Between Friends

Jason arrived at work, fired up the computer and checked his e-mail. Buried there amongst the business-related correspondence and the usual mountain of spam was a message from his pal Kat. He clicked, relieved to find something he might actually want to read.

"Hey, J.— tomorrow is R.'s b-day. Thought you guys might like to join us for drinks at Delphi after work, followed by dinner at our house? I'm cooking. Just bring wine. Red. Ok? Love, K."

Jason fired back a reply. "Sounds like a plan. I'll run it by M. and get back to you. J."

Maddie was feeling harried as she pulled into the parking lot at Delphi. She was running late, having stopped to change clothes and pick up a bottle of wine on her way from work. The rush-hour traffic didn't help, either. Or the heat. But she was counting on Kat and Rachel to be even later, as was their habit. No such luck this time. As she walked into the club, she saw them out on the dance floor. They were dancing slow circles to a Billie Holliday tune, whispering and smiling secretively to each other, smooching now and then, totally oblivious to her presence or anyone else's.

Too damn cute, she thought. She was surprised to find the ambiance so subdued. She had only known the Delphi as a wild gay disco, with loud, relentless techno music all night — fine for dancing, but not exactly the place she'd choose to go for casual conversation with friends. But she was glad to learn that it was a more sedate scene during happy hour, sort of a swanky lounge vibe, all dim lights and slinky torch songs, and not many people.

Not knowing where the girls were sitting, Maddie headed directly for the restroom to pee. She entered the stall, hung her purse on the back of the door, hoisted her little black dress over her hips and dropped her knickers. Just then the bathroom door swung open. She recognized the voices as those of her friends, but she didn't really feel like talking to them from inside the stall. It seemed sort of ridiculous. So she kept quiet, expecting them to leave shortly. She heard one of the other stall doors close and the sound of someone pissing. The shadow of the other person stood in front of the sink. Moving her head into alignment with the crack in her stall door, she could see Kat combing her hair in the mirror. Kat was rather fussy about her hair, and spent a good deal of time making it look as if she spent no time at all on it.

"I wonder where our friends are?" she heard Rachel ask from the other stall.

"Probably figured we'd be late," Kat chuckled. "I think Jason has finally given up on me ever being on time. Probably figures if he can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Maddie heard the toilet flush, and saw Rachel's shadow walk past her towards Kat.

"Hey, good lookin'," Rachel cooed as she walked up behind Kat and slid her arms around her waist. "You know, I can hardly wait to get you home tonight."

"Oh yeah?," Kat asked, playing dumb.

"Yeah," said Rachel. "In fact, I don't think I can wait!"

With that she stepped over to the restroom door and locked it, then came back to Kat, who was still grooming herself non-chalantly. They obviously thought they were alone. Maddie felt rather awkward sitting there in the stall with her undies around her ankles, but it seemed too late to say anything at this point. She was afraid that if she did, they would wonder why she hadn't spoken up earlier. Worse yet, they might think she was spying on them. Which, apparently, she now was.

The room was suddenly quiet save for the muffled music coming from the bar, and a few barely audible kissing sounds. Maddie couldn't see much from her position on the toilet, but could tell that Kat was still standing before the mirror, and Rachel was again standing behind her. She could hear the light peck of Rachel's lips on Kat's neck, followed by contented sighs which gradually gave way to rustling clothes, then heavier breathing and soft moans. Maddie slowly stood up from the commode and positioned her eye closer to the crack in the door. She felt slightly guilty about it, but she couldn't help herself.

At this point the girls were so absorbed in their activity that they didn't hear her pull up her panties. Peering through the narrow slit, she could now see them more clearly. They were facing the mirror, watching themselves, looking intently into each other's reflected faces. Rachel had her arms wrapped around Kat, a hand on one of her breasts, another down her open trousers. Kat had a blissful little smile on her face, her eyes half opened. Rachel grinned wickedly as she squeezed Kat's nipple through the fabric of her white men's dress shirt and rooted around in her girlfriend's pants.

