Veronique and Aaron

As we sailed into Akarana Marina, I asked Ryker what he wanted me to do. Aaron was already tidying up the ropes, halyards, etc., on the bow, and I felt awkward sitting around doing nothing.

"Just go below and get your stuff packed, then look for anything in the fridge that needs to go in the freezer or get tossed. We don't need to do much today, as I will come down and tidy the boat tomorrow morning," Ryker paused, then added, "You could get Aaron to sort out the crayfish and fish we are each taking. I've put some white tape on the feelers of the two crayfish you caught, and remember the two butterfish are for your Dad."

Once docked and sorted, we carried our gear to Ryker's car. A car is an understatement. It was a Porsche Cayenne TurboS E-Hybrid. I knew enough about cars to know that this was an expensive machine. My father was nuts about cars and car racing and always pointed out any flash cars when we drove places, telling me about them and how much they cost.

Aaron insisted I sit in the front, and he got in the back. I admit to being slightly embarrassed when Ryker pulled up our drive. We lived in a middle-income area called Glendowie, but our house had once been a State House. Although my parents had renovated it over the years, and we're very proud of the garden and landscaping, the Porsche in the drive made our house look very ordinary.

Aaron saw my discomfort and leaned over the seat. "Don't ever be worried about where you come from or your family's circumstances. I came from a much rougher area than this, and Ryker has never commented once on my situation."

"I thought you lived a few doors away from Ryker?"

"That was after my mother and father split and mum married again. Before that, I was raised in a rough part of town until I was fourteen," he replied.

Before I could comment further, I saw my mother bounding down our front steps and rushing to embrace me as I stepped out of the car.

"Oh! Am I glad to see you home? I know you said you were OK, but it was such a terrible storm, and I was worried. Your father has called twice in the last hour, asking if you were home yet."

I looked at my watch and saw it was 5:10 p.m. My father should be home in about fifteen minutes. Ryker was not making any attempt to get out of the car. I could see he was keen to get going. But Aaron got out, walked around to say hello to my mum, and took her hand as he introduced himself.

Embarrassing! My mum acted like a silly teenager, smiling at him and blurting out, "Oh! You are so tall and handsome."

Then she turned her attention on Ryker and told him to come inside, as my Dad would be home in a few minutes and would want to meet them both.

Ryker gave me a resigned look and climbed out from behind the wheel. And if I thought my mum had been bad with Aaron, she was ten times worse with Ryker. At six foot two and the looks of a Latin gigolo, her mouth dropped open, embarrassing the shit out of me. But thankfully, she pulled herself together, then turned and led the way into our house. I hoped the boys wouldn't have noticed, but my mother's walk was far from normal. Her hips had taken on a sexy, inviting swing.

We had just sat in the lounge, and Mum started firing questions at the guys when I heard my father pull into the drive and park behind Ryker's Porsche. Thank god, I thought; maybe Mum will tone it down now. But when Dad entered the lounge, my mother didn't modify her behaviour one iota. After introductions had been made, Aaron took Dad aside and asked where he should put all the seafood we had for them.

So, for the next few minutes, Mum and I sorted out my washing, and the guys helped Dad get the seafood into the fridge. I half listened to them explaining each package and telling Dad I had caught the crays and the butterfish for him.

Congregating back in the lounge, my mother continued with her questions. And embarrassingly, she continued to flirt openly with Ryker. I looked to my father to see if he might discourage her, but he seemed mildly amused by her flirtatious behaviour.

I whispered to Aaron that I was embarrassed about my mum.

"Don't worry," he countered, "I've seen many women acting much worse around Ryker. He has that effect."

"But my dad is almost encouraging her," I replied.

"And I've seen that before as well. Just relax; we'll get going in a minute. I'll be working the next few days, maybe over the weekend, and will stay up at the job. But I'll call you each night if that is OK?" Then he whispered, "Give some thought about moving in with me. I'm going to miss you."

I said I looked forward to his calls and would talk to my Dad about leaving home. Before I knew it, the Porsche was backing down the drive, and I had a hollow, lonely feeling in my stomach and was missing the boys already.

