Guts Required

"So...which one of us is going to pretend we don't know what that means?"

I couldn't deny it was a perfectly reasonable question. It had been a long, rough week, so when Scott and I decided to pay a visit to the sex club we'd recently joined, it was very spur-of-the-moment. We hadn't even checked the website, hopeful that we could just show up and not be refused entry because it was "Dress Like Existentialist Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre Night" or something. Looking at the flyer the check-in lady had just given us, it seemed like costuming would be the least of our worries.

"Glory Hole Night," it read.

"I mean, 'glory hole' could mean any number of things," I lied. "Maybe you reach into a bag for a chance to win a copy of the movie 'Glory.'"

"The Denzel Washington one?" Scott asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, that just seems kind of tone-deaf."

We advanced one step forward in the line as I gently punched my loving husband in the ribs. "Okay then, smart guy, what does 'glory hole' mean to you? Because you've obviously never encountered that term before today. Certainly not on any websites of ill repute."

"I tell you what, Marie. I think it's our minds that are in the gutter. I think that it's a person's name. And she's being celebrated tonight."

"First name: Glory?" I quizzed.

"Yeah-huh."

"Last name: Hole," I stated.

"That's right."

"Sure."

Scott made a dramatic, offended scoff. "Gloria Hole was a pillar of this community, and I won't have you besmirching her good name."

We were a mess of giggles by the time we had gotten to the front of the check-in line.

"Names?" asked the mousy brunette woman currently sitting behind the desk. The decision to come to the club had been so sudden that my brain still wasn't caught up with the rest of me. But things started to snap into focus as a memory of the last time we were here bounded it's way to the front of my mind. This very woman, who wouldn't look out of place in my local knitting group, nude and making out with another girl while a man jerked off next to them. The familiar red flush rushed to my face as the thrill of it all hit my nerves.

"Keane, Scott and Marie," Scott said, clearly possessing more of his faculties than I did at that moment.

"Alright, you're all checked in," the woman's name tag identified her as "Aimee," and she wrote our names down on the list of attendees. "Just so you know, the BDSM room has been converted into our glory hole space for the evening, so a lot of that equipment is unavailable tonight."

Admittedly, I was somewhat disappointed at that news. I wasn't exactly Ms. Dominatrix (Domarienatrix?), but I had definitely enjoyed it when Scott had used the handcuffs on me last time. Not that there was a huge risk of this experience being boring, bondage or no bondage.

"Aside from that, feel free to look around and have a good time," Aimee continued. "The star of tonight's potluck is a vegan mac and cheese that the Garcia's brought in."

Now, the potluck? That was something that had been on my mind for the entire drive leading up to the place. "Yes, please!" I replied, perhaps a little too eagerly.

We hung up our coats and sashayed our way over to the little kitchen area of the lobby, where several tantalizing serving dishes were heaped with food. Scott and I both piled a frankly irresponsible amount of the offerings onto our little plastic plates, then sat down.

"Ughf." An ugly sigh escaped both of us as we melted under the weight of the week before. We needed this. Between Scott's jobs running him ragged and my deadlines, it felt like forever since we could just stop.

"Man..." Scott began, sinking into the cheap plastic chair. "You ever just think....fuck?"

I swallowed a bite of what was indeed a fantastic vegan mac and cheese. "Mmm-hm. Sure do, buddy."

"But it's great!" he continued, digging into his own plate. "We're here, I'm maxed out on hours on all three stores. Can't call me in tonight!"

"Nope," I agreed, before taking a moment to really savor a bite of roasted Brussels sprout with gravy on. We'd been in "freezer aisle poverty food" mode for so long, I wasn't sure if anything here could match the sexual thrill I was getting from eating an actual vegetable. "They call you in tonight, they'd have to actually give you benefits."

"And that would be awful."

"The money would be so sad."

"Pour one out for money," he said with a smirk.

God, I fucking loved this man. "I'm so glad to just get to be here with you. Completely."

"Me too, Marie," Scott gave me a cheesy little wink that, for some reason, completely worked. Little shivers ran down me as I took him in. It had been way too long since we just got to bask in each other. Every part of me wanted to do all the things I wanted to do to him at once. My lips ached to make my way from his neck all the way down him. My fingertips could almost feel the phantom sensation of running down his chest. My tongue longed to run along his cock. Now that I could focus again, my body was remembering just how many needs it had.

