A Badly Needed Break

Ellie was no stranger to rash decisions. She'd been this way her entire life. That star she had tattooed on her ankle? She thought about it for five minutes. That period she'd gone with bleach blonde hair? Maybe two minutes tops. Breaking up with her boyfriend of three years? She didn't even think about it. She'd just decided one day that she was bored, and needed something new from life. Now that rash decision had caused some ripple effects. Ripple effects that fractured her personal life and caused a split in the shared friends group she and her boyfriend had enjoyed together. Many of her friends had turned on her, claiming that she'd ambushed Tyler. That she was making a big mistake. That she was being selfish and cruel. So one rash decision begets another, and before Ellie knew it she'd booked a flight to Cabo San Lucas and found herself a resort reservation for a week. She'd just needed to get away. She convinced herself if she could let the animosity blow over while she was away, she'd find her life basically how it was before the breakup. She was going to go alone, and she wasn't going to befriend anybody. No boys, nothing.

Ellie had been in Cabo for almost four days now. She'd managed to put her phone in the room safe and not look at it once. And she'd taken the opportunity to spend all day, every day, relaxing on the beach. After all the drama back home, she made every possible appointment she could at the spa. She'd been to a massage, a mud bath, the sauna and steam rooms, and had a facial done yesterday. Anything to help her forget the mess she left behind.

She also enjoyed a fair amount of margs. She made sure to always have one in hand. She wanted to get the full value of the all-inclusive resort. The constant presence of margs may have been the culprit for when she slipped walking through the hotel lobby last night, which caused her to stumble and snap the strap on her flip flops. After judging that they were basically done for, Ellie decided she'd go out and try to find a cheap pair she could wear for the rest of the trip.

Ellie made her way out in a pair of sandals she'd swiped from the spa. Just enough stability to get her to a store. She walked out the resort and down the sidewalk, seeing that a beach shop was just down the road. The perfect cheap shop to grab just what she needed and then get back to the sand.

Ellie admittedly stood out like a sore thumb in Mexico. Her pale skin and light brown hair that she kept down to the middle of her neck immediately drew gazes as being somebody in a foreign place. She had soft brown eyes, and stood at 5'4" weighing 125lbs. She maintained an hourglass figure that she was accentuating this day with her light blue bikini top and denim booty shorts she'd chosen as her outfit. She'd intended to get to the beach immediately, and had even packed her tote bag with a towel, sunscreen, and a romance novel she'd been planning on reading.

She entered the store, a bell lightly ringing as it closed behind her. "Hello? Hola?" She called out. Nobody came to answer, and she wondered if the store was closed. She shrugged her shoulders, somebody will come soon. She walked over to the wall, looking at the pairs of flip flops on display racks. She checked the prices, hoping the cheapest ones weren't ugly. They were. Hot pink atrocities that she couldn't stomach buying.

She continued to peruse, and heard the bell ring again as an older gentleman entered alone. Ellie turned her head briefly, hoping he was the employee she'd been waiting for. But judging from his appearance it was more than likely he was also a fellow resort guest. He had an odd look to him. He was tall and gaunt. Maybe 6'5" and 180lbs. He kept his long greying hair back in a ponytail. He wore glasses that covered blue eyes. He wore a grey t-shirt and tan cargo shorts, with white socks and dad sneakers on. Ellie noted the strange man, and turned to look as she focused in on a standard brown pair. As she reached out she heard a deep voice over her shoulder.

"I think so too, a much better choice than those pink ones."

Ellie turned around, and the man was standing there behind her as he kept his arms around his back.

"That is, if you wanted my opinion." He said with a smile as he politely nodded, extending his hand out and introducing himself. "Im sorry, this is so rude of me. I'm Mark. What's your name?"

Ellie extended hers in return. The man didn't seem intimidating or off putting. There was a softness to him that didn't infringe even as he approached her. She kindly smiled as she turned around and extended her hand out. "I'm Ellie. It's nice to meet you Mark. And yeah, aren't they terrible to look at?" She said with a laugh. She grabbed the brown pair off the rack as she looked around. "Where is ANY employee? Do you work here?"

