Chapter 4: Comfort Zone?

About five o’clock Cricket came bounding across the patio and launched herself into Dave’s arms. She smothered him with kisses, and glowed with love as he kissed her back.

As they parted, Dave said, “Cricket, please meet my new good friend, Scarlett.”

Cricket smiled at the movie star. “Hi. I thought you looked familiar. Welcome to the Circle.” The movie star didn’t at all intimidate her. Scarlett could have been one of the neighbors from just outside the gate.

“Cricket is a cute name.”

“I hop around a lot. The name stuck from when I was a quite young. I’ve never used my real first name, or even my last name all that much. I sign my checks, credit card slips, and driver’s license Cricket, too.”

Dave explained, “Scarlett is going to stay with us for a couple of weeks.”

Cricket speculated to her, “Escaping the paparazzi?”

Scarlett laughed, “Exactly. Do I need to buy your silence?”

“Nope. Nobody here will say a word. We’re very good at keeping confidences, and I’ve only been here about six weeks. I’m not a member yet.”

Scarlett looked between Owen and Dave. “Oh, there are members? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was private or a club. Owen just dragged me along once I expressed my hopes to visit here. He did call you collectively the Circle repeatedly; I should have guessed.”

Dave smirked, “More like a cult as some see it. Being a member means you probably have some intention of moving in here, although we have some distant members who visit frequently including my mother and a family on the east coast of the state.”

“What does it take to become a member?” She sounded interested.

Dave checked his watch. “Come with me while I tend bar for my friends. You’ll get to meet everybody, too. The answer to your question is to get to know everybody and have everybody know you, in a loving and friendly way.”

Cricket followed along, “This is the best place in the whole world. It’s a spiritual oasis, but not like going to an ashram or something like that. Plus, Dave is so special as a man. If you make love with him, you’ll find out.”

“You’ve done that?” Scarlett asked as they walked a few paces behind Dave.

Cricket smiled broadly. “It’s the highlight of my life, of my day, and certainly of my night. I love him with all my heart, and I want to be his fifth wife. I also love the other men and women in the Circle.”

“Wow, you seem to have it all planned out.”

“I’m writing a book right now – three actually. They’re novels and each is in different stages. Living here in the Circle has given me hundreds of ideas. I’m getting ready to send the first one off. I’ve sent book proposals out to various companies and agents, and now I have a draft of my first book. It’s entitled Crystal Clear.”

Scarlett said, “Let’s talk later. I may be able to help you. Let me ask, have you ever written a screen play?”

“No. I sense there’s a big difference, but we can talk about that later – maybe over dinner. Oh, here’s your daughter.”

“Mommy, I had to get out of the pool. Holly told me I was turning into a prune. What’s a prune?”

Scarlett cuddled her naked daughter wrapped in a towel and went to help her get back into her play togs. Dave heard something said about big raisins.

At the bar a few minutes later, Dave and Owen helped introduce everyone to Scarlett. Dave watched the reactions to the movie star more than the star herself. Everyone was very accepting, and held back on the more obvious questions. She’d met many of the Circle at the Halloween party, but couldn’t remember many of the names. Dave made a bet with himself that at the end of two weeks, she’d know everybody intimately. She was warm and outgoing, and obviously gave of herself as she inspired others to do the same to her. She also inspired laughter and happiness with whomever she talked.

Cricket and Scarlett talked about the membership criteria and the Circle philosophy and tenets. Scarlett knew a lot of what was said from her talk with Owen a week earlier. Dave didn’t have anything to add when Cricket turned to him and asked what she’d forgotten to say. He gave her a wink.

Bobbie and Maddy had been back a couple of weeks from their honeymoon in France. The Friday meal was a gourmet feast, yet healthy and light. The influence of French cooking could be tasted by all especially in the sauces and dressings. Bobbie got a round of applause as she came out with her own dinner in hand after most of the others had been served.

Scarlett said, “Do you eat like this every night?”

“Pretty much. There are always a few folks absent as there are tonight, but then we almost always have visitors such as you and Rose. Cricket is new and lives with my wives and me. Lisa, who you met a few minutes ago with her boyfriend Jim, is new but also not a member. He’ll disappear right after dinner since he runs a nightclub down the trail. They normally don’t get cranked up until after nine.”

“Do you think I might get to see his club during my visit?”

“Sure. You know the risks of being seen as well as I do – probably better. We’re good at disguises, especially Alice, my wife.”

“Point out your wives again, please.”

Dave gestured around at the three tables to the four women. Alice and Pam were both holding their child in their laps as they ate doing coo-chooing sounds and such to keep them awake and interested. Pam was occasionally nursing and the bare boob was out and ready to provide to little Bobby.

Scarlett got into a discussion with Dev about his construction business. That in turn led to Dave getting a verbal update from Jack and Ty about the progress on the Townhouse 2 project on the road to the Circle’s airport.

Scarlett allowed, “Building and homes and decorating fascinate me. I watch HGTV – Home and Garden TV – all the time when I can fit it in.”

Cricket allowed, “We have cable, so you can watch it just about any TV set you can find. It’s channel 665. I especially like the show Flip or Flop.“

As Dave listened in, he realized that Cricket was intentionally keeping the conversation from becoming an interrogation of Scarlett – the movie star. She involved her in talking about Rose, what her home was like, and then got others talking around her about topics she knew everyone was interested in. Scarlett didn’t mind in the least, and he thought might be appreciating the diversion of attention.

