As a lover of the beach, I always look forward to our summer vacation in South Carolina. We started going to Sullivan's Island several years after we were married, mostly because we wanted to go to a residential beach but also because we wanted to tour Charleston. Hayley and I went about every other year, rationing our vacation time between pleasure and family commitments, enjoying the intimacy of small house a block off the beach that was quite affordable. And as the kids came along, our trips became an annual tradition.

The house served well for several years, but as the kids became older, we needed more room. Our realtor recommended a house on nearby Isle of Palms for the following year's vacation. IOP, as it's known, is also a residential island and in many ways is better suited for families. The house that was recommended by our realtor was perfect. Unfortunately, this house, too, was across the street from the beach, but it remained affordable. It was located directly across from a pedestrian access with a clear path to a beach area that served only the nearby residences. There were always a few people around, but it was never crowded.

The house was also located near the IOP recreation center, which offered playgrounds and fields, and there were plenty of back roads to ride bikes on without significant traffic, which was great for the kids.

The house had a large den, a screened front porch, a large deck to the rear, and a fenced back yard. There were four bedrooms, which would be perfect if we invited another couple, which we planned to do because the kids wanted to bring their friends. The realtor pointed out that each year it seemed the owner added a little to the house, and outdoor showers had been the previous off-season project.

Several weeks later, we shared pictures of the house with close friends who are neighbors, whose kids played regularly with ours. Justin and Kate weren't quite as fond as the beach as we were, as they preferred trips to the mountains. Their kids been to the Gulf a couple of times, and they were eager for them to see the Atlantic. A reservation was placed for the following year.

Kate and Justin have been friends for years. We've watched each others' homes during vacations, double dated for dinner and movies, and borrowed the proverbial cup of milk. Kate looks great. She's about 5'6" with a really cute face. Kate has black hair, blue eyes... I'd estimate her figure to be 34-28-34 or so. A decent hourglass figure, but her curves became fuller some years ago when she became a mom. That, and her breasts are a little small for my tastes. Her husband, Justin, is... just a guy. A good friend. Not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt, but what do I care? Like me, he has a decent build and could benefit from more exercise. The upper 30's are catching up to all of us.

Well, except Hayley. She committed herself several years ago to get into shape (for which she was rewarded with a cruise), and she's maintained herself ever since. She's 5'5", brown hair, and blue eyes. Her 38" breasts have changed over the years, I suppose. They're slightly larger and are beginning to hang a little lower, but she's maintained her hourglass figure, and, at 38, her curves remain in all the right places. I wouldn't say that she has the face of a model. She doesn't, but she's very attractive. Great smile, a spark in the eyes, a perfect nose and lips that are full and inviting. She's gotten her share of looks from other men, and I haven't minded. It's a compliment of sorts.

The trip to IOP was without incident, and we finally got our keys from the realtor and unloaded the vans at the house. The kids were bursting with energy, so Hayley and I took them all to the beach while Justin and Kate went to the grocery store to stock up on groceries.

The kids all had a blast together, and it was nice for us not to have to entertain them as much. This left us free to throw the Frisbee on the beach, sit in the beach chairs, cool off in the waves and generally have a relaxing time. After a couple of hours and one large sandcastle, the kids were ready to return, so we packed up the chairs and a small cooler and headed back to the house.

The only aggravation I can think of at the beach is having to bathe after each trip. It's not like a pool where you can dry off and return a little later. The salt and the sand dries in your swimsuit, and it begins to itch. Besides that, it's also a nuisance because it gets spread throughout the house when you walk and in the shower when you bathe.

After washing our feet off with a hose, I remembered that the owner had installed outdoor showers, built under the rear deck of the house. Although Hayley had to go upstairs to get changes of clothes, soap, and shampoo, this was a minor inconvenience that we could prepare for next time.

One side of the shower was for women and the other for men. Simple enough. The boys were to take turns on one side and the girls on the other. It was quite a relief that our kids were finally old enough to bathe themselves.

While the kids showered, Hayley and I hung up the towels and rinsed the beach toys, chairs, and cooler. Kate and Justin's van was parked, so they were upstairs, probably unpacking groceries or resting from the drive. I told Hayley that I would wait downstairs until all the kids were done, and that she could go on upstairs to the shower attached to our room if she wanted to go ahead and bathe. She shook her head and said that she would wait. Then she winked.

It took only a moment for me to connect the dots. I pointed to her and then to me, and nodded my head to the shower. She smiled, and I knew I was in for a bit of fun!