Right now, a not-insignificant number of those needs were gravy-related.

"Oh, hey, you two!" A voice called to us from the entryway. I turned to look, and was suddenly made aware of the large bite I currently had stuffed in my mouth.

Jack and Allisen, the couple we'd become acquainted with on our last visit, were waving at us. Allisen wore a peppy, yet devilish grin as she started walking toward our table. It had only been a couple of weeks since we last saw them, but I could tell even through her overcoat that the pregnancy was coming along nicely. Out of pure politeness instinct, I quickly swallowed my mouthful and got to my feet.

"Hi!" I said, hopping to my feet and giving a tiny, awkward wave. To my surprise, Allisen went in for a hug. "Oh!" I gave a surprised gasp. Fair enough, I suppose. Once someone has licked cum off your nipple, a hug probably isn't that unreasonable. As she pulled me close, the scent of rain from outside mixed with her smell. I didn't know if it were shampoo or perfume or pregnancy pheromones, but whatever it was made me all tingly and reluctant to let go.

"How are you two doing?" Scott asked, heading our way.

"Good!" Allisen replied, before making a grand slumping gesture. "Tired."

Jack walked over to us as well. "I was a genius and decided that we needed to paint the living and dining rooms before the baby got here."

Allisen jabbed him in the side. "This one won't let me help."

Jack laughed and shrugged "I mean..."

"Second trimester is supposed to be the easiest!" Allisen protested. "And I'm fine. If I can make the walk from my desk to the bathroom at work every fifteen minutes, I can hold a roller."

"Alright, alright," Jack replied, pulling his wife in close and kissing her on the top of her head.

I looked over at Scott and smiled. They weren't that different from us. You could see the love and affection, there. The bond. It was an important aspect of this whole "sharing" thing for us. Making sure that we were acting out of compersion and wanting to see each other happy. It seemed like Allisen and Jack were on the same page.

It also helped that they were total hotties. Now free of their winter coats, I could take them in visually a bit more. Jack was wearing a nice cardigan and tight, gray jeans that were, honestly, really working for him. Allisen was probably more limited in her wardrobe options, but was still managing to pull off a look, regardless. She was wearing a short, pale pink dress that hugged her curves in a way that I could only dream of and really popped against her brown skin. On top of that, she was sporting coordinated pair of leather boots and jacket. I couldn't help but be wowed. In comparison, I wasn't remotely maternally-afflicted, and, yet, I seemed to exist in a nega-state between sizes where nothing cute dwelled. I briefly worried my polka-dot skirt and simple top would look shlubby in comparison. But then I remembered the setting, as well as the fact that the last time we met I was, in fact, completely nude. So it probably wouldn't matter that much.

"Want something to eat?" I offered, gesturing at the plastic serving tables behind me.

"Yesssss," Allisen groaned. "Not to be a stereotype, but yessss."

For a good half hour, the four of us just sat there and socialized. Scott and I got to complain about how much our jobs sucked, and Allisen and Jack commiserated. Life was rough out there for folks either getting no respect in their low-paying office job, like Allisen was, doing their best to get gig economy work like Jack, or just trying to eke out a life with retail and freelance work like we were doing. It really helped to make the strange little club we were in feel more comfortable. After all, a lot of the other people in the "lifestyle" were of the older sort. More settled with, like, careers and stuff. Folks from the surrounding suburbs who wanted a little bit of that fancy debauchery. I don't know that Scott and I would have had a lot to talk about with the owners of some of the nicer cars out in this place's parking lot. With Allisen and Jack, though, there was a common experience there. Scott and Jack swapping stories about rude customers. Allisen and I both having tales of making a big pot of stew out of whatever was left in the kitchen to get us by until payday. It felt good to be seen.

It was in one of these moments that Allisen's hands grabbed mine. It started as a playful gesture, but neither one of us let go. When I looked up, she was staring deep into my eyes. I immediately blushed, but she just held my gaze, biting her lip in a wicked smile.

After too short of a time, she let go of my hand and stood up. "Alright, Jack, I think it's about time we got this show started." She turned to Scott and I. "We'll see you out there, right?"

I was still shivering from the look she'd given me. "Absolutely."

