Chapter 2

For nearly a minute I watched the firelight painting Judy's beautiful naked skin with golden light and flickering shadows. I slowly ran my hand across her bare breast, over her flat stomach, on down over her bare mound, and along the inside of a silken thigh. Then I returned to the open book in my lap and again began to read to her.

February 11.

We arrived in Singapore this morning and Nate immediately began checking for another ship to take us the rest of the way. As luck would have it a small coaster will be departing this afternoon for a trip through the islands. Nate arranged our passage to some island I've never heard of where he said we could pick up the ship which brings the plantation supplies and collects its products. If all goes well we should arrive at the plantation in about ten days.

February 20.

The last week has held no major event and yet nearly every hour brought something new and exciting to my senses. I've never been in this part of the world before and the tropical climate, the azure waters, the white sand of island beaches and the overwhelming green of their vegetation has not ceased to amaze me.

We left the coaster at the island whose name I still can't quite get and transferred to the supply ship with only a single overnight stay at a small hotel located yards from the lulling sound of the surf lapping against one of the finest beaches I've ever seen: so white it looked like sugar and with sand so fine it almost felt talcum smooth to the touch. In the last week or so I've spent enough time either on deck or outside that I now have lost any trace of the winter pallor of Glasgow. I have also spent much of my time during the last several weeks talking with Nate. I now believe he is perfectly serious about the attire - or lack of it - among the workers and staff. To this end he has convinced me to adapt myself to the expected conditions by wearing only shorts on deck and now I have a fairly dark tan.

I should say that I'm still not sure about going nude among outer Western staff members - especially the women, although I don't think I will mind their doing so. I have always been a somewhat uninhibited person, but I've never previously run into a situation even approaching this. At any length, I am getting used to shorts as my sole garment. I should also mention that, as a good Scotsman of Highland descent, I have always worn kilts. When Nate described the native sarongs which seem to be popular with the staff, I immediately saw the similarity to the kilts I owned and have thus brought a pair or them with me. I feel this might be a reasonable compromise until I become more adapted to wearing a sarong - or even less.

I have asked Nate exactly where this island plantation is located, but he has indicated that at the specific request of von Holt the location remains as confidential as possible against the eventuality of it becoming widely known and drawing unwanted visitors. I can understand this. After all, if it became known exactly where to find an island with over a hundred young women who habitually went about their activities without clothing, just imagine the influx of an incredible variety of men interested in, at the very least, viewing such attractive scenery - not to mention the do-gooders who would descend with the intention of "civilizing" the "poor unfortunates". Since the ship's captain knows the location and since I'm not going anywhere the ship is not, I have contented myself to remain ignorant of the exact destination.

Nate tells me that we should reach the plantation sometime tomorrow morning.

February 21

We sighted the island about nine this morning and by noon had moved in and tied the ship alongside a wooden dock near the center shore of a protected bay. As soon as the ship was made fast a seeming hoard of young native men - wearing sarongs - appeared to materialize from the bush and began to unload supplies in an orderly fashion. I could also see another line of men bring an array of crates and kegs towards the dock. These, I was told, contained the processed spices which are the product of this enterprise. As soon as Nate saw that the unloading and loading were proceeding in an orderly fashion, he suggested that we leave the ship and he would show me around and introduce me to the other staff members. Nate was wearing one of his ever present sarongs but I had chosen to wear a kilt in the Robertson plaid along with a light weight white shirt. Nate had merely looked at the shirt and my wool kilt and said, "It's probably going to be a little warm for that before long," but had made no other comment.

We moved several hundred yards along a wide path through lush tropical vegetation and emerged into a large clearing. I could see a sizable building, built in the tropical style with thatched roof and whitewashed walls. This, Nate informed me, was the main building containing offices, records, a dining area for the staff, and other such things as were necessary to the operation of the plantation. Separated from the main building and each other by several yards were a number of smaller buildings. Nate pointed to them in turn and indicated the clinic, the school room, kitchen, storage sheds, workshops, and a number of individual units he said were housing for staff and some of the natives who acted as foremen (and forewomen?) and provided labor around the main area. The main processing sheds were a little farther along and in a slightly different direction was the housing for the remainder of the native workers.

