Fascination Street

by Bridget Midway

  Punctuating Art’s point, Winta, completely nude, strolled by the group standing by the front door.

  Harnessing all of his will and strength, Grant strained not to stare at her body. He loved Zora. God knows he would move heaven and earth for her. But Satan himself must have had a hand at waving this tempting morsel in front of him. To help restrain himself, he held onto Zora’s hand.

  “Honey?” Winta began.

  Without breaking his gaze from Grant’s he answered, “Yes, dear.”

  “Are they going to stay?” She ran her hands down her body, then clasped them so that the union covered her cleanly shaven pussy.

  “We’re talking about that right now.” Art hitched up a smile as though he’d already won the argument.

  “Good, because I don’t want to see them go. I like them.” Winta’s smile came across more genuine than Art’s.

  The nude beauty sauntered from the room, returning to the remaining party on the patio.

  “Perhaps this conversation would go better at your home.” Art opened the front door and stood by it waiting for Grant and Zora to lead the way.

  Grant stopped in front of Art. Art’s smile never faltered. Arrogant, cocky son-of­a-bitch. He wanted to knock the man’s teeth down his throat for proposing such a plan, a lifestyle.

  Instead he huffed. “Fine.”

  Pulling Zora behind him, Grant heard the heavy front door slam which signaled that Art was tagging along. Grant shook his head, unsure of why he would even bother giving this crazy idea another thought.

  Could he actually sleep with another woman, other women, under Zora’s nose? Sure they had joked about it. Now here it was in their faces. And how would he feel knowing that other men enjoyed his girlfriend, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with? Could he handle that?

  He would have told Art to go to hell if Zora had offered any resistance. As it was, she’d been quiet since they’d gotten up from the table. He wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed, repulsed or curious. She’d kept her gaze down to the ground as though unsure of how to walk and where she should place her next steps.

  Grant was sure of one thing. He wouldn’t do anything that would make her feel uncomfortable. Although he’d sunk a mint to get this house, he would take a loss if he had to if it meant making her happy.

  Once at the house, Grant released Zora’s hand as he stood in the living room, unwilling to let Art get comfortable…not that he could. Boxes still littered the room and covered all of the furniture including the couch and love seat.

  “Talk,” Grant said as he kept his arms crossed.

  Almost like explaining the details bored him, Art sighed before responding. “A few years ago, I met my wife.” He paused and strolled around the room. Had to have been for a dramatic effect.

  Grant chewed on the skin inside his cheek while he waited for the rest of Art’s twisted tale.

  “We both realized that we needed a lot of attention. We wanted fun, adventure. We wanted to experience new people and new sensations.” Art closed his eyes as though recalling those carnal moments.

  “Then why marry?” Grant asked.

  The question made Art pop open his eyes and direct his attention to him. “Because we love each other.” He said it so matter-of-factly that it almost made sense. Almost.

  “How could you love someone and have sex with someone else? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

  Art put his hands to his hips. “Okay, let’s put it this way. Say you and Zora jog every day for exercise, right? One day you want to play basketball with your friends and that’s considered exercise. It’s the same thing. I’m not in love with my wife because she can give me a great orgasm. I love her because she’s intelligent, generous, good-natured and honest. If something were to happen to her where she became paralyzed from the neck down, I would love her and take care of her no matter what. And she would do the same for me. That’s love.”

  “You’re bastardizing love to fit in your world.” Grant shook his head.

  “No. You’re serializing it. Love is anything you want it to be. But we aren’t arguing about love. We’re arguing about recreation, and that’s all we’re doing. We’re having safe fun with one another. No one gets hurt.”

  “Are you kidding me with that shit?” Heat circulated around Grant’s head until he thought it would explode.

  “No. We’ve been doing this for far too long. It works for us.” Art picked up an empty box sitting on the couch and set it on the floor. He sat down as though he planned on staying until he won Grant over.

