It all started when my friend Red introduced me to his wife, Allie. Up until then, I thought I was a decent guy. We were at a local place, drinking at the bar, and this vision comes swaying through the door, headed our way. Just as I was about to open my mouth to tell Red, “I wanna fuck that!” Red goes, “Hi, Hon. Jake, this is my wife, Allie.”

I closed my mouth with a clop, got a grip and said, “Hello!” working hard at being polite, but properly distant.

It was fucked up. You know how some commercials or whatever say something like, 'Your experience may vary,' right? Well, you'd probably just categorize Allie as 'a fat chick.' To me, however, she's a symphony of sweet curves. Yes, she has an ass -- but it's an asset, the way she makes it rock! She's carrying a serious rack, which is good or bad -- or both -- depending on how you look at such things. The area in between the rack and that ass is, yeah, upholstered, for sure. Maybe her nose is a little short and wide, and having it turn up at the tip might lead you to be uncharitable about a possible comparison with a farm animal -- but she has a sweet smile. What she doesn't have is jiggly arms or cellulite thighs; her hands and feet are well-formed and well cared-for. She's got fashion sense, too -- she pretty much always looks good. That was an issue for Red, because he had to pay for it. I didn't see anything she wore as being extravagant, but she did keep a wardrobe, and it was up to date -- updated regularly. She burned a few bucks that way, no doubt.

Anyway, it was lust at first sight -- but you don't put the moves on a friend's woman if you want him to remain a friend. I got a grip and throttled things back as best I could. We had a good time. I went home and jerked off, wishing I was in that pussy, but I didn't say anything and I definitely didn't DO anything about it.

After that night, Allie showed up regularly when we stopped off for a beer after work. Red took to inviting me along when they went out somewhere, which led to a little dancing here and there. I was keeping things cool, though...

...Or so I thought!

I was watching Allie head off to the Ladies' Room one night when Red chuckled. “We both get a kick out of the way you leave a puddle of drool on the floor watching her ass rock.”

“What?”

“Come on, man! We KNOW you've got the hots for her!”

“I, uh, yeah, well... She's your wife. I wouldn't...”

“Yeah, that's clear. Still, it gets her juices flowing, you know? When we go home after you've spent the night trying to keep your hands off her, what I get from her is better because she's all warmed up.”

I didn't know what to say to that. After a minute, I ventured, “You're my friend...”

“...And friends don't fuck each other's wives?”

“Uh, yeah, more or less.”

Red took a pull of his beer and shrugged. “What if I told you that you could kick it up a notch?”

“What?”

“She likes it. She thinks it's cool that you're controlling yourself -- but she's not sure, maybe. If you slipped a little, then she would know, you know?”

“That's a slippery slope, man,” I muttered. “It's kind of an off or on thing, not the kind of thing you let dribble a little. Who draws the line? How do I tell that I'm not over it until I get there?”

Red took a hit of his beer. “Maybe we let Allie draw it.”

“What?”

“Matt, Allie likes her sex. We've been married five years. Notice anything missing?”

I thought about it. “Kids?”

“Kids. Allie isn't on birth control -- or at least, she SAYS she isn't. I leave a load in her three or four times a week. No kids.”

“So... What? Where do I come in? Surrogate dad?”

“No. But I wonder what she would tell you if you two got amorous and you asked her about it.”

“I don't see that happening.” I shook my head. “Why don't you just come out with it? Have you talked to her about fertility tests or whatever?”

“No, and I'm not gonna. The thing is, she isn't bringing it up. When we were going together, kids were on the table. She wanted 'em. She brought it up. It was out there. Then we got married -- and at some point, it went away.” He shook his head. “Something is up, Matt. There's something she isn't telling me.”

“Here she comes.” I watched her -- and she watched me, from the moment she saw me. She started working it, smiling. I didn't look away -- and I could tell it pleased her to death. She didn't even look at Red until she arrived and settled onto a barstool on Red's other side. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Secrets,” Red replied, “Deep, dark ones. You being female, well, I'm afraid club membership isn't allowed. Right, Matt?”

“Right.” Who was I to screw things up?

For the rest of the evening, I let myself look -- but I couldn't bring myself to do more than that. I just didn't feel right about it. Red and Allie danced a couple of times, and while I'd danced with Allie on occasion -- very carefully -- I couldn't that night. It just didn't feel right.

