Betty's Story

"Feels sooo good," she murmured.

"Um-hmm, does."

"Thrust up a little."

"Like this?"

"Yessss, perfect."

As her excitement rose, she could feel him grabbing her buttocks, pulling her to him as he thrust upwards into her. She could tell another orgasm was in the works as her body tensed and her legs began to twitch slightly. With a primal squeal erupting from her lips and spinning colors in her brain, she fell off the cliff into a sea of pulsing pleasure. After collapsing on George, she caught her breath and looked at him in the eye.

"Very nice," she whispered before lowering her lips to his.

"Yes, very."

Several minutes later, she asked, "Can I interest you in a shower?"

"Sure. Together?"

"Why not?. Gotta be squeaky clean for breakfast."

"Yeah, not a bad idea."

Later they walked across to the other house to find their spouses, also with still-wet hair from their own showers, enjoying a cup of coffee. Ginger looked up at them and smiled, "Well, you're finally here! I thought I'd have to come rescue you from her clutches, Honey."

"Nope. No rescuing needed. And you'll never have to worry about me coming home."

"I know, just teasing. Have some coffee, you two."

And that was the beginning of their unusual arrangement. It was never scheduled or planned but every several weeks and as if by ESP, they found themselves repeating the sleeping arrangement from those first weekends. Sometimes the switching was done in a humorous way such as when Betty kissed Bob good-bye, told him she'd see him in the morning, went next door and told Ginger there was a 'big present' waiting for her in the other house. Usually, however, they would be sitting around talking and drinking and when it came time to leave, Ginger would simply get up to go home with Bob or Betty would get up to go with George without there having been any prior discussion. It was so comfortable for all four they never seemed to run into any rough spots or communication issues. The 'sessions,' as they called them, were only for one night and they never occurred away from their homes. Over the years they never told anyone else about their arrangement nor did anyone divulge to their spouse the nature of their sexual activities.

Interestingly, it was always the women who initiated a session and never the men. Betty was curious about this but it was only years later when George told her why the men deferred to their wives. Apparently, according to George, he and Bob talked about the sessions only once early on while they were out fishing. The conversation was uncomfortable in that each man was talking openly about his wife sleeping with the man sitting across from him in the boat. While neither was in the habit of expressing his feelings, they each admitted to a tiny degree of hypocritical jealousy that fortunately seemed to be fading with each session.

The two talked in vague terms about 'liking' the sessions but, as had been previously agreed, no intimate details were discussed. They knew the first few sessions had been driven by their wonderful wives and both men felt their initiating a session could upset the group's dynamic and the women's sense of control, so they agreed to let the women continue to call the shots. A silent toast with their two beers sealed their agreement and their lips. They rebaited their hooks and never discussed the topic again.

Eventually, age began to take its toll. Creaky joints, muscle cramps, drying vaginas and softening erections all contributed to a slow change in their sessions. Instead of powerful penis-in-vagina sex, they gradually changed their activities to include more oral and masturbatory activities. And on some sessions, the couple would spend the evening holding each other while enjoying the closeness without any overt sexual activity whatsoever.

Betty's first tragedy was when she and Bob lost their son in a car crash. He had been married but was childless leaving them completely without any close family. For weeks they grieved with George and Ginger offering warm hugs, sympathy and shoulders to cry on. After several months Ginger approached Betty to discreetly inquire about their sessions. Betty admitted she and Bob had not been intimate since the tragedy but she realized she missed it. That evening she put on a nice negligee, brought Bob a glass of his favorite whisky and sat in his lap.

"Honey, I need you tonight. I need your sweet touch to help me forget, even if it's for only a few minutes."

With that declaration, their healing slowly began and six weeks later Betty went to the other house and told Ginger Bob was waiting. That night George was such a caring lover she realized she had two wonderful lovers in her life, as well as her life-long best friend.

Unfortunately, several years later Betty returned home to find the lifeless body of her husband by the wood pile where he had apparently been chopping wood. He had a known cardiac issue thought to be well controlled but medical science can't keep us alive forever. She was plunged again into deep sorrow, a sorrow so profound the hugs from Ginger and George could barely be felt. She decided to stay in the house, thankful it was modest in size and easy to keep up, particularly with the help of a young woman who enjoyed a little extra cash.

