Two Halves Try Making a Whole

“It sounds like a terrific resort,” Josh had told her. “Sun and sand, lazing by the beach, all meals included. Just the two of us for a week, away from our troubles.”

Cassie wasn’t at all sure their troubles were the sort of things you could get away from by going to Mexico. But Josh pitched it as his way of making up for his past misjudgements, and she felt she had to give him a chance. Even when it turned out she was going to have to pay for most of it.

She steered Josh away from the airport bar but couldn’t stop him from leering at any young woman walking by who was a C-cup or better. Cassie sighed inwardly. Before Josh she’d always felt her own small breasts were good enough, but his focus on other women’s mammaries had made her insecure about the issue.

She’d once made the mistake of asking Josh why he’d been attracted to her when he was such a fan of big chests. He’d said it was because she gave great blowjobs and laughed like a hyena. Worse, he’d then repeated the exchange more than once to their friends, thinking it was the height of hilarity.

Boarding the plane brought new humiliations. After they had their seats Josh got up to assist a woman (who had a truly massive set) put her carry-on in the overhead bin, even though she was several rows forward from them. When he offered his assistance she said she was fine, but he took the bag from her and put it up anyway, making sure to “accidentally” brush against her boobs in the process. The woman had given him a scathing look, which she transferred to Cassie when Josh returned to his seat and it was obvious he was with her. Then he’d ordered another double vodka and seven the second time the service cart came by despite Cassie suggesting it was kind of early to be drinking.

But none of that came close to the level of embarrassment Cassie felt that night at dinner at the resort. No argument would stop Josh from ordering a pitcher of margaritas. He gave the excuse that it was more economical than buying them one at a time, despite the fact all the prices were ridiculously cheap in U.S. dollars.

Naturally Josh drank most of the pitcher by himself. When Cassie came back from a trip to the women’s room she found he’d ordered another pitcher. And once he was drunk he starting getting loud and offering to buy any attractive woman that caught his eye a drink, sometimes even when they had male partners with them. Cassie wanted to sink down through the floor. The only thing that saved her from total shame was the fact that half-way through the second pitcher Josh was too blasted to focus on much except refilling his glass.

After dinner it was straight back to their hotel room, where Cassie poured her completely hammered boyfriend into bed. He made a sloppy pass at her as she pulled off his trousers, but Cassie knew from experience that if they did start to make love he’d certainly pass out in the middle of things.

After undressing Josh she changed into her bikini. Being right about their problems following them from Fort Worth didn’t make Cassie feel particularly happy, instead the tension headache she so often had these days was back with a vengeance. She’d spotted an outdoor jacuzzi earlier, she’d go and see if the hot water could loosen her tight neck muscles.

[]

It was ten PM when Cassie got to the jacuzzi she’d seen. This was a stand-alone one closer to their part of the hotel than the larger heated spa by the pool, and set behind some fake-looking boulders so you had be on the path leading to it to get a good view of it. She suspected it was meant for couples who wanted to make out in a hot tub, though in her opinion you’d have to be pretty brazen to do something like that at a resort.

Admittedly at this time of night there didn’t seem to be many people in the area. Cassie could faintly hear music from the resort’s nightclub, which was where most of the guests who wanted to party were hanging out. That was fine by her, she didn’t really feel like dealing with people at the moment. Slipping off the towel she had wrapped around her and laying it on one of the chaise lounges around the jacuzzi she located the controls and turned on the jets.

Immediately the pool foamed vigorously. The jets of the system were quite powerful, and correspondingly loud. She got into the warm water and settled down onto a seat, letting the streams billow against her. Letting out a loud sigh Cassie leaned back and closed her eyes. The heat and pulsing water and even the motor sound were almost hypnotic, she could feel the tension in her body start to ease.

If only her other problems could be so easily washed away, she thought.

After maybe a quarter of an hour she heard a cleared throat. Opening her eyes Cassie saw she had company.

He was a bit taller than her, with a short brown haircut and a tan that looked new. He was definitely older than her though not by a whole lot. His legs looked decent, like he bicycled or ran, but he also had a little pudge pushing out the waist of his trunks. Cassie classified his look as the better sort of Dad bod.

“Hi. Didn’t want to scare you by getting in without warning,” he said. He put down his towel on a chaise lounge and lowered himself into the jacuzzi across from Cassie. “I’m Keith, by the way.”

