From Famine to Feast:

Chapter 25: House Warming

Before long, our two-bedroom apartment was set up. The kitchen was stocked, the living room was furnished, and our bedrooms were cozy. We had agreed on rotations for being responsible for cooking, cleaning, and shopping. We had all begun jobs. Ty had parlayed his computer skills into an entry-level IT position at a big company, Alexis scored a gig in retail at a high-end fashion boutique, Chris began work at a 4-star hotel (he majored in hospitality management), and I started as an administrative assistant at Phil's law firm, though so far, I didn't see Phil very often. I still waited tables at From Famine To Feast when they needed extra help. None of us thought of these jobs as our dream jobs, and we didn't think they would be long term, but at least we were employed right after graduation, and we could pay our bills. Well, we could pay all our bills except for rent and membership at Club X. We had spent rent money stocking the apartment with kitchenware, furniture, and linens. We would still be in debt to Phil for a while longer.

We decided that we wanted to host a housewarming party for ourselves to celebrate our new apartment. It seemed like a fun idea, but we very quickly hit an impasse with the guest list. Should we invite our college friends, our Club X friends, family, or everyone? We went round and round, weighing pros and cons and imagining different scenarios. We finally decided that everyone could behave themselves for an evening and opted to invite everyone except for our parents and hope for the best.

Five minutes before we asked people to arrive, no one had shown up. "Is this turning into an example of 'what if we throw a party and no one comes?'" asked Alexis nervously.

"If no one comes, then I'll have you to myself, and then someone will come," joked Ty. Alexis slapped him playfully.

Precisely on the hour, there was a knock on the door. I leapt up to open it. Phil was holding a gigantic bouquet in a carved glass vase. Olive stood by his side with four gift bags in her hands. "You made it!" I said. "Welcome!"

"This is for you—all of you," he said and extended the flowers forward. I took the vase and set it on the table.

"And these are for each of you." Olive read the names on the tags. She read the names on the tags and handed one to each of us. Just then, our friends from our dorm, Tanya, Kelly, and Ali appeared in the open doorway. "But don't open them now. Wait until later, when it is, um, more appropriate." She winked. I nodded that I got the hint. I took Chris' gift out of his hands and took them to our bedroom. Alexis did the same with Ty's gift.

Desiré arrived, bringing Tina with her. "Tina?" asked Chris, "What a nice surprise!"

"I hope it's okay that I invited her," interjected Desiré. "I know you guys aren't that close, but I saw her at Rendezvous last night, and thought it would be fun to bring her along."

"Oh, they were close alright," proclaimed Lance, as he strolled in with Yasmín. "I saw them dancing

very

closely at Rendezvous." Chris and Tina both blushed. I gave her a hug to let her know that she was welcome and I didn't harbor any lingering jealousy.

Next, Camera Man showed up with a girl holding on to his arm. "Camera Man!" Alexis and I exclaimed simultaneously. The girl looked at him quizzically as we hugged him.

"That's their nickname for me," he explained to her, "because I'm always taking pictures. Alexis and Layla, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Cameron." We shook hands. "She goes by Cami."

"'Friend' or girlfriend?" asked Alexis.

"Well, we've only gone out once before, so..."

"Well, either way, it is nice to meet you, Cami. Come on in. Since we've met your '

friend

' you should meet our boyfriends, Chris and Ty. Guys, this is Camera Man."

"Oh, so you're the infamous Camera Man," said Chris, sounding like he was half impressed and half wary.

"I like your work, man." Ty shook his hand. "I look forward to seeing some of your more recent images." Ty did his best to sound like an art dealer, prompting Alexis to slap him on the shoulder to keep quiet. "What?" he whined. "Everyone here..."

She hit him harder and he shut up. "You'll see his pictures when they're ready. And when I'm ready to show them to you," she scolded.

Ty's brother, Malik, and Alexis' brother, Mark, showed up next, followed soon after by the final person we had invited: my little sister, Cassidy. We didn't invite our parents— it was too risky to have them in the room with everyone else, given what had happened between us.

Soon, everybody was socializing, drinking, and having a good time. Cami was a bit quiet and clung to Camera Man. I noticed that Mark and Cassidy were spending a good deal of time together. Cassidy was playing with her hair a lot, which is something she does when she is nervous about liking someone. I pointed it out to Alexis, who silently mouthed, "I know!" Then, she pointed at Tina, who was paying a lot of attention to Chris. We raised our eyebrows at each other.

