Simone was still ranting, but without Vicki listening, she might as well have been talking to herself. Dragging her attention back to her roommate, Vicki heard her say, “What if it doesn’t work out? Are you going to get a fake divorce too?”
“If things don’t work out, I can just walk away.”
“But him?”
“I guess he has to call together some Rom counsel called a Kris, or something. He has to convince them it would never work out. Since I’m not a Rom woman, they’ll grant it. Roms are supposed to marry Roms. There’s some kind of test a non-Rom needs to pass before they can be approved by the tribe, and I haven’t done it. If he wants out, his request will be granted. He’s sure of it. But he’s surer that it will work and so am I. Look, I have every intention of honoring my vows to Miklos. We’re in love. This is what I want. Are you going to be my witness or not?”
Simone had stopped pacing and stood, hands on her hips, staring at her. At last she rolled her eyes and said, “Of course. I love fake weddings. I wouldn’t miss it.”
* * *
Miklos’ excited fingers trembled as he tried to button his loose, white, collarless shirt. It was the closest thing he had to the traditional garb of his people. While he was tucking the shirttails into his black waistband, Ron appeared at their bathroom door.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this? I know she’s hot, but getting married? Is that really necessary in this day and age?”
He smiled in the mirror. “To no longer face the torture of being alone with her, yet unable to touch her the way I want to? Yes, it is necessary.” He couldn’t wait to let their passion sweep them into the inevitable sexual frenzy he knew was waiting for them.
Miklos felt his cock grow every time he thought of her, but today he was wild with anticipation and his erection was rock solid. He couldn’t wait to sink it into her.
“I’ll be there for you since it’s what you want, but don’t be shocked if it doesn’t work out.” Ron shook his head and disappeared, presumably to dress for the wedding.
Miklos didn’t expect his roommate to understand. How could anyone comprehend years of visions--always glimpses of her? How could anyone but he and Vicki grasp what it meant to foresee one’s true love? To meet with minds and hearts instead of eyes? At noon today, only an hour from now, he would be standing with her on top of St. Thomas, at the island’s highest point. And, they would promise to love one another, exclusively, forever within view of heaven and earth. Then they would find a secluded place to consummate their vows.
He closed his eyes and pictured the scene knowing what to expect. Her center would be wet and hot with the anticipation of their joining. She might also be afraid, and he would reassure her. No matter how wild his passion, he would try to be gentle, to control himself long enough to tell her all of the sweet things she deserved to hear. He didn’t want to simply rut like pigs on his Greek friend’s farm.
While the birds chirped in the trees and the sun shone softly on their secret hiding place, he would run his hands over every inch of her nude body. He would explore all of her most private passionate places. His lips would follow everywhere her responses led him, and he’d shower her tender areas with kisses and relentless attention from his lips, tongue and fingers.
He wanted to make love as he had always made music--from his heart and soul. He would strum her, find their internal rhythm and follow it to a blissful completion. As soon as he had learned her melody, he would concentrate on their harmony. He wanted them to remember for the rest of their lives the moment he brought her from bride to wife and himself from boy to man.
Ron returned and interrupted his wonderful daydream. “Hey, buddy, are you almost through in there?”
Miklos grinned. “I don’t know? Do I look good enough to deserve my bride?”
Ron pushed past him. “You’re fine. Now, get out. I need to get ready too.”
Miklos slapped his new friend on the back and left to pace around the decks.
* * *
Vicky had washed and ironed the white crochet dress she was wearing when she first met her intended. She had Simone fasten the silver necklace that she had loaned her for the occasion. Gracing her neck was a pendant containing Larimar, a blue stone found only in the Caribbean.
Simone came around to face her and adjusted the necklace. “There, now you have something new--I just bought that necklace, something borrowed--I’d better get it back, and something blue--the stone in the pendent. Now, you need something old.”
“How do I look?” Vicki asked nervously.
