No Room at the Apartment

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M A R K : : : Andrea and Drew were fabulous to travel with. They were super upbeat, they enjoyed everywhere we went, and were hugely helpful in organizing our daily excursions. They suggested places we hadn't heard of that turned out to be great, and they never argued when we took the lead.

We started in Colorado at Mesa Verde National Park and worked westward, hitting Hovenweep and each of the 'big five' National Parks in Utah: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion, and Bryce Canyon. In between the big destinations, we took side trips to some 'lesser' canyons and waterfalls. I say 'lesser' in quotation marks because they were every bit as awesome as the National Parks, just not as famous. As a bonus, they were also not as crowded.

In the evening, and by that I mean every evening, Shannon and I were quite active, as only a new couple can be. Each night began with a fresh exploration of each other's bodies, focusing, of course, on the sensitive bits. At first I thought it was all familiar territory. Delightful, but familiar. I had 'been with' her dozens of times. I knew what her boobs responded to and what they didn't like, and I knew exactly how to excite her pussy. I didn't think there was anything new to discover. I was so wrong.

It turned out there were plenty of new things. Before, these little details hadn't been important enough for a casual hook-up to know, even a frequent casual hook-up. Now those same details were worth sharing with a more serious partner. Things such as, she loved having her back scratched with the backs of my fingernails as lightly as I possibly could. She had erogenous zones I had never heard of: she loved having the inner parts of her forearms stroked from her wrist to her elbow super lightly, and she loved having me kiss the inner backs of her knees.

I already knew that she loves to receive oral, but I never realized that she loves giving oral as much as I do, maybe even nearly as much as I love receiving it. Talk about your win-win! I also didn't know that even though we had done sixty-nine many times during our trips, she doesn't like it at all. "When I'm blowing you," she said, "I want to concentrate on blowing you. I can't do you as well when I'm dividing my attention between your cock and what your tongue does to me. And when you eat me," she added, "I want to be able to enjoy that fully without worrying about keeping your dick entertained." I couldn't have agreed more.

Becoming exclusive awakened her inner tigress. Now she showed an enthusiasm, an eagerness, a ferocity, that was off the charts. She continually amazed me. I actually began to wonder if, for the first time in my life, my partner's sex drive might exceed mine.

One afternoon, we had planned two fairly major hikes for the day. The scenery at the first one was so spectacular, though, we spent far longer there than we had planned. When we got back to the car, there obviously wasn't anywhere near enough daylight remaining to try to do the second hike. While we were all loading our backpacks into the Jeep, Shannon fired up the GPS app on her phone. "Hey, everyone," she chirped, "on the way back to the hotel we go right past a hot spring. Looks like a 10- or 15-minute drive down a gravel road, then about a 10-minute hike. The hot spring gets a rating of 4.8 out of five stars from over a thousand reviews."

We agreed it sounded like a great way to finish the afternoon.

S H A N N O N : : : I naively assumed that the hot spring would just be another stunning sight to see. We'd hike to it, be awed by its natural beauty, and return to the Jeep. That's how every side trip we had already taken went. I assumed we wouldn't get in the water because none of us had bathing suits or towels.

When we got there, we had a couple of surprises. The first was, the hot spring was spectacularly un-beautiful. It was the plainest terrain we had seen since we started, nothing but a tiny flow of water seeping up out of the ground. It didn't even bubble or gurgle. The water formed a tiny streamlet which flowed down a long slab of slightly sloping slickrock into a creek. There were a few very plain drops of a foot or so, not even interesting enough to be called mini-waterfalls. There was some bland vegetation around the creek at the bottom, and nothing else to entertain the eye.

The only thing of any interest at all was, previous visitors had stacked rocks into a series of large-ish rings at some of those drops in the slickrock. They were somehow sealed to hold the water in without much leaking, creating shallow pools, about the depth of children's inflatable backyard splash pools, and twice as big around. There were five or six in all. The water from the spring flowed into the first one, from there into a second one, and so on.

