A STRANGE INTRODUCTION
By
Erin E. McCarthy
Copyright 2011 by Erin E. McCarthy
Smashwords Edition
CHAPTER ONE
DEAR FRIENDS
Although she was twenty-five, Tess looked eighteen. Long necked, her oval face contained a delicately shaped mouth, a firm chin, and emerald eyes that accented her long and thick eyelashes. Above those classic features Tess had long, rolling curls that couldn’t have been any more golden yellow. Her long legs, and the soft but confident way in which she moved also added to her stunning beauty.
Wearing sunglasses and dressed in a pink two-piece bikini, the beautiful and vivacious Tess Beauregard walked toward the towel shack on the white sandy beach on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Over her left shoulder, she carried a long-strapped beach bag. It was now mid-morning, and Tess had just left her hotel which was located directly in back of the now sparsely crowded beach.
Purposely following Tess less than ten feet behind her were two men wearing tight fitting bathing trunks. They were in their early twenties, and they were quite jovial and laughed on and off. At different times, each one would push the other ahead, closer to where Tess was walking along the hot and sandy beach. It wasn’t long before Tess had spotted them with her peripheral vision. She immediately thought: Gosh darn it...I have another two idiots following me. Tess then decided to simply ignore them, hoping they would eventually go away. Sometimes, that had worked for her in the past.
When Tess had finally reached the towel shack, Tess found herself the fifth person in line awaiting the receipt of a large beach towel. Of course, standing directly behind her were the two young men who had not-so-surreptitiously followed her. Indeed, they had not simply gone away, and they were laughing and talking even more. Tess knew from their language that these two young men were of French nationality.
Along with four other foreign languages, Tess Beauregard spoke fluent French. So she knew the two brash, young Frenchmen were making dirty jokes and lewd comments concerning her and specific parts of her female physique.
A half-minute passed and Tess was then the second in line at the towel shack. It was at this point in time, from an oblique view, Tess Beauregard noted that one of the bold young men was leaning over her right shoulder and sniffing. His friend looked on, laughing all the while. Suddenly, Tess felt the young man who leaned over her grab her behind and squeeze. No longer did Tess hope these two idiots would simply go away. For her, it was now get even time. Oh, they want to play...I’m game, she told herself. Now she’d enjoy putting them in their appropriate places.
Soon the same foolish young man leaned over her shoulder again and sniffed once more; and Tess reacted instantly. Feigning yawning, Tess raised her right arm and elbow, abruptly turning at the same time. The result was that her sharp elbow caught the lascivious young man right on the nose. With a loud yelp of pain, the young man went down onto his knees atop the sand, and his nose was bleeding. However, the event had not yet concluded. Immediately after the young man had fallen down onto his knees, Tess then abruptly turned hard her entire body to the right. The result this time was that Tess’s right knee caught the young man directly at his right eye socket, and he instantly saw stars. Additionally, there was another loud yelp of pain heard from the young Frenchman before his head went face down into the hot, white sand.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ instantly apologized Tess quite sarcastically. ‘I didn’t see you there. Are you hurt, young man?’
Now the blood from his nose bleed was mixed with white sand granules about his face. No longer was the young man laughing; nor was his friend laughing either.
Of course, Tess did not await a response to her empty words of apology to the man whose face was wincing in extreme pain. Instead, she simply took her large beach towel, threw it over her right shoulder, and headed toward the pool area. When Tess had walked away, from her peripheral reason, she could see one of the Frenchmen helping the other up from the beach. Both appeared very much irked and indignant. She couldn’t hear what they were saying over the increasing distance; however, Tess certainly knew they were cursing her in French.
At pool side Tess soon found a vacant cabana. Then, after draping the large beach towel over the large, partially shaded pool chair, Tess took a seat. A moment later she opened the large beach bag and retrieved an employer’s report as well as some tanning cream. Next, she removed her sunglasses and proceeded to put on the sun screen. Finishing that, she made herself comfortable on the pool chair. Tess was ready to read the hefty report which she now held in her right hand. Indeed, this particular vacation of hers was not a pure vacation; in fact, it was a working vacation not only for her, but also for her friend and co-employee, Abby.
Ten minutes had not gone by when the two young Frenchmen from the beach walked by at the far end of the pool area. The one who had ignominiously been down on the beach now held with one hand a blooded white towel to his nose. Indeed, the towel was blood spotted in the vicinity of where the young man held it at his nose. With the other hand, this young man also held an ice bag to his injured eye socket. Upon seeing her, these two young men sneered and cursed anew from afar in the direction of Tess.
After momentarily chuckling to herself, Tess simply ignored them again. This time these two brash men did go away.
It took Tess well over an hour to finish reading the thick work report. First putting down that report, she removed her watch from the beach bag and glanced at it. The time read 11:35 a.m.. She knew she had plenty of time to spare before she had to meet her friend and co-worker, Abby, in their hotel lounge around supper time. So she immediately relocated the pool chair farther away from the cabana and its penumbra of shade, in order to catch the high and hot Tenerife sun. Deftly accomplishing that in quick order, Tess put her sunglasses back on; and then she leaned back and gently lay her head down. It was time for Tess to work on her golden tan. This, indeed, was now the time for Tess to enjoy the vacation aspect of the trip to the Canary Islands.
* * *
Tess had spent the entire afternoon at pool side basking in the sun and periodically dipping in the pool. Additionally, she jogged for an hour or so, back and forth along the line of beach front hotels. Before meeting Abby in the hotel lounge, Tess had also returned to her hotel room, showered and dressed.
* * *
When Tess Beauregard met Abby at the hotel lounge entrance, there was no one there to show them to a table, so Tess and Abby immediately took it upon themselves to find their own table. The table they had decided upon was located not far from the door to the lounge.
Soon after taking a seat in the air conditioned hotel lounge, Tess smiled across the table and spoke to her friend and confidant: `Abby, it’s certainly been a great three weeks, but our time here in Tenerife will be over in another week.’ Tess’s dignified, cheery, and lightly southern accented voice had surfaced with her words.
Sitting down herself, Abby nodded her golden tanned face. `Yup, all good things must come to an end...and too bad…because I was just beginning to have some real fun here.’ As usual, her southern accent was much sharper and much more strident than Tess’s.
