Chapter 19

Fortunately for the survivors, the peach drapes softened the brilliance of the Sunday morning sunshine to a soft glow."] Bob opened his eyes first. He gently disentangled himself from Jan's embrace and slipped away without waking her. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he walked, jay-bird-naked, to the kitchen.

He fired up the teakettle and then clanked ice cubes into a tall glass. He added water and swirled the glass in a small circle to make the cubes bump together to chill the water faster. He drank half the glass in a series of long swallows and refilled the glass. He felt lightheaded for a few minutes. A scotch or two too many the night before.

He scooped a heaping spoonful of instant Folgers coffee into a cup and baptized the crystals with boiling water. He added a dollop of heavy cream and stirred the steaming mixture, and sat his butt on a barstool. Ooh! The cold wooden surface froze his naked butt. He squirmed around until things warmed up. He cradled the coffee cup with both hands and took tentative sips. Hot! He thought the events of last night had been orchestrated perfectly. Nancy was some hot chick, but they must treat her with care after she returned to reality: Make her feel loved and let her know how proud she should be to have shed her inhibitions and entered true adultery-hood. He hoped Bill and Jan had got it on and "boogied-the night-away," so to speak.

After downing half his coffee, he carried the cup with him to have some left after he finished showering. As he toweled dry, standing on the bathroom rug outside Stan and Jan's big shower, he considered putting on his shorts, but didn't want to be overdressed. His coffee had cooled so he padded back to the kitchen to zap it for thirty seconds in their microwave. How wonderful to have such close friends that they felt free to use one another's homes, as if they were their own. And in the nude, no less!

He returned to the scene of seduction, carrying his water and coffee, and tiptoed over to sit on the couch. His watch said nine-thirty-five. Nancy began to stir. A few moments later, she pushed herself up on one arm and unwrapped Stan's arm from around her waist. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and looked around the room. Bill and Sandy were clenched together right beside her, while Jan slept across from them. She finally saw Bob and whispered, "Hi, we fucked last night, didn't we?"

Bob whispered back, "Yes, and you were fantastic. You are so beautiful, everywhere."

"I don't feel fantastic. I feel like shit."

"You look a mite frazzled. How about some coffee?"

"First, I gotta pee, and my mouth tastes like last week's garbage bag. Help me up."

Bob rose from the couch and cupped his hands under her arms to lift her. "Stand still for a few seconds and I'll hold you. Are you very woozy?"

"How many rooms are we in? I can see at least three. Now a couple have gone away." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "It throbs when I move my head, but I'm back in one room."

"Hold to me and take it slowly."

Finally they made it to the bathroom and Bob eased her down on the commode. She held his hands to steady herself as she peed. When finished, Bob asked, "Can you hold to the sides of the stall until I get you some water?"

"Maybe I'd better sit on the rug. But I need to dry myself."

"I'd better do it for you." She didn't protest as Bob folded panes of toilet tissue to dab her pussy dry.

"I feel like a baby."

"C'mon 'baby', up you go. It's just a few steps to the rug."

He helped her to sit and hurried to the kitchen for her water. He returned to find her sitting with her arms clasped around propped up legs, her forehead resting on her knees. Bob found a bottle of Bayer's aspirin and removed two tablets. "Here, take these."

"Water first." She drank several mouthfuls and cupped out a hand for the pills.

After swallowing them, she put her head back down. Bob sat down on the rug beside her and wrapped his arm around her.

"You're nice and warm and you smell good," she said.

"Irish Spring soap. I showered."

After five minutes of sitting together, she said, "The aspirin is starting to kick in, and I feel better. More water, please."

After finishing the glass, she said, "There's something crusty on my chin and cheeks."

"Love reminders."

She hesitated. "Come?"

"It's not corn flakes."

"Help me shower?"

"Delighted to. I'll get the water started, and here's some Scope if you want to swish."

"Thanks. Help me up and let me stand by the sink."

