. 08

My thanks to all who have sent e-mails concerning the delay between chapters. It's very flattering to know that new installments are awaited so anxiously. My apologies to all for the delay between chapters, but life has been hectic recently and spare moments have more often been spent outside than in front of the keyboard.

Standard disclaimers.

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.

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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.

*****

Cricket slept well after her second orgasm of the night and the house was still quiet when habit awoke her at dawn the next morning. She lingered in bed, parting her legs and idly running a finger over the wisps of hair on her cleft while mulling over the events of the previous evening. The anticipation and then the sounds of Tim and Gwen making love had inflamed her arousal to a point where good decision-making had become difficult; the door they had left open to make listening in more convenient had made it impossible. What they did not know, and what was nagging at her now, was that the open door had allowed her to watch as well. She had not seen that much, really, she reasoned, and her imagination had been busy filling in details, but she had seen enough to know it was certainly something she should not have witnessed. The young woman struggled between vows to never do it again and ways to improve her view the next time.

She could hear stirrings in the bedroom at the end of the hall and hurried to dress, intent on being the first out to the barn and chores. The young house guest was about to step onto the deck and into her muck boots when Gwen made her way into the kitchen dressed in nothing but a t-shirt that ended high up her thighs, and Cricket was thankful her friend's lack of appropriate barnwear meant she would have a head start on turning out the horses.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but they can wait a little. It's barely light out there," Gwen told her as she opened the refrigerator to retrieve bacon from the bottom drawer, her makeshift nightshirt riding up and confirming she had not bothered with underwear. "Did you sleep alright?"

"I did," Cricket replied. She glanced in the direction of the hallway and lowered her voice. "I usually do when I, uhh, get all relaxed like that."

Gwen chuckled. "I know what you mean. But you could have slept in, you know. The horses will wait."

"Yes, but you won't. You always seem to get out there first. When I'm here that should be my job-you have to do it all during the week; on weekends it's you who should be sleeping in, not me."

"Habits are hard to break and putting out a little extra feed and hay is not that difficult. He's really a very easy horse to care for."

"Yes, but you're also footing the bill for that extra feed and hay. Until I can pay you two back I insist on using manual labor to keep up with the accruing interest. I can only imagine what you have to do to keep Tim from getting fed up with all the extra bother and expense and putting me and Marvin out on the street."

Gwen turned around, a curious look on her face. "Tim is very happy to have you both here and is certainly not fed up. Why would I have to do anything to make sure he's not?"

Cricket hesitated, unsure how to explain how the unpleasant act her friend had performed on her husband must have been some sort of appeasement offering. "Well, I, uhh, just—"she was thankful for the sound of Tim's stockinged feet shuffling down the hallway. Gwen gave the young woman another inquisitive look before sidling up to her husband for a hug. Cricket smiled and pretended to concentrate on her boots just enough to seem polite as his hand briefly strayed to the bare bottom beneath the shirt and squeezed.

Breakfast was a hurried affair. Tim anxious to be on his way out to the lake for a day of fishing. The women were in only slightly less of a rush to be in the saddle and were on their way up the trail forty five minutes after his truck had disappeared down the driveway. Marvin made his displeasure known at being left behind to recuperate from his cut, his snorts and bellows clearly audible for some time as the riders followed the winding path up the hillside.

"Sorry, I never realized how much noise he could make," Cricket said apologetically. "Hope no one complains."

"Everything sounds louder in the early morning. It's the country," Gwen replied patiently. "We can hear the neighbors way down the road shooting some times, and the noise from their 4th of July party carries all the way up to our house. They'll be fine—they probably can't even hear him." She smiled at her young companion. "Things seem louder in a quiet house, too. I hope Tim and I weren't too noisy last night?"

Cricket blushed and studied Dancer's neck. "No, not at all. And uhh, thank you, for uhh, helping me out after."

"You're welcome, but thank Tim—he's the one who suggested it."

The young woman's blush deepened. "I can't believe he did that!"

Gwen continued to smile. "You know he likes the idea of me, umm, helping you. He was, well, very happy to see me when I came back—he seemed very concerned that you had everything you needed."

