Fun with Brett and Allie

Edited by Quinn McMullen

"Allie?"

I lifted my eyes from my phone. "Hi, Drake I presume?"

I heard the nervous tremor in my voice and prayed he didn't. I gave a flirty wink, then smiled my best smile. Both felt more than a little forced. Standing, I embraced the mountain of a man standing before me. His scent enveloped me, and I felt my knees buckle. Hold it together Allie, I told my inner self.

"Yes," he said, returning my embrace, his smile widening. "I was hoping it was you. For a minute, I was getting a little nervous."

I looked at him puzzled and watched him nod toward the other end of the room. I looked and immediately began to laugh.

Drake had nodded to a rather large middle-aged woman sitting with whom I presume was her husband. The lady was shoveling barbeque chicken wings into her mouth at an alarming rate. Before I looked away, I saw her put her sauce-covered fingers into her mouth one at a time to the second knuckle. She then pulled them out, each time making a rather disturbing wet smacking sound that could be heard from across the room. At first, I thought maybe it was an attempt to seduce the man sitting in front of her, but alas, her eyes never left her plate and he never looked up from his.

I looked back at Drake. "Oh my, I see where the confusion lies." Distracted by the scene before me, my nerves steadied as I looked back to the woman and the man sitting across the room. Red blouse, black skirt, red pumps, sitting with her husband.

"Yeah," Drake said in a slow dramatic tone. His eyes met mine as he looked me up and down with an exaggerated gesture. "Red blouse, black skirt, and red shoes"

"No," I corrected, "I'm wearing a red blouse, black shirt, with red stilettos. Now it was Drake's turn to laugh, his voice deep and smooth.

"So, if this is you, where is Brett?"

This time it was my turn to nod to a corner of the room. Drake turned to look, and I used the distraction to drink him in a little.

"Which table," he asked, obviously not seeing anyone sitting alone.

"The one with the blond."

I let my eyes admire his dark complexion, his chiseled lines. I even let my eyes flick a little lower and, oh my! I looked back just in time to meet his intense gaze. Drake gave a puzzled look holding his hand out for me to sit. Once seated, he followed suit. Manners, I thought. The waiter approached the table, and I ordered a glass of wine. He ordered a whiskey neat.

Drake waited until the waiter had departed, then said, "I thought I was meeting the two of you."

"Well, it's a bit of a story if you want to hear it."

"Take your time," he said in a very suggestive tone, "I am in no hurry."

"Hmmmm, so where to start. Let's see. Once Brett and I decided to start exploring this open relationship thing, we posted an ad for couples. We met a few, and most were very nice, but there seemed to always be a little something off with each. We talked and if we were going to do this, we were not going to settle."

"Neither one of you wanted to take one for the team?" Drake asked with a knowing smirk.

"Exactly," I continued, "I know, it sounds pretty shallow, but if there is no connection, well, there is no connection. We weren't just looking for random hook-ups. We were looking to meet new friends and lovers."

"So, every time we would meet a new couple, it seemed if there was a spark between the husband and me, there would be nothing between Brett and the wife or vice versa. This went on for over a year. We had just about given up when we got an email from this couple, and they seemed compatible. They met every requirement we had. They seemed almost too good to be true.

"We decided to meet up the next time they were in town. They come into town every few months. I think her mother lives here. Anyway, a few weeks later we booked a room here because this is the same hotel where they stay. That evening we met them for dinner, and everything clicked for both of us. He was as attractive as she was beautiful", I said, flicking my eyes to the corner, "and she may look like a ditsy Barbie doll, but she is brilliant and funny. Her husband is even funnier. It was like we were meeting up with old friends we had known forever. Brett and I have dubbed them Ken and Barbie. Although ironically, his name really is Ken."

Drake chuckled, and for the first time, I smiled a smile that seemed genuine.

I continued, "Everything was going so well; in fact, Brett and I kept looking at each other like, can you believe this. Then Barbie got a call.

"She apologized and dismissed herself. A few minutes later, she said they had some family things they were dealing with and needed to step out. Later she texted and said they would not be able to get back until very late, but wanted to reassure us they had had a wonderful time. We said we understood and told them to reach out next time they were going to be in town."

