Vacation with a Tryst Pt. 01

Tanya had been planning this trip for months. An exotic getaway to South America with her sister Melissa, and mother, Brenda. A three week tour of Brazil was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the thirty five year old banker. The three women weren't going alone they were going to be part of a small group tour. It was at the insistence of Tanya's husband, Brad, that the three not venture out in South America all on their own as neither him or Brenda's new husband would be joining them.

Brad, a police officer, was all about safety. He worried about Tanya which she usually found sweet, when she didn't find it suffocating. The two had been married for almost ten years already. They had met in college and Brad was the only man Tanya had truly been with. A new found love of fitness and healthy eating had caused Tanya to drop a considerable amount of weight in the last couple of years but in her younger days she had always struggled with being heavy and was never one to have guys fighting over her.

Tanya struggled with seeing her body for what it was now. Even as she stood in front of the full length mirror in her hotel room on her first night in Brazil.

"You look great," Brenda told her, as she tried to coax her daughter out the door.

"You think so?" Tanya asked, pulling at sides of her blue dress. "My boobs don't seem too big?" she continued as she eyed her still bountiful cleavage.

"I would kill for your rack, now let's go!" Brenda joked, as she opened the door. "Our tour orientation starts in five minutes. We can't be late!"

"Fine," Tanya relented, as she ran her fingers through her shoulder length red hair, making sure she had straightened every strand.

Tanya wasn't usually one for tours, or travel in general for that matter. But her Mom had insisted on taking a big trip for her 65th birthday. Tanya was looking forward to the chance to spend time with her Mom and sister who she rarely saw as the three of them each lived in a different corner of the country. And the more she planned out the trip the more excited she seemed to get.

The three women made their way to a small meeting room in the back corner of the hotel's lobby. A big sign reading "Vista Tours" sitting on an easel outside the meeting room door told them they were in the right place. Inside there were four rows of chairs facing the wall, where a projector was sliding through staged pictures of all the various places the tour company went. In the front row sat a man and woman, seemingly in their mid sixties. The woman was scouring the tours itinerary that had been handed to everyone by the tour guide on the way into the room. Seated next to them were three younger men, probably all in their mid twenties all scrolling through their cell phones.

In the back row was a man with salt and pepper hair, sitting by himself also reading the tour's itinerary. Unlike the people in the front he looked up when Tanya's group entered. Tanya who was casually surveying the room, made eye contact with the stranger, and the two politely smiled at each other.

Adam, who had taken a seat in the empty back row didn't want people to pity him for being on this trip by himself. He wasn't used to traveling alone, and when the first group had come in he had tried to make it look like he was waiting for someone else to join him, putting his information folder, on the empty chair next to his.

But when Tanya came into the room he couldn't help but hold his gaze. Her red hair was striking, her body had curves in all of the right places (at least in Adam's mind) and she carried herself with a confidence Adam found insanely attractive. He hadn't come on this trip to "hook up." If anything it was supposed to be a detox from a bitter end to what at one time had been a great marriage. In fact, he had selected this specific tour group because it seemed to cater more to older people, people who he wouldn't be tempted by. That idea quickly seemed to vanish.

Tanya and her family took their seats in the second row. Melissa immediately pulled her cell phone out of her wallet and began to text her boyfriend. Seeing this, Tanya rolled her eyes. Would Melissa who was now almost thirty ever learn to be independent? Tanya had texted Brad earlier in the day to tell him they had arrived safely. Maybe, she'd call him before going to sleep to say goodnight, but in between she was perfectly content to do her own thing.

The tour guide, a short man with thinning gray hair soon came to the front of the room and with a thick Brazilian accent started to praddle off times and rules with corny jokes that didn't always make sense laced in between most sentences. Tanya half followed along with the itinerary half listened to what the tour guide was saying.

Adam, was also having trouble concentrating on what the tour guide was saying.

At the end of the orientation, the tour guide gave a recommendation of places to go for dinner, and told everybody to meet back in the same room promptly at seven AM the next morning.

The small group dispersed from the room, each going their separate ways. Melissa was tired, and not hungry so she went back to her hotel room. Leaving Brenda and Tanya to go to dinner on their own. Being tired themselves they decided to eat at the hotel restaurant and try to make it an early night.

