It Happened in Saint Thomas

"My dad told me the same thing," Hannah said. "I can't imagine being on my feet that long. I guess I take for granted the luxury of registering for class, sitting in front of my laptop."

They were still engaged in lively discussion when, like many of the other guests, they were taking their last bites of pastry coupled with their last sips of coffee. The night was still young, and Hannah wasn't yet ready to turn in.

As if he read her mind, Craig said, "Well, with all this food in my belly, I feel like taking a walk. Care to join me?"

"Yes, let's," she said.

The resort featured walking paths that wound past the pool area, then down and around the grounds. The temperature had dropped but the humidity, as always, remained high. The resort's elevated location afforded a great view of the surrounding landscape, lit by thousands of twinkling lights, from the harbor to the more distant islands. A better setting for romance would be hard to find, Hannah thought, doing her best to keep in step in her low heels. The paths were narrow and of packed gravel, though wide enough, barely, to walk two abreast. Off and on, their arms touched, and within a couple minutes, she found that slipping her hand into his came as natural as putting one foot in front of the other.

He looked at her when she did that, then stopped and reached out for her other hand. They were just inches from each other, hands clasped together, gazing into each other's eyes. Then Hannah said, "If you're wondering if I want you to kiss me, the answer is a profound yes."

"I've wanted to do that since we talked in the lounge."

"Yes, I sensed you did, and I wouldn't have stopped you."

He chuckled. "Even with all those people around?"

"Craig, I began to melt after you sang those lines. Not to mention being seduced by your sexy blue eyes. Not to mention, conversation-wise, that we seem to groove together, despite our so-called generational differences."

"Talk myself in and talk myself...There's no talking myself out, Hannah. You're irresistible."

Still holding both his hands, her lips met his in the middle of the walking path. They touched, gentle and light, a soft tiptoe into something she felt would be fun and exciting, if not wonderfully naughty. "Hold me," she said, and he did, wrapped his arms around her and then kissed her some more, deeper, more intense, and she responded in the same way, losing herself in his loving embrace, her senses tuning out everything but the gentle warmth of him amid the sensuous feel of the balmy island air, the sort of air that compels a young woman to shed her clothes when she's with the right person. And from the way Hannah Gerber felt, Craig Conroy, in this time and place, was the right person.

Little wonder that they failed to hear the approaching footsteps of another couple out for an after-dinner stroll. Jill and Bradley Compton had the same idea, with nary a thought that they'd run into Jill's ex, Kaleigh's dad, necking with one of Kaleigh's millennial-age friends. "Ohmygod!"

Jill's gasp was enough to pry the couple from their embrace. Startled at first, Hannah grinned, embarrassed and amused at the same time.

Craig assumed the classic kid caught in the cookie jar grin and shrugged. "Looks like we had the same idea," he said.

"Looks like we did," Bradley said, his hands tucked into his cream-colored Docker pants, his loafer-covered, sockless feet, doing a little shuffle. "Sorry for the intrusion," he added, said not as a real apology but something to break the tension.

Jill ran a hand through her short, frosted hair and began to laugh. Then she said, "Well, Craig, if our daughter doesn't mind her middle-age dad making time with a woman young enough to be his daughter, then maybe I shouldn't either. Have fun." She folded her fingers, the nails covered in a light red polish, into a subtle wave. "Toodaloo."

Hannah could hear them giggling down the path. "I bet she's jealous."

Craig relaxed his mouth into an insouciant grin. "Could be. If I saw one of my single friends making it with a young gal who looked like you, I'd at least be envious."

She reached for his hand. "And if I saw one of my girlfriends making it with a guy who looked like you, I'd be envious as well."

He took her other hand. "What we need is some privacy."

Hannah had been thinking the same thing. She'd never slept with a guy on the first date, let alone one she had just met. However, considering the fact that she'd been horny before she even got here, and now found herself involved with a man who made her even hungrier for something that had been missing in her life for too long... "Craig, not to sound corny, but your place or mine?"

*****

They went to his place, his room, which looked a lot like hers. The queen-sized bed with the white headboard and white bedspread. The bamboo-frame furniture, champagne rug and that majestic view of the bay. He kept the lights off, save for one of the two table lamps.

Hannah primped in front of the mirror on the dresser, a slight frown etched on her face. "My hair gets frizzy in this humidity."

