As we walked across the long, flattened grass, I eyed the horizon of multi-coloured tents scattered across the field. The sun blazed ahead, bringing heat and blinding light. All around me, sunglasses reflected the happy scene around us. We were all carrying, dragging, and forcing various bits of camping gear and crates of alcohol towards the sea of tents.
"Come on you tossers," yelled Harry, my best friend, from way up ahead of us. I glanced over at my sister and her best friend, struggling along.
"Yeah, hurry up girls. We want to get a good spot," I said, pushing forward at a quicker pace.
"Ah, come on! This is so heavy," my sister, Leah, complained from behind me.
"Come on, you pussy," her friend Naomi said, laughing and making moves to catch up.
We pushed forward through the crowds and made our way to a fairly decent-sized plot away from the main tracks.
"Right, come on, guys. Let's get the first beers in," Harry said, once we had put our last peg in the tents. Harry and I were to share a tent, with the two girls in the other.
I eagerly cracked open a beer and sipped the mildly cold liquid. "Now the festival can start," I grinned.
"No, the festival starts the moment I'm singing tunes in the sun," Naomi said, checking the time against the schedule of music.
"I'm so excited," my sister grinned, while taking a beer.
Our parents had surprised us for our birthdays and given us two tickets each to this music festival. The excitement had brought us closer together after many years of teenage angst had taken their toll on our relationship. We had been eagerly discussing all aspects of the weekend, often speculating whether our chosen friends would get along to create a good dynamic for the four of us.
"Now the tents are up I think it's time we played a drinking game. Don't you think, Steve?" Naomi said to me as we all started to waste away a couple of hours throwing empty can after empty can into the middle of our camp plot. We sat around the pile of aluminium like some sort of shrine, becoming more and more possessed as the alcohol took a hold.
A bearded, drunk man stumbled through the campsite and swore as he fell over our aluminium shrine. Looking around at the four of us, howling with laughter, he took it in good spirits, raising his beer to us and spilling some as he did so. "If I had these two chicks, I'd be laughing too," he slurred.
"Oh no — she's my sister," I corrected him.
"Lucky you, eh?" He winked and staggered away, leaving us in more laughter.
We played a few drinking games and I was slowly getting really drunk. It was only a matter of time before we ended up playing games like Never Have I Ever.
"Never have I ever been to a festival," Naomi said. As Harry and I had already been to a festival before, we took a sip of our beers.
"That was boring. Never have I ever got laid in public," Leah replied. I shuffled uncomfortably hearing Leah talk about sex. Only Naomi drank.
"Where have you had sex in public?" Harry asked, clearly quite excited by the idea.
"That's none of your business," Naomi replied, turning away from him, blushing. "Thanks for that," she complained to Leah.
"Is it public sex if you have it here in the festival?" I asked.
"It can be if you want it to be," Naomi replied cheekily. I didn't know if she was flirting with me or just making a joke.
"Never have I ever given a blowjob," Harry said promptly for his turn. I knew him well and he clearly wanted to deflect the flirty talk away from me. I knew that if I wanted to hit on Naomi I would have to compete with him.
Both girls took a drink. I felt awkward as I tried to ignore the fact my sister had given some guy a blowjob.
It was my turn. "Never have I ever had sex in a tent." No one drank.
"Soon to change," Harry grinned.
"You should be so lucky," Leah laughed at him, and then her face changed slightly to a look of deep thought. I noted the little freckles on her nose and her hair shining in the sun. I had always thought of her as being quite cute, but even I couldn't miss the fact she had become very beautiful over the last couple of years. I was only a couple of years her senior.
Leah looked back at me, apparently broken out of her deep thought. I wondered what she had been thinking about. I hoped she wasn't thinking about getting with Harry. Then again, that would have left me free with Naomi.
"I think it's time to go and see some acts," I announced to the group.
"Let's get going," Naomi said as she jumped up excitedly. Her blonde hair fell across her face as she began to potter about, getting ready. Soon my sister had joined her as they busied themselves doing various bits of make-up and picking up things to take with them.
As we left the campsite we joined the hordes of people heading into the music venue. I couldn't help but watch in dismay as Naomi and Harry paired off on the walk. My sister stayed close to me, which was nice, but not exactly my game plan.
I freely gawked at Naomi's butt as it lightly wiggled in her denim shorts. She had a great behind, accentuated by her narrow waist. Years back, I had accidentally seen her in her underwear during one of my sister's sleepovers. Since then I had fantasised about her many times.
We grabbed greasy, over-priced burgers as we passed some food trucks and wolfed them down in the hope of pressing forward to see the first act open the festival. As we drew closer to the stage, the sheer size of it began to overwhelm me, casting a shadow across the field of people. A great boom sounded across the many heads, striking my chest. The bass drum was being sound checked.
As we settled in, not far from the front of the crowd, we slowly got pushed together as people pressed forward. By the time the first band was coming on to elated applause, I was very closely pressed against my sister. To our left Harry had ended up in the same position with Naomi. I was losing my chance with her.
I glanced down at my sister to check she didn't mind her brother right up against her. She grinned up at me. "This is so cool," she shouted above the growing noise as the band got going. She was seemingly oblivious to her firm butt pressed into my groin.
The crowd began moving as people started dancing. I felt Leah's hips move and I instantly felt a pang of guilt. Did I get a moment of arousal from feeling my sister's hips? She danced with purpose, encouraging me to move with her and start singing a collection of words to a song I recognised. Her bum brushed against me now, catching me somewhere I should not have been thinking about.
The songs came thick and fast. Somehow Harry and Naomi had moved off to the side. I occasionally shared glances with Harry to make sure we were still together, but they were becoming more sporadic as we got more enthralled in the music. I hoped Naomi wasn't interested in him and I still had a chance with her.
Despite this, my hand ended up on Leah's side. I was feeling her body moving to the music, completely free in the moment. As the chorus hit, instead of putting my hands up in appreciation, they were both on my sisters hips.
I felt her respond to my movements as she wiggled her bum against me. I felt a rush of arousal flood through my body. It felt really good.
A powerful light from the stage hit me like a deer caught in headlights.
