Nieve Ch. 08

"Are you ready?"

"Not yet," Nieve called from upstairs. "I'll be there in a second!"

"See what I put up with?" I asked Lacey.

"Oh please," she said, swirling her glass of wine. "Like you don't know it's all part of the game."

"Everything set? It's been a while since the three of us went out together."

"Mmm." She looked thoughtful. "Is she wearing that dress?" She made an hourglass with her hands to show which one she meant.

"Yes, that's what I told her to put on."

Lacey gave me a slow, cat-like blink and smiled. "Naturally."

"You look good too." She was wearing a tight, charcoal turtleneck that clung to her slender body, and a shimmery, silvery skirt that showed off her long, toned legs. High black leather boots finished the look.

"Thanks! I can't compete with SOMEONE'S assets, but I sure can do my best with what I've got."

"It's not--" I started, but then Nieve came bounding downstairs.

"MMM!" she said, grabbing Lacey and hugging her, almost making her spill her wine. "MISSED you!"

"Missed you too," said Lacey, setting the glass down and hugging her back. Her hands wandered a bit, but my wife was too excited to notice. "Ready, gorgeous?"

"Ready!"

"Hang on," I said. "Let's clarify something first. Nieve, love, tonight I want you to listen to Lacey the same way you listen to me. Got it?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, raising a hand to her mouth. "Do you mean...?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"Okay!" she said, giggling. "Lacey, I'm going to listen to whatever you say tonight!"

"Really?" said Lacey, making it sound like 'Rally?'. "Sounds like fun!" She gave my wife a little pat on the head.

"Mmm," said Nieve, putting her head on the other woman's shoulder. "Doesn't it just?"

"Kiss me," said Lacey.

"Wha?" said Nieve, startled. She looked at me, confused.

"You heard her."

"Right." She tilted her head and kissed Lacey on the cheek.

"A real kiss."

"Oh... yes." This time their lips met. I found that I was holding my breath. It was a long, slow, soft kiss. Lacey's hand moved to the nape of Nieve's neck, and Nieve made a little noise as their lips parted.

After a lifetime they broke away. "Wow," said Lacey.

"Wow," said Nieve, eyes bright.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked.

"Uh-huh!" chorused the two women. It was impossible not to smile.

----

An office building at night is an odd, liminal space, I thought as we walked together down the dark hallway towards the noise and light. Open doors leading I knew not where, cold glass windows looking out onto the lights of the city. Our footsteps were hushed by the thick carpet. Take a wrong turn and you might end up anywhere: Brigadoon or Shangri-La, Aristasia or Poictesme.

As Lacey and Nieve walked arm in arm, I dropped back slightly to enjoy the view. Nieve's full bottom was a delightful contrast to Lacey's pert and very fine ass. Nieve looked anxiously over her shoulder for me. When she saw where I was looking she stuck out her tongue. But her hips had an extra sway to them thereafter.

Nieve clutched my arm as we approached the conference room. "Is this going to be okay?" she asked. "The invitation said 'plus one'." She was almost vibrating with excitement. Beside her Lacey paced, lithe and self-assured.

"First of all, cute girls can get in anywhere," answered Lacey for me. "Second of all, I know some of these people already. Third of all--"

"--WHOOP!" blurted Nieve, because Lacey had just smacked her ass. The blonde grinned and linked arms with my wife.

As she had predicted, no one even glanced at our invitation as we entered. The room was alive was chatter from all corners. Against one wall tables stretched for miles, loaded with hors d'oeuvres. A bevy of bartenders were making drinks as fast as humanly possible, setting one down and immediately beginning the next. I grinned. It's always nice to see people working harder than you.

Once inside, we were hit with the inevitable wave of greetings. The party was a yearly event one of our clients, a large brokerage, threw for their staff and any contract workers they liked enough to invite. It was a swanky affair, held on the top floor of their office building downtown. A good chance to mingle, make and strengthen contacts--and, for anyone so inclined, to let your hair down with the tacit understanding that whatever happened at the company party, stayed at the company party. Which is to say, drinks flowed, people danced in various flavors of embarrassing ways, and, if a couple wandered off to explore, well, there were plenty of quiet spaces with doors that locked.

If you remembered to lock them. I had personally disturbed a senior executive with someone's college-aged daughter last year when I was trying to find the washroom. It was a testament to the norm of silence that no one felt the need to ask me to keep things quiet. Which I had, of course, but part of me wondered if contract negotiations would have gone as smoothly if I hadn't seen her with her cocktail dress hitched up as a fresh-faced blonde went to town.

Something generational, I mused, as I shook hands and introduced the ladies to anyone who hadn't met them before. The younger execs liked the power shake, firm to the point of pain, often with the backwards bro nod. Older ones favored the JFK, their free hand on top, pressing our hands together in an oddly intimate clasp, men and women both. Plenty of eye contact and the deliberate use of my name to show they knew it. Do they teach this? As we were passed around, I took in the room. It was about as my first impression had been. Lots of people, some tables sprinkled in the back half for those disinclined to stand about and network. The band and small dance floor off in a corner.

Nieve and Lacey turned heads as we made our way through. Nieve's never really understood the effect she can have on men, but in her little black dress, she was making not a few wives nervous as their husbands lingered a little too long with the introduction. Worse were the unattached. They would take her hand, get an eyeful of her impression cleavage, then glance over at me to assess. That was all right, I was assessing to. I didn't know quite what I was looking for but I'd know it when I found it. I held eye contact and they would look away and move on.

