Dana's Story Ch. 38-39

Dana's sex life is going very well now, though she is waiting as patiently as she can for an invitation to a sex party from James. When it finally comes, Dana finds herself struggling to reconcile her fantasies with the realities of the party, and with her insecurities.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

James had promised to let Dana know about the next sex party, but he hadn't said when that might be. She heard nothing about a party over the next week, nor the week after. Not for over a month, in fact. She heard from James frequently, by text or voice, but only to invite her over. "The parties don't happen regularly," was all he could say when she asked about them.

Not that Dana was feeling sex-deprived for lack of a party. She was fucking James a couple of times a week. The same was true of Randy. She even had sex with Bobby occasionally, though not often. It occurred to her one day, while she and Zoe were negotiating use of the room for the next week, that she was getting laid at least as often as Zoe was now.

"And how do you feel about that?" Zoe asked, when Dana announced her epiphany. They sat on their beds facing one another across the room.

"Shocked," Dana admitted. If you had told her at the start of her college career that she'd be having so much sex--and enjoying it so much--she'd never have believed it. The days when she'd been shocked and disapproving of Zoe's very active sex life seemed unimaginably far away.

"What else?"

"Thrilled," Dana said. "Excited." She hesitated, then added, "Proud."

Unsurprisingly, Zoe pounced on that admission. "Proud?"

Dana nodded, though she took a moment to organize her thoughts. "Once I admitted to myself that I wanted sex--and lots of it--I set out to get it." She gestured at her phone, open to the calendar app she used to coordinate use of their dorm room with Zoe. "Mission accomplished."

She didn't add that she was also tracking her sexual adventures in it, keeping a record of every time she had sex, and with whom. She'd even gone back and filled in every sexual encounter she'd ever had, all the way back to losing her virginity to Mike after their senior prom. It seemed a bit obsessive, and she wasn't prepared--yet--to share that even with Zoe.

"So," Zoe said, smiling slyly, "are you getting enough sex yet, Dana?"

Dana stared at Zoe for a moment, feeling her face heat. She clapped her hands over her face, hiding her embarrassment. "No," she said, her voice muffled.

"What was that?"

Dana lowered her hands, her face hot. "No, okay? No, I'm not!"

Zoe grinned. "Told you so."

"I know," Dana said, embarrassed but also pleased that Zoe knew her so well. When Zoe first told her that despite all the sex she was having, she also masturbated frequently, Dana had trouble believing it. That was no longer the case. Dana herself was having sex four or five days a week--and masturbating on the days she didn't. Sometimes more than once.

And just as Zoe had admitted to doing, sometimes Dana claimed the room for herself not to have sex with someone, but so she could masturbate in privacy. She spent an hour or two at a time, bringing herself to countless orgasms--literally, as she inevitably lost count--using her toys. She'd end such sessions breathless and shaking, exhausted, and oftentimes feeling raw and sore from the constant stimulation.

"You were right," she confessed. "I thought you were lying--or at least exaggerating," she told Zoe. "But it's true. The more sex I have, the more sex I want!"

"Isn't it great?" Zoe said.

"Is it?" Dana asked. She glanced at her calendar again, where she chronicled her exploits. "Sometimes I feel obsessed. Don't you?"

Zoe didn't reply immediately. Dana saw her thinking, taking the question seriously, which was a relief. She'd been afraid Zoe would just laugh off the question.

"I like having a lot of sex," Zoe said. "No surprise, I know," she added when Dana rolled her eyes at her. "And when I'm not having sex I like talking about sex, or thinking about it. But it's not all I think about, and it's certainly not all I do."

She gave Dana a probing look. "Is it interfering with your schoolwork?"

Now it was Dana's turn to seriously consider the question. She spent a lot of time thinking about sex, even in class. She often fantasized about hot guys she shared classes with, or even just saw around campus. She often became aroused by thoughts of sex, which was sometimes distracting.

And yet...she still managed to pay attention in class, and was taking good notes. She and Zoe studied together regularly, and though it was still early in the semester, she'd done well on the few tests or papers she'd turned in.

"No," she said at last. "I don't think so."

"What about your other interests? Is it interfering with those?"

"No...."

"That didn't sound very convincing," Zoe said.

Dana was actually proud of her commitment to strength training. Getting up early three mornings a week to work out was a new habit. She'd been at it for only a few weeks, but she kept careful track of her progress in a notebook. She'd never thought of herself as athletic or physically talented, so the steadily increasing weights she was lifting left her feeling absurdly pleased.

