Kim and Emily kissed her lightly, one on each cheek.

“Is everything okay?” Kimberly asked.

Connie nodded. “He had some last-minute jitters, but they’ve been soothed.” She closed the door quickly and took her guests’ coats. “He’s just showering right now.” Emily was wearing another beautifully tailored suit, while Kim was casually sexy in her jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. Emily carried her briefcase; Kim’s tote bag clanked.

Kim suddenly giggled. “I feel so — naughty!”

Connie shut the door of the foyer coat closet and turned to her, a stern expression of her face. “Well, I should certainly hope so!”

“And what have you been doing prior to our arrival?” Emily asked, a hint of a smile playing about her lips.

Connie stood hip-cocked, one arm hugging the opposite shoulder — and, incidentally, with her forearm cradling her firm breasts through the negligee — braced her other elbow in the crook of her arm and rested her chin on an extended finger. She looked toward the ceiling. “Well, let’s see…We had dinner at Four Seasons and went for a walk past his old apartment and then came home and I sucked his cock in the car and then I had him fuck me in the living room, standing up…right there!”

She dropped her hands to her sides. “And, gosh, since then I’ve just been waiting hours for you to get here.”

“Someone is in a terribly silly mood tonight,” Kimberly told Emily. Emily nodded gravely.

They heard the shower stop and the three women looked at each other expectantly.

“I have never done anything like this before,” Emily whispered.

“Me, neither,” added Kimberly. “I’m a little nervous.”

“So am I,” Connie confessed, “and I’ve done this before…but not with Jerry.”

“Hey, honey!” Jerry yelled down the stairs. “What should I wear?”

Kimberly stifled a giggle. “What should he wear to an orgy?”

“Uh, just your jeans and that blue-and-green sport shirt,” Connie called. “Or come as you are — “

All three collapsed in laughter.

Jerry’s muttered “Oh, shit…” was barely audible, but it was enough to prolong the laughter.

Five minutes later, he came down the stairs. Connie’s eyes widened. He was wearing her favorite jeans, the old, faded ones that clung to his legs and crotch. It was obvious that he was bare underneath them. The sport-shirt was buttoned only halfway, revealing enough of his well- muscled chest to remind her of his strength. The shirt wasn’t tucked in. His hair was still damp and tousled from the shower and he was barefoot. He knew how this particular appearance affected her and he’d done it on purpose.

Glancing at her two lovers, Connie knew he was having the same effect on them. She felt a sudden swelling of pride in and love for her husband. He actually stuck his hands in his pockets and hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, looking down in the kind of unaffected Aw Shucks gesture that was so shocking in such a smart, tough, accomplished man. To Connie, it was a glimpse at the essential Jerry, the uncertain little kid who still lived inside the grownup success. The window was closed almost as soon as it opened. He pulled his hands from his pockets and stepped up to the trio.

“Jerry, this is Kimberly — “

He somberly took her offered hand and shook.

” — and Emily.”

“An unexpected pleasure, Emily. Kon-ban-wa. O-genke desu-ka?”

She smiled and bowed slightly. “Kon-ban-wa. Genke-des.” And then she uttered a quick stream of Japanese.

He answered in kind. Connie stared.

“Your accent is very good,” Emily said.

“Domo arrigato. You are too kind. Certainly, it’s been too many years and I was not skilled when I practiced it regularly. Thank you.”

For the first time, he took note of Connie’s stare. “What?”

“When did you learn to speak Japanese?”

He shrugged. “About five years before I met you. I was going to Tokyo for a conference and planned to turn it into a vacation.”

“You learned to speak Japanese on a vacation?”

“No, no, no.” He laughed. “I took a couple of Berlitz courses, first. I figured if I was to be a guest in the country, I should learn enough of the language to get by and make friends.”

“And you never told me?”

“You never asked.”

“Oh.” She smiled. It was brittle. “Well, let’s sit down — ” She gestured toward the sectional. “Jerry, maybe we could have a fire tonight?”

“Sure.”

A silence fell over the quartet as the three woman sat, Kim and Emily side by side. The logs were always laid in the fireplace and it took Jerry only a few minutes to get a respectable flame licking at the seasoned wood. He closed the firescreen, stood on the semicircular rug in front of the hearth and turned to face the women. The two guests looked about with growing nervousness while Jerry’s hands twitched as if he were about to say something and then thought better of it.

Connie cleared her throat. It was loud in the silence. “Well, uh, I don’t know, uh — “

“Can I get anyone a drink?” Jerry asked. All three looked at him intently. “I mean, you’re our guests and I want to be a good host and… Well, what the hell am I *supposed* to say?”

Kimberly suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh, something suave and self-assured,” she blurted when she’d calmed a bit. “Like, uh, ‘Anyone wanna fuck?'” She began laughing uncontrollably again.

Emily was the first to be infected by Kim’s outburst. At first, she tried to restrain her mirth; then she demurely covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. In seconds, she was unable to catch her breath. The peals of laughter rang out. Jerry blushed at first before he, too, started laughing. Connie was the last one to catch the bug.

Kim calmed enough to say, “I have a nicely chilled wine in my tote bag.”

“Would you uncork it and get some glasses, honey?” Connie said.

“No problem.” He seemed grateful to have a mission. As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, Connie rose and went around the room, turning out the lights. The only illumination was the light through the kitchen door and the flickering glow of the fire.

Connie leaned over the back of the sectional, between the two women. Her nipples were hardening. Kim noticed and raised one hand to cup Connie’s breast through her camisole and negligee. Connie’s eyes half-closed and she whispered, “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

“I hope so,” Kim responded and giggled.

Emily slipped out of her tweed jacket and leaned over to lightly kiss Kim’s cheek.