The Mountains Trilogy (Boxed Set)

by Phoebe Alexander

  He opened the navy box and nestled inside was the most unique, stunning ring that Sarah had ever seen. The band was rose gold filigree and in the center was a pale, brilliantly faceted oval pink diamond encircled by a halo of tiny white diamonds.

  “Will you marry me?” came the question, deep and sure from the bottom of his heart.

  The “yes” which burst out of Sarah’s mouth startled birds in nearby bushes, and a flurry of flapping wings took to the air as if to punctuate her acceptance. She was so elated she might as well have been flying alongside them. And James could have joined them all, leading the celebratory charge across the cloud-dotted sky.

  That was over a year ago now, Sarah thought, looking down at her pink oval diamond set in the rose gold filigree band. She wore a simple diamond eternity band underneath. She marveled at how different her ring was from his ex-fiancée’s ring, which was set in platinum. She remembered slipping it onto her finger the night before he left to propose to Maggie and deploy to Afghanistan. She wondered if she’d ever see him again. The night she said goodbye to him, she thought all hope of them ever being together was lost. Yet now here she was, a year later, his bride.

  For that entire time, they had shared their bodies with only each other. Even though Pawel had come to visit, even though they’d been invited to parties, they’d remained monogamous. But now the conversation had been broached and the question of opening up was on the table. Rachel and Jack were hosting their first house party since Amethyst’s birth and James and Sarah’s presence was not only requested, it was more or less expected. The real conundrum was whether or not they would participate in the activities or merely be spectators.

  They both seemed afraid to deviate from the status quo. Sarah approached the topic with utmost delicacy. “It’s entirely up to you, darling. I really don’t care one way or the other. But if you’d like to give it a whirl, we can,” she offered.

  James was equally congenial in his response. “I’m willing to try, but I think we need to establish our parameters in advance. And only if you’re absolutely sure you are okay with it.” He knew that Sarah had not been particularly keen on sharing him once she had finally been his.

  “I guess if we’re going to do it, we should do it now before I get pregnant,” Sarah rationalized. “I think same room only, don’t you?”

  James nodded. “That sounds reasonable. If it doesn’t work out, we can always shelve it again for a while.”

  “So….I guess we’re open for business?” Sarah laughed, squeezing his hand.

  James smiled back. “I guess so.”

  ***

  Abby tried a different strategy during the next class period. She sat in one of the rows closer to the front of the room, hoping that the mysterious girl with the black hair and star tattoos would sit behind her. Perhaps she could casually turn around and strike up a conversation, and her curiosity would finally be satiated. But in disappointing fashion, Star Tattoo, International Girl of Mystery, didn’t even show up to class. Abby forlornly wondered if she’d dropped the course already.

  She fooled around on her phone instead of paying attention as Dr. Gilley enumerated myriad reasons his students were not as good of writers as they claimed. Naturally, he drew his arguments from the extemporaneous essays they’d written earlier in the week. She opened the Whisper app and posted the following: Where are you Black-haired Girl with the Star Tattoos?

  That night at dinner Maddy asked her if she had met anyone interesting yet. Abby immediately recognized that “interesting,” actually meant “hot” or “dateable.” Abby shrugged off the question and boomeranged it back to Maddy.

  “As a matter of fact,” she disclosed, “yes! There is this super hot guy in my chemistry lab. We got paired up and he invited me to a party this weekend. Do you want to come?”

  “I think we’re celebrating my little sister’s birthday this weekend,” Abby explained. “But if her party doesn’t take too long, maybe I’ll go.”

  Maddy’s chestnut brown eyes were on fire with excitement. “What do you think I should wear? Just jeans? Or something more dressy?”

  “Unfortunately, fashion has never been my forte,” Abby confessed. “I’m afraid I can’t be much help in that department.” She looked down at her faded denim cut-offs. They had been black at some point but were now a charcoal gray. And the bottoms were frayed with the white threads exposed. She wore a plain green tank top and an unzipped purple hoodie.

