House Rules

This is a sequel to the story House Sitting

Tuesday Mercy went over to lunch at Kelly's house, something that had been arranged for a couple of weeks. I got home from work around 4, and Mercy came back shortly after that. I asked Mercy about her day and she said she had been over at Kelly's all afternoon, but she kept changing the subject when I asked her about it so I let it drop. But when we went to bed that night she practically ripped off my clothes and we had a session that rivaled Sunday's.

Wednesday I took the day off from work to take care of a few things around the house while Mercy was at her job. Mercy worked part-time, and I always got more done when she was at work. I had to run a few errands in the afternoon, and on my way out I noticed Kelly's car was in their driveway. She was in the yard and we waved to each other as I drove by. Mercy was home when I got back.

My next clue that something was up came that evening. Doug called and Mercy answered the phone. He said he and Kelly needed to talk to us about something involving Stacy that had happened while they were gone. He told Mercy she didn't want to discuss it over the phone, but we could come over for cards on Friday night and talk about it then, and not to mention anything to Stacy just yet. Mercy and I were a little concerned, but because they invited us over for cards we figured it couldn't be too serious.

During the week, I tried to remember if we had left any signs of our escapade. Mercy had been very thorough. The only thing that bugged me was that I hadn't figured out how to reset the DVD to where it was originally.

Friday night came and after dinner we walked over to Doug and Kelly's. We joked on the way over about the previous weekend.

"Maybe they want to give us a live performance this time," I said.

"You'd like that wouldn't you, you pervert."

"The only show I want is you"

Kelly and Doug greeted us warmly and offered us cocktails which we accepted. We chatted about their trip and the Redskins, and we sat down to play bridge. We finished the cocktails about the same time as we finished our first rubber of bridge, beating them handily as usual. Doug went out to the kitchen and came back with a round of the same foreign beers that Mercy and I had had on Sunday. Mercy and I exchanged a quick glance – we had forgotten to replace the beers we drank.

We had actually remembered on Tuesday, but by then it was too late. Mercy said that Kelly had offered the use of their house to us, but I countered that this was probably just their way of being polite, and they didn't really expect us to take them up on the offer Mercy said that she had said the same thing to Kelly and she had insisted.

I decided to take the offensive, "Those look familiar"

"What do you mean?" Doug asked.

Mercy and I launched into an explanation of how we had helped Stacy out on Sunday and remembered the game was on and wondered how it would look on their TV, and how Kelly had offered us the use of the house, and we didn't plan to take it seriously until we remembered the game was on and we decided to watch until halftime but we were enjoying watching so much we stayed for the game and borrowed a couple of their beers,

Doug replied that he hadn't realized that Kelly had made that offer and hoped we had enjoyed ourselves.

"We did," Mercy and I both replied, and looked at each other a little embarrassed. We had both tried not to let any extra meaning be conveyed by our tones.

Doug paused for a minute and then said, "There is something serious we need to discuss with you" and paused again.

Little alarm was going off and I think Mercy felt the same way. Even though I knew Doug was pausing for effect I couldn't help but let it affect me.

Kelly broke the silence, "We think Stacy watched one of our movies while we were gone and that the movie was inappropriate."

Alarm bells were now vibrating my whole insides, but I struggled to maintain a calm exterior. I could tell Mercy was doing the same.

"It was partially our fault, I guess," said Doug, "We always keep our X-rated DVDs locked up, but we accidentally left one in the player the night before we left, and we could tell from the settings when we got back that someone else had watched it, because it was not at the same point we left it at."

I noticed Doug said 'someone" this time. There was another short pause, but before Mercy or I could say anything, Kelly spoke up again.

"And with our security system, it had to be someone who had access to the house. And since Stacy was the only one...We understand she probably was curious, she must have seen quite a bit of it. We don't want to make too much out of it, but we wanted you to know. We thought maybe we should talk to Stacy..."

Mercy and I looked at each other. My mind raced to catch up. Stacy of course did not see the movie and would have no idea what they were talking about. I stalled for time.

"Well, she isn't a child anymore. She's probably seen stuff like that at college. But we'll talk to her about it. It's something the parents should handle."

Doug took his turn. They must have discussed this before hand.

"There is something different about this DVD. We have to insist that we talk to the person who saw it. I don't want to go into details, but it is important."

I wanted to have a little more time to think, but Mercy dropped the bomb before I had a chance to stall a little more.

"Then you need to talk to us."

Another pause.

"What do you mean?" asked Kelly.

"We were the ones who watched the movie," said Mercy. "It was an accident – Stacy was busy on Sunday so we filled in for her. We wanted to try out your television --we were trying to watch the football game – and I hit the wrong button..."

Mercy trailed off. She was trying to tell as little as possible while lying as little as possible. There was another long pause – Doug and Kelly waited for Mercy. I was thinking now of all the lies we could have told – that may have accidentally started the DVD player but never say anything – but it was too late for that now. We had been caught off guard.

I decided to dig Mercy out, even if it meant a full confession.

"Mercy couldn't figure out how to turn it off right away, and we got drawn in for a few minutes before we figured out how to turn things off."