One day Ginger sat Betty down and asked how she 'really' was doing. After a flood of tears, Betty admitted she was slowly better and was appreciative of their support. She got out more, went to the senior center to play bingo and meet other seniors. She was struck at how predatory some of the widows were when it came to the few single men. She always smiled to herself when the issue of men and sex came up, knowing she had had the most amazing sex life one could ever imagine; years of loving sex with her husband and, for variety, occasional romps with her best friend's husband. When she described how people, particularly the women, acted and behaved at the center, Ginger howled with glee.

"Those old biddies don't know what they've missed, do they?"

"Nope. And you know, I realize I'm missing it too. When one of the old farts came up to me today and blatantly propositioned me, I was actually tempted to give him a whirl."

"Like him?"

"Not particularly."

"Betts, don't lower your standards, OK?"

"OK,Mom, I won't," she laughed for nearly the first time since Bob's death.

Two nights later George came through the door with a sheepish grin. "Ginger shooed me out for the night, told me she wants to read her novel in peace."

"But what about her?"

"She told me not to worry about her. I bet she plans on using her vibrator while I'm over here," he chuckled. After a few seconds, he went on, "You need a hug, Betty. Let me..."

"Thank you, George," she mumbled into his shoulder as she accepted his embrace. They didn't initiate any sexual activity, his hugs and caresses were enough, but within a month George was either sent over or asked over more often to spend more time with Betty. Those nights included various forms of sexual intimacy, while Ginger stayed home, took long soaks in her tub, read her romance novels and played sexual solitaire with her new rabbit.

As the years went on, age and the ravages of time eventually also caught up with Ginger. She developed a rapidly progressive cancer and died with hospice care in the arms of her husband one cold night. Before she died, she begged Betty to take care of George. "I know he won't do well alone. You're my best, closest friend and I want you to be with him, please. You two get along so well..."

Once she was gone and the initial grief had eased somewhat, George and Betty sat down one afternoon, looked at each other and began to talk. They discussed their homes, their lives and what the future would look like. They were both well over eighty and realized they were no longer able to keep up their homes. A realtor was able to find a nice couple who wanted to buy both houses, one for themselves and one for their single daughter and her two youngsters.

Betty and George decided to move to an independent cottage on the Our Home Assisted Living/Nursing Home campus. They enjoyed the facility, the housecleaning and meals in the dining hall and most of all, they enjoyed having each other in their lives. Unfortunately, several years later George fell one night, shattering his right hip, and once he was released from the hospital, he needed nursing home care. It rapidly became apparent he would never be able to return to assisted living so Betty made the decision to move into his room in the nursing home. George and Betty demanded a certain level of privacy, a demand which was respected albeit with a few twitters and giggles at the nurses' station. Even in the nursing home the two would crawl into bed together to share intimate moments though most, but not all, sexual activity had faded while they were still back in assisted living.

George eventually succumbed to a variety of age-related issues leaving Betty all alone. She had lost everyone who was dear to her: her son, her husband, her best friend and her lover. Once she realized she had no one left in her life, the will to live faded and she quietly passed away in her sleep with pictures of the four most important people in her life standing proudly on her nightstand.

-----

"Wow, that's quite the story. It must have taken her hours to tell you all of it."

"It did, quite honestly, but she told it to me in bits and pieces. I didn't hear all of it until just a few weeks ago but I was blown away by how the four of them had such a unique sexual arrangement."

"Do you think they ever had group sex?"

"No, she specifically told me it was always just two of them together. She absolutely loved Ginger but not in a sexual way. The four of them seemed to have overcome any jealousy and were totally comfortable with the idea of their spouse spending the night next door."

"When I said some of these older people have wonderful tales to tell, I never expected to hear about an open relationship. I don't know that I'd ever be able to do that with my husband."

"Well, Sarah, the first thing you'd need to do is get a husband," laughed Jenn.

"You're right about that, but what about you? You're married."

"No, that wouldn't work. I think it worked for Betty and those guys because she and Ginger were so close and they'd never dream of hurting one another. That kind of friendship comes along only rarely."

"Yeah, you're right. Rarely, if ever, anymore. Well, here's to Betty, Ginger, Bob and George," toasted Sarah with her coffee cup, "To a group of amazing people. May they rest in peace."

"Amen, Sister. Amen."

-----

Trionyx -- February 2023

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