Fly Into Black
by Michael G. Crawford
Chapter Ten
Waiting in line at the airport in Cozumel, Deruse read over the pamphlet he had picked up at San Francisco's Passport Office. It was entitled "Know Before You Go", and contained a wealth of information for the tourist. In this case, he was extremely interested in the section on Alcoholic Beverages. He tried to decipher the duty rates for "Distilled Spirits". Finally he figured it out. He would keep his eyes open for Tequila and Rum, since they were popular comodities, and the rate didn't look too stiff when offset by the purchase price back home.
A young woman bumped into as she laughed with a friend, enjoying the sunshine already by wearing a loose sun dress which gave ample view of her supple body.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm really not such a clod. We were just admiring the weather. God, it is beautiful here isn't it? Did I step on your foot..."
He smiled as she apologized and looked her in the eye despite his wanting to look her over carefully. She, on the other hand, managed to get a good picture of him while she continued her patter, now asking questions.
"Are you here for long?" And then not waiting for the answer, "Sally and I are staying for two whole weeks. It's our first vacation out of the U.S. We saved up our pennies and here we are. God, it's so exciting. I'm babbling aren't I. Jennie Fenbright, and this is Sally Homestead. We're from Missoula, Montana..."
"No one is really from Missoula, Montana, are they?" interrupted Deruse with a smile on his face. Jennie turned her head a little as she was caught off guard. Then realizing that Deruse was just being playful, she smiled a whole new smile, simply radiant at being teased.
"You cut that out! Of course we are from Missoula, and proud of it. You're thinking of Kalispell. No one is from Kalispell. That's just a suburb of Missuola."
"Oh, I'm sorry. California ignorant you know" mocked Deruse, his eyes still twinkling as he ignored the vision of most of Jennie's left breast as it tried to escape out the sleeveless sun-dress.
"Oh you're from California. That's great. Where do you live?"
"Out in the desert, it's quite boring. Really. Very un-intersting. Now Missoula, THAT sounds interesting. Tell me about Missoula."
"Oh it can be boring. Any place can be. You just have to know how to put the fun in it" she said with a flirtatious turn of her head, and tossing of her head. Her blonde hair cascaded around, looking very much alive, and Deruse felt a pang of desire rush over him.
"Down boy" he admonished himself. It wouldn't do to get too tangled up right now. He was only supposed to be in Cozumel for a week. He didn't have a lot of time for chasing...well actually...
"...Anyway..." Jennie continued, "Maybe you can join Sally and I. You might need some protection from the Senoritas down here. We here they can be quite vicious"
Deruse noted her friend was heartedly agreeing. Of course he wouldn't mind, but what was their real motive. With a assertive woman like Jennie to lead, the pair would certainly be alright on their own. And certainly if they were looking for male companionship they would have little problem in that area. The South American wolves would be all over these two. Ahh...maybe that was it. They wanted some measure of protection from the wolves. A man with them might keep a few of them away, perhaps only the really persistant ones would "come ahead" with Deruse around. Well that could be fun, he supposed. If he got tired of Jennie's mouth and fiery looks, he could relax with the more quiet and desultory looking Betty. In any case, it would liven up his one week on the tropic island. Besides, the General had said he was to act like a tourist. What would all male tourist do when "confronted" with this situation. Grin-and-bear-it of course.
He smiled at Jennie, looking her long in the eyes, and after noting she slowed her talking a little as his stare penetrated, he slowly moved his steely blue eyes to stare into Betty's. Both women met his stare with open-ness. A spark jumped for moment between him and Betty, and Deruse had the funny feeling he might be getting in over his head. Oh well. Enjoy it boy.
"I'll tell you what. If you guys promise to keep something sweet to drink in my hands, I'll promise to let you protect me. But you have to make sure I get romance down here. That's what I'm here for, romance. If you guys take off with some hunk, you'd better find me someone to keep me company. That sound like a deal?"
Betty stared at him long again, as Jennie gushed with pleasure at the prospect. Again, that little electric jab came, and Deruse almost shook from the impact. He vowed to take it slow and easy with either of these two. There was definitely something delightfully strange about them.
