Breaking it down - Monday

I pulled up in the driveway of the ranch style house on a Sunday afternoon, crunching on the gravel as my car rolled up to the large garage. I smiled as I got out of the car, grabbed my bag and headed to the side door of the house. Usually, business travel was just a nuisance, but this trip was close enough to our friends house that I could stay with them the whole week. My wife and I had known this couple for years back in Florida, and then we each moved away for work. We only lived about three hours apart now, and exchanged visits often enough that being with them was comfortable and fun. We knew each others quirks, enjoying the good parts and knowing when to give each other space. Since this was business, my wife had stayed home for her work, but I was still a welcome guest. This week was going to be part work, part vacation.

I knocked on the door, and then just opened it and walked in. Like I said, we were old friends. Jenny was in the kitchen, at the stove cooking. She was a handsome woman, and I took a second to take in the image. She was above average height and a slim athletic build, not voluptuous but enough curves to draw the eye and leave no doubt that she was all woman. Her face was striking. Not only pretty, with pale blue eyes framed by her loose brown hair, but captivating in the way she always looked deep into you, like you were important and whatever you were going to say next was fascinating to her.

She turned as I walked in. "Hey, you made it. Good trip?" One thing about Jenny, she gave great hug. She took her hugs seriously, arms firmly wrapping around you, body pressing into you, and she lingered a little extra so you really got the feel of her warmth and her softness molding against you. I'm 6 foot 6, so hugging women can be awkward, and there are various styles of hugs depending on the situation. Since we hand't seen each other for a while, and she was alone, this was definitely the time for my favorite hug, the lift. She walked into me, reaching up, and I bent down to wrap my arms around her body, then hoisted her up. She hung on, arms holding tightly around my shoulders. As anticipated, her body molded against mine and I felt her breasts against my chest, her flat abs against mine, her legs hanging down loosely on my groin. My right hand wrapped around her back, and my left hand trailed to hold her leg, just far enough away from her ass not to get in trouble. "God you feel good," I sighed, as we held on to the hug. "Mmm," she replied, nuzzling her head a bit in my neck. She gave one extra squeeze and then slid off of me back on to the floor.

She turned back to the stove. "I'm making breakfast for Todd, you want some?"

"I had lunch on the way. You guys usually have breakfast for lunch? I mean, breakfast is good food anytime, but I don't remember this being part of your routine."

"Didn't he tell you? He's working night shift this week because of the launch. It's at 2 am on Thursday morning, so they all moved their sleep schedules to the days. It's messed up this weekend, but it should work out this week. He'll still be awake and around for our evenings together, I'll just have to be quiet during the day." Jenny worked remote for a company in Denver, doing marketing, so spent almost all her time at home.

We slipped into our comfortable routine of catching up and me blending in to their household chores. We took the dog on a long walk out to the woods, and then spent the evening playing some cards. Nothing too exciting, but we all had work the next day, even if on different schedules. I said good night and the hug from Jenny was much more reserved. Todd knew he had an attractive girlfriend and that we liked each other, but no need to go overboard while he was watching.

***

I woke up early the next morning and got ready for work. As I was finishing breakfast, Jenny came out of the bedroom. She was wearing a sleep shirt and shorts, built for comfort, not sex appeal. But the fabric was thin and flimsy, and her coming out in her pajamas gave me a hint of intimacy that set my mind wandering. Seated at the table, I reached out and she came in for a squeeze. In this position, my face was even with her chest, my lips exactly at nipple level. But I turned my face up as we came together, my cheek resting on her shoulder. "Good morning. Kind of early for you, isn't it?" She nodded. "Yeah. Todd came to bed about an hour ago and I never really fell back asleep." She paused for a yawn. "I heard you, so I though I'd come out. Maybe I'll get another hour or so before I have to start work. I like the quiet time before my work people wake up in Denver, but I really don't have to get going until 10 at the earliest." The embrace was over, but my hand still rested on her back, stroking up and down slowly, casually. She grabbed the orange juice I was drinking and took a sip. I asked "You going to have any breakfast? I was going to leave, but I have a little time, I could hang out with you."

