Some friends you seem to compete with all the time — even if you’re tight. That was the case with Sharona and me.

We’d met in college, right around the time I’d been thinking of dropping out. I ran into her one night at a party. Sharona was a pretty woman with a dazzling smile — and she still is. We started talking and turned out to have a lot in common — favorite sports teams, similar tastes in books, crushes on the same music idols.

We were also both eyeing the same guy at the party, though neither of us had yet made a move for him. He was nicely built, wore eyeglasses and a T-shirt with the face of an alien from a TV show on it. He had a shy air about him.

“I like the geeky types, too,” Sharona said when she caught me gazing longingly at him.

“Yeah, I’d like to get naked with him and talk about science fiction,” I joked.

“I bet I can get him to come back to my dorm with me in 30 seconds,” she whispered with a wicked smile.

Her self-assurance annoyed me, and I said, “Well, sure. Go up to him — or any dude — and say ‘Let’s go fuck.’ That’ll get the reaction you’re after.”

She shook her head and told me, “We’ll approach him together. I won’t say anything explicitly sexual. If he doesn’t respond in those 30 seconds, you take a crack at him. The loser buys the winner a burger tomorrow night.”

It seemed a crazy proposition, but I was already liking this woman. We went over to the hot geekboy. Sharona gave him a disarmingly friendly line of patter, without saying anything outright lascivious. And lo and behold, before 30 seconds were up, he shyly but eagerly asked if she’d like to go somewhere private with him.

I gaped at them as they left the party together. The next day I bought Sharona a burger at a diner just off campus. She smugly recounted the fun she’d had the night before and posed, “Ever notice geeks have the biggest cocks?”

I let her boast, but she could see something else was troubling me. When she asked, I said, “I’m thinking of dropping out.”

She got serious then, and we ended up talking for an hour. Sharona’s concern wasn’t fake. I found myself telling her my deepest doubts and fears. She gently talked me through it all, encouraging me not to give up. She said it was obvious I was an intelligent woman with a lot going for me.

Reaching across the table, she brushed my cheek with her fingers as she said, “I think you should stick it out. Besides, we can each try to be better than the other — in grades, in guys, in everything!”

Somehow that did the trick. I did stay in school, and God, did we try to one-up each other — in everything, just like she’d suggested. She motivated the hell out of me. I excelled in my courses, but so, of course, did Sharona. We were outstanding students. We were also cock-hungry hellcats, bedding a swath of the male student body. I doubted I would have fucked half that many if I hadn’t been in competition with her the whole time.

We kept tally sheets, compared notes and dared each other to try new and crazier sex acts.

Both of us graduated with honors, and then it was time to start our true adult lives. Naturally, we stayed friends, but we stayed competitors, too. We each tried to land a better job than the other, though both of us fortunately ended up with comparable positions in companies of similar prestige. Even so, we compared salaries and strove to get higher bonuses than the other.

When it came to marriage, did our competitive natures pause? They did not, though again I’m glad to say we both landed good husbands. I married Garrett, and two months later Sharona got hitched to Burt. The men became friends, playing sports together and going fishing.

It was wonderfully domestic. Sharona and I were both successes, by anybody’s measure. Our friendship remained strong. Often we would get together, pour some wine and reminisce about wilder days. Our sexual competition was over. Garrett and Burt were both marvelous lovers. I was certainly satisfied with my husband.

But one evening as Sharona and I sipped vino on her deck, she got a far-off look in her pretty eyes. When I asked what was up, she said, “I was just thinking about Brendan. Remember? He was at Burt’s last grill-a-thon.”

I remembered the barbecue. I remembered Brendan, too, though I’d tried to put him out of my mind. He had a kind of ethereal handsomeness about him. It wasn’t anything I could pin down, just how he moved and spoke — so at ease, exuding a sort of romantic heat.

He was like some fairy-tale prince. I had spoken with him only briefly, but in that time a fierce desire had taken hold of me. My nipples had stiffened, and my pussy had gone damp. I’d maintained my composure somehow, nodding and smiling when all the while I had wanted to drag him off and jump his bones.

I realized Sharona was peering at me when she said, “Oh, you’ve got the hots for him, too!”

I blushed, guzzled some wine and then said, “I’m married, Sharona.”

“Gee, Rebecca, so am I.” A mischievous smile curled her lips. “What if we both tried to get him into bed? Loser buys the burger.”

It was our old bet. I laughed as I protested, running through a litany of reasons why we should remain faithful to our wonderful husbands. But images of Brendan kept intruding on my mind as I spoke. Soon, those became the fantasies I’d tortured myself with since meeting him — my lips on his; my hands skimming his body, taking hold of his hard cock and pumping him; sucking him; climbing onto him and — well, you know.

I’d stopped talking. Sharona had moved closer and taken my hand as she said, “Think of all the times Garrett and Burt have gone off without us. You never thought maybe they were doing something” — she paused searching for the words — “outside matrimonial lines?”

