The Coffee Between Friends

[Joe Pilot]

This is a great thread. Well written, thoughtful and thought-provoking, with a tinge of heat. Thank you for putting in the time and effort to write it.

[Cuckcop]

Thanks guys, glad you liked it. I hope folks don't mind the BDSM twist. I found it easier to go that route for the sexy parts because I found that writing good erotica takes more creativity than I actually have (without just copying what others have done). I think I said before the story is loosely based on my own story (so loosely as to be almost unrecognizable) so the BDSM really takes it in a different route.

[Ffsevn7]

Wow! So sensitive, so understanding and so beautifully written - Jen

[Cuckcop]

Life moved on, as it does. David had been true to his word- after that night, when she'd returned home from the private event at the club. She'd come in the door and he hadn't rushed her, barraged her with questions. He merely said "I'm glad you're home babe; you ok?" She walked up to him, stood in front of the chair he was sitting in, he rose to meet her, gently ran his fingers through her disheveled hair and kissed her- on the lips. "What do you need hon?" "I need a shower," she said. She took his hand, "scrub my back?" she asked. So he did.

Life moved on. Sarah and Thomas saw each other usually about once a week. Usually on Fridays. Sometimes for dinner, or just drinks, then back to his place. Sometimes just straight to his place. The night at the club had been intense; overwhelming. The glory hole had caused her to feel things that had only been at the back of her mind for a long time- It had immersed her in a place so overwhelming that she really didn't have the words to describe it to David; she suspected Thomas understood it instinctively. She didn't regret it, but she didn't think she'd need it again. Mostly it was just her and Thomas. They had been back to the club for private events twice in the months that followed. She didn't need the hood anymore. She knew that the people involved did not know her from the rest of her life. They weren't at the PTA meetings, she didn't go to church with them. Thomas had used her on the equipment, other men had used her; in front of everyone. She'd told David everything; complete honesty. When she'd come home with her ass bright red, whip marks on her back, her nipples visibly abused; David had gently rubbed ointment on her- cared for her, and said nothing. When the marks turned to bruises, he rubbed ointment on them- showing love in the way he did. She'd tried to send every bit of that love back to him in the best way she knew how; she hoped she'd succeeded.

Thomas raised it over dinner on a Thursday evening in mid-December, with the unhurried quality he brought to significant suggestions- setting it on the table like something to be examined together rather than a proposal requiring an immediate response. "I want to take you somewhere," he said. Sarah looked at him over her wine glass. "Where." "There's a resort in the Caribbean. Private. Lifestyle friendly. I've been going there for years and I've been thinking about it lately." He turned his glass. "The winter break timing seems right. The kids will be with their grandparents. You'd have actual space. Real space- not a few hours on a weekend. Sarah absorbed this. "That's a different scale," she said. "It is," Thomas agreed. "Which is why I'm raising it now rather than closer to the date. It needs proper thought." "And David," Sarah said. Thomas met her eyes directly. "And David. Yes. That's the conversation inside the conversation."

She told David that night. He was in the armchair when she got home- the lamp on, the book on his knee, the familiar geography of their evenings. She sat on the couch and told him in order, the way she always told him things. He listened without interrupting. When she finished he was quiet for a longer moment than usual- not the processing quiet but the something- more- complex, quiet, the one that meant multiple things were present simultaneously. "A week," he said finally. "He mentioned five days." "Out of the country." "Yes." David looked at the lamp for a moment. She waited- not anxiously, but with the patience of someone who understood that this particular quiet needed room. "How do you feel about it?" he asked. Asking her first, the way he'd learned to. "Honestly?" She looked at her hands. "Excited. And aware that excited feels complicated given-" she gestured slightly,"- all of it." "Don't qualify the excitement," David said. "We've talked about that. It's real. Let it be real." She looked at him. "I'm working on it," she said. "I know." He shifted in his armchair. "What did Thomas say about me specifically. "He said it was the conversation inside the conversation." She held David's gaze. "He wasn't prescriptive about it. He raised it as an open question." "Which I think is the right way to raise it." David said. He was quiet again for a moment. "There are a few different versions of this." "Tell me."

He counted them with the methodical care he brought to complex things- not clinically, but the way an architect describes a building he's considering. "You go alone," he said. "Which is within the perimeters of what we've built. It's more extended than what we've done before, but the difference is scale not kind." Sarah nodded. "Or I come," he said. "Which is a different thing entirely. Not a vacation in the conventual sense. Something else." He paused. "I'd need to think about what that would mean for me. Whether I'm coming as- what exactly. A participant in the lifestyle context or a husband along for proximity." "There's a third version," Sarah said carefully. He looked at her. "We talk to Thomas together," she said. "Before any decision. The three of us. The way we've handled the things that needed all of us in the room." David considered this. "That's the right instinct," he said slowly. "That's- yes. Before either of us decides anything, that conversation needs to happen."

They met Thomas for dinner that Sunday. A quiet restaurant, a corner table. Thomas arrived first and stood when they came in- greeting David with the same directness he always brought, eye contact held, handshake genuine. They ordered. Made the small preliminary conversation that good manners required. And then Thomas, with characteristic efficiency, said: "I want to talk about the trip properly. All three of us." "Yes," David said. "I raised it with Sarah without fully thinking through what I was raising," Thomas said. "Which is unusual for me. I've been examining why." He looked between them. "David," he said. "Your wife- Sarah, is extraordinary, and I think you know that, hell I know you know that. I'm not saying this in a trite way, or trying to maneuver towards something, it's just true. But you're extraordinary too. What you've built together, being so new in this lifestyle, and all that you've done together. When it's done right, this is how it should be. I think- because I've become genuinely fond of what you two have built, I wanted to give it something. An experience worth having." He paused."Which isn't my place to give. It's yours."

David regarded Thomas with the steady attention he'd given him since the party at Elena's. "What does the resort actually look like?" David asked."Practically." Thomas described it without embellishment- a private property on a small island, forty or so villas, very high end, a lifestyle friendly environment that was sophisticated rather than exhibitionist. "I've been to a number of lifestyle resorts over the years," he said. "Most are heavily into the swinger lifestyle, almost frantic in the need to participate. There are swingers here too, but also a much higher percentage of couples that are into the Hotwife lifestyle than you'll find elsewhere. Couples across a spectrum of arrangements. Privacy absolute. The atmosphere friendly and open, but without any pressure to participate in anything. It's a very freeing environment.

"Couples," David said. "Meaning-" "Meaning people in various configurations of consensual non-monogamy," Thomas said. "From husbands that fully and equally participate, to husband's that participate in a submissive role- and all the various configurations that that can look like. To husbands that do their own thing and fully enjoy all the amenities that the place has to offer. The guests make an intentional effort to engage with each other in a friendly way, just to make sure everyone is having a good time- but never with any pressure to do anything you're not comfortable with. I've known new couples who went there never having actually done anything with other people, but who wanted to explore and learn about the lifestyle. Some never participated in anything sexual with other guests, but had a great time and made friends. Some may have learned what they needed to and never gone any further. Others decided that it was for them, I know because I've seen them come back." He held David's gaze. "It's not a scene in the way you might be picturing. It's more like- being in a place where your life doesn't require explanation or defense." Something moved across David's face. "That sounds-" he stopped. "Restful," Sarah finished. "Yes," David said. "Actually."

They talked for two hours. David asked questions with the precision Sarah had come to love- not interrogating, genuinely mapping the territory before deciding how to enter it. Thomas answered everything directly, without salesmanship, flagging the things he was uncertain about as openly as the things he knew. At some point the conversation turned naturally to the question of David's role if he came. "I need to understand what I'd be," David said. Not combatively. Honestly. "Not in the lifestyle terminology- I understand the terminology. What I'd actually be experiencing. Day to day." Thomas nodded slowly. "I think that depends on what you want to be," he said. "There are couples who come to places like this where the husband is- present. As a participant, or as an observer. Engaged in the environment on his own terms. Finding his own experience of it." He paused. "It's not purely observational. It's participatory in the sense that you're inside the world rather than waiting outside it."

