Costa Rican Heat

by Bobbi Brattz

  “Oh, about a hundred feet. We’re safe as a bird. It’s my turn. See you on the other side.” Chuckling Mike walked up to the guides who attached his belt to the cable. Once he was in position they gave him a push and off he went, howling for joy all the way out of sight.

  “The other side? Did he have to say that?” Jada moaned.

  Putting his arm around her, Tait kissed her. “It’s safe. Just follow the rules. You’re up now. Come on, I’ll walk you to the cable.”

  “What did I ever do to you guys that you want to get rid of me this way?” Jada trembled as she looked up at Tait.

  He leaned down and whispered in her ear making her snort.

  “All right, I’m going, I’m going.”

  Stepping up to the guides, Jada asked, “Have you ever lost a customer?”

  The handsome young Costa Rican man smiled at her. “Not yet, but the day is still young.”

  “Everybody’s a comedian!” Jada groaned. She let him buckle her to the cable and listened while he instructed her one more time. Nodding, she placed her hands in position and crossed her ankles. Closing her eyes she held her breath while he gave her a push.

  “Open your eyes, Jada!” Tait yelled.

  “I can’t…I…oh!” Once she opened them she screamed for joy. She was traveling fast over the tops of the trees. Large birds circled in the sky above her. “Great! Vultures, just what I need.” The colors were amazing. Bliss filled her as she felt the thrill of adrenaline flooding her system.

  The next platform came into view. On impulse she did her version of the Tarzan call as loud as she could then started laughing. Following the signals of the guides on ahead, she applied pressure to the gloved hand she had on the cable and began to slow down. Mike was waiting for her with a wide grin. When she arrived at the platform he caught her in his arms, holding her so the guide could release her from the cable.

  “How was it?” Mike asked, keeping his arms around her.

  “Awesome!” she shouted, kissing him.

  “Tait’s coming,” Mike said.

  Turning around, staying within the circle of Mike’s strong arms, she watched as Tait came barreling along the cable, a wide smile on his face. He reminded her of a superhero as he flew through the air.

  He arrived on the platform with a smooth landing, looking like a pro. Once he was released from the cable he walked up to them, leaned over and kissed Jada. When he finally released her, she caught the confused look from one of the guides and suddenly felt like a tramp, pulling away from both men.

  “How did you like your first ride?” Tait asked.

  “It was amazing. I’ve never done anything like it before.” Her excitement was somewhat dampened. She wondered what the guide must think of her kissing two men.

  “Jada, what’s up? You were ready to jump on the next cable right away a minute ago and now you’re all quiet and withdrawn.” Mike stared at her.

  “It’s nothing. Isn’t it time for you to get on the next cable, Mike?” she asked. Her eyes shot over to the guide who’d looked at them oddly.

  Both Mike and Tait followed her gaze.

  “Jada, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You’ll never see these people again. Just relax and enjoy yourself,” Tait said.

  “Yeah, besides, we can’t go five minutes without kissing you.” To prove his point Mike picked her up and gave her a hard, passionate kiss. By the time he put her down, her knees were weak.

  She didn’t have time to get her feet on the platform before Tait picked her up and did the same thing. Stopping them never crossed her mind since she was so used to them kissing her now. Tait too made her forget where she was. When he put her down, he held her close to him. Mike was already hooked up to the cable. He winked at her as he took off, howling all the way out of sight.

  Biting her lip, she fought to keep from looking at the guide. Tait brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  Nodding, she moved over to the other guide who helped her connect to the cable. The young woman leaned in close, and whispered. “You are one lucky woman having two such handsome men. I envy you.” Smiling, she gave Jada a push and waved as she moved away from the platform. Suddenly Jada found the humor in the situation and laughed all the way down the cable. When Mike pulled her close, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  “Now that’s much better,” he said.

  When Tait arrived, she gave him the same treatment and laughed when he gave Mike a surprised look. Mike shrugged.

  “Women!” he said.

  Tait grinned. “Yeah, isn’t she great?”

  Laughing, Jada shoved Mike. “Get moving. We still have places to go and I’m getting hungry!”

