Coconut Oil

Part 1

Chapter 1

We sat on the Boeing with our seat belts securely fastened and I turned my attention towards my preoccupied travel companion. From her concentrated expression, she seemed more ready to start one of our Monday business meetings than a vacation. Her relaxed, black "off the shoulder" shirt was the only indication that she wasn't on the train to the office this morning. Detecting my attention, she moved her naturally straight black hair from her shoulders while her Asian eyes met my glance. Although both of her parents were Asian, her eye-liner was applied in such a way that her eye-lids appeared doubled like a caucasian's.

I began the inquisition. "Did you turn off the lights?"

Kelly took out her ear buds and nodded.

"Remember to set your e-mail to 'Out-of-office?"

Of course.

I mimicked a puzzled thinker by resting my chin on my hand. "I know! Oooo I know!"

My co-worker jerked her head at my exclamation but then looked back at me with an air of impatience as she detected my all-too-jocular tone. Against my better judgment, I continued anyway. Putting my hand on her exposed shoulder, I declared in a matter of fact tone "You forgot to close the garage door."

Kelly rolled her eyes indicating that the allusion to the 90's holiday classic was lame and put her ear buds back in. For the next five seconds we gazed straight ahead at the video demonstrating life vest security.

As the onset of sleep began to take over me, I was awoken from my trance by the sound of her mouth sharply opening. She muttered "No, Ian... That's not it."

Then I felt her hand grasp at mine in a white-knuckled vice. With her normally narrow eyes spread wide and her other hand on her chest, she leaned forward and screamed the unthinkable.

"Jackie!"

Chapter 2

Ian and Kelly had been co-workers, train companions and virtually best friends for the past two years. But this trip was both literally and figuratively new territory for each of them. The idea started after her husband went on a 2 month hiatus to Asia. If he could be trusted by himself halfway around the world, why couldn't she be allowed to go on a cruise? To Alaska? And so what if she had company along the way? These questions appeared to have such obvious answers in her mind that she neglected to bring up the whole trip to her husband, Alan, a freelance computer scientist of Indian descent.

Alan had lately grown disenchanted with their suburban life. Having a network of family in friends to serve as a base in New Delhi, he packed his bags for the Orient with the plan to work from home during this time. Although he had no specific itinerary detailing his temporary return to bachelorhood, he wasn't against the idea of a hedonistic life style during the two months or so he spent there. If Alan were forced to guess where his wife was on a random Friday night during his trip, he would have guessed that she was watching American Idol from the comforts of their Victorian house nestled in a sleepy hamlet of Westchester with their Jack Russell named "Jackie". Not going on vacation with her single co-worker who fantasized about her even when he was with other women.

Married life had been comfortable but seemed to grow increasingly more monotonous each year for the Asian couple. As Kelly advanced in her job, she had less time and energy for physical activity. All physical activities. The skinny, teenage limbs that she adorned at her wedding at age twenty-five had transformed into a more mature and matronly body at thirty. Gravity had begun its preliminary planning on her already large breasts shortly after she tied the knot and continued its work downward without any hesitation . Her chest was undoubtedly the feature that she was most self-conscious about. Shortly after the Asian beauty outgrew her DD cups, she began to cut the tags off her bras out of embarrassment that someone might see them hanging on her laundry rack.

Every night after showering, she would wipe away the steam from the bathroom mirror to survey her wet and naked reflection. As she would throw her shoulders straight back and suck in her stomach, her pendulous chest puppies would hang down nearly to her navel. Rubbing the coconut oil into her breast tissue, she would wonder if the stretch marks were visible to anyone other than herself. The topless sunbathing in her backyard had helped in covering the light blue veins that traversed her womanly orbs. In a few weeks the white ends of her elongated cones, which faded into the lightest of pink areola, would be nearly the same color as the rest of her body.

