7:17 pm Ch. 2

I think Allan and Bess are breaking up.

I don't know whether it is because of the weekend at the fishing hut, but that can't have helped. Not that Bess should be too concerned. She is the kind of woman who causes men to stare when she is approaching, and to turn and stare when she has passed. So there's a world full of Allan's' at her disposal. And just as many Dave's', if she insists on finding men who are below her. She can do so much better. But try telling her that!

I know I have her on a pedestal. And I am trying my best to be rational about that weekend. It is clear that Allan was shocked, not so much about what happened with Dave, but what she told us about some things in her past. Things Allan didn't need to know, and wouldn't have, except for his own childish insistence. I think Dave was taken back too. But what did they expect? They revel in her sexuality, yet can't handle the fact it existed before they arrived in her life.

It's simple. Don't ask questions if you can't handle the answers!

Anyway, back to that weekend.

I waited outside the hut until I was pretty sure Bess and Dave weren't about to get it on again, then turned and walked away from the window. When I was about ten metres from the hut, I took a deep breath, questioning the sense of what I was about to do, and did it anyway.

"Anyone there?" I called.

In the clear night, my voice seemed to boom across the mud flats, startling a flock of birds over to my left. There was a tortured creak, and the crude door to the hut was dragged open. A bright light scanned the darkness, flashing past me, then returning to settle on my face.

"Charlie!"

Bess's voice never sounded better. I tried to reply, but the light stayed on me, and I had to shield my eyes from the glare.

"Put the torch down, Dave," snarled Bess. He did, and I wandered over, just as Allan stumbled through the doorway to see what all the commotion was about.

"God, you look awful!" he said. Covered in bites and mud, I could only agree.
"You are really late," said Bess. "What happened to you?"

"I got bogged way back along the road, " I explained. "But I'm here now. So no harm done, I hope."

"You don't know the half of it!" Bess replied.

**********************

After a warm shower and a hot meal, I joined the others around the table where a debate about which game to play was going nowhere.

"What do you reckon, Charlie?" asked Allan. "Truth or dare? Or have you got a better idea?"

"Jeez, I don't know. How about truth or dare about the wildest game you have been played?"

"Sounds riveting," Dave mumbled, barely hiding his contempt for the new arrival. Or should I say rival?

"How will that work?" Allan asked.

"I don't know for sure, but if we get stuck, we can make it up as we go long," I offered.

"What do you think, Bess?" Allan queried. "Are you up for it? Or are there too many dirty secrets stashed away?"

"Don't you go worrying about me! I always pay up. Don't I Dave?"

A moment of disquiet followed, before I interrupted, "Why do I get the feeling there's something you are not telling me?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I did," Bess responded quickly. "Let's just say your timing sucks."

A few more minutes of debate followed, during which we sorted out enough rules to get things started.
I don't remember all of the questions and answers that followed. There's a hell of a good reason for that. I do recall kicking it off with a question to Dave, about whether he had ever played a game in which someone unwittingly required him to confront his greatest fear. Clearly this was not where they thought the game should be heading, and in no time Dave was asking Allan whether he had played a game involving a head job from a woman he hadn't met before. A blushing Allan said no, in the most unconvincing way. Bess noticed at once, and wasn't about to let him off the hook.

"C'mon Allan. You know the rules. Who was it?"

"It wasn't anyone."

"Do you mean it wasn't anyone, or it wasn't anyone important?"

"It wasn't anyone important. OK?"

"Was it part of the game? Before? After?"

"It was part of the game. She was a lot older than me. The others kept egging her on. More to embarrass me I think."

"Tell her the rest!" Dave interjected.

"Some mate you are," frowned Allan.

'There's more?" joked Bess. "Well spit it out. Oh! Sorry. That would have been her."

"Go on Allan. Tell her. Or I will."

"Hey guys," I interrupted. "We're getting away from the game here. It's up to Allan to finish off the story, so we can move on."

He did, reluctantly. And it turned out he hadn't been able to perform in the company of others. Couldn't rise to the occasion at all.

His admission was met with much laughter, especially when Bess added, "So what's new?"

