Strictly Business

Now this was the kind of life I could get used to. Sunny day, sitting poolside, cool drink in my hand. I was born to live this way.

My bills, however, instructed me to live another way, so I'd enjoy these few hours of relaxation between the regular grind.

A girl can dream, can't she?

Our meetings went very well in the morning, as expected, so well that we were able to start lunch early, which meant we were able to end lunch early, which meant Chase and I were back to the hotel early, which meant a few more moments of pool time during our free afternoon. I'd take it!

Beth's plan to have us in adjoining rooms was, of course, a stroke of genius. Whether it was me needing some help tying the back of my bikini top, Beth forgetting a hair tie, etc., etc., etc., we were still ready to hit the pool in record time. Chase, meanwhile, was long gone before started getting ready, having made plans to golf with a few of his old coworkers.

"All I'm saying is, if either of you DO get hungry, go ahead and eat," Chase said as he was leaving. "Our round should be wrapped up by 6:30, so I'd be back here around 7 and we could walk down to Rivera's. Or I could just as easily get a bite at the course. Just text me and let me know."

I don't think either of us were really listening as we chattered away about different skin care products.

Beth and I had done this together many times before, whenever she accompanied her husband on one of his trips. Chase wasn't one for laying out by the pool, while she and I were kindred spirits in this regard. And so we settled into our routine: tan for a bit, quick dip to cool off, mai tai, gossip, and repeat.

Beth would talk about her job, their life, lovingly complain about one of Chase's idiosyncrasies, and I'd tell her funny stories from work and give her PG versions of my dating trials and tribulations.

It was during drink No. 2 when Beth surprised me. "So, I hear you're encouraging my husband to check out the hot babes you encounter on these trips." I choked a bit on my drink and started to panic before Beth started laughing at me. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, don't go dying on me, Gwenny!"

I laughed and she continued. "I'm glad you two talked about that. It's funny, you know? I mean, I've been married to this man for almost a decade, and know him pretty darn well, and then I come out on these trips and it's like an alien has taken over his body whenever he's around you. So stale, so professional, so...boring! That's why I'm always giving him so much shit, trying to get him to open up, show more of his real personality."

"I totally get it, though," I said. "He's my boss, we're coworkers, he's a guy, I'm a girl. You instinctively put up boundaries to protect yourself and each other. It's strictly business"

"I know, I know. All I'm saying is I'm glad you're both opening up a bit."

"Me too."

Beth sat up on her lounger. "Alright, time to flip. Let me get your back."

Aside from being good company, one of the primary duties of being a pool pal is to not let your buddy burn. Beth and I had years ago gotten past shyly asking each other if we'd help apply some sunscreen, and now it just happened.

I turned away as she began to rub the cool cream into my skin, over my neck, shoulders, under my bikini straps, and all over my back. She'd done this a dozen times or more before, and there was nothing remotely sexual about it, until this time. It wasn't Beth who had changed anything she was doing. It was how my body was reacting to it. Maybe it was the mai tais? Maybe it was how I'd listened to her and Chase have phone sex, spent the next few weeks getting off as I fantasized about them, and then last night listened to them fuck in the room next store while I shoved my vibrator up my pussy?

Could be either, right? Sure, Gwen, the jury is still out on that one.

"There you go. My turn."

Beth's words snapped me back to the moment. She laid face down on her lounge chair and scooted over a bit to leave me room to sit. I squeezed some lotion onto my hands and went to work.

"Mmm, Gwen, I tell you every time your talents are wasted at that company," Beth said. "You should be a masseuse."

"You're too kind, my friend."

Friend, Gwen, friend. This is your friend. Stop it...

But I couldn't. Not after the past few months. Not after playing out scenarios in my head where I was watching her fucking her husband, and then getting fucked myself. I found myself really looking at my friend's body, like it was for the first time, letting my fingers memorize her skin as I rubbed the lotion into her.

I'd always known Beth was gorgeous. That much was obvious the first time we'd met. But now I was really admiring that beauty. She had curves in all the right places. Her breasts were large, far bigger than mine, but not obscenely huge. They fit her body perfectly. And as I finished with her lower back, I took a long look at her ass. Beth had a great one, one I'd seen turn many heads when we'd been out and about.

"There you go," I said. "All set."

