Tempting Tanya: (Eight Squared Productions #4), page 8
Tanya took the card from him, and inserted it into the pump. “No, I can get tunnel vision heading into race day. I really want to do well this season, set some new PR’s.”
Colin remembered striving to set Personal Records in his track days, so recognized what was going on. He gestured at her, “Getting your game face on already?”
Tanya nodded as she pulled the card out of the pump and fit the nozzle into her car. “Yeah, I can be a little bitchy getting psyched up on the way to a race. Why it’s best nobody rides with me.” She looked at Colin, “I’ll be better once we get checked in. Chilling out over dinner is part of the routine. Hope you guys like sushi, it’s one of my preps for a race.”
“I’m good with sushi, I’m sure it will be fine.”
They stood in silence until the tank filled and Tanya replaced the nozzle. “Where are they? Tanya asked as she realized the other girls weren’t present.” She looked down at her wrist, “We’ve got a schedule to keep, and I do NOT want to get stuck in afternoon traffic.”
“I’m sure they’ll be out soon, they’re just grabbing snacks and drinks,” said Colin
Tanya checked the time on her watch three times in the couple of minutes that it took for the girls to come out, chatting happily and carrying a couple sacks full of what Colin assumed were snacks.
“Let’s get going,” Tanya said curtly. “If you lose me, we’ll meet back up at the hotel.” She got in her car and fired it up, the Porsche giving a throaty growl loose as it started.
“I think we better hurry or she’ll leave us behind,” Colin said. “She’s in full race mode right now and every second feels like a minute to her.” Everyone piled into the car, and Nicki put it in gear as Tanya pulled away with a small chirp of her tires.
“Damn, can I get one of those?” Jessica said from the back seat. “That’s a sweet little ride.” Colin mentally agreed with her, although he wasn’t thinking about the Porsche.
Nicki stomped on her gas, trying to keep up with Tanya as she whipped out of the parking lot and onto the ramp to the highway. If it wasn’t for the bike they may have lost her before they even started. Thankfully, once she got up to highway speed Tanya settled into a normal speed, and Nicki was able to catch up to her.
“Why didn’t you ride with Tanya?” asked Sarah.
Colin looked back at her over his shoulder, “She suggested that might not be a good idea. Says she can be a little moody on the way to a race.”
They settled in for the drive, playing travel games they remembered from family road trips, then getting into a discussion about the best road trip movies that they had seen. Colin was a big fan of the original Vacation, which Sarah had never seen. Nicki voted for Crossroads, which Colin hadn’t seen. Jessica said Little Miss Sunshine, and Sarah insisted that Zombieland counted as a road trip movie and topped anything the others suggested. Nicki and Jessica objected, saying it wasn’t a road trip movie.
“Sound’s like the argument about if Die Hard is a Christmas movie,” said Colin. “Which it is.”
Sarah shrugged, “Don’t know what that is.”
“You’ve never seen Die Hard?”
“Nope.”
“Heathen, we’re going to have to fix that,” Colin said shaking his head in fake amazement.
“I don’t think I’ve seen it either, said Jessica.
“Heathens, I’m surrounded by heathens,” Colin said jokingly. “What’s this country coming to…” he shook his head again and took a swig of his Coke.
The trip flew by, and before they knew it they were pulling into the hotel.
“Check in quick,” begged Nicki as she shut off the car. “I need to pee.”
“Me too,” said Sarah.
“I’m sure there’s a bathroom in the lobby you can use,” said Colin as he opened his door.
“Ew, use a public bathroom? I don’t think so,” said Sarah.
“Now who’s the heathen,” said Nicki, getting a nod from both the other girls.
They went into the lobby, where Tanya was already checking in. While they were getting set up with their room Tanya led a staff member outside with a luggage cart. When they went out to get their bags they met Tanya coming back in, rolling her bike while the bellhop had several cases loaded onto the cart behind her.
“Meet you guys in the lobby at five?” asked Tanya.
“Sure,” said Colin. Tanya headed towards the elevators without another word.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like Tanya,” said Nicki as she watched her roll her bike through the lobby. “Think she’ll pull the stick out of her ass before dinner?”
