Chapter 36: Changes

There was a subtle change in the dynamics of Project GML as a result of the engagement. Rather than being just a Nerd Paradise, it had morphed into Nerd and Bohemian Paradise. That liberated lifestyle that Raven had thought she was getting in her first marriage actually became a reality. She was exploring all of her sexual boundaries with an enthusiasm that was almost unreal. Fortunately for their relationship, the one boundary that she didn't want to push was the one involving more than one man at a time. She just didn't trust men other than Andrew.

It wasn't only the changes in Raven that affected the project. Cat and Scarlet were changing as well.

Cat was pulling back from project while spending more time with her business. The grand opening of For and After was quickly approaching. The old boutique had been transformed into a front and back store. The walls of the front store had images of couples on dates with romantic dinner scenes and couples taking moonlit strolls on sandy beaches. The walls of the back store had images of lingerie clad women arrayed in sexually suggestive poses on beds and tasteful images of couples passionately engaged in sex. From the outside, there was only the barest hint that the store contained anything beyond the ordinary lingerie.

The old merchandise from the front had given way to outfits more appropriate for dating than everyday wear. There was the ubiquitous little black dress, raw club outfits, and simple on-a-date ensembles meant to suggest rather than promise. These were not designer dresses, but items that were much more affordable for the average single woman.

The back of the store was being stocked with lingerie and toys. Getting a display for the adult toys that didn't look tacky or low class had taken a lot of effort. It's hard to make a dildo look like anything other than an explicit sexual item. Although more use to being confronted with a wall of sex toys than most women, it still bothered Cat.

She knew that kind of presentation would chase off customers. It had taken putting the item in a plastic box with a label on the box featuring a picture emphasizing the effect on the woman (or man) of using the item with a small inset of the actual item. What could have been a very tacky wall of sex objects would became a large display of pleasured women and men.

The closer the grand opening came, the more focused Cat was on the store. She now approached sex within the project in terms of what the payment would allow her to do with her store. Sex today would allow her to use higher quality shelves. Sex for two days would pay for a woman to model some outfits for use as posters on the wall. A full weekend of sex would pay for a photographer. Her participation in the project was even more mercenary than in the past.

Scarlet did have a submissive streak in her that emerged at times. In what might have seemed strange to an outsider aware of Raven's history, it was Raven who took command when Scarlet showed up in her 'submissive' outfit – a simple choker worn around her neck. Normally, sex within the project was scripted, meaning that everyone knew what was supposed to happen. That wasn't the case when Scarlet showed up wearing her choker. While a blowjob was a blowjob, it was Raven who provided the more demanding context in which Scarlet gave the blowjob. Raven, with a hard edge to her voice, would demand that Scarlet suck his cock. She would order Scarlet from one act to the next.

Raven didn't get excited by it, but did it for Scarlet and Andrew. Her version of demanding wasn't anything like what her ex used to do. If she had added a please to the end of her statements, it would have been a request. It was that tone of voice that she used more than the words.

With Alice staying at the house, Scarlet had returned to her home for the duration. Having been closed up for a while, it was a bit of work to air it out, dust things off, and generally get everything ship shape again. She spent a lot of time wandering through the place thinking that it was no longer home.

Cat, never really having forgiven Alice for discovering her engaged in sex with Andrew, was spending her time at work rather than around the house. She resented not being able to earn as much as she would have liked. The day for the grand opening of her store was approaching and she wanted to grab as much money now as possible.

Dave and Sue Ellen were seated in Dave's office with the door closed. They were expecting Andrew to come over in an hour, but they felt they had a lot to discuss before he arrived. For one, both were worried about the project continuing. If it did continue, Dave was having a hard time coming up with a replacement for Cat.

Sue Ellen, suspecting what Dave wanted to talk about, asked, "What's going on?"

"I think the project needs to come to an end," Dave said flatly.

He knew the implications of that on their earnings. They'd both lose the extra money brought in from working on the project. Their money situation wouldn't be tight, but they would stop being able to sock away money for a rainy day. They had learned the hard way that rainy days came, often of Biblical duration.

Sue Ellen replied, "I don't know about that. It seems to me that Raven wants it to continue for a while."

"Still, they are going to get married. I don't think the project will survive marriage."

Dave was, more or less, a man of traditional views on the relationship between man and wife. He held to those views. After all, he'd been propositioned many times by participants in the project and rejected all of them. That's not to say that he wasn't a beneficiary of the project. Sue Ellen had learned a lot from the women in the project and he was the lucky recipient of her new knowledge.

"I know what you mean, although Raven has hinted that they might want to entertain occasional visitors after the project ends."

"That seems a little strange to me," Dave said thinking that it would be Andrew who would want the project to continue rather than Raven.

"It shouldn't be. Raven is trying to reclaim her sexuality and is using the project to do so."

"I'm sorry. I just don't see how that works."

Changing the subject a little, Sue Ellen asked, "Any luck with finding a replacement for Cat?"

