Please read Chapters 1 and 2 in this series before embarking on this literary journey with Candace and me and our new friends. It will be a wise and enjoyable use of your time, promise...
*
Candace and I somehow managed to keep our hands and mouths off of each other for the remainder of the day, and we found ourselves at the door to a stately Victorian home on the far southern end of Atlantic City, just across the street from the boundaries of Ventnor City. I didn't realize it at the time , but it would turn out to be Bill Hearn's summer home, and I soon learned that my boss was somewhat notorious within the lifestyle, in that sorta-kinda discreet way of theirs, for hosting such carnal group get-togethers.
It also turned out that whatever anxiety I'd harbored about fretting over how to attire oneself for such an occasion was completely without merit. Candace insisted that I dress as I would for any other neighborhood cocktail party, so I was adorned in a pair of khakis and a light cotton sweater.
Candace was in a playful mood, it seemed, so she decided to match my own wardrobe, and wore a preppy khaki skirt, tasteful and not at all revealing nor provocative, and a light cotton sweater of her own. Of course, Candace could dress in a potato sack and still attract the attention of half the males in Atlantic County, but the fact that she had not worn a bra beneath her sweater caused her pink, pert nipples to radiate like a police car's flashing lights in the cool ocean breeze. She was sex on a stick, and she was mine tonight.
I also soon enough learned that there were quite a few plot twists that would unravel within the next several minutes. Candace was originally invited by her philandering now-former lover, Bill, to be his guest for tonight's swingers' bash. After their 'break-up' this week, both made unilateral decisions. Candace invited me to be her 'date' to try to extract whatever measure of revenge and jealousy that she could, while for his part, Bill moved onto the 'next best thing', which turned out to be my soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, Sherry.
I was blissfully unaware of any of this, though, as Candace knocked on the door, clutching my arm tightly to her chest, and I could feel the hard nubs of her nipples through her sweater as they raked against my skin. I did the math in my head quickly. Two hard, perky nipples on one arm equals seven-plus inches of instant erection. Try that in algebra class someday.
However, when the door swung open and Bill Hearn stared out at us from his vestibule, I'm not sure whose face turned paler, Bill's or my own. After all, it's not every day that you show up to your married boss' house for a swingers party with his ex-mistress on your arm. My immediate mental reaction was to assure that I updated my resume on monster.com first thing Monday morning.
Being the consummate cool, some would say, cold, manipulator that he was, Bill composed his emotions quickly and made a gesture for us to enter, no doubt so as not to cause a scene that may dampen the evening's activites for all.
"Candace," Bill said icily, "What a pleasant surprise."
Candace played along with Bill's contrived cordiality. "Hello, Bill." She grabbed me tighter by the arm. "I believe you know John, correct?"
Bill glanced at me for only a second before mumbling something inaudible that sounded like it might rhyme with "What the fuck", before turning his attention back to Candace, surveying the spectacular body of his former lover, no doubt lamenting the loss. Funny thing about men, and this is especially true for rich and powerful ones, no matter how many women they have, they still hold onto the belief that their exes are still somehow theirs, only theirs.
His gaze stopped on her chest, her amazing nipples poking through the cotton. "It must be very chilly out tonight, Candace?"
Candace took me by the hand and eased past Bill into the foyer, saying over her shoulder, "Not really, Bill, it's actually quite pleasant. I guess I'm just very excited to be here with my new boyfriend, thanks for having us."
Not to be outdone in his own house, at his own party, by his scorned ex-lover, Bill called after us, "Why don't you two wait here for just a second, so I can be kind enough to make an introduction or two of my own."
He leered at me and grinned in his best Dr. Evil imitation. I half-expected him to curl his pinky into the crux of his mouth.
We waited, and I was as uncomfortable as a fox at a basset hound convention, beginning to realize that I was just a prop for whatever sinister ulterior motive Candace had in mind this evening. Of course, I'd also just had the best twenty-four hour sexual escapade of my life because of Candace, so I wasn't going to do anything rash. At least until this weekend was over, anyway.
This was an almost singularly unique occasion when Below-The-Waist John was actually making a decision in the best interest of Between-The-Ears John. These two internal committee members were constantly at quarrel, but it didn't hurt that Candace was lightly kissing my neck as she whispered into my ear, "I'm not going to be with any other men tonight, John, only you. And you can pick out any woman you want and we can share her. Together. Sound like a plan?"
