The Cancun Trilogy, An Erotic Beach Romance (2 page)

“Yeah?” Vicky said, watching them.
“So, did you come over here just to stare into her
eyes?”

“No,” Nik said. “You left this on
bar.” He put Terra’s wallet on the table. “I want you two to come
diving with me tomorrow afternoon. You don’t need more class. Easy
dive, just snorkeling. Secret spot nobody else know. And I’ll bring
friend,” he said, looking at Vicky.

“Um,” Vicky said. “Secret spot? With a
friend of yours? Sounds salacious.”

“And so, you go?” he said.

“No,” Terra said, giving Vicky a firm
look. “Thank you, we’re flattered, but I don’t think it would be a
good idea.”

The reggae band paused between songs.
There was an awkward silence. “I understand,” Nik said, standing
up. “You don’t think it would be safe. You are wise to be
cautious.”

“Thank you for understanding,” Terra
said, her heart sinking. She knew she was right to say no, but felt
immediately disappointed. Vicky stared at her with her mouth half
open. Nik turned and walked away.

“Ohh,
that’s just
great
.” Vicky said. “He said he has a friend, and you say
no?
What the hell, girl? Do you know how long it’s been
since I had a little attention?”

“You mean from someone besides your
boyfriend?”

“Normal rules don’t apply here. And
tomorrow’s our last full day.”

“I’m sorry, Vicky, but it’s not safe.
No way are we going to let two strangers take us to some secret
spot that only they know about. This is Mexico, not Palm
Beach.”

“I’m sure you’re right. He’s probably
the criminal type. He sure seems that way, what with returning your
wallet and all, still stuffed with cash.”

Terra sank down in her seat, tipping
her beer.

Chapter 4

Later that night, as Terra and Vicky were getting ready for
bed, there was a soft knock on their cabana door. Expecting the
hotel staff, Terra answered it, wearing a bathrobe and a towel on
her hair.

It was Nik. He was smiling, happy to
see her, as if she should have been expecting him. He was wearing
soft faded jeans, sandals, and a light blue t-shirt. His green eyes
found hers, resting there. “I’m sorry to bother you so late,” he
said in a conspiratorial whisper, “but I wanted to ask you
something.”

“Okay.”

He took a moment longer to just look
at her, then asked, “Are you a thief?”

“Am I a…” she got lost in his eyes.
She tried to snap out of it. “Am I a what?”

“Are you a thief?”

“No.”

“Then take this,” he said, lifting the
gold medallion from around his neck. He stepped into her, as if
they were old familiar lovers. He reached up and took the towel off
her hair, draping it over his arm. Her hair fell down in damp
clumps. He placed the necklace over her head. “I’m not giving it to
you. It’s quite valuable. Sentimentally.” He adjusted her hair so
the necklace could rest against her chest. “It came from the ocean,
long ago. Any person who wear it, they will never be lost. Will
find where they need to go. My mother give me it. I would like it
back. Tomorrow.” He moved in closer, his hips pressed gently
against her belly.

Her bathrobe fell open. She felt the
cold of his belt buckle against her skin. She didn’t flinch. He
looked down at her.

“We don’t have to dive,” he said. “We
can sit in middle of town square, if you so like. Here’s my
number.”

He took a piece of paper out of the
back pocket of his jeans and put it in the chest pocket of her
robe. He put his hands at the nape of her neck and slid them down,
parting the robe enough to expose her completely. She felt like she
was in a trance, unable to move. He lightly brushed over her
breasts with the back of his hands, grazing over her nipples. As he
did, he continued looking into her eyes. When he moved his hands
away, her wet hair brushed over her breasts, sending chills through
her. He gathered her hair and put it over her shoulder, then pulled
her robe together, wrapping her snugly. He drew the waist rope
around her, tying it in front. He yanked the cord playfully toward
him, pulling her against him. His face was poised just above hers.
His vibrant green eyes held her, making her feel like she was
slipping into a dream.