The kids finally cleared out, and we entered our respective sides as if we were going to take our showers separately, lest the kids take notice otherwise. The showers were interesting. They were built side by side, each with lockable doors and a shower curtain dividing the space between a shower area and a dressing area. They were sided with wood fence siding, 6" wide slats that were 8' tall, with a solid ceiling. The floor was also wood, with gaps between the boards leading to rocks and likely a drain below. The outside and dividing walls were built in a shadowbox style. The fence boards were nailed onto 2"x4" studs in an alternating style on each side. The owner obviously knew that privacy was important, and the boards were placed more closely than usual for this construction so that a person couldn't see through the gaps between the boards into the other shower.

Or did he?

"Hayley, which side?"

"Mine." Good. She was still in the other side.

"Okay, be right there." I made noises like I was gathering my things and moved along the dividing wall, looking between the boards if there were any possible way to see into her side. After all, it wasn't that I wanted to spy on my wife, but... during the week, Kate might just be over there and... I wasn't finding any type of view. I could see the shower curtain at one point, but not very well. I looked down at my shampoo bottle on the floor. Ahh. Some of the boards had warped near the bottom, not out but sideways so that they were not straight. I knelt as quietly as I could, and with my head just off the floor, I found several spots that gave a limited view of the other side, and by moving my head slightly at each, I found I could see most of the shower area although in narrow vertical slices. Hayley, I was happy to see, had already pulled her suit off. And I could see all the good parts.

"You coming?" Her voice surprised me and made me flinch. It was almost like I was caught cheating or something.

"Shortly!" In more ways than one, I hoped.

"What's taking you so long?"

Sometimes, telling the truth, modified slightly, works. "I'm just checking that you can't see from one side to the other. I guess they built it like this so a breeze can blow through." And I could feel a slight breeze.

Mountain people. The following day, Kate discovered that, although she had fond memories of the beach when she was a kid and had been to the Gulf several times as an adult, she didn't like the heat. "I like the mountains because they stay so cool." After only an hour, she left to go back to the house. Drat. So much for my spying game. I had seen her in swimsuits at our neighborhood pool, so seeing her in a swimsuit wasn't something new, but it certainly had created a sense of expectation.

Hayley and I played Frisbee. She was wearing a one piece, but it was a sexy one that didn't hide the ampleness of her breasts. They were completely covered, but their shape was clearly defined because her suit looked glued to her. And I noticed that Justin kept peering her way from his seat, especially when she ran and her breasts jiggled. Well, bounced, really. If he was going to look, I figured I would go ahead and give him a reason, so I invited him to join us. He clearly enjoyed watching Hayley run for the Frisbee, so I made sure to throw an errant throw a little more regularly. Hell, I liked watching them bounce, too. Hayley wasn't a dupe however, and she gave me a "fed up" look when Justin wasn't looking. So I threw it better. But that wind can cause bad things to happen...

Back at the showers, the kids took their turns, and Justin left to go upstairs to the indoor shower.

After a close marital "marital embrace" in the shower, we returned to the den to be welcomed by Justin asking, "Well, that took a while, didn't it?" Hayley blushed, and I gave a guilty but happily so look, and both Kate and Justin laughed. Hayley went to the back to check on the kids. I didn't know if Kate had used the outdoor shower or the indoor one, but I thought maybe an advertisement of sorts might help my chances of watching her in the shower.

"Those showers are pretty neat." Justin and Kate looked at me, expecting more. "It's just different from the usual shower because the ocean breeze blows through a little bit and clears away the steam, and there's the sound of birds, cars passing... it's kind of like camping in a tent, except you're taking a shower." Maybe I should have thought things through a bit. I sounded pretty lame.

Justin didn't seem to notice, though. He said, "Yeah, sounds like it. Maybe we'll try it tomorrow."

"That's not for me," said Kate. "The showers in here are just fine, and I've got all my stuff set up."

Rats!

Day three: No Kate in the shower. Day four: The same. I pretty much gave up on it. Besides, Hayley was certainly making the shower time plenty of fun. Day five: Not quite the same.

Kate was ready to return to the house. She had stayed a couple of hours at the beach, probably helped by the umbrella, plenty of iced water, a steady breeze and occasional clouds to keep somewhat cooler. Justin decided he would return with her, and then their kids decided they would leave too. Our kids weren't ready to return yet, so, thinking that maybe they could have a little fun, I said, "Maybe you can try those showers. It's nice. You'll enjoy it." Certainly they would if they did what Hayley and I did...

Kids turn fickle, fast. Bored without their friends, I suppose, ten minutes later they were ready to leave. We packed and began the walk back to the house. As we approached the street, I noticed that Kate and the kids were just entering the house. Hayley hadn't paid any attention, as she was watching for cars before we crossed the street.

It occurred to me that Kate had still been wearing her swimsuit, which meant that she hadn't used the outdoor showers. That meant that Justin was probably still either outside cleaning their beach stuff, or that he was just beginning his shower. It turned out that he was still washing off surfboards, beach chairs and the toys.

