18
Camari
I choose my outfit carefully as the Corrigan yacht makes it way to the village I was born in. I brought several options, ranging from couture to casual, but I think I need to be somewhere in between for this homecoming. If I stay, I might go a little fancier, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be staying.
The dress I choose is long and white, with a halter neckline that dips low, but has enough fabric to make it somewhat modest. Even though I’ve gained some weight, I can still get by without a bra, but I do put on a chunky silver necklace with a green stone in the middle. I put on some designer heels, and grab a red Kate Spade clutch with typewriter keys, and get ready for the fallout.
A small crowd is on the dock when we pull up. I forgot how excited the people here got when some tycoon would pull in for a day of sightseeing. I’m not sorry to disappoint them, because they all disappointed me first.
I keep my sunglasses on as I walk towards the village, ignoring everyone who tries to catch my attention. Let them think I’m just another socialite, because soon enough they’ll know who I really am.
“How much?” I ask a produce vendor in Greek, while holding a plum in my hand.
“For a beautiful woman, it is free.”
I think about tossing him some coins anyway, but instead I just take a bite and walk away. I want to be better than these people, but so far, I’m failing badly. My only excuse is that it’s hard to be the better person sometimes.
I wander the village, going in and out of shops while avoiding my family’s restaurant. My head is ready to do battle, but my heart is holding me back, making me doubt myself. After two more hours of snacking, and shopping, I realize the anticipation is making things worse. I came here to do this, and I’m going to do it. I have to.
My spine is stiff, and my shoulders are squared when I finally walk in the door. They’re all inside; my parents, my sisters, their husbands, and various children I know belong to them. Even a few cousins and an aunt are present as well.
“Welcome,” my mother says in English, mistaking me for a tourist.
“Am I really?” I ask her in Greek, taking off my glasses now.
“Camari.”
“I’m touched you even remember my name.”
“Get out!” my father says.
“The prodigal daughter has returned, Papa. Should you not welcome me with open arms.”
“We know what you are.”
Of course they do, since the wealthiest man in this city hired me for a night in Athens many years ago. I didn’t expect him to keep it a secret.
“You threw me on the street, and I did what I had to in order to survive.”
“You are a disgrace,” my mother says, spitting at my feet.
“No. You are the disgrace here. I was a child, and you shunned me because of my body type.”
“You obviously realize they were right, since you’re so thin now,” my aunt says.
“I am thin because I thought I needed to be this way to be accepted and loved. I now know that’s not true.”
“Because not even your thin body could keep Matthew Corrigan at your side.”
I didn’t expect them to know about that, so it takes me a moment to recover. “I work for Reina Corrigan, and traveled here on a Corrigan yacht, so I’d say I’m doing just fine now.”
“You have no man,” my mother says.
“But I do.”
“Where is he then, this man of yours?”
“I don’t need a man to stand up for me. I came here to tell you I won’t allow your ugliness and hate to affect me any longer. I wanted to give you a chance to apologize.”
“There is nothing to apologize for.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, although it’s only what I expected.”
I turn to leave, but my cousin Athena stops me. We were close as children, but we haven’t spoken since I was cast out. “Come to my wedding tomorrow.”
“No!” my aunt exclaims.
“It is my wedding, and I can invite whoever I’d like,” she asks in English. She always liked to practice, and the memory makes me smile.
“I would love to.”
“Can she bring a guest?”
I turn to see Lennon behind me. He has on a t-shirt, and cargo shorts, and he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. “Lennon?”
“Hello, my love.”
“You are her man? If so, it is customary for you to ask for permission.”
Lennon turns to my father. “If you were worthy of asking, I would’ve asked.”
“I love you, Lennon Chase.”
“And I love you, Camari Duke.”
“Dukas,” my mother says.
“No. I gave up that name when you gave up on me.”
“Do you know what she is?” my father asks. “How impure she is?”
“I don’t make it a habit to hit men who are older than me, but you’re pushing me to it, Mr. Dukas. I won’t stand by and let the woman I love be insulted by anyone.”
“You need to leave. Both of you.”
“You’ll both come tomorrow, right?” Athena asks as Lennon takes my hand, and leads me to the door.
“We wouldn’t miss it.”
As soon as we’re outside, I pull him around the corner, and push him up against the wall. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.”
“I told her I had to do this alone.”
“I know, and that’s why I let you. I mean, I had no clue what any of you were saying, so I wouldn’t have been any help anyway, but I know you needed that.”
“A part of me hoped they’d apologize.”
“They don’t deserve you, Cam.”
“My head knows that.”
“Do you feel any better?”
“Yes. It’s like the noose around my neck has loosened enough for me to slip through. I’ve done all I can here. They don’t want me, even though I’m thin now. I won’t pretend it doesn’t hurt, but now I know, and can work on getting better.”
