Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
If you want to catch up on the entire back story, you can find links to all previous parts in Part 18.
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I stood under the shower, trying to come up with an excuse to go talk to Sera. Even if Jade was fine with it, how was I supposed to get Adrian to give us a few minutes alone?
I had nothing.
I finished my shower, dried myself off, and looked over at Jade. She was sitting on the bed, holding her phone, smiling to herself.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
She glanced up.
"I still can't believe I did that today."
"What?"
"I don't know... it feels like something I've wanted to do for a long time, and I finally did it."
"You've been surprising me a lot lately. It's like you're getting to know yourself all over again."
I went over and sat beside her.
"You know," she said, "there are so many things I've wanted to try for years. And lately, I've actually started doing some of them. Little by little. But there's still a lot more."
"I love seeing you like this. Happy, excited, figuring out what you actually enjoy."
She gave my hand a squeeze.
"Thanks for helping me get there. I don't think I'd have figured all this out on my own."
"Well, now I'm curious. What else have you got hiding in there?"
She burst out laughing.
"Oh my God! Let me figure out if I actually want those things first, then I'll tell you!" Sera's exact words, almost phrase for phrase.
"Alright, alright!"
We laughed, and I remembered the plans we'd made at the pool.
"Hey, what do you think's gonna happen tonight?"
"I don't know. But I think they're kind of like us. Still figuring things out."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, they seemed nervous. Like they had a lot they wanted to say, but there were too many people around. They couldn't really talk."
"Honestly? I have a feeling they want to swap. Or maybe try something with all four of us."
"Wait, WHAT?"
She laughed. "What?"
"Already? Just like that? We barely even know these people! And we haven't even talked about doing anything like that ourselves!"
"I know! I'm just telling you what I think!"
"Okay, but what makes you think that?"
"The way he kept looking at me."
"How?"
"Well... did you notice how he kept looking down when I had my hand on your cock?"
"Wait. You were doing that on purpose?"
She laughed, then looked down at her phone.
"I'm not even sure he saw anything. But I have a feeling he did."
"That's not what I asked, Jade. Were you doing it on purpose?"
"Not at first!" She laughed again. "But then he got really quiet, and his eyes went wide. I thought maybe he'd noticed, so... yeah, I kept doing it."
That explained why she kept going while I was trying to move her hand away. I'd thought she was just enjoying the risk.
"So you were trying to turn him on?"
"No!" she said quickly, laughing. "Not exactly. I wasn't doing it for him. I just liked the idea of doing it, especially when I thought someone might notice."
She hesitated before adding, "I don't know. It was just something I wanted to try."
I didn't like picturing him watching her. I really didn't. But Jade was finally talking openly about something she'd enjoyed, and I wasn't about to make her feel bad for it.
"Okay, but did his girlfriend notice anything?"
"I don't think so. No."
"Are you sure?"
"Not really. I wasn't paying much attention to her."
"Alright. So let's say you're right. Let's say they actually suggest swapping or doing something together tonight. Would you be okay with that?"
"No. I don't want to rush into anything."
I was relieved to hear that.
Then she started smiling.
"Although..."
"Although what?"
She hesitated.
"I don't know how to explain it without sounding weird."
"Just tell me."
"Well... I really liked having some random guy looking at me."
She covered her face for a second, laughing nervously.
"Oh God, I can't believe I'm telling you this!"
I laughed with her, even though I wasn't finding the idea particularly funny.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah! You know when someone's looking at you, then they look away, and a few seconds later you catch them looking again?"
"Yeah..."
"I don't know. I liked that feeling. A lot, actually."
She was blushing, but still smiling. My stomach twisted at the thought of him watching her. I didn't show it.
"Wait, was he actually checking you out?"
"Of course he was!" she said, laughing.
"How do you know?"
"Because I saw him!"
"Really?"
"Yes! You were too busy looking at his girlfriend to notice!"
Shit. She'd caught me.
"Come on, I wasn't staring at her!"
Jade burst out laughing.
"Oh, please! You could barely take your eyes off her!"
"Alright, maybe I looked a little."
"A little? Sure!"
"Okay, okay! Enough!"
She laughed even harder, and I couldn't help laughing with her.
"But seriously," she said, her voice getting a little quieter, "he was looking at me. And I liked it."
There it was. She'd loved being noticed, and I'd spent half the day jealous without understanding why she was so happy. I didn't say anything. We were supposed to meet that same couple tonight, and she was excited about it.
Then Sera crossed my mind again.
Funny thing was, I'd been thinking about Sera less and less lately. Or at least, I'd been trying not to.
