On the Side

I’m not totally sure if this one belongs in “Gay Male” or in “Science Fiction and Fantasy.” The scenario is a future, post apocalyptic society, but the story has few of the “normal” trappings of science fiction. I’ve written several stories and three novels set in this universe, though this is the only one that counts as “erotica.”

In this scenario, the apocalypse occurred long enough ago that knowledge of the era before the fall of civilization is the realm of fairy stories and archeological research. At the time of this story, civilization has largely rebounded, but one time, more than a thousand years ago, more than 99.99% of the population died in a plague and war. Either as something that caused the apocalypse, or as a result of it, some pervasive illness causes five out of every six male infants to die before their first year. Girls aren’t affected, and boys who survive a year can expect a normal life span.

———-

On the Side

“Ednila, Gloria, Stefano, by the blessing of the Earth Mother, the blessing of this community here gathered, and most particularly, the blessing of your own love, you are now married together.” The priestess lowered her arms. Morning sunlight bathed her face in a ruddy glow. “You may now kiss.”

Ednila and Gloria embraced and kissed, then they both gave me a kiss too, Ednila first, then Gloria.

“Friends, please welcome our newest family.” At the priestess’ prompt the crowd gathered around the huge maple tree on the temple grounds clapped and cheered. I smiled, standing between Ednila and Gloria, and looked over the crowd, searching for Karlo.

There, toward the back of the crowd. Finally. He clapped too, but his expression was pained. At least he came. It would have hurt me if he hadn’t, after our last two years together, though I could have understood if he didn’t show up, too.

My wives and I stood together shaking the hands and of well-wishers as they filed past. My wives. That phrase sounded strange in my ears. Better get used to it, I guess.

I kept up the rhythm of thank-yous, shaking hands, receiving hugs, but kept an eye on Karlo. I’d seen him last about two weeks ago. He’d come to my parent’s house and we took a walk together, “for old time’s sake.”

Of course, we ended up at our favorite place, by the lake behind a dense screen of rhododendron bushes, and of course we started kissing and of course we made love. He bent me over while I supported myself gripping a low branch and accepted his sweet seven-inch cock in my ass.

He’d planned this. He had a little bottle of oil with him so I’d be more comfortable taking his beautiful, thick member in my tight hole. He came quickly, but he recovered quickly too.

His second climax took a glorious, long, sweet time to come. He knew how to hit all my right spots, and he stroked my cock with the skill of long familiarity while he fucked me. I came before he did, and the climax felt like every tree in the forest shook. He came a few seconds later while my sphincter was still clenching around his cock. He pulled my ass tight to his hips with such force that I almost lost my grip on the branch. He gasped and gave another hard, deep, thrust. Then another.

He sighed and pulled himself out. “Oh, Mother of the Earth entire, you’re good.”

“You too.” Semen dripped out of my ass and ran down my leg. It tickled. I reached for my pants and dug a handkerchief out of the pocket.

Karlo stepped into his trousers and pulled them up. “Are you really going to marry those women?”

I sighed as I buttoned my own trousers closed. “Yes. About two weeks from now.”

“Why, Stefcho? Don’t you love me?”

“Karlo, Karlo, sweet, beloved Karcho, we’ve been over this all before. Yes, I love you, but I want children, too. As much as I love you, you can’t have children.”

He shook his head. “Nor do I want any.”

I knew his preference and was no longer shocked when he voiced it. I felt for Karlo, I really did. He was the eldest in his family, and his parents had gotten lucky with having their first born child be a boy who had beaten the odds and survived, when normally five out of six male babies didn’t live to be a year old. In accordance with custom, his parents married an additional wife after about a year, but then they’d had a string of bad luck. Of their next six children, five of them had been boys, and they’d all fallen to the Curse of Baby Boys, wasting away and dying while still infants. Then they had three healthy girls in a row, all within a year, when Karlo was just past fourteen winters. His four parents were kept busy to distraction caring for three young infants at once and had had little time left to spend with him, just as he entered puberty.

I grimaced. “I understand, but—” I stopped when Karlo rolled his eyes. I shook my head. “No, you’re right. I don’t understand. I accept that you don’t want children. But please accept that I do want them.”

“Those women don’t love you. You’re just a means to seed their wombs, as far as they’re concerned.”

“Karlo, that’s not true. I love them, and they love me. Sex with them is good too, just—different—from sex with you.”

“You can’t tell me you like screwing them as much as you like it with me.”

