A Shepherd Afield Pt. 02

Beep.

"-get a call from her momentarily."

"Yeah, she's trying to get through now. Thanks, Jerry! I'll talk to you later!" Ben said and switched to the next call before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Ben! Oh Ben! You are- you're so... oh my god! Ben-" Gabriella's voice was coming through the line somewhat garbled.

"Gabriella! Are you alright? I'm having trouble hearing you?" Ben said pressing his finger to his opposite ear.

"I'm sorry Ben. I'm in the middle of the biggest group hug! The workers at Brezza have something they would like to say to you..."

"GRAZIE!" thundered through the earpiece of Ben's phone.

Ben grinned listening to the crowd of happy people cheering over the phone. After a period he heard the background noise dim suddenly and Gabriella was back on the line.

"Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here. So all is good?"

"Oh my god Ben I can't tell you what a relief this is to these people. Three days ago they were all looking at the possibility of being out on the street! Now they have their future's back!"

"Jerry told me the merger went through. Does that mean you're the new CEO?" he asked as casually as he could. His heart ached in his chest as he held his breath quietly.

She still sounded breathless. "What? Oh! No, I haven't signed anything yet. I've just been working around the clock to complete the merger as that was the only way these companies were going to survive. That and the amazing generosity of our new investors! Two of my American investors were talked out of it by their advisors but Jerry told me you increased the limit so we were able to cover the lost investments. Ben... I have to tell you... I can't thank you enough for believing in me. I- it's..." She began to sniff.

"Of course I believe in you! I love you, Gabriella. Your love is the foundation upon which my life is built. If it hadn't been for you I'd still be sitting on a lawn chair in my driveway waiting for a love that will never be returned."

"Ben, I love you so much! I wish you were here!"

"Are you going to be visiting home any time soon?" he asked.

She moaned. "I have at least two weeks of reorganizing to do to optimize their intercommunications and get the suppliers all in line. We have such an amazing new product line-up! It's going to be the talk of the industry! Can you visit here?"

"After I get back I have to get some prototypes manufactured then I'll be heading down to Australia to show them to the client." He thought for a moment. "Maybe I could arrange my flights to take me through Milan?"

"Yes Ben! Please try to do that!" she pleaded.

He grinned. "Ok, let me look into it and I'll let you know. I have to tell you Gabriella, I'm so proud of you. You really stepped up and saved these people! They are lucky to have you on their side!"

Gabriella was really sniffling now. "Beeeennnn!"

"Awww love, take a deep breath. I'll see you as soon as I can," he said, feeling bad he'd brought her to tears again.

"I love you Ben." Gabriella said quietly.

"I love you too. Have a good night's sleep. Don't stay out partying too late. You have work tomorrow," he said with a grin.

"Good night," she said wistfully and hung up.

Ben put his phone back in his pocket and stood looking out at the horizon. He realized he was on the wrong coast to be looking towards Europe. He could look in the direction of Asia and Australia from here though.

He took a few deep breaths to release the tension in his chest. He didn't realize how much he missed Gabriella. He'd look into flights when he got back to the room. He couldn't book anything as he still had to make those prototypes but he could at least look into different routes he could take. Maybe it was time for him to book a flight on that jet service himself. At least to do the first leg of the journey to Milan.

He started walking again and reached the grounds as the sun became hidden behind the clouds completely. He made his way up to the room and saw Trish and Rain hadn't returned yet. He took the icebucket down the hall, filled it and brought it back to the room carrying it out to the balcony. He went back for his laptop and did some route calculations for flying from home to Milan and on to Melbourne as he chilled his right hand.

Sometime later the door open and two laughing women pushed their way into the room. They saw Ben and went out onto the balcony.

When Trish saw Ben resting his knuckle on the ice her smile slipped. "What happened?"

Ben glanced at his hand and lifted it out of the ice. "This? I just aggravated it a little."

Trish held his eyes with hers and crossed her arms. "How?"

Ben squirmed under her stare. "Punching someone."

Rain gasped and Trish frowned in confusion. "Who?"

"You don't know him. A drug dealer I encountered up the beach." Ben looked away.

"You beat up a drug dealer. Ben! We were only gone for six hours! Can't you keep out of trouble for that short time?"

