A Beauteous Flower Ch. 10

Chapter 10 - The Mile High Book Club, the Tempest in Paradise and the Understanding.

*****

Madison smiled in satisfaction as the plane's take off gently pressed her back into her first-class seat. This was the first time she had ever been on vacation out of the country, and she was thrilled.

Almost as thrilled as she had been when Daniel announced that he had planned a vacation for them. Madison had never been on vacation with a man before and her girlfriends considered this a major step forward in their relationship. And, as far as they were concerned, after a year of dating which included a solid seven months plus of living together, it was high time Daniel proposed to Madison, and they imagined this vacation would be the perfect time. Madison could not help but agree with their assessment and looked forward to the vacation eagerly.

Not everything had been perfect at the start though. Madison had to make some changes to the original plan. Initially, Daniel had planned to take her to Disney World in Orlando, Florida to spend two weeks at their various parks. To Madison that sounded terrible because in her mind Disney was for children and it didn't fit the romantic vision of a beach at sunset proposal her and her girlfriends had planned. Encouraged by her friends, Boss bitch Madison let it be known, with the appropriate number of quarrels and sexual reticence, that she did not intend to go to Disney and if he wanted to take her on vacation, he would take her somewhere tropical where they could relax on the beach or by a pool.

When Daniel pointed out that there were pools at Disney, she furiously responded she would not, under any circumstances, spend their first vacation together surrounded by thousands of screaming children. Impassive as always, Daniel shrugged and quietly spent the night in the cabin since Madison locked him out of the bedroom. The next day presented her with a sheet of yellow legal paper with the names of several resorts in the Caribbean and Cabo San Lucas scribbled on it. Daniel apologized for his error and told her she could pick where she wanted to go. Madison instantly forgave Daniel and gleefully contacted her girlfriends for advice about the perfect venue for Daniel to propose to her.

After half a day of study on the internet and several consultations with Adalina, Madison selected a very exclusive resort in Anguilla. Daniel simply nodded to her request and booked a two-week stay in a large suite with a marvelous ocean view and first-class air travel. Daniel also anticipated her request for a new travel wardrobe and handed her one of his credit cards.

Daniel's credit card did not appear to have a limit on it, and since he had not set any limits, Madison didn't feel constrained in any way when it came to her wardrobe for the trip. Giddy with anticipation, Madison, with an assist from her girlfriends, shopped for several appropriate bikinis and several inappropriate negligees. She topped off her travel attire with several white dresses of various lengths to wear to dinner each night, which everyone agreed would look spectacular in the soon-to-be pictures of her inevitable engagement to Daniel.

Now the vacation had finally come, the plane was airborne, and the steward brought a glass of champagne for each of them. Daniel politely refused, but Madison imbibed. A second glass brought her a bubbly buzz along with a pleasingly dirty plot to join the mile high club with Daniel. In furtherance of her plan, Madison requested a blanket and another glass of champagne. The blanket and champagne arrived quickly, and Madison spread the blanket over her body and sipped on the champagne. She took care to cover Daniel's right arm as well, as that was the arm that was closest to her. Then she discreetly squirmed out of her shorts while she sipped her third glass of champagne.

But before she could put her plan into action, her tipsy buzz turned into a sleepy doze. With her head pillowed on Daniel's shoulder, Madison heard herself mutter a sigh and nuzzled Daniel's right arm. Initially she tried to resist her sleepiness, but there would be time enough to make love to Daniel this trip; especially after he slipped a diamond ring on her finger and proposed to her. Moments later she drowsed into a boozy nap full of delicious dreams of a big, clear and sparkly rock to go with her birthday suit.

A while later, Madison slowly woke to a low rumble in Daniel's chest which turned out to be a whisper Daniel directed towards a boy who stood next to him in the aisle. The boy looked to be around thirteen or fourteen, dressed in black, with a slight bulge around his middle, unkempt hair and a face peppered with acne. His brown eyes were slightly sad but gazed intently at Daniel while the boy clutched a red spiral ring notebook in front of him as Daniel spoke.

Madison's dirty idea about the mile high club returned as she emerged from her nap, and she nuzzled herself into Daniel's neck and purred to get his attention. Daniel acknowledged her with a gentle caress on the inside of her knee but kept his eyes on the boy.