  In turn, Grant undid his cuffs and rolled them up to his elbows. He could argue until the cows came home. Being near the oceanfront section of Virginia Beach, he doubted that any heifers would be strolling by their homes any time soon.

  “We started off with former lovers. But then that got complicated. Some wanted renewed relationships and neither Winta nor myself were interested in breaking up our marriage. We just wanted fun.” Art crossed his legs and settled his hand on the arm of the chair. “Then we thought we would try the internet but we found way too many perverts and deviants. Winta knew Lynia from the gym. Lynia shared some information about her then new boyfriend, about how he’d wanted to bring in more people into the relationship. Winta liked Lynia. I got to know Braxton, or Brax as we call him now. We hit it off and we started swapping wives between the four of us.”

  Zora shifted her weight from one foot to the other but remained in her spot, afraid to make much of a disturbance so that no one would pay attention to her.

  Art continued. “Brax told us about Garland. They travel in the same BDSM circle. Seemed kind of intense having two dominants in the group but we found it to be a good mix. Although we all lived in Virginia Beach, we lived in different areas of the Beach. Getting together sometimes became difficult. So I scoped around for some property. I found my house for sale. It was by itself except for this small house you all are renting. From what I understand, this used to be the servants’ home. Lots of land so I bought it all.”

  “You’re the owner of the land that goes up this street?” Zora asked. Her voice cracked at the opening of the question.

  Art nodded. “I needed a private sanctuary for us all. So I offered to sell Brax and Garland land to put their homes on the property since neither one liked this comparably smaller home. They did. Brax lives to the left of me. Garland to the right. Then your house is by Garland’s.”

  “So you’re also our landlord.” Defeat laced Grant’s tone.

  Art seemed to enjoy that little victory. “In a manner of speaking, yes, I am. But I handle it all through the realty company.”

  Grant glanced at Zora. She seemed mesmerized by the story. Her gaze fixed on Art like he was a snake charmer blowing out a seductive tune.

  “So you had the six of you. Why did you need a fourth couple?” Grant asked, now curious about this whole lifestyle they’ve created.

  “We didn’t. But my wife, my beautiful wife, thought it would be nice to bring in another couple, someone neither one of us knew about.”

  “Why us?” Zora asked.

  “I blame it on fate.” Art ran his fingers through his hair. “Next to my office is a therapist, a sex therapist.”

  Art bounced his gaze from Grant to Zora as though trying to pick up a look or an expression.

  “One day during lunch, the therapist and I were talking. He didn’t mention names or even the patient’s sex, but he said that he knew someone who was a dear friend of his and that person was looking for a house to rent or buy. Whoever this person was seemed like they would be the right fit for our group. So I passed along the house info to my friend. He must have passed it along to you all. I talked to your realtor and told her that I would lower the price of the rent to get you all in here and even offered a rent-to-own clause.” He let out a long breath. “So that’s why you’re here.”

  Grant pointed at Art. “No, we’re here because we found a house that we liked. Our application wa
s approved and we were allowed to move in here. We didn’t sign up for some sex fest.”

  Art stood. “That’s the bonus of being in this house. Isn’t it great?”

  Grant turned his back on his delusional neighbor.

  “So would you like to see the contract pact?”

  Just as Grant said, “No,” Zora said, “Yes.”

  He stared at her. What was she thinking? Did she actually want to consider doing this?

  Art’s smile widened as his gaze swung like a pendulum from Grant to Zora. “I see at least one of you is interested.” He took his cell phone from his pocket and punched two buttons. “Bring the contract and the questionnaire over to their house.” He closed the phone. “Please take careful consideration of what we’re offering. Believe me. It’s better than Disneyland.”

  “You seem awfully sure of yourself that this would be something we would want to do,” Grant said, maintaining his tough stance.

  “If my instincts are right, and they usually are, you’ll do this because you’re just like me.” His gaze fell on Zora. “You’ll do anything for the woman you love and kick yourself later when you find out that she was right.”

