Australian Gathering

All the children had moved to the family room to watch videos, and the parents had gathered around in the lounge to talk. They all wanted to hear about Julie and Geoff's weekend, for Julie's excitement in the week before had been too much for her to contain, and the little she'd let slip was interesting.

She was reluctant at first to speak of the weekend, and wanted assurance that none of them would be shocked by what they were about to hear. Julie loved and valued all of them as friends, something she would not want to risk in any way. As she spoke, Kim decided there must have been something very special indeed about their time away. Finally they were able to convince Julie that she should tell them all.

'Well, as you know we recently had our 15th wedding anniversary, and we had been planning something special to celebrate for a while. Some friends had been to a place up near Byron Bay for something called 'Couples Escape Weekend', and they'd told us about it in detail, and had such a wonderful time that we thought we could do it too. We needed to fly up on the Friday night, and return late Sunday. We booked it about three months ago.

'The place was a lovely old guesthouse, set up in the hills with fields all around, well away from other houses. It was run by a couple originally from Sydney, who had decided to get away to paradise. They still ran businesses down here, and hosted these weekends just because they enjoyed them so much.

'Her name was Sandra, and she was just lovely, really warm and welcoming to everyone, and her husband was Rob, and he was just gorgeous, a bit like Tom Selleck with...' She paused and a dreamy look came over her eyes for a moment as something flicked across her mind.

'Well, anyway, the idea of the weekend was to gather together a number of couples who were probably strangers to each other, and to give them the chance to explore their sexuality in ways that they may not have had the chance to do before. We were ready to be in it, but weren't sure how far we wanted to go, since we're both a bit shy.

'As we drove up in the cab, there was this big swimming pool enclosure with a sign that said "No textiles allowed". I wondered if I could bring a towel in. Anyway Sandy met us at the door dressed in a light little gown thing with absolutely nothing on underneath. She hugged us both and led us to our rooms. On the way she showed us some of the house and gardens.

'In our room she encouraged us to change, explaining that we could wear whatever we liked but since it was such a warm night the other guests would all be making themselves comfortable and wearing something similar to her. There were gowns in the room if we wanted, or we could wear our own stuff.'

Lisa felt she needed to break the silence that had grown. 'This is sounding pretty sexy.' Julie looked at her with a smile 'You should have been there. I was ready to jump on Geoff as soon as Sandy left the room, but figured there was plenty of time for that. We sort of looked at each other and realised we'd hit the point of no return. There would be a number of other couples there that weekend, and we could choose to enter into the activities fully, or just hang around and watch. We decided there would be no guilt, no recriminations between us for whatever we did, we were there to enjoy and discover ourselves and other people, and on Monday we'd be back at our usual lives.

'Our room was all glass on one wall, and it had this fabulous view of the valley. In the middle of the room was this enormous spa bath that could have fitted at least 6 people, probably 8 if they were in tight, and in fact it did later.'

Michelle broke in 'This is sounding more and more interesting, just what did you two get up to?'

'Just wait, there's a lot to tell and I wouldn't want to rush it.' Geoff had joined them and was sitting on the arm of Julie's chair, his fingers gently caressing his wife's neck. They glanced warmly at each other, looking more in love than they had ever been.

Julie continued, 'That first step of getting ready to go down and meet everybody was just so hard to do. I thought of picking up the bags and running, but after we talked for a while I felt really good about what was to come. I had brought a little satin robe up with me, and I just took all my clothes off and stood looking at the sunset through the glass. As you know I've been doing some training and working out for a couple of months, because I wanted to look my best. After a while I felt so good I almost decided not to wear the robe at all, but I didn't think anybody else would be ready for that.

'Geoff also put on a robe and we walked down together to the main meeting room, where we saw Sandra and Rob and four other couples who'd arrived at around the same time as us. They all smiled and made us feel really welcome as we came in, and we had a couple of drinks and started to get to know them.

'Sandra was amazing, moving easily around the room talking and laughing and encouraging people to shed their inhibitions and relax. I felt a little uncomfortable when she talked with Geoff, for she loved to touch people as she spoke with them, and then I remembered our conversation upstairs and realised there would probably be a lot more than that happening over the next forty eight hours, and then I relaxed. I smiled at Geoff to let him know it was OK, and he understood and smiled back, which was just great.

'After a while Rod gave a little introduction to the weekend, which was pretty similar to the stuff we'd read and our friends had told us about. The weekend had been designed for committed heterosexual couples who had been together for a while, and felt their relationship would be enhanced by the opportunity to meet other people and enjoy their company. Both partners needed to feel free to participate to whatever level they chose, without jealousy or guilt. The weekend gave the chance for that to happen, and he and Sandra would do whatever they could to make sure that everyone got as much as possible out of their time there.

