It was spring and I was visiting Sydney to see one of my favourite bands. I loved them so much I had to go see them every time they toured. Three or four times was enough for my wife and so after that I had to find other friends to go with. This time no one was able to go with me and I ended up going by myself. Not such a big deal when you're loaded and losing yourself in dense aural layers. I always got talking to someone in the crowd and this time was no different.
I had arranged to stay with my wife's sister Susie in her Potts Point apartment. I could walk back after the gig which meant I could have a few beers, smoke some weed and enjoy myself. Susie lived with her partner Tom, which was the downside of the whole arrangement. I'd never clicked with Tom. Our conversations were always awkward, and ultimately designed to get both of us out the other end with minimal investment. There was little we actually could talk about because Tom didn't like music, which I simply could not respect, he was in "real estate" which I frankly didn't give a damn about, and he loved cricket, which in my opinion was the world's worst sport. We hadn't managed to find anything to connect over, and both of us had frankly stopped trying. It was actually good that I was arriving late and I planned to hang around for the minimum amount of time the next morning before heading back home.
I arrived rather later than I'd said I would and buzzed the apartment rather sheepishly, sure that I'd be waking someone up. I could just imagine Tom getting out of bed with a scowl and I grimaced while I waited for his acerbic greeting. Thankfully it was Susie who answered. "Hey Martin," she said and buzzed me into the building without waiting for a reply.
I walked up the three flights of stairs to the flat and found the door open, resting on its latch. I pushed the heavy door and entered the hallway, closing it quietly behind me. I walked towards the warm light emanating from the living room at the other end.
When I emerged into the light Susie was reclined on the couch in her dressing gown. She looked up and smiled. "Hi there," she said.
"I kept you up, I'm sorry Susie," I said.
"No, that's fine," she said. "I was just reading."
She stood up and came over to hug me hello, kissing me on the lips the way she usually did and giving me a squeeze. It was something I secretly liked about Susie. Her lips were soft and sweet and it felt almost illicit to be kissing them. Her ample boobs pressed against my chest as she squeezed me and she smelled fresh from a recent shower, which made me extra conscious of how I must be smelling after spending the evening where I did.
"Tom's gone to bed. He's a bit sick," she said, turning and picking up a half-empty glass of red wine from the coffee table. I couldn't help but notice her shapely arse as she bent over. The dressing gown, tied at the waist, hugged her form in just the right way to accentuate her figure. "Do you want a glass?" she asked.
I was still buzzing from the weed but I had nothing particular on the next day. "Why not," I said sitting down on the couch. She went to the kitchen and retrieved another glass, and I stole another look at her backside as she went. I did appreciate the way she rolled her hips as she walked. A moment later she returned and poured me a generous quantity of red, handing the glass over before flopping onto the other end of the couch with a sigh. She was still a bit damp from her shower, I noticed, which gave her a shimmery glow. Or maybe that was just the weed.
"How was your day?" I asked, sensing that something was on her mind.
"Oh alright," she said, and then shook her head as if internally correcting herself. "Well actually, a bit shit. Work was gruelling and Tom and I had a bit of an argument."
"That sucks," I said, not knowing what else to say. "All the more reason for a glass of wine." I could see that most of the bottle was already gone.
"Yep," she said and took a sizeable gulp from her glass. "So how was the band?"
"Amazing, as ever," I replied. "They kept us waiting though, which is why it finished so late."
"Don't you just hate that? So how you going with my sister anyway?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're good," I said. "Sam's got so much on these days, we haven't been out for ages. But she's taking a break soon and we're thinking about taking a holiday."
"Yeah, where to?" she asked.
"Fiji or something. Somewhere warm."
"You've been together for, what, two years now?"
"Yeah it's crazy."
There was a slight pause in the conversation as Susie shifted mode from small talk to deep and meaningful.
"So, ah, how open are you guys with each other? Do you tell each other about your inner secrets and desires? Even when they might be challenging to the other person?"
"What kind of things do you mean?" I asked. I didn't want to assume anything at this point but I felt like I knew what direction the conversation was now heading, and it probably had something to do with the argument she'd just had with Tom.
"You know, things like deep kinks, fantasies," said Susie.
"Erm, I guess," I said, "up to a point. I don't think you actually need to share everything with your partner. I mean we're still individuals, and some things you should probably just keep to yourself." My mind was working overtime trying to figure out how I might change the subject. Maybe I should have just booked a hotel room. The last thing I wanted was to walk into the middle of someone else's relationship issues.
"Very diplomatic Martin. It seems to me," she continued, "that you can have whatever fantasies you want if you're a guy, but if a woman can only have safe fantasies otherwise it makes her untrustworthy."
"That sounds like a generalisation," I said. "I mean, female fantasies can be so much more juicy and interesting than male fantasies. Guy's fantasies are like porno scenes, basically. They've got zero imagination," I said.
"That's so true," she laughed, lightening the mood momentarily. "Tom confided that his fantasy was to have a bunch of ladyboys standing around wanking their she-cum over him. When I asked if he sucked any of them off in these fantasies he got all offended and started challenging me to share mine."
Susie peered at me, and I waited expectantly, genuinely interested to hear what got her going. "I'm not telling you, Martin, you're family. It would be like telling my brother or something."
"You know I've heard about some of your antics already," I said. "Sam told me about the time you fucked that Irish guy on the lawn at a wedding. That wasn't long before you met Tom."
"After I met Tom. Jeez, I can't tell that bitch anything," said Susie shaking her head, wry smile on her lips. Then after a pause. "That wasn't exactly one of my fantasies anyway. He was hot, I was horny, we were both drunk and, ya know, one thing leads to another. I suppose you think I'm a slut?"
"No," I said. Realising I'd taken the conversation onto delicate ground I chose my words carefully. "It's biology. I mean we're hardwired to be sluts aren't we? People shouldn't be condemned because they choose to fuck someone else, even if they're in a relationship. It's not like it causes you to love your partner less."
"You know what Martin," said Susie nodding. "I think we agree on that point. So, who have you fucked since you've been with my sister?"
"Whoa," I said. Walked right into that one, genius.