Unchartered Waters

"Where are the donuts?" said a husky voice from the next cubicle.

Shreya had just moved into the office that was to be her workplace for the next 3 months. She was a consultant from India and she was here in the Midwest on an assignment. These assignments usually meant living away from her husband. She hated that and was not relishing the prospect of being alone. The saving grace was that she was very kicked about her job. She could not wait to begin. Each time an assignment ended, she would say "never again" to herself, but come the next opportunity and she would fight tooth and nail for it.

Right now, as she arranged her desk, she was thinking about her husband. She had just spoken to him on the phone; he was in Goa, partying with a few friends. She knew how the party would go, she and her husband were an open minded couple. Given the jobs both of them had, they had long ago agreed on an open relationship. They were doubtful about it when they started, but time and again it had proved to be the right choice. If anything, they loved each other more with each passing year.

"Where are they?" said the voice again, this time accompanied by a twinkle in his eye.

"Sorry?"

"The donuts. All newbies to this aisle have to treat us to donuts. That's our tradition."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I'll think about it" she said with a wink.

She got right down to work and after the initial set of introductory meetings with her team, went down to the cafeteria to get some lunch.

As she stood in front of the deli section, she remembered the conversation from the morning. It brought a smile to her face. He sounded like a good guy, as she ran over the details in her head. At 6' 2", with an athletic build and a formal shirt that hung about him reluctantly, he definitely looked interesting. Oh, and the salt and pepper hair. Must be at least 40, 12 years older than Shreya's 28 years. She was 5'2" tall – about average for an Indian woman – she was brown skinned, had black hair and brown eyes. As for her build, she had just the right amount of everything.

She looked for a donut, but they had run out for the day. Not one to give up, she packed a chocolate muffin in a brown bag and went back to her seat. She walked over to the next cubicle to give it to her new could-be friend. He wasn't there, so she left the bag on his table with a note that read "Does it have to be a donut or will a muffin do?" with a wink smiley.

She went back to work and got drowned in all the meetings and overseas calls she had to make to her team back in India. A couple of hours later, he dropped by with a huge grin.

"Was that you? That was very sweet. I have to get back to work now but hey, welcome to the bay."

He was gone before she had a chance to say anything. She finished work and went back to the hotel and collapsed. She hadn't had enough time to catch up on sleep after her 24 hour flight from India.

The next day was a long day at work. It was the middle of February and it had snowed the previous night. Since she didn't have to shovel the snow, she loved it. It put her in one of those bright, cheerful, "isn't-it-a-beautiful-life" moods. With a spring in her step, she got into the office and climbed the stairs to her floor. She entered her office to find a box of Merci chocolates with a note that said "To my new neighbor. Thanks for the muffin."

The day couldn't start off any better. She smiled to herself, walked over to his seat, and said thank you.

The next few days went by in a blur of meetings, presentations and deadlines. Shreya did not have time to breathe. She would enter the office with the mobile phone to her ear and leave with the phone still there. However, at least once a day, they would run into each other and grin broadly.

A couple of weeks later, he strode into her cubicle. She was on the phone. He took a blue marker and wrote on her whiteboard.

"Urgent. Come to my office."

That had her attention. She cut the conversation short and walked to his office.

"What happened?"

"How do you spend your weekends?"

"And this was urgent because?" She asked, with her hand on her hip and eyebrows raised, but a smile playing on her lips, despite herself.

"It wasn't. But you are always busy! And you didn't answer my question."

"Hmmm. Over here or back home?"

"Both. Why don't you sit down?"

Still standing, "Back home, we go out for a drink or two! Here, I am still busy setting up my apartment. And now, I have to get back to work. Later!" And she was gone. She didn't have to run, but something about him made her heart race and forget words.

A couple of hours later, he strode in to her room again. He erased his earlier message, which was still there, which she had been stealing glances at, and asked "Who's the 'we'?"

She didn't need to ask what he meant. "My husband and I," she said with a teasing smile.

"Ah, I see. Good to know. Do you need help setting up your apartment?"

"No, my colleagues are helping me. I should be all set by this weekend!"

"Right. See you around!"

