My other other-half. Yui.

I catch up to Yui in the water at the deep end of the pool, her hair slicked flat against her head. Yui wraps her arms around my neck as she curls her legs up for me to carry her. Yui’s lightweight easily supported by the water. I guide us to an alcove with a stepped bench for sitting that keeps us submerged up to our shoulders. For the moment we’re alone at this end. Aor’s gossip circle composing most of our friends are in the shallows. Lawan is lurking in the middle of the pool by herself, not joining the conversation with Aor and throwing Yui and I some occasional side-eyes.

Hugging me tight Yui tells me privately into my ear, “you know Piya always sneaks you away for some fun at these parties. I’d have you right here in front of everyone.”

My eyes widen at Yui’s daring statement to me. I’m not sure if she’s being serious or just a bit strung up from missing out with Piya and I before. “I think everyone one might notice what we were up to,” I say.

“Not if I kept it quiet. That’s one thing I can do that Piya can’t,” tells me with a smile.

“Could you imagine it?” I say starting to laugh at the idea.

“God! You’d have to drown her head underwater to keep her quiet. She’s worse than a horny she-cat sometimes,” Yui joins me in laughing at the absurdity of it.

Seeing our near hysterics at the deep end of the pool, Becky breaks off from her group and dives under the water on her way to us.

“I’m pretty impressed she stayed so quiet upstairs before. If Lawan hadn’t started shouting I don’t think anyone would have noticed you missing. How did you get her to keep her trap shut for that long?” Yui asks me.

I get out of answering by the arrival of Becky to us. “Company,” I tell Yui quietly as the well-muscled Sydney-sider join us on the opposite pool shelf facing us.

“I’m not interrupting anything am I?” Becky asks. Her close-cropped buzzcut trapping tiny droplets of pool water that catch the sun make them glitter. She is wearing what looks like a professional fitness competition swimsuit in a metallic blue. The whole thing one extremely long string that wraps around her impressive body with only three little triangles for modesty.

“No. I was just telling Roo how I wanted to fuck him right here in the pool in front of everyone but Piya already beat me to it,” Yui tells her with blunt honesty.

“You know that was something I wasn’t sure on when I met the two of you over at the restaurant,” Becky tells me meaning Piya and I and our night out after the conference, “I thought it might have been just a story from a couple looking to add a third into their bed for the night. You guys never seemed like you were making a pass at me though and I just went along with the night to have some fun. I’m really glad I did now.”

“It sounds strange but has never felt strange for us,” Yui confirms, “my Dad had his reservations as any Asian father would but he came around when he met Roo.” Yui pulls my head down at ‘Roo’ and gives me on the lips.

“I… ahh… worked out where the name Roo came from too,” Becky says, her eyes darting down into the water where my little kangaroo swim trunks can be seen through the crystal-clear blue water.

Yui giggles at that I reaches down to give me a squeeze. “I love my little kanga-Roo!”

Becky trying to keep the conversation moving brings up what Aor has been saying, “so you two and Piya are the whole package but your kind of open at the same time?”

“We love and trust each other,” I say first before Yui finishes for me, “but we don’t mind sharing.”

“So how does that work?” Becky asks, her interest well and truly piqued.

Yui sits up from her lounging position in my arms and onto my lap so she can point people out better. She indicated Piya first bringing dishes of food out to the serving tables for everyone to eat. “Piya and I have known each other since we were kids and experimented together. We’ve always loved each other but when we both wanted Roo, well, we connected the triangle between us as well.”

“Ha. That’s an interesting way of putting it and I get it,” Becky says following on, “but you don’t mind Roo with others?”

“It’s not just Roo with others,” Yui explains pointing out Candace in a black two-piece bikini. “Candace, the doctor, Piya and her have since going to Uni together.”

“And does she with Roo too?” Candace asks.

“Somethings but no, not all together,” I fill in what Yui might not know.

“What about all together?”

“Well, Holly and Jessica have swapped around with Yui and I.” Holly is in a bright yellow frilled bikini that matches her pale blonde hair. Jessica is likewise matching hair colour with a fierce crimson swimsuit. “Holly’s bi and marrying Jess who’s gay. Holly didn’t want to give up on men so made a deal that she could get off with me, I’m her ex, if Jessica could have Yui.”

“And then it kind of became anyone with everyone at that dinner,” Yui chimes in.

“Yeah, that was a fun night,” I agree.

“We should do that again soon,” Yui says.

“I’m sure the girls would be up for it.”

Becky is left shaking her head at the openness with which we are able to discuss and even plan for sleeping with each other.

“Anybody else?” Becky asks perhaps afraid of what the answer might be.

“Lawan, Piya’s sister,” Yui tells Becky.

“Her sister!”

“She was having a hard time with boys her own age and losing her virginity so we thought seeing as he was so good with mine, we thought he would be that right one to take hers too.”

“What about the other one with the big tits?”

“No,” Yui and I answer at the same time.

“Why is she a no?”

“It’s more of an attitude and an intent thing,” Yui tries to explain.

“She can be a little over the top and off-putting with how she carries on in some respects. You’ll see what I mean eventually,” I say.

As if my words were a prophecy Dawn chose that moment to start yelling, “tits out, clits out!” and pulled the top of her too-small one-piece down to her waist. Her back is to me so I unfortunately don’t get a glimpse of her massive breasts before Piya tells Dawn to keep it down and put her clothes back on. I do see Holly drag Jessica’s chin away from where Dawn was jumping in and out of the water.

The water chopped up from Dawn’s activity reaches us and splashes water in all of our faces. We shy away from the **** of waves for a few minutes before the water in the pool calms back down again. When its settle there is only really one name left to mention.

“And that just leaves,” I begin.

“Aor,” all three of us finish as one.