Lacey of course was in her element, giggling, joking, greeting the people she knew. When I introduced her, she'd tilt her head and give a smile that was just this side of an invitation, her other hand placed to subtly show the absence there. She'd turn around with a little flirt of her ass to say hello to the next person. I appreciated the view but tried not to be obvious about it, which made me more polite than ninety percent of the men present.

Nieve was discreetly rubbing her hands together in discomfort and Lacey's smile had become rather fixed by the time we had kissed every necessary ring. "Drinks," declared Lacey, leading the way. Once we'd grabbed our libations I led them to a unoccupied corner table.

"Holy fuck, I had no idea what a bash this was," said Lacey, sipping thirstily.

"Yeah," I said. "And this isn't even the whole thing. There's a bunch of smaller rooms down the hall past here where there's other stuff going on."

"Like what?" asked Lacey.

"Oh, games, cigars, conversation. Various entertainments." I did not mention the hypnotist or the burlesque show. "Dancing's over there. More dancing down the hall for the vigorous set. There's a poker game every year with stakes that get absolutely ridiculous by the end of the night."

"Where you lost all that money," giggled my wife. Half a drink was helping her recover from the social typhoon.

"Where I lost all that money." I'm a decent poker player and had expected to come out ahead. Instead I had been taken to the cleaners. Well, if you swim with sharks, don't cry if you get bit.

"Oh? How much money?"

"Not that much. I got out early when I realized I was outmatched."

"How unlike you," purred Lacey. She held my eyes for a long moment.

"I'm going to get some food. Does anybody want a plate?"

"Yes, please!"

----

As I juggled the dishes I was loading with what I thought would tempt my dates, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around slowly so as not to drop anything.

"Mitchell," I said, "how are you doing?" I liked Mitchell. We'd worked together on the last project I'd done for the firm. I'd been impressed with his conscientiousness, the decency he couldn't quite hide under his finance bro facade. He'd been an Eagle Scout, he confessed after we'd been out for celebratory drinks. He was tall with a basketball player's lankiness. Good looking in a 'Midwestern boy dressed in his first tailored suit' way. Mitchell would do, I thought. Kinder than Jonah, handsome, out of place but longing to be cool and sophisticated.

We chatted for a while as we filled up the last corners of the plates we were carrying. We were a little obstacle in the flow of hungry people, and as we stood there they would move around us, cracking a joke or slapping Mitchell on the shoulder. He gave as good as he got, but you could see his heart wasn't in it. He had a slightly overwhelmed look to him, and when I invited him to come sit with us and meet my wife and friend, he didn't hesitate. Neither he nor I had time for the little status games that were being played around us, and his relief at leaving the fray was obvious.

"Meet you there?" he said, scanning the room. I nodded.

Back at the table I set down the plates with relief. They hadn't been heavy but holding them while having conversations in multiple directions had been wearing.

"Thanks!" said Nieve, biting into a chocolate covered strawberry. When she saw me looking, she slowly ran her tongue over the end of it. Her eyes got that heavy look I knew so well. She'd cooled down a bit, but there was still a little flush lingering on the tops of her pale breasts.

"Yeah, thanks," said Lacey. She ate a whole shrimp in the least erotic way imaginable, crunching the tail.

"Hey," came Mitchell's voice from behind me. "So, this is my fiancée, Kayleigh." I stood up politely and turned around.

Her eyes were so dark brown they looked black in the dim light. She was looking up at me, her lips parted. She was so short it was like she was seated in front of me. Or kneeling. When I was young I'd seen a painting, Hylas and the Nymphs. Looking at it had given me a sense of vertigo, like I was falling into cool water forever, not needing to breathe. It was how I'd felt the first time I'd taken off Nieve's dress.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Say hi, Kayleigh," prompted Mitchell.

"Oh! Hi," she said. Her eyes were like a deer's, I noticed now. Wide and a little scared. Her hand felt tiny in mine, her fingers thin and sleek. I held it lightly.

"Mitchell, this is my wife Nieve, and our friend Lacey," I said. Kayleigh's collarbones were thin, too, with perfect hollows under each one. "Nieve, Lacey, this is Mitchell." I turned to him. "I can never keep all the titles here straight. What's you official role?"

"Junior executive officer," he said. He'd shaken hands with both Nieve and Lacey, but was waiting for his fiancée to sit before he would. Those Midwestern manners, I thought, letting go of Kayleigh's hand.

"Pleased to meet you," he said, finally sitting. "If you missed it, this is my fiancée, Kayleigh. This is her first time at one of these things."

"Hiya!" chirped Lacey. "Don't worry, sweetie. It'll thin out about nine, when the older crowd gets too close to their bedtime."

"I thought we were the older crowd," I said.

"Hey!" said both Nieve and Lacey. Kayleigh giggled. She had squeezed in next to Lacey, closer to her than to Mitchell. He was sitting next to Nieve, eating with a young man's appetite. Under the table Lacey kicked me. I ignored it.

"You're not drinking?" I asked.

"Nah," he said, covering his mouth politely. He swallowed. "I might later, but right now I want to be sure I don't do anything stupid."

