Chapter 5

Around about lunchtime, Alan Ayre's doorbell rang. Living on the first floor of a converted semi-detached house, he went downstairs to see who was there. He opened the door to find his friend Sarah Bishop waiting. She was carrying several large shopping bags.

"Hello, I didn't expect to see you, Sarah—where's Kevin?" She looked at him and smiled.

"It's a Saturday, can't you guess, he's usually only one of two places on a Saturday, and he's not at work!"

"Ah, yes, of course! Who are West Ham playing today?"

"I think he said Fulham, away, but I'm not sure. So, can I come in?"

"Sorry! Of course—can I take some of those bags?"

Alan followed her back up the stairs and into the sitting room, where she put her bags down. Sarah took off her jacket and they both went into the kitchen, where he filled the kettle for coffee.

"Don't I get a hug, then, Honey!"

They both smiled, embraced, and kissed lightly and fleetingly on the lips. It had been about five weeks since Alan had last been to dinner with Sarah and her husband, Kevin, who had been one of his oldest friends ever since they were young kids living on the same North London housing estate. Alan and Kevin had once seen each other practically every day, but as often happens, as they got older their lives diverged, with Alan going to university and then living and working abroad, during which time Kevin met and married Sarah. They usually got together once or twice a month, and now Alan and Sarah were quite close, too, although strictly platonically; although there was usually lots of teasing and harmless flirting. Kevin knew about this, of course, because he was usually there with them; but he trusted his wife and his friend enough to leave them alone together when he wasn't there and he'd even asked Alan to take her out and stay with her when he had to be somewhere else overnight. So Alan and Sarah hugged and kissed, like friends, and they'd even occasionally shared a bed, and so being undressed around each other was really no big deal for either of them. Sarah always told Kevin about the times that she spent with Alan and he was cool with it. Alan and Sarah had established firm boundaries of behaviour and they never crossed them; irrespective of whatever the circum­stances that they found themselves in.

"So I take it that this is all last minute holiday shopping," Alan asked her as they sat drinking their coffee.

"Well, not exactly 'last minute': we're not going for another eight days! I still think you ought to have come with us, though, Love. We splashed out and rented that nice little villa with a private pool and gorgeous beaches practically on the doorstep. Are you sure you can't get away?"

"Positive! I admit it looks nice, but being self-employed I have commit­ments and deadlines, whereas you and Kevin have regular jobs with paid holidays. However, I have been thinking, and although I couldn't do the whole time, I might be able to swing five days, if I can book a flight."

"Oh, do try, Honey!" Sarah said excitedly, "That would be really great if you could manage it!"

"Okay! We'll look on the Internet later. Now you're here, have you had lunch, I've got a quiche and lots of salad stuff in the fridge? I can run you home later."

"Brilliant! And if you like I'll show off some of my new clothes later: I've got a couple of killer bikinis that were on sale!"

They ate lunch and Alan opened a bottle of wine: even though he was going to take Sarah home later, he allowed himself one glass. Then they went back into the sitting room, Sarah with a second glass of wine, Alan with orange juice, and chatted about the upcoming vacation. He went onto the Internet and found a return flight, leaving early on a Monday morning, and another returning the following Friday, the day before Sarah and Kevin were due to leave. Those days suited Alan, although Sarah said that she was disappointed that he wouldn't get five, full days with them. After Alan had booked and paid for his flight, online, Sarah said: "Right, it's show-time!"

It was a nice day, so Sarah was wearing denim shorts, cut high on the leg, some strappy sandals and a vest top. She was completely unself­conscious about undressing in front of Alan, and she was soon down to a black thong and a low-cut bra. These, too, were quickly discarded and she was soon pulling on tiny bikini bottoms and tying the top.

"—Of course, with our own pool I probably won't be wearing this much, but it was cheap and I expect Kevin will want to go to the beach to ogle the other women some of the time!"

Alan didn't even need to ask if Sarah minded about that: she obviously expected it, and as Alan had just been looking at Kevin's gorgeous wife naked, husband and wife had obviously established their own boundaries.

