“We just kept talking about it, kept the conversation open. The simplest answer I have is because we love each other very deeply. And what it all boils down to in the end is it’s just sex. It’s not love.” Piper rested her elbow on the island, a slightly amused expression on her face. “About a year after the very first time, and all the angst was behind me, I was ready to try it again. And the second time—lemme tell you—was much better than the first. I knew what to expect, and the experience was greatly improved. Michael and I have since learned to make our own rules on the way over, and we always stick to them. With the couples we interact with, we can only do it once or twice a year. It takes a lot out of us to be with them. But, like I said, the payoff is fantastic. When I watch him with someone else, it’s hard to describe it accurately, but it’s like the biggest vibrator in the world is in my pants. It’s that hot.”

Caroline didn’t want to admit to herself that she was turned on by Piper’s confession, but she was. She wasn’t interested in having a liaison with Piper and Michael, but hearing her friend talk about voyeuristic sex was stimulating. You’d have to be dead not to feel anything. “Why is it hard to be with the other couple more than once or twice a year?”

Piper shook her head. “Because they’re much more adventurous than we are, especially one couple. They’ve been doing it a lot longer and have very few inhibitions. Even though there’s never any pressure to perform, sometimes it still feels like there is. If I could change one thing about our entire experience, it would be that we would’ve entered into this lifestyle more slowly. We could have used a little more patience. But I can’t argue with the outcome. It’s been nine years.”

“Wow. That is a long time.” She tried not to feel hurt that Piper had never mentioned anything about this throughout their friendship. These things were very private in nature. She’d been friends with Piper for the last five years, but like any friendship, it had taken time to build. They were closer now than they’d been a few years ago. “But I don’t understand how you could’ve gone slower.”

Piper smiled. “There are ways, grasshopper. You can have sex with your spouse in front of another couple, never touching anyone else. That’s a soft way to enter the lifestyle. That alone can be explosive, the pleasure intense.”

Caroline shivered.

“Or you can just have heavy foreplay with your spouse in bed with another couple who are doing the same thing. That can be erotic, still with no touching beyond your own partner. The guilt is lessened that way. You can actually do it that way for years. Or you can do the foreplay thing with someone else’s spouse, which is not sex, and is also easier to handle.”

Caroline politely coughed into her fist. The things Piper described so casually with other couples was so intimate. It made her blush. “I see.”

“You think I’m a total slut,” Piper said, a small accusation behind her words. “I can see it in your eyes. We’re never going to get through this, are we?” Piper dropped her head back into her hands. “I wish I could go back in time and snatch the words back from Michael’s loud, over-sharing mouth and erase them.”

“No, we’re going to be fine,” Caroline assured her friend. Then she hesitated. “I have something to admit to you, though, and I think it might help.”

Piper raised her head, a hopeful look on her face. “Like what? That you and Jason are actually swingers?” Piper gave out a choke of laughter. “That would totally make my day.”

“No, but I’m not the prude you think I am.” At Piper’s skeptical expression, she continued, feeling more confident. “Yes, I’m from the South, and I generally dress a little more conservatively than you do, but I’m not as innocent as you think. I do enjoy a little…kink on occasion.”

Piper leaned in, sputtering, “Kink? Oh, really? Do tell. What kind of perversions have you and Jason been getting yourself into?”

“Well, I’m particularly fond of anal beads.”

Piper almost fell off her stool. She had to right herself before she could speak, her palms hitting the countertop with a loud slap. “Whaaat did you just say?” She followed that with a bellow of laughter. “You didn’t just say what I thought you did.”

Caroline crossed her arms. “For your information, when your partner pulls them out slowly, during a climax, it adds to the pleasure exponentially. It’s quite nice, actually.”

Piper was laughing so hard she couldn’t respond.

“You don’t have to act so dumbfounded,” Caroline huffed. “I’m a little adventurous, so what? You just told me you had sex with other people. Anal beads are in a tame fifth or sixth place compared to your revelation.”

“Once.” Piper held up her index finger. “I had sex with another person one time. But I can truly say I’ve never had the balls to try anal beads. I thought only hookers used toys like that.”

Caroline arched a look at her friend, and then burst out laughing. “Yes, because hookers are taking the time to find ultimate pleasure with their johns.” She shook her head at her friend. “Anal beads are not the only shocking things in my bedside drawer, either. But after that hilarity, I might refuse to share any more juicy gossip.”

“No, no, you have to spill the goods now,” Piper urged. “This is making me feel so much better. Almost like I’m a normal person again and not some kind of crazed sex addict.” When Caroline didn’t readily reply, she continued, “Please tell me! I can’t stand it. What can be dirtier than anal beads? I must know.”

“Nipple clamps.” Caroline had a chance to look smug. “And Jace has used a cock ring.”

Piper looked incredulous.

“What? We watch a lot of porn—and I enjoy it. Most of the time. Especially one girl with two guys. Double penetration is a total turn-on for me.”

“Oh. My. Goodness!” Piper chortled. “This is like reality TV when the neighbors you least expect have the same shocking secret as you do! This might be the best day of my life. I’m so relieved to find out you have a sexy bedroom life.”

Caroline got off her stool and walked over to the cupboard and plucked out two wine glasses. “I don’t care if it’s only noon. We both deserve a drink.”

“Amen, sister,” Piper agreed, automatically heading toward the wine rack, which was mounted on the wall beneath a cabinet, where she chose a bottle of Cabernet. With the bottle in hand, she walked over, opened a drawer by the sink and retrieved an opener. Caroline set two extra-large glasses on the island, and after Piper muscled the cork out, she poured them each a hefty shot. They picked up their goblets.

“To friends,” Piper said.

“To sex.” Caroline laughed. “And lots of it.”

* * *

Jace opened the back door, and the first thing he heard was tinkling laughter. It was four in the afternoon and he was home early, hoping to surprise his wife. Jace had grown up on a farm an hour away, but his parents had moved to Madison eight years ago. Once Jace and Caroline had finished college and gotten married, they’d moved here so he could go into business with his father, buying and selling farming equipment. He enjoyed it, and it was extremely lucrative. His office was less than ten minutes away, and he was eager to see his beautiful wife. Their morning escapades had stuck with him all day, and he was hoping to coax her into a repeat performance.

He walked into the kitchen to find his wife sitting at the kitchen table with Piper. There were more than a few empty bottles of wine strewn in front of them, along with some empty plates of food.

They were both clearly drunk, and very happy.

“Is this why you didn’t answer your phone?” Jace chided as he strode over and gave his wife a kiss on the top of her head.