Chapter 14
14
ALEJANDRO
‘No problem!’ Bob slapped my hand enthusiastically and I smiled.
We were at reception waiting for Jasmine and I had just asked if he would be free to take us to see Jasmine’s grandad.
During dinner last night, she had looked up the name of the town in her phone and I’d written it down in my notes app. Although she had not explained why her mum no longer kept in contact with him, I could tell from how often she spoke about him that he meant a lot to her, so I wanted to help.
One thing I was not expecting was for her to tell me more about her personal life. I had not realised that she was married. Her ex-husband sounded like a fool. Any man who had a woman like Jasmine and did not appreciate her did not deserve to keep her.
I could not believe that he had cheated. If Jasmine was my wife, I would treat her like a queen. His loss.
‘Sorry!’ Jasmine said as she walked towards us.
Actually, that was not an accurate description. Jasmine did not walk . She glided . She sashayed . As she got closer, I tried not to look at the way her beautiful hips swayed and the way her skin glistened.
‘ Tranquila ,’ I said, letting her know that it was not a problem. I had finished in the kitchen early and saw that Bob was already here, so I decided to go and chat.
‘Yuh luk criss, gyal,’ Bob nodded approvingly. I guessed that criss was patois for something like beautiful .
He was right. Jasmine did look criss .
She was wearing a long, pink, sleeveless, summer dress which showed off her great shoulders.
I was trying very hard, but the more time I spent with Jasmine, the more attractive I found her.
‘How are you?’ I asked, steering my thoughts back from the danger zone.
‘Fine, thanks. I’m glad I didn’t have another glass of that rum punch, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go on this excursion.’
Last night, after finishing her punch, Jasmine drank water for the rest of the evening and I noticed that she was much less talkative. We still had a good time though, mostly talking about how much we were enjoying Jamaica so far and what we were looking forward to seeing.
During the car journey, Bob chatted about his kids and before we knew it, we were back at the hotel and went back to our rooms.
Now here we were again in Bob’s car. We put on our seat belts and he set off. Today, we were doing some sort of river trip on a raft. I had not asked too many questions. I did not care where we were going. I was just happy to see more of Jamaica. And of course, spending time with Jasmine was a bonus.
‘Bob has said that he knows how to get to your grandad’s house,’ I said.
Jasmine’s eyes widened.
‘Perhaps we can go tomorrow?’
‘That’s really kind of you to ask him, but I think there’s an activity Hortense wants me to try tomorrow.’
‘Depending on the time, we could go afterwards? Or the day after?’
‘We’ll see,’ Jasmine said.
After what happened to my girlfriend, I always tried to avoid delaying going to visit someone important. It was too easy to say you would see them next week or next month, but sometimes that time never came.
‘ Vale ,’ I said, not wanting to push her.
‘So today, we’re going on a bamboo raft and whilst we enjoy a relaxing ride down the river, apparently they’ll tell us a bit of local history and give us a foot massage using a limestone paste made from the river rocks.’
‘Sounds like torture!’ I laughed.
‘I thought you might say that.’ She smiled and I caught myself looking at her lips for longer than I should.
‘What reggae artists do you like, Bob? Apart from Bob Marley of course,’ I asked, turning away from Jasmine before my thoughts started wandering into unprofessional territory again.
From the rear-view mirror, I saw that Bob’s eyes had widened like he was shocked that I was interested.
I knew he probably played Bob Marley, not just because he loved him like most people did, but also because he thought that was what tourists wanted to hear. But I was also interested in learning more about other reggae artists. I wanted to soak up everything here and improve my knowledge of the culture.
‘Well, mi like Beres – Beres Hammond, Gregory Issacs, Dennis Brown, Protoje , an wul heap ah people dem.’
‘Can you play us some of their songs?’ I asked.
‘Ya mon!’ He pressed some buttons on his car stereo and then a mid-tempo reggae song started playing.
The lyrics were easy to follow. It was about a man being attracted to a woman and how he could not stop thinking of her and how much he wanted her. I would like to say that I did not find it relatable, but I would be lying.
‘I recognise this song!’ Jasmine said. ‘I think my dad used to play it at home.’
‘Dis deh is “Tempted to Touch” by Beres Hammond . Yuh like it?’
