Nude Noir Ch. 02

"I understand," was all Paul said.

The police were done with Ali by the time I arrived at the station. Her apartment was only a short distance away, but I detoured Downtown to the old building that held my office. As Ali looked around my office, she said, "we can do better than this." I was too absorbed to be insulted. I pulled the .45 I owned out of a file-drawer along with four loaded clips. I put that gun and the ammo in the briefcase I carried. I took out the .38 revolver I usually carried and got a full box of .38 ammo out of the drawer.

Handing the .38 and the box of bullets to Ali, I said, "I know you don't have the paperwork to carry this, so don't get caught. I'm going to stay with you as much as possible, but I want you to have the gun on you, loaded, at all times in case we're separated."

I think Ali wanted to say that she didn't need it, that she would be fine. She stopped herself. Instead, she just said, "Thank you Ian."

I spent the next 51 consecutive days with Allison Nance. I sat in her classes (and learned a couple of things). I met her friends. I even did her laundry. Fortunately, Tampa stays warm enough through October that we were comfortable going nude at The Cove. I thought the restricted access there made us a little safer. The better I got to know Ali, the more she impressed me. I'd estimate that we made love on forty of those 51 days. Sex with Allison Nance did not get stale or routine.

Interestingly, our role in the Olmos drug bust helped my business. I was getting calls for more work and from new clients. When nothing had happened again by the end of October, Ali and I agreed that I needed to spend more time on business and less as her personal bodyguard. Despite cooler weather, The Cove stayed open year-round. Ali and I stayed there as much as we could. While you occasionally wanted to wear a robe or something outdoors, the restaurant and disco stayed nude. We got to know quite a few of The Cove's regulars, although they were mostly older than me.

I think it was February when Ali first brought up what she was going to do after graduation at the end of May. I assumed she'd go to a police department. Ali had a different idea: she would get her PI license and join me in a firm. I felt obligated to make the point that working for a police department was reliable income and came with benefits while being an independent PI offered none of that. However, I didn't try too hard to dissuade her. Ali was, of course, extremely nice to have around. More important, she had computer and online skills that were beyond me. As more people and businesses became victims of online scams, official law enforcement could not keep up. Victims who could afford it were hiring PIs. Ali could move my practice into the 21st Century.

Nothing had happened since September. Although I was still living rent-free at The Cove, now in the condo unit Olmos had rented, I thought the threat had passed. I had no hesitation when Ali and I were invited to go boating with Pam Westerfeld and her boyfriend Mitch Gardiner on a warm weekday in April about six weeks before Ali's and Pam's graduation. Mitch took us out on his parents' boat, docked at a marina on Tampa Bay.

We went up the coast to a small barrier island. On the way, Mitch told us, "on the weekends, this place gets so crowded you can't find space to anchor. I'll bet we get it all to ourselves today." He was right. I helped him set out fore and aft anchors to hold the boat a bit out from the low tideline.

The four of us carried food and drinks onto the beach. We were all in swimsuits: Ali looking great in a bikini, Pam (whom I'll describe in a moment) in a one-piece, and Mitch and me in trunks. "We're the only ones here," Pam said, "so, I don't think we need these." She wriggled out of her one piece and tossed it farther up the beach. Ali, Mitch, and I did likewise.

Pam Westerfeld was the same age as Ali. She had a cute face and short blonde hair. I had the impression she could look great, but she carried too many extra pounds in her hips, thighs, and waist to be truly physically attractive. Mitch didn't seem to mind, and Pam was a good friend of Ali's.

We ate, drank, swam, and sunned in the nude for hours. As it became later in the afternoon, and some alcohol had reduced inhibitions, all four of us began paying more attention to our partners' bodies. Around 4:00 p.m., Ali and I took a walk around the island. It didn't take long but, when we returned to the beach by the boat, Mitch was on top of Pam pumping away. "They have the right idea," Ali said, "but I want to be on top." Ali got me hard. I got her wet. I lay in the sand on my back and Ali lowered herself down on me.