  “Boy is she ever bossy too!” Mike laughed when she took a swing at him. Hooking up, he took off for the next run.

  After a filling lunch in a local restaurant, the group was taken to the volcanic mud baths. Jada wrinkled her nose at the smell of sulfur. She changed into her bikini while her men wore their swimming trunks. The first step in the process was to sit in the steam room. It was shaped like a cave and Jada found that funny.

  “I feel like Fred Flintstone could come through the door at any minute. Isn’t this cool?” she asked her men.

  “Actually it’s kind of warm, if you ask me. I don’t know how much of this I can stand,” Mike grumbled. He sucked in a deep breath of the misty air and shook his head.

  “We can go outside whenever you want,” Tait said. He slipped his fingers through Jada’s. Mike followed suit. They stood together and left the room, ignoring the stares from the rest of the group that they’d left behind.

  Once outside, each of them inhaled the sulfurous air and walked over to the mud bath. Taking off their shoes, they stepped into the grey mud, laughing as it oozed between their toes.

  “It’s so warm!” Jada said.

  The hill above them had mud bubbling out of holes and steam came up in a constant stream.

  “It’s heated by the volcanic lava beneath the surface of the ground. Luckily it’s not too hot for us. Now, this is what we do,” Tait said, picking up a handful of mud and plastering it on Jada’s chest.

  “Hey!” Not to be outdone, she too grabbed a handful, but she dropped it inside his shorts.

  “Ah!” he cried.

  Mike roared with laughter.

  Tait and Jada looked at each other for a moment then they tackled Mike, taking him down into the mud. Soon they were all covered head to toe in the ooze, laughing until they cried. By the time they were all done there wasn’t a spot of clean skin left. Scraping the worst of it off, they left the mud bath and walked over to the sunning platform to dry off. For half an hour they stood there laughing and joking with each other.

  “We look like Neanderthals! I bet we could do a movie about dinosaurs,” Jada said though her laughter.

  “Would you like me to take your picture,” a man said with a grin.

  “Sure. That would be great. I’ll give you my email address if you’ll send it to us,” Mike said.

  When the man nodded his agreement, the trio lined up with Jada in the center and grinned as the man took the photo. He showed it to them on the LCD screen.

  “Thank you, sir. We appreciate you doing this for us.” Jada smiled at the man.

  “You three have been the highlight of my day. I’ve never seen people on a tour have so much fun!”

  “We do try,” Tait said. He leaned down to kiss Jada and reared back. “Ew, gross!”

  “Excuse me!” she cried, pretending to be affronted. “I think we’d better wash this stuff off.”

  Mike and Tait looked at each other, yelling, “Showers!”

  Leaving the man laughing, the trio moved on to the outdoor showers and took turns scrubbing each other’s backs. Smacking their hands, Jada refused to let them wash her chest. Her laughter rang through the lush forest around them.

  “How are you going t
o clean up the mud you put down my shorts?” Tait asked with his hands on his hips.

  “I’m not. You can do it yourself.”

  “We’ll need showers again when we get home. I’m thinking that we get Jada to give us a good scrubbing with soap when we get back. What do you think, Tait?”

  He nodded. “That’s an excellent idea, Mike! For now, I guess its cold water down my shorts to get rid of the worst of it.” That wiped the grin off his face.

  Tait was forced to stay behind showering while Mike and Jada took off for the hot springs to soak, laughing all the way.

  It was their last night in Costa Rica. They dressed for dinner and ate in the formal dining room. Jada wore her black dress and did her best to sweep her hair up into a style similar to the one the lady in Canada had done for her. Esmeralda had outdone herself with dinner. The roast was tender and spicy. There were new potatoes and broccoli with carrots. She’d even made a dessert of bananas and strawberries smothered in chocolate fudge sauce.

  Jada had been quiet throughout the meal, feeling the men watch her with questions in their eyes. Mike topped off her wine glass for the second time without her asking. She nodded her thanks and took a long sip. When it was time for dessert, she knew the men had had enough of her silence.