"I'm who again?" Daniel asked the boy quietly.

"You're him!" The boy gushed as his sad eyes flared a little. "You wrote the Gloaming Monarch Trilogy! I loved those books!"

Daniel looked around furtively. For some reason Madison had never been able to comprehend, Daniel treated his fame like something that embarrassed him. It was like he didn't want anyone to know who he was. However, Madison didn't want to concentrate on that at the moment, and she insistently kissed Daniel's neck to get his attention away from the boy.

"OK, kid," Daniel conceded without reaction to Madison's nibbles at his neck. "You've got me. Don't tell anyone, OK?"

The boy looked confused for a moment and shot a glance at Madison. Madison narrowed her eyes at him, but he was too hooked into his conversation with Daniel to receive her subtle message to scram. She thought about telling the boy to get lost, but Daniel spoke before she could get a word in.

"What's your name?" Daniel asked the boy as his hand rested lightly on Madison's knee.

"Michael."

Daniel nodded approvingly.

"And you're Mister...,"

"No, no," Daniel interrupted. "I'm Daniel. You can call me 'Daniel'."

Daniel's thumb gently kneaded against Madison's kneecap. Madison had never known how sensitive a kneecap could be until Daniel touched her there and sent little warm bolts of lightning up her leg. Madison shifted her posture to open a space between her legs and prayed Daniel would understand her implied invitation. A darting touch of Daniel's index finger told Madison what Daniel intended and it made her smile.

"Whatcha got there, Michael?" Daniel asked the boy with a quick point to the red notebook. Madison's lips parted slightly, and Daniel responded under the blanket with a surreptitiously soft caress of the inside of her knee. He did it so artfully that no one would notice how it caused Madison to shiver and freeze in place. Madison got a quick flush of furtive pleasure.

"I... I wrote... I wrote a story," the boy stammered. "It's... I wrote... its fan fiction based... it's based... on The Gloaming Monarch."

"Really?" Daniel said in a voice of true gratitude. "I'm flattered. May I read it?"

Now it was the boy's turn to be flattered.

"Sure!"

Daniel took the offered notebook in his left hand, while he traced an incandescently light figure 8 on Madison's knee. Madison sighed involuntarily, but Daniel kept his focus on the boy. Once again, as Daniel quietly worked her with her body, Madison marveled at how he always seemed to know exactly when, where, and how to touch her.

"Great!" said Daniel to the boy while he traced the figure eight high enough up Madison's thigh to discover she was not wearing her shorts anymore. Madison flushed and her lips got plump and hot. Daniel kept his eyes on the boy while his fingers flowed like hot wax on her thigh. Madison bit her lip and clenched her eyes shut so as not to moan out loud because Daniel's touch felt like molten silk on her taut skin.

"I'll read it and then we can talk about it," Daniel intoned as he probed behind Madison's knee with a few more soft touches. Madison felt a hot slickness grow between her legs as Daniel continued, methodically and masterfully, to draw out her desires. She had planned to be the predator earlier, but now she found herself helpless prey and since only Daniel's arm was covered by the blanket she could not reciprocate without discovery. For a moment Madison found that frustrating, and then Daniel's fingers applied themselves to the inside of her knee again and she lost the capacity for conscious thought.

"How about you meet me for breakfast tomorrow at seven by the pool?"

Madison lit up in a hot flash of tingles. Her body gave an involuntary undulation, and Madison had to clasp the blanket to keep their secret. Her chest constricted and Madison silently prayed the boy would leave soon so that Daniel could tip her over the edge and release the orgasm that swelled inside her. She chanced another glance at the boy and through half closed eyes saw Michael's face light up in response to Daniel's encouragement.

"OK!"

Daniel's fingers gave a deft, firm swirl on her thigh just above her knee and Madison's body nearly combusted under the blanket. Her legs spread a little wider and she clutched at Daniel's warm right arm. Daniel seemed to sense that Madison was near the precipice and his fingers withdrew down her leg and left Madison scorched with need. After a few seconds of frustration, Madison decided she didn't care if the whole plane found out what they were up to. She wanted the orgasm Daniel's fingers offered, and she greedily pushed her hips forward in the seat to reposition his hand closer to the point of her release. Much to her consternation, Daniel's fingers remained stubborn and settled softly on the inside of her knee again. Madison couldn't help a small puff of frustration as her body stalled in unquenched desire. She emitted a plaintive moan of need as Daniel withheld his touch from where she needed and wanted it.

