Have you ever thought about what your "type" is? By that, I mean what attributes of the potential partners you find attractive. I suspect everyone does that to varying degrees and that we all have our personal variations as to what we find attractive. For some guys, it's a pretty face and healthy cup size. For some women, I guess it's a guy who doesn't mind showering them with gifts and attention. Whatever it is, we all have certain attributes or qualities we prize.
I'm Carl and I'm 52 years old. Like practically everyone, I have thought about what, as a single man, I find attractive in women. At an earlier point in my life, I wanted a woman who was beautiful, smart, funny and loyal. At this point in my life, looks have fallen on this list. Smart, funny, loyal and polished are more important to me now. After all, we've heard all our lives beauty is only skin deep.
I work as a senior buyer for a manufacturing company in the southeast. My most recent girlfriend has returned to a former boyfriend who she badmouthed the entire time we were together. Why? I have no clue. I'm 52 years old and am quite a few credits short of my undergraduate degree in understanding women. Without a female to spend time with, I spend a lot of timing on my passion – fishing. (See Getting Away From It All.....Or Not if interested.)
My job takes me to trade shows 8-10 times a year. The month of August was especially busy as the upcoming third week of the month marked my third trip of the month. I was already looking forward to getting this trip behind me so I could stay in one place for more than a few days.
On Friday afternoon before the Sunday departure to Fort Lauderdale, I was scrambling to finish several projects before enjoying what little bit of weekend I had. My flight was at 9:30 Sunday morning.
My concentration was broken by a light tap on my door. I looked up to find Michelle standing there patiently.
Michelle is somewhat of an anomaly in our field. As a female (duh, her name is Michelle....what's your first clue.....) Production manager, she is one of a few in a male-dominated world. Michelle earned her position the old fashioned way.....hard work. She earned an Engineering degree and started working on our production floor. She spent time in various departments as she moved in progressively more responsible positions. Her varied background gave her a knowledge base that few in the company could match. She had a quick wit and was equally comfortable cutting up with the guys in the break room as she was making presentations to the management team. She had been with the company for 23 years and was as close to universally liked and respected as anyone I knew.
Michelle's personal life generally stayed personal. I knew from water cooler talk that she had three teenagers and her husband of 21 years left her for a woman half his age. The ink was barely dry on the separation agreement. She didn't talk about her home life and, while I knew her fairly well, I didn't ask.
Michelle is a 49 year old with shoulder length auburn hair. Her brown eyes twinkle when she smiles. I would say she is average height for a woman and appears to carry a few extra pounds. While she might not be the woman who turns heads when she walks in the room, she is far from unattractive.
"Hi Carl, would you like for me to pick you up on the way to the airport? You're basically on my way and then we would only have to pay for one car to park." Focused on controlling costs....spoken like the good production manager she is.
"I had not thought about it, but that sounds good. What time?"
"You know how the security requirements are these days and I don't like to rush. How about I pick you up at 7:00? The airport is not far from your house so we shouldn't be rushed," she said.
I agreed and returned to my work. I wrapped up about 6:00 that evening. The next day was a blur. Between personal errands and packing, there was little time to do much else.
One of the personal errands was to buy sunscreen and a beach towel. From the looks of the schedule, we had breaks during the week and I wanted to enjoy south Florida. Among my plans were to go to Haulover Beach. For those who aren't familiar with it, Haulover is a nude beach. On a summer day, there are usually hundreds of naked people of various ages, shapes and sizes. It's an incredible relaxing experience as I learned in my two previous trips there.
The only problem was Michelle and I would be sharing one rental car. I figured I would take a cab on my dime. It would be worth every penny.
I jumped out of bed at 6:00 Sunday morning and downed a cup of coffee before hitting the shower. The hot water helped me wake up. After getting dressed, I drank my second cup of coffee and felt like I was ready to face the day.
Michelle arrived at precisely 7:00. I put my bags in the back of her blue Equinox and we headed to the airport. Along the way, we talked about the trade show and who we hoped to meet with while there. A short while later, we parked our car at the airport and entered the terminal.
As noted, Michelle is a smart cookie. I was glad she anticipated just how busy the airport would be. The terminal was very crowded at that early hour with a combination of family heading out for that last bit of vacation before school starts, some college students leaving for their Fall semester and a handful of apparent business travelers and military personnel. Despite the crowd, we made it through security with time to spare.
The direct flight was uneventful. Michelle read a paperback and I read a fishing magazine. The hour long flight passed quickly. We deplaned, claimed our bags, picked up our rental car (a flashy Ford Taurus) and headed to our hotel. Shortly before we arrived at the hotel, Michelle asked me about my plans for the afternoon.
"Well, given we're in south Florida, I think it would be a shame to miss going to the beach."
"That sounds good Carl. You got a beach in mind?"
If she had looked closely at me at that point, she would have seen the deer in the headlights look. Yes, I wanted to go to Haulover, but I didn't want her to think I was some kind of pervert going to get naked around a bunch of people.
Unable to work up the nerve to admit that, I gave a bumbling answer, "I don't really have anywhere in mind."
Michelle thought a minute. "Want some company?"
How could I say no? "Sure, I'd love for you to join me." Even as I said that, I knew that meant I wouldn't be seeing the nude beach that day.
We stopped and ate a quick lunch. After checking in, Michelle suggested we meet in the lobby in 20 minutes.
I quickly unpacked and put on my bathing suit, t shirt and sandals. I grabbed the sunscreen and a towel and hustled to the lobby.
Shortly after I arrived downstairs, Michelle stepped off the elevator. Accustomed to seeing her in work attire, I was pleasantly surprised to see her dressed much more casually. She was wearing a pair of blue shorts and a t shirt as well as a visor to keep the sun out of her eyes. A shapely pair of nicely tanned legs caught my eye.
As I drove towards the beach, a thought crossed my mind. While I didn't want to seem pervy by asking her if she wanted to go to a nude beach, I could innocently take her to the beach adjacent to the nude beach. I figured I could plead ignorant when she noticed naked people down the beach. I figured there was a very slim chance she might propose we move to that part of the beach. A guy can hope, right?
We parked and walked to the beach. There was a nice crowd. A volleyball game was underway to our right. A couple of dogs were chasing Frisbees. It was pretty usual beach scene with the exception of a few women sunbathing topless.
As we spread our towels, Michelle nudged me and pointed to one with "store bought" boobs. "Guess you'll enjoy the scenery," she said. It was at that time that she took off her t shirt, treating me to a view of her blue one piece suit. The front was somewhere between modest and daring in showing a strong hint of cleavage.
"Actually," I said, "I'm more attracted to real women with natural bodies. Someone like you."
Horrified that I had blurted that out, I apologized profusely. "I'm sorry Michelle. That just slipped out. I mean, I meant what I said, but I'm out of line for say that. I just need to shut up before I put my foot deeper in my mouth."
Michelle laughed, "Carl, it's not a problem. I haven't heard a compliment from a man in a while. It was nice to hear. Quit worrying about it. We're at a beautiful beach and I'm with a great, good-looking guy. No worries, ok?"
Did I hear her right? Good-looking? Was she flirting with me?
Michelle pulled down her shorts, showing the bottom of her one piece was nicely filled out. I caught myself before blurting that out.
We lay on our towels with me on my back propped up by my elbows and Michelle reading while lying on her stomach. We stayed in that position for about 30 minutes. At that point, Michelle rolled over and stretched. She put her book down and stood up. As she looked down the beach to the left, she said in a surprised tone, "CARL!"
I jumped up. "What is it Michelle?"
"Carl, are those people down the beach NAKED?"
