It All Started in Paradise

Without closing the robe, Ollie turns toward Nin suggestively, gazes into her eyes and says "Thank you", then looks down.

Nin slowly looks down at Ollie's manhood. It is not at full mast, but still fully engorged and glistening from the tip.

Without a word, Nin turns and retrieves a small towel from behind her. She slowly wipes the fluid from his stomach and swollen penis. She is thorough, bordering on pedantic. It is so erotic, Ollie almost comes in her hand.

Nin removes the cleaning towel. She closes and ties Ollie's robe. Finally, she looks Ollie in the eyes again, and says "Thank you."

With that, still naked, her pert rump orbs march off, rhythmically, clench, release, clench, release, with an undulating strut that will dislocate the hip of any person except top-flight runway models.

***

Nin gone, Ollie turns to see how things are going with his sister.

Ollie wonders what Olivia will think if she knows that another woman had just handled him in such an intimate way, only a few feet from her. But as he watches, Anurak is working down her arm, to her fingers, and she seems at peace with the world.

Ollie has to decide what to do with himself in the meantime. He can loll on the sofa. But, he feels so sexually charged that he cannot help himself. An inexplicable force field detains him at where he is. He decides to sit on his massage table to observe the rest of Olivia's massage. After all, she will be done shortly.

After awhile, Ollie feels a stab of guilt. What will Olivia think of him? A pervert brother?

Then, he sees Anurak in a more heightened semi-erect state. His phallus has a regal but vital appearance. When he moves, it does not sway. A certain dignity. The lad is a bag of hormones. Ollie does not like the idea of leaving the living room, thus leaving his sister and Anurak on their own.

Anurak notices Ollie. He gives Ollie a knowing grin, then winks.

When Anurak finishes with Olivia's arms, he moves back to the head of the table and begins to rub the top of her chest under her collarbone. Ollie can still make out her nipples under the towel, but with her lying on her back, and in such a state of relaxation, her nipples are barely poking at the towel, and her areolas are barely, if at all, visible as they have returned to a very light pink, blending in with the rest of her breasts.

However, as Anurak's hands move ever so slowly downward, it causes her breasts to undulate under the towel. The movement causes her nipples to rub against the fabric, and they react as expected. Before long, her breasts have entered into a state of full arousal, and become unmistakably prominent under the towel.

As Anurak continues to work, the towel is pushed lower and lower until most of her breasts are bared, with only an inch or so of fabric above her now rock hard nipples.

***

Finally, Anurak stops and goes to get some oil. Anurak resumes. He starts with her feet and then works up to her lower legs and calves. Olivia rouses a moment, looks down once, but settles back without protest.

As Anurak prepares to work the upper part of her legs, he reapplies a liberal amount of oil. Anurak starts with the area just above the knee, and works the muscles forcefully. As he does this, he continues to work ever higher. The folded lower portion of the towel is situated across the top of her thighs and has her mound completely covered. However, as he continues to work on her, his hands begin to slide under the towel.

Because of Anurak's massage movements, Olivia's legs naturally begin to spread apart. The towel is fairly taut across her body. This means that the towel does not sag between her legs at all. With the effects of Anurak's hand movements and the spreading of her legs, it is only a matter of time before Olivia's most private area comes into view.

While this happens often in massages, it is probably fairly rare that it happens while the woman's brother looks on, up her. Anurak makes no move to pull the towel back down to cover Olivia. At the end of one of Anurak's more vigorous rubs, he lifts his hands straight up, which causes Olivia's entire mound to come into view.

Ollie cannot believe the sight in front of him. Now, he is seeing his sister's most intimate. A natural thatch, not so thick, but sufficiently luxuriant to obscure her labia. A kind of tamed wilderness.

Anurak begins to rub all the way to the top, past her thighs, so that his hands press against the labia of her now exposed womanhood. He presses firmly against her.

Olivia is becoming engorged and moist. But, it is when her lips actually part that Anurak and Ollie see a teardrop of clear fluid escape and run down the crack of her buttocks.

It is obvious that Olivia is beyond the point of no return, beyond teasing. She needs to be touched even more intimately.

Anurak reapplies oil and then moves back to the head of the table.

He folds the towel down, fully exposing Olivia's breasts. He begins to slowly rub oil all over her breasts. He rubs from the top of her chest down to the bottom of her breasts, kneads them, and then cups each of them. He pushes them together as his hand returns back up.

