I looked over the email message again, unable to decipher how I felt.
Dear Gina, Maria, Neal, Joe, Aaron, and Viren,
My parents have put the beach house up for sale, seeing as they never use it. They agreed to let me host one last weekend of fun there. I know we don't all get along like we used to, but I was hoping we could get past that, just for the three-day weekend, and all be there together one last time before that piece of my childhood gets stripped away. You are all welcome and I genuinely want to see you there. The only condition is that everyone has to be nice and have fun because I don't want my last memories of the place to be some stupid fight. I want my last memories of that place to be the people I care about the most. Just be there. For me.
Love, Philo
I had to go, of course. I loved the ocean. And look at that cast of guests! The only people I ever think about, all cooped up together in one little cottage by the sea. One way or another, it was going to be explosive.
Aaron was so annoying--in a cute sort of way. "Oh my god, Viren! He asked me up again! This time everyone's going to be there! Last time it was sort of his sympathetic band, but this time—you know it's going to rock. Everyone's going to be trying to rekindle the past, relive the best moments. It will be sad too, I guess, but that fun sort of sad, where the campfire is burning in everyone's eyes."
I laughed. "Only if you lean too close to the pit, bro."
He sighed. "You know what I mean. I hope mom and dad let us go."
I smirked. "They are so uninvolved with our lives I sometimes forget about them completely. I think they just know how much of a responsible man I am so they just let me be in charge."
Aaron returned the smile. "That's a joke, right?"
"Shut up," I said softly. I pinned him to the couch and tickled him till he was shrieking.
Everything seemed lighter than it had in the weeks past. It was hard to explain. Like everything glimmered with humor, and I found that I couldn't stay angry anymore. I smiled. Maybe that would help me through the nauseating road trip ahead.
We took two cars when the time came. I think Philo intentionally separated it into mean people and nice people. His car had him, Aaron, Joe, and Maria. My car, on the other hand...
"Pull over! I feel car sick!"
"No one cares, Gina!"
"Shut up Neal! One third of the car has to puke."
"One third of the car has PMS!"
"Probably you, you fag."
"Shut the fuck up."
The entire ride there was like that.
When we got there, I thrust open the car door and sprung to my feet. The first signs of dusk hung in the misty air; sunlight cast over the horizon painted the clouds red; the ocean swirled and wrinkled like it was being caught in thick brushstrokes, and the beach rippled with rolling sand caught in the salty wind.
I swallowed the air and hefted the suitcases out of the car. When we were inside, Gina was quick to begin unloading her sack. Philo and the rest were already there.
After her high heels, mascara, eyeliner, thong, spank, pantyhose, bikini, nail polish, nail polish remover, and curling iron made its way onto the living room floor, Gina finally appeared to be done. Then she pulled a huge bottle of brandy out of her bag.
"No, no alcohol, Gina," Philo said. "This is supposed to be about reliving childhood, not pretending to be adults."
"But Philo," Gina said, her voice grating, "Alcohol is how adults relive their childhood. It is how they pretend they are NOT adults. It's not about being a grown up. It's about being an idiot."
"Seems like you've got that part down," Neal muttered.
"I don't know how anyone puts up with Neal," Gina said loudly. "He has a mouth like a fire alarm and a brain like a bitch. He has a body full of roidrage and a pointy little dick."
"I don't know what you are talking about. Sure, I'm no Viren. But I have a big dick."
"The rest is true though," I whispered.
Philo swallowed the giggles I gave him.
Maria cleared her throat, her accent coming through. "I read somewhere that men that have big cocks are less loyal. It is an evolutionary strategy to have a penis like a giant plunger that can pull out the semen of other men that just had sex with the woman, so that new sperm has less to compete with. This is only useful if you have sex with a bunch of women having sex with a bunch of guys. Otherwise, a big cock is just a liability. So in reality, people only want big cocks when they are fantasizing about being cheaters, and when they want a real relationship with a reliable guy, they don't give a shit."
Everyone looked around in silence.
"Where did they find this girl?" I asked after a while.
"Russia, apparently," Joe said.
We nodded in silent agreement.