"I didn't get into trouble! The police took him and his bodyguard away. Well the ambulances took them away but the police were with them." He fidgeted under Trish's stare.

"Bodyguard?" Rain asked.

"Uh, yes. But I managed not to get cut when he pulled a knife," he mumbled.

Rain gasped.

"You recall the fight?" Trish asked surprised.

Ben looked at Trish then shook his head.

"What do you mean does he recall the fight?" Rain asked Trish sharply. She looked at Ben. "Were you hit in the head?"

"No, Ben's been having memory lapses under certain circumstances. One of those is when he has to respond to someone in danger." She looked at Ben. "Who was getting hurt this time?"

Ben looked out over the balcony's rail as the rain began. He sighed. "Dana. A young woman who owed the drug dealer money. He was being rough with her. Said he was going to rape her. Apparently he hurt one of her breasts. Then I hit him."

"You don't remember any of this?" Rain asked.

Ben glanced at her. "I recall he grabbed her arm roughly." Ben looked inward but there was nothing. "Then he was unconscious and bloody on the ground and the bodyguard was also on his back with his knife stuck in his chest."

They gasped and Ben hastened to finish. "I'm told he fell on his blade accidentally. I made him leave it in until the paramedics arrived."

"You remember when he came back from dancing the night we had dinner in the room. I think this is another event like that," Trish commented to Rain.

"Can we talk about something else please?" Ben asked, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

"Sorry Ben. Just... this is what you're talking with the other doctor about, yes?" Rain asked. He nodded. "Ok, I just wanted to be sure." She had a concerned look on her face.

Ben looked to Trish. "Do you recall the two young men you... dealt with on the flight down here?"

"Yes."

"I met them about an hour's walk down the beach. They're with some friends and they've come down here to surf before they 'start their adult lives'. They apologized for their behavior and explained they were high on some bad 'Mex' at the time. I assume that's some kind of marijuana."

"Let me guess, the drug dealer was after them and you intervened." Trish scowled.

Ben looked at her sadly and her frown dissolved. She leaned forward and took his face in her hands. "What am I going to do with you?"

Ben shrugged and she kissed his forehead.

"Did you guys have fun?" Ben asked to change the subject.

Trish's face lit up as did Rain's. "Style is spooked by monkeys! Fucking hilarious! There was a troop of howlers in the canopy and Style almost stepped off a thirty foot platform to escape. They weren't even close to us but he freaked! We had to keep a close eye on him to keep him from doing something stupid."

"Zip-lining is fun!" Rain gushed.

"Did Killah enjoy his mud bath?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, he looked so relaxed when he got back on the bus." Trish smiled.

"We're all meeting for dinner at 8PM," Rain added.

"Do you two like surfing?" Ben asked.

Rain nodded with a grin.

"I've always wanted to try it," Trish replied.

"Why don't we walk back down the beach tomorrow to that spot where the kids surf, you guys can rent some boards and give it a try? The waves in that bay seem to be pretty good for surfing."

"We should ask the others at dinner tonight if they are interested." Trish said.

"The more the merrier," Ben agreed.

"Ugh, Ben, if you are going to say things like that you won't fit into the surfing culture at all. You gotta say stuff like 'That would be gnarly dude!'" Trish joked in her best surfer voice.

"Wait! You should say 'Hang ten, dude!'" Rain slurred.

Ben looked at the two giggling girls. "No."

Chapter 15

The next morning saw their entire gang, minus Rochelle and Thomas, walking down the beach towards the surfing bay Ben told them about the night before at dinner. They had their beach bags loaded with lotion and towels and Ben assured them of the quality of the nearby restaurants so everyone was eager to go. Style got the name of the nearby resorts and found a place to arrange for surfboard rentals. He also took a lot of ribbing from his friends and was given a plush monkey from the gift shop to help him over his fears. That plush could be seen poking its head out of his beach bag this morning so he was taking the teasing well.

As they walked around a point the wide curving beach came into view and its pale sand gleamed in the morning sun. The waves this morning were 4 to 5 feet in height and Ben could see people already out on their boards enjoying them.

When they got closer Ben saw Leo and Dana walking their boards down to the water's edge. Dana dropped her board with a squeal and ran towards him. She threw herself against his chest and gave him a tight hug which he returned. He was getting stares from the others in the group as he'd withheld the details of his activities from the day before.

