Breathless

"I hate to say it but I think I'm done for the night." I sat back against the leather seat in the booth we were occupying and gazed out at the crowd packed into the club. Shouts and laughter competed with the bass pumping from the speakers, and people were downing shots at the bar.

We'd been amongst the chaos on the dance floor earlier, but the heat and crush of bodies had become too much so we'd moved to a quieter corner away from the flashing lights.

"Whose idea was it to come here anyway?" I asked, glancing sideways at my best friend.

Katie snorted and tucked her shoulder-length blonde hair behind her ear. Her grey eyes filled with amusement as she lifted her glass to her lips. "I told you it wouldn't be the same anymore, Jess. The only clubs you're suited to now are the lawn bowls kind."

I laughed and reached for my cider. "We're the same age!"

"I know, but you married doofus over there." She pointed her glass at my husband, Nathan. He'd made himself at home on the bench seat opposite, a smile appearing on his face as he listened to our conversation. "And I'm single. That makes you old and settled while I can still get away with pretending to be young and carefree."

"Oh, is that right?"

She sent me a smirk then went about emptying her glass. I shoved her shoulder and put some work into emptying mine.

We'd come out tonight for my birthday, and what had originally begun as a gathering of nine close friends quickly dwindled to the three of us, just like the old days. Nathan had suggested a romantic dinner but I'd wanted to go out dancing to help chase away the almost-crisis I'd been entertaining over the thought of getting older. It was one thing to be thirty—I'd handled that milestone birthday pretty well—but to be in your thirties just felt like a whole different thing to me.

Nathan leaned in and rested his forearms on the table. "You want to go home?" he asked. "I'm ready when you are."

"No, she doesn't want to go home." Katie jabbed her elbow into my side. "Tell him."

"Ow!" I nursed my abused ribs and pressed my lips together, staring across at him as I considered my options. I could stay here surrounded by drunken strangers or head home with him so we could make our own fun. His dark hair appeared almost black in the dim light, and the way his blue eyes cruised lazily over me made the second option more appealing with each passing second. I knew it wouldn't take long to unfasten the buttons on his navy blue shirt and work my way down to the fly on his jeans. As soon as I got the zipper open and slipped my hand inside, he'd be hard and ready to go.

He raised his brows to prompt a reply and I shifted my attention to Katie, already feeling arousal warming my cheeks.

She spotted the expression on my face and rolled her eyes. "Oh, c'mon. He only wins because he has a dick."

I heard Nathan's laughter and sent Katie an apologetic look. "Well, can you blame me?"

She downed the rest of her drink and set her glass on the table with a clunk. "I've told you a hundred times, just give me the word and I'll make you forget all about him." She glared at Nathan but it only made him grin.

The two of them were always fighting or flirting. She was the only woman I'd ever let get away with talking to him like this, mostly because she didn't mean anything by it but also because I knew he loved the verbal sparring. "And I've told you a hundred times I'm not into women."

Katie had brought up her bisexuality in a conversation with me years ago then confessed her attraction to me not long after that. It had left me feeling awkward, flattered and a whole host of other feelings I didn't want to examine too closely back then. We both knew it wouldn't go anywhere and had managed to joke about it at the time, but she still made a point of reminding me every now and then what I was missing out on.

"I feel like it's one of those things you can't ever really know for sure unless you try it," she said.

"Yeah, I doubt that." I shoved my long dark hair over my shoulder and tugged the bodice of my strapless blue dress a little higher. "Sorry, but the thought of being with another woman makes my legs clamp shut—and I don't have to go bungee jumping to know it would make me pee my pants, or stand in front of a crowd to figure out that public speaking scares the crap out of me."

She laughed and slanted a glance at me. "So it's just the below-the-waist stuff that bothers you?"

"Mmm...I guess so." I looked her over slowly, taking in the black dress hugging her figure and the silver pendant dipping into her cleavage. Her full lips were painted red and I'd always thought she had the most beautiful eyes, so expressive and full of life. If I ever had a change of heart and decided to go there with a woman, I could do a hell of a lot worse than going there with her. It was just the thought of lying naked with her in a bed, parting her legs and moving in between them—my mind refused to head in that direction. "I'd maybe be okay with kissing. Boobs too, but the rest of it's just not my thing."