“Like a disgusting old hag. There. Now you’re complete.”
Simone’s lopsided smile told Vicki that she must look quite the opposite. Yet, she checked the mirror again. “Well, I don’t think I’m going to get much better than this, and it’s almost time. I guess we should go.”
Simone stood in front of the door with her hands on her hips. “You don’t sound ready.”
“What do you mean?”
“I guess we should go. It doesn’t sound like an anxious bride on her wedding day to me.”
Vicki’s shoulders slumped. “Please don’t start this again. Not now. I love Miklos. I want to marry him. In fact, I can’t wait to marry him! Is that what you wanted to hear?”
Simone shrugged.
Vicki raised her voice. “Well, step away from the door, then, or I’ll have to go through you because I’m so damn certain about getting married, all right?”
Simone smiled, and stepped aside. “Well, that sounds more like the spunky roommate I’ve gotten to know. So, what are you waiting for?”
Vicki threw her hands in the air and looked at the ceiling as if pleading with a deity for much needed tolerance.
The girls jogged down the flight of stairs to disembark. Vicki saw Miklos standing on the gangway in the precise spot where they had first met, face to face. She couldn’t help the grin that stole across her face, and she ran to him. What did she care if people knew they were an item, especially on their wedding day?
She leapt into his arms, and he held her tight leaning back and lifting her up. The sensation of being swept off her feet, literally, added to her lightheadedness. When she landed, she was giddy.
Miklos took her hand and leaned in close. “You are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, and I’m so happy you’re mine.”
She saw Ron standing on the dock, holding Miklos’ guitar case. It meant a lot to her that he was willing to support their decision. She knew he wouldn’t be able to talk Miklos out of it, but she wondered if Miklos would be able to talk Ron into it. Maybe he was more of a romantic than she had thought.
Simone caught up with them, and said, “Let’s go before too many people see your goofy grins and figure out what’s happening.”
“Too late.” Miklos gazed over Vicki’s shoulder toward the ship. Gizela stood at the top of the ramp--frowning.
When Vicki caught sight of her, she defiantly slipped her hand around her future husband’s waist. “What does it matter if they do? I’m an adult, damn it. I can fall in love with whomever I choose, and I choose Miklos Roman. If my boss doesn’t like him because of some daft prejudice she has, that’s her problem.”
Miklos surrounded her with his warm arms and asked, “Does this mean you’re not ashamed of me?”
Her mouth dropped open, and then she saw the twinkle in his dark eyes. She pushed on his chest and said, “Yeah. That’s why I’m so willing to marry you. Because you shame me.”
He grinned and kissed her on the nose.
They met Ron on the dock and the four of them headed toward civilization. Walking to the base of the mountain only took a few minutes, then they piled into a metal tram that hung from a cable and prepared to ascend.
“Where I come from, this miniature mountain would be considered a hill,” Miklos said.
Simone looked out the window and wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. “Drat, I forgot my skis.”
Miklos laughe
d. As he was chatting with Simone about what skiing was like, Ron leaned toward Vicki’s ear and murmured, “Nervous?”
“Not at all. Surprising isn’t it?”
“Not really, considering you’re not the one getting married.” He appeared halfway annoyed or perhaps angry.
Vicki was taken aback. Was she completely secure because there was no risk to her? She looked over at Miklos and realized how nervous he looked. He grinned and chuckled at everything Simone was saying, and he rarely smiled or laughed at all. Was it anxiety, not joy, because he was facing something that she wasn’t? It hadn’t occurred to her that she might not be doing her lover any favors by taking him off the market while she, technically, wasn’t. Should she stop the whole thing and let him think about it a little more? Damn Ron.
At that moment, as if sensing her indecision, Miklos pulled her close and kissed her on the temple. “I love you, Vicki. I’m the happiest man alive.”
She wrapped her arms around his muscled torso, closed her eyes, and leaned against him. She smiled as she took in his masculine scent, his solid body, and his quiet, sexy strength. She was completely in love with him and wouldn’t allow any indecision to ruin their special day. Her head swam in a loving fog.
