Long Overdue Time Away

"So that's it? It's like nothing happened? No news coverage, it's as if the whole thing didn't exist?" Karen searched my eyes. We were at breakfast down at the diner. It had been a week since she had been abducted, and we were trying to get past it. The bruises were healing. Really the only evidence on her face she was hit, was the cut on her eyebrow, and it was healing. Her emotional scars would be slower to heal. All of this was hard on her, starting with the airport. She was off balance, she had a fear now. It's something she hadn't had to deal with before.

"It goes this way much of the time. The FBI seizes the videos the terrorists produced. Convinces the media its a National security issue and they don't want it to go public. The media doesn't always cooperate, but in this case the FBI threw them a bigger bone. A story that goes deeper, and in exchange for letting them in, the media has to let this one go." I sipped my coffee. I was looking for how Karen would react to this. It's a world that most are never exposed to. I could tell she was processing.

"I guess it's better that way. I mean in a business sense...the board of directors know what happened, but it not being public, it hasn't affected the stock value of any of the companies. The market doesn't like uncertainty, and news of this would certainly have an effect. Short term, but the ripples would take a while to settle out."

"How does that sit with you?"

She looked at me and I could see she was still processing. "I guess I'm ok with it...it's just that there isn't any validation. It's a big deal! I was kidnapped, held hostage. My captors were all killed. And now its as if nothing happened? Wow!" She looked out at the harbor while sipping her coffee.

"It's a lot to wrap your mind around, I know. There is a whole world out there that the veil has been lifted from. It's always been there, you just didn't know about it. Al had always done a good job protecting you, and now we have Chris. And between us you are safe."

"Was it always like this with you? I mean the things you did for the Security Force? You go and do something like that and the public was never aware of it?"

"I've been on dozens of ops similar to what we just did to get you back. Some get reported in the media, usually not accurately. But many times, nothing. If no one dies, most of the time there simply is no outside knowledge of it."

"But you guys killed my captors. Won't anyone ask questions? Are you safe from prosecution?"

"I held out my hand as if for a hand shake. Hi, I'm Mr Brown. I have a couple of friends, Mr Black. And Mr Grey." I set down my coffee so our waitress could fill it. "Our names are never mentioned to anyone at the FBI, CIA, anyone we did work for. No one ever knows who we are. And it stays that way. The Security Force has our names, But their business depends on keeping their people anonymous. They would never get quality operators if they didn't. Besides that, they have been working for so many government agencies for so long, it's in everyone's best interest to keep it this way. The Security Force simply knows too much."

"I guess I knew you did this kind of stuff. I just never expected it to...I always thought it would be part of your past. Not something we would see now. I never thought I would have a front row seat, let alone be a part of it.

"And you never would have. The only reason you have been exposed to it was you were taken by some bad guys. If that hadn't happened we would be on our honeymoon and getting ready to open a brewery. And we are still doing both of those things. When ever you are ready, we'll go on a trip. All of this over time will fade into our past."

"I'm ready, I'm ready to be able to act like a newlywed! I'm ready to put it behind us." Karen smiled and put her hand on mine. I could tell she was just trying to be strong. As long as she could function, the distraction would probably be a good thing in helping her get past all of this.

********************************************

"Is it bad we are doing this with friends? I mean who brings friends on their honeymoon?" Karen looked at me while we put our suitcases in our stateroom on the boat.

"At our age, and in our situation, I think perspectives change. We do value our time alone. But also the need to have close friends close to us while you heal. I'm looking forward to the time with them. Plus the way we have this planned going from port to port and being off the boat some nights and in hotels we will have both."

"Hey you guys!" Melinda was rolling her suitcase behind her with Steve in tow, both of them looking relaxed and ready for a vacation. She gave us both a hug and I helped them with their bags. "Beth and Alex are right behind us. We saw them pull in when we were walking down."

"Wow this is going to be great." Alex said, bringing their bags on board.

"Where's Beth?" Karen asked.

"She wanted to hit the ladies room before she got on board. She won't be long. This is a nice boat!" Alex was checking it out as he and I brought their things down to their stateroom.

