Part 4 (1/2)
”You checked her and her party in this morning, do you remember? The four-piece of upper crust women from New York?”
”Oh, yeah! They're trouble,” said Bruce with a laugh and a drink. ”I'm definitely going to make a move for the brunette. I saw her checking me out. I want her to be mean to me.”
Harrison spoke as he cleaned up the leftovers on his desk and changed his s.h.i.+rt from a selection he kept in a small wardrobe near the balcony. ”Clarice was the dark-haired one hovering in the back like a shy little squirrel. I b.u.mped into her earlier today and helped her find her way back to the lifts, and we got to talking. She's got everything we need Bruce, she'll be perfect. Beautiful, cla.s.sy, well-mannered, respectable, and I already know she's not afraid to follow the beat of her own drum.”
”How do you know that?” asked Bruce.
”Because she told me she didn't like it here, even after she knew I was the owner,” said Harrison. ”Her friends dragged her halfway around the world for a paid vacation in paradise, and she's still not having it unless it's on her terms. That's the kind of woman I need to work with. One who knows what she wants and will lay out her terms. Then all I have to do is meet them. Simple as pie.”
”Which you're a.s.suming you won't have any trouble doing.”
”Of course I won't, I'm rich and gorgeous,” said Harrison. ”I could get her anything she wants.”
”What if all she wants is your heart?” mocked Bruce in a dramatic, movie-trailer-style voice.
”h.e.l.l, to get out of this cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k, I'd probably have to give it to her.”
Bruce just chuckled and threw his feet off the desk. ”So where are you going now?”
”To the shops,” said Harrison. ”And then to my room to get ready. I've got to have everything I need before I ask Clarice to marry me.”
”s.h.i.+t, you make it sound so official and dramatic,” said Bruce. ”You're not seriously getting a ring at the shops are you?”
”She's going to need one, isn't she?” said Harrison. ”Or do you have a handy explanation to give to my father about why she doesn't have one when he shows up?”
”It's getting fitted?”
”Bruce, I forget sometimes that you're not super rich. Not to be a cad about it, but trust me when I say my father will not believe for one moment that I'm waiting for anything to be fixed or fitted. It would be done already because I would have paid to have it done. Buying her one is the simplest solution here.”
As Harrison led him out of the office and shut the lights off behind them, Bruce had one final comment. ”Well, at least you weren't a cad about it, whatever the h.e.l.l that is. Just promise me you're not actually going to try and make a traditional proposal out of it, okay? You'll look like a f.u.c.king idiot.”
6.
Clarice
Feeling shaky from the physical encounter with Kyle, Clarice took her time getting ready for dinner. She could hear the faraway music from somewhere on the beach. It was the perfect background atmosphere as she wandered lazily around the suite in a silk robe, delicately applying lotion and makeup, and throwing her hair into an upsweep that was pretty without being too uptight. For evening, she chose a short black dress with thin straps and some matching sandals. There would surely be dinners with the girls later in the week that would require her to get all trussed up like a Christmas goose, so until then, she was determined to be comfortable.
As soon as she saw the girls waiting at the table with their colorful iced drinks already in hand, Clarice felt a million pounds lighter. They cheered when they saw her, making the other restaurant guests at their tables and lined up at the dessert buffet turn to look.
The outdoor patio, belonging to one of the many restaurants at the resort, was lined with burning torches, stringed lights, and has a live acoustic band playing traditional Balinese music softly in the corner. Waiters buzzed around the big round tables, bringing out steaming dishes with spices that seemed to burn in the night air. Everyone was happy, laughing, chatting, touching. The sea roared only a few hundred yards away, and already the stars were twinkling brightly in the dark night sky. The smell of salted meats and fresh fruits wafted on the soft wind and made Clarice's tummy growl.
She swerved around tables towards her girls and gave each of them a sweet hug before she took her waiting seat. All three of them looked well-rested and fresh; even Sophie had let her hair down, as it were, and was showing off some of the natural curl in her bob. Trudy had a constellation of bright little flowers stuck in her messy brown upsweep, and the glow in her eyes told Clarice she was already buzzed.
