by Claire Angel
"I'm with you, Mrs. Kings," Chloe finally put a grip on herself to return to the conversation on the phone.
The chat went on for another couple of minutes with Chloe cursing the inconsiderate son in her mind, and feeling sorry for Mrs. Kings. She managed to say a few words of comfort, advising her caller to still have hope in the possibility of her son eventually coming around when he'd realized how foolish he acted. It was the least she could do. If she weren't so far away, she would spend some quality time with her, making most of their subject of discussion about her youthful days and every memory that made her face glitter with excitement.
Just before she ended the call, one of the maids came in for room service. With the way she walked so conscientiously, one would think she carried a sleepy infant in her basket. She laid the basket down at a table. The maid was a young lady of about nineteen years and probably didn’t speak much, more than likely due to her limited grasp of the English language.
"Is that dinner?" Chloe inquired in a soft voice.
"Yes, ma’am," the pretty maid responded.
“It looks nice. What is it called?”
“Deli… Delici-” The girl stumbled over her words as Chloe smiled.
“Delicious?”The maid nodded gratefully as she flushed.
"Oh. So you mean it is delicious," Chloe said, smiling.
She later learned from Carlton that what she ate was schnitzel and apple strudel. The meal was tasty, just as the housekeeper had promised. The housekeeper also left a note on the table as she left, among other things. The note was from Carlton, informing her of the bonfire tonight happening at the resort at 9:00. Carlton felt she might be interested in socializing with other tenants who had made a habit of burning most of the wood for a bonfire every Thursday night. Besides, he felt like he owed her that much being that she assisted a great deal in cutting the logs for the fire.
The invitation excited Chloe. The vacation was looking like everything she had hoped for. She couldn’t wait to get there and sit around a fire as she got to know the guests and possibly more of the staff.
Would Kenneth be there?
∞∞∞
It was another cold night in San Miguel as the snow fell lightly in the resort until it died down. Chloe wore cuffed jeans with her over-the-knee boots that complemented her 5’6” height.
While she stepped out of the door, something caught her attention. A bird squatted on the ground a few inches away from where she stood. It wasn't the beauty of the bird that drew her attention. She just wondered why it wouldn't move or fly away after seeing her approaching. She went closer, reaching out to touch the bird on its head, but it remained in place. She carried it a chair on the porch to examine it to see if it was hurt, but there was no physical injury on the red-crowned parrot. It weighed under a pound and shuddered in the cold as Chloe rubbed her fingers over its feathers. She found a piece of clothing to at least dry the wet, homeless animal.
She finally got a basket for the bird and added some pieces of clothing to keep it warm. She kept it in her front yard under a chair to protect it from the cold. She left for the bonfire, which was roughly one mile from her cottage.
There were surprisingly more people than she had expected. There were enough hot dogs, doughnuts, marshmallows, and wine to go around. The fire was large and warm as people sat on the benches that circled the stones surrounding the fire. Some indulged in games, while others watched and cheered them on from their seats Chloe located a spot close to an elderly couple who roasted marshmallows. One of them muttered a few words in Spanish, but Chloe guessed what she meant as she handed her a stick of rolled marshmallows balls. The woman smiled in appreciation of the gesture as she politely declined, making Chloe grin.
Chloe raised her head from looking at the burning wood to find some teenage boys laughing and trying to imitate the American accent as they motioned towards her. She ignored them for a while and pretended she was looking at another group who were drinking beer from mugs and laughing loudly. A pop version of Kenny Rogers was playing in the background, but it wasn't loud enough to overshadow conversations amongst friends, families, and other guests that graced the bonfire night.
A drunk man in one of the groups sat down on the lap of an elderly lady and tried to kiss her, but she slapped him so hard he began to call for his wife. The whole crowd roared with laughter.
Chloe was still laughing when a handsome young Latino approached her struggling to imitate an American accent, but his indigenous tongue gave him away each time he opened his mouth. Chloe recognized him from the group of boys that she was trying to ignore, shrinking away from him. He looked back at the rest of his crew, probably for encouragement before making his move.
“Hi, beautiful. You want to party with me?”
His friends looked on with keen interest a few feet away as their bold friend played into their dare game. Chloe stood up to leave, but the stranger felt the need to prove something. He blocked Chloe’s exit. He reached for her hand, emulating popular characters in Hollywood and hoping that the few words he had picked up from watching American soaps would be enough to register an impression.
He formed a shape of cell phone with his left fingers and pressed it on the side of his face.
Chloe grew even more uncomfortable. She was considering being rude or even aggressive when a familiar face walked in, ruining the teenager’s chance and possibly saving him from Chloe’s fist. Chloe recognized him immediately as the gorgeous man.
Kenneth observed Chloe for a few seconds, nodded at her, and disappeared into the crowd before Chloe could say anything.
Wondering which was worse – the boy’s mischievousness or Kenneth’s impoliteness, Chloe walked up to the bar stand to grab a seat. After three shots of tequila, she joined others on the dance floor.
A classic song with a jazz fusion played through the air. The artist sang in Spanish, but most of the people knew the chorus. Chloe danced to the rhythm of the song, paying no mind to the intense gazes that lingered ardently at the cadence of her every step.
