The voting was fairly tied on whether or not to publish now or wait for the contest, but since I'm an impatient hooker, we'll go with now. I have several other stories in the works for the next round of that contest anyway, so here she goes…

Small point of interest here, they're all going to seem like a bunch of callous assholes at first, what with them taking pot-shots at one another's sexual prowess, but keep in mind it's a means to an end. Sometimes life isn't pretty, but that's ok, as long as it's real. And in reality, sometimes people are together for many reasons that have nothing to do with love or sexual compatibility. But don't worry, I'll take care of them in the end.

There is no violence, or over the top meanness in this story, just to let you know. It was supposed to be just sex, and somehow the plot-bunnies commandeered it and ran away. There will most assuredly be sex, however. LOTS of it.

Ali989969 is my beta for this, and I love her dearly!

Disclaimer – Don't own them, wish I did.

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My girlfriend, Pam, and I had always joked with our best friends about switching partners for a night.

Every time one half of a couple would gripe about the other, the standard line from the same sex in the other couple would be, "You think you have it bad? You should deal with the shit I have to!" We'd laugh and tee-hee about seeing if the "grass was really greener in the other pasture" and all that, but we'd never crossed that line.

No until tonight, that is.

Whether it was too much tequila, or too long without feeling Sookie's soft pussy wrapped around me, I don't know. All I could tell you, was that nothing short of an act of God could have gotten me to turn her away.

Pam and Alcide both knew that Sookie and I had been intimate a few times back in college; we'd been forthcoming enough not to hide that. What neither half of our respected couples were aware of is that my connection to Sookie went far deeper than an occasional fuck.

No one made me feel like she did. No one ever had. Her voice, her smell, her touch, the way she worried the end of her shirts when she was nervous, the earth-shattering sex we had… there was something about that woman that went far beyond her best friend status. Something I had never been able to let go of.

Our excursion into swinging began when Alcide made yet another joke about Sookie's cold-fish routine in the bedroom. I wanted to deck the mother-fucker every time he said it. Sookie had always been a hell-cat with me in the sack, always taking as good as she gave; whatever their issues were, I had little doubt they stemmed from him.

Anyway, when Pam decided to complain about how I had become "Mr. Predictability in bed, always the same dull routine," Sookie took up in my defense, changing our lives (possibly) forever.

"What do you mean, dull, Pam? He's gotta be a whole hell of a lot more fun than Mr. Grunt'n'sweat over there," she griped, thrusting her outstretched thumb in Al's direction. "Fuck, it's two licks, half a rub to my clit, clamor ontopa me, and five minutes later I'm a sweaty, unsatisfied mess, with cum running outta me."

I knew she wasn't getting what she needed with the big lug anymore, it showed every time our bodies were within a foot of one another. I could see her longing, feel her need; the fact that her breath would become shallow as she blushed scarlet at every glance her way, certainly did little to hide her desires.

"What the fuck you mean, five minutes, Sook? Don't be starting shit, you know I'm good for at least twenty when you put any effort into it," Alcide growled. I'm thinking Sook was way closer to the mark than he was, judging by the twitch of his eye. Hmmm… someone's manhood insulted there, Al? Or should I say, Minute Man? I chuckled internally.

"Pahleeze, buddy. If I put any more 'effort' into it, I'd be lucky to get thirty-seven seconds outta your ass, instead of the three I'm already stuck with. Fucking hell, thank GOD for waterproof dildos, or I'd be a fuckin' basket case!" she mumbled the last bit, far more loudly than she'd probably intended.

"Is that why you hop right up to shower after every time?" he growled again. I was beginning to wonder if I should buy him a collar and some Alpo for Christmas this year, he was behaving like such a dog.

"Well whadya think happens, huh? The orgasm fairies swoop down from the fuckin' sky and finish me off when you start snoring like a lumberjack three seconds after you heave yourself offa me? Damn, Al, I knew you were the stereotypical size of a meathead, but I never really thought you were as dumb as one. Wake the fuck up!" she spat.

The conversation was taking a dangerous turn; too much more shit-slinging, and their relationship would go up in flames. Not that I'd necessarily be opposed to her being back on the market, but considering I'd recently moved in with Pam, it complicated things a bit. Deciding to steer the conversation away from such sensitive subjects, I turned my attention to my own inadequate lay.

"Predicable, you call me, dear? That's rich. Anytime I make an attempt at something different, you tell me to hurry up. You have shopping or some other shit to do. And Christ knows I can't talk to you during sex, 'that's dirty'. If anyone in this room is a 'cold-fish', darling, it's you."

