I would like to say thank you to Randi, for her assistance and stellar editing work.
This story is an old fashioned loving wives tale. If you don’t like to read about married couples experimenting with sex, then read no further.
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It all started one dark and windswept night. That sounds very dramatic, but the reality was my wife, Annette, and I were waiting for a couple of old friends we hadn’t seen for many years. They had been overseas working. It had been almost ten years since we had seen them last.
Annie received the call out of the blue; Coral and Pete were back in town and wanted to catch up. There we were, sitting at the bar in the restaurant waiting with a certain amount of nervous anticipation. Coral, Pete, Annie and I grew up together and we hung around, got into trouble, were best men at each other’s weddings and generally spent a lot of time together. That was until Pete got an offer he simply couldn’t refuse and they were off. We kept in touch as best friends do, but over the years it sort of dwindled down. After their phone call, Annie got all excited and we talked about what they would be like, whether they had changed.
We were at that stage of life where the kids were off our hands at school, and we were empty nesting it. Annie, especially, enjoyed it rather than suffered through it. We suddenly had time on our hands; we toured around the country and ventured overseas for a couple of short holidays. Unlike some women who struggle when the babies fly the coop, Annie enjoyed the freedom. She had her own circle of friends who shopped and shared the obligatory girls’ nights out.
We enjoyed our long awaited freedom. Annie did suffer a little when she slipped through into the naughty forties, but it was short lived and she was now well past it. She was still an attractive woman, enjoying the gym and the occasional half marathon. She was fit as a fiddle and her role as media liaison officer for the local council kept her pretty busy.
There we were, waiting, her dressed to the nines with her tequila sunrise and me with my beer.
We saw them the moment they walked in. Yes, they were older, but we recognised them immediately. Annie and Coral jumped into each other’s arms; Pete and I restricted our greetings to the expected handshake. Coral threw her arms around my neck and gave me a rather sloppy kiss, which surprised the hell out of me.
They ordered drinks and we quickly fell into conversation about what had happened over the preceding ten years.
I was a bit envious, I must admit, as they certainly enjoyed some adventures on their travels, and Pete seemed to have done really well for himself. As we talked, we slipped back into telling old stories and laughing like it was yesterday. It turned out to be an incredible night.
The following few days we saw plenty of them as they were house hunting. Annie suggested they stay with us while they searched, but Pete was quite happy to spend the company’s money, after all, they were paying for his relocation home.
We compensated by having them over for dinner regularly and barbecues during the weekends. It was during one of those slightly inebriated late night barbecues that Pete dropped his bomb. “Have you guys ever considered swapping?”
It came from nowhere and it took me by surprise. I thought I knew what he was talking about, but I tried to turn it into a joke, “What are we talking, mate… lawnmowers… cars….”
He chuckled in that warm fuzzy forgiving way, “No, dipshit, wives… have you two ever dabbled?”
Annie just about choked and she gave me a horrified glare before yelping, “No, we bloody haven’t, you dirty bugger.”
He laughed it off, but I saw Coral blush bright red. Annie turned to her. “He’s kidding, isn’t he? Please tell me that was a joke!”
Coral shook her head slowly. “No, he is serious.”
I interjected with a snort, “So you two have… you know, swapped with other couples?”
Pete nodded with his infectious laugh. “Yeah, actually we opened our marriage a few years ago.”
I could see Annie was completely gobsmacked and confused, “What do you mean, open?” she probed.
Coral seemed embarrassed, but Pete… he felt no shame. “Well, it means that Coral and I are free to have sex with other people. Our only rules are we have to be honest with each other, no lying, and we must never do anything to embarrass our partner.”
Annie grabbed Coral’s arm disbelievingly, spilling her wine all over Coral’s dress. “You mean you have sex with other men?”
Coral nodded, cleared her throat and squeaked, “Yes, a few, but I prefer it if we can find a couple we like. That way there’s no animosity.”
Well, that killed the conversation for a while. The tension built until Annie couldn’t hold back. “When you asked before whether we… I mean Toby and I, had dabbled… were you suggesting that the four of us… well, you know…”
Pete, laughed loudly. “Yes, we were, actually. Look, Annie, there has always been a wonderful connection between us all. You are a very attractive woman and Toby… well he’s all right for an old bloke.”
I punched him playfully on the arm. “Hey, you bastard, a little less of the old, aye!”
He chuckled, but before he could speak, I said, “Anyway, you’re bloody well older than me. Christ you’re ancient by comparison.”
Annie jumped up and asked me to help her in the kitchen… code for “I need to speak to you privately.” The moment we were out of earshot she grabbed me tightly. “Please tell me you’re not considering that!”
I smiled teasingly, “Oh, I don’t know, hon. Coral is a real hottie, it might be fun!”
I thought she was about to burst so I pulled her into a cuddle, “Relax, hon, I was joking. No, I was not considering it.”
“Phew, thank god for that. Crikey… what shall we say?”
“We’ll just say thanks for the offer, but that’s not our scene.”
She nodded as she dragged another bottle of wine down out of the rack. “I would never have guessed, bloody swingers… Coral and Pete.”
I sighed reflectively. “Yeah, who would have guessed.”
We carried on as usual and we laughed, we even swapped dancing partners regularly. I called out to Pete as he swirled Annie around on the lawn, “This is as close as you’ll get to swapping, mate.”
He laughed back. “Yeah, well I tell you what, pal, give me an hour alone with Annie and we’ll see about that.”
Annie punched him hard and slipped out of his grip. He sighed apologetically. “Hey…I was only joking, sweetcheeks.”
Once they were gone and we finished tidying up, we curled up in bed. As we made love, Annie whispered, “Do you think he was serious?”
At the time, my head was between her legs and my tongue lapped lovingly over her moist snatch. I had to stop to look up at her. “I don’t blame him for wanting to be where I am right now. You are a gorgeous sexy little minx, and you taste amazing.”
Her fingers toyed with my hair. “You bloody flatterer, but don’t stop… I like it.”
“What, the flattery or the pussy licking?”
“Both!” she squeaked as my tongue slithered back into her slippery slit.
We made love with a lot more passion than usual; I think Annie’s mind was exactly where mine was, although she was probably wondering about Pete, whereas I was wondering what it would be like to be with Coral. Pete was right about our connection: there had always been a special bond between us.