Chapter 3

Paula had first met Jill at the Culture Club to which they both belonged. The Glenwood Heights Betterment League, it was called. The organization sponsored art shows and helped support a junior symphony. Also, they campaigned against things which the matrons who ran the league considered detri mental to the community's welfare ... or perhaps to their own, in a personal sense: For instance, the nudie movies which a local theater dared to show and, even worse, dared to advertise on Its marquee. Also, the topless bar which had recently opened on the boulevard.

Paula and Jill had giggled together over these attempts at prudish suppression, and this was one of the reasons Paula believed she might be able to persuade the other girl to agree to a swap of mates ... on a one-night experi mental basis, just to see what It was like.

Another reason was the way Jill had flirted with Joe last night. She had shamelessly exhibited her thighs to him when she sat with crossed legs, and she had tried to monopolize him as much as she could without putting either Paula or Lyle wise.

But Paula had noticed it. For some time she had been looking for just such a display of interest In Joe on some other woman's part. The fact that Joe also had shown an interest in Jill made it all the nicer from Paula's standpoint. She felt none of the jealousy normal to a wife when another woman takes an Interest In her husband. Paula was confident of her ability to hold onto Joe regardless, and adultery couldn't tarnish a romantic attachment mat didn't exist.

She parked her car in the area reserved for visitors at the rear of the apartment complex where Jill lived. She followed a concrete walk past the recreation and laundry rooms, then around the edge of the huge swimming pool, and she climbed the outdoor stairway leading to Jill's second-floor apartment.

The door was opened within ten seconds after Paula's light rap.

Jill was small and cute, with short blonde hair that sparkled with reddish highlights. Her figure was trim. She was three or four years younger than Paula.

"Well, hl!" she chirped. "Come in. The house is a mess, but you won't hold that against me, I hope."

"Goodness, no," Paula smiled. "You should see mine."

But, of course, Paula's apartment was Immaculate. She didn't have to take care of It herself.

"You look very chipper," Paula said as she entered the apartment. "Parties must agree with you."

Jill laughed and touched her head. "I'm all right after three aspirins. That was quite a blast last night, wasn't It?"

"Did you notice how looped Jeannie was getting? I'll bet her husband had to pour her Into bed when they got home."

"And he had nothing to show for his big night out but booze." Jill laughed.

"In Jeannie's condition, he could have done anything, I imagine. But I doubt she gave him much cooperation."

"How's Joe?" Jill asked as she led the way Into the kitchen. She wore white shorts and a ribbed yellow top that out-lined her cupcake breasts.

"He had a good time. He raved about you."

Jill stopped and regarded her friend in surprise.

Paula smiled reassuringly. "Relax. Joe and. I are very outspoken-with each other. When I meet a man who turns me on, I tell him, and he tells me about the girls he likes."

"That's right. You always said you two had a modern marriage."

"It's that, all right."

Paula watched Jill cross to get the silex and objectively admired the way her trim rear twisted in the clinging shorts.

"Sit down," Jill said. "I'll get some cups."

Jill served the coffee, then sat opposite her friend. Paula was dressed Ina two-piece white outfit, stockings and heels.

"So what's the scoop?" Jill sparkled over her coffee. "Did you pick up some juicy gossip last night that you want to pass on?"

"Nope. Nothing like that." Paula paused for effect. "Honey ... how's marriage treating you?"

"What?' Jill put down her cup, obviously not sure how she should take the question.

"How's marriage treating you?" Paula repeated with a slight smile. "Does the bedroom bit have all the zing it used to?"

"Paula! For heaven's sake, what brought this on?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. Just answer me, hm? And remember we're pals who know each other pretty well."

"I'm in love with Lyle, If that's what you're getting at." There was a slight edge to Jill's voice.

"Of course you are. I love Joe, too. But that still doesn't answer the question. Sexually ... are you a little bored?"

"Good God!" Jill laughed uncertainly. "You're on quite a kick this morning."

"I am, for a fact. I got an Idea last night when Joe started singing your praises on the way home from the party. Now brace yourself, because this may come as a shock. But after you think it over, you might take to the idea. At least, I'm hoping you will."

"What is it, for Pete's sake?"

"You've heard about mate swaps."

The spoon which Jill had been using to stir her coffee fell out of her hand and clattered to the vinyl table top.

Paula laughed. "Don't get so shook! Swapping is the in thing nowadays. Respectable people do it."

"Maybe. But not people like us."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's a little over-sophisticated, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't think so. Of course, I've never tried it. But I thought it might be fun-just once, to see what it's like."

