“What? I’m hungry.” He finished the slider and grabbed another.
Duke made a beeline for the table. “Likewise, bro. Move over.”
Richard joined them while the ladies stood and watched. Bree said, “I’m not sticking my hand in there. I might not get it back.”
Claudia turned away from the carnage. “Emily, yet again you are looking great. Is this old too?” She flipped her finger through the bow the laces made. “Like from your days as a C-cup?”
Emily said, “Nah. It’s new. Lucas got it for me. Unfortunately, he’s a man and doesn’t know that fitting in the waist doesn’t mean it’ll fit the bust.”
Lucas said, “I knew exactly what I was doing when I got that. Don’t let her tell you different.”
“I’m not letting him buy me any more clothing. If I leave it up to him, he’ll have me wearing half shirts that barely cover my nipples and hip-hugger jeans that end at the top of my thighs.”
“Wait. They make clothes like that?” Lucas relinquished his spot at the table to move closer, appearing genuinely interested.
Emily snapped, “No.”
He looked at Bree and Claudia. “Tell the truth. If those are options, I want to know.”
Bree said, “I’ve never seen anything like that in any store I’ve visited.”
“I’ve seen them online.” Claudia shrugged. “But something like that really needs to be tried on first. If you get the pants too big, they fall off. Too small and you get muffin top, if you can get them on.”
Duke said, “That’s the voice of experience talking. Listen to her.”
Emily wasn’t the least bit surprised Claudia had experience with such risqué clothing. A woman who hosted sex parties once a month wouldn’t be shy about flaunting her body. Meanwhile Emily had to stop herself from fiddling with the front of her romper. It showed a little cleavage. Not a lot. Just the inside curve of her breasts. Nothing to make her so self-conscious and yet she preferred a shirt that covered everything.
Next to Bree’s maxi-length summer dress and Claudia’s capris and peasant blouse, Emily’s romper felt skimpy. The shorts showed too much of her legs. When she wore them, she preferred her shorts on the longer side. To her knees at the shortest and that had been in college. Emily hadn’t worn anything above her calves in longer than she could remember. She should have insisted on a different outfit.
Lucas said, “Maybe I can get Joseph at DIY to order something in for Em to try on.”
“Don’t you dare and I won’t.” Emily couldn’t believe Lucas would mention the toy store. She couldn’t blush hotter if she tried. They were all adults here but that was more about her sex life than she wanted her friends to know.
Bree said, “You shop at DIY? I love that store.”
Lucas gestured to Emily. “That’s where we got that.”
“Really? I haven’t been in forever. Looks like their clothing choices have improved. I’ll have to drag Rich there one day.”
Richard snorted. “Like you could get time off.”
“True enough.”
Emily needed to get them off the topic of the toy store before Lucas brought up the necklace he’d talked her into getting. “Should we start game night?”
Duke asked around a mouthful of ham and cheese slider, “What are we playing?”
Claudia smacked his arm. “Stop acting like you were raised in a barn.”
“Mooooo.”
“Keep it up and you’ll be milking yourself tonight.”
Emily said, “Lucas pulled Trivial Pursuit.” As she thought, several groans met her statement. “It’ll be fun.”
Richard said, “I graduated and moved on to get away from tests like that.”
“If you want, we have the kids’ version too.”
Lucas said quickly, “Don’t go there. It isn’t much better. We played with our kids and they kicked our asses. Horribly. We had to make them think we let them win just to hide our shame. Either I missed those days in school, I forgot it all and didn’t realize or I’m dumber than I think.”
Duke said, “I hear senility is known to set in early for some people.”
“Oh yeah. Let’s see how smart you are after some blunt force trauma to the skull.” Lucas picked up the vase from the corner of the table and beckoned Duke over. “Come here.”
“Boys,” Emily said in her mothering tone. “Play nice or I’ll put you in separate rooms for the rest of the night.”
Lucas set the vase aside. “I would prefer a spanking.”
Duke said, “True that. Time out only gives me time to think of how not to get caught next time. It’s better if you put my pants around my ankles and—”
Claudia covered his mouth. “Ignore him.” She yanked her hand away with a perturbed noise and then wiped it on Duke’s shirt. “Gross.”
“Love you too.” He forced his way close to kiss her cheek despite Claudia shoving at his face to keep him away. They both laughed.
Emily felt a little jealous at how playful they were together. She couldn’t remember the last time she and Lucas had been so easy with each other. They acted close when they had an audience but their usual was arm’s length and no more touching than absolutely necessary, which meant a peck on the lips every now and then.
She stifled a sigh. Three weeks into summer without the kids and nothing to show for it except getting reacquainted with their friends. She would need to do something drastic soon if she wanted to get their relationship back on track before the kids returned. This was the time they could be honest with each other, get everything out in the open without fear of upsetting or alienating their children. But she was too much of a chicken to start the conversation.
It wouldn’t happen now, so she decided not to let it ruin her mood. She headed for the ottoman where the game box sat. “Let’s get started. This will take us a while.”
Bree asked, “Are we allowed to use our phones?”
“No phones. We’re playing teams. Lucas and I figured that should up the odds of us coming up with answers.”
