Chapter 1

Jack Crosby felt almost sick as he sat on the edge of the bed, having given up trying to sleep. The watery light of pre-dawn did nothing to improve his mood, nor did the apparently blissful sleep that his wife Emma was enjoying.

This shouldn't be that hard on him, should it? He was an educated, sophisticated professional, after all, and this was for his family. Emma was absolutely fixated on moving to Corona Heights - obsessed was the most accurate word. It had gotten to the point where he didn't think their marriage would survive if he refused - and theirs was an awesome marriage by all accounts. But would he survive if he agreed? Would he even survive this trip for what was called assessment?

As usual, it was the wife who drove housing decisions. That was a fact that Jack had accepted long ago and he knew there was not much he could do to fight it.

Corona Heights was one of a kind in the whole world. It had a bullet-proof, unbelievable covenant, unlike anything else anywhere. New residents had to pay in a steep bond that guaranteed that they would abide by all of the covenant's rules. If found in violation, a resident could be forced to sell their property back to the association and forfeit their bond.

A key part of the covenant ceded complete control of the community to a foundation. The foundation was in turn controlled by the family that originally owned the land on which the community was built.

Corona Heights had many things that made it the demand family area that it was. At the head of the list was safety. Because it was incorporated as a separate municipality, it had its own complete legal structure, and law and order were primary concerns. At the same time, there was more than the usual leeway in handling juvenile cases.

Recreational and relaxation facilities were among the best anywhere, with full-fledged sports clubs within easy reach of anyone. Separate walking/running and biking/skating paths were plentiful. Baseball, football, soccer, and lacrosse fields and tennis and basketball courts were never far away and seldom crowded.

All of the major services, from hospitals to dry cleaning, were 'inside', and there was usually a good choice.

A complete school system had been in place for many years, and it generally set the standard academically and athletically for the state.

Strict zoning kept the houses with a fairly tight range of size and opulence. This promoted the most homogeneous possible demographic. Since the school system was more expensive than surrounding communities, many families moved out when they no longer needed the schools. That even further promoted homogeneity.

But this was so much more than just a housing decision for the Crosbys. It was a drastic lifestyle change, one that Jack was not at all comfortable with. He supposed that most people would be amazed to know that he was the one who was against the move. After all, he had been known, with at least some justification, as a real ladies man in high school and college, while Emma had been a 'good girl'.

As he sat there in thought. Emma woke up and made a quick trip to the bathroom. When she came back, Jack was still sitting with his head in his hands and she stopped in obvious irritation.

"What's the matter, Jack? This is a wonderful day. You look like you lost your last friend."

At this late date, he should not be raising objections, but he couldn't help it. "I still can't believe you want to go through with this, Em. You've heard enough to know what their rules are. I don't want my wife having sex with other men, period!"

"Jack, stop exaggerating! It's not having sex, and it will usually be just boys."

"Well, that makes me feel so much better! Hell, as long as it's only what they call manual sex and only from boys, I guess there's no reason that it should bother me at all, is there?"

"Come on, Sweetie. Don't be like that," Emma said soothingly. "Don't exaggerate things. It's only for specific events and under careful control. It's part of the education program for teenagers."

"So that makes it easy for me to ignore it, right?"

"Oh, Honey," she said, her eyes moistening, "there are just so many wonderful things about living there. It will be so perfect for our family. Ellie just can't stop raving about it."

"So, if I'm put into an assignment, having sex with your sister Ellie, that will be worth it to live there?"

"You know damned well that will never happen. Besides, I love my sister, Jack. She's wanted your cock since the first day. I'll even sign for it to go all the way." Ooops. That was the wrong argument for Jack to try. No married person would be asked to go beyond the standard requests without signed approval from their spouse.

"Does that mean you'd sign off on Kerry Ross, too?" That was a really dirty shot, and he had refrained from taking that shot through all of their previous arguments. It was getting down to the short strokes now, though, and he was desperate. Kerry had been his first love. They had dated for two years in high school, and all of these years later, he could not remember exactly why they broke up. She was still very friendly to him, much to Emma's irritation.

"Damn it, Jack! That's a terrible thing to say. Do you mean that? God!" Of course, that brought on the tears and he really felt like shit. But at the same time, he was angry.

"Well, what am I supposed to do to get through to you?" he shouted. "I don't want to have sex with Kerry Ross or Ellie or any woman but you. I gave all of that up when I married you. I gave it up willingly, and I have never regretted it. I took my vows seriously, but you're the one who wants to throw them out."

