Threeplay

Chapter 1

Alanis and Sienna walked up the driveway towards the house. Sienna was nervous. She really wanted to make a good impression, although she wasn't sure why. She didn't know this man. It was all because of Alanis, it had to be. She wanted so much to win her over.

They rang the doorbell, despite this being Alanis' own home. Sienna waited, fidgeting a bit, but reprimanding herself for doing so. She took a deep breath, and her body settled, just in time. A man appeared at the doorway.

Ethan opened the door and smiled.

"So, you must be Sienna! Alanis has told me about you. Wow, you look gorgeous!"

It might seem like a crass statement having just met. But, Sienna was dressed up. Alanis had told her she needed to look her best for the introduction, and so Sienna had put her best effort in. Her dress was expensive and fancy enough to be a prom dress, although it had a more elegant look appropriate to a 24 year old.

Sienna had black hair and blue eyes, an unusual mix of light and dark features. She was white, but slightly tanned. She wore a necklace with a red pendant, complimenting some carefully chosen orange earrings. Her entire look carried a theme with it, fiery or intensity, Ethan thought. In any case, nothing was left unintentional. Her natural beauty was the predominant feature of her aura, but every detail not augmented was as consciously done as everything that was.

Why was she so nervous? Guys were simple. He had no reason not to like her, she was attractive, or at least she thought so most days. Men have simple goals -- they want sex, sometimes power. They might take a myriad of actions, but everything was explained by bearing in mind their end goals. Even, she thought, things that seemed so disconnected from sex, she usually found the complexity was inside herself not in the man. It was complex for her to comprehend why a man would orient the most benign, non-sexual things in their life to sex, and at those moments she felt at a loss to understand men. She had discovered that it was just a challenge for her to understand how important sex was to men, not that those things were any different from the overt actions.

Ethan opened the door for the attractive girls and beckoned them in. Sienna and Alanis crossed into the large, carpeted living room as Ethan closed the door and cringed. He'd not been able to help himself. He had made a point not to compliment her so openly, so quickly. He had made a solid point to go against his nature, or at least constrain it. He knew he couldn't really go against it, so he had to hold it in check just long enough that the girl would develop some feelings for him before letting it out.

If he couldn't have delivered something mean at her, at least he could have withheld the compliment! He was frustrated with himself. But, another lesson he had learned over the many years was not to immediately destroy his own confidence over his perceived mistakes. As he caught himself, his thoughts nearly drifted even deeper into the matter. For a moment, memories of his thoughts recurred. He tried to remind himself that this woman was a sexual object, and he shouldn't be caring about whether he'd made a mistake at all.

The girls sat down on the couch, giggling amongst themselves immediately. Alanis was full of smiles, and kept taking quick looks over towards Ethan, watching for his reactions. She too was in a brand new dress, and was waiting for her turn with a compliment. Alanis was a remarkable woman. In one of many ways, she had developed immense control over the jealousy other women would not be able to contain. She had let Ethan, her husband, compliment Sienna's elegant dress without a word about her own and not let it affect her at all. Her control was quickly rewarded, as Ethan approached her with a smile that told her more than Sienna's compliment.

She saw how happy she'd made him, for more than just the beautiful dress. She saw the excitement she had achieved, she had created. She stood up and took a step towards him as he entered the living room, still beaming towards her.

Ethan caught the chance to take in Alanis' appearance. She was wearing an off-white dress, slightly beige colored. He supposed her theme might be angelic, which she certainly looked, but the off-white was probably an intentionally step that said she doesn't actually think herself angelic and therefore conceited. The beige also matched her skin tones nicely, and gave the thought of natural, or skin, without actually exposing any. She wore beautiful gold earrings that nicely augmented the appearance, highlighting her face as the pinnacle of the outfit, which it certainly was. Her light freckles made her appear perfect in any outfit to Ethan's eyes.

The compliment came, whispered in her ear. It made her tingle. She no longer even needed the affirmation, but enjoyed it nonetheless. With her torso obscuring Sienna's view, she reached her hand towards Ethan's pants, and felt the large bulge. He smiled, and she smiled slyly back, suddenly feeling very satisfied.