“Not likely.” Bree settled on the couch with Richard beside her.
Duke plopped onto the easy chair and pulled Claudia across his lap. Emily ignored the twinge of envy and knelt on the floor. Lucas sat beside her with enough of a gap that another person—if there was another person—could sit between them. She debated scooting closer to him but vetoed the idea since it would bring attention to how far apart they were.
After setting up the board and assigning colors, Emily started the game. As predicted, it took up the whole night. The food was gone and the players exhausted by the time Bree and Richard were declared the winners.
Duke groaned as he sagged against the couch. “I’m out. Good game, everybody.”
The others offered incoherent mumbles of agreement. Emily surveyed her guests sprawled over the couch and floor, feeling her share of the fatigue. Using her brain shouldn’t tire her out this much. She might need to sign up for some classes to exercise the one part of her she thought was in pretty good shape.
She asked, “Did you all want to stay over? We have empty beds.”
Claudia pushed to her feet on shaky legs. “We’re good. We need to get home before our daughter thinks we abandoned her and thus she’s allowed to take over.”
Richard said, “Same here.”
Emily had to brace herself on the ottoman to stand up and then lean against it to stay on her feet. Maybe she shouldn’t have sat on her knees the entire time. But her legs weren’t asleep. This was the aching associated with exercise. That didn’t make any sense.
Lucas was the only one who wasn’t affected. He was all smiles as he walked around the living room with ease, cleaning up and straightening furniture. “When should we schedule the next game night?”
Duke said, “We’ll get back to you on that.”
“You do that.”
Emily and Lucas saw their friends to the door, offering goodbyes and warnings to drive safe. Once they were a
lone, Lucas returned to his cleaning while Emily went to the couch. She eased onto the cushions with a relieved sigh. “Why am I so tired?”
“Rough game.”
“Not this rough. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
“So go to bed. I’ll finish cleaning up.”
She glanced at him. “You sure?”
“Totally. Go on. A nice soothing bath and a good night’s sleep will make it all better.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” She headed for the bedroom before Lucas changed his mind. In situations like this, Lucas usually left her with cleanup. She would get the house in order while he played on his computer or watched TV. This was a nice change that fit with his new attentive attitude.
He was making an effort. Emily needed to as well. She had to get over her apprehensions so they could sit down and have a no-holds-barred conversation about their marriage and its future. She didn’t think divorce was on the horizon but she didn’t see them getting any closer either, not without forcing confrontation of their issues.
“In the morning,” she whispered to herself. She was too tired to do anything except sit in the tub and let the water fill in around her. Next game night they were going to play something a little less strenuous, like Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land.
She rested her head against the back of the tub. Despite her tiredness, she’d enjoyed the evening.
Lucas knocked on the doorjamb. “Don’t fall asleep in there.”
“I won’t.” She was lying. She was half sleep already. Lucas would wake her up so she didn’t worry about it. “In the morning.”
* * * * *
What Actually Happened…
Emily headed for the Trivial Pursuit box sitting on the ottoman. “Let’s get started. This will take us a while.”
Bree asked, “Are we allowed to use our phones?”
“No phones. We’re playing teams. Lucas and I figured that should up the odds of us coming up with answers.”
“Not likely.” Bree settled on the couch with Richard beside her.
Duke plopped onto the easy chair, pulled Claudia across his lap and Lucas sat on the floor next to Emily. She got the board set up, assigned colors, and then picked up the dice. “Let’s roll to see who goes first.”
Lucas said, “Snip-snip out.”
Emily stopped short of letting go of the dice and looked at him. “We’re not really playing this, are we?”
He chuckled. “Not even a little bit.”
Duke heaved a sigh. “Thank God. I thought you were going to tell me this was for real.”
Lucas gathered up the board. “I had to set it up for Em’s sake. It’s easier to plant the suggestion that we played this all night instead of what I’ve really got planned when I have props.”
“What’s the real game?”
“Charades. Everyone on the couch.”
Duke urged Claudia to her feet and stood up behind her. Shooing Bree and Richard to get them to make room, Duke and Claudia sat beside them. Emily parked herself on Duke’s left thigh since the couch was full. He shook his leg and gripped her ass.
Claudia said, “Behave.”
“Not going to happen. She’s in hypno-mode. That means we’re allowed to play.”
Lucas returned with a wide tray that he set on the floor off to the side. “Not yet, you don’t. The name of the true game is charades.” He looked at Emily. “You’ll remember a night full of difficult questions and laughing at outrageous answers. At the end, Bree and Rich win.”
“Got it.” Emily scooted back along Duke’s leg so she could nudge against the bulge in his pants.
Duke asked, “Why do Bree and Rich get to win?”
Lucas said, “Because Bree wasn’t here last time and she’s on Rich’s team. Do you really want to waste time arguing about who won a game we’re not really going to play?”
“Fair enough.”
Claudia pointed to the tray Lucas had put down. “Is that a hot dog bun?”
