Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show (9 page)

Michelle
’s grin was growing more noticeable by the minute. “I’m sure to the untrained male eye you think they are just talking to each other. I, on the other hand knowing something about women, happen to know there is more going on. She has already pointed at us twice.”

“How do you know they were pointing at us if you weren’t looking?”

Michelle tried to explain the unexplainable. “I can look, but you can’t”

His
rebuttal came quickly. “I, knowing something about paranoid behavior, think you are losing it. At the very most, they are trying to decide where to sit on the beach. Like normal people, they are going to get some sun, maybe play with the Frisbee, and then go swimming.”

She immediately looked at
him with what he could only assume was sympathy. “You are so naïve. Five dollars says she never once gets her hair wet and another five dollars says she does not go in the water above her waist. She spent too much time fixing her hair for her to allow it to get wet.”

Being confident with
his reasons, Scott replied, “I’ll take both bets. You see, my little paranoid friend, I happen to know it is going to be in the 90’s today. She will be baking like a Thanksgiving turkey before two o’clock. Frisbee girl will be wet from her toes to her head before this afternoon has ended and you will be missing ten dollars from your purse.”

Michelle
was equally confident. “Get your money ready because you’re going to be taking me out for a very nice seafood dinner.”

“I don’t think you’
ve eaten out lately if you think we can have a nice seafood dinner for ten dollars.”

She held up her hands to stop the conversation. “I don’t think you understand. I get the ten dollars from the bet and you
still have to take me to dinner. Sometime during the course of the day, you will feel guilty about looking at her boobs after I told you not to look. Your feelings of guilt for looking at her will drive you to take me out for dinner.”

Scott
lay down on his back and closed his eyes. “I’m not guilty of anything. Besides, I think you are having more fun getting into that girl's brain than I did watching her bend over to pick up the Frisbee. In addition, just to set the record straight, it is natural for humans to look when anything moves in the visual field.”

Michelle
stretched out her legs before she leaned back letting her arms support her weight. “She had no shortage of moving parts yesterday.”

Bringing
their discussion to its natural conclusion, Scott replied, “Neither did you.”

“I’m glad to know you took your eyes off Frisbee girl and noticed.”

Their neighbors had come down to the beach and put their towels down about fifty feet from Scott and Michelle before settling in for the afternoon. Within fifteen minutes, Scott had almost drifted off to sleep when he heard Michelle whispering to him. “You are not going to believe this. Frisbee girl is coming over here.”

He
replied without opening his eyes, “No she’s not. She is going for a walk on the beach or maybe she’s going back to her place. She is no interest in us.”

Within a
minute, he was proven wrong when Scott heard a voice breaking his peaceful rest. “Excuse me, but have we met somewhere before? You remind me of someone I knew in school.”

Michelle
’s answer came after a slight pause. “No, I don’t think so.”

Scott
opened his eyes to see their visitor standing beside them. She had a small tattoo on her right shoulder and just as Michelle had said, she had not one hair out of place. It was also obvious she had spent time in the sun as her skin was unevenly tanned which Scott assumed resulted from wearing different swimsuits.

Her choice of
swimsuits that day left little to his imagination as it was quite provocative. She then offered Michelle what Scott could only describe as an artificial smile. “I didn’t mean you. I was thinking I’ve met your friend before.”

She
looked vaguely familiar, but Scott had no idea who she was or if they had ever met. He smiled politely and replied, “No, I don’t think we have met before.”

She became more insistent and
quite accurate with her recollections. “Aren’t you Scott Morrison and didn’t you just graduate from UNC Asheville?”

Scott
glanced at Michelle, who had a special way of looking at him while waiting for Scott to answer a question, which he would prefer not to answer. It was the type of expression, which suggests she would patient, regardless of how long Scott took to respond. In other words, avoiding an issue was not an option. Scott turned his attention back to their visitor. “I’m Scott and I did graduate from UNC Asheville, but I’m sorry, I don’t remember you. Did we take a class together or something?

She was smiling as she shook her head. “
No, I don’t think so. With the exception of the parties we were both at, you probably are accustomed to seeing me with more clothes on.”

Was her comment meant to suggest that she did not have clothes on at the parties?
Scott had the suspicion this could get ugly. He assumed the sooner the conversation ended the better off he would be.

