Fran's Escape

===== THURSDAY =====

The hot August sun bore down on me like God's wrath. No idea if it was global warming, or something else, but this summer was hotter than any I've experienced before. Well, maybe not as hot as the one in '98 when our A/C had broken down for an entire week, but that was circumstantial.

It was four in the afternoon, and I had already been off work for two hours, so I had plenty of time to lounge around the pool, and work on my tan. Over the last couple of days, my skin had turned a nice shade of brown that even supermodels could be jealous of. Although that was about the extent of their potential envy.

All in all, it was a perfectly ordinary, if hot, summer day. I wore a simple, yellow, two piece bikini. A plain old bikini for plain old Fran. It couldn't get any more modest than that, and not even the deacon would have cause to complain. Indeed, everything was perfectly normal. Nothing unusual whatsoever. Certainly nothing immoral.

"Ty!" I called, just loud enough for someone listening through the open window on the second floor to hear.

Leonard, my husband, was off at work, doing only God knows what—or who. My firstborn was the only one in the house, home from college for the tail end of summer break.

"What's up, Ma?" he said, poking his head through the sliding door, less than a minute later.

"Could you, maybe, help me put on lotion?" I swallowed, and felt my heart racing. Just the slightest glimmer of excitement washed through me.

"Sure." My boy was never a man of many words, but when he spoke, he spoke with certainty.

I flipped over, lying on my stomach. He approached, and grabbed the sunblock from the nearby table. I couldn't see him anymore, but heard the snap of the bottle. Then, a cool glob of cream landed on my back, followed by Ty's hand. His touch was electrifying, and I nearly gasped at the contact. After years of working as a mechanic, my husband's fingers were rough and calloused, but Ty's were incredibly soft and smooth.

The flat of his hands pressed down on my shoulders, working the lotion into my skin. Only a couple of weeks earlier, his hands had been terribly clumsy, but now they were confident. He moved on to my neck, then down to my shoulder blades. I can't tell you how amazing it felt to be caressed by another's touch after years of neglect. It was good enough to forget who it was that was doing it. The sun was warm on my skin, but paled in comparison to the fire of his contact. His hands slid to my sides, and the tips of his fingers lightly grazed the side of my tits. Accidental or not, my nipples hardened.

"Oh lord, that feels so good," I whispered. Spurned on by my encouragement, he worked his deft hands lower, down my spine, stopping just above my pelvis. He skipped past my butt, since it was covered by my bikini bottom, making me wish I had worn a thong instead.

Another splash of cream hit me, this time on my calf. He worked the lotion in quickly, with long and firm passes over my ankles, and the backs of my knees. He moved on to my feet, holding each foot with two hands, and using his thumbs to massage the balls and heels. I couldn't help but sigh in pleasure at the little ritual the two of us had developed.

Then came the part I had been anticipating the most. He dispensed more lotion, directly on my upper thighs. Slowly and carefully, he worked his way from my knee to halfway up the thigh. The closer he got to my pussy, the harder it was to lie still. The teasing made me want to turn around, rip his pants off, and ride his stiff cock, hard and fast. Juices started flowing, and I hoped it wasn't too obvious.

I started squirming around—just a little bit. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Then he stopped, mere inches from my vagina, and resumed his work on the other leg. The whole process repeated itself once more, and drove me half insane. Hands circled around my thigh, and slid higher. Closer, closer, closer... until suddenly the edge of his finger made contact with my outer labia.

Excitement coursed through my veins, as his finger moved up and down my lips, separated only by cloth mere fractions of an inch thick. I heard him breathing hard. His finger kept moving up and down, lubricated by my fluids. He pressed in, his finger encompassed by my lips, but held back by the bikini.

I knew that everything about it was wrong, but until now, nothing had happened. Yesterday, he'd stopped just short of actually reaching my special place. Truth be told, I hadn't expected him to actually go for it. It had been like a little game between the two of us over the last couple of weeks. Every day, he'd dared just a little more. An inch further up my thigh a week.

"Honey, I'm home!" Leonard's voice rang through the living room, and out the open patio door, followed by the sound of the front door slamming shut. My eyes shot wide open. Ty jumped up, and fled inside, quick as jackrabbit.

"I'm out here," I yelled back, voice trembling, heart thumping. My panties were soaked, though that was fortunately covered up by the floral pattern.

