Antarctica

Jeff was my best friend at school, through teenage years and into early twenties. We were in our element when picking up girls, working as a practiced partnership and enjoying more than moderate success. On the dance floor we were perfect combination for splitting up girls dancing together and in outside situations we were a polished double act with the chat up lines. We regarded ourselves as the two musketeers.

Jeff is some two inches taller than me with a slightly heavier build. He has black wavy hair and rather piercing blue eyes, I had never seen his penis erect but from the times we had stripped in each others company I was aware that he had the larger equipment, or at least he had more dangle. That was far from conclusive because I knew that while some dicks can increase in length by up to a factor of three between flaccid and erect, others initially longer merely go stiff. As to performance, I could tell, from the number of times that we had fucked girls in adjacent beds, that there was little to chose between us because we both had very satisfactory results. His conquests tended to be more vocal but then he had a somewhat rougher fucking technique than me.

He did always seem to finish up with the better looking girl; maybe because he was the somewhat pushier but my big triumph came with Shelley. At the start she was just one of a pair of girls that we joined up with on the dance floor but where I hung on to her and subsequently got married, he dumped his girl after just a matter of weeks. Since then he has had a series of live in partners but none seem to last longer than a couple of years. Our friendship has continued ever since and Shelley and I have enjoyed countless very pleasant fun evenings with Jeff and his current squeeze.

To my eyes Shelley is simply gorgeous, with every right to be rather big headed but it is her total modesty which is a large part of her appeal. She is a nice girl and I mean that in a caring gentle way rather than the usual moralistic sense. The night of that first pick up, Jeff finished up in bed with his girl but I didn't. To be honest I thought that Shelley was too 'nice' so I didn't even try. Many years later from the safety of marriage I asked if I would have been lucky if I had tried to seduce her that first night. Shelley gave me an unqualified Yes, explaining, "I always thought that if I intended to let a guy into my pants on a second or third date then why not do it on the first? As you well know I really like sex. I've never tried to hide the fact that I've had my share of experience but then so have you."

Even in retrospect I was kicking myself for having missed that opportunity when Shelley added, "Mind you, it was the fact that you were such a perfect gentleman that night which first started me thinking that you might make a long term prospect."

Shelley is 5' 5" tall, some five inches shorter than me but wearing her heels brings her up to the ideal height. Her breasts are neither small nor too big but equipped with very noticeable nipples, her waist is narrow and her bottom nicely rounded but her legs are by far her best feature and they truly are spectacular. I've already mentioned that I am most attracted by her nice giving nature but her love of sex runs a very close second. I've always been highly sexed but her libido is even greater than mine. I never actually did but there were times when I came close to claiming a headache. We regularly had sex on at least five days out of seven and many times, particularly at weekends, played the two backed beast game more than once during the day.

Although we were both reasonably intelligent men, both my pal Jeff and I had been so engrossed in chasing pussy that our studies remained neglected, with the result that we failed to accumulate enough points to gain access to any of the universities we would have considered going to. Instead I became fully trained as an electrician and later gained some expertise and knowledge of heating and ventilation. The latter offered a better paid career and my hopes lay in that direction but when I got a good job working for a university as a sparks the die was cast. Jeff became a builder, not becoming skilled in any one trade but reaching competence in the lot, ranging through plastering, carpentry, bricklaying and plumbing. Ironically the only thing he failed to master was electrics.

Early in the marriage, with me well paid and Shelley having a good salary in insurance, we fully extended ourselves by buying a nice house on a maximum mortgage and then a couple or so years later when our situation had eased due to pay rises, we compounded our error by extending the mortgage to pay for an extension. We even frittered the 'spare' cash on a very expensive luxury second honeymoon. We returned from that holiday discussing the possibility of starting a family but almost immediately the sub prime thing hit and escalated into the financial crisis which still grips almost the entire world.

Shelley's company was right had the heart of the storm and she immediately lost her job and was only able to find poorly paid waitressing or temporary work. At the university overtime had always been readily available but that was now stopped and I was informed that, although my position was safe, any out of hour's emergency work would have to be done without pay. After five years of marriage we were in a desperate situation, because although we could just about cover the massive mortgage there was absolutely nothing left over for food and keeping warm. Selling up was not an option because our negative equity had now acquired nightmare proportions.

I had rather confided my problems to my boss at work, when failing to negotiate a salary increase. A few days later he called me to announce, "I think I have the answer to all your problems but you may not like what it entails because it will mean you leaving home for a year."

He was correct, the thought had zero appeal but the position I was in meant that I couldn't reject it out of hand. "What does it pay?" I asked, my mercenary instinct taking over.

"Triple your current salary and because you will be working outside of this country, the majority of that will be tax free."

That changed my perspective because I immediately saw what a difference that amount of money would mean, "Where would I have to go?"

My boss gave a hollow laugh. "You will be spending a year in the Antarctic at the Halley research station, situated fifteen kilometres from the coast on the Brunt ice shelf. You'll be there through the long ten month winter when the temperature can fall to minus fifty-five degrees Celsius and the sun doesn't even rise above the horizon for a hundred and five days. During that period there is total isolation with nobody able to get in or out."

