17

Chapter 16

"Once more unto the breach, dear friend."

I woke up the following day lying on my side and enveloped in Ellie's arms. She was spooning me from behind, her left hand stroking my hair slowly. She must have felt me beginning to stir because she suddenly pulled her arms from me.

"Hey, sleepy head, time to wake up," she said, nudging me gently with her hips.

I yawned and asked, "What time is it?"

Ellie rose on an elbow and looked down at me, "A little after 10:00 am."

"Thank you for last night; I don't know why I lost it all at that moment," I offered.

Ellie smiled, "Honey, we have been through a lot these last months. So, much change for us both to deal with. It didn't help matters when I complicated things."

I stretched my legs out as she continued, "The mistakes I made with Bunty and Heather, I did without considering you. That can't ever happen again."

"I am glad you said that. I appreciate it very much," I replied. "Would you shower with me this morning, Mrs. Hansen?"

Ellie joyfully popped off her side of the bed and bound into the bathroom as though she were still twenty-two. I still am amazed at how limber she is. I felt tired and played out emotionally. To say I slept poorly would be an understatement. I had one of those all-night dreams where both Ellie and Heather were gaslighting me in a planned conspiracy for a sex party they would rope me into; completely ludicrous, right? Yet, as I sat on my side of the bed, I had nagging doubts. Doubts so persistent that I was getting a tingle at the base of my skull.

Yes, Ellie knew I would be hesitant to dive into swinging. She needed help to lead me into it. A plan crystalized in my mind. One I could execute during Seth and Heather's next visit with us.

"You seem chipper this morning," I observed.

"I am," Ellie replied. "Today, Seth and Heather are coming over to lay out the cruise itinerary and go over the first day's activities after boarding."

I nodded in acknowledgment, stopping at the sink to brush my teeth and gargle.

I turned with a forced smile and said, "Let's do this." Ellie took my queue, and the shower exploded to life with restorative hot water.

"Common, Rip Van Winkle," Ellie urged. I shuffled into the orgasmatron, and the swooshing, rotating, and swiping heads blasted me with hot restorative water.

I moaned, "Damn, this feels so good. Now I am only half unconscious." The water soothed my aches away. I honestly just needed coffee now. I wanted the intimacy I missed out on the night before, thanks to my mini-meltdown. "Oh, Ellie, please wear that outfit to bed again tonight. Would you do that for me, please?" I asked.

"Sure thing, Sweetheart," she replied as she shampooed away. She rinsed her hair, and I pulled her to me and gave her my standing version of a "From Here to Eternity" kiss.

"Wow, my Romeo," she exclaimed.

I told her how positively beautiful she was in her bodice, how incredibly sexy she was, and delectably desirable. Ellie soaped me up and used the loofah to get me clean as a whistle. Then she shut the water off, and we dried. She drew me over to the sink and shaved my cock, balls, and mound with precision and gentleness. I was a bald eagle, just like her. Inspecting her work, she took me into her mouth and began to roll her tongue over my helmet as her wrist gently twisted and pumped my shaft. She had me so very hard and erect that my cock twitched with each beat of my heart.

Ellie took me by the hand to her side of the bed. Without words, she laid down, spreading her legs and locking them behind my waist. Slowly, she drew me down on top of her. For the next thirty minutes, we gently and tenderly made love. Soft, delicate kisses and tender caresses, with a matching bump and grind coitus, led to a singular build-up and enormous climax for us both. Afterward, we cuddled playfully and enjoyed the afterglow. Eventually, Ellie nudged me to break the spell.

"Playtime is over, my darling; it's time to get ready for Seth and Heather," she reminded me.

We both moved to our dressing closets on opposite sides of the room. I chose a pair of pleated chino slacks and a long sleeve Jimmy Buffet concert T-shirt. I slipped on my docksides and was ready. Ellie took her usual time and applied her makeup. She then pulled a beautiful soft yellow sun dress over her fully nude form. The bottom half of the dress was pleated, and despite covering her legs a few inches below her knees, the fact I knew she was going commando raised my hackles.

"Not today, El, I warned."

"No problem, my love. Whatever we do today, I leave it for you to initiate it, ok?"

I replied, "Thank you, sweetie." I looked her over and whistled, "For the record, sweetie, you are a one helluva MILF, no doubt."

"Jare, that is the sweetest thing to say. Now wouldn't that be a fantasy to explore," she said only half-kiddingly.