“I’m so sorry, Cam. I know it’s not the same, but you’re wanted by so many people. Hell, both my parents threatened to disown me if I didn’t make things right with you.”
“Is that why you came? Because you felt obligated to help me?”
“I came because I want you more than all of them combined. It sucks that I told you those three words for the first time in there, but I meant them.”
“I meant them, too. I saw you there, and I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to tell you before, and I guess I admitted to falling for you, but I was still scared.”
“Same.”
“Where do we go from here?”
“Right now, I’d love to see your village, if you want to show it to me.”
“I would. I want to see it myself, too. I walked around for hours before I went in there, but I didn’t really see anything. Which makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. You were gearing up for the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do.”
“No. The hardest thing I’ve ever done is watch you walk away after you found out I betrayed you.”
He cups my face in his hands, and looks me in the eye. “I wanted to come right back, but I wasn’t allowed. I came by every day with flowers.”
“I loved the flowers. It was good that you didn’t see me then, since I wasn’t accepting any help.”
“Stubborn woman.”
“Scared woman.”
“I’ll do anything I can to help you. I hope you know that.”
“Can you just be there for me? When I have a rough day, or I feel insecure?”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
“I hated lying to you.”
“I hate that you had to, but I’m trying to understand.”
“There’s one more thing I didn’t tell you.”
“Go ahead,” he says, and I see the fear in his eyes.
“I broke into your parents’ house. It was before you took me the
re.”
He looks away, and I try to pull back, but his hands hold me in place. “I always wanted a girl to sneak in my window. In my teen fantasies, you would’ve been coming to have your way with me.”
“I honestly would’ve preferred it to be that way.”
He looks at me once again, and I see the struggle in his eyes. He wants to be with me, but it’s not easy. It’ll probably never be easy, but if he can’t get past what I had to do, there’s no hope for us.
“Is there anything else? Anything at all?”
“I was going to tell you. I can tell one person, and I had already chosen you. I knew I would probably lose you, but I hoped you’d give me a chance once you knew why I did it all.”
“Before the hospital?”
I nod. “Yes.”
He leans forward and kisses me. I feel his love in that kiss, and also forgiveness. He hasn’t said the words yet, but I feel him giving in to our love. Hope blossoms in my chest, and I vow to hold onto it.
Lennon
The pictures I’d seen of Greece always made me think it was beautiful, but nothing compares to walking these streets with Camari at my side. We get plenty of looks, and not many are friendly, but neither of us let it stop us from having fun.
We pick up small presents for my parents and our friends from the shops, and have a picnic of local delicacies on a hillside overlooking the clear blue water below. She touches me constantly—whether it be to hold my hand, or just brush hers over my arm—like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she loses her connection to me. I love her too much to let her feel insecure about me.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“What?”
“You’re touching me like you think I’ll vanish if you don’t.”
“Oh. I…I can stop touching you.”
“Please don’t ever stop, but please know I’m not leaving you now or ever. You’re stuck with me.”
“You have every right to leave.”
“Which is why I’m staying. You could’ve tried to spin things, or keep deceiving me, but you haven’t. You’ve told me the truth, and that means more than anything else you could say or do.”
“I won’t always be able to tell you everything about my job, but I promise I will never lie about us.”
“I know.”
It’s the truth. No matter what’s happened, I know she’s not lying to me now. I know Reina called me, because Camari asked her to tell me the truth. She didn’t tell me, but I know.
“It’s early still, but what would you like to do for dinner?”
“I asked the chef on the yacht to make us something. Is that okay?”
“I get to have you all to myself? Yes, that’s more than okay. Do you want to swim a little first?”
“Did you bring a bikini?”
“Yes, but it’s not the sexiest I own.”
“Since you didn’t know I was coming after you, I’ll admit that makes me happy.”
“Don’t worry, Lennon. You’ll get to see them all.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Right now, I just want you to hold me.”
The smile drops from my face, because I realize that while I’ve kissed her, and held her hand, I haven’t held her. I haven’t taken her in my arms, and given her the comfort I came here to give. I immediately pull her to me, and wrap her in my embrace. She melts against me, and sighs heavily. She’s not crying, because she won’t let anyone here see her like that. She won’t break for them, because they don’t deserve it.
“Later, when it’s just us, you cry all you need to. Promise me, Cam.”
“I promise.”
We walk back to the boat, hand in hand, ignoring the looks as we live in our own little bubble right now. The crew welcomes us back, and moves us out a little onto the sea when we tell them we want to swim. I change into swim shorts, and Camari changes into a cute bikini with a ruffled, off the shoulder top, and tiny bottoms that show off her sweet little ass.
“If this isn’t your sexiest, I can’t wait to see what is.”
She runs her hands over my bare chest, pulling at the little bit of hair I have there, which makes my dick jump in my shorts. “It has a lot of strings, and not much else.”
