Claudia was enjoying her champagne. Her friends, Marianne and Mark, always knew how to host a party. Their house was perfect for it, as well. There were three cabanas around the pool, each with a king sized pad and gauzy curtains for at least a modicum of privacy. A high fence around the property kept away prying eyes in the very upscale subdivision in Boca Raton. Claudia had been there a few times before and each time felt completely at ease with the environment and the other party guests.
It's far too easy to describe someone like Claudia as vivacious. She certainly presented herself like that to the outside world. Her smile and laugh was quick. Her manner was often innocently flirtatious. When Claudia met new people, they always came away with a feeling they had met a genuinely nice person.
Claudia was fully aware of the persona she presented. It was part of her yet also separate. Deeper, beyond the easy smile and the gentle laughing was the personality of an intelligent and thoughtful woman who also had a streak of libertine painted on her soul that she sometimes expressed in private with the men in her life. This is why she gravitated towards similar people. Marianne and Mark were certainly a hedonistic pair. They had no kids and careers that gave them affluence and the freedom to indulge themselves. They had an exquisite home decorated in a minimal, modernistic feel. They took frequent tropical vacations to luxury resorts with names that Claudia never quite recognized.
Claudia suspected they might be swingers and this intrigued her. She had never considered such a lifestyle. Yet the party hosts never revealed what their sexual preferences or lifestyle might be. They simply put on fine parties for a group of friends and sometimes friends of those friends. It was an eclectic group but with the one theme of intelligence being consistent with everyone. Conversations were always tremendously fascinating because of the many backgrounds of the guests - academic types, business types, artistic types, and more. This is why Claudia enjoyed herself so much, it was the people that Marianne and Mark invited.
With her glass of champagne yet again refilled, Claudia mingled with the party guests around the pool. The soft, nighttime warmth of a South Florida summer meant that the casual yet elegant clothes worn by everyone there were perfectly matched to weather. Light, jazzy music permeated the air from well-hidden speakers around the pool.
There were quite a few new faces mixed in with a few regulars who Claudia had met at previous parties. She found herself chatting with Justin and Yadira, a 40-ish couple whom she had met several times. There were a very attractive pair. Yadira, obviously Spanish, was a petite woman with long, black hair and laughing eyes. She was always at Justin's side and they clearly shared an enviable emotional intimacy as a married couple.
But it was Justin who Claudia was drawn to. Oh, such a handsome man, tall, upright, and with an almost chiseled face beneath thick, wavy, salt and pepper hair. He was nice, too, with a hearty laugh, a kind nature, and a string of witty retorts which made Claudia always smile. She had to resist an urge to say something inappropriate like "Yadira, I'm going to borrow your husband one night, I hope you don't mind." Of course Claudia would never say such a thing but the thought percolated in her mind as she looked over Justin as a lion looks over an antelope.
The attractive couple was talking about their latest vacation. Yadira's accent was modest but obvious. "Oh, we went to Jamaica last month with Mark and Marianne... it was such a great time."
This quickly piqued Claudia's interest. "Where did you go?"
Justin answered almost too quickly, "A resort called Grande Lido, it was a pretty fancy place."
"I know that one, it's right across from the wild resort called Hedonism or something like that." Claudia had thought about a trip to Jamaica herself and she had done some research.
"Yes, we heard about that place but we were having too much fun with Mark and Marianne to go over there." Yadira suddenly blushed, realizing her comment was open to broad interpretation. Justin was quick to cover the potentially awkward moment. "Grande Lido was actually quite sedate, no one was running around naked like they do at Hedonism."
"Nothing wrong with running around naked at a tropical resort. That's what I would do." Claudia looked straight into Justin's eyes as she said that. Justin looked right back, not even blinking, a slight smile on his tanned face.
"Marianne and I went topless a few times, just to balance out our tans." Yadira seemed unconcerned that Claudia was staring at her husband. "Being topless was also convenient when we got massages on the beach. That was heavenly!"
This caught Claudia's attention and she stopped looking at Justin. "A massage on the beach, that sounds quite sensual."
"It was great. The masseuse had perfect hands and she massaged away all the stress, not that we had much while on vacation." Yadira giggled and then took her husband's hand. "You liked that massage, too, didn't you?" It seemed to Claudia that Yadira was smirking as she asked the question to her husband.
Justin was calm and collected. "Of course I enjoyed that massage, that masseuse was good and she was sexy as hell. There's almost nothing better than a good massage from a sexy woman." He looked down at Yadira with a clear and daring smirk of his own. Claudia sensed an intimate inside joke between husband and wife and it led her mind in territory exciting yet potentially uncomfortable. She drank a big swallow of her champagne.
"Of course, honey, that's why I arranged it for you... so Claudia, are you into massages?" Yadira artfully directed the conversation away from Justin's comment.
"I love massages, I just don't have enough time to get one often. I think the last time I got a massage was three months ago. I was all rubbery for two days. But I would rather have a massage on a tropical beach like you guys did!" Claudia was steering the conversation back to Justin and Yadira's Jamaica vacation. She was definitely curious about the type of relationship they had and she wanted some more clues.
Justin briefly raised an eyebrow and Claudia noticed. Yadira flashed a brilliant smile and moved her long hair back behind her head. Claudia knew that Yadira was intelligent and intuitive and so would likely understand that Claudia was fishing for more personal information.
Yadira took Claudia's hand. "We'll tell the whole story but I want another drink and then I want to sit down somewhere comfortable. Find us in a few minutes, promise?"
"Of course, I need more champagne anyway and then I'm going to mingle a bit more. I do enjoy these parties."
Yadira let go of Claudia's hand, turned, and then took Justin by the waist and they both walked away, whispering to each other. Claudia sauntered by the pool and then found the host and hostess of the party.
"Claudia!" exclaimed Marianne. "We are always glad to see you. Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Of course, this is excellent champagne and the company is always fun and entertaining. I was just chatting with Justin and Yadira and they were talking about your Jamaica vacation to Grande Lido."
"Grand Lido?" Mark asked quizzically.
"Oh, you are so silly, that's the name of the resort where we were staying. I think you spent too much time in the sun." Marianne was laughing at her husband's forgetfulness. But Claudia knew it wasn't forgetfulness. She knew that Mark was a sharp and detailed fellow. It suddenly occurred to her that Mark, Marianne, Justin, and Yadira most likely went to Hedonism and were trying to keep it a secret with a white lie.
Claudia went right along with their story as to avoid embarrassment, not that Mark and Marianne would be embarrassed. They often made remarks about their own sex life without any sense of shame. "Oh Mark, one resort is like the other I'm told, I'm not surprised you didn't pay attention to the actual name."
"We were all having a good time, it doesn't matter. Let me get you some more champagne." Without waiting for a response, Mark left for the kitchen to collect a bottle of bubbly for Claudia.