Home Economics
written by:
zblam2

"Hey, Car, hand me that allen wrench, would you?"

"What allen wrench?"

"The allen wrench that was just here like ten seconds ago."

"If you lost the allen wrench, don't try and pin it on me."

"Oh, here it is, under the instruction sheet." Carmen and I were assembling a bookcase at our new apartment. "Honey, I'm sorry. Assembling furniture brings out the asshole in me."

"I understand. Here, let's see if the fridge is working." She got up, tossed her hair over her shoulders, and went into the kitchen. She returned with a couple of cans of Sprite. "Seems cold to me."

"Thanks, sweetie." I popped open the can and took a good slug. "Now, where the hell is part 29?" I reached over to the hardware cup and knocked over the soda can. "Fuck!" I swore, as a river of Sprite flowed across our hardwood floors, drenching the instruction sheet for the bookcase. Carmen dared to laugh.

* * *

It didn't take much for Carmen to convince me that it was time for us to move in together. We'd been seeing each other for about six months and everything seemed to be going great. I even got to practice my Spanish on her parents when they visited from San Diego. "I'll tell them, 'Me gustan las tetas de su hija.' Is that right?" I teased Carmen, who responded with a look that said, if you even think about it, you will never see my tetas again.

Anyway, aside from the furniture assembly, the move seemed to be going okay. Our new place was in a nice old brick building not far from the university, where we had both transferred after finishing up at the Commune. Packing boxes sucks, of course, but it was nice to think about integrating my stuff with Carmen's stuff. It's not the living together that makes a relationship seem suddenly more serious (we'd been having sleepovers almost every night anyway)--it's the mingling of possessions.

By that night the bookcase was stocked with our fantasy novels and textbooks and romances, and we'd heaved our new mattress and box spring onto their hollywood frame. As we were unfolding the bedsheets there was a loud buzz. "I guess our buzzer works," said Carmen.

"I'll get it." I opened the door, expecting to head down front to see who was buzzing. But I was surprised to see a woman standing right outside our apartment door. (The buzzer and the doorbell turned out to be the same thing.) She was tall, with flowing red hair and a small mouth.

"Hi, I'm Lily, from across the hall. You guys must be my new neighbors." She had a high voice and spoke quickly.

"Yeah, hi, I'm Mike, and this is Carmen." She had joined me by the doorway.

"Nice to meet you, Lily," said Carmen.

"Well, I just heard you moving and wanted to come over and say hi and welcome to the building."

"We weren't being too noisy, were we?" I asked, looking at my watch. Ten-thirty.

"No, a little noise never bothered me. It's nice to meet you guys. Okay, good night." She bounced across the hall to her apartment.

"Well, she was certainly chipper," said Carmen, closing the door.

"Cute, though."

"Living together, what, six hours now and already you're looking at other girls?" She laughed. "Let's finish making the bed." We retreated to the bedroom and smoothed the sheets out over the mattress.

I flopped down onto the bed. "I'm glad you talked me into the more expensive mattress, because this is great. Or maybe I'm just exhausted."

"Maybe you're just lazy."

"Hey, who's the master of the allen wrench here? That takes massive wrist muscles."

We brushed our teeth and climbed into bed together. Carmen leaned over and kissed me. "Baby, I think I'm too tired to do it tonight. Could we christen the bed tomorrow?"

"I'm about to fall asleep, too." It was true. "I love you."

"I love you too." We curled up together and I was asleep within minutes.

* * *

It was the squeaking noise that woke me up first, I think. I glanced over at the clock. One-fifteen. Did we have mice? That's what it sounded like, an army of chattering rodents.

As I shook off sleep, it became clear that the sound also included people's voices, and was rather more rhythmic than anything rodents or roaches could cook up.

They always said these old buildings had thick walls and you could get away with anything. It turned out that in our apartment that was true, except that the thin back wall of our bedroom closet was also the thin back wall of the neighbor's bedroom closet. Our closet door was open.

Apparently, so was the neighbor's. Now I could make out a woman's high-pitched moans. She would let out a long cry, pause for a breath, and then let loose with another. She wasn't alone, either--the moans were joined by some low grunting.

"Are you listening to this?" Carmen asked me.

"Oh, you're awake. Do you think it's that woman we met earlier, what was her name? Libby?"

"Lily. It's definitely coming from her place."

"Hmm. Our lease said no piano playing, but it didn't mention this. I think piano playing would be less likely to keep me up." Our moaning neighbor had started talking, but I couldn't understand her. "Can you tell what she's saying?" I asked Carmen.

"No, but I can guess. Wait, I don't even have to." She hopped out of bed and returned with an empty drinking glass. Turning on the light in the closet, she pressed the open end of the glass to the wall and leaned her ear against it. "Ay, come listen," she beckoned.

I rolled out of bed, crouched next to my girlfriend on the floor, and put my ear to the glass. Now what had been hazy, suggestive noises became totally clear. "Yeah, oh, that's it," said the voice, now recognizable as the redhead who had welcomed us to the building. She had a very faint Southern accent, I noticed. Now she was back to the straight moaning, and I could hear a wet slapping noise, flesh meeting flesh.

"Don't bogart the high-tech eavesdropping device," Carmen admonished, snatching the glass away. In my still-sleepy state, it didn't occur to me to go to the cupboard for my own eavesropping device.

"Well, what are they saying?"

"He just said, 'I can't hold back much longer,' and she said, 'Good, give it to me.'" We didn't need the glass to hear the next part, because the guy gave a few hearty groans as he came.

"Well, they sure know how to welcome new neighbors," I joked as we tucked back into bed. I kissed Carmen good night again and spooned up behind her. I put my arm around her and slid my hand under her nightgown and onto the smooth skin of her stomach. When my fingers reached the undersides of her large breasts, she clasped my hand in hers and moved it downward. For a minute, I was afraid she didn't want me to touch her, but instead she guided my hand directly into her panties. Raising one knee, she dragged my fingers over her copious bush of pubic hair and onto the lips of her vagina.

"Oh my god, you're soaked," I marveled.

"You were right," Carmen gasped as I began to stroke her pussy. "Lily IS cute, and hearing her--oooh--do that guy made me so hot. Wait, let me get my panties off."

"It turned me on, too," I admitted, helping her remove her underpants. I brought my hand, slick with Carmen's juices, to her mouth, and let her lick my fingers clean. Then I quickly went back to her open pussy and stroked the sides of her swollen clitoris. Her butt nestled against my pelvis, and she had one leg thrown over me, spreading herself wide to allow me easy access. I rubbed faster.

"Oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah," Carmen moaned, jerking her hips against my hand. I slipped a finger into her well-lubricated tunnel, brought it out, and spread the stickiness onto her clit. I caressed her sopping vagina with my whole hand, letting my middle finger wiggle her clitoris back and forth. "You're so good," she whispered, "Just a little more." Then, a familiar "ahhh," and I slipped a finger in and felt her pussy contracting against it. Her muscles were powerful. When I felt her orgasm winding down, I kissed her neck and reached up to cup her breast with my sticky hand. Her hard nipple bored deliciously into my palm. We relaxed.

"Do you want me to take care of you?" Carmen asked.

I was a little stiff, but felt like waiting. "In the morning. For now, get some sleep."

"Thanks, baby."

Right about then, the moaning next door started again and lasted for the next forty-five minutes. If this kept up, it was going to make me feel inadequate.

* * *

"So," began Carmen over breakfast, "do you think she knew we could hear her?"

"Well, if she didn't, she ought to now after the performance you gave."

"That wasn't a performance, dear, that was my first orgasm in our new bed, and you should speak of it with respect." She giggled.

"I'll hang a plaque for future residents," I promised. "Here, on this date, Carmen Vasquez experienced her first official cohabitional orgasm. The orgasm was furnished by Mike. For futher information on this historical event, or for a good time, contact Carmen at 555--"

"Will you PLEASE shut up!" Carmen fumed, but she was laughing.

We ate our cereal and traded sections of the paper. "I need to go to class," announced Carmen. My class wasn't until after lunch, so I helped her get her books together and sent her off toward school. She gave me a lingering kiss goodbye that seemed to promise an interesting afternoon.

When she was gone I tried to get some schoolwork done, but my thoughts kept returning to the night before, crouching in the closet with Carmen, listening through the wall. Had we done a bad thing? Or did the neighbor want us to hear? Would the chivalrous thing be to warn Lily to keep her closet door shut or just never mention it?

Eventually, I decided she'd want to be told. But to be honest, I'm not sure how much I was looking out for my neighbor's modesty and how much was just the thrill of telling her what I knew.

Allow me to digress. In 8th grade my parents sent me to summer camp. It was at this camp up in the mountains, and the counselors were probably high school seniors, seventeen or eighteen years old. The camp rules were strict, but it was coed, and there was this one camp counselor, Janine, that I had a major crush on. One day, when a bunch of kids were going swimming, I said I wanted to take a hike instead, and I hiked around to the cabin Janine was sharing with another girl. When she came back from swimming, I peeked in the window and watched her change out of her bathing suit. I could see everything. Her small breasts, nipples pointed almost toward the ceiling. The tuft of black pubic hair between her legs. And when she turned around, a perfect ass. My first naked woman.

She was dressed within minutes, of course, and I spent the next week worried that she would find out I was spying and turn me in. When that didn't happen, another fantasy crept in: I would tell her what I did. Initially she would be upset, but then she would come around. "You got to see me naked, but I didn't get to see you," she would say. "That's not fair." Even as she pouted, she would be locking the door and drawing the shades of her cabin, reaching for the snap on my jeans.