Ali and I had shifted from fucking to making love months ago; during our first session, I think. That day was no different. While Mitch and Pam went at it rather frantically, Ali slowly rode me up and down. We kissed each other's lips and nipples, stroked necks, sucked earlobes, and laughed more than once. We heard Pam and Mitch finish quite a while before we did. The extra time was worth it. I had, and I know Ali had, a tremendous orgasm. After we came, she stayed on top of me for a time while we kissed.

After Ali and I finally got up from the sand, Pam said, "Damn. You guys sure take your time."

"Some things are just too good to rush," Ali replied.

It was dusk, but you could still see clearly, when we tied the boat up in Mitch's parents' slip. From the dock, the land rose slightly to a parking lot. That turned out to be fortunate. We were just starting up the rise from the dock to the parking lot when a car came in fast. Instead of pulling in a stall, it stopped in the middle of the lot closest to us. Something smelled wrong.

The odor got stronger as I saw the car's passenger window start down. Ali was just in front of me, to my right, closer to the car. I grabbed her waist and spun her, putting myself between her and the car. At the same time, I was pushing her to the ground, off the walkway, where we'd have some slight cover. I heard a shot and almost immediately felt pain and burning in my right ass cheek. I heard a second shot just as we hit the ground. I heard a woman scream and tires burning rubber. I tried to get up, but my right leg buckled when I put weight on it. Someone yelled "911's been called."

Ali got up, thankfully unhurt. "Are you ok Ian?" she asked.

The pain was intense. I gasped "back."

"Roll over," Ali said. With effort and even more pain, I did. "Shit Ian," Ali said, "you've been shot in the ass. You're bleeding everywhere."

Police arrived followed quickly by an ambulance. That ambulance didn't take me. The second shot I had heard hit a six-year-old boy playing at the water's edge about a foot from his mother. He was in very bad shape.

As we waited for a second ambulance, I noticed Ali was bare-chested. "Where's your top?" I croaked.

"Trying to keep you from bleeding out," she answered. In truth, I was in more pain than danger. If you're going to be shot, the ass is one of the better places in terms of survivability. The second set of EMTs cut my trunks off, put on a temporary dressing, and put me face down on a gurney. Ali's top was sopped with blood. The EMTs bagged it, gave Ali a windbreaker from their unit, and let her ride with me to the ED.

It was a simple matter for the Docs to cut the bullet out of the muscles in my ass and turn it over to the police. They kept me overnight on fluids and painkillers. Ali stayed all night. She told me I spent the night on my belly with my bare and bandaged ass confronting everyone who walked in.

The first person I was aware of walking in the next morning, other than Ali, was Beth Potter. Unlike the drug case, Kim Bowen's murder, or the attempt on Ali in September, this shooting was Beth's case. I hurt was but now fully conscious. My feet were closest to the door. As Beth walked along my bed towards my head, she said, "I guess I shouldn't say I'm seeing a new side of you Ian."

"His ass usually looks better than this," Ali interjected.

"I hate to tell you Ian," Beth said, "but you're the lesser important victim. You know they also shot a child?"

"Ali told me," I said.

"The boy died overnight," Beth said. That made me feel shittier. A young boy, someone's son, was collateral damage because someone else tried to hurt Ali or me.

I told Beth everything I could remember. Ali filled in some gaps. After Beth finished her notes, she said, "Maybe we'll get lucky. We have a good description of the car and a tag number."

"Stolen," I said. My instinct proved out. The car was reported stolen from the parking lot of an Estero shopping center the morning of the shooting. It was found five days later, wiped completely clean, in the parking lot at an Orlando theme park.

I was released from the hospital the afternoon after I was shot with a lot of painkillers and a piece of foam called a "donut." The idea of the donut was to put it under my right ass cheek with the wound in the center cutout to keep me from sitting on the wound. Since my ability to walk was impaired, I was also given a wheelchair. I hoped I could pay for it all from crime victim's compensation.