She then turned her attention to
Michelle. “In Asheville, it gets so cold that we spend most of our time there in goose down coats and long pants. It feels so nice to finally take it all off and get some sun.”

Technically, she had not taken it all off, but she was about as close as she could get without being arrested.

Michelle
, trying to be polite, smiled at her. “I like your suit. It’s very pretty.”

She tugged lightly
at the strap around her neck. “Thank you. My mom thinks it is far too revealing. I guess she would prefer I wear something much more conservative like the one you have on.”

Even
Scott understood the jab she had just thrown at Michelle and was ready to come to her defense. Michelle however, had no desire for him to come to her defense as she set her target on their guest. “I’m so sorry. My name is Michelle. I’m sure Scott would have introduced us if he had any idea who you are. Anyway, I know what you mean about moms and the way they like us to dress. Scott and I went swimming last night after midnight and it felt so good to swim topless. My mom would have died if she had seen us last night. I just wish North Carolina would pass a law that would allow women to go topless. I know from personal experience Scott would vote for it.”

Neither
their visitor nor Scott was expecting Michelle’s response. He knew Michelle would not be caught dead being topless on a public beach, and he knew they had not taken a midnight swim. Scott had to assume she was jerking the girl’s chain. Michelle rarely was confrontational, but she did not back down easily when attacked. If Jenifer didn’t know by now, she would soon discover she was over-matched.

As
Jenifer got ready to speak, she reminded Scott of someone playing a poker hand and her long pause only made his assumption more convincing. In looking back on the conversation, he was sure she was making a calculation as to how she would respond to Michelle. “I’m sorry. My name is Jenifer. It’s very nice to meet you. I have to agree with you that topless is better. It’s almost impossible to get an even tan line. Besides, it’s not like men are going to see something they’ve never seen before.”

Scott
could not imagine where their conversation was going. Still he was ready to satisfy his personal curiosity. More to the point, he didn’t know why they were even having a conversation after his denial of knowing her. He assumed she would just walk off into the sunset, but he was wrong. “Jenifer, I’m sorry, but I still don’t know where you and I have met before.”

For reasons that escaped
him, Jenifer began shaking her hand in the air. Right, I forgot what I was saying. You and Carlie Miller were getting serious about each other during the last semester at school. Beth, who is lying over there, Carlie, and I are sorority sisters. We’ve met at several functions. Our sorority held some very wild parties that you attended. I am sure you remember being at some of those parties with Carlie.”

Scott
still could not remember her and as it turned out, it didn’t matter because Michelle interrupted his thoughts when she spoke to Jenifer. There is no way Scott would ever be able to explain Michelle’s suggestion. “Why don’t you and Beth come over here with us and the three of you can talk about old times and the great parties. We can all lie on the beach together.”

“Oh, I know
Beth would love to see you again to say hi and talk about your recent past together. Are you sure you don’t mind? Carlie is going to die when she finds out you’re here.” Jenifer replied

Michelle
raised her shoulder slightly, and then tucked her head slightly as she looked at Scott. “You don’t mind if they come over and lay out with us, do you?”

The last thing
Scott wanted was to discuss old times with people he did not remember. To him, it was like driving down a country road and stopping in at a family reunion in order to discuss old times with a family he had never met. “Here’s to old times” he replied while taking a gulp from his Coke.

Once
Jenifer was a reasonable distance away, Scott held nothing back from Michelle. “Why in the hell are you inviting them to spend the day with us?”

She was smiling as she gave
him a quick kiss. “I’m just going to watch you squirm for a little while. You failed to tell me much about Carlie other than the fact you were seeing her. I didn’t realize Carlie and you were getting serious, so now I need details.”

“I don’t even know these people. Why would they want to sit with us?
More to the point, why would I squirm? I haven’t done anything. Besides, Carlie is history and has been for a while now.” Scott argued.

Michelle
was still grinning as she replied, “I’ll explain it to you later. Anyway, why are you complaining? I’m sure you can sit back and enjoy the scenery while I find out more about your relationship with Carlie.”

He
looked directly at Michelle for clarification. “Fifteen minutes ago you were telling me not to look at her scenery.”

Michelle
was determined he would have no peace. “Scott, these women have critical information about you and your ex-girlfriend and I need that information. I am also interested in your recent past with Beth.”

