Tidings of Comfort

Marianne was striking in a number of ways, but I was going to let Melissa find out for herself. When Maggie and Marianne reached our table, Mike, Andy and I stood up. It's sort of a politeness thing.

"Hey, it's great to see you guys," Marianne beamed as she slipped into a hug and kiss with me and Mike. Then she turned to Andy, arms open. "I don't believe I know you. Or at least, not yet."

Andy stepped into the hug... and the kiss, which surprised me. When they pulled back, he was staring at her.

"You have the most amazing eyes," he told her with a bit of awe in his voice, then caught himself. "Oh, sorry..." he fumbled to recover, "I'm Andy Fowler, a long time friend of Rick's and Susan's, and this is my lady Melissa Minette." He gestured towards Melissa, still sitting, as I realized he'd just adopted my characterization of their relationship... his lady. And Melissa wasn't objecting.

And the reason Andy was mesmerized by Marianne's eyes is because they are golden. Not some kind of light yellow... golden. And absolutely riveting. That was the point where Susan decided to stand and come get a hug, and Linda and Melissa were right with her.

"Andy and Melissa are staying with us for Christmas," I explained as the girls got in line for their hugs and kisses. "Andy's been a long time co-worker and was my Best Man when Susan and I got married."

"Wonderful," Marianne smiled in her captivating way. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go graze Maggie's trough. I'll be back in a few, though."

"Take your time," Mike told her. "We're not going anywhere. Except to the bar, maybe, but that can wait."

Marianne slipped off to get some food and the rest of us went back to our seats. In fact, Mike and I decided a second pass on the buffet was in order and Andy opted to join us. I knew enough about marital happiness to ask Susan if there was anything she wanted me to bring back and she decided one of the ice cream cups with some strawberry topping sounded good. Mike and Andy got Linda's and Melissa's orders as well and en masse we raided the "trough".

Back at the table, conversation drifted mainly to Marianne and what was happening with her life... the libraries, the ranch/farm, a bunch of local gossip... and Andy and Melissa were getting a firsthand introduction to why Susan and I considered Marianne one of our better friends. We were pretty done eating when I heard the band doing their sound checks.

"Retro is an everything band," I told Andy and Melissa. "They started out a while back as a couple of local couples who liked doing songs from the Sixties through the Eighties. They were good, and pretty popular for a bar band. Then they had kids who grew up, as kids do, and when they hit high school, they got interested in Mom & Pop's music, plus some of their own. The kids that wanted in got integrated into the group and now they sort of rotate who's playing which gigs and what the music's going to be.

"I have no idea who's here tonight, but the music will be good and it will be danceable. And they'll do requests, if they know the song. A few years back, they were doing a Sixties Night -- a lot of Beatles and Stones and Doors and so on -- and I tried to stump the kids when I requested a waltz. I'll be damned, they did a quick huddle -- not including the parents -- and came back with Norwegian Wood. Surprised the hell out of me, but they were right. It's a waltz and it's danceable."

"Honey," Susan interrupted me, "want to relocate and see who else is here?" That was a subtle way of telling me to shut up and move to the bar.

The seven of us, en masse, got up and headed for the bar. Clearing the door, the bar was along the wall to our right with tables in front of it, and then a dance floor and finally the stage. Maybe half the tables already had people at them and I saw Ted, Julie and Krystal sitting at one of them, near the band and dance floor. They also had a lot more room, so we headed their direction.

We got smiles and hugs and kisses, and got Andy and Melissa introduced around, before settling in and ordering a round of drinks. Not surprisingly, to me anyway, talk revolved around the mundane mostly, with Melissa expressing interest in Ted and Julie's horse ranch and in Krystal's art, which was mostly ceramics and pottery. A couple of times the conversation started drifting towards the "good old days" and I wondered how explicit it was going to get, but it somehow got back to 'normal' fairly quickly.

The band started and set the mood for the night right out of the gate - Stray Cats' Rock This Town into Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode and Springsteen's Pink Cadillac. Definitely a Rock 'n' Roll night. They kept it up until they had everybody toe-tapping and some couples up dancing. And our table wasn't immune. Susan started it.

"C'mon, Andy," she told him, standing up and offering her hand. "Let's dance..." I don't know who was surprised more -- me, Andy or Melissa. But Andy had learned the Keep the Women Happy rule and he got up and with an apologetic shrug to Melissa, headed to the floor with Susan. Melissa looked like she was going to say something to me, but Ted stood up and told her, "fair's fair... Melissa, would you like to dance?"

