Chapter 5

Because Cece was the one who pushed the most, she ended up having to deliver the shocking news to the others most often. "How are we supposed to know what that other requirement is?" Val moaned. "This is just cruel!"

"When are we going to tell them?" Sandy asked immediately.

"You mean you would actually undress and tell them everything?" Cece asked incredulously.

"I'm fighting for my marriage! I'm fighting for my life!" Sandy shouted. "I'll do it alone if you two won't. They've all seen me naked already. What difference does it make, anyway, compared to losing Trent? I'll have him bring the others to our house and I'll tell them!"

"But they still might do the other women!" Cece shouted back.

"So what? We have to tell them some time or there's no hope of it ever stopping. I'll tell them, then we'll see what happens next."

Val jumped in at that point. "Sandy, you can't do this alone. We've got to stay together."

"I'm sorry! You know how I love you two, but don't make me choose between you and Trent. I have to choose Trent! Don't you realize what we did to the men. We hurt them! We hurt them so badly! We don't deserve to ever see them again. They're giving us a chance that we have no right to.

"Every time they go with those other women, there's a chance they might fall in love," Sandy yelled, now on a roll. "That woman Teri: do you think she would ever do anything to hurt Bud? She'd die first. Cece, if you keep pouting and stay angry at him, he might just decide to go with real love."

"What do you mean real love?" Cece screeched. "How can you even think that. I love Bud just as much as you love Trent?"

"I'm not going to argue that, but there's no reason Bud should believe that - Trent, either!" Sandy insisted. "We've got to give them some explanation for why we ripped their hearts out."

"Ripped their hearts out? That's awfully dramatic," Cece said.

"You think so? Then you don't know your Bud like I know my Trent. I can't imagine what could force him to do what he's doing now, the way he's treating me. I was just like you, angry at him for overreacting. But when I saw him fucking another woman, I felt what he must have felt. I felt like MY heart was ripped out. Cece, didn't you feel anything when you watched Bud at that party?"

"But it's not the same! It's not the same!"

"I hope that comforts you when you send the kids off for their weekend with Bud and Teri," Sandy challenged.

"He would never fall in love with her! She not even... she's fat!"

"And she gave up her chance at him because she thought being with you and your children was best for him. What would you give up for Bud's happiness?" None of the trio had ever said words like that to any of the others.

"You won't give up insisting that you can't have done anything wrong! You won't give up being angry with him when he's just doing what we did! You won't give up dreaming that things can be like they always were!

"Things can never be the same. Dr. Waxman is right. But I want to make things better for Trent. I want to put him first from now on, just like he's always done for me. The selfish bitch Sandy died when I saw him at that party at your house.

"Cece, Val and I owe you so much, and we love you more than a sister. But you're screwing with our futures - with my life. It's the life you saved before, but I can't let you ruin it now."

Both Val and Cece just stared at Sandy, hardly believing what they had just heard. "How can you question how much I love Bud?" Cece whined after a while. "It almost killed me to watch him last night."

"Then why can't you see that it almost killed him to see you at that party? Why did you challenge everything Dr. Waxman said? Why do you just keep saying it's not the same but refuse to tell the men why it's not the same?"

"Have... have I really been that bad?" This time, Cece looked at Val for help.

"You've been awfully stubborn, Cece," Val said gently.

"But I did everything I could to help you two," Cece wailed, breaking down. "I thought... I thought I was giving you something you needed. Sandy, please don't talk about choosing Trent over us! I couldn't stand it we broke up - over anything!"

Val had an inspiration. "Cece, Honey, have you been thinking of us more than Bud, your husband?"

"I didn't want to think that I lead you into something wrong. I would feel so guilty. I couldn't stand that!"

"Cece, Cece! You didn't lead us into anything. We went into it together. Remember our rules - if anyone says no, we don't do it. No one said no. Not in college, not just now. Stop worrying about us. What did you do to Bud?"

"Can... can I let him be more important than you two? You won't hate me if I do?"

"I think we had all better make our husband that absolute number one or we won't have them any more," Val said grimly. "You know, those guys have worked together to try to make us the happiest wives anywhere. I'm sure they planned all those dates together and made sure they all followed through. We've never talked about doing anything like that for them. I hope we still get the chance.

