The Charity Cruise Ch. 02: Decision

The party and dance had been Saturday night and here we were getting into our Monday morning routine. Dana still worked, mostly because she enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment. But before she went to work, we were up early and headed to the gym. Our trainer met us there and put us through about an hour-long workout. We were both sweating heavily by the time we were finished and headed home. We rewarded ourselves with coffee and then took turns in the shower. Dana took her shower first while I stood in the bathroom and sipped my coffee, talking to her through the curtain. When she got out, I got in and she talked to me while she dried off and then applied skin lotion to almost her entire body.

Our conversation covered a lot of topics that included our schedule for the week, upcoming college visitation events for our daughter, the idea of hiring a nutritionist and, one of our most pressing topics, the new house we wanted to buy after our daughter had graduated high school and was off to college. Eventually, just as I was finishing my shower and getting out to dry off, we got around to discussing the invitation to the charity dinner cruise. We both agreed that we thought we'd enjoy going but Dana had some reservations; that she would be nervous going.

"Nervous about what?" I asked. I was nervous too, but I knew why; I was wondering who might bid on Dana if we went. Was there a way I could guarantee I would win her in the bidding? If someone else won, what would she do with them? Our sex life had evolved to the point where I wasn't sure she'd say no if she really wanted to play with another man. And I was also sure that, as long as she was up front about it, I'd be relatively okay with that. My focus was her pleasure and her happiness. Honesty was the requirement. She had previously confided in me about some wild experiences she'd had in college, and SHE knew how much I'd gotten turned on hearing about them. I wondered if any of her nervousness wasn't about that somehow too.

"Well," she said, thinking for a few moments, "I know I'm not UNattractive but how am I going to feel if the bidding for me is way lower than it is for other women?" I could see her point but thought it was kind of... unnecessarily insecure. She was a beautiful woman who had worked hard to get in shape and her figure showed it. I was sure she'd bring good bids; that was what had me worried. "And what do I HAVE to do with whoever wins the bid, if anyone even does?" The little voice in the back of my head wondered how genuine of a concern this was. Sure, she could be won by some fat dickhead and not want to eat or dance with him. But if she was won by a hot guy with a decent personality, I wasn't so sure she wouldn't want to do... well.. whatever she wanted.

"I don't know," I replied generically to both her questions. "First off, I don't think you need to worry about low or no bids. You're beautiful and the way men react to you at various parties and events should be evidence of that." She nodded in a kind of 'I have to accept that' way. "And second, I don't think you HAVE to do anything but spend time at dinner and through the evening dancing or whatever." She didn't look convinced and, truth be told, I didn't feel convinced. Then I had a thought. "If it would make you feel better, before we decide, I can always try to get hold of Jonathan and ask him. He said he was hosting it so there ought to be a way to find him and give him a call."

Dana was quiet and thoughtful for a few moments, still standing there naked in our bathroom, freshly squeaky clean but needing to get dressed for work. I didn't want her to go to work. I wanted to bend her over the bathroom vanity. "Okay," she said. "See if you can find a way to call him. I'd like to know what we're actually walking into before we go... although it DOES sound like a good time and for a good cause."

I nodded my agreement, said, "Okay, babe. I'll get on it today while you're at work," and then I finished my morning routine. A half hour later she was on her way to work, and I was settling in at my desk computer to see if I could find Jonathan.

- - - - - - - - - -

I started out thinking it would be relatively easy. I shortly had a different outlook. It was almost an hour later before I finally located a last name for him (Brandston) and another half hour past that before I found a phone number for what I THOUGHT was his primary business. That phone call led to five more phone calls, and I finally got connected with a woman who said she was his personal assistant. She listened to my explanation as to how I had met him and why I wanted to speak with him. At first she tried to redirect me to the website for the cruise to get all the necessary information. I had to explain that my questions were those created by what wasn't included on the website. Finally, sounding quite exasperated with how stupid I must be, she agreed to connect me with Jonathan and put me on hold.

It wasn't even a half-minute later when he picked up. "Frank? Sorry about that. The gate keeper is quite dedicated to her job and keeping me from having to deal with anything she thinks someone else can handle."

I chuckled and said, "Good morning, Jonathan. Thanks for taking my call."

"No problem," he said. His voice sounded cheery. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, first off, I assume you remember me? and my wife Dana who you danced with Saturday evening? You invited us to your charity cruise."

"Of course, I remember," he replied; the smile on his face easy to hear. "How could I forget a woman as lovely as your wife?"

