The Sanctuary

The girls followed as I made my way downstairs and through the kitchen, out the French doors, and around the pool to the large, detached structure I’d notice last night during our swim. I found the slider door unlocked and ushered the girls inside, closing and locking it behind us.

The spacious pool house comprised a single, large room that had been divided into smaller functional spaces. To the left, a small kitchenette with a round breakfast table and a bathroom. A large, u-shaped sectional and coffee table in the center of the room faced a paneled wall, above which hung a large flat screen television, and to the right of that sat a Peloton and treadmill, along with a small rack of dumbbells and a space for practicing yoga. A set of narrow stairs on the far wall led to an open loft that functioned as a sleeping area, complete with a bed and dresser.

“It’s perfect,” I said under my breath.

Even better than I’d hoped. I directed the girls to take a seat on the sectional while I closed the vertical blinds over the slider. Then I stood before them in front of the television.

“We can use this as our sanctuary,” I said. “It’s got everything we need and should hopefully give us some privacy. Plus, it’s right next to the pool, so we can cool off in case things get a little too hot and sweaty in here.”

“Oh, there’s air conditioning in here. The thermostat’s over there,” Ashley said, pointing toward the kitchen. Courtney and Kayla giggled, and I gave Ashley a grateful nod.

“Awesome. Thank you. Now, before we begin, we need to go over a few things, okay? First thing’s first. Clay can never, ever find out about this. He’s wildly overprotective, apparently, and I don’t want to have to deal with that shit, so can we all agree on that?”

“My mom would kill you too,” Courtney said with a laugh, but I shot her a look and she quieted.

Ashley looked like she might be about to say something, but when I looked at her, she shook her head, so I let it go. They all voiced their agreement.

“Okay, good,” I said. “Now look, you guys have asked me to do something that’s incredibly intimate, so I need to make sure you’re all comfortable with how this is going to work and that you’re willing to do it. I’ll go over everything with you now, but if, for whatever reason, you’re not comfortable with something, then I don’t think we’re going to be able to do this. Do you understand?”

“What do you mean?” Ashley asked, concerned.

“What I mean is, all of this is conditional on your full participation. If you aren’t willing to commit, then there’s no point moving forward.”

“Okay...” she said.

“Let me continue, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The very first thing is that you’re going to need to be comfortable being naked in front of me and each other.”

Brittney blanched and even the others looked a little uncomfortable. I held out my hand and continued. “Let’s just get this out there. We’re going to be having sex, and I don’t want to have to do everything four times, so you’re going to have to learn by watching each other. If any of you has an issue with nudity then there’s really no point in discussing this further.”

Brittney moved her head from side to side and crossed her arms over her stomach. I directed my next comment to her.

“I’d like you to trust me if you can. This is going to be a safe place and I won’t allow any judgments or criticisms here. Also, if you recall, we were in the pool together last night and, for what it’s worth, I think you look fantastic naked. So, do you think you might be able to trust me?”

Brittney thought a moment and nodded grudgingly.

“Good. Now there’s a couple of other things I want you all to know. First, nothing will happen here without your explicit approval. You guys asked me to teach you about sex, so I’m going to have to touch you from time to time, especially on parts of your body that you consider private. I’ll always ask you first, and if you don’t feel comfortable then let me know. In fact, if anything I propose makes you uncomfortable, then speak up. And if, for any reason, you feel the need to leave, I want you to do so immediately and without hesitation.”

“Um, should we be worried?” Courtney asked, half-joking.

“No, of course not. I just want you to understand that you’re absolutely and totally in control of what happens from here on out. I’m only here to service you and to help you. Do you all agree?”

They considered my response and nodded their ascent.

“What’s the second thing?” Ashley asked.

“The second thing is also the most important. Anything and everything we discuss or do here, no matter what it is, has to remain here between just us. At times, you might feel the desire to say something to me or open up about something, which is fine. That’s a normal part of sex and intimacy. And it’s also fine if you decide you want to keep it to yourself, but I don’t want anyone to hesitate because they’re worried that me or someone else is going to run off and say something to someone else.

“This must remain an extremely safe place. Absolutely inviolate. I cannot stress that enough. I have a fanatical devotion to discretion, okay? I never discuss anything with anyone. Ever. You’ll come to learn that about me over time,” I assured them, and Courtney flashed me a grateful smile. “All I ask is that you afford me and your friends the same respect.

“The most important thing to know is that there is only you and me here. This is your sanctuary – the temple where you will worship at the altar of sexual pleasure and gratification and learn to love everything about yourselves and your bodies. I’m simply your guide. Does that sound like something you’d all like for yourselves?”

They’d all been listening attentively. One by one, they nodded and said yes.

“Good. In that case, I want you all to please repeat the following: I’m comfortable being naked in front of you and recognize that it’s a necessary part of this experience.”

The girls looked at me funny. I beckoned with my hand, encouraging them to speak.

“What?” Kayla asked.

“I need to hear you say this or else we won’t be able to continue. Now, please: I’m comfortable being naked in front of you and recognize that it’s a necessary part of this experience.”

