Thomas stirred from his pillow, which was currently Silver’s warm back. His arm wrapped over Silver’s torso, whereupon he shifted his hand to find it brushing against much coarser fur, which he recognized as Moonlight’s. Gently exploring their bodies, he smiled at finding the pair interlocked in a full embrace. It was rather unusual for him to be on the outside of the love sandwich, but he was far too comfortable to complain. Blearily he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked up, finding that his stupid internal clock had awoken him a full half hour early. That, or it was his sudden need to pee.

Deciding that it would be rude to go in Silver’s ass without her consent, Thomas carefully extracted himself and made for the bathroom. He froze upon seeing Luna on the toilet and quickly spun around. “Sorry,” he blurted, trying not to listen to the steady stream of liquid in the toilet.

Using her magic, Luna lifted the human and turned him around to see her amused half grin. “What, pray tell, gives you the right to be sorry so early in the morning?”

Thomas narrowed his eyes accusingly on the alicorn. He realized that, after all they’d seen of each other, he was being rather silly for trying to avoid her. Even now her mane and fur were an absolute mess, stained in the fluids of yesterday’s ‘treatment’. Deciding to play along in spite of the presence of toilets better suited to his size, Thomas moved himself directly in front of the mare, grabbed hold of his semi-hard cock, and asked, “Could you open your legs a bit?”

Chuckling, Luna accommodated and gave the human plenty of room. She was still relieving herself, and studied her human’s expression as he watched. “Does this please you?”

“I… er, no,” Thomas mumbled, doing his best not to look as he took aim. “I… this isn’t one of my… things.” He began urinating as well, keeping his eye on Luna’s large knee. “Is… it one of yours?” he asked carefully.

“Alas, it is not,” she answered with a yawn. “A bit of leakage is often unavoidable, but I have never been much of a fan of, as you say, water sports.”

“If that’s not your thing, what do you do about concubines who like it?” Thomas chuckled about how casual they were speaking about such a thing while he looked up at Luna, still making sure not to gaze down south.

Luna’s bladder emptied, but she remained sitting as Thomas was still going, watching his little dick with mild fascination. “We all make due,” she said with a contented hum. “If my interpretation of your dreams is accurate, I believe ponies are much more accommodating of their lovers’ desires than humans.”

“How so?” Thomas’ stream had ended as he gave the last few shakes.

“By pony standards, you are bent towards mares. They are your preference. However, a pony stallion with the same preference would not have as much difficulty accepting a male lover as you would. The same applies for other such preferences. I may not actively seek out a pony who has such a fascination with urine, but I would still oblige if asked, at least to an extent.”

“Does that go for all ponies?” Thomas asked, finally finishing.

Luna stood as he stepped aside. She grinned at the way his eyes moved more freely across her body. It was nice to be appreciated. “To varying degrees, yes,” she explained as she began washing her hands, making room for Thomas to join her. “We all have our preferences, but we do not feel so rigidly bound to them as humans seem to be.”

“Kinda surprised orgy parties aren’t more common with an attitude like that,” Thomas remarked.

“If I might say, you seem rather fixated on this all-or-nothing attitude. Most ponies are content with their beloved herds, or friends to help ease tension. Sex for its own sake is simply not a common preference, as far as I am aware.”

“You would know.” Thomas gave the looming alicorn a wry grin as he reached for the paper towels. “With all those dreams you watch, I bet you know exactly what kind of preferences are and aren’t common.”

“To an extent,” Luna shrugged without a trace of guilt and set a hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “While I accept that you still wish to keep your own preferences to yourself, I cannot help but wonder if you might like to join me in a little exploration.”

Thomas flinched back. “Keeping it in the harem is one thing, but isn’t that, like, an invasion of privacy?”

Grinning, Luna bent over and pressed her muzzle against his ear. “Not if you are invited,” she whispered teasingly.

“You’re terrible.” Thoroughly fed up with Luna’s attitude, Thomas did the only sensible thing he could think of and jabbed a finger just above her left areola. She yelped in surprise, but did not pull back. Instead, her lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Uh oh,” he gulped. “Did I just poke the sleeping lion?”

“Do not be silly.” Luna lit her horn and stood to her full height with Thomas levitating at eye level. Encased in her magic, she spun him like a clock until his cock was pointed directly at her face while he was forced to stare at her firmly muscled belly. “Tali’s not even here tonight.”

