Vanuatu Completes the Circle
“Do you remember us sitting here...?”
I looked up at the palm trees that were waving slowly in the evening breeze. Port Vila felt exactly the same. The hotel felt exactly the same. But we were different. I turned to Sergio and looked at him in the half light from the hotel behind us. “Of course I do. That evening changed my life.”
Sergio smiled at me and nodded. He reached over and took my hand. We were both exhausted, having just got off the plane, but without talking about it, we dumped our luggage in the hotel room and came out to the grove of palm trees to the same wooden chairs that sat underneath them when our lives changed.
It was, of course, the week of our anniversary. Five years. It seemed both yesterday and a hundred years ago since our wedding. The anniversary itself was at the end of the week, so we had time to recover, to relax, to have a lot of sex and to appreciate what we had together.
I picked up the wine glass that was sitting on the arm of the chair. “To us! How great are we!”
He laughed, but raised his and the sound of the glasses connecting seemed loud and solemn in the warm night air.
Just as I took a sip, we heard voices behind us. At first just the muffled sound of two people talking, but the words became clearer and the tone a little less happy.
“What the fuck, Jules? Why is it such a big deal?”
“Because, Tom, I don't want us to. I think it's stupid...it's immoral in the word right now...we're gay, for fuck's sake. Why would we?”
I turned and saw two young men standing on the veranda of the hotel. They were beautiful and were probably five years younger than Sergio and me. One was tall, with dark skin and gorgeous thick hair, the other was pale and blonde. They reminded me of Aravind and Sandor a little, except shorter. I missed those two. We had hoped they might join us for part of our vacation, but they both had too much work they couldn't get out of. James and Bruno were in the same position with Bruno in the middle of getting his teaching credentials and James starting a catering business.
Turning to Sergio, I whispered, “I think they're having a lover's quarrel. And I think I know what about: children.”
Sergio turned around and looked at them. They were still standing, not talking. I could tell they had reached an impasse. I felt for them. I knew what it felt like to be at odds with a partner. Sergio and I had been that way for a few months until Bruno forced us to sort ourselves out. I was still grateful to him for that.
To my surprise, Sergio stood up and called out to them, “Hey, do you two know if the bar is still open?”
I wondered what he was doing. The dark-skinned beauty said, “No idea.” He looked at his partner who shrugged.
But Sergio was obviously determined to do something and I could see the Crown prosecutor coming out in him. I hadn't seen that side of him in a while.
He strode over to them, his hand extended. “I'm Sergio. And this,” and he gestured behind him, “Is Stan. We're from England...”
Obviously he was waiting for a response in kind. The blonde sighed and said, “Jules. And that's Tom. Melbourne.”
The way he said 'Tom' sounded like it was a bad word. Sergio shook their hands and smiled brightly, as if he hadn't noticed that they were fighting. I decided to play along. I got up and went over and made them shake my hand. I could tell they were pissed: both at us and each other. But I realized Sergio was intervening. I wasn't quite sure why.
Sergio said, “Why don't I go to the bar and get us some drinks. Have a seat with us.”
Like all good lawyers, he said it in a way that made it very hard to refuse. The two boys looked at each other and Jules shrugged. They walked over to two chairs across from where we were sitting and slumped into them. Jules looked up at the sky, at the waving branches being blown by the soft breeze off the ocean. I could see him relax a little. How could you not relax in paradise?
Tom however, looked sullen. He glared at me as if I had done something terrible to him. The three of us sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until Sergio came back with a little tray and four cocktails that involved umbrellas. He handed one to me and winked, then gave the other two theirs. It tasted like coconut and a bunch of other things. Dangerous drinks, since they were sweet and smooth and didn't taste like they had a club hidden inside them. Which they did.
Sergio sat and took a big sip from his drink. He looked at the two boys across from him and said, all easy and innocent, “So what's eating you two?”
Jules looked startled. He sipped his drink then said, “I don't think it's...”
Sergio was in full courtroom mode. “Yeah maybe, but you kind of made it our business by having an argument right beside us on this beautiful night in the South Pacific. So I feel like I deserve to know if your argument was worth having on a night like this.”
I looked at my husband, almost amazed. I couldn't figure out where this was coming from. In a low voice, I said, “Sergio...”
He turned to me and gave me his very best smile. He leaned in and whispered, “I'm paying the universe back...just go with it.”
I got it. I completely understood. I nodded and sipped my drink.
Tom put his drink down on the arm of the chair. He said, “I don't know why you think you can stick your nose in to other people's business...” He stopped, clearly angry. But then he surprised us. “But if you must know, my husband doesn't want to have a kid and I do.”
Jules looked horrified. He almost spat his drink out. “Tom! What the hell?”
But Tom turned to him and said, “Well? It's true.”
I could tell that Jules was exasperated. He threw his head back and groaned. He looked over at me and said, “I don't see why it's such a big deal to have a kid. It's kind of irresponsible these days, don't you think?”
