3 Women, 3 Men, 3 Days

By the time she stepped out of the elevator into the lobby, she found herself easing into hotel mode. The ubiquitous carpeting, dryness, and freshened air movement called to mind her giving of presentations, and having high-tech conversations with peers. That didn't seem to square with thigh muscles strained from erotic exertion, and the lingering feel of oxytocin. She found her current condition, however, to be a major upgrade.

About a dozen tables were occupied in the breakfast room. Corinne and Sonia were at one end, Del and Mac at the other, with the self-serve area in the middle. The men and the women could talk without the other group overhearing, although strangers at other tables might not be so lucky. Doris waved to both groups, and went directly to get a tray and load it.

Soon, Del joined her. She gathered he was using the need to refill his coffee cup as an excuse. "Doris! How are you this fine morning?" he asked, oversmiling.

"Wonderful, thank you!" she chirped. "It's so nice to enjoy the energy of vibrant youth. And how are you?"

"Surely not at your level, but fine, thank you."

Ben, shambling, approached with a tray and said, gravel-voiced, "Could vibrant youth please put this cup under the coffee spigot?"

"Why of course!" she said, taking it from him. She knew he was acting as much as she was, and the act took on a life of its own. Del was in stitches.

Soon, with plenty of melon slices and a goodly load of scrambled eggs to go with her coffee and orange juice, she headed for the women's table, first sharing a wink with Ben.

Corinne smiled as Doris sat, and said, "Is there anything left of him?"

"He'll be fine," said Doris, scooting her chair closer to the table.

"You're glowing even more than we are," said Sonia. "Do you need us to help you pull back?"

Doris saw that Sonia had bags under her eyes. Corinne, as before, looked perfect, skin absolutely smooth, which gave Doris something else to envy.

"What should I pull back from?" asked Doris.

"Infatuation," said Sonia. "Remember what Corinne said about brains and glands?"

That set off a small tremor in Doris's back-brain, but she was calm as she said, "I think I'm in control." When Doris said 'I think,' it wasn't a qualifier. Her thinking was what she trusted most.

"Anyway, it's a good thing we slept in pairs," said Corinne. "That'll keep anyone from tracking who did what to whom, and how much." She took a bite of toast and added, "But I think you and Ben might be in the lead."

This only triggered Doris's reflex to find all the data on that, and analyze it.

***

"Certain people seemed very slow to wake up," said Del, "so the rest of us worked out the schedule of special events. The first one, perhaps early this afternoon, will feature Mr. McCloud. He has selected the participants, and will include the innovation Ms. Latimer created for me last night, so all three ladies will have tasks throughout the event."

Mac said to Ben, "You can catch up on your sleep then." He forked a quarter of a waffle so as to fold it in half, and got it into his mouth.

"Later, perhaps after dinner, it will be Ms. Tolbert's turn," said Del. Ben got the sense that Del enjoyed being officious. But after yesterday, the men probably enjoyed everything. "We at this table will of course be at her service. Between now and then, Mr. Hoberman, please ensure that she still retains a modicum of interest in this activity."

"From what I've seen," said Ben, "that interest may be an inexhaustible resource."

"Your opportunity, sir, will be early Thursday. Have you given thought to what you would like done, and by whom?"

"Not as yet," said Ben, raising his coffee cup, giving as good as he got. He was, after all, an administrator. "I will give the matter careful consideration, consult with the participants, and make a decision in due course. Will it meet your schedule if I inform you later today, in our common area?"

"That would be excellent, sir."

"Y'all better pack more protein," said Mac, abreacting from them. "See them ladies over there? Figurin' out where they're gonna bury us." He picked up three strips of bacon together and chomped off half of them.

"And, to conclude the festivities, we will be at the service of Ms. Grushkin." Del forked up a slice of ham, chewed, swallowed, and said, "Mr. McCloud is quite correct about our dietary requirements. I can only guess what Ms. Grushkin has in mind."

"I look forward to it," said Ben. He held up his cup. "Gentlemen, I propose a toast. To the ladies: May they let us leave here in one piece."

Mac raised his orange juice. "Or send us to the morgue with smiles on our faces."

Del hoisted a water glass. "Or decide that we're a resource worth preserving."

***

There were now no other occupied tables between the three women and the service area, so Corinne spoke more openly, but quietly. "Del is thick, Mac is long, and Ben has that up-curve. And they all know how to last a good long time. I made sure they'd all be here." She savored a pineapple chunk, then added, "You're welcome."