“That’s cool and all,” he remarked dryly, though couldn’t deny he was a little proud of his labor being appreciated by others. “But you know where that’s been, right?”

“Verily!” Luna declared as she slurped the appendage into her maw, working it swiftly with her tongue until he came and she drank her fill.

“Hey!” Came two very irate feminine voices. Luna and her upside-down human turned to find a pair of naked mares standing in the bathroom doorway, arms folded and looking rather upset.

“I thought we agreed to alternate,” Moonlight complained with a huff. “You had his first spurt yesterday, so that makes it my turn.”

“My apologies,” Luna admitted with ears splayed, though the smile on her lips betrayed her lack of guilt.

“And I thought we agreed he produces more when I lick his plot,” Silver added indignantly, her entitled nobility side peeking through. “If you want to sample his seed, that’s fine, but you could at least do so at the highest quality. A Princess deserves as much.”

“Oh please,” Moonlight rolled her eyes. “You’re just saying that because she shares it with you.”

“Exactly!” Silver exclaimed, standing defiantly against the larger unicorn. “There’s enough to share between the two of us, not to mention the added flavor of her favorite bat mare. The highest quality a Princess could ask for.”

“Is that so?” Moonlight stepped forward, pressing her chest out into Silver’s face in challenge.

“Yes. Zat is zo!” Silver pushed against Moonlight, standing on her tippy hooves.

“Can I say something?” Thomas raised his hand, still held upside down. Though he wasn’t certain if the two mares were being serious or playing around, he still felt he needed to intervene, regardless of how absurd this whole thing was. He looked to see if Luna planned to help, or at least turn him right side up, but it was clear she was far to entertained and interested to see where this was going. “Moonlight. You’re absolutely right. It was your turn and Luna and I should have remembered. And Silver, if it makes you feel better, you can lick my butt as much as you want during Luna’s first break.”

Both mares relaxed their postures as they stepped back from one another, ears splayed in humility.

“You’re right,” Silver said to Moonlight. “We had an agreement and you have a right to your turn.”

“And… he does taste a lot better with your help,” Moonlight reluctantly admitted. “Especially with that flicky thing you do with your tongue.”

“Ai can teach you zome time if you like,” Silver offered. “Maybe even right now?”

With peace on the horizon, Thomas felt there was only one sensible thing to do. “See. You shouldn’t be mad at each other. You should be mad at Luna for acting without your consideration.”

“What!?” The alicorn blurted.

Moonlight’s brow furled until realization dawned on her. “Hey, he’s right.” And she renewed her accusatory look at Luna.

“You snuck him in here so we wouldn’t notice.” Silver took a challenging step forward, forcing Luna to retreat.

“What? No. No! We did no such thing.” Luna held up her hands defensively, apparently having forgotten her superior size in the face of the irate mares. “Thomas, tell them!”

Thomas beamed at Luna with a grinchy grin, thoroughly pleased with himself for putting her on the defensive for a change. Still, he felt he’d had his fun. “Actually, Luna was already in here. I came in because I had to pee and I didn’t want to do it in your butt,” he indicated at Silver.

“Aww. Thank you,” the bat mare cooed with far more gratitude than Thomas felt he’d earned.

“How are any of us saying this stuff with straight faces?” Thomas demanded.

“Practice and patience,” Luna declared authoritatively. “As befits all great endeavors.” And the four descended into chuckles.

There came a knock to the door.

Like deer caught in the headlights, the harem momentarily froze in shock. When a bubbly voice announced, “Room service,” the mares collectively lunged for the bed with Thomas still in tow. They quickly regained their prior sleeping positions, stumbling over one another more than once until they finally settled and Luna beckoned in her attendants. Thomas did not say that what they’d done was entirely unnecessary, but he thought it with a vengeance as he was plunged back into Silver’s butt.

Surprise and Honey filed into the room, stood at attention across from the bed, curtsied in their maid outfits, and greeted in unison. “Good evening, Princess Luna.”

“For the denizens of the night, we call it morning,” Luna corrected as she sat up and stretched. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the mares staring very intently at her bosom. She was in a good mood, and it was a challenge not to give her ‘girls’ a playful shake.

“Sorry,” the mares said together, still curtseying. “Good morning, Princess Luna.”