"And us," David said. The word precise and unambiguous. "Sarah and me. What does that look like if I'm there?" "You're her husband," Thomas said simply. "That doesn't change in any context. You're the person she comes home to at the end of every day, including there." He met David's eyes. "My role has a shape, David. I know the shape. I've never pushed against it and I don't intend to." He paused. "You being there doesn't threaten anything I have. I'd actually welcome it. What Sarah and I have is better because of what you two have. Not in spite of it." The table was quiet for a moment. David looked at his wine glass. Looked up at Thomas. "I believe you," he said simply. "And let me say this, as hard as it may be for me. I don't want to feel like a third wheel. You both have been very respectful of me- considering- everything. We're not going to be home; Mrs. Crabtree across the street is not going to see something she shouldn't. The kids aren't going to see something they don't understand. I know what you are to each other, I've supported it in my way. I know what you do together. Look," he said. "I know I have the tendency to loom; meancelingly. I do it intentionally, it's part of how I make my living. I probably do it sometimes without thinking. But it's never meant for you- either of you. If you feel the need- to be intimate with each other, don't feel that you can't do it in front of me. If we do this, I want it to be freeing, for all of us. We don't have the opportunity to do that in the world we live in." Sarah and Thomas looked at each other; without thinking they both reached for his hands. "It's ok," "David said. "We're going to be alright."

They drove home through the December dark, the city doing its winter things- lights strung in the trees, cold air through a slightly open window. Sarah watched David's profile in the passing light. "What are you thinking?" she asked. "I'm thinking about what Thomas said," he replied. "About the resort being a place where your life doesn't require explanation or defense." He drove in silence for a moment. "I've spent the better part of this year explaining and defending- even if it's only in my own mind." He paused. "The idea of a place where none of that is necessary-" Sounds restful," she said. "Sounds like breathing," he said. "Actually breathing." "Do you want to go?" she asked. "Not what you think you should want." "I want to be there with you," he said finally. "I'm working out in what capacity. But I want to be there." Then let's figure out the capacity," she said.

They told Elena on a Tuesday, over coffee, the way significant things got told to Elena. She set her mug down and looked at them both for a moment with the expression of a woman watching something she'd hoped for arrive on schedule. "Good," she said simply. "You're not surprised?" Sarah asked. "I'm delighted," Elena said. She looked at David. "How are you feeling about it?" "Like someone who has decided to be available for what comes next," David said. Elena smiled. "You've said that before." "It keeps being true."

Connor and Emma left for their grandparents' on a Friday morning- two rolling suitcases, the contained excitement of kids not trying to appear excited, a flurry of last-minute charger negotiations. Sarah stood in the driveway and watched them go with a mixture of love and liberation that parents understood- the genuine gladness of their presence and the genuine gladness of their absence, held simultaneously without contradiction. They flew out on a Monday. Thomas on a separate flight, they'd meet at the resort. At the airport David bought two coffees and a paperback he probably wouldn't read and they found seats at the gate and sat together in the easy silence of people who had nothing to prove and nowhere to be for five days except for exactly where they were going. "Last chance," Sarah said. Not seriously. Just- offering. "I'm exactly where I want to be," he said. She leaned into his shoulder. She thought about what Elena had said months ago, over the first cup of coffee that had started all of this. "There's a version of you that exists outside of all your shared context." She thought she understood it differently now than she had then. It wasn't about escaping the shared context. It was about being so secure inside it that you could step outside it without losing it. She had that now. They had that now. David's hand found hers on the armrest. "Ready," he said. She laced her fingers through his. "Ready," she said. The gate opened. They went.

[Cuckcop]

Thanks Jen, this last chapter is for you.

[Ffsevn7]

Thank you so much - Jen

[Cuckcop]

The resort appeared from the air as a crescent of green against improbable blue- the kind of color a body of water only achieves in certain latitudes, the kind that makes you understand why people have always traveled toward warmth when the year grows dark. They landed on a small airstrip and were met by a resort vehicle- unhurried, white, driven by a man named celestial who spoke four languages and used whichever one suited the moment and told them the weather had been perfect for ten days and showed no signs of changing. Thomas was waiting at the open-air reception when they arrived and moved-in to greet them. He kissed Sarah on the cheek and shook David's hand. Sarah laughed, a delighted look on her face and said "this place is spectacular, it reminds me of an old episode of Fantasy Island. I want to ask someone where Mr. Roark and Tattoo are?" They all laughed at that, any tension that may have existed broken. The cocktails and appetizers at the reception were as good as any David and Sarah had ever had. Thomas hadn't been exaggerating, he clearly had a lot of friends here; he introduced them to a blur of very friendly, very attractive people who welcomed them like long lost friends. Eventually he said "The villas ready. I'll leave you to settle." Simple. No performance. Just the consideration of a man who understood that the first hours belonged to the two of them.

The villa was set back from the beach along a path lined with something flowering that Sarah didn't know the name of- white blooms, heavy-scented, catching the late afternoon light. Inside: high ceilings, slow fans, the particular quality of a room that understood its relationship to the outdoors and had arranged itself accordingly. A terrace facing the water. Doors that opened fully to dissolve the boundary between inside and outside. David stood on the terrace for a long moment, his hands on the railing, looking at the water. Sarah watched him from the doorway. She'd watched him from so many doorways this year- the garage, the living room, the kitchen at six in the morning when neither of them could sleep. She'd learned to read his stillness the way you learn a language you've always been surrounded by but only recently studied with intention. This stillness was different. This was a man putting something down. She went to stand beside him. He put his arm around her without looking away from the water. "It's beautiful," she said. "Yes," he said.

They stood like that while the sun finished it's business with the afternoon and the light went the gold that only happens near water close to the equator and doesn't last long enough. "How are you?" she asked. Actually asking. He was quiet for a moment. "I feel like I'm on vacation," he said. "Which sounds simple. But I can't remember the last time I felt like I was actually on vacation and not just- in a different location with the same weight." "The weight is at home," she said. "The weight is at home," he agreed. "I left it there deliberately." He turned to look at her. "All of it. I'm going to try something different this week." "What?" "Just- being here," he said. "Without the inventory." He looked at her steadily. Can you help me do that?" "That's the only thing I want to do this week," she said.

They had dinner alone that first night- the resorts open air restaurant, tables set back from the beach a the precise distance that you hear the water without the wind taking the conversation. Thomas had messaged to say he was having dinner with another couple he knew from a previous visit and would find them tomorrow. The consideration in the timing was, by now, what Sarah expected from him. It still moved her. They ate slowly. Talked the way they hadn't in months- not about the arrangement or the rules or the children or the myriad of things that made up the everyday life they'd built.
They talked about everything else. Books David had been meaning to read. A trip Sarah had taken at twenty-three, before they'd met, that she'd never fully described to him. Whether Connor would play football, which both of them suspected and neither had said aloud. Old stories. New observations. The texture of two people rediscovering each other in a place with no context but themselves. "We're the last ones," David said, looking around. "We used to do this," Sarah said. "Before the kids. we''d be the last ones at every dinner." "We'd lose track of time." "We'd lose track of time," she said. "I forgot we used to do that." He looked at her across the table- the candlelight, the sound of the water, the warm air doing its gentle work. "I forgot a lot of things," he said. "I've been remembering them this year."

