Sailing Into the Unknown.
"STOP IT, YOU TWO!" blasted through my mind as the confident, easy-going stranger smiled at me. Hi I'm Andi. I'm 22, a conservative married Christian girl. And those naughty, naughty nipples I was screaming at in my head, have only ever been seen (let alone TOUCHED) by my totally beloved husband of 2 years. But ever since puberty, my body has tormented me this way. Whenever I am in the presence of an older man, and he is not being overt, but I know he's aware of me, my whole body responds ... well ... sexually. I think of it as "The Wave". I have always been ashamed of these feelings, suppressing them, never revealing them, knowing how sinful they are, certain that there is just something WRONG with me. So, OK, hating that I have these experiences, but at the same time LOVING the experiences themselves. Confusing, I know. Loving how they thrill me, but ashamed that they are able to. Jack was my platonic boyfriend from when I was 14 till we got married. And you know what? Even from those earliest days, when The Wave hit me, if Jack was with me at the time, the impact was like TRIPLED.
All my life I have know and accepted and sincerely believed that there was One Man out there, meant for me, and once we locked on to each other, our destiny would be set. I knew from the moment we met that Jack was IT, and I was so ashamed at my uncontrollable response to other men that I couldn't wait to get married, and finally put all the confusion of The Wave behind me.
Sex with Jack is fabulous, and we do it a lot. Our conservative, church-centric backgrounds are similar. But with marriage we were both more than ready to cast off our virginity and give ourselves completely and exclusively to each other. I never told him about The Wave and my confusion, confident that it would slip gracefully into the forgotten past. My only secret.
Didn't work. Even at our WEDDING RECEPTION, for heaven's sake, I got into a casual conversation with one of Jack's uncles, and The Wave coursed through me. That night, absolutely consumed and thrilled with my first experience of unrestrained, enthusiastic SEX, I thought, of course, THIS will put an end to the torment.
Didn't work. No change. And here I am, sitting beside my husband, loving him HARD, while I reach for the outstretched hand of an older stranger, and feel the familiar, unwanted thrill soar through me as our fingers touch, and his eyes drill into my core.
We are on an end-of-season repositioning cruise from Tasmania to Genoa, with several ports of call along the way. An older, tiny cruise ship, We didn't want that crazy "party boat" experience, so this is perfect for us. We are in the dining room for our departure brunch. Seating is assigned, and "Perce" is introducing himself as our table-mate. He's a big, rangy guy, 40s-ish, engaging, outgoing and seems happy. Both Jack and I are a bit more reserved ... Well, OK, we are a couple of naΓ―ve kids compared to the clearly ADULT Perce.
I'm a petite (about 5 feet and 100 pounds) redhead, but wirey and athletic, and quite strong, actually. The weirdest thing about my body is my breasts. They are very modest, barely adult mounds, probably A-cups, but I don't even own a bra. But my nipples are SHAMELESS. Big and thick and protruding and dark, and when The Wave hits me, like now, they really flaunt themselves, swelling up and screaming "look at us!". Like they are now! THROBBING so hard they make my head spin.
Jack loves my "tits". At first I thought it was a rather naughty word for him to call them that, but now I kinda like how he accepts and enjoys their naughtiness by calling them "tits". He loves when I wear tight, sheer, light-colored tops that show my nipples off to him. We have never even mentioned the possibility of other men seeing (though of course they do). Jack is utterly non-jealous and seems unconcerned if not unaware. I never show interest in other men, and am an expert in suppressing any sign of The Wave passing through me, so Jealousy would be absurd. And Jack has never shown any inclination to proudly "show me off" to others.
The three of us chat away amiably. Eating and relaxing, telling our stories, enjoying the interaction. Perce asks about us, how we met, etc. We ask about his "status", and he tells us without hesitation, "I've never been married. People are different, and I mean no disrespect, and clearly marriage is the perfect path for you, but I have never believed in marriage, at least for me." We left it at that and went on to other topics, but I was a bit stunned. It had never occurred to me that anyone would not WANT to be married. For me, it had always been an immutable truth that a monogamous union was the natural destiny of every person.
As we finish up, Perce congratulates me on being married to the most interesting man he had met in a long time (we had drilled deep into an analysis of chatGPT) and he congratulates Jack on being married to not just the brightest, but the most alluring girl on the boat. I think we both blush a bit at that, and of course I show no reaction as a dozen 40 foot Waves crash over my shores. My nipples are not so subtle, and as I feel his gaze stroke across them, The Waves swell up to 50-footers. ALLURING! Really?! ME?
Jack and I explore the boat a bit, then wind up sprawled in a couple of deck chairs right at the back, watching the wake through the rail, watching the sea birds thrashing and diving. Late summer, Southern Hemisphere, Hot and it will be light till 10 PM. People wander past. Everyone friendly, saying hello. Jack is in his loose shorts, his ... err ... equipment clearly outlined. I tried thinking about The Wave from his point of view. Other women come by, obvious check him out ... does he feel it? Does he like it? There is no doubt that he is totally MINE. But then I am totally HIS, and I love feeling The Wave. Interesting ... I think it wouldn't bother me if he feels it, enjoys it.
Our conversation wanders around, inevitably drifting to our new friend. "Perce called my wife 'alluring', Andi ..."
EEEEEK! - this is the first reference EVER between us to another man noticing me. But then it's also the first time another man has ever said something so "forward" to me, let alone in Jack's presence.
"Was that inappropriate?" I ask, "did it embarrass you, even make you angry?"
He's quiet for a moment ... "No ... no ... no ... , it is true, you know ... you are in public ... you are breathtaking ... We are "different", you know, probably from everyone else in this boat. All our lives we've been consistently taught that there are entire areas that must never be thought about, let alone mentioned, that for everyone else are all just ordinary experience. And the three of us were having such an honest conversation. For Perce, it's probably totally normal for a man to complement another man's wife. He has no idea that in our world of strict rules it would be taboo for him to notice. If that's what he is feeling, why conceal it? It's not his job to protect us from an obvious truth. I love that you are 'alluring', and that you are at ease with it, and that you are mine. If I thought he was trying to take you from me, come between us in some way, that would feel different. But saying that in front of both of us, just so out there and open, it just seems wrong to read into it more than what it plainly was - just the truth. How did it make you feel?"
Oh God - we are in uncharted territory here. We have never had a conversation like this. Do I tell Jack about The Wave? "The truth is I loved hearing it - it just felt like sincere compliment. My only hesitation was if it hurt you somehow - but from what you just said that would be ridiculous, so I think we are both OK with it. Of course men notice me. I think every woman enjoys being appreciated. It's an uncomplicated reassurance of her femaleness." OK. There. It's out there now, in so many words, my first open admission to Jack that I respond to male attention.
"Yep".