The other concubines stirred from their pretend sleep, apparently committed to the act.

Silver yawned as she rolled over, now sitting on Thomas’ lap. “Kindly handle the curtains, you two,” she instructed drowsily.

“Yes ma’am.”

“You got it Miss bat lady, sir-oof.” Surprise rubbed her side where Honey had elbowed her. She frowned at her fellow applicant, bottom lip pushed out in a pout, but then she saw the way Honey was gesturing. Surprise turned to meet Silver’s disapproving glower and smiled apologetically. “Sorry.”

Silver offered no words, but gave the mare an admonishing look.

Thomas squirmed beneath the straddling bat mare as he tried to watch the attendants over her shoulder. Both were dressed in the maid uniforms he’d come to expect, though the skirts seemed cut especially short. The moment either of them lifted their arms put the bottoms of their bottoms on display. Thomas’ reactions to the unintended peek of such sexily dressed mares was greeted with Silver clenching her sphincter around his manhood. “You can be really greedy sometimes. You know that, right,” he accused softly, though not quite a whisper.

“I prefer to think of myself as opportunistic,” Silver corrected at a more conversational volume. “Any mare worth her teats would do the same.” Her words earned muffled chortles from the attendants as they opened the curtains, revealing the final rays of the setting sun.

“She’s right, you know.” Moonlight sighed and gave Silver’s shoulder a friendly shove. “She got you first this morning, so she gets to reap the benefits.”

“His sturdy stallionhood and your strong arms.” Silver shoved back, only stopping to rest her head on Moonlight’s breast and wrap a wing around her back. “Shame you’ll never know benefits like that,” she teased.

“Woe is me,” Moonlight bemoaned halfheartedly. “All I got were alicorn breasts for pillows and nimble little bat mare fingers in my…” she broke down into giggles, unable to finish the thought as Silver joined her.

Thomas’ eyes darted between the giggling naked mares in bed and the giggling clothed mares standing by the balcony. It seemed rather odd that his mares would be talking so openly, as if strangers weren’t eavesdropping, but that’s when it clicked. Moonlight and Silver weren’t just fooling around, at least not entirely. Their words were being chosen deliberately as part of the test for the newcomers.

“We should all count ourselves lucky.” Despite the dishevelment of her mane and fur, Luna stood with the pride and authority befitting her position. “Life is a precious gift, and there is nothing grander than sharing it with those dearest to our hearts.” She smiled fondly at those in her bed before facing the attendants. “I expect those in my service to celebrate life every day, to never treat this gift as anything less.”

“Nicely said, Princess,” Honey complimented, but it was clear she wasn’t meeting Luna’s eyes. “Yer words are-” Her attempt at flattery was cut short.

“Does that mean a party?” Surprise squealed. “This is kinda last minute. I’ll have to get supplies from my room. Oh. What kind of cake does everypony want? I’ve got-”

“Ahem,” Luna coughed, causing the attendants to stand straight at attention. “The thought is appreciated, but for now, would the two of you like to watch my raising of the moon?”

“Darn tootin’, Princess.” “You betcha.” The attendants exclaimed before running up to either side of the alicorn.

The bed’s occupants shuffled out from under the covers, stretching and popping their joints as they stood around the carpet. Thomas’ eyes roamed lazily from his lovers, to the attendants flanking Luna, down to his groin, and back to the attendants. Finally realizing that he was standing half-mast in front of strangers, even if they weren’t looking directly at him, Thomas turned his back to the others and hurried over to the dresser before anyone had noticed.

He quickly slipped on his loincloth, noting the way the slim piece of fabric seemed to instantly calm him down. Not so long ago he could barely step outside of Luna’s shadow, yet now he could turn to these strangers and present himself without shame, at least so long as no one decided to pants him. I’ve really come a long way, he remarked proudly. However, he did not move to join the others, remembering how things had played out with Silver on her first night, though he did position himself to get a better view of their expressions.

As it always did, the last rays of sun shone the brightest before flickering into nothing. The pure darkness was brief as the moon poked out over the horizon, shining its pale light across the land. With a wave of her hand, Luna brought the stars out from hiding as they glittered across the night sky.

“Wowey!” Surprise declared as she turned her body to follow her gaze across the sky, ending in her bending over to look down at the city below and unintentionally giving everyone behind her a nice view. “It’s so pretty.”

