Dining with Friends

She couldn’t find the lines. She knew her friend had to have them. She saw them every day on her own face as she applied the liner and mascara – her limited makeup regime. But the woman she’d known for 30 years – since Sunday School class for beginners – was standing before her and she showed no lines around the face. Maybe she was now a size 8 rather than a 6 but otherwise, time had seemingly agreed to marvel at rather than ravage Jessie.

Beth knew she was getting the same once over as she was delivering so she smiled. Jessie returned the warmth and they giggled.

“I’d be jealous of the eternal youth thing you’ve got going if you weren’t so damn cool on top of it all,” Beth acknowledged.

“Oh . . . you know it’s the genes. Momma still looks like my sister. And Julie’s only 14 but she never has to fret with breakouts. I tell her it’s that good Cherokee blood,” Jessie said as she pulled the chair away from the table and sat down with some degree of satisfaction, placing her numerous packages in the patio chair beside her.

Beth followed her lead and looked around for a waiter as she realized that in the Texas heat she’d worked up a bit of a sweat and felt she might start melting if water wasn’t forthcoming. She waved the young man down and they both ordered water and glasses of white wine.

Jessie breathed a contented sigh as she rubbed her calf with no thought of what the surrounding customers might think of the long legged brunette massaging her legs which were clearly visible in the short skirt she’d chosen for her shopping spree. She wasn’t showing off. She was just taking care of herself.

Beth always liked that about her. “So … another year almost gone and we’re finally getting around to that lunch we promised the last time we saw each other at your Mother’s Christmas party. Shame on both of us!”

“Oh give us both a break, Beth. It takes you two hours to get here. And the kids and the business consume every minute of my time. At least they did. Truth is these lunches may be more frequent with me coming to you now that I’m the proud mother of teenagers. They need me less and less.”

“Now Jessie … don’t say …” Beth started.

Jessie interrupted, “Oh, don’t fret. I’m NOT complaining. The idea that I’m soon through with the seemingly continuous taxi driving doesn’t distress me one bit. And frankly, though I love them dearly, I can’t wait to play again.”

Beth smiled once more. Jessie was never one to mince words or worry about propriety. She had been the first to introduce Beth to her father’s liquor cabinet and her one and only encounter with cigarettes, the first to experience rather than read about sex, the instigator of all skinny dipping, the fastest driver, the first to find the love of her life, the first to have children, and the first to start her own business while keeping those kids relatively trouble free.

Beth never considered herself “less than” Jessie. She’d discarded comparisons long ago. But when Jessie sat so at ease with herself, Beth felt the familiar tinge of longing. She didn’t want her friend’s life, she did, however, wish a few of her own choices hadn’t turned out as they had. Marriage to a nice man who she never loved and found it too easy to divorce as well as postponing her own career until her early 30s made her often feel she was racing to catch up.

Except with Jessie that feeling lasted only a few moments before dissipating in the almost visible positive aura that surrounded her. She’d already endeared herself to the waiter and acquired them a specially prepared pesto the restaurant usually served with dinner bread only. She was slathering a piece of sour dough with it now and taking what seemed to be her first look around the restaurant.

“Don’t you love the fact that we turn the air conditioners as cold as we can get them and then lunch in the sun to warm up? God, I love this town,” Jessie said of the small, sleepy wannabe resort area they’d been born to and that she still called home.

“We do the same thing in Houston, Jessie,” Beth countered, knowing that her friend felt little love for the city Beth had embraced since her college days. “We just charge twice as much for the wine and the bread!”

Jessie chuckled and pointed, discreetly, to the young couple two tables over sharing a meal and nothing more. “I hate when I see that. I know them. Can’t think of their names but they are both teachers and the word is that their marriage may not survive the move here. I just want to walk over and tell them, ‘Talk to each other. Don’t you see you both want to say something!’”

“Sometimes words don’t help,” Beth reminded her, knowing that Jessie’s belief in marriage was as strong as her love of her freedom.

