Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. The Smorgasbord by the Gripping Hand The party sounded like it was in full swing by the time I got there. I was late because I had to stay at the theatre and make sure everything was shut off and the place was locked up. Being stage manager in a community theatre could be a pain in the ass, but there were upsides, as well. I remember one show I worked on. Towards the end of the show, the girls in the chorus had to change from workout clothes to evening dresses during a quick scene change. Basically, they ran offstage to the wings, stripped out of everything except panties, and jumped into the dresses I had laid out for them. As needed, I would help them with the change, which meant that I would unbutton/unzip shirts or pants, help pull off tight shirts or pants, and unhook bras. I would then help them into their dresses, zip them up, make sure everything was straight, and move them toward the stage again. Did I mention that these were high school aged dancers, with high school dancer boobs? Evening dresses. Boobs. Many, many boobs. 15 shows, plus dress rehearsals. That's a lot of high school tit-flesh, and I appreciated every second of it. When the costumer asked me if I had time to help out with this particular change, I checked my cue book and determined I had enough time between calling the cues and making sure the set change happened correctly. Besides, I trusted my deck manager to handle the scene change, and I would only be a few feet away from my desk. I told her yes, and she smiled and gave me her only warning. "You know, of course, that most of these girls are doing their first show, and most of them are going to be underage. So you can look, but DON'T touch!" Hell, I knew that much already, so I just looked. I looked a lot, but I never touched. Well, not so that they complained about it. Let's just say that I became an expert on the inadvertent fondle during that show. I had gotten into theatre by accident. When I was in high school, there was girl I had a crush on. She talked me into auditioning for the school's production of "Our Town." (God, what a piece of shit! Why they let high schools torture kids with that dreck is beyond me!) Anyway, I got a small part, which was both forgettable and quickly forgotten. The director suggested, very gently, that perhaps my talents were better utilized backstage rather than on stage, and from that show on, I was a techie. This summer, I had agreed to work at a theatre in a small resort town for a summer stock rep company. We were doing three shows in rotation, so we kept busy keeping the shows ready to go, making sure the actors hadn't forgotten their lines or staging, and that the props and sets were in good shape. The theatre company had some housing for us in old summer camp cabins, which were rustic but comfortable enough. Tonight, though, was special. One of the year-round residents of the resort had taken a shine to the cast this year and had allowed us to use her house for cast parties. Most parties were at the camp where we lived, or at one of the bars or restaurants in town, but we really weren't able to unwind there. This place promised to be different. It was in a secluded area away from the town, in the middle of a 50 acre wooded lot. The house itself was a magnificent log home with a pool and hottub on a deck overlooking the woods and small lake. The area was secluded, secure, and very private, so we didn't have to worry about disturbing the neighbors. As I found a parking space by the front door to the house, I could hear music from the deck and hear people laughing, singing, and generally having a good time. I know it was going to be a good party when I saw discarded clothes hanging on the bushes next to the front door. It appeared to be mostly men's shirts, but here and there I saw some blouses and at least one bra. The kitchen was toward the back of the house and opened onto the deck. I stopped at the counter and fixed a plate from the buffet that was laid out, grabbed a beer from the cooler and headed out to the deck and the party. The deck was large, stretching out behind the house and descending in broad shelves to the pool apron and nearby hot tub. The stereo was set up near the house, and people were standing around in small clumps, talking and nibbling on the food. No one was in the pool yet, but I was sure that was going to happen soon enough. The crowd was lively, but not terribly large. The shows the company were doing had a lot of female cast members and only a few male roles, so most of the people at the party were females. The remainder were the technical staff. Most of them were locals and would soon head home to their families. There were only a couple of guys on the tech staff from out of town, so we tended to stick