Threeplay

"Ethan! Please, let it go sweetie! I don't want to see the two of you fighting, please! Please?"

Ethan paused and considered. Damnit. There was no reason to listen to what she was saying. It was practically a standard, obligatory line from a movie. He couldn't help himself, she'd made a request of him, even if it sounded like she didn't mean it herself.

He sat back down and dug into his food, clearly distraught. Respect, he reminded himself. He was respecting her wish, even if she didn't mean it. Women like that, he told himself.

Chapter 9

"Yeah, she was pretty and intelligent. She doesn't compare to Alanis, I would choose her any day, but I didn't know Alanis back then. I can't really trash her too badly. I could pretend there were reasons I broke up with her, and there were definitely some issues from my perspective, but the truth at the time was... well. I'm still glad for how it worked out."

"I like your honesty Ethan. And I'm sure Alanis appreciates it too. Of course, I'm your girlfriend now, and I think your ex was a whore." She followed her statement with a sip from her wine.

Both Alanis and Ethan laughed.

"Oh, you do then dear?"

"Yes. She was ugly too."

"Oh, well now that doesn't review well for me now, does it?"

"No, doesn't. You were dumb."

They all laughed some more.

Alanis inquired, "So why did she break up with you then?" It was a nasty little thing to throw in, locking the discussion on a weak moment in his past. He saw the smile on her face, which meant she wasn't being mean, but as long as he was getting girlfriend privileges from Sienna, he would receive no protection from her wraith as 'the friend'. He couldn't complain about the fairness of the game she played, but missed the comfort he would ordinarily feel around her. Although he felt he did well most of the time, there were always occasions in social circumstances where he didn't know the best way to respond, and she could handle those few cases majestically. Now, the table was turned.

"You know why she broke up with me, I've told you."

"No you haven't! It sounds like even your girlfriend there doesn't know the answer to this, do you Sienna?"

Smiling and enjoying the useful lead that Alanis had given her, she played right along. "Nope. Not at all!" She shifted her words onto Ethan specifically, "Please, let's hear. Why did she dump you?"

Ethan sighed. He looked at Alanis with a grudging smile, unable to contain the thought of how sly she could be when she wanted to. He hoped her antagonistic approach meant that she felt free to enjoy her role to the fullest, not that she was trying to warn him he was collecting reasons to be broken in half later that night. He supposed that playing her role well meant doing exactly that -- not allowing him to know anything beyond what the character has to convey.

Alanis was enjoying the unusual role. It was an opportunity to act differently around Ethan than was usual. It was refreshing, sort of like seeing him from the perspective she had when she was first getting to know him. Although she would rather be able to know his deep, private thoughts, it was fun to have to guess again for a few hours. It was reminding her of all the reasons she loved him. It was also fun just to act, and play a part.

"Well. I never did understand it, to be honest. She didn't have much of an answer when it happened, either, something about the heart wants what the heart wants. That was about it. That, and another guy."

Sienna didn't think he needed her to play gentle when he was in the midst of enjoying the company of 2 women, so she giggled and swashed her arms around, fully animated, and teasingly commented, "Ouch! Got a little burn on you did you?"

"Yes, apparently." Alternating between pleasant thoughts of the present and serious, but no longer especially painful, thoughts of the past, he went on. "Yeah what the hell is that supposed to mean, anyway, the heart wants what the heart wants? I mean, I get that you have to genuinely feel an attraction and connection to someone for it to work out, I can see that. But if the heart is just this uncontrollable force that takes no input from anywhere but... I don't know, total randomness I guess, then why the pattern to what the heart wants? Why does the heart always want some celebrity, or some suave man who can dance in expensive clothes?"

Sienna thought to be a little gentler, but also figured this was 5 years past and that he wouldn't be too deeply hurt by a truthful opinion. She was typically the blunt type, not one to really sugar coat her statements. "She probably told you that just to soften the blow. It's one of those meaningless 'it's not you it's me' statements."

"Sure gets tossed around a lot. Besides, still, why the pattern? Why is it that men and women seem to be drawn to the worst of the opposite sex, not the best?"

Alanis chimed in. "Your idea of the best and worst is probably opposite of their idea."