”Girl!” said Trudy as she slapped her forearm gently in greeting. ”Where have you been? We've been waiting!”
”Probably letting some hungry little thing get his own dinner, am I right?” teased Liz next to her, b.u.mping her elbow into Clarice's side with zero subtlety.
”Holy c.r.a.p, you three have already become island s.l.u.ts, haven't you?” laughed Clarice. ”I leave you alone for a few hours!”
Sophie leaned toward her with wide eyes. ”Clarice, have you seen the men at this place? Oh my Lord...” she put a palm on her chest. ”What other option do we have?”
”How about some cla.s.s, for once?” Clarice teased, slapping a palm on the table like some old-time patriarch.
Liz gasped and pointed a finger suddenly. ”Clarice hasn't f.u.c.ked anyone yet!”
The girls all let out sad, over-dramatic gasps until Clarice started handing out s.h.i.+n-kicks under the table, sending them into peals of laughter that finally drew a waiter over to their table. He was a handsome, caramel-skinned man, and he seemed genuinely amused by their happiness. ”Are you ladies having a good time?” he asked.
”She needs a drink,” said Trudy, pointing lazily at Clarice. ”Actually, you might as well bring us all another drink.”
”Right away, and for dinner your table can select the sambal udang or spicy satay.”
Liz blinked up at the waiter and in her sweetest voice said, ”I literally have no idea what you just said.”
Clarice blushed and apologized for her friend, but the waiter just laughed. ”Sambal udang is a prawn meal with curry, and the satay tonight is beef.”
”I'm feeling a little spicy myself. So ladies, what do you say?” Trudy asked the table, sipping on her drink through a bright pink straw.
The girls cooed and Clarice had to agree. ”Sounds like satay is the winner. And I'll drink... whatever it is they're drinking.” She gestured to the slushy drinks in curvy gla.s.ses each of the girls enjoyed. ”Two of them, actually. I apparently have some catching up to do.” The waiter gave a tidy bow and disappeared through the labyrinth of tables and people.
”There's my girl!” clapped Trudy. ”You need to get yourself unwound, like, stat.”
”Yeah, what's the deal, Clarice? Are you still feeling weird about this?” asked Sophie.
Clarice sighed. She really hadn't wanted to upset the mood with talks of her troubles getting into this, but even through her buzz, Sophie actually seemed concerned. ”Yeah... no... h.e.l.l, I don't know, guys. I'm really trying to get into it. Maybe it's just going to take me a little more time or something. It's only the first night, after all.”
”Have you met anybody yet?” asked Liz.
Clarice shrugged. ”One guy, I guess. His name is Kyle. We actually kissed a bit...”
The girls oohed in silly delight and Liz took Clarice by the shoulders and gave her a hug.
”Just a bit, huh?” said Trudy as she teased Clarice's calf with her sandaled foot. ”Are you sure you didn't get a little strange already, miss Clarice?”
Clarice blushed and laughed, pus.h.i.+ng her hair back from her ears. ”I'm pretty sure I would remember touching a new d.i.c.k, Trude.”
”It's just a matter of time!”
”You're probably just tired from all the travel,” said Sophie. ”It really does a number on you if you're not used to it. After dinner and some drinks, plus a good night's rest in your suite, you're going to feel so much better! I'm sure of it.”
”This place is gorgeous,” Clarice agreed. ”Even if I don't touch a new d.i.c.k, I'm sure I'll find something to do to make this trip worthwhile.”
”I swear to Christ, I'm not letting you get back on that return plane home until you've had someone inside you,” said Trudy with a straight face. The other girls burst out laughing so hard that Liz almost spilled her drink across the beautiful white tablecloth.
”Okay, okay, G.o.d!” laughed Clarice, shaking her head. ”I can see that all of your pervert powers have been greatly enhanced by this place.”