Poly at the Poly Pt. 01

"Oh my God, you're totally missing out," Cassie said, "It's so much fun."

"Cheating," Allison said, "It's fun." She said it flatly, without a hint of emotion, yet I could feel her judgement wash over me like an ice-cold wave.

"It's not cheating," Cassie said, cheerfully, "Jack's there. Or he's given me permission, you know, to play. We both do it. Share, I mean."

Emily looked at Jack like she'd just found out he'd done time for murder. Her face was the picture of betrayal mixed with a pinch of apprehension.

"Cassie's a young woman with a young woman's appetite," Jack said, "I can't always keep up."

"Oh please," Cassie said, "You should see the hotties that he picks up."

For the first time all evening, Jack looked embarrassed by what someone had said. He turned away. Wait, was Jack actually blushing?

"It keeps the relationship fresh," Cassie said, "Exciting." She realized we were all still looking at her with disbelief. "It's like this," she said, "Right now. This isn't cheating, right? We're all having fun together. So, what's wrong with that?"

There was a pause, the group all clearly considering what Cassie was saying. This is different, I felt like arguing. But was it? After all, I'd kissed a woman who was not my wife and she'd grabbed my dick. My wife had kissed another woman's husband and groped him, as well.

I guess, in my head, there was a difference between flirty fun and what Cassie was talking about. But I'd be lying if I said I could tell you exactly where that line was or how we would agree on who had crossed it.

"I think we should get back to the game," Mike said, breaking through.

"Whose turn is it?" Allison asked.

"Hang on," Jack said, "Cassie never got to do her thing for winning."

"Oh right," Cassie said, "Well, in the spirit of what we've been talking about, I think we should take things up a notch."

Wait, seriously? How many more notches did she think we should be going here? I was already wobbly from the heights we'd climbed.

"I think Allison should show us her boob," Cassie said.

"Why me?" Allison asked, not sounding totally displeased.

"I mean, if Emily wants to join in, she can," Cassie said.

Emily giggled nervously, turning red. She was already pretty crimson so, at that point, my wife was practically glowing. So yeah, clearly, Emily would not be taking her top off anytime soon. I can't say I wasn't relieved to see the return of my more prudish wife right then.

"Why not?" Cassie asked. "Trust me, the way the night's going, you won't be the only one."

"I don't know," Allison said, remarkably calmly. As if this was a perfectly reasonable request requiring careful consideration. "This is Disney. I don't want to get in trouble."

Cassie made a show of looking around. The hot tub was surprisingly secluded. And it's not like we'd been interrupted at all so far.

"Take it off!" Mike cried out, ever the supportive husband.

"Just like, flash us," Cassie said, "Pop it quick. No big deal."

Allison rolled her eyes. This was a challenge, Cassie had thrown down the gauntlet, and the athletic blonde woman knew it.

"Go for it, babe," Mike said, "Like Cassie said. No big deal."

For a moment, I thought that Allison was going to take a swing at her husband. Instead, she casually reached for the side of her bathing suit and pulled it aside, like opening a curtain. One pale, round breast - even smaller than I'd have supposed -- peeked out. The nipple was pink and crinkled. A second later, it was gone. Safely returned to its proper place.

I was too taken aback by the appearance of Allison's tit to be aroused by it. Too stunned to truly get a glimpse. Her breast was there -- cute and tantalizing and kind of incredible -- then gone again.

"See?" Cassie said, "Fun."

"Very fun," Mike said, his voice cracking.

The energy of the tub changed. I could feel it, like a warm wind rolling over me. From what we'd been doing, from what had just happened. From Cassie's big reveal about her marriage, and Emily's confession about our own. From the alcohol. From everything.

It felt dangerous. A live spark running too close to powder. I was certain things were only going to get more explosive as we went forward and it left me torn between excitement and concern. I very much wanted to grab Emily and get out of that hot tub. I very much wanted to stay and see what would happen.

Suddenly, the lights around us went dark. A deep male voice echoed across the pool area. "Ladies and gentlemen..."

"Fireworks," Allison said with a gasp. "I forgot you can see them from here."

We all turned around in the hot tub to face the lake. In the distance, Cinderella Castle shone even brighter than before. Music swelled loud around us. The sky lit up with color. We oohed and ahh-ed at the impressive display. The pops of bright pigment punctuated each powerful note.

Roughly ten minutes later, the show ended in a dramatic flourish. But the momentum of our own, private performance was lost. Our drinks were empty. Even the hot tub started to feel lukewarm. It says a lot about the evening we were having that a full-on fireworks display was the cut-off, rather than the climax.

"I think it's time for us to go back to our room," Allison announced, "We have an early wake-up in the morning."

The three of us nodded in agreement. Though I noticed Emily's gaze lingered on Jack. And Mike was looking longingly at Cassie.

We got out of the hot tub, grabbed towels from a nearby stand, and dried off, then got dressed. After all of our suave flirting, this felt particularly awkward and clumsy. All of us stumbling around getting ready to go.

We said quick goodbyes (no kisses this time, just little waves) and agreed that we would get together again if the opportunity arose. My rational mind greatly doubted that we would see Cassie and Jack again, but my intuition told me a very different story. Too many coincidences not to knot it all together.

We walked back to our longhouse in weary silence. I expected there'd be conversation, or at least an attempt at a postmortem. But no one spoke.

Emily was clearly feeling the alcohol; I had to save her from stumbling a few times. Allison and Mike didn't banter or jab, they just marched arm-to-arm, lips tight, like marines on a mission. I was used to being comfortable in quiet. And yet I found myself wishing that someone would speak.

We went to our room, opened the foldaway bed, and went straight to sleep without a word. Somehow, there was nothing left to say.