"Easy Tex," I chided back. "Let's get through the cruise before you ask me to set you loose on unsuspecting college kids." Just saying that started my gag reflex.

She laughed, "Yeah, that is a stretch. I may have to wait until we are in our 50s."

"You're gonna wait longer than that," I whispered to myself.

I helped Ellie change the sheets on the bed, taking the old bundle down to the hamper in the laundry room. When I came out, I could hear Ellie upstairs as she finished putting fresh sheets on the bed and changed out the pillow covers as she hummed Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" to herself. A minute or so later, I heard her singing the lyrics aloud. I raised a Spock eyebrow in self-acknowledgment, as she was doing a pretty good job sounding like Steve Perry. She came down the steps and stopped mid-verse when she caught me staring at her.

"Why did you stop," I inquired. "You sounded good, and I loved your Steve Perry falsetto." She giggled, turned beet red, and headed into the kitchen without another word.

Ellie began to bring out various yummies to eat. Two pitchers of iced tea with chilled glasses and plenty of ice. She assumed Seth would bring alcohol, so she iced down two wine holders. This was supposed to be a quick briefing on the cruise from boarding to disembarking. I looked forward to seeing what entertainment was planned and whether formal dining would be offered.

We were ready at least 30 minutes ahead of the Barksdale's arrival. After snatching a glass of iced tea, I left Ellie, walked into the study, and popped on the Astros game. The Astros were up 4 to 1 over the Orioles when the doorbell rang. I got up and came out of the study to see Seth and Heather walking in. Seth was in a light short sleeve oxford button-down dress shirt. It was tucked into loose slacks with cuffed bottoms over tasseled loafers. He had a bottle of booze under his arm and was followed by Heather, wearing a halter top with a floral print. She boasted a bare mid-rift with high-rise shorts that accentuated the curve of her butt.

Heather saw me and said, "Hey, Jare, how are you?" I moved in and hugged her. I caught the whiff of alcohol, so it was clear she had a head start on drinking. I kissed the side of her neck and then broke our hug to shake hands with Seth.

"Hey, Buddy," Seth said, accepting my hand.

"You two make yourselves comfy," Ellie encouraged.

We all moved into the family room and plopped on the sofa. Seth brought a CD and asked me to prep it on the player. He got up, moved to the china cabinet, and grabbed two lowball glasses. He poured three fingers of twenty-five-year-old Glenlivet Scotch that he had brought along. Ellie opened a Chardonnay bottle and poured a heaping glass for Heather and herself. I started to feel I was being set up for another play date today that everyone knew about but me. I decided to avoid jumping to conclusions and passing judgment before my plan was sprung. I wanted us to get past the cruise update Seth would provide us first.

"How are you both doing this week?" Seth asked.

"Well, we are finally ahead of schedule on our project. Ellie has run a few simulations that look encouraging. Seth, that's about as much as I can say about work," I shrugged.

"No worries, Jare. Is Ann settled into her new work for the state government in Austin?" Seth asked.

"She is doing well, Seth, and loves living with her friends right in the heart of downtown along the river, I answered.

Heather turned and looked at Ellie, asking, "Ellie, are you glad to be back at the office?"

Ellie held her hand on display and said with a wink, "Back up to speed, folks, and ready for action."

"Please come and sit next to me, Heather," I asked. "I haven't had a chance to tell you how special you were in caring for Ellie on all the days I worked at the center. I am in your debt."

Heather smiled and sipped her wine, "Anything for you two, you know that." She leaned her head against my shoulder and whispered, "I can think of many fun ways to thank me later if you like."

I whispered back, "I bet you can, girl." As soon as I said that, I felt like a hypocrite for being hard on Ellie. It just came out automatically; it was too easy to say it. Heather took a long sip of her drink, and I turned to look for Ellie's reaction. She was busy making eyes with Seth and only just turned her head to smile and wink at me.

"O.K., Seth, how about you fill us in on the cruise," I asked.

Seth remained engrossed in conversation with Ellie, or was it lustful negotiations? I wasn't quite sure. Heather seemed confident and nudged me as she got her spouse's attention.

"Hello, Seth!" she barked. Seth shot his wife cluelessly as he turned from Ellie and swung his head around.

"Huh?" was all he managed.

