Todd got up and finished his beer. “Well, in any case, it won’t be hard to miss. Barbecue. Flamingo Beach. Got it. Later!” He took one of the wristbands from Dave. Without saying another word, he walked into the lounge, toward the large back doors of the hotel leading to Enlightenment Island. The blue swimming pools and green grass fields looked incredibly inviting through the majestic tall windows.
Marc quickly emptied his glass, grabbed his wristband, and chased after his friend with a hurried good-bye.
Dave watched them walk off and exchanged a glance with Dominique.
“I think that means you’re supposed to join them,” he said cynically.
Dominique tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, I guess so. Sorry, guys.”
“It’s all right,” Dave raised his hand and turned around. “See you later.”
27
They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the overwhelming view outside: the hotel’s enormous terraces, three swimming pools with perfect green fields around them, and just behind that, the almost surreal blue ocean and white beaches. Enlightenment Island stretched out before them.
Everywhere there were cheerful people drinking from tall glasses, sprawled out on lawn chairs, talking and laughing at the tables under beach umbrellas, running to the pool with a rolled-up towel under their arms, and strolling on the walkways along the grass, taking in the last of the remaining sunbeams. Young people, old people, couples, and parents with kids. Apparently all of them could afford a vacation in this paradise, not a care in the world.
“Wow, this place is amazingly beautiful,” Lilian said.
Dominique nodded her head in agreement. She had been to many places in the world with her parents, mostly with her father, but Aruba came closest to her idea of the perfect vacation location. Just ahead of them, Marc and Todd had found the barbecue buffet. Marc motioned to them, while Todd dove right in and loaded up his plate with spareribs and hamburgers.
“Really good,” he said to Dominique with his mouth full. She walked up to him and stared at him with amusement.
“I’m sure it is, dear,” she answered, smiling. “But I’m going to wait a little while.”
Still, she grabbed a few pieces of pineapple and mango from the abundant table, which was constantly being restocked by four hotel staff members. Lilian also limited herself to some fruit and a salad. She looked with pure amazement at Marc, who plowed through the large pieces of meat.
“I was starving,” he announced, as if it wasn’t clear to everyone else, wiping the grease from his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Yes, I can see that,” Lilian said dryly. She placed a slice of cheese on some French bread and looked across the table at Dominique.
She suspected that her friend was falling for Todd. She certainly found the broad American attractive, but she couldn’t possibly imagine falling in love with him.
Lilian turned toward Marc, who was holding out his plate for another helping of barbecue. He was very different from Todd. Also athletic, but not overly muscular. You could really talk to Marc; she found him sensitive, and he made her laugh. And yet, she did not invite him to her bedroom the night before.
A slight smirk appeared on her lips when she recalled the state she had found Marc in that morning. In the lawn chair by the pool, legs pulled in tight in fetal position. She could have kissed him right there and then, it was so sweet how he was lying there.
“What’s up?” Marc asked when he looked up from his plate. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Maybe I am,” she said with an edge of mystery.
He studied her face for a moment but quickly turned his attention back to his plate of hamburgers. He divided each hamburger into four pieces with his fork, and then dipped each piece in the sauce and shoved it in his mouth.
“Why don’t you have some?” he suggested in between bites.
She began to laugh. “Thanks for the offer. But I’d still like to go swimming, and I don’t like to swim with a full stomach.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s up to you. I don’t have a problem swimming with a full stomach.” And he took another bite.
“So, shall we go and have a look around?” Lilian suggested to her girlfriend.
She had spoken to her in English, but Dominique answered in Dutch. “Sounds like a good plan. Just as soon as the wild animals have finished devouring their prey.”
An older woman next to her, who was busy getting some salad, looked up and smiled. “Yes, always be sure to feed the wild animals well,” she said, her sparkling eyes peering out above her glasses. “Otherwise, they may end up devouring you!”
Dominique looked over at Todd, who appeared to be winning the fight with a large rib, tenderly. “To tell you the truth, I’m afraid, in this case, one won’t necessarily exclude the other, ma’am.”
28
While it had become almost completely dark, the foursome was still traipsing along the various attractions on Enlightenment Island. They had seen a movie about the history and background of Aruba on a large screen; they had taken a swim; they had walked along the beach; and they had enjoyed all of the extreme luxuries offered to them.
They settled on one of the terraces and ordered cocktails.
“Now, this is the good life,” Lilian sighed, leaning over in bliss. “I could stay here forever.”
“I wish we could, too!” Marc agreed. “But in two days, we will have to go back home.”
“What?” Dominique said, visibly shocked. She looked at Todd with a reproachful look. “You didn’t tell me that!”
“No? But it is true. Not much I can do about it—we’re only here for a week,” he said, completely unfazed as he grabbed the laminated menu off the table. “Do you think they also serve food here?”
Dominique angrily punched him in the shoulder. “All you can think about is food!”
A broad grin appeared on his face. “That’s not true, and you know it!”
Despite her anger, Dominique couldn’t help but laugh. She gave Lilian a slightly guilty look.