Sarah then changed into the other bikini, which was much like the first, except in colour. She also tried on some very sexy underwear, which Alan knew was something that Kevin liked to see his wife in. The floorshow over, Sarah put her vest top back on, but not her bra, together with one of the new G-string thongs that she had bought. This is how she stayed until it was time for Alan to take her home, when she put on her shorts, sandals, and denim jacket. Alan dropped her outside the flats where the Bishop's lived, but he didn't go up.

"So, will we see you again before we go, Love?" Sarah asked him.

"Hmm—probably not; either ring me or text me the address of the villa, so I can get a taxi from the airport. And with the flight I'm on it will be quite early in the morning when I get there, so you might not be up."

"Don't worry about that, Sweetie—one of us will be." She kissed his cheek, then waved as he drove off.

The First Day

An early morning flight meant that Alan had to get up before the sun rose and he was still tired as he handed the appropriate Euro note over to the cab driver outside of the Bishop's rented holiday villa. He pulled his travel case up the short, inclined drive to the front door and rang the bell. The naked and already very tanned Sarah let him in. She hugged him, kissed him, then took his free hand and led him inside.

"It's so lovely to see you! You look knackered, though, Babe— do you want a coffee, or your bed?"

"I'll try the coffee first—but I might not be fit for much else for a couple of hours."

Alan sat on a stool in the compact kitchen and Sarah stood behind him and put her arms around his chest and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"As you can see, we walk around like this most of the time, but you just do what you're comfortable with. You've already got a bit of a tan, but you'll need lots of sunblock here. Give me a shout when you're ready, and I'll do your back for you."

"Okay! Thanks for getting up early, Sarah, but you can go back to bed now, if you want."

"No way! Kevin's fast asleep and you're my guest. Come on, I'll show you your room."

Even though it was early morning, it was already hot outside, but inside the villa it was quite cool and overhead-fans turned slowly, stirring the cool air. The villa was compact and on two levels: the upper level was divided into a large, master bedroom with its own bathroom and a balcony that over­looked the sea; a smaller bedroom; and a separate wet-room, with a toilet and shower. The lower floor consisted of an open-plan lounge and combined small kitchen area; another bedroom with an en suite and doors that led out onto the patio and swimming pool area; another wet-room; and some walk-in storage space.

"We thought you might prefer the downstairs bedroom, Alan. You get a nice breeze when those doors are open."

"Yes, it seems very nice. Thank you!"

"Why don't you unpack and I'll get us some more coffee. I won't be long."

Alan unpacked his case's contents onto the bed, then he put the case in a closet and started to put his clothes and other items away, too. Sarah returned and put the coffees next to the bed, then sat on it, with her back supported by pillows.

"So how was your flight, Honey?"

"Not that bad! A few noisy holiday makers, even at that time, but there was lots of room on the plane and it's only a couple of hours from London. I've been to the Mediterranean quite a lot and I know about the heat, but it's still a bit of a shock to the system when you first get off the plane."

Almost as soon as he'd got to his room, Alan had stripped down to his fitted boxer shorts, which was all that he was wearing as Sarah sat on the bed looking at him. She had seen him naked before, of course, and she'd always liked his body. Her husband was a couple of inches shorter and quite sculpted and muscular, in part due to his work and also his sporting lifestyle. Kevin also had cropped black hair and brown eyes and Sarah had been attracted to him from the first time they'd met at a wedding. Alan wasn't overweight, neither was he skinny: he was still well fit, but kind of slimmer and sleeker. He had fair hair, worn just above shoulder length; longer even than Sarah's hair of a similar, although lighter, colour—but what really did it for Sarah, although she never told anyone—was his blue eyes and his smile! Kevin had showed her photographs of his friend, taken years before and she could see that he was good looking, in a kind of boyish way, but when they all met up in a restaurant for the first time, there were definite 'feelings' that she knew a happily married woman shouldn't be having. And even though she had accepted that she was attracted to him but would never do anything about it, those feelings had never completely gone away and probably never would, she knew.

She was even quite naughty sometimes when they were alone and when she playfully flirted with him, and a part of her perhaps hoped that he would reciprocate her naughtiness, but he never had. They had even showered together a few times, and even with the opportunity handed to him on a plate, he was never anything other than a perfect gentleman and a true friend. Her heart beat faster, though, as he pushed his shorts down and off and joined her on the bed.

