Safari Island Shifters: The Complete Collection(3)
Branch made it sound simple, but most of the women they met were with groups or their families. Not exactly prime pickings or open to meeting guys for more than vacation fun. Still, it was better than sitting home alone.
“Maybe I’ll go a few more times,” Chet relented.
“That’s my guy. You like it here, don’t you?”
“I love living in Safari Town. I think it would be a great place to raise a family with all the additions they’re doing to the town.”
Branch nodded. “That’s the whole point. They don’t want to lose talent because they all find mates. Plus, having more families around makes the place more family-friendly. Gotta balance out all the hedonism on the other side of the island.”
Chet didn’t know if you could ever balance out the hedonism of Club Safari. But he was willing to give the club another try. He didn’t think he would find his mate, but he wasn’t ready to give up his life Safari Island just yet. It was a one in a million shot but maybe he would find his mate on the island.
Two
“There’s your bag!” Lily sprinted over to the carousel and grabbed Addison’s bag. “Only two more to go.”
Addison kept her eyes peeled for Addison’s bright lilac luggage. She brushed the back of her neck with her fingers self-consciously while she waited. Now that her neck was exposed, she felt strange in public. She’d always heard that heavy girls shouldn’t have short hair. The beauty “rule” had taken a long time to break. She loved her new haircut, but she couldn’t help feeling like people were staring at her and judging her. She thought the curly bob looked great and she loved how quickly she could do her hair in the mornings. It shouldn’t have mattered what other people thought, but it would take some getting used to.
When she spotted the rest of Lily’s bags, she ran forward to retrieve them. In total, they had brought five bags for a five-day trip. It had cost a fortune in fees to bring so many bags, but Lily had insisted. There was no chance they wouldn’t have clothes for every occasion.
“You think we can get someone to carry these to the bus?” Lily looked around for an attendant. “Watch the bags. I’m going to ask the guy over there.”
Addison watched their luggage and the people strolling past them. Safari Island attracted a diverse clientele. There were as many families as rowdy single people. No surprise, most of the single people were women.
The rumor was that SI employed mostly men. Addison had been reading online reviews for the new resort and the very attractive employees were mentioned frequently. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought she was reading reviews for an escort service. It didn’t matter what a tight butt the bellhop at the hotel had. She wanted to know about the amenities.
“Found someone.” Lily happily pointed to the man driving a bag shuttle.
He stopped his shuttle in front of Addison and tipped his hat. He was tall and had a deep tan that set off his deep green eyes. “Welcome to Safari Island, ma’am. Let me get those bags for you.”
Lily waggled her eyebrows and elbowed Addison when she sat down on the shuttle. “Look at those dimples. This trip is going to be freaking sweet.”
The man put their bags on the back, then hopped back into the driver’s seat. “I’ll take you ladies to the Wild Resort shuttle and get your bags on board. Hang on.”
“Have you been to the resort?” Addison asked as they made their way across the crowded airport.
“Have not.” The man kept his eyes on the floor. He was driving around tourists with ease. “I hear it’s very nice, though. Only been open a few months, but I’ve seen the crowds get bigger here each week.”
“We won our trip,” Lily said proudly. “All expenses paid and everything. I’m going to drink the whole mini bar in our room.”
The man laughed and turned to look at them. “Of course you ladies won your trip. They’re pushing hard to get beautiful human women out here.”
Addison blushed and touched her bare neck. “The contest wasn’t for women only. A man could have won too.”
He shook his head. “They advertise those things on sites ladies frequent and in women’s magazines. Odds are not a lot of men even saw the contest. It’s pretty smart, if you ask me. When pretty ladies see that their kind are partying here, they’ll feel safe and want to come party too. If you have pretty women, you’re going to get single men coming here too.”
“I hope there are lots of single men around the pool.” Lily laughed.
The passed through the doors to the outside and Addison gasped. “Whoa.”
“I know,” the man said, slowing to a stop next to a bus. “This place is paradise. And this is just the airport. Wait until you see the beach.”
He put their bags under the bus. Lily gave him a tip discretely. “Thank you for your help. We’re Lily and Addison by the way.”
He winked and tipped his hat to them again. “Anytime. My name’s Max. I’m sure I’ll see you lovely ladies at Club Safari.”
Addison was enjoying the trip already. No one had shoved her in the airport and the baggage guy was a dream. There were baobab trees with colorful birds flocking around them and tall grass just behind the giant bus. The air was warm but not terribly humid and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. She couldn’t wait to get out of her travel clothes and into a swimsuit.