I never said a word, of course. I was way too chicken. But the incident was on my mind as I crossed the hallway to apartment 12 and knocked on the door.

Lily opened it. She was wearing a terry bathrobe and her long hair was brushed but still wet from the shower. "Mike, isn't it? Hi, good to see you! How's the move going? Is Carmen around?" She was a voluble presence. I got the feeling that I could just stand and let her talk, and she would never ask why I'd come over. Maybe that would be for the best.

"It's going well, and Carmen's at school," I cut in. "Say, I just wanted to let you know, I don't know if you know this already, but I think our bedroom closets share a wall in the back, and if you have your closet door open we can kind of, you know, hear everything through the wall."

"Omigod!" squeaked Lily. Despite her childlike way of speaking, I noticed she was older than me and Carmen, maybe thirty-five. "You mean last night...oh, dear. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, really, I just thought you should know."

"Thanks, thank you so much, Mike. It's just, my ex-boyfriend was in town just for one night, and we got to talking about old times, and I'm sure you know the rest. It won't happen again anytime soon, I promise. I'm single--unintentionally single, you know how that goes, right? Well, maybe you don't. That Carmen is a cutie pie. Anyhoo, I'm sorry you had to hear all that racket." It looked like she had a tear in her eye, but it was probably just from the shower.

"Not a problem, Lily. I should get back to work. Have a good day."

"Thanks, Mike! Wait, one more thing, okay? I wasn't going to say anything, but actually I could hear you too. Well, Carmen at least. Were you guys trying out the new place? Omigod, that's too personal, I'm sorry. Anyway, see you around the building I guess." Without warning she gave me a peck on the cheek. "G'bye, Mike!"

Having a conversation with Lily was like running a marathon. I felt like a nap. Instead I made myself finish the assignment I was working on, trying to shut out thoughts of sexy neighbors and their ex-boyfriends. It had been impossible to tell what kind of body Lily was hiding under that robe, but my imagination happily supplied the details. I stroked the crotch of my jeans. "Dammit," I said under my breath. I threw on my backpack and went out the door to school.

* * *

"I had an interesting conversation with our neighbor today," I told Carmen over dinner at the local pizza place.

"You told her what happened?"

"Not all the details. She said her ex-boyfriend was in town and it probably won't happen again."

"Too bad for her."

"I know." I chewed on my pizza crust. "She'll talk your ear off."

"Wait, how much did she tell you?" Carmen asked.

"No gory details. She seems a little prudish."

"Didn't sound prudish to me."

"Context is everything. Didn't you learn anything in psychology class?"

* * *

Lying in bed, I looked over at the closet door. It was open. I was half-expecting, more hoping, that the moans from next door would start in again. But apparently Lily had been telling the truth, because there was no sound.

Carmen was up writing a paper. By the time she came to bed, I was already asleep.

In the morning, I felt apologetic. "Sorry we still haven't made love on the new bed," I told her as she got dressed for class. I watched her fit her breasts into a sizable bra. It's a sight that never gets old.

"It's okay, sweetie. Weekend's coming soon, and I'm going to keep you busy." She kissed me and flashed her pretty smile. I thought about asking her to skip class and come back to bed, but Carmen is the most dedicated student I know, and it wouldn't have gotten me anywhere.

So, after she left, I made myself useful. I made cookies. For those of you stuck in the 20th century, who think men don't make cookies, I say you are missing out. First of all, home-baked cookies are delicious. Second, you will be fighting the girls off with a stick.

I took the second batch of chocolate-chip pecan out of the oven and transferred them to a cooling rack. I couldn't resist eating one hot out of the oven, even though I knew it would fall apart when I tried to pick it up. Gooey and delicious. When the cookies had cooled a bit, I realized that two dozen cookies was rather a lot, and we didn't really know anyone in our new neighborhood yet.

Wait, yes we did. I arranged six cookies on a plate, covered it with plastic wrap, and took it across the hall. Lily came to the door swiftly. "Hi, Mike!" she bubbled.

"I made some cookies," I said dumbly. "Thought you might like some."

"Come in! Thanks! You can set them down on the coffee table. I'll be right there." She sped off toward the kitchen. I put the cookies down and looked around, unsure whether to sit. Lily's apartment was festooned with collectibles: spoons, plates, figurines, lunch boxes. Somehow this was unsurprising.

Lily returned from the kitchen with two small glasses of milk. "Stay and have a cookie," she said, and I couldn't tell whether it was a question, so I sat down on her sofa and picked up my second cookie of the day. As I was sipping my milk, Lily exclaimed, "Mmm, oh, god these are good cookies." Flashback to the other night--Lily enjoying cookies sounded a lot like Lily enjoying other things, though I guess her language wasn't quite as colorful. "Did you make these yourself?" she asked. I allowed that I did, and she said, "That Carmen is such a lucky gal. It's just me over here. I have my own graphic design business, but it can be kind of lonely, you know? So I envy you guys, moving in together and all that."

"What about your boyfriend?"

"EX boyfriend. Oh, next time he comes to town he'll probably come over again, but that's only about every six months, you know? Oh! Gosh these are good." Her small mouth twitched as she chewed. "If you keep bringing cookies over I'm going to be huge in no time." Lily was wearing a fairly tight top today, with a zipper going up the neckline, and while no part of her was huge, well, certain parts appeared to be a bit larger than average.

"Listen, Mike, about the other night, I still feel really embarrassed. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but that's what I do, I talk about things until I'm blue in the face. But I feel so bad, your first night in your new place and I had to go and ruin it with my carrying on."

"Lily, please, you didn't ruin anything. If you want to know the truth, we were really turned on by it. In fact, you got Carmen so hot she couldn't get back to sleep until--oh, man, we shouldn't be talking about this."

"Omigod, I'm blushing. Young love, it's such a beautiful thing. Now I'm spouting cliches, so I'd better let you go. Thanks again for the cookies, Mike." She led me to the door, but before I could leave, she threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug. "That's for the cookies, and for being so nice to me," she said. Her hair smelled nice. I'm sure she could feel my erection pressing against her, but she was nice enough not to mention it.

* * *

I wasn't sure whether I had anything to come clean about, but when I got home from class, I told Carmen about having cookies with Lily.

"She sounds kind of insecure," said Carmen.

"That was my impression. Well, it would be nice to have a friend in the building, anyway. Maybe we could have her over for dinner or something."

"Sounds good. You can be in charge of cookies, since she seems to like them so much."

"Hey, what are you trying to say?"

"Oh, nothing."

We went to bed early, still exhausted from moving and schoolwork. "One more day until the weekend," Carmen whispered. "Saturday, let's spend all day in bed like we used to, okay?"

"Sounds great, baby." She had worn a sports bra to bed, and it made her breasts feel even bigger when she curled up behind me. Soon I heard her breathing slowly, which told me she was asleep. Then I heard something else, something coming from the closet. It was only a couple of high-pitched moans, but the voice was familiar by now. Carmen didn't even wake up.

* * *

Friday found me out shopping. As I filled the cart with staples for the weekend, I saw a shock of red hair disappear around the next aisle. When I followed it, it was my neighbor, of course. "Howdy, neighbor," I called, and she turned her head, swinging long red hair everywhere.

"Mike! It's great running into you. Did you know they're having a sale on breakfast cereal? I just got two boxes of Frosted Flakes for the price of one." She waved a hand at her cart, which did indeed contain a matched set of Kellogg's boxes. "Of course, you probably don't even buy cereal, what with being a gourmet cook and all."

"Hey, just because I can make cookies doesn't mean I'm not a man of the people," I replied, tossing some Frosted Flakes into my cart. When I pulled my cart up alongside Lily's, she leaned in conspiratorially.

"So," she whispered, "could you hear me last night?"

"Lily, I don't think we should talk about this at the supermarket."

"Hmm. Okay." She looked sad. "Are you done shopping? Because I'm ready to check out."

"Sure, let's go." We walked back up the street with bags of groceries, not saying much. When we got back to the building I held the door open for her and followed her up to the second floor and to her apartment. I dropped my bag just inside her front door. "I thought you said you were going to keep your closet door shut," I began, trying to take a lighthearted tone. It hadn't actually bothered me, of course, but it was weird.

"I know. Have a seat, okay?" I sat on the couch, this time without cookies. Lily went to the kitchen and brought us milk anyway. I hadn't drunk this much milk since I was a kid. "It's just, things get lonely around here, and when you told me about how it made you all hot and bothered hearing me making it with Brian, I thought it would be something nice for you guys if I, you know, like with the door open."

"I understand. Carmen was asleep last night, but I could hear you."

"Oh, I was hoping you were both up. I hope you don't think I'm some kind of exhibitionist--I've never done anything like that before, but I like you guys, and it felt natural, you know? And," she dropped to a whisper, "I shouldn't say this, but I had a very good orgasm."

"I'm glad," I replied, blushing. "I'll tell you what. Are you going to be around tomorrow?"

"Yes, why?"

"Carmen and I are planning to spend the day in bed. I could accidentally leave the closet door open. Would you like that?"

"Oh, Mike, that would be a treat." She was wearing another of those zip up tops, revealing some cleavage, and upon taking another peek I thought she might not be wearing a bra. Because she was tall, her breasts, which were actually quite large, seemed a good bit smaller than Carmen's. I looked away quickly so she wouldn't catch me.

"Maybe tomorrow afternoon you could come over for tea or something," I offered.