  Maddy looked disappointed. “Well, maybe you could still drop by my room later and let me know what you think looks best?” she asked with a squeaky whine of hope.

  “Okay, okay,” Abby conceded. It seemed that she wouldn’t be getting rid of Maddy any time soon. And I guess that’s okay, Abby decided, because I clearly need to talk to someone. I’m beginning to think Star Tattoo was just a figment of my imagination.

  ***

  Sarah had nervous butterflies in her stomach just like the first time she ever attended a house party as a lifestyle virgin. Her first time, many years ago, it was Rachel’s good friend hosting, and it was one of the last years she lived in her beloved home state of Colorado. Sarah remembered being so afraid she would say something wrong, or not know how to tell someone no, or have a panic attack in the middle of playtime. Everything ended up being fine, of course.

  Rachel kept telling her house parties were “No big deal!” No big deal, Sarah had thought. I’m here to potentially have sex with strangers! That doesn’t sound like “no big deal” to me.

  But in some ways, Rachel was right. She’d allowed her fears and anxieties to pile up, leading to nightmares and worst-case scenarios. But her fears were allayed very quickly. It was a phenomenon Sarah had observed when collecting data from “newbies” to any social situation, not just a house party.

  Furthermore, what she had imagined happening at a house party, along with the type of people she imagined would attend, were worlds away from reality. At that first party, Sarah learned they were all regular people: doctors, lawyers, computer geeks, accountants, cops, nurses, and yes, even teachers like herself. And she discovered that as long as she was respectful of individuals’ rules and preferences, aware of herself and her surroundings, and didn’t agree to anything she didn’t feel comfortable with, it was rather enjoyable.

  The music was pumping through Rachel and Jack’s two story Cape Cod. The couple had just moved in earlier that spring, and everything still looked fresh and clean with new paint, new carpet and shiny hardwood floors. Rachel was in the kitchen mopping a spill off her sparkly quartz countertop. The blender was whirring, crushing ice for margaritas. There were trays of crackers, cheese, fruit and veggies and plates of sweets. Guests were mingling, leaning up against the cabinets, their hands full of drinks and snacks, and their minds beginning to ponder what types of desserts would be on the menu later in the evening.

  Sarah took a deep breath and conjured up her social butterfly persona. I worry about Abby being social enough at college, but my mom’s right, it’s something I’ve had to learn as well. Extroversion has not come easily to me, she considered. She glanced back at James to see how he was managing and saw his blue eyes blazing and his trademark smirk on full display as he moved through the room.

  Then she noticed his eyes had already targeted Felicity, the gorgeous redhead with whom they’d enjoyed their first foursome at Sarah’s birthday party. Sarah’s eyes darted around the room looking for Felicity’s husband, Scott, but didn’t seem to notice him. This was definitely one of the more awkward parts of the lifestyle. Is Scott’s absence a touchy subject? Or maybe he’s just out of town on business? she wondered. It was always better to wait for an explanation rather than asking.

  James made his way over to Felicity like a bullet. And in a flash, he draped his arm around her and whispered something in her ear. Sarah tried to get close enough to hear what was being said, but her path was blocked by an older gentleman she hadn’t seen for a long time. She’d always suspected he had a
mild crush on her, but the way he twirled her around and then popped his lips against hers confirmed it. “Hi, Don,” she said politely, her lips feeling a bit assaulted. “How have you been?”

  “I was just fine until you got here,” he remarked with a facetious smile. His eyes were dark and roaming, constantly shifting down to the space between her breasts, which were on display in a low-cut maroon dress which wrapped around her curves and tied on the side.

  “Oh really?” she scoffed, playfully slapping him on the arm.

  “That’s right,” he confirmed, maintaining his good-natured grin. He slipped his fingers around her wrist and jerked her hand down to his crotch where she felt a rather stiff bulge in his trousers. “Now I’m not fine…I’m hard and want to fuck.”