together. Scott, the light and sound board operator, was from a small college in the midwest and was doing his first summer stock show. Eric was the spotlight operator and was a high school teacher from the east coast, taking his summer vacation to do some theatre work. As stage manager, I was nominally their boss, but each of them was talented and dependable and worked well with minimal supervision. I headed toward Scott to see how he liked the party and noticed several of the party guests had already began to discard clothing. I saw Sarah was the one who had left her blouse by the front door and was chatting easily with Jessica who had obviously left her bra there also. Bruce, Nathan and Billy had left their shirts in the bushes as well, and were talking with Sarah and Jessica. I paused a moment to admire the girls as they were backlit by the soft pool light. Sarah was tall and athletic, with honey blond hair framing a open face with a pert nose and blue eyes. Her athletic build displayed smallish but proud breasts, accented and nicely displayed by her sports bra. Jessica was shorter with dark hair and exotic emerald eyes. She was also more voluptuous, her large breasts and dark, prominent nipples easily discernible through the sheer material of her blouse. Both girls were wearing tight yoga pants, and both had the really incredible asses of dancers who kept in shape. Of course, all of this beauty was lost on Bruce, Billy and Nathan, who were not terribly interested in girls, except to trade fashion and grooming tips. If you've been around theatre for more than about 15 minutes, you quickly discover that large percentage of the guys involved in theatre were gay. It was simply a fact of life in the theatre community, and nobody gave it much thought. I remember a conversation I had with my uncle while I was in high school. I was a sophomore and was working on my first show as a techie. He told, "Theatre is a great hobby, even if you don't pursue it professionally. It gives you a lot of self-confidence, and you get to meet a lot of people you probably wouldn't usually meet. And, if you're a straight guy, it's a frigging smorgasbord!" I tucked that little nugget of information away, and time and again reflected on how true it was. I had mentioned that to Scott one day over beers after a rehearsal. He went to an all-male college, so did not have a lot of first-hand experience in that department. This was his first experience theatre in a co-ed environment and was eager to find out what it was like. I looked around at the rest of the crowd. Tamara was over by the stereo, her dark brown skin set off nicely by the yellow blouse and red shorts she wore. Krista was nearby, swaying to the R&B music coming from the speakers. Tamara was a larger girl, with full, swaying breasts and a plump and well-muscled ass. Krista was of average build with a ready smile and a quick wit, an affectionate girl quick with a hug or a peck on the cheek. Carly was a knockout - a statuesque red-head with long legs, large up-turned tits and a brushing of freckles across her shoulders. Brienne was of asian heritage, with dark hair, a round face, slim hips and boyish breasts. All of them, as well as Sarah and Jessica, were accomplished actresses, used to the lifestyle that went along with a life in the theatre - late nights, self-confidence and a certain lack of body modesty. Tamara looked thirsty, so I grabbed some extra beers and headed over to where she was dancing with Krista. They both accepted the drinks gratefully, and I started dancing with them - poorly, I must admit, but they didn't seem to mind. After a couple songs, Krista excused herself to visit the restroom, leaving Tamara with me at the stereo. Tamara continued to dance, and as the next song came on, she turned her back to me, moved up against me, and began to grind her generous ass against my groin. I immediately began to stiffen, and moved my hips in rhythm with hers. I put my hands on her waist to keep us close, and leaned against her back so I could nuzzle her neck. She moved her head to the side and swept her hair to one side in order to give me better access, which I capitalized on by nibbling her neck and earlobe. She sighed and moaned, continuing to grind against my stiffening dick. We continued in this manner for a minute or so when she reached down, took my hands in hers, and brought them up and placed them on her tits. My dick instantly sprang to full erection as I caressed her breasts and felt the hard nipples under my hands. I said, "Want to find someplace a little more private?" She turned to me, kissed me hard, and said, "God, yes" in a breathy moan. I looked around and then led her off the deck and into the relative darkness of the surrounding trees, grabbing a towel from a nearby chair. Just inside the