Where the Climate's Sultry
This is my first contribution to the site after lurking for a while. I've based this story on one of my favourite poems (no prizes for guessing which one), updating it to the 21
st
century.
Off we go with the first few chapters. I'll try and post my next chapters ASAP, but can't promise anything. Depends if I get the time and the inspiration! And don't worry - things will get a lot sexier as we get deeper into the story...
1
He'll never forget the day he received that fateful message from his daughter, Hayley. He was reclining on that pink leather chair staring up into the beautiful eyes of Dr Jade Lee, his hot Asian dentist. Going to the dentist had always been something he put off until his teeth started aching or an old filling fell out, but that all changed when he met Dr Lee.
And to think he didn't really even know what she looked like. Every time he went along to her clinic, she was all bundled up in medical gear: gown, surgical mask, hairnet, visor - the whole works. But, gee!, her eyes were something else. They shone as if they were lit from within. He knew he shouldn't really stare at her when she was giving him an injection, or drilling a hole, or shoving enamel in that hole, but he couldn't help it. Those brown eyes with the single eyelid were the cutest things he'd ever seen. And the second cutest thing were those strands of hair which escaped from her hairnet and framed her face and set off those beautiful eyes.
Anyway, there he was standing at the reception desk settling his bill when he got this message that the apple of his eye, Hayley, would be unable to go on her holiday with her three friends next week because of some issue with her passport. He knew how disappointed she would be, as this holiday had been all she'd been talking about for the past month or so. She and her three pals were due to go to a really nice hotel on the Greek island of Corfu, and now, according to Hayley, they would have to resort to Plan B.
Hunter, for this is our hero's name, immediately called his daughter so he could commiserate with her and see if there was anything he could do. As he was to find out, the commiserations were gratefully accepted, while his offer to help out in any way he could was to lead to a whole series of circumstances and adventures, which are the subject of this book.
First, though, before we plunge ahead with the story, I think a little bit of background is in order. Hunter Jarvis was a 46-year-old widow, who had become a multimillionaire by the age of 35 by betting on the collapse of the global economy. After making a shedload of money for himself and his bank, he'd retired, then got bored and invested in a group that took over dives such as biker bars, did them up and reopened them as affordable eateries with a theme: sometimes Mediterranean, sometimes vegetarian, maybe North African. Basically, whatever the location seemed to be crying out for. The strategy had been successful and the group was soon to open its twelfth outlet in less than ten years. Hunter helped out on the management side by cutting the best deals with the banks and finding the best ways to leverage the group's debt. He'd even tried his hand at cooking when they had one of their periodic chef crises.
Mia, the love of Hunter's life, with whom he had been married for 22 years, had died of breast cancer not yet two years ago, and it was only now that he was starting to get over the devastation. They'd had Hayley (just turned 23) when they were very young, but, try as they might, they'd never been able to give her the siblings they wanted. Hayley had been very worried about her dad after her mum died, wondering at one point if he had basically given up on life. She knew he wasn't dating and thought it was a crying shame that a man who was still in the prime of his life should basically be living the life of a monk. That's why she hatched her little plan...
Everyone who knew Mia agreed that Hayley had inherited her good looks, together with her blonde hair. She used to be a little on the tubby side, but had burned off that puppy fat years ago and was in demand as a part-time model. Her nine to five job was on the online marketing side of a major fashion retailer. Despite having no university degree, she had climbed the ladder quickly as a result of her hard work and business smarts, and had a steady boyfriend, who was a few years older than her - a Greek Cypriot man called Christos.
Hayley's best friend was Christos' first cousin, Julia, and it was Julia who was central to her plan to help her dad come out of his depression and rejoin the ranks of the living. Julia, who was a few years older than her friend, though still 20 years younger than her dad, had always had a crush on Hunter. When they were teenagers, Hayley used to tease her friend about it, and then after Mia died, Julia felt it would be really inappropriate to cosy up to him or, well, yes, come onto him. It was actually Hayley who had suggested to her that she made a play for her father. Julia had told her that she'd find it really difficult to do when Hayley was around, which Hayley took to mean that Julia still had the hots for him. That's when she decided to go ahead and book the holiday without first getting a new passport, knowing that she'd be unable to travel when she finally 'discovered' the problem. Her dad, on the other hand, could travel at the drop of a hat, having no ties to speak of, except to her.
Julia was one very happy bunny when Hayley explained her plan to her. Her mind raced ahead to days spent by the hotel pool, with Hunter's powerful hands rubbing sunscreen deep into her golden skin, then untying the string ties of her bikini top to make sure there were no tan lines. When Hayley explained that the hotel was very strict about no more than two guests being allowed to sleep in one room, Julia's imagination ran riot, as she saw herself being carried across the threshold like a bride on her wedding night. And when Hayley told her that the only rooms she had been able to book had been double rooms (all the twin rooms having sold out), Julia started to think about all the new clothes she would buy between now and next Tuesday, starting with nightwear.