Bec shivered despite the Top End December heat as her partner pulled up to the house outside of town.

“Nice place for a Christmas party,” he remarked of the large elevated farmhouse by the river. Whilst the rest of Australia enjoyed long summer days, the nature of the tropics meant that, at five-thirty, the light of approaching sunset already gave the surrounding sparse boab trees a golden hue.

“Members of our mums and bubs group only, Jase,” she told him with a kiss. “You can have your own party with little Jacob.” They both looked at their sleeping infant son in the back.

“Yeah, we’ll have a boys’ night, don’t you worry,” he said. “Go on, have fun. We’ll be fine.”

His beard tickled her lips as they kissed goodbye, and she got out, forcing herself not to look back as he left her for her first night alone in over six months. She headed towards the sound of music pumping from the fairy light-bedecked veranda, self-consciously pulling down the hem of her tight red dress — much tighter than she remembered. Oh well, everyone’s got mum bodies here, she thought. Except for that university friend of Lauren’s, and she’s got a stunning mum-to-be bod.

“BEEECCCC!!!” Her world became a tangle of curly black hair and soft brown flesh the moment she reached the top of the stairs as Aïda enveloped her in a bear hug. “You came!”

“Of course I came.” She gently pried the larger woman from her before she overheated and adjusted her glasses. “But you know how it is with babies... Am I the last one? How come everyone else is so much more efficient?”

“Potluck,” said Bridget. Short shorts and a singlet was all she’d gone for — Bec wondered if she’d even redone her ponytail since Rhyme Time at the library, regretting her own choice of loose hair since her milk chocolate locks were already starting to stick to the back of her neck. “It will probably be my turn to be late next week.”

“You’re never late,” Trish said, she of the immaculate pixie hair as you would expect from the best hairdresser in town. “But otherwise, she’s right, don’t worry about it. I only beat you by five minutes. This is going to be a fun night, although I think Sahani is a bit nervous about it.”

“Oh, where is she? I should go give her a hug.” Bec had worked with Sahani before either of them got pregnant and had grown closer since, though not yet close enough for her to confess what her Sri Lankan accent did to her panties.

“She went inside with Shaz.” Shaz, or Sharmayne to anyone not trying to prove how ocker they were, was the baby of the group, her twenty-one making even Bec’s twenty-seven feel old. Born in town, she was also the only true local, although her husband might dispute that, given his ancestors had lived in the area for sixty thousand years before hers left Europe. 

“Then I’d better go find them and say hi to Lauren and... God, what’s her friend’s name? I really should know the name of our host!”

“Hyun-seo,” Trish replied without hesitation. 

“How come you can say it so easily?” Aïda put on the Senegalese accent of her mother instead of her usual broad Queenslander. “I can’t get my tongue around it.”

“Really, Aïda?” Bridget asked, dripping innocence. “I thought you could get your tongue around anything.”

The black girl waggled her tongue piercing at her. “If you keep being mean to me, I won’t let you find out.”

“Ooh, is that a promise?”

“If you two have finished flirting,” Trish said, “the answer to your question is that my ex-girlfriend is from Seoul.” 

“I didn’t know you liked girls, Trish.”

“You must have missed it over the screaming babies. We all like women here.”

“All of us?” Bec asked. “I mean, Sahani is pretty conservative about these things, and Shaz—”

“—definitely likes women,” interjected Aïda. “What? Why are you all staring at me like that? Oh, no, we haven’t fucked; she just told me.”

“If revelations like that keep coming, I need some wine,” Bec said after an awkward pause.

“Top me up, too, will you?” Bridget waved her glass. “I’m drinking the Riesling.”

“Sure.”

Through the sliding doors and into the aircon, she found the kitchen empty. She filled Bridget’s glass and poured one for herself, but as she placed the bottle back, she heard sounds further down the corridor. Following them, she slowed as she reached a door, left ajar. Hesitating until curiosity overrode politeness, she peeked. Her reward was the spectacle of Hyun-seo, naked and on her back with Lauren’s head buried between her thighs and her features obscured by Shaz’s legs as the latter rode her face.

If this is how it starts, how’s this night going to end? she thought, but entered anyway, leaning silently against the wall and sipping her drink as she enjoyed the show. It wasn’t until Shaz had had a very vocal orgasm that she turned and let out a yelp of surprise, falling sideways onto the bed.

