Chapter 7: Holidays. A Deal With Some Greeks

The holiday season was a crazy time for everyone in the Circle and for many of the families of Circle members.

Somehow, Bobbie and her two sous chefs manage to feed nearly three-hundred people for Thanksgiving. The weather was perfect and the Circle seated people both inside and outside. Everyone eating brought Bobbie, her chefs, and the entire kitchen support teams to tears with our cheering and appreciation for all their hard work and effort to make the holiday meal a perfect occasion for everyone. Ty made a great speech of gratitude.

Frankly, some of the parents and siblings who were with us at that holiday were amazed at the outpouring of support and gratitude we expressed for that whole team of people. Not everyone of the visitors was happy as they learned increasingly about the ethos of the Circle, particularly our open sexuality with each other, but the team spirit had a positive effect on those negative feelings.

Bunny Johnson’s father had been circulating around the core prior to dinner with steam coming of his ears he was so rip-roaring mad. Bunny had finally explained about how she was in love with multiple men, and that she accordingly made love with those men. She tried several of the approaches that had worked with other upset parents to calm him down, but all he saw was his virginal daughter turning into a slut and having the stuffing fucked out of her by multiple men, multiple times a day.

Bunny happened to be on one of the kitchen prep teams who’d put in hours and hours getting ready for the Thanksgiving dinner. Her father was brought to standstill when she was introduced and singled out during the applause and cheering as one of the leaders of her team that produced the wonderful pies and other desserts that capped off the meal. Bunny and many others on the team got teary at the accolades as they all took a bow as though they were on a Broadway stage. When her father saw that, suddenly the steam stopped and he became a calm man proud of his daughter’s accomplishments.

Bunny later told us that for the first time he’d seen her unbelievably appreciated for what she’d done. Moreover, he saw the visible demonstration that every person at the hundreds of seats inside and outside appreciated and loved her. Many had yelled out her name and specific comments about how great she was and what she’d done. She quoted him later as she explained his change in behavior, “I didn’t know that kind of love really existed. Now, I know, you really are loved by your Circle of friends. I guess I can’t fault that.”

Christmas was equally chaotic, but the kitchen did not do a large meal for hundreds. Many people went elsewhere for that holiday week. Most of the students and faculty were gone since the school was on a long break. Dave closed down EneRG from the day before Christmas until the day after New Year’s Day. Roy trimmed down Knightsbridge Manufacturing administrative offices for the holiday, too; his good planning had made absences at the end of the year possible.

In Dave’s own family, they hosted their own large dinner. The guests included Anna Manning – Heather’s mother; Pam’s mother; Cricket’s adoptive parents; Scarlett’s parents; Nikky and her parents the Thomas’s (who were also Circle members); Tatiana’s mother and sister who flew over from Russia; and Bridget and all the Simons, since that included Julie and Alice’s sister Karen, husband Daryl, and their young teen children Sean and Christiana. Matt and Rose were there, along with Roy and Elise – Dave and Aaron’s mother. Aaron and Shelby were there with their kids.

Two special guests from the Atlanta Group joined them: Stanislav and Zara Majkowski. They were originally from Czechoslovakia, and this was not a year they traveled to see their relatives in Europe. They took the short hop to Sarasota to celebrate the season with Dave and Company.

Dave and his family used the room in the core for the large meal that was used for college classes. Tables were set up with portable chairs, and a giant spread laid out for the meal that was prepared in both the Prentiss and part of the core kitchens. All together about fifty adults and children were in the festivities.

What with all the guests milling around at all times of the week, day, and hour, all of the exhibitionist, group sex totally vanished between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. There were a few moments snuck here and there in private spaces, and of course, the two large beds in the Prentiss’ bedroom with were in frequent use almost around the clock – and not just by family members.

Those guests living nearby disappeared a day or so after Christmas; those not, stayed through New Year’s Eve. The Circle rented a bus and about sixty members, pledges, and guests went downtown for New Year’s Eve ending at Bayfront Park for a fabulous midnight fireworks display that many of the merchants put on for the community.

The next day, January first, the guests staying over departed. They were the last of the last. Without a large group consensus, some mystical powers decided that all of the ‘impressionable’ children would again have a long-overdue slumber party at Scarlet’s house with suitable ‘sitters’. The mostly sub-teen group went off during the cocktail hour with adult supervision, leaving only those who’d achieved adult status around the core living room. The weather mandated indoor festivities.

Everyone seemed to pitch in with dinner, helping prepare, serve, and then cleanup. Dave and Ty watched at one point. People were scurrying around like excited ants who’d found a sugar cube to raid. Everyone wanted the party part of the evening to commence.

As Dave helped fold up and stack some of the portable tables and chairs, Bunny Johnson and Eve Williams came up to Dave. Eve spoke for the two of them, “Dave, we are asking for some time with you tonight – romantic time where we make love with each other.” She looked hopeful and so did Bunny.

Dave teased, “I don’t know whether I should do anything with Bunny. Her father was not fully on board with the sex in the Circle. He was sort of scary.”

Bunny’s look changed to one of disbelief. “Dave! He changed his mind, at least he got off the subject. He left happy and content that I was well cared for by everyone in the Circle and in a safe and protective place. He knew I was loved. Please. He can think what he wants, but that shouldn’t and doesn’t impact what I think or what I want to have happen tonight ... or in my life. I love you.”

Dave nodded and continued teasing, “Okay, I guess ... and ... errr ... this is kind of sensitive ... but, well, do the two of you know what to do with each other when we’re not making love?”

