Loosening Up Bk. 05 Ch. 10-14

"Yes. I just didn't want to go charging off and have the idea shot down from the get-go."

No. No. I see the need, particularly if we home school the kids as you suggested a while back. I think we still have at least six months or more before we begin to need a playground, so we have time to do the study and allocate funds, and then implement."

"I'm on it," Maddy said with a grin. "And thanks for all you do for us."

"No, thank you."

They kissed and Maddy skipped off. Dave went back and sat beside Cricket. She held his hand and looked into his eyes almost asking for an explanation.

Dave offered, "She suggested a playground for the toddlers. She's going to do a design and cost study."

Cricket whispered, "And she's pregnant, right?"

Dave gave her a sideways glance that he hoped indicated she shouldn't push the issue in public. No one else had heard her aside, so when she didn't follow-up right then, he was glad. Maddy and Bobbie would reveal her condition when she was ready.

Cricket did spawn a broad grin but immediately rolled her eyes and returned to a more neutral countenance.

Scarlett snuck off with Dale and Nancy for an hour or so in the middle of the afternoon. She came back to the patio half-naked, and glowing with that freshly fucked expression. Nancy was right behind her with Dale.

As she sat down, Dave asked, "Happy?"

Scarlett smiled coyly, "The best. I love this place. No one judges you if you want to go off and make love; if anything, they're supportive."

Cricket said, "Do you suppose five thousand years ago, in various tribes, that this is really how they lived. Each tribe was really a Circle of people that loved each other and they made love all day long."

Dave said, "I think some of the men might have had to go off and slay a wooly mammoth for dinner or something along those lines, but I think you may be right. I think men started to dominate women some time back there, dragging them to their caves by their hair and things like that. We're trying to be more egalitarian, at least in this reincarnation of our tribal Circle."

Scarlett and Cricket both stated that they approved. Scarlett commented that wooly mammoth meat was very tough.

Cricket observed, "The parties we went to in Hollywood hills were not very egalitarian. The women were expected to be at the behest of the men. They weren't, but the expectation was there by a lot of the males, even for someone like Scarlett. Kind of like, okay it's time to strip and let me fuck you."

Scarlett nodded, "Hollywood is not noted for its equal treatment of anybody; they don't walk the talk. Despite the recent press, the casting couch is alive and well in Tinsel Town. At least one of the things about becoming an A-list star is that you can avoid a lot of that kind of shit."

Dave said, "I hope you don't feel pressure to do something you don't want to do here in the Circle."

"Oh, no! If anything, I think my presence intimidates many people. If I want something, I have to ask because they won't ask me in fear of insulting me or irritating me in some way. You know that after I arrived this morning that I was the one that asked you to make love to me, and when I was here for over a month it took a couple of weeks before the men got comfortable enough to even suggest to me that we go off together.

"I guess no one thinks of a movie star as human -- with human needs, aspirations, hopes, and desires. I get horny and have sexual urges just like you all do. I have my own kinks and things I like to do when making love or having sex. I like to fuck, fuck, fuck sometimes instead of making love. Occasionally, I want to be dominated and told what to do, and other times I want to be an equal partner in the bedroom or even dominate.

"I have my fantasies, too. One of my favorite fantasies was a group sex situation like you have here in the Circle. That's why I took to it so readily after you explained it all to me. I like being an exhibitionist and voyeur. I like watching others having sex. I like being watched, especially in an environment where I trust everybody to not splash what I do acrossPeople magazine or some other scandal sheet.

"I'd had fantasies about female-female sex, but I'd never met someone that really turned me on until I visited the last time and met Cricket. She, in turn, led me to Alice and Pam and the others, and then I was a convert. Suddenly, I was happily in the middle of the Kinsey Scale you talk about. I became bisexual, equally content making love with male or female, and in fact because of the balance here, even preferring to be with one of each when we made love."

Dave said in a soft tone, "You still don't have to do anything here that you don't want to do."

Scarlett laughed, "I want to do more! I still have a few fantasies or bucket list items that most women probably would shun."

"BDSM stuff?" Dave asked.

