[interesting]

Laurie hung up the phone, a perplexed look on her face. It took a moment for Jacob to look away from his game and inquire as to the identity of the caller.

"Who was it?"

When she did not answer immediately, Jacob hit pause and turned to her.

"Laurie?"
"Uh? Oh, it was Sandra."
"Oh. What did she want?"
"Nothing much. She was calling to say she won't be there tomorrow for badminton."
"We might as well cancel, then, if we're only three."
"We could find a third player, though."
"Maybe."

Jacob went back to his game as Laurie resumed reading her book, but her mind was elsewhere. She got up from the couch and headed into her bedroom. She went to her secret box, the one where she stashed all her naughty paraphernalia and her lingerie. She pulled it onto the bed, sat beside it, and started going through her equipment. She did not have the most elaborate collection but she was proud of the few items she had managed to buy for herself - or that her boyfriends had bought for her.

She took out the first dildo she had ever received: it was metallic green, vibrating, a simple model. She had enjoyed its caress for a full year before her boyfriend at the time had taken her to buy a second one.

Jacob was standing in the door.

"Ah! the secret stash!"

Laurie turned her head to Jacob.

"Is it Sandra's call that's got you thinking naughty things?"
"Yes."

Her candor was surprising, despite the fact they had been together for some time now.

"What did she say?"
"She said... she was really looking forward to the party. She said... well, it's not the words. It's the way she said it..."
"You enjoyed it, last time?"
"Well I did. It's always nice to... I like it. Anyway... I was thinking how much more we could end up doing."
"And you went to your naughty place..."

Laurie looked back at the toy in her hand.

"Do you like watching me do it?"
"What?"
"You know... sometimes, I just lay on the bed, against the wall... I take out one of my toys and play with myself... do you like watching me?"
"You know I do."
"What about last time?"
"What last time?"
"Did you enjoy watching me eat Sandra out?"
"Of course, yeah!"
"What about Frank?"
"What about him?"
"When he took me from behind... when he came into me... did you enjoy that?"
"What's this about?"
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Less than the rest?"
"Maybe a little..."
"Did you get jealous?"

Jacob took a step back.

"Laurie, what's up?"
"Answer me, please. Be honest."
"I guess... maybe a little, yeah. Afterwards, I sort of... wanted you to myself. But I was okay with it too, if that's what you're asking..."
"That's not what I'm asking."
"I don't follow, then."

Laurie was trying to put words to ideas that had been bubbling inside her mind since that day, some weeks ago.

"We agreed we'd be open, right?"
"About our relationship?"
"Yes. About seeing other people, potentially anyway."
"Yeah."
"That we'd remain friends... fuck if we wanted."
"Please get to a point."
"My point is: we haven't really been looking have we?"
"No. But is that bad?"

Laurie stared at the ceiling.

"Do you want to fuck other girls? Or other guys, I don't know..."
"Guys, no. Girls, maybe. I don't understand... just because we say we can do it doesn't mean we will do it."
"Why shouldn't we? Why shouldn't I just go out to bar, grab me a stud, bring him back here and fuck his brains silly."
"Well, why don't you?"
"Why don't you go out, grab yourself a tramp and do her right on the couch?"
"I'm not in the mood for that..."
"You haven't actually had sex with anyone else since we decided to be open, whereas I've had both Sandra and Frank... something's not right."
"You want me to have sex with others?"
"I'm just worrying if you're really sincere about being with other people, or if you'd rather just watch me... be with other people."

Jacob didn't answer, so Laurie continued.

"Say I do like Danielle did, go find you a girl... to fuck... would you do it?"
"I... yes, I would, I think."
"You think?"

Laurie wasn't satisfied with his answers. She didn't feel he was living up to his previous commitments. Something inside her made her angry.

"All right, fine. I'm gonna invite Frank over, and have him screw me silly. Up the ass! You'd like that..."
"What? No..."
"Well, why not?"
"You don't like anal."
"It's not about me, it's about you..."