"Yeah, that can wait until later." Lacey lifted her own glass, and I clinked it ceremoniously. Nieve made sure to clink both of us, giving me a little pout as she did. I winked and she blushed.

"Me too!" said Kayleigh, reaching out. The four of us toasted in the middle of the table. She sipped and put her chin in her hand. She had too much makeup on, as if she hadn't found what style suited her. Or didn't have much experience, or she was trying to hide herself behind a sort of mask. I could see the hand that was holding the stem of her glass tremble.

We chatted. Another round was drunk. Old jokes started being told, embarrassing stories about the past. The girls laughed so hard when Lacey made me tell about the time I rode the mechanical bull that I genuinely thought Nieve was going to wet herself.

"The important thing," I said, as Kayleigh wiped tears from her eyes and Nieve clutched her tummy, "is that I STAYED ON." This was too much for Kayleigh, who dissolved into giggles and almost slipped under the table. I looked at Lacey, who had a little red high on each cheek. She met my gaze coolly.

"Oh... oh my god," said Kayleigh. "I'm literally going to die."

"I love that story," burbled Nieve happily.

"Was that before or after you two met?" asked Kayleigh. She was looking at me from under those long lashes.

"After," said Lacey, without waiting for either of us to reply. "We all went to college together." She took a swallow of wine. "Nieve and I were roommates. We go way back."

There was a lull. "Well," said Kayleigh, "I think that's so romantic! College sweethearts."

"Of course you do," said Mitchell. "You think everything is romantic."

"Oh, so do you!" she said. The first glass of wine was gone and the second was well on its way to joining it. She turned to me. "He's always getting emotional about SOMETHING."

"I do not," said Mitchell. He gave her a look, which she returned with interest before turning back to me.

"Yes you do," giggled Kayleigh, stroking his arm. "You got all teary-eyed when you were telling me about the probe."

"What?" blurted Lacey, startled into the first genuine laugh I'd heard from her that night. "Wait, what probe?" She gave the word a little twisty inflection.

"The Martian one," answered Kayleigh, oblivious. "You know, 'It's getting dark, and my battery is low'? That one."

"The Opportunity rover." He was trying to avoid blushing. "It was very affecting." Lacey laughed harder.

Nieve put her hand on his other arm. "That's so sweet!" she said, smiling at him. He couldn't help smiling back.

"Nieve. I need more wine. C'mon."

With a smile at the rest of us, Nieve rose obediently and followed Lacey. Kayleigh watched them go with those big doe eyes. When they got back the conversation turned corporate. Mitchell and I commiserated while the girls chatted and laughed. Nieve was getting tipsy, I could see, enjoying every moment of the night. Lacey was drinking like someone who wants to get drunk. Kayleigh, in contrast, would raise her glass to her lips, but I could see that her pale throat never moved afterwards. She was just going through the motions. Probably wise, after two glasses inside that slight frame. Was she worried she'd embarrassed her husband?

I stood up. "Restroom," I said when Nieve looked at me curiously.

"Me too," said Lacey, standing up. "Show me the way." Despite that she marched ahead of me out of the ballroom.

I caught up to her in the hallway. Walking on the carpet felt like walking on a forest path covered in pine needles. From the far end I could hear the pulsing music from the other ballroom. "What," she said, "the fuck."

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean! I'm not here for this! I'm here to see that little wife of yours finally gets fucked, not to--not for some love at first sight bullshit! You absolute FUCKER."

"You think Nieve noticed?"

"She's trusting, you asshole, not BLIND. Little fucking bitch sitting there mooning over you! She can't be a year out of college!"

"Actually she has a Masters," I said.

"Shut. The fuck. Up." She ran her hands through her short hair. "I wouldn't be your goddamn third wheel. I sure as hell won't be the FIFTH. I'm not doing this."

I stopped and put my hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. "Yes you are. What are you going to do otherwise? Blow up my marriage and your last friendship? Take home some grey-haired exec for two minutes of pumping while he calls you every name he knows just so he can stay hard? Oh, I know, maybe you can grab a couple of lucky guys and get double teamed again. And then have that nice big house all to yourself. Any of that sound like a good time?"

"Fucker!" she snarled, and took a swipe at my face just like she had at the park. This time I was ready for her and caught her wrist. Her other wrist when she came at me from the right. She struggled briefly then looked at me with cold rage and spat in my face. I reflexively closed my eyes before it hit me high on one cheek. I could feel it drip. I took a deep breath. Tightened my grip on Lacey's wrists. She made a mewing noise, anger or pain or something else.

"Clean it up," I said.

She jerked against my hold but I didn't let go. My eyes still closed, I felt her approach. Was she going to knee me? Bite me? She was too close for me to stop her if she tried. Then I felt her tongue on my cheek. With short little laps she cleaned up the mess she'd made. When she pulled back I let go of her wrists and opened my eyes.

"Fucker," she said again. She reached up and wiped my cheek with the sleeve of her turtleneck. Ran her little pink tongue over her lips like a cat.

"Good girl," I said. Now it was her turn to close her eyes. When she opened them she was composed, nothing but a little redness to her face to show that things had gotten heated.

"Don't call me that," she said. "My ex used to like to call me that. It wasn't sexy then and it isn't sexy now."