“Cassie.”

“Ahhh, that’s better,” Keith said as he sank into the foaming water. He kept his arms out on the lip of the tub, and Cassie noted that the left hand bore a wedding ring.

“I can leave if you and your wife want some privacy,” Cassie said. Her headache was gone now, and while she didn’t really feel like going to bed yet (especially with her drunk boyfriend probably snoring up a storm) she didn’t want to be the dog in the manger if a couple wanted some hot tub time to themselves.

“Nice of you to offer, but I’m pretty sure she’s not coming,” he said with a grimace. “We just had a pretty big argument, that’s one of the reasons I need to relax.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Cassie said.

“Thanks. I guess I should be used to it by now, we’ve been going through a rough spot,” Keith answered. Then he sighed. “That’s what I’ve been telling myself for the last six months, anyway, but the ‘spot’ just keeps getting longer and rougher. We did this trip to see if maybe getting out of our usual environment would help, but we’ve been arguing pretty much nonstop since we got here.”

Cassie laughed ruefully. “That sounds just like me and my boyfriend, except that this is our first day here.”

“Wow, did you have a blowout day one?”

“No, he just got drunk as a skunk,” Cassie said. “I could yell at him about it tomorrow when he’s sober, but it never helps.”

“Now it’s my turn to say I’m sorry to hear that,” Keith said.

Cassie shrugged. “Life is tough all over.”

“Yeah.” Keith sighed again. “It’s weird, when I met Joanne I was sure she was the one, you know? We dated for twelve months and lived together for six before we got married, thought we knew each other, but a year later we started getting on each other’s nerves and it just snowballed from there. Now we can barely be in a room together without someone saying something that starts a fight.”

Cassie told him this sounded a lot like her own experience, except of course that she and Josh never got married. The drinking didn’t become a problem until about twelve months after they’d moved in together and things had gone steadily downhill since.

“Why do relationships have to be so hard?” she finished.

“You got me there, amigo. I guess I should feel lucky Joanne won the argument about waiting to start a family. If I’d had my way we’d have a kid right now…”

Keith’s voice trailed off. He was gazing at nothing in particular, yet his look was so unhappy that Cassie felt sad herself.

“So, what part of Texas are you from, cowboy?” she said to break the mood.

He blinked, chuckled. “Shucks, and I thought leaving my ten-gallon hat at home would fool people. Dallas.”

“Really? I live in Fort Worth.”

“Honey, that is not no Texas accent you got.”

Cassie grinned. “I grew up in Rhode Island.”

“Ah, from the smallest state to the biggest one, good choice.”

“I thought Alaska was the biggest state?”

“Nope, that there’s purely an optical illusion caused by the Aurora Borealis.”

The pump timer clicked off. Cassie turned around and climbed half out of the pool, leaning over the edge to reach for the controls.

“Uh, honey, there’s a button right by you that restarts the timer, you don’t have to get out of the water to do it,” Keith said.

Cassie turned back around and saw the button he’d mentioned, in easy reach of someone in the jacuzzi. She punched it and the jets resumed. At the same time she glanced up and caught Keith eyeing her bikini-clad body appreciatively before the water once again filled with foam and became opaque.

Cassie realized that her prior movement had essentially made her stick her ass out at her new acquaintance, and he’d clearly enjoyed the view. She felt a little embarrassed, but also rather pleased that she could still draw that sort of attention. One of Josh’s tactics when they were fighting was to tell her that since they’d been living together she’d stopped bothering trying to look sexy. It was true she’d gained a little weight, but he’d gained even more so who was he to complain!

Keith interpreted her silent revery as the cold shoulder. “Sorry, I shouldn’t stare,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it. I know that guys have to fight their instincts to admire the scenery even when they’re trying to be polite.”

He grinned. “Then I’ll confess that while I enjoy these here bubbles, the scenery was much better without them.”

She laughed. “And from living in Fort Worth I know that Texan men come up with the corniest lines.”

“Hell no, corn comes from Kansas. In Texas we sling the bull the corn gets fed to,” Keith quipped.

Cassie groaned at the pun and settled back down. Her muscle tension was almost all gone now, she should probably get out of the water. But that would mean going back to the room and Josh, which wasn’t what she wanted. She closed her eyes and wished there was some way of leaving the mess her life had become behind.