She put the glass down and considered my plate. She was still standing, one knee on the kitchen bench next to me, my hand caressing her back, hers on my shoulder. "I'd love coffee, but that would kill the go back to sleep plan. I'm kind of hungry, but don't want to wake up enough to eat. Unnh, I'm too tired to be awake but can't sleep." She closed her and just went still. She was definitely in zombie zone.

"Here eat the rest of this muffin while I finish getting ready." I stood up and guided her into my vacated seat. Then put the muffin in one hand and the juice glass in the other.

I quickly finished getting ready for work, brushed my teeth, packed up my laptop and grabbed my water bottle. I put all my stuff by the door and then went back to Jenny.

She was eating a little. I looked at the muffin and saw she'd had a few bites, enough to take the edge off her hunger. I put the muffin down on the plate, and the glass down on the table. I sat next to her and looked at her. After a few moments she looked up at me.

"Do you trust me?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What? Why?"

"Do you trust me."

She opened her mouth to speak, but then the confusion on her face passed into consideration. After another moment, she just looked me in the eye and said "Yes."

I helped her up from the table, and then picked her up, one arm under her shoulders and one arm under her knees. She relaxed and lay her head on my shoulder as I carried her back into the guest bedroom I had been using. I had left the covers pulled back when I was getting ready, so I slid her into the bed. She settled in, laying down on her back with her head on the pillow. "Roll over, I'm going to give you a massage." I kept my voice even, no hint of sexuality or teasing. She complied, also without any of her normal banter.

I straddled her, thighs alongside her thighs, but touching only lightly and my groin was carefully elevated away from touching her. I put both hands on her shoulders and began working the muscles. I moved my hands over her back slowly enough to avoid being invigorating, but not slow enough to become sensual. I focused on reading her body, sensing what was relaxing her, avoiding anything that caused tension. I worked from her shoulders down to her lower back, but stopped well short of her ass. She still wasn't quite there, so I worked my way back up to her shoulders, a little more slowly this time. By this point, her breathing had slowed, and her body was still. I pulled the covers up over her. "Thank you," she said. I leaned in and gently kissed the back of her neck. She gave out a small 'mmm' and nestled further into the pillow. I left for work.

About three hours later, in the middle of a training session about motivating your employees, I got a text from Jenny. 'Thanks so much. Got a two hour nap. Feel refreshed and made my first meeting. Perfect!' I smiled. Good to know I had played that one right.

***

After the training day was over, I returned to their house and Todd was working in the yard. He was finishing a small green house for Jenny, so I helped him with it. Pretty easy work, just nailing the lumber in place and stapling the plastic sheet over the ensemble. Jenny had made breakfast for dinner again. Eggs and vegetarian sausage, biscuits and gravy, and orange juice. We cleaned up and then Todd got ready for work.

"What do you two have planned for the evening?" he asked as he was heading out.

"Nothing that involves too much thinking, they drilled us today." I looked at Jenny. "Know any good Netflix or something? A little couch time sounds good"

Todd snorted. "Watch out, you just signed yourself up for binge watching "Sustainable". Thanks, you just made going to work sound so much more fun." Todd gave Jenny a hug and kiss, then turned and headed out.

Jenny was finishing up with the dishes, and I started helping. "Thank you again for this morning, that was just what I needed."

"My pleasure." I finished drying the pan I was holding, then smiled as I put it back on the shelf. "Seriously, caressing your body is something I will be happy to do anytime I have the excuse." She looked up at me, and my face was lit up with a giant grin.

She laughed and put down the dish towel. "I was just thinking how impressed I was that you had me in bed, hands roaming by back" she put some emphasis on the phrase, "which is not something guys get to do, by the way," her finger was wagging at me, "without making it sexual. And now you make it sexual." She glared at me, finger still raised.

