The Bet That Ended with Swapped Partners

We’d spent the whole afternoon with our cards on the table. There were four of us: Tomás and Carla, a couple we went out with almost every weekend, and Noelia, my girlfriend, and me. We were playing men against women, and the rivalry of the game had seeped into the conversation too.

Anything we said turned into an excuse to needle each other. It didn’t matter what the topic was: they were on the other side of the table and we were on ours, declared enemies even when arguing about which movie was better. At some point, between laughs and red wine, the conversation drifted toward sex. And that’s when they started making fun of us.

—Mine lasts a sigh —Noelia said, looking at Carla with a mischievous smile—. How about yours?

—Mine doesn’t even last a blink —Carla answered, and the two of them laughed as if they shared some old secret.

—And how do you know how long one lasts if you’ve never been with another man? —Tomás jumped in, pretending to be offended—. Or did you and you didn’t tell me?

It turned out that, just like Noelia and me, they’d started dating very young. Neither of the women had ever been with another man, and I’d never touched another woman besides Noelia. The only one with any history was Tomás, who’d had a couple of flings before Carla.

—You know perfectly well I’m almost a virgin, as far as that counts —Carla replied—. So stop talking and pull it out, let’s see how long you last.

—That’s right, take the little thing out —Noelia chimed in, turned on by the game—. If you last more than five minutes, you win it tonight. If not, it’s bread and water all week.

—And why go to another room? —Carla said, nodding down the hallway with her chin—. Right here, where we can watch you. Or are you embarrassed?

—Embarrassed? —I said, and I noticed the wine had loosened my tongue more than it should have—. Fine by me. But on one condition: if we make it the five minutes, then you two are the ones competing. In the same bed.

—For us, lasting only a little isn’t any embarrassment —Carla answered, folding her arms.

—Even better. Then the opposite: let’s see which one of you comes first. And if we come as fast as you say, then you won’t even have to compete.

There was a second of silence, that kind of silence in which a joke stops being a joke. Noelia looked for my eyes. Carla was already getting to her feet.

—Then come on —she said—. Take your pants off.

***

We moved to the bedroom. Tomás and I sat on the edge of the bed, feet dangling and shoulders almost brushing. I yanked my pants and underwear down in one motion; he did it more slowly, with the unhurried air of someone who knows he’s being watched. The two women watched. Me with curiosity, them with curiosity and something else I still couldn’t name.

—But are we really going to do it? —I asked, more to buy time than out of doubt—. Up to now it was a joke. If we keep going, there’s no going back.

—That’s exactly what we want —Carla said—. Neither of us has ever seen anyone come who wasn’t our own man. Noelia, wouldn’t you like to see how Tomás does it?

—Just thinking about it’s making me horny —Noelia admitted in a low voice—. Aren’t you two?

I was already half hard, and so was Tomás. The mere idea of what was coming had done its work before anyone touched anything. Noelia came over and took hold of me with her hand, weighing me, almost appraising me.

—Right where it should be —she told Carla, amused—. And yours?

Carla laughed and wrapped her fingers around Tomás. Someone asked about a stopwatch, and Noelia took off her wristwatch, left it on the bedside table, and said, “Go.” The two of them started at once.

I tried to think about anything to hold out: work, the grocery list, whatever, as long as I didn’t focus on her hand moving up and down. Noelia noticed right away.

—I’m a little wet —she whispered in my ear, just for me—. If you last, you can check for yourself afterward. But you’re not going to last.

I looked at her for a second and went back to my mental arithmetic. It had been a minute, maybe a minute and a half.

—Carla’s probably wet too —she went on, trying to throw me off—. Just in case, I’m going to start sucking you.

She said it out loud, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Carla accept the idea and lean over Tomás. Noelia did the same with me. The mouth changed everything. I looked away so I wouldn’t watch, clenched my teeth, went back to thinking about nonsense.

—They’re holding out, the two of them —Carla said, lifting her head for an instant—. Should we take off our bras?

—When the count gets to three, we’ll take them off.

And they did. I’d never seen Carla’s breasts before. I glanced over, just enough to burn the image into my head, and then fixed my eyes back on the ceiling. Now they were sucking us and jerking us off at the same time, bare-chested, and even so we were still getting close to the five-minute mark.

—You sons of bitches —Noelia laughed—. Switch!

She motioned to Carla. Since we were sitting right next to each other, they didn’t even have to let go of us: they passed from one hand to the other without breaking rhythm, and suddenly it was Carla who was jerking me off. An unfamiliar hand, a different pace. That nearly finished me.

—Time’s almost up —Carla said, looking me in the eyes and then down, and back up again—. Can I suck it?

—Go ahead —Noelia answered, and to show she agreed she leaned over Tomás.

I didn’t want to think about it. I was on the edge, a breath away from blowing, but there was so little left that I gritted my teeth and held on. Carla lifted her eyes to the clock.

—You made it —she announced—. Five minutes are up.

***

—But we finish what we started, right? —she added at once—. I want to see you come.

—Of course —Noelia said, and kept going.

Noelia had the face and body of a good girl, and that made seeing her like that even stranger, even hotter. The contradiction made me smile. Tomás didn’t need to hold back anymore: he looked at Noelia’s breasts, moved his hips, and came. She swallowed almost all of it; only the first spurt escaped her.

