Friends With Multiple Benefits

by Luke Young

  “Not right now,” Edward said. “You mind if we finish watching this over here?”

  “No, just keep the volume down. Use the TV in the living room.”

  “Do you have any glasses?” Beverly held up the bottle of wine. “We left them over there.”

  Jim fought his urge to frown and turned toward the cabinet. “Sure.”

  After getting the glasses, his parents made their way giggling toward the living room. Jim stripped off his coat and boots and when he stepped into the living room, he spotted the DVD case for the sex instructional video. Sighing, he quickly turned away and headed to his bedroom.

  Victoria was asleep with Kaylie next to her in their king-size bed. He plopped down beside his wife and tapped her gently on the shoulder. She opened her eyes, smiled, and asked groggily, “Where were you?”

  With his eyes bugging out of his head, he whispered, “The power’s out.”

  “Oh, did you get your parents out of the guest house?”

  “They’re in the living room.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “They’re out there watching one of your videos.” He wore a sickened look. “Some sex toy thing.”

  “Well, that might be a big step for them, but maybe they’re ready for—”

  “And they’re drinking a bottle of wine.” He lifted his hands.

  “Oh, let them have their fun.” She lifted the covers up and patted the mattress. “Come take a nap with us.”

  “Okay.” He frowned then slipped under the covers next to her.

  She lay on his chest and sighed. “Now isn’t this nice?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “There’s nothing better on a rainy day than a nap.”

  38

  Amanda stepped into the foyer just as the rain and wind whipped up again and into the house, spraying the floor. Brian fought the wind and, using two hands and the weight of his body, struggled to close the door. When he finally secured it, he took a deep breath and took in the huge vaulted two-story foyer with its marble floors. Both soaked, the water dripped from the tennis teacher and his star student’s clothes as they stood together catching their breath.

  Gathering her long hair in her hand, she knotted it behind her head and sighed. “Wow, this is some storm.”

  “Yeah, I always dreamed of living somewhere warm, you know, to get away from the snow and cold weather, but dealing with these storms… this is something else.”

  “There really isn’t any perfect place to live is there?” She kicked her shoes off and smiled. “California has beautiful weather if you don’t mind the occasional earthquake, mudslide, extreme drought, and brush fire.”

  They shared a laugh and he commented, “And here it’s like one hundred degrees for three straight months and there is no change of seasons.”

  She placed her purse down on a chair. “Oh, I love the fall. I’m originally from North Carolina, but I went to college in New York. N.Y.U.”

  “Really? Jillian grew up in North Carolina.”

  “I know.” A frown appeared on her face for only a moment before melting away. “I mean, she did?”

  Suddenly the lights went out in the house and the room was lit only barely by the scant light coming from the early evening stormy sky.

  “Let me get a candle.” She headed off.

  He brushed his hands down his wet shirt and shivered as he walked to the window to look out. He called back to her, “How long do you think it will be for the car?”

  There was no reply. Rising on his tiptoes, he attempted to spot the Escalade parked near the bottom of the driveway and he could not see it. When he turned back, Amanda was there handing him a towel. “Here you can dry off while you wait.”

  She placed a small, lit candle on the table.

  “How long did you say it would be for the car?” He dried his legs with the towel.

  “Oh, it won’t be long.” She shrugged. “Make yourself comfortable.”

  Pulling the cell phone from his pocket, he dried it with the towel and placed it on the table. Then he ran the towel through his hair as he glanced once again out the window. “Do you own this house?”

  When he turned back, she was gone. He looked around and finally spotted her carrying a flashlight halfway up on the right side of the double grand staircase. Turning, she called back to him, “I need to change. Can I get you some dry clothes?”

  “Oh, no, I’ll be fine with the, um, towel.” He held it up awkwardly wearing a goofy expression.

  “Okay.” She resumed her climb then disappeared into the hallway.

  He reached for his phone, but it was no longer there. Searching the area, he shook his head confused. “I’m sure I…” He yelled after her, “Hey, have you seen my phone?”

  There was no reply. He picked up the candle and headed through the foyer and into a giant living area on the left. From that side of the house he figured he’d have a better angle to see the car. Once there, he peered out the window and to the location where he was sure the car should be and there was no Escalade. “What the hell?”

  He returned to the foyer and pulled open the door, stepping out to the porch and scanning the area. The wind and rain pelted him once again. Shielding his eyes, he rushed down the driveway about fifty feet for a view of the location of the car and it wasn’t there. The raindrops fell faster now and he ran toward the house. Once he returned inside, he stood leaning against the door mumbling under his breath and draping the towel over his head. “Amanda?”

  There was no reply. He closed his eyes and sighed. “Crap.”

  Picking up the candle, he walked to the bottom of the steps and called out loudly, “Amanda, where are you?”

  The house was eerily silent and darker now that the sun had nearly set. He reached the top of the stairs and looked left then right, down the large hallway with closed doors for rooms on either side. Remembering that she turned left, he headed that way as he hesitantly made his way down the hall. A soft glow was spilling from an open double door entryway four doors down and he headed toward it.

