Cassandra and I had been together for three months, but it seemed much longer than that. Things were so intense with that girl. Three months and we were already talking marriage and babies and the rest of our lives and it didn't seem that far-fetched. We'd progressed beyond our initial "crazed sex bunnies" stage and were moving into deeper waters. The sex was still amazing, but it had become more relaxed, less desperate. Since she'd confessed to me her most shameful secret, an affair she'd had with her own brother (see "Cassandra's Secret") the sex between us had become less scary/intense, and more warm and intimate. Not as frequent, from twice a day to three times a week, but I still couldn't complain.
We were both taking day classes at a local community college. That plus the fact that we both had part-time jobs now (she was waiting tables, I was working at a record store in the mall) meant that we were no longer together every minute of every day as we had been practically all summer. I spent most nights at her house, though. Her Mom was surprisingly cool about this. She liked me and I think she understood that we were serious about one another.
So that's where we were at when Cassandra's friend Annie came to stay with her for a week. They'd been best friends at Cassandra's old school before she'd moved here. Cassandra talked about her a lot, but this was the first time I'd actually met her.
Annie was an outwardly very shy and quiet person, but she had a crazy streak in her just as Cassandra did. I swear those two brought out the worst in each other. They'd dare each other to, say, shoplift from the mall, or to walk into a hotel and swim naked in the swimming pool. Annie had light brown hair, was pretty, a bit heavier than Cassandra but by no means fat. I thought she was attractive, but at first I followed what I believed was a very sane policy of not paying too much attention to my girlfriend's friends.
We even tried to set her up with my friend Jerry while she was in town, but it became clear pretty quickly that they weren't really into each other. Jerry was into punk and hard-core industrial music and Annie still thought Huey Lewis was kind of cool. At the age of nineteen, this was a serious cultural divide. Still, we went on a few double dates together.
Then, one night that week, I was sleeping over at Cassandra's. We had just made love and were lying there, holding one another and waiting for sleep. Cassandra rolled over and asked me, out of the blue, what I thought of Annie.
"She's pretty cool," I said.
"No," Cassandra said. "I mean, do you think she's sexy?"
I wasn't sure at all how to answer this question. Cassandra had not so far proven to be the jealous type, but I was still wary.
"I guess she's OK," I said, a pretty neutral reply.
"The reason I'm asking is," Cassandra leaned on one arm beside me on the bed. "Well, you know those Nancy Friday books my Mom has?"
I nodded. For those unfamiliar, Nancy Friday has written a series of books about female sexual fantasies. She examines the psychological and sociological significance of the fantasies, but of course everyone skips over those parts. The fantasies themselves are unbelievably hot. Every perverted thing you can think of. I highly recommend the books. Cassandra and I sometimes read passages aloud to get us in the mood. Never failed.
"Well," Cassandra said. "Today Annie was reading one of those books. A chapter about group sex, and she said, 'Wouldn't it be weird if you, me and Christian had a menage a trois?'"
I was literally stunned into silence.
"Christian?" Cassandra said after a while.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"We talked about it for a while. I said I'd ask you if you'd be into that."
"Are you kidding?"
"No," Cassandra said.
"You'd do that?"
"Sure," she said. "Why not?"
"I would have sex with Annie?"
"Yeah."
"And you wouldn't get jealous?"
"No," Cassandra said. "I'd be right there with you."
"So you'd have sex with her too?"
"That's what a menage a trois is." She said this very slowly, as if explaining it to a child. I know I was being dense, but I had a hard time believing that what I was hearing was true.
"Oh my God," was all I could bring myself to say.
"So, you're interested?"
"Of course I'm interested."
"OK," Cassandra said. She rolled over, her back to me, and yawned. "I'll tell Annie."
Even though we'd just had sex, Cassandra's surprising invitation had me at full mast again. I slid my hand between her buttocks, my fingers searching for moisture. She stiffened up and pulled away from my touch.
"Christ, we just did it," she said. "Come on, I'm tired."
So I just lay there beside her, thinking about what she'd said. It was a very long time before I could fall asleep.
The next day we already had plans to go into Chicago, forty miles away, with Annie and Jerry. The girls liked to check out the funky little thrift stores in the trendy gay neighborhoods, and Jerry and I liked going to the cool record stores. Four small-town kids in the big city.
Needless to say, I was seeing Annie in a completely new light. Like I said, I'd never looked at her too closely before, but now I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I discovered that she was extremely pretty, with big brown eyes which seemed to stay on me as much as mine were on her. I know this might be hard to believe, but that was the first time I noticed how nice her breasts were. I hadn't considered them before, but I saw now they were like big, fluffy pillows and I drove myself crazy wondering what it would be like to lay my head between them.
Part of the reason for this was that, in contrast to Cassandra, Annie dressed rather conservatively. Whereas Cassie favored things like short spaghetti–strap peasant dresses with nothing underneath, Annie always wore slacks and blouses buttoned to the neck. I knew rationally that she must have had a body beneath all that, but it took real focus to determine what that body might be like. Until today, I hadn't made the effort.
When we finally got back to town, I drove to Jerry's house and pulled up in front. I guess he took the hint, because he got out of the car without complaint. Annie got out to say good-bye and gave him a pretty chaste good-night kiss on the mouth. Weirdly, I felt a flush of jealousy.
Then she got back in the car and the three of us went back to Cassandra's. I was so hard in my jeans that it was difficult to shift gears.
At Cassie's house, we went straight to her room. None of us had said anything, but we all knew what was going to happen. I sat on the bed and Annie sat beside me. Seizing the initiative, I kissed her.
It was very strange, kissing this girl full on the mouth while my girlfriend watched from across the room. I think they were both surprised by my boldness in making this first move. Hell, I surprised myself.
"Well, you don't waste any time," Cassandra noted.
Annie pulled away. "You're a good kisser," she said.
"Cassie's better," I said.
Annie smiled. "I know."
Cassandra came over and sat down on the opposite side of Annie. She put her arm around her friend. "We were making out in the back seat for half the ride home. I'm surprised you didn't notice."
They then proceeded to demonstrate. A deep soul kiss with light friendly touching. It was amazing to behold.
"Wow," I said when they finished.
