Page 19 of Alpha Bait

Unmasked

RICH

Isat on the sand with my shoes and mask off waiting for her. Fuck the masks. Fuck the mystery. I'd waited long enough and raced off the boat as fast as I could go. I didn't know if she'd ever come, or if she'd simply given me a line to keep me hooked. Hamptons girls were all the same.

I skipped rocks against the infinite ocean as thick white seafoam washed up like vomit from the depths of the sea.

In the distance I saw a shadowy figure -- around the woman's height -- heading in my direction. She walked with the grace of a goddess. Her hips swung from side to side, highlighting her incredible curvy figure that had been untamed by the trends of crash dieting and bulimia so prevalent in our circles.

She was rich, I knew that. I'd spotted her diamond earrings and $4,000 dress from the moment I'd laid eyes on her. But who the hell was she? I'd never seen her before and figured she was some distant friend of the Holloway family. That had to be it. Perhaps I'd find out.

She waved to me, but when she approached, her mask was still on. In the darkness, I could barely make out her features. I greeted her, wrapping her in a hug.

"You came."

"Of course I came," she replied, "I never got your name."

"I never got yours," I replied.

She giggled.

"Do you need my name?"

"No," I replied, "I'm content just to look."

"Oh, so that's all you want?"

"Of course," I replied with a cheeky grin, "we barely know each other after all."

"Right. We don't even know each other's names."

I sat on the sand again.

"Join me."

I patted a space beside me and she plopped onto the sand, digging her toes into it as she sat. We clutched our knees and stared out at the waves. The wind whipped through his hair and mine. She struggled to pull her long afro back into a ponytail and I reached over, touching her hand.

"Let it free."

She dropped her hand and huddled into her knees again. She appeared nervous, inquisitive and agitated as if she wanted more than to just sit with me. I couldn't blame her. I struggled to control myself. But common sense in my body told me not to leap at a chance with a strange woman who I'd only just met.

"You enjoy this? Sitting here, watching the waves with a stranger?" She asked.

"Yes."

"So do I," she replied.

I cleared my throat, "well if you don't want to tell me your name, what do you do for a living?"

"CFO."

"No way."

"Yes."

"So am I."

She grinned.

---