The notion hadn’t occurred to me consciously. But now that Sharona had voiced it, I realized I’d been nursing that suspicion for a while. Garrett and Burt often went fishing for entire weekends — sometimes longer. Maybe they were picking up women. Maybe they had dared each other, or maybe they’d competed to see who could commit the first infidelity.

Strangely, the idea didn’t infuriate me. I didn’t begrudge our husbands their tight bond. Neither of them had objected in the slightest to the fervent friendship me and Sharona had. What did a little fooling around on the side really even mean, anyway? It’s all just harmless fun.

“God,” I murmured. “I’m already justifying this thing in my head.”

Sharona grinned, her hand tightening on mine as she asked, “You’re in, then?”

Somehow I was nodding. To finalize my commitment, I said a firm: “Yes.”

It took a little sleuthing to track down Brendan. He’d been the friend of an invited guest at the barbecue. Sharona found out he worked at a bar downtown. We decided we would go there together, make our pitches to him with the other present, and see what happened. It was like the old days!

When I caught sight of Brendan behind the bar, my pussy went into that same ready overdrive as before. Sharona held my hand, and we walked up and sat. Brendan came over and smiled that effortlessly seductive smile he’d sported at the party. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he said, “Hey, I know you two.”

I was more than flattered that he remembered me, and I was sure Sharona felt the same way. We ordered, and Brendan neatly concocted our cocktails. When he set Sharona’s down, she touched his wrist, giving him a sultry look as she said, “It’s really lovely to see you again.”

Not to be outdone, I reached over the bar and stroked his other forearm. When he turned his surprised gaze on me, I ran my tongue across my upper lip.

I could tell Brendan’s interest was piqued. But he was working, and the bar was fairly busy. He didn’t have time to respond. After a few minutes, though, he came back to us and said, “I get out of here in a half hour.” I couldn’t figure out which one of us he seemed to be propositioning.

Nonetheless excitement tingled in me. Sharona fidgeted on her stool; her face was flushed. Later, Brendan came out from behind the bar in his jacket, nodded toward the door and said, “Let’s go.”

We both followed him, still unsure who was being chosen. Brendan continued to walk ahead of us, apparently heading for his vehicle as he said, “We’ll go to my place.”

When he unlocked his car, Sharona — always just a bit bolder than me — pulled open a door and hopped in. Initially, I was annoyed, but as Brendan stood there, I realized I was supposed to get in, too. So I did.

He had a nice apartment. He took our coats and hung them up. Without a word, he leaned toward me, and I met his lips. His kiss was soft but insistent — and seemed to promise so much.

When he broke our lip-lock to kiss Sharona, I gasped almost inaudibly. I understood what was happening, and so did she. She flashed me an astonished look as Brendan led us both to his bedroom. We weren’t competing for him. We were both going to have him!

The idea thrilled me. Even though it involved my dearest friend — and we were both cheating on our husbands — raw primal exhilaration swept over me. My skin tingled, and my pussy juices flowed.

Brendan unbuttoned his shirt leisurely before tossing it aside. Everything he did seemed casual and unhurried. But he didn’t radiate any off-putting arrogance. He appeared simply to be basking in the moment, while Sharona and I basked in his irresistible presence. We both moved toward him and caressed his muscular torso. He dropped his pants and kicked them away. His cock stood out, firm and proud — and so totally tempting.

Sharona and I reached for it at the same time, then laughed at each other. There would be no ill feelings between us. It all felt right, as crazy as it obviously was. Sharona wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft. I took him around the top, sliding my thumb over his cockhead and tracing its fleshy contours.

It occurred to both of us that we were seriously overdressed. In a flurry we stripped, the three of us finally standing naked. Sharona and I pressed against either side of Brendan’s strapping body. He swept his arms around us and backed us all onto his expansive bed.

Instinctively, I threw my leg over Brendan’s muscular thigh and rubbed my wet cleft on him. Sharona draped herself across his chest and mashed her mouth hard on his. She started jerking his cock. I shifted my hand to cup his balls, liking the way his warm nutsac stirred under my gentle touch. There had been times when I’d made Garrett come just by fondling his balls.

But my husband was distant in my thoughts. In fact, my thoughts were all scrambled, sent into a riot by the wondrously sensual scene in which I found myself. Brendan was caressing Sharona’s full breasts. I ground myself harder on his leg. I eyed his cock with my mouth watering.

Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer. While Sharona and Brendan continued their wild tongue-dance, I shifted lower on the bed and wrapped my lips around his swollen cockhead. Sharona delivered a few more jerks on his staff, then let me have free rein. I appreciated the consideration.

I swirled my tongue over his thick knob. The taste and texture of him further enflamed my already overstimulated senses. I cinched my lips tighter and descended his dick. Down and down I went, until I reached his balls, which I continued to caress aggressively.

Brendan let out a groan. I lifted my mouth and dropped it again. His flavor was on my tongue, and I drew in the scent of him. His hand fell onto the back of my neck, and as I bobbed on him, he pushed me gently, encouraging me — like I needed it — so that I gradually sucked him faster.