"Cece, we could never hate you - never. Maybe Sandy's kinda pissed at you right now, but she's got a point. Forget about us and think about Bud. You don't have to protect us any more. It's not your fault that we screwed up. Stop pretending that we didn't. It happened. We were all responsible."

"What about Bud?" Sandy asked, trying to diffuse her earlier strong words.

"He... he cried. Teri said he cried after he... he fucked her. He gave up something that was important to him, and I made him do it. I hurt him. I hurt him. I hurt him!" That triggered a group hug that featured many, many tears.

"Girls, I think we need to tell them," Val said, "and soon. Let's see if we can stop them from having another party."

"But we don't know if that will do it," Cece warned.

"Cece, we just have to do what we can. Can you do it naked? I know Sandy doesn't care."

"Oh, I care. It will be hard having Bud and Will see, me, but it's nothing compared to losing Trent."

"Would you be able to fuck Bud and Will?" Val asked to gasps from the other two. "What if we have to party with them to keep them from seeing other women?"

"Ohhhhh! That would really be hard to live with," Cece said.

"I know it would, and I would hate it. The question is, do we offer that if it looks like that's what it would take?"

"I think you know my answer," Sandy said. "I'm at the point of 'whatever it takes'."

"Can we all promise this - swapping husbands won't break us up?" Val challenged.

"I guess... no, I know I would rather see Bud fucking you than that Teri, or that young Morgan," Cece proclaimed in the strongest evidence of her turnaround.

"I just hope that after they hear our story, and if we offer, they'll have enough mercy to turn us down," Val said.

It was a very thoughtful group of men who listened to the recording that night. "Well, what if they offer to party?" Will asked.

"I say we don't do it," Trent answered. "Look, we know they've finally realized what they did to us. We chose this way of responding because we wanted as much of our marriages back as possible. I can't see that fucking each others' wives is going to help any of our marriages. I think it's best to let the wives have as much back to normal as possible. The idea of swapping really scares them."

"You should have been the lawyer," Bud chuckled. "I agree, but I think we should push them until they make the offer. If we say that we'll quit the parties and they would have to swap with us, it will be our signal that we want to forgive."

"Do we?" Will probed. "Do you feel equal enough to make love to your wife again? Trent? How about you?"

"After what I heard from Sandy on the recordings the last two days, I want to. Whether I can, I just don't know."

"Do you need more partying?"

"To be honest, I don't think that would make any difference."

"Then we're agreed?"

"We can't let on that we already know any of this."

After the kids had left the dinner table, Sandy told Trent "We're ready to tell you. Ten o'clock in our basement rec room. Will you come?" Their room had a door at the top of the stairs, so at least there would be warning if either of their boys came down.

"Naked?" Sandy blushed and nodded.

A similar exchange took place at the other two homes, and all of the men agreed to be there.

The women were all at Sandy's house by 9:30. Trent saw them going to the basement without any of their usual light-hearted banter or giggling. Bud and Will arrived just before ten and they went right down to the rec room, not really knowing what to expect, but the women were not yet there.

In the bedroom that adjoined the rec room, the women were all near the panic point. "I don't think I can do this!" Cece whined.

Sandy was as frightened as any of them, but she had become the driving force for this weird and terrifying session. "We're all terrified, Cece. We'll get through it, and maybe this nightmare will start to end."

"I hate to say this," Val said, "but when we go out there, just walk naturally and don't try to cover up."

"But it's so humiliating! It's degrading!"

"Yes, it is, Cece. Didn't you agree that we deserve it, though."

"You're right, Val. I'm sorry to be such a baby."

"Remember, they've already seen us. Just do whatever they tell us. Give them the absolute truth," Val said shakily. "Let's not leave any chance of something bad coming up later. OK, let's hold hands and go out there and face the music."

Val assumed her usual leadership role and stepped through the door first, her knees almost buckling when she saw the men watching her. She turned back and held out her hand to Cece. The cousins could tell that Cece needed the most support, and put her between them.

If emotions were like water, the women would have been wading or swimming as they entered the room. For themselves, they felt the same fear that had gnawed at their insides since the Wednesday morning when the discovery of their swinging was announced to Cece.

