As they had previously agreed, Aiko and Emma were to spend a few days at a spa with hot springs while Norman attended his conference. He had much work and little time to pay attention to either his wife or their swinging friend. Aiko and Emma were now effectively on their own.
As they had planned, the two women rented a car and drove north. On the way, they stopped to see local attractions as a way of breaking up the monotony of the long drive.
Aiko said very little all day. Emma could not help but notice that her friend was not her usual sociable self.
Finally as they were within a half-hour of approaching their destination, Emma broke the silence. "What's wrong, Aiko?"
"Nothing," she answered curtly.
"Liar," Emma retorted. "Something's obviously bothering you."
"Nothing," Aiko retorted.
Emma chuckled. "If nothing happened, then how can you be so down in the dumps?" Emma pressed.
The glint in her eye and the hint of a grin appeared on Aiko's facing. She had a mischievous streak. "Just what I said," almost smile now, "nothing."
"Come on now, Aiko. Out with it," she smiling broadly. "Whatever is bugging you probably has something to do with sex."
Aiko pouted. "I goy jealous because you got fucked and I didn't."
Emma raised her eyebrow at Aiko's use of the 'F' word. She knew her friend tended to avoid such uncouth language. Emma giggled.
"Now what?" Aiko objected.
"You're so funny, Aiko," she replied. "In all the time I've known you, your use of language about sex has been, shall we say, circumspect. You fuck like a rabbit but, until now, I've never ever heard you use the word 'fuck'.
"Because the word is vulgar and sex isn't," she retorted.
They both burst out laughing, but Emma noted, "The boys would say we're suffering from a bout of female logic."
"I'm not going to worry about that," Aiko said. "Men's logic is just as stupid."
"Yeah," Emma agreed, "like Robin Williams once said: 'a man has two heads but only enough blood to feed one of them.' "
"As if we're any better..." Aiko observed.
They blushed, then laughed at the truthfulness of what she just said.
"Seriously," Emma said grinning, "tell me what's bothering you."
So Aiko explained her dilemma at the swingers' club to Emma. Sex was taking place everywhere. The scene made her very horny but she wasn't a participant. No one had even approached her.
"I couldn't even count on getting any relief from Norman," she added, "because he was too busy fulfilling Katsu's cuckold fantasy. By the time he was done with Kasumi, he had nothing left for either you or me, not that it mattered to a showgirl like." Aiko harrumphed. "I watched Takeshi give you a thorough banging. Now, here we are, more than half-way through a two-week vacation, and I still haven't had real sex!"
"I understand," Emma sympathized. "Horny as hell and no satisfaction, does that summarize it?" Emma asked.
"Yes, it does," Aiko said. "I took the only available option." She showed Emma her right hand, then waved her fingers. "My five-fingered friend."
Emma Laughed.
"And I'm still not satisfied," Aiko added.
"You're such a horny bitch, Aiko."
"You would be too, if you didn't get properly laid," Aiko retorted.
"True," Emma conceded.
"What an irony," Aiko told her friend as they both laughed. "I had Gerald's permission to have sex with Norman but he became unavailable. To make matters worse, no one at the swingers' club even attempted to flirt with me!"
"Ouch," Emma commiserated, "that's hard on the ego. I guess if I were in your shoes, Aiko, I'd begin to wonder if men found me attractive anymore."
Emma saw in insecurity Aiko's eyes.
"But the truth is you're still a very attractive woman," Emma insisted gaily. "You were the right woman at the right place but just at the wrong time. If you were ever to go back to that swingers' club again, I haven't the slightest doubt that some handsome guy would have put the make on you."
Aiko smiled at her friend. "Thanks for you understanding. I'm so glad to have a friend like you. To be honest," Aiko continued, "I was half-glad no one did because I think it would've amounted to cheating on Gerald."
"Maybe," Emma replied.
A few minutes later, the women pulled into the parking lot next to the spa. They picked up their room keys and went straight to their room where they dumped their luggage before heading out to a local restaurant for an evening meal. On their return, they took a shower and went straight to bed.
* * *
Aiko had a restless night. When she dreamt, it was about sex. She woke up the following morning looking noticeably haggard.
"You're not getting enough," Emma observed.
"Enough of what?"
"Sex or sleep."
"Try sex and sleep," Aiko countered.
"Poor thing," Emma said sincerely. "I wish there was some way I could help."
"I wish there was too," Aiko replied almost cryptically.
After breakfast, the two friends started the first of two full days. They decided to join some local tours on both mornings and to fill their afternoons with hiking and swimming and other activities available at or near the spa.
They also decided to spend their evenings in the spa's hot springs as a way to relax before going to bed. They soon discovered that few people were in the spa, mainly because it was off-season for most Japanese. So the two women had the hot springs mostly to themselves. Strategically located lamps lit the pools allowing the two women the many nooks and crannies of the natural pool fed by nearby hot springs.
The spa's management had told them they left as much of the original pools in place as possible. The result was a flow of hot water wending around natural outcrops of stone. Of course, no one swam at the source of the hot springs because they were too hot but you could choose a spot anywhere in the surrounding pools depending how hot you wanted the water to be.
Some nooks and crannies in the pool afforded a high degree of privacy. They found a side pool that jutted between some large rocks. It arced into a crescent shape. Inside this area, Aiko and Emma were completely surrounded by large rock. No one could see them unless actually walked in.
On that first night, Aiko dared Emma to take off her two-piece swimsuit.