M A R K : : : Our second surprise was, the pools contained more than water. The largest one, in the middle, contained several people. It looked like two couples and two more women, by their body language all traveling together. I wondered for a moment if they had come prepared with swimsuits. Piles of clothes and a quick glance at their bodies indicated they were naked.

I worried briefly that we were intruding on their privacy, but one of the women eased that by saying, "C'mon in, we have no secrets here." The man who seemed paired with her pointed at the first pool nearest the spring and said, "The first one is the hottest, then they get cooler as the water flows downhill. That first one is way too hot. The one at the bottom is barely warm. This one here is just right. C'mon in, there's plenty of room."

S H A N N O N : : : The pools were out in open, almost flat terrain. They weren't shielded by any sort of cliffs or canyon walls. You could see for what was probably miles in all directions -- while we were standing we could still see a tiny dot of color that was the Jeep at the trailhead. I really didn't want to show my naked body to those strangers, or Drew and Andrea either. I also didn't want to be the only prude who didn't indulge, though, so I gave in to peer pressure and took my clothes off. There was no shelter, no plants or rocks to hide behind, so we all stripped out in the open. The folks already in the pool didn't stare, but they didn't look away, either. And there were Andrea and Drew, too, who we barely knew.

I tried not to look like I was rushing into the water to hide my body, but I didn't linger, either. None of the four of us dallied any, except possibly Andrea. She took her sweet time stripping. I can't say for sure that she intentionally made her body available for viewing for an extra-long time, but let's just say it never takes me that long to wrap my hair up into a bun.

The other people had been scattered around the perimeter of the 'just right' pool when we arrived, but while we undressed they slid around to one side leaving the four of us a nice empty spot to settle into together. The result was, we didn't interact with them much. They carried on their conversations, we carried on ours.

M A R K : : : The pool wasn't quite deep enough to sit comfortably with shoulders submerged. To my delight, when Shannon and Andrea settled in, the water only came up to the underside of their boobs. Their breasts (and the other four women's) were the only 'scenery' in the area.

When I first lowered myself into the water, it felt too freakin' hot. I watched in dismay as the others settled in and seemed comfortable. After barely a minute, though, the warmth soaked into my muscles and felt deeply soothing. Places I didn't even realize were sore stopped aching, and I felt deeply relaxed. I wondered if the water had some natural minerals in it that heightened the relief. That thought required too much effort; I settled back and simply enjoyed how it felt.

Before very long the other people got out. It would be snarky to say that they were older than us and not as fit. They didn't have any towels, but it turned out they didn't need them. They simply sat on the edge of the next stone ring and let the open air dry them off. It was so arid it only took a few minutes. They got dressed, we all wished each other safe travels, and they were gone.

We had no other plans after that, so we soaked for a nice long while. Even though we'd been on the road with 'the Andes' for over a week, there were many 'getting to know you' stories we hadn't shared, such as how we met our partners. The soothing hot water was an excellent place for such conversation. Interestingly, Andrea and Drew met almost exactly like Shannon and I did, in the large food court at work.

S H A N N O N : : : When we were ready to get out, Andrea was definitely the first to stand. I can't say for sure that she stood still, without turning her back, a little longer than necessary, but she definitely let all the water drip off her before she stepped out. Mark and I had been on an earlier trip where we ended up naked in semi-public a couple of times, so we're not as shy as most people, but Andrea seemed almost eager for her body to be seen.

M A R K : : : I must admit, my eyes sometimes have a mind of their own... I can't help it. They are enchanted by the sight of an attractive woman. The more skin showing, the more I am unable to look away. On the rare occasion that there are naked boobs, or bare ass, or an exposed muff, such as there at the hot spring, I am practically helpless. It takes a superhuman effort not to gawk, and I try, but I almost always fail.

Andrea was very pretty fully dressed, but she radiated a special aura with her clothes off. She just stood there, full frontal, looking good, for such a long time. My eyes uncontrollably zeroed in on her like a moth to a flame. I was afraid Shannon was going to be aggravated with me for staring at her. I always say, "I'm only reading the menu, I'm not going to order," but I didn't need to say that this time. She was too busy gawking at Drew to be offended by me.