I realized the answer was complicated, so I just said, “It sounds like that's what you think.”
Tom chuckled, and not happily, but then said, “Yeah, but I don't give a shit about the world, I only give a shit about our lives. It's important to me, Tom...why can't you see that?”
I started to feel for Tom. Not that I was taking sides. Because I could also see Jules' perspective. I was about to say that, when Sergio said, “I get it you two. There's good reasons for both perspectives.” He looked at me for a second, then said, “My husband and I have always been of the same mind about this, so it was easy. We didn't want to.” He stopped, and looked puzzled for a second. He looked at me. “Right?”
With a laugh I put my hand on his arm. “That's right.” I turned to Jules. “But tell me what's so bad about it?”
But I could tell that Jules was at the limit. He got up and said through clenched teeth, “I don't have to explain it to you. Come on, Tom. Let's go to bed.”
He stalked off. Tom looked at us apologetically. He mumbled, “Sorry...” and quickly followed Jules into the hotel.
I felt sad for a second. I turned to Sergio, who looked thoughtful and said, “I hope they figure this out. They seem like nice guys otherwise.”
Sergio didn't say anything for a moment. Then he turned to me. “They do. Maybe we can help.”
“How?”
He looked thoughtful again. “I don't know. Maybe get them to see the other's side? In any case, we can be very persuasive, right?”
I knew what he was talking about and it wasn't about conversation. With a sly grin, I said, “So when should we make a move?”
He stood up and extended his hand. “We'll know when the time comes.”
We went to bed.
--
One opportunity came unexpectedly. Sergio had slept the next morning and I woke up too early, so I decided to go for a walk down the beach. I got some coffee from the restaurant and strolled through the trees. The morning was barely started and the sun was just rising high enough to heat things up. The ocean was still and the beach seemed deserted at first, until I noticed Jules squatting in the sand, idly making a sand castle as if he was a little kid.
I walked over to him and said, “When's the last time you made one of those?”
He looked up at me, surprise all over his face. “Oh...hi...yeah...about fifteen years ago.” He looked up at the water and then back at me. “Sorry for last night. I was in a bitchy mood.”
“It's fine. I hope you slept all right.”
He laughed and said, “Yeah. We did. And we fucked, to be blunt, which always seems to settle things. At least for a while.”
His openness was refreshing. I said, “Yeah. Sex is good for that.”
Standing up and wiping the sand from his thighs, he looked at me moment. “How long have you two been together?”
“Oh, well, married for five years, but we've know each other since we were fourteen or something.”
He looked surprised. He said, “I've know Tom since primary school...we were neighbours and then in college, we realized we had been in love with each other for years. What about you two?”
I sat down on the sand and sighed. “A bit more complicated. I thought I was straight, then Sergio kissed me and I quickly realized I was into guys as well. Who knew?”
“You're bi?”
I laughed and said, “Don't sound so surprised.”
He looked embarrassed. “Sorry...I just...I guess I've never believed there was such a thing.”
“Yeah, I've heard that before. But it's true. I've had loads of sex with women and it was great. But I have loads of sex with Sergio...and sometimes other guys...and it's also great. Let's say I'm about sixty-forty.”
Jules laughed and said, “And the gay side is sixty?”
“Exactly.”
There was silence for a moment, then he said, “So you two are open?”
I knew this was coming. “Not exactly. We agreed to only have sex with people we both know. And we have a bunch of friends who like to have sex. So it works. And if one of us fucks someone the other doesn't know, then we introduce them. It works. But mostly we just fuck each other.”
I could tell that Jules looked relieve to be talking about it. I got the sense that he and Tom had had to battle that decision out as well. Feeling a little flirty, I put my arm around Jules shoulders. I said, “So the open/not open talk was hard?” I rubbed his back a little, just to see what he would do.
He looked at me and I could tell he was into it. He said, “Yeah. But in the end we totally agreed with each other. We're pretty open as long as we tell the other.” He put his hand on my thigh and said, “And maybe I'll have something to tell him?”
I leaned in and kissed him. He had stubble on his face which dug into my lips. His blue eyes were wide, as if he was surprised something was happening. I stood up and said, “Let's go into the trees...we don't want to put on a show...necessarily.”
With a laugh he stood up. His brown shorts were all tented out. So were mine. We strolled casually into the trees then he pushed me against one of them, mashing his lips into mine. I fumbled with the fly of his shorts and pushed them down. He wasn't wearing briefs and his surprisingly thick cock flopped out, hard and sweaty. Before I could give it some attention, he got on his knees and fished into my open shorts and pulled out my aching prick which was throbbing and drooling. He slurped it into his mouth with a moan and I joined him, moaning and gasping, my eyes shut tight.
I squeezed my eyes shut more tightly as I felt my dick hit the back of his throat a few times so I grabbed his head and stuffed it even deeper. He pulled off and I felt the ocean breeze on my slimy muscle, then, to my surprise felt another pair of lips and I knew whose they were right away. I looked down and Sergio and Jules were giving me some attention, and giving each other some attention, running their mouths all over the aching head of my cock and kissing each other with it between them.