"Stop saying that! Stop saying that!" she screamed through her tears. "I'm not throwing out any vows. They mean just as much to me! Anything we do there will be required of us. It will be a duty we have to perform, and for a worthwhile purpose. It won't count as breaking our vows."

Jack just sat and shook his head. This was the hundredth time they had been through all of the same arguments, at least. "Just call the fuckin' rep and tell them to forget it, then!" she yelled.

"Yeah, we might as well do that and get divorced before we spend all of that money on the move and I have to support a more expensive house for you and the kids."

It had all started four years ago when Ellie tearfully announced that her family was moving to Corona Heights. That was a major shock to Emma, Jack, and their whole family. Jack and Bert, Ellie's husband, had both realized from first meeting their twin that there would be no way they could ever separate the sisters. The girls' parents had told them early on that Emma and Ellie broke all of the norms for closeness and interdependence of identical twins, almost to the point of being eerie.

Since shortly after their marriages, the girls had lived within a mile or two of each other. Jack and Bert had incomes close enough to allow them to live in the same increasingly nice neighborhoods.

As identical as the twins were, there were differences in their families. Ellie had two children, Tess, now fifteen, and Andy, now thirteen. Emma and Jack had fourteen-year-old twins Candy and Chad, barely-twelve Cassie, and Clint, ten. Ellie would have had more kids but Bert slammed that door.

Ellie's kids were a major reason for the move. Tess, especially, was getting sideways with school and quickly getting sucked into a bad crowd. Corona Heights was well-known for its schools' ability to hold kids from straying and even turn many around. When Andy started to choose friends poorly, as well, Bert declared that he was going to act before it got bad. He was much more authoritarian with Ellie and his kids than Jack would ever want to be with Emma.

The Crosbys would have moved at the same time, but they just could not afford it. What with a substantial performance bond and premium home prices, only some early inheritance money allowed Ellie and Bert to move.

Ellie had been torn. She did not want to be almost thirty miles from her sister, as she would be. On the other hand, she was worried about what was happening to her children. Especially seeing them in contrast to Emma's, where there were almost no problems, she could not oppose Bert.

Since the day of Ellie's move, it had become the central goal of Emma's life to get her family moved to the Heights. When their balance sheet reached the magical point where they could swing it, and when Jack received a substantial promotion, she mentally moved in.

Using the exceptional website, they had found a house that they both agreed would be wonderful for their family. The fact that the new house would be a short walk from Ellie's made it just that much more attractive to Emma.

Moving into the Heights was a multi-step process and he had reluctantly agreed to start it after much rather heated debate. They did not have specific information about what living there entailed, but rumors were plentiful. Miraculously honoring their performance bond, Ellie would say nothing about their responsibilities.

Of course, over the four years, they had been on countless visits, with Emma going on her own even more often. Jack could not deny being completely impressed with the place and he could see how ideal it was for their family. But what about those mysterious requirements? Did they really have something to do with required sexual activities, as most of the rumors suggested? If so, he could not live with his wife doing that. In fact, he did not want to do that either. He viewed it as infidelity.

Emma's unbridled enthusiasm was one of the things that had drawn him to her, and it still thrilled him and seemed to just carry him along like a flood. When the point of possibility arrived, it made her seem nonchalant about everything else she had ever wanted.

Jack was very open about his concerns from the beginning, but it was as if she did not even hear him. He let himself get carried along, knowing that when it came to the point where he could go no farther, the blowup would just be that much worse. He was not proud of himself, admitting that he was so weak.

On their numerous house-hunting visits, they had been accompanied by high school or college aged young people. All of them were polite and helpful, but on one visit, when they had found THE house, there were two hosts, both of them more polished and confident than the others who had helped them.

When they left the house on that visit, the boy, Mark, asked "Would you like to hear about what you have to do to be a resident here?" When both spouses agreed, Mark and the girl, Jess, led them to the Admin Center, the main building of the community.

In front of the building, Mark and Jess led them to a glassed in area to one side of the main entrance. "We will be going into this room," Mark said. "Walk up and look in as closely as you would like. Notice that you can see nothing on the inside."

Inside the main entrance, they were taken to a security station where their hand prints were taken and tested through the system. "Electronics here is getting a lot more like Star Trek," Jess quipped.

Before they left the security office, they were asked to read a notice on a screen and acknowledge it with an electronic hand print. The notice said:

'Within the Research, Treatment, and Assessment Center (RTAC) which you are about to enter, you may at any and all times be monitored by video and audio. Any such recordings are securely archived. They may be used by RTAC and Foundation officials for research, treatment, and legal purposes but only under the regulations listed below.

