Coming to Terms
Chapter 2
By John Yager

This is the second of five chapters. This story contains descriptions of both straight and gay sexual acts. If such stories are not to your liking or if you are not allowed access to such material under the laws of the area in which you live, please exit now.

I want to express continued thanks to Andrew, who has again done proofing and editing for me.

All stories which I have posted on NIFTY can be found by looking under my name in their Prolific Authors lists.

This work is copyrighted by the author and may not be copied or distributed in any form without the expressed written permission of the author.

I maintain a notification list and would be pleased to add you to it. If you wish to be notified when I post future stories please let me know.

I can be contacted at: jvoyager@hotmail.com

About a week after my conversation with Jason, all eight of us were together at Billy and Stan's house for a big spaghetti dinner. When we'd eaten, gone through a couple of bottles of wine, and were just relaxing, talking, Billy said, "Stan and I have been thinking."

"Unusual," Jason grinned. How could you let an opening like that go by?

"Seriously, guys," Stan jumped in. "You all say you're so open to our sexuality, and we've been wondering if any of you four straight folks have ever messed around with another person of the same sex?"

There was stony silence for a couple of minutes and then Barb shocked the hell out of me by casually saying, "yeah, I have."

"No shit?" I blurted out. I'd never heard that before.

"Yeah, a couple of times," she responded, as cool and casual as you could be.

"When? Who?" I stuttered.

"A cousin when I was in high school and one of our sorority sisters during our junior year."

"Tammy Walker would be my guess," Joan put in. "I remember you two having a thing going second semester that year."

Barb just smiled but didn't say anything.

"What did you do?" I asked. I wanted to know but at the same time I didn't.

"Not much, really," Barb said. "Some kissing, making out, feeling each other up a little."

"Did you like it?" Melissa asked, leaning forward on her elbows.

"Yeah, it was great, but not something I'd want full time," she grinned at me and added, "I like cock and John has a nice one."

I stood up and took a bow.

There was a long silence and when nobody else offered to incriminate themselves Billy jumped back in again.

"We were sort of thinking, in the interests of broadmindedness and self- enlightenment, maybe we should all eight try playing on the other side, you know, the road not taken, that kind of thing."

"Don't blame it on Frosty Bob, Billy. If you want to mess around, just fess up and go for it."

"Well, I guess I would like to see what all the fuss is about," Billy grinned.

"Yeah," Stan said shyly, "me, too."

"Are we talking about switching partners within our own little group?" Jason asked. "If so, I can see the possibility of a lot of hurt feelings and maybe even some damaged relationships."

"Billy and I think we can do it and preserve both our friendships and our relationships," Stan chimed in. Obviously they'd been talking about it.

"It's an interesting idea," I said out of the blue. I don't know if I'd have been so quick to join the pack if Barb hadn't just admitted her own same-sex adventures. I don't think I was jealous but I was sure intrigued. There was also a strong sense at that moment that what was good for the goose was probably equally good for the gander.

Barb and I had never played the jealousy game and we'd made a point of not asking each other about our previous sexual or romantic experiences. When I thought about it later I realized there was no reason why Barb should have told me about Tammy Walker or whoever the hell it had been but, now that I knew a little, I wanted to know more. To paraphrase Billy, I guess I wanted to see what the hell all the fuss is about.

"So how do you propose to match us up, Billy," Jason asked. Until then both he and Sharon had been silent but it seemed as if Jason at least was thinking about Billy and Stan's suggestion as if it were a done deal. Sharon hadn't said a word so I had no idea what she was thinking. "You planning on drawing straws or something?" Jason went on.

"Well, actually," Billy responded, "we were sort of thinking it would be less likely to cause problems with our existing relationships if Stan and I teamed up with Melissa and Joan. That way we'd all have about the same degree of straight experience and none of us would feel like the yokel, so to speak."

"You and Melissa and Stan and Joan," Jason said.

"Or Stan and Melissa and me and Joan," Billy fired back. "We sort of figured we should leave it up to the girls."

