Maelstrom Ch. 02

"I always wanted a brother, too," Meg admitted. "I don't know why mum and dad never had any other kids. I asked her once, but she just said I was enough." She laughed softly. "I think I was a spoilt brat most of the time."

"I'd have never guessed," Zach said teasingly. "Well I suppose we both got what we wanted, just not in the way we wanted."

Isn't it ironic, he thought humourlessly.

* * *

Meg was disoriented when she awoke. For second she couldn't work out where in the hell she was, then she realised – she was in the guest room and Zach was curled around her body like a glove.

The fear of discovery almost gave her a heart attack. Then she saw what time it was and she relaxed slightly. It was barely six o'clock and there was no way her mum would be up yet. Besides, the bedroom door was closed and Sylvie wouldn't dare come in and disturb Zach.

She thought back over what had happened last night and tried to make sense of it all. Coming to Zach's bed was hardly the smartest thing she had ever done, but lying in her own bed, tossing and turning, had driven her insane. She just wanted to be with him. Her emotions were all over the place and she simply didn't know what to think any more.

He made her feel things she had never felt before and she was scared of the way she was falling for him. It was madness. If only they could run away and forget about the rest of the world – that way they could be together as she wanted. And the more she thought about it, the more she realised that it was what she did want.

Meg knew that once Sylvie found out about their relationship, she would never be allowed to see Zach again. He would be banished from her life forever. The thought of that happening was unbearable to her.

Zach murmured in his sleep and his hand moved up her rib cage until it was resting just below the curve of her breast. Although she was wearing a cotton slip, it had ridden up while she had been asleep and was currently somewhere around her hips. He on the other hand was naked and she could feel his erection semi hard against her bottom.

Aware that she ought to leave, she couldn't quite manage it. It felt too good lying in bed with him, pretending they were a couple. If she forgot about all the crap, she could almost imagine how it could be between them. It would be perfect, of that she was certain.

But she knew that was impossible, so she concentrated on the only thing that she could have for now. Time was running away, so she had to make the most of this moment.

She knew she was wet; she could feel the moisture, slick and creamy between her thighs. Parting her legs slightly, she pushed back until she felt him rubbing against her. He groaned slightly, still asleep, but rock hard now.

Her body welcomed him home, eagerly taking him inside as deep as she could manage. Rocking gently, she reached down and rubbed her clit, sighing with pleasure as she took what she wanted. It was selfish, she knew, but she wanted to feel close to him and this was the only way she knew how.

His breathing grew harsh in her ear and she felt him moving with her now, no longer a passive participant. Sensing that he was finally awake, she grabbed his hand and turned her face towards him. Sure enough, his lips nuzzled her cheek and he squeezed her breast.

She rolled on to her stomach and he followed her, staying embedded deep inside her. The bed began to squeak softly as Zach thrust harder, but Meg was past caring. She felt her body rushing towards orgasm and she held her breath as it hit, her cries blessedly muffled by the soft pillows.

Zach reached beneath her body and grabbed her breast as he groaned into her hair. She felt him pull out as he came, hot spunk splattering her bottom cheeks before it oozed between down her thighs.

He rolled away, but his hand stayed resting lightly on her back. When the heating pipes began to shudder with the onset of morning, Meg knew that the sand in her timer was about to run out. Trying to keep a lid on her emotions, she dragged herself away from Zach. "I gotta go," she muttered, refusing to look at him.

"Meg," she heard him say just as she grasped the door handle, "Come to the pub tonight so we can talk?"

She half turned towards him and nodded. He looked almost as miserable as she felt and part of her felt vindicated that at least she wasn't the only one suffering. Allowing a small smile to brush her lips, she was rewarded with one in return.

As she reached her bedroom door, her mum appeared, yawning. "What're you doing up so early?" Sylvie asked in surprise.

"Needed the bathroom," Meg said quickly, hoping that Sylvie wouldn't notice her red cheeks as well as the damp patch on her night dress.

Her mum looked at her hard for a moment. Then she said, "Do you want a coffee?"