An hour or so into it, everyone was a bit tipsy and noticeably flirty. Lance made his way over to me. He put his arm around my shoulder, pulled me close, and whispered in my ear: "Layla, this is your party and I don't want to overstep, but I have some thoughts about making this gala more interesting. Would you mind terribly if I organized a game?"

I bent my neck so I could look him in the eyes. "Knowing you, your game could get out of hand," I said with suspicion.

"Perhaps," he replied, "but some things will definitely be in hand." His smile confirmed my suspicions. "But tell me, would any of your guests be offended by one of my games?" He gestured across the room to indicate that I should consider everyone we were looking at.

"Well, that's my little sister over there."

"Quite beautiful, like her older sister," he flattered, "but it looks like she is eager to spend some quality time with Alexis' little brother." He was right; they looked like they wanted to make out as soon as possible. "Unless the siblings are uncomfortable acting a certain way in front of each other, I'd venture to guess that they wouldn't mind. In fact, they might even be eager."

I gave up on that protest, given what had happened a few weeks ago at the hotel pool. "Well, Phil is now my boss, you know."

"You know very well that he won't object." I nodded and conceded. "And his wife won't mind either. But you knew that already, didn't you?" I had to admit that he was right.

"Camera Man won't mind, but I don't know Cami at all. I just met her tonight. She looks kind of scared and uncomfortable."

"Much like Kelly did initially, if you remember. But she enjoyed herself in the end, didn't she? We'll take care of her. I'll make sure that she has a good time. Now, since you are all out of excuses, I'm going to make this party more fun."

Lance clinked his glass with a knife to get everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating our four hosts on their splendid new abode." There was a smattering of clinks as people toasted with their glasses. "Also, please join me in thanking them for inviting us, their friends and family, to help them break in the place." People toasted us again. "Now, Layla has asked me to organize a fun activity." I started to protest his twist on what had actually transpired, but he shushed me. "To do this, we need to push the furniture to the walls, so that we have more space in the middle." The guys pushed the furniture away and looked at Lance for further instructions. "Everyone, come to the middle of the room. Please." His dominant tone of voice emerged and it had an almost immediate effect on most of the women. We all made haste to comply - especially Yasmín, Alexis, and I—only Cami hesitated. She looked concerned and grasped tightly to Camera Man's arm. I noticed Camera Man reassuring her.

I beckoned Cami over to me. "Stay next to me; it will be alright." She seemed somewhat reassured, but still nervous.

"The game is called 'Wheel Within Wheel'. Men, you need to form a circle in the center, facing outward." They did so. "Good. Now, I want the women..." He paused and smiled. Ty snickered. "I want the women to form a circle on the outside, around the men, facing inward. Hold hands." I took Cami's hand on one side and Kelly's hand on the other. We stood around the men, facing them. "Here's how this will work. When I say rotate, both the men's circle and the women's circle will rotate to their right. Try it. Notice that when each group rotates, the circles spin in opposite directions. When I say, 'stop', both circles stop where they are. At that point, you will be facing someone. That will be your partner for the next step. Since there are 11 women and 8 men here tonight, there won't be a one-to-one correspondence. Rather, some of the men will be paired with the two women closest to them."

"Lucky them," said Ty. That caused many people to laugh, breaking the tension that Lance has a tendency to create when he begins to orchestrate his activities.

"Yes, indeed," acknowledged Lance. "Now, here is where it gets interesting. Before the first rotation, I will tell you what the first activity with your partner, or partners, will be. I will choose the activity, and also the duration. The activity will be something fun. The duration can be anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. You might want to add a location, which can be right where you are or in one of the rooms in the apartment. After the activity, the person closest to this chair," he gestured, "will choose the next activity, duration, and location. We will alternate between women and men getting to choose. Any questions?"

"What if we don't want to do the activity?" asked Kelly tentatively.

"All games should be played with consent. If you don't want to participate at all, you may sit in a chair and observe. If you want to play, but don't feel comfortable with one particular activity, then you may excuse yourself to your partner and observe the other players playing. You may rejoin for the subsequent activity." Kelly nodded. "Any other questions?

"What if it is difficult for the two women to do an activity with just one man?" asked Chris.