Maddie noticed her own breathing getting heavier, her pulse quickening. At first she thought it was from panic, but she soon became aware of the subtle sensation between her legs. She was struck by the absurdity of the situation and felt scared — partly by the thought of being discovered, but also by her own response to what she was seeing. She had never been especially attracted to women, yet here she was, getting all hot and bothered as she secretly watched her two friends. What was that about? But her arousal was stronger than her fear. She gave into it with mixed feelings, pulling up the front of her dress and slowly sliding her hand down into her underwear, lightly brushing her clit with the tip of her finger. She was surprised to find that she was already quite wet. It was shocking to realize how all of this had just snuck up on her, but now there was no turning back.

Maddie could not take her eyes off of Kat's face. She had always thought Kat was beautiful, and had remarked on it to Jason many times. Kat was softly butch, and tended to downplay her more feminine features. She had a small, athletic body, and usually wore stylish masculine clothing: slacks with pleats and cuffs, button down shirts, klunky shoes. She kept her short, curly hair plastered down with gel, and wore little or no make-up. Maddie had always admired her flawless skin, her deep brown eyes and full lips. These were what held her attention now — those barely parted eyes and lips, the ecstatic, trance-like expression on Kat's face. The intimate sighs. The focused breathing pulling her into its rhythm, her own breath now entraining with Kat's.

By now Maddie's fingers were moving autonomously, applying firmer pressure to her clit in a steady circular motion, occasionally dipping further down for more lubrication. She struggled to suppress the small sounds that gathered in her throat, but they seemed to have a life of their own, occasionally escaping against her will. These were luckily masked by Kat, whose sounds had become louder. Rachel joined in to encourage her, knowing she was about to come. Kat gasped and stiffened, her uplifted arms clenching around her lover's neck behind her as she let out a prolonged, satisfied moan. As she did so, Maddie shuddered and came with a yelp that involuntarily slipped from her lips.

The lovers looked at each other, realizing that this last sound was not made by either one of them. "I think there's an echo in here," Rachel said dryly. They both turned to look at the closed stall door behind them, and saw a pair of feet in the space below it. Kat spoke up.

"Uh, hello? Can we help you?"

Maddie, still weak-kneed and fuzzy from the surprising intensity of her orgasm, suddenly realized she was busted. She felt completely mortified, and wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't stay in there forever. She would have to come out and fess up to her friends. She straightened her dress, unlocked the door and sheepishly emerged, her face bright red with embarrassment. The girls looked at her in astonishment. Then they looked at each other. Their chins dropped in unison. Then they looked back at her, and burst out laughing.

"I...uh...I'm so sorry, you guys," Maddie stammered. "I swear I didn't mean to spy on you! I was just in here, um, peeing, and you came in and got all...involved...and I just couldn't help myself and it just sort of... happened..."

The girls were clearly relishing the situation, and seemed to find the whole thing quite hilarious. Kat pretended to chastise her, smiling all the while.

"Well, look who's here. Why, Maddie, you naughty little pervert! We had no idea you had such nasty voyeuristic proclivities!"

"Yeah," Rachel chimed in. "And we certainly didn't know you had a secret thing for women. We thought you only liked boys. I mean really, if you wanted to check out the other team you could have just asked us."

Maddie didn't quite know what to say. "Shut up! God, I am so fucking embarrassed, I can't believe this..."

The girls took pity on her, and came over and hugged her, trying to let her know that they understood and it was all fine.

"It's okay. Really. Don't worry about it," Kat reassured her. "You're only human. I'm sure either of us would have done the same thing."

"Definitely," said Rachel. "Besides, I'd be personally offended if you'd been able to just ignore the whole thing. How boring wuold that make us?"

Maddie was not so easily reassured, and worried that this episode might cause some rift in their friendship. "It's just so weird...I really don't know what came over me. It's not like I'm usually into women. But you two were just so damn sexy..."

Rachel looked at her with some doubt. "Oh come on, you mean you've never made out with a girl? Not even thought about it?"

"Not really. At least, not in any kind of conscious way. I mean, I've had sexy dreams about women a few times, but that's it."

