(A story based on facts, as they say, with names and locations changed to protect the guilty)
It was an impressive country estate, twenty-some acres with an expansive board fence around much of it to keep the horses in. A long gravel driveway led through woods and pasture to a large stone house with vaulted ceilings and exposed wooden beams that could be the set for a BBC drama.
Instead it was the center of a religious camp meeting, and impressed as Kyle was by the setting, he was asking himself what the hell he was doing there.
Dave, a friend, had recently become absorbed with an obscure middle eastern religion that apparently had adherents in high places, and they had opened their estate to missionary efforts designed to increase the numbers of the faithful. Doing his bit for the cause, Dave had invited several friends, including Kyle and his girlfriend Lindsay to a weekend of camping, music, social interaction, barbecue and hours of boring religious indoctrination.
Kyle and Lindsay arrived early Friday afternoon and found a nice spot by a small stream to set up their small cabin tent. They joined Dave walking around a series of exhibits with religious displays, pictures and literature handed out by gurus who seemed tuned in to ultimate truth on a higher spiritual plane. Most members of the order were dressed in normal casual wear, although some were decked out in saffron robes and gold colored necklaces and amulets. There were some decent flute players and tambourine shakers, but nothing to attract agents looking for the next Springsteen.
The tour led into the impressive house, where Dave introduced Lindsay and Kyle to its owners, a pleasant middle-aged couple who had serene smiles painted on their faces, and then to another of his friends, Paul, who he had known from college. Paul was rather quiet, not contributing much to the conversation. Already converted perhaps?
They all attended a lecture by one of the high preachers of the order, whose resonate voice and elaborate hand gestures failed to draw Kyle into appreciation of the doctrine being espoused. Instead, his eyes rolled and wandered around the large room serving as lecture hall, taking in its exposed beams, drapes, overstuffed leather chairs and sofas and sculpted walnut tables. The magnificence was cheapened, he mused, by rows of cheap metal chairs squeezed in to accommodate the audience.
More propaganda talks followed an evening barbecue on the stone patio. Kyle tried but failed to understand the attraction this sect had for Dave. His friend had enjoyed a rather wild and libertine lifestyle in college -- lots of booze and women. Perhaps Dave was looking for more in life as he got older, or maybe just for "more" from an attractive blonde adherent of the order who had introduced him to it. Anyway, by the time the evening schedule had been completed, Kyle was thinking he had made a serious mistake in accepting this invitation, and was wasting a weekend.
He expressed that foreboding to Lindsay and silent Paul around a campfire singalong featuring religious themes in Persian folk music. As Dave mouthed verses in harmony with the faithful, Paul revealed he was not a convert, admitting he had similar reservations about the doctrine, but added that he questioned most other doctrines as well. He was just taking in the atmosphere, he said. Lindsay nodded.
"Look upon it as an introduction into a different culture," she said. "Talk to a few people of the different persuasion. You may not convert, but you might learn a few things and have an interesting experience." Kyle's tall, dark haired, shapely girlfriend with the deep brown eyes was an open minded sort, and he had learned a lot from her, both intellectual and sensual. Paul was also looking at Lindsay with a serious expression, appraising her words, or maybe appraising her.
Soon, even the open-minded had enough, and they returned to the camping area. Night had set in, and Kyle held a light while Paul set up his small dome tent a short distance away, then started a fire. The three of them sat around it for a while. As earlier, Paul was not a great conversationalist, although when he did say something it was interesting. He had been deployed with the armed forces in the Middle East, and been involved in some traumatic situations, which he was reluctant to go into detail on. Now discharged, he was readjusting to civilian life, trying to figure out what to do, he told them. Lindsay looked sympathetic
Not too far away was a large cabin tent. Three males and a female of college age were milling about, throwing wood into a ring for a campfire. The girl was good looking, medium length blonde hair, blue eyes, nice body which showed off well in shorts and tight blouse. She seemed high spirited, and from what Kyle could hear, had a vocabulary that did not seem in line with staid religious doctrine.
Next morning, Kyle and Lindsay invited Paul to ride with them to a nearby cafe for breakfast. They were in a booth when a young woman approached, and asked if she could join them. Kyle recognized her as the one at the neighboring tent. She sat down on Paul's side.
"I saw you out at the mansion," she stated. "Thought we should get acquainted. I'm Joy."
After full introductions were completed, Kyle warned Joy, "We're just visiting here at the invitation of a friend. We're apostates, except maybe for Lindsay, who hasn't decided yet if this particular god is dead, or only has a bad flu."