The young, dark haired waiter interrupted the ladies’ conversation when he came to the table to take their orders for drinks. He spoke with a very noticeable accent himself. His, however, was a heavy Spanish accent. `What you like to drink, señoritas?’ He cordially smiled towards both of the young ladies sitting at the table.
Abby returned the young waiter’s smile. However, her smile wasn’t cordial. Instead, it was very familiar. In fact, it was too familiar, as far as Tess was concerned. With her roving eyes, Abby scanned the length of waiter’s body, beginning at his knees and moving upwards from there. However, for a few seconds those eyes stuck at his midsection. Noticing that, Tess felt very uncomfortable, as did the waiter. Their red faces amply demonstrated that absolute truth. Tess finally nudged Abby’s knee beneath the table, and with that, Abby instantly lost her wide smile.
`Oh, yes, the drinks,’ Abby remarked, briefly looking to Tess with a straight face. Then returning her eyes to the waiter again, her smile grew very wide again, and her eyes turned playful once more. `Waiter, right about now, I have an unquenchable desire for “Sex on the Beach.” So...that’s what I’ll have. Are you up to it, fellow?’ Finishing her words, Abby then laughed.
However, the young waiter didn’t respond to Abby’s words. Instead, he scratched his head. He had an idea what she was talking about, but he wasn’t exactly sure. Of course, he didn’t understand the double entendre as intended by Abby.
Abby continued, `If you don’t know how to do it, I can certainly show you. Which way is it to the beach, anyway? Oh, but if you prefer, I can show you in my room. What do you say, fellow?’ Finishing those words, Abby then stared at his midsection again.
More scarlet-faced than ever, Tess breathed a heavy sigh. Then she nudged Abby beneath the table once more. However, this time her nudge was more forceful, instantly causing Abby to lose her smile again.
‘Alright, alright, I can take a hint without the knee knocking, Abby told Tess. Abby’s smile had turned into a semi-frown as she looked into the young waiter’s face. ‘I said I’ll have ‘Sex on the Beach.’
Now looking totally confused for a few moments, the waiter finally spoke again. `Señorita, I do not understand what it is you want to order.’ However, he hadn’t completely misunderstood. He knew what having sex on the beach meant, physically. However, he did not know the phrase also referred to an American-styled, mixed drink. Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, was a vacation destination frequented mostly by Europeans and few Americans.
Tess now spoke somewhat loudly: `Abby, please give him another order! And do it right now, lady!’
Having heard Tess’s harsh tone, Abby noticeably swallowed. `Okay...okay...okay,’ she then stated. `Tess, I was just having a little fun. That’s all.’
`Just order!’ Tess demanded. The outer limits of her patience had been reached.
`I guess I’ll have a Pina Colada, waiter,’ Abby finally said. She didn’t look at the young Spanish waiter now. Instead, her eyes peered down to the top of the table. Now Abby was embarrassed, and that was indeed a rare occasion for her.
`And you, señorita?’ the young waiter soon asked, looking to Tess.
`I’ll have a Frozen Daiquiri, thank you.’ Tess cordially smiled to him again, and he returned that friendly smile, immediately before heading back to the bar.
`Abby, why do you always do this? You not only embarrassed the waiter and me, but you have embarrassed yourself as well. Can’t you see that, lady?’ Tess then swayed her head from side to side.
Abby still didn’t look up when she next spoke. `But, Tess, I was about ready to give him instructions how to make that drink, when you lost your patience with me.’ She finally looked into Tess’s face. `You know, I didn’t take that night course in bartending for nothing. Tess, I do know how to make that drink, and I really wanted one...very badly.’
`Right!’ Tess retorted, causing Abby to wince and look away. In Tess’s mind were the words: excuses, excuses! Rarely could Abby ever fool her best friend. Tess was both ‘street smart’ and ‘book smart.’
Abby, on the other hand, was sometimes very immature. This was particularly true when it came to her sexual attitude and blatant flirtations. Often times, the twenty-five year old Abby dressed in a way that reflected her immature attitude as well as her blazon sexuality. This day, Abby wore tight red, mini-shorts over her black seamed nylon stockings. Above, she wore a black, see-through, satin slip-on. However, beneath her top, she wore no brassiere; so the crest and the outline of her small round bosoms could easily be seen through the diaphanous garment. She also had layered ruby lipstick onto her thick lips.
Although Abby was a few inches shorter than Tess, who stood at five feet, nine inches. Additionally, the two ladies weighed nearly the same. Nevertheless, a heavy-boned Abby did have a shapely figure that had attracted more than one healthy male who had picked up her heated scent over the course of the ‘work-vacation.’
As for Tess, she was now dressed in a navy blue jump suit with large, pink jeweled buttons; and she had earlier put on a thin layer of pretty pink lipstick. However, beneath the top of her suit, she did wear a brassiere.
Furthermore, the stylish outfit Tess now wore fit her sleek and shapely frame like it had been specifically designed for her. However, it had not. Much of Tess’s clothes fit her that way. Even in the past, Abby and other friends had commented to Tess that she could have been a model; and she certainly could have.
Tess brought the discussions back to where they had been before the waiter had earlier come to the table. `So are you looking forward to going home, Abby?’
`No...not really, Tess,’ Abby responded half laughing. `If I had a choice, which I don’t, I’d rather stay here and work on my tan...and other things.’ She briefly chuckled. `How about you? Are you looking forward to getting back to the grind of Washington, D.C.?’ Abby then lifted her open palm and pushed to the side several strands of her long and flat blonde hair. For a moment, it had interfered with her peripheral vision to the lounge door, and the young male patrons entering and exiting through it.
Nodding in the affirmative, Tess warmly smiled. Tess did not know that Abby’s peripheral vision had been targeted to the lounge door.
Tess really enjoyed her job back in the states and she did not consider Washington a ‘grind.’ `It’s not that I don’t like to travel...because I do, Abby. It’s just that I get bored when I’m not productive for lengthy periods of time. And we haven’t at all been productive here in Tenerife so far. Have we?’