"And you had in mind swapping Joe for Lyle?"

"No. I had in mind talking to you about it."

Jill hesitated, more serious than usual as she studied her friend. "I didn't know you were unhappy at home. You never told me."

"I'm not," Paula said quickly. "But every marriage falls Into a rut. Yours must have, too. The same old stuff served up In the same old way. You know what I mean. A swap might pep things up, don't you think?"

Jill lifted her cup slowly. "Boy, it would take some thinking before I would want to try it."

"Even if we all agreed beforehand that it was just for a lark and nobody was to get a hang-up?"

"Have you discussed this with Joe?"

Paula shook her head. "I wanted to get your reaction first."

"Lyle would never go for It, I'm afraid."

"You might be surprised," Paula said wisely, then she quickly added, "I don't mean to Imply he's unhappy or anything like that. None of us are. We're all normal married people who are as well-adjusted as any couples could be. But still, there's a sameness. A swap would break the monotony. And because we're all normal, it wouldn't do any of us any harm."

"Boy, Paula, I don't know." Jill sipped some coffee.

"I'm not afraid," Paula said quickly. "I have perfect faith in Joe. I'm sure you have as much faith in Lyle. And you know you're not going to lose your head. Goodness, Joe's not exactly a glamour boy. But I'll tell you this, kid ... he's all right as a stud."

"Paula!" Jill was blushing a little as she laughed. "I don't know what to say to you. This comes as such a shock."

"Well, let me ask you this-you like Joe all right, don't you?".

"Sure. I think he's nice."

"Attractive, maybe? In a conservative way, I mean."

Jill hesitated thoughtfully, then pushed out her lower lip. "Yes. He's attractive."

"The idea of hitting the hay with him isn't exactly repulsive to you, is it?"

"Is this your way of accusing me of having the hots for your husband?"

Paula laughed. "Of course not! No more than I have the hots for Lyle. I think he's nice. You think Joe's nice. And Joe likes you. I don't know how Lyle feels about me, but I doubt I would scare him too badly in a bedroom. It's precisely because none of us has the hots for anyone else's spouse that makes me so sure this thing would work."

"Well, it's certainly an unusual idea."

"It's not, really. A lot of articles are being written about it these days. Psychologists say it's a good thing, if the people are mature enough to handle it. I think; we are."

"I don't know."

"Let's try it once. That is, provided our husbands agree. We could go away for a weekend and stay at a motel. Two rooms, of course. You with Joe, me with Lyle. Then we could return home and compare notes."

"Paula! You're positively shameless."

Paula's eyes narrowed and a faint smile clung to her lips as she watched her friend closely. "If you don't agree, I'll think it's because you're not sure of your hold on Lyle."

"If we didn't know each other pretty well, I'd get lore over that," Jill said.

"If we didn't know each other well, I wouldn't have said it," Paula retorted.

They gazed at one another.

"All right!" Jill exclaimed finally. "I'll prove I can be just as avant-garde as you are. But I'm not guaranteeing anything as far as Lyle is concerned."

"Honey, if you try your best to sell him, I know you can do it. There isn't a husband living who doesn't have the urge to sample strange tail once in a while."

"Maybe you're right." Jill was thoughtful. "Boy, Paula, we might be playing with fire."

"Nonsense. I'll vouch for Joe if you can do the same for your husband."

"Okay." Jill raised her head a little. "Lyle loves me and I love him. I don't think even you could take him away from me."

"Believe me, I won't try. As a matter-of-fact, I'll turn him off fast if he shows any such inclination. But I don't think he will."

They looked at one another again.

"Do we have a deal?" Paula asked and extended her hand.

"Deal," Jill said and they shook on it. Paula smiled to herself. It had been easier than she had thought.

After Paula left, Jill strolled into the bedroom, kicked off her flat shoes, and stretched out on the bed. She gazed at the ceiling and thought.

Paula and Joe had to be on the outs or she would never have suggested a swap. What was more, she probably had designs on Lyle. Well, nothing would come of that. Lyle wasn't the roving kind. He was steady as a man could be. But, as Paula had said, he probably had urges toward other women. All men did, Jill supposed.

She thought how exciting it would be to tumble into the sack with Joe. She didn't know what it was about him. He wasn't really handsome, but he was sure and confident-looking, as if he would know exactly what to do every minute. Lyle wasn't very smooth, and sometimes this aggravated her. The main trouble, though, was that he frequently left her hanging. This still happened, after nearly three years of marriage.

