The Island Affair ((romance, a bit spicy))

"Ahhh, vacation at last!" The woman yelped. She breathed the salty air as she stepped off the boat and let her toes sink into the soft warm sand. The moisture of her once nervous and sweaty feet was now soaked in glory. Maria was here for a beautiful trip away from her tiring reality and stressful job as a barista. Her clothes no longer smelled of coffee beans, instead of tropical piña coladas and fresh ocean air. 

Maria was settling into the motel, where she would be staying for the next week. She looked out her window into the glorious ocean reflection. There were miles of warm, sparkling salty sea to be seen and explored on Maria's private boat. Suddenly, she heard a yelp.

"Help!" A masculine voice cried out. Maria looked towards the sound and saw a buff, jacked, sweaty man flailing out in the water. 

She quickly ran down the creaky stairs and found her way to the sandy beach. 

Desperate to help the poor, tan, obviously local young man, her sandals pounded on the sand quickly. She dove headfirst into the salty ocean. Her eyes stung, but she was determined to save this hunk of a man. Dang... he was a snack. 

She saw the man up close. His stubble dripped with water as he let out a relieved sigh. Maria's hair was soaking wet and her sandals were about to fall off as she pulled the man to shore. She felt like Ariel in The Little Mermaid. (1989)

Maria and the man fell onto the shore and her sandal tripped her. She fell onto the man gracefully. She couldn't think of anything else to say except, "What's your name?" 

"Frank..." The man coughed gruffly, exasperated after his brush with death. "Thank you for saving me. You're... quite miraculous."

Maria's face hadn't been this red since she got sunburnt on her last vacation to the island. She stumbled, trying to stand up. 

"Let me help you up," Frank insisted, getting to his feet and pulling Maria off the scorching hot sand. 

"Th-thank you, kind sir,” Maria blushed. “I’m Maria… Maria…” She hesitated, thinking of her deadbeat husband back home. “It doesn’t matter what my last name is.”

“Mysterious one, eh?” Frank asked rhetorically, smirking, tossing his dripping wet long locks out of his face. 

The water flew everywhere, drenching Maria in his manly body water. She couldn’t remember the last time her husband, Millard, made her feel this way. This felt like her honeymoon all over again.

“Can I buy you a drink, Maria?” Frank started walking towards the tiki bar, staring back at her.

Maria contemplated it, then shrugged playfully, “Sure, why not enjoy my vacation with a nice man like yourself?” 

`”So, ah, you’re single?” Frank asked cautiously, scratching the back of his lusciously hairy neck. as they sat down at the bar.

Maria panicked. She was torn between her awful husband and this hot eye candy of a man. Really, in Maria’s mind, she knew what her answer was. “For you, I am.” But she wouldn’t say it aloud.

“It’s complicated,” she replied, looking down at the menu. 

“Complicated, eh? I like that.” Frank winked. “I fancy myself a complicated gal from time to time.”

Maria was starting to pick up what he was putting down. She tried her best to maintain eye contact as she still felt so guilty about Millard back home. 

The drinks were delicious. The entire time they sat at the bar together, Maria only grew more fond of the gorgeous guy. Her bad memories with her husband began to fade from her mind. She didn’t want to leave the moment.

Frank walked Maria to her motel once the sun went down. 

“Thank you for such a wonderful evening,” Maria said as she walked closer to Frank, hoping he would notice.

“No, thank you,” he insisted. “Have a good night.”

Before she could answer, he was walking away with a smile. Maria went speechless and watched him for a bit more. She stood there in the doorway for a minute or two after Frank had faded from sight, watching the sun dip below the water on the beach.

Maria awoke the next morning with a smile on her face. Her smile quickly faded as she remembered her dream last night. In horror, she recalled that she had dreamt about Frank. She shook the thought out of her head like a dog with fleas. The other side of her bed was empty and cold, making her think of Millard. Her guilt of last night set in further. 

The void was soon filled again when she looked out her window to see Frank waiting in the motel parking lot. He held a bouquet of flowers.

“There’s the stunner!” He called out as Maria walked down the creaky stairs once again. 

She choked back a giggle, covering her mouth with her hand as a reflex. Millard always made fun of her laugh.

“Come on, gorgeous. Can I take you surfing?” He put a hand out and kept the bouquet in the other. Maria took the flowers as well as his warm unusually large hand. 

This was strange, especially because she wasn’t used to big things with Millard. She wondered what other parts of Frank were unusually large in size. This is shaping up to be quite the vacation, she thought to herself as Frank led her to the beach. 

Maria quickly found her surfboard and treaded into the shallow waters. She clambered onto the board, slipping as Frank caught her and helped her up.

“You’re a clumsy one, eh?” He giggled to himself and smiled in her direction. His hair was caught in the wind, flowing elegantly in the humid island breeze.

Maria was bewitched by the sight of him. She wished Millard were more like Frank. She was even starting to wish that she weren’t so caught in wedlock so she could just throw herself into Frank’s life.

Frank noticed Maria shaking as they stared out into the ocean. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, placing a concerned hand on her bare shoulder.

“Just nervous,” Maria said, “I have a fear of sharks.” It definitely wasn’t the sharks she was nervous about, she knew this much. 

“Well, heh, don’t worry, I wont bite.” Frank bit his lip and avoided looking into Maria’s eyes. 

The rest of the day was wondrous. Frank was quite the charmer. He was undeniably cool, irresistibly charming, and unflinchingly funny. Maria thought she could be in love. She dreaded going home in a few days. 

After a whole week of fun with Frank, Maria was awestruck. She was absolutely sure he felt the same after their exuberant night. (Wink wink, older readers will understand)

Maria stood on the dock, waiting for the ferry with tears in her eyes. Frank had wished her goodbye earlier, and as much as Maria appreciated it, it still tore her apart knowing she would never see him again. 

The horn of the ferry blared in the distance, becoming louder as the boat approached the island. She was about to step on the boat when she heard a yelp, much like the one she heard only a week ago when she saved the love of her life. 

Turning around, she saw the fetching face of the man she was smitten with for the entire week.

“Oh, frank!” She cried as she threw herself into his arms, dropping her luggage onto the wood dock.

His warm embrace was like none other. He pulled her away after a few seconds. The horn blared again.

“I love you,” Frank declared, locking lips with her.

Maria had been yearning for this feeling for so long. She kissed him again.

“I love you, too, Frank.” She cried out and held him tight. 

` “Stay with me on the island,” Frank begged.

Maria hesitated before confessing her infidelity. “I have a husband.”

Frank waited for a while, thinking of what to say.

“Leave him… for me.” He pleaded, his eyes sparkling with a bit of hurt from her lies but hope for their future together.

“I’ll explain later, Frank,” she took his hand and her luggage. “Let’s stay here and start a family.”

“I would love that.” Frank replied and smiled one of his charming smiles. The couple walked away, toward the sunset. Happily ever after…the end….(they had 3 children and lived on the island for the rest of their days)