Free Antigua Kiss by Anne Weale

white, she found the Sea Island Cotton Shop and there, in Margaret's favourite dark red, a batik-printed overblouse which was equally attractive.
    However, she had no parcels with her when she joined the others at their table in the shady courtyard which was their rendezvous.
    Ash had risen to his feet when he saw her pausing in the gateway.
    'Nothing tempting?' he asked, with a raised eyebrow, seeing she carried only her shoulder bag.

    'Oh, yes, any number of temptations,' she said, as he pulled a chair out for her. 'But Margaret, who's travelled a lot, advised me not to do my shopping straightaway. She said it was better to wait and see.'
    'What would you like to drink?'
    He had a glass of lager in front of him, and John had a pink concoction which was probably a mixture of fruit juices.
    Christie was glad to be sitting down in the shade. It was extremely hot in the streets. She would have been more comfortable in a loose sun-dress, but was wearing a short-sleeved blouse to protect her shoulders. Where it was tucked inside the waistband of her skirt, making a double layer of fabric, she felt unpleasantly sticky, although Ash with a leather belt slotted through the loops on his shorts looked cool enough. But he was acclimatised and she wasn't.
    'What is an Antigua Kiss?' she asked, remembering the drinks mentioned by the Manager of the Colony.
    To her astonishment, he reached for one of her hands and, lifting it, pressed it to his lips before replacing it on the arm of her chair.
    'That's the mid-morning, public version. There are others—more exciting—which I should be happy to demonstrate at suitable moments.' As he spoke, he was looking at her mouth.
    Christie felt herself turning as pink as the stuff in John's glass.
    'Y-you know what I mean ... it's a drink,' she stammered in confusion.
    'Oh, really? It's a new one on me. I've heard of an Antiguan Smile.
    Why not have a rum punch? That's as refreshing as anything.'
    Without waiting for Christie's assent, he gave the order to the waitress.

    At this point, much to her relief, a diversion was created by a large green lizard scuttling across the courtyard, passing under several tables and causing squeaks from some elderly female tourists sitting at them. To John's delight it ran past him before taking cover among some plants, giving Christie a moment or two to recover her self-possession.
    No doubt Ash had only been teasing, and it had been stupid of her to show she was flustered. She ought to have laughed it off, not reacted like a nervous schoolgirl.
    For lunch he took them to the Runaway Beach Hotel which was not very far out of town. He had told her to bring their bathing kit and, before lunch, they had a swim, but did not try out their new masks.
    'Haven't you any bikinis with you?' he asked, when Christie had changed her wet green suit for a dry black one.
    She shook her head. 'December is not a good time to buy inexpensive beach things. All the chain stores are selling warm clothes. It's not hard to find expensive swimsuits for people going on winter cruises, but I didn't want to spend the earth when I'm only here for a few weeks.'
    'No, but you ought to have a bikini or you won't get your middle brown. Bettina's stuff tends to be pricey, I believe, but not all the boutiques are expensive.'
    'Aunt Christie does brown her tummy when nobody's looking except me,' said John.
    Ash's mobile left eyebrow went up. 'You surprise me. Toplessness merely, or complete nudity?'
    'Neither. John means that I sometimes sit on our verandah in my underwear which, to anyone passing, would look like a bikini,' she answered. 'Is there much topless sunbathing here? I haven't seen any at the Colony.'
    'No, you wouldn't. It's not encouraged. Although there are plenty of secluded coves where people can lie in the raw without offending anyone else. Personally I prefer to exert a little imagination, if not too much.'
    A certain glint in his eye made her suspect that, had John not been