We entered the main building and Nate pointed out his office and then led me to a small room with a desk, a table and some filing space which he indicated was to be my own working area. He continued the tour past several other rooms serving different functions. We entered a room which contained a long table with a dozen or more chairs surrounding it. "This is the room used for staff dining," Nate explained. "We don't always eat together, but frequently we have dinner here as a group."

As Nate was speaking, a native girl, I'd guess about nineteen or twenty, entered through a door on the far side of the room. She was carrying a stack of plates but as she saw us, she stopped and said, "Oh, Mr. Nate! You came back. Dinner here tonight?"

"That's right, Che. I came with the boat and, yes, I will be eating here tonight, as will Mr. Alex. Mr. Alex is our new General Manager and will be taking Mr. James place."

The girl, Che, turned to me and, smiling, dipped her head slightly. "Very pleased to meet you, Mr. Alex. I am Che and I work in the kitchen."

To say I stared would be an understatement. Che was only a little over five foot, but her face and figure were nearly as perfectly formed as I could imagine. And it didn't take a lot of imagination because she was completely nude. Moreover, even the small triangular patch of hair at the junction of her thighs which was common to all women of my close acquaintance was either missing or had been shaved or plucked. I tried to reply to her greeting and it took me twice clearing my throat before I got out, "I am certainly pleased to see you also, Che." Then as I realized I had used the verb "see" instead of "meet" my face took on a shade of red I'm sure was visible even through my tan.

If either Nate of Che noticed my discomfort they made no indication. Che smiled brightly at me once again, gave a slight dip of her head and then set the plates on the end of the table before turning and leaving the room by the same door through which she had entered. I will say the view of her retreating was just as enthralling as that of her entering.

"There are about a dozen and a half girls who work around the main building or in the clinic or school," Nate explained. Ly-mei acts as sort of a supervisor for them. If you ever need any help with finding things around here, or want any food or anything between meals, or that sort of thing, just ask Ly-mei."

I was beginning to recover slightly and I turned towards Nate and asked, "Are all of the dozen and a half as lovely as Che?"

Nate laughed. "Yes, and also as well displayed." I began to turn red again. "The islanders in this part of the world are some of the most well formed peoples on earth. The group from the island where von Holt recruits them - that island is about fifteen miles south of here, by the way - that group is especially pleasing to the eye. Don't worry, Alex. When I first came here, it took me a little while to stop staring myself."

We left the main building and went over to a nearby structure which Nate informed me was the main kitchen. As he described the set up I was surprised to learn that the plantation had running water supplied to the kitchen, a main bath house, and a couple of other places. A similar arrangement was true of the kitchen and bath house at the worker housing area. Nate explained that the two mechanics, Bob and George, had devised the system. There was some fresh water on the island: rains trapped in a bowl-like lake which Nate said was a bubble left from an extinct volcano. However, this probably would not have been enough for all the washing needs of two or three hundred workers so Bob and George had devised a system which used sea water for a shower bath arrangement. Everyone used this to wash and then rinsed with the fresh water. They had also devised a sanitary system for the plantation's needs.

We entered the kitchen building and I saw there were about a dozen workers, all busy, all women, and, yes, all naked (except for a couple working at the stoves who wore aprons), engaged in various activities. All of these looked as lovely as Che had and, indeed, I saw Che across the room. She smiled at me and then turned to talk to two of the other women who were with her, no doubt pointing me out. This was confirmed a second later when they both turned in my direction and smiled at me before turning back to each other and giggling excitedly. Nate led me over to a slightly older woman - maybe in her mid to late twenties - and introduced me to Ly-mei. She was as lovely as all the rest of the women but something, perhaps her slight number of additional years or her somewhat taller stature or maybe just the look in her eyes, lent an aurora of authority to her. She was as naked as the others except for a very short apron around her waist. This was only about eight inches in length and had two small pockets which obviously served to carry a small notebook and some other papers. It reached from side to side only to the middle of her hip bones and left her completely bare in back. She also had a fountain pen hanging between her pert breasts from a small gold chain. Later Nate also told me that along with being very practical, this was a symbol of authority among the natives.

