Ex-Rats Ch. 03

I broke off my reveries to find myself back on that Montana front porch and Marty, delighted with his wit, smirking at me from over Kerri's shoulder. Shauna, meanwhile, continued to stroke his arm, eventually putting her hands to his cheeks, pulling him gently toward her for a quick smooch.

Kerri rose from Marty's lap then, and we embraced. I could feel her convulsed in silent sobs, while Shauna and Marty sat head to head, Shauna running her hands, over and over, through his thinning hair.

Jesus, it does suck getting old.

We remained that way for a short while, Kerri and I holding desperately to each other, with Kerri now and then emitting a small squeak of a cry. Shauna and Marty gently nuzzling, Shauna with the occasional snuffle. In that time I was trying very, very hard not to lose it completely, too.

"Y'know," I said to keep from making a damned fool of myself. "It isn't every day we all get together in the ass-end of the world. Seems like we ought to make the most of what we have together in the here and now."

Well, that sure as hell didn't have the intended effect. Kerri began these huge, gulping howls that Mediterranean women seem prone to, while Shauna, still on her knees, leaned over at the waist, touched her head to the warped and weathered floorboards, began uttering forlorn yelps of desolation.

Marty, in tears himself, put down the ear of corn he'd been working on and laid a soothing hand on Shauna's shoulder. "Hey, you gorgeous little paddy," he said in his no-nonsense tone. "Much as I fancy Kerri, you still get first licks."

Abruptly, Kerri began to laugh, a melodious sound made even merrier by her refusal to remain shattered by Marty's news.

Shauna, laughing a bit herself, rose to caress Marty once more. Then, embracing Kerri with her most impish look, she stated apologetically "Marty's only kidding, y'know. You're company. Of course you get first licks."

I could only shake my head as both women hugged and giggled and cried.

Marty winked at me and I shrugged, asked if anyone wanted another drink. Of course everyone did, so I returned to the kitchen, the Old Grand Dad, the SoCo, and the mixers.

As I orchestrated more drinks, Shauna came up from behind and put her arms around me. Leaning her head on my shoulder, she asked how I stayed so vigorous, so young-looking despite drinking like a Bowery rummy, smoking like the proverbial chimney, and absolutely refusing to exercise. I put a hand to hers and replied, "Good genes, I guess."

Feeling the arms of this gorgeous woman, my best buddy's wife, around me, I went off, once more, into the wonderland of fond recollection.

We had paired off easily that fateful day long ago; the enticingly bronzed, ebony-tressed Kerri with fair-haired Scandinavian me; the green-eyed, flaming-maned Shauna with the staid and steady, not-all-that-Canadian-anymore Marty.

When Kerri, yet interwoven with Shauna in the sweltering and sultry pilothouse, had at last slid those famous panties from her forested cleft, she had promptly begun to work Shauna's virginally white undies down those shapely, freckle-dusted thighs. Hardly had Shauna's perfect posterior been unsheathed, when Marty groaned and began copiously unloading over both Shauna and Kerri.

Immediately, Shauna turned, panties at mid-thigh, and went to her knees. She took Marty's spewing cock in her mouth to accept the last of his discharge, running her hands up and down that thick shaft.

Kerri and I watched avidly as Shauna began massaging Marty's unshorn foreskin up to her mouth then down to caress his balls. She let the glistening head of Marty's penis slither out of her mouth, began running her perfectly pink tongue over his belly.

It was about then that Kerri looked at me with those deep and dark, yea sultry eyes, and we knew we had to have each other. Immediately.

I recall vividly that we leveled our sights at one another as she stepped onto the low platform in front of the wheel, settling her plump love nest to exactly the right height. Somehow, I had the presence of mind to quickly check our drift, then glanced down to see that the penis-to-vagina course was true.

With but slight adjustments, I placed my cock to the edge of those heavenly pussy lips and stopped. Leaning in, I kissed Kerri full on her mouth, wasn't surprised when her tongue flicked to my lips. I opened my mouth and accepted her advances as I slowly pushed my satisfyingly re-energized rod deeper into her yielding tunnel. At last, I could resist no longer, grabbed the wheel with both hands, enfolded one of the most attractive women I'd ever beheld between my forearms, and shoved myself into that heavenly hole as far as I could possibly go.

Kerri's eyes widened, her lips (both sets) opened and she began a low moan as I upped the tempo, pumping faster, even faster, deeper, deeper yet, until we were both frenziedly humping and huffing, kissing and tonguing, the wheel twisting and turning in jerky fits with our unheeding passion.

It's indeed fortunate that the engines were still at idle or this fantastic journey might have become simply woeful.

Abruptly finding myself back in Shauna's kitchen, I turned as she released her hold, and said "You know me, Shauna. I don't take a whole lotta stuff real seriously. But I'm starting to look old age in the face, and it ain't pretty." I grinned then and went on. "But I swear to God, ma'am, I don't know why you're asking me that. I don't believe I've known any more pretty . . . hell, downright sexy old ladies as Kerri and you."