"Oh gosh no." He said with a laugh. "I was just in here looking for a new beach towel. Mine got ruined yesterday and I figured this would be the place. And you definitely seem like you're in the market for a new pair of sandals." He said, as Ellie felt his eyes peering down at her feet. She had size 7 foot that she kept pedicured, her current iteration a soft pink color.

"Oh, yeah I busted my flip flops last night. I tripped. So I'm using these special spa ones. I think these will get the job done. I just don't want to steal them." She said, holding them from her hand as she tried to peer behind the counter. No luck.

"Well, I'm no employee or anything. But I think if I were you I'd go with those leather ones over here." He said, pointing towards a dark brown pair of flip flops. They looked legit, a really nice pair. But they were twice the price of the ones she was holding.

"Oh, well they're very nice but they're like twice the price. I can't justify that." She said as she kindly tried to step aside and carry her flip flops to the cash register.

"Well, what if I bought them for you?" He asked, stopping Ellie in her tracks.

"Really?" She said, spinning around and looking at him. She was never one to turn down something free. Especially something as throwaway as a pair of flip flops. "I mean, if you're offering." She said with a shrug, walking over and placing her cheap pair back on the rack as she grabbed the leather ones.

"Well, shouldn't we try them on?" He said, motioning towards a small bench that sat against the wall.

"Oh, yeah sure. I guess." She said as she dropped her tote bag and sat down. She dropped the new sandals onto the floor, and was about to move her feet over to the new shoes as he stopped her.

"Well, one moment. Do you mind?" He said, dropping to his knees in front of her as he took one shoe in his hand. He slowly reaches down, lifting her up by her ankle and gently removing her sandal as he holds her foot up in the air for a moment. "Wow...." He mutters, before gently guiding the new flip flop onto her foot.

"Umm..." Ellie stammers, not entirely sure how to handle what just happened between them. "Yeah, the shoes look Good." She said, unsure of what the price of these "free" shoes really was. Was this one of those weirdo foot fetish guys? She shifted slightly in her seat as her one foot was let down as the other raised. His hands felt.. well... comforting? There was this mix of strength and softness in his grip. And as his fingers lightly brushed against her toes while switching out the shoes, she couldn't help but feel a certain tingle run up her leg.

"Well, Thankyou, they look good!" She said, awkwardly smiling as she let both of her feet drop down to the floor. The new flip flops felt much better, and she wiggled her toes a bit as she looked down at them. "They feel way better than those spa ones." She said with a nervous laugh. "Well, I think I'll go ring the bell now and we'll be on our way? You still need to find that towel don't you?" She says as she stands up and grabs her tote bag.

He smiles as he stands up with her. Now that they're facing one another, Ellie is a bit taken by how much she has to strain her neck just to look up at him. He looks down at her, and she can still feel his eyes going down to her legs and feet. "Yes, well, let me tell you something. I'm pretty sure I can just grab one at the hotel. But Ellie, I must say, there's something about you I find fascinating. And I'd like to get to know you better."

Ellie raises her eyebrows, gripping her tote bag against her chest as she looks up at him. "You've found me fascinating already?" She asks, skepticism already flowing from her voice. She had a hard time believing a guy she thought was trying to get in her pants. "I'm sorry but I find that hard to believe. Seems like you're trying to smooth talk."

He opened his arms to try and offer a reassuring posture. "Oh no, not at all." He said. "I totally understand your skepticism. After all, we've just met. How would I know? But Ellie, there's a certain aura about you. Something that's drawing me in. You see, I'm a writer by trade. And you have something about you that I want to get more familiar with." He said as he smiled, his eyes tracing up and down Ellie.

"So what, you're writing a short story and I'm the main character?" Ellie said, her eyes remaining strained in skepticism as she listening to this stranger. She kept her arms crossed in front of her.

"Oh no, not quite. I wouldn't call myself a fiction writer. It's actually really rooted in reality. I'll tell you what. Can I buy you a drink and explain? And maybe you can tell me all about you?" He said.

Ellie looked around, glancing back at the unoccupied register. She wasn't mad at the idea of a free drink at the resort bar. Maybe he'd cover a couple margs for Her. She didn't quite believe his writer slant. But she was admittedly interested in seeing where he was taking this. It didn't hurt that he'd been very complimentary at a time she needed it. "You know what? I think I'd like that. Shouldn't we pay first?"

