One sultry Saturday afternoon, we were all gathered around the pool when Abbey changed the dynamic again. I was walking by her lounge chair on the way to refresh my beer when she reached out and patted my ass as I walked past. I stopped and looked at her. “Really?” I asked.
“Why not?” she responded.
I got my beer and she patted my other cheek as I walked back to my seat. Mia had noticed. As I sat down, she asked me if what she thought she saw was accurate. “She patted my ass … twice,” I confirmed.
“What does that mean?” Mia asked.
“I have no idea, I said. “But I probably owe her an ass pat.”
“Or two,” Mia added. “Don’t wait too long.”
My opportunity came quickly. Abbey walked by my chair on the way to the pool. She was closer than necessary and I took it as the opportunity it obviously was. Mia elbowed me as a reminder. I patted Abbey’s ass as she walked by.
She stopped and turned her body to put her other cheek in range. I patted her other cheek. She giggled and continued walking to the pool.
“Damn,” commented Mia. “What is that woman up to?”
“I could guess,” I suggested.
“So could I,” agreed Mia. “Are you okay with it?”
“Abbey is an attractive woman. All of you are. If she’s looking for something more, I don’t have a problem with it assuming you’re okay with it too.”
“You’re a man and I wouldn’t expect a different answer,” Mia said. “Jim is an interesting man,” she added.
“Is that the same as agreeing to something more?” I asked.
“We need to talk … later,” Mia ended the conversation.
Late afternoon, we were walking through our backyard with Jim and Abbey on the way back to our homes. As we neared our patio, Mia asked Abbey if they could talk. Jim continued to his house, I went inside ours and Mia and Abbey sat at the table on the patio. They were there for almost twenty minutes before Mia came inside.
I had changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Mia was still in her almost not there bikini. We sat at the kitchen table. “Abbey is definitely on a path that you might find exciting,” she said.
“She told you?” I asked.
“More than that,” Mia said. “She and Robin talked about it and they’re in agreement. They’re just not sure how to proceed.”
“And you agree with them?” I asked.
“In principle,” Mia confessed. “What they’re thinking has merit. Abbey, and to some extent, Robin, shared that sex with her husband is less intense than it once was. She and Jim talked about it and they decided that some variation might be helpful. Obviously, that led to a conclusion that us and the Bennetts were possible participants. She’s already discussed the possibly with Robin and she was planning to talk to me.”
“We’ve been here before,” I said.
“We have,” Mia agreed. “Our concern at the time was the possibility of pregnancy. We agreed we didn’t want children before we were married. That decision carried over into our marriage. You had a vasectomy after we got married to ensure I didn’t get pregnant.”
“And you had your tubes tied when the possibility of sex with another man was developing,” I added.