"Well, maybe you should try it sometime when you're awake," Rachel said, casting a devilish glance Kat's way. Without a word, she leaned over and lightly kissed Maddie. Maddie was so shocked, she just stood there, still as a post, her pale blue eyes wide open. She felt Rachel's tongue gently parting her lips, searching for her own, and for lack of knowing how else to respond, she closed her eyes and went along with it. She tentatively extended her tongue forward to meet Rachel's. It was a delicious, slippery, ticklish feeling that went straight down through her guts and into her groin. She felt Rachel's hand come up behind her head, pushing their mouths together, and was vaguely aware of Kat still holding them both, looking on. To her surprise, she found herself returning the kiss more passionately, looping her tongue around Rachel's, consciously tasting the sweetness of her breath, losing all track of time.

The pressure on the back of her head eased, and she felt Rachel begin to slowly close her lips and pull away. Part of her was relieved to know it was ending, but another part of her wanted to linger. Rachel looked at her silently, just grinning and twinkling her green eyes, obviously quite pleased with herself.

Kat smiled at them both and purred, "Mmm...Now, see? Isn't that yummy?"

Maddie's head was racing. Feeling flustered, and no longer sure of anything, she began searching for a graceful way to get out of this rather awkward situation. "I'm sure Jason is here by now. He must be wondering what the hell happened to us. Maybe we'd better go track him down." She nervously extricated herself from their embrace and made her way to the bathroom door. It was still locked, but she tugged at the handle repeatedly, not registering in her nervousness what the problem was. Kat walked over and calmly unlocked the door, pulled it open, and gestured toward the opening.

"After you, dear."

Maddie rolled her eyes and started to leave the room.

"Hey wait, you forgot this," Rachel said, handing Maddie the purse she had almost left behind. Maddie took it, rolled her eyes again, sighed and shook her head as she walked towards the bar. The girls walked arm in arm a few feet behind her, admiring her ass as it wiggled down the hall in the short, tight dress. Too damn cute. Rachel whispered to Kat in a playful, singsong tone, "I think I know what I want for my birthday..."

Kat reached down and grabbed her butt. "We'll see. Maybe if you're very, very good..."

Jason was sitting at a table, drinking a beer. He'd been waiting for nearly twenty minutes. He'd been caught in traffic too, but when no one else showed up he began to seriously wonder if he had the day wrong. So he was relieved to see the three of them walking towards him.

"Oh, so you are here. Just in time, I was starting to think maybe you all knew something that I didn't."

The women all exchanged glances, and Kat and Rachel barely suppressed the urge to laugh. Maddie felt like a nervous wreck, but Jason was busy exchanging hugs with the girls and hadn't picked up on it. They all sat down and she slid into the booth next to him. He gave her a familiar little kiss and a chipper "Hi, baby." "Hey," she fired back, trying hard to sound absolutely normal. She dug her fingers into his thigh, then caught herself and patted his leg lightly a few times, hoping to quickly erase the first gesture before he could read anything into it. The women ordered beers, and the four of them made small talk, catching up on recent events. It had been over a month since they had all last gotten together, and Jason was happy to be with three of his favorite people. He noticed that his wife seemed a little distracted, but sometimes it took her a while to decompress after work.

When they finished their beers, Kat suggested they get going so she could finish preparing dinner. They emerged into the early evening light and walked to their cars. "See you at your place," Jason called out to Kat and Rachel. They waved. Maddie was glad to be driving in her own car. It would give her some time alone to calm down and compose herself. She needed it. She felt like she was about to explode.

The dinner had been delicious. The table was strewn with empty plates. Candles lit the room with a warm glow. The wine bottle was empty. They sat around the table talking about this and that in the easy, familiar way of people who have known each other for years. Kat got up and disappeared into the kitchen, emerging a few minutes later with a gorgeous chocolate layered cake topped with one burning candle, singing "Happy Birthday." Jason and Maddie joined in. Kat set the cake down in front of Rachel and stood beside her. "Make a wish, honey."

Rachel looked at her mischievously. "I already did, but I'll make it again, just in case."

She blew out the candle and reached an arm around Kat's waist, drawing her near.

"Since everyone has been indulging me tonight, why don't you all go sit in the living room and relax, and I'll cut the cake and bring it in there. It'll be more cozy."

Jason, Kat and Maddie all adjourned to the other room as instructed. Jason and Maddie plopped down on the couch, and Kat curled up in one of the soft, overstuffed chairs.