"Then either share or take turns, depending on the activity. I trust you all to find a way to make it work. Now, any other questions? No? Alright then, let's play! The first activity is to hold your partner's hands and look into their eyes, trying not to blink or look away. The duration is one minute. Ready? Rotate!" The two circles rotated to their respective directions. "Stop!"

When the circles halted their rotations, I found both Cami and myself facing Ali. "It looks like your lucky day, Ali—you get both of us. Since there are two of us, look at me for 30 seconds and then at her for 30 seconds, okay?" He nodded, took my hands in his, and stared into my eyes. It was uncomfortable at first, and then it became emotional. I found myself thinking that he was a sweet guy that I wish I had gotten to know better while we were in school together.

"Half-way," Lance called out. Ali squeezed my hands and then let go. He picked up Cami's hands and peered at her. I watched her squirm a little and giggle nervously. Then her body relaxed and she smiled. "Time!"

"That was intense," said Ali. Cami and I nodded in agreement.

"Thirty seconds seemed a lot longer than I expected," replied Cami.

"Yes, it did," I agreed. "That was powerful."

"Kelly," intoned Lance, "I proposed the last activity, now it is a woman's turn. You are the woman closest to the designated chair. It is your turn to choose what we do next."

"Um, okay, let's see. I know, give your partner a hug for 1 minute."

"Very good. Grab hands. Rotate!" We held hands again and spun. "Stop!" This time I was facing Phil. He grinned, and I returned his smile. "Begin!" I reached up and put my arms around his neck. His arms encircled my waist. We looked at each other for a short while and then I leaned my head against his wide chest. He squeezed me tightly. I felt safe and protected in his embrace, which helped alleviate some of the jitters I had been feeling. "Time's up!" called Lance. I wished it wasn't. It felt good to hug Phil. I looked to my sides. It seemed that both Cami and Kelly enjoyed hugging their partners as well. "Time to rotate!"

It was Ty's turn to activate us. "Kiss your partner." The two circles spun around until Lance told us to stop. Kelly and I were partnered with Chris. We smiled broadly at each other.

"Hey, you're with your girlfriend!" observed Tanya, looking at Ty. "No wonder you picked kissing."

"Are you saying you don't want to kiss your partner?" asked Ty. She was with Lance.

"Uh, no. It's just that you and your partner have kissed before." Several of us laughed and Ty pointed at Lance. "You know what I mean!" She blushed. "I meant... okay fine, I'll kiss him." She abandoned her faulty logic and agreed to keep playing. "But for how long?"

"Oh, right. One minute," answered Ty.

Lance smiled, knowingly. "Begin!" I enthusiastically made out with Chris for a while. "Half-way," called out Lance. I reluctantly disengaged from Chris, and turned to Kelly.

"Your turn, Kelly." She looked at me questioningly, silently asking if it was okay. I nodded, giving her permission. She tentatively kissed Chris on the cheek. "Thirty seconds, Kelly," I reminded her. She kissed him on the other cheek. Then he kissed her on the lips. They kept kissing on the lips until Kelly finally opened her mouth, inviting his tongue to probe her. They made out for a few seconds before Lance called out "Time!" She slid out of his arms and stepped back. She was breathing heavily. I squeezed her hand to let her know it was okay.

It was Phil's turn to pick the activity. He upped the ante. "This time, rotate with your eyes closed. When you stop, keep your eyes closed, and use your hands to feel your partner and determine if you can figure out who your partner is after two minutes." There was a general uproar over what he said, but no one voiced an objection. Both Kelly and Cami squeezed my hands tightly, though. When we finished rotating, we dropped each other's hands and reached forward. I felt a large, flat torso and was immediately perplexed. Then, two large hands patted and then cupped my breasts. "Oh," I exclaimed involuntarily. My utterance was followed by several other female voices making similar sounds. My hands froze for a moment while my brain registered that I was getting felt up by a man in public. Some man—I didn't know who—was getting a good feel, and I was letting it happen. And so, it seemed, were all the other women in the circle. Finally, it dawned on me that I didn't have to be a passive player in this game. I could take advantage of the situation too. I started to feel my way around the large, masculine shape in front of me. I still had no idea who it was, but I decided that my main goal was to feel his body—not to guess his identity. Whoever it was had a nice broad chest, muscular arms, and no facial hair, other than slight stubble. My partner felt my face, and stroked my lips with his thumb. Without meaning to, I reflexively kissed his thumb. He felt his way down my sides and grabbed my hips, pulling me forward a step. My arms slid around his waist as he pulled me into his body. He grabbed my butt and kneaded my cheeks.

