by Anna Collins
“At least you’re honest. That’s more than I can say for those sleaze bags that are trying desperately to recover their youth. They come onto me in a bar and they expect me to rush into their arms because they gave me the least bit attention. I see right through them. The only thing that I know about you is what you have already revealed which isn’t much. You don’t want to seem vulnerable. Telling me about your family life was just the tip of the iceberg,” I said as his fingers had turned white on the yoke.
“There are things about me that I would rather remain a mystery. We know a little bit too much about each other. I would think that it would be a necessity to have a little something to uncover along the way. You can’t fool me, Michelle. You have some skeletons in your closet that you would rather not see the light. I can respect that and I only ask for the same courtesy in return. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. I’ve already told you more about me than any woman knows about me,” Drake said.
“I’m flattered that you feel open enough to tell me things about your past. I find it curious that I have that affect on you. You’re right and I haven’t told you everything about myself. We never delved that deep except when it came to our families. We felt comfortable in sharing because we had something in common. The only person I can talk to about this stuff is Jackson. He’s very caring and compassionate. I just feel that sometimes I take advantage of that,” I said as I sat back and let the engine and the drone of his voice help me to fall into the abyss of slumber.
The last thing I remember was seeing his face light up like the fourth of July. He was like a kid at Christmas. There was no denying that flying was something that gave him joy. He looked like he was put together, but underneath there were cracks in the fissure of his fake smile. I was determined to get him to lower his guard and vice versa. We owed it to each other to let those walls collapse. I was determined to see him not playing for everyone else.
Chapter 9
“I should let you sleep, but I really would like you to see how this baby handles landing. That’s it; open up your eyes. It’s not like you have been sleeping for hours. I hope that you recognize sarcasm when you hear it. It’s been 5 hours. We’re about to make the final approach to a landing strip that has not been used by anybody. This plane is going to christen this runway. The last time that I was here it was by boat. It took some considerable arm twisting, but I managed to have the first couple of buildings done in the past month along with the much needed runway to come and go,” Drake said as he slapped my hand with enough force that it made me feel like an insect had stung my hand.
I was slumped down in the seat. I stretched my limbs and made a moan that probably gave him ideas. My chest was thrust out and the nipples were hard enough that they could easily be seen through not only the blouse but the bra that I was wearing underneath. I couldn’t remember the dream, but I had a feeling that Drake was predominantly part of it. I reached under the black skirt hoping that he wouldn’t notice and found that my panties were already wet to the touch.
“You make it sound almost sexual,” I said with my eyes straying to look between his legs. I easily verified that it had him feeling that way.
I got up in my seat and I saw the waving palm trees in the distance. He was veering to the left to line up perfectly with the runway. There were several trees buffeted by the approach and then he put it down with a jarring impact that had me thankful that I was wearing a seatbelt. It felt like whiplash and I had to massage my neck to make sure that nothing was out of place.
He came to a sudden stop and the runway was just long enough. Any shorter and we wouldn’t have been able to make it without damaging his prized possession. There was a black jeep with the logo of Renegade on the back written in purple letters to attract the attention of anyone looking.
“Remind me to request that they make it a few feet longer. I’m going to need a little bit more room to maneuver the next time that I make this journey. The jeep will help us to navigate the terrain. I gave the construction crew a few days off. There will only be the three of us here. I have a staff of two island locals of Philippine descent. Both are brothers and I pay them quite well for their service. They will be waiting for us when we arrive. They will make sure that we want for nothing. Pina is a whiz in the kitchen. He can whip up some local delicacies that will melt in your mouth,” Drake said as we went back and found Jackson sleeping soundly with a sleep mask over his eyes and a pair of headphones that had drowned out everything like it was white noise.
I was about to touch him, but he put up his hand up like he knew I was there all along. “I’ve always been a light sleeper and even the slightest noise can wake me up with a start. That’s the reason why I have invested wisely in this sleep mask and wireless headphones that send the accompaniment of classical music. It helps me to sleep without the distraction of hearing anything that would be a detriment to my sleeping patterns,” Jackson said as he took off the mask and smiled sweetly at both myself and Drake.
“I heard what you said about straight men. That might be true for those that are fooling themselves into thinking that they are straight, but it’s not for me. I’ve already tried that once and it was disappointing and awkward. That being said; keep it in your pants and don’t do anything to make me feel like I have done the wrong thing by inviting you. It would be a good idea for you to show that kind of affection to somebody that might be more appreciative. Pina is not going to help you to relieve those needs. His brother Rowan might be more open to your advances. His affinity for white men has not exactly been a secret. His dark and bronzed skin might be the perfect contrast to you. I’m not saying that he will be receptive, but you’re only wasting your time with me. I don’t judge and I really don’t care what you do in your personal life,” Drake said while turning on his Gucci loafers and opening up the door to a cool breeze that was coming off of the ocean.