"You're the best, Gwenny. God, I'm so relaxed. Can't you get those bozos to call off your meetings tomorrow so we can just hang and do this all day?"

"You should totally feel free to suggest that to Chase. Just leave me out of it." We both laughed.

A few moments of silence passed and then I was certain Beth had fallen asleep. I'd usually be right there with her, but instead a new conflict was having it out in my brain. It was one thing to have accidentally listened in on their phone-sex session, and another to get myself off the thought of it almost every night, and then another to intentionally listen in on them actually having sex in the room next door, but now I'm laying here with my friend - my pool pal! - my boss's wife, and I got wet rubbing lotion on her back!

This is going too far. I'm crossing a line. I am not a lesbian. Am I? No. No, I'm definitely not a lesbian. While I dabble in watching some girl-girl porn every now and then when the mood suits me, that's totally different. Women are just pretty to look at, and the scenes are soft, gentle, caring. It's not about getting off to the girls, it's about getting off on the idea of someone touching you all the right ways in all the right places at all the right times. Right? Right.

And this thing with Beth just now, that's just because of last night. I'm not getting wet thinking about her, I'm getting wet thinking about me, and my vibrator, and that fantastic orgasm, right? Right.

You're good, Gwen. You're good.

And with that settled for now, I joined my friend in a nap.

--

In my dream, the sunny day at the park had turned cloudy and now it had started to rain. Pour, even. What the fuck kind of dream was this? Wait, is it actually raining?

My eyes opened as another volley of water splashed down around me. I jerked my head around to see Beth in the pool, laughing hysterically.

"Get up before you turn into a lobster, sleepy head!" She splashed again and cold water smacked my skin.

"Ooooh, you bitch, I was sleeping good, too. Payback time, Bethy!"

This, too, was a normal part of our pool time. When one of us thought the other was sleeping a bit too long, we found different ways to wake each other up. Dumping ice cubes on Beth's bare back? Done that. Having a hotel maintenance worker wake me up because he was told I wanted his number? That was one of Beth's all time greatest, for sure.

Most were far less creative, such as splashing pool water like a juvenile until the other person woke up. And my payback was just as juvenile, jumping off the deck and into a poor excuse for a cannonball to drench Beth.

I surfaced and we both laughed our asses off, again, like usual.

We waded around for a few minutes before climbing out and resuming our tanning session. Another round of mai tais were ordered, and more conversation ensued. It was during a pause when my stomach rumbled like thunder.

"Well, hello to you, too," Beth said with a laugh. "I'm right there with ya, girl. It is almost 5. What do you say we head in and get ready for dinner?"

"That sounds fantastic. I don't think I can make it until Chase gets back from golf."

Beth snorted. "Yeah, that was never happening. What did he say? He'd be back by 7? No chance."

Beth fired off a text to her husband and waited. A few moments later the "ding" announced a reply.

"Perfect. He says it's slow on the course anyway and they probably won't finish until 7, so they're just going to grab a bite there and he'll be back by 9. Let's go, pool pal!"

We went back to our respective rooms to shower and change for dinner. Before jumping in the shower I realized I forgot my hair straightener, and with the humidity outside that just wouldn't do. We'd left the adjoining room doors open before we went down to the pool, so I ducked my head in to ask Gwen if I could borrow hers.

"Sure thing," I heard her shout from the bathroom, shower already running. "It's in my green bag on the shelf by the mirror."

Our rooms were identical, just opposite layouts, so I knew exactly where to go. I found her green bag and started rummaging through. Shit! Where the hell was it? I glanced up to ask if she was sure, and my breath caught in my throat.

The hallway mirror wasn't directly across from the bathroom door, but it was close, and at the angle I was standing I could see inside. The bathroom door itself was partly closed, but the showers were all that new, stupid hotel design where only half the opening was closed, and closed with nothing more than a clear pane of glass.

There was nothing obstructing my view as Beth stood underneath the rainfall shower head. She wasn't facing the doorway, but she wasn't facing away from it, either. For the first time I saw her uncovered breasts and her perfectly sized nipples to match. My eyes scanned her body lower to a neatly trimmed tuft of hair above her clean-shaven pussy. Her eyes were closed as she tilted her head up toward the shower head, scrubbing her face with soap.