'Two of the couples had been before, and they knew Rod and Sandy really well and were happy to get things started. Rod said we would start with some gentle massage to help us all relax, beginning with our own partners and then moving around to let us all get to know each other better. We could start with our clothing on, but he hoped as the evening progressed that we'd feel free to wear as little as we liked. If any of felt as though we'd like to leave the room for whatever reason, then they should feel free to do so. If it was to further explore each other, then to avoid confusion we should go to the woman's room. I felt a little flash of fear, surely he didn't mean that people might actually leave with someone else's partner right now? Maybe if we just waited awhile, maybe tomorrow, in the afternoon or evening? Or maybe the next day?... And then I thought about it a little more and started getting quite excited about the thought.

'Rod wanted to demonstrate some simple massage techniques on Leslie, one of the people who'd been before, and before he started she removed her gown. She started off lying on her stomach, and I could see Geoff was interested as Rod applied some oil to her back and thighs and started to massage her.

'Rod suggested we could all start doing the same, and I decided that if she could just doff the lot in front of all those people, I could too. After all I'd been looking after my body pretty well, and even though nobody but Geoff had seen me naked for a long time, I felt really free and relaxed as I took my robe off and lay down for him. I lay on my back and raised one knee. As I did so I noticed Dave, one of the other first timers, looking at me and giving me a big smile, then noticed how the front of his robe was lifting to this fantastic erection. I smiled back at him and blew him a kiss.

'I felt so young and free to be acting like this, and as Geoff rubbed the massage oil onto my stomach he told me how much he loved me and how much he was looking forward to seeing me enjoy myself with each and every person there. The more I thought about this, the more I realised he was hoping I'd find the women attractive as well, and the more I lay there enjoying the feeling of the oil and his hands the hornier I became.

'There must have been some sort of sign for the men to change around, for I felt Geoff move away and another pair of hands take his place. I looked up through half closed eyes and realised it was Dave who had taken over. He had lovely soft hands, and he was very gentle as he smoothed the oil on my shoulders and arms. I was just in dreamland, enjoying every second and every touch, when Dave just whispered in my ear to ask for permission to touch my breasts. I could only nod dreamily and smile, and as his fingers worked around my breasts and nipples I realised he was the first man in the last 18 years, apart from Geoff, to touch me there. And then I didn't think about it any more because I was having such a good time.'

She paused and the group moved around slightly, excited and anxious to hear more, not wanting to break the flow of Julie's thought. Dave had a really beautiful touch, and when I finally opened my eyes I realised he'd taken his robe off as well. That erection looked every bit as good as it had with the robe on, a long straight thick penis with a curly tuft of dark pubic hair behind it. I realised it was the first time I'd seen another man naked in a long time, and decided to make sure I could see more in the future.

'Dave was just concentrating on my body. He whispered again, asking if it would be all right to touch all of me. I whispered that I hoped he'd do a lot more than that, and shuddered as I felt his finger slide down and apply a little more oil to my lower stomach and thighs. Then he started to gently apply some oil to my pubic hair, and work it into my vaginal lips. After a while I just didn't care who was around me, and I gave in to this amazing warm feeling and was moving around under his touch. Finally I just couldn't stand it any more and asked Dave if he wanted to make love to me. He made a funny face, like it was a really hard decision for him, and then he just smiled and we both laughed.

'From the noises in the room it was obvious that some of the other couples had decided that this was a fine place to get together, but I wanted a little more privacy, and a little more comfort than the room offered. I hoped Geoff had listened to the bit about going to the woman's room, and then realised it didn't matter. In fact it might be kind of fun if he was there. I hadn't seen him in the main living area, and wasn't at all concerned about who he was with. It seemed that over the weekend we would both have the chance to be with as many of the other people as we wanted, as well as each other, so there wasn't much point in getting jealous now.

'The walk back to my room seemed like the longest walk I've ever had. I wanted Dave inside me so badly, and just couldn't wait to get there. We were still naked, and somehow managed to caress each other and kiss all the way back. We nearly did it standing up in the hallway, but reason prevailed and we made it to the room.

'The bed was really enormous, and we fell onto it like kids and just enjoyed each other for what seemed like hours. Dave was great, and I think I really excelled myself, I loved every second, and couldn't wait for Geoff to get back so we could try out some new things and tell each other what we had experienced.

Julie paused again to take a drink, and the others were quiet as the considered what she had said.

'And the weekend went on like this, did it?' asked Christine, her excitement barely under control in her voice.

'Oh, yes. And it was great. Geoff and I came back absolutely exhausted, and we were happier than we've been for a long time, There's a lot more that we did on the weekend that I'd love to talk about, but maybe we should save it for another time.'

'So how do you book one of these weekends?' Said Lisa, and a number of the other women nodded their own interest.

'I think they're pretty full for the next 12 months or so. We were really lucky to get in, and it seems there are always people coming back there. It's fairly expensive, so it's probably something you'd only want to do on special occasions.'