I looked right back into her glaring eyes, stepped into her, slid one hand around her back, used the other hand to grab her pointing hand and wrapped it around my back, then pulled her into a comfortable hug. Comfortable except that she was going to get a neck ache from looking up at me if this went very long. "Jenny. You're a very attractive woman, and you're a close friend that I care for very deeply. We are both sexual people, and comfortable with being sexual. Of course there's go to be some sexual flow between us when we're left alone. I don't think we need to run away from it, we just need to be mature and responsible about it. And by that I mean be open and communicate, and aware of the consequences of what we do. This morning, you needed to fall asleep so I couldn't leave you riled." I widened my eyes at the word riled, and stopped for a quick grin. "But you don't need sleep right now, so . . ."

I knew her neck would be getting stiff, and it would probably be good to ease off, so I backed out of the embrace and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Well, I can't think of any other guy who would have done that this morning. Besides Todd. And he's not really a fan of giving massages, he just does it occasionally to take care of me. I try not to ask him too often, because I can tell he'd rather be doing other things, but you certainly seem like you would massage me all day . . ." Her focus drifted away then snapped back, and she glared at me again. "Anyway, why do I let you get away with this? I should be mad at you!"

I gave a slight nod. "Actually, I have an answer. For one thing, you know I'm never going to force you into doing something you don't want. Seriously, even if we were . . .," I trailed off. I gave her a long look, then put my thoughts together. "Let's back up. We've been friends a long time, and pretty straight with each other. Not much filter with you. Still, there are some walls and filters between us. I think mainly because we're being polite to other people, mainly our partners, and not because we're afraid of getting too close to each other emotionally. Some people are just afraid of intimacy with anyone, but not me. Or you." I paused, but she kept quiet and just shrugged a non-committal agreement. "So, since we're going to have a decent amount of time this week with just the two of us, do you think we could handle removing the barriers and filters, and just be our raw naked selves around each other? Metaphorically speaking." Jenny didn't rise to the bait of that last bit, taking my words seriously.

I let the question hang there, making her respond. She finally ventured a reply. "Well, as you say, the proper thing to do is laugh and dismiss the idea." She took an exasperated breath. "But you know how much I love digging into people's skulls. And I do trust you. And I'm intrigued to find out any secrets you've been hiding. I might even get to meet some skeletons from your closet. And I know how therapeutic it is for me to get things off my chest." This time she smiled and went for the double entendre, touching her chest and saying in an undertone "Especially bras, I really prefer not to wear 'em." I let out a big smile, but she kept going. "Alright, I'm up for it! We will ask probing questions, make ourselves vulnerable, and give honest answers."

I actually got a little uncomfortable at her enthusiasm. I had just been thinking of the sexual aspects but she was turning this into a therapy session, which is not usually fun. But I had suggested it, and there would be a lot of upsides. Even though therapy wasn't fun, I'd been subjected to enough sessions over the years to know it could make me feel better. It would also be fascinating to find out new things about Jenny, too. And obviously, if this added some sexual aspects to our relationship, I would be a happier man. It wasn't that I was sex starved or anything, my wife and I were doing fine there. But I am one of those guys who can't really get enough.

I snapped out of the sex with Jenny train of thought and returned to reality. She had stopped talking and was waiting for me to respond. "Well, shit, that's great!" I responded. She laughed at my enthusiasm. But then I sobered. "The reason I stopped talking and had to back up is that we need to agree to keep what we share between us. The reason filters and barriers exist in the first place is so we can all get along. Cheryl is uncomfortable with aspects of my personality, so I suppress those things when I'm around her. She's also got some insecurities that make her one of the more jealous women out there. She's fine with you and me alone together because she has a certain picture of how we're behaving. That picture needs to stay intact, or all our relationships suffer. You understand where I'm coming from?"

Jenny became somber quickly. "Yeah. I know how she is. She's my girl, and I love her to death. I'll enjoy playing around with you, but on the other hand, I don't want to do that to her." Doubt was in her eyes as she stopped to sort out her feelings.

I grimaced. "Look, I gotta say, I am not a fan of that phrase. The 'do that to her' thing. She's not here. You're not doing anything TO her. If you were bad-mouthing her, trying to steal me away from her, trying to poison our relationship, that would be one thing. But you know I'm going back to her at the end of this week." Jenny broke in, putting one hand on my arm "Oh yes, of course! You two are good for each other and I would hate myself if I messed that up." I continued, "Yeah and same for you and Todd. Look at it this way, just like I got you the rest you needed this morning by massaging your body, if we do this right, this week will be like a zen retreat or something. Good for both of us and when we rejoin our partners, we'll be better partners for it."

