The Charity Cruise Ch. 01: The Beginning

I'm not really sure where I should start this tale. If someone had told me, even just a year or two ago, that my wife and I would have this experience, I wouldn't have believed them. Now here I am trying to figure out the best way to tell the story.

I guess I should start with some background about us. Dana and I (Frank) have been married for a little more than twenty years. We married in our late twenties and are now both about fifty. It's the second marriage for both of us and both of us had children from our first marriages. Together we had another child, and our house was full for a couple decades. For that same time frame, we always struggled financially because my profession didn't pay a great deal and neither did hers. We both liked our jobs though and we managed to pay the bills, so we stayed doing what we enjoyed.

Like most couples (I guess), while we were busy being parents first, our love life (by that I mean sex life) paid the price. When we were newlyweds, we had plenty of appetite but not a lot of time. Having a house full of kids tends to minimize opportunities. We actually had to schedule time to play, and we weren't always in the mood when the time rolled around. As the kids got older, we had more opportunities but seemed to be distracted by all of the things life can throw at you: finances, work, chores... everything. Additionally, like a lot of "comfortable" married couples, we didn't keep ourselves in the greatest of shape. Neither of us got fat, but we weren't hard bodies either.

Then, last year, two things changed and the impact on our life was quite significant. The first big change was my career. I retired after 27 years in a single profession and, with that retirement check coming in, untaxed thanks to our state of residence, I was able to pursue my dream of writing. While I wanted to be a great fiction writer, I found myself most often writing what amounted to political opinion. It started out as a series of essays and analysis documents and ended up growing into about a 300-page book on evolving political strategies. I self-published it (after a friend suggested I do so) and saw a few months of small royalties.

In that same time frame, our youngest child entered her last year of high school and started searching for colleges. My wife and I realized that within the next fifteen to eighteen months we were going to be "empty nesters." We sat and had a couple conversations about how things would change and what we would like to see change the most. One thing we both agreed on was that we wanted to rekindle our love life; our sex life. We wanted to find the passion we had when we'd first met and started dating. The one imperative that we both agreed on was that we'd work together to bring passion back into our intimacy. Neither of us felt that we were so old we shouldn't be active sexually and we agreed that keeping our sex life alive and interesting was of utmost importance. Without it we were simply not a couple, just roommates. We were open in our discussions and also talked about our fantasies as well as what we thought we could do to help rekindle that fire.

To my surprise my wife admitted that she fantasized about sex with other men. Prior to our marriage she'd only been with two other guys: the guy who got her virginity in her last year of high school and her first husband. She admitted that she had curiosities about what sex with other men would be like and she occasionally fantasized about enjoying two men at once. THAT particular admission grew out of her admitting to a curiosity about anal sex as it was something she'd always said she wasn't interested in -- apparently because she thought I would judge her as some kind of wanton slut if she did admit it.

That admission on her part took a great deal of courage. We're all afraid of judgment; of being labeled; of someone thinking less of us -- especially when that someone is a spouse whose opinion we care about; whose love we don't want to risk losing; whose respect we absolutely don't want to endanger. I recognized the courage she showed in her admission and gave her equal honesty. It wasn't easy for either of us but we both did it out of our commitment to our imperative: salvaging and rebuilding our sex life.

I can't say I was super excited about the idea of her enjoying other men, but I WAS turned on by how open she was being and how her admissions revealed her to be a much more sexual being than I had known in our over two decades of marriage. We talked about risks and emotions, security and promises. We talked about our marriage, the security of it, not risking it and our long future ahead. Above all we agreed that our love for each other would be our anchor and honesty would be the strong chain that bound us to it.

The other thing we agreed on was that if we were going to enjoy sex like we used to, and for us to each feel more attractive, we needed to get back in better shape. We immediately began eating a bit cleaner and exercising regularly. Within weeks we saw (and enjoyed) higher energy levels and better endurance. In the midst of that, an election cycle started and, much to my great surprise, sales of my book skyrocketed. I never did figure out what caused the sales spike, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. In three months the book sold over two million copies, and since I was getting about two dollars per copy in royalties, that equated to just over four million dollars.

