In Search of the Final Freedom: Chapter 29

In Search of the Final Freedom: An Erotic Socio-Political Novel

BOOK TWO

Sexual Freedom, a Revolutionary Idea

Chapter 29

Church Friends

Clouds rolled in late Saturday and the couple’s clothing optional swim and sun time with the Campbell’s church friends was in doubt once again. It had now become the routine in the church nursery that when the drop-off crowd had all gone to the church sanctuary, Brandy turned down the nursery speaker and asked “OK, what exciting happened this week?

After Bonnie had given her a rundown on the week’s events, Brandy asked “Why didn’t you invite me and the kids yesterday? I have a feeling that DJ would have had a great time, not to mention his dad.” DJ, was Brandy and Dwight’s oldest child who was in the grade behind Lamar and Byron. He was big, athletic and an early bloomer, if one did not know better, he looked to be older than either Lamar or Byron.

“I really didn’t expect Marcy and Sarah to come. I was just trying to help Marcy win some points with Sarah by making the offer. But, now we’ve done the family thing, I’m guessing we will have you and the boys over sooner rather than later. From what you’ve said, I don’t think your kids will even notice the nudity. You and Dwight are coming today, right?”

“Oh yea, we’ll be there. I got my mom to watch the kids.”

“Lamar went home with Byron. Trish’s mother came in from Macon just to take the boys to the Atlanta Aquarium today. They should have a good time. Misty and her friends are going to the movies and shopping in Macon.” Bonnie quipped.

“So, what do you think will happen today?”

“What do you mean?” Bonnie asked even more quietly.

“Will there be an orgy or something?”

“No, I doubt it. It’s really not that kind of party. Why, is that what people are saying?”

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I know that is what Dwight is hoping.”

“Well you need to tell him that is not what this party is about. If you two want to go to a swing party I have a friend who would love to have a good-looking young couple join their group”.

”I didn’t say I was hoping for that.” Then she thought for a moment and said “But I wouldn’t object to going to a sex party.” She then lowered her voice and said "I'll confess I'd like to try it every bit as much as he would."

Bonnie laughed. “I can help you with that. If you are serious, I can call Heather next week about that. You guys will fit in well with that crowd, though be warned they are a pretty wealthy lot, so you might have a cultural issue.”

A crack of lightening split her last word. Then the rain began to pound on the roof. The lights flickered. Bonnie’s heart sank. She was looking forward to her friends coming over after weeks of postponement. She looked out the small window in the nursery. It was dark and the rain was coming in sheets.

“It seems the good Lord didn’t approve of our party” Bonnie said sadly.

When the service ended however, a bright noon sun shone through the glass. The rain had gone as fast as it had come.

Walking out it was sultry. A cloud hung inches above the pavement as they drove home with the air at full blast. The infamous Georgia summer was upon them, but thank God for air-conditioning. Arriving at their home they found one car already waiting. Sherry and her husband Herb in his classic Mercedes 450 SL. They hadn’t expected anyone for at least a half hour as everyone else had gone home to change out of their church clothes and to make arrangements for their kids. Grandma Campbell had taken Lamar right from church.

Herb was a recently retired bank executive, widower, grandfather, church trustee, Rotary Club officer and partially disabled, highly decorated Vietnam Veteran. Even stooped he stood well over six feet tall and had been, contrary to popular depictions of Vietnam vets, a town hero when his military career was dramatically ended in 1971. The company he commanded was nearly wiped out and he was gravely injured. Few remembered the gregarious and outgoing football star that left for West Point in 1966, for Herb Connors had been very private and reserved for the over forty years since he had been back in Hancock County. It was quite the talk of the town when he married Sherry who appeared to be his opposite. Flamboyant and talkative, she shunned (and was shunned by) the friends of Annabelle (Herb’s first wife). That was why she gravitated to some of the younger single women like Trish.

“Come on in” Cooper called. Opening the door, he said “Make yourself at home while we get things ready.”

Cooper went right out to light the grill, and Bonnie and Sherry went into the bedroom. On the bed were the outfits that Bonnie had picked out with great care and planning. Hers was just the bottoms of the designer Brazilian bikini with the mesh like cut-outs beside a new white diaphanous wrap. She had chosen for Cooper a new mesh stretch trunk type swimsuit, which was almost completely see through to go with his knee length bar-b-que apron.

From her purse Sherry pulled a metallic red swim suit and stretched it out in front of herself. There was far more strap than suit. It was as if it were a maillot, but no fabric had been put in the torso above the navel. They both disrobed. Looking down between her legs Sherry said “Boy did I have to shave nearly everything off to wear this.” The full bush she had worn the other week was now just a racing stripe. “Herb, hasn’t seen my hair cut, but I think he’ll like it.” Bonnie went to hang the dresses in the closet. Turning back, she saw Sherry in the strangest swim suit she’d ever seen.

