Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show (20 page)

CHAPTER XVI

As they walked toward the shoreline,
Scott realized he had a decision he needed to make. Should he go with Michelle to the pool, or go back to their cabin. He was ready for peace and quiet, but given her frame of mind, he was equally unprepared to leave Michelle alone. His sense of protection won his internal debate as they walked down the beach with their arms around each other.”

Beth
was standing on the boardwalk to her house when Scott and Michelle started up the steps. “I was just about to come find you.”

Rather than disclose
why they had taken so long getting to the pool, Scott quickly changed the subject. “Have you heard anything else about the storm moving in tonight?”

Beth
looked out at the ocean where the waves were continuing to grow larger. “The weather people say it’s going to get nasty around here. High tide is expected around nine o’clock and that’s when they think the storm will really start to build in this area. We could start seeing rain and stronger winds as early as seven-thirty or eight o’clock.”

Michelle
took her towel and placed it over one of the lounge chairs as she spoke. “It’s not going to reach hurricane strength is it?”

Beth
shook her head. “No. They are saying it’s like a line of storms that will more or less come in one after the other. The wind gusts could hit seventy-five miles per hour and sustained winds will around fifty to sixty miles per hour. Either way, it’s scary.”

Scott
chose to reassure her. “You’ll be fine. These houses have held back much worse storms than this one.”

Before
Beth could respond, Michelle reached out and touched her arm. “I have got to use the bathroom.”

Beth
replied never taking her eyes off Scott. “It’s right across from the great room on the right.”

After
Michelle disappeared into the house, Scott took the opportunity to confront Beth. “There is something about the ghost story you and Michelle told me that I’ve been having some trouble with.”

Beth
felt she should be somewhat evasive in her answer. “It was really strange for both of us to have that experience, don’t you think?”

Scott
smiled at Beth before he responded. “Yes it is. The thing that really makes it odd is the fact that you predicted it hours before it happened. In fact, Friday night when we were standing at the bottom of the steps, you told me it was going to happen. Not only did you predict what would happen, but also what time it would happen. That strikes me as being a little more than a coincidence.”

Beth
took several steps closer to Scott as she continued to stare into his eyes. “I wish I could give you an explanation, but I don’t even know why I said that to you. I thought at the time it was a strange thing for me to say.”

Scott
took a few steps closer to Beth, perhaps to challenge her slightly. “Beth, let’s get real here. You were very specific to the point of complete accuracy. I think you have a better explanation than just a few words popping into your mind.”

To
Scott’s surprise, Beth took two steps closer to him. She made sure her body was touching his bare chest. “Alright Scott, let’s keep it real. Take a close look at me and see if you see anything about me that resembles a ghost. Do I feel like a ghost? Do you really think I would be upset about having sex in a tent with some guy, if I were a ghost? Do you think I would be afraid to stay here tonight by myself, if I were a ghost?”

Beth
made sure her breasts slid across his chest as she turned her back on him. “Would you tie the strap around my neck a little tighter? We wouldn’t want any bathing suit accidents while we’re playing in the pool, would we?”

Scott
realized there was a knot in the straps as Beth spoke. “The truth is you’re more afraid of me than you would be a ghost. You don’t trust yourself around me.”

Scott
knew her statement was close to the truth. Still, he made a decision that if she wanted to play games, he would play along. In so doing, he ignored her comment about being afraid of her and chose a different path. After a minute or so, he was able to get the knot out as he spoke. “Actually, I don’t believe in ghosts or accidents. As to your other point, I would love to see some bathing suit accidents. How tight is this supposed to be?”

Michelle
came through the door as Scott was holding the straps in his hands while waiting for some direction. Michelle came and stood beside Scott. “Did I miss all the fun, or were you two just getting started?”

Beth
looked over her shoulder while grinning at Michelle. “I guess that depends entirely on you.”

Michelle
glanced at Scott holding Beth’s straps behind her neck but showed no displeasure with what he was doing. “I guess we better tie them for now. I’m not sure Scott could deal with the excitement.”

Scott
repeated his statement. “How tight is this thing supposed to be?”

“Just pull it together and I’ll tell you when to stop.”
Beth replied.

Once
Scott finished, Beth turned around to face them. “The two of you have been so nice to me that I would like to take you to dinner as my way of saying thank you.”

Michelle
responded before Scott could consider his options. “That’s sweet of you to offer, but you don’t have to do that.”

Scott
echoed Michelle’s comments. “She’s right. You really don’t need to do that.”

Beth
smiled as she went to lay down on one of the lounge chairs beside the pool. Michelle and Scott followed her and took their seats. Scott waited until Michelle was lying down before he sat next to her. He was making sure Michelle was between him and Beth. It was a calculated move as he was hoping to be able to see them both at the same time and more closely observe their interaction.

Michelle
glanced at a wall clock before she spoke. “It’s almost three o’clock so we need to think about what we are going to do. Since this is our last night here, I think we should do something really fun such as having a storm party.”

Beth
was the first to react to her suggestion. “That would be fun. We could mix a few drinks and watch the house get blown down.”

Michelle
then turned her head to look at Scott. “Beth is really afraid to be here alone so why don’t we do this. Let’s all go to dinner and then she can stay with us until the storm passes.”

