“We did you a favor?” Emma looked skeptical. “You don’t have to go that far.”

The waiter arrived at the table. “Can I get you a drink, ma’am?”

“Sure,” Emma said. “I’ll take one of those.” She pointed at Piper’s martini. After he left, Emma continued, “But honestly, I’m so glad to hear everything turned out for the best for you guys. I hope giving you the video was okay. It was our little token of good faith.”

Piper couldn’t help but snort. “You mean the video they watch daily? The super sexy one that she won’t let me near? I think it was more than okay.” Piper saw a blush form on Caroline’s cheeks, but she didn’t want to embarrass her friend or make this too awkward right off the bat. “Okay, so I know it’s a little strange, all of us being here together after sharing very intimate things together. But that’s also why it’s so great. And necessary. We’re the ones who can help each other when the going gets tough, and I don’t want it to be weird. I hope you guys will be okay with being here together.”

Caroline answered first. “I’m totally fine with it.” She told Emma, “Yes, the video was very welcome, thank you. It helped this work in progress gain some much-needed perspective.”

“It’s settled then,” Piper said. “We’re all works in progress, and we’re here to learn to better handle our lives, so they don’t handle us. That sounded kind of poetic, don’t you think?” Piper smiled at her friends as she lifted her glass. Tonight she’d gone with a house martini. It had some sort of berries floating on the surface and was delicious. “To girlfriend therapy.”

“To girlfriend therapy,” Caroline chimed in, clinking her glass against Piper’s.

Emma held up her water glass. “To girlfriend therapy.”

Before Piper could say anything more, the waiter returned with Emma’s drink and took their order. Once the waiter had left, Emma propped her elbow on the table and picked up her drink. “So I heard the tail end of what you were saying when I got here. Someone was finally excited, and you didn’t want to put a damper on it. I’m assuming you were talking about your sex life?” She chuckled as she took a sip of her drink. “Oh, this is tasty.”

“I was indeed talking about my sex life,” Piper said. “I’m not sure I’m actually capable of talking about anything else. But in the future we might want to try to mix it up a bit. We could get bored talking about nothing but sex.”

“Mix shmix,” Caroline said. “Sex is why we’re here. When we get old and gray, we’ll talk about the mundane stuff. But right now, I want the goods. I can see you’re struggling a little with this, Piper, and I love you. I want to help—we want to help.” She gestured across the table and smiled.

“I agree with Caroline. We’re here for the nitty-gritty,” Emma said. “Though I could talk about my neighborhood all day long.” She chuckled. “But that would be ninety percent about sex, too. Just not my sex.”

Piper appraised the beautiful redhead with one eyebrow raised. “You’re going to have to spill about your neighbors at some point, because Lord knows we want to hear all the details. I mentioned to Caroline that it was like real-life Desperate Housewives up there, but first I’ll fill you in on my wild Saturday night with Michael.” Piper related the story to Emma, leaving nothing out, because that would defeat the purpose. “So, after the strap-on sex, we had this great meeting of the minds, and then more sex after, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I couldn’t keep up this kind of pace. Planning isn’t as spontaneous as one would think.” She winked at her own joke.

“Wow, that sounds totally hot,” Emma said. She fanned herself with one hand as she took another drink of her martini. “I understand why you wouldn’t want to ruin the moment. Even though it probably wouldn’t have spoiled it like you think it would’ve. Michael’s such a great guy, and like I told you before, at the end of the day, all he really wants is to make you happy.”

“I know he does,” Piper agreed. “But we’ve had this weird roller-coaster sex life for so long, and we’re doing so well now, I’m scared to lose this new thing. I’m more connected to him now than I ever have been—even while we were dating—and if inventing a top-ten list every month is what it takes, I’m in. I have to be in. There is no other choice. Even though that will make me an overwrought housewife.”

Caroline shook her head. “It’s not your only choice, because I don’t think he expects that from you. He’s likely in the same boat—tired out from trying to up the ante each time. It has the potential to exhaust both of you more than satisfy you.”

“I know,” Piper said. “But the movie-theater sex was amazing, and he was really excited about it. It was short and sweet, but so sexy and unexpected. It pushed all the right buttons. I don’t want to take that away from us, or tell him I’m not interested just because I’m not cut out for long-term planning. That’s lame.”

“Pete and I have done it in a movie theater a few times,” Emma said. “We’ve had one totally hot session, but when we tried it again, about a year ago, we had this totally awkward encounter with an old guy! He stared at us the entire time.” She laughed. “We kept it on the down low, so I don’t think he knew for sure, but he suspected. Sometimes these things are hit or miss. Here’s a thought: Why not have a ‘Hot Friday’ once a month or something like that? You guys can take turns coming up with something out of the box. And if you skip one, you can always have a quiet movie night and see where it leads you.” She smiled. “Sometimes those can get the raunchiest.”

“Is that what you guys do?” Piper asked Emma. “Am I overthinking this? That wouldn’t be usual, believe me. Maybe I’m off the mark and it will morph into something normal.”

“You’re not overthinking things,” Emma replied. “I get worried a lot, too. Pete and I go in spurts having great sex, like I assume most people do, and then sometimes not. But to be totally honest, our sex life has revolved around other people for so long, it’s at the point where it all blurs together. I’ve been wanting to change things up for a while, but I’m still on the same course because I don’t want to ruin a good thing—same as you. I can give you advice, but will I take my own? That remains to be seen.”

“Are you telling us you’re sick of the lifestyle?” Caroline asked Emma, a little wonder in her voice. “Is that why you want to change things up?”

“Yes and no.” Emma paused, her fingers playing with the stem of her martini glass. “It’s hard to put into words, exactly. I really love the art of sex.” She glanced up at the women. “Piper and I have had this discussion recently. I love watching others have it. I love being wrapped up in the moment, but that’s all it’s become for me. Just one moment. Once it’s done, there’s a void with no feelings attached. I think the road I’m on is slowly killing my love of sex.”

Piper patted Emma’s hand. “We’re not going to let it kill anything. That’s why you’re here. I’m so glad you made it tonight, because we’re totally going to help you fix it.”

Emma smiled at her. “You’re so nice. I’m glad I came, too.” She picked up her drink. “But I didn’t come here tonight to drone on about my problems, especially when you’re right in the middle of figuring out yours. I want to help you first. You and Michael are charting this new path together, and it’s so exciting! It really is. And I don’t think you should worry too much about the when and where of it all, but focus more on the intimacy. You love risk-taking, but you also love the connection you get from it. If Michael wasn’t your perfect match, this might not work. But you guys are so in sync. It’s a beautiful thing to watch unfold.”

The waiter came and set down their food.

Caroline dug in first, taking a bite. “Oh, this is divine.”

Piper had ordered a seafood pasta. “I love this place,” she said as she took a forkful. “Going back to your prior comment, I do love the connection I’m having with my husband so much. It’s kind of a surprise, because that hasn’t been our norm. It shouldn’t be strange, but sharing our feelings is not typical for us. On Saturday we both admitted we were spoiled and selfish before we became a couple. I think shedding the old us and trying to create a new us together has been harder than we thought. But my biggest fear, now that we’re having so much fun, is ending it because I can’t be bothered to plan anything.”