I glanced over at Nathan who appeared entertained by the conversation but wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. Neither he nor I were against the idea of adding another person in the bedroom, but his aversion to being intimate with a man and mine with a woman made it unlikely we'd ever experience that together.

"What do you think?" Katie asked, sliding her hand onto my thigh and squeezing as she quirked a brow at Nathan. "Do I have what it takes to unclamp your wife's legs?"

"How about I give you some pointers to improve your chances?" He sent me a quick smile that made me feel like laughing and smacking him all at the same time.

Katie had taken the inside seat when we'd claimed our booth. She smiled at Nathan's remark and leaned in close, pressing her breasts against my upper arm. "What about this idea? Would you be open to me doing things to you that I wouldn't expect to be reciprocated? Maybe expand your horizons, make the most of the dirty thirties, let me give you a birthday present you'll never forget...that kind of thing."

I wanted to laugh at the exaggerated hopeful expression on her face but my heart pounded and a flurry of butterflies filled my stomach. I drew a bracing breath as I tried to sort through my thoughts. How did we even get to this point? One minute I'd been feeling past my used by date then the next I had my best friend hitting on me—again.

My gaze flicked across to Nathan then returned to Katie. The scent of her flowery perfume drifted toward me. She sat so close that all I had to do was move forward a couple of inches in order to touch my mouth to hers. Her comment about experimenting during my thirties hit home and I had to admit it triggered a tiny amount of curiosity.

She appeared to forget about me for a moment and stared at a point somewhere over my shoulder, then I saw her mouth soften and her lips part. "Oh, wow," she said. My eyes narrowed and I turned to see what had inspired that reaction, discovering a blonde man and a woman with red hair leaning against the opening to our booth, kissing in a way that made me think they'd be looking for somewhere private pretty soon.

I noticed the man's hand slide up his partner's short skirt, the material bunching over his wrist and leaving her pink panties on display. His fingers swept around to the front and dipped into the elastic at the top of her thigh. The heat in the room seemed to climb a few degrees and I took a deep breath, holding it as I watched his hand begin to move.

I couldn't believe they were doing this right here in front of us. Katie swore softly beside my ear. Nathan followed our line of sight, his eyes widening at the view. We watched in silence as the woman's hips rocked against the man's stroking fingers, both of them lost in their own world while the noise and activity continued on around them. The idea of doing something like this in a crowded place caused a rush of excitement inside me.

Katie's hand moved higher on my thigh and my legs relaxed without me even being fully aware of the movement. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the couple. The woman tilted her hips and pushed closer to the man's body. They were both so into each other they didn't appear to notice or care that they had an audience.

I stole a quick glance at Nathan. His searing gaze sent warmth spreading through me. I looked back to the other man and noticed his fingers had picked up their pace. The woman's hips ground against him as their kiss grew in intensity. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortably aroused, watching as she pulled her mouth free and pressed it against his throat.

Her chest moved with her heavy breaths. He looked to be struggling, too. His head lifted and he swept his gaze over their surroundings as if he'd only just realised they were in a public place. His attention suddenly came to rest on me and my heart thumped so hard I could feel it without even touching my chest. Kissing her had left his lower lip moist and swollen. A slight smile crossed his face as he watched me. Our gazes remained connected until the woman finally let out a strangled cry, coming with a shudder against his hand.

I could feel Katie's breaths against my neck as the woman's knees wobbled. The man wrapped his arm around her to hold her steady, then kissed her cheek and spoke to her in a voice so low the words were drowned out by the music. Although the urgency had faded, they indulged in another long kiss, then while my breaths were still coming quickly and my pulse continued to race, he took her by the hand and led her away.

I watched in stunned silence as a group of rowdy guys filled the space they'd vacated. They stood with their backs to us watching the action on the dance floor, effectively blocking off the exit and our view of the rest of the club.

The couple's departure left me feeling restless and needing release. It had all felt so surreal that if my body hadn't been telling me otherwise I would have been convinced it had never happened. Beneath the table my legs spread even further and Katie's hand slid up the inside of my thigh, stroking my sensitive skin. I looked down in surprise to see it there.

