The Swinging Professor Pt. 02

Clara grinned and nodded. Cum was her ambrosia now. Audra squealed and kissed her.

It was Bernie who insisted they all take a dunk in the pool to cool off. They lowered themselves into the water and soon floated on their backs. Bernie kept watching their tits, floating high, and said it looked beautiful to him. Clara observed Audra's large tits and admitted it did look sexy seeing the large amount of womanly flesh jutting slightly from the water tipped with her large, wet nipples.

"Who knew we would be sexy at our ages?" asked Clara.

"We did!" said both Audra and Bernie, laughing.

Clara laughed and they floated for a time.

Later, they sat outside under the shade eating off a board of delectable cheeses and meats which Alice had brought out. They sipped red sangria and talked about mundane things.

Bernie started the real conversation. "So, let's talk. We all got invitations to Jane Avery's party, correct?"

Audra and Clara nodded together.

"So did Sammie and Eva. I find that troublesome to be honest."

Clara was watching Bernie closely. He looked as close to uncomfortable as she had ever seen him.

"We all know who Jane is, of course. CEO of A&J. Hobnobbing with all those rich folks in the city. Clara, she's a pretty hardcore swinger, bet you didn't know that. Now, don't look so shocked. With wealth comes exposure. Only the very wealthy can enjoy this level of swinging. This isn't some neighbourhood thing putting their car keys in a jar. We are talking about some of the most rich and powerful people in New York and elsewhere. What you don't know is Jane got involved through Carol Knupster."

Clara drew in a sharp breath in surprise and looked back and forth at Audra and Bernie. "Carol Knupster? Really? She took over from me as President at the university. Carol? I can't believe it!"

Bernie snorted. "And did you suspect Audra, me, Sammie, and Eva were swingers?"

Clara rolled her eyes. "No."

"I find it extremely odd that Jane contacts you, Clara, to join one of her parties. Why would she do that? I promise you; we didn't tell a soul. Our privacy is a very real thing. And we would never risk your husband Chester finding out, you know that. How Jane found out and how has me very worried. Very worried indeed.

"It tells me that Carol is playing some game here. Carol knew about us, and it is entirely possible she heard a whisper about you from someone in our circle. She's very good at sussing something out when she gets her nose bent out of shape. She's been rather annoyed at us for a few years. Somehow got it in her head that we wanted to join her circle."

"Did you?"

Bernie looked surprised for a moment. "Well yeah! Of course. But we asked, gave her a proposal, asked nicely too, and she turned us down. That was it as far as we were concerned. We haven't knocked on that door in a long time. And now, wham! We are invited to a party by none other than Jane Avery, friend, and confidant of Carol Knupster?

"The only thing that has changed recently is you joining us. I'm thinking it can't be coincidence."

Clara's mind flashed to Sara. That's changed, too. "Um, Jane called me a couple of weeks ago. I didn't tell you."

Bernie turned his full attention on Clara. "She did? What did she want?"

"Um. She was pretty mad. Said she knew what I did and how could I?"

"You mean with Sara?"

Clara nodded. "I asked how she knew. She didn't say."

"So you admitted it?"

"Well, yes. She knew. Believe me. She knew. She said she had a video."

"A video? That's impossible. We know everyone who was videotaping that night. We have all the originals. It's all very tightly controlled."

Clara just shook her head. "She was very specific about there being a video. I think someone sent her proof. She was pretty pissed."

"Humph," exhaled Bernie forcefully and flopped back into his chair. "That's it then. This has to do with you and Sara. Jane's her mother. Left her when she was still little. Had little else to do with her, right? Why now with the sudden motherly instincts?"

Clara looked down. "Me and her don't get along very well. She was also kind of hostile to me. She didn't like me coming into Sean and Sara's life. She never came right out and said it. It was more attitudes, looks, and the like. You know? I could tell enough that I was always so very careful around her. Keeping my emotions in check. Afraid to say the wrong thing to her. It wouldn't be fair to Sara."

Audra was nodding her head. "Okay, so Jane has something in mind. She doesn't like that you slept with her daughter and now wants what? Revenge? Is this all about a vindictive woman? How common."

