Many people ask me why I write erotic stories. A lot of 'people' out there believe the erotic genre is a sort of second cousin to any other, not wanting to give it the time of day. I disagree that it should be treated as such. Sure, I could so easily slip into writing just plain fantasy or science fiction, but erotica is something that affects people on a deeper level than anything else. We are, as humans, sexual beings, after all.

But back to why I write erotica

Back some *cough* 25 *cough* *cough* years ago, in the heady days of my teenage youth, I had best friend named Sean. We did everything together, but most of the time we spent our time at the beach body surfing or boogie boarding, especially during the long, hot summer breaks of school holidays.

To get to the beach from where we lived was an hour bike ride along a winding track off the main road. Our destination was a sleepy little holiday village with a pristine beach and perfect waves. (the place is now a busy tourist resort and totally ruined). The journey to get to this beach was the reason why we didn't 'surf' with a full board. Carrying such a thing on a bike wasn't a good idea.

Anyway, on one of our trips, and after we had surfed, jumped off the pontoon the local surf club secured out in the water, and gobbled down about a kilo of hot chips for less than 1 dollar (used to love the value back then) Sean suggested we head off to a friends place to hang out. He was tired and just wanted to crash on a couch somewhere. Remember, we had an hour bike ride to get home and we had swum for hours by this stage. I had never met this guy and in the end agreed. I think I was tired, too.

This friend of Sean's was named Troy. When we got to his place, a sort of fisherman's shack, as were all the houses in this place at the time, there were about 8 other boys there of varying ages from 13 to 17. Troy was about our age (15) They were all lazing about the lounge as teenagers do. After about half an hour and after we had all been introduced, Troy said, "How about I read you guys all a story."

Now, being a teenager, this was probably the most weirdest thing I could have ever heard. Yes, if he had said, do you want to try a beer or smoke a joint or put on the Atari (Atari and space invaders back were all the rage back then) then that would have been more normal. But no, he wanted to read us a story. Weird or what?

Anyway. He pulled a book out of the bookshelf and asked us all to go out into what I would call a conservatory. A room that was attached to the house with lots of windows. The room was also filled with all sorts of mis-matched furniture and dead sea creatures hung on the walls. Anyway, We all made ourselves comfortable, Sean and I sharing a sort of easy chair. Troy took centre position, like a teacher would when about to read to a class.

He flicked open the book at a designated chapter and began to read. At first he was quite nervous, reading in front of anyone isn't an easy thing to do. But as he got more and more into the scene, and more and more carried away by what he was reading, his voice became sure.

What he read was something I will remember for the rest of my life. The book was the type of book that would have been written by Jackie Collins or Sidney Sheldon (one of those anyway, with language quite vivid and descriptive) The chapter Troy read was certainly sexy and quite plainly his intention all along. It was a scene involving two men making love to one woman. (remember p*rn videos and magazines were a lot harder to come by back then. A lot of houses didn't have a VCR and the internet wasn't around that's for sure. So having this sort of stuff available was gold to a teenage boy filled with hormones) The imagery of what was read became apparent as Troy's voice got more and more hoarse, his cheeks flushed and he gained a canter that was perfect with the erotic scene he was reading. Exciting words such as cock and c*ut and heaving breasts and wet body parts all added to the experience. The dream like way Troy read the passage, the rising interest by all of us listening as the scene got more and more involved and we all waiting with baited breath as to how the scene would play out.

It wasn't long before I noticed Troy had an erection. We all wore those sort of silky board shorts back then and a lot of the time nothing else underneath (getting on a wet suit was far easier with less clothing. Far better just to slip off board shorts). So seeing a boner in that sort of clothing wasn't a difficult thing to do. Troy adjusted himself a few times, but other than that, he kept on reading. His voice more and more intense, filled with purpose just like the two men fucking the daylights out of that young woman.

I remember I glanced at Sean. He had an erection, too. In fact, it would have been safe to assume all of us had full on raging boners as Troy's words sent us all into erotic euphoria. He kept on reading, like a stallion pounding away at his mare. Onwards and onwards. Faster and faster.  The words becoming a blur as the images of the scene filled my head. Troy sure knew how to read out loud. He was amazing.

Then, when the couple of chapters were done, and the two men had relieved themselves all over that woman, Troy stopped. He was breathing hard. We all were. One of the boys got up and said he had to go to the bathroom. No prizes for guessing what he was going to be doing in there. Anyway, I didn't need to go to the bathroom. I had already done it in my board shorts. As had Sean. Not only was he smiling, cheeks flushed, I could see a wet patch soaking through the front of his shorts.

I looked around the room. Troy was now returning the book to the shelf. He had done what he needed to do, too. His short front also wet. So had all of the others. Troy then looked at us all, and said, "Let's all go catch some waves."

And that was it.

The water 'cleaned' us all up and I had had one of the most profound experiences of my life. Not a single article of clothing was shed. Not a touch was given. Not a word spoken except for Troy reading those chapters. Yet, the power of the words he spoke had affected us all on such a level we all reached climax without any other stimulation. Now I know you'll probably dismiss this as just a group of teenagers doing what groups of teenagers do when they get together (only now they watch such things instead of having it being read) But that's my point. What Troy did was something amazing. It was his voice and his emotions that brought the words to life in all of our minds, creating a vivid picture for all of us to get off on. It was the way he had delivered the writer's intent that had changed me on a deep level.

From that moment on I have always wanted to write erotica, but with a sci-fi/fantasy flavour. Troy, and I never met him again, changed the course of my life. A simple act of him reading provided all the encouragement I needed. So Troy, if you ever read this. Thank you. What you did confirmed in my mind that words are powerful and erotica is the most powerful of that.