The next day, Red pulled me aside and said, “Woo hoo! Allie went WILD on my ass last night! Your hot eyeballs set her pussy on fire!”

“That's nice?” I wasn't sure... “Look, I don't want to get into this birth control thing...”

“Yeah, fine,” Red waved it off. “You're right, though, about giving her attention being an on or off thing.”

“Okay.” I figured he was telling me to keep my eyeballs to myself.

“I'm releasing you, man,” Red announced. “You can have anything you can get from Allie.”

“Say what?”

“Anything she lets you have, it's all cool.”

“Like what? Rubbing her ass?”

Red waved it off. “That's simple shit. I KNOW she'll let you do that!”

“So what are you saying?”

“I'm saying you can carry the war to Allie. Anything she lets you get away with is fine. The only way you get in trouble is if she says no.”

“What are the limits? There have to be limits.”

“Allie sets them.”

“What if she wants to, you know, fuck?”

“That's up to Allie. And the results are up to Allie and me to work out. You're not to blame.”

“I don't get it. Why would you want to let me...?”

“I'm letting HER! It's a test, I guess. I want to know how far she will go.”

“I don't see anything but trouble coming of this.”

“Matt, either she's loyal and trustworthy and believes in marital fidelity, or she isn't and doesn't. I think I need to know. You're the guy -- she's got her eye on you. But if there is a problem, even if you handle your end, eventually, she won't. She'll find a nice plumber, or personal trainer or whatever and ride the pony with him.” He settled back in his chair. “We had a talk about this when we were going together, too. I figured at the time that she was telling me what I wanted to hear -- but at the time, what I wanted to hear was that sex outside the marriage was okay as long as it was open and above board.”

“You pushed that line?” I was aghast!

“Yeah. It was fine then. Now, I'm not so sure. But it gives her a fallback position. I guess maybe she won't be the only one tested. I'm going to have to see how I feel about it if she carries the ball over the goal line.”

“I'm not doing this. It isn't safe. What am I supposed to tell the cops when I'm lying in the hospital after you shoot my balls off? 'Oh, he said it was okay, but then he changed his mind...' Who would believe that shit?”

“I'll put it in writing.”

“You'll WHAT?”

“I'll put it in writing that you're covered, whatever happens.”

“You know, I don't think I want to be in the same room with her now.” I cut off the conversation -- and I stayed away, for about a week.

Then Allie called...

“Matt, Honey, what's wrong? Are you mad at Red about something?”

“No, I just shouldn't be hanging around you guys all the time, being a fifth wheel,” I replied lamely.

“But we LIKE having you around, Matt!”

“You guys should have your alone time.”

“We get plenty, Honey.”

“I'm not so sure.”

“I am. You come to dinner on Friday, Honey.”

“I dunno. I don't think...”

“We're not taking no for an answer. You come Friday. I can't have you and Red on the outs like this! You two talk it out.”

“I'll talk to Red.”

“I'll see you Friday, Honey. No excuses! Bye!”

Thirty minutes later, Red surfaced. “Allie called you, right?”

“Yeah. Dinner Friday. Look, Red...”

“Read this.” Red shoved a paper under my nose.

'To Whom It May Concern:

Effective this date, Matt Halloway has my expressed permission to pursue any physical, mental or emotional relationship with my wife, Allison Treadway, that she will initiate or allow. This specifically includes a sexual relationship.'

Red had signed it and dated it.

“Red...”

“Take it. I made a couple of copies. If she rips off your clothes and fucks you until you're brain dead, it isn't your fault. You have my permission to do whatever my wife lets you do to her, up to and including fucking her brains out.”

“This is insane!”

“Well, you're covered.”

“So, what am I supposed to do?”

“Come to dinner Friday night.” He eyed me. “Look, at some point, she'll put up a hand and tell you to stop -- and she'll enforce it by backing off -- or she won't. Either way, she'll either come clean with me and clear the decks, before or after, or she won't. I'm going to cover my ass. If I catch her, I'm going to make a video of her riding your cock -- and then she and I are gonna talk about it. But you're covered. I'm going to give you both opportunities to jack things up a notch. Feel free to pursue them at your own rate. She'll stop you or she won't -- and most likely, she'll lead you on for some distance. We'll see how it goes.”