Drake nodded.

"To our chagrin, the next time they were in town, it was Brett that had something come up at work, and so we had to cancel. The time after that, they had to cancel with another family emergency. I'm not sure if you're beginning to catch the pattern or not, but the next thing we knew, six months had passed."

Drake's eyebrows raised, "Wow! Sounds like you guys were having a hard time catching a break. I mean, I know it can be tough aligning multiple schedules, but wow."

"It was crazy, so Brett and I sat down and talked about it and decided that we would try to engage with some singles instead of limiting ourselves to just couples. We placed several new ads. One was the ad you responded to the other day."

"Hot wife looking for a third," Drake said.

"Yes," I continued, "and the other was Brett's Three's Company ad, "Jack and Janet looking for our Chrissy to join."

Drake laughed, "Is that a reference to the old TV show."

I smiled, "Yes, it is."

I paused for a minute as the waiter approached with our drinks. The waiter then asked if we had time to look over our menus. I looked to Drake, and to my delight, his eyes were wandering up and down my body.

Drake became serious, "Yes, I have, and I can see I am going to need more time."

The waiter nodded, "Yes sir, I'll check back in a few minutes."

Drake gave me a wink and told him, "No hurry, I like to take my time."

Boy, this guy is good, I thought to myself, and I felt a sliver of anticipation grow. Now I couldn't help but smile.

I looked over to Brett, and it looked like he was having a good time. Brett smiled and nodded at me, giving me a wink.

Drake asked, "So, then what happened?"

I picked up my wine and let the glass kiss my lips as I turned my attention back to Drake. I took a sip and rolled it on my tongue before swallowing. I let a small sigh escape from my lips. Now it was Drake who was smiling.

"The next morning when I checked my inbox. I had over a hundred responses."

"Really," he said, leaning forward and taking a seductive sip of his own.

"I started the daunting task of deleting and blocking everyone who had sent me a dick pic. Then I weaned out everyone who had one-word profiles, then the ones who had obviously not read mine. That left only two people. You were the first to message me back.

"Right, but I thought I was meeting you and your husband. That is what your message said."

"Sorry about that. We have still been talking with our out-of-town couple. Brett mentioned to Ken that we had placed a few ads looking to add a third. That is when Ken said they played solo as well from time to time. He said Barbie was available quite a bit more than he was due to his schedule. Then he told Brett she was in town and might want company for a bit this evening. Ken asked if it would be okay for her to contact us, and maybe we could meet up. Brett then explained I was meeting you today, but said he could meet her for dinner. Ken thought that was a great idea.

"I was going to text, but this all just happened a few minutes before you got here. When we walked into the restaurant, Barbie was already here having dinner. Brett went over to keep her company while I waited for you. Brett said it would give us some time to get to know one another and maybe take some of the pressure off."

Drake took a thoughtful sip and seemed to consider everything. "Seems it's a night for audibles. I just had a similar thing happen to me today. I have a friend who got her weeks mixed up and got here today instead of next week."

"Oh wow," I said, a spark of disappointment trying to take root. "You are meeting her tonight?"

"Yeah, but I told her it could be late and that I had dinner with friends. She's cool like that."

"Gosh, now I feel like I am wrecking your night."

"Na, it happens to all of us. You go through periods where nothing works out, then the stars align, and you don't sleep for a month." Drake smiled, leaning back, "My plans haven't changed, just here to meet new friends and see where it takes us. What are your thoughts on tonight?"

I gave him a smile and a wink. "Honestly, I don't know. We are kind of winging it tonight. It seems every time we try and make plans, they dissolve into dust. So tonight, we are just going with the flow, if that is okay with you of course".

Drake chuckled, "How long have you two been open like this. From the start?"

