Player

by T. N. King

  The plane gently descended getting closer to the runway. When it finally touched down, the screech of the wheels made Megan jump. She glanced at Jensen realizing that she must look like quite the amateur. He was watching her with an amusing smile on his face.

  After they landed and got off the plane, they got some lunch and did a little sight-seeing until a charter boat took them out into the ocean. Megan enjoyed the ride, feeling the warm salty air on her skin and marveling in the beauty of the lands around her. The boat ride only took about fifteen minutes and it let them off as close to the shore of Koahera as it could get. Jensen helped Megan off the boat and with their bags on their backs, they waded through the beautiful water toward land. The bottom was pure sand and cool to the touch. When they were safely on land, the boat sounded its horn and pulled away.

  “When you said private, you weren’t kidding.”

  Jensen pulled her to him and kissed her. “Are you okay with this?”

  “Yes. As long as you are here with me.”

  He took her bag and walked along the shore until they reached a clearing inland. A teepee was freshly set up under some palm trees with bamboo torches surrounding it and indian blankets spread out along the ground and around the tent.

  “If I didn’t know better, I would say you had this all previously planned out.”

  “Actually I did. I had some help in getting our perfect holiday ready for us. Do you like it?”

  “I love it. It’s so beautifully intimate.”

  The teepee tent was wrapped in strands of white lights that she couldn’t wait to see after the sun went down. A bonfire of wood was set up several feet from the teepee and the view was nothing but blue ocean. The sun was high above them making the air thick with humidity.

  “Why don’t you put one of those new suits on and we can take a dip in the ocean?” As she walked by him he grabbed her arm and pulled her into him. “Or… we can take the suits back and save our money and go skinny dipping.” He said, raising and lowered his eyebrows.

  She playfully slapped his chest and dove down and around him to avoid his grasp. “You are such a ham. I have been dying to wear my new suit, so you,” she said, pointing her finger into his chest “will have to wait for the skin part of the skinny dipping.” She kissed his nose and sauntered off with her bag into the teepee.

  When she emerged from the tent, Jensen was already changed into his swim trunks.

  “Ai chihuahua!” He stood up quickly. “Look at you. That suit looks amazing on you.”

  She walked up to him, adjusting her suit as she walked. “You really think so?”

  “Hell yes.” He pulled her to him, running his hands over the curves of her body. He buried his face into her hair and inhaled causing her to shiver with excitement. After a heated kiss, Megan had a difficult time letting him go. She went in for another kiss and turned her head quickly before they made contact. She giggled and ran toward the ocean with him running after her. They hit the water and splashed around, falling into the water and playing around in the lagoon together.

  Laying on the beach, they felt the sun dry their bodies as they caught their breath and came down from their high of being in paradise. Jensen rolled onto his side and ran his fingers along Megan’s cheekbone.

  “You really are beautiful.” He brushed off some of the salt that the ocean left on her skin.

  Megan couldn’t remember a time when she was happier than she was at that moment.

  He kissed her and leaned into her, deepening the kiss. The friction of the salt on their skin wasn’t pleasant as they tried to get intimate on the beach.

  “Come on,” he said getting up. “Let’s get cleaned up and go to dinner.”

  He led her back behind the teepee set up and to a large pool that was obviously put there for them. They both jumped into the pool and swam about, cleaning their bodies from the salt and ocean water. Next to the pool was a portable stand up shower with a tank of fresh water attached.

  “Why did you have all of this brought in?”

  “This island is desolate. There is no fresh water here to speak of. In fact, the islands are facing a disaster.”

  “Why? What’s wrong here?”

  “The waters are rising and taking over the lands. So, with such limited drinking water and the fact that the ocean will take it over within so many years, the people here are being forced to find new places to live.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “It’s the way the earth works.”

  “I wish there was something people could do. It’s so beautiful here.”

  “As some islands disappear into the oceans, others reappear after being submerged for centuries. It’s just a cycle that happens.”

  “It’s still sad.” She looked out into the ocean that didn’t look as beautiful to her. “The silent killer.”

  After they cleaned up and changed, they took a small canoe across a small body of water to another part of Koahera where there was civilization. A small café stood waiting for them just down the road from where they docked. Suvadive Café was a quaint little place where they dined with the locals and learned more about the little islands. Megan was fascinated by their stories and her heart ached for them.

  “How long do they have before they lose their homes?” she asked.

  “That, I don’t know, but I do know they have already lost many of their homes due to stronger tsunamis and flooding.” He noticed that this information was really affecting Megan as she looked around at the locals faces. “These people will be fine. They knew the risks of living in this sort of paradise and they prepare for it.” He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. “You have a big heart. I like that. On a lighter note, my birthday is tomorrow.”

  “It is?” she asked, gasping as she put her hand on her chest. “I completely forgot.”

  “You are cute. I thought we could go back down to Gan and stay in a resort tomorrow night. That is unless you like the teepee after one night and choose to stay.”

