LuauJim drug his board out of the perfect waves and stuck it into the sand. He dropped down beside Blair on his blanket beneath an impressive pavilion on the white sand of Waikiki and surveyed the party goers about them.
"Quite a crowd this year," he frowned.
"We seem to pick up a few new guys every season."
"I can’t seem to shake those ghosts of my past." Jim nodded at the pale imitations that were entertaining a guest drowning her sorrows. She was nibbling on the neck of a guy who looked a lot like Jim only much younger and with a lot more hair. Jim listened in on the conversation and heard the guy call her "baby" and promise to make her a "star".
"You mean, the wannabees? Jim, we all have moments we’re not proud of. Did I ever tell you about the afternoon I spent in Seattle engineering a radio call-in show for a psychiatrist while I was taking post-grad psychology?" Blair shuddered. "I didn’t even give them my real name."
"Not Dr..."
"Yeah him..."
"Don’t tell Henri. He still listens to the guy."
"Are you ready for more suntan lotion? The next shift is due soon." Blair tested Jim’s skin for the slightest hint of burn.
"I could do with the massage." Jim leered. "I’d rather you did it, though," he pouted.
"After the luau, we’ll retire to our hotel suite and I’ll devote an entire week to just you. Now this weekend, smile pretty for the guests. Flex those abs. Do your part for drool buckets everywhere."
"And what are you going to be doing?"
"Why I have an adorable quota to fill. I must bat my eyelashes. Be appropriately jealous when someone strokes you too intimately. I have to stray too close to danger at least twice. There is an active volcano around somewhere, I’m told. They were careful to screen the guest list for bad guys, but who knows who might have slipped in? There are several very intelligent men for me to speak with. Now Jim, don’t pout. I only want to erupt into long winded speeches with them. Nothing more."
"But I love to hear you talk."
"You can tune in from the sun lotion station. Now give me a kiss, I’ve got to get back to work. Later?"
"Later..." Jim sighed.
June 30, 2001