In about two weeks I could walk again, sort of. Until then, my wheelchair rolling alongside Ali was a common sight at USF. Getting in and out of cars was, literally, a pain in the ass. However, Ali and I stayed at The Cove as much as we could. We felt safer in the somewhat controlled environment. My injuries also made intercourse impossible for a time. We discovered there were countertops in Ali's apartment and in the condo at The Cove which put Ali at the right height for me to eat her while sitting in my wheelchair. I can't prove it, but I've always claimed that my injury didn't cost Ali a single orgasm.

I was walking and sitting uncomfortably, rather than painfully, by the day of Ali's graduation. She had a group of tickets which meant that I had to sit with her father, mother, brother, and sister-in-law. Characterizing my reception by the Nance family as "frosty" gives it way too much warmth. When the ceremony was over, I was standing by myself a few feet from Ali's family. Ali made a point of coming to me and giving me a hug and a long kiss before she hugged the rest of her family. After that was done, Ali's dad, Jim Nance, grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side.

I'm not sure whether it was anger, loathing, or both that I saw in Jim Nance's eyes as he spoke to me. "I can't stand the thought that Ali is dating and having sex with someone almost as old as I am," he told me. "This just isn't right and, if you had any decency, you'd walk away from her now. I know you're the kind of guy that preys on young women and you're going to make her suffer. I wish there were more I could do about it." Jim Nance paused. "Ali says you saved her life back in April, taking a bullet meant for her. I know better. That bullet was meant for you. Being around you will get her killed." Jim Nance spat on the ground and walked away. I refrained from pointing out that someone had shot at Ali in September when I was miles away.

Ali came up to me just after her father finished ripping me. "What did Dad want?" she asked.

"You don't want to know," I answered.

Ali's face fell for a moment, then brightened again. "You're coming to lunch, right?" Ali's family was taking her for a graduation lunch.

"I'd better not," I said. "I don't want to risk a scene that would ruin your day. I'll see you tonight." The Westerfelds were having a dinner for Pam at The Cove. She had invited several friends including Ali "and guest" which was understood to mean me.

Ali had her own security code for The Cove, so she drove her car up after her lunch. "I stayed sober just for you," she told me. Her voice dropped a little. "It really pissed me off hearing Dad and Dan (her brother) tell me what a piece of shit you are. Neither of them knows you!" Ali rarely stayed down for long. She giggled. "I haven't told them I'm going to work for you starting, when? Now?"

With her degree but no experience, Ali needed to intern for a year under (and often atop) a licensed PI, me, before she could get her full license. We had agreed that we would start a firm as 50-50 partners. Technically, we couldn't do that for the year Ali was an "intern," but we did it informally anyway. We hadn't agreed on any formal "start date." I guessed we were partners now. That thought salvaged a depressing day.

The Westerfelds had a table in The Cove's restaurant set for twelve. In addition to the Westerfelds, Mitch, Ali, and me; Pam had invited two other couples and two single girls. Everyone was invited to swim in the late afternoon and then have dinner. Swimwear or less was acceptable. The Westerfelds, Mitch, Ali and I were nude from the get-go. One couple, Courtney and Ethan, stripped off as soon as they saw us. The other couple, Wendy and Alex, waited until we were seated and eating appetizers before excusing themselves and returning to the table nude, holding their clothes. The two single girls, Diane and Keira, stayed in their bikinis through dinner despite an excessive amount of ribbing, especially from Pam. They took their tops off during after dinner drinks but put them back on and left early.

I expected Paul and Lilith to disappear after dinner. I thought it was a little rude that Pam and Mitch also vanished. That left Ali and me as de facto hosts for Courtney, Ethan, Wendy, and Alex, none of whom had ever been to a clothing optional resort before. The six of us sat in a hot tub for a time. After we toweled off, Ali and I took our guests to the disco. I guess seeing old people dancing naked was enough, or too much, for Wendy and Alex. Although the Westerfelds had offered all Pam's guests free rooms for the weekend, Wendy and Alex suddenly remembered somewhere they had to be early the next morning.

I wasn't sure about Ethan, but Courtney was enthusiastic about going nude. Having broken through the taboo against being nude around strangers, she wanted to experience as much as she could in the nude. We had a few drinks and danced a while longer. We even swapped partners for a slow dance. Courtney was nice and physically attractive, but Ethan got the better end of that swap. Not long after, Courtney wanted to walk the resort, so we did. There were not many people out at that hour. After a few minutes, Courtney turned to Ethan and said, "There's no one out to see me. I'm ready for sex." Courtney and Ethan went to their room.

