"Hey, girlfriend. Do you remember where baggage claim is?"
"Door D, I think. Near the east end of the terminal."
"She's right, Stevie."
Steven, Emily, and Ellie are in the van, eager to retrieve Penny and Alyssa from their flight into Springfield. Traffic's fairly relaxed in the loop at the airport, one of the few blessings of a smaller "spoke" destination.
Penny is the fourple's mutual lover from last year's road trip to Miami. She's an adorable and tiny young woman -- Steve's weakness -- who manages the special hotel in Hollywood, "Rooftop Resort". It's special is because it's a swinger enclave, and she, her roommate Alyssa, and the fourple, were unstoppable for the several days they were together at the hotel. The sexual antics dial was turned to 11 during their stay, and
maybe even 12!
"
Look! Stevie! There they are!
"
"
Ohmygosh!
" Ellie blurts. "
Ohmygosh! She's really cute! Stevie!
"
Steve jerks the van to the curb and the pair in front fling open their doors. Emily grabs the sliding door handle to let Ellie out, and the little spinner can't help but to launch herself through the door and sprint to hug the counterpart she's only heard about.
Penny greets with open arms. "Hi! You're Ellie. Ohgawd you are
absolutely adorable!
"
"
So are you!
So great to finally meet you, Penny."
"
We
are going to have
so much fun
tormenting Stevie!"
Ellie knowingly laughs, "
We sure are!
"
Emily is standing there chuckling at this while Steve and Alyssa embrace and kiss. "Oh, Stevie," Em mumbles to herself, "are you in for a shitload of trouble!"
El and Pen are still hugging. They share gazes, and simultaneously press their faces to each other for a kiss. A sustained kiss. An open mouth tonguing kiss. They don't show any signs of letting up.
"Sweeties?" Steve tries to coax them back to earth.
"Oh,
Stevie!
" Ellie gushes. They separate and jump to hug Steve
hard
, one on each side.
"Guys? I sort of knew it was possible, but I certainly didn't expect
this
."
"We love you, Stevie!
" in unison.
Emily reaches to Alyssa for a hug and light kiss. "Did you think it would be like this?"
"Yeah, I kinda did. Pen was squirming in her seat as we landed, just itchin' to be with Steven again. Little did she know her mirror image would be waiting for her."
"They
are
so much alike. It was no surprise to me when Steven fell for her."
"Your guy is something, isn't he?"
"He is. Let's get your bags in the van."
Alyssa opens the rear door. "Uh, Emily? Is there enough room? This bed takes up most of the back."
"Should be. Slide them down the sides and there's enough room in front of the doors."
"Any particular reason there's a bed back here?"
Emily chuckles, "Take a guess. We put it back here before leaving to pick you up."
Lyss rolls her eyes. "Of course. Who with who?"
"Anybody who wanted it. Looks like it's going to be a spinner-fest with Stevie. I'll be driving. You're shotgun."
"It's like you do this a lot."
"More or less. I thought you figured out from our visit that Steve and I live in each other's heads."
"That
was
sort of apparent. Yet you have others with reckless abandon."
"We do. But you know what compersion is, right?"
"Learned it from you guys. Joy in your lover's loving, regardless of
who
they're loving at the moment."
"Yes, but it seems to be deeper with us. We can't explain it."
"Give me an example."
"Last time Cyan and I went out for strange. I did five guys, I think, and he was prepared for tales of my libidinal roller-coaster when I came home. We kept each other up all night in my retelling of the conquests. We definitely had
our
fun!"
Lyss shakes her head. "You guys are such a trip."
"No argument there. Okay, they're carrying on in the back seat. Saddle up!"
=====
The ride home -- short of an hour -- was uneventful, provided one overlooks Pen and El tearing each other's clothes off the moment they left the terminal area and all but going airborne as they jumped over the seat back and onto the bed. Oh. And the near-screaming fit coaxing Steven to "
get your fucking clothes off and get your wondrous ass back here!
" from Penny, with Ellie jumping back over the seat to push him up and out to join them. A fuse had been lit and whatever it was attached to exploded all over the inside of the van.
"Did you have any hint this thing was going to be crazy like this?" Emily chuckles to Lyss.
"A little. She was mumbling, 'Gawd I so want that cock! I want
him!
' I think it was just as we were beginning the descent. Over Nashville, I think. Ellie, though, was a surprise."
"How are
you
doing?"
"Oh, I'm okay. I was kind of disappointed Jackson wasn't with you guys, but on the other hand, it was about as likely he and I would be fighting 'em over that bed."
Emily shakes her head and chuckles. "Yeah. He's all ready for you guys at the house. How are you with sex in a hot tub?"
Alyssa bursts into big laughter at Em's joke. Probably a quarter of their time together in Miami was in or around the hotel hot tubs.
"
That was funny, Em!
" Steve laughingly shouts from the back. Ellie and Penny are giggling as they explore each other.