treeline was a manicured lawn surrounding a birdbath. I led her there, spread the towel on the grass, and took her in my arms. She turned her face up to mine and we kissed, our hands roaming each other's back while our tongues met and danced together. We sank down to the ground, never breaking our embrace, until we were lying full-length on the towel. I moved my free hand from her back, over her ass, then up to her tits. She pressed against me and responded eagerly to my stroking. As our kiss continued, I shifted my hand to the hem of her top and slipped it under the fabric, moving it slowly up her side to the cups of her bra. I ran my hands over the soft cotton of her bra, feeling her respond to my touch with quickened breathing and quivering muscles. I began to raise the shirt off her body when she suddenly sat up, whipped the shirt off over her head and unhooked her bra, slipping it off her arms and tossing it aside. For a moment, I just stared, taking in the vision of her massive tits heaving in front of me. I reached for them and took them in hands, gently squeezing and rubbing the delicious flesh. I bent my head and captured one of the nipples in my mouth, alternating between sucking on the erect flesh and nibbling gently on the thumb-sized nubbin. She moaned again, laying back on the towel, and using her hands to guide my head back to her breasts. I continued to lavish attention to her boobs, alternating between the two, using my hands to bring first one, then the other to my mouth. Tamara was moaning almost continuously now, trying to rub her crotch against my leg while her hands worked to pull my shirt off over my head. I took break from my ministrations to her fabulous chest while she stripped my shirt off and added it to the pile of clothes. I bent back to my work, kissing her on the mouth and nibbling on her lips before nipping my way down her throat and chest until I reached her tits. I sucked both nipples again, then continued my way down her stomach, kissing and biting gently as I went. I reached the waistband of her shorts, and passed over her groin, moving to her legs and continuing to kiss my way down each leg to her toes, then back up. While I was attending to her legs, she had reached up into the leg of my shorts and worked her hand into my underwear, running her nails over the flesh of my ass. I took this as an indication that I could go on, and worked my way back to her crotch, this time working my way inward to her thighs. I reached down and moved the crotch of her shorts aside so that I could lick her panty-covered pussy. As I did, she shifted her hand around to grab my dick and began to stroke it with a strong, sure grip. After a few moments of mutual pleasure, I moved so that I could rest between her legs. She moaned in disappointment when I stopped licking her, but I soon silenced her when I hooked my fingers into the waistbands of her shorts and panties. I paused for a moment to look up to her face, asking the silent questions. She smiled and lifted her butt off the towel so I could slide the clothes off her ass and down her legs. They soon joined the pile of discarded clothes, and I paused to examine what I had discovered. The light was dim, filtering through the surrounding trees, and cast a dappled shadow across her luscious body. The hair on her mound was trimmed but not shaved, curing tightly against her dark flesh. I bent my face to her, and she arched her hips up to meet me. I breathed deeply, savoring her scent before I dipped my tongue into the inviting slit before me. I began to lick slowly, circling around her sex, moving my tongue through her pubic hair and along her thighs, over her lips, and back along the other thigh. She began to tell me to lick her, to put my tongue in her, to kiss her down there. I kept teasing her until she grabbed my head and tried to pull me where she wanted to me go. At that, I speared my tongue into her wetness, tasting the dripping excitement there, and then moved by tongue up until I brushed it over to clit. I settled in there, working her clit over with my tongue, drawing moans, gasps, and exclamations from her. She began to buck her hips up toward me, urging me on. I alternated between licking her slit and gathering her moisture on my tongue and working over her clit. She got louder, almost chanting her desire for me to make her come. As I continued to drive her toward her orgasm, I thought I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. When I looked, I didn't see anything there, so I chalked it up to an errant breeze stirring the trees. Meanwhile, Tamara was getting closer, now saying, "Oh God, I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna...." Just then, she tensed up, clamping her legs around my head and whimpering loudly before relaxing and dropping her legs back to the ground. As she recovered from her orgasmic high, she opened her eyes and smiled at me, motioning me to move up along side of her. As I did, she brought her head up to kiss me, softly and deeply, her arms holding me tightly to her. I returned her kiss, stroking her gently as her breathing slowed to a more normal rate. She finally broke the kiss and looked at me with a slightly troubled expression. