I wanted to take a moment to respond to some of the readers who have left comments or e-mailed me privately with their thoughts and opinions. First of all, thank you! I'm glad you see my writing as something worthy of the time and effort it takes to comment. Please know that while I do keep notes on the plot and character progression, after 2+ years and fifty-two chapters, I do sometimes forget things. My editor (aka Mrs. Badger) usually catches these, but the system is not foolproof. There was a comment in the last chapter that perhaps that was not Tim's first experience with anal sex; I recall mentioning in chapter 7 (I think!) that an ex-girlfriend had allowed him to touch her there once, but I don't recall ever writing it had gone further. If I did, my apologies—I dislike plot inconsistencies in the stories I read, and constantly worry about them in mine. As to those who have requested I publish more often, I am truly flattered! Please understand I write when I have time (airports and hotel rooms when I'm traveling on business are a popular place for me to put thoughts to screen), so sometimes I don't have as much time as others. I really don't like to rush my stories to publication—I want to make sure they are something I at least don't hate by the time I let them go, and will go through several re-writes in the process (this also tests my efforts at plot consistency—I am always trying to remember what version of the story I ended up using?). All in all, I would rather deliver quality slowly than substandard quickly.
Now, standard disclaimers.
For those who have stumbled across this story for the first time, please be aware that this chapter may or may not have much or anything to do with the selected category. Many of the earlier chapters do fit more neatly into the exhibitionist area; please be sure to go back and start from chapter 1 if that is where your tastes lie.
This is a story about sexual exploration and, open relationships. Open relationships can and do happily exist; but they are not for everyone. If you do not believe it is at all possible for open relationships to exist without damage to any and all involved parties, please do yourself a favor and don't waste your time reading this.
Also, this story takes place in a world where STDs don't exist and only babies planned for and wanted do—in other words, a fantasy world. Any resemblance to real-life people is purely coincidental.
*****
Gwen tried to remain patient as they sat down to dinner that evening, waiting for Tim to volunteer something about how his day doing tear-out at the McCallum's lake house had gone. To her frustration, he kept the conversation centered around the activities of the other plumbers, quizzing her on whether paperwork was being turned in correctly and what needed restocking. She filled him in on what she had seen and heard around the shop, biding her time.
Finally, she could wait no longer. "And how did your day go?"
"Good," Tim mumbled around a mouthful of chicken. She waited for him to finish chewing so he might go into detail, slightly irritated when he did not.
"Did everything go alright?"
"Oh yeah, pretty typical. I had to undo some do-it-yourself work from the last owner that wasn't code, but nothing too bad."
"And the McCallums? Are they nice?"
"Yeah, really nice. They both work out of the house—she's an educational consultant—so they were there all day, but they mostly stayed out of the way. Bob came in to talk boats and fishing, but he didn't seem like one of those guys who wants to know what I'm doin' and why I'm not doin' it like his buddy did. Yvette looked in a few times to check on the progress and ask if I needed a drink or anything. She also told me to tell you thank you for putting me on the job. I guess she asked for me? "
"She said she asked for you because they, umm, like their privacy and since you saw them on the beach... so, did they wear any clothes today?"
Tim smiled and forked a green bean. "Well, uhh, yeah, shorts and shirts, both of 'em. Guess that's proper business attire when you work from home, right?" He quickly decided full disclosure was best. "I mean, Yvette wasn't wearing a bra, so I guess that's what she meant by privacy." He stopped there, waiting for a reaction.
"How could you tell?"
"Her top was loose. No big deal. I mean, I've seen 'em before," he said with forced nonchalance, looking down at his plate.
Gwen has seen them too. Much larger than her own, not quite as big as Natalie's..."Huh. Do you think she knew you could see them?"
"Probably...I don't think she was trying to show 'em off, just being comfortable in her own house." Tim again waited for his wife's response. Gwen's need for modesty and propriety had relaxed quite a bit, but he still wasn't sure just how she would react to him being around half-naked women without a chaperone.
Gwen raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I'm, uhh, gonna put the boat in on Sunday and head over to Bob's—we're gonna go fishing," he slowly continued.
"Oh." The Lady conjured an image of a naked Yvette going along for the ride and the Slut quickly countered, reminding her that Tim would behave himself if that unlikely possibility came to be. Besides, Tim had trusted her around plenty of naked women lately...