“Nicki, that’s not nice,” said Sarah horrified.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” said Colin. “She warned me she’d be uptight until she got her stuff to the hotel. Say’s she’ll be better before dinner. Apparently we’re having sushi.”
“Oh, I love sushi,” gushed Sarah. Colin was happy to see that both Nicki and Jessica both nodded as well. ‘Thank god Dan’s not here, I don’t think he’d be too happy with raw fish for dinner.’
They got up to their room, which was on the seventh floor. Despite needing to use the bathroom, the girls all stopped to look out over the railing into the huge open area in the middle of the hotel.
“This is so cool,” said Sarah as she leaned over the railing.
“Think they’d kick us out if I hawked a loogie down there?” asked Nicki.
“Ew, gross,” said Sarah. She giggled, “Just imagine if you hit someone. Uggh.”
The room was huge, by far the biggest hotel room that Colin had ever stayed in. They walked into a living room that was about the same size as the one back at the apartment, and beyond that was another room even bigger with two queen beds and floor to ceiling windows. He went to the wall of glass and looked out at a surprisingly good view for a hotel that was this close to the highway. Luckily they looked out on the opposite side of the building.
Jessica walked up next to him and looked out. She drew in her breath excitedly, “The pool. Let’s get changed and go hang out.” The other girls rushed to the window and looked down on the large pool, then started stripping down and dumping out suitcases onto the beds looking for swimsuits.
Nicki was the first to be ready, wearing a white bikini that made Colin realize that he would be spending most of the day with a folding towel on his lap. Damn thing was barely there. Sarah had a black bikini that reminded him of one of her yoga outfits, although it covered a lot less of her. If he wasn’t hard already, Jessica’s suit would have gotten him to full staff within seconds. She had a yellow bikini that looked like it had been made for someone with breasts the size of Nicki’s, not the giant globes that graced her chest. The bottom was a full-on thong, leaving the entirety of her ass exposed.
Colin tried to go to the bathroom to change into his trunks, but the women called him on it, knowing he was trying to hide his excitement. As he changed they whistled and cheered him on, Nicki suggesting that they may not be able to take him out in public if he was going to be showing off the goods like that.
They found the supply of robes hanging in the bathroom and on the top shelf of the closet and each threw one on for walking through the hotel. Nicki texted Tanya telling her where they would be if she wanted to join them, and then they headed down.
They got to the pool and found it almost empty. Two boys that Colin thought were maybe ten to twelve were splashing around in the pool, while their mom sat under an umbrella reading on a tablet. One of the loungers had a very pale woman of about fifty laying on it in a one-piece suit, roasting under a thick layer of sunscreen. Other than that, the place was theirs.
The girls quickly picked a group of lounge chairs and grabbed towels from the cart near the gate, laying out a claim on five of the loungers. Colin found himself drafted as the designated sunscreen spreader and spent the next several minutes massaging it onto each of the girls backs and shoulders. Somehow the preteen boys in the pool found a need to swim back and forth right next to where they had setup, casting open mouth glances at the girls every chance they got.
Sarah got Colin’s back for him once he finished with her and they all relaxed, enjoying the sunny but still surprisingly warm day. ‘Thank god we didn’t go to school up north,’ Colin thought as he looked up at the palm trees. ‘We’d be shoveling snow instead of working on a tan.’
He was almost dozing off when he heard one of the boys go “Woah” and then a small splash, followed by the sound of someone swimming rapidly through the water. He looked up and saw a green streak heading towards him. Both the boys were standing in the shallow end of the pool with their mouths hanging open. The swimmer got to the end of the pool and performed a textbook turn, heading back towards the shallow end. He watched as she quickly crossed the length of the pool, then stood up and flipped her hair back.
Tanya looked like a goddess as she strode past the boys, and up the steps out of the pool. Water dripped from her as she walked gracefully to the towels and picked one up, drying her hair as she walked over to Colin and the girls.