As the two sat waiting for their food, it became painfully obvious to Tanya that her and her mother had very little to talk about when left on their own. The notion gave Tanya an uneasy feeling about how the next three weeks would turn out. But before she could go too deep down that rabbit hole a new voice brought her back to the present.

"You guys are on the Vista tour right?" the voice said.

Tanya looked up to find the man who had been sitting in the back row standing behind the empty chair at their table. She felt her breath catch in her throat. She hadn't taken a good look at him in the meeting room, beyond noticing his existence. But as he stood over her, she was a bit overwhelmed. He was tall, at least six feet and two inches. His salt and pepper hair gave him that distinguished look, but his face which was punctuated by deep brown eyes, still looked young.

"Yes we are," Brenda replied before Tanya could gather herself.

"I thought so, I'm Adam," he said extending a hand out to Brenda.

"Nice to meet you, Adam, I'm Brenda and this is my daughter, Tanya," Brenda said as she shook Adam's hand.

"The pleasure is mine," Adam said, with a smile as he shook Brenda's hand and then extended it to Tanya.

All Tanya could do was smile, as she shook Adam's hand. There was an overwhelming warmth in his touch. His grip was firm yet gentle, and left Tanya's skin tingling even after the handshake ended.

It was then that Adam first noticed just how blue, Tanya's eyes were. They were the type of blue he felt he could get lost in, if given the chance. The feel of how soft her hand was, sent a small shiver up his arm and for a second he could swear he was going to get goosebumps.

"I don't want to impose but would you mind if I joined you for dinner? I hate to dine alone," Adam asked, eying the empty chair in front of him as he struggled to hide how taken aback he was by Tanya.

"Of course, please, take a seat!" Brenda said.

Maybe Brenda sensed the same thing Tanya did, their lack of conversation hinting at just how much they had drifted apart over the years. Or maybe she was feeling the same thing about Adam, Tanya was. Either scenario, Tanya felt, was going to spell trouble for the rest of the trip.

With a polite, cool, thank you, Adam took a seat. Tanya, gathering her composure some from her initial shy school girl response, offered Adam her menu.

Over the coarse of the meal, the three shared cliff notes versions of their life stories. Adam was 45 years old, recently divorced after fifteen years of marriage to his high school sweetheart. He had two kids, both in middle school who now lived with their Mom. This trip was his first attempt to regain himself after what he termed a less than stellar divorce.

There was something strangely familiar to Tanya in Adam's story. He was older, and had kids where she didn't. He was divorced where she was still married. But there was a loneliness there that Tanya empathized with. Her and Brad had been drifting for a while. The little romance that had existed when they were first together, had long ago faded. Since her recent health kick, Brad didn't seem to know what to do with her, and hadn't shown much interest in figuring it out. If she let herself she could see them ending up like Adam and his ex.

She didn't give that version of her life at dinner. Instead she just stuck to the facts; married to a police officer, worked as a financial advisor at a local credit union, no kids, mom to two dogs and a cat.

If there were a race between Brenda and Tanya for who had the best connection with Adam, somehow Tanya seemed to pull in front. Adam was also in the banking industry, he too was a dog lover and he was impressed with how gracefully Tanya seemingly handled the stress of having a husband as a police officer.

Despite her rocky start, Tanya felt herself becoming more and more comfortable in conversation with the man who only an hour earlier had been a complete stranger.

Dinner ended, and the three each went to their own rooms, with a friendly good night. Tanya got ready for bed, and Face Timed Brad, who was too, getting ready to go to sleep. The conversation was dull to Tanya, a chore in being a good wife. She listened to Brad's retelling of his day. She half listened to his warnings to be careful while out and about in Brazil before saying goodnight and the obligatory "I love you."

The next day was a tour of Rio, starting with a continental breakfast at the hotel.

Adam joined Tanya, Brenda and Melissa for breakfast, at Brenda's insistence. It was Tanya who Adam really noticed, however. She was dressed in an orange crop top that left her creamy white shoulders bare, and tight black yoga pants that hugged her hips and accentuated what looked to Adam to be a very supple ass.

