I woke up on my bed, wearing nothing at all, completely nude. My head was banging and I could barely open my eyes. “Ugh! My head.” I could hear a slight ringing in my ears as I tried to find my phone. My clothes, my bag, everything was scattered on the floor. “God, what happened last night?” I whispered to myself as I reached for my phone that was under the bed.
It was 5:57a.m. according to the screen. I then heard someone in the shower. No! I was naked, extremely naked, did that mean Kai was with me? Did I fuck Kai? Did I bring him back to me and Heath’s place, no less? Oh God, no! How could I go from celibate for more than a year to fucking three men in less than a week? No, no, no! Please, God, no!
I heard the shower come off and I laid back down on the bed and closed my eyes, pretending to still be asleep. He came out and began rummaging through my things. He then took the light off and I peeped with one eye open. It didn’t look like Kai. What the hell? “Heath?”
“Oh good, Pieces, you’re awake.” He answered in his all familiar voice. I got up from my bed and turned on my lamp. He was naked too. “Wha… uh?” He grinned at the confusion on my face. “You don’t remember a thing, do you?”
“Not at all. I was liming with some dude named Kai and then bam, nothing!”
“You called me as I was in a cab on my way to the party. I was planning to surprise you. I know you were drunk, didn’t realise you were that drunk. You didn’t even want to go home. I had to drag you out the party.” He laughed.
“That’s not funny, Heath. Was I bad?”
“You were a lot of things, but na mate, you were more fun than bad.” He winked. “You tried to coax me into having sex in the pool. You didn’t care that there were people around.” My eyes grew wide. “But no worries, love, no one saw you.” He assured me.
“I. Am. Never. Ever. Ever. Drinking again!” I sank back into my bed.
Ping! My phone chimed. Over one hundred and more notifications from both Facebook and Instagram. Holy shit! I looked on IG, pics of Kai and me, Heath and me, and everyone else just living it up. Okay, no foul photos, I am in the clear. Same on Facebook. But damn that party was truly Spring Break outrageous. I had fun! Well, at least what I remember, anyway.
“Reese?” Heath called out.
“Huh?” I turned to him.
“Don’t forget our flight is for nine tonight.”
“Yeah I know, I actually packed all our things yesterday. How was the meeting with your dad?”
“You can’t remember celebrating it last night, huh?”
“Celebrating what?”
“I’m his new Creative Director – full scope.”
“OMG! That’s amazing!” I screamed, jumping in excitement and hugged him.
“I can continue working from home, unless I need to meet with clients… etcetera. But this is what I have always wanted! And Pieces, guess what…”
“What?” I raised my brows suspiciously at him.
“I got you a writing gig.”
“You did?” I asked elatedly.
“Yeah. I know you enjoy it, so why not. And you can work from home as well. That to me is the best part.”
“Wow, this is awesome.” I smiled. “Thank you, Heath, for everything. You’re amazing. Now only if you had the secret to curing hangovers.” I held on to my aching head and he laughed.
“Well you know, Andrews helps with the upset feeling.” He joked.
“Ha, true.” I chuckled.
“I’ll go get you one.”
“Thank you.” I yelled out behind him when he left the bedroom.
Around six that evening, we got ready and left home for LAX in Los Angeles in a hired cab. I couldn’t believe I was about to fly back home after all this time. I was so excited because I hadn’t seen my cousin since I left, she was the only person in my family that I was close to. My mother and I didn’t have the best relationship and the others were too busy with their own lives.
We entered the airport, checked in, passed through security and eventually made our way to the waiting area at our gate. Finally, we were called to board. My heart did so many leaps. I was giddy with joy.
Heath and I boarded the plane and collapsed into our seats. I let out a puff of air. My emotions very apparent on my face. Nervous?” He asked me, taking notice.
“Happy, and yeah a little nervous. We are going to party like there is no tomorrow.” I grinned, reclining my head on the headrest. “I could taste the doubles already.” I trailed off and rolled my head over to the side, looking out the window. Into the darkness outside. Dazzling sparkles of light canvassing far beyond what my eyes could reach.