"I don't want to interrupt you two or anything," said Lily.

"You won't. Come over about four. I'll make cookies."

"Oh, goody! I'll definitely be there, and made I'll, you know, hear from you before that."

I said goodbye and walked across the hall to my place. Our place. I switched on the computer to do some work, got started, then realized that I'd left my grocery bag back over at Lily's. Nothing too perishable in it, luckily. I zipped back out and began to knock on her door. It came open--I must have failed to close it all the way when I'd left. "Lily?" I called. "I left my groceries."

The bag was still sitting by the door, but I peered around. Maybe she had gone to the bathroom, but no, I could see that the bathroom door was open and the light off. I knew I should just take my groceries and go. I knew that. But I was also the victim of curiosity. I walked into the kitchen. "Lily?" I said quietly. Probably she was doing laundry, it suddenly occurred to me. She had gone out the door and left it ajar, and any minute she would come back with an empty laundry basket, a few quarters lighter.

Just to confirm my hypothesis, I pushed open the door to the bedroom. "Mike! Omigod, what are you--" Lily was not doing laundry. She was on her bed, head propped up on two pillows. She still had her jeans on, but they were unzipped and her right hand had crept down deep into her panties. Her shirt had come off entirely, and I got an eyeful of her bare breasts, which were round and beautiful, capped by puffy reddish nipples and very large areolas.

I didn't stare long, though--I quickly turned around and pulled the bedroom door shut until I heard the latch click. "God, I am so sorry," I called through the door. "I'm leaving right now, I just came back for my groceries, I swear." I was blubbering. Honestly, I was about to hightail it out of there when I heard the bedroom door latch click again.

Lily peeked her head around the door and said, "Mike? Mike, it's okay, please don't be upset." She drew the door back the rest of the way and stood there, half-naked. I made a show of looking over her shoulder. "It's okay," she repeated. "I got to thinking about what you said about tomorrow, and it made me feel like--" she paused. "It made me feel sexy."

"That's good," I replied, embarrassed. I must have been turning every shade of pink, afraid to make eye contact, but trying not to look at Lily's exposed breasts.

"Mike, you don't have to be so shy. Listen, I want to, you know, finish what I was doing. You can go if you have to, but I don't mind if you...if you stay."

"I have a girlfriend," I stammered.

"I'm not asking you to touch me," Lily said with determination. "But you can watch. I know it was an accident when you walked in on me. Just one of those things you saw by mistake. Please."

She had a point. I leaned against the doorway, afraid to come any closer. Lily was already climbing back onto her bed. I couldn't move, but now I was staring openly at her pretty breasts, watching how they shifted as she lay down. "You're beautiful," I said, and her cheeks flushed with pride.

Lily ran her right hand over her stomach, holding me in anticipation. Instead of moving it down as I expect, she raised it and cupped one of her large breasts. She slid her fingers over the nipple and gasped. It was the other hand that dipped into her jeans, first outside her white panties, then inside. I couldn't see when her fingers reached the lips of her vagina, but I could tell by the sudden intense look on her face. Her hand began to move faster inside her panties, and she let out the first of those familiar high moans.

"I need to be naked," Lily whispered.

"Yes," I encouraged. She eased her tight jeans and panties down together.

Back in high school I'd had a running debate with my friend John. He was convinced--through much experience, he claimed unconvincingly--that red-haired women had red pubic hair. "Flaming red bush" was the endearing term he used. I said he was crazy. My argument was based on a single piece of evidence from an old issue of Playboy. Neither of us managed to convince the other.

Now, in Lily's case, at least, it turned out John was right. Lily sported a nicely-trimmed triangle of auburn hair between her legs. When she'd finished getting her pants off, she spread her legs unabashedly, and her pussy was gloriously swollen and wet. She parted the lips with her fingers and stroked her prominent clitoris. Her eyes were closed in concentration, but suddenly she opened them and looked right at me. Her expression softened into a smile.

I smiled back, and Lily began to shift on the bed. She turned over onto her stomach without letting her hand slip from its nook between her legs. As she rubbed herself, she started raising and lowering her hips, grinding her pussy against her hand. The muscles of her gorgeous ass were working hard; I could see them clenching with exertion. Her back was smooth and flawless.

"Oh, yeah!" Lily moaned loudly. Her hips started moving faster. I wanted to reach out and help her so badly. My penis was painfully stiff, sticking straight up and pressed against the inside of my pants. In five seconds I could have my jeans around my ankles and be buried in her up to the hilt. But I held myself back.

I realized that I was breathing quickly, matching the pace of Lily's cries. "Oh, oh, oh," she was chanting.

Quickly she flipped back over. Her eyes locked with mine, she went back to fondling her breasts with one hand while the other explored her pussy. I saw her insert one finger, and heard myself say, "Oh, God." She slipped the finger out and rubbed her clitoris, faster, faster. She gave a long moan. Strands of red hair were matted on her forehead, which was covered in sweat. Her fingers were almost a blur, and her hips bucked uncontrollably in every direction. "Oh, fuck!" she screamed, and I knew she was coming. "Mike, oh, Mike, oh, look at me," she cried. She didn't have to ask. She thrashed on the bed, the powerful orgasm ripping through her like a cyclone through a trailer park.

Lily lay flat on the bed, panting. She held her thighs together as the climax subsided, but made no other attempt to cover up.

"That was wonderful, thank you," I told her.

"Anytime, neighbor," she sighed. "I guess you'd better get your groceries. I should get dressed and get some work done, and also I'm afraid of what might happen if I get out of bed before you leave, so maybe you should go, okay? Sorry to hustle you out; I'll still come over tomorrow if I'm still invited. Am I still invited?"

"Of course," I said. "See you at four." And even though I knew I shouldn't, I walked over and gave Lily a wet kiss on the mouth. My hands were clasped tightly behind my back. She stiffened, then relaxed and returned the kiss. "Thanks again for sharing," I said, and walked back to the living room in search of groceries.

* * *

By the time I got home, I had missed half of class. Time flies when you're watching an attractive woman masturbate, as the old saying goes. Carmen was surprised to find me home. "Did you skip class?" she asked disapprovingly.

"Yeah, I was busy with some stuff," I mumbled.

"Anything interesting?" Carmen asked, looking at me funny.

"Uh-uh. What do you want for dinner?"

"Hey, I can tell something is bothering you. What is it?"

"Well, I was out shopping earlier, and I ran into Lily, and--" I started to panic. Then I just spilled everything. Well, I left out the part about inviting Lily to listen on us the following day.

"Honey, I swear I didn't mean for it to happen, I honestly forgot my groceries. I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't touch her. Just the one kiss, and I promise it won't happen again."

"Look at me," said Carmen, kissing my on the forehead. "I'm not mad. I'm not even surprised. I could tell she had her eye on you. Don't you think I would have done exactly the same thing if I'd been in your shoes?"

"I guess so."

"Damn right. Now, is our date still on for tomorrow?"

"Absolutely." This seemed like the right time to tell her that Lily would be perched on the other side of the wall listening to our "date," but I couldn't find the words.

I had trouble sleeping and woke up groggy. Carmen gave me a big good-morning kiss and went out to get us coffee. While she was out I threw on some sweat pants, raced across the hall, and knocked on Lily's door to make sure she was home. She opened it in her bathrobe, fresh from the shower again. "Mike! Good to see you."

"Carmen's going to be home any second. I just wanted to see if you were awake." I was getting more and more excited about this idea, and that's probably what gave me the guts to say what I said next. "And I'll be thinking about you when I make love to Carmen," I whispered.

"Omigod," said Lily.

I reached down, untied the sash of her robe and slowly pulled it open. Her lush body was still damp from the shower, and I looked her up and down lustily for a moment. Then I carefully retied the robe and said, "See you this afternoon." She took a deep breath, bit her lip, and closed the door.

Carmen returned with coffee, and we drank it slowly. "So, how did you like our first week in the new place?"

"I like it," I replied. "I like how you're here when I get home from class."

"Me too." She kissed me on the lips. "What time did you say our neighbor was coming over today?"

"I told her four."

Carmen looked at her watch. "Good. It's ten now, that gives us six hours."

"Six hours? You must think I'm a machine."

"I've been waiting to get my hands on you all week." She drained her coffee cup and stood up. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and leggings. "You want to see something?" She turned around and quickly lowered and raised the back of the leggings, revealing for a moment her wide, bare ass.

"Carmen Vasquez, you went to the coffeeshop without panties?"

"That's a personal question, don't you think? But yes, I suppose I did. There was a cute barista checking out my butt, too."

"I'll go kick his ass."

"Why don't you channel that energy more constructively?" Carmen advised, giving me a long kiss. I'll be in the bedroom if you think of anything."

I finished my coffee and followed her into the bedroom, closing the door behind me. My eyes darted to the closet door. Open. Carmen, on the bed, didn't seem to notice. "So," she began, squeezing her thighs together, "tell me what it was like, watching the neighbor lady play with herself."

"You really want to hear about it?"

She parted her thighs and grazed the crotch of her leggings with the side of her hand. "Come here and tell me everything."

I got onto the bed next to my girlfriend and put a hand on her stomach. "Well, she had a nice body," I said. "Really big nipples."

"Are her breasts as big as mine?" Carmen asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe a couple of visual aids would help me out." I imagined Lily on the other side of the wall, listening in on this conversation, and felt a little thrill. Carmen pulled off her t-shirt and sat up. I popped the catch of her bra and peeled it off. She hefted one big breast in each hand and said, "So?"