"No, I'm going back to bed." Meg shot inside her room and closed the door firmly. God that was close. Another minute and she'd have caught me leaving Zach's room. Adrenaline flooded her system as Meg considered just how appalling that would have been. She threw herself on her bed and tried to control her thudding heart. Is this worth the risk? But she knew the answer.

* * *

The bar was half empty which was a relief considering how tired Zach was. He had heard Meg talking to Sylvie shortly after she'd left his room and for ages he had held his breath certain that they had been caught out. But nobody came to hurl abuse at him and eventually he fell asleep again.

He had finally dragged himself out of bed at lunchtime, but despite the extra few hours sleep, he had still felt like death all afternoon. Meg was absent when he wandered downstairs and a passing comment from Sylvie told him that she had gone out with Sarah.

There was still no sign of her by the time he left for work. He could only hope that she appeared this evening; they really needed to talk and that was impossible at home.

A large group of girls walked in and Zach immediately looked up, anxiously scanning the faces to see if one of them was Meg. His heart fell when he realised she wasn't there. But a familiar blonde approached the bar and he smiled despite his tension.

"Hey, stranger!" she said with a huge grin. "Long time no see."

"Hey yourself," Zach replied. "What you doing in these parts?"

The blonde rolled her eyes and threw a glance back at her friends. "My best mate is getting married in two weeks. I came up for the weekend; her hen night and wedding preparations, you know, all that crap I so enjoy."

Zach laughed. "Come on, Anna, I thought a white wedding was your dream?"

"Bugger off!" Anna sat down on a chrome barstool and watched as he made a cocktail for another customer.

"How's life been treating you since we parted?"

It had been three years since he and had Anna split. She had ended up in the same care home as he and although it was a shit hole, the two of them had become friends and, eventually, lovers. She had been his first love and he had missed her dreadfully after they parted.

He took the cash and rang the transaction through the till. "Okay," he said vaguely. He wasn't sure how Anna would feel about the news that he'd finally traced his birth mother. Her own birth mother had turned out to be a drug-addicted prostitute when, at the age of eighteen, Anna had tracked her down. The news had almost destroyed her and in the end it had been the death of their relationship as Zach hadn't had the maturity to cope with Anna's subsequent depression and downward spiral into self-destructive behaviour.

By the time they split, Anna was out of control. Her last words to him as he boarded a coach to London were, "Fuck off!"

But all that was obviously in the past for she seemed genuinely pleased to see him. She was certainly looking well and the clothes she wore indicated that a change in fortune. The slashed denim and streaked pink hair had been replaced by designer gear and an expensive blonde style.

"You're looking well," he commented as he opened a bottle of wine for her.

"I sorted my life out after you left," she said. "You did me a favour really," she added ruefully. "Without you around to clean up my mess, I was forced to do it myself and I realised I didn't like living that way anymore. So I went off to college and did my exams. Now I'm a PA working for an exec, and I get to travel and earn shit loads of money. It's great!"

"I'm pleased," Zach said. And he really was.

"So come on," Anna asked, ignoring the loud comments from her waiting friends, "What exciting things have you done in the last five years?"

"Nothing much." He thought about his life and wondered what the hell he was doing working in a dead end job for peanuts. Finding his mother had been his driving force for so long that it felt like he'd run out of steam now he had actually found her. Maybe it was time to reassess his goals.

"Is there a girlfriend?" Anna sipped her wine contemplatively.

Before he could answer, something made him look up and he saw Meg walking towards the bar, her hair damp from the relentless drizzle that was falling outside. Tiny droplets sparkled like jewels on her naked shoulders and he felt the familiar cramp of desire in his groin as she sidled up beside Anna.

"I'm waiting for an answer," Anna reminded him.

"No, not at the moment," Zach replied with one eye on Meg.

He saw the hostile look Meg gave Anna when she realised the blonde was talking to Zach and he groaned inwardly. This was likely to get awkward if Anna carried on asking personal questions. Her friends were trying to catch her attention and he prayed that she would give him a moment alone with Meg.

"That's a shame," Anna said huskily. She leaned forward and smiled seductively. "Maybe if you're not busy later, we can hook up – for old times sake?"

