Chapter 8: July ll

TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2007

"So you decided to keep the face paint?" I drawled with a smirk as June arrived in her cube and set down her computer bag.

"For now, at least," she replied, shooting me a quick glance.

I shrugged. "Works for me. Gives me something nice to look at all day."

June shot me a look as she pulled her laptop out of her bag. "Are you implying that I wasn't nice to look at before?"

"Are you implying that you ever cared whether or not I found you nice to look at before?"

June blinked and blushed, not sure how to respond to that.

Point: Ben!

Rather than dock her computer, she held it with both hands and gave me a curious look. "Why ARE males so drawn to makeup and clothes? I mean, I understand that they are, but why?"

I shrugged. "Sex, obviously. We're hard-wired for it. Didn't you learn about hormones in Sex Ed?"

"My parents held me out of Sex Ed on account of my young age, remember?"

"Oh, right. But you still learned about male mating instincts, right?"

June shook her head. "Mating instincts are just a lame defense guys make left and right to excuse their boorish behavior."

"Partially, sure. But that doesn't mean we don't have them. I'd like to think I'm civilized enough to look beyond mere physical appearance and recognize an individual woman for who she is inside, but if you were to put a camera on my face 24/7 and use computer analysis to measure my eye movements you'd find that I still automatically glance at pretty faces, exposed cleavage, and nice asses whenever they pass through my peripheral vision. You're my friend and I value you for who you are, but most likely I'm going to find myself involuntarily glancing at your face more often now because I happen to find it more aesthetically pleasing than before. Much like a stray thought, it doesn't have to really MEAN anything, and I certainly don't intend to ACT any differently around you. But ... well ... it is what it is."

June furrowed her eyebrows as she scrutinized me for a second. "So ... you find my face more aesthetically pleasing than before?"

I took a deep breath and shrugged. "Sure. It's like when the girls drag me to the mall to go shopping and they try on new outfits and ask for my opinion. I've no problem saying, 'That looks good on you' or 'That one doesn't really flatter your hips'. So ... yeah, I like the way the makeup enhances your face. I am curious, though: Did you do it yourself?"

June shook her head. "No, this is Eve's makeup and she applied it for me. Her clothes too, actually. We're the same size."

I nodded.

June blushed as she stared at the floor. "She said you spent enough time checking her out at the restaurant that she figured it would be best to make me look a little more like her. She said you started ... uh..." June's blush deepened.

"She said I what?"

June glanced around to see if anyone was nearby before leaning in and whispering, "She said you started... 'eye-fucking' her the moment you walked through the door."

I chuckled and shook my head ruefully. "Yeah well I probably did at that. Stray thoughts ... But it doesn't mean I'm going to do anything about it. And she's probably used to getting 'eye-fucked' everywhere she goes."

"But why you, with your whole harem and five girlfriends? Surely she can't be as sexually attractive to you as Adrienne."

I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. Male instincts to procreate with every female."

"And my present appearance increases your interest in procreating with me? It engenders positive feelings from you and causes you to be more inclined to go along with whatever I want?"

I blinked, danger warnings going off in the back of my head. "What are you getting at?"

"Sex sells, right? Exposed cleavage causes a man's eyes to involuntarily glance down while simultaneously stimulating a hormone rush that tells the man to do whatever it takes to make the woman happy and microscopically improve his chances of having intercourse with her, even if she's married or taken or simply won't give him a snowball's chance in hell of ever doing so. Women who advertise their sexuality are more likely to get what they want, even if they never actually 'put out', as the phrase goes. So if -I- become more like them, I'll be more likely to get what I want, correct?"

"June, I think we're getting--"

"Do you think I should be like most other woman who dress in a similar manner to attract male attention or not?"

"I think you should dress in a manner that makes YOU feel comfortable about yourself."

"Says the man who invited his girlfriend over for lunch in order to suggest she help him give me a makeover."

I held my hands up defensively. "Again, the makeover was Adrienne's idea."

"One that you agreed with."

"Having options is never a bad thing, but I'd never pressure you into--"

"Do you like me better with makeup and these clothes or not?"

With danger warnings going off in the back of my head again, I held my hands up and gave June a measuring look without verbally responding for several seconds. I wanted her to cool off a bit and make sure that she'd let me say what I had to say without further interruption, and when she sighed, crossed her arms over her chest, and relaxed her posture a little bit, I finally spoke.

"Like I said: I think you should dress in a manner that makes YOU feel comfortable about yourself. I don't want you to think that your present appearance changes anything about our relationship. I don't want you to stop wearing makeup and nice clothes out of a fear that I'll say or do something inappropriate, nor do I want to pressure you into continuing to wear these things for the sake of being like anyone else."

"Answer the question: Do you like me better with makeup and these clothes or not?"

I took another deep breath. "In a polite society, stuff like that shouldn't matter."

"Oh fer cryin'--"

"BUT," I continued, "while one could argue that stuff like that shouldn't matter, it won't change the fact that it does. Maybe generations from now human society will have evolved beyond physical appearance, but in the meantime physical appearance matters a helluva lot. I watch three women in my house primp and preen every day. I myself spend time each morning adjusting my hair and making sure my clothes coordinate before I walk out the door. Appearance matters, and I'm going to be one who argues that it should matter. Diversity in individual appearance makes things interesting. What's attractive to one person might be off-putting to someone else. The women in my life all look differently from one another--"

"Except for the pack of busty blondes," June muttered.

I blushed. "Even still, those busty blondes have very unique individual personalities. Physical appearance is just one aspect of a human being, but it's one of the few aspects that can be easily recognized in the blink of an eye. It takes time to get to know someone's personality. It takes even more time to understand their quirks, wants, and desires. But physical appearance is the first thing that everyone sees. They say don't judge a book by its cover, and that's fair. But the cover IS the first part of the book everyone sees, and if it's dirty, blotchy, and covered in earthworm slime, very few people will want to open its pages and discover the story within. I happen to like the story in you, which is why I enjoy spending so much time with you. And fair or not, I think that if you continue to dress in the way you have these last couple of days, you might find a few more people willing to discover the story of June."

FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2007

"So do you have any plans for dinner tonight?" June asked almost off-hand before focusing her attention downward as she poked at her Caesar salad.