"To tell you the truth, Jimmy," Shauna replied without returning my grin, "I'm starting to feel my age, too, and it's a thing that worry's me. And once Marty starts getting real sick . . . and he will, we both know that . . . I'll just want to die, myself. I just can't conceive of living without him."

I don't know what Shauna expected to hear from me, but I answered with what I felt. "And that's as it should be, Shauna. Isn't it?"

She came around to face me then, and once more I fell under the spell of those wild azure eyes. "Goddamn it, you know just what to say all the time."

"Now, that doesn't mean I'm encouraging you to off yourself on Marty's deathbed, you crazy Irish wench." I responded. "What I'm trying to say is that we, Kerri and I, are sure as hell feeling what you're feeling, and that we're here to help however we can."

Shauna turned away from me, was silent as I blundered through fixing some more drinks. Finally, she muttered "I'm wondering if I can come to live with you and Kerri when . . . the time comes."

I've got to admit, I'd been waiting for something like that for almost forty years.

"Of course you're welcome to move in with us, Shauna," I replied, perhaps a bit quicker than was decorous. "But keep in mind that Marty's got awhile yet. Hell, that boozebag'll probably outlast all of us." I said this despite the fact that we both knew differently.

She smiled at last, though crying just a little, and once more I went weak in the knees. She shook her head then, grabbed Marty's drink and we headed back to the porch.

After a tasty steak dinner, most of which everybody but yours truly only pushed to and fro, then a few more drinks, a few less laughs than usual, and some brief tears, Marty announced that he was getting too old for so much entertaining, was heading on in to bed, mentioned that tonight he'd just be pleasuring Shauna. He gave Kerri a quick hug, squeezed my shoulder gently, said he was real glad to see both of us. Limping just slightly from the effects of that latest stroke, he gimped over to embrace his fine looking wife.

Momentarily, I was once more transported back to that wondrous day. When Marty had finished tying us to the dock on our return from the "tour", he'd rejoined Shauna to embrace her in just that way. This night, as back then, she couldn't take her eyes off him. Theirs was a love to, well, to rival the love between Kerri and me.

That, however, wasn't what was supposed to happen on the day we all met, way back when. What was supposed to happen was entertaining these two enchanting ladies with a cruise into the South China Sea. What was supposed to happen was having a few beers, enjoying some good sex, and all of us going our own way.

Indeed, we did enjoy a tropical cruise, a few beers, and some marvelous sex. Then things had gotten a little out of control.

I recalled that when we'd returned from our little adventure, the boat holed and dented, we four vagabonds exhausted and grimy, we found ourselves neck-deep in a pile of pissed-off officers and envious crewmates. The patrol officer of our two-boat detachment, Lt. Janvrin, had immediately begun threatening bodily harm toward Marty and me for our impromptu sortie with the two beauties. I, meantime, was trying to pry the bedeviled Marty and Shauna apart, the better to meet this assault on our honor and intentions . . . well, our honor anyhow.

I'd begun to apologize to Shauna for getting us all in so much perceived trouble. Abruptly she'd put one soft hand to my cheek and the other to her lips. Her gentle touch has stayed with me for all these years. With one soon to be explained exception, only by Kerri have I been touched as I was that long-ago moment.

Ascending the stairs to Marty and Shauna's second floor guestroom, Kerri suddenly began sniffling, grabbed my hand, put it inside her shirt, under her bra, to begin shmushing it around her erect nipple. As she massaged her breast with my hand, she asked sadly "How have we all suddenly become so old?"

"Yo, darlin'," I responded in the only way I knew. "Remember, you're still getting good sex two, three nights a week. You might be just a little grateful. I know I am." By now I had taken back control of my hand and began lightly pinching the aforementioned nipple.

I was amazed to see a small grim. "Okay, okay," she said, "You are and always will be The Man."

"Damn straight," I said, and meant it.

Once in the room, I beheld those nipples mounding her shirt even through her normally suppressive out-in-public bra. Christ, but she was a sensuous, exotic, arousing lady. We slowly stripped down to underwear and Kerri told me to sit on the bed.

I did as requested and was treated to the recently re-enacted vision of her sensuous grind as she began removing her panties. Though they weren't the shocking pink panties of legend, they were erotic enough in their shimmering blackness that I expected great things momentarily.

Sure enough, she hooked her fingers at her hips, latched on to those erotic-enough panties and began inching them down over said hips, not to mention that still oh-so-alluring ass. Gazing at me with that come-hither smile, she lowered, inch by tantalizing inch, said delectable panties. I could only gaze at this Venus in rapt appreciation.