"There you are!" His voice was cheerful, but at that moment it sounded to me like a rake being scraped across my brain. Why couldn't he have stayed late at work, like usual? "Everything ok, sugar?"

"Everything's peachy."

"Oh, you look a little flushed, is all. Looks like you've been sweating, too. You sure you're not coming down with anything?"

"No, I feel fine. It's just the heat," I lied. I felt far more than fine. Like a supercharged sexual battery, ready to pop at any moment.

"Sure has been hot recently, huh? Better come in, anyway. I got something to show you."

I sighed. The moment had passed, anyway. I hadn't felt that good in years, and then poof, in comes my husband, and it's gone. Might as well have been a euphemism for my life. God, how I wished things were different. Guilt, and shame washed over me, and I felt like I might be a little sick after all. All I wanted was for the fire to be back, like when we had been younger. I was so desperate, I almost let my son... no, nothing had happened. It was just a light touch. Barely more than grazing. It might as well not have happened.

Leonard stood in the doorway, and grabbed me by the shoulders. "Here, let me look at you."

The rough, calloused grip on my shoulders was almost unbearable, a stark contrast to just seconds earlier. I wanted to break free of it, and run away. When I took a step forward, he released me. Just after I stepped over the threshold, I felt his hands on my shoulders again, and he drew me in to place a kiss on my neck. Under regular circumstances that might have been erotic—by Leonard's standards it was exceedingly so—but I started to actually feel nauseous.

"Excu—urgh," I rushed down the hallway to the toilet, dropped on my knees, and retched. After flushing the contents of my stomach down, I felt better. Maybe I really was getting sick.

What if Leonard hadn't announced himself, and walked in on us? Stupid, stupid Fran.

"Told you," gloated Leonard from the doorway.

"What did you want to show me?" I asked, even though I didn't particularly care for hearing another word out of that smartass mouth just then.

"Take a look at this."

He handed me a pamphlet. The cover showed a large, fancy building, with the logo "The Trout Lake Deluxe" right above it.

"What's this?"

"That, dear, is the Trout Lake Deluxe," he parroted the pamphlet. "One of the finest hotels in this great state, situated right on the shores of the beautiful Trout Lake." Sure enough, as I folded the pamphlet open, I read the first sentence. He'd quoted it nearly word for word.

"Looks swanky," I commented. The ad described it as a "Four-Star Experience" with "tastefully furnished rooms," and "fully equipped facilities," including a sauna, pool, gym, bar, and even their own silver screen.

"Would you like to go?"

The question surprised me.

"Sure, I've got some vacation days saved up, when did you think about going?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Yeah, from now until Sunday."

I didn't have an inkling what to reply. It wasn't like him to be this spontaneous. Oh sure, back before we had Ty and Lisa, he'd send me flowers out of the blue, and we had the occasional quickie in a restaurant bathroom, but all that was a long time ago.

I had to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. It did remind me of the old days, before our children were born. Maybe after all these years, this was Leonard's way of saying he wanted to give it another shot. I knew I had to take that chance, before something happened I couldn't undo.

"Sure, why the heck not?" I surprised myself by saying. The experience with Ty was driven clean out of my mind, burned away by the spark of hope for marital satisfaction. "Just let me call Mary. Gotta make sure I can take tomorrow off."

I picked up my cell from the kitchen counter, and called my cousin. "Hey Mary, it's Fran. Listen, is it ok if I take the day off tomorrow?"

"What's the matter, you ok?"

"Yeah, Lenny's taking me on a romantic getaway."

"Ooooh, a romantic getaway, huh? Well, God knows you deserve one of those. Where's he taking you?"

"Some fancy hotel up north, by a lake."

"Sounds nice. I wish Dave were spontaneous like that. You're such a lucky woman, Fran!"

We chatted a bit more, mostly about the two meetings I had scheduled the next day. Then I relayed the go-ahead to Leonard, put on some clothes, and started packing. A few bikinis, nice clothes for the restaurant, toiletries, sandals, heels, light reading... it's amazing how quickly suitcases manage to fill up. Almost as an afterthought, I threw in some sexy lingerie. There was just enough room left for one of my best, battery powered friends over the last few years, stashed away in my nightstand. Just in case.

After packing, I knocked on Ty's door.

"Come in," he yelled.

