You relax on the beach, the heat of the sun warming your skin. If someone had told you last week that you’d be relaxing on a secluded beach on a Caribbean island, you’d have thought they were crazy. But here you are! As you half-doze on the sand you think back to when you got the letter that started everything.
You were on your way out of the house to go to work when the mailman pulled up. You greet him and look thru the mail to see if there is anything other than bills. Inside is a card for you! There is no return address; you wonder who it is from. You open the card and start to read:
Hello Christy,
Long time no see ehh? Bet you are wondering who this is from, have you peaked at the bottom yet? I thought so :) I know we haven’t seen each other in a while but I had an opportunity pop up that I need a date for and you were the first person that came to mind. Think you could take off work next week? Seems I’ve won myself a sailboat and I’m flying down to Florida next week to take her out on her maiden voyage. Interested in being my first mate? Not sure exactly where I’ll go, but just getting there should be half the fun. I need to hear back from you as soon as possible. Till then…
Love ya,
Robert
Strange! You hadn’t seen him in over a year! You wonder how he won a boat? Well, you’ve been thinking of taking a vacation sometime soon anyway. What the heck, could be fun, at least it will give you a chance to work on your tan some.
You head to work and inform your boss you’ll be taking off next week. You spend most of the day thinking up what you will need to pack and what all you need to finish up at work before you head out. You call Robert to let him know you will be coming and get his voicemail. The next day you get an overnight package at work with instructions on where the boat is and when to show up. There is a handwritten note attached saying how glad he is that you are coming and that he can’t wait to see you. The rest of the week goes by fast and you manage to fit everything into two suitcases and book your ticket to Miami.
You’re flight goes well and you spend the night in the airport hotel. You wake up early and get a taxi to take you to the marina. After wandering around for a while you find your way to slip 34A. You are amazed, the sailboat is a lot larger than you expected! You had imagined something around 15-20 feet, but this thing is at least 40ft long! As you stand there, you hear someone yell for you to come on aboard. You make your along the dock and step onto the boat. Robert comes around the corner of the cabin. He grins “Do you like his new boat?” You are taken by how little he has changed since you saw him last. Wearing sunglasses, a t-shirt and shorts, the only thing that you notice is he has trimmed up a bit and has a bit of a tan. He comes up and gives you a bit hug. “You look great” he says, “I love your hair, and have you been working out?” You thank him and agree that indeed you have been trying to tone up a bit. You’ve been working hard during the winter to get in shape for summer. You are finally happy with the way you look in a bikini.
He takes your bags and shows you around the boat. Most of the operations are automatic. It doesn’t seem to take much to keep it running. He shows you to your room and says he is ready to get started whenever you are. You ask where you are going. You see him grin “It’s a surprise, but I’m sure you will like it. A friend told me of a small place I should visit. Should only take a day or so to get there”. And with that he heads up to untie from the dock and cranks up the engine to get out of the harbor.
Out of the harbor you help him get up the sails and sit up on deck talking for a while. You change into your swimsuit to get some sun and enjoy the appraising look you get from him when you walk out on deck. You’d bought some new suits for this trip. Since no one would be around to see you on this trip, you had changed into the dark green string bikini, the triangles for the top barely covered your nipples and the bottoms were a thong. You watched Robert’s eyes travel up and down, you stretched enjoying the attention. “VERY nice!” you hear him call from the pilot’s station. You stretch out a towel and work on your tan.
Not much happens that first day, the two of you talked, drank some wine, and arrived off a small island right around dusk. You couldn’t see much as the sun was going down fast. But you help anchor the boat off shore and have a small dinner before retiring to your cabin. You hear Robert working for a bit up on deck then hear him in his cabin as you drift off to sleep.
You awake to the room rocking! It takes you a minute to remember where you are. As you get ready, you notice how red you had gotten the day before. You are very glad you spend some time in the tanning bed before making this trip; you would be a lobster if you hadn’t darkened up some already, as it is you can see some distinct tan lines forming.
You smell eggs and bacon and make your way to the galley. Robert is already up and is almost done with breakfast. “Have you been up top yet this morning?” he asks. “You haven’t? I believe you will like what you see, it is beautiful.”
You make your way topside and are stunned! The sun is shinning and the boat is just offshore from the most beautiful beach. You notice that you are in a small cove, the water is a crystal blue and you can see straight to the bottom. On what appears to be a deserted island, the forest reaches right up to the white beach. There are a few seagulls flying around. The air even smells fresh!
You spend the morning exploring the beach and snorkeling among the coral near the boat.
This brings you back to the present, lying out on the sand, letting the sun sooth the dull ache you got this morning from swimming so much. Robert is lying on his back next to you, reading a book.