"Yeah I suppose." He pondered the past for another moment. "Apparently, to have won her over, I would have had to behave more like that guy she eventually left me for. Maybe I could have manipulated her 'heart' into wanting what my heart wanted, at the time. A little more brute force, a little more animal appeal, I suppose."

Sienna took another sip of her wine. The laughter had trailed off a little as Ethan had returned to the past. She looked at both of them and decided it had been enough serious talk and a little more fun was due. She whispered into Ethan's ear. "Speaking of controlling your ex, I have something for you."

"Oh?"

Sienna handed him something small under the table. He wasn't sure what it was. He looked at her inquisitively. Sienna glanced away, ignoring him, confident he would figure it out.

Ethan thumbed with it. He didn't want to raise it to eye level because it was strange enough that it had been transferred under the table. It felt small, plastic. There was a knob. And a button. He pushed the button.

Suddenly, Alanis jumped. Ethan looked up. Alanis was muffled, strangely distracted looking. Ethan looked back and forth at the both of them. Sienna finally giggled, nearly dropping the wine from her mouth as she did. Alanis laughed in response, but then threw her head back and rolled her eyes slightly. She breathed a heavy breath and stared directly at Ethan, as if trying to communicate a feeling...

"I think your boyfriend is kind of slow to figure this out tonight, Sienna." She explained, with a slow, interrupted tone.

Suddenly it occurred to him. He pushed the button again. Alanis breathed a little gentler.

He looked over at Sienna.

He tried to minimize the dropping of roles by speaking almost in code. He whispered to Sienna, as he'd done many times throughout the evening to play the game to its fullest. "Oh my. That's an interesting touch! Might I ask the motivation behind this element?"

She shot him a sly grin, but didn't answer. "I have another one here, but that's if she starts moving in on my man. Yours is... well, nice. Mine, not so much."

Ethan wasn't sure exactly what that meant. A second remote? Well, he'd probably find out eventually, he figured. The dynamics of the evening were going to be very interesting, he figured.

"So, Alanis, do you think my boyfriend is an attractive boy?"

"Yes, he is." She said, shyly.

"Yeah, me too." She looked at him. Ethan felt a bit compressed. He loved the compliments and immense attention, but he really wanted to opportunity to take a time-out and check how Alanis was feeling about it. There were no pauses in the current game. Especially with Sienna holding a punishment button, apparently.

Then, Sienna really decided to play rough. "Ethan...tell me again why you love me so?"

Ethan looked down and took in the intensity. The game was progressing fast! He wanted to take a break after every sentence that was said so he could have a long, careful discussion with Alanis over how she felt, how she was taking it. Instead, Alanis would offer no sign of much of anything, and this was a completely unpredictable evening.

He supposed she could break role anytime she really wanted to, so it was probably a sign that it was all fine. He didn't have much choice but to play along. He turned the knob to its lowest setting and pushed the button before he began his response.

"Well, you are sexy, funny, kind, loving. There's so much to love about you Sienna."

Oh man, he was so worried about Alanis that he couldn't enjoy the game. But, Alanis would certainly be telling him to live it up, that this was for him. He turned up the knob a little and watched a smile grow on Alanis. He started to feel more comfortable, now it was for both of them.

"Kiss me, lover."

Oh, oh... Well, that's part of the game he figured.

He watched Alanis for any signs, and turned the knob up a nudge higher. At this point, it didn't appear that Alanis was in much of a position to pay any attention to what was happening on the other side of the table. And she was smiling, certainly not angry at the feelings she was having, willful or not.

He kissed Sienna. It felt hot, as hot as anything. Knowing Alanis was likely to orgasm soon, hearing her moaning almost above the sound of the restaurant, and the steamy kiss from Sienna, it was so much. He turned the knob down after the kiss ended. Sienna got up and motioned for a ladies' room break. The girls both vanished.

A few minutes later, Alanis returned.

"That was a pretty hot kiss you two had back there."

Ouch, that sounded like a warning to tone it down.

"I love seeing my friends form into happy couples."

Wow, ok, opposite. He pushed the button. She moaned, watching him.

Sienna appeared in the distance. She was fidgeting. He watched her. She wasn't exactly coming back to the table, like she was trying to look for something, or waiting for something. Suddenly, she dropped her keys and took a step over them. She turned around to pick them up. Her skirt started moving up her backside. Ethan watched, enjoying the peek at the extra skin of her thighs.