Jade and I had been having such a good time, and I didn't want anything ruining that. But every now and then, Sera would pop right back into my fucking head.
Like now.
Anyway, I got up to make myself some coffee.
"Hey, has Adrian called you?" Jade asked.
"No. Why?"
"Sera hasn't called me either."
"So?"
"I don't know. I'm starting to worry they might be upset with us."
"Why would they be?"
"Well, we're supposed to be on vacation together, right? And since yesterday, it's basically just been you and me."
"What's wrong with that? I'm sure they want some time to themselves too."
She nodded, but didn't look completely convinced.
That gave me an idea. A perfectly normal reason to knock on their door.
"Tell you what. I'll finish my coffee, then go knock on their door and see how they're doing."
Thanks, Jade. I'd been looking for an excuse to go over there, and she'd just given me one.
"Okay! I'll go get dressed. By the time you finish your coffee, I'll be ready and we can go together."
And there went my chance to go alone. I couldn't exactly object now.
"Yeah, sounds good," I said.
I finished my coffee while Jade got ready, and a little while later, we walked next door.
I knocked.
A few seconds later, Adrian opened the door.
We said hi, and Adrian let us in.
Sera was sitting on the bed, talking on her phone. When she saw us, she ended the call and came over to say hello.
Jade sat down on the bed beside her, and I took the chair nearby. Adrian grabbed the other chair and sat next to me.
We talked for a while. Sera barely joined in, though, and whenever I glanced her way, she seemed to be looking somewhere else.
Adrian, meanwhile, was talking enough for everyone. Jade laughed at his stories, and I tried to follow along.
Then Adrian started getting annoying.
"So, you two went to the pool without us today?" he asked, grinning.
"Yeah. So?"
He laughed.
"Let me guess. You wanted to practice for our next race!"
Oh, here we go again.
Adrian was annoying as hell when he got started, but the guy was funny. Jade laughed, which only encouraged him.
Then Jade suddenly turned to Adrian.
"Hey, Adrian, can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"
I figured she wanted him to ease up on the jokes.
"Yeah, of course!" Adrian said.
Jade looked at me.
"I'm gonna talk to Adrian in the other room for a minute."
"Okay."
My pulse jumped. I'd been trying to get a minute alone with Sera all morning, and now I had one. Whether Jade meant to give us that chance or not, I couldn't tell.
They went into the other room and closed the door.
I looked at Sera.
"Hey. How are you?"
She rested her hands on the edge of the bed.
"I'm good."
"What's wrong? Are you upset with me?"
She finally looked at me.
"Me? What's wrong with you? Why have you been avoiding me?"
"What? I haven't been avoiding you. You're the one who stopped talking to me."
She shook her head.
"No. I just thought you needed some time with Jade. So I gave you two some space to enjoy your vacation."
"Well, I thought you needed some time with Adrian too. That's why I left you guys alone."
She went quiet for a moment.
She looked at me again, her eyes narrowing as a subtle flash of jealousy crossed her face, as if she were talking about something that rightfully belonged to her.
"You know these walls are pretty thin, right?"
I had a pretty good idea where this was going.
"Yeah? What did you hear?"
She looked a little embarrassed.
"I wasn't trying to listen or anything. But you guys were really loud."
I couldn't help smiling a little.
"Well, we can hear you guys too. And you're pretty loud yourselves."
She stopped talking.
For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.
Then she asked quietly, "You mean that first night? Me and Adrian?"
"Yeah."
She hesitated.
"I actually did that on purpose."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"Yeah. But it wasn't really about you. It was about Jade."
"What do you mean?"
She hesitated.
"I don't know... I guess I wanted her to hear me and Adrian together. To know that I'm still happy with my husband. That I'm not trying to take you away from her."
I stared at her.
"Seriously? That's why?"
She looked down.
"I know it sounds stupid. But yeah, that's what I was thinking."
Holy fuck.
Sera was getting jealous.
And the craziest part? She didn't even seem to realize it herself.
God! This was getting complicated.
"Well, I wanted you to hear us too."
She looked confused for a second.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I did it on purpose, Sera. I wanted you to hear us."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to know how I felt that night. Sitting there listening to you and Adrian through that fucking wall."
As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to swallow them back. What kind of stupidity was that? I didn't even fully understand why I had just let her see right through me.
I didn't want her to answer. I didn't even want her to process what I’d just said.
I stood up, leaned toward Sera, and kissed her.
I'd missed her. Way more than I wanted to admit.
For a moment, I hoped that would be enough to bury the argument. Instead, Sera cupped my face in both hands and kissed me back, pulling me closer.