  Art turned to the door but then stopped. He pivoted to face them again. “Now I wonder who’s been seeing the sex therapist. Grant?” He stared into Grant’s eyes but he didn’t budge, didn’t break. “Zora?”

  She, however, did turn her gaze down to the floor.

  “I’ll talk to you all later.”

  Grant slammed the door behind him and paced. “The nerve of that guy. He’s got some major balls on him to come in here and snoop into our personal lives like that and offer us some whacked-out sex plan. Did we step into ‘Fantasy Island’ or what? Where the hell is Tattoo?”

  Zora stepped lightly to the couch and slid down, sitting in the same spot that Art had occupied. The cushions still held his warmth. She ran her hand over the arm of the chair. Leaning her head back, she caught the faint scent of his cologne, something musky with a citrus base.

  She opened her eyes when the room became silent. Grant had stopped marching back and forth and he’d halted his rant. Gazing at him, she saw the confusion cover his face.

  “So how long?” he asked.

  She didn’t have to ask him to elaborate. “It’s not what you think.”

  “What should I think when I hear, from a stranger, that you’re seeing your ex behind my back?”

  Her gaze dropped.

  Grant lowered himself by her feet and grabbed her hands. “Are you still in love with him?”

  It tore her heart to shreds to hear him question if she loved the man who had broken her heart a year ago. She ran her hand down the side of his face.

  “Absolutely not,” she said. “He called me up one day out of the blue and said he had to tell me something. He wanted to meet for lunch.”

  He tightened his grip on her hands. “And?”

  “And he’s gay. I should have known something was wrong when he stopped touching me the last few months in our relationship.”

  Grant’s grip loosened.

  “He wanted to apologize for misleading me and hurting me when we’d broken up.” She framed Grant’s face and made sure he looked into her eyes when she made her next statement. “I told him I was completely happy now with you and I wished him luck on his future.”

  “So no problems in the bedroom between us?”

  She smiled. “I want to shout from the rooftops every day I’m with you and tell the world how happy you make me. That’s probably why Art picked us. Have you noticed how happy the other three couples are? No one seems dissatisfied with their mates.”

  He turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. “Do you really want to do this? I know you said you wanted to add some spice into our relationship.”

  “This would do it, wouldn’t it? Maybe we shouldn’t totally turn our backs on the idea.” Her voice dipped down to a deep octave. “I must admit, the idea of you giving another woman head does turn me on a little.”

  “You want to have sex with other men?”

  “I want us to live our lives to the fullest.”

  He looked pensive, taking everything in and processing it like a good accountant.

  She nuzzled her face by his ear. “Baby, you have my heart. Everything else is just…basketball.”

  That got a chuckle out of him. The laughter was interrupted by someone turning the doorknob, then a knock on the door. Grant stood and looked through the peephole.

  “Jesus H.” He put his hand to the door and lowered his head.

  “What is it?” Zora’s heart sped to a rate she never thought it could go. She put her hand to her chest.

  Grant stepped to the side. In walked Lynia, wearing only a fitted corset around her waist, exposing her breasts and vagina, and a thick, black leather collar around her neck with connecting chains that attached to the matching black cuffs around her wrists. She appeared content despite being half-naked.

  Her nipples jutted forward, ringed by her petal pink areolas. Just like with Winta, she was clean-shaven as well.

  In her hands she held two packets of papers. Without a word she handed one to Zora and the other to Grant. Then she lowered herself to the floor and sat on her haunches, her back straight and her eyes facing the bare wall across from her.

  “What the hell?” Grant glanced down at his papers.

  Zora looked over hers. ‘Fascination Street agreement’ read the heading. So Art wasn’t kidding about the agreement. Flipping through the papers, she glossed over the questionnaire, something else Art had promised. It wasn’t until she passed page twenty of it that she knew Art and the rest of the folks had meant business. This wasn’t an ordinary, fun lifestyle. This was a way of life for them. After seeing the naked bodies of two of her neighbors, she wondered if she would have to have her pussy hair-free as well.

