by Claire Angel
“She did put up quite the fight. I don’t know what compelled me to intervene on her behalf. It was interesting to use the device in my purse to send 50,000 volts into his body. You came out of nowhere using your cowboy boots to kick him in the uprights. We were all a little wired and went to the bar looking to blow off some steam.” The bartender was Malcolm and he could sell an Eskimo a refrigerator with his dimples.
A few tequila shots had me dancing on top of the bar with my new friends shaking what our mama gave us. There was no way I didn’t notice how Malcolm was sneaking peeks underneath my skirt from where he was standing below us.
“You’re already feeling the effects of the pills. I imagine drinking makes them stronger.” Everything was a haze of disjointed images with everything around me moving in slow motion.
“Malcolm showed me what I was missing. That man could go all night without a breather in between rounds. I was a lost cause from the moment he smiled at me. His Latin good looks and sculpted body to match was a weakness that I easily succumbed to.” My eyelids were heavy and I was having a difficult time keeping them open.
I barely heard the stewardess going through her usual monologue of where the exits were located. Alexis was laughing and enjoying the attention of the older man. She looked younger than her 35 years and claimed to be drinking from the fountain of youth by being with younger men.
Her black leather skirt had risen a few inches to expose her inner thighs. From where I was sitting, I could tell she wasn’t wearing panties. She most likely gave the guy at the Airport a thrill when he frisked her.
“We didn’t know at the time that it was a departure from how you usually act in public.” I felt lightheaded and it was very difficult to concentrate on what Kayla was saying to me.
“It wasn’t long after we got to the bar that I was seeing things through rose-colored glasses. I don’t usually indulge, but that night I needed something to settle my nerves after the altercation with the mugger.” I was not known to be brazen and bold with my sexual overtures.
“We were all lit up like the fourth of July. I don’t remember how many men touched me that night inappropriately on the dance floor. The music was the old style with a real beat. The jukebox had all of my favorites and I couldn’t stop feeding it quarters all night.” Kayla was a professional lawyer and she wasn’t known to let down her hair for public consumption.
“There is nothing like old time rock and roll to make you feel alive. That night I rekindled the same enthusiasm that I had in my youth. I felt it in the morning waking up with a strange man. I had a headache and I could barely see straight. I was disgusted by my behavior. Malcolm made me understand I had nothing to be ashamed of. A morning tryst was exactly what was needed to rid me of the embarrassment of taking the walk of shame.” My words were slurred and I could barely string two sentences together without feeling cotton in my mouth.
I could feel the plane lifting off and my ears popping with the air pressure. I wasn’t a very good flyer, but the drugs running through my veins sedated me. I was in my happy place with my mind numbed to the worry of plummeting into the sea.
“It’s not going to be long until you are out like a light. I remember exactly what you are feeling. In these last couple of years, we have been there for each other during those milestones. Good or bad. It was met with all of us standing strong together weathering every storm. I forgot to mention there’s going to be a hot tub outside our room. I plan to make good use of the hedonistic lifestyle.” I was a little foggy and her voice drifted away on the ether of the drugs weighing down my consciousness.
I leaned back against the window and looked at the fluffy clouds floating by. They were waving at me, but I knew that it was a drug-induced hallucination.
I heard somebody talking, but the words didn’t coalesce in my mind. I glanced up and found the hand of Alexis on my shoulder. She was dragging her unsuspecting victim into the web of her depravity in the bathroom. This man wasn’t her usual young buck looking to be corrupted by an older woman. She had spoken often of wanting to join this particular club and wasn’t letting the age difference between them get in the way.
My head felt like a 10-pound bowling ball. I slumped back and closed my eyes to the pleasant vibration of the engine. My sense of touch was enhanced. The world around me was vibrant colors. I had this sensation of having one too many.
The darkness folded in around me and I fell into a blissful slumber for the duration of the flight.
Chapter 2
Reed
The wave was enormous and I paddled with my hands to capture it before anybody else. The board underneath me was steady and I knew how to navigate the choppy waters of the Jamaican island. This was my home. My parents had moved to the island for a career opportunity of a lifetime. My father was good with his hands, but my mother was a sought-after doctor.
I was drawn to the water and it wasn’t long before I was taking to surfing like a newborn baby. I grew out my blonde hair with this godlike Adonis body to match my flowing locks. I stood proud and confident at over 6 feet and 195-pounds. My piercing blue eyes were my secret weapon against the female gender.
I hadn’t seen my parents in five years. They were on the other side of the island blissfully unaware that I didn’t go to New York. I was sending them postcards of different landmarks in the big apple. They thought I had gone to medical school. I stayed behind wanting to explore a different lifestyle of freedom and decadence.
My life changed when my girlfriend and my best friend died in a boating accident. He drowned and she succumbed to the smoke inhalation during the fire. I was the only one to survive the ordeal. I walked away and was transformed from the Caterpillar to the butterfly.
