"So you curl?" asked Ethan.
"Oh, I do," said Douglas.
"How good are you? Be honest."
"I'm from a farm in northern Minnesota. It's what we do on Saturday nights."
"We're looking for a third for our team since David moved to Chicago. Should I take you at your word? We play every Tuesday. Why don't you come out for a test run. We play at 8."
"I'll be there," Douglas said with a seriousness and solemnity he afforded to only a few subjects. But, Ethan didn't hear him because he was looking past him into the living room where he saw Joni, his girlfriend, her jeans down around her ankle, supporting herself on the coffee table, legs spread as far as her jeans would allow, back arched, ass stuck way out.
Douglas, drawn by his gaze, turned to see what he was looking at. "Oh my God," he whispered, unconsciously. From the moment he'd laid eyes on her, he had been mesmerized. She was gorgeous, he thought: long dark hair, electrifying smile, deep brown eyes, and a body that was almost boyish, except for that ass, which was roundly, softly, sweetly, proudly feminine. Yes, he'd fantasised about being surrounded by big, throbbing cocks, aching for his attention, but aesthetically, he'd been drawn to the shapes and lines and mysteries of women. He'd never talked about this with anyone else, and he'd always preferred to leave it unresolved, unlabeled in his own mind. It just was what it was.
Ethan and Douglas watched, and so did the rest of the party, now jerked from their conversations, and into a kind of nervous, fluttering silence. Like a tableau, the two couples squeezed together on the couch froze his position: Graham, in his J. Crew shirt, the top button undone, with his hand slyly down the back of his wife Heather's dress, tickling the top of her supple ass, had been discussing politics before he'd gone mute; Heather, rocking her hips imperceptibly to give her husband's hand more room to push deeper into her pants, tight grey tank top riding up to expose the cutest little bit of belly flab over her belt, had been laughing at something, but was now covering her mouth, waiting; Paige, nipples dark and hard against her white t-shirt, legs in yoga pants, folded up underneath her, had been looking at Heather's marvelous tits, but was now distracted; Anthony, dark eyes serious over something, muscles tight inside his polo shirt, his hand on the soft hair on the back of Paige's neck, had been preparing to make a move of his own.
They were all looking at her ass.
Joni felt their eyes on her, all their eyes on her; she felt the cool air of the room brush against her asshole and roll over her pussy; she felt so incredibly exposed bent over like this, her hair over her reddening face, her t-shirt riding up her back. She thought of her moles and blemishes, the bruise on her thigh, the scar on her back; she felt like her asshole was a big round lens that people could see into. But then, it was kind of like walking on coals: at first you're worried they'll burn you, but then you realize it doesn't hurt and you're not afraid anymore, of anything; you're invincible.