“Beth, your situation was different. Your marriage was more a friendship than a love affair and you knew it almost from the wedding day. I remember you’re telling me that after about six months. I’m proud of you for taking care of yourself and getting out. It was best for both of you. But, those two . . . you can just see the anguish on their faces, unspoken desires . . . . It kills me to watch,” and she placed her bread down on the table and scooted her chair slightly to obstruct her view.

Beth loved that Jessie felt passion and joy so readily. She could move from celebrating the proper blend of nuts, parsley and parmesan in the pesto to marriage advocate in seconds and treat both topics with vigorous enthusiasm.

“So let’s change the subject,” Beth offered. “How’s Dan?”

“Dan is mysterious. Dan is kind. Dan is curious. Dan is Dan,” Jessie offered in the now-familiar-assessment of her marching-to-the-beat-of-his-own-drummer husband. A musician who had somehow found a way to parlay his love of music into a profitable studio and occasional weekend gigs, Dan had a knack for echoing Jessie’s laid back approach to life while simultaneously reflecting all the outward signs of hard-fought success.

“What are we going to do if Dan ever stops asking questions?” Beth offered.

“We’re going to bury him. That will be the day,” Jessie laughed. “By the way, I suggested he join us if he could. Hope you don’t mind?”

“Are you kidding? That guarantees my beauty quota will be met for the month. Between the two of you, I’ll feel like I’m in an art gallery just taking in the sights.”

“Funny . . . that’s what we were saying about you when I reminded him last night that you were coming to town today. He’s always thought your brown eyes and freckles were especially alluring. Says so every time I mention you, ‘I love that girl’s eyes!’ So this time I offered that he could get a good dose by crashing the party.”

Beth blushed at the thought of her dear friends focusing a conversation on her looks. She knew she was attractive enough. She certainly didn’t lack for companionship. But capturing someone’s imagination when she knew them so well and during a late night conversation, that was rather heady.

“Of course,” Jessie continued. “I told him that if he were avoiding the fact that you have breasts to die for and an ass that you obviously spend much time successfully ensuring stays tight, he need not for my sake. Frankly, if he’s missed those points he’s blind!”

The two women both laughed loudly at the brazen assessment. Beth was pleased, and, she began to realize, aroused. She sipped her wine and wondered where this trip to her hometown would truly take her.

Jessie looked over Beth’s shoulder and smiled the smile of a woman still in love with her husband. She raised her hand to call him in their direction. Beth started to stand and Dan grabbed her midway to offer an embrace unlike any she’d had of late. He held tightly and rubbed her back as he exclaimed how good she looked and how great it was to see her.

Then he bent to kiss his wife with the kind of kiss most believe is wasted on the young – long, passionate, and wet.

“Have you two save the best dishing for me? Or am I too late to discover how you would simultaneously save the world and bring peace to humankind if only you were allowed to intervene in each and every life story represented at the tables of this fine establishment?” Dan greedily took of Jessie’s bread, pesto and wine while unfurling his napkin.

“Oh you give us too much credit, dear. We’ve only just begun to assess the potential therapy candidates,” Jessie chuckled as she grabbed her glass back and waved for the waiter to return for the orders.

Salads all around and more wine and the lunch continued with equal amounts of laughter, concern for Beth’s ailing mother and Julie’s less than stellar academic performance, and compliments ranging from how well they had all maintained healthy physiques while harboring healthy appetites to toasts to their good sense in remaining friends throughout the years.

When they had studied but passed on the dessert menu, Dan asked what was next on the agenda.

“I had thought a half day was all I could muster,” Beth offered begrudgingly. “But now that I’m here and two glasses into the afternoon,” she pointed to the empty wine bottle, “I’m wondering if I couldn’t impose on you two for an afternoon nap before heading back into the city.”

“Nap!? No way. Stay the night, please???” Jessie exclaimed with Dan chiming in his approval with enthusiasm.

“We could make a night of it,” he offered. “I’ll go down to the fresh market and pick up some delectables for dinner. The kids are both at sleepovers so we can party like it’s 1999 . . . or at least enjoy the hell out of an adults only evening. Please say you’ll stay,” Dan outlined the hours with such pleasure that Beth went from tempted to committed within minutes.

