Barstow - In!

"Huh?" Steve challenges Debbie as she is about to step into the bubbling hot tub.

"I'm not ready!"

"Ready for

what?

You know the rules!"

"Yeah.

Your

rules, Stevie!"

"Take 'em off, Deb," he scowls.

Debbie is breaking one of the cardinal rules governing the polycule around the house. She is wearing

shorts

. Topless like she is, is fine, but full nudity is required in the hot tub and during swinger parties, and "encouraged" the rest of the time. Even during the ladies' periods, when tampons, not pads, are the order of the day.

"I'm still not ready!"

Emily is all snuggled-up to Steven in the tub, toying with his boy parts.

"What's the matter, Debbie?" Em is genuinely concerned.

"Come in the house and I'll show you."

Steve's feeling rejected. "Why

her

and not

me?

We know everything about each other, Deb!"

"I don't know if you're going to like it."

"Like

what?

"

"I'm still not ready."

Emily has released her grip on Steven and is stepping out of the hot tub. Debbie tosses her a towel, and she and Em step inside.

Opposite Steve in the tub, Caroline is engaged in a vigorous lap fuck on Jackson. "I know," she informs Steve.

"Know

what

, dammit?"

"What she's scared of showing you."

Steve frowns. "Oh, geez. Gotta be a tattoo."

"Gawd, Steven. Good guess."

"You guys know how I feel about that. Your perfect bodies? As far as I am concerned..."

"Yeah, we've heard it, Stevie. 'Like drawing a mustache on the

Mona Lisa!

' There

are

other opinions on this. You've never complained about

mine!

"

"Small, inconspicuous, and tasteful. Besides, it came with. It was a factory-installed option."

She laughs and splashes him. Jackson just smirks.

A loud, laughing, "

You're kidding!!

" can be heard from the living room. Emily is evidently thoroughly amused about

something

. Debbie can be heard chuckling back.

Caroline shouts into the house, "

C'mon, Deb! Steve figured it out! Let's see it!

"

Steve is laughing to himself. He knows more than they think he does.

Emily returns to the patio leading a reluctant and now-naked Debbie by the hand. The 3-inch orange, yellow, and black butterfly tat on her smooth mons is kinda "out there".

Steve's still chuckling to himself.

Debbie is puzzled. "You're not mad? According to

you

, I have 'defiled my body.'"

"No you haven't," he snickers. "It'll be gone by next weekend. Nobody will know other than

us!

"

"You

know?

"

"I do. It's a temporary. A decal. Colors are too bright for one thing. The other is you wouldn't be going for the hot tub if it were for real. You'd have a month off while it healed."

"Gawddamn, Steven. What

don't

you know?"

Emily mutters, "Not much."

"Sweetie?" Steve gets real. "Besides. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do that, anyway. While we have our silly and over-the-top sexy fun, down deep you are quite the serious person. Killer smart. I love you for it, and I especially love that you love me back in the ways you do."

"Oh, Stevie," she purrs. "We've talked about this."

"We have."

"Em? Would you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"If I loved on Stevie right now?"

"You have to ask?"

Emily helps Debbie down the tub steps, and Deb glides to her Stevie for a very passionate hug and kiss.

"Lube," she beckons.

"Not yet. Let's caress each other. I'd like to touch you. In spite of your tattoo." He pokes his finger into the middle of the decal. Deb laughs.

Given the gathering on the patio, Jax asks, "Where's Cyan and Toby? Hell. Where's Ellie?"

Emily smirks at him. "Gawd, Jax. You really don't know? Big bedroom."

"You'd think they'd come up for air by now."

Emily dangles her legs in the tub and pets on Debbie and Steve. Jax and Car see motion in the house. "They're alive," Jackson snarks.

Cyan and Ellie step through the sliding door, it appears Toby is heading toward the kitchen.

"'Bout time," Caroline smirks.

"We

were

having our fun, Car," Ellie grumbles back. "The dogs were whining. Toby's letting them out."

Door slides open again, Toby pulling it ajar. Sky, Pixel, and Solomon bound through and go straight to the doggie door to seek relief in the backyard.

"They seemed desperate," he says.

"No accidents?" Steve asks.

"Not that I could see. Or smell."

There are several scrunched-up noses in reaction to that thought.

"Car?" Cyan requests. "Mind if I have a little bit of Jackson?"

"Sure." Caroline uncouples from Jax and slides over next to the lovers on the other side of the tub.

Cyan lowers herself to take Jackson, he grabs her hips to guide her down to the target. He asks, "Anybody have thoughts about something for dinner?"

Car grins her evil grin, "I'm always up for pizza."