She was still reading a lot, too, as she always had. Between classes, over meals, pretty much any time she wasn't studying--or having sex, or masturbating. She'd discovered enough new authors since starting college to keep her occupied for years. On the other hand, she'd missed some meetings of the Science Fiction Club, which had introduced her to those new authors, as well a couple of sessions with her RPG group.

Dana admitted as much to Zoe.

"Well, given the choice, would you rather attend a meeting or a game, or have sex?"

"Have sex," Dana replied promptly. "Although...I try to schedule time with Randy or James on other nights."

"You don't sound obsessive to me," Zoe said.

"I don't?"

"Your schoolwork isn't suffering. You have priorities, and when a conflict occurs, you choose the one that's more important to you. A couple of weeks ago you drove home for the weekend, and I know you could have slept with James and Randy that weekend."

"Yeah, but it was Terry's birthday that Sunday. I couldn't miss that."

"Oh, you could have," Zoe said. "You could have blown it off and stayed here and had lots of sex. But you didn't. Being there for your sister's birthday was important, and that's what you did. Does that sound sex-obsessed to you?"

"No?"

"No," Zoe agreed.

Dana mustered a smile. "Glad to hear it," she said. But still she wondered.

* * *

Dana was reading an assignment for her literature class Tuesday night, two days later, when her phone rang. She picked it up. James was calling. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dana," James said. "How are you?"

Zoe looked up curiously from her laptop. "Hi, James," Dana said, for her benefit. "I'm good. What's up?" Zoe turned her attention back to her homework.

"Tito texted me," James said. "He's hosting a party on Friday night. Wanna go?"

"Tito?" Dana asked, to stall for time. She knew from previous conversations that Tito was the name of the guy who organized the sex parties James attended. She felt her heart race. The invitation she'd fantasized about and also dreaded had come at last.

Zoe looked up again. She knew the name as well, from Dana.

"I've told you about him. He hosts the sex parties. You expressed an interest. Repeatedly."

"Yeah, I did. Friday night? What time?" Across the room Zoe was nodding urgently, leaving no doubt as to what she thought Dana should say.

"Well, it starts at seven. I figured we'd show up at ten."

"Ten o'clock? Why so late?"

"First rule of sex parties," James said.

"I don't know what that means," Dana said, quite honestly.

"I'll explain when I pick you up on Friday. But trust me, you don't want to get there too early. It avoids a lot of awkwardness."

"If you say so," Dana said. "Can you hold on for a minute?"

She muted her phone. She looked at Zoe. "The sex party is happening this Friday. You wanna go?"

Zoe chewed her lower lip for a moment, eyes darting around as she considered the invitation. "I can't," she said. "Maybe next time?"

"You sure?" Dana could use the support. Zoe was much better at dealing with crowds of strangers, and having her there would make it easier for her.

Zoe looked disappointed, but she nodded. "Yeah, Bobby and I are driving up to Alexandria together Friday evening."

"Okay," Dana said. "Next time."

She unmuted her phone. "I'm back."

"So, is it a date?"

Dana hesitated for only a moment. This Friday, the sixth of March, was the last day of classes before the week-long spring break. She had a couple of acquaintances who had big plans for spring break. The sort of week-long bacchanalia she'd only ever seen in movies and television shows. Not something Dana could afford, even if her parents were okay with it. And really, a week long drunken party didn't appeal to her anyhow.

She'd planned to head home after classes on Friday, as Zoe was doing, but waiting until Saturday meant one fewer nights stuck in her childhood home, away from her friends--and lovers. And if she were going to be left to her own devices for a week, then a sex party seemed like a good way to start.

"It's a date," Dana said.

* * *

The lights of the hotel lobby spilled into the parking lot through the glass entryway. Dana shivered as she approached the doors. It was cold tonight. James pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulders. "We'll be inside in a minute."

Dana nodded. "So why are we showing up fashionably late?"

"These parties are often slow to start," James told her. "Nervous newbies often need time to relax and get in the mood. Even some regulars feel the need to socialize, and maybe have a drink or two, before they let their hair down."

"What if I'm a nervous newbie?" There was no question about it. Dana was definitely feeling nervous about the party.

