She eased the car over, parking along a curb on a residential street half a mile from their house. She never used her cell phone in the car unless it was an emergency, but she didn’t want to wait until she got home to speak to him.
She shut off the engine and plucked out her phone, dialing her husband back.
“It’s all set,” he said without any preamble. She heard the excitement in his voice.
“For when?” she asked, suddenly nervous. Her palms pricked with sweat¸ and she turned and peered over her shoulder to make sure no one outside was watching her.
“Friday night at Bella, eight o’clock.”
Caroline exhaled, internally chastising herself for being such a scaredy cat. Even if someone had been peering at her inside her car, they wouldn’t know her husband had just set up a meeting with another couple—a couple who routinely had sex with other people. “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing, Jace? Maybe we just need to wait and talk about this some more? I don’t think—”
“Care, it’s only dinner. Nothing more, nothing less. And we’ve talked about nothing else for two solid weeks. We’re just going to get to know them. If it feels wrong, we’ll know. There’s no need to worry. Nothing’s going to happen at dinner. It will just be casual small talk.”
“I know you haven’t forgotten, but Worry is my middle name. That and
Shame
. I can’t believe we’re actually going through with this!” She’d begun to perspire everywhere. “My mother would disown me if she knew.” Out of habit, she covered the mouthpiece with one hand so no casual observer could read her lips.
“Your mother has nothing to do with our sex life. Thank God. We have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Jace”—Caroline nibbled the edge of a fingernail—“this really scares me. I feel like we’re jumping into the deep end of a really dark, murky pool. What if we don’t recover? This could be very bad.”
“Let me remind you again, it’s just dinner. But I get it, sweetheart. I know you have issues with it, but at the same time it also exhilarates you, which is why we agreed to give them a call and set something up. I promise you we’ll take this slow. There’s no need to extrapolate about what’s going to happen in the future. We’ll meet them, get to know who they are, and then figure out the next step—if there even is one. We might think they’re awful, or get a bad vibe, or whatever. Then we’ll move on. No harm, no foul. But at least we tried it.”
“You’re so calm about this, it’s kind of irritating.” She bit the edge of another nail.
Jace chuckled. “If both of us were freaking out, it wouldn’t do us any good. How about this? We’ll keep talking about it for the next two days. It’s Wednesday. If by Friday we feel like bailing, I’ll call and cancel. Sound okay?”
“Yes.”
“See you in a few hours. I won’t be late tonight. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
They hung up, but before Caroline could start the car, a text came through from Piper.
MICHAEL TOLD ME HE GAVE JACE PETE’S NUMBER! WHAT’S GOING ON WITH U? HAVE TO KNOW.
Caroline contemplated lying, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t like Piper and Michael wouldn’t find out. Caroline had seen Piper only one time since their sushi lunch a few weeks ago, but sex hadn’t come up—and Caroline had been relieved. Now it was time to face the frying pan.
WE’RE MEETING THEM FOR DINNER ON FRI. JUST DINNER!
Caroline hit send and leaned back against the headrest.
Three dots popped up, indicating Piper was typing.
DINNER IS GREAT! HAPPY FOR BOTH OF U. MUST MEET ON SAT. TO DISCUSS/DECOMPRESS! NOT TAKING NO FOR AN ANSWER.
Caroline made a snap decision.
HOW ABOUT YOU COME OVER AROUND 7 ON FRI? I MAY NEED A LITTLE COUNSELING B4 THE MEET.
Piper texted back.
I’LL BE THERE. WILL BRING VODKA.
Caroline answered.
MAKE IT TEQUILA.
Piper wasted no time replying.
THE LIMES AND SALT ARE ALREADY PACKED. SEE U THEN!
Caroline tossed her phone back into her purse and gripped the wheel hard. What in the world had happened to her life in such a short amount of time? A few weeks ago it had been totally normal—a little on the boring side—but healthy and happy. Now? A deep, dark ocean of panic roiled inside her chest, threatening to pull her under. Was she really willing to throw all that normal and happy away for one night of hot sex to fulfill a fantasy she’d never known she craved?