Bunny frowned and then broke into a grin. “You mean have Eve and I been sexual with each other? The answer is yes. We’ve made love together, including just last night when I stayed over with her.”

Eve said excitedly, “We were counting orgasms that we had, but stopped counting somewhere around twenty-six or twenty-seven. There were lots more after that, too. Do you like watching two college age girls fuck each other? I think we’re very good at it based on those numbers, but we supplemented our skills with each other with some sex toys.”

Dave said more seriously, “I do like to watch. Do you both do cleanup on the other?”

Both girls nodded. Bunny said, “Stop being a hindrance to our being with you. We both love you and want time with you and yes, we do clean up on each other. We love to lap up cum and clean pussies. Is that enough?!” She sounded exasperated with his teasing.

Dave gathered both women to him in a sudden hug. Both of them were on the short side, so he had to lean down to kiss each of them. “And I love you, too. Sorry, I’m being playful. I am eager to be with both of you. Where do you want to be?”

Bunny pointed at the core living room that already had a few couples dancing in an open space. Three other couples were on other pieces of furniture making out and shedding clothes. As they watched, Ty dimmed the lights to a romantic level and some dreamier music came on. Only then did the three become aware that three other couples, slightly further away, were fully engaged in lovemaking, with each exhibiting a different but revealing pose from the Joy of Sex. Dave felt Bunny’s hand tighten around his own.

Bunny whispered, “I want you to do all of that with me.” She even pointed at where Alice was riding Ike. Dave smiled at the erotic scene of his wife frantically fucking another man.

Eve added, “Me, too, please.”

The new season of the reality TV show The Circle started at nine p.m. on Wednesday night in the second week of January – prime time. The Circle had splurged and bought a ninety-eight-inch flat screen television for the core living room after repairing the damage from the hand grenade thrown into the room by a deranged minister. Everyone could see the screen and there were about a hundred people in the room.

The first episode of season two picked up where season one had left off. The major feature of this episode occurred when sixteen students from the university campus showed up the night of a toga party to have a more serious and sexual party back at the Circle. Featured in the show were Piper, Bunny, Eve, Hank, Jay, and Caleb, along with the Circle members they’d ended up with the night of the party, especially Dave. Many of the scenes were heavily pixelated or had black panels over part of the screen.

One surprise was that so much of the party at Phi Theta Rho appeared in the video. Some of the older members of the Circle laughed because the scenes portrayed truly resembled the movie Animal House that came out in 1978. While the scenes of the party portrayed a standard wild college blast, the cameras had focused on Circle members attending the fete. Helen had apparently taken a crew with her to the toga party. Many scenes showed the wildness on the dance floor with the live band.

Towards the end of the hour telecast, there was no hiding the nudity or the sex. Since it was television, some things continued to be obscured, blocked out, pixelated, or implied by the conversations that got captured on the video. The sex was mainly focused on the Circle’s patio and pool with shadows and darkness in key places. Occasionally, the screen would cut to an interview with one of the participants where they were appropriately dressed, but talking about the salacious nature of the party or the after party. The evening was a happy event.

The episode ended with many questions about whether the relationships and friendships that got formed would continue or whether things were one-night stands. This wasn’t a surprise to most of the Circle’s viewers. Helen, the producer, had explained that she wanted a little draw into the future episodes of the season. At the end of the episode everyone applauded and Ty had Helen and Al come up and take a little bow. Both of them were from Spring Garden Productions, the company doing the filming and editing of The Circle.

The TV episode also ended with a strong plug for Cricket’s nonfiction book, also entitled The Circle. Buyers could order online or call an ‘800’ number and order by phone. The next evening Cricket got a phone call from the publisher on the west coast who’d tracked the sales. She’d sold about ten-thousand books at forty dollars each, with many of them going to residents in Tampa, Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice, and Fort Meyers. The pretext about keeping the location of Circle from public view had been given up the previous season.

The popularity of the TV show and the book resulted in the Circle beefing up security. The fenced back entrance to the Circle along the airport property was redone, adding height and razor wire, along with warning signs about trespass. That back entrance was pretty obscure, but the Security Committee felt that more than one person would trace the perimeter of the Circle land looking for access points. Everything was covered by cameras.

The main entrance to the Circle was also fortified, although everyone disliked using that terminology. Bollards were installed, along with hidden guard-triggered spikes just inside the property that could probably stop a tank. The spikes would shred the tires of any vehicle that tried to run the gate.

Of course, Circle member’s cars were outfitted with a transponder that raised the gate and identified them to the guard as they approached. Members also used a different entry port by the gatehouse to expedite their arrival.

A turnaround for curious drivers was also added outside the gatehouse. People could approach, but once they saw they couldn’t have access they were routed in a half-circle and aimed back at the main roadway. Of course, all cars were photographed several times to emphasize driver and license plates.

At the suggestion of the Security Committee, the gatehouse guards were also given a specially written pamphlet about the Circle and how to seek more information about some of the themes being discussed in the TV series. A further plug for Cricket’s book was also included. Erin put up a website that covered many FAQs. The brief couple of pages emphasized the privacy and security of the Circle, but also cited their willingness to appear in the reality TV series. References to the few newspaper articles about the Circle were also given. The guard reported that about a half-dozen cars a day stopped and asked for more information.

A more serious endeavor relating to outsiders and the Circle came through another channel that Ty, as president of the Circle Board, and Dave, as vice president, didn’t expect.