I have to tell you we learned more than a few things about each other. Deep into the night, we were still at it, now sprawled on the floor, gazing at the ceiling as we spoke or listened. As the bite in the questions and in the alcohol grew, so did the length and detail of the replies. Dave took half an hour and two toilet breaks to tell us about the game they played at a buck's party which saw him successfully souvenir a pair of knickers from one of the patrons and return to his table carrying them in his teeth.

I was ready to doze off. Then I heard Dave ask Bess, "Have you ever played a game that required you to sleep with a black man?" You could have heard a pin drop.

"Hang on!" called Allan. For a moment, for some silly reason, I thought he was taking exception to the question being asked of his Bess. "Define sleep with," he ordered.

"It's alright," said Bess. "The answer's no."

"No?"

'That's what I said."
"Are you sure about that?" Allan added.

"I think I'd remember, don't you? Given their reputation."

"So the answers no."

"You sound disappointed, darling!" Bess teased. "Of course if you had said define required to"-

"Whoa! That's not fair," Allan argued. "Charlie, what's the rule here?"

"I think she has us on a technicality, Allan, " I replied. "Though not one in the spirit of the game."

"So let's put it to the vote!" Dave added enthusiastically. "All in favour of a proper answer?"

Allan's hand shot up, to join Dave's. I looked at Bess, who stared back. I swear I saw her nod the tiniest of nods.

Up went my hand.

Bess sighed loudly, before saying, "Better get a drink, boys. And get me one too. This will take a while!"

*******************

Three years ago, Bess had returned to Brisbane to catch up with Emily, her best friend from University. Emily's letters had been full of Brett this and Brett that, and when Bess finally met him, she could see what all the fuss was about.

"He is one gorgeous-looking man," Bess told us. "Big, black, and beautiful Brett!"

"Sounds like you hit it off straight away," Dave said.

"Far from it," Bess replied. "He carried on like I wasn't even there. Which was fine by me. But he kept telling Emily about how he'd have to bring around a couple of his black mates for me to meet, so I could be as happy as her."

"Oh yeah. More like the words of a man with a plan to get into your pants," Dave surmised.

"I wasn't about to find out," Bess hastened to point out. "So I kept well covered up. And didn't stray too far from Emily."

"So did he?" Dave asked.

"Did he what?"

"Bring his mates around."

"Eventually, when Em decided to have a party the night before I was due to leave."

"And that's when the game happened?" It was Allan, who up to then had been listening like you do when you think there's a burglar in the house.

"Yeah. Pass the bottle. Have any of you ever played it?" Bess asked.

"Played it? I've never even heard of it," I said.

"I hadn't either," continued Bess. "Earlier that day, Brett had come around to help us get ready. We drank quite a bit, and for the first time he started to send plenty of attention my way. Mostly, he kept on at me about how tonight was the night. Em didn't stop him, either. When I got a chance, I had a go at her about it; telling her I wasn't interested in meeting people. But she just said that she had a game that would make it really easy."

"So all this time, Brett didn't make a direct pass at you?" Allan asked.

"Not really."

"What do you mean, not really?"

Bess paused while she took a long swill of her beer.

"He was at me about being a naive country girl, as if to suggest I had a lot of growing up to do before men like him would be interested."

"That sounds dubious to me," Allan said.

"I had my suspicions too. Then he started to talk about the guys who were coming to the party. Ken wouldn't look twice, he said, but Bubba might be interested."

"And?"

"I was starting to get the shits with him. Then when I was walking past, he grabbed my arse- I was wearing jeans- and went for a real feel."

"Did you snot him one?" Allan enquired.

Bess smiled defiantly. "No. I mean, he really went for a feel, getting his fingers between my legs. So I waited longer than he expected, then broke away and said, "Is that grown up enough for you?"

"What did he do?"

"He just laughed and said, "Not bad for a white girl's arse. Shame about the tits though!"

I swear all three of us guys erupted at once. "He had to be kidding!"

Bess seemed impressed with our enthusiasm.

"For a while I didn't care," she continued. "But when I was getting ready for the party I thought - 'Fuck him!' So I wore a singlet top under an open jacket. He nearly freaked the first time I leant over."

"So you were getting pretty worked up by now?" Allan asked.

"Not how you think! Anyway, Em set the game up. We had to sit around in a circle- Brett, then Sally, Ken, Em, Bubba, me and back to Brett. As soon as it started I figured why Brett and Em were sitting apart."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well, we had to pass around a bottle of red wine. The catch was, whoever wanted it next had to do a favour for the person passing it to them."