“Understatement of the year if Ah ever heard one,” Honey commented in awe. “Ah always thought the nights were pretty, but… Ah never saw ‘em like this before a few months ago.”

“Such seems to be the consensus,” Luna commented dispassionately, but those who knew her could hear the smile in her voice.

“Don’t go sellin’ yerself short, Princess. Ya’ll got a real knack fer this.” Honey waved her hand out in a sweeping arc, gesturing at the star-spangled celestial tapestry. “Ya can tell a lot about a pony by the way they work. An’ you, Princess, are a mighty fine mare, if Ah do say so mahself.” She and the Princess exchanged warm smiles.

I’m beginning to notice a pattern, Thomas thought. Everyone seems to start with complimenting Luna’s work, yet she never seems to get tired of it. Is she just fishing for the appreciation she didn’t get a thousand years ago?

“And you, Surprise?” Silver asked contentedly. “What do you think of our Princess’… What the hay are you doing!?”

While no one was looking, Surprise had somehow settled atop Luna’s shoulders. Like a child trying to watch a parade, Surprise’s legs kicked idly as she held on to Luna’s head for balance. “It’s just so… wooooow!”

Between Surprise’s boldness, Honey’s look of shock, and Silver’s frothing fury, Luna was hard pressed to contain her laughter as she grabbed hold of the pegasi’s ankles to hold them still. Silver saw the gesture and instantly calmed, but that didn’t stop her from trying to summon latent unicorn magic and set the pegasus on fire with her mind.

“You have quite a way with words, Surprise,” Luna giggled like a school filly as she watched the mare continue to look about in foal-like wonder. Some ponies had a way with words, but some preferred to show their appreciation in other ways. When Surprise looked down, the pair shared a soft nod before going back to star gazing.

Thomas had come to much the same conclusion as Luna, that just because Surprise didn’t put her appreciation into polished and carefully chosen words didn’t make it any less meaningful. Glad to see the system’s not entirely rigged towards one kind of personality. Thomas thought with a modicum of relief.

Star gazing came to an end, as it was time for Luna’s bath. Silver was quick to grab hold of Surprise’s tail and pull her aside, making it clear that what she’d done was terribly inappropriate. Surprise just bounced out of Silver’s grip, leaving the baffled bat mare to stare in morbid awe at the fake tail she now held.

Thomas found himself chuckling as the attendants could not get their maid outfits off fast enough, especially Honey. Seeing as swimsuits were only added for Thomas’ comfort, he’d already agreed that they were no longer necessary and that the mares should be free to be nude.

The pool was filled and Luna climbed in, motioning for her lovers to follow. With Moonlight there for emotional support, Thomas bravely jumped in when the attendant’s weren’t looking. He, Moonlight, and Silver sat across from Luna on raised platforms built into the bottom of the pool. Without express direction, Honey opted to begin scrubbing Luna’s arm while Surprise began brushing her mane.

“So Princess. I’ve never seen you with your mane down like this, before. How’s that work?” Surprise asked.

“Tis a simple enchantment,” Luna informed contentedly as the mares groomed her. “Centuries ago, I thought it a nice touch to help my sister and I to look more regal. We’ve been casting it ever since.”

“An’ yer fur’s so smooth,” Honey commented as she nuzzled her cheek against the Princess’ elbow. “That also an ancient alicorn secret? ‘Cause if not, Ah might know one or two ponies who could use some groomin’ tips.”

“No secret. The finest soaps in the land are a mere pittance compared to the marvels of proper exercise and a healthy diet.”

“You eat your weight in food every day,” Thomas pointed out as he washed Moonlight’s back and Silver massaged shampoo into his scalp. “I’m also not too sure if bi-hourly sex counts as real exercise.”

“Then you must not be doing it right,” Surprise commented, earning snickers from the other mares.

Thomas opened his mouth to protest, but decided the evidence was stacked against him.

“I certainly feel winded after a good rutting with you,” Moonlight offered sympathetically.

“What you lack in stamina, you make up for with creativity and enthusiasm,” Silver added.

“Ah hear that!” Honey beamed as she released Luna’s arm and slipped into the water to reach her leg. “Like Ah said, never underestimate the little ones. They’ll always take ya by surprise.”

“You’re welcome,” Surprise chirped.

