The Travel Auction

by Mark Green

  * *

  Me

  I was relieved to see Becky and Dominique take care of KT2. It was a strange feeling, being jealous of a girl who was making a move on someone I wasn’t even with! During a few quiet minutes on the journey back into town I wondered why I felt like that — was I just being protective towards KT2 in a brotherly kind of way, or was there something more?

  * *

  KT2

  E-Mail From: Kate Thornly

  To: Maria

  Subject: White Water Rafting!!

  Hey Mim,

  I’ve attached a photograph of me in a wetsuit white-water rafting! Apparently Jonny and I are in the top left of the picture, you can just see me my terrified face through the spray. Who would have thought I’d ever get a chance to do that eh?!

  * *

  We’re staying in a ski lodge and it’s great to have our own place for a few days. We’re getting along fine, but to be honest it’s pretty easy travelling at the moment. I have a feeling that when we leave Argentina in a few days it’s going to get tougher. The language barrier could be a problem, everyone speaks pretty good English here, but that’s going to change when we get to Peru and Bolivia. There’s so much to tell you already. We’ve had a few ups and downs but for a complete stranger, I could have done much worse. The weird thing is, everyone and I do mean the WHOLE WORLD seems to know about us because of the advert on eBay. “You’re that Kate Thornly” everyone says and they all want to know how it’s going and what Jonathan’s like in bed! I know you’re going to ask the same question and since Jonny has to read out my incoming messages, I’d rather pre-empt you so you can tone down your next e-mail accordingly. (please!)

  * *

  Nothing has been going on. But, the burning question is — do I actually fancy him?

  * *

  The simple answer is I don’t know. He can be a bit dull at times, you know, a bit corporate and conventional, but he’s definitely relaxing into the travel thing. I guess he’s here, escaping London life, so there’s hope for him!

  * *

  Love to all back home (except you know who — has he been round hassling you?) and I promise to report in again soon, depending on how many internet cafes there are in deepest darkest Peru…

  KT2

  * *

  Damn! That bloody man’s got me signing my name KT2 now — he calls me that all the time, and it really winds me up!

  * *

  I changed my name to Angel and sent the message.

  * *

  Me

  E-Mail From: Jonathan Cork

  To: Justin

  Subject: This is the life…

  * *

  We are now in Bariloche, the Argentinean Lake District. This place is beautiful. Our cabin looks out over a lake that’s surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The air is cool and crisp, but it’s warm in the sunshine. We’ve been white-water rafting, which was a challenge for KT2 (shorthand for Kate Thornly the 2nd) especially as one of the other girls took quite a fancy to her!

  We’re getting along okay, although I’m starting to wonder how Kate Thornly the 1st is. Has she been in contact? It’s strange, thinking how different this trip would have been, if she’d have been with me.

  * *

  Ironically, I’m finding that travelling with KT2 has had the effect of opening my own eyes. Does that sound odd? It does to me, but it’s true. I’ve always had to count on others in case I had an attack and I was too reliant on the other Kate. I suppose I got complacent. I can see that now someone has to rely on me.

  * *

  We need each other, that seems to be the bottom line. Tomorrow we leave for Cusco, Peru, where we’ll join our group for the Inca Trail. It’ll be a challenging and testing time, so my next e-mail to you might not be so positive!

  * *

  Jonathan.

  Thirteen

  Me

  KT2’s tee shirt had been bugging me all morning. I fanned through my phrase book during our cab ride to the airport, but I couldn’t translate it. Maybe it was just me, but I’m sure I saw people react as they read it. Unfortunately the language barrier prevented me from asking them outright. I wondered if KT2 was aware of the wording, but judging by our experience at Heathrow airport, it wasn’t very likely.

  What the hell did it say?

  After another ten minutes watching the green forests and snow-capped mountains, I’d finally had enough.

  “That’s a nice tee shirt KT2, have you had it long?”

  She turned to me, a shocked expression on her face.

  “Has it got writing on it?” she said, her voice nervous.