The nightclub across from the restaurant had an energy that drew the guests in like moths to a flame. Great music, with a dance floor where people were really having fun. But also a bar, and seating areas designed so people could talk to each other without being drowned out by the music. Sarah and David were enjoying a rum cocktail that the bartender had suggested, good choice, when a tall handsome man, Italian looking, walked up to them and asked Sarah to dance. Sarah looked at David, "um, sure," she said. He led her by the hand to the dance floor. Immediately an attractive woman with a deep tan, short- maybe 5'2", within no fat on her but with tits and an ass that could only be described as- buxom. David got the impression that although tiny, she liked big men. "That's my husband Sergio- he LOVES to dance," she said, emphasizing the word. "Hi, I'm Maria," she said, holding out her hand and letting the handshake linger, just a bit. "Well he picked the right girl, Sarah loves it too, I can't keep up with her. Hi, by-the-way, I'm David." "First time here?" she asked. "Yes- my wife, Sarah and I, and her, um- Thomas." Maria smiled understanding immediately. "Sarah's a new Hotwife?" she asked. "Yeah," David said. "We're just feeling our way around this." The conversation began to flow; about the resort, about their lifestyles and experience's, about their lives and home. Time flew, Maria's terrific David thought. A slow song began to play, David glanced at the dance floor, found Sarah and Sergio- her head resting on his chest. David watched as Sergio's hands moved down from the small of Sarah's back to her ass- the gentle squeeze as he leaned down and whispered into her ear. Maria seemed to sense that the dance would end soon. She leaned in close to David and ran her hand up his inner thigh to his crotch, gently squeezing, much like Sergio had. "No cock cage," she said. "That's good- things have a way of evolving here, especially for new couples. I hope you and Sarah have fun with your, um, Thomas she teased. But if things change, I'd love to spend some time with you. And I know Sergio would love to spend time with Sarah- he's been dragging his tongue on the floor since he first spotted her," she smiled. "Thanks Maria, I've really loved talking to you. I'd love for all four of us to hang out together- wherever we end up going with this." Sarah and Sergio arrived back at the bar. They'd been holding hands, which they dropped, as they approached. Maria stood up and grabbed Sergio's hand- "Sarah, I'm Maria," she said. "You have a wonderful husband, I hope we'll see you again soon." She led Sergio away.

"Wow, that was abrupt." Sarah said as she sat back down. "Yeah, I told Maria about our- well, dynamic I guess. A-huh." he cleared his throat. "So, Sergio huh?" "Ummm," she fake moaned. "The naughty things he said to me- when he was squeezing my ass." "Yeah, Maria said his tongue hit the floor as soon as he saw you sitting here. I know watching you on the dance floor didn't do anything to turn him off. God I'm such a klutz; I mean can you cock block your wife? I guess you can, because I just did. If you think about it most of us cock block our wives our entire lives." He was starting to nervous ramble, maybe she should let him off the hook- or maybe she should tease him some more. They were on vacation after all. "Huh, and what about you and that sexy little minx. You think I don't see, but I'm always watching when a hot chick is near my man. You really think I did't see her grab your cock when we were walking up?" "No, no," he said "It's not like that- she was checking to see if I had a cock cage; you know, that thing I told you I'd never wear. I think she just wanted to understand our dynamic better, you know, as a way of understanding us." Sarah laughed, it was time to let him off the hook. "David you can be so clueless where woman are concerned. She was grabbing your cock because she's hot for you and was hoping she could tease you into making a move. She knew Sergio would take care of me. You've always been like that, you don't see when women have designs on you, but they do, and I see it." "Yeah, maybe you're right. It's just, you know, I'm a healthy heterosexual male, I like looking at beautiful women- but in all our years together, I never, you know-" She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. "I know," she said. "Sweetheart, this is so new still, we haven't talked about it," David said. "But I know Thomas sees other women, hell- he told us he was spending the evening with another couple. If you really want to spend some time with Sergio, I don't think he would mind; after all, he invited us to this place. And I've already crossed that Rubicon, so I'm not going to deny you." "David," Sarah said. "Sergio really is one sexy man, and actually very nice when you get to talking with him. But it wouldn't be right to deny Maria what she clearly wants, when I'm fucking her husband. And I'm a jealous hypocrite," she smirked. "I know it's wrong of me to stand in the way of you having a good time with a really attractive, and I bet nice girl like Maria- especially in the light of everything I've done and asked of you-" "No honey- you know I don't-" She held her finger to his lips. "I have a lot to think about; we have a lot of conversations to have." She grabbed his hand and led him towards the path back to the villa. " In the mean time I'm gonna take you to bed and suck every bit of libido out of you so you don't even think-" "Ok, ok, I get it, jeez, talk about naughty little minxes!" They held hands all the way back, just enjoying the night air- and each other.

[JoJo]

Looks like this is going to be a vacation.

[JoJo]

Looks like this is going to be a great vacation.

[Ffsevn7]

Can't wait to read what happens next - Jen

[Cuckcop]

The next morning Sarah woke early. David was still asleep- deeply, the sleep of a man who had actually put something down- and she slipped out to the terrace with coffee and she sat in the early light and watched the water do its patient, repetitive, ancient work. She thought about the year. The garage. The kitchen table. Elena's party. The rule document. The new profile built on a Saturday afternoon. Thomas across a wine bar table. The hotel. The private events. All of it leading here- to this terrace, this light, this particular configuration of her life. She heard David's movement inside and then he appeared in the doorway- slightly disheveled, coffee in hand, squinting slightly at the brightness. "You let me sleep," he said. "You needed it." He came and sat beside her and they watched the water together in the comfortable silence of people who had earned it. "I'm glad you're up sleepy-head, Thomas is meeting us for breakfast."

Thomas arrived at the beach restaurant looking like a man entirely comfortable in warm weather, which he was. He greeted Sarah first, and then David, and they ordered and fell into the easy conversation the three of them had developed- the register of people who understood each others roles and had stopped needing to negotiate them constantly. They talked about the resort itself- the other couples they'd each noticed, the atmosphere that Thomas had described. He'd been right that it wasn't exhibitionist. It was simply- honest. People living lives that didn't fit the conventional shape in a place that had been built to accommodate that without commentary. "There's a couple I'd like you to meet," Thomas said to both of them. "Jim and Petra. They've been part of this community for years. Good people. I think you'd find them- useful, maybe. Or just interesting. "Useful how," David asked. "James is about three years ahead of where you are," Thomas said. "In terms of where he is with himself around the arrangement." He looked at David. "He said things to me once that I think would have more weight coming from him than from me." David absorbed this. "Because he's been where I am." "Because he's been where you are and came out the other side still- himself. Still the center of his own life." Thomas paused. "He's not a cautionary tale, he's a map." "I'd like to meet him," David said.

David met Jim for lunch. Thomas had gone with Sarah and Petra, along with several other couples aboard a boat to go snorkeling in some nearby coral reefs. They talked for two hours, about how they had both found themselves here, at this place, at this time. Jim told David that it had been he who convinced Petra to become a Hotwife, after many months of tears and frustration. Jim told him that while they loved each other dearly, Petra was a highly sexual woman, and Jim knew he simply didn't have the stamina to keep her satisfied- despite her protestations otherwise. Her first reaction had been horror; how could he say he loved her, but want to share her with other men. She accused him of using it as an excuse to see other women. Finally after countless conversations, and sincere demonstrations of his love for her, Petra had come to understand that Jim only wanted what was best for her- that this was the best way he knew how to show his love. She agreed to give it a try; from there their lives had changed and grown in ways neither of them could imagine. Jim told David something about the first year that resonated. He said the first year you're always doing two things simultaneously- experiencing what's happening and monitoring your experience of what's happening. And at some point the monitoring falls away and you're just- living it. He said he couldn't tell him exactly when it happened. It just did. David understood that as a form of permission- to stop waiting for some future version of himself to have it all resolved and just- be the version that was here. On this island. Today. Jim told him the marriage is the thing. He kept coming back to that. That everything else existed in relation to the marriage and when he forgot that things got complicated; and when he remembered it things clarified.

