We both knew it, even if it went unsaid. Our marriage was stale, boring and predictable. After 20 years together and three grown children, we were more focused on our careers than we were on each other. We saw one another in passing. When we did things together it was to distract us from our monotony rather than enhance our relationship. The things that caused us to fall for each other had slowly been replaced by things we did that only ended up pushing us apart. There wasn't any animosity, we had just allowed ourselves to get into a routine that more and more placed our focus on other things.
We were in our forties, still in decent shape for our age. Colleen was medium height, brownish blonde shoulder length hair, curvy, still had a nice trim stomach that she was proud of and wore a piercing which nicely accentuated her navel. The impact of her fifteen years as a fitness instructor, even though she hadn't taught in ten years, was still evident in the muscle tone of her arms and legs.
I was tall and well built. When Colleen was teaching fitness I would go to the gym with her and lift weights. While I too carried a few extra pounds, my years of pull-ups, squats and bench presses still showed. We were both fighting what seemed like a losing battle against time, but we looked good. She always drew glances from men and women, a combination of physical appeal and a charming personality.
We didn't fight, we didn't play around, the bottom line was we just had made a habit of prioritizing everything and everyone else except for ourselves. We were both guilty of having affairs with our smart phones. When we travelled it was usually with family instead of going away alone. The spark had fizzled. Something had to change and we both knew it.
When the day came that Colleen said that we needed to talk, I wasn't surprised. We sat at the kitchen table over coffee one morning when she slid an envelope over to me.
"I thought you wanted to talk?" I said as a knot formed in my gut, thinking the envelope likely contained a divorce notification. As I opened the envelope, I was caught off guard as I discovered it contained a pair of airline tickets.
"Babe, I do want to talk. You know things are, well, not right between us, but I'm not ready to give up. I want a week away, just you and me, no kids, no computers, no work, no phones."
I sat back, pleasantly dumbfounded. "Really? I'm shocked, but in a good way, when do we leave?"
"Tomorrow. I've packed our bags, I've arranged for your brother to watch over your business while we are gone. The kids are all on their own, everything is set."
"Wow! I can't believe it! Tomorrow? But, what if, what if we can't fix things?"
"Ken, we will blow that bridge up if and when we come to it. We haven't gone away, just the two of us in how many years?"
I was embarrassed that I couldn't remember how long it had been since we had gotten away together. Any trips always involved our kids or extended family. As I got to thinking about it, I couldn't even remember the last time we made love. I prided myself on having a huge sexual appetite, but I had gotten into a rhythm lately of jerking off in the shower. The few times we were together, we just used each other to quickly get off. Her eyes on me brought me back from those thoughts. Colleen stared at me as if she were reading my mind.
"Ken, I hope we can want and need each other again. I miss who we were. I want to be able to look forward to who we can become, it's not too late."
I saw tears in her eyes, not a usual display of emotion for her. My heart melted just a bit. I hesitantly reached for her hand.
"Okay babe, I'm in, let's go."
For the first time in a long time, I saw a sparkle in her green eyes as she smiled. I also felt butterflies in my stomach, a twinge of guarded anticipation I hadn't felt before.
The next morning we were up early and off to the airport. Colleen had my clothes laid out for me and had already packed our bags. All I had to do was shower, dress and jump in the car. She even had hot coffee in a thermos in the car waiting for me.
"Thanks for doing this babe." I said as we took the airport exit. I glanced at her briefly, then I looked again, she was wearing a tank top, had her hair pulled back in a pony tail and had on shorts and sandals. I noticed her fingernails and toenails were painted a cherry red, again, this put butterflies in my stomach and it gave me a tingle just a little lower.
I took another look and realized it was her arms. I always thought women in general were lovely. Like any other man I liked boobs and butts. What really did it for me though, were toned arms on a woman. They always drew my attention and Colleen's were gorgeous. I could make out her shoulder muscles, a blood vessel running down her bicep that made my heart flutter.
"Have you been working out? You look great today."
"Awe, thanks babe, I've been doing a little more exercise lately getting ready for the trip, I'm glad you noticed."
I immediately felt guilty. How long had she been doing this and I had just then noticed? I was convicted of my lack of focus on her.