Scott
had confidence in his security system and proudly explained his firewall of security. “I have no recent past with Beth and I don’t know who she is. Besides, women don’t discuss the guys they date or share details with other women.”

Still
trying to torture him, Michelle replied, “No Scott, you wish women would not discuss these matters, but we do. For example, do you remember going swimming in the river with Sally Prescott? In case you have forgotten, I have all the details.”

He
felt a need to point out the obvious flaw with her knowledge. “If Sally and I had actually had that alleged experience, anything that happened would be on a need to know basis, and you would have no need to know. She would be discrete.”

She nodded her head. “But I do know everything down to the smallest detail
and she was anything but discreet. I probably know more than you do and I wasn’t even there. Anyway, the real issue is the fact that you will be sitting on the blanket with three women who are making sure you have an adequate supply of eye candy. At the same time, I will be torturing you with details of your failed relationship with a woman I don’t know enough about. This will be fun.”

Accepting certain defeat,
Scott sought an honorable retreat. “I forgot something in the house that I need to get. I should be back in an hour or so.”

Michelle
made sure he saw her wink. “It’s a game, Scott and they think I am a little country girl who doesn’t know how to play.”

She had to see
Scott’s look of frustration. “I’m a country boy and I didn’t even know there was a game, let alone how to play it”.

“This is a girl’s game
and of course you don’t know how to play. All you have to do is act like a typical male sitting on the beach with three girls sticking a knife in each other.”

Scott
thought he was starting to catch on. “You mean like when she said something about your suit being conservative.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You catch on fast.
However, keep in mind that was just the opening shot. They want to make you look bad in front of me.”

Scott
wanted to know why they wanted to make him look bad, but Jennifer and her advance guard were closing in on his tranquility. Scott was ready to cut and run thinking he might live to fight another day. However, Michelle preferred to suit up and take on the enemy.

CHAPTER
VIII

When
Beth and Jenifer returned, they spread out their towels and sat down on the blanket. After exchanging introductions and other formalities, Scott came to the realization that if no one spoke, this might not be a bad arrangement. Michelle was right about the eye candy. He also knew the odds of no one speaking were slim.

Jenifer
was watching Michelle, but talking to Scott. “You may not remember me, but I’m sure you remember Beth.”

He
looked at her for a minute and replied, “No, I’m sorry, but I really don’t think we’ve met”.

Jenifer
and Beth turned and looked at each other as if Scott were crazy. Jenifer’s tone suggested she was not accepting his denial. “You have got to be kidding me. I didn’t think you would be able to forget her.”

As far as
he knew, most people would have a problem trying to remember people they don’t know. That bit of a priori logic did not seem to apply.

Beth
looked at Scott before she stuck the proverbial knife in his back. “So, have you been up to see Carlie this summer?”

Maybe
he could play this game after all, or so he thought. “No. I haven’t seen or talked to Carlie in a long time. The distance between the coast and Asheville makes it hard for us to keep up. Anyway, things between us didn’t quite work out like we thought they would.”

Beth
turned her gaze to Michelle. “I think that might help explain why he is having a selective memory loss.”

Jenifer
took her turn with the knife, only she was coming after Scott and not Michelle. “I can’t believe you don’t remember Beth. It hasn’t been but five or six weeks since we all took the weekend canoe trip.”

Beth
wasn’t about to leave Michelle uninformed as she directed her attention to Michelle. “Each year, our sorority does a community service project where we clean up trash from the French Broad River. We have at least sixty people in our group who make the trip. We take either a raft or a canoe and spend the weekend cleaning up the river, drinking beer and camping out. It gets wild out there at night.”

Jenifer
put her fingers to her lips as though she had come to a sudden realization. “Scott and Carlie were so serious about each other that I just assumed the two of you aren’t going out together. We aren’t getting him in trouble, are we?”

Scott
now assumed Jenifer was a female assassin sent to destroy his brief relationship with Michelle.

Michelle
, knowing their intention was to get him in trouble, responded with a laugh. “Don’t worry about that. Scott and I have been friends for several years and we just came to the beach together to talk about old times. I just wish your friend Carlie could have been here too. I know Scott would love to see her again. He has told me so much about her.”