'If you choose not to accept the waiver of privacy required to accept this monitoring, your moves toward residence in Corona Heights will be immediately suspended for a minimum or six months.'

The Crosbys read a summary of the regulations, looked at each other, and placed their hands in the print reader.

"There will be several things that you will have to agree to today, but you will see that they all make sense," Jess informed them.

When they walked into the room, it was quite impressive. Two outside walls were glass and it seemed like they were right in the rather busy foot traffic outside. They could see several display stations lined up against the outside walls.

"Step over to these two stations," Jess said, and we'll get you started toward answering some of your questions. The first display they saw was shown simultaneously on both of their screens and accompanied by a voice reading the same words.

'In order to ensure consistency and complete disclosure, these carefully prepared presentations will be used to answer all possible questions. This is not a criticism of your well-trained hosts.' There was more and they were asked to acknowledge with a hand print, which they did.

Next, they were presented with 'If you proceed toward residence, the person with you now will be your escort through the entire process. Males will have female escorts and vice versa.

'The first requirement is that you undress completely before proceeding with any more information. In the future, as you move toward residence, you will be in this RTAC section numerous times. You will be required to disrobe immediately upon entry every time, with few exceptions.

'The requirement to disrobe now is one of several tests to see if it is worth your while to proceed any farther with your plans. If you cannot meet this requirement, your plans will be suspended for at least six months.

'When you are nude and ready to proceed, please verify with your hand print. Your escort will also need to verify that you have complied.'

Both Emma and Jack were shocked, but neither was completely surprised. From all of the rumors, nudity had to be involved somewhere along the way. Jack was not about to answer for his wife. Truthfully, he had been waiting for something to happen that would jar her from her obsessed attitude and make her realize that this was wrong for them.

Emma looked momentarily weak in the knees and she blushed as Jack had never seen before. But as far as deterring her from her goal of moving in, Jack's hopes were not fulfilled.

He had two reactions. One was disappointment that his wife had not been 'woken up' by the demand. The other came from the realization that unless he finally took a stand and refused, he would soon be hanging his penis out for this attractive, personable teenaged girl. As with any man having to expose himself, concern about an erection was at the front of his mind.

"A very complete bathroom and shower is right over there," Mark said. "I take it that you want to continue?" Jack waited for Emma's response, still hoping, but she nodded.

Jess pulled Jack aside and told him quietly "I assume you're worried about the 'big problem', Jack, getting an erection in front of me. I will just tell you that before you move in, it will happen a number of times. You can take steps to prevent it today, or let nature take its course. I promise not to do anything to make it difficult for you. If it happens, I will be courteous but I will not ignore it. Here, read this display that is intended just for husbands."

'Experience has shown that many wives have a sometimes surprising attitude about other females seeing their husband's erections. In a setting where nudity is common or unavoidable, this is particularly true. It is a source of pride, amusement, and arousal to have their husband become erect in view of other women.

'Given the sexual context prevalent in Corona Heights, a husband must expect to become aroused with females other than his wife. He should decide how best to defuse the natural anxiety over the occurrence. Experience has shown that allowing it to happen naturally without taking preventive measures is the best approach. In cases where this first exposure was to his escort, the husband generally suffered less long-term anxiety and the wife generally felt more positive about the whole experience.

'Why are wives intrigued, aroused, and amused by the exposure of their aroused husbands? One explanation is that it confirms the woman's sexual supremacy. Displaying his erection is a sign of his sexual vulnerability, while she suffers no such weakness. There is another hypotheses. Wives instinctively sense the impact on their husband. It is seen as a way that he can take attention away from her and thus ease her own exposure anxiety.'

"So, uh, you want me to get it up so Emma doesn't think anyone notices that she's naked. That about it?" Jack quipped.

"You certainly said it more succinctly than the official statement," Jess chuckled.

"I've been accused of using humor to relieve tension before," he said seriously.

"Just watch for your wife's attitude if she says anything about it. A dollar says she will."

As the couple showered off quickly, Emma taking great pains to protect her hair, she asked "You gonna jerk off?"

"Do you think I should? Should I try to keep Jess from seeing me hard?"

"She sure is a nice girl. Cute, too. Why don't you just give her a thrill?" The message had been right so far.

"I'm sure she's seen more than a few hardons in that job."

"But she's never seen MY hardon," Emma said in a sultry tone. "In fact, why don't we just get it over with and get you up right now?" she said as she sashayed toward him."