Ding! The flight attendant came over the intercom – breaking me from my trance – welcoming us to American Airlines, giving us the details of our flight – we were set to land in Jamaica first, then Trinidad – and warning us to fasten our seatbelts as they were preparing for take-off. Phew! The excitement had my stomach swirling with butterflies. Can’t wait! I bit down on my lip hard and turned my attention to Heath. He reclined his head and closed his eyes, slowly exhaling as he waited for the take-off. I once again affixed my attention to the outside of the plane and felt his coarse fingers slipping into mine.
The plane accelerated down the runway and soon began to lift into the air, reaching up to the dark sky, all could be seen were brilliant lights of all shades spread across the land. It was breath taking. Wow! The look of twinkling stars, dazzling as the plane zoomed past it all.
Soon enough, land was nowhere in sight and all I could see was blackness. Deep, dark blue choppy waters below us and possibly ships. I loved flying, even though it was a bit scary, it was incredible. I then decided to close my eyes, my fingers still laced with Heath’s, and drift off into a sea of dreams as the plane continued on its trusted journey.
Unknown to me, our plane had finally landed in Trinidad. I was fast asleep, trying to recuperate from the hangover. “Reese.” My eyes flickered open to see Heath over me with a bottled water in his hand. “Thank you.” I breathed, feeling much better than I did earlier. I drank down the water and organised to clear out of the plane. It was a little after seven in the morning when we arrived.
After we filtered out of the plane and reclaimed our luggage, made it down to the Arrival Hall inside of the Piarco International Airport and looked around, canvassing the very busy area. After my eyes darted across from one person to the next, I finally spotted my cousin, Salimah and her fiancé, Adrien.
Salimah and I were mistaken for sisters a lot, and to be honest, in a sense, we were. We looked very much alike, except she was taller, had black shorter hair and dark eyes. “Reese!” She called out elatedly.
“Sal!” I yelled. “O.M.G.” I ran up to her and hugged her as tight as I could, leaving Heath with the responsibility of the luggage. “Adrien.” I hugged him as well. He was as tall as Salimah and was of East Indian descent; brown skin, brown eyes and straight hair that he always had in a spiked hairstyle. “I missed you guys.”
We all grew up together, best of friends. When Sal and I were sixteen, just out of high school, Adrien invited us to live with him. His parents had given him one of their houses in one of the best neighbourhoods. Then he and Sal decided to get together. Was a little weird at first, but it grew on me – they were cute together.
“Oh shit, how rude of me. Sal you know Heath. Heath, Sal and her fiancé, Adrien.” I introduced them and they shook hands. Heath and Sal were already informally acquainted through skype.
“Hoss, ya sounding like a real yankee.” Adrien laughed.
“Shut it, Adri.” I shoved him playfully.
I took my luggage from Heath and we followed Sal and Adrien out to the canopy. Adrien left us to get the car. When he returned, we loaded our luggage into the trunk and then got in the backseat of the car. Finally! Back home!
“Was the plan?” Sal asked, turning towards us from the front passenger seat.
“Doubles, dude, doubles!” I cried and they laughed. “It’s a must.�
�
We pulled out from the Airport parking lot, now in route to Chaguanas, the central borough of Trinidad. We came out from Caroni – a road that connects to the highway – and headed down the highway.
Heath admired the abundant supply of beautiful green ‘bush’ and businesses that lined the highway.
“God, I love the greenery.” Heath said as he looked out the window.
We passed a few walkovers, and soon enough, we came to the exit ramp to enter Chaguanas on the left. Soca and Dancehall music was blasting on the roadside everywhere we turned. “Wow.” Heath was in awe.
We finally made it on to the main road where pedestrians hustled and bustled on the pavements and even on the roads. Street vendors were at the side of the road begging for sales and a few boys here and there were pushing a huge sound system around advertising the CDs that they were selling. Heath looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. “I call them box boys.” I joked. As we cruised down the road, we came up to Centre City Mall and pulled into its massive parking garage.