‘ Sí .’ I nodded. ‘Very much.’
Perhaps too much…
For the rest of the journey, Bob played us lots of different reggae songs I had never heard of before. I was grateful that I had the Shazam app to save them all. I would definitely be listening to them later back at the hotel.
When we arrived at the river, multiple rafts were lined up. Each one had a throne made from bamboo for each couple to sit on which was decorated with palm leaves and bright-red flowers.
Once Jasmine had spoken to the staff, we were shown to our raft and took our seats.
Sailing down the river was calming. Jasmine took photos as the tour guide explained some of the history, then started the massage.
‘So,’ Jasmine turned to face me, ‘is this the first time you’ve had a foot massage?’
‘No. But usually I prefer to give them instead of having them myself.’
‘Really?’ Her eyebrow arched. ‘Are you any good?’
‘Of course,’ I said without hesitation.
‘Wow. Are you this confident about everything ?’
‘Not everything . But I do not believe in this false modesty that some British people seem to have. Why pretend that you are not good at something when you are?’
‘Because people don’t want to come across as big-headed!’
‘If I said that I am the best in the world, that would be big-headed, but I only said that I am good. And I am confident enough to prove it. Derek,’ I called the name of our tour guide. ‘Would you allow me to continue Jasmine’s massage? If the lady does not mind, of course?’ I looked at her.
For a second I questioned whether it was a good idea, but then I dismissed it. I was only going to show her how I gave foot massages. It did not have to mean anything.
‘It’d be rude to interrupt Derek!’ she said. ‘I’m sure he wants to be left to do his job.’
‘Mi gud.’ Derek stopped massaging Jasmine’s feet and gestured for me to take over.
‘You are fine with this?’ I asked again.
She paused and I could almost hear the wheels turning in her head.
‘Okay – if you insist. But don’t feel bad when I ask Derek to take over. He is the professional, after all.’ She rolled her eyes, which only made me more determined to impress her.
I sat at her feet, making myself comfortable on the raft.
Her legs and feet were covered in limestone paste which looked like clay, but I knew that underneath, her skin was beautiful. I noticed before that she had changed the colour of her toenail polish. Yesterday, it was a deeper coral shade, whereas today, it was pink to match her dress.
When I gently placed my palms on Jasmine’s feet, she flinched.
‘I am sorry. Did I hurt you?’ I asked.
‘No.’
Even with the paste in my hands and on her feet, I could tell that her skin was soft. Just touching her feet made my heart race faster. When I looked up, Jasmine’s eyes were squeezed shut.
As I increased the pressure, a low moan slipped out of her mouth and it was the sweetest sound that I had ever heard. My dick twitched. Knowing Jasmine was enjoying the sensation of my hands on her made me feel great. I wanted to make her moan again. And again.
‘How is the pressure?’ I asked.
‘ Mmm ,’ she murmured. ‘Perfect.’
I continued working my hands on her feet and massaging her legs for what must have been ten minutes. I could have done it for hours, but with her eyes shut, Jasmine was missing the views.
When I stopped, her eyes flicked open.
‘You’re stopping ?’ Her jaw dropped. ‘Why?’
‘So you enjoyed it?’
‘As much as I hate to admit it, you were right. You are very good at giving foot massages.’
‘Only very good ?’ I teased.
‘Okay,’ she sighed. ‘You are excellent. Sorry Derek.’ She winced.
Derek held up his hands in surrender. I did not think that he really cared one way or the other.
Overall, the tour only lasted about one hour and a half, so it was not long until we were back in the car with Bob.
‘So,’ Jasmine asked, ‘what would be your romance rating for the rafting activity?’
‘I liked it, but I think it would be better for the couples to do the foot massage, not the guide.’
‘Good idea in theory considering how great you were, but something tells me that not everyone would be as talented as you.’
‘So you are saying that I am the best foot masseur in the world. Is that what I am hearing?’ I cupped my ear, pretending I could not hear her.
‘God.’ She laughed. ‘You really are something else!’
‘ Something else? ’ I frowned.
‘Don’t worry, it’s an English saying. I’ll put the bamboo rafting as a maybe,’ she said, her mouth turning up into a smile.
Multiple smiles and moans of pleasure from Jasmine all in one afternoon?
Although she did not realise, she had just made my day.