Bernie was looking thoughtful. "I'm trying to understand Carol in this. I know they're friends. They swing in the same circle up in New York City, for God's sake. But Carol isn't stupid. You don't use swinging parties to score political points. Oh wait, yes, we do. Damn."

"Maybe we shouldn't go?" asked Audra. "Seems like a bad idea."

Clara shook her head a little. "I don't know. Part of me needs to confront this. See what she wants. But I need to protect Sara from this. She can't know. I hate hiding things from her, but perhaps its best she not know her mother is being a vindictive..."

"Cunt," murmured Audra.

"Yes, that. She's being that."

They sat in silence for a long time deep in thought. Clara shook herself.

"There's nothing for it. I have to go. This is between me and her. She can pull whatever shit she's planning. I'll take it."

"You do have a sort of reputation for being a bitch."

Clara blinked and scowled at Audra. "I have a what!?"

Audra smiled gently to lessen the sting of the words. "You have the reputation of being a cold, hard, bitch. Did you not know? Obviously not true! But you have the reputation nonetheless."

Clara stared at her friend. She had always suspected something like that. From her perspective she was merely being professional. Emotions are always used against a woman, and she had mastered pressing them down. Now she was considered a bitch.

There's no winning in this man's world, she thought with disgust. But another woman should be able to understand that, no? I understand Carol. She plays the part, but I know deep down she's probably a wonderful person.

Audra was watching Bernie when he nodded and spoke. "I agree, you need to confront this. You won't be alone. We'll be right there with you. Audra will call Eva later and explain it all to her. She'll agree, I'm sure. We go united. That's what swinger circles do. We protect each other. You won't be alone, Clara. Rest assured."

Clara felt her heart surge. "Thank you, Bernie! You too, Audra! Thank you!"

* * *

Jane was pleased when Carol answered her phone right away.

"Jane?"

"Carol! Great news! They're all in! Next Saturday night at my place. You're still coming?"

Jane heard the soft sigh. She didn't understand why Carol was being so difficult about this. Didn't she understand just how much Sara meant to her?

"Yes. We'll be there."

"Terrific!"

Chapter Five - The Middlegame

CLARA, AUDRA, AND Eva, approaching from different directions, all stopped in the hallway outside the university president's office suite and stared at one another in surprise. They walked slowly forward until they formed a small circle just outside the door.

Clara was the first to speak. "What's going on?"

Audra looked back and forth between the other two. "I was summoned here."

"Me, too," said Eva, with a frown.

They all turned and looked at the closed door. The frosted glass had the words Carol Knupster, President, Bensenville University, embossed in gold paint. They looked back at one another.

Audra made a small noise. "Perfect. What's the chances all three of us have been invited here at the same time for something other than the obvious?"

Clara snorted. "You're the mathematics genius. I could quote Shakespeare if you like. Sonnet 94 seems appropriate."

Audra gave her a suffering look. "Slim to none. That's the chances."

Eva looked confused. "Sonnet 94?"

Audra rolled her eyes and looked at Clara as her eyes lit up.

Clara cleared her throat. "They that have power to hurt and will do none."

Eva blinked. "What's that mean exactly? I stopped reading Shakespeare in high school."

Clara stepped into her teaching tone of voice. "There are those who have the power to hurt others, because of the beauty they possess; but they don't hurt anyone, even though they can. They inspire sexual desire in those, but are themselves cool and unaffected, and not easily tempted."

"And that's appropriate how?"

Clara rolled her eyes and then walked forward and opened the door and strode through. This used to be her office suite and she never truly stopped thinking about it as still being her office. She looked about quickly recognising all the changes Carol had made to the décor. It looked much more feminine now. Clara had simply left all the décor the last president had liked. Her eyes turned to the secretary.

The secretary sitting behind an ancient and ornate wooden desk, was as old as the university, or so the jokes said. Behind her were antique wooden filing cabinets, retrofitted with locking bars and padlocks. She smiled up at Clara. Clara had always liked her. She was a true professional about managing the daily lives of a university president. She was also very discrete.

"Clara! How nice to see you!" The secretary leaned over a little to watch Audra and Eva walk in behind Clara. "Audra, Eva, hi. Carol is on a call; she won't be a moment. She's expecting you."