David could hear in every word Jim shared that he loved his wife. Not in a way that sounded like reassurance- in a way that sounded like the weather. Just- the fact of the climate he lived in. "That's what I want us to sound like," David told him. "You do," Jim said. "You just can't hear it from the inside. I know that," Jim said, "because you light up whenever you talk about her." "I'm glad we came," David told him."I can't imagine the other version anymore. The one where Sarah's here, and I'm at home with the lamp on. This was the right call." They left with a vow to get together with their wives again, later in the week.

They snorkaled for about two hours. The coral reefs and the variety of colorful fish had been stunning. They were all back on board now. Some of them below in the galley as the chef showed them how he was preparing a variety of tropical delicacies for lunch. Sarah and a few others were sun bathing nude on the stern of the boat. Thomas was talking quietly with a couple, Joel and Nikki, that he'd known for several years. Sarah was laid out next to a young woman named Emily: mid twenties, about 5'9", with a thin but athletic build. Emily had long straight brown hair in a pony tail and deep blue eyes, with a face that was thin but chiseled in a very feminine way. They'd really connected and had been having a great conversation. Emily was here with her fiancé Chris, who was down below. Sarah learned that Emily was a new Police Officer who had just completed her first year on the job after coming off probation. Sarah told her about David who had been on the job for more than twenty years- about the crazy stories she had heard David and his friends tell at parties after a few drinks had gone down. She began to get a little emotional, "I admire you so much Emily, very few people are cut out for this life. You know, I very rarely ask David about what he does. He would tell me if I really wanted to know- but I don't think I could sleep at night if he did. "Thanks," Emily said. "That means a lot to me. You know, I'm just getting my feet under me, but you're right, there aren't many people who can do it- but it has to be done. It really helps when people tell me they appreciate what I do, especially someone like you who really understands the sacrifice." The two women were very close to each other and the moment had become emotional. Emily stared at Sarah deep in her eyes and then, very gently, leaned forward and kissed her on the lips and then leaned back. Sarah, caught up in the moment, leaned forward and kissed her back. The two stared at each other, and then Emily leaned in and kissed Sarah again. The kissing quickly became passionate with their tongues intertwining and their hands exploring each other's breasts. Emily put her hands on Sarah's shoulders and began to gently push he down towards the deck.

Suddenly Sarah heard the command "Knees!" She sat back up, she knew that command and had an instant reaction to it. Sarah looked towards Thomas and saw Joel kneeling inches from Thomas's erect cock. Oh my God, Sarah thought- is Joel going to suck Thomas's- but then she saw Thomas lay Nikki down on a bench. He was going to fuck Nikki and make Joel watch it from his knees inches away. "Hey,' Emily said, regaining Sarah's attention. "Let them do their thing. I need you right now." Sarah stared at her briefly, and then said, "I need you too." She leaned in and placed her hands behind Emily's neck and pulled her forward and began to kiss her, Sarah's tongue exploring deeply into Emily's mouth. Emily pressed Sarah down to the deck and mounted her. She began to grind her groin into Sarah's while squeezing and sucking Sarah's tits. Sarah took both of her hands and began to explore Emily's firm shapely ass, pulling Emily's hips in more deeply towards her and grinding back. Oh my God Sarah thought, this is so hot, I'm going to cum- I'm going to- Emily sat back up. "Hang on," she said, and reached towards her bag which was lying near-by. She pulled something out of it. "What's that?" Sarah asked. "This," Emily said, "is a strap-on. I use it as a special reward for Chris if he's been a good boy. But I'm going to use it on you Sarah. I'm going to fuck you really good!" Emily quickly donned the harness and Sarah saw a realistic 8 inch dildo attached to it. Emily pressed Sarah back down and began to rub the tip of her strap-on over Sarah's vaginal lips, noting how wet she was. She put the tip in, and feeling Sarah instantly open up began to thrust deeply. Oh my God, Sarah thought- another first.

Later in the afternoon Thomas and Sarah were walking the beach, holding hands, when they found David sitting in a beach chair, finally reading the paperback he'd bought at the airport. They were still holding hands when they greeted him- "How'd it go with Jim," Thomas asked. "Oh, he was great," David said. "He really helped me clarify things, I'm glad you set it up." "That's great," Thomas said. "I had a really good feeling you guys would hit it off." Thomas then took Sarah's hand and placed it in David's. "I'm going to leave you crazy kids to enjoy the rest of the night together, I've got plans with Joel and Nikki. Take advantage of everything here." They said their goodbyes and wished each other a great night.

Sarah and David showered back at the villa and headed out to the resort's French restaurant where they had a wonderful meal and couple of glasses of excellent French wine. After dinner they made their way hand in hand to the beach side bar where they got a couple of the resorts signature rum punches. They were walking through the bar looking for a table when they spotted Maria and Sergio. Maria saw them and waved them over. "Hey guys, why don't you join us." Sarah looked at David and said, "We'ed love to." They sat down. They began talking when Sarah said "Hey guys, I need to apologize for the other night. Look, I let things get out of hand when I should have-" "No,no, no," David said. "That was my fault, it's just that-" "Stop!" Maria said. Then laughed, in her open sparkling way. "Sarah," Maria said. "David and I had a great conversation and he told me a little about your lives. You guys are brand new at this and just finding your way. I'm glad we met you, I really wan't to hear your story and get to know you." Sarah thought she's so sweet, I really like them both. So she told them- everything, with David adding in details from his perspective. When she was done, Sarah saw that Maria's eyes had grown moist hearing their story and how their love had survived and grown through it all. "That's so beautiful," Maria said. "You know- Sergio and I were high school sweethearts and got married very young. We were both extremely sexual and terrible flirts. We would have horrible fights- each accusing the other of cheating. And the ironic thing was, neither of us ever cheated. Finally, we just decided together that we would be open and honest about the fact that we found other people attractive. One day we got each other real horny and dared each other to go to a swing club. It was so hot, watching all these other couples, and we never did anything with anyone else there, but I ended up blowing Sergio right in front of everyone. We went back home and had a long talk, a lot of talks. A couple of months later we went back and- well the rest is history. Our relationship has never been better, and all those ridicules jealousy fights- gone forever. We're every bit as much in love as the day we were married."

The evening continued with each couple talking about their lives and upbringings. They discovered that they didn't live far from each other, in neighboring states, but nearby border towns. David learned that Sergio also played football, he was a tight end, which caused Sarah to make the obvious joke. They had never played against each other, but knew of each other's programs, and discovered actual mutual acquaintances. They then talked about their mutual love of Italian food, and the great Italian restaurants in their respective towns. David said, "let me tell you, my Irish mother's best friend growing up was a Sicilian girl, and she learned to make a Sunday gravy and macaroni so good, you'd think your grandmother made it." "What, you Irish fuck, you know about macaroni and gravy! Now you talking my language!" They laughed, and then David regaled them with stories about the crazy shit he and is Italian friends did growing up. As the boys were trading stories of their misspent youths; Sarah and Maria got more serious. Sarah told Maria of her feeling of shame about all she'd done, while being jealous of David having another woman. Maria empathized and said, "When you're new to something like this, it can take a lot of experimentation to find your level. There are a lot of variations to this lifestyle and it takes work to understand what you're comfortable with. Have you ever heard of soft swinging," Maria asked? "No what's that." "When a couple is unsure of whether this lifestyle is right for them or not they'll sometimes get together with another couple for what is called soft swinging. Basically you swap partners, and while completely clothed you essentially engage in a make out session with petting, to see if you're comfortable seeing you partner with someone else. All partners agree not to go any further unless each one agrees. If anyone is uncomfortable, it stops right there, no recriminations for anyone. We're all just learning what we're comfortable with. Sarah said, "let me talk to David." She told David and Sergio about Maria's suggestion. Sergio was immediately on board. David said, "are you sure?" "I think so," Sarah replied. "Alright, if you're good, then I'm good," David said.

