Incompatible Needs Pt. 01

They both nodded slowly and unhappily. Anne finally said, "So what do you propose?"

Time for the flying leap across the abyss. "We've been looking at it as three separate relationships: a romantic relationship between Steve and Anne; a romantic relationship between Anne and Helen; and a friendship between Helen and Steve. Even if Anne wouldn't object to it, and I know she would, I have no interest in pursuing a romantic relationship with anyone outside of this triangle."

I fixed Helen with my gaze. "But I am attracted to you, Helen. And you say that you're attracted to me." Anne looked unhappy, but somewhat resigned. She knew where this was going. "I'm not in love with you, and I assume you're not with me?" She shook her head. "So the threat to my marriage is much lesser. I'm not saying that what you and Anne want is a threat, but if it is, then you and me being sexually involved is a much smaller threat than you and Anne being in love with each other. Agreed?" They both nodded, Anne slower and much more unhappily.

I opened my mouth, but Anne groused, "It's not the same. You're not in love with her. You're just... you're being an opportunist. Trying to get the threesome I'd never let you have. Extorting us."

I bit my lip, weighing what she said. On some level, it was a little true. But not nearly as much as she'd like to believe. "Anne, If our roles were reversed, if I had a thing with my roommate back in college, he later moved in with us, and I came to the realization that I didn't just love him as a friend, but I was actually in love with him, would you even slightly consider giving me a chance to explore that?"

She frowned. We both knew the answer to that.

"Right. But I am giving you a chance to explore this with Helen. You believe you can do that without diminishing our relationship, yes? Without harming us." A reluctant nod. "Then why can't I do the same? Why can't I enjoy a sexual relationship, just like you, with the same person that you're having one with, and not damage our marriage? You're deepening your connection with her. I want to do the same."

She made a series of faces, but finally spat out, "Fine."

I turned to Helen. "I want to be clear. I'm not going to make this a precondition to you and Anne. I... I'll be unhappy if I'm not part of it, but I value our friendship too much to do that to you. Okay? Regardless of what you decide, I'm going to give you two the go ahead to explore this. I'm not happy about it, but I'd rather find out if..." I glanced at Anne. "... if... if things won't work out between Anne and me because of this. I think they can. I think they can, because I believe her. When it comes down to it, I believe that she does need a man and that she is in love with me. But I know you don't, and you aren't."

Helen looked at me apprehensively. I didn't know if that was because she was afraid of what I was asking, afraid of saying yes, or afraid of saying no.

"Helen, I do love you as a friend, and we are attracted to each other. I want to ask you a slightly different version of the question I asked earlier: if you didn't think it would damage my marriage, would you want to pursue a romantic relationship with me?" A series of nods, becoming more rapid as she became more resolved.

"Okay. Then what I propose is that we stop looking at it as three separate, competing relationships, and instead as one: Steve, Anne, and Helen, together. We're free to be friends with each other, obviously; Anne, you're still my best friend in the world-- " She gave me a little annoyed look and grudgingly nodded. "-- and Helen, you're right there behind her. And I know how strong your friendship is with each other. We're free to be lovers with each other as well, either as two people that are in love with each other-- " Anne and Helen smiled at each other. "-- or just as people that love each other." I took Helen's hand and kissed it, and Anne, surprising me, gave the very tiniest of smiles.

Helen nodded. Anne finally relented, albeit a bit grumpily, "Okay, Steve, okay. I'm convinced. And it looks like Helen is, too." I smiled. Whew, that was-- "In theory. We need to figure out... Helen and I said we'd explore this before we dove in. And we'll want to do the same thing with you. So how do we..." She glared at me. "You fuck, this really was about your threesome all along."

Helen raised an eyebrow, and I just chuckled. "No, it wasn't. That's just the best way to figure out whether it's all going to work. It's not my fault that my fantasy is the simplest way to test the waters. You and I can both see if we can live with the realities of... well, of the other being with Helen. Helen and I can find out if we're sexually compatible."

Anne said, "And you get to enjoy your depraved fantasy."

I laughed. "Compared to mine, yours are way more fucked, my love. Or did you forget about that one you told me about, the cuckquean--" She shushed me. I turned to Helen. "What do you think? Does this sound like something you want to explore? Like this?"