She pondered. I held up my hand. "I know this may sound like a line to get you naked or something, but I truly believe this. Because Cheryl and I love each other so much, we're really sensitive about upsetting each other. Don't get me wrong, we share, we couldn't make it as a couple if we didn't. But I have to be kinda careful, and there are certain topics that I've learned to just avoid. It's great to have someone that cares that much, but it does make it hard to just open up and talk. Cheryl is who she is, and I love who she is. So I can't expect her to be someone she isn't. But you could fill that gap. I think sessions of open and honest talk with you will help me learn about myself and allow me to engage parts of my personality that get repressed around Cheryl."

Jenny slumped a little. Then her eyes peeked back up to me. She rolled her eyes, and then a smile grew. "Fine, you're right. And I could say a lot of the same things about me and Todd. I'm in. Not just in, I'm ALL in. I want to see the raw Adam. I will" and she raised a finger at me again, "not allow us justify bad actions. We'll maintain respect for our partners. Bus as far as anyone else knows, we're following all the rules of prim and proper society, like we do when they're all here. " She extended her hand in a formal handshake. I shook it solemnly. "It's a pact."

Then I smiled and my eyes traveled up and down her body. "I notice you said raw but not naked. Since we have now dropped the filters, I'll tell you I would be thrilled to see you naked Jenny. I would absolutely love it if you never wore clothes when we were alone." Her eyes drifted off to the distance, but a smile crept onto her lips. She replied, still not meeting my eyes, "just because I say I want to be honest doesn't mean I can just drop all filters immediately. Right now I'll just say I'm not upset by the idea of being naked around you, or seeing you naked." Her guarded face then lit up. "Tell you what, I'll happily promise to not wear a bra anytime when it's just the two of us! They have their uses, but comfort is not one of them!"

I laughed. "Works for me. And wear whatever clothing you're comfortable with, don't worry if it's inappropriate and might accidentally give me a view of something I'm not supposed to see." My grin widened even further. "And whenever you're comfortable without clothing, that works for me too." She rolled her eyes, but returned a big grin.

She stood up and turned her back to me. She lifted her shirt, exposing her bra strap. "Unhook please." I obliged. She turned back to face me, shirt, unfortunately, pulled down and coving her front. But she smoothly removed the bra and dropped it on the counter. She smiled and shrugged. "It really is liberating. Literally and figuratively."

I looked down at her, staring directly at the tits under her shirt. "From this view, there's no difference." I stepped forward, grabbing the bottom of her shirt, and then pulled it tight around her torso. I continued staring at her tits. "But when the shirt's like that, there's a bit of difference." I waited turning my head from side to side, continuing to stare. As expected, her nipples began to harden, two buds rising up against the fabric. "And now that's very different without the bra," I whispered in a much lower and huskier tone.

She shoved me back and glared, and I laughed. She was flushed and enjoying it, and I reveled in the freedom to act on my impulses. After too many years of bottling it up, it felt good to let it out.

The cover story was just as we told Todd. We just binge watched her show about how to save the environment. We even came up with some interesting conversational tidbits to use if we got pressed about details. And we did spend the evening on the couch watching the show. There were just some aspects that got left out of the public report. Like instead of sitting on opposite sides of the couch dressed in our regular clothes, she was curled up on top of me and we were both in our sleepwear. I wore boxers and a v-neck T. She had the same thing she wore the night before. It was definitely not lingerie, but doing plenty to knock my thinking into the gutter.

We played a game I called 20 questions, but was really just us taking turns asking something we wouldn't normally answer in polite company. We had 10 questions each, and as you would expect, mine tended to be more about her sex life and fetishes, and her questions were more about my fears and aspirations. It wasn't always easy to answer her questions honestly. I typically thought of something glib and guarded. But I think I did a good job of pushing past the easy answer, and really letting her see me, warts and all. We finally got down to one last question each.