I shifted my legs, spreading them wider and enjoyed the show. They alternated deep-throating me which the other sucked on my balls. My whole body was on fire and I was afraid I was going to explode really fast, but Sergio, knowing me as he does, slowed down and he and Jules got into some serious necking. I slowly stroked my cock closet to their faces.
I looked between the trees and saw a bit of the ocean, but then Jules stood up and turned around. He turned to me and said, “Do you want to fuck me?”
Of course I did. Sergio slobbered on my cock and spit on his hand so he cold slide some fingers in Jules gorgeous ass, spreading the cheeks and licking his way into his hole. Jules moaned and said, “Just fucking do it!”
I grabbed his hips and said, “Before I fuck you, Jules, tell me how important it is that you and Tom don't have a kid.”
He looked at me, startled. Before he could answer, I pushed my cock in his hole with a fair bit of force. He gasped through clenched teeth and I bottomed out in his ass, and then he said “I don't know...I think it's because Tom wants it so much.” He stopped when I began to thrust. He shut his eyes and I gripped his hips. Sergio was on his knees still, jerking and lapping at Jules' cock. Jules opened his eyes and turned to me. “I like kids, really...”
I heard Sergio's voice. “So you're saying that you're just being a shit about it?”
I jammed myself as deep as I could go. I pulled Jules face to mine so our mouths were close together. I said, “Life is short, Jules. Don't let this get in the way. Just go with it. Have a fucking kid and a good life. You two seem like decent guys...” I fucked him even harder. I was getting out of breath, but I felt like I wanted to say something more. “...And you're both young. Have a kid and stay together. It would be a shame to end it because you're feeling stubborn...”
With that I gave him a few really hard fucks, almost pushing him over. He growled and I looked down to see Sergio jerking out an amazingly thick load onto his tongue. Jules arched his back and kept pumping cum into my husband's mouth as my own cock filled his ass. Sergio got up, cum drooling down his chin and pushed me out of the way. He slid his big brown cock into Jules ass and with a couples of really deep thrusts, came with a yell. I kissed him, tasting Jules' cum and we traded it between us.
I had just calmed down when we heard, “What the fuck...?”
I turned and there was Tom. Jules gasped and said, “Fuck!”
I jumped in and said, “Hey Tom...you want this ass? He's all lubed up and ready for you.”
Sergio walked over to Tom and took his hand. He said, “Just go with, Tom.”
Tom looked like he was going to say something, but stopped when Sergio pulled his shorts down and started to stroke and very impressive, uncut brown cock that was all surrounded by dark curls. This guy was gorgeous. Sergio leaned down and sucked it, and I could tell Tom was into it. His cock grew to an even more impressive length.
Tom's expression changed when he looked at Jules beside me. Jules was somehow still in the mood to be fucked, because he said, “Get over here...”
Tom strode over and got behind his boy and pushed his cock in. The contrast of Tom's big brown tool against Jules' pale, meaty ass was impressive.
Jules cried out when Tom's cock bottomed out in his ass, stretching and jamming him up against the tree, his own prick scraping against the trunk, Tom's arms wrapped around his torso. Jules' cock began to find some more life, because it quickly got hard again and Tom reached around and stoked it in time with the deep thrusts he was giving him.
Jules finally managed to say, “These two assholes have convinced me...I guess...that I'm being a shit about having kids...I just like to be contrary, Tom...fuck! Harder...anyway...let's have a kid, ok? Happy?”'
Tom was busy fucking, but not busy enough not to look surprised. “Really? Are you sure?”
Jules laughed and said, “No, I'm not fucking sure, but I love you too much to make this difficult. We'll figure it out.”
Tom fucked him even faster. Sergio and I decided it was time to leave the scene so we hiked up out shorts and wandered through the trees and back to the hotel where we had a long, cool bath and sucked loads out of each other between sips of a long gin and tonic. Very nice.
Sergio and I spent the week lounging around and we had a few more evenings with Tom and Jules – no sex, this time – and got to really like them. They were clearly still in negotiations, but we felt we had somehow broken the deadlock between them, which felt very nice.
At the end of the week – and fuck I wished there was more time – we packed up our things and made our way to the airport. We both had taken some sleeping pills, so the next eight billion hours of travel was hazy and surreal. We landed in London, got a taxi and found ourselves at last in our house.
Was this our last trip to Vanuatu? Not in the least. We went every year until...well, maybe I'll tell you about that some time. But yeah, we went to Vanuatu every year, for at least two weeks since a week was more like self-destruction than a holiday. But that night after leaving Tom and Jules to work out their life in Australia, we nestled into our bed and felt gratitude, and love and a whole bunch of happiness.
This is the end of Friends in Need but at least one character from this story and some from Graduation Was the Beginning appear with some new ones in Thirtysomethings.
To get in touch with the author, send them an email.