"Hey, I was being serious!" Maria said.
"Do they have a theory on big vaginas?" I asked, stone-faced.
"Actually," Maria said, but Philo cut her off.
"Let's make dinner!" he said, clapping his hands together.
I just shook my head.
Cooking was inefficient. We steered Gina away from the hot dogs, seeing as we had all tasted her muffins (no pun intended) before and decided she had approximately the culinary skills of a lightning bolt.
"Everyone likes their hot dogs burnt!" Gina said, trying to pry Philo away from the grill.
"Please Gina, burn my hot dog," Neal whispered.
"Why does every conversation end with Neal's wiener?" Joe said, chuckling.
"Yeah," let's talk about your wiener, Joe!" Aaron said, transparent as the plastic bag that Philo was accidentally cooking.
"Note to Philo," Maria said, removing it with a twig, "Remove plastic bag, then cook."
"Or just let Gina cook," Gina added, elbowing him out of the way.
"Hey Gina," I said. "Why don't you prepare a side-dish? We could use something on the side."
"Yeah. You always liked something on the side when we were dating," Gina spat.
"Snap," Neal whispered.
Joe poured a bunch of burger meat onto the grill next to the hot dogs as Gina strut back inside, her high heels clicking behind her.
"Aaron, can you make sure she doesn't set the house on fire?" I asked.
"You are making me be alone with Gina?" he said, pouting.
"I'll go with you, little squirt," Maria said, rubbing his hair.
He looked a little disappointed still, but she guided him inside nonetheless.
I looked around as Philo and Joe flipped the meat. Neal slumped into a chair. The sun was quivering on the brink of the horizon.
"So...just the four of us, huh?" I said, chuckling. "It's been a while hasn't it. So tell me...what's the weirdest ass thing you've ever done with a guy?"
"Gone to his cabin full of all the people that piss me off," Neal growled.
"Fucked," Joe said simply.
"Same," Philo said softly.
They all looked at me.
"Loved," I said softly.
Neal and Philo looked away, and Joe's expression softened.
Then the grill started sizzling and I smelled smoke.
"You are burning Neal's wieners," I said simply.
"I always do," Joe said.
Maria and Aaron had set the table with mustard, mayo, relish, buns, and paper plates. Gina had finished her little project.
We sat down and filled our plates.
"This chili is actually quite good, Gina" Joe said.
"I know!" Gina announced. "It is quite good!" Then, quietly into my ear, "because I spiked it with brandy."
I snorted down the rest of my burger, hiding my laughter. Then I filled my plate.
By the end of dinner, Aaron had a bun tucked behind each of his ears, Joe had taken off his shirt, Philo was moving a hot dog in and out of his mouth, staring at me, Neal was gawking at Joe's chest, Gina was cackling, and Maria was singing in Russian.
I turned to Gina. "That is some brandy."
"Oh," she said. "Yeah, I might have added a few other things too. I stole some Vodka from Maria's fridge, and there was some mint in her garden that looked fun."
"That's pot," Maria said.
"Same difference," Gina said. Then she took off her shirt and started waving it around her head.
Aaron burped. "Who wants to play truth or dare?"
"Aren't we a little old for that?" Neal said, balancing silverware on top of the condiments.
"No such thing," Joe said. "Last one to the fire pit is a rotten egg!"
"A rotten egg," Maria said slowly. "A rotten egg wouldn't care if it was a rotten egg because it isn't sentient."
"You are going to lose!" Gina said, yelling at Maria. Maria shrugged as everyone scooted out of their chairs. Then she chased us through the kitchen, furniture and silverware flying this way and that.
There were enough logs by the fire pit for each of us to sit on one. Joe had the fire going before Maria even found us.
Maria started the game since she arrived last. I learned several things in quick succession: Gina had a thing for Johnny Depp. Neal looked quiet decent with sand boobs and a mermaid tail. And I genuinely did not appreciate watching Aaron sit on Philo's lap. Inevitably, it got to me.
"Viren, truth or dare?" Aaron said.
"Dare," I grunted.
"Kiss someone in the circle. On the lips."