His fingers slide across her nipples on the way down. And then, as he pulls back up, he finishes by pulling on them.

It is incredibly hot for Ollie to watch this young man treating his sister's normally hidden treasures so roughly.

Moving on, Anurak rubs Olivia's legs. He places his hand flat on Olivia's lovely folds and begins to apply slow pulsing pressure. Olivia responds by pulling her knees up and to the sides and begins to push against Anurak's hand in rhythm, in a trance. By doing this, she gives Anurak and Ollie a view of her anus, an oily o-ring glistening with her own fluids.

Olivia shudders. She lies peacefully for awhile, climbing down from her experience.

Finally, Anurak announces that the massage is done. He helps Olivia wear her robe in the same way that Nin had helped Ollie earlier. As Olivia slips into her robe, she scans the room, and sees Ollie. She looks away quickly.

Olivia can't help but takes one last lingering look at Anurak. Anurak, still naked, now with a raging erection, walks to the washroom to join his sister.

Ollie and Olivia in their robes, go to the patio. Ollie serves wine. They are waiting for Anurak and Nin to come out of the washroom, to join them for a drink.

After ten minutes, there is still no sign of the siblings. Olivia looks at Ollie quizzically. Ollie shrugs.

Shortly, Anurak and Nin emerge. They apologise that they cannot stay as they have to help their mum with some chores. Pleasantries are exchanged. They leave.

Ollie tentatively, "How was it, sis?"

"That was nice" is all Olivia can muster.

***

Chapter 8

Movie Night

Ollie began his lifelong love affair with film in university when he signed up for the Film Club for a lark. As a student pauper, he had merely wanted cheap movie tickets to entertain himself on slow weeknights. The words 'movie' and 'film' were synonymous to him then.

That was when Ollie was guilefully inducted to the world of Bernardo Bertolucci, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Luis Buñuel, François Truffaut. Individually and collectively, they conspired to hold Ollie captive to their abstraction from that day on.

Ollie was to discover that Writing and Film are just two sides of the same creative canvas. They feed on each other voraciously.

Olivia is a mild cinephile. She enjoys the occasional lite arty off-road film which has achieved some commercial success. Not for her, the heavy-hitting philosophically profound movies, or rather, films, which leave more inconvenient questions than answers at the end.

Ollie's news feed reports that Bertolucci passed away in Rome today. Tonight, Ollie wants to relive and celebrate the genius, and his genius.

Ollie and Olivia are kind of enamored of Anurak and Nin. They are brimful of youthful energy, and yet, are at one with the idyll of the island. They idealise equanimity. They remind Ollie and Olivia of their carefree days, those salad days of their youth on the English south coast, unaccountably free, messing around the beach, dunes, sea and boat.

Anurak carries a casual cheeky insouciance that politely challenges but not irk Ollie and Olivia.

Nin is chill and yet purposeful and organising in her ways. Although the younger sibling, Nin appears to be her brother's minder and moderator. She knows how to coil her big brother around her little finger when expedient.

"What say you if we invite Penchan, Anurak and Nin over tonight, sometime after dinner, say, 8pm to chill. Banter, wine, snacks. Maybe we can watch a movie together. They've been working hard for us. It's an opportunity for us to show the family our appreciation."

"I would love that. And they're such good company. We always glean some new insights on Thai culture whenever we're with them. Let's!"

Anurak and Nin accept the invitation. Penchan declines politely. By force of habit, she goes to bed at 9pm sharp. What is unsaid is that Penchan is not so at ease bantering in English in a non-work situation.

Anurak informs that they will bring some local delicacy snacks, and an evil local brew of the finest poison to hose it all down. This is so like Anurak! Sounds like a plan and a party.

***

Anurak and Nin are making their way to the guest bungalow.

"What do you make of our guests so far, since our last discussion?"

"Hmmm... you're still fixated with this. In the last massage, I thought I heard Ollie cry, or more like moan, "Oh sis!". Although it could well have been "Oh shit!". I can't be sure."

"Oh?"

"Do you know what our guests have in mind for the evening?"

"Ollie mentioned something about chilling on wine and snacks. He mumbled about the famous movie director, Bertolucci, passing away today. Maybe he wants us to watch a movie. I've brought along a portable hard disk of downloaded Thai and western movies just in case they want to select any."

