[interesting]

It was odd coming back down the stairs, half-dressed. I was in my boxers, and Sarah had put on her panties and bra, and nothing else. Even though Turko's ambitions with her had been frustrated, he did not seem to hold it against us. Sarah was perplexed, having faced, for once, a complete lack of desire for someone. And she hadn't been able to go through with it. It was making her reflect on herself, and that could be either a good or a bad thing.

We sat on the couch, apart from everyone else, and I brought her a glass of water. She drank it in one gulp, so I got her another.

"Thanks."
"You're fine."
"Now I am, but... up there... there was no way I was letting that man fuck me. I mean, more than he had. It was a physical reaction. My body clamped up. I mean, he was in me, but I didn't want him in there, so... it hurt."
"First time for everything, I suppose."

Sarah seemed truly concerned about it, but I didn't want to press the issue. Not here, anyway. My eyes wandered about the room. At the moment, we were alone. Perhaps we had finished before everyone else. Maybe not. Maybe everyone else had just stayed where they were, with their partners and were now chatting away, like we were.

I heard movement from the other room, the place where the activities were supposedly public, so I told Sarah I'd be right back and went to take a look. I saw the scene unfolding. I spotted Kim with the accountant - she was done, at least it looked like it. He was resting on the couch and she was half-standing on the edge of the sofa.

I saw someone's ass pounding into a girl on all fours, and I realized it was Wendy, and the guy was Patrick. They were still very involved in their love-making.

I saw Barry standing not far from two lovely ladies, the lesbian couple (or something along those lines) I had heard about; there was another man, Alexei whom I had met earlier, standing apart. I could have stared a bit more (especially at Patrick and Wendy), but I was worried about Sarah so I headed back.

A moment later, I saw Barry coming over to our side, acknowledging our presence from a distance. He seemed distant, almost confused. I wondered if he shared some of the same concerns as Sarah. I felt like he wanted to talk, so I motioned him over, but he stayed where he was, looking back into the room he had just left. I shrugged it off and caressed Sarah's shoulders.

"I'm better now. Thanks."
"Good. I was honestly worried."
"I know. It's not like me to... act like this."

I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say. Sarah had always been so confident about sex that seeing her self-doubt was disconcerting. I just remained with her for the moment, even if she had reassured me that she was fine.We eventually saw a few people coming back, including Bonnie. She was wrapped in Leonard's bath robe, with potentially nothing under, and her face was glowing. It was obvious she had fared better than Sarah. Our host wasn't with her. Stepping down the stairs, she didn't spot Barry (as he had retreated to the other room) so she headed for us. Sarah gave her a shy smile, then got up and moved to give her a big hug.

"You look radiant, Bonnie."
"Leonard was such a gentleman..."
"So you had sex with him?"
"Yes, and it was so sweet and nice and warm... I could tell he really cared about me. We talked before, and a little after. He's resting. He is sixty-five, and I did give him quite a ride..."

All of a sudden, she smirked.

"He's still hard though. Took a blue pill."
"oh!"
"But he needs time to recover. How long do those pills last?"
"Not more than four hours, or else consult a doctor," I replied, quoting the commercial. "I don't honestly know."

Bonnie looked around.

"Where's Barry?"
"In the other room."

Bonnie sat beside us. She was looking at Sarah, guessing that something was up.

"Are you good, Sarah?"
"Yeah..."

I decided I'd let them talk, so I got up, a caring hand on Sarah's shoulder, then I walked towards the other room. I'd see what Barry was up to. As I walked in, I still saw Patrick pounding hard into Wendy. I would have imagined him done by now, or at least in another position, but neither had moved, and Wendy was only restrained in her vocal expletives because she was biting down on a cushion. Kim was gone, and I didn't know where she had gone. The two girls were huddled together, gently embraced in a relaxed position, post coitus.

I spotted Barry and, for a moment, I was surprised by the sight. He was leaning in, still naked, apparently talking to Alexei. Their face to face seemed very close, almost intimate. Curiosity got the better of me, so I actually sneaked slightly towards them, wanting to hear their conversation. Alexei was speaking as I started overhearing.

"...and there's really nothing wrong with it."
"Of course not, but... you told us preferred older women, right?"
"I do. Sometimes. It's complicated."
"So what we did back there?"
"Spur of the moment. I hope I didn't offend you."

Barry seemed to hesitate before answering.

"No... it was... to be honest, it was really hot. I just never imagined..."
"You never did it with another man?"

I was stumped for a moment and I wanted to walk away.

"Well, I have, you know... just not kissing the other man."

I was jumping to conclusions. I decided it was best to retreat before I got noticed. I returned to the other room and I saw Sarah and Bonnie locked in conversation, so I headed for the bar, and poured myself another rum and coke. Then, I looked around the room to see who was there, and perhaps to try to figure out what came next.

I eventually noticed Brian coming out a side door, so I walked over to him.

"Hey!"
"Jim. What's cooking?"
"Huh... We're done."
"Done?"
"Well, yeah, I mean we went to a room, got frisky... the usual."
"Ok. Well, if you say you're done."