Just as we were turning to leave the kitchen building, a young woman, about twenty-five and five foot three with chestnut hair tied back with a small ribbon, entered through the door. The woman was obviously Western although she had a deep tan, her smooth skin almost glowing with a warm, buttery color. Her tan was easy to observe for all she was wearing was a short sarong which covered her only from waist to mid thigh. The native women all had firm breasts, though they tended towards the small side. This woman, however, had breasts which stood out from her slender frame in fairly large, firm hemispheres, topped by dark areolae and large nipples. She walked with her shoulders back, not attempting in the least to minimize her magnificent assets, but also not as though she was trying to show them off. They were merely accepted as belonging. She turned slightly and saw Nate and suddenly let out a squeal and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. When she broke the kiss after what seemed a long time, she said, "Nate, I didn't know you were back."

"I've only been here a few minutes and was just on my way to the school room now," Nate replied, slightly out of breath himself. "I was showing our new General Manager around. Alex, meet Joan. Joan, this is Alex."

Joan turned to me and said, "I'm really happy to meet you, Alex. I'm sure you're going to like it here."

I did my best not to stare and managed to smile and say, "I'm sure I will. I like the looks of everything I've seen so far."

Joan laughed, a deep throaty laugh, and said, "I'm sure you've been able to see a few things to like, but just wait."

I once more took on a crimson hue and Nate said, "Don't tease him, Joan. You remember how it was getting used to this place."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Joan replied. "I just couldn't resist. It is quite a contrast to most everywhere else I've been, even in this part of the world. But I'm sure you'll soon come to love it here as much as we do." Then a smile crept into her eyes that I can only describe as naughty. "The scenery is fantastic."

She then put her arm around Nate in a way that implied, if not ownership, at least certain privileges, and said, "Come on, Darling. I'll help you show Alex around."

Nate responded by squeezing her around her waist and turned towards me. "I guess I never explained that Joan and I are, in fact, quite close and share a house."

"No reason why you should have, Nate," I responded, while thinking that even if Joan was taken I could still look (and look I certainly would!) and there were still two other Western women - the nurses - that I might find interesting. And if not that, why, I had nothing against the native girls. I could easily enjoy their company for a long time.

We left the kitchen building and Nate pointed out the large bath house building and then headed us towards the clinic. We entered into a medium sized room with several benches where patients could obviously wait their turn. One man in a sarong waited on one of the benches. There was a small bandage on one of his arms. There was a desk behind which sat a young woman, dressed as all the others had been. She, too, had a fountain pen hanging between her breasts on a small gold chain. She looked up at Nate and smiled excitedly. "You are back, Mr. Nate," she exclaimed.

Nate said, "Lhei, this is our new General Manager, Mr. Alex. Alex, the is Lhei. She helps Dr. Hartley and the nurses run the clinic. In fact, she is a pretty good nurse herself, even if she's had to learn it all on the job, so to speak."

Lhei gave me a frank look up and down. I don't think she was evaluating my health. She looked at my shirt, now spotted with sweat in several areas, and said, "Mr. Alex, you should not wear so much here. The heat not good for you."

Nate saved me from replying. "It will take him a few days to learn that, Lhei. Mr. Alex comes from a place where it is cold much of the time. You know how it is with the new staff."

Lhei, looking only the tiniest bit abashed, ducked her head slightly, but I could see a laugh hiding in her eyes.