Melissa and Joan, who were sitting side by side on the sofa, leaned toward each other and whispered back and forth for a couple of minutes, their private conversation interrupted two or three times by outbreaks of giggles.

"Sounds peachy," Melissa said when they ended their confab.

"So who goes with Billy and who goes with Stan?" Jason immediately fired back.

"We'll work that out later, just between the four of us," Joan said. "We were just agreeing to the principle of the thing."

"So that means Sharon and Barb would be matched," Jason said.

"Yeah, and you and John," Billy said, as if we hadn't all figured that one out.

Jason looked over at me and shrugged.

What the hell does that mean? I wondered. I suddenly remembered looking up his shorts while I was doing bench presses.

"So where do you guys plan on this round robin going on, anyway?" Jason asked, always the stickler for detail.

"My uncle owns a lodge over in Arkansas," Stan volunteered. It was the first time any of us had heard about it.

"How far into Arkansas?" Jason asked.

"It's northeast of Silver Hill near the Buffalo National River area," Stan said. "It's about a four or five hour drive from here."

"The Ozarks," Jason said. "Pretty country."

"Too far for a weekend jaunt," I added.

"We were sort of thinking the Fourth of July," Billy volunteered. "It falls on Thursday this year so maybe we could all arrange to take Friday off and make it a four day weekend."

"In fact," Stan continued, "if we could get away a little early on Wednesday maybe we could drive over that evening and have four nights there. We could come back late Sunday."

The eight of us had taken equally long trips together. In fact, we'd taken a couple which were even longer. I realized things were moving fast, maybe too fast. The Fourth of July was only three weeks away.

"You all realize we haven't heard a peep from Sharon all evening," I said. "Before we start packing I think we'd better find out if you're okay with this," I said, looking over to her.

"Yeah," she said immediately, "I think it sounds kind of hot. Kinky and hot and maybe a little too premeditated, but I'm okay with it if we all agree that nobody is going to get their feelings hurt."

I turned to Barb and asked, "what about you, sweetheart? Are you game?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "I think Sharon and I can have a very good time together." Then giving me a nasty grin, she added, "I'd just like to be able to watch you and Jason doing it. I think that could really be hot."

"Ha ha," I fired back. "Guys get off on watching girls make out, but girls watching guys is downright wicked."

"Wicked is good," she grinned and leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the end of my nose.

"What John and I get up to together had better just be between him and me," Jason said. "It's going to be weird enough just doing it. Any of you guys watching would be entirely off the charts."

That's how it was left but over the next three weeks as we finalized our plans there was a lot of giggling and a lot of kidding. It was as if the eight of us had one big secret joke, a joke we could all laugh about among ourselves but never, ever, under any circumstances share with anyone outside our little group.

Wednesday night, the third of July found us all at Stan's uncle's place in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.

We'd gotten away from Memphis at three o'clock in the afternoon, driving two vehicles. Barb and I had driven my car and had Melissa and Joan with us. Billy and Stan had driven their big SUV and brought Sharon and Jason and Boy.

In our car, at least, there was no mention at all of what was going to happen over the weekend. I was nervous as hell and figured the others were, too. It was as if by mutual agreement the four of us didn't say a thing about the pairings or the sleeping arrangements.

The lodge turned out to be quite large and very luxurious in a rustic sort of way. It was a good mile off the nearest public road and, as we approached, the big log structure loomed above us in the soft evening light. The front, facing a gravel arrival area, had a big entry porch supported by timbers as big as tree trunks.

The others had gotten there before us and had the lights on by the time we pulled up and began unloading our stuff. In addition to our own bags we'd done a huge collective shopping and both vehicles were packed with an assortment of boxes and coolers. I think we had enough food and drink for a week but we hadn't wanted to run short and have to make the long trek into the nearest town for additional provisions.