She stood up, still holding my hand, and gestured to Anne. "No time like the present." Then she turned to me and kissed me, our first real, intentional kiss. The spark was definitely there, and I wanted to see what kind of fire we'd create together. I could tell by the way she began to mold herself to me that she did, too.

"Ahem." Anne cleared her throat, an annoyed expression on her face. She'd taken Helen's hand. "Are we going to do this in the living room, or do you want to take it somewhere more private, pervert?" She was trying to sound nonchalant but looked extremely nervous. We all were.

I had never expected to lead another woman to our bedroom. That's what it was: our bedroom, emphasis on "our." It was a space for us, within a space that was already for us. A last bastion inside our castle. But now, we were inviting another person into it. Not an invader, but still foreign. Like a dignitary or a diplomat, welcomed but not yet entirely trusted to maintain the order of our little kingdom. A danger to our peace. But also someone bearing opportunities to be explored.

Once inside, I turned to the girls and realized that I really hadn't thought this far ahead. In my fantasies, the women would be stripping each other and me as if our nakedness was the only thing between the world and certain doom. But my wife and our friend both looked as confused about what to do next as I did. Then it dawned on me that we had an honored guest, our lovely foreign dignitary, and everything fell into place in my mind.

"Helen." She looked at me, curious. "I'm so glad you're here with us. I know Anne is, too." Anne smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "I know this is uncharted territory for all of us, but especially for you. Anne and I are deeply in love with each other and have been for years." I smiled at my wife, and she gave me a look of love in return. "Intimate for years. We already know how to be comfortable with each other here. And we want you to be comfortable, too. We're going to go at your pace tonight." Anne nodded at me; I think she was glad I was the one taking the lead, but presenting it in a way that let Helen feel as though she had the most input. "Please, let us know if... if there's anything you're not comfortable with, okay?"

Helen nodded and I continued. "This might sound a little strange, especially since we've barely kissed at this point-- " She smiled and blushed, an adorably innocent expression for a love that would soon be anything but. "-- but I want to make sure, especially tonight, that there are no ambiguities. Do you understand?" A hesitant nod from her.

"I don't know..." I paused, trying to think of a way to say this delicately. "You and Anne have a history together, but even then, it's been a while. I'm sure you'll have fun discovering what's changed and what's the same." She flashed a little embarrassed smile, while Anne got visibly more aroused. I gave my wife a small grin, and she returned it with just a touch of embarrassment.

"But you and I, we don't have that. Not yet. I'm looking forward to building that kind of trust with you. But until then, especially with there being three of us together this first time-- " A raised eyebrow from Anne. "-- I'd like to suggest we use safewords tonight if any of us get uncomfortable. I don't expect us to be doing anything too out there, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Is that okay?"

Helen looked away shyly. "I don't have a safeword. I don't..." She sighed. "I don't have a lot of experience. I mean, I've been in a few relationships, but they were all pretty vanilla. It's never really come up."

I nodded. "Okay. That's okay." Anne gave her another reassuring squeeze of her hand, and Helen smiled at her, then looked back to me. "Let's go with something simple: stoplights. Red means stop immediately and we'll talk about things. Yellow means 'go slow and take caution.' And green means full speed ahead." She looked a little hesitant, but nodded. I moved to stand closer to her. "Hey, listen. No one is going to get upset if you need to use one, okay? They're called 'safewords' for a reason. We want you to feel safe."

I put my finger under her chin and tipped her face up towards mine, then gave her a gentle, sweet kiss. She closed her eyes after we broke away from each other and smiled. "Mmm green. Definitely green." Anne chuckled and kissed her cheek. Helen turned her head to Anne and kissed her sweetly, too. She put her forehead against Anne's after the kiss, then looked to me. "I want..." She smiled, a little embarrassed. "When I came to your house, that awful night of the fire, I... you had your shirt off. You looked so hot. Can... would you?"

I stepped away and took my shirt off. Slowly, trying to give her a show without it seeming too much like it was a show. She let out a tiny gasp when I was done, her eyes a little glassy. I know life can get in the way sometimes, but I still go to the gym as regularly as I can. It's nice to get feedback that it's working. And it was even nicer to see the look on Anne's face; she'd seen it all before, and she still had that wonderful look of naked lust in her eyes.