"I'm not some common whore, Eric. I know where you're going to put your dick, I don't need the fucking play-by-play," she snarked, her lips curled into an unattractive sneer.

"Perhaps not, but maybe an enema wouldn't hurt, Pammy. You're looking a tad constipated over there," Sookie teased, though I could tell she was only half-kidding. "Dirty talk is awesome! Sexy, raw, and such a fuckin' turn on," she sighed longingly.

I knew she was remembering some of our nights together by the look in her eyes. Truth be told, so was I. And the animal stirring behind my zipper seemed to be more than onboard with my trip down memory lane.

"Well, little miss sunshine, if we're all so fuckin' miserable with our standard bedmates, perhaps it's time we finally did something about it," Pam offered offhandedly, obviously thinking she'd end the discussion with her suggestion. Normally, that would have been exactly what happened.

Not tonight, however.

"I'm game if you are, I haven't had a good dickin' in forever," Sookie shot back, earning a shocked "huh?" from her partner.

"Look, we've joked about this long enough. We're all adults here, and I'd like to think we're good enough friends to muddle through the awkwardness that's sure to come afterwards, but maybe if we finally switch teams this tension between us all will stop," she proposed.

"So… you want me to let you fuck my boyfriend? For real. In front of me. While I fuck yours?" Pam asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I do. Listen… obviously none of us are completely happy with what we've got at home currently, right? It's why we're always joking about swinging, isn't it? I mean, at the heart of the joke is a real issue, or we wouldn't keep coming back to the same argument after taking shots at one another all night. And it's not even just when we're drunk. It's all the time, especially lately. Maybe if we finally do this, we'll rediscover how good we all have it in our own beds?"

I had little doubt that the only thing we'd be discovering if we went through with this was that Sookie and I were still as compatible in the sack as we'd ever been, and that this was a recipe for disaster. But, did that stop me from nodding my agreement?

Umm… no.

No, it sure fucking didn't.

What?

I'm a guy, who's still in love with a girl that I have to watch be all over another man, All. The. Fucking. Time.

So sue me. I had been dying to feel my everything all over Sookie since, well… forever.

Now, that's not to say I didn't love my girlfriend, because I did. I just wasn't sure that I was still in love with her.

"Are you really okay with watching me give 'the beast' to your little friend here, Sook?" Alcide asked with a sly grin, as if he expected her to come to her senses.

"More than, honey. Take Fido for a walk in someone else's yard for a change," she offered back, her voice as sweet as honey laced steel. "I'm gonna go play with the big dogs for a spell," she declared as she rose from her chair and slithered into my lap.

A little growl broke free from my throat as she wound her legs around my hips, and I cursed the chair-back for existing and keeping her sweet heat away from my aching dick. It didn't matter that we were still fully clothed, I'd have sold my soul to have felt her pressed firmly against me in that moment.

"I don't remember agreeing to this, there sweetie," Pam warned.

"No, dear, but since you are the one that suggested it, perhaps you should have thought father ahead," I offered.

"Really, Pam," Sookie joined in. "Did you expect to offer up Eric on a platter forever without me finally throwing myself at the buffet?" she asked as she wound her fingers into the soft hair at the back of my neck, scratching ever so lightly. The fact that my hips thrust forward slightly at the sensation could not be held against me, and should be completely ignored.

"I… I don't know what I thought," she admitted. "Is this really what you all want?" she asked, looking around our group.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I do think Sook's onto something here. We've danced around this subject for years. And while it's always been obvious that she and Eric have some lingering attraction to one another, I'd be a fucking liar if I said I'd never wondered what it would be like to be balls deep inside of you, Pam," Alcide admitted in a huskier voice than I'd expected.

Maybe this would actually fucking happen? My mind screamed, while praying simultaneously to every God it had ever read about for the chance to feel Sookie around me again.

"I, too, must admit that I'd don't find you unappealing, Alcide," she responded while gazing into his eyes. Now that surprised me, I had to admit. I never expected flannel and a beard to get Pam's motor running.

What shocked me more was how little the revelation bothered me. Especially since the times I've allowed myself to think of Alcide's hands on Sookie's body, I've contemplated murder.

Sometimes, it was the little things that told you everything you needed to know about what you wanted in life.

And as Sookie's mouth found mine in our first kiss in more than eight years, I knew precisely what that was.

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This was just to set the stage. The next chapter gets into the nitty-gritty of it, and chapter 3 is where the lemonade stand set itself up.

Love and hugs to all – thanks for taking this journey with me!