Chapter 1 introduced the main characters, Mike, Monica, and Cheryl. Mike ends up leaving his bartending job with Monica to work as a mate on Cheryl's charter sailboat.
In Chapter 2, Mike's relationship with Monica suddenly changes from one of casual sex to something much deeper.
In this chapter, his relationship with Monica ends before it barely begins and he finds solace with Cheryl, who is still working through issues from her past.
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Chapter 3 - Changing Currents
I woke up the next morning alone in Monica's home. I searched the house and found a note waiting for me in the kitchen that read simply, "Last night was perfect. Love, M".
Monica had never left like this and I was puzzled. I waited around for another 30 minutes after taking a shower and putting on some clean clothes, before heading out to her bar on my way to the marina. As I walked along the busy streets, I continued to reflect on the evening I'd just shared with Monica and thought about whether I was making a mistake in working for Cheryl or leaving Nassau in the near future. Did Monica and I have a long-term future together?
When I got to her bar, one of the staff who knew me let me inside. He had opened the bar to start the morning inventory, but had not seen Monica. We both knew that wasn't unusual and she would be in before 9 o'clock to make sure everything was on track for opening at 10. I hung around until 9:30 and she still had not arrived, or left a message that she would be late. I was worried and was getting ready to go search for her when she breezed in just before the 10 o'clock opening time.
She stopped when she saw me and the smile froze on her face. She was not expecting to see me there. "Wait in my office," she whispered in my ear as she went past me to check on the kitchen and her staff. I walked slowly to the small broom closet that she called her office and waited. Other than a couple of four-drawer filing cabinets, a small desk, and a single rickety wooden chair, there wasn't much to it. As usual, her desk was littered with various purchase orders and delivery receipts that needed to be paid or filed away.
I thought back to one of our first sexual encounters when she sat up on the desk and had me fuck her in the middle of the day. It seemed like a long time ago. Monica showed up five minutes later to cut my daydream short, and closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry for leaving you this morning like I did," she apologized before I said a word. "Did you see my note?"
I nodded. "I meant every word," she continued. "When I woke up, the first thing I thought of was how wonderful it would be to spend every night like that for the rest of my life. But, I know you and more importantly, I know myself. At some point, the novelty of our relationship would wear off and another woman, probably younger and much prettier than me would catch your attention. I wouldn't deal with that very well."
I was shaking my head slowly and started to say something, but she put her fingers to my lips and held them there. "Shhh! I can be very jealous and demanding. All the wondrous time we've shared would be lost and forgotten in the ugliness of our fighting and break-up. I don't want my last memories of you to be bitter. I want to remember last night and the time before that when our love was pure and fresh."
"Why did you leave like that, though?" I asked.
"I needed time to think alone. I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision," she answered. "I'm much older than you and frankly, I'm not aging especially well. You are still very young and full of life. You deserve someone who will grow and change with you, not someone who will hold you back. I'm not the woman for you to spend the rest of your life with, as much as I would like to be."
Her eyes were wet with tears and I could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to keep herself under control. "This is the most difficult thing I've ever had to say, but last night was our last time together. I can't keep doing this with you. If I do, I'll never be able to let go and we'll end up resenting each other." Her voice choked up and I felt tears in my eyes.
She stretched up on her toes and kissed my lips softly. "Please don't fight me on this," she whispered sadly. I took her in my arms and hugged her tightly. "You know I love you," I said as I fought back my own tears. Monica just nodded her head next to mine, unable to say anything without breaking down completely.
We held each other like that for almost a minute before Monica finally pushed herself away and wiped the tears off her cheeks and eyes. "You need to go now," she said with a sniff. "Please."
I couldn't resist kissing her one more time, but her lips didn't respond. I turned around slowly, opened the door, and walked away without looking back. I wiped the tears from my eyes before passing through the bar area and gave a weak wave goodbye to people I knew as I walked outside into the bright sunlight.
I ended up heading towards the marina on autopilot and turned to walk down the pier when I looked up and saw a man standing behind Cheryl with one arm around her neck while his other arm tried to hold her struggling body. I forgot all about Monica and broke into a run. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing, asshole!" I yelled out at the guy.
He as about my height, but appeared beefier and stronger. When he looked up at me, I saw Cheryl go limp just before her head snapped back into his face. Cheryl hat came off and I could see a large flow of blood from the guy's nose and mouth area. Immediately after head-butting the guys face, Cheryl somehow twisted around inside his arms and brought one of her knees up hard into his crotch. The effect was immediate. The big guy let go of Cheryl and grabbed his groin as his knees buckled. Cheryl separated herself and grabbed his short hair to pull his head sideways towards her. At the same time, her knee came up fast to deliver another blow to the side of his head that made him drop like a rock. The whole scene was over in three or four seconds.
