First Day in the Caribbean 20

"Do you know what that blankety-blank sneaky deceitful wicked Mary did?" Octavia met Asch at the door after he dropped Mary off at the airport. "She STOLE our CD! She gets to look at it first!" She stamped her foot in semi-mock anger.

Asch smiled. "Well, she's in for a surprise. There's two movies on that CD."

Octavia scowled in puzzlement, "Huh? Did you make a move that I didn't know about?"

"Not exactly. It has Lydia's movie with John on it."

Octavia covered her mouth to stifle laughter. "You mean it? Lydia? When did that happen?"

Some time ago, when she was considering blackmailing John over the Slimy incident. She never used it, and she left it here with the equipment. I think I'm the only one besides her who even knows it exists; and now you, and soon Mary, I imagine." He snickered. I wonder if she'll watch it. It could happen pretty easily by accident; it's the first file on the CD.

Octavia was still laughing. "So what did they do? Is it hot or funny, or disgusting?"

"I dunno. Never watched it. It was handy so that's the CD I threw in last night." he chuckled. "I had planned to protect her privacy—and you guys from shock and embarrassment or maybe jealousy—by being careful when I would have played it today."

Octavia draped herself on Asch and shook with laughter. "I wish I wish I could be there to see her expression when thinks she's about to watch you and her and instead gets a noticeably older couple. She's gonna have a fit!"

"Remember those folks who told the joke about the elderly couple in the restaurant who mistook their own reflection for an older couple? Maybe this'll be like that." He patted her back and gave her a kiss, which turned into a longer kiss, and then a longer, more sensual one.

Octavia moaned and ground herself into him. She thought she could feel him responding, and she reached down to give him a squeeze to make sure. Sure enough, there was something to grab. "So. You wanna make another movie? I think you're mega star material," she looked at him suggestively. "For example you did it last night and I'm already getting a response. How do you do it?"

"Well, apart from my outstandingly good health, it mainly has to do with the appreciativeness and attractivity of my partner in bed." He squeezed her behind.

"Mm, it happens I like lechers. A certain one, anyway." She wrinkled her brow. "Attractivity? Is that a word?"

"I didn't want to use two words that ended in -ness in the same sentence. Besides, your activity is pretty attractive. Your looks, too," and he gave her another kiss, which she turned into another serious one.

"Mmm," she sighed. "Okay, back on topic, Mr. Movie Star. Go up and turn on the machine and come meet me in the bedroom," and she scooted for the stairs.

Presently Asch came to the bedroom door. "Okay, Ms. Director, what's the script?

"Um, exactly where is the camera?"

Asch pointed it out.

"Wow. Hard to see. Okay, lie on the bed with your head toward the foot. That way I'll be facing the camera. This movie is gonna be about this exhibitionist woman, see, and you're gonna be the supporting actor. Also I want you to have something to enjoy when I'm not available. And keep your clothes on."

Asch stretched himself out on the bed, hands behind his head, feet crossed, a slight smile on his face. Octavia sashayed toward the foot of the bed swinging her hips, and reaching for a button on her top, looking over her shoulder at Asch.

Just then there was a knock at the door downstairs.

——————-

Sharon hadn't gotten enough sleep, but she forced herself to get up and join her dad and Lydia at the breakfast table. She wanted to talk to them about something.

"Hi, Sweetpea," her dad greeted her, "I didn't think you'd drag yourself out so early. You don't have to be at the shop for a while yet."

She plunked herself at the table and grabbed a piece of toast. She slathered some butter on it before she realized it already had butter on the bottom. "Ack!" She started munching. "Yes, but I wanted to ask you guys something." She looked at them both. "I'm thinking with school starting soon, and the bike shop being over the mountain, I'm thinking it would save me a lot of time and effort if I lived closer to there. More time to study." She grinned. "And I could sleep in later! Which isn't to say I don't like it here, because I do, and I could come home weekends, and you could turn my room into a guest room with all of Lydia's wonderful decorations."

"It's good to see you planning ahead," Lydia agreed. She put a twinkle in her eye and added, "I'm pretty sure there are a lot of rooms to rent in town near campus."

John, his eyes also twinkling, nodded agreement. And shared a smile with Lydia. "Yes, there'd be a lot less noise around here, too."

