Jason Eggers - Innocents for sale

"Well, I'll be staying at a hotel in the Eastern part of the island. Here's the number and if you need any help in getting set up, please call me, it would delight me to be able to help such a pretty young girl like you."

She took the number and put it in her pocketbook, but not really thinking that she would ever use it. The martini was beginning to take its effect and she began to loosen up for she volunteered the information that she was staying at the El Cartez Hotel in Nassau and asked him if it were a nice place. He assured her that she would be most comfortable there and in fact, he knew the manager very well and if she would care to, he would be happy to introduce her to him, in fact, why didn't he buy her a drink at her hotel when they landed and he would tell the manager to take good care of her if there was anything that she.needed.

"Oh, I couldn't impose on you like that," she answered. "You have already been very kind and I'm sure there are other things that you must have to do besides taking your time to look after me."

"Quite the contrary, young lady, it would be my pleasure to buy you a drink. You see, a few people in the islands owe me some favors and for me it would only take a word to make sure that you are looked after, and I would feel much better about it, actually. Nassau is a very small place, but you can meet some undesirable elements there and I wouldn't want anything else to upset you, you've gone through enough the past few days to go looking for anymore aggravation." He smiled warmly at her and let his hand fall lightly on her knee and he patted it gently. She was sure that he was just being friendly and that she would have no reason to doubt his motives, after all, he was old enough to be her father! She felt that she could trust him and she began to tell him the story of her reasons for leaving Miami and how much she was going to miss Jim.

"I just had to get away! The thought of being in the same town, the same area and not seeing him, or worse yet, seeing him with someone else, was more than I could bear, so I'm just plain running away."

"We all run away sometimes," he added meaningfully, smiling at her the whole time. "I'm sure that the islands will take your mind off your problems, in fact. I'm going to personally make sure that you have a good time."

She sighed, relieved and content that he would, indeed, introduce her to a few people, and that would certainly help if she decided to stay and look for a job. Maybe the world wasn't so bad after all. He was certainly pleasant enough and she was sure that he had no ulterior motives for his wanting to help her other than the fact that he wouldn't want his own daughter wandering in a strange place with no one to help her.

They continued to chat for the remainder of the trip and she really was beginning to feel more at ease, especially since the effect of the martinis had begun to warm her thoughts. Finally the stewardess announced that they should fasten their seat belts for landing and warned them that it may be a little rough since it was raining in Nassau and the winds were at a cross current. She could hear the wheels of the aircraft being lowered and she automatically tensed in her seat. She was not particularly fond of flying and the prospect of a rough landing made her a bit nervous. The plane suddenly dropped a few hundred feet as it hit an air pocket and she reached out to grab the arms of her seat, but her balance was thrown off and her hand slipped and landed soundly in Mr. Ward's lap. She quickly withdrew it, apologizing profusely and tried to regain her composure, but she was scared and embarrassed. He just laughed and said, "That's the best thing that's happened to me in a long time!" She wasn't quite sure how to take his last comment, but she just laughed with him and hung on tightly to the arm rest in order to avoid another embarrassing mishap.

The plane finally broke through the clouds and she could see the lights of the runway through the light rain that was falling on the airstrip. It seemed like hours before she felt the wheels of the plane finally touch down and she knew that she was safe and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew… at last. For a moment there I wasn't sure that we would make it!" she said.

"These pilots are pretty good at landing these babies, lots of experience in this type of weather," he added reassuringly.

"I guess that I could use that drink after all," she continued, "that last few minutes had me a little shaken."

"No sooner said than done, as soon as we check through customs and get our luggage we'll head for your hotel and dive into a nice large drink. How's that sound?"

She nodded affirmatively and started to unhook her seat belt and get her things together. He slid out first so that she could reach her belongings which she had on the overhead rack. As she stretched up to get them, her skirt rose higher on her thighs revealing the soft, white flesh between her stockings and her garter belt. Mr. Ward stared appreciatively at the young, firm flesh and drew in a quick breath.

I'd like to get a sample of that myself, he thought lewdly to himself and he could feel a tightness in his loins as she stood on the tips of her toes giving him an even more inclusive view of her fully rounded thighs and buttocks. He helped her with her bag and together they deplaned into the cool drizzle that was bathing the island. She could smell the aroma of the wet foliage and the flowers that grew all around the airport and it seemed to be such a fresh, clean scent that it gave her a sudden sense of security and feeling that everything would be all right. They both cleared customs quickly and hopped into a local cab and headed for the center of town and the El Cortez where she was to spend the following week or two. The cab weaved quickly down the narrow highway, dodging the packs of wild dogs that ran through the island at night searching the garbage cans for food and several times she had to grab his arm in order to keep from being completely thrown out of the seat.

Every once in awhile she felt his hand fall carelessly on her leg as if he, too, were trying to keep his balance. It made her slightly nervous but she said nothing for fear of offending him. Finally the cab pulled up in front of a small hotel toward the center of town and he looked at her saying, "Here we are… the El Cortez."

"It certainly doesn't look very elegant, not at all like the travel folder pictures I saw," she said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Don't judge it too quickly, my dear," he assured her, "it is a fine old hotel, very clean and very reasonable. I'm sure you'll be happy here so don't look so worried."

It really didn't matter she thought to herself, because she couldn't afford anything better anyway, so she may as well accept it gracefully. The inside of the hotel was not quite as bad as the exterior had led her to believe. The lobby was a reddish marble, the furniture was a deep mahogany riddled with many scratches from the years of use and little care and there was one bare Oriental rug in front of the registration desk. About every five feet there was a potted plant of some sort, mostly palms which gave the effect of a funeral parlor rather than a hotel lobby, but it did at least look clean.

The man behind the desk looked more Mexican than Bahamian for he was lighter in color than most of the local inhabitants and had an oily, yellowish cast to his skin. He smiled at them as they walked up to the desk, revealing two bright gold teeth in the front of his mouth.

"Well, good-evening, Mr. Ward. What brings you to the island this time, and who is this charming young lady?"

"Greetings, Raoul, just another business trip, and this is a young lady I met on the plane who is going to be your guest for the next week or so. Take good care of her, I'll be checking up on you!" he said jokingly. "Candice, I'd like you to meet an old friend, Raoul Vasquez. Raoul, Candace Mead." She smiled at the man and started to sign the register.