"I'll have a nice shower in a minute: hopefully that will wake me up!"

"Maybe I'll join you!" Sarah said, with a big grin on her pretty face, "I need something to wake me up, too!" Alan laughed.

"I seriously doubt that—but you can if you want!"

Sarah had a habit of chewing her lower lip at times like this, which Alan had observed, but never commented on. They were sitting side by side, practically joined at the hip, silently sipping coffee. He had called her bluff and was waiting to see her next move; although he was pretty sure he knew her well enough to know already.

"Nice idea—but perhaps another time, Babe! I expect my Lord and Master will be up soon!" It was Alan's turn to tease.

"When you say 'be up soon', do you mean what I think you mean?" Sarah giggled, put down her mug and jumped off the bed and headed for the door, still laughing.

"You're a very naughty boy, Alan Ayre!"

Alan was lying on his bed when Kevin knocked on the open patio doors. Sarah had been right: Kevin was also naked with an all-over tan, which, because he had black hair and a dark complexion, was an even darker brown than Sarah's. Alan also noticed that his friend's groin and genitals were hairless, like those porn studs, which it had never been in their teens. And although he never shaved himself, he always kept his light-coloured pubic hair trimmed short. Alan didn't stare, but Kevin saw him looking: most guys check out another guys tackle when they get the chance, but they just don't make it obvious.

"You wanna try it, Al, especially in this hot weather, and a lot of guys on the nudist beaches seem to. Of course, when you're married, you usually get a helping hand to do it! You can just chill today, Mate, we are only going to hang around the pool, but we usually walk down to one of the bars in town in the evening, when it's cooler."

Alan walked back to the kitchen area and picked up a large peach and some grapes. He held a hand under his chin to stop the peach juice running down onto his bare skin, then rinsed his hand and chin with water from the kitchen sink. He then went back into his room, to slather his body with the high factor sunblock that the pharmacy in England had recommended. Alan also had a wide-brimmed cricketers hat, which looked kind of strange in combination with his nude body, but he thought that it made sense in the harsh sunlight. Looking out of the patio doors he saw Sarah as she climbed out of the pool and walked towards him.

"I was wondering when you were coming out to play," she said, as she stood where Kevin had stood not long before.

"I was on my way—I've reached all the parts I can, so I was about to come looking for you."

The bedroom floor was tiled, so Sarah walked into the room, water still dripping off of her and stood behind him. With the sunscreen on both hands, she worked it into the skin on Alan's neck, shoulders and back, right down to the start of his butt crack, and then she patted his backside.

"Mmm! Love that bum! Right, come and get some sun, Honey!"

There were three loungers on the patio—good ones, with built in beach umbrellas that could either be folded down or offered added shade as necessary. Sarah took the middle one, with Kevin on her left, leaving the right one for Alan. She reached out and took their hands.

"I think I'm in Paradise! Hours of guaranteed sunshine, a swimming pool, and my two favourite fellas by my side—life doesn't get any better!"

This is how they spent Alan's first day. It wasn't all lying around in the sun, however: they all swam, although Kevin not as much as Alan or Sarah, and sometimes he just got into the pool for a while to cool off. Sarah had said that Kevin got bored easily and preferred being active to just lying around, and Alan, who with other friends had been on holidays like this in his teens, remembered how Kevin, rather than swimming or just lying in the sun, would spend hours just walking along the beaches, stopping every now and then to chat to girls.

Alan had also brought books with him to read, but the sun tended to make him drowsy, so whenever he came out of the pool, Sarah would put some more sunblock on his back and he would lay on his lounger. At one point he opened his eyes to see Sarah and Kevin in the pool together, talking quietly. They then both climbed out and Kevin went inside. Sarah crouched down by Alan's side.

"We'll be inside for a while, Babe—Kevin said it's time for our siesta!" She winked and then kissed his cheek. "—Don't get burned," she added as she walked into the villa through the patio doors.

The Bishop's bedroom was above Alan's, overlooking the pool, and the balcony doors were open, so a little while after Sarah left, Alan heard the unmistakable sounds of them enjoying their siesta. This turned out to be a daily event while Alan was there: and some days there was more than one siesta.