We could hear Beth was just getting here up on the deck. Her and Karen were squealing saying hi to each other.

"Ok let's get the show on the road, everyone ready? Karen will show you where everything is while I get us under way. You all know Chris, he is in the stateroom in the back of the boat. He'll be here giving us a hand." I fired up the engines.

Beth made a point of coming over to say hello kissing me on the cheek and giving me a hug. I returned her peck and her squeeze.

It didn't take long and we were out of the breakwater and heading north. Chris came up and took over captains duties. The rest of us went to the galley to relax and chat over a few beers. Eddie had sent plenty and they were all top notch.

Melinda breached the subject first of what had happened to Karen. "So are you ok? I can't tell you how worried we all were."

"We...are still processing. It's a lot to take in." I could tell Karen wasn't quite sure of how to answer their questions, so I butt in to make it a little easier on her.

"Really the FBI is handling the investigation and we're kind of sworn to not open our mouths much about it. I mean we all know Karen got abducted but the rest of it is still under investigation and because its still open we're not supposed to talk much about it."

Beth knew Karen well and sensed the conversation needed to be steered another direction interjected. "Well we're glad to have her back, and you can bet we will all have a great time with you guys." Beth is easy to like, at first you're not sure how to act with her, she's beautiful and wears her sexuality on her sleeve sometimes, but she is very down to earth, surprisingly smart and easy to be around. She loves Karen and it's easy to see why they are good friends. Her and Karen talk almost daily either on the phone or Beth comes by the house. She is the kind of friend who sometimes just shows up.

"Hey guys, I have something special." Alex was holding up a couple of large bottles of beer in his hands. "Unbeknownst to you two, Eddie brewed a special beer to start out your married life together with. We want you both to know how much you mean to us and with that in mind, we have here a barrel aged blend. Eddie blended a coffee stout with a Belgian quad and then aged it in rum barrels and finally finished it in tawny port barrels. You two are going to love this one! For those of you that don't care for these big beers. We also have a Raspberry Berliner Weiss thats much lighter."

With that Alex uncorked the bottles, filled the glasses and toasted Karen and I.

"Thank you guys for this, this is phenomenal!" I held up my glass of beer to the light. I'm really glad you all are here with us. After what we have been through we are very thankful for such good friends."

"Jim, we couldn't believe you made us all breakfast on your wedding day. We all want to make dinner tonight. We know how much you like fish. So we have a special meal planned. You're not allowed in the kitchen tonight." Melinda said.

"Ok, that sounds great. You guys know how this works, it's just like our house, make yourself at home. 'Mi casa es su casa'. There is plenty of beer in the beverage fridge as well as wine. There is lots of food, help yourself."

We spent the rest of the evening feasting on steamed oysters, crab cakes, and grilled fish and veggies.

Chris had put the boat on anchor on the leeward side of an island and we enjoyed a fantastic meal out on the deck with the best company we could want. Really we couldn't have wanted a better setting, there was a spectacular sunset as we finished our meal. Once the sun went down it started to cool off and we finished our evening inside eating desert and drinking Eddies wedding beer and port wine. As the evening wore on and as we drank everyone's inhibitions were lowering, both Steve and Melinda as well as Beth and Alex got more affectionate and playful. At one point Melinda wiggled her butt into Steves lap as she sat on it and he responded by feeling her up when they kissed. Not a peck on the cheek kind of kiss, this was a sloppy wet kiss with Melinda's hands on the sides of Steves face as his hands explored her body kind of kiss.

Beth would take a drink of wine and then kiss Alex, moving the wine from her mouth to his. And judging from the tent in his shorts it was having the desired affect.

