Saturday Night Five Ch. 07

Holidays.

This used to be my favourite time of year.

Both the summer break and of course the winter holidays over Christmas. But for me, it was just so I could stay home and play video games or be treated to a free holiday by my parents.

This year, I didn't want to be away.

With a new group of highly attractive female friends from school, the last thing I wanted was to spend time away with my family. Sitting by the pool in a tropical location on Christmas Day, I felt a sense of frustration.

Partly due to being sexually frustrated but also just very much needing the company of someone my own age to speak to. I left the beautiful hot sun outside and headed back to the hotel room to spend a few minutes getting myself off just to relieve some tension.

By the time I got back to the room, my phone was ringing. I could see that it was an Instagram call from back in the United States.

Incoming call: Tayla

Surprised to hear from her on Christmas Day, I answered.

"Hey Tay, Merry Christmas!"

"Oh Leo, so good to hear your voice, Merry Christmas to you too! How's Fiji??"

"It's great," I replied, despite not wanting to be here, a little spoilt I have to admit.

"How long are you meant to be there for?"

"Two more weeks, pretty much."

"Oh snap."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just Declan's parents have a holiday home in Queensland, Australia, he's inviting all of us to head down there for a week or two, and be there over New Year's Eve, was hoping you might be able to make it but understand if you cant since you're already away."

In my mind, I was quickly working out the distance between Fiji and Australia. It wasn't too far at all, a much easier trip than it would be for everyone else coming from home."

"I'll be there!"

I made the decision just to agree without working out if it was actually possible or not.

"Really?? That's wonderful!"

"When will you be there? Who's going?" I asked, with so many questions I wanted answers to.

"Myself and Declan are leaving tonight, I know it's so sudden but Declan only just got the green light from his parents that this could happen. His parents have even chipped in for flights for the other girls, they're all leaving Florida tomorrow."

Listening in, I couldn't believe just how much money his parents had to be affording everyone's flights.

"A few of Declan's friends are coming too, they'll be there before New Year's Eve. Really hope you can make it, I know flights can be expensive but everything else down there will be sorted by Declan!"

"I'll be there, don't worry."

"Amazing! I'll text you the details. See you soon, enjoy your Christmas!"

It wasn't easy, but I managed to convince my up-tight parents that it would be safe and affordable enough to head to Australia for the rest of the holidays.

I'll save you all the details of the back-and-forth arguing that it took to get my way. Once I reminded my mother a million times that I was 18 and a legal adult, I finally had her blessing. Before I knew it, I was on a plane, about to land in one of the northern states of Australia.

***

"G'day mate, welcome to straya!"

"Sorry?"

"I said welcome to straya mate, you're a Yank aren't ya?"

I was standing outside the Brisbane Airport in Australia, in front of a very interesting character. The guy in front of me was in just a singlet and a pair of shorts. Instead of shoes, he had flip-flops on, and a cigarette in his hand.

My first thought was that he was homeless but he was standing at a bus bay outside the terminal. After further conversation, I figured out he was actually part of the bus company, assisting foreigners in getting them on the bus to their hotels.

They may have been odd but the Australians I met right away were certainly friendly, wanting to help.

I was led onto a bus that was heading south, down the coast to the Gold Coast, a real tourist destination. Following Tayla's texts, I worked out exactly where I had to go. Standing outside the front of a double-story house by the beach, I checked the address three times before finally knocking on the front door.

Just the sculptures out the front of the property made me think about how much this place would be worth.

"Hawkins!"

Opening the door to greet me was Declan Walker himself. He had his arms wide open, a beer in his hand, sunglasses on and a big grin on his face.

"Hi Declan," I said in a quieter tone, standing in front of him with my suitcase.

"Come on, get inside," he told me as I wheeled my suitcase inside.

Everyone knew the Walker's were rich.

But I never knew they were this rich. To have this sort of property on United States soil was one thing but to have it in foreign countries too, showed just how much money they possessed.

"Can give you a tour a little later, you need a drink first," he told me.

We then made our way further through the house, Declan led me outside where we stood on a large patio deck that overlooked the beach in the distance. Just below us was a decently big backyard with an area dedicated to a beautiful in-ground pool that was right next to a bubbly spa.