I stepped forward, and she stepped back. I took another step. Her back hit the wall; I pressed her against it.

"Good girl," I said. My thigh was between her legs, almost lifting her off the ground. She made a noise midway between a sob and a moan. "Good girl."

"Oooh f-fuck--fuck--fuck YOU! OH!"

"Good girl," I said, now actually lifting her up. Her silver skirt was up around her waist and I could see her black lace panties as I manhandled her. I caught her chin in my hand and forced my thumb into her mouth. She writhed against me, first struggling to get free, then in desperate need. "Good girl," I whispered. Her thighs clamped around mine and she clawed at the back of my suit jacket. I thought back to the park. I was glad that I was better prepared this time.

"NNNnnnrrgh!" She bit my shoulder to keep herself quiet as she came. "Oh fucking hell." Her groin pulsed against me as she rode out her orgasm.

I kissed her. "Good." Another kiss. "Girl." Her lips were tight and slippery against mine. Her little tongue darted in and out.

When I let go she slumped down against the wall with her boots splayed out. I looked around to be sure no one had seen us.

"When is it my turn?" she asked in a small voice. "I can't--I can't keep doing this. We used to TALK." She was staring at her hands. Her nail polish was soft pink, a nice contrast with the dark grey of her top. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair.

"You know when."

"Fucker."

"You know, I've finally figured out what you really mean when you call me that."

"Have you now."

"Yes."

"Okay. God, I need to go get cleaned up." As she disappeared into the Ladies' Room she turned to me. "Fucker," she whispered, and blew me a kiss. I went and gave myself a minute or two to soften so I could piss. Her sillage of vanilla, incense, and old leather clung to me. I hoped no one would notice.

----

When we came back no one batted an eye at how long we'd been gone. Mitchell and Nieve seemed to be getting on like a house on fire. Well, that was just as I'd hoped. Kayleigh beamed at me when she saw me walk in. I sat down next to her and smiled back. Nieve turned away from Mitchell and pouted at me. "I want to dance!"

"Okay," I said. I rose from my seat and held out my hand as a gentleman should. She took it and I could feel how hot and sweaty it was. Something sexy about that, I thought as I led her over to the small dance floor and found space for us among the other couples. We danced three songs together. It reminded me of dancing with her in college, and I held her tight against me. She made a low, happy murmuring as we swayed. You can hardly call this dancing, I thought, but that's fine.

I thought about making love to her and her little bunny hops when she was riding. About how she'd blossomed these past months. Her big blue eyes looking up at me as she swallowed. The look on her face as she'd stroked another man's cock.

I wondered if she could smell Lacey on me.

When the song ended we broke apart.

"I missed that. It's been a long time since we've danced," she said happily. She looked like a princess in her dark dress with her hair in a coronet braid. She was still bopping in place, unable to hold still.

"Too long," I said. "But we should be sociable for a little longer. I'll dance with Lacey, since she seems a little lonesome tonight. Maybe you can dance with Mitchell?"

"Maybe," she said doubtfully.

Mitchell stood up politely when we returned, and I took my opportunity. "I was thinking of sitting the next one out. Maybe you can take my place?"

"I'd be happy to," he said.

"Um," said Nieve.

"Go on." Lacey's voice was soft but firm.

"Oh!" She nodded to herself as she remembered that Lacey held the reins tonight. "I'd love to," she told Mitchell. The two of them walked off, chatting happily. I watched them go. What was I feeling?

"Where's Kayleigh?"

"Went to powder her nose. She actually said it just like that."

"Cute."

"Huh. Are we going to dance?"

"Do you want to?"

"Feels like I already did." She grinned a feral little grin. "Anyway, I want to go give Nieve another assignment."

I refrained from any of the obvious jokes. She stalked towards the dance floor. A very, very fine ass indeed, I thought.

----

I stood up when Kayleigh got back from powdering her nose. She gave me a shy smile and we sat together. Soon she was telling me all about her childhood, her schooling, how she and Mitchell met. Her brown eyes sparkled and I found myself wondering what other expressions I could see on that lovely face. She must have taken some makeup off while she was in the bathroom. I could see faint freckles on her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose.

"Have I got something on my nose?"

"No, no. I was just thinking that freckles are quite attractive."

"Oh! Um. Thank you?" Those slim hands lifted her wineglass. This time she took a real swallow from it. "How long have you two been married?"

"Me and Nieve? It'll be fifteen years in December."

Her face held a complication of feelings. "Is it--does it--what's it like? My parents divorced when I was little. I'm getting married soon and I feel like I don't even know how to BE married."

"Do you want a very straightforward answer on how to keep a man happy?"

"Yes!"

"Compliment him whenever he does something you like, no matter how trivial." She smiled at that. I continued, "And have regular, enthusiastic sex."

And now she turned beet-red. "Oh! I mean...." She trailed off, drank a little more wine, and couldn't meet my eyes. Finally she wriggled a little in her seat and asked, "That's it? Compliments and sex?"

"That's it. We're not simple creatures but we have simple controls."

"I mean... I mean... I don't want to feel like I'm manipulating him."

"It's not like that. We need to feel loved and appreciated. And it's not like you don't get anything out of it, right?"