Jessie beamed when Beth agreed to the invitation. Beth noted and then dismissed what she thought might be a shared smirk between the couple. The afternoon was cooling slightly and the breeze on her wine-warmed face caught her attention more than a potential conspiracy.

“So . . . if there’s a slumber party in my future I have the perfect reason to make a stop at that cute bath shop I saw on my way here. Jessie, join me?” Beth offered.

“Absolutely! I’m thinking our bubble supply may be in need of replenishing. Let’s have it. Dan, we’ll see you back at the ranch around 6?”

“6 it is. I’ll have shrimp and scallops ready for your creative touches and if I see anything else that interests me, I’ll splurge for that as well.”

He offered the departing women cheek kisses and dismissed them to assume the bill paying responsibilities that Beth knew would be futile to argue over. She thanked him and gave his arm an extra squeeze.

The shopping was made more pleasant by the cooperating weather and the growing sense of camaraderie between the two women. They shared knowing glances at the overpriced lavender oat bars and exfoliating creams and eagerly racked up on the sugar scrubs and massage oils they found on the sales table. They visited a few more shops but soon agreed that their conversations were holding more of their attention than the various coffee blends and candle scents the stores offered so they made their way back to their respective cars.

Beth reminded herself of the directions to Jessie and Dan’s “bungalow on the beach” as they referred to their five bedroom wonder that they’d designed with the help of a gifted architect who had the good sense to listen to his creative clients. Their space was truly their space, each room exuding their warmth while simultaneously reminding guests that form and function can make for a happy home.

When they arrived, Dan was busily and happily absorbed in the kitchen prep with what Beth suspected was one of his own compositions setting the tone. The sound system was integrated into every room of the abode and it was a perfect accompaniment to the casual yet inviting furnishings that made the space a perfect place for entertaining.

“You two must throw some kicking parties,” Beth offered as she reacquainted herself with the open layout and searched for any new photos of the kids that might be mounted on the mantle or bookcase shelves.

The couple laughed immediately. “In our dreams,” Jessie responded. “We think we’re going to invite this couple or that one over and then schedules clash and we’re trying to pencil each other in for months away and it’s just too much trouble.”

“We’re the most extroverted hermits in town,” Dan said as he put the final touches on the spinach-laden spanakopita. “I was feeling a tad Mediterranean and so we’re in for a feta kind of evening. Any complaints?” and not waiting for a response he began to make cooking assignments. Beth was to take on the homemade hummus utilizing the processor and various ingredients he’d already laid out for her. Jessie got antipasto duty and he directed her to the serving platter and olives and cheeses he’d secured at the market.

Both women looked at their kitchen general and then each other before quietly agreeing to mutiny.

Arms folded, Jessie spoke, “We don’t work without fair wages. Where’s the wine?”

Dan laughed and pointed to the bottle he’d been chilling out of eyesight. “I just wondered how long you were going to let me go on before rebellion set in,” he said as he secured glasses.

“Please allow me to make the toast,” Beth begged. “To friends who take you in, make you smile, and remind you that life is to be embraced. Salud!”

They agreed with clinks of the glasses and affirmed the choice of crispy white. Then each set to the task ahead.

Dan was working on the seafood marinade that would season the grilled goodies when he proposed the timing for the fare. “I thought we’d munch a while on the antipasto and hummus. Then later, much later, we’ll grill and see if my attempts with puff pastry have been successful. What say ye, my fair maidens? Does this meet with your approval?”

The women lifted their glasses, concluded their tasks and took to the patio where a sunset awaited.

“Evenings like this are why I think Buddha had it right. Take in the moments,” Beth breathed in and weeks of tension seemed to leave her with the exhale.

“Buddha and the Celtics,” Dan offered. “I remember reading once that they too considered each ordinary act an opportunity to focus on the divine. I kinda like that idea. For instance, this meal, this sunset, this gathering of friends is sacred. No matter how you fill in the blank of what it is to be spiritual.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, seemingly in agreement that the setting sun was the priority.

