White Lines II: Sunny: A Novel
Page 23
A smile spread across his face, and he had to resist the urge to jump for joy.
* * *
Their flight landed at Acapulco International Airport the following morning, and what a glorious morning it was! The sun stood bright in the sky while a soft breeze blew gently.
They rode in the back of a limo from the airport to their home for the next ten days: a high-rise hotel on the south end of the resort town Punta Diamante. Sunny wore a large wide-brimmed hat and a long, flowing sundress while Malcolm looked casual in a pair of khaki shorts and a polo shirt. Sunny wasn’t sure why she was annoyed by the sandals he wore, but then it occurred to her that Dorian would have never been caught wearing shoes as corny as those. She pushed it to the back of her mind and adjusted her sunglasses on her nose.
They arrived at their hotel and checked into a luxury suite. Sunny had to admit that now she was glad they had come. The moment the plane had started taxiing down the runway it felt as if a weight had been lifted from Sunny’s shoulders, one she hadn’t even known was there until then. The weeks of helping Jada deal with Sheldon’s rebellion, modeling for Vintage, partying with Olivia and working on the film with Kaleidoscope had taken a toll on Sunny, and she was relieved to be far away from it all.
They unpacked, immediately put on their swimwear, and headed down to the beach. Malcolm could barely keep his hands off Sunny in her tiny, white string bikini. She giggled as he scooped her up and ran into Acapulco Bay, tossing her onto a wave. Sunny swam out a little farther and Malcolm followed. They splashed and played in the water, laughing so hard that they had to stop to catch their breath. The beach was crowded with beautiful people, yet Sunny and Malcolm kissed and felt each other up, rolling together in the surf as if no one was around. Then they frolicked and ran along the sand, stopping at a beach bar to have a drink.
Sunny smiled at Malcolm, feeling more relaxed than she had for months. “I’m glad we’re here.”
He smiled back, feeling the same way. “You should let me steal you away more often.”
“I might just have to let you do that.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling, watching the locals cliff diving, and enjoyed a boat tour where they saw sea turtles, cave rock formations, sea mountains, and even an underwater statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe. They ate lunch by the shore as the sun set, and Malcolm stared at her as if he had never seen a woman more beautiful.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go back to our room.”
Sunny smiled, knowing what he had in mind. “I want to go dancing. We can get freaky later on.”
Malcolm laughed. “Here’s what we’ll do.” He drained his glass. “We’ll go back to the room and get freaky now. Then we’ll go have dinner, do a little dancing and then…” He smiled a mischievous grin. “We’ll go back and get freaky some more.”
Sunny grinned, as well. “Let’s go. Last one back to the room is a rotten egg.” She took off running and Malcolm ran after her laughing.
They showered together and cleaned all traces of saltwater off each other. Malcolm licked her neck, her collarbone, ran his lips along the length of her back. Sunny felt breathless. He turned the water off and carried her to the bed, laying her across it, her body still dripping wet. Sunny wanted him, but he teased her first, licking her breasts and fingering her kitten until she was dripping internally as well. He laid his head between her thighs and ate her until her legs quaked and she cried out so loudly that he half expected hotel security to come knocking. As he rose to mount her, she was in such a state of ecstasy that she accidentally kicked him in the face.
“Owww!” he hollered, holding his nose.
“Oh my … I’m sorry, baby.” Sunny felt terrible, but the whole thing was so unexpected that she burst into laughter.
Malcolm followed suit and collapsed onto the bed beside her in hysterics. Sunny calmed herself after a few minutes and kissed his nose, apologetically.
“Aww, baby, I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.” She kissed his chin, his neck, and traced a trail with her lips as she went farther and farther south.
Malcolm thought he must have died and gone to heaven as she took him into her mouth and caused her name to flow slowly from his lips.
* * *
Two hours later, they sat together at a restaurant, feeding each other and stealing tender kisses between bites. It was clear even to people who had never seen them before that the two were in love, although Sunny had still not uttered the words.