He fell on the cockpit deck and remained motionless while Cheryl stepped back and looked down at him. I leapt up onto the boat and she took a step back as she faced me in a defensive pose, still breathing hard from her attack. When she recognized me, her body relaxed, but she continued to keep an eye on her recent attacker. I pulled out my cell phone and called the Bahamian emergency number.
"What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.
"Calling the cops and an ambulance," I replied as II waited for someone to answer.
"Good luck with that," she mumbled.
An emergency operator finally answered and took my report. She promised a police officer would be there soon after verifying the name of the marina, the pier, and name of the boat. I hung up and looked at Cheryl.
"Are you hurt?" I asked anxiously when I noticed some blood on her shirt. She followed my glance.
"No, maybe some bruises. That's his," she replied, referring to the fresh bloodstains.
"What happened? Who is this guy?" I asked. She just shook her head.
"Nobody," she replied.
I picked up her hat and handed it back to her. "He must be somebody. I'm guessing he isn't some random stranger who just decided to come down here and attack you on your boat."
Cheryl's eyes flashed with anger briefly when she looked back at me and then softened. I also noticed her hands were starting to shake a little as the adrenaline started wearing off.
"He was the mate I had before you. He worked for me for about four days before I fired him. He came back to tell me I made a mistake," she answered evenly. The guy on the deck stirred as he came to. I pulled a short length of line used to tack down the mizzen sail and quickly used it to tie his hands behind his back. He struggled to resist, but Cheryl put a bare foot across the side of his neck and wasn't gentle about pushing down. "Keep moving around and I'll break your neck," she told him without emotion.
The guy glared up at her, but stopped trying to fight me. His face was a mess and from what I could tell, it looked like he had a broken nose. His upper lip was also pretty swollen and he spat out blood before saying, "You're making a big fucking mistake! Both of you!" He twisted around to give me a baleful stare.
About 20 minutes later, a police officer strolled down the pier and saw us. He slowed and looked around the boat as he got closer. When he saw the guy bleeding and tied up in the cockpit, his hand went to his holstered pistol and his eyes narrowed. "What's going on here?" he asked.
Cheryl looked down at the guy bleeding all over her deck. "I'm the owner of this boat. This guy worked for me for about four days before I fired him. He didn't take it well and came back. He attacked me and I fought back."
The police officer looked over at me. "Who are you?"
"I was just passing by and saw this big guy choking this woman. She managed to get free and kick him between the legs. When he fell, I guess he hit his head on the side of the boat," I replied. I felt Cheryl's eyes on me, but didn't look over at her. The officer called for backup and an ambulance on his radio, then remained on the pier. As he waited, he continued his questioning. The big guy on the deck claimed that he had just stopped by to try and get his job back, but the girl and I attacked him without provocation. I couldn't tell if the policeman believed him or not. When two more police officers arrived, they had each of us step off the boat and one of the officers went aboard to look around.
By the time he came out of the cabin and back on to the pier, the ambulance had arrived and the EMT started checking out the big guy. "Are you okay, Miss?" he asked Cheryl. She had remained mostly silent the whole time with her arms crossed over her body. She nodded, but he saw the blood on her shirt and came over to check her out as well. He noted the redness and bruising around her upper arms and neck, but satisfied himself that the blood on her shirt wasn't hers. He whispered something to the first officer who asked, "Can I see your papers?"
Cheryl went inside and came out a minute later with her boat registration paperwork and her passport. The officer reviewed them and handed them back. "And you, Sir?" he asked me. I pulled my passport from my backpack and handed it over. He glanced at it briefly, made some notes and returned it. "Do you want to press charges, Miss?" he asked.
Cheryl nodded as her attacker gave her a nasty look. They stayed around for a few more minutes before leaving with Cheryl's attacker in handcuffs and gauze packed up his nose to stop the flow of blood. From what I gathered listening to the EMT, the guy not only had a broken nose, but also a concussion from a blow on the side of his head, possibly from falling. The police officer nodded, made more notes and then looked back at Cheryl and me. "Are you planning to remain in Nassau much longer?" he asked.
Cheryl nodded. "I run charters out of here." He looked at me and I just nodded. "I'm not going anywhere." Shortly after the ambulance and two other police officers departed, the first officer said, "You were very lucky, Miss. Your attacker is much bigger than you."
Cheryl nodded, but remained silent. The officer smiled and left with one more admonishment to remain in Nassau. When he was out of earshot, Cheryl looked over at me. "You didn't have to lie for me," she said.
I looked at her innocently. "What do you mean? I told him exactly what I saw."
"He hit his head on the boat?" she said incredulously. Shaking her head, she climbed back on her boat and I followed. "What are you doing here anyway? I gave you the day off."
