Authors: Ellen Harper
I watched in horror as Desiree stripped down to a tank top and bikini panties, giggling as she kicked her jeans on the floor. As expected, her body was absolutely perfect: tan, taut, and toned everywhere. Her breasts were enormous; they looked like perfectly round grapefruits mounted on the front of her chest. There was a small exposed tan line on her belly, and I could see how defined her abs were from a few feet away. Looking down at my pale, small chest, I hated myself.
“I just want to give you an idea,” George offered, nodding at Dom. “Seems like as good a time to do it as any.”
“Sure,” Dom agreed, shooting me a cautious look. I was determined to make myself look as stony as possible; after suffering through a whole evening of Desiree treat me like crap, I had no desire to make it even worse. And if I excused myself, everyone would know how bad I was feeling.
“Now,” George began, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s get this set up.” He took a large roll of canvas and knocked it on its side, unfurling it all over the floor. The completed project looked like a giant carpet, awaiting a paintbrush. Dom handed George a glass with some water and some paintbrushes, and I shivered thinking about what he’d done to me with those same brushes. Dom shot a quick glance at me and I flushed, biting my lower lip. “This is an idea I’ve had for some time,” George said. “It would be a way to get more people interested in the local art scene, and would be a good way for Desiree to get even more exposure.”
Ryan guffawed when George said ‘exposure,’ and George shot him a glare. “This isn’t sexual,” George said in a patronizing tone. “And we’re all expected to be as professional as possible.”
“I’m a little drunker than I normally am when I’m feeling professional,” I said in a dry tone, taking a seat on the couch. Ryan and Dom burst out laughing, spewing wine everywhere. I rolled my eyes. “Great, Dom, you wanna clean that up?” I asked, glaring.
“Tomorrow, relax,” Dom said, still laughing as he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “George, what else do you need?”
“My model,” George said grandly, gesturing for Desiree to sit on the canvas. After George had returned from the bathroom, he’d explained his plan to us. He was planning to paint verses of his and Anya’s poetry on peoples’ bodies and then have his models roll around on the canvas, copying the verses. “It’s a wedding anniversary gift to Anya,” he explained. “This is some of the poetry that we’ve written about each other, and I want to show her how beautiful it can be, taken out of context and displayed all muddled up. The smudges from the models’ bodies will represent all the struggles we’ve faced and overcome together as a couple. But this is just a test run,” he said, indicating for Desiree to lie down on the canvas. “I want to see how it looks.”
Even though I wasn’t thrilled about watching Desiree flop around like a Baywatch star, I had to admit that I loved the rationale behind George’s idea. “That’s great,” I said, nodding in approval.
“Do you mind?” George asked Desiree, indicating that she should remove her top. She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her shirt up and over her head. Her tan breasts were capped with light brown nipples that immediately stiffened as they were exposed to the air. I saw Dom and Ryan staring at her intently and my cheeks burned. “Now lie on your stomach.”
Desiree obediently rolled on her stomach, her flimsy panties riding up in the crack of her ass. George leaned over her and painted some words on her back, then helped her to her hands and knees. Dom, Ryan, and I watched spellbound as he painted cursive script up and down her arms, in different colors. When he was down, he held his hand in the air and twirled it around. Desiree twisted herself into a spiral and collapsed onto the canvas, wriggling around and smearing the paint. It had an interesting effect, and I could barely make out some of the words on the ground.
“A bit muddled,” George said with a frown. “A bit like our marriage, in fact.”
I rolled my eyes, suddenly it didn’t seem like such a fun thing anymore. In fact, I couldn’t believe I’d stayed around this long. The alcohol was wearing off and I could feel my head pounding. Looking around, I saw that our living room was trashed. There were empty bottles and glasses everywhere, a wine stain on the carpet, and traces of paint on the ceiling from when George had flicked the brush over Desiree. Dom and Ryan looked exactly like they had in high school, and I was starting to really feel that Dom hadn’t changed at all. Ever. But it was like I couldn’t even make myself be upset about that anymore, because it just felt like my fault.
It was always my fault. My fault for nursing a lifetime crush on an asshole. My fault for letting him goad me into acting like a complete whore. My fault for letting it go. Ugh.
“What?” George and Dom looked up at me. I blushed, not realizing that I’d spoken the last word out loud.
“Nothing,” I lied, pushing my light brown hair away from my face. “It’s totally fine. I’m going to bed, though. Dom, you need to clean up.”
“Oh, okay. Goodnight!” George called, turning his attention back to Desiree.
“Night,” I called, avoiding Dom. He cleared his throat and went into the kitchen, clearly doing his best to avoid me as well. It wasn’t shocking that he wasn’t going to do the polite thing and make everyone leave, but I didn’t feel like getting into it with him.
In bed, with the lights off, I couldn’t sleep. Occasionally, faint giggles and laughter filtered their way up the stairs and under the crack in my bedroom door. I lay there, seething, hating Desiree, hating Ryan, hating George, and most of all, hating Dom. I even hated myself. I lay in bed and did breathing exercises until I eventually drifted off into a light, restless sleep.
--
“Michelle?” Dom asked, reaching over and stroking my forearm with his fingertip. I shuddered, feeling pleasure course through my body at such a slight touch.
“Yeah?” I whispered, reaching out and stroking his face. We were lying in the sun, on giant, comfortable lounge chairs. Beyond where we lay, I could hear the crashing of the sea and feel salty, damp air caressing my face. I wasn’t actually sure how we’d gotten there, but it felt so good that I didn’t mind. Being alone with Dom felt amazing, but away from everyone else in our lives made it even better.