Sharon ignored the 'noise' remark. "Well, I was thinking, after I visited Asch up at your place," she nodded to Lydia, "I mean your old place, his spare rooms kind of came up in conversation. If I stayed there, and he was willing to have me, the rent might be less, being farther from campus, and Asch would be there to keep me from getting too wild." She smiled a smug smile. "Octavia has a room there, and she could keep an eye on me, too. The vacant rooms are already furnished and they're clean. Whaddya think?" She looked at both of them.

John hemmed and hawed, scratched his chin, and looked at Lydia, while hiding a smile. "Hmm. This is all rather sudden. What do you think, my dear? Would your house—old house—feel safe with her in it?"

"Would you seek Asch's council like you would your father's?" She looked skeptically at the girl.

"Sure! Especially if he helps me with my homework!" Sharon could sense victory.

"Well, why don't you stop by on the way to work and ask him about it? See how much rent would be, then see how we feel about it this evening?"

Sharon agreed, and hurried to get ready for work.

It took longer than she expected for Asch to come to the door. "I hope I didn't get you out of bed."

"Oh I was awake. I was upstairs, so it takes a while to get down here. Good thing Rover barked, though. Come on in. Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes, thanks. Remember our conversation last night? I talked to my folks about it, and they approve, if the price is right. So I thought I'd stop by and see if you really would like to have me."

Octavia was coming down the stairs. "So this is why the dog barked. Hi, Sharon."

Asch asked, "So you think we could stand to have her around? She wants to rent one of the spare rooms."

"Sharon, I'd be delighted to have you here. I'm already tired of doing the dishes." She smiled a sleepy smile. "I could sleep in later."

Asch named a price that he figured was about half what a room in town would cost. It was less than he had paid to Lydia.

"Oh thank you thank you!" Sharon exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I'll run it by my parents tonight and let you know tomorrow morning. About this time, that okay?"

"We'll be expecting you." Asch gave her a quiet smile and held the door for her.

She skipped out, eager to tell Jenny and Charlie, and her parents.

"She used the plural," said Octavia.

"Yes, twice. That's a good sign. She's accepting Lydia without being jealous of her dad's affection. Now where were we?" and he locked the door behind him.

——————-

Sharon was excited, if tired, when she got to work, and told all three of the others about the rental as if it were a done deal.

Bill offered, "I'll help you move, if you like."

Jenny wondered out loud whether she'd be able to convince her parents to let her move out. "He has two rooms to rent, right? We could be roomies!"

Charlie remarked "Asch and Octavia are both divers. Maybe we could have some parties I mean adventures together." He grinned and the girls shushed him.

The next morning Sharon and Asch sealed the deal. Asch and Octavia seemed a little more alert that morning.

That evening Asch got a call from Jenny asking if he'd be willing to have her parents come visit with an eye to looking the place over for suitability as a place for their daughter to room.

Everything happened that Saturday.

Bill and Sharon showed up with his cars loaded with female bedroom and bathroom stuff. She picked the room in the northeast corner; Jenny would get the one on the northwest. Both rooms had good views of the driveway and the road.

Octavia noticed that Sharon wasn't wearing underwear, and that she spent a lot of time looking at her brother and smiling. Bill responded, consciously or unconsciously by giving her a lot of attention. Octavia decided that that relationship would be interesting to watch. They went for a walk down the trail to the south point. Later Jenny's parents stopped by, with Jenny. None of them had been there, so they got the grand tour. They were a conservative-looking couple, about Lydia's age, Asch guessed, and they interviewed him fairly thoroughly, perceiving correctly that Asch was interested in Octavia (conservatively dressed for the occasion), not two young college students. They liked the animals and the telescope, and insisted that they contribute to the food bill and that Jenny should do some cooking. For his part, Asch promised to run a reasonably tight ship and keep all the torrents of boys, who were sure to want to visit, under his watchful eye. They left to "think."

About the time Sharon and Bill came back, Jenny and her parents showed up again. With all the people to help, the unpacking was done quickly. Octavia had just left for Momma Rita's, but Asch threw together an impromptu barbecue, and everyone praised his culinary prowess. Asch quipped that he had been up since 4:00 that morning preparing.

Jenny's folks left first. On the way down, her dad remarked, "It might be nice to have the place to ourselves again."

His wife smiled and put her hand on his leg. "I think it might. I for one am willing to refresh my memory of what it's like to live in an empty house."