She opened her eyes about a minute later. Keith too had closed his eyes and sank himself in the water to his neck. His lips were pursed and his brow furrowed, she would tell he was back to thinking about his own relationship problems.

Cassie was aware that she didn’t really know who if anyone was more at fault in the other couple’s rift. But Keith seemed like a nice guy while she didn’t know this Joanne person at all, so fairly or not her sympathies rested on his side of things, and that was that. Seeing him unhappy made her want to break his bad mood again.

She thought about saying something, but couldn’t think of what she wanted to say. So instead she shifted her leg across the center of the small jacuzzi and ‘accidentally’ nudged his foot with hers before retreating. Keith didn’t respond, so she move her foot back and nudged a bit harder.

His eyes stayed shut, but this time Keith reacted. His own bare foot moved to stroke hers.

Cassie’s eyes got wide. She’d drawn a quite different reaction than the one she’d intended. She blushed, realizing Keith thought she was coming on to him.

The surprise had paralyzed her rather than making her jerk away, which meant that Keith’s foot had continued to stroke her own, moving up to the ankle. She looked down but all she could see was the foaming surface of the water. Keith meanwhile was keeping his eyes closed, though his face now bore a faint smile rather than its earlier grimace.

Cassie glanced at the entry to the jacuzzi area. Still no one around. She realized that the surrounding screen of rocks were only one sort of privacy that the jacuzzi provided, another was the jets themselves. Even if someone did walk up they couldn’t see what was happening under the water. Her initial embarrassment passed, replaced by a sly little thrill. It had been a long time since she’d flirted with a guy, or had a guy seriously flirt with her. It felt nice.

Feeling naughty, Cassie began returning Keith’s overture with her own foot, running it over his wet flesh, using her toes to tease at his skin. She suppressed a giggle, she was actually playing ‘footsie’ with a guy, something she hadn’t done since high school.

Keith finally opened his eyes and looked at her. He didn’t say anything, and neither did Cassie. Both of them were still lounging deep in the water so all they could do was stare at each other’s faces. Meanwhile their feet rubbed and caressed each other’s calves.

Cassie licked her lips, which drew Keith’s eyes like a magnet. That she was turning him on with such a simple act excited her. She sank even lower in the water, up to her chin, and let her foot wander up onto Keith’s thigh. Her reward was an audible intake of breath from him.

She’d thought earlier he must run or cycle, and the firm muscle she felt under the skin of his thigh confirmed her guess. Growing more daring, she shifted her foot toward his center, gently pushing forward at the juncture of his legs.

To her foot his cock felt like an iron bar pressing out his trunks. He wasn’t porn-star big, but he certainly had a sizeable dick.

Cassie couldn’t see his hands move, she felt them grip her ankle and calf. For a moment he pressed her sole firmly against the length of his erection, groaning softly as he did. Keeping his hands on her he half-floated, half-walked across the jacuzzi to her side, coming to rest beside her so that they were sitting next to each other, she on the right and he on the left. His right hand came down to rest on her thigh, gently squeezing it. Each head automatically turned toward the other so that their eyes met.

Keith gently caressed Cassie’s inner thighs, the activity still hidden by the foaming water. Cassie put her left arm across his right and laid her hand on the front of his swimsuit. As her fingers traced the hardness beneath the wet cloth she noticed that the little belly-bulge she’d seen earlier was pushing against her wrist. She accepted it as a reminder that this wasn’t a fantasy, she wasn’t with some idealized six-pack Adonis but with a real flesh-and-blood man, warts and all.

Since she’d taken the next step Keith’s hand moved to the front of her bikini, finding and slowly massaging her fabric-covered lower lips. Cassie felt her juices starting to flow and bit back a moan. He reached across with his left arm, cupping and squeezing her small breast. Her nipples stiffened and his fingers were soon teasing them through her top.

Getting more aroused with every passing second Cassie threw caution to the winds and slipped her hand inside Keith’s trunks to seize his naked manhood. Wrapping her fingers around the hard meat she started to jerk him off. Keith groaned and leaned across the last bit of space separating them, lips parted. Cassie responded in kind and met him lip to lip. They kissed wetly, tongue seeking tongue. Keith’s hand crept under her bikini and found her clit, rubbing it in circles.

Keith groaned again, this time into Cassie’s mouth. His cock pulsed and swelled in her grasp, and suddenly he began to cum. Thick semen sprayed over her hand and the inside of his swimsuit, feeling even hotter than the water of the jacuzzi on Cassie’s skin.