She felt a pang of sadness. But what else could she have done! She didn't want to lie. She got back to her work, which was now beginning to get hectic with the upcoming deadlines. She had enough to worry about, as it was.

After this, as if by some unspoken agreement, they avoided each other. Shreya had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She knew this was trouble, she hardly knew him, he had barely said anything to indicate any more interest than a friendly coworker might have, and yet...

This went on for a couple of weeks. One Monday morning, as she was looking through her calendar to plan the rest of the day, he walked in. He was wearing a maroon t shirt and blue jeans. His boots looked like they just took him all the way up and back from a mountain hike. He was tall and the boots made him taller. She had an irresistible urge to check if she could stand on her toes and reach his lips.

"Hello?" he repeated.

She snapped back to reality. She saw that he had drawn a martini glass on her whiteboard. She raised her eyebrows in a question mark. He drew a question mark next to the glass. She didn't know how to say no, or yes, for that matter. She shrugged her shoulders in a maybe gesture.

He drew a sad smiley on the board with a grin on his face. She laughed and said "By the way, I am Shreya."

"Steve."

"Hmmm. So what do you do here Steve?"

"I set up the accounting processes for the company."

"Nice to meet you."

"Sweet. I'll pick you up on Saturday at 7pm."

"Cool. Do you know where I live?"

"Yes, I do." And he was gone. She didn't want to know how he knew, she was just thrilled that he had somehow taken the trouble to find out.

She smiled after him. For a long time. Saturday was 4 long days away.

Over the next 4 days, they stole snippets of conversation into their busy work week.

"Where are we going? What am I expected to wear?" she asked.

"Anything will do, it's just a neighborhood bar."

The next day, "How am I going to know which apartment is yours?"

"You said you knew where I lived. Just shout for me."

"Can I have your number?"

"Nope."

And the next, "Do you have a favorite drink?"

"I do, but aren't we getting a Martini?"

"Just asking."

"The Starbucks coffee liqueur."

The day before, he asked, "What would you like to do after the Martinis?"

"Play some games on a Nintendo Wii?"

"Sure, I have some at home."

"This, I did not expect."

"Neither did I."

And a final check, "You aren't bailing on me, are you?"

"Why ever would I?"

He came as promised at 7. She could see him out of her window and waved to him. She wondered how he finally managed to find her apartment number. She didn't know he had driven around until he spotted her by the window. She put on her sling bag across her shoulder, wore a pair of ballets and nearly hopped and skipped out of the house. It was mid-April, there was a chill in the air, but not enough to stop her from wearing a knee length dress. She had on a sheath that hugged her body and showed off her curves nicely. She had spent a lot of time considering what to wear and finally settled on a casual look that didn't betray how anxious she was.

She got into the car next to him. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She was glad she didn't overdress. He gave her a look over and smiled appreciatively. They started off and all of a sudden, an awkwardness settled over them. Neither of them knew what to say. They realized they had never really spoken to each other before.

"What are we going to talk about? Are you going to tell me all about India?" he asked her.

"No, we will talk about each other."

And so they did. She told him how she met her husband. He told her how he was never engaged. Typical white man problems. They reached the bar. She ordered a chocolate martini and he ordered a classic. While they waited for their drinks to arrive, he wanted to know about her work. She told him about the team she managed and the work they did for his company.

"I'd be very scared to work in your team," he said.

"Oh, I am not a taskmaster."

"No, but you are too pretty."

Cheesy. Not for the first time, she thought how unlikely it was that she was hanging out with him. Not her type at all.

Two drinks down, he asked "Did you order the chocolate martini so that it tastes good?"

"Of course," she said.

She saw the smirk on his face and realized what he meant. And then just like that, she wasn't hung up about his 'type' anymore.

Another drink down, he declared he had enough. She was disappointed, she didn't want to leave yet. But she always knew this could go either way, what with him being the local heart throb and not wanting for a date. She put on a nonchalant face and nodded yes.

"You are up for the Wii game I hope."

"The what, now?"

"The game on the Wii, I have it all set up at home."

"I was only kidding. Besides you live in another town."

"It's just a half hour away and I'll drop you back."

