Terri lamented -- again -- her non-existent sex life and wondered just how bad it would be to ring up her ex for a little booty call. Her reasons weren’t all that bad, thought her best friend Audrianna, recalling how Terri bragged about his skill and passion as a lover. And Terri should know. She couldn’t be called promiscuous but she certainly enjoyed sex. And with her shoulder-length wavy brown hair, brown eyes, trim figure, ample breasts and rounded little butt, she had never been long between boyfriends in the five years Audrianna had known her. In fact, these four months were the longest she’d known Terri to be dry. Yeah , thought Audrianna, her reasons would be good except for one little thing - that new girlfriend of Adam’s. Forget how demeaning it would be for Terri to call him at all, how much worse would it be when she found that out? Audrianna could not let that to let that happen to sweet Terri.
Audrianna prayed Terri would not find that out about Adam’s new girl until she got with a man herself. She figured the knowledge would be less jarring if Terri weren’t so starved for sex. Suddenly, she had an idea. She thought it through quickly. Yes, it had some risks to it but overall it seemed like a good plan. “Tell you what,” Audrianna said, praying to all the gods that she made the right decision. “I think I have an idea.”
Terri looked at Audrianna and saw the nervousness in her eyes. “What is it?” she asked quietly, intuition telling her the suggestion would be something that might require serious thought.
Audrianna took a deep breath before continuing. “You know this time of year is a big deal in my faith, right?”
“Yeah. Everyone knows Summer Solstice is a big deal to Wiccans.”
“Yeah, well, you’re right about the Solstice - it’s a big deal and then some - but there’s something else. You’ve never been to a Litha celebration but you wouldn’t find it that different from the ones you’ve been to. It’s kind of like the difference between standard Sunday Mass and Christmas Midnight Mass.” said Audrianna, surprising herself at the analogy and wondering where the idea came from. It fit perfectly and would make her cradle- and recovering-Catholic friend understand the depth of the invitation.
“Okay,” said Terri, drawing the word out because she sensed more.
“Anyway, after the standard celebration, some of us celebrate further. This is not something that most Wiccans believe in, but it’s something that feels just - well, just right to me and several others.” Audrianna wanted to tell Terri everything but something told her Terri wasn’t ready for that yet. The clarity and strength of feeling mirrored that of the analogy of the Mass. Audrianna learned years ago not to ignore feelings like that.
“Um, are you inviting me to this celebration?” asked Terri, uncertain because she thought she understood her friend but realized Audrianna never actually made a real invitation.
“Yes,” breathed Audrianna in a sigh of relief.
“Cool. No, really, I appreciate it. But I do have one question.”
“What’s that?”
“Just how the hell will that help me with the problem of needing a booty call so damn badly?”
“You’ll just have to trust me on that.” Audrianna said, her lips lifting in a smile that looked much more confident than it felt in her heart.
“You’re swingers, aren’t you?”
“No,” laughed Audrianna, heart lightening. “No, we’re not swingers. I just think someone you should meet will be there.” Her heart lifted on seeing the expression on Terri’s face brighten, but she wondered why Terri accepted the explanation so quickly. She chalked it up to the desperation that grew in her friend. And besides, it was the truth as far as it went. Audrianna could see Michael and Terri hitting it off. They really did have a lot in common. So there was no real need to tell her the rest of it yet.
Audrianna glanced at her watch and thanked all the gods. “Whoa, I’ve really got to get back to the office. We’re far to busy for them to be cool with me taking a long lunch.” she said, grabbing both their receipts and heading to the counter.
“Now wait a minute! You can’t -- ” cried Terri as stuffed the credit card she had just pulled out back into her wallet. As she tried to stuff the wallet back in her purse and run after her friend at the same time, half the contents of her purse rained out on the booth seat. She swore as she turned in the seat and started stuffing the contents back in her purse. By the time she got everything back in her purse and got to the register she arrived just in time to see the cashier hand Audrianna her change. “Audrianna, you can’t do that.” she fussed.