Leo walked up with eyes wide as saucers. He looked to Ben with a huge smile. "Dude! You came back and you brought friends?" Dave, Ceela, and Nathan ran up to join Leo.

Ben grinned and made the introductions. The young people were star struck.

Style saw the rental place up ahead and led the people who wanted to give surfing a try over to the building. Ben followed Trish and Rain to pay for their rentals then walked back out to the sand to lay out his towel next to Killah, Brooklyn, and six of the ladies in La'Shia's entourage who were content to enjoy the sun and do a little swimming. They began putting on their lotion as they watched the surfers walk towards the water. Nathan and Ceela began to show the newbies some basics and soon they had a little school set up down on the sand.

Trish was wearing her tiny red bikini so Nathan was getting terribly distracted so Ceela took over instructing her and Rain as Nathan moved over to the next group.

Ben walked down to the water's edge and caught Trish before she headed out so he could apply some lotion to her skin. More than one set of eyes turned in their direction as he applied it. She didn't lift a finger to help so he had to work it in over every exposed surface. There was a lot of exposed skin. She gave Ben a hot look when he was done and smiled when she saw his shorts were tenting. She rushed away into the surf with her board under her arm as Rain took her place. He smiled and rubbed her body down with the lotion as well. When they were done she tilted her face up and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips before she rushed off after Trish. Ben was seriously straining the front of his shorts as he walked back to his towel. Tilisha, La'Shia, and Dana all stopped to get an eyeful as he walked past.

Face burning, Ben sat down on his towel and tried to put that out of his mind. Watching the people trying to get up on their boards in the waves was hilarious. Leo's gang was showing up most of his group.

The exception was Rain. She was a natural and a delight to watch. Trish initially struggled but eventually she started to get the hang of it. Her natural aptitude and athleticism soon had her riding the waves. Perhaps not as gracefully as Rain but it was rare for her to get dumped.

Dana came in from the surf and waved to Ben on her way to her towel.

"So... how do you know this young lady?" Killah asked.

Distracted by Dana's efforts to unwedgie her bikini bottoms, Ben looked away in embarrassment and missed the question. "What?"

"How do you know her? You've known her for a while?" the man repeated. Brooklyn sat up to hear the answer as well.

"No, we just met yesterday while I was out walking. I stopped to watch the surfers. We met Leo and Dave on the flight down," he explained and looked over to see their expectant expressions. "What?"

"You met her yesterday and she greets you today like a long lost friend." Killah said skeptically.

"Well, I bought them all lunch yesterday. They're practically skin and bones," Ben blustered.

Brooklyn caught Dana's attention and waved her over. Ben began to fidget.

"Yes?" Dana said as she arrived. She gave Ben a wide grin which he nodded to.

"Hi, we're curious about how you two know each other. That was quite the greeting!" Brooklyn said with a grin of her own.

"Ben saved me from being raped by a drug dealer yesterday!" Dana gushed.

Ben felt the attention of Killah, Brooklyn and the rest of their party swing in his direction. "Maybe it wasn't quite as dramatic as that," he mumbled.

"He was going to rape me Ben. He grabbed and pinched my nipple painfully hard before you flattened his nose and knocked out his teeth. He hurt me and you saved me." Dana insisted.

"Selfish muthafucka keeping all the juicy details to yourself!" Killah said, staring Ben down before a smile slipped onto his lips. Brooklyn swatted her man's arm.

"Then he took down his bodyguard! A huge guy with a knife!" Dana said enthusiastically.

"Yeah but... he couldn't have been very good with it if he fell on his own blade!" Ben insisted.

"Only after you knocked him senseless with one punch!" Dana exclaimed. "You kept him from pulling it out. Probably saved his life too."

Ben was feeling very squeamish. "I'm going for a swim." He quickly stood and set off for the water and Dana rushed up beside him and touched his arm.

"Are you upset with me?" she asked desperately.

"What? No! I'm... just not good... with praise," Ben managed to get out. He looked at the girl and saw she was looking a little glassy eyed. "Hey! What's this?"

"I'm sorry Ben, I was just thinking about how scared I was and how- how he was-" She began to sniff.

Ben pulled her tight and stroked her hair. "Listen, it's over and he's not coming back. It didn't happen and it won't. You can let it go. It's ok."