First and foremost, I contacted an accountant to make sure the taxes were going to be squared away. Next, I contacted a friend of mine to act as my "manager" because I started getting phone calls to do speaking engagements and to be a guest political analyst for a couple television stations. Those engagements paid handsomely as well and within a six-month period our net worth went from a couple hundred thousand to well over five million.

We also suddenly found ourselves in a different social bracket. We started getting invitations to posh events and high dollar per plate dinner functions. Most of them we politely declined, although we did attend a few at the advice of my manager. We had to be viewed as "players" to keep the requests coming is what she told me. My wife and I enjoyed the few that we went to, more for the setting and the atmosphere than the people. We found most of the people to be pretty fake, but the settings were always elegant, we enjoyed getting dressed up and being catered to felt nice.

Being financially more comfortable than we'd ever been, we hired a personal trainer and dedicated ourselves further to our health and fitness. The results were obvious both to the eye and in our performance. I noticed that Dana started wearing sexier clothing and bought a selection of lingerie that really caught my attention. Being fitter helped us look even better when we dressed up for the formal events and I saw, for the first time ever, my wife wear an evening gown with a low cut back and (apparently) built in chest support. There was no way she could wear a bra with a backless dress that opened low enough to see the tattoo she had in the small of her back. The dress also had a slit up her left leg and, even though she wore hose (thigh highs and they were SO sexy, especially when the top of the left one showed through the dress slit) the tattoos she has on her left leg all peeked out through the evening as well.

The evening she wore that dress was what really got us started on our new path, as I look back at it. I had excused myself to go to the bathroom and when I got back, I found her dancing with a handsome young gentleman. There had been a line in the men's room and as a result, I had left her alone for a good ten minutes. Apparently, as she told me later, Jonathan -- the young man -- had approached her a few minutes after I'd left her side. He'd offered to buy her a drink which she'd politely declined and then he followed up with, "Then perhaps a dance?" She said he was cute and very polite, handsome in a boyish yet rugged kind of way. Through our conversations she didn't think I'd mind so she'd accepted.

When I found them, they were dancing to a slow song but not belly to belly. He held her at arm's length, one hand on her hip, the other holding her hand. She had a hand on his shoulder. The music wasn't loud, so they chatted while they danced. When I came back, I watched them for a few minutes and was struck by two things: first, my wife was gorgeous. She has always been a beautiful woman, but the fitness regimen had really accentuated her fit curves and that dress did an awful lot to show them off. Second, I was only the slightest bit jealous. She looked like she was having a fun time and my happiness about her enjoying herself outweighed the little bit of jealousy I felt. After all, I knew who she was going home with and the thoughts I had about what I was going to do with her after getting her out of that dress distracted me from any further feelings of jealousy.

Dana saw me coming back and smiled at my approach. When I got within reach she dropped her arms, took a half step back and said, "Frank, this is Jonathan. He was nice enough to offer me a dance." Turning to Jonathan she said, "This is my husband, Frank."

I smiled and held out my hand to him. "Nice to meet you, Jonathan. Thanks for keeping her entertained."

He shook my hand firmly, with a strong grip -- but not trying to be overpowering -- and replied, "It's my pleasure. She's a delight."

Releasing his hand I said, with a smile, "You have no idea."

"Forgive me for saying so," he answered with a smile of his own, "But I surely wouldn't mind finding out!"

Dana actually blushed and chuckled. "You two!" she said giggling. "You make a woman feel too much the center of attention."

I leaned in close to her, putting my arm around her waist and whispering in her ear, "You know you'd love to be the center of attention between the two of us." I didn't know what to expect but her reaction was certainly a big surprise (for me).

"Oh, yes I would," she said to me with a smile. She looked me directly in the eyes as she said it, I think so I could see how direct and honest she was being, and to see what my reaction was going to be. No matter what a person's body language is or what the look on their face says, their eyes can't hide the truth. What she saw in my eyes was delighted surprise. Seeing that, Dana leaned in close to me and added, whispering in my ear, "Not tonight, but perhaps another time... soon."

