The Suffocation Game

The Suffocation Game

By: Johnny Anarchy

Jim and Pete sat side by side on two straight-backed wooden chairs. They were both wearing swim trunks that showed off their tanned, well-muscled bodies. Cathy and Beth had insisted on the swim trunks, arguing that both boys would be far more comfortable during the competition. Both of them being rather proud of their bodies, neither Jim nor Pete protested.

They had not brought the bathing trunks with them, but the girls deftly explained that owning a pool they kept several suits on hand for guests. Jim and Pete didn't question the point. If they had they might not have found themselves in the situation they were in. Then, again, there was no chance that the girls were going to tell them the truth anyway. As it was, it was too late now anyway. Their arms and legs were tied painfully tight to the arms and legs of their chairs. They were also bound tightly around the chest and stomach to ensure their upright positions and to further restrict their mobility.

"Do we really have to be tied like this?" Jim asked, staring first at one wrist then the other. "I mean is it really necessary? Besides how are we going to signal if we decide to concede?"

"Concede?" Beth said, sounding a little annoyed. "You're already talking about conceding? Don't tell me your chickening out already."

"I meant Pete here," Jim said, trying to cover up a gnawing sense of nervousness. He really didn't bargain on being tied up. It made him feel totally helpless. "How will he let us know when he's had enough?"

"Oh don't worry about me Jimmy boy," Pete said. He, too, was pretending not to mind. He tested the knots and found himself securely bound. It was not a pleasant feeling for a guy used to being in control. "But now that you mention it, how will Jim here let you know he's made a big mistake taking me on?"

"Don't bother yourself about that boys," Cathy said brightly. "You both agreed that the first one to pass out loses. If you aren't tied your natural reaction will be to try to get air. Am I right or not? It's like trying to pass out holding your breath. Your body just won't let you do it. The body's instinct is to breathe when deprived too long of oxygen. Am I right?"

"Yes," Jim said thoughtfully. "I suppose you are."

"Whatever babe," Pete said, "let's just get on with it."

"You asked for it," Jim said, turning to Pete. "Let's do it."

Both guys were trying hard to keep up the macho front that had gotten them into this predicament in the first place. It had started the night before at a seafood grill overlooking the ocean. They all had a little too much to drink. Well, to be more accurate, Pete and Jim had too much to drink. Somehow the conversation had turned to holding one's breath underwater. It wasn't that unusual a topic given the fact that both guys had spent a great deal of their lives in and around the water. It seemed the girls must have brought it up but before either Jim or Pete knew it they were engaged in a boastful argument about who could survive without oxygen longer. It was a stupid argument but it was fueled by alcohol, testosterone, and the goading of their girlfriends. Before they knew it, they had made this preposterous bet and now there was no question of backing down.

Up until now both Cathy and Beth had seemed your typical girl-next-door types-at least in temperament. There was no hint that either of them had the slightest bit of kink in them. That they should be so gung-ho about this strange game baffled both Jim and Pete. They hadn't had much of a chance to discuss it with each other and wouldn't have even if they had the time. They weren't friends and only knew each other through their relationships with the girls. If they had been able to talk to one another, they might have compared notes on the fact that in the three months, neither of them had gotten past second base with either Cathy or Beth.

The fact that both women were extremely attractive and very flirtatious was enough to keep them hoping, but the level of the boy's sexual frustration was reaching critical mass. They had spent the night-in the guest bedroom, of course, in the magnificent mock Tudor house overlooking the Pacific that Beth and Cathy shared. They had both hoped that being invited to spend the night meant they were going to get lucky. They were sorely disappointed. They had been invited over only to be ready for the competition the next morning. The fact was that Pete was not used to waiting so long on any woman-even one as attractive as Cathy. Even Jim, who was a lot less sexually assertive, was growing impatient. If something didn't happen soon?

Well, maybe this game would do the trick.

At least for the winner?