I held my hands out to my girls, and they came forward to embrace me. I kissed Anne, then Helen, quick but passionate kisses, a sampler of what the night had in store for us. "I want to see you. Both of you." Helen tensed. "Would you be more comfortable if I went into the next room while you got ready? Or would you prefer if I stayed?"

She looked away and spoke quietly. "I know... I know this is a fantasy of yours." She looked up at me and gave me a slow, sensuous kiss. "I want to be your fantasy, Steve. Tell me what you want." She was so sweet, so earnest. But I could tell that she was still nervous. I looked at Anne, and she shrugged.

I sat in a chair in the corner and gestured to Helen. "Come here. Sit in my lap." She looked back nervously at my wife as she let go of her hand. Anne smiled encouragingly and nodded, which seemed to erase Helen's doubts. Once seated, she curled up to me, kissing me tenderly.

"Anne." Anne looked in my eyes. "Strip for us. We're here because we both want to be with you. Give us a little reminder of how amazing you are." She grinned a wicked, almost predatory grin at me, the twin to that naughty little pout of hers. The grin that said she was getting everything she wanted, and I should be grateful for that, because I was about to as well. I could almost see the word "pervert" forming in her mind.

Standing next to the bed, she started by removing her shirt, pulling upwards on the hemline and slowly, teasingly displaying the incredible body hidden within. Her bra was flesh colored and practical; this wasn't a night any of us had planned for, but that made it somehow so much sexier. This was a thing we were doing because we needed to, right now. No time for fancy presentation or planned seductions. We were here together because there was an urgent need in all of us to see where this would go.

She reached behind herself, her chest arching outwards as she found the clasp and released it. Where the removal of her shirt had been teasing, this was quick and efficient. She let her bra slide off her arms and fall to the ground, revealing her beautiful, perky breasts, tipped with small pink nipples that had hardened to tiny erasers. Anne beamed at us, powerful in the knowledge of her beauty. She undid the snap on her jeans and unzipped them, hinting at the treasures hidden within. Bending over, her eyes fixed on us, she slowly lowered her jeans to the ground, then stepped out of them.

Her show was having a definite effect on both Helen and myself. My erection was insistently pressing into her body; she had ground herself against it, almost unconsciously, as we sat together. Helen was flushed; I knew it had been a long time since she'd been with anyone, and her arousal must have been almost excruciating. Now, there was her former and soon-to-be-again lover nearly naked in front of her, sensually stripping for her, while she sat in her future lover's lap, feeling his cock hard against her ass. My hand had been stroking her stomach, and we had alternated between appreciating the show my wife was putting on for us, and engaging in deep, warm kisses.

Anne watched us, a show that was happening because of her show, two performances in parallel, each informing the other. Hers may have been more practiced, more focused, but it was no less a display of lust than the one featuring Helen and me. My wife waited until we were both watching her, then turned her back on us and bent over, sliding her panties down her legs. Her shaved pink pussy glistened in the dim light, her need clearly visible, and my mouth watered. My hand moved to Helen's breast. I felt her nipple growing erect as her open mouth descended on mine, probing its recesses with her tongue. Her hand had been stroking my chest, hesitant to move downward for fear of finding the thing she wanted, but now it began to descend to my stomach, then lower.

Anne crossed to us, and Helen broke our kiss, her hand frozen just above the waistband of my pants. She looked longingly up at Anne. My wife bent at the waist and Helen continued with her the kiss that she'd begun with me, a fierce hunger that wanted to consume my wife. That might consume us all.

With a growl, Anne said, "Your turn, Hel." She took Helen's hand and pulled her from my embrace. Our friend looked suddenly afflicted with nerves, so I nodded to Anne. She pulled Helen to center stage, and I was suddenly just an audience of one, not a participant. At least for the time being.

Anne traced Helen's ample curves. They kissed passionately, Helen's back to me. Helen was wearing a simple sweater dress, and, as they embraced, my wife began to slowly pull it off of our friend's body. Helen briefly froze, apparently still nervous to be naked in front of me for the first time. But Anne's kiss became more aggressive, and Helen melted.