I looked around the circle. Gina and Neal were terrible choices, obviously. I felt a pulse at the idea of kissing Philo, but something about having all these spectators held me back. Aaron—gross. The obvious choice would be Maria. She was safe. No one could possibly have a problem with that.
I walked around the fire, stopping as I approached her, hunching down—then I curled away and pulled Joe into me.
He growled in shock as my lips met his.
I have to say, no one has ever put up that much of a fight when they were kissing me. It was like he was trying to wrestle me with his tongue. Of course he lost. Everyone submits to me sooner or later. As I pulled away, there was a glimmer of fear in his eyes, but he replaced it quickly with his cocky smirk and an awkward laugh.
I looked around. Philo seemed sick; Aaron looked highly amused; Maria did her impression of Mona Lisa; Joe grew red; Gina gaped; and Neal let the firelight dance in his eyes as they pulsed with a fury I had not seen since before he started taking pills in middle school. Maybe he needed some now?
"Philo, truth or dare?" I said, smiling as I found my seat.
"Dare," he said instantly.
"I dare you to swim in the ocean," I said softly.
"Yeah?" he replied.
I cleared my throat. "Naked."
He shrugged. "I'll go if everyone else goes."
"I'll go," Maria said. "Nothing excites me more than showing off my hot body to a bunch of muscular guys that probably won't even notice or care."
"Me too," Gina said, surprising me and probably everyone else. "What?" she said, taking in our expressions. "I'm not going to be one-upped by Maria here. No one wears more revealing outfits than Americans."
"If you are talking about your `birthday suits,' I am pretty sure they are equally revealing," Joe said, laughing.
"Oh, I don't think so," Gina said. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I shave."
"I'm in," Aaron said. "What about you studs?"
"I don't think I should have to go," I said. "I made up the dare."
"Fine by me," Joe said, thumping me in the back. "Without Viren there, I get to be the resident `hot guy', right? Swimming with a bunch of horny, naked teenagers that congregate around the biggest jock... Sounds fun."
"And if I go," Neal said, stripping off his clothes, "Viren can sit here all alone, watching us have fun."
They all started to strip now, stealing glances at me.
"Alright, guys, fine...when you put it like that..."
I took off all my clothes and raced them into the water.
It was chaos. We were all shrieking and laughing in the dark, our naked bodies stroking against each other as we wrestled, ducking each other's heads under water. Gina and Maria cut gracefully to the side.
"How come Viren's hair is still dry?" Aaron said.
"Because no one can beat him," Joe said, slamming Aaron's head face-first into the ocean.
"Well--" Aaron said, sputtering, "that doesn't sound fair. Maybe if we ganged up on him, we could."
"Now that's a good idea," Joe said. "Everybody get Viren!" he shouted. For some reason, everyone listened.
Joe came slowly from the side as Neal rushed in; I spun and shoved Neal into Joe, where they tangled and fell; Philo kept a safe distance, smiling, distracting, waiting for a moment to strike; Aaron came up from underwater, diving toward my face, but I grabbed his head with one hand and slammed him back underwater.
Aaron attached himself to that arm, using all his weight to keep me down. It was hard to move. I gave Neal a light kick as he approached again; he grunted and held onto my leg. Suddenly Maria and Gina were both dangling from my other bicep, and I was stuck; I tired to shove them off, hopping up and down on my good leg, seeing as Neal had snared the other one...
Joe grabbed my last leg and there was a person (or two) attached to each of my limbs. I tread water as best as I could with the weight of five humans on me.
"Do it Philo," Joe said.
Philo walked slowly up to me. There was nothing I could do. His face was inches from mine as he gripped me by the back of my head. He caressed my hair sofly and leaned in, his lips brushing close...
Then he slammed my face into the water.
The salty ocean went into my ears and mouth as I shook my limbs violently. Everyone freed me and I kicked for the surface. I spit the water out and breathed. All six of them were laughing.
"That wasn't cool," I said, splashing them. But I found that I was smiling.