He smiled, bending over and picking up the spa sandals as he set them down on the rack. "I don't think anybody's going to notice." He said with a smile as he gestured towards the door.

Ellie shrugs and walks out with him by her side. As he opens the door the bell rings and they step out onto the street again.

They walked along the sidewalk, Mark taking the gentlemanly approach by walking on the side closest to the road. "So, Ellie. I guess we can start with you before we get to drinks. Tell me about yourself."

"Well, what's there to say? I'm Ellie, I'm 23, I work as a recruiter for a tech company. And I'm here because I just went through a nasty breakup. And I needed to get away." She shared as they entered the resort and passed through the lobby to the bar facing the ocean.

"A breakup? Well I'm sorry to hear that. I've found that in my line of work I have to stay an arms distance away from relationships that get serious. It just complicated things." He says as they walk into the bar. He finds a table situated against a railing that overlooks the ocean and pulls a chair out for her. "Please, take a seat." Ellie took her seat as she sat and looked across the table from Mark. She looked around, wondering where the waiter was as mark continued. "But I digress, why don't you tell me more about this breakup?"

Ellie sat for a moment, wondering what he was trying to get at. His remark about staying away from relationships had caused a curiosity within her. "Oh, well, I guess the shine just wore off, you know?" She said, the waiter coming by the table.

"I'll just have a corona, and what about you?" Mark asked.

"A margarita please. Salt not sugar." She said with a smile, and the waiter was off with the order. "And yeah, I think I just needed something new. You know?"

Mark nodded knowingly. "I totally get that. I think we all have those moments in our lives where we need to just start fresh. Experience something new. Explore who we really are. I get the feeling you're in that stage now." He said.

"Yeah! That's totally it. I got some hate for ending things the way I did. But this is my life, and I can't help but live it the way I want to!" She said as she watched the waiter drop a glass bottle and her marg on the table. She took a sip, her eyes bulging. "Oh! That is strong!" She said with a laugh.

Mark laughed as he took a sip of his beer. "And so you're here... alone? You haven't mentioned anybody else with you on this trip." He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh yeah, I had to get away. From everybody. Including family." She said as she took another sip. "But, that's enough about me! Aren't you supposed to tell me about the story you're going to write about me?"

"Oh, yes, well about that." He said, leaning forward onto the table with his elbows. "Well. I'm a columnist of sorts. Sort of a journalist, doing research and sharing what I learn." He says as he takes a sip of his drink. "To put it frankly, I'm a sex writer." He says as he shrugs his shoulders, knowing it's a weird sell.

"I'm sorry, a WHAT?" She says, attempting poorly to contain her laughter. "I'm sorry, that's ridiculous! There's no such thing."

"What? You don't believe me?" He says, taking out his phone and beginning to type. "I hope it's not because you don't think I'm good looking enough." He says with a grin.

"Oh my, well now you've got me in an unfair spot! I never said that!" She said with a laugh. He wasn't conventionally attractive, but he was interesting to look at. She found her gaze not moving away from his, despite the ocean view just to her right. "It just seems a bit... made up."

He turned his phone over to a website. Mark McDermott Online. Sure enough, there were posts linking to various articles he had written. What Happened in Vegas... Made it to this Blog was the current top listing. Advertisements adorned the sidebars as his website looked... Well, legit. "I travel around the world, and seek out interviews, stories, really anything I think is compelling." He said as he closed his phone and put it away.

"Okay, so like you're just covering sex related topics?" She said, putting her own elbow on the table and resting her head on her hand. "And what makes you qualified to write on the topic? Aside from your Hollywood looks."

"Not exactly, or not entirely. Sometimes I cover broader topics, offer my thoughts on trends. But sometimes I just listen to what makes people tick. And other times I share my own personal experiences." He said, leaning back in his chair as Ellie felt the need to push further forward in her seat. "And what makes me qualified? I guess it's my ability to pull those stories out of people. To get them to open up in ways they haven't before."

"So, if I'm getting this right, you sometimes have sex with people and write about it?" She said, taking another sip of her drink as she crossed her legs underneath the table. Subconsciously she let her new flip flop dangle from the ball of her foot, lightly tapping it against the sole of her foot.