"Nope, yours are bigger," I admitted, kissing her. I moved behind her and cupped her breasts with my hands, feeling the chocolate-brown nipples settle into my palms. Carmen gasped. I kissed the back of her neck. "First she had her hand down in her pants so I couldn't see anything," I said, slipping a hand into Carmen's leggings. I combed through her wiry pubic hair but kept my fingers away from her vagina.

"What happened next?" Carmen murmured, shifting her hips expectantly.

"She took off her jeans. Panties, too. Her bush is red."

"That's sexy," said Carmen, easing her leggings off.

"I thought so." I kissed her, open-mouthed, on the lips, then kissed her prominent shoulder blade. With one hand I stroked the side of her breast, bringing the nipple close to my lips. When I closed around it and began to suck, Carmen shrieked.

Soon, though, she composed herself enough to ask, "Did she come?"

I let Carmen's hard nipple fall from my lips, and she sighed. "Yeah," I told her. "It took a while, though."

"Wow, good for her," said Carmen. "I think in her situation I'd have been way too nervous to come."

"What about this situation?" I asked, slipping her other nipple into my mouth. I sucked at it eagerly, feeling the crinkly flesh of her areola expand in my mouth. I caressed her other breast with my hand. She moaned and reached down, grasping my erection through my sweat pants. I let her help me off with my shirt but kept the pants on for now and slid a hand over her wet pussy.

"I could kiss your breasts all day," I said, "but how about some kisses here?" I stroked her pussy, feeling her lips open to my touch.

"Please," Carmen begged, nudging my head downward. I gave her nipple another quick kiss and then licked my way down her stomach, pausing to flick my tongue in her navel. She twitched. I kissed her inner thigh, then pressed my face into the dark forest of her bush and extended my tongue. Carmen shuddered. "I missed your tongue on my pussy so bad," she said loudly. I knew Lily would hear every word. While I enjoyed the taste of Carmen's lush vagina, I wondered what our neighbor was doing. Did she have a glass pressed to the wall like we had done? Or was she again writhing on the bed, pleasuring herself? If I wanted to know, I would have to ask.

I concentrated now on what was between Carmen's lovely mocha-colored thighs. Her pussy had a tasty, familiar flavor, and I'd become adept at licking all the right spots. I slid my tongue over her swollen clitoris and she moaned, "Oh, right there, baby." I pushed two fingers into her tight vagina and stroked them in and out slowly without letting her clitoris out of tongue range. Looking up, I saw Carmen's hands wrapped around the tops of her breasts, holding them in place while the rest of her body shook with pleasure.

"Huh!" Carmen cried, and I felt her body go taut. "Oh, oh, you made me come, baby," she called out, and I kept licking her to a second orgasm, which caught her off guard, and she thrashed around, cradling her breasts with on arm and holding my head against her steamy crotch with the other. Finally she let me free and I kissed her nipples in turn, then her pretty face.

"Wow, you did miss me," I said. She sighed. I felt her hand tugging at my waistband. Carmen sat me up and got off the side of the bed to pull my sweats down. My erection, freed of its confines, jutted out proudly. My girlfriend wrapped her hand around my penis and I felt it twitch.

"This looks delicious," said Carmen, kneeling in front of me on the carpet by the side of the bed. I watched her lick up the side of my penis and over the sensitive head. I groaned happily. She fit her mouth over the head of my hard penis and started to bob on it, keeping her tongue pressed firmly against the underside. I was in heaven. I leaned back and stroked Carmen's hair, watching her suck my penis eagerly.

"Baby," I warned, "I'm close." She lifted her head and said, "I want you inside me."

"My pleasure," I replied. She bounded back onto the bed, breasts bouncing, kissed me, and lay face down in the middle of the mattress. I kneaded her firm butt with my hands and smiled when I saw the lips of her pussy peeking out. Taking my erection in my hand, I fitted it to her swollen entrance and gave a push. "Oh, YEAH!" she cried, and I inched my penis in the rest of the way until it was sunk fully into her tight crevice.

Carmen lifted her hips, raising her fine ass into the air. My penis slipped out halfway, and she gave a shove backwards, taking it all back inside. She pushed up onto all fours and I slid my hands up her torso to grasp her plump, dangling breasts. I pulled back and plunged my hard pole into her pussy again and again. Letting her breasts hang free, I kissed Carmen's smooth back and raised myself up so that I was kneeling behind her, holding her by her curvy hips and thrusting wildly.

Carmen was anything but passive. "It's so big inside me," she moaned, and she was jerking her hips back against me in rhythm with my thrusts. Suddenly my foot was off the side of the bed--we had been inching backwards. I pulled Carmen back against me and climbed off the bed so I was standing fully erect, as it were. I leaned over and held both of her breasts with one arm while steadying the other on her hip, and sunk my penis deep, grinding my pelvis against her magnificent ass.

"Oh, god!" Carmen moaned. I stroked her clit with one hand while I thrusted into her. She threw herself back against me, knocking me off-balance, and we collapsed to the floor in a naked heap with her sitting atop me. Carmen was giggling uncontrollably, and when she laughed, her powerful vaginal muscles squeezed my penis, milking it, and I sprayed into her with a groan, then started laughing myself.

Carmen and I crawled onto the bed and made love again, but finally I looked at the clock and realized that if I wanted to have Lily's promised cookies ready by four, I'd have to drag myself out of bed. I pulled on a t-shirt and jeans and didn't bother to shower. I liked having Carmen's scent on me.

I went into the kitchen and started pulling down ingredients from the cupboard. I selected a bag of pecans and a jar of caramel sauce and decided to make pecan squares. They were in the oven in twenty minutes. While I was assembling the pan of cookies, Carmen went by me, naked, on her way to the shower, and I gave her ass a good pat. I felt good.

"Smells great," said Carmen when she came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and another on her head. She changed into a tank top and khakis--with underpants this time, I noticed--and helped me cut the cookies up into bars. The loud doorbell rang, and Carmen leapt to answer it.

"Wait a second," I said, putting my hand on Carmen's arm. "Please don't tell her that I mentioned what happened yesterday. I'm embarrassed about it."

"I don't want her to think you're hiding stuff from me, either. What if I just tell her you said you saw her naked, but you left out the rest?"

"Deal." Carmen went to let Lily in, and I arranged the cookies on a plate and put the kettle on for a pot of tea.

Lily was all smiles when she came into the kitchen. "Hi, Mike!" she exclaimed. "It smells great in here. What have you guys been up to today?"

She knew, of course, but Carmen said, "Just hanging out, enjoying a Saturday off." I saw Carmen's eyes look toward the bedroom, then at me, and she grinned, shaking her head, as she realized that Lily had heard everything. I made my most innocent face.

I brought the cookies and teapot to the table and poured three cups of tea. Lily snatched up a cookie and took a bite. "Oh, Mike, these are even better than the others. Carmen, you're so lucky to have a good-looking guy who makes cookies. I envy you both." She took a sip of her tea and smiled.

"We're just trying to fatten you up so we can eat you," Carmen joked, and Lily laughed, a high-pitched horsy laugh. "So, where are you from, Lily?"

"Kentucky, originally, but I've been here ten years, so most people can't tell I'm from the South except when I get mad or...um, other times. How about you guys?"

"Mike's lived here all his life, and I'm from San Diego," said Carmen, taking a bite of cookie. "We're both students, maybe you already know. So, Mike tells me he accidentally saw you in the altogether yesterday."

Lily looked panic-stricken for a moment, but I cut in. "Yeah, I told Carmen about how I caught you coming out of the shower and ran out of there with my groceries before you could press charges."

Our neighbor looked relieved. "That was so embarrassing! I didn't think he would tell you," Lily breathed. It felt weird lying to her, but I told myself we were just playing a little joke. Lily took another cookie. "It's really nice having friends in the building," she said. "It can be hard to meet people, especially when you work at home."

"Mike told me about your business," said Carmen. "Maybe you could show us some of your stuff sometime. I'd like to see it."

"Oh, I've already seen her stuff," I said, cupping my hands in front of my chest in the international symbol. "It's fantastic." When someone opens a door like that, what can you do but walk through?

"Mike, my gosh!" Lily exclaimed, blushing.

Carmen just laughed. "See, he makes cookies, but he's also been known to run off at the mouth."

"I plead guilty," I said, throwing up my hands.

"Anyways," said Lily, her accent creeping back in just a touch, "you've got nothing to worry about, Carmen. Such a pretty young thing like you--it's Mike who's the lucky one."

Now it was Carmen's turn to blush. "Thanks," she muttered. You'd think Carmen would get used to compliments about her appearance after months of going out with me, but she can still be self-conscious. She's especially sensitive to comments about her height, since she's no more than five-one, and maybe Lily, who's probably five-eleven (my height) was making her nervous.

We chatted about our life stories for an hour or so and began to relax around each other more. Lily was telling us about putting herself through design school. As much as the work sometimes frustrated her, she said, she was really living her dream, setting her own hours and doing creative work. Beneath the ditzy veneer, we found, our neighbor was concealing a considerable intelligence. I hadn't seen her work, of course, but it wouldn't have surprised me to find that she was unusually talented.

Carmen and I told what had become our standard sanitized version of how we met in psychology class. It included my fruitless crush on Amy, but left out most of the juicy bits. Carmen did mention the study session-turned-makeout session; she just made it sound like Amy never showed up.

"Omigod, you guys, that is so romantic," gushed Lily. "When I was in design school, there was once this guy I had my eye on in painting studio, and one day the two of us and one other girl were in there late working on canvases, and I was giving the girl the evil eye trying to get her to leave. Finally she took the hint, and I was alone with the guy."

