Playboy Pilot

The sun was starting to set. It was getting too late to really enjoy the beach. When we’d arrived close to the shore, the people around us started clapping.

“What’s going on?”

“They’re not clapping for us.” I chuckled. “There’s a tradition here, that when the sun slips below the horizon, everyone stops, stands and claps.

“That’s pretty cool.”

“It would be nice if people appreciated life and nature more often like this, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.” She grinned. “Definitely.” She looked around in amazement, and I truly loved watching her face as she took everything in for the first time.

A familiar site at the opposite corner of the beach caught my eye. “Come on. I know exactly what we’re gonna do.”

A small sign on a stick buried in the sand read, Samba na Agua.

“What is this?”

“They do samba lessons on the beach at sunset here. They take tips, but it’s free. I happened to be walking by one night and got roped into a dance by some old lady once. You wanna try it?”

Kendall’s smile lit up her face. “Sure.” What little sun was left seemed to shine into her aquamarine eyes. Seeing her smile like that made me realize just how naturally beautiful she really was and how damn good it felt bringing her joy. I couldn’t quite figure out why making her happy was so important to me, considering I barely knew her. But there was a gnawing voice inside of me that seemed to whisper, “Pay attention. This girl is important.” I couldn’t explain it and sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Maria to investigate.

The samba lessons didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped. I was thinking I’d get to use it as an excuse to make physical contact with Kendall, but they’d assigned her to dance with an old man instructor. That gave me no choice but to dance with his female counterpart. Probably made sense, since neither Kendall nor I knew what we were doing. Still, I enjoyed watching her trip over her feet as she laughed and looked over at me doing the same

Quick. Quick. Slow.

Quick. Quick. Slow.

Even across the sand from each other, we were connecting somehow in that experience. A thrill shot through me as I realized I was going to get to sleep next to her again tonight. Then, I quickly mentally slapped myself in the head for getting excited over a girl I might never see again after this trip…and whom I’d vowed not to touch.

Quick. Quick. Slow the fuck down, Carter.

We’d have one more full day tomorrow before I had to leave for the airport the following night. I realized I didn’t even know where she lived. It was time to break out the truth serum. In Brazil, that was otherwise known as Caipirinha.

“WHAT’S IN THIS? It’s strong…but good.”

“It’s lime, sugar, and Cachaça.”

Kendall giggled. “Say that again.”

“Cachaça.” I smiled.

“I love when you speak Portugese, Captain.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

We’d stopped at the small bar on the beach. After a couple of drinks there, we took the last round to go in SOLO cups and continued our party sitting on the sand.

“So, Kendall Sparks. You love when I speak Portugese. What else do you love? I need to know more about my travel companion.”

“What do you want to know?”

“For starters, you never told me where you’re from. What do you do for a living?”

“I live in Texas. I come from a family of oil magnates. I work on and off for the family business but don’t really have a clear career path.”

“Was that so hard?”

“I don’t always like telling people about my family. There are a lot of preconceived notions about people from wealthy backgrounds.”