James gave her a squeeze. "You'll be fine." Before Dana could do more than frown at her concerns being dismissed so lightly, he continued, "I know you're nervous, but it's easier to relax if you aren't in a roomful of nervous people anxiously looking at one another."

Dana's annoyance dissipated. That made sense.

The doors opened at their approach, and warm air enveloped Dana as they entered the lobby. After the walk across the dark parking lot, it felt like stepping onto a stage. A woman her mother's age stood behind the front desk in a blazer with a shiny name plate on her breast. She glanced up at James and Dana.

Dana felt certain the woman knew why she was here, knew she was coming to the hotel to engage in an orgy. Logically, she knew better. Lots of people came and went through the lobby every day. How could she know Dana's business--and why would she care if she did? Nonetheless, Dana felt herself blushing under the woman's gaze as they crossed to the elevators.

James released her to push the call button. He was carrying a case of bottled water on his other shoulder to contribute to the party. Maybe that was evidence enough? When the elevator opened, Dana gratefully stepped out of the woman's line of sight. She sighed when the doors closed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" James asked. He didn't select a floor.

"Yes," Dana said.

James eyed her doubtfully. More seemed called for.

"I'm just nervous, is all," Dana said, hoping it was true.

She was nervous. The familiar butterflies in her belly, compounded of excitement and nervousness, seemed heavier on nerves than usual. She'd been daydreaming about this party for weeks, fearlessly throwing herself into an endless orgy over and over again in her imagination. Now that the moment was here, she felt a lot less confident.

What if it was like the other parties she'd tried? What if she felt isolated and uncomfortable? What if nobody talked to her? What if nobody wanted to have sex with her? It would crush her. She'd couldn't say all that to James.

"I haven't had the best track record with parties," she said.

James grinned and pressed the button for the eighth floor. "You haven't been to a party like this one. You're gonna be very popular."

"Yeah?" They'd talked about this before, but she didn't mind hearing it again.

"Yeah. You're young, you're hot, and you're new. You'll have guys hitting on you all night. Well, the guys who aren't intimidated by you."

"Intimidated by me?"

James nodded. "Asking a pretty girl to have sex with you isn't risk-free even at a sex party. She might say no."

"Oh," Dana said. She was pleased that James called her hot, though it didn't reduce her nervousness much.

The elevator chimed and the doors opened. James smiled at her. "Showtime."

Dana nodded and followed him down the corridor. Vending machines hummed and an ice machine clattered in an alcove, and she heard televisions faintly from a couple of rooms they passed. James stopped in front of a door, glanced at her.

"Shall we?" he asked.

The butterflies were active, but Dana nodded.

James knocked firmly. She heard a voice from within shout, "Door!"

A few moment later the door cracked open and a round-faced woman with flaming red hair peeped out from behind it. She smiled brightly. "James!"

"Hi, Suzanne," James replied with an equally wide smile.

She stepped back, opening the door wide. She was a little taller than Dana, but much curvier. Dana guessed her age at about forty. She wore a fishnet bodystocking that left her breasts and shaved vulva bare. She turned her attention to Dana. "Hi, I'm Suzanne. I don't know you!"

"Uh, I'm Dana," Dana replied, trying not to stare now that she'd noticed Suzanne's nipples were pierced. A tiny metal dumbbell adorned each one. Dana couldn't imagine doing something like that. It would hurt like hell.

James edged past Suzanne with the case of water, looking for somewhere to put it down. Suzanne waved Dana inside. "Come on in, Dana."

Dana obeyed, feeling a little dazed and Suzanne closed the door behind her. She stood in the narrow entryway of the hotel room, a coat closet to her left. To her right, steam and the sound of a running shower emanated from the gap where the bathroom door stood ajar. The room opened up beyond the bathroom, where Dana could see the foot of a large bed.

Opposite the bed was a long dresser. The top was covered with food and drink. Party platters of meat, cheese and vegetables, as well as bags of chips, bowls of snacks, and an assortment of bottles--from soda to wine. James was setting the case of bottled water on the floor by the dresser.

The connecting doors to the rooms on either side of this one were propped open. The sound of another conversation drifted through one doorway. Dana couldn't see into that one from her position, but she could see into the other room. It contained two queen beds, both unoccupied.

The rear of the room contained a sofa, a couple of small tables, and an assortment of chairs in a rough circle. A number of people occupied the space, sitting or standing whiled they ate and drank or conversed.