Knowing that we were leaving Jonathan out of the conversation and feeling a bit rude, I put my hand back out to him again -- and he took it. "I'm sorry, Jonathan. We have some husband and wife type stuff to discuss and will be calling it an early evening I'm afraid. Thank you again. Hopefully we'll see you at another function soon."

"I'd like that," he said with a polite smile. Then, as he released my hand, he reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out a card about the size of a postcard and handed it to me. "Perhaps you'd care to join me on the charity cruise I'm hosting? It's the Saturday before Christmas so it's a couple weekends away and all for a good cause."

I looked at the card briefly before putting it away into my own coat pocket. "We'll take a look at it and see if we're available."

"Great," he said with a smile. "I think you'd really have a good time, and we'd certainly love to have a woman as beautiful as Dana in attendance."

Dana blushed slightly again and giggled lightly. That was SO not like her. She put out her hand to shake goodnight with Jonathan but, after taking it, he pulled her into a hug to say goodnight. It wasn't a hug full of body language, but was a friendly hug that was... well... right on the border of inappropriate without being so. It left her quite flustered, and I wasn't sure why until we got to the car and she told me.

She didn't know what it was about him that did it, but from the moment he'd first approached her she was aware of her desire for him. Something about him... his smell... his eyes... his presence... his voice... whatever the unique combination was of characteristics -- or maybe something as random and unidentifiable as pheromones? -- SOMETHING about him made her body scream, "Take me!" She admitted that she'd had to actually focus on NOT flirting, reminding herself that I would soon be returning, and she had no clue as to who Jonathan was beyond another attendee at the party.

I had been horny most of the evening because of how sexy she looked in her dress and our sex life of late HAD been quite enjoyable. Our conversations and confessions had led us to a place where I was actually turned on at the idea of Jonathan being close to Dana and I found myself wishing they'd been closer together on the dance floor. Would he have let his hands wander? Would she have enjoyed his touch?

I drove home at a leisurely pace and asked her those exact questions. Yes, she confessed, she had actually hoped he would pull her closer and she'd have quite enjoyed it if he'd run his hands over any part of her body that was acceptable to the setting. What little she had felt of him was quite taught and firm and she had noticed that his tuxedo pants didn't look slack in the crotch; it looked like it contained quite the package.

"So, I take it you want to go to this charity Christmas cruise event he's invited us to?" I asked her.

"Let me see the card," was her reply. I pulled it out of my inside pocket and handed it to her. She turned on the inside light of the car and studied it for information, sharing the info as she did so. "It's called the 'Christmas Charity Cruise & Auction'," she said. "It's held on a small cruise ship and lasts for a day... um... looks like about sixteen hours, from just after breakfast until late in the evening. Nine a.m. to one a.m. the next morning." She kept reading. "There's a full casino, pool, day spa salon and massage parlor... clothing boutique and buffet lunch. It says that dinner is preceded by an auction with all of the proceeds from the casino and the auction going to benefit research on autism." She stopped for a minute and then said, "Oh my."

"Oh my?" I asked. "Oh my what?"

She breathed for a minute. "The auction is for the men in attendance to bid on the women in attendance, to select who will be their dinner date and escort for the evening." She paused for a few minutes, read some more and then added, "And in fine print at the bottom it says, 'This is an adult event with no expectations or limits. What you do with your auction-won escort is private. All participants are required to sign a waiver upon check in for the cruise'."

We were both quiet for a moment before I spoke. "Am I wrong or does that sound like men bid on women and if they win the auction, they get the woman as theirs for the evening to do whatever both of them agree to?"

"Yes," Dana answered, turning off the interior light. "That's what it sounds like to me."

I was quiet for a few moments more. The possibilities were endless and, while causing me some sense of nervousness, also causing me a level of excitement. "Would you be interested in going to something like that?"

