And He Called It Research

"Wonderful, maybe we can utilize your ideas."

"I hope we can."

Then Earl explained his plan and Melvin said, "I love it Earl. Damn I hope we can have had that up and running in time for this group."

Earl closed his notebook and pushing his chair back from Melvin's desk he said, "One thing we do know from past groups is, the second week is always a lot different than the first week."

"That's so true Earl. We'll talk again in a few days."

Chapter Sixteen

Saturday evening at dinner, Wendy announced that there would be a meeting at the day room at ten thirty Sunday morning and that everybody needed to be there to hear what they had to say.

Sunday morning was like all of the mornings before, clear and mild and quite warm. The ocean had more wave action than usual and that sent a lot of the guests to the shore to watch the still modest waves roll in. At breakfast Wendy again told everybody about the important meeting at ten thirty. Everybody was curious what they were going to say, so there would be no absent guests, and Wendy's assistant did a head count both at dinner and again at breakfast to be sure that nobody could have missed the announcement.

Coffee and juices were just inside of the entrance to the day room, and by ten twenty all but one or two were seated and sipping their beverage of choice. The last two strolled in right at ten thirty and Wendy picked up the microphone. "Good morning everybody. You all look tanned and happy and I like to see that. Now to review a few things before we go too far. The gentleman that finances all of this; the island and everything you see on the island, is his and he chooses to use it for research rather than for his own enjoyment. The cost of just one group of thirty guests such as yourself, when it's all added up, comes to a half a million dollars minimum not including the island , so he has a tremendous investment at stake and all for reasons of research. All of you have been minimally inconvenienced, especially when compared to the effort and expense that goes into all of this, and that's we want to keep it that way as much as possible.

She paused for effect and let the microphone down to her side as she moved across the floor a few steps with her head down as though she was thinking about what she had to say next. "All of you have had seven days as of this morning, to enjoy all that this island has to offer and that is a lot." Then taking a breath she said, "The shuttles will be around at two o'clock to move all ten of you to your new cottage and your new roommate." All ten of them, stood up in shock because all of the emotional investment they had put into their temporary homes and they temporary spouses would now be lost, and they would have to start all over again. Women cried and men's tempers rose into their throats until they felt they were choking. Arms went around their partner and they held them tightly as they whispered back and forth.

Wendy stood still and watched the entropy wash over the small group as they all talked at once and got louder so their loves could hear over the din. They were all devastated and angry, and totally powerless to do anything but accept their lot.

"I'm so sorry we must do this, but our research demands have to be considered. A whole staff of people works night and day to organize and study the data that we provide to them. Go back and enjoy the hours you still have, but be at your cottages at two o'clock so the transition can go smoothly and you can all get settled into your new cottages and get on with your vacations." With that she shut the microphone off and put it on the stand before leaving the building through the side door.

Everybody left with arms around each other and in Wayne, Sonja and Linda's case they had to release their hold on each other to get through the door, but were soon in their own little knot as they walked back to their cottage in near silence. Once inside though the went into a hug and then they traded kisses until they found themselves in bed where they made love one last time. Linda and Sonja kissed each other deeply that time as they struggled to deal with the news. Wayne used his passion for his two women and his anger at the world to fuel his marathon performance with them. They all climaxed and still they pushed themselves for more, perhaps hoping they could save it for when they were in their new cottage and hiding from everybody.

Joey and Elise made love and cried together only to make love again. Martin and Liz knew they would see each other at home, but still they made frantic love one more time. Walt with Beth, Charlie and Alana, Darren and Rita, all reacted much the same along with Al and Dodie and all of the others, because of course, all three cottage groups got the same message at the same time and with the same response from the guests.

The shuttle schedule was a work of art as they moved guests without encountering another shuttle. Each shuttle driver had a small headset that he listened to, and if needed could talk into. If a shuttle was coming toward another, they had a plan for which one would divert onto a small two track lane that would end at the same place, but bypass the other shuttle. On it went until all thirty guests were deposited at their new home and then the shuttles were gone.