"Find it?"

Her shout snapped me out of my trance. I looked back and a moment later found the straightener. "Got it, thanks," I replied as I walked out of the room, pushing my side closed behind me.

Into my own bathroom I went, placing the straightener next to my sink, and then steadying myself by gripping the countertop. Holy shit! She looked so...sexy. What's wrong with me?!? I've seen girls naked in person before. I lived in the dorms in college and then had three roommates in my first apartment. This shouldn't phase me.

But it did more than phase me. This was rocking my world. I felt my desires igniting inside me. I was wet. My nipples were hard. Good God, Gwen, what are you doing? Get it together!

I stripped my bikini off and jumped in the shower, trying to wash it all away, but it wouldn't go. My body felt like it was on fire. If I had any chance of making it through dinner with her, I needed to take care of this, and fast.

I skipped my nipples, which could have probably cut through the glass pane in front of me, and went right to my crotch. I was already primed. My fingers began their familiar motions across my clit. Fuck, yes, that felt so good! I could already feel the tension melting away.

The showers here had both a rainfall shower head and a handheld unit, and the dial included settings to use them simultaneously. More aggressive action was needed with the timeframe I was working under, so I began playing with dial. Water calmly coming out of tiny holes like a gentle shower? Not this time. Water firing out of three larger holes like cannons? Now we're talking.

I moved the attachment between my legs and the streams crashed into my clit. My body quivered at the sensation. It was almost too much. I did say "almost." It was fabulous. I began moving the shower head all over, teasing myself a bit, before pointing it straight at my clit again. With my other hand reaching between my legs I curled a finger inside, quickly locating that lovely, spongy spot.

This wouldn't take long. I felt my orgasm coming. "Fuuuuuck yes, baby, ohhh my God, yessss," I said aloud. "Feels so good. Mmmmm. Play with me, Beth. Play with my pussy. Make me cum for you."

A little voice inside me tried to question this new line of fantasy. I'd never thought about having sex with another woman, let alone my friend. In all of my fantasies she'd been there, but I was either watching her get fucked, or she was observing me.

There would be more time to self-psychoanalyze later. I shoved the voice down and pushed myself over the finish line.

"Yes, yes, YES, YES! Oh Beth, ohhhhh fuuuuuck. Fucking fuck me! Lick me! I'm cummingggggggg! FUCKKKKK!"

I struggled to stay standing as pleasure washed over me. Damn, that felt fantastic.

"Holy shit...that was fucking hot."

What? That wasn't my voice. That was Beth's voice. In this room. Praying I was still lost in my mind's creation, I slowly opened my eyes. Yup. There she was. She was in this room. She'd heard me. She'd seen me. Shit!

"Your door wasn't locked, so I came over to grab my straightener," Beth said slowly, her eyes locked on my body. "I thought you heard me. You said my name so I came in and...wow."

She was wrapped in a towel and I was standing there naked. I was in no mental state to explain myself, but if I was going to try, I needed to cover up. I shut off the water and grabbed a towel, quickly throwing it around my body.

"Look, Beth, that was, I was...I'm sorry. Fuck!"

I blew past her, out of the bathroom, and made a beeline for my bed. I collapsed and buried my head in a pillow, feeling tears forming in the corners of my eyes. How could this have happened? How could I have done that? How could I have done that and let this happen?

"Hey," Beth said as I felt her sit down on the bed. "Stop it. You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. And I am. I'm sorry, Gwen. I shouldn't have come into your room, and when I saw what you were doing, I should have left. I understand if you want me to leave, if you don't want to speak to me, anything. I'm sorry."

Could I feel more like a piece of shit? Here is my friend offering to cut herself out of my life because she accidentally walked in on me getting myself off. How could I possibly explain what inspired that? Where would I begin? Listening to them have phone sex? Listening to them have actual sex? Getting turned on while I put suntan lotion on her back? Spying on her in the shower? The list of grievances here was firmly tilted in my direction, and not in a good way.

"I'll go," Beth said, and I felt her begin to move away. I reached out blindly and grabbed at her.

"Wait," I said. "Please, wait. That wasn't your fault, Beth. It was mine."

"Gwen, what are you talking about?"