Doubt began to fill her, to the point of overwhelming her. Her head spun, and she got lightheaded. She let go of the wheel and took quick short breaths to calm herself down. “You can always back out,” she murmured to herself. “It hasn’t happened yet. You can just say no.”
Yes, that was it.
She could just say no.
Ducking her head, she peered out the passenger window to see if any of her neighbors were strolling by. This street was a popular way to get to the lake. Even though it was silly, she felt dirty knowing she and Jace were going to have dinner with
known
swingers. “You are
so
incredibly Southern,” she said to herself out loud.
Even if people saw her parked here, they wouldn’t care. Most Midwesterners would assume you had a good reason for pulling over, like talking on the phone or addressing an envelope on the way to the post office. They wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that something nefarious was going on, like cheating on your husband.
But it wasn’t really cheating, if he was there.
Or was it?
“
Argh
!” She shook the wheel in vain, her body moving instead. “Good Lord, this is making me a crazy person who talks to herself in the car!”
She started the engine and edged away from the curb. She wasn’t going to solve anything sitting here. It was time to go home.
Where she could obsess in peace.
* * *
“You look bangin’,” Piper told her. “And I mean that in a totally innocent…okay,
not
-so-innocent kind of way. Honestly, you look amazing. The black sheath at the knee is perfect. It says classy and sophisticated, yet also adventurous. They’re going to love you guys. You need to relax. Here, take another shot.” Piper held a shot glass out to Caroline. “You look like you could use it.”
This was the fourth outfit Caroline had tried on for Piper.
Jace was done getting ready and patiently waiting for her to finish downstairs. He knew she needed this time with her best friend. She took the proffered shot glass from her and walked over to the vanity, where a saltshaker and a wedge of lime were laid out. “This is the last one, Piper. If I have another, I won’t be able to form a coherent sentence once I get there.”
“Incoherent works,” Piper chirped from her perch on the closed toilet seat, legs crossed. “It’s not like you’re going to debate world peace. You’re going to be chatting about light topics, just to get to know each other. Everyone wants this to be easy and fun. And I’m telling you, this will be a huge turn-on for Emma and Pete. They
love
meeting people for the first time. I think you’ll get a sexy vibe from them right away.”
Caroline licked the salt she’d sprinkled on the outside of her hand, downed the shot, then bit into the lime. She exhaled slowly and set the shot glass down on the counter.
“What kind of sexy vibe?” she asked, turning toward Piper. “Please don’t tell me they’re going to be obvious about it. If anyone realizes we’re out with them to interview them for sex, I’d die a million deaths. Do you think Bella is a bad choice? Too well-known? Maybe we should’ve gone to another city?” She wrung her hands.
Piper stood, putting her palms out in front of her. “Okay, I’m going to need you to step away from the freak-out. Bella is great. It’s local, but it’s huge and bustling with activity. No one—and I mean
no one
—is going to think you’re there for any kind of lewd activity. When I said sexy vibe, I didn’t mean they were going to manhandle each other at the table in front of you. I just meant you’re going to think they’re sexy
together
. They give off a very charming, raw appeal. Now take a deep breath. Jace is waiting. It’s seven forty-five, and you need to skedaddle.”
Caroline physically forced herself to calm down.
She was allowing herself to get too worked up. Piper was right. This was just dinner with another couple. Nothing was going to happen. No one was going to know. She and Jace had talked of nothing else for the last two and a half days. She
knew
all that, she just had to convince her brain to be on board.
There was a soft knock on the bathroom door. Jace edged it open with his hand. “You ready to go, Care?”
Caroline straightened and met her husband’s gaze. “I am. The alcohol is kicking in, and I feel a little…less insane.” She turned toward Piper. “Thank you so much for helping me get ready.” She gave her friend a quick embrace. “I couldn’t have done it without you. I’d be hunkered down in my PJs watching reruns of
Lost
if you weren’t here right now. Chickening out is my go-to in stressful times.”