"Ty, I know this is short notice, but Dad's taking me on a trip. I'll leave the pamphlet on the kitchen counter. Phone's on it, if you need anything, and can't reach our cells. There's plenty of food in the fridge, but if you're hungry you can always ord—"

"I got it, Ma. I'm not a little kid anymore," he interrupted, disappointment written plainly all over his face.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I know you can take care of yourself. We'll come back on Sunday. Watch the house, will you?"

"Sure."

"Thanks!"

I lugged the case downstairs by myself, and Leonard already had his duffel bag ready. God knows what he put in that old thing. It had been his Dad's, and he never let anybody but himself handle it. I knew better than to ask him if he'd packed everything he needed, especially if he was in an apparently great mood. Starting an argument about underwear might have ruined it again. We loaded the truck, and off we went.

I vowed to myself that I'd be on my best behavior. Leonard was my husband, and had been for many years. And nothing had happened with Ty. He was just applying lotion, nothing more. The way a good son does. If he accidentally bumped into me with his hand, it couldn't be helped. Little accidents like that happen, it was certainly nothing to worry about. What was important was finally breaking out of my marital rut.

Five hours later, Leonard pulled into the parking lot of the Trout Lake Deluxe. It looked just as grand as advertised, to my great surprise. There wasn't any photography trickery, or at least none that I could detect. The sun had already set, and the building glowed brightly in a dazzling display of lights. We got our things out of the back of the truck, and entered the lobby.

"Hello, and welcome to the Trout Lake Deluxe. My name's Tanya, how may I be of service today?" The beautiful, young woman with dark skin behind the counter smiled a four star welcome.

"Evans. We just arrived, and want to check in," said Leonard, and Tanya tapped away at the keyboard. I looked around the entrance hall. It was magnificent. Big and spacious, with marble columns, and a polished tile floor. It might have been the fanciest building I've ever set foot in.

"Evans. Reservation for a luxury suite, with view of the lake."

"Yup, that's us," he confirmed.

"I'll need to verify your confirmation code, Sir."

Leonard pulled out his cell, and tapped around a bit. He held out the screen showing a barcode. Tanya picked up a scanner sitting on the desk, and scanned it.

"Very good, Sir." She slid two little plastic cards over the counter at us. "If you'd like to check out any of our services, you'll find plenty of information in your room, but there will always be someone available around the clock at the front desk. Enjoy your stay at the Trout Lake Deluxe."

We headed up the elevators to the sixth—and highest—floor. Our room was 601, conveniently the very first door on the right, stepping off the elevator. I slid my card through the slit, and was immediately floored by the lavish decorations. Until then, I'd never seen a hotel room with multiple rooms before. The living room had a fireplace, sofas, and portable bar. An enormous TV was mounted on the wall, and to the side there even was a kitchenette.

Who the heck was paying for all of it? Together, Lenny and I made pretty good money, but not four-star-hotel-with-kitchenette money. Maybe he had won it in a sweepstakes, or something. Today of all days, I wasn't about to ask any prying questions.

"Oh Lenny, this is wonderful." I turned around, and kissed him, full and deep.

"I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry. How about we head to town to grab something to eat?"

"Sounds good, just let me get changed."

I dragged my things into the bathroom, and after admiring the gold plated faucets and clawfoot tub, I dug out the sexy lingerie. It was like all of a sudden, the years had disappeared, and I felt like a young woman again. Giddily, I took off my bra, and put on the thin, black, see-through teddy with matching thong. Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt sexy as hell. Over that, I wore a lapis cocktail dress.

After putting on some quick makeup, I rejoined Leonard, who let out a loud whistle.

"You look amazing, Fran."

I beamed like a million suns, and we headed out, walking arm in arm. The adjacent town wasn't that big, but it had a few decent restaurants, according to the hotel's map. Although in the end, we pulled up at a steakhouse—Leonard's choice. I would have preferred something more romantic, but it was his treat after all. When I entered, heels clicking on the stone floor, I felt every man's eyes in the room turn towards me. I strode with confidence, revelling in the attention.

Leonard ordered a porterhouse and beer, and I got vegetarian cabbage rolls, with roasted potatoes and wine. Throughout the meal, Leonard was his old, charming self. It really did feel like the past two decades had evaporated. Maybe this getaway was exactly what we needed to rekindle our relationship. The food was pretty good, too—for a steak house, at least.

