Chapter 28: Someone With a Dark Past

Dave and Pete strolled onto the pool patio about eleven a.m. on a hot Saturday morning the second week in June. Dave carried his black flight bag holding various aviation-related maps, one of his iPads loaded with the Jeppesen Enroute and terminal charts for the entire eastern half of the country, and a few pieces of gear to improve his safe aviation habits. Dave broke away and set his bag in the hallway to his home off of the circular hallway surrounding the entire core.

Dale greeted the pair as they arrived. “Where were you? We missed your culinary skills at breakfast this morning?”

Dave looked concerned, “Didn’t Owen and Ron show up? They promised they’d be there to cook. I haven’t been flying much, so I was getting signed off for instrument flight with passengers again.”

Dale gave a gesture to relax. “No, they were there and did just fine. Everyone was happy; we just like your company and morning humor. Sharon and Cindy were there in their microscopic waitress uniforms, too. I swear they’d wear those in public if we asked them to.” The men laughed.

Some of the women were already out on the patio in various states of dress, from sporty and ready to go to town, to completely naked and slathered from head to toe with tanning lotion. Dave saw that Cricket and Nikky were two of the nude women reestablishing their tans.

“Good morning, Ladies.”

“DAVE! You’re back. Sit with us.” Cricket said as she sat up, flashing her most private parts to her erstwhile husband. Nikky followed suit and gave him a grin indicating that she knew she’d done something lewd and enticing.

Dave laughed, “If you want, we can go inside and play.”

Cricket grinned, “Maybe later. We were just talking about getting lunch, plus we’re too oily right now.”

Nikky said, “This is a new mix of skin conditioners and tanning lotions. I made it up from a recipe on the Internet. We’ll wash off in about twenty minutes. Would you make love to us then?”

Dave teased, “Well, I’ll consider it. What were you talking about?”

The two young women both blushed and looked at each other in a way that indicated they were embarrassed about the topic.

Nikky said, “Errr, we were just commenting on Juan Carlos.”

Dave nodded, “And what did you have to say about him? Is he fitting in all right with you and the others in the Circle?” He asked the questions in a teasing manner.

Cricket jumped in, “Oh, he’s fine. He’s better than fine. We like him a lot. He’s really nice and has a natural style about him. He’s ... authentic, and even vulnerable. He told us about his growing up in Puerto Rico and didn’t seem to worry that either of us might have rebuffed him because he’d been poor.”

Dave commented more seriously, “Economic status is rarely the true measure of a person. We all know some public personalities that are abhorrent despite their wealth.”

Nikky said, “Oh, we agree. He’s a solar energy specialist for Knightsbridge, and doing very well apparently overseeing private home and commercial installations. He didn’t tout his credentials or accomplishments, but they kind of leak out as he tells you about himself. If his car is any indication, he drives a Porsche. He said he liked his creature comforts and his toy car.”

Cricket said, “They’re coming back this afternoon. I think they really liked the Circle.”

Dave said, I’ve heard good things about them, but haven’t met them. What’d you think about Bill’s ex-wife – Ann? Juan’s wife.”

“Oh, she’s nice, too. She was quieter. She works for Knightsbridge as one of their office managers in part of marketing. I guess that’s how they met. You’ll like her. She was a dancer in Las Vegas before Bill met her, so she’s a looker.”

“Well, I look forward to meeting them. I missed them last week due to my trip up to The Meadows with Heather, Matthew, Joan, Lauren, and a few others, to be with some of Mark Worthington’s friends for the weekend.”

Dave was just clearing his lunch dishes a few hours later when he spied Bill Lewis leading an attractive couple onto the patio from between two of the houses. Dave walked over to greet them.

Juan was Hispanic and handsome to a fault; tall at around six foot plus some, dark sexy eyes, a neat haircut, and a muscular frame. He was cordial to a fault, “I am so glad to meet you. We missed you last weekend, but I understand the Circle and Mark’s family are intermixing more and more. I’m impressed that each group has a billionaire.”

Ann poked at her husband. “They’re nice men, and it has nothing to do with their money.”

Juan nodded, “Oh, I know. It’s just that those characteristics are noteworthy about the two groups. I know this one also has Scarlett Johansson attached to it.”

Dave laughed, “My sixth wife.”

Juan teased, “Greedy son of a gun. I met some of them last weekend. Everyone is a movie star.”

Dave chuckled and wondered whether the revelations about making pornographic movies had surfaced in the prior weekend’s discussion.”

Dave shifted his attention to Ann. She was mid-height woman with a very narrow waist and wonderful breasts. She appeared to be younger than he expected, and looked to be about thirty. She was over forty, he knew. She had short brown hair in a pageboy style and a wide smile.

He shook her hand, “The pleasure is all mine, Ann. I already feel I know you somewhat from hearing Bill extoll your virtues and talents.”

Ann blushed, “The deadly ex-wife syndrome?” She eyed her smiling ex-husband.

“Oh, no. He praised your decisions and chastised his own a few years back. He mentioned that he’s learned so much since then in order to stay in your presence. He deeply loves you.”

“I know, and I still love him. I always have.”

“He got bitten by a paradigm that a person can only love and be in love with one other person. The basis of the Circle is the opposite; we can love and be in love with many other people.”

