The Wyld Girls

Chapter 15 - Michelle

Wyld Times, Episode 58

"Hold it steady," advises Bruce.

Kylie is leaning over an enclosure that looks like a murky swamp. The water is brown and still, with slippery mud banks surrounded by glass viewing walls. The young girl holds a fishing line over the water; the line sways gently back and forth, the bloody hunk of meat on the end dangling just above the surface. "I don't think there's anything in here," she says doubtfully.

Michelle smiles, leaning on the glass barrier. "That's what most people think when they decide to go for a swim in northern Australian waterways. It's a hot day, you feel like cooling off, so you jump in for a quick dip. There's nothing but you and that slowly drifting log..."

In the water, a dark shape has begun to gently float towards Kylie's bait. "Oh! I see him!"

"He is actually a she," correctly Michelle lovingly.

"Yep, you heard it right," says Bruce with a sly smile. "Here at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, the biggest, baddest critter on the block is a chick! She's as cranky as a sheila with PMS – and twice as hungry!"

Michelle doesn't miss a beat, saying, "Grace, the saltwater crocodile is nearly a thousand kilos of armoured skin, powerful muscle and razor sharp teeth. She's the perfect stealth and ambush attack predator."

"She's almost seven metres long," says Bruce, waving at the shape in the water, "about as long as an average hearse – which is what you're going to need if you get too close to this monster!"

"She's pretty slow," says an unimpressed Kylie, waving the meat around. "Nothing's happening!"

With a hand on Kylie's shoulder, Michelle says, "She might seem laid back and sluggish – but don't be fooled! This is how salties operate – they cruise along underwater, waiting for unsuspecting prey to enter or drink from the water. They can hold their breath for hours at a time, so they can afford to be patient. And once they drift close enough..."

With inhuman speed, the dark shape suddenly launches itself up vertically out of the deep. The crocodile looks like a prehistoric monster, closing rows of massive teeth around the raw meat in a mighty crunch before descending back into the water with a splash that sends a wave of water up and over Kylie.

She screams in delight. "Oh, wow! That was epic! Grace came out of nowhere!"

Michelle swallows hard. "It goes to show how careful you need to be. One moment, everything might seem calm – but you never know when you might be about to get ambushed."

There's something about having sex in a shower that seems both decadent and dangerous to me. Decadent, because showers are supposed to be a place for practical pursuits: get in, get clean, get out. Dangerous, because one slip and both parties might end up in the emergency room.

Luckily, my shower at the bungalow has a wide wooden ledge designed for sitting – and other activities, if you're brave enough. Parker sits with his back against the black tiles, his arms behind my shoulders as I sit with my legs locked around his waist. The water pours down around us from double shower heads, while the steam fills the air and beads against our naked skin.

Parker likes to talk during sex. I wasn't sure what to think at first because my experience with Bruce was so very different – our only communication was in the form of his grunts and my occasional whimpers. But Parker is constantly communicating, asking me if I like what he's doing, what I need, telling me how much I turn him on. It's hot.