Five 18-year-old friends on a trip to paradise.
*
Caleb tossed his duffel bag onto the oversized hotel bed. Sprawled down beside it, spread-eagled on his back. "I can't believe we finally made it!" he exclaimed.
Joey and Angela pulled open thick curtains, revealed wide glass doors. Large stone veranda, three lounge chairs and a hammock. Beyond, blue sky descending into crystal waters. Glorious sunlight. A lone cloud in the distance, like a clump of half-toasted marshmallows. Joey unlocked the glass doors, pulled them open, silencing the air conditioner. A gentle breeze eased into the room, refreshing.
Brie's voice calling from a different part of the suite "You all have got to see this!" Joey, Caleb and Angela raced toward her voice. They found her in the bathroom with Kyle, staring wide-eyed. A collective intake of breath. Paradise in marble. Huge whirlpool bathtub, separate shower with clear glass doors, private sauna and steam room. Plush terrycloth robes, an assortment of exotic soaps, scrubs, washes, shampoos, creams, lotions and body oils. "This place is incredible," Angela breathed. "All five of us could fit in that tub!" Smiles all around.
"No time to waste!" Joey proclaimed, clapping the others out of their reverie. "Let's get out of here and see what the rest of this place has to offer." They scrambled back out to the bedroom, ruffled through bags filled with bathing suits and suntan lotion. "So do we even change, or what's the deal?" Angela asked the room.
"Uh, bathing suits I guess," said Joey. Brie and Angela grabbed their suits and scampered back into the bathroom to change. "Hey ladies," Caleb called after them. "I thought we were going to loosen up a little this week." Muffled giggling on the other side of the door. No answer.
A few minutes later, the girls emerged to catcalls and whistles, throwing the boys withering looks. Brie in a black string bikini, tiny triangles barely keeping secrets. Angela in a silver one-piece, sides cut dangerously high. Suits on, they headed to the elevator.
-------------
Joey claimed that he thought up the idea first, but really it was a team effort. In fact, it was Brie's mother who first mentioned that the kids should take a vacation. "You've earned it," she had said, and she was right. They had reached the home stretch of their high school careers, the five of them. Excellent students, they had worked their asses off for the last three years and would be dominating various college campuses in the fall. They were as close to each other as any friends could be. So when Brie's mom suggested a vacation for spring break, they jumped at it. "Somewhere warm," said Angela. "Jamaica," said Caleb. But it was Joey who came up with the kicker.
"What's Devil's Island?" asked Angela.
"C'mon, you've never heard of Devil's Island?" said Joey. "It's that resort in Jamaica, you know, like, that place where kids go and, you know..." He was blushing. This was harder to say than he had thought.
"It's that naked sex resort in Jamaica," Brie blurted out. She feigned anger, blushed with excitement.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's not a sex resort," Joey hastily corrected. "It's just, you know, a little more, uh, liberal about rules and stuff like that."
"People just walk around naked all the time?" Kyle asked incredulously. Tingling.
"No, it's nothing like that. Well, I don't really know what it's like," said Joey. "Apparently there are parts of the resort, like pools and beaches and bars, where you don't have to wear bathing suits or anything like that." Stumbling over his words. "But, I mean, I don't think it's, like, a sex resort or anything." Hoped he was wrong.
"I don't know," said Caleb. "It sounds a little weird, doesn't it? I mean, I love you guys, but the last time I saw any of you naked was, like, ten years ago. And won't it just be a bunch of old flabby people anyway?"
"No, apparently there's an age restriction. You have to be under 30 to stay there. Anyway, the point isn't necessarily to get naked," said Joey. Yes it is, yes it is. "The point is that we've all known each other for how long now? We have no secrets from each other. This is just a great place to go and relax and let it all hang out." Blushing. "I mean...aw forget it, it was just a stupid idea anyway."
"No, wait," said Brie. She wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away. "Joey's right. I mean, come on. Who are we kidding? I know all of you well enough to know that each one of you is secretly thinking the same thing I am: that this sounds hot and you're all turned on by it." Accusing looks around the circle. Faces softening into smiles. They all silently acknowledged that she was right.
"OK, fine, let's do it," Angela said decisively. Her throat felt white hot.
-------------------
With a pleasant ding, the elevator doors parted and the five friends emerged into the open-air lobby of the Hotel at Devil's Island. The girls in sexy swimsuits, the boys in trunks, shirtless, firm bodies glistening in the heavenly Caribbean heat. Towels and suntan lotion. Groups of twenty-somethings mingled in the lobby, headed off toward various activities. Taking the lead, Joey led them down a small path toward the beach and pool area. No one spoke. They were nervous and excited, didn't know what to expect.
A fork in the road. A wooden post stuck into the ground, signs pointing in every direction, like the spines atop a pineapple. Flirt Cafe. Devil's Dancehall. Sinful. Beaches & Pools. They followed this last one. A young couple approached, smiled at them, walked past. "Well, they were wearing clothes," Caleb murmured. Disappointed. "There's only certain parts of the resort that are clothing-optional," Joey said. "We aren't there...yet."
The path split again. Another sign post:
<-- Saints Sinners -->
"Well it's the moment of truth, guys," said Brie. "Which way do we go?"
"Come on, we made it this far, we're not chickening out now," said Kyle. They turned right and continued down the path, butterflies swarming. A sharp bend, pink azaleas bursting all around them. The path opened up suddenly into a carpet of deep green grass. Bright blue water shone up from an enormous lagoon before them. Water cascaded down from sculpted rocks and plunged into the pool with a dull roar. Pool chairs circled the lagoon like eyelashes, bedecked in a rainbow mascara of beach towels and discarded clothing. Mostly-naked bathers frolicked in the water or lounged beside the pool. A beach ball landed softly on the grass near Joey's feet, and a young woman came bounding after it, seemingly unconcerned with her own bareness. She winked at him before grabbing the ball and scampering away, her bronzed behind bobbing back and forth.
"This is so...cool!"
"Yeah. Do we want to stay here, or keep going down to the beach?"
"Let's keep going," said Angela. "I want to see what the beach is like."
They walked across the lawn to where the path ran down a gentle slope. As they followed it, the path slowly turned from stone to dirt and then to sand. The vast ocean loomed ahead, patches of blue and green and every shade in between. Palm trees clustered like bristles on a hairbrush. The sun's heat poured over their bare shoulders and arms. A wooden sign announced their arrival at Sinner's Cove. Below, a smaller sign like an afterthought: Beach Rules: This space intentionally left blank. Someone with a sense of humor. They kicked off their flip-flops and headed onto the beach. Glistening white sand like silk between their toes. The beach was less crowded than the pool area, but there were several groups of people scattered across the strip of sand, which stretched around to their left and came to an abrupt halt at a cluster of rocks about two hundred yards away. Lush tropical bushes and palm trees lined the top edge of the beach, ensuring privacy and creating an intimate, cozy feel. The gorgeous waters of the Caribbean stretched into the horizon. Small waves crested offshore and nestled with a soft whisper against the pristine sand.
"Well, here we are," said Joey. "I guess we should find a place and settle down." He was nervous. Was this such a good idea?
Friendly smiles, waves, head nods as they made their way across the sand. Roaming eyes. Some of the beachgoers were still in swim suits or parts of swimsuits, but most were completely bare. The friends had never seen so many young naked people before. The sight was exhilarating. It felt great, natural. If all these people are comfortable being naked, then why shouldn't we be?