"Good deal," Daniel smiled to Michael. "Just make sure it's OK with your parents."

"You bet!"

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, Michael."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mister... I mean, Daniel.

The boy turned and left up the aisle and Daniel settled his head back and closed his eyes. Just then his hand darted back up Madison's leg and stole under her lingerie. Madison pressed her forehead into Daniel's shoulder as Daniel's fingers found her swollen sex. In the midst of an anticipatory shudder, Madison glimpsed the stare of disapproval from the woman across the aisle had turned on them. She was elderly, probably in her sixties, with prim glasses and a pruned look of distaste on her plump face. Obviously, this woman was on to them, and ordinarily that might bother Madison, but today she didn't care if the whole world knew what they were up to. Instead, she bit down on the hem of the blanket and let her hair sweep forward to cover her flushed face and block out the old woman's scowl. For his part, Daniel kept his eyes closed, and his face placid as he secretly urged Madison towards satisfaction with the deft strokes of his fingers. Madison clamped her eyes shut and gave herself over to the moment despite the knowledge that they had an audience.

With his characteristic gentleness and patience, Daniel guided Madison's body up to a sweet agony of orgasm. While his fingers did their magic, he covered the whole prurient incident with feigned sleep that included a gentle snore and deep rhythmic breath. Two minutes and a half of sustained pressure later, Madison gave a single muffled, high-pitched squeak as her mind and body clenched and then flashed outward in a release of orgasmic steam. She heard some of the passengers around them shift uncomfortably at her squeak, but Madison was too far over the moon to care. She didn't think she had been obnoxiously obvious given the force of her orgasm. Besides, frequent sex was one of her goals for these two weeks and the sooner the sex started the better as far as Madison was concerned. Somewhere behind them someone sniffed disgust and summoned the Steward with a tone.

Madison panted lightly from the aftershock as the Steward bustled up and, with a touch of irritation in his voice, reminded them to return their seats and tray tables to the upright position because they were about to land. Madison kept her flushed face buried against Daniel's shoulder while Daniel smiled benignly and changed the Steward's tone with a one-hundred-dollar tip. When the mollified Steward bustled off, Madison emerged from behind the curtain of her tousled hair and ventured a coy smile at Daniel. Daniel's face remained impassive as he gazed back at her, but he gave her a conspiratorial wink.

It was all so perfect. Daniel loved her and she knew it because he gave her everything her heart desired, just like her girlfriends had told her that a man in love would do for a woman. Madison shot the woman across the aisle a triumphant grin, which made the elderly lady frown deeply and "tsk" as she looked away. With her adversary vanquished, Madison leaned in and kissed Daniel on the cheek.

"I love you, babe," she whispered seductively in Daniel's ear. "I've got such plans for you."

And Daniel turned gave her that smirk that made her heart flutter every time.

*****

The next day, a gentle sea breeze stole through the open sliding glass doors and tickled Madison's naked body. She stretched to the sumptuous memories of the previous night of tropical love-making. In her mind the first night had been an absolute "A +" with the perfect balance of romance and sex. Madison sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. Her body felt invigorated and satisfied and she giggled expectantly. Surely Daniel would propose any time now. It seemed inevitable and she could hardly wait.

For nearly six months Madison had subtly and not so subtly informed Daniel of just what she expected when it came to an engagement ring. She held up her left hand, which was deliberately devoid of jewelry this trip, and visualized a massive three carat emerald cut diamond on her left ring finger. The thought of the jealous stares of her girlfriends caused her another bout of giggles. Madison enjoyed the thought of her new ring for a few more minutes, and then she got up and wrapped herself in a sheet to go out onto the private patio and greet the day.

Apparently, Daniel had left to go on his morning run. She had thought he would not exercise on their vacation, but Daniel said it helped him start his day right. Before he left the bed though, Madison ensnared him with her legs and drew him to her for a bout of morning sex. Madison felt a little shiver as she recalled the sensations she experience each time Daniel merged into her. She said a "quick thank you" to whomever had invented the birth control pill and as she walked to the patio their stickiness warmed the area between her thighs.