As a chilly breeze wafted in from the sea, Jessie went inside momentarily to grab a couple of wraps and Dan retrieved the first courses to set before the women. They all ate and replenished their glasses with ease, peppering their conversation with a combination of life observations and what Beth began to observe was a growing tendency toward innuendo.

“Something about finger food makes me happy,” Dan grinned as he popped a balsamic vinegar covered cherry tomato followed by two olives stuffed with provolone.

“Your fingers make me happy,” Jessie offered as she reached to spread hummus on the pita and kissed him almost hungrily on the back of the neck.

“You two make a happy single woman almost wish she weren’t,” Beth said, creating her own mini sandwich of pita, prosciutto and what she assumed was a Havarti cheese.

“Weren’t almost happy? Or almost single?” Dan laughed at his weak attempt at humor with the telling kind of giggle that indicated he knew just how weak it was.

“Oh, Beth, I love that you’re single. I don’t mean to say that I want you to be alone but I don’t get the sense that you’re lonely. And with that, I live vicariously through you. When you call, I can’t wait to hear what’s up, who you’re seeing, what play you’ve seen, what restaurant you’ve panned or placed on your ‘must-return’ list, and on and on and on,” Jessie’s enthusiasm was growing as was the light in her eyes, highlighted beautifully by the glow of the candles Dan had lit earlier.
“Well, let’s just have a lovefest!” Beth’s laughter was matched by her two hosts and yet, she realized, not exactly.

“Funny you should mention that . . . “ Dan let the comment hang.

“I knew it!” Beth grinned with satisfaction.

“Knew what?” Jessie feigned innocence but looked happy that the undercurrent of conspiracy was about to be exposed.

“You guys are seducing me!”

“We’ve been found out!” Dan replied with mock guilt. “Should we beg forgiveness? Or turn the conversation in some new rather intimate directions?”

“Because, you know, Beth, we have no intention of damaging this friendship. Why we . . . .” Jessie was about to continue when Beth touched both their hands.

“Are you kidding me? I’m flattered. I’m flabbergasted. I’m thrilled. And I’m absolutely intrigued with the idea. You two must know that I find you both incredibly attractive. I’ve never made a secret of it. I’m assuming now that something I may have said might have led you to believe I’d be open to a night just like this. If so, you read that perfectly.”

“Thank goodness,” Jessie breathed a sigh of relief, returning Beth’s gesture with a touch of her own. She placed her hand on Beth’s cheek and brought it close to hers. Touching cheek to cheek, she held it there for only seconds and then turned to kiss her lifelong friend.

The kiss was soft at first. The two women took turns tracing each others’ lips with their tongues. Then they plunged into a long, satisfying kiss that had them both breathing a bit slower at its close.

Dan exhaled. “That was absolutely fucking beautiful.”

“She’s beautiful,” the women said together and smiled at how they once again were thinking along the same lines.

“So are you two new to this? You know I’m not. You’ve heard too many of my stories for me to pretend otherwise,” Beth admitted without hesitation.

“Actually, yes,” Jessie explained. “We’ve talked about it on and off for a few years but never have acted on it. Occasionally, when we take time away from the kids for a short vacation we’ve indulged in some of the night life and more than once we’ve watched each other receive lap dances. But for the most part, it’s been all talk. We decided it was time to open up the possibilities and there was no way I wanted to be with a stranger. I knew immediately when we agreed we’d do it, that you were the one. I only hoped that you’d agree.”

Beth blushed with the pleasure of being the object of someone’s attention. She felt a warmth and longing for her friends like none she’d known before. Still, she wanted to insure that they knew they were safe.

“Excited and aroused as I am by the idea, guys, I have to ask. Are you sure? This certainly changes things but I can also tell you that it doesn’t have to be awkward. Will I absolutely see you in a different light in the morning? Yes. Have I done this and remained friends, very close friends, with my companions before? Another yes. But you have to feel secure with me, or this is a very bad idea. So? Do you?”

Jessie looked at Dan. Dan returned her gaze and then replied. “I love Jessie with every fiber of my being and nothing is going to change that. But pleasure, and especially pleasure among friends, is a gift. I’m in.”