As Courtney and Ethan walked off, Ali stepped up to me and put her arms around my neck. I put my arms around her back and pulled her close. "I think we've won at least one convert in Courtney," Ali said.

"We won a convert?" I asked.

Ali hugged me tighter. "We're nudists now," she said. She was right. Although The Cove always seemed to have background noise, it was very quiet at that moment. Standing there nude with Ali, I had feelings I'd never experienced before. It took me a while to realize that what I felt was peace and contentment. Those were foreign emotions for me.

Ali and I looked at each other for a long time. I had the better end of that exchange. Finally, Ali kissed me on the lips and said, "I think we should follow Courtney's and Ethan's lead."

We were awake and at the pool relatively early the next morning. As I fiddled around spreading our towels over lounge chairs, Ali said, "every time I see that scar on your ass, I think about the Olmos case."

"Tony is still out there," I replied.

"Didn't Pasco find his prints in Kim Bowen's car?" Ali asked.

"Yes," I answered, "according to Beth, there's a warrant out for him for murder but no one's seen him. Everyone thinks that mom and the two sisters are involved in the drugs, probably the smart ones running it, but Brian hasn't been able to tie them in. They're living peacefully in a multi-million-dollar place on Captiva."

"It must be nice," Ali said. ""What still puzzles me," she went on, "is why The Cove? Brian hasn't found any indications the Olmos group was dealing anywhere else on the West Coast or still dealing in Miami. What drew them to this place?"

"I've wonder about that too," I replied.

Just then, I heard Courtney behind me say "Goood morning!" I turned around as Courtney and Ethan walked up. Courtney looked better than I had remembered from the night before.

"Did you have a good night?" Ali asked.

Courtney put an arm around Ethan's bare waist and said, "He did his job very well, thank you." Ethan, who seemed more comfortable nude that morning, just smiled.

I pulled two more empty lounge chairs over next to Ali for Courtney and Ethan. Courtney said, "That was so nice of the Westerfelds to give us two free nights and I'm grateful we don't have anything scheduled tomorrow so we can stay tonight. I'm also happy to see people out. It will be nice to be seen."

"You don't mind strangers seeing your vag?" Ali asked teasingly.

Courtney sat down on a lounge chair and spread her legs, so we all had a clear view of her sex. "Should I mind?" she asked. "Is there something wrong with it?" I couldn't see anything wrong with Courtney's pussy.

Ethan assured her, "Looks great, tastes great." Courtney's smile grew bigger.

Pam Westerfeld walked up and stopped in front of us. It seemed to me that she had lost weight since we had gone boating with her and Mitch, and I had been shot, back in April. "You guys are still here," she said.

"Yes," Courtney said, "thank your parents for giving us the room." Pam didn't seem all that pleased that her folks had given Courtney and Ethan a free room.

"Where's Mitch?" Ali asked.

"He left," Pam said.

"Will you join us?" Ali asked.

"I'm busy," Pam replied and walked away.

I didn't know Pam Westerfeld that well. "Is she usually that abrupt?" I asked once Pam was out of earshot.

"She gets into her moods," Courtney said. Changing the topic, Courtney asked, "when are you guys leaving?"

"We aren't," Ali replied.

"What?" Courtney asked.

"We live here," Ali answered. "There are a few townhouse style apartments at the back of the resort. We have one of those. Ian's had it for a few months. I just moved in this weekend."

"You live together?" Courtney asked.

"We do now," Ali replied.

"And you run around naked together all the time?" Courtney asked with a hint of awe.

"Yup," Ali answered.

"How long do you plan on doing that?" Courtney asked.

"As long as we can," Ali replied. Ali looked at me. I knew that, although Ali was ostensibly describing our relationship to Courtney, she was asking me for a commitment.

I looked back at Ali and nodded, giving that commitment. In answer to Courtney's question, I said, "forever if I'm lucky."