Mum went to the kitchen to start dinner, leaving my Dad and me alone. I immediately thought about how I should approach him regarding moving in with Aaron. However, before I got a word out, my father stunned me by asking, "Well, I guess you will be thinking about leaving home now. We had better plan how we will break that to your mother." He had a big grin on his face.

"How did you know I may want to leave home?" I asked, incredulous that he wasn't upset.

"One look at you and Aaron told me how close you are. Then, when we were out at the freezer, I asked him what he did for a living and where he lived. He gave me a good marketing blurb about how acceptable he was as a son-in-law. He didn't realise he was doing it, but I could read between the lines. When do you intend to leave?"

I looked at my father in amazement. We had always been close, so I expected a lot more opposition.

"I have yet to decide if I will move in with Aaron. He only asked me this morning. But your acceptance of my leaving has made my decision much easier."

"Oh! Trust me, I don't want you to go, but it will inevitably happen sometime, and he seems a pretty stable sort of guy, and the two of you do seem to get on well together. I would be much more uneasy if it were anyone else. You are very young, though. I would rather you were a bit older and had more life experience."

"Well, it won't be for a week or so, as Aaron has to catch up on his work and thinks he will have to stay at the worksite over the weekend."

Then, Dad questioned me about Ryker and informed me his car would cost over NZ$300,000. "Imagine spending that much on a car?" he exclaimed.

I told Dad Ryker's circumstances but didn't tell him that he was building a dungeon under his house. I then asked about Mum flirting with Ryker, saying how much it had embarrassed me. However, with my Dad's subsequent comments, I wondered if he would have been the slightest bit upset to learn about the dungeon.

"Your mum has always flirted. I was not her first, nor will I be her last," he said.

"Are you not jealous of her flirting around?" I asked. It was much easier to talk to my father about these things than with my mother.

He explained that they had been very open in their marriage in the early years. Then, when they had shifted homes to Auckland when I was about nine, the new group of friends they made were very liberal. He hinted that two of their new friends held key parties, and they had attended. "Not really my scene," But I did enjoy watching your mum.

"Why didn't you like it?"

"Well, the other wives were not all as pretty as your mum, for one thing. But I sat on the sidelines and watched and found that quite a turn-on."

I blushed crimson at these revelations and was happy when Dad changed the subject.

----

At work on Thursday, the other girls all asked me about my weekend away. I didn't elaborate on the party, etc., but I did tell them I had met a guy I liked. At lunchtime, I looked for Natalie, but she was nowhere to be seen. That night, Gabriel called, asking about my weekend and if he could take me out on Saturday night.

I told him it had been an awesome weekend and I had met a guy I liked. I heard the disappointment in his voice at my exuberant reply and so hastened to tone things down. It was awkward telling him I would not be available Saturday but could meet him for lunch the following week. He hung off, saying he would call me.

I felt guilty, having already turned him down to go on the sailing trip. He was a nice guy, and if I hadn't met Aaron, I would have been pleased with the attention he was paying me.

Friday, I again looked for Natalie in the lunchroom, and just as I finished my sandwiches, she walked into the lunch area. I waved her over to sit with me, and I struck up a conversation with her while she ate.

Between mouthfuls, she asked me about my weekend, which surprised me as I didn't realise she knew I'd been away. Evidently, she had run into one of my girlfriends over the weekend, and they had told her where I was. So I told her about meeting a guy on the trip and that I was considering moving in with him. I wanted to ask her about the older man it was rumoured she had been going out with. But I was saved from having to ask, as when I mentioned that Aaron was ten years older than me, she got a funny look on her face and blurted out that I should be careful.

I asked her what she meant, but she seemed reluctant to say anymore, seemingly embarrassed. It took some cajoling from me to get her to open up, and then it was only to tell me that she and an older guy she had been going with had broken up.

I told her more about Aaron, trying not to be too boastful but also attempting to allay her fears about his being too old. Again, I wanted to steer her back to why she had broken up with her man. But she kept evading the questions.

Finally, I asked her outright, "Natalie, I want to know why you told me to be careful. My Dad likes Aaron, but I'm very young and would like advice from someone my age. I have no one else to ask. You know how flighty most of my other girlfriends are. I would really value anything you can tell me."

