Chapter 3
Chelsea
We were soon standing in front of the Airport with our luggage in tow. My white blouse was sticking to me like a second skin. I could feel my nipples rubbing up against the material. I was fanning myself with my hand and looking at all of these taxi drivers hustling for a fare.
I couldn’t seem to forget the words that had mysteriously vanished from my phone. There was no trace of the veiled threat to my life. It was there one second and gone the next. I didn’t mention any of it to my girlfriends.
Harmony was flirting with a taxi driver with his shirt wide open. It was a colorful white shirt with blue flowers adorning the material. His black hair was slicked back and his dark skin was something Harmony couldn’t stop touching inappropriately. I was apprised of how cutthroat taxi drivers could be.
“You have to give the girl credit. She doesn’t take no for an answer. I can already see she has her sights set on sleeping with him. I would love to hear the whispered sweet nothings in his ear.” Lindsay had the grip of a lion on the handle of her luggage. It was purple on wheels and there was no mistaking it when it went around the carousel.
The smell of the exhaust was sickening and it was a good thing I didn’t have any lunch. I had sobered quickly during the flight and the subsequent plunge from thousands of feet in the air. My stomach did lurch and I did see how pointless my life had become. Life was for the living.
“Lindsay, I’m afraid of what we might see if we get into the same taxi with her.” Harmony wasn’t very subtle with her yellow dress made of transparent material.
In the right light, she became naked with nothing separating her body from the eager eyes of the men from this region.
“We need somebody like her to push us into doing crazy things for the sake of the being free from our husbands. We can’t sit on the sidelines and fret over what we lost. We have to remember what we gained by getting rid of hundreds of pounds of dead weight.” I understood the sentiment, but I still missed having Brent to come home to.
A strong masculine figure in touch with their feminine side was hard to come by. I was looking for perfection in a world of chaos. Nobody could measure up to my high expectations. I heard a high-pitched whistle and turned to find Harmony gesturing for us to get in the taxi.
The driver carelessly shoved our luggage into the trunk. Lindsay and I were in the back. Harmony was in the front with the driver giving him a come-hither look to her boudoir.
“Salvatore is going to be our personal driver for the duration of our stay. His neighborhood is having a festival in three days and he has graciously invited us. We can’t get caught in the tourist traps. He wants to show us how the locals live.” I felt it was a good idea to see things the tourists would never have the chance to see for themselves.
Harmony was showing off her body by bending over in the seat to wet his appetite. There was no air conditioning and the air circulating through the vents did very little to cool the atmosphere.
“I hope this isn’t going to be a long journey. I really want to get into my new bikini and jump into the ocean. It’s a little scandalous and is barely a piece of floss.” Lindsay had the kind of mom body that came with having two teenage boys. She was toned, but like me she was never going to reclaim the body she had when she was in her 20’s.
Ethan was her pride and joy. Declan was the black sheep and was always getting into trouble. I got the feeling Declan was always trying to compete with his brother. He was always in his shadow academically and athletically. They took sibling rivalry to a whole different level.
I was more comfortable in a one piece, but seeing it in the mirror in the changing room made me blush two different shades of red.
I tried to reminisce about the years I had wasted with Brent. We met at the museum during an art exhibit. Everything melted away when he had me in his arms. I succumbed easily in the back seat of his car after a few too many at a local bar.
It had a roomy backseat and somehow, he made me scream too many times to count. It was the one and only time during our relationship I was completely satisfied beyond words.
I was pulled back to reality by how the driver was taking the turns recklessly. My heart was literally in my mouth. I could hear the joyous exclamation of pleasure from Harmony as she bounced up and down in her seat.
“I don’t know about the two of you, but this is better than some rides at an amusement park. I have this need…this need for speed.” Salvatore had seen her reaction and was pushing the envelope by pressing down the accelerator to the floor.
The yellow chipped paint of the taxi was pulled by its velocity to the side of the road. It was a good thing there was a guardrail. The sparks exploded in my eyes. It was grinding metal against metal. Somehow, he got back on the road with the tires adhering to the pavement. The pungent aroma of fear and exhilaration was in the air.
“He doesn’t talk much, but he makes up for that with more than enough action. He has really got my motor running. The both of you might want to make yourselves scarce when we get to the beach house. I plan to utilize the springs in the master bedroom. He is a slice of chocolate cake I plan to devour.” Lindsay and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders at how blatant she could be when her excitement level was at its peak.
“There are some things about my friends I don’t need to know. You go right ahead and put your brand on him. I’m going down to the beach after I change into something more comfortable.” Harmony had shown us photographs of happier times with her ex-husband.
The beach was a few yards from the beach house privately owned and operated by a staff of three. I pulled up each shot on my telephone. It was paradise.
The house itself was surrounded by a wraparound deck with two levels. The first one was dedicated to a huge living room, a conventional kitchen with stainless steel appliances flown in, decorative floor tiles from who knows where. I was impressed and ready to relax!
There was also a small bathroom with mosaic tiles and a glass enclosed shower. I had a feeling the photographs weren’t going to do the place justice.
The second level had three bedrooms including a master with its own separate deck. Harmony had taken possession of that room. The driver was going to become intimately acquainted with what was hidden behind those closed doors.
We dropped off our luggage and got back in the car.
“I hope you don’t mind company. I have a good book I have been dying to read. I just hope I can concentrate on the characters developing between the pages.” She was referring to the possibility of Harmony becoming quite vocal with her affections.
The landscape outside the window flew by, but I was enjoying a slower pace of living. Nobody was in any hurry to get anywhere. The heat made things come to a standstill with people trying to find a relief from the stifling humidity. Little kids were using buckets to dump water on top of them and teenagers had gotten their hands on some water guns.
They looked happy with the very little they had. The rest of the world could definitely take a page from their book. There was something simple in their smiles. The island boasted lush vegetation with low lying fruit hanging from the trees.
We passed quickly through a neighborhood struggling to make ends meet. This was the underbelly of the island where unsavory characters peddled their wares. Women in scantily clad clothing were indulging in the world’s oldest profession. They were selling their bodies to the night. Even in the harsh glare of daylight there were still some flaunting what their mama gave them.
It made me a little jittery, but I calmed down after we bypassed those staring at us in judgment. We soon came across an installation with a barbed wire fence and an armed sentry standing at his post. The uniform was indicative of a branch of the military I knew well. The Marines were born and bred to do the impossible. My father served before his accident.
“Salvatore, can you tell me what that place is used for?” I caught him off guard and whatever Harmony was doing with her hand had his undivided attention.
To be continued…
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