Paula was certainly right when she had talked about the boredom in marriage. Her marriage, regardless of what her troubles with Joe might be, couldn't be as dull as Jill's marriage to Lyle. There were times when she had thought she would go out of her mind if she didn't have another man.

And Joe was the kind she liked. A take-charge guy who was old enough to know what he was doing and who would practice some restraint. So what if he was a little bald and wore glasses? He wouldn't need his glasses in bed. She wondered if it was true what they said about balding men-that they were exceptionally virile?

Lyle was virile enough. His peter got like a bar of iron. But he was always in such an all-fired rush to work it off. Joe would enjoy the more subtle nuances of love, if she was any judge, and she wouldn't have to lead him through them or hold him back as she had to do with Lyle. Even then, it usually didn't work because she couldn't be firm enough. He was sensitive.

Imagine-last night she had been wishing Joe would make a play for her at the party, and today his wife came over and practically offered him-on a silver platter. What was more, .she said Joe had raved about her. It was almost too good to be true.

Jill began to think about how she would broach the swapping idea to Lyle. She couldn't just come out with it point blank. He would be shocked.

He had even gotten shocked once when she had told him a dirty joke she'd heard from one of the girls. That had taught her a lesson. So this deal would have to be approached carefully. She was by no means sure that Lyle would go for it at all. But if he did have a few errant urges, as-Paula had indicated and as Jill herself assumed, he would agree to the scheme, provided she could bridge his prudishness.

Let's see ... how would she go about it?

By the time Lyle arrived home that night, she had an approach worked out.

Lyle was tall, light-haired and slender. He had a longish, rather studious face. His blue eyes could be friendly or hard, depending on his mood. They were soft now as he looked at his pretty wife across the dinner table.

She had dressed up for him this evening, having put on a slub-textured silk dress of taupe which followed the lines of her pert figure. She had arranged her hair carefully and her make-up was exactly right.

"Darling," she said as she munched daintily on salad, "Paula was over today and she had a simply marvelous idea about a weekend outing for the four of us."

"Oh?"

Look at him, She thought. Like a hound dog pricking up his ears.

"She thought we might rent a couple of motel rooms down at the beach or maybe in the desert and have fun and games. Like?"

"What kind of games?" Lyle asked slowly as he chewed roast beef.

"Oh, whatever comes into our minds. Just a free and easy time all the way around, so we all can get better acquainted."

"Sounds like fun," he said casually.

"I'm sure it will-be. I told her okay. Are you sore because I didn't ask you first?"

"No. Of course not."

"I'll tell you something else." She smiled playfully at him, her eyes sparkling. "Paula couldn't get over raving about what a handsome guy you are. Goodness knows what she has in her head."

He put down his fork and stared at his wife.

"But I'm not worried," Jill went on gaily. "I know that regardless of what happens when the four of us get together for the night, it couldn't hurt our marriage. We're the original perfect match."

"What could happen?' Lyle asked slowly. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing," Jill said Innocently. "But you know Paula. Well, actually you don't know her very well, I guess. You've met her only two or three times. But I know her, and she's quite a swinger. She shocks me once in a while."

"What kind of weekend does she have in mind, for gosh sake T Lyle asked. He had hardly touched his food in the last minute or so.

"I don't know really, except she promised we'd all have fun. Knowing Paula as I do, she could spring most anything ... maybe even a mate swap." Jill laughed and took a sip of dinner wine.

"A mate swap?' Lyle repeated, astonished.

"I don't know. It's possible." Jill laughed again light-heartedly.

"Well, now listen-if she has any thought like that in mind, you'd better get in touch with her right away and tell her it's no good. I'm not going to have you hitting the hay with Joe Wells, or anybody but me. Jill! t'm surprised at you."

"Don't be such a bear," she said gently. "I'm not saying I want to do it. Lord, Joe doesn't appeal to me. But in case we all happen to have a couple of drinks too many and she suggests something like that, I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Would it?"

Lyle just stared at her.

"All right ... all right!" she said, "Pardon me for being so Bohemian. I mentioned it as a possibility, that's all. I didn't think it would matter a great deal one way or the other. A lot of people are swapping these days, it's sort of an extension of the kissing games we played as kids. You know-grown-up post office, it certainly wouldn't change the way either of us feels about the other. And it's not as If we had never been with other partners sexually. Neither of us was virgin when we got married." (By a strange, or perhaps not so strange, coincidence Jill had used one of the very same arguments Paula had employed with Joe.)

