Her Wet Bikini

Chapter 17

By the time we arrived at the piazza, the band had already started playing and lots of people were dancing. Six musicians and a female singer made up the band. There was a clarinet, guitar, mandolin, accordion, bass, and percussion. Apart from the percussionist and the bassist, the other players were over forty and sported grey beards and mustaches.

Hovering above them from one end of the stage to another was a white banner featuring a red crucifix and the name of the church that organized the event. The purpose of the fiesta was to commemorate a local martyr who had died about one thousand years ago during the Muslim invasions.

All around the piazza, long wooden tables with benches from both sides had been lined up. A large number of people were going back and forth with dishes and bottles in their hands. If you wanted to get food or drinks, you had to line up at the tent that had been set up by the organizers. The choices of course were quite limited. If you wanted to drink a Coke or eat an ice cream, you would have to go to one of the shops across the piazza that remained open to provide cigarettes, condoms, and other necessary items.

There were four churches on the island and each week one or the other would organize a fiesta. Since these were the only social events on the island, everyone would show up. Groups of kinetic kids usually supervised by the oldest one in the group would stray off to the coast to play games and would often run around screaming in a hysterical manner. Men old enough to have served in the Second World War spent the entire evening without getting up from their chair-apart from the occasional visit behind the nearest tree to take a leak.

Once in a while, the occasional tourist would show up. German or British couples that would get drunk with the locals. If the woman was good looking, she would have to accept about forty invitations to dance. Her husband would usually try to hit it off with one of the local girls and if he was not so lucky, he would get at least the opportunity to dance with some older lady. As long as you were willing to take everything as a joke, you would have a good time. A simple rule that everyone tried to follow.

These fiestas were a perfect chance for getting in touch with people you hadn’t seen for a long time, and in the case of those who were young and single, it was a chance for hooking up with members of the same s*x. After a certain time and a certain amount of wine, it wasn’t uncommon for young couples to take a stroll down to the beach for a lonesome walk. In previous years, I used to sneak with my island buddies to the beach hoping to catch a glimpse of passionate lovemaking under the summer moon. On one occasion, we threw pebbles on the bare back of a bearded man. He was so angry he left his girlfriend lying semi-naked on the sand and went after us wearing only his briefs. However, we were much faster than he was and managed to get lost in the crowd before he had the chance to catch up with us.

It didn’t take much time for the members of our merry company to scatter around. My sister-who rushed to find Miranda-was the first to run away. Luigi went off to talk to some of his friends and so did my mother and aunt. I sat on the edge of a table with Paula, Angelo, and Karen after we purchased a half-liter of red wine. We drank about half a glass each when Angelo suddenly proposed we should join the dancers. Amongst the dancers were a pair of cute blonde little girls who received so many praises from the old folks sitting around, I was certain they were going to be jinxed.

At first, none of the other three was particularly enthusiastic about Angelo’s proposal but finally we succumbed to his wish. To make things more interesting, I paired up with Karen and Angelo with Paula.

Karen was about the same height as mine. This made me feel on equal terms with her. Both of us were quite uncertain about our dancing skills and we both insisted on staring into each other’s eyes while the other dancers twirled around us. I could not help wonder whether my skinny body and innocent boyish looks could turn her on. Karen was the kind of girl that one could easily fall in love with. Her eyes were so large and blue, her teeth so white and her lips so delicate and pink. Her fair skin was shiny and the curves of her jawline so perfect. If that wasn’t enough, she was always emitting a joyous, positive energy. I was certain that she would not reject me if I dared to hit on her.

I didn’t feel I was doing anything wrong neither did it occur to me that Angelo would display any signs of jealousy if he saw me getting to close to Karen. I was sure the reason he paired me up with Karen was that he wanted me to get close to her. These kind of events had been designed for one sole purpose. To get people together. Make them feel like one big family. If you came here with your girlfriend, it was okay if she went off dancing with someone else because you were doing the same thing. People couldn’t help themselves being captured by the primordial spirits that inhabited the place. I could only imagine how Karen must have felt coming all the way here from her cold and cloudy nation. She would now have the chance to experience the local myths first hand.

She also seemed very pleased to be with me. I didn’t catch her one time trying to detect her boyfriend in the crowd. I could tell this was the first time she was experiencing something like this. You could tell how happy she was just by looking at her face. Her cheeks were red and the traces of sweat over her forehead and neck made her all more desirable.

“What’s all this for?” she asked me.

“To celebrate a local saint,” I replied.

To be able to hear each other, our bodies got closer and her breasts gently pressed against my chest. Behind her shoulder, I could see Angelo whispering into Paula’s ear. Someone who didn’t know they were cousins could easily assume they were lovers.

The music all of a sudden got faster and everyone began moving faster.