I took some deep breaths and composed myself, at least as best I could. If this was going to be the end of our friendship, and maybe the end of, well, who knows what else, I couldn't allow Beth to leave thinking this was on her. I had to come clean.

"I saw you," I said, softly, my face still partially buried in a pillow. "I saw you in the shower when I came into your room earlier."

Of all the things I'd done, this was certainly the least intrusive, but also seemed like the best place to start.

"OK...that's still no excuse for what I -"

"And I've listened to you. To you and Chase. I listened to you two...last night."

"Oh! Oh my. We were that loud? I'm so sorry, Gwen. We got carried away..."

"No, Beth, you're not hearing me." I took a deep breath and pulled myself up to face my friend. "I LISTENED to you guys. On purpose. And it wasn't the first time."

"Oh," Beth said, her face an unreadable mix of emotions. "What does 'on purpose' mean?"

Well, I am committed now, aren't I? "I hoped I would hear you two. With my side of the adjoining doors open, I can hear inside the room pretty well. I wanted to listen."

Beth's face was still hard to read as she processed what I was telling her. I couldn't blame her. I could hardly process it, and I was the one who'd done it.

She exhaled. "And you said 'it wasn't the first time,' too..."

"On my last business trip, the first time Chase and I had these rooms, I heard you and him, on the phone." Beth's eyes went wide. "I didn't mean to do it that time. I was going to pull a gag on him, and then I opened the door and heard him, and I thought he was cheating on you, and then I heard you, and then I...fuck."

Beth's face had softened a bit as I rambled my confession. I took a deep breath and continued.

"I heard him, and then I heard you, and then I, well, you know, while you two..."

"While we had phone sex."

"Yeah," I said, looking up to meet her eyes for the first time. "I shouldn't have, it was wrong, and I'm sorry, Beth. I'm so, so sorry."

She was silent for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't probably more than a few seconds, but after baring my soul (well, almost...I did leave out the part about getting myself off almost nightly while fantasizing about them) it felt like forever as I waited for her judgment.

I expected her to leave. She had to hate me, right? At the very least, how could she trust me? And so I was surprised when Beth reached out and took my hands in her own.

"It's OK," she said, meeting my eyes. "Gwen, it's OK."

Tears streamed down my face and I sobbed softly. Beth moved closer and wrapped her arms around me.

"It's OK, Gwen, really. Calm down. I'm not mad at you. I'm a little surprised, a little flustered, a little, I don't know, flattered, I guess? I'm a little of a lot of things right now, but I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" I pulled back a bit to look at her through my tears. She gazed back with no malice, only warmth.

"Not at all," Beth said. "My world is a little rocked right now, for sure. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a little fuzzy, but that could also be the mai tais."

We laughed, the tension easing a bit.

"But we're good, Gwen." She pulled me close for another hug. "Can I ask you a question?"

"I feel like I owe you any answers you want."

"When you were in the shower and, um..."

"Getting myself off with a handheld shower head?"

Beth laughed. "Fuck it, why tip toe around the words? Yes, Gwen, when you were in the shower a moment ago, with a finger shoved up your cunt as you assaulted your clit with a shower head..."

I cracked up at her crude retelling, grabbed a pillow and smacked her arm. She laughed, but then looked away from me, proceeding timidly.

"When you were in there, you were talking...you were saying my name...you were saying things you wanted me to do to you," she said. "Do you...do you think about me? Do you fantasize about...us? Do you...want to do those things...with me?"

"Well, I mean, no...not exactly. Not always." Where a moment ago I was drowning in embarrassment, I was suddenly feeling much more relaxed. Beth had taken all of this information well so far. I felt I could be straight with her. "After the first time, a few months ago, I fantasized a lot about you and Chase and, well, shit, sometimes me and Chase. You were still there! You were always there! But it was either you and him doing something and I was watching, or, well, me and him doing something and you were watching."

"I see."

"And then today at the pool, and seeing you in the shower, I mean, Beth, come on. You know you're sexy as hell." She blushed. "I was just so amped up. So that was the first time I'd ever fantasized about actually doing something with us...with you."

Beth sat silently for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I guess I'm glad I was there for it. You put on a hell of a show."

"Stop! Oh my God, I just want to die."

"Please don't, Gwen. I'm serious. That was one of the sexiest things I've ever seen."