She was glad he approved. They'd spent the entire evening primping up just so that they could introduce Sienna to Ethan. And it was not just their typical Friday night primp session either.

Chapter 2

(Five years earlier)

Ethan sat across a dinner table from a young redheaded girl named Sherri. She was talking about some of her experiences. Ethan was becoming distracted. He couldn't help but ponder his luck at having a date with this girl. So many men would kill to be in his shoes now. He was excited.

He suddenly realized he had been missing the last few things she'd been saying. "Girls like a good listener above all else" he reminded himself. He liked to remind himself of that, because he felt he was naturally a better listener than the average guy, an advantage he held. Of course, he was slightly failing in it at the moment, as his thoughts digressed from actually listening to her.

He tried to rejoin the stream of conversation without letting on his miss. She was talking about religion! Oh boy. This could be tricky. No man wanted to lose out on a pretty girl over something like religion, not on a first date!

She continued, "I don't see it that way." She paused for effect. She had some skill in presenting herself, he observed. "I just don't think God cares that much if we say it. But I think what the bible actually means is to use his name to justify your own actions."

He wasn't sure what she was getting at exactly. But, this was a good chance to reclaim some of the lost discussion.

"How do you mean?" He inquired, looking for clarification on more than just her last sentence.

"Well, take a lunatic that goes and straps bombs to himself, then blows up an abortion clinic. The next day the police find a handwritten note explaining that he 'did it for the Lord!'. Maybe the bible means to say that this guy shouldn't be attaching his actions to the Lord's name. Maybe God doesn't want some nut who thinks he has God all figured out going out and murdering people and saying it was for God's cause. Maybe that's what 'taking the Lord's name in vain' is supposed to mean."

Oh shit, Ethan thinks. Whether or not they are agreeable ideas, this girl certainly has some creative thoughts going on. That makes her an even hotter commodity. How many hot chicks actually think too? She might not appreciate the stereotype he just made, he observes. No, actually, she probably agrees with that stereotype, hot chicks seem to resent other hot chicks even more than guys do. What the hell, Ethan, if there's anything this girl is thinking its why is this dumbass just staring at me instead of saying something! Stop observing on how this girl thinks of other hot girls and get back to the discussion before she gets up and leaves!

"Yeah, I'd never really thought of it that way. That's a really original thought." Hmm, a compliment on her thought. Not sure that's the right way to go. Need to show her that I'm a thinking man myself. "This is a really nice restaurant, don't you think?"

Ethan scolded himself. Damnit man, get it together! This girl's phone is ringing as we speak with hotter guys than myself, and I just blew it, again? Damn.

"Oh yes, it's very nice. I like the soft lighting in this place, the art, very romantic, and the food is delicious!"

Ethan smiled. Alright, he'd done good. She liked his choice of restaurant. Wait... The food is delicious. Ah, hell, she's been here before. In fact, she said that without looking around. Damn, she's been here before, a lot. Man, you're losing here. Of course, Ethan was a thinking man. He had lots of original thoughts. But, nothing was coming to mind just then. He tried to channel his friend Mark. Mark... What would Mark do? WWMD, brother. Mark would have something pre-rehearsed, that's what Mark would do. He'd have some intellectual discussion prepped and ready to go. Fuck. In fact, Mark would have today's headlines prepped before a hot date, as well as insight on them from several expensive sources. Ethan had read the headlines, and certainly had some original ideas on them, but didn't think that he had any kind of deep thought on immigration reform that might impress.

"So, do you bring all your dates here?" She asked, smiling lightly. She was still into him, he observed. Or at least, smiling. His myriad trip ups had not cost him the night yet, there was still hope. Ok, focus a moment. Pause, slow down. You are an attractive man, Ethan, you scored this date in the first place after all! You can do this, self.

"Only the remarkably attractive ones. Perhaps I should look at the menu and figure out what kind of food they serve?" Nice move, he thought to himself. Slick. James Bond style compliment, way to go.

