My wife is amazing. Beautiful, kind, she gets on with everyone. And passionate -- let's just say that bed is not the only place we find to have some fun. Beth has quite an imagination, too, but none of our fantasies so far had involved other people. So I was more than a little surprised when one night when she was undressing for me, she casually said, "Have you ever wondered what it'd be like if there was another girl here too, taking her clothes off for you like I am?"
A dilemma, of course -- am I supposed to say, "No, darling, you're all I need," or be honest and admit that it's every man's fantasy? But I'm a terrible liar, and Beth always knows, so I just grinned sheepishly. "Of course I've wondered."
She nodded. "So tell me how you think it'd be."
It felt more than a little surreal, making love to Beth but whispering in her ear about touching someone else, them touching me. But something about the fantasy situation Beth had asked me to create obviously worked for her, and when she finally cried out her release, it was more intense than any time I could remember.
She drifted off to sleep, and I shrugged to myself. If this was something Beth enjoyed, I was more than happy to make it part of our intimacy whenever it suited her. I shifted closer to her, wrapping my arms round her from behind, and settled down to sleep myself...
The next day I was at work, and when I got home Beth greeted me with a kiss. "I'll cook," she promised. "And we have a guest for dinner, so you should take a shower and change."
I went upstairs, finding that she'd laid out her favourite shirt of mine, and a pair of trousers, on the bed. I undressed, and stepped into the shower, turning the temperature up -- Beth had obviously showered before me. I decided to shave, taking my time, then used Beth's body wash, rinsing the foam off. I towelled myself dry, ran a comb through my hair, and dressed. I heard the front door open, close, and as I walked to the top of the stairs, I recognised our guest. "Hi, Amy."
"Hi, Tim."
Amy was my niece, and since Beth and I had been together, she and Beth had become firm friends -- I was pretty sure that when Amy had things she needed to ask, questions about the transition from girl to young woman, it was Beth she came to.
I reached the bottom of the stairs, accepting the usual hug, and -- much more of a surprise -- a kiss on the cheek. "Hope you're hungry, Amy," Beth grinned. "Come on through."
We went into the kitchen, and I made coffee while Beth stirred pans. "OK," she judged, "everything's ready."
She slid heaped plates in front of us, and I tried a bite. "Beth, darling," I managed round my mouthful, "it's delicious."
When we'd finished eating, Beth stacked dishes by the sink -- "Tim can take care of those tomorrow," she chuckled. "More coffee, Amy?"
"Mm, please."
We took our cups through to the lounge, and Beth patted the space next to her on the sofa. "Come on, Amy. We can ban Tim to the armchair -- for the time being, at least."
I pretended to grumble as I sat. "So, Amy, how are things going?"
"Great -- I've got my uni application in and everything."
I nodded a little sadly. "So we're finally losing you."
She looked genuinely emotional. "I'll be back for holidays. I'll really miss you both..."
Beth nodded. "Amy, is there anything you're worried about, to do with uni?"
A pause, then a distinct flush crept into Amy's cheeks. "The one thing I suppose I'm thinking about is freshers' week."
I gave her a mildly puzzled look. "Cheap beer, kids away from home for the first time going a little crazy, uni clubs touting for members. What's the problem?"
"Well..." Amy paused again. "You know I've never really had a serious boyfriend, right? So I don't really know much about -- all that."
Her face was definitely red now, but she persevered. "We did that stuff in Biology, but that doesn't really help me with how things would be if --"
Beth touched Amy's hand. "You know you don't have to sleep with anyone if you don't want to, right, Amy?"
"I know. And the boys'll probably be like the ones I'm at college with now, awkward and not very grown up. But there might be someone I like, and if I don't know what I want and what I'm not comfortable with... You know what I mean?"
"Absolutely," agreed Beth. She glanced over at me, then back to Amy's troubled face. "Amy -- I have an idea that might help. But if you're not comfortable with it, just say No -- that'll be fine. Whatever happens, we're here for you -- you can phone up anytime and we'll listen, try to help."
Amy nodded. "Thanks, Beth. You, too, Tim."
She looked curiously at Beth. "So tell me your idea."
It was Beth's turn to hesitate, and she took a deep breath before starting to speak. "Well -- Tim could help you with what you said, finding out what you like."
Amy's eyes widened, and she looked over to me. "Tim -- would you do that for me?"
"If it was what you wanted," I nodded. "And whenever you wanted to stop, that'd be fine too."
I could sense the exact moment when Amy's surprise, uncertainty, changed to curiosity and unmistakeable anticipation. "Tim -- I trust you and Beth. I think it'd really help..."
Beth smiled. "I'm glad."
She got to her feet. "Tim, swap places with me."
I moved to sit by Amy, watching Beth settle into the armchair. "Amy -- you said you'd had a boyfriend, but not serious?"
"Mmhm."
"Did you get as far as kissing?"
Amy shook her head. "Only on the cheek, when it was goodnight."
I nodded. "OK. So we should probably start with that, just a little to begin with."
A smile, then she tilted her face upwards, waiting. "I'm ready, then."
I bent towards her slowly, carefully, seeing only trust and anticipation in her eyes, and our lips met softly. I felt Amy breathe in, then her lips parted, moving just a little against mine. After a few moments I drew back, and watched as she touched her lips with her fingers. "Mm, that was nice."
"Tim's a pretty good kisser," Beth chuckled.
"Again, Amy?" I queried.