Rohini didn't elaborate further on that topic; instead promised me to divulge the details at an appropriate time. Nothing much happened for quite some time and I was losing hope. Sometimes, I thought, It was in my best interest if nothing happened. Rohini, on the other hand, was very optimistic. She even conned me into a bet that Mansi would accept Rahul as her new master before the end of this year.

The wager, as usual, was that the looser would return a sexual favor to the winner. I already owed two such sexual favors to Rohini and didn't mind one more. Either way, it only meant more fun for me with her.

Things took an unusual turn when all of a sudden I lost my job. This was the onset of the infamous dot com bust. Contractors were usually the first ones to get affected and among several others, I was relieved from the client company I was working for. My fears turned into reality when my employer stopped paying me and kept me on the payroll only due to impending green card.

Most people get affected by such an incident and I was no exception. My self esteem took a serious hit as I was not able to clear many interviews and later on I didn't even receive any interview calls. After about two months of agony, I realized that it was the market. None of the employers wanted to file for an H1B, finding it hard to justify when there were layoffs in the company. My friends and wife helped me cheer up during this depressing phase of my life.

With me at home, our sex blossomed and we were engaging in prolonged foreplays and very long showers together. We were doing it twice daily; with me pleasuring Mansi every morning with my mouth and then penetrating her for the second time. Almost on a regular basis, our sex culminated in the shower cubicle. Despite having so much sex, the visions of Rahul mating with Mansi never left me.

Mansi too opened up to the idea of swapping partners as the days passed. We had been having incredible sex in past couple of months, which helped shed her inhibitions. We still hadn't engaged in anything kinky but oral sex and minor variations in positions were never ruled out.

We discussed the idea while having sex and Mansi always responded favorably but had concerns about its impact on our relationship.

I was getting very close to winning the bet since it was already December and still there were no signs of change in Mansi. However, to my utter surprise, Mansi brought up this topic sometime in early December. It was me who usually initiated the discussion but this time it was her.

"Does the swapping idea still appeal to you?" she asked.

"You mean the survey we did in May?" I asked knowing very well that she meant swapping only between the four of us.

"No," she replied in irritated tone and clarified, "I mean swapping with Rahul and Rohini."

"Yes it does," I replied.

"Would it be fun?" Mansi asked probing further.

"Yes, it would,"

"Rohini is fairly attractive," I replied promptly.

"But Rahul would be more privileged," I said hinting that Mansi was far more beautiful than Rohini. She could only blush in response.

It was my turn and I asked her, "Does the idea still appeal to you?"

"Yes it does," she answered without hesitating.

"But I am worried about the implications," she added. Not wanting to end the conversation the usual way, I probed further by asking, "What implications?"

"Rohini confided in me that Rahul is frustrated with her inability to satisfy him sexually," she started a bit hesitantly.

"That's why they were exploring the idea of swapping partners," she elaborated.

"Why?" I asked. Gauging that she hadn't understood what I was saying, I rephrased the question, "Why is she not able to satisfy him?"

"Well," she started a bit hesitantly again, "Rohini says she is not able to accommodate his size." She giggled a little as she completed the sentence.

"Really?" I eagerly asked feigning ignorance, "Is he that big?"

"I don't know," Mansi responded casually, feigning ignorance. She was lying though.

"Rohini insists that he is very well endowed," Mansi clarified.

"Why do you think you could accommodate him then?" I asked teasing her.

"I don't know," she again replied hesitantly caught off guard by my question.

"I am not as fragile as Rohini, I guess," she said justifying her belief that she would be able to accommodate him.

I acceded to her justification since I knew that unlike Rohini, Mansi would derive tremendous pleasure accommodating Rahul.

"Then what is the problem?" I asked alluding to the issue she had been highlighting.

"Well," she started, "If we were to swap with them."

"Rahul's sexual frustrations would result in a lot more sessions with me."

"And Rohini's relative lack of interest in sex would mean you wouldn't have all that fun."

"I thought a swap meant that we would swap partners at the same time," I said clarifying that Rahul and I would have equal number of turns with Mansi and Rohini respectively. So, the question of inequality didn't arise.