Fuck, but it was still a compliment on her appearance. The hot ones don't respond well to that. He scolded himself again. He never could figure that out, why the hot ones responded so poorly to being told they were hot. Guess it bores them, hearing it often. Or because they don't care that men care. Oh well, another fuck up.

Chapter 3

Ethan was nervous but hopeful. Alanis and Sienna could be expected any time. They were supposed to arrive an hour ago, so given their instructions to primp up again, they would be about an hour late, he figured.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. He smiled and let them in. They were excited! He was really glad. Sienna had gotten to know him for 15 minutes, almost a week prior. Many women had discarded him in far shorter times than that, and this time the girl was already aware that there were limited rewards in this for her. He wasn't going to be offering her marriage, or security, or any of those things. He was lucky for Alanis, she was the only reason that Sienna could be interested at all.

Both girls looked amazing. Ethan held back the compliment this time, although as they walked across the house he realized his 2-minute smile had probably paid the compliment just the same. He tried to scold himself, "piece of meat", he reminded himself. He knew that wouldn't stick. But at least it reminded himself to control his outward appearance.

This time they would have almost an hour together. He was excited to get to know this girl that he might soon be making love to. But, he was nervous too. Tonight he'd had to reciprocate, he cooked. He was nervous that they'd like his food. Most people did, but he'd also encountered a few that just didn't like the particular dish he'd prepared and it flopped. So many random ways to fail, he thought to himself.

They sat down at the table as Ethan brought the food over. Sienna thought it looked wonderful, and told him as much. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Sienna started with something unexpected. "Alanis told me more of the rules of this game tonight."

That was more direct than Ethan had been expecting. Talking about it openly? In his discussions with Alanis, it was apparent that talking openly was to be avoided. Well, he hadn't raised it. Go with it, he thought.

"Oh she did?" Ethan smiled towards Alanis. "And what do you think of these rules, and of this game?" He offered playfully.

"It's exciting." She said and smiled, making direct eye contact. She was locking onto him, not to compete with him or out of anger, nor for the critical nature of what was being said, but to create intensity. She was forcing a connection earlier than was natural, which inevitably made everyone feel different than an ordinary getting-to-know-each other session. It helped create a feeling that this was going to be a special bond.

Besides, if she was going to tease, she wanted it to be obvious that she was. She'd had many long chats with Alanis, usually in her own bedroom where they liked to gather and chat. She'd learned a lot about Ethan from those secret sessions. She'd learned that he had a habit of questioning everything. He'd observe something might have been said as a flirt, and tuck it away for further analysis because he couldn't be sure until he could ponder it later, in private.

By the time she'd heard such things from Alanis, she'd already become very interested in the game, and the process of considering how she wanted it to go was well underway. She'd decided she wanted to tease rather obviously to accommodate his resistance to believing his ears, but that she'd hold it at that level for a long time before escalating any further.

"I'm glad you like the idea." He responded, fully engaged, now.

"Yes, I think it's going to be a lot of fun to play. Alanis didn't tell me how the game ends, but I suspect she doesn't know herself." Sienna took a bite into her food, watching Alanis for her response.

"The game fades the longer you play it, so it doesn't really have an ending." Alanis explained. "It ends however the players make it end."

They were all silent for a moment. Ethan was smiling slightly. The girls were intentionally hiding smiles so as not to tip their hand, holding inside the very positive thoughts that everyone would enjoy knowing -- and would as the game progressed. Ethan was feeling comfortable, relaxed. He sensed that Sienna was toying with him from the unusual way she was looking at him so much. It was a nice feeling, some reassurance that she was enjoying herself and wanted to have fun with him. He wanted to start having some fun too. He applied his masculine voice, having a natural sound of serious importance, to start into something that he knew was nothing but game. "Thank you both for dressing up so nicely. And I especially like your...perfume."

Sienna's eyes drew wide for a split second. He knew? She was almost instantly blushing. She quickly concealed her surprise, but her heart rate wasn't going to slow down anytime soon.

"Did you enjoy the shopping?"