“Reed, I have heard stories about you from reliable sources. This reckless abandon is something that I can emulate. The exploits of you in Australia surfing the Great Barrier Reef in a storm is the stuff of legends.” I was locked inside my own web of deceit.
“You can’t always believe what you read. There’s always a different side to the story.” Brody was a newfound friend and fellow surfing enthusiast.
“You can’t fool me. The accident changed you after going under the knife for reconstructive surgery.” The scars were skin deep, but my shame was like a weight around my neck.
“I survived something that most people couldn’t even imagine. The fire was suffocating. I couldn’t see anything in front of my face. They say living is the hardest thing to do after something like that. I had survivor’s guilt and was able to work through it in therapy.” The board underneath my feet sailing across the water was my obsession.
I had it custom made as a symbol to my fallen brother. I didn’t even know he had fallen overboard until I saw him doing the dead man’s float. I tried to resuscitate him, but it was a futile effort. The boat sank with the screams of Amanda haunting me in my nightmares.
“I wouldn’t wish what you had gone through on any of my enemies. It had to be excruciating to see your friends perish like that. I met you in the support group and you took me underneath your wing to give me something to live for.” He never saw the appeal of the influence of the ocean calling him like a whisper in the wind.
I had treated him like a little brother and gave him a reason to open up his eyes in the morning in search of the next big wave. We lived like bohemians in a small one bedroom beach house he had inherited from his uncle. The money came from competition. It wasn’t enough and we had the tendency to live beyond our means.
“Seeing your mother die wasn’t easy for you. You were thrown clear of the wreckage and you burned yourself significantly trying to get her out.” He had to have his hand reconstructed, but there was still a malformed piece of skin in the palm of his hand.
I heard the applause from shore and I was feeding on the adrenaline of their cheers running through my veins. I was uplifted with my board balancing on the wave. It was one of the biggest ones I had seen in a few days. I wasn’t the only one vy
ing for its euphoric effects.
Brody and I were fighting it out in the spirit of friendly competition. He was pulled under by the awe-inspiring force of nature. He sputtered to the surface waving in good cheer. He knew being knocked off the board was part of the game. I was no stranger to falling victim to several waves not willing to be tamed.
I gave the universal sign with two hands in the air. The crowd had formed to watch me make my way back to shore wearing my colorful purple and yellow board shorts. It was a fleeting moment of frivolous release, but I never forgot the terrible burden I carried with me everywhere.
Brody slapped me on the shoulder and I cringed from the fresh burn from the sun. I turned abruptly with a forgotten friend raising its ugly head. The anger and resentment seething deep inside of me came over me at the most inopportune time. I counted to 10 and reached down deep to a reserve of strength I didn’t even know I had.
“The next one is going to be mine. We might be brothers underneath the skin, but I can’t let you have all the glory. I have gotten us a day pass to Hedonism three. We both know what can happen when the sun goes down behind those closed doors.” It wasn’t the first and it wasn’t going to be the last time we breached the inner sanctum of the resort.
“I could use a distraction and you always seem to know what I need.” He was responsible for some lavish parties that I barely escaped from with a hangover to beat the band.
“A friend of mine works there and will look the other way one night a month for his friends. I received word last night tonight is our time to let our hair down.” I had used my youth and bronzed body to coax unsuspecting women back to the room.
“A little debauchery and naked fun is something I always look forward to at the end of the month.” That beach house had rumors swirling about the craziness and liquor consumption every weekend.
“Hedonism three caters to those in a certain lifestyle. Husbands and wives arrive looking to explore their hidden desires. The theme nights in scandalous clothing give them the freedom to be different from their normal lives back home. They call it coming home. It’s an exclusive club and the cost to enjoy everything all-inclusive is high. Most can’t afford more than one-week vacation and they make good use of the time.” I remembered last month and how five of us circled this naked girl on a chaise lounge at the pool at midnight.
I smiled guiltily and wondered what other fun we might get into during our pass. I slammed the board into the sand sticking it into the air with the design giving the designer free advertising. Josh was an artist with an eye for detail. The man was a genius and word of mouth spread quickly to give him repeat customers. Sometimes he gave a break on the price for the name of his shop to be on the board.
Scribble Board was written at the lower corner of my board. It was fluorescent green and drew the eye to it like a moth to a flame. I peeled off the half wetsuit to reveal my body. My chest was shaved along with another part of my anatomy.
The girls were giggling and handing over their pads to be signed. One was a bit bolder with her request. She reached behind and undid the white bikini from around her neck. Those boulders were magnificent and topped with cherry tips good enough to eat. She lifted the heavy weight and presented a different kind of canvas for my John Hancock.
“Her name is Rochelle and she doesn’t speak a word of English. She does have a French tongue and rumors are quite adamant that she knows how to use it. She came here with her parents from France for a month-long excursion. Her parents are some kind of big shot diplomats with immunity from prosecution for any kind of crime they may commit.” Brody had the pulse of the island in the palm of his hand, but he took that responsibility seriously.
