Any lingering stress that Nate was feeling had been washed away in the shower, and when he stepped out he felt reborn and reinvigorated. He dried himself, aware of every body part and he felt a lingering soreness where Alicia knelt on his arms. But it was a sweet ache and only enough to make him smile. He thought back on the day and chewed his tongue for a brief moment.
Alicia and Natalie both took charge with me. I took charge with Ashley. Which way was better?
He thought about this with a furrowed brow while he was getting dressed and just as he put his socks on he was ready to dismiss the thought as irrelevant, as either way it ended up with a wonderful memory, that same thought was chased from his mind by a knock on the door. Opening the door, he saw Alicia. Not holding her dress, but wearing it now. And she held his shirt in her hands, extending it out to him when he opened the door.
"Told you I'd bring it back." She smiled at him and Nate took it.
"Thanks stranger. Long time no see," Nate answered glibly. He had seen this woman naked less than an hour ago. Nate blinked for a moment.
We didn't even fuck actually. Is that what she's back for now? How incredible is it that it was that great without even fucking?
"Yea, hi," Alicia responded. Her tone was pleasant but dismissive. She was too busy for him. "Ok, well I need to go to the rehearsal now. So. See you tomorrow." She smiled and turned around to walk away before Nate stopped him.
"Wait!" He blurted out, before grimacing. "I just meant, I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes? Before you have to get out of here?" Alicia turned and regarded him with cool eyes, and a nearly imperceptible hint of amusement on her face.
"Sure. Few minutes." Alicia stepped in and closed the door behind her. Nate moved towards her and smiled, only to be met by Alicia putting her hand up to his chest. "Hang on, big guy. We aren't going to do this, and you don't have to be the charming gentleman now. We had some fun, we can move on with our days now."
"Oh!" Nate recoiled a bit, as though Alicia's hand was hot on his chest. He stumbled over his words and finally managed to get out. "I thought, maybe we'd actually have sex."
"Oh, my handjob wasn't good enough for you?" Alicia responded, playing like she was offended. She smiled and crossed her arms. "I'm not having sex this trip. Ground rules I set up with my partner. And that's why I didn't bring condoms with me."
Nate's eyes grew big. "You're-" he searched for the right word for a moment, "taken?" he suddenly imagined someone banging his door down and threatening him for daring to touch their woman.
"Look," Alicia chopped the air towards him in a direct gesture, taking control of the conversation. "She and I are in an open relationship, essentially. I'll spare you the details, they aren't important to you. But you're fine. It's only cheating if you break the rules, and no rules were broken. I even texted her about it while I was putting on my dress. Long story short, I don't make mistakes. If I do or say something, I mean it. Clear?"
Nate stood for a moment, nodding as he digested the information. His eyes were wide as she spoke so directly, it disarmed him. "So you didn't really need help getting your dress on?"
She blinked slowly at him. "No." She answered as if it were the most asinine question that could have been asked.
I should have known that. She came over with that leather thingy.
"So. How long have you been....'Mommy'," he asked, coughing before the last word, playing it cool while he digested this information. Her eyes softened as she genuinely smiled.
"A while now." Nate wondered how long she meant. They weren't that far removed from the high school years. "I got into it when I met my girlfriend. She was into submission, so we explored it together. It was fun. It still is. Show me 50 relationships and I'll show you 50 ways they are all different." She smiled again for a moment. Nate nodded.
"Look," she repeated, steering the conversation again. "I need to get moving. The rehearsal, remember? If you really want to hang out more, I'll be at the pub stand down on the beach tonight." Nate turned to the window. On beaches up and down the shoreline there were wooden stands of outdoor bars set up so people could drink on the beach. He could see one out his window, less than 100 feet from where he and Ashley hooked up.
"No, I'm ok. I understand. But I'll come say hi anyway." Alicia nodded at him and opened the door, slipping out without another word. Nate stood still for just a moment, realizing he was still holding his shirt. "Thank you!" he called after her, perhaps too late.
Hours later, at sunset, Nate could see that the pub stand outside the hotel was milling with people. It wasn't much compared to a traditional bar. Maybe 15-20 people were sitting on the sandy beach, long shadows cast by the sun setting behind them. Nate wondered how they would keep tourists from tossing trash in the ocean or on the beach. His question was answered when he saw that everyone was drinking out of wooden tumblers, stacked behind the bar next to a sign warning you that if you did not bring them back, you wouldn't get your credit card back, and if you littered they would call the police on you. Nate expected that most people who lived on an island would take trash very seriously.
He passed the pub stand near a wooden deck and saw a group of four women, all wearing white tank tops and tan shorts, and smiled. There was Ashley, looking genuinely like she was having a good time. Alicia, who was on her phone. A woman who must be Shelby, his old best friend's bride to be. And a tall young woman. He recognized her immediately, and didn't expect her. "Taryn," he said quietly to himself. Taryn was in the year behind him in high school, but even he knew that she was going to be valedictorian. She was also ridiculously tall for a girl in high school, she must have been 6'4" now. She had shoulder length brown hair and when she turned to see him approach, her eyes grew wide with surprise.
"Hi ladies," Nate stepped up to the group, each of them holding a drink. "Alicia told me you'd be down here."
The bride looked back and forth between the girls. "Sorry, who are you?"
"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Nate. I was one of Kyle's friends in school. I'm here for your wedding. You must be Shelby?" He stuck his hand out. She was the only person involved in the wedding so far that he didn't know. Nate thought politeness would be most called for in this situation.
She graciously took it and smiled. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here! Thanks so much for coming! You said you know Alicia?" She gestured towards her friend.