“Wow, it’s so vibrant.” Heath smiled, looking highly amused. We walked out of the Mall’s parking lot and back onto the main road, past the neighbouring gas station where a few Doubles vendors were situated. “So, explain to me again, what’s a Double.”
“Doublesssss… and it’s our local street food, inspired by our East Indian culture. It’s like two fried flat breads with curried chick peas in the middle and a variety of yummy sauces and chutneys. You would love it, and if you don’t, you are not the man for me.” I poked him.
We all walked up to the Doubles man. He was serving others and then he turned to me. “Two doubles, everything, slight. Having here.” He shook his head and then handed us both of our doubles in less than ten seconds. “Whoa, he’s fast.” Heath looked stunned, taking his from the vendor.
“Yeah, most of them are.” I said as I grabbed onto my Bara (fried flat bread), scooped up the channa (curried chick peas) and stuffed piece into my mouth.
“So what exactly did you order? I couldn’t understand a word of that
“Oh. Um… I told him I wanted two doubles with every sauce and chutney and slight pepper. And I wanna eat it here.”
“Hmmm, fascinating.”
“Yes, and now we eat with our hands, like this.” He observed as I continued to eat with my hands. He then followed suit, taking his first bite, his face lighting up in sheer satisfaction. He love it. No questions asked.
“Wow, that’s bloody fantastic, mate.” He elated. His face turned red and he began to hiss. “Wow, that’s spicy.” He coughed, his eyes welling with tears.
“Shit. I’m sorry. I forgot you have never really had hot pepper sauce.”
“It’s okay. It’s good.” He hissed.
His facial expression and his words were just a comical combination. He looked like he was about to die, but he couldn’t stop raving about how good it was. The other customers were looking at him like he was a strange being. I guess it’s because he was Caucasian – one, and two – he had an Australian accent. Caucasian people were not really common in that side of Trinidad, they were more frequent in the East-West and North sides – so people had a tendency to stare. And as tall and beautiful as Heath was – it was no surprise he would grab attention.
“I know right.” I responded, completely ignoring our audience.
After Heath and I had our fill on doubles, we returned to the parking garage and got back into the car with Sal and Adrien.
We made our way to Adrien’s house in Lange Park, one of the nicest residential neighbourhoods in Chaguanas, and the most expensive too. I used to live there before I left for California. My room was still intact so I had nothing to worry about.
We pulled up into the carport of the house. The front yard was pretty spacious, with a huge mango tree set out on the front. The house was a decent-sized three bedroom flat. Heath and I jumped out of the backseat and pulled our luggage out of the trunk as Salimah and Adrien walked up to the porch. I pulled up the handle of the suitcase and wheeled it into the house.
The living room was just as I remembered it; that same old tan coloured three-piece sofa set, that scratched up coffee table and 42 inch Samsung Smart TV and smelt like Old Spice. My bedroom door was right beside the TV. I led Heath inside.
It was dark due to my very heavy dark curtains – something I thrived on. I flipped the switch near the door and the light flickered on illuminating my small but cosy room. My ex’s perfume still lingering and very strong. My bed stood smackdab in the middle. To the far right stood my study desk along with a small stereo setup, and on the opposite end of the room was my wardrobe. Yep! Small but cosy. When I turned my head to the right, I took notice of my old Linkin’ Park poster. Oh the nostalgia. Memories of my hardcore rock days flooded my mind. “It feels good to be back.” I muttered, glancing back at Heath. He seemed completely absorbed in it all. As if fully processing everything in front of him. I wheeled my luggage toward my wardrobe and sat on my bed. It was cold. “So, what you think so far?” I cocked my head to the side, my eyes following Heath as he made his way beside me.
“I’m glad I came.” He looked at me with a faint smile on his lips. “Thank you for this, Pieces.”
“And… you haven’t seen a thing yet.” I gloated.
“So…what’s the first order of business?” Heath asked, removing his jacket and tossing it aside.
“I was thinking we could go to the Avenue!” I jumped up.
“What’s the Avenue?”