In amongst the bubbles, I saw Annie relaxing.

My heart skipped another beat. Maybe for a couple of reasons, she was looking amazing of course but I began to get nervous with the two of us still not on the best of terms, not having a chance to clear things up at the end of the semester.

"Beer pong," Declan said as he lightly pushed me in the back as he walked past to head down the outside steps from the deck, "Me versus you next game!"

I followed him down to the grass, I was more interested in chatting with the girls than getting straight into a beer pong game but this wasn't my house I guess.

"Look who I found roaming the streets," Declan said to the girls as he approached the outside table that had red cups set up there.

Midway through a game was Rose and Tayla. The two brunettes squealed as they came running in my direction. I can't describe how quickly my excitement to be here rose at that moment. The girls were both in two-piece bikinis. Tayla had a normal dark grey string bikini, her long brown hair flowing down past her shoulders, and dark sunglasses on. She came from behind as Rose reached me first for a hug, her brown hair up in a messy bun, the sex bomb in black bikini bottoms and a yellow bikini tube top that covered up her breasts.

They both gave me big hugs with Rose leaving a sloppy kiss on my cheek. I could smell the alcohol on her, it was about 1 pm in the afternoon here but she was already pretty drunk.

"Our boy's here!" Rose exclaimed.

It was hard to forget our last encounter in the bathtub. My very own bathtub...

However, it was nice that we had moved on from the awkwardness of the aftermath of my little incident with Bella. If only I could fix my issues with Annie, everything would be sweet.

Speaking of Annie, here she came.

I watched her body closely as she exited the nearby spa. Coming out of the water, her red bikini bottoms were wedged right up her ass cheeks. She fixed them up as, her butt in our direction before exiting the fenced area to join us.

She politely smiled in my direction but it wasn't the same enthusiasm I received from the other girls.

"He,y Leo."

"Hi Annie," I said as I hesitated I initially leaned in but stopped myself.

She put her arms out and looked at her own dripping wet body, "Won't hug you, I'm a little wet."

"Preach sister," Rose joked as she grabbed the ping pong ball off the table and tried to hit one of her cups from a distance.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Tayla called out behind her, chasing back after her.

The two girls began to wrestle over the little orange ball for their game. They laughed as Tayla was almost humping Rose on the ground. Declan stood back with his drink, enjoying the little show the girls were putting on.

It made me very horny but I was also aware that Annie was beside me. There was no way I could enjoy this New Year's holiday here overseas if I didn't sort out our problems right here, right now.

We made small talk before I suggested we go for a walk while the sun was still up and shining. She was happy to do so after drying off and throwing on some short shorts over her bikini bottoms.

With Declan's place so close to the water, it was naturally the ideal place to walk to. The beach was beautiful despite the packed crowds of locals and tourists on the sand. I certainly wasn't the person who liked that sort of environment.

There was a genuine awkward silence as we walked down the Australian beach. Besides some very brief casual conversation starters, we didn't speak. It was obvious that we were both thinking about what we could say.

Eventually, I went for it, opening my mouth to speak, "Annie, I..."

"Leo..."

It turned out she was about to bring it up as well.

"Sorry, you go first," I told her.

"No it's okay, I just was going to say I'm sorry."

"No way, I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Seriously Leo, it's my fault, I know you've changed and I didn't mean to speak to you like that, I didn't mean to embarrass or make fun of you."

Annie seemed genuinely upset about it like it had been playing on her mind as much as it had been for me. I directed her to the park bench as I noticed in the corner of my eye. Now sitting down, we had a chance to let everything out, every single thing we had to get off our chests.

By the end of it, we both felt a million times better. I leaned in and gave her a big hug, holding her closely. Her blonde hair smelt amazing up against the side of my face, somewhat eerily comforting.

"I've missed you," she said to me quietly.

"Annie, I've missed you too, you have no idea how much better I feel right now, I'm sorry for the way I treated you, it was stupid."

We kept embracing in what was a really long hug.

"Come on, let's go back and see the others," she said with a smile.