“What do you think?” Sherry said raising her arms above her head. As Sherry turned in a slow circle, Bonnie realized what a great suit this was for her. The fabric that there was in the front controlled the small pooch in her stomach, while her surgically firm DD cup breasts were on full display, framed by the straps that went on either side of them. Behind there was just enough fabric to pull her buns up and give them shape, while leaving a good deal of the flesh exposed. She even had a matching set of gold arm bands and a necklace which gave the outfit a very finished look, even while her breasts were completely free of covering. “That looks great on you” Bonnie gushed “Where did you get such a thing?”

“You can find anything online.”

Bonnie replied, "Yes, that is where I got Cooper's new swimsuit." Having discarded the rest of her clothes in the hamper, she pulled on the Brazilian bottom and then the wrap and looked at them. Then she looked at Sherry. “I can’t let my visitors show me up. Time for a new plan.” She went to her jewelry box and took out the body jewelry that Judy LeMarco had given her.

While she was untangling the strands, Sherry picked up Cooper's swim suit, “I like what you have here for Cooper. I wish I could get Herb into that, but I didn’t even try." She pulled a pair of light khaki shorts from her big purse “This is for him, which is a shame. He still has a nice ass, but I know he is sensitive about his scars. I think his battle scars are sexy and manly, but I can’t get him to see that”.

Bonnie laid the “outfit” on the bed and began toward the closet. She almost didn’t ask, but said quietly “Do his war injuries prevent…you know his equipment from working?”

Sherry laughed “He is the poster boy for Viagra. He tells me that without it he can’t get a full erection. I really don’t know if that’s true because he’s been using it since I met him, and with it he can go on like a man half his age.”

Bonnie came back out of her closet with a pair of lace up sandals. “Really?”

“Oh yea, he can stay rock hard close to an hour. Now when he finally cums, he’s done for the day, and usually the next day too. Until recently it had been mostly missionary or spoons, pretty vanilla; but since I told him about my first day at your pool, he has been different. I hesitatingly told him about watching you and Cooper do it in front of me and to my surprise he got turned on. So I told him about your pictures of swinging on the cruse.”

Bonnie interrupted her “Oh, thanks for reminding me. Can you make sure the San Dinero book gets from the guest room upstairs downtown the living room coffee table?”

Sherry said she would, then went back to her story as Bonnie began putting on her jewelry. “The night I told him about the photos from your swinger’s cruise, when we made love, he, for the first time ever, asked me to tell him a story from my swinging days. You see, before we got married I told him that I had been very sexually active in years past with a good number of partners; but before last week he had never wanted more information than that. That night, and every night since, he wants to hear more. It’s like he can’t get enough of my stories, and boy do I have a lot of stories to tell. Now we are doing a lot of oral and after hearing how I used to like it up my ass, he has even done me anal twice. We’ve had sex five times since then, each one going thirty to forty minutes of fucking plus another twenty or so oral. So I want you to know how much you’ve helped my sex life.”

“Wow, that is wonderful. So it sounds like he’s responding well to all this.”

“I know he’s looking forward to seeing me wear this today. He’s talked about it a lot since I showed it to him. With the weeks of delay, there has been a lot of warm-up. After I told him about seeing the video of you and the builders, I told him that I had a few remaining pictures and one video tape that survived my second husband’s jealousy. It is VHS, and we were fortunate that he still had his old player in a closet. So even though the quality isn’t what your new digital videos are, it is amazing that I even have it.“

“Wow, what did he do?” Bonnie asked.

“We watched all two hours of it. There were recordings from five different parties, and he saw the very young version of me do it with a good dozen people. It turned him on so much that we started fucking right in the living room in broad daylight before it was over, something we had never done before. Then we watched it again last night. He said he wants to have it restored and converted to digital. He said it is a real period piece.”

“Really? I can’t imagine that. He’s so reserved.”

“Yea, he had been. We always had sex once or twice a week, but this is totally different. I think he’s had these fantasies for years but due to his upbringing never even admitted them, let alone acted on them.”

Bonnie finished her outfit. She’d bought a panty of sorts to go with the body jewelry, though it was no more than a string of green glass beads that strung down between her legs. “So? How is this” Bonnie asked, striking a pose.

“You can be sure no one will outshine you in that” Sherry said with a smile.

When the doorbell finally rang, Cooper had already donned his assigned outfit and returned to the grill. He was just glad his wife hadn't gotten him one of those pouch thongs. That would have been far worse. Still, he felt a little silly in the see-through suit but both Bonnie and Sherry assured him he looked sexy.

Bonnie’s heart was racing as she walked to the door. She knew it was a sin to be vain, but she could not deny she loved being the center of attention. She was sure this choice of attire would be a hit. At the door were Marcy and Mike. She could also see Butch and Tabitha just getting out of an old Ford pick-up. Marcy gave Bonnie a hug. Mike was clearly working at not staring at her chest.