  Upon reaching the room, he spotted a dozen candles burning and illuminating the luxuriously decorated bedroom with its huge king-size bed. He cringed and said, barely audibly with his voice cracking, “Amanda, are you in here?”

  The sounds of water splashing came from the left and through another set of double doors with its own candlelit glow. He cleared his throat and said a little louder, “Amanda?”

  “Brian, I’m in here.”

  When he reached the doorway, he spotted her lounging in the massive bathtub, surrounded by candles in the grand bathroom. A double door was on the far wall and appeared to open to a balcony. The wind shifted and rain pelted the door. Amanda’s body was submerged in bubbles with just her glorious cleavage glowing in the golden candlelight. He turned toward the wall and shielded his eyes. “Um, the car is gone.”

  “That’s weird.” Using a loofah, she scrubbed her neck and shoulders. “Maybe he misunderstood.”

  “Misunderstood?”

  “Or maybe there was a problem with the other car.”

  “But wait, if the car he was driving was working, why didn’t he just use that to take me home?” He turned to glance at her just as she rose on her knees working the loofah around her magnificent breasts. He quickly covered his eyes.

  “Do I look like a mechanic?”

  “Um, what?”

  “Do I look like a mechanic?”

  “No, but…” He shook his head confused. “What does that have—”

  “I don’t know anything about cars.”

  “Okay.” He ran a hand over his face.

  “But hey…” she smiled, “… I’ll call him when I finish here.”

  “All right.” He shivered then wrapped the towel around his shoulders.

  “Why don’t you get out of those wet clothes?”

  “Um, well…” pausing a moment, he pulled at the wet fabric of his shorts then shrugged, “… okay, yeah, do you have someth
ing I could wear?”

  “I don’t have any men’s clothing, but I put out that robe for you.” She pointed toward the sink.

  “Oh.” He made his way blindly toward the sink and picked up the women’s short and silky robe, frowning. “This is really all you have?”

  “Sorry.”

  He pointed to the door. “I’m going to wait, um, outside and—”

  “Don’t.” Slipping back fully into the water, she seductively lifted her leg up and pointed her foot directly at him. “The water is still hot if you’d like to get in and warm up.”

  “No, I’m good, I really just need to get home and—”

  “Oh come on, it won’t be warm for much longer. It’s really amazing how when the power is out the water still works.”

  “Yeah, it’s…” He humored her with a smile. “I think I’m just going to take this and get changed in the other room.

  “I really don’t want to be alone.” She put on a sad expression. “I’m really scared of the storm.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He headed out to the bed and dropped the towel on the floor. Standing on it, he removed his wet shoes and clothing. He slipped the robe over his shoulders and found it was so short that it didn’t hide much that desperately needed hiding. Pulling it down in the front, he hunched over to get full coverage and groaned. “You sure you don’t have anything else?”

  “That’s really all I have out,” she called back. “I still have a lot of stuff sealed up in boxes.”

  He rolled his eyes then made his way to the bathroom. He discovered her facing away from him and languidly running the sponge over her lower back and curvy rear end. He struggled to look away.

  She turned to him. “You sure you don’t want to get in? There’s plenty of room.”

  He turned away, shyly and faced the wall. “No, I’m good.”

  “Okay.”

  “Have you seen my phone? I put it down on the table downstairs and I couldn’t find it.”

  “What’s it look like?”

  “It’s a black iPhone.”

  “Is it this one?” Kneeling up in the water, she held a phone in her hand.

  When he turned to look at it, he got a full view of her naked body.

  “Sorry, I have one just like this and I must have grabbed it by mistake.” She held it out to him. He stepped toward her blindly reaching for it with his head turned toward the wall. When they were just close enough to make the exchange, the phone slipped from her hand and plopped into the suds. “Oh, no. Sorry, about that.”

  She got down on her hands and searched the tub for the phone wearing an apologetic expression. Cringing, he watched in dismay as she kept shaking her head and frowning as the seconds ticked away. Almost twenty seconds, later when she finally retrieved the phone, it was covered with bubbles and dripping wet. She handed it over and he wrapped it in a towel. After drying it a bit, he hit the button and there was no response. He let out an exasperated sigh.

  “Sorry.” She shrugged. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he grumbled as he kept hitting buttons.

  She rose to her feet. “Could you hand me a towel?”

  He picked up a large bath towel and handed it to her while still avoiding looking at her. “Do you really think the car is coming?”

  “Oh, sure. It should be here any minute.” She chuckled as she dried her upper body. “Why are you scared to look at me?”

  “I’m not. I don’t think Jared would like me standing in here with you in the tub.”

  “We’re getting a divorce.”

  “Since I last spoke to you?” He scoffed.

  “We just decided.”

  “But you’ve only been married a couple months.”

  “Hey, it won’t be the shortest Hollywood marriage.”

  He returned a nod.

  She gave him a sexy smile. “You do remember that we’ve already seen each other naked?”

  “Oh, I remember.”

  Pointing to the bottom of his robe, she grinned. “And last time I saw him, he was in a little different state.”