Cricket giggled. "I guess you told him I had been very well taken care of. Sorry, I went to the bathroom after and heard you two, uhh, doing it again. I never knew men could, umm, be ready to go again so quickly!"

"I know it sounds terrible, but he probably got all worked up thinking about what you and I were doing while he was waiting for me...I'm finding out he's got a very active imagination...I hope that doesn't sound too creepy."

"Not really. Having you come visit was very exciting for me, so why not him? Listen Gwen, I have a confession to make..." The older woman looked over expectantly as Dart continued to pick his way forward. "I, uhh, well, your door was open kind of wide, and uhh, well, I saw you and Tim in the mirror..." Cricket panicked at the sight of the older woman's raised eyebrows and the words began to tumble out. "But just the first time, not the second, I wasn't even trying to look, I swear! I'm sorry—I really didn't see much—the angle was bad—I'm really sorry! I know it was a very rude thing to do but I couldn't help it! It's bad enough that I was listening in, but now I'm a peeping Tom, too! You deserve at least a little privacy in your own house! I'm really, really sorry!"

"Cricket, relax—breathe, you're spooking Dancer," Gwen said with a gentle smile. "It's alright. I'm glad you told me. And since we're being honest with each other—I knew you were watching. At least, I thought you were. I saw you in the mirror and I figured if I could see you then you could see us."

The young woman's expression changed from panic to surprise. "You saw me?"

"Uh-huh. I'm sorry it wasn't something worth seeing—I would think watching two old naked people grind up against each other would have made you run away in disgust."

"Stop that! You aren't old and you're both very attractive, even naked, especially naked! I thought it was beautiful, and sexy, and-" she hesitated, trying to regain some control, then quietly added, "At least, what little I saw. Like I said, I really couldn't see much anyways, just the tops of you and only when you were lying on your side. But what I saw was not disgusting! My perversions are, though."

Gwen smiled and looked down at the neck of her own mount. "I think we all have our little perversions. I know I do. It's taken me a long time to admit that. But I also have to admit I've grown to like them in a very weird way. I know this will sound really bad and really conceited, but I, uhh, in case you haven't guessed, I like to be heard AND seen sometimes. But only by people who want to hear and see! You were looking last night, so I let you watch and I even showed off a little. How's that for perverted?"

Cricket smiled back. "Sounds like our perversions are a good match for each other. How long did you know I was out there?"

"I saw you when I, umm, went to return the favor after Tim took care of me. I saw your face, and it looked like your shoulders were bare, so I guess you weren't wearing a top, right?"

Cricket shrugged. "Worse than that. I wasn't wearing bottoms, either. Sorry."

Gwen laughed. "Really? You were completely naked? That's so exciting! I'm impressed."

The young woman shrugged again as her cheeks flushed crimson. "So you, ahh, saw me and you, uhh, still did—that-for him?" Her eyes glanced down meaningfully to where her crotch straddled leather. "You put your mouth on it, right? I saw you put your face near his, uhh, down there, but I couldn't see anything after. I just heard Tim and it sounded like he really liked whatever you were doing."

"Yes, that's what I did and yes it does seem like he really likes it. Don't you like it when I do that to you?"

Cricket giggled nervously. "I love it. And I love doing that to you," she added quickly. "But is it the same for you with Tim? Do you like doing that for him, I mean? I've never any woman say they actually like doing that. I guess if you love someone enough, or owe them enough..."

Gwen laughed. "Up until not too long ago I would never even have imagined putting that thing in my mouth! But, I guess my imagination got wilder, I tried it and yes, I really like doing it... I think I'm getting better with practice. It's hard to explain, but I get this feeling of being slutty, doing something I'm not supposed to be doing—what would our customers, our employees think if they knew I did that! I like the feeling of control I get, and that's all mixed up with knowing how appreciative Tim is. You'll see what I mean some day."

Cricket shook her head and giggled. "I doubt it. It's probably going to be a long while before I even get close to one and sorry, I can't imagine actually liking it...but if whoever ends up with me likes it that much, then I'll suffer through it and do it for him. Did you, uhh, well, I guess he finished while you were down there?"