"I've explored Ben's capabilities," said Doris. "Face-to-face is great with his curve, on those spots in the front. But then I took him in doggy and reverse cowgirl. Even with the curve pushing away from the front spots, he did just fine. Slower build, but excellent results. Maybe hitting that deep-spot-lower."

Corinne blinked. "I never tried that. We've always been happy face-to-face."

Doris sneered. "You think he's just a side piece."

Sonia asked, "What do you think he is?"

Doris couldn't cruise past that one. Her fun facade slipped away. "A nice guy and a great lover," she said. "Maybe I'll know more later."

"Anyway," said Corinne, "this might be a good time to get to know each other better. Or I could give you some hints on Mac." Cocking an eyebrow at Doris: "Guess I'm not an expert on Ben."

Doris decided that she should address some of her unknowns, and Sonia's questioning gave her a focus. "I am curious about you ladies," said Doris. "Del's told me plenty about you, Corinne. Sonia, you said you're a free-lance writer. So you pretty much have to work all the time, right?"

"I'm always looking for the next gig." Sonia said. Doris suspected that Sonia was trying to read her.

"Is writing about local business enough to keep you going?"

"I mentioned that because it has my name on it, and it's published in general media. Most of what I write is for specialized audiences, sometimes with no byline."

"Will you write while you're here?"

"I brought the laptop, but I don't have any pressing deadlines. And I've been really distracted."

Quickly: "Do you write sexy stories?"

Sonia smiled, with a slight head-shake. "Oh, sure. I just had this great idea, about people who go to a hotel and have loads of sex. I could call it 'Six Characters in Search of an Orgasm.' Is that the kind of thing you like to read?"

Doris continued, only dimly wondering why Corinne was snickering. "I've done things here that I might regret if word got out. The words 'free-lance writer' have me worried. Not sorry."

"Tell you what," said Sonia, burrowing in her purse. "I'll give you something to keep me honest." She set a business card from a church on the table. "I ghost-write, edit, and proofread their newsletter and blog posts. Nice steady work, and I wouldn't want to lose it. They aren't haters, even okay with gays. But if it went public that they're paying a shameless hussy who plunges into orgies, I'd scramble to make rent and my car payment."

Doris looked at the card for a moment, then said, "You don't know us well enough to trust us with this."

"What matters to me," said Sonia, "is that you don't feel bad about me. I want us to be friends."

"Is this a white church?" asked Corinne.

"Mostly."

"Thank you for not stating that most of your orgy mates are black."

"Like I said, they're not haters. Maybe hypocrites, because they might secretly envy me if they knew about this."

"Thanks," said Doris, smiling as she pocketed the card.

Corinne cleared her throat. "Maybe you give the card back."

"I will, after I do a little checking." Doris looked neutrally at Sonia. "I do want to be friends. So the sooner I'm done, the quicker that can happen." To Corinne: "Why did you laugh?"

"The Pirandello reference."

Doris looked blank.

"You can check on that too," said Corinne.

***

"Mac, how would I find your music?" asked Ben.

"By listening when I play," said Mac. He hadn't made much eye contact with Ben, and didn't now.

"Anything I could download?"

Now Mac looked at him. "You don't have to act interested."

"I'm not acting. I follow the local music scene."

"Too bad you weren't drivin' around ten years ago, when I was sellin' my CDs on the street." Mac shook hot sauce on a mound of grits. "Gave that up, because everybody threw out their CD players."

Del put in, "I hear you get plenty of session work. You do okay."

Mac's look at Del was harsh. "Cory puts a smiley face on everything."

Ben spent more time than necessary on his coffee intake, looking over the rim. Del was silent for a moment, looking at Mac, then said, "Sometimes she does," and returned attention to his food. Ben had a hunch that Del hoped the waters would calm themselves.

They ate in silence for a while. Then Del tried, "This is our chance to get to know each other better."

"What I'm here for," said Mac, glancing at other tables within earshot, "Ain't nothin' to do with men."

***

The six arrived back at their string of suites in what Doris had defined as Mood Two: Fully dressed, willing to interact non-sexually. Del gathered them at the bar in the common room. Doris and Ben stood side by side, and he moved his hand to encircle hers. She got a little thrill and also a caution flag. Right now, she thought, would sex be less dangerous than simple affection?