Colin knew Tanya had a lot of freckles, her face and neck had dozens, if not hundreds, of them. Seeing her in a bikini he saw that she had them all over. Thicker on her upper arms and chest, but she had more freckles than anyone he’d ever seen before, and they looked good on her. As she got closer he saw that her swimsuit was speckled with little polka-dots, the suit mirroring her own freckles.
She sat down on the open lounger next to Colin and smiled at him. “Bikes good, wetsuits good, shoes are good. I’m done with being bitchy for the day.”
“Oh thank god,” said Nicki, who was laying face down on her chair. “Who was that bitch at the gas station?” she laughed to take the sting from her words.
“Yeah, we call her Bitchy Betty,” said Tanya. “Nobody likes her.” Tanya finished drying herself off then looked at Colin, “Got anymore sunscreen?” She reached up and twirled her finger in her copper colored locks. “Redheads, we burn. Could bring Bitchy Betty back.”
Nicki held up the sunscreen and frantically waved it around, causing Tanya to laugh. Colin grabbed the tube and quickly started massaging it into Tanya’s back.
She gave out a little whine, “Oh that feels good, been way too long since someone gave me a good rub.” Tanya laid down on the chaise lounge face down, “Make sure you get every inch or I’ll burn like a lobster,” she told Colin.
Colin dribbled lotion on her lower back, then dribbled a line down both her legs before he started spreading it out. It was more a massage than spreading sunscreen, but neither he nor Tanya minded in the least. Tanya kept letting out little moans that encouraged him to keep going. “Make sure and get some under the edges of the suit too,” she said. “I burn really easily.” Colin swallowed as he looked down at her bikini bottoms, then poured a little lotion on his hands and started working it into the firm muscles of her ass, running his hands under the tight fabric.
Colin thought he was done, when Tanya flipped over onto her back and smiled up at him. “That felt so good, can’t wait for you to finish the job.” She closed her eyes and wiggled as she arranged herself with her legs spread open just a little bit.
Colin started at her toes and diligently made sure that he covered every inch of her with the protective lotion, fascinated by the myriad of freckles that covered every inch of her body. The pale skin on the insides of her thighs had the lightest covering, closely matched by the undersides of her arms. Her upper chest had the most, but even when he dipped under the triangles of her top until he felt his fingers brush against the pebbled flesh around her nipples he still found freckles. The flat planes of her abdomen were likewise covered with a smattering of dots. He rubbed lotion well beyond the edges of her bikini bottoms, pushing the fabric aside as he covered her in sunscreen until he could feel the hair above her sex. Tanya’s moans encouraged and rewarded him the whole time.
“Damn, I’ll have what she’s having,” said Jessica once Colin was finished. He looked up and found that all three of the other women had sat up and had been watching him. He blushed as Tanya giggled.
“He’s got very talented hands,” said Tanya. “That felt so good. Never felt this relaxed before a race before. May have to add this to the pre-race routine.”
“If you think his hands are talented, wait until you feel his.. Ow, what the hell was that for?” said Nicki. Colin looked up to see Nicki rubbing her arm.
“Let’s just enjoy the sun,” said Sarah as she rubbed her knuckles. “Too much talking ruins the mood.”
They enjoyed the pool until Tanya’s watch lit up with an alarm. She sat up and looked at it. “Damn. Guess pool-time is over. Time to get ready for dinner. They won’t hold the reservation if we’re late.”
They gathered up their towels and dumped them into the bin by the gate as they headed inside to go get changed for dinner. When they got on the elevator Jessica spoke up.
“Think we can all fit in your car Tanya? I’d love to see what that thing can do.”
Tanya looked at her and smiled, “You’ll love it. It can seat five, but the backs a little cramped.”
“Bet it has more room that Sarah’s,” said Nicki.
“You haven’t even been in my car,” Sarah objected. “The mini has a lot more room in it than it looks.”
“Says the girl that still shops in the children's department,” teased Nicki. Sarah flipped her off and stuck her tongue out.
Tanya was on the same floor as the rest of them, but she was in the opposite direction when they got off the elevator. “Meet you downstairs in what, fifteen minutes?”