Just then the waiter came to their table and put down four cocktails with paper umbrellas. When he looked at the girls, he said, surprised, “Hey, it’s you two! Did Dave get you the wristbands? He said he was going to do that.”
Only then did Dominique and Lilian realize who he was: Jerome, one of the students they had met on their first night in Oranjestad, with Dave and Chuck’s group. He looked completely different in his tight waiter’s uniform than he had that night at the bar. Then, he’d worn a T-shirt, cutoffs, and worn out sandals.
“Yes, he did!” Dominique showed him her wristband. “These things are amazing! We’re getting everything for free.”
“Well, you two do, because you have the gold bands,” Jerome said. “But your friends don’t have those.” He pointed to Todd and Marc’s wristbands. “They have access here, but they’re not the same. They are supposed to pay for their drinks.”
“Oh?” Marc responded, surprised. “So far we haven’t had to pay anywhere else, and we’ve been here for a few hours.”
Jerome smiled. “Then you’ve been very lucky. Most of my colleagues don’t make a big deal about it when someone with a gold band orders something for someone with a silver band. Especially when they are beautiful girls.”
“Well, what do you know?” Dominique said triumphantly to Todd. “So, you two better be very grateful to us.”
Todd took a sip from his cocktail and thought it was better not to comment.
“Have you been to the island yet?” Jerome asked.
They all looked at him questioningly.
“What do you mean? We’re on an island now, aren’t we?”
Jerome began to laugh. “No, an island is entirely surrounded by water, remember? This is considered to be a peninsula—it is connected to the hotel. But from here you can take a water taxi to Enlightenment Island. I highly recommend it, because it’s beautiful there.”
The others la
ughed.
“So, this isn’t even the real island?” Marc gestured at the beauty around him. “Then what’s the real Enlightenment Island going to be like?”
“Maybe it only has palm trees and a beach?” Todd said, contemplating. “I wonder if we can still get cocktails there.”
“Thanks, Jerome,” Lilian said. “How do we get there?
He pointed. “Over there. Then follow the signs.”
“What a bunch of losers we are,” Marc commented, laughing. “What if we had just left? We would never have even seen the actual island.”
“Sounds like something we would do,” Todd added. “So, shall we go?”
29
A water taxi brought the foursome to the other side. From the boat, they could see all of Enlightenment Island’s brightly lit terraces and beaches approaching fast. Behind them the ocean-view suites were enveloped in bright spotlights, and a light show took place on the other side of the peninsula.
When the water taxi docked, a loud cheer roared on board. In record time, the boat emptied out. Dominique and Lilian and their friends followed the masses of people off the jetty. They were surrounded by cheerful and happy people. A bubbly girl, about their age, had put about six cocktail umbrellas in her hair. She clung to the arm of a lanky boy with glasses and slicked-back hair, wearing only a bathing suit, who kept kissing her without thinking about it.
There was a large sign with a map of the island on a square with various bars and terraces. It showed there were two beaches each in the shape of a horseshoe: Iguana Beach for families, and Flamingo Beach for adults only.
“That’s a good idea,” Todd said. “I hate those beaches with screaming children, who run across your towel with their beach toys.”
“Look at that.” Lilian pointed to the map. “They have a Spa Cove. That sounds like something we should check out.”
“Yes, I want a massage!” Dominique yelled out, clapping her hands excitedly.
“Let’s have a drink first?” Marc suggested.
All the terraces were full, so they got their drinks and sat down on the sand at the nearest beach. Dominique snuggled up close to Todd. And this time, Lilian didn’t resist Marc when he put his arm around her and pulled her close.
“Hey, I don’t want to miss the light show!” Dominique protested teasingly when Todd kept kissing her.
After they finished their drinks, the two couples walked intertwined along one of the larger beaches to the Spa Cove: a one-story building, located along the seaside, with massage tables, showers, and Jacuzzis inside and outside. After showing their golden wristbands, the girls were invited to take a place on the massage tables. However, the manager refused to make an exception for the boys with their silver wristbands.
Because they didn’t feel like paying for it, the boys decided not to have massages.
“We’re going to go sit over there,” Marc called out to them and pointed to a terrace with large, colorful umbrellas.
“We’ll find you,” Dominique answered sluggishly, dropping her head down into her folded arms.
“Do you think they remember that they have to pay for their own drinks?” Lilian asked, snickering as she lay down on a massage table, too.
Two women came to the tables; they greeted them and began to massage them silently, with some sort of fragrant oil. Dominique and Lilian sank into a deep state of relaxation. They closed their eyes and didn’t feel the slightest need to talk.
When they found the boys on the terrace a little over a half an hour later, they were in a heavy conversation with a few of their countrymen.
Todd introduced the two tanned couples at their table: “Do and Lil, this is Elaine, Gregg, Matt, and Cheyenne. They’re also from Texas,” he said and in the same breath resentfully added, “And we had to pay for our beers!”
“Ah, I wondered why you weren’t having cocktails,” Dominique teased.
“They told us there’s going to be a big beach party on Flamingo Beach. That’s the one we’re going to as well, right?”
Lilian nodded. “Right, that’s where we’re going to meet up with Chuck and Dave later tonight.”