  “I think I would love to do whatever you want to do. I am seriously having the time of my life here.”

  “We can make a final decision in the morning.”

  They walked hand in hand back to the canoe and paddled back to their little private paradise and spent the evening walking along the shoreline, exploring the little island and making love on the blankets on the beach. As the sun went down, the air grew colder than expected so they huddled together in the teepee and slept as the wild life sang to them.

  The next morning the sun warmed the land quickly and when Megan awoke, she rolled over to cuddle up to Jensen who was no longer in the tent. She stuck her head out the door and saw a charter boat. She quickly dressed and ran out to the water.

  “Jensen!” she called out. She saw him on the boat as he waved his hands for her to join him. She ran into the ocean toward the boat.

  “I have our things here on the boat,” he said when she was within hearing distance. “I wanted to get back to Gan as soon as possible. There is a storm rolling in and we won’t be safe here.”

  Megan looked off in the distance and saw storm clouds thickening in the sky. She quickly climbed on board and grabbed onto the side as the boat pulled its anchor and pulled away from the small island.

  “Are we going to be safe in Gan?”

  “Yes. Don’t worry.”

  But she was. After the stories she heard, she was very worried.

  After the boat took them back to Gan, they settled into a beautiful room on the coast, cleaned up for the day and got an early lunch.

  “Happy birthday,” she said, leaning toward him and kissing his lips.

  “Thank you. I don’t know anyone else I would rather spend it with.”

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  His eyes lit up. “I love surprises. What is it?”

  “You will have to wait until we get back to the room.”

  “I love surprises, but I hate waiting for them."

  �
�Then, let’s go.” She stood up and held her hand out to him. He threw some money on the table and took her hand, letting her lead him out the door. The clouds had covered the skies above them, making her feel uneasy.

  “Relax,” he said. “They get storms all the time. This is just a mild one.”

  A lightning bolt striped the sky causing a loud thunderous boom to rattle the air around them. Megan jumped and looked at Jensen with wide eyes.

  “Okay, maybe is it a little more than a mild storm.”

  They ran toward their hotel as the rain started to pelt them from all sides. The wind picked up and the rain fell faster. By the time they got into the hotel they were dripping wet and cold from the drop in temperature. Megan’s clothes clung to her, showing much more than she had expected.

  “Very nice,” he said, looking down at her body.

  She gasped and covered her chest with her arms when she discovered just how revealing the rain had made her. She ran to their room not waiting for Jensen. By the time he got there, her wet clothes were lying on the carpet and she was behind a locked door in the bathroom. He snickered as thoughts of her facial expression replayed in his mind. He knocked lightly on the door.

  “Are you okay in there?”

  “Yes. Get ready for your gift.”

  He smiled and sat down in a chair in the room. He could hear the thunder get louder as the lightning struck several times. When the bathroom door opened, Megan appeared wearing a very form fitting and very sexy red dress with three inch heels to match. She glanced out the window and tried not to let the storm bother her as she hit a few buttons on her phone and set it down on a nearby table. When a soft and swanky song started playing she remembered the moves Lorena taught her and she began to dance. Jensen’s grin grew with every step she took toward him. He watched her long slender legs slide together as she swayed her hips. He watched her fingers glide up her stomach to her breasts and up her neck. His head tilted and his jaw dropped as she sauntered toward him, her hips moving to the beat of the music. The music, the rain and thunder and the way she moved were in perfect unison and seemed to complement each other. She slowly pulled the straps of her dress from her shoulders and pulled it inch by inch down her arms. She slinked her body out of it and let it fall to the carpet revealing a beautiful black negligee he had purchased for her when she worked for him.

  “My God, Megan.”

  His reaction made her shiver. She got down on her hands and knees and crawled toward him like a cat keeping her eyes on his. She slid her hands up his legs when she got to him and unbuckled his belt. He stood up, letting her undress him then sat back down. She moved toward him, taking him into her mouth and causing a heat to start within him. She played on the tip with her tongue before devouring him as far as she could. His head went back as the heat grew and penetrated every fiber of his being. He gripped the arms of the chair, feeling the sensation get stronger. She stood and pulled the negligee from her body, letting it fall to the carpet in front of him. He stood up and scooped her up, lying her on the bed and imprisoning her underneath him. She quivered at the thought of him controlling her. His mouth devoured hers and he drove himself deep into her. They fucked for the rest of the afternoon as the storm took control outside.

  Megan lay next to him, her fingers playing with the small hairs on his chest. She had an overwhelming urge to tell him she was in love with him, but she fought it. She wasn’t ready to tell him. What if she was just getting caught up in paradise, and his perfect love making and…. No, she loved him. She always has. His phone went off and Megan scoffed.

  “Don’t answer it.”

  “You got it.”

  They lay there intertwined with each other and listened to the steady rain as it fell on the rooftop. Just as she was about to fall asleep in his arms, his phone notified him of a text but he ignored it squeezing her tightly to him. It went off again, and again.