"You don't have to throw it in my face that you played around," Lyle snapped. "I've been trying to forget it."

"Oh, Lyle!" she scolded mildly. "This Is 1967, not 19I7. Sex is a ball, haven't you heard?"

She continued eating as he looked curiously at her.

"Well," he concluded, "maybe I don't belong in 1967, then. I happen to think of sex as something sacred."

"Then how come you played around before you met me?" she asked in a jocular tone, smiling.

"Men are supposed to get experience," he said defensively. "Anyway, t had only two affairs, I told you all about them. One didn't last more than one night; the other was with a girl I was thinking of marrying."

"And now that poor girl Is married to another man, most likely, and he's throwing it up to her that she played around with you. You made a tramp out of her, Lyle," she added mischievously. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"All right, Jill, that's enough! I don't know what point you're trying to make, but we've talked enough on the subject. And as for the weekend with the Wellses, you'd better call Paula and tell her it's off. If she's got any kooky notions in her head, we don't want any part of it."

"I can't do that," Jill argued. "I already told her okay."

"Well, you had no right to. You didn't consult me."

"Oh ... fudge," Jill said and pouted as she concentrated on her plate. Lyle watched her.

"Honey," he said finally, "Idon't want to embarrass you. If you can't get out of it gracefully, we'll go. But don't lead Paula to believe we're going to do anything wild."

"I won't tell her a thing. When we get there, if she suggests something you don't like, just say so. I don't care. As I told you, I don't see any reason to make a fuss over It, one-way or the other."

Lyle kept looking at her as they ate in silence.

The idea of going to bed with Paula stuck in his mind, along with the fact that she had called him handsome. Maybe she did intend to spring something. What a ball that would be! But he couldn't go through with it if it meant Jill would be going to bed with Joe. And how about her casual attitude toward the whole thing? Wow, he'd have to watch her more closely. Funny how a guy could be married to a woman for three years and not know she had notions like that kicking around in her head.

Relations were a little strained between them for the remainder of the evening, though Jill did her best to smooth everything over.

When bedtime approached, she planted herself on his lap. "About ready to turn In?" she murmured and leaned to give him a kiss.

He turned his face a little to the side. "I think I'll stay up and watch Johnny Carson."

"Okay. Whatever you want."

She slid off his lap and let her hips swing lazily as she walked to the hall and disappeared on her way to the bedroom.

She left the bedroom door open and killed a few minutes, hoping he would be along. But the television continued to drone in the living room.

She took off her dress, then her slip. She ungartered her stockings and stripped them down.

What if I were to go out there In my bra and pants? she thought. No, that would shock him.

But she didn't want them to go to bed with bad feelings toward each other. Especially now. Paula was so hipped on the mate swap idea, she was likely to set the deal up for the following weekend. Further conditioning would be necessary to get Lyle in the right frame of mind, and Jill couldn't work on him if they weren't relaxed with each other.

She decided to put on a fussy, nightgown, then go out and see if she couldn't intrigue him.

If she had known what thoughts were passing through her husband's mind right then, she would have been the one to be shocked. As he sat gazing at the Carson show, he was not interested in the garishly colored images on the screen. What he was thinking was this:

So Paula likes me, hm? She thinks I'm handsome. What luck! What a time I could have with that hot baby in bed! Those tits of hers are beauties, and she's got plenty of ass, too. She's a real hunk of woman, all the way around.

The next time she comes into the bank, I'll make it a point to stroll over. Maybe I can set up a date with her for lunch. Then ... who knows? If she wants some action, by God I'll give it to her! Jill and Joe don't have to have any part of it. As a matter-of-fact, they hadn't better. No wife of mine is going to screw around!

He looked up when Jill appeared in the doorway, wearing a pink nylon nightgown with a maribou fur trim around the bottom and a little bow at one shoulder.

"Well, grouchy?" she purred, smiling suggestively at him.

He felt a twinge of desire. Thinking about Paula had put him in a susceptible mood, in spite of the fact that he and Jill had quarreled.

"Okay," he said and managed a grin.

Jill got into bed and he turned the lights out before starting to undress. He came to her in the nude and lay the covers back.

"Who do you love?' he asked as he snuggled down beside her.

"Just you, honey. Only you forever."

"I love you, too."

He-was running his hand up her legs, into the hot hollows of her thighs, pushing the furry-edged nightgown before him. Then he was in Jill's own fur and petting it, making her warm with desire for him. He parted her satiny lips and stroked her for a few moments with the tips of his fingers.