Under different circumstances, Zach would have jumped at the opportunity. Anna was still sexy as hell and the thought of reacquainting himself with her body was hardly an unwelcome one.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Meg's face turn pale. She practically threw her bag on the bar, deliberately aiming it in the direction of Anna's glass of red wine. The glass tumbled sideways as they all watched helplessly. Ruby cabernet spilled out and Anna's pale blue dress instantly blossomed with a vibrant red stain.

Anna swore angrily. "I'm supposed to be going for a meal in half an hour!"

"I'm so sorry!" Meg apologised in a saccharine sweet voice.

"Never mind," Anna replied tightly. "I'm going to have to go back to the hotel and change now. There's no way I can go out for a meal looking like this." She reached inside her purse and pulled a business card printed on thick card and dropped it on the bar. "Give me a call sometime," she said. "It'd be good to catch up..." Her voice trailed off meaningfully and Zach heard the veiled promise behind her innocuous words.

He also saw Meg grab her bag and storm off in the direction of the toilets. "Yeah," he said, wishing his life could be simple. "I'll do that."

Anna blew him a kiss and rejoined her friends briefly before leaving the bar. He watched as she disappeared from his life again and he wondered why he didn't feel terribly bothered.

But he didn't have time to dwell on that. He needed to find Meg.

* * *

Even the grubby mirror couldn't disguise the dark circles beneath her eyes. Meg stared at her reflection with disgust and wondered why she had even come here. It was hopeless.

She was tired and depressed. The near miss with her mother this morning had frightened the living daylights out of her. She'd always been a risk taker, but the stakes were just too high with Zach. The realisation of what would happen to both of them if they were caught out was gnawing away at her insides like a vicious rodent.

This morning, in the golden glow of spending a few brief hours with him, she had managed to push the doubts to one side. But after an hour or so lying in her own bed trying to come up with a way of making it work, she was back to feeling like shit again. It didn't matter which way she looked at the problem, there seemed to be no way out.

But she couldn't stay in here all evening. Talking to Zach wasn't going to achieve anything, so she may as well go to Sarah's house or something. At least there she could relax. Zach could go and find his entertainment with that blonde bitch.

Meg scowled at herself in the mirror. Seeing that blonde cow flirting with Zach had twisted her guts with jealousy. It had been childish to knock the wine over, but Meg was past caring. The bitch deserved it.

The entrance door to the toilets banged open and she jumped at the sudden intrusion. "Can't you fucking read?" she said sarcastically, "It says 'ladies' on the door, not 'tossers'."

"Very funny," sighed Zach. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on the top of her head. For a minute she tensed and tried to fight the urge to melt into him, but it was useless. Eventually she gave up the futile struggle and leaned back in surrender, closing her eyes.

"Has your bimbo gone now?" she murmured.

Zach nuzzled her hair with his lips. "Were you jealous?"

"No. Not at all. Redheads have way more fun."

"You have nothing to be jealous about," he said softly. "I don't want anybody else."

"Well you should." Despair hung over her like a death shroud.

"I know that, but it doesn't make any difference," he said firmly. "I can't seem to see past this at the moment."

They stared at each other in the mirror, her red hair almost brown in the dull light. "Maybe I should go with Sarah," she said eventually.

"Go where?"

"She's going travelling next month. Her friend dropped out and there's a plane ticket if I want it."

Meg had dismissed the idea when Sarah first mentioned it, but the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Staying here and seeing Zach all the time was only going to lead to them being caught out. It was obvious neither of them had the will power to resist temptation.

A quick text to Sarah earlier had ascertained that the plane ticket was still up for grabs. Her mother would freak, of course, but Meg had enough money in her savings account to last her a while if she was careful.

But could she leave Zach behind?

"I think you should go," he replied.

Her eyes darted up to his in shock. How could he be so callous! She tried to rip his arms away from her body, but he held her tightly, refusing to let her go.

"I always wanted to travel," he said. "Maybe now would be a great time to see paradise?"

* * *

Sylvie watched Meg throw a few last items in her rucksack before she fastened it up. She still couldn't get her head around the fact her little girl was going away for what could be months.

It was all happened so quickly she could scarcely make sense of it. Meg had come home a week ago and calmly announced she was taking a gap year from college and that she would be flying to Malaysia with Sarah and another girl the following Tuesday.