"Common Seth, Chop, Chop," Heather said, now clearly annoyed. "Jared asked you to start laying out the cruise." Seth's light bulb relit, and he was once again the brilliant lawyer and best friend, vice the often horny up-the-street neighbor whose mind, just seconds before, was focused on my Ellie's nether regions.

For the next thirty minutes, Seth described how we would get to our hotel the day before boarding. He said the key was getting there early on the embarkation day. We would print and attach the luggage tags provided in the electronic boarding package the line had sent us already. Seth recommended two bucks per bag for the porters. I suggested we should pay more for the girl's bags since they would be stuffed and much heavier than ours. That comment didn't go over very well.

Once the porters hauled off our bags, we would go through security and processing, where passports and tickets would be checked against our driver's licenses.

We would also have to present our STD certificates which, for HIPPA purposes, required a disclaimer to be signed. I thought this was a pretty cool feature that Bunty would appreciate. Too bad she wasn't coming, I thought. Even so, we still had to sign a hold harmless document absolving the cruise sponsor and owner of the ship of any liabilities for STDs. I didn't think that was a very cool feature.

Next would be the waiting area with many gimmicks like cruise pictures taken in front of fake backdrops. Not a good idea for a nude sex-a-thon cruise. Again, my smart mouth got me in trouble when I asked if porn stars were coming on the cruise and available to pose with their husbands while boarding. Heather had just drunk her first gulp of iced tea and sprayed it on Seth, laughing her ever-loving ass off. I thought it was hysterical until Ellie made me clean up the mess.

Seth said it was best to bring a pad in our carry-on so we could surf the internet and pass the time while we waited for the proverbial walking of the plank. Once across the gangway, the ship's pursers' staff would photograph and provide IDs for us. They would tell us if there was a delay in our cabin being ready. Seth said the gambling, bars, and some restaurants (especially on the LIDO deck) would be available. If the "cabins are ready" announcement was made, we could go straight to our suite and flop until the muster drill for lifeboats call was made. I made another off-hand remark about naked people disrupting critical safety briefs by attending the muster drill.

Seth scolded me, reminding me no nudity except in designated areas, and the boat deck certainly wasn't one of them. After calling me an ass-wipe and laughing with a wink, he let us know our luggage should be in our rooms after muster call, and we could genuinely settle down or go topsides for the ships sailing out of the harbor.

The ship was open to us once we were clear of the port. People would be lining up to gamble, drink, dance, and generally mingle, meet, and greet. I asked about the playrooms; he said to expect lines throughout the cruise. Ellie told me to contain my disappointment, and Seth double-tapped by warning Ellie and me to steer clear. It was best to mingle and meet folks in staterooms for sexual fun.

After that, we went through each day's available activities shipboard before arriving at our first port of call in Kingston, Jamaica. Next, an overnight to Grand Cayman Island, and after the final stop in Cozumel, we would enjoy another "sudorific" day at sea, returning to Galveston as the sun rose.

Seth finished his brief to us. He expressed a loud "Phew." Then, he chugged a glass of iced tea, got up, and wandered off, searching for something more substantial. We heard rumblings in the kitchen as Seth attacked the drink-making supplies. His knowledge of our kitchen was evident in an audible symphony of glasses clinking.

Heather said, "Let me see if I can speed him up."

She popped off the sofa and disappeared into the kitchen with Seth.

Ellie came over and sat on my lap. She rubbed her hand across my chest. "Jare, are you worried about anything you want to talk about?"

"I am ok with trip preparation, sweetie," I replied. "I want to have a semi-serious conversation about some aspects of the mindset in swinging. Before the trip, I want to understand how you three think and feel."

Ellie leaned in and kissed me, teasing my tongue with hers. She pulled back, "Jare, you have made me so happy. Think of all our adventures and travel we can do now. Swinging is a small part of our life ahead. All of the traditional things you and I love, plus we get to work together and close our careers out with a lunar base and our bots roaming and mining the surface."

I smiled, "It's going to be the jumping-off point for a new era of space exploration. Don't forget; you have to make HAL a reality before you code your last AI."

Ellie got this dreamy look in her eye and said, "Yeah, baby!"

The kitchen was silent except for the subtle slurping and yummy noises.

I shook my head and whispered to Ellie, "Man, Heather is insatiable when pleasuring Seth orally. She seems to go for it like a rabid Dachshund at a backyard bar-b-que."

