Chapter 2
Reed
The wave was enormous and I paddled with my hands to capture it before anybody else. The board underneath me was steady and I knew how to navigate the choppy waters of the Jamaican island. This was my home. My parents had moved to the island for a career opportunity of a lifetime. My father was good with his hands, but my mother was a sought-after doctor.
I was drawn to the water and it wasn’t long before I was taking to surfing like a newborn baby. I grew out my blonde hair with this godlike Adonis body to match my flowing locks. I stood proud and confident at over 6 feet and 195-pounds. My piercing blue eyes were my secret weapon against the female gender.
I hadn’t seen my parents in five years. They were on the other side of the island blissfully unaware that I didn’t go to New York. I was sending them postcards of different landmarks in the big apple. They thought I had gone to medical school. I stayed behind wanting to explore a different lifestyle of freedom and decadence.
My life changed when my girlfriend and my best friend died in a boating accident. He drowned and she succumbed to the smoke inhalation during the fire. I was the only one to survive the ordeal. I walked away and was transformed from the Caterpillar to the butterfly.
“Reed, I have heard stories about you from reliable sources. This reckless abandon is something that I can emulate. The exploits of you in Australia surfing the Great Barrier Reef in a storm is the stuff of legends.” I was locked inside my own web of deceit.
“You can’t always believe what you read. There’s always a different side to the story.” Brody was a newfound friend and fellow surfing enthusiast.
“You can’t fool me. The accident changed you after going under the knife for reconstructive surgery.” The scars were skin deep, but my shame was like a weight around my neck.
“I survived something that most people couldn’t even imagine. The fire was suffocating. I couldn’t see anything in front of my face. They say living is the hardest thing to do after something like that. I had survivor’s guilt and was able to work through it in therapy.” The board underneath my feet sailing across the water was my obsession.
I had it custom made as a symbol to my fallen brother. I didn’t even know he had fallen overboard until I saw him doing the dead man’s float. I tried to resuscitate him, but it was a futile effort. The boat sank with the screams of Amanda haunting me in my nightmares.
“I wouldn’t wish what you had gone through on any of my enemies. It had to be excruciating to see your friends perish like that. I met you in the support group and you took me underneath your wing to give me something to live for.” He never saw the appeal of the influence of the ocean calling him like a whisper in the wind.
I had treated him like a little brother and gave him a reason to open up his eyes in the morning in search of the next big wave. We lived like bohemians in a small one bedroom beach house he had inherited from his uncle. The money came from competition. It wasn’t enough and we had the tendency to live beyond our means.
“Seeing your mother die wasn’t easy for you. You were thrown clear of the wreckage and you burned yourself significantly trying to get her out.” He had to have his hand reconstructed, but there was still a malformed piece of skin in the palm of his hand.
I heard the applause from shore and I was feeding on the adrenaline of their cheers running through my veins. I was uplifted with my board balancing on the wave. It was one of the biggest ones I had seen in a few days. I wasn’t the only one vying for its euphoric effects.
Brody and I were fighting it out in the spirit of friendly competition. He was pulled under by the awe-inspiring force of nature. He sputtered to the surface waving in good cheer. He knew being knocked off the board was part of the game. I was no stranger to falling victim to several waves not willing to be tamed.
I gave the universal sign with two hands in the air. The crowd had formed to watch me make my way back to shore wearing my colorful purple and yellow board shorts. It was a fleeting moment of frivolous release, but I never forgot the terrible burden I carried with me everywhere.
Brody slapped me on the shoulder and I cringed from the fresh burn from the sun. I turned abruptly with a forgotten friend raising its ugly head. The anger and resentment seething deep inside of me came over me at the most inopportune time. I counted to 10 and reached down deep to a reserve of strength I didn’t even know I had.
“The next one is going to be mine. We might be brothers underneath the skin, but I can’t let you have all the glory. I have gotten us a day pass to Hedonism three. We both know what can happen when the sun goes down behind those closed doors.” It wasn’t the first and it wasn’t going to be the last time we breached the inner sanctum of the resort.
“I could use a distraction and you always seem to know what I need.” He was responsible for some lavish parties that I barely escaped from with a hangover to beat the band.