The bath concluded, thus the next stop for Luna and her pair of lost puppies was the wardrobe. Redressing in their maid outfits, Honey and Surprise carried out their duties with utmost diligence under the watchful eyes of their peers. After preliminary vetting and their first interview, a pony applying as concubine was next sent to the castle servants to learn proper etiquette and their duties as attendants.

“Howdy, little fella,” Honey greeted as Thomas walked up beside her, though she kept the bulk of her attention on her task. “Need somethin’?”

“Not especially.” Thomas stood idly by her side, his eyes drifting from her work of slipping on Luna’s horseshoes to Surprise hovering around and straightening the regalia. “I was just letting you guys know that you’re doing a good job so far.”

“Mighty grateful to ya fer sayin’ so,” Honey tilted her head in a soft bow.

“I know I’m having fun,” Surprise cheered. “It’s like playing dress up with the biggest prettiest dolly ever!”

Thomas noticed the way Silver grumbled at the comment, but paid it no mind. “I was just thinking that, when Silver applied, I was told the Senior concubine is allowed to make the attendants jump through all kinds of hoops to test their worthiness for the job,” he said as his eyes drifted down to the rim of Honey’s skirt, a crazy idea forming in his head.

“Which you did not do, I might add,” Silver said, keeping her eyes firmly on the white pegasus as she flew about. “Granted that I am grateful you refrained from having me do anything terribly embarrassing, but in hindsight I feel a more rigorous test is necessary to vet for such a prestigious position. Applicants should be pulled from their comfort zones to better prepare for what will be demanded of them.”

Moonlight nodded. “I agree. We went through hazing in the guard to build character and comradery, and I think it really worked. I stand by my fellow guards like they were my family.”

“Oh. That was my favorite part of training,” Surprise chirped. “The exercise and sword stuff was neat, but I really liked getting to know ponies in all the hazing.”

“Such has been the tradition,” Luna commented, the corner of her lip curling into a mischievous grin. She had a good idea where this was going.

“Ah hear ya loud ‘n’ clear,” Honey gave an exacerbated sigh. “So don’t ya’ll worry none. Me’n Surprise are ready ta take whatever ya can dish out.”

Despite concluding that he had just received unilateral approval, Thomas was still uncertain and whispered his idea to Moonlight. He studied her expression for any sign of anger, disgust, or any of the other emotions polite society tended to have when they heard of such a thing. Instead, Moonlight seemed to be pondering the proposal with genuine thoughtfulness until she gave a silent nod of approval.

Now emboldened with express permission from his girlfriend, Thomas decided to follow through with his crazy idea and took hold of Honey’s left butt cheek. The earth mare squeaked in her throat, her back going stiff in surprise at the sudden contact. Suddenly fearful that he’d gone too far, Thomas quickly glanced back at Moonlight, finding only mild amusement.

“M-Mr. Thomas?” Honey asked, sounding more confused than hurt.

“Honey,” Thomas began experimentally, slightly more confident in himself and his action. “What was that you were saying about a pony and her work ethic?” he asked with a cocky grin as he softly patted the mare’s muscled backside. “If there’s one thing I’d like you to take away from this, it’s the importance of multitasking. You’re gonna be dealing with all kinds of distractions, so you’d better learn how to keep focus.”

With renewed determination, Honey nodded swiftly. “You got it, boss. Any backwoods mule can say they want somethin, but it takes real gumption ta see it through. An’ that’s exactly what Ah plan to do.” She returned to her previous task with greater vigor than before.

Thomas sighed, thankful he hadn’t just committed sexual assault.

“May I?” Moonlight asked, walking up beside Thomas, “Hazing doesn’t just come from officers, you know.” He nodded and she grabbed hold of Honey’s other ass cheek. “Hmm. Very nice,” she appraised.

“Think so?” Thomas asked.

“Very much. You can tell by the give beneath your fingers.” She demonstrated by squeezing extra hard, earning a cute squeak from the earth mare. “This is the rump of a mare who’s worked hard her entire life.”

“Darn tooten!” Honey agreed.

“I was just thinking that. Reminds me a lot of yours.” With his free hand he grabbed hold of Moonlight’s bare bottom, digging his fingers into both mares simultaneously. “Oh yeah. Definitely a pair of hard workers, here.”

