Reckless (5 page)

"
Yeah, a beach, beautiful blue water and a margarita in my hand—sounds just about perfect." Jaden stopped to look in a shop window. "Look at these shoes! Let's go in."

"
Cute," Keisha agreed. "But we just got here, and we've barely unpacked, remember? We agreed to walk around a little, get the lay of the land before we start our serious shopping. . .and partying."

"
Oh, yeah." Jaden grinned. "All right, but remind me to come back here, okay? I've got to check out these shoes. Tax-free, duty-free shopping calls my name."

"
I'll remind you." Keisha grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her along the sidewalk.

It was t
he first visit for either of them to the beautiful little islands which lay nestled between Cuba and Honduras in the Caribbean Sea. They were staying on the main island with day trips planned to each of the sister islands, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Their week's schedule contained sight-seeing and snorkeling trips, but the other half of the time they intended to spend lying on the beach.

Keisha couldn
't remember much about her last vacation, but knew she'd spent it somewhere in the Ozark Mountains near her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. This first trip out of the country with a friend rather than her parents was a milestone. At twenty-four she'd been of legal drinking age for a while, but never got much chance to enjoy it. She intended to make the most of this vacation, even if it meant tons of aspirin and coffee on the plane ride home.

Keisha
met Jaden in Beauty College and they hit it off immediately. Both girls grew up in St. Louis, but went to different high schools and never crossed paths. Once they did, they became almost inseparable. After graduation, they were both hired by the same hair salon, so they rented an apartment and became roommates.

It took three years to save up enough for this vacation, and Keisha knew Jaden look
ed forward to it as much as she did. When they arrived, both girls phoned home and checked in with their parents, then turned their cell phones off. They'd call home every day as requested, but on
their
schedule. No interrupting calls from their families.

"
This is great, but I'm dying to get to the beach." Keisha tossed her long, black hair over one shoulder. "Let's go back and change into our suits."

"
I'm dying for a margarita!" Jaden added, and giggling, they returned to their hotel.

From her suitcase,
Keisha pulled out two bikinis. "What do you think?" She waved them in the air. "I'm thinking red and white stripes."

Jaden nodded.
"That'll look hot with your dark skin. I love the peach-colored one, too. Save it for tomorrow."

"
My thoughts exactly." Stripping out of her clothes, Keisha wiggled into the tight suit and stepped in front of the mirror. "I like it. I liked it in the store, but it's even better here in the Caribbean." They laughed, still barely believing where they were.

"
God, you look fantastic!" Jaden whined as she stripped out of her own clothes. "Your boobs are totally perfect. Mine are barely even there!" She stepped in front of Keisha stark naked. "Look at me! It's like someone smashed two tennis balls on my chest."

Keisha chuckled
, shaking her head. "Put your suit on, let's go!" She tied a cover-up around her waist and grabbed her beach bag.

"
I'm coming," Jaden muttered, struggling with her cover-up. She tossed some bottled water in her bag and followed Keisha out.

Approaching the beach,
Jaden read from a brochure as they headed toward the water's edge. "Did you know the Seven-Mile Beach is actually five-point-six miles long?"

"
I did not know that." Keisha donned her sunglasses and looked around at the throngs of people surrounding them.

"
It says here that it's the Islands' most popular beach."

"
That part, I figured out." She stopped for a trio of children running in front of them, and then continued to the water. Finding a spot big enough for their two towels, Keisha looked at her friend. "How about here?"

"
Sure." Jaden dropped her bag in the sand and spread out her towel. She sat and began applying sunscreen.

Keisha settled in next to her and did the same.

"Get my back, will you?" Jaden handed over her bottle of heavy-duty sun block. A fair-skinned red-head, she freckled and burned easily.

"
Yep." Keisha poured lotion into her hands and slathered it on Jaden's back. "Hair," she snapped, and Jaden pulled her long hair off to the side. "Thank you." She rubbed the lotion in slowly, thoroughly, taking her time as she massaged the tight skin beneath her hands.

"
That feels good." Jaden shrugged her shoulders a few times. "Let me do you."

"
Yeah, okay." Keisha pulled her own sunscreen from her bag and handed the bottle over. Her skin wasn't the dark color of her African-American father's, more like the light tan color of her Mexican mother's. Keisha didn't burn easily, but she wasn't taking any chances in the hot Caribbean sun. "That does feel good," she agreed as Jaden rubbed the lotion onto her back, and Keisha held her hair off her shoulders. "Thanks."

"
Yep." Jaden patted Keisha's shoulder and settled back in her own space. She finished rubbing sunscreen on herself and then pulled the two bottles of water from her bag. "Drink?"

"
Sure." Keisha took the bottle, opened it and sipped.

"
You missed some sunscreen." Jaden rubbed a thumb over Keisha's cheek. "Got it."

Keisha smiled as she looked over the beach.
"Can you believe all these people?"

"
Un-fucking-believable," Jaden agreed, and they lay back on their towels and closed their eyes.

A few minutes later they were assaulted by a spray of water as their towel neighbors returned and yanked off their life jackets.

"Hey, watch it!" Jaden sat up, wiping water from her legs.

"
Sorry." One of the two soaked guys smiled at them.

H
is blond hair and blue eyes are overshadowed by that goofy smile
, Keisha thought. He couldn't seem to help himself when he asked, "Can I wipe that off for you?" and grinned at Jaden, almost leering.

"
Uh, no," she said simply, staring at him.

