Chapter 1

Terri looked over her shoulder and shouted, "last one in the water is a slug." Then she ran as fast as she could to the surf, kicking up sand all the way.

Ryan laughed to himself. He was carrying, over one shoulder, a heavy cooler loaded with a six pack on ice, sandwiches and munchies. Over the other shoulder was their beach bag. He didn't even try to catch her. With her blonde pony-tail flying in the wind she looked like a college cheerleader on spring break. She wasn't a college cheerleader but Ryan's wife of ten years and Bren and Paul's twenty-nine year old mom. Still, he found it flattering that every once in a while she was carded at a club or a bar.

They had arrived at South Padre Island very late the previous night after driving more than eight hours from their home near Dallas. This was the first time since they had been married, other than their honeymoon, when they had a week all to themselves. They had never been to South Padre Island before and they wouldn't be there now if Ryan hadn't won a sales contest.

She looked absolutely fantastic in the skimpy black bikini, thought Ryan. Before they left their room, they spent several minutes talking about the brand new tiny swimsuit with the thong bottom that Ryan desperately wanted her to wear. He persuaded her that no one she knew would ever see her. Also, he assured her that she didn't need to worry at all about her figure, she should be proud of it. After all, he reminded her, 5'4" and 105 pounds was as perfect as it gets. Finally she relented. She did, however, need to spend a few minutes in the bathroom trimming so that the tiny bottom completely covered the dark blonde tendrils that grew at the juncture of her thighs and sparsely covered her mound.

It was a weekday -- and after spring break but before memorial day -- so the beach behind their hotel wasn't very crowded. He found a spot a few feet back of the lapping surf, extended the umbrella and spread-out their colorful towels on the warm sand. Terri was frolicking in the cool water like a teenager. "Come on in chicken," She shouted.

Ryan couldn't remember a time when she seemed to be so alive. Things hadn't been going bad for them but most nights they collapsed in bed after taking care of the never-ending duties of family life. Ryan was trying his best to make it as an insurance salesman. But, after three years they were still struggling to make ends meet. Without Terri's help as a part-time cashier at Costco, it would have been even tougher.

Life for them seemed to Ryan, and he guessed also to Terri, to be like a treadmill. Not a bad treadmill, but a treadmill nonetheless. They didn't seem to be going anywhere. Lots and lots of movement and activity but things were about as routine as they could be. Up early every weekday for work. Getting the kids ready. Cleaning the house, preparing meals. Four hours working at the store for Terri, long hard days and evenings of prospecting for Ryan. Weekends were filled with catching up on the laundry for four people, mowing the lawn and shopping. When he added up the birthday parties, anniversaries, special occasions and holidays with family and friends there just wasn't anytime for them to expand their personal relationship. Nevertheless, they both felt blessed. They were healthy and better off than many people.

Secretly, he hoped that they could get a jump-start on their sex life on the long barrier island. They were both so tired most nights at home that sweet hugging seemed to have replaced hot sweaty sex. They were familiar, comfortable with each other. Once or twice a month, usually on weekends, they made tender love. It seldom lasted more than fifteen minutes. And, almost every time, Terri would remind him to be quiet so they didn't wake the children because the walls in their tract house were paper thin. He desperately missed the feverish sex that had been a part of their lives the first few years of their marriage.

Ryan ran to where she stood in the surf. He was surprised at how cold the water felt on his legs. When she wrapped her wet arms around him it was chilling. She grabbed his hand and pulled him farther out until the water was above their waists. "Isn't this great?" She asked.

"It's absolutely freezing," he shuddered.

"You'll get used to it." When he heard those words his thoughts went back ten years ago. That was how much time had elapsed since he saw her walk down the aisle of the Methodist Church towards him. She was a vision of loveliness in her white wedding dress. On their honeymoon in the Poconos she had said the same thing about the temperature of the water in the mountain lake. "You'll get used to it." She was right, he did get used to it then, but now? After a few minutes the water of the Gulf of Mexico became... well, not warm but tolerable, she was right again.

They spent most of the day at the beach. They finished the beer, ate the subway sandwiches, swam and read pocketbooks. Being careful, they made sure that they were covered with heavy sun block and usually sheltered by the big umbrella. Later, in the afternoon they wore T-shirts. Nevertheless, that night they saw that every inch of skin that hadn't been covered by their respective swimming suits was bright pink. For Terri, that was a lot of pink. They were both uncomfortable. Thank God for Solarcaine.