's add polite kisses to the blanket permission list, okay."



He kisses me and then whispers, "I thought we agreed no bra?"


"I agreed to no such thing!" I respond, loudly enough that Audrey could definitely hear.

Given her laugh, she either heard both sides or guessed at Alan's comment.

Dinner was good, as it always was at Rick's. This was Audrey's first time there and she enjoyed it. We ended up with about half a bottle of wine apiece in us, so happy, but not as drunk as the meal three weeks ago.

When we get home, I excuse myself and head to our bedroom. When I rejoin the others in the living room, Audrey and Tim have taken the couch again, and are already distracting themselves, kissing and getting pretty handsy.

But Alan looks up at me as I walk in and his eyes get big. He notices instantly that I removed my bra in the bedroom. My areoles and nipples are clearly visible and outlines of my breasts are apparent.

I mouth, "You like?" to Alan, and he nods vigorously in response.

Alan announces, "Movie time!" This brings Audrey up for air from kissing Tim. She turns her attention to the TV as the opening begins. She notices my apparel adjustment, gives me a thumbs up and settles in to watch the movie, hand in Tim's lap.

Audrey was right to describe the movie as soft-core porn. I hadn't expected such a heavy lesbian presence. Guys do like that. And so do women who now realize they are bi. Alan seems to enjoy the skin, but beyond that the movie is pretty awful. When he looks over at me, I play with my nipples through the silk. Silk really does feel amazing against your skin. After a while, I spread my knees and reach a hand under my skirt, I am sure he can see my pussy through the sheer black underwear. But I reach in and, pushing the panty aside, slowly play with my privates.

Audrey and Tim are too distracted to notice. They are both watching the movie surprisingly intently -- Tim has a thing for bad movies, I think. But they are even more distracted by each other, Audrey's skirt is pulled most the way up and his hand is deep in her crotch. And her hand is down his pants. I wonder how engorged Big Ben can get before it rips Tim's pants open.

Audrey is apparently thinking along the same lines, because she unzips his pants -- a noise that makes sure all four of us are aware of what she is doing -- and starts giving a hand job to his now released and fully erect cock. But Tim is not to be outdone; his ministrations to her pussy are making it hard for her to watch the movie. We are barely halfway through the film when she groans and buckles as an orgasm overtakes her. As soon as she has recovered, she shifts her full attention to his needs, supplementing her hand with her mouth, as she engulfs the top of his monster. He quickly joins her in public orgasm, moaning as he erupts into her waiting mouth. We watch as he pumps his cum down her throat, Audrey swallowing as best she can. A new cream sauce for her linguini, I think.

I have suspended my own show as Alan and I watch the one being presented to us. I doubt I could have kept Alan's eyes solely on me much longer anyway.

She soon pulls her mouth off Tim's deflating dick. As she does, Tim turns her sideways and pushes her backwards onto the couch. He then reaches in and pulls off her panty, giving Alan a front row seat to her pussy. The view is short lived, however, soon blocked by the back of Tim's head as he again demonstrates his expertise in cunnilingus.

Audrey is trying to push off her blouse, with limited success. I reach over and unbutton the garment, exposing her barely covered breasts. Soon she has pushed the bra over them and her big boobs are fully exposed to the room. Tim reaches up and grabs one with a free hand. Audrey is reaching the point of no return again, and a shriek announces the arrival of her second orgasm of the movie.

Tim sits back up and offers her a hand. With the aid of Tim's hand, she is quickly standing, ridding herself of articles of clothing still partially on her. Meanwhile, Tim has pushed his pants down over his knees and holds his arms open. Big Ben is ready to chime again.

As Audrey, straddles Tim, guiding his big cock into her cunt, I wave Alan to come over, and say quietly, "Let's leave them to it. I want you, but I'm not interested in sharing you. Not tonight."

On the way back to our bedroom, I call out, "The guest bedroom is available!"