“The one thing that I do like about him is that he doesn’t pull any punches. You never know, you might have found one of the good ones that are not married or gay. There is definitely a storm brewing in both of your frozen hearts. You obviously miss the feel of a man. By your own admission, a few months is a long time to go without unleashing those passions. Don’t mistake this for anything more than a fling. He has made himself abundantly clear that his interest is more in your body than a deeper connection. If that is something that you can live with, then by all means, go for it. I trust that you know what you’re doing. You don’t need me holding your hand,” Jackson said as he got up and moved around the inside hunched over to get his bearings.
“I appreciate what you have to say, but it’s not necessary. The one thing that has made my life interesting is having you in it. Before you came along, I was pretty much an empty shell. You gave me the incentive to walk before I ran. You guided me with helpful suggestions. You pushed me into doing things that I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. Watching you in your element in that gay club should’ve made me uncomfortable, but I felt better knowing that I wasn’t going to get hit on,” I said as we went down and met Drake at the jeep. He had the door open like a gentleman.
We stowed our luggage which wasn’t much considering that this was a last minute trip. It didn’t look like we were going to need much in the way of clothing. This was a tropical getaway. The heat was bearable especially being this close to the ocean spray. The island was no more than a couple of miles in length. I wanted to question how much he had paid for the right to be treated like some prince. I was pinching myself thinking that there was no way that I could possibly know somebody that owned their own island and yet here I was with Drake who had become more than just a friend. I was slowly unnerved by how I was looking at both Drake and Jackson. Their intentions were not pure of heart. They both wanted to sleep with me but for vastly different reasons.
I gave that some thought as we drove through a landscape that was lush with vegetation and wild animals that scurried when we passed. The road was cut through t
he woods and this wasn’t going to grandma’s house. The only big bad wolf was the hot breath of both of these guys on the back of my neck.
Jackson wanted to experiment with someone that he trusted and that task fell on my shoulders. He had told me repeatedly that he didn’t want any other woman including Sheila that would have left him with very little doubt about his sexuality. She was the kind of girl that had no limits. She only had to zero on a target of her choice and that person was going to be hers whether they liked it or not. She told me during those times that we had been able to get together that men were easy. She only had to expose a little bit of skin and express a bit of interest with glances of a seduction to get them to follow her to a motel in the area.
Had I told her that Jackson was thinking about switching teams for only a brief moment she would have jumped at the opportunity to be that one girl to satisfy his curiosities. I could’ve easily set it up, but for some reason, I felt like I should be the one. I hadn’t done anything about it. Climbing into the shower with me was only causing me to think about him in more than a platonic way.
Drake was born with that proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. His parents were just as controlling as mine were and that made us like two peas in a pod. I wanted to explore and find out if there was more here than just a physical need that could only be met by both of us slamming together repeatedly. I had to be careful. I could easily slip and fall into his arms without even thinking about it.
I didn’t necessarily believe that I could be trusted around either one of them. I was operating on the premise that this was a fact-gathering vacation and not something that was going to end up with my clothes all over the floor. It would’ve been a happy choice and one that I would probably regret in the morning. Those moments until the light of day would be met with cries of desire that would echo like two animals mating.
“I have impulse issues. I see something that I like and there’s virtually nothing that will stop me from having it. This island and the plane are a testament to that. I sometimes think that I have too much money and not enough brains. I’ve been looking real hard in on myself and even resorted to going into therapy to rid myself of some of my demons. I’m not superstitious and I don’t believe in healing crystals and meditation. I do enjoy a nice massage and I have learned from some of the masters in various techniques,” Drake said as I remembered the way that he had massaged my feet. It sent those required signals up to a part of my anatomy that had me that close to joining him inside that limousine.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I’m exactly like you and I even learned a few massage techniques myself at the local college. I’m accredited as a massage therapist. I could easily make that my life, but I’m not sure that I could be trusted to touch a man and not do more than that. I like the idea that I can help to soothe their pain and worry. It’s possible that I haven’t really given it a chance. I’ve always had ambitions to be in the political arena, but that could be my father’s influence raising its ugly head,” Jackson said revealing a hidden factor that I’d already come to understand.
His father was a man of great influence. He had the pulse of the city in the palm of his hand. There wasn’t a time that I went over to visit that he wasn’t on the phone making waves. He was big into leaving the world better than it was. He had made remarkable strides in a green movement that had taken the world by storm. He had supplied third world nations with interesting inventions that could give them a fighting chance to survive.
