Jodie meets Ricardo on the beach...

CHAPTER TWO

The long flight had been exhausting, as Jodie had a little girl behind her who kept kicking her seat. At the airport, she was overwhelmed by the chaos and heat, and the journey to her small, cheap hotel had been an adventure, and the small, functional room was rather convenient. It was close to the beach, though. The city was already buzzing with music, and the streets were filled with people in colorful costumes, but Jodie wanted to relax a bit on the beach first and wait for the evening.

But first, she wanted to find a suitable outfit and found an inexpensive Vibrant Carnival Yellow Feather Samba Headdress with a Rainbow Carnival Flower Sequin Bra in a store. Then they headed toward the beach.

"Gorgeous," Jodie exclaimed as she looked at the turquoise sea and tried to ignore the considerable crowd around her.

She wore oversized sunglasses and a straw hat. Although she was at war with the yellow ball in the sky, she took every opportunity to protect herself and at least soak up some sun. The air was so oppressive and humid that it was difficult for her to breathe. She quickly removed her shorts and lay down on the lounger, wearing a sky-blue bikini. After rubbing in sunscreen, she enjoyed the sun and the distant Music. She rolled over on her stomach.

She quickly dozed off until, after a while, a voice with a heavy accent woke her from her twilight sleep.

"Excuse me, can you tell me what time it is?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled, looking up at the young man who was now standing next to her.

He was a tall, handsome, muscular black man with short, curly hair, a colorful shirt, and short shorts. He made no secret of the fact that the question was merely an excuse to start a conversation. His confident, daring manner impressed Jodie, and he was indeed very attractive. Athletic, with a six-pack, unshaven, and a slightly arrogant grin.

"What?" she asked, taking off her sunglasses to look into his very dark, brown eyes.

"I don't have a watch on me. What time is it?"

"Oh, right. Sure, wait..." Jodie sat down and rummaged briefly in her bag.

"Ricardo," he introduced himself and held out his hand.

"Jodie," she said, taking his hand.

Ricardo held her for a moment. His touch tingled on Jodie's skin, and the feeling spread throughout her body. It was even intensified by Ricardo's gaze, which examined her unashamedly and directly. He smiled again, showing off his sparkling white teeth, and Jodie realized that neither the touch, nor his gaze, nor his smile were unpleasant. On the contrary. She even liked it a little, but she still freed her hand and looked at her phone.

"It's almost three."

Jodie saw that Mike had texted her again. He wanted to know how things were going and complained that he could barely control Gina now. She replied with a grin.

"Who are you writing to?" Ricardo wanted to know, and without asking or being prompted, he sat down next to her in the free love seat.

His manner, which she had previously found attractive and animalistic, now seemed a bit too intrusive to Jodie. This feeling quickly vanished, however, when he accidentally brushed his knee against hers.

"My husband," Jodie said, a little too triumphantly, and showed him a picture of Mike and the children.

"Nice," Ricardo commented with a smile, but then quickly added:

"You're here alone?", which sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Yes, I just arrived today. For the carnival."

"Do you like it here?"

"It's okay, yes, but I've only been here for a few hours."

"I'm sure you'll like it better every day and eventually you won't want to leave."

Ricardo's eyes began to shine, and instead of continuing to study her body, he looked Jodie straight in the eyes. He maintained eye contact, almost demanding, assertive. The tingling in Jodie's body returned, without Ricardo having to touch her now. It was as if just his gaze was enough to conjure that feeling in her. Only this time, it spread not only inside but also on her skin. Despite the oppressive heat, Jodie got goosebumps and began to shiver slightly. She ended this intense eye contact by looking back at the sea. When Jodie turned back to the person opposite her, she noticed that he was looking at her the same way again, and from his crooked smile, she realized that Ricardo hadn't missed her physical reaction.

"Well... sooner or later, I have to go home," Jodie laughed.

Not because she wanted to continue the conversation, but to distract herself from Ricardo and his hungry gaze. A "mistake," she quickly realized, because she had now passed him another ball.

"You don't have to, and you never know," he said, smiling and promising. Jodie's phone vibrated in her pocket, but she ignored the buzzing to continue talking to Ricardo.

"This is a vacation. Not an escape from normality or everyday life," she countered.

"That's what vacation is for, and in a week I'll have plenty of time to convince you."

"I doubt it," Jodie laughed.

An oversized, rainbow-colored beach ball flew past Jodie's face, knocking her bag over, and its contents spilled onto the sand. As she put her things away, Ricardo hit the giant thing back at the group of noisy, playing children. Jodie saw that Mike had sent her another message.

"If you give me a chance, I'd love to try. Are you going to the carnival tonight?"

Jodie nodded.

"Maybe we'll see each other. Can you dance the samba?"

"I can, but not very well." Richardo beamed.

"I'm a dance teacher. You can show me how well you can dance later, and I'll teach you something else."

"I'll come back to that."

"I'll take you at your word, dear Jodie."

Not only was his body sexy, but the way he'd spoken those last two words made her pause and look at him. For a brief moment, a very brief moment, there was nothing in this world she wanted more, nothing she desired more, than this strange, young man. This blaze of desire was unmistakably reflected in her eyes, and Ricardo recognized it. Jodie's phone vibrated again in her hand. Its function was to shake until the message was finally read.

"My husband texted me," she smiled weakly and waved the phone.

"Then you'd better answer. Well, see you later," he said, getting up from the lounger.

Jodie watched him go for a moment and then answered.