Piper ran her hand along her shoulder and down her arm, waiting until she could gather herself again.
It was a while.
“All jokes aside, I get it,” Piper said, still stroking her. “I get why you’re here. But I’m also here to tell you it’s not as bad as you think it is. That’s not something you want to hear right now, but I’m going to lay it on you anyway and prepare you for the tide of happiness that’s about to come your way. But first, I need you to tell me what actually happened at the Slaters’ house—in detail. Well, not like porn-y detail. But I need more clarity. I only got the bare bones from your totally miserable and guilt-ridden husband. He said Pete was involved. I need to know what exactly happened so we can suss it all out.” Piper’s voice broke on the word suss, their new inside joke.
“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about it,” Caroline said. “It was awful, and I don’t feel like reliving it.” She didn’t mention reliving it was all she’d done for hours upon hours.
“That’s too damn bad,” Piper said, her voice stern. “In order to get to the bottom of your well of unbridled guilt—which we all know runs extremely deep—we need to go through this methodically. I need to know how far it went. If Pete actually fucked you, I’m going to set up a meeting with a marriage counselor who specializes in this sort of thing, so you can save your marriage. A counselor I happen to have a very up close and personal relationship with. Her name is Marianne, and she’s an absolute boss. I see her once a week. If a lot less happened, I’m going to work you through it right here and now.” She pressed a fingertip into Caroline’s shoulder. “And when you get out of this bed, you’re going to feel refreshed and ready to go home to work this out with your loving husband.”
“That’s going to happen,” Caroline replied. “I can tell you already. I’m not ready to face him yet. And, no! Absolutely not. Pete didn’t do anything…close to that.” She shuddered. “He…he…just touched me. But it made me…” Caroline couldn’t finish before she dissolved into another crying jag.
“He made you come when he touched you? Is that it? When your husband hadn’t been successful?” Piper asked, her voice soft, her hand back to patting Caroline.
“Yes!” Caroline wailed.
“And you liked it, right? That’s where this humonstrous guilt is coming from. You liked what Pete did, you had a huge orgasm, and now you’re plagued with guilt. You lived your daydream in real living color, and it’s scared the crap out of you.”
All Caroline could do was nod as she sobbed quietly, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
“So…” Piper paused. “Did he, like, rub your clit to get you to come?”
Caroline sucked in a breath so fast she had to rap on her chest to find air again. “No!” She coughed. “He was nowhere near my…hoo-ha.”
Piper tossed her head back into the pillow and laughed. “You slay me. Dude, if we weren’t way past hoo-has before, we are so past them now. So you’re telling me he didn’t fuck you and wasn’t anywhere near your pussy. Is that correct?”
“Correct.”
“So he sucked your tits, then? He loves tits. He really can’t get enough.”
“Piper!”
“What? We both know you had sexy-times with the Slaters. It’s all out in the open. Pete loves to suck. That’s his thing. But that’s neither here nor there. I need you to tell me what the hell he did to drive you here—bubbling like a fountain under the covers in an expensive hotel when the Hampton Inn is right down the street. So far, what you’ve told me is not anything you can’t get past. Well, except if he, like, defecated on you or something equally gross. You’d have to go to counseling for that for sure. I don’t get those fetishes. They creep me out.”
“Gross! No! He…used his hands.”
“Hands where?”
“My breasts.”
“Like, fondled your nipples?”
Caroline teared up. “Yes.”
“How did he do it?”
Caroline craned her head up to look at her friend. “Honestly, does it really matter? The deed was done. He used his hands on my nipples, and I came. Then my head spun, and I couldn’t think straight!”
“It matters. Trust me. Did he do it in, like, a big, meaty caveman possessive way, like, all arrrrgh?” She lowered her voice to a growl and mimicked grabbing on to something and squeezing it in the air between them. “Or did he, like, tweak them lightly?” She pinched her fingers together and tilted her wrist to the side.
“Lightly.”
“For how long?”
“Not long.”
“What are we talking here? A minute or a few seconds?”
“Seconds.”
Piper edged up on her elbow and glanced down at Caroline, grinning. “So, you’re telling me Pete lightly fondled your nipples for about two seconds, and you were so turned on by your own husband, and the scene before you, that you came instantly? Nothing else happened? There was no clit licking or nipple sucking on his part? His dick is super long, you know. You might’ve wished he was doing more—”
“Stop! Stop it!” Caroline cried. “That was it! But I’m not going to let you dismiss this as nothing happened. A touch is a touch. He laid his hands on me, and I came! Once I recovered, I couldn’t believe I was actually there—in that awful Pleasure Paradise, watching two people have sex—let alone allowing one of them to touch me! It was all so surreal and crazy. My brain felt fuzzy and muted after, like I was drunk. But I’d only had a drink and a half. And why didn’t you tell me they have a sex lair in their basement?” Caroline accused. “That wasn’t fair. I walked in thinking they were normal, and we’d, like, go into their bedroom or something. Then they usher us down there, and it’s like a dirty-movie set.”
“Normal is a four-letter word to me. And that place is the bomb, isn’t it? But in a totally who-are-these-people kind of way. If I’d told you, you never would’ve gone. But now I think we’re finally getting someplace,” Piper said excitedly. “And I’m not dismissing anything, I swear, but what you’re describing is a full-blown panic attack. Brain fuzzy, can’t think straight. Were you shaking?”
Caroline nodded. “Like a leaf. I submerged myself in their hot tub, and when I came up for air, I couldn’t remember how I’d even gotten there.”
“I hate to tell you this, but you had a mini-breakdown. The good news? That explains a lot, and it means that you’ll recover just fine. And believe me, I know a thing or two about breakdowns. I had a major one myself. Maybe someday I’ll share the gory details with you, but now’s not the time. Needless to say, the fact you went from a severe panic attack to feeling sorry for yourself in a matter of hours is great news! I couldn’t be happier.”
“Hey! I’m not feeling sorry for myself, I’m just…sad and angry I let it go so far.”
Piper shook her head. “Nope, you’re not. You’re wallowing. Pete didn’t actually do much to you other than fulfill a fantasy.” She poked Caroline in the shoulder. “Your fantasy. Pete was the proverbial camel that broke the orgasm’s back, but you had a panic attack because you’d never allowed yourself to think about the possibility of that daydream coming true, which was your first big mistake. You made a date with the Slaters, but blocked out the reality of your wildest fantasy coming true. Had you allowed yourself to go there, and prepare yourself, I think you would’ve bypassed the breakdown and gone straight to feeling sorry for yourself. Have you ever had a panic attack before? They can be super wicked.”
Caroline thought about it for a moment. “Yes, but it was years ago, and it wasn’t as intense as last night. I was rejected by the very first college I applied to. When I opened the letter, I thought the world was caving in on me and I’d be stuck living at home for the rest of my life. I remember collapsing in my mother’s favorite chaise and not being able to get up for hours. I was dizzy and my head was throbbing, but it was tame compared to this.”