"Oh, that's perfect. We'll romance you, don't worry. You sure you can handle us both?"
And Deruse now was caught off guard a little himself. Her question was posed innocently, but now he could feel the energy from both of the two woman, as he realized he may have hit on one of their objectives for their trip. Perhaps while they were away from home, they were hoping to work on a few fantasies where prying eyes and waggling mouths wouldn't ruin it all. The thought of participating in a trio didn't really disgust Deruse, it just wasn't his style. He was basically monogamous.
But he felt confident he could control the situation, both women seemed eager but not over- indulgent to the point of reckless abandon. They would control themselves if he gave them the correct lead. After all, everyone had more than one fantasy. Maybe he could satisfy a few of the others.
"Great. But don't you want to at least know my name?"
The two women blushed at their eagerness, and Deruse introduced himself and gave them an exagerrated bow, rapping off a little of his newly learned, well re-hearsed Spanish. "Thank you Air Force Intelligence" he said to himself as he considered how well the crash course had prepared him. He realized suddenly that he had been hearing other conversations, without really tumbling to the fact that he was hearing and understanding them despite their being several different local Spanish dialects. Amazing.
The women beamed at his use of the language, as they realized they had made quite a catch. They exchanged glances, then Jennie said,
"Oh you'll do just fine, Mr. Deruse Deboune. God what a name. Ever think of getting married?"
"Every night I go to bed alone...just kidding. Sure, let's pretend you and I are married for a couple of days, then we'll change hotels, then Betty and I can try it out."
He knew he was gambling on his interpretation of the women's actions, but he wanted to build the idea of "one on one" immediately before they got any further along.
The two women exchanged looks that Deruse thought might be only slightly reluctant. Perhaps he had misread them after all.
"Now Deruse. You said you wanted romance. How about we amend that to just lovers. We don't want to act like old married couples, do we?"
Again the sexual implication came through strongly, and from Betty's body language, Deruse really began to wonder about the men in Missoula, Montana. Why in the hell were these two so damned hungry? And why were they so non-competitive? He kind of expected them to be trying to out-do each other. It was strange to say the least. Course it might be fun finding out.
"I'm game. First thing though, I need a cold shower. You two have got me smoking. Which hotel you guys in?"
"The Conquistadore" replied Betty, obviously the down-to-earth planner of the two, as she consulted her iteniary which was at the ready in a business- woman's folder. Maybe that was the clue. These two might be starving MBAs who had several years of all work and no play or some other such cliche. But if true, it could be an explanation for the fire in their eyes.
"I'm in the Cozumel Arms" he said, waiting for someone to take the lead on deciding if they were really serious about the idea he had flippantly thrown out.
"Well..." began Betty in a low voice, "...if were are going to play at lovers, I thing we had better get used to each other a little first. How about you see if you can get a room at our Hotel. We can meet for lunch, and talk this whole idea over a little more. It would seem to me that we need to get the ground-rules straight."
"Oh Betty" said Jennie, her nose wrinkling, "...let's not ruin it by too much planning. We're here to get away from it all. Let's relax and just let it flow. Let's let the California man show us how to be 'laid back!"
Deruse smiled at the stereotype, while congratulating himself on the MBA call. Certainly he was right. Things looked better and better. Of course he would be tired at the end of the week. Good thing he would get some rest time at the end of his trip.
"Right. But it's a great idea. Meet you for lunch in your hotel, whether I can get a room there or not." Then to insure he gave the women a chance to back out graciously, he added, "...besides, I'd best grab my reservation first, just in case. That way I don't get stuck without a room. How about 1:30 in your hotel dining room?"
"Okay, Deruse" agreed Jennie for the two women, and they waved as they grabbed a cab and blasted away with half their baggage tied on top.
Deruse watched them go, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another. He hadn't realized it, but his body had been soaking in the two women's body language, and now he really did need that cold shower. "WHEW!" he said out loud, and a young fellow who had been standing behind him in line, smiled knowingly.