Loosening Up Bk. 09 Ch. 01-05

As Dave worked as a feverish pace serving up the omelets, he counted sixteen new people in their midst. Every one of them seemed comfortable in their own skin, and not the least bit embarrassed by the nudity on the patio of the exhibitionist activities of the night before.

About ten a.m., as people sat around having coffee and talking, Cricket and Bridget went from table to table talking to the newbies. Soon, the whole group got up and went into the core living room. Dave was curious what was going on.

After finishing his own breakfast and enjoying some conversation with Paris, he sauntered into the core and peeked into the core living room.

Cricket and Bridget had the whole group arranged in a casual circle, much like the Circle 101 classes. Cricket was talking about just who the Circle was, and giving an overview about who belonged, and what all went on. Every one of the sixteen 'guests' seemed enthralled with what she was saying.

As Dave watched, Bridget even turned on one of the large television sets and played a ten-minute clip from the reality TV series The Circle. Cricket mentioned there was a book available that she'd give them.

Dave heard the question and answer session start, leading off, of course, with questions about how sexual the Circle members seemed to be. Bridget fielded that, talking about hypersexuality, raging hormones, and developing loving relationships instead of transactional fuck sessions more prevalent the evening before. She talked about circumstances such as the previous night when people often let their hair down, and just let their hormones govern their behavior. There was a lot of laughter.

Dave sat away from the group, but listening. He nodded favorably to Bridget and Cricket when they saw him, but when they signaled that he should come up and lead the discussion, he shook his head and deferred to them.

Bridget and Cricket were very thorough in what they covered over forty minutes. They even linked back to who else in the Circle had come to the Circle by way of the university. The number of faculty and staff participating amazed those sitting there. The link to Phi Theta Rho was strengthened since most of the men in the group were brothers of that fraternity. Several of the women belonged to Kappa Delta Alpha or KDA, a sorority on campus. The toga party was really a joint effort of the fraternity and the sorority, but many others attended the bash.

Ashley and Ben found Dave sitting watching the mini-Circle 101 class and joined him. He whispered to Ashley, "How'd you make out last night?"

She pointed into the group sitting in the rap session. "I scored with Caleb. He's nice and very mature. He doesn't know who I am, just yet. I thought we might have some fun with him a little later to let him know he got to fuck America's country music sweetheart, little Ashley Steerman. We never did last names."

"If I can help let me know." Ashley nodded and then tuned into the discussion.

Dave heard the young man he'd met named Neo say, "So, if we wanted to join up here, all we'd have to do is hang out?"

Bridget explained what that meant. She also talked about service jobs, dining together, building friendships, and building relationships with men AND women. Cricket talked about loosening up and getting outside of the insular shell many university students create around themselves prior to graduation. "Meet other people here - they want to meet you; befriend them; learn enough about them to love them; everything else will take care of itself along the way. We want people who are open minded and tolerant."

After a lull in the Q&A session, Cricket called Dave, Ashley, and Ben up to the front of the room. Here are more of our members. Did we do okay, boss?"

Dave laughed, "You were wonderful." Dave explained about 'pledging' and how that was kind of modeled after what happened in fraternities and sororities - get to know everybody. He mentioned the Circle 101 class, not unlike what was going on right there, and talked about a few of the other benefits of Circle membership as well as the costs to belong to defray the great meals, the physical plant, and so on.

Bridget teased, "Why don't you tell them some of the famous people that also belong here - and while you're at it, talk about your WIVES." She emphasized the plural.

Dave chuckled, "I happen to have ten wives. I've made that many serious commitments. Let's see at least two of them are famous for some nice reasons: Cricket, right here, is a noted author of the books Road Trip and Crystal Clear that were made into movies. Scarlett Johansson, another of my wives, played the lead role in those movies as the character Crystal.

Elsewhere in the Circle we have a billionaire, Owen Bennett. He and I share two wives, which tells you something about the culture here. Lastly, we have America's favorite country music singer Ashley Steerman, right here, also belonging to our Circle."