As Kerri's lush ebony pubic growth was revealed, follicle by erotic follicle, I began feeling my cock enlarge with the anticipation of her unclothed vulva. I unleashed my erection to relieve the pressure on the strained boxer briefs while Kerri slowly worked her panties ever lower.

Now, as I've stated, I'm doubtless not the most remarkably endowed son-of-a-bitch in the world, and my wife yet seems to think that I have nothing to be ashamed of. All well and good. But I must confess that there have been times in my exertions to get my cock as deeply into her soaking, slithery, compliant channel as I could, that I craved at least another inch or so of manhood to gather and deliver that much more pleasure to this woman that I love so much.

No matter length and width, however, I guess Kerri likes it just fine. She lowered herself to the bed and I knelt between her legs (ignoring my protesting knees) to begin thrusting my burdened cock into that lovely snatch. This was one of those encounters where I felt that my penis was reaching as far as her vaginal length would allow, was stretching my woman to her limits.

She must have felt the same way, for she suddenly let out a muffled scream and soaked us both with pee and pussy juice. At the same moment, I gushed two days of accumulated desire into that perfect softness, again overflowing those perfect lips. We knew we'd have to change the bed before sleeping, wash the blankets in the morning. We also knew Marty and Shauna would understand.

That next morning, after doing the obligatory laundry, we all headed back to Butte for Marty's tests. Again, I drove the Land Cruiser, easily ignored the cattle and the corn, and regretted the unusually muted murmuring from the others. As I drove, I recalled that halfway through our cruise those many years back, I had allowed Kerri, after some brief but intense instruction, to take the helm of the Stoned Pony.

My young soul lacked for almost nothing as I stood admiring her nude body and reminding her not to crash into the rocks that seemed to be everywhere. As we puttered northward along the coast, rolling lazily over the Pacific swells among the fishing sampans, cargo vessels, South Vietnamese patrol boats, and assorted other water-born craft, Marty and Shauna were, unbeknownst to me, anyhow, falling deeper in love.

I remember, too, wondering just when Kerri would finally let me know that I was merely an entertaining diversion; that after this day, somebody like myself was no longer worthy of her affections, even of her friendship. The fact that she would occasionally caress my shoulder or run her fingers lightly through my sweat-damp hair before I'd sternly remind her to look where she was going, only jolted me insofar as I looked on these gestures as preliminary to this beautiful woman summarily dismissing me from her life forever.

But, then, the whole voyage was supposed to be a lark, a little un-military playtime, unencumbered by affection. I still marvel at how wrong I was.

In any case, we cruised that way for close to an hour, until we bumbled into the ill-conceived VC ambush. The attack scared the ever-loving crap out of all of us, and it was only later that I considered the possibility of forty years in the Portsmouth Naval Prison had either of the nurses been wounded or killed. I can only imagine how terrified Marty had been at the possibility of losing his new-found love.

When we'd extricated ourselves from the firefight with no casualties and only superficial damage to the boat, Marty and Shauna had cemented their feelings for each other. Kerri, meanwhile, stood disconsolately and in undeserved humility next to me in the coxswain's station during the trip back to Vung Tau.

I was forced back to the present by Shauna, who directed me to the oncology clinic hard by St. James Hospital. I parked the Land Cruiser, got proper instruction on removing the key from the goddamned ignition, and followed the others into the building.

The receptionist, somewhat flustered at seeing people other than the patient and his wife, mentioned unnecessarily that only Marty would be allowed into the examining room for some tests. Duh!

We were, she said while looking only at Shauna, welcome to sit among the roomful of patients, friends and family, all stoic and grimly prepared for the worst, who took up a goodly portion of the seats in the reception area. Telling the others that I'd be back in a minute, I headed for the door to grab a quick smoke outside.

As I stood on the sidewalk, I thought once again of Shauna, of how she was such a strong girl, that she would, of course, handle everything just fine, and . . . then what? Well, I mused, I guess she'll just move in with us.

The fact that I was head-over-heels, unflinchingly, hopelessly in love with the woman . . . had been for more than forty years . . . might, however, make things a bit strained between Kerri, who I also loved with that same undying passion, and me. This could get a little complicated.

Turned out Marty's tests took considerably longer than we expected. During our wait, Kerri, Shauna, and I shuffled around the reception area, alternately telling each other that Marty still had a few more good years and continuing to reminisce about the times we'd had together. Eventually, Shauna was asked to come into the examining room. She rose with a grimace of anticipation to follow the nurse.

Kerri and I promptly headed outside so I could grab another smoke.

"When are you just going to tell her that you love her?" Kerri asked me after I had fired up a Marlboro.

"'Scuse me?" I said, trying to appear innocent and offended.

"I've known since we all met that you're in love with Shauna." Kerri sighed and rolled her eyes. "I've also known for lo these many years that I'd be lost without you. Kind of a conundrum, isn't it?"

Next: Just say no? No way.