"Fuck, that was hot," she said. "Did that turn you on?"

Unable to speak, I nodded quickly and kept my eyes on her as she touched her lips to my hot cheek.

"Take your panties off," she said.

A shock of adrenaline coursed through me and I gasped, glancing across at Nathan. The desire welling inside me told me to go for it but my stomach fluttered with uncertainty. With the high walls of the booth and the crowd spread across the front, no one would know what was going on. I wasn't sure if I could actually do it but after watching that display it made me at least want to try.

My smile trembled as I dipped my hands beneath my dress and lifted my hips. I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my panties and shoved them down my thighs, sinking back onto the seat to slip them over my high heels. When I'd dropped them beside me, Nathan leaned over the table and cupped the back of my neck, drawing me to him. His lips touched mine in a soft peck and he whispered against my mouth, "Don't overthink it, babe. Just enjoy yourself."

I smiled and kissed him again. Katie's hand resumed its position on my thigh and our eyes met as her fingers climbed higher. She swirled her palm over my soft skin, then gently pulled my leg toward her to widen the gap between my thighs. The way she watched me made me feel warm inside.

The tension between the three of us was palpable. Nathan looked like he was only just managing to keep it together. Katie's breaths were coming fast, her watchful eyes telling me she could barely believe this was happening; I guessed she probably expected it to stop at any moment. Similar thoughts whirred through my mind as I slid further down in my seat to allow her more room.

The first touch of her soft, seeking fingertips against the outer edge of my pussy sent a shockwave of pleasure through me. She ran her palm over me then kept her attention on my face while she dipped one finger inside, trailing it along the length of my pussy. "You're so wet," she said.

Inside me was a mess of emotions. I wanted to pull away, I wanted to push closer. The way Nathan and Katie were looking at me made me feel so desired, but the novelty of it all created a feeling of self-consciousness in me. "God, I don't know what to do." My gaze travelled down my body, watching the way the material of my dress shifted with the movement of her hand. My chest lifted and fell with my shallow breaths.

"You don't have to do anything." Katie kissed my temple and began massaging my pussy. "Just sit back and let me make you come."

The breath rushed out of me and desire had my heart slamming against my ribs. During all our years of friendship I'd never once seen this side of her. I glanced at my husband then checked the guys standing nearby to make sure their backs were still turned.

Katie leaned closer and trailed her lips along my cheek, stopping at the corner of my mouth. "Does it feel good?" she asked.

"Uh-huh." I rested one hand on her knee, bracing myself as she continued sliding her fingers through my wetness.

She kissed the edge of my lower lip. "Do you want me to keep going?"

I stared at Nathan while I answered her. "Yeah." The word came out sounding like a breathless sigh.

"I'm gonna work your pussy until you come all over my hand. You know that, don't you?"

God, I couldn't take any more. It all became too much. I turned my head and pressed my lips to hers.

I heard Nathan groan even from across the table. I could only imagine what was going through his mind right now. Katie sighed as our lips met. Her mouth was so soft and warm. She moaned and swept her tongue over mine as her fingers slipped inside me, pulling back to plunge into me again. My hips lifted from the seat and I cried out against her mouth.

She rubbed her thumb over my swollen clit and I arched my back, thrusting my tongue into her mouth. I'd given up trying to make sure no one could see what we were doing. I didn't care. All I wanted to do right then was come.

I slid my hand up her leg and gripped her thigh. Through the haze of pleasure it dawned on me that I wanted to touch her, too. I tried to reach for her but our positions made it too awkward and I let out a sound of frustration. She pulled her mouth from mine and trailed her lips to my ear. "Don't worry about me," she said. "Just focus on you."

Sensation clouded my thinking and I raised one knee to rest it out to the side. I lifted the hem of my dress, exposing her hand and my slick, wet pussy. Her fingers were shiny with my moisture, her nails a stark ruby red against my flesh.

I glanced across at Nathan, my heart thudding at the look in his eyes. I knew, I just knew, I was going to get it later. That thought helped push me over the edge. I kept my gaze locked with his as my hips lifted and my inner muscles pulsed. My stomach clenched and Katie whispered against my ear, "That's it...yes."