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" I asked, with a bit of concern that I might have bitten something sensitive. "No. God, no. That was incredible. I haven't cum like that for a while. You hit all the right spots. No, you did just fine. I just hope no one heard me." "I wouldn't worry about that. If anything, you might get a request to moan in a different key, but I don't think anyone's going to be offended." She giggled in response, then turned serious again. "Well, ... there's something else." Tamara hesitated, then went on. "I haven't had the chance to renew my birth-control prescription yet, so I can't let you make love to me or cum inside me, even though I really, REALLY want you to. Please don't think I'm a tease. There are a couple other things we can do instead, but I wanted to be upfront with you." Well, what do you say to that, when you've got a raging hard-on and a naked girl in front of you? I smiled back at her and said, "I really want to make love to you, but I understand your concern. We can do whatever you feel comfortable doing, and I'll be OK with that." "I hoped you'd say something like that. Let me show you what I have in mind." With that, she reached down and grabbed my cock, stroking it firmly from root to tip and back again. She then shimmied down to where she could take me in her mouth. She started by licking the head around and then tonguing the tip, collecting the pre-cum that had collected there. I laid back, and she moved between my legs, continuing to minister to my cock as I growled in pleasure. After spending a few minutes giving my dick a good going-over, she moved up toward me, capturing my dick between her tits. Holding her boobs around my cock with her hands, she began to rock back and forth, my dick sliding between her tits with each motion. As the head popped out of the top of her cleavage, she would bend her neck and capture the head in her mouth before letting it slip out and slide back down the slippery channel between her boobs. She kept this up, varying the speed of the motion and the intensity of her sucking until I was right at the edge. "I'm really close, Tam. I'm gonna cum soon," I moaned. "Do it, baby. Cum on my tits. Let it go on my boobs." My orgasm rushed through me, pulsing through my chest and erupting out my cock. I came in spurts, each blast painting the top of her fleshy tits with a coating of white liquid. When the geyser subsided, she bent and kissed my cock again and licked some of the semen from her tits. Suddenly, she stopped, looking to my left into the trees surrounding us. I followed her gaze and saw Krista standing there, one hand on her tit, squeezing the small nipple, and the other in the front of her shorts, obviously stroking her pussy. She started when she noticed we saw her and began to move away. "Wait," Tamara said. "Don't go. Come join us. Come on, come over here." She patted the ground next to her, encouraging Krista to move forward. Krista moved tentatively, slipping her hand from her shorts and letting her blouse fall back over her exposed breast. She walked forward, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry I watched. I saw you leave the deck and thought I would see where you went. I heard what you were doing, so I thought I would stay back and just watch. You guys looked really hot together. I especially liked watching you cum on Tam's chest, Vinny." By that time, she was kneeling next to us, her eyes fixed on Tam's boobs as they moved with her breathing, the cum still pooling on them. Tam said she didn't mind if Krista was watching us, and I echoed her comments. I thought Krista was kind of hot, even if she was physically the polar opposite of Tamara. Tam caught the intensity of Krista's gaze and lifted her finger to her tit and scooped up a drop of the fluid. She reached her hand toward Krista, and Krista leaned forward, almost eager to taste it. She captured Tamara's finger in her mouth, sucking the cum off of it with obvious delight. Krista said, "I've always liked the taste of cum, but most guys don't seem to want to spend time with me." Tamara, sensing Krista's awkwardness, said, "I happen to think you look great, and I can tell by Vin's dick that he thinks so, too." With that, she let her tits separate to show my slowly stiffening dick. Tam went on, "It looks like he might have something left for you, but it may take a while." With a