Before we started carrying stuff into the lodge, Stan called from the front door, saying he'd give us a quick tour. We walked through the entry to a huge room which served as the living and dining space. Beyond it, through three large sliding glass doors was a wide deck from which we had spectacular views off to the north across a deep river valley. The entire landscape was thickly forested and no other buildings were visible as far into the distance as we could see. The lodge sat on a high ridge in splendid isolation.

The great room, as Stan called it, was a huge high space with heavy timber beams and a sloping ceiling. At one end was a seating area facing a huge stone fireplace and at the other end a dining area with a big plank table which could easily seat a dozen people. Beyond the dining area was a very well equipped kitchen.

There were two bedrooms off the great room on the main level and two more off the balcony above. Each bedroom had a king size bed and a private bath. Stan's uncle clearly liked roughing it in style and had the financial ability to do so.

"Hey, guys," Jason called out as he came back into the great room from the deck.
"There's a lower deck with a big hot tub." I hadn't realized he's fallen behind the rest of us as Stan was guiding us through the place.

"Is it big enough for all eight of us?" Sharon asked.

"Yeah, probably. A little crowded," Jason said, "but we're all friends."

"Well, fire it up then," Barb said. "We can all pile in."

We got the cars unpacked and the food stored while Boy ran aruound exploing and barking occussionally when he saw a rabbit or some other unfortunate critter. Our personal bags were placed in an orderly row in the entry areas and it was as if no one wanted to address the question of who would be in which bedroom.

Gathering in the great room, Stan, who was after all the would-be host, raised the issue.

"So, do you guys want to get in the hot tub?"

We all agreed it would be a great idea.

"Are we going for swimming suits or shall we just bite the bullet, so to speak, and strip?"

We all stood there looking uncomfortable. As I looked around our little group I realized I'd seen everybody but Melissa and Joan naked before and everybody but the two of them had seen me naked as well.

"Oh, what the hell," Jason said and started undressing.

Following his lead, we all stripped, tossing our clothes into a jumbled pile on one of the sofas while Stan made a quick run through the kitchen, returning with a pile of freshly laundered towels. I remembered seeing a laundry area beyond the kitchen when he'd shown us around.

It was odd, even awkward. It was downright embarrassing, but we all did it. In a couple of minutes we were all naked and there was a good bit of looking going on. They guys, Billy, Stan and Jason, I'd seen naked on a regular basis when we used the sauna and showers after our workouts.

I'd seen Barb naked all the time. We slept naked and we often showered together.
Sharon I had seen naked, had sex with once or twice, but only in the crowded back seats of a couple of cars.

Melissa and Joan were a revelation.

As I looked around at the eight of us I had to admit we were a pretty good looking bunch. We were all slender and toned. We all have very similar coloring with darkish blond to medium brown hair.

The girls all had very respectable figures and nice, but not large breasts and appropriately wider hips. Their hair was similar in color and style, light brown with lighter golden highlights, all cut a little shorter than shoulder length. There was a range in height with Sharon being the shortest at about five feet four inches and Joan the tallest at about five feet eight.

The other guys and I had never really been out of shape and over the last year and a half, with regular workouts, we'd all actually developed very nice bodies. All four of us were smooth chested with no visible body hair. We all had well defined torsos and abs. This came as no supprise to us four guys.  After all, we'd seen each other naked often enough throughout our college years and more recently when we showered together after workouts.

In the cock department we were all pretty much equal, nobody huge, nobody small.

For some reason we all four had rather unfashionably short haircuts, not buzzes, but just long enough for a neat part. I guess you'd say we all had a sort of understated preppie look. In height Billy was probably the shortest of the four of us, and Stan the tallest, but we were all so close to six feet that it made no difference.

Like I said, we were a good looking bunch.

"Well, this is interesting," Barb said. She had a quick wit, often a cutting wit, and often broke the ice when everyone else was at a loss for words. "Do we just stand around looking each other over, or do we head for the hot tub?"

