The icy pool water cooled Helena, body and soul. Her temper dipped below a hundred degrees for the first time all day and she lent up on the side of the pool to watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean. She had decided things weren’t quite as bad as they seemed. Sure, Kelly had shown up at the airport—she had decided if she couldn’t stop them, she would join them. She had booked herself into the same hotel and was determined to stick to Jim like glue, but Helena wasn’t going to let it bother her. Well, not too much.
She swam over to the pool bar, and the young Indonesian barman smiled at her. “What can I get you, miss?”
“A bullet,” she joked. He looked concerned—he had no idea what she was talking about. She shook her head to indicate that she wasn’t serious. “Got any Bintang?”
He didn’t even ask her room number, just handed her an ice-cold beer. She thanked him and swam to an underwater stool nearby. As she sat there watching the bright orange sky with a beer in the pool, she decided she would make the best of this. If Jim didn’t have the balls to get rid of Kelly, it wasn’t Helena’s fault, why should she feel like shit because he would be spending time with his fiancée and not her? He was a grown man, and he could make his own decisions. Helena left the beer on the pool bar and dipped her head under the water, her red hair flowing like lava in all directions before imploding as she resurfaced. No, she would make the best of this trip, she would have fun. She wasn’t going to pine or sulk. She would enjoy every moment, with or without Jim.
A young man, possibly no older than eighteen, swum to the stool next to her and ordered a beer for himself. “Are you sure he is old enough?” she asked the barman in jest. The young man took his beer and smiled at her. “I’m old enough,” he informed her. She didn’t usually like younger men, but right now she needed a distraction.
“Where are you from?” Helena asked.
“Sydney. You?”
“Perth.”
He turned and looked at the sunset, his tightly muscled chest more than apparent. See, she told herself, things are looking up already.
*****
They’d organised to meet up at the pool at five, but already Kelly was delaying plans. She decided to completely empty the suitcase on arrival and was making herself at home.
‘Be right down.’ He’d texted Helena, but then Kelly had found a few shirts that she needed to hang up and….
Thirty minutes passed. Jim sat on the bed and began watching foreign sports channels—one was showing a basketball league he didn’t recognise. It didn’t matter, as long as it meant they didn’t have to talk. Kelly had held him captive on the flight over. She had covered her plans for every aspect of their wedding day, demanded his opinions, but then criticised all his ideas. It was like a boxing match where she punched away while his hands were tied behind his back. He had liked Kelly once, a lifetime ago, loved her in fact, to the point where he had wanted to marry her. He had been so close to ending it the day before, just for her annoyance factor alone, but when she had said she wanted to come, a part of him had wanted to hold off on it. Yes, if she came to Bali, things were likely to stay complicated between him and Hels. Jim knew in his heart of hearts he couldn’t resist too much longer, try as he might to keep things as they were. It was like the universe was determined to mess up their lives. God, he wanted it to. He wanted her in his arms again, he wanted her that close every moment of every day. He stopped this train of thought. No, he wouldn’t allow it. Jim could not let it happen, he must not let it happen, and he had brought along the ultimate anti-aphrodisiac to ensure nothing happened: Kelly.
Kelly finished unpacking and began reapplying her make up. He didn’t bother to point out that they were going to the pool; he figured that the ensuing argument would only delay them further. Finally, after another twenty-five minutes they headed down to the pool.
The sun had just set, but the sky was still a glorious orange and pink. But even that paled into complete insignificance as he spotted Hels. Her wet hair, bikini and natural beauty mixed to make a heady cocktail of awe, adoration and desire within him. Jim saw her pretending not to notice him as she spoke to a young bloke at the pool bar. That worked for him as his eyes flicked down to her soaking wet breasts and felt his body respond instantly. Not wanting anyone to notice, he ignored Kelly’s explanation that she wouldn’t be swimming, threw off his shirt and dove straight in.
He welcomed the coolness of the water and hoped it would help shrink things, but the image of Hels’ bikini clad breasts proved hard to forget. He adjusted himself under the water and swam over to her. It took all his willpower to not look down again. She was talking about cars and the young, overly muscled guy was laughing. He heard her finishing her Datsun motor anecdote. “So, we put it on the Datsun chassis and the guy never knew.” They both laughed.
They were having far too good a time for Jim’s liking. “Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” Her tone dropped, her good mood clearly ruined by his presence. “This is Dean; Dean this is James.”