But that first day Sarah returned to the pool, touched Alan's shoulder, then dived into the cool water. After swimming several of the short lengths, she stood up in the water and smiled at Alan.

"Kevin's taking a quick shower; he said he'll bring you a beer on his way back. Are you okay, Honey?"

"Yes thanks! Good siesta?"

Sarah flashed him a beautiful smile, her green eyes sparkled and looked like emeralds set into her now-chocolate-coloured skin. She even looked a little coy, Alan thought.

"Mmm—I didn't really need it, but it makes Kevin happy. We'll eat in a couple of hours, nothing too heavy, then we can think about going into town. Do you need any more sunblock?"

"No thanks, I'm going inside in a little while."

"—Well—if you're okay—"

"—Here you go, Mate!" Kevin said, handing Alan a cold beer and then sitting on the lounger.

Alan stood under the shower, washing the residue of the slightly oily sunblock from his skin. The air outside was still hot, but a breeze from the sea was blowing straight into his room. Sarah was still outside, so after drying himself, he picked up one of his books and lay on his bed reading. When the bronzed beauty eventually climbed out of the pool for the last time, she walked into Alan's room and stood by the bed.

"I'm going to have a quick shower, then I'll start the meal. It will be something light: it's too hot to eat really, but there's always fruit and other stuff in the fridge if you're peckish."

"I'm sure whatever you do will be fine! Sarah, as I'm only here for a relatively short time, would you mind if I wandered off somewhere tomorrow; the pool's great, but I usually like to see a few of the sights and take in the local culture while I'm away."

"No, of course not, Sweetie! I just hope that you don't feel uncomfort­able being around Kevin and me all the time. When we asked you to come, we didn't really think about what we'd do when you were here; we just thought it would be nice to spend some time with you. The main town isn't that far away, it's where we're going later, and I think you can hire scooters."

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly happy with being here with you both; it's just something that I think I'd like to do. I suppose it's my job: writers tend to be curious about everything, it's where we get our ideas from. I don't even know where I want to go, or what I'll do when I get there."

Alan went back to his book and less than forty minutes later, he heard Sarah call out: "Ten minutes, Alan!" He put his book down, got off the bed and went to a drawer and took out fresh underwear which he put on, together with a pair of cargo shorts. Kevin was sitting at the counter that separated the kitchen and the living room, wearing just shorts, but Sarah had on shorts and a vest top. They were all highly sociable people, so the meal was another round of jokes and anecdotes about Alan's and Kevin's boyhood and adolescence and their transition into manhood. Sarah had lost her virginity in her teens and she thought that her life had been pretty racy, but compared to her husband and his equally handsome friend, she was almost a nun! For Alan and Kevin and their friends, sex had been almost like a team sport, as opposed to an intimate act between two people, and she knew that if she'd been one of their many holiday pick-ups—well, it would have probably been a wild ride! She recognised her Kevin's still prevalent sexual attitudes in those of the horny young men that she was hearing about; but her lovely friend now seemed to bear little resemblance to that which he once was—and Sarah was glad about that; she much preferred what he had evolved into.

At about eight-thirty they locked up the villa and walked into town, with Sarah holding Kevin's hand. Alan was on her other side, but mainly talking to Kevin as they walked. The husband and wife had made this journey every night since they'd been there, so they made their way straight to what was now their favourite bar, where they stayed quite late before retracing their steps. Alan said that he intended to get up and go out quite early, before it got too hot, so he might not see them until he returned in the afternoon.

The Second Day

It was about six o'clock in the morning when Sarah slid under the sheet next to Alan—she wasn't there for sex, just a friendly cuddle, which she didn't consider to be disloyalty to her husband. It hadn't been prear­ranged, but as on other occa­sions, Alan opened his arm to allow her to snuggle up against him.

"You didn't think you were going to come all this way and not get a cuddle, did you! Kevin always gets up for work on time, but on holiday he doesn't wake up until I've got his breakfast—and that's hours yet. I really wanted to come with you today, Honey, but I didn't know how to ask Kevin; he probably wouldn't have minded, but it didn't seem fair to leave him here on his own," Sarah whispered.