Doug jumped right in. He looked at Mercy and said, "Did you recognize anyone?"

Mercy glanced at me, but she had to be on her own. "Yes"

Doug and Kelly both sat back, both acting shocked.

"I'm really stunned," said Kelly, in a strained voice. "Doug, we need to talk."

They both got up from the table and went to the far end of the room, where they held an animated discussion. Mercy and I sat in silence, nursing our drinks, and tried to look like we were not eavesdropping. They were close enough so we couldn't talk privately, but far enough away that only a few words or phrases escaped their huddle...'embarrassing', 'friendship', 'handle this'.

After a few minutes the conversation became calmer. Finally, they returned to the table. Kelly addressed us.

"Look – Doug and I really like you guys. We are neighbors and hope to be good friends. At the same time, I don't think our friendship can ever be the same. Every time I see either of you, I will be reminded that you saw that movie, even if it was an accident."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. "We really enjoy you guys too, and would hate to have anything come between us."

Doug's turn. "Kelly and I have been thinking off some solution. There is not a simple one, but – did you ever see the movie

Fail-Safe?"

I nodded uncomfortably. I had read the book. It was set in the 60s and was about an American plane that accidentally drops a nuclear bomb on Russia, and rather than starting WWIII, the US agrees to have a retaliatory bomb dropped on New York City.

"We think the best way – the only way -- to save our friendship is for us to watch you two – either a movie or live."

Mercy and I just looked at each other. She started to open her mouth.

"Now we need to talk," I said.

We went to the far end of the room. Mercy was totally opposed to it. "It was there fault for leaving that movie in there – what if Stacy really had seen it – can you imagine? What kind of people are they?"

"I don't like it either. I don't want them to watch us live, but I don't want to give them a DVD or Videotape they can copy either.

"On the other hand, we don't have a lot of friends. If we don't agree, it will be very uncomfortable having them as neighbors and enemies, and very difficult to explain to Stacy. We should not have been messing around in their bedroom."

Mercy was starting to get upset. She may have thought I was blaming her. She saw my arguments, but I also understood where she was coming from. If we agreed, our relationship with them would still not ever be quite the same. She wanted some time to think it over, but I didn't think either of them wanted to let us go home without an agreement. When I told her that, I could tell she was really stressed out.

Doug came over to us.

"Look – I know we are asking a lot, but we don't see another option. Kelly is really embarrassed and feels very strongly about this. If it were just me, I think I could get over it."

"This is just so much for us to digest", I replied.

Doug seemed to think for a minute.

"I think I might be able to talk her into an alternative. What if we challenge you to a game of strip Hearts. If we win, you perform for us. If you win, we will just forget this all ever happened."

Mercy and I looked at each other, and after reading my face we agreed. We had played Hearts a lot with her family when we were first dating, though usually it was cutthroat.

We walked over to the table. Kelly's face was unreadable. Doug spoke up.

"Here are the rules I came up with. Every time you get ten points, you have to take off a shoe or sock. After that you take off a piece of clothing for every twenty points, with underwear counting as one piece. Each player play for themselves, but the winning team will be based on lowest total score."

It was complicated. I realized that they might have done this before or thought it up ahead of time, but at this point I didn't see how we could back out. We mumbled assent. I was nervous and turned on.

Doug shuffled and Kelly cut. Something about it seemed a little odd, but I wasn't in a position where I could have protested without solid evidence, and I wasn't sure I wanted to.

Mercy lost big the first two hands and lost her shoes and socks, but held steady for the next three hands while Doug and I came close to catching up. The sixth hand I was dealt four of the five top hearts and the Queen of Spades. I took a chance on my pass to Doug on my right and ended getting great cards from Kelly and shooting the moon, to pull us within 12 points.

Doug lost his remaining sock and shirt, and Kelly lost her socks. Even though I won, Mercy ended up with 73 points meaning she would lose her shirt. ,

"I forgot a rule. The winner of the hand gets to remove all clothing. Since you won the hand Rod, you get to remove Mercy's shirt," Doug said.

I was about to demure, but I could tell from the look on Doug's face not to mess around. I unbuttoned her blouse and took it off of her as business-like as I could, though I couldn't help glancing at her black bra that emphasized her cleavage.

We were in uncharted territory. I tried to remain calm and focus on strategy, but it became more difficult as the stakes got higher and more skin was showing.

Doug took 21 points on the next hand, which put us ahead, though Kelly won the hand. She kissed him while removing his pants. I glanced over at Mercy and caught her glancing at Doug's bulge.

We didn't stay ahead for long. I took the Queen of spades and the hearts split evenly among the other three, putting Mercy at 81 and Doug at 84, while I shot up to 50. Kelly won the round, and started around the table.

As she moved towards Mercy, I couldn't help admiring her figure through the red fabric, and remembering how she looked without them on in the movie. She went over to Mercy, grabbed her jeans and turned her to face Doug. She knelt down in front of Mercy and slowly undid the front and slid them down, exposing her matching skimpy black panties

We were down by two points – the next round was crucial. I was passed the Queen of Spades, and my only chance to dump her was on Mercy, so I ended up eating her. Kelly won the round again, and I stood up to take my punishment, but Doug intervened' "We'll wait one round."

