After as we lay together, my mind switched from Coral and me to Annie and Pete, and as that thought flicked through my vivid imagination, I immediately knew I could never do it. There had always been a competitive element to our friendship, and he took every chance he could to get one over me… no I could never look at him the same again if I knew he had been with Annie.
That conversation thankfully stayed buried for the next couple of months. Pete and Coral found a house and were busy moving in. Annie and I were busy with life in general; work was especially busy for me.
The topic was raised again when we invited Pete and Coral out to dinner one Saturday night. As usual, Annie and I were already there and they were running late. We were already on our second drinks when Pete walked in by himself.
“Where’s Coral?” Annie asked.
He leaned in close in a conspiratorial manner. “She’s on a date.”
“What do you mean, a date?” Annie spluttered.
“You know, a date, date. She met some bloke and they’re off somewhere on a date.”
I tried to make light of it. “Well I guess we better hope they don’t turn up here… that might be a bit awkward.”
He laughed along. “Yeah, although at least that way I would get a look at him.”
Annie snapped, “And you don’t care? She’s off with another bloke and you’re cracking bloody jokes. Shit, Pete, don’t you love her anymore, or something?”
He glowered as he snapped curtly. “That’s not fair. I love Coral with all my heart. I love her every bit as much today as I ever did. We realised a while ago that sex and love aren’t necessarily related, well, let me put it another way… they can be separated.”
I shuddered. “Don’t you get jealous?”
He nodded as he considered my statement. “Yes, I do, sometimes, especially if I know who she’s with. Yes, I get jealous, who wouldn’t, but I hope they have a great night together. We will talk about it when she gets home and that will be fun.”
“You’re fucking shitting me!” I blurted out as the waiter arrived to shepherd us to our table.
After he seated us and left us to read the menu, Pete leaned over and whispered, “Toby, this might be hard for you to understand, but we enjoy it, okay, so back off.”
Annie shook her head. “So do you go off with other women?”
He nodded. “Yeah, when I get the chance, but you have to understand. Coral is a very beautiful woman and me… well I’m a pretty ordinary bloke, so she gets more offers than me.”
Frowning, Annie snorted, “How often does she go out on dates?”
He shrugged. “It varies, a few times a year, sometimes if she finds somebody she likes she might go out with him a few times over a few weeks, but then she might not see anyone for months.”
“What about you?” I asked. “How often do you date?”
Again he shrugged. “The same, I suppose. Coral tries to balance the books. She turns down a lot of invites so it balances out.”
Annie sniggered. “Christ, our best friends are bloody perverts.”
We all laughed and the evening settled down to a normal dinner. As we were preparing to leave, Annie gushed, “Do you want to stay at our place? I mean, you don’t want to go home to an empty house, do you?”
He chuckled warmly. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not sure what time she will be home. She might get home tonight.”
The thought made me shudder, and I muttered, “Bbbbrrrr, oh god, that sounds awful.”
“What’s your problem, bro? Jeez, settle down.”
“But she will have been with another guy, had sex.”
“So fucking what… they wear rubbers; it’s not like I’m getting sloppy seconds, although I don’t mind that occasionally, so long as I know the bloke.”
Annie shuddered, “Oh my god… who are you? When did you become some sort of kinky freak?”
He pulled her back into his arms, her bum pressed against his crotch with his mouth on her neck and moaned sexily, “Don’t knock it till you tried it, sweetcheeks.” He kissed her neck as she wriggled, flinging his arms off her.
As we drove home, Annie sighed. “Jeepers, Coral is off with another guy right now. I can’t believe it.”
That night our lovemaking was torrid. Annie was on a different level; unlike our usual bedtime theatrics, this was pure rutting, less lovemaking and more screwing, fucking. She was so inflamed there was almost no need for foreplay, she just wanted it.
It was a week later before we connected with them again. They came over for dinner, which was nice. Pete and I talked sports and work, but the girls… there were lots of furtive glances and unsaid questions. I tidied up as they sat around the table sampling a rather pleasant cabernet, when I heard a phone. Pete stood up, apologising that he had to take it. He walked out onto the deck and the moment he was out of earshot, Annie started her inquisition. “Oh my god, tell me… what was he like?”
They seemed to overlook the fact I was in the kitchen cleaning up and could hear everything.
Coral tittered, “You seriously want to know?”
“Oh god, yes, don’t be a bitch… was he good?”
“Okay, you asked for it; yes he was fabulous, he’s about twenty two, he is a personal trainer at the gym I go to, he is fit and oh god, his body is incredible.” She giggled. “And if you want to know, he is hung, god he was huge, and unlike some guys, he knew exactly how to use it. When I walked out of his apartment I could barely walk.”
“Bloody hell, girl, holy shit. Did you tell Pete how good he was?”
There was a little pause before she answered. “I told him most of it, but I left out the bit about how big he was. Men can be a little fragile over that piece of information. So I might have downplayed that a little.”
Annie choked a little on her drink. “Shit, Coral, don’t you feel guilty… embarrassed?”
“Why? Hell, Pete dates as well, maybe not as much as me, but he enjoys it when I date.”
“What do you mean he enjoys it?”
More tittering and giggling. “Well when I get home he loves me to tell him all about it. We snuggle up in bed and I tell him all the juicy details, he is so anxious and excited, we make love. He loves it; I know this probably won’t make sense to you, but Pete loves sloppy seconds.”
“Ooooohhhh yuck, that sounds disgusting!” Annie snorted.
Coral sniggered. “You are judging me and Pete, as well, on your experiences, but as Pete always says, don’t knock it till you try it.”
“Aren’t you afraid of diseases?”
“Annie, we use condoms, we only go down the naked route when we are totally confident about the other people.”
I heard Annie slump back in her chair giggling, “Wow, I don’t know whether to be disgusted or jealous.”
“Oh, believe me, babes, you should be jealous. You are missing out on the most exciting adventures. Trust me, it is a lot of fun. It really invigorated our marriage; I think we are closer than ever.”
“Doesn’t Pete get ticked off because you obviously date more than him?”
“Well, if he does he has never said. If I thought that was the case I wouldn’t do it. Annie, I love Pete, I adore him and I would never hurt him; it’s why I keep some details to myself, like my lover’s size or ability. I play them down so I don’t bruise his ego.”
There was another silence before Annie asked, “Are you going to see the guy again?”