"Hey, girlfriend. Do you remember where baggage claim is?"
"Door D, I think. Near the east end of the terminal."
"She's right, Stevie."
Steven, Emily, and Ellie are in the van, eager to retrieve Penny and Alyssa from their flight into Springfield. Traffic's fairly relaxed in the loop at the airport, one of the few blessings of a smaller "spoke" destination.
Penny is the fourple's mutual lover from last year's road trip to Miami. She's an adorable and tiny young woman -- Steve's weakness -- who manages the special hotel in Hollywood, "Rooftop Resort". It's special is because it's a swinger enclave, and she, her roommate Alyssa, and the fourple, were unstoppable for the several days they were together at the hotel. The sexual antics dial was turned to 11 during their stay, and
maybe even 12!
"
Look! Stevie! There they are!
"
"
Ohmygosh!
" Ellie blurts. "
Ohmygosh! She's really cute! Stevie!
"
Steve jerks the van to the curb and the pair in front fling open their doors. Emily grabs the sliding door handle to let Ellie out, and the little spinner can't help but to launch herself through the door and sprint to hug the counterpart she's only heard about.
Penny greets with open arms. "Hi! You're Ellie. Ohgawd you are
absolutely adorable!
"
"
So are you!
So great to finally meet you, Penny."
"
We
are going to have
so much fun
tormenting Stevie!"
Ellie knowingly laughs, "
We sure are!
"
Emily is standing there chuckling at this while Steve and Alyssa embrace and kiss. "Oh, Stevie," Em mumbles to herself, "are you in for a shitload of trouble!"
El and Pen are still hugging. They share gazes, and simultaneously press their faces to each other for a kiss. A sustained kiss. An open mouth tonguing kiss. They don't show any signs of letting up.
"Sweeties?" Steve tries to coax them back to earth.
"Oh,
Stevie!
" Ellie gushes. They separate and jump to hug Steve
hard
, one on each side.
"Guys? I sort of knew it was possible, but I certainly didn't expect
this
."
"We love you, Stevie!
" in unison.
Emily reaches to Alyssa for a hug and light kiss. "Did you think it would be like this?"
"Yeah, I kinda did. Pen was squirming in her seat as we landed, just itchin' to be with Steven again. Little did she know her mirror image would be waiting for her."
"They
are
so much alike. It was no surprise to me when Steven fell for her."
"Your guy is something, isn't he?"
"He is. Let's get your bags in the van."
Alyssa opens the rear door. "Uh, Emily? Is there enough room? This bed takes up most of the back."
"Should be. Slide them down the sides and there's enough room in front of the doors."
"Any particular reason there's a bed back here?"
Emily chuckles, "Take a guess. We put it back here before leaving to pick you up."
Lyss rolls her eyes. "Of course. Who with who?"
"Anybody who wanted it. Looks like it's going to be a spinner-fest with Stevie. I'll be driving. You're shotgun."
"It's like you do this a lot."
"More or less. I thought you figured out from our visit that Steve and I live in each other's heads."
"That
was
sort of apparent. Yet you have others with reckless abandon."
"We do. But you know what compersion is, right?"
"Learned it from you guys. Joy in your lover's loving, regardless of
who
they're loving at the moment."
"Yes, but it seems to be deeper with us. We can't explain it."
"Give me an example."
"Last time Cyan and I went out for strange. I did five guys, I think, and he was prepared for tales of my libidinal roller-coaster when I came home. We kept each other up all night in my retelling of the conquests. We definitely had
our
fun!"
Lyss shakes her head. "You guys are such a trip."
"No argument there. Okay, they're carrying on in the back seat. Saddle up!"
=====
The ride home -- short of an hour -- was uneventful, provided one overlooks Pen and El tearing each other's clothes off the moment they left the terminal area and all but going airborne as they jumped over the seat back and onto the bed. Oh. And the near-screaming fit coaxing Steven to "
get your fucking clothes off and get your wondrous ass back here!
" from Penny, with Ellie jumping back over the seat to push him up and out to join them. A fuse had been lit and whatever it was attached to exploded all over the inside of the van.
"Did you have any hint this thing was going to be crazy like this?" Emily chuckles to Lyss.
"A little. She was mumbling, 'Gawd I so want that cock! I want
him!
' I think it was just as we were beginning the descent. Over Nashville, I think. Ellie, though, was a surprise."
"How are
you
doing?"
"Oh, I'm okay. I was kind of disappointed Jackson wasn't with you guys, but on the other hand, it was about as likely he and I would be fighting 'em over that bed."
Emily shakes her head and chuckles. "Yeah. He's all ready for you guys at the house. How are you with sex in a hot tub?"
Alyssa bursts into big laughter at Em's joke. Probably a quarter of their time together in Miami was in or around the hotel hot tubs.
"
That was funny, Em!
" Steve laughingly shouts from the back. Ellie and Penny are giggling as they explore each other.
Lyss poses, "How are
you
doing, Emily? In the last call lining everything up, Steve mentioned to Pen that you and your boss had some sort of falling out."
"Boss's boss's boss. President of the company. It wasn't a falling out. We're still seeing each other, just under more controlled circumstances. He got a little too close, and it was affecting his marriage."
"Steve involved?"
"Of course. He consoled Tom's wife -- they'd been lovers for years anyway -- and he and I worked together to put the boat back on course."
"Y'all are different. Really different. Not at all like the swinger community we deal with. You guys apparently all love each other."
"That's true. I'd say it's a Midwest thing, but not really. Cy, Steve, Jax, and I are all native Californians. Thinking about it, it might a blend of West Coast free thinking and Midwestern devotion to those you care about. But no matter. It's how we live life."
"Quite a life! I just saw a sign for Taylorville in 12 miles. Are we that close already?"
"Yeah. Just passed Edinburg. You might have some adjusting to do given the lack of congestion around here. The small airport should've been a hint. Hang on."
"
Hey, guys!
" Em calls to the back. "
Ten minutes to home. Whatcha want to do?
"
Ellie muses, "Stevie? It's not a party night, so Humphreys shouldn't be hiding around the corner. You think?"