Piper returned the hug. “Try not to worry so much, Caroline. This is going to be fantastic. And the best part? Nothing is going to happen tonight. Hopefully, you’ll come back from dinner with a definitive answer about whether you’re ready to jump into the wild world of group sex. And who knows? You might realize this is not what you want after all, and you’ll sleep like a baby tonight. But whatever you decide, I get a debriefing tomorrow! And I’m going to need you to remember all the little bits. Those are the best parts.” Piper giggled as she patted Caroline on the butt affectionately. “Go, have fun.”
“I’ll certainly try,” Caroline said. “If my neuroses don’t get in the way, I just might have fun.”
“That’s the spirit!” Piper smiled.
“This is going to be a piece of cake,” Jace said from the doorway. “We’ll just treat them like new friends and nothing more.”
She and Piper followed Jace out of the bedroom.
Caroline stopped to pick up her shoes, a beautiful pair of black high heels with a tiny row of rhinestones across the toe. She’d done her hair in a conservative chignon, and had added a simple pair of pearl earrings. They all headed downstairs.
Piper made a beeline for the back door, waving. “Have fun, you two!” Then she was gone.
Caroline picked up her purse and walked to her waiting husband. “You look beautiful,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “Are you ready for this?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
* * *
His wife was so nervous, he felt her vibrating. Jace was having second thoughts about going through with this as he held on to the crook of Caroline’s arm, steering her through the crowded restaurant as they followed the hostess to the table.
Even though they’d spent weeks debating if they should do it or not, now that it was here it felt surreal.
Thankfully, the Slaters appeared to be in the very back of the restaurant. Bella was upscale Italian, and the décor was big leather booths and lots of red.
“Here you are,” the hostess said, laying down two menus across from a beautiful couple who were seated in the booth opposite them. “Enjoy your meal.”
Pete was on the end and rose halfway out of his spot to shake hands. Jace reached over and took hold, while directing his wife to slide into their side of the booth. Pete’s grip was firm, but not overly so. “Jason Stratton,” Jace said. “Nice to meet you. This is my wife, Caroline.”
Caroline was pale, but she gave a nod and uttered a quiet, “Hello, it’s nice to meet you both.”
“This is my wife, Emma,” Pete said, smiling.
“It’s so lovely you could make it,” Emma said as Jace took his seat next to Caroline, resting his hand on her thigh to reassure her. “We were so happy to get the call. We’ve been friends with Michael and Piper for quite some time, and any friends of theirs are friends of ours.”
Emma was very poised, Jace noted as he organized himself in the booth. She had long, red hair and creamy skin. It looked as though she never went out into the sun. She wasn’t his type, but he could appreciate her classic beauty. Pete was medium height, blond, and obviously worked out. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in a day or two. The guy looked like he’d be at home in the surf.
The Slaters already had drinks, so Jace raised his hand to get the waiter’s attention. His wife was going to need more alcohol to get through their meet and greet. The waiter rushed over. “What can I get you, sir?”
“One scotch, neat. And a gin and tonic.”
“Do you prefer any particular brand of alcohol?” the waiter asked.
“Macallan and Tanqueray, if you have them.”
“We do. Coming right up.” He turned and left.
“So, are you guys originally from this area?” Pete asked easily. “We’re both Midwesterners, but I’m originally from Illinois, and Emma is from Kansas.”
Jace let go of Caroline’s leg and draped his arm behind her and replied, “I grew up on a farm about an hour outside of Madison. After high school I went to play football at the University of Georgia, which is where I met my wife, who’s originally from South Carolina.”
“I played baseball for USC.” Pete smiled. “What position did you play?”
“Quarterback.”
“Impressive,” Pete said. “I played shortstop for the Trojans for three years, then a knee injury benched me indefinitely. It was a hard thing to give up.”