Neither one of them could claim all the credit, nor did either wish to. They were both glad and grateful to have found each other, after so many attempts to find a good partner for living.
They had both been married multiple times, and both had sadnesses that still troubled them, but had very quickly found that they were well-suited for one another.
She lay, slowly waking, for many long, silent moments, unwilling to open her eyes and allow them to tell her anything she did not wish to know. Instead, she listened, and heard the lapping of small waves against what she recognized to be the hull of a boat, and sighed, understanding now that what she wished, was true. This fact confirmed in her mind by what she heard, she began checking her other senses, noting that there was an arm across her breasts and a hand at the end of the arm, cupping her right breast. She enjoyed the fact that she could feel slight motion when the man at the other end of the arm breathed in and out.
She felt his breath on her shoulder, and her hair shifted slightly with his breathing, not quite tickling her. It wasn't strong, but she could smell his sweat, and remembered that they had had to work hard to sail the boat the day before, for the winds were steady and strong, and she had helped him haul the sheets which controlled the sails, as they tacked southward down the lake. After several hours of tacking, he had turned the boat into the wind and they had quickly dropped the sails and set an anchor. After tying off the sails, they had retreated into the cabin to get out of the wind, and had eaten more of the sandwiches she'd packed before they set out that morning, and then shared most of a bottle of wine. Exhausted from their efforts and tipsy from the wine, they had collapsed in the forward berth and gone to sleep, with the boat rocking heavily from the chop stirred up by the wind.
Later, when the wind had calmed, he had raised himself off the mattress and gone out on deck to be sure everything was secure. He spent a few moments watching the clouds scuttle across the sky, causing the moon and stars to appear and disappear in turn. He drank some water from a bottle, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and urinated over the side of the boat. Refreshed and satisfied that all was well, he returned to the cabin. She wakened as he tried to sneak back under the covers with her, and stretched her arms around his neck, pulling him close. He let her pull him down and kissed her on the mouth. Her lips parted, and their tongues danced, snake-like, for several minutes.
Then he smiled as he pulled away to look at her glistening eyes, her hair still in disarray from the wind and from shifting on the pillow. She returned his gaze, a smile forming on her lips. He had kissed her then, softly and repeatedly, from forehead to chin, chin to sternum, and sternum to navel. He languished there, breathing upon her skin, admiring the fine hair there, and the slight rise of her belly. He pressed his nose gently into her navel, and used his tongue to trace lines and arcs upon her skin. He smelled her sweat and the delicate aroma of her womanhood as he pressed his cheek against her mound of Venus. There was just the slightest stubble there, and he stroked the flat of his tongue upward, against its grain, then brushed it back down with his fingers. His eyes moved to hers, and she nodded ever so slightly, silently saying "yes, please".