I had 68 points.

The next round was no better. I dumped the Queen on Kelly, but ended up with 11 Hearts and a score of 79.

I was able to void myself of clubs on the next round, but had to keep some high Diamonds to do it. Doug passed me the Aces of Diamonds and Spades as well as the nine of Diamonds. When Mercy led the two of clubs, I was able to dump my Ace of Spades on Kelly's Ace of Club. Kelly led a low Diamond, and I decided to dump my Ace, only to have Doug throw the King on it. I didn't take any more Hearts, but the damage was done. Kelly took three Hearts to put herself at 82, but still won the hand.

She stood up and said, "I'll take care of myself first."

She took off her blouse in a slow strip tease that had me rapt. Slowly unbuttoning each button, I caught myself holding my breath as she revealed sexy bra hiding her melon breasts.

She started around the table looking at me. Doug glanced over at Mercy. I couldn't read her thoughts, but I could tell she was uncomfortable.

I stood up. Kelly slowly unbuttoned my shirt, caressing my skin slightly as she took it off, and knelt down in front of me, unsnapping my jeans and lowering my zipper one click at a time before suddenly yanking them down, exposing my own growing bulge.

Doug had dealt the cards while Kelly was taking care of business. As Kelly returned to her seat, I picked up my hand and glanced at the score pad. Doug had 93, I had 92, Mercy had 91, and Kelly had 62. I looked at my hand and excitedly realized it was perfect for shooting the moon. My excitement soon soured as I realized that Doug and Kelly would still win.

I passed of my three worst cards, but it was hopeless. I broke 100 with the Queen and took Mercy with me because of the three high Hearts I had given her. Doug and Kelly each took two hearts.

Nobody said anything for a moment. Kelly stood up.

"How about double or nothing", I joked.

Kelly stopped and looked at Doug.

"What are you proposing?" said Kelly, taking the lead.

I wasn't really proposing anything, but I was desperate. I blurted, "We'll play again. If we win, we go home..." I hesitated while thinking of an acceptable penalty.

"And if we win, you two have to have to do whatever we ask for the whole night," said Doug.

"All right", Mercy said before I could recover, "but we play Bridge this time. If we do lose, we come back tomorrow. It's getting late and Stacy will be home soon."

Mercy surprised me. She was sure we would win, but even if we didn't maybe she thought what Doug meant is that we would perform for them and they would direct the action if they won, and it was a day away. I wasn't so sure, especially after they agreed so readily.

I couldn't understand why they would agree to this, knowing they had little chance to win, and that made me suspicious. Maybe it was a face-saving way out. At any rate, it was too late now. I wanted to get home too, and Stacy would be gone tomorrow night on a school trip.

"First though, we need to take what you owe us from the last game."

Once again I stood as Kelly walked over to me. Mercy hesitated but stood for Doug. Kelly slipped her thumbs inside my jockey shorts, her fingers trailing over the outside. She slid them around and my cock hardened more than I thought possible. Meanwhile, Doug accidentally caressed Mercy's breasts as he went to unfasten her bra. Kelly paused and we both watched as he slowly unveiled Mercy's spectacular bosom, her nipples as rigid as my dick. Kelly slowly slid my jockey's down, pausing while my cock was pointing towards the floor, before releasing it to point straight at her. Doug caressed Mercy's ass as he slid her panties off of her.

Doug left the room and came back with a digital camera. He snapped a couple of pictures of us naked, then took out the memory chip and put it on the table. "We'll give this to you as soon as you win."

We didn't win.

I'm not sure what happened. The cards definitely went there way. It was distracting playing naked. But they also played the best they ever had. I wondered if they had been sandbagging us all this time.

Doug reached out and pocketed the chip. Mercy grabbed her clothes and dressed quickly, and I followed suit. Kelly and Doug got dressed also, but at a more leisurely pace, watching us with slight amusement. They acted as if nothing unusual had happened, as if it had been any other evening of playing cards.

Mercy went to use the restroom before she left, and Kelly went out the same way. They were gone quite a while. When they returned together, unspeaking, there was a different look on Mercy's face. They walked us to the door.

We'll call you in the morning to make arrangements," Doug said. "Good night."

We gave a half-hearted good night back and started home, stunned.

Half way back I asked Mercy what had happened with Kelly, but she didn't respond to that.

"I have something to say, and I don't want you to say anything back..."

"OK"

"When we started all this card stuff, I assumed whatever happened would be between us. I'm not sure what all happened tonight. I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, and I do know enough to know we don't have a choice. I don't understand how you could have lost that card game or done the other things you've done, but whatever happens, remember I still love you. And after tomorrow we will forget it happened.

"Now let's act normal for Stacy."

Intentionally or not, Mercy had timed things perfectly. We were back at our house and Stacy was home, so I didn't have a chance to respond even if I thought Mercy would listen. I put on a normal mask and followed Mercy into the house.

We went to bed shortly after that and Mercy kept me from bringing anything up by rolling over and going right to sleep. My mind was racing through possibilities and fantasies but my exhaustion finally caught up with me and I fell asleep.