Ship Island by Day & Night

Ship Island by Day & Night
 
   My beach quest lands me with a redhead whose eyes speak of loneliness. “Is this your first time to the island? It’s Mississippi’s paradise. The water is crystal clear. Just look at all the happy people on the beach.”  
     She squints as though having found a strange sea creature. “Do you make conversation with all the girls in string bikinis? Or is it my eyes that attract you? I’m probably not your type. I’m a shy girl. You, on the other hand, are bold. But really I’m quite a boring person. There are plenty of other beauties to court. Hey, look at that one in the thong. She’s a hottie. I’m just a plain Jane.”
     Her eyes unwrinkle. “Hey, I’ll try honesty. Your tanned body did catch my eye. But let’s entertain this thought. Maybe men and women start off with superficial attraction. This doesn’t diminish the future friendship. It just opens a door to a deeper affection. And yes your eyes do fascinate me. There is something there which I can’t quite label. However, it entices me to know the real you.”  
     “Well, at least you’re being honest. Frankly, I find your form handsome too. But I’m not interested in hooking up. So if that’s what you’re looking for, get lost. But I’d entertain some conversation.”
    Her shamrock green eyes promise me the luck of the Irish. “My name’s Erik. I love chatting. I don’t have a hidden agenda. Why don’t we walk down the beach away from the crowd? I can’t focus with all the noise.”
     “Is that so you can lead me to a secluded spot and have your way with me?”  
     “I’m really sincere in my intentions. If I wanted that would I come to an island with only a ferry for escape? Let’s just go down the beach a little. We don’t have to go out of sight of the people.”  
     We take a shortcut from the Gulf of strangers, through the canal of sincerity, and out into an ocean of trust. “My name’s Sonja. I must be crazy but OK. You seem like a decent gentleman.”
     We sit on the sand in solitude save for each other. I say, “Look at those bitterns. I love shorebirds. Here is a good spot don’t you think?”  
     “It is beautiful out here; like a desert island.”  
     “My dream is to one day volunteer for the national park service out here on Ship Island. There was a crazy artist named Walter Anderson who spent weeks at a time out on nearby Horn Island. I can understand why.”  
     Sonja gazes out to sea like a wife waiting for her sailor to return. “I can see why he loved the islands. I can almost understand his motives. However, I could never abandon civilization for that long and alone.”
     My words reflect her wistful sea sprite eyes. “The lure of the wild can be irresistible. You know our walk reminds me of Plato’s dialogue “Phaedrus.” Phaedrus leads Socrates away from the city into the countryside. There Socrates teaches Phaedrus of the madness of love.”  
     Her eyes turn Puckish. “Wow, you’re a walking history lesson. Are you trying to impress me? Methinks so.”  
     “Well am I winning any points?”
     She leans her head back with a burlesque girl laugh. “Hell yes. I come to the island to soak some sun and end up going back to college.”  
     Her giggle catches me by surprise. I regroup. “Tell me your thoughts on love. I’ll step down  
from the lectern for now.”  
     My blush blossoms. “Methinks your intentions are not Platonic at all. So you led me out here like Phaedrus did Socrates? I believe you think you’re Phaedrus and I’m Socrates; wrong gender but same principle. You read too much. Well, Mr. Phaedrus, I can’t teach you a thing about love. I’m the all-time loser in the game of love. My score is dismal.”  
     I regain my composure. “But the game isn’t over till you’re dead. Look at it like a football game. Once my team won by 33-30. They made a miraculous 75-yard pass just as time expired.”
     “Do I look like a football player to you? Believe me, the game is over for me. No upset victories in my future.”
     My chivalry comes to her rescue. “Oh, you are wrong. I’m a good judge of potential. You have it in spades. You’re throwing in the towel when the game has just begun.”  
     She isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel. “I’m a lifelong spinster. But I’d love a roll in the hay with you. It is so refreshing to talk to a man who treats a woman as possessing a mind. I’m you’re boy toy.”
