“Honey, let's take a vacation."

Brianna looked up at me with a Little smile on her face. "A vacation?"

"You know, you and me alone together on some tropical island, the kind of vacation young couples go on. Have you ever done something like that?"

“Well," she looked down at her plate. "No," she smiled softly.

Even though Brianna was a year older than me, we were still recent college graduates and still recovering from college poverty. And yet, we'd both had steady jobs for a few years and had built up some good savings. A vacation without our families seemed Like the perfect way to both establish our adult independence and put some spark back into our relationship.

"Then Let's go. Somewhere far away from work, away from the apartment.

Just us, the sand, and no worries." I took a deep breath.

“Let's face it, Bree. I think this would do a lot of good for our relationship."

She reached out and took my hands, understanding the seriousness of my comment.

“Yeah...”

The way her green eyes sparkled, I was suddenly reminded of the way she'd looked almost three years ago when I first met her. I remember the little surge inside me from her physical resemblance to Danielle

And even though over the past few years I recognized enough to easily distinguish their faces, I still had a powerful physical attraction to

Brianna.

“I want to make this work, Brianna. I want us to work."

She pulled me away from the table and with a saucy grin, she stood me up and kissed me. "I Love you, David."

My eyes tightened. She'd said the phrase to me more than once, but I still couldn't find it in myself to return the sentiment. Not even now, not yet.

She didn't let it bother her this time. She kissed me again and then said, "Let me show you how much I love you." And then she turned in my arms and dry humped herself against my leg. The sex freak inside of her was starting to come out.

Her voice dropped to a husk and her eyelids half-closed. "Besides, it's been almost a week since you fucked my ass..." And then she led me to our bedroom.

SPRING (May 2005).

We'd scheduled the vacation far enough in advance to appropriately account for our workloads. It had also given us enough time to make plans, book accommodations, and generally over-prep for our first ever vacation together.

For almost two months, the weeklong vacation had us happy with anticipation, and many of the little issues we used to argue about were forgotten as we set our sights on Kauai, the Garden Island of Hawaii.

Life was good... for ALMOST two months.

Just a week before we were to leave, a little tiff over nothing escalated into a full- blown fight, and I found myself at Danielle and

Cherys' place once again

Feeling burdensome, I promised them I'd alternate between them and