"Kind of. Gangbang, Bukkake, public, and blindfolded to name a few."

"We could help with that. Did you do the Mile High Club with Owen in his jet?"

"No! Oh, what a great idea. Maybe I'm not thinking expansively enough."

Cricket grinned, "I did. We snuck in a short fuck on the way back here this time."

She turned to Scarlett, "You were sleeping with your eye shade on. We were very quiet although I did squeak at the end."

Dave commented, "Oh, good. You join an august body of other Circle women including Alice and Julie who have the honor of being club members."

Scarlett muttered about missing the opportunity.

Jake and Murph showed up to be bartenders for the Saturday evening Circle cocktail hour. They both welcomed Scarlett, Cricket, and Ashley back with hugs and kisses. Dave didn't think they were the least intimidated by Scarlett's fame, or the rising fame of Ashley Steerman or Stevie Wallace -- a.k.a. Ashley Steckler or Cricket.

This time Cindy showed up in a small waitress outfit with a very short skirt and a see-through top to augment the bartenders and distribute drinks to people. She was commando, and liked to flash everybody as she brought their drinks to them.

Cricket had been using Dave's house for her regular mail. If something important looking arrived she'd asked him to open it, assess it, and then send her a scan if she needed to take action. He noticed that some of the mail, even bills, were just addressed to 'Cricket'.

Much to his surprise having just thought about her, Ashley came running across the patio, probably coming from her family's townhouse.

She reached the bar and hugged Dave, Jake, and Murph. She practically screamed and waved her cellphone, "I just got the best news. The title track from my impending album was released as a single a week ago --Texas Dawn. I didn't think anything of it, but I just got a call from my agent and the thing just moved into the Top Forty. He said it's the hottest record on the charts, and he expects it to shoot up to within the top ten by next week, maybe even to number one on the country charts."

Murph said, "That's great. What's it really mean?"

"It means that all the disc jockeys across the country will start to play it more often. More plays means more interest and more sales of both the single and the CD album, and more royalties. Oh, the other thing, he said that the music video we did to go with the song is also getting a lot of play. MTV adopted the video to lead off their 'Rising Stars' show and they keep playing the video about once an hour. It took a lot of work and filming to do it.

Scarlett appeared from inside the core. Ashley ran over and hugged her. She was vociferous in her gratitude to Scarlett for the introductions and the support and the mentoring she'd given.

Scarlett downplayed her role. "You had all the talent. All I did was introduce you to someone that could do something about it if they agreed with me. YOU did ALL the work ... and congratulations on your rising star. I'm so proud of you."

Ashley was awed by Scarlett's attitude and also awed by what was happening to the music she'd made. A large corner had been turned, and even Ashley couldn't see the full implications.

Author's Note to Readers: The books,s andCrystal Clear are works I wrote and published. They may be found in my list of my contributions here for your reading enjoyment or under the author's names TLCgiver and Romantic1.

For dinner, Bobbie had prepared several pork roasts -- a large one for each of dining tables. Each person that sat in front of one got careful instructions on how to slice and serve the dish. They were moist and succulent, and full of flavor. The accompanying side dishes were perfect complements to the meal.

After dinner people lingered to see what Bobbie had produced by way of a dessert. At that point Dave stood, a point that wasn't unusual since a few others had stood. Careful consideration revealed that the others were only his wives. They moved over to where he sat with Cricket and Scarlett, but slowly so no one made a big deal of the gathering of the Prentiss clan in the middle of one table.

Dave took his spoon and rang his water glass to get people's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, a few months ago at our graduation party a very special young woman entered our lives by the name of Cricket."

Cricket's head jerked up to look at Dave and she had a shocked look at the mention of her name. What was he doing? Why had he singled her out?

"Since that time and despite a significant absence the Prentiss family has fallen in love with her -- deeply in love with her. So much in love that WE -- as a family -- never want her to leave.

"Thus, tonight, on behalf of my wives and especially me, I get down on one knee and ask her to please be OUR wife." Dave knelt and held out a small blue velvet box with an engagement ring sparkling in it.