Ethan watched as the skirt rose towards its inevitable high point. Although Ethan, like almost all well-behaved and not-so-well-behaved gentlemen, often watched such opportunities to observe a little skin, the usual view suddenly changed dramatically. She wasn't wearing any panties! It was quick, over before he'd even processed what he'd seen. Damn, why do girls always make the tease so fast, he wondered. He yearned for a photographic memory, and cursed his own for requiring long exposure times. He took another deep breath in order to settle his rapid heartbeat, and Alanis smiled, knowingly, and laid back into the seat as a gesture that she wanted to enjoy herself.

Ethan cranked the knob up slightly to thank her, and accommodate her.

Then Alanis said, "Oh, Ethan, I brought you a little something."

Her hand came up on the table, in a knuckle. It looked like she was holding cloth, but her fist covered most of it. He reached out and she reoriented his hand as she handed it to him so that it would not be seen publically.

He retracted it and held it slightly under the table.

Sienna's panties!

Chapter 10

They walked back into the house. Alanis gently pulled Sienna towards the bedroom, smiling back at Ethan as she receded. She knew he would be confused and curious.

She asked Ethan, "Wait out here, please?"

Two hours passed.

He snuck up to the bedroom door several times, listening. He usually heard talking and giggling. Then he heard footsteps. He ran to get away from the door, not wanting to get caught spying.

Alanis emerged.

"Hi sweetie."

"Hi my love."

He'd been sweating it, to say the least.

"You did wonderfully." She said.

"I did? I thought I'd gone way too far, figured you'd be really angry and regretful that you'd set it up."

"Oh I got a little jealous. But, first rule of your game is that I have the highest say-so, and always come first, right? When me and Sienna came up with the dinner date idea, I told her it would be fine but there would be consequences. I told her the more she took advantage of being your boyfriend, the more she'd be punished when we got home."

"Wow... She... wow... First thing she thought to do was to kiss me? She isn't too afraid of you, is she?"

"When we got back here she explained it to me. She wanted to show me how much she loved me by pushing the limit quickly. She wanted to give me the right to punish her as much as I felt like, so that I would be allowed to do anything I felt like. Then she added in that she also wanted your affection, so it made sense to go after both."

"Wow. I'm speechless. So.. uh, what did you do to her...exactly?"

Alanis smiled. Instead of saying anything she lifted something up, a photograph. It was a photograph of a completely naked Sienna from behind, on all fours. A banana was sticking slightly out of her pussy. Alanis only flashed the picture long enough for him to see, then took it away. "You have your pictures... I get to keep one of mine. She was.. embarrassed. Horribly embarrassed. Still is. But, after I did it her, I reassured her. I massaged her for an hour, talked to her, giggled with her, and reminded her that I loved her too."

"Nice." He smiled. Nothing he could say would really express any part of what he was feeling, but that went without saying.

A few minutes later, Sienna emerged. Smiling but very humbled. She was smiling, but her head was angled down, as if she were a slave girl careful not to raise her head to high in the presence of the master. As she began to speak, it was clear she was very happy. They all chatted a few minutes and agreed they had a good time, and said goodnight. Sienna left for the evening.

Chapter 11

"So, you're seeing Ashton now?"

"I've been seeing him a little bit, yes."

Jeez. Their 4^th month together had been a downhill trend, to say the least.

"Were you..."

"No, no, I'm not the cheating type. I just had coffee with him a couple of times."

"So why tell me?"

"Oh, I wanted to be up front and honest with you. You know, Ethan... I'm just. I'm really not sure where I'm at right now. I can't decide what I'm doing. For us to stick together much longer means we're getting serious. Which, I think I want. But I'm confused, ya know?"

"Well. No, I don't really know in this case, but I can follow what you're saying."

"I'm sorry. I really am. You are such a great guy, you will take wonderful care of me. You're confident, smart, attractive. I think I'm just frightened, ya know."

"So why Ashton?"

"I don't know." Her head fell a little. "I think he's just very different from you, so I was trying to get some perspective."