Wow

, I thought to myself. This guy is forward! Forward and confident. I had to admit that it was kind of turning me on. My breathing was quickening and my heart rate was racing. I decided that two could play at that game and I grabbed his man buns. He grunted. Then, as if to one-up me, he grabbed my ass with one hand and my crotch with the other, eliciting another, "Oh!" from me. It surprised me, but it also excited me.

"Keep your eyes closed," directed Lance, "and put your hands at your sides." My man let go of me and I took a step back. "We're going to go around the circle and each man is going to try to guess who their mystery woman is. Phil, you begin." More than half the guesses were wrong, and each man that had two women was wrong about both of them. I recognized my man from his voice: it was Malik who had felt me up so brazenly. He guessed that I was Yasmín, which I took as a compliment. When Lance allowed us to open our eyes again, Malik was chagrined and slightly embarrassed.

"Handsy, aren't you?" I teased him. He smiled and shrugged.

"Desiré, your turn," directed Lance.

"Remove one article of your partner's clothing while telling them what you find sexy about them." There was a chorus of 'oohs'. "Socks and shoes count as one item."

"You mean, two shoes count as one item and two socks as another item?" asked Ty.

"No, I mean that two shoes plus two socks count only as one single item," clarified Desiré.

"But I'm not wearing either," protested Alexis.

"Then your partner will have to remove something else," teased Desiré.

"Belts count as pants. Hair ties and jewelry don't count at all," added Lance. "Now, rotate!" We all shuffled to the right. "Stop!"

Cami and I were paired with Ty. "Hey, no fair! I got paired with two women, do they each get to remove an article of clothing?"

"Yes," answered Desiré, "but you get to remove an article of clothing from two women, so it's fair."

"Ladies first," said Ty.

"Such a gentleman." I motioned to Cami to go first. She removed his shoes and socks, while I held Ty's hand to help him balance.

"Hey, your feet don't stink," ventured Cami. Ty and I laughed. "That's what I like about you."

I removed his belt and pants. There was a slight bulge in his boxer briefs, as if he was turned on but not fully hard yet. I raised my eyebrows at him. "I like your cute undies." He smiled sheepishly. "Your turn, handsome."

"Take my shoes, please," said Cami nervously. She was only wearing sneakers and a short sundress. She looked really cute. Ty nodded, and bent down to remove her shoes. She was relieved.

"You have cute toes," he said, playing it safe. Then, he looked at me. I raised my eyebrows as I watched him realize that I wasn't wearing shoes or socks. It was either my yoga pants or my top. Either one was going to leave me in my underwear. He opted for my leggings. He knelt in front of me and peeled them over my ass and down my legs. I held his shoulders for balance as he helped me step out of them. Fortunately, I had taken care to put on nice undies because I had learned to be prepared when Lance was around. When he finished, we all looked around at each other. The majority were barefoot, while a few of us had lost our pants. Lance, who was paired with Yasmín, had left her heels on but removed her dress. She was beaming, wearing nothing but a sexy bra and panties set. The guys all stared at her. Cami whispered in my ear, "What's happening here?"

"To be honest, I think things are about to get kind of wild. It's okay if you don't want to play anymore. You can sit on the side and watch, or you can leave if you're really uncomfortable. But I hope you stay. Most of us are pretty new to this kind of thing and we were all scared too when it first happened to us. But then we tried it and discovered that it is really fun. People here are not judgmental at all. Having boundaries is cool, but just keep an open mind, okay?" I squeezed her hand. "I'll be here with you, or you can sit with Camera Man, if you want." She didn't answer, but gripped my hand tightly.

It was Chris' turn. His idea of removing another article of clothing wasn't very original, but it kept the trajectory arcing forward. I was paired with Mark, my sister's crush. He smiled awkwardly at me. I shrugged. "Well, it's nothing you haven't seen already." He lifted my blouse over my head and stared at me in my bra and panties. I gave him a quick shimmy and a flirty pose. I removed his shirt as well. He was a good-looking young man. He was a bit skinny, but had nice biceps and pecs. My sister could do a lot worse.