  Sarah had not remembered him being so aggressive before, but she smelled alcohol on his breath. They don’t call it liquid courage for nothing, she reflected. “Well, I apologize if I contributed to that predicament,” she laughed. “I think my husband and I are only looking to play with couples tonight.” She tilted her head toward James, hoping that he heard her and would come to her rescue. But they were woefully out of practice at sending each other lifestyle-related signals.

  “He looks pretty well occupied with Red from my vantage,” Don schmoozed.

  Sarah shook away her hand and tactfully excused herself from the conversation. She managed to make it to James’s side without impediment this time. She grasped his hand and pulled him close before he even noticed she was standing behind him.

  Felicity nearly knocked Sarah down with a gratuitous embrace. James grinned like a teenage boy discovering porn for the first time as he watched their creamy bared breasts smush against each other. “How have you been? I’m so glad to see you guys here!” she gushed.

  James bent down to tell Sarah he was going to go pour them both a drink. Sarah nodded and returned her attention to the beautiful, statuesque redhead while her mind processed the tingly recollection of how delicious she tasted. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe I’ve been with a woman since Felicity, Sarah thought, quickly fast-forwarding through an imaginary movie reel of memories. As much as she’d initially lusted after Tess in South Pacific, also a redhead, she found her exterior a lot less attractive once she discovered her vapid interior. And although the woman playing Svetlana in Chess had teased her with several blatant innuendos backstage, because Sarah had gone into hermit mode pining over James when the show closed, she’d lost the opportunity to explore that connection.

  “So, Scott and I got divorced,” Felicity said matter-of-factly. “I’m pretty much a unicorn these days, although I did bring my favorite boy toy to the party tonight!” She pointed over to a twenty-something gym rat with a chiseled face and undoubtedly matching body.

  Sarah frowned, then realized she was frowning and worked to brighten her expression. Felicity’s date looked like a student. Not literally a student she recognized, but he certainly looked as though he’d fit in on campus. Sarah understandably avoided partners under the age of 25 due to her line of work. Felicity was likely unaware that Sarah was a professor as lifestyle participants often downplayed personal details such as the particulars of their employment for discretion’s sake.

  A few moments later, Sarah had finished her first drink and excused herself to pour another. She left James with Felicity and wandered off down the hallway deciding to use the restroom first. She peeked inside Rachel’s bedroom and observed her best friend on her knees between the thighs of a petite Puerto Rican woman with a tiny waist and full hips. The latter had her arms stretched out behind her head, eyes closed, and her lips pulled into a tight O. Sarah’s eyes traveled down the woman’s torso and saw that Rachel was inserting a strap-on dildo into the woman while Jack and a few others watched on the other side of the bed.

  Sarah stepped inside a few feet, curious to see how the scene would play out. A mixture of English and Spanish oozed out the beautiful Latina’s lips as Rachel began to drive the silicone cock into her, pulling her smooth, caramel-colored thighs up and bracing herself against them for more leverage. She went slowly at first but then began to pick up speed until her partner’s small, round breasts bounced back and forth on top of her ribcage.

  A few moments later, the woman bolted up, even with the strap-on still buried in her pussy. “Fuck me doggy style!” she commanded and Rachel obliged. Once she had rolled over onto her knees, Rachel slapped her full, curvy ass cheeks and proceeded to slide the faux cock deep inside.

  Jack unzipped his pants and his manhood sprung out from his body, the veins on his shaft nearly pulsating with desire. He used his right hand to stroke himself a few times, then he kneeled on the bed so that he could guide his swollen cock into the Puerto Rican woman’s mouth, which was now hurtling expletives so quickly it was impossible to determine their language of origin.

  She hungrily gobbled down Jack’s member, swallowing it nearly whole so that his small, firm balls slapped against her chin. Meanwhile, Rachel was drilling into her relentlessly, her hands firmly embedded in her bronze flesh, one gripping each hip. Looks like everyone is having fun in here, Sarah thought happily before finally slipping into her original destination, the bathroom.