He felt a shudder go through her frame and she took some deep breaths. When she pulled back she had the beginnings of a smile on her face.

"Go out there and hang ten."

"Oh my god! No one says that anymore," she moaned and Ben shrugged.

She shook her head with a smile, walked over to pick up her surfboard, and walked out into the water to join her friends.

Ben watched her go with a smile on his face. He turned back and went back to his towel. As he sat he looked over at the couple smiling back at him.

"What?"

"You're a good man, Ben," Killah said.

"But we already knew that," Brooklyn said, her hand resting possessively on her man's arm.

Ben smiled and laid back on his towel to enjoy the heat.

He nodded off for a while but woke with a shock when a cold, wet body suddenly covered his.

"GAH!" he yelped, his eyes flying open.

"Mmm! You're so warm!" Trish purred as she stretched out over his hot skin.

"Trish! You're soaking wet!" he exclaimed.

"Of course I am silly! I was just surfing for close to two hours!" she smiled.

He stopped thrashing under her as he felt her grinding ever so slowly against him. She had a wicked smile on her sexy lips. He took her head between his hands and kissed her until she was panting with need and grinding hard.

Then he rolled them over until he was on top and she moaned loudly as he pressed his thickening cock against her more firmly. He quickly pushed himself up and off, standing up and smiling back at her as he jogged up the beach away from the surfers.

Rain laughed at Trish's surprise. That surprise turned into a sexy growl as she rolled to her feet to chase after Ben who was now running towards the water. He crashed into the waves and dove forward when it was deep enough. When he surfaced the water came up to just under his chest. He was well away from the area the surfers were using. Trish surfaced and jumped forward to wrap her arms around him before he could get away.

"Got you!" she growled playfully.

Ben wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "Maybe it's me who has you."

"It's a win either way," Trish grinned. "Kiss me again."

Ben caressed her lips with his and felt her legs wrapping around him pulling his bulge firmly against her pussy. He pulled back from the kiss to move them just a little further out and turn them a little so he could see the incoming waves. As each rolled through he'd jump to keep their faces above water.

Trish was rubbing herself up and down his shaft and her face was turning a little pink as she bit her lip. "Fuck, you feel good!" When he moved his hands down to squeeze her ass cheeks and pull her tighter against him she gasped and kissed him hard. Her tongue slid over his and he sucked on it, making her moan.

Ben was a little distracted by the efforts he was making to keep them from drowning but Trish's hot pussy felt incredible pressing against him. He gripped her ass tight and rocked her firmly against his cock until he heard her begin to gasp and hold her breath as her body tensed up.

She pulled back from their kiss. "Fuck Ben! I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum so hard! FFFFFFFUCK!"

Ben ground her against himself more rapidly and she threw back her head as her body shook through waves of its own. Ben moved a hand up to discretely slip under her bikini to squeeze and tug on a nipple.

"Oohhhhhh... oooohhhhhhh!" Trish gasped once more as she pushed her tit into his hand. She rested her head on his shoulder as she panted for breath.

Once she calmed down she looked at him with a sad face. "You never got to cum!"

"What I got was really nice and enough, for now," Ben replied with a smile. They shared a kiss and got socked by a wave they were too distracted to see coming. They came up sputtering and laughing and began to make their way back into shore. Ben was still showing against is swimsuit so he sent Trish back with a pat on the butt. She grinned back at him and gave him a little extra wiggle. He sat in the shallows until he'd relaxed down below. His stomach grumbled so he stood up and walked back to the group.

"Anyone hungry for lunch?" he asked.

He received smiles and nods for that so he walked down to the edge of the water and called out 'lunch time' very loudly and received some thumbs up from the surfers closest to him. They passed the message outwards until everyone was making their way back in. Leo arrived first and Ben let him know that he'd treat them to lunch once more as this was his going away present to them. Leo thanked him and began passing that message around.

While Leo's group kept their surfboards the others brought theirs back to the rental place having had enough for the day.

They gathered their things and made their way back along the beach towards the Palmelo resort once more and the Assistant Manager was delighted to see them arrive again. This time they took up much more of the dining area.

Killah approached Ben as they found their seats. "Ben, I understand you're picking up the tab for the kids." Ben nodded. "How about we get one bill and we split it when it comes. Makes it easier for everyone."