"What happened?" asked Carmen, wide-eyed.

"Well, I don't want to get too personal, but let's just say it turned out I wasn't the only one interested, you know?"

Frankly, I'd been hoping for a little more detail, and Carmen gave me a look that said she had been, too. Lily's mix of prudishness and openness could be perplexing.

"So did you make out with him right there in the studio?" Carmen finally asked as curiosity got the best of her.

"Well, I'm embarrassed to say so, but yes, we did, and it got pretty heavy. I dated him for a while, and we never did anything in the studio again, but every time I went in there after that, I started to get all turned on, you know?"

"That doesn't sound so bad," I said.

"Did I say it was bad? I got more painting done than ever!" she giggled.

When the laughter died down, Carmen put her hand on Lily's arm and said, "This is kind of personal, but did you hear Mike and me making love this morning? We forgot to close the closet door, and I know a lot of sound gets through that wall."

"Yeah, I could hear you, Carmen. I mean both of you, of course. I--"

"It's okay," said Carmen. "It doesn't bother. I just didn't want you to feel like you had to pretend you couldn't hear it. So I guess you know how we spent our morning."

"Yes, you lucky lovebirds. Guess we're even now, right?"

"Something like that," Carmen replied. Both women seemed ready to change the subject.

"More cookies, anyone?" I blurted.

* * *

On Sunday, we rested. Or, at least, that was the intent. As it turned out, Carmen got a call in the morning from a study partner asking if she was up for a work session in the library. "Do you mind if I go?" Carmen asked, holding her hand over the phone receiver.

"Of course not," I replied. I kissed her and helped her get her school things together. For some reason, I felt nervous as I sent her on her way. I wasn't worried about Carmen, who could take care of herself just fine. I was worried about me.

If Carmen could spend a Sunday morning out studying, then by God, so could I. I tossed a textbook and a highlighter into my backpack and put it on. As I locked the door, though, I heard another open, and Lily was coming out of her apartment. She was wearing her usual jeans and a baggy, long-sleeve white shirt. "Mike!" she called. "Good to see you. Hey, thanks again for having me over yesterday. I had a great time. You've both packed so much experience into so few years, you know?" She was standing close to me as she spoke. I should have you over sometime, but my place is such a mess, I'd have to clean up first. I guess you know that." Her place wasn't a mess at all, unless you counted her meticulously arranged collectibles.

"Anyway," Lily continued, "I was just headed to the drugstore. You want to come along? That is, if you're not busy."

Of course I was busy. And of course I looked at her tall, slim form and her aquiline features and said, sure, I'd be happy to come along.

We walked down the street a few blocks and I just let Lily talk at me ("Have you been to this restaurant? It's great!"). When she walked ahead of me, I admired the rear view. I know she saw me doing it, but she didn't mention it. Her butt, hugged by her tight jeans, had a classic upside-down-heart shape, and when she took a step it swayed. Her jeans had two back pockets, and for a moment I considered sliding my hands down into them and, imagining what excuse I could come up with for doing so. Tripped? Looking for change? She wasn't even drop-dead gorgeous the way Amy or Carmen were; she just had this laid-back sexiness that was hard to explain, but seemed to emanate from her like a pheromone. My gait took on a familiar limp.

When we got to the drugstore, Lily said, "Mike, you made me forget what I came in for! Oh wait, I remember, it was shampoo. I ran out of shampoo and didn't even shower this morning. I feel filthy." Naturally, she didn't look dirty any more than her apartment did. Her red hair was shiny and perfectly combed. She didn't wear bangs, and it was parted down the center.

I wasn't actually running low, but I picked up a bottle of conditioner, perhaps to mentally justify making the trip to the store. Lily saw my choice and said, "Oh, hey, I used to use that stuff."

"Used to? Did it make your hair fall out or something?"

"No, silly! I just use one kind for a while, and then move on to another one. I guess I'm just a fickle gal. Anyhoo, it's good conditioner, and since you made me think of it, I'm going to get some too." She grabbed a bottle of the same, and we checked out.

I fully intended to put the conditioner in my backpack and continue on to school, but when we left the store, I didn't want to be rude and cut Lily off mid-sentence, so I followed her back home. This was good, I told myself. I could put away the conditioner and then head right off to school. I looked at my watch. Carmen wouldn't be back for hours. I could get plenty of work done.

"Well, thanks for coming shopping with me, Mike," Lily said once we were back in our hall. "I'm going to take that shower now, so I'll see ya later."

I put the conditioner in the medicine cabinet and went to the bathroom. Before flushing, I noticed that I could hear the water running next door. That would be Lily's shower. I didn't flush--I figured I would save her the sudden blast of hot water. But I did pause to picture Lily in the shower, soaping herself up, the water cascading off her nude body.

I waited until I heard the water shut off before heading back across the hall. I rang the bell and heard Lily's voice saying, "Be right there, hold your horses!"

"It's me, Mike," I called.

"Oh, come on in, Mike!" I did. "I just got out of the shower," came her voice. "I'll be out in two shakes. Feel free to have a drink or something if you want." I wasn't thirsty, so I paced around the living room nervously. Finally, I heard the latch of the bathroom door click, and Lily stepped out, wrapped in a white towel. She had pink terry slippers on her feet. "What's up, Mike?" she asked.

"Lily, the other day..." I began.

"Yes?"

"I don't know how else to say it, so I'll just say it. The other day when you let me watch you masturbate--"

"I knew what you meant," Lily said. She was smiling. I stole a peek at where she'd tucked her towel in above her breasts. There was just an inch or two of cleavage.

"I just wanted to say that it was nice. I mean, I really liked it that you shared that with me. And, well, I was hoping that it might happen again sometime."

"I've been hoping that too," said Lily in a low voice. "Mike, I want you to know, I'm not always like this. I'm usually shy about sex and stuff, but the whole thing with the closet, and having no boyfriend around, I've been feeling different. And I kind of like it."

"No complaints here."

"And I really do like Carmen, you know? I don't want anything to happen to you two on account of me, promise me that, okay?"

I was afraid to tell her that Carmen already knew about what had happened. So I just said, "I promise."

"Is she going to be home soon?"

"Not very soon," I muttered, feeling my penis rising.

Lily walked over to the door and locked it. "Have a seat," she offered, and I sat on the couch. She came and sat at the other end--not quite beside me, but it was a small couch, and only a skinny person could have fit between us. She looked down at herself and fumbled with the top of her towel. I realized I was holding my breath.

"Mike," said Lily. "Relax. It's natural." Amazingly, she did make me feel relaxed, even as I watched her untuck the towel and begin unwrapping it from her chest. One large breast came into view, then the other. I sighed.

"Your breasts are gorgeous," I whispered. She didn't respond, but she cupped one in each hand and pressed them together, lifting them, sliding her palms over the nipples. She gasped. My erection was becoming painful. I reached in and adjusted it.

Lily finished removing her towel and tossed it on the floor. Looking me in the eye, she held her arms out, palms up, as if to say, "This is what you wanted to see?"

I answered with a grin. She was naked except for those slippers, which she made no move to take off. She raised one leg onto the couch, and her slippered foot was just an inch away from me. The trimmed red hair of her pussy came into view again, and then the lips. She ran one hand delicately over it, earning a gasp from me, and then returned to fondling her breasts. I could smell her, a mix of my familiar conditioner and the heady aroma of her pussy.

Lily looked me in the eye. Aroused but still showing a smile at the corners of her mouth, she licked her lips. Her face tightened, and in my peripheral vision I could see that her hand had made it back down between her legs. But I kept staring at her pretty face until I heard the sloshing of her fingers exploring her wet pussy. The pink folds splayed open under her hand and she moaned loudly.

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, conscious of my aching hard-on and wanting to get a closer view of Lily's womanly charms. So I slid down off the couch. She looked startled for a moment, but quickly went back to work on herself, stroking her clitoris with one finger. From my perch on the floor, her smell was stronger, and I could see everything. I could see the stubbly red hairs alongside her labia where she had trimmed them. Precision work. I looked up at Lily's face, over the twin swells of her breasts, and grinned.

When I leaned in closer, Lily whispered, "Do you like what you see?"

"Very much," I told her. She pushed one finger into her pussy and I put a hand over my mouth, delighted. I watched her work herself up into a frenzy, hips rolling back and forth. When I knew she was close, I took a chance.

"Lily?" I said, with more confidence than I felt.

"Yes, Mike, yes?"

"Your pussy looks delicious. May I lick it?" She paused, holding her hand over her vagina demurely. For a second I thought she was going to turn me down and probably kick me out. I was wrong.

"Yes," she said. "But it's not going to take long."

"That's okay," I assured her. Leaning forward, I gave her pussy lips a tentative poke with the tip of my tongue. Oh, god--ambrosia. Despite her shower, Lily's flavor was strong and womanly. I took a bigger lick, from her entrance up to her clit.

"Omigod," Lily squealed. "More. Please, please, more." I dove in. Her pussy was wet and luscious. Those cute trimmed pubic hairs tickled my nose, but I was undeterred. I flicked her clitoris hard with my tongue, bathing it with a mix of her juices and my saliva. Peering upwards, I saw that Lily was using her free hands to play with her breasts, and she was strumming her nipples enthusiastically.