Ron was just being Ron. She refused to let that ningnong ruin her happiness. At the top, the car stopped and swayed. The wedding party exited and walked a few feet toward a rustic building. It was a bar at the summit.
A bar. Why did that surprise her? The whole Caribbean was dotted with them. If she ever needed a job down here, she could always get one as a cocktail waitress, but that thought depressed her. How boring life would be just fetching things for others to enjoy. She preferred to enjoy her talent to make others look fetching. Simone had done a wonderful job putting finishing touches on Vicki’s hair and make-up, and she felt beautiful.
“Hey amigos, you’ve never been up here, have you? Check out this view,” Ron said, and he led the way to a semi-private spot by the railing.
The bar’s long, wrap-around outdoor deck doubled as a lookout. “I know all the secluded places on every island we visit,” he boasted. “This is a nice place for the ceremony, don’t you think?”
Miklos and Vicki strolled hand in hand to the railing and gazed out over the turquoise water. The shimmering sea was interrupted only by islands so thick with trees and vegetation that, from above, they looked like mounds of broccoli. Miklos stood behind his bride and completely enclosed her in his strong arms. He nuzzled her neck and whispered, “This beautiful place will always be sacred to us.”
A sacred bar? Vicki began to tremble inside, nervous and raw with emotion. Ron spoke up from behind. “So, are you going to set the mood and serenade her, or what?”
Miklos stepped back. She turned to see Ron thrusting the guitar in his direction. The case was lying on the deck, gaping open, like her vulnerable heart.
She needed some stress relief, fast. “I’ll get some champagne for all of us.” A shaky voice gave away her inner unrest.
Simone accompanied her to the bar. “Isn’t that for afterwards?”
Vicki glanced over her shoulder. Miklos was busy tuning his guitar, and Ron was gazing at the view. “I think I need it now,” she said.
Simone smirked. “It’s about time you showed enough sense to be nervous.”
“Why? Why should I be nervous? He loves me and I love him. We’re going into this voluntarily. It’s what we want. Nobody’s forcing us…”
Simone winked. “Keep talking to yourself.”
The bartender appeared, and Vicki ordered champagne.
Simone leaned against the bar and heaved a sigh. “I don’t know what to tell you, Vicki. If it were me, I’d be plenty nervous. This is one of the weirdest weddings I’ve ever heard of. You’re getting sort-of married to a man you barely know? Have you thought it out well? Lots of things could happen.”
Her emotions and Simone’s questions had her nerve endings jumping all over the place. She didn’t like it. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not married according to the rules of the ship. Are you going to break the rules every night to sleep with your non-legal husband? And what if he gets fired or decides to leave? Will you break your contract knowing you won’t get work with any cruise line again? Or will you break his heart?”
“He won’t get fired or decide to leave. We both need our jobs.” Vicki, annoyed with the implication that they were about to stumble into the cactus, tossed her hair, and said, “None of that needs to be discussed unless it happens, anyway--which it won’t.”
She needed find a way to put a stop to the disquieting atmosphere. Mostly, she needed to get her good friend to shut-up. “We’d better drink now. After the ceremony my husband and I will be busy kicking a goal.”
Simone squinted at her. “What does that mean?”
“Fucking.”
Chapter Six
Vicki and Simone each returned with two glasses of champagne. Miklos had been tuning his guitar, but held out his hand for the glass. Vicki’s forehead was furrowed and she looked uneasy, which increased his anxiety. He watched the others sip their drinks, then tossed his head back and downed his. Vicki raised her eyebrows.
“I’m a little nervous,” he confessed.
She chuckled, tousled his hair, then sat next to him on the bench. Inwardly, he attributed part of his worry to what came after the wedding. More for her. After all, they were both virgins, right?
