Towards the end of what for Jay had been a wonderful day, after dinner, the group of four had separated into pairs. Jay was with Raquel in the kitchen of what he had learned was Zelina's house legally, although Raquel now lived there. Zelina and Erin were in the living room, watching some kind of awful romance movie.

"Ready to see some pictures?" Raquel asked. Sitting opposite him, she opened the photo album that was on the dining table in front of her and turned it sideways on to them both so that they could both see the pictures.

"Sure," Jay said, sipping at the double shot of whisky she had served him with. She had one herself.

Jay felt happy and relaxed in a way he had rarely felt in his life. At peace, that was the best way to put it. A good day, with good company, his best friend, and his truly amazing partner. He didn't think he deserved life this good, but he was definitely going to take it.

The photo album, Raquel had told him, spanned from her childhood to the early stages of her wrestling career. He had jumped at the chance to look at it with her when she had suggested it. His friendship with her was something he wanted to strengthen at any opportunity, so as to never lose it. And he wanted to learn more about her too.

"Let's do it," he said eagerly.

Raquel started working her way through the pictures, talking about her childhood, her parents and her sister. Jay couldn't help feeling jealous. If only he'd had a nice upbringing and normal people for parents instead of the monsters that he and Will had been stuck with his life would have been a lot different.

"One day you're going to have to show me pictures of young Jay," she said, grinning at the thought.

"Don't have any," he said, trying his best not to put a downer on things.

She looked at him. "None?"

"My childhood isn't something I want to remember, Raquel. Can we just leave it at that?"

"Of course," she said gently. "I'm not going to ask any questions, but if you do ever want to talk about anything, you can come to me. Always."

"Thank you," he said seriously. "I haven't even talked to Erin about it yet, not really. Let's continue talking about you, okay?"

"Okay. Just know that I love you, man."

That was the nicest thing a friend had ever said to him, and he really felt it. For a moment he thought he might tear up, but he managed to avoid it, to his relief. "I love you too," he said, looking her in the eyes. "You're the best kind of friend a person could have, and I'm so grateful."

Raquel smiled. "Well, thank you. Have you said it to Erin yet? I love you, I mean? I guess it would have been better to ask if you do love her first. Pretty sure I know the answer to that though."

Jay checked the kitchen doorway behind him to make sure Erin wasn't standing there, although he could hear the movie in the living room. Satisfied, he looked back at Raquel. "I do love her. With my whole heart. I've been trying to decide if I should tell her or not. Maybe it's too soon?"

"Jay, that's so sweet. You're such a good soul. Something told me that as soon as we started talking. But as to whether you should tell Erin or not, of course you should. You should tell her exactly what you just told me. Find the place, find the moment, and do it."

That was food for thought for sure. Jay kicked it around in his mind as they moved on to pictures of teenage Raquel. Taller than her friends even back that, pretty, and thinner than she was now. Not much muscle on her.

"You've always been tall," he commented, not wanting to remark on her build in case he somehow put his foot in it and offended her.

She laughed. "Yep. I grew big and I grew early. I was six foot one at sixteen. Needless to say I made the girls basketball team."

She poured them another large whisky, then turned the page. On the next one were some shots from a family vacation.

"Ah, Jamaica," she said remembering it fondly.

Jay fought off another stabbing pain of jealousy at the various pictures of a happy Raquel and her equally happy family. One of them showed her standing with her sister on a beach, both wearing bikinis and snorkelling gear.

"Your sister didn't get as tall as you," he commented, pointing at the picture. "She's, what, five seven?"

"Good guess," Raquel said with another smile. "Five seven is exactly what she is. Not exactly short, she just looks it next to me. Looking at that picture makes me miss being in the water. I love it so much."

"You've always been into diving and stuff then? I guess that's a dumb question since you already told me you were a diver for the army."

"No question is a dumb question. Yes, I've always been kind of obsessed with water. Rivers, lakes, waterfalls, the sea, I find it all so beautiful. The way it looks, the way it sounds, everything. I learned scuba when I was a kid. There's nothing as peaceful and relaxing as a leisure dive. So many beautiful things to see, and the sound of your breathing underwater is so, well, relaxing. There's no other word I can use for it."

"You're very passionate about it," he said, enjoying her enthusiasm. "Maybe one day you'll have to introduce me to it."

"The best way to start is snorkelling, to make sure you're comfortable in the water. I already started Z on that down at Discovery Cove. We love it there. The four of us could go down there some time."

"What is it?"

Raquel described the water themed park and resort and some of the activities that visitors could enjoy there. To Jay it sounded like something that could make a fun double date, since they were apparently a thing. "Let's mention it to Erin and get it arranged. I'm up for it," he said.

"We'll do that," Raquel said as she turned the page. They were now into her military service. They went through a few shots from her training period, then came to one where she was wearing her full uniform and kit as an army combat diver, standing on the deck of a boat. By then, her physique was a lot more muscular, he could tell that even under what she was wearing. What he saw in that picture was a legit badass. A killing machine. There was another side to the sweet friend who was sitting at the table with him. He was glad he was not encountering the other one.