"Thank you. She IS quite beautiful," I replied before continuing, "Dana and I had some questions about the charity cruise you invited us to and they're the kind of questions I'm not comfortable asking a stranger. Not that you know us well or vice versa but at least you're the person we've met so I was hoping you could help me out."

"Sure thing," he replied, still sounding happy. "What did you need to know?"

I breathed for a moment. How to word this? "The card you gave us says that the women in attendance are auctioned off before dinner and spend the evening in the company of whatever man wins them in the auction. There's a smaller note about it being an adult event and the interactions between participants being private." I paused to again think about my wording. "We were kind of curious as to the limitations or expectations if any."

"I'm not sure I'm following you," Jonathan said. Was he joking with me? I decided to be more direct.

"It has all the touches of a swinger's party or something similar. I wanted to be reassured that if someone other than me wins Dana in the auction, she's not expected to perform as their sexual consort for the evening; that this really is just FUN in the spirit of raising funds for charity."

He was quiet for a moment before replying. "Let me set your mind mostly at ease. It IS a fun event and the purpose of it IS to raise funds for charity. That said, the cruise ship I charter for the day DOES have a stateroom for every person or couple who signs on. What adults do in the privacy of their stateroom isn't my business... or anyone else's for that matter. This is the ninth year we've done this and in years past there HAVE been incidents where men have won women in the auction and... well... let's just say that they haven't spent the entire evening in the ballroom."

"I see," I said simply. "But that's the choice and agreement of those involved. It's not a requirement that the lady won in the auction perform. If she WANTS to then she and the man who won her can go do whatever in either his or her stateroom, but there's no expectation of sexual performance."

"Correct," Jonathan replied. That set my mind at ease somewhat. But new curiosities arose.

"So how does the whole thing work? How do you raise funds for the charity? How is the auction run?" I heard him take a deep breath before answering. Not like he was frustrated, but just like he was getting ready to give a speech... and he did.

"As I'm sure you saw on the card I gave you, the cost is one thousand dollars per couple for the day. That alone makes it a fairly exclusive event. The ship leaves port promptly at nine a.m. and there are no refunds for those who miss the boat -- quite literally. Through the morning and afternoon, the women typically take advantage of the day spa that is on board while the men, at least in the past, tend to enjoy the pool, sauna, casino and other activities available. Lunch is a big buffet. Some women are done in the spa by then; some aren't. The afternoon tends to be a bit quieter for activities with a lot of the attendees resting up for the evening's auction, dinner and dance event." He paused to breathe and gather his answer.

"Each couple is given $1,000 worth of chips when they come on board and those chips can be used to tip the workers, gamble at the casino and... it's what is used to pay for the women in the auction. If a person wants to buy more chips than that $1,000 they can. Every woman who comes on board IS required to participate in the auction and any single MEN who come on board -- which is a rarity by the way -- are required to pay an additional $500 deposit just to participate in the auction. Not many of them do. The women are auctioned in alphabetical order by last name and the man who wins them has to turn in the chips for his bid. The woman is then his date for dinner and the dancing afterward. Anything else is strictly private between them. All of the funds raised by the auction goes to the charity. Any remaining chips that are held by the men can be cashed in or can be donated."

He stopped then, I guess to see if I had any questions. My only question was still pretty much the same and I repeated it because I wanted to be reassured. "So, if we attend, Dana would HAVE to be auctioned but what she does with whoever wins her is entirely up to her and I can bid just like everyone else."

"Yes," he answered simply. I thought for a moment.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for your time and the answers to my questions. I'll check with Dana later this evening but I'm pretty sure we'll be there. We'll RSVP per the instructions on the card."

"Great!" he said happily. "I'll look forward to seeing you and maybe whoever wins Dana in the auction will be kind enough to let me share another dance with her."

We said our goodbyes and hung up.

When Dana got home that afternoon, I shared with her everything I had learned from Jonathan. I had thought about it and felt like it would be a fun time. I was honest enough -- with myself and Dana -- to admit that I liked the idea of having to compete for her through bidding and, if she was won by someone else, I still had the opportunity to bid on and win the evening with a woman I'd yet to see or meet. We talked about the possibilities and logistics through the late afternoon but had to put the conversation on hold as we sat down to dinner with our daughter. We DID check to see what plans she had for that weekend and discovered that, if we didn't mind, she was planning on a weekend-long shopping adventure with her best friend. She'd be gone from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, so that left the weekend for us to fill.

