Applying the Lesson Pt. 02

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Unbutton that button."

"Why not? It's hot."

"It's, well..."

"Malcom, you loosened your tie and undid your top button. It's as hot for me as it is for you."

"Yeah, I know... They warned us that they were turning off the air conditioning at six o'clock for maintenance. I didn't think it would get hot so quickly."

Julia left her top button open. Her clothes were always fashionable but modest, so undoing one button wasn't revealing anything, not even hinting at cleavage. I prefer though to stay far away from temptation. Julia and I had discussed this before and agreed that if we were to work successfully together, we had to make sure that our relation was only that: work.

The fly in the ointment was that Julia was gorgeous. Tall, well proportioned, beautiful brown wavy hair. Married. If not for the latter, I would have quit my job in order to have a proper relation with her. Quitting would have been awkward, considering I'm one of the partners in the business, but she would be worth it. She's smart, with a mind as quick and sharp as a Samurai sword. Along with her beauty, that made her as hazardous as a Samurai sword.

Julia joined our firm as an investment analyst a few months after my pregnant wife had been killed in a drive-by shooting. Mary hadn't been the intended target; she was an "unfortunate bystander," as the press described her. My grief kept me from noticing Julia's attractiveness for the first couple of years she was with us, but for the past three I have struggled to keep our relationship and my behavior, proper. That her unbuttoning her top button in sweltering heat was a problem for me demonstrated how much of a struggle it was.

"The information we need's in the cloud. Let's take a walk, and look for an uncrowded, air-conditioned coffee shop. I promise to button up if it's cool enough." Julia unbuttoned and rolled up her sleeves. We both grabbed our tablets and headed out.

The weather in our office had been stifling, but outside it was ideal: sunny, a light breeze, about seventy-seven degrees. We strolled along the boulevard, looking for an uncrowded café where we could talk with a modicum of privacy. Our research team had invested a lot of resources in gathering data on the South American mining project we were reviewing; we didn't want to give that information away. So as we strolled we chatted about the country's political stability: whether the current democratic government would survive, or whether the populace would elect another strong-man who would eventually impose military rule. Such things happened too often in that part of the world, Venezuela being the most recent and horrific example. We had pulled all our investments from that place when Chavez died. He was bad, but we concluded correctly that what followed would be way worse.

It was crowded on the sidewalks of a main shopping street during rush hour on a beautiful day. My beautiful associate sometimes took hold of my arm to ensure we didn't get separated by the masses of people. After two blocks of her not letting go, I suggested we try a side street.

It was a bit of a let-down when Julia released my arm. "I enjoyed that."

She took my arm again. I pointed to a sign for a café at the next corner. There was a store immediately ahead, blaring Beach Boys music from an outdoor speaker. A few young men and women stood outside, handing out pamphlets and trying to steer people in. I glimpsed at the window as we approached. A young lady grabbed my other arm.

"We're having a warm-weather special. All our designer bathing suits are fifty percent off. If you buy a matching set, men and women, it's seventy percent off. My name's Ophelia. Why don't you come in and see if there's something you like?"

"We don't really have time," I answered, trying to politely wrest my arm free.

Julia was looking at the window display. "I haven't bought a bathing suit in a long time. Maybe..."

"We've got that retail conference next week in Palm Beach. Do you need a swimsuit for it?"

Julia turned to Ophelia. "Show us what you've got." Ophelia took Julia's arm as well, and led us in.

"Let me find something for your wife, and then we'll find you something that matches." I started to explain that she wasn't my wife, but what was the point? We were never going to see Ophelia again. After about five minutes of looking at different outfits, Julia approached me holding a one-piece white bathing suit with faint turquoise markings.

"What do you think?"

It looked like a small piece of cloth on a hangar. I shrugged. "I'd have to see it on you to say anything."

Ophelia led us into a large changing room at the back of the store. "Try it on, and I'll find something matching for your husband." She looked at me, sizing me up. "You seem to be in good shape. I know what will work." She turned and shut the door behind her.

Julia and I both looked around. This was indeed a changing room, with hooks to hang clothes, mirrors to admire yourself in. Ophelia assumed that we were husband and wife and would get undressed in front of each other. Julia was turning red as I quickly left the changing room. "I'll wait outside the door."