“Already done.” replied Audrianna, smiling at the cashier who’d been remarkably efficient and quick. “Paid and change received. Transaction complete. Now, look.... just come on over to my house around six on the afternoon of the twentieth. We’ll get ready there and then head over to the circle.” With that Audrianna spun on her heel and rushed out the door. When she hit the sidewalk she headed up the street towards his office, walking at a pace brisk enough to walk off much of the breadsticks they ate at lunch. Terri stood there a moment watching her friend’s rapidly retreating back before turning the other way and muttering “Yeah, okay well, talk to you tonight or tomorrow.”
************
But Audrianna and Terri didn’t talk that night. Or the next day. In fact, Audrianna put in so many hours at the office they didn’t really get a chance to talk more than a few stolen minutes until two weeks later when Terri arrived at her house to get ready for the Litha celebration. As they shared the female ritual of applying makeup and getting dressed, Terri tried to get Audrianna to tell her more about what to expect that night. She knew this celebration would be a bit different from the ones she attended before and she had no clue what to expect from the inner circle of Audrianna’s like-minded friends. Like-minded about what , wondered Terri, but getting information out of Audrianna proved impossible.
All Audrianna wanted to talk about was the mess at work. She listed off each of the upcoming shows as Terri put a French braid in her friend’s flaming red hair. She talked about the equipment needed for the shows as they piled Terri’s brown hair on top of her head. She griped about how they were short on equipment anyway as she adjusted the little tendrils left hanging haphazardly from Terri’s head and then White Rained the whole thing enough to stand up to a Category 5 hurricane. As they vacated the bathroom to let the hair spray dissipate, Terri took a last look at herself in the mirror and smiled at the soft, romantic effect of her hair.
As they dressed, Audrianna moved on to griping about the techs that would be running the shows. Audrianna made her opinion of the tech going to Chicago clear as she and Terri pulled on their shorts. And her opinion of the tech running the show in New York almost burned Terri’s ears as she pulled on her white tank top. Terri looked in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction at the effect of the juxtaposition of her classical hairdo and her sassy urban outfit. She glanced over at Audrianna in her jeans and purple camp shirt. “Are you sure we shouldn’t get dressed up for something like this?” she asked Audrianna.
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll be skyclad anyway.” Then before Terri could express her discomfort at that idea, Audrianna continued “Only if you want to, girlfriend. Only if you want to. You know our rules. No one is forced to do anything they’re not comfortable with. If you don’t feel like going skyclad you leave your clothes on. You’ll be okay with us doing so, right?”
“Yeah. Not a problem at all as long as it’s not me nude in front of God and everyone.”
"Girlfriend, how do you ever get naked with a guy?" asked a slightly exasperated Audrianna.
"Strategic lighting." answered Terri dryly.
Audrianna laughed so hard she stopped putting the finishing touches on her makeup. When she could breath again, she continued “Anyway, you wouldn’t believe who they’re sending to the job in South Carolina.”
Terri finalized her own makeup while Audrianna continued complaining about personnel and then launched into her company’s lack of processes. As she put the finishing touches on her eye makeup, her nervousness about the night’s ceremonies enveloped herand she didn’t see the furtive, uneasy glances Audrianna threw her way.
As they were gathering purses and sliding on shoes, Terri made a decision to try to stop worrying about the evening. She trusted Audrianna would tell her what she needed to know before whatever happened. The waiting was hard, but her love for and trust in her friend made it bearable.
Barely.
The ceremony was in a different place from the ones Terri attended before. As they turned into the driveway, Terri’s gaped at the majestic beauty of the lane. The live oaks lining the path were hung with rope lights, their glow giving the whole thing an otherworldly feel. Terri felt like Audrianna drove into a fairy den and her mind and skin began to tingle with anticipation. Then she remembered she didn’t exactly know what she anticipated and her nervousness returned. As Audrianna softly crunched to a stop on the gravel parking area, Terri turned, intending to ask her what about the differences in this celebration.
Before she could get the question out, however, Audrianna threw the car in park and pulled the break up sharply. She took a deep breath and turned in the seat to face Terri. “Okay, there’s something you need to know. Not about the first celebration of the night. That’ll be enough like those you’ve been to that you’ll feel pretty comfortable with it. It’s just a bit more ceremonial. Like I said, it’s like Midnight Mass at Christmas whereas those you’ve been to are like a standard weekly mass.