“Indeed it is. Along with a few of Em’s toys.” Lucas grinned. “In this game of charades, props are allowed. The no-talking rule still applies. All the answers are idioms.” He pulled cards out of his back pocket. “And I prepared the cards already. There’s a pile for Em and the pile for the rest of us. Everyone with me so far?”
Everyone nodded.
“Good. Em.” He held out his hand.
She pulled away from Duke, who huffed. She blew him a kiss.
Lucas gave her one of the cards. “You start.”
Bree said, “Wait. Are we doing teams still?”
“We’re not keeping score. The person who guesses correct goes next.” Lucas sat on the easy chair. “Ready?”
“Sure. I guess.”
Richard patted Bree’s knee. “I told you how this all works. Just go with it.”
Bree nodded.
Lucas pointed to Emily and she read her clue. She indulged a little laugh before returning it to Lucas. “I take it you’re the observer slash judge in this.”
“That I am.”
“Figures.” She faced her audience. Since she and Duke had already started having fun, she decided to use him as her prop.
Emily straddled his lap, framed his face with her hands and pressed her mouth against his. Duke reciprocated the kiss with fervor. He cupped her ass, pulling her close so his erection pressed against her mons. Too bad her clue wasn’t different because she would love to make their position more intimate.
Richard asked, “Is this part of her charade?”
Lucas said in an amused tone, “Yes.”
Bree said, “Kissing.”
Emily pulled away from Duke and nodded. When he tried to continue, she wagged her finger at him. He let out a frustrated grunt but sat back. Emily retained her seat as she leaned toward Claudia, who met her halfway. Her intention wasn’t to kiss Claudia despite the woman’s eagerness.
Turning Claudia’s head so she faced away, Emily pretended to whisper in Claudia’s ear. She alternated between flapping her hand like talking lips and pointing to herself.
Richard clapped once. “Kiss and tell.”
Emily said, “Right.”
Duke tugged Emily to his chest. “Good job. Now let’s pick up where we left off.”
Emily laughed as she fended him off, putting a hand over his face, as he attempted to resume their kiss. “Duke, it’s not your turn.”
Claudia said, “Yes, Duke. Play the game.”
“I want to play with Emi.” Despite his words, he settled against the couch. “Fine.”
Emily got off his lap and then situated herself between his legs. “You’ll get to have more fun. The night’s still young.”
“I better.”
Richard rose, took the card Lucas held out, read it and then gave it back. “That is way too easy.”
Lucas said, “They get harder. I stacked the deck to ease us into it. Stretch a little before doing strenuous activities.”
“If you say so.” Richard faced the couch. With a roll of his eyes, he lifted his left leg and shook it.
Claudia asked, “Shake a leg?”
“Got it in one. Your turn.” Richard retook his seat.
“You’re right. That was too easy.” She looked at the card Lucas gave her after she got up. “So’s this.” She went to her purse, dug through it and then tossed two pennies onto the ottoman.
Bree groaned and said, “Putting in your two cents.”
“Got it.” Claudia sat down.
Duke asked, “Maybe this wouldn’t go as fast if we weren’t allowed to use props?”
Lucas said, “I thought you were in a hurry to fuck my wife.”
“Shutting up.”
Bree got her card, walked over to the nearest wall and started acting as if she was writing on it.
Emily and Duke said in unison, “Writing on the wall.” They laughed together.
“You got it.” Bree returned her card and reclaimed her seat.
Duke asked, �
�So do we both take a turn?”
Lucas sifted through the stack. “Nope. I’ve got a few cards just for this situation.” He held out the card in question.
Emily took it and showed it to Duke, who grinned and said, “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Let’s get to it.” He started undoing his pants.
He had them around his ankles before Emily could tell him how she wanted to play out their charade. She shrugged. At least his underwear was correct.
She ran her one finger along the waistband while pointing at it with her free hand.
Richard said, “Banana hammock.”
Emily shook her head.
Bree said, “Tighty whiteys.”
Emily and Duke both made the keep going motion.
“Underwear.”
Claudia said, “Briefs.”
Duke pointed at Claudia and Emily sank to her knees. Standing proud like his erection, Duke had his fists on his hips as Emily hooked his underwear and slowly pulled it down.
Bree said, “Caught with your pants down.”
Before either Emily or Duke could shake their heads, Richard said, “That doesn’t have the word briefs in it.”
“Oh, you’re right. Um…”
Claudia said, “Caught with your briefs down.”
Emily and Duke shook their heads. Emily pulled Duke’s underwear up and then down again.
Richard said, “Being debriefed.”
“Yes!” Emily released Duke’s underwear, leaving it around his knees.
Duke kicked off his pants and stepped out of his underwear. “They’re coming off sooner or later. I choose sooner.”
Lucas pointed behind the couch. “Condoms in the chip bowl, like last time.”
“Gotcha.”
Richard got up from the couch while as Emily sat down and Duke retrieved a condom. He got and read his clue and then asked, “Ready?”
Emily said, “Go for it.”
“I was hoping for a little help with this one.” He glanced at Lucas. “Is that allowed?”
Lucas said, “Em can be a prop.”
Emily got to her feet. “What do you want me to do?”
Richard gestured to the ottoman. “Lie down, if you please.”
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