"Well, not without their consent. And I use a lot of aliases to ensure privacy. Such as Ellie would get changed to Alice." He said.

"Oh, so you've already got an name picked out for me?" She said with a grin. "Seems a bit presumptive, doesn't it?"

He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as he quietly said "well, what do you like to be called?"

Ellie felt her heart leap for a moment. There was something in his confidence, something in the way he spoke to her. She looked back at him and smiled, taking a sip as she thought to herself 'are we really doing this?' She leaned back, raising her eyebrows at him as he felt him undressing her with his eyes. "So are you here on vacation, or assignment?"

She liked that he leaned further forward as she leaned back. "I don't usually like to expose my motivations. I find it usually hampers my work." He said, taking a big sip of his corona. "I just meet a beautiful woman with some incredible feet and I just have to introduce myself. It's really that simple."

"Oh, it's really that simple?" She said, taking a sip of her drink as she leaned forward, their faces the closest together they've been. "You know, I've never had a guy approach me for something like that before."

He smiled at her. "I find that to be quite surprising."

"Oh really? The sex writer is surprised by something?" She says with a teasing grin. "I suppose not though, I don't really understand the fascination anyway."

"I'm very surprised, I'd have thought someone would've brought it up. How old are you?"

"I'm 23."

"Wow..." he groaned, as he craned his neck to look below the table at her toes. She could see him take a deep breath as he stared, his forearms showing a tight grip on the table.

"And you?"

"Uhhhh....." he continued to stare. Ellie smiled at him as she let her flip flop drop to the floor, raising her foot up and brushing it against his thigh.

"My eyes are up here." She said as she leaned back in her seat.

"I'm 48..." he said, taking a big sip of his corona as he almost finished in.

"And I thought you were 55." She grinned, taking a final sip of her marg.

He chuckled nervously. She liked that there was something about her that kept him on the ropes. "That doesn't bother you?" He asked as he leaned forward.

"Why would that bother me? Was something going to happen here?" She said as she raised her foot up again, pressing into his thigh.

"Well, I guess that depends." He shrugs his shoulders.

"Depends on what?" She asks as she leans back in.

"Oh, so there's an opening?" He says with a grin as he leans back, finishing his beer.

"Are you really making me chase after you?" She asked as she leaned further forward. She pressed her foot against his thigh again.

He grabbed her foot and held it against his thigh. "No, I'm just trying to get you to follow me up to my room." He said, slowly dragging her foot up his thigh, over the fabric of his shorts until her toes glanced off of the tip of his growing bulge.

Ellie bit her lip, taking a deep breath as she tried to steady her heart rate. Her foot was way too close to his knee to be hitting his cock. "And what makes you think I'll do that?" She asks, gripping her toes around his bulge.

"I've just got an idea. I'm experienced in these things." He said as he pulled out a few bills. "This should be enough." He said, standing up as he extends his hand out to Ellie.

She smiles at him, pausing for a moment. What's the worst that could happen? She puts her shoe back on and takes his hand. He wraps his arm around her, leading her off to the elevator as they stroll slowly together. They get on the elevator and he hits the button for the top floor. Without speaking, he leads her to his room at the end of the hallway. "You never told me what you like to be called" he says as he unlocks the door.

She smirks at him as she follows him inside. The room is outfitted with a king size bed, a long couch that sits at the foot of the bed, floor to ceiling windows with a balcony overlooking the ocean, and a bathroom with tub and shower separates. He closes the door behind them as he takes her hand and leads her to the couch. He sits down with her. "Please, relax" he says, motioning for her to lean against the arm rest and raise her feet up on his lap. "Wow...." He groans again, seeing them laid in front of him. "I... wow.... Ellie....." he says, slowly slipping one flip flop off at a time. He stares at her soft bare feet, his fingers lightly tracing around her sole as he shifts in his seat, adjusting his shorts.

Ellie brings her foot down his lap, pressing against his bulge with her right foot. "I like to be called princess" she said, resting her head on her hand. "So, what do you do with them?"

"Princess, you just lay back and relax. I'll take care of you" he said, lifting up her left foot, bringing it close to his face, and slowly licking up the sole of her foot, a loud groan escaping his lips.