Her face darkened. "Right." She muttered something else that I couldn't catch. "Um. It's nice to have someone to ask about these things. I know we just met, but I feel like. Like." She took a big swig of wine, incongruous against her dainty features. Pale skin and dark eyes in the dim ballroom light. She put her hand on my arm.

"I feel the same."

"I just worry! That we're too young. I don't feel ready. I don't know if HE'S ready! He's so childish sometimes."

"Everybody starts young. If we're lucky we get older."

"I just always imagined that I'd end up with someone. More mature. Who knows how things work." Fingertips back and forth like butterfly wings.

"Hi!" Nieve was bouncing back from the dance floor. Her face was a little redder than exertion could account for, and I recognized that mix of pride and shame she wore after she'd completed one of Lacey's assignments. Behind her, Lacey looked like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Interesting, I thought. Kayleigh sat back.

Nieve plopped herself in my lap and put her arms around my neck and her face against my shoulder. I put an arm around her to keep her steady and felt her breathing. "How was the dancing?"

"It was nice," she said, muffled by my shoulder. Her head was resting right where Lacey had bitten earlier.

"Oh good. Where's Mitchell?" She startled a little.

"He said he wanted a drink."

"NEEDED a drink," corrected Lacey.

"Oh dear," said Kayleigh. "He's not a great drinker." She got up and went off to find him.

"Can I talk to you?" whispered Nieve.

"Neevee. I gave you the assignment."

"I want to talk to him first."

I caught Lacey's eye. She shrugged.

"Okay."

Out in the hallway Nieve strode ahead of me with short, quick steps. I seemed destined to walk behind woman with great asses tonight. Well, there are worse fates. When we were far enough into the shadowy quiet of a side passage she turned around. "She wanted me to get Mitchell hard!" I laughed. She actually jumped up and down in vexation. "It's not funny!"

I hugged her. "It's a little funny."

She made a little noise of frustration in the back of her throat. "He's a sweet boy and he's going to be married and ANYWAY I'M already married!"

"I think you might be overthinking this. It's just a little fun."

"You're not mad? You should be mad! Jeez!"

"Well, it's just like at the park, right? When you danced with those guys?"

Despite herself her lips spread in a smile. "I forgot I told you about that."

"I didn't. It's fine, love. It's a kind of game people play."

"Yeah?" She wrinkled her nose. Thinking about it.

"Yeah. Lacey wouldn't make you do something wicked, would she?"

"No? But she's in some kind of mood tonight."

"No. Did you already do anything to the kid?"

She burst into giggles. "I accidentally-on purpose brushed the back of my hand against his crotch."

"See?" Privately I thought that Nieve was unlikely to have convinced him it was an accident. Deceit was not her métier. "And the world didn't end."

"No." She stood up on tiptoes and kissed me. "I always feel better after I talk to you about these things."

"I will say, though, that it's a little rude to get a guy hard and not take responsibility."

"WHAT?"

"No, no. I just mean you need to be sure that someone will take care of that poor guy later. Blue balls are a hell of a thing." Her whole body shook a little when I said that. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She still hadn't confessed about that night with Jonah and I enjoyed knowing more than she thought. "Blue balls."

"But he'll probably just go home and have good sex with Kayleigh and everybody wins."

"Kayleigh. Do you think she's pretty?"

"She seems really young to me."

"Hmmph! Don't think I don't know when you're evading the question!" A kiss for me, however, so I must have answered correctly. "So...?"

"Maybe we should move to the other ballroom? I think that one's less for partner dancing, more of a club atmosphere. It'll be easier if there's more of a press."

"Jeez! My own husband arranging things so I can get another guy hard." A kiss on the corner of my mouth. "Bad."

----

The other ballroom was darker and throbbing with bodies. Kayleigh gave a little shake of her head as the noise hit us. I looked at her sympathetically. Not my scene either. Lacey, however, seemed to have been reinvigorated. She was tugging Nieve and Mitchell, holding a hand of each, onto the dance floor already.

"WHOO!"

"Whoo!" replied Nieve gamely.

"Whoo!" said Mitchell. He looked better for having gotten that drink.

"Um," said Kayleigh. She looked anxious but trailed after us to dance.

This time when we danced I made sure to stay in contact with my wife's body, touching her hips, her shoulders, sliding a hand onto her ass possessively. Our hips moved together, my wife breathing hard as I led. I let my hand run up and down that round ass, cupped it. She gave me an uncertain look the first time it happened, but when I kept it there she closed her eyes and her lips curved in a smile.

If I was being provocative it was nothing compared to Lacey. She danced with Mitchell and moved with conscious sensuality. She kept touching his arms, chest, and shoulders with light, feather-like strokes that could only be an invitation for more. Where Nieve and I were tight against each other, she kept a deliberate distance. Her hips moved like a snake's, and she held eye-contact with a challenging, almost defiant gaze. Kayleigh orbited around the pairs, trying to participate but clearly uncomfortable. Lacey looked at me as if to say, Who's the fifth wheel now?

Nieve had noticed Lacey's changed demeanour as well, and stepped up her own game. If she was less sinuous, she had a body that begged to be admired, touched. Used. Her arms circled my neck and she leaned back, showing off those big breasts as she shifted her weight, making them bounce to the driving beat as we ground together.

The two women, without ever acknowledging it, competed like this while we danced, growing more and more seductive. I was genuinely concerned that I would need to step away and sit for a bit to avoid ruining the line of my pants, but fortunately Lacey called it quits before I had reached that state.

