Island Fever Ch. 40

Chapter 40: "Reconsideration"

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"There is no reason to deny it," I said to Trish, as she sat beside me upon the bed in our big luxury suite. "I know for a fact that you are still madly in love with Lindsay."

Kristanna and Devon, both of whom were sitting upon the bed with us as well, nodded their heads in unison.

"You'll always be in love with Lindsay," Devon murmured, reaching out and placing a reassuring hand across Trish's knee. "Even though she is going home in three days, and you will most likely never see her again, you will always be in love with Lindsay. That will never change."

Exasperated, Trish shrugged her shoulders. "No, I cannot deny it. I ... I still wish I could be with her."

"But you can't," I reminded her. "I know these past few weeks have been really tough on you, Trish, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As Devon said, Lindsay is going home on Monday. You may never forget Lindsay, but at least you will not have to put up with looking at her and being around her every single day like you do now. I know that has been a major challenge for you."

Trish offered a pensive laugh. "Tell me about it..."

"Devvy and I, and Amy, are going to show you so much love and affection over the upcoming days, weeks and months," Kristanna vowed to Trish. "I believe we can make you forget about Lindsay altogether."

"I think about Lindsay every minute of every day!" Trish admitted, even whining a bit. "I can't help it! I ... I can't stop loving her. I lay awake in bed at night, and I ... I ... I fantasize about her. Constantly."

"She will never stop loving Lindsay," Devon reiterated, looking at Kristanna. "It's impossible."

I sighed, then frowned. "You girls want me to spend time and focus all of my energy upon Lindsay during her last few days here." Lost in thought for a moment, I shook my head and continued, "I don't think I can. I don't think I really should. It would not be fair to Trish for me to be out doing things and having fun with Lindsay on the island."

"I WANT you to spend this time with her," Trish repeated for perhaps the millionth time, before frowning herself. "I know that you and Lindsay care about each other very, very much, Jeremy. It would be wrong of me to deny you these last three days with her. It would be wrong to do it to her, too. I know for a fact that Lindsay is looking to be with you a lot over the next couple of days."

Kristanna patted my arm. "Devvy, Amy and I will keep Trish occupied, and happy, until Monday morning comes."

"You have to be with Lindsay," Devon insisted, glancing my way. "She is your baby girl, Jeremy, and you are like a father figure to her. You have such a special relationship with her. Don't you see how she looks up to you, and admires you? It would totally crush Lindsay if you decided to stay away from her this weekend. Just crush her completely."

"It may crush Trish if I am with Lindsay," was my obvious rebuttal. "Lindsay is leaving. Trish is staying. My priority lies with Trish."

"I WANT you to be with her," the Canadian told me one more time. "I will be fine, Jeremy. Trust me." She reached out on either side of her, and clasped hands with both Kristanna and Devon. "I have a good support group. I have great friends. You go and have your fun with Lindsay. You and her deserve it. I'm not going to be jealous or go all mental about it. Have I yet in all the time you've spent with her?"

"We have talked about this, Jeremy," Kristanna offered. "You have three days left with Lindsay. You have the whole, rest of your life with us. Before we enter lockdown mode in terms of our relationship, enjoy those final three days with Lindsay. Enjoy the freedom we are giving you."

"Not many guys would hesitate at the chance to be with a girl like Lindsay, ESPECIALLY when their fiancee is actually encouraging them to do so," Devon commented. "Krissy is right, Jeremy. Go and have some fun with Lindsay."

"You're his fiancee too," Kristanna told Devon.

"Not yet I'm not."

"Oh yes you are, Devvy. You just don't know it yet!"

"Lindsay is expecting you to be with her," Trish said to me. "I know you had some big plans for her this weekend. Just go, Jeremy. I'll be fine. I promise you. Go now."

"Very well," I finally relented. "But if you have any problems with anything, Trish, I want you to let me know."

"I will," she nodded.

"Do you have any idea where Lindsay is now?" I inquired.

"Where she always is - her usual spot," Devon answered. "Lindsay is in the recreation room. The girl loves getting on X-Box and PlayStation. I never got into gaming myself."

"I love playing video games myself..." Trish pouted.

