E-Beth Ch. 03

"Let me call Teddy over here. If he's not comfortable, that's one thing. But really, you guys would only have to hold hands and kiss and whatever. Not like you guys haven't done it before."

Stella chuckled at that. "You're really going to let your boyfriend do this for me?"

"I'm your friend, Stella... more than just a friend... I'd do almost anything for you."

Stella immediately came around and hugged me. We'd agreed to try it out. After all, we could always stop the ruse at any time by explaining that they'd broken up. And then we'd called Teddy to ask him to pretend to be Stella's boyfriend. With the two of us batting our eyelashes at him, he really had no choice but to agree.

So tonight, not long after double-penetrating my best friend with a dildo and my boyfriend's cock, I kissed said boyfriend just before he left to "finish his date" with said best friend. And then I returned to my couch to catch up on TiVo. I'd been spending a lot of late hours at work this week, and I had quite the backlog to get through.

An hour later, Stella called me to say that the plan had worked without a hitch. Her roommates had all gushed about how Teddy was, quote, "sooo dorky-cute".

Ten minutes after that, Teddy called me to tell me he was back home and booting up World of Warcraft. His buddies had been waiting on him to do another raid.

I just smiled and unpaused the TV.

****

It was the following Wednesday when Stella came and knocked at my door. I was doing one of the things I hated most about this job: writing a report. And so I welcomed the interruption as she came in and closed the door behind her.

"Hey, E-Beth," she began, quickly pulling up a chair.

"What's up?" I knew it was serious... or juicy... given that she'd closed the door. Everyone knew Stella and I would chat in my office pretty frequently, but we usually left the door open since it was just idle gossip.

"I need another favor... with Teddy." Stella blushed. "My roommate Katie, she met this guy last weekend and he called her up to ask her out. She thinks he's cute and nice and all, but she's not totally sure about him yet. So she figured a double-date would be safer, and since our other roommate Nicky is single, she asked me to go with them. Well... me and Teddy..."

My eyebrows rose as I saw where this was going.

"So... uh... can I borrow your boyfriend? I mean, I know it's usually your Friday night, but Katie's a close friend from High School and I feel like I would be letting her down if I didn't do this for her. Plus, after just introducing Teddy a few days ago, I'm not sure if I want to say he's not available if you don't-"

"Relax, it's fine." I held my hand up to forestall any other "convincing" Stella needed to do.

"Really?"

I sighed in resignation, but came back with a wry grin. "Just don't wear him out. I'm gonna need him Saturday morning after delaying my weekly Friday gratification."

"Oh honey, I would never-"

I just waved, smiling humorously. "Just kidding..."

Stella leaned forward and patted my thigh. She gave me a flirty look and her green eyes sizzled. "We'll BOTH be there Saturday morning. I promise I'll make this up to you."

****

Friday came, but before Stella took Teddy out for the double-date, we girls met up at Monahan's as usual. It started off like any other Friday at the bar, with me, Stella, Audrey, and Paula bitching about work-related things and planning for the weekend. Audrey and Jin were visiting his parents, and she was steeling herself for the inevitable insinuations that they were taking too long to give her in-laws their grandchildren.

"I'm twenty-seven!" Audrey complained. "It's not like I'm over-the-hill already!"

Paula, believe it or not, had been dating a guy steadily for the past month. She'd spent the previous six months just playing the field, entertaining herself with a variety of men at different dates. But now the buxom blonde seemed to be settling down a bit, and she told us she'd have to leave early to prep for her hot date.

Stella giggled. "I know what you mean. I should get out of here soon."

Audrey was the first to raise an eyebrow. "What? Do *you* have a hot date, too?"

"Uh, well..." Stella stammered, her eyes darting over to me in alarm.

Audrey clued in immediately. "Ohmigod. You DO! Who is he? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Stella held her hands up. I smiled inwardly. Both Stella and I were starting to pick up the 'whoa' habit from Teddy. She looked at me again, as if hoping I would say something, but what could I say that would explain everything? 'Oh, I've been having a bisexual relationship with my boyfriend and with Stella. And as a cover for her roommates, we posed Teddy as Stella's boyfriend so now he's got to go out with her in public.' Yeah, THAT would work well.

Paula picked up on Stella's glaring at me. "Wait, does E-Beth know something?"

Stella immediately looked away, but now Audrey's inquisitive glare was on me. Stupid gossipy women. Couldn't they just leave well enough alone?