There was a hushed silence across the patio. The only sound that could be heard was a very loud squeak from Cricket as she sucked in a huge amount of air unexpectedly. She stared at Dave for a long time.

Cricket cried, "Oh, God. Yes. Yes. YES. I love you all. This is my fondest dream to really be your wife and be a sister wife with Alice, Julie, Heather, and Pam. I promise I'll be a good family member. I promise. Oh, God, I love you all so much. I love everybody here so much." She kept talking at a rapid rate.

She sprung out of her chair and into Dave's arms, almost knocking him backwards from his kneeling position. They kissed, and just before he stood he slipped an impressive diamond ring on her small ring finger. It fit perfectly.

The others in the Circle were applauding and making approving noises at the couple and at the family.

Cricket held up her hand and started to cry. "I'm ... sooooo ... happy!" she blurted out between her sobs of joy.

Cricket's soon-to-be sister wives all kissed and hugged her and surrounded her in a feminine circle of love, and then Scarlett joined in and the others at the table and nearby.

Scarlett pulled Dave aside, "No ownership, right?"

"Right. She's still herself and so are we, but we just made a lifetime commitment of love to her."

"You aren't going to pull back from the openness in the Circle are you?"

"No. I assume you mean the open sex. That's one of our core values. Definitely not." He laughed at the understatement.

"Good, because I also love Cricket and don't want to lose our physical relationship; the same with Ashley. I'm so glad you asked her. I've known since I met her that this is what she really wanted -- what she needed to be a complete person."

Dave teased, "And what does Scarlett want?"

In a tone that was serious and not at all responsive to the teasing tone Dave had used, she said, "Maybe I want the same thing Cricket got."

Dave studied the movie star only again she didn't seem to be teasing.

Dave asked, "So, why'd you go into nursing?"

Melanie responded first, "My grandmother had been a nurse in World War II, and then my mother became a nurse later on. I just felt like following in their footsteps. Nana was always a trauma nurse. She's gone now, but she worked for over years in the emergency room doing the worst kind of stuff trying to put people back together again. She often knew more than the doctors. She saved a lot of people."

Stephanie picked up the cue from Mel that she should respond. "I love working with people, especially helping them feel better about themselves. I thought of doing social work, but some of my college friends went into nursing because it was more 'hands on', so here I am."

In response to a question from Mel, Dave explained about his work at the utility, emphasizing that much of it was either expanding as new construction took place or preparing for, enduring, and then picking up the pieces of the utility after a major storm like Marco had been. Everyone still talked about Marco as thought it happened yesterday.

Lisa and Jim were sitting with the three lingering over a Friday night dinner. Things were going slowly since neither Mel or Steph had learned very much about the Circle, the philosophy, or the habits of the members.

The dinner conversation had revolved around how careers were chosen and changed, Dave wondered about the two nurses. They too worked at the main hospital and they knew Grace and Lisa. Lisa had suggested she bring them around, but there was nothing further said about them. They'd been by on a drop-in basis once or twice before during the day, but Dave hadn't had a chance to say more than hello to them.

Melanie Pilchard was a pretty blonde with shoulder length hair and dark set eyes that Lisa called 'bedroom eyes', he thought more because she'd like to have her in the bedroom than for any other reason. Mel was mid-thirties, shapely, and had a figure not too different from Alice or Julie. She had a delicate air about her, and Dave thought she probably had a wonderful bedside manner, especially with older male patients. She worked in the orthopedics area of the hospital and had a specialty in working with doctors replacing knees, hips, and shoulders.

Stephanie Grayson was a gorgeous booby brunette with a million dollar smile. She had long hair down to her shoulder blades, brown eyes, and a sexy air about her. She was a natural flirt, and Dave thought she probably wasn't even aware of how she interacted with men she'd just met. He felt an invitation from her and they'd barely met.

Lisa had assured Dave that she'd said little about the Circle other than she had a lot of friends there, and it was a great place to hang out. She'd raved so much about the chef, that they finally called her bluff and asked her to take them to one of the dinners; thus, their presence at the Circle that night.