Once on the patio, Madison lounged under the sun in a chair with her bare legs over one arm. At any moment now she would be Daniel's fiancé and their wedded life could start together. Madison couldn't remember this kind of happiness. It was all so perfect. Absently she looked at the clock and saw it was just a few minutes past seven. Daniel would be at breakfast by the pool with that boy. What was his name?

Suddenly Madison had a twist of jealousy in her stomach, and she sat up as a frown knit her brow. This wasn't right. Daniel should be here with her and the fact that some urchin boy had distracted his attention irked her. Quickly she dressed and headed downstairs to the dining area. She wasn't about to allow this to happen when she was so close to her goal of engagement to Daniel. She'd waited too long for this moment to have some pock faced kid steal Daniel's attentions from her as the magic moment literally hovered in the tropical air.

A motivated Madison hustled down to the pool area and looked around. Daniel and Michael sat off to one side, well away from the pool. Daniel, still wet with perspiration from his run and, with a white towel draped around his neck, gestured to the red notebook on the table and nodded with approval. Michael was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of tan cargo shorts, but his hair was still a rat's nest, and his face was still pocked with acne. The outfit looked ridiculously out of place on the boy, but his face showed gratitude and amazement. Boss bitch Madison's ire flared, and she resolved to put a quick stop to this before the little monster latched on to Daniel and spoiled the whole romantic vacation. She swept towards their table ready to see the young interloper off with an icy cold shoulder, however, just as she arrived, Daniel spoke.

"It's really good. I'm flattered by your work, really. But it's not the story you meant to write. Is it?"

"Well... I mean...."

Daniel put a hand on Michael's shoulder.

"It's OK. I know it's scary. Neil Gaiman said that for an author writing is like standing naked on the street corner. You must let yourself show through your art or you'll never reach anyone with it."

Madison paused. She had never heard Daniel talk about work before. Something about it fascinated her and stilled her irritation. Meanwhile, Michael looked at the red notebook. His shoulders slumped, and his face fell.

"So, what story do you want to tell?" Daniel prodded again.

"I hate school."

Daniel gave Michael's shoulder a little squeeze of encouragement, so the boy looked up at Daniel with beagle puppy eyes.

"Everyone hates me. No one talks to me unless they dump on me and then I wish they hadn't noticed me."

The boy dropped into silence and his eyes fell on the red notebook again. Daniel politely let the silence drag a bit and then prompted Michael with a question.

"So, I ask you again. What do you want to write about?"

Michael looked back up, but this time his eyes blazed with passion.

"I want to tell them what it's like... to be a geek... the geek no one likes."

Daniel nodded gently.

"Then that's what you should write about."

Michael's face looked doubtful and hopeful at the same time.

"But I'm just a fourteen-year-old geek. No one wants to hear what I have to say. Not even my teachers want to talk to me."

Daniel patted Michael's shoulder and then took up the pen that lay across the notebook.

"Let me show you something."

He opened the red notebook to a fresh page and began to write. Daniel's penmanship was confidently firm, and words flowed across the page. A few moments of ink later, Daniel pushed the notebook to Michael.

"Read it to me. Out loud."

Michael looked uncertainly at Daniel, who nodded more encouragement. Michael glanced up at Madison and hesitated, but Daniel nodded insistently.

"Go ahead. She won't tell anyone."

Michael relented and cleared his throat shyly.

"Through early morning fog I see,

Visions of the things to be,

The pains that are withheld for me,

I realize and I can see.

That suicide is painless,

It brings on many changes,

And I can take or leave it if I please."

Michael stopped reading and swallowed deeply.

"It's beautiful," he muttered with tears in his eyes. "Did you just write that?"

Madison felt her eyes well up at the sight of Michael's pained face. Moments ago, boss bitch Madison had wanted to show this boy off with an admonishment to leave her alone with Daniel. Suddenly she saw another side to Michael, a side that Daniel could somehow reach. A hidden and thoughtful and deeply pained side that yearned for expression. For his part, Daniel politely didn't notice the tears in Michael's eyes and shook his head at the question.

"No. Those are the lyrics to a song called 'Suicide is Painless'. Michael Altman wrote it for a movie called 'M.A.S.H'."