She was right--it didn't take long. I would have happily continued for an hour, but about two minutes later, Lily was hit by an orgasm that rocked her long, lean body. "Holy fuck," she swore, putting both hands on the back of my head and grinding her pussy against my mouth. While going down on Lily, I had been grinding my crotch against the rug, and now, even before her orgasm had ended, I started to come, squirting stream after stream into my shorts. I groaned into her pussy, using it to stifle what would have been a very loud climax.

I lifted my head and began to stand up, not sure whether I should kiss my neighbor. "Mike, thank you, that felt really good," she said matter-of-factly. "Omigod," she added, pointing at the wet stains on the front of my jeans. "Did you...? In your pants?"

"Yes," I admitted sheepishly. "You got me so excited, and--"

"That's sweet," she cut in. "Now, I don't mean to be rude, but you should probably go home and get cleaned up, and I'm thinking about another shower, okay?"

"Of course," I said. "And thank you for letting me, you know." She smiled and nodded her head. On my way out, I kissed the top of her head, right in the part of her hair.

* * *

I hurried across the hall, trying to avoid running into any other neighbors. My plan was to put my jeans and boxers in the wash and take a quick shower before Carmen got home. Unfortunately, Carmen was already home, sitting at the kitchen table, when I came in.

"Hey, honey, where've you been?" she asked. As I approached, she said, "It looks like you got something on your pants."

"I was at Lily's," I admitted.

"You--oh. Oh, God. What happened?"

"You want to hear about it?"

"Yes. Sweetie, I'm not mad, I told you that before. As long as you're not hiding things from me, I'm not going to be upset just because you're fooling around with our sexy neighbor. Just remember to come home to me, okay?"

"Of course, baby," I replied, giving her a big kiss.

"Oh, wow, you taste like her," said Carmen.

"How would you know?"

"I know what a woman tastes like, and you taste like a woman." She had a point. "So what happened?"

I told her, and she listened intently. "Now explain me this, mi muchacho. How is it that you can fuck me for like forty-five minutes one day, but a little taste of neighborly pussy makes you cream your pants the next day?"

How do you answer that? "Um. Maybe there's something wrong with my pants?"

"Nice try. Now, do you really want to make this up to me?"

"Anything, dear."

"Then there are two things you can do for me." She explained number one. I laughed and promised to do it.

"What's number two?" I asked.

"If everything really happened as quickly as you said, your tongue must not be tired yet," she said, dropping her skirt on the way to the bedroom.

"Carmen?" I called. "There's something I need to do first."

"What is it?"

"Change my pants."

* * *

Monday morning, I got some actual schoolwork done, then picked up the phone and called Lily's place. When she answered, I said, "Hey, it's Mike."

"Mike, hi! I can't believe you're calling me on the phone when you live right across the hall. It's like that cell phone commercial where the people are standing right next to each other and--"

"Yeah, it's just like that. I called because I'm in the middle of making some lemon bars. Would you like to take a break from work and come over for some in maybe half an hour?"

"Is Carmen home?"

"She'll be at school."

"Oh. Um, yes, I'd like that." I heard her swallow hard. "See you in a few."

I hadn't actually started the cookies yet, but they're easy. I prebaked the crust and then poured on the lemon curd. While they were baking, the house began to smell like a lemon orchard, and the doorbell rang. I went to let Lily in. She was wearing a purple dress that zipped all the way up the front and had flowers embroidered along the sides of the zipper. It looked good on her. But what was striking about her appearance today was her hair, which she had braided into pigtails. She looked like Pippi Longstocking's older sister. And frankly, I had always wanted to get it on with Pippi Longstocking.

"Mike, it smells so good in here!" Lily exclaimed.

"Thanks. I need to check the cookies; they should be done any minute." I opened the oven, jiggled the pan, and took it out to cool. "They need to cool for a few minutes before I can cut them. Have a seat."

"Will do," she said, perching herself on the edge of the couch. "Hey, Mike, can you come here a sec?"

"Sure," I said, stepping into the living room. I sat on the couch next to her.

"I just wanted to tell you," she began, and paused. I braced for bad news. "I have trouble talking about this sort of thing, but yesterday, you know, gosh, you're really talented."

"Oh, Lily, it was my pleasure. Has anyone told you that you taste really good?"

"No."

"Well, it's true."

"Thanks. Carmen's even luckier than I thought if you do that to her a lot."

"Whenever I get the chance," I said truthfully. She had probably heard Carmen and me going at it in the bedroom the previous day, I realized.

"Anyway," Lily continued, "I--I hope you could do it for me again, sometime."

"Lily, of course," I reassured her. How could I say no? I leaned over and gave her a slow kiss on the mouth. "The cookies are probably ready," I told her.

"Great, let's try some!" she replied, back to her bubbly self. I went into the kitchen, cut a few bars out of the pan, and brought them into the living room on a plate. As I set them down, the phone rang.

It was Carmen, calling on her cell. "All set," I said softly into the phone.

"Who was that?" Lily asked.

"Telemarketer," I lied. She tasted one of the cookies. "Oh, wow! How do you get these so lemony? Where I come from, cookies come out of a box and they taste like crud."

Lily ate two lemon bars and I ate one. They were pretty good, I had to admit. "You've got a dab of lemon curd on your lip," I told her. She ran her tongue around her lips, which was sexy, but she missed it. "Nope, still there," I said. I pulled her head toward mine and licked her lips clean. She shuddered and let it turn into a French kiss.

When we drew back, Lily was staring at me. "You think you can get anything with cookies, don't you?" she teased.

"Seems that way," I said, reaching for the zipper of her dress. I began to draw it down, revealing her ample cleavage. Her bra was as red as her hair. "This zipper is so convenient," I said. "All clothing should unzip."

"I'm not sure I'd want a zipper on my undies," Lily joked.

"You may have a point there," I conceded, drawing the zipper down over her stomach. I paused to reach my hand into her dress and run it over the smooth skin of her belly. She gasped. I returned to the zipper, and when it reached the hem of her dress, it popped easily open, and she drew the dress open like curtains and stood up to cast it out of the way. She wore red panties to match her bra.

When she began to sit back down, I motioned toward my lap and said, "Here, please." She accepted the offer, settling her round butt down with her back to me. I kissed the hollow between her shoulder blades and wrapped my arms around her waist, hugging her.

Amazingly, I'd gone down on this woman, but I'd never touched her breasts. That was about to change. I slid my hands up over the cups of her bra. "Oooh, yeah," Lily squealed. I juggled them gently up and down, enjoying their weight. Lily was breathing hard. "Are your breasts sensitive?" I asked. She said, "Mmm hmm," and shifted on my lap. My erection must have been obvious even through three layers of clothes.

I was about to undo Lily's red bra (34D, I noticed) when the front door opened and Carmen stepped in. "What the hell is going on here?" she asked.

Even though I'd known Carmen was on her way home, I didn't have to feign surprise, since I'd been rather engrossed in what I was doing. Lily leapt off my lap and skidded to the other side of the couch. "Carmen, hi! Um, I can expl--actually, no, I can't explain. It's just what it looks like. Sorry, both of you. Carmen, don't be mad at him, it's my fault for being a big old ho."

Carmen, I could see, was struggling to look stern without cracking a smile. She walked over and sat on the couch between us. "I got out of class early," she explained, which was sort of true. "And come home to find this?"

"I just invited Lily over for some cookies," I said. "I guess things got out of hand."

"I should go," Lily said quickly, but Carmen put a hand on her arm. "Wait, we have to talk about this," she said. Lily sat there in her red bra and panties, looking mortified.

"Car," I said, "please forgive me. I couldn't help myself." I was really hamming it up. "I mean, look at Lily's body. Isn't it exquisite?"

"I guess," Carmen shrugged.

"No, really, look at her." My girlfriend raked over our neighbor's body with her eyes.

"Okay, you have a point. Besides, I know you can never resist a nice pair," she said, shaking her chest slightly from side to side.

"You guys, I feel terrible, I just wanted to be friends, and now I've gone and ruined everything," Lily sobbed.

Carmen pulled out a kleenex and wiped Lily's eyes. "You haven't ruined anything. We can still be friends."

"We can? Oh, Carmen, thank you. I'll make it up to you, I swear, this will never happen again." She put her arms around Carmen's shoulders, her head in the crook of Carmen's neck.

Carmen ran a hand along one of Lily's pigtails and our neighbor lifted her head. "It's true," said Carmen, "what Mike said. You have an incredible body. And a pretty face." She kissed Lily on the cheek and ran a hand down her shoulder. "Such big, pretty boobs," she said huskily, tracing a finger down the strap of Lily's red bra and onto the swell of her breast.

"Carmen, what are you doing?" I said with ersatz surprise.

"You were right, honey, I can't help myself." She kissed Lily hungrily, sliding her tongue into Lily's mouth. The redhead pulled away.

"Carmen, I--I'm glad you aren't furious with me, but I'm not--I mean, not with women--"

"Shh," said Carmen. "It's okay. I just want to kiss you. It doesn't have to mean anything. Please," she begged.

"Okay," Lily sighed, and let Carmen kiss her again. She did her best to kiss back, but she was obviously conflicted. Carmen persevered, giving Lily her most passionate wet kiss. When Carmen drew back, Lily's face showed a sexy mix of arousal and trepidation.

"Mike, would you please excuse us for a minute?" Carmen asked. I nodded. "Lily, I'd like to talk this over with you in private."

The redhead shrugged and followed my girlfriend into the bedroom. Lily's dress lay discarded on the floor. They closed the door. Luckily, our bedroom door has a long-disused lock, and you can see right through the keyhole. I tiptoed to the bedroom door and put my eye up to the hole.