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During their first two weeks on the island, I was under the impression that Trish and Lindsay would eventually leave here as a loving couple and most assuredly live happily ever after. It seemed written in stone but, unfortunately, I would soon learn that was not to be the case.

From the very first day - even on the long boat ride from the mainland to the island - Trish took a serious liking to Lindsay. Feeling very nauseated and tired from her 3,500 mile airline flight from Cincinnati to Lima (to put that into perspective - from Cincinnati to Los Angeles it is less than 2,000 miles), Lindsay was able to fall asleep on the boat (which was another four hour trip by itself), but only when she had Trish's shoulder as her own private pillow. That image - the sweet, indelible 18-year-old being held and comforted by her older and caring counterpart as she slept on the boat - will be etched in my mind forever.

Once we finally reached the island, Lindsay confessed to Trish later during our dinner celebration that she was still a virgin. Even later, while in their guest room, Lindsay conveyed many of her fears and anxieties to Trish about the island and what may in store for her here. Being so young and shy, and unsure about everything, Lindsay felt horribly out of place on the island. Lindsay felt intimidated by all of the older, more experienced women who were suddenly her new house-mates, but quite frankly she probably had the greatest fear and trepidation toward me. But Trish was there to comfort her that night, and lend a sympathetic ear.

By this point, Amy and Camille were already hot on the trail of the tender and untouched virgin. They wanted to get their hands on Lindsay in the worst way possible, but Trish was there to ward them off at every opportunity. Trish quickly became Lindsay's protector, so to speak, basically shadowing her every step and adopting sort of a big sister mentality. Needless to say, Trish was already head over heels in love with Lindsay.

Their relationship reached perhaps its zenith when, during their fourth day visiting the island, Lindsay decided to surrender her virginity to Trish (as well as yours truly) in a memorable three-some. The way those two hugged and kissed each other that night had me totally convinced. They were truly meant to be together. There was such great chemistry.

But a funny thing happened on the way to eternal bliss. Amy altered her approach somewhat, and suddenly became friends with Lindsay. I did not realize it then, but as I look back now, I wonder how I could have missed it. Trish was in love with Lindsay, but the feeling was not mutual. Lindsay wanted to keep her distance; any mention or even a hint at commitment (even from me) seemed to turn her off.

This became obvious the first time Trish professed her undying love for Lindsay, and suggested she move with her to Canada. Lindsay declined, saying she loved her family and did not want to live apart from them, so Trish promptly offered to relocate to Cincinnati as long as they could be together. Lindsay did not answer but this was, quite frankly, the beginning of the end of their relationship. Lindsay had no plans whatsoever of settling down at such a young age. The concept was completely foreign to her.

Lindsay began to spend more and more time with Amy. Once Amy introduced her to BDSM - which was what she wanted to do all along - Lindsay literally had no time for Trish any more. She wanted to be with Amy now. Lindsay came to me one evening and literally begged to stay in my personal suite not because she wanted to have sex, but rather it would provide a safe haven for her from Trish. Trish, she insinuated, was stalking her and would not leave her alone.

I told Lindsay that she needed to put her foot down and inform Trish that she was not interested in a relationship with her beyond the island. I got the idea that Lindsay thought of Trish as a friend and cared a great deal about her, but she was afraid to shoot her down and essentially break her heart. When Trish came to my room looking for Lindsay, they went off together and, after a brief but emotional discussion, their relationship was over.

Since that time - nearly a month ago - Trish had been dealing with the specter of Lindsay and their failed union looming over her at every turn. Did I even realize just how incredibly difficult the past four weeks had been for Trish?

Not only did she have to eat breakfast and dinner each and every day with the absolute love of her life - and see her at various points throughout the day in little or barely any attire (which was the adopted dress code here) - but Trish got to witness everyone else on the island take their turns using Lindsay as a teen-age squeeze toy (myself included). Yet Trish, the one who loved and cared for Lindsay more than anyone else, was not allowed to even lay a finger on her.

For a three week period, Trish basically kept to herself. It was obvious that she was depressed, but the 30-year-old did an admirable job of hiding her emotions. Trish did not get involved in many of the daily activities which had become routine for most of the other ladies. Trish steered clear of any and all things sexual, or even romantic activity.

