All characters engaged in sex are older than 18 years. Quite older, in fact.
---
My second marriage did not end with a bang, but with a whimper. After several years of suffering my wife's unconscious gaslighting, it was time to move on.
As a husband, I always tried to maintain a respectful distance of my female friends. My wife never required it from me, I just thought that it was the proper thing to do. One of my newly learned lessons: I will not do this again. I am quite fortunate in having great friends, both male and female, and I know that I am a better man because of them.
This was not a rebound. I was not interested in going back to the dating game yet. As far as I knew (and I rarely asked), several of my friends were happy with their significant others, or had given up entirely on the whole relationship deal.
But I was always a flirt. My ex-wife did not appreciate it, and I was delighted to once again engage in playful, light flirting with my friends. Raine was one of my preferred targets.
I had first met Raine when she was 15. She transferred to our school, and I was smitten. I was already quite interested in girls; Raine had a beautiful smile, luminous blue eyes, and was always very friendly. Don't ask me whether she had large or small breasts, or any other body characteristic. I knew she had a beautiful body, but I could never take my eyes off her eyes or off her smile when she was nearby.
Teenager shyness never allowed me to take a step towards her, and our lives drifted apart after school. Years later, I found out that we were both working at the same government office, and we met a few times there. But I was married, and I did not try to further our relationship.
After my first divorce, I rather awkwardly tried to date her, to no avail. She was sweet as always, but she also let me know that she was not interested. We kept in touch afterwards, even after I moved to another city. We even met a few times, when I went back to meet my children.
In the past few years, we connected through a few social networks. Raine loves to post selfies and other photos, and I love to see her. Her eyes and smile are still quite captivating, and she is still a very beautiful woman. She does not seem to mind my flirting remarks about her photos. Sometimes I send her one of my photos.
Some time ago, I found an old photo, requested by a friend. It was taken during a brief period in which I wore a beard, several years ago. My daughter was born at this time, and I used to brush her feet with my beard, tickling her and making her laugh. I sent Raine a copy of the photo, together with this titbit of family history. I was quite surprised when she replied "I like it! You were quite the charmer with this beard." I teased her a bit, saying that this endorsement was almost enough for me to grow my beard back, and we dropped the subject.
Now, after my second divorce, I had moved again, to a new city and a new university. I managed to rent a flat at the beach front, and walking alongside the beach has become a favourite pastime. My friends have standing invitations to come over, but so far no one had come.
Up until last month, that is. Raine texted me, saying that she would be coming to my city during her vacation, and that she would love to see me. Of course I leaped at the prospect, and she sent me her travel schedule.
Well... this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to grow a beard again.
* * *
Raine called me the day she arrived, and she accepted my invitation to walk a bit on the beachside, and go to a café afterwards. I arrived at her hotel a few minutes early. When she came down from her room, I went to greet her, and I noticed a slight bemused look on her face when she saw my beard. I lightly kissed the tips of her fingers, never taking my eyes from her lovely blue eyes... but I could see that she was as beautiful as ever.
There were a few tumbling steps on the beach walk, and I always held my hand to steady her. After one of these steps, we held hands for a few minutes, walking and talking. Raine was as delightful as ever, and we were quite happy to get each other up to date on our respective lives.