There were a few giggles and then spontaneous movement toward the nearest of the three big sliding doors. As we left the great room and headed out onto the deck, we each picked up towels from the pile Stan had brought. I noticed that, without exception, the four girls quickly wrapped themselves in the generous expanses of terry cloth, tucking the upper corners in just between and above their breasts. It must be a trick all girls learn and it made them look almost more sexy than they'd looked nude.

With a bit of bravado, each of us guys just tossed the loose towels over our shoulders and walked out naked and proud onto the deck. At either end of the upper deck there were stairs I'd not noticed before. They descended to a lower level on which was a smaller deck and the huge hot tub. Since Jason had turned it on earlier, it was already steaming in the cool night air.  Stan was the last to come out, holding back a little to be sure Boy was shut in the lodge so he couldn't be a pest while we were in the hot tub.

As we descended the stairs to the lower deck I saw that to our left, back under the upper deck, was a glass fronted space which seemed to contain a lounge area with doors leading from it at either end. They turned out to open into two shower and dressing areas, each of which contained saunas about the same size as the one Billy and Stan had installed in their basement workout area.

Both decks were surrounded with small, subtle lights which illuminated the stairs and gave some general lighting to the decks themselves. From the eerie glow of the water, it was clear that there were also subdued lights in the hot tub as well.

Beyond the deck, looking down into the thick forests, everything was dark. There was a mysterious sense of isolation, as if we were in some enchanted place. Further off, the hill fell away toward the dark valley below us and beyond and to both sides, round hills rose into the dark sky. Overhead were a billion stars shown with such brilliance that it made us city dwellers gasp in amazement. The thought that this place would be a perfect setting for a production of Shakespeare's Tempest flitted through my mind.

As we reached the hot tub, Stan, who was leading our little parade, detoured to the left, to a set of controls on the wall and turned on a timer which started the circulation pumps. The hot tub suddenly erupted with a rush of bubbles and the calm water became turbulent.

"All right!" Jason said as he tossed his towel onto the surrounding wooden rail and stepped into the boiling water. Illuminated from below by the submerged lights, he looked like some pagan god rising from a stormy sea.

Jason stood proudly, naked and already a little aroused as he held out his hands to each of the girls as they reached the tub. He gave each of them a little tug, helping them step up onto the edge of the hot tub and then steadying them as they negotiated the steps inside the tub, moved around and found a place on the submerged bench. With each movement his toned muscles flexed and moved under his taut, slightly tanned skin. His hair looked golden in the soft light. There's no question about it, Jason is a beautiful guy.

After the girls made their way into the tub, each of us guys followed. I'd expected Jason to find a place for himself and let us cope for ourselves, but he stayed where he'd been, reaching out to Billy, then Stan, and finally me, taking my hands as I stepped up onto the tub's edge and maintaining his grasp as I slid down into the water.

I ended up on the further side of the tub between Sharon and Barb. The rest of our group filled the available space. It was a big hot tub and there was enough room for all of us but our sides touched and with our legs extended into the turbulent water, our feet touched and intertwined in the center.

The water was very hot and there were a few minutes of silence as we all relaxed and let our bodies adjust to the water temperature. Eventually Stan, still playing the host, spoke up.

"Well, this is great," he said. "It's a good chance to relax and get used to being so together like this."

"Naked together," Barb added.

"Yeah, that's sort of what I meant."

There was silence again and then Billy said, "maybe we could play a game or something, you know, sort of break the ice."

"Wrong metaphor, Billy Boy," Barb jibed. "This water is way too hot for any ice to survive."

"Well, you know what I mean."

Stan reached over behind were he was sitting, into the space between the tub and the surrounding railing, and retrieved some sort of floating tray. It was meant for holding drinks but provided a flat and reasonably level surface as it dipped and bobbed in the bubbling water. Then with a second reach, he came up with an empty wine bottle. I figured I knew what was coming and it was clearly a put-up job. Billy and Stan had planned this but what the hell, I thought. We all knew where this was leading and maybe some fun and games would be the best way to get there with a little less awkwardness.