Abby quickly countered: `You mean, if you had a choice, you would really want this great gig to end in a week, Tess?’
Holding a reserved gleam in her eyes, Tess gracefully nodded her head in a way that unmistakably told Abby that she would.
Abby wistfully sighed. `Tess, you really aren’t the party type, are you? Don’t you know, there is a time and place for everything?’ She momentarily hesitated to chin up a smile. `You know, Tess, you’ve read more reports on this assignment than I’ve read the entire year.’ Abby then chortled again. `You know, I was really surprised before. I mean...when you ordered that Frozen Daiquiri, instead of your usual Virgin Mary.’ Having gotten that ‘dig’ in, Abby then grinned fully to her friend.
Tess initially wanted to lash back some well-chosen words at Abby. However, she repulsed that instinct before politely disagreeing with her. `Abby, I am the party type. I mean, at times, I am. But we were sent here to do some work. So, Abby, let’s get some done. Indeed, as you said before, there is a time and a place for everything. Are you catching my drift, Abby?’
‘Roger that, boss.’ Abby had now completely lost her girlish grin. She always lost her grin when Tess pulled rank on her, just as she was now doing.
* * *
The handsomely furnished hotel lounge soon began to fill. That lounge contained wicker chairs with plump cushions, marble top tables, and a myriad of pots containing bright, flowery plants which sweetly scented the air. Also, many young couples had recently entered the lounge. Most were dressed causally in light outfits.
The young Spanish waiter returned and deposited their drinks in front of them. This time Abby did not stare at him. In fact, she purposely didn’t look at him at all. In the course of his serving the drinks atop the marble table, he also had been sure to avoid looking at Abby. That was alright as far as Tess was concerned.
Tess charged the drinks and the tip to her room, and the gratefully smiling waiter soon left the table side; he was on his way to serve another table of customers sitting at the other side of the lounge.
First sipping her Pina Colada through the long straw, Abby spoke again: `Tess, I don’t think the company will ever send us back here on company business again. But will you ever return to the Canary Islands on a real vacation?’ Finishing those words, Abby’s eyes briefly followed another young, muscular waiter to a nearby table. His hair color was a light brown, and he didn’t look Spanish. `Wow, I’ve never seen so much handsome masculinity in one place.’
Shaking her head, Tess momentarily delayed her response, until Abby’s eyes returned to hers. `Perhaps someday, I will return here on a vacation...but not for awhile. There are so many other beautiful and interesting places to see in this wide world of ours. You know, I’d like to visit England next year.’ Tess then lightly pursed her lips and sipped her Frozen Daiquiri.
Smiling fully once more, Abby shook her head. `Tess, my dearest friend, I wasn’t talking about the scenery or the geography. I was referring to the beautiful male presence on the Island of Tenerife.’ Finishing those words, Abby then sat up in her chair and briefly surveyed the room yet again.
Tess knew Abby was incorrigible. `I know that you were, Abby.’ Tess softly laughed again. `You’ve really enjoyed yourself here. Haven’t you, Abby?’
`Yes, you bet I have.’ Abby grinned. ‘And I’m having the time of my life.’ Her grin grew wider. `Tess, don’t you know, that’s what traveling to exotic places is all about...certainly not for reading company reports all day and night.’ Abby’s heavy southern accent had sounded more conspicuous with her words this time.
Hearing Abby’s last statement, Tess felt somewhat insulted again; but still she spoke softly and with reserve: ‘Abby, let me remind you again...we’re here on company business.’
‘I heard you before, boss.’ Abby had lost her grin again.
‘Abby, I’m not trying to pull rank on you.’
‘You’re not? Come on, really, Tess?’
‘No, I’m not. I’m simply reminding you that we’re here on an official mission. That’s all.’ Tess now looked across the table with a friendly expression.
Abby soon returned the friendly expression. Indeed, she was ‘happy-go-lucky,’ and was never one to lack a smile or a laugh for very long.
‘Abby, did you find anything out this morning?’
‘Nothing at all, Tess. Nil.’ Abby then shook her head. ‘Just another wild goose chase, that’s all.’
‘That’s just how I thought it would turn out,’ now commented Tess.
‘What does the company want us to do? You read the report this morning, didn’t you?’
Tess nodded she had indeed read the report. ‘The company wants us to continue to do what we’re doing. Then they want us to return home as scheduled. I think even they have finally realized our business here has been a terrible waste of company time and money.’
Abby did not respond or comment. Her eyes and mind had been fixed in the direction of the door again. Another good looking, young man had just walked into the lounge.
Abby’s hazel eyes finally did return. `Tess, haven’t you found anyone here that interests you?’
Tess gently swept a tress of her long blond hair from her brow. `What do you mean, Abby?’
Abby laced her hands around the cold drink sitting atop the table and smiled with her eyes. `Girl, you know what I mean. Don’t be so mysterious. Isn’t there anyone here you’ve met who you would consider inviting to bed, Tess?’ Saying that, Abby had briefly laughed.
Tess also briefly laughed. However, hers was sarcastic. `No, there isn’t...nosey.’
`Nothing at all...nil,’ Abby pressed.
Tess momentarily delayed. `Abby, I’m not here to fall in love or to get married.’
‘Who’s talking about falling in love or getting married any way.’ Abby chortled again. `All I’m talking about is finding a great looking guy who’s good in bed, that’s all.’
Color again swept into Tess’s cheeks again. `Abby, you’re completely incorrigible, and what a one-track mind you have.’ Tess shook her head another time in the direction of her friend sitting across the table.
‘I know I have a one-track mind, girl.’ Finishing her words, Abby briefly chuckled and tauntingly grinned. `But Tess...what they say about Las Vegas is also true about Tenerife.’
‘And so tell me, Abby, what do they say about Las Vegas that applies to Tenerife?’ Tess knew exactly what Abby would say; however, she had decided to pose the question anyway, just to keep the amusing dialogue going.
‘What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas.’
‘Yep, that’s what they say, girl.’ Of course, Abby had just said what Tess expected her to say.
Tess smiled while gently swaying her head from side to side.
Abby continued with her little frolic, softly singing: ‘Hot fun in the summer time...Hot fun in the....’ Along with her head, during her little song rendition, Abby also swayed her upper body from side to side.
