Allie's Crucible
The thong that changed everything.
Thanks to P_A_Solcroft, an awesome editor who helped me improve this story. Any mistakes you see are all mine.
How often are momentous decisions made over fish tacos? That's what happened at lunch today, after years of discussion, Rachael and I agreed to open up our twenty-five year marriage. To stretch our boundaries, physical and emotional.
But seconds after the agreement, I had been a mess as nightmare outcomes ignited my imagination, and with wanton images running through my head, doubts had attacked me for the first time. Was it safe to embrace the adventure and play relationship craps, guts tumbling with the dice, afraid of a seven? Maybe something else worried me, too. Would I be sitting at home, unable to find a partner, while Rachael bed-hopped the nights away? It was probably all of that and a lot more.
That was when Rachael had grasped my hand and squeezed it saying, "I know we only made this decision fifteen seconds ago, but we can change our minds." She has always able to read my expression. Her mouth had tilted in a slight smile, no doubt concerned about me but also amused as hell by my discomfort. After all, I had been the one moving us to this decision over the years.
While considering the out she offered, it didn't help that I'd caught sight of myself in Rachael's sunglasses. My sandy brown hair, a touch too long, beginning to curl at the ends. Formerly lean and wiry, I now sported a dad bod after years of her gourmet cooking and too many nights drinking beer watching soccer instead of playing. It struck me again for the millionth time, how I'd married up. She was better looking now than in her younger days. Somehow curvier, yet more tone. The accountant and the women's fashion designer. Sitting there, I had giggled out loud. Our reality, it still made me laugh.
Regarding the decision, I'd shaken my head. I was committed for better or for worse. Time to man-up. "I'm in," I had blurted as I tried to shape my face into a brave expression. That had made her laugh. She always knows.
After toasting the next phase of our marriage, I had said, "It might be months or years before anything happens." We had to agree in advance. It had to be right for both of us.
Four hours later, Allie, a willowy twenty-something, swimsuit bottoms crumpled at her feet, stood before me as I fingered her juicy cunt. Breathy whimpers emerged Allie's mouth as her lips caressed my cheek.
Completely unexpected. And I submit, the best experiences are the unexpected. Seven minutes earlier, my wife had squinted at the sunlight glinting off Zihuatanejo Bay far below as she waited at the resort's front desk behind Allie's boyfriend, Hugh.
But it was at the pool where everything started. The hot afternoon had buzzed with conversations from several groups trying to stay cool - one of those alcohol-fueled, social frenzies of mostly middle-aged and elderly snowbirds, continuously shifting members. A common scene in tropical climes with swim-up bars. Except for me. I played the voyeur most of the time, book in hand. Sunglasses had hidden my eyes as they scanned the sun dappled pool while my ears caught mundane snippets here and there.
Rachael tapped her toe trying to hurry Hugh. Allie had abandoned Hugh and walked away but only got halfway to the stairs before she turned and called to him. He was recounting the end of a hockey game between two backwater Canadian clubs, too drunk to realize the
seΓ±ores
manning the desk didn't care. Their bored expressions alternated with anxious glances at the line forming behind Hugh. Allie, now farther away, called Hugh again, but his story continued. I walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Your girlfriend wants you," I said and pointed towards her, and I meant it. Despite his obliviousness, it was obvious she wanted him. Whether horniness or love or alcohol, or whatever, who could say. Sporadic, longing glances back at Hugh and shuffling feet gave her away, so I interceded. I believe Allie and I held a similar outlook. What was the priority here - retelling a story to two apathetic listeners working a busy front desk or fucking your girlfriend?
After a quick glance at Allie, he tossed her a casual, "Soon, babe." Then back to his story.
I turned toward Allie and shrugged. Allie sagged a fraction and nodded, mouthing a silent, glum 'thank you'.
A fully-formed plan blossomed in my mind.
Stepping behind Hugh, I whirled and strode toward my wife whose eyes widened as an "Uh, oh," escaped her pouty lips. Rachael distracted me - her beauty, face suffused with pink that would turn golden brown the next day, hair in a casual bun to ward off the heat, the hourglass figure framed in a close-fitting sundress. I kissed her. The plan was dying as I sank into her cobalt- blue eyes. Why didn't I anticipate today's decision would also cause angst? Sure, we'd discussed it for years, but I hadn't understood that a simple but significant change to our relationship rules would be emotional too. I love Rachael. I always believed that while I might be sharing my body mate, us as soulmates was permanent, inviolable. After all, we'd each shared our bodies with many others before marriage, but neither of us had ever had another soulmate. We weren't bored with our lives. Just one aspect. Some couples could survive with less than frequent electric couplings. Not us.
No way to know unless you roll those dice. I whispered a few words in Rachael's ear: the test. She glanced at Hugh and leaned back to view Allie's form climbing the stairs to the upper rooms. Allie looked one last time for Hugh following her. No luck, and she disappeared into the maze of the hillside stairs before I turned to Rachael.
In seconds, Rachael's expressions communicated a TED-talk's- worth of content. She flicked her eyes toward the horizon, worried my hijinks would cause us to miss the sunset at
Puerta del Sol,