Chapter Nine
Christian
Mark grinned at me as I slid into the car. “Looks like you enjoyed that,” he said.
I snorted and buckled my seatbelt. “Is it that obvious?” I asked.
“Your dopey grin could probably be seen from space.”
“Watch it, driver, or I may just have to hire someone else,” I said only half-jokingly.
“It was good, though?” Mark pressed.
“It was amazing,” I said. “I don't think I've ever had a better massage. Although to be fair, I needed this massage.” I rolled my shoulders. “God, I feel loose.” I paused for a moment. “And the girl, Gretchen. She was pretty attractive as well.”
“Yeah, she is,” Mark agreed. “One of the hottest girls on the island, probably.”
“You know her?”
“Everyone knows everyone on this island, man,” Mark told me. “I don't know her well; we're not close friends or anything like that. But we both grew up here, so.”
“Oh, yeah. That makes sense.” I was a bit disappointed, and I only hoped that I hid it well enough from my tone. Apparently not, though.
“You were hoping I could give you the dirt on her?” Mark guessed.
“Yeah, something like that,” I said. “Although to be fair, we already had a pretty long conversation, and I learned a lot about her.”
“Did you get her number?” Mark asked. “Or better yet, did you have sex with her in the massage room?”
“No,” I said, suddenly wondering why I hadn't even bothered to ask for her number. Sure, I could come back to another massage, but I would rather not. I supposed it must be because she seemed like too much work. I was sure that I could get any girl on the island to go to bed with me, but she'd expect me to take her to dinner a few times first and to take things slow. There would probably be lots of kissing and stuff like that before we ever got to the main attraction. I had never really been that kind of guy.
“I'm sure you'll get her anyway, man,” Mark said, shrugging a little. “You get all the girls, right?”
“All the sexy ones,” I said, grinning.
“Hey, why don't I take you out to one of the local bars tonight?” Mark suggested. “We can chill, have a few drinks-”
“You can show me off to all your friends,” I said, guessing that that was the real purpose of the outing.
“Yeah, that too,” Mark said, grinning unabashedly. “But I know a great little local place, always a ton of hot chicks there. Maybe not quite Gretchen's level of hot, with her smoky eyes and all, but I'm sure you'd find someone to go home with.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” I agreed. “What time should I meet you?”
“This place that I have in mind, they also do a mean Hawaiian burger with pineapple and cheese and stuff on it. Or also a fucking sexy surf 'n turf burger. And a bunch of other things. So, we could meet at, like, six and get dinner over there before getting drinks if you wanted to make a night of it. Or we could just meet a little later and get drinks, up to you.”
“Burgers sound great,” I said. “I'll meet you down in the lobby at six.”
“Cool, cool,” Mark said. He winked over at me. “I'm excited to see The Great Christian Wall in action.”
I snorted and punched his arm. “Yeah, yeah, you freaky fan boy,” I said. “Don't worry. I'll be in fine form tonight.”
Inside the hotel, I went straight to the concierge desk, leaning down against it.
“Mr. Wall!” the woman, Cindy, exclaimed, standing up to greet me. “And how was your massage?”
“That's why I'm here,” I told her. “I'd like to book the same for tomorrow, if possible.” I didn't need another massage so soon, but I just wanted to see Gretchen again. Maybe I'd get her number this time.
“Gretchen's the best, isn't she?” Cindy said. “I can call her up and see what her schedule is like. Is there anything else you'd like to schedule for tomorrow, sir?”
“Nah, just the massage is fine,” I said. “I'll probably just laze around on the beach again in the morning.”
“That sounds like a very good plan,” Cindy said, as though I needed her input.
I went upstairs to get ready to go out. I lay down on the bed, spreading out and getting myself comfortable. Then, I slipped my hand down my shorts, closing my eyes and imagining that it was Gretchen's hand on me, her firm grip tugging at my member and bringing me quickly to full hardness.
I groaned, surprised by how close I already felt. Then again, she'd basically been teasing me for two hours, as I was spread out there on the table. I could only hope that she had been as turned on by it too. She'd certainly been distracted by my cock more than once. I'd caught her looking at it, her eyes wide and face filled with lust.
I twisted my wrist on the upstroke, thumb playing with my slit, pressing against it and getting at the precum beading there. I could only imagine what an amazing lay Gretchen might be. She had glorious muscles, and I remembered that she had said she ran and surfed and did all sorts of things like that. I bet she could ride me hard, giving as good as she got.
I gasped a little at that mental image, of her bearing down on me right there in the middle of the massage parlor. Oh fuck, that was sexy. I came hard and lay there for a long moment, just panting against the sheets. It had been a while since I'd come that hard just from my own hand. Clearly, I needed to get laid.