"Which meant Brett could ask you a favour?"

'That's the weird bit. It was set up the other way around. So he had to do what I asked him. Just a bit more of his scheme to put pressure on me, I suspect."

"So, what happened?" Dave asked impatiently.

"I can't remember exactly how it started, but I remember Em upping the ante when Bubba wanted the bottle. Bubba looked about nineteen- a fat black boy with a nervous smile who was trying to match drinks with the older guys and doing a bad job of it. Em said straight up that he would have to show her his dick before she would pass the bottle. He mumbled for a while but then Brett told him to get on with it 'cause he was getting thirsty. So he did."

"And then it was your turn," Dave urged.

"Yeah. Everyone was having a bit of a laugh at Bubba, with his cock at half mast. He tried to put it back in his shorts, but Em said she hadn't told him he could. He looked me over, a bit unsure of himself, and said I would have to take off my jacket if I wanted the bottle."

"Is that all?" Allan interrupted.

"That's all. The others gave him heaps about not wanting a hand job or a head job while it was out. I was starting to feel sorry for him, so I took off my jacket and tossed it to him."

"So who was next? Brett, wasn't it?" asked Allan.

"I was still taking my first mouthful from the bottle when he said pass it on," Bess explained. "I made sure he had to wait before ordering him to lose his shirt. Then it was Sally's turn to get the bottle from him."

"Christ, Bess," Dave said. "How many times do we have to go around the circle before anything decent happens?"

"That depends."

"Well just tell us about your turns," Dave offered.

"Jeez. Not much was happening, because it was Bubba doing the ordering. And I wasn't about to encourage Brett in front of Em. Mind you, Ken wasn't backing off about what he would tell her to do."

"So how far did it get?"

"I was getting pissed off at the shit they were heaping on Bubba, so I was being as kind as I could. By this time I was laying down, with my head resting in his lap. His arm was across my boobs, with his hand rubbing my stomach from the round before. By now Brett's eyes were staring at what Bubba was up to. When it was Bubba's turn, Em reached over, and grabbed his cock, and pocked me in the face with it. 'Why don't you get her to suck this?' she teased."

"Did he?"

"Nuh. He mumbled something about, 'She'd never want to do that'. I don't think he had a clue what to ask next, until his hand bumped into my leather belt. So he got me to undo it."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning when I felt his hand playing with the top of my jeans, I looked up at him and sucked in my stomach."

"And did he take the hint?"

"He kept his hand under there. Really pissing off Brett, and Ken, who was also getting pretty interested by now."

"Ken? That's the first time you've had anything to say about him," Allan posed in interest.

"Yeah. I hadn't taken to him at all. He looked really scary. He had these wild looking dreadlocks, and was full of himself. As soon as he was out of his gear, he walked around every chance he could get. Flashing about his big dick."

"Bet you wished they had arranged the game so you could get closer to the action!" Dave said.

"If it was big black dick I was after, I still had Bubba's right beside me," Bess countered. "Anyway, I started to tease a bit. Carrying on as if Bubba was getting me off. But all the time his fingers went no further than tracing the top of my knickers."

"That's it?"

"Pretty much. It was getting pretty willing between Brett and Sally. Em seemed a bit peeved, and told them to ease off, or take it somewhere else. I took the opportunity to say that it was time for me to crash. Game over."

"You are kidding!"

"Nuh. I could see the disappointment in Bubba's face, so I gave pulled his head down to me and we kissed and petted a while."

"Oh yeah!" Allan pounced. "Was that a follow-me-into-the-room kiss, or a good-bye kiss?"

"The latter. Though I did whisper to him that he could touch it if he wanted. But all he did was twirl my pubes a little. When we stopped, the others had gone. I sat up and Bubba and I looked at each other without talking. I caught him staring at my boobs-well my nipples actually. I just smiled and shuffled over to him. 'Here's your bonus,' I said. I slipped one strap down and flashed him. 'Now you'll always be one up on Brett,' I said as I left."

"The poor bastard must have been climbing the walls when you left him," Allan said.

Bess seemed to take a long time considering her reply.

