Stacey Robinson, 33, 5'6", 130lbs, auburn hair, hazel eyes, pretty, curvy, and only a bit over her optimum weight: Stacey no longer works, though she has a degree in economics and worked for a bank until quitting several years into her marriage. She and her husband Jake met in college and married ten years ago. Jake wrote erotica for her when they were dating, and she fell in love with his creativity. She still loves her husband (or tells herself she does), but has begun to wonder if there isn't more she could be doing with her life. Jake works very hard, and she does not see him as often as she would like. She sometimes feels less like a wife than a trophy. She has thought about divorcing Jake on a few occasions but never seriously. Quite simply, the spark has gone out of her marriage, and she is not sure how to get it back or even if she can. Stacey had a single lesbian experience in college that she has never told anyone about, even Jake. She has never really examined her feelings about what happened and has largely pushed it to the back of her mind.

Jake Robinson, 34, 6' 1", 175lbs, brown hair, blue eyes, still in decent shape but his years behind a desk have taken their toll: Jake is an attorney who does big commercial litigation. He attended Harvard [or Oxford, for Hecate] for both undergraduate and law school and recently made partner at his law firm. Very much a type-A, alpha male personality, but far more insecure than he ever lets on. He drives himself so hard because he is constantly afraid of failure. He has begun to experience symptoms of burnout and often fantasizes about quitting law and becoming a writer. He is afraid of doing it because he fears that Stacey will leave him if he is no longer the hotshot lawyer. He still loves Stacey very much but secretly fears that she only married him for his money; this is a symptom of his insecurities and is not due to anything Stacey has ever said or done. He has never been unfaithful to her, although he has had several opportunities. Jake has always attracted women but rarely seems to know what to do with them. Stacey is the only woman he has ever loved.

Kelly Thomas, 21, 5' 9", 120lbs, long blonde hair, blue eyes, slim and athletic, a member of her college cross-county team. Kelly is a college student who is still looking for her place in life. She likes to think of herself as a "bad girl," although she is fundamentally a decent person. She has a pierced tongue, a gold belly ring and a little tattoo of a dolphin on her right buttock. Kelly enjoys playing with people's heads, but in a good way--she likes to challenge the people she knows and has little tolerance for pretension and "fake" people. Kelly is openly and comfortably bisexual--in fact, she likes to think of herself as "beauty-sexual," that is, she is attracted to good-looking people regardless of their gender. She has never been in a serious, long-term relationship but has begun to wonder if it's time to get more serious about her life.


The Setting:

Jake and Stacey have finally faced up to the problems in their marriage and have committed themselves to figuring out what is wrong. Jake has taken a break from work, and he and Stacey have decided to take a weeklong cruise through the Caribbean. Whatever the missing spark is, they haven't found it yet--it's two days into the cruise and they have yet to make love even once.

Kelly won two berths on the same cruise in a radio call-in contest. She intended to go with her then-boyfriend, but they got into a fight several weeks ago and broke up. Kelly decided to go by herself and is just hoping to enjoy herself without having to worry about the consequences. So far, she hasn't done much beyond sitting beside the pool and working out in the ship's health club.

On the morning of the third day of the cruise, Jake and Stacey are lying out by the pool. Kelly appears in a blue string bikini and sits down on a sunbed next to them. Jake and Stacey both notice her at the same time . . . and that's where you take over.


The Rules:

-Ruthie required her authors to write from the male perspective in first person past tense. I am being somewhat more flexible. You should write this in the first person, but you can use either female character--whichever one appeals to you the most.

-You are free to add whatever you like to my characterizations (and I fully expect you to), but you should not *change* anything. Put your own spin on them, but don't go so far that you've created different people from what I have. That would defeat the purpose of this undertaking.

-Word limits: There aren't any.

That should set you up. If you have any questions or problems, well, you know how to find me. Happy writing!