‘Abby, cut it,’ Tess immediately interrupted the sing-song, whispering across the table. ‘People are beginning to look.’ And people within the restaurant were indeed beginning to look.
‘Yes, boss. Okay, boss,’ was Abby’s whispered response before putting her open hand to her mouth. Then she said, ‘Oh, gee, I didn’t realize. Now I’m really embarrassed.’ Of course, Abby was not at all embarrassed. Rarely, was she ever truly embarrassed.
Tess didn’t respond. Instead, she took another sip of her cool drink. Just then, Abby had espied a tall, blond headed, young man dressed in Bermuda shorts walking by the table. From thighs to head, Abby carefully checked him out when he moved across the shiny wooden floor of the hotel lounge.
Tess’s lips curled up into a smile when Abby’s eyes turned to look at her again. `Damn, you’re absolutely incorrigible, not to mention very lewd, Abby.’
`Yea, I know.’ Abby now giggled. `Tess, do you want me to ask Cal if he has a friend?’ Cal was one of the men Abby had met and dated while in Tenerife. She had begun dating him from almost the beginning of their time in Tenerife. He was from Australia, Tess knew, from what Abby had previously told her about him.
Tess had had it with Abby, and she reacted to her question with a snappy tone. `No, Abby, I don’t! What’s more, I don’t have trouble meeting people on my own.’
Abby immediately responded apologetically: `I know you don’t, Tess.’ She then hesitated to find her next words. `In fact, if I had a body and a face like yours, I’d have a train of courtiers following me. Yes, I certainly would.’ Upon saying that, Abby girlishly giggled again.
Lightly swaying her head, Tess softly laughed. She could never be mad at Abby for long. `Abby, you’re very beautiful, and you have had a train of courtiers following you during this trip.’
`I have. Haven’t I?’ Abby widely grinned once more.
Tess waited a few seconds to speak again. `Abby, tell me, what about Cal? Is there anything serious there? You’ve been seeing him quite steady for the last two weeks.’
Abby swayed her head no. `Cal’s all right. I mean, he’s interesting and all. But...but I just don’t know. He doesn’t have much going for him, Tess.’ Abby then turned up the right side of her lips to form a crooked smile.
`I don’t understand, Abby. To me, he seems like a very fine gentleman.’
Abby nodded this time; but no longer did she smile.
`He’d probably be good for you, Abby. Even though I’ve only talked to him a few times, I can tell that he cares for you very much.’
`Yea, I know he does.’ Abby half smiled again. `But Tess, he’s broke. Also, he’s not much of a stud in bed.’ Now her eyes began to smile more than her lips. ‘Yes, he’s kind of sexually shy.’ Once having said that, Abby suddenly hooted with laughter. Again, some restaurant patrons began to look over to their table.
Swaying her head once more, Tess momentarily blushed again. `So I guess that means he’s not going to visit you back in states, right?’ Tess then sipped her frozen drink once more, expecting Abby to respond `no.’
Once Abby had finally choked back her embarrassing laugher, she responded: `You know, he just might, Tess. Yep, Cal just might visit me in D.C. in the fall.’ She next smiled anew her complete self-confidence.
`Abby, but you just said....’
She cut Tess off. `A girl has a right to change her mind, doesn’t she?’ Her teeth now sparkled with her grin.
Tess softly sighed. `Abby, I’ve known you for two years now, but I still don’t understand you at times.’
`Sometimes, Tess, I don’t understand me either.’ Abby didn’t smile, and there was a short silence. Then, suddenly, her smile resurfaced again. `Yes, I want to give Cal another chance. Maybe, he won’t be so shy and timid this time. He’s certainly got the body for it. You should see him in all his naked splendor, Tess.’
`No, thank you!’ immediately said Tess. Also, her easy smile had been erased, and her face had toned red again. Although educated in the North, in New England, Tess was a southern belle with deeply held conservative principles. She preferred to think of them as standards, and very high ones.
`Alright already, I was just kidding, Tess,’ responded Abby. She had seen Tess’s smile extinguish with her last statement. Looking into her flushing face, she commented: `Tess, my friend, aren’t you the ultimate conservative...the ultimate prig at times.’ Abby’s last sentence wasn’t a question; rather, it was a statement.
`Abby, I prefer the word traditional.’ Finishing her words, Tess grinned and so did Abby.
`No really, Tess, I want to give Cal another chance. There is something there that interests me. I mean...besides his beautiful body. But I just don’t know what it is...right now.’ Appearing reflective, Abby touched her chin with her index finger. `Hmmm...I wonder what it could be?’
‘Give Cal another chance...did you two have a spat last night?’ inquired Tess. Tess hadn’t missed the words ‘give Cal another chance’ contained within Abby’s last statement.
Abby nodded affirmatively and grinned. ‘Not much of a spat though...and as usual, it was all my fault. Me and Cal argue a helluva lot...too much in fact.’ Abby’s facial expression had suddenly turned serious.
Tess had noted a sense of deep caring in Abby’s last statement. `Abby, as I said many times before, Cal appears to be a perfect gentleman.’ She now clasped her hands around the cool drink. `My friend, I really think he would be good for you. Yes, you definitely should give him a chance...I mean a real chance.’
`Maybe so...maybe so, but there is a problem, Tess.’
`A problem...what do you mean?’
`What I mean, Tess, is that we’ve got no place to go.’ Abby’s eyes now peered downward to the top of the stone table.
`You’ve no place to go?’
`Yes, Cal’s roommate is using their room.’
`Using their room?’ Tess softly repeated as a return question.
`Yes, Cal’s roommate met some gal from Germany. So he’s making it with....’
`Stop, Abby! I know what you were going to say. Cal’s roommate is entertaining.’
`Yes, I guess you could put it that way...if you wanted to.’ Abby softly laughed. However, Abby’s laughter suddenly ceased when another handsome, dark featured, young male walked by the table. This young man wore a thin bathing suit. Abby’s eyes followed him all the way to his seat. They finally turned away when Abby noticed him taking a seat across the table from an attractive looking, young brunette. She was also wearing a thin bathing suit.