The pair continued to kiss as Keith trembled and emptied himself at her touch. Finally he drew away from her lips to catch his breath. Cassie withdrew her hand from his trunks, wiping his spunk off as she did.

“Sorry I was so quick, it’s been a while,” Keith said. “Joanne and me, uh, well like I said, this trip didn’t work out the way I’d hoped.”

His hand was still on her clit, and he began massaging it again. Cassie began to pant, she was not all that far from climax herself.

Loud, drunken voices began to approach, laughing and talking. Cassie froze, then took Keith’s hand and carefully pushed it away. His other arm, which was close the surface and visible, retreated from her tits. They sat together silently, waiting to see what would happen.

After a few minutes the voices passed by. Keith reached for her again, but she stopped his hands with her own.

“I ought to get back to my boyfriend,” she said.

He sighed. “You sure? I feel right guilty not giving back.”

Cassie bit her lip. She did feel horny. But now that the moment had passed the place seemed too public again. “Yeah. No regrets, but I should go.”

She adjusted her bikini where it had gotten disarrayed and climbed out of the jacuzzi, wrapping herself up in her towel.

“Will I see you again?” Keith asked.

Cassie smiled. “Maybe. It’s not that big a resort.”

“Tomorrow’s my last night here,” Keith said softly. “Tell you what, I’ll be here same time. I’d surely love to see you again, but I’ll leave that up to you.”

Cassie stepped into her sandals. “I can’t promise. Maybe.”

Josh was sprawled in the same position Cassie had left him in when she got back to the room. She took a short shower and got into bed.

Her encounter with Keith had left her aroused and unsatisfied. She’d hoped it would pass, but instead her frustration was only getting worse as she lay in bed. Unable to sleep, Cassie finally resorted to trying to rouse Josh, hoping he’d wake up long enough for a quickie. But it was hopeless, he just kept cursing her and telling her to leave him alone.

She thought about masturbating but it seemed too depressing to get herself off while her drunk boyfriend snored next to her. After a long while fretting about it she finally drifted off to sleep.

[]

Sunlight coming around the corners of the curtains told Cassie it was morning. She’d been sleeping on her front, and an arm was over her lower back. As she started to move it dropped down to her bottom and haphazardly patted her on the cheeks.

She shook her head to clear it. “Josh? Are you awake?”

A groan was her answer. Cassie rolled on her side to face him. “Josh?”

He blinked, worked his mouth, made a face. His breath smelled of booze and unbrushed teeth. Despite this Cassie reached out and stroked his bare arm tenderly. “Hey, sugar. If you’re feeling up to it maybe we could…”

She didn’t get any further. Josh moved to sit up, groaned loudly, then rushed off to the bathroom. The sound of piss hitting the water greeted Cassie’s ears. This was followed by a loud “Oh shit,” then the familiar noise of Josh blowing chunks.

After several repeated episodes of retching she heard the shower come on. Cassie padded into the bathroom and found the toilet and its surroundings fouled with urine and flecks of vomit which had missed the bowl. This, too, was familiar. As usual she wetted a towel and cleaned it before she was willing to sit down and address her own needs.

She thought about getting dressed, decided just to put on panties for now. She’d deliberately brought along some cute pairs with the idea of pleasing Josh, and wore one of them now.

Josh came out of the bathroom rubbing himself dry. “Oh, fuck. Never again, I swear,” he muttered. Cassie didn’t answer, particularly not to point out that she’d heard him say that exact thing before, more than once.

“Hi,” she said, sitting topless on the foot of the bed. “Feeling better?”

“No.” Josh walked past her and dropped onto the mattress. Cassie reached over to rub his feet, but he kicked her hand away. “Don’t even try, I feel like shit.”

Cassie’s mouth compressed into a thin line and she suppressed another remark, this time about how it matched how he acted. “I’ll order some breakfast,” she said instead.

Josh’s only response was to cover his eyes with a pillow.

Cassie put on a bra, shorts and a light blouse. Next she phoned room service and ordered. Huevos rancheros for her, dry toast, OJ and a big bottled water for Josh. She knew his stomach wouldn’t take much more right now.

The food arrived quickly. Cassie tipped the bellman and put the tray down on the table. “C’mon, Josh, your stomach will feel better if you put something in it,” she said. “You at least need to hydrate, you know that.”