"What are you talking about?" Sylvie had asked after a stunned silence.

"I just said, didn't I?" Meg tossed the airline ticket on the kitchen table and wandered over to make a drink.

"But how on earth are you going to afford this trip? I'm not paying for it!"

"I've got Nana's inheritance in the bank and I have some money saved up. I won't need a lot – everything is relatively cheap out there. Sarah's done the research and she reckons she has a couple of jobs lined up in Australia for us, once we've bummed around a bit."

Sylvie flopped down on a chair and tried to think. "But I'll miss you!" she cried when all other arguments seemed pointless.

"It's not forever," replied Meg with a slightly softer expression. "I'll be back in a few months and then you'll be wishing I'd stayed away!"

Now that Meg was actually about to leave, Sylvie could barely keep her emotions on check. It wouldn't have been so bad if Zach was sticking around, but he too was off on his travels. He had disappeared three days ago, saying he had taken a job in the States at a kids' summer camp. After that he would be visiting some friends in Texas.

She had no idea when he would be back, but he had promised to keep in touch via email. It was so unfair really – she had only just found him again and now he had left. But, she supposed, he was a grown up with a life of his own. At least he was happy.

Things had certainly been a little easier in the days after he had left. Meg at least had been more cheerful and relaxed. If only the two of them had seen eye to eye, lamented Sylvie as she placed Meg's bags in the car. It was a shame that they couldn't have found some common ground in which to bond.

"Come on," Meg urged as Sylvie stood thinking about the last few months. "I'll miss my flight if we don't leave now!"

Hopefully when more time had passed, they would be able to form some kind of relationship. She smiled to herself at the thought. It was something to look forward to, at least.

* * *

The setting sun painted the sea with fiery red colour as it slowly sank below the horizon in flames. Meg sat on the pale sand, her knees tucked below her chin as she stared across the bay. Voices from the nearby beach bar were carried on the hot breeze, but she tuned them out, preferring to listen to the lapping waves on the shoreline instead.

Ko Samui was like paradise with its endless white beaches and turquoise sea. Every morning when she woke up, she had to pinch her arm to make herself believe that it was truly real and not just a scene from a movie. But they weren't staying here forever, even if she would have enjoyed it.

In another week, they were flying to Cambodia, and then on to Vietnam. They had left Sarah and the other two in Hong Kong last week. It had been a drunken farewell, but the girls had promised to meet them in Vietnam in two months time. Meg was looking forward to that, but she had to admit she was happy that now it was just the two of them.

A sound behind her made her look up and she grinned with pleasure as she turned around and took the beer he had just bought for them.

"Would you rather be anywhere else in the world at this moment in time?" she asked before she sipped her beer. Even though the drink was not as cold as she liked, it still tasted wonderful and she sighed with pleasure.

"Well yeah, of course," Zach replied, contemplatively drawing patterns in the sand with his toe. "I'd rather be in our beach hut fucking you."

"That's not what I mean!" she laughed before putting her beer down and diving on top of him. "I meant would you rather be back in wet and cold England."

"Err no!" He looked at her like she was stupid before pulling her down for a long, heated kiss. "Here we can be whoever we want to be," he reminded her when they broke apart.

"You're right," she said softly. "Here we can be lovers."

It had all been so easy really. Zach had flown out a few days before her and met them at the airport in Kuala Lumpar. As far as Sarah knew, he was a friend of her distant cousin who had arranged to spend some time with them.

The fact he had the same name as her long lost brother had been a mere coincidence and after an initial comment, Sarah had forgotten all about it. She had even been pleased for Meg when she realised that they were an item.

"Hey you have fun – he's hot!" she'd said as they drank beer in yet another backpacker bar. "He's not my type anyway," she said as her attention was caught by a tall blonde guy staring at her. She surreptitiously adjusted her bikini top so that her tits were almost falling out, and winked at him lewdly.

"Don't you dare bring him back to our room," warned Michelle, who was travelling with them. "I'm not entertaining his friend – he's a fucking freak!" Meg noticed the short skinny guy smiling hopefully at the statuesque Michelle and started giggling.