The combination of Nathan's steely gaze and her soft touch made me lose it. I braced myself and gripped her thigh, pressing my other palm hard into the seat. I rocked my hips to meet her sliding fingers and watched Nathan as my mouth dropped open. I came so hard it left me light-headed. My stomach clenched, my thighs trembled. Pleasure shuddered through me but I wasn't done.

Katie moaned at the sounds of my release and kept touching me, giving my pussy soft, wet smacks to intensify the tingling arousal swelling my clit. Her free hand slipped around my back, curving over my ribs to clasp my breast through the bodice of my dress. Her mouth pressed to my throat, her lips teasing the underside of my jaw.

I couldn't sit still. It began rising inside me again. I looked down at her hand. Her fingertips continued the gentle slapping motion against my clit, the touch sending vibrations through my pussy that built the pleasure inside me until I wanted to scream.

Nathan shoved away from the rear of the booth and slipped out at the end, pushing his way past the crowd to round the table and drop in beside me. I gasped at the intensity in his eyes as he clasped the back of my neck. The breaths were panting from me as he crushed his mouth to mine. I made a whimpering sound and heard a growl rumble in his chest. His tongue thrust inside my mouth, his lips hard and demanding. Katie kept up her soft smacking touches against my ever-dampening pussy.

I jerked my mouth from Nathan's to drag in air and whispered hoarsely, "Kiss her."

He groaned and paused to give me a long look. He seemed to find what he needed in my expression because he reached for Katie and pulled her toward him. I leaned back as he took her mouth with the same intensity he'd taken mine. His hand moved down to meet hers, his fingers dipping inside me while her attention on my clit turned to a slow, deep massage. He curled his fingertips forward and gave me the firm rubs he knew I loved.

Having them kissing right in front of me while they both played with my pussy became too much. Together they made me come again. My body jolted as a cry tore from my throat and my hips lifted from the seat. I trembled all over and my thighs wanted to clench together but their hands kept them apart. Eventually it all became too much. "Oh, God, no more. No more," I said. I pushed their hands away and tipped my head back, sucking in great gulps of air.

Katie stopped kissing Nathan to turn to me. "You're so sexy," she said breathlessly. "I can't believe you let me do that—to you or him." I knew she was referring to kissing Nathan but the idea of her doing much more suddenly seemed to be all I could think about. We'd never let anyone get this close to us before. Now I'd had a taste of it, I didn't want it to end.

My legs ached in their widespread position. I couldn't slow my breathing or calm my pounding heart. I reached for Katie, clasping her face in my hands. My lips met hers and I kissed her, thrusting my tongue into her mouth.

Nathan leaned in close and in a husky voice beside my ear said, "Let's go home. Now."

I reluctantly ended the kiss and turned to him to nod. My eyes met his and the desire I saw in those blue depths took my breath away. He smiled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me from the booth. I clasped Katie's wrist and dragged her along with me.

* * * * *

When the taxi pulled up at our place twenty minutes later, I interlocked my fingers with Katie's and rushed along the path with her to the front entrance. Nathan paid the driver and caught up with us a few moments later, pulling his keys from his pocket to unlock the door.

I knew I probably should have taken her into the living room where we could relax for a while before we became more intimate, but I had a feeling that if I stalled right now it might just give me time to talk myself out of this. I flicked on the light in the hall and took her straight to our bedroom. Her hurried steps matched mine, giving the impression she felt the urgency, too.

Nathan sidled by me and moved ahead of us into the room, leaning over the bedside table to switch on the lamp. A soft yellow glow flooded the space, illuminating the burgundy bed linen and the cream-coloured drapes covering the window. A couple of outfits I'd tried on earlier were strewn over the foot of the bed. I released Katie's hand and gathered the garments, walking across the beige carpet to lay them over the arm of the chair in the corner.

She sent me a smile and looked around as she kicked off her shoes. She'd been in here before—many times in fact—but now it felt so different. I knew everything was about to change between us and I couldn't quite convince myself that the idea didn't make me feel at least a little bit nervous.