It was Cathy who had tied the two guys to the chairs. She had some experience with knots from her days as a Campfire Girl. Still Beth checked to make sure that both guys were equally tied down. She didn't want Cathy giving any advantage to Pete in the competition to come.

"Okay?" Cathy asked.

"They seem to be both pretty securely bound. No trick knots?" Beth frowned, wrinkling her pert pretty nose.

"No tricks," Cathy said, smiling her girl-next-door smile. "Honest injun."

"Alright," Beth said. "Time for the bags then."

"First let's make sure the boys understand the rules of the game," Cathy said.

She turned to their two bound boyfriends. "Now this is what we agreed on. You wear these plastic bags over your head and the first one to pass out loses. There's ten thousand dollars of your money at stake. It's right there on the table. Winner takes all. Do you agree?"

"Yes," Jim said, staring over Cathy's shoulder at Beth and trying to look nonchalant even as his insides were churning. "I know I can last longer than Pete."

Jim had been a state champion swimmer during his college days and could still swim the length of an olympic-sized pool three times under water. He figured that in spite of the unusual circumstances, he had a better than even chance to stay conscious. Still, he didn't like being tied up in the least.

"What about you Pete?" Cathy asked. "Do you promise to abide by the rules."

"You bet sweetheart." He turned to Jim and forced a grin. "You're in over your head buddy."

"We'll see about that," Jim said tightly.

Pete laughed hollowly. His words were more bravado than confidence and he hoped only he knew it. "Bring it on!"

Pete was a professional scuba diver and also did a lot of snorkeling. He was used to managing his breath so that a little lasted a long time. Once he'd even gotten caught in the broken wood of an old shipwreck he'd hired to help scavenge for a well-known treasure hunter. He'd been underwater for nearly twenty minutes with his tank reading in the red. He had told the story on many occasions. Apparently Jim didn't believe it or thought he was exaggerating. Well, Pete, tried to convince himself, that was a mistake that was going to cost Jim ten grand.

"Okay okay," Cathy laughed. "My you boys are eager. But lover, I'm going to be really pissed off if you lose. I really want that ten thousand."

"You don't have to worry," Pete said. Jim's attitude grated on him. He'd show the bastard who was the better man. "I'll be sitting here calm and peaceful long after he's sucking plastic."

"You hear that?" Beth said to Jim. "Are you certain you can beat him?"

"Let him talk," Jim said with a tone of disgust. He, too, had forgotten his earlier nervousness. He stared with genuine distaste at Pete. "He's only wasting precious breath."

Beth turned to Cathy. "Okay, I guess we should start. "Where's the newspaper."

"Newspaper?" Jim and Pete said almost in unison.

"Yes," Beth explained patiently, getting a thick edition of Sunday LA Times. "You might lose control of yourself if you pass out and I can't have you making a mess and ruining my chair. Not to mention my carpet."

"Well I'm not losing control of myself," Pete said indignantly.

"I won't either," Jim said.

"Well one of you is going to lose," Beth said matter-of-factly. "And I'm not taking any chances." She pulled out a thick section of the paper and handed the rest to Cathy. "Now lift your bottom up a little Jim darling," she said.

Jim wriggled his ass up one cheek at a time until Beth got the newspaper underneath him. He noticed in passing that the section on top was the obituary page. He tried not to think too much about the omen of that. Beth kissed him full on the mouth and stroked his penis through the tight nylon material of his bathing trunks. Jim gasped, surprised at Beth's boldness. She had never initiated any physical contact of this kind before. But for someone who seemed so shy and repressed sexually she certainly seemed to know what she was doing with her hand. She had Jim fully aroused in no time.

Meanwhile Cathy was giving Pete a similar treatment, straddling the chair and doing a sexy little lap dance over his crotch that had Pete squirming in his chair. He, too, was totally confused by Cathy's behavior. Although she was very flirtatious and full of promise, she had never initiated anything more overtly sexual than a quick peck on the lips. She would accept Pete's advances up to a point, but she never reciprocated to the extent he would have liked. Now, suddenly, she seemed to be extremely turned on.