Gwen smiled and glanced sideways. "Mm-hmm."

"I know it's really rude to ask, but you used your hand to get him to finish, right? Not your mouth?"

It was Gwen's turn to blush. "No, I left it right where it was. It makes me feel even sluttier."

"Wow! I didn't hear you gag or spit or anything!"

"I did gag a little the first couple of times I did that. But now that I know what to expect, I just hold on to it until he's done then I swallow it. That drives him crazy." The Slut purred wickedly.

"Oh my God! Really? Now I'm impressed! I always heard that stuff tastes terrible!"

"I can't say I'd rather have that over a piece of chocolate or a bowl of ice cream, but I've gotten used to it in small doses. Natalie says you can make it taste better by having a man drink fruit juice, so that's why I'm always after Tim to finish his OJ at breakfast."

"Wait," Cricket interrupted, "Natalie? You mean Natalie your sister-in-law?"

Gwen cursed herself, afraid she might have let her secret slip while the Lady broke into her vindication dance. "Uhh, yes, her, she's a nurse so that's probably how she knows that."

"You talk to your sister-in-law about sex—oral sex? If I talked to Daniel's sisters about that, first they would have called me a whore and then they would have assumed I wasn't getting pregnant because I was too stupid to know where my husband's blessed offering was supposed to go! Is your whole family that, umm, open, with each other?"

"You've met my parents," Gwen deadpanned. "No, Currans are not supposed to have those thoughts and we definitely do not discuss them. Ever. Luckily, Natalie is not a Curran by birth, so she's somebody I can talk to about things like that."

Cricket lowered her voice. "Have you ever talked to her about your friend...or me?"

Gwen looked over. "Uh-huh. She knows about you and me—I mean, my friend and you and me—you know what I mean. I hope that's alright. I trust her very much. Besides, well, she has the same type of, umm, relationship with some of her friends."

Cricket shook her head. "I'm actually flattered you would admit, uhh, you and me, to anyone. I had never heard of anyone being, uhh, being friends the way we are, but it sounds like it's more common than I thought. Guess I'm still pretty naïve. Everybody has secrets, I guess."

"You just have some catching up to do. I'm finding out there are a lot of things that go on behind closed doors."

The young woman smiled. "Or half-open ones."

***

Marvin heard them returning well before they were in sight of the barn and resumed voicing his displeasure with his rider's betrayal. The young woman stayed behind to offer her apologies and Gwen climbed the hill to the pool alone after a stop at the house to strip down and grab towels.

Cricket followed along soon after, pleased to see Gwen had not chosen this day to wear a suit. "When do you think Tim will be back?"

"Probably not to until later this afternoon," Gwen replied, lazily backstroking away from where her still-clothed friend stood by the pool's edge. "He usually wants to get his money's worth if he goes through the trouble of putting the boat in."

The young woman needed no further convincing and hurried out of her sweat-stained riding clothes. They relaxed in the cool water for some time, taking turns on the pool raft to dry and warm a bit before immersing themselves again.

"Tim was worried that you might have gotten the wrong impression about, umm, what you might have seen when we were up here yesterday," Gwen casually announced as she heaved herself on to the float.

"I was trying not to look," Cricket defensively reminded the older woman. "What was he afraid that I might have gotten the wrong impression about?"

"Certain things...male parts...sometimes shrink in cold water," Gwen said, slipping into her instructor voice. "And pool water can be cold, so...I think men are very concerned about their equipment size. I thought maybe you knew it does that, but he seemed concerned you might think he's smaller than he really is. I thought it looked fine, but he seemed a little worried." More than fine, the Slut felt the need to add. Almost like it was trying to summon the courage to show off.

"Oh—no, I didn't know that, at least not exactly. I saw a TV show once where they made some jokes about that, but I didn't really knew exactly what that meant. I've never seen a real one that wasn't already hard, so I have no idea what's small and what's not, anyways. But like I said, I didn't see anything either way. So it really does that? And it's noticeable? "

Gwen hesitated before confiding to her friend. "Don't tell Tim I told you, but it can get really small sometimes, almost like it's trying to hide, and then it's back to normal in just a few seconds! It's amazing how quickly it can change sizes. See, you're catching up already!"

