Marissa's Birthday Gift

When someone you care about has a birthday, you send a nice card. When someone you love has a birthday, you send a thoughtful gift with that card. When someone you adore, cherish and worship has a birthday, you give that person the most thoughtful, mind-blowing experience you can afford.

The kind of experience that sends the message that would take a million words to describe. Something they would treasure for the rest of their lives, but would never ask you to give. If you want your lover to know that she's your Queen, then you should already know what she wants. If you have to ask, then you're not ready for something on this scale. This year, my lover would get the birthday gift fit for the queen that she is to me.

I began my preparations six months before her birthday. I think about Marissa constantly, so focusing on her birthday so early on was, well, a pleasure. At that point, I wasn't thinking about details. I was thinking about objectives. What would I want my lover to think about years after this special birthday experience? The answer came quickly: No other person or thing is of higher importance to me than she is, and her happiness is of more importance to me than my own.

The basis for Marissa's birthday gift came quickly to me. A private, 6-night sailing cruise just for the two of us, starting at the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, and stopping at St. Barths, St. Kitts and Nevis. My Marissa loves to feel the ocean spray while cruising in the Caribbean waters. No better way to experience that than on a peaceful, quiet tall ship.

Booking the week was easy enough. With the right amount of money, there's never many details to worry about. Over the weeks leading up to our trip, the real planning took place. To start with, I committed that I would be in the best shape of my life. Diet, exercise, yoga, even dental care. I made sure that when I stepped onto that ship, she knew that I cared enough about her to keep myself in perfect shape for her. Next, I knew that I didn't want Marissa to plan or pack anything. So I carefully planned, purchased and organized everything she'd need. And since I would tell her nothing more than to clear her calendar for the week of our trip, I would essentially be kidnapping her.

I took advantage of time when she was away from home to review all of her clothes and accessories. Sizes, styles, fashion preferences and colors were all carefully noted, and I purchased every article that she would need, and the luggage to store it. Bathing suits, cover-ups, sandals, sunglasses, jewelry, even basic make-up . . . I was outfitting a beautiful woman for a dream cruise, so every detail was considered, and she couldn't detect a single thing. All of the purchases were sent to a friend in Florida, who would meet me on our home island, BVI. Literally, the luggage would be transferred from him to me on our way to the airport.

I'll admit, it was fun shopping and buying for Marissa. And not just for the obvious lingerie and v-string panties. If she was to feel completely comfortable, and would see the thoughtfulness in my preparations, then I had to buy her what she would want, not just what I'd want her to have. My favorite item was a pendant necklace from Na Hoku. Yellow Gold Kabana Circle Pendant with Mother of Pearl, Spiny Oyster Inlay and Diamonds. Set me back about $5K USD, but I wanted her to have something to open on board, and I needed it to have some major Wow-Factor.

Now, a little about the ship. The Vela, which means "sail", accommodates 26 guests, but obviously there would only be two during our cruise. We'd set up in the Owner's Suite, which includes a king size bed and large bathroom. It's 156 feet in length, with a beam of 30 feet. It runs with a crew of 11. The gorgeous teak decks are spacious and inviting with plenty of room to spread out.

Let's fast forward to our departure day, which was the day before we'd step aboard the Vela. We needed to fly from BVI to St. Maarten. My buddy that flew in from Florida literally drove to our home and placed Marissa's packed luggage in the back seat of my red '63 Porsche 356B.

As we were finishing up breakfast, I said to Marissa, "Babe, your birthday is in two days, and I've arranged a two-night package at a nice resort on St. Maarten. I've packed what you'll need, and everything else is taken care of. So you have 15 minutes before we hop in the Porsche and head to the airport."

She was somewhat surprised, and I also sensed that she was suspicious about specifically what "everything else is taken care of" really meant. But, she loves a good surprise, and loves even more to be whisked away on an adventure, so she quickly started to freshen up. Meanwhile, I grabbed my luggage that had secretly been packed. But let's face it, while on the Vela, we weren't going to need much. Minutes later, we were heading to Virgin Gorda for our morning flight!

I'll quickly summarize our day and night in St. Maarten. Marissa felt like it was the best first night of a dream weekend ever. The Le Petit Hotel was charming, romantic and could have easily been the pinnacle of a birthday celebration. The room was perfect, and our meals were exquisite. She felt like a princess. But little did she know that I was aiming for Queen.

I had told her we were going to a different hotel for the second night. It was hard leaving Le Petit, but I told her she'd like our next hotel just as much. I did my best to act naturally, but as we were heading to Philipsburg, where the Vela is docked, it became increasingly more difficult to convince Marissa that our hotel was nearby. Finally, the driver pulled up to the Wathey Cruise Facility, and said, "Here we are, let me get your bags!"

Marissa turned to me and smiled, "What did you do?"

I gave her a long, wet kiss and whispered, "Let's go find out!"

She did her best to just follow along. But my Marissa is a strong, confident woman, and it isn't easy for her to just follow along without knowing the game plan. Nevertheless, she and I made our way to the check-in office. For the price paid, there wasn't much administration to hassle through. Within 15 minutes, me and my wide-eyed, island goddess were standing aboard the Vela's deck, looking up at the tall sailing beams rocking gently against the current.

"Where are the other guests?," asked Marissa.