"As far as I know." The phone rang and Gwen rose to get it, her husband thankful for the interruption.
"Hello, Natalie, how are you?"
"Hey Gwen, I'm good, how're you doing?"
"I'm good, too. Are you at work?"
"Yeah, taking a quick break. Hey, I just got a message from Liz—she's going to be in the area tomorrow and we're going to have lunch together before I go to work, so I can't come over and ride."
Gwen kept her disappointment under control. "Oh—oh, that's alright, I understand..."
"I was hoping you might want to join us."
"Thank you, that's very nice, but I'm sure you'd like to spend time with her..." probably doing what we would be doing if you had come over here, the Slut grumbled.
"I want to spend time with both of you. C'mon, it's not like you two are strangers—you're not afraid of her, are you?"
"Of course I'm not afraid of her," Gwen huffed. Maybe a little intimidated, but not afraid. "Are you sure she wouldn't mind?"
"Positive."
Gwen weighed her options, wondering what besides lunch she might be committing herself to. "If you're sure you don't mind me tagging along...where and what time?"
"Noon. Bluefin's. You know where that is, right?"
Twelve o'clock and Natalie had to be at work at two. There would be no time for—that-after. Maybe she and Liz would be taking care of "that" before lunch, working up an appetite without her. The Lady took this opportunity to mourn the death of Gwen's sanity and decency. "I do. We installed their dishwashers. I'll see you at noon, then."
Tim was grateful his wife's attention seemed to be on something else after she hung up, and Yvette McCallum's clothing choices were not discussed further.
***
Gwen was prompt as always, pushing through one of the restaurant's double doors at 11:58am. She scanned the large dining room until she spotted the tops of two heads, one blonde and one redhead, sitting side by side in a booth tucked away in a secluded back corner. Liz rose to greet her with a hug before letting her go and allowing Natalie to give her own welcome while a young waitress appeared to take the newcomer's drink order.
"I was just telling Liz how busy I've been since we came back from vacation and how glad I was that I had a chance to see you," Natalie said, a tight smile on her face. Gwen thought her expression a little strange; maybe nervous anticipation? But of what? Liz seemed not to notice, intently studying her phone.
"I was all set to—"her sister-in-law stopped mid-sentence, catching her breath. After a moment, she exhaled and continued. "To ride today, but when Liz called I thought it would be nice for us all to get together."
Gwen could see a mysterious smirk on Liz's face as she continued to stare down at the phone. "Well, thank you for inviting me—it was very nice of you," she offered, her train of thought derailed as her sister-in-law again held her breath and shifted a bit in her seat. "Natalie, is everything alright?"
Liz didn't bother to look up as she spoke first. "Cho—you remember Cho, right?—sometimes sends me new products to try out before she offers them in her shop. The latest in wearable technology," she continued, turning the screen in her hands towards the woman across the table. Gwen looked up, her confusion obvious. It appeared to be some sort of music player control panel, what did that have to do with anything?
"Today Natalie is wearing a butterfly vibe," Liz explained quietly, the smirk still there. "It's like a G-String with a little bullet vibrator attached. They've been around a long time, but they're always either too weak to do anything much more than annoy you, or too loud to use without the whole room knowing about it. This one is different, though; I tried it out and the strength definitely gets my stamp of approval. But I wanted somebody else's opinion. So, were you able to hear it?" Gwen shook her head, eyes wide as they shifted between the phone, her sister-in-law, and the redhead.
"I can't either," Liz continued, "and I'm sitting right next to it. It's got Bluetooth, so you run it from this app. The sliders control the intensity, and there's also a feature that makes it vibrate in time to the beat of the music." She smiled, turned the phone back to herself, and poked at it. "You can even make it vibrate to your voice." Natalie tensed again, the new setting obviously working. The screen was turned back to Gwen. "Here. Say something."
"I don't know what—"Natalie's eyes fluttered and Liz laughed and swiped at the phone. "The louder the voice, the stronger the vibration. I'll bet this thing could knock your panties off at a party."
"She made me put it on out in the car," Natalie said, glancing darkly at the redhead, "and has been tormenting me with it ever since. It's really good, but in the wrong hands, it could have you dropping your jeans to get it off of you. Might be embarrassing at the grocery store, you know?"
"Or here," Liz added, her attention back on the screen.
The waitress reappeared with Gwen's drink. "Are you ladies ready to order?"