After one particularly grisly day in the office, she turned her back to the mirror as she waited for her hair to dry and observed her reflection from behind. Her ass was small for a girl as top-heavy as herself and could easily be palmed in entirety with even medium sized hands. Her hips had accumulated a small layer of padding that is a common although unwelcome birthday present to most women turning thirty. To her dissatisfaction, the sides of her breasts jutted obscenely beyond the width of her back and could be clearly seen hanging toward either side of her hips. Overcome with frustration, the business woman who would normally lead the weekly meetings on Monday mornings turned back to the mirror and began to do jumping jacks. Her nipples ricocheted in all directions including towards her face. The humiliation that had prompted her to jump only increased as she surveyed the jiggling of skin on her hips, chest and stomach.

Nearly whimpering and feeling helpless in the shaping of her body image, she felt something remarkable take place inside of her. The disgust she felt in her solar plexus began to drift downward and convert into a feeling of arousal. The neglected wife stopped jumping, bit her lip and began to lightly press her stubbled womanhood against the sink's edge. She hadn't shaved herself since having an argument with Alan over finances three days ago. The texture of this contact against the marble surface felt more remarkable than she could have ever anticipated. Leaning her arms back on the towel back for leverage she began to enhance the pleasure with grinding thrusts of her hips against the corner. Repeating these motions for five minutes, she began to feel the orgasm build in her loins causing her arms to jerk and lose support of the towel rack.

Hearing the crash, Alan stormed into the bathroom with a stern expression. Not caring about her well-being, he reprimanded her to be more careful. Perhaps if she exercised more she wouldn't be so clumsy.

All self-criticisms aside, Kelly was still regarded by society as a more than attractive woman. Co-workers ogled her stretched blouses and the occasional casual Friday skirt. She caught more than a few stray glances at the gym during her rare appearances in yoga pants. Although she would not articulate the thought in her head, the co-worker whose hand she grabbed in her moment of panic was her biggest fan during such displays.

Chapter 3

I looked at my traveling partner in confusion and awaited further explanation.

"I forgot to tell Jackie's dog-sitter to leave the air-conditioner on during the night. He gets hot with all his fur."

I took a deep breath and encouraged her to do the same.

"You do realize that they have phones for these types of situations, Kelly. When we land in Seattle we could call the sitter."

"But what if she's already asleep? Jackie won't be able to sleep. He-"

I flagged the stewardess over and asked for another wine. This served to ease my co-workers nerves as we took off en route to Seattle.

During the course of the flight I alternated between my book, the in-flight movie, and Kelly's face as she slept. Although cool on the outside, I was feeling more than a bit jolted myself. I had been planning this all for some time now. I just had to wait for the perfect moment. If everything went to plan, it would be a dream come true. It was only natural to feel nervous.

I had been infatuated with Kelly ever since my first day of work with her. At work, we were teased for being work spouses. I knew her lunch order by heart at four different places, commonly consulted her with problems with my women, and even listened to her marital issues. She was the first Asian woman I could honestly say I ever had feelings for. But for the last three years I had to keep these feelings bottled up. Office romances and emotional affairs were strongly frowned upon. As a matter of fact, people had been forced to switch offices and even lost their jobs over such matters.

It didn't take a genius to realize that there was trouble in paradise. When I would walk by her office, I would commonly catch her in a depressed gaze that would immediately change to a more happy expression upon being watched. She routinely complained of being tired. Even at 11am in the morning on Tuesday. When I first met her she would begin statements with "We" while re-capping her weekend at home. Now it was just "I".

The idea of the Alaskan cruise came to me during a post-coital slumber some months ago. I was lying next to some girl I met at a bar who was complaining about how boring her family reunion on an Alaskan cruise was. "There was no loud music, no hot guys, etc." For all the reasons that my pouty friend disliked the cruise, I decided it would be the best proposal for some time alone with Kelly.

I just had to figure out how to get her away from Alan. After hearing about his two month hiatus to Asia, I spent the entire night researching the logistics of such a cruise. But most of the night was spent with my heart beating thinking of how I would go about asking my married co-worker to spend an entire week alone with me. "Ummm, if you aren't doing anything next week let's go to Alaska and fuck by a glacier. C'mon, you know you want to!" Then the idea came to me.

