Island Adventures Ch. 03 - Changing Currents

Chapter 1 introduced the main characters, Mike, Monica, and Cheryl. Mike ends up leaving his bartending job with Monica to work as a mate on Cheryl's charter sailboat.

In Chapter 2, Mike's relationship with Monica suddenly changes from one of casual sex to something much deeper.

In this chapter, his relationship with Monica ends before it barely begins and he finds solace with Cheryl, who is still working through issues from her past.

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Chapter 3 - Changing Currents

I woke up the next morning alone in Monica's home. I searched the house and found a note waiting for me in the kitchen that read simply, "Last night was perfect. Love, M".

Monica had never left like this and I was puzzled. I waited around for another 30 minutes after taking a shower and putting on some clean clothes, before heading out to her bar on my way to the marina. As I walked along the busy streets, I continued to reflect on the evening I'd just shared with Monica and thought about whether I was making a mistake in working for Cheryl or leaving Nassau in the near future. Did Monica and I have a long-term future together?

When I got to her bar, one of the staff who knew me let me inside. He had opened the bar to start the morning inventory, but had not seen Monica. We both knew that wasn't unusual and she would be in before 9 o'clock to make sure everything was on track for opening at 10. I hung around until 9:30 and she still had not arrived, or left a message that she would be late. I was worried and was getting ready to go search for her when she breezed in just before the 10 o'clock opening time.

She stopped when she saw me and the smile froze on her face. She was not expecting to see me there. "Wait in my office," she whispered in my ear as she went past me to check on the kitchen and her staff. I walked slowly to the small broom closet that she called her office and waited. Other than a couple of four-drawer filing cabinets, a small desk, and a single rickety wooden chair, there wasn't much to it. As usual, her desk was littered with various purchase orders and delivery receipts that needed to be paid or filed away.

I thought back to one of our first sexual encounters when she sat up on the desk and had me fuck her in the middle of the day. It seemed like a long time ago. Monica showed up five minutes later to cut my daydream short, and closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry for leaving you this morning like I did," she apologized before I said a word. "Did you see my note?"

I nodded. "I meant every word," she continued. "When I woke up, the first thing I thought of was how wonderful it would be to spend every night like that for the rest of my life. But, I know you and more importantly, I know myself. At some point, the novelty of our relationship would wear off and another woman, probably younger and much prettier than me would catch your attention. I wouldn't deal with that very well."

I was shaking my head slowly and started to say something, but she put her fingers to my lips and held them there. "Shhh! I can be very jealous and demanding. All the wondrous time we've shared would be lost and forgotten in the ugliness of our fighting and break-up. I don't want my last memories of you to be bitter. I want to remember last night and the time before that when our love was pure and fresh."

"Why did you leave like that, though?" I asked.

"I needed time to think alone. I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision," she answered. "I'm much older than you and frankly, I'm not aging especially well. You are still very young and full of life. You deserve someone who will grow and change with you, not someone who will hold you back. I'm not the woman for you to spend the rest of your life with, as much as I would like to be."

Her eyes were wet with tears and I could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to keep herself under control. "This is the most difficult thing I've ever had to say, but last night was our last time together. I can't keep doing this with you. If I do, I'll never be able to let go and we'll end up resenting each other." Her voice choked up and I felt tears in my eyes.

She stretched up on her toes and kissed my lips softly. "Please don't fight me on this," she whispered sadly. I took her in my arms and hugged her tightly. "You know I love you," I said as I fought back my own tears. Monica just nodded her head next to mine, unable to say anything without breaking down completely.

We held each other like that for almost a minute before Monica finally pushed herself away and wiped the tears off her cheeks and eyes. "You need to go now," she said with a sniff. "Please."

I couldn't resist kissing her one more time, but her lips didn't respond. I turned around slowly, opened the door, and walked away without looking back. I wiped the tears from my eyes before passing through the bar area and gave a weak wave goodbye to people I knew as I walked outside into the bright sunlight.

I ended up heading towards the marina on autopilot and turned to walk down the pier when I looked up and saw a man standing behind Cheryl with one arm around her neck while his other arm tried to hold her struggling body. I forgot all about Monica and broke into a run. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing, asshole!" I yelled out at the guy.