"I better take you to bed." Karen's hand brushed my crotch as she got up and led me by the hand to our stateroom in the bow. "It's getting pretty steamy in there, and we haven't had a chance to do this since I came home." She took off my shirt and kissed me hard, as soon as we were in the door of our stateroom. I pulled off her shirt and marveled at her full breasts as they fell out when it came off. We were locked in a kiss as we continued to strip. I laid Karen on her back on the bed and took my time kissing my way down her body, first her neck pausing at her erect nipples, flicking one then the other with my tongue before sucking each into my mouth. I was in no hurry and let her body tell me when to move further down. When her hips started to lift and push into my stomach. Her legs were on each side of me, and I moved between her thighs gently pushing them to the sides caressing as I did. Her hips continued to lift in circles. I briefly paused at her beautiful bellybutton when she pushed my head down with both hands. She was smooth and wet, my tongue found its way between her tender thighs . "Ooooo, I have missed that."

Her hands caressed the sides of my face. This didn't take long for her to reach an orgasm and her hands moved to the back of my head and her back arched. It had been over a week and this was overdue. She pulled me up and kissed me hard before saying "I haven't thanked you for saving me." Her expression was mischievous. She pushed me onto my back as she kissed me. Grabbing my member when she did, giving it a squeeze. Looking at me with the same expression, she kept eye contact to watch me when her lips parted to except just the head. She bobbed her head a few times squeezing my balls. This only lasted a few minutes, we both knew I wouldn't last long if it continued. Climbing on top of me Karen didn't waste any time sitting all the way down on me, I was buried into her. Pausing there I could feel the contractions. She could stroke me without moving her hips at all. Just contracting her vagina over and over. Then she rode me, grinding and jumping up and down bringing us both to a climax. I buried as deep into her as my length could and shot into her, over and over, several successive bursts and then a pause and two more just as she started to pull off of me. "We needed that." Karen lay next to me molding herself into my side. I don't think I'll ever take her for granted, having her soft skin next to mine, her small hands caressing me.

The sound of the ocean lapping against the hull lulled us to sleep, I would wake occasionally just long enough to feel Karen next to me before I was coaxed back to sleep again by the sound of the sea. I woke in the morning with the smell of breakfast and Karen had one hand on my chest and her head propped up with the other. I don't know how long she had been studying me but it became apparent she had been.

"Good morning." I caught her gaze.

"Hi" she was smiling when she said it. Her familiar happy disposition was returning as her abduction faded into our past. "I love you." I returned her affectionate words. "It smells good out there, it's making me hungry, are you ready?"

We followed the smell of breakfast up stairs. Everyone was in the galley sipping coffee as Beth cooked. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see her barefoot and braless in a Seahawks jersey. "Wow, it smells great in here." I told her on my way to the coffee pot. I put some creamer into a couple of cups and filled them.

"How does a Cajun seafood hash sound, I know you like it spicy?" She caught my eye and raised her eyebrows when she said it.

I laughed almost spitting my coffee out. "Ah, you two have been talking." I looked at Karen and handed her coffee to her.

"Girls talk, we support each other. Beth needed to know what you like for breakfast." Karen raised her eyebrows the same way as Beth had when she said it. She took a big sip of her coffee making an attempt to divert attention.

"You two are trouble." I looked at both of them and then Alex.

Alex just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't look at me Jim, I'm not going to challenge them. Not when those two get together." and laughed.

Melinda and Steve were missing the banter. They were sitting out on the deck in a couple of chairs having coffee. It was a nice morning. A rare one with no fog. The view was stunning, we were anchored off a wooded island. I was accustomed to San Diego's waters and the sights they had to offer. The Pacific North West was fairly new to me. Seeing bald eagles and deer around these islands was all new to me. And it looked like the beauty of it wasn't missed by them either.

"Come and get it you guys. Here's some bacon, the hash is on the stove, OJ over there and Bloody Mary's here if you want them. Oh, and let me get the fruit salad out of the fridge." Beth was putting on the final touches as she beckoned us.

We all joined Melinda and Steve out on the deck for breakfast including Chris who had been mostly busy with boat duties and security. After things settled down when we got Karen back we met with both Al and Chris. Al wanted to phase out and Chris was wanting to move on from his ten year at the Security Force. He wanted to be in the running to be Al's replacement.