“Thanks for coming. Sherry and Herb are already out by the pool” Bonnie said.

Bonnie was amused at Mike’s effort to keep his eyes off her boobs.

While she hugged Tabitha, Butch said “You didn’t wear the suit I saw yesterday. I’m disappointed.”

Releasing his wife, Bonnie said “I’m sure you’ll see it later. There’s no way I’m letting you go without trying out the same kind of outfit.”

Outside Cooper was getting beer and wine for everyone. He still felt silly and even the appreciative comments about his ass by Tabitha did not make him feel less so.

“Bonnie picked out my attire, not me” was something he would say many a time before the day was done.

Before she left the door a Suburban pulled in with Sue Ann her sister Beth Ann, and her almost brother-in-law Calvin. She gave Beth Ann a special hug and congratulated her on their plan to go on Monday to the courthouse to finalize their marriage.

Bonnie was still welcoming them when Brandy and Dwight approach the door. After ushering all of them in, Bonnie waited at the door because Ashley and her husband Chad had just pulled up on the other side of the road. Bonnie, decided to push it and walked down the brick front walk to the drive way to greet them. After opening the door of his Lexus, Chad took Ashley's hand and they began to cross the road. He saw Bonnie and waved then turned to Ashley before his head snapped back to look right at her standing a good thirty feet from the door. It was evident that it had taken him a moment to process what he was seeing. From that distance, she was effectively standing nude in her front yard. His response was not lost on Ashley and both she and Bonnie smiled at the comic sequence.

Bonnie had only met Chad Webber once when Ashley had brought him to a church picnic. However, she had no concerns he would feel out of place at her home because he knew Cooper, Mike and Herb from Rotary. In a rural place like Hancock County the professional class was tight knit, and it was doubly so when, like Chad, Herb and Cooper, they had deep family roots. When he and Ashley had gotten married Cooper told Bonnie that he had a great aunt who'd married a Webber and he was sure that Chad was a distant relative, but he had no idea how distant. Chad was not quite old enough to be Ashley's father, but the differential in age was quite obvious as they approached Bonnie. Because he was not very tall himself, he did not tower over the diminutive Ashley. While Mrs. Ericson-Webber was Bonnie's age, Chad was sixty years old and though he was not bad looking, he did not look forty.

Ashley greeted Bonnie with a hug. Bonnie suspected that she was apprehensive about how her new husband would take all this. Bonnie was not so concerned since Chad was even more obvious than Mike in checking her out. Bonnie could see that Ashley carried a beach bag with their swimwear, so she showed them both to her bedroom. Chad looked at the new French door to the bedroom with curiosity. His wife saw his quizzical look and said "I told you they are very open about the facts of life here."

Bonnie jumped in and promised not to peek while he was changing. Leaving them in her room, she could not help but wonder how Ashley would explain the things he would see in their bedroom…like the big photo of her having anal sex. Outside the air was surprisingly tense. Sue Ann and Beth Ann were just pulling off their tee shirts and the other women were already bare breasted. Sue Anne, Beth Anne and Marcy wore regular (if rather skimpy by Georgia standards) bikini bottoms while Tabitha & Brandy wore string thongs; though Brandy’s would have qualified as a micro bikini as it was as tiny as any Bonnie had.

Mike, Dwight and Cal seemed confused. They stood near their wives, fully dressed, averting their eyes from the other women. Herb now clad in his kaki Bermuda shorts seemed completely relaxed though. At the grill Butch was helping Cooper. Bonnie could not help notice how the young man's Speedo was stretched tight with what was clearly quite an endowment. Cooper, she thought looked great in his see through mesh briefs and apron.

Ashley and Chad came out onto the deck. She was wearing a very expensive looking and very fashion forward bikini that was a hairs breath from a thong. He had on a pair of red stretch briefs like Bonnie had bought for Cooper in Miami and an unbuttoned Aloha shirt. Bonnie couldn't miss the distinct shape of his erection visible under the clingy swimsuit. Bonnie considered that the couple were not wearing the kind of swim suits normally seen in Sparta or any other place in Georgia. Clearly there was at least one more story for Ashley to tell. The attractive woman looked around and when she saw the other women had already removed their tops she, without a word, removed hers as she walked. Bonnie was impressed how they looked together. She thought he was surprisingly fit looking and together they looked every bit like the "rich older man and trophy wife" they were.