The story that I created the previous night was this. I had gotten back together with my ex-girlfriend Claire who was always friendly with Kelly although they never really kept in touch. She had a voucher for a free cruise for 2 from her uncle who was in the business. She had to bring four people though. As a result, she was bringing her gay brother with her. She had asked me if I knew anyone who would be interested. We would split the discount four ways.

It took Kelly a few days to think about it. Much to my satisfaction, she eventually gave in. As I explained to Kelly, we would meet Claire and her brother Martin in Seattle and stay in two rooms. I would stay with the gay brother, and Claire with Kelly. The accommodations would be the same on the cruise ship. Any funny business between me and Claire would take place in my room so that Kelly wouldn't have to be caught in the middle of it.

This may all sound fine and dandy except for the fact that I failed to tell Kelly one piece of information. I never had any intention of meeting up with anyone else anywhere along the way. It was all just a ploy.

Chapter 4

"So they really aren't coming..." Kelly sighed as she stared emptily at the sea anemone. As was common in Seattle, the Hilton lobby was decorated with glass sculptures of various shapes and sizes . This particular one had a striking resemblance to the aquatic organism.

Still wearing my wind-breaker, I admired the fluorescent glass arcs. "Kelly, trust me I can't believe it either. Claire and I have spent so much time planning EVERYTHING, researching and booking the excursions, reserving tables with views to the midnight sunsets. She wanted this trip more than I did." I turned to Kelly who was still staring at the anemone and shrugged. "These things suck. But they happen for a reason. Everything happens for a reason."

She slowly nodded her head in agreement. "I just feel bad for Claire and Martin. They must have been really close to their grandpa."

I tucked my phone back into my pocket to complete the illusion that I had just consoled Claire during her time of grieving for her grandfather and motioned for Kelly to sit down on the couch next to me. A bag man held the door open for a family of six causing the room to become chilled from the damp night. My co-worker's eyes then darted towards the plastic bag that I had brought back with me. Not wanting to reveal the condoms and other paraphernalia that I just bought, I quickly started a new conversation with a holiday theme.

My strategy was to speak as if Kelly and I were still going on the trip. As if it would be so preposterous to cancel our plans because of someone else's grandfather that it wasn't even worth discussing the possibility. And this is exactly what I did for the next few minutes. My Asian travel partner did not have more than one consecutive second of silence to jump in during this time. I spoke about specific logistics: "After we finish the life-jacket drill", "When we take pictures during the glacier tour", etc. One of the key points I emphasized was the greater relaxation as a result from having our own individual rooms. This was a point that Kelly, who had been working seventy hour weeks for the last three months, could hardly counter.

"I don't know Ian. What if this is a sign that this trip just wasn't meant to be? We could spend the night here and get the first flight back to New York tomorrow morning. Claire will probably appreciate you being there for her." The last phrase sounded more like a question than a statement as her Asian eyes searched mine for reassurance.

"No." Both Kelly and I were surprised by the firm tone of my voice. "Listen Kelly, without getting into too many details, our last break-up didn't pan out quite the way it should have. Claire's family loathes my existence. If I were to fly back it would just make things worse."

"How about this," I said to her. "Let's get our keys, settle into the hotel and sleep on it before making any drastic decisions."

***

The bag man had mixed up our bags and accidentally brought one of Kelly's carry-on's to my room. Kelly opened the door on the third knock and waved for me to come in with the bag. She continued the phone conversation with the dog-sitter and twirled her wet black hair which fell over her white robe in strands. Wanting to be as quick as possible so I could get some sleep, I placed the hand luggage next to another one of her open suitcases and waved goodbye but Kelly motioned for me to stay.

I surveyed her room. Her bathroom door was partially ajar with the light on. Hanging from the inside doorknob was a large, frilly, black bra. A pair of panties of the same color lay on the floor directly below it. As I came to the realization that they were indeed thong panties, I swallowed audibly. Yes, the majority of women wore thong panties in the year 2012 for both sexual and strategic reasons. But this glimpse into my favorite co-workers private life caused me to harden nevertheless.