“I love you,” he said, grasping my fingers with his giant hand. He lifted my knuckles to his lips and kissed my skin gently. I could feel his warm breath on my skin, and sighing with pleasure, I rubbed him under his chin. Even his stubble didn’t bother me. Dom leaned back and closed his eyes, purring as I stroked him under the chin.
“Let’s go swimming,” I said, getting up and shielding my eyes from the sun. The entire beach was deserted; I couldn’t believe that we had it alone to ourselves. It felt both magical and dangerous, and again I had a fleeting moment of panic when I realized that I didn’t actually know where we were.
Dom got up and grinned at me, playfully slapping me on the ass before he ran into the water. It took me a minute to realize that he was naked; his tan looked, even more, splendid than usual. Looking down, I was naked too and also tanned. For once, I wasn’t embarrassed about my body, in fact, I felt more comfortable than I would have felt in a bikini. It felt so good to be happy!
Dom waited for me with his feet in the water, reaching out for my hand and tugging me into the ocean. I could feel the water pulling and sucking at my feet and it felt heavenly. I looked at Dom and smiled, watching as the salty wind blew his locks of blonde hair around. I couldn’t remember ever being with Dom and feeling this carefree. The wind blew a chunk of hair into my mouth and I giggled, jumping further into the water and splashing Dom. He growled and charged at me, wrapping his arms around my waist and tackling me in the warm, knee-deep water. I went down with a shriek, laughing and cackling and pulling Dom down with me. We started wrestling and soon, he had me pinned with both hands above my head. I was helpless as he stared at my exposed breasts, licking his lips. The feeling of the sun and warm water on my body was so relaxing; I closed my eyes and tilted my head up, enjoying every moment of it. Dom’s lips came down to meet mine a moment later. He tasted soft and salty and wonderful, and my lips parted to feel his warm tongue, caressing mine. I moaned softly into his mouth and felt his wet hands slide down my body. Dom wrapped his arms around me and scooped me up, pulling me close to him. His skin was warm despite the water, and he felt sturdy and secure. He held me tightly, nudging my legs apart with his thigh and rubbing it against my pussy. It felt so good that I gasped. Dom chuckled and rubbed me again with his strong thigh muscles, sending waves of pleasure through my body. I could feel Dom’s erection poking me in the thigh and I reached down, grasping it in my fist. Dom shivered and moaned into my neck as I stroked him up and down, listening to him pant.
Suddenly, he grabbed my hand away and hoisted me into the air, wrapping my legs around his waist. I held on to his neck and shoulders, and he held me steady with a hand on my ass. With a grin, he slid a finger between my ass cheeks. I squirmed and yelped, making Dom giggle and hold me tighter. I felt him guiding his cock to the entrance of my pussy and pushing, groaning as he slowly entered me. Eagerly, I pushed my hips against him and pulled every inch of his cock into my soaked pussy. It felt so good that I cried out and rubbed against him, desperate for stimulation on my clit. With his other hand, Dom tangled his fingers in my hair and stared into my eyes as he slowly pumped in and out of me. My legs were aching with the effort of staying wrapped around him, but he showed no sign of tiring or slowing down, and began to fuck me faster. I moaned and held on tighter as Dom began to exert himself, breathing hard and sweating. It began to seem less and less strange to me that we were on an empty beach, stark naked and fucking. As Dom groaned and thrust, I felt a hot bead of pleasure building inside of me. Desperately, I rubbed against him until I could feel his pelvic bone rubbing at my clit. It felt so good that I closed my eyes and concentrated, rubbing myself harder and harder until I felt myself explode in an orgasm, drenching Dom’s cock with my juices.
Dom gasped and thrust in so deeply that I could feel him in my lower belly. He bit my earlobe and whispered my name over and over, gushing into me. My whole body was weak as I felt his orgasm flood me, and he squeezed me tightly, burying his face in my neck. The sun felt hotter than ever after our little tryst, and I unwrapped my legs from his strong waist, feeling very wobbly and unsteady.
I gestured to the water and ran in, feeling the delicious rush of cool wetness on my skin. Diving in, I swam past the breakers and floated on my back. There were no clouds, no birds, nothing. If I weren’t so happy, it would have been downright eerie.
“Dom?” I called, treading water and turning around. He was a few inches away, and he swam over, floating around and spitting water high in the air. “Where are we?”
“We’re on honeymoon, Michelle,” Dom replied, looking slightly exasperated. “I can’t believe you’d forget.”
“Must have been the orgasm,” I joked, feeling a weird sense of panic in my stomach. Looking out over the vast ocean, I began to feel tired. I turned back towards shore and began paddling slowly in, surprised at the strain in my muscles. Normally, I could swim for hours.
“Are you feeling okay?” I was surprised to turn and find Dom right beside me.
“I didn’t think you came in with me,” I said, looking at him. He grinned and shook his head, sending droplets of water flying in every direction. When he was done, he looked like a wet golden retriever.
“Of course, I’m always right there with you,” he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. “You know how much I love you.”
I frowned. “Then why did we break up? What happened?”
Dom looked at me and cocked his head to the side. “Michelle, what are you talking about?” His tone was slow and he sounded confused. I rolled my eyes.
“Dom, really,” I said, folding my arms over my naked chest. “Don’t play dumb. After Dad and Sandy got married, we were together and then broke up.”
“Who’s Sandy?” Dom asked, squinting at me. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright, Michelle?”
A clap of thunder interrupted my reverie and I looked up, noting that the once-pristine sky was now full of clouds. Frowning, I looked back to our beach chairs. There weren’t any towels, and a sudden breeze turned my warm skin into pimpled gooseflesh.
“Um, yeah,” I said, looking really hard at Dom. He looked the same as he always did, only better. “Are you feeling okay? You seem to be a little forgetful right now.”