“Don’t let me interrupt you, ladies,” Bec said when the other two looked up in alarm. Lauren flashed her a grin and dived back down, bringing an entirely different expression to the pregnant woman’s face. Bec had to tuck her spare hand firmly under her arm to stop it from straying between her legs as the moans and cries continued to rise in a crescendo from the bed, until the Korean woman could take no more and pushed the rather smug-faced brunette away. 

Lauren leaned in and gave Hyun-seo a kiss on the lips and then looked directly at Bec, giving a flick of her head to get her long hair over her shoulder. That action exposed her undercut and the intricate tattoo above her left ear — as breastfeeding side-by-side had revealed when they first met, her entire body was a canvas. Bec threw up her hands.

“Hey, your secret is safe with me, ladies. I’m just surprised, you know, what with Hyun-seo’s…” she waved at her prominent bump.

Lauren laughed. “It’s fine, Bec, you don’t need to lie for us. Our partners know.”

“Phew! I mean, I say I don’t judge, but I really like your wife, Lauren. It’s a shame she couldn’t come.”

“Oh, believe me, Sam would much rather be here than dealing with her mother’s backseat parenting. I feel a bit guilty not being in Perth with her to be honest, but I’m flying down on the twenty-third so we can have Christmas together at least.”

“What about you, Shaz? Do I need to be careful what I say to Darren?”

“No.” She giggled, making her breasts jiggle as she re-tied her bun. “He knows. I play netball, after all.”

“Netball may be a lesbian love-in, but I’m still not playing that silly game.” Shaz rolled her eyes. “How did this start?”

“We were getting a snack,” explained Lauren. 

Bec laughed. “I think the rest of us might need something a little more filling.”

“Let’s go get that something now,” Hyun-seo said, sitting up and taking the underwear Lauren offered her. Her voice was soft with a vaguely American accent, overlaid with a bit of Australian twang.

“Where’s Sahani?” Bec asked as the others finished getting dressed.

“She went to the toilet before... well, you know,” Shaz said. “Not sure this is really her scene.”

“If Aïda hadn’t hinted at it, I wouldn’t have guessed it was yours.” 

“Maybe she has manners and isn’t in the habit of watching her friends fuck without an invitation,” suggested Lauren.

“Fair.” Bec opened the door. “She must be outside. Let’s join the others before they come looking; I’m too hungry for an orgy just yet.”

The four women emerged back onto the veranda bearing alcohol and food. Bec spotted Sahani standing off to the side and caught her eye; the blush that crept into her dark brown cheeks answered the unspoken question. Just as she offered her a party pie, the sun touched the horizon behind the house, igniting the ranges beyond the river in fiery colours to contrast with the backdrop of a storm rolling in.

“It may feel like a sauna most of the time, but I’ll ever tire of wet season sunsets,” Trish remarked to murmured agreement.

“Ooh, lightning!” Shaz said when a flash illuminated the encroaching clouds.

“Good,” Aïda said. “We could do with some cooling down, although this place catches the breeze better than in town. This is such a nice property you’ve got out here.”

Hyun-seo shrugged. “My partner needs to be by the water.”

“‘Needs to be by the water’?” Bridget snorted. “I’ve heard that one before. You can join our fishing widows association.”

Hyun-seo smiled enigmatically.

“How did you meet, h— er, them?” Bridget had yet to grasp the concept of a non-binary partner, but Hyun-seo seemed oblivious.

“Diving in East Timor.”

“That’s it?” teased Lauren. “Where’s the detailed romantic story of your wooing? Or was it their wooing? I still don’t know what you’ve been up to these past five years.”

“It’s their story too; it doesn’t seem right telling it without them. They’ll be here in an hour or so.”

“They’re fishing at night? Aren’t you worried about crocs?”

“Crocs won’t bother them.”

The conversation moved to other topics since Hyun-seo was no talker. Food circulated, and wine flowed as only wine at a party for new mothers free of their responsibilities for an entire night can flow. Bec drank slower than anyone else — bar Hyun-seo, of course — content to observe her friends. 

Lauren and Hyun-seo were not the only couple showing affection beyond “just friends”. Aïda’s earlier denial regarding Shaz turned out to be not so much uncharacteristic coyness as a flat out lie — two cans of rum and coke were all it took to get Shaz straddling the larger woman’s lap with her tongue down her throat. As for Trish and Bridget, they went off on a “sunset-viewing walk”. After the entirely predictable opening of the heavens half an hour later, they came racing back, soaked to the skin, covered in mud, and their nipples poking through the clinging wet clothes, bras lost in the hasty scramble to get dressed.