“That said,” Jessie noted as she stood and offered Beth her hand. “I’m thinking we could make use of those of bath products, right Beth?”

Beth took her friend’s hand and followed to the bath that almost measured the dimensions of her entire condo in the city. She noticed that Dan had lagged behind and was about to wonder where he had gone when he appeared with a new bottle of wine and the report that dinner would be slightly delayed.

They all smiled as Jessie lit candles around the tub that was deep and wide. Beth, suddenly unsure of herself with no function to perform, began to pour. Dan adjusted the sound so that the light jazz could be heard but not dominate the room. Though the music could be heard, the silence was a bit unnerving for all of them. Jessie broke it.

Reaching out her hand to Beth, “Hello, my name is Jessie and I’m feeling rather awkward at the moment.”

Beth laughed and while taking Jessie’s hand and drawing her close offered, “Hello Awarkard, I’m Suddenly Shy. Nice to meet you.” Then she drew her in for a kiss. The women were hesitant and sure at the same time. Their kiss was delicate and yet a hint of the hunger produced from a day of stimulating conversation, shared laughter, and good food and wine was evident as well. Jessie reached behind Beth’s neck and the kiss grew in intensity. They found a rhythm in the music and paused only as the guitar solo faded.

“Amazing,” Dan said at the kiss’ conclusion. “Beautiful and amazing.”

“We should hope arousing as well,” Jessie noted as she took her husband’s hand and placed his palm near her lips for a soft kiss there as well. Then she placed both his and her hands in the small of Beth’s back. “We’re yours to enjoy . . . if you’ll have us,” she added with a giggle.
Beth returned the gesture by observing that they all appeared to be in way too many clothes to enjoy the benefits of the steaming water. And she unbuttoned the top button of first Jessie’s and then Dan’s shirts. They took over as did she with her own attire and soon, they were neck deep in the suddenly fragrant small pool-like bath. They sat on the step that lined the sides with Dan nearest the European faucet and Jessie and Beth on either side facing each other.

He looked from brunette to blonde, from wife to friend, from athlete to curves and said a silent prayer of gratitude. The women noticed the change in his expression and Beth wondered aloud what he was thinking.

“I’m overwhelmed with a sense of how precious tonight can be,” he said. And Beth remembered again why she was always so glad to take them up on their invitations. She never felt outside their emotional intimacy. They both shared willingly and, she’d always assumed, honestly. She liked that Dan wasn’t trying to play coy. He was simply taking in the beauty before him. As was she.

Jessie kissed him. And once again, invited Beth to join her. Beth soon found the physical intimacy as easy as the emotional one she sometimes craved. They kissed and then they began to explore each others’ bodies with fingertips softly tracing the skin. Beth liked the sinewy limbs of her friends’ physiques. Both runners, they were taut and muscular. Jessie, in turn, focused on Beth’s breasts which easily filled Beth’s hands and large hard nipples that begged to be sucked. So she did. Dan took the left as Jessie enjoyed the right. Beth leaned back her head and felt the initial surge of pleasure before grabbing both their asses with her hands.

“My oh my oh my,” she breathlessly provided. “You two certainly take care of . . . yourselves.”

“And tonight, we want to take care of you,” they chimed in.

Jessie drank from the pool forming between Beth’s breasts as Dan lifted their friend to his knees allowing Jessie perfect access to kiss her way down to Beth’s hairline. Beth was half sitting, half lying with her head now propped on the side of the bath, a plush towel as her pillow. Dan continued to move from breast to breast as Jessie began to tickle Beth’s clit with her tongue. Dan soon moved his hands to cup each cheek of Beth’s ass. Then he moved his massaging forward so that he could finger her as Jessie continued her tongue play.

Beth responded with only moans and the occasional shift of her body to intensify the pleasure. She came with what felt like bolts of power surging through her.

