Part Five
© 2003 by Heidi

Everyone had been secretly dreading this get-together tonight. Do you talk about what happened or pretend it never did? Ideally, it had only been a bet. Realistically, some amazing moments were shared between the partners...even beyond the physical highs they’d both reached. So now what?

Becky and Nick were the first to arrive at the bar, with Kevin and Lynne not too far behind. Both couples were unusually quiet, nervous, jittery. Beers were ordered all around and a silent toast was made to…

…to what?

Just shut up and drink. Kill off some of the awkwardness with booze. It had to work. Nothing else seemed to sound as promising. Although, it occurred to Becky as she polished off her bottle, that this is exactly what had gotten them to this odd spot in the first place. Shit.

With a quiet burp in appreciation for the slight buzz she had from the brew, she forayed into the uncomfortable. “Okay, guys. So we’ve had our little scientifuck experimentation and now we suddenly don’t know how to talk to each other. What the hell?”

She eye-balled Kevin for some support and only found shifting eyes. Trying Lynne, she got eye contact, but one laced with apology, orneriness and…was she flirting with Nick? No friggin’ way. Looking over to her partner, she elbowed him in the gut when her questions were answered.

“You two care to join us?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah…sure…I’m here.” Nick lifted his bottle to the waiter requesting another. This might be a 6-pack night. In an hour.

“Good, so uh…are we going to talk about this, or just pretend it never happened?”

“Oh, it happened alright…it totally happened.” Miracle of miracles. Kevin can speak.

Now Lynne was the one looking at her partner like he’d grown another head. “You enjoy yourself, huh?”

“Um…yeah, didn’t you?”

Blushing, Lynne looked down, up to Nick and then over to her friend. Her best friend. Who was making goo-goo eyes at her man. Somehow, instead of being filled with jealousy, all she could do was laugh. Loud.

Hard.

A lot.

And the others joined in, breaking the tension and causing the couples…the original couples to grab onto their loved one and hold them with all of their might. Fun, yeah. The game had been fun. Permanent? Nah…not hardly.

Once their laughter moved to silent hugs and they were able to refocus as a group of four, Lynne took the plunge into the question they’d been wondering since the bets had been cast only a few nights before. “Okay, so, uh…what was the consensus?”

“The consensus for what?” Nick was too busy running his finger up and down Bec’s arm and into the neck of her sweater to really give a damned about a consensus, census, or consequence…whatever the hell it was they were talking about. He wanted to get back to the way things were. Nights in bed with his one true love. As much as he’d enjoyed his fun with Lynne, he wanted his lady back.

“The experiment, lover boy. Whose tongue is truly more talented?”

As if on cue, all four faces met in the middle, sticking their tongues out to unknowingly, albeit it sensually licking their lips. A collective groan spread through the group, and without knowing what else to do, since answers weren’t coming to them, they all took swigs from their beers. Comfort in alcohol.

Realizing he’d been way to quiet thus far, Kevin was the first to speak up. “Well, um, I’d say the log rollers have um, nooo problems.” He winked at Bec and took a final swallow of his beer, also requesting a refill with a lifted bottle.

“Oh yeah, log rolling is, um…yeah, okey and dokey by me!” Feeling her face heat with the memory of Kevin’s tongue lavishing her, Bec did all she could do and leaned her head on Nick’s shoulder. His tongue had never failed to make her blush either, so you know…it all worked out in the wash.

“Well, I’m sure you log rollers are delightful, but um, I’d say the tongue talker is, um…” Lynne couldn’t finish if her life depended on it. She never expected to get as far as she had with Nick, no less enjoy it so damned much. Bastard.

“Yeah, well…the cherry stem tying can come in handy too…if you know what I mean.” Nick finally caught her glance and winked, giving her relief from her embarrassment. Whodathunk it?

“So, uh…what are we saying then, folks? It’s a dead heat?”

“I’d say it’s a tie, yeah…all tricky tongues have their benefits, baby.” Nick slammed his now second empty bottle on the table and wrapped his arm around his girl satisfied that the game was over, no one looked the fool, felt the fool or was going to have to pay for this the rest of their life.

“Hmm…I don’t know…” Becky had that gleam in her eye that always made Nick nervous. And Lynne, and seeing the nerves in Lynne and Nick, Kevin knew nothing but trouble was on the horizon.

“What, Bec? It’s a tie. We’re tongue tied…” Lynne cracked up at her little joke, but stopped when she saw the gleam in Bec’s eye go un-phased at the sad attempt at humor. “…aren’t we, Bec? What!?”

“I think there’s a way to break the tie, don’t you Lynne?” Becky wagged her eyebrows at her friend and leaned into the table, hoping the female connection would finally reach Lynne so she wouldn’t have to speak too loudly in front of the…boys.

Lynne leaned in and the women met eyes, speaking sentences without words while the guys sat in complete ignorance to what plot was being calculated right before their very eyes.

Recognition crossed Lynne’s face and she blushed, giggled, shook her head ‘no’ and looked deeper into Becky’s eyes. “You think!?”

Becky silently nodded and slapped Nick’s thigh, getting the attention of both men. “Okay, gentlemen. We have to have a tie breaker.”

“A tie breaker!? What!?” Nick was sick of the game. Kevin was sick of the game. They wanted their women back. Party over, thank you.

“Yes, a tie breaker, Kevin…there’s one re-grouping of the four of us that we haven’t explored. I think we’ll have our answers after that one…don’t you, Nick?” Lynne looked at her one-night stand and winked, hoping he’d catch on.

“One grouping that we…haven’t…” The wheels in Nick’s head finally started turning and as realization dawned on him, he gazed with an open mouth to the women. Lynne, then Bec. No way. No friggin’ way. “Uh-uh. No. We are not…no. I am not…no…”

Finally, Kevin caught on. The only partnerships that hadn’t been experienced were Kevin and Nick, Lynne and Bec. While the thought of Lynne and Bec gave him a woody big enough to lift the table, he was not, under any… “No! N…n…n…”

Kevin scooted back from the table, unable to think. Unable to speak. Unable to look at the blue eyes that gazed at him with a hint of possibility.

Feeling quite satisfied at the reaction, Lynne brushed her hands together, popped a cherry in her mouth, tied the stem into a knot and laid it gracefully on top of Kevin’s beer bottle.

“What’s the matter, boys? Tongue tied?”