Paradise 69

74

THE BLOOD DRAINS FROM my head, leaving me dizzy and disoriented.

"I'm ... glad you're ... okay." Adrianna says suddenly stepping towards me.

I raise my hand for her to stop walking.

"What's wrong?"

I rub my forehead.

"What the hell do you mean, what is wrong? I thought you were both dead! There are police officers using cadaver dogs currently searching for you all over that Island!"

Stunned, Adrianna collapsed in a chair. It seemed like the breath went out of her. It was like she had been hit by a truck.

Giuliana shakes her head.

"Your willingness to let Mijan get away with all the crap he did with you drove me nuts! If that had been with me, I would have told him to stick it."

Adrianna lifted the hair off her neck and sighed.

"I think you allowed him to get away with too much without getting him to be held accountable."

"How did you escape?" I cross my legs as I sit on the couch.

"We were with Farouk and Shamil inside of that famous first day private room party."

"Yes! I remember seeing you up there. I was with Kyle."

"We were having sex up there, but then Shamil's condom tore, and he found out that we ran out of condoms. So, we walked with him to a gas station to buy some more."

"The gas station was just like a block away from there." Adrianna mirrors my cross – legged position.

"Can both of you take your stinky feet from the couch."

I roll my eyes, while dropping my legs off the couch.

"As we were walking over to the gas station, Shamil received a phone call. We didn't understand what he was saying."

"He was speaking in his native tongue."

"Persian."

"You're correct. Gi decided to activate her translating app on her phone. The app picked up something about us performing on a suspended cage at a night club. Vittoria was already heading that way. The translator picked up the address."

I look away.

I remember seeing the empty suspended cage!

"We knew the gas station was our only window of opportunity. We needed to escape. So, I distracted Shamil while he was buying condoms. Meanwhile Gi was at the other counter buying soda, chips, and a small pepper spray. When we stepped outside, she sprayed him, and we ran."

This explains the rash on Shamil's neck!

And why his eyes were so red!

"We ran to the resort. Grabbed what we needed and went straight to the airport."

"That explained why the room was a mess!"

"Did you get a chance to gather our stuff, and bring it back home?"

"No. We uh. To make my long story short. We uh. Burned everything."

"What do you mean you burned everything?"

"But let's focus on your story."

"That's it for our story. Once we were at the airport, we went into the police kiosk and filled a report about Mijan, and you, and Vittoria. We revealed everything, and how we believed you were in danger."

Silence.

"I know I am in the minority with my opinion on this."

I glance at my uncle. He is sitting across from us. He is clasping his hands on one of his knees. The overall picture I got from these two is pretty much this. A very good looking and very rich businessman –"

"According to the news, he is a terrorist." My dad cut him off. He keeps starring at the rug on the floor.

"Right. A very dangerous man who meets an immature recently high school graduate student – who just happens to be a virgin. What were his overall intentions with you? Was he planning to take you to the Middle East? Make you wear a hijab, and cover your hair, head and chest?"

I look annoyed as much as shocked. I want to log back into The Collective Holding adult entertainment website and click on my profile. I want to show it to them, that I am no longer into this kind of stuff. I should have waited and deactivated the damn account in front of everybody. The truth of the matter is that I was hoping I would have dodged this issue.

How do you just explain to your parents that you're a porn star?

Just tell them that you enjoy doing it. It is your passion and not to worry about it.

Understanding parents should support you and there is no need to worry about the side effects.

I give another of my annoyed sighs and pull out my iPhone.

Should my parents not take this the right way, let me just remind them of the money I earned.

"Let us now endeavor to view the question from the other side. If I calculated correctly... I received a good sum of money while we were in Tahiti."

"How much?"

I shrugged.

"Approximately seven thousand dollars."

I raise my eyes, and glance above the screen of my iPhone. I imagine everyone jumping up, and down with cheerleading pom – poms shouting 'a job well – done' at me.

"Should I enlighten her about how she is going to suffer the consequences of being viewed as a porn actress? Try going to the supermarket or pull up at a gas station to fill up?" My uncle places his elbows on the arms of the couch and taps his fingers in front of his mouth.

Or getting picked up by you at the airport...

My mother shivers involuntarily. Apparently, the air conditioning was chilly on her bare arms. For some reason her sudden movement looked more like an obvious ploy.

"I have news." I grin, my dark eyes twinkling.

I shake my head to gather my wits. My heart is pounding a frantic beat, and for some reason I'm blushing furiously under everyone's steady scrutiny.

I fall silent, as I continue to stare at the screen of my phone.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes."

Something is very wrong!

I glance up at them, trying to recover my equilibrium.

"This is how much that is currently on my bank account."

I turn the screen of my phone for them to read:

$400 Million Dollars.