She offered her hand to hold as we got off the bench. I couldn't tell you that we were about to resume where we left off with Annie being flirtatious in my bedroom. But at least we were definitely still friends.

Where that would lead to from here? I'm not sure.

***

Night One in Australia saw us hit the town.

To be honest, I could have easily had a quiet one in bed, tired from the flight. But I followed the girls, Declan and his long-time Australian friend, Davo, to Surfers Paradise.

Davo was a character and a half. He had this very interesting long brown-haired mullet that he was very proud of. Davo had the typical Australian accent with plenty of cultural lingo that we didn't understand. He was also what I would consider a 'ladies man', that's not the kind of person I really wanted here when there was still hope that I might be able to get with Rose or Annie or even Katie and Milly again when they were finally here.

"Hawkins mate," Davo said, putting an arm around me as we lined up in the club, "You single or what?"

"Yeah, guess I am," I replied.

He nodded, looking at the rest of the line ahead of him, "Gotcha mate, if ya fancy any of the birds here, let me know, I know most of these chicks that come in here and there's a few I wouldn't waste my time on."

"Uh, thanks I guess."

"No worries cobber," he added, slapping me on the back.

It did bring up another interesting point. I was in a whole new other country. Was I being too focused on what was right in front of me, rather than looking at all these Australian girls that were heading into the same club as us?

I managed to pull Bella when I was drunk so it may be the only way again here.

We eventually made it in after over an hour wait in line. The wait had turned some of our group off tonight, others it fired up. While Annie and Tayla were already sobering up from pre-drinks, wanting to call it a night early, Rose and the two other boys hit the club like they had never been to one before.

We all managed to get inside a booth while Declan bought us drinks, thanks to Davo who knew a couple of friends inside one that were happy to share with us.

Up and about, I noticed Rose whispering into Davo's ear about something.

He chuckled to himself, I could just hear what he said next despite the thumping loud music from the DJ, "I got you sorted! Chuck me a 20 and call it even."

I watched from the other side of the booth as Rose pulled out some cash from the top of her dress. She passed him a note, putting the rest of her money, presumably back into her bra.

"You all good?" Tayla asked me, nudging me in the ribs from my left.

I snapped back to reality, seeing the pretty brunette, in a simple tight white dress that looked amazing on her killer body. I can't even start about the way her butt looked in it, nice and round, the material stretching over it.

"Yeah I'm all good," I smiled, "It's kind of loud in here though!"

She nodded, "We won't stay too long tonight, we've got plenty of time while we're here for this sort of stuff. I'm just so happy you were able to come with us, are you getting along with the boys well??"

"Yeah, Declan's been really friendly since you two have been back together and I guess Davo seems nice too!"

Tayla gave me a wide smile as she clung onto my arm for a second, "Oh my god that's so good, I'm so glad!"

Once more, I thought about what it would have been like if Tayla and Declan never got back together. Of course none of us would be sitting here right now if that was the case but maybe in an alternate timeline, we'd be doing something together... more than just a teasing handjob...

"Drinks ladies and gentlemen," Declan arrived back at the table.

The stocky blonde hair boy had treated us all with his parents' money again. It was a full tray of a mix of drinks. A few glasses of beer, a few mixed spirits and spread around the tray were shots full of vodka.

"About fucking time," Rose exclaimed as she grabbed a shot glass.

"Shut up and drink Rose," Declan said, grabbing one too before holding it up in the air, "Alright you lot! Everyone grab a shot glass!"

Everyone did just that, even myself who gulped, remembering the last time I got super drunk.

"To a couple of weeks of fucking partying, fuck exams!!"

We all stood up, thanking Declan as we clinked glasses before throwing them down the hatch. I shook my head initially as the strong straight spirit travelled down my throat.

"Alright! Come on kids, dance floor it is!" Rose said, still standing.

The shorter brunette in her dark blue dress, wasn't shy with Davo, brushing right up against him to get past him in the booth to get out. She then grabbed his arm and started to pull him out. They grabbed a couple of extra drinks on their way out.

They tried getting the rest of our attention to join them. I looked blankly at the tray full of drinks, not feeling up to dancing yet. I knew without the confidence, I would just look silly out there. Annie left to join them but when I looked to my left to see if Tayla was going to want to go too, I realised we may have a problem on our hands.