He as about my height, but appeared beefier and stronger. When he looked up at me, I saw Cheryl go limp just before her head snapped back into his face. Cheryl hat came off and I could see a large flow of blood from the guy's nose and mouth area. Immediately after head-butting the guys face, Cheryl somehow twisted around inside his arms and brought one of her knees up hard into his crotch. The effect was immediate. The big guy let go of Cheryl and grabbed his groin as his knees buckled. Cheryl separated herself and grabbed his short hair to pull his head sideways towards her. At the same time, her knee came up fast to deliver another blow to the side of his head that made him drop like a rock. The whole scene was over in three or four seconds.

He fell on the cockpit deck and remained motionless while Cheryl stepped back and looked down at him. I leapt up onto the boat and she took a step back as she faced me in a defensive pose, still breathing hard from her attack. When she recognized me, her body relaxed, but she continued to keep an eye on her recent attacker. I pulled out my cell phone and called the Bahamian emergency number.

"What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.

"Calling the cops and an ambulance," I replied as II waited for someone to answer.

"Good luck with that," she mumbled.

An emergency operator finally answered and took my report. She promised a police officer would be there soon after verifying the name of the marina, the pier, and name of the boat. I hung up and looked at Cheryl.

"Are you hurt?" I asked anxiously when I noticed some blood on her shirt. She followed my glance.

"No, maybe some bruises. That's his," she replied, referring to the fresh bloodstains.

"What happened? Who is this guy?" I asked. She just shook her head.

"Nobody," she replied.

I picked up her hat and handed it back to her. "He must be somebody. I'm guessing he isn't some random stranger who just decided to come down here and attack you on your boat."

Cheryl's eyes flashed with anger briefly when she looked back at me and then softened. I also noticed her hands were starting to shake a little as the adrenaline started wearing off.

"He was the mate I had before you. He worked for me for about four days before I fired him. He came back to tell me I made a mistake," she answered evenly. The guy on the deck stirred as he came to. I pulled a short length of line used to tack down the mizzen sail and quickly used it to tie his hands behind his back. He struggled to resist, but Cheryl put a bare foot across the side of his neck and wasn't gentle about pushing down. "Keep moving around and I'll break your neck," she told him without emotion.

The guy glared up at her, but stopped trying to fight me. His face was a mess and from what I could tell, it looked like he had a broken nose. His upper lip was also pretty swollen and he spat out blood before saying, "You're making a big fucking mistake! Both of you!" He twisted around to give me a baleful stare.

About 20 minutes later, a police officer strolled down the pier and saw us. He slowed and looked around the boat as he got closer. When he saw the guy bleeding and tied up in the cockpit, his hand went to his holstered pistol and his eyes narrowed. "What's going on here?" he asked.

Cheryl looked down at the guy bleeding all over her deck. "I'm the owner of this boat. This guy worked for me for about four days before I fired him. He didn't take it well and came back. He attacked me and I fought back."

The police officer looked over at me. "Who are you?"

"I was just passing by and saw this big guy choking this woman. She managed to get free and kick him between the legs. When he fell, I guess he hit his head on the side of the boat," I replied. I felt Cheryl's eyes on me, but didn't look over at her. The officer called for backup and an ambulance on his radio, then remained on the pier. As he waited, he continued his questioning. The big guy on the deck claimed that he had just stopped by to try and get his job back, but the girl and I attacked him without provocation. I couldn't tell if the policeman believed him or not. When two more police officers arrived, they had each of us step off the boat and one of the officers went aboard to look around.

By the time he came out of the cabin and back on to the pier, the ambulance had arrived and the EMT started checking out the big guy. "Are you okay, Miss?" he asked Cheryl. She had remained mostly silent the whole time with her arms crossed over her body. She nodded, but he saw the blood on her shirt and came over to check her out as well. He noted the redness and bruising around her upper arms and neck, but satisfied himself that the blood on her shirt wasn't hers. He whispered something to the first officer who asked, "Can I see your papers?"