Ellie quips, "No, girl. You're up for

Marcus!

"

Car just continues grinning.

Debbie, now attached to Steve in a sitting coitus, suggests, "I've been wanting to try that new barbecue place. They supposedly do delivery."

"Not a bad idea!" Steve replies. "As luck would have it, I kept the flyer they hung on the doorknob. It's on my desk if one of you want to look at it." He jokingly glares at Emily.

"Okay okay," she moans. "I'm mostly dry, so I get to do it. Be right back." She grabs a towel for her legs and slides the door open.

"I'll help!" little Ellie cheerfully adds.

"What got into

you?

" Em grumbles.

"Oh, sometimes Tobe here reminds me why we got married."

Toby grins. "Cyan assisted."

=====

Emily is back with the BBQ handout. "Okay, guys. Here's the rundown." She browses the listings out loud for the major entrees, and thought ahead to bring a pen to note everybody's requests.

After looking over the menu again, she announces, "You know, it looks like they have a family deal that could cover everybody. Big thing is an assortment of sides so we don't have to decide one-by-one. That okay?"

Head nods and shoulder shrugs confirm, and she and Ellie head back into the house. She calls the number on the flyer, and puts it on speaker for El's benefit.

"Smokey the Boar. How may I help you?"

"Hi! I have your flyer here. It appears we could use one of your 'family banquet' meal packages for delivery."

"Very good! Generous servings for eight. All pulled pork, pork and beef, or what did you have in mind?"

"I'd say half pulled pork, one-quarter brisket, and one-quarter smoked turkey. Can we do that?"

"Yes we can! Drink preference?"

"Let's do the gallon of sweet tea. Is it truly Southern style?"

"Yes it is! Nice to hear from somebody who knows the difference. I have your phone number here. Name and address for the order?"

"Foster. Emily Foster. 607 Pauline."

"Foster, 607 Pauline. Got it." Slight pause, probably to call the order back to the kitchen for an estimate. "Okay, you're nearby, so it should be about 20 minutes."

"That's great. Thank you!"

"Thank

you

for your order."

Em hangs up and sets her phone back down on the charger.

"Now what?" Ellie asks.

"What do you mean by that?"

"New company. They don't know about us."

"Driver might if they hired locally."

"You really wanna take that risk?"

Em's phone rings.

"It's the barbecue number," Em tells Ellie. She picks up, also on speaker.

"This is Emily."

"Ms. Foster? Our driver tells me you guys have a reputation."

"Reputation for

what?

"

Ellie is muffling laughter.

"Things like answering the door wearing no clothes."

"If you think they're going to be offended, we'll be sure to have somebody dressed to accept the order."

Laughter can be heard in the background.

"Uh... is

that

Gordon?"

"It is! You know 'im?"

"You could say that."

The order-taker covers the mouthpiece, but can still be heard, "

Gordon? You know this Emily person?

"

She uncovers the receiver just in time for the guy to be heard answering with an enthusiastic, "Ooooh, yeah!"

Back to Emily, she says, "Apparently this isn't a problem with Gordon. But in the future, please respect that it may not be somebody you know. Okay?"

"That's fine. I'll be sure to inquire."

"Thank you."

Emily quickly taps the 'end' button before she and Ellie break into hard laughter.

Ellie, still chuckling, has to ask, "So. I can safely assume that Gordon is somebody you've screwed already."

"Yep. Not a lot. He used to drive for the pizza place."

"Sooooo...?"

"Skinny, not too bad looking, sort of average where it counts, but he can keep it hard for hours. Special fetish."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Likes to screw on the front lawn."

"

Oh?

"

"Uh huh. As soon as I'd set the delivery down on the foyer table, he'd pull me out the door, push me onto the grass, drop his shorts, and plow the livin' fuck out of me."

"From the start?"

"No. Second time. First time he was mostly shocked by my answering the door the way I do. I dropped a hint as he was leaving."

"How long ago?"

"Months since he's been here."

"Whatcha going to do tonight? Humphreys."

"I know, and it's cold, too. Gord probably already knows about Humphreys, making evening deliveries in the neighborhood with him lurking around the corner. We'll see. You go tell the guys they have about 15 minutes before dinner is here, and I'll set the table."

=====

Ding Dong!

After some back-and-forth about who was going to answer the door this time, Debbie checks the monitor so there are no surprises. She opens the door to the young fellow bearing a gallon jug and three big bags of what is hopefully their dinner.

"You aren't Emily! But... ohgawd... you're naked! Wow, you're tall."

"Yep. I'm Debbie. I live here, too. Eyes are up here."

