He greeted me at twilight, as the gold was fading to bronze, the shadows of the palm trees lengthening in the coming night. I had just finished swimming laps in a warm saltwater pool by the ocean. I was breathing hard, dancing along the path in my loose sarong.
"Good evening, would you care for a coco?"
His accent was strong, my guess was South American. He was brown and smooth, with a dazzling white smile that crinkled his temples and revealed his years, his maturity. Looking at his eyes made my heart do a leap and my pinky finger flew into my mouth. I bit down hard, then remembered my manners. "Good evening. How are your coconuts?"
He flashed that dazzling smile again. "They are very refreshing. I just cut them down this morning. Would you like some juice?" He held out a freshly cut green coco, the water sloshing lightly over the rim. I met his eyes and took a deep drink. "That one is free," he said. "The next one is two dollars." I blushed deeply as he winked at me. I felt like a 16-year old, not a 40-something year old on a spontaneous trip to the tropics, after ending a relationship that had been killing me slowly from boredom. And now here I was, slurping coconut water with a hot Latino, wearing nothing but a bikini and a sloppy sarong.
"I'm Miko," he extended his hand.
"Yum" I said. My social skills sucked. "I'm Ray." I took his hand and noticed he was twinkling his eyes at me again.
"Nice to meet you, Ray. Just like the sun. I also do massage, you know." I didn't know. "I'm here most days, selling cocos and giving massages. This is basically my back yard. Come in the evening sometime and I will give you one, if you like." He was playful, challenging me, and I was feeling silly and reckless.
"Thank you for the coco!" I said a tad too loud, and with an awkward hop, I scampered off and jumped in my car, grateful for the cover. I thought about his hands on me the whole way back to my little bamboo cabin in the jungle.
The next day I lay in the sun at a nearby beach. I tried to read my book but my thoughts kept wandering back to Miko. Did he really do massages? Or was that a line? I thought of him touching me all over and I felt wetness seep between my legs. I hadn't had a professional massage in over a year, and my previous boyfriend had been weak in that department. I tingled, thinking of Miko's strong hands, pulling the husk back from the coconut so that I could take a sip. I imagined him pouring the juice on me, then licking it off, and I got so wet that I felt sure the other sunbathers near me could tell. I wiggled into the sand and closed my eyes. Miko.
By the afternoon I was glowing warm from the sun, freshly showered, shaved, and feeling spunky. I had even shaved
down there
and the soft silkiness brushing against my underwear made me wet all over again.
I found myself back at the little seaside park with the warm pool, glittering against the green grass and swaying palm trees. I had my sunglasses on, pretending to be casually strolling to the pool, while really scanning for Miko. That's when I saw him, in the distance, working on a client. So he
is
legit, I thought, noticing the massage table set up under a palm tree.
I slipped into the water and soaked for a while. As dusk approached I got out and took my time rinsing off in the outdoor shower, hoping he was watching. Instead of getting dressed, I draped my sarong over my shoulder and sauntered over to the now-empty massage table, wet hair dripping onto the grass.
"Good evening, Ray" he said, with that delicious grin. "I saw you go in, and I saw you come out. I'm glad you are here. How are you feeling? Would you like a massage?"
"Ummm, good, yeah, sure" was all I could manage, my heart pounding a little bit harder.
He held up a soft sheet and told me I would be much more comfortable using this as a cover. He looked away as I peeled off my soggy bikini and wrapped the sheet around me. We nodded at each other, faces solemn, and then he motioned for me to lie down on the table, where he had placed another sheet.
"Make yourself comfortable, Ray." I lay down on the table on my stomach and he draped the sheet over my body. He placed his palm on my lower back with calm stillness and the weight was like a warm stone, sending radiant energy through my limbs. "We are surrounded by beauty, you are here to relax and feel good. Just lay here and breathe in light like the ray that you are."