Joy smiled. "I kind of figured that. You guys didn't look to me like you were chanting or going hallelujah at those boring talks last night."
"So you're not one of the faithful either," Kyle said, returning the smile.
"No, in fact I'm really bummed," she said. "One of my classmates at State invited me. He said he and two other guys were going to a group camp-out, and they really wanted me to join them. He was so intense, I thought it was gonna be a love-in or something."
Lindsay snickered. "Bunking in a tent with three guys -- that could sound like an invitation to something other than a religious revival."
"Yeah, I thought I might have difficulty walking by the time I got back, but all they've been doing is trying to save my soul. They have their noses in the scriptures rather than around my pussy. I can't interest any of them in taking a sniff."
Kyle felt a stirring in his groin. "What is wrong with the male congregation around here," he asked rhetorically. "Well, maybe you'll just have to convert."
"No way. I can't get interested. I like to fuck too much." Joy said it with a smile, but also as a simple statement of fact, no humor intended. "If anything, I'm going to convert some of the guys around here to my philosophy -- sex is a higher calling than any religion; fucking is the closest we're ever going to get to divine love."
Kyle's eyes bugged out, as he smiled broadly at this girl's candor, also feeling more of a stir between his legs. Through the corner of his eye he saw Lindsay put a hand to her mouth, her eyes wrinkling in amusement. Paul's expression was placid, with no noticeable change. He took a drink of his coffee.
Conversation continued, the subject matter just as provocative. Joy was voluble and animated, talking about places she had been and guys she had been there with. One detailed account was of a sailing trip with a boyfriend, during which she had sex with the captain and one of the crew as well.
Kyle was curious if this nymph was really hot to trot or just all talk. It would be a shame not to find out, he decided, as she looked delicious.
He and Lindsay had an "open" relationship. In the three years they had been living together, they had not gone actively looking for new people to spice things up, but did take the bait a couple of times when someone cast a line in their direction. Nor did either of them try to dissuade the other from netting an interesting catch.
Back at camp, as they prepared to endure the day's spiritual propaganda, Kyle told Lindsay of his attraction to Joy.
"I got that vibe from you," Lindsay said, taking his arm. "But maybe you should check with Paul before you start out hunting. He's here all alone, and my intuition tells me the poor guy is lonely. He might be able to use a pick-me-up, and after all you already have such recourse if you need it." She batted her eyes.
She was right, although Kyle really preferred to seek his own enlightenment with Joy, and did not feel overly altruistic when he went to Paul's tent, just mentioning offhand that the girl might be a nice choice to brighten up the weekend.
Fortunately, Paul was not greatly interested in Joy. "She came on to me at the restaurant when you went to pay the bill, and I told her I'd think about it, but frankly, she's like the B-girls around the base, not out for anything more than money and a stiff dick. Nothing against sex, but I'm trying to find a woman with more than just hormones -- one with some depth and substance."
Kyle reported that conversation to Lindsay. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then said lightly, "Go ahead and try to scratch your itch. I'm cool to hang with Dave and Paul at today's agenda."
They walked over to the proceedings. Kyle told Lindsay he was going to scout around "for something interesting," and she smiled knowingly. He soon spotted Joy at a lecture. Her companions, the three guys, were listening attentively to the speaker. Joy looked completely bored. He walked over and took an empty chair next to her.
"I've been thinking about what you said during breakfast about your philosophical convictions. If you're bored, maybe we can find something more stimulating around here," he whispered, with a suggestive smile.
"I think we should," she responded with a coy look, and rising from her chair, told her friends, "I'm going with this potential convert to see if I can develop his inspiration into something solid." They looked a little confused, but smiled their blessing and uttered some Persian phrase for "see you later," before renewing their concentration on the lecture.
"It may be a challenge converting those guys to your ecclesiastical views," Kyle said, as they walked away.
"Lost cause," Joy agreed. "But this weekend may turn out good after all. I may not get three guys at once to play with, but maybe it's not a total loss. So, tell me, what do you have in mind and where do you want to do it?" she asked with a grin, taking my arm.
"I think you should take the lead in this endeavor. I'm open to any guidance. As for location, we could strip to our souls and start in my tent near the stream of living water."
"Oh, I'm getting wet just thinking about it," she responded, skipping a little, her loose blouse bouncing a little in the strategic location. We picked up our pace.
