Chapter 6: - "Reality"

We were all gathered sitting semi-circle on in the living-room floor. Nobody was dressed, but nobody seemed to mind either. I know I didn't.

According to the clock on the right side of the television, it was 11:50 pm. I had been there almost three hours. Every tick it made told me that my time was running out.

Teresa and Cheryl had me sandwiched in between them. Teresa was on my left side, Cheryl on my right. Their heads were leaning on my shoulder for support. I had one arm wrapped around each of them touching a breast. Each hand was gently rubbing tiny circles around the nipple closest to it.

Just a few minutes earlier I had been busily fucking, sucking and licking the both of them with a feeling of freedom and abandonment the likes of which I never previously had known. I was physically tired, sexually sated and more content than at any time before in my life. If I had to die, I was going to die happy.

Anxiously, all eyes were glued anxiously to the clock to the right of the television.

When the clocked changed to 11:52, Teresa said to me, "That was some great role-playing you did tonight! Did you study acting?"

Cheryl added, "Yeah! You even had me convinced."

That's when I realized that no one else seemed, nervous, apprehensive or concerned in the slightest. Which, considering that the world was about to come to an end, seemed damned strange. It was at that point I became suspicious and began to wonder what was going on.

The clock rolled over to 11:53.

Confused, I turned to Teresa.

"What the devil are you talking about?"

Annette chimed in, "She's right. That was some performance you put on. I've seen some good actors in my day but you deserve an academy award for the performance you gave tonight. It was really good!"

"Acting? What acting?" Then I finally realized what Teresa had said to me a minute before. "Did you say role-playing?" I asked.

That's when I heard Cheryl say, "Uh Oh!"

Suddenly, it was as if someone on my side of the room had just farted. Not a sound could be heard. When I looked around, I could see that everyone else was staring in our direction. Our being Teresa, Cheryl's and mine. They all, including Teresa and Cheryl had a look of shock on their faces.

"Bruce, didn't Teresa tell you what kind of party this is?" Kayla asked pointedly.

Defensively, Teresa insisted, "Of course I did! I sent him two emails. The first said when the party was, the second one explained everything in great detail. Also, Esmeralda, Gary and I vetted him in the usual way."

"Vetted? Emails? I only got one email from you, not two!" Then I thought about it and I remembered the printed hard-copy I'd shoved in my pants pocket on the way out the door. "Wait a minute, did you say one email explained everything?" I reached into my pocket, removed the printout and handed it to her. "Is this it?"

After unfolding and examining it, Teresa said to me, "Yes. You didn't read it; did you?"

"No." I confessed. "It came in five minutes before you and Cheryl showed up. I barely had time to print it out. I intended to read it on the way over here but I got..." I stammered... "distracted!"

Somebody laughed. It was one of the men.

Esmeralda asked Teresa, "You mean he doesn't know what's going on?" Teresa replied, "Apparently not!" and then, like a teenage girl, Cheryl exclaimed, "Awkward!"

Craig laughed. Kayla gave him a 'dirty look'.

I thought to myself, 'Considering the world is coming to an end, what's the big deal?' Then I said aloud what I had been thinking.

Ignoring me, Kayla looked at the clock and then said in a most serious tone of voice, "Ladies, you've got about nine minutes to explain it to him." I think Kayla was talking to Teresa and Cheryl but I wasn't sure. What I could tell was that she was more than little annoyed at the time. For the life of me, I didn't know why. Did the fact that we were all about to die just hit her? Come to think of it, given the circumstances everyone else seemed astonishingly calm.

Obviously embarrassed, although for the life of me I didn't know why at the time, Teresa said to me, "Bruce there's been a terrible mix up."

Craig interjected, "That's an understatement!" It earned him another 'dirty look' from Kayla.

I was confused.

"Huh?", I asked.

Teresa continued, "You don't know what kind of party this is, do you?"

"A pretty damn good one, I'd say. I don't know about you but I've had a great time. Hell, I can't think of a better way to spend my last moments on earth. Didn't you all enjoy it?" I replied.

Both Teresa and Cheryl answered together, "Fantastic!"

"Me too!" Echoed various voices both male and female from throughout the room.

I glanced at the clock. Another minute had gone by.

Cheryl stated boldly, "It's a swinger's party, Bruce!"

I was surprised. Considering what was about to happen to us, I didn't understand why they all thought it mattered and was just as confused as before.

"So?" I said.

Cheryl tried to explain, "It's a themed swingers' party."

I still wasn't following her. The second hand on the clock continued ticking. My heart began racing.

Someone yelled impatiently, "Oh, just tell him damn it!"

Teresa exclaimed, "It's an End of the World party."

I thought to myself, 'Of course it's an End of the World party! Every party going on is an End of the World party. The world is about to come to an end. '

Then I realized what she was saying.

"Wait a minute! Are you trying to tell me that we're..." I began.

Teresa finished my sentence for me, "Not going to die? That's right Bruce and neither is the world going coming to an end."

I looked over at Kayla for an explanation...

"But the news broadcasts? I saw you change the channel on the television. Two different stations said the same thing!"

Kayla replied, "Actually, what you saw me do was change chapters on a DVD. We had it made up especially for the party tonight. As for what you saw, it was all fake."

"Are you trying to tell me those sets were fake?"

Alex picked up from there. "Oh no. They were real alright. I got them both in my workshop. Want to see them?"

"Hell yes I want to see them!" I said disbelievingly.

Less than thirty seconds later, I along with all the other men were standing in his workshop. Sure enough, just as he'd said there would be were two television news sets. I noticed that the ladies were conspicuously absent.

"But how?" I asked. "And what about the broadcasters I saw? I recognized both of them!"

At that very moment, the ladies filed in behind us.

Annette's concerto voice responded, "Everyone you saw is a member of our club. As for the sets, every other year the stations change out their news sets. Usually, they throw the old ones away. This year, there were donated to the club. You know, at first we didn't know quite what to do with them. We all knew they had to be good for something, we just didn't know what. Then, after you took Teresa to see 2012 and she saw the newscasts in the movie, she came up with the idea to have an 'End of the World' party."

I looked at Teresa, she was smiling.

Kayla said insistently, "Let's all go back into the living room and finish sorting this out."

I started by reading the email printout. No sooner had I finished reading than Teresa said to me, "Bruce, I'm terribly sorry about the mix up. I swear I honestly thought you knew what kind of party we were taking you to."

"Well, that's a relief. At least we're not going to die." When I looked at Teresa, I could see Cheryl was whispering something to her. Whatever it was, Teresa shook her head no in response.