Then he hopped between her spread thighs.

"Let's make it last nice and long," she breathed.

"Well, you know how it is, honey," he said with a little laugh. "Just when it gets the best, that's when it's over."

How right he was! Only sometimes it was over so fast, she didn't get there. She wanted him to take her over the top tonight. She didn't want to go to sleep with an angry feeling toward him.

He bared her small but well-formed breasts and petted them, enjoying the stiff drag of her nipples against his palms. He bent quickly and pulled a nipple into his mouth. He drew on it.

Jill sighed and put her hands around the back of his head, hoping this would encourage him to kiss her for a long time-not only on her tits, but other places, too. it didn't work. Lyle became too excited too quickly, and the next thing she knew he was poking at her little pink portal, seeking entry.

She let him in, of course, pushing her hips up and forward to envelope his rigid thrust.

"Yeah!" he growled and he went .to work on her vigorously.

"Make it ... last, honey," she implored between gasps.

He didn't answer. He was stroking quickly in and out, going deep but moving faster than a man should at the beginning. It's going to be another of his sixty-second specials, Jill thought bitterly and she held her own hips back so that he wouldn't derive too much stimulation from her.

But he didn't need to have her grind her hips or press her mound up to him. The slick snugness of her tight vagina was enough, particularly in his frame of mind tonight, with images of Paula dancing friskily behind his eyelids as he stroked in and out of his wife.

He saw Paula's big tits as he Imagined they would look In the nude. He wondered If the hair on her pussy was as black as the hair on her head and Imagined that it was, because the vision pleased him. He would keep the light on when he was with her, he decided, the way Jill and he used to do when they were first married, it was a little embarrassing but he would have to every part of that luscious brunette witch.

Now he was stroking very fast, rocking Jill. He heard her beg him to slow up, but he thought:

What the hell! Let her get there when t do. There's no reason why she shouldn't.

He let loose the final volley of his lunges, and Jill was hung halfway between earth and heaven when he made his climactic thrust, twitched, and ejected his hot semen. He sighed and lowered most of his weight against her.

You bastard! Jill thought. She immediately hated herself for it, because she loved him, but at times like this she wanted to pull out his shaft by its roots and flog him over the head with it.

She said nothing and, after a few moments, he got off.

"You made It, didn't you, honey?" he asked, as If he were inquiring in the morning whether she had slept well.

"Sure," she said.

Why make a scene about it? She had tried that before and It hadn't done any good. He blamed her.

He was really a very sweet man in most ways and considerate of her. He was easier to get along with than lots of husbands she'd heard about. But when it came to sex, he needed some wising up.

She went into the bathroom while he put on his pajamas. He was in bed when she returned to their room.

"I'll tell you, honey," he said in the darkness. "Hold off on that weekend with the Wellses, will you? I mean, if Paula wants to make It next weekend, tell her we've got something else lined up."

She stood motionless beside the bed. "Why?"

"I just want to think about it for a while."

"Now I'm sorry I talked to you about the swapping. Maybe Paula would never suggest such a thing."

"No, you're probably right about her. You know her pretty well. So, anyway, don't make it this Saturday."

"Okay," Jill said with a sigh.

Lyle was thinking that if they could get past this weekend, he would have time to pursue Paula on his own. She would surely visit the bank within the next few days. She kept her household account there. Usually he didn't come over when she showed up at a teller's window, but he would make it a point to do so the next time. And he would rack up some points, if what Jill had said about her was correct.

He lay back and thought about it as Jill climbed into bed and stretched out beside him.

Her nerves were still quivering with unfulfilled desire. God, if he weren't there, she would have diddled herself to a climax!

He had been extra-fast tonight for some reason. Well, next time he would be slower. There were times when he was fairly competent and she blasted off. She could have forced him to go slower tonight, but she didn't want to do anything that would Increase the tension between them.

All right, girl, settle down! This isn't the first time you've had to fall asleep with your pussy tingling.

Joe Wells would never leave a girl in such a state, she felt sure. He would know what he was doing all the time. She'd had enough pre-marital experience with men to recognize the type.

Too bad she hadn't gone to bed with Lyle before they were married, but she had played it smart like a stupid klutz. She had wanted him to think she was as sweet and proper as he was.

Then she realized that it wouldn't have made any difference. She would have married him just the same, If he had asked her, because she was in love with him. She would have expected him to sharpen up as a lover afterward.

Well, there was still hope. Maybe Paula could teach him something.

Jill had a strong double reason for wanting the weekend swap to happen soon.