Cooper instinctively looked over to the new couple coming out onto the deck. He knew Chad Webber was coming and so was ready to greet him. But, he was not ready to see Ashley as she removed her top. He'd known Ashley since he was a child and she'd always been pretty. They'd been friends growing up and in high school he would have liked to date her; but she was always with the most popular guys and he was not one of them. So he knew she was pretty, but seeing her almost naked like that he realized he'd underappreciated her beauty. There was a reason she'd snagged the richest man in the county and as she walked that reason was on display. Though the other women around the pool had all sorts of different shaped bodies; he thought every one of them in just their bikini bottoms looked very attractive and even sexually desirable. But, even in her early forties, Ashley was still almost unapproachable to him.

Bonnie's thoughts were similar, though she was a little more willing to be critical. For one thing Bonnie right off thought Ashley's breasts looked overly large and upright. Too perfect for a forty-three-year-old woman. It was possible she was just one of those very rare women who did not age like everyone else, but not likely. Bonnie wanted to ask, but she would not. Her rather cattie thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Lois, her husband and her lover.

Lois gave Bonnie a big hug and said in her ear “I am so excited. My first public outing with George and John together.”

Bonnie was happy for her. This day had been years in coming.

Lois stepped back “So what do you think? If I’m going to be exposed, I want to do it with style.”

Bonnie looked over the plum-colored crochet monokini. While she was not topless like the other women, the crochet was more than open enough to see through and show her breasts off, including her large areolas and erect nipples. She knew wearing that swim suit was more of a leap for Lois than going topless was for the other women. “Very pretty. Very pretty indeed. You need to be sure to get some photos of you today to show the girls.”

“Oh yes. And some with me and you together too. I’m not sure what you are wearing should be called jewelry or an outfit; but it is truly stunning. If only I had the courage and body to do the same.”

“Don’t be silly. You’d look amazing in this. Just enjoy your big day.”

While everyone at the party knew about Lois’s ‘arrangement,’ Bonnie was sure it was an important event for them to publicly ‘come out’ as it were like this. As if to make her point, Lois moved off with one man in each hand.

After she made a little more small talk with her guests, Bonnie walked to the open part of the patio she’d intended as the dance floor for today and for Misty’s party on Thursday. She looked around and said “What is wrong with you guys. This is a party” and she started up the stereo with a Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” Right off she began to dance to the tune, followed shortly by Brandy and Sherry. She began to bump and grind like she was in college again. All three were good dancers, but she wanted the other people to join in. When the song ended, she practically pushed Butch and Tabitha out to the dance area before cueing the next song.

It didn’t take long until Marcy, Beth Ann and Ashley were getting into the groove. Beth Ann’s exceptionally voluminous natural breast swung free, threatening to hit anyone who got too close. Only Marcy seemed to be lagging. With five topless women dancing, even some of the husbands tried to join in; though Butch seemed to be the only man that showed the slightest ability. Bonnie thought Mike's dancing looked like he was trying to mash bugs on the floor. Still, she thought things were going great.

Though the dancing was fun, it was simply too hot to keep it up given the rising heat. During the fifth song, Bonnie jumped into the water. The ice had been broken; the party was underway. Those who had been dancing were the first into the water.

Once the pool began to fill, the men didn’t need any encouragement to start grabbing asses and tits.

The charcoal had burned down giving Cooper a chance to join the fun for a few minutes. Though the other men at least made the physical contact appear accidental, Cal just swam up to Bonnie and began to kneed her breasts. After pushing him away with a sharp word, Bonnie swam over to Beth Ann.

“You really need to talk to Cal” she whispered in her ear. "Tell him just because the women are not dressed does not mean they are available to him. Next time he grabs a woman I will have to respond forcefully.”

Beth Ann looked mortified and quickly grabbed Cal by the arm and dragged him out of the water and into the house.

The whole affair was not lost on the others and things quickly quieted down. To Cooper there was no question that Bonnie had made it clear she was in charge and set the boundaries. He thought that was a good thing.

After a good while of water play (with some of it being quite overtly sexual), Bonnie climbed out of the pool and pulled one of the wooden benches to the side of the water. Stepping up on the bench she quickly got everyone’s attention. Looking up at her, the others saw that Bonnie’s little string of glass beads that passed between her legs hid absolutely nothing. Rather it just drew attention to her crotch. As she had expected, she was the least exposed person there.

“Damn Bonnie” Mike said “You might as well not wear anything.”

“You don’t understand. Yes, I could go totally nude. Everyone knows I have no aversion to doing that. But I think I look much more stylish, and if I might say, more sexy, like this.”

She got several votes of support from the women before she went on “Though I might well lose my pretend panties after this little contest.”

“What contest?” Beth Ann asked as she returned with a well chastised Cal.

“A chicken fight contest. We will have a double elimination tournament. So everyone out and sit around the sides of the pool” Bonnie instructed.

Once everyone was out, she continued “Here is how it will work. Any couple interested in participating may challenge any other couple participating to a chicken fight. All combat must be from the upper partner and if her boobs hit the water she is considered down. The price for losing is one member of the team must give up their swim suit. Once both partners have lost their suit they are out of the game. The last team standing wins.”

