Chapter 20: Spring Break!

A week later I was sitting on a beach, reading a Neal Stephenson novel and occasionally glancing over at Beth, lying on a towel, nude, well slathered in SPF50 sunscreen, reading Atlas Shrugged. Her choice in literature probably should have intimidated me but I was too damned relaxed to care.

The previous day we'd flown into Nassau and boarded a boat for a two-hour cruise to a private island—only six beach houses on the whole island, four of which were vacant the whole time we were there. The place we were staying in was great—a private dock with a great catamaran and a couple of jet skis, and a beach house that probably cost more than Beth's parents' house.

We'd unpacked in record time—after all, how much stuff do you need for a trip like this—changed into our suits and hit the beach—fine white sand, bright fish darting away as we splashed into the clear blue water and ... silence. I never realized how much noise surrounded me every day. Even at the farm we could still hear the muted sound of cars on the road. But here—nothing but the soft sound of the waves as they washed the sand and an occasional bird squawking in the distance.

After we goofed around in the water for a while, Beth walked up on the beach, turned back to face me, and—with a huge smile on her face—pulled the strings on her top and tossed it in the air. Life was good.

I waded out of the water and leered at her, "Amazing, just amazing."

"Thank you, kind sir!" Beth grinned.

"That's not what I meant. I was trying to figure out how I ended up here with the wrong girl."

"The wrong girl?"

"Yeah, The girl I'm thinking of panicked at the thought of putting on that suit in the privacy of her own bedroom. And here you are wearing only half of it—and in public, too!"

"In public? Suddenly a school of fish and two gulls constitute the public?" she chuckled. "But you're right, I'm not that girl. At least not any more."

We'd both had enough sun for a while, so we gathered our stuff and went back to the house to dress.

"Let's grab the ATV and explore!" Beth suggested.

"Sounds good. But I'll drive. Remember the last time you were behind the wheel of a four-wheel-drive vehicle!"

"But it's not snowing!"

"No sense in taking any chances," I said just before the pillow whacked me in the side of the head.

We got dressed and I grabbed the keys from a hook next to the door before Beth could get to them.

Our exploration didn't take very long, the road was really nothing more than a path connecting the six residences on the island—not real exciting.

Later we were back on the beach, Beth again lying topless on her towel and I was rubbing sunscreen into her back when I heard a cough. I turned around and saw a couple standing by the water, having obviously walked down the beach.

"Hello," the guy said. He was about thirty as was his companion, a stunning blond with a figure very much like Beth's. "We heard someone was going to be staying at Matt's place this week and just wanted to walk over and welcome you. We're Bob and Sue Webber." I stood up and shook their hands as Beth tried to figure out where her top ended up.

Sue just chuckled, "Don't be embarrassed, just wrap yourself in your towel. We've all been caught once or twice."

Beth gathered the towel around her and stood up, trying not to look too mortified.

"This is Beth Jones and I'm Tommy Randahl. Nice to meet the neighbors."

"Are you down here for school break?" Sue asked. "I know a lot of the colleges are out this week."

"Ah, yeah," was all Beth could get out. I didn't correct their assumption that we were in college.

"Well, we just wanted to stop by and say hello. Stop over at our place if you get the chance." With that they continued their walk down the beach. Just before they headed around the outcropping at the end of our beach Sue turned around, winked and said, "We won't interrupt you again!" Then she scampered around the corner.

I looked over at Beth, "Are you okay?"

"I almost forgot I didn't have my top on! This place could be dangerous."

"Somehow I don't think you'd shock anyone. Remember, most of the world is a lot easier about this stuff than the good old U S of A.

"It's going to take some getting used to," Beth said as she spread out her towel and lay down again. "Now, I believe you were in the middle of something."

I reached for the SPF50...

Beth had fallen asleep during my sunscreen application so I cleaned my hands off in the Caribbean and decided to check out the neighborhood. I'd walked up the beach for maybe a mile and had just turned around to walk back when I saw Beth walking toward me. I noticed she'd found her top.

"I almost panicked when I woke up and you weren't there. Then I figured your itch to find out what was around the next corner had you off exploring, so—"

"—So you figured you'd try it yourself, right?"

Beth got her little-girl-lost look, scuffed her foot in the sand and, in that little-girl voice that she knows I can't resist, said, "I was all alone a-and I got scared."

The whole act would have been much more believable if she hadn't giggled.

I picked her up, waded into the water and dropped her in. She came up sputtering, then just floated on her back and looked at me, "Tommy, I love you so much. Do you know that?"

I pulled her to her feet and wrapped my arms around her, "I'm glad to hear that. 'Cause I'm not going to let you go."

We walked back to the house and grilled a couple of steaks for dinner then sat on the beach to watch the sun set. Being from the more northerly latitudes we weren't ready for how quickly it goes down in the Tropics. That first night we were lying in bed listening to the surf when Beth rolled over and whispered in my ear, "Can we just stay here forever? I don't want to go home."

"Hey, we just got here. Don't you think we should let the newness rub off before we start changing citizenship?"

"Well ... if you insist." Then she snaked her hand between us and grabbed me, "Will this thing work when it's out of the country?"

It did.

The next morning I was awakened from a most pleasant dream by a cold sensation in my crotch, followed by a warm one. I opened my eyes to see Beth leaning over me with half an orange in one hand and a wicked grin on her face. She squeezed the orange and licked the juice off me again.

"Mmm, hi there," I said as I stretched. "I'd ask what's for breakfast, but it looks like you've already decided."

"Don't bother me. I'm trying to make the perfect orange smoothie and I've got to concentrate." It only took a couple of more minutes for her to get it right. She seemed to enjoy it so much I figured I'd try to make one too, so I grabbed her, rolled her onto her back and got to work.

After we showered, Beth grabbed her book and started for the beach.

"Um, understand I'm not complaining, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh, you're right. Can you bring the sunscreen?" With that—and a shake of her perfect derriere—she was gone. What could I do? I grabbed my book, the bottle of SPF50, and followed her beautiful cheeks down the path.

After slathering up her back and lying in the sun reading for a short time I figured it was time to leave YT and Hero to their own devices for a while and go for a swim. I laid my book down, grabbed a mask and fins and set off to explore our little bay.