“Fuck you,” Josh said.

She sighed. “You know you don’t mean that.” In any possible sense, she thought.

Her boyfriend groaned again and rolled out of bed. “Shit. I should know better than to get drunk on cheap-ass tequila. That’s why I feel like this.”

“Maybe it would be better to avoid tequila altogether,” Cassie suggested.

“Nah, the good stuff would be fine,” Josh said. He stumbled over, fell into the other chair. “What is this shit?”

“Dry white toast, it will settle your stomach. But drink some water first, you need it.”

Josh muttered something barely audible, though Cassie suspected it was “Bitch, bitch, bitch.” He drank some of the cold water she’d poured him. “Tastes awful,” he said.

“Did you brush your teeth?”

He grunted in reply. Spying the other glass with the orange juice he asked, “Is that a mimosa?”

Cassie rolled her eyes skyward, she just couldn’t help it. “No, just juice.”

“I know what it needs, then,” he said. Pushing himself out of the chair he moved to the mini-bar in the room, took out an airline bottle of vodka.

“Josh!” she said.

“Hey, it’s hair of the dog, best kind of hangover cure,” he said. He spilled out half the OJ into a potted plant and refilled the glass with the vodka. “Ahhh!” he said, taking a swallow.

Cassie pushed aside her breakfast. She’d only eaten half, but she had no more appetite.

“I’m going to the beach,” she said. “Come find me when you’re done.”

[]

The sun grew hot, the sand hotter. All around Cassie people tanned or swam or played volleyball, while kids built sand castles and ran screaming playing made-up games.

Cassie had walked along the beach for several hours more or less aimlessly. She’d bought sunscreen to apply (they hadn’t packed any) and was wearing her hat and sunglasses, and despite the heat she felt fine.

Fine physically, anyway. She still didn’t know what she wanted to do about Josh.

It just seemed so wrong. Josh hadn’t been like this before. Sure, he’d always been a party kind of guy, always up for a good time, and she’d known he had a roving eye. But at first he’d also been attentive and loving, and contrite when she caught him ogling other women. He sometimes said by way of excuse that he couldn’t help “window shopping” despite knowing he already had all he needed in Cassie.

Instead of getting better with time though his behavior had gotten worse. From merely eyeing larger-breasted girls he started flirting with them in front of Cassie, especially when he was drunk. He’d apologize when he was sober, but not only did that not stop him from getting drunk and doing the same thing again, he was getting drunk more and more often despite her pleas and efforts to stop him. Cassie had started to think Josh cared more about the booze than he did about her. She’d tried suggesting to Josh that he look into getting help, but even hinting that he might have a drinking problem enraged him.

Cassie didn’t want to give up on their relationship. If nothing else she felt she owed Josh her loyalty. Her memories of the good times they’d shared and the time they’d been together had to mean something, she thought. If he wouldn’t listen to her, maybe he’d listen to their friends? Previously Cassie had thought that “staging an intervention” would be overkill, that Josh just needed to exhibit a little more self-control. But clearly that wasn’t going to happen.

The more she thought about this, the more the idea of bringing other people into the mix seemed like a good idea. She’d been fighting a losing battle, maybe the problem was that she needed allies.

Cassie nodded to herself. That was what she would do. She’d go back to the hotel right now and find Josh, and she’d stick with him the rest of the trip. She’d support him the way a girlfriend should, even if it was hard this week, even when he got drunk. She’d try to help him any way she could. And when they got back home she’d start talking to his friends, see what they thought about an intervention, and go on from there.

With this new plan in place Cassie headed walked toward the hotel. By this time Josh’s hangover would probably be better, they could go have a nice lunch together.

Cassie was going past the main pool area when she heard Josh’s laugh. “He must be feeling better if he decided to go for a swim,” she thought, and headed that direction.

She was beside one of the curving water slides when she heard Josh again. He seemed to be right on the other side, though she couldn’t see him and due to the slide the only way to get to him was to walk all the way around.

“Sure I know CPR,” Josh was saying. “All firefighters do.”

Cassie paused. Josh worked at Home Depot, why was he claiming to be a firefighter?

“Have you rescued a lot of people?” a female voice asked.

“Sure have,” Josh said. “Smoke inhalation, very dangerous. Requires strenuous mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Want me to show you how it’s done?”

A giggle. “I didn’t inhale any smoke.”