After a round of nodding heads Bonnie added “Since she does not have a partner, Sue Ann has agreed to be our referee. Oh, and once you lose your suit, you can’t get it back till you leave. So, only participate if you are willing to abide by the rule.”

Sue Ann held up a whistle. “When the whistle blows you must stop. I don’t want any heads bashed on the side of the pool. So who wants to start?”

After a few minutes of discussion Butch said “Tabitha and I challenge Cooper and Bonnie."

The Campbell pool was 1970’s vintage, so it was deeper than home swimming pools are generally now. For the women, the water was usually up to their chin, and short women, like Ashly, were underwater if they stood on the bottom. The wide steps that took up about 15% of the pool’s area was the primary place to chill and talk. The design was perfect for water volleyball and chicken fights.

The first few rounds went quickly, and in no time Bonnie and Cooper lost their skimpy bottoms and were out of the game; as were Mike & Marcy and Chad & Ashley. Youth was clearly winning out. That was just as well because it was time to put the burgers on. While the competition continued, lunch was prepared.

Bonnie was pleased, and a little surprised, when she saw Ronda Jackson had arrived while she and Cooper had been in the pool. She was even more pleased that she seemed to expect to see the nudity. Likely Haley had told her mother what to expect.

Bonnie greeted her with a hug and right off thanked her for the support she’d shown Misty and the family over the past weeks.

“I think we have all been supporting each other lately.” Ronda replied. “I for one am not sad to see the sharpening of the divide between the old guard and the rest of us in this county. I think its good for our kids to know their families are not the only ones who don’t want to pretend we live in the 1950’s.”

Bonnie smiled, “So I guess Haley has told you all about things here at the Campbell household.”

Ronda nodded “Yes she has. You must know I am right there with you. Perhaps a little jealous of some of the opportunities you have had. A whole week on a private sailing yacht, making it with anyone you wanted whenever you wanted? How could I not be jealous of that? And she let me know that she’s also told you all about things in our home as well. Not that she shouldn’t have; it’s just new to realize I don’t have to pretend I am something I am not when around church people.”

“I understand. And you don’t have to hide your life choices with anyone in this group. It is just a shame it took a kick in our pants to get us all to this point.” Bonnie agreed.

Their little conversation was cut off when Ashely came over to give Ronda a hug. Not long after Trish finally showed up. Her very nice, very see-through, kaftan (under which she wore nothing at all) was both revealing and very stylish.

“Sorry I’m late” Trish said. “I couldn’t get free of my mother. You see, as soon as she arrived and saw me in this outfit, she started gushing as if I was wearing it to the party just to please her. If that wasn’t bad enough, my big mouthed son told her that she had been right and I had been going to see a man at the beach. He even told her how I’d had sex with him more than once each day. She was beside herself with excitement and I had to tell the whole story. When I was done with that Byron proceeded to tell her I have become Cooper’s lover. That meant I had to take the time to explain that while we do have sex, we are doing it as friends, not as lovers. And I had to explain that some of the times you have joined us, so its not clandestine in the least. That got her praising me again for my liberated choices. I could have screamed. That is why I’m so late. You would have thought I was a teenage girl going with my first boyfriend to a dance.”'

Ronda’s eyes showed more than a little surprise at how casually Trish spoke of her sex life, including her relationship with Cooper and Bonnie. Only after this proof that everything her daughter had told her was clearly true, did she begin to get comfortable and start to unbutton her shirt.

Ashely was not surprised, but inquired “So Trish, is that all you wore driving over here?”

“No, I figured I had to put on a wrap to go from the apartment to the car. I don’t live in the country like Bonnie. Oh, and my mother all but begged to ask you if she could come with me to your next party.”

“You can tell her she would be welcome” Bonnie replied with a smile. “You know that I really like your mother.”

“Everyone likes my mother” Trish said sourly. I don’t know if I could handle her being here. She would suck up all the oxygen and I would have a hard time relaxing.”

Bonnie took her by the arm and led her to join the others sitting around the sides of the pool watching the contest. “It’s up to you. But you should consider it. It might improve your relationship with her.”

Ronda followed them to join the activities. Rather than bikini bottoms & sandals, she was wearing impossibly short cut-offs with cowboy boots and hat. The outfit accentuated her large bared breasts and was quite sexy indeed. Bonnie considered that while all the women except Lois had their breasts fully exposed, each showed her own distinct style. She thought that was a good thing indeed.

It was no surprise that in the end the youngest couples were last out of the chicken fight game. The final was between Butch/Tabitha against Cal/Beth Ann.

