Maui & Manhattan

I.

         A one-month anniversary is a significant milestone in a relationship, but while most people celebrated occasion, Connor lamented it.  His one-month anniversary would also be the last day of the relationship, after which he'd have a serious decision to make.  Not that it was really a decision; he had known all along what the end of this month would bring ... and that was a trip back home.

         The past month in Maui had been amazing.  Being forced to take a break from his real life in New York had seemed like cruel torture at first, but it didn't take long for him to warm up to the islands and appreciate the time he had been given.  Especially once he met Serena, which had been pretty much on arrival.  He went straight to the hotel after landing at Kahului Airport, then drove halfway around the island to the small coastal town of Ka'anapali.  He had a small bungalow with an ocean view reserved for the entire month, and spent the first several hours out on his lanai

Hawaiian for porch, verdana, patio

, relaxing as the hotel wait staff brought him a never-ending succession of tropical drinks.

         Each bungalow consisted of four identical units; two facing the nearby ocean, and two facing inward toward the resort.  As Connor sat there in those early hours of his vacation, he couldn't help but take notice of Serena, the woman in the other oceanfront bungalow.  A small privacy wall separated their lanais, but they shared the same short path down to the beach, so Connor couldn't help but notice as she headed out to the water with her surfboard.  She smiled and threw him an appraising glance as she walked; Connor couldn't help but return the stare, admiring the way her statuesque body filled out that tiny bikini.  She could have been a local; her skin was a silky, coppery tan, which made her sparkling hazel eyes all the more radiant.  She had dark brown hair and, from her flawless physique, clearly spent a lot of time in the water.  Her well-toned muscles were a perfectly balanced contrast to her shapely breasts and hips.

         "Hey," she said as she passed by.  From the playful smile on those perfect, pouty lips, it was clear she didn't think Connor was all that bad to look at either.

         "Hey," Connor replied with a slight wave.

         That was the extent of their first exchange, but it didn't stop Connor from admiring her firm ass as she made her way down the beach, the thin triangle of fabric barely containing her magnificent posterior.

         Connor was still lounging on the lanai as she sauntered across the beach and back up the path toward their bungalows.  Her wet hair had a slight curl to it, and rivulets of salt water clung to her perfect skin.

         "We meet again," she said, noticing Connor.  "Looks like you've had an active day since we last ran into one another."

         "Just trying to make the most of my vacation," Connor replied, hoisting his glass in her direction.

         She smiled as she leaned her surfboard up against the dividing wall to the lanais, and then walked over to the outdoor shower.  She kept looking over at him as she washed away the sand and salt; Connor had to adjust himself when she wasn't looking, as the sight of the water cascading down her body was truly a sight to behold.

         "I'm Serena," she offered, rinsing her hair.

         "Connor," he offered back.  "How long are you here?"

         "As long as I want to be.  What about you?"

         "A month."

         "That's a nice long time."

         "You'll hear no complaints from me."

         Serena turned off the shower and headed toward her bungalow.

         "Have you eaten yet?"  She asked.

         Connor shook his head.

         "You want to get some dinner?"

         "Sure.  Where did you have in mind?"

         Serena kept talking as she went to retrieve something from her lanai.

         "Actually, room service is pretty decent.  Why don't we order something and watch the sunset?"

         She emerged from behind the shared wall once again, tying a sheer sarong around her waist.  Pulling up the other lounge chair, Serena sat down beside Connor.

         "Any objections?"

         "None at all," Connor said quickly, and hurried inside to grab the phone and the room service menu.

II.

         That first night, Serena and Connor had the best meal room service had to offer, as they watched the sun set over the endless Pacific Ocean.  As they sat and talked, Connor had been contemplating making a move all evening, but Serena ended up being the one to act first.  After several cocktails, she suddenly leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips, her eager tongue forcing its way into his mouth and tangling with his.

         With a quick pivot of her hips, Serena swung her leg around and climbed onto Connor's lounge chair, straddling his lap as she continued to kiss him.

         "Whoa, wait a minute," Connor said, breaking the kiss.  "I just want to make sure we're clear before we do anything ... this is just for fun, right?"

         "What else would it be for?"  Serena panted, hot breath in his ear.

         "I have to go back to New York in a month.  I guess I ... uh ... you know.  Wanted to make sure what happens on Maui ... stays in Maui.  Right?"

         Serena's tongue darted out and flicked the bottom of his earlobe, causing his already stiff cock to leap in surprise.

         "I'm honestly not thinking about anything other than right here, right now."

         She gyrated her hips, rubbing her crotch against his until he was groaning with arousal.  She unbuttoned his board shorts and got off the lounge chair, yanking them down to his ankles, underwear and all.