All too soon for both guys, however, the preliminaries were finished. With both of them fully aroused and confused, it was time to put on their plastic bags. Beth and Cathy had long ago decided that the only way to insure against cheating was for each of them to put the bag over the head of the other's boyfriend. So it was Cathy who pulled the bag down over Jim's head, cinching it tightly around his throat with a special drawstring, and tying the knot behind his head.

"Hey," Beth said, noting how the drawstring was digging into Jim's throat, "you're not supposed to strangle him."

"Tie yours as tight as you want," Cathy said. "I know you will anyway. I'm not falling for that trick twice."

"What trick?" Beth grinned, cinching the cord that sealed off Pete's bag so tightly his face was already turning red under the plastic.

The two women stepped back.

"Okay boy's," Beth said, pulling her halter top over her head. "It's show time."

Meanwhile Cathy had unbuttoned her cut-off shorts and was working them down over her slender brown thighs.

"It's gonna get awfully hot in here in a few minutes," Cathy said, hooking her thumbs under her panties, pulling them down, and stepping out of them.

"Yes. We're going to turn the AC off," Beth was stepping out of her skirt. "We're going to take a little dip in the pool and check in on you boys in about fifteen minutes or so."

The women were quite naked now and both Pete and Jim were trying to make sense of this unexpected turn of events. Neither had seen the other's girlfriend in anything more revealing than a relatively modest bikini. Now they were getting a full eyeful. But why? Was this whole thing some kind of weird sex thing to the girls? Jim wasn't too crazy about Pete seeing Beth naked. But he was too busy staring at Cathy's gorgeous tanned body to make much of a protest. Not that he could protest much tied as he was and the air in his bag already getting warm with his breath.

"Look Cathy," Beth said, laughing. "I think the boys are a little shocked seeing us naked."

"You're right," Cathy said, smiling. "I guess that's because they don't realize it doesn't matter much now."

Doesn't matter much now?

What the hell did that mean, Jim thought.

"See you in a few," Cathy said, giving a little wave over her shoulder and sashaying out of the living room, her tanned naked bottom moving provocatively as she walked to the thermostat in the hall.

"Yes boys," Beth added. "Jim did you want to say something? I'd suggest you save your breath. You're going to need it."

Jim most certainly did want to say something but when he went to speak the plastic bag sucked inward, making speech difficult. For his part, if Pete had heard the remark, he seemed to miss the innuendo. In any event, he was too busy ogling the now naked girls.

They both laughed and the next thing Jim and Pete heard was the kitchen door close as the girls headed for the pool in the secluded yard.

The central air went off and almost immediately they could feel the stifling heat closing in on them.

Jim decided they were probably just trying to scare them a little. If so, it certainly worked. At least with him. He tested the ropes one last time. Until they untied him, he wasn't going anywhere. He was completely at their mercy. Jim tried not to think about that. Instead he held his breath for long periods of time, counting silently to himself, and then allowing himself a deep breath. Beside him, Pete had a different strategy, taking tiny sips of air. Although both had been in situations where they had to make due for long periods of time with little oxygen, neither had been in a situation like this before. Jim was used to using his entire body for swimming underwater. He was also used to being able to speed up his strokes if he felt he was running out of air. But, most of all, there was always the comforting knowledge that he could come up for air whenever he really needed it.

The situation was a little different for Pete. He knew what it was like to be trapped underwater sucking his own exhalation for whatever oxygen remained in the air. He felt he had a definite advantage over Jim in this regard and did his best to resist the temptation to refresh his burning lungs with a giant inhalation of fresh air. Yet he was not quite used to the toll the heat in the stuffy room was taking on his strength. In fact, neither man was prepared for that and soon they were drenched with sweat. Each man stared at the twenty-thousand dollars sitting on the table and then tried to turn as much as the cords around their throats would allow to see how the other was doing.