"Plans?" I muttered with a full mouth before pausing to chew and swallow to clear my mouth before replying further. "Actually, Sasha's cooking again tonight, so if you're suggesting I meet you and your sister again, that's not gonna happen. She swears she's got her chicken kebab recipe down, and she might very well murder me in my sleep if I skip out again."

"Oh, I wasn't going to invite you out again. I was actually thinking to come over to your place for dinner tonight, if that's okay."

"You already know it's okay."

June blushed demurely and replied, "Still, it would be impolite to not ask."

"Then your answer is 'yes', you are welcome to come over for dinner. Sasha will be delighted; she needs an unbiased opinion of her food."

Hours later, Sasha anxiously watched June take her first bite of chicken kebab and chew thoughtfully. If June noticed the scrutiny, she didn't let on.

"Well?" Sasha began eagerly. "What do you think?"

"Jeez," Brandi interrupted. "Let the girl finish one bite first."

"She doesn't like it," Dayna drawled. "You can tell from her expression."

"You can't tell anything from her expression," Adrienne chided. "That's the way June's face always looks ... Hey!" Sasha must've either pinched Adrienne's leg or kicked her under the table, because Adrienne jerked in her seat and shot Sasha a dirty look.

June paid them no mind. Still chewing thoughtfully, she analyzed the taste, swallowed the bite, and set down her fork. Picking up a napkin, she daintily dabbed at the corners of her mouth and finally looked up into Sasha's expectant eyes.

"Well?" Sasha repeated. "What do you think?"

Instead of replying, June glanced at me and said, "This is like that situation where you're outside the mall dressing room and the girls ask you if you like their outfits."

I smirked right back at her. "Exactly like that situation."

June collected herself, fixed her attention on Sasha across the table, and explained matter-of-factly, "More than a single bite would better serve in terms of sample size, but if you're looking for my initial impression, I would rate this below your attempt at four-cheese lasagna but above your Chinese stir fry."

Sasha blinked before frowning. "I thought you didn't like my lasagna."

June blushed and snuck another glance at me. "Um ... I believe I've already stated that I find food to be a nutritional requirement, not something to be savored."

"So this is worse than my lasagna? And my stir fry is even worse than that?" Sasha threw her hands up and left the table.

"C'mon, sugar..." Adrienne called after her.

Brandi chimed in. "You know she doesn't mean--"

"I know she's just being honest," Sasha groaned before turning back to face us. She realized she was causing a scene and gave June an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to put you on the spot. This isn't your fault. I'd just hoped that--"

"-I- like it," I volunteered, taking another bite and smiling as I patted my belly.

Sasha rolled her eyes. "See, this is why I was excited for June to come. You all said I finally got the recipe down, but I wanted an honest opinion from someone who isn't trying to get into my pants."

I waved her off while chewing and swallowed my bite. "I can get into your pants anytime I want, no matter my opinion of your cooking. This really IS just like a mall dressing room, and I'm telling you honestly that I like it."

Sasha shot me a skeptical look and glanced at June.

I shrugged. "Diversity in taste. I like it, Adrienne likes it, and Kim and Brandi and Dayna all like it. You really did nail it this time around."

"Says all of the people who feel obligated to be nice to me. Maybe I should get Bert over here to--"

"You don't have to please everyone," I interrupted. "And besides, I think a chicken kebab is a little outside of June's usual flavor-wheelhouse."

"It is," June admitted. "I'm really not used to Armenian spices. I would definitely need a larger sample size in order to develop a proper opinion."

Sasha arched an eyebrow. "But you still don't really like my lasagna or stir fry."

June blushed. "Well..."

Sasha laughed and waved her off. "It's okay, it's okay. I know those aren't my best dishes either. But I'm going to get better at cooking if it kills me."

"I'm certain you will," June agreed with a smile. "You are quite an accomplished young woman and I know you can achieve anything you set your mind to."

Everyone went silent in surprise, and the rest of us around the table started looking back and forth at each other. Adrienne whistled audibly before commenting with a grin, "First she shows up to the apartment wearing makeup and a skirt, and now she's paying compliments? Did you do your brain-scramble fucking thing to her, Tiger?"

I blinked in surprise and immediately held my hands up. "What? No."

June leaned forward. "'Brain-scramble fucking thing'?" she queried.

Adrienne laughed. "Oh, you'll find out eventually."

"No she's not," I said hurriedly. "We're co-workers."

Adrienne shrugged. "I sleep with my co-workers all the time."

I rolled my eyes. "She's June."

"She's wearing makeup and giving compliments," Adrienne laughed. "Right now I'd believe anything was possible."

"Quit talking about her as if she wasn't sitting right next to you," Sasha admonished.

"No, it's okay," June interrupted. "But I do have a question for Adrienne."

My fiancée looked at me for a moment, but I gave her a helpless look that said I didn't know what June was about to ask. Adrienne shrugged and focused her attention on my co-worker. "Sure, ask away."

Scrutinizing her plate for a moment, June gathered herself before sitting up straight and canting her head to the side in the same formal pose she always adopted when trying to be polite. Fixing Adrienne with a serious look, she took a deep breath and asked, "If the situation ever arose, would Ben have your permission to ... to give me the 'brain-scramble fucking thing'?"

Adrienne's jaw hit the table. "Excuse me?"

Dayna sat up straight. "Wait, what?"

Blinking fast, June blushed before explaining, "Given your apparently open relationship, would you mind if Ben had sex with me?"

Adrienne furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you asking a rhetorical question about some hypothetical, extremely unlikely situation? Or are you actually asking for permission to fuck my fiancé?"

June blushed again, her posture now curled inward and her eyes on her still-full plate. "Umm, the latter, actually. Of course, I suppose I'd need permission from all of you, not just Adrienne." She raised her head to look over at Kim, Sasha, and Dayna as well.

Dayna repeated, "Wait, what?"

"I'm not suggesting we have sex right away, or even in the near future. I simply don't want to make the assumption that I have your permission before starting a process that could ultimately result in coitus between me and your collective boyfriend."

Now it was my turn. "Wait, what?"

June turned to look at me. "You said before that under the right circumstances, on a purely physical male-female level, that you'd have sex with me."

I gawked at her, eyebrows raised and eyes agog. "These are not the right circumstances."

"Of course not. I already said this would be a process, and even that would not end in coitus with absolute certainty."