Malcolm traced his finger down the length of her face, brushed across her soft lips and shook his head slowly.
“What?” she asked.
“You must be the most gorgeous woman in all of Mexico.”
She blushed, and thought to herself that he was the only man who had made her feel like a little girl since Dorian died. “Keep talking like that and I might have to suck your dick again.”
He laughed loudly, attracting the attention of couples at nearby tables. Even though he was growing accustomed to her brash sense of humor, she still managed to catch him off guard with her comments.
Up-tempo music played lightly in the background and Sunny snapped her fingers to the beat. “Let’s go dancing! I feel like busting loose!”
Malcolm summoned the waitress, paid the check and they stepped outside and got a taxi, plentiful in this tourist town, to take them to the north end of town. Malcolm had been told that there were all-night discos in that area. The driver helped them into the car and off they went, looking out the windows at all the merriment in this high-energy party town. It was after midnight and the fun seemed to be just getting started.
They arrived at the strip littered with dance clubs and decided to check out one called Roja.
As soon as they stepped inside, they were swept up in the music. A live band had everyone on their feet and the singer’s melodic voice pulled them both toward the dance floor. They danced until they were sweaty and breathless, applauding along with everyone else as the song came to an end and the band began a new one.
Malcolm had to use the bathroom, so Sunny went to the bar and ordered a tequila sunrise. As the bartender went to make her drink, a handsome Mexican stranger appeared at her side, smiling at her.
“Hello,” he said. “You are beautiful, morena.”
Sunny smiled, thanked him, and sipped her drink.
“Do you want to dance?’ he asked.
Sunny saw Malcolm headed their way and shook her head. “No thanks,” she replied politely.
“Come on,” the handsome stranger urged, smiling at her. “Just one dance.”
Malcolm saw the man standing beside Sunny; saw, too, that she was looking uncomfortably over the man’s shoulder as Malcolm approached. Casually, he sidled up beside them.
“You are the star for the night,” the man was saying. “I want to twirl you around.” The man was slurring his words ever so slightly and was clearly drunk. The bartender delivered their drinks. Sunny sipped hers nervously as the stranger reached to pay for them.
“Trust me. You don’t want to twirl her around,” Malcolm spoke to the man, looking him square in the eyes. “She likes to kick dudes in the face when she’s finished coming.”
Sunny’s laughter came so suddenly that she spat her sip out all over the bar. She was embarrassed and apologetic as Malcolm laughed and the stranger frowned, confused.
Malcolm tossed a twenty on the bar for Sunny’s drink and pulled her toward him, his hand palming her ass. He ordered a drink, too, and watched as the stranger finally got the hint and took off.
“You’re crazy, you know that?”
He nodded. “Crazy about you.”
Three tequila sunrises later, they were both tipsy. Sunny had to pee, so she left Malcolm at the bar and found her way to the ladies’ room.
Squatting over the toilet because she was wary of germs, Sunny pissed like a racehorse. She had a wad of toilet tissue in her hand as she waited for the steady stream to cease its flowing from with
in her. The bathroom had been empty when she entered, but she could hear two women come in now, speaking in hushed tones. Sunny listened as she wiped herself. She was fluent in Spanish so she understood the ladies’ conversation.
“Hurry up!” one lady rushed the other. “We only have a few minutes!”
Sunny was just about to flush the toilet when she heard the sound of a long, sustained sniff. She froze, familiar with that sound. She wondered for a moment if it was her own longing for cocaine that had her imagining things. But as she emerged from the stall, she saw that her ears had not deceived her. Two Mexican women stood at the sink, one with white powder on her nose. They both looked startled by Sunny’s sudden presence in their midst.
Quickly, the shorter of the two women moved to put away her stash.
“No! Wait,” Sunny urged. She spoke to them in Spanish, and they seemed surprised by this. She gestured toward her nose and the taller one wiped the powder from hers. “Where can I get some?”