Watching him was contagious. As soon as Tomás finished, I started unloading. Carla pulled back for half a second, hesitated, and then took me back into her mouth to taste the rest. When she drew away, she looked at the thread that had spilled onto my stomach, set her hand over it, and spread it across my skin with deliberate slowness. I could tell she wanted more, but also that she remembered I was Noelia’s boyfriend, not hers.

—Now it’s our turn —Tomás said, catching his breath.

—Does it bother you that Adrián sees me? —Carla asked him, suddenly serious.

—A deal’s a deal —he answered—. You saw her everything, and you saw us both come. We’re even.

—Do we go back to our own partners or keep things crossed? —Carla asked. The question hung in the air.

Noelia hesitated for a moment.

—As far as I’m concerned… we keep going —she said at last, almost under her breath—. I’m curious, and maybe this never happens again. Do you agree?

—Works for me —Carla said—. And you guys?

—I’m in —Tomás said.

—I’d love Carla to enjoy herself with me the same way I enjoyed myself with her —I said, and nobody objected.

***

They took everything off. I liked having Carla like that, open, waiting for me to do to her what they’d just done to us a little while earlier. She was petite, with very pale skin, almost translucent. We positioned ourselves between the other couple’s legs: me with Carla, Tomás with Noelia. I didn’t feel jealous, not even when I saw Noelia looking at Tomás with desire. It seemed like a game to me, and a game I was enjoying.

—I feel weird with half my clothes still on —I said, and took off my T-shirt. Tomás did the same—. Shall we start?

Carla took my hand and brought it between her legs. I began slowly, with my finger, while I watched her loosen little by little. I could feel my own arousal rising again.

—Can I touch your breasts? —I asked in a low voice.

Instead of answering, she took my hand again and placed it herself over one of them, looking me in the eyes with a sweet smile. They were soft, with a rounded shape I’d never felt in anyone other than Noelia. I ran my thumb over the nipple and it stiffened at once. I felt the urge to lower my mouth and lick it.

Carla let out broken little sighs. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tomás doing the same to Noelia, who already had one hand between her legs, helping herself. I left one hand on Carla’s breast and lowered my mouth to lick her farther down. She was fuller than Noelia, different, and that difference both pleased me and made me miss the familiar. I buried my tongue as far as I could. The two of them moaned louder and louder, without trying to hide it.

Carla had a long orgasm, her back arched. My body was begging for more, twitching involuntarily, but I waited. When it passed, I started again with my tongue and fingers, unhurried.

—Adrián —I heard Noelia’s broken voice say—. Tomás wants to put it in me. What do you say?

—I say let him put it in —I answered—. But slowly, because you like it gentle. Enjoy it. If Carla wants, I’ll do the same.

At that moment Carla came again, moving her hips as if she were already fucking someone. I looked up and saw Tomás going in and out of Noelia, the two of them not bothering to hide how much they wanted each other.

And even though I was absorbed in Carla, I couldn’t stop looking at what my girlfriend was doing. I recognized in her gestures things she’d learned with me, now repeated with someone else. It was strange to see the body I knew by heart being caressed by hands that weren’t mine, and to see her enjoy it so much. But I didn’t feel anger. I felt something closer to fascination, and I told myself that later, in private, I’d ask her to tell me everything.

***

Carla shifted position and made me understand what she wanted. When her last contractions eased, I entered her slowly, all the way in. The friction of her walls tore a different pleasure from me, something new.

—Finish inside me —she begged, desperate.

I started pumping calmly, setting a rhythm. On the other side of the bed, Noelia had gotten on top of Tomás and was rising and falling over him, head thrown back.

—Do you want to turn around? —I asked Carla—. I want to feel your back against me.

She turned, and I entered her again, feeling her firm ass pressed against my stomach. I ran one hand around front, one on her breast and the other between her legs, and kissed her neck with every thrust. Every time I felt her I remembered she was Carla, not Noelia, and that multiplied everything. I made a lot of thrusts like that, until she came again and dragged me with her.

When I lifted my head, the other couple was already resting, still joined together, Noelia collapsed on Tomás’s chest.

—So now what? —I asked, laughing and breathless.

—I think we just fucked with swapped partners —Tomás said, happy—. And I think the four of us enjoyed it.

Noelia stretched her neck toward me.

—Kiss me —she said.

I leaned in and kissed her, slowly, without caring about anything that had just happened. When I pulled back, I smiled at her.

—Do you realize we’re kissing with you still on top of Tomás?

—That’s exactly why I’m doing it —she answered, laughing—. Curiosity. Nothing but curiosity.

Carla asked for just one thing: since they’d kissed, we should kiss too. I agreed. I kissed her on the mouth calmly, and felt a tingling that promised a second round if any of us got brave enough to start it.

That night, once we were home, I asked Noelia to tell me everything, like she’d promised. And while she told me, the two of us started again.

I think about those two couples who sat down to play cards every weekend without knowing, or only knowing it in some hidden corner of themselves, how much they desired each other. And I wonder how many such desires live alongside us, silent, waiting for a hand of cards and a stupid bet to come into the light.