Leonard and I talked about our previous trips, and compared the hotel. Both of us agreed it was far more lavish than anywhere we've stayed at before.

"I missed this," I told him, halfway through the meal. "It's nice."

"Yeah, sure is."

When we got back to the hotel, instead of going in the lobby, I dragged Leonard off towards a path, with a sign beside it, reading "Beach." It turned out to be a nice one, too. All sand, no rocks. I took off my heels, and walked barefoot in the warm summer night. Leonard wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and I slipped mine around his waist.

It was magical.

We walked quietly for a while, occasionally encountering other couples who were taking advantage of the fantastic weather. Acting on instinct, I kissed him, and he responded. I felt a touch of the old passion in his lips, and wondered what the rest of the night had in store for us. I wanted to find out.

"This was a great idea, Lenny," I admitted. "This place is really wonderful."

"Listen, since we're already out here and everything, I was thinking, that, well, uh...I heard, from people," he stammered, "that there's a big trout fishing tournament going on here, starting tomorrow."

The air left my lungs, and I felt blindsided, like someone had punched me in the stomach. Of course. That must have been the real reason for the impromptu trip. I should have figured this was too good to be true. So much for spontaneity.

"And you just so happened to bring your fishing gear?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, lucky, isn't it?" he answered, oblivious.

I felt like throwing up again.

"Sure, Lenny. Sounds great."

"Thanks, you're the best," he said, and planted a quick peck on my lips.

"Let's get back to the room."

We walked back in silence, no longer embraced. I took deep breaths, and tried to remain calm. It always amazes me just how quickly things can turn from wonderful to shit in just a few moments. I hadn't expected it at all, either. Of course, I had been so focused on my own problems, I didn't stop to wonder about his motives.

Back in the room, I headed straight to the bedroom. All I wanted at that moment was to go sleep, and get this crazy day of ups and downs behind me.

The bedroom had another wall mounted TV, and one giant, California-king sized bed. I took off my dress, revealing the sexy lingerie I had already forgotten about.

"Oh wow, is that for me?" Leonard observed. His gaze slid up and down my body, happy as a clam.

"Yeah," I said, numbly. It had been true at one point, at least.

"Sweet!" He closed the distance, and pressed his lips against mine, pawing with one hand at my tits.

Leonard picked me up, squeezed my butt with both hands, and laid me gently down on the bed. With the excitement of a little kid unwrapping christmas presents, he pulled down my thong. The last time we had sex had been Valentine's day, and it would be pretty nice to do it again, I supposed. Sometimes you just take what you can get, even if the circumstances aren't ideal.

He hurriedly stripped off his own clothes, while I took off my teddy. His cock was hard as a rock. He knelt between my legs, placed the head at my entrance, and pushed in. I closed my eyes, and imagined a hot stud was fucking me, but unbidden, all I could picture was Ty. Leonard thrusted faster, and started grunting in rhythm. In my mind's eye, Ty's sexy body was pressing down on me. Leonard's cock twitched, and with one final grunt, he shot his load. Just as I started to get into my own fantasy.

Afterwards, he rolled off, and after a minute I heard faint snoring. I laid there for a bit, with his cum leaking out of me, frozen in misery, and ashamed of my own thoughts. I rose, and went to the bathroom to clean up. With absolutely no desire whatsoever to return to the bedroom, I dragged a sofa section to the large, floor length window, turned off all the lights, and opened the curtains.

The decorative lighting of the hotel was bright in the night, illuminating the hotel's outdoor cafe, where a few people sat around tables. Just a bit further than that, I could make out the beach, where a happy couple sat beside each other in the sand. If any of those people were to look up right now, they could have seen me up there, in my ivory tower. Standing in front of the world, naked as the day I was born. Miserable. Neglected. Old.

I laid down on the sofa, the leather cool on my skin, and watched the waves silently crash into the sand. Tears followed. I let them flow freely onto the cushion. One by one, the cafe emptied. The hotel's lights dimmed down. Eventually, even the couple on the beach disappeared, leaving behind the empty night.

Leaving me all alone.

===== FRIDAY =====

I woke up to sunlight glaring in my face. It took me a few moments to remember where I was, but when I did, I got up, yawned, and stretched in front of the open window, not caring one bit who might see me. I looked out at the new day, and the sunlight warmed my skin.