She's My Best Friend

"Just get the fuck out of here," she said loudly. "I don't want to see your face right now."

Usually, this would have been the time for Lori to speak up, but instead, urged me to go with her back to her home.

"Let's let cooler heads prevail. There's too much tension right now to have a rational discussion. I'm sure that will happen."

When we got back to her house, I asked Lori why she didn't defend me.

"It's kind of precarious right now," she explained. "For some reason, she's pissed at you. I can't make sense of it either, but I don't want a full-blown fight where what we have is ruined. Maybe she'll cool off. Maybe Chuck will say something, although I doubt it. He worships her."

Something didn't make sense. Lori suggested we watch the Cardinals baseball game that came on 1 o'clock. She'd fix sandwiches and we could sit together on the couch and watch our favorite baseball team play the Cubs in Wrigley Field.

I liked that idea, but my mind was more fixated on Barbie's behavior. I should be the one angry with her. She's the one that posed for the sex pictures with Chuck and let the photographer shoot his load on her.

Or did he? I began to wonder what really happened on that morning. Was there a connection? I wasn't sure why, but I called Dee and got Tom's phone number.

"Tom, this is Duke, Barbie's husband"

"I took those pictures down.'

"...no, I know you took the pics down. Thank you. I'm not angry with you. Even if you did screw my wife, it takes two to tango. I get it. I'm sure she let you know that I was fine with it."

"Uh," Tom began, "so you know we had sex, huh?"

Although I didn't know it, I had set the trap for him to admit it.

"Yeah, but that's the past. Even Dee's okay with you two having sex. She was just angry about those pics being posted."

"Thanks," said Tom politely. "I really did like her. I was probably in the wrong to take advantage of her vulnerability. Still, she was very willing. Just like Barbie. She encouraged me and Chuck agreed. He shot his load after she sucked him off...then spread for me."

"That's all fine, Tom," I reminded him. "She's pissed at me this morning for something and I can't figure out what it is. I was just wondering if anything else happened that morning."

Tom took time to think.

"No, it was quite simple. They got undressed. She posed in several positions. She sucked his cock while I rubbed mine through my pants. She insisted that I get undressed also and then took me inside of her after Chuck blew his load. I brought the CD of pictures about two hours later. That was all until your phone call about seeing the pictures online. That was the last time I'd talked to any of you.

She did suggest that we get together again, but after that picture thing, I figured my chances aren't that good."

"Don't worry about it," I assured him. She's not pissed anymore about that. Hell, she wasn't as mad about that as I was. She was prepared to leave it alone."

I believed him. What I couldn't understand was why Barbie was acting so nasty. Lori was getting angry listening to me talk to Tom.

"Stay here," Lori implored. "Go get a few clothes and your laptop. You can stay here for a few days. Let those two have each other. Right now, I'm pissed at both of them."

She stopped and began to think.

"AFTER I go over there and tell that bitch what I think of her."

"No, I argued. Catch more flies with honey than vinegar, remember? Let's pretend we're there to make peace. Let me take the lead. I know Barbie better than anyone."

Lori agreed, although reluctantly. "I'll trust you, but if she starts in again, I might not be too nice. I love you Duke. I don't like the way you're being treated right now. It makes no sense at all...except for obvious guilt on her part."

We finished our sandwiches, left the TV on with the game just started, and walked back to Barbie and Chuck.

I humbly apologized for my behavior the previous night. I was never good at acting, but I was putting on an award-worthy performance at that time.

"It's over," replied Barbie in a tone of reconciliation. "It can't be undone. There was bound to be some conflict along the way. This is an unusual relationship we have."

"I agree," I said. "If I could have only shown the restraint that Tom did and just simply shoot my load on her. I know you would have never let him stick his dick inside of you."

"No," she replied after a few seconds of hesitation. "I wouldn't."

"That's what I told him," I replied. "He insists that he did, though. He's even ready for another round."

