We arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before our scheduled date and were seated inside, near the patio, next to the windows on a beautiful mid-September evening. We texted Laura our approximate location in the restaurant as the table we were seated at wasn’t visible from the hostess stand. She replied that she was running a few minutes late and we prefer to run a few minutes early so we had some time to look over the menus and casually snack on the complimentary fresh baked bread and the herb infused olive oil the waiter delivered to our table while we waited anxiously for Laura to arrive. She arrived about 10 minutes after we did and quickly found our table. We stood and hugged our hellos, giggling with nervousness and anticipation.

The rest of the evening was a blur, mostly I just remember how natural everything felt. The conversation flowed freely and it was like we’d been fast friends for a decade or more. We chatted about our backgrounds, work, family, experiences, and of course sex. Her divorce was recently finalized and she was clearly enjoying the freedom of her new single life, albeit within the realities of scheduling life with the complexities that come with the shared custody of her pre-teen child. She had roughly the same amount of experience with another woman as I had, which was nice as we could learn and explore things together. We had previously talked about the possibility of playing solo, just the two of us, which Matt fully supported – but of course he would prefer to be involved too if at all possible. Typical male.

Cell phones were carefully passed around the table, carefully sharing photos that would have made the waiters blush or could have even gotten us kicked out of the restaurant. Matt’s cum all over my face yet again, her latest boytoy, the Amazon shopping page for our fucking machine. You know, the kind of stuff you share with your new bestie over a plate of spaghetti and a glass of Merlot!

The next 2 hours flew by and as the evening started to draw to a close someone mentioned the possibility of keeping our Thursday evening plans intact but moving the location from the restaurant to her place. I honestly don’t remember who made the suggestion to meet at her place the next night but all 3 of us agreed that it was a fantastic idea! We covered the check and she left a healthy tip for the wait staff and we made our way out to the parking lot to say our goodbyes, knowing that we’d be seeing a whole lot more of each other the very next evening. It wasn’t until halfway home that we realized that we forgot our leftovers on the restaurant table, something had distracted us but I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it might have been. T-minus 21 hours.

For some reason I was unable to concentrate at work the next day. My head was filled with thoughts of the previous evening’s dinner conversation and wondering what the coming evening had in store for us. Numerous texts were exchanged throughout the day and the anticipation was both exciting and torturous, like a kid trying to sleep the night before Christmas, knowing that surprises were in store for the next day but unsure exactly what those surprises might be.

Like the previous evening I rushed home from work to change into something a little more appropriate for the evening’s activities. Matt was already home and had a hot bath ready and waiting so I could freshen up a bit when I got home from work. A couple minutes in the tub followed by a bit of primping and preening and we were ready for our date with destiny. We honestly weren’t planning to do much that evening as we prefer to go a bit slower than most. Certainly, some kissing and it seemed likely that there would be some wandering hands and fingers but anything more than that seemed unlikely. Matt was a boy scout and their motto is “Be Prepared” so we brought our “go bag” with a few essentials; a vibrator, a dildo, some lube, some condoms, and a few other goodies. The plan was to leave it in the car where it could be retrieved if it ended up being needed, just in case.

We gave Laura an updated ETA based on the Thursday evening traffic and made the 45-minute drive from our house to hers; a small single level home probably built in the 1960s on a narrow street in a quant and unassuming neighborhood in a quiet suburb lined with towering mature trees and conservative nuclear families that were likely oblivious to what sometimes happens behind certain closed doors. We parked in the driveway behind Laura’s own vehicle and gave ourselves a little pep talk. “We don’t have to do anything tonight if the vibe doesn’t feel right.” “It’s OK if nothing happens and it’s OK if we end up doing more than we planned; whatever happens happens, so long as everyone agrees and everyone is happy.”

We exited Matt’s vehicle, made our way up the steps to the front door and rang the bell. Laura greeted us at the door moments later dressed in black lingerie and wearing a sheer black robe that was open at the front. She hugged us both warmly in turn. She showed us around her house briefly which didn’t take long as it was very modest but tastefully decorated, the spoils of her recently settled divorce had paid for most of it. We met her dog as he sniffed our shoes and ankles excitedly, no doubt smelling the scents of our dogs and cats on our clothes and shoes. There were assertions that a cat lived there too but we never saw evidence of a cat during that visit. After the nickel tour the three of us retired to Laura’s bedroom which had music playing, the lights down low, and the unmistakable odor and haze of marijuana hanging in the air. The bed was piled high with pillows and the three of us casually flopped onto it simultaneously and chatted for a bit about life, work, kids, relationships, marriage, divorce, pets, television, music, and everything else we could think of to try to fill the silence and avoid confronting the elephant in the room.

To be continued…