Ophelia was back two minutes later, handing me a small piece of cloth on a hangar, the same pattern as the bathing suit she had given Julia. She raised an eyebrow at me, as if asking 'why aren't you in there with your wife?' "This is a perfect match for your wife's; the only design difference is the mesh liner."

Okay, whatever that meant. Julia opened the door a few minutes later, beckoning me in. I was stunned as she turned around after opening the door. Her back was completely exposed from her neck down to an inch below the start of her ass crack. As she twirled I noticed that although her breasts were fully covered, not even any cleavage showing, the material was thin enough that I could see every contour of her skin. The front piece was held in place by a little string tied behind her neck.

"How do I look?"

My mind churned to find an appropriate response. "Um, spectacular."

Julia grinned.

"Is that the kind of thing you want to wear at a business conference?"

"The conference is at a resort. When we're indoors listening to presentations I'll wear my normal business outfits. When we're at the pool, or if we have time to go to the beach, I think this will be perfect."

"Okay."

Ophelia knocked at the door and then entered, seeing it was unlocked. She took Julia's shoulders and slowly turned her around. "Are you ready to have crowds of horny guys drooling after your wife?" She reached down to where the fabric tapered at the crotch, and moved the sides toward the center, exposing a little bit of her public region. "You might want to give your wife a trim down there. I'll go out now. Try on your outfit. Maybe your wife will have to put up with crowds of drooling horny women following you."

I looked at Julia, waiting for her to leave, so I could try on what looked like a very skimpy bathing suit.

"Oh, no. I'm not going to stand around a store exposed like this. I'll turn around while you change."

"You'll wear it at a pool, but not in the store?"

"It's different."

I wasn't going to argue with female logic. I turned my back to Julia, careful not to expose myself to any of the many mirrors in the little room. My thoughts were flying in a million directions, with lust and propriety battling for supremacy. I thought that the latter was victorious as I removed my clothes and put on the tiny piece of white and turquoise material Ophelia had selected for me. "Ready. How do I look?"

Julia turned around and gasped. "I think you like my bathing suit more than you said." She pointed at my groin. I looked down and saw my penis sticking up above the top of the bathing suit. I quickly yanked the material higher, just managing to make myself decent.

Ophelia knocked on the door again. "You people ready? Sorry to rush you, but we need the room."

"Out in a minute" Julia replied. She motioned to me to turn around as she put her back towards me. We both got undressed, trying to preserve our modesty, but there were the mirrors. We both realized it, and we both were embarrassed. But we continued changing, watching each other's body's reflection. I paid cash for the bathing suits, and after we sat in the café strategizing about the South American mining venture, I took both outfits home. Julia figured it would be difficult to explain how she bought a sexy bathing suit while in a business strategy meeting.

The next week at the office was awkward. I had objected to Julia unbuttoning a top button, and as a consequence we ended up just about seeing each other naked in the changing room. I had once met her husband Thomas, and respected him. I was always careful not to do anything to cause problems between the two of them.

Julia told me he wasn't bothered by the idea of us going to a conference at a Florida resort. He even asked us to bring back material that he could possibly use in his classes. "Picking Winners and Losers in the Retail Environment," the topic of the conference, was certainly related to business analytics, Thomas Anderson's field of expertise. I had tried to get him a ticket to join us, but was rebuffed by the organizers, who stated it was for investors only, not academics.

I was more than a little concerned for Julia. Did she realize how spectacular she looked in that bathing suit? I would have to pretend to be in a relation with her, if just to fend off other suitors at the resort. My limo picked her up at home at ten-thirty in the morning. She grasped my hand as soon as the car pulled away.

"I hate flying."

"It's not a long flight."

"Whenever we go on vacation, it's by car. Thomas would love to go to Europe or Asia but puts up with my phobia. He was surprised that I agreed to fly down with you."

"We won't be in the air for long."

"Yeah, but we will have as many take-offs and landings as if we were flying across the ocean. Those are the most dangerous parts of a flight."

