Playboy Pilot (6 page)

“That’s pretty cool.”

“It would be nice if people appreciated life and nature more often like this, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.” She grinned. “Definitely.” She looked around in amazement, and I truly loved watching her face as she took everything in for the first time.

A familiar site at the opposite corner of the beach caught my eye. “Come on. I know exactly what we’re gonna do.”

A small sign on a stick buried in the sand read,
Samba na Agua.

“What is this?”

“They do samba lessons on the beach at sunset here. They take tips, but it’s free. I happened to be walking by one night and got roped into a dance by some old lady once. You wanna try it?”

Kendall’s smile lit up her face. “Sure.” What little sun was left seemed to shine into her aquamarine eyes. Seeing her smile like that made me realize just how naturally beautiful she really was and how damn good it felt bringing her joy. I couldn’t quite figure out why making her happy was so important to me, considering I barely knew her. But there was a gnawing voice inside of me that seemed to whisper,
“Pay attention. This girl is important.”
I couldn’t explain it and sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Maria to investigate.

The samba lessons didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped. I was thinking I’d get to use it as an excuse to make physical contact with Kendall, but they’d assigned her to dance with an old man instructor. That gave me no choice but to dance with his female counterpart. Probably made sense, since neither Kendall nor I knew what we were doing. Still, I enjoyed watching her trip over her feet as she laughed and looked over at me doing the same

Quick. Quick. Slow.

Quick. Quick. Slow.

Even across the sand from each other, we were connecting somehow in that experience. A thrill shot through me as I realized I was going to get to sleep next to her again tonight. Then, I quickly mentally slapped myself in the head for getting excited over a girl I might never see again after this trip…and whom I’d vowed not to touch.

Quick. Quick. Slow the fuck down, Carter.

We’d have one more full day tomorrow before I had to leave for the airport the following night. I realized I didn’t even know where she lived. It was time to break out the truth serum. In Brazil, that was otherwise known as Caipirinha.

“WHAT’S IN THIS?
It’s strong…but good.”

“It’s lime, sugar, and Cachaça.”

Kendall giggled. “Say that again.”

“Cachaça.” I smiled.

“I love when you speak Portugese, Captain.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

We’d stopped at the small bar on the beach. After a couple of drinks there, we took the last round to go in SOLO cups and continued our party sitting on the sand.

“So, Kendall Sparks. You love when I speak Portugese. What else do you love? I need to know more about my travel companion.”

“What do you want to know?”

“For starters, you never told me where you’re from. What do you do for a living?”

“I live in Texas. I come from a family of oil magnates. I work on and off for the family business but don’t really have a clear career path.”

“Was that so hard?”

“I don’t always like telling people about my family. There are a lot of preconceived notions about people from wealthy backgrounds.”

“Your economic status doesn’t define who you are any more than my job defines me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were an airline pilot when we first met?”

I dug my feet into the sand and thought about my answer. “I wasn’t trying to hide it, really. It just never came up. I would’ve told you eventually if we’d had more time together. I was secretly hoping you would choose Rio, though, so I could surprise you. Why did you do it by the way?”

“Choose Rio?”

“Yeah.”

“I had to make a decision.”

“There was no part of you that took that flight because you thought I might be on it? I was obviously trying to give you hints.”

Even though it was dark, I could still see her cheeks blush. “What do you want me to say? That I’m attracted to you and flew across the world because you gave me your jacket?”

Yes.

“If that’s the honest answer, then yeah. What’s wrong with just being honest? People spend half their lives bullshitting. Why can’t we be upfront with each other?”

I laughed inwardly.
Yeah, right. Then why don’t you tell her you were whacking off with her panties on your face?

Some things
are
better kept a secret.

“Go ahead and ask me anything you want. I’m not going to lie to you, Kendall.”

She finished off the last of her drink. “Anything?”

Looking deeply into her eyes, I repeated, “Anything.”

She gazed up at the sky. “How many of the stewardesses on that flight have you slept with?”

“All but one.” I swallowed.

“All but the lesbian.”

“Yes.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Why is it disgusting? Because I’m a single guy who fornicates? It’s just sex among adults who live a similar lifestyle. I’m responsible. I use protection. I don’t promise them anything I can’t deliver. The majority of the time, I’m the one who’s being approached.”

I realized all of that made me sound cold, but it was the truth.

“You don’t want anything more than that? A deeper connection with someone?”

“I didn’t say that. But it’s just the way things have been up until now.” Taking her empty plastic cup and stacking it inside mine, I asked, “What about you? No boyfriend?”

“No. Not at the moment.”

“Why? I’m pretty sure you could have any guy you want.”

Looking conflicted, she paused before saying, “I’m in a time of transition.”

“The reason you’re running away. Does it have to do with a man?”

“No. It doesn’t.”

“You can talk to me about anything. I won’t judge.”

