Chapter 1
The Games Begin
Five friends. That's all it was. Five friends who got together once a month to socialize, enjoy a bottle of wine and just relax. They had known each other since college. Their lives had all taken different paths but they went out of their way to keep that link alive and the Sisterhood was one way they had devised to enable them to do it.
It was a simple arrangement. They met once a month at a local winery one evening after work. They would each get a bottle of wine, order snacks and appetizers from the winery kitchen, find one of the cozy nooks in the tasting room and sit until they had finished the wine. They talked about . . . everything. The one hey had agreed on from near the beginning was, "whatever was said or done at Sisterhood, stayed at Sisterhood." That one rule opened a new level of intimacy between them. They trusted each other. There were no secrets among them. After several years, they knew each other's lives intimately. They were, in many ways, closer than sisters.
There was Ellen. Tall, thin and athletic, she wore her hair short and tended toward more casual dress. She was a physical therapist, still single and, as she put it, "happily lonely." She had been through a couple of off and on romances over the years but none of them had ever progressed further than some casual sex. She admitted that she was more interested in her work than she was a relationship.
Rachel was the motherly type. She married while still in college and never finished school. She and her husband were now raising their 3 kids in their suburban home and doing all the things that the typical suburban family did. Robert, her husband, was an engineer for the state. Dependable, good guy, Robert. It was the general opinion of the rest of the Sisterhood that Robert was about the most boring guy they had ever met. Still, Rachel seemed happy. She did the soccer mom thing, driving the SUV, carpooling kids to school and organizing for the PTA. She kept them all up to date on the latest in suburban excitement. Rachel had gained a little weight since college and the fact that she had borne three children in fairly rapid succession could be seen as well. She was of medium height with curly brown hair. Her figure in college was what most people would call average. With the addition of a little weight and three children, she was now curvy. She was still a little rounder than she should have been but she was attractive and most of the men at their kids school events didn't mind her showing up.
Ariel. How to describe Ariel? Her parents had been the prototypical hippies during the sixties. As most of the others of their generation had aged and slowly moved back into mainstream society, her parents had resisted. They still lived on the commune farm where Ariel had been born but now it was only them, the goat, the chickens and the pig that they had never had the heart to slaughter. Ariel had grown up without a lot of the same social mores and taboos to which the rest of the Sisterhood had been exposed She was the proverbial free spirit. Still single Ariel made a modest living playing her guitar and singing evenings at a number of the local bars and coffee houses. Teaching voice, guitar and piano supplemented that income. Her degree in music allowed her to substitute in the local school systems. She was petite, barely 5' 4" tall. Everyone joked that she still shopped in the teen section at the department stores because of her size. She was constantly moving from one boyfriend to another and it was always a topic of discussion each month about Ariel's latest flame.
Margaret or, as they all called her "Mags", was the de facto leader of the group. She was the one around whom the original sisterhood had coalesced in college and she was still the one to whom they all looked when there was some kind of decision to be made. Mags was tall, 5' 9" and had a knockout body. She had attracted the attention of all the hottest guys on the campus but never seemed to care. She didn't date. No one knew much about her past, her family or even how she had managed in college. She didn't seem to have a job. They had all assumed that her parents were well enough off to pay her way through college. She had maintained her college looks and figure with a killer workout routine and constant attention. The others, if you could get them to admit it, thought Mags was a bit vain and a little on the narcissistic side. She was always dressed well. When the others talked about their husbands or boyfriends, Mags was silent. She was still single. To their knowledge she didn't date. That part of her life remained a mystery like her past and her family even to the Sisterhood. To some extent her work did as well. They all knew she had a degree in art history. When pressed, she would describe herself as an independent consultant in the entertainment business. It seemed to provide for her well. She lived in one of the poshest apartment complexes in town, drove a BMW, always wore expensive name brand clothing and accessories. There were times when the others would come to Sisterhood and Mags would have bought each of them a bottle of their favorite wine and all the snacks and appetizers. Her business also took her out of town. It wasn't often, but occasionally they would have to reschedule sisterhood because she was away.