Dave went and did a high five with Ashley, and the two glanced over at Caleb. His jaw had dropped to the floor and he was blubbering nonsense syllables in a muted tone. There was some drool at the corner of his mouth. Ashley laughed and went over to the poor man and cuddled up next to him, pulled his arm around her and kissed his cheek. Several others in the group laughed or chuckled as Dave briefly explained that he had no idea who she really was. She eventually picked up one of his hands and placed it on her bare breast. He froze in position when that happened.

Cricket gave out copies of her book to the sixteen guests and Dave gave out business cards and invited questions from anybody about any topic. Dave stressed that unlike the Land of the Muggles, questions about the sex, relationships, and every possible interaction were openly discussed and not off limits.

Cricket invited everyone to stay for lunch and to meet more of the Circle members, and all but three of them did. The three that left had other commitments that afternoon, apologized, but said that they wanted to come back and learn more about the Circle.

Dave suggested that the thirteen remaining 'guests' separate so that no more than three were at any one of the lunch tables; that way, they would each get a chance to meet a broader cross-section of Circle members and pledges. The group liked that idea and separated accordingly.

Not surprisingly, at Dave's table he had Piper, Bunny, and a young man named Carter, who grew up in South Africa and had a delightful accent when he spoke. Others at the table were Merry Noel, Marie Thereaux, Bob Fuller, and Larry Wainwright. Dave had each of the Circle members give a short bio of themselves and then got the students to do the same.

Piper Perry came from Knoxville, Tennessee, played the guitar and piano, was a senior, and was an English major. She expected to teach in some elementary school, so was also majored in education.

Bunny Johnson had come to Florida from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, played field hockey and ran short distance road races, and was a history major. She was also a senior and had no idea what she wanted to do after graduation. She admitted that she'd just started to think about employment as she got to within six months of graduation. She sighed and said, "I never thought about what I'd do with my degree."

Piper and Bunny mentioned that they'd each joined Kappa Delta Alpha a few years ago in the hopes of improving their social graces and social life. Both had improved, but each felt that the previous evening at Phi Theta Rho and then the Circle had propelled them to a whole new level. Both cited Dave as one of the reasons.

Carter Ford was a junior in Mechanical Engineering. He was not athletic, but did play in pick-up basketball games. He confessed to being more of a nerd than anything, and he was looking for some life-changing situation that would transform him into a more friendly, outgoing, and loveable guy.

Carter also confessed to a slight embarrassment over the half-naked mode of dress displayed by all of the women at the table, and most of the women on the patio having lunch. "I was raised in a prim and proper environment - your Land of Muggles, as you called it a few minutes ago. I love this situation, but it's taking some getting used to otherwise if I stand up, I'll embarrass myself.

"Perhaps most concerting, although I wouldn't change a thing, is that I took anthropology as an elective last year, and my professor is sitting across the table from me and I can't help but stare at her beautiful breasts just the way I did in class, only now I can see them for real."

His comment provoked some laughter. Marie shook her breasts at Carter in a cute shimmy that made them do marvelous and titillating revolutions on her chest.

Piper volunteered, "The nudity - or nearly so - is a little disconcerting to me, too. The fact that every female here is similarly clad or unclad makes it more acceptable. I love this atmosphere. I may never put on another bra. I wish the university had the same dress code that they have here."

Bob teased, "Well, maybe you can get all your sisters at your sorority house to adopt this dress code, even if it's just within the house. At least, it'd be a step in the right direction."

Merry Noel said, "I have kind of stopped wearing a bra. If you have exhibitionist tendencies the way I do, you can find just the right clothing that allows a shadow of your areolas to be evident in the right light. I can help you both pick out the right things to do that. White cotton blouses are wonderful on that account."

There were a few snarky comments and a lot of laughter.

After lunch, most of the students carpooled back to the campus and their regular homes. Dave noted that Bunny, Hank, and a girl named Austin stayed. They each talked briefly, and then staked out chaises in the sun and each started to read Cricket's book. Unless Dave was mistaken, the more they read, the move involved with the book they became.

