Paradise Found

I don't think that I was ever so happy to go on vacation. After finishing a very long, difficult job, I needed time away.

I took the job soon after my marriage fell apart and I had gone through an ugly divorce, and it was a great way to focus my energies and frustrations. By now I was feeling much better about myself, and life in general.

The slow season for construction was just starting, so I decided to take a couple of weeks off and head to Jamaica, my favorite destination.

When I got to the International Terminal at O'Hare, I saw a short line at the ticket counter and joined in. In front of me, I noticed a woman, about my age, looking even more anxious than I was to get away.

The woman was a little shorter than me, with blonde, shoulder length hair. As I looked her over, I was pleased to see that she was very curvy, with a nice pair of legs sticking out from under her sundress, and what looked to be a nice ass and big, full breasts.

She was the only person in line besides me that was alone, which got my attention, along with the fact that, also like me, she was the only other one already dressed for the islands, and very attractive.

I continued to watch her from behind as the line slowly moved forward, and I started to wonder why she was traveling alone. I was able to get a glance at her hand, and noticed that she was not wearing a ring, but there was an impression of one. That told me that either she was out for a "play time" get away, or recently divorced.

The line proceeded to crawl forward, and soon she was at a ticket window. As everyone else moved up, she passed through without a problem. As luck would have it, I found myself at the same window that she just left.

As I gave the woman at the counter my reservation info, I started to try to sweet talk her.

"I don't suppose there's any way you could get me seated next to the woman that was just up here, is there?" I asked, smiling at her.

"I'm sorry sir," the woman chuckled, "but the seats are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis."

"Damn," I muttered. "Oh well. It was worth a shot."

She laughed as she continued to process me, and said, "Yeah. It never hurts to try."

"With any luck, though, you can meet her once the plane lands," she said.

"Nah. With my luck, she'll be staying on the other side of the island," I replied, taking my boarding pass and ticket and heading towards the security check-in.

At the security gates, I was lucky enough to have only one person between me and the mystery woman, so I was able to get an even better look at her.

She was indeed a very beautiful woman, but her face, especially her eyes, told me that she had been through a rough time. My guess that she was recently divorced was gaining strength.

Knowing how I felt right after mine, I wasn't sure if I should try to talk to her, as she probably just wanted some alone time.

I was, however, able to get a very good look at her legs and ass when she had to bend down to unbuckle her sandals as she went through the metal-detector. "Nice!" I thought to myself. "Very nice!"

Once we got to the boarding gate, I was able to take a seat directly across from her. She looked up at me as I sat, and I smiled at her and said, "Good morning."

I was greeted with a strained smile and a nod, and she opened up her laptop computer.

"Definitely wants to be left alone," I told myself, and pulled out a book to read as I waited for the boarding call.

The flight was very uneventful, and I was seated two rows behind her, too far back to even see her.

As my luck would have it, however, I was seated next to a very young, pretty young girl, who was part of a church group doing mission work on the island and tried to engage me in a religious conversation.

Four hours later, the plane landed with the young bible-thumpers' brain rattled, and we all departed the plane.

I watched as the blonde got up and started walking down the aisle, and I followed as quickly as I could.

"What the hell," I thought to myself, "this may well be the last time I get to see her, so I might as well enjoy the sight as much as I can."

By the time we walked down the stairs to the tarmac, she was only two people in front of me. I watched her as she turned to walk into the terminal, and saw her look up into the sun, a small smile starting to creep on to her pretty face.

I managed to be right behind her as we went through customs, and I wanted to watch her as much as I could, to see what resort she was staying at.

Much to my surprise, and delight, she started walking towards a man holding a sign with the name of the same resort that I was staying at.

She gave him her bags and got onto the mini-bus, and I followed her on. I took a seat across the aisle from her, smiling and nodding at her as I sat.

This time, I received at least a small smile from her before she looked out the window.

A few minutes later, after four other people joined us on the bus, we pulled out of the parking area and started the drive to Ocho Rios. The blond and I were the only singles on the bus.

As soon as we were on the main highway, the driver announced that the drive would take two hours, and we would be stopping mid-way to stretch our legs and have a drink, if we wanted one.