"What about communicating with home?"

"Not good. There is a broadband connection for Email and fax but there is only the one link and that has to be shared between sixteen winter staff. The speed is only a quarter the speed of a normal domestic connection, so that means no uploading or downloading at all. In addition the communication can be completely disrupted for extensive periods due to weather or solar effects."

I gave a dry laugh, "You aren't making it sound very attractive."

"I'm doing that deliberately. I researched this before mentioning to you because I wanted you to know exactly what you are up against. To be honest, I wouldn't fancy it one little bit myself but even if I did I'm not what they are looking for."

"And I am."

"They want an electrician but the key is your heating and ventilation training. As you can appreciate those skills are vital in that environment, so if something nasty happened to the main man and then there was an emergency, they would be in a real mess unless there was someone who was double skilled and capable of taking over."

"Can I think about it," I asked. To be honest I was only giving the impression that I was giving it consideration rather than reject the job out of hand. While he was talking I had tried imagining a whole year separated from Shelley and found that it didn't bear contemplation."

"Of course you can, I know you will need to talk this over extensively with your wife," he said reasonably. "As a little sweetener I can say that you don't have to stay for the full year. If you like you can leave on the first supply boat of the summer. That will be when the summer people all flood in and you will no longer be so vital. If you do finish early you salary will not be affected but by that time you may want to stay. I've heard that that the views are spectacular during the two month summer with plenty of places to visit and things to see."

Back at home I waited until we had eaten before asking Shelley, "How long do you think you could manage without sex?"

"A week max," she said as an automatic response but then added, "Possibly longer if it was important for some reason."

"How about a whole year?"

"No chance."

"What if it meant saving the house? We are going to lose it unless some miracle turns up."

Shelley had been treating this as a sex conversation but now she was very serious. "What's happened? Ever since you got turned down for a rise I've been worried sick."

"I've been offered the chance to go on a detachment for a year at three times my current salary. The problem is that it is in the Antarctic, I'll be completely isolated for most of that time and communications are very poor. One very slow internet connection has to be shared between sixteen staff."

I could almost see the cash digits rolling up behind my wife's eyes as she calculated how much that was in cash, "How many of those other fifteen will be female?" she asked, "I wouldn't want you locked up for a year with a load of horny women."

"They could easily all be male, two females at the most and they are likely to be much older women."

"How about you lasting a whole year without sex?" Shelley asked, turning my initial question back on me."

"Once I get out there I reckon I won't have much option," I said ruefully. "Unless I hook up with a guy." I could safely say that because Shelley was well aware of my mild homophobia."

"I really don't think we've got any choice. It won't be pleasant but we love each other enough to get through it," my wife declared. We subsequently talked about it endlessly before my February departure but it was that short discussion which decided the future events.

When I told Jeff about my plan he shook his head in amazement and said, "You're a better man that I am Gunga Din. Just trying to imagine what it will be like makes my dick go limp."

I explained about the fantastic pay and the mess were in with the mortgage, pointing out that even if we lost the house that wouldn't be the end of it because the money still left owing would leave us in debt for years. "I understand better why you are going but I still don't think I could do it," he replied, "I think I'd rather rob a bank."

In late January, as the date of my departure drew ever closer, I took a break from the frantic sex with Shelley to go out for the evening with Jeff. I arranged this deliberately because I needed to speak with my friend in private. "I want you to look after Shelley while I'm away," I said broaching the subject.

"That goes without saying, I would have done that automatically without being asked," he told me sincerely, "Was there anything specific you had in mind?"

"I don't like to think of her all alone, so if you take her out occasionally it would help, you know for a drink or even to the cinema."

"That will be a pleasure rather than a chore."

"The most important thing is that I would like you to look after all the heavy and dirty jobs around the house, you know all the stuff that I would do if I was still at home."

"You're wish is my command," Jeff said with a grin but then his face went serious as he went on, "I'm just pleased that you can go down there with the peace of mind knowing that your lovely wife is in safe hands."

That was it. I did see him one more time to say goodbye shortly before I left but I think that otherwise he stayed away deliberately to let Shelley and I concentrate all of our energies on each other. We took full advantage and during the last moth we spent every available minute in bed, deliberately trying to cram a full year of making love into a few short weeks. When I caught my train on that final day, I literally had sores on my cock and I think that Shelley's vagina was possibly in even worse condition. That however was only a minor discomfort compared to the real pain of clinging together and swearing undying love just before we parted.

There were ten of the others waiting at RAF Brize Norton and we were to find the remaining winter staff in Stanley, they having arrived there by other means. We then flew non stop in a Tri-Star aircraft down to the Falklands, apart from a refuelling stop at Ascension Island. There was very little interaction during the flight. I think everybody was too engrossed in their own thoughts and I certainly was in no mood for conversation. After a couple of days rest, we were carried by boat to the edge of the ice shelf and from thence to the installation, (a distance of roughly 15 kilometres), by Sno-Cat vehicles pulling sledges loaded with cargo.