Cricket joined Dave on his chaise, and they shared many kisses. After pledging their love, she said, "I think we may have sixteen new pledges to the Circle. This is crazy. We had no idea this would happen, and with so many students, too."

Dave said, "I assure you that people will self-select in or out of the Circle. Once they realize what a significant difference this is from a 'normal' life in Muggleland, and when the realize that they can't talk about the Circle with their parents and contemporaries, you can bet there won't be sixteen new pledges in the mix."

The following Saturday Dave was reading on the patio when a very panicked Emma raced up to him. She was clad in the standard Circle weekend monokini, and looked absolutely beautiful.

As she approached, he again could hear her muttering, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," repeatedly. She stopped in front of him and changed her mantra to one word, "HELP!" She stated the plea loudly, but only Dave seemed to hear her.

Dave put his hand out to her, "What's wrong, honey? No, don't tell me. I bet I know. Your parents are about to pay you a visit, only this time they've read the book and watched the reality TV series - Season One."

Emma rolled her eyes heavenward, "Exactly. They'll be here any minute. They called me five minutes ago and they were just getting off the Interstate at our exit. What do I do?"

Dave advised, "Take a deep breath. Relax. Become Miss Cool-Calm-and-Collected. You are the master of your fate and the keeper of your soul. You have done and are doing nothing wrong. You chose the lifestyle of the Circle for a number of reasons. You may or may not chose to share those reasons with your parents or sister. Just relax."

Even the way Dave talked helped calm the young woman. Dave gestured to the chaise beside him and she sat with a plop. "Did you tell the guard at the gatehouse to expect their arrival?"

"Oh, no, I didn't." She whipped her cellphone from inside the left-butt-cheek of her monokini and hit the speed dial. In a couple of seconds, she gave some information to the guard and asked that he tell them where they should park and which homes to come between. The homes on Circle Drive had prominent house numbers.

Dave said, "OK, now stretch out in the sun and pretend that you haven't a care in the world. I'll tell you a story that you've probably heard that will ensure that your relationship with your parents and sister will turn out better."

Dave quickly recapped the story about Alice, Julie, and Karen's recalcitrant parents and how they'd ultimately tried to kidnap Karen's two children and abduct them back to Ohio because it was their God-given duty to raise their kids in the Bible Church of Hamilton, Ohio. He talked about how Nikky pretended to be Christiana, and been the one to actually get abducted, and then the shooting, the arrests, and subsequent prison terms, including of the children's grandfather on kidnapping charges. He also mentioned Karen and her family winning their civil lawsuit. He ended by saying, "That's kind of the worst-case scenario about how parents might respond to one or some of their children being in the Circle. I'm sure your situation will be much better than that."

Emma had visibly relaxed. "Thank you. I needed that. Yes, I'm sure I'll fare better. At worst, they may sever ties with me."

Emma rose and said, "I'm going to be proactive. I'll go and greet them as they come up the Access Road to park." She strolled away and between a couple of the homes and disappeared. She was barefoot but wore nice dark red monokini.

A little over five minutes later, Dave saw Emma leading her parents and sister onto the patio from between the same two homes. She strutted proudly with her bare breasts leading the way. The day was warm, and most of the other women were also wearing monokinis.

Emma led them to one of the picnic tables, had them sit, and then went to the bar and got a couple of cans of Pepsi and some water bottles for them. She carried them back to the table and then sat with them. Dave waited for the detonation, but none came.

Dave watched a serious discussion breakout, and unless he was wrong it turned out to be the two daughters against the parents in terms of who was arguing with whom. After about fifteen minutes, Dave decided to intervene and strolled over.

"Hi. Dean and Marcia and Carla, right?" He put out his hand and shook Dean's hand, and then Marcia's. He gave a sideways wink at Carla just to let him know who's side he was on.

Dean spoke, "Errr, we've been struggling with what we learned about the Circle since we were here two weeks ago. The ... sex bothers us."