“Why don’t I have my own pool? I need a pool.”
“Your yard isn’t big enough, but let me go talk to the Captain, and tell him where to take us so we can have our own private swim.”
“Fuck, Cam.”
“Exactly.”
19
Camari
I directed the Captain to take us around the island to a little strip of land I bought last year. I didn’t know if I’d ever come back here, but I kept up on what was going on, and when this land became available I bought it. The cove here was always a favorite place of mine to swim, but while the previous owner allowed us all to use it, I don’t. I had signs put up, and I set up a monitoring system, so I’d be alerted when anyone breached my private oasis. A couple of arrests were all it took to stop residents and tourists from coming back.
“Um, Cam, the sign says ‘No Trespassing’. Those other signs are in Greek, but I think they say the same things.”
“They do.”
“I love you, but I don’t want to be arrested.”
“I won’t have you arrested,” I tell him before diving off the boat.
I feel him follow me into the water, and I lead us to the mouth of the cave. “You own this?”
“Yes.”
He has a look of wonder on his face as he takes in my little happy place. I’ve only seen it on a computer screen lately, but I feel a sense of calm wash over me as I walk in the water that gets more shallow as I approach the small beach inside.
“It’s beautiful.”
“And completely secluded. In case you wanted to, I don’t know, do some dirty things to me.”
“I’ve heard sand is not fun to get out of certain places.”
“After everything, you’re going to let a little sand deter you? That’s your hard limit?”
“Fuck no, it’s not, but I prefer the water.”
Before I can respond, he’s pulling me back in with him. My top is pulled down, and his mouth is on my breast, as I wrap my legs around his waist. I rub against his erection, wanting it now, but he’s not letting me have control.
He smacks my other breast lightly, and I want to be outraged, but I’m not. I’m turned on. I have hard limits, though, and they need to be voiced. “Be careful, Lennon.”
“I was just playing, but I wouldn’t hurt you,” he assures me, and moves to place soft kisses against the other breast.
I pull his mouth up to mine, and kiss him, letting him know I trust him, because I do. I don’t like things too rough, but he can play a little. “You can have some fun, but if it goes too far, I’ll knock you out.”
“Duly noted.”
He pulls me off him long enough to remove my bikini bottoms, and then wraps my legs around his neck as he pulls me to his mouth. I have nothing to hold onto but myself as I float in the water, so I take my breasts in hand as I lose myself in the sensations of his tongue and mouth.
As I pinch as twist, he licks and sucks, bringing my body closer and closer to release. When I finally tip over that beautiful cliff, I arch my back enough to tip him over into the water to. To Lennon’s credit, he keeps me going as long as he can before pushing me away so he can break the surface and breathe again.
“Oh my God! Are you okay?”
“Death by sex isn’t as glamorous as they try and make it seem, but that was too fucking sexy for me to even complain about,” he says, taking some deep breaths.
“Lennon.”
“I’m fine, babe. Really.”
“I can help you be better than fine.”
“Yes, you can.”
I take his hand, and lead him from the water, and onto the sand. I lean my head back, and shake my hair, loosening some of the water from it as he watches me with hungry eyes.
<
br /> “Nice.”
“You keep using these boring words, and you’re going to give me a complex.”
“You look like a siren, walking out of the water naked, and wet, so excuse me if I can barely form a coherent sentence right now.”
“Perfect answer. Now take off those shorts for me,” I tell him, smacking his ass.
“Careful, Camari,” he teases, as he does what I told him to.
“Still scared of the sand, or are you feeling adventurous?”
“I’m feeling like I need to fuck that sweet pussy of yours, so just tell me what you want.”
“I want you to get on your knees at the edge of the water.”
He drops to his knees where I asked, and holds out his hand to me. “Climb on.”
A girl’s got to have some surprises, and so I turn away from him as I slide on, and then pull him forward with me. I’m rest on my forearms as the water laps at me, and close my legs as tight as I can. He’s braces on his hands, with his legs still bent as he starts to move.
“This. Cam. This. I’m so deep in you.”
“Yes,” I tell him, dropping my head into the shallow water, and then raising it again.
He pulls he head back, and turns me so he can kiss me. My breasts and clit rub against the sand as he takes me with abandon, moving in and out erratically.
“You look so sexy. So mine, and so sexy. I wish we had a mirror so you could see how good you look beneath me.”
“We have something better—a camera.”
“What?” he asks, stopping his movements.
“I make sure this place stays private, but only I can see it. The feed is encrypted a hundred times over, and no one but me even knows it’s here.”
“It records?”
“Not always, but I switched it on before we left the boat.”
“Our own sex tape.”
“To watch whenever we want.”
“I need a copy. Not emailed, but a hard copy.”
“You going to get off to it when I’m away on a mission.”
Society Girls: Camari Page 13