Anna woke to find herself alone in bed, naked, face down and the room spinning.  Snippets of the night before slipped into her mind.... hot tub with tequila kisses, ceviche and Bardem and Subacuático, nipples and ... and... Denise.  And Ben.  Anna pulled her toes in quickly, they were dangling over the edge of the bed, exposed. What did I do?  she thought, as the memories of lingering lips trailed down her arm and up her leg.  What didn't I do?

She slipped on her kimono.  It was thin and filmy and not very long, and she wished she had a longer, thicker spa robe to wear.  Sounds emerged from the kitchen, and she wandered in to see Ben doing dishes and alone.  The living room looked normal in morning light.  Midday light, really, she saw the clock was approaching 1 pm, and she had climbed into bed pretty late.  Crawled into bed.  Did that really happen?  She recalled the kissing in the tub, the sexy fantasies in her bed, and the tongues on her toes.  She didn't feel like she'd had sex, and she didn't remember anything else after that.  Just the sensation of drowning in pleasure and then waking up ten minutes ago.  Her neck hair shivered from recall, her nipples tightened in response, but her mind drew a blank.  

"Morning Ben," she said, and went over to the coffee maker.  Nothing left, she started a fresh pot.  Double strength, this headache was a doozy.  "You guys had breakfast?" Ben looked over at her and grinned, putting the plates in the drying rack.  Anna appreciated that he was good at house sharing, like dishes and vacuuming and tidying up.  That was generally rare in a guest, or a guy, in her experience.  

"Yeah, a little while ago.  We thought you'd be up earlier and waited a bit, but then Denise had to get going and we ate.  There's leftovers here." On the counter, a little plate of french toast sat with some fruit.  It looked nice, she felt bad for missing it.  "She didn't want to disturb your sleep."  Ben smirked a little, while Anna put the food in the microwave.  "Did you enjoy yourself, missy?"

"Enjoy myself?" Anna wasn't sure which part he was referring to, so thought she'd let him speak up.  

"Last night, things got really hot and heavy between you two.  I didn't know you were bi."

"Oh, oh.  Yeah." Anna wasn't sure what to say. "I'm not, actually."  Well, actually, that might not be true, she thought to herself.  It just had never come up before, either the desire or the opportunity.  Of all the girls she'd met before, there had never been a spark and she just figured it was because there wouldn't be.  She was still feeling a little strange about the whole encounter, in part, because she also had found herself wanting sex with Ben.  It had never really crossed her mind before, either, because he was married and she and Steve were really in love with each other.  Are really in love.  What would she tell Steve?  Should she tell Steve?  Shit. 

"It didn't look like that from where I was sitting.  You two are really hot together," Ben finished up and grabbed himself a cup of coffee, then sat by Anna at the table.  "I didn't know you'd be open to a threesome, you've always seemed so restrained."  He put his hand on her knee and leaned in a little, "That wasn't your first time, was it?"  Anna felt a knot forming in her stomach, because she really didn't know what she had said and done after leaving the hot tub.  

"Ben, I have to ask you something.  I am totally serious."  Anna looked at him, then looked down.  "Did we have sex last night? I don't remember anything at all."  

"What do you remember?" Ben wasn't feeling so mischievous all of a sudden.  "What do you think happened?"

"I remember leaving the hot tub, and going to bed alone.  I thought someone came into my room, and then I woke up this morning by myself.  I.. if we.. I ... did we?  Did Denise?  I thought you two were together.  I am really confused and I have the worst hangover I have had in a while.  It's all a pounding blank nothing." She looked about as sick as she described, and Ben felt really bad for her.

"Don't worry, your virginity is still intact." He patted her knee and pulled his hand away, so she'd feel safe again. "Nothing happened."  He paused.  "Okay, something happened, but nothing you have to worry about.  We realized you weren't on board and let you sleep it off."  Anna breathed a sigh of relief.  

"Oh, good, good, that's good. Thank you, that's so embarrassing.  Did I say something stupid? "  She was cringing, thinking perhaps she'd made a pass at Ben without realizing it.  She remembered fantasizing about sex with him when they were still in the hot tub.  Watching him kiss Denise had really exploded some thoughts in her mind and tingling between her legs.  