They talked about her service, and she told him about the non-secret tasks she'd had to do, such as search and rescue, and repairing damaged boats. Jay found it all incredibly interesting, and he was proud of her for serving their country. Doing so required a level of bravery that he had never possessed. During the conversation they had put away another couple of large shots each, and the bottle of whisky was on its way to empty. Jay could feel the alcohol having and effect on him, and judging by the way Raquel was laughing more readily than usual it was working on her too.

Zelina walked into the kitchen with Erin right behind her. "The movie is finished. You're safe to return to the living room," Zelina announced, lightly teasing Jay and Raquel for their aversion to romance movies.

"Don't know how you watch that stuff," Jay said, pushing his chair back from the table. Erin promptly sat on his lap sideways.

"What have you guys been looking at?" she asked, noticing the photo album.

Meanwhile, Zelina went over to the sink, where she had stacked the dirty plates, cutlery and cooking utensils from dinner. "I'm going to wash up then head up to bed. You coming up, mami?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Raquel said, yawning at the prospect of bed. It had been a long day.

Jay suppressed a grin as he noticed Zelina take a pair of pink rubber gloves out of a cupboard below the sink and put them on. What made him smile was that Erin was watching intently. Jay gave her butt a little squeeze to let her know that he was on to her. The corners of her mouth turned upwards as she tried to hold back a mischievous smile.

"Jay and I were just talking about a double date just now," Raquel said, understandably oblivious to what was going on.

Jay almost laughed as he watched Erin try to give Raquel her attention. "Oh?" she asked.

"We were talking about my military service and about diving. Jay mentioned he'd maybe like to try it, and I suggested we could have a day at Discovery Cove. It's not far from here and it's a lovely day out. They have beautiful pools and stuff that you can snorkel in. That's a good first step towards learning to dive, if you like it."

Waiting for the sink to fill with water, Zelina came over to them and happened to put her gloved hand on Erin's shoulder. Erin looked at it, and Jay had no idea how he hadn't laughed yet.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea," Zelina said cheerfully. "We'll wait a couple of months until the weather's warmer, then we'll do that. You guys will love snorkelling there. The fish and stuff are breath-taking. I want to take scuba lessons this year. Then we'll be able to go on diving vacations to exotic places."

"We'll make that happen for sure," Raquel said.

Zelina went over to wash the dishes as the conversation continued. The plan for a future double date was made, along with another one for Raquel and Zelina to come stay at Erin's place once she had completed the purchase and moved in. The whole time, Jay noticed Erin glancing at Zelina while she worked at the sink.

Soon it was time for bed. The guest bedroom that Jay and Erin were staying in wasn't exactly big, but it had a double bed. That was all that really mattered. Jay had a smile on his face when he came back from having a wash and brushing his teeth in the bathroom next door.

"What are you grinning about?" Erin said as he closed the door. She was already in bed waiting for him.

"You know full well what I'm grinning about," he said quietly. He got into the bed and lay facing her. "Z wearing those rubber gloves really grabbed your attention. It turned you on. What I'm wondering is what you were thinking? Did you find her sexy in them? Or were you imagining yourself wearing them? I'm not making fun of you by the way, I'm trying to find out more about how your fetish works. No judgement."

"Both, really," she admitted, her cheeks going bright red even though he had promised there would be no judgement. Her breath smelled of the rum that she and Zelina had been drinking during the movie. The alcohol was no doubt lowering her inhibitions and allowing this topic to be discussed.

"You can talk to me about it," he said. "No judgement, I promise. It's not like I don't have a kink too."

"Okay," Erin decided after a moment. "We have to be able to be open and honest with each other about everything. That's how a strong relationship works." She took a deep breath. "The truth is, Z looked really sexy to me wearing those gloves. I imagined her touching me with them and it really turned me on. Touching me intimately, I mean."

Holy fuck, he thought, feeling his heart starting to beat faster. "You mean you'd go with a woman?"

"If she was wearing sexy gloves like those, sure."

Jay was willing his heart not to give out on him. Not now. His dick was rock hard already, so much that it hurt. The mental images of Erin and Zelina getting it on were something else. "That's so hot. I've got to say that. Have you been with a woman before?"

"No, but I would do. I'd enjoy it just as much if you wore gloves during sex though. Don't ask me to explain why they turn me on so much because I can't. It's just the way my brain is wired. Nothing I can do about it."

He gave her a peck on the lips to reassure her. "I wouldn't ask you to explain it anyway. I couldn't tell you why I have a thing for duct taping women's mouths during sex. It turns me on, so I go with it. Now that I know you'd like me to wear gloves, I will. Can't hook you up with Z though I'm afraid."

"You haven't tried," Erin said, joking now.

"You're right, I should go knock on their bedroom door and tell Z to go grab her gloves and get in here."

"Oh god," she said, giggling. "Yeah, let's not do that. How about you just fuck me instead?"

"That I can do," he said before starting to kiss her.


A/N: Two more double dates are planned, and Erin admitted she would go with a woman in the right circumstances. I'd like to write Jay and Erin as a more sexually open couple in this story than in my previous one, so who is up for seeing a threesome or a foursome later in the story?