Now
Scott was beginning to wonder whose side Michelle was fighting for. If they were in a war movie, this is the time the helicopters would come in and extract those under fire. Given the fact that he had no helicopter, Scott made a plan for self-extraction. He turned to Michelle with a foolproof plan. “Michelle, if we are going to those shops in Morehead City, we should be hitting the road.”

Much to
his surprise, Michelle completely brushed off his escape plan. In cold blood, she shot down his helicopter. “We can do that later. There’s no hurry.”

Beth
continued with her relentless assault. “Carlie might get jealous if she knew you were here on the beach with three women. Then again, if Carlie were here he would have four women’s bodies to contend with. But, if he can handle two women then I feel sure he could handle four women.”

In another time and place,
Scott would have appreciated Beth’s confidence in him, misplaced though it may have been.

Jenifer
came back into the fray as she looked directly at Beth. “Speaking of attractive women, Michelle and I were just saying we think women should be able to take off our tops when we lay out. Do you agree?”

Beth
was not prepared for her suggestion, but quickly managed to hide any evidence of her surprise. “I agree, but what do you think about that idea Scott? It’s obvious you would not object to being with more than one woman without her clothes on.”

Scott
realized what Michelle was talking about when she said they were playing a game and it was time for him to go on the attack. If Michelle wasn’t going to shoot back, then he would. “As long as we are talking about women taking off their tops, I think two of you have some experience performing for the crowds. The first night of the canoe trip, the beer was flowing. If I am thinking about the right night, about fifteen of the sorority sisters stood behind the fire doing a line dance. Have I got this story right so far?”

Jenifer
looked at Beth and started laughing. “Yes, and I think I know where this story is going.”

Michelle
sat up and looked back at him wondering what he actually knew. “Well I don’t know where this story is going, but it sounds interesting.”

Scott
continued with the story, much to Michelle’s amusement. “Several of the guys were yelling for the sorority girls to take it off. I was thinking that Jenifer put on quite a show that night. I’m sure she managed to impress the boys in the crowd.”

For reasons that would become clear,
Scott had singled out Jenifer as the one to impress the boys while not bothering to mention Beth, who took exception to his exclusion efforts. “In case you don’t remember, Carlie and I were standing right in front of you making sure you had an unobstructed view. But then again, you say you don’t remember me.”

His
response was intended to minimize her role. “It’s been a while and everyone had a lot to drink, so I’ll have to take your word for that.”

Little did
Scott know but that Beth was setting him up for a full ambush and no helicopter was coming to the rescue.

Beth
was becoming more demanding and louder. “Are you telling me you don’t remember taking Carlie and I to your tent that night?”

Michelle
quickly turned and stared at him. As Scott had no clue what they were talking about, he tried to ease out of the conversation. “It’s been a long time. Anyway going back to the original question about women being topless, I have to agree with Michelle. When she and I went swimming last night, it really wasn’t that unusual for us. So I guess the real question is how the two of you really felt standing in that line.”

Michelle
continued my point. “As I told Jenifer before, Scott and I were in the hot tub last night and I never wear my suit there. When we came for our late night swim, we just had beach towels wrapped around us until we got in the ocean. You have to try it sometime because you feel so free and unrestrained.”

Jenifer
apparently did not wish to be upstaged by Michelle’s suggestion. “I’ve been swimming many times without my clothes on. It’s not a new experience for me.”

Beth
was not expecting to hear what Michelle was saying and had to question the story they were selling her. “Did you say the two of you are just friends and that you are not going out with each other?”

Michelle
had them where she wanted and was going to exploit the situation as she played her game. “This might sound a little strange, so let me explain. Scott and I have an unusual relationship. We get together and talk about movies, books, the environment, politics, or whatever. The most important thing to us is having each other to talk to.”

Jenifer
was now being drawn into Michelle’s manipulation. “Then why were you naked in the hot tub with him?”

Michelle
continued an amazing performance where truth was irrelevant. “Talking is just one part of our friendship. The other part is purely sexual because I like sex just as much as Scott does. We believe that emotional entanglements detract from our sexual fulfillment. Scott and I have found a way to meet each other’s sexual needs without all the emotional and social issues. We may not be dating each other, but he is still an all-American boy and we know how boys can be. Let’s be honest here girls, we all have desires that have to be met.”

