Thursday – Paris to Nice
The next morning was a whirlwind as James and Jasmine met early for breakfast and prepared to depart Paris for Nice. Henri met them under the porte cochere – the same place he had dropped them off only a few short days ago – and they sped through the early morning Paris traffic to Gare de Lyon where they would board the TGV train to Nice. James had relayed how the train would travel up to 200 miles per hour at times and would deliver them to the Cote d'Azur in under six hours.
They boarded the train – a double-decker – and settled into first class accommodations in an upper cabin. Jasmine had taken a few American trains before, but had never seen a train so well-appointed and classy. This was going to be a very nice ride, indeed. They settled into their seats and awaited departure.
The train eased out of the station right on time and as they passed the outskirts of Paris and raced into the countryside, they began to gather speed. Soon the train was hurtling along at close to cruising speed. It was a strange sensation, traveling on the ground at such a high velocity. The ride was smooth and it wasn't until they looked outside that they could tell how incredibly fast they were actually moving.
They talked as they watched the rolling fields and endless vistas whip by and spent the better part of their journey learning more about one another. James shared an abridged story of his life – his early years growing up in the Boston suburbs, college in Virginia and his eventual move to New York. He gave an honest account of his meeting Paul and of his tempestuous marriage. Jasmine asked questions, but James was forthcoming and needed little prodding to share his story.
Eventually the conversation turned to Jasmine and she began to recall her own story – growing up in Chicago, an undergraduate degree in art from a small college in Oregon and then working in the Portland area for a while. She eventually drifted down to the San Francisco area, following a boyfriend, Alan, and that is where her story got interesting and James began to gently probe.
"So, Alan was worth pursuing?" James asked.
"Well, I'd had a number of boyfriends prior to Alan, but he was the first I got really hooked on. We had amazing chemistry. I don't know how else to put it," she stated unabashedly.
"Chemistry? How so?"
"I don't know," Jasmine responded absentmindedly as she looked out the window at the countryside speeding by. "He was interesting, handsome, great body, funny..." She hesitated slightly before continuing. "And he was incredibly exciting sexually, to be quite honest. He just knew how to touch all my buttons and was constantly keeping our sex life fun and varied. There was never a dull moment," she added. James could see that she was temporarily lost in a very pleasant memory, but he wanted to know more, so he waited a moment before continuing his questioning.
"Tell me more," he prodded. "It sounds fascinating."
"Well, I guess I began to find out things about myself that I didn't know were there. He was so adventurous sexually, constantly pushing the envelope and challenging me. And it worked. Actually, the more I learned about him and his fantasies, the more I learned about my own. He opened me up to many new and exciting experiences. There was never a dull moment."
James was intrigued and knew he could learn some things to benefit his own attraction to Jasmine. He wanted to know more, but didn't want to appear like he was prying. But he also sensed that Jasmine was open to talking about it, so he continued his line of questioning.
"Well, give me an example. What kinds of new experiences?"
Jasmine hesitated for a moment, unsure how much she should share. But she was finding thinking about the experiences to be a turn-on, so she took a deep breath, looked James in the eye, and continued.
"Well, for one thing Alan liked to watch, like, watch other people having sex." She stopped, looked to see James's reaction. Seeing nothing untoward, she continued. "And he liked to be watched too. And in exploring that realm, I found that I did too. I liked both – I liked to watch someone having sex near me – and I liked having someone watch me. I know that sounds a bit strange or kinky," she said drawing a deep breath. "But it was so fucking hot," she hissed. She hesitated for a moment before adding, "Still is."
"Ohh," James reacted. "Now you have to tell me more," he laughed. He could see that Jasmine was enjoying sharing the memory, so very little encouragement was needed to keep her talking.
"You really want to know the whole story?" she asked, knowing exactly how James would respond. He just smiled and she knew she should continue.
"Well, we lived together in the Mission. Alan was doing early high tech stuff and I was working in a gallery. It was a fun and carefree time. Our sex life was nothing short of amazing, to be quite honest. Alan was a big bear of a man: very masculine, broad shoulders, muscular, but very soft hands. I love the contrast of our bodies and always felt protected by him.
James smiled at the image of Jasmine's slender body being dwarfed by a burly male specimen.
"Anyway, we became very friendly with this other couple – friends of Alan's. His name was Bruce and hers was Abby. He was a big strapping guy too, an Aussie with a great sense of humor to go with his accent and she was a gorgeous slender model type – absolutely beautiful. She was one of those women that just oozes sexuality from every pore."
"I know the type," James joked. Jasmine smiled at the compliment and continued.
"It all started innocently enough, and Alan had often talked about what a sexy couple they were and what amazing sex they must have. We'd occasionally weave them into our sex play at home – just imagining them fucking. We'd pretend they were sitting next to us, watching us have sex. I don't know why, but we both found it incredibly hot. It was all fantasy and hot fun." Jasmine took a swig of water before continuing. "But there was always this undercurrent, like, 'maybe this could really happen.'"