He tipped his head closer, his mouth
an inch from hers. She felt his soft breath against her face. The
smell of wood and ocean. His arms slid around her back, embracing
her. A hand slipped to the back of her head. His mouth brushed her
lips. She opened her mouth. He lingered there. She reached up to
put a hand on his cheek.

He pulled back with a sly smile.
“Tomorrow,” he said. He handed her towel back to her, then turned
and walked away. Back into the night.

“Who was that?” Vicky asked as Terra
turned back into the room. “And what the flip is that around your
neck? Damn though,” she said, coming closer. “It’s
beautiful.”

Chapter 5

The
next day, Terra resolved to forget all about it. It seemed like a
dream, or something that was too good to be true. She planned to
drop the medallion off at the dive school. She sat with Vicky on
the beach in the morning, pretending to read a book while she
fantasized about him. She remembered her first impression of him,
when he rose out of the water. His smooth, rippled body. The heavy
bulge under his tight red swimsuit—right in front of her. Close
enough to reach out and touch. She imagined pealing the suit off,
pulling it down over his hips. What would be there? What would come
to life? She imagined putting her hand on it. Kissing it. Kissing
his chest and moving up to his mouth. Kissing those full
lips.

As her book fell to her stomach, she
imagined the feel of his body under her hands. The woodsy smell of
him. His rough face as he kissed her.

She began to get light-headed. She
reached in her bag and took out the medallion, clutching it tightly
in her hand. She lifted it to her nose and breathed in, squeezing
her eyes shut. She was feeling… something. She couldn’t put a name
on it. Restless. Needy. Horny.

That was it, she realized with a
start. She was horny. The thought almost made her laugh out loud.
But it was true. After the terrible experiences with her boyfriend,
she’d kind of given up the idea of sex. At least temporarily. She’d
put it aside, thinking she could start that part of her life again
later. She just wasn’t sure when. She hardly even thought about sex
any more. She only stayed on the pill because it helped her period.
But now, her body seemed to have different ideas. It was ready.
Maybe it was being nineteen, she thought. Maybe your body just gets
to a point where it doesn’t want to be denied any more.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Terra
told Vicky, who responded with a grunt.

In the bathroom, Terra felt herself.
She was wet. She was surprised. Shocked, really, like an adolescent
who finds her first pimple.

That afternoon, her and Vicky went for
a walk in town to do some shopping. They were at an outdoor market,
looking through a rack of colorful skirts and shirts. All the
while, Terra couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was so close to
kissing her. Kissed by a real man, she thought. Not like her old
boyfriend, barely as tall as she was, with oily skin and bitten
down fingernails. She kept reaching into her cargo pants and
fingering the medallion.

And his smell.
Vicky was saying
something, but Terra was having a hard time hearing her.
Yes,
his smell, that was the other thing,
she thought.
It was
unfair. And his hands. When he wrapped his arms around me. Like he
was enclosing me, pulling me into another world. His world. A
magical world, where anything can happen. And those eyes… talk
about unfair.

“You okay?” Terra heard Vicky ask. She
was standing there, looking at her, her forehead scrunched
up.

“Hum? Oh, yeah.”

“Thinking about your
love-errr
,” Vicky teased.

“No.
”

“Well, whatever you’re thinking about,
share it with me because it looks like you’re about to have an
orgasm. And stop playing with that thing in your pocket, it looks
like you’re friggin’ yourself.” That was the thing with Vicky. She
always looked like she wasn’t paying attention, but then she’d say
something that made you realize she was aware of
everything.

Back at their cabana, Terra asked
Vicky if she wanted to go back to the beach. “Nah, I think I’m
cooked,” Vicky said. Terra took off her pants and shirt and went
out to the deck in her bikini, figuring she’d at least get a little
sun. She sat, fondling the medallion, looking out at the ocean.
She’d planned to return the necklace on the way back from town, but
forgot. At least that’s what she told herself.