On arrival we all milled around gazing with a measure of awe at what was to be our home for the next year. There were three buildings altogether and I heard that the accommodation block weighed fifty tons. It was mounted on stilts. I had read that this was the fifth version of the research station. The predecessors had all stood at ground level but as there was an average annual snowfall of 1.5 meters, the accumulation of ice had eventually crushed them. It was reassuring to know that this prototype was regularly jacked up to prevent that happening again. The temperature that day was a couple of degrees below zero but it didn't feel particularly cold.

Three of the sixteen of us confined together for the next ten months were female. The only scientist amongst the trio was a lady who looked to be in her early fifties. A crop haired, sturdy, thick bodied woman with a serious unsmiling face she gave the impression of being either lesbian or completely asexual. She was studying the effects of prolonged isolation, I think with relevance to future settlements on either the moon or even Mars. The other two were there to assist in the catering and both were unusually attractive females. Sue was married to Rob, one of the three specialist electronic staff and a guy who was to become my best friend for the winter.

The remaining 'girl' was Mimi and she was something else. She was petite, no more that 5' 2", with a mass of curly brown hair and dark flashing eyes. A bundle of energy she had instant appeal. Her breasts were slightly too large for her small frame but with nipples that were always noticeable, even through several layers of clothing. But it was her bottom which was her crowning glory, (so to speak). I think that the term 'bubble butt' is usually used to describe her type of rear anatomy but it utterly fails to do justice to the phenomena that was Mimi. When she was walking away, those glorious thrusting buttocks moving independently and enhanced by the sensual, clinging quality of soft ski pants always caused involuntary salivation, or at least it did with me. Her appeal was not lost on others because she quickly acquired a close coterie of admirers.

From very early days, I started to associate with Rob during leisure times in the common room and at first Sue used to join us. In figure and looks and even temperament she reminded me a lot of my wife and it made me feel less far from home when I was in her company. Rob was also very like me and I think it was that which caused us to gel so well, right from the moment we first met. Even though in many ways they were a mirror image couple to me and Shelley, I had the feeling that that something wasn't quite right with them, as if there was some underlying strain below the affectionate surface but it was some weeks before I found out what that was.

Although time soon became relatively meaningless due to the almost constant darkness, meal times, if nothing else, meant that we stuck to a fairly normal schedule, with most work done between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. This meant that computer access took place during the eight hours between then and midnight. With sixteen of us to share, everybody was allocated half an hour per day. At first in Emails home there was a lot to talk about, me describing my new life and my wife chatting about how she was coping with my absence but soon with everything unchanging there was little new to say. We resorted to declarations of love and filling our mails by with talk about our frustrated desires but quickly realised that this was making us feel worse instead of better. At first Shelley spoke a lot about Jeff and how much he was helping but suddenly his name seemed to come up far less frequently and then wasn't mentioned at all.

For the first couple of months I was rather busy checking circuits and making repairs. This was a blessing in disguise because I had little time to brood and generally fell into bed so tired that sleep came fairly easily. It was only really when life became more leisurely that the pain of separation became acute and I was constantly worrying how my wife was managing at home. I liked to linger late in the common room, keeping my mind active, because I knew that in my solitary bed my mind would be overwhelmed with thoughts of Shelley and awareness of my state of deprivation. There were only four others left in the room when Mimi plonked herself down near me. "I like you," she announced, "You don't say much but you've got very expressive eyes."

Not knowing quite what to say I just smiled upon which Mimi followed up with, "And I think you rather like me. I've noticed the way that you watch me all the time."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean," I blustered but my apology was met with a big grin.

"Don't worry; I like men to look at me. I would think I was losing my touch if they didn't. Which particular bit of me do you like looking at most, my tits or my bum?"

"Your bum," I told her enthusiastically without hesitation.

"Thank you kind sir," Mimi said with a big smile, "That is the correct answer and it entitles you to become to become a member of my fan club. It just happens that I also happen to have a vacancy at the moment."

I was pretty sure what she was offering but I had to make sure. "What exactly is this fan club?"

She laughed. "Come on, you must have noticed my small collection of men friends. If you become a member I make sure that you get plenty of what you a missing the most at the moment, just like I do with the others."

Instantly my cock swelled to full length and my heart started to pound as a vision of Mimi's naked nubile body lying under me, flashed in front of my eyes. Had I been able to speak quickly I would have grabbed at the chance but suddenly my tongue felt thick and clumsy. Before I could manage to get the words out, that lewd image had been replaced by a picture of Shelley's trusting face. Instead I said, "I'd love to join but I'm married."

Mimi looked at me in surprise, "Well you're certainly a rare fish. Most of the men that I fancy are married but fortunately, with the majority that doesn't seem to matter."

"How many of the men are in the club?"

"You would have been number six. I like to limit it to six because even a girl like me needs a day off." Mimi paused and then laughed, "That was just a joke, I'm quite capable of looking after two or more of my gentlemen on the same day."

"What did the old number six do to fall out of favour?"