Ann nodded, “I couldn’t agree more, but I shouldn’t have cheated on him. You don’t think ill of me because of my shifting to be with Juan?”

“Not a bit. Bill told me he’d patched things up and now had a beautiful relationship with you and Juan. I assume you like the way things turned out?” The last statement was posed as a question.

“Oh, yes.” She paused and added, “I’d probably be embarrassed to admit that anywhere else but here and especially with you. Bill told me about you especially.”

Dave shrugged, “It was in the newspapers a few months ago, so it’s not a secret.”

Ann said, “I read the articles knowing I’d probably meet you last week. They still leave open many questions.”

“Such as?”

“How do you divide your time between your wives? Do they ever get miffed that you spend time with somebody outside your family? What about outside the Circle? How do you feel about them being with other men? Would you take on a seventh or more wives? Do you ever make love with all your wives at the same time? How much interaction do you and your wives have with each other in various combinations? Do others ever join you? Have you...”

Dave laughed and interrupted, “Are you just fascinated with the questions or do you want some answers?”

Ann stopped, “I’d really like to know. I may be on the quiet side but I have an endless curiosity, especially about plural relationships, sex, and love. I apologize for not letting you get on my wavelength.”

“Since you are a friend, I don’t mind sharing. I love my wives dearly and they also love each other. We are all physical with each other in every combination you can think of. It is rare that the seven of us are all together, maybe once or twice a month. We all make love with each other – have sex – in any combination. To use your parlance, outsiders join us all the time – men and women, and yes, that is for sex and making love.

“We rarely get miffed, as you called it, when any of us makes love outside the family. I’d say only when we said we’d be with someone and then forget. That’s rare. I love everybody in the Circle and so do my wives, so we’re constantly engaging in love making outside the family. No one minds.

“I’d consider a seventh wife, but I’d want that extra-special feeling to be there the way it is with my partners. The others would also have to be experiencing the same feelings. We’d all talk about annexing somebody. Right now, there is one possible candidate but it’s way too early to consider that. We’re all just letting feelings develop as they come.

“Let’s see, what else did you ask. Ah, yes, mechanics. Yes, I can make love to all of my wives at the same time. I’m male, so I have my modest limitations as to how often I can orgasm, but there’s no limit to how often I can deliver them pleasure. I usually make sure I do that before I think about my own satisfaction. We have something that I can do for them that is particularly arousing that we call The Experience; that can have effects on each of them for a day or more. It’s one helluva orgasm.”

“The Experience? What’s that?” Ann blushed as she asked.

“It’s simply my version of an A-spot orgasm. I try to make it special with lots of oral sex and G-spot orgasms ahead of time. My wife Cricket claims she can still feel the effects a week later. She’s very orgasmic. I think Nikky might be in the same boat.”

“I met them last week. They told me you were visiting with Mark Worthington.”

Dave chuckled, “Yes, he’s my new boss. I just started to run one of his subsidiaries that make special batteries. You’ll hear a lot more about them soon. They’ll revolutionize the market for portable electronics and such. While we were there, I also bonded further with some of his family. We’ve been intermixing our two groups quite a bit.”

“Cricket mentioned last week that she’d made love to some of the men from his group. She praised the idea of having one large group combining everybody.”

“That’s the way it seems to be turning out. As nearly complete groups, we’ve only done a few events: last Halloween, a Holiday party, and a smaller group at Mark’s villa down on St. Croix just after Valentine’s Day. We need another event.” He grinned to indicate there might be some sexual content to such a gathering.

Ann’s response surprised Dave. “I’ll be glad to help you put something together if Juan and I can attend. I love to go to parties and meet new people. Everyone here in the Circle has made us feel so welcome. I’d love to do something to repay everyone’s hospitality.”

Dave thought a moment. “All right, but talk to my wife Alice. She’s often been the equivalent of a social secretary for the group, and she can help you. Maybe we need a mid-summer event.”

“Is it too late to put a Fourth of July party together? Two weeks and a few days. I’m sure we could do something.”

Dave then got the rest of his brain in gear. “Errr, Ann ... and Juan ... if we do a party such as you’re suggesting, well, there’ll be ... a lot of ... sex taking place.”

Juan grinned, “I was kind of hoping for something like that. Bill has told us about some of your gatherings. I don’t mind one bit.” He turned and looked beside him at Ann. “Honey?”

Ann blushed, “I also don’t mind. I was hoping, too. I’ve been disappointed that I haven’t gotten any offers in all the hours we hung around here last weekend and today.” She gave a sheepish grin at Dave.

Dave smiled, “While some outsiders might think we’re Neanderthals, grunt at each other to communicate, and drag our knuckles on the ground, we are fairly civilized and don’t assume that every female wants to be bedded just because she showed up. That’s one of the reasons we stress developing the friendships and deeper relationships. Each person then understands you and your motivations. They get to know your moods and emotions, and when an invitation might be a good idea or a bad idea.”

“What happens to get things started?” Ann asked.

“Well, one thing is that you can always ask. Another is to just hang around into the evening. Friday and Saturday evenings get very romantic and sexual. I warn you that a lot of what happens is more or less public – right here on the patio. Just imagine all the chaises full of people making love. That’s often what happens. If the weather is bad, we’re mostly in the large core living room, but we’re in each other’s presence.”