`Abby...you were saying?’
`Oh yes, I need the room again, Tess.’ Her words came out very quickly and got right to the point.
`You what?’ Tess asked.
`I need the room...just for the next two hours or so, Tess.’ Abby’s doleful eyes now plead her case for her.
Tess’s hard facial expression showed her unhappiness at Abby’s request. Over the course of just one week, this was Abby’s fourth request for the use of the room to entertain Cal. `Abby, why don’t you just rent a room somewhere, and refrain from further inconveniencing me?’
`We can’t, Tess. He’s broke, and so am I. I wouldn’t have borrowed that hundred dollars from you the day before yesterday...if I weren’t. Besides, you did say you thought Cal was good for me.’ She now grinned over to her friend. She knew her friend would ultimately relent, as she always did in the past, whenever Abby was able to use Tess’s own good advice against her.
Tess looked at her watch. `Abby, it’s 6:00 o’clock right now, so what am I to do until 8:00 o’clock.’
`Do what you did during the other three occasions.’
Tess took a deep breath.
‘Dearest friend, please...pretty please,’ Abby continued to beg with her eyes and her soft smile.
`Abby, I don’t appreciate this...not one bit. Although we’ve shared the room for the last three weeks, I feel like the room has been all yours and not half mine.’
`Come on...Tess. Our time here in Tenerife will be over soon. Be a dear friend...please. I’d do it for you. I mean...if you had asked me.’
Tess resolutely swayed her head no. `But, I haven’t asked you to do that. Sorry, but I’m standing my ground this time. Abby, I told you that before the last occasion you used our room to...to entertain Cal. You know that, Abby.’ Her face was now very determined.
Abby swallowed hard. `Tess, I need to give Cal something to remember me by, so he’ll have an incentive to visit me in the U.S.A.. You know I certainly can’t afford to visit him in Australia, and you do think he’s a gentleman. You’re always right, Tess, he’s probably good for me...just like you been saying. Come on, pretty please, friend, with sugar on top. It’s real important to me.’ Although her words had stopped, now her melancholy eyes continued to plead her case for her.
A brief silence followed. During that period, Tess mused: Through my very own words, Abby has roped me in...again. `Oh, all right, but this is the very last time. And I mean it, Abby. You mark my words!’
Abby’s face suddenly lit up with a very large smile. `Thank you. Oh, thank you! I won’t ever forget this, dearest friend. I’ll make it up to you later, Tess. I really will.’ Her thick southern drawl had once more surfaced with her exuberant words of appreciation.
`You can do that by not allowing this to happen again, Abby.’
`It won’t.’ Abby’s lips now curved upward into a larger smile.
`It won’t, because I won’t let it, Abby.’ Tess paused her words. `Okay, after I go to the room to retrieve the novel I’ve been reading, the room is yours until 8:30. That’s also when you need to get going with your assignment at the Tunisian Club. You do remember that, don’t you?’
‘Yes, I do remember the assignment, and I’ll be there when I’m supposed to, Tess. I promise.’ Abby frowned again. She was setting her friend up for more disappointing news. `Tess, you can’t go to the room right now.’
`What do you mean, I can’t go to the room right now?’
Abby didn’t speak right away; not until her brief slanted smile had been lost again. `Cal is there right now. I gave him my key. I don’t know if he’s....’ Her words fallen off with her gulp. ‘Tess, I don’t know if he’s still dressed.’
Now more aggravated, Tess drew in a deep breath that lifted her full bosoms, and her eyes grew very sharp. `I really can’t believe this!’ Tess had spoken loudly, and several patrons sitting nearby stared at their table once more. `Why don’t you just go, Abby?’ Leaning back in the wicker chair and crossing her arms below her full bosom, Tess swayed her blond head from side to side.
Abby slowly rose from her seat at the small table; her smile was still absent. `Tess, thanks, really thanks,’ she now said in a soft, regrettable tone.
`Oh, and Abby,’ Tess immediately said slightly above a whisper, `Whatever takes place had better take place in your bed and not mine. I wasn’t very happy about the last time. The least you could have done was to warn me. No, my friend, I didn’t appreciate finding that pair of men’s underwear under my pillow.’ Tess immediately softened her sharp piercing eyes. Again, she could never stay mad at Abby for very long.
`Again, I’m really sorry about that, Tess.’ She paused, lowering her eyes to the top of the table again. `I’ll be sure to use my own bed this time. I promise you that, Tess.’
`You had better.’ Tess half smiled, now thinking the underwear incident was quite funny, although she certainly did not think so at the time.
Abby’s nodding head soon contained another bright smile.
`Oh, Abby,’ Tess whispered, `one other thing...please be sure he uses protection...for both your sakes.’
`Yes, I will, Tess. I promise I will.’
‘And dammit, don’t you dare miss that assignment at the Tunisian Club, lady.’
‘I won’t, boss.’ Abby replied, glancing at her watch. `See you later then.’ Now smiling more than ever, an anxious Abby quickly moved to the lounge door and exited it.
Tess exhaled hard. What a character that Abby is, she told herself. But I worry about her. She should have more self-respect. Can’t she see why no man stays around her for very long? I’ll have to have a long talk with her tomorrow. I never realized she was this sexually active...and yes...promiscuous. Again thinking about the underwear incident, Tess softly laughed to herself.
* * *
CHAPTER TWO
MAKING A NEW ACQUAINTANCE
At 6:30 Tess left the lounge and made her way to the small restaurant in the hotel. She hadn’t had dinner yet, and suddenly she felt famished. It must have been the afternoon jog along the beach, she thought. I burned quite a bit of energy from all that exercise. A chef’s salad sounds very good to me right now.
The young Spanish waitress seated Tess at a table for two located just inside the door of the restaurant that was full to capacity. Immediately after giving the waitress her order for the chef salad, she made her way to the ladies’ room to freshen up.
Returning, Tess did a double take and had to look around to reacclimate herself with the restaurant layout. Quickly, she realized that it was at her table that the tall, brown-haired man now sat. The young man was quite well dressed. He wore a fine, double-breasted, Italian cut suit, a crisp white shirt, and a red and blue striped silk tie. His suit was the same shade of blue as her jump suit outfit.