Clara was not one to wait around and thought about simply leaving before dismissing the notion. Then the door leading to the president's office opened and Carol stood there. She was dressed in an immaculate and expensive navy-blue business suit for women. The collar was open with the top three buttons exposed. This allowed her ample cleavage to be revealed. It was obscene just how much her white blouse and dark blue jacket pushed her breasts forward and up. A tight grey wool skirt hugged her hips. Carol beamed a smile at them.

"Ladies! So glad you could make it! Step inside, will you? Make yourselves comfortable. I have tea and coffee if you like on the side table. Help yourselves before we get settled. There are biscuits, too."

The three women stepped into her office and looked around. To Clara, Carol's office had been dramatically changed since she had left it. It had been a long time since she had stepped through these doors or sat behind the large, beautifully carved wooden desk. The desk dated back to 1825, when the university had first opened. It was a commissioned work and rivalled the one in the Oval Office. Behind the desk was an ancient window, framed with green velvet drapes, looking out over the immaculate university green. Students sauntered about; a surprisingly large number given that final exams had ended a couple of weeks before.

Before the desk was a small coffee table, and three green leather chairs. The wall on the right side was a wall of bookcases housing thick volumes. Carol was a lawyer by profession and most of the books were on state and federal law. Clara noticed a small section containing a few books of poetry and she smiled recognising them. She saw Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, Woodsworth, Frost, and unsurprisingly to Clara, a leather-bound tome of Shakespeare's sonnets. She hid her smile.

Carol closed her office door and went over to the side table opposite the bookcases. Two silver urns sat amongst a platter of mugs, spoons, cups, tea bags, sugar, honey, milk, and cream. Stacks of British biscuits were laid out next to them. She fixed a coffee for herself and grabbed a Jaffa cake and a hobnob biscuit and retreated behind her desk and sat.

"There's coffee and hot water for tea, ladies. Help yourselves."

The three women huddled together and fixed their hot drinks and then sat in the offered chairs and placed their coffees and biscuits on the small coffee table. Clara immediately noticed that they sat at the same eye level as Carol. Her hidden smile threatened to escape her face.

Carol was watching Clara. They could all see that. Audra and Eva shared a look.

"You find something amusing, Clara?" asked Carol. The words sounded harsh, but they were delivered without tone or malice. She sounded equally amused.

Clara smiled for real and looked at Carol. "Perhaps. Your office looks lovely." She turned in her seat and looked back. "I like the new paintings. Vibrant and colourful. The outer office is wonderful, too. You have a nice touch. An eye for detail."

Carol laughed then. "That's my secretary. I gave her free rein to change things up. She pulled most of this out of storage somewhere. She has a good eye for this. I'm glad you like it. I'll tell her so."

Clara nodded and sipped her coffee. It was delicious and at the perfect temperature. Audra and Eva were copying her movements and glancing about. They sipped in silence until Carol bit into her hobnob and it crumbled.

"Oh, shit," grumbled Carol and swept up the crumbs into a hand and swivelled in her seat and dumped it into her waste basket. "Sorry about that. Now." She looked at the three of them. "What to talk about?"

Audra jerked a little in her seat. "You asked us here."

"Hmm, yes, I did. Time we talked, don't you think?"

Eva was perched on the edge of her seat, sitting daintily, but clearly not comfortable. Her ass fidgeted a little too much. "About what exactly? We all come from different faculties. I'm at a loss to understand why you called us all here."

Carol sipped her coffee and looked over the rim at them. Clara was certain her eyes twinkled.

"I understand Jane Avery has extended an invitation to you three."

The temperature in the office plummeted. Clara, Audra, and Eva froze in their seats.

Carol chuckled. "I know all about it. But do you?"

The three women looked at one another and then said nothing.

"I'm glad you can keep your secrets, but this, ladies, is no secret. At least amongst us. Let me tell you what I know. Jane, out of the blue, sent an invitation to all three of you, and your husbands, to attend a party at her place on Saturday night. You think it will just be you. That's not true. I will also be there. With Bruno, my husband."

The tension in the room suddenly became palpable. They all stared at one another, soaking in the words in disbelief. Then Eva, perched on the edge of her seat, felt her ass slip off the green leather, and she landed on her ass with a thump. She somehow held on to her coffee cup. She sat there in shock, her face burning red in embarrassment.