"I guess so," she finally responded. "I was pretty worked up too. Anyway I tossed off my clothes and crashed on the bed in my room. It was so dark I couldn't see a thing. I hoped I would doze off straight away, but I couldn't. I tossed and turned for ages, hearing every little sound. At one stage I heard footsteps outside and I froze. What if someone was coming in? But they walked past and I heard a door close, and then the sound of the toilet flushing. After a while I'd had enough and decided to get up and pull the curtains to let in some light. I eased out of bed so no one would hear me, and bare as, tiptoed over towards where I remembered a window was. Just as I was feeling around for the curtains, I heard the latch on the door to my room rattle."

"Oh no!" exclaimed Dave.

"That's what I thought," continued Bess. "I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head. I froze against the wall, in the pitch black, hoping someone was lost, and would turn back. But what if they put on the light and found me naked? Or what if it was one of the guys- it's something Brett would do- looking for a bit? I waited breathlessly, my heart pounding so loudly they must surely hear it. Then I heard it again, and the slightest squeak as the door was eased open, enough for someone to squeeze through. My mind was racing by now. And then I figured, it might be Em or Sally, slipping away from the guys as quietly as they could. Surely Brett or Ken would be more brazen than this. They'd wander in as if I was waiting with my legs apart for them. Wouldn't they? Then it struck me. It might be Bubba!"

"What happened?" Allan urged impatiently. Dave and I were speechless. I'd seen this side of Bess before- rosy cheeked from a drink too many, with a group of captivated men hanging on every word. She can do this to you, even when she's facilitating a workshop. So multiply that a hundred times when she's caught up in telling a yarn like this, and you'll get an idea how we were feeling.

"Are you sure you want me to keep going?" she teased.

"You wouldn't dare stop now! Would you?" I replied.

"Just making sure you are all awake," she said with a smile. "Anyway, there I was, bolt upright against the wall, trying to figure out what the movement in the room meant. I heard the footsteps approach the bed, and the sound of the sheets being disturbed. Then a long silence and the steps leaving, heading away from me as best as I could tell. When they were near the door, they stopped. Oh no! Even from across the room I could hear breathing-quite heavy breathing- and then the sound of a hand brushing against the wall. Whoever it is must be trying to find the door, or a light switch, I thought. But then the sound started to approach where I was hiding."

"What did you do?" someone croaked.

"I was thinking, 'Should I make a run for the door? Or try to sneak past them?' But the problem was I was still naked. And what if it was only Bubba, my nice fat boy Bubba, feeling his way around the room, thinking I was playing some kind of game with him. At least with Bubba, I was pretty sure he knew no meant no. So I stayed put, motionless, barely breathing as the sound turned the corner and reached my wall. My wall! I started to think, 'Should I squat down? Maybe whoever it is will miss me, feel the wall above me. But what if they find me like that? My face right in front of their groin. Right in front of their big black cocks.' I'd already seen Bubba's. Christ, it had already been pushed into my face. And I'd seen Ken's. I started to have weird thoughts about whether I could tell the difference. As if Bubba would be OK, but the others not. I remembered both were bigger than anything I'd seen before. Brett's I didn't know, but from what Em had been saying, he was keeping her very happy indeed. All these thoughts were racing through my head, doing it in. Then I felt it! A large hand bumping into my arm."

"Fuck! I would have jumped through the roof," Dave exclaimed.

"That's the strange bit," Bess replied. "As soon as that contact was made, I felt really calm. If anything, I started wondering what would happen next? How could I figure out who it was? But no one moved. We remained like that; in the dark, not touching, but not fleeing either. Then, the hand was back, and for a long time it just explored all over my body, finding my bare breasts, acknowledging my rock hard nipples, tracing my lips, pushing a finger into my mouth as if to test whether I would bite or suck. I did neither- I wasn't moving anything- and whoever it was seemed content enough to continue, dragging a slight trail of moisture that burnt like acid down my neck, between my boobs, straight down as if dissecting me. Past my navel, through my pubes, squeezing through my pussy and then gone."

********************

In the fishing hut, a long loud silence followed. Bess stood up, right beside me. Her large shirt ballooned out, and I could see her panties, awkwardly gathered to one side, a large part of that glorious arse exposed to my glare. She casually reached under and adjusted the problem, before wandering off to the fridge.

"Can you believe that?" Dave asked. 'There's more to Bess than meets the eye!"