They were standing next to the bed, embracing. Carmen was still trying to reassure Lily, whispering to her and stroking her bare back. Because of their difference in height, Carmen's face was level with Lily's chest.

Lily seemed to be relaxing, and finally she took the initiative and bent down to kiss Carmen on the mouth.

"That wasn't so bad, huh?" Carmen asked.

"You're a good kisser," Lily whispered. Carmen sighed and they kissed again. "Do you want me to take off my bra?"

"Yes, but not yet," replied Carmen. "I feel a little overdressed. Will you help me get some of these clothes off?" Lily nodded. Carmen took her hands and guided them to the buttons of her blouse. Lily began unbuttoning slowly but methodically, and soon Carmen's blouse fell to the floor.

Lily looked down at Carmen's chest, her breasts slung in a white bra, before reaching for the button on her slacks. She unbuttoned the pants, drew down the zipper, and slid the pants down Carmen's legs. Carmen stepped out of her sandals and the pants, and now both women were in bra and panties. "That's better," Carmen said happily.

"Carmen, I want you to know, I'm very nervous about this, but I think you're very pretty, and if you want to do this, then I do too," said Lily softly.

"Thanks for letting me know," said Carmen. "Should we get a little more comfortable?" She climbed onto the bed and beckoned Lily with a wave of her hand. The redhead joined her, and they lay on their sides, facing each other, stroking each other's faces and arms and bellies, sometimes kissing, sometimes just looking at each other. This went on for ten minutes or so, and I could see the tension easing out of Lily's body. Carmen reached a hand out and placed it on the cup of Lily's bra, and Lily put her hand over Carmen's supportively. "Now you could take this off, if you want," Carmen urged.

Lily didn't say a word, but she sat up and reached around her back. She fumbled with the bra strap for a moment, then let it go. Carmen grasped Lily's bra where the straps met the top of the cups, and tugged gently. Slowly, those ample breasts came into view, and Carmen placed a tender kiss on the top of Lily's right breast.

"Can I show you mine?" Carmen asked.

"Of course," said Lily. Carmen popped open her bra and invited Lily to remove it, which she did. She seemed a little nervous about touching Carmen's breasts, but it was unavoidable. Once they were both topless, the two women looked down at themselves and each other, comparing. "Omigod, I think yours are even bigger than mine," said Lily. She was right, of course. "I think maybe Mike has a thing for girls with big chests." She was right about that too. Both of them had big breasts, but they were so different--Carmen's larger and round, with big, dark nipples, and Lily's more torpedo-shaped, like melons, with those huge areolas and smaller nipples. The comparison shopping came to and end, though, when Lily's nipples were suddenly hidden under Carmen's hands.

They were kissing again, and Carmen was fondling Lily's breasts lazily. "God, they feel wonderful," Carmen moaned, squeezing them. She zeroed in on Lily's nipples, tweaking them gently. "Can I tell you something?" Carmen whispered.

"Anything," Lily sighed.

"I've done it with a woman before, but never one with big breasts, and I've always wanted to."

"Omigod, I hope mine are okay. Mostly they're just annoying."

"Shh," said Carmen. "Is this annoying?" She leaned down and slurped Lily's nipple into her mouth.

"Oh, golly," moaned Lily, and I had to stifle a laugh. She almost never swore, I'd noticed, and her old-fashioned expressions could be so endearing. It was a heartfelt expression, I could tell, because Carmen had rolled her onto her back and was sucking each of her nipples in turn, and rubbing the sides of Lily's breasts with her hands.

I needed a bathroom break, so I left my perch by the door, shook out a cramp in my leg, and went to pee. I had to fight my erection down to aim into the toilet. When I returned and peeked through the keyhole, I gasped--quietly I hoped. Carmen was fully on top of Lily now, straddling her, and Lily had Carmen's huge breasts in her hands, kneading and fondling them. Carmen leaned in to kiss Lily, and their tongues wrestled. Lily threw her arms around my girlfriend's back, pressing their breasts together, and they rolled over on the bed. Now Lily was on top, her pantied ass high in the air, breasts dangling against Carmen's chest, just kissing and kissing.

Lily raised her head and ran her hand down between Carmen's breasts. "I could..."

"What is it, baby?"

"I'm sorry. I get embarrassed talking about sexual things."

"It's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed with me."

"I was just going to say," her voice dropped to a whisper. "I could lick your breasts too, if you want."

"I want!" Carmen cried, guiding Lily's head to her chest. I watched Lily given Carmen's right nipple a tentative poke with her tongue, then, apparently deciding it was okay, slipping her lips over it. Once she got the hang of it, Lily seemed to enjoy having Carmen's large nipple in her mouth. Who wouldn't? She grasped Carmen's breast between her hands and pulled against her face. When she let the nipple fall from her mouth, Carmen sighed, then began to moan loudly when Lily went straight for the other nipple. This time she didn't hesitate.

"God, Lily, suck my tits, that's it," Carmen encouraged. Lily, emboldened, continued to work on Carmen's nipples with her mouth. She raised her head. "Gosh, they're delicious," she squeaked, and Carmen pulled her in for a long kiss.

"Let's get these panties off, honey," Carmen suggested. Lily tensed up again, then found her courage and relaxed.

"Yeah, let's do," said our neighbor with a smile. She let Carmen grab her panties and roll them down over the twin globes of her ass, then down her slim thighs. She shifted on the bed, then eased the panties off with her hand. "That feels so much better," she sighed. She lay back on the bed and realized Carmen was looking at her. "Omigod," said Lily, "this reminds me so much of the first time I let a boy see me naked."

"Ooh, tell me the story," demanded Carmen.

"If I tell you the story, will you let me see you naked?" Lily joked.

"Depends how good the story is." They both laughed, and then Lily began.

"My parents were having a dinner party and some friends of theirs brought their teenage son."

"Was this back in Kentucky?"

"Yeah. I was fifteen, and I wasn't really boy-crazy yet, you know? Anyhow, when I saw this guy, I kind of got boy-crazy on the spot. His name was Mitch, and he was so good-looking." Her accent was in full force now, so it came out as "good-lookin'."

"So I let Mitch come up to my room while our parents and some other folks were having dinner. He wasn't just handsome, he was also a smooth talker. Talked me right out of my clothes!"

"I know that feeling," said Carmen. "So did you do anything with him?"

"Oh, it was about what you'd expect. He played with my chest for a while, and asked me to touch his thing, and when I got it out of his pants he started squirting right away, all over me. I thought it was gross. I kicked him out and went to take a bath."

"Did you have big boobs already?"

"I guess so. Maybe not fully grown yet, but still the pride of the tenth grade. So, was that story good enough?"

"Works for me," replied Carmen, removing her panties. She saw Lily staring at her rangy black pubic hair, and said, "I know, I have a total bush, but I think Mike likes it that way." Seeing Lily frown, she added, "I'm sure he likes yours, too. C'mon, let's have a look." She coaxed Lily's thighs open and peered in. "That's a pretty one," Carmen told her.

"You really think so?" Lily asked nervously.

"Lily," said Carmen, "not to be blunt or anything, but your pussy is totally hot." She lay down beside our neighbor and kissed her. I saw Carmen's hand dig down between Lily's legs. "Oh, god, and you're wet, too."

"I think it's because of you," Lily sighed. I watched Lily's swollen pussy lips separate under Carmen's experienced hand. "Oh, lord," she moaned. "Please don't stop." Carmen kept rubbing Lily's crotch, but started kissing her nipples again, too. The stimulation was almost too much for the redhead to bear, and she launched into the high-pitched screams I remembered from our first night in the apartment.

It had been over a year since I'd last seen Carmen go to work on a woman, and I'd forgotten just how skillful she was. It was like watching someone conduct a symphony. It seemed like she always knew which parts of Lily's body needed stimulation and which needed a rest, and she kept cranking up our neighbor's arousal. When she slid two fingers into Lily's pussy, I had to restrain myself from crying out. Lily, on the other hand, was unrestrained, and she squealed, "Omigod," and thrashed around on the bed.

Carmen slowed her caresses and kissed Lily tenderly on the cheek. "Are you ready to have me lick your pussy?" she asked.

Lily swallowed hard before replying. "Carmen," she said, kissing my girlfriend, "before I met you and Mike I always hated the P-word. I don't swear very much, you know? But you both make it sound so sexy. So, I guess what I mean is, yes, Carmen, lick my pussy."

"Oh, honey, that's sweet," Carmen said. She kissed each of Lily's hard nipples on the way down her torso, but it was a short, impatient journey, and soon she was gazing directly into Lily's vagina. Carmen leaned in and kissed Lily's wet slit.

"Oooh," Lily moaned. Her hands went instinctively to her breasts, cupping and squeezing the firm flesh. Carmen lapped at Lily's vagina, found her clit, and earned another barrage of moans. Lily spread her legs as wide as she could, and Carmen placed her hands on Lily's inner thighs as she licked.

My guess was that Lily couldn't last long. I was right. "Oh, Carmen, oh, you made me come," she moaned, her hips jerking in every direction. Even Carmen, I think, was surprised at the length of Lily's powerful orgasm. Even through the keyhole I could see how hard and extended her nipples had gotten, and while Carmen lifted her head, the full open flower of Lily's pussy, juicy and wet, came into view. To the extent that a pussy can look satisfied, Lily's looked thoroughly satisfied.