  As I watched her reaction, I started to realise that this had all the hallmarks of another Maria stitch-up. I mentally kicked myself. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything, just ignored the sniggers and amused looks. I’d not given it a thought at the ski chalet, I suppose the usual rush to pack and check out meant I’d barely noticed.

  “I wasn’t going to bring it up, but it’s in Spanish and we’re getting some strange looks. Actually people are laughing and pointing at us.”

  “Oh. I think Maria may still be having some fun at our expense. Can you translate it with the phase book?”

  “Some. Amigo means friend, and I think one of the other words means small.”

  “Right. That’s not good. I’ll change at the airport. Or cover up.”

  I frowned, wondering if KT2 had been on the receiving end of a similar joke before.

  “You know what it says, don’t you.”

  There was a pause. Was that a smile twitching across her lips?

  “I’ve a pretty good idea.”

  I waited for more, but that was it.

  “And?”

  “If it’s the same as the English version last time we went out in a group, it loosely translates as my friend is gay and has a small penis, but I’m available.”

  I spluttered, wanting to laugh, but the joke was on me. I noticed the taxi driver glancing in the rear view mirror, trying to read the tee shirt and I realised I could take this one of two ways. Perhaps it was time for me to lighten up a bit.

  “Jonny, are you okay? Maria was just having a laugh…”

  I allowed myself to grin, then laughed.

  “Then there’s only one thing to do.”

  I started to take my own top off, a smart travel shirt that was probably way too formal for our onwards journey anyway.

  “What are you doing?” said KT2, hearing my movement.

  “Let’s swap.”

  “Swap what?”

  “Tops. Turn the joke around.”

  By this time I was pulling my shirt off. We were about to give the taxi driver something even more interesting to look at.

  “Here?” said KT2, an amused tinge to her voice.

  “Hey, you’re the one who’s fearless in social situations.”

  “Yes, but… oh what the hell!” she said, giggling as she pulled the tee shirt over her head, revealing the outline of her pale breasts cupped in a black bra. I handed her my shirt, my eyes resting on her a second or two longer than was polite. I looked away as her cheeks flushed slightly and I caught eye contact with the taxi driver in the rear view mirror. He looked away and I slipped KT2’s tee shirt over my head.

  “There. Now we’ll really give them something to laugh about,” I said, pulling the tee shirt out and peering down at my chest so I could get a good look at the writing. KT2 giggled next to me and I glanced over to see her struggling with the buttons, which of course were the opposite way round to what she was used to. I almost reached across to lend a hand, but then remembered the unwanted help from Sandra at the rafting day.

  “Want a hand?” I said, sheepishly as her eyes looked up into mine and she caught me enjoying her curves that the shirt provocatively hid. But of course she hadn’t caught me, our eye contact wasn’t real. But I suspected she knew anyway and I felt embarrassed.

  “The buttons are all out of kilter. Normally I’m quit
e capable.”

  “I know. You’re a very capable woman, KT2.”

  “You looking at me disrupts my concentration.”

  I laughed, sitting back, turning away to look out of the window at the passing houses, snow drenched trees and glimpses of the sparkling lake beyond. What an amazing place to live…

  “Okay. I’m struggling. Would you mind giving me a hand please Jonny?”

  I turned to face her, noting her frustrated expression and realised this wasn’t a case of scoring points.

  “You sure?”

  “It’s either you or the cabbie and I’m pretty sure you’ll be careful with your hands and discrete with your eyes.”

  “Okay.”

  I reached forwards, starting from the bottom button, pretty sure that the taxi driver would be more than happy to oblige, given half a chance. Fortunately being a fairly big guy my shirt was loose on her, allowing me plenty of slack to work with. I tried to avoid brushing my fingers over the bare flesh of her tummy as I worked my way up.

  KT2

  Maria, you bugger! I’m going to strangle you when we get back! But we’re on to you now, and as soon as we land we’ll go through every item of my clothing and Jonny will vet it. (I’m sure he’ll enjoy rummaging through my underwear!)

