Jeff introduced us, "Alex, this is Sarah Fellows, Natalie's friend." She smiled and shook hands. We knew of each other, but had never met. My parents sponsored a college reunion every so often at an isolated small lake in New Hampshire. A place that is heaven for a few short weeks every summer, after the mosquitos are gone and before the first frost.
My sister, Natalie, who is Jeff's girlfriend, came up behind and invited everyone to sit. She took refreshment orders, which split between iced tea and gin and tonic. Before the weekend was out, a dozen or so parental classmates would materialize, talk incessantly, get drunk, have sex - not necessarily with their regular partners - and pretend to relive the good old days from college.
Offspring who were currently in college were invited to be paid staff, and some came.
My invitation was a bit unusual because I was headed to MIT in the fall, so not yet actually in college. But my dad insisted that my command of the cabin plumbing made me essential to a successful event.
"Alex," he said, "any more of last year's disasters and no one will come again. I have guaranteed everyone that the plumbing will work perfectly. I am trading you an atrocious tuition check in the fall for your attention now to the miserable pipes and fixtures at the family cabin."
I smiled when my dad said that, sensing his fear that a catastrophe like last year's overflow of the septic tank might occur again.
Sarah sat next to me and said, "It's wonderful that you were admitted to MIT. They will work your socks off, but it will be worth it."
I wondered how to respond to this platitude. Perhaps a change of subject.
"Natalie tells me you are plunging straight into your PhD work. No rest for the weary?"
She put her hand on top of mine, short nails drawing lines. "You'll laugh at this, Alex, but halfway through med school, I knew a PhD in Microbiology is what I wanted. But my mom is so set on her only daughter having an M.D. to match her own that I had no option but to finish."
I stilled Sarah's fingers and kissed the tips as her eyes widened. "So, if I hit my head in a drunken fall, you will fix me?"
She edged closer, "Natalie says you and I are to pretend we are partnered at this event. The other guests are uncomfortable with singles around. If you hit your head, I could care for you."
"She is just trying to cover over the fact that her brother doesn't have a current friend of the opposite sex."
Sarah's grip on my hand led me away from the group into a grove of trees with sunlight landing here and there. Catcalls followed us.
Obscured by a large tree trunk, she pressed against my front and asked, "What if one or both of us prefers a same sex partner?"
I answered with a kiss that lasted. "What if one or both of us is aggressively bisexual?"
She found a soft and dry patch of grass and sank down, maneuvering me so her head rested on my thigh. "Would that be a problem for you, if a girl had girl partners in bed?"
"Kiss me again while I think about that."
A while later, I said, "I wouldn't mind if I got to romance the other girl too."
"What about your twin brother and me?"
She had very large gray green eyes that were laughing.
"What if you and I didn't have to pretend we were partners?"
"My mom ordered me to accept Jeff's invitation and enjoy myself."
"So I'm supposed to ask if fooling around with me meets the enjoyment test?"
She nestled tighter. "No more teasing."
We lay there quietly for a few minutes before she said, "This might work."
I thought to myself that I probably did not need to inquire what might work. The female body which was now lying across me would allow discovery sooner or later.
She licked my fingers and asked, "There is going to be public sex, isn't there? Middle aged drunken sex?"
"Are we into orgies?"
The kiss was longer and she felt me hardening under her. "I don't do drunk very well. Throw up early and often."
"There is plenty of room here for private loving. Do you like your sex hard or soft? Doesn't have to include booze."
Her head was down but her hips were flexing into me. "There must be something in the air. I've never agreed to sex with a guy like this before."
"Do you suppose the women in this group have made the rounds of all the men?"
"Are you trying to make me hornier than I already am?"
"I'm worried about sharing you. My male impulses have kicked in."
Her body was shaking on my chest with laughter. "This is fun. You are making me forget all about school."
A voice said, "Oh look, we've found them. She is following my advice about partnering."
Natalie and Jeff flopped down next to us. He said, "Natalie, stop being so domineering. Sarah can make up her own mind about Alex." He smiled a very shit eating grin as his arms corralled his longtime girlfriend.
Sarah said, "Natalie, he wants to know whether I like girls too, and whether we are going to have public sex with the other drunks."
"Isn't that pretty advanced for the first hour you have known him? I don't even let Jeff do me in public here and we've been an item for a long time."
"It's all your fault, girlfriend. You told me I needed to restart my sex life."
Jeff got up. "Let's go for a swim before the crowd arrives."
A few hundred yards later, we were on the bank of a stream that had been damned to create a pool. Looked very nice. Jeff and Natalie were bare and in the water in moments, leaving Sarah looking at me and laughing, "Here we go, partner."
Underneath all that IQ was a fabulous body. I didn't get much look at it before she plunged in, but what I saw was terrific.
After five minutes of paddling and teasing, we had company. And then more company. Everyone skinny and looking pretty good for being twenty years out of school. In very short order, the women had gathered into a chattering group, and the men were on the other side of the pond. Jeff made some introductions, and there was pleasant guy type conversation about sports and offspring and how nice it was to be back at the New Hampshire cabin. Much fun was had with my designation as the party "plumber."
We noticed Natalie and Sarah climbing the bank and made our excuses for leaving. The women looked at our shriveled up state and said, "We are safe for the time being."
As we trudged up to the house, Dad appeared on schedule and said, "Alex, a plugged toilet already. I have posted bold face instructions about nothing but pee and number 2 in the bowl, but it is clogged anyway."