The young man’s back was to her, and his head peered downward to the top of the table. Closing the distance to the table, Tess instantly thought: he looks like he’s trying to hide from somebody.
Reaching the table, Tess spoke firmly, and her southern accent became more evident. It always did when she felt flustered. `I beg your pardon, sir. I think you’ve taken the wrong table. This is my table. I left it only a few minutes ago.’
Not responding, the young man peered his head lower. Because his back continued to face her, Tess hadn’t yet seen his face.
Now standing at the side of her small table, Tess scanned the restaurant for her waitress. She was busy serving a table at the other side of the dining room.
Tess then returned her attention to the stranger sitting at her table. `Sir...this is my table. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to get up and find your own table.’ Her impatient voice had become perceptibly louder.
Still there was no response from the young man sitting at her table, and his head had not changed position.
Tess firmly placed her hands on her hips. `Sir, do I have to summon the waitress!’ Hearing Tess’s louder words and determined tone of voice, the young couple at the next table stared over.
Finally, the young man at her table turned his eyes upward. He did not smile, and fear gravely shown in his face. Immediately, Tess realized he was very handsome - with smooth and exquisite masculine features that were perfectly juxtaposed from one another on his square face. His complexion was golden tan. For a moment their eyes met and held. What beautiful deep blue eyes he has, and what long and thick lashes he also has. I’ve never seen anything quite like him. Indeed, he is very, very handsome, Tess silently told herself.
Tess bit her lower lip in order to release herself from her gripping stare.
`Lady, please take a seat,’ the handsome man softly requested. ‘I really need to talk to you.’ Intense fear now shone in his dark blue eyes, but this did not register with Tess. The young man had spoken in perfect English. However, Tess immediately wondered whether he was American or English. He hadn’t yet said enough for her to make that judgment.
At first, Tess didn’t know how to react to the man’s invitation that she take a seat at her own table. Then her southern bearing took hold. She would not be picked up in this manner, at her own table or otherwise. `I will not take a seat!’ Her words had been very loud, and other restaurant patrons immediately stared over to the table.
`Lady, please...my life depends on it,’ he now whispered, lightly biting his lip with his glistening white teeth. His pleading eyes told Tess that he was very serious and very scared. She also saw a hint of moisture in those eyes.
Tess didn’t move, but she didn’t say anything either. Their eyes briefly met and held a second time.
`Please, miss...I kid you not.’ Hearing those additional words, Tess knew this Adonis sitting at her table was American and certainly not English.
Quite suddenly and quite noisily, the swinging restaurant doors flew open and in came two men. One was a burly looking gentlemen with hunched shoulders and a protruding chin that gave him the ostensible outward appearance of an ape. The other was a small, skinny man with a bicycle mustache and a crumpled, black Homburg hat. He’s very funny looking, Tess thought as her mind strayed momentarily again. Both men wore loosely fitting suit coats, wrinkled black ties, and large frowns. Slowly moving to the other side of the restaurant, they began to survey the occupants sitting at all the tables in the room.
Tess was always quick to put two and two together. Instinctively, she suddenly realized that these men constituted the life threatening danger that her uninvited and unintroduced guest who continued to sit at her table had been referring to a moment or two earlier.
She soon quietly moved to take the vacant seat at her table for two. It was the one located closest to the wall. Tess had always taken the side of the underdog, and this time there would be no exception. That was Tess’s nature; owing to the way her caring parents had brought her up.
The young man continued with his head down, and he whispered again. `I thank you, lady. Please, please, go along with me on this. My life is completely in your hands. This is no joke.’ He raised himself up and moved his seat closer to Tess, also taking an angled view to the other side of the restaurant where the two strange men were busy checking out the faces of other restaurant guests.
Tess nodded reassuringly to the young man at her table, and she continued to sit speechless, wondering what this intrigue was all about. At this time Tess also looked to young man’s hands sitting atop the table. She saw no wedding or engagement ring.
Within a short time, the two men in trench coats eventually worked their way to Tess’s table from the other side of the restaurant. Frowns continued on their faces.
From an oblique side view, the young man also saw them coming. He then turned to Tess and whispered once more: `Miss, here’s the story. I’m your fiancé, and I’ve been with you all day.’ Silently, his glistening blue eyes continued to plead for her much needed help.
A tingle of excitement suddenly traced down Tess’s spine. She had briefly lost herself in his beautiful eyes. This had not been the first time she had been lost in those hypnotic eyes; nor would it be the last, she instinctively knew.
Tess half nodded. Her expression then moved into hard neutral. She had successfully extinguished that unfamiliar spark of sensual excitement.
With the two men only five feet away from the table, the young man whispered again. `Please kiss me, miss.’
Before Tess could whisper her resounding ‘no!’ his warm lips were upon hers. At first, the kiss was superficial, and she thought about protesting. However, within several seconds the kiss deepened and heated. Instantly, Tess’s innate passions began to soar, and she was breathless. If she could have protested, she wouldn’t have. Her strong, inner defenses had completely crumbled and disintegrated as a result of the hot and steamy kiss. It was as if the horns surrounding Jericho has just been trumpeted.
Soon feeling the kiss deepening even more, Tess’s mind moved to another plane of sensuous excitement. She had never experienced a kiss like this before. It was scorching hot and completely mind reeling. Before she had realized what she was doing, her arms were around this stranger’s neck and upper back, pulling him more tightly to her lips. He followed her reciprocal embrace by placing his arms securely around her back, just above her hips. With that, Tess’s inner excitement heightened even more. At that very moment in time, she was his hungry captive.
`Señor and señorita, please excuse me.’ It was the Spanish accented voice of the thin man with the funny mustache whom Tess had seen burst into the restaurant a few minutes earlier. He now held his crumpled hat in his hand.
Tess and the complete stranger slowly uncoupled from their electric embrace - both lips and arms. However, their eyes continued to embrace. Tess now saw more than fear in those eyes. It was his building excitement. In Tess’s eyes was that same radiant glow of sensuous feeling.
The young man finally spoke with his back to the two men, still looking deeply into Tess’s eyes. `Yes, can we help you, sir?’