Scared, the two women moved toward the door hurriedly. Sunny blocked them, her eyes desperate. She dug around in her purse until she found her driver’s license. She held it up for their inspection, explained that she wasn’t a cop, that she was just an American girl on vacation and she wanted some yeyo, that she would pay them if they would help her get her hands on some.
“Please!” Sunny hoped that they would see how desperate she was. She had told herself that she could survive for ten days without getting high, and she had enjoyed her first day in Mexico with Malcolm. But she knew that some coke would make the vacation far more bearable. It could mean the difference between her having a good time and having a great one.
“No policia?” the tall one asked.
Sunny shook her head vigorously. “No!”
The tall one seemed satisfied. The longing on Sunny’s face had convinced her. She reached into her bag and pulled out a tiny plastic bag of cocaine. Holding it out to Sunny, she sized her up. Seeing her American driver’s license had already told her what she needed to know.
“Fifty doh-lars. U.S.!” She was suddenly speaking English, albeit heavily accented.
Sunny frowned. She knew that what she was being offered was worth twenty bucks at best, but she was in no position to be choosy. She handed the woman the money and took the coke in exchange. To show them that she wasn’t a cop, she took some out of the baggie and snorted it right in front of them. Both women visibly relaxed then.
“Where can I get more?” Sunny asked.
The short one spoke now. “How much more?”
Sunny wanted a lot more. She would be in Acapulco for nine more long days. She wanted enough to last her the entire trip. “Five hundred, U.S.”
Both women gasped. The short one shook her head. “We don’t have that much.”
The taller one pulled out a pen and wrote down an address on a paper towel. “Call Miguel,” she said, pressing the paper towel into Sunny’s hand. “Tell him Estella sent you.”
Sunny thanked the two women and they left the bathroom. She took another snort of the coke, felt her senses come alive and then rejoined Malcolm at the bar. She kissed him long and full, and he smiled at her afterward.
“Let’s go,” she said to him. “I’m feeling frisky!”
They went back to their hotel room and spent the rest of the night disturbing the peace.
19
SECOND THOUGHTS
They slept late the next morning and made love yet again. Sunny was glad when Malcolm announced that he was going to play some golf. He invited her to come along, but she refused, saying that she intended to do some shopping.
“I have to bring back souvenirs for everyone. So while you’re golfing, I’ll go to Zocalo.” She saw the look of surprise on Malcolm’s face. “That’s the main square,” she clarified.
Malcolm smiled, impressed. “Somebody’s been reading the brochures, I see.”
Sunny nodded and gave him a wink. “Golfing takes the whole day, so go and enjoy yourself. But don’t come back all tired! I want to have more fun tonight!”
Malcolm was excited. He had heard so much about the splendid Pierre Marques course, designed in the seventies for a World Cup Tournament. He was an expert golfer, and was secretly relieved that Sunny—a novice—had opted not to join him this morning. He dressed, gave her a lingering kiss and then left.
As soon as he was gone, Sunny snorted the rest of the coke she’d gotten from the ladies at the club the night before, jumped in the shower (singing loudly), and threw on a vibrant pink Vintage sundress. She threw her hair into a hapless ponytail and went down to the gift shop in the lobby. She walked over to the section with toiletries and bought a straight razor—and threw in some shaving cream so as not to arouse suspicion. She paid for her items, then went outside and summoned a taxi to take her to the address the Latina had given her in the club the night before. The driver smiled and nodded quickly, and off they went.
They drove until the tourist-heavy part of town was behind them. Dense forest-like brush surrounded them as they rode down one dirt road after another. They passed through several shantytowns and suddenly Sunny was having second thoughts. Before she could change her mind, the driver slowed down and pulled up in front of a row of businesses—a small shop, a café, and a bar.
He nodded toward the bar. “This is it, Miss.”
Sunny was nervous, and she nodded slowly. She gulped and asked the driver in Spanish to wait for her. “I won’t be long,” she said, praying silently that she was nervous for no reason.
