When Evan walked in the door of their house, Emily was sitting cross-legged on one end of the sofa with a glass of white wine in her hand. Rich was nowhere in sight.

“You don’t look any the worse for wear,” Emily grinned at him.

“Appearances can be deceiving,” he said, ushering Janice into the room.

“Can I get one of those?” Janice asked Emily.

“Help yourself,” Emily said. “Evan knows where the glasses are. The wine is in the ice-bucket on the counter.”

“Evan?” Janice said.

“I’ll just be a moment,” he responded. As he turned to leave he saw Janice head toward a seat at the opposite end of the sofa.

He returned momentarily with the chilled wine in his hand, the condensation already collecting on the outer face of the glass. He handed it to Janice and stepped toward the easy chair opposite the two women.

“We were just comparing notes,” Emily told him.

Evan was astounded and uncomfortable. “Surely not!”

“She’s pulling your leg,” Janice said.

“Humor,” Evan said, nodding.

“It helps cover the discomfort,” Janice remarked.

“Are you uncomfortable?” he asked Emily. She didn’t respond, simply spun the wine glass between her fingers.

“My guess would be that she’s feeling a little guilty,” Janice offered.

“Please don’t speak about me in the third person,” Emily said sharply.

“Fine,” Janice said, her warm tones concealing a touch of iciness. “You’re feeling guilty because you enjoyed last night. Good wives aren’t supposed to like having sex with somebody else. But, you did. And, guess what? So did I. And the boys were clearly ecstatic, I’ll bet.”

“Is that it?” Evan asked Emily. “You feel guilty because you liked it last night?”

She didn’t answer. She just stared at him.

“Evan, go find Rich,” Janice ordered. “The two of you can compare notes if you like. Emily and I need to chat.”

“He’ll be in the bedroom, dressing,” Emily informed him. “He was late getting in the shower.”

Evan stood up and moved down the hall.

“Did Rich hurt you?” Janice asked.

Emily shook her head, her dark hair making soft waved past her shoulders.

“So, it was good?”

“Yes, it was good.”

“I’m glad for you, Emily,” Janice said. “Rich is talented and enthusiastic. He is, by nature, a very sexual being.”

“I found that out,” Emily replied.

“I don’t need details, Em,” Janice told her. “But you do need to know this. Nobody else is going through the emotional perplexity you seem to be experiencing. Everybody else is just fine. We had a wonderful night of screwing and being screwed. There’s nothing more to it than that, unless you’re developing some sort of emotional attachment to my husband.”

“It’s not about Rich,” Emily told her. “It’s about Evan. He will hate me because I liked it so much. He will hate me because I’m a slut. It wasn’t screwing and being screwed. It was fucking and being fucked, and I really, really liked it. I loved the feel of Rich’s cock sliding into me, knowing it wasn’t Evan’s. I loved it when he ate my pussy, knowing it wasn’t Evan. And I loved it when I sucked him off and he came in my mouth and it wasn’t Evan. It was so incredibly exciting and illicit. I don’t know if I can stop. And I’m wondering how we got to this point in our relationship.”

“So, you thought about Evan all night?” Janice asked.

“Only in the negative,” Emily answered. “Only that what was happening wasn’t with Evan.”

“But, you still love Evan, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. That’s what makes it so horrible. That’s why I’m so horrible. As much as I love him, I was completely turned on by somebody who wasn’t Evan. As much as I love him; that is not supposed to happen.”

Janice chuckled. “That’s all part of the allure, Em,” she said. “Do you realize how lucky you and I are? We have great husbands and wonderful lovers. We can make love with our husbands and fuck like mink with our lovers. It’s all okay, darling. And, the best part, our husbands and lovers do love us and want us to enjoy and be happy. Rich isn’t going to hate me because I fucked Evan last night. Evan, unless he’s a complete hypocrite, is going to love you as he always has no matter what you did with Rich. And I say that because while you and Rich were exploring your mutual sexuality, Evan and I were doing to same. One more thing, I can only hope it was as exciting and delightful for you as it was for me. It sounds like it was. That makes me happy for you and for Rich. What’s most important is that you feel the same way for me and for Evan.”

There was a long pause. “Do you think we’ll do this again?” Emily asked quietly.

“God, I hope so,” Janice laughed. “I hope you’ll want to do it again. I know that I will; that I already do. It was absolutely glorious.”

“It was good,” Emily admitted.

“Honey, don’t make too much out of it. It’s just screwing. It’s like playing mixed doubles in tennis. Somewhere in the middle, we just swap partners. We get all hot and sweaty, exhilarated with the game, and we form wonderful bonds for the future,” Janice explained. “And, it’s a hell of a lot of fun, don’t you agree?”

Emily nodded.

“Sure it is,” Janice said emphatically.

“And, nobody’s keeping score. We’re all just playing for the fun of it.”