My kids took their showers on the respective sides, with my son leaving first as my daughter had to wash her hair, which takes... forever. Justin began to take his shower, and it was only at this point that I stopped to consider that... Damn! He might see MY wife! That wasn't part of the plan.

Men's swimsuits are pretty flimsy. They're lined, but it's good for nothing. They don't hold the equipment steady. I have no idea what other guys do, but this means that I have to wear underwear under my swim trunks, and even then, if I get a hard on, it's very obvious because of the swimsuit material clinging when it's wet. This usually isn't that big a problem, because cold water tends to make "things" small, rather than large. Still, it makes me self conscious.

I mention all that because here I am thinking "Oh no! Another man might see my wife naked," and I'm suddenly sporting a full erection. I looked over at Hayley. She was bending over washing her sandals, giving me a clear view of her breasts. In this case, I liked what I was seeing, but still, it was another irritation about swimsuits. Women's swimsuits cost tons, and they stretch very easily. Her suit was a two piece. It wasn't really a bikini, though. It had a large bottom that came to the midriff, and an oversized top. But the top also was cut low, and it was here that the fabric stretched, so that, as she bent over, I had a great view of everything just shy of her nipples.

I had spent the afternoon playing in the water with the boys. It made sense, now, why Justin had helped Hayley and the girls with a sand castle. The turkey had been checking out her tits the whole time!

Well, what if Justin saw Hayley naked? Could I live with it? My cock was saying "yes." My fantasy had to been to spy on Kate, but damn! I tried not to think about why this was turning me on just as much, if not more! One thing was certain, if Justin spied on her and Hayley found out, there would be hell to pay.

But how was this going to work? It's not like I could just tell Justin, "Hey look... If you want to see Hayley naked, look between the slats near the bottom of the shower." You just don't do that, friends or not.

We entered the shower and locked the door behind us, placing our dry clothes on a bench in the changing area and moving past the curtain to the shower portion. I was surprised, really. I had half expected Hayley to wait until Justin was done with his shower. We're all relatively conservative, so he would probably be surprised that we were so obviously in the shower together. This was possibly a politically incorrect behavior among friends and neighbors, and, hopefully, it wouldn't be spread around the neighborhood. But I knew him. It wouldn't.

I couldn't tell Justin to look, certainly. But a subtly direct temptation might work. I asked, in a genuinely helpful tone, "Need help with the clasp?" As Hayley lifter her hair so that I could unfasten her top, I had to imagine that there was no way a red blooded male could, upon hearing this, not think to himself, "Hmmph! Naked woman on other side of wall. Me try to look." Hey, it's what I would do.

Ears are going to hear what they're going to hear, but the question is, are you listening?

"Sure," said Hayley. I unfastened the clasps and helped slide the top over her shoulders and down her arms, which was completely unnecessary. Then, as her arms were slightly tangled, my hands found their way to her breasts, this being a frequent ploy for a quick grope. A sandy/salty one, at that. Hayley turned and mouthed silently, "and you?"

I nodded, and she untied my swimsuit and pulled them down along with my underwear. She then turned on the shower and claimed the area for herself, leaving me to remain sandy. Which was okay. It's kind of fun watching your wife bathe. But was Justin?

I noticed that the sounds in Justin's area were not what they should be. The sound of a washrag being squeezed or movement under the spray of water had stopped. There was just the steady spray of water. That meant... he was trying to look, he was looking, or he was dead. And I hadn't heard a body drop.

Remembering how Hayley had jolted me somewhat several days earlier when I was trying to look through, I asked somewhat loudly, "Hey, when's it going to be my turn?"

I didn't really care about the answer, but I noticed that noises of movement under the water resumed next to us, and then the shower was turned off. I heard the shower curtain move and heard him step into the changing area to dry off.

Hayley moved out from under the water while she shampooed her hair, and, as I moved under the water, I realized how thankful I was to start washing the salt and sand off my body. As I washed, I kept asking myself, "I wonder if he saw her tits? I wonder if he saw her cunt? What did he think?"

My eyes drifted across Hayley's body as I thought about this. She noticed my gaze, and she took it that I was ready to be... playful. And clearly, my engorged shaft was ample evidence that I was. We both heard the door to the other side of the shower open and close, indicating that Justin had left. Cool. Maybe he saw her; maybe he didn't. But it certainly turned me on imagining that he did. And she was none the wiser.

We swapped places so that Hayley could rinse her hair. With her hands working in her hair, her breasts were raised to a picture perfect position. It was too bad a camera in the shower wasn't practical. As the shampoo suds drained down her body, I couldn't help but softly caress her soapy breasts, feeling her nipples harden. Her eyes were closed under the spray of water, but she was smiling. As I reached under her breasts to feel their weight, for some reason it occurred to me that the area around the showers was filled with river gravel, and even with our shower running, I should have been able to hear Justin walk by on his way to the house. Maybe I had missed it while I was rinsing. Still...