Making The Most Of It
Evie felt that she could have belted him for telling her the news, now of all times, here in the holiday resort that they had chosen because of the reports they had read, and the seamy film clips that they had seen, of the braver ones who had been here and had uploaded afterwards. That people were willing to do that continued to amaze her.
Luke had been recalled by his employer, a state prosecution service. What Luke had failed to tell her was that there was every chance, because of the caseload, of this happening while he was away.
"It was nice of you to tell me...after the event!"
They were on effing holiday and were having a riotous time -- plenty of sun, sea, and far from usual sex.
Luke had really gotten into the swing of things and the group that they had fallen in with would always whoop if one of them was heard to express the slightest doubt about the next 'adventure'.
"We don't do boring...we don't do boring!" they would all chant, even if some of the girls were often seen to be less than enthusiastic about what was proposed. Their chanting aroused wry bemusement in others who looked on and were not in their group.
"You stay babe, it's only for a few more days," he had said as if it was his decision to make.
"Three days to be exact!" she had snapped in reply.
"Yeah, three, before you too have to come home."
They lived together, off and on, but after this news, she wondered if it would be 'off' again.
At least the group that they associated with would come up with ideas to fill the gap that Luke leaving her would create. Bonds with each other were loosened some more. She had seen that as they pursued a good time and many of them, perhaps all for all she knew, could let go.
She'd let him in, just so that Luke would go away happy, but she had no intention of going to the airport with him and hanging around while he secured a stand-by place on some scheduled flight. Her holiday package was paid for and she would see it out...without him, it was now clear.
Yeah, she would let Luke slip her a length before he was on his way and she decided how to make up for him not being there.
After what she had seen the others get up to, she wondered if she wasn't kidding herself about not wanting to go there or what would lie in store, even for her. She would make the most of the time she had left with those she met and when Luke was no longer with her.
♥
Uneasy that she should be seen out on her own, she strolled into town from her boutique hotel, the palm tree-lined boulevard crowded and the rush of the traffic so typical of the evenings in the resort. The beach club was where they always met and where she and Luke had first befriended those who had rented a five-bedroomed place with its swimming pool. Nothing had been arranged, it was assumed that she and Luke would be there during the evening, only this time she would be unaccompanied.
The evening is warm and the last of the sun's rays can just be seen lighting up the horizon, the fishing harbour lights twinkling off the sea surface and she can already hear the rhythmic beat of the music from the beach club. She knows how the evening will play out for those she will see again. Happy and wrecked by drink, then from the frenzy of disco dancing, they would all tumble into a bus taxi and return to the villa, there to be wasted by group sex or, as it had been for her with Luke, one-on-one and in someone else's bed.
The holiday was a far cry from what she was used to, everyone shamelessly walking about the house naked or frolicking in the pool, caressing sun oil onto firm flesh, lying on the sunbeds with arms and legs wrapped around a partner of the moment. It had all felt too much, the hedonistic ways of those they had taken up with, and she was unwilling to fully let go.
Now, with Luke away, anything could happen.
Those she had befriended all had well-paid jobs, pursued careers and, for all she knew, only let every standard slip when out here on holiday. She had said nothing, except to Luke, about what the others did by the poolside, in the water, or the quiet house and a bedroom where they could frolic undisturbed. They knew each other from back home and so they were unembarrassed to be seen walking around the poolside naked. They teamed up in pairs or even threes, the girls working the men or the other way about.
She and Luke hadn't left them to it, a lurid fascination keeping them there. One-on-one, the company was more subdued but it took just a touch or a whispered request, and the sliding caress of a guy's, or doll's, hands to seduce them away.
Was she really going to spend three days with the group when she knew what would happen between them all and that was likely to involve her?
Her body was flattered by a floral print swirly halter-necked bandeau top and a matching skirt cinched at her waist by a fabric belt. She had made herself feel and look special, her clothes revealing her tanned arms and legs, her bare midriff, and all of it flattering her busty figure. She had forsaken a bra and her top sculpted her fleshy breasts that were large and firm. Her choice of clothes for what could be a warm night to go clubbing also made her feel sexy.