“But it’s the second celebration of the night that’s going to be different.” Audrianna paused, unsure how to continue. Terri waited patiently. “Like I said, it’s not Wiccan ‘standard’ belief, although I’m not sure what ‘standard’ means to a faith like Wicca. But this is something that most don’t agree with.” She paused again, nervous. How would Terri take this information, given her upbringing? Audrianna remembered how Terri lack of comfort with the idea of going skyclad. Well, nothing to do at this point but lay it on the table and let Terri decide. With a deep breath, Audrianna plunged in. “Some of us believe strongly in the power of the energy released during sex. We have celebrations throughout the year, but on Midsummer Night is when the group gets together specifically to release that energy.” Audrianna paused again and looked deep into Terri’s eyes. “Together.”
“You mean -- ?”
“Let’s call it a ‘group event’.”
“Oh.” Terri’s tone of discomfort rang unmistakeably in the air.
Audrianna continued, the words spilling nervously from her. “But you also need to remember that our highest belief is free will. We realize not everyone is comfortable with our practices. If you have any reservations you don’t have to participate.” Now that she’d actually gotten the words out, Audrianna felt much better, lighter, more free. She reached for the handle and threw open her door.
Terri also reached for her handle but opened the door much more slowly. She found herself appalled at the idea and wondered why Audrianna thought she might be comfortable with it. Her thoughts tumbled as she exited the car. She moved so sluggishly, in fact, that Audrianna stood by her side when she went to close the door.
Audrianna’s hand trapped hers on the car door and they stared at each other’s reflections in the window. “Seriously,” said Audrianna, voice full of gravity. “You are only expected to do what you’re okay with. You don’t have to participate. Hell, you don’t even have to watch if you don’t want to. What happens is after everyone else leaves. Michael -- that’s our elder since he’s studied this path the longest -- Michael picks a woman to, um, celebrate with. Then the woman has a chance to accept or decline the nomination. We really do respect feelings. But if you choose to accept everyone will get in on the act, as it were, in some way or another. That’s really all there is to it.”
That’s all , thought Terri. Good, at least her brain still worked even if she couldn’t get anything out of her mouth. Terri merely stared at Audrianna until Audrianna grabbed her arm. “C’mon... let’s go inside. It’ll be fine. You just do whatever you’re comfortable with and nothing else.”
The Litha celebration was beautiful as Terri expected. The ceremony proved stately and solemn, led by that georgeous Michael who looked nothing like what Terri expected. When Audrianna called him an elder, she expected an old man, not a well-built hottie with waves of sandy blond hair crowning a strong-boned face with Caribbean Sea colored blue eyes. From the moment Audrianna introduced them, Terri was hooked. Those shoulders and arms were obviously strong without being overbuilt and one look at them caused her gut to clench with an overwhelming desire to have them wrapped around her. But beyond the arms, his eyes held something - something deep and intense that made her forget everything else going on around her.
She and Michael talked a lot before and after the evening’s first ceremony. She found it surprisingly easy to talk to him. She told him, in great detail, about growing up in her mother’s pious home and how free she felt when she went to college. She told him about her first time and even talked to him about Adam. Michael seemed genuinely interested, focusing on her and asking questions about points of her story he didn’t understand. If it were anyone else asking about all these personal details she might have felt pumped for information, but Michael just had such a sincerity about him. He shared a lot of information about himself too. She liked what she learned about Michael and wanted to know more and share more. As she gazed into those deep eyes, she realized she wanted nothing less than to share everything with him. The desire tugged on her soul and became increasingly hard to resist as the night went on.
Of course, he hadn’t been able to stay by her side all night long. Every so often he would excuse himself to greet other arriving guests. But whenever Michael’s duties as host took him away from her, his friend John made sure she was well attended to. John possessed a tall and lanky form with fiery red hair, dark brown eyes and a deep bass voice. His strong Southern accent drew out all his vowels making his speech melodic and stimulating. Audrianna told Terri John would be another of the men that would celebrate with them later. Karen, the brown-haired woman with the classic hour glass figure and deep green eyes, rounded out the group of later celebrants. John, Karen, Audrianna and Michael -- at least one of them stayed been by her side all night, making conversation and generally making her feel very welcome to the celebration.