Carmen crawled up over Lily, dragging her big breasts along our neighbor's abdomen, and they kissed for a while. Lily had her hands on Carmen's ass, holding it tightly. "Carmen," Lily whispered. "I know I haven't touched you...you know, on the vagina yet. I--I don't think I can do it. I'm too scared."

"Oh, honey, that's okay."

"If you wanted to touch yourself, though, that would be okay." She sighed, looking guilt-ridden.

"I have another idea," said Carmen mischievously, rolling off Lily to lie on her back. "Oh, Mike?" she called. "Can I get some help in here?"

As you might imagine, I was feeling a bit left out this point, so I was elated to hear this. I bounded into the room, feigned a look of surprise, and said, "Good lord, you're having sex? Two women? I didn't even know such a thing was possible."

They both started giggling. "Would you get those clothes off, please?" Carmen demanded, and I quickly stripped down to nothing. My hard dick was pointing almost straight out in from of me.

"Omigod," giggled Lily. "That's a big one." I swelled with pride.

"What can I do for you, dear?" I asked Carmen.

"Well, there's a part of me that needs a little attention," she replied, spreading her legs and running a hand lightly over her hairy pussy.

"I think that can be arranged," I said gallantly. "Lily, if you don't want to touch, that's okay, but come take a look, at least."

"Okay, Mike, I can do that." She moved her face closer to mine and we both peered at Carmen's vagina. The outer lips were swollen and beaded with moisture, and you could just make out the pink furrow in her wiry pubic hair. When I reached down and parted the lips with my fingers, Lily looked on, transfixed, and Carmen moaned.

"See how her clit is all swollen," I said to Lily.

"I know how it works, Mike," she replied. "I have one."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean--"

"It's okay, I'm just nervous." I smiled and stroked Lily's smooth back. Our lips met and we kissed deeply. Carmen cleared her throat, and we all laughed.

I dipped my finger into Carmen's wet tangle of pubic hair again and slid it into her snug pussy. Pulling the finger out, I slipped it lightly over her clitoris. Carmen's gaze was unblinking as I offered the finger to Lily and she took it between her lips with a sigh and licked it clean. "Hey, that's not so bad!" Lily giggled. She sucked on my finger with a fervor that suggested skill at sucking other things. I kissed Lily on the mouth again and turned back toward Carmen.

"Sorry to leave you hanging, baby," I said, leaning in and taking a healthy swipe at her pussy with my tongue. I sucked eagerly at her clit and lapped up her tangy juices. Lifting my head, I pulled Lily in for another kiss, wet and sloppy. She groaned happily and watched me go back to licking Carmen's sweet pussy.

While I gave Carmen's pussy its much-deserved tongue bath, Lily crawled up and began kissing my girlfriend on the mouth. Lily put a hand back on Carmen's breast while they kissed, and Carmen moaned approvingly. When I could tell that Carmen was nearing a climax, I heard Lily whisper, "I think I'm ready to try it."

"Try what, honey?" Carmen asked. I slowed down and listened.

"I don't think I can say it, but if Mike is ready for a break, I think I can do it."

"Okay," said Carmen, "but please, quickly. I'm so worked up."

I sat up and made room for Lily before her confidence could flag. I clasped her hand and ran a finger along the part of her hair, between her red pigtails. Her face was no more than three inches from Carmen's pussy. The sweet womanly smell was overpowering. I watched Lily's face press into Carmen's pussy, and then her tongue was out and Lily was eagerly kissing and licking every part of Carmen's thoroughly aroused vagina.

"Oh, yeah, baby, that's it! Please, please don't stop!" Carmen cried, spreading her legs wide. I climbed in behind Carmen's head and nestled it between my legs, stroking her hair. Her forehead was dotted with sweat, her eyes closed, face tensed up in arousal and concentration. Lily showed no signs of slowing down. She may have been reluctant to get started, but once she put her mind--or tongue--to something, there was no stopping her. "God, Lily, I'm coming!" Carmed squealed, thrashing around. Lily looked up, her face slick and eyes wide, then dove back in, keeping her mouth plastered to Carmen's pussy throughout her strong orgasm. I looked down at my girlfriend's expression of satisfaction. The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.

Lily crept up toward me and Carmen and kissed each of us in turn. "Omigod, I can't believe I just did that. I really didn't think I could, but then all of a sudden I just wanted to, real bad."

"Well, you did real good," Carmen sighed.

"Thanks, Carmen," said Lily. "And--uh, I think you have a nice pussy. Wow, it's kind of fun to say it. Your pussy tasted nice." She laughed.

"Yours too," Carmen replied with a grin. Lily was lying on her stomach with an arm across Carmen's chest, and I had a great view of her ass.

"Hey, Mike?" said Lily. "Doesn't it make you jealous to see Carmen with someone else, even another girl?"

"A little bit," I admitted. "But it also makes me really hard." I wrapped a hand around my rigid shaft for emphasis.

"Omigod, we've totally neglected you," said Lily. "May I?" Carmen and I nodded, and she clasped my penis in her hand. "I may not know my way around a pussy too well, but I have some experience with these." She began to stroke my penis gently with her fist.

"Oh, yeah," I groaned, even before Lily fit her small mouth over the head of my penis. She slipped several inches into her warm mouth and back out. Her lips were smooth against my shaft. Carmen sat up and started kissing me and whispering dirty little things like, "Does our sexy neighbor suck a good dick?"

"She does," I replied, closing my eyes and enjoying the sensation. Lily kept jacking my shaft even as she slurped at my penis more eagerly. Carmen could read me like a book, and when she saw me sweating and breathing hard, she warned Lily, "He's going to come soon." Lily didn't miss a beat. Her tounge lapped at the bottom of my penis, and suddenly I was squirting jets of semen into her mouth. She held on for all of it, swallowing quickly.

"That was awesome," I told Lily. "Your mouth must be exhausted by now."

"Hey, a good workout never hurt anyone, right?" Lily joked. "I swear, you guys, if I'd known it was going to be like this, I would have come over that first day and been all taking off my clothes. I mean, Carmen, you should have said, 'Nice to meet you, Lily from across the hall. Would you like to have some sex?' "

"You would have run screaming," Carmen replied, laughing. Turning to me, she added, "And you would have run after her, yelling, 'Show us your tits!' "

"I would never say something like that!" I huffed.

"That's because you never have to," said Carmen, sliding a hand onto Lily's sizable breast. "You always end up getting to see them anyway."

"Lucky me," I admitted. I looked over at Lily, lying supine and relaxed on the bed, and whispered something to Carmen. We exchanged a sneaky glance and both leaned down and took one of Lily's nipples in our mouths.

"Oh!" our neighbor cried. Lily's breast was a little softer than Carmen's, and the nipple was puffy and comfortable in my mouth. Lily put her hands on our heads and moaned with joy, holding us to her breasts. My penis was starting to harden up again. I reached down and ran my hand between Lily's thighs. Soaked. Her hips jerked at the touch. I rubbed her swollen clit.

Carmen let Lily's hard nipple fall from her lips and said matter-of-factly, "Lily, it looks like Mike wants to fuck you. Is that okay?"

"Omigod, yes," Lily sighed. "Wait, Mike, can I be on top?"

"Of course," I said, rolling over onto my back. I propped my head up on two pillows and watched Lily arrange her lean body over me. Carmen took my erection in one hand and fit it to Lily's entrance. Lily sat down and I was sheathed within her. She was looking me directly in the eye as she began to bounce up and down on my dick. She was so wet, so tight, and I told her so. "Thanks, Mike!" she said sweetly.

I brought my hands around to cup the firm loaves of Lily's ass and helped her ride me. Her breasts bounced deliciously. Then she was leaning forward, hard nipples burning against my chest, kissing me furiously. Her twin pigtails trailed sexily down her back.

Throughout this, Carmen was lying next to us, watching studiously with a wry smile. "Carmen," Lily grunted, drawing herself up to resume riding me, "you've got yourself a fine man here."

"I know it," said Carmen. "And we've got ourselves a fine woman, too." She roused herself and kissed Lily hard on the mouth. "Fine lips," she whispered. She kissed Lily's left breast. "Fine breasts." She snaked a hand down and rubbed Lily's clitoris. I felt the tip of her finger against my shaft. "Fine pussy."

"Oh, Carmen, please, don't stop," Lily moaned. I felt her muscles clench even more tightly around my penis. Carmen didn't stop--in fact, she climbed on, with her wide ass facing me, and began kissing Lily, rubbing her clit, their two pairs of big breasts gliding together. Carmen's matted pubic hair pressed against my chest. That did it. "I'm coming," I grunted, and spilled everything I had left deep into Lily's pussy. "Me too, oh, fuck!" Lily screamed, and I felt her vagina pulsing. Carmen hugged her tightly and climbed off, letting Lily kiss me tenderly for several minutes.

"Now," said Carmen, "I hope that teaches you not to fool around with other people's boyfriends."

"Heck, Carmen," said Lily, "I learned a whole mess of lessons today, but I don't know if that was one of them."

* * *

"So, what happens now?" I asked Carmen after we'd cuddled with Lily for a while and sent her home.

"Why does everything have to be all planned out with you?"

"No reason. But if you wanted to spend some time with Lily, just the two of you, sometime, I wouldn't mind."

"Thanks. You're not just trying to get me to say the same, are you?"

"Not just that, no."

"You should know by now that if I can't resist a beautiful woman, I can't expect you to, either."

"What did I do to deserve you, Carm?"

"Good question. I'm a real catch."

"One more thing. If you and Lily do decide to make love again, could you do me one favor?"

"What's that?"

"Leave the closet door open."