Chloe was happy. For whatever reason, she didn’t care what anyone else was thinking about her. Maybe tequila had something to do with it, but she wasn't tipsy. She twisted in a quick motion, and her hair rolled back and forth as she danced. She shut out other noises in the background, absorbing the melodious voice of the artist that came from loudspeakers.
She was lost in herself as she danced until her eyes fell on Kenneth, who was watching from a few feet away. Her movements began to slow down as she grew more conscious of the fact that Kenneth was watching only her from the crowd.
Is he looking at me?
She cast a glance to see if he was still watching. Kenneth was still there, wearing a dark blue long-sleeve shirt that hugged his muscular frame. Even from a distance, she could see his glorious physique. She hadn’t realized that she had stopped dancing until a slower tune filled the air, like a soundtrack portraying the reality that was before her eyes.
Has he been standing there since he arrived? Her mind kept asking questions that eluded her. She watched him as he left his seat, walking into a direction she couldn’t follow. She stopped dancing, and the lustful eyes that watched her seemed to move on to someone else as she shuddered.
She walked back to her cottage, ignoring the basket she left at the mouth of her door. She was exhausted from the dancing, but she couldn’t stop wondering about Kenneth. She knew it was a matter of time before she learned all about the quiet resort owner who only spared a few words since they met.
She punched a few questions into Google tab, but the feedbacks weren’t satisfactory. She wanted to know him. She tried to remember the last time she craved for a man this much.
Jacob Alder.
There was something different about Kenneth. She wasn’t in love, but her entire being was curious. Somehow this standoffish, sexy green- eyed billionaire was able to spark a hunger in her that she was sure died years ago
Her mind hopped from on
e assumption to the other. She wondered about the possibility of settling down in the near future with a handsome man, someone who could fill the hunger that she had. She craved someone who would touch her with a sensual caress on her skin, causing her desire to ooze into the right places, satisfying her renewed desires.
Soon, she was no longer jumping into assumptions. Her imagination grew into a fantasy as she pictured herself in a cruise boat in stormy weather on angry sea that represented her loneliness.. The captain wore shorts, a striped T-shirt, and a baseball hat. He wasn't the typical sailor that she had read about in most novels as he turned the boat against the raging sea waves. Deep inside, his green eyes were full of pain, though not as a result of the sea. He must have been carrying that pain around, all alone in his world. She reached out to him, holding him from behind, pressing her soft breasts against him. She wanted to take the pain away, at least before the sea takes them. He turned to her, but a word wouldn’t come out of him.
She put her hand through his shirt, reaching for the muscular chest underneath the material. Her small hand didn’t cover him but she caressed them, pressing her lips to his neck looking deep into his eyes.
A strong wind blew against them. His baseball hat flew into the water, but he showed no concern for the cap. He turned in her arms to meet her eyes, unsure of her intention. His eyes showed the same need that she was feeling as he leaned close to her.
Warm perspiration dotted his forehead in the cool wind, and he felt like letting go of the wheel. Gradually, he began to respond to Chloe's therapeutic touches, even though Chloe was a little scared they might end up into the sea if she continued. She enjoyed giving him a healing sensation through her skillful hands. With one hand pinching one of his nipples, she let her other hand slide down to his cock. Her fingers had barely touched the bulge between his thighs before he let go of the wheels, reacting to the electric spark he felt from Chloe's touch. He kissed Chloe, allowing his fears to fade in the shock waves that traveled from his spine down to his toes
Chloe never felt that way before. She only wanted to reach out to him, to pull him out of his darkness. But she felt a burning sensation inside her. It was freezing, but they were burning in the heat of their desire. She was just reaching for the button of his shorts when she heard a weird squaw sound that jolted her out of the trance.
The bird in the basket made noise, after all.
She then spent almost an hour tending to her new friend. The bird was beginning to look more alert. She got it to drink water from her teacup, watched it peck on some cereal she dropped for it. Her newly found interest in aviculture had more to do with a need for distraction, which brought her to Mexico in the first place. The parrot was now out of the basket, looking livelier than before. It hopped from one spot to the other without leaving Chloe's cottage.
Chloe was so engrossed in watching her little friend, that she didn’t hear Carlton behind her.
“I see you have a new friend now.” Chloe jumped and turned around.
“Oh! Good morning, Carlton, I found her at my door yesterday. She didn’t look well, but it’s beginning to look like she might fly away soon.” Chloe gestured to the bird as he raised a brow.
“She?”
“Yes. I can tell by the attitude. She’s so peaceful because she thinks of that basket as her little home.” He smiled warmly at her.
“Careful. You are beginning to sound like my daughter. She has a name for everything that breaths and walks around the house. Because of her, I have stopped eating meat.” He shook his head as she laughed.
“Wow! She sounds like someone I’d love to meet.”
“You would love her.” He assured her.