"Quite right! I've got my little camera with me, so I'll tell you what I did when I get back. Now let's get a couple of more hours sleep." Sarah kissed his cheek and closed her eyes. Alan later roused her, gently, from her slumbers.

"I think it's time you went back to your own bed." Sarah opened her eyes and smiled.

"Do you want me to get you anything to eat before you go?"

"No thanks—I'll shower then get a coffee and grab some fruit. I'm not sure when I'll be back, will you be here all day?"

"—Mmm—not sure! I suppose we might go to the beach today and I think there's only one key. But if we do, I'll try and make sure we get back by this afternoon." Sarah got out of bed, stood up and stretched.

"See you later, Sweetie! Have fun!"

Alan watched her go then walked into his shower. After drying himself and dressing, he had a coffee and some fruit, as he said he would, then he picked up his money, his hat and his sunglasses and strode out into the early morning air. In the town he found the motor scooter hire place that Sarah had told him about. It had been a few years since he'd ridden one, but it soon came back to him, and after talking to the guy who ran the place, he set off in his chosen direction.

It was about 6:20 in the evening when Alan walked up the drive. He couldn't get to the pool area at the back of the villa and he didn't want to call out, so he rang the door bell and waited. After a couple of minutes he rang again and this time he heard footsteps. Sarah smiled at him as she opened the door.

"Hiya! Kevin's upstairs, showering," Sarah said, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I was just about to start the meal, but we were going to wait to see if you got back. Have you eaten?"

"I had something earlier, but I can always find a space for some more."

"Are you going to sit and talk to me while I get it, Honey?"

"Well, I was going to get into the shower myself, but that shouldn't take long."

"And did you do and see what you wanted to?" Sarah asked him.

"—Hmm—not exactly! But let's wait until Kevin comes down, then I can tell you both, rather than repeat myself." Sarah smiled, then said, cheekily:

"You haven't been doing something naughty, have you, Babe?" He returned the smile.

"Well, you're the expert in that area, I'll let you decide that!"

The food was waiting on the counter when Alan came out of his room, having showered and put on fresh clothes. Kevin was sitting on one side of the counter and Sarah opposite him, so Alan sat next to Kevin.

"All right, Al—d'you have a good day on your own?"

"Not bad—but as it happens, I wasn't on my own for most of it." Kevin grinned, but Sarah looked kind of surprised.

"So—who was she, Lad?" Kevin asked. Alan quickly looked across at Sarah: she was chewing on her bottom lip again and looking at him.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning, then," he said.

"When I left here I went to the scooter hire place. I chatted to the owner and told him that I was looking for something that he thought was representative of the local area and he pointed me in the general direction. Well, to be honest, it's all quite scenic, but I never really saw anything that leapt out at me and grabbed my attention, so I just kept riding around the coast road. So, after about twenty kilometres, maybe twenty-five, I stopped in a small parking area that apparently led to a beach. I was standing there admiring the view and appreciating the sea breeze, when a car pulled up near me with a woman and two little kids in it: a boy and a girl, both quite young. The kids were keen to get onto the beach and the woman was unloading all this stuff she brought with her, and I could tell from the kiddies voices that they were British, so I said: 'Excuse me, I can see you've got your hands full; can I give you a hand with something?'

"'That would be really appreciated!' she said, 'My name's Lucy, by the way, Lucy Gilmore; and these little monsters are Tom and Jodie!' 'And I'm Alan', I said.

"So we got all the stuff down to the beach and Lucy laid a big blanket on the sand. 'Have you got to rush off somewhere?' she said, 'I wouldn't mind some adult company.' 'No, nowhere to go, ' I said, 'But I haven't come prepared for the beach.' 'Oh, that's not a problem, ' she said, 'we come here most days, and there are lots of other naturists. But if it bothers you, keep your shorts on.' 'No, I'm cool with nudity, but I wasn't sure about you and the kids.' 'No, they love it, and me and their dad think it's a healthy attitude to have and we usually walk around like it whenever we can; but you know what British weather is like!'