"I need another drink!" she shouted over the music. She and Mitchell slipped through the crowd, and Nieve and I followed after. Kayleigh dashed ahead of us and grabbed Mitchell's arm.

"Whew!" said Nieve, her chest heaving. I helped her into her seat, then went to the bar.

When I returned Kayleigh was still holding Mitchell's arm possessively. Lacey was sitting next to Nieve, idly playing with my wife's fingers. Running one of hers over the wedding ring.

"I think I'm done for a bit," I said. "Out of shape. Need more cardio. And some air."

"Aw," said Nieve, putting her free hand on mine. Her face was warm from alcohol and excitement. "I wanted to dance some more."

"So dance some more."

"I can't if you don't! Jeez!"

"Of course you can. In fact you have to dance with anybody that asks you to." I caught and held her gaze.

"Okay," she said, looking away from me. Then she looked back and made a kissing face at me. "You're in charge," she said huskily.

"And don't you forget it." I got up from the table and moved away, as if headed to the door, then stepped away to a dark corner of the room. From my coign of vantage I watched Lacey, Nieve, and Mitchell pick up the conversation. After a bit, Lacey rose and held out a hand for Mitchell, who grinned and took it. Then Lacey did the same for Nieve. She must have said something provocative, because Nieve blushed bright red (enough that I could see it even in the low light), but she took the offered hand and the three of them hit the dance floor. Kayleigh, left behind, looked like she might cry. As they went I saw Mitchell look around, scanning the room, but he didn't see me.

The dancing was different now that the pairs were broken up. Nieve and Lacey danced together, with Mitchell as an orbiter, then Lacey and Mitchell, while Nieve bopped near them, then the three in a sort of braided exchange. As I watched, they came into a stable configuration, with Lacey dancing with Nieve in front, while Mitchell danced behind her. Both of them were touching her now, Lacey with a hand on her shoulder as if guiding her, and Mitchell with his hands on her hips. He was a good head taller than most of the others on the floor. It was easy to keep track of them.

My wife clearly found this arrangement arousing. Her eyes were lidded, her mouth half-open. Her movements became less of a dance, and more of a sway, a response to contact from her partners. Lacey moved closer and put her arms around Nieve's neck. Mitchell drew nearer as well. Soon he was pressed against my wife from behind while Lacey occupied her in front, the three of them swaying to the beat. Nieve's mouth was open in a wordless sigh of pleasure.

It wasn't for nothing that Lacey had been chatting with my wife about her desires. She knew just where to touch her and her hands moved confidently over Nieve's body. Nieve made no effort to stop her, simply let her friend fondle her intimately. Lacey took one of Mitchell's hands in her own and began to lead him in stroking Nieve's bare thigh, higher and higher. She was pinned between them but made no effort to break away.

In the flashing lights and sea of bodies they moved together. Lacey's thigh parted Nieve's legs, an echo of earlier that night. Nieve was now being directly stimulated as the two of them continued their rhythmic grinding against her. Her breasts were squished against Lacey's, the two of them inseparable, with Mitchell behind her. He was scowling, almost, his face set. What was he thinking right now, I wondered?

Lacey was whispering something directly into my wife's ear, a wicked smile on her face, and then I saw her little pink tongue flicker out and the tip of it run along the outer edge of Nieve's ear. Nieve's mouth fell wide open. Lacey made eye contact with Mitchell and mouthed something, and he picked up his pace. Now the two of them had her helpless between them. She was holding onto Lacey with one arm, the other arm behind her pulling Mitchell closer. Her head tipped back ecstatically.

I walked quickly back to the table. "Hey," I began. Kayleigh looked up at me with those wide dark eyes, burst into tears, and ran out of the ballroom. I sat down to consider.

"Where's Kayleigh?"

"She went to get some air, I guess? Left in a hurry." Mitchell's face was red now with exertion or something else. He flopped into a chair, his long legs sprawled out in front of him. "Where are the girls?"

"Nieve and Lacey? Still dancing. I had to take a break." He fanned himself with one hand. Could definitely palm a basketball, that guy. "Your wife is, um"--he hesitated--"really hot."

"I'm a lucky man," I said.

"No kidding! Kayleigh's great, I love her so much, but." He stopped himself. I raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. Nothing."

"Can I give you some advice? As an old married man?" He nodded. "I have no idea what women want. You might talk to Nieve about it."

"I couldn't do that! I've just met her!"

"Yeah, but it seems like you two get along well. I haven't seen Nieve take to somebody like this in a long time. She'd be happy to help, I'm sure."

"I don't know."

"Mitchell. Nieve and I have been married for almost fifteen years. We have three kids. I don't know what the deal is, but believe me, she's not going to be too grossed out."

He laughed awkwardly, then rubbed his forehead and wiped his hand on his pants. "It's not like that!"

"Well, good. Are you going to go find Kayleigh?"

His face changed. "No. She can learn to be a grown-up." Oof, I thought.

"Anyway. Talk to Nieve is my advice. You might find her surprisingly open-minded." No emphasis there, but a moment of eye contact.

"I--" he was interrupted by his phone buzzing. After he looked at it, he looked at me sheepishly. "Shit. Kayleigh took a cab home."

"She okay?"