“I can't get over how you don't trust her.”

Red frowned. “At this point, I'm not sure who I don't trust. What if she comes to me and asks me if it is okay for her to fuck you? She could do that. Back when it was theory, I told her that would be okay with me. She may give me the opportunity to see if it really is or not.”

“Red, you're my friend,” I began.

“I'm asking you, as a friend, to relax and operate as if you have my permission -- because you do. Take it as far as you feel comfortable. If you change your mind somewhere down the line, fine -- I don't want you doing anything phony. But you know and I know that you want a piece of ass from my wife -- and she knows it, too. The door is open. Don't let me stop you.”

In the end, all I agreed to do was go to dinner Friday night.

Allie opened the door in a halter top so loose it barely covered her nipples when she bent over, and something I'd once heard called culottes -- kind of a cross between a short skirt and really baggy shorts. She took less than five minutes to find a way to show me that she was wearing a red thong under them and that she trimmed her pubic hair up pretty tightly, but didn't shave. She managed to show me her nipples, too, if only one at a time. She would zoom in WAY too close to deliver a beer or something, leaving me flexing my fingers, having almost reached out to touch something, while I tried to reel in my eyeballs from where they'd gotten stuck in either her cleavage or up one of the baggy legs of those shorts. I got through dinner, but when she went off to clean up in the kitchen afterward, I tried to disengage.

“Okay, I can't do this,” I told Red. “I'm gonna head off. Why don't you take this opportunity to sit her down and tell her that bear baiting is dangerous and that you need to revisit the whole open marriage thing.”

Red shook his head. “It's too late. As Sherlock Holmes once said, “The game is afoot!” If I ask her to throttle back now, it'll be because I'm chickenshit.”

“It'll be because you're protecting your marriage!” I shot back.

Red waved it off. “This will go one of three ways, Matt. She'll jump your bones, and I'll be cool with it, or she'll jump your bones and I won't, or she'll back off and the issue will handle itself.”

“What about her coming to you and asking you if it is okay?”

“If she does, I have to say yes.”

“Why, for shit's sake?”

“Because I started it. Because if I back down, I'm a pussy. Because if I say no, she won't ask next time -- she'll just do it. And it won't be you and I'll find out the hard way.”

“Why don't you bring the thing up as a subject totally separate from anything we're doing -- or not doing?”

“She'll see right through it.”

“Okay, well, dinner was great, but I shouldn't hang around.”

“Go tell her.”

“Red!”

“She thinks WE have a problem!”

“Fine.” I headed for the kitchen.

Allie was loading the dishwasher. When she saw me coming, she shifted her position such that she could watch my approach while giving me a drop-shot at her cleavage. I controlled myself.

“Thanks for the dinner Allie -- it was mighty fine. I'm headed out now.”

She popped up. “Why?”

“You two don't need me hanging out here.”

“What's wrong, Matt? What's going on between you and Red?”

“Nothing. We're fine.”

“Then why...?”

Some bug bit me suddenly and I lost my temper. I think it was trying to look at her face and not her titties. “Dammit, you KNOW why!”

She blinked. “No, I don't.”

“It's YOU! You're teasing the shit out of me -- and you know it! Red told me it gets you off -- well, I'm happy for you, but I'm NOT happy for me, okay? Trying to be good around you when you're busy showing me your goodies SUCKS!” I stormed out at that point.

I wasn't home twenty minutes when I got a phone call. It was Allie.

“I'm sorry!” she apologized, “I thought that, you know, you were just a little excited.”

I sighed. “Look, I don't even know if I ought to get into this -- but you're Red's wife. That's all that keeps me from getting stupid. I can't go messing with my best friend's wife! It's an honor thing. But you keep kicking it up a notch and kicking it up a notch and it's rack and thumbscrews time!”

“You're that sweet on me?” Her voice was like honey. “I don't think RED is THAT sweet on me!”

“I'm sure he is,” I croaked.

She let out with a soft chuckle. “Red knows me, Baby. Familiarity probably breeds contempt.”

“I'm sure it doesn't.”

“Maybe I should talk to him?”

“What about?”

“You.”

“What about me?”

“You shouldn't have to suffer so.”

“I'll... get a grip. Just don't tease me so much.”