Jackson’s father was always on one crusade after another to even notice his son. When he came out of the closet, they had one of the biggest fights of their life. Since then their interaction was strained with very little words spoken. His father was a proud man. I think that he was a little embarrassed that his son had turned out to be less than what he wanted. I gave Jackson all the credit in the world for coming clean and not hiding his true sexuality. I wasn’t there, but the inflection of his emotions when he spoke of it had me feeling like I was living it myself.
“I hate to break up this love fest between the two of you, but there’s more to me than my interest in healing crystals and meditation. I refuse to let life weigh me down. The only thing that we can count on in this life is death and taxes. There are two constants and everything else is up for grabs. I know how cynical that might sound, but when you’ve been jilted and cheated on it becomes something that you look for. I don’t trust myself. That’s the reason why I took a break from men in the first place,” I said letting down my guard just a little bit and then putting it back up just as quickly.
The ground was soft, but it was still no match for the knobby tires of this renegade jeep. I wanted one and this was my impulse buy that was going to come to life when I got back to the life that I had left behind. The roll bars and the searchlights, not to mention the four wheel drive was perfect for those winter nights where the weather would leave unsuspecting victims stranded on the side of the road. I liked to take road trips and even wondered about going off on the paths less traveled.
“I think that you’ll find that the brothers pretty much read your mind. I don’t own them, but they do work for me exclusively. I could take care of myself, but what fun would that be, when what I really want to do is to enjoy this paradise and everything that it relates to. I’m looking forward to seeing you in something more comfortable,” Drake said alluding to the idea that I might be ready to show more of what god blessed me with.
I punched him in the arm. He feigned injury by grimacing slightly from the impact. I could feel his muscle and there was no way that he really felt that. “I did bring along something that might be a jaw dropper. I just bought it and it’s still in my purse. I’m just not sure that you can handle it. It might be a good idea for me to be a bit more conservative,” I said teasing him and knowing that he was never going to be satisfied with seeing me in a sarong or something of a one piece.
“You can wear whatever you want, but you’ve certainly got my attention. There is a full wardrobe for the both of you. I would like to respond in kind with a pair of men’s thongs that really don’t leave much to the imagination. I feel a little self-conscious wearing them, but if you are willing to drop the pretense then I am too," Drake said obviously thinking ahead and making it virtually impossible for me not to play along.
“I can see that this trip is going to be very interesting,” Jackson said making me think that he was giving thoughts on how to get me naked and away from my potential paramour.
I looked behind to see that he wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes had been drawn to a certain young man without a shirt. He was tall with a very close-cropped mane of black hair. He was sweating with droplets clinging to his skin as he dug a hole for what appeared to be seedlings for wildflowers.
“I would say don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do, but that leaves a lot to interpretation. That man can be yours if you say the right words. Don’t just assume that he wants to sleep with you. Talk to him and find some common ground before you go after more,” I said knowing that what I had mentioned to him had fallen on deaf ears.
I had my back turned for a second and he was already over there talking this guy up. I saw that he was touching his forearm and fanning himself making Rowan flex those muscles that would’ve given any gym rat a run for their money.
“It looks like it’s just going to be the two of us, Michelle. I’m going to have a chat with Pina about the feast that he is preparing in our honor. You can change and go down to the beach and wait for me there. We have a lot to discuss. If necessary, you can take notes, but it would be better that you remember without having any kind of paper trail,” Drake said as another young man exactly the same as Rowan came over. His hair wasn’t cropped. His hair style had dreadlocks.
Pina tried to take the luggage out of his employer’s hands, but he was rebuffed. He took it in a lighthearted way. They walked away from me. I got out and stepped onto the ground while looking at the path leading to the beach.
The two buildings had thatched roofs and were built in the style of local custom. I walked up the stairs and into an open doorway where a bed was covered in mosquito netting and was draped with white sheets. I turned at the sound of the surf and I was amazed that we were this close.
I couldn’t see it through the trees, but the view was easily seen from where I was standing like somebody had cut a hole like that of a picture postcard. The wind had picked up, but the sun was still shining brightly. It seemed so surreal and yet what I was witnessing was more than I could ever dream of.
I was afraid that getting involved with Drake was only going to bring me sorrow. I didn’t know what tomorrow was going to bring, but I was conscious of the fact that I could easily have Drake.
There was no door and privacy was not even an issue. I felt a little hesitant about taking off my blouse and skirt. Once they were lying haphazardly over a wooden chair, I finally had the courage to take the rest of it off. I stood there naked and then a whistle of approval came quite unexpectedly.