"Are Dr. Hartley, Miss Jenny and Miss Deborah free?" Nate asked.

"Dr. Hartley go to Trawa. Be back tomorrow. I think Miss Jenny and Miss Deborah almost finished. I go see." She stood and went through a door in the wall behind her while my eyes locked on the saucy roll of her tight buttocks. I quickly brought my eyes back around, but I think Joan had already noticed the direction of my gaze.

While she was in the inner room, Nate turned to me and explained, "Trawa is their home island I spoke of. Dr. Hartley occasionally goes over there to treat the villagers. With Mr. von Holt's strong approval, I should add."

A few seconds later Lhei came back out and said, "Miss Jenny said to go in now."

Nate and Joan walked around her desk and through the door with me following slightly behind. We entered into a short hallway with a couple of doors opening off of it. The nearest door was open and we went inside. Inside were two young blonde women wearing short white lab coats. These came only to mid thigh and had the top three buttons undone. It was almost certain that these were their only garments. There was also a native man in a sarong, sitting on the examining table, but I was looking much more closely at the two nurses. Old and fat indeed! Both were in their early twenties and extremely attractive. Their hair was nearly the same color of blonde, bleached by the sun, and their skin was smooth and tanned by that same tropical sun. I thought back to my earlier fear that the Western staff would be "old and fat" and felt great relief that I had been so far wrong. I was approving of von Holt's and Nate's selection of staff members more and more by the minute. As I watched I saw one of the nurses was finishing off a small clean bandage on the man's right calf.

As we entered, the other blonde turned and, recognizing Nate, gave a little squeal and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him hard. This kiss didn't last nearly as long as the one Joan had given him, but was almost as passionate. She pulled away and excitedly said, "Debs, Nate is back." Then she looked me over and added. "And look what he's brought with him."

The second nurse tied off the bandage and looked up. Her eyes lit up and she rounded the table to give Nate a kiss, the twin of the one he had just received. I noticed during this that Joan didn't seem in the least put out by the display of affection. I would have expected a woman, living with a man, married or not, to be a little upset when another beautiful woman gave him a kiss like that, but it didn't seem to bother her at all. Things must be more different here that I imagined.

"Alex, in case you haven't guessed, these are our two nurses, Jenny and Deborah. And, girls, this is Alex, our new General Manager."

The two women came over and each gave me a frank appraisal. "Hi, Deborah said." She looked at my shirt and kilt. "Let me guess. From Scotland?"

I smiled and admitted I came from that land. Jenny also looked closely at my apparel. "I see you haven't gone native yet. You'll learn."

"Jen, leave him alone," Joan said. "He's just gotten here." Then she added, "I'm sure you'll get a chance soon."

Nate cleared his throat and asked, "Jen and Deb, are you two having dinner up at the main building tonight?"

The two women looked at each other. Then Jenny answered, "If you really want us to. We are planning on having Har-lo and Milwe" - she put an arm around the seated man and nodded her head in the direction of the waiting room - "for dinner." Then she licked her lips and her eyes gave an entirely different meaning to the description of their evening meal.

"Don't change your plans," Nate said. "Alex will be here for quite a while, so you'll get a chance to know him better soon."

We talked for a few more minutes and then Nate and Joan took me back outside and over to one of the workshops. We went inside and along with workbenches and tools I saw two Western men working on some mechanical device at one of the benches. They looked up and, when they saw Nate, put down their tools and greeted him. Nate introduced me to George and Bob. Both were about my own age and both looked very capable. Each was dressed in cutoff denim pants, the American Levis. This garment, which had originally been invented for the rough work in the California gold fields of the mid nineteenth century, was rapidly spreading around the globe. They are usually called Levis, after their inventor, even though the pants with the riveted seams are called "waist overalls" by their manufacturer. I had also heard another term - jeans - from some Americans during the war. When I asked why pants made from denim and not from jean material, were called jeans, they only shrugged. I don't think they even knew jean was a kind of material. But I digress. George was tall, about six foot, with dark brown hair and a wide smile. He greeted me with a slow drawl, definitely pinning him down as being from the states, and the southern states in particular. We shook hands and then I turned to Bob. Like George he had a wide smile and possessed a similar dark tan. Although several inches shorter, also like George, Bob had muscular arms and broad shoulders, the result, no doubt, of heavy work. His smile was just as sincere and his accent just as American. I couldn't place it at first, but he told me he was from Colorado.