`Please turn around, señor,’ the thin and haggard Spaniard requested sternly but politely.
The young man finally complied, but slowly. He held a look of contrived bewilderment on his face. `Yes...how can I help you, buddy?’
The thin man looked to his partner. `Carlos, is this the man?’
With a severely grim face, the heavy set man standing beside the thin Spaniard, who had first spoken to the couple sitting at the table for two, looked closely at the stranger sitting at Tess’s table.
This heavy set man, at the same time held one hand under his partially wrinkled suit coat. Tess was sure he hid a gun there, and her heart and mind suddenly raced. Am I to be killed? she gulped in her mind.
Carlos moved a step closer to the table. Finally, he bent over and winced his eyes toward the young man. `Jose, it was mucho too far. So I not know.’ His English had been broken and poor. This bulky Spaniard then straightened up and scratched his head.
`Identification please, señor and señorita,’ Jose, the thin man, now loudly requested.
The young, nameless man now spoke indignantly: `What’s this all about? Where do you two guys get off bothering me and my fiancé?’ He gently took hold of Tess’s open hand and gently cupped it within his own. She had manufactured a half smile, but her heart raced again. It was a combination of his warm touch, and her fear of what she thought might possibly be coming next from the two strange men standing astride the table.
The large Spaniard gritted his teeth, and his face contorted when he reached into his inner coat pocket of his wrinkled suit.
Tess nearly jumped in her seat when that man abruptly pulled his hand out of that suit coat pocket. She was also ready to scream; but the young, nameless man sitting at her table squeezed her hand in order to give her added assurance and confidence.
With the contortion of his face still continuing, the larger of the two Spaniards who currently stood at the side of the table for two, then flashed a badge in his open hand to the seeming couple sitting at the table; yet he did not say anything.
Also flashing his identification, which he had just removed from beneath his coat, Jose - the thin man - spoke loudly for the second time: `Señor, I am Inspector Guevera, and we are the Spanish policia!’
Nearly all patrons in the crowded restaurant now stared over to the table for two.
With his next sentence, Jose’s tone and timbre tempered. `Señor and señorita, please show us your identification, please. Also, you should know that if you do not show us your identification, we must arrest you, right here, on the spot.’
Tess gulped. However, this time her gulping did not just occur in her mind.
The burly man, Carlos, followed those chilling words of his partner by taking a pair of shiny steel handcuffs out of his pocket.
Seeing those handcuffs, Tess’s stomach instantly churned. But there was some relief and consolation, she thought: Although she might be jailed, she was now quite sure she wouldn’t be killed. Briefly, she considered telling the Spanish police the truth. However, something deep within Tess held her back. Yet she didn’t know exactly what it was.
The young man finally got up from his seat and looked to Jose. `Okay, okay, we’ve got identification.’ He next looked over to Tess. `Honey, please show them some identification, while I get mine.’ He then winked his long, dark eyelashes to her.
Tess nodded and was soon searching her purse for her passport.
The grinning young man soon removed his passport from his suit coat and handed it to Jose, who had just returned his rumpled hat atop his head.
Seeing the stranger’s grin, Carlos swayed his head from side to side and gritted his teeth once more. This time the sound emitted was that of squeaking chalk along a blackboard, and Tess instantly felt uneasy goose pimples on her skin. Once more, many restaurant patrons silently stared at the table.
The haggard Spanish policeman accepted the two passports that the two restaurant patrons had soon held out to him. Silently, Jose studied the passports for the next half minute. He finally handed them to Carlos, who also took his time examining the open passports. Tess nervously waited, clasping her clammy hands together. The young man continued his irreverent grin. Tess thought: We can certainly do without his grin. It’s certainly not helping matters any.
`Is there a problem?’ finally asked the young, mysterious man. He no longer grinned.
Thank goodness he’s lost that stupid smile, Tess told herself with relief.
Jose spoke when Carlos closed and returned the passports to him. `Why would you think there is a problem?’ Not expecting an answer to that question, this thin, Spanish cop posed another one: `Mr. Smith, where were you at 5:00 o’clock today?’
`I was with my fiancé.’ He then nodded toward Tess. `We were in our hotel room...all day, sir.’
Momentarily staring at the stranger in half-disbelief, Jose then slowly returned the young man’s passport to him.
Tess ruminated: At least I now know his last name is Smith. Her thoughts suddenly panicked: But I don’t know his first name. What if the police ask me that? What do I say? Her throat instantly became very parched and scratchy.
`Señorita, here is your passport,’ Jose calmly stated, extending his hand to Tess for her to retake possession of her own passport. However, before she could grasp it, a young waitress coming from the kitchen with a tray of food on her right shoulder - and while staring at the table where all the activity was occurring and where all eyes in the restaurant were directed - bumped into another waitress carrying a tray of empty dishes. The result was immediately catastrophic, and Tess instinctively jumped with the terrible clamor of breaking dishes. Most eyes in the restaurant now stared at that new activity. There were even a few laughs heard within the restaurant.
Once the noise and laughter within the restaurant had subsided, Tess finally took hold her passport from the outreached arm of the older Spanish policeman, Jose. Once that was quietly accomplished, Jose specifically questioned Tess: `Señorita, this man says that you are his fiancé...is that true?’
Tess momentarily delayed her response, again considering whether to tell the gaunt Spanish policeman the truth. The young man at the table with her, who had sensed her wavering fortitude, then took hold of her free hand and squeezed it once more.
`Yes...yes, Mr. Smith is my fiancé. We are to be married next month...back home in the states.’ Completing that statement, Tess then manufactured a full smile.
`Hmmm...I see, señorita.’ Jose had twirled his mustache when he had spoken those few words.
Turning to Tess, the smiling young man winked at her again and lightly patted the top of her hand. `I love you, sweetheart, and I always will.’ He then leaned forward to peck a kiss on Tess’s lips. With that kiss, another tingle of excitement suddenly coursed up and down her spine, but Tess immediately suppressed it.
`Señorita, then let me ask, was your fiancé with you before and after 5:00 o’clock this afternoon?’ asked the thin Spanish police inspector.
