Jennifer was just reading though, pretty much as I had left her, lying on her back and getting into her book. I noticed that she had started chatting with the folks around her, which is pure Jennifer. It was mostly couples, although there were also a few groups of younger guys and younger girls who were there also. Jennifer was mostly chatting with the couples that were our age and seemed to be enjoying the company.
My wife decided to take me up on my offer to go back and grab some food. I was really enjoying the beach and slightly regretted making that promise. “I guess I can go back and get us some food and drinks – but you owe me.”
I smiled to soften the words, and she laughed. “Okay, fine,” she said. “What do I owe you for walking all that way and bringing back a sandwich.”
“Well,” I said with a grin, “you could go topless.”
As expected, I got the world’s largest eye roll. “I’m not sure those are equivalent.” But she was still smiling.
“Hey, don’t do it for me. Do it for all the guys out here. Consider it a charitable donation to the welfare of men everywhere on the beach.”
The older couple next to us that Jennifer had been talking to couldn’t help but overhear our conversation. The woman commented that she had promised her husband she’d do it once and it would count as his birthday present this year. And if Jennifer would do it, it would make it easier for her.
More eye rolling, but you could tell that if she could do someone a favor, then that would help it happen. “Fine, but your husband is getting quite the present this year.”
Both women reached behind to undo their tops. You’d think that I’d be watching my wife’s new friend, but I had waited too long in my life to not watch my wife do the deed. There she was, taking off her top like I’d seen her do a thousand times before. But this time, she was outside in a decent crowd. It was magnificent. And her friend didn’t look too bad either. This was turning out to be a fucking great day.
I’m sure I was staring at both of them when my wife rather tersely said, “Well, where’s my lunch.” Oh right. Lunch. I hated to leave, but a deal is a deal. And she’d look just as good when I got back.
I headed back up to the property, and got a large sandwich for us to split, a mai-tai and a sparkling water since I didn’t know whether she would want to indulge a little or was just thirsty.
As I made my way back, I had a little trouble finding where we had settled down earlier. Something didn’t seem right. Where I thought we were sitting was a crowd. As I got closer, there was my wife, surrounded by a small crowd of young men who were engaging her in conversation. What was going on here?
It seemed that they were all having an animated discussion about the book my wife was reading. At least that was the pretense. These guys did not look like the local book club, but they sure were hanging on everything Jennifer was saying. It must have been fascinating, because they never looked away.
After I returned, the guys somewhat awkwardly made their way back down to the beach to a group of young women who were more their age, but not confident enough to shed their tops. I wanted to ask what exactly had transpire, but didn’t know where to start.