“Oh my God, you’re totally missing out,” Cassie said, “It’s so much fun.”
“Cheating,” Allison said, “It’s fun.” She said it flatly, without a hint of emotion, yet I could feel her judgement wash over me like an ice-cold wave.
“It’s not cheating,” Cassie said, cheerfully, “Jack’s there. Or he’s given me permission, you know, to play. We both do it. Share, I mean.”
Emily looked at Jack like she’d just found out he’d done time for murder. Her face was the picture of betrayal mixed with a pinch of apprehension.
“Cassie’s a young woman with a young woman’s appetite,” Jack said, “I can’t always keep up.”
“Oh please,” Cassie said, “You should see the hotties that he picks up.”
For the first time all evening, Jack looked embarrassed by what someone had said. He turned away. Wait, was Jack actually blushing?
“It keeps the relationship fresh,” Cassie said, “Exciting.” She realized we were all still looking at her with disbelief. “It’s like this,” she said, “Right now. This isn’t cheating, right? We’re all having fun together. So, what’s wrong with that?”
There was a pause, the group all clearly considering what Cassie was saying. This is different, I felt like arguing. But was it? After all, I’d kissed a woman who was not my wife and she’d grabbed my dick. My wife had kissed another woman’s husband and groped him, as well.
I guess, in my head, there was a difference between flirty fun and what Cassie was talking about. But I’d be lying if I said I could tell you exactly where that line was or how we would agree on who had crossed it.
“I think we should get back to the game,” Mike said, breaking through.
“Whose turn is it?” Allison asked.
“Hang on,” Jack said, “Cassie never got to do her thing for winning.”
“Oh right,” Cassie said, “Well, in the spirit of what we’ve been talking about, I think we should take things up a notch.”
Wait, seriously? How many more notches did she think we should be going here? I was already wobbly from the heights we’d climbed.
“I think Allison should show us her boob,” Cassie said.
“Why me?” Allison asked, not sounding totally displeased.
“I mean, if Emily wants to join in, she can,” Cassie said.
Emily giggled nervously, turning red. She was already pretty crimson so, at that point, my wife was practically glowing. So yeah, clearly, Emily would not be taking her top off anytime soon. I can’t say I wasn’t relieved to see the return of my more prudish wife right then.
“Why not?” Cassie asked. “Trust me, the way the night’s going, you won’t be the only one.”
“I don’t know,” Allison said, remarkably calmly. As if this was a perfectly reasonable request requiring careful consideration. “This is Disney. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
Cassie made a show of looking around. The hot tub was surprisingly secluded. And it’s not like we’d been interrupted at all so far.
“Take it off!” Mike cried out, ever the supportive husband.
“Just like, flash us,” Cassie said, “Pop it quick. No big deal.”
Allison rolled her eyes. This was a challenge, Cassie had thrown down the gauntlet, and the athletic blonde woman knew it.
“Go for it, babe,” Mike said, “Like Cassie said. No big deal.”
For a moment, I thought that Allison was going to take a swing at her husband. Instead, she casually reached for the side of her bathing suit and pulled it aside, like opening a curtain. One pale, round breast – even smaller than I’d have supposed — peeked out. The nipple was pink and crinkled. A second later, it was gone. Safely returned to its proper place.
I was too taken aback by the appearance of Allison’s tit to be aroused by it. Too stunned to truly get a glimpse. Her breast was there — cute and tantalizing and kind of incredible — then gone again.
“See?” Cassie said, “Fun.”
“Very fun,” Mike said, his voice cracking.
The energy of the tub changed. I could feel it, like a warm wind rolling over me. From what we’d been doing, from what had just happened. From Cassie’s big reveal about her marriage, and Emily’s confession about our own. From the alcohol. From everything.
It felt dangerous. A live spark running too close to powder. I was certain things were only going to get more explosive as we went forward and it left me torn between excitement and concern. I very much wanted to grab Emily and get out of that hot tub. I very much wanted to stay and see what would happen.
Suddenly, the lights around us went dark. A deep male voice echoed across the pool area. “Ladies and gentlemen…”
“Fireworks,” Allison said with a gasp. “I forgot you can see them from here.”
We all turned around in the hot tub to face the lake. In the distance, Cinderella Castle shone even brighter than before. Music swelled loud around us. The sky lit up with color. We oohed and ahh-ed at the impressive display. The pops of bright pigment punctuated each powerful note.
Roughly ten minutes later, the show ended in a dramatic flourish. But the momentum of our own, private performance was lost. Our drinks were empty. Even the hot tub started to feel lukewarm. It says a lot about the evening we were having that a full-on fireworks display was the cut-off, rather than the climax.
“I think it’s time for us to go back to our room,” Allison announced, “We have an early wake-up in the morning.”
The three of us nodded in agreement. Though I noticed Emily’s gaze lingered on Jack. And Mike was looking longingly at Cassie.
We got out of the hot tub, grabbed towels from a nearby stand, and dried off, then got dressed. After all of our suave flirting, this felt particularly awkward and clumsy. All of us stumbling around getting ready to go.
We said quick goodbyes (no kisses this time, just little waves) and agreed that we would get together again if the opportunity arose. My rational mind greatly doubted that we would see Cassie and Jack again, but my intuition told me a very different story. Too many coincidences not to knot it all together.
We walked back to our longhouse in weary silence. I expected there’d be conversation, or at least an attempt at a postmortem. But no one spoke.
Emily was clearly feeling the alcohol; I had to save her from stumbling a few times. Allison and Mike didn’t banter or jab, they just marched arm-to-arm, lips tight, like marines on a mission. I was used to being comfortable in quiet. And yet I found myself wishing that someone would speak.
We went to our room, opened the foldaway bed, and went straight to sleep without a word. Somehow, there was nothing left to say.