"Probably not. Shit." It was a measure of how drunk he was that he was cursing. "Should I?"

"Up to you. Personally? I'd say it's okay to let her cool off a little." He put his head in his hands.

When the girls rejoined us, Nieve took one look at Mitchell and said, "You poor boy!"

He tried to brush it off, saying, "It's fine, don't worry, she does this," but you could see he was upset. He mumbled something about finding food and got up in a hurry.

"Oh dear," said Nieve, watching him go. Instead of heading to the tables of hors d'oeuvres, he stalked out into the hallway.

"SOMEBODY'S not getting any tonight," observed Lacey.

"Oh!" said Nieve pensively. "Really?"

Lacey laughed a little meanly. "I bet Kayleigh's legs are shut tighter than a vise for the next couple days."

"Because of us? The dancing?"

"Who knows?"

"But I already--"

"What?"

"Never mind I'm going after him," she said all in a rush. She gave me a long, deep kiss then, as if trying to tell me something she couldn't put into words. Lingered. Our tongues touching, before she pulled back. She stroked my cheek. And then Nieve walked away.

Lacey's eyes were pale green in the strobing lights. "Your wife is about to do something NAUGH-TY," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Fucking finally," I said, but I didn't know if I meant it anymore. I thought about Kayleigh's face.

----

We gave them a few minutes and then slipped away ourselves. The halls were mostly empty; the few people who were there with us were drunk, looking for the bathroom, or caught up in their own affaires de coeur. Sometimes all three. Lacey held my hand as if we were on a date. She giggled, glding down the hall on the balls of her feet.

"It's HAP-PEN-NING!"

"They'll hear you."

"Nah. Oh, there we go." A door ahead of us was cracked open. It led to a central room with several smaller offices off of it. One of them had the light on, and I could hear Nieve's soft voice, put couldn't make out the words. "C'mere!"

Lacey pulled me into an office next to the one that had the light on and swatted at my hand when I went for the light switch. "Are you retarded? Keep the light off!" She gestured at the large window that made up much of one wall. It looked into what seemed to be a conference room. There was a large table surrounded by chairs, a whiteboard, the usual. Mitchell sat on the table looking miserable. Nieve was standing in front of him stroking his head softly.

Lacey moved in the dark as if she could see perfectly. With soft, agonizingly slow movements she reached the window, found the latch, and then even more slowly opened it just a crack. She made no noise doing it, nor any as she made her way back to me. I'd taken the executive chair for myself and was seated behind someone's desk. She stealthily crept into my lap and straddled me, her boots up on the arm-rests of the chair.

"Ninja," I breathed in her ear.

"Shh," she breathed back. "Just watch." She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. I put my arm around her waist. The notes of her perfume had changed after her exertions on the dance floor. Now jasmine was mingling with amber, while behind it lay her own almost citrus tang.

"I just don't know what to do!" Mitchell's voice was soft but clear. "She gets mad at the littlest things, and just leaves like this!"

Nieve stroked his head, curling his short hair behind his ear. "You poor boy," she said. Lacey reached down and gave my dick a squeeze.

"Already hard?"

"Shh."

The first kiss--I couldn't see who initiated it--was tentative, slow, exploratory. My wife put one hand behind his head and their lips touched for a long, long time. "Mmm. I'll take care of you," she said. Lacey bit my neck.

He pulled back. "We shouldn't." His tone was the flat one of a man that says what is expected of him. Whatever sincerity might have been found was undercut by him pulling Nieve in and kissing her again. Harder and sloppier now. She kissed him back, tilting her head.

Soon Mitchell's hand was tangled in my wife's hair. Even sitting on the table while she stood their faces were level, he was so tall and she so tiny. She had one hand on his chest, as if reserving the choice to push him away. But instead I could see her fingers stroke and explore his body.

"It's hard, isn't it? Let me take care of you." Nieve's voice was almost maternal as she pulled back from the kiss. She raised her hands to check that her hair was still up, then reached down and caressed his crotch. On my lap, Lacey quivered. As Nieve sank down to her knees between Mitchell's legs, Lacey stood up and slowly drew her panties down and off, over her boots one leg at a time. When she sat back down on my lap, this time she was facing away from me, watching the two bodies in the next room.

I reached around her and grabbed one of her breasts. "Nnn!" Her back arched and she clenched her jaw shut to keep from making noise. My other hand I slipped under her silver skirt, finding her shaven pussy. She was drenched, and I ran my fingertip up and down each of her lips in turn before slowly bringing it up from the base, opening her as I went. I circled her clit and she let herself moan softly. She tipped her head back so I could kiss her. "Get it out," she whispered against my lips. "When she--I want it when she takes his in her mouth."

Obediently, I unzipped and wrangled my cock with some difficulty through the fly of my boxers. She scooted her bare ass back against it and relaxed, her back against my chest. "You could still stop her," Lacey whispered. "Stand up, go in there and break things up. But you won't, will you?" My finger slipped inside her. "E-everything that happens from here on out is your ch-choice." She was shaking.

In the other room Nieve was resting her cheek on Mitchell's thigh as she reached for his zipper. "So hard. Let me take care of you," she repeated as she pulled it down. She reached inside and gripped him. Impatiently, he brushed her hand aside and pulled out his cock for her. She smiled up at him. "You don't have to worry."