He wiggled his eyebrows. "Me too." They both smiled the rest of the way home.

Bill left last, and things finally settled down. Asch could hear the girls chattering away upstairs. Presently they came down and explored the common room, checking out the TV and bookshelves and testing the couch and chairs. They experimentally joined Asch at the central table to make sure they had room to study and to elicit a promise that he would help them if they needed it.

It was late enough to hit the sack, so they trundled back up and Asch worked on his writing project while he waited for Octavia to come back from work.

When she came up later, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his temple. "So you think she'll hear us?" she murmured.

"They. Jenny moved in just after you left. I gave Mom and Dad a tour, got interviewed, they're gonna contribute to the food budget. Nice folks. I suspect they're secretly not too opposed to having her out of the house."

Octavia snickered. "Guess we get to experience having kids without having to actually have them."

"Well, we should have our mornings to ourselves. I'd hate to have to encourage you to be quiet. And you won't be so pooped in the morning, either."

"Okay, but At least I'll wanna make out sometimes."

On that note the went to bed.

——————-

Asch was finishing up his daily specials menus in Rita's kitchen a few days later, when Octavia came in and nodded for him to go sit in his booth. "She's back. Doesn't know I saw her. I gotta think of some good way to get revenge. Keep her occupied."

Asch reached into his pouch and produced a CD. He scribbled a quick label on it. "You can show her this and pretend it's the one you and I did. Make her beg for it, or break it in front of her, though that might be too mean. Getting her to bargain for it might be fun, though."

Octavia took the CD and Asch headed for the dining room. Mary saw him coming and gave him an 'I'm so clever' smirk.

Asch sat down and shook his head. "I dunno. Octavia is planning some kind of nefarious revenge."

"Well, I probably deserve it. It was kind of an impulse thing; it was just sitting there and I couldn't help grabbing it. Besides, Octavia's revenge might be fun." She smiled a wicked smile, then sobered and looked, well, Asch couldn't tell how she looked. Maybe amused, maybe horrified, maybe chagrined. "Got more than I bargained for, though."

"So you watched the extra stuff, eh?"

"I couldn't stop! I started it by accident, then couldn't tear myself away! That Lydia is quite a woman, and John was pretty impressive, too. I'd feel pretty guilty if I weren't so impressed!" She paused a heartbeat and grinned, "Which isn't to say that you and I aren't impressive in our own way, though we do look like amateurs having fun rather than professional actors. Have you guys watched them?"

Asch shook his head. "You're the only person on the planet who's seen it." They both looked up as Octavia sashayed over, waving the CD.

"Okay for you, woman. You gotta pay if you wanna see this one. If I even let you see it. In fact, maybe I won't!" and she snapped the CD in two.

Mary Jumped in horror, then got a suspicious look. "There's no way that's a CD of you guys. I know you too well, sister."

Octavia let her shoulders fall. "You do know me too well. It's blank, with a fake label. That look of horror was pretty fun, though," she snorted.

Asch rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Remind me never to get you mad at me."

"Oh don't worry, Sweetie. If I ever do, you'll never know what hit you. Good thing it hasn't happened yet. I'd hate to see you cry." She turned to Mary. "But you, woman, you still owe me. Us."

Mary pretended to be contrite. "Whatever you say, Ma'am," and she batted her eyelashes. She sighed. "But I'll have to take my punishment next time. I have to be at the airport in an hour. I only have enough time to eat."

In spite of herself, Octavia was disappointed. She had been looking forward to having Mary up to their place again. "Well, it'll give me more time to plan revenge. Um. Be sure to give Asch the CD before you leave, though, okay?"

"I promise."

They had a pleasant supper; Octavia kept teasing her about having Asch all to herself, and Mary kept acting appropriately miserable about it.

At the airport, Mary fished out the CD and gave it to Asch. "I have a little of my own revenge: I put a movie or two on the CD myself. Of me. For you. Share with Octavia or don't." She gave him a big kiss and hopped out. "I like your car. We get to sit close together," and she scampered off. Asch watched the sway of her hips as she left.

Asch decided to kill time at the coffee shop instead of drive home then come back. He had neglected to put the bike in the bike rack, and he had made sure the animals had plenty of feed; Rover wouldn't even be lonesome with the girls there. It occurred to him to see how they felt about taking some responsibility for the critters. He put in the CD and looked at the filenames. Besides the two he knew about, one file was labeled "lambada" and another was named "thestripper."