I sat back and relaxed as we drove down the highway, enjoying the scenery. I looked over at the blond a couple of times and saw that she seemed to be relaxing finally, too.

About an hour later, we pulled up to what looked like a tiki hut on steroids, with a jerk shack next to it. The driver parked the bus, opened up the door, and told us that we had about a half-hour to stretch our legs, use the restrooms, and have a drink, before we finished the drive.

I watched as the blond made a bee-line to the bathroom, and I went up to the bar.

Just as the bartender placed two drinks in front of me, the blond came back and went to the outer edge of the shack, which was a long counter top, and sat down.

I took the drinks and walked over to her. "That coffee must have hit you pretty good," I said, sliding a drink to her.

She looked up at me, and said, "Excuse me?"

"The way that you almost ran to the washroom, I just assumed that your morning coffee went through you on the bus," I said.

She smiled, and said, "It was that obvious, huh?"

"Only to someone watching," I joked.

"So, what's this?" she said, motioning to the glass in front of her.

"It's a Planter's Punch," I told her.

"It's a little early to be drinking, don't you think?" she said, looking at her watch.

"No," I replied. "You're on vacation. What else do you have to do?"

"This is Jamaica," I added. "Time only exists on their conditions. And their conditions say that it's never too early for a Rum Punch!"

"I don't know," she said, looking at the glass. "I usually don't drink this early."

"Well, this isn't 'usual'," I replied. "This is vacation. In Jamaica!"

She still hadn't picked up the glass, so I added, "Besides, if you don't drink it, I'm going to have to, and you don't want that to happen!"

"Oh no?" she asked, smiling at me. "And why not?"

"Well, two drinks in me, this early?" I replied. "Who knows what may happen!"

"Ok, ok," she laughed, picking up the drink. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," I replied, touching her glass with mine.

"I'm Kurt," I told her, after he took a sip of her drink.

"Hi Kurt. I'm Terri," she replied.

"Terri, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Terri took another drink, and looked up at me.

"I just want you to understand something," she said. "I just got divorced, and I'm not looking to meet anyone."

"This is my first time away for anything other than business," she continued, "and I'd just like to enjoy myself and relax."

"I understand," I replied. "I'm not looking to meet anyone either. I was the same way right after my divorce."

"I just thought that since you and I are the only single ones on the bus, it might be nice to have someone to talk to. I didn't mean to seem pushy, or look like a wolf on the hunt. I apologize if I did."

"No, it's not that," she replied. "Like I said, this is my first time away from home since I was married, over twenty years ago, and I'd like to enjoy my time away."

"That's completely understandable," I told her. "If you'd like, I'll leave you alone, so you can have some solitude. If you'd like some company, or just someone to talk to, you know where to find me."

"Thank you," she said. "I don't want to be rude, but..."

"Hey, like I said, I understand," I responded. " I was the same way after my divorce."

"How long were you married?" she asked.

"Almost twenty years," I said.

"I made it past twenty," she told me. "I don't know how, but we did."

"The same here," I laughed. "If it wasn't for my kids, I would have left long before."

"I think that I wanted to stay together for the grandkids," Terri said, "but after a while, I decided that it just wasn't worth it. They deserve to see their grandma happy."

"That they do," I replied, raising my glass to her. "I can't believe that you're a grandma, though."

"Yep," she laughed. "Five times."

"Wow!" I said. "How come grandmas never looked like you when we were kids?"

I watched as Terri blushed and looked down at her glass. "Thank you," she said softly. "That's the nicest thing I've heard in a while."

We continued talking as we finished our drinks, and I was glad to see that she was starting to loosen up at least a little. Soon, though, the bus driver announced that it was time to finish the trip to the resort.

As we re-boarded, I asked Terri if she minded if I sat next to her.

"No, I'd like that," she said.

"Thank you," I replied. "And like I said, I'll leave you alone once we get there, if you'd like."

She didn't say anything as the bus pulled back out onto the highway.

"Have you been here before?" she asked.

"Oh yes," I told her. "I've been to Jamaica a couple of times. I love the island. It's probably my favorite place to vacation."