“Do you guys want to join us?” Marc asked the fellow Texans.
“Not right now. But we will probably see you there later,” Gregg answered.
Marc didn’t persist. He put his arm around Lilian’s shoulders. They headed to the beach together.
30
The hotels enveloped in the light of the spotlights on shore were a sharp contrast against the dark evening sky. The white surf of the ocean reflected the bright lights. The lamps all around the U-shaped island went out when, all around, the beach fires were started. It was a bit chillier than it had been around sundown, but not so cool that they were sorry not to have brought sweaters along. Besides, Lilian was far too close to fire now anyway. She would have preferred a little more distance, but Marc was a true boy: if there was fire anywhere, he needed to be close enough to throw things in it. Separated only by the bottle of wine between them, they stretched out in the sand. The cork had disappeared into the fire. They took turns sipping from the bottle directly.
“I can’t believe that in just a few days I’ll be back home,” Marc said.
“And I can’t believe you guys didn’t tell us you were leaving so soon,” Lilian responded. “Do was really upset when she heard that.”
“And you’re not?” He looked deep into her eyes and gave her his infectious smile. “I know that Dominique is crazy about Todd. Aren’t you just a little bit crazy about me, too?”
“A little bit,” she admitted and didn’t resist his kiss. With his one free hand Marc grabbed the wine bottle and pressed it down into the sand behind him. Then he used the same hand to run his fingers through Lilian’s hair. Carefully, he pressed his body closer to hers. Unlike the previous night at the house, she didn’t push him away now. All around them young couples were in the sand. A wide variety of music blared from the many iPods and cell phones. In the distance, by the bars and terraces, there was a light show.
On the opposite side of the fire, from a shallow pit that Todd had dug out, Dominique could see how her friend was finally giving in to Marc’s advances. Todd, who was right next to her, said appreciatively, “Marc is going for it, Do. He’s about to get to second base. Do you think he’s going to make it to third tonight?”
“Hmm, I don’t know,” Dominique answered, pondering the concept.
He took a sip of wine and gave her the bottle, and she did the same. His hand was resting on her side, then slipped underneath her T-shirt.
She blocked him with her elbow. “Todd!” she yelled out in in an unconvincing but reproachful tone.
With his face close to hers, he gave her a big grin. “You’re not afraid of what other people think, are you? They’ve all got better things to do then to notice what we’re doing here. Besides, if they start to bother us we can just go to that beautiful house of yours.” He took something from his pocket and held it out to her. She saw right away it was another pill like the one he had given her the night before. She hesitated. What kind of pill is that anyway?
“Do you want it or not?” he asked.
“Are you?”
“I’m definitely going take one. Everything gets even better once you’ve taken one of these.”
Dominique glanced over to Lilian, who was still making out in the sand with Marc. Then she looked back at the little pill. Everything had changed last night after she took it from him. Her body felt more sensitive, and she experienced everything more intensely. Never mind that the sex was a thousand times better than she had ever experienced before. Without giving it another thought, she took the pill from his hand, put it in her mouth, and washed it down with a gulp of wine.
“Maybe you’re right—not a bad idea to go back to my beautiful house,” she said seductively and pulled herself up out of the sand.
“What about them?” Todd asked, nodding his head toward Lilian and Marc.
“T
hose two will manage. I think it may be better if we give Lilian a little space. They will find their own way home.”
Todd didn’t need any more encouragement. He jumped up and pulled her along.
Lilian didn’t notice that they left.
31
The sun beamed down mercilessly between the openings in the curtain. Dominique tried to turn away from the heat, caught up in sweaty sheets. The sun felt hot on her naked body and especially her face.
Barely awake, she peered carefully through her eyelashes. Fortunately, she’d placed a glass of apple juice on the nightstand. She lifted herself up on one elbow, grabbed the glass, and took a huge, eager sip, only to spit it out loudly, hacking and coughing, precisely where her clothes were on the floor.
“What’s wrong, Do?” she heard behind her back. “Are you okay?”
She placed the glass back on the nightstand, turned around, and grimaced.
“Gross—that was whiskey!”
Todd chuckled. “So? What’s wrong with that?”
He grabbed the same type of glass from the nightstand on his side of the bed. To Dominique’s horror, he took a large sip from it. He seemed to like it too.
She waved him away and escaped to the bathroom. There, she gulped down two large glasses of water back to back. Then she sat down on the toilet, her elbows leaning on her knees and her head in her hands.
When they’d gotten home in the Jeep last night, they had brought the whiskey to the bedroom. The bottle must still be somewhere, probably on Todd’s side of the bed. They had hooked up and sparks had flown. Never knew you could get so much energy from having sex.
She walked back into the bedroom, stretched out, and asked: “So, what kind of pill was that last night?”
Todd was spread out across the bed, arms under his head. “Don’t tell me you don’t know them. Those are Lovehearts. Or smilies. My brother also calls them PlayStations.”
“Never heard of them.”
“Sure you have—I think they were pretty much invented in Holland.”
Bon Bini Beach: A Thriller Page 9