Moonlight giggled from both the praise and the way Thomas’ touch tickled.

“Just out o’ curiosity, which’d you say is the tougher plot ta pinch?” Honey asked with only the barest indication that her butt massage was leaving her flustered.

“I choose not to testify, on the grounds that it might incriminate me,” Thomas stated matter-of-factly. Grabbing a mare’s bare ass under admittedly flimsy consent was one thing, but he wasn’t brave enough to go around saying his girlfriend’s butt was or wasn’t better than the one he was expected to eventually pound, especially when said butt belonged to such an intimidatingly tall and strong mare. Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of a moaning cry from Surprise. Looking up, the folks on the ground beheld the bum of Surprise being aggressively inspected by a distressingly delighted looking Silver as both mares hovered above Luna.

“Hardly any muscle here,” the bat mare criticized harshly. “Some ponies might like the added cushion, but a plot this soft won’t hold up in a real rutting. We shall need to train this one up,” she stated as her mind lit up with ideas.

“Hah! Shows what you know,” Surprise challenged, wagging her rear in Silver’s grip. “I’ve been rutted by plenty of stallions, and never once got a complaint. In fact, they all said they liked the extra cushion, even the mares. Even the ponies who said they didn’t go for the softer flanks said they liked what I did with mine. It’s not what you got, but how you use it,” she beamed proudly. “Besides, how many stallions have you had?”

Silver’s assault halted as she averted her gaze down to Thomas. “Um… one?”

Surprise followed Silver’s line of sight down to the human, only to look back with a beaming grin. The bat mare braced herself for the pegasi’s counter attack, ready to hear her flanks demeaned just like in grade school.

“Wow. So your first stallion was a Senior concubine, AND a super cutie?” Surprise exclaimed to Silver’s surprise. “Only a mare with a truly talented plot could do that.”

Thomas smiled as he saw Silver blush. What could have been a very uncomfortable moment had quickly been diffused by the poofy mare’s friendly personality. It was undeniably impressive.

“Enough of this idle speculation,” Luna declared in annoyance. “We shall be the judge of the suitability of these mares’ plots.” Both mares were encased in Luna’s magic and set down in the palms of her large hands. Their skirts actually did an adequate job of hiding what Luna was doing, but her audience had a pretty good idea of what was eliciting such moans and squirms from the mares. Face like stone, Luna decreed, “Fit and plump,” holding up Honey and Surprise respectively. “Both are fine examples of their respective qualities. Honey and Surprise. You should both feel proud of what you made for yourselves.”

“Th-thank ya kindly, Princess,” Honey stammered.

Surprise made several unintelligible noises before settling on a salute.

Smiling, Luna turned each of the mares to face her before planting a quick kiss to both their foreheads. It was Honey’s turn to mumble unintelligibly as she was nearly knocked from her perch by Surprise’s sudden wing boner. With a soft giggle, the now fully dressed Luna set the blushing blank-eyed mares down on the ground. “Goodness. Why must our first kisses always do this to ponies?” she bemoaned dramatically, but no one was buying it.

“Have you considered weaponizing them?” Thomas offered. “Your enemies wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I’m almost certain there are treaties against weaponized love,” Moonlight interjected.

“Elements of Harmony,” Thomas countered flatly as he watched the semiconscious mares sway back and forth as if in a trance.

“We can discuss turning my lips into weapons of aroused destruction later,” Luna said dryly. “For now, why don’t you five order up something and just enjoy your night together.” With that, the Princess left her concubines alone with the attendants, thinking of little else but the report on their progress later in the evening.

I’m starting to suspect this story is beginning to grow a bit formulaic in places. Interview, personal questions, complimenting Luna’s moon raising, and bathing and dressing. Hopefully it’s a working formula that I can tweak every now and then to keep things fresh. Then again, there are only so many ways to spice up an interview and the first day on the job.

While the main function of this chapter was to introduce the new characters into the group dynamic, I also found myself giving quite a bit of growth to Thomas. He really has come a long way from how this story began. That isn’t to say he is entirely free of his disorders and insecurities, but a good support group goes a long way to making those problems seem a lot less troublesome.

And don’t worry about the beginning, as that was pretty much the extent of water sports I plan to involve in this story. It’s not my thing and it’s not a thing I plan to involve for the sake of sexual variety like I did with Silver’s BDSM.