The continuation of this story did not happen suddenly — rather, it had been brewing for a long time, just no one dared to admit it. Two couples had been friends since college: Kostya and Lena, Maxim and Olya. They rented an old country house near Zvenigorod for the May holidays — crumbled floorboards, a stove, a well in the courtyard and a sauna, which the owner proudly called “Finnish”, although there was only a door from the Finnish one.
Lena and Olya have been friends since the first year. Olya is tall, red—haired, with an eternal smile and a habit of saying what she thinks without filtering. Lena is quiet, dark—haired, with soft rounded shapes that she always hid in baggy sweaters. Kostya and Maxim, on the contrary, came together on the basis of fishing and beer. Maxim is broad—shouldered, calm, reliable. Kostya is wiry, nervous, with quick eyes and hands that were twirling something all the time.
The first evening went as it should: barbecue, vodka, conversations about who works where and who earns how much. Then a sauna. Then more vodka. And somewhere between the second and third glasses, Olya suggested:
— And let’s go to “truth or action”? Just like at the institute.
Kostya chuckled, but his eyes lit up. Lena shrugged her shoulders—she always agreed so as not to argue. Maxim nodded.
We started with a harmless one. Olya admitted that last year she kissed the bartender at a corporate party. Kostya — that he spied on Lena in the shower when they first started dating. Lena blushed, but she smiled. Maxim said that his biggest fantasy is sex on the street, where they can see.
Then came the “actions”. Olya kissed Kostya on the neck for a long time, defiantly, looking at Lena. Maxim unbuttoned Lena’s blouse and kissed her collarbone. Kostya took off Olya’s jacket. Lena took off Maxim’s shirt. At some point, everyone was already sitting half-naked on mattresses spread out on the floor, and it was unclear who was with whom or what was going on.
Olya was the first to decide. She simply took Kostya by the hand and led him into the bedroom — not into her own and Maxim’s, but into the common room, where there were two beds. Maxim looked at Lena. Lena is for Maxim. And they followed.
The bedroom was dark, except for the light from the stove in the next room. Olya had already pulled off Kostya’s jeans and was kissing his stomach, getting lower and lower. Kostya stood with his head thrown back, breathing heavily. Lena froze in the doorway. Maxim hugged her from behind, put his hands on her stomach, then higher on her chest. Lena closed her eyes.
Then everything went somehow by itself. Olya and Kostya had sex on the same bed — loudly, without hesitation, with moans and slaps. Lena and Maxim are on the other side, quietly, slowly, looking at each other and listening to the neighbors. Lena came first, from the sight of someone else’s sex, from the sounds of someone else, from the fact that Maxim was doing something to her that Kostya had never done before: for a long time, persistently, with his fingers, until she arched and bit the pillow.
Then Maxim entered it. Lena felt that he was not looking at her, but at Olya, who at that moment was on all fours in front of Kostya. And for some reason, it turned me on even more. She started watching, too. Kostya fucked Olya from behind — steadily, holding her tightly by the hips. Olya was moaning and saying something, but the words were indistinct.
After Kostya finished — in a condom, which Olya thoughtfully took out of her bag — the pairs changed. No one asked who was with whom and what was allowed. Kostya went to bed with Lena. She was nervous at first—he was her boyfriend, but now everything was different. He was kissing her neck, whispering something affectionate in her ear, and his hand was already between her legs. Lena felt her insides constrict with excitement and the strangeness of what was happening.
Maxim and Olya settled down on the next bed. Olya immediately took the initiative: She sat on top of him, leaned back, put her hands on Maxim’s hips, and began to move slowly, looking down at him. Maxim looked at her and smiled—the way only he could, calmly and warmly.
Then Olya moved to Lena and Kostya’s bed. She sat down next to Lena, bent down and kissed her on the lips, gently but insistently. Lena froze at first, then answered. Kostya was kissing Ole’s chest at the time. Maxim came up behind her and put his arm around Olya’s waist. At some point, all four of them ended up in the same pile on the same bed—arms, legs, kisses, moans, someone laughing out of awkwardness.