"When in the hell did you talk to him?" Barbie asked, sounding worried.

"Just a few minutes ago. I kind of like the guy. He screwed up and apologized. I mean, can you blame the guy for wanting to do it again?"

"Again?" she asked, and I knew she suspected that I was believing Tom.

"Well, he was pretty detailed about what happened that morning at the photo shoot. I kind of think it might have happened. I mean, you did the pictures behind my back, didn't you?"

"Yeah, just pictures. I'm pissed that you believe him."

"I'm pissed that you're so mad at me about what happed with Dee. It wasn't behind your back either, " I reminded her. "Whether you meant it or not, I took you at your word. You posed for pictures with Chuck's cock in your mouth and let Tom fuck you."

"Get the fuck out of here," she screamed. "Lori, you can keep his ass over there if you want. I'll just keep Chuck here."

"Doesn't Chuck get a say in this? You've been awfully quiet," Lori said, staring angrily at her husband.

"Whatever Barbie wants," Chuck said meekly. "I don't want to cause any problems."

"You already did," I reminded Chuck. "I trusted you with my wife and you let another guy shove his cock inside of her. Right now, you have the choice to go home with your wife while Barbie and I work out our problems."

Chuck looked at Barbie.

"Quit looking at Barbie," Lori screamed. "I'm still your fucking wife," she said as her voice cracked.

"Just tonight," Barbie suggested, "Just tonight, we'll keep it like it is. I don't know what I want right now."

I took my laptop and a few clothes. It was going to be more than a few days. My suitcase was full.

That arrangement lasted until the following weekend. Nothing was said between me and Barbie during the whole week. Lori talked to Chuck once for about two minutes. She characterized the conversation as cold and distant.

By Saturday, we all knew that some crucial decisions had to be made. Our marriages, especially mine, was on thin ice. I suspected that Lori's wasn't too solid either.

After several days of silence and living with the other's spouse for the week, we ordered pizza to be delivered as we sat down in our living room and attempted a civil discussion.

It had become obvious that was were deeply in love with the other spouse. It was also quite obvious that the level of compatibility between opposite spouses was impossible to deny.

There were no harsh words exchanged. Barbie acknowledged Tom's involvement during the photo shoot and mentioned that Tom had called again during the week, hoping for an encore. She turned him down, at least temporarily.

Where to go from here? One thing we agreed on was the difficulty of keeping our arrangement quiet. I had just retired, but Lori still had another year to teach. She didn't want that information to be public at this time.

Chuck was to retire in two weeks and Barbie was confident that even if the knowledge was public, it wouldn't have an effect on her job security.

A year later, all four of us were retired. At that time, we made the difficult decision for each couple to divorce. It was all done amicably. We got our attorneys and agreed that the ladies would keep their homes. Each of us would keep our retirements and split our joint savings. Even that process was done with no bitterness.

We were all getting what we wanted, at least Lori and I were. To this day I'm still not sure Barbie is any happier, but it would have been impossible to go back to the days when we were all just friends without the swapping of partners.

Financially, Chuck and Barbara benefitted the most, but for Lori and me, it wasn't that important. We still had what we needed for a comfortable life together. I still had some income from my home trading to supplement my retirement.

Oddly enough, this arrangement made our friendship stronger. Although we didn't get together to socialize as often as before, the times we did get together were fun and stress-free.

I also began to see Barbie again as someone that was extremely sexy and sensual. There wasn't any further sex between the partners, so maybe it was the forbidden fruit that made her more desirable.

Last year, Lori and I took a vacation to see our daughters in Florida. In the beginning, the girls didn't like the idea of our divorces, but as adults were old enough to understand what happened over time.

Lori and I now have plans to move to Florida to be near our daughters. We visited the resort and loved the atmosphere. Spending three days and never wearing a stitch of clothing is about as close to heaven there is.

We made new friends and many of them have similar interests. After our divorces, there will be no further swapping of partners. Besides, Lori is enough.