Here's a story about some of the people in https://www.literotica.com/s/first-day-in-the-caribbean. They appear about in the last chapter. I spent a year writing the main First Day in the Caribbean then posted it a chapter a day. This and other stories about characters in the main story I'll post as I get them done. They won't be as polished.
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Rick surveyed the island through the circular window as the plane lined up with the runway. Small, but the geography didn't look too different from home, and the climate was supposed to be pretty similar. It would be nice to have at least something familiar while he decided if it had been a good idea to move about as far away from New Zealand as it was possible to get. Why do things halfway, eh?
The plane touched down and he walked toward the little terminal. The flight attendant had given him a couple brochures, so he perused them on the way. One had a map of the island on one side and a couple "city" maps on the back. The airport was at the edge of the biggest town; a place called Easthaven on the other side of the island was second, and that not much more than a village. This town had two cruise ship terminals, though, and the north one looked like it had a nice little industrial area. Should be able to find work without too much trouble. He absently traced a tattoo for luck.
The jitney driver had almost as many tattoos as Rick did, though they were Caribbean instead of Maori, and the driver didn't have any on his face. He was pretty friendly, and Rick learned some useful things. "They're always hiring good mechanics over in the north boatyard, and the farther back from the shore, the lower the rents are. Try Bayview apartments. The neighborhood's a little run down, but the landlord seems to keep the apartments in good repair and I happen to know he's a good guy, 'cause I live there."
He headed for the north terminal and knocked on a few doors. One place, a boat repair shop, was run by a wrinkled old guy who hired him on the spot after Rick answered a few questions about boat construction and operation, and because they both had been in the Navy, though for different countries. Armed with proof of a job, he located an efficiency to rent. By midafternoon he had a job and a place to stay.
He decided to walk around town for a while, maybe look at the other terminal just for grins. He probably wouldn't be getting down that way very often. About halfway there he came upon a short, well-built, well-tanned brunette in a crop top and shorts struggling with a ladder just inside the door of a shop that looked to be under construction.
"Here, let me give you a hand," he said, taking the upper end and directing it where she appeared to be aiming.
She averted her head but started up the ladder, and fastened some fishing net to the ceiling. Rick steadied the ladder while she screwed in a hook. Finally she looked down, and did a double-take. "Oof! I don't know you! You're not that creep next door! Thanks for the help! Are you dangerous?" She kind of grinned and looked anxious at the same time.
"Lots of people run screaming when they see me, but, no, I'm not dangerous. Except to some fish. Rick Kahurangi, at your service." He held out his hand, grinning.
She shook his hand and studied his face. "Karen Janks rhymes with tanks. Those are Maori, aren't they? Is that where you're from? Been here long? Plan to stick around? Have you been to the Great Barrier Reef? Fish, eh? Are you a fisherman?"
Rick grinned. "Only spearfishing. I was the New Zealand equivalent of a navy seal. Since retired. I'm here to escape the stereotyping we Maori tend to experience back home." He paused "Though I suppose it'll be pretty hard to avoid being noticed, even way out here."
"Well, you're certainly easy to spot in a crowd," she kidded. "Um, you willing to keep helping? I could use a hand, and I'll buy supper."
"Deal! I don't know my way around yet, so I could use some guiding. And I can pay my own way. It'll be enough payment to have the company of a friend for my first meal here."
"You didn't say 'attractive young lady' " she pretended to rebuke him.
"Well, I thought it, but I didn't want to come on too strong. These tattoos are scary enough." He made a ferocious face.
"Hmm. Maybe I'll act scared after I get all my work out of you. Let's see. I need to fasten this net in the middle of the ceiling-"
"I don't see a chair. Why don't you just climb the ladder?" He got under the ladder and pushed the top against the ceiling, nodding to her to suggest she start climbing.
Karen shrugged, "Well, I hope I'm not too heavy," she took a tentative couple steps. The ladder felt solid as a rock, so she went up enough to reach the ceiling comfortably.
The climb placed her exposed navel directly in front of Rick's face. Considering the short shorts she was wearing, he was pretty much forced to enjoy the view. Her T-shirt was short, so Rick didn't dare look up.
"Think here is a good spot?" She asked innocently.
Reflexively, Rick looked up to see what she was referring to, and couldn't help but see up under her shirt. Especially since her arms were up, the view was spectacular. Rick tore his eyes away to look at the ceiling where she was pointing. She was also looking down, and their eyes met. The look was too innocent, and Rick realized she knew good and well what he could see, and was enjoying it. "Um, yeah, looks just right." He couldn't keep from wincing as if he had been caught, and she gave him a smug look.
She screwed a cup hook into the ceiling to hang the net from, and Rick watched, um, everything. He felt his body start to respond.
Finished with the hook, Karen climbed down almost to the bottom of the ladder so she was eye to eye with him. "Thank you. Got enough oompf to do that a couple more times? There's a lot of ceiling." She said it with a straight face, but there was a twinkle in her eye.
"Oh yeah! You're easy. I mean light! Light!"
She smirked and pointed to the next location. They repeated the process another half dozen times, view and all. Rick was having a good time, and maybe Karen was, too. When they were done, she put her forearm against his shoulder and leaned into him companionably as they surveyed the ceiling. "Looks pretty good, eh?"
"Yup. Everything looks great. What do you want to do next?"
Karen tilted her head back and raised an eyebrow, "Wellll... Um, what say we go eat and get acquainted? I know a good place over on the next block."
"Sounds like a fine idea, but let me treat. I already got my treat."
"You are such a gentleman," she replied.
He laid the ladder on the floor against a wall and she locked up.
Over supper he learned that she was opening a scuba store after having spent several years as student, then instructor at a dive shop on another island. Things were okay at first, then deteriorated as the owner's wife's health began to fail and the owner started to take an interest in her. She decided she didn't need either the guilt or the drama. The other two dive shops on this island weren't hiring, so she decided to open her own.
She learned that he had decided to get away from the cultural stereotypes back home and seek his fortune elsewhere. He was pleased to have landed a job and found a room to rent his first day here. They both loved the sea, scuba, conservation, and teaching. They both disapproved of big oil, litter, and being obese.
"So you got a boyfriend or anything?" He asked.
"No, not yet anyway. You? In New Zealand maybe? Flight attendant? Landlady?"
"Ha I've been on the island one day, and I've already figured out that the men here must be blind, but no, no girlfriend. Yet." He gave her a direct look.