As her dress rose above her hips, I saw that Helen was similarly garbed in practical undergarments. I actually had no idea if Helen even had anything but practical undergarments. As shy as she seemed about her body, I would be surprised if she had anything lacy or frilly in her underwear drawer. I'd need to change that if we continued together after tonight.

Anne paused and pawed at Helen's ass, squeezing and kneading it. Helen began to moan; the two former... no, not former anymore. The two lovers. The notion excited me, and I shifted as my erection became even more uncomfortably hard, something I would have thought impossible. The two lovers knew each other's bodies well, and I idly thought that I should be taking notes for later.

Helen's dress continued its ascent, up and past her bra, then over her head. The two broke their kiss very briefly to fully remove it, but when they rejoined each other any pretense or shyness was long gone. Their mouths found each other again, and the air was filled with soft moans and the sounds of wet, passionate kisses. Helen's hands cupped Anne's gorgeous tits, and the love of my life let out a loud groan as Helen began to roll the tiny nibs capping them between her fingers.

Anne's hands frantically worked the clasp on Helen's bra and opened it, releasing her large, soft breasts from their confinement. Her hands slid up and down her lover's back, delicate caresses, slowly trending downwards towards her hips. My wife's eyes opened, and she winked at me, then tugged Helen's underwear down with a flourish, leaving my girls both naked in front of me.

Anne saw something in my face then. Not just desire, although that was there in abundance. Trust. Love. I trusted her to not hurt me. I believed, truthfully and honestly, that what I was watching, what we were doing, was not infidelity. This was just fidelity expressed differently; a love expanded, not one divided. It surprised me, but it was how I felt in that moment. That, I think, was what finally convinced her, that shared moment.

She knew, of course, that I did want a threesome. I had made no secret of that. But I think she had believed previously that was all this was; a way to trick her into getting what I wanted, an abuse of her trust. But she knew now, could see now that my love for her was the primary reason we were all in this room together. This wasn't a profane need for stimulation. It was a sacred confirmation of my love for her. Her eyes softened, the wickedness that had been in them since we began replaced by a thoroughgoing devotion to me. I thought I saw a happy tear in her eye. That was when I believed that we had made it across the abyss. I didn't know how wrong I was until much later.

With one hand she bade me to stand and undress. I did so silently, and my cock sprang free, ready for my wife and her lover. She gazed admiringly at me, and I felt a sense of pride. Seven years together, and she still longed for me, still felt a deep lust when she saw me. Then, that wicked glint in her eye again, the one that promised we were both about to get what we wanted.

She whispered in Helen's ear, inaudible to me. Helen turned to see me and gasped. Anne kissed her neck. "Look what you've done to my husband. Look what you've done to your lover." As Anne nibbled up her lover's neck to her earlobe, Helen's body quivered, but her eyes remained firmly locked on my cock. She licked her lips and softly moaned, and I knew that Anne had spoken the truth. Helen and I would be together soon, lovers for the first time.

Helen's body was beautiful; again a marked contrast from Anne's, but both gorgeous in their way. Where Anne had shaved herself bare, Helen's bush was wild and untamed. Her full, heavy breasts sagged slightly, and they were invitingly topped with large, dark brown nipples. Anne's hands moved to them, massaging them, and Helen closed her eyes and softly groaned. I could see, even from here, how ready Helen was, a trickle of her juices starting to trail down one thigh.

She wanted me, and I wanted her. But I needed this to be about them for now. Part of that, if I'm being honest, was because of my fantasy; I really, really wanted to watch them together for a while. But the more important part was to let them know that I had been honest: if Helen and I were incompatible, I needed them to know that I was fine with them exploring this aspect of their relationship together.

"Take your girlfriend to bed, Anne. I want to watch you together." At the word "girlfriend," both of them reacted, Helen with a happy little gasp and Anne with a renewed look of love and a mouthed "thank you."

Anne took Helen by the hand and sat on the edge of the bed. They continued to kiss, and I stood patiently waiting. I don't know what kind of telepathy enabled them to know how they would start together, but soon Anne was laying fully on the bed with her head resting on our pillows. Her legs opened invitingly, both for her girlfriend and my gaze; I think she thrilled in each equally. Helen climbed up between those athletic thighs, and she did something only I had done for almost a decade: she began to worship my wife's pussy with her mouth.