"Nothing like getting to spend someone else's money!" She said, careful to wrap it in a joking tone so as not to be thought a gold digger. After a pause she started to feel self conscious. She thought they knew she was joking, they smiled in response, but she'd still said it. She had developed a "social habit" to avoid clarifying her statements and to resort to turning the discussion on others when she felt the need to -- clarifications displayed lack of confidence. She inquired, "Do you feel like you are buying time with me?"

"No, that's not how I feel about it. Although I'm sure some people would see it that way."

"Why don't you?" She kept a stern tone. Inside, she was quite nervous about the line of discussion she'd gone down, not really wanting to impart a negative tone to the festivities. To Ethan, it sounded like a very serious concern that she needed to get out of the way.

"Well, for one thing, because you and Alanis talked about all of it before you knew there were any spending involved, so it's not like you are doing it for the gifts. Another thing is that the gifts are not things you get to keep, aside from a bit of clothing that would go to waste otherwise. As for me, well there's several reasons I don't feel like I'm buying you."

"Such as?" She was making lots of eye contact, although not locking. She was still trying to connect with him, and keep the tension high. Alanis thought the whole interaction was highly erotic, being the only one of them that had an innate sense of what both of the other felt. She knew Sienna's secret thoughts from their private, girly discussions, not to mention from being able to relate to her, being a girl. She knew Ethan's private thoughts from their very intimate marriage. She knew him well, and he didn't hide his thoughts from her, so she had come to learn to know what he was thinking in many situations without needing to interact with him directly. He nonetheless managed to surprise her at times.

Alanis was a little nervous by Sienna blunt questioning. Hoping Ethan didn't say anything that would offend her during her serious interrogation. But, she also knew Sienna didn't object to the spending, she had enjoyed it so far and was clearly looking forward to more shopping.

"I'm generous by nature, at least with people I respect and like. My friends can vouch for that. Some of them don't offer me much of their time in trade, and I remain generous. At least I feel that way. And, having fun requires money. You spend money to go to the movies and be entertained, not sure that this is so different if the money is used for us all to have more fun and not a gift or trade."

"In the end you are spending the money on me, though, and getting my time." She posed.

"Well, true I suppose. I don't respect you any less, and I don't feel any different for it, so perhaps it is a matter of perspective?"

"I think I can agree with that." She said, glad for a satisfactory agreement that allowed her to close the subject.

They finished eating, talking about softer topics for a bit.

After dinner, Alanis suddenly became unusually direct as well. It was something Ethan had never witnessed her do before and threw him very off-guard.

She said, "This food was delicious, and is a great aphrodisiac. Now I'm aroused and want to take you to bed, my big strong man. Sienna is going to have to go home now."

All were in shock now. Sienna was shocked by the situation, so far from what she'd experienced before. All the years people spending learning how to interact with people, and especially with the opposite sex, and in this environment almost all of it was meaningless and not applicable. It gave her a fresh feeling, like this was another "experience" that you can never be prepared for and that will always be memorable.

Meanwhile, Ethan was shocked by the grand statement made so openly in front of another, so unusual for Alanis. And Alanis was shocked that she had gotten it out without showing how nervous and scared she was to do it.

Ethan was left almost speechless. He smiled in acknowledgement and that was about all. Sienna smiled teasingly, trying to overcome the discomfort and nervousness she felt and play the game to its fullest. She figured there would be time to feel nervous and worry about messing up later, but that during the few moments that the game was on, she owed it to herself to not get bogged down in worries.

Ethan left the room shortly and Sienna and Alanis started walking out. The girls chatted and giggled a while outside. Ethan waited patiently, but was more aroused than he could ever remember being. He couldn't wait for Alanis to come back in.

Sienna began driving off, and Alanis re-entered. "So, you liked her perfume did you?"

"You know I did." He smiled widely. "Tell me how it went? Please?"

Alanis smiled, biding her time. She wrapped him in an erotic embrace while she spoke.

"Well... We were getting ready, in the bathroom. We'd been giggling and teasing each other, she was quite clearly excited and anxious for tonight, to see you."