Alicia

The four of us ate by candlelight and the light from the small Christmas tree. Alicia had told me to use the good china and silverware, and our best wine glasses. Kathy was effusive in her praise when she saw our table.

"It's beautiful!" she gushed to Alicia. "Everything is gorgeous."

"Thanks," Alicia said, "but Phillip did it all."

"Well, Phillip, I am impressed," she said.

"Thank you, Kathy. I just wanted everything to be nice." I could tell the vodka was having its effect on Kathy, but I still appreciated the compliment. I pulled out Alicia's chair for her to sit. Kathy noticed that, as well.

"A real gentleman, too! Alicia, can I borrow him for a couple of days?"

Alicia smiled and patted my butt. "Sure," she said, "just as long as your bring him back in one piece."

Kathy laughed and said, "I promise nothing."

I brought out another bottle of red wine that I had been letting breathe, and poured all around. Twyla held hers out eagerly, and gave me a little smile as I filled her glass. She drank and said, "Mm, this is good, Phillip." She took another drink, nearly draining her glass. Kathy cut her eyes over to Twyla, but said nothing.

We had a little toast, "To friendship," and I served the food. Both Alicia and Kathy took generous helpings of everything, something that pleased me. Twyla took only a small piece of the beef, a couple of stalks of the asparagus (no sauce), and the smallest potato (sour cream only). I enjoy my own cooking, and would have eaten more, except that I didn't want to get too full. Alicia might want sex that night, and I would need to be able to perform.

The vodka and the wine made things go a little easier. I could tell why Alicia liked Kathy: she made her laugh. Kathy could tell a joke with the best of them. Pretty soon, she had everyone, even the sulky Twyla, laughing.

"So," Twyla said to me while Kathy told Alicia another joke, "how did you and Alicia meet?"

"We both work at the hospital," I explained. "I'm a respiratory therapist and she's a..."

"A doctor. Yeah, I know," Twyla said. "Kathy talks about her all the time. She seems to think that Alicia is one of the best doctors she's ever worked with."

"Alicia is one of the best doctors I've ever worked with," I said. "How about you? How did you meet Kathy? I mean, you seem so different."

Twyla held out her wine glass to be refilled. I poured, she drank. Then she said, "Kathy is smart, and sexy and attractive. I work at a clothing store she shops. I let her know I was interested, and she asked me out." Twyla drank the rest of her wine.

"Twyla dear," Kathy said, turning to her, "don't you think you've had enough to drink?"

Twyla immediately turned sulky and defiant. She mumbled, "No, not really." But I noticed that she put the wine glass down and took a small bite of her beef.

"So, what's next for you two?" Kathy said.

"What do you mean?" Alicia asked.

"I mean, what's next? Engagement, or marriage, or what?"

Alicia appeared flustered. I said quickly, "Well, we haven't decided anything about that, yet. We're just taking it day by day."

Kathy drained her wine glass. "Day by day? You're putting me on. Hell, you two live together. That's pretty serious, if you ask me."

"Well, we are serious about each other," I said truthfully to Kathy.

Kathy turned to Alicia and said, "If I was you, Doc, I'd marry this guy in a minute. I mean, he cooks, cleans, sets a beautiful table. I bet he even gives massages."

Alicia smiled and said, "Oh, he gives more than that, much more."

Kathy laughed heartily. She said, "Are you trying to tell me that he's good in bed as well?"

Alicia, so help me, blushed prettily. Kathy laughed again. Twyla looked annoyed.

"Does anyone want dessert?" I asked."

Alicia said, "Why don't we wait a few minutes, then have it with coffee in the living room?"

We adjourned to the living room. Kathy said, "Phillip, darling, would you be a dear and get me another screwdriver?"

I made Kathy another drink, and put the coffee on. Then I put on some music, rock music this time, after asking Twyla her preference. I dimmed the lights, and sat down on the love seat with Alicia. Kathy and Twyla sat on the couch, close together. Twyla seemed to have relaxed a little, and she leaned into Kathy while we all sat and talked. Mostly we talked about the hospital, but we talked about other things as well. Alicia played with my hair. The evening had, so far, been a success.

After a while, I roused myself and asked, "Does anyone want coffee and cake?"

Kathy refused. She seemed mellowly drunk by now, and her eyes were drooping. Twyla said, "I'll take a small piece of the cake, and some coffee." Alicia also said that she would have some.

I got up to go to the kitchen. Twyla got up and said, "I'll help you, Phil."

She followed me in, helped me cut the cake and pour coffee.