Ethan pondered a while. "Well, I certainly can't really hold it against you that you had coffee with him. It was just conversation."

"Really? You are so good Ethan, you always give me my space. I really like that about you."

"Thanks." He smiled.

"So what makes him so different from me?"

"I don't know exactly. It's hard to describe." She paused a moment, trying to offer him a fair, thoughtful answer. "I think it's that he is really confident."

"Confident? So I'm not confident?"

"No... no you definitely have confidence too. I don't know, I really can't figure it out, I'm sorry."

Chapter 12

"So does she want to quit playing?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know." Alanis responded.

"Wow...well, I wish she'd communicate. This limbo place sucks."

"Yeah...some things are most easily communicated by just staying away a while, ya know."

"Well, she's not doing that either. Not completely anyway. She's just staying slightly away. Enough to keep things on hold, but not to stop them."

"Yeah."

"Do you know what went wrong?"

"We might have just gone as far as she wanted to go with the game."

"Yeah. That makes sense." He stood pondering a moment. "Yeah, that's probably what it is. Completely understandable."

He took it pretty well she thought. She knew Ethan consciously understood that the game was set to end at any moment, but she also knew he must have the kinds of feelings men have when going through such things. It must be hard, she figured. Sienna had told her a few times that she thought men were simple, their goals were obvious.

Alanis comforted him, and within a few minutes, had successfully distracted him.

Chapter 13

(2 months later)

Alanis sat beside Sienna. She'd been trying to get in contact with her for almost a month. Ethan wanted to just leave her be, figuring that if she wanted to avoid them, that was her prerogative.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't explain it. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to hurt any feelings. So I just stayed away."

"Well, I can understand that. I would have understood your feelings, too though."

"I don't think so."

"Well, tell me. I'm a good listener, and can take whatever you've got. Besides, I can see that you don't mean to hurt me, so you won't, not really. " She took her hand and reassured her. Eventually, she convinced her to speak up.

"I just... I don't know how to explain it. I was really enjoying the game. Playing the game was a lot of fun, all the happy emotions that went around, the flirting, the naughtiness. It was great! But Ethan... he just... something about him. I don't know. He's the man you love, Alanis, but... not really for me. I like him of course, but.. Ya know?" She looked up at her with a frightened look waiting for a reaction. Nobody liked bad news. Nobody liked this kind of news.

She didn't feel obligated to deliver this news, or to have to go through heartbreak over something that was fun, and watch people get their feelings hurt. The whole thing had always been for fun, so the heartbreak wasn't really fair. Heartbreak was for when people were offering more, they were just offering fun. Well, mainly. They'd been really kind to her, too.

Not in the money or gifts she'd once brought up, although they had been generous. No, they'd devoted a lot of time and consideration to her. More than she'd ever been accustomed to, even from boyfriends. They had been wonderful to her, so how could she feel no obligation at all? Sure, it was all for fun, but there was also a friendship and affection between them, and she should be keeping up that level of obligation, she supposed.

"I understand sweetie."

"You do?"

"Well, I don't understand why you would feel that way about Ethan, but I understand feeling that way."

"Ah, I'm glad. I was so afraid you would rip my head off."

"No, not at all! You've given us both more fun than we can express, and many wonderful memories. I expect you'll remain our friends and that we will all have even more to exchange in the future, no game required."

"Is Ethan hurt?"

She paused a moment. "Yeah. He is very fond of you. But, he is ok."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be!"

"Well.. I feel guilty, anyway. I hope you don't hate me for it."

"No need to worry."

They sat in silence for a minute, beside one another, in Sienna's bedroom. Alanis let out a deep sigh. She'd so hoped that Sienna wouldn't feel that way. That it was just some silly misunderstanding, she'd heard someone say "jerk" when they'd really said "joke" or one of those kinds of things. She so wanted the game to continue, they'd all had so much fun.

But she understood, too. Sienna was single and would need to move on. They'd all known that. It was inevitable. But, it had only been 3 months since that first evening when she'd introduced Sienna and Ethan. So brief was the joy to be had.

She sighed again.

"Well. I did have one thing I wanted to say to you."

"Oh? Yeah, go ahead, I deserve it, let me have it...I've been—" Alanis cut her off with a gentle finger to her lips, followed by a hug.