Lost and Found: A Stranded in Paradise Romance

Cutting Ties

The following morning, I returned to work at my downtown office, trying to immerse myself in my job to forget about my troubles. But as much as I tried to extinguish continuing thoughts about Jenny, all I could do while attending one boring meeting after another was daydream about our exhilarating experience on the island. The concrete towers of downtown San Francisco and the antiseptic office interior seemed a world away from the Elysian setting of the blue lagoon and the tropical jungle where we'd made our temporary home. It was hard to imagine returning to a life of endless mining assays and financial spreadsheets as a replacement for surfing the turquoise waves of the South Pacific and sleeping under a yawning palm tree.

But there was something else that was keeping me from focusing on my work. The thought of Jenny lying in the arms of another man and making love to her husband carved a hole in my stomach. We'd shared something unique and special on the island, and I simply couldn't fathom how she could switch it off and return to her old relationship like nothing had happened. I understood how she was trying to protect her children, but the idea of her reconnecting with her husband seemed unconscionable to me. She'd alluded to how distant and unhappy she was, how could he ever satisfy her the way I had in our dreamy utopia?

After another long and boring meeting, I pulled myself out of the conference room and went to the restroom to pour some cold water over my face. While I stared at myself in the mirror with both hands trembling over the sink, my boss suddenly entered the room, peering at me with a concerned expression.

"Is everything okay, Dylan?" he said. "You seem a little distracted today. If you need to take a little more time off work, I totally understand. It must be a hell of an adjustment after what you've been through."

"No, Jim," I said, wiping my face off with a paper towel. "I'm fine, thanks. I just need a little time to get back in the swing of things. Give me a few minutes and I'll rejoin the group after I freshen up."

"Did you need to talk about anything?" he said, noticing the sweat on my brow. "Maybe we can go for a drink after work. You seem to have a lot on your mind–"

"I said I'll be fine," I growled, glaring angrily at him. "I just need to work through a few issues at home..."

"I understand," my boss said. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? You're not much good to us here in your current condition. Let's talk when you're feeling ready to get back in the saddle."

"Yeah, okay," I said, slowly relaxing my grip on the sink. "Maybe you're right. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Take your time," he said. "The last thing I need is having you disrupting everybody else's mojo around here. Don't come back until you can put all of your mind into the job."

Jim swung open the door and when he exited the room, I stared at myself in the reflection, shaking my head.

Jesus, I said to myself. Get a hold of yourself, man. You've already lost the woman of your dreams and the one person who still believed in you. The last thing you need to lose right now is the one thing that's still keeping you sane.

* * *

Later that afternoon, I checked into a cheap motel and flopped onto the squeaky mattress, throwing my briefcase onto a nearby chair. As I listened to the sound of my heart pounding in my chest, I stared up at the stained ceiling, trying to imagine what Jenny was doing right now. She'd told me I could reach out to her at work when I was ready, and I pulled out my phone, tapping in her Facebook credentials. I sent her a friend request, then I stared at the screen waiting for a response. It seemed to take forever for her to ping me back, and when I saw that she'd accepted my request, I opened the Messenger app and typed in a brief message.

Hey, I said. How are you adjusting to life in the real world?

A bit hectic, she responded. It's taking a while to acclimate...

Tell me about it. I snapped at my boss today and he told me to take the rest of the day off.

Ouch, she responded, adding a shocked smiley face. I'd be careful about burning any more bridges right now. How was your homecoming with Carol?

Pretty rough. We had a quiet dinner together, then she wanted to get amorous, but I couldn't get in the mood.

Are you crazy? I saw her at the airport. She's gorgeous!

I suppose so. But my mind is still somewhere else.

There was a long pause, then I saw the three dots forming on the screen while Jenny composed her response.

Give it time, she typed. It might take a while to get back into the swing of things. There's a lot to process...

Yes, I said. How are things at home? Was your husband suspicious of our extended layover?

Another long pause.

I managed to smooth things out, she said. It's going to take a while.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard she was struggling to normalize ties. Now it was my turn to hesitate in preparing a response.

Can I see you? I said, adding a heart symbol. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.

The screen lit up with three more dots, then they disappeared as Jenny reconsidered her response.

It's too early, she typed. I need more time. Bree's home from school and I don't want to disrupt things at home. Maybe next week...

Can I at least talk to you in the meantime? I said. As Facebook friends? (adding eyeroll emoji)

Of course, she typed. But I've got to get back to work. Another meeting. They never seem to stop.

I know the feeling. Maybe we should take a break and escape to some deserted island. I know a good spot... (adding palm tree symbol)

Don't tempt me, she said. Gotta run. Talk soon. (smiley face)

I peered at the screen for a long time, rereading our brief conversation, trying to read between the lines. I found it strange that she talked about burning bridges when she was the one who'd made it clear she wanted to put some space between us. She mentioned that reestablishing ties with her husband was going to take time, but that she'd smoothed out the edges. Did that mean she was fucking him again? The thought of it made me sick to my stomach.

She hadn't alluded to any romantic feelings after I'd told her I couldn't stop thinking about her, and her parting emoji was a neutral smiley face instead of the kiss symbol with a heart. Either she was being extraordinarily careful about trying not to send me the wrong signal, or she'd already moved on and decided to cut the cord cleanly. But she'd left the window open for a possible face-to-face meeting the following week. While I imagined what it would be like to see her beautiful face again and touch her soft skin, I felt my tool twitching in my trousers, and I decided to get out of my monkey suit and take a hot shower.

I turned on the taps full blast, then I stepped into the shower stall, placing my head under the warm overhead spray and leaning my hands on the tile wall. While my dick hardened remembering the feeling of the waterfall pouring over our heads while she pressed her body up against the dripping rock face, I gripped my hard-on with two hands, humping my hips rapidly forward, echoing the sensation of my hips slapping against her firm ass. It only took a few seconds for me to empty my seed against the tile wall, then I slouched down under the stinging spray and stared at the moldy floor, realizing I was a million miles away from my fantasy utopia.