They went back to the villa. In the master sweet Sarah and Sergio got on the bed and began to make out with each other. Maria took David by the hand and had him sit down in a chair facing the bed. She sat on his lap, and put his hands on her breasts. She leaned back and whispered in David's ear, "just watch, I know Hotwives, and I know my Sergio- this shouldn't take long. While David massaged Maria's breasts and she began to grind her ass into his groin, they watched Sarah and Sergio make out and grope each other more and more passionately. Eventually Sarah looked at David and said, "honey, I can't stand it- I need Sergio's cock". "Are you sure this is what you wan't," he asked." "Oh God yes!" she moaned. "Go for it sweetheart." he said. "Maria," she moaned, take good care of my man." "Oh hell yeah!" Maria gasped.

[Cuckcop]

David lay awake in the early morning hours, Sarah sleeping softly beside him. Last night had been- mind-blowing. David hadn't been with another woman since well before he began dating Sarah, and frankly thought she would be the only woman for him for the rest of his life. Even when they'd gone through their rough period, he'd always known Sarah and he were ment to be together. This vacation was turning out very different from how he'd imagined it- and far better. He began running a quiet accounting of the days and arrived at a realization that sat with him through the slow arrival of the full morning. Thomas had paid for this. Not just the resort- the invitation, the planning, the separate flight that had given them the first evening alone. Thomas had built this entire week around what Sarah and David needed and had consistently, without complaint, taken the lesser portion for himself. And David had accepted it. Gratefully, genuinely- but he had accepted it without asking whether Thomas was getting what he'd come for. He thought about that for a while.

He raised it with Sarah over coffee on the terrace- simply, the way he raised things that had clarity in them. "I want to do something for Thomas," he said. She looked up from her coffee. "What do you mean?" "He planned this trip. He's been generous with his time, with the structure of the week. He's consistently made sure we had what we needed." David looked at his cup. "I've been the beneficiary of that generosity and I haven't thought enough about what this week has been for him." Sarah was quiet, receiving this. "What are you thinking?" she asked. "I want to arrange something for the two of you," he said. "A proper evening. Not a few hours. An actual night." He met her eyes. "There's a show at the resort Pavilion Tuesday- I've been told it's extremely good. And the Michelin Star restaurant on the north end of the Island, the one Thomas mentioned the first day. I want to book it." He paused. "I want to give you an evening that isn't arranged around my comfort. You know- since that first night, you've always come home to me, we've been able to spend the rest of the night and the morning together. I've loved that; I've needed that. But for this I want you to be able to spend the whole night together. I'll see you the next day." Sarah looked at him for a long moment. "David-" "I mean it," he said. "Thomas has been- he's been genuinely good to us, Sarah. To our marriage. To me, actually, in ways I didn't expect. The introduction to Jim alone-" he shook his head slightly. "I want to acknowledge that in a real way." "And you?" she asked. "What will you do." "I'll find out what the bar situation is," he said, with a small smile. "I imagine I'm not the only husband at this resort whose wife is on a date."

He told Thomas over breakfast. Thomas listened with his custom close attention, genuinely receiving it rather than waiting for his turn. When David finished Thomas was quiet for a moment. "You don't have to do that," he said. "I know I don't have to," David said. "That's not why I'm doing it." Thomas looked at him- with the evaluative look of a man recalibrating his understanding of another. "You're sure?" Thomas asked. "I've thought about it since this morning," David said. "I'm sure." He held Thomas's gaze. "You've been good to her. You've been- unexpectedly good to me. I'm not someone who doesn't notice that." Something moved across Thomas's face- genuine, slightly unguarded, the expression of a man who hadn't expected to be moved and was. "Thank you, David," he said. Simply. "Don't thank me, show her a good time." Thomas smiled. "I'll treasure her just like you would."

Sarah found him that afternoon by the pool, book open, actually reading for once. She sat beside him and he lowered the book. "you're really ok with this?" she asked. "I'm really ok with this," he said. "That's not the same as-" "Sarah." He said gently. "I arranged it. I called the restaurant this morning and booked the table. I stopped by the pavilion and confirmed the show." He looked at her steadily. "I'm not enduring this. I'm giving it." She looked at him for a long moment. "The difference matters to you," she said. "The difference is everything," he said. "A year ago I was a man that things happened around. Tonight I'm a man making things happen for people I-" he paused, finding the right word,"-for people I care about. Both of you." He picked up his book. "Let me read my book, Sarah. You have a show to get ready for." She leaned over and kissed him once- warm, deliberate, the kind that ment something real. "I love you," she said. "I know," he said. "Go get ready."

He watched them leave from the terrace. Sarah in a blue dress he hadn't seen before- she must have packed it for exactly this type of evening, which ment she'd anticipated something like it even if the specific shape had been his. Thomas in a pale linen jacket, unhurried, turning to say something to her as they walked the path towards the pavilion that made her laugh in the way she laughed when something was genuinely funny. David stood on the terrace with a glass of the resort's good rum and watched them until the path curved and the flowering trees took them. He took an inventory- what was present: a low warm feeling he was still learning the name of. Not quite compersion in its pure form- more complex than that, more personal. The feeling of choosing something difficult and discovering the choosing had changed him. Not absence. Not loss. Something closer to- rightness. He finished the rum and went to find the bar.

The bar was open sided, facing the water, the kind of place that knew its purpose- comfortable chairs, good lighting, the sound of the ocean emanating from just beyond the torches. He found a seat at the end of the bar, ordered, and looked around. The place was perhaps a third full. Couples at some tables. At the bar, three men spaced with the instinctive spacing of solo drinkers who weren't opposed to conversation but weren't forcing it. The man nearest him was perhaps fifty- silver-haired, solid, with the comfortable posture of someone who'd made peace with wherever he was. He caught David's eye with the brief nod of bar recognition. "Evening," he said. "Evening," David said. A pause of the companionable kind. "First trip?" the man asked. Not intrusively. Just- reading the room. "Yes," David said. "Thought so." not unkindly. "You have the look." "What look is that." "The one where you've just done something that surprised you," the man said. "And you're sitting with the surprise." David looked at him. "That obvious?" "I had it myself the first time. Three years ago." He extended his hand. "Frank." "David."

Frank was from Minneapolis. Married tweet-six years to a woman named Renata who was at this moment, at dinner with a man they'd met through an arrangement not unlike David's- established over two years, carefully built, good for the marriage in ways Frank hadn't predicted. "The first trip she went on without me," Frank said, "I sat in our kitchen for four hours and reorganized the spice rack." David made a sound that was almost a laugh. "Garage," he said. "Paint cans." Frank pointed at him. "There it is. Every husband I've met in this life has a version of the same story. Something with his hands. Something that needs organizing." He shook his head. "We're not subtle." "Is it the third trip now?" "Fifth," Frank said. "The first two I stayed home. The third I came but spent most of my time-" he gestured around the bar, "- here. The fourth I started actually engaging with the environment. People. Conversations." He looked at David. "The fifth one I booked myself." "What changed between three and four?" Frank considered. "I stopped waiting to feel better and started getting curious about what I actually felt." He turned his glass. "Turns out what I felt was more interesting than I expected. Not simpler. But more interesting."