And there was April. April was average. She was average in looks, average in her figure, average in her grades and her life had turned out to be average as well. She had finished a degree in business, gone on to get an MBA and gone to work for a bank. She was now a loan officer. While in grad school she met and married another MBA student. He was also in the banking industry, the CFO of an investment firm. They made a comfortable living. Absorbed in their careers, they had never bothered to have children. The dogs filled that need quite well. All in all, they were average.
So, it had gone for years. They would meet once a month, drink their wine and just talk. They talked about their work and their lives. The married ones talked about their husbands. They talked about movies, books, TV shows. Sometimes, as it will with any group, the conversation would wane and they would simply sit with each other. There were times when they cried with each other.
They had a custom that on the month in which a sister's birthday fell they would each bring a small gift and celebrate the birthday. Usually the gifts were small, often novelty or gag gifts. That was really what got the whole fiasco started. It was Aprils birthday and, as usual, each of the them had brought a small gift. They all sat and giggled as April unwrapped the presents and read the attached card. When April had opened the card from Ariel it was one of those funny cartoon cards with an old lady sitting in a rocking chair. In this cartoon the old lady sat in her chair with a disgusted look on her face. The inside read, "Life is all about ass. You're either covering it, laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it or behaving like one."
Everyone had laughed while she opened the package. Inside was a small paperback book with a plain cover. The title read "1001 Ways To Recharge Your Sex Life". The subtitle was "From the benign to the bizarre". It had brought a laugh because, after 5 years of marriage and no children, there were always jokes. They all had a good laugh. As they were giggling, April had opened the book a few pages.
"Hey! Listen to this. This is number 33. It's in the section called "Keeping it simple." She read a short passage from the book.
"Spice it up! Add a little spice to the mix. Seduce your partner in the kitchen and use a kitchen utensil as a sex toy!
They all laughed. They were soon thumbing through the book and occasionally reading one of the ideas to the group. They discovered the book was divided into 4 sections; Keeping it Simple, Beyond the Bedroom, Naughty and Naughtier, and the last one, ominously titled, Beyond Bizarre, not for the novice!" The further they progressed that more salacious the ideas became.
April read another one.
"This is number 283 in the Beyond the Bedroom section. 'Have your partner meet you in a hotel bar and act the role of a hooker and a john. Make it real, play the roles, exchange money and provide the sex. If you want to add another dimension instead of a hotel bar, find a dark street corner and set up the scene. Hook up and go to a seedy downtown hotel and rent a room."
They all looked at each other and then burst out laughing. April continued to flip through the book and scan the entries. She stopped and looked down a page.
"Here is another. This is number 649. That is in the section Naughty and Naughtier. Pick up a stranger in a bar and seduce them for sex. Nothing like a little anonymous pick up sex to add a little spice to your life. Even better if your partner is in on it and watches.
This time they all just looked at each other eyes wide. She flipped to the back section and began to scan.
"This last section doesn't lie. These are not for the faint of heart. This is number 843. If you are female, hire yourself out at a whorehouse. Work for a week. If you have a partner have him come into the house and hire you. If you are male, run an ad in the local singles paper and advertise your services as an escort. Take on at last 5 different jobs. If you have a partner have her make an appointment and treat her just like you would a real client."
Rachel's eyes were wide.
"Jesus, that is out there. Do you think people really do that kind of stuff?"
Mags spoke up quickly.
"Rachel honey. That is tame compared to some of the stuff people do in real life. You have no idea!"
Rachel just shook her head.
That had segued the discussion into the topic of sex. Almost all of their discussion ultimately ended up at this point so it wasn't unusual. The book was the center of discussion this time. They passed the book around the circle and as they talked about it someone, no one can remember who it was, chimed in.
"You know, this would make one hell of a party game."