"Yep!" Scott added, clearly less affected.

"Looking forward to it," Jack said, brushing his blonde fringe aside and giving a smirking wink. Come on now! They could stop being hot and flirty for like, five seconds. Give a girl a break.

The two of them made their way out of the kitchen and toward the door to the main area of the lodge. The sound of dance music wafted in as the door opened, then closed behind them. I turned to Scott, who had a cheeky look on this face.

"You okay there?" he asked.

"Yeah, no, yeah, definitely. No reason not to be," I sputtered out.

"Are you sure, because it looked like you were having kind of a moment there."

I pushed the now-cold remains of my meal around my plate with my fork. "Psht. Moments. Time! What even is...you know...time?"

"We can talk about this, you know. What you want to do here tonight?" he asked. His voice had lost the joking tone, replaced by the warm kindness I knew so well. "I'm just saying...you'd talked about wanting to explore your bi side. If you want to take the next step, just know you have my full love and support."

"I know," I reached out and grabbed his hand. "I really do know. You've been great. I'm just...I don't know...allshyandnervousorwhatever..." the last part of my sentence trailed off as I stared down at the table, still a mess of nerves.

Scott rubbed my hand. "I get it." He sat back and looked toward the door where the two of them had exited. "It doesn't help that they're both just...stupid hot."

"Right?!" I leaned forward and banged my fist on the table, louder than I had intended. "It's ridiculous."

"Do you feel like they're like...fae or some shit?" Scott mused.

"Yeah! Like they're some, like, glowing majestic deer spirit." I gesticulated with my hands. "On some kind of Mononoke nonsense."

"She's out here with this Spirit of Motherhood thing going on," Scott added. "And he's some, like, lean and rugged woodsman guy."

"Yep! And I feel like some kind of green slime coming out of an old-school trash can like...no, like Oscar the Grouch. I feel like fucking them would be like some primordial forest spirit having sex with literal Oscar the Grouch. Which I'm pretty sure I've seen on DeviantArt."

We both chuckled at that for a bit, our hands still touching as we mutually sighed.

"I don't know, they seem to get a kick out of us," Scott shrugged. "Maybe we're not so bad."

"I think you're a babe," I replied, which got a smile out of him.

"And you're so fucking beautiful, Marie."

I stuck my tongue out at him in a gesture of utmost emotional maturity.

"Fucking 'them,' huh?" he asked, after a pause.

"Caught that, did you?"

"I'm into it." Now it was his turn to be the nervous one. "I don't know. I've been thinking about last time, like...a lot."

"Yeah..." I trailed off, wistfully lost in the memory. "That was nice."

"And I think...I mean, one step at a time, obviously, but...if they were into it, it'd be really hot to watch you do more."

"What about you?" I asked. One of the things I loved most about Scott was his big heart, but it definitely had a tendency to make him push his own needs aside. That was the last thing I wanted in this case.

"Oh, believe me, this isn't a selfless act," he said with a smile. "I'm not just throwing you to the sexy wolves here. I'd be involved, too."

"Okay, good, mister," I said, poking him in the chest. "You're not the only one who finds your spouse attractive and wants to watch them doing sex stuff."

He leaned forward, giving me a light kiss. His beard brushing my chin felt like home. As he returned to his seat, he put on a mock Serious Business face.

"Alright, it's settled, then. We're gonna do some freaky stuff."

I reached out my hand for the shake. "Freaky stuff with the other person there, with checking in every step of the way."

"Deal." We shook on it, before getting to our feet. After disposing of our dishes, we made our way toward the door to the main part of the lodge.

"Let's do this, Keane," I said, before giving Scott's butt a squeeze. With that, we walked inside.

Unlike our previous visit, we hadn't needed to arrive early in order to get the first-time visitors' tour of the place. As a result, the transformation of the initial sitting area from casual sitting room to Debauchery HQ had already happened. Red light flooded the space, and the combination of couches big enough for multiple couples, mattresses laid out on the floor, and bowls of condoms and lube placed strategically throughout made the purpose of this particular area clear. Not that there was anyone taking advantage of the party favors. The only sounds of sex were coming from the perpetual porn loop playing on the wall-mounted flat-screen. Otherwise, most of the ambient people noise seemed to be coming from the combination pool and dance floor area that lay further ahead. Not seeing any reason to linger just yet, we continued on.