"Hold on, hold on," I urged with my right hand raised palm out and my left hand pressing against my temple while I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to get my brain to engage. "I thought you said the whole sex thing was just a stray thought, and that the possibility of that kind of interaction was zero."

June pursed her lips and shrugged. "I changed my mind."

Still in disbelief, I shook my head and exclaimed once more, "Wait, what?"

Brandi leaned forward and asked gently, "May we ask what's changed your mind? I think you understand that we're all a little surprised by it. The makeup and clothes we can roll with. The compliment was really being polite. But nothing in our previous experience with you would lead any of us to believe you had any romantic feelings for Ben."

June shook her head. "I don't have any romantic feelings for Ben. This is exclusively a ... scientific ... exploration of human sexuality. I told you before your vacation that I wanted to try something new. We started this process when I went into the bedroom with Ben and Adrienne to watch them ... well..."

I rubbed my forehead and looked down in embarrassment. "Watched us get all awkward and NOT have sex."

"My apologies," June said with a bowed head. "My presence caused your awkwardness; that wasn't my intent."

"No, no, it wasn't your fault," I assured her. "But still, I'm not entirely sure that what you're suggesting is really the way to go about this. If you're interested in learning about sex, I think finding yourself a boyfriend should be Step #1."

June shook her head. "I'm not interested in having a boyfriend; I simply want to understand what the big deal is. Sex is everywhere, and people around the world spend an inordinate amount of time and money in order to achieve what? Two minutes of naked, sweaty humping that only half the time results in orgasmic release? If that?"

"Clearly you don't know anything about having sex with Ben here," Dayna drawled with a smug smirk. "It certainly isn't two minutes or orgasming fifty percent of the time."

June folded her hands in her lap and stared at them. "That's one reason why I'd rather do this with him, IF I had your permission, that is. All of these girls clearly hold your bedroom skills in high regard. Why take the chance of giving my virginity to a stranger I haven't met yet who might not be able to physically fulfill me? And even IF I had a 100% guarantee that a stranger would be able to give me an orgasm, why take the chance on a stranger instead of my only real male friend in the world?"

"Because sex changes people," I sighed. "We can't do this because our relationship would never be the same."

"Are you saying you'd fall in love with me and leave all your other girlfriends?"

"What? No."

"Are you worried that I'd fall in love with you and try to become your next girlfriend?"

"Uh, no, not really." Brain-scrambling legends aside, I knew enough of June to know that.

"Then what's the problem? Do you retract what you said about me not being so utterly repulsive?"

"What? Of course not."

"I don't expect you to get erect at the snap of my fingers and service me on command. Our past awkward experience assures me of that. This would be a process, one that would require development and consideration and eventually the right time and place conducive to initiating a physically-intimate encounter."

Grimacing, I shook my head slowly. "I just don't think this is a good idea."

"Please, Ben." Whether she intended to or not, June looked up at me with perfect puppy dog eyes. "I'm just trying to understand a part of me that hasn't existed before. I've never had an orgasm of any kind; I've never even masturbated. I know these things are very important to lots of people, but I have no idea what I'm missing. You know that there's literally no one else I could ever do this with. I need you."

"I say you do it, Tiger," Adrienne volunteered enthusiastically. "Show her what normal people get to feel every day."

I sighed. "I don't think--"

"Little girl's gotta grow up someday."

"Jeez ... Really, Adrienne?" I groaned.

"What?"

"Can you stop with the 'little girl' crap already?"

"She never put on makeup until a few days ago. She's never even masturbated. She's practically the definition of a sexually-immature tween yet to discover what the adult world is all about. I'd say the term 'little girl' is quite fitting."

I grimaced and rubbed my forehead. "She's a 21-year-old woman with a successful career and an MBA."

"She's a social misfit who needs to learn how to be a part of the rest of society, and understanding human sexuality is a big part of that."

"Human sexuality is a big part of YOUR life, and even mine. But not everybody has to be like YOU. June has gotten along just fine so far without it."

"You call what she's been doing as 'getting along just fine'? Puh-lease."

"Ohmigawd, Adrienne. Shut. UP." Pressing my hands to the sides of my head, I gaped at Adrienne in disbelief. "Better yet, just LEAVE. I don't want you to be a part of this discussion anymore."

"The fuck did I do wrong? I'm just saying what we all already think. You already know none of us is going to deny June permission to fuck you in the interests of teaching her what she's been missing. The only one who seems against the notion is you, and as usual it's up to me to get your head un-stuck from your ass of overly-conscientious morality."

"This isn't about ME. It's about June."

"I'm not disagreeing with you. She's malfunctioning in terms of womanhood and you're in a great position to help fix her."

"That's just it! June. Doesn't. Need. Fixing."

"Of COURSE she does. The girl's never even masturbated. That's not normal."

"Who the hell died and made you Queen of 'Normal'?!? Gawdammit, Adrienne, you've become the same condescending BITCH you were the LAST time she was here!"

Sliding her chair back, Adrienne stood up and planted her fists on the table while giving me a threatening glare. "Call me a bitch... one more time..." she warned.

Sasha set her hand on Adrienne's hip, urging, "Honey ... calm down..."

Shaking my head, I sighed. "You don't get it: June doesn't need 'fixing'. She's different from you, yes, different from everyone else in this room; but that doesn't mean she's 'malfunctioning'. I like her, and I get along with her, and you find that strange and intriguing and you want to figure out what makes her tick. You think you know what's best for everyone, as if Adrienne's way was the ONLY way people should live their lives. I agreed with you that giving June a makeover would show her another way she could present herself to the world, but YOU took it a step further and dictated that she SHOULD wear makeup, dress differently, and be 'sexy'. You see someone living a life without human sexuality and immediately think: 'Little girl's gotta grow up someday; and I need to fix her.'"

"She does. And I can."

"No she doesn't," I insisted. "And even if you could, that doesn't mean you should. Just because June had never seen a naked pair of boobs before didn't mean you HAD to whip out your girls right there at the dinner table."

"Girl had to loosen up a bit," Adrienne muttered, shaking her head as she sat back down.

"That's not your decision to make! But you did it anyway, and you put her on the spot, no matter what kind of awkwardness it might cause. Because Adrienne knows what's best."

"Fuck you, asshole." She turned to glare at the wall.