The second man at the bar introduced himself an hour later when the conversation had widened naturally to include him. His name was Soren- Danish, briefly- married to a woman named Claudia, here for the second time. Younger than Frank by perhaps a decade, with the energy of someone still close to the beginning of the road. "How long have you been-" David started. "Eight months," Soren said. "You?" "About the same." They looked at each other with the recognition of men at approximately the same altitude. "It's strange," Soren said. "I came here because Claudia wanted to. I thought I was doing it for her." He looked at his drink. "But sitting here tonight- she's out there somewhere having her evening and I'm here having mine and I feel-" he stopped. "What?" David asked. "Whole," Soren said, slightly surprised by his own word. "Like I'm a complete person having a complete experience. Not a husband waiting for his wife to come back from another man's bed." He frowned slightly. "I didn't expect to feel that." "The wholeness," Frank said, nodding. "That's the thing that takes people by surprise. Everyone expects the jealousy story. Nobody expects that the space has something in it."

David looked at the water beyond the torches. "My wife's best friend- the one who introduced us to this life," he said, "told her early on that compersion was the thing to look for. The joy you feel from watching someone you love experience joy." He paused. "I've been finding my version of that. It's not identical to the textbook definition. It's more-" "Personal," Frank said. "Yes. Like I've built something I'm proud of. And watching it exist in the world- watching her exist fully in the world- is part of being proud of it." He paused. "Does that make sense?" "Complete sense," Frank said. "It makes the most sense of anything anyone's said to me in eight months," Soren said. "You know," Frank said. "There's growing academic evidence for what you're saying. The University Of Michigan, Purdue, others, have done research which indicates that our types of relationships can have better outcomes than purely monogamous marriages. The key is complete open communication, and intentionally making sure that each partners needs are being met. Consensual non-monogamy, when done right, requires a level of communication and- closeness, that monogamous relationships don't have the need for. The ironic part is that that is what keeps couples from drifting apart. Monogamous couples have a lot to learn from us.

They talked for three hours. Not exclusively about Hotwifing or cuckolding- about their work, their children, the comedy of being men who arrived at this particular bar on this particular island through paths that none of them had predicted. Frank had a son in college studying marine biology. Soren had twin daughters, eight years old, whom he described with the helpless besotted quality of a father undone by small children. At some point a fourth man joined them- quieter, named Rafael, Brazilian, who had been listening from two seats away and finally decided the conversation was worth entering. He'd been coming to the resort for six years with his wife Isabela and spoke about the life with the comfortable authority of someone for whom it had long since stopped being a discovery and simply become- the shape of things. "The first year is the education," Rafael said. "The second year is the practice. After that it's just- your life." "Does it stop being complicated?" Soren asked. "No," Rafael said pleasantly. "But complicated stopes being the same as difficult." He looked at David. "You're wife- tonight is her first full evening here?" "Yes," David said. "And you arranged it?" "I did." Rafael studied him for a moment. "That's a particular kind of love," he said. "Not everyone arrives at it." He raised his glass slightly. "To the ones who do." They raised their glasses.

His phone lit up at one-forty-seven. "Still awake?" He smiled at the screen. "At the bar. Good night?" Three dots. Then- "The best. Show was incredible. Restaurant was perfect. I'm filled with Thomas's cum- and still totally in love with you." "You are a naughty girl! I love you too." A pause. Then: "You're remarkable, you know that?" He looked at the message for a moment. At the bar Frank was telling Soren something about Minneapolis winters that apparently was very funny or very terrible. Rafael was looking at the water with the peaceful expression of a man who had long since made his peace with it. "Go enjoy your evening," he typed. "I'll leave the lamp on." Her reply came back immediately. "There's no lamp here." He thought about it for a moment. Typed: "There's always a lamp. You know where it is." He set his phone face-up on the bar and ordered another rum and listened to Frank's story about Minneapolis and felt- clearly, unmistakblely- good. Simply, uncomplicatedly, surprisingly good. The ocean moved. The torches burned. The night went on.

[Watchinu69]

Great story..... love the progress David & Sarah have evolved too with Thomas.... wish I was David!!!

[DCaftermath]

I got through the introduction, the coffee and the garage. It was wildly fascinating and real feeling. I felt I understood Sarah, her love for her husband and her need to find that person she before David.

This story also laid out a believable story of a husband that loves a cheating wife, had the capacity to forgive and more importantly the desire to see to it she could get what she needed going forward guilt free.

The rack and the glory hole was almost too much, not because I didn’t want it for her but because how I thought the story didn’t comfortably allow for David to support it. It was a lot for him. A very jagged pill.

However here we are on the island where David can be David and embrace the desires of his wife. But here I am confronted once again with a twist I kind of hope doesn’t happen. Why? Because this is a hotwife site and more over in a hotwife thread where we live our wives and their proclivities and all the while we want not another woman. So as sweet as Maria seemed, I was in hopes David would politely turn down her advances.

So hoping it’s a one off and Sarah continues to get railed while David learned to appreciate how wonderful she takes it. Less swinging and more hotwifing!

Very well written and I am in hopes will end well or never end!

[Cuckcop]

She woke to unfamiliar light. Not disorienting- just different. The angle of it, the way it came through shutters she hadn't chosen, falling across a room whose geometry she was still learning. The sound of the ocean was still the same ocean but heard from a different place on the crescent of the island, which gave it a slightly different character, a different rhythm against a different shore. She lay still for a moment and took inventory. What was present: warmth. The warmth of a Caribbean morning arriving through wooden shutters. A contentment that was physical and also not only physical- something that went deeper than the body into a layer she was still learning to name. The awareness of herself as a complete person who had spent an evening being fully present in her own life. And underneath all of it, solid and unmistakable as the ground under everything else- David.
She reached for her phone. His message from the night before was still on the screen. "There's always a lamp. You know where it is." She read it twice in the morning light and felt the warmth of it move through her- the warmth of being completely known and completely held even across the physical distance of a small island.

Sarah got out of bed, still nude, and went out onto the terrace to greet the dawn light. Leaning up against the railing she heard Thomas stepping out on to the terrace to join her- looking over her shoulder she saw that he was also nude. How strange, she smiled, to be in a place where two naked people standing in full view of anyone who cared to look was perfectly acceptable. "Last night was-" she started. "Yes," he said simply. She smiled- "I was going to finish that sentence." "I know, I was agreeing with wherever it was going." She laughed. "The show was extraordinary." "The restaurant," she said. "The fish was perfect." He'd moved behind her, pressing up against her, right hand on her stomach, left hand gently massaging her tits, his chin resting comfortably on her shoulder. Sarah unconsciously spread her legs apart, she could feel the familiar heat rising. "Last night," she began again, "It wasn't like it usually is with us. I wasn't your sex slave, last night we made love." "You needed it that way," he said. "I needed it too. Sometimes a sexy cum-slut is the hottest thing in the world. Other times- like now; a wife and mother is the sexiest thing in the world." He began to rub the head of his cock against her slit, feeling how wet she was. He'd learned to tell when she was wet enough to take his full size. Sarah gripped the railing with both hands and thrust her ass towards Thomas and he gave her what she needed, what they both needed. "Oh God! Oh God!" she moaned. And he took her, right there, in full view- for anyone who cared to look.

Later, on that same terrace over coffee at the table, Sarah said, "Can I tell you something?" "Anything." "When I woke up this morning, the first thing I thought about was David. Not in a complicated way. Just- he was present. In me. The way he always is now. I want you to know that. Not to diminish last night- because last night was truly wonderful, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise." She paused. "Both things are true simultaneously and I'm done being confused by that. David and I, we've always been a ride or die family, I've always believed that, even in our hardest times. I believe it now more than I ever have- What do the kids say? ten toes down; mine are dug in deeper than they've ever been. But last night- I felt something different than I have before." Thomas looked at her for a moment. "I know," he said. "That's not something you need to explain to me or apologize for. I'll tell you something in return." "Please." "What I feel for you is genuine," he said carefully. "I want to be honest about that. Not generic fondness. Something real." He met her eyes directly. "And the fact that David is present in you- the fact that what you've built with him is the foundation of everything- that's not despite what I feel. It's part of it." He paused. "I'm not in love with the version of you that exists separately from your marriage. I'm in love with- the whole configuration. The women who went through what you went through and built what you built." Sarah absorbed this slowly. "That's a generous way to love someone," she said. "It's the only way I know how in this context," he said. "I figured that out early." He looked at the water. "Some men in this arrangement keep the marriage at arms length in their mind. Make it abstract. I've never been able to do that. David is too present a person to make abstract."