"We're all eager to continue the festivities," said Del, "but today we're here a lot longer, and even the most ardent lovers should pace themselves. God forbid that we should tire of each other. You may all do as you wish, but I'm going to take some time to check e-mail and do some work. Then I'll go to the exercise room to overcome the effects of last night." Del smiled, without leering, and the others did the same.

"You may keep your phones," Del continued, "if you need them to go online or perform other tasks. Even while we are dressed, please respect and uphold our privacy, and don't do anything visual." He looked at Doris and Ben. "If you want selfies, please leave the building and use a background that doesn't show where we are."

Doris said, "No need," while Ben shook his head.

There was general concurrence on following Del's schedule, with Mac saying that the pool and jacuzzi looked inviting.

As the group dispersed, Doris asked Ben, "You need some time alone?"

He nodded. "A little. Same reasons as Del's, and I also need a shave. I haven't used my solo room yet. Can I come in and get my suitcase?"

"Uh huh," she said, smiling. "Will you come to the exercise room? We can show off for each other."

"Sure."

Once Ben had his suitcase closed, Doris fingered her personal phone and said. "Hug and kiss, ten seconds."

They really enjoyed it, and resented the alarm. But Doris drew back and said, "That'll have to do until we get to conversation and tryst."

He opened the door and said, "Easy for you to say. You can still walk normally."

***

Several people were already in the exercise room, so the six used the available equipment without interacting. After switching to swimwear, they moved on to find young kids in the pool, having loud fun. The jacuzzi was unoccupied.

As the ladies immersed themselves in the jet-bubbled water, Doris observed that they were all wearing two-piece suits. "Bottoms stay on?" she murmured to the others.

"Unfortunately," muttered Corinne.

"I won't even shove it aside," said Sonia primly.

Doris smiled at her and said, "I can be friends now. I'll give you back the card upstairs."

"Recycle it, I have more," said Sonia.

Doris turned to Corinne. "Theatre of the Absurd. Maybe surprising and important sixty years ago, but it hasn't aged well. You know, Pirandello."

"You read the whole play?" asked Corinne, bemused.

"I got the gist. At least 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' made more sense than Ionesco's stuff."

Then Sonia said, "The next time I need to look something up, if you're around, I won't bother going online."

"I get paid for this, Sonia."

"Incoming," rumbled Mac's voice. He moved smoothly but still splashed as he sat. The ladies proceeded to tickle-tease him.

Doris looked at the pool, where Ben was attempting to swim laps despite a randomly moving game of Marco/Polo. She tended to dismiss anecdotal 'differences' between the races, but whites were clearly raised with fewer qualms about swimming than blacks, whether there was any substance to claims related to body fat. Reluctantly she saw that this could be one of many things making...what Sonia had called 'infatuation'...something Doris would have to think through. Could she and Ben really bring their worlds together? She had friends and colleagues of all races. She had become very hot for Ben. But...

Since the joint revelation last night by Corinne and Del, Doris kept the notion of having her own 'forever with you' in a boundaried thought-matrix, to prevent it from including an actual person. Several times today, she had shooed her mental image of Ben away from the matrix.

Del, with a towel around his shoulders, was now at the edge of the pool. He sat, feet in the water, where Ben was trying to get through traffic. Doris saw Ben finally give up. Del started talking to him, too far away for the jacuzzi occupants to hear. They had plenty of time to talk at breakfast, thought Doris. She looked at Mac, who sat with his back towards the pool, looking pleased to be sandwiched by Sonia and Corinne. Further away, she saw Ben push up from the water and sit next to Del. Either this is about Del's reaction last night to Ben and Corinne, or it's about Mac.

***

Del said, "I hope you're not having a problem with Mac."

Ben gave a light shrug. "I hope he doesn't have a problem with me."

"Just so you'll know, it's not a black-white thing."

Ben looked at Del and said nothing.

"Okay," said Del, "it's not only a black-white thing. Corinne and Mac go way back, long before I was on the scene. They never worked out as a couple, but they still care. Mac resents anyone who gets close to her, me especially. I never met the guy until yesterday, but Cory's told me a lot. He probably tells himself that he's protecting her, and that's not a bad reason, but mostly it's jealousy."

"This is a wonderful event you're holding," said Ben, keeping his voice low, "but there can be issues. Maybe we'd be better off if the glands kept tamping down the brains."