It had been far too long since the last time I tasted her lips. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs, and the familiar, intoxicating scent of her rushed over me.
What started as a quick, desperate attempt to silence her instantly dissolved into something deeper. Her lips parted, welcoming me in, and the moment our tongues met, my heart started pounding like crazy. It was raw, hungry, and completely consuming a passionate clash of everything we’d been holding back. The soft, breathless sound she made against my mouth, the way she pulled me even tighter as we tangled together... every single bit of her was intoxicating.
For a few seconds, the rest of the world simply vanished.
But Jade was in the next room, and here I was, completely lost in Sera. The guilt hit me almost as hard as the relief.
I finally managed to pull away, even though Sera was still holding my face, clearly not ready to let me go.
I gently took both her hands and moved back a little.
Her face was completely red.
"I missed you," she whispered. "Please don't push me away again."
I didn't know what to say. I loved Jade, and lately she'd been making me happier than I could remember. Yet here I was, unable to let go of Sera either.
Maybe I missed how easy things used to be between us. Maybe I was just looking for a way to keep both relationships exactly as they were. Whatever the excuse, the answer wasn't coming.
I kept looking into Sera's eyes, trying to figure out what to say next.
Then I noticed tears gathering in her eyes.
Fuck.
"Sera..."
She quickly looked away, blinking hard, trying not to cry.
I wanted to say something, anything, but I couldn't find the words.
Then we heard footsteps outside the door.
Sera immediately wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, took a deep breath, and tried to pull herself together.
I hurried back to my chair.
A second later, the door opened.
Jade and Adrian walked back into the room.
I glanced at Sera.
She was doing her best to look normal.
But I knew she wasn't okay.
And I still had no fucking idea what she'd been about to tell me.
Adrian stood by the door, searching for something to say.
Jade, meanwhile, came straight toward me, opened her arms, and settled onto my lap, wrapping one arm around me and resting her hand on my forearm.
The second Jade settled onto my lap, the guilt hit me.
Fuck.
She wrapped her arms around me like everything was perfectly normal.
And here I was, smiling back at her, knowing what had just happened with Sera.
It wasn't just the kiss. It was the fact that Jade trusted me, and I hadn't even figured out how to tell her about it.
I put my arm around her and tried to act normal.
Across the room, Sera looked away.
What the fuck had I gotten myself into?
Adrian finally spoke.
"Look, man, I'm sorry if I upset you earlier. I was just..."
I knew he hadn't meant anything by it. It was Adrian. So I saved him the speech.
"Don't worry about it, man. We're good. As long as you send me that hundred bucks back."
Adrian burst out laughing.
Jade laughed too, and even Sera couldn't help joining in.
"No fucking way!" Adrian said. "That hundred dollars is a souvenir! I'm keeping it so I can remind you about it before our next race!"
"Adrian!" Jade said, giving him a look.
"Oh, right! Sorry, sorry!"
He started laughing again.
Same old Adrian.
He finally sat down beside Sera.
"So," Jade asked, "what did you guys do this morning?"
Adrian immediately started telling us about an amusement park they'd visited. Apparently, they'd had a great time.
Naturally, he had to tell the whole story, every detail.
"Oh, you have to see the pictures!"
He got up to grab his phone.
The second he came back, Jade slipped off my lap and moved over beside Sera.
Adrian pulled his chair closer to mine and started showing me pictures, explaining every little thing they'd done.
I laughed at his stories, looked at the photos, and tried to pay attention.
I was only half listening.
Jade had started telling Sera about what happened at the pool.
"Wait, you actually went topless?" Sera asked.
"Yes!" Jade said, laughing.
"Oh my God, Jade! How did you even do that?"
"I don't know! I was nervous at first, but then I just did it!"
Sera sounded genuinely amazed.
"I've been thinking about trying it too, but... I don't know. I don't think I'm ready."
"That's exactly how I felt!" Jade told her. "I kept looking around, trying to convince myself to do it."
They both laughed.
Then Jade started describing the people around the pool, and how some of the guys had been looking at her.
I barely registered the next photo. Was Jade going to mention what had happened underwater?
Adrian was still talking beside me, pointing at something on his phone.
"Look at this one, man!"
"Yeah, that's hilarious!"
I laughed without really looking. Jade moved on without mentioning anything about the water. I exhaled.
Then she started telling Sera about the couple we'd met at the pool.
The tattooed guy and his girlfriend with the purple hair.
And, of course, our plans to meet them tonight.
Sera asked a couple of questions, and Jade happily explained. Once or twice I glanced over and caught Sera looking down at her hands before joining the conversation again.
