Kara’s eyebrows rose with interest.
“Kim’s blonde and busty,” I added, which grabbed Victor’s attention, “slender instead of voluptuous. She’s bigger than Christy, but they could be sisters otherwise.”
“Why haven’t we partied with them before?” he asked.
“I told you that, too!” Leah said in exasperation. “I’m beginning to think you don’t listen to a word I say.”
“Join the club,” Kara joked.
“They’re normally part of another group,” I said, which was a half-truth.
Carter was into bondage and discipline more than pure swinging. Christy and I had visited them many times over the years, but we’d always kept that part of our lives separate from the swinging group. She’d had a change of heart when we’d first talked about the summer get-together.
“I think we should invite them,” she’d said. Then she’d gone through her reasons with typical Christy-leaps. “Erin totally loves them. Oh my gosh, I thought she was going to simmer for weeks after last time. But you know that already. You were there. Right. Moving on. Wren and Trip already think we swing with them, so they won’t be a problem. Carter isn’t Wren’s type anyway. Kim is definitely Trip’s, but…”
Christy had frowned to let me know what she thought of that. Trip still had an annoying habit of focusing on looks instead of brains. Kim wasn’t a bimbo, but she looked like it. And she liked to please men, so she had a tendency to act like she thought they expected, which meant an airhead blonde for Trip.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Christy’d continued. “He’ll have enough of a distraction with Brooke. Ugh! He’s a total horndog where she’s concerned. I don’t get it, either. Her, I mean. She totally likes him. Yeah, I know, it’s ’cause they talk baseball. Still, I can’t understand— Oh, never mind. You know what I mean.”
She’d kept going with barely a pause for breath. “Leah and Mark know everything anyway, even if it isn’t their cup of tea. I still think she’d like it if she’d give it a try, but… ‘different strokes.’ Anyway, where was I? Erin… Wren… Leah… Oh, Brooke! Right. She wants to join us next time we’re in Charlotte. What? Don’t look so surprised. Nate’s like Carter, remember? I told you…”
She’d chattered for another minute or two before she’d finally wound down.
“So… what do you think?” she’d said at last.
“Okay?”
“Ugh! Mr. Taciturn. Is that all you have to say?”
“Um… yes?”
And so we’d invited Carter and Kim. They’d been to camp in the mid-eighties heyday, after all, even if they hadn’t been a part of the wider swinger group at the time.
“Ah, okay,” Victor said. “Then I can’t wait to meet them.”
“I dunno about you guys,” Mark said, “but I’m ready for a drink.”
“And to get your dick sucked?” Leah teased.
He feigned surprise. “How’d you know?”
“How indeed? But you’re out of luck.” She looped her arm through mine. “Paul’s had a long day, and I think he needs it more than you.”
“You can say that again,” I muttered.
“You know, it’s a wonder she ever married me,” he joked.
“I didn’t have much choice!” Leah laughed. “I was pregnant, remember?”
“Do we know who the father is?”
“No clue.” Leah studied her fingernails and shrugged. “I was sleeping with so many men at the time…”
Kara rolled her eyes. “Come on, you all. I could use a drink too. And I’ll be happy to suck your dick,” she added to Mark. “After the girls go to bed.”
He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Okay, let’s do this!”
* * *
Leah and I fell silent and shared a companionable moment before I shot a glance at my watch. We’d been talking longer than either of us had realized. Worse, I was comfortable on the couch, while she was still on the floor. She rose to her knees and caressed my thighs.
“Ready for more?”
The little head refused to cooperate.
“Either I’m losing my touch,” Leah laughed affectionately, “or you need a little more time.”
“The latter. Sorry. It’s been a really long day.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it. We aren’t teenagers anymore. But I need to get off my knees.” She stood and gave me a moment to admire her body before she extended a hand. “Come on, I’m thirsty.”
“Yeah, me too. I get dehydrated when I fly, and I haven’t drunk enough water today.”
“I could tell.”
“Oh?”
“Your load was thicker than usual. It tasted fine,” she added quickly, “but… Yeah, you need to drink more.”
“You’re a come connoisseur,” I teased, “more than Christy.”
“Oh, much more,” Leah agreed. “I can’t help it. It’s genetic.”
“The same with her.”
“Maybe, but we like it for different reasons.”
“Fair enough. Anyway, let’s get something to drink.”
July welcomed us with a sultry embrace as we left the air-conditioned comfort of the bungalow. The moon hadn’t risen yet, but the sodium light over the clubhouse painted the scene in monochrome yellow, with blue shadows between the buildings and under the patio furniture. Crickets chirred, and a pair of whippoorwills called to each other across the clearing. I had a sudden memory of a similar night with Christy, from before I’d asked her to marry me.
“Any idea how long birds live?” I asked Leah, who shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Why? Never mind. I think I know. You’re such a romantic.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“I’ve always loved that about you.”
“I thought it was my big dick.”
“Uh-uh. Erin’s the size queen. I care more about the results.”
“Lucky for me.”
“Me too.”
Cool air spilled out of the clubhouse when Leah opened the door. She flipped on the lights, and I chuckled to myself at the signs that Christy had been in the kitchen. She’d left the jar of peanut butter on the counter, surrounded by bread crumbs and a stray blob of jelly. I cleaned up without even thinking about it, while Leah filled two glasses with ice and water from the tap.
“For here,” she asked, “or back in the room?”
“Back in the room.”
She sipped her water to cover her grin, and a dark eyebrow rose with a challenge.
“I’m tired, not dead,” I replied.
“I’ll hold you to it.”
“I’m counting on it.”
She handed me the other glass, and I admired her from behind as she headed toward the door. She must have felt my gaze, because she turned and gave me a speculative look.
“See anything you like?”
“All of it, the whole package.”
“You aren’t so bad yourself.” Her dark eyes flashed playfully. “Especially your package.”
“He says thanks.”
Outside, she became serious and nodded toward the dark bungalows to our right. “You mind if we…? I wanna check on McKenna.”
“Yeah, me too.”
My family’s bungalow was #2, so we stopped there first. I opened the door and stepped inside to let my eyes adjust.
The girls were asleep on a pallet of blankets in the living room. Emily had kicked off her covers, but Laurie hugged her from behind and kept her warm. Emily’s metabolism was the same as Christy’s, and she suffered the same nighttime chills.
Susie was more like me, and she ran hot. She’d scooted away from her sisters, to the very edge of the blanket. She clutched her favorite stuffed animal for company, a purple dinosaur that she called Boopie instead of Barney.
They all looked so peaceful and angelic that I lingered a moment and simply watched them.
“This is why we let them live,” I whispered to Leah.
“Oh, I know,” she agreed softly. Then she nodded toward the back. “Do you need to check on Christy?”
The bedroom was dark, so she was probably asleep. I shook my head and pulled the door closed.