"Spin the Bottle, anyone?" Stan grinned.

"Stanley, you've got to be kidding," Barb said. For the first time there was a discernable edge to her voice.

"Yeah, Stan, really juvenile," Joan put in.

"I figured I'd said goodbye to Spin the Bottle when I left middle school for high school," Jason laughed. "But I have no objection, I just want to know the rules."

"Oh, great, a team player," Barb spoke again but the edge was gone and seemed to have been replaced by a slight laugh.

"Well," Stan grinned, "we say what the lucky couple are supposed to do, you know, maybe a kiss on the cheek for the first round, maybe a kiss on closed lips for the second."

"An all-out heavy duty eat your face gag on my tongue kiss for the third," Barb interjected.

"Well, yeah," Stan smirked.

"Okay," Sharon said. "Is everybody game?"

Everybody nodded, giving tacit agreement to the plan.

"Cool," Billy grilled, reaching out to lay the bottle on its side and give it a quick spin. It made about a turn and a half and then rolled to the side as the tray rocked in the turbulent water. It came to rest pointing toward Barb, who groaned. Barb spun it again and it ended up pointing toward Billy. Everyone laughed as they both stood up and, nudging the floating side, met in the middle of the tub, stood facing each other for a second and then embraced. Billy hugged Barb to him and gave her a big, noisy smack on her right cheek. Everyone clapped and Jason and I gave loud cat calls.

I couldn't help wondering how it had felt to Billy to have his crotch pressed against the crotch of a girl for the first time.

Barb and Billy sat down and Billy spun the bottle again. This time it pointed directly at Melissa. Again, everyone laughed. "How come Billy's having all the fun?" Stan griped as the two winners moved to center stage and kissed rather pristinely on the lips. More clapping, more cat calls.

Third time around it was Barb and me. Since this was supposed to be the all out eat your face suck your tongue event we put on quite a show. I mean, we had had some practice so we showed off our skills. I held her to me and stroked her bottom as we made out big-time in the bubbling tub. By the time we broke my cock had started to harden and we were both gasping for breath. The applause was its loudest yet and everybody was egging us on. I started to move back in for a second kiss but Jason stopped us. "One per customer, John. You'll have to wait for your second turn." Barb and I grinned and returned to our respective places on the bench.

"Now do we go back to cheek pecks and start all over again?" Billy asked when everyone had quieted down.

"Nah," Stan said. "Now that John and Barb have shown us how, let's go for the big ones every time."

Everyone agreed and Billy steadied the floating tray and spun the bottle again. First spin went to Sharon and the second to Joan. Things were starting to get interesting.

The two girls moved to the center of the tub, made some preliminary stabs at whose arms would go over and whose under, then moved in for the big kiss. I guess girls are easier with kissing other girls than most guys are kissing guys. At any rate, they did very well. As their faces merged I couldn't help letting my eyes roam over their soft, curving bodies. The girls were sideways to me and I watched as they came together. Their bellies were flat and, for girls, nicely firm, but it was clear as they pressed together that their softer flesh moulded and conformed each to the other. My eyes traveled up to their breasts, which were mashed and flattened between them.

Watching them was certainly hot and I felt my already excited cock jump. I was glad it wasn't really visible under the rushing water.

When I pulled my eyes away from them I caught Barb's eyes. She was sitting across the tub from me and had clearly been watching me as my eyes traveled over the two entwined girls. There was an amused smile on Barb's face and I knew she had seen my excitement as I watched them.

When Sharon and Joan ended their kiss I heard Jason mutter, "wow, fucking hot." The girls did a little curtsey as everyone applauded.

The game went on, Stan and Sharon, Joan and Jason, Melissa and me. I was surprised to discover what a great kisser she was.

"How long are we going to keep this up?" Jason eventually asked. I agreed it was getting a little old.

"Three more turns," somebody said and we all agreed.

It was Joan and Melissa and they put on a show which rivaled Barb's and mine.