“Well, no. I love you too, and sex with you is great.” I stepped up to embrace him, but he pushed me away. I dropped my hands to my side. “This doesn’t have to be the end of our relationship, Karcho. We can keep seeing each other.”

Karlo shook his head. “Yeah, we can, but eventually we won’t. You’ll have homemaking chores to do, then you won’t want to have sex with me because you’ll want to have a good, potent load for your wives. Then you’ll be childrearing. Trust me. I know that takes a lot of time.”

I wanted to protest, to assure him he’d always be welcome with me, and I’d always be there for him, but I knew he was right.

Ednila jostled my elbow. “Stefcho, are you still with us?”

I turned my face to her and came back to the present. I smiled. “Yes, Ednya, dear wife. I’m here.”

She smiled and pointed. “Your friend Karlo just joined the reception line. I thought for a moment he was going to leave, but he turned around and got in line.”

I gulped. “That’s great.”

***

We rode to my new home in a white carriage pulled by a white horse. Ednila and Gloria had committed together two years ago and had been living there for more than a year. It was a two story frame house with five bedrooms, a big back yard with a garden, and a solidly built, cute little outhouse decorated with gingerbread to match the house. There was a pump in the kitchen, so we wouldn’t have to carry in buckets of water or melt snow and ice in the winter.

Three of my parents had delivered the things I was moving that morning, following the ceremony. They sat in boxes in the front room. There wasn’t much, just a couple boxes of clothes, some books and a small bookshelf I’d made in wood-shop in high school two years ago.

I followed my wives into the house and we shared a communal embrace in the entry way for a long time. I wanted to be fully with them, but I kept thinking of Karlo.

He’d been the epitome of courtesy at the wedding. He shook Ednila and Gloria’s hands and gave me a tight embrace as he wished us well. When he released me from his hug we stood facing each other looking into each other’s eyes for a long time, clasping both hands.

Finally I nodded. “Thank you for coming, Karcho.” I let go with one hand so I could wipe my eyes.

He smiled. A sad smile, but a smile. “Be well, and be blessed,” he said. The standard, formula blessing for parting.

“May the Earth Mother’s blessings be with you as well,” my wives replied together in accordance with the traditional formula, practically in unison.

The words had caught in my throat. “Blessings,” I said, a second too late. Karlo had already stepped away and another guest had stepped up.

Gloria pointed to the bookcase. On top sat an old stuffed toy cat. “What’s with the toy cat?”

I shook off my reverie and smiled. “Mama Andrea’s idea, I’ll bet.” I picked it up. Someone had cleaned the dust from it, but the marks of the many times I’d repaired it were obvious. “My nana Reva made that for me, when I was past only two or three winters. I slept with it every night until my tenth winter, and it was practically my constant companion until then. I’d had it out of the way on a upper shelf of my closet for years, but I wasn’t able to give it up either.”

Ednila grinned. “That’s sweet. But now you’ll have some warmer companions for bedtime.” She kissed me.

Gloria kissed me too, and caressed my butt. I reached around the two of them and pressed them together in a tight embrace.

Gloria caught Ednila’s eye. “Shall we welcome our husband to our house properly?”

I had my face buried in Ednila’s shoulder kissing her up toward her neck. “Yes. I think he’s ready,” Ednila said.

They led me to the bedroom and we wasted no time removing our clothes. They pushed me to the mattress on my back and set about kissing me all over my body. I stroked their backs and ran my fingers through their hair as they worked their way down to my waist. Gloria licked my cock from the balls up to the tip as Ednila reached beneath her to finger her pussy. I achieved an erection almost immediately, before Gloria actually took my cock into her mouth. She felt good, but she was still a little tentative about what to do. I was the first man she had any experience with, and it had only been about a month since our first time.

Ednila straddled me facing Gloria with her pussy over my mouth. I licked her sweet juicy slit while Gloria moved up to straddle my hips. My cock sank deep into her pussy and she rocked her hips on my erection. It took her a little bit to find a good rhythm, but soon she found her pace.

I couldn’t see what they were doing while Ednila rode my face, but it felt great. Judging by her moans, Ednila liked what I was doing as well. All too soon the warm tingle in my balls started, which meant my climax was near, but with my mouth covered I couldn’t alert them. I writhed beneath them as I orgasmed, the pleasure becoming almost painful as Gloria continued rocking her hips on me. I worked my hands under Ednila’s thighs and managed to push her up a little.

“I have to stop for a minute,” I said. “It’s too sensitive.”