"No," Dave said in disgust. "I've been getting lots of druggies responding to the ad lately."

"You might add a note that druggies need not reply."

"I already did. It hasn't really had an effect."

"So nothing else?"

"I had a guy apply."

"That's odd. I thought the ad clearly called for actresses."

"It did. I guess he figured that if there were going to be actresses that there was a good chance of there being a need for actors."

"You might want to tell Andrew about the guy anyway."

"I don't think Andrew is interested in guys."

"Maybe he might enjoy a double penetration session – two guys and one girl. He might even want to try making a girl airtight."

Dave looked at his wife for a second. "Where are you getting these ideas?"

"Amber told me about them, first. Raven has told me about her experiences with her ex-husband."

"That guy was a real ass. I'd really like to see him get his one day."

"Wouldn't we all."

Dave said, "Getting back to the guy ... I think you're forgetting something."

"What?"

"This project was to get Andrew laid on a regular basis, not to become a real porn star."

That reminder rocked Sue Ellen back on her heels. She had forgotten what was the primary purpose of the project. Talking to the women about the project and pretending that it was a real porn activity had made her lose track of what they were really doing.

"I had forgotten that."

"With him marrying Raven, he's going to get laid on a regular basis. Hence, the need for the project is gone."

"You're right. I wonder if he's thought about it."

"I think it might be a good time to remind him," Dave said.

Andrew and Raven entered the room at that time. Dave looked from Andrew to Raven not sure that he was comfortable having Raven there.

Seeing the expression on Dave's face, Andrew said, "I thought we might include Raven in the meeting this week."

"Okay," Dave said with a frown.

"I had a feeling you were going to do that," Sue Ellen said thinking that the discussion that Dave wanted to have with Andrew had suddenly become a lot more difficult.

Raven took a seat next to Sue Ellen. She reached over and put her hand on Andrew's hand.

Turning to look at Dave, Andrew asked, "Any luck finding a replacement for Cat?"

"No."

"I guess you might as well stop looking," Andrew said.

"Are you shutting down the project?"

"Raven and I have talked about it."

Raven said, "We thought we'd keep Scarlet until she's ready to leave. After that, we would really like to have a guest star on occasion."

"I had a feeling that is what you were going to say," Sue Ellen said giving Dave one of her significant looks.

Patting Raven's hand, Andrew said, "I discovered that Nerd Paradise is having a woman who loves you."

"That's so sweet," Sue Ellen said.

"He's right. There's nothing better than making love to someone who loves you," Raven said.

"What about Millie?" Dave asked.

"I would prefer that she stay on the project until she wants to quit," Raven answered.

"Why?"

"Andrew really gets off on a hummer under the desk at work and it wouldn't seem right if it was a regular employee doing it," Raven said.

"You aren't a regular employee. You're his fiancee," Sue Ellen pointed out.

"We know, but when we discussed it we came to the conclusion that there's still something different about it," Andrew said.

Raven said, "You know ... that whole getting your way with sex kind of issue. Millie doesn't have a stake in the game while I do."

"Still, people might wonder if you're using sex at home rather than the office to get your way," Dave pointed out.

"That would be true with or without the noon blowjob," Andrew replied.

"I guess I can see the reasoning behind that," Dave said with a trace of doubt in his voice.

Andrew said, "You don't seem all that happy."

Dave glanced over at Raven wondering if she really knew what was going on with the project. He didn't want to bring it up and cause a problem. Of course, it was up to Andrew to tell her the truth at some point in time. Having a marriage based on a lie wasn't a good foundation.

"What does Raven know about the project?" Dave asked.

Andrew looked a little worried that Raven was going to get angry. He slowly turned his head to look at her trying to guess how she would react when it came out that this was nothing except a scam for him to get laid.

Raven answered, "You want to know if I know that the project is a way for Andrew to get laid by all different kinds of women?"

Dave looked surprised.

Sue Ellen answered, "Yes."

"I know. I also know that he's the one financing everything."

Andrew asked, "When did you find out?"

"It wasn't too difficult to figure out."

"How?" Dave asked.

"It was the lack of a lot of different kinds of porn scenes."

"Like what?" Andrew asked.

"Two or three guys with one woman. Swapping. Bukake..." seeing the blank look on Sue Ellen's face, she added, "you know – facials by lots of guys on one girl. No prostate massages. No watersports, bondage, or whipping. There's a lot of different things that didn't show up."

"Oh," Andrew said.

"Don't forget, my ex-husband and his friends watched lots of porn. They made me do all that kind of stuff. The fact that we're not doing any of it in the project makes the project kind of suspicious."

"I see," Dave said shaking his head.

"Andrew is also way too rich to have to star in a porno film."

"That makes sense."

"That's why I haven't minded using this as a chance to reclaim my sexuality."

Sue Ellen asked, "Is there anything you would like to do that you haven't had a chance to do?"