Tess nodded to the thin Spaniard. `Sir, until we came down to this restaurant several minutes ago, we were together in our room all day and all evening. Just as my fiancé has already told you, sir.’ Tess then fabricated another smile.
`Hmmm...I see, señorita.’ The Spanish policeman then paused his words. `Okay, we are truly sorry to have inconvenienced you, señorita and señor,’ now apologized Jose, thereafter briefly removing his Homburg hat and tipping his head toward Tess. In a reciprocal gesture of politeness, Tess tipped her head, still holding an affected and contrived smile on her face.
`No problem,’ responded the smiling young man whom Tess now believed was named Smith.
Carlos’s existing frown grew deeper, seeing Smith’s over-confident smile again.
That one certainly doesn’t like this young man, Tess told herself in her mind.
`Well, then, have a pleasant evening,’ Jose said before half bowing and turning to move away from the table for two.
`Wait, sir!’ requested Tess after the two men had just started to move away from the table.
Of course, both men stopped just three feet away, pivoted around, and returned their gazes to Tess.
The young man then squeezed Tess’s hand again. This time more tightly. At that moment in time, Tess could feel his hand trembling.
`Yes, señorita,’ Jose replied, returning a step toward the table.
`If you don’t mind me asking, what is this all about...anyway?’ She needed further assurance that she was doing what was right.
The young man, no longer smiling and no longer with his hand trembling, squeezed Tess’s hand even harder, and it hurt her. Tess responded by pressing her long nails into his palm; and he immediately took the hint. Softly biting his lower lip and casually looking away, he released his grip of Tess’s hand.
Jose looked to his partner, who nodded his affirmation with his head that he tell the young woman what was going on. Then Jose spoke again: `Señorita, someone who looks very much like your fiancé was seen in the vicinity of a murder which occurred around 5:00 o’clock today. But it could not be him...because he was with you during that time...in your room. You have said so. Have you not, señorita?’ He now softly grinned beneath the twirled, bicycle mustache.
`Yes...yes, I have.’ Tess’s tone had been less than convincing, and the talkative Spanish policeman immediately took account of that fact. He was now sure that the fiancé story was a blatant fraud. He had earlier noted in his mind that neither of these two ‘supposedly engaged’ Americans had been wearing engagement rings. This haggard Spanish cop was no dope - not in the least. He hadn’t been promoted to Chief Inspector of the Santa Cruz Police Department for nothing.
‘By the way, how long have you been engaged?’ now inquired the Spanish inspector, looking directly at the ringless hands of the alleged engaged couple sitting at the table.
Mr. Smith immediately chimed in with a smile: ‘Nearly a year now...right, honey?’ The stranger then looked to Tess for confirmation.
‘Uh...uh...right, nearly a year now.’ Tess said quite unconvincingly. She had seen the inspector’s eyes looking to their hands for the expected engagement rings that simply were not there.
The police inspector now silently nodded. `Are you both staying at this hotel?’ then asked the inspector, now having even greater doubts about the fiancé story and the young man’s alibi.
The young stranger wasted no time in responding: `Yes, sir, we are. We share the same room.’ The stranger soon turned sideways to look into Tess’s eyes, and he took hold of her hand again. Once more she immediately saw his dread as well as his plea for her continuing help – and her continuing complicity. Tess also saw that his eyes were not those of a murderer. She was certain of it. That was her innate judgment call. However, it was indeed fortunate that the young man had looked into her eyes when he did, because she was on the verge of telling the Spanish police ‘the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’
`Is that true, señorita?’ asked the haggard Spanish cop.
`Yes, it is inspector.’ After lying bold-faced again, Tess then strained to smile, and the mysterious young man released his loose grip on her hand once more. Moreover, with the loss of hand contact, Tess strangely felt momentarily alone.
`I hope to see you both again,’ Jose said before he politely removed his Homburg hat, tipped his grinning head, and half-bowed to Tess again. His gruff partner, Carlos, only frowned during this time.
When the two Spanish policemen moved to the door, the young man turned his back to them and vertically put his index finger to his lips. Tess understood his gesture to remain silent until they had gone, and she did so. During that several second interval, their eyes met and held once more. Finally, Tess broke off the contact. To do it, she gently had to bite her lower lip. Strange and uncontrollable, pulsating sensations were beginning once more to electrify her entire body.
Finally, the thin man and the burly man left the restaurant. However, before they closed the door behind them, they delivered disbelieving stares over to the table.
A quarter-minute of silence followed at the table for two. Once more, both were reseated next to one another, and Tess was again lost in the stranger’s piercing blue eyes.
Finally grasping hold of herself, Tess leaned forward and adamantly whispered, `What the hell is all this about, Smith! I should have told the truth and turned you in!’
`Lucky for me that you didn’t,’ said the stranger, confidently grinning. `It must have been the kiss?’ He now softly laughed with inner self-confidence - even brashness. `Am I right, miss?’ Now he grinned; however, his overly amused eyes currently did most his laughing for him at the moment.
Tess now fumed, momentarily thinking: good looks only count for so much. Then she reacted: `Why you egotistical bastard!’ Following her harsh words, she instinctively slapped the stranger across his face. Again, it was her southern upbringing and sense of righteous indignation that had innately actuated her hostile open hand. However, despite the slap, the stranger’s grin only widened more. Of course, restaurant patrons stared at the table for two again.
`Does that mean the wedding is off?’ the stranger now asked, mockingly laughing.
Tess tried to slap him again. However, he was quick to catch her flailing hand and hold it within his powerful hand.
Suddenly, his smile erased. `Now please calm down, miss. I was only kidding. When I’m nervous, I kid a lot. I guess I take after my father in that way.’ He then gently took her hand to his mouth and kissed it before releasing it. Tess instantly pulled her hand back; and she was ready to flail at him again.
Seeing her raised hand, he winced. `Really, I mean it, miss. I sincerely thank you for your help. I really owe you for my life. Again, that’s no joke.’ He smiled appreciatively now, and it was sincere. Tess was sure of it, just as she was absolutely sure that he was no murderer. Slowly, she lowered her raised, open hand. Once more, she had been completely disarmed by this uninvited stranger sitting at her table.