Gloria gasped and rolled off me. “Oh I’m sorry! Did I hurt you?”

Ednila got up too. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just get really sensitive right when I climax. Give me a minute and I’ll be ready to try again.”

“Okay,” Gloria said. She grinned. “Feel free to jump in when you’re ready.”

Ednila lay with her back against some pillows at the headboard and Gloria knelt to lick her pussy. Gloria’s butt was up and her pussy open to view. The lips were moist and slightly separated, surrounded by curly blond hair. Her vulva had an attractive pink flush. A drop of milky semen hung at bottom of the slit, quivering, threatening to fall off.

The sight of her pleasuring Ednila got me aroused again without my needing to do anything else to get erect. I moved to Gloria and knelt behind her. Ednila caught my eye and smiled at me. She gave a little nod.

I thrust my cock into Gloria’s hot pussy again and held it there, deep inside her for a moment. Gloria lifted her head and gasped, then resumed pleasuring her wife. I began thrusting into Gloria, slowly at first, then faster and faster as passion overwhelmed me. Ednila gasped and cried out, “Oh, Mother, yes!” as she orgasmed, but Gloria just kept up her ministrations. Then Gloria gasped and quivered as her own climax took control of her body.

I slowed down and prepared to withdraw, but Gloria raised her head and shouted, “No! Don’t stop!” Fine by me. I resumed rapid thrusts and after a short time I reached my second climax. I gave her a hard thrust and held it deep inside, pulling my hips tight to her ass. I shuddered. “Oh, merciful Mother. That was good.”

We crawled up to lie beside each other, our arms and legs woven together as if a cloth made of flesh and bone. The scent of our sweat mingled in the air and hung like an intoxicating fog over us. It was only mid afternoon but we fell into a deep, rejuvenating sleep together.

***

Almost a month later I saw Karlo at the market. At first it seemed as if he tried to avoid me, but I caught him by the shoulder at the exit and confronted him outside.

“I’ve missed you, Karcho,” I said. “How have you been?”

“Well enough.” He shook off my hand. “I’m going back to school at Charltown U. this fall.”

“That’s great, Karcho! What will you be studying?”

He cringed. Cringed. I furrowed my brows.

“Relationship Dynamics. It’s a new field.”

I nodded. “That sounds like an interesting field, if I’m understanding it okay. Good luck.”

“Yeah, thanks.” He studied his feet for a moment, then met my eyes. “How are your wives?”

“They’re fine. Gloria hasn’t had a period for five weeks, so we’re starting to get hopeful that she’s pregnant, if that’s the Earth Mother’s plan.”

Karlo nodded and returned his gaze to his feet. “May the Earth Mother be merciful—” He stopped and lifted his face to meet my eyes. “Meet me tomorrow at our spot by the lake? Two o’clock?”

I flushed. “Okay, sure. You bringing oil?”

“Yes.” He turned away and hurried off.

***

The afternoon of the next day was hot and sunny, but behind the rhododendron thicket the shade was cool. Still, as the afternoon drew on I was sweating profusely, naked behind the bushes with Karlo. He’d climaxed three times, and I’d hit my peak twice. My hair was soaked with sweat and my inner thighs were slick with Karlo’s cum.

He clung to my back, panting in the wake of his last orgasm as I supported myself on my customary low branch. His sweat mixed with mine in a slippery film between our bodies while our cocks gradually shrank to their resting states. He kissed the back of my neck.

“I love you so much, Stefcho. I hate that I can’t be with you all the time.”

I clenched my eyes shut tight. Oh Satan’s mountain. Why’d he have to bring that up again? “I know, but we can’t. I love you too, but this is the way it is.” I stood upright and put on my shirt.

Karlo watched me dress, not moving to dress himself. I avoided looking at him. As I tied my shoes Karlo said, “Maybe we—we shouldn’t see each other any more.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

I stood and faced him. “Karcho, I—”

I what? What good did prolonging this do? We both knew this couldn’t last. Better to break it off now. But I did love him. I loved the ripple of his stomach muscles, the slight asymmetry of his smile and the way his sparse brown beard didn’t quite cover his cheeks no matter how he encouraged it. I loved his laugh and I loved the look in his eyes when he held me close. And I loved the thrust and slide of his cock in my ass when he fucked me, the perfect calibration of tenderness and roughness, the warm spurt of his cum inside me when he climaxed. I loved my wives too, but they could never give me that, just as Karlo could never give me a baby.

