Stuff. You know. Like sex.

Bernie slid in beside Gary in the "girlfriend" seat of the Super Surf Van.

Gary circled an arm behind her and hugged her broad butt. "Tell me," he said. "What do you want us all to try? You and me and Ben?"

Bernie took a deep breath. "Well, there's stuff we know we all like," she said. "And stuff I might like to try with you guys." She looked off into the distance.

"Well, what do you and Ben like to do together?" Gary asked.

"You know we don't get to see each other very often," Bernie said. "And often there's family stuff going on as well. So you know, like, we end up sneaking away and doing regular stuff."

"Regular stuff?" Gary asked. He smiled at Bernie's shyness. Even her letter just talked about "doing stuff". But he could imagine how she felt. "Like homework?" he joked.

Bernie laughed. "Like sex," she said.

"Okay. Second base? Third base?"

Bernie laughed. "Kissing. Okay, that's first. And tongues. You know. And my breasts. That's second, right?"

Gary nodded.

Bernie continued, "We masturbate together while we talk about stuff. And oral sex. Ben likes to use his mouth on me, maybe even more than I want it. And maybe I'd masturbate him or suck his penis. He likes that a lot. Guess that's third. Hm. And..." Her voice trailed off.

Gary looked at her face. She was smiling, finally relaxed enough to tease him. He hugged her butt again. "And?" Gary prompted.

"Oh yeah, and that other stuff. You know, when he takes his thing and puts it it my thing..."

Gary cracked up laughing. "Say it, just say it."

"Pencil sharpening?" Bernie said.

Gary kept laughing. "Say it!"

"Oh, right, boinking? We do that too," Bernie said. She looked more relaxed now that she'd finally owned up to two-timing Gary with her cousin, even if she had to struggle the words out. Her face was pink, whether from the day's heat or embarrassment.

Gary recovered from his giggle fit and took a deep breath. His ears felt warm, hearing Bernie talking about her cousin, the lover he didn't know she had. The longtime lover she was still 'boinking', and wanted to keep doing 'stuff' with. Gary had an uneasy little feeling hearing his girlfriend enthuse about the other guy. But even with all that, it turned him on to hear about what kind of sex life Bernie had with Ben. He felt hot and even a little dizzy.

Gary cranked the van window closed. The day was hot and the air conditioning could almost deal with it, if the windows were all up. Which was not to say it was cool in the van. He breathed in the scent of Bernie's thick curly hair and her summer-day perspiration. He liked how she smelled, whether she was hot, cool, fresh, or wilted. Even after exercise when she said she was stinky and wanted to push him away.

"Does Ben have a girlfriend, or does he see people other than you?" Gary asked. "In a sex way, that is."

"Not a lot, but this semester he was seeing this girl Charlotte a lot. On and off, it seemed like, but he said they'd had sex a few times. They never actually had sex on campus, she doesn't like that for some reason. They met online and did a lot of chat before they saw each other. She was kind of intense and I think she's a jealous type, so if he keeps going out with her, I don't know if I can keep seeing Ben. Last I heard they were 'off', but he misses her and he was talking about getting back together. It's funny, except for being blonde she looked a lot like me."

So Ben maybe went for round, curvy girls, not just Bernie, Gary thought. Gary took a deep breath. "So how much does Ben know about me and you?" he said.

"Well, I talked to him about you, you know, how we met and stuff. What I like about you. He was really happy I found someone...found a guy I liked. He said I seemed more relaxed. Ben thought that when I was dating girls, I was always more, kind of anxious, you know," Bernie said.

Gary smiled. He tilted his head down and kissed her cheek. "Do you still think about girls? And sex?"

Bernie laughed. "I don't have to think about girls and sex. I'm there. At Mom's pleasure circles, I get to see lots of women having sex. Mostly masturbating themselves, but with everyone watching and listening to each other, we're all in it together. And sometimes women touch each other. Me too. But it's not like dating a girl, thank Goddess."

"Huh, I thought a woman would be more sympathetic and understanding," Gary said.

"I dunno," Bernie said. "I seemed to attract a lot of drama." She laughed.

"Do you still see girls, outside your mom's Pleasure Circles?" Gary asked.