The first four chapters can be found in the 'Lesbian Sex' category. Reading them first will certainly help explain a lot. Thanks go out to my friend C. who suggested the central idea for this chapter.
I decided I needed to come clean.
It was all just too much what I was carrying inside, hiding from my husband and now Caroline, my lover. The complication that was Charlotte had me experiencing sleepless nights and just waiting for the shoe to drop. I felt like I was going to have a break down.
So, I started with Caroline. I related to her what had happened with Charlotte β the whole episode. Her reaction really didn't surprise me. She was a bit upset that we had been 'outed' but Charlotte's confrontational insistence that I introduce her to sex with a woman got her attention in a hurry. Caroline wanted all the sordid details and I could tell that she was extremely turned on by it all. I half expected her to suggest a threesome a.s.a.p.
Caroline got a lot more serious when I told her I wanted to tell my husband. "Emily, that would be a terrible mistake. You have no idea how he'll react. For all you know, he might explode, demand a divorce, try to get custody of your daughter. This is a huge deal and you need to reconsider. Not to mention that I don't want my husband to know. So please think twice." She looked on the verge of tears which shocked me because Caroline was always so in control and self-possessed.
"I'll think about it," I answered. "But I'm hoping I can come up with a way to tell him that would be safe, maybe imply rather than admit to anything. I don't know . . ."
She looked at me and then seemed to go deep into thought. She snapped out of it and said, "Maybe you need to involve Charlotte in this. Perhaps the three of us could find a way to soothe your conscience."
So, the next day found the three of us sitting at my kitchen table. Charlotte was a bit uncomfortable at first to learn that I had told Caroline about our encounter but Caroline's easy manner soon had her calmed down. We then told her about my angst over the situation and Charlotte agreed with Caroline that disclosure had the potential for disaster for all three of us. We were a sorry group sitting there without any easy solution in mind. It was Charlotte who came up with an idea.
"How about we have a get together β the three couples. Instead of you breaking it to Richard alone, Em, maybe there's a way to bring it up in a giggly, light-hearted way. See how the guys would react to it without saying that we'd done anything. Like, we could refer back to Peter Willis's comment about a lesbian President and see if we can get them to admit that they think women with women is a hot thing or something."
Caroline smiled and interjected, "Yeah, Peter and his comment. That's what blew our cover in the first place. But you may be on to something, Charlotte. At least we'll get an inkling of where Richard's head is at and David and Will, too. We could even have a signal where if any of us thinks it's not working, we drop it."
"Yeah, abort! Abort! Code Red!" I said with a laugh. "We'll have an elaborate series of hand signals."
"Actually," Caroline answered, "I'm serious. We'll be able to tell if somebody's sending out negative signs and again I'll remind you just how potentially serious this is. So no joke."
We brainstormed for a moment and decided to go with Caroline's rather out-there suggestion of 'Costa Rica' as our Abort Word.
"Okay. How's this Saturday night for everybody? My house will be fine," offered Charlotte. We both agreed and our conversation over coffee took on a much more relaxed air.
* * *
Charlotte welcomed us on Saturday night at 7:00 and we repaired to their wonderfully comfortable family room. The six of us sat chatting about any number of subjects over drinks and snacks. We women had decided to take it easy drinks-wise as we wanted to be in control of both the situation and our wits. We were quite happy to see all three of our husbands had no desire to take it easy. They were all putting away Scotch with regularity. My husband Richard and Charlotte's David had known each other for years as Charlotte and I had been bridesmaids in our weddings. The two guys occasionally played golf together and had a solid, although not best of friends, relationship. Caroline's husband Will fit easily in the group conversation. He was very outgoing and charming and I sensed that both of the other two men in the room were very happy to be in his company.
After a while, we decided to play a card game that Will suggested. He and his fraternity brothers had made it up and it was easy to learn and great fun. The women were pitted against the men and there was loads of bluffing and crazy twists. We were all roaring with laughter as the two teams threw insults at each other, insisting that they had the upper hand. Fueled by all the Scotch, the men gave as good as they got. I was happy that they were 'happy' because it played into my hoped-for 'reveal'. The girls against the boys situation offered a good opportunity for us to bring up the subject of the evening. At that point, Caroline took the lead.
As David shuffled the deck, Caroline mentioned a movie that she had recently rented. It starred the beautiful Penelope Cruz and Caroline made it clear what she thought of her. "I find her incredibly exciting. She just radiates sensuality, you know?"
"Oh yes," replied Charlotte. "She really is gorgeous. I love her lips, her eyes . . ." All of this was true, but it was all planned in advance. None of the guys pitched in with their thoughts so I took the floor.
"Mmm . . . and a body to kill for. Can you imagine what she must be like in bed? So Latin, and smoky, and . . ."
"Geez, listen to the three of you," interjected Richard,
finally
taking the bait. "It sounds like you all want to make love to this woman."