“I know where I could score some weed. Maybe we could go back to my room and inhale some smoke, then I’ll demonstrate.”

Another giggle. “Keep talking, I’ll think about it.”

Ears burning, Cassie hurried around the slide to the other side. Sure enough, Josh was standing there in baggies and a T-shirt, his back to her, a mostly-empty beer bottle in hand. The girl he was talking to was maybe college age but her tiny bikini top was straining to keep her massive pair contained, clearly the reason Josh was attracted to her.

“Why are you here at the hotel all alone?” teen bimbo was saying.

“Oh, I came down to help train the Mexican National Fire Department,” Josh said.

“Is that so?” Cassie spat.

He whirled, saw her. “Uhhh… Hi, sweetie?”

“Don’t let me interrupt, I wouldn’t want to stop a great firefighter like you from giving lessons,” she hissed. “And by the way, I’m glad to hear that you’re alone, I’d hate to be stuck with an asshole like you!”

“No, Cassie, hold on, I was just joking, no, wait!”

The useless words didn’t stop her. She rushed back to their room, threw all her belongings back in her suitcase, stormed to the front desk.

Apparently the staff had seen this kind of thing before. They were very kind, handing Cassie a box of tissues when she started to sob. They carefully explained that the very reasonable all-inclusive package she and Josh had bought was not refundable and did not permit an earlier flight back to the States without buying a new airline ticket at full fare. However it being the off-season they had some vacancies and for a small additional fee (much less than a new flight) they would be happy to move her into another room, smaller than the one she’d been in before but still quite nice. And on the flight back, they’d change her seat so she wasn’t sitting next to Josh.

What could she do? She took the deal.

[]

Cassie ordered an early room service dinner. She didn’t want to go to the restaurant and risk seeing Josh. Next she called the friend back in Fort Worth who she’d left a key to her apartment and told her to go in and box up anything that obviously belonged to Josh. Tomorrow Cassie was going to text Josh and let him know that once they were back he was not going to be living with her any longer, he could pick up his stuff any time but he needed to start looking for a place to crash, now.

After that she watched television for awhile, but her mind wasn’t on it. She kept looking at the clock, willing it to get to ten, but time just crept by.

Finally at nine she couldn’t wait any longer. Cassie put on her swimsuit and wrapped herself in a towel. Locking the door behind her, she headed for the jacuzzi.

Her steps grew faster as the fake boulders hiding the spa came into view. But when she got close she slowed, there were voices coming from the hidden pool. A man’s, and a woman’s. For a sickening instant she imagined that Keith and his wife had made up and decided to go to the jacuzzi together.

Then she saw him. Keith was dressed in slacks and an aloha shirt, sitting alone on the side of a chaise lounge he’d dragged outside the opening in the rocks. His hands were folded together and his head hung down, but something made him look up as she got close and he spotted her. A smile quirked his lips, though it grew very wry as she walked up to him.

“Hello again, Cassie. I decided to wait here just in case you came, now I’m glad I did.” he said.

“No swimsuit, though.”

He shook his head. “Just didn’t want you to think I stood you up if you did show. Can’t really get wet tonight, don’t have a place to change after.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Had another big set-to with Joanne this morning. She didn’t like that I came back so late, despite the fact she’d announced she wasn’t talking to me when I left. One thing led to another, I said some things maybe I shouldn’t have. So she threw me out of our room, told me I better dang well find me another place to sleep tonight.”

“That’s terrible!”

A shrug. “It wasn’t going to get any better if I stuck around. I left my suitcase at the front desk, it’s warm enough I figure I can sleep out on a chaise lounge. Joanne says she’s going to change her seat on the airplane tomorrow, make sure we don’t sit next to each other.”

He sighed. “She also told me I can start looking for a new place to live once we get home. Seems she had a divorce lawyer all picked out even before we left.”

“I’m sorry,” Cassie said.

“Not your fault, darlin’.” He barked out a short laugh. “Hell, I was all worried she’d find the mess I made in my swim trunks last night and that would be the last straw. Guess there weren’t no last straw needed.”

He got up off the chaise, straightened his slacks. “Well, like I said I just came so you wouldn’t think it I left you in the lurch. You have a good night, all right?”

Cassie hesitated, but only briefly. “Um, you don’t have to spend the night outside. You could sleep in my room.”

“Huh? But you said you were here with your boyfriend.”