  “What the hell….” He rolled away from her and reached for it, clicking on the button. Megan watched his face as he read the several texts that came in. He closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair.

  “What’s wrong? Who is it?”

  He shook his head and got up out of bed, throwing his phone on the side table and walking into the bathroom. She watched the door and heard him turn the shower on. She looked at his phone and it was killing her to know who it was. The screen light was still lit so she quickly got up and looked at it. Just before the screen went dark she saw Kristina’s name on each text. She pushed the button and the screen lit back up again but needed a password to get in. She looked at the bathroom door as a big lump swelled up inside her stomach and tears welled up in her eyes. She tried to tell herself Kristina was just trying to get back into his life, but she couldn’t help but feel helpless and in the way.

  She grabbed his shirt and put it on, choked back the tears and took a deep breath before going into the bathroom. Jensen was behind the shower curtain.

  “Why is she still texting you?”

  He didn’t say anything at first which made her feel worse. He poked his head out from the curtain and the sincerity in his eyes was predominant.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I can’t stand this,” she said, sitting on the toilet lid and covering her face with her hands.

  “I don’t much like it either, but I can’t stop her.” She didn’t look at him. “I don’t respond to her anymore.” She still didn’t move. “Megan.” His voice was so tender. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I promise you, I will sort it out.”

  Chapter 6

  They finished out their day in Gan with some sight-seeing after the storm passed and some deep sea fishing off the coast. The fisherman said the fish were hungrier after a storm, so they tried their luck and Jensen caught a good sized fish and took pictures with it before throwing it back.

  They had dinner at a small café close by and walked barefoot along the beach. They drank wine by the water until it ran out. They still enjoyed each other’s company, but Megan felt a dark cloud around them after the texts and calls from Kristina blew up Jensen’s phone. She couldn’t help but wonder why she was hanging on so desperately and wondered if he was stringing her along. He sensed her hostility toward the situation and tried not to make a big deal of it. He wanted to talk with her about it and explain to her that he has nothing to do with her anymore, but he already did that. He knew how she must have been feeling. He felt the same way every time she went to work with Tristan.

  “We will have to leave sometime tonight to make it home at a reasonable hour tomorrow,” he said without moving from the blanket on the sand. Megan nodded still looking out into the ocean. “Megan. Are we okay?”

  “Yeah.” She turned and looked at him, forcing a smile. “It’s a shame we have to leave though. I could get used to another week here.”

  “Me too. Especially with you here.”

  He gave it another couple of minutes before he stood up and offered his hand. She grabbed him and hoisted herself up off the blanket, staggering a bit from the wine. They walked back to their hotel arm in arm, in silence. They made love quietly one last time in their bed before gathering their things together. Megan took a few grapefruits and some other fruits and put them in her bag for the plane ride back.

  “It went by so fast,” she said as they walked out of the hotel.

  “Thank you for a wonderful weekend.”

  She smiled solemnly, wondering if things were going to change when they got back to reality.

  The plane took off promptly at ten and Megan was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she woke up, Jensen was sitting on the edge of their bed in the small cabin on the plane. She rubbed his back with her hand and smiled at him with a sleepy smile when he turned to look at her.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “Like a rock. Where are we?”

  “Flying over Romania. We still have about five hours of flight time.”

  “I am going t
o need some serious exercise when we get back.”

  “There is a great gym in my building. You and Lorena are more than welcome to use it whenever you want.”

  “Serious? That would be great.”

  “I can get you a pass.” He looked at her and saw a sadness on her face. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just sad that our holiday is over. I enjoyed having you all to myself.”

  “We will still spend time together.”

  “Not a lot though. I have a big project coming up this week at work and I’ll have to stay late to meet the deadline and I know you have a lot of work piling up.”

  Jensen hated the idea of her working late with Tristan. He wanted her out of there so bad it made him ache, but he bit his tongue and didn’t push. He knew she liked her job and he was trying to give her some independence.

  “Maybe we can have a couple of late dinners after you are through.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, smiling. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

  They passed the time with a deck of cards and conversation about politics and what they wanted out of life before they got too old and gray to enjoy much more but they didn’t bring up the toxic people in their lives that made them uneasy.

  When they landed in London, Black was waiting for them in the same spot he dropped them off on Thursday.

  “Did you enjoy your time off old boy?” Jensen slapped Black’s shoulder when he approached him.

  “I did. You both look like the weekend was just what you needed. How was your holiday?”

  “Just like paradise,” he said smiling at Megan, squeezing her hand.

  Monday morning was not easy for Megan. It took everything she had to get up out of bed. She went to dinner with Lorena when Jensen dropped her off and they talked about their weekends through midnight and an entire bottle of wine. After Megan told Lorena all about Gan and the little island they had all to themselves, Lorena told Megan how she took advantage of having the apartment all to herself and entertained a gentleman friend until wee hours of the morning. When she finally poured herself into bed around one in the morning, she knew the alarm clock was going to be her worst enemy.