“So, where do we go from here?” Emily asked her.

“Well,” Janice said, “if I remember, you set the arrangements for last night. So, if you’ll allow me, why don’t we just all stay here this evening, have a nice dinner together, and see what happens. If we make too many plans then we’ll have expectations. Let’s just see what develops. If you and Evan decide to be together, Rich and I will take the spare room. If somebody wants the arrangement of last night to continue, we’ll do that. But, for the time being, let’s just agree to stay together.”

“Sounds like the makings of a plan,” Emily said.

“Good,” Janice responded. “Now, let’s figure out how to get you out of your little funk.”

“I think if Evan would tell me he still loved me that would go a long way.”

“He does, you know. Let me share a secret. He told me he wants me to be with him and watch you and Rich together. That’s how much he loves you. He wants the two of us to see you and Rich having a good time.”

“You think that could happen tonight?” Emily asked her.

Janice shrugged. “If it does, that’s great. If it doesn’t, there’ll be other times. Let’s just see what happens.”

“That kind of puts the men in charge, you know.”

“Good by me,” Janice chuckled gleefully. “As long as I get laid, I really don’t have a big preference as to who does the laying.”

Emily smiled at her. “Getting laid is the objective, right?”

“You got that right, girl,” Janice said, and the two of them clinked their half-empty glasses together.

What they decided to do was create a dinner of various fruits. The women peeled and sliced pears, peaches, apples, and a pineapple. The men carved and sectioned a watermelon, a cantaloupe, and honeydew. Janice suggested wine. Emily and Evan had a mock argument about red or white

“Why don’t’ we do a rosé?” Rich suggested. “You like rosé, don’t you Janice?”

“Of course,” she said. “Evan?”

“We’ll have to go buy that,” he said. “We don’t have any in the house.”

“Evan,” Emily directed, “you take Janice to the store. Let her pick it out. You’re not strong on selecting wines. Three or four bottles, I would think.”

“That much?” Janice asked her.

“So we have some for a later occasion,” Emily said.

Evan dutifully collected the car keys and ushered Janice toward the door.

“Should I go with?” Rich asked.

“No, dear,” Emily said. “You’re going to help me plate these. You stay here.”

The drive to the store was short, no more than ten minutes. Once in the car Janice told Evan that she thought things were going quite well.

“Emily seems unfazed,” Evan noted.

“We had a short talk,” she admitted. “We’re in agreement.”

“Who is in agreement?” Evan asked.

“Emily and I are,” Janice said. “We like this situation.”

“She seemed to feel guilty after the first time,” Evan said. “What do you think brought her around?”

“You did, Evan. Your love for her and the fact that you are willing to let her have fun with Rich and not hate her for it.”

“That would hardly seem fair,” Evan commented.

“I think the fact that you saw them together and told her it excited you really helped,” Janice said.

“And how is Rich?” he asked her.

“He’s fine. This is heaven for him.”

“And you?”

“What about me, Evan?” Janice asked.

“You and I have been concerned about how Rich and Emily have reacted to all this. I want you to know that I’m also concerned about you. Are you happy, satisfied, or do you have some unresolved issues?”

“You’re a dear, Evan, you know that? Thank you. But, no, I have no issues. I am quite happy with everything. Rich and Emily are getting along famously. You’ve been wonderful. This has been great fun for me. I hope it has been, and continues to be a good experience for you.”

“Do you think it will be boring for us when we go back to our normal lives?” Evan asked her.

Janice chuckled. “I think,” she said, “that this will be our new normal, Evan. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to the way things used to be. Would you be unhappy with that?”

Evan wheeled into a parking space at the liquor store, put the car in park, and shut off the key. “You think this will continue?”

Janice nodded. “I do. In fact, I hope it will.”

“Why? Why would you want this to go on?”

“Because our joy is multiplied, Evan. I love Rich completely. It’s obvious that Emily feels the same way about you. She also loves Rich, the same way I love you. Rich is fascinated by Emily and I can’t help but believe you have tender feelings for me. The fact that we’ve found each other, that we’re so well matched is just miraculous. Yes, I want this to go on. I want it to go on for Rich, for Emily, for you, and, quite selfishly, for me, too.”

Evan sat for a minute with his hands resting atop the steering wheel, staring absently through the windshield. Finally, he smiled slightly and turned to face Janice. “You’re quite extraordinary, Janice. Two years ago, no, two months ago, I wouldn’t have believed this was possible. But you are right. You’ve summed it all up as perfectly as possible. You’re right about all of it. And the joy I feel right now is only comparable to the joy I felt when Emily told me she was in love with me. We are four very lucky people. Thank you for being in my life.”

“I’m glad you and Emily are in our lives, too, Evan. It is the beginning of a wonderful relationship. And, let’s face it, the sex is really, really good. So, let’s go get the wine so we can be on about it.”