Cassie took the gym bag her husband held out for her. He didn't comment on how light it felt, indicating just how few clothes she'd brought. She'd already kissed her four year-old goodbye and now her husband embraced her.
"Have fun," he told her and she listened to his tone very carefully for any sign of hesitation. If there had been any, she would have called off the whole weekend right there on the spot. But all she felt from him was love - enough love to let her go off for the weekend with another man and not worry about whether or not she'd come home to him.
She stood on the sidewalk and watched them pull away, her daughter waving frantically from the back window. Doug's plane wasn't supposed to land for another twenty minutes so she was in no real rush. It was a leisurely stroll out to the gate and her bag wasn't heavy enough to cause any discomfort.
Their plan was simple. He was flying in to Hawaii to meet her. He already had three nights reserved downtown in a hotel right on Waikiki and he was renting a car. That's why her husband dropped her off her at the airport.
Cassie got to the gate before the main body of greeters so she was able to stand closest to the door he would come through. She put her bag on the window ledge beside her and dug out the two leis she'd brought for him.
The first was the traditional kind - gardenias and carnations, purple for a male. The second was also specifically for a man - small cowry shells strung together in a long loop. They clicked against each other as she pulled them from their bag, bringing a secret smile to her face. The sound reminded her of home. There was a set of these hanging on the back of her bedroom door that someone had given her husband.
Draping the leis carefully over her bag, she paced back and forth in front of them, her arms folded over her chest, holding herself tightly. She wouldn't admit to being nervous, but maybe she was just anxious for him to arrive.
As the crowd formed around her, the scents of the different flowered leis filled the air with sweet natural perfume. People pushed forward to try and be first at seeing their loved ones and the several native Hawaiians holding up tour group signs waited contentedly at the back of the throng.
She turned back to the window now and saw a Delta 757 taxiing up the runway in their general direction. A quick glance at the clock over the boarding gate told her the flight was right on time. How unusual.
The butterflies in her stomach, which up to now had been happy just puttering aimlessly around, went in to full combat mode - flinging themselves all around the interior of her tummy. She looked composed and confident on the outside though and that's what really mattered.
She wasn't sure why this sudden attack of nerves. They'd been talking almost daily for the past six months - not just online but mostly by phone. Purely by accident, she'd found herself falling hard for him during all the pleasant contact.
Cassie was one of the lucky ones though. She had a husband who loved her and trusted her and he let her explore this new relationship as much as she wanted or needed. Even up to this amazing culmination of letting her spend an entire weekend with him.
Before she'd made up her mind to accept the offer though, she'd done some long hard thinking. And the conclusion she'd come to, she discussed in length with her husband.
He'd told her, "You can get as involved in this as you want but you know the deeper in you go, the more pain you might be causing yourself in the long run."
That had taken a couple of days to fully seep in and it had made her wonder "Am I playing with fire?"
But fire was warm, and on cold days it felt very cheerful to stand beside and rub your hands together over it. And back in the mainland, it was January - full winter. She tried to return what she was feeling for this stranger to a nonchalant, just-good-sex kind of thing. Cassie hoped she could keep it on that level.
The plane seemed to stop right in front of her, it's nose pointing at her like an accusing finger. She watched the accordioned walkway reach slowly out and clamp itself against the fuselage. Cassie could only imagine what he was doing right now. Maybe standing and pulling something down from the overhead compartment; maybe reaching up high to help a shorter woman like herself, or maybe just standing patiently in the aisle waiting for the line of people to disembark. She wondered if he had butterflies too as she picked up the leis and faced the walkway.
Doug did indeed have his own stomach-churning winged insects. But he also had a obligingly firm bulge beneath his belt as he thought about finally touching Cassie after waiting all these months. He smoothed the wrinkles from his shirt, hoping she'd find him attractive enough.
The line finally started moving and he entered the hallway that would lead him to her. He knew she was there, he could already feel her. Carefully holding his carry-on in front of the slightly embarrassing rise behind his fly, he followed the other passengers.
He rounded one last corner and he could see into the terminal ahead. She'd told him she'd be wearing white and he'd seen a few pictures of her. He had no doubt he'd recognize her immediately.
And he did. A very petite yet intensely beautiful woman stood just outside and to the right of the door. She held two strands in her tiny hands - a garland of flowers and a string of shells. Her eyes met his and she too knew right away, causing her face to light up in a warm, welcoming smile.
She wore a white sundress with very thin straps that made her tanned skin appear even darker. He couldn't be sure what she might have on beneath it because although the fabric seemed thin, he couldn't make out any shadows through it - including the outline of her aureoles. He could see from here that her breasts were high and firm and there was an ample showing of dark smooth cleavage.
The dress was fairly short, reaching not quite to her mid-thigh and showing off firm, muscular legs. Her feet were also tiny and dark like her delicate hands. She wore white sandals and as he drew nearer, he could see the shine of some pearlescent polish on her toenails. Not gaudy but just enough sparkle to catch attention. And he saw her hair, pulled back by a simple white band. It was golden blonde, the color of new honey and although she'd told him it was long, he'd not pictured it like this. She stood sideways, her back to the huge glass wall and the brilliant afternoon sun streamed in to reflect a myriad of minuscule diamond points in the silken strands that lay against her back, over the soft curve of her ass and fell nearly as long as her dress. It was breathtaking.
He stopped before her and they both silently searched each other's eyes. Hers were the deepest blue of the ocean he'd just flown over and he felt like he might drown in their depths like a warm, engulfing sea.
"Hi," she said shyly. "Welcome to Hawaii." Cassie held the leis up and he had to duck his head so she cold put them around his neck.