Then it was Billy and Stan. They kissed like demons and when they drew apart they both had raging hardons. There were more cat calls than ever.

The last turn and the first spin pointed to me. I made some comment about getting the last chance and I and my partner, whoever that might be, would certainly show the rest of them the ultimate lip-lock kiss. Of course on the second spin the bottle pointed squarely at Jason.

There was an uproar from the others as I began to recant my earlier promises.

"No going back, John," Barb called out over the din.

I stood up and shrugged. Thank heavens my cock had relaxed.

As Jason moved to the center of the tub I could see there was obvious reticence in his expression. He held himself defensively like he was approaching an opposing football team.

As he came into range I put my hands on his shoulders and drew him into a light embrace. The muscular firmness of his body felt strange but intriguing. It was so different from holding Barb. He moved his hands around to my back, pressing his spread palms into me just below my shoulder blades, but resisted a more powerful hold.

The others had begun a rhythmic clapping, egging us on.

As I moved my lips toward his, he bypassed my face and moved so we were cheek to cheek, almost as if we were dancing. I found my lips were against his left ear and whispered, "relax, bro, we can do this."

I felt his chin against my shoulder as he nodded his agreement. The roughness of his whiskers caught me off guard.

We pulled back just far enough to face one another and then moved in. Our lips met softly. Our mouths were tightly closed.

I was caught off guard by the roughness of his whiskers against my face and realized I must feel the same to him. Obviously, neither of us had shaved since morning and while our beards were light enough in color not so show much, they were both deceptively coarse and very abrasive as our faces met. At first I was put off by it. It was so unlike Barb's soft skin. But as our kissing continued I found it strangely arousing.

The rhythmic clapping from the others was louder, more compelling and they were all calling out to us now.

"Come on, guys," one of the girls was almost yelling.

Billy and Stan set up a chant of "do it, do it, do it," which the others soon joined.
I pulled Jason closer and opened my lips slightly, inviting him to do the same. I felt him yield and his own mouth opened under mine. I felt his tongue moving over my lips and my cock jumped.

I was quickly getting hard and as my pulsing cock moved from semi-stiff to full mast I felt the hot pressure of Jason's equally hard cock pressing against mine. This was getting very strange.

The clapping and the chant continued, louder and faster every minute. I pressed in, spread my lips and thrust my tongue into Jason's hot, wet mouth, only to meet his tongue pressing into mine.

We were both moaning now. I couldn't get over the feeling of his hard body against mine. I ran my hands down over the muscles of his back and then around until I was gripping his biceps, amazed at the sexual high I was on.

We were both hard. Our cocks had somehow gotten up between us. I could feel the coarse hair of Jason's crotch as my drooling cock moved against it.

Thank god for the turbulent water, I thought, figuring we could crouch down as we ended our kiss and hide our erections under the bubbling water.

It was time to end this and I moved my hands to Jason's shoulders and pressed down, letting him know what I had in mind. He got the idea and moved down with me so we had both reached an almost squatting position which forced our lower bodies apart but only after our enflamed cocks were hidden under the suds.

It was at the very moment we broke apart that the timer clocked out and the pumps shut off. The water went from turbulent to deadly calm in the span of a few seconds and for all we could do our fully erect cocks were visible for all to see.

It was Barb, of course who called everyone's attention to our condition. "Oh, look, guys," she called out above the continuing rhythm of their clapping, "the boys were enjoying their little show as much as we were!" You've got to love the gal.

Realizing there was nothing we could do to hide our pulsing cocks, Jason and I just stood up and took a bow.

"I guess that more or less proves the premise of the weekend," Billy laughed.

"Yeah," Stan chimed in, "even the two straight boys can get turned on by a little same-sex sex."

I was so grateful he didn't say queer sex. I don't think at that moment I could have handled it.

"Well, guys," Jason fired back, "the premise isn't proven ... till you two fags enjoy a little opposite-sex sex."

There was an outburst of applause from the bunch of us and everybody stood up and reached for the towels.

To be continued.