Jacob got angry.

"Well, what do you want me to say?"
"Anything..."
"What? You want me to say I like seeing another man pound you senseless?"
"Yes?"
"Well I don't. I hate it. I'm..."

Jacob stopped mid-sentence, staring at the ground.

"I'm... sorry. I should haven't yelled."
"Jacob, I love you. Talk to me."
"It's a good thing it was Frank... someone I care about... otherwise... I don't know. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea..."
"Did you mind it when I gave him a blowjob?"
"No... not so much."
"Why?"
"I don't know.
"Because it's different. It's not sex..."
"What?"

Laurie motioned for Jacob to come near her.

"A blowjob is not sex."
"It's oral sex."
"But it's not sex... just like eating pussy. It's not sex."
"I don't follow."
"It's not penetration... Reflecting on it, I'm not sure I'd have allowed Frank to do what he did, had I not been fully immersed in what I was doing."
"So you're saying oral sex is not sex?"
"Not the same thing, anyway. It is, sort of sex, but... penetration... that's the... penultimate part. Anything before that just seems like... foreplay."

Jacob was trying to grasp the concept Laurie was explaining to him. Laurie continued.

"I don't mind eating out Sandra, or giving Frank - or any other guy - a blowjob, really. It doesn't feel sexual to me. Well, it does, but it's not as intense... as involving. When you put... your penis in me, it feels... it makes me feel complete. And you know something... it's your penis I like. It's you I like."
"I guess that makes sense... I... I did get jealous of Frank. It seemed like you were giving him all the attention, because he was new at this, because he was fresh. He got to do you. I didn't get to do Sandra."
"In a way, I'm glad you didn't, because I would have been the one who was jealous. You're my penis, after all. You've been for some time."
"I'm a penis?"

Laurie laughed.

"You know what I mean, silly. I'm just thinking we went into this... fuckfriend thing... a bit fast, maybe. I'm not saying..."
"I know what you're saying... and I agree. Laurie, I love you. Seeing you with Frank... heck, seeing you with Sandra... made me realize how much I love you, how much I want it to be me doing you..."

Laurie and Jacob stared into each others' eyes.

"We got a problem, Laurie."
"What kind?"
"I don't want to be your fuckfriend. I want to be your boyfriend. Heck, if we last that long, I even want to be your husband."

He looked away, but she pulled him back and kissed him gently.

"I know. I want you to be my husband too... eventually. Let's not get carried away... again."

They both laughed.

"Still, we got a problem."
"What problem?"
"The upcoming party... I know we've got a lot of things planned... and some of them might take us... well, out of our comfort zone... the new one... the one we just talked about. Should we cancel our presence?"

Laurie pondered the question for a moment.

"No. Let's not rush this... let's still go. Let's wait and see. You survived Frank... doing me... me doing Sandra... I think, you can handle a bit more... and so can I... and... I do have unresolved things with Sandra, I think."
"And you think that party will help you resolve it?"
"I think so..."

Laurie smiled at him.

"And if, during the course of the party, you manage to have fun with someone else too, then good for you. Let's say... we don't go to the party as a couple. Let's say we start over at New Year's..."
"Okay... I guess, I can live with that."
"That way, when the party comes around, we can be... we can do anything that we want. We don't hold back, and just go with our gut. And then we'll see... how does that sound?"
"That sounds reasonable... I... okay."
"And we'll cross that other bridge... when we get there."
"Done deal."

He kissed her gently, pulling away. All the time, she had held her toy in her hand. She smiled at him, a naughtly glimmer in her eye.

"Wanna watch me?"
"Maybe..."

Laurie shivered at the idea of Jacob watching her masturbate. Perhaps it was more the resolution of their unspoken conflict of the past weeks that was really turning her on. In any event, she was going to give him quite a show - and who knew, he might just decide to take advantage of it. All the better for her if he did...