Shaking my head, "I love you to death; you know that. But you're crossing a line, and it's not your place to 'fix' her."

"I don't get what's got your panties in a wad," Adrienne grumbled. "June and I want the same thing: for you to teach her about sex. What's your malfunction?"

"Right now my only malfunction is you. On the topic of June's little 'process' for me to teach her about human sexuality, okay ... maybe I can do it. I understand that there's no one else in the world she could turn to for this, and I care enough about her that if she can convince me this is really what she wants, then I'm willing to be that kind of friend. But YOU are in desperate need of an attitude adjustment on the subject. Enough with the 'little girl' comments and the obvious derision in your voice. Enough with the condescending attitude as if June was some immature child in desperate need of your guidance. She's different from you, fine. She doesn't fit your definition of 'normal', fine. You'd like to help, that's fine too. But there's no need to be a bitch about it, alright?"

Adrienne steamed in her seat, arms folded across her chest. That she was still angry was plainly obvious, but she was also smart enough to listen to what I'd said. Let's face it, I didn't put my foot down and stand up to Adrienne very often, usually more willing to go with the flow of whatever she wanted. So on this rare occasion that I did stand up to her, and called her a bitch on top of it, she had to stop and pay attention.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled to the wall, almost too quiet to be heard.

"What was that?" I asked.

Rolling her eyes and taking a deep breath, Adrienne frowned before laboriously rotating her head back to face the table as she bit out, "I'm sorry." She sounded as if the words themselves tasted like puke in her mouth. "I shouldn't have called her a little girl."

Sasha slapped her in the upper arm. "Exactly what I told you after the last time she was here."

"Look, I'm sorry. What more do you want from me," Adrienne complained petulantly.

Sasha smirked with raised eyebrows. "NOW who sounds like a little girl?"

Adrienne only responded by kicking Sasha under the table, with Sasha kicking her in the shins right back.

"Hate to break up the third-grade flirting," Dayna drawled. "But where do we now stand on June's suggested 'process'?"

"It's fine with me if she wants Ben to teach her," Kim said quietly while attending to BJ in his high chair. He'd been spellbound by the fight between me and Adrienne, but now that it was over he'd gotten squirmy and wanted to be unbuckled. "They have my permission."

"Well of course," Dayna said. "We all already knew we wouldn't have a problem with permission."

"Thank you," June said quietly.

I looked over at her. "So you're serious about wanting to go through with this?"

Giving me a hopeful look, June nodded. But her expression turned nervous, and she almost sheepishly admitted, "Although I don't actually know how to get the process started. This isn't exactly some JKE project I can plug into a spreadsheet, mark out milestones, and organize action items into a flowchart."

Popping my eyebrows, I took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Yeah, me neither."

"That's okay," Kim commented without turning her attention away from the spoon in her hand as she fed BJ another scoop of rice porridge. "I know exactly what you two should do."

Blinking, I looked over at my baby mama. "You do?"

"I do," she replied, again without looking back at us. "But after dinner. You all have spent so much time talking that your food's gotten cold."

Sasha slid her chair back and stood up, reaching out to collect the serving dish in the center of the table of kebabs that hadn't been put onto anyone's plate yet. "I'll re-grill these, but they might get a little charred."

"That's okay," Adrienne offered. "Can't taste any worse."

Sasha and Adrienne went back to kicking each other.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," I muttered nervously as the three of us walked into my bedroom after dinner, feeling a sense of déjà vu. True, it wasn't the same room, and we weren't the same three people as that awkward Friday night before we'd gone on vacation, but still. "This didn't work out very well the last time."

"Last time you did this with Adrienne," Kim replied matter-of-factly as she closed the door behind us. "This time you're with me, and I'm not going to turn it into a condescending class of Sex Ed 101."

"Still, I don't know if I can ... perform ... in a situation like this," I stammered. "And don't even say that I've performed in front of audiences before, because we both know this is totally different."

"It IS different from last time," Kim reassured me. "For one thing, I'm not trying to put on a show..." Her voice trailed off as she abruptly went through the open door into the Jack-N-Jill bathroom and continued to the other side, leaving me and June to gawk at each other awkwardly.

Seconds later, Kim returned carrying the lightweight-but-sturdy ottoman that came with the glider she often used to rock BJ to sleep. Placing the ottoman in front of the dresser on the wall opposite my bed, she gestured down while telling June, "Have a seat. I suggest you don't say anything or otherwise interfere. Pretend you're an invisible voyeur, and that neither Ben nor I even know you're here. This won't be an interactive experience. Rather, just watch the two of us, observe the intimacy in the way we move together. It certainly won't be two minutes of naked, sweaty humping, and I certainly expect you'll get to witness what a real orgasm looks like. Hopefully, by the time we're done, you'll better understand why people around the world want to do this as often as they possibly can."

June sat down, eyes wide with a scared-shitless expression on her face. She also glanced over at the plush armchair in my room, perhaps wondering why she hadn't been seated there. Come to think of it, I wondered that myself.

Kim moved to close the door to the bathroom, sealing us in our privacy. She then came to me, coming to a stop with her feet just in front of mine as she slowly leaned into my personal space until her forehead touched against my chest. Gliding her hands up my sides, she slid them around my back and wrapped me up in a hug while tilting her face up so she could look at me. And giving me that Mona Lisa smile, Kim murmured, "As for you: relax. Pretend that it's just you and me, with no one else in the room. It's a Friday night after dinner, the girls are playing with BJ, and you and I have an opportunity for some rare and precious one-on-one time."

"Rare and precious?" I frowned. "Have you been feeling left out lately?"

Her smile turned warm, and she squeezed me a little tighter. "Not left out, no. But we both know your intimate time has to be spread pretty thin, and Adrienne obviously demands the lion's share of that."

"Kim, I'm sorry if--"

"Not important right now," she murmured, getting up on her tip-toes to lightly brush her closed lips across mine. When she settled back down on her heels, she gave me a coy smile and commanded, "Shut up and kiss me, watashi no shujin."

I smiled at the reference, having looked up the phrase online almost as soon as we'd returned from camp. Kim had started calling me her "husband" in Japanese only recently, though she still hadn't ever said it in English. She had been trying to make a statement with her choice of vocabulary, since she could have used other words that meant "husband" like "otto", "danna", or "hazu". But "shujin" apparently also meant "master", so by calling me her "shujin" Kim was simultaneously referring to me as both Husband and Master, bringing the two aspects of our relationship together as one.