Del looked towards the jacuzzi, smiling. Ben saw Del as pretty much a normal guy physically, his most distinguishing feature being the vandyke. It seemed Del could win women over with charm, wit, and sincerity, and then employ his well-developed erotic skills.

"I've read up on the experiences of other people who hold events like this," said Del, also keeping his voice low. "Some were successes, some were disasters, but nearly all of them had something in common. It boiled down to this: 'First the sex, then the soap opera.' People who think they won't be affected long term are usually wrong."

"But you went through with this anyway."

"Touché. I admit, I let my glands take charge. But I figured Doris and Sonia would get here free and easy. I trust Cory to make good choices, at least for herself. I was prepared if the soap opera happened to me."

"Instead, you got forever." Ben found to his surprise that he envied Del.

Del seemed amazed. "Never expected that. But it makes this event the best decision of my life."

"Del, do you and I have a problem? Black-white or otherwise?"

"Nah," said Del, looking at Ben. "I mean what I said last night. And, even during forever, you'll probably still get calls from Cory."

"I hope I can answer them," Ben said, then realized that this was freighted. He recalled what Doris said about Del. "Are you, like Mac, protective?"

"Physically, no. Emotionally..." He looked away. "I want what's best for Doris. Whatever she decides 'best' is." He looked again at Ben. "Please don't rush her into anything."

"Believe me, I'm as scared as I am excited." That was more dire than Ben intended, but it was close to the mark. He was relieved that Del didn't push for more details.

Chapter 5

Doris trotted barefoot into Ben's room. "Mood Three!" she declared, taking a spin to raise the hem of the robe. "Actually, more like Two-Point-Nine. I'm wearing panties."

Ben looked up, thinking. "So this is Mac and mouths."

"And boobs!" Doris opened the robe and gave 'em a good shake.

Ben inventoried his mind, to see if he'd be jealous of what Doris would do. He decided that this probably wouldn't plunge him into a soap opera. As for what would happen in Doris's room, later...

He made an effort to change the subject. "Guess I could wear undies too. I'm not involved at all."

"Not with that," she said, "but there's always something else. Last I saw, Del and Sonia were in a sixty-nine on Reality Island."

Ben had his workout wear draped on the luggage rack to dry. He glanced at Doris and said, "Full monty alert," with his thumbs in the waistband of his swim trunks.

She gave him a so-what face. "I am so used to that now."

He pulled down the trunks. As he tossed them on the rack, she charged up and grabbed him, yelling, "Tigress tigress burning bright!" She toppled him onto the bed. After three seconds of kissing, tit mashing, and thigh clamping, she jumped up. "Oops, don't want to be late." She strutted towards the door, closing her robe.

"You are having way too much fun," he said, erect and bereft.

At the door she blew him a kiss and said, "Blake is so much better than Pirandello, don't you agree?"

This perplexed him enough to allow his prick to relax.

***

Doris found Mac on Reality Island, where he was already frolicking with Sonia and Corinne. All three were nude, and their conversation carried over from when they cuddled in the jacuzzi, only raunchier. Del, robed, sat on a stool at the bar, watching in amusement, holding a bottle of beer. Doris shed her robe and tossed it at Del, who barely kept his beer from tipping over. "Hi Big Man!" she yelled at Mac, joining the crowd. "Did I miss anything?"

"We're in preliminaries," Mac said, grinning at her. "I'd never start without you."

The other women gave way as Doris moved in to give Mac a kiss. "You better not. So, what's my assignment?"

Mac enveloped her breasts with hands that gave him an octave-plus-third reach on keyboards. "I'd like to enjoy your sweet bosom while the other gracious ladies favor me with their lips and tongues."

"Whatevs," she said. "Anything else? I could hold up your legs, so their mouths can go a whole lot farther."

Corinne groaned. "Don't give him ideas!"

"There's only so far south I'm willing to go," Sonia added.

"Thanks anyway," Mac laughed. Already on his back, he bent his knees to give Sonia and Corinne space to arrange themselves comfortably and get their mouths to his crotch. Each lady set a hand gently on his jewels, moving fingers slowly with light touches. Mac closed his eyes and issued a pleased "Ahhhhhh."

Doris knelt behind his head. As she leaned forward, she saw Ben arrive, robed. They exchanged winks, then she gave her attention to her right-now lover as Ben sat on a stool next to Del.