"I always wanted to come here, but my ex was too cheap to pay for a real vacation," she said.

"Hell, he was too cheap to pay for much of anything," she added.

"I know what you mean," I chuckled. "My ex didn't believe in spending money on anything other than herself, or essentials for the kids, IF she absolutely had to."

"Yep, that sounds like mine, too," she said. "Although he didn't spend much on himself...and nothing on me. Mostly just squirreling it away, or spending it on the kids and grand kids."

"Well, that's one reason why we call them 'ex's'," I said.

"I'm sorry," Terri said. "I probably shouldn't be bashing him to you like that."

"Well, if you can think of a better way to bash him, feel free," I joked.

Terri laughed, and I added, "Seriously, it's ok. You need to get it out. I'm sure there's still a lot of pain, and it does you no good to keep it in, especially in such a beautiful place like this."

"Yes, this is a beautiful island," she replied.

We continued the ride talking about the island, some of the sights worth seeing, and the traps to avoid. I was finding myself liking her more and more as the ride went on, but didn't want to scare her away, so I pulled back a little.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed as the bus pulled into the resort. "This is beautiful!"

"Just wait until you see the rest of the property," I told her.

"You've stayed here before?" she asked.

Yep," I replied. "The last time I was here, this is where I stayed, with my ex. I'm hoping for a much better stay this time. God knows, it can't be any worse!"

I heard Terri chuckle as I rose to get off of the bus, and we all walked in to the main lobby.

"Wow!" I heard her whisper, as she looked around. "This is nice."

We spent the next fifteen minutes listening to the welcoming speech from the bell captain as we refreshed ourselves with a glass of champagne and a hot towel, and then we went to the front desk to check in and get out rooms.

Terri was one of the first ones up to the desk, and I watched as one of the young men working there helped her taker her bags up to her room. I also noticed the big smile on his face, obviously pleased with his luck of the draw.

It worked out that I was the last one to the desk, and found out that my room was in the oldest wing of the main building, farthest from the lobby, restaurants, and everything else. The upside was a beautiful view from the balcony.

As I opened my door, I saw the guy that helped Terri coming out of a room down the hall. It seemed that we were on the same floor.

About an hour later, I started feeling hungry and decided to check out the beach grill for some lunch.

I stopped off at the pool side bar and got a Red Stripe, and as I walked past the pool, I saw Terri already out there getting some sun.

She was looking very good, and getting some looks from some of the other men, in a black two-piece suit that showed off her ample breasts and her lean legs.

I smiled and nodded to her as I walked, continuing to the grill. When I got there, I ordered a fish sandwich and looked around. There were a lot of people walking the beach, including mixed couples, singles, and women walking together.

As I took in the scenery, mainly the women in their various swimsuits, my eyes always seemed to drift back towards the pool, and Terri.

After I ate, I took a walk around the resort. I walked through the landscaped gardens, found the on-site duty-free shop, the restaurants, and everything else the property had to offer.

As I made my way back to the main lobby, I saw Terri walking back in from the pool area. We were soon both walking down the hallway, heading towards the elevators.

We smiled at each other and made small talk as we rode the elevator to our floor. As we left the car and walked towards our rooms, I decided to go for broke, and asked her if she would have dinner with me.

"Look," she said, "please understand. I think you're a nice guy, but I'm just not looking for anyone right now."

"I just got out of a bad, loveless marriage," she continued, "and I came here to get away from reality for a while."

"I understand," I told her. "I was the same way after my divorce. Honestly, I wish I had done what you're doing and gone away."

"I'm not looking for anyone either," I went on. "I just thought that since we seem to be the only singles here, or at least the only singles without a friend traveling with them, that you might want to have some company at dinner. I really wasn't trying to pick you up."

Terri looked at me for a second, and reached out to touch my arm.

"Thank you," she said, and then turned and walked towards her room.

I watched as she walked down the hall, and then went into my own room.

After I showered, I lay down and took a quick power nap before I went to dinner.

I didn't see Terri at dinner, or much at all the next day.

I decided to hire a local taxi and go for a short trip, and left the resort most of the day. I did see her sunning herself by the pool when I returned, but I left her alone and went into the pool and sat at the swim-up bar.