After a moment’s hesitation, they spoke in a discordant echo of voices to repeat what I’d said.

“Very good. And I will remain in complete and total control at all times and will never discuss anything that’s done or said within this sanctuary.”

When they’d repeated it, I nodded. “Wonderful. How do you guys feel?”

“Very, very nervous,” Brittney admitted, and her friends laughed with her.

“I get it. I’m kind of nervous too,” I admitted. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“What happens now?” Kayla asked, echoing her question from the previous night.

“Whatever you want to happen. Or, if you prefer, I can take the lead. It’s totally up to you.”

“I wish I had more weed,” Courtney mused, and the other girls nodded their agreement. Their anxiety was palpable.

“I’m pretty sure my mom’s got some stashed in the den,” Ashley offered. “I can go get it, if everybody wants some.”

There was eager agreement that this was an excellent idea, and Ashley disappeared out the slider. While we waited, I kept the girls busy figuring out how to work the stereo so we could have some music playing to break up the awkward silences I anticipated would be plentiful.

Ashley returned a few minutes later, huffing and puffing, with a small, wooden box in her hand. She kneeled in front of the coffee table to open it. Inside were a glass pipe, a grinder, and a bag of marijuana.

“Score!” Courtney said.

The girls packed the pipe and then sat around the sectional to pass it around. I declined, still feeling the aftereffects of the previous night’s coke binge. When the first bowl burned to ashes, they packed and smoked a second. The room reeked of skunky Kush, but the girls appeared much more relaxed.

“I know what I want,” Courtney said when she’d finished tapping out the pipe, her words coming in a large billow of white smoke. “I want you to take off your clothes so we can see that big dick of yours.”

She sank backwards into the plush cushions and lightly tapped her fingers on her exposed belly. The other girls voiced their approval and then all eyes were on me.

She hadn’t been kidding. She really did become a lot more forward when she got high. I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my shirt. Then I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down, stepping out of them and kicking them to the side. I stood before them, completely naked.

Courtney’s lips lifted into a smile, and she subconsciously opened and closed her legs. The other three quieted down as well, to stare at me with wide, curious eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest.

“You know what I want?” I asked, directing my question to Courtney.

“What’s that?” she asked, smirking.

“To fuck your tight little pussy and make you cum.” She gasped and watched my cock swell to its full size, lifting until it stood straight out. “Why don’t you take your clothes off?”

She eyed me wolfishly, then glanced at her friends who’d been staring at my growing erection but now turned to look at her.

“If you want,” I added.

I strode to the switch panel and turned off all the lights in the pool house. The room became dim, but not dark. Dappled sunlight still filtered through the small dormer windows in the ceiling, but the atmosphere had become far more intimate.

I resumed my place in front of the television, but Courtney still hadn’t moved from her spot on the couch. The pot had made her a little bolder but hadn’t completely knocked down her wall of inhibitions. Kissing a strange man and talking dirty was one thing but disrobing in front of your friends was something else entirely. Especially when you were the only one.

“Maybe we’ll save that for later,” I said, letting her off the hook for now, and her relieved face expressed her gratitude. Her reaction had given me an idea, though.

“I want to share a little bit of wisdom with you guys that I think will help a lot as you undertake this journey. Why don’t you all get comfy. Go ahead. Lay back. Kick up your feet. Good.”

I thought for a second about what I wanted to say, then cleared my throat to begin.

“Inhibitions are tough. They only exist in our minds, but their effects are as real as anything. They act as a check on our impulses. When they’re keeping us alive, like our inhibition to get into a van with a murderous psychopath on a dark, deserted road, they’re a good thing. But that’s not how we usually experience inhibitions in our day to day lives.

“We all want certain things, but a lot of the time we’re too afraid to pursue them because our inhibitions hold us back. And that sucks because all we have to do is recognize that what’s holding us back isn’t real, even if it feels real. It not some life-saving imperative that keeps us from going after the things we want most. More often than not, our inhibitions are just irrational fears that paralyze us and prevent us from realizing our dreams.

“I want us to play a game. It’s a simple game, and the only way to lose is to not play. We’re going to go around the room, and each of us is going to stand up and say what their least favorite part of their body is and why. Then the rest of us are going to tell you why you’re wrong. I’ll start.”

I grabbed the small amount of flab around my lower stomach. “No matter how much I work out, no matter how strict my diet, I can never seem to get rid of this lower belly of mine. I can see my upper abs, but I don’t think I’ll ever have a six pack unless I literally starve myself. I hate the way it looks when I sit down and how it hangs over my waistband and when I look in the mirror and see it, it always makes me feel fat.”

The girls sat silently for a while, then Brittney huffed.

“Are you kidding?” she asked, incredulous. She received murmurs of support and agreement from the others.

“What do you mean?” I asked, not understanding her irritation.

“Your stomach is flat! You’re like, buff and shit!”

I pinched my belly and shook it at her. “What do you think this is? Muscle? No, it’s fat. I’m telling you, it’s there and it’s real.”