  Embarrassment aside, I was pleasantly surprised at the playful attitude Jonny adopted towards Maria’s prank. On second thoughts, that could have been so he could have a good look at my boobs!

  It was a strange taxi ride because of the tee shirt swapping thing. Jonny, bless him, must have been aware of my discomfort at being touched without warning. So he was very careful and gently pulled the shirt away from my skin as he buttoned me up. I went quiet the further up he got until he asked me how many buttons I wanted showing. I reached up to feel where the last one had been buttoned and reckoned I could get away with one less. For some reason the simple undoing of a button got my heart beating a notch faster. Maybe it was because I knew he was close. I felt the gentle tickling of his breath on my face, could sense that his fingers were hovering close to my skin. It triggered something inside.

  “There, all done,” he said, his face still close to mine.

  What was supposed to happen now?

  We sat there like that for a second. I had no way of knowing what was going through his head. Was he having the same thoughts as me?

  I felt the taxi slow and pull into a parking space. Then the driver’s door opened.

  “Here we are,” Jonny said.

  His voice became more distant as he opened his door and stepped out of the taxi. It left me wondering what was going through his head?

  Me

  I stood in the airport check-in queue and entertained myself for a few moments by wondering what would have happened if the journey had lasted a few minutes more. I dismissed the thought. Face value, I decided. Maria had stitched us up again and an unplanned but very nice view of KT2’s cleavage had been the reward. I didn’t feel guilty any more for catching an eyeful, it wasn’t like I was being sneaky or lecherous. It just happened.

  “Do you think Maria’s tee-shirt is attracting more or less attention now you’re wearing it?” said KT2, squeezing my arm, which was hooked back under her elbow in a now familiar position.

  “I’ll gauge the ticket lady’s response. But I’m not sure how we’ll compare reactions. Should I give a score out of ten?”

  “Yes, definitely. Based on shock value, amusement and embarrassment,” said KT2, giggling.

  After a few minutes we stepped up to the counter and I handed over our documents, watching the woman’s eyes as she checked our passports. She glanced up, her eyes instinctively drawn to the Spanish writing on my chest. She dropped her gaze to her computer screen, then did a double take. Her eyes widened as she tried desperately not to laugh.

  “What’s the verdict?” KT2 whispered.

  “Looks like an eight for shock, nine for amusement and six for embarrassment. This lady has a sense of humour.”

  The check-in lady slid our boarding passes and passports back to us, but was unable to make eye contact. Instead she looked away quickly and rolled her eyes at a male colleague to check out my tee-shirt before we moved on.

  “I win this round, far more shocking on me…” I said as I steered us away from the desk. It was weird, but having set aside feeling self-conscious, this new ‘me’ felt strangely liberated to know I was being laughed at. Something that would never have happened a few weeks ago…

  Fourteen

  PERU

  KT2

  Neither of us were that fussed about seeing Lima, it held the same frustrations and stress as Buenos Aires, so having arrived late in the evening, we’d arranged to fly out again the following morning. I think we spent less than seven hours there.

  Walking out of the arrivals hall in Cusco, we were bombarded by sales pitches for accommodation from several ‘official’ tourist offices, all with their own hotel recommendations. Jonny was drawn to the offer of a map from a friendly sales desk and we had our hotel sorted.

  * *

  Me

  The square at the centre of Cusco’s tourist area was very pretty, with precisely manicured flowerbeds set in neat lush grass, surrounded by immaculate wide stone paths and green cast iron bench seats. Block paved roads around the perimeter were busy with tiny Fiat 500 sized taxis, all in a hurry and driving erratically. White walled buildings with terracotta slate roofs had ornate wooden balconies. These were dotted with tourists of all nationalities eating, drinking and relaxing. At the top of the square was a very grand building with two tall Gothic-style square towers and a hugely imposing arched entrance door. Countless small spires sat on the top of the walls, all reaching upwards, tall and proud.