They held her, softly caressing and kissing until she’d calmed and then she rose to kiss them both full on the lips before taking Dan’s penis in one hand and sucking on Jessie’s neckline as she fondled her friend’s smaller but still perky breasts. She pinched the nipple and Jessie’s almost squeak of pain/pleasure prompted her to squeeze and rub even harder. She smiled at the synchroncity of her movements. With her left hand she was squeezing Dan and with her right she had Jessie. Jessie was focused both on the sensations to her own body and now playing with Dan’s chest as well. Beth then took Jessie’s hand and together they alternated between his dick and his balls, each pumping, squeezing and delighting him. Meanwhile, Beth worked on the breast closest to her and Jessie received Dan’s fingered exploration.

Jessie came with quiet bursts of laughter which had all of them joining her. Then Beth noted that for her continued enjoyment, they might want to adjourn to the bedroom . . . or any other room and/or receptacle that might allow for maximum horizontal play.

They all agreed and rose from the water taking sips from their almost forgotten wine before toweling each other off with both the plush cotton and shared kisses.

The house was wired so that the music followed them to the bedroom and the soft glow of the candlelight was echoed there by the practically hidden fixtures that allowed for visibility without intrusiveness. The bed was of the king variety and the bedding was plump, soft and inviting. Earth tones of green and khaki with accents of chocolate made Beth think of the mints they had tasted earlier in the day at the coffee shop. How far they’d traveled since the afternoon, she thought without voicing.

Dan pulled back the covers and Jessie took Beth’s hand as they crawled to the center of the bed. Again the women kissed and explored each other’s now moist but for the most part dry bodies. Dan, on his knees and therefore slightly above them, placed one hand on each woman’s back and kneaded his way across their shoulders. Occasionally, he bent to kiss the tops of their heads. They then, looking first at one another with knowing smiles, turned toward his penis and Jessie concentrated on his balls while Beth’s mouth came down on the tip and then lower, much lower, to take all his penis in. The two women moved as though they were choreographed. Licking, sucking, taking pauses to kiss each other as then would then trade places and concentrate on yet another part of Dan’s anatomy. Though he tried to reciprocate, they soon had him in such a state that his previous flow of adjectival delight – amazing, beautiful, sensational, sensuous – had now been replaced by gutteral utterings.

When it was evident to Jessie that he was about to explode, she placed her hand in the small of his back and directed him toward Beth. Beth, though knowing the answer, looked at Jessie momentarily for an absolute sense of her approval, and Jessie smiled the longing smile of woman content and curious and ready to be sated with the visual she’d often wondered about. Facing one another, Beth and Dan began to rock with her straddling his lap. Jessie situated herself closely beside them and rocked with them as she occasionally bent to lick Beth’s lower back and tickle her ass with her tongue.

Dan’s orgasm was not a quiet one. He practically sang his praises. Beth, slightly surprised by the burst of energy quickly adjusted and waited the bursts of tightening muscles that would ensure her second orgasm of the evening as well. She grasped him tightly as he began to slow in his response and whispered, “Stay.”
He did and soon the waves of pleasure hit her with a magnitude she knew was intensified by Jessie’s continued kissing and kneading of her back and backside.

Jessie’s response to the scene was as Beth hoped. She laughed with contentment.

Dan, slower to recuperate than the women, mumbled, “Anyone actually hungry?”

The women giggled and pinched both his nipples as they exclaimed, “Absolutely! And you’re the chef!”

The marinade was citrus based, the grilling of the shrimp and scallops perfection and the spinach stuffed pastry was delicious if not exactly steaming with warmth. They fed each other, swapped stories of memories and mishaps in the bedroom and by the time the plates were clean, their sexual appetites were once again restored and they chuckled as each made their way to the bedroom for the second act.

The next morning, Beth awoke to the smell of rich coffee and she thought cinnamon. She heard Dan in the shower and noted that Jessie had provided a robe at the foot of the bed. She draped it loosely on her and padded her way to the kitchen. Jessie was humming and beamed when her friend entered the room.

“Good morning, dear friend. How did you sleep?” she spoke with just a tinge of amusement dripping from her words.

“Exquisite, and you?”

“I dare say that was the best lunch, dinner and now breakfast date I have ever had,” Jessie replied. “We simply must do it again some time.”

“Agreed,” Beth offered as she began to set the table. “Definitely agreed.”