He was about to make a comment about Mark seeing her body, but he remembered the last comment on the display and held his tongue. But did he really want to make this whole thing easier for her?

The two teens looked the couple in the face and smiled when they came out of the bathroom. They might well have given the couple some physical support, though, because it felt for all the world like walking out into the courtyard naked. The expanse of glass and the number of people walking around outside definitely gave that impression. Jack had a feeling that it must be very intentional.

Giving the couple no time for deliberation, the escorts brought them up to two of the displays, providing still more shock. The displays were along the outside glass wall, and some of the passersby passed within just a few feet of them. Worse yet, people outside had the habit of looking right at them, although they were most likely just checking their own reflections.

Ignoring the Crosbys' discomfiture, the escorts started the automated spiel.

'Corona Heights is operated and controlled by the Corona Foundation, a very large charitable and benevolent organization. The Corona Foundation's mission is to benefit society by improving the lives of individuals, family groupings, and communities. Its strategy is to explore, discover, research, validate, develop, and test materials, techniques, treatments, policies, and programs that support its mission.

'To those ends, Corona Heights is established as a community that is intended to be both the premier residence environment available anywhere and the primary test bed for the work of the Foundation. To realize the many benefits of living in the community, residents cede substantial control over their lives to the Foundation. Normal levels of personal privacy and independence are willingly and knowingly waived by contract to the Foundation.

'The Foundation asserts, by contract, the right to require residents to participate in any of the activities it deems necessary and appropriate to support its mission and strategies Assignments to such activities are arbitrary and preemptive. Residents have no right to reject or deny such participation assignments, except as described in the comprehensive protections for residents that will be described in detail in another section.

'Assignments may include such things as: medical studies of medications, supplements, corrective, orthopedic or prosthetic devices, or treatment regimens; with unencumbered resident permission only and with concurrence of physicians, advanced or experimental surgical techniques; psychological studies; sex education programs and sexual behavior research, testing, and measurement; fitness improvement, weight loss, and health index improvement programs (such as blood pressure or anxiety reduction).'

There were several more paragraphs before the resident protections were addressed.

'Medical study assignments may not, without full, unencumbered resident permission and physician concurrence, impose any invasive procedure, mood altering medication, body shaping substance, hallucinogenic... ' The list went on for quite a ways.

'Assignments requiring time commitments may not be allowed to cause detriment to a resident's professional or career success or advancement;..." again the list of protections was long and specific.

Finally came the display of most interest. 'A resident cannot be required to engage in intercourse, fellatio, or cunnilingus; a resident cannot be required to engage in any type of sexual contact with an immediate family member or anyone within two genealogical steps from them; persons under eighteen may not be required to engage in any type of sexually-related assignment; residents may not be required to engage in any same-sex sexually-related assignment; ... Even more followed.

'Since sexual subjects are of the most concern to most potential residents, here is a more concise statement of requirements: except as restricted, residents are required to appear in any place within the community at any time, in any state of dress specified; except as restricted, residents are required to make their bodies available for visual and tactile investigation and examination and sexual stimulation as specified.'

That was the heart of Jack's concern, and it had taken quite a while to see it stated. He felt no better about the whole situation. He could see that Emma was concerned, as well, but her look of determination and anticipation was still undimmed.

'Much of the study and development of sexually-oriented programs is aimed at improved sex education for young people. To that end, except as restricted, adult residents are required to make themselves available for visual and tactile investigation and examination and sexual stimulation by young persons of the opposite sex as specified.'

That would have been enough to make Jack spring one, except that the thought of boys pawing over his wife was much more disturbing than arousing.

The trip home from the Heights that day had been extremely quiet, but the days following had been anything but quiet. Any suggestion from Jack that they should just back away and forget about Corona Heights was treated by Emma like an attempt to steal her children.

Over and over again he explained to Emma that he just could not handle the thought of her having any kind of sexual activity with another male. He told her how he thought it was wrong, a violation of their marriage vows. Emphatically, he declared that he wanted no sexual contact with any other woman.

"You know how I avoid anything even a little questionable with Ellie," he said more times than he could count. There was no way Emma could miss the truth and the significance of that declaration by Jack. Ellie would without a doubt bed Jack at the slightest invitation, and Emma would approve. That Jack kept up the barrier so scrupulously gave much weight to his claims.

Emma was not of a mind for reason, however. For all of her intelligence, her common sense, and her huge love for Jack, nothing penetrated her drive to get to the Heights and her twin.

