Ronnie spent most of the forty-five-minute trip to the hotel reading his brochure. He had passed Carla hers, and they joined most of the other passengers quietly passing the time reading though their brochures and the various leaflets that accompanied them. Although the brochures made no direct reference to swinging or wife-swapping, terms such as lifestyle couples, as well photographs of naked people around pools, on beaches and sitting around bars, implied that sex would be taking place, at least, in private.
He thought about what Carla had told him about her mum and dad, and still found it hard to believe. Joe and Molly seemed so straight-laced, so upright, so… so normal, and yet so did the people around him. Normal couples on holiday going about their business as you would expect. It was hard to imagine that soon they would all be wandering around naked, shagging and getting shagged.
Glancing at the pictures, over and over again, of naked couples started to arouse him. There were young couples on the coach, very attractive wives, or girlfriends, it wasn’t long before his mind began to wander. Then there were the two tour guides. The blonde girl stood up with microphone in hand and began to speak. She explained about what was to happen when they arrived at the hotel. There would be a drinks reception shortly after checking in where more information would be given about the cruise itself. She wore a shortish, flared skirt. She had nice legs. She also wore a tight-fitting top, so thin that it couldn’t hide her erect nipples. He had no doubt that she would look irresistible naked.
He wondered, too, if she had a shaved pubic mound like Carla. It was hard hiding his arousal. He reached for Carla’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, she turned and smiled at him. He sensed relief.
“Okay?” he asked quietly.
She smiled again. “Yes. You?”
“Fine, everything’s fine.”
She reached over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I love you,” she whispered.
Stepping off the coach Carla reached for Ronnie’s hand. It felt reassuring. They walked hand in hand into the hotel reception area with just their hand luggage. Behind them a string of porters went about emptying the storage compartment of the coach and bringing it all into the hotel. Couples smiled and nodded at one another; some even greeted each other with hugs and kisses, obviously renewing acquaintances. At first, it felt as though they were the odd ones out, the only inexperienced couple, but as more people filled the hotel lobby it became obvious that that wasn’t the case. Other couples stood, either clinging to each other, or standing quietly apart.
Carla seemed surprised by the age range too. Although, most seemed to be between the ages of thirty and fifty, there were some in the early twenties and three couples in their sixties or seventies. The interest in adult lifestyles knew no age boundaries. As they stood in the queue awaiting registration she got into a conversation with a couple they had sat next to at Manchester airport waiting to board their flights. The woman, around the same age as them, began talking to her. Introducing herself as Karen, she asked Carla if this was their first cruise. She smiled and nodded.
“This is our second. We came last year. We had a wonderful time.”
Carla just smiled, not knowing really what to say. Karen reached out with her hand and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry. We were like that the first time, not knowing what to expect and feeling like a fish out of water, but a few days in and we were like… well, as if we had been doing it for years.”
“Yes, I suppose we are feeling a bit out of it at the moment.”
The man she was with, who looked a little older, suddenly chipped in. “It will be like riding a bike,” he told her. “This time next week you’ll be doing wheelies!”
Ronnie joined in with laughter.
“How long have you been married?” Carla asked her.
“We’re not. Josh is an old friend.”
Carla glanced down at her wedding ring. Karen noticed.
“Hubby has gone off to the Algarve with his mates. He prefers golf.”
Josh laughed. “He prefers that game where you get try getting a hole in one!”
Karen gave him a shove in the arm with her elbow as she giggled. “Jim’s alright. He loves his golf, and he hates lazing around in the sun. He’s the active type. He also lets me enjoy my thing while he goes off and does his thing,” she responded turning to Carla. “We have an open marriage.” She added quietly.
There were so many things that Carla wanted to ask her but decided to leave it for another time. She didn’t want to pry, but she was determined to find out more about their lifestyle.
It didn’t take long for their turn to get signed in and before long they were heading up to the fourth floor. With cases in their room, Carla unpacked the few things that they would need for the next day, and after a quick wash and change of clothes, they headed down to the suite set aside for the Cruise passengers. There were girls on duty with trays of sparkling wine, and they found a table and sat down. With her first glass down to half full Carla put it down and sat back. She felt better now.