"Can't help it. The butterfly."

"Uh huh. Right. I'll take that stuff, and you can come in from the cold."

She takes the bags from Gordon and sets them on the table next to the door.

"Are you going to... uh...?"

"Fuck you? Too cold to do it on the lawn. You saw the cop around the corner, right?"

"Yeah. He always there?"

"Most evenings."

"And you know about the lawn?"

"We all do, Gordon. How are you for time?"

"I gotta get back. Boss told me I couldn't hang around. I'm their only driver."

"Too bad. It's not just Emily and Cyan any more. What time you off work?"

"Nine. Why?"

"Oh, 'cuz Emily claims you can really keep it up. There are five of us here tonight, and we'd like you to prove it."

"Fuck."

"That's right, Gord. 'Fuck.'"

"Uh... I have a girlfriend now. She expects me home after work."

"Bring 'er along. We'll do

her

too."

"Uh... gawd... uh... I gotta get back."

"Here you go. Plenty extra for your trouble."

"Uh... thanks..."

Gordon promptly turns heel and almost runs back to his car.

Needless to say, there are gales of raucous laughter back in the house.

"You are

so mean!

" Ellie laughs.

Caroline adds, "Yeah! Is this how you handled the frat boys?"

"Damn tootin' it is! When the rubber hits the road, the rubbers stay in their wallets!"

"Wow," Steve sort of moans. "Remind me to stay on your good side!"

Deb sets the bags on the dining room table and leans over to hug the seated Steven.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I put up with your crap, just like you put up with mine."

"But you..."

"There's a balance, Stevie. Isn't that right, ladies?"

Nods all around because mouths are full, sampling the buffet they've just laid out from the bags.

=====

Somebody threw a switch or maybe pressed a button labeled "mellow" for this evening's activities. After dinner, everybody retreated to the hot tub with their preferred adult beverage in hand, mostly slouching in their seats in the warm water, with the occasional "pass the lube" heard when somebody felt the need to refresh intimacy with one of the others. Loving touching and embraces, nothing frantic.

Even the dogs got the memo, laying about on the patio, simply basking in the company of their favorite people.

"It would be nice if Sarah was here," Debbie muses.

"Yeah," agrees Emily. "She rarely gets to spend time with us without it being some sort of event, and all the nonsense that goes with it."

"Weekend off," Steve suggests. "We need to set aside whole weekends where it's just the polycule."

"So moved," Jackson jokes.

"All in favor?" Ellie chuckles.

"You guys are being silly," Caroline scowls. "El, you know full-well that the motion has to be seconded, and then there's discussion, and

then

we can vote."

Toby purses his lips and vigorously nods. Damn lawyers.

"Middle shelf," Steve deadpans.

"Huh?" Cyan is puzzled. "

What

middle shelf?"

"The office. It's on the middle shelf on the south wall."

Emily gives him a dirty look. "

What's

'on the middle shelf on the south wall,' huh?"

"

Robert's Rules of Order

, that's what."

"Fuck, Steve!" Debbie scowls, and then moans, "Gawd, it figures that

you'd

have a copy."

Everybody laughs in mock protest and splashes at him. So much for the serenity.

Toby volunteers, "Guys, Steve's right. We need to schedule quiet time to ourselves when everybody can be here. Sarah is important especially to Steve and Emily, and she deserves this special time."

Steve glances around, and guards his face with his arms. "Motion passes?"

Laughs, smiles and nods all around.

"Cyan? Since you keep our social calendar, ball's in your court."

"Okay. Gotta be first or second weekend, I think. I'll have to check to be sure. I'll work on it tomorrow."

=====

Coffee cup in hand, Steve grabs his phone from the charging pad and takes a seat at his desk. Hesitating to tap the number he wants, he rises from the chair to close the door for the privacy it affords.

"(Shit,)" he mumbles to himself. "(Everybody here knows the deal.)" He sits back down and taps the "favorite". One ring, two...

"Well hello, fuckhead. About damn time you called. Somethin' goin' on? Screwin' anybody new?"

"Hi, Susan," he chuckles. "Great to hear your cheery self! A few new friends since we last talked. How 'bout you? Any new projects?"

"I'm tryin.' This lousy weather is sure putting a kink in our kink. Every time I schedule a shoot, the weather turns to shit."

"How

is

the weather down there?"

"Unseasonably cold. I can't catch a break. You did hear about our ice storm last week, right?"

"Yeah. Really sucked, from what I saw on the news. Speaking of suck, any new talent?"

"Yes! Picked up two couples last month into public fucking! Got some good stuff. I'm editing now and it should be ready to post in a week or so."