Bonnie would have put her money on Cal and Beth Ann. At six feet tall and a good 250lbs Calvin was far more physically imposing than the wiry Butch. And Beth Ann similarly seemed to overmatch the waifish Tabitha. For what seemed to be forever, the two couples sparred with no one falling. Finally, Tabitha surprised Beth Ann by grabbing her boobs with both hands. Her startled reaction threw her off balance and down she went. The burgers were done and Cooper was about to call it a draw when Beth Ann went down for the second time. After climbing out of the pool Butch and Tabitha took a bow.

Beth Ann took a good-natured swipe at Tabitha “If your boobs were half as big as mine you would have lost your balance first.”

“For once big boobs aren’t an advantage” she retorted.

After he and Mike had pulled the burgers and dogs from the grill, Cooper stood on a bench and in a loud voice, said “Food’s ready! Get it while its hot.”

Trish, who had been standing near the bench Cooper used, couldn’t resist. She reached forward and lifted his apron, grabbed and briefly stroked his penis. Then turned to the others and said “And here is the sausage. It’s worth trying, and yes, I do speak from personal experience in this brand”.

Amid the laughter, Cooper said “I don’t mind tasting but no biting!” and he hopped off the bench to more laughter. Bonnie and Marcy had set up a buffet with plates, utensils, drinks, condiments, beans and slaw on the granite topped serving table. Their guests lined up and began to serve themselves. He had not anticipated Trish’s move, but it would play into what was coming next, what was, in his view, the purpose of the day’s events. As each person filed by the grill, he made a point to thank them for coming.

Once everyone else had been served, Bonnie made herself a plate and joined Sherry, Herb and the other “older” people” at one the large octagonal wood table. It was only when she’d sat down, she realized what Ashely was showing her husband: the photobook from the cruse. Though the photos of her having sex no longer even made her wince, the look in Chad’s eye reminded her how much others found the photos difficult to process. She just smiled and asked “So Chad, what do you think?”

He stumbled over his words “I…I…well they are…”

His wife rescued him by saying “He likes them, a lot. So much so he is rather flustered.”

Bonnie leaned over to Herb and said “It’s OK. I know how fast I’ve thrown things at you today.”

Chad managed a nod.

Cooper laughed. “I think this is the first time in twenty years I have seen when Chad had nothing to say about something controversial.”

That got a round of laughs.

Herb spoke up and said “Chad, we’ve known each other since…well since before nearly everyone here was born right?”

Chad nodded.

He went on “And you and I both know that it has always been a myth that good people only have sex with their husband or wife. Right?”

Chad nodded again.

“So ask yourself, wouldn’t it have been better for you and Shirley Jean to have had sex with other people right in front of each other like Cooper and Bonnie do rather than the lying, cheating and nasty divorce?”

“I guess I see your point. But, this will take some getting used to.”

Bonnie stepped in. “We know open marriage won’t work for all couples, but for us it has opened up a whole world of wonderful possibilities.”

When it appeared most people were finishing up, he hung the apron over the grill’s serving tray and went back to stand on the bench again. He then addressed the group as they ate spread around the four sitting areas, “I’m glad to see you ladies are actually eating the weenies, I was afraid with all the sexual tension in the air you might do something else with them.” More laughter.

“Bonnie and I are really glad you all came today. It’s nice to have our church friends over for some nice wholesome Christian fellowship.”

More laughter.

"Before I start, let me give a hearty congratulations to Beth Ann and Calvin for their impending marriage. And Cal, I want you to know all of us husbands are here to console you when you realize what you have done."

Bonnie led the women to throw things at Cooper for that comment.

Cooper laughed and then said "No, really, congratulations and I can only hope you have the happiness that I have found."

Bonnie yelled "Much better."

Then he started into his prepared speech. “You might not know this, but the first generation Greek Christians to whom Paul wrote most of his epistles, would not be shocked in the slightest by our dress code today. Not only did all baptisms take place in the nude, but we have solid archeological evidence that the 1st century Christians in Anatolia (what is modern Turkey) socialized regularly at the public baths. The men and women hung out naked together more or less just like we are today. This practice was so central to their lives that when the pagans began banning Christians from the public baths, it was a serious blow that they resisted.”

“It wasn’t God, Jesus, the Apostles or the scriptures that demonized nudity and sex. It was the fourth and fifth century church leaders, who, trying to stave off the complete destruction of classical culture by our barbarian ancestors, made the Emperor’s anti-sex agenda into church doctrine. It was the Popes who decreed the naked body to be unclean. It was they who declared sexual pleasure to be inherently sinful. Before that, the world of the early Christians was awash in public sexuality, yet the scriptures never once condemn it. Paul, who lived in this world, did condemn sex that used people as property such as using enslaved prostitutes. He also told the Christians not to have sex with pagan temple priestesses since doing so was an act of worship of a false god. The very fact these specific forms of sex were condemned, is tacit evidence that the early Christians did not reject recreational sex as a natural part of God’s plan for his people.”