It was one of the very few times in his life she had referred him as such. There was a sinking feeling in his chest as he shook Dean’s hand. Dean looked at the two of them. “Are you two…?”
“Oh no, see that woman over there? That’s his fiancée.” Hels pointed at Kelly and then waved. Kelly returned the wave, but didn’t seem overly happy about it. Dean’s face brightened.
“Oh, so you are single?”
Hels looked at Jim, the point clear in her eyes, then looked at Dean and nodded, “I guess so.”
“Will you be at the hotel restaurant tonight?” Dean asked. Again, she nodded.
“I might see you there.”
She smiled. And then the man-boy, as Jim thought of him, guzzled the remainder of his beer and swam away, a look of exaltation on his face. Helena’s smile froze when she looked back at Jim.
“He looks like Alex, Version 2.0,” Jim commented sourly.
Hels’ smile evaporated and her eyes tightened. “Really? And you’re a great judge of character,” she motioned in Kelly’s direction.
“Hey, at least she’s of legal age.”
“What’s the problem? Don’t want me talking to other guys?”
No, obviously I don’t, Jim thought. He tried desperately to grasp a more rational argument. “You can talk to whoever you want, I just thought you wouldn’t want another numbskull in your life,” he offered.
“No, you’re right, I already have one huge numbskull in my life. And he is on thin ice.” The words, though humorous, seemed to darken their respective moods.
“What’s your problem?” he asked.
“Really? You can’t think of anything?”
“You said you didn’t care.”
She scoffed, “You might act all sensitive and caring Jim, but when push comes to shove, you’re as selfish as any other stupid boy.”
He raised his hand in surrender, “Well, if that’s what you think.”
“See. That’s exactly what I mean, you always make it seem like you’re being nice and thoughtful, but really you are just manipulating things.”
He didn’t know what to say. He found the old saying ‘the truth hurts’ was a massive understatement. The pain triggered his defences, without thinking he shot back, “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot how perfect you are. I should just say and do whatever the hell I feel like without any thought of anyone else’s feelings.”
“Hey, at least I’m honest and don’t bullshit around all the time. I can’t remember the last time you gave me a fucking straight answer. Hey Jim, how are you?” Her voice deepened in her best Jim impression. “Oh, I really can’t say, but here is a painting of you when you were nine and had a broken arm.”
He hit back with his own impression of her, “Hey, I’m Hels, I never want to grow up, I just want to have fun forever; fun, fun, fun.”
“I’m Jim, I act caring and nice, then never answer calls or message back.”
“I’m Hels, I go nuts over the smallest shit, like a velociraptor on speed.”
“I leave the toilet seat up all the time.”
“I steal other people’s beds… and Reginald!”
“I get engaged to people I don’t love!”
“I have people throw themselves at me all the time and don’t even realise it.”
Hels normal voice returned, “What? When…? Who?”
Jim shook his head dramatically, “I speak on behalf of the hundreds of idiots who have had the temerity to ask you for a dance, asked you out or even just tried to talk to you.”
“On their behalf? Does that mean you’re one of them?”
“Hels, I’m the leader, secretary, and the chairman of the board,” he said rolling his eyes.
“When did you ever ask me for a dance? Or ask me out? I talk to you every day, you jerk.”
“Year Six Blue Light Disco, Year Eight Social, Year Nine Social, Year Ten Dinner Dance, Year Eleven-”
“But you were joking.”
“Of course,” he agreed with a patronising air, then added, “I asked you out, in year nine, to the movies.”
“We always went to the movies.”
“Even after high school, I tried to take you to restaurants, but you always wanted to go to the same pub and you would never let me pay.”
Hels put her hands on hips, “We were just hanging out.”
“Fine, sure. Because that’s what you wanted,” he said a little embarrassed when he started to think about everything he just admitted. He dumped his head under the water, hoping the water would cool the heat rising to his cheeks. When he resurfaced, she was much closer, their bodies in touching range.
Helena whispered, “So why did you never say something? I’m not that subtle you know.”
He shrugged. What could he say? A lifetime of rejection scenes summed up in three words, “I’m an idiot.”
She nodded and smiled. “So, Jim,” she floated closer to him, close enough that he could see each and every water droplet on her cheeks, “I guess the question is how much longer are you going to be an idiot?”
She reached out a hand and playfully ran it down his chest and abdomen underwater. He grabbed her hand, his fingers melding between hers and squeezed firmly.
“No,” he answered releasing her hand, “The real question is just how big an idiot am I?”