She was glaring at her boyfriend very seriously who now had a blonde Australian girl touching his back and asking him something. The blonde girl had a look in her eyes that said she wasn't here for just a casual chat with Declan.

It didn't help Tayla that this girl had her tits out in a lacy top, I got a glimpse of her cleavage and wow, they looked impressive.

Declan didn't turn her away right off the bat which was his first mistake. For the next few minutes, they chatted and laughed and Derek gave her one of the drinks from the tray. I picked up a lot of things on flirting since I had become friends with the Saturday Night Five and I knew that's what we were seeing right now. Definitely on her behalf and somewhat on Declan's.

When the girl finally left, Declan with a smile on his face, didn't know what was about to hit him. He jumped into the booth to sit down and receive a very dirty look from Tayla.

"What's wrong babe?" he said immediately.

The response just fired her up further, "Are you serious??"

Declan just shrugged, "What?"

"Who was that?? Who was the blonde touching you up that you so clearly loved the attention of!?"

Immediately, the blonde hair boy shook his head, beginning to get frustrated with his girlfriend. He grabbed another shot and downed it, "Oh for fuck sake Tay if I can't have a conversation with someone without you crying about it, what can I fucking do?"

"I'm not fucking crying, just asking you a question!"

Their argument continued, enough for me to walk away from the booth, letting them sort it out themselves. Besides, I needed to pee anyway, which had built up from the wait in line.

I peered over at the dance floor on my way to the bathroom. There was no sign of any of my friends. I chalked that up to how busy the club was. There wasn't much space at all in the main dance floor area in front of the DJ. It was summer and this place was packed to the rafters.

Finally, at the bathrooms, I counted my blessings that I was male. The female bathrooms had a queue that was extending well outside their bathroom. I pushed open the male bathroom next to the women's.

What I saw inside caught me off guard.

On the bathroom bench, next to one of the sinks, Rose had her head down over the bench with a rolled-up note. Now, you can make fun of me but I had never seen anyone do drugs before so this was a shock to the system, especially when it was Rose doing it in the men's bathroom. With her was Davo and another guy that I didn't recognise.

"That a girl," Davo said, patting her on the back as she finished snorting a line of white powder.

Her eyes were a little watery as she made a few sniffing noises. I stood and waited for Rose to recognise that I was in here now too.

"Leo... did you want to try?" she automatically asked.

Davo cut in, as he more white power on the bench, "Woah, woah, hold up, unless you're paying for him or he's chipping in, the rest is mine."

I watched as he used a credit card to line up the powder, "Yeah I'm fine anyway."

As Davo snorted the next line, Rose was curious about my reaction to this. I must have either been giving her a disgusted or shocked look. I didn't mean the former, I didn't have a problem with it, I just didn't know anything about this sort of thing.

"It's just for a little buzz, that's all, it's really harmless," she said, then reaching into the top of her dress again, "I can pay for you."

"No, no, seriously Rose, I'm fine," I told her, "I just really need the bathroom."

Again, my lack of experience in this setting would show. But as I found the only empty cubicle that nobody was using to do the same as Rose and Davo, I started to worry for my friend. I didn't know what the effects were like, did she do this often? How did it start? Is it just cocaine or was there harder stuff?

I excused myself as I left the bathroom. The rest of the night at the club wasn't the most fun I had ever had. It was overall a pretty boring experience. For the most part, I sat in the booth listening to Tayla and Derek argue.

When Annie agreed she had enough too, feeling tired herself, the four of us left while Davo and Rose chose to stay out. We went across the street to a kebab store, a quick feed for those who were still hungry before heading home. Again, it was a little awkward, by this stage, Declan looked like he might punch the next person who looked at him funny while Tayla sat crossed-armed the whole time waiting for the rest of us to finish our food.

Getting home, I headed to my new bedroom for the next week and a bit. I lay on the bottom bunk, one of three bunk beds in the room. It may be nice and peaceful in here now but I had already been told that I would be joined by some of Declan's friends when they were here. I refused to ask who exactly, worried to find out if Henry Foley was one of those invited here.