He pointed to Sue Ann, “Unmarried Christians were free to explore whatever sexual pleasure they chose as long as it didn’t take over their life. Just like wine was the staple of life in the ancient world, but alcohol dependence was known to be disastrous; so sexual pleasure was normal, only sexual obsession was condemned. This is also true for couples, Jesus clearly said that all sexual acts a married couple agree to are blessed.”

“So why am I standing here before you, naked as the day I was born saying all this? Am I advocating nudism? No, though we don’t believe nudity to be wrong. Are we advocating the open-marriage lifestyle? Sorry Cal, we are not, even though Bonnie and I are not monogamist, we believe each Christian should follow his or her own conscience. What I am here before you saying is that we, as 21st century Christians must stop supporting the hypocrisy. We must free ourselves from the tyranny of men long dead and be willing to openly proclaim our Christian liberty and to admit publicly how God leads us privately.”

“Next weekend an essay on this very subject will be published as part of Salon.com’s review of an erotic art show of which a good friend, and occasional lover, of mine is the lead artist. I don’t know how many of you took a good look at the tropical painting in the family room, it is a smaller version of one in the exhibit. Did anyone take a good look at it? When you go back in, stand back about ten feet. You will then see it is really a painting of Bonnie and I making love. I have been told to expect a good deal of media attention that will bring the nude beach photos back into play. What was a small local storm of controversy regarding our bodies and sexual openness could become a large one extending well beyond our little rural corner of Georgia.”

“By the fact you are all still here, I’m supposing you all agree with me to one extent or another. I am up here to ask you to be prepared to take a stand, with Bonnie and me. When the subject comes up in coming weeks, don’t go along with the hypocrisy. At work, at church, at your friends’ homes, speak truth, not simply what you think you are expected to say. Think about it.”

Everyone just sat looking at him. “OK, my sermon’s over.” With that he ended and sat beside Bonnie who was eating her burger. Sensing her husband had quashed the mood a bit more than had been intended, she yelled across the pool to where Butch and Tabitha were eating. “Tabitha, you said Snake was his old nick name, but we’ve yet to see it.”

”We won the game” she replied.

“So does that mean you want to hide him away?”

“OK, OK” she said. “But don’t be mad if I can’t resist attacking him”.

“I promise not to kick you out” Bonnie said with a laugh. “Loose the suit Butch” Tabitha said as she raised up on her hands and slid her own thong off, though that hadn’t been what Bonnie had asked. Not surprisingly she was as bare shaven as Bonnie. Butch stood up and after tossing his wife’s thong across the pool, pulled down the speedo he was wearing, very slowly saying “Now don’t let it frighten you” to Bonnie. Sure enough, his nickname was accurate, it was as long as any penis she had ever seen. It was noticeably thin for its length and uncircumcised.

“Damn” Sue Ann exclaimed “Snake is right. How long is it?”

Her sister added “I’ve never seen one close to that size still soft, and I’ve done more than a few guys.”

Tabitha, bursting with pride, “Soft it’s over nine inches. Hard it’s about eleven.” He sat down but she continued. “We hit it right off, back in our biker days, because I was the only girl who could take it all in me, from any position. Most girls couldn’t take it all in from behind, and Butch likes doing it that way. So we were a perfect match because my g-spot is really deep and not many guys can reach it. I'd had a good many different guys in me and he was the first guy I’d done it with who could reach that deep every time."

“How many is a good many?” Beth Ann asked.

“Certainly over a hundred.”

Several voices murmured “a hundred?!”

Butch added “She’s being modest by saying that. Once when we had some of her old friends over, they tried to peg a number and they were sure it was well over two hundred. She was very popular at the bike rallies. I haven’t done nearly as many women as she’s done men because lots of women wouldn’t let me even try. But still I’ve done my fair share and with nearly all of them I had to be so careful not to hurt them, but with Tabitha, from the first time it’s been the deeper the better. We are a matched set.”

Tabitha added “If either of us had tried the celibacy until marriage or even limited our sexual activity to serious relationships, we never would have found each other. I know my parents didn’t approve of my slutty ways, but it worked out for me.”

Then Butch ended with “So we’re right with you on what you’re trying to do Cooper.”

After serving up seconds on the burgers and hotdogs, Cooper went and joined Bonnie, Sherry & Herb and Ashley & Chad at the glass table near the front fence. From the time he had arrived, Herb had said little but Cooper was aware that he was closely watching everything. “Herb, I haven’t heard you say a word since we came out to the pool.” Cooper could see the light scar line run down the inside of his thigh and disappear into the leg of his shorts.

Ashley answered first “Oh, he’s talked. Talked about how sexy Bonnie and Trish and especially Brandy is.”

Herb turned a little pink and said “The last time I saw this many naked women at once was in a whore house in Saigon, and that was a lifetime ago.”