“Would you like some towels?” Hyun-seo offered.

“Nah,” replied Trish. “There are more fun ways to warm up.” And she pulled Bridget in for a pash. 

Bec glanced over at Sahani, now the only other person without a partner for the evening. Her eyes were wide, watching the couples, but a smile played across her lips.

“Feeling left out?” Bec asked, moving closer.

“No. Just thinking how different this is to where I grew up. What would Jase say if he caught you kissing me?”

“If he caught me, he’d probably be hurt,” Bec conceded. “Though if I told him while we lay in bed that I wanted you to pin me down and sit on my face, he’d find it hot.”

“Would you tell him that?”

“Actually, I already have. Several times.”

Sahani bit her lip. Before she could respond, lightning lit the sky accompanied by a crack of thunder, and the power went out, plunging them into darkness. 

No one screamed — they’d all experienced wet season power cuts before. They let their eyes adjust and listened to the drumming of the rain on the roof, louder now that it didn’t have the music to contend with. A warm hand slid into Bec’s, and she looked around to meet Sahani’s eyes, only inches from hers. Lauren flicked her lighter nearby for a new spliff, and the spell broke, her hands retreating to her lap.

“Do you have a generator, Hyun-seo?” called Aïda from the other end of the veranda.

“Yes, but it’s too noisy. I’ll go get some candles.” 

A minute later, Hyun-seo returned with tealights and distributed them, sending a glow onto Sahani’s face, now staring glumly into her wine. As Bec debated whether to reach out and reignite that spark, she saw her friend’s brow furrow. Bec followed her eyes, curious, and a moment later saw it too. 

Ripples in the wine. She looked down at the surface in her own glass. Still. Then, suddenly, concentric rings marred the surface. The thunder rumbled in the distance now, but more ripples came, stronger this time. What does this remind me of? A low boom accompanied the next disturbance.

“What was that?”

“Thunder?” suggested Shaz.

“No, too regular,” said Bridget. “See? There it is again.”

“It is Sunda,” announced Hyun-seo. “They are here.”

“What are they, a T-Rex?” asked Bridget as another boom shook the whole house. The other women looked uncertain, moving back towards the table.

“Do not be afraid.” Hyun-seo walked to the railing. “They can show you ecstasy of which you have never dreamed.”

“Wanna bet?” quipped Aïda. “I have some pretty wild dreams. Bloody hell!”

Hyun-seo had calmly turned, sat on the railing, and leaned back, falling out of sight. They all ran forwards, but as they reached the edge, the power kicked back in, illuminating Hyun-seo rising to their level and smiling at them from a nest of writhing green and red tentacles to the soundtrack of Mariah Carey singing that this was all she wanted for Christmas.

“Everybody,” she said, spreading her arms to be wrapped in an oozy embrace, “I would like you to meet the love of my life and parent of my child, Sunda!”

“Fuck! I know this town attracts a weird bunch, but...” Aïda began.

Sahani surprised them all when she spoke up next. “Beautiful.” She flinched when a pulsing, iridescent tip appeared inches from her face, moving subtly and sparkling gold from the rain falling on it. “A pleasure to meet you.” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “You smell divine.” 

The others started to smell it too — a delicate fragrance that caressed their nostrils like a lover and seemed to drift through them, calming the horror that had been in danger of gaining the upper hand on seeing a creature as tall as the house cradling their new, pregnant friend. There were hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices, but something else familiar that Bec couldn’t place. Lauren identified it immediately, however.

“They smell like cunt,” she murmured. “Delicious, needy cunt that wants to be eaten out and fucked raw.” She looked at her friend, hovering in the air. “No wonder you fell in love with them.”

“Ew!” exclaimed Shaz suddenly. She had been watching the tentacle sliding through Sahani’s curled fingers and wrapping around her arm, and it had just released a milky white discharge along its entire length. Sahani gasped, grabbing the railing as her knees buckled. 

“Wow!” she said as the slime ran past her elbow. “It’s like a thousand kisses at once!” While she spoke, more tentacles emerged, swaying from side to side before the women. Bridget seized one, but it slid effortlessly through her grip and encircled her arm.

“Oh God, you’re right!” she said as gloop coated her skin. “You mob have to try this!”

Hyun-seo smiled happily to see her friends embrace her mate one by one, until only Bec remained hesitant, staring at the writhing limbs. Her cheeks burned, her nipples ached, and her need soaked her undies, but she couldn’t bring herself to touch the creature.

“What will they do to us?” All accept the expecting mother missed the fear in her voice.

