delicious food, and amusing conversation, nagging Mark seemed petty. They talked about work, a new play just opened, books, mutual friends, Mark and Alan had apparently been at school with Alistair, and the best cheeses to put on pizza. Feeling distinctly mellow, Annie drained her second glass of wine and pondered the wisdom of a third slice.
“I told Alan about your fantasy,” Mark said, refilling her glass.
“You told him what!” She probably shrieked, not surprising.
Mark carefully turned the bottle to eliminate drips. “I explained the fantasy you shared with me Sunday night.”
She hadn’t hallucinated. She should throw Alan out, forget his charm. “Whatever for? How could you!”
“I could hardly bring it to reality on my own.” Mark spoke patiently, as if explaining the obvious to someone who didn’t quite get it.
“Annie,” Alan spoke before she had a chance. “Mark and I are old friends. We share a lot, especially our fantasies.”
That was supposed to make her feel better. “Bully for you! What about me?” They both got the benefit of her very best teacher look.
“I was thinking of you. And what you wanted.” Mark set the bottle down between them.
She was tempted to baptize the pair of them with the rest of the wine, but it seemed a wicked waste. Closing her eyes to block out her mortification, she took a slow breath. Mark and Alan were both still there when she opened then. She hadn’t been dreaming. “That was lovely pizza and since we’ve all got to get up for work in the morning, and you’ve a long drive home…”
“Annie.” Mark had the nerve to look and sound hurt. “I can see you’re upset.”
“I am not upset! I’m angry, furious, incensed, irate. Whatever you like. You betrayed a confidence.”
“He didn’t, Annie.”
Now Alan got her twenty-five-carat glare. “No? Seems like it to me.” Why didn’t she just pitch the pair of them out the front door?
“In our group, we share our fantasies and help make them come true. I came to help Mark make yours a reality.”
“And if I prefer fantasies to stay just that?”
“Do you really?”
It should be so easy to say “no”. But her throat had somehow closed as her heart rate sped up.
“What do you want, Annie?” Mark asked.
Why were easy questions the hardest to answer? “It’s just what you’re suggesting is so…wild.”
“Not really,” Alan said. “Both men and women fantasize about multiple lovers.”
“Maybe, but they don’t make the fantasies real.”
“We do.” He smiled at her over the rim of his wineglass. “You want this but your nice, conventional upbringing tells you you shouldn’t.” He was right there. “Don’t worry. We never share our secrets.”
“Mark just did!”
“In order to make it come true.” He made it sound as if they were doing her a favor.
“Doesn’t the thought excite you?” Mark asked.
“The thought does.” The prospect of reality scared the willies out of her.
“Annie, trust us,” Alan said, setting his empty glass on the table. “You’re anxious and a little scared. That’s natural enough. We’ll take care of you. Nothing will happen you don’t want, and we won’t harm you.” He smiled. “The reverse in fact.”
“Do you dare, Annie?” Mark asked, reaching across the table for her hand and lacing his fingers between hers. “Do you dare to make a dream come true?”
His touch decided her.
It was a long, slow walk upstairs, Mark leading and Alan following behind her. She almost changed her mind when Alan suggested they shower first but it seemed ridiculous to quibble at being naked given what they planned to do later. And Mark was right, warm water was relaxing. Having four hands soaping her with lavender-scented shower gel was another matter entirely.
Annie leaned back against the tiled wall as warm water ran over her, shut her eyes, and gave herself over to sensation. Two hands soaped her breasts, gliding over under and around
Guy; Arild; Puzey Stavrum