It was well known at church that he never talked about Vietnam, and Cooper tried not to seem surprised.

“Until this month I thought I was quite the libertine. In high school I did a good number of girls, but it was always when there was no chance of anyone knowing what we did, let alone seeing. In the army using prostitutes was common, but as an officer that was on the QT as well. When Sherry was living out west in the swinging lifestyle, I was the traditional southern gentleman. I had sex with Annabelle twice per month, at night with the lights out hurrying to finish so she wouldn’t suffer long. In the world I was raised in, good women did not enjoy sex. Meanwhile, I had a series of affairs with women from the bank. While sex with my respectable wife was formal, sex with the girls from work was hot sweaty and far more frequent. Of course, that was also private and well hidden. I’m sure Annabelle knew full well what I was doing when I would come home late from the bank, but she was grateful I was doing them three times a week instead of her.”

Chad nodded, "My life was a whole lot like that too, except I just divorced my wife."

Sherri stood up and put her arms around her husband gently as he spoke.

“Now, from what she has told me so far” he went on “I guess Sherri had sex with more men at any number of parties she’s been to than all the women in all those years I was married to Annabelle; and, I’m pretty sure she’s even made love to more women than I have as well.”

Sherri unbuttoned his top button, she slid her hand into the gray hair on his chest and whispered something in his ear.

He continued and said “She just told me she is sure she had done that before she was twenty.”

More laughs.

“I know I should be jealous and it should make me angry, but I love hearing her stories. I find that now that she has begun telling me details of her earlier life, it is the greatest aphrodisiac I have had in years. I wonder if I am somehow getting lecherous in my old age?”

Cooper laughed “No, Herb. Why is it lecherous to enjoy hearing the woman you love tell of good times.”

Sherri added “Or to watch her enjoy herself.”

Cooper agreed “Or to watch, sure, how could I not get turned on watching Bonnie enjoy herself with a lover? But the ultimate is to share the experience with her. We’ve only done it once, but a few months ago she had me do it in her backside while she rode a man. I could feel his penis in her as he went in and out. And to top it off we had a good dozen people watching as we did it. It was the most amazing sexual experience of my life.” He felt his penis growing as he remembered. “Damn, I’m getting hard just thinking about it.”

Sherri looked down, “You aren’t kidding, you are getting hard!”

“I told you it was a turn-on.”

Sherry swiveled down and sat on her husband’s lap. “See, I told you. Lots of men enjoy watching their wife with other people.”

Cooper leaned back in his chair, his erection still growing. “Well Herb, the truth is it doesn’t matter what other men do. The question is what makes you and Sherry happy. That’s what I’m trying to get people to do and to be proud of doing it.”

Ashley piped up "I don't know about you Sherry, but until today I don't know how I've overlooked Dwight Connelly. I don't remember him being that buff."

Cooper put in, "Maybe that is because he is almost young enough to be our kid."

"Young or not, he is impressive" she replied.

Cooper looked over to where Dwight was standing by Brandy. He had to admit to himself he hadn't noticed Dwight at all since Brandy commanded his attention. But Ashley was right. There was no doubt he worked out and took his appearance seriously. Though he was no body builder or fitness model, he put all the other men present to shame. Then Cooper noticed something else he'd missed. Dwight appeared to be completely hairless from below his head. Chest, back, pubic hair and even his legs seemed to be shaved. That was odd he thought. But after that he began to notice how all the women looked at him. Clearly, he knew what he was doing.

Chad put it in a tone that seemed a little too strong for the situation. "Looking is fine Ashley, but that is all."

While those at their table had been listening to the conversation, Bonnie noticed that across the pool, Tabitha was making good on her threat to attack her husband in front of everyone. Butch was sitting on one of the chaise lounges. Tabitha was on her knees with her face in his lap. Her head was visibly bobbing up and down on the first half of the long shaft as she firmly gripped the lower half in her hand. Bonnie, drawing the attention of the group to her far right said “I guess Tabitha is proud of her man.”

Cooper, Sherry and Herb looked behind them to see as Tabitha was going down deep on her husband, but still a good four or five inches of flesh remained in her fist. She kept it in for nearly half a minute then came up gasping for breath. Bonnie could tell everyone else had been watching while they had been in their conversation.

Sherry hollered “I thought you said you can take it all!”

Tabitha looked up, stroking with her right hand. “I can in my pussy but that’s all I can do with my mouth. No one can take all of him orally.”

“What makes you say that?” Sherry queried.

Butch replied “It’s true, I’ve never once had a girl who could take it all in her mouth.”

Sherry smiled and said “Of course not, no girl could deep throat that monster. It takes a real woman to do that.”

“Why? Do you think you could take it all?” Tabitha asked with an air of competitiveness.

“Sure I could.”

“Really?” Tabitha said surprised.