Of all the women in the room, it was from Clara that the first laughter started. She couldn't help herself. The sight of watching Eva slip off her chair to the floor had been priceless. The other women stared at Clara in surprise. It wasn't often Clara laughed and its pure, clear tone was pleasant to their ears. Audra snorted and then Carol chuffed, and soon they were all laughing except Eva who needed Audra's help to regain her seat.

The laughter was contagious and soon they were dabbing at their eyes, and the laughter dwindled.

Carol's face was flushed with her laughing. "Eva, that was priceless! Priceless! Do sit back a little further, yes? Ha!"

"How do you know?" asked Clara when silence resumed.

Carol tapped a nail on her mug. "Jane is a good friend of mine. We go way back. I was the one who introduced her to a certain lifestyle."

"You mean the swinging lifestyle," declared Clara, hoping to shock Carol.

"Of course! Like all three of you now. I must admit surprise Clara when I found out you had joined Audra and Eva. I don't know why it took so long. The way you look, dear, its simply delicious."

Audra and Eva exchanged a long look.

"Now, now. Don't look that way. Poughkeepsie is too small to hide it. My circle is significantly larger and more powerful than yours. Yours, and I'm not being disparaging, is small but effective. You have wonderful members. All very discrete. Jane has a large circle in New York. It overlaps with mine in small but important ways. We have rather powerful people swinging with us. We share knowledge. Help each other, as I'm sure you all do. Your husbands are doing very well financially. You live in opulent houses. With a word you can make things happen. That's real power."

"Why?" asked Clara simply. She could see Carol understood immediately.

"Because she hates you, Clara."

Audra looked at Eva. "Who hates her?"

Carol turned her look at Audra. "Jane, of course."

Clara sighed hearing the words out loud she had always suspected. "She's never liked me. I married her first husband and then her daughter Sara took a liking to me. Jane never forgave me for stepping into the void she left."

"No, she hasn't. She's very much aware of what has happened recently. And what has happened between you and Sara."

Clara nodded. "She called me up, angry. Said she saw a video."

Carol nodded.

Clara frowned at Carol. "How did she get a video? Audra and Eva assure me that their videos are locked up tight."

Carol looked thoughtful. "I honestly have no idea. But she's seen it. So have I. She sent it to me. Now don't look that way. Honestly? I deleted it. I haven't survived this long in the lifestyle to hold on to crap like that."

"So why are we here? What is it that you want, exactly?" demanded Clara.

"To warn you. To let you know that Jane has something planned for this party. I'm not sure what she could do, to be frank. Anything that exposes her lifestyle will certainly backfire on her. And I'm worried. This touches on sensitive issues and carries the risk of exposure, and since our circles overlap, this is too large for me to sit back and do nothing."

"That's it? A warning?"

"Yes. I'll be there, too, as I said. Bruno insisted. He wants to watch over things and said we needed to be there to referee if needed. Jane is making a mistake. Her judgment is clouded with false jealousy. She is jealous of you, Clara. You did what she couldn't do. And that's loving her daughter unconditionally."

"I see," murmured Clara.

"Do you?" responded Carol and Clara looked up and right into her eyes. After a moment, Carol nodded. "Yes, I see you do. Excellent. Clara you are such a pleasant surprise. I'm looking forward to Saturday night."

Clara smiled and then looked over at the poetry on the shelf. "You should read Sonnet 94."

Carol looked surprised and then nodded. "Can we talk about the next fundraiser since you're all here? I think we have an opportunity to expand our influence in the state. As you know the next fundraiser..."

* * *

Carol leaned back in her office chair. She was pleased with the conversation with the three ladies. She was most impressed with Clara. Clara had held her position before her, and Carol could see why. Clara boasted the largest fundraising revenue on record for the university. She could see why. Clara had a way about her. A strength and power. Carol had found it difficult not to imagine having Clara to herself for a few hours.

She set aside her mug of coffee and her eyes fell to the book of Shakespeare sonnets.

Trust the Dean of English to be so obscure, she thought, but then rose and grabbed the book before returning to her seat. She flipped through the pages and found the sonnet.

"They that have power to hurt and will do none,

That do not do the thing they most do show,

Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,

Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:

They rightly do inherit heaven's graces

And husband nature's riches from expense;