  Grant combed his fingers through his hair. His pacing started up again.

  “Okay, fine, tell whoever that you gave us the paperwork,” he said to Lynia, who sat motionless. “Zora and I will look it all over tonight and maybe tomorrow and give you all an answer then.”

  Nothing. Lynia didn’t say a word, didn’t blink, didn’t stir.

  Grant stormed around to face her. “Did you hear me? I’m telling you you can go. You don’t have to sit here and wait for us.”

  She didn’t look at him. Lynia continued staring straight ahead as though she didn’t see him, as though she could look right through him.

  “Shit, honey, a little help here.” He glanced up at Zora.

  “Maybe she can’t go home until she has the completed forms,” Zora said.

  That answer got Lynia to smile slightly. Zora guessed she was on to the right answer.

  “Are you kidding me? This is the heavy they send over to coerce us into filling out these forms?” He laughed. “Fine. Stay here all night like that, a week. I don’t care. I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” He headed for the bedroom then turned back. “You coming?”

  Zora stared at Lynia. The strength it took for her to parade around in that outfit, then to sit obediently to wait for their answer no matter how long it took awed Zora. Her love for Brax must have been tremendous.

  She peered up at her frustrated boyfriend. “I’ll be there soon.”

  Grant threw his packet of papers on the dining room table and stormed to their room. After Grant shut the bedroom door with a noticeable force, Zora removed her sandals. Picking up an ink pen on the coffee table, she started reading and filling out the questionnaire.

  “I’ll try not to have you waiting here all night,” she said to Lynia. “Hopefully Grant will come around.”

  Still not a word.

  Zora answered questions she never thought she would see on an application. What was her favorite sexual position? Did she like multiple partners at one time together or would she rather have a one-on-one situation? Was she strictly hetero or did she do the bi thing? She answered them all as honestly
as she could.

  Some of the questions erupted the flow of molten lava between her legs. Did she enjoy oral sex? How large of a penis pleased her? Was she into length or girth? Did she like to be watched? Was she more submissive or dominant? At that question, she glanced at Lynia. Zora wanted to leave that question blank but instead she answered that she wasn’t sure.

  The last page of the questionnaire and two hours later, Zora answered her last probing question. She closed the packet and set it on the floor in front of Lynia.

  “One down,” Zora said.

  Lynia smiled but kept her gaze focused ahead.

  Zora leaned down. “Would you like some water or something to eat? I promise I won’t tell Brax if that’s against the rules.”

  The smile drifted from Lynia’s face. She didn’t answer, didn’t move.

  Zora nodded. “Good night.”

  She headed to the bedroom, not knowing what to expect. Would Grant be awake and waiting to hear what she’d done? Would he want another argument or just concede?

  A sleeping Grant greeted her when she stepped into the bedroom. Their lamp that sat on the bare hardwood floor emitted a strange, dim light in the room. If nothing else, she was at least glad that they got the bed set up. Way past exhaustion, Zora stripped and got into her standard long t-shirt. After turning off the light, she slipped in behind Grant and wrapped her arm around his waist.

  He was a good man. He would do the right thing. She kissed the back of his neck and was acknowledged with a grumble. Yes, he would do the right thing. ***

  Grant winced with each creaky step he took toward the kitchen. Finding it hard to sleep even after Zora got into bed, he decided to get himself something to eat.

  Sure, eat. That was the excuse he would have given to Zora had she asked him what he was doing if she woke up when he got out of bed. But since she’d slept through his movements, he didn’t have anything to explain…to her.

  As soon as he hit the living room, his gaze fell on the petite beauty trussed up in leather and steel chains. He stared at her for a while. Her back faced him. The corset gave her an hourglass shape with a tapered-in waist and accentuated her round bottom.