by Smoke, Lucy
With a sigh, he answered, talking quietly in a language I had heard at the airport but didn’t know the name of. He moved away and as soon as he was out of the room, I feel the tension leave my body. Jay watched me with curious eyes.
"So," he started, biting into a loaf of bread, "I hear you and Wren went on a date last night."
All too soon, the tension was back. My shoulders stiffened and my spine straightened. How much do I tell him? I wonder. I don't want to lie. I'm not a liar. But...I also don't want to hurt his feelings. Surely he knows about—
"Hey, don't worry," Jay said, nodding to me. "It's not a big deal. It's none of my business—" I hate his flippant tone. It tells me he's hiding something. So, I reach forward and put a hand over one of his on the table, cutting him off.
"I'm sorry," I said, not looking at him. "It's not that." I inhaled a deep breath, daring myself to be brave. It felt like I used it all last night, though. I wanted something and I went for it. Where is the Jen who did that? Where is the Jen who told Wren exactly what she wanted...and got it? I knew I had to find her again. "I just don't know how to do this, really..." I finished, feeling awkward, but finally allowing myself the chance to look at Jay's expression.
He wasn't angry or judgmental. He just looked at me with curious eyes, his friendly face an open book. One that was just as confused as me. "About you and Wren..." he said. "Are the both of you together now?"
"It's not exactly like that," I said, taking my hand away and shaking my head. "It's casual. I'm not looking for a relationship right now." I fought the urge to look towards the doorway where Preston had exited.
"So...you're not..." Jay looked at me, his eyes burning with intensity. It shocked me so much that I pulled back a bit more, my back bumping into the spine of the chair. "Jen," he said, leaning forward as I leaned back. With his tan skin and his wild hair, he looked like a handsome, albeit rugged, man. All of it had my attention. "Would you go on a date with me today?"
I blinked, looking up at him. Of all the things I expected him to say, asking me on a date was not one of them. "Um...you're asking me on a date?" I felt like an idiot repeating what he had said, but this could not be happening to me.
I hadn't been on a real date in six years. Until the night before, I hadn't had a whole lot of sex in six years. And all of a sudden in the span of forty-eight hours, I was asked out twice and having sex again. It felt unreal.
"I am," Jay said, his gaze captivating.
My lips moved before my mind had caught up. "I had sex with Wren last night." My eyes widened as I said it. But it was better that I was open about it. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea about me. "I'm not..." I started, wanting to defend my actions, but Jay shook his head.
"You don't have to explain yourself to me," he said. "You're an adult and, anyway, I already knew."
"You knew?" I squeaked. A different kind of shock rippled through me. I had trusted Wren. He couldn't have—
As if he knew exactly where my thoughts were going, Jay stopped them in their tracks. "Wren didn't tell me," he explained. "I just kind of figured that you and him might have done something when I saw the both of you come back last night."
"You saw us?" I really needed to stop repeating everything he said.
He nodded. "You looked intimate," he said. "There is a different way that people move when they've opened themselves up. I'll admit, I was jealous."
"You were?" It was like all of my brain cells had dried up, or packed their bags and run back to America.
"I was, and I'm glad that you're not serious. It means I still have a chance." That grin of his was enticing and wicked. It sucked all of the breath out of my chest. A rush of heat flooded my cheeks as he stood up from the table and reached down for my hand. He lifted it up and bent over, pressing his lips to the crest of my knuckles. "Let me have a chance, Jenique," he said. "I can promise to make it exciting."
I didn't know what to say or how to respond. But I did know that I had never in my life had a proposal such as this. I thought what had happened with Wren was an anomaly. I'd had an itch to scratch and so had he...I didn't know it would be so amazing. Then, when it had been...I just let myself be consumed by it. I had still been floating so high on that orgasmic bliss when we returned that I hadn't even noticed Jay's presence.
"Please, Jen." Jay gripped my hand and pulled me from my seat. He towered over me, a shining presence. So full of life and sun and beauty and humor. He leaned down once more, this time closer so that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my cheeks as he spoke. "Let me take you with me for the day," he said. "You won't regret it."
South Africa was becoming a lot of things to me. An adventure. A new opportunity. The chance of a lifetime. A beginning. Of all the things I thought about my actions here, regret was the furthest thing from my mind.
So, I said, "Yes."
* * *
“Did you know that the sun is almost a perfect sphere?”
I scrunched up my nose and turned my face towards Jay. “I didn’t take you for the random facts guy.”
Jay smiled and shrugged. “I can do more than make jokes.” He moved in close, pushing me up against the market stall.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” I couldn’t help but smile back. His grin was contagious, and I let it overtake me. Jay was on another level today. He was easy-going and laid back and so incredibly charming and sweet, I was sure I’d have to see a dentist when I got back home.
The idea of leaving, however, left me with an achy feeling in my chest. It wasn’t just because I would miss Jay and Wren—though I would, for sure. Things still didn’t sit right with me about Preston. I came to South Africa thinking I could get a little adventure and I had gotten that—with a dose of two hot as sin safari guides that were trying their damnedest to get my attention.