I shook my head. No. You can’t compare sexual pleasure with the sacred mission of raising a child. Not remotely the same league.

I’d remained silent too long as I debated with myself. Karlo nodded. “Nothing to say, then. All right.” He stepped into his pants, gathered the rest of his clothes in a bundle and left.

“Karcho, wait!” I called after him.

He turned to face me for a moment, then said, “Go back to your wives.” He turned back and hurried around the bush to the trail and out of sight.

I sat on the ground and cried.

***

The next four months passed quietly as my wives and I settled into a routine of living together. Gloria was pregnant, and must have gotten that way soon after our wedding. The midwife said the baby was due in the early spring or late winter. We decided to wait another month before trying to get Ednila pregnant.

Gloria and Ednila went to their jobs by day, while I took care of the house and did the cooking. Gloria was a engineer at a construction company, and Ednila taught middle school. Evenings were mostly home-together time, but sometimes we went out to a concert or to see a play. Night times were often for sex before sleeping, though some positions had become uncomfortable for Gloria. I loved sex with my wives, but I missed Karlo.

The colors of fall were in full display, and the nights had started to chill, though there was no sign of ice or snow yet. We often took long walks on the weekend through the park by the lake, but I never told my wives why I didn’t want to go down one particular path.

One crisp October afternoon we visited the park. Autumn had painted the trees but the day was sunny and not too cool. We needed only light jackets. I’d made a picnic lunch and we walked the path around the lake, looking for a spot to spread our blanket.

I was just about to point to a prospective location under a flaming red maple tree when Gloria pointed up the trail. “Isn’t that your friend Karlo?”

I looked. Yes it was. He was still quite a way off, but there was no mistake. Maybe he’ll turn off the path before he reached us. “I’m not sure,” I said. “He’s still too far off.”

Ednila waved her hand over her head. “Hey, Karlo!”

Oh shit.

Karlo waved back. He continued toward us while I spread the blanket, not even asking my wives for approval of the spot I’d noticed. I busied myself with taking containers of food out of the basket.

Karlo reached us and stopped on the trail near Gloria and Ednila. Ednila offered Karlo a hand and he shook it. “Good to see you, Karlo. Been a long time. Not since the wedding, I think.”

Karlo gave a thin, tight-lipped smile. “Yeah, I think that was it.” He pointed to Gloria’s belly. “I see congratulations are in order. You must all be very happy.”

Gloria smiled. “Yes, thank you. About four more months, then the hard part comes.”

Karlo cracked a bit of a sideways grin. “You mean the part that lasts for eighteen years?”

Ednila and Gloria laughed. Gloria turned to face me. “Stefcho, that’ll wait for a moment. Come greet your friend. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen him.”

Or kissed him. Or bent over to take his sweet cock in my ass. Obediently I stood and joined the rest of them. I held out my hand and Karlo took it. We locked eyes, and Karlo brought his other hand up, grasping my right hand with both of his.

“Hi Stefcho. Been a long time.”

I gave a single nod. “Yeah. A long time. You’re looking good. How’s school going?”

He shrugged. “Okay. It’s hard, but I’m managing. I switched to nursing. I’d have had to get my doctorate in that other field to have any hope of employment, and I’m not that good a student.”

“You’ll make a great nurse.”

“Hey,” Ednila said. “Why don’t you join us for lunch? Stefcho always packs more than we need. I’m sure there’s plenty.”

Karlo shot a glance toward me. “Oh, I don’t know. I shouldn’t intrude.”

“Nonsense,” Gloria said. “It’s been way too long since you and Stefcho got together. Have you had lunch yet?”

“Well—uh—no I haven’t.”

“Then it’s settled.” Gloria said. “Stefcho takes this ‘eating for two’ thing a little too far most of the time, and we have plenty to share.” She took his hand and led him to the blanket. Ednila and I followed. Gloria sat next to Ednila, and the basket rested between Ednila and me. Karlo took the place beside me, close, but far enough away that our knees didn’t touch as we sat cross-legged on the blanket.

“I’m afraid we only brought three plates and glasses,” I said as we sat on the blanket.

“It’s okay,” Ednila said. “Glornya and I can use one together. I’m sure we’ve already shared our germs, right?”

She and Gloria laughed, and after a second, Karlo and I joined them. I met Karlo’s gaze. Yeah, we’ve shared our germs before too, though not for a while. I passed around plates and gave Karlo the platter of fried chicken to pass around.