“Yeah, I was,” Cassie said, and explained the situation.

“Now it’s my turn to say I’m sorry about happened, and you don’t have to tell me it’s not my fault,” Keith said. “They should have kicked him out of the room, not you.”

“Nobody got kicked out, I left. I guess I just got tired of having to put up with the bullshit,” Cassie said.

“Woman like you shouldn’t have to, that’s for true.” Keith looked at her. “I don’t want to be a bother. You sure about this?”

Cassie swallowed. “Um, it’s just an invitation to sleep, right? I’m not saying we’re going to hook up or anything.”

“I’m going to be indebted to you, amigo, and I have no plans to take advantage of your kindness.”

“It’s settled, then,” Cassie said. “Plus you can get a shower before you have to leave for the airport tomorrow morning.

Keith chuckled. “Well, shoot. We could have used the jacuzzi after all, but I didn’t bring a swimsuit. You want me to wait here while you get in? I won’t mind.”

Cassie looked in that direction. The woman in the pool was laughing softly at something the man had whispered to her. “No,” she said. “I think we should leave them some privacy.”

[]

Cassie opened the door to the room and was surprised to find that room service had been there once again, this time leaving an ice bucket with a bottle in it and a pair of champagne glasses. The bottle was an inexpensive cava with a note attached.

“It’s the celebratory bottle of sparkling wine that comes with our package,” she said, reading the note. “It says they forgot to put it in the room when we arrived. I guess since I used my credit card to pay for our stay originally they brought it to my new room.”

She dropped into a chair and laughed briefly. “Josh would have loved this, even more free booze delivered right to his door.” Then she started to weep.

The popping of the cork cut off her quiet sobs. “Here,” Keith said, handing her a glass. Bubbles rose in the pale yellow wine. “It’s not bad stuff, they gave us a bottle of the same thing.”

He poured himself a glass as well. “Here’s a toast. To all the people who try to make unworkable relationships work, may we stop beating ourselves up over things we can’t control.”

Keith held out his glass until Cassie did as well, then tapped it to hers. “Salud.”

“Cheers.” She drank a swallow of the cava. He was right, it wasn’t bad.

Keith settled into the other chair in the room, looked around. “Dang, I didn’t reckon they had rooms this small in such a nice place.”

Cassie chuckled. “I told them to give me the cheapest one they had. I’m already going to have to put in some overtime to pay for this vacation.”

“Well, I do believe they followed your instructions to the letter.” He looked at the bed, which was a double. “Uh, I suppose I can sleep in a chair.”

Cassie took another gulp of wine. “Don’t be silly, there’s enough room for both of us in bed. I’m not going to cry rape if you accidentally touch me.”

“It’s not the accidental part I’m worried about.”

She looked at him over her wineglass. Keith’s eyes were intent on hers. She swallowed.

“You’re a beautiful young woman, Cassie,” he said. “And I’m just an old used-up soon-to-be divorced guy.”

“You’re not that old,” she said.

“And here I was hoping you’d deny I’m used up,” he said, then grew serious. “Anyhow, last night was a gift in my mind, a gift I don’t know that I deserved. I can’t promise anything, I don’t know what’s going to happen in this divorce. I just want to make sure you understand that, because if you give me a sign that you’re willing I know that I won’t have the willpower to hold off.”

Cassie took another gulp of wine. Some ended up on her lips and she licked them. Like last night this drew Keith’s eyes, and it gave her a sudden thrill and a sense of her own sexual power.

“You’re not the only one who’s lonely and in need, Keith,” she said.

Cassie stood up from the chair and let the towel she was wearing drop, revealing her bikini. She heard Keith’s sudden intake of breath and it pleased her. Shrugging her shoulders she slipped off the straps and let them fall, pulled out her arms and then doffed the whole top letting her small breasts fall free.

“I was right, you surely are a beauty,” Keith murmured.

She smiled and got onto the bed. The thong snugged down between her cheeks as she crawled on hands and knees to the head, giving her audience of one a good view of her bottom. Cassie lowered herself onto the bed and flipped over on her back.

“I think we ought to turn in early,” she said.

“Yes ma’am.” Keith stood up and undressed quickly, still taking care to fold his clothes over the chair though. His heavy cock came into view, already swollen and mostly erect. It was a bit smaller than Cassie had thought from feeling it, but still a nice size.