“Might take a little more than that,” said Nicki. “Four of us have to rinse off, is half an hour okay?”
Tanya looked at her watch, “Yeah, that will be fine.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then mumbled to herself, “Just relax, everything is fine.” She took another deep breath and headed down the hall.
“Uh, maybe we should try to make it twenty minutes,” said Jessica. “We get down to the lobby and find that Betty chick I’m going back upstairs.” The other girls nodded and rushed down the hallway to their room.
They made it downstairs in just over twenty minutes, finding Tanya sitting in a chair dressed in a casual sundress that showed off her legs. Like her swimsuit it had a polka dot pattern, which Colin was starting to think was on purpose to offset/compliment her freckles. He thought it looked great.
They got out to Tanya’s car and piled in. Tanya and Colin up front, the other girls in the back. Sarah took the middle seat and while it was a little cramped it would work for a short drive. Tanya apologized for the cramped quarters, but said it would only be ten minutes or so to the restaurant.
Jessica asked her about the car, and Tanya spent almost the entire drive giving her the specs on the car and displaying the capabilities of the Macan’s three liter twin turbo-charged engine. The acceleration was impressive. Sarah said she felt like she was on a roller coaster, laughing as she leaned forward at stops and letting the acceleration push her back into the seat when Tanya pressed hard on the accelerator.
They got to the restaurant, and Tanya led them in. The hostess quickly led them to their table and a waitress was there in seconds to take drink orders. Once she left Tanya told them that the best thing they could do was just tell the waitress they wanted the chef’s selection. They let Tanya handle ordering, and she relayed quick instructions to the waitress. Chef’s choice, but she added that they wanted a mix of traditional and Americanized dishes, light on the cream cheese. The waitress nodded and left them.
“Why no cream cheese?” asked Sarah.
“Too much dairy is bad before a race. Lot of people do pasta before a race, but I think sushi works better. Lots of carbs from the rice, but lots of protein from the fish. So many of the Americanized rolls are packed with cream cheese and I want to have maybe just a bite or two of those. Don’t worry these guys like it when you tell them to leave it out.”
The girls asked Tanya about the race and what to expect the next day, and Tanya told them that this was a good course for spectators as it was a “loop” rather than a “point-to-point” race.
“Loop means that all the transitions happen at the same spot,” she explained. “Spectators get to see the athletes a lot more than on a point-to-point where the transitions can be twenty miles from each other.” She sighed when it was clear that didn’t really explain it well, and she spent the next several minutes describing how a triathlon was structured and what they could expect.
“So we won’t be able to see you most of the time?” asked Sarah. “That sucks.”
“Yeah, it’s more like a marathon,” Tanya said, “Pick a spot on the course and watch everyone for a little bit instead of cheering on one person the whole time.”
“I’m sure it will be fun,” Colin said, picturing what long-distance track and field events had been like.
The waitress returned with a huge tray, loaded down with an artistic display of sushi covering it, each dish forming a part of the display. She quickly described each of the dishes and then bowed and left them.
“Did anyone get even half of that?” asked Jessica. “I have no idea if we’re supposed to eat this or just look at it. It looks like it should be in a museum, not on a table.”
Sarah leaned forward clicking her chopsticks together as she surveyed the platter, “Oh we’re definitely eating it.” She went to grab a bite, but Nicki stopped her.
“Wait, let’s get a picture first. Danielle will want to see.” She took several pictures of the platter, then nodded to Sarah, “Go for it.”
Sarah quickly picked a couple of pieces and moved them to her plate, with everyone else doing the same.
“Oh my god, I think I just had a foodgasm,” said Nicki after she had taken her first bite. “This is sooo good.”
“This place is one of the reasons I decided to do this race again this year,” said Tanya. “I signed up last year and my dad said I had to try this place. He told me about skipping the menu and just letting the chef go wild.” She picked up a piece of sashimi and admired it for a moment before popping it in her mouth. “It’s also the only way you can get Otoro, they don’t even show it on the menu.” She pointed at the sashimi she had just sampled with her chopsticks, “You all need to try this, it’s the best part of the tuna.”