I sighed and shrugged. "Stella's going on a double-date with one of her roommates."

"But who's the guy you're going with?" Paula quickly asked.

"He's just a friend," Stella stammered. "My roommate's the one with the hot date, actually. She just needed a wingwoman since she doesn't know the guy."

"Ahh..." Audrey nodded, fully understanding the safety issue.

"But who's the guy?" Paula repeated.

"I set them up," I interjected. "He's a friend of Teddy's. It's nothing serious. Stella just needed a date and she came to me asking if I knew anyone."

"Is he cute?" Paula asked with a smile, waggling her eyebrows.

Stella blushed. "Well of course. You don't think I'd go out with just *anyone*, do you?"

"Ah-haahhhh..." Audrey tittered. "What's he like?"

"He's just a friend," Stella repeated, looking significantly at me.

"For now..." Audrey sighed. "Lots of couples just start as friends. What's he like?"

"I don't know," Stella stammered, clearly not comfortable with how this focus was getting back on her. "He's E-Beth's friend. Ask her."

Suddenly, all three girls were looking at me. Taking a deep breath, I just exhaled and stared into my drink. "He's just a guy. He's like Teddy, I guess." I took a sip and then shrugged. "It's just a friend date. Why don't you give Stella the Spanish Inquisition sometime AFTER they've gone out, and only if it seems to be going anywhere, alright?"

Audrey and Paula frowned. They really wanted to gossip and speculate more, but I had a point. If Stella hadn't even gone out with this guy yet, there wasn't much to talk about. And putting the girls off for another few days would give Stella and me time to come up with an explanation. If nothing else, we could claim that her date went nowhere and we'd never hear from this fictional "friend" again.

Ten minutes later, we all wrapped up. Everyone wished Stella and Paula good luck on their dates. And I returned home alone, my TiVo waiting.

****

I assumed the double-date went well. I say "I assumed" because I didn't know. Teddy didn't call me Friday night. Neither did Stella.

Then again, it was only 10:30pm. Perhaps they weren't even done with the date yet. I was alone and bored, so I decided to go to bed early. Yeah, there were some niggling doubts in the back of my head, but I dismissed them quickly. My boyfriend loved me and my best friend wouldn't betray me.

Still... I had kind of a hard time getting to sleep.

****

After tossing and turning for most of the night, I was awoken by the doorbell on Saturday morning. A quick glance at the clock told me it was 9am. I must have subconsciously tried to make up for the fitful sleep by adding hours in the morning.

In the end, I wrapped a robe around myself and endured one more doorbell ring before I finally staggered to the front door. A quick peek through the peephole showed Stella on the other side, looking bright and perky in her morning-cheery way. And when I opened the door, she happily greeted, "Good morning!" She then held up a Starbucks caddy with two cups and a brown paper bag. "I brought breakfast!"

My grouchy morning mood was momentarily pacified by the smell of coffee. I inhaled deeply and looked at my friend through heavy-lidded eyes. And then I stepped back and waved her inside.

We got to my dining table and sat down. The first sip of coffee did wonders for helping pry my eyelids into a fully upright and locked position. And after savoring the musky aroma and bittersweet taste, I sighed and managed a half-smile. "How'd it go last night?"

"Oh, it was *great*. Thanks for letting us go. Teddy was a perfect gentleman, and for someone I used to think was kind of nerdy, he's actually a very smooth conversationalist with a great sense of humor! I think he and I had an even better time than Katie and her date!"

I smiled, sort of. That niggling of doubt in the back of my head was creeping up to the front. But I pushed it down. Teddy loved me. And he and Stella were just friends.

"He's amazing, as I'm sure you already know," Stella gushed. "I mean, I know Teddy's the same age as me, but sometimes he seems so much more mature. He's got a calm confidence about him. And knowing everything I do about him, knowing what kind of body he's got under there and how well he knows how to use it... Well... I got pretty turned on as the night went on."

She giggled cutely, but I didn't really want to hear about it. So changing the subject, I commented, "Thought you guys would call me after it was done."

"We were going to, but the four of us ended up staying at this lounge until almost midnight. Teddy figured you'd have gone to sleep by then, and we didn't want to wake you. He promised he'd call you this morning, though."

I sighed. "But he's still not coming, is he?"

Stella sighed and shook her head. "He had that thing with his parents, remember? Believe me, he WANTS to be here." Stella grinned at me. "*I* want him here, too. We were dancing for hours... You already know how smooth he his with his hips. And we were both sooo horny last night. So worked up... I mean, I was half-ready to just strip him and mount him right there on the couch at the lounge!"