She didn't put up much resistance.

Half an hour later, they drove into his garage. They stepped out of the car and entered the house, straight into the games room. It had everything from basketball hoops to an air hockey table. She went wide eyed. They started playing some of the games. He beat her at every one of them; it frustrated her. They stopped at the mini basketball station. And suddenly, she couldn't breathe anymore. She was acutely aware of his presence next to her. It was her turn and she had frozen. He nudged her elbow with his. She tried to concentrate on the ball in her hands. She failed.

He chuckled and said "You seem to be getting bored, come here,' and veered her towards another corner of the room. There was a small mini bar set up, that she had not noticed when they first entered.

He jumped over to the other side and asked "what can I get you?"

"I am ok with whatever you have."

He pulled out the coffee liqueur from behind the bar. "I believe someone likes this."

"I am impressed that you remembered."

"It wasn't easy, I had to go searching for it all over town."

This was a lie, she knew it, and she loved it. He was making an attempt to earn her favor as he poured them each a shot.

As the liqueur warmed its way down her throat, all she wanted to do was pull him close and kiss him. There was something stopping her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was probably the feeling that he had done this to a million women before and was laughing to himself at how easy she was. She tried to shake away the feeling as he led her upstairs. A boxing game was on the Wii, set at level 1, with the remote and nunchucks neatly set up on the floor. Ready to play.

"Show me around the house" she said. She didn't want to stand next to him again, she didn't trust herself. He took her around. The place was immaculately maintained, it held no trace of a woman's touch and was very much a man's den. They went out of the kitchen to what turned out to be a garden. And then there it was, tucked away among the plants, clear blue and sparkling in the night. A big sprawling swimming pool.

"This is a beautiful house," she said settling down on the pool bench. He switched on the blue lights lining the pool which was slowly sinking into the shade from the surrounding trees. She couldn't imagine someone could make their house so complete. He smiled and said nothing. There was that awkwardness beginning to creep into the distance between them again. It was incredibly romantic and neither of them knew what to do next.

He busied himself throwing some floaters into the pool and selecting music. She looked at the pool and pretended to revel in the beauty of the scenery. The buzz from the alcohol heightened her senses. She felt she was in an unreal world, far away from home, with a stranger, not knowing what to anticipate. He came up from behind her and started gently massaging her shoulders.

She was surprised. Should she keep quiet? Should she ask him what he was up to? What if he stops because she asked? What will he do next if she doesn't say anything? Wild thoughts raced through her head. She didn't say anything. His hands moved down to her back, massaging her with the ball of his palm. With each touch, she needed more will power to not collapse back into his chest. She was certain that he could hear her heart beating, nay thudding.

His hands went up to her shoulders and turned her towards him. He bent down and kissed her lips. She gasped, audibly. Every single encounter with him had been leading up to this, she knew it, and yet she was not prepared for it. He pulled her face away from his with a raised eyebrow and a concerned look. She couldn't look into his eyes, there was the very possible danger of swooning. Instead, she closed her eyes and went closer to his lips. And when she kissed him, he put his hand on her neck and pulled her face close to him. The kiss was long and passionate. It brought Rhett Butler to her mind. Even in the heat of the moment, she found herself wondering if this was a style all American men followed, and how very romantic it was. His other hand started exploring her back, it moved smoothly on her soft dress and her contours. Just when she was about to slide her tongue into his mouth, he pulled back and said "Let's go for a swim."

"I don't have a swim suit."

"You don't need one."

"Nuh uh. I am not skinny dipping here."

"Why not?"

"Because you will stare at me."

"That is the general idea."

She smiled coyly. She stood up, and walked barefoot along the side of the pool, away from him, trying to decide what she should do, what she wanted to do. He walked up from behind her and caught her dress.

"Can I take this off?"

She didn't say anything. He lifted the dress off over her head, exposing her matching bra and panties – a white set with red lips and hearts on them.

"So you knew this was going to happen?" he teased her.

"No, this is how I dress normally."

He chuckled and muttered under his breath "Where have you been all my life?"

He stepped away from her to take a long look at her. She stood there trying hard not to cover herself up.

