Broken Blossoms…. and Blood (Chapter 2)
With a sigh, Anna turned towards Rajinder, the fourth drink already having more than its intended effect, now magnified ten times over with the sight of Rajinder in front of her. The soft cotton of her dress hugged her body, and, like her defenses, falling dangerously low in the front, providing a generous view of her youthful bosom. The view was not lost on Rajinder, who drew in his breath sharply, as Anna came closer to him and started speaking. Her voice was soft, slow and had the comfortable drawl that alcohol brings on when you are mentally in a comfortable place.
“So I didn’t catch your name”, she said, “I am Anna, Anna John”, while extending her hand towards him. She had to admit, her hand was not as steady as she would have liked it to be, but at this moment, the stability of her hand was the last thing on her mind. “I’m Rajinder”, he replied, “taking her hand in his, while looking at her and smiling, hoping she had not seen him gazing fondly at her cleavage. If sparks could be seen in that crimson skied evening, they would definitely be seen jumping between their hands, her delicate, soft, and white; his big, manly, and muscular, holding each other’s gaze for just a moment longer than it was necessary. The reverie was broken with shrieks of “Anna! Where are you!”, “Anna! we’re back! You should’ve seen the lagoon behind this hill!! There was .. .. ..”, the loud voice of a confident, educated female was brought to an abrupt halt as Deepa noted Anna and Rajinder, still perched on their bar stools, holding each other’s hands and smiling. “Anna! Are you going to introduce us to your friend?!”, cried out Priyanka, as she trotted towards them, intrigued by the sight in front of her. Anna, educated in the University of London’s premier business school, was not known to be warm and cuddly, especially with strangers, and yet, here she was, holding on to someone, who may or may not have been a stranger.
“Oh yeah! Deepa, Priyanka, meet Rajinder… Rajinder, these are my classmates from college”, she introduced. Both shook hands with Rajinder, seemingly overcome with the sudden appearance of two more beautiful women in front of him.
Deepa was tall, slender, and lean her figure reminiscent of someone who had spent a lot of time in outdoor activities, which was true; Deepa’s favourite pastime was swimming and trekking. This did not hide the fact that she was, in fact, more attractive than most, and the skimpy tank top and shorts revealed her taut stomach, shapely breasts, and long, smooth legs. She had known Anna since she had moved into London to study with her, and had been best friends since then.
Priyanka was the prototypical rich girl from the city, born and brought up in Mumbai, before her parents shifted to London eight years ago. Her father was a well known businessman from India, and her younger years had been spent in luxury; from yearly vacations abroad to luxury cars and designer clothes, she took it all in her daily stride. She was paramount in arranging this year end vacation to Hawaii with her best friends; her father’s contacts with some millionaires from South America had seen to that. That she was attractive was an understatement; she was the fairest of the lot, and her colored burgundy hair appeared intoxicating with her coral blue eyes. She was medium height, and thanks to the private gym that was installed in her house, she had the kind of toned body with voluptuous, soft breasts that are only seen in a small percentage of models on TV.
She was staring at Anna, hopeful that she had met someone she liked; after her breakup with her boyfriend six months ago, she had been an emotional mess. She tried to catch her gaze, but the darkening night sky made it hard to do so.
Deepa said,”So, hey, nice to meet you! Are you on a holiday?”
Rajinder replied, “Yes, I am here with my friends, for a holiday. You both are from India right?”
Priyanka chimed in, “Yes, we are. So who all is here with you? And where are you from in India?” Rajinder replied, having practiced this line repeatedly over the last one month, the need for utmost secrecy pounded into his brain by Xavier, “Two of my friends are here .. .. um, I am from Delhi actually, was living there till now.”
Suddenly, Rajinder’s mobile phone vibrated in his pocket, and he knew that the time for this evening’s order of business had come. “So, it’s nice to meet you girls!”, he ventured, “where are you staying?”
Deepa said, “We are staying over by the cottages near the waterfall.” “So do you have plans for today?”, Priyanka added, while looking mischievously at Anna.
“Oh you guys, let him be! I’m sure he has a lot of important work today,” Anna chimed in, now able to think clearly as an imminent sexual encounter was far from probable. Deepa rolled her eyes at Priyanka, knowing that she was used to having expensive and hard to get toys, which included the most expensive dolls in school, and the most popular boys in college.
“Well”, Rajinder replied, while thoughtfully stroking his chin, his voice veiling the urgency of the the mobile phone which had started buzzing again in his pocket, “I am free tonight, me and my friends are over by the Hillrise cottages… ..” He cut short as the mobile phone buzzed a time, the composure over his face cracking momentarily. It must have been evident on his face, as a look of concern came over Deepa’s face. “Hey is everything alright? You seem worried”, she asked.
“No, everything is fine.. .. um… so lets, uh meet tonight… at the North beach party?” he uttered quickly, all but physically preventing himself from running away. “Yeah sure!”, the three girls looked up, surprised, as the North beach parties were some of the most exclusive events on the island, “We’d love to come!”
He quickly scribbled his name and hotel phone number on a paper and handed to Anna, who seemed to have regained her composure. “So, shall we call you, around ten?”, she asked, partly upset with the sudden arrival of her friends, which may have caused Rajinder to lose his composure.
“Um, yeah,, sure….”, Rajinder replied, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead, “um, i just have to go back to the hotel immediately…um, yeah, i ll see you at ten…”, the urgency in his mind rising. He got up quickly, and in a move that surprised even himself, bent over and kissed Anna on the cheek, smiled at the other two, and swiftly walked away.
The three girls, left dumbstruck, stared at him, with the long rays of the setting sun now dominated by the pale moonlight.
“Well, he’s HOT Anna, I have to give you that!”, Deepa pulled at Anna’s elbow. Priyanka added, “Yeah, I knew the island boys are hot, but I had no idea that the tourists were hotter! Anna, you’ve got to catch him baby!”
Anna averted her eyes, the moonlight concealing the blush that spread over her face, hoping her friends did not detect how turned on she just recently was. “So, Anna, do you want to go meet them at the party? He seems nice enough”, Deepa asked, “we may get to meet some more, uh, interesting people over there”, she added, winking at Priyanka.
Priyanka said, “Well yeah, I’ve heard those parties are nice. Let’s go there, what’s there to lose?!” She turned to Anna, “Princess, are you ready to move? It’s getting dark, and we have a long night ahead of us.”
“Yes”, said Anna, “let’s go, I could do with a hot bath right now!” She jumped off the bar stool, still a little wobbly. They picked up their bags, and started the slow walk towards their cottages. “Best holiday ever!!” screamed Priyanka, ecstatic at the prospect of a long week ahead of them, without any deadlines or papers to weigh them down. Deepa and Anna smiled at her, happy to see her in high spirits, eager with anticipation for the next seven days, while they slowly walked away.
They were not the only ones to smile at Priyanka. Two gleaming eyes, evil in the moonlight, reflecting the glint of a small Kava knife, followed the three girls as they turned the corner over the hill. The mouth twisted into a deranged smile, as the owner threw away his cigarette, stubbed it out, and moved back into the shadows.