         "Hey," Connor protested.  "We're out in the open.  Anybody could walk by and see us!"

         "That's the whole point," Serena said, tossing his clothes aside and reaching under the sarong to untie the strings holding her bikini bottoms together.  Her white smile flashed in the dull glow of the candlelight that had been illuminating the lanai.

         Climbing back onto the lounge chair, Serena hiked up the sarong just enough to get her legs around Connor's waist.  She started kissing him again, their tongues swirling and dancing around one another.  Her body was humming with sexual energy, and Connor could feel her slick entrance hovering near the head of his cock.  Serena reached under and positioned him at her entrance and then slowly – inch by inch – descended onto his lap.  They both moaned as he filled her completely, his impressive manhood disappearing inside her.

         Serena moaned and began to rock back and forth against Connor, every motion sending shivers up her spine and through his body as they gyrated against one another.  This wasn't a quick fuck either; Serena took her time, each stroke and thrust of her hips timed with a deliberate perfection that made their lovemaking a smoldering slow burn that built pleasure upon pleasure every moment they were connected.

         The pressure in Connor's balls started to build.  It was more intense than anything he had ever felt; this woman knew just the right way to work him, until he could feel himself on the verge of one of the most powerful orgasms he had experienced in years.  His whole body tingled; his toes curled and his hips involuntarily thrust forward as he approached the peak.  Serena was right there with him, quivering in ecstasy as her own climax took her, vaginal muscles undulating and contracting around Connor's rock hard shaft.  Her body was coaxing him, urging him to burst ... and that's exactly what he did.  With a low, animalistic grunt, he grabbed Serena by the hips and thrust upward, burying himself as deeply inside her as possible while he spilled over inside her.  Serena moaned softly at the feeling of his release mingling with her own, and the two collapsed onto the lounge chair when they were both spent.

         Serena spent the night that night, and most of the others for the duration of Connor's trip.

III.

         Connor and Serena were nearly inseparable during his entire trip to Maui.  They shared their beds, meals, and free time with one another, exploring everything the island paradise had to offer, from the beaches of Lahaina and Wailea, to the breathtaking views atop Haleakala Crater, to the infamous Hana Highway and an overnight stay in the sleepy village on the other side of the island.

         From the very beginning, Connor had tried to be as clear as possible.  A month later, he had to go back to New York, and he wasn't looking for a long term relationship to take with him.  Everything he discovered in Hawaii, he expected to leave in Hawaii, and Serena said she was fine with that.  She just wanted to have a good time, and Connor was an exceptionally good lay.

         But the month came and went faster than either of them would have liked.  Despite the countless trips together, the beaches, making love in every position in every conceivable place on the island, Connor's flight loomed ever closer.  Serena was easily the most adventurous and talented lover Connor had ever known, but now it was time to say goodbye.

         As Serena drove Connor to Kahului Airport, she fought back the tears that she had promised herself she wouldn't shed.

         "I wish you weren't going," she said softly.

         "I know," Connor replied, holding her hand as she drove.  "These past few weeks have been amazing.  I'm not sure I'm ready to head back to the mainland and leave all this behind."

         "Then don't," Serena said suddenly, looking at him pleadingly with those brilliant hazel eyes.  "Stay here with me.  For at least a few more days."

         "I can't," Connor apologized.  "I have to get back to my life in New York.  People are counting on me."

         It was a tearful goodbye, even more so for the fact that they had both promised not to fill it with empty promises like that they would keep in touch, or that they'd come back to Maui and meet one another in a year's time ... nothing so trite.  They were both adults, and they knew this was the end.

         "Take care of yourself," Connor offered weakly as they called for his flight to begin boarding at the gate.  "I'll never forget you."

         "Nor I you," Serena said, eyes brimming with tears.

         Unable to bear the sight of her crying, Connor gave her a hug and one last, passionate departing kiss before turning around and heading for the short line at the security checkpoint.

IV.

         Connor spent the next few weeks thinking about Serena.  Maui had been meant as a getaway; a time for him to relax, unwind, and find himself again.  And he did manage to find a part of himself that he thought he had lost, but he also felt like he was leaving something behind when he boarded that plane in Kahului.

         Every once in a while, Connor would think he'd heard Serena's voice, or seen her on the other side of a subway car as he commuted to work.  When he made love, he thought about Serena and how crazy passionate she had been, even though he knew the dangers of fantasizing about another woman.  She was constantly on his mind, especially during intimate moments where he was reminded of what true, unadulterated passion felt like.

         One night, as he was carrying a bag of groceries up the steps of his uptown brownstone, he heard someone calling his name.

         "Connor!"

         He turned, and his jaw dropped, along with the bag of groceries he was carrying.  Serena was standing there, a huge smile plastered on her angelic face.