Fortunately, if Mark was telling the truth, I would have no problem finding someone to take home that night.
Indeed, there were plenty of sexy women in the bar that evening, some even around the table that Mark led me over to. “Well, man, this is the gang,” he said, gesturing around at the group. “That's Sunny over there, and Michael next to her. And then Bobby and Ella and Sammy.”
“Don't worry,” Sunny said, tossing her blonde hair back. “We don't expect you to remember that.”
I laughed and scooted into the booth with them. “Nice to meet you all,” I said.
“Nice to meet you,” one of the girls, I think it was Ella, I was already forgetting their names, told me. Her gaze was heated, and I could already tell she wanted to be the one to go home with me that night. I'd have no complaints about that.
For now, I turned my gaze toward the menu, scanning the options.
“So, how long are you in Hawaii for, man?” Bobby asked after we had ordered our burgers.
“Not sure,” I admitted. “I'm drifting around until the end of the year, so…”
“Yeah, we saw that press conference,” Sammy said. “What was up with that? You don't seem like the kind of guy who apologizes for having fun.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “It's just work politics,” I said. “One of the other owners of the company thinks I'm tarnishing the company's image.”
“But without you, they don't even have a company image,” Ella said.
“I know that,” I said. “I know that, and you know that, and somewhere deep down, they know that as well. Doesn't matter. He was being a dick about it.”
“That's so unfair,” Ella said, shaking her head.
“Yeah, well.” I didn't exactly know what to say to that. I had to wonder what they all did for a living. Mark was a cab driver, and between that and the way they were all dressed, almost like twenty-somethings on vacation, I doubted they were doing anything really meaningful with their lives at the moment. Probably just bumming around and waiting to catch the next big wave.
Not that there was anything wrong with that. Sometimes, I kind of wished that that was the life I had chosen for myself. Then again, I did like having plenty of money in my bank account.
“So, you lied to Kelly on The Latest about having a girlfriend?” Sammy asked.
I snorted. “I don't think I ever really told her that I had a girlfriend, just that I had someone who I was seeing,” I said. “There's a big difference there.”
There was laughter around the table. “Man, I wish I could be you,” Michael said.
A little while later, after we'd eaten, I found myself alone in the booth with Ella while everyone else danced or chatted at the bar.
“So, why Hawaii, anyway?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Because of the beautiful women, of course.” I winked at her and enjoyed seeing the way she blushed a little.
“Have you ever been with a Hawaiian woman before?” she asked. “We're the best lays in the world.”
I chuckled a little at how bold she was. I appreciated that in a woman. “Is that so?” I asked. “Maybe I'm going to need a little demonstration, then, before I go back to frigid New York City.”
“That could happen,” Ella told me. “Come on, let's go dance.” She got up and led the way toward the dance floor, her eyes never leaving mine as she swayed her hips to the beat.
I laughed a little, enjoying the show, and slipped out of the booth to follow her. Jesus, a pretty girl in a red dress: what more did a guy need in life? But as I watched her spin around me, her hips gyrating and her hands moving with the rhythm, it wasn't her that I was thinking of.
I wondered what Gretchen would look like, out dancing like this, with her hair falling loose. That tattoo on her thigh would peek out from beneath her dress, and she would look enticingly at me with those beautiful, baby blue eyes of hers. At the end of the night, we would tumble out into the warm air and-
I broke off that train of thought, wondering where exactly it had come from. That was the second time today that I'd found myself fantasizing about the woman. The first time, I could forgive myself, especially since I'd been thinking about her in an entirely sexual context. But not the second time.
I frowned. It was almost as though I was starting to imagine a relationship with her.
Then again, maybe I was. That wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it? And it wasn't like I was going to be in Hawaii forever. If things went south, I would never have to see her again.
I nodded a little to myself. Tomorrow, after my massage, I'd ask her to go to dinner with me. And hey, maybe she'd surprise me and let me take her home with me after just the first date.
I tapped Mark on the shoulder and jerked my head toward the door. He followed me over. “You're leaving already?” he asked when we could hear one another again.
“Yeah, I think so,” I said, shrugging a little. “This has been a ton of fun, but I'm just not feeling it tonight. Maybe I'm still a bit jetlagged or something. I don't know. Anyway, I'm going to walk home. I'll see you tomorrow, though.”
“Hey man, it's okay that you're not taking anyone home with you,” Mark said, slugging me lightly in the arm.
I frowned at him. “I know that,” I said. It was none of his business anyway.
“Well, have a good night,” Mark said, shrugging a little. “I'll see you tomorrow.”