     This woman entrusts me with her very body.  
Whoa, I say to myself. “Sometimes I underestimate the power of a teacher to arouse the flames of sexual desire. But let’s start slow.”  
     I have bitten the hook and now she reels me in. “Oh please don’t tease me. You have me all hot and turned on and then you say hey wait. Don’t do this to me. You know you want it too.”  
     On the threshold of a dream come true, I ease my foot on the gas pedal and slow down. “Sonja, let’s start with soothing that sunburn. You look red. If I may be so bold may I rub some suntan lotion on you?”
     “Oh in the interest of protecting my skin heh?”
     “Of course. Here I’ll start with your shoulders. You don’t mind do you?”
     She invites a closeness which surprises me. The reality of it dawns on me. “I guess not. Oh, you’re good with your hands. Squeeze my shoulders some.  
My muscles feel all knotted.”  
     I grow more at ease with touching her. In fact, the pleasure outweighs a nervousness I had. “I can feel it. You must lead a stressful life. Let me work the tension out. Would you like me to do your lower back?”  
     “Oh, yea, now that really feels good. Yes, down there is great. You’re good at this.”
     “Hey, I’m actually a licensed massage therapist.”  
     Finally, my holy grail is there before my eyes. She invites me to fondle the bullion of her derriere. Pegasus preens under her bikini bottom. “Let me lay down. I need a full body massage. My buns ache too. Would you give this girl the royal treatment? Ohhh now you’re stroking me nice and sweet. You sure know how to pamper a woman. I could get addicted to this. Ooh, la la. Right there baby. Hot damn!”  
     “Some say I have the gift of touch. I love my job.”  
     At last, an islander dream comes true for me. My insular world is opened up to wider horizons. “Erik I want to ask you for a favor. It isn’t a big one. Would you kiss me? Because if we’ve gone this far well why the heck not?”
     “I’d be honored, my friend. Can I call you friend?”  
     “Oh with a touch like yours I don’t see why not.  
Now, I’ll sit up lover boy.”  
     Like a sunshower from heaven, I learn the magic in a kiss. “Sonja your lips are softer than the rain. Your tongue tastes delectable. Words cannot do justice to your kiss.”  
     She stands up with her reed body blown by the sea breeze. “Erik you were fantastic. Let’s go back before I get carried away. I wouldn’t want to get busted for public nudity out here.”
     “That would be awkward.”  
     We stroll down the beach. I have new courage born from the prospect of love. I never considered myself a romantic. She says, “What if we hid behind the dunes? A girl can dream.”  
     “Sonja you said you were shy. You don’t seem like a wallflower to me.”  
     Sonja faces me like a prizefighter in a love match. “Alright, I fibbed. I was testing you. I like men who persist with creativity. Those dumb as an ox guys don’t turn me on. Hey, baby can I buy you a drink sends my libido into a tailspin.”  
     “Hey let’s make out behind the dunes? Did I make the grade?”
     With her finger to my lips, she hushes me. “You know the way to a woman’s heart. When a man takes my whimsical idea and runs with it, he gets his way with me. Does that answer your question?”
     We crest the dunes where the sultry jasmine breeze blows cloud-soft exhaling from the rippled sea. Cosmic dreams unfold deep under the moon haloed evening sky. We miss the boat to shore but are well hidden in our sandy bastion. I peek over the dune peak to see dark waters swirling in starry patterns. She emerges from her bikini in the lunar aura with luminescent curves aglow. Her fiery mane sparkles in the starlight. Her sinuous hips sway magically until she is reclined in feline grace with the almond tips of her peaks sensate swells.
     The dunes loom in gentle humps against infinite star fields which undulate with the tidal pull of our love. Our bodies merge in restless desire with warm currents flowing through one ocean of need. Our supple flesh melts into a deep vulnerability opening doors to intimacy.  Our waters merge in an ancient ocean of bliss. We breathe to a trance beat with her face contorted in ecstatic surrender. Her mystic gate is breached in a crimson supernova nirvana.