Of course, I felt like anything but a Dominant Master at the moment, especially since Kim did all the commanding. I already knew this encounter wouldn't be anything like many of our others, with me ordering the self-proclaimed submissive into various physical positions and then using her body as my personal masturbatory tool. Although I wasn't supposed to consider June's presence in the room, there was no way in hell I was going to have THAT kind of fucking be June's first introduction to sex. Instead, I let Kim dictate our interactions every step of the way, showing June the kind of unthreatening lovemaking that could be achieved when the woman always got her way. We both instinctively knew that June wasn't the submissive type, not even in the closet, and that the idea of being helpless and physically dominated by a man would NOT be the kind of sex June would be interested in.

After I'd shut up and kissed Kim, as ordered, she commanded me to carry her to the bed and slowly peel off her clothes while kissing every inch of skin I revealed. Doing so kept me focused on my lover, forced me to concentrate on her pleasure, and had the benefit of distracting me away from my own performance anxiety. The more I stripped Kim's clothes off, the more I heard her sigh with each kiss against tender, pale skin, the more motivated I became to make this one of the best sexual experiences of my baby mama's life.

Too often we were at cross-purposes when it came to sex. She wanted to please me, even at the expense of her own pleasure, except that her ultimate pleasure came when I used her body for my own pleasure. But I had a difficult time bringing myself to truly USE her body for my own pleasure, all of my Keira-inspired instincts telling me to focus on HER pleasure first. Opportunities for us to have one-on-one sex were apparently rare and precious to her, but occasions when Kim took charge of our lovemaking were even more rare and precious to me, and I found myself happily enjoying the experience.

I couldn't remember the last time Kim pushed me around during sex, if ever. Tonight she literally pushed me around, sliding her fingers into my hair and yanking my head up to hers for a searing kiss before palming the crown of my head to push me back down to suckle at her leaking nipples, followed by another push even lower for me to eat her out. Even after I'd gotten all of her clothes off, she never let me stay in one place very long, silently jerking me around by my skull some of the time and barking verbal orders otherwise.

"Eat me again! Eat me again!" she'd grunt one minute.

"Suck on my tits! Suck on my tits!" she'd groan another.

She yanked my head around so that I was licking her armpit for a little while. Moments later she slammed my face back down into her crotch and squeezed her thighs around my head so tightly that I thought I might be in danger of suffocating to death. But I could tell that Kim was right at the precipice of orgasm that time, and while I continued to chew on her clit, I simultaneously brought up three stiff fingers and jammed them into her cunt.

"Oh-WAAAAAHHHHH!" Kim screamed at the top of her lungs, announcing her climax for the whole apartment to hear. I kept chewing on her clit and kept fingerbanging her slit all throughout her orgasm, extending my lover's pleasure for as long as I could keep her going. But eventually Kim's voice tapered out, and with it went her orgasmic peak.

When Kim's thighs fell away from my cheeks, I couldn't help but sneak a peek over at the ottoman. I was both surprised and yet kind of not surprised to find the ottoman empty, as the idea of June freaking out and fleeing the room entirely wasn't exactly an inconceivable concept. But a moment later I realized that June had simply moved over to the plush armchair, which honestly had a better view.

But Kim shook her head and barked breathlessly, "Out of the chair. You can have it again later, but right now we need it."

Blinking in surprise, June vacated the seat and hustled back to the ottoman as if she'd been caught trespassing or something. She blushed sheepishly and bent slightly at the waist to wrap her forearms around her knees.

Meanwhile, Kim palmed the crown of my head again, saying, "You. Sit. Chair." But while I did as ordered, she remained flat on her back across my bed, limbs askew while she panted, "Just gimme a minute to catch my breath. That was a big one..."

I chuckled and let my eyes rove over my baby mama's naked figure. I loved her body, even the stretch marks, because they reminded me of the son she'd carried to term. I loved her bigger breasts, and I'd miss them when they shrank back down as BJ weaned and her milk dried up. I'd miss the milk, for that matter, as there was something both delicious and deliciously naughty about drinking the stuff directly from the source. And I loved the sparkle in her eyes when she looked at me, the bond of love between two parents of a tiny human being that could never be broken.

That sparkle remained in Kim's eyes as she finally got off the bed, but instead of walking over to me, she dropped down onto all fours and crawled. In a way, she seemed to be falling back on old submissive habits, presenting herself in such a position and clearly approaching me with intent to orally service her shujin. Yet there was something predatory about her expression, cat-like in the way she swayed her hips and grinned with excitement. No one could look at her movements and think she was being submissive. Kim was clearly in control, clearly the aggressor, and I was simply her next meal.

My dress slacks from work were the first thing to go. Belt unbuckled, button unfastened, and zipper pulled down, Kim yanked both my slacks and boxers down to my ankles to leave me bare-assed in my seat. Spending twenty minutes slowly disrobing Kim, kissing every inch of her skin, and eventually eating her to a spectacular orgasm had sufficiently put me in the mood. Watching her lick her lips hungrily while prowling on all fours across the floor had kept the starch in my shaft. And a full eight-inch column of man-meat proudly thrust up toward the ceiling once Kim got my clothes out of the way.

June gasped at the sight of her first swollen, purple erection. To a sheltered virgin, the thick, throbbing phallus might very well seem quite intimidating. I'd been told a woman's first thought at the sight of mine was to wonder how the hell that thing would ever fit into her tiny vagina. But in my sexually-aroused state with the blood flow having left my big head in favor of the little one, I wasn't worried about June's nervousness. I wanted a spectacular orgasm of my own, and the idea of my big dick intimidating her filled me with pride, not concern.

Kim, of course, wasn't intimidated in the slightest. My penis was her toy, her plaything. She grabbed the base with her right hand, her fingers not nearly long enough to wrap all the way around, and used that grip to wave my pole left and right and around and around. Giggling, she broke her own rule about ignoring June and shot a twinkling smirk back at our voyeur. But after taking in June's wide-eyed gaze and nervous gulping, Kim focused back on my erection and took a long, languid lick along its length from base all the way up to tip.

