Chapter 3 The Slippery Slope of Seduction
For the first few days after Nora's birthday, Nora and Ryan were leery about encountering Aiko and Gerald. Much to their surprise, the interracial couple behaved as if nothing had happened at all. They were partly relieved but also partly perplexed by their almost sudden return to usual neighbourly behaviour.
For the next three weeks, everything seemed to be completely back to normal. In fact, it was so normal that Nora and Ryan began to think that Aiko and Gerald's behaviour on Nora's birthday was some kind of one-off caused by some factors entirely unknown to them.
One day, while Nora and Ryan were talking about a variety of things, the topic of what happened on her birthday came up.
"It's almost as if we had imagined it," Ryan said to his wife. "I could have sworn they were coming on to us."
"I don't think we're deluding ourselves," she agreed. "Maybe they were so embarrassed by the outrageousness of their behaviour that they pulled back into a shell," Nora suggested, "you know, like a turtle does when it senses danger. Maybe they were under the influence," she added.
"Under the influence of what?" he asked.
Nora shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe they had a little too much to drink before they came."
"Did you smell any alcohol in their breath when they, er, um, kissed us?" he asked. "I certainly didn't."
"No, I didn't either," she admitted. "You and Gerald had a couple beers but that wasn't until later. Aiki and I drank no alcohol at all. Perhaps they smoked something," his wife ventured.
"They're non-smokers like us," he pointed out. "If they had smoked tobacco or even something else, we would have smelled it in the breath or on their clothes. Besides, Gerald told me they forbid smoking of any kind in or around their home. He told me they were very strict about that."
"What other explanation is there then?" she asked. "Drugs?"
"I don't think so. They didn't seem spaced out. "From everything I've heard from them, they avoid drugs unless specifically prescribed by a doctor to deal with a specific medical issue."
"Maybe we misinterpreted what we saw?" she offered.
"That's like saying we suffered from the same hallucination. I don't think so. We didn't misinterpret what we experienced. Neither of us believe that, Nora, not really. If a woman openly flaunts her tits and smiles at the same, where's the room for misinterpretation? You don't really believe that Gerald pressed his hard-on against you accidentally, do you? He could have avoided touching you if he really wanted to. No, I think Aiko and Gerald were actually rather brazen. They came onto us, no doubt about it."
Nora looked perplexed. "What does that mean?" she asked.
"It means they are attracted to us. And because they were so blatant about it, I think it means they're swingers," he replied. "I think they have sex with people outside their marriage and wanted to involve us," he concluded.
"My god," she said.
"Well," Ryan continued, it's been a few weeks since they came onto us. And they've been perfectly well behaved since then. Maybe they've given up on us. Maybe it won't happen again," Ryan pointed out. "Maybe they've decided it was a one-off that didn't end well."
They fell silent for a few moments, trying to sort out their thoughts.
"They're fun to be with and they've helped us a lot. They've been really nice to us too," Nora offered. "We can still be friends with them, can't we?"
"I think so," Ryan agreed. "They're neighbours. It's always good policy to get along with your neighbours.
"But what if they come onto us again?" she speculated. "What if they try to do something like that again?"
"Good questions," Ryan replied.
"How are we going to handle the situation? Break off with them?"
"I don't know," he replied frankly. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."
* * *
Unknown to Nora and Ryan, Aiko and Gerald were playing the long game. They wanted their friends to stew for a while before they stirred the pot again. They were waiting for Ryan's birthday, a little over a month after Nora's.
As Ryan's birthday approached, like normal friends and neighbours, Aiko made plans with Nora for the celebration.
"How about a barbecue?" Aiko asked Nora. "I know you haven't got one. So use ours. It's better than cooking in that little kitchen of yours. I told Gerald to get the grill ready Grilling is his job. You can help me in our kitchen."
Nora hesitated. The last sentence reminded her of what happened on her birthday when Aiko had loosened the top two buttons of blouse and then had shown off her breasts to her husband.
'You're overthinking this,' she chided herself.
Out loud Nora said, "Okay, I marinated the steaks overnight. I'll bring them over very soon."
"See you in a bit," Aiko said. "I'll leave the door unlocked. Just walk right in." Then she returned to her home.
Aiko saw Gerald working in the backyard. He had just finished setting up the grill was already ready for Nora to use.
"Nora is coming over," she called.
"That's nice," he called back.
"I need your help in the kitchen," she called again.
"Just a minute, I'm almost finished."
"No, now, and wash your hands."
"What's your hurry?" he asked.
"Nora is about to come over.Get here before she does or you'll ruin my plan."
That got Gerald's attention. After washing his hands, he joined his wife in the kitchen.
Aiko was washing dishes. She wore latex gloves to avoid premature aging of the skin on her hands. Gerald noticed that she was wearing a loose fitting tee-shirt and no bra.
"What's up?" he wanted to know.
"I need you to give me a hand," she responded. Then she giggled. "Actually, I need you to give me both hands."
He looked at her curiously.