Past the large initial playroom was a hallway with several open doors. To our right were the semi-private playrooms. I remembered from our first visit that these could have a few different configurations. The doors could be open or closed, depending on preference. In addition, there was a little window looking into each room, with blinds that, again, could be opened or shut. A brief vision of being pressed against the glass of one of those windows while Scott took me from behind flashed into my mind, and I shivered at the thought. Had to make a little mental note of that one.

On the left was what would normally be the BDSM room. The space still glowed with a red light, but there appeared to be a few free-standing walls set up inside. We started to pass by, but I paused, tapping Scott on the shoulder.

"Hey, hold on a sec."

He turned, looked at me, then looked into the room. "Yeah?"

"I just want a little peek," I explained, shrugging. "Aren't you a tiny bit curious?"

He nodded. "You know, you don't see these every day. It's not like they have these things set up at Fred Meyer."

"I mean, we haven't been out to the Redmond one, so we can't say for sure."

I took his hand, and we stepped into the crimson-lit space. Quickly glancing around, it became clear that we were alone, which was admittedly good for the nerves. It wasn't even the sexual context of everything. More just like...social norms? I wasn't quite ready to make awkward small talk in the glory hole room.

The space wasn't occupied, but the ambiance was still in full effect. Even though we were a little ways away from the dance floor, the music drifted in, booming with sweaty rhythms. Three booths had been set up, and we could see into the first one. It was a cozy little room, with a small stool sitting under moody red lighting. Much like the common play area, a television had been mounted on the wall, which currently emitted the sounds and sights of professional porn stars going at it.

"Oh, hey. Check it out." Scott chimed in. He'd moved around the outside of the booth, seeing the view from...well...what would have been his perspective. If, you know, he were to take advantage of the facilities. To my surprise, my skin tingled pleasantly at the idea. Huh. Regardless, I walked further into the room to see what he was indicating.

On the outer wall of the booth, a series of rounded rectangular holes had been cut at various, though all vaguely crotch-level, heights. Each was lined with a layer of soft foam, and, six inches or so away from the hole itself, a ring of LED lights softly glowed, providing guidance.

"Look at all the different heights! That's pretty cool," Scott said. "And the foam! Dang!"

He was so damn cute. I hugged his arm. "Leave it to you to be most excited about the accessibility considerations."

"It's just polite, you know," he replied. "That little extra touch."

I lowered my voice into a silly, faux-sexy timbre. "I got a little extra touch for you, big boy." He laughed. Success! I grabbed his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. After it broke, a pleasant sigh escaped me. "I love making you laugh."

"You're real good at it."

With a startling abruptness, the music suddenly cut off. "Gah!" we yelped in surprise.

The speaker crackled with microphone-handling noise, followed by a booming voice. "Alright, everybody. Hope you're all having a good time."

I looked at Scott and nodded. He nodded back. Nobody could see us.

"We want everyone out to the dance floor! It's time to start our Adult Toy Raffle!"

Sounds of assorted cheering and carrying on could be heard coming from the various attendees in the large room next door. We turned around at the sound of footsteps behind us. Ten to fifteen people were speed-walking their way outside, evidently very excited about the contest. After a minute, the traffic seemed to have moved on, and the part of the club we were in felt very empty.

"Shall we?" Scott asked, taking a step toward the hall. All of a sudden, an impulse jumped up to the front of my mind, and I found myself rooted in place, grabbing his hand to stop him.

"Well! I mean...hold on! We don't necessarily have to, you know?"

"Oh?"

"I mean..." I did a big, exaggerated shrug. "That's a big crowd. And we've, you know, we've got sex toys at home."

"True!" he agreed, before reaching a hand up and stroking my cheek. His gaze met mine, and a playful smile crossed his face. "So...what do you want to do?"

It was an interesting question. I wasn't...one hundred percent sure of what I wanted from, like, a plan standpoint. But I had an idea. "I mean...we have this whole room. Probably to ourselves, for a while. And I think it might be...pretty hot?"

"What's that, Marie?" his thumb traced my lip, making me whimper.

"If I was...you know, in there," I gestured to the booth with my head. "And you were, you know...out there."

A flush took over Scott's face, and he bit his lip. "Yeah, I think that would be pretty hot."