"Bertolucci? Is that the classic "Last Tango In Paris" and "The Last Emperor" director?"

"That's the dude."

***

The wine flows. The Thai desserts are sinfully delicious. Anurak's alcoholic brew is certified premium poison.

Alcohol is the greatest equaliser. The four have a good time. They connect famously despite the thirty year age gap. They have a kinship that is sure, but hard to define.

So loosened up, Anurak and Nin readily share their life experiences so far, and then, their aspirations.

True to character, Anurak hopes to own and run a sea sports business. Fishing, sailing, scuba, surfing, waterskiing, sailing. Tours, charters, instructional classes, rentals. He shares with Ollie and Olivia the best spots on the island for each type of water sport. Having been raised in the English south coast, Ollie and Olivia relate well to this.

True to form, Nin the pragmatic organiser, wants to pursue a career in tourism management. She has a bright and turning mind. She will succeed simply because that is what she wants to do.

However, on the flipside, Ollie and Olivia are relatively guarded, taking care not to reveal their sibling relationship. This is difficult and unnatural for them. Firstly, they have to be mindful to coordinate their stories to avoid inconsistencies and contradictions. Secondly, this is uncharacteristic of them. They are open and authentic by nature. They feel guilty about their inauthenticity. The deceit gnaws at them.

When Olivia has a private moment with Ollie in the kitchenette to replenish the food and beverages, she whispers, "I feel bad about misrepresenting ourselves. I think you do too. Just for tonight, let's be decidedly hubby and wife. Not for Anurak and Nin, but for us."

She surprises Ollie. She mashes her body against her brother, embraces him with smouldering passion and urgency. She kisses him fulsomely on his lips. They remain this way for a minute before she surfaces for air.

Ollie looks at his sister closely, very carefully, not at all as a man looks at a woman, but as if he is considering her as a specimen for some purpose quite beyond her present thoughts. She is acutely aware that her brother is studying her with evident enjoyment. She feels dreadfully physical.

So habituated, they rejoin Anurak and Nin with a new casual confidence.

***

Anurak perceives a sea change in the guests. Their body movements are now more fluid, their words more flowing, their demeanors more coalesced.

The evening is becoming longer and softer now. Olivia and Nin seem to glow. Their faces faintly flushed by wine. Light dancing in their eyes.

Ollie marvels at how they are getting along with Anurak and Nin. They are of his children's age. He can be their dad. His mind flits to his children back home. He knows he will never regard his children the same way again, although he doesn't quite know precisely why and how.

***

They get to discussing movies. Ollie is keen to learn from Anurak and Nin the popular genres, themes and styles in Thai movies. Anurak says that a good way to immerse is to simply view one.

Anurak says he has with him a portable harddisk which has a few hundred local and western movie titles. He had copied them from a pal who is in the pirated movies trade.

Anurak selects a popular Thai movie, a local classic. Ollie and Olivia find it interesting, but there are no English subtitles, so the movie is not meaningful to them. It is the same with all the other Thai movies in Anurak's collection.

In deference to Ollie, and to the late master, Anurak suggests that they look for a Bertolucci movie. There are three movies in Anurak's stash. They choose the one which none of them have watched before.

***

Olivia dims the lights to set the mood for the movie viewing.

Ollie and Olivia are sitting slightly behind Anurak and Nin.

As the movie starts up, Nin scoots over to her brother.

Nin sits in front of Anurak, pausing momentarily, as if giving him notice of her next move. Nin then lazes in front of him like he is a lounge chair. She makes some fine bodily adjustments. Brother and sister mould into a unified whole. Anurak wraps his arms around Nin's waist as if buckling her down in a seatbelt. Anurak tightens his arms momentarily, and then relaxes them as if she is now secured.

Nin coos: "Thanks bro..."

***

Ollie gazes at Olivia. She smiles coyly.

Olivia surprises Ollie. She scoots over to him. She lazes on her brother in the same way that Nin lazes over Anurak. Ollie can feel her warmth, and she, his. Ollie rests his hand on her thigh experimentally, then exploratorily. He nuzzles her neck. Olivia adjusts her skirt.

Olivia thinks she hears muffled mewing noises. She nudges Ollie.

Anurak's hand is on the fabric of Nin's gym shorts, over her crotch. His finger doodles cryptic messages on her.

***

The Dreamers. 2003.