"I really like Kathy," I said. "She must be a hoot to be around."

Twyla moved close to me. I could smell her perfume, and, for the first time, I noticed cleavage in the déccolletage'. "She is," she said quietly, "but she's very bossy and insecure sometimes. Can I tell you something, Phil?"

"Sure," I said, suddenly not so sure.

"Kathy's hinted around about, well, kinky stuff. Like maybe bringing in a man, or another girl. I'm not really comfortable with it."

"Oh," I said. "I'm not sure that I should be hearing this, Twyla."

"I know. I don't know if I should even be telling it, but you seem like a nice guy. I feel like I could probably trust you." She moved even closer and started to embrace me. I gently but firmly took her arms down, and stepped back.

"Twyla," I said, "if you're having a problem with Kathy, you should be discussing it with her, not me. I think you're very nice, but we've only just met. I mean, we hardly know each other."

"We could remedy that," she whispered, stepping closer.

"No, we can't," I said. "Now, let's get this food served."

"Funny, I do this all the time at Kathy's house, too," Twyla said.

I paused. "You do?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "I'm practically her servant. I do everything for her: clean her house, wash her clothes, cook for her. And now she wants to do some kinky stuff during our lovemaking."

"Well, don't do anything you don't want to do," I said. "I mean, really want to do."

"Hey, are you two ever coming out of the kitchen?"

Kathy said.

Twyla and I came out, served the dessert and coffee. I put on one more CD, some mellow rock that I knew Alicia liked. I sat back down beside her on the love seat. Leaning up, I whispered into her ear, "I love you, Mistress." She squeezed my hand.

"Oh, you two look so good together!" Kathy said. She turned to Twyla and said, "Don't you think so, honey?"

"Don't call me honey, " Twyla said, and abruptly got up off the couch. She walked down the hall to the bathroom. Kathy looked at us, rolled her eyes, and got up, slightly unsteadily, to follow. We heard the door to the bathroom open and close. A moment later, there was deafening silence.

I took Alicia's hand in mine, kissed it, and said, "When they go, I have a confession to make."

Alicia looked at me. "Okay," was all she said.

Kathy and Twyla came out of the bathroom. They seemed slightly tense, but they were both smiling. Kathy said, "Well, it's been great, folks, but we have to get home."

Twyla smiled and said, "Yeah, I had a really good time." She shook our hands. It seemed that she held mine a fraction longer than she had to, but I couldn't be sure. Kathy was digging in her purse. She pulled out her car keys and handed them to Twyla. Twyla took them and gave me a "See what I mean?" look, which Alicia caught.

Kathy was a bit drunk, and when she hugged me goodnight, her hand briefly (very briefly, as Alicia was close) squeezed my butt.

"I'll walk with you to your car," I said, getting my coat.

"See what I mean? A real gentleman," Kathy said.

I turned to Alicia and said, "I'll be right back." She nodded. We went outside and I practically poured Kathy into the car.

I got Kathy buckled in, and was starting to turn away, when she pulled me to her and said, "Phillip, if you weren't with Alicia, I'd go after you myself." Then she laughed.

Twyla said, "Oh, for heaven's sake!"

I closed the door, and they drove off. I let out a huge sigh of relief. It had been fun, but not exactly comfortable.

When I got back inside, Alicia was clearing away the dinner and dessert dishes. I immediately went over and said, "Mistress, please let me do this."

"You can certainly help," she said, handing me a stack of plates. We worked together, loading the dishwasher, putting away the leftover food, wiping down the counter.

"Was the food all right?" I asked.

"Yes, the food was excellent."

"Did you have a good time?" I asked. For some reason, I was anxious, and I realized that it was because I had felt a little attracted to Twyla, and now felt guilty about it. I was in waiting mode, waiting to see if Alicia would bring it up.

She did. "So, what did you think of Twyla?" she asked.

"Oh, Twyla's all right," I said. "She's kind of young, don't you think?"

"I suppose. Do they seem happy to you?"

I sighed and said, "To be honest Mistress, not really. Twyla told me that she does everything in the house for Kathy."

"Like you do for me."

"Well, in a way. Except that I do all this because I want to. I love taking care of you. I don't think that Twyla loves doing that stuff for Kathy."

Alicia hung the dishrag she had been using to wipe down the counter over the edge of the sink and asked, "What is the confession you have for me?"

I was suddenly scared, even though I hadn't done anything wrong.

"Can I tell you when we're in bed together?" I asked meekly.

She looked at me and said, "If you want to."