"I wouldn't want to imagine a swap that way," Mansi sternly responded.

"It is too phony and embarrassing," she added.

"I would like it as an open relationship," she elaborated. I could see that the seeds planted by Rohini had taken roots finally. Although, I too aspired for such a relationship with them, albeit a little passively, I was a little nervous, now that things seemed to head in that direction.

"Are you suggesting that there be no limitations?" I asked nervously.

"Sort of," she responded, "As long as the decorum of our relationships is maintained."

"With such an arrangement," I said clarifying her concerns, "you are worried that Rahul might have an unfair share of you."

"Yes!"

"Given that Rohini is in the last month of her pregnancy you can't expect to have sex with her for a good 2-3 months," she elaborated. I laughed at that thought - I had already enjoyed her on a few occasions.

"It can't be considered unfair given Rahul's situation, though," added Mansi.

"Rahul hasn't had much sex in the past 2 months."

"So you feel sorry for him," I asked.

"Yes," she replied calmly.

"Are you going to help him by becoming his surrogate wife?" I heard myself blurting out. I couldn't believe that I said this and neither could she. We both were however toying with this idea and there wasn't much point in referring to it in round about ways. Rohini surely might have discussed this idea with Mansi again and perhaps this time Mansi might have latched onto it.

I wasn't quite sure if I wanted her to reply in affirmative either -- since I was always in two minds about this aspect. I would love the idea when my testosterone levels were high but then regret the idea after the excitement subsides.

"I am contemplating," was Mansi's response to my surprise. I could see that she was surprised with my question but she didn't hesitate from taking it head on. It was very clear that we indeed were talking about her becoming his mistress rather than just swapping partners. It was becoming evident that she liked this idea but was concerned about its affect on our relationship.

"But I am concerned about its effect on our relationship," she thoughtfully added.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Wouldn't it make you jealous," she asked seriously.

"Not if you don't let me know," I responded teasingly. "Be serious," she said elbowing me.

"Well, I wouldn't mind if Rohini reciprocated the favor when you become pregnant," I chided. I very smartly assumed that she meant to become his surrogate wife only for the short period until Rohini recovers from her pregnancy; while it was clear that she meant for this to be on an ongoing basis.

"Stop kidding," she said, "Rohini can't return such a favor," she clarified.

"Her sex drive is too low to satisfy both Rahul and you."

"Besides, I am pretty confident that I can satisfy both Rahul and you even in the 8th month of my pregnancy," she retorted; her face exuding confidence.

"Is this going to be a one way street?"

"Where Rahul would have full access to you and I won't have any access to Rohini?" I asked irked by what Mansi was suggesting. Not that I wasn't aware what the main intention was but I was getting upset that Mansi was not only suggesting but also implying that this was perhaps right and not unfair to me.

"That is the main concern I have," Mansi said.

"But this is how it might pan out."

"Are you okay with this idea," I asked.

"I am not and that is why we are talking about," she replied.

"Well, if I were okay with it would you have any objection to it?" I asked reframing the question.

"Hmm..." she thought for a moment and responded, "Not really!"

"All it means is a lot more sex for me," she justified behind a nervous laugh.

"But I would be concerned if it affected our relationship in a negative way," she added.

"Till date I have shunned away from this idea," she said assuring me that our relationship was her topmost priority.

"I broached up this topic again knowing that you were not averse to this idea," she said.

"After all you had admitted this!"

"Yes I did," I responded.

"But I would prefer a swap instead of an open relationship," I said in a concerned tone. All along I was not averse to this idea but now knowing that Mansi was in favor of the idea, I was getting jittery about taking this to the next step.

"How could you?"

"It is so embarrassing," she said.

"Even if we don't share the gory details, we are still aware that we had sex with each others partners."

"It is embarrassing to face you the next day morning that way!"

"In an open relationship although we are aware that our partners can have sex with other's partners, we never know for sure when they did it."

"We may not even know it happened last night!"

"I understand your point," I said.

"But I am not happy about not having access to Rohini.