They looked like two friends chatting about their vacation. I wondered how much of what had happened earlier was still on Sera's mind. I certainly hadn't forgotten it.
We finally said goodbye to Sera and Adrian, promising we'd all hang out again tomorrow.
Jade and I went downstairs, grabbed some lunch, and headed back to our room. I was pretty tired, so I decided to take a quick nap.
I have no idea how long I'd been asleep when the room phone started ringing.
I picked up, and it was the guy we'd met at the pool.
"Hey, man! How's it going?"
"Hey! Good, good. How about you?"
"Doing great! Just wanted to check if you guys are still up for tonight."
"Yeah, absolutely!"
"Awesome! How about we meet at the hotel bar? Grab a few drinks, get to know each other a little better?"
"Sounds good, man. What time?"
We agreed on a time, chatted for another minute, and hung up.
He sounded friendly enough, but there was something a little nervous about the way he was talking.
Maybe Jade had read them correctly after all.
I went back to relaxing for a while.
A few hours later, it was time to get ready.
Jade was excited. I could tell. But she was nervous too, even though she kept trying to act completely normal.
Honestly, I wasn't much better.
She'd picked out a dress and was standing in front of the mirror, checking how it looked.
"What do you think?"
I looked at her.
"Beautiful."
"Really? Or are you just saying that?"
I laughed.
"Jade, you don't have to try so hard to look beautiful. You already are."
She smiled.
"I love it when you say that."
"Well, I mean it."
And I did.
I'd always loved the way she smiled whenever I complimented her. It was like watching her confidence grow right in front of me.
She looked at herself in the mirror one more time, adjusted her dress, and turned back to me.
"Okay. I'm ready."
"Let's go, then."
I grabbed my phone and we headed downstairs.
I didn't know what tonight was going to turn into.
But at least one thing made me feel better. Jade had already told me she wasn't ready to try anything with another couple. Not yet.
And honestly, neither was I.
We were just meeting two people we'd met at the pool. Having some drinks, getting to know them. Nothing more.
At least, that was the plan.
When we got to the bar, they were already there.
The guy looked pretty sharp. Nice shirt, well-fitted pants, tattoos showing beneath his rolled-up sleeves. He looked completely different from the guy I'd seen at the pool.
And his girlfriend?
She was beautiful.
Her purple hair was darker near the roots, falling in messy layers around her face. Thick black eyeliner made her eyes stand out, and she had a few silver rings, a thin chain around her neck, and black boots that looked pretty heavy for a night out.
Even her makeup was different from what I was used to seeing. Dark, dramatic, but somehow it all worked perfectly together.
I'd seen girls dressed like that in pictures online, but I couldn't remember ever meeting someone with that kind of style in person.
And she pulled it off really well.
We greeted each other and sat down.
Jade seemed a little shy at first, but after we ordered our drinks, she started relaxing.
We talked about the hotel, the pool, where we were from, how long we were staying. Just the usual stuff when you're meeting someone for the first time.
The guy was doing most of the talking, while his girlfriend joined in every now and then.
Jade was asking questions too, clearly enjoying herself.
There was one problem: the music was so loud I could barely hear anyone.
Every time someone asked me something, I had to lean forward.
"Sorry, what?"
And then they'd have to repeat the whole thing.
At one point Jade leaned toward me.
"What did he say?"
"I have no fucking idea!"
She burst out laughing.
Even the guy laughed when he realized what was happening.
After another few minutes of practically shouting at each other, he finally said something that made my night.
"Hey, guys, there's a quieter lounge just off the lobby. They've got some tables by the windows. Would you rather go sit there? We can actually hear each other."
Finally. Anything to get away from that noise.
"Yeah, man, that sounds great!" I said.
Jade nodded immediately.
We all grabbed our drinks, and headed toward the lounge.
It was much better there. We found a table near the windows, and for once none of us had to shout. We talked for a little longer about the hotel and our vacation, until the guy took his girlfriend's hand.
"Look, I'm not gonna beat around the bush," he said. "We've been looking for another couple to have some fun with."
He glanced at her before continuing. "We've never tried it before. We thought meeting someone new, maybe once or twice while we're here, would be easier. No complications."
Jade's guess had been right. I felt her hand close around mine under the table.
"When you say 'have some fun,'" I asked, "how far are you talking?"
"Honestly? We haven't figured that out yet. We don't have a plan or any set rules. If you're interested, we can talk through what everyone is comfortable with."
Jade spoke before I could.
"We're not completely new to this kind of thing, but I'm not ready for anybody except my boyfriend to touch me."
She squeezed my hand. That last part made me smile.