Cheryl went inside and came out a minute later with her boat registration paperwork and her passport. The officer reviewed them and handed them back. "And you, Sir?" he asked me. I pulled my passport from my backpack and handed it over. He glanced at it briefly, made some notes and returned it. "Do you want to press charges, Miss?" he asked.

Cheryl nodded as her attacker gave her a nasty look. They stayed around for a few more minutes before leaving with Cheryl's attacker in handcuffs and gauze packed up his nose to stop the flow of blood. From what I gathered listening to the EMT, the guy not only had a broken nose, but also a concussion from a blow on the side of his head, possibly from falling. The police officer nodded, made more notes and then looked back at Cheryl and me. "Are you planning to remain in Nassau much longer?" he asked.

Cheryl nodded. "I run charters out of here." He looked at me and I just nodded. "I'm not going anywhere." Shortly after the ambulance and two other police officers departed, the first officer said, "You were very lucky, Miss. Your attacker is much bigger than you."

Cheryl nodded, but remained silent. The officer smiled and left with one more admonishment to remain in Nassau. When he was out of earshot, Cheryl looked over at me. "You didn't have to lie for me," she said.

I looked at her innocently. "What do you mean? I told him exactly what I saw."

"He hit his head on the boat?" she said incredulously. Shaking her head, she climbed back on her boat and I followed. "What are you doing here anyway? I gave you the day off."

I felt a pang of hurt as I remembered the breakup with Monica. "I didn't have anything else to do and thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted any company or needed a hand. I wasn't expecting a first-hand demonstration of what you're like when you get pissed off."

Cheryl scowled. My attempt at levity didn't go over well. "Can I help you with anything?" I asked.

"You can wash off the deck and re-stow everything here," she said with a wave to the bloodstained cockpit. "I'm going below for a minute." She turned and descended into to cabin. I rigged up a garden hose to the pier and quickly cleaned up the cockpit, leaving it wet and bright white in the morning sun.

After putting up the hose, I headed down into the cabin to see what Cheryl was doing and found her lying face down on one of the bunks. She had taken off her bloodied shirt and was wearing just her bikini. I caught a quick glimpse of her body shaking before she heard me and turned to see who it was. She quickly wiped her red eyes and did her best to look like nothing was going on.

"You want to get out for a bit?" I asked in a cheery voice.

"I've got things to do," she said gruffly as she slid off the bunk and started to push past me.

I gently stopped her. "You need to take a break. Let me help. I'm told I can actually be fun company," I told her. Cheryl scowled at me.

"I don't need your sympathy," she growled and tried again to push past me. However, I was still standing on the ladder going up to the main deck and completely blocking her way.

"What sympathy?" I asked. "I'm just talking about going somewhere to relax and not think about work, bills, angry former employees, or anything else like that. Where would you like to go?"

"The only place I need to go right now is topside and if you don't get out of the way, then I'll move you myself," Cheryl replied. We locked eyes for a few seconds before I slowly stepped down and allowed her to head up the ladder. As the brushed past, I called out, "You're welcome."

"Thank you," she said without looking back as she disappeared into the sunlight. "Well, my morning is turning out just great," I thought wryly. I looked around the cabin and not seeing anything to do, I went back up on deck.

I found Cheryl sitting on the bow with her long legs dangling over the side as she stared out across the marina. I sat down next to her and let my legs hang over the side as well. "How long have you been sailing?" I asked casually. Cheryl looked over at me trying to look tough and figure out what I was up to.

"Look, I hired you just to be my mate. I'm not looking for a new 'bestie'," she finally said.

"Fine. I'm still curious how long you've been doing this," I said evenly. She continued looking at me for several seconds as she decided whether or not to answer.

"All my life," she said as her gaze returned out over the marina and the horizon beyond.

"What brought you to Nassau?" I asked.

"This boat," she said. I looked at her and she turned to flash a quick smile.

"And people say you don't have a sense of humor," I kidded. "Really? What made you decide to come to Nassau?"

She looked away again. "After my parents died, I was a mess and needed to get away from where I was. My aunt was living here and invited me to join her. It was fun spending time with her, but I didn't like sitting around all day. I needed to do something with my life. She helped me buy this boat four years ago and this has been my home ever since."