David woke slowly, a smile on his face. He'd been making love to Sarah in his dream. She was making those sounds she made when she was really into it. "Oh God. Oh God." she was moaning. It almost seemed to be coming from far away, odd that part. But, whatever. Making love to Sarah, whether real, or in a dream was always a highlight in his life. He reached for his phone.

Her phone buzzed on the table in between them. David. "Good morning. How did you sleep?" She picked it up and typed back: : "Beautifully. How was the bar?" The reply came quickly for a man who was presumably in bed. "Made three friends. Frank from Minneapolis reorganizes spice racks. We understood each other immediately." She laughed- the surprised, genuine kind. Thomas raised an eyebrow. "David made friends," she said. "At the bar. While we were at dinner." "Of course he did," Thomas said, with the warmth of a man who had formed his own clear view of David's character. "Of course he did." She typed back: "I should have known you'd find your people. How are you?" "Nice," he typed back. "I woke up dreaming of you. Have breakfast with Thomas. Come find me after. No rush." She read it twice. "No rush," he'd written. "He says no rush," she said. Thomas nodded. "He means it." "I know." She looked at the water. "That's the thing that still gets me. That he means it." "You should let it stop getting you," Thomas said. Not unkindly. "At some point you have to let it just be true." "Diane said the same thing." "Diane's right." He reached across the small table between the chairs and put his hand briefly over hers- not as anything other than what it was, which was warmth between two people who had spent an evening in genuine connection and were now simply present in the morning that followed it. "Come have breakfast with me," he said. "And then go find your husband." "In that order," she said. "In that order," he confirmed.

She found David where she'd half expected to find him- at the water's edge, shoes off, standing in the shallow margin where the sand went dark. He was looking out at the horizon with the open expression she'd come to love; the one where he put the scanning down, the scanning that became such a part of people in his profession. She walked down the beach towards him. He heard her coming and turned, and his face did the thing it did- the lighting up he apparently wasn't aware of, that Jim had noticed, that she had been watching for seventeen years without fully seeing until this year. She walked up to him and put her arms around him and he held her the way he always held her- completely, without reservation. They stood like that for a while at the edge of the water. "Good morning," he said into her hair. "Good morning." "Good night?" She pulled back enough to look at him. His eyes were easy. "A very good night," she said. "Good," he said simply. Meaning it.

She looked at him- the gray at his temples, the open face, the man who had reorganized paint cans and left lamps on and and sat at bars with strangers and found his people and arranged a night for his wife and her lover and called the restaurant himself. "David," she said. "Mm," "I want to tell you something." "Tell me." "The first thing I thought about this morning-" "Was me," he said. Not a question. She looked at him. "How did you-" "Because I know you," he said. "Because I've known you for seventeen years and I know what you carry and I know where you come home to." He held her gaze steadily. "Just like I know that none of what happened last night changes anything that matters." "No," she agreed. "It doesn't."

Behind them the Island went on about its warm and beautiful business. In front of them the water went on about its ancient and indifferent business. Between them- nothing hidden. No locked rooms. No sealed windows. Just two people standing in the shallow margin where the water met the land, which was neither fully one thing nor fully the other, which was- she thought- exactly the right place to stand. "Come on, David said. "Franks wife recommended a place for lunch. Best fish stew you've ever had, she claimed." "You made friends with Frank's wife too?" "She found me at the bar. She has opinions about fish stew. I was not going to argue." She laughed- the genuine helpless kind- and took his hand and they walked up the beach together in the afternoon light, which was warm and full- the kind that belongs to days that have been genuinely earned. Behind her the water kept moving. In front of her was David. She was, she thought, exactly where she was. Exactly where she wanted to be. She thought she might never stop being grateful for the difference between those two things being the same.

[Cuckcop]

Watchinu69 and DCaftermath, thanks for the feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

[Watchinu69]

I love how excepting David has become, real love... compersion at its finest. Sooooo wish I was David! Love Sarah's journey.?

[Seductionrules]

Thanks for this new chapter. I'm enjoying your story.

[Ffsevn7]

I'm still loving it! The exchanges, the support, the acceptance and the love, just wonderful. Jen

[DCaftermath]

Good solid work.

[Cuckcop]

David woke in the early morning light, his arm still wrapped around Sarah who was dead to the world. She'd had dinner with Thomas and spent the evening with him. David had spent his evening with Frank and the other friends they'd collected along the way. David found that Frank wasn't only good at organizing spice racks, he'd also organized a pool and darts tournament and at one point christened their group the Cuckold Club- which led to a lot of laughter, and a few Bronx cheers. David laughed along with the rest, although he still struggled with that term. David had always despised and feared any form of humiliation, preferring to suffer physical pain rather than being shamed. When first learning about this lifestyle, everything that he read seemed to be focused on humiliating the husband. The reality that David had discovered as he met other experienced couples proved that there was a Bell Curve, and that those who craved humiliation were only a part of it. Still, as David had reclaimed Sarah when she returned to him last night, something which he knew they both desperately needed no matter how exhausted they were- he couldn't help thinking about their wedding day. The David on that day couldn't have imagined getting sloppy seconds from the women he loved. What would the guys at work- his brothers, think of him if they knew. He couldn't imagine. But he did know that the intimacy and closeness that had developed between he and Sarah these last few months was more intense than anything he'd ever experienced, and he couldn't imagine giving it up.

This was it- the last full day at the resort. Everyone was invited to a New England style clambake on the beach, a way to say goodbye to the new friendships that had developed over the week. The resort staff had been building the fire since early-afternoon. By the time the guests gathered at the beach the fire pit was perfect- the heat contained beneath layers of seaweed and stone, the alchemy of a New England tradition transplanted to the Caribbean sand, which shouldn't have worked as well as it did and worked perfectly. Perhaps a hundred people arranged themselves around the fire and the long tables the staff had dressed with the care of people who understood that the last evening of something deserved attention. Lanterns strung between poles. The warmth of the firelight against the darkening water, its sound ever present.

David stood at the edge of it for a moment before joining the gathering. He wanted to take a picture of it- not with a camera, with the attention of a man who understood he was inside something he'd want to remember precisely. The fire. The water. The people who had become, over the week, genuinely known to each other in the way that resort communities developed- accelerated intimacy, the hothouse quality of people removed from ordinary context and therefore more fully themselves. Thomas appeared beside him. "Last night," Thomas said. "Last night," David agreed. They stood together for a moment in the comfortable silence they'd developed- the silence of two men who had found, against all reasonable expectation, something that resembled genuine friendship. "How are you?" Thomas asked. The direct question he always asked. David thought about it honestly. "Content," he said. Thomas looked at him. "Tell me what that means." "I came here carrying a weight that I was able to put down in the first two days, and I haven't picked it back up." He looked at the fire. "I don't know if it stays down when we get home. But I know that it can be put down. That's different from knowing it theoretically." "It stays down," Thomas said. "Mostly. With practice." "You sound certain." "I've watched it happen in people I respect," Thomas said. He glanced at David briefly. "I'm watching it happen now."

Sarah was already at the long table with Maria and Sergio. Maria had her head back laughing at something Sergio had said. David watched his wife laugh with them- the genuine, unguarded laugh, the one that reached her whole face. He felt it move through him. He'd felt this before. He recognized it now without the layer of examination that had always accompanied it. Just the feeling. Clean and warm and real. He found a seat beside Sarah. She turned when she felt him sit and her face did that thing that thing it did- the lighting up that Jim had noticed and that David now understood from the inside because he could feel it when she turned towards him. "There you are," she said. "Here I am," he said. She took his hand under the table. He held it.