It was now as quiet as it was when there were no guests. Not one was eager to run down to the beach or line up for a massage or watch a movie. They were all in their cottages trying to be nice and talk with their new roommate who was in no better shape or any more eager to be sociable. That lasted for all of maybe thirty minutes. Then the talking began in the cottages, and then more talking and getting comfortable with beverages from the little mini fridge in the cottage in hand.

Next came the few that weren't as traumatized as the others. They made their way to chaise lounges and would continue to talk and sip drinks and then walk and talk. But now all of the meeting and mixing would have to happen before anymore mating could begin.

Things were different this time however. They were all acclimated to being naked and looking at naked bodies. Infidelity had become a given, and with hearts broken, meaningful relationships were going to be harder to find. Those intense loves that had formed at their first homes were often formed out of need. The need for something tangible to hold onto in this foreign world. A way of coping with everything including temptation. This time, if a roommate was nice or perhaps just pleasant to live with, then that would be the match. They had seven days to get on with their vacations, so the idea of wasting time looking for someone they might consider the right one for them, was frequently removed from consideration. Now it was more about forming quick bonds and for a few of them it was a matter of laughing and screwing, and one about as often as the other. Wayne would continue to carry a torch for Linda, but he liked Allie his new roommate, so unless she rejected him, they would be together for seven days and hopefully mate at least one time each of those days.

The women felt differently but not a lot. Their hearts had been broken and they weren't about to set themselves up to be hurt like that again. In Wayne and Allie's case, they were a good match, so precious little time was wasted on preliminaries. They would talk through the day and then sleep together and by Tuesday they discovered they were very sexually compatible.

Another example was Joey, who was now in Staghorn cottage of Tropic Treat, and Beth was his roommate and future lover. He was in for a surprise and a treat when he found out she was a swinger, a woman seven years his senior and very practiced in lovemaking.

Sunday was a lost day for everybody, but Monday morning the beach was once again full of naked bodies and smiling faces and half hard cocks. Women were once again checking out the other guys just as the guys were checking out the new women. By Monday evening Al and Dodie could be seen screwing on a blanket on the beach with the setting sun illuminating his ass. Oh, the stories Al and Beth were going to have to tell each other. It would take them hours and maybe days to get it out of their systems. Then they'd have to tell them all again the next time they went to the club to swap.

Tuesday afternoon the beach and the chaise lounges of the three cottage groups were littered with bodies, and if they were on a large beach towel or a blanket they were either screwing or resting after mating. A frenzy of fucking was what Ray called it Tuesday night at dinner. But the metamorphosis to no holds barred screwing didn't apply to all couples. For example, Linda met Darren, and though she still had Wayne in her heart, Darren was wonderful to her and with her. It was a fast, and to her, a meaningful bond that they had formed by Tuesday.

Wednesday brought a new day with yet more sunshine and even a couple of surprises.

Chapter Sixteen

The Corals lay on the shore of the northwest side of the island, and The Blossoms, a carbon copy of the Corals lay at the northeast third of the island. Tropic Treat was across the island on the south side of the half mile wide island and they had beach going both ways, but their west side was slightly restricted because that way was limited by old eroded lava formations that jutted out into the ocean, and going the other way, the lagoon where the ferries came and went and the welcome center were at that end of the island. To their left was about an equal amount of beach to stroll, but the forbidden zone was about the same distance from them as the lava barrier was in the other direction. The three groups were about equally distant from each other and they had a comparable amount of area to explore.

Those facts would become more significant to the guests in the coming days, because now that they were all veterans of the island, they had a natural tendency to expand their horizons. That of course meant that more and more people were walking right up to the sign that said, 'do not proceed'. They could easily see well beyond the sign of course and that would often tweak their curiosity.