“But just what are your random facts supposed to prove to me then?” I asked, turning my attention upward and letting said sun rest on my face, warming my skin.
Jay moved forward, standing over me and his shadow moved to block out the sun. “Impress you?”
I laughed. “Was that an answer or a question?”
“Both?”
I continued to chuckle and turned my gaze away, examining the local area. I never expected that he’d take me to a farmer’s market for a date, but I had to admit it was kind of the perfect place. The scent of barbeque and roasting veggies surrounded us, making my mouth water. My stomach growled despite the fact that we had eaten breakfast just two hours ago.
“Come on, I know a good stall.” He took my hand and led me away from the empty stall we had stopped to take a break near.
I followed him, marveling at the people around me. I wished I had brought my camera. I would have loved to take photographs. The sights. The sounds. The languages—I could hear multiple being spoken. It was breathtaking. Looking around, I would have never imagined Africa like this. I didn’t know what I would have imagined. Everything I knew about the continent, much less South Africa, had come from textbooks that I hadn’t reviewed in over a decade. It was beautiful. No paragraph in any textbook could have accurately described the diversity or the atmosphere of culture and...enchantment.
“They have the best braai I’ve ever had here,” Jay said as he pulled me in front of a stand.
“Braai?” I asked. I had never heard the term before.
“Yes.” Jay put two fingers up and pointed to something on the hanging menu behind the woman at the stall. He said something in the same language Preston had spoken earlier. “It’s called barbeque in America.”
“I like barbeque!” I said excitedly.
He looked at me, grinning from ear to ear. “Then you’ll love this.”
But I wasn’t too sure about that, because, in the next instant, Jay leaned around me, his smile slipping away. “Jay?” I called his name, but his focus was somewhere else, on someone else. I turned my head, following his gaze. “What is it?” I asked.
Across the s
treet, there were two men with scruffy looking beards climbing into a Jeep. Jay watched them as though he knew them, but he neither called out to them nor waved. Only when I touched his arm did he jerk as though he had been shocked.
“Hey,” I said, “are you okay?”
He shook his head, looking down at me before looking back up as the men started their vehicle and pulled out. “No,” he said, “we have to go.” Jay turned to the woman behind the stall. He said something quick in that strange, but beautiful language before he was suddenly hauling me away.
“Wait, where are we going?” Jay moved us through the crowd with speed, ducking and turning, and avoiding over-enthusiastic sellers.
“We have to get back to the clinic,” he answered. “I have to tell Wren and Doc.”
“Tell them what?” We got to the vehicle and Jay shoved me into the passenger side, leaving me breathless and confused, before sprinting around and leaping into the driver’s seat. “Jay?” He started the car and pulled out, backing up and then jerking the car into drive. “Jay!” I reached over and touched his leg. “What the hell is going on?” I demanded. “Talk to me.”
His dark, molten eyes—dark as burnt soil—looked over at me. There was worry in his gaze, a concern stretched too thin. He pulled away and focused on driving. The bumps that rattled the front end of the Jeep seemed both louder and farther away at the same time. How? I couldn’t say. “Doc told you about the poachers that hurt Leo right?” he asked.
“Yeah, what does that have to do with any…” Realization overcame me. “That was them?” I clarified.
He nodded. “I don’t know what they’re doing back in this area, but I know those kinds of people. They aren’t the type to just give up and walk away. I have to tell Doc. He’s going to want to check on Leo. Maybe some of the other animals he’s been looking after.”
“You think they’re going to try something?”
Jay shook his head, a frown marring his face. It was unusual and I didn’t like it on him. “I don’t know, Jen. I hope not, but…”
“Okay,” I said. I reached over again and, this time, when I touched his leg, it was for reassurance. “It’ll be okay,” I promised. “Let’s just try to get back to the clinic in one piece.”
He nodded and eased up on the gas, but his hands didn’t loosen from their death grip on the steering wheel. It was a minor concession. I had to content myself with that.
Chapter 10
“You’re sure it was them?” I watched as Preston paced back and forth, his face a mask of concern. Wren stood just a few steps behind him, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
“I’m positive, Doc,” Jay said. “Like I said, I took Jen to town and they were getting into their car. I saw the guns in the back.”
I blinked, glancing back at Jay. I hadn’t seen any guns but, then again, I had barely been paying attention, I had been so focused on Jay. I trusted him. I believed him. The thought of those men—the poachers—being back in this area was startling and a little scary.
“Shouldn’t we let the authorities know?” I asked.
Preston shook his head, slapping a hand to his forehead. He shoved that hand up, moving it through the thick, dark strands of his hair. He looked so distressed. I clenched my hands into fists at my sides as I fought against the urge to go to him. He looked almost the same as he had six years ago.
My mind flashed to an image of him pacing back and forth in my dorm room.
“I feel like I failed,” he said, striding from one end of the room to the other. He paused in front of the door, whirled around and paced back to me. “That damn professor didn’t cover half of the shit that was on the test.”