Almost all of them were considerably older than Dana or James. And most of them were nearly naked, wearing only a towel, robe or lingerie. Only two or three were fully--or at least mostly--dressed. And they were adults.

In all her fantasies, she'd never imagined that. All those times she'd masturbated while imagining this moment, everyone involved had been around her own age. That wasn't the case here. Some of these people were old enough to be her parents!

"Hey," Suzanne said, appearing at Dana's side, startling her. "You okay?"

"I, uhm...yeah," Dana said. Suzanne herself was probably nearly as old as Dana's mother, though Dana's imagination was totally inadequate to the task of imagining her mother dressed like Suzanne. Which was just as well.

"Looks like James has been waylaid," Suzanne said brightly. She gestured with a nod. Dana saw that James was hugging and kissing a couple of the women in the conversation circle, who seemed happy to see him. Had they had sex with him? It seemed likely.

"Since he's busy, shall I give you the nickel tour?" Suzanne asked.

"Uh...sure," Dana said, dragging her gaze away from James and a woman wearing only a sheer wrap around her hips kissing one another thoroughly. When she looked at Suzanne, the woman was watching her closely.

"Is James your boyfriend?" Suzanne asked.

She's wondering if I'm jealous, Dana realized. Am I? "No," she said, answering Suzanne's question and her own. She was surprised--and a little bit hurt--that James had abandoned her so quickly, but that was all. "We're just friends. With benefits."

"I love friends with benefits," Suzanne said with a wicked smile. "They're the best kind."

Dana couldn't help smiling back. "They're my favorites."

"So, the tour?"

"In a minute," Dana said. Now that she was out of the cold her coat was too warm. She removed it and hung it among the others. "Okay," she said, turning back to Suzanne.

"Nice outfit," Suzanne said.

"Thanks." Dana was wearing a sleeveless emerald blouse and black skirt with a pair of low heels. "I feel a little overdressed now, to be honest."

"I wasn't wearing this when I arrived," Suzanne said, gesturing at herself. Her expression grew dreamy. "It might be fun to walk through the lobby like this, but we don't want to draw unwanted attention. So I changed after I got here."

"You don't have a bag," Suzanne observed, "so I'm guessing you didn't bring anything else to wear?"

Dana opened her mouth, then closed it. James hadn't said anything about that. "Was I supposed to?"

Suzanne gave her a reassuring smile. "It's entirely up to you. I always bring a couple of outfits to choose from, but a lot of folks just get naked and wear a towel to sit on the furniture. Jim and I also bring some extra towels, just in case. People showering between playmates can use up a lot of them."

"Oh," Dana said, feeling a little stupid. James hadn't mentioned this--but she hadn't asked, either. She didn't like the feeling, so she asked, "Jim?"

"My husband," Suzanne said. "I'll introduce you when we find him."

Suzanne walked up to James, Dana trailing her. He was speaking to the topless woman, one hand casually caressing a bare breast.

"You abandoned your guest," Suzanne told him without preamble. "Not very chivalrous."

James turned to see Suzanne at his elbow, still smiling. He shifted his gaze to Dana, his smile fading into a look of chagrin. "You're right," he said to Suzanne without taking his eyes from Dana. "I'm sorry, Dana."

The words It's okay almost pushed their way out of her mouth. She didn't let them escape. It wasn't okay, and she wasn't going to say it was.

James didn't miss her silence. He said, "I really am sorry. I got distracted--but that's no excuse. Will you forgive me?"

Suzanne was watching them, eyes narrowed. The topless woman's gaze darted between James, Suzanne and Dana, watching to see how things played out. Dana sensed that her response could affect James' standing in the group, possibly to a greater degree than she entirely understood. He'd committed a faux pas, but she didn't know how seriously they might take it.

She was annoyed at him, but not really angry or hurt. She didn't want him to get in trouble. "Yes," she said, "I forgive you."

With her words, the tension she'd sensed dissipated. James offered to show Dana around, but Suzanne told him she had it handled. Dana backed her up, and James accepted it.

The topless woman introduced herself as Carol, and hugged Dana in welcome. "Do you mind if I play with James?" she whispered during the hug.

"Uh, sure?" Dana said, flustered anew. Did Carol think she was James' girlfriend, or had veto rights? Or was it a polite announcement that she intended to play with James? "Have fun," Dana added, deciding to assume the latter.