“You poor thing. Mama fix.”

“Okay.”

“Good night, Sweetie.”

“Good night.”

I went off to bed and jerked off twice, remembering that honeyed voice.

Saturday, Red called. “Hey, let's hit Ripley's -- just you and me.”

“Sure. No Allie?”

”No, we don't want her there for this.”

“Oh?”

“I'll explain over beer and peanuts.”

“Ripley's is into popcorn this month.”

“Whatever.”

“Thirty minutes?”

“Plenty of time for the kickoff.” Ripley's was a sports bar. You never knew what the snacks were going to look like. When we got there, I think it was cashews and some kind of chip. I stayed away from them, just nursing my beer until Red came in, late.

“What's up?” I asked. “Allie giving me a break?”

“Just the opposite.”

“What?”

“She hit me up last night after she called you. What did you tell her?”

“The truth. The only things keeping my hands off her were our friendship and her marital status. Why?”

“She hit me up. She asked me if my position on sex outside of marriage had changed.”

“She WHAT? You said yes, right?”

“No, I told her it was all cool, as long as I knew what was going on.”

“YOU DID WHAT?”

Red shrugged. “What was I SUPPOSED to say? 'No, I'm jealous and two-faced and want you to wear ankle-irons and a chastity belt'?”

“Hey, there's a happy medium. You could have told her you have concerns.” I took a hit of my beer. “She didn't get into specifics, did she?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact. She said, 'Mattie is sweet and I've been teasing the poor guy to death. Would it be all right if I gave him some?'”

“Oh, shit! Did you tell her she ought to think about doing something like that with strangers?”

Red grunted. “It didn't occur to me. I told her to go for it.”

“JEEZUS!”

“Matt, if she's gonna do it, I need to have control over things. If she does it with you, I at least know where she is and who she's with.”

“But...”

“She asked. Sooner or later, she was going to. I know THAT, at least.”

“She, um, did the honorable thing. She DID ask,” I pointed out. “I can't BELIEVE you were a dumb shit and said yes!”

Red grunted. “So, I give her two points for asking, and take 'em away because she asked.”

“Okay, I know what to do,” I declared.

“What?”

“I'll tell her I can't because it will destabilize our friendship. Thanks, and all that...”

“No, you won't!” Red insisted, “The gate to the corral is already open! I need to know which stallion my mare is going to follow! If you duck her, who knows who she'll end up with!”

“Maybe you're not giving her enough credit,” I insisted. “Maybe she's just offering a mercy fuck -- because it's me and I'm your friend and I'm all hung up. Maybe she has no intention of ever doing anything with anyone else.”

“Nothing happens in a vacuum, man. There's other shit -- like kids. Like the fact that we needed you for a crutch in the first place. There are two or three other things. I think she's testing the waters.”

“With me?”

“Well, if we start swinging or something, it might stave things off -- and it might not, you know? I do NOT want to be one of those poor motherfuckers whose wife dates black guys, three at a time!”

“I think you're being paranoid, man.”

“Is it paranoia if they ARE out to get you?”

“They're not. I'm not, anyway. I'll defuse this.”

“Don't. Get it while it's hot. You're going to have to choose sides after the divorce. Besides, I need the video.”

“That's entrapment! You tell her it's okay, then you video her so you can claim infidelity?”

“She ought to know better in the first place!”

“But YOU told her it's how YOU wanted it!”

“So? Women say one thing and mean another all the time! Why can't I?”

“Because men don't?”

Red just looked at me.

“Look, I'm going to tell her that it isn't right and you probably really don't want her doing this and that it will probably fuck up our friendship.”

Red shrugged. “Okay. What if it doesn't stop her?”

“It'll stop her.”

“What if it doesn't?”

“I'll...”

“...Fuck her. That's what you'll do. Your dick will drain all the blood from your brain, but you'll rationalize it all, remembering that I gave you the go-ahead -- in writing -- and she'll wrap her pussy around your cock. And I'm going to make a video -- and your brain is gonna tell you that you're doing me a favor, helping me get the proof, which will be another reason to let it happen -- but the big reason is because if she puts one of her titties in your hand, you are NOT going to be able to stop!”

The picture he painted was WAY too vivid! “I can avoid that!” I insisted.

“How, exactly? She won't let you. I won't let you!”