  I stood in the centre of the impressive square and studied the tourist map to find our hotel.

  We later found out we’d ended up in ‘Gringo Alley’, a narrow cobbled street off the main square crammed with colonial style courtyard hotels and restaurants. Although not threatening, locals lurked in the dark archways, ready to sell virtually anything you might want.

  “...hey man, you like girls?... Want to smoke? Need cocaine?...”

  After a while I found the best way to avoid being approached was to say nothing and just walk on past — a polite ‘no thanks’ gave them a nationality and language to latch onto and continue pestering. But with so many tourists to approach, they weren’t too persistent.

  * *

  KT2

  The interesting thing about Peru other than the culture was that neither of us could see the altitude, but we both felt it. It was one of the few things on the trip so far that was a great leveller.

  In those first couple of days it wasn’t walking up the steep streets on the edge of Cusco that caught you out, it was at night when you were relaxing and not thinking about taking regular deep breaths. Sometimes I’d wake abruptly, struggling to breathe.

  The other thing I found strange, was that it didn’t seem to matter how fit you were, altitude sickness didn’t discriminate; at times I suffered as much as Jonny. Although his fitness was improving thanks to our now regular runs.

  “You awake Jonny?” I whispered.

  There was a mumbled acknowledgement and I felt the bed creak as he turned to face me.

  “You found yourself catching your breath yet?”

  “I have, it’s weird. I struggled a bit today walking around town.”

  “Me too.”

  We lay there in the dark in companionable silence.

  “Is your trip meeting expectations Jonny?”

  “I think so. But it’s your trip too, we’re in this together.”

  “Like business partners?”

  He laughed.

  “You could say that. So partner, how’s your trip going? Are you glad Maria stitched you up with me?”

  “Nah. I think she could have done a bit better in the looks department. I mean, from what I can see, you’re a bit of a caveman!”

  I
felt a finger poke me in the ribs and I yelped, which just made us laugh more.

  “Are you still clean-shaven Jonny? I only ask because I fear smooth office worker skin might not be good for my image.”

  “Your image? As what?”

  “A traveller Jonny. I want us to fit in, absorb ourselves in these different cultures.”

  “Oh. Okay. I’ve been toying with just letting it all go wild, but I only manage a few days at a time before I start to feel a bit scraggly and end up shaving. But I could be persuaded.”

  “It’s not like I can see you looking scraggly.”

  “True. The first Kate hated it if I didn’t shave for a few days. She said it scratched her skin when we kissed. That was less of a problem towards the end, obviously.”

  “Obviously?”

  “She was seeing the plumber by then.”

  “Ah hah. Shagging a bit of rough.”

  “Something like that.”

  The silence fell again for a couple of minutes.

  “Well I think I’d prefer it if you grew a beard. This is your time to really relax, let your hair down. It’ll be good for the soul.”

  “If I can get through the itchy stage I’ll give it a go…”

  “It’s not like you’ve a girlfriend to snog now, is it.”

  “No. Thanks for that.”

  Oops.

  I didn’t mean that to come out the way it did. I tried another approach before an uncomfortable silence got a grip.

  “Then to give you an incentive, I challenge you. No shaving for the rest of the trip. Are you man enough?”

  “I’ll give it a go.”

  “No cheating. I’ll check up.”

  I slowly eased my hand over towards him.

  “Stay still and shut your eyes for a moment so I don’t poke you. Let’s get a starting point here.”

  My fingers felt his head, I’d aimed a little high, so I carefully traced the outline of his ear down towards his chin.

  “That tickles.”

  “Shhh. Let me concentrate…”

  * *

  Me

  Wow. Talk about erotic. Bloody hell!

  KT2 gently traced the outline of my face with her cool slim fingers. In a way it was agonising, a huge turn on. We couldn’t see each other, which was just as well, because KT2 might have guessed what my reaction would be. Until I did or said something, she couldn’t be sure. I was really struggling to know what appropriate behaviour was. Should I reach out and touch her back? I wanted to.