Stella was giggling, but I was scowling. I was wondering if she HAD mounted him at the lounge. Unlikely, given that they were in public. But I wondered if they'd fucked last night after the date. After all, it wasn't like they'd be doing something they hadn't done before. And I seethed inside thinking of Stella... fucking MY boyfriend... while I was home alone.

Stella was in her own little world for a moment. She'd pulled one foot up onto her chair seat, wrapping her left arm around it while holding her coffee cup and spacing out. I figured she was reminiscing about what a good time she'd had last night with my boyfriend. And after a few seconds, she bit her lip and looked over in my direction. "E-Beth?" she asked cautiously, still not quite seeing me, but staring at some point behind me.

"Hmm?" I asked, feeling the scowl in my voice as well.

She exhaled and blinked, looking down. "I know I shouldn't be asking this. He's your boyfriend, and I've promised you a million times I would never do anything to jeopardize your relationship. But..." she exhaled. "After last night, I got to thinking..."

My mouth was a hard-pressed line. "What?"

Stella was still too spaced out to notice the harshness in my voice. "Well... just as friends... buddies, really... Would you mind if Teddy and I slept together sometimes? Without you?"

I blinked. Inside, my heart was pounding. And a cold anger started welling up inside me. I knew it. *I knew it!* I hadn't meant to, but it was happening AGAIN.

Only then did Stella look up and catch the expression on my face. Her eyes popped open and she quickly raised her hands defensively, dropping her leg off the seat and sitting up straight. "Wait-wait-wait. We didn't do anything last night," she said insistently. "I swear to you. I would never go behind your back, honey. Teddy and I were really horny last night. If we'd thought you'd be awake... man, the three of us would have gone WILD. But we didn't. We couldn't. We would NEVER betray you."

I exhaled, a hissing sound escaping through my clenched teeth. That HAD been what I was worrying about, and while my concerns had not been completely erased, Stella's quick proclamation *had* allayed my momentary fears. "But you wanted to have sex?" I asked carefully.

She canted her head and gave me an honest, open look. "Of course. Teddy and I are lovers, there's no getting around that. And when two people who've been intimate together get aroused, it's only natural to want to do it, isn't it? But again, we didn't. We wouldn't. That's why I'm asking you now. I'm not saying that an opportunity like this will ever rise up again. I'm not saying I want to start going on solo dates with him. And I'm not interested in Teddy as a boyfriend. He's yours. I'm good with that. We're just friends. But... I guess... I just want to know if it WOULD be okay if something like this came up in the future. As it was, I had to go home and jill off like crazy just to sleep. And I imagine Teddy had some blue balls of his own."

I let out a long exhalation. Would it really be such a big deal? Just friends. They were just friends. And as long as everything was open and honest, shouldn't I be able to handle it? It wasn't like I was demanding monogamy from my boyfriend. Teddy had certainly fucked Stella enough times right in front of me. But still... I had my scars...

"Did I ever tell you what happened with me and Chad?" I asked slowly. I felt suddenly weary, and my chest was rising and falling as I panted, slightly out of breath.

"No... Just that you'd caught him cheating. But then the whole Grant thing cropped up right away and we never really talked about Chad."

I sighed. "It wasn't so different than this," I explained, gesturing to Stella. "I like girls; you obviously know this. Not romantically, but sexually they're just sooo... enticing. So while I was still with Chad, I invited this other girl named Melissa to join us from time to time." I snorted, looking over my friend. "She was kind of like you, actually: blonde, pretty, petite."

Stella blinked, a look of concern crossing her face as she started to realize where this was going.

"They started seeing each other behind my back. Guess our occasional threesomes weren't enough. I caught them. And it was over."

"E-Beth..." Stella quickly scooted her chair over to mine, then reached over and patted my leg. "I would never..."

"I know," I cut her off, the first hint of a smile tugging at my lips. I took a deep breath and then looked up into Stella's open green eyes. "I know you wouldn't. You didn't. You had the chance, and you and Teddy decided not to. You came to me and asked. Thank you for that."

I exhaled, feeling the rest of my anxiety draining away. I wouldn't project my fears onto my friends. A lot of things about the situation were similar, but they were also very different. Chad was a narcissistic moron. Melissa was a cute but trampy slut. Teddy was sweet. Teddy loved me. And Stella was my friend. She would never betray me.