A film made by a cinephile, Signore Bertolucci, no less, about cinephiles, acted by cinephiles, for cinephiles.

Matthew is an American student who has come to Paris for cultural immersion. At the Cinémathèque Française, the high temple of French cinema, Matthew meets the free-spirited siblings, Théo and Isabelle. The three cinephiles bond.

The siblings offer Matthew the chance to stay with them while their parents are on a trip. Matthew accepts. His first French friends. His first meaningful French immersion opportunity.

Matthew is curious about the sibling relationship after inadvertently seeing them sleep nude together one night when he is passing Théo's room on the way to the washroom down the passage.

The siblings accept nudity and intimacy matter-of-factly. But, Matthew does not witness any outright sex.

Are they doing the deed or not? Matthew wonders.

The trio love to play movie trivia games, ending in forfeit. After Matthew loses one such game, he is forced to have sex with Isabelle. Théo watches wordlessly, nonchalantly without emotion.

Matthew sees blood stains. Isabelle gets emotional. Théo broods deeper.

Matthew realises he has just relieved Isabelle of her virginity. Matthew is surprised that despite their outward ease of nudity and unseemly sibling intimacy, they have never done the ultimate deed.

Matthew and Isabelle become lovers.

Matthew cannot make out Théo's reaction. He is his usual brooding self, only now, plumbing deeper. He doesn't show any sign of jealousy, or displeasure with Matthew. And yet, it is counterintuitive that he feels nothing.

Matthew begins to accept the siblings' casual nudity and intimacy. His time living with them becomes idyllic. They invent and play games in the cinematic realm, such as acting out classic dramatic film scene sequences.

Matthew attempts to take Isabelle on dates, which she has never experienced before. It is still unclear what is playing out in Théo's brotherly head.

One night, Matthew and Isabelle go out on a date, as does Théo with another girl separately. Matthew and Isabelle return to the apartment. They realise that Théo has brought his date home. Matthew and Isabelle can hear Théo and his date in the adjoining room. Isabelle is devastated.

One night, while the trio are languidly sleeping naked in a tangled heap, in the living room after some wine revelry, the siblings' parents come home to leave a cheque for their grocery expenses. They are startled and perturbed by what they see. The trio continues to sleep blissfully. After the parents leave, Isabelle wakes up. She discovers the cheque. She realises that her parents have caught them out.

Wordlessly, she attaches a hose to the gas outlet and lies back down with still slumbering Théo and Matthew, attempting to commit suicide.

They are awakened by a student protest riot in the streets. This is the tumultuous May 1968 French student protests which brought down the government of the day.

The trio joins the protesters, buoyed by the euphoria. Théo relishes the heady tumult. Pacifist Matthew is conflicted.

The film ends.

***

Life follows Art... even as Art follows Life.

The Dreamers.

A film made by cinephiles, about cinephiles, acted by cinephiles, for cinephiles, watched by cinephiles acting out the cinephiles in the film...

The charm of coming full circle, even if it is not the circle you started out with.

***

Chapter 9

Couples Massage 2

The fifth day of Ollie's and Olivia's stay. Time flies when time stands still. That is the curious dissonance that Ollie and Olivia are warped in. Einstein spoke of a curved spacetime. Maybe this is it.

Rainy days and Mondays. Paradise has these too.

It is like a giant switch has been flipped from sunny to grey wet. But, it is nice and cosy nestled in the cocoon of high bungalow. The soft pitter-patter of rain on the verdant cover of the bungalow. Cool on the outside, warm on the inside.

A melody of wind chime wafts up the stairway.

Nin greets Ollie and Olivia, radiating energy beams, and a smile brighter than the sun, in spite of the wet. She carries a small sports bag. She is in a pair of gym shorts, and a smart white polo shirt that one sees at resort spas. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She sets her bag down. Curiously, no portable massage table.

"So, are you two ready for your special massage session? This is the second of our massage series. Every session is different, designed with an objective in mind."

Olivia looks expectantly, almost longingly, down the stairway. She is about to ask something, but bites her lip. This subtle detail does not elude Nin's notice.

Businesslike, Nin continues, "The objective of today's session is to show you some basic massage techniques in a relaxing, fun on-the-job format. I will demonstrate massage techniques to Ms Olivia, as we work on Mr Oliver. Afterwhich Ms Olivia will work on Mr Oliver, with my guidance at her side."