Well aware of Jason's sweet tooth, Rachel brought him his piece first and handed it to him in mock-ceremonious fashion. "Your cake, sir." In her other hand she had Maddie's plate, which she handed to her guest. "Madam." Then she left and came back with two more plates. She gave one to Kat and then sat in the remaining reading chair. They all dug in, and were soon making little orgasmic sounds of approval.

"Oh. My. God." Jason mumbled, his mouth full of cake. "This is almost better than sex. Almost."

Kat picked up the ball. "Isn't there a direct connection? Didn't they prove that chocolate triggers some sort of sex hormones in the brain or something?"

Maddie, who had majored in psychology, confirmed that chocolate is indeed an aphrodesiac.

"Speaking of which..." — Rachel interjected, recognizing a perfect lead-in when she saw one — "all of this talk reminds me of my wish. I think it's about time I got my present, don't you, hon?"

She was looking at Kat with a wicked gleam in her eye. She rose from her chair and walked slowly and seductively toward Kat, bent down and kissed her passionately for a good long time. Jason and Maddie looked at each other in the awkward silence. His eyes widened, and he raised his brows. She just sat there, staring at him blankly. But inside, she intuited what was coming, and was trying frantically to prepare herself for it.

The girls finally ended their kiss, and Rachel stood up straight, extending her hand to Kat and pulling her up from the chair. Then she silently walked toward Maddie, leading Kat along by the hand behind her. It was the same sultry walk. Same smug smile. Same wicked gleam. She stopped in front of Maddie and leaned over towards her face. Just before their lips met, Maddie looked down the neck of Rachel's loose-fitting blouse, could see her full breasts hanging there unencumbered, the nipples brushing against the fabric. That image stuck in her mind as Rachel began to kiss her and she closed her eyes.

Whatever she had thought she might do as she saw this scenario unfolding a minute ago was lost to her now. She felt the moist softness of Rachel's mouth on hers, the warm breath, the slippery, curious tongue. And in the darkness behind her closed eye lids she saw an afterimage of those lovely breasts, swaying in the shadows of the silk top. The image filled her mind, blending with the delicious sensations of the kiss itself. She was momentarily lost in it. Then she remembered that Jason was sitting right there next to her. She almost opened her eyes to look over at him, but didn't. Whatever she was feeling — a mixture of fear, curiosity, arousal, confusion — she felt compelled to just stay with it, and let whatever might happen, happen.

That feeling she had briefly when Rachel had kissed her earlier in the bathroom at the club was back, more present now. It was like an electric wire running from the tip of her tongue to the depths of her cunt. She felt illuminated by it, as if this were not some shocking new sensation but something familiar, a long-forgotten memory that had been lying dormant in the dark recesses of her brain and was now emerging with utter clarity and detail. The fear and confusion evaporated, and she felt herself respond instinctively. Without having to think about it, she raised her hand and held it gently against Rachel's cheek, sparring with her tongue more agressively, luxuriating in this moment.

Again it ended, and she felt slightly disappointed to find herself back in the living room, sitting on the couch next to her husband. She looked over at him without a trace of panic on her face. Jason looked as if she could have blown him over with a single breath, and it made her smile. It wasn't easy to render him speechless, and she felt a twinge of pride at having done so. Then she looked up at Rachel, who methodically removed the dessert plate from her lap, set it on the side table, took her hand and pulled her up from the couch just as she had done with Kat, and calmly led both women across the room towards the hall that led to their bedroom. Jason just sat there in shock, watching them walk away. As they were about to disappear into the shadows of the hallway, Kat paused and glanced back at him, arching one eyebrow.

"Coming?"

"Um...I think I'd better finish my cake."

Jason sat for a moment on the couch, staring blankly at the half-eaten slice of cake on the plate in his hand. Completely stunned. Not that he was upset about what had just happened. Actually, he had rather enjoyed seeing Rachel kiss his wife like that. He knew himself how it felt to kiss her, and thought he knew what Rachel was feeling. He liked the idea that someone else now shared that intimate feeling with him, which was otherwise so impossible to express. And certainly he had fantasized about his wife being seduced by another woman. It had simply never occured to him that such a thing might actually happen, let alone like this, and he was not at all prepared for it.