She swirled a slug of mouthwash around in her mouth and deposited the contents in the basin. She sucked in a big breath and said, "That hit the spot. My mouth feels like it belongs to me now."

Together in the shower, the steamy spray cascaded through her hair and down her luscious, curvy body. She steadied herself with her hands against the sides of the stall, while Bob lathered his hands and soaped her from toes to crown. He found a tan plastic bottle of Vidal Sassoon on a tile ledge and shampooed her hair. Her 'landing strip', as well as that on her head. He used a conditioning rinse on both. He lifted the hand-held nozzle from its slot and extended its stainless steel, tubular cord to spray and massage first her head and then her genitals. Bob spread her pussy lips to give her a mini-douche. "Ooh, its tender down there, but it feels good. Just a minute longer. Whoa, that's enough!"

Bob helped her out of the shower to sit on a vinyl-covered bench in front of a dressing table. She had walked more steadily. "I'm wet, will I harm the fabric?"

"Nope. It's made for drippy asses."

Bob dried himself for the second time that morning and began working on Nancy's hair with a towel, before finishing the rest of her body.

"I feel like a queen with all this attention."

"You deserve a jeweled crown."

"I think I was the Queen of the May last night or Queen of Bacchus. I drank way too much. I must have made a big hole in Stan's vodka supply."

"You did more than dent it. A real fender bender, but the Swedes will love you. It was Absolut. Their GNP should rise a couple of percentage points."

"I'd better laugh or I might cry. How can I face Bill and the others?"

"We're all in the same love boat. Everyone had his or her turn at the helm. Don't feel like the Lone Ranger."

"If I hadn't seen Jan and Bill... It's not really an excuse. Just a rationalization. Nancy's not happy with Nancy this morning. I did a stupid thing. I vaguely remember making love with you and Stan, but which of you did I give head to?"

Silence.

"Both?"

"It was a wild night!"

"Did I do it right? Bill's just started teaching me."

"We could practice some more, but you're off to a jolly good start."

Nancy smiled. "I'm afraid I'm not cut out for swinging. Last night will last me a lifetime. I wonder how it will affect my marriage."

"You're a grown woman. In today's world, women can decide for themselves what course they want to follow, just like we men have always done. Sexual pleasure is no longer taboo in enlightened circles."

"Tell my parents that. But wear a bulletproof vest."

"It's better if parents don't know too much. Most of them are still bowing to Queen Victoria."

"I'd like to get dressed and face the music. A dirge, most likely."

"Not from any of us."

"Bill can hum a funeral march, when he wants to."

"You mentioned seeing him and Jan. Didn't he fire the first shot, so to speak?"

"Yes, but that doesn't pardon me."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"My body did cartwheels, but my mind is in the hands of a hanging jury."

"I vote for a not guilty verdict."

"Oh, I'm guilty all right. But can I forgive myself? Please find me something to wear. Maybe that will help my state of mind."

"You should rethink that. Everyone else is comfortable with their skin. If you appear to be a prude about it, it might create bad feelings. We all adore you two and want to help Bill become successful. Don't drive a wedge until you've thought things through."

Nancy searched deeply into Bob's eyes. "Would it hurt Bill if I back away now?"

"It wouldn't help him, but our friendship might suffer, especially, if you show displeasure towards us."

"Oh, no. It's fine for you to do anything you like."

"But you don't want any part of us?"

"You make it sound so ominous. It wouldn't be that way."

"The way it would be, is that we'd start feeling really uncomfortable around you."

"I couldn't stand that."

"Think carefully before making a final decision."

"Is there a blow dryer around? My hair's still damp."

Bob found one in a drawer and handed it to her. "I'm getting some more coffee, while you dry it out."

"In more ways than one," answered Nancy. She smiled with a touch of sadness.

Bob made more coffee, thinking how beautiful Nancy was, even with her hair plastered down. He walked slowly, so as not to slosh the coffee, as he returned to the room of sleepy heads. All eyes were open but everyone still lounged under their covers.