theatrical sigh, she then said, "And here I've got all the cum on my tits, and I don't know what to do about it." As she said it, she stared fixedly at Krista, holding her boobs in her hands and offering them toward Krista. "Are you sure?" Tam didn't reply, but leaned forward, bringing her tits closer to Krista. Krista breathed deeply, then leaned toward Tam, reaching out her tongue to gather some more of the cum off of Tamara's chest. The more she tasted, the more intense her efforts became, so that after a few minutes, she had taken Tam's tits in her small hands and was licking every square inch of tit-flesh to ensure she didn't miss any. I had a ringside seat to all of this and watched the erotic scene as it unfolded. With each lick and moan, I grew more erect and less sated. Unable to watch and not participate, I reached out to Krista and ran my hand over her small breasts. She had small swellings on her chest, almost like a pubescent girl, but with pronounced (and very hard) nipples. I tweaked them through her shirt, then ran my hand under the blouse to caress the hot flesh there. Apparently, she was finished with cleaning off Tam's tits, because she suddenly turned and launched herself at me, pinning me back on the ground and kissing me hard. She stabbed her tongue into my mouth and we kissed, hotly and with great passion. While she was doing that, I could tell that Tam was stripping the shorts and panties off Krista and running her hand up between her legs, alternating fondling my balls and running her fingers over Krista's clit. It didn't take long before Krista tossed off her blouse, lay her head on my chest and began biting my shoulder as I used one hand to massage her chest and the other to squeeze her ass. Krista came in a frenzy of motion, squirming atop me, biting my chest and shoulder while crying out her pleasure. She came down from the orgasmic high slowly, her breathing rapid and her eyes closed. I continued to massage her nipples and ass, and soon encouraged her to move up so that I could suck on her nipples as she breathed. Finally, she groaned and said, "That was the most intense orgasm I've ever had! It was just...wow." She slid back down so that she was laying by my side on the right while Tam snuggled up to my left. I put my arms around both girls and we lay there comfortably for a few minutes. After a bit, Krista spoke up, her eyes downcast and her hand fluttering nervously on my stomach. "I'm sorry I interrupted you guys. I didn't want to get in the way, but it just looked so hot." Once again, Tam and I reassured her that it was all right, that we weren't mad, and that she was welcome to join us. To make the point clearly, Tam took Krista's hand and placed it around my still-hard cock, encouraging her to stroke me. "Go ahead. I couldn't take him inside me, but if you're on the pill and want to, I'll bet he'll make love to you." With that, Krista's eyes shot to my face, trying to gauge my reaction. I smiled and said, "I'd like that. If you want to, we could do that. Or we could do just about anything else you want." Krista smiled shyly and looked from me to Tam. "I'd love to, but..." "But you don't want to push me out? No problem - I'll just join in. It doesn't seem like you have any problem with girl-on-girl contact, and I think Vinny is man enough to handle us both. You take that end," giving my cock a pat, "and I'll take this one," leaning over to kiss me. When she drew back, I said, "Don't I get a vote?" In unison, they replied, "Oh, hell no!" and giggled. "How about a suggestion, then?" They nodded for me to go on. "How about Krista lets me eat her first while Tam sucks me (if you want) so I can taste that pretty pussy of hers? Then, when she's good and ready, you can switch, and I'll eat Tam while Krista gets to ride the white stallion." This drew a chorus of laughter as both Krista and Tam started making jokes about the stupid names guys give their penis. When they settled down, Krista swung around and crouched over my face while Tam positioned herself at my dick. I reached and grabbed her ass with my hands and drew her dripping slit into reach of my tongue. Her public hair was sparse and dark, tufted slightly on her mound. Her slit gaped slightly, with her inner lips just barely protruding beyond the outer, pink and swollen with her excitement. I flicked my tongue gently along her slit, tasting her sweetness just as I could feel Tam take my dick into her mouth. I focused on Krista, both to prolong my orgasm and to make sure that Krista enjoyed the ride. I continued to trace her pussy lips with my tongue, making her squirm on my face while her juices coated my chin. With my hands on her butt, it was easy to control her position. I used my hands to shift her forward so that I could run my tongue over her puckered