"Aren't you better than me in that aspect?" Archer asked with a wink. All the men looked at each other and shouted in unison, "Hey, Jaz!"
"Only my husband is allowed to call me 'Jaz,' not you guys!" Jazlyn yelled back at them.
With a smug look, Lucas said, "Exactly! You guys carry on. I have to go, it's nature's call!"
Jazlyn burst into laughter when she saw him running towards the villa with a frown.
"What's the matter with him?" Ena asked in surprise.
"Where is Lucas going?" Mary asked. "Why is he in such a rush?" Selah questioned as she passed by him.
Jazlyn couldn't control herself anymore and shot them a mischievous grin. She then motioned for all the women to come to her and said, "Let me tell you a secret..."
Glancing at them, Victor asked, "What are they talking about?"
"What's the big secret?" Barry asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Eight times? Holy crap!¹'
Aisha blurted out all of a sudden. But then, she noticed the men looking at them in confusion and covered her mouth, giggling.
Perplexed, William, Archer, Victor, and Barry exchanged glances. That moment, Barry's younger son ran up to him with a piece of barbequed meat in his hand, and said, "Daddy, try this meat, it's yummy!"
Barry squatted down so that he was the same height as his son, and asked, "Keith, tell me, what is Mommy talking about with your aunts?"
Scratching his head, Keith said, "They said that last night, Uncle Lucas, he... He did something eight times. Mommy said he must be strong! I didn't hear them very clearly, Dad."
"It's already clear enough, dear!" Barry said as he ruffled his son's hair lovingly. Looking at the women, all of the men thought that they knew what their conversation was all about.
After hearing Keith's answer, Victor almost spat out his beer. "What did Lucas even do to get that strong?" he asked.
Archer's mouth was wide open in shock, too. "He was busy with work the entire day yesterday, and yet he could... That's terrific!"
"I wonder what his secret might be," William said, rubbing his chin.
Just as they were talking, Lucas ran out of the villa. Happily Seeing him now, they suddenly had newfound respect for him.
"What's up with all your strange expressions? You all seem shocked!" Lucas said.
"Last night, did you..." William said hesitantly.
"Hush, now! So everyone knows now? Great! Don't say another word, it's already embarrassing enough to be laughed at by Jaz. I am gonna teach her a lesson!" Lucas said frantically.
The men immediately stopped talking about it, but in their minds, they wondered how he would manage to teach his wife a lesson after having sex with her eight times the previous night.
As nightfall approached, the resort became quiet and peaceful.
William grabbed Mary's hand and walked to their room quietly. "What are you doing? You're being very mysterious!"
As soon as she said those words, William pounced on her like a hungry beast and tried to kiss her. However, Mary moved away and asked, "Are you crazy? The kids are still playing outside. Can't you at least wait till they go to bed?"
William continued to take her into the bedroom and said, "Don't worry, the nanny will take care of them. Tonight, you are just for me."
Mary's face turned red. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she asked.
William's heart was blazing with passion. Since Mary already knew about Lucas' "strengths," he thought that he had to prove himself, too. He wanted to show her that he could be just as strong a man as Lucas was.
"I already made plans for tonight with Selah and the other girls. Can we do this later, maybe?" she asked hesitantly.
"Don't worry, none of them will be coming, either," William replied with a mischievous grin.
"Why not?"
When Mary saw that William responded to her question with silence, she understood that there must be some understanding between the men.
Meanwhile, Elissa was at the beach, building a sand castle. "Where did all our parents go all of a sudden? Mom went with Dad, and Uncle Barry went with Aunt Selah."
Glancing at the brightly lit resort, Alick said, "Auntie Aisha was also dragged away. And so was Aunt Ena!"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Contract