The other day, Stanley wanted to shake things up and meet to do things other than putting food and alcohol into our mouths.
And so, we stripped, got naked and sat around with a bunch of sweaty men of all shapes and sizes.
Stanley the sex bunny, Carl the dense one and I have been very close friends for nearly 30 years and during those three decades, we'd seen one another naked.
"We should do this more often," Stanley said as he sat himself on a stool getting ready to scrub his body for our onsen session. "Oh, 3 o'clock," Stanley leaned in and whispered. Carl the dense one instinctively craned his neck to look at the clock.
"That uncle's penis looks like a cigarette and trust me, nobody a'int wanna suck that," said Stanley who ought to wash his mouth with soap.
"Have you been working out Adam?" Carl the dense one asked, puffing up his chest and flexing his python sized biceps to punctuate his question.
"Oh, thank you for noticing," I said, pleased with myself. "I've been
cutting down on alcohol and apparently, just several weeks of doing so has borne fruit. I can fit into my skinny tailored pants!"
"Speaking of fruit," Stanley leaned in and whispered again. "That one," he nudged his head towards the entrance of the onsen. Carl and I turned and were greeted by an appendage that in Stanley's words, looks like a plump, curvy banana.
"We can do this all day, watching penises -- but too bad, we won't engage them," Stanley said like a diabetic child in a candy store.
Carl was first to finish showering. "Let's go soak!" he said, sounding exactly like an excited kid in a candy store.
Perhaps candy store isn't an appropriate analogy.
"There are no eye candies around," Stanley stated the obvious. "Then again, I'm here with you boys, and we are all in normal bro-mode," he said without any of us entertaining him.
"Oh this feels good," said Carl who has been loving onsens since the three of us discovered the joys of soaking in very hot water 20 years ago, during our trip to Taiwan.
"We should be doing this more often," Stanley agreed, stretching his arms and legs, feeling every ounce of stress seep away from his exhausted body, feeling the 40-degree mineral-fortified water engulf his tired, physical form.
"What's everyone's update," I asked.
Carl, who has his white towel covering his face, lifted his arm to give me a weak thumbs up.
Stanley grunted.
40 minutes into alternating between one hot tub and another, and then to the steam room and sauna and an extremely cold tub, we decided to dry up, take our first break and have some beer.
"This kimono feels comfortable," Carl the dense one said.
"Darling, I believe that's called a yukata," Stanley replied.
"Tomayto Tomahto," said Carl who was too happy to bother with Stanley.
"I want to have an ice cold beer, something oily and crispy, and then take a snooze in the resting room," Carl went on, producing echoes with his applause as he planned his own future along theYumonori Onsen corridor that led us to its cafe. "It's like going to Disneyland in Japan!" he said excitedly, skipping and leading the way.
If Carl were a tour guide, he'd be cheerful but also the one fumbling with his map, not comprehending his GPS directions and not being to answer a single question from his clients.
If Stanley were a tour guide, he'd be the type who would exclusively work on sex tours -- from Hatyaii and massage packages targeted at Uncles to the seedy Silom Sois for hungry bois.
As we ordered our yuzu beers and crunchy tempuras, we finally got around to talking.
"I think at this age, we should do this more often," Stanley said.
"There is so much joy to be had, getting naked with other men," Stanley said, "and when it's with your closest boys where we can all be nude and be ourselves, it's refreshing."
Carl nodded at his half-chewed tempura approvingly.
"We need to do more things that are a first," Stanley said. "At this age, we can't afford to be boring."
Stanley's recent revelation came because a few nights ago, he experienced a first.
It was the sex bunny's first time riding pillion on a motorbike.
"It felt fun and liberating!" Stanley said.
"What were you doing behind the motorbike rider's bike that is so fun and liberating," I wanted to know.
Stanley gave me an evil side eye.
"How is it that you have, in your 45 years of life, not ridden pillion on a motorbike until recently?" I asked.
But that ride led to a slippery slope for Stanley.
I braced myself for an after-ride sex story but I was wrong.
"That first experience got me thinking. Life is too short. There are too many things I haven't tried," Stanley said taking a sip of his Yuzu beer.
"And trust me. I have tried many things in my life."
True -- Stanley has been very adventurous but most of his activities are confined to the bedroom.
Threesomes, yes. Orgies, yes. Parties with questionable substances -- well, yes. Single penetration, yes. Double penetration, hell yes. Ok, you get the idea.
But beyond those intimate chambers, Stanley has been rather virginal.
"I want to sky dive. I want to go diving. I want to try bungee jumping. I want to do white-water rafting! And I want to see the Northern Lights before I have to move around in a wheelchair," Stanley went on, reciting his wish list that can most likely be met if he had joined Chan Brothers Tour.
Finally, Stanley's source of his desires was revealed.
"That night on the motorbike, I felt so much joy -- and trust me, I have ridden behind men so many times but I've never felt such joy."
I waited for Stanley to finish, suddenly unsure what genre of a movie plot was unfolding in front of me.
"It took me this long to get over my fear of riding pillion 'cos I've never learnt to ride a bike. But when I finally did, I felt such thrill and regret at the same time. It's like, I've finally come to feel things that I would never have felt if I didn't allow myself to!"
I was still unsure what genre Stanley was in, given that whatever he said could be a correct script for an actual movie or an action movie of a seedier sort.
"And with such a decent amount of money that we are all earning, cash isn't an issue when it comes to exploring new adventures," Stanley said suddenly roping Carl and me into his monologue and mono-adventurous plans.
Carl looked up from his phone and asked, "what's happening?"
"What's happening is," Stanley said raising his beer glass, "that the three of us will from now on, do more than just the usual, tried-and-tested experiences.
"It's time to live a little and have more fun!"
"I'll toast to that," Carl said without exactly knowing why he's toasting or what Stanley is suggesting.
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Adam's stories are based on real life events and inspired by real people