That definitely surprised her, but she recovered quickly and rose, looking to Julie to see if there was a problem. Julie's response was "sic 'em, girl!" Melissa smiled and shook her head, then headed for the dance floor.

"What about it, Rick?" Linda asked me and I figured what the hell?, got up and headed to the floor with her. A little while later, I saw Mike dancing with Krystal, so that meant Marianne and Julie were holding down the table. When I looked over, I noticed that Steve had joined them.

The band segued into Eagles' Take It To the Limit, Linda opened her arms and I slipped in. Damn, she felt good to hold! We spent some time just swaying with each other, her head on my chest, before she looked up at me with those beautiful baby blues and asked, "any plans for later tonight?"

"Nothing fancy," I told her, reveling in her scent and warmth. "Susan and I plan on taking Andy and Melissa home and falling out in front of the fire, hot toddies and all. Although Melissa might want some time in the hot tub."

"Have the four of you got something going on?"

"Only peripherally. Andy's a long time friend and recently started getting physical with Susan. Melissa is brand new this trip, and a bit of a wildcat, but it's stayed between her and Andy. So far."

"Any plans for New Years'?"

"Are you subtly hinting you'd like to get together?"

"I didn't think I was being subtle," she smiled. "Maybe I was. It's been awhile since Mike and I have done any group partying. Seeing you and Susan tonight kind of underscored it for me. I was just thinking it could be nice to renew old acquaintances."

"It could be very nice," I told her honestly, giving her a squeeze. "I have to check with the Boss, though, before I can say anything. And I don't know if Andy and Melissa would be up."

"Understood. I'll catch Susan on the side, later. And uh, Rick?..." I looked at her quizzically. "Uh, you're standing under the mistletoe." She didn't wait for my reaction. She just pulled me down into a hot and heavy kiss that brought a lot of memories crashing back of Lovemaking Past. I gave in... she was a phenomenal kisser and I wasn't going to take a pass on that.

The song faded on a sustained reverb and we were still lip-locked. We did, finally, break the kiss. I took a quick look around to see how Andy and Melissa were doing and discovered Susan and Andy were headed for the table, and Melissa and Ted were just breaking a 'Mistletoe Kiss'... and Melissa was looking feral. Guess Ted must've been good at kissing, too.

Linda and I headed for the table and I realized Marianne was holding down the fort alone. I looked around for Julie and found out Steve and Julie were just leaving the dance floor with the rest of us. Linda and I got there about the same time as Susan and Andy.

Steve and Julie got there right after we did, and Steve was getting the mandatory ravishing from Linda and Susan when Mike and Krystal, and Ted and Melissa, converged at about the same time. With an "excuse me" to Mike, Krystal got in line behind Susan on Steve's Welcoming Committee. Melissa, on the other hand, was looking kind of nonplussed.

"That's Steve McDaniel," Andy told her, moving in next to her and sliding his arm around her waist. "Of the Steve the Gentleman fame."

"That's odd," Melissa told him, and I couldn't tell if she was serious, "he doesn't look Irish."

"Maybe he's Black Irish," Andy offered, trying to keep a straight face.

"That's funny!" I told him. "And no, he's not a Scot, either. Just good old-fashioned American."

"What does Scotch have to do with it?" Melissa asked, obviously not getting our humor.

"Nothing, if you mean the whisky," I told her. "Have Andy tell you about the Black Irish sometime... his ancestors were on both sides of that one."

"Okay," Melissa cautiously agreed. "How good a friend is he?"

"To us? Very. For you? Whatever you're comfortable with," I told her. Krystal was easing up on her 'greeting' and Steve was smiling like crazy. All of a sudden, Melissa got a determined look on her face, took a deep breath and let it out, then walked over to him.

"You must be Steve," she told him as she approached and the other women backed up a little.

"Yes, ma'am, I am," he smiled and turned to face her.

"I'm not ma'am, I'm Melissa," she told him as got to him. "I understand you hug hello."

"If that's what you'd like," he nodded, looking between her eyes and her boobs. Both were impressive, I know.