  She sat on the toilet contemplating how she was going to avoid that Don character for the rest of the night, as well as excuse herself from getting naked with Felicity’s Boy Toy. She had forgotten the intricacies and dilemmas that sometimes cropped up at these parties.

  She sighed as she finished peeing and wiped. She glanced down at the toilet paper just before dropping it into the bowl and noticed a red streak. “Shit,” she hissed half-aloud, half-whispered. My period wasn’t supposed to start for three more days, she continued in her head. Well, now I have the perfect excuse not to play. She grabbed a tampon from Rachel’s stash in the medicine cabinet. But given the choice, I’d rather not be left out.

  Next came the question of what to tell James. Not the period part, but whether or not he should play without her. She supposed she should at least give him the opportunity. Maybe he’ll decide to stay on the sidelines with me, she wondered. You know, the whole solidarity thing.

  But when she advised James of her predicament, he didn’t appear dissuaded from coaxing Felicity into one of the bedrooms. “Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asked.

  In a way she wanted to do the passive-aggressive thing where she told him she didn’t mind with her voice, but with her eyes telling a different story. She took a deep breath and repeated to herself the mantra, “Compersion, compersion,” and followed the pair into the bedroom. Even though it might sting at first, she wanted to be happy watching him take pleasure in another woman’s body.

  She helped Felicity remove her clothes and get comfortable on the bed with her head propped up against the pillows. James, still clothed, watched his wife gently sweep the redhead’s long, wavy tresses away from her face and tuck them behind her shoulder. She then painted her collarbones with tiny, delicate kisses, forming a trail across them and then meandering south through the peaks and valleys of her creamy breasts. She tasted each pink nipple and felt it grow hard between her teeth as she very gently nibbled. Glancing over at her husband, she saw that his body had begun to respond to her actions. He had taken off his pants and rested his hand on the fabric of his form-fitting boxer briefs, only partially covering the erection bulging underneath.

  She enjoyed hearing the breathy moans escaping from Felicity’s parted lips. When Sarah hit a particularly sensitive spot, she’d suck in a sharp gasp of air and then let it out in a throaty gurgle. Sarah’s lips curled into a smile as she worked her way down the redhead’s torso, feeling the silky skin brush against her cheeks. She spread Felicity’s full, smooth thighs and perched on her knees between them. “I’m going to get you ready for my husband’s cock,” she explained.

  Felicity giggled her high-pitched, golden laugh. “I like the sound of that,” she cooed.

  James seconded the motion: “I really like t
he sound of that!”

  Sarah bent to sample the nectar that had pooled between Felicity’s netherlips. She tasted every bit as sweet as Sarah remembered, right down to the slight aroma of coconut and jasmine that wafted up into her nostrils. She drank in the scent of her as she gently sucked her ripening clit into her mouth, eliciting a squeal from above, which was quickly muffled. Sarah didn’t even have to look. She felt the shift of weight on the bed, and she knew that James had stuffed his thick cock down her throat, momentarily rendering her speechless.

  She brought Felicity right to the edge of climax with her skilled tongue and fingers, but then stopped abruptly. The redhead was breathless and frustrated, writhing her hips against Sarah’s face, desperately begging for more. Sarah pulled James down beside her on the bed, then moved aside so he could assume her position between Felicity’s legs. She reached for a condom from the bowl on the nightstand and unrolled it onto his throbbing cock. He moaned as her fingers wrapped around his girth and moved up and down on his shaft, gauging how ready he was to fuck the wanton pussy throbbing mere inches from him.

  Her hand still on James’s cock, she directed him to lower himself while she guided the tip so that it rested between Felicity’s pussy lips. She was about to come unglued, her whole body quivering with her urgency for release. “I think you better give her what she needs,” Sarah advised. She watched James sink his cock into the woman beneath him and listened to her cry out in ecstasy as he filled her.