rosebud. She moaned louder, gasping, "oh, god, he's licking my ass....feels so good...ahhhh" as I continued to rim her. I stiffened my tongue so I could poke it past her sphincter a couple of times, drawing another squeal from her, before shifting her back so I could tongue her pussy again. This time, I started working on her clit, helping her build her excitement, but not enough to get her off, just as Tam was slowly working my dick, keeping me excited without bringing me close to climax. "Ready to switch, Krista?" Tam asked, replacing her mouth with her hand. "Uhhh, switch...yeah, sure, ok." It took a second for her to focus on what she said, and then she pivoted to the side so that she could move down to my waist while Tam moved up to my head. Tam remained at my side while Krista positioned herself over my dick. Tam reached down and took my dick and positioned it at the entrance to Krista's pussy, sliding it back and forth in an unnecessary effort to make sure we were both well-lubricated. Krista hunched forward, then sat back, lowering herself onto my dick slowly and with a groan of pleasure. Once Krista was fully impaled, she let out a quavering sigh and started to rock back and forth, rubbing her clit on the base of my dick. In the meantime, Tam swung her leg over my head, positioning herself on my face, facing Krista. The two girls leaned against each other and kissed, with Krista began bouncing up and down on my cock and Tam shifting her hips back and forth as my tongue found her slit. I reached to grab her ass and shifted my tongue so that I could lick her ass, much as I had done to Krista. Tam squealed, "Oh, god, Krista, you were right. It's incredible when he licks your asshole. Oh, my god!" I couldn't see what was happening, but it sounded like Krista had begun to suck on Tam's tits while she was riding me. I imagined that Tam was also rubbing Krista's nipples, letting their pleasure grow. Tam, Krista and I were all moaning now, the girls fairly loudly while I was more . . . muffled. I latched onto Tam's clit and worked it over while reaching with one hand to grab her tit and using the other to reach for Krista's. I continued to lick Tam when she suddenly screamed, "Oh, god, I'm cummming!" and pressed hard against my face while she spasmed. As she came, she pulled Krista's face to her chest and continued to cry out. Finally, she relaxed as her orgasm receded, releasing Krista's face and lifting her ass from my face. She moved off me, turning so she could watch Krista as she worked herself toward an orgasm. I reached up to Krista, and she bent forward, continuing to move up and down on my cock as she bent and kissed me. My hands grabbed her ass as I began to thrust more vigorously into her, my up thrusts meeting her down thrusts with a liquid slapping sound. She began to grunt in time to our thrusting, starting low but gradually increasing in pitch until she was almost keening in pleasure. I knew she was close, and I couldn't hold back any more. "I'm gonna cum," I breathed. "Oh, god, yes. Do it. I'm cu...." She tried to finish the statement, but her orgasm overrode her higher brain functions and she simply cried out and froze atop me, her body quivering with the intensity of her climax. The ripple of muscles in her tight, wet pussy sent me over the edge, and I came with a groan, sending streams of semen into her. We held there, locked into our passion and then both slowly relaxed, our breath mingling as we shared a tender post-orgasm kiss. Krista slid off me, our combined juices running into the soil under her. Tam joined us on my other side, her hand resting on my chest as she pillowed her head on my arm. The soft summer breeze played over us as we lay there in companionable silence, our hands caressing one another gently. As we recovered, I began to take stock of our surroundings once again. The lights of the house were visible through the trees, and the sounds of the party carried on the wind. We could hear the laughter of our friends, and the sound of splashing indicated that the pool and hot tub were seeing some use. "Anybody feel like a dip in the hot tub?" I suggested. Both girls thought it would be a good idea, so when we thought we would be steady on our feet again, we collected our clothes and used the towel to clean ourselves up. Taking everything with us, we headed toward the house. As we left the tree line behind us, we walked around the deck toward the hot tub. I noticed that the party seemed to have shifted there, as no one was near the stereo or bar. Turning the corner of the deck, we saw that the festivities had indeed moved to the pool area. At the far end of the pool deck, Bruce, Nathan and Billy were engaged in an oral daisy chain. Closer to the hot tub, Carly and Sarah were naked and lying on a chaise lounger, engaged in an