Natalie anxiously looked around. "I can't talk to you here; it's a long story, and I must get back to work. Also, it turned into a very fucked up experience, and I'm far too embarrassed to tell anyone about him."

I motioned to her to relax, then mentioned that a lot of my weekend away was something that I couldn't share with anyone either. "What are you doing tonight? You could come around to my place. I have my Dad's old stereo up in my bedroom. We could listen to music and share our experiences if you want."

Natalie hesitated momentarily, then said, "I'd actually like that. What time?"

"Come for dinner. We are having seafood that I caught on the weekend, and there's heaps. I'll help Mum cook it, so if you get there before 6:30, you can sit and watch or help us. If you want."

As Natalie got up to leave, she turned to me, and I saw she was blushing. "He was married, and before I found that out, we did some pretty crazy stuff. Stuff that I am too embarrassed to tell anyone about, but I will try and help you if I can."

The day dragged once I got back to the laboratory. But I did phone Mum, told her about Natalie, and asked if it was all right if she had dinner with us.

Natalie turned up bang on 6:30, so we sat her down at the kitchen table with a glass of wine while Mum and I cooked. Then, after a fantastic feed of scallops, crayfish, etc., and lots of semi-rude jokes from my father, we excused ourselves and headed up to my bedroom with the remains of a bottle of Chardonnay.

Once I had some music playing and our glasses full, I asked her what had gone wrong with her affair. She was still very reluctant to talk, so I tried to break the ice by telling her about running along Peachgrove Bay, nude, with Ryker and Aaron watching. I didn't intend to say much more and was saved by a knock on the door. And my mother passed the phone through to me, saying it was Aaron.

I flapped my hands excitedly at Natalie and mouthed, 'It's him.' Then, I asked him where he was and what he'd been doing. Finally, he managed to get a word in and asked me what I was doing. I giggled and told him I was with Natalie and had just this minute told her about our time on the beach at Peachgrove Bay.

In a startled voice, he asked, "What! Did you tell her about Ryker and me sharing you on the rock?"

"No!" I gasped. I just told her about my running along the beach in the nude. Then, teasing him, I added, "But I could tell her about that. She might be very jealous."

He laughed and said I could tell her what I liked, but he would like to see her face when I told her that. So we talked some more, and he told me he had to stay on the job over the weekend and would probably call me about lunchtime Sunday to tell me when he would be home. So, after telling him I was missing him and couldn't wait until Sunday night, we hung up.

Natalie was looking at me with a surprised look on her face. "I heard most of that, you know. Did you really sleep with him and his friend?"

I blushed crimson. I never thought that she might be able to hear Aaron. "God, I'm embarrassed."

But she interrupted before I could offer anything else to cover the shame that had my face feeling like an oven.

"Maybe we're not so different. I didn't think you were a prude exactly, but you don't come across as someone who would step outside the bounds very often. I'd like to hear all that happened on your weekend, and then I'll try to explain some of what happened to me."

After telling her a significantly diluted version of Ryker taking photos of Aaron and me, which had turned into them making love to me at Peachgrove Bay, Natalie opened up a bit.

She told me they didn't know anyone when they moved to Auckland. Their next-door neighbours were a little younger than her parents but hit it off well. They had two children aged six and three, and about a month after they moved in, they asked her to babysit, as they wanted to go to a movie. Which soon became an almost weekly occurrence.

Then, one Thursday night, when she was babysitting, there was a knock on the door. Looking out the window, she saw it was Brenda's elder brother. She had met him several times, so she opened the door and let him in. He told her he had had a massive argument with his wife and wanted to stay the night. She told him Brenda and Mike were due home at about 10:30, and he had replied that he'd sit and wait until they got home.

They had talked; she said he was funny, made her laugh and treated her like an adult. When Brenda and Mike arrived home, he said he had calmed down and would go home. However, he insisted he walked her home, even though it was just next door. It was an excuse to ask for her phone number, and he surprised her with a quick kiss outside the front door.