Now it was late. Or early, depending on how you looked at it. Terri guessed it to be around four in the morning. The bonfire they lit at midnight blazed for hours and still lived as embers when the celebration broke up. Something about the fire felt like a mirror of Terri’s own reactions. The embers were soothing, just like John and Karen’s attentions towards her. And the flame danced and burned the way her desire for Michael did. She couldn’t look at him without that flame pirouetting through her core. She watched his butt work as he left the living room to walk out the last of the early celebration guests and she could feel the muscles in her stomach tighten again with primal desire.
She let herself fall onto the couch, mind lost in thoughts of the decision that awaited her. For the first time that night it seemed as if John and Karen found other things to talk about. They stood across the living room at the bar talking quietly with Audrianna, leaving Terri alone with her thoughts. She sat on the couch and stared at the candles in the fireplace as her thoughts swirled. She wanted Michael more than she’d wanted any other man she’d ever known. He proved kind and caring all night, attentive to her needs while not neglecting the needs of his other guests. He intelligence and wit stimulated her. And he had that kick-ass body, those strong arms and eyes she could get lost in. She just knew sex with Michael would be phenomenal.
But she had never considered the idea of multiple partners. A couple of her previous boyfriends tried to talk her into threesomes but she had never been at all interested. She had always been monogamous and strictly heterosexual. She knew others really enjoyed that kind of thing, but she had only ever been able to go a certain distance past her strict Catholic upbringing. Given the intensity of her early religious education, she counted herself lucky to be able to enjoy sex as absolutely thoroughly as she did. But an orgy? That went beyond the pale. Not even in her fantasies had she ever considered the idea of sex with more than one person. And certainly not with more than one person at a time. And definitely not with women.
And yet...... The thought wormed its way into Terri’s head leaving her embarrassed for even thinking it. Could she be really considering going through with this? What on earth would God think? What about Father Thomas? What about her mother, for Christ’s sake? Okay, true, none of them ever need know. But still, she would know. She would know she’d done something that just couldn’t be considered right by the morality measuring stick planted firmly in her during her youth.
And yet.... The though snaked through her mind again. She glanced over at where the other three were chatting. She found John kind and attentive. Oh, he hadn’t been near as attentive as Michael -- her mind and heart caught at the thought of Michael -- but still John had been more attentive to her than most of the men she’d ever known. Thinking about him individually she knew if she’d met him in a bar, she would definitely have considered sleeping with him. Actually, she would likely have done much more than consider it. He pulled off that mischievous, little-boy personality -- the blarney of the Irish she supposed -- and she knew sex with him would be playful and fun. But sex with him and Michael at the same time? Well, maybe , she thought. The logical side of her brain told her that if she would sleep with them both separately then why not together. The passionate side of her brain had already decided she wanted both men, together, separate, whatever. Maybe, she thought, and felt the stained glass of her upbringing crack a little.
But the women , her religious training screamed. Terri’s thoughts turned to Karen. What an absolute sweetheart and a unique mix of funny and smart. And besides, those tits! thought Terri. Then she cringed in embarrassment at the though. She never considered it a problem to admire the female form in an aesthetic way. But the feeling she got between her legs now, when staring at Karen’s cleavage as it threatened to spill out of her top, could in no way be defined as aesthetic. What did it say about her that she wanted to taste them so badly? Maybe you should , the passionate side of her brain told her. And why not , it continued. You don’t believe all that bullshit about burning in hell for enjoying sex, so why should you feel differently about enjoying it with a woman ? The remnants of her upbringing whispered something as it silently shrank into a corner of her mind.
She turned to stare back at the candles and continued to explore her feelings. She wanted John almost as much as she did Michael. And even the thought of Karen excited her as did the idea of sharing such intimacy with Audrianna. As she stared at the candles she decided it made no sense denying she wanted it. She recognized her feelings as being very close to what she felt when that boy in college tried to convince her to go all the way. That turned out well , her passionate brain reminded her. Yes, it did. And if she were completely honest with herself she could admit that the idea of this group activity excited her intensely even while it made her uncomfortable.
She knew a decision must be made soon and she could feel the walls built around her conscience in childhood starting to crack. She glanced back at the group and then turned immediately back to the candles. Crack, hell! she thought. They’re falling like the walls of Jericho . Maybe she should just try it.