Steph put a finger under Jessie’s chin and gently raised her head so the women were looking into each other’s eyes. “Listen to me good, JessicaLynn Hanley, you’re not good or bad in bed alone. If you and scrawny-neck didn’t make it together, it was a mutual failing. Individuals aren’t good or bad at making love. Only couples are.”
“Yeah, but…”
“No ‘yeah but.’ You’re a warm, caring person and you’re as good in bed, or as bad, as the chemistry and communication between you and the man you’re with.” As she looked into her friend’s face, she continued, “Don’t look at me like I just told you that the earth was flat. It’s true.”
“But Rob told me…”
“Rob isn’t the sexpert of all times, you know. Besides, was he ever with anyone else beside you?”
“He says that bimbette was the first,” Jessie said, snuffing.
“What about before you two got married. Was there ever anyone else?”
“No. The first time for both of us was in the front seat of his father’s Pontiac.” Her face softened. “He almost came on my jeans trying to get them open.”
“So what makes him the ultimate judge of sexuality? Certainly not experience.”
“I don’t know. If I were being brutally honest, I’d have to admit that it wasn’t very good. He used to give me a shot of alcohol to ‘loosen me up.’ He said I was uptight and needed to relax.” Her voice dropped and she wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “He said I was frigid.”
“He can say anything he wants, Jessie, but he can’t make you believe it. And I don’t believe it.”
“But I don’t think I’ve ever had an orgasm.”
“And whose fault is that?”
Jessie’s head jerked up and she was silent for a minute. “I never thought about it that way. You mean there might not be anything wrong with me?”
“Probably not. You’re healthy. No physical problems. No drug abuse. You probably weren’t excited enough to come. I read something a while ago that has stuck in my mind. Someone wrote that a man flames like a match and a woman heats like an iron. That timing requires some coordination. It takes a woman twenty or thirty minutes from a cold start.”
“A cold start.” She laughed. “That’s an unusual way to put it. It makes me sound like an auto engine on a winter morning.”
“Is that such a bad analogy?”
“Maybe not. I was always a cold start. I came to dread sex.”
“Make that forty-five minutes to warm up,” Steph said. “Jessie, relax. You’re fine. It’s scrawny-neck I want to kill.”
“Thanks for that, Steph. You always were a good friend.”
“And I still am. Let’s table this topic for the moment, get dressed up and do some outrageous damage to your credit card at Bloomingdales.”
Jessie took a deep, shuddering breath. “Good idea. You’ve given me lots to think about, and I’d like to continue this discussion another time.”
“Any time, babe. I love to talk about sex.”
Steph and Jessie spent the afternoon shopping. At first, Jessie selected outfits that were conservative and concealing. At one point, however, Steph convinced Jessie to try on a low-cut, Indian-silk sundress with a very full, soft skirt. When her friend came out of the dressing room, Steph grinned. “You look wonderful.” The dress, in shades of soft peach and rose, complemented Jessie’s red hair and sun-warmed complexion.
“I do? Isn’t it a bit much?” She yanked upward on the neckline, trying to minimize her deep cleavage. “I mean isn’t it a bit young for me?”
“Young? Come on. You’re thirty-six years old. That’s young enough for almost anything, except maybe being proofed at a bar. I think you look terrific, and with a little makeup….”
“Don’t get carried away.” She swung back and forth in front of the mirror watching the skirt move with her body. As she watched herself, her smile broadened. “But although it’s not my usual, I do like this dress.”
“Now you need shoes to go with it,” Steph said to Jessie’s back as she disappeared back into the fitting room. “And a new bathing suit and a few other things I can think of.”
When they arrived home, the two women dumped their purchases on the sofa and adjourned to the plant room with two glasses and a bottle of California chardonnay. When they had settled into long chairs side by side, and sipped some wine, Jessie reopened the earlier topic. “I guess I’ve digested some of our conversation of before. Now I’m curious. How did Brian react to your first encounter with Hank?”
“He was pretty quiet for a day or so, then, in bed a few nights later, he asked me all about it.”
“He wanted the gory details?”
“Not specifically, but he wanted to know whether I enjoyed it and whether I came.”
“Did you tell him? I mean, weren’t you worried that he’d be jealous or something.”
“Jessie,” Steph said, turning to fully face her friend. “I will never lie to Brian. That’s the bottom line. If he doesn’t like something that happens we can change the rules but I will never lie. I told him it was wonderful. To me, lovemaking isn’t a contest. It’s not who’s better than whom at this or that. It’s pleasure for the sake of pleasure and that’s all it is. And, of course, there’s never a substitute for first times in bed together. It’s the greatest kick in the world.”
“Wow. That’s quite an attitude.”
“I guess, but it’s one that Brian and I share completely. We have a deal that if something makes one of us uncomfortable, either about what we are doing ourself or what the other is doing, we talk about it and decide how to rearrange things, if necessary.”
“Has he ever been jealous? Have you?”
“Once in a while one of us becomes obsessed with someone for a short time. But it’s always hottest at the beginning and eventually it all cools.”
Jessie hesitated. “Am I cramping your style?”
“Of course not. There are a few couples in the neighborhood who get together for fun from time to time and we will, either with you or without, in the near future.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. We’ve found quite a few honest, open kindred spirits.” She smiled. “You know, some people who claim to be open-minded have said to me, ‘Just don’t tell my wife the details. I don’t want her to know about….’ Honest my foot. They have more secrets than the FBI. We don’t find that type of person very congenial.”
“Hey, girls, your lord and master is home,” a voice yelled from the front hall.
“Hi
