The Beach
Nav wouldn't say where they were going. He told her to bring swimwear and light clothing, and that they'd be there for a week. But what they would do and where they would be was a surprise.
It was their first trip since the week after their enslavement. The mystery was exciting. Meena knew there were so many beautiful places to see that she'd never be able to guess their destination, but she enjoyed trying. Was it in the Caribbean? The Mediterranean? The South Pacific? It could be anywhere.
Meena had thought of a way to give Nav a nice surprise, but she needed permission first. "Master, I have an idea for a little gift I'd like to give you. I'd like it to be a surprise, but I have to tell you a little about it to be sure you won't object to me doing it."
"You have my attention," Nav said.
She took a deep breath. "I'd like to change the way I look," she said.
Meena said she thought Nav might enjoy it if she made some fairly drastic alterations to her appearance. "Nothing permanent," she said. "But I'm thinking of some changes that might seem pretty extreme. I think you'll like it, but you've told me you are happy with my appearance now. You need to tell me if you don't think it's a good idea. If I do it, we'll be stuck with parts of it for a while."
Nav smiled. "You want to make it seem like I'm with a brand new girl, don't you?"
"That's it exactly!" she said.
"As long as it's not permanent, go ahead. I'm flattered that you want to do this for me," Nav said. "I'm sure I'll like it, whatever it is."
When Meena used the word drastic, she was being completely accurate. She started by beginning a tanning routine to make her skin darker. Her natural complexion was already darker than average, but the deep tan made her look exotic. It was partly because she had a fitness competition coming up, and she needed to be as dark as possible.
The biggest change involved head-to-toe body art. She sat at the computer, pulled up a full length picture of her in a tiny black bikini, then painted abstract shapes in black and scarlet. The design wrapped around her body artfully, and she incorporated the outline of the swimsuit into the pattern. On the day before they left, Meena took the computer file down to a tattoo parlor, where they put her in a printing booth that applied the ink. It would last until Meena applied an ointment that washed it off. It used new pigments that looked better than old-style tattoos, with brighter colors and sharper lines. Meena expected to remove the tattoos, but they were designed not to fade if she decided to leave them permanently.
The final stop was at a hair stylist, who looked at a photograph of a jet-black mohawk with spiky hair on top. The spikes were tipped in the same shade of scarlet as her new tattoos. When Meena got home she stood before the mirror and looked at her new appearance.
She loved it. She looked like a wild woman, which was exactly what she was going for. She realized that the look needed some fairly extreme makeup, but that was easy to do.
She unveiled the changes to Nav the evening before they left. He was shocked - in a good way. "Meena, you look amazing," he said. "So sexy. You are as beautiful as ever, but in a completely different way. I love it. Thank you for doing this for me."
"You're welcome, Master," she said happily. "I am so glad you like it."
The next morning, Feva loaded their luggage into Nav's jet. "Will this be a long flight, Master?" Meena asked. "About 7 hours," he said. "We've got plenty of recordings and refreshments. Should be pleasant enough." It turned out that they used the time to renew their memberships in the Mile High Club. Twice. It triggered pleasant memories of what they did the first (and second) time they flew together. It was so much better than in-flight movies.
Most of the flight was over an ocean, but it ended when they approached a very large island with white sand beaches, clear waters, and coral reefs they could explore with fins and snorkels.
The first day they settled in. They explored the resort inside and out, looked at shops that seemed to only sell things they already owned or didn't want, and sampled seafood dishes in the restaurant. There was a club that featured dancing, so that's how they spent the first evening.
On the second day things got interesting.
They woke up early so they could go to the beach. Meena was immune from sunburn and skin cancer, and light could not dry out her skin, but Nav needed sunscreen. They walked to the beach with Feva, who carried their belongings. Feva sat in a chair far enough away to give him a good view of the surroundings. It wasn't likely that he'd have to react to anything, but there was a slight chance he might be needed. If some drunk saw Meena and pestered her, Feva would make that stop.
