[Novice Solo Man · Me] The night in this part of the city was sticky. Neon spilled in through the window, staining the carpet a flowing crimson-purple. I stood at the door of that apartment, my palms already sweating, my fingertips rubbing again and again against the seam of my trousers. I had almost no experience — truly near zero. Everything I’d imagined until now had stayed trapped behind a screen, and now, behind that door, were two living, breathing people. Before I pressed the buzzer, I drew a deep breath, but the air seemed to lodge in my throat, refusing to go down.
[Novice Solo Man · Me] The door opened. It was the man of the house who answered — I’ll call him Brother Y for now. He was more at ease than I’d pictured, wearing a dark loungewear shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms, his gaze pausing on my face for a moment as if reading me. “Don’t be nervous,” he said, stepping aside to let me in, his voice pitched low. “Sit first. Have something to drink.” I nodded, my Adam’s apple bobbing, and found that even the two words “thank you” came out a little shaky.
[Brother Y · Husband] I could tell the moment this novice walked in — far too green. He didn’t know where to put his hands, his eyes drifted, and his knees pressed together tight when he sat. I’ve seen plenty like him, and the greener they are, the more interesting it gets. The truly seasoned ones lack this freshness. I poured him something warm and, while I was at it, dimmed the light one notch more, letting that crimson-purple glow spread a little further. This was exactly the mood I wanted: slow, steady, letting him lower his guard bit by bit. I glanced toward the bedroom door — she was still inside changing. I’d told her, tonight, to wear the sheer ones.
[Sister-in-law Y · Wife] I was inside, and even through a single door I could feel that quiet tension out in the living room. I drew the sheer black stockings up higher, my fingertips gliding along my calf, the nylon clinging to my skin, so thin it was nearly translucent, the layer of black over the top of my foot flickering as it tightened and released. In the mirror I looked at myself: my chest small, yet firm, the pink of my nipples already faintly raised — just imagining that boy who understood almost nothing sitting out there, imagining how he’d look at me soon, and already a first layer of heat gathered below. I felt shy, and a little like laughing, and a bit of an anticipation I wouldn’t even admit to myself.
[Novice Solo Man · Me] When the bedroom door opened, I all but held my breath. Sister-in-law Y stepped out, dressed in thin black from head to toe, the stockings tracing the lines of her legs long and gleaming; with each step, the light slid across her legs. My gaze dropped without my control, landing on the top of her foot — beneath the nylon, her toes curled slightly, as if they knew they were being watched. I hurried my eyes back up, my face flaring hot, only more lost than before.
[Sister-in-law Y · Wife] The way he looked at me was so blatant, blatant enough to make my cheeks burn. But it was that very clumsiness that softened me, and made me bolder too. I sat down across from him and deliberately crossed one leg slowly over the other, the black stockings brushing together with the faintest little hiss. I saw his Adam’s apple roll. “First time?” I asked, my voice pitched soft and low. He nodded, his ears flushed crimson. That mingled shyness and wantonness inside me rose up all at once, teased upward by how real this was.
[Brother Y · Husband] I sat to the side watching her tease him, and there was something inside me hard to name. It was I who had arranged this scene to this point, I who had her dress this way tonight, I who had invited this tender greenhorn through the door. Watching her cross her leg of her own accord, watching that sheer black gleam under the light, watching him at a loss — I felt a strange kind of pride, mixed with something I couldn’t quite name, like the point of a needle grazing me lightly. I laid a hand on the back of her neck, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, telling him too: it’s all right, don’t be afraid.
[Novice Solo Man · Me] Brother Y’s voice pulled me out of my awkwardness: “Come closer, don’t sit so far away.” I shifted over, my knee touching hers, and through that layer of sheer black I could feel the warmth of her skin coming through. My hand froze midair, not knowing where to land. But she reached out first, took hold of my wrist, and guided my hand onto her knee. The nylon was astonishingly smooth, and the moment my fingertips touched it, my whole body jolted as if shocked, my scalp tingling.
[Sister-in-law Y · Wife] His hand was so hot, and trembling too. I pressed on his wrist and slowly drew it upward, from my knee toward that even thinner place along my inner thigh. The black stockings gathered into a taut band at the top of my thigh, and above that edge was my bare skin. His fingertips inched along, shaking as if he couldn’t find his footing. I heard my own breathing grow heavier, that heat below drawing inward along the top of my thigh; I squeezed my legs, clamping his hand tighter between them. That squeeze made even me falter for a beat — it turned out I was more impatient than he was.
[Brother Y · Husband] “Take it slow,” I murmured from the side, half to him, half to her. I could see she was already sinking into it, her eyes going soft, her lips parting slightly. I stood, saying I’d fetch a few things. As I walked toward the cabinet I glanced back — his hand still clamped between her legs, her head tipped up, her chest rising and falling. I pulled open the drawer, and there lay the things for tonight: the silver one, the buzzing ones, the paired ones. I took them in hand, my fingertips brushing that cold layer of metal, and the string inside me pulled taut all at once. Tonight had only just begun.
[Novice Solo Man · Me] The moment her legs clamped my hand, a hum went through my head, and half of everything — the nerves, the clumsiness — was washed away. But the other half only panicked harder: I was afraid I couldn’t do it, afraid I couldn’t hold out. Brother Y came back carrying a small tray, several things on it catching a cold light. I couldn’t quite recognize them, only felt my heart pounding faster and faster. She smiled at me, and there was no mockery in that smile, only a warm invitation that wrapped my whole self up.
[Sister-in-law Y · Wife] The tray was set on the coffee table, and I glimpsed the silver piece, and the little pair joined by a cord. My face burned hotter, yet my body had already gone soft a step ahead. I knew where tonight was going, and I knew how badly I wanted it. I reached out and undid the topmost button at his collar — his collarbone drawn tight beneath the light. “Don’t be afraid,” I said against his ear, a tremor I couldn’t control in my voice, “tonight, leave it to us.”