Ken and Patti trooped into the core from their final flight for the long weekend hoping to find some plates held over for them by Bobbie. They were late. They stood by Dave after greetings from Ken and a passionate kiss from Patti that made the two nurses unfamiliar with the Circle raise their eyebrows.

Dave explained, "It's all right. She's engaged to him." He pointed to Ken, who laughed.

Ken explained, "We've got to change clothes, and I'm starved. We didn't get a chance to eat in Raleigh due to a ground hold due to weather. We had to wait for a connecting flight from Newark and they were stormy up there. We'll see you in a little while."

As they were leaving, Patti leaned down and said somewhat in a loud whisper in Dave's ear, "Later. You and me. Gazebo." She laughed softly and followed Ken with her long strides despite the snug designer skirt.

The two nurses were looking at Dave expecting some kind of explanation about the last comment from Patti. He didn't respond.

Lisa said, "Oh, the gazebo. That's the little pavilion at the other end of the pool. It's all full of jasmine this time of year." The fact that Lisa diverted the conversation signaled to Dave that he should avoid some his usual teasing or taking pleasure in some of the revelations about the Circle or his family.

Mel and Steph allowed the subject to drop, but Steph seemed to pay a little more attention after the exchange, including watching what others were doing.

The sun was gone in the sky by then, but the sky was light and fading fast. Ty put on his dance playlist, and soon a half-dozen couples were swaying close together and making out on the makeshift dance floor.

Lisa popped up and said, "Okay, ladies. Time to leave. We have miles to go before we sleep." She elbowed Jim.

Jim said, "Yes, I need to get to the club. You can have some prime seats if you want to come down. Fridays are amateur nights if you're up for it." He laughed in a way that indicated he had not the slightest expectation that either Mel or Steph would even set foot in the club let alone get on stage and strip.

They all stood, Dave bid them all goodbye, kissed Lisa with a mere peck, shook hands with Jim, and then watched as they exited between two of the homes. Steph was looking back over her shoulder and gave a flirty little wave. She didn't want to leave, and Dave suspected she sniffed out that something far more significant was about to happen in the Circle than just the nice dinner and conversation.

The invitations to the Halloween party had made it as obvious as could be that this was a very risqué party and that costumes verging on nudity were more than welcome. All outsiders were reminded that they should also bring a recent STD test so things stayed happy before, during, and after the party.

Dave and Donna did a lot of the planning, even getting a DJ to help with the music in the early part of the evening. Bobbie did a mix of catering with her own creations of a Halloween flare and arranging for her favorite caterers to bring in various themed treats. As before, the nursery was moved to the living room of Aaron and Shelby's home and some babysitters hired to monitor baby things and to ignore anything else they saw.

The babysitters were also warned about the nudity that would be rampant at the party and had to sign an NDA regarding what they saw, who was there, and so forth. They got the message to keep their mouths shut, but it also put them on notice that very interesting things would be happening on the patio and in the core public rooms. They were told they could talk to any of the attendees but no one on the 'outside'.

The night of the party, Dave and Julie took the first hour checking people in at what they'd created as the spooky main entrance, complete with eerie sounds and spooky 'smoke' coming from bins of dry ice. Upon proving their safe state of health, attendees got a stamp on the back of their left hand. No one that showed up failed. This was a party people really wanted to attend.

Ty and Dori relieved the couple about eight-thirty. Just as he was preparing to go back and join the main party, a pretty young brunette wearing a red and yellow knee socks and a witch's hat and carrying a crude flying broom arrived and got her hand stamped. Dave watched her and knew he knew her, but couldn't recall her name.

The sexy witch came to Dave and kissed him, rubbing her breasts back and forth across his chest as she looked up at him. She said, "I hope you remember me from the graduation party. I'm Morgan Collier. I really wanted to stay in touch, but I took a job out of state so haven't been in Sarasota that much; that's changed now since my six month training program is complete. I put the arm on Heather to let me come tonight so she invited me. I'm kind of hoping you'll make me cum, too. You did something to me at the party that I've never forgotten and never found anybody that could even come close to duplicating. I still love you, but I hope to know you so much better after this weekend." She held up the back of her left hand to him so he could see her stamp of approval.