"So Lucy helped her kids off with their clothes, and I can see that they're used to it, and then Lucy undressed, too: she had a bikini on, but that soon came off as well. She had a nice body, a bit fuller-figured than you, Sarah, but I expect that's from having two kids. They were all nice and brown, so they didn't worry too much about sunblock, but Lucy rubbed some on my back, like you do.

"Lucy and I sat down to chat, while the kids are playing not far away. 'How old are Tom and Jodie?' I asked her. 'Tom's nearly five and Jodie is eleven months younger: they weren't meant to be that close together, but Clive, that's my husband, is in the forces, and let's just say we make the most of the time we spend together when he's home! That's why he's not her now.' 'I'm sorry, that must be hard!' I said. 'Yes, it can be, ' Lucy said, 'but he was already in when we married and I went into it with my eyes open, so I can't complain—I suppose the test will be when his initial twelve years is up: I'd like him to quit, but he isn't really sure what else he could do, so we'll have to wait and see.'

"Just then one of the kids said: 'Mummy, can we go in the sea now?' Lucy said: 'Okay! Coming in, Alan?' So the kids took their mum's hand and I followed on. They were really too little to swim, so we all just paddled around and played until they'd had enough. While we were in the water, I got the distinct impression that Lucy was perhaps more interested in playing with me than her kids, but I didn't encourage her. As we were walking back up the beach, the little girl's hand clutched mine and Tom held Lucy's, and Lucy's free hand kept brushing up against me."

All the time that Alan was telling his story, he was glancing over at Sarah. She was still working her lip.

"Fancy another beer, Kev?" Alan said.

"Sure—but you sit tight, I'll get them."

While Kevin went to the refrigerator, Alan looked at Sarah and mouthed the words: "Are you okay?" She smiled, weakly and nodded. Kevin handed him the beer.

"So what happened next, Mate—Mummy's obviously taken a fancy to you?"

"Well, let me say first that she was a nice woman and quite attractive, but I don't mess around with married women." He looked at Sarah and smiled, briefly.

"We all sat around on the blanket and the kids were being really nice and chatty, and Lucy had brought lots of food, which we shared. Lucy was being very attentive towards me, but Tom and Jodie were never far away, so apart from sitting very provocatively for a married woman, which the kids wouldn't have picked up on, it was otherwise all quite innocent. We talked about home and I made sure that I told her that I was only here for a few days and staying with friends. However, eventually it was time for them to leave, so we all got dressed and carried everything back to the car. As they were getting ready to go, with the kids already settled, Lucy made her move. She said, quite quietly: 'If you like, you can follow us back and stay for supper. The kids are usually in bed by eight, then we can have some private time together.' I got the feeling that she wasn't someone who usually did this sort of thing; that she was probably just looking for someone to make a fuss of her, so I said: 'Thank you, but I don't think that's a good idea! I've enjoyed spending time with you and your family and I hope I haven't given you the wrong idea, but it's better that we go our separate ways with pleasant memories!' 'So you won't be back here again, then?' Lucy said. 'No, I don't think so, ' I replied. Then I waved goodbye to Tom and Jodie, smiled at Lucy and rode back to return the scooter.'"

"Oh, Man!" Kevin said, "If that was me and I wasn't married, I would have been in there!" Sarah gave him such a filthy look, but Kevin didn't seem to notice.

"Here, I'll help you clear up," Alan said to Sarah. Kevin went upstairs to do something and Alan stood beside her and squeezed her hand, which made her smile.

"So, was I naughty?"

"No, you weren't naughty, you were just very nice, as usual!"

"And you do know that wasn't the only reason why I didn't go back with her." Sarah smiled again and nodded.

As they all walked down to the town that evening, Sarah and Kevin held hands again, but her free hand held Alan's arm. They had another nice, boozy evening before returning to the villa.

When they went to bed that night, Kevin undressed Sarah and despite being slightly drunk, which never seemed to affect his sexual performance, he brought her to an orgasm with his mouth, before entering her and bringing her to climax twice more. At the time Sarah was lost to the moment, but afterwards as she lay in his arms in a state of post-coital bliss, she wondered if Alan was asleep, or whether he had heard their love-making; maybe he had even lain awake and mastur­bated, as he imagined what was going on a few feet above him.