Craig stood behind her, watching her, watching herself. "Your hair is beautiful. Like all the rest of you." He swung his arms over her shoulders and began giving her light kisses on her neck. "And you smell great, too."

She gave her hair a final hand-brush, then turned around and pulled his blue button-down shirt from the waistband of his trousers. Then she slid her hands under his shirt and up to his chest. "I think you're beautiful too, Craig. From your baby-blues to your velvet voice to that solid chest I'm feeling. Now kiss me."

With their lips sealed, they slipped out of their shoes at the same time. Then Craig pulled her closer, and Hannah could feel something that told her in no uncertain terms what Craig was feeling. "Something's growing down there," she said, cupping her hand over the crotch of his light blue, seersucker trousers.

"You noticed," he said, in a comically deadpan tone.

She giggled. "Yes, I noticed. Can't imagine what girl wouldn't. Take your pants off and I'll notice even more."

While Craig stepped out of his pants, Hannah reached back and zipped out of her dress. Craig unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the corner of the bed. Then he faced Hannah, standing before him in matching yellow panties and bra. "Wow," he said. It was a soft, understated wow, an expression of awe, as if he could scarcely believe he was on the verge of making love to this beautiful millennial girl who appeared to want him as much as he wanted her.

"I hope you don't think I'm too fat," she said. "I'm a little insecure about my body."

He held her at arms' length, hands on her shoulders. "Are you kidding? You have a beautiful body. Firm, with curves in all the right places. I never did go for ectomorphic types."

She chuckled. "An ectomorph like Kaleigh I'm not."

"But lovely, you are." He reached behind and unsnapped her bra.

She grinned, watching him gawk at her "honey dews," as one ex-boyfriend of hers called them. She liked the gentle way he kissed them and the translucent, porcelain-like skin between them. He backed up a few steps, then sat on the edge of the bed. She straddled his lap, while his tongue continued to roam, from her breasts to her lips and back again.

Slipping from his lap, she pulled off his blue Hanes briefs and got on her knees. She didn't need to give him oral to get him erect--he already was--but she wanted to. She was good at this, she'd been told, and from the way he reacted, with his head arched back and soft moans, it was obvious that he thought so, too. Pulling away, she said, "Now don't come yet. I want you to do that inside me. And don't worry, I'm protected."

She slipped off her wet panties, then straddled his lap once again. He entered her with ease and then, after just a few thrusts, he picked her up, laid her on the bed and slipped between her legs. "What a luscious girl you are," he said.

Luscious is something no man had ever called her. She loved it. She loved his loving ways also, the soft, gentle way he kissed her as he made love to her, and those sexy blue eyes, looking down on her, full of lustful longing, yes, but also affection. Expect the unexpected, someone once said to her, but this was something she never could have expected in her wildest dreams--coming to Saint Thomas for a friend's wedding and then sharing a bed with the friend's dad. "What a delicious man you are," she whispered.

She couldn't say much after that. Her voice gave way to moans of joy, its source coming from this 'delicious' man delivering waves of delicious pleasure, and then bringing her to climax in the midst of his own. Perhaps perfect timing really did exist, she thought, listening to his oohs and aahs, while she shook from her orgasm--'after shocks' she once jokingly called those waves of quivering sensation that followed.

"You're amazing," he said, propped up on an elbow, drawing circles along her tummy and then kissing her again in the process.

She reached up and ran a hand across his clean-shaven face. "So are you, Craig. And I'm so glad you're in my life."

Then he began to sing:

"I might have to wait, I'll never give up

I guess it's half timing and the other half's luck

Wherever you are, whenever it's right

You'll come out of nowhere and into my life...

"And I hope you'll stay there for a while," he continued. "This ain't no one night

stand, you know."

Her eyes began to mist up. "No one night stand is right. I'm so glad we found each other. Even though, as I'm sure you're aware, it could be fraught with complications. I know what your ex thinks of it. How will Kaleigh take it?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure at this point. We'll see. Meanwhile, I'd love it if you'd spend the night with me."

She snuggled closer to him. "You bet."

*****

What a night! He made love to her twice more, and then cuddled half the night with her. In her experience, too few men liked to cuddle for as long as Craig had. Now it was close to eight, a beautiful, sunny morning. Kaleigh's wedding was today, late in the afternoon, at sunset, just as she and Peter had planned it.