It was only two o’clock, but Terra had
the feeling the day was done. She put her feet up on the railing
and thought again of the near kiss. His green eyes. His soft but
confident touch. His intoxicating smell.

Vicky grabbed a beer and was about to
join Terra on the deck when she glanced out the window. She
stopped, watching Terra, who had her head back and her eyes closed,
in some reverie as her fingers massaged the medallion. Vicky
thought for a moment, then went back to the kitchen and put her
beer back. She poked her head out the door to the deck.

“Listen, Ter, I think I’m going to lay
down. Sorry to leave you hangin’, but I don’t think I’ll be up for
anything else today. I think I ate too much lunch. Or maybe it was
the second margarita. Sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ll find
something to do.”

“That Nik’s medallion
thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Thought you were going to return
it.”

“I was. Will. Am.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I’m gonna lay
down.”

“Okay.”

Vicky started to turn away, then
stopped, searching for the right words. “Hey, Ter?” she
said.

“Um?”

“You want some advice?”

“Uh, okay.” She looked up at
Vicky.

“Call him. Trust me on this one. Even
if you don’t trust yourself. Just remember, we have a flight
tomorrow,” she said as she went back in.

Terra stood up and went to the
railing. She hoisted herself up, sitting with her feet dangling
over the front. Looking out at the ocean, she tried to gauge how
brave she was.

Chapter 6

Two
hours later, he picked her up on his motorcycle. It was one of
those that can go on highways and off-road, with the knobby tires.
He got off the bike, but left the engine running. Terra slipped the
medallion off her neck and put it over his head, resting it on his
chest. He smiled, patting it. “It always work,” he said. “Whoever
you give it to, they always come back.” He slipped off his jacket.
“When you told me Vicky wasn’t well and no come, I told my friend
no to come too. I hope this okay, yes?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Terra shouted
over the sound of the engine. She had promised Vicky that she’d
text, and she had activated the tracking on her phone in case
something happened and they needed to know where she
was.

He had on the jeans and t-shirt he
wore the night before, and low-cut black boots. She wore jeans,
sneakers and a sweater. “Take this backpack off,” he said. “Can be
cold on open road.” He put his leather jacket on her, stepping in
close as he zipped it up. It felt soft and heavy, still warm from
the heat of his body. She put her backpack back on over the jacket.
He got on the bike and motioned for her to get on behind him. She
got on, sliding forward against him. “Put your feet on pegs and
hold tight around this, my waist,” he said as he revved the engine.
“And when I lean, you go lean too.”

“Where are we going?” She tried not to
sound nervous. “It no far,” he said, as if that was an answer to
her question. He gunned the engine and took off.

She’d never been on a motorcycle and
had no idea how exhilarating it was. Straddling the bike, the
vibrations throbbed through her. She wrapped her arms tightly
around him and leaned into his back, letting the wind whip her hair
back.

They drove along the coast through
long, winding roads, the ocean shimmering next to them. She noticed
if she got close to the back of his neck, she could smell him.
Eventually, the two-lane road became a one-lane road. They hadn’t
passed a car for quite awhile when the road turned to dirt. They
bumped along until he turned onto a trail leading in the direction
of the ocean. Riding slowly, he maneuvered the bike around holes in
the trail. They came to an old, falling down gate that blocked the
path.

An inkling of fear rose in Terra. She
tried to remember when they last saw another person. It would be a
car they passed on the road, about half an hour ago. As she
realized how isolated they were, her heart began to pound and her
throat started to constrict.

Nik stopped the bike in front of the
gate. He turned and motioned for her to get off as he killed the
engine. She slid off the bike and stood, her butt and legs
tingling. He leaned the bike against a tree and went to the gate
and crouched. Her head was buzzing from the sound of the engine. He
unlocked the gate and pulled it open. He came back and walked the
bike through. She followed him.