Cricket laughed. "I guess I can sympathize with him? If my breasts did that, I'd probably look like I don't have any at all!"

"You and me both," Gwen agreed. "But I never minded having small breasts. I know how KD has to wear certain very restrictive bras when she rides so their bouncing doesn't become a nuisance. I'm glad I don't have to take those precautions." A mental image of Natalie galloping across the field topless, boobs flying in all directions, came to mind. KD's had to be about the same size...

The young woman giggled. "You always have such a positive outlook. Anything else I should know about a man's equipment? Does it breathe fire or perform magic tricks?"

"Depends on what you consider magic. And I'm sure the next man you take a liking to is going to show you things I have no idea about. In which case, I will expect you to catch me up."

The young woman followed her host's example and did not bother with a towel when they made their way down to lunch, wondering what someone would think if they were to pull up the driveway now and see two naked women casually strolling down the hill. Clean t-shirts were slipped on before they prepared their meal, Cricket's well-worn garment not quite covering her bare bottom. She realized that as they sat to eat that any visitor now would require her to remain sitting..

Cricket stretched and yawned as they finished lunch. "I really should get going. I'm getting sleepy just sitting here, and I still have to drive home and study."

"You got to sleep late and were up early," Gwen offered. "Why don't you take a nap here so you're alert for the drive?"

"I've been in your hair long enough for one weekend. I'm sure you have things you have to get done, too."

"I really don't want you driving tired. Tell you what—I could use a nap, too. Let's both take one."

Cricket weighed her decision. "I will if you will." The young woman let her host go down the hall first, unsure if napping meant occupying separate beds, greatly desiring Gwen's body next to hers but not wanting to seem forward by asking. She stopped at the door to her room and looked at the master bedroom hopefully.

"We can share a bed, if you want," Gwen said, not bothering to turn around. "Plenty of room."

They lay down side by side, Cricket staring at the ceiling, finally summoning the courage to initiate the physical contact she needed after Gwen rolled to her side and away from her friend. She moved behind the older woman and put her arm over the fabric-covered waist, snuggling into the warm body beside her. Gwen snuggled back.

"This is so nice," Cricket said contentedly. "I never knew how good another person's body could feel next to mine. Daniel hated physical contact. How do you not spend all day like this with Tim?"

"We have a business to run," Gwen sighed. "By the way, you feel good, too."

"Thanks." The young woman tried to wiggle even closer to the body she was wrapped around, her mound grinding into the tailbone it was pressed against. The bed did feel good and the ride, swim, and food had made her sleepy, but the need of something a little more physical to relax grew from a spark to an open flame.

Gwen wiggled back. "That feels good, too."

Emboldened, Cricket's hand slipped down the cloth-covered waist until it reached bare skin and reversed course, pushing the edge of the shirt up as she gently caressed her bedmate's smooth flank.

Gwen rolled back over, her face just inches from her friend's. "Need some help with something?"

Cricket avoided eye contact, fearful she had overstepped her bounds. "Well, if you'd rather not..."

The older woman responded by gently kissing her. "I could use some help, too." Her hand began its own journey under her partner's shirt. They took their time, neither in a rush, each relishing the feeling of soft feminine hands and lips, the feeling of closeness, all swirling together into a powerful aphrodisiac. It took some time, but Gwen was the first to bring her hand down to caress the spot where the other woman's legs met.

"Gwen?" Cricket asked, breaking their kiss as she opened herself slightly to welcome the touch.

"Hmm?"

"Your vibrator..."

"Would you like one? The wand or the rabbit?" she asked, abruptly withdrawing and rolling away to reach for her bed stand drawer."

"Actually, I've never seen you use one—on yourself, I mean. Would it be alright if I watched you, you know, us it—I've never seen it done and I want to make sure I'm doing it right," Cricket added hurriedly.