ENTRY #6: AN INTRIGUING INTRODUCTION

It had been almost an hour since we left our home and headed to The Forum, a swingers club we had decided to check out as our first step in reigniting the spark in our bedroom. We made the last turn of our trip and finally saw the mailbox with the house number of our destination. In the distance lay the corresponding house on the other side of a pretty sizable lot. Turning onto a small private road, we could count about a dozen cars parked out front as we drew closer. I think that made it a little more real for both of us because now we could see the place, and it was apparent that the party had already started with some early arrivals.

We drove up all the way to the house and parked next to one of the other cars. “We’re here!” I announced as I turned off the ignition, mainly out of nervous excitement.

“We’re here,” Bella echoed, her voice softer than mine but holding similar emotions.

“Do you wanna hang out here for a bit before we head in, or do you want to just go?” I asked to make sure that both of us had a chance to reflect for a second if we needed to.

“I think I’m ready, babe,” she replied. “Are you?”

“Yes, I think we should just go,” I said, my hand already on the handle. The dome light lit up her face as the door opened and revealed her sparkling eyes, which made me more fired up to get on with it.

As we were getting out of our car, another car drove up and parked next to us. Before we got our feet moving, a couple in what seemed their early 40s exited, and as they saw us, they didn’t hesitate to speak up. “Hi there! Good to see that people are showing up early today,” the male half of the couple said.

“This is our first time,” I replied. “We were told that early is good for us.”

“Oh, newbies,” his wife replied. “This is our only second visit.”

“Second time here or ever at a club like this?” Bella spoke up, much to my surprise. I was happy that she was engaging because I was a little worried that she would just go inside of her shell and I would have to do all of the talking.

“Ever!” the wife replied. “My name is Lori, by the way, and this is my husband Ron.”

“Jeff,” I introduced myself. “This is my wife Bella.”

“Nice meeting you guys,” said Bella and they replied with the same.

We stopped walking and just loitered in the parking area. We didn’t mind because it would be nice to walk in already knowing someone, so we were taking our time.

“So, how was your first time?” Bella asked. “I’m assuming good since you’re back again.”

“It was…” Lori paused. “… eye opening. We weren’t really sure how things would unfold for us at first but we were intrigued enough to come back and explore more of what we had seen.”

“I think it was a culture shock initially,” Ron continued. “I mean, we’re both in our 40s and we have never seen a lifestyle like this before. I think once things settled in our minds after our first visit, we knew we wanted to come back.”

“Did you guys just watch, or were you comfortable enough to jump right into…” Bella waved a hand vaguely, at a momentary loss for words. “… whatever was going on?”

“We watched at first. Then we kinda played with each other for a while. By the end of the night we were comfortable enough to do a few things with another couple we found friendly and attractive.” Lori appeared to have no problems sharing. “But everyone has their own pace. Some people come and jump right in, and some people come for weeks and months and don’t do anything but only play with each other, you know? So you shouldn’t feel pressured to follow anyone’s example. Just do what you feel is right for you and each other.”

“Definitely don’t feel any pressure to do anything just because others are doing it,” Ron confirmed. “It may put an end to your night and probably to your interest in the lifestyle. You can’t rush into things until you know you’re ready. This is your relationship, after all.”

The advice they were giving us seemed practical and made sense. We asked a few other questions but mainly ended up returning to small talk and learning a little bit more about each other. They seemed like a totally normal couple: both professionals, married for over fifteen years, and they had two kids. We started to feel comfortable with them. Not only did we know that Mark and Jessi would be great hosts for us once we entered those doors, but we also knew that we would no longer be walking in by ourselves.

“Are you guys ready to go in?” Ron finally asked and smiled, as he knew how big of a step it would be for us in more ways than one.

“I think we are,” Bella replied.

We walked to the door together. We rang the bell and the door opened almost immediately. Jessi greeted us with a huge smile and a guy I guessed to be Mark waved, sitting behind her at what looked like a guest check-in table.

“Welcome, welcome!” Jessi enthusiastically embraced us all. “I’m so excited that you guys actually made it. And you’ve already met Ron and Lori. That’s one less introduction!”

“Yes, we just met right outside,” Bella replied.

I was happy that Bella was still doing a lot of the talking. She seemed much more relaxed that I thought she would be, and I think she was even calmer than I was at that point.

“Well, come on in, guys.” It was Mark’s turn to greet all four of us. “Let me get you two registered and then Jessi will give you a tour of the place.”

“Oh, a tour?” Bella seemed to like the idea, and I know I did. It’d be great to know where things were and get the lay of the land.

We got settled in pretty quickly. Ron and Lori split in opposite directions, one whisking a bottle of wine away to the kitchen while the other carried their change of clothes to another room. Meanwhile, Jessi grabbed Bella by her hand and walked us into the main greeting room. I casually trailed after them.

“So, here’s our main area,” she began. “This is where everyone socializes, dances, and meets each other. It is a PG-13 area, so there is no nudity or sex allowed here. It’s also a good safe zone for you guys in case you get overwhelmed in the play rooms and want to retreat to someplace more calm.

“It will get crowded once people start coming in. Then as the night goes on it’ll gradually get empty again as people migrate into the play rooms to play or watch.”

