This story is the twenty-sixth in a series which I have carried on far too long. However, I find these characters hard to get out of my head. I hope that they give the reader some of the enjoyment they give me. While this story can, hopefully, be read enjoyably by itself, the earlier installments provide context and character background. My characters are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to any real person is unintended and coincidental. Please do not rely on these stories for any legal advice.
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Natalie, Peter, Erin, and I went out diving with Abby and Clive each of our remaining days on the island. When the four of us arrived at the boat the morning after we had all made love on the beach, I was gratified to see that Abby and Clive were already naked. That day, and the rest, all six of us left any and all clothing at the dock or, in the case of the four of us, back in our room at the resort.
We established a routine. We would dive in the morning. After the morning dive, Abby and Clive would take us to a secluded beach where we would eat lunch and then fuck in the surf or sand or both. Erin, Natalie, Peter, and I swapped partners readily. We thought that we ought to wait until Abby and Clive suggested swapping partners with them. They gave the impression that they were thinking seriously about it, but they never did. They did make love to each other as frequently and openly as the four of us.
We were eating dinner, nude, at the resort on the next to last night of our vacation when Natalie brought up something serious. As a Magistrate Judge, she had a job for a term of years rather than for life as do full federal judges. Natalie had initially been appointed a Magistrate, by the judges of our district, out of the US Attorney's office when she was still fairly young. Her second term was going to expire in a few months. Most of us who practiced before the federal courts in our town had hoped that Natalie would become a full District Judge. However, given who was in the White House and who controlled the Senate that seemed remote hope for the foreseeable future.
"The Chief Judge has assured me that they will appoint me for another term as Magistrate," Natalie said as we ate seafood and drank our wine. "I'm not sure that I want it. Being down here has been so liberating because I have been able to do what I want without worrying about having it reported in the news. As long as I'm a Magistrate, I have to stay below the radar. I think that I'd like it better if I was in a private practice so that I could let my hair down more often and enjoy being the person I've become."
Having first-hand experience with how liberated Natalie and Peter had become, I appreciated and empathized with her concern. However, I doubted that most private law firms would be very tolerant of that lifestyle. That got me thinking.
Our last day of vacation was as great as the days before. Abby and Clive took us to a wonderful new spot to dive, although, with the current and the depth, it did present some challenges to Erin and me. Following the dive, Abby and Clive took us back to the beach where we had all made love a few days before. We had wine and a marvelous lunch.
It was implicit that there would be sex after lunch. We all stayed with our primary partners. However, the three couples lay so close together on the beach that day that was a shared experience, a very special one that I'll never forget.
Abby and Clive finally accepted our invitation to dinner at the resort that last night. We talked, laughed, and exchanged contact information. We made Abby and Clive promise that they would come visit us in the American heartland, but it wasn't a promise that I expected to be kept.
The next morning, the four of us put clothes on for the first time in a week. It did not feel good. We took a very early boat back to the mainland. That was followed by a long, rough flight in a small puddle-jumper to Tegucigalpa where we boarded a regular jetliner for the flight back to the States.
On the jet, Erin and I were seated four rows behind Natalie and Peter, far enough away that neither couple could overhear the other's conversation. Once we were up in the air, I asked Erin whether she had enjoyed the trip.
"It was wonderful," she said. "And, I learned, or reinforced, something."
"What was that?" I asked.
"Peter is a very wonderful man," Erin said, "but you are special. I love you very much."
Hearing that from such an extraordinarily beautiful, intelligent, and kind woman was extremely gratifying. Very sincerely I said, "I love you too." We spent the rest of the flight to Houston holding hands. As we took off from Houston for the final leg of our trip home, I began thinking about whether my relationship with Erin should move into a new phase.
Melina met us at home late that evening. I was somewhat surprised because she had class the following day. Melina usually stayed in her apartment a couple of blocks from the law school on "school nights." Nonetheless, I was gratified to see her. Erin and I talked with Melina for a time about the trip before the three of us went to bed. Erin and I were both too fatigued from the long journey that day to do anything so the three of us just cuddled until we fell asleep.
The next day was a typical first day in the office after being gone for a week. I had a lot of catching up to do; although Melina had helped a great deal by organizing everything that had come in over the last week based on whether a response was needed and how urgently. When I went past Erin's desk, she seemed immersed in a spreadsheet of some sort.
When we stopped for lunch, Erin put a copy of her spreadsheet in front of me. "I've run the numbers based on last year. Assuming that we do at least that well this year, and assuming that she brought in no additional revenues, we could afford to guarantee Natalie Wurdemann the same salary that she's earning now as a Federal Magistrate. Our benefits aren't as good as the Feds, but," Erin smiled, "our working conditions are a lot better."
It was almost unsettling how much Erin and I thought alike. We hadn't talked about it at all, but I had been thinking about offering Natalie a partnership in the firm since she had said that she wasn't sure she wanted another term as a Magistrate. Obviously, Erin had been thinking the same thing.
"Should we make her an offer?" I asked.
"I think so," Erin replied. "We get along with her well. She can take some of the litigation load off of you. And, I have to believe that she'll bring in new business. I also think that Melina will like the idea."
Although Melina was in her last semester of law school, we'd already agreed that she would become a partner in the firm. While that could not happen formally until she got her license, we already gave her an equal say on firm management. When it came to bringing in a new person, Melina, Erin, and I each had a veto.
"Is Melina coming in this afternoon?" I asked.
"I think so," Erin replied.
"Let's run it by her today, then," I said.
When Melina came in, Erin and I sat down with her in the conference room. I recounted Natalie Wurdemann's conversation while we were in Honduras and Erin explained her analysis of the numbers. I was not surprised, but was gratified, that Melina whole-heartedly supported offering Natalie a partnership.