Who was to know that she wore little underneath unless she allowed him to discover that? She was planning to have a good time and keep control of what might happen, even if she was possessed by an adventurous mood. She would have to make up for Luke not being with her.
"Nothing's going to come in the way of our time away, I promise," Luke had said as they boarded the plane that would take them to a Mediterranean island and a swanky resort.
The sound of her white flats echoed off the pavement as she walked steadily. Jeez, she was still angry with him for being called away by his work.
Her naturally wavy brown hair, which usually wafted on the breeze and brushed her shoulders, is now tied back in a single ponytail and is fastened with a glittery grip.
Her mind churned over all that had happened and how he had brought her the news, his iPhone in hand. She had refused to read the text to be seen on the screen.
"Sorry, babe, but there's nothing to be done except for me to go back."
What was the point in arguing it out with him? She had accepted the situation with some resignation but also hoped that something could still be salvaged from the days that remained of her holiday. She might even get to pursue some different fun from what she had discovered with Luke. She even found herself looking forward in anticipation of a new adventure, her behaviour not shackled by Luke's presence. She'd allowed him to 'play' so why shouldn't she?
"Do some sunbathing, swim, relax, and go to the club we met the others at, have some fun. We've been open with each other, so far," he had suggested, much to her surprise; but then she had seen to it that there was a limit to her tolerance.
And now, here she was approaching the club on her own. How long would that last, knowing how the others behaved and the look of one guy, in particular, never far from her mind? It had been that way even when Luke was around, but she'd made light of it and given him no encouragement. Flirting was fun, though, and Luke had the nerve to call her a 'prick teaser'.
Perhaps she wouldn't behave like that any longer but step out on a different path, just for a change, and make the most of it.
♥
The club was already packed, at eight-thirty, and the noise hit her like a wave that rolled in and almost lifted her off her feet. People are dancing and frolicking on the deck and out onto the beach, paper beakers in hand as they sipped and danced, rubbing suggestively up against each other in time with the hypnotizing beat of the music.
She stepped inside the bar area, unsure of just what to do as she was on her own. She looked around frantically for a familiar face and resisted the temptation to look at her iPhone on which she had loaded social meeting apps that had begun to link her to the others.
The idea that it might now be a means to meet up and have sex with one of the guys in the group lifted her. She even wanted it to happen as she had yet to fully deal with being alone here.
"Yeah, I know...I decided to stay."
She waited patiently at the bar, in the throng, and tried to ignore the looks of guys coming onto her, shoving one away with a scarcely heard expletive as he touched her bare midriff.
Luke had been okay but their sex life didn't set the world alight. He was often too tired when he came home for that to happen and the holiday, when the pressure was off him, had become a revelation. She had not heard him say, not once, that "he was too tired".
Now, she could flirt and wonder, from the looks she got in response if she was what the guy was after and make the desertion of her loyalty to Luke of temporary unimportance. Could she go through with it, if the opportunity arose and with Luke back at home?
With a tumbler of strong rum and coke in hand she found a spot to stand and listen to the music. She also looked at her iPhone screen and was soon dismayed to see that she had a message on Ablo, an app those in the group she's taken up with have used to keep in touch.
Where are you, Evie?
The handsome and smiling face of Bret, the 'Lone Ranger' as she thinks of him as he hasn't been seen playing the games the others are into and he's out here on his own, fills the screen. Bret's close but she cannot see him as she's dwarfed by those in the throng around her.
It is only when she feels she will be overwhelmed by doubt and unease at being here alone, and also a sense of keen anticipation to be doing something that does not involve Luke, that she sees him and meets the admiring gaze of Bret upon her.
She sees a handsome guy through new eyes, a guy whose skin is deeply tanned, his sandy brown hair lighter. She has seen him by the pool, his body strong and toned. He's behaved differently and has never been seen fully in the nude. He's not paraded himself shamelessly, like the others. He's not walked around with his dick swinging like Kieran, Max and Jake. They came out here with their girls, Caitlin, Erica, and Tamsin but for them, anything goes.
In those games, Bret's been an outsider just like her, and even Luke strayed. Bret's different; she could get into him a lot more and has the days and nights to do that.
"Hi, you're the man in the picture on my screen," she says, laughing, and holding his gaze upon her.