I didn't understand, so I had to ask.

"Is there more?"
"There can be. Maybe not yet, I guess you have to recover..."
"I do."
"Evening's not over. You can hang around, watch some people, talk to others. It's pretty chill. People get overeager at the start, then they lounge, and then usually hook up later in the evening again. Sometimes, there's an orgy, but today doesn't feel like it."
"No, it doesn't."

My own answer surprised me, but it made sense. Besides, if there was one, I didn't feel like Sarah - nor me - was eager to participate. In truth, the time we'd had with Kim, Brian, Barry and Bonnie had felt more intense than what we had lived here.

Even the romp on the boat with Wendy (and Dwayne for Sarah and Bonnie) was a high note. Last night had been all right, until Wendy had come along, where it had gone a little too far for my tastes, and the incident between Turko and Sarah made my time here less than enjoyable, regardless of how I had felt with Katarina or the subsequent climax with Sarah. My feelings were mixed. There was no ambiguity on that.

"Well, we'll hang around. Where's your wife?"
"Bathroom. Why? You want to swing some more with her?"

His question only remained in the air for a second.

"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Well, to be honest... We're much more comfortable with you two than with anyone else."

Brian paused.

"Well, there's always tomorrow morning too."
"Yeap."

I let him go get himself something to drink and I returned to Sarah and Bonnie. I sat down. They turned their attention to me.

"Barry's on the other side still, talking.."
"Thanks."
"And, FYI, it's not done... we can chill here until we want to do a little more... if we want to do more."
"I'm game," Bonnie said, "but I really need to talk to Barry."

She got up and walked away. I looked at Sarah with a concerned look.

"What about you?"
"I feel fine now... I could go for a... better ending?"
"All right. We'll stick around, see if anything... pops."

Sarah gave me a big hug. We decided to simply hang out and wait for people to trickle in. A few did, but some remained in rooms. Bonnie and Barry disappeared somewhere, so I hung out with Sarah for a while. Eventually, we saw some more people potentially hooking up, and it seemed to me that, if anything was going to happen, we would have to make it happen.

Just as I was about to get up, I noticed our host, Leonard, coming back down the stairs. He had a different robe on, only this time, he didn't seem to wear anything under it. Just from that, I could tell the blue pill had run its course. I told Sarah to wait and moved to intercept him.

"Sir?"
"Please. Just Leonard. Your name again?"
"Jim. We came with..."
"Brian and Kim, lovely couple."
"They are."

His smile was wide, and I remembered what Bonnie had said about him. He looked older than everyone, true, but he also looked spry and very much aware. He seemed truly kind and concerned.

"Did you have fun," he asked me, "you and... Sarah?"
"It was nice but... I wondered if I could talk to you in person."
"Of course."

We moved to a small section just behind the stairs.

"Yes, Jim?"
"Was there anything else planned for tonight? I mean, we had the draw but... is there a game setup, or an activity?"
"Not really. Not tonight. Why?"
"Well, my girl and me, we run better on games. But that's fine."

He smiled at me.

"Did you have issues with your partners?"
"Noting unresolvable, no."

I was amazed at how perceptive he seemed.

"Well, I'm sorry if there were hiccups. It happens, unfortunately, in this kind of situation."
"Don't I know it."

We both laughed at our own secret experiences.

"Well, if you like games, you and Sarah... why not improvise one?"
"Could I? I mean, I don't know anyone other than my friends."
"That is true... and I'm fairly certain not everyone would play. I might."
"We'd be honored, but that still doesn't get us a game."

For a moment, our host pondered my predicament. I saw the light bulb ignite above his head, and he turned to us.

"What if... I give you a challenge?"
"A challenge... Sarah might like that."
"Well, it's quite simple... people have retreated to rooms to have fun so, stroll around the rooms, and maybe get yourself invited? Would you enjoy that?"
"Maybe. It's an idea..."
"Some people enjoy an interruption to their play... and new players are always enticing."
"All right... Maybe we will. Thank you."
"A pleasure..."

I took a step back, then turned back to him.

"Would you be interested in playing with us?"
"Not right now, no... but thank you for offering."
"Well, if Sarah's willing, and we're around later... we heard some very positive things about you from Bonnie."

I saw his eyes open wide and he accepted the flattery for what it was. I returned to Sarah, light in my step. She noticed immediately.

"What?"
"Our host... he's really down-to-earth. Bonnie's right."
"You're thinking of him? He is a bit old..."
"And I'm sure he would still be more comfortable than the other man was..."

Sarah nodded her agreement. She rose to her feet.

"So what do we do, then?"
"Well, he suggested we stroll around, peek in the rooms, and see if there's any place we'd like to be invited in."
"That sounds nice. Let's go."

Sarah grabbed my arm and, both still in our underwear, we went upstairs in search of someone - or many someones - to play with. I was feeling that my drive was back, and Sarah was obviously over her stress. Hopefully, we could work with that and leave this place with a more agreeable memory for Sarah - and me.