"I'm sorry. But yeah, you really look good Colleen." I continued to stare.
"Ken there is nothing to be sorry about. Tell you what. No guilt, no apologies, nothing but smiles and kisses and other things on this trip starting now. I would also really like to get there in one piece so eyes on the road please."
"Okay you're on!" Thiis caused a twitch in my pants, especially when she mentioned, "other things". As I kept stealing glances at her, I realized how much of a beautiful, attractive woman she was. Something within me continued to stir. It was as if I were seeing her again for the first time.
We arrived at the airport, parked and actually made it through security with no issues. I bristled when I noticed the TSA agent give her the once over, but then the protectiveness turned to pride that other men found my wife worth lusting over.
"What's the look for?" She inquired as we headed to our gate.
"You look good babe, and as usual, I'm not the only one that thinks you do." As she walked, her arm flexed with each step she took. I drifted behind her a little and watched her arm and shoulder muscles. My eyes soaked her whole body in. Her legs had a gentle brown shine to them and her calves were lovely and shapely. Her butt moved gently from side to side with each step. It was clear she had been using the gym to prepare for this trip.
I caught back up to her and soon we were at our gate just in time to board the plane.
"First class?"
"Ken, this trip is about us and yes, we are going in style babe, now you take the window seat and let me get settled."
I sat down and watched her as she lifted her carry-on into the overhead compartment. This caused her shirt to rise up and expose her stomach. What I saw was flat, brown and yummy, my loins were starting to wake up. I reached over and ran my finger tips along her belly. Touching the silver piercing hanging from her belly button.
"Three kids and that still is the sexiest set of abs I've ever seen."
She took in a breath sharply and quickly sat down, her arms had goose bumps all over them.
We ordered a few drinks prior to take off. My intention was to do some snuggling and perhaps even take a shot at the mile high club. What actually happened was, after months of 60-plus hour work weeks, we were both asleep before the attendant finished the safety brief. Next thing we knew, we were preparing to land on a tropical paradise in the Caribbean.
We made our way off the plane, claimed our luggage and took a shuttle straight to our resort.
After checking in we took the elevator to our room. As the elevator doors shut I gave her a kiss. A real kiss. Her lips were soft, full and moist. She let out a moan against my mouth and our tongues played. Too soon the doors opened on our floor and we walked to our door. The electronic key actually worked and as we walked inside the door, we found ourselves taken to a new world.
The suite was huge. Two sets of patio doors led to a balcony which overlooked the pool, the beach and then the ocean. Tropical blues and greens filled our eyes and we opened the patio doors to the sound of steel drums and the ocean surf.
"Babe, this is awesome." I said as we stood on the balcony arm in arm.
"For the next seven days, it's just you and me and our island. What would you like to do first?"
I knew darn well what I wanted to do first but I didn't want to press. I suppose I was also afraid of being rejected. "How about we change and do a little exploring?"
I detected disappointment in her eyes, but she recovered quickly. "Okay, whatever you say."
She grabbed a few things out of her suitcase and went into the bathroom. I put on a pair of swim shorts and a tank top and went back to the balcony while I waited for her. The air was fresh and it was a warm afternoon. As I gazed at the beauty of the island, it was hard to comprehend just a few hours before we were stateside and suddenly, we were in this paradise.
I felt eyes on me and turned around. Standing in the doorway to the balcony, Colleen had on a tank top which was knotted at her midriff, revealing just enough of her stomach to make me hunger.
I could see her bikini top underneath her tank. She had lovely, full breasts and she revealed enough cleavage to be appealing without being slutty. She had short shorts on unbuttoned at the top, and pink bikini bottoms under her shorts.
"You like?" She asked with a smile.
"Oh my! Wow babe. You look yummy! Are you sure you want to go for a walk? I think I've changed my mind about what I want to do first."
"Yes, silly. We have the whole day, let's go work up our appetite."
I wasn't sure which appetite she was referring to, but I definitely was more hungry for her than I was for a steak.
The way she looked, the island, the room, the air, the music, it all started building within me an urgent anticipation of what was to come. What I wanted to do was throw her on the bed and ravage her, but it wasn't just about me, so I figured I'd keep an open mind and be patient.