We meet on the white sand beach of Cancun, Mexico. I was a nineteen year old desperately trying to escape the stifling small Southern town where I had lived all my life. This was my big adventure. I had worked for months stocking shelves and cashiering. I had finally saved enough to purchase a one-way ticket to this mysterious paradise about which my friend had told me almost mythic stories.
She was now somewhat happily settled as the wife of a staff sergeant in the US Army, but when we drank she would once again relive her wild days travelling about Mexico on the back of a motor bike with some long abandoned lover. She spoke of how you could live for weeks upon a few dollars, how friendly the people were, and how beautiful the land was. With each of her drunken tales, my own spirit of adventure was ignited.
So here I sat underneath the scant shade of a cabana at one of the exclusive hotels. Of course, I was not staying there. I had checked into one of the numerous local and less expensive hotels in the centre of town. But with a little help from my smattering of Spanish and the hotel clerk's scant English, I had finally figured out how to take the bus from the city out to the hotels on the beach where most of the American tourists could be found.
I had been talking for several minutes to a very nice, but not exactly my type sergeant in the British army. He was stationed in neighbouring Belize. He was enjoying a two week leave with friends in Cancun and like me was staying in the city.
Then I see him; approaching us like an ancient Greek god coming forth out of the breaking ocean waves. He was tall; over six feet three. His body was firm muscles, but not bulky. He had regulation short brown hair and matching deep brown eyes.
He smiled as he reached us and in a deep, cool British accent said 'How bout a fag, mate?' Being unfamiliar at this point with British slang, my first thought was damn, a fag; what a waste. But I soon learned from his friend that fag meant cigarette. Yet the more this guy talked the less interested I was in him.
I was still young then and the insecurities of being a late bloomer continued to haunt me. When I had graduated from high school, the previous year I had been heavier and sported buck-teeth and acne. Yet in the short space of that year, my teeth now were straighter, thanks to the metallic braces still on them. I had lost about ten pounds and sported a rather nice figure, despite my smallish but perky 32A breasts. My skin that had already been improving now glistened with a golden brown tan thanks to the Mexican sun.
But at this point, I had yet to develop a sense of the power of my womanhood. I remained essentially the shy and insecure little girl I had been in high school. So I was very turned off by his arrogant, cocky attitude. I actually considered excusing myself a couple of times.