I groaned and tightened my grip on the armrests, refusing to let myself grab Kim's head and skull-fuck the hell out of her. Letting my head fall back, I surrendered myself to letting my lover do whatever she wanted to me, willing myself to receive whatever pleasure she chose to give me. I didn't complain when I wanted just a little more pumping in and out of her mouth. I didn't whine when she stopped licking my mushroom head like an ice cream cone and only continued to stroke my shaft with both hands. Well, I did whine a bit when she stopped just short of deep-throating me, instead popping off before her gag reflex kicked in, but Kim tapped my penis with two fingers as if to admonish me for whining in the first place.

Kim played me like an instrument. Although she'd started off the evening by claiming to have no interest in putting on a show, she ended up doing just that. Kim was showing off her total control of me, manipulating my senses and working my cock with mouth, lips, cheeks, hands, and even her tits. I grunted and groaned and whined with her every movement, audible proof of her power over me to go along with my contorted facial expressions. If someone had been taking still photographs of those facial expressions, you might be hard pressed to decide whether I was grimacing in pleasure or pain, but the point is: it was obvious I was at Kim's mercy.

Oh but what exquisite torture, and she didn't keep me waiting very long. Well before I came anywhere close to popping my top, Kim stood up to remove my shirts. Once she had me as naked as she was, she crawled into my lap, reached down to notch my cockhead at her entrance, and slowly sat herself down.

June gasped again. Looking past Kim's shoulder, I realized that June had gotten up from the ottoman and moved so that she had a head-on view of the penetration between Kim's spread legs, in perfect position to see inch after inch of thick prick disappear into the other woman's body. Feeling my gaze, she retreated back to the ottoman with the same embarrassed expression she'd had before, but after that, Kim grabbed my head and pulled it to hers for a kiss as she started her up-and-down motions.

Kim dropped the "Dom" personality after that. There were no more commands, and no more yanking each other's head around from either of us. Fully-joined, Kim and I lost ourselves to our lovemaking, our hands sliding across each other's body as we moved together in the ancient rhythm of carnal ecstasy. For a long time, I reveled in Kim's "on-top" position, a position she didn't use very often. Even so, after I helped her fuck herself to a pleasant climax, I stood us up from the chair and carried my baby mama over to the bed, all without dislodging my prick from her pussy.

We moved together in the missionary position much in the same way we'd done on the armchair, fully in-sync as we let our passion carry us away. I truly forgot about June's presence for a little while, reveling in the sensations of being inside my son's mother as I dreamed about giving BJ the younger sibling he unfortunately would never have.

I was pleasantly fantasizing about that exact insemination when June finally announced her presence to us once again. When she spoke, I was surprised to hear her voice, and it took me a second to remember that Kim and I weren't alone in the room. She'd moved back to the vacated armchair to once again get a better vantage point of our lovemaking, but I only stared at her dumbly and continued to thrust in and out of Kim for a few seconds before her words finally made their way into my brain.

"I want ... I want to touch myself..." she'd whimpered.

"Go ahead," Kim had told her.

My brain finally caught up to the present as June whined, "I don't know how."

Panting beneath me, Kim urged, "Just do whatever comes naturally."

Biting her lip and looking oh-so-erotically innocent, June whimpered as she glided her hands up her own torso and grasped her own breasts. Still fully-dressed, she sort of groped herself haphazardly, still not entirely sure what to do, before sliding a hand down to her crotch and digging the heel of her hand into it.

"Inside your pants," Kim directed breathlessly. "Rub your fingers directly over your clit, skin-to-skin."

June fumbled around for a minute, still not having it all worked out. Only then did she figure out to pull down the side zipper to her sister's skirt to loosen the waistband and create room for her hand to slide in. But even after she got her hand inside her panties, June still didn't seem to be satisfied.

"I can't..." she groaned in frustration. "I can't..."

"Firm enough that you can feel it but not so hard that it hurts," Kim encouraged, all of her attention essentially on June instead of me. As for myself, I was busy soaking up the sensations of Kim's tight pussy wrapped around my dick, so I kept thrusting away. But after another minute of watching Kim watch June instead of respond to me, I finally stopped and dropped my elbows to also look over.

"Don't stop on my account," June panted apologetically. Her face was screwed up and she looked almost ... scared ... of the sensations going through her body. "I just ... I'm not..."

Kim started pushing up against my chest, so I obediently pulled out of her and rolled onto my hip. Sliding off the bed, Kim went over to the armchair and bent to reach for June's skirt. "Let's get this off you and out of the way. You'll have more room to--"

"Please, you don't have to stop because of me," June interrupted as she sat up straight and pulled her hand out of her crotch. "I wasn't trying to cockblock you or anything."

Kim set her jaw, and I watched the gears turning in her head. A moment later, she went to the bedroom door, opened it, and hollered, "Dayna! Sasha! I need one of you to fuck Ben for me!" She remained in the doorway for another few seconds, long enough for me to hear thumping footsteps come running down the hall, before returning to the room and going straight to June.

Seconds later, Dayna burst through the doorway, a gleeful expression on her face as she practically tore her own clothes off. At some point, Kim or June must have closed the door behind her, but I'm not sure which because I spent the next few minutes unable to see past the super-excited, super-horny blonde bombshell trying to first cram her tongue down my throat, smother me to death in her massive mammaries, and finally impale herself on my cock to start humping me like a jackrabbit.

I still hadn't cum yet, and you'd think that getting rabbit-fucked the way Dayna was doing would finally set me off after all that lovemaking with Kim. But having Kim go lifeless beneath me while she focused on June, followed by having to pull out entirely, had been something of a sexual letdown. I'd pretty much been reset back to square one, with my dick deflating before Dayna came in and revived me, so I felt like I could hold out for quite a while. She rode herself to one screaming orgasm before collapsing on my chest, and we spent a good few minutes with my hands on her hips and her kiss on my lips before I had to pull away and breathe.

Turning my head to the side, I found that Kim was perched on the far armrest of June's chair, rubbing her own clit and fondling her own breasts as an example for June. For her part, June wasn't even looking at me anymore, all of her attention on Kim as she listened to Kim's advice while copying the older woman's movements. But a moment later, Kim muttered, "Now keep doing that while you watch them."

Of course, Dayna and I weren't moving anymore. We just sorta gawked at our voyeurs and remained coupled together chest-to-chest.