“You can’t promise that if you don’t know what it is.”

“How bad could it be? Does it involve murder?”

“No.”

“Then, you’re good.”

She chuckled, looking so beautiful with the ocean breeze blowing around her blonde waves. “I barely know you. I can’t open up about everything going on with me after knowing you for less than a day.”

“I bet it would only take a minute for me to know everything I needed to about you, Kendall.”

“What do you mean?”

“The important points in anyone’s life can be summed up in under a minute. Most of the mundane stuff that happens in between is insignificant.” I took out my phone and handed it to her. “Wanna test it? Go to the stopwatch feature and time me. I’ll tell you all about me in thirty seconds.”

She opened the timer. “Okay. Go,” she said, pressing start.

“Carter Clynes. Also known as Triple C, which stands for Captain Carter Clynes, sometimes shortened to Trip. Almost thirty years old. Grew up in Michigan. Class clown. Catholic family. Parents still together. Two sisters. One girlfriend. Broke her heart before I went away to college. University of Michigan. Played the field. Dropped out. Went to flight school. Fly all the time now. Get lonely sometimes. Own a condo in Boca. One niece, one nephew. Upfront person. Love pizza and every kind of music. Horny as hell. Sitting on the beach in Rio.”

That
was
pretty much it. It’s funny how a life could be dumbed down to just a handful of details. Of course, there was one thing I chose to leave out. Not that I wouldn’t tell her, but it was neither the right time nor place to elaborate on Lucy, so I chose to omit the one not-so-minor detail that had basically shaped who I am.

“Wow. That was exactly thirty seconds.”

“Now you know almost everything you need to know.”

She squinted. “Almost?”

Ignoring her question, I grabbed the phone for the timer. “Your turn.”

“Hang on. I have to think.”

“No. That defeats the purpose. You’re not supposed to think about it. Just say the first things that come to mind. Those are the most significant details.”

She took in a deep breath, and I started the timer.

“Okay. Kendall Sparks. Dallas, Texas. Twenty-four. Only child of rich parents who blew through most of their money. Grew up on a ranch. High school cheerleader. Father is dead now. Mother is an alcoholic. I skipped college. Worked on and off for the family business. Charmed life on the outside but not so much on the inside. Unsure of where I fit in this world. Scared for the future. Sitting on the beach in Rio.”

When she looked down away from me, I placed my hand on her chin, bringing her eyes toward mine. “That last part is nice, though, isn’t it? Our one commonality.”

Closing her eyes briefly, she said, “I have to say…it is.”

“Thank you for sharing this time with me, Perky.”

I stood up, and she followed me as we walked back in the direction of Maria Rosa’s.

“What are we going to do tomorrow?” she asked.

“That’s the beauty of a vacation, right? We don’t have to decide.”

“I suppose.”

Just before heading back up the hill, we stopped at a shopping plaza. I noticed a lingerie shop. An idea popped into my head. I was hesitant to leave her alone, but I didn’t want her to see what I was up to, either.

“Stay right here. I’ll be right back.”

When I returned with a small plastic bag, she was smiling from ear to ear.

“What did you do?”

“I bought you a present.” Handing it to her, I said, “It’s for tomorrow.”

“Can I open it now?”

“I insist.”

She shook her head when she peeked inside and got a look at the white full-coverage bra I bought her. The material was completely opaque. It was the unsexiest bra I’d ever seen.

“This reminds me of the Cross Your Heart bra my grandmother would have worn.”

“Did I get your size right?”

“Actually, you’re close. I’m 34B, and this is 36B. It’ll fit.” She draped it over her chest. “Well, there is definitely no way anything is showing through this material.”

“Exactly. If I have to be good, they can’t be saluting me every second of the day. It’s too tempting.”

“I do own a bra, you know.” She laughed. “I just don’t wear it. But I’ll wear this if I’ve been distracting you.”

“It’s more of a joke than anything. But you should consider wearing one if you’re traveling alone.”

A bad feeling at the pit of my stomach developed at the thought of her continuing this trip by herself. I definitely wasn’t ready to leave her after tomorrow.

“Thank you for looking out for me, Captain.”

“Anytime.”

We were halfway back to Maria’s when I said, “Kendall…”

“Yeah?”

“I want to hold your hand.” My mouth curved into a smile. She immediately got it.

“
I Want To Hold Your Hand.
The Beatles song. I thought you were serious for a split second.”

Laughing, I said, “Actually, I am serious. Very serious. Can I?” I reached out my hand.

She handed me hers. “Yes.” Her fingers looked so tiny intertwined with my large ones.

I didn’t let go the entire way back. The truth was, I wanted to do a hell of a lot more than hold her hand…I wanted to wrap my entire body around her.

Too bad there wasn’t a Beatles song titled,
I Want to Ravage You.
Would have been way more appropriate for how I was feeling at the moment.