"Your aunt lives here?" I said with surprise. "Do you still spend time with her?"

"Yeah, we talk all the time, but we don't hang out much together," she replied. Cheryl turned to give me a sideways look. "Don't get me wrong. I love my aunt and she's an amazing woman, but we're completely different and too busy with our own lives to live together again."

"I understand," I said, even though I really didn't. "Maybe sometime the three of us can get together for dinner or something?"

"Yeah, maybe," Cheryl replied as she looked away again.

We sat on the boat's bow for several more minutes without speaking again and I was starting to get hot from the late morning sun beating down on us and being reflected up from the smooth water surface and white deck all around us.

"C'mon, let's go," I said as I pulled myself upright. "It's getting too hot just sitting out here."

Cheryl looked up at me, but remained where she was. "Go ahead. I'm fine."

"Nope. You and I are going to do something that doesn't involve work or sitting around on this boat," I said matter-of-factly. She looked back up at me and I stuck out my hand to help her up. "C'mon," I said more gently. She gave a heavy sigh and pulled up her legs before taking my hand and hauling herself up to stand next to me.

"Are you always this pushy?" she inquired.

"Not really," I answered. "I'm usually worse, but I didn't want to piss you off too much." I made sure to smile and let her know I was joking, too.

She closed up her boat and joined me on the pier. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Wherever our feet take us," I answered as I started up the pier. We walked into town, but I avoided going to Monica's bar. Eventually, we ended up on the beach and walked along the surf as we talked. Mostly, we just talked about growing up on the mainland, our families, and how we got into sailing. Cheryl was intrigued by my vagabond lifestyle for the past five years.

"Don't you ever get tired of always moving around and not having a place to call home?" she asked.

"Nope, not yet, anyway. I've grown used to not spending much time worrying about tomorrow. I just enjoy the present until I don't, and then look for a change of locale. What about you? You're living alone on your boat for the last four years, either here or another island. Do you miss not having more friends and family to spend time with?" I asked.

"A little," she admitted. "I really miss my parents, but I have my aunt to talk to all the time and we do still get together every now and then. Running my business and keeping the boat maintained keeps me busy, though."

We had dinner together at a small restaurant that Cheryl recommended near the beach. "It's small and doesn't look like much, but the owner makes some amazing dishes," she told me. We didn't say much over dinner. The wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen made both of us even hungrier and just as Cheryl promised, the food was incredible. After that, we headed back to the marina for the evening. We sat back in the cockpit of her boat and watched the sunset while enjoying a cold Red Stripe together, and then went inside to call it a night. I ended up in the bunk opposite Cheryl's and watched her crawl into bed wearing just her bikini bottoms.

The cabin grew dark quickly after the sun went below the horizon and the boat rocked slightly from the small waves in the harbor.

"Thank you for today," Cheryl said in a quiet voice that surprised me.

"You're welcome. I really enjoyed spending some down time with you," I replied.

"I enjoyed it, too. It's been a long time since I got away from my boat and just relaxed. That doesn't mean we're a thing or you get to sleep with me, though," she warned. "Don't you have a girlfriend out in town?" she asked suddenly.

"Not really. The woman I was wanting to spend time with broke up with me this morning," I shared.

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry to hear that," Cheryl said with real sympathy. After a pause, she asked, "Did she break up because you were a pushy asshole?" Her giggle made it clear she was trying to be light.

"Nope. She actually thought I was very nice, but she thought I was a little too young for her and she wasn't looking for anything serious, anyway," I explained.

"Mmmm, so you like older women?" Cheryl mused.

"I'm non-discriminatory," I corrected. "But she thought I would be better off with someone closer to my age." Cheryl didn't reply and the cabin grew silent again and we both dozed off lost in our own private thoughts.

The next morning, we both awoke with the first rays of sunlight coming into the cabin. Our charters were due to arrive for another hour, so we both took a quick shower and I had my first glimpse of Cheryl's naked body. At that point, there wasn't much I hadn't seen already, which is why she didn't seem to mind stripping off her bikini bottom in front of me. Besides, there wasn't much privacy in her boat to begin with, short of me going up topside while she showered and got dressed.