Chapter 3

The next thing Adam knew, he was walking along the beach headed towards the Serenity Falls. His eyes were somewhat vacant. His mind felt overfull, his thoughts fuzzy. In contrast to his mental faculties, his body felt like it had a surplus of energy. He was vaguely aware that he had lost his shirt somewhere and was now only wearing his board-shorts. Adam realised he was striding along the sand with long and purposeful steps. Adam wasn’t in bad shape normally, but he felt now what he imagined regular runners felt; like he could break into a sprint and not have to worry about getting tired or short on breath.

The young man reached the section of the main beach where most of the guests restricted themselves to and blinked in surprise. He turned back to look where he had come from; his steps in the sand stretched back as far as he could see towards the first headland. Adam had no memory of navigating around the headland or even of crossing that first hidden cove. He hadn’t seen any sign of Emily or Todd either. Adam glanced up at the sun and saw that it had noticeably dropped lower in the sky. Hours had gone past.

Adam thought back to the cave. He was inclined to dismiss everything that had happened as some kind of dream. Had he hit his head while exploring? But he had definitely seen Todd cheating on Fiona with Emily. While Adam could have perhaps accepted imagining Emily’s nude body as part of a vivid hallucination - the image of her in the shower had constantly been in his thoughts since last night - he doubted he would have wanted to imagine Todd’s hairy ass thrusting as he pounded into Emily.

So if that had actually all happened, what the hell was in the cave? It still seemed so hazy to him. It was more the impression he felt about it all. The glowing lights, the dancing figures of the woman beguilingly cavorting ... and that central figure. That huge man in the midst of it all. Adam couldn’t remember a thing about him except the intensity of his regard and his overwhelming presence. His mind shied away from any other details.

So engrossed in his thoughts, Adam hadn’t noticed two of the beach goers - a couple of young women - making their way over to him. When they called out, he spun around to face them with a sudden speed that made them flinch momentarily.

“Hey - um, are you alright there? You’ve got quite a few scrapes on your legs. Oh, wow. Not just your legs. Kendra, grab your water bottle so I can rinse the poor guy’s legs. Looks like there’s some muck or something in his scrapes too.”

Adam saw that the two women were the same couple he had seen the day before by the pool. The same ones he had seen entwined in the pool. They were even more striking up close. It was the brunette who had called out to him. Adam had been right when he had judged her to be cute, although she verged upon pretty. She had hazel eyes and her wavy brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. She looked very fit and Adam could see a hint of a six-pack on her belly. Small breasts were covered by a tank-top style swimsuit, and she had a tattoo twining around one shoulder and arm. She was wearing board-shorts that went down to her knees and Adam noted that her calves were very defined and shapely.

The woman flushed lightly, giving him a hesitant smile, and Adam realised he was staring at her. Not just staring either. He had been taking note of every part of her. Adam frowned to himself - he just couldn’t seem to get his thoughts in order. Although he did think it kind of odd that she hadn’t exactly been offended...

Adam turned his head away from the brunette out of a vague sense of embarrassment. Almost immediately his attention was captured by the blonde - Kendra - as she hurried back towards where their towels were to grab a bottle of water. Now she was truly attractive.

Kendra, unlike her companion, was wearing just a bikini. It wasn’t one of those swimmers that was styled almost like a thong, but Adam noted as she crouched down by her towel that her bottoms had ridden up between her ass exposing a very shapely behind. Kendra was all curves where the brunette was fit and slender. It wasn’t that Kendra had overly large breasts like say his sister - Kendra’s breasts looked like a very appealing teardrop-shaped handful - but the flare of her hips was pronounced enough that it drew the eye. Her skin had a light golden tan and her long blonde hair hung loose down her back. As Kendra turned back towards them, Adam saw she had dimples in her cheeks. Even her concerned expression couldn’t entirely hide them and Adam just knew she usually had an impish smile on her face.

In short, she was just hot.

Kendra hurried back and then both of the women were crowded around him. Close up, Adam judged them to be a little older than he had thought yesterday. Maybe twenty-six or twenty-seven. Young, but noticeably older than his nineteen years. They were so close to him, asking if he was alright. It was the kind of thing that would have definitely made Adam nervous usually. Now he just watched them, feeling completely at ease. He wondered at it.

“I’m Holly. In case you missed it, that’s Kendra. What happened, did you fall or something?”

“I’m ... fine. I’m Adam, you don’t have to make a fuss. I was exploring the beaches past the headland back there. I guess I must have ... fallen? I didn’t notice the scrapes.”

Adam paused, a small frown appearing on his face. His voice had sounded a little deeper than before. Maybe he had something in his throat. He coughed, clearing his throat before trying out a reassuring smile on the two concerned women. He didn’t want to tell anyone about the cave. Not until he’d had time to think about what he had seen.

“I really am fine. I just fell. It’s probably looks worse than it is.”

Kendra took a step closer, gingerly touching his arm lightly. Her fingers felt very soft and Adam felt a soft thrill run through him. He looked down into her concerned blue eyes. She wasn’t very tall, around 5’4 if he could it judge correctly.

