"No way. I already explained to you I don't go in water where I can't see my feet. You do understand there are sharks out there, right?"
Zach laughs and flops down on the chair next to mine, kicking his long legs out and resting his beer on his taut stomach, which is dotted with sparkling drops of sea-salted water.
"Mommy," Colleen screams from the water's edge. "Come look... sand crabs."
Lisa gives a disgusted look and makes a dramatic shudder. "Ew... I hate those things, but the kids love catching them."
Standing from the chair, she leans down and punches the end of her beer bottle down in the sand to hold it upright. "A mother's duty is never done."
Zach and I watch her walk to where Adam and the children are squatted down near the tide line, pushing their fingers through the wet sand and looking at the crabs.
"Have I told you how hot you look in that bikini?" Zach asks me, and I turn my head to look at him. His eyes drift down to my breasts, and he licks his lips.
I bring a finger up and trace the edge of the material that sits on the inner swell of my breast. "What? This old thing?"
Zach's blue eyes darken to the color of denim, and his voice is rough when he says, "Let's go back to the cottage."
I give him a sweet smile. "No way. We're hanging on the beach today with my sister and her family. No time for sex."
His look is sinister when he leans over toward me and runs a finger down my leg. "I'll make you pay for that later."
Grabbing his finger, I pull it up to my mouth and bite the tip of it. His breath rushes out in a hiss, so I lick the end and he gives a soft moan. "Maybe I'll make you pay instead."
Zach jerks away from me and leans over the side of the chair. Grabbing a towel from one of the three large bags we packed with various supplies, he tosses it over his lap and grumbles, "Christ... you gave me a fucking hard-on, and I can't do a thing about it."
Leaning over in my chair, I stroke my hand down his arm. "Poor baby. Tell you what... I'll give you a stupendous blow job when we go in later and take a shower. How does that sound?"
Zach groans again and leans his head back in the chair, squeezing his eyes shut. "You're killing me, Moira. Absolutely killing me."
"Why is she killing you?" I hear and look up to see Adam strolling up. He reaches into the cooler and grabs a beer, easily popping the top and taking a huge chug. Flopping down in Lisa's abandoned lounge chair, he places his feet to the side in the sand.
"Abandoned the sand crab hunt?" I ask, avoiding his question, which would have only been satisfied with the embarrassing answer that I gave Zach an erection.
Adam shudders the same way Lisa did, except his seems more genuine. "I hate those little fuckers. They're like little spiders with shells."
Laughing, I tease, "So you leave it up to the woman to handle those things?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely," he says with a wry grin. "I have no problem with the woman doing those things. I even make her kill the spiders we find in the house, which I'm betting makes me seem like a lame-ass to Zach."
Zach laughs in good nature. "Nah, man. Spiders give me the willies too."
"Yeah," Adam agrees as he waves his beer bottle around. "But you can be all manly and say that. You freakin' hunt monstrous anacondas and battle alligators. You're allowed to be afraid of spiders. I don't have that type of street cred."
We all three laugh in unison as we watch Lisa comb for crabs with the kids.
"So, what are you going to do with the rest of your time here?" Adam asks Zach.
"Going to try to find a job to keep busy. I don't like using Randall's money."
"Are you two going to stay in Atlanta?" Adam asks as he absently brushes sand off his legs.
"For now," I say. "Then we'll go back to Evanston when classes start up for winter semester."
Adam nods in understanding. "But you'll definitely go back to Caraica? You don't want to stay here?"
My body stiffens slightly over Adam's probing questions. It's not that he's asking anything inappropriate, but it makes me uneasy because Zach has only recently committed to spending time here and part of me is afraid he really didn't mean that offer.
"That's my plan, but I'm going to stay here for at least a year," Zach says smoothly, and while it still hurts every time he talks about leaving, I'm relieved to hear absolutely no regret in his admission that he's going to be staying for a while.
"Gotcha," Adam says, and then he turns in the chair to look at Zach over me. "So, tell me... what's it like... really... where you live? What's a typical day like in the wild?"
Zach stands up briefly and turns his chair to face Adam. I can see absolute pleasure on his face that someone has asked about his home, and he's clearly eager to share it.
"First... it's the most beautiful place you can imagine," Zach says with reverence in his voice. "Green as far as the eye can see. The air is heavy... like a soft blanket... and sometimes smells like perfume because of the wild flowers. Brilliant-colored birds fly overhead. The jungle can be mysteriously quiet, although it can be very noisy when all the animals are chattering. But there's also danger, and I live every moment on the edge... always aware that a small misstep could have grave consequences. It's hard to describe... but, when you are always cognizant of how fragile life is in that environment, you feel more alive... more exhilarated."
Adam's eyes are wide and almost glazed in a hypnotized fashion as he listens to Zach paint a pretty picture of his life. But I know it's much harder than what Zach is portraying. I know every day is a struggle to keep their society whole and free from harm.
"What do you do every day there?"
"The man's main job is to protect the tribe."
"From wild animals?" Adam asks with intrigue.
"Sometimes," Zach says. "But also from other tribes that attempt to raid us."
"Seriously? That happens?"
"Absolutely," Zach says. "There are a few tribes that we are constantly at war with."
I hope Adam doesn't push for more information because I absolutely don't want Zach telling him that those raids and wars result in loss of life. I don't want him knowing that Zach has killed, because while I understand it based on my education and background and the way I've come to know Zach on a deeper level, it's not an easy thing for many to digest.
Instead, Adam asks, "So, you stay close to your village to protect it?"
"No, we have to hunt almost daily to provide protein. We go out in large hunting parties but will leave a few men back for some modest protection."
"And what do you hunt?" Adam asks, fascinated by the concept. Such a man.
"Tapir, wild pigs, and alligator. That's some of the bigger prey, but we also hunt monkey and snakes. Although we fish as well, and that's actually something the women help us do."
I didn't know that and I perk up in interest at this concept--that the women would actually be counted on to help in the providing of the food. I mean, they tend the crops but the men do that as well.
"So you all go out with fishing poles and have a day at the river or something?" I ask Zach.
"No, far more interesting than that. The women make up palm-frond baskets, and we fill it with a plant that has a toxin in it. We then find small pools and submerge the baskets in the water. The toxin temporarily stuns the fish but doesn't cause permanent damage or poison them. When they float to the top, we shoot them with small bows and arrows. It's actually one of the ways the boys in the tribe learn how to use their own bows. It's more of a tribal bonding experience when we do that."
My heart sighs at the same time it sinks. I can't mistake the fondness in Zach's words, and I even recognize longing within them. He comes from a society that has mastered the idea of community living. It's something that we have long lost in this country.
"This is all so fascinating," Adam says with a smile. "I'd totally starve to death if I were lost in the Amazon."
"Just like I'd probably starve to death here," Zach says, and my head jerks toward his when I hear a slight hint of bitterness.
His eyes come to mine, and I see something in there I've never seen before. Uncertainty, fear, and low self-esteem.
"No way, dude," Adam says with a laugh. "There's a grocery store on every corner."