His hips pumped, rocking the mattress. He let out a happy moan once more, only this time it was muffled. As my head rose, I looked up his body and saw Sharona had straddled his face. His mouth was busy with her pussy. She faced away from me, so I could see the flex of her sweet ass as she rode him.

I sucked him all the harder. Soon Sharona was emitting a series of high-pitched cries. They kept rising until her howl of satisfaction tore through the bedroom. I came up for air and watched her dismount Brendan’s face. She looked dazed, and his chin and lips were smeared with her juices.

She’d gotten the first orgasm. That was OK. I felt I’d laid some serious claim to first ride on his cock. I asserted this right by climbing deftly atop him and lowering myself onto his spit-slickened shaft. He felt so good sliding inside me. Pleasure shot through me, crackling out to the very tips of my fingers. I set my hands on his torso and worked my hips. I rode up and down on his generous cock. Brendan, for his part, met my downward plunges with forceful upthrusts. He played with my tits, and I gasped as he tweaked my sensitive nipples.

I bounced on him harder and faster. Sharona knelt alongside us, watching intently with her wet lips curved in a heated grin. We had a long colorful history, she and I, but we’d never gotten into a three-way situation like this before.

I don’t know if it was Sharona watching us so avidly or just the skilled cock-work of our lover, but before I knew it, a wicked climax was tearing through me. I shivered and trembled and cried out as bliss lit up every part of me.

When I climbed off him, I expected Sharona to hop on for her turn. Brendan hadn’t come yet, and his dick was still savagely erect. But she surprised me by scrabbling forward and dropping her mouth onto his twitching cock, which was thoroughly coated with my pussy juice.

She sucked his cock clean, sounding as if she was savoring the flavor I’d left behind. She was tasting me! The idea turned me on like hell, so much so that when she finally got onto his cock and starting bucking on him, I watched and fingered my pussy. I’d never touched myself in Sharona’s presence before. But now I was shamelessly masturbating, while she and Brendan fucked beside me on the bed.

Sharona rode his cock harder than she had his face. Brendan kept up those helpful upward thrusts. She seemed to be taking her time working herself up to a second climax. Finally, he paused the proceedings to shift her around. He coaxed her onto her hands and knees — it didn’t take much coaxing, to be honest — and moved in behind her to fuck her doggy-style.

Again I watched eagerly, working two fingers in and out of my gushing pussy. Brendan started to pound her, and their bodies slapped together loudly. His balls spanked her clit, and Sharona’s face was etched with overwhelming ecstasy.

She looked over at me, and when she realized I was playing with myself, she cried out, “Oh yeah, work that sweet cunt!”

I loved her dirty talk. I tickled my throbbing clit and drilled myself harder as I felt my second orgasm gathering strength.

Brendan had been a model of stamina the whole time. Other guys would have helplessly shot off some time ago. But there was only so much restraint one could expect out of any human body. He was slamming Sharona from behind now, fucking her in a frenzy.

She beat him to the orgasmic finish line, however. I saw the climactic shudder go through her. She shouted out more obscenities, looking so sexy and beautiful. Her body shook, and I could see she was about to collapse onto the bed. As she pitched forward, she came unceremoniously disconnected from Brendan’s cock. His rod was suddenly bobbing in the air, dripping with pussy juice. I dove in resolutely and caught him with my mouth. I swallowed his shaft as he released a cry and shot his spunk across my tongue.

His hot jizz flooded my mouth, and his sharp, salty flavor filled my senses. I drank down his slippery load. I also got a lovely taste of Sharona’s juices, which mixed so delectably with Brendan’s cream.

After he’d unloaded his last spurt, he sat back on his haunches with a dazed but happy look on his handsome face. Sharona moved next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. We watched together as Brendan lay back, overcome by sweet fatigue. I didn’t begrudge him his rest. He’d earned it, but I had the feeling he would recover quickly.

Sharona whispered, “How does his come taste?”

For once, I was slightly bolder. I put my mouth to hers and let her find out about his taste herself. Our tongues moved languidly together. Our kiss deepened, our arms going tight around each other. As we knelt on the mattress, she pressed her naked body to mine, and I held her close. Our breasts mashed together, and I pushed my pussy mound against hers.

We lay down, side by side, still kissing. Our hands moved over one another, exploring and caressing. Her skin was so smooth. I loved this woman. I’d loved her for years, as a confidant, as a dear friend — even as a worthy competitor. But in that quiet, miraculous moment, she was becoming my lover.

Our fingers toyed with one another’s stiff nipples. We ground our bodies together, each delighting in the other’s strangeness and familiarity. How had we not done this before? But I didn’t feel we’d wasted any years. It was the right time for us, even having just shared a male lover — who at that point was asleep, curled up beside us on his big bed.

Our excitement grew. It became a lovely sexual fury. We fingered each other, then followed our instincts into newfound carnal territory. We arranged ourselves into a hasty 69. How perfectly we fit together. How right it all felt!

I ate her pussy zestily, and she licked me and delved her tongue into me with equal gusto. When we finally came together, we were like one body, one being, rocking there as one next to our somnolent lover.