Carlton had a young family that lived a few miles from the resort. He worked for Kenneth for close to a decade. He was formerly his financial consultant at their previous stock company and the resort was his idea due to his love of nature and real estate. He was the happier of the two when Kenneth finally agreed to invest his money on natural conservation. Hawaii was the first place they went looking for a site. They also considered six more options in the States until Carlton's wife, who was from Queretaro in Mexico, suggested a place where she and her dad had spent some weeks during camping season before her dad passed on.
"You might want to get your coat. There’s somewhere you'd like to see," Carlton said.
Chloe's face beamed with delight. She poured more cereal on a flat plastic tray before going in to get a trench coat. Carlton and a group of other tourists were going to a hill where they could have a new view of the city. The hill had a historical feature about it, and close to the hill was also an ancient structure where it was believed that mythical creatures and monks cohabited. Natives called it Templo Libre.
Carlton showed them around, describing the traditional set-ups and native sentiments about each structure as they went. One can understand why Carlton left his flourishing career as a financial consultant to work as a tour guide. He made every story believable. He had an in-depth understanding of the place, even more than some of the natives who once occupied the very spot. The marriage between nature and modernity, as introduced by Kenneth's genius, was exceptional.
Chloe then decided to spend the rest of the day at one of the pools at the resort before the cold night embraced the place.
Chloe could have gone to the pool close to her cottage, but she wanted some privacy. She’d often seen a couple of young lovers and kids playing in the pool. Carlton was kind enough to offer her direction to the one that suited her description.
She was so excited to find the place quiet and peaceful. Except for the strap around her bosom and a thong that left her beautifully shaped buttocks seductively tempting to look at, the rest of her clothes were on the floor in a matter of seconds before diving into the deep end of the pool. She was a good swimmer. Using her legs to glide over the hot water, she let her back float above the seven-foot level, revealing her flat stomach. Her round breasts rose above the water level, pointing up towards the sky.
It was minutes past midday, and she floated in the water for a while when she noticed the shadow of someone standing at the edge of the water. She quickly turned to see who had interrupted the privacy she had so craved. She was a bit relieved it wasn’t another stranger. However, she wondered how long Kenneth had been standing there, watching her swim.
Kenneth was in shorts, similar to the ones she had seen her daydream. The difference was the fact that it wasn’t in a boat, and he wasn’t inside the water. Chloe looked on in surprise, wondering what he was doing there.
“Sorry. Can I help you?” she finally asked.
Kenneth hesitated before grabbing a chaise lounge. He sat down, picked up a half-filled cocktail glass that was by the side, and began to sip the drink. He remained silent.
Chloe wasn’t impressed with his standoffishness. She swam closer to him, resting her arms on the side of the pool.
“Are you going to pretend like you didn’t hear me?”
Again, he hesitated before setting his drink on the ground, and sat up.
"I come to my backyard when I want alone time. I live alone, but I always feel like the house is overcrowded with people. The maids won't stop barging into the house, seeking one favor or the other. The phone won't stop ringing. There are about eight hundred staff under my payroll, but I still feel like the resort is understaffed."
"That still doesn't answer my question," Chloe said, getting out of the pool.
Kenneth pointed to a duplex that was in front of them, "That’s where I live, and that pool is off-limits to visitors."
Chloe slowly began to realize why the place had been quiet and peaceful. She also didn’t want to sound apologetic to the blunt man. She maintained her defensiveness.
"All I wanted was pool time for myself without anyone getting in the way. Why can't I have that?" She wrapped a towel around her as he watched her, chuckling.
Kenneth frowned reiterated amidst a charming smile. He got up from the
chair to drag another one by the pool, but not too close to his. “Here,” he pointed to the seat addressing Chloe. “Please join me, Chloe.”
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she heard her name his husky and sexy voice. “Oh, you remember my name. I’m touched,” Chloe teased as she moved towards her seat.
“Of all my many flaws, amnesia is not one of them.” His voice was dry and she looked at him.
Chloe chuckled, pressing her body on the chaise lounge. “Hmm…A man of many flaws… I’m pretty sure being blatantly rude is among them.”
Kenneth laughed at her remark. “Rude? I’d agree with a lot of faults, but I doubt if rudeness comes on the list.”
Chloe gestured towards him in a way that showed her disbelief. "If rudeness doesn't make the list, I'm wondering what does."
“So, tell me what is beautiful woman like you is running away from?” Kenneth changed the subject and his eyes traveled slowly away from Chloe’s nipples that were visible in her wet bikini, to her round lips that curved at the top into a heart until he locked eyes with her.
Chloe was not unaware of the lascivious tour on her body parts, “Oh, so you think I’m beautiful?”
He looked away neglect fully and for a moment, Chloe regretted taking the seat he offered. He seemed like a harsh man who had no respect for women, or maybe had a bad day. She wanted to get back into her clothes and disappear out of sight, but his baritone voice became more contrite than antipathetic.
“You are gorgeous. There’s no doubt about that.” He paused, giving full attention to Chloe. “Forgive my manners, please. Back to the question…what are you running away from?”
“Nothing,” Chloe said, shrugging. “What about you? I think you’re running away from the world. Correct me if I’m wrong, but why would a man like you live alone here in a big house?”
Kenneth picked up his drink, took a sip, and returned it to the ground. He took that time to come up with an answer.