I squeezed her hand in return, and she closed her eyes till we got to the airport. The check-in was quick and uncomplicated; flying is much easier when you go business class. Julia was about to pop a pill as we boarded, but I snatched her wrist. "The biggest danger is if you need to be alert and can't, because you've medicated yourself."

"Just one valium," she pleaded. I shook my head and took it from her hand. We settled into our seats, she shut her eyes and took a death grip on my arm with both hands. My eyes shifted as we flew, from the window to her exquisite face, to her incredible legs, exposed as her skirt rode up her thighs. She shifted slightly as I pulled it down, a beatific smile on her face. Soon the skirt was back where it had started.

"We're here," I said as the plane finally came to a stop at the terminal. It was really a redundant message. The cabin crew had already made the announcement, and there was no doubt Julia felt the end of the plane's motion. But she just sat there, a smile on her face, her skirt up high, her eyes closed.

"Thank you for taking care of your scaredy-cat companion." She opened her eyes and kissed me on the cheek. I squeezed her hand in return as she straightened her skirt, a slight flush on her face. Embarrassment, or arousal? She held my arm as we de-planed, not letting go till we got into our limousine. She undid a couple of buttons on her blouse.

"Don't start on me," she said. "This is Florida. Would you rather I got all sweaty and stinky?"

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Besides, you've seen a lot more of me than this." She glanced at my crotch. "I've seen a lot more of you."

What could I say to that? Promise to avoid a repeat? Ask if she wanted to see it again? I sighed loudly, and Julia took my hand back in hers.

"Friends?" she asked.

"Friends," I agreed.

We passed a sign indicating the resort was three miles ahead. Julia suddenly looked serious. "Malcom, I'm a happily married woman. I adore my husband, and he adores me. Even though we're at this conference together, don't be shy about finding yourself a woman to be with, if you know what I mean. I won't be jealous. I want you to have a good time here."

"What about you? Remember that saleslady's, um, Ophelia's comment about 'crowds of horny guys drooling after you?' I have to protect your honor." Julia punched me lightly in the chest and laughed. "I don't think there will be any incidents."

The first incident took place at the check-in desk. "Malcom Farber and Julia Anderson, for the retail investment conference."

"Ah, yes, Mr. and Mrs. Farber. You're in room 407, in the south wing."

"What?"

"Room 407, south wing. I'll call someone to help you with your bags."

"This is my business associate, Julia Anderson. She is not, I repeat, not my wife. We are supposed to have two adjacent rooms, not share one room."

The clerk paled. "Oh shit." His eyes grew wide as he realized what he had just said. "Sorry, please... forgive my language."

"Our rooms," Julia hissed. "Plural, as in 'two.'"

He scanned the computer screen. "We're sold out for the conference."

"Doesn't matter. I'm not sharing a room with my business associate. Her husband wouldn't approve. Neither would I."

He rang for the Front Desk Manager, who quickly came over and apologized, but offered no solution.

"Mrs. Anderson and I are going to the bar for complimentary drinks." I pointed across the lobby. "Have this solved by the time we're finished our first."

I ordered a Jack Daniels double, Julia an amaretto and orange juice. We had just ordered refills when the Manager came up to us, smiling.

"I hope this will be acceptable to you. We're giving you the Ocean Penthouse suite at no charge. It has two bedrooms, a kitchenette, den, and a private patio with a spectacular view. There's a hot tub on the patio, which no one can see into from anywhere else."

Julia looked at me. I shrugged.

"Okay. Send someone to bring us there in ten minutes, after we finish our drinks."

"With pleasure madam. Sorry for the inconvenience. If there's any way we can serve you, please let us know."

She nodded at the Manager and grinned at me as soon as he left. "It sounds nice."

"I would have still preferred adjacent rooms."

"Yeah, me too. But we're grown-ups. We'll behave."

The suite took my breath away. Julia and I picked our bedrooms and unpacked. There were two bedrooms, but only one bathroom. We were going to have to be careful to avoid any problems. It was four in the afternoon; we had eaten a light lunch on the plane, and the conference wasn't starting till the next morning. What could we do to stay out of trouble?

"Swim?" Julia smiled at me, pointing to the towels and robes hanging in the closet marked "pool."

"Sunscreen?"

Julia held up a bottle in response.

