Unspoken Pleasure

For the next few days, despite the fact that we didn't talk about what had happened, our conversation kept rambling through my mind. I soon found out that Kate had been ruminating on it, as well.

It happened on a Wednesday night. We'd gone out for dinner with my work friend, Brian, and his wife, Vanessa. It was one of those meet-cute couple dates where we tried to see if maybe we could be more than people who shared a job. We met at a new restaurant, a former diner that with a retro 50's style and cheeky offerings like 'deconstructed mac and cheese' and 'impossible meatloaf.' The place was loud and bustling -- far too hip and trying way too hard for the simple suburbia that surrounded it.

Brian and Vanessa were a nice enough couple. They were younger than us by a few years and clearly from a more popular crowd. Brian was athletic, shorter than me but well-built, with close-cropped dark hair. His wife, Vanessa, was a very pretty blonde with one of those shining smiles that must have taken years of practice to get just right.NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.

Both of them were dressed nicely, wearing clothing that I would have reserved for a far more formal evening. I felt a little beneath them, if I'm being honest. But Brian was a super nice guy and we never lacked for conversation at the office, so why not play up a little, you know?

Dinner went normally at first. We did the usual tentative talking that comes with two couples feeling each other out. No, neither of us had kids. Yes, we all liked the area. And hadn't the weather been crazy lately?

Then, right after we ordered our food, Kate, sprinted past the warning signs, vaulted over the safety gates, and leapt right into the conversational deep end.

"You won't believe what my sister said to me the other day," she said, eyes wide like she could barely contain them. Immediately, I knew where she was going with this, and I glanced around the restaurant nervously. This wasn't exactly polite dinner conversation, but Kate seemed weirdly excited to share it.

Right there, to people she'd met only an hour before, Kate reviewed all the sordid details of what her younger sister had told her. How Jesse had sat Tara down very seriously and said, without a hint of embarrassment or propriety, that he wanted them to be intimate with another couple. Kate really went into it, providing loads of detail that she hadn't even given me. What Jesse had said, how Tara had responded, a real blow-by-blow. Then Kate sat back in our booth and waited for Brian and Vanessa to concur with her condemnation.

Instead, Vanessa only nodded. A little smile played across her lovely, heart-shaped face. "I've done that," she said, as casually as though she were talking about going windsurfing or eating escargot.

I glanced over at Brian, but he just looked at his wife with a slight smirk, wrapping one muscular arm possessively over her shoulder. To that point, the only things I knew about Brian were that he was a jock in college, he now worked over in sales, and he was a huge Yankees fan. Suddenly, I realized that information wasn't nearly enough.

"I had kind of a wild college experience," Vanessa continued. "It's not a big deal. I've found that, if you're with the right people, that kind of thing can be a lot of fun."

Kate gripped my hand under the table, hard. I could feel her heart pounding through her fingers. She stared at the couple across from us like they'd just told her they smuggled heroin into the country for extra cash. "So, you...?" Kate asked.

"People get way too worked up about sex, in my opinion," Vanessa said, "All of us would be healthier if we could be more comfortable with our bodies. Imagine if, when you got married, you could only ever eat with that one person. What if they were a vegetarian and you loved meat? What if you were very hungry but they were on a diet? It's all very silly. There needs to be consent, of course. Trust is the basis of everything in a relationship. But if you truly love someone, why would you ever want to deny them pleasure? Despite what our sad, puritanical upbringings have taught us, love isn't about ownership. In fact, I've found it's the opposite."

Brian nodded along, contentedly, as his wife proclaimed the benefits of polyamorous relationships. Again, I found myself wondering about who my work friend truly was. I'm sure Kate was thinking something similar. What kind of weirdos was I associating with at work? I was going to hear about it for sure when we drove home.

"If you'd like, I'd be happy to talk to your sister and help set things up for them," Vanessa said, "Brian and I haven't done that kind of thing in years. But when you've been in the lifestyle, well. I still have connections, is what I'm saying." Kate shook her head. She looked down at the table, defeated, like the world had punched her right in the gut, and all she wanted to do was cower in a corner. I tried to show her she had my support, but she wouldn't even look my way. We spent the rest of the meal talking about other things. Work stuff for me and Brian, mostly. Kate stayed quiet. After dinner, though, as we walked back to our car -- an orange-y moon hanging heavy and low overhead -- Vanessa reminded us of her offer.

"Seriously, let me know," Vanessa said, "I'd be happy to help you out."

Kate and I didn't say a word to each other the whole drive home.