“Why so scared, Bec?”

“I’ve had dreams of them. So many dreams. And at the end...”

“They will not harm you, I promise. Leave if you wish.” 

Bec shook her head, took a deep breath, and shut her eyes.

“Take me.”

Slippery flesh touched her skin a millisecond later, not just on her outstretched arms but her legs too. Then they released their ooze, and every nerve ending it touched felt magnified and bathed in warm silk. All other thoughts and considerations vanished, consumed by the need for more of this sensation. Sunda obliged, working up to her thighs and shoulders. When she opened her eyes, she was several metres from the house and level with the roof. The last vestiges of sense tried to warn her as she looked at the others also bound and floating either side, but then came a second release of slime, and her self-control left her.

“It’s okay, my friends, my loves,” called Hyun-seo over the growing chorus of needy whimpers. “I want to share them with you. Let go and enjoy them.”

Had she been explaining quantum physics in Korean, Bec would have paid just as little attention, for nothing could halt her desire now.

“Take me,” she gasped to the faceless tentacles slithering over her skin. “Really take me.”

Her dress and underwear tore like paper and disappeared into the boneless arms as her restraints suddenly tightened, pulling her spreadeagled for the rain to pepper her body with needles of cold while the tentacles zeroed in on her erogenous zones. They slithered and writhed all around her pussy, flattening her pubic hair and making her buck her hips in frustration, begging for them to enter her, but they refused. 

Jealously, she turned to see Sahani a short distance away, hands bound to her ankles, head pulled back by her plait with limbs sliding in and out of her cunt, the one stuffing her mouth muffling her screams of ecstasy as a mixture of tentacle and throat slime dripped from her chin. A tugging on her nipples distracted Bec, as two appendages wrapped themselves around her breasts, but the action only made her more frustrated.

“Come on! Fuck me like you’re fucking all of them!” Everyone else had their fuckholes filled with fat tentacles, including Hyun-seo in the centre with only her pale, swollen belly still visible under the wriggling limbs.

A lone tentacle rose before Bec’s face. Finally! she thought, but instead of plunging into her mouth, it opened like a flower, revealing a pink interior. It lowered itself to Bec’s lips, almost overpowering her with its scent, but with no other viable prospects, she gave it a lick. 

Lauren’s right, she thought. It tastes like me. She lapped at it some more and then added, Me after Jase has come inside me. 

The more she licked this protrusion, the more it leaked its nectar, and the firmer the points circling her pussy became. Another began tickling her star, prompting her to gyrate her hips impatiently, desperate for something in any orifice, until the frustration boiled over and became a wave of pleasure, weaker than an orgasm but a similar peak. Her new lover picked that moment to grant her wish for penetration, and those small waves became a tsunami wracking her whole body. 

When reality broke through her euphoric haze, she could feel at least three shafts in her cunt and two in her arse, all twisting and thrusting independently. Sticky secretions coated her face from the appendage that still hovered above her lips, and her glasses were lost to the muddy darkness beneath. Far from being sated, however, she demanded more, thrusting her hips and French kissing the bizarre appendage before her. 

An unfamiliar feeling crept over her, as if her body, whilst still hers, was simultaneously larger and smaller. Shadows of other tentacles, more than could possibly fit inside her, caressed and massaged the nerves of her holes, only they were not her holes. Rather than the usual blur of her unaided eyes, her vision fragmented like a kaleidoscope. 

Another climax exploded, and all the vague impressions coalesced into the certainty that she felt everything her friends felt and they what she felt. When they reached out for each other mentally, Sunda obliged and brought them together physically so that they could all hold hands. Their restraints loosened until they could join into a mass of writhing, slime-covered female flesh and love and ecstasy that seemed to go on forever in the humid tropical night.

≈≈oÖo≈≈

Rebecca was sat on the bottom step, talking to Sahani, when Jason pulled up in the ute. Making no effort to be discreet, she gave her a long, lingering kiss before standing up.

“Morning, love,” he greeted her. She searched his face for any reproach regarding what he had just witnessed but found none, so she gave him his own kiss. “Did you ladies get wet?”

“Hmm?”

“In the storm.”

“Oh. Yes. We all got very wet.”

“What happened to your clothes?” He pointed at the shorts and t-shirt Hyun-seo had lent her to replace the wreckage of her dress.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. How was your night?”

“Surprisingly fun. I could take Jacob more often.”

“That’s good,” she said, pulling on her seatbelt, “because I think I’m going to take up diving.”