After dinner, Dave was on cleanup, so disappeared for a while. Scarlett came into the kitchen as he was packaging the leftovers to put in the small refrigerator in case someone wanted a late meal, snack, or lunch tomorrow. She started to help him package up the food, much to his surprise.

Bobbie came in and made a few suggestions. Some pots and pans were put in the industrial dishwashing unit, which fascinated Scarlett. She said, “This is all so efficient. It’s a restaurant only everybody works here sooner or later; well, except for Bobbie, and I guess you work here all the time.”

Dave threw a little test at Scarlett without her knowing it. “Bobbie just got back from her honeymoon a couple of weeks ago.”

“Really? That’s great. Dave said you live in the first townhouse project. Is your husband part of the Circle?”

Bobbie laughed. She’d no doubt already encountered this situation. “Sorry, don’t have one of those. My wife is part of the Circle. She cares for all the babies in the nursery – Maddy. She was four down from you at the table with two of the babes.”

Scarlett digested that and said, “I think that’s so cool – the two of you, I mean. I’m glad you did what you did. That’s brave and I applaud your willingness to be audacious.”

Bobbie said, “Even though we have our preference in our marriage, we also participate fully in all the Circle activities without sexual bias one way or the other.” She laughed.

“Will you have children?” Scarlett asked.

“Maybe in a year or two. I won’t, but Maddy would like her own and I fully support her – I’m eager for us. We’d like two. We’ll get one of the men in the Circle to be the daddy if we even end up knowing who it is.”

“Paternity?”

Bobbie explained, “Most of the current crop of babies have some degree of uncertainty about who the donor was. Since Dave gets around, so to speak, he might have more babies than what he knows for certain about.”

“I heard that earlier,” Scarlett said with a chuckle. She glanced at Dave who was blushing.

Bobbie said, “I think that finishes things in here. The automatic washers will do their thing and you’ll be ready to cook in the morning, I assume?”

“That’s my plan,” Dave replied. Brunch will start about eight-thirty tomorrow morning for those interested.

“You cook?”

“On Saturdays, Sundays, and many holidays. I do custom breakfasts. If you have favorites you can tell me tomorrow morning. If the weather’s nice, we’ll all be on the patio again.”

As Dave, Scarlett, and Cricket walked out of the kitchen together, Scarlett asked of Dave, “What now?”

Cricket tittered. “This is when you get to make love with Dave. If you’re willing, I’d love to help. I really like you.”

Dave said, “Cricket, that’s very presumptuous. I think Scarlett, despite our teasing earlier, is probably going to turn in and read or watch television.” He turned and nodded at Scarlett to be sure she knew she was off the hook for anything physical.

Scarlett said, “Really? I don’t get my wish from earlier? That’s not good. I really would like to do just what Cricket suggested.”

Dave stopped and teased, “A few questions should be asked if you’re serious: public or private? Outside or in? Alone or with friends?”

Scarlett smiled, “I’ve never had a third person present. I’ve never been watched. I’ve never made love outside.”

Dave said, “Maybe we should ease you into this place a little more before we spring all of that on you at once. Let’s go inside. Maybe you’ll allow just Cricket to join us. She’s spiritual and very romantic, even with a member of the same sex.” He continued to watch Scarlett to make sure that she was serious. His disbelief continued to run rampant through his head.

Scarlett looked at Cricket, and then reached down and took the small girl’s hand. “Come with us.”

Dave led the movie star and Cricket to the bedroom and shut the door.

Cricket and Dave started to kiss Scarlett all over. He noted that the initial shock and awe he’d felt at having a movie star in his presence had faded over the hours they’d spent together. She was a gorgeous and responsive woman. He was pleased to see she also responded to Cricket and not just him. Piece by piece each item of their clothing got tossed onto a chair.

Scarlett whispered, “I like to have my breasts played with and sucked on.”

“You have gorgeous breasts,” Cricket told her. She pushed the star back on the bed and latched on to one of her breasts as Dave did the other. He was also stroking and kissing other erogenous zones. He was skilled and put everything he knew into his romancing of his new friend and soon to be lover. Scarlett kept saying encouraging things and kissing anybody and any body part that came near.

Dave moved lower as Cricket loved the ‘upper’ Scarlett. She tasted like a fine wine that had been aged to perfection. He told her that repeatedly in different words as he worked to drive her to distraction. For a while she reversed the tables and sucked on him, trying to turn him on and drive his libido to new heights. He then switched things back when he felt stirrings in his groin. It was too early in their meeting to experience what he was feeling, but he did.

Back with his tongue and fingers doing their dance around Scarlett’s shaved pussy, he started his ploy of adding fingers, carefully fisting her, and then searching for her two interior sensitive spots. She tolerated his fisting as Cricket told her how wonderful it was. From the G-spot orgasms she had, he guessed she’d become convinced he knew what he was doing. The A-spot orgasm ten or fifteen minutes later rocked Scarlett’s world. She passed out from the overload of sexual pleasure. Cricket and Dave licked his hand clean and then he cuddled Scarlett into their bodies as Cricket spooned behind her and smoothed her breasts and chest and Dave held and kissed her.

Scarlett’s eyes blinked open and she looked at Dave. She whispered in a deep and sexy voice, “I love you. What you did to me and for me is something I’ll never forget. You too, Cricket. I love you. I wanted something romantic to happen on this trip, but I had no idea beyond that vague notion. Now, I know it happened my first day here. I’m completely in love with you both with fireworks and sparklers and walks in moonlight and everything. What’s happened to me here is the most romantic and intense and loving and spiritual thing anybody has ever done to me or with me. I want you to make love to me now. I need to love you back the only way I know how.”