enthusiastic session of mutual oral sex. As we watched, Carly lifted her head to move her hair out of her eyes, and we were treated to a fantastic view of Sarah's shaved mound awaiting the further efforts of Carly's lips and tongue. At the edge of the hot tub, Scott and Eric were standing next to each other on one of the seats of the hot tub, facing the pool. Both were standing knee-deep in the water. Both were naked, as were the two girls on their hands and knees in front of them, between the hot tub and the pool. Jessica and Brienne were next to each other, and Scott and Eric were balls-deep in the girls. Scott had his hands on Brienne's hips, drawing her ass back to him as he plunged into her, their wet bodies making a slapping sound when the met. Eric had his hands flat on Jessica's back, his movements slower and less urgent than Scott's. Jessica urged him on, rotating her hips as she leaned back into him, one hand supporting her while the other diddled her clit. Jessica's large breasts swayed back and forth with the couple's motions, while Brienne's smaller tits jiggled smartly with each vigorous thrust. As we approached, we decided that perhaps the hot tub was a bit too crowded to relax in, so we opted for a dip in the pool instead. After we slipped into the water, we glanced around and realized that everywhere we looked, someone was making love. Judging from the contented sighs coming from the lounge chair near the pool, it appeared that Carly and Sarah had just finished up. Carly had just moved to lie next to Sarah, their lips meeting in a satisfied kiss while their hands trailed fingertips across tender flesh. When they finally sat up, I motioned for them to join us in the pool. As they moved toward us, I admired their lithe, toned bodies. Each smiled as they entered the pool, getting kissed by Tam, Krista and me as they stepped in. I could still smell the intoxicating musk on their lips as we kissed, the scent both stimulating and intoxicating. Shortly thereafter, the foursome at the edge of the hot tub came in a symphony of moans, groans, squeaks and quiet screams. Brienne and Jessica opened their eyes to see an appreciative audience, smiling and clapping softly at the now-concluded performance. After a bit of clean-up, Jessica and Brienne joined Scott and Eric in the hot tub, inviting us to join them. We quickly moved from the pool to the hot tub, settling in and relaxing in the frothing water. Billy, Bobby and Nathan came up shortly thereafter, and we rearranged the now-full hot tub to find space for them. I ended up sitting next to Jessica while Carly sat on my lap, my fingers gently playing with her nipples as she leaned back against me. We all chatted amiably, relaxing the warm water, while the soft summer evening deepened around us and the summer stars wheeled overhead. The evening finally wound down as people started to head home, relaxed and comfortably satiated, body and soul and restored for the weeks ahead. The next day, as we assembled at the theatre for rehearsal, I looked around at the cast and crew. People were talking to each other in a relaxed manner, evidencing a comfort level that had not existed before. I caught snatches of conversation about the party last night, most of them value descriptions of having had a good time. As I was going about my preparations, Carly came up to and gave me a quick hug. I hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of her body against mine. "Did you sleep well last night?" I asked. She smiled, saying "Not as well as you did, I bet." As I spocked an eyebrow at her, she went on. "I talked with Krista last night, and from what she told me, you must have been exhausted!" She looked at me with twinkle in her eye that I could only interpret as a hopeful interest. "Well, I'm not one to kiss and tell, but let's just say that I was quite happy to provide whatever small satisfaction I may have." "Oh, I don't think either Tam or Krista would describe it as a small satisfaction," she laughed. "Anyway, I was just wondering if you were planning on going to the cookout on Saturday. Sarah and I were talking and thought we might want to ... ummm ... spend some time with you, if you were ok with that." She watched be expectantly. Well, never look a gift horse in the mouth, I always say. The show must go on, and so forth. With a small bow, I said, "Oh, I think I can manage to find some time for you ladies. I live to serve." I returned her smile, and she gave me another hug and ran off to whisper something to Sarah. They both turned to looked at me, smiling. It looked like this was going to be great summer. "Places! Places for the top of the show," I called, watching the cast and crew scramble to get to their assigned spots. It was time to get back to work. The smorgasbord would wait until the weekend.