“Are you sure, Adam? You really tore up your legs. Oh, and your poor shoulders! And your back too. Stay still, let me just flush this clean. Then we should get you some real help.”

Kendra was very solicitous, carefully walking around Adam as she poured fresh water over his cuts and scrapes. It stung a bit, but it felt distant. Unimportant. Adam relaxed and let the two pretty women tend to him. He idly pictured them as he had seen them the night before - Holly pinning Kendra against the side of pool. Her arm flexing as she worked her fingers between Kendra’s thighs. It was a delicious image and Adam was only aware of the wide, appreciative smile on his face when he saw Kendra blushing.

Adam schooled his face to passivity as he let the two women wash out his wounds. He was quite enjoying having the two pretty women fawn over him. It was very hard to not stare at the two of them. It was like he had to remember why it wasn’t acceptable or that they might get offended. Those concepts seemed so ... far away.

“There, that’s got the worst of it out. You were right, it wasn’t as bad as it looked. Which is a surprise because I could have sworn...”

Kendra finished with her water bottle and stood with a hand on her hip, tilting her head and giving Adam a once-over. Her pose did interesting things to her figure and Adam resisted the urge to flick his eyes up and down her body. Strangely enough he would have sworn that Kendra was purposefully posing for him. Adam cleared his throat again.

“Yeah, if it was too bad I would have just jumped in the ocean. I mean, I appreciate it! Don’t get me wrong. You’re both being really nice.”

Holly grinned easily, nudging Kendra with her hip. She seemed a little more relaxed than Kendra - although that might have just been because Adam hadn’t been staring at her quite as hard.

“Hear that, babe? We’re getting our good deed for the day in.”

Kendra rolled her eyes and poked Holly in her side, making the other woman jump.

“Ha ha. You’re hilarious as usual. Adam, so you’re sure you feel alright?”

“Yep. Perfectly fine. Promise!”

Adam held up his hand as though he was giving a pledge and was rewarded with Kendra flashing him a quick smile. He had been right. She really did have an impish grin.

“Good then. Still, when you get back you should probably disinfect everything. Are you staying with someone who can help?”

Adam spoke without thinking.

“Just my family. So not really.”

Adam noted that Holly and Kendra looked askance at that. He backtracked, grinning weakly at the two women.

“I mean, you can see it’s not that bad. They’d just make fun of me for trying to make something minor into a big deal.”

“Wow, really? That’s um, kinda sucky.”

“No no. I’m not explaining it right. I’m not badly hurt, so there’d be no point in getting worried...”

Adam paused, his brow furrowing. What was he doing? Why was he defending his family to these two woman he had just met? Sure, it was the habit of a lifetime, but for some reason Adam was completely sick of it all. He took a deep breath and started again.

“Actually, you’re right. They do suck. That’s kinda why I’m out here by myself.”

The two women exchanged glances with each other. Kendra stepped to Adam’s side and linked arms with him, her hip brushing up against his as she started to gently tug him along towards Serenity Falls proper. Holly quickly bundled their belongings and then walked along on the opposite side of Adam. The brunette tilted her head and looked sidelong at him.

“Sorry to hear that. I mean, my parents were nightmares so I kind of know what it’s like.”

Kendra piped up too, smiling impishly up at Adam and patted the arm she was holding. She was being very familiar with someone they had only just met and Adam wondered if they made a habit of rescuing strays or something. He couldn’t quite peg it.

“Yeah, Holly went through some shit. Still, you get over that sort of crap in time. How old are you anyway?”

Adam blinked. Some part of his brain was screaming that Kendra’s skin felt so soft and he was acutely aware of the side of her breast brushing up against his arm as they walked. Her bikini top suddenly seemed very flimsy to him.

“Um. Nineteen. Where are we going?”

Holly nudged him with her elbow companionably.

“Nineteen, huh. I vaguely remember that! Kendra and I are old. I see thirty waving at me in the distance! But that’s good - you being young. Good and bad. See, you just haven’t escaped yet. Haven’t decided what your boundaries are - that you can actually set boundaries! Everyone has issues of some kind. Have you left home yet?”

“Yeah. About a year now. Dad said I had to when I turned eighteen.”

Kendra rolled her eyes.

“Oh one of those sorts. Ring any bells, babe?”

“Oh yeah. Although it was probably for different reasons.”

“True. So, Adam. Why’d you come on a trip with your family if they ‘suck’?”

Adam thought for a moment. He was feeling oddly comfortable about being so close to strangers like this. Especially since they were both so attractive. And oddly personable with him. Maybe they were just very outgoing people. Normally Adam would have felt off balance just talking to someone like Holly, let along walking along arm in arm with Kendra. Instead, it just felt ... right. Like this wasn’t just normal, it was expected. His heart wasn’t beating fast, he wasn’t stuttering or anything...

Quite strange.