The area was nice. It was dark enough to make it sexy and mysterious but it was bright enough to be able to recognize faces and bodies. Couches bordered the room and a few cocktail tables and chairs were arranged tastefully in the center. Very lounge-like. Music played from a stereo set up in the corner and there was a large open area which I assumed was for dancing.

We saw a few couples sitting down and watching us while sipping on their wine. It was a little weird because we knew we were being “checked out”. Jessi stopped to introduce us to a few couples who were there, and everyone was pleasant and polite. We tried hard to remember all the names but it was difficult to keep up.

Then it was time to check out the “play rooms”. We went down the hall and turned into the first doorway.

“This is our movie room,” said Jessi as we walked in. “This is where we play four different movies at the same time so everyone can find their favorite.”

Indeed the room had four television screens, each playing a different type of porn. I noticed one of them was a regular one-on-one movie. Another one was interracial. The third one was what they call a “gang bang” with three black guys pleasing a cute Asian girl. I don’t remember what the fourth one was, but it certainly followed the concept of having enough variety for everyone.

“Some people like to stop by this room to get their juices flowing, and some just like playing while watching porn,” Jessie explained.

Both Bella and I looked at each other with a shared smile. It was obvious to both of us that the other one was thinking back to the role-playing we did last night while watching porn in our bedroom.

The other side of the room had a few couches and a couple of mattresses, all tastefully covered and decorated with large comfortable-looking pillows. Several floor lamps lit the room with a dim red light, giving it a bewitching atmosphere.

We noticed a relatively young couple sitting in the corner and waiving at our host. Jessi finally realized and steered us over. “Hey guys, I didn’t see you come in!” she said.

“Mark checked us in,” the girl replied. “He said you were giving a tour.”

“Yes, I was showing some of the new guests around. This is the couple I was telling you about,” said Jessi to the other two. We were a bit surprised because we didn’t know we were being “advertised”, but we were certainly flattered by the attention. “Joy! Jason! Meet Bella and Jeff,” Jessi introduced us. “Joy and Jason are here for the first time as well, so I thought you guys would like to meet.”

We were going to shake their hands but they both stood for a hug which actually felt very appropriate and welcoming. This place seemed to be all about the love.

“I will bring them back around once we’re done with the tour so that you guys can chat,” Jessi promised before guiding us off to the next room.

The second room was much bigger with a very large bed front and center, most of the room’s soft blue light cascading over it from above. All around the walls we saw more couches and chairs. It was almost like the bed was the stage.

“This is our exhibitionist and voyeur room,” Jessi explained. “If you like to watch you can sit anywhere around the room, and if you want to be watched you jump on the bed and do your thing.”

“Do most people watch or… what would you call it…” Bella paused “… perform?”

“Different nights – different vibe,” Jessi explained. “Sometimes there is just one couple on the bed and everyone watches them. Other times you’ll see a big pile of bodies spilling over the bed and hardly anyone is left to watch.”

The next stop was the “dungeon room”. It was BDSM-themed with all kinds of toys, accessories and props to live up to its name. Two beds were taking up the most of the room, each with four hand and foot restraints chained to the headboards and footboards. There were different types of paddles and whips hanging from the wall. In the corner of the room there was a sex swing, the likes of which I’d never seen in person but only in pictures online. It was constructed like a park swing but instead of a regular seat it had a bunch of belts and loops to support almost any position that one could get into.

“This room is mainly for those who are into bondage and S&M,” Jessi explained.

“Is it usually popular?” I asked.

“That depends on the night, too,” Jessi replied. “If there aren’t that many people into this kind of stuff on a given night, it just becomes another play room.

“Now the last room I’m going to show you right now is our most popular one. It will be so full by the end of the night that you may not be able to even physically get in there,” Jessi announced and started walking us to a doorway with a black curtain covering the entrance.

“Go ahead and step in,” said Jessi once we got to the doorway.

I slowly moved the curtain aside and was a little confused by what I saw, which was nothing. Absolute darkness filled my vision, broken only by a faint light barely strong enough to recognize where one object ended and another one began. Both Bella and I looked back at Jessi with a bit of confusion.

“Well, what do you see?” Jessi asked.

“It’s really dark in there,” Bella replied. “I think the lights are off.”

“That’s the point,” Jessi said with a mischievous grin.

I felt confused, and by the look on Bella’s face, she did as well. “No lights?”

“Yep,” replied Jessi. “People come to this room and can only see enough of everything not to bump into a wall. It takes a little creativity and lots of fun maneuvering to figure out where to stick your tongue.”

“Wow!” Bella echoed my thoughts.

“We’ve had people who had never met each other before go inside, fuck one another’s brains out, and then introduce themselves in the main area never knowing that they had already ‘met’,” Jessi gestured air quotes for emphasis. Jessi gestured air quotes for emphasis.

Both Bella and I paused for a moment to process this information. The more I thought about it, the more the idea grew on me and left me a little hard just imagining all of those people tangled up with one another. I suddenly had a small epiphany, realizing that this must be one of the purest methods of sexual interaction: no minds, just bodies.

“And this is the busiest room of the house?” I finally spoke.

“Yes,” Jessi seemed to have experienced this reaction from her guests before. “We call it the Pitch Black room. It’s named after an old sci-fi movie that was a hit in the 90s.”

Bella and I looked at each other with less confusion and more fascination this time. I think we were both processing this new concept, and I couldn’t wait to find out what her thoughts on it were.