Kelly placed the phone on her night table and grabbed her glass of red wine. From this and the tray with dirty plates next to her television, I surmised she had ordered room service. The smell of fried chicken mixed with the incense of candles permeating from the bathroom.

She smiled. It was clear that the shower coupled with the wine had done her good. "So this is my first time using Sheila as a dog-sitter. Our other sitter who I've used for the last few years is out of town." She took another sip of her wine.

I thought she was becoming a bit careless with her robe. Kelly had a habit of talking with her hands and motioning with her wine glass. The top of her robe began to widen from each movement. I was seeing my fair share of cleavage and was having trouble hiding my excitement.

She began to play with her wet hair again. However, this time it was in a much more relaxed fashion. "I was nervous because Sheila never had experience with a Jack Russell before and Jackie doesn't like strangers," she said "but I think she has a good handle on things. She knew to turn on the air conditioning." Kelly slouched forward causing her shoulders to become more exposed.

At that point I needed air-conditioning for myself. I nodded with my mouth partially open as I tried unsuccessfully to focus just on Kelly's face. She sat on the bed next to mine with one leg crossed above the other, supporting herself with one hand and the wine glass with the other. My eyes moved down to her smooth thigh which was exposed almost up to her hip bone. I never realized how long her legs were before because she wasn't overly tall. I salivated at her unblemished Asian skin. Her hand, which was manicured with pink nail polish and wore no wedding ring, put down the glass. It then gravitated towards this exposed expanse of tanned dessert and ever so lightly scratched up and down. Her toe nails were colored the same and twitched to and fro much like sporting spectators doing "the wave". Her second biggest toe's ring sparkled from her desk lamp light.

My co-worker tossed her hair to the side and sighed. I could clearly see the contour of her breasts as they struggled to cling to the confines of her terry cloth. Kelly quickly looked down at her chest, undid the already loose sash, and to my amazement opened it completely before pulling it tightly closed like a body glove. The whole thing lasted hardly a second but it was enough. I had seen everything in that brief instant. From her hanging, swollen breasts to her delectable, dimpled navel and all the way down to her panties which were rainbow striped and delicious. Did she know what she had just done?

Kelly continued to smile at me. "I think this trip is exactly what I need. I won't be a buzz kill anymore, I promise."

I agreed.

She then yawned. "I'm so tired."

I was anxious to get out of there and relieve myself so I said goodnight and made my way towards the door. That's when I saw the object from the corner of my eye on the bathroom counter. There was no mistaking the phallic device that rested next to her hairdryer. Kelly had brought a "friend" with her.

Chapter 5

We left from the port of Seattle the next morning en route to Ketchikan, Alaska. A warm front had brought in fair weather for early June and we had a pleasant view of the city with Mount Rainier looming in the background as we sailed off to sea. The sun had come out to salute us the horn sounded.

Contrary to what I previously told Kelly, the two bedrooms that were reserved resided in the same suite. In other words, there was a common room that Kelly and I would be sharing during this seven-day cruise. Being a private person, Kelly was not initially a fan of this arrangement and requested that the front desk give us two separate and disconnected rooms. Unfortunately, the front desk told us with a sympathetic frown, the ship was fully booked and no such arrangement could be made.

Whatever misgivings Kelly had about the suite were quickly quashed as she surveyed the unobstructed view of land and sea from our shared balcony. My suitemate wore a yellow, sleeveless sundress that fluttered in the breeze. Leaning against the railing, she was silent and her eyes concealed underneath her sunglasses. As the boat continued its turn out of the harbor, a shadow slowly ran over us like a manta ray from the sea and the temperature seemed to drop five degrees cooler. I suddenly came to the realization that we were indeed headed to Alaska and such coolness would become commonplace.

As I stared at Kelly, I thought of her open bathrobe and yearned for a repeat of the brief but intimate moment. The stirring in my loins was venomous and spread throughout my whole body. I was addicted and needed more. I had seen her in a bikini once or twice during a double-date in the Jersey Shore but knew it would take some prodding to get her in one sober.

"I think I'm gonna take a dip in the pool before it gets too cool," I told Kelly. " You wanna check it out?"