It was the same as it had been since their finances finally qualified them. There was nothing, short of divorce, that Jack could do to stop the train.

They had put down the deposit required to guarantee their shot at the house they wanted, but the date for their assessment was supposedly five weeks in the future. If they passed that hurdle, closing and moving in could happen in time for the kids to start school there. It would be the start of high school for the fourteen-year-old twins Candy and Chad. Any change in schools was traumatic for a teen, but at least not having to switch high schools would be the best possible transition. It was a key reason for the timing of their move, along with Jack's recent substantial income boost.

Of course, the truly exceptional school system was one of the main draws of the Heights. There had been just enough negative incidents recently in the supposedly superior district where they now lived that both Emma and Jack were anxious for something better. Jack was making enough to send the kids to private school, and that would have been the choice if they did not get into the Heights.

Jack was at work when the excited - no, frantic - call came from Emma. "Honey! Honey! The rep from the Heights is on the line. They have an unexpected opening tomorrow. Ohhhh! We could get in a whole month sooner! Can you take time for some instructions from her?" She never even asked him if they should take the appointment.

From the first, he had been worried about how he would handle the unique social/sexual requirements of residency, but her sister and all of the other admitted advantages had made Emma oblivious to what he considered the negatives.

The rep first asked "Mr. Crosby, are you able to get tomorrow off at such short notice?" Assured that he could, she went on to explain "Are the two of you aware that you will have to be nude for the entire day-long assessment?"

"N ... no, we weren't," Emma answered.

"Oh, that surprises me a little, given how close you are to your sister. She is to be commended for observing our secrecy so well," the rep said. "As I'm sure you know, as a resident, you will be required to participate in a number of assignments requiring nudity and various kinds of sexual contact."

"Yes, we are aware of that," Emma answered.

"Mr. Crosby, I need to hear that you understand, as well," the rep had said.

"Oh, yes," he had responded with no great enthusiasm, "I have been through all of the explanatory material."

"Good. Now, there is one other absolute requirement for tomorrow. When our escorts come to pick you up, you two must be completely naked, and your children must be in the room with you. Your children are to be clothed."

"Ohhhhh!" Emma moaned. "That's ... that's..."

"That is a rather minor thing compared to what will be expected of you in the future, Mrs. Crosby. Consider this a little preliminary screening test. If you can't handle this, there is no reason to proceed further."

"Oh, no, that's all right. We'll handle it, won't we, Honey?" Emma said hurriedly.

"Y ... yeah. We'll be fine," he lied. That damned enthusiasm of hers again! All he could think of was fourteen-year-old Candy and almost-twelve-year-old Cassie getting their first looks at his penis, at least as far as he knew.

"Good. Expect your escorts at exactly 7:30am. I look forward to seeing you both again tomorrow."

That little pleasantry just made Jack shiver. Their rep was a very attractive fortyish woman, a rather typical realtor, actually. He knew that she would be seeing every bit of him.

After Jack had gotten home the night before, Emma's excitement and enthusiasm were impenetrable. He was being rushed, without as much serious conversation as he needed. But how could he burst her bubble of joy?

Emma was a sexual dynamo, but outside of the bedroom, she was the same modest 'good girl' that she had always been. He was absolutely amazed at how easily she had agreed to bare herself to fourteen-year-old Chad and ten-year-old Clint. It just highlighted how fixated she was on her goal of living in the Heights. He could not help wondering if she was blocking out the things that she would be required to do as a resident. Would it all come crashing down on her at some point?

Jack was not blocking out anything. The very thought of Emma doing anything sexual with another male almost made him physically ill. He had told that to Emma over and over, but she either did not hear him or did not believe him. What troubled him almost as much was the thought of him being unfaithful to her. Even though he would be acting under obligation, he still considered the assigned sexual contact to be infidelity, and he felt the guilt as if he had already done it.

When they had become engaged, Jack had purposely and without regret turned his back on the moderate promiscuity that had been his single persona. After considerable study and talking with some knowledgeable people, he realized that he was at heart unusually monogamous for a male.

Through the dozens of discussions and arguments he and Emma had been through since the possibility of moving to the Heights became real, his attempts to convince her of the depths of his feelings and concerns had been for naught.

"WHAAAAT?" she shrieked. "Divorce!? Who said anything about divorce?"

"If we don't move, you will never forgive me for stealing your dream of living in 'paradise' with your sister. Our marriage won't survive that. If we move, I will freak out the first time some man or boy has his fingers in your pussy. We won't survive that, either. It looks like we're through, no matter what. Damn Corona Heights, anyway!"