Hannah left to go back to her room after she and Craig made plans to meet for breakfast in an hour. Later on, they planned to hit the beach before dressing for the wedding. She knew that if people had talked before, the place could be one big gossip mill by the time she left Saint Thomas. Just as she was about to swipe her room card, she saw Kaleigh come down the hall in slippers and robe.

Kaleigh noticed that Hannah wore what she had worn at dinner. "You're up early," Kaleigh said.

"Um, well, I--"

"Can we talk?" Kaleigh placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Hannah had a feeling what this was about. Without asking, she entered the room, then took a seat on the edge of the bed while Kaleigh sat in one of the chairs and got right to the point. "Sandy (another troop girl) told me that she saw you go in my dad's room last night. If it had been any other guy's room, I wouldn't care, wouldn't have even brought it up. We both know what a gossip Sandy can be. But, well, I think you can appreciate where I'm coming from."

Hannah shook her head, ticked to the point of disgust. "Sandy should mind her own damn business. Damn her. Okay, guilty as charged." She raised her right arm. "Look, Kaleigh, I do know where you're coming from, and the last thing I want is to embarrass you or cause a ruckus, not at your wedding. So, if you'd like me to keep my distance from Craig, er, your dad, I will. I guess you haven't talked to your dad yet."

"No, and I don't feel comfortable doing it. Not about this. But look, I understand that when you meet someone and the chemistry is right, things happen. It happened for Peter and I and apparently, it's happening between you and my dad. Did you stay the whole night with him?" When Hannah stayed silent, Kaleigh said, "You don't have to answer that. It's none of--"

"Yes, I did," Hannah said. "Because, like you said, things happen when the chemistry's right. And there's chemistry aplenty between me and your dad. He's, well, I'll spare you details."

Momentarily, Kaleigh looked down and drew a shy grin. "You know, if he wasn't my dad, I might be interested in him also."

Feeling less tense, Hannah relaxed her shoulders and wiped her sweaty palms. "Does that mean you're not going to read me the riot act? Like stay the hell away from your dad while we're in Saint Thomas?"

Kaleigh sighed. "Just try to be as discreet as you can, is all I'm going to say. How you can do that in light of what you just told me, I haven't the slightest idea."

"Me neither, considering we have a breakfast date in a little while and then plan to spend time together on the beach before your wedding."

Kaleigh shrugged and spread her arms apart. "I don't know what else to say. You're a close friend of mine and my dad's my dad. I love you both. Have fun."

After Kaleigh left, Hannah stepped into the shower. She lingered there for a while, letting the jets of warm water pour over her while ruminating over the situation. Like Kaleigh, Hannah didn't know how she'd be discreet either, given the way she felt about Craig and where they were spending this time together, in a tropical setting where sex and romance were almost as endemic to the scene as sand and palm trees.

After drying off, she put her hair up, threw on a pair of shorts, a sleeveless top and slipped into a pair of flip-flops. Craig was in the dining room when she arrived, sitting at one of the smaller tables. Some of the other guests were there too, including Jill and Bradley. She wanted to kiss Craig but thought the better of it. She didn't hesitate in revealing what happened with Kaleigh. "Look, you should know that Kaleigh and I had a little talk right after I left your room," she said.

After hearing the gist of the conversation, Craig said he didn't know what discretion in their case would look like. "I mean, we could avoid each other like the plague, but that's not something I want. Plus, it's just plain silly."

"Agreed," Hannah said, beginning to peruse her menu. "I'll try to keep my hands off you in public. How's that?"

He laughed. "Good idea, I suppose, although given what happened last night, it won't be easy for me."

Hannah caught glimpses of Jill and Bradley looking at them, but no longer felt uncomfortable. Let them look. If they had a problem with it, then it was their problem.

Moments later, Kaleigh and Peter walked in and then drifted over to Hannah and Craig's table. "We're breaking with convention," Peter said.

"Yeah, we're not supposed to be together right before the wedding," Kaleigh added.

Craig pointed to himself and Hannah. "We know something about breaking with convention."

Kaleigh grinned. "So I've heard. Just be ready to walk me down the aisle, dad. Or the beach in our case."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

After breakfast, as Hannah walked through the lobby on the way to her room, she saw Sandy Hecht, standing by one of the picture windows, looking out at the bay. She was still miffed over Sandy telling Kaleigh about going to Craig's room. Should she say anything or let it go? Kaleigh was sort of okay with it and it didn't change a thing between her and Craig. No harm done. Still, Hannah didn't like gossips and tattletales. Plus, she was curious why Sandy would say something in the first place.