The second man made an eye-rolling gesture and mouthed
, "Sorry," to Keisha.

She smiled at him with his spiky dark hair and scruffy facial hair.
Much cuter than his friend
. "No problem." She wiggled her toes. "Been swimming?"

"
Kayaking, actually." He reached for his towel, dried himself off and turned to his friend. "Would you stop dripping on the lady, Pete? Jesus!" He grabbed the second towel and thrust it at Pete.

"
Oh, uh, sorry." Pete attempted to dry off, but splashed Jaden more in the process.

"
Here on vacation?" Keisha asked, suddenly feeling brave.

"
Yes, we are. You?" Dark-haired guy appeared to look her over.

"
Yep." Keisha shifted her legs a bit.

He seemed to notice and appreciate the gesture.
"I'm Rob Walsh, and this is Pete Turner. We're from Kansas City."

"
Really?" Keisha perked up. "I'm Keisha—"

Jaden extended an arm and popped Keisha in the stomach.

Taking the hint, Keisha continued the introductions using first names only. "This is my friend Jaden."

"
Keisha," Rob repeated.

Pete asked,
"So, Jaden is it? What kind of a name is that?"

Keisha couldn
't bear to hear the answer. Jaden put guys like Pete in his place on a regular basis. And if Jaden didn't like Pete, then Keisha might not have a chance with Rob. She focused on the dark-haired hunk in front of her. "So, Kansas City, huh?" She didn't dare tell him they lived a mere few hundred miles apart.

"
Yep. Pete and I work for the Royal's baseball club, in the Kauffman Stadium offices."

"
The Royals suck," Jaden piped up.

"
Who do you like better?" Pete asked defensively.

Jaden and Keisha exchanged glances. If they said the St. Louis Cardinals it might give their hometown away.
"Baseball's stupid," Jaden muttered instead.

Ignoring the jab, Rob asked Keisha
"Are you girls doing anything special tonight?"

"
We're going to the carnival." She batted her eyes.

"
We're
going to the carnival," he repeated slowly, a smile playing at his lips.

"
Really?" Keisha returned the smile and maintained eye contact.

"
Some big fucking surprise," Jaden added. "The Batabano Carnival is the biggest spring event in George Town. Everyone will be there."

"
Maybe we'll run into you." Rob continued to stare at Keisha. "Or maybe we could meet you there."

"
Yeah," she started to agree when Jaden hit her again. Keisha smiled at Rob apologetically. "Maybe we'll run into you."

"
Sure." He gave a last, lingering look over her body, seeming regretful to turn away and gather up his things. "Come on, Turner. Get your shit and let's go."

"
Right behind you." Pete picked up his stuff and shuffled after Rob.

Keisha watched them go as Jaden leaned back and groaned.
"We'd better
not
see them there! Christ! What an oaf!"

"
You think so?" Keisha mused.

"
Um, yeah. No doubt. Keep looking, Cooper."

"
Um, yeah," Keisha repeated, lowered her sunglasses and laying back on her towel.

* * * *

Keisha and Jaden let the sun bake them for two hours before returning to their hotel room and showering. After changing into pretty dresses with sandals, they carefully applied make-up and paid special attention to each other's hair. While Jaden liked a loose ponytail at the base of her neck, Keisha preferred to leave her hair flowing, with just two strands from the front pulled into a braid that ran down the back.

"
You look hot," Jaden confirmed as they checked each other out.

"
You too!" Keisha agreed. "This is going to be a blast."

"
Promise me we'll
try
to meet some different guys. Pete and Rob practically fell into our laps—we should be able to meet others just as easily."

"
We can try." Keisha secretly thought she'd be quite happy if she got stuck with Mr. Rob Walsh from Kansas City. In fact, she intended to look for him.

They headed out and ate dinner at a sidewalk café in town. There were hundreds of people milling around on the street
and Keisha watched them come and go with amazement. "This is incredible," she finally said.

"
I think so, too." Jaden downed the last of her margarita as the waiter brought them two new drinks and traded glasses. "Thank you." She smiled up at him, and he smiled and nodded in return before he left.

"
These
are incredible." Keisha picked up her third giant margarita. "They taste sooo good."

"
Mm, hmm. But I'm getting tired of sitting here. I'm ready to dance! I hear music down the street. There's supposed to be dancing."

"
Yeah." Keisha looked around the crowd. She saw no sign of Rob, Pete or any other available man for that matter. "We may be dancing with each other."

Jaden stood up and shrugged.
"So, we start out dancing together. I bet it won't take long for a couple of good-looking guys to join us."

Taking one last sip of her drink, Keisha
left money for the check and followed Jaden out. "I hope you're right."

R
eaching the part of the street cordoned off for dancing, they found it jam-packed with people. "Holy shit!" Keisha muttered as they squeezed into a little spot and began dancing. "Good thing we like each other." Their bodies were almost touching as they moved to the fast beat.

"
I do like you." Jaden smiled, raised her eyebrows at Keisha and bumped their hips together. "It may be the tequila talking, but I think that if we don't meet up with any guys tonight, it might not be such a bad thing." She rubbed her thumb over the front of Keisha's breast and watched the nipple pucker through the thin dress fabric.

T
he movement surprised Keisha, but being tequila-heavy herself she was giddy and suddenly realized the idea appealed to her. She and Jaden had never experimented sexually before, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity. "Oh," she murmured, "you may be right." She turned so Jaden would touch her other breast.