"Our next leg today takes us to Bay City. We'll be there for two days. I've arranged for a limo to pick you up and take you to the resort. Jim will fill you in on the rest." Chris was letting everyone know what to expect.

Chris pulled anchor and got us underway while the rest of us went to the upper deck to see the sights while we traveled. We spotted a whale breaching and the porpoises were playing in the cushion of water the bow pushes, its something I have seen many times but never tire of. It was fun to spend time getting to know Karens friends better. As big of a flirt as Beth could be you didn't have to spend much time with them to recognize how much she loved Alex. She was very kind to him and treated him well, and really it was reciprocal. Alex was constantly serving his wife when she would let him. One of the things she has in common with Karen is her independence. Being a financially independent investor she is a self made woman that has done well. And Alex is no slouch in his own right, being an artist it would be easy to characterize him as an artsy hippie of sorts...until you see his client list.

It's funny, Melinda is quite the opposite of Beth, she looks an acts pretty conservative but once you get to know her a wild side starts to emerge. Her husband Steve appears much as she does. Steve is deep thinker who generally doesn't act on impulse, and has a very dry sense of humor that sometimes goes unnoticed or is miss interpreted . He holds his friends dear and it's easy to see how he invests into them. He's one of those guys who goes the extra mile for you. And truly enjoys doing it.

Karen and I found ourselves at the bow watching the porpoises. And I commented on how down to earth her friends were. And what had attracted me to her.

"When I first met you, I didn't know anything about you, except that you were a down to earth very attractive woman who was unpretentious and kind. At that point I never in a million years would have guessed your financial situation. What drew me to you was your authentic humility. It's easy to see why Beth and you are such good friends, she shares many of the same attributes.

"My family had humble beginnings, we weren't poor when I was very young but we were average America I guess. Then my father made it big in a business real estate venture and grew exponentially from that. Beth and I found ourselves in the same social circles, her father was mentoring her in capitol investing. He had terminal cancer and he wanted to make sure she could support herself in the trade he was good at, I think he recognized her potential.

Meanwhile my father developed dementia and even though it was several more years before he passed, I was left holding the reins of a very large empire he had built by then. It was stressful, I initially was unprepared, and had to deal with a board of directors that not only were waiting for me to fail but wanted me to fail. So they could pickup the pieces and make millions. It was sink or swim. Beth was further along in her understanding of business than I was and she helped me tremendously. Before long her dad passed away. We understood each other's plights we were in the same boat. We got good at what we did and both had lots of distain for the pretentious pricks that didn't think we could succeed. Our outlet became a rebellion of sorts.

We became party girls. But on our terms. No one was going to walk on us we thought. We would be masters of our own destiny. Well that lifestyle took some toll, we both realized it wasn't sustainable and we better get our shit together. I had been seeing Kyle and we got married too quickly, he was military and was an exciting bad boy. Me wanting to settle down some didn't work for him. It was a struggle our entire marriage. In the middle of all that after a year and a half marriage he gets killed in Iraq. You pretty much know the rest. I still love to have a good time, I think you see that, but I'm more reserved with it now. Beth...she's a little less inhibited about having a good time than I am. But you have to love her, her heart is as good as gold. I owe her a lot. I would have never made it with out her, both when my father got sick and later died. And then when Kyle died. She has always been there to help me. And let me tell you, she likes you!

She sees how well you treat me and she loves that. She has always wanted that for me. Next to me I think she's your biggest fan. Not only that, she sees how incredibly handsome you are."

"Your supposed to say that, I'm you husband. But really, you don't have to get your friends to say it. It's embarrassing."

"No, thats not it at all, you know how Beth is." Karen was looking at me with that mischievous look and a raised eyebrow.

I must have had a combination of ear to ear grin and a look of surprise, I'm not sure.

Because Karen started to laugh as she grabbed my arm and squeezed it. And put her other arm around me.

"Hey you two," Steve walked up handing me a beer from the ice bucket. He held his beer out towards me "cheers."

"Cheers, Steve, beautiful day isn't it?" My mind was racing thinking about what Karen and I had just talked about. Karen excused herself to go talk to Melinda.