Author's Note: This story takes place in a universe without STDs. All characters are presumed to be over 18. If you have any hangups, you don't want to read this story.
*****
"Mom," Evan said to his mother's back as she washed the dishes, her long, black hair swaying almost to her waist, the few strands of grey that he knew were starting to appear expertly covered by the treatments that she now got on a regular basis, the physical reality of life catching up to her at 44.
"What is it, Evan?" she asked, turning to smile up at her 25-year-old son who towered over her at 6'5", even though she herself was almost 6', her light-green eyes looking particularly exotic with her olive, Mediterranean skin tone.
"Some friends are coming over tonight," Evan explained.
"That's nice," Lily said as she turned back to her dishwashing. "Anything special?" she asked.
"They're helping me with a documentary I'm trying to create," Evan replied.
"What kind of a documentary?" Lily asked, turning to look at him, her full, D-cup breasts straining the buttons of her blouse.
"Well, that's just it," Evan said, clearing this throat, color rising in his cheeks as he looked down at his mother with that direct gaze of his grey eyes that always reminded Lily of his father, who had been killed in an accident over 10 years ago. "I got a chance to do something a bit different from Channel 23."
"Channel 23!" Lily exclaimed, looking at him. "Don't they do mostly adult programming?"
"Well, yeah, I guess that's pretty accurate," Evan agreed. "But they've offered me $100,000 to do this, and if they like it, there will be more, follow-ups."
"That's a lot of money," Lily said, leaning back against the counter as she studied her son, her arms crossed beneath her big breasts, accentuating them. "What exactly do they want you to do?"
"A series of documentaries exploring the new culture of sex outside the box," Evan replied, seeing his mother's eyes widen slightly.
"Sex outside the box?" Lily asked. "What exactly does that mean?"
"Basically, anything that's not considered normal, vanilla sex," Evan replied.
"Such as?" Lily asked.
"Well, anything other than normal relationship sex," Evan answered.
"Are you afraid to tell me?" Lily asked, smiling at her son. "I'm a big girl now. I think I can take it."
"Well, things like swinging, partner swapping, same-sex interactions, polyamory, group sex," Evan replied.
"What, no BDSM?" Lily asked, bursting out laughing when she saw the look on his face. "You think because I'm your mother that I don't know about such things?"
"They were pretty specific about not wanting to include anything that could be considered abusive," Evan said.
"Why do they want to do this?" Lily asked.
"To make money, increase their ratings," Evan replied. "Why do any of them do anything? It'll be so outrageous, scandalous, that they're hoping for a huge audience. They figure anything abusive would be a turn-off to too many people, whereas they think that most people will be at least curious about the rest."
"Well, I have to admit, I'd probably watch a show like that," Lily said, seeing the surprise on her son's face. "Just because I'm your mother doesn't mean that I don't have an interest in such things. I'm older, not dead."
"I didn't mean anything," Evan said defensively. "I, well, I just never thought of you as anything but, well, vanilla."
"Why do I think that I've just been insulted by my son?" Lily asked, laughing at the pained look on his face. "It won't be outrageous or scandalous to those non-vanilla people. For your information, young man, your father and I had a very dynamic sex life. And I do date now and then. But it's also nice to know that you even think of me as having a sex life. Maybe I'm not too over the hill."
"Uh, well, yeah, I guess," Evan said, nonplussed.
"So, what are you going to be doing this evening?" Lily asked.
"I think just interviews," Evan replied. "I want to explore their thinking, their motivation."
"Well, it all sounds very interesting," Lily said.
"So, you don't mind?" Evan asked.
"No, not at all," Lily replied. "Can I watch, listen?"
"I'm not sure how they'd feel about that," Evan replied slowly. "I'd need to ask them. Some people are more comfortable with these things than others. Some people are going to want to be disguised in the videos, others aren't so concerned. I have to protect the privacy of those who want that protection if I'm going to get an honest documentary."
"That makes sense and sounds very responsible," Lily said. "How did you find the people that are coming over?"
"It's two couples," Evan replied. "We're all friends, have known each other for a few years."
"And they...indulge in some of these things?" Lily asked.
"They're what I would describe as pansexual," Evan replied.
"What does that mean?" Lily asked.
"If it involves consensual, non-abusive sex between adults, they're into it," Evan replied.
"Well, that's certainly all-encompassing," Lily said. "Pansexual. An interesting word. And these are friends of yours?"
"Yes," Evan replied.
"You never cease to surprise me, Evan," Lily said. "You let me know if you want some refreshments or something, okay?"
"Sure, mom," Evan said. "Thanks."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Jared, Tina, Tom, Sally," Evan greeted the two couples when he opened the door that evening after dinner.
Jared was almost as tall as Evan with a powerful physique, while Tina was small, almost childlike next to him at 5'1". They were black. Tom was an even 6' with brown hair and deep blue eyes. Sally was 5'6" with red hair, green eyes, and intensely freckled, pale skin.
"This is my mother, Lily," Evan said, introducing her.
"Welcome," Lily said, shaking everyone's hand.
"No wonder you're such a gorgeous hunk," Sally said as she eyed Lily, a big smile splitting her face.
"Aren't you sweet," Lily said. "Please, come in."
"Mom was wondering if you'd mind if she sat in on the session," Evan said.
"I don't mind," Sally said. "You know what he's going to be asking us about?"
"I think so," Lily replied, blushing slightly. "I find this all very interesting."
Nobody else objected, so that was settled. Lily went to the kitchen for some drinks and snacks that she had prepared, taking them to the living room where Evan had set up his video camera on a tripod facing the sofa where the two couples sat.
"First things first, you need to fill out and sign these release forms," Evan said, handing each of them a form and a pen. "There's a place for you to put anything that you don't want to have exposed on the video, your voice, your face, anything about your body. I can alter voices, blur faces and any body parts as necessary."
Lily took a glass of wine for herself and sat in a comfortable chair to the side, out of camera view and line of sight for those sitting on the sofa.
"Okay," Evan said, taking the release forms and checking them. "I'm going to start the camera now. Everyone okay with that?" he asked as he sat down, the camera on its tripod in front of him.
"Why don't you start by introducing yourselves," Evan suggested. "Give us a name, your age, educational background, how long you've been married, and current profession."
"My name is Jared and I'm 28 years old. I have a law degree and graduated third in my class. I work as a lawyer. This is my wife, Tina. We've been married for 8 years."
"My name is Tina and I'm 27 years old. I have a degree in biochemistry and nursing and work as a nursing supervisor in the surgical unit of a hospital."
"My name is Tom and I'm 31 years old. I have a degree in engineering and am a senior partner in an engineering firm. This is my wife, Sally, and we've been married for 10 years."
"My name is Sally and I'm 31 years old. I have a degree in education and teach elementary school."
"That's quite a spectrum of degrees and professions," Evan said. "And we're here to discuss sex, specifically, your sex lives. As we will learn, you are all members of what is today referred to as outside-the-box with respect to your views and actions regarding sex. You are not monogamous."
"Who would like to go first?" Evan asked.
"Hell, I'd love to," Sally replied with a big smile. "I never get tired of talking about sex or doing it."
"In the 10 years that you've been married to Tom, have you ever been monogamous?" Evan asked after everyone had stopped laughing.