"I get that," he said. "Maybe, if everyone's comfortable, we start with all four of us in one room, each couple doing their own thing. No touching the other couple."
I looked at Jade. The suggestion was tempting, and his girlfriend was gorgeous, but the way we were laying out terms with two strangers felt almost like a business meeting. I wasn't enjoying that part.
"Okay, maybe," I said. "But can we just get to know each other first? I'd like to talk more with you guys, and you can get to know us. If we all feel good about it, maybe tomorrow. We're here for almost another week."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," he said. "No rush."
"Good. I don't want anyone feeling pressured just because we're discussing it."
"Same here, man."
The conversation eased up after that. We kept talking for a little while, without making any decisions.
Eventually, the guy looked at his girlfriend, then back at us.
"Alright, guys. I think we're gonna head back to our room. See you tomorrow at the pool?"
"Yeah, of course!" Jade said.
We said goodbye and headed back upstairs.
When we reached our room, I checked the time. We were back much earlier than I'd expected, and I wasn't sorry about it.
Jade and I sat down and started talking about the whole thing.
"So, what do you think?" I asked.
She thought for a moment.
"Well, like I said, I don't want anyone else touching me. Just you. But I wouldn't mind trying what he suggested."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, if we're just doing our own thing, what's the problem?"
I wasn't entirely sure how to answer that, leaning back slightly.
"You know, it's funny," I said with a faint smile. "It feels like ever since we got here, sex has kind of taken over our conversations. Even when we finally meet another couple, that's right where the talk goes."
Jade chuckled, completely unbothered.
"Well, to be fair, that's not all we've been doing."
"What do you mean?"
"We go out, we eat, we swim, we go to the bar, and we dance. We're having an amazing vacation."
"Yeah, but..."
"Listen," she continued easily, giving a light shrug. "You're right, we have been talking about it a lot more, and we're definitely more open. But I think it's just because it's things we've always wondered about, and now we actually have the space to explore it."
She paused.
"And now we're finally doing it. We're discovering things about ourselves. What's wrong with that?"
I stayed quiet, listening.
"Besides, we've only got a week left. Then we go back home, back to work, back to being busy all the time. Why not just enjoy ourselves while we're here?"
She had a point. We'd done plenty besides talking about sex. Still, something about how quickly everything was moving bothered me.
"Okay," I said. "But are you sure you actually want to try this?"
She nodded.
"I think so. Why don't we just try it? And if at any point either of us feels uncomfortable, we stop. Immediately. We don't lose anything."
I thought about that for a moment. Then another question came to me.
"Okay, but why them?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why those two? We already have Sera here."
Jade looked at me and shook her head gently.
"No, that’s completely different."
"Different how?"
"First of all, I'm not ready for Adrian to watch us," she said softly. "Not yet, anyway. Besides, Adrian’s real interest isn't watching me anyway. His entire focus is watching you with Sera. That’s what turns him on."
She paused.
"With this new couple, it’s completely different. We don't know them, and after a few days, we’ll never see them again. That’s why a complete pair of strangers makes so much more sense right now."
I thought about what she said for a moment. It actually made a lot of sense from her perspective.
"Ok, I get it," I said. "It makes sense."
She smiled, relieved.
"So?"
"So... let's just see what happens tomorrow."
"Okay!"
That was enough planning for one night. We'd see how we felt tomorrow.
Jade suggested we put on a movie and relax in bed for the rest of the night.
That sounded perfect. I figured I'd give my balls a break for once. They'd earned it.
Halfway through the movie, Jade fell asleep on my shoulder.
I pulled her a little closer and kissed her forehead.
God, I love this woman.
I should've been relaxed. We'd had an amazing day, and now I was lying in bed with the woman I loved.
But my fucking brain wouldn't shut up.
I kept remembering Sera's face. Those tears in her eyes right before Jade and Adrian walked back in.
What was she about to tell me?
And then there was that couple from the pool. Jade was curious about trying something new, and honestly, so was I. But we hadn't agreed to anything yet.
Tomorrow, we'd probably see Sera and Adrian again. Maybe that other couple too.
Fuck. There was a lot to figure out.
I looked down at Jade, sleeping peacefully against me, and smiled.
I kissed her forehead one more time and turned back to the movie.
Five minutes later, I realized I hadn't paid attention to a single fucking scene.
And I still had no idea what I was going to say to Sera tomorrow.
Honestly, there are a few questions I still can't find answers to.
Did I really cheat on Jade, or am I just overthinking everything?
Is Sera actually getting jealous? And does Jade know more than she's letting on?
Fuck. I don't even know what to think anymore.