Lyss poses, "How are
you
doing, Emily? In the last call lining everything up, Steve mentioned to Pen that you and your boss had some sort of falling out."
"Boss's boss's boss. President of the company. It wasn't a falling out. We're still seeing each other, just under more controlled circumstances. He got a little too close, and it was affecting his marriage."
"Steve involved?"
"Of course. He consoled Tom's wife -- they'd been lovers for years anyway -- and he and I worked together to put the boat back on course."
"Y'all are different. Really different. Not at all like the swinger community we deal with. You guys apparently all love each other."
"That's true. I'd say it's a Midwest thing, but not really. Cy, Steve, Jax, and I are all native Californians. Thinking about it, it might a blend of West Coast free thinking and Midwestern devotion to those you care about. But no matter. It's how we live life."
"Quite a life! I just saw a sign for Taylorville in 12 miles. Are we that close already?"
"Yeah. Just passed Edinburg. You might have some adjusting to do given the lack of congestion around here. The small airport should've been a hint. Hang on."
"
Hey, guys!
" Em calls to the back. "
Ten minutes to home. Whatcha want to do?
"
Ellie muses, "Stevie? It's not a party night, so Humphreys shouldn't be hiding around the corner. You think?"
"Who's Humphreys?" Penny asks.
Steve answers with a sigh, "City cop who has us in his crosshairs for nudity outside. Not a good idea to risk it.
Emily! Same goes for the radar cop who hangs in that pullout before the Jeep dealer! You normally don't drive the van, so watch your speed!
"
"
Oh that's right!
"
Steve advises his ladies, "We need to cover up right about now and get back in the seat."
"Stevie? That all seems petty," Pen opines.
"It is. Part of living in a small town. On the other hand..."
Ellie interrupts, "Yeah. He's on a first-name basis with the police chief and the state's attorney. Our equivalent of your DA."
Penny asks, "They know about your swinger parties?"
Steve answers, "Yes. I'll even give the chief a heads-up for the larger parties. We've had crashers. Anyway, let's get our clothes on! Chop chop!"
Penny and Ellie chuckle as they rifle through the piles of clothing spread about the back of the van.
"This is yours," Ellie holds up a blue cotton dress with a short flouncy skirt. "It's cute. You mind?"
"Good idea. Hmm. I didn't really notice when we met. Your blouse and skirt seem a little bit office."
"Didn't have a chance to change after my last class. Steve rushed us out the door seconds after I got to the house. The blouse suits you, though! Nice!"
"Gawd, Ellie. This is already too much fun!"
"Hurry it up, ladies." Steve is pulled together, and is tying his shoes. He's already back in the seat.
Emily and Alyssa smile at the nonsense, rolling their eyes to each other.
Em sort of grumbles, "Are you and I going to be the adults the entire time you guys are here?"
Steve laughs at that. "Almost there, everybody."
=====
Emily swings the van wide turning into the driveway to avoid Ellie's car. Jackson happened to have been out front pruning the privacy hedge, and looks up on hearing the van hit the apron. He drops the shears and dashes to meet everybody, simultaneously opening the slider and the front passenger door for the arriving guests.
Alyssa is first to jump out, slightly losing her footing and stumbling forward. That's okay. Jax was right there to catch her into a big hug and equally big kiss.
"My hero," she snickers to Jax.
"Hi."
"You should've seen it when Ellie met Penny," she chuckles.
"Fireworks, no doubt. What happened on the way here? Did the bed work out?"
"Sure as shit did. They couldn't get naked fast enough, and double-teamed Steven. You'll notice that Em was driving."
"Yeah. I figured that Pen couldn't wait and got 'im first."
"With Ellie's help. I swear they were swapping on 'im every two minutes."
"Were there survivors?" Jackson grins.
"Look for yourself."
Steve can barely drag his way to the front door given the ladies on each side, hugging him so, so tight. Cyan has opened the door for them and is laughing at the scene.
She goads Steve as they cross the threshold, "They seem to be getting along okay." She laughs. "Wait a minute. Penny? Isn't that Ellie's blouse and skirt? Did you guys swap clothes on the way here?"
The two girls laugh in confirmation.
Steve moans, "Gawd, dear. Two peas in a pod."
"You think you can handle a week of it?"
"I'll try my darnedest."
El and Pen giggle at this.
Jackson and Alyssa are closely following the trio with the luggage. Emily has disappeared into the back of the house.
"Nice place," Lyss tells Jax.
"Thanks. With the parties nearly every weekend we make an effort to keep things spiffy."
"Where's the hot... oh, I see it. Sorta big for a home tub."
"Steve told me it was for 10 to 12."
"About the same as the one in the Platinum Room. Nice backyard." She spots the spotted dogs. "
Mygosh! They are
so
adorable!
You just never see Dalmatians, and you've got
three!
"