He wondered how much she knew about the sex act. Realizing he might have to educate her, made him a little nervous. But she seemed to want it so badly, she must know what was about to happen.
If this were his betrothed, fourteen-year-old cousin, he’d be plenty nervous. Women didn’t speak of sex. He had brothers and a father and a Chovihano grandfather. At least he had learned what was expected of him.
Ah, consummation. He had wanted this for years. Not only because it was the holiest step in being joined together, but because he knew, for the man, it would be a pleasurable experience. He hoped he could relax her and make it less distasteful the first time. After that was over, he would be able to pleasure her too.
Looking over at her, he smiled and returned to the present moment. He hoped she would like his surprise gift. He had been practicing it all week. Now it was time to do his best.
He picked out the chords that marked the refrain, and before he took a breath to sing, her hands covered her mouth and her eyes widened.
* * *
Vicki’s eyes filled with tears as she listened to her lover’s sexy, baritone voice sing her favorite song--the song she had given him. There was so much meaning in the words, and listening to how he delivered them from his heart, she knew he was feeling the truth in them too.
Take my breath away...
The people nearby seemed to disappear. In a blur the words kept reaching straight into her heart. By the time he had sung the refrain a second time, the tears had spilled over her cheeks, and yet there were more. She swallowed a few times, trying to keep from blubbering out loud. She watched his confident fingers continue to press on the strings while the other hand gracefully fanned out the chords.
Thoughts of the way they had seen each other the first time, through some sort of portal. Through a one-way mirror swirled through her jumbled mind.
She had never really made sense of it, and things that didn’t make sense made her nervous. Was she really unafraid? Why had she just swept that question away and forgotten about it? Was their love so powerful that it had minimized her worry or crowded it out or…
Moments later, when he had finished his tribute to her, she was trembling and barely heard him say, “My love, you take my breath away.”
Vicki’s tears fell freely, but she attempted to stop them so she could speak. She cleared her throat several times and tried to muster her voice. When at last she could talk, she said, “How did you…? When…? I thought you didn’t read music.”
“I still don’t. I asked some of
the crew and found one who had the song on a disk. I picked out the notes until I could play along with it. Then I played it some more until I could do it alone. Did you like it?”
Vicki answered him by bursting into tears and throwing her arms around his neck. The way she cried sounded as if she was having a catharsis. In truth, she was. At last she realized why the mysteries surrounding their meeting didn’t need answers.
He did more than say he loved her. He showed her. No man had shown her that before. The men who pulled her panties off in the back seat of a car, or in someone’s bedroom at a party, and shoved their cocks inside her didn’t love her, even if they said they did.
He kissed her salty, wet cheek. Pulling his guitar awkwardly from between them, he asked Ron to take it from him. When he did, Miklos wrapped his arms around her, tight. He held her until her weeping slowed and was eventually replaced by hiccoughs.
“Are you all right?”
Vicki nodded, but her lips were still trembling.
“What is it?” He stroked her cheek. “What’s wrong? Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said. “This is absolutely right. I was driving myself crazy wondering if I should listen to those niggling voices that said, ‘You’re too young.’ or ‘You don’t know what you’re doing.’”
“Vicki, I want you to be sure that this is what you want. I won’t push you into anything no matter how badly I want it, myself.”
“No, it would be a mistake for me to listen to those things. People mean well, but they don’t understand what’s happened between us. I wouldn’t even know how to explain it. Everything’s different now.”
Miklos swept her hair behind her shoulder and stoked her face with one finger as she continued to talk. It was as if they were the only two people on that mountaintop terrace, and Vicki poured her heart out.
“I kept hearing my father’s voice doubting my ability to do anything right, and I shouldn’t let that influence me anymore. My father seemed to think I needed him to make every decision for me, and I was afraid you might be just like him. But, you’re not. You’re nothing like him.” She glanced past his shoulder and noticed mesmerized faces at a respectful distance. “I’m sorry--I’m babbling on and on.”
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