On the tour of the city, Tanya and Adam sat next to each other on the bus. At first out of convenience. Adam had to make a last minute run back up to his hotel room for a forgotten rain jacket. Hating to keep everybody waiting he took the first available seat, which happened to be next to Tanya. Or at least that's how he made it seem. But after the first stop he retook the same seat. An occurrence which repeated through out the day.

"Is it a sin to say that all of the churches are starting to look a like?" Adam whispered to Tanya as the bus rumbled towards lunch.

"Maybe, but since I was just thinking the same thing I won't tell anyone," Tanya said with a smirk.

"Good, there's a lot more fun things to go to hell over than that," Adam quipped, a smirk of his own appearing on his face.

Tanya laughed, as she felt a heat come to her face. If she read between the lines, something she always did, she could think that Adam was starting to flirt with her. But she quickly began to chastise herself for overthinking, yet again. 'Don't let wishful thinking get in the way of reality' she thought to herself as the bus pulled up to a local restaurant for lunch.

Even though the tour group was small, the small restaurant seemed to be overwhelmed by their presence. The large table the tour guide had reserved had been double booked and the other group had gotten their first. As the tour guide fought with the poor Maitre De who simply had gotten stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time, the easy going tourists found seating at the various smaller tables scattered around the room.

Tanya, grabbed a seat at the open table closest to her, which was a table for two. Adam, quickly grabbed the other chair at the same table.

"I feel a game of musical chairs coming, and I hate losing," he told her with a smirk. Again, seemingly covering a desire to be near her with convenience.

Again, Tanya could feel her face flushing. Her own husband wouldn't have even made an effort to sit together in a similar situation. She took a deep breath to stop her mind from racing away on her, as a very perplexed waiter handed her a drink menu, instead of the lunch one.

"You think it's a sign?" she asked Adam holding up the menu so he could see.

"If it is, it couldn't have come at a better time," Adam said, as he watched the tour guide getting more and more animated with the frazzled Maitre De over Tanya's shoulder.

"It's not a sin to drink this early?" Tanya asked.

"Not if it's a sign, right?" Adam said. "Somebody up there, clearly wants us to have a fun afternoon."

Over lunch, Tanya felt herself loosening up, and letting more of her real personality come out. Her and Adam, joked a lot, even started teasing each other. And by the time they got back on the bus to go to the next stop of the day, she didn't have to read between any lines. It may not have happened very often in her life but Tanya was sure Adam was flirting with her.

The rest of the afternoon, was a blur of tourist traps and photo ops, for Tanya. The stops started to become actual bothersome interruptions to the conversation about most binge worthy TV shows her and Adam had started at lunch. Each show suggestion came with a reason why the person liked it so much. Giving a bit of interesting insight into the other's personality.

At the end of the day when the tour group returned to the hotel. The guide announced several times to be ready, with bags packed in the lobby at 7AM the next morning. Tanya had assumed Brenda would want to go to dinner, but the lunch hadn't agreed with her so she was retiring to her room to sleep it off. Melissa again, only wanted to call her boyfriend so Tanya soon found herself going with Adam to a local bar just down the street from the hotel.

As the two walked down the street to the bar, Adam couldn't help but wonder if he had been too obvious. Was he flirting too much with Tanya? It had been so long he had forgotten what flirting felt liked, what it sounded like. He liked Tanya and found her attractive. If the opportunity presented itself he certainly would not turn down a chance to sleep with her. But she was married, albeit seemingly not happily. Adam, if nothing else had always had a strict moral compass. There were just certain things he would not do. Near the top of that list was sleep with another man's wife.

In any event he couldn't deny he was enjoying the time he and Tanya were spending together. On the surface their conversations seemed shallow. Favorite colors, favorite TV shows, which are better cats or dogs. It had been the usual mundane first date talk between two strangers thrown together on a tour, neither of whom had, had a first date in over a decade.

As the two entered the small bar, Tanya, the chronic over thinker, could not stop her mind from swirling. Was she crossing some sort of line? Was she unwittingly on a date? What if Adam made a move? She loved his smile, he made her laugh in a way Brad (Mr. Serious as she had nicknamed him) never had. There was something exciting in what was happening, even if she wasn't sure that it was nothing more than happenstance.