Lacey lifted herself up and I grabbed her waist, holding her just above my lap. My hands were holding her so tightly it was going to leave bruises. I could feel the heat of her pussy, the welcoming dampness of her, on the head of my cock. Nieve opened her mouth. Lacey spread her legs wider.

My wife's blue eyes were wide and bright as she slowly lowered her mouth onto another man's cock. Simultaneously, I slide Lacey down onto me, feeling her warmth wrap around my erection.

"Yes. Yes. Yesyesyesss," she hissed as I filled her. "I knew I'd get this big dick inside me." She was trying to keep her voice down but she couldn't help speaking a little louder than was safe. Her eyes were wild, and she began to move tentatively, as if she were afraid she would hurt herself. "OH FUCK YES oh fuck me oh thank fucking god." The words spilled out of her like she couldn't stop herself and I was terrified that they'd hear her. She was still shaking.

I needn't have worried. Nieve and Mitchell were rapt in their own world. Nieve's head rose and fell slowly in his lap. It was a sensuous, tender motion. His big hands were on her head, making her look even smaller. Up and down, up and down, she lazily bobbed her head. It must have been my imagination that I could hear the sucking noise. We were too far away for that.

Lacey put her arms over her head and back so that her hands linked behind my neck. She knew exactly what I was thinking; her rhythm was the same as my wife's. We were both watching her as Lacey rode me. Her cheeks were hollow, her lips tight around him. Lacey's ass rose and fell as if the two women were linked. As Nieve's mouth neared the base of Mitchell's shaft, Lacey dropped lower, taking even more of me.

"Who do you think's tighter?"

"Shh."

"Look at her. Don't look at me. Look at your wife."

"I'm looking." Lacey didn't need to order me. I couldn't have looked away. I watched the mother of my children as she gave loving service to another man. My hands reached under Lacey's bra and began to tease and pinch her nipples. I remember how she'd done that herself when I'd watched, and tried to imitate her roughness. Judging from the sudden gasp and the clenching I felt, as if she were trying to cut off the blood flow to my groin, I was doing an acceptable job. She began to push back and forth on my lap, arching her back and then hollowing it as she rode.

Nieve's slow, slurping blowjob would have been my ideal, but Mitchell had a young man's impatience. His big hands began to guide her, first gently, then with force. He set a faster pace and Nieve closed her eyes in concentration as she tried to please him. Her brow was furrowed and I could see her gag a little a few times before she got the hang of it. Lacey went faster too.

"Fuck that slut's face," she whispered, never taking her eyes off the pair of them. "Fuck that little bitch's mouth just like a pussy. Use that whore. Shove it all into her fucking throat."

Nieve opened her eyes and I thought for a panicked moment she'd heard something. But she was looking up at Mitchell. I could see her eyes watering and hear the muffled, increasingly desperate noises she was making: inarticulate, but clearly asking him to go easy on her. Instead he pulled her mouth up and almost off, then slammed it down. She keened around him, gagged, and then her eyes went even wider as he began to spurt. At the same time Lacey dropped herself down on me, reached a hand down to her clit, and began to rub like she was trying to break it off. As Nieve gulped and choked, Lacey's orgasm hit her and she jammed her free hand into her mouth and bit down hard. I watched my wife's throat pulsate and felt myself approach the edge.

"Nnnnow," she said, her teeth clenched, and I came like I'd been punched in the back of the head. Completely helpless, my hips jerking spasmodically, I shot again and again into her pussy as she twitched on my lap. Her own orgasm seemed to go on for hours just like my own. No going back, I thought, as I filled my wife's best friend.

As I--finally!--began to slow, then stop, I gave my attention to the next room. Nieve had done her best, but she'd been unable to keep up. Her chin and decolletage were frosted with his seed. She wiped her mouth with the back of one hand and swallowed again, trying not to retch. I wondered what she thought of him. Of how rough he'd been, of the two of them crossing this line.

"You really needed that," she croaked, a shaky little smile on her glazed lips. "Ulk!" She needed a moment to get control of her gagging. But once she had herself in hand, she gave his cock a little kiss. I closed my eyes for a moment. I didn't know why, but I hadn't expected her to be so affectionate with him.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem!" Somehow she seemed so happy, despite the treatment he'd given her. "I should get cleaned up. Do you have a hanky?" Mitchell's mother had raised him well; he did. Nieve mopped at her face, the tops of her breasts, and made an attempt to clean the parts of her dress that had received a spattering. On my lap Lacey gave a satisfied little wiggle.

"Mmmm," she purred. "Look. At. That." With every word she squeezed my softening cock, still inside her.

"You won't tell Kayleigh?" Mitchell looked awkwardly down at my wife.

"No, of course not! This is just between you and me." Nieve reached up and touched his lips with a finger playfully.

"Okay. We should get back."

"Yeah."

Lacey and I watched as they adjusted their clothes and left, turning out the light behind them. We gave them a minute or two head start before we got up to follow them. Lacey giggled a little as she searched the office floor for her panties. When she turned around I caught her in my arms and held her.

"We need to get back," she said in a no-nonsense voice.

"I know." I had my eyes closed and my chin on the top of her head.

"Not what you thought it would be?"

"Shut up." She laughed at that, gave the back of my neck a little rub.

"Fucker."