He got into bed next to Cassie and took her in his arms. They kissed, hands roving over each other’s backs and sides. Keith had a nice, slow touch.

When she shifted closer, Keith’s erection pressed against her thigh. “Hold on, I just remembered something,” Cassie said. “No, you stay in bed, I’ll join you in a second.”

She got up and went into the bathroom, opened her cosmetics back and rummaged through it briefly until she found the package she wanted. Shucking her bikini bottom down her legs she returned to the bedroom nude.

“I’m kind of guessing you didn’t bring one of these,” she said, handing Keith the condom. Cassie always carried them herself when on a trip, knowing that Josh would more than likely forget to bring any along.

A big grin broke out over Keith’s face. “No, I did not. I was willing to settle for another, uh, sensual massage, but this makes the invitation even more promising.”

Cassie got back into bed. “Going to put it on?”

“Not yet, there’s some things that need doing first.”

Keith didn’t leave her guessing what those things might be for long, as he lowered his head to Cassie’s breasts and began to kiss and suck them both, switching from side to side. Cassie laid her head back on the pillow and murmured her appreciation.

There was an odd rattling noise. Cassie looked over to see that Keith had reached over to the ice bucket and had a hand fishing around in it. He came up with one of the larger pieces of ice in his fingers, and brought it to her breast.

Cassie gasped as her partner drew a chill circle around her nipple with the piece of ice. Her nipple peaked even higher than before. The ice was withdrawn to be replaced by the contrast of warm lips and tongue. After suckling her for a bit Keith did the same with the other side, making that nipple stiffen hard as well.

Once he was satisfied with the attention given to her breasts, Keith kissed his way down her belly to her pubes. Working his way through her spare hair he reached her clit, gave it a few licks, then continued down into her slit.

Keith turned out to be a very accomplished pussy-eater. Cassie was soon moaning and heaving her hips up at his searching mouth. Then she heard the rattle of the ice bucket again and realized what was coming.

“Oh god,” she whimpered as the ice lightly touched her clit. It too stiffened and swelled. Keith alternated the ice and his lips and tongue until Cassie began to writhe in the bed. Her hands pulled his hair, though whether it was to get him to stop or to mash his face harder against her pussy she wasn’t quite sure.

Keith disposed of the ice but continued working with his mouth. One and then two fingers were added, toying with and then inserted into her wet opening. With a squeal and a shudder Cassie climaxed, her juices flowing freely around the intruding digits.

Cassie panted and lolled on the bed as Keith withdrew. He knelt, tore open the condom package and rolled the rubber over his dick. Positioning himself between her spread legs he lowered himself so that they were belly to belly. His lips sought hers, while his hand fit the head of his cock to her slick, willing slit.

Cassie gasped as the thick pole slid into her. He’d looked smaller than she’d expected from holding him in her hands, now he felt bigger than he’d looked. A few thrusts and he was fully embedded in her kitty, though, telling her that his cock was fat but not that long.

Once he’d let Cassie adjust to his width Keith began to screw her with long, slow strokes. She sighed, enjoying the sensation of being filled.

Cassie expected her partner to pick up the pace and drive himself to orgasm, but that clearly wasn’t Keith’s plan. He continued to methodically plunge his dick in and out, varying his angles from time to time. Realizing he was trying to find the places which pleased her the most, Cassie nearly laughed aloud. This was so different than the sex she was used to having with Josh that it was almost funny.

“This is wonderful, but, uh, I don’t normally get orgasms from being screwed,” she whispered in his ear. “I still like what you’re doing but you can go ahead and cum if you want, don’t wait for me.”

Keith pushed himself up on his arms and looked down on her. “Oh honey, that’s just not right. Here, let’s try something else.”

He pulled out and moved to her left side. Keith turned onto his left side facing her, but when she tried to turn onto her right to face him he stopped her, letting her know he wanted her to say on her back. Lifting up Cassie’s right leg he shifted his hips so that his crotch fit into hers. His thighs scissored her left thigh, while he placed her right leg over his hip.

Keith reached and fit his cock back into her pussy once more. To Cassie’s surprise he had no trouble thrusting into her in this position. Not nearly as forcefully as he could from on top, but that clearly wasn’t the point. What mattered was that the arrangement left her legs spread wide and her whole front from neck to groin freely available to Keith’s right hand. This went to work caressing and fondling and stroking her breasts, nipples, and slit, with occasional side trips over her belly and flanks.