Lacey was in a lounge chair straight out from the Papaya cottage Monday morning and the line between the very warm morning sun and the shade was just beyond her feet. Charlie noticed her well before he got close to her and stopped by her feet, and pointing down he said, "Don't look now, but you'll never get a sunburn back there."

She smiled and said, "Sure, now you tell me. I've been here for an hour waiting for that to happen."

"May I?"

"Why not, but you'll never get your burn either."

"Sacrifices must be made sometimes to get what one wants," and he dropped into the lounge next to her.

"And what does one want this predictably sunny day?"

"Well this one wanted to sit next to you right after I saw you tucked into the shade, and looking so very nice, I might add."

"Please do add, I never object to flattery."

"Then you must swim in it every day. I'm Charlie."

"Hi Charlie, I'm Lacey, and where are you staying?"

"I'm in Jackfruit. Did you know that the Jackfruit is the largest tropical Treat in the world that comes from a tree?"

"Sad to say, I'm not well versed in Jackfruit."

"It tastes sweet, something like a banana or pineapple, but with a strong, tangy aroma and taste. I know all of this and more because it's in my cottage notebook."

"So you actually read that then."

"I actually did, because I didn't know if I was ready to come out and play among strangers again."

"That was a dastardly thing they did to us yesterday."

"I can understand it, but I hated it until now."

"Oh Charlie, now aren't you the smooth one and thank you. I take it you had to leave a loved one behind."

"Like so many others I'm sure, I did suffer the pain of losing a loved one to research."

"It's a little difficult to truly relax because we aren't in control of our lives at all."

"You know, I wonder how much control we have of our lives at home. A lot I'm sure, but I have moments when I really do wonder."

"Charlie, you're swimming in deep waters. Take my advice and stay in the shallows with me and take it one day at a time."

"So you're not committed to a new acquaintance. Say your roommate?"

"Nice as he is, no I'm not. I was even tempted to adopt him simply because he's there and that would make my time here less complicated, but I didn't choose that easy road. Thankfully here you are and now I know that I'm wise beyond my years."

"And that's to my good fortune. Okay, let's take a moment and run our fingers through our reality outside of this island. You have to be married or you wouldn't be here."

"I am and his name is Kyle, and you?"

"My wife is Dodie, and yes I do love her."

"Your good fortune began long before coming here then. I don't love Kyle. At least not anymore. I've discovered that I've lived with him out of convenience is the best way I can put it."

"Lacey, I truly am sorry to hear that, but you seem to be handling it."

"Oh it's going to get ugly when we go home, but that's then. Right now I can do nothing about anything beyond our little zone here at The Corals."

"I really am impressed with your stoic approach and your inner strength."

"So are we good enough friends to hold hands and go for a long walk to continue our bonding?"

"There's nothing I'd like better."

They walked to the left for awhile, turned around and walked back, arriving just in time for lunch, and then an hour relaxing in the coolness that the dayroom offered them. They talked and she told him about a movie she had watched the week before and how good it was, but she didn't share any intimate details with him. They absentmindedly watched a naked maid dusting. A trim dark complexioned, middle aged woman with breasts swinging back and forth. "How you two doing," she asked as she neared them.

Lacey smiled and said, "We're doing great and you?"

"Oh, I'm fine thank you. Have you two been down the beach?"

"We were, but we were thinking about going the other way, at least as far as we can."

She looked around and then leaning close to them, and with Charlie's eyes on her breasts no more than a foot from him, she said, "I'd get in trouble for telling you this, but if you go to the right, go as far as you can and sometimes you can see people from The blossoms walking the beach. At least it might be different faces to look at and people to talk to. What they did to all of you Sunday was just awful. But remember, you didn't hear it from me."

Charlie smiled and said, "We'll call you Alice, and thank you for telling us."

"You're most welcome, have a nice day. You two make a nice looking couple by the way."

"Thank you."