Jenifer
was becoming distracted from her game plan as her questions became more targeted. “So it doesn’t bother you that Scott was making love to Carlie and Beth on a canoe trip just five weeks ago?”

Michelle
continued shooting back. “You see, jealously is just a part of the emotional entanglements we were telling you about. It doesn’t bother me in the least, and to be honest, I’m glad he had someone there to share that experience. I wish I could have been there too. I didn’t realize he had been to bed with Beth so I can understand why she is feeling a little awkward. I would like to think I was good enough in bed that a guy would remember me.”

There was a long protracted silence before
Michelle spoke again. “I guess to be completely honest, I am a little jealous.”

Jenifer
and Beth briefly looked at each other with what looked like a smirk, until Michelle continued with her relentless assault. “I’ve never shared Scott with another woman, but then again, I never need another woman to help me out. I like to think I can keep him well satisfied all by myself. A threesome may be something we could think about doing.”

Beth
was staring at Michelle in total disbelief. “I wasn’t expecting that answer from you and I don’t appreciate it.”

Scott
joined in at this point to lend some credibility to Michelle’s story. “I guess we could try it if you want to. Beth thinks we have already been to bed with each other so if that’s what you want to do, we can go for it.”

Michelle
looked at them with a fake sense of astonishment before bringing him into her performance. “Scott, would you mind rubbing some lotion on me. I think I’m starting to burn a little.”

He
held out his hand as she squeezed the lotion into his palm. “Where do you want it?”

“Start on my
tummy and work your way up.”

Scott
began rubbing the cool lotion on her stomach. Michelle exhibited a sense of calm, but he could tell her stomach muscles were tense, suggesting she might not be as relaxed as she would have their guests to believe.

After a couple of minutes,
Scott assumed he had done enough to help her accomplish some undefined point and should therefore stop. Michelle asked him to hold out his hand as she once again squeezed more lotion into his hand. She smiled at him and spoke softly, “Do my shoulders and chest too. This feels so nice.”

Scott
started at her neck and did the front of her shoulders before moving down the center of her chest.

Once again,
he thought he was finished until she squeezed lotion onto her breastbone and offered him a reminder “Be sure you don’t miss any spots. I don’t want to get burned.”

I
n the most casual voice she could use, Michelle looked back at Jenifer. “You should let him put some lotion on you. His hands feel so good and the lotion feels nice too.”

Everything
Michelle was doing was in complete contrast to her personality. As Scott now understood her motives, he was almost on the verge of laughing aloud. Beth and Jenifer were staring at them in total disbelief. Michelle tried to hand the bottle of lotion to Jenifer, which she refused to take.

Jenifer
was rather direct in her reply. “I don’t know Scott that well.”

Michelle
didn’t miss a beat as she completely distorted Jenifer’s argument. “It’s just lotion, Jenifer.”

Michelle
turned her attention to Beth. “Would you like some? If you and Carlie were with him in the tent, then I would assume you know him well enough.”

Beth
was getting ready to stand up as she spoke. “Maybe later.”

Michelle
looked disappointed as she spoke. “I’m sorry you have to leave. Maybe your friends would like to come over tonight and we could all get in the hot tub and then go for a swim.”

Jenifer
was staring at Michelle in disbelief. “I don’t think that would work because we’ve already made plans.”

Scott
put his hand up to stop them before they had a chance to stand up and then spoke with a sense of determination he rarely used. “Let’s quit playing games for a minute. The two of you made several mistakes today. First, you insulted Michelle. The second mistake you made happened when you talked about Carlie. Get your facts straight. I never was on the canoe trip because I came down with a stomach virus. Beth and Carlie might have been screwing someone, but it wasn’t me.”

Jenifer
was confident Scott was trying to lie about being on the trip. “If you were not at the campsite, then how did you know what all went on?”

Scott
went for the simple explanation. “The French Broad River clean up trip has been done every year for the last twenty years. It’s like a Friday the 13
th
movie. Once you have seen the first three movies in the series, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to predict what will happen during the 4
th
movie. You know what happens, even if you haven’t seen it, because only the people change. Your sorority sisters have been going there and taking their clothes off for years and the same thing will happen next year and the year after.”