"No, nothing stupid.  Hot, yes, but not stupid.  I am flattered."  Anna winced.  "And I'll wait until you're a little more sober before I take you up on that blow job."  He leaned in and kissed her very lightly on the lips.  "The sample was pretty spectacular."  He smiled at her warmly and sincerely, then got up with his coffee cup.  "I am sure you need some down time today, so I'm going to go over to the house and pack up some things, and have a chat with Maureen about the move.  I'm not planning on mentioning this to Steve, or her, but if you need to then I understand."  Anna was still stunned.  Mostly because Ben wasn't being smug or a jerk, or anything but nice about the whole thing and still totally sexy.  He wasn't wearing a shirt, just his shorts, and Anna wondered what it had been like to be with him.  She cursed herself for hooking up with him, and cursed herself for not remembering how good it had been.  

"Uh, um, thanks Ben.  I guess.  I'm a little confused here," was the best she could muster.

"Yeah, I bet," he said, rinsing off the cup and putting it with the other dishes.  "Denise seemed really into you, too, and I know she was hoping for an encore.  She asked me for your number, I hope that was okay.  I figured the two of you could sort it out on your own."  Anna was wondering how Ben could be so cool about the whole thing, the end of his marriage, a drunken threesome hookup with his best friend's girlfriend and his boss, and somehow not minding what did or didn't happen.  "Oh, and, Anna?"

"Yes Ben?"  she looked at him with a beleaguered expression, what now?  What else had she done?  

"No matter what, I've got your back.  You're the most amazing woman I have ever known."  He turned and walked down the hall to his room, leaving her to sit alone staring at the french toast and syrup, taste the coffee, and imagine all the different flavors mingling on her tongue and her lips.  Somehow, she felt a little better.  Not sure if she would tell Steve, or how she would, or what she would say.  Mostly because she didn't remember and couldn't really understand how she had managed to get into bed with his best friend and a strange woman.   Denise intrigued her, and the thought of seeing her again, and maybe with Ben, or alone, or maybe with Steve, made her tingle with arousal.  Her hand slipped down into her panties, and the little touch sent shivers all over her body.

Hours later, after a long day of cleaning up, taking a run and a steamy shower, Anna got her semblance of rhythm back.  Steve had texted that they'd be home at 630, which gave her time to make a nicer dinner for the two of them.  Ben wouldn't be home until later, after they would have snuggled down and gone to bed early.  She bought salmon and asparagus, and made a basil raspberry pesto.  Puff pastries were rolled into mini croissants to go with it, and there would be coconut and cherry sorbet for dessert.  Anna knew a sumptuous dinner would be distracting and stimulating for Steve.  She decided to forgo mentioning anything of the night before until she could get a better grip on it herself, emotionally, and perhaps put a little distance between herself, her hangover and Ben.  

Steve and Jason arrived a little earlier than expected, bustling into the house with piles of gear for camping and film equipment.  Spirits were high, they had caught some awesome footage of deer, coyote  and a couple rattlers.  It had been a new moon, which meant great long exposure shots of the Milky Way.  Both looked a little sunburned and covered with layers of red and brown dust.  

Ben's comments about Jason returned to her mind, and she looked at them with a curious eye while they sat drinking beer and recalling the weekend to her.  She wondered if they were also hooking up on the side, there was no way to know, really.  It didn't look like it from Steve, but she thought she'd caught a glimpse of Jason checking him out.  This revelation suddenly cast a very different light on the whole weekend with Ben.  She'd really need to keep a lid on it for now, and find out what Steve thought about stuff like that.  It had never come up, other than the occasional invitation to Lifestyle parties that they never accepted. Somehow Steve was on an email list for big parties in the masquerade and partner sharing world. Steve never expressed jealousy of other men, Anna was no longer sure if that was about his confidence or something he wasn't saying.  Tonight was not the night to bring it up.  

A couple minutes after Jason left, a knock came on the door, and it was him, holding Anna's phone. 

"I grabbed yours by mistake, we have the same Samsung," he said, rather bluntly.  He stuck out his hand to Anna, returning it.  Steve was in the shower.  "You might want to delete a couple texts."  He gave her a look that was both troubling and vaguely threatening, then turned and walked back to his truck.  Anna watched him leave, then closed the door and looked at the phone in her hand.  She opened the text inbox.  

The first was from an unknown number, to her.  

"Still dreaming of your kisses.  Last night was so hawt! oxox"

It must be from Denise.  Darn.  The other was from Ben Emory. 

"I think I'm already in love with you."