“Why do you want her to fuck up so bad?”

“I don't WANT her to -- but she's gonna, so I want it done under controlled conditions. Are you with me?”

“How is it that being your back-door man is being with you, exactly?”

“I'm not going over all this again. Just follow your nose. Sooner or later, it's going to find Allie's crotch.”

“You're giving me a headache!” I rasped, “Watch the game. Bartender! Two, here!”

Knowing that Allie was actually thinking about having sex with me made things worse. The fantasy was attainable! Allie wanted to fuck me. Red wanted her to. I CERTAINLY wanted her to -- but it was WRONG! I had to wonder why I was the only one who could see that. It made things shaky. Was I delusional? Who died and made me the official heir to Dudley Doright? The little red guy with the horns sat on my shoulder, poking me with his pitchfork day and night! The one with the halo wasn't around nearly as much! I was on my own a lot -- and that wasn't a good thing.

Monday, Red invited me to their place for Monday Night Football. “It's a weeknight. You'll be safe. You can always come out with all that shit you were telling me you were gonna on Saturday,” Red chided. He kept ragging on me about what a pussy I was being that I finally went.

Allie had throttled things back. She was in shorts, but they covered the subject and didn't show me her thong, and her top didn't show me the whole upper surface of her tits. We hung out on the couch with Red in the middle, me on the left and Allie on the right, sucked beers and concentrated on the game -- until Red got up to take a piss. Then Allie scooted over next to me.

“Red and I had a talk about you,” she murmured, “Did he say anything?”

“Some crazy shit,” I replied, being perfectly honest.”

“Did he tell you that I asked him if I could be a little more accommodating?”

I gave her a set of raised eyebrows. “Is that what you call it?”

“Well...” she smiled seductively. “I know you guys like to put such things out there, raw, but...”

“I was shocked!” I insisted.

“Why?”

“I couldn't believe he told you it was okay!”

“We talked about sex outside of our relationship way back when we were going together,” she insisted. “He wanted it then. I was surprised, but, hey...”

“That was then and this is now. Maybe he's changed his mind.”

“He said he hadn't.” She was rubbing my thigh.

“What if he's telling you what he thinks you want to hear? You know, once we come out with something like that, backing down means losing face.”

“That's silly!”

“It doesn't mean it isn't true. Has he ever asked you if he could...” I stopped and substituted “have sex with” for “fuck,” then finished the sentence with, “some girl?”

“No.”

“That's a lot more likely scenario, if he was serious, I think. Besides, if we were to have a relationship, it would screw up my friendship with Red!”

Glowing green eyes gazed into mine. “Are we going to have a relationship, Sweetie?”

The pain in my crotch from having my cock try to inflate while bent double broke the hypnotic spell just in time! “No, we're not,” I muttered, turning my head away. “Red! Hurry up! I have to piss!” I got up and headed for the bathroom.

I met Red in the hallway. “Your bladder that full?”

“She...” I pointed back at the living room.

“She put the moves on you?”

“Uh huh!”

“How did those arguments of yours go over?”

I frowned. “I need to fine-tune them, maybe.”

“Good luck with that.”

I went on to piss and adjust myself. When I returned, Red had taken the right side of the couch, leaving Allie in the middle. She patted my original location in invitation. I made to move to a chair, but Red just looked at me. Allie sat there for the rest of the game, rubbing my thigh -- and my cock, when it erected down my pant leg. She was rubbing Red's, too, but she was SUPPOSED to rub his! I hung out until the post-game show, then got out of there, limping until I could adjust my genitals. Allie saw me out, rubbing my back. I think she'd have kissed me if I'd let her. I went home and jerked off until I was RAW!

Tuesday, Red was ecstatic! I couldn't fathom why. “Man, after you left, she was a wild thing! I thought she was going to swallow my cock whole, then she rode me like a crazed thing! I got off three times, and I don't know HOW many times SHE got off!”

I frowned at him. “Red, you need to think about this.”

“Oh, I am. It says bad things about our sex life that you drive her crazy and I don't. But at least I get to enjoy the up-side.”

“I haven't touched her!”

“I know. Let's go out Friday night.”

“Red...”

“Just do it. Why are you dragging things out?”

“I thought you like the up-side?”

“I'll get a couple more in.”

I couldn't figure him out.