Dave nodded in a wise way. "That's not surprising. I kind of had my own similar reaction when two of my stepchildren decided they wanted to be regular Circle members. It took me a few days to get used to the idea."

Marcia said, "You have children Emma's age?"

"A year or so younger, actually. Oh, they're of legal age, but their mothers and I weren't expecting anything like this until they were well into their thirties or possibly past age forty. It's hard for parents to let go and allow their offspring to make tough decisions about lifestyle, friends, lovers, and how they will structure their relationships and family. I guess we kind of hope they'll mimic how we grew up, but then they don't and some form of disappointment sets in." Dave tried to keep from getting preachy, but he hoped the message he was sending would get across.

Marcia asked, "Has this happened before in your Circle?"

Dave chuckled, "It's not my Circle, but to your question, yes. He proceeded to tell them about Alice, Julie, Karen, and the Bible Church, and ultimately about the prison terms being served by five men, and the result of the lawsuit. Dean and Marcia sat with their jaws agape as the story unfolded in more detail this time.

Dave summed it up, "We reach a point where we have to let our kids do what THEY think is right. If it's not, they'll hopefully learn fast enough. Some of our members have gone through rocky marriages and divorced before they discover us; I guess that shows at least one recovery mechanism that can be invoked when a bad decision is made. None of the married couples in the Circle have separated."

Dean said, "Is sexual intercourse really practiced between everybody in your Circle?"

Dave shook his head. "What we practice is building warm and loving relationships with people we really like. Unlike the world outside our gates, we grant ourselves the flexibility to build those relationships in multiple dimensions of mind, body, and spirit without limitations on any of those elements including sacred and Tantric sexuality. As I am sure you have found within your own family, the sex completes the love you feel and makes it better, and the love you feel for each other makes the sex something exceptional. This is our world and how we also live."

There was a long silence. Dean and Marcia both stared at Dave apparently hoping he'd say more. He didn't.

Carla finally said, "Based on what I read and saw in the video, this is the kind of place I would choose to live in if I had the option. Is this place totally unique?"

Dave smiled at Carla, "No, we're not unique. There are polyamorous communities scattered all over the country - the world, in fact. They each create their own culture and rules of conduct. One estimate one of my wives showed me about the U.S. was that three to five percent of the population lives in some kind of structure similar to this. That might mean that up to fifteen million people live in a Circle-like atmosphere of some kind. The estimate for the number of people that have, at one time or another in their life lived this way, is higher as you might expect."

Emma finally spoke, "Mom, Dad, you raised me in a loving home. I've now found a loving community that gives me even more loving feelings and includes me more than I ever felt growing up. That's not a negative statement about how I was raised, but it is a positive statement about the Circle. We are loving and protective of each other, and each other's feelings."

Marcia asked, "Have you and my daughter ... you know ...?" She made a slight gesture indicating two things coming together.

Dave almost laughed. "I love you daughter very much. She's a delight to talk with and interact with. The rest of your question is way out of line."

"Oh ... yes, certainly." She backed down.

Emma went and held onto Dave's arm, clutching it intimately to her bare breasts. The visual message was pretty clear. She said, "And I love Dave, probably more than anybody else in the world. I do not expect to become one of his wives, but they are also people I love and have a great relationship with. Dave and several other men and women are mentoring me, and helping me with my after-graduation plans. I've already told them that I don't want to leave this area. I've found my home, and this is where I want to live for the foreseeable future.

"Mom, Dad, please don't get your nose out of joint about the wrong things - and I emphasize that. What happens here are the right things. I am safe, protected, cared for in many ways, mentored, encouraged to take reasonable risks, and most of all I'm loved. This is NOT a cult. Don't make me feel guilty or remorseful for selecting this as my new home and lifestyle. This was MY choice to make."

There was again an awkward silence.

Dean finally nodded with some finality to where his thinking was.

Dean turned to Dave and said, "Emma said you were a jet-rated pilot and even had a plane or two near here. Could you show me your little airport and some of the planes?"

Dave smiled broadly, "I'd be delighted. Anybody else?"

Marcia stood, "I'd like to see that, too."