After dinner she headed up to her room to do some homework, leaving Dana and I to finish up our conversation. Dana mentioned that she'd like to buy a new dress to "show off what I've got to offer whoever is bidding," as she put it. I agreed. She was quiet for a few minutes and then finally said, "I have to confess, I kind of do hope that Jonathan bids on me." She paused and looked at me. "Would you mind terribly if he won, and I got to enjoy being his date for the evening?" Her voice was teasing and naughty at the same time. The underlying message said that SHE would enjoy being his date for the evening, but would I enjoy the idea of her being another man's date?

I had to think about that for a moment. The jealousy mixed with excited nervousness and the hint of eroticism all left me semi-speechless for a minute. I had to try to sort that out in my head but that might take a bit of time and she needed -- and deserved -- an answer to her question. Honesty; we had promised each other honesty.

"On the one hand I would be jealous and envious of him. I love you. You're MY wife and you have grown evermore sexy in recent years. I feel like we've just begun to REALLY enjoy everything our sex life together can offer." I paused and she nodded her acknowledgement, her eyes locked on mine. "By the same token, I find it extremely erotic that you're so open and honest about how he affects you and how much you think you'd enjoy playing with him." I paused again and she nodded again, and her eyes never left mine. "So ultimately my outlook is this: we go, we enjoy, and we see what happens. If I win you in the auction, you should plan on being my dance partner and sex slave for the evening. I WILL get my money's worth." Her smile widened. "But if Jonathan wins you, then you should be whatever YOU want to be for him for the evening. Dance partner..." I paused and added, "Sex partner... sex slave... whatever YOU want to be so that YOU enjoy yourself. Just don't hide anything. At the end of the evening on the way home, I expect to hear about everything you did."

I don't think her smile could get any bigger. "Agreed," she said firmly, although I thought I saw a brief look of fear mixed with doubt before the smile.

"BUT..." I added. "There's something else you should consider."

"What's that?" she asked looking confused and worried at the same time.

"What if neither Jonathan nor I win you in the auction?" I asked her. "What will you do then?"

She thought for just a moment before replying, "I guess I'll be a good dinner and dance date for whoever wins me." She stopped for a moment, and I swear she was trying to figure out what to say to turn me on the most. She continued. "But if the guy who wins me makes me feel like Jonathan did while we were dancing, you just might hear about how your wife was a sexual animal that evening anyway."

Her words made my cock twitch and my heart race. I loved her more than the world and yet I had no words to describe how it made me feel to hear her talk about being so sexually wanton.

- - - - - - - - - -

In accordance with the directions on the card Jonathan had given us, we got online and RSVP'd. We also planned a shopping outing for the coming weekend so she could select a new gown for the event. We realized we'd have to pack a small bag each so we could take swimming suits, the change of clothes, etc. Dana told me that she was looking forward to the day spa that was on the ship. She planned to get a manicure and pedicure that morning on board and maybe a "nice massage" as she put it. She'd probably get her hair done. It had been a while since she'd gotten a day to spoil herself like that.

Our appetite for each other seemed to grow even more that week. After one bout of energetic sex, I had to ask her what had gotten into her lately. She smiled and said, "The same thing that has gotten into you. I'm turned on thinking about all the possibilities of the cruise."

I voiced my surprise at how open she was being about the possibility of sex with someone else. She told me that she was slightly surprised with herself too, but -- as she'd thought about it spurred on by all of our recent discussions -- we weren't getting any younger and we WERE both committed to having as much sexual fun as we could. So as long as she was confident that I felt comfortable with the idea of her potential sexual promiscuity, she was going to enjoy the thoughts and stay open to the possibilities. My ONLY reservation was that I still sensed an undercurrent of worry or unease on her part. I felt like there was something she wasn't telling me.

In response to her statement, once again I felt that twinge of jealousy, but it was a very small thought far back in my mind while other feelings surged to the surface. Every time she mentioned the possibility of being open enough to enjoy sex with another man my cock twitched, pulsed and grew while my heart raced a couple beats, and I pictured her taking another man. Was that wrong of me? Did it make me perverted? I decided not to worry about labeling what I felt, what my outlook was or how my wife was thinking and (potentially) acting in the near future. We loved each other. As long as we trusted each other, which we would as long as we were both being so openly honest, then our marriage would only grow stronger. I believed that and continued to enjoy the thoughts of Dana being so brazen.