"What, did Ben cum?" Kim asked.

I quickly shook my head in the negative.

"Then ... Keep going!"

Dayna laughed and turned my cheek so she could kiss me again. Once our lips were locked together, she rolled herself off me and to the side while pulling my hips after her. Still, we managed to get uncoupled. But my dick was only in the open air for a few seconds before my blonde girlfriend got herself settled on her back, opened her thighs, and welcomed me back inside.

Dayna and I kissed lustily as we resumed our fucking motions, this time with me on top. She wrapped her legs around my waist and broke our kiss so she could whisper naughty words into my ear. I put my head down on the pillow beside hers, closing my eyes and concentrating on the sensations of her milkmaid muscles working to extract my spermy load. But after a while those milking motions ceased, and I picked my head up to find that Dayna was staring over at the Asian girls instead of at me.

June was bottomless now, her panties having been tossed aside next to her skirt. She had one hand inside her blouse, fondling a boob, but her other hand hung limp over the nearest armrest. Instead it was Kim's hand rubbing at June's crotch, my baby mama's slender fingers working through my co-worker's rather thick bush and gliding up and down her tight furrow, mostly buzzing the younger girl's clit but occasionally curling to push inside from time to time.

"Never thought I'd ever see that," Dayna mumbled quietly.

Frustrated by having my lover get distracted by June and go limp beneath me for a second time tonight, I decided that we needed a position where both Dayna AND I could watch the watchers. Pulling out and rolling Dayna onto her side, I spooned myself on the mattress behind her and guided Big Ben back into her pussy. This way I could wrap my arms around and play with two of my favorite toys in the world, and rub her clit as well, and we both could stare over at the armchair and watch in amazement at what was taking place there.

And it WAS amazing: The armchair was plenty wide enough for one person, plus ample room for one of my ladies to park her knees whenever she rode on top of me. Turned out that the armchair was also wide enough for two people, so long as those two people were skinny girls like Kim and June. They wound up sort of sitting on their left buttcheeks side-by-side, semi-spooned together while more or less facing the bed. In this position, Kim was able to reach around and either hold June's hand in her own to direct June's masturbatory movements, or rub June's pussy herself. She also had enough room in the gap beneath June's angled body to reach her left hand around and slide it up into June's blouse. And all the while Kim continued to whisper directions and sexually-explicit innuendoes right into my co-worker's ear.

Now I'd witnessed more erotic lesbian pairings before, certainly with fewer clothes and more direct sexual contact. Watching Kim sit behind June trying to teach the other girl how to masturbate certainly couldn't compare to the visual stimulation of Sasha and Adrienne in a naked sixty-nine with Ben Junior vibrators in their hands. Yet there was something about June's naïve innocence that made the current situation so much more ... unique. She was a 21-year-old woman touching her own clit for the very first time, not to mention having someone else touch her clit for the very first time too. And Dayna must've felt just as turned on by the uniqueness of the situation, because in our new position I felt her thrusting back at me just as hard and with as much urgent need as I was thrusting into her.

"Don't cum inside her," Kim suddenly warned. "I want June to see a money shot."

Dayna perked up and moaned, her milkmaid muscles spasming around me.

"Money shot?" I wondered aloud. "You mean like a facial?"

Kim thought about that before shaking her head 'no'. "Cum on her body, on her tits."

Works for me, I thought, and the instant I had that thought, I realized I was about to cum. Primed after fucking for so long and having endured the internal spasms of two Dayna-gasms, I was ready to finally get my first ejaculation. Wrapping my right forearm around Dayna's chest while gripping her hip in my left hand to keep her body still, I jack-hammered my way down the final stretch as I powerfully pounded her pussy. And when I felt myself about to blow, I quickly pulled out, rolled my busty blonde bombshell onto her back, and squished her big breasts around my shaft while I gave myself just a few more thrusts.

"Cum on me, baby!" Dayna moaned, gaping her mouth open in invitation.

For a second, I thought about taking her up on it, but at the last possible moment I yanked my cock back, sat up straight on my knees, and stroked my meat to pump out my juices. The first spurt made a bull's-eye right against her left nipple and streaked down the far side of the mountain. The second spurt painted a diagonal line across the crevice of her cleavage. And the third spurt splattered atop her right nipple. I pumped out two more squirts of cum before squatting back down and mashing Dayna's titflesh around my meat again, squishing and squeezing her fantastic boobs around my still-leaking dick while happily groaning in exquisite release.

"OOOHHHH-AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!" June suddenly screamed, drawing my attention away from Dayna's tits. I turned just in time to see her hand go into overdrive over her own crotch, rubbing furiously as she abruptly went stiff as a board with her ab muscles clenching over and over again before she suddenly pitched forward at the waist and rolled over onto her left side.

Briefly, my eyes and Kim's met, and a little smile of satisfaction spread across Kim's face. But moments later June screamed again, drawing our attention back to her.

"AAUGH! AAUGH! AAUGH!" June grunted in rapid succession, her whole body spasming with each grunt while her hand continued to furiously rub her clit. Her eyes were clenched shut and there were obvious tears streaking down her cheeks. But after a few more seconds, her shuddering stopped and her legs and arms went limp, the intensity of her very first orgasm beginning to wane.

Kim and I shared another glance, the pride in Kim's eyes obvious. Still seated right behind June, she reached down to tenderly pull a lock of hair away from the younger girl's face and tuck it behind her ear. Then she let her hand glide down June's arm and across the girl's hip, stroking June's thigh gently.

June's chest continued heaving, her lungs screaming for air. After a minute or so, her eyelids fluttered open and she looked straight at me, her expression one of amazement. Moments later, the corners of her eyes crinkled as she gave me a sheepish smile. Then, turning her head, she glanced back at Kim and an even broader smile spread across her face.

"Did you enjoy that?" Kim asked warmly.

June nodded wearily. And after taking a deep breath, the young woman, post-orgasmic for the first time in her life, muttered in amusement, "So THAT'S what all the fuss is about."

