Chapter 42: Jake

"Anybody ever tell you you've got great tits, Ing? Oh, wait. I've told you before, haven't I?"

"Sid — you're a fucktard," replied Ingrid sweetly. "But thanks. I know you mean it well."

Sid lowered his voice, and I think he meant to sound sexy. "Hmm hmmm. Great nipples too."

Well, he was correct there. Ingrid's nipples were jutting out through her bikini, and they looked huge, even on her rather large breasts. Definitely a Nordic goddess there. There was just a hint of a cool breeze blowing past the pool on the aft deck, which probably accounted for her nipples popping out. But the sun was definitely shining down, and I was pretty sure it would be positively hot by noon.

I was sitting on the edge of the pool, with my feet dangling in the water, and really nothing that I could think of that I needed to do. Bummer. I mean, life's rough ... I gave up paying attention to Sid and Ingrid for a moment, and just enjoyed looking out at the harbor whose water that had that tropical blue glow, and at the palm trees and fruit trees and vines that covered the shore and the hillside.

The native Fijians have a reputation for laziness, or so I'm told. So even though there were plenty of people living here, the Brits brought in workers from India to slave away for them. They just never were successful getting the natives to want to cut cane, build walls, or fell trees. Go figure. Here was a society based on tropical islands where the fish practically jumped out of the ocean, and the fruit actually did drop from the trees. The temperatures were always warm, so clothing was for decoration only. It was far enough away from anywhere that I doubt they had to worry about attacks. I'm not about to belittle them for enjoying life and eschewing work...

I glanced back at my fellow crewmates, only to find them quite close together. Sid was now sitting on the edge of the pool, about eight feet to my left. Somehow, he'd lost his swim trunks. Ingrid was between his knees, and my guess was that Sid was responsible for her bikini top floating towards me. I sure hope she'd sunscreened her tits. She was fondling Sid, much to Sid's obvious pleasure. I could just hear what Ingrid was telling him.

"So here's the deal, Macho Man. I'm going to suck your cock. If you blow your wad in less than five minutes, you've got to clean and restow the entire port anchor chain by yourself. I figure it will take you the rest of the day. But, ... if you can hold off, then I'll help with the cleaning, and I'll be your slave tonight. Sound like a bet?"

"Oh, man! Fuck yes."

Ingrid's eyes flicked up to mine, which shifted up to meet hers none too soon. It felt kind of pervy to be oogling them... "Jake, can you time us for five?"

"Um, sorry, Ingrid. I'm going to head down and see if I can't drag Saralinda out of the office. She's been down there since breakfast, which is a crime on a day like this. I think I'd better leave you two alone."

Ingrid quickly reached for Sid's wristwatch and pulled it off, then tossed it at me. "Spoilsport. Well, set a timer then," she said, flashing me a big smile. The ends of her blonde braids teased the tops of her breasts. She winked at me, and I'm pretty sure one of her nipples winked too. Reluctantly, I looked down at the watch in my hand, pushing the buttons, finally figuring out which ones I needed to push to start a timer, and set it for five minutes. I stood up, grabbed my towel, then bent down and put the watch near them. Really, I barely stared at Ingrid's tits while I was at it. "Enjoy," I said, and pushed the start button. The electronic beep was very shortly followed by a groan from Sid, but I was already toweling off and heading for the stairs. I was pretty sure I'd see Ingrid around in the afternoon, and that Sid would be under the bow deck working on a chain...

Down below, I glanced in Michelle's open door. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, and looked to be preparing the menus for the week. I gave her a smile and a wave, which she ruefully gave back to me, and then I headed into the office next door.

The first thing I saw was that the tray from the fax machine had hit the floor again. It was poorly designed; some of the hooks that held it in place were just plastic, and one had broken off on the right side. It still worked, mostly, but it was easy to knock loose. I'd meant to get Henri to look at a fix. I was pretty sure he'd be able to come up with some Cajun ingenuity. If not, I'd have to call for a replacement, if a replacement could be found, or...

Then I saw her, and my heart stopped for a moment, or maybe it was time itself that ceased. It felt like a squirrel ran down my back, and then my chest felt like it was squeezed in a vise, and my legs turned to concrete. Saralinda was in the far corner of the office, huddled in a tight ball, rocking, and insensible. There were tears smeared on her face. In her hands was a crumpled page or two from the fax machine.

After two or three beats of my heart didn't happen, I could move again, though it felt like there was a hole in my chest where my heart should be. Thankfully some ability to think returned. I hit the red button on the intercom — a button I'd never used before — and then my voice was all over the ship, amplified in every room and hallway.

"Moira, Gary — to the office, STAT!" I spent a moment uselessly wishing that Joanne were still around too. Then I rushed over to Saralinda.

I knelt down and stroked her face, finally getting her to look at me. I think she recognized me through the agony writ all over her face, but then she just pulled herself tighter and wailed. I dropped to the floor and tried to take her in my arms, but it was like holding onto a quaking stone. As I held her, the shaking got worse, like she was becoming catatonic.

Moira pulled up short in the doorway, startling me, and Gary all but ran into her as he arrived a moment later.

"Jake — sedative!" Moira's voice cut through my panic.

I tried to think, though I could barely drag my attention from the girl in my arms. "Um, Diazepam, uh — rack 2, in a white box. Shit ... she's about, what, 125 pounds? 10ml. No, better make that fifteen. Hypodermics are in the drawer next to the scale."