"It's what I'd like," she told him, opening her arms. Steve stepped right into the hug and Melissa looked like she'd been jolted by electricity. But she held the hug, and so did he, until Julie tapped Melissa on the shoulder, and getting her attention, pointed up. Melissa glanced up. Steve didn't have to look up. He knew what was up there. But he wasn't going to start anything with a stranger.

He didn't have to... Melissa heaved a sigh then pulled his head down for the kiss. I think she got a lot more than she was expecting.

The entire kiss wasn't more than maybe a minute, maybe a little more, but it went from a full on kiss to lips, mouth and tongue, to a major rock-your-socks passionate body-meld. I was about to suggest they get a room when they broke it. Steve was grinning. Melissa was panting. I think "Wow!" was about all she could say.

Andy went and retrieved her, after giving Steve a high-five, and got her to the table, seated with a drink in front of her. The band had moved into some more current music I didn't know, so I sort of tuned them out. I finished my drink and got a refill. When I got back, Melissa snagged me.

"If this is your idea of a Christmas Tradition," she smiled, "I wonder what other traditions you have..."

"Well, this tradition goes through last call and end-of-the-year goodbyes," I told her, "and then usually Susan and I go back home and screw."

"And tonight?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"We all go back and screw?" Okay, so I'd put it out there. Susan or Andy... or even Melissa... would correct me if an orgy wasn't on the docket.

"Hmmm... sounds delightfully wicked," she told me. "But I'm not sure about that, yet. Does all mean everyone?" She made a gesture in the direction of the rest of the group, clustered at the table and trying to talk over the music.

"Oh." I realized I'd been vague. "No. Not everyone. Everybody's got plans, for tonight and Christmas. That's why this is sort of our annual check-in with the gang kind of thing."

Apparently, Julie had been listening in.

"What are you guys doing New Years'?" she asked.

"That's funny," I told her. "Linda asked the same thing."

"Maybe she's having the same lascivious thoughts," Julie smiled.

"A woman after my own heart," Melissa muttered, but I'm sure she was heard.

"I don't know," I told Julie. "I told Linda I'd have to check with the Boss. And I don't know if Andy and Melissa would be up."

"Does that mean we have an invite?" Melissa asked from beside me and I suddenly realized she'd actually been in on the entire conversation. I turned to her and noted her perked up expression.

"I'd think so," I told her, "but again, I'd have to check with the Boss."

"Well, we'll be done with chores by noon tomorrow," Julie came back, "if you want to give us a call and let us know what's happening. We try to take it as easy as we can on Christmas Day and New Years' Day."

"Remember, Ted and Julie are ranchers," I explained to Melissa. "Taking care of the animals and the farm happens everyday, no matter what."

"I'm somewhat familiar with the concept," Melissa chided me, then turned to Julie to tell her about growing up in West Virginia and ask about the ranch. When she found out they raised American Saddlebreds, among others, she and Julie were off an running and I decided to drift back to the table and sit down.

"What are we doing about New Years', honey?" Susan asked me as I sat down next to her. The look I gave her must have been priceless because she busted up laughing.

"Word spreads quickly," she smiled. "And it's good to know I'm still the Boss."

"Just like I know that if you want my opinion, you'll give it to me," I jibed back. "Let's talk about it when it's a bit quieter and we can think..."

She agreed and we went back to having interesting conversation with interesting friends. We got in a few more rounds of dancing between rounds of drinking and talking. Maggie came by to chat a couple of times and everyone had to congratulate her on yet another awesome Christmas Eve fête. The time moved inexorably to the 2am last call, and we wound up the evening with the usual large amounts of salacious groping, hugging and kissing good-bye. There was a very light snow in the air as Melissa, Andy, Susan and I made our way to the car -- which I'd had the foresight to start remotely -- and thence home.

The drive was mostly quiet, except for Melissa commenting on how fortunate she felt to be included, by Susan and me, and by our friends. That is was, in fact, one of the better Christmas Eves she could remember.

As we pulled in the drive, Susan told me, "okay, Rick... you and Andy get the fire going and start the hot tub, just in case. Melissa and I will tend to libations."

"Yes, ma'am," seemed like the appropriate response. Andy went to get some wood while I went out and started up the hot tub. Since we liked using the spa year 'round, we made sure we had a good, sealed, insulated cover, kept the water level up above the skimmer and moderately heated, and kept the water clean, since draining and filling in below freezing weather is generally a bad idea. I got the cover pulled, the temp cranked up and the jets dialed down so we weren't sucking in as much cold air.