Added to the fear was embarrassment. The women had pranced around a houseful of other naked people without a qualm. Baring themselves for two men that they knew so well, however, was unbelievably difficult. Having their own husbands witness the exposure just made it worse.

There was humiliation, too. They knew that having to be naked was punishment. They now realized the harm that they had done, but only Sandy seemed willing to accept just about any punishment that the men demanded.

Although it was fading, there was anger at the severity of the men's response. That was coupled with disappointment. Their men had failed to live up to their expectations of loving forgiveness.

There was definitely sorrow, sorrow that their idyllic lives had come down to the 'kangaroo court' that they were now facing.

Because of the women's nature and their long history, there had to be a component of sexual excitement, although none of them would have admitted it. Being so close to two desirable males for so many years, a certain curiosity and a desire to impress were inevitable. Embarrassment and humiliation could certainly explain the six rigid nipples and three moist clefts, but arousal undoubtedly played a part.

For the men, sexual excitement had to top the list of emotions. The other two wives were constantly around, and not at all hesitant about wearing enticing clothes or flirting. None of the men would have tried to deny frequent fantasies about the other wives, even though up until two weeks earlier, none would have considered going beyond fantasy.

Hurt and anger were definitely not gone from the men, and were right up there with the excitement. The insult of the women's betrayal had been so traumatic that healing would take a long time, and the memories would never disappear.

The men's disappointment and sorrow mirrored the women's. That their loving wives could ever have participated in orgies was still impossible to comprehend. They also sensed that something unique and precious was gone and mostly irretrievable.

Seeing the strength of their wives' fear, the men were too good of heart to avoid a good deal of sympathy. Comforting and sheltering these women had been their privileged role for many years. Now, for their own self-respect and sanity, they had to cause great discomfort and fear.

For both the men and the women, there was a huge underlying pool of love. All of the other emotions and the tragic recent events had tended to mask that love, but it was too durable, nurtured by too many wonderful years.

As the women got into the room, they looked questioningly at the various couches scattered around, but Will stood and said. "Just stay on your feet while you talk."

He took a deep breath to compose himself. He had to keep the hurt and anger foremost and he had to act as if he still knew nothing. "Tonight, we need to find out how and why the three of you could possibly get into swinging. Go as far back as you need to and tell us everything. Don't try to lie or cover up anything. If we suspect that you are not telling the whole truth, we may decide to get a polygraph."

While the women tried to recover from that stunning statement, Will continued with what the men had agreed on. "This is not a time for bargaining or trying to get something from us. There is only one purpose, here. You need to give us some believable reason for what you did. You must realize that without that reason, all three marriages are in real danger. Tell us your story."

The women had not discussed who would tell what parts of the story, but Val naturally took the lead. Shakily at first, she started telling the men what they had told Julia, except that there was a lot more detail. When talking about their home life, Val had Sandy tell part of it.

There was no question that the men were moved by what Val and Sandy had lived through. There was so much more than they had heard from Julia's office that it made their reactions more spontaneous. Will and Trent knew that the cousins' homes had been strict, but no specifics had ever been revealed before.

When the tale reached the part about the battle to be with Cece, Val and Trent could see the genesis of the character strength that had been one of the things they had fallen in love with.

Val let Cece tell about the learning times with Jake. The men had many questions during that time. The questioning got even heavier when it came to Cece's uncle and the early part of college. As the group sex involvement got heavier, with the out-of-town trips and the nude beaches, the men could not really come up with much to ask.

Val could hardly stand up as she started to tell about dating Will. About that time, Cece began to fidget and blush a little. "Cece, go to the bathroom, for God's sake. Let's all take a break," Bud said. Cece barely won the race with the other women.

Trent decided that it was time for drinks, and when the women came out, he asked them what they wanted. It was very hard for them to just stand there naked and act as if it was a normal gathering of the three couples.

When Val resumed the story, the same problem still faced her. Describing the transition from sluts to faithful fiances was something she had been dreading. The problem was the degree of faithfulness, and once again, Sandy had the biggest problem.