"I don't know," Dana answered after a few moments. "Maybe. If I was guaranteed to be won by Jonathan, I think I'd be almost eager to go." She looked at me sideways and said, "I'm sorry if you don't like hearing that but we agreed to be honest in everything and I've already told you how he affected me. The idea of the auction sounds hot, but I'd be nervous about it at the same time."

"I don't mind hearing it," I said. "In fact, it turns me on to hear you say it. I think it's sexy that you're being so..." I searched for the word. "Open? Uninhibited? Sexual?"

She looked relieved at that. She turned the light back on, looked at the card and then turned the light back off. "Well, the event is three weeks away and the RSVP date is next week, so we have time to think about it."

"Okay," I replied. I knew that her statement about having time to think about it was her way of saying she didn't want to talk about it anymore that night. I knew that if I tried to I would only aggravate her and I didn't want to aggravate her. I wanted to get her home to get her out of that dress and those pantyhose and enjoy her in every way either of us wanted.

As eager as I was, I was surprised at her sexual appetite that night. We had no more than walked through the door, from the garage into the kitchen, when she reached up to unclasp the hook holding her dress up around her neck. She kept walking (carefully) as it fell, dropping it at the edge of the kitchen. Still walking, she began to push the hose down around her sexy thighs, stopping in the family room to kick off her shoes and push the hose the rest of the way down below her knees... And then stepping back and forth on them, pushing them off her feet the way women do.

Naked, she looked back over her shoulder at me and said, "You're still dressed? Shame..." and then she kept going toward our bedroom. My clothes landed haphazardly in the family room, and I was naked by the time I got to the bedroom. She was already on our bed, the nightstand light on beside it. She was spread, her fingers gently caressing her sex, her eyes twinkling in devilish delight at me. I joined her on the bed and heaven ensued. She had been more energetic in recent months, I thought due to a combination of being in better shape and the openness of our discussions / confessions. That night she was an animal. She was aggressive in a way she'd never been before; demanding of performance and pleasure; completely unashamed and unrestricted as she took what she wanted, gave what she wanted and yelled out her pleasure and demands. Thank god our daughter had spent the night at a friend's house.

The next morning, I expected to sleep in and enjoy a lazy morning. Instead, I woke up to her warm mouth enveloping my manhood, licking and sucking me to wake me up. For years I had begged for that "good morning blow job" and she'd never given me one. I wasn't going to complain about getting one now! She smiled up at me with her eyes as she took as much of my length into her mouth and throat as she could manage, holding it there as she worked her tongue back and forth on the underside and then came back up to breathe. She did that a few times before looking at me and saying, "Let me know when you're ready to lay me back and just use me. I want more pounding and I don't care if I cum or not. I just need a hard cock slamming me hard and fast." She sank her mouth back down on my shaft without another word, her eyes still locked on mine. Her words sent a shiver of excitement through me. She'd never said such things before and now here she was admitting to a pretty animalistic sexual desire. She hadn't even specified MY cock. Hmmm...

"I just need a hard cock slamming me," I mimicked what she'd said. "Does it have to be my hard cock? Or will just any hard cock do?" She didn't answer me, but moaned as she sucked my length back down her throat. I groaned out my pleasure and said, "I see." My wife... this beautiful sexy creature pleasuring me so thoroughly with her mouth, didn't necessarily need her husband's cock; she just needed cock. Her pussy just needed fucked. The sexual animal just needed to be satiated. I almost came right then.

"Lay back," I told her. She popped off my length so fast I thought I heard the air pressure in the room change. Laying back sideways on our kind size bed, she spread her legs wide, pulled them up and held her ankles. The position left her wide open and welcoming for use. This wasn't my wife opening herself for me to make love with. This was a female animal offering herself to a male of the species, eager to be taken. I positioned myself between her thighs, kneeling and holding my manhood in one hand, aiming the swollen knob at her sex. Looking down I saw how wet and open her pussy was. I pushed forward and sank into her, bottoming out in a single thrust. Her eyes opened wide in surprised delight and then closed as she moaned her appreciation.