They all ended up in different ways and at different times. Kostya — when Lena caressed him with her mouth, and Olya kissed Lena on the back of her head. Maxim — when Olya sat on him, and Lena looked at them point-blank, without taking her eyes off. Olya came from Lena’s fingers, which was the most unexpected thing for her. Lena was the last one, when Kostya and Maxim caressed her at the same time: one with their mouths, the other with their fingers.
Then they lay side by side, wet, sticky, and happy. They were silent. Then Olya said:
— Well, to the sauna?
And everyone laughed.
It was awkward this morning. Kostya brewed coffee on the veranda and tried not to look Lena in the eye. Lena pretended that everything was fine, but inside everything was squeezed by the question: “What now?” Maxim chopped wood with such a focused face, as if his life depended on it. Olya was the first to break the silence:
— Listen, it’s like you’re in a church. We are adults. Did everyone like it?
Kostya choked on his coffee. Lena smiled. Maxim lowered the axe.
“I liked it,— Lena said softly.
“And me,— Maxim said.
Kostya looked at Lena, then at Olya, then at Maxim.
—And me,— he said. — Just let’s not be jealous. That’s… well, that’s not cheating. It’s… kind of…
—An experiment,— Olga suggested.
—Yes,— Kostya agreed. — An experiment.
In the afternoon they went to the river. We swam naked because Olya said she had forgotten her swimsuit. In the evening, there was a sauna again, and after the bath, sex again, but more calmly, without haste. Kostya fucked Olya in the steam room while Lena and Maxim were washing in the dressing room. Then they changed. Then we all sat on the porch together, drank wine and looked at the stars.
On the second night, Olya suggested what Lena had been thinking about all day, but was afraid to say out loud.:
— And let’s try the three of us? Well, that is a double. I’ve wanted to for a long time.
Lena tensed up. Kostya looked at her.
“How are you?”
—I do not know,— Lena said honestly. “I’m afraid.”
“Then don’t,— Maxim said at once.
“No,— Lena shook her head. “I want to try.” I’m just afraid. But I want to.
Olya smiled and hugged her.
— Everything will be fine. We’re careful.
It hurt at first. Lena was lying on her stomach, Maxim was slowly entering her from behind, and Kostya was kneeling at her head and stroking her hair. When Maxim entered completely, Lena felt herself stretched and froze, afraid to move. Kostya bent down and kissed her shoulder.
—That’s it,— Maxim said. “I’m not moving.” Get used to it.
It took her a long time to get used to it. Then Maxim began to move—slowly, carefully. Kostya caressed her clitoris at that time, and gradually the pain went away, replaced by something hot and pulling. When Maxim entered deeper, Lena gasped and leaned back herself.
Olya was lying next to her at the time and watching. She tugged at herself, looking at them, and at some point Lena caught her eye. There was no jealousy or mockery in that look, just excitement and tenderness.
Then they changed. Now Olya was lying on her back, Maxim entered her from the front, and Kostya entered from behind. Olya moaned loudly, without hesitation, and Lena, looking at her, suddenly realized that she was no longer jealous. She felt good. It was strange to her. She felt like she had never felt before.
They all finished almost simultaneously. Maxim — to Olya, Kostya — to Lena, Olya — from Lena’s fingers, Lena — from the fact that Kostya said something very personal in her ear that she would not repeat even to herself.
On the third night, they did not sleep until almost morning. Then there was a day full of laziness and silence. Someone was sleeping, someone was eating, someone was sitting on the porch and looking at the forest. They left in the evening.
The car was silent. Then Kostya said:
— Well, shall we repeat it?
Lena looked at him.
— I don’t mind.
Maxim chuckled.
— Then next time we’ll rent a house with a swimming pool.
Olya laughed.
“And with a big bed.”
Everyone fell silent again, but in a different way.
You may ask, how do I know this? Yes, everything is from the same place. Lena is my cousin. They’re all in their late forties now. Kostya and Lena are married, they have two children. Maxim and Olya are the same. They are still friends, rent cottages, go to the sauna. And sometimes—yes, sometimes—they repeat that first weekend. Only now they have a rule: no secrets. And no jealousy.
They tried to get me involved in it. But we’ll talk about that some other time.