MONDAY, JULY 30, 2007

I had another ordinary morning, which for me meant that I was late to work again. It wasn't my fault, since you can't really expect a guy in my position to turn down morning sex with a golden-haired goddess, especially when said guy is engaged to be married to that golden-haired goddess. Adrienne needed cock after going the entire weekend without. I'd spent Friday night with June, Kim, and Dayna. Our family had stopped by Saturday to visit on their drive back home from Morris Camp, with Dawn, Brooke, and DJ also coming over to the apartment. I'd spent the remainder of Saturday night holed up in my room with Dawn and Brooke. And Adrienne had been out all of Sunday socializing with the industry bigwigs and influential VIPs who made her career what it was.

Okay, so maybe it was a little my fault.

Upon arrival at my cube, I quickly set my bag down and fished out my laptop to dock it. On the other side of the partition, without turning away from her monitor, June commented reproachfully, "You're late. Again."

"I know, I know," I replied automatically. "Girlfriend wouldn't let me--"

"Doonnn't want to hear it," she interrupted, raising her right hand and closing all four fingers down against her thumb in a clear 'shut up' gesture.

I chuckled audibly at our routine morning exchange.

Hearing my laugh, June finally rotated her chair around. "Seriously, how often are you gonna keep showing up late like this? It's been at least once a week for more than a year. Does the name M. John Fitzherbert the Third not ring a bell?"

I frowned at her bitter tone, only now realizing that she was being serious. "What's got you in a bad mood this morning?"

Shaking her head with a scowl, June turned back to face her monitor. She didn't answer.

I frowned, wondering what was going on. Only then did I belatedly realize that there was something different about her appearance today. "Waitaminute," I muttered with furrowed eyebrows. "Why aren't you wearing makeup today?"

Glancing back at me over her shoulder, June shrugged and replied, "I find it's no longer necessary."

My eyebrow furrow deepened. "'No longer necessary?'"

She shrugged again and returned her attention to her monitor. "We've spent too much time on Cytherion and now we're behind on Yi Wei Textile."

"You know my Monday evenings are usually free. You can come over for dinner and we can work late at my place. And ... well ... there are other processes we can work on at my place, too."

June heard the innuendo in my voice, and she shot a glance at me over her shoulder again. "That won't be necessary, either."

I heard the suggestive inflection in her voice, and I blinked in surprise. "'Working late' at my place won't be necessary? Or did you actually mean..."

"Yes, that," she replied curtly.

"So tonight's not a good night, okay ... Well I've got hip-hop with Sasha on Tuesdays and Krav Maga on Thursdays, so it's either Wednesday or--"

"You misunderstand, I no longer require your assistance for my previously suggested ... process."

"You no longer..." I cocked my head back. "Wait, what are you saying?"

With another shrug, June rotated her chair around to face me, although she remained seated. "I'm saying exactly what you think I'm saying. Your services are no longer required."

"Is that why you're not wearing makeup?"

"Well, yes."

"Because you're no longer interested in ... your ... uh ... process?"

"Just that I no longer need you to be a part of the process."

"But I thought ... after Friday..." I stuttered in confusion before picking my head up and glancing around to see who might be within eavesdropping range. "I mean, I know I was pretty busy this weekend but I sort of thought you ... I mean ... You started this process!"

Taking a deep breath, June gave me a weary look that plainly said she'd rather not have to deal with me right now. But after exhaling slowly, she got up from her chair and marched out of her cube. It took me a second to realize I was supposed to follow her, and in less than a minute the two of us were safely ensconced within the privacy of a familiar conference room.

She didn't sit in a chair, clearly indicating that this shouldn't take long. Folding her arms across her chest, June raised her eyebrows at me and stated, "My apologies, as I completely understand why you would be under the impression that I intended to continue exploring human sexuality with you in light of the discussion that took place in your apartment Friday night."

I arched an eyebrow. "'Impression'? 'Intended'? You stated point blank that you wanted to explore human sexuality with me. You said flat out that you'd never take the chance on giving up your virginity to some stranger who might not be able to fulfill you when you already had so many references from the other girls that I, your only male friend, would be much better suited to do the job."

"I also stated that this would be a process, and that it would not necessarily end in coitus with absolute certainty."

Rubbing my forehead, I conceded, "Fine, fine. I'm going to admit that I made certain assumptions about how this would all play out. I figured that the most opportune times for you to explore human sexuality with me would be evenings after work on weekdays when you might come over for dinner anyway. I assumed you would want to conduct a kind of clinical analysis of erogenous zones while exploring your first naked male body. And I assumed you'd want me to help you discover the sexually-relevant aspects of your own body as well."

"I did."

I arched an eyebrow. "And yet, here we are, right after you've stated that you no longer need me to be part of the process."

"I don't."

I sighed. "I'm confused. I thought things went well on Friday."

"I will try to explain," she said patiently, though a little condescendingly. "First off, about my makeup."

"Which, like me, you also find to be no longer necessary."

"It's not. I spent a week wearing my sister's makeup, evaluating the behavioral changes a makeup-decorated face induced in people around me. I noted the increases in both male and female attention as well as their increased willingness to make decisions or take action that would be in my favor. My experiment complete, I no longer see any benefit in wasting morning time before work, or in consuming my sister's expensive product. I have no interest in attracting a romantic partner, and while I did notice the slight bump in the way people attended to me, I saw no use in continuing to wear it."

"I see..."

"As for my process into exploring human sexuality, I've come to understand that my lack of experience made it impossible to devise a realistic plan of how to go about it. I stated before that this isn't exactly a JKE project for which I can map out milestones and action items. Even if it was, I wouldn't understand what milestones to set."

"Uh-huh..."

"I'd originally thought I would need you to be my teacher."

"But what, you found yourself a different penis to practice on?"

"Not at all. If and when the time is right, I fully expect to still practice on yours."

"I thought you just said you didn't need me anymore."

"Well, not yet. In the meantime, I have found a different teacher."

"Who?!?"

"Isn't it obvious? Kim. Who better to teach me about a woman's sexuality than another woman?"

I blinked in surprise. "You mean like ... lesbian? Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just..."

Rolling her eyes, June explained, "I mean like teacher."

Blinking again, I furrowed my eyebrows and tried to work things out in my head. "So for now ... I'm no longer necessary?"

"Isn't that what I've been saying this whole time? But don't worry, my need for hands-on experience will come eventually."

"Eventually?"

With a bit of a smirk, June let her eyes rather obviously travel up and down my body, as if she were remembering exactly what I'd looked like naked. Her smirk widened into a grin, and she repeated back to me, "Eventually."