         "Serena?  What are you doing in New York?"

         "Look," she began, searching for the words.  "I'm not any good at this stuff, and I know we said we were going to leave things on Maui, but I couldn't stop thinking about you.  I think what we had was amazing ... amazing enough to travel across the entire country to come find you ... because I don't think we should throw it away."

         "Serena--"

         The brownstone's front door opened and a woman stepped out onto the stoop.

         "Connor?  Honey?  Is everything okay?"

         Connor looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and Serena was speechless as she stared at the woman on the stoop of Connor's apartment.  Blonde hair, blue eyes ... petite and very pretty ... with a wedding ring on her finger.  A matching band to the one now on Connor's ring finger.

         "Connor?  Who's this?"  She asked.

         "This is, uh ... this is Serena," Connor stammered as he scrambled to busy himself picking up the dropped groceries.  "She's a friend who was in town and decided to look me up."

         "Oh," the woman replied.  "Well, are you going to introduce us?"

         "Caroline, this is my friend Serena.  Serena, Caroline ... my wife."

         Serena looked like she had been punched in the gut.

         "Since my husband can't be bothered to be polite, would you like to come in and join us for dinner?"  Caroline asked.

         "N-No.  No."  Serena stuttered.  "I really have to get going.  I just wanted to drop by and say hello."

         "Well, it was nice to meet you.  We'll do dinner next time."

         "Sure," Serena said, and turned to leave.

V.

         A week later, Connor was at work when he secretary announced he had a visitor.  Before his secretary could say anything more, Serena pushed her way into Connor's office.

         "It's okay," Connor said, waving off his secretary, who was about to object to Serena's intrusion.  "Give us a couple minutes."

         Serena looked frazzled and upset.  Not at all like the cool, confident girl from the beaches of Maui.

         "Connor, I--"

         "Wait.  I should explain first.  About Caroline, and everything.  I should have told you that I was in Maui because we were trying a trial separation.  That we decided to spend a month apart, see other people, do our own thing ... basically take some time for ourselves and decide if we still wanted to be married to one another.  That's why I had to get back ... it was the end of the month, and I realized that I didn't want to throw away everything I had with my wife."

         Serena took a long moment to consider his words.  Most of the anger left her face and was instead replaced with sadness.

         "What about what I want?"  She asked eventually.

         "Huh?"

         "I know we said we were only going to spend that month together, and I understand the whole thing about your wife and the separation and everything.  I get that.  But what about what I want?  Don't I get a say in this?  I love you, Connor."

         Connor wasn't expecting that.

         "After you got on that plane, I thought I'd get over you.  Maybe not right away, but eventually, you know?  But I didn't.  I can't.  I don't want to get over you, Connor.  You make me feel more alive than I've ever felt before, and I don't want to lose that.  I don't want to lose you."

         Connor was speechless.  Here was the woman of his dreams (literally) saying that she wants to be with him.  But they had only been together during the trial separation, when both he and his wife were free to explore their needs and desires ... and they had since reunited and decided to give it another chance.

         "I'm sorry," Connor said.  "I have a wife ... a family.  I made a commitment to them, and I have to honor it.  I care for you too, Serena.  I really do ... but I have to do what's right by them."

         After that, there wasn't much more to say.

EPILOGUE

         Serena cried for days after leaving New York.  But it wasn't enough to just leave the city, or even head back to Maui.  She had to do something drastic and hopped on the first international flight she could book.  She cried during the entire transatlantic flight and well into her first week in Barcelona.

         Finally, it seemed as if she were getting her life back on track.  She had a hotel room near the coast, with a room that looked out over Estacio de Parc de Montjuic, with a rooftop cabana that had a view of the sparkling Mediterranean.

         While sunning at the cabana one morning, she took particular note of a devastatingly good looking man sitting on one of the lounge chairs a few yards away.  His broad chest and chiseled features caused her stomach to flutter, as did his Mediterranean skin color and dark, curly hair.

         "Buenas tardes," he said from behind a pair of designer sunglasses.  His smile told her that he knew she was checking him out ... and that the appreciation was mutual.

         "Quieres venir conmigo?"

         Serena was still painfully inept when it came to Spanish, but she was pretty sure he invited her to join him.  Hesitantly, she pulled up a lounge chair and joined him.  If there was any confusion on her part about his intentions before, that was quickly erased when he placed one of his large, rough hands on her knee and slowly slid it up her thigh, coming to rest just inches from her bikini-clad womanhood, which was becoming more aroused by the second.

         She may not have had much success forgetting Connor yet, or getting over the fact that he didn't choose her ... but a smoking hot Spanish hunk and a resort on the Barcelona coast was shaping up to be one hell of a way to try.



(2,961 words)