He called her several times over the weekend, asking to see her. But she had declined, thinking him far too old, as she figured he must be nearly forty, as she was sure Brenda was thirty-six. But she couldn't stop thinking about him.

The next time she babysat, though, Jim turned up about half an hour after Brenda and Mike had left. She was surprised at how happy she was to see him, and within minutes they were kissing, and soon after that, they were on the rug in the lounge, fucking like rabbits.

"He was so experienced, and I was a virgin. He put a towel down on the rug and had a tube of lubricating gel. I should have known he was taking advantage of me; the whole thing was so well planned. But I thought I was in love, and he talked about leaving his wife. So I just went along with everything he wanted after that," she said, looking ashamed of herself.

"Don't be ashamed," I burst out. "I had a married man who took advantage of me, and it was him that took me away sailing for the weekend, where I met Aaron. So it can turn out all right."

"But you don't know the half of it," she cried out, "it gets a lot worse."

Natalie explained that Jim came around the following two times she babysat, and he always left before Brenda and Mike arrived home. He pressed her to go out with him, and she finally relented. The following Friday night, she had walked down to the dairy on the corner, where he had picked her up and taken her to a party with his mates. She said they had had a fantastic night, and she had danced with him and also some of his mates. He was a real gentleman all night, and they had parked up and made love on the way home.

She agreed to meet him again the following Friday night, with the same arrangement. They met outside the corner dairy. Her mother had wanted to know who she was meeting and if it was a boyfriend. But Natalie had just told her it was girls from work, and they were going to party at one of the girl's homes. She knew her mother would have exploded if she'd known she was meeting a forty-year-old married man.

"The party was at a different house this time," Natalie explained. "But some of the same guys were there. I danced with Jim most of the night, but one of his mates did interrupt us a few times and whisked me around the dance floor. He was a lot younger and worked with Jim. I was getting a bit tipsy, and now I realise they were probably spiking my drinks."

She paused; it looked like she was plucking up the courage.

"Jim's mate was letting his hands roam around, and I halfheartedly tried to stop him, but then Jim came and joined us, with me dancing between them. It felt incredible; I knew I should object or something, but I didn't want to cause a scene. Some couples around us were cheering me on, and then I felt Jim working my panties down my legs. I told them, 'not there in front of everyone'. I don't know why I said that. They took it as consent, lifted me, and took me to a bedroom."

Natalie paused and looked at me. "Do you want me to carry on? I'm sure you can guess the rest."

"Yes, keep going. I'm OK. You heard already that I have done much the same, so get it all off your chest."

"I wound up having sex with both of them, but Jim changed. He got quite rough and called me dirty names. I got a bit upset, but that did not stop them, especially his mate, who seemed to get even more turned on by treating me dirty. He pinched my nipples and called me a slut and other horrible names."

I stopped her. "Did you call out for the others at the party to stop them?"

"No, this is the funny thing. It actually turned me on. I don't know what's wrong with me. I hate myself for what I let them do. Jim was very apologetic on the way home and said he got a bit carried away as I was so sexy and stuff like that. I was conflicted all the next week. One minute, I'd be thinking he was a bastard, and I'd tell him it was over the next time he called. The next minute, I'd be wriggling around, my body on fire and so wet between my legs."

She looked at me to see if she had just shocked me. But I smiled encouragement to her and said I understood.

"He rang the next Thursday, and even though I had finally decided to call it off, the second I heard his voice, I agreed to meet him outside our dairy the following night. This time the party was at another house. The first part of the evening was a blast. Every guy at the party wanted to dance with me. There were lots of women, all much older than me, and I found myself matching them for drinks, and they accepted me as one of them.

Then it started getting out of hand, guys dancing with me, lifting my dress and pulling my top down. Soon, I was laid out in a bedroom with a line of guys waiting at the door."

Natalie stopped talking. I could see she was visibly upset. She turned her face from me to hide her shame. But I heard her murmur, "I don't want to go over the rest. I'm too ashamed."

I took the glass from her hand, placed it on my dresser and wrapped my arms around her. We stayed like that for a while while she mumbled into my neck that I must be mortified by what she had done.