The food arrived in waves- the lobsters and clams and corn emerging from the pit with the ceremony they deserved, the staff moving with practiced efficiency, the guest receiving e everything with the appetite of people who had been in the sun all day and earned the feast. The conversation moved with the freedom of a last evening- looser than the preceding ones, more reflective, people saying things to people they'd been intimate with, things they'd been saving for the end. Frank raised a glass at some point- the informal toast of a man who understood occasions. "To honest lives,: he said simply. The table raised their glasses. David raised his. Found Thomas's eyes across the table. Thomas raised his glass slightly- the acknowledgment of two men who had built something unexpected. David nodded once.

Later- the food finished, the fire lower, the sun beginning it's journey towards the horizon; David and Sarah and Thomas made there way to the beach along with the others, clothes quickly discarded on the nude beach- they settled near a cabana Thomas had arranged earlier in the day in case the sun became to much. "Can I say something," Sarah asked. To both of them. "Please," Thomas said. She was quiet for a moment- assembling the true version. "I came here carrying guilt," she said. She held David's gaze. "The guilt of a woman who has explored what was missing in her life while the person she loves most has held himself to a different standard. Who has given me the freedom he hasn't taken for himself." She paused. "That felt- unbalanced. In a way that cost me something I hadn't fully named." David looked at her. "And now?" he asked. "And now-" she held his gaze with the full quality of her attention, "-something has shifted. This week." She shook her head slightly. "Watching you become more yourself. Watching you put the monitoring down and simply- be present in your own life." She paused. "The guilt hasn't disappeared. But it became something else. Something more like- recognition." "Of what?" Thomas asked. "That David found this week was his," she said. "Not a consolation for what I have. His own thing. His own expansion." She looked at her husband. "You're not holding yourself to a different standard because you have no other option. You've found something here that's genuinely yours." David was quiet for a moment. "Yes," he said. "I think that's true." "Tell us," Thomas said.

David looked at the fire. At the people gathered around it- Frank and Renata, Maria and Sergio, the other couples who had been somewhere real this week and were carrying it home. He thought about what the week had given him. "You talked about the standard I hold myself to. I'm proud of that standard. I've loved one woman in my life, and my nature is to love and protect. I've always held loyalty to the ones you love as the ultimate virtue. I came to understand that you had real needs that I couldn't meet. For reasons I'll never understand I found that those needs turned me on. We, all three of us, have never spoken together about this openly. When I first learned about this lifestyle I thought it might be hot to see you, you know, with another man. But when I learned about- the submissive need you have; that was a game changer. I don't know if you both can understand how- that affects me. I'm wired to protect women, to place them on a pedestal. Degrading or hurting them, even if it's a sexy game, and something they really want, I could never bring myself to do it no matter how much you want it. But Thomas, I've come to trust you, if it had been anyone else it could have gone to a place that is truly ugly- that wouldn't have ended well for anyone. But I believe you will protect and guide Sarah so that her needs are met but she won't be hurt. Sarah, I love you and that's it." Sarah was openly weeping now. Thomas, also showing the emotion he felt, gripped David's shoulder- "Thank you for your trust my friend, I give you my word, I'll always treasure her, just as you would." David sighed, "alright," he said, "enough with the tears, we're here to have fun." Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled.

Maria appeared at Sarah's shoulder. "We're doing the last swim," she said. "Come." Sarah looked at David and Thomas, "Thanks hon," she said, but I think we're going to lay out and catch the last rays." "Alright babe," Maria said. "We'll catch up with you later." Sarah lay down on the towels between David and Thomas, the last of the strong Caribbean sun caressing their nude bodies. After a while of quiet sunbathing Sarah felt an intense gaze that made her uncomfortable. She noticed a woman lying on a towel a few yards away, closer to the shore. The woman was what she had heard described as a BBW, a big beautiful woman. She had a full body, with breasts much larger than Sarah's, and full auburn locks. She was looking intensely at Thomas and David with an undeniable aura of lust. Sarah noted that her; husband?- was lovingly massaging suntan lotion on her naked body. When he finished he began massage her feet, a look of loving devotion on his face. Sarah watched her and knew immediately what she was thinking. "Selfish Bitch!" Sarah imagined. Sarah saw that her man had on a cock cage- pink and tight. As if the cage was forcing him to become smaller. Why would she want it smaller, she wondered. Sarah felt an overwhelming possessiveness come over her. She took Thomas's right hand and David's left hand and placed them on her breasts. She arched her hips the way she knew her men liked it- her men, she thought. She took David and Thomas's hands and used them to massage her breasts. Oh God the thought, this is so hot. Sarah looked at the BBW- That's right she willed her mind to say; These are my men Bitch, and I don't share.

Sarah looked at David, and then Thomas. "Look guys," she said. "I know we've never talked about it- but I'm so hot right now. Do you think we could-?" David laughed- "Sarah," he said. Every guy on this beach knows how hot you are- and we all want you." Thomas said, "David's right- why do you think I rented the cabana?" Sarah used her athletic body to thrust herself to a standing position, pulling both men up by their hands. She kissed David on the mouth, sucking his tongue, while Thomas kissed her neck. As Sarah took both men by the hand and led them towards the cabana she looked over her shoulder towards her rival, the BBW. She saw a look of resignation cross the woman's face as she moved on to her back and grabbed her man by the back of the head and pulled him in to her pussy, a look of joy and utter devotion crossed the man's face. Good, Sarah thought, he deserves his reward.

As Sarah led them towards the cabana, David caught Franks eye, Frank gave him a thumbs up. David noticed a number of the people lying out on the beach were watching their progress towards the cabana- knowing what was to come. As they entered the cabana Thomas slipped two fingers inside Sarah's cunt while David continued to kiss her and pinch her nipples. Suddenly Sarah took both men and shoved them inside the cabana, closing the curtain behind her, "Get ready studs," she said. "I'm gonna fuck you both like you've never been fucked before." An hour later they emerged from the cabana, a look of utter contentment across all of their faces. They made their way towards the group who were watching the sun as it sank its inevitable way towards the horizon. Sarah went up to Maria and Sergio and kissed them both on the cheek. David walked up behind Frank and Renata and took them both by the shoulders and said " Thanks for your friendship, it's been a great week." Thomas settled behind Sarah gently cupping her ass. Everyone just enjoying the final sunset.

They all stood in easy silence, a group who had found, through the most improbable route, genuine mutual regard. The fire lower now. The water dark and constant. David heard Sarah laugh, talking to Maria and Sergio, Thomas contently listening. Sarah unguarded and fully alive. David heard it and felt it in his chest. The warmth. The joy of loving someone completely enough that their aliveness- wherever it happened, in whatever form it took- reached you across the dark and landed as something good. Something unmistakably, undeniably good. He looked at the stars. He thought about going home. About the lamp. About the kitchen table and the kids and the ordinary life waiting for them- beautiful and imperfect and genuinely theirs. He thought he was ready. More than ready. He was he understood with the clarity that came from having put the weight down and found what was underneath it- grateful. Simply, completely, without qualification. Grateful.

THE END

[DCaftermath]

“I came to the understanding that you had real needs that I couldn’t meet. For reasons I’ll never understand I found that those needs turned me on.”

Relatable

[Cuckcop]

To all those who have commented or reached out to me in PM's- thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, it means more than you know.

[Watchinu69]

Well done- I thoroughly enjoyed this journey , thank you

[Ffsevn7]

Just beautiful, I'm so sad it's finished. I identified with Sarah and felt the love from David. Jen