"Sort of. We met our junior year of college at a frat party of all places. We were both just coming off bad breakups. We got into a drunken philosophical discussion on the merits of consensual non-monogamous relationships as well as polygamy and polyamory. I mean why can't you flirt with anyone else ever if you're in a relationship. If you're in love and trust one another it shouldn't matter. Besides, who says you are only capable of loving one person. I mean one person is supposed to meet all your needs forever? So, you don't ever get a break? Worse yet is what if you like something your partner doesn't like sexually. Are you to be deprived of that one thing forever? And how selfish is it to say you won't do something for your partner, and not allow someone else to meet that need. I mean when I hired the lawn service Brett didn't come home all upset and jealous of the guy cutting the grass. He was thankful that he didn't have to do it. Then when he hired a housekeeper, I wasn't jealous because she came in and cleaned up our mess. Not at all, we hire housekeepers and lawn services to take care of things when they are getting neglected. Why would this not spill over into the sexual arena?"

Drake's eyebrows raised, "Wow, that's a pretty deep conversation for just meeting."

"Yeah, but we get that way when we are drunk."

He smirked, "Should I order you another?"

I laughed, "I don't know if you could handle me."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Anyway," I said, redirecting the conversation back, "The discussion progressed to talking about the perfect relationship being one free of all the jealousy and insecurity that comes with traditional relationships. The next thing we knew, we were talking about how to build the perfect relationship free of all the things that seemed to end them. We decided the main culprits always came down to money, cheating, and jealousy. If you had an open relationship, you would be open about finance, open about relationships, and open about your emotions, working with each other to overcome jealousy.

"Remember, at the time Brett was just some guy I met at a frat party. We didn't even know each other's names until the end of the night when Brett asked if I would be his open girlfriend. I laughed and said I would. We exchanged numbers, but we never connected."

"A few months later, we ran into each other at another party. This time we were sober when we started talking, and it was like we were old friends. He was handsome and funny. I, of course, was sexy and adorable."

Drake laughed, "Don't forget charming and humble."

I laughed too, "In the middle of our conversation, a girl came up to Brett and slipped her arm into his. Then she stared daggers at me while Brett and I kept talking. After a bit, she interrupted the story Brett was telling by saying,

"'Who is this?' in a most venomous tone.

"Without missing a beat, Brett said, 'Oh, her, that is my wife.'

"I somehow managed not to laugh deciding in an instant I would play along. I watched in dismay as the color drained from the poor girl's face. She then flushed with embarrassment. She regained a little of her composure and said in the whiniest little mouse-like voice,

"'I thought "I" was your girlfriend.'

"Brett smiled and said, "You are baby, Allie and I just have an open marriage.'

"I watched the expression change on the girl's face, and she opened and closed her mouth like a carp, unable to form whatever words were racing through her mind. Then her lips clamped into a tight thin line as she furrowed her brow in what I could only speculate was thoughtfulness.

"Then she smiled sweetly and said, "Nice to meet you. My name is Stacy.'

"She extended her hand nervously. I took it and gave it a reassuring squeeze as I smiled at her.

"'My name is Allie. It's charming to meet you. Brett has told me so much about you.'

"She seemed very confused as she pondered everything a moment before asking in almost a whisper, 'And you're okay with this?'

"I said, 'Whatever makes my husband happy makes me happy.'

"She said, 'Oh, okay,'

"Then Brett kissed her on the cheek, saying, 'Go have some fun babe, I'll see you in a bit.'

"She wandered off, looking dazed and confused.

"As soon as she was out of sight, I turned back to Brett, and when our eyes met, we both began to laugh uncontrollably. I don't remember ever laughing so hard.

"So, after having met only two times, we decided we would be pretend married as kind of a social experiment. It wasn't long until Brett and I became inseparable."

Drake wore a huge grin, "That's crazy, so you guys started dating and have been open ever since?"

"Well, not exactly. We told everyone we were married and in an open relationship, but we weren't even dating. The reality of it was, Brett and I continued as just friends. At first, it was great. Since we were not involved with each other on a physical level, there was no jealousy.

"So, we both dated other people. It didn't take long until it became known, Brett and I were together but also available for other relationships with no strings. The guys flocked to me, and the girls began to throw themselves at Brett. It was a wild couple of months for sure. There were no more jealous boyfriends or girlfriends to contend with and almost no drama.

