Her Wet Bikini

Chapter 15

We returned to the balcony and waited for the others to show up. Luigi’s aunt had cleaned up the table while we were away. This made me wonder whether our absence had seemed unusual to her. Especially in accord with our sudden reappearance. It suddenly occurred to me that what I just did with Paula was the same as what her mom had done earlier with Luigi. Vanish for a while for the sake of a quick f**k.

Not being a virgin any longer didn’t make me feel any different, apart from a certain sense of alertness. I had done it with my cousin and now what? I wasn’t allowed to fall in love with her and most likely there wouldn’t be any more s*x happening between the two of us which led me to the conclusion that I ought to feel grateful about what had been given to me and try to behave in a civilized way. I knew that it would be my downfall if I ever became possessive with Paula.

“You’re nuts, you know that?” she said to me.

“Which means that you’re nuts too,” I said.

“You’re such a bad boy. Seducing your cousin in such a manner.”

“I never realized I was capable of seducing my cousin. I thought she was the one seducing me.”

“You’re the one who put his hand under my bikini in broad daylight.”

Luigi’s aunt showed up at the balcony door and gave us a stern look. I was hoping she hadn’t heard our discussion, but the chances were slim. People like Luigi’s aunt always knew what everyone was up to. She probably was aware that Luigi had s*x with my sexy aunt earlier in the house.

The moment she went back into the house, Paula and I burst in low laughter.

“She knows, but she can’t express her disapproval,” said Paula in a low voice.

“Maybe you’re right,” I said.

I didn’t want to tell my cousin that it wasn’t Luigi’s aunt I was afraid of, but her own unpredictable nature. If she were to fly back to Canada tomorrow, I would feel much happier. I could tell that an ominous feeling was looming in the distance. Who could tell in which form Paula’s desires would manifest?

I knew that the next two weeks were going to be tough.

The first ones to show up were my mom and sister. Monica couldn’t stop talking about Miranda’s pet turtle and expressed a strong desire to have one of her own. She was smitten when I offered to take her to the beach the next day where we could search among the rocks for any small turtles. For this she even gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I suggested they both take a nap since this was going to be a long day and an even longer night.

There was going to be a fiesta at the piazza tonight and everyone on the island was going to be there. I was certainly going to meet some of my local buddies. What a pity that I couldn’t brag to them about my s****l conquests.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to take a nap?” asked my mom.

“You go ahead,” I told her and made a gesture with my hand.

“We’ll be up until very late tonight, so Monica had better get some sleep,” said my mother. She took my sister from the hand and together they entered Luigi’s home.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“I want to eat some ice cream,” said Paula.

“Let’s go get some,” I said and jumped up from the chair.

We walked down the street towards the piazza where the evening fiesta was going to take place. A group of people were already there, busy with setting up the stage. From now on until the end of August, these fiestas would occur on a regular basis. The biggest one was the celebration of the Assumption of Mary on the fifteenth of August. It was the peak moment of the summer holidays, after which everyone returned to their normal lives. It was like this every year. An endless cycle being repeated over and over. Same locations, same people, same sun and sand. How much time did it take someone to get bored of summer vacations? Or did people feel so much trapped in their mundane existence they will always have the need to escape?

We stopped at a small shop where I exchanged a few words with the old lady who sold us the ice creams. She said that her daughter was too busy with her work and would not be showing until early August. That would be one month later. I asked her where her daughter was working and she replied Frankfurt. I was tempted to ask the old woman whether her daughter had a German boyfriend but I decided to keep my mouth shut.

“By the way,” asked the old woman, “Who is she?” she asked and pointed at Paula.

Paula did not bother to reply. She only licked the tip of her ice cream cone.

“Don’t tell me,” continued the woman, “She’s Sylvia’s daughter?”

“Bingo,” said Paula.

“Haven’t seen you in ages.”

“We moved to Canada.”

“Everyone’s moving abroad. At the end only the illegal immigrants will be left.”

“It’s important that those who are away return for the summer. This way they can contribute to the local economy,” I cackled with the air of an expert.

“Is your daughter happy in Germany?” asked Paula.

“My Claudia? Who can tell? She has a good job and lives with her German boyfriend in a large house but she always complains about the food, the weather, and the people.”

“I guess we all have something to complain about,” said Claudia and we walked away.

We walked silently while eating our ice cream cones and walked towards the ship pier. There were not many people around. The daily boat from the mainland arrived at eleven in the morning at departed at two. Apart from this single route, there was nothing to connect our island to the rest of the world. It was like everyone on this island was trapped in a different reality far removed from the modern world.

Then I heard someone shout my name. I turned around and saw a boy on a bike coming my way. I recognized Claudio instantly, although his hair had grown longer.

“What’s up?” he said.

“All good,” I replied. “And you?”

“I just came yesterday. How about you?”

“Already been here for two weeks.”

“You’ll be here tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Cool. See you tonight at the fiesta.”

After these words, Claudio rode away.