1
The firelight danced on the ceiling as she listened to her husband talk about a hike he'd taken earlier in the day. He spoke in low, hushed tones as to not wake their kids sleeping in the beds across from them. It had been a fun day camping with friends in the remote hills, hiking, and passing bottles of booze around the campfire like a bunch of hobos.
She laid her cheek against her husband's chest and rested in the comfort of him while he spoke. This was her favorite place to be. Not the cabin or the wilderness but right there on his shoulder, listening to the low rumble of his voice through his chest, feeling his warmth against her cheek, and breathing in his scent. It was Home. She wrapped her leg around the top of his, curling into him for more heat. His arm completed the movement by wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her near.
These were some of her favorite times, talking and laughing quietly. Just being a little silly and intimate at the same time. While they talked they touched, enjoying the feel of each others skin; answering a glide of fingertips on his rib cage with a hand cupped around her hip.
She had tilted her chin up to catch his lips in a soft kiss when there was a gentle knock at the door of the cabin. She and her husband both froze momentarily at the sound. Then, they both looked to the door as it opened a crack and their friend's face peered in at them.
"Hey," he said softly in to the dimly lit room. The fire's glow illuminated his face just enough to see him as he stepped inside the door. "You guys still up?"
"Hey man, yeah. We're up. Did you get everyone to bed okay? We weren't expecting you but glad you came back up," her husband whispered back as he absent-mindedly drew circles with his fingers on her back.
They had recently invited their life long friend to their marriage bed, against their better judgment. To their delight and surprise their friend had accepted. They had enjoyed only a few brief trysts so far, some as a threesome and some with just her and their friend-turned-lover.
"Everyone's asleep," he said, "I thought maybe you guys might still be by the fire."
Her heart was racing and her eyes wide. She looked between her husband and her sometimes-lover and anxiously waited to see what would play out.
Her husband replied, "We were until just a bit ago. We were still talking, and stuff. We weren't sleeping yet."
There was a heartbeat of time where what wasn't said lingered palpably in the air between them. Each of them feeling both hope and trepidation at the same time but for different reasons. They each had their own list of benefits and risks in their new situation. They each had something to lose.
A smile crept across the visitor's face as a thought dared to be spoken aloud. After only a moment's hesitation, her husband answered that smile with one of his own. Her mind raced, Could what's about to happen really happen?, she thought.
"I thought I might take a walk with your wife if it's okay with you, and her, of course."
Her husband's hand stopped the circles on her back and pressed his hand flat to her back when he looked at her, searching, "Yeah, looks like that won't be a problem at all, man." He smiled at her. She wondered what he saw. Her eyes large and overly bright? Could he sense her excitement and arousal? He cupped her cheek in his palm and pressed his lips to hers, capturing for a moment her bottom lip before letting her go. "Have fun," he whispered only to her, his smile mischievous, and pressed her little red silk case into her palm.
Her mouth fell open on a small gasp before the corner of her mouth turned up. "I'll be back to you soon," she kissed him quick on the lips. "I love you."
Her pajamas were not her typical come-hither-sailor jammies. She was camping after all. She became slightly more aware of her pink striped flannel pajama bottoms as she walked across the room. Grateful that she wore a bust-flattering lace cami to distract from the flannel, she decided to let it go. Her friend held the door for her and they stepped without a word out in to the dark night.
2
Glancing back at the door, behind which her husband sat, she fought to calm her heart. She turned to her friend, "Hey."
"Hey," he countered and they both giggled.
"Would 'oh my fucking god' be appropriate here?" she blurted, giggling nervously again.
"Yeah, I think it would," he smiled again and took her hand. She looked at their clasped hands between them and took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Will you walk with me?"