She stepped out of the taxi and walked into the bar. It was noon, but already the place was packed with a bunch of very serious looking Mexican men. Sunny looked around and noticed that she was the only female present. As if on cue, several of the men started whistling and making provocative noises, rubbing their hands together and smiling at her, leeringly. One man, who Sunny couldn’t help noticing was kind of handsome, approached and spoke to her in English.
“What can I do for you, morena?” He had a low haircut, a muscular build, and a permanent smirk on his face. He exuded a cocky aura, and Sunny could tell instantly that he was not to be fucked with.
“I’m looking for Miguel.” She watched the man’s face closely, saw him raise one eyebrow slightly as if intrigued. “Estella sent me.”
The man stared at her without saying anything for a few long moments. Sunny shifted her weight uneasily from one foot to the other and waited. Finally, he spoke.
“You want to see Miguel.” He said it like a statement, rather than a question. Sunny nodded. “For what?”
Sunny frowned. She had expected that the name “Miguel” alone would tell them what she was looking for. “Estella said that I should just ask for Miguel.” She felt her heartbeat speed up and the audacity of what she was doing hit her all at once. She was in Mexico, alone in a bar on the wrong side of town, attempting to buy cocaine. If this went wrong, she was fucked. She slipped her right hand into the pocket of her dress and fingered the razor she had brought along. She knew that she was outnumbered. But if the shit hit the fan, she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
The man stared at her, watching her squirm. His expression was serious and he could tell that he was making her nervous. He was enjoying it. After several additional moments of silence, a slow smile crept across his face and he held his hand out to her. “I am Miguel. And what is your name?”
She wanted to laugh from relief and cry from anguish at the same time. “Sunny.” She immediately wondered if she should have given him a fake name. She wasn’t thinking straight due to her nervousness.
“Okay, Sunny.” Miguel circled her, taking in her appearance and deciding instantly that she was his type. Her long legs, nice ass and pretty face were making his dick hard. He completed his circle and stood in front of her once more. “What can I get for you?”
She reached in her purse and pulled out the cash. She looked around at the other men in the room and wondered why they didn’t do this in privat
e. She couldn’t imagine that all of these men were part of Miguel’s gang, but she was probably wrong. No doubt they were all members of his organization, and were all enjoying watching him toy with the American girl.
Miguel smiled at the sight of the money, then noticed the diamond rings on her fingers as they caught the scant light coming in through one of the windows. Her earrings were diamond encrusted, also. Her sunglasses were Gucci. “Take off your shades, chica. I like to look people in their eyes when I talk to them.”
Sunny complied, removing her sunglasses. She wondered how long she had been in here and prayed that her driver was still waiting for her outside. She looked Miguel in his eyes and tapped her iced-out Cartier watch impatiently.
“I’m in a rush,” she said. She lowered her voice, hoping that only he could hear her.
“Yeyo. I need it.”
“You need it?” He laughed. So did the other men in the bar.
“Yes. I do. Can I have it or should I go someplace else?”
Miguel frowned. “There is no place else.” He looked offended. “You should be more patient, mamí.” He snapped his fingers and one of the men brought over a large bag of white powder.
Sunny handed Miguel the money and took the coke, stuffed it in her bag. “Thank you,” she said, and turned to leave. Another man blocked her path. She heard Miguel laughing behind her.
“You should stay for a while. Have a drink.”
Sunny realized again how stupid it was for her to be here alone in a foreign country surrounded by a room full of men—dangerous men.
Just as she started to panic, the door flew open and two men came in dragging a third one by the collar. The duo threw their catch on the floor and started speaking to Miguel in angry Spanish. Miguel’s attention shifted from Sunny to the man who had just been brought in. The thug who had moments earlier blocked her exit was now kicking the victim. It didn’t take Sunny long to figure out that this was her cue to leave. Without a second thought, she slipped out the door and ran to the taxi waiting for her.