As I checked the activity board after breakfast the next day, Terri walked up and looked at it also.

"What is this 'Dunn's River Falls'?" she asked, pointing at one of the listings on the board for that day.

I explained that it's a river that flows down from the mountain out to the ocean that has low, climbable water falls.

"You can walk up the falls?" she asked.

"Yep," I told her. "The guides have everyone form a human chain going up, just so no one falls, but it's actually pretty easy, and very refreshing on a hot day. The water is cooler because it's coming down from so high up."

"Are you going?" she asked.

"I'm thinking about it," I replied. "They've got a craft market set up there that's got some interesting stuff, too."

"Ohh! That sounds like fun!" she said, touching my arm.

I looked at her quizzically and she sensed my confusion.

"I guess I owe you an apology," she said. "I realize that you were just trying to be nice, and I appreciate it."

"I'm just a little defensive right now, and don't want to seem like I'm out trying to find a man," she went on. "My divorce is still too fresh, I guess."

"Apology accepted," I told her. "Like I said, 'been there, done that.' While I do find you incredibly attractive, and would love to get to know you better, we do live close enough to each other that we COULD stay in touch, IF you want, after we get home, and see what happens when you're ready."

Now it was her turn to look confused. "How do you know where I live?" she asked defensively.

"I don't know 'where' you live," I explained, "but I saw you at O'Hare, so I have to assume that you live somewhere in the Chicago area."

"You saw me at the airport?" she asked.

"I couldn't miss you," I told her. "You kind of stood out in the crowd, with all of the bible-thumpers, couples, and twenty-something's on our flight."

"Wow. I didn't even notice anyone else," she replied. "I was so wrapped up with getting away..."

"That's understandable," I told her. "So, where DO you live? If you don't mind my asking."

"I live in Tinley Park," she said.

"Nice. I'm in Northwest Indiana," I replied. "Just over the border."

"The border?" she laughed. "You make it sound like it's another country."

"To be honest, after growing up on the North side, Indiana's like a whole different WORLD!" I joked.

Terri laughed again, and I enjoyed the sound. It was nice to hear her laugh, and even better to know it was because of me.

"So, you think you're going to go on the trip?" she asked.

"Probably," I told her.

"Well, if you go, I'll go, too," she said. "I think it could be fun."

I looked at her for a second, before replying.

"Ok," I said finally. "I'll meet you in the lobby in an hour."

"Ok!" she replied enthusiastically.

I watched her as she walked away, her hips having an little extra sway to them, as she headed towards the lobby. I knew that she was going up to her room to find something to wear, and I laughed to myself.

An hour later, as a small group was gathering to get on the bus, Terri came up behind me and hooked her arm in mine.

"Oh, good. I made it!" she said, breathless.

"Couldn't decide what to wear?" I teased.

Terri just laughed, and we started walking towards the bus.

As she started up the stairs, I took in the view of her ass, covered in a short swim skirt, and the back of what appeared to be a tankini. She was also wearing a pair of medium-heeled strapped sandals, making her legs and ass look very nice.

It was a relatively short ride to Dunn's river, and Terri and I talked the whole way there. She asked me how many times I had been to Jamaica, and what other spots I could tell her about worth seeing.

The walk up the falls was beautiful and refreshing in the tropical heat, and Terri held on to me all the way up. A couple of times, she had to hold on tight to me as she tried climbing up a slippery rock, and I enjoyed the feel of her body in my arms.

After we were done with the climb back up, we walked through the craft market together, admiring some of the local art work. She pointed out a couple of pieces that she really liked, and I started to get an idea of some of her tastes.

Once we got back to the resort, Terri grabbed onto my arm and pulled me aside as we got off of the bus.

"Is that invitation to dinner still good?" she asked me.

"Of course," I replied. "I'd be honored if you joined me. In fact, I'll see if I can still get reservations at the fancy restaurant here on the resort."

"Why don't we stick with one of the other restaurants, for now?" she replied. "How about the beach side one?"

"That's fine with me," I told her. "Should I meet you at your room, or down here?"