'And there's no pressure to join in if you don't... really ... you know?' said Despina, excited but still a little apprehensive at the thought of sharing herself with other men.

'No. But if you go up there and still have these concerns you have to admit you're missing out on some of the best times you could ever hope for. I just thought "Why not?" and realised I'd been carrying around all sorts of hang ups about sex for such a long time. Once I realised that making love to another person could just be a great experience for its own sake, without all the stuff about lifetime commitments and sacred acts and preserving the marital seal and all that stuff Father used to give us in primary school, I started to loosen up and enjoy it. Having sex with a person you like is great fun as long as it's all out in the open, you're not deceiving your partner and everybody understands the other person has lifetime commitments that are always going to be the most important thing to them.

Geoff decided to break in. 'Since we've been back we've been wondering about how we might be able to introduce you all to some of the things we've learnt, if you were at all interested.'

Lisa seemed most interested, 'Don't stop, Geoff, what do you mean?'

'Well, we've been friends for a long time, most of us. We've all been in committed relationships for ages. Our kids are growing up and becoming more independent, and we're not people who are going to spend a lot of time in clubs or pubs. There's room for us to enjoy a little of this kind of fun, without risking too much embarrassment.

'Two of the couples at the weekend were part of a really interesting group. One of the women organised it all. On Saturday nights at midnight the men would leave to go to another house, where they met their partner for the night. Just after they leave, their wife's friend for the night arrives. Later that morning they all go home again. Nobody knows where anybody goes, and everyone has a great time with each other. Naturally as it goes along, people drop out and others might be invited to join in. After a while they all got together at someone's place, where anything might happen.'

There was a stunned silence while everyone considered the possibilities. They started to look around the room at each other, and initial embarrassment erupted into nervous laughter. It seemed there was some real interest.

'We know it's not for everybody, but I know some people might be interested. Some people might like to go ahead with it now, others might like to talk it over awhile,' Julie continued, 'I'm happy to do the work. You don't need to let me know immediately, and I'll let you know more, if we decide we want to try it, we'll meet and talk after a while.'

The talk somehow moved on to other things, and couples broke off to huddles during the evening. Some approached Julie as they left.

John and Kim waited until they were in the car to talk, but there was surprisingly little needed to reach agreement. They'd often fantasised about such things in their lovemaking, and the chance to put some of the fantasies into practice was a very attractive opportunity. They resolved to call Julie the next day and tell her how excited they'd be to join in.

During the week, Julie was in demand as her friends dropped in for coffee and to talk about her weekend away. She resisted telling too much until Kim and Fiona brought over some Daquiris to loosen her up, and the three of them adjourned to the pool. They lazed back on their sun lounges, sipping the cocktails and feeling pretty warm.

Julie had a tiny thong bikini for just the backyard, and as she adjusted it for the umpteenth time Fiona remarked on how uncomfortable it looked. 'You remember I told you about the No Textiles sign at the pool where he had our couples weekend?', said Julie. 'Well on the Saturday morning I was a bit tired, after a very active night, so I went down by myself to laze around. When I first lay down I was wearing this, but then I just forgot about it. After a while Sandy came in with Mark, one of the other guests, and they had obviously spent the night together. They were both naked, and they lay down on sun lounges next to me.

'Sandy had a nice body, not model gorgeous or anything, just fit and womanly and totally unconcerned about being naked. We started to talk about the marvellous time we had last night. Sandy thought we were one of the nicest groups that had ever been to the place. She told me how much she liked Geoff and I, and hoped we could get to know each other a lot better over the weekend. From Geoff's reaction to her, and the way I felt about Rob, I thought that was pretty likely.

'We talked for a while and then she leaned over and whispered to me that the pool was a much more free place if everyone was naked, and would I allow her to take off my bikini. I just put her hand on the bow of the top, and she undid it very slowly, keeping her eyes fixed on me all the time. When it was off she did the same to the bottom, just gently touching me as she removed it. No woman had ever touched me like that before, and I could feel myself getting more than a little horny. Sandy said I really should have some sun cream on the places that hadn't had a chance to tan, and offered to put some on for me. The cream was rich and smooth, and Sandy was an expert at massage as well, and after a while I just forgot about where I was and who was doing this and just enjoyed the sun and the attention. She spent quite a while on parts of me that didn't see much sun, but I was past caring. Her hands were wonderful, and I really wanted her to make love with me there and then, but she stopped and took Mark in for a swim. They were playing around in the water, and I just carried on the massage myself for a while, if you know what I mean.

'Anyway I came really quickly, and I noticed that Sandy was lying on her back on the edge of the pool, watching me while Mark was kissing her thighs and her pussy. It was the most amazing scene. Anyway, Sandy came pretty quickly too, and just lay there enjoying the sun for a while. Finally she came over to me and kissed me, and said she hoped we could see more of each other tonight. I told her I didn't think there was any more of each other we could see, but I would certainly look forward to the evening.