They stopped ganging up on me after that, so if any man challenged me, I soon had my arms wrapped around him and his back pinned to my chest. This of course stopped no one from trying, and I had Aaron, Joe, Neal, and Philo against me in succession. So much warm, muscular flesh! It was hard not to get aroused. Especially with Philo's curved, defined butt wriggling against my growing cock.
"Let's go inside, it's freezing," Gina said.
I let go of Philo slowly and he looked lost for a moment before he swam away.
"I dare you to make another fire—inside!" Philo said, pushing Joe under the water one last time.
"But I didn't even say I wanted a dare," Joe said.
"We all know that's what you would have chosen anyway," Neal said, splashing everywhere as he got out. "Not to say that wasn't the lamest dare ever conceived."
We all huddled in a clump under the shower as we washed the sand off, then dried and put on our pajamas. Joe had the fire started in no time.
It was quiet as everyone sat in a half-circle, staring into the fireplace. Then Philo appeared at the doorway, graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, and skewers in his arms.
"Smores, anyone?" he asked.
Everyone accepted a skewer and we roasted the marshmallows, the only sounds the cracking embers and warm sighs. We just waited there, looking into each other's eyes until the marshmallows turned golden brown.
Then Gina started screaming. "Oh my god! Mine caught on fire!" She dropped it onto the wood floor and Maria doused it with water.
"Bon Apetit," Joe whispered.
"How are we all going to fit in only two bedrooms?" Aaron said, stuffing a smore into his face.
There was a dull roar as people began arguing, but Maria silenced it by throwing water into the fireplace.
"I decide who gets what room," Maria said. "Me, Gina, and Aaron get the master bed. Neal and Joe, pull-out couch. Philo and Viren, bunk beds."
I got the top bunk, and Philo was on the bottom. We brushed our teeth and snuggled in, the sound of the last embers dying and Neal and Joe's squabbling sneaking under the doorway.
"It seems weird that Maria separated you and Neal," Philo said at last.
I sighed. "Neal and I are already separated, if you catch my drift."
Philo was quiet for a while. "You didn't have to do that," he said.
I laughed. "As much as I'd like to take credit for that, he definitely dumped me."
The bed squeaked as Philo turned. "It's hard to believe you didn't have some part in the breakup. We had just talked, I'm guessing? It was unfair of me to be jealous...if I acted like I didn't want you. I'm just not cut out for pretending that I don't want to be with you, Viren. I'm sorry I avoided you for so long. I thought maybe if I didn't see you, I wouldn't think about you. Instead I felt deprived. I just want to be with you. I love you. I think that's enough."
Neal and Joe's shouting in the other room had faded into moans.
Philo stuttered. "Holy shit, man."
I smiled. "It's all for the best."
Philo laughed. "Well that's a good reaction. I was afraid you might get jealous."
I shrugged slightly. "I guess I am just not the jealous type."
"Why don't you come down here and give me a hug?" Philo said.
"I don't think so," I said softly.
"Why not?" Philo asked.
"It wouldn't just be a hug." He didn't say anything, so I kept on talking. "You deserve more than being some rebound guy."
Philo sighed. "Am I ever tired of hearing you saying you know what I deserve! If you think I am such an angel, then don't I deserve to choose what I want? And what I want is you, Viren. So why don't you get off your hot ass, come down here, and fuck the shit out of me?"
"But you really do deserve better than me," I said softly. "I—can't."
"Well, I don't think I want to be alone tonight," Philo said, standing up. "I'm going to go spend the night with Aaron."
"How do you plan on doing that, huh?" I said, turning and sitting up, my feet dangling off the side of the bed. "He's with Gina and Maria. Unless you plan on being with them too."
"He told me to meet him on the roof," Philo whispered.
I jumped off the bed, landing hard on my feet, but keeping my balance. Then I stood tall in front of him, cutting him off from the door. "Bullshit," I said in a low, deep, growl.
"Well, if you don't believe me, I guess you won't mind letting me out," Philo said in a songlike voice, reaching around me toward the door.
I grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and pinned his back against the door.
"Viren," he cooed softly.
I brushed the hair out of his eyes and kissed him deep.
This story is nearing its close. If you want to talk about my stories, please throw me a line at krazytop@gmail.com. Peace.