I whispered into her ear in the language that she could understand. I told her that she had a beautiful body and smile in the French dialect. She blushed and I scrawled my signature on her left breast. It was apparent that the European culture was free about their bodies. She would’ve made a great weekend addition to our beach house. I could’ve easily imprinted her body on my mattress and left her with a lasting memory for a lifetime.
“I don’t know much French, but I have learned several different languages with various sentences to seduce. It comes in handy when those from other countries visit the island. Girls are impressed that I have taken the time to learn their language.” She turned around and walked away with every man in the vicinity staring at her like panting dogs.
“She looks even better from behind than she does from the front.” The truth of the statement was in the white floss of her bikini snug between her cheeks.
There wasn’t much left to the imagination. It would’ve been nice to get to know her intimately, but there was always time for that after our release in the hedonistic life.
“I can’t disagree. It doesn’t look like she’s hiding anything. I know it’s crass, but I wonder what she does with her keys. She’s not carrying a purse and you told me she drives everywhere on the island in that rented safari Jeep.” The night was young and the strange allure of women young and old was calling to us from Hedonism three like sirens of the sea.
“I’ve already given her an invitation to come to the beach house next weekend. I’m calling dibs on this one. We both get one per month and I’m using mine for her.” I would’ve done the same thing in his shoes, but I had already used mine up with an Australian ex-pat with the kind of flotation devices that were buoyant in the water.
“I swear that she will be off limits to me. There are always other fish in the sea.” There were days I could barely hold on without the necessary female companionship to wash away the guilt that I was living with.
The hot sand on my feet would have made others uncomfortable. I laughed under my breath at those doing the two-step to get back to their vehicle. This was far better than the winters I’d spent in my childhood in Texas. We were at a high altitude where snow was more than possible. 20 minutes away could have green grass and we would be waist deep in snow.
“I need to pick up some party favors before we go. I have a go bag ready for this occasion. I don’t expect us to mingle together. We will meet up at 7:00 AM to compare notes like we always do. I hope this time will turn that frown upside down. You always seem like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Here in paradise, there’s nothing but good times around every corner. It’s a slow pace of living down here.” I followed him to the red Jeep that was being held together by nothing more than wishful thinking.
“Brody, we have learned not to cramp each other style. I’m sure that we won’t have any problem finding a room to spend the night. Let the games begin.” This was my only way to forget and it was far more pleasing than being under a doctor’s care.
Chapter 3
Mallory
I had to shield my eyes and being naked for the first time took a bit of getting used to. Alexis had already disappeared into the grotto with two young men sporting something that would have scared little old ladies on the bus. Some people shouldn’t be naked, but I admired them for having the bravery to throw caution to the wind.
I had lost sight of Kayla. I slipped into the water warm to the touch and made my way over to the bar to numb my senses.
“What do you mean that you don’t know how to make a white Russian? I brought the Oreo cookies with me.” His chiseled back and his baritone voice made my heart skip a beat.
In his hand was a baggie full of Oreo cookies. The young Jamaican behind the counter wearing the colorful uniform shirt looked confused and was going to need somebody to explain it to him.
“I believe that I can be of some assistance.” I took the bag from his hands and placed two cookies at the bottom of the shaker.
I crushed them and then added vodka and a coffee liqueur before pouring milk over top of the whole thing. I required honey and poured it on the counter with a large glass upside down to ring the rim. I took another one of the cookies and crushed it to powder before adding it to the honey. I began to shake the shaker
back and forth. He was no longer looking me in the eyes. The bouncing formation of my breasts had his undivided attention.
“It appears that somebody else saw the exact same thing I saw on social media.” I made myself a duplicate of what I had made for him.
We toasted to our accomplishment in congratulations for a job well done.
“I did see the same thing, but I never had the chance to actually try it until now.” He was bigger than life and his lack of clothing made it easier to see what he was working with underneath the water.
We found a secluded spot in the corner and I couldn’t help myself. The drink was strong, but this time I was in full control of my faculties. I touched his broad chest and ran my fingers down to the apex of his thighs. His torso was indicative of a swimmer’s physique.
Introductions were made and I felt at ease in his presence. I recalled the hot tub outside our bedroom steps away from where we were currently located. It would’ve been nice to get hot and bothered in his arms. He had one arm draped over my shoulder and I was nestled in to hear his heart beating wildly in his chest.
“Your friends did you a favor by bringing you here. This is the only place in the world that makes you feel like you’re truly living for the first time. I’m no stranger to this place. The locals and the staff know me by name. This is not a word of a lie. You stand out from the crowd. Take that as a compliment.” His endowment was impressive largely imposing and quite the handful.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I would really like to feel the evidence of your arousal.” The warm water was nothing compared to the flash of heat coming off of his shaft.
“That’s the beauty of this place. Consenting adults can do anything they want. I don’t mind your fingers doing the walking.” He was this delectable treat, but I could sense a hidden pain he was trying to hide.
