07-03-2021, 03:01 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-03-2021, 03:06 AM by ray.rowdy. Edited 1 time in total. Edited 1 time in total.)
When Sonal first came to the country and went to the beaches, she had been shocked at how revealing most bikinis were. She was used to Indian beaches where most Indian women never wore anything skimpier than knee-length shorts and a t-shirt. If some modern big city type girls did wear swimsuits, they would get gawked at by everyone. So Sonal was shocked at how skimpy bikinis on American beaches were, and how no one seemed to find them unusual or scandalous. But after months in Florida, she had gotten used to the fact that American women liked to be almost naked on beaches whenever they could. And it didn't shock her anymore. She herself never wore a swimsuit, but had stopped noticing the nearly naked bodies of other women. Although she did feel a pang of jealousy when she saw Sharad surreptitiously checking out the bikini clad bodies.
Sonal and Sharad walked along the ocean, enjoying the breeze, talking among themselves, and curiously watching college students dancing and drinking. There were hundreds of yachts parked in the harbor, with people all over them.
"One day, we should buy a yacht or a boat." Sonal said dreamily.
"Yes, we should." Sharad agreed.
"It would be so nice to go out into the ocean on a boat. When I was 15, we went with some uncles, aunts and cousins for a vacation to Goa." Sonal said, her face lighting up at the memory. "We went out on a boat for two hours. It was so much fun! We played antakshari and cards on the deck, watched the sun set, and had chutney sandwiches and Fanta."
Sharad looked at his wife's animated face and smiled. He loved how she could find joys in such simple things. He made a note to take her out on a boat ride soon. And kicked himself for not thinking of it earlier. It didn't take much to make Sonal happy. He owed her this much.
They walked some more, and noticed the boats kept getting bigger and bigger. And at one point, they saw a big cruise boat, with a lot of people walking aboard. Sonal and Sharad noticed that the crowd here was not as dominated by college students. There were some, but mostly the boat seemed filled with adults. Groups of more people were walking onto it.
"Is this like a ride we can take?" Sonal said. "In Goa, that's what it was."
"Yeah, I was thinking about that too." Sharad said, looking at the ramp where a couple of men were collecting what looked like passes or tickets from people walking up. "Would you like to go on it?"
"Sure." Sonal said, excitedly, but then the constant looming theme of frugality struck her, "Of course, only if it isn't too expensive."
"Let's go and ask how much it costs." Sharad said and they walked towards the ramp.
Besides the man checking tickets and tags, there were a couple of other men standing around in uniforms. Sharad and Sonal walked up to them and Sharad asked,
"Excuse me, how much is the ticket for this ride?"
"Ride?" One of the men said, sounding amused. "This ain't a ride!"
"No?"
"No. It's more of a...well...pleasure cruise. For the entire night. And the pass for it is 500 dollars per couple." he said.
"Oh, that much?" Sharad asked, his face going glum.
"Yeah. You wanna pay by cash or credit?" the man asked and started laughing. The other men with him also chuckled. Most of the people walking on board were dressed up. Sharad was wearing a t-shirt with old jeans. Sonal was dressed in a simple sari. One look at them was enough to show that they could not afford such a steep price.
"Let's just go." Sonal said to Sharad in Hindi. "We don't need to be on any boat."
"Did you say something nasty about me, lady?" the man said, smiling.
"No. I just told him we should leave." Sonal said.
"Hey, good English! From your funky wraparound thingy, I guessed you don't speak no English." the man said.
"I grew up learning English." Sonal haughtily replied, and then in a soft but defiant tone added, "And the correct phrase is "you don't speak any English"."
The men around them started laughing.
"Sassy! I like that!" the man, accepting that he'd been bested, smiled. He then looked up and down at her as if sizing her up. That made both Sonal and Sharad very uncomfortable. "You know what? Hold on a second. I think we might be able to arrange something. Just wait here. Let me go talk to my boss."
He sprinted up the ramp and onto the boat. Sonal and Sharad waited there for five minutes until he returned with a short bald fat man, probably in his late 40s, who was dressed in a tie-dyed shirt and shorts. The man who had asked them to wait pointed towards Sonal and Sharad. And the fat man approached them.
"Hello. My name is Raul. I am in charge of the entertainment on this boat." he said in a thick Cuban accent, extending his hand towards Sharad.
"Hello. I am Sharad. This is my wife Sonal."
"So, you guys wanna go on the cruise, but can't afford it, huh?" Raul asked.
"Well, 500 dollars is a bit steep for us."
"I understand. I have been through some rough financial times in the past. I know how it feels. Not being able to show your pretty wife a good time." Raul nodded sympathetically. "So I have an offer for you. Do either of you know what a wet t-shirt contest is?"
Sonal shook her head. Sharad thought about it for a little while.
"I think I have heard about it, but don't know what it exactly is." he said.
"It is exactly what it sounds like. A contest with wet t-shirts. Basically, we have women participating. And people throw water on their t-shirts. And whoever is voted by audience as the best wins 1000 dollars." Raul explained.
"One thousand?" Sharad said, sounding surprised. That was much more than their rent.
"Yup. So here's my offer. I let you two on the cruise. Give you food and drink coupons. You can spend the night on our deck, partying or by yourself, in the moonlight. In exchange, your wife has to take part in the wet t-shirt contest."
"What?" Sonal piped up.
"Well, our audience always likes some variety. And it's not often we get Indian women on the cruise." Raul said. "You take part. And if you win, the 1000 dollars is yours. 2nd place gets 750, 3rd place gets 500. So in addition to waiving your boarding fees of 500 dollars, you get a chance to win some money."
Sonal looked at Sharad who seemed to be thinking about something.
"What exactly happens in these contests? I mean does it get....you know....." Sharad asked.
"I'll be honest with ya, Sharad. It can get wild. But no one is forced to do anything they don't want. So yeah, you might have seen in videos or on the internet, some women in these contests will get topless." Raul said.
"What????" Sonal almost yelled. She had no idea about these things.
"Like I said, you don't have to do that. All you have to do is, wear a t-shirt. With jeans if you like. Someone will throw water on you. If people like how it looks, they vote for you. You can keep the t-shirt on if you like. The whole thing lasts only 15 minutes. Even if you don't win anything, hey, you get a free cruise, with free food and drinks for the rest of the night."
"Hmmm." Sharad said, scratching his chin.