Ellie smiled and said, "Hush. She matches me in her preference for legs over the shoulder missionary." I could feel her hand go between my legs and run over the increasing bulge in my slacks. "Ummm," she hissed in my ear.

Heather called from the kitchen, "Ellie, can you please help me?" Ellie started to rise, and I pulled her with force into my lap.

"Aren't you forgetting something," I reminded her.

She nodded and smiled, "May I please go in the kitchen and help Heather, my love?"

I kissed her and smiled, "Go play with our friends. I will get the kitchen mop if you aren't back in five minutes."

A sharp whack on my chest from Ellie's hand and a mock chiding immediately followed my comment, "Jared Hansen, you have an incorrigible potty mind." With that, she bound upward and high-tailed her way into the kitchen.

It was only ten minutes before they all returned. Seth's pants were still bulging. They brought in four Palomas, of course.

"I made them a little on the strong side," he warned.

Heather and Ellie settled on either side of me. Heather pulled my face to hers and kissed me. I was rewarded with the taste of Paloma carrying the faintest hint of Seth's essence. Ellie handed me my Paloma and kissed me with a tongue-filled surprise.

"Wow, super Cumpalomas!" I announced, not beaming in happiness. "I am excited you ladies are enjoying Seth to the fullest and sharing his secret ingredient for our cocktails tonight, pun intended. However, while I love my best friend, I leave that loving to you two, K?"

"I don't blame ya, Jare," Seth said. "I am cut from your mold as well."

Heather harumphed, "You two are party poopers."

Ellie looked slightly embarrassed and sheepishly added, "I am sorry, honey."

I took the lead on the conversation, "Seth, Heather," I began, taking a generous slug of my drink. "Geez, Seth, those are strong."

Seth shrugged apologetically, "Ooops, sorry ole buddy."

I nodded and winked at Seth, "Anyway, before Ellie, and I entered this adventure with you two, I have always instinctively known what she was thinking." I paused for effect and continued, "Even you folks used to marvel at how we would finish each other's sentences or exclaim the same things aloud within half a second of each other. I have lived my adult life with Ellie in a virtual mind meld that most lovers never know." Ellie silently hugged me tight.

I took another sip and said, "But when it comes to exploring our sexuality as swingers. Suddenly, I am like that Next Generation episode where Deanna Troi loses her empathic abilities. You are all blank to me. The scariest of all is Ellie is blank to me. The one thing I have been able to rely on for 24 years is intuitively knowing what my wife wants, feels, and thinks. But right now, it's gone, and I am scared for us. At least so far as thinking and feeling about swinging goes. I want to do this, don't get me wrong, I do." Ellie and Heather were tearing up, and I waved my hand at them, "No tears, ladies."

Seth looked downtrodden, "Jesus, Jare, this is the last thing I thought would happen. Tell me what I can do?"

I looked back and smiled, "Seth, this is going to be ok. I know how to address this. I need to ask each of you some direct questions, and then I know I can keep up with you on this trip. Everyone lean back, relax, take a slug of your drinks, and I will begin."

The dearest folks in my life breathed a sigh of relief and sank into the sofa. My first question was for Ellie. My wife's eyes lifted to take in mine, "Sweetheart, what are you hoping for most from swinging, especially during the trip?"

My bride cocked her head, and I could sense the wheels churning. She was searching for the right way to express herself, but I felt she wanted to couch her answer in a manner that didn't disclose her complete feelings. This was going to take work on my part.

Ellie began, "I want to swing with you and for this to be something you and I can share. Something to give our sex lives a spark that we can savor. This trip ends our beginning baby steps in the lifestyle."

I nodded, "What about reconnecting with your bi-sexual side? It lay dormant since college, and now it has been re-born. Your bisexuality is something you have enjoyed with Heather and Bunty, and I am enthralled that you are happy with it. I sense this is important, and you want to immerse yourself in it. Am I wrong?" Heather moved nervously to Seth's side.

Ellie took my hand and looked me in the eyes, "You aren't wrong; I want to connect with it fully."

"Ellie, do you mean fully connect with it in the context of swinging, or has swinging awakened something deeper?" I asked.

"Something deeper," Ellie whispered.

I stood up, walked to the dining room table, and paced back. I looked at my wife, smiled to reassure her, then opened my mouth and released a nuclear warhead, "Is my love no longer enough for you?"

Heather's hands went to her mouth, and she started to rise, but Seth restrained her. Ellie looked at them as her eyes welled.