S H A N N O N : : : I thought by now I only had eyes for Mark, with a situational exception for Jason. I caught myself, though, enjoying how good Drew looked as he stood in the water. I pulled my eyeballs back into my head so I wouldn't have to use Mark's line about 'only reading the menu' back at him.

When we got out, we followed the other people's example and simply sat out in the open. The humidity was so low, we were bone-dry in a few short minutes. I did notice that Andrea was the last to finish getting her clothes on.

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S H A N N O N : : : Because we skipped our second major hike that day, we got back to our hotel earlier than usual, even with the side trip to the hot spring. That evening was our last night at that particular inn. We were going to leave before dawn the next morning to drive to our next destination.

This hotel was very rustic, on a large lot that ran from the road all the way down to a large creek. It had picnic tables and grills in a common area. The guys left on a store run to get charcoal and ingredients for burgers. The air was wonderfully cool but not chilly, there was a soul-stirring breeze, and the late-afternoon sun cast an array of amazing colors onto the cotton-ball clouds. I was still very relaxed from the hot spring.

Andrea said, "Holly was really drunk when she told me about you guys and this trip."

"Really? Holly? That's not like her."

"I told you I work with her. She had a terrible day at work. Actually, it was our boss who had a terrible day. She took it out on everyone in our department, but Holly bore the brunt of her verbal abuse. I've never seen Holly so down in the dumps. I took her to happy hour that evening. I just intended to help her relax over a drink or two. I didn't expect her to tie one on like she did. It turned out that more was bothering her than our boss being a flaming douche. She was afraid that she and Jason had alienated you and Mark, and that your friendships were in trouble."

I was surprised. "I don't know what to say. I admit, we were irritated with them, but they avoided us. I'm sure they felt awkward about all that money for the hotels. We weren't going to let it threaten our friendships, but since we never saw them, we never got to tell them that while we were aggravated in the short term, it wasn't friendship-threatening." Andrea nodded that she understood, but as we talked she had a certain gleam in her eye and a lilt in her voice that got me wondering what else Holly might have said while she was drunk...

Later, as Drew turned the burgers one final time and Mark set out an array of condiments, Andrea said, out of the blue, "I have to say, Holly had been telling me since I met her how great the two of you are to travel with. Holly may not always be right, but she was right this time."

She grinned and glanced at Drew, who nodded his head in agreement. He said, "We're having a fabulous time with you guys. I love how the trip is organized but loose. We have an overall itinerary, but we're flexible within it. Like the hot spring this afternoon, that was fun." I had a feeling they were leading up to a particular topic. I also had a feeling I knew what that topic was.

M A R K : : : It seemed like Drew and Andrea were setting us up to talk about partner swapping. I wasn't sure I was ready to even consider that; I definitely wasn't ready to discuss it with them. Shannon and I were doing so well as a monogamous couple, I didn't want to do anything that could mess that up. Now that they had me thinking about it, though, I vividly remembered how many trips we had swapped with Holly and Jason. It had kind of become 'normal,' but most important, we never had any drama.

S H A N N O N : : : The Andes seemed to know we used to couple-swap with Jason and Holly. The only way that could be is if Holly had told Andrea. I couldn't imagine that Holly would have revealed that, even falling-down drunk. They didn't actually say the words, but they sure seemed to be implying that they would be open to trying it.

I wasn't sure what I thought about that. Mark and I were thriving as an exclusive couple, and I didn't want to do anything that could upset that. However, we had swapped with Holly and Jason for such a long time without anyone getting hurt, so maybe...

M A R K : : : Later on, back in our room, Shannon caught me staring at her face. I had been thinking about how gorgeous she is, but also how her beauty is so much more than skin deep. I felt incredibly lucky that she seems to enjoy being with me as much as I like being with her. However, seeing Andrea naked this afternoon had me intrigued with the idea of swapping with them, and I wondered if it would hurt her feelings if I said so. I had an inkling that maybe it wouldn't -- I had seen how she gawked at Drew like I had ogled Andrea. Even so, I had just about decided that it wasn't worth taking a chance and I wouldn't say anything, but she made eye contact and said, "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what?'"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, really... What are you thinking about?"

