Chapter 4

As John and Toni exited the apartment building, a breeze blew gently down the alley. John felt his shirt sticking to him, reminding him of the real reason that he had stopped in Charlotte Amalie. They set off down the alley and back onto the street.

After stopping at a vendor to get some jerked chicken and some cold water, they started to look around for clothes. John hated shopping. One of the advantages of living your life in suits, John reflected, was the hardest thing to figure out was what tie to wear.

Casual for him was khakis and a button down.

Fortunately, Toni had no problem with shopping. "Are you kidding?" She said "I have been here for months. I was so worried about my money I never bought anything. But I have window-shopped everything a hundred times! Come on, I'll show you where to look." With that, she took his hand in his, and she started to lead him though the maze of side streets and stores.

Two hours later, John was set. Casual wear, beachwear, sandals, and even two swimsuits were stored away in a new piece of luggage. John was sure that if had it been just him, he would have ended up with a bunch of alcohol related t-shirts and his dress shoes. While they were shopping for him, John had seen Toni linger over a few items. Grateful for the help, John gladly offered to get Toni some things.

They say giving is its own reward, and in the last shop this was quite true. Toni needed a bathing suit. John was treated to a half hour of Toni modeling for him. She came out first in a very conservative one-piece. John had seen her legs, but was nearly drooling over the whole package.

Barefoot, Toni came to about John's shoulder. She was thinner than John had first realized, but her tight body still retained some curves. Even with the purple fabric of the suit mashing against her chest, John could see that she was blessed with a good handful in the breast department. As she spun around quickly for his opinion of the suit, he had to keep from opening his mouth at the sight of her spandex-clad behind. It was perfect. But Toni did not like that suit. Or the next suit. Or the one after that. It seemed that she tried on every one in the store, and each time did that slow turn that raised John's heartbeat.

In the end Toni settled on the purple one piece she had earlier rejected, and another, white string bikini with a colorful sari wrap for going to and from the beach. With the shopping finally accomplished, John and Toni headed out for the villa.

By the time they had boarded the second ferry John was exhausted. It had been a long day for him with more excitement than he could have anticipated. He was unsure exactly how he had ended up in this situation with a rather attractive woman, but he was not complaining. In truth John liked the company and was looking forward to what lay ahead. But right now he wanted a little quiet time to absorb it all. He excused himself and left Toni chatting with an Island family who were on their way back from shopping. As the red glow of the setting sun reflected off the water onto his face, John found a bench on the other side of the boat and sat down to relax, soothed by the sound off the water off the hull of the large boat. He closed his eyes and soaked up the warmth and the soft rush of the water off the hull.

He was sitting on an empty beach, stretched out on a chair shaded by a large umbrella. He was holding a cold Carib beer in his hand. As he looked down past the cooler, he noticed he wasn't completely alone. Toni was lying besides him on the smooth sand, spread out on her stomach in her white string bikini. As he studied her motionless form, he could see that the sun was taking its toll on her pale body. The skin along her back was beginning to burn; it's pale pink color slowly resolving itself to matching the wide brimmed pink hat she wore.

"Sweetie? You need to cover yourself up from the sun," He said. He got no response as he watched her back rise and fall in a steady rhythm. "At least put on some of the suntan lotion so that you don't burn more." John set down the Carib and dried his hands on a towel. Toni stirred enough to nudge the bottle with her elbow in a not too subtle request for John to apply the lotion. He knelt down by her legs, flipped the cap open and applied a liberal dollop of the oily cream to his hand. As he rubbed his hands together it looked like he was praying to God for his good fortune. He lowered his hands, which were large enough so that when outstretched they covered the width of her waist, his thumbs meeting together in the damp beads of perspiration that had formed on the small of her back. He slid his hands up rapidly, spreading the lotion in white streaks. His hands went under the hat to her shoulders, and then came back down, running along the curves of her breasts, then down to her waist. He then proceeded to massage in the white steaks until her back glistened with the oil. His hands moved in soft firm circles as he left no spot untouched.

The close contact had begun to arouse him, and he began to feel his shorts tighten as he grew. Feeling self-conscious, he carefully stood into a half crouch and turned away, having decided to take a short swim in the clear water to cool off. He had not even gotten a step away however when he heard Toni make an agitated noise. He looked over her shoulder. She was making little kicking motions, and her hand moved down her side where she blindly located the bottle and held it out for him to take.

John took the bottle and knelt down again, squirting the oil up along the back of one leg, stopping short of the white material covering her butt, then in a line back down the other leg. He resolved himself try and keep this as clinical as possible, as he knew the sexual frustration he was feeling already would only grow while remaining unresolved. His hands move perfunctorily, smearing the lotion in while trying to keep the contact brief. But as his hands moved farther up her thighs, he couldn't help himself as his rubbing became slower, more of a caress as he worked the lotion in. As he touched her, he felt movement. Toni moved her legs wider apart as he caressed her inner thigh. He stopped short of her bikini bottoms and moved to the other leg, working back down towards her ankle. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her arms move. She brought them down to her hips. John pivoted on his knees, he watched as her fingers plucked apart the bows of string holding the suit together. Toni shifted her hips, and John exhaled sharply as her left hand came away with the bikini bottoms in its possession.