“Limoncello, cigarettes and beach chair sex”: FJ readers share their holiday romance stories

“He had questionable character but great finger-banging abilities.”

Who knows if it’s the sun, the salt, the booze or all the free time, but there’s something about being abroad that just puts us squarely in the mood for love. And, you know, other stuff. Here’s the thing: we all know it’s not going to work out. We’ve got flights to catch back to our hometowns and our normal lives.

But there’s something so romantic about leaning in, getting swept up in the current of lust and chaos and holding onto each moment like a precious gem because you know it’ll soon be gone forever. It’s dramatic, and that’s hot. Sometimes it’s fun to let your heart hurt.

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There was this guy once… I’ll leave the details for my diary. I was young and we only spent a few weeks together, but I swear he changed my perspective on love in a way that I’ve held onto to this day. I cried so much in the taxi to the airport that the driver wanted to turn back. Of course, you can’t turn back. We put the radio on and kept going.

As the European summer comes to a close, we’re paying tribute to it all, from the raunchiest of hostel bathroom hookups to the most heart-wrenching of overseas romances. All of you lovebirds out there dragging around massive backpacks, sunburnt to all hell, speaking sweet nothings in your sexy foreign accents – for better or for worse, we won’t forget about you. 

Liam

I met this German girl in Tokyo and right away there was a bit of a vibe. Nothing had happened yet, but basically, we got pretty schmoozy and decided to do a bit of travelling together down south through regional Japan. To get there we had to take a bus.

We’re on it and she’s sitting next to me – mind you there’s people in front of us, behind us, and spread out around – and ends up looking at me and going “I can’t wait.” And I’m like, “What?”. Then she just starts taking my pants off. She gave me a blowjob on a bus full of people and it was fantastic. 

Alex

I was travelling solo for a few days and I was out in Edinburgh living my best life when I met this lovely Canadian girl. I thought she was hot, so I shuffled over and began chatting. This turned into some dancing, which at first was innocent before becoming quite intimate. The clubs closed and the sun rose, and tension was at an all-time high before she threw a wrench in it. She had a boyfriend.

Normally I would’ve left it at that, but in an uncommon act of forwardness, I asked her to indulge me and let me tell her the fantasy of what could’ve been. I whispered it into her ear and I knew I had her. What followed was a series of lust-filled moments through the streets of Edinburgh as I stole her away for the night… before we were rudely interrupted by my need to catch a 5am bus to the airport. Apologies Mr Canadian boyfriend.

Kelsey

I was 20, freshly dumped and living in Greece. I was out late with my girlfriends drinking something cheap. I saw one of my coworkers at the bar and he was looking different in that light. My friends were making their exits but he had sparked my curiosity. I moved towards him and he lunged for a kiss.

It was a bit chaotic, but mostly hot. He was a good kisser and insisted we spend the evening together. Our options were his company van or my shower – I chose the van. When I asked about condoms he told me, “I’m German. I’m clean” which I didn’t find very convincing. He had questionable character but great finger-banging abilities.

Daisy

In Positano I was desperate for cigarettes, so I bummed one off this hot guy outside the snack bar. He told me my drink was lemonade and not limoncello and asked me if I’d like a real one which led to skinny dipping and making out on the beach. We met again the next day with a bottle of prosecco and had the most insane sex on the beach chairs (I still think about it). The cross around his neck hit me while we were doing it, which I found so weirdly hot and rebellious.

Limoncello, cigarettes and beach chair sex: this was my routine for the next three nights. My entire body was covered in terrible friction burns. On my final day, we got distracted while swimming and I almost missed the boat to Capri. It had already left the port, but after running up the gazillion stairs in my loud as fuck sandals and grabbing my luggage, the ferryman spotted me and the boat turned around to pick me up. We had a goodbye kiss and everyone on the dock was clapping. Just like the movies!

Zak

My time in Indonesia was dictated by one thing: girls. I met so many of them and I learned about their culture, which was a conservative one. Regardless, I absolutely flew through the dates and a couple of them stuck.

I met one who was fleeing oppression and one who just wanted to get out of their parent’s house (people there often live at home until marriage). In the end I found a keeper. She’d only ever had one boyfriend and he only lasted for three months. Now it’s seven months later and I’m her second. The lesson I learned: trial and error works.

Abby

I was in Rome – when in Rome, you know? – and it was my last night there so I went for dinner at this pizzeria. This guy came in and all of a sudden he was standing over me like, “Can I join you?”. He’s cute, I’m cute, so I said yes. We had great banter, so we decided to grab a drink later. I went back to my hostel and shaved my entire body.

The $3 jugs of beer were a little too cheap to pass up so we ended up getting really drunk and getting frisky in the middle of this bar until I was like, “Let’s go back to my hostel”. When we got back, it was a full house and everyone was asleep, so we went to the showers. We were having great sex but at one point it slipped out and he went to go put it back and he completely thrust it into the wrong hole. I have never made a noise like that in my life – I just went “Eeeee”! He wanted to follow me to Paris the next day but I said no. 

This article was originally published on October 18, 2023.

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