Chapter 2

Thursday was the one day of the week that Ben got home later than usual. He liked to spend a couple of hours interviewing those who took advantage of his offer of free legal assistance to sort out those who really needed him, and he had designated Thursday night for this purpose.

Sue had never complained about this fact, but tonight she was impatient for him to arrive. He found her pacing back and forth when he got home. He noticed her uneasiness the second he entered the apartment, and he flashed her a smile.

"What's eating you? You look like a caged lion."

Sue returned his smile and crossed over to him, accepting his kiss; then she handed him a copy of the local underground rag. Ben set his attach case down and turned his eyes to the paper as Sue moved across to hang up his coat.

"In the classified; I circled it."

Ben moved his gaze to the circled ad and read it; then he looked up at her.

"I thought we agreed not to try this; it's too risky."

She nodded slowly.

"I know, but the more I read it, the more I thought it might be worth a try. Notice how this couple stresses discretion, no last names, the use of newspaper box numbers..."

Ben read it again, then shook his head slowly.

"Sounds like they're just as afraid of what might happen as we are. But they're only looking for a Negress; what makes you think they'll go for a couple?"

Sue shrugged.

"It's worth a try. We could write them and outline what we're looking for. It says they want a bisexual colored girl. We agreed that we both wanted to try everything; maybe they'll go for us as a couple."

Ben read it again more slowly.

"I don't know, honey..."

Sue had already been mulling it over in her mind for a good four hours, and she was already convinced to give it a spin.

"It can't hurt to write them a letter."

Ben nodded slowly, his features betraying his uncertainty.

"No... I guess not..."

Don was sitting in the living room sipping a Scotch when Janice arrived with her normal Thursday night armload of parcels. He flashed her a grin as she set them down and peeled off her coat; then he got up and crossed over to the small bar to fix her a drink.

He handed it to her as she walked across the room, and she smiled.

"Thanks, I could use it; the traffic is hell these days. How'd the meeting go?"

Don grinned broadly.

"Great! You remember Ian and Jenny Westover? We met them at a couple of the company deals."

Janice nodded and lit a cigarette as she set her drink down and joined him on the couch.

"Yes, especially Jenny... beautifully built redhead."

Don nodded.

"That's the one. Well, you're not going to believe this, but they have a yen to try a little wife-swapping, and Ian sounded me out on it this afternoon."

A flicker of interest flashed through Janice's face.

"Do they know what we like?"

Don shook his head slowly.

"No, I didn't go into details. Old Ian was pretty cagey about it, but he made it quite clear that he and Jenny are looking for a few kicks."

Janice chuckled throatily.

"God, I'd love to ball with Jenny. I wonder if she goes both ways."

Don shrugged. "I imagine they're aware of your tastes; that's never been too much of a secret. Personally, I think they're ready to try just about anything."

Janice crushed her cigarette out and let out a soft whistle.

"Sounds like what we've been looking for. I would have preferred a Negress, but what the hell. Maybe I should give Jenny a call in the morning and invite her over for coffee. I could lay it on the line for them; and if they're still interested, we could get together tomorrow night."

Don nodded.

"Just play it cool; if they don't want to play, don't push it."

Jenny's excitement was visible.

"Well, what did he say?"

Ian shrugged his shoulders and dropped into a chair.

"He was interested all right; it was written all over his face. But I got the feeling that maybe we were getting into something more than we bargained for. I just don't know what the hell to expect of them; they're both a couple of weirdos."

Jenny frowned at him.

"Christ, you're having second thoughts; it's a little late, isn't it? We're game for everything short of torture; we've already talked that out. Besides, if they are too far out for us, we don't have to go back a second time."

Ian smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just that they're strange... hell, I guess we're pretty strange ourselves when it comes to that. Anyway, I put the invitation in, and if they're interested, they'll get hold of us."