  He glanced down to spot his uncovered penis and quickly covered it up. “Look, Amanda, I don’t know what I’m doing here and—”

  “This is an emergency situation. Sometimes emergencies happen. You were simply helping me get home and the storm got too bad for you to leave.”

  “Really, that’s what this is?”

  “Right now, that’s what this is.” She stepped from the tub and ran the towel slowly down her legs. The candlelight was only making the erotic scene worse and he glanced at her for only a moment before looking away.

  “I need to get home to my wife.”

  “You mean the wife who gave you a free pass to fuck me?”

  “No, that was just a, you know…” he waved his hand at her dismissively, “… a joke.”

  “So having sex with me is a joke?” She shot him an insulted look.

  “No, I mean, just a joke between Jillian and I. She wasn’t serious.”

  “We both know that it wasn’t a joke.” Dropping the towel, she stood close to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’re still shivering. Go take a shower before you catch pneumonia or something.”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  She headed over to the large open shower stall and turned on the water. “Get in there,” she scolded. “And I’ll go look for some better clothes for you.”

  “You will?”

  “And I’ll have my assistant drive you home once the weather lets up.”

  “You have an assistant here?”

  “She’s in the guest house right now.”

  “Okay, I would really appreciate that.”

  She nodded then folded her arms as she waited, grinning at him. “You’d better get in there. Remember the power is out.”

  “Could you maybe go look for those clothes for me?”

  “I get it. Someone’s shy. You’re adorable.” After shaking her head, she turned and walked out of the room.

  39

  Unable to sleep a wink, Jim lay with his wife peacefully nuzzled on his chest for nearly an hour. Kaylie sat up in bed and patted her mother on the shoulder.

  “Hey angel.” Jim smiled at his adorable daughter.

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Me too.” Victoria turned toward her daughter and gave her a kiss. “You want a grilled cheese with extra cheese?”

  “Cheese.” Kaylie giggled. “Cheese.”

  “Will you put the pan on the stove?” Victoria rose to her feet. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”

  “I’m not going out there.” Jim pulled the blankets up under his chin and shook his head, horrified.

  “Why not?”

  “I heard some noises and I’m not going out there until you check it out.”

  “All right.” Victoria rolled her eyes then headed for the door.

  “Grandma and Grandpa are watching a movie,” Jim said. “But when they are done we’ll eat.”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Suddenly Victoria was back inside the room and she closed the door.

  “See, I told you,” Jim whispered.

  Victoria waved her hand at him. “It’s fine.”

  “What’s going on out there?” He shook his head. “No, don’t tell me.”

  “I think they just need some notice.”

  “Notice?”

  “Uh-huh.” Victoria took a deep breath then opened the door two inches. Pressing her face close to the door frame, she called out loudly, “Beverly and Edward, we’re coming out in a minute. We just, um, wanted to let you both know.”

  She closed the door then shot her husband an uneasy smile.

  Jim moved to his knees. “See, they’re even starting to get to you.”

  “No, not really.”

  Jim turned to his daughter. “Mommy and daddy promise we will never act that way in front of you.

  Victoria scoffed. “Last week you had me giving
you a handjob under the blanket while we all watched The Little Mermaid.”

  “That’s completely different.” He made a face. “I was covered and she’s too young to know what we were doing.”

  “Yeah, but she won’t be soon.”

  “And also Ariel is pretty hot, you know, for a cartoon character. I think the Disney people did that on purpose. You were laying on me and stroking my chest. I couldn’t help getting, you know.”

  “That was fun.” Victoria shot him a pointed look. “But I’m serious, that has to stop.”

  “Okay,” he whined then motioned to the door. “Just go check on them. I swear I’m not going out there until I know it’s clear.”

  She headed out the door and Kaylie jumped into her father’s arms. “Daddy.”

  He kissed the top of her head then rose to his feet and twirled her around. “What do you want to do after lunch?”

  “Babies.”

  “You want to play with your dolls?”

  Giggling, she nodded.

  The door opened and Victoria rushed into the room holding a fleece throw blanket by only her thumb and index finger. She held it out in front of her with her arm extended while wearing a sickened look.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “They… They messed up my blanket.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s sem—I mean, daddy juice all over it.”

  “Daddy juice. Daddy juice,” Kaylie began. “I want daddy juice.”

  “No you don’t!” Jim glared at his wife. “Mommy is just being silly. There is no such thing.”

  Victoria brought the blanket to him and was careful to show him the huge stain without letting her daughter see it. “This is never going to be the same.”

  “Remember, you started this whole thing.” Jim frowned.

  “I’m all for exploring one’s sexuality, but when you ruin my favorite blanket, that’s where I draw the line.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “It’s never going to be soft again.”

  “Are they out there?” Jim asked.

  “No,” Victoria grumbled. “I think I heard them in the guest bathroom.”

  40

  Across town, in a much larger and more opulent bathroom, Brian had just finished a quick shower. He dried off then secured the towel around his waist. He listened for a moment and heard nothing so he called out, “Amanda, were you able to find any clothes for me?”