*

Allison's alarm was far too insistent and way too early. Even the morning sun seemed sleepy as it seeped through the curtains. I blinked myself back to consciousness. I heard a long loud groan and rolled over. Emily looked back at me, her faced pained.

"I think I drank too much," she said.

"I know you did," I said.

I heard noises coming from the bed behind us. Mike and Allison were also slowly waking up. Two pairs of feet landed on the floor and loped off to the bathroom together. The shoji-style door slid closed with a rumble. The shower rushed on. I was pretty sure the two of them were talking, but between the thick door and the heavy water, I couldn't clearly hear the words.

"Wait, did I kiss Jack?" Emily asked. But something about the way she said it made it clear she already knew the answer. "Fuck. I screwed up."

Emily's admission didn't shock me, though the curse word kind of did. My wife wasn't naive, but she didn't cuss all that often, either. The casual nature of the word in conversation was yet another strange event in a recent succession of them.

"And you kissed Allison," Emily said, abruptly accusatory.

I nodded. I mean, it had been a quick peck, but still. She'd also grabbed my groin (and Emily had felt up Jack), but I didn't feel like it was worth reexamining the entire evening.

"I'm sorry," I said. I'd been married long enough to know when it was time to whip out the magic words, even if I didn't mean them.

"Everything that happened, it felt so scary and wrong," Emily said, "But it also was so much fun because of that, too." She giggled, then groaned. "Stupid brain. Anyway, it was neat. Different. I'm not saying we should be one of 'those' couples."

I knew she meant Cassie and Jack. Their confession about an 'open' marriage had stuck with all of us.

"But it was exciting," Emily said. "If we saw them again, I mean while we're here on vacation. It wouldn't be so bad, right?"

I wanted to debate it, but I'd be arguing against myself. While seeing Emily around Jack made me nervous, I had to concede it was exciting, too. Not to mention my own fun of flirting with Allison. A wide smile spread across my wife's face.

"Oooh, you liked it, too, didn't you?" Emily said, like she'd had a revelation. "Do you have a crush on my work friend?"

I shrugged.

"You do," Emily said, "I can see it, sort of. Blonde and tall." Emily looked down at herself -- petite and brunette. "A little variety, maybe?"

I shook my head, no. It was nothing like that.

"It's OK," Emily said, "I'm not mad at all. Maybe a little jealous? But maybe that's part of the fun of it, too. Look, I love our marriage. Our life. But sometimes..."

"It's nice," I said, "To do something different."

"I'm sorry about the 'kids' thing at dinner," Emily said. It was a sore subject for the both of us, so I was amazed that she even brought it up. I guess she really was feeling badly about everything. "I know you want them, and I do, too. Truly. Eventually I'll stop taking the pill and we'll start a family. And maybe... Well, maybe this might be a way where I could start to feel more ready for things like that. You know?"

I nodded. As a promise it was more of a muddle, but I understood what Emily was saying. She wasn't ready to be a mom, she'd said that to me many times. A week like this one, where Emily was free to act not her age, I could see how that might help her feel better about everything that was holding her back.

"It's weird, but everything that's happened makes me feel closer to you," Emily said, "More connected."

"I will order the massage oils and silk robes," I said, pretending to sigh in exasperation.

"Nothing like that," Emily said, "Just little things, like last night. If it even happens again. Which it probably won't."

I nodded my agreement. The evening had been enjoyable. But even if I didn't want things to continue, I didn't feel like I could tell my wife 'no.' I knew she'd resent me if I did. Especially after her revelation that she'd only ever been with me.

So, better to agree and be the good husband. The one who trusted his wife not to take things too far. And what was the big deal, really? Were we going to be having wild, six-person orgies in Disney? I doubted it.

I heard a rumble as the bathroom door opened and Mike stepped back out. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his blond hair dripping. He gave us a nod hello, then started digging through his suitcase.

"Allison's going to want us to get going pretty quickly so we can rope drop," Mike said.

Emily sat straight up and gave Mike a confused look, like a dog hearing a new command. Fortunately, she was still in her cover-up from the night before, so she wasn't giving him a show.

"Sorry, I forgot you guys don't know the lingo," Mike said, "Rope drop means we get to the park before it opens. It's the best way to beat the crowds for the rides."

"What about breakfast?" Emily asked.

Mike responded by reaching into his bag and tossing two granola bars onto the bed. I realized he was serious. I forced myself to get up. I wanted a shower before we headed out; I felt gross with all the hot tub chlorine hanging off of me.

"Allison's in the first one," Mike said, as I stumbled past him towards the bathrooms. I'd thought it was strange that our room had two different showers, but for the second time I was truly appreciating it.

As I went down the short hallway, I thought about what I'd learned the night before. What Emily and I had agreed to.

Like I said, our marriage had reached the point where everything was expected. Routine. I wouldn't say we were in a rut, but then not much had changed in the past seven years, either.

If I was Emily's only experience with intercourse, I could understand her becoming curious about what might have been. And if a little experimentation led her to feeling better about a family...

So, yes, I was fine with Emily getting a little flirty. And, if I was honest with myself, I didn't mind moving things forward with Allison if given the chance. But I told myself it was Emily's thing to drive, not mine. I'd let my wife lead the way and, if nothing else happened beyond our hot tub adventure, I would be OK with that, too.

However, I was pretty sure we'd already reached the end. We weren't going to keep running into Cassie and Jack in a theme park filled with thousands of people. And I couldn't imagine things escalating beyond what we'd already done. I was fantasizing about my wife's married best friend for God's sake. What did I think was going to happen? I shook my head, wincing at my own silliness.

I walked up to the second bathroom door and slid it open. The air was fogged, and I guess my brain was too, because I didn't put it together immediately.

Then Allison shrieked.