“A friend of mine works there and will look the other way one night a month for his friends. I received word last night tonight is our time to let our hair down.” I had used my youth and bronzed body to coax unsuspecting women back to the room.
“A little debauchery and naked fun is something I always look forward to at the end of the month.” That beach house had rumors swirling about the craziness and liquor consumption every weekend.
“Hedonism three caters to those in a certain lifestyle. Husbands and wives arrive looking to explore their hidden desires. The theme nights in scandalous clothing give them the freedom to be different from their normal lives back home. They call it coming home. It’s an exclusive club and the cost to enjoy everything all-inclusive is high. Most can’t afford more than one-week vacation and they make good use of the time.” I remembered last month and how five of us circled this naked girl on a chaise lounge at the pool at midnight.
I smiled guiltily and wondered what other fun we might get into during our pass. I slammed the board into the sand sticking it into the air with the design giving the designer free advertising. Josh was an artist with an eye for detail. The man was a genius and word of mouth spread quickly to give him repeat customers. Sometimes he gave a break on the price for the name of his shop to be on the board.
Scribble Board was written at the lower corner of my board. It was fluorescent green and drew the eye to it like a moth to a flame. I peeled off the half wetsuit to reveal my body. My chest was shaved along with another part of my anatomy.
The girls were giggling and handing over their pads to be signed. One was a bit bolder with her request. She reached behind and undid the white bikini from around her neck. Those boulders were magnificent and topped with cherry tips good enough to eat. She lifted the heavy weight and presented a different kind of canvas for my John Hancock.
“Her name is Rochelle and she doesn’t speak a word of English. She does have a French tongue and rumors are quite adamant that she knows how to use it. She came here with her parents from France for a month-long excursion. Her parents are some kind of big shot diplomats with immunity from prosecution for any kind of crime they may commit.” Brody had the pulse of the island in the palm of his hand, but he took that responsibility seriously.
I whispered into her ear in the language that she could understand. I told her that she had a beautiful body and smile in the French dialect. She blushed and I scrawled my signature on her left breast. It was apparent that the European culture was free about their bodies. She would’ve made a great weekend addition to our beach house. I could’ve easily imprinted her body on my mattress and left her with a lasting memory for a lifetime.
“I don’t know much French, but I have learned several different languages with various sentences to seduce. It comes in handy when those from other countries visit the island. Girls are impressed that I have taken the time to learn their language.” She turned around and walked away with every man in the vicinity staring at her like panting dogs.
“She looks even better from behind than she does from the front.” The truth of the statement was in the white floss of her bikini snug between her cheeks.
There wasn’t much left to the imagination. It would’ve been nice to get to know her intimately, but there was always time for that after our release in the hedonistic life.
“I can’t disagree. It doesn’t look like she’s hiding anything. I know it’s crass, but I wonder what she does with her keys. She’s not carrying a purse and you told me she drives everywhere on the island in that rented safari Jeep.” The night was young and the strange allure of women young and old was calling to us from Hedonism three like sirens of the sea.
“I’ve already given her an invitation to come to the beach house next weekend. I’m calling dibs on this one. We both get one per month and I’m using mine for her.” I would’ve done the same thing in his shoes, but I had already used mine up with an Australian ex-pat with the kind of flotation devices that were buoyant in the water.
“I swear that she will be off limits to me. There are always other fish in the sea.” There were days I could barely hold on without the necessary female companionship to wash away the guilt that I was living with.
The hot sand on my feet would have made others uncomfortable. I laughed under my breath at those doing the two-step to get back to their vehicle. This was far better than the winters I’d spent in my childhood in Texas. We were at a high altitude where snow was more than possible. 20 minutes away could have green grass and we would be waist deep in snow.
“I need to pick up some party favors before we go. I have a go bag ready for this occasion. I don’t expect us to mingle together. We will meet up at 7:00 AM to compare notes like we always do. I hope this time will turn that frown upside down. You always seem like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Here in paradise, there’s nothing but good times around every corner. It’s a slow pace of living down here.” I followed him to the red Jeep that was being held together by nothing more than wishful thinking.
“Brody, we have learned not to cramp each other style. I’m sure that we won’t have any problem finding a room to spend the night. Let the games begin.” This was my only way to forget and it was far more pleasing than being under a doctor’s care.