"Well it's definitely not too early for a drink now," Adam said, sensing some tension between the two new found friends as they took two barstools next to each other in the corner of the bar.

"That is very true," Tanya said.

"I'm a wine man, myself. What's your poison?"

"Depends on the night," Tonya said, slyly. "Usually, wine, sometimes a martini."

"Really?" Adam asked in surprise. "Very classy."

"I have my moments," Tonya said.

"So what are you feeling tonight?"

"Classy, but the type of classy that is on a strict budget," Tanya said as she seen realized that the bar they had thought was a good local spot was actually a tourist trap, with prices made for tourists.

"Hey I wouldn't expect anything less from a financial advisor," Adam said with a smirk. "What if the first one was on me?"

It was a shot, one that made Adam's heart race even as the words came out of his mouth. They had only met twenty four hours ago, Tanya had made no secret of being married. Adam hadn't dated in a long time, but he knew the implications of buying a drink.

Tanya paused for a few seconds, maybe a couple of minutes, she wasn't sure. Was Adam just being friendly? If she accepted the drink would he be expecting something else later? Did she want him to be expecting something later? She wasn't used to situations like these. She didn't get out that much and when she did, it was usually with girlfriends for brunch or if she was really lucky dinner and a movie with Brad.

"In that case, I'll have what you're having," she said, trying to play it cool even as her heart seemed to be skipping every other beat.

"Brave woman, letting me pick," Adam said, also trying to play it cool. "I said I like wine, I didn't say I know anything about it."

"No pressure," Tanya said. "If I don't like what you pick I'll just remind you for the rest of the tour."

"Ok," Adam chuckled. "Sounds like a plan."

The two smiled at each other as an awkward silence fell over them. It seemed as though they had spent the entire day in conversation. If there had been a lull the tour guide seemed to do something odd, or say something using not quite the correct English words that would prompt one of them to make a wise crack. But as they sat at the end of a bar, at the end of a long day they were left to each other.

Even in silence, Tanya felt more alive sitting next to Adam than she had in a long time. It wasn't necessarily that she was bored at home more that her life was routine, predictable and at least for the moment things were anything but predictable.

The bartender brought over two glasses of the wine Adam had ordered. It was a red Portuguese wine that Adam was praying was not disgusting.

"Not bad," Tanya said after taking a sip. "You've got pretty good taste."

"Thanks, I try," Adam said with a small smile. "Packs a little more punch than I was expecting, though," he added after taking a second sip.

"Yeah, but in a good way," Tanya said.

"That's an interesting take."

"No offense, but I've never drank wine for the taste," Tanya said. "It's a good way to get the brain to stop buzzing."

"No offense, taken." Adam said shaking his head. "I feel the same way. Sometimes you just need a break."

"Exactly," Tanya said. "That's why we're on this trip, too, isn't it? To get a break?"

"I guess, in a way," Adam said, as he looked at Tanya. Something in her face had changed. Her blue eyes which had been sparkling most of the day as they volleyed quips back and forth seemed sadder now, but every bit as entrancing as they had been at dinner the night before. "You know something, I haven't laughed as much as I did today since the divorce."

"I'm glad," Tanya said. "That I could make you laugh, I mean that you enjoyed...." the words kept fumbling out in ways Tanya didn't want them to. Every one seemingly making what she thought was a bad situation worse.

"Hey, hey, I got what you mean," Adam stopped her with a chuckle and a light touch of her hand. "Apparently the wine hasn't kicked in on the brain buzzing thing."

"Apparently not," Tanya said, trying to hide her embarrassment and hoping the heat radiating from her face from the feel of Adam's hand on hers wasn't showing.

Adam went to pull his hand away, not because he wanted to but because in his mind it was the right thing to do. But without thinking, Tanya gently interlocked her fingers with his, not wanting to lose the feel of his touch. Adam looked at her face, her eyes were dancing, again, this time in a searching almost longing way. He gently squeezed, her hand as he smiled, a soft smile.