Only You by Jerry Cole (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) 📕

As he prepared for the trip, Bradley did a little reading of his own on the tropical island and the one thing he learned was that Bali had a little something for everyone. Yes, there were the clubs, and yes there were the beaches, and yoga retreats, and jungle walks etc. But there was also five-star dining, there was some of the best snorkeling in the world, there were resorts finer than any Bradley had ever been to that existed solely to be lounged about in all day long, there were volcano hikes, hidden beaches, pools, camping trips, fishing expeditions, sailing boats for hire and... and... again, Bali literally had everything.

It was because Bali had everything, that Bradley deigned to do everything while he was there. The only catch being that Sherman had to do everything with him.

The first day was a free day, and Bradley decided he’d treat it as such. Seeing as he arrived in the early afternoon, and it was thus too late to go and do anything really, he elected that he and Sherman would spend the rest of the day in the room catching up on some much needed ‘them time.’

They did just that too, with the two of them not even bothering to suggest leaving the room until the next morning. Not that there was even a need to leave such a resplendent setting. It wasn’t quite as nice as the resort in Lisbon, but it was close enough. The room itself was much larger, with a bed that was so big Bradley assumed it had been made for orgies. In the bathroom was a hot tub, in the living room was a large TV with more channels than either man could be bothered to go through, and room service was just a phone call away.

“What do they have here?” Bradley asked soon after the two men had finished their first sexual romp of the trip... and then their second immediately after. It had been hours since Bradley last ate and he was famished.

“Everything,” Sherman shrugged. He lay across the bed, completely naked. For a moment, Bradley just stared at his lover’s naked torso, admiring it in its beauty and simplicity. There was nothing extraordinary about it, but he couldn't get enough.

“All right, Mr. Vague.”

“I’m serious.” Sherman shuffled up the bed and rested his head on Bradley’s shoulder. He gave it a light wet kiss. “Bali actually has some of the best food going – and this resort has it all. You do know how much this place is costing me?”

“I prefer to think of it as a sort of, all expenses paid vacation,” Bradley shrugged.

“Maybe for some,” Sherman winked and then fell back. “They have a website. Go check it out and then order one of everything – you know, we’re not leaving this room until tomorrow morning, right?”

“Fine by me,” Bradley growled. He dropped the phone and climbed back on top of Sherman. The food could wait. Sherman could not.

Their second day in Bali was a ‘tourist day,’ as Sherman was calling it. The two men were staying in a resort just north of Kuta, which had them at pretty much the center of everything. To the south were the beaches, to the north was the forest and jungle, and everywhere else was everything else. For their ‘tourist day’ north was on the agenda, which meant an early start.

“I thought vacations were about sleeping in and relaxing,” Bradley moaned as the two men waddled from their hotel room and toward where their scooters were parked.

“It’s 8am,” Sherman laughed.

“Right, it’s 8am,” Bradley repeated as if this was all the argument he needed. “Just because the sun is up, doesn’t mean I need to be.”

Bradley was only half-joking, of course. The two men had been awake since sunrise – for obvious reasons – and now that they’d showered, eaten, and planned their day, it was time to start living it.

So north they went, about an hour and thirty minutes north to be precise. But even that was enjoyable, as the two rode scooters the entire way. In the real world, scooters were a bit of a hassle and more trouble than they were worth. But in Bali, where road rules didn’t exist, they were as wild a time as one might imagine. Helmets were the only requirement, with literally everything else being on the menu.

For Bradley, a highlight was when he and Sherman raced one another along a long, open stretch of road bordered on both sides by endless rice fields.

“Come on! Is that all you’ve got?!” Bradley shouted as he came up beside Sherman. He blew him a kiss and then took off.

“Brad!” Sherman shouted after him. “That’s danger —” he didn’t hear the rest.

The sun was shining overhead, there wasn’t another car or scooter on the road, and for a moment it felt as if the two men were flying side-by-side. This was what getaways were supposed to be about.

As far as the actual day went, that was lovely too. The town the two were headed for was called Ubud, a jungle village since turned tourist hotspot. As well as its many yoga retreats and getaways (Bradley’s mom had stayed here for her entire trip), it also laid claim to Bali’s Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, the famous Tegallalang Rice Terraces, elephant caves, the Campuhan Ridge Walk, temples, markets, coffee fields and more! Seriously the two men could have spent a week just in Ubud, checking out the sites. But they only had the day, so they crammed in as much as they possibly could. To say it was exhausting would be an understatement.

The following day was supposed to be more relaxing, even though it started earlier than the previous. Today, they were up at 7am and gone by 7:30!