Refreshed and rested, Charlie and Lacey took off going to the right down the beach. The fronds of the palm trees swayed ever so slightly in the light tropical breeze and the water was nearly calm. The green of the island was so intense that it almost looked artificial, but Charlie and Lacey didn't notice that detail right then. They were looking at each other or at the sand in front of them as they walked along barefoot in the narrow band of dark wet sand at the waters edge, and they talked. They talked about the back home, about their roommates and their loves from the previous week.

"Charlie had you ever been unfaithful to your wife before this vacation?"

"Never and I didn't plan to be while here, but somewhere along the way my world changed."

"I'm sure you've thought about it, but it's safe to assume things have changed for your wife too."

"I have no doubt. At first that really bothered me, but then for whatever reason those problems went away. Of course it is my hope that we'll go home and go back to our monogamous life."

"I hope it goes well for you. Go home with incredible memories but with books balanced."

"I'm hoping. So I take it you and..."

"Kyle."

"Sorry yes, you and Kyle won't be pursuing any fence mending."

"I don't have a clue how I'll handle it, but in the end the marriage will be over. I'll have to tell him that I simply don't love him and his overgrown ego isn't going to handle that very well at all. After all, he's God's gift to women and to the world."

He slipped his arm around her waist and said, "I almost feel sorry for him for losing you, but it doesn't sound like he deserves you anyway."

"I want to find somebody like you Charlie."

"Beautiful Lacey, if there is anybody that could pull me away from my Dodie it would be you," and he stopped her and kissed her as his hand drifted down to her firm butt. When they came up for air he said, "Oh damn lady."

She didn't smile. She kissed him again and then said, "I agree Charlie, oh damn. We better keep walking love." His arm stayed around her, and hers ended up around him as they slowly walked on toward the sign and the start of the forbidden zone.

"Lacey, something just occurred to me. Each cottage group has five cottages which means five couples. That means we would each have a one in five chance of seeing our spouses. So if for example, that couple coming toward us could be your husband, my wife or even both of them. Assuming of course that they aren't over at the other group, the...the Tropic Treat."

"My god, that's right Charlie. But then since we don't know which place our spouses are in that comes to a one in ten chance. Still not out of the question to run into a husband or a wife though."

"With one in ten odds I'd buy a whole lot of lottery tickets all the time."

The other couple was still well down the shore, but even at their slow pace, with the two couples sauntering toward each other, the gap between them was closing at a respectable rate. "Well one thing I can say Lacey, is that isn't my wife." She didn't answer so he looked over at her and she was staring straight ahead. She lifted her chin slightly, pulled her shoulders back and took longer steps. "Lacey, that's your husband isn't it."

She didn't look up at Charlie, but she said, "Don't let go of me Charlie because that flat headed bastard with his arm around the women is my husband."

"Then let's go back now."

"No, I want him to see us together, and I want him to know that I've seen him with another woman so he can't deny it later."

The thick tropical growth rustled very softly as the air would shift, and the leaves would jockey for a new position, but that was the only sound. That and their feet on the sand and the sound of them breathing. "Hi Kyle," she called out and then waved. Kyle and Linda, his woman, stopped and stared at Lacey, and Charlie as she put her hand on Charlie's cock and held it as she called out, "I'm filing for divorce as soon as we get home," and then she turned her back to them. They walked back the way they came while Charlie's hand rode on her butt and Lacey put her left hand on his ass.

"Lacey honey, that's going to make for a very long flight home."

She smiled and said, "Charlie, I can't find the words that describe how good I feel right now. I'm not going to ruin my remaining time here stewing over him, and I'm not going to go home and spend a week or more going through the hell of arguing. I know what he and I both have been doing for the last week and a half. I know what I want and what I have to do, and I had the chance to get it started. Take me home and make love to me Charlie, make love to me often and well. Not to help me hide from misery, but to celebrate the beginning of my new life."

His arm went back to her waist again as he said, "You know, with you telling him now that you want a divorce you probably ruined his day and maybe a lot more."

"Damn honey, you do know how to make me feel even better."

Chapter Seventeen