The plantation had a refrigeration system and the two of them were busy trying to repair some part of it, so we soon left them to their task. Nate and Joan showed me around the other buildings in the group and suggested that we grab a quick bite to eat for lunch. Instead of going back to the dining room I had seen, we stopped back into the kitchen and picked up some sandwiches and fruits and carried them to a table outside.

Joan and Nate sat opposite me so I had a clear view of Joan's rather magnificent chest. I tried hard not to stare, but with limited success. However, even though both Joan and Nate must have been aware of the direction of my gaze, neither seemed to mind. I asked about my luggage - small though this collection was - and Nate informed me that it would be delivered to my hut - I was finding that "hut" was the general term used for any building here - and that one of the "hut girls" would unpack things for me. I understood that the "hut girls" were somewhat like maids and my general cleaning, laundry, and such would all be taken care of.

At some point our conversation turned to the other staff. The two mechanics each lived in a separate hut, but not alone. Each had a native girl who shared his abode. From some of the comments Nate and Joan made I gathered that they also shared the two girls and often others as well. I was beginning to wonder just how "free" this entire enterprise was. I asked about Jenny and Deborah and Joan smiled at me as she replied, "They aren't tied down to any one man - or woman."

My eyebrows must have shot upwards because she laughed and went on, "That's right. They share a hut and while both like men - to say the least - they also enjoy each other and occasionally other women. Look, Alex, here we really don't have much in the way of sexual taboos. Pretty much anything is acceptable."

"Sure," Nate added, "there's only one really rigid rule. No one is ever forced into anything. Any native who was forcing himself on another would be gone before the day was over. And any staff member who tried to use his position to intimidate someone would meet the same fate - if he was lucky. Fortunately, that isn't a problem. The people here grow up with almost no inhibitions and most of them have learned the delights of the flesh by the time they are fourteen or so. We are careful who we select and besides, there's no real reason to try and use force to get what is being given away almost everywhere anyway."

This island is going to take some getting used to, but I'll admit I like the concept. Perhaps if the two nurses like men as well as each other, I may even persuade them to join me for a repeat of my French encounter. (Better keep such thoughts to yourself, Alex. Uninhibited or not, don't get your hopes up too far.)

Nate explained that they had adopted the custom of some of the warmer Western countries and generally everyone rested for a couple of hours after lunch each day. Work started early with the early light of the tropics, so taking a long break during the warmest part of the day seemed reasonable, even though, cooled by the ocean as it is, the temperature never climbs too exceedingly high here, although the humidity is usually pretty elevated.

Nate said, "This afternoon, Alex, we'll show you around some of the processing facility and the various groves. We can all get better acquainted at dinner. And don't worry about getting up early tomorrow. We'll let you recover from the trip for a day or so. Then I'll be introducing you to your job over the next few days. Gives you a chance to get acclimated."

Later.

We ate dinner in the dining room I had visited earlier. At the long table were Nate, Joan, George, Bob, myself, and the two native girls who were evidently living with the two mechanics, Chau-lei and Mei-ho. The men were all wearing only sarongs as was Joan. I still had on my kilt and white shirt, although now I had rolled the sleeves up somewhat. Chau-lei and Mei-ho were pretty island women with dark, straight hair and dark eyes. They were about nineteen or twenty, both were slim and stood about five foot two and both were completely naked. So were the two other girls who served us dinner. And, except for that tiny apron, so was Ly-mei who stopped in to make sure everything was satisfactory.