"Take those off," he said

"No, you undress first."

He smiled and took off his t shirt. His body was ripped. He had a bit of hair on his chest which she loved.

"Go on, take off everything," she said.

He hesitated. Only for a moment. He put his fingers inside the belt of his shorts, inside the top of his underwear and started moving both of them down. She watched his face, not wanting to stare. He bent down, sliding his shorts up over his feet and put them neatly away. Only then did she dare look. There it was. The biggest, straightest cock she had ever seen. She was too shy to stare for long.

"Your turn," he said.

She panicked. He looked perfect. She felt nowhere near what could be called perfect. She had no idea why he was with her. The alcohol gave her courage, so she decided to put up a show. If he was going to make fun of her, so be it. She reached to the back of her bra and unhooked it. She could feel his gaze on her body as she slipped the bra straps over her shoulders and flung it at him. As he continued to stare at her, she ran her fingers over her waist, across her nipples, around her neck and ruffled up her hair. She then brought her thumbs to the side of her panties, sashayed out of them, slowly walked over to him and handed them over to him. He smelt them before putting them away. The lust in his eyes was now obvious. He let out a soft whistle.

She turned around and started walking towards the pool. He called out after her to wait for him, but she was already climbing the steps down into the pool. "The water will be cold" he said, but she could feel nothing but warmth inside her body. As he entered the pool, she was already at the other end. He caught her arm from behind and turned her over. He got close to her ear and whispered "Your boobs, they are perfect". He came closer and squeezed them with both his hands. They filled his hands and her nipples, hard from the cold water pressed against his palms.

They stood like that for a long while. "Why am I here, in your pool?" she asked, while his hands were fondling her breasts.

"I am very attracted to you", he said, plucking on her nipples.

Her heart stopped. To hear him say it titillated her no end.

She tried to make light of it, put her arms around his neck and said "That's only because you think I am this exotic woman from the Orient".

"You are exotic, that's for sure," he whispered.

He took his hands off her breasts, and pulling her close, he pressed her against his chest. He pulled her closer and closer until she could no longer breathe. "You smell so good," he purred.

She slid her arms from his neck, down his spine to the top of his ass. "This ass, it's quite something. How do you manage it?"

"I play basketball for the local team."

"Ah, that also explains the calves."

"You've been checking me out?"

"All evening long."

He lifted her off her feet and made her float on her back. Her breasts were half visible from the top of the water. He held her up with one hand on the small of her back while his other hand explored each part of her body. Her face, her neck, around her breasts, down the middle of her ribs, and into her sweet navel. Floating in the pool on her back, with the stars above and a sexy man next to her, she knew it was her lucky day. She wanted it to last forever.

She put her feet down and asked if he could swim while carrying her on his back. He didn't think it was possible, but she wasn't one to listen to good advice. She put her arms around his neck from behind and pressed hard against his back and whispered a please into his ears. He groaned, reaching back to hold on to her waist and took his legs off from the ground. They were now floating. She hugged him tighter and slipped her hands around his waist and down to where something seemed to be waiting for her attention. This shook him and the next second, down they went to the bottom of the pool. They came up gasping for air and burst out laughing.

"You know what you are? Trouble!" he said. She laughed, pushed him against the pool wall, went down below the water, held his waist and kissed him on his stomach. And then went further down until she was dangerously close to his hardness. She came back up for air. He pulled her close and said, "You are a tease, I love that," and carried her to the side of the pool with the stairs.

Still in the water, he put one leg up on the bottom most stair and made her sit on his thigh. He leaned closer to kiss her neck, fervently, violently. And then without warning, he put his finger up between her legs and slid in. Startled, she jumped down from his thigh but he wouldn't let go. He stared into her eyes as he thrust his finger, first one and then two, back and forth into her wetness. She was finding it hard to breathe but returned his stare. It was the most passionate, longing look she had ever shared with a man. He lowered his gaze to her chest, which was now heaving heavily. There were small water droplets on her body. He couldn't take his eyes off them. He started sucking them off her neck and biting into her flesh. It was the sweetest pain ever. She wanted to scream out loud, no one had ever teased her so.