This time period allowed Trish to evaluate her situation both in life and on the island. Although she was miserable because of what happened with Lindsay, Trish actually enjoyed being on the island. Soon, Trish began to develop feelings for me and when she let that be known, it set off a chain series of events that culminated with not only Trish having sex with me, but an offer for her to enter into a long-term relationship with Kristanna, Devon and myself. And Amy.

Trish's only caveat about staying here, however, was that Lindsay basically had to go. Trish was not going to devote herself to us if Lindsay was going to be a long-term fixture here as well. There was never the possibility of that, though, because Lindsay was adamant in not wanting to be part of a relationship. Lindsay wanted to go home and return to her family at the end of these six weeks.

She only had three days left.

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After my discussion with Kristanna, Devon and Trish - where they convinced me to spend the majority of the next few days with Lindsay - I made the long trek down to the recreation room to find her. I wanted to ask if she felt like going out and doing something together with me on the island. The door was wide open, but I froze and stopped dead in my tracks before stepping inside.

As Devon predicted, Lindsay was indeed in the recreation room. But she was not playing video games.

I watched with fascinated eyes as Lindsay and Amy were lying side-by-side upon the floor, simply embracing and kissing each other at a very slow, leisurely pace. Both ladies were clothed; Lindsay wore a t-shirt and a pair of pink cotton shorts, while Amy had on a halter top and a mini-skirt. Neither seemed to be in any rush to rid the other of their attire. In fact, I got the sense that Lindsay and Amy were content to just lounge here on the floor and tenderly hug and kiss each other for hours on end.

An erection began to form within my shorts as when the two ladies broke their current kiss, they made eye contact and giggled in unison, then bumped noses, only to bring their lips together for another savory exchange. They were kissing and caressing each other like two naive schoolgirls on the floor in a bedroom with unknowing (and uptight) parents just a couple of doors down the hall.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Amy murmured to Lindsay, before kissing her yet again.

When I leaned against the doorway, Lindsay's eyes drifted upward and she caught sight of me. She quickly sat up, and Amy did the same. Grinning, Lindsay wiped her lips with a single finger and greeted, "Hi Jeremy!"

"Hello, girls."

Amy's smile was especially wide for me. "Hi lover."

I chuckled at her choice of words, but then decided to ask, "What's going on here?"

"Amy and I have just been enjoying each other for the past 20 minutes," Lindsay informed me.

"Yet your clothes are still on?" I said, my eyebrows raised. "That does not add up."

"We just wanted to kiss," Amy explained. "It's nice and peaceful, and relaxing."

I laughed at her again. "You just wanted to kiss? This from the girl who begged me to dominate her last night?"

Amy licked her lips, then shrugged her shoulders and offered a coy expression. "I ... I don't know. It has just been very nice. Very ... relaxing." She giggled, then confessed, "Plus, my ass is still on fire from what you did to it last night!"

Lindsay was beaming now. "Would you like to join us?"

"I think I'll pass," were my words, which surprised them both. "You two can continue with what you were doing."

"Why did you come down here, then?" Amy inquired. "You must have had a reason?"

"I wanted to ask Lindsay if she felt like going out with me on a date," I answered, which caused the blonde's eyes to go wide. "But it can wait. You two have your fun."

"No," Amy insisted, shaking her head. "Lindsay was just saying a little while ago that she hoped you would do something nice with her. A date sounds perfect!" Amy grabbed Lindsay's arm, then pointed at me. "Go with him, honey. You don't have much time left. Please ... go. You and I can pick up where we left off sometime this weekend."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "Go. You need to be with Jeremy."

"The others won't mind?"

"Not at all," Amy told her. "We've already spoken about this. We want you and Jeremy to spend a lot of time with each other before you get on that helicopter Monday morning."

Lindsay turned her attention toward me and mused, "A date, huh? Where will we go?"

"I don't know," were my words for her. "I'm an old man, sweetheart, and I'm totally out of the loop. I don't know where the 18-year-old girls go on their dates nowadays."

"You're not old!" Amy chortled. "39 is NOT old!"

"Yes it is," Lindsay snapped back, but with a playful grin.

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With a sparkling sea of aquamarine as our backdrop, and the endless surf washing up around our feet, I was holding Lindsay's hand as the two of us went for a stroll along the sun-splashed crescent sands of the northwestern beach. We were simply enjoying ourselves and the atmosphere, with simple, small talk, and a lot of long pauses inbetween.