“Honestly, it just didn’t occur to me to say no. Looking at it now ... My dad said he’d organised it and told me to be here. Hah, although he didn’t quite mention they fact I’d be paying for the room...”

Adam filled in the two women about how he’d been blindsided by the unexpected cost. About how it had completely wiped out all his savings from working part time all year, and how his sister hadn’t had to pay for anything even though they were sharing a bungalow. How angry his father had been when his mother took his side for once about helping pay for ‘some of the expenses’ - even though his mother had done it more out of spite than concern for Adam.

“Fuck, that’s twisted as shit.”

Holly shook her head, grimacing at Adam in commiseration. Kendra nodded her head rapidly in agreement with her.

“That’s downright evil! You can’t push someone out to fend for themselves and then screw them over for holiday money. You’re still practically a baby! I mean - sorry. But you know what I mean. Did your dad need help paying for the holiday or something?”

Adam shook his head.

“Nope. He’s pretty damn rich actually. I’m not sure what the reason is. Officially it’s teaching me a lesson about financial responsibility or some crap. But I don’t know if there’s a genuine reason.”

Kendra rested her head against his arm for a second as they walked along. Her hair was very fine and felt so soft.

“Sometimes there isn’t a reason. Some times people are just shitty people. Nothing you can do about it.”

Adam relaxed and something dark left his chest. Had anyone ever taken his side like this before? He didn’t think so. It felt good though.

Their talk cheered up as they reached Serenity Falls. Mostly from all three of them silently agreeing that the topic of conversation was in dire need of lightening up. Holly decided that they should go to the reception area and ask for some disinfectant even if Adam’s scrapes seemed more superficial every time they looked at them.

Holly poked him playfully in the arm.

“We should still put something on them since we are here. But it must have just been dirt or something that made your cuts look worse. Just looks kind of reddish now. A few grazes. If you’d seemed as fine as you do now I wouldn’t have bothered checking up on you.”

“Holly, don’t be a bitch. He looked pretty out of it, remember? Besides, aren’t you glad we introduced ourselves?”

Kendra patted Adam on the arm as she smiled up at him. Even though there was no need, she still had her arm linked with his. Nothing would have made Adam say or do anything to get her to let him go either. Even though it had made walking slightly awkward. Adam had to really time his steps with her far shorter stride.

“Oh, are we adopting him then, babe?”

Holly teased Kendra, who flushed.

“Shut up! Like you’re any better.”

Adam laughed. The girls blushed then joined in. Holly leaned around Adam and spoke to Kendra, her voice still teasing.

“Do you think Delilah will be there? Think you’ll be able to string a sentence together this time?”

Kendra let go of Adam - much to his regret - and dodged around him, aiming an unserious kick at Holly. She looked embarrassed but was laughing as well.

“Don’t be mean. She’s hot. Sue me.”

Adam cleared his throat.

“So, uh. Not just me that has that reaction then?”

Holly and Kendra paused and eyed him. Holly grinned.

“Yeah. The woman is sex on legs. Her lips as she’s smoking that pipe? I mean, that’s weird as shit, right? A pipe? But fuck me - makes my legs go weak.”

Kendra giggled, teasing partner.

“Oh, so I should pick up smoking a pipe then?”

“Nah, babe. You couldn’t pull that off.”

Kendra shouted in outrage and swatted Holly on her butt.

They arrived at the front office and Adam was amused to see that both women adjusted themselves a bit. Kendra had wrapped her towel around her waist but now she adjusted it a bit so it hung in a beguiling way off of her hip. Holly also pulled her board-shorts down slightly, showing off her hip bones and more of the muscles on her belly. They eyed Adam watching them but just flushed, saying nothing.

Delilah was indeed in the office when they walked in - still wearing what Adam had come to think of as her unofficial uniform. For once she wasn’t smoking her pipe and she eyed the three of them with a raised eyebrow.

“Adam, we meet again. And I see you’ve made some friends. Holly, Kendra - what brings you all here?”

Adam noted that Kendra looked a bit red in the face. She bit her lip and shifted slightly so she was half behind Holly. Holly looked at her lover with an amused expression before addressing Delilah.

“We ran into Adam here on the beach. He was a bit banged up so we were looking to get some antiseptic to be safe.”

“Ah, a mission of mercy. How ... admirable. But does he really need it? There’s not a lot of damage that I can see. Just a few small grazes?”

Delilah came around the desk to look closer at Adam. She poked at his shoulder dubiously as Kendra shyly interjected.

“We know it’s not that bad. But it looked a lot worse when we found him! I thought he was all banged up and bleeding. And he looked pretty dazed! But we rinsed it off and I guess it was just dirt? Anyway we thought it best to be safe. Adam said he fell exploring around the headlands.”

Holly murmured, stopping Kendra as she started to babble with nerves.

“Simmer down, babe.”

Both girls missed the increased look of interest on Delilah’s face when she heard where Adam had been. Adam noticed though. Delilah walked back to her desk and pulled out a first aid kit. She called back over her shoulder, her tone carefully casual.