By the time I got back, I got treated to a very nice surprise... probably Susan's doing. She and Melissa were sitting in front of the nicely blazing fire naked, with a couple of bottles of wine, glasses and a platter of snacks in front of them. Andy was finishing stacking the wood in the bin and giving them the same look of curiosity that I was.

"Please feel free to join us," Susan told us blithely. "We're getting a head start on an evening of decadence. How long until the hot tub is ready, Rick?"

"About twenty minutes," I told her, "and I think you mean early morning. Evening is pretty well past at this point."

"True," she agreed, "but I don't consider it really Christmas Morning until I've slept. Come have some wine... I got out a Zinfandel and a Shiraz, plus a variety of cheeses, sausage and crackers."

I was going to presume 'join us' meant sans clothing, so I told her I'd be right back and went to our bedroom closet, pulling out four large hooded robes and four large bath towels for any trek to and from the hot tub. I took them back with me and when I got there, Andy was already out of his clothes. So I put the robes and towels in a conspicuous place and stripped, telling Susan "Shiraz" as I did.

She had a glass poured for me by the time I got there. The two women were in the center of the long couch, leaving space for Andy to sit by Melissa and me to sit by Susan. Which, of course, we did.

"Nouveaux amis," Susan offered, holding up her glass for a toast.

"New friends," we echoed and clinked glasses, before taking long draughts of our wine.

"And you have quite a few," Melissa mused. "Everyone I met tonight was interesting, and in different ways. I mean, they all had a feeling of raw sensuality to them, even the women, but they also had 'normal' pursuits that seemed interesting in and of themselves."

"Even the women?" Susan asked, zeroing in on Melissa's word choice.

"Well, yeah..." Melissa answered a bit hesitantly. "I mean, you expect to get turned on by good-looking, sexy guys. Especially when you know they've got a, uh... liberal background. You don't necessarily expect the women to be that kind of, um... exciting."

"I do..." Andy smiled. "You've got some very attractive friends..." He paused for a second. "Second to you two, of course."

"Of course the women would be attractive to you, you lovely stud," Melissa told him. "I'm talking about me being attracted to women. Not something I would have expected."

"Have you ever had a woman give you an orgasm?" Susan asked Melissa.

Oh, Lord... here we go, I thought as I saw the surprise at the question cross Melissa's face. Followed by confusion and interest. Or at least, that's what it looked like.

"Um... no?" Melissa answered hesitantly.

"Would you like to?"

I'm sure there were three people locked on Melissa's reaction. Which was more drawn out confusion as she thought about it.

"I'm not sure," she finally told Susan. "You mean, with you?"

"Sure!" Susan smiled and I watched in admiration as she set the hook. "I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself." Melissa looked nervously over at Andy and me.

"I suppose you guys would love to see that, right?" she asked.

Andy and I didn't answer. Verbally. In an amazing feat of unrehearsed coordination, we both stood, took our hardons in our hands and straightened them a bit, waggling them back and forth, and sat back down with our legs spread a bit, to give our straining cocks some wiggle room.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Melissa mumbled, then turned back to Susan. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Susan stood up and said, "Guys?". Then moved over in front of Melissa. "You scooch up a bit on the couch so your butt's on the edge," she told her. As Melissa complied, Andy and I moved in from either side to where we could hold Melissa and pet her. She seemed surprised, but relaxed into us pretty quickly.

I turned in so I could pet her belly and play with the tit on my side while Andy mimicked my moves on her other side. When I leaned in so I could suckle her, Melissa draped her arms around me and around Andy. That's when Susan knelt and moved forward, easing Melissa's thighs apart.

"Mmm... lovely..." Susan murmured as she surveyed the landscape. Then she leaned in and went down on our raven haired beauty. I couldn't see what she was doing, but I didn't have to... Melissa's "Oh, God!" as she laid her head back on the couch told me pretty much what I needed to know.

If Susan was following her usual patterns, there would be a mix of licking, sucking and fingering going on until she found out what Melissa responded to best. Then she'd concentrate on those until she drove her over the top. Except with Melissa, it was more like a volcano going off. She was moaning and huffing and quivering as Susan 'mapped' her. When Susan got serious, Melissa went from idle to redline in about ten seconds.