I can't fault the view, however this wonderful display of feminine beauty combined with the often suggestive conversation at the table to cause me certain other problems. I will just say that I am very happy that I could remain seated, the table above my lap, throughout the meal. Matters weren't helped any by the three women. Joan was seated across from me and the island girls were on either side. All three managed to contrive to have their feet and calves slide against my own bare legs a number of times throughout the meal. I am sure they were all very aware of what they were doing and I suspect from some of his smiles, that Nate was also. I'm just glad they seemed to stop a few minutes before we finished so that I could stand up without embarrassment.

After dinner the group of us moved outside to a group of chairs, covered by a roof, where we could look out over the sea. Joan sat next to Nate and their hands frequently wandered to touch each other - not in any really erotic manner, but still displaying an intimate closeness. This didn't really surprise me now that I had found that these two had a close relationship and, of course, Nate had been absent for some time. However, I was still a little surprised by Bob and George who each had a girl sitting on their lap, their hands casually stroking bare legs, breasts, and buttocks. The girls didn't seem to mind and, in fact, often encouraged and reciprocated such actions. I spent a lot of the time with my legs crossed.

A couple of times the two girls who had served at dinner brought us some cool fruit drinks. One of these was Che, whom I had met earlier, and Nate introduced the other as Mai-quan. I noticed that the other men - even George and Bob who had their hands full, so to speak - had no hesitation in closely watching these two as they approached and even more so as they left, bare buttocks swaying in an incredible fashion. I have decided that if that is acceptable behavior here, I'll take full advantage of it and joined them in observing these lovely women.

I think it was about nine when Nate suggested we should perhaps turn in a little early. I suspect weariness from our journey was not the major reason for this, but rather a desire to become reacquainted with Joan in a less public setting; however, I was feeling a certain languor myself, likely derived from the level of uncertainness resulting from not being used to the attitudes and expectations of this new environment. In short, I was worn out from trying not to stare and at the same time trying not to look like I was trying not to stare, all the while staring whenever possible. There was also the strain of trying to keep my kilt from sticking straight out in a certain place.

We broke up and Nate said that he would have Che and Mai-quan show me where the bathhouse was and make sure I had everything I needed. "Don't worry about getting up in the morning. Just come over to the kitchen and grab something to eat when you do get up."

I said my good nights and then was led to the bathhouse entrance by two lovely, naked girls. Actually there were two entrances, one they explained was for the shower and the other contained the sanitary facilities. They waited outside this one while I went in and made use of them. When I emerged, each took an arm and led me to the hut Nate had designated as my own.

I expected them to leave me at the door, but both accompanied me inside. The hut had two rooms: a larger one with table, desk, and several chairs. The smaller room was the bedroom which contained a double sized, Western style bed with mosquito netting surrounding it, along with a chest of drawers and a small closet with shelves and a hanging area for clothes. There was also a small bedside table and a large mirror over the chest.

The two girls moved past me and proceeded me into the bedroom. They moved to either side of the bed and folded back the light cover and sheet, and tucked the netting up at the sides. I assumed the netting could be easily lowered if necessary. Now I thought they were finished and I thanked both of them and said good night. Che turned to me and lowered her eyes slightly. "You want Che to warm bed tonight?"

I froze. Did she mean sleep with me or was she only referring to some mundane thing. It wasn't cold enough to even consider any kind of bed warming pan, but I didn't want to make a fool of myself. For that matter, even if she did mean the more pleasurable alternative, I wasn't sure if I was ready for this yet. I said, "Thank you, Che, but I am all right tonight."

Then Mai-quan removed any confusion as to interpretation by saying, "Rather Mai-quan stay with you tonight instead?"

I looked from one to the other. How could I get out of this without insulting one or the other of them, something I certainly had no intension of doing. Slowly I said, "Thank you, Mai-quan, too, but I'm really all right."