Actually, this new situation was much more like my relationship with David and Amber. We were all friends. We all had a level of trust with each other. And while David and I had a very... harmonious... chemistry, we both knew our relationship wasn't a romantic one. Not anymore. And so Amber had faith in me. She had faith in her boyfriend, and now David was her husband. They even had a baby on the way. Their relationship had always been strong enough because they had faith in each other, and in me.

And I would have faith in Teddy and Stella.

"It's okay," I said firmly, reaching over and rubbing Stella's leg. "I give you guys my permission. If the opportunity arises, go for it. I want to see you both happy."

"Really?" Stella tilted her head and looked at me so sweetly.

"Really." I nodded. And then I grinned. "Just gimme the details when you guys are done, deal?"

Stella giggled. "Deal." And then she leaned forward, tenderly pressing her lips against mine. But instead of pulling back after a short peck, she lingered a little longer, massaging my lips before parting them open and slipping her tongue inside. She moaned softly and moved in closer, kissing me a little harder. And I found myself moaning as I kissed her back.

Abruptly, Stella pulled away and scrambled over to her purse. She quickly fished out her cell phone, checked the time, and then held down a speed-dial button.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

She just grinned at me and held up a finger. A second later, she chirped, "Teddy? Heyyy... Yeah, I'm at E-Beth's place. Remember that thing we talked about last night? Well, I think she needs to hear it straight from you."

Bewilderingly, Stella then handed the phone off to me, and I tentatively put it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Heyyy, E-Beth," Teddy said warmly. "Sorry I couldn't be there this morning. Believe me, I'd MUCH rather be there with you girls than here. My parents can be sooo stuffy. And I really miss you."

"I miss you, too," I sighed happily.

"Anyways, Stella and I talked about open honesty and things like that last night. I don't know if she's already talked to you about her and me, and we'll talk more the next chance I see you. But right now, *I'm* giving *you* permission to play around with her even when I'm not around."

My eyebrows perked up and I glanced over at the pretty blonde. "Really?"

"Absolutely," Teddy chuckled. "Of course, now I'm gonna be even MORE desperately aroused imagining the two of you together... But that just means I'm gonna nail you that much harder the next time I see you, babe."

"I can't wait," I breathed.

"Me, neither. Tell Stella not to wear you out completely. I'm gonna try and get over tonight if I can."

"Mmm... hurry, lover..." I cooed into the phone.

"I love you," he said warmly.

I nearly melted. "I love you, too."

We hung up. I looked at Stella feeling warm fuzzies in my stomach. And then once again she leaned forward and kissed me soundly.

"Well," she began breathlessly after pulling her lips off mine. Her hands were already working their way inside my robe, taking a firm grip of my unfettered tits. "I may not have Teddy's gorgeous dick, but I think it's time for me to get some more practice with that strap-on, don't you think?"

I giggled. "Sounds like a plan."

****

Stella and I made hot, sweaty, monkey sex-type lesbian loving that morning. She really WAS revved up after her double-date, and midway through she asked if it was okay if she fantasized that I was her roommate Katie a little bit.

It turned out, while Stella had been pretty sure she was fully straight before hooking up with me and Teddy that first time, she'd also had the stray thought of wonder about what it would feel like to kiss certain girls. One of them was her High School friend Katie, and now that Stella had been exploring her Sapphic side, it was inevitable that her thoughts would turn to other girls besides me.

I told her to go right ahead and fantasize. After all, we were just friends and I held no requirements of monogamy over her head. And then Stella began telling me about a sex fantasy she'd had last night, involving a foursome with Teddy, Katie, and Katie's date. The imagery only got Stella and me even hotter, and initiated a whole new round of monkey sex.

Afterwards, Stella returned home to hang out with her friends and chat about the previous night's date. Teddy got free and came to visit me after dinner. And then my loving boyfriend and I had our own version of crazy-monkey-sex into the wee hours of the night.

And then Monday night Stella and Teddy finally got their turn to be alone together. Stella had been jonesing for Teddy's cock all weekend, having gone without it for the first time since we started all sleeping together. She'd suggested a threesome, since it was the first weekend we hadn't done THAT, either. But I was making breakthroughs at work and even at 7pm, with the two of them pleading for me to leave the office and come meet them, I'd turned them down to finish what I was doing. Hey, I'm a Taurus. Steady, dogged persistence is what we do. It makes showering ourselves with rewards, luxuries, and excesses that much more satisfying, once we've earned them.