"Just what you said, nothing."

A couple of moments of silence later, she said, "I wonder if my 'nothing' is the same 'nothing' that you're 'not' thinking about. Look, if I wanted to say something..."

I continued her thought, "... if either one of us wanted to say something, neither one of us would want what we said to be taken the wrong way, or..."

She finished the sentence, "...or anyone's feelings to be hurt."

We sat in silence for a second. I decided to get straight to the point. I said, practically whispering, "How do we know whether it's okay if we don't try?"

S H A N N O N : : : I grinned at his directness, but also that he said out loud exactly what I was thinking. There it was: we were both intrigued with the Andes, but neither of us was willing to be the first to say it. Abruptly cutting to the chase like he did probably saved us ten or twenty minutes of beating around the bush. I smiled bigger and said, "That's exactly what I 'wasn't' thinking."

We talked a while longer, but we were so closely aligned all we did is verify that we agreed on several key things. First, neither of us had hinted, teased, or done anything to lead the Andes into this. I was as surprised as Mark was that they knew about our history. This was all them, in response to whatever Holly had told them.

M A R K : : : Second, if we were going to try it out, it was from a sense of adventure, definitely not any dissatisfaction with each other.

Third, most important to me, and Shannon said it was to her also, was that neither one of us would get our feelings hurt. I was only willing to try this if Shannon was 100 percent okay with it, and she said the same about me.

Finally, neither one of us would make the first move. They would have to bring it up if it was going to happen.

S H A N N O N : : : It didn't take long. Since day one of the trip, whenever we drove any longer than a couple of hours, we all took turns driving, especially when we had a long drive and started early. That next morning, we left before sunrise. I was driving, with Andrea riding shotgun. She had our route loaded in the GPS on her phone, and for the first half-hour on the road she navigated, guiding our path through some rather obscure rural roads until we were on a two-lane highway and our next turn was over an hour away. It was so early Mark and Drew went back to sleep in the back seat. When I had the cruise control set, she said, "Holly told me this amazing story about a hotel screwing up multiple reservations, and how it put the four of you in one room with only two beds. She also said the four of you did more than sleep that night."

I assumed she was leading up to suggesting that Mark and I swap with her and Drew. I interrupted her spiel before she even got there.

"Our situation is different now. We did the switch partners thing because none of us wanted to be paired up. That was several years ago. In that time I've realized that I do want to be paired up with Mark. What Holly told you about her mother's surgery isn't true. She and Jason-"

Andrea interrupted me, "Yeah, I figured that out. Once Drew and I bought into this trip she forgot to pretend any more that she was worried about her mom."

I nodded. She continued, "The last thing either one of us would want to do is disrupt anything between you and Mark. Drew and I are not 'swingers.' Not that there's anything wrong with that lifestyle... We just find you and Mark really attractive, and, well, what Holly told me sounded freakin' hot. We wouldn't normally consider such a thing, but I told Drew that I keep thinking about how exciting it could be to switch partners a time or two. He said he agrees. I hope that doesn't seem sleazy."

I said, "We think you guys are attractive, too. I'll just say for now, maybe let's not rule anything out. Mark and I need to talk about it. Give us a night or two to work it out."

She nodded, and we moved on to other topics.

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M A R K : : : A couple of nights later, I said, "This feels awkward."

Andrea sat on the foot of the queen-size bed in her and Drew's room and said "Yeah, I'm glad you said that, it does." She stood and said, "We don't have to do anything. It's okay if we don't."

I started to explain, but she cut me off and said "Mark, I'm serious, no pressure. Relax." She smiled, stood, and said, "I'm taking a shower."

Ten minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel... around her damp hair. I must have gawked at her naked body.

She said, "What? You saw me naked at the hot spring. I sleep this way."

I showered. I stood in the hot spray for a long time, overthinking how I should exit the bathroom. If I was naked, it might seem I was encouraging sex, and I didn't think I wanted to do that. But if I wore pajama bottoms or wrapped in a towel, I might look 'judgy' about what she did. I finally decided to go for naked.