Sandy heard Hannah approach and turned around. She wore an orange and yellow blouse and yellow skirt, which complimented her shoulder-length, wavy, dirty blond hair. She stood a lanky five-foot-seven, with hazel eyes and the kind of skin that tanned easily. "Oh, hi Hannah," she said. "It's Kaleigh's big day. I'm so excited for her." She wore a big smile, one that looked forced to Hannah's eyes.

"Yeah, me too," Hannah said. She paused to gather her thoughts. Then: "Look, Sandy, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't gossip about me as long as we're here in Saint Thomas."

Sandy's jaw dropped about an inch. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, you know what you did, telling Kaleigh about me going into her dad's room last night."

Sandy lowered her eyes. "I wasn't trying to get you in trouble. I just thought that Kaleigh should know."

"Really? So who else do you think should know?"

"I haven't told anyone else and don't plan to. I swear."

Hannah slowly nodded her head. "Huh huh. Okay."

"Look, I'm sorry," Sandy said.

"Forget it," Hannah said, and turned to walk away.

Then: "Hannah, can I ask you something?" Hannah turned to face her. "Is there something going on between you and Mr. Conroy?"

Hannah shook her head. "You don't quit, do you?"

"Well, I mean, he is a good-looking older man. And I saw you chatting with him at the happy hour."

Hannah sensed that rumor control, if that's what she wanted, was somewhat of a joke at this point. Already, people were talking, as Kaleigh had said, and she had little doubt that more talk would fly over the next couple days. "Craig Conroy and I have developed a nice rapport. I'll leave it at that."

Sandy, her fingers locked together, drew an eager grin. "Did you, like, sleep with him?"

Hannah whooshed out a breath. "Oh, for heaven's sakes. Do the math, Sandy, do the math. See ya."

Hannah knew she had all but answered Sandy's question. But so what? The cat was apparently out of the bag. Truth to tell, it had never really been there in the first place. From now on, she was determined to relax and have fun. Let the gossipers gossip, let the snickers fly. She didn't much care anymore.

*****

A while later, she made good on that when she met Craig on the narrow stretch of beach that fronted their hotel, about fifty yards away. Bikinis weren't designed for women with Hannah's body type. Even so, she felt daring enough to wear her black bikini, one of only two swimsuits of its kind she owned. Svelte, she wasn't, nor was she what you'd call "full figured." Not quite. Rather, she was big-boned for a woman and shapely, yet solid enough to pull off wearing a two-piece without looking ridiculous. Her shapely, cellulite-free thighs and butt helped, as did her flat tummy.

She liked Craig's colorful suit, a turquoise, pink, orange, white and yellow affair, culled together to form what looked like a Southwestern, Indian design pattern. Best of all was the guy wearing it, a handsome and hot generation x-er, with a boyish way about him, coupled with a young-looking bod, the bod of a fit guy in her generational ballpark.

Throwing discretion to the wind, they had pushed their chaise lounges not more than an inch apart. "Is that Michael Buble' behind those Foster Grants?" Hannah joked.

Craig looked away from his Tom Clancy novel and pushed his prescription Foster Grant sunglasses on top of his head. "The one and only. And is that Megan Fox behind those Ray Bans?"

Hannah put down an issue of Town&Country magazine. "Oh, if only I was as pretty."

"You're right, you're not as pretty," he said. "You're prettier."

She reached out and squeezed his hand. "Thanks, you're sweet."

"I'm also getting hot. How about a dip?"

"With you on that."

When they waded into the water, Hannah said, "Not much cooler than the air." She was right, for even in October, the ocean water temp hovered in the low eighties in the Virgin Islands. Unlike in Ocean City, even in summer, you didn't have to get "used" to it, and the water looked a lot cleaner. Hanna dived under the water, snuck behind Craig, then wedged herself between his legs and lifted him on her shoulders. "Hey, I was supposed to do that," he cried.

"I beat you to it," she said. She waded a few yards, then dumped him over her head.

They played like this for another twenty minutes before returning to the beach. "Time to lather back up," Craig said. Hannah sat on the edge of her chaise while he rubbed Coppertone sunscreen on her back and shoulders, giving her a peck on the back of her neck when he was through.