"After a while, we just stopped dating others because we hung out so much. Eventually, we began to date officially, and as things started to look serious, we sat down and talked about what we wanted. We decided we would base our whole association on honesty, trust, and truth. It was to be an open relationship, and we would talk about issues as they came up and make course corrections so we could live our best life. Then at some point after that we fell in love.

"Funny thing is, even though we both had a pass, we ended up in a mostly monogamous relationship. We had a couple of dates over the next few years with other people, but nothing serious since we have been together.

"After college, as our friends got married or ended up in serious relationships, their spouse or significant other would eventually find out about Brett and my open marriage. Then they would forbid our friend from having anything to do with us. They treated us like we were trying to steal their spouses away or seduce them into joining some crazy sex-cult-like lifestyle.

"The thing is, if we wanted to do that, we could have done it before they met, but whatever. It hurt, and I think we didn't recover from it for a long time. Instead, we just became the thing we said we would never be, and that was a conventional married couple. Then seven years later, here we are."

"Wow, that's crazy," Drake said as the waiter approached the table.

I laughed; "We still haven't decided what we want to eat."

Drake smiled and said, "I have. I just don't know if it's on the menu yet".

The waiter spoke up, "You can request it, and I can check with the chef to see if they can make it. You would be surprised with they can whip up back there."

Drake asked, "Like chicken wings?"

The waiter shot him a curious look before saying, "I believe wings are on the menu, sir."

Once the urge to roll on the floor laughing finally subsided, I said "Thanks, I think I have decided, but I need a few more minutes."

The waiter bobbed his head, "I'll be back shortly."

Drake took another drink from his glass and sat back. "So, the two of you have been interested in the lifestyle for a long time?"

"Yes. We've both had flirty types of relationships with others over the years, but nothing that made it past second base. Well, not until a few months ago."

"What happened a few months ago?"

"Remember I said we have been talking to Ken and Barbie for a while now?"

Drake nodded, taking another sip.

"There is a resort they have a membership at, and they weren't going to make it down there this year. Ken and Barbie thought it might be a great place to dip our toes in the water. So, they offered up their rooms if we wanted them."

"I'm guessing you went; did you learn a lot?"

"Yes, and it was an eye-opener for sure. We started out staying at the resort next door because of storm damage to our room. The resort assigned us to a nice couple who showed us around. One of the things this couple liked to do was dogging. It's when you watch other people have sex, and so we mostly did that."

Drake nodded, "That can be quite erotic. Plus it's a great way to break the ice with other couples."

"Oh, it was hot, we would get all worked up, then head back to the room, and it was game on."

Drake laughed, "Nothing like watching a couple make love right in front of you. Sometimes it's like you can feel the sexual energy radiating off them. Did you end up playing with your hosts?"

I lowered my voice to a confidential tone, "Yes, we played around a few times. We didn't have sex, but there was quite a bit of oral stuff."

I shifted in my chair a little as the butterflies fluttered at the remembering. "At one point, we met a very nice young lady that we did end up taking back to our room. It was an unbelievable night. Then when things were just starting to ramp up, she left abruptly without saying anything. We found out later that she had some family stuff going on, but it kind of screwed us up for a few days thinking we did something wrong. So, we never ended up exploring the lifestyle after that as much as we had hoped."

"Boy, you're not kidding about bad luck." Drake took another sip

"Our sex life is amazing, so we still have that at least!"

Drake rubbed his jawline thoughtfully, "Why have you decided to jump into the lifestyle after so many years of a vanilla life?"

"We spent the first several years of marriage working hard on our relationship and our careers. Now that we have built a strong base, we have extra time, money, and energy to put into other people without neglecting each other. We decided it was time to spread our wings and fly."

My phone vibrated in my purse, and I looked over to where Brett was now sitting alone. I pulled my cell from the side pocket and looked at my screen. I felt butterflies. The message from Brett read, "Barbie had some family business; I'm available. Thumbs up for both of us, Winky face for solo play, thumbs down if it's a no go."

"So, what's next?" Drake asked.

I looked up and smiled warmly, saying, "I think you should call the waiter over and let him know you are getting takeout."

Drake kept his composure, but I watched the corner of his mouth turn up slightly. "Will your husband be joining us for takeout?"