Beth
’s reaction to Michelle’s offer came before Scott could respond. “That would be too much trouble for you. Besides, I think the storm is supposed to last until very late in the night.”

Michelle
was determined for Beth to accept her plan. “Listen we have several bedrooms and it’s no trouble at all.”

After a few minutes of discussion,
Beth and Michelle agreed they would all go to dinner before returning to the house to ride out the storm. They continued their conversation as Scott’s mind returned to Michelle and their conversation while alone on the beach. It wasn’t long before he drifted off to sleep.

It was almost four o’clock before he began to stir. As he opened his eyes and looked around, he first noticed the sky had turned
gray. He turned his head seeing neither Beth nor Michelle until he glanced at the pool. There he saw Beth sitting in front of him on the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water, but he didn’t see Michelle.

Beth
realized he was awake when she heard him sit up. “If you are looking for Michelle, she went home to take a nap and get ready to go to dinner.”

He looked at his watch noticing the time. “I slept longer than I thought. I guess I should get ready too.”

Beth stood up while pulling her hair back from her face. Having imagined a plan for how they would spend the remainder of the afternoon, she was unwilling for him to leave. “Michelle thought you might help me put the chairs and the table in the storage area before the storm comes.”

Her request was reasonable and he knew he had to do the same job at
William’s house. “I’ll be glad to help you.”

They worked for ten minutes putting the furniture away before
completing the job. Scott then turned to Beth. “If there’s nothing else you need help with, I should get going.”

With the hot weather and the high humidity,
Scott was red in the face and sweating. Noticing his condition, Beth made a suggestion. “You look so hot. Why don’t we get in the pool and cool off for a minute before you go?”

While the pool looked inviting, he made a different decision
, not knowing what to expect from Beth or himself if they were alone in the pool. “Thanks, but I’m going to grab a shower when I get back, so I’ll be fine.”

Beth
was determined that Scott stay with her and therefore made an alternate suggestion. “At least let me fix you a glass of lemonade. Michelle wanted me to keep you entertained while she was asleep.”

With that knowledge,
Scott accepted her offer as his throat was dry and he was quite thirsty. He followed her in the house and sat at the kitchen bar while she fixed the drink. While he might be reluctant to admit it to himself or anyone else, Beth had captured his attention from the first time he laid eyes upon her. He also knew his attraction to her went far beyond the interest he might have in her physical appearance, which was not insignificant.

As
she handed him the glass, Beth told Scott she wanted to show him something. They went through the house and down a set of stairs that led into the recreation room where a pool table had been set up.

Scott
looked around at the well-appointed room. In addition to the pool table, there was a bar and four bar stools at the far end of the room with an over-stuffed sofa next to the wall. There were a number of movie posters hanging on the walls along with several prints of seascapes and a wide screen TV. As Scott walked around looking at the various posters, he was unaware of Beth watching his every move.

She
removed a cue stick from the rack before explaining the first part of her plan. “I invented a little game that’s played using a pool table. We take turns shooting the first eleven balls. If you make the shot, then you can ask me any question and I have to tell the truth. It’s like truth or dare pool.”

“Why use just eleven balls? What happens to the other four balls that are left?”

Beth smiled. “They are called the magic balls. If you make the shot using one of the magic balls, then I would have to do whatever you told me to do.”

The possibilities began to run through his head. “The word ‘whatever’ could cover a wide range of things.”

Beth assumed she knew exactly what Scott was thinking. “That’s true and that’s also what makes this a dangerous game. You have to take your chances.”

Scott
was hesitant to accept her offer but also considered her game to be of interest to him. “To be honest, I’m not much of a pool player.”

Beth
placed the cue ball on the table and leaned forward as she sighted the ball with her cue. “Also being honest, we both know this game has nothing to do with playing pool.”

Scott
understood her point. This was another one of her games, which Scott not only enjoyed, but also found difficult not to play along with her. As if to add insult to injury, she pulled the cue back with just the right force and hit the cue ball, which collided with the 3 ball. The 3 ball then veered to the left making a slow roll into the corner pocket. She wanted him to know, she could win this game.

Beth
straightened up as she passed the cue stick across the table to Scott. “Take a practice shot before you decide if you think you can get lucky playing this game.”

Scott
took the cue stick as he looked at Beth. “When you use the words get lucky, those words might mean something very different to a man than to a woman. Anyway, if this is not about pool, then why go through the motions.”

Beth
made her response with very honest intentions. “While you were asleep, Michelle and I took a walk on the beach. If I keep you playing pool for a little while, Michelle will have some time alone.”

“Is that what she wants?”

“She is going to take a nice long bubble bath, maybe a nap and then sit on the deck and watch the ocean and read. At least that’s what she told me.” Beth replied.

Still being suspicious of
Beth’s motives, Scott called Michelle under the pretense of finding out their dinner plan, but his intention was to confirm Beth’s story. Much to his surprise, Michelle encouraged him to stay and play pool with Beth, saying she was going to read and enjoy some quiet time for a while.

Beth
walked around the pool table taking the balls from the pockets and placing them in the rack. With all the balls on the table and racked, she teased Scott in a way that would appear to be a joke, but in reality would challenge his sense of independence. “It was nice of Michelle to let you stay and play with me. You can have the honors of the break.”