I stared into her eyes for a few dramatic moments, and then shook my head slightly and said, "For the next 6 nights, it's just you and me babe!" She just shook her head in disbelief.

Our bags were placed in the Owner's Suite while we wandered around deck. We were both tingling with excitement, as the soothing ocean breezes brushed over us. We plopped down on a cushioned bench, leaning back against the side of the ship. We were doing our best to look like this was business as usual for us, but clearly we were ordinary people living rock star lives. We finally burst out laughing, unable to withhold the excitement any longer.

When we regained our composure, I said, "Oh wait, I have something for you. I took out the Kabana Circle pendant from my day pack, and let Marissa open the box. Her eyes lit up at the decadent beauty. I removed the necklace from the box and placed it around her neck. The dazzling sparkle against her smooth black skin was stunning.

"And one more thing," I announced. I pulled out a new pair of D & G sunglasses, and carefully placed them on her.

"Oh, Jon, you've thought of everything, haven't you?," smiled my precious M.

About an hour later, after some brief safety instructions from the captain, we shoved off, headed for St. Barths.

The remainder of the trip was a dream. It's difficult to describe the feeling of being in the open ocean, far from any land mass or civilization, with only the sound of the wind whipping through the sails. To dive into deep ocean waters from the side of the ship was exhilarating. Eating fresh fish and seafood every day was a luxury. Watching sunsets from a sailing vessel is a heavenly experience. Reading poetry on the main deck, in each other's arms, shaded from the hot sun, was romantic perfection. And by the time the first sunrise occurred while on board, Marissa had the Queen-like glow I had envisioned.

And from our own private once-in-a-lifetime adventure, I'll share one more experience that will forever mark this trip as the best ever. After the first night on board, shortly after sunrise, the crew went about securing sails and checking on the hundreds of the necessary details. When they were through, I spoke with the captain, and asked if Marissa and I could have some private time on the main deck. He smiled and winked, and assured me that the entire crew would be below deck for the next two hours.

I then suggested to Marissa that we lounge on the big cushioned section at the rear of the ship, which was about the size of a king sized bed. I threw on my green board shorts and a t-shirt, and Marissa donned the bright green bikini that I purchased for her, with a white macramé cover up that tied in the front. And as lovers would do, she laid back against a pile of pillows, and I laid back against her in perpendicular fashion, resting my head in her lap. She read aloud from a book of poetry pulled from the ship's library, and I was in the most perfect setting this world can offer. Her Caribbean accent, with a slight British tone, was like velvet.

Reading a passage from Christina Rossetti's "I loved you first: but afterwards your love", across Marissa's delicious lips came the words:

I loved you first: but afterwards your love
Outsoaring mine, sang such a loftier song
As drowned the friendly cooings of my dove

Which owes the other most? My love was long,
And yours one moment seemed to wax more strong;
I loved and guessed at you, you construed me
And loved me for what might or might not be-
Nay, weights and measures do us both a wrong

For verily love knows not 'mine' or 'thine;'
With separate 'I' and 'thou' free love has done
For one is both and both are one in love:
Rich love knows nought of 'thine that is not mine;'
Both have the strength and both the length thereof,
Both of us, of the love which makes us one.

The feel of Marissa's skin on the back of my neck, the scent of her vanilla body cream, and her glorious voice was too much for me. While she read on, I couldn't resist turning over, and kissing the tops of her thighs. My lips were drawn to her tummy, and I licked and kissed every bit of her. Her full, voluptuous breasts, pushing hard against the bikini top that suppressed them, were calling me. My mouth covered her nipples over her bikini. My lips kissed between her breasts, and I was now straddling over her, ravaging her body with my lips. The book of poetry was tossed aside, and my anxious lover guided me up onto her.

My lips pressed firmly onto hers, and as only lovers can detect, her tongue told me everything I needed to know. She was craving me as much as I was craving her. Our mouths hungered for the taste and texture of each other. Our moans were lost in the lapping waves against the side of the ship. Our tongues glided in and out of each other's mouths. I pulled her bikini top down enough to free her breasts, and immediately began sucking feverishly. Her hard nipples confirmed her aching to have me inside of her. But I couldn't stop. The taste of her lips and of her breasts was too delicious to me. I couldn't part from them.

Eventually, my throbbing cock took precedence, and we both wiggled out of everything in the way, and there under the hot Caribbean sun, we fucked hard and fast. Every emotion, every romantic feeling of love and adoration contained in our hearts and minds was on the surface. We cared for nothing but the feel of our bodies against each other. Maybe someday I'll put my memory of the details of that moment to words. But for now it's too personal and private to even make such an attempt. Suffice it to say, we were beyond being labeled as lovers. We were connected at a much deeper level. As if our DNA aligned perfectly, a match that only existed between two specific people on earth, perhaps between any two people that had ever set foot on earth.

But like all mortals, we had to return to reality at the end of this heavenly cruise. The taxi rides and airport logistics seemed offensive compared to the lofty world we left. Yet eventually, we were at our home's doorstep, symbolically returning to reality.

Marissa's eyes met mine, and our faces conveyed everything in our heart.

"You know, Jon, that birthday gift is gonna be hard to top next year," teased Marissa.

"Then I guess I better get started on it right away," smiled Jon.