Alan and Lynn had been looking forward to their trip to Florida for many months. The winter had seemed longer than usual, and life had been busy as always. They felt it was time to get out of town for 10 days to enjoy beaches, sun, and some downtime. After a pleasant flight, they retrieved their rental car, put the info into their GPS, and started their vacation. As they pulled into the parking lot they were ecstatic to see the hotel looked just as impressive in person as it did online.
They grabbed their bags, and walked through the immaculate main hall as they found their way to the desk. After hearing about all the hotel's amenities and getting the room keys, they checked in and made a beeline for the restaurant for much needed late dinner. The hotel had multiple options for meals, and the one the desk attendant recommended required a little bit of a walk through the hotel to find. As they walked down the final hallway leading to the elevator that would get them to their restaurant, they both commented that it was slightly odd, colored placards were hanging outside many of the rooms, and some were swung out so a particular colored card was hanging out, much like you would find at a Dr. office. They had never been to this hotel, it was a small niche brand, but had an outstanding reputation as a unique getaway.
As they rode the elevator down 2 floors, Alan thought back to how the 4 or 5 days leading up to the trip had been jam-packed. He commented to Lynn that they were both due for a good meal and a few drinks. To which she smiled and kissed him, telling him she totally agreed. Alan was especially interested in returning her to the room for their first night alone in what felt like forever; to say he was incredibly horny would have been an understatement.
The restaurant did not let them down. The presentation and service was better than they could have hoped for being it was getting late. At dinner, they chatted about how to fill the next few days and caught up on everything they were too busy to share during the week. After eating, they moved to the bar and finally relaxed with each other. The bar seemed quite full for such a small hotel, and they commented it was much rowdier than they would have guessed. There were multiple large groups of people talking to each other, not just the usual pairs of people enjoying a drink. It almost felt like a party.
Lynn told the bartender it looked like it was a full house, and he laughed. He asked if this was her first time attending the event, and she questioningly asked what event he was talking about; he laughed harder and said "Did you folks just get here today? If you don't know what I am talking about, It's going to make my night to break the news to you. If you aren't yanking my chain then I am happy to tell you that you have stumbled into 'Pineapple week', the next 6 days are the one time a year when this hotel gets overrun by swingers. They do their annual get-together here, and I hate to tell you, but tonight is pretty calm compared to usual." After that he excused himself and went to grab a drink order further down the bar.
Alan and Lynn looked at each other with that 'oh crap' look and laughed it off as a funny coincidence. He came back a few minutes later with two new drinks. He sat them down, Alan said "Oh thanks but we're probably done for the night, I meant to close our tab."
To which the bartender smiled broadly and said said, "Welcome to Pinapple week my friends, these aren't on your tab, they were sent over from over there" he pointed a few tables over. The slightly nervous couple scanned the room and saw a pair sitting at a table across the room holding up their drinks. They held their drinks up in return; they smiled and mouthed 'thanks'. Alan looked at Lynn and said, "That has never happened to me." She laughed nervously and said, "Well honey, I have to say, it HAS happened to me, and just because someone buys you a drink, it doesn't mean you're going home with them, it's just a drink. They're probably just being nice." As they toasted back and took a sip, the couple stood and started gathering their things from their table.
The bartender laughed and said, "Oh, so you guys decided to play along tonight?!?!"
Alan replied that wasn't what they were doing, and he laughed and said, "That's the rule; you accept the drink. You play the game"