I had grown so accustomed (and attached) to Lindsay that it was depressing for me to think that a little more than 72 hours from now, she would be back home in Cincinnati with her family. It was good for Lindsay, of course, but it was bad for me. I would miss that smile and her youthful exuberance, but realized that she did not have a future here with us and returning to Ohio was, in fact, her only real option.

"What are your plans for when you get home? Are you going back to your job as a cosmetics clerk at the supermarket?"

"Yeah," Lindsay cooed, smiling. "I've actually already been on the phone with my boss. I go back next Thursday. I have a three to nine shift in the afternoon and evening."

I nodded my head. "That will give you two whole days to rest and recoup from the airline flight."

"Ughhhhh!" the young woman growled, making a face. "I am NOT looking forward to that long plane ride. It will be even more difficult with the fact that I won't know anyone on it. At least when I came here six weeks ago, I had all the other girls to talk to and get acquainted with. You had all of us sit together on the flight from Miami."

"I'll fly with you if it makes you feel more comfortable," I offered, to which Lindsay vehemently shook her head. "When the plane reaches Cincinnati, I could simply get on another one and go back to Lima through Miami or Dallas."

"Don't be crazy!" she exclaimed. "I don't want you to fly all that distance with me just so I can have someone to talk to and be with. I'm a big girl, Jeremy. I can handle it."

"You're my baby girl," I corrected her, leaning over and stealing a quick kiss. Lindsay's face blushed red with sudden embarrassment - I loved it whenever that happened - as I then brought her hand to my lips and kissed it as well. "I need to take care of you, honey, and know you're safe."

"You're NOT flying back to Cincinnati with me," were her words. "And you've taken care of me enough already as it is. My mom and my sisters have no idea what to think of you. They cannot believe all the nice things you have done for our family. The bank got your payment yesterday, Jeremy, and now our family house is paid off. My mom is going out of her mind because of you. She cannot believe you are doing so many good things for people you have never even met. Mom was convinced for awhile that I was going to marry you, but that I just wasn't telling her about it for some reason."

I smiled at those words. "That's a really nice thought. But why would your mom think you would marry me?"

Lindsay laughed and shook her head. "Why else would some man go to all the lengths to help a group of strangers out like you have? Regardless of whether it is my family, that is just not normal, Jeremy. You've taken all the worry and hassle my family has had for the past eight months since my father died, and just wiped it away. Wiped it clean. It was hard for me to convince my mom that this is just the type of person you are. You do things like this for others. And best of all, you ask for nothing in return."

"Your mom, your three sisters, even your little baby niece Katherine ... they are not strangers to me, honey. I feel as if I know them in a way." I smiled at her and continued, "You've told me all about them."

"Yeah. Yeah, I have."

"Remember that I have family in Cincinnati too," I advised her. "I was born just a couple of miles from where you live now. I'd love to meet your mom and sisters one day."

"Oh ... they want to meet you too," Lindsay assured me. "I sent them your picture. Alison thinks you are hot."

I found myself temporarily taken aback. "Alison thinks I am hot? Your 16-year-old sister?"

"Yes," Lindsay nodded. "Soon to be 17, though."

"That's not going to help me now. She has to be 18 first."

Lindsay giggled. "Alison has a boyfriend already."

"How did you approach the subject of the island with your family? Surely, no matter how desperate she was for money, your mother could not have approved of you coming here."

"She didn't," Lindsay clarified. "But I also had to bend the truth. I told her I was going to an island in the South Pacific where I would be living for six weeks, and it had a dating theme to it. Among five other girls, I told my mom, I was in a dating competition for a man. I told her that I was not interested in winning the competition, but I was guaranteed $100,000 just for taking part in it. I told her it was sort of like The Bachelor, but without the cameras."

How much more wrong could she have been about the cameras? Little did Lindsay know, but I had cameras hidden everywhere.

"And your mom was fine with this?"

"No, not really," Lindsay giggled. "But I told her I was 18 now, and I could make my own decisions. I was doing this for our family to get us some money. I did not care how much she argued or wanted to put a fight about it."