  Playing with the confection, Jada stared into it morosely. Tait hadn’t told her why he’d gone to town earlier in the day. When he’d returned, he hadn’t explained a thing to her so she shrugged it off and forgot about it. Feeling sad because she wanted to stay with these two amazing men, she sighed. She was going to miss them more than they ever knew. For the first time in her life she felt alive, and now she was going to go back to her dull existence to suffocate in the city.

  “Are you alright, sweetheart?” Tait asked.

  Nodding she asked quietly, “What do you do with your women once you’re done with them?”

  Stunned silence reigned at the table.

  “I mean. Do you ever talk to them, or do you just part ways never to see each other again? I’m not saying I’m a clinging vine or anything, I just…well, you guys have become very special to me and I…” Tears filled her eyes and she tried to leave the table for fear of losing control and bawling like a baby.

  “Hey, stop right there. We’re not going to just dump you on the side of the road. I was going to wait until later on, but since you brought it up, we need to talk.” Tait took her hand.

  Unable to hold back, she started to cry, tears streaming unchecked down her cheeks.

  “Oh, no, this is the part where you tell me not to contact you or see you again, isn’t it?”

  Mike snickered, shaking his head.

  “Sometimes you are such a girl, Jada.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a girl at all. I’m a woman, and I have feelings! I don’t expect you two to be glued to me like you are now but…I’m going to miss you so much and…you see, I love you both and—”

  “Jada, sweetheart, listen to me for a moment.” Getting down on his knee beside her chair, he kept her hand in his and wiped her tears with his other hand. “Stop crying now. Please?”

  Doing her best to pull herself together, Jada took a deep breath, biting her lip as she waited for him to dump her.

  “Good girl. Since the day we started talking on the Internet, I’ve been fascinated with you. You’re funny, compassionate, beautiful, and more fun than anyone I’ve ever met. I’ve definitely never met anyone who’s more sexy and creative in the bedroom than you, or the kitchen for that matter.” Grinning, he continued. “I love how you treat my household staff and how you experiment without reserve. You make my head spin.”

  “Have you seen the Exorcist?” she quipped, trying for humor over tears.

  A smothered noise came from Mike, but he kept his hand over his mouth, hiding his smile.

  “Jada, what I’m saying is that I want to marry you. Will you be my wife?”

  Mouth dropping wide open, Jada sat there and stared at Tait, astonished.

  Chuckling, he closed it gently with his finger. “Are you going to give me an answer?”

  “What about Mike and the ménage à trois thing?” She looked over at Mike, feeling terrible about leaving him out.

  “Jada?” Tait said in a firm tone. When she turned back to him he asked, “Will you marry me?”

  “Does all this stop?” she asked, waving her hand at Mike.

  “Only if you want it to. We can continue with Mike, or we can just have you and me.”

  “You’d stick by that for our entire marriage? Even if it was for fifty years?”

  “Absolutely. You’re definitely enough of a handful for one man, let alone two.”

  “Hmmm, I wouldn’t mind having Mike come visit us sometimes. I’d feel terrible if he was all alone. Can we collect videos?” she asked, cheekily.

  “As many as you want. I’ll give you a whole room full of them.”

  Her smile suddenly dropped. “We’d have to do one of those prenuptial thingies. I don’t want anyone saying I married you for your money. I have a thousand dollars of my own. I intend to invest it.”

  “We don’t need a…”

  “Yes, we do, or I won’t marry you!”

  Nodding his head in resignation, he sighed. “Are you always going to be this forceful?”

  “Probably.” A blinding smile lit her face. “Can we get married on the beach, here?”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes,” she said quietly.

  Both men jumped up, Tait lifting her up to kiss her soundly. Mike pulled her toward him so he could kiss her too, then Tait took her in both arms and started for the bedroom.

  “Wait! Wait!” Stopping in the hall, Tait looked down at her. “What’s that?” she asked, hiding a grin.

  “What’s what?”

  “Does this proposal come with a ring, or is that lump in your pocket a special treat for after dinner?”

  Laughter filled the halls as he rushed her to the bedroom to get the ring box out of his pocket.

  The End