"Sounds like fun, and I'll peruse the 'new' page. But public shit? Just don't get your ass busted!"

"Gawd. Already did. Deion earned his keep on that one."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Apparently somebody saw us and called the cops. Deion managed to get his pants back on the second we saw the squad car, the couple moved quick, too. They knew the drill."

"How'd it end?"

"Tickets for disorderly, magistrate dismissed for lack of witnesses."

"There in town?"

"No. Murfreesboro."

"Suze? Suburbs are mostly bluenoses, you know. Gotta keep that crap in the city."

"Yeah, I know, Stevie. Hey. When in the fuck am I going to get to see you?"

"You haven't... uh...?"

"Oh, yeah, I have. Of course. We've talked about it. But

nobody

fucks

my mind

like you do. I miss that."

"Meet in the middle, maybe? I don't know who I could bring along other than Cyan. The polycule is hard to schedule around these days. Midweek or weekends, somebody has to work."

"And Cy and me... you know."

"Bring Deion. That'll teach 'er."

Susan laughs.

"I just brought up a map, and Marion is about as in the middle as we can get. Besides... you wanna try for Super Bowl here again? It's only like eight weeks away."

"That was a real haul, Steven. Almost six hours. The party was great and I really liked fucking all your friends and everything, but I didn't hardly get enough of

your

ass!"

"Lemme see what we can arrange. Thought just crossed my mind about coming down to your place by myself for a day or two."

"What? And leave all your girls to their own devices?"

"I think I've come up with a plan. Anyway, it wouldn't surprise you that I've seriously added to the pussy count since we last talked."

"Oh gawd!" she laughs. "The Stevie magic at work. Do tell."

"First, a couple of very nice ladies I ran into at the big hotel. Mid-thirties, customer reps. Pencil-skirt-and-blouse types. We do nooners at the hotel. They're pretty randy."

"Two on one? I bet they are! They do each other for you?"

"No! Straight! I don't get it, either! It's why I can't bring them into the swinger group. They've played with Toby and Jax at the hotel, but that's the extent."

"Oo. Yeah, you're already girl-heavy, and if they only fuck guys, they're left without much to do. Who else?"

"Adult bookstore manager. Late-twenties, cute, a bit saucy. But she's a project."

"Okay. Competition. '

A project

,' Stevie?"

"Hardly competition, Suze. Just your run-of-the-mill porn shop. The 'project' part is getting her acclimated to positive, fulfilling sex. Married super-young, and her second kid left her unable to orgasm. Split with her husband about a year later. She's been a lot of work."

"Work?"

"Sex and relationships counseling, Susan."

"I get it. That big heart of yours taking up lost causes. Like you do for me."

"I wasn't going to go there."

"Didn't need to. Okay, that's three so far. Are there more?"

"Two youngins. Service staff at the hotel coffee shop, both fresh out of college. They are a blast to have around. Very cute, very horny, very playful. Emily is taken with them, too."

"Half your age, Steven! I take it you haven't introduced

them

to the group, either. And how in the heck did

you

pick 'em up?"

"They came on

to me!

Keri is the coffee shop host, and had seen me come and go with Emily and the other ladies. She also saw me pick-up those sales reps when I was meeting Claire for a tryst. She addressed me by name that time and dropped some totally un-subtle hints. I evidently had been on her radar."

"You can be a charmer, Steven. If she saw you entertaining more than a couple of those beauties you hang with, it wouldn't be too hard to peg you as a player. The other one?"

"Cat is Keri's BFF, and of course they'd talked about me. One morning after a play night at the hotel with a couple we're recruiting into the swinger group, she was serving us breakfast. Once she verified I was Keri's boyfriend, next thing I knew was her dropping her panties in my lap."

Susan cracks-up, "Oh, gawd, Steven. I can just see that with you. Still... I can kinda get you haven't taken 'em home yet."

"Next on the dating agenda. No swinger parties at this point, although Keri's sort of chomping at the bit. I have my reservations."

"You certainly do -- the men your age. You told me before that a couple of your regular guys go after the young girls to the detriment of the wives."

"Yeah. And these two are five years younger than we've had before, 'cept Zoë."

"Zoë?"

"Oh, that's right. She and Chad weren't at the Super Bowl bash. He does a lot of overseas travel with his job."

"You're a busy guy, Steven."

"I am. Your turn."

"Not much to tell. Been fuckin' the new couples I told you about. They're photogenic, at least, but not especially fulfilling out of bed. Deion when I'm desperate."

"'

Desperate

,' Susan?"

"Gawd, Steve. I've been doin' 'im

for years

and I'm

still

sore the whole week after."