I smiled. "May as well get started. Tomorrow we'll be listening to lectures all day long." We each went into our rooms to change. I was careful to make sure my dick was inside my bathing suit as I came into the main room. When Julia came out two minutes later, I checked again that it was still where it belonged. Barely. She handed me the sunscreen oil and turned her back towards me. I started with her shoulders, working my way down till just inside where her bathing suit covered her ass. I kneeled, did the back of her legs, then reached around and did the front. I went high enough on her legs to be friendly, not high enough to be bold. I handed her the bottle, and she reciprocated with my back and legs.

"Turn around," she said. She gave me an appraising look and started oiling my chest, working her way down to the top of my bathing suit. Her breathing became a little heavy as she did my abdomen. My excitement was pushing against the cloth, and she kept glancing at it as she massaged the oil into my skin.

"As much as I'd like to, I'm not going to reciprocate that," I said.

"What?"

"I'm not going to apply sunscreen to your chest, like you did to mine."

"It's covered silly. If I decide to uncover it, then you'll have to. You can't afford to have a burned business associate." She pulled the pool robes out of the closet, handing one to me.

The pool was nice, but not spectacular. We put our robes, towels and reading material on a couple of adjacent lounge chairs, then walked down the steps into the water. It was warm. Standing waist deep, we looked at each other, took each other's hand, and dunked. I shook the water out of my eyes and gaped at Julia. She saw my eyes go wide.

"I hope I look as good wet as I do dry," she smirked.

"Let's go farther in." I pulled her insistently towards the deep end.

"Easy, boy, easy." She looked like she was having trouble gauging my reaction.

"Let's stay deep." I started swimming around her. Come on..."

"Take it easy, Malcom. We had a couple of drinks not too long ago. Let's relax." She started swimming back towards the shallow end. I grabbed her arm.

"Julia, you're naked in that bathing suit."

"What?"

"Julia, your swimsuit is transparent when wet. When you stood up after dunking in the water I could make out every detail, every pore of your skin. There's a little birthmark just to the side of your left nipple, right? And both your nipples are very erect right now. If the bottom part of your bathing suit is as transparent as the top, I'll be able to count your pubic hairs. That's probably why Ophelia suggested you shave down there."

Julia looked down at herself, and then at all the people around us. She turned beet-red. I wrapped her in my arms and pressed her chest against mine. No one could see her nakedness that way. I could feel it though, pressing against my skin. "Let's go to our lounge chairs," I whispered in her ear.

"Everyone will see me."

"You're going to have to come out eventually. We can't stay in the pool till it closes. You'll lie on your stomach."

"Okay. What about you? Your bathing suit is the same material. Is everyone going to see your hard-on?" She pressed herself against me. "There's no hiding something like that."

I pulled up the top of the bathing suit. My swelling couldn't be hidden, but my skin could be kept under wraps. "There's mesh inside the swimsuit. I'll be okay." We walked quickly to our lounge chairs and lay down on our stomachs.

We lay quietly for maybe half an hour, heads resting on our arms.

"Think I'm dry enough to hide my birthmark?"

"I don't know. Turn on your side, facing me." She turned, and I stared silently.

"Well?" She tugged at the material.

"You're beautiful. Your breasts are astonishing... I wouldn't see your birthmark if I didn't know where to look." She glanced at me, a question on her face. "It's not as transparent, but still see-through."

"Oh, hell." She turned the rest of the way over onto her back and covered her face with the towel. "Tell me when you can't see my tits any more. I'm going to kill Ophelia when we get back."

"Who?"

"The little twerp who sold me this swimsuit."

I had put my robe on a few minutes after we had climbed out of the water. Julia was too exciting, and my erection was too obvious. Now I had an assignment to keep an eye on her breasts. This was getting painful. I could see the points of her nipples, I could see the lines of moisture from her tears.

Lying in the sun quickly did the trick, and I informed Julia she was no longer exposed. She sat up, which immediately attracted the attention of a waiter who quickly brought her an ice tea, and pointed out the various amenities in the pool area. He recommended the sauna.

The sign outside recommended a cold shower before entry. We knew what that would accomplish, so I first checked out who was inside. No one. We took our showers.