"Sandy, until you started those damned parties, when was the last time you had sex with anyone but me?" Trent asked after all three had talked about falling in love and working to change.

Sandy jerked as if she had been punched, she looked frantically at Val and Cece, and her face started to disintegrate. "Sandy," Trent said gently, "it all has to come out tonight. No surprises later."

Between sobs, Sandy begged "Trent, please! Can't you just let it go. How can my telling that help us?" Earlier, she had been the most adamant about telling all. When it came right down to it, she was frightened to death. Trent had already taken the worst hit looking through the fence. If she confessed now, would it be the last straw?

Although it had not been arranged ahead of time, Trent looked to Bud, the most fluent speaker, to take over from there. "Sandy - all of you. I will say this once more. You have carried out a massive deception on all three of us. That deception could have remained forever secret, but you were the ones who risked revealing it. You have hurt all of us in the most cruel way imaginable. We are willing to try to salvage our marriages, but if we even suspect that their are still more secrets, more deception, there is no chance. No matter how bad you think it is, Sandy, just tell us."

"C... can't I just tell Trent?" she pled.

"No! You three got into this as a group. Remaining unified as a group is our only defense." All of the women gasped at the word 'defense'. Once again, Julia had been eerily accurate in her portrayal.

"Can... can I sit down?" Sandy begged. "I don't... don't think I c... can stand." Bud just flicked his hand and the three were instantly huddled together, squeezed into a two-person love seat.

"Trent, I can't tell you how sorry I am. It has tormented me ever since. I screwed up at the bacherlorette party."

Bud admired Trent's acting ability as Trent dropped in his head in shock and dismay. Little did Bud know that even though Trent had already heard it, his feelings were very real. When he raised his head, is eyes were moist.

"Five days before the wedding you fucked some guy?" Sandy's only response was heart-rending sobs as she collapsed against Cece. "Who?" Trent demanded.

"It was the hired stripper," Val answered, since Sandy was unable to speak.

"Tell me," Trent told her.

"Trent, I don't think..."

"TELL ME!" Haltingly, Val recounted the tale of a sexually charged atmosphere, too much booze, and encouragement and dares from her friends.

"Did you two try to stop her, or did you egg her on?" Cece and Val joined Sandy in tears and Trent had his answer.

"Cece, describe your party," Bud ordered. Cece, and later, Val told of very similar parties. There was no intercourse, just 'everything but'. Bud and Will questioned them mercilessly about every detail, and ended up feeling only marginally better than Trent about their wives' last flings.

"When was your last time with someone else," Bud asked when they had exhausted questions about the parties. Will put Val through the same cross-examination.

"Sandy, before the party, when was the last time?" Trent asked when she seemed able to talk again.

As they had told Julia, Sandy's had been the only cheating after engagement. Exactly how much the men had to share during dating was new territory, though, and they hammered at the subject mercilessly. All three men were quite upset as they forced more and more details from the women.

When Will called for another short break, there was a definite chill between husbands and wives as Trent served some more drinks.

When they resumed, the subject was the recent parties. The men really pounded on the women, demanding detail after detail about such things as why they did not leave when the naked men showed up, why they went back, who was touched first, and who was fucked first. For once, Val was the first offender, rather than Sandy.

The women were not allowed to gloss over anything. When the tried not to reveal the names of the women who had sucked them in, the men all became extremely angry. Val made the mistake of asking the men not to retaliate against their co-workers.

"Would you rather we just take out all of our anger on you, then?" Will barked at her. "They helped in a big way to screw up our lives. We would not be men if we just ignored that. You don't understand anything about self-respect, do you?" Once again, every one of the women remembered Julia's words, cautioning them about misjudging men's need for respect.

It was approaching one o'clock by time the discussion got to the last party. The men had made them give a blow by blow of everything that they could remember doing, every man they had fucked. When Cece timidly asked why the men had begun to suspect them, she was answered by nothing but silence.

When the men got up to leave the basement, Val took a chance and said "Please. Tell us what we can do to get you to stop your parties."

"Are you offering to party with us?" Bud shot back.

After a quick look at the other two, Val said "Yes, we are, but only if there are no more other women." The other two gasped and their eyes widened, but they did not say anything.