He decided to watch it with Octavia later, and got to writing. He happened to look up to see Charlie walking by carrying a box, so he waved and caught his attention.

Charlie came in with a self-conscious grin. "I got my camera! Can hardly wait to use it." Without being asked, he opened the box and lifted out a boxy two-handled device with an obvious glass circle on one side. He reached in again and pulled out two gangly objects that turned out to be lights. He fastened them to the handles and held up the contraption for Asch to admire.

"Sure looks more impressive than a point-and-shoot!"

"Cost more, too." He grinned in spite of himself. Karen ordered it for me. Got a good price. It arrived today." He and Asch looked it over; Charlie explained all the wonderful features, digital viewing screen, fancy lens, flexible light arms (you get better underwater photos if the light isn't too close to the lens), all the controls accessible from outside the case, compact flash card instead of film.

"So how big is your memory card?" Asch asked.

Charlie sighed, "After I got the camera, I could only afford a small one, but it's a start."

"Let's go next door." Asch led him to the tourist electronics store next door and got him a 200 gigabyte card.

Charlie's eyes got big. "How can I thank you? Anytime you want any underwater pictures, I'm at your service."

"Call it an investment in your photography business." Asch smiled. "Take a couple pictures of Octavia for me, okay?"

Asch gave Charlie a lift home so he wouldn't have to repack the camera (it just fit in the back), and they arranged to go on a dive the next Sunday. Asch had instructions to invite Octavia, and Charlie would talk to the girls. Maybe they could rent Rick and Karen's boat. Charlie would see what he could manage.

——————-

It turned out that Octavia got off a couple hours early. It was slow, and Susan wanted the tips. "I'll have a little chat with Bill," Octavia said on the way home. "I bet he'd rent the boat himself if he knew Sharon was involved."

"Yass. He's brought her up a couple times after work. I'll bet she's talking Jenny into running errands so she'll be car-less."

They settled onto the couch in the common room and Asch put in the CD. "The girls are upstairs, right? We could use my laptop in the bedroom."

Octavia snuggled up to him. "They're officially adults. It'll be okay. After we're done with Mary, though, I plan to have my way with you in the bedroom," and she gave his crotch a squeeze.

Asch scrolled to lambada and pressed Play.

About 30 seconds into the introduction, they heard a stampede from upstairs. "Is that Lambada?" The girls called. "We wanna dance!" and they came charging down, pushed the table aside, and positioned themselves in the middle of the room. They both had on halter tops that looked like bandanas tied behind their necks and the small of their backs. The view from the side was rather suggestive. "Asch, turn up the volume!"

It was the first time either girl had called him by his first name. He decided he should start thinking of them as adults. He turned up the volume.

In a few seconds Mary appeared on the screen, clad in a bardot top, smiling wickedly. "Hey that's your friend Mary!" exclaimed Sharon. "I don't know about you guys," and she looked askance at both Asch and Octavia. "C'mon, Octavia, you too!" and both girls fairly dragged her up to join them.

Octavia decided the girls were adults, too, so she shrugged a little and took her place in the middle.

Asch restarted the video and sat back with his hands behind his head and a big grin on his face.

They stood a little to the side so they could keep an eye on the TV screen to coordinate with Mary, though the pulsating beat of the music hardly made it necessary. They started to dance when Mary came on, double-stepping and swaying their hips sensuously. Octavia was a little reserved at first, but then got caught up in the music, maybe a touch in competition with Mary, maybe not wanting to be outdone by Sharon and Jenny maybe just wanting to be alluring to Asch. Except for a second or two at first, all four women kept their eyes on Asch, swaying and turning provocatively, the three live ones arranged in a row, hands on the hips of the person in front. They managed to switch places occasionally, spinning around and taking turns being the one in front, or dancing side by side, teasing Asch the whole time.

Asch was surprised at how good Jenny was. He had expected her to be a little reserved, but she swayed and danced with the best of them. Sharon was a natural, giving the impression that she performed this dance a lot in private. Octavia was Asch's favorite, though, because her dancing has their relationship behind it. He clapped enthusiastically when the music ended, and all four women threw him a kiss.