“It’s where we Trinis go to lime, in town. On the entire strip of road, on the Avenue, there are clubs, lounges, bars and food places one right after the other so there’s like never a dull moment, and they don’t close ‘til like after four in the morning.”
“Interesting.”
“Yes, and then after we party our asses off, we will take a trip to Maracas and cool off. Eat some bake and shark. You would love it.”
“You’ve got me sold, Pieces. I should call my dad and let him know I arrived safely, okay.”
“Okay.” I replied and watched him as he left the room. I hooked up my stereo and began playing Yeah Whatever by Splender – the ultimate throwback of all throwbacks – I pumped up the volume. I then went into the living room and sauntered through the corridor.
There were two doors on either side of the corridor – one was Adrien’s room and the other was Sal’s, but I think one was now an office. At the end of the corridor was the kitchen and dining room and two doors. One led to the bathroom, while the other was the backdoor.
I pushed open the backdoor, stepping out into cool crisp air. The backyard was even bigger than the front. The washing machine and dryer were sitting side by side against the wall near a concrete laundry tub. I walked up to the Swing Chair and sat on it.
Sal and Adrien appeared at the backdoor and walked up to me. “Well, Reese is officially back.” Sal said with a smirk and folded arms.
“Yeah, yuh sure right, ‘cuz nobody else here does play that shit music.” Adrien laughed and sat on one of the Patio chairs. Salimah followed suit.
“Ugh, shut it Adri. Alyuh doh be on my music, okay!” I grinned.
Chapter 10
Jake and Kin were inside their hotel room lying down on a King sized bed. They were wrapped in thick white sheets. His arms around her as she caressed his body. “Can’t believe we finally back in Jamaica.” She said as she snuggled her head on his chest. The warm sunshine coming through the blinds of the window kissed their skin.
“I know. This is a vacation very well deserved and needed, for both of us.” He looked down at her lovingly, his fingertips brushing against her chocolate coloured shoulders. And her long locks hanging off the bed.
“Thank for this, Jacob.”
“You’re welcome, baby.” He looked down at her again and kissed the top of her forehead.
“Or.” She sprung up. “Did you arrange de plane to Trinidad like I asked? Remember Charmaine wah see me befo’ we hea
d back to LA.”
“Yeah Kin, I did. Of course. Leaving tonight. We’ll be back on the morning of the Thanksgiving.”
“Ah. Nice. Ah love yuh, Jacob.”
“Love you, too.” He looked into her eyes and kissed her. His eyes so full of love. She then laid her head on his chest and his smile disappeared, his once warm eyes now cold and dead. The loving emotions now portrayed disappeared with a flick of a switch.
Kai and Joey were seated on a mocha-coloured three-piece sectional at Joey’s Jamaican residence. Joey was leaning over the large glass coffee table, rolling some weed, dressed in three-quarter jeans and a white Tee. Kai had his feet propped on the coffee table with his head buried in a book, he was clad in brown ¾ cargo pants and a white vest.
A 90 inch LED TV mounted on the wall was staring back at them. Behind the sectional stood a dining table, and glass walls leading to the backyard where the pool was, overlooking a green mountainous view.
“First time in Jamaica?” Joey asked as he licked the sides of the paper holding the weed.
“Yes, and how fucking cool is it that we could smoke that shit like we’re in Amsterdam.” Kai’s eyes lit up. He laid the book he was reading beside him and leaned in towards Joey.
“No bruh, we could smoke this shit like we’re in Jamaica!” Joey smiled deviously and lit up his joint. Kai’s face became vacant, as he stared off into the distance. He had been distracted lately. “Man, you alright?” Joey asked sucking on his joint, breaking Kai from his thoughts.
“Uh, yeah, man. It’s just…” He trailed off.
“Just what?” Joey asked, puffing out smoke and passing the joint to Kai.
“This girl I met.”
“Oh no! You’ve been pussy whipped.” Joey laughed hysterically.
“No man, no. Nothing like that. We hardly even kissed. It’s just…”
“That is some sad shit. You hardly kissed the girl and she’s on your mind? Sad.”
In The Spur of Heath (The Spur Series Book 1) Page 19