I laughed, shaking my head as I sat on my bed. “You’ll be fine,” I assured him. “Finals have us all stressed to the max.”
“Stressed, yeah, I feel fucking stressed.” Preston stopped in front of me, his ocean eyes staring down at me. “But you relax me, Jen. You know that?” His smile was soft and sweet. “Sometimes, I feel like you’re the only thing that relaxes me.”
I swallowed with difficulty, a blush rising to my cheeks. “I-I’m glad to hear that.” I stared at his mouth—the softness of his lips—and I wondered how they would feel on mine.
I shook the memory away, sucking in a sharp breath. “Why not?” I asked, directing my attention to the mention of authorities.
“They can’t do anything,” Wren answered, stepping forward. “Those men are known poachers, but unless they get caught red-handed, then they’re as good as free.”
“What are we supposed to do then?”
“We’ll have to go out more,” Preston said. “Check on Leo and the other animals. We’ll have to take shifts.”
I nodded. “Okay, I can—”
“No!” I blinked as Wren, Jay, and Preston all shouted at once. They stopped and looked at each other for a moment before Preston dropped his arm from his hair and moved across the room, coming to stand in front of me.
“I understand you want to help, Jen.” His hands settled on my shoulders. “But it’s too dangerous. Poachers can make a lot of money selling certain animal hides. We’re talking thousands of American dollars. We don’t know how determined these men are. We don’t know if they’d be willing to hurt someone or even kill them to get their prize.”
My mouth dropped open in shock. “Kill someone?”
“It’s been known to happen before,” Jay’s voice was low, quiet.
“There’s a local anti-poaching security team,” Wren said. “We’ll go ahead and contact them, but it’ll take a while for them to get here. I heard they were having problems a few towns north of here. They may not have the manpower available to send people right now.”
“What about rangers?” I pressed, leaning around Preston. His hands clamped down on my shoulders and he moved back in front of my field of vision, blocking my view of Wren.
“Before we talk any more about this, I need you to promise us something, Jen.”
“What?”
“Promise us you’ll stay out of it.”
I gaped at him. “Are you kidding me?” I stepped back, slapping his hand away. “You just told me that there’s a possibility that these men might kill someone to get ahold of an animal—not just an animal, one of your animals. One of your patients. And you want me to just butt out?”
“He’s right, Jen.” I whirled on Jay, but he kept talking. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I can’t believe—”
“Sweetheart,” Wren butted in, “be smart about this, it’s not like we can do anything right now as it is.”
“We know you’re worried,” Jay said, “and with good reason, but please, you’re not trained.”
“And you are?” I snapped, backing up so that I had the three of them in my sights.
Jay and Wren exchanged looks. Preston didn’t take his gaze off of me. “Yes,” he said. Jay and Wren remained silent. “We’re trained. We had to be to come out here. You’re not, Jen. We don’t want you to get hurt.”
“What about Leo?”
“We’ll figure something out,” Preston said. “Why don’t you go back to the house for now?”
I didn’t know what else I was supposed to do. I was irritated, but at the same time, they were right. I didn’t have any training. What was I going to do? Drive out into the middle of the nowhere looking for trouble?
“I want you guys to keep me up to date on everything that happens,” I demanded.
Wren nodded. “We will.”
He looked sincere. Hell, they all looked sincere. I bit my lip and turned away, leaving the clinic, and headed out across the parking lot. I reached the door to the house and let myself inside, going immediately to my room. South Africa was six hours ahead of Florida. I knew it would be late when I called, but I had to talk to Noelle.
I sat on my twin bed and held my cellphone to my ear. The reception wasn’t the greatest, but I had been able to check my emails, so hopefully, it would let me ca
ll out. I huffed impatiently as I waited for my sister to pick up.
“Jen! Oh, my God! I haven’t heard from you. How is it? How’s South Africa?”
A tear slipped out and trailed down my cheek. I hadn’t heard her voice in so long. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I took a moment to collect myself, but that only sent her into a worried tangent.
“Jen? Are you there? Oh, my God. Is this one of those taken things? Are there people after you? Shit! I don’t know karate. Jen? Can you hear me? Cough once for yes.”
I laughed, sniffing back more tears. “I can hear you. I’m fine. You’re not Liam Neeson.”
“Thank God,” she breathed through the phone. “So, is everything okay then?”
“Well, actually...no,” I admitted with a sigh. “It’s not okay. There’s just...so much. I did something and then there are people—it’s a long story.”
There was some quiet shuffling around on the other end. I heard Noelle say something to who I assumed was John, and then the soft sound of a door shutting. “Okay, sorry about that. Just had to get away—John’s going to a friend’s house. I’m gonna put some tea on and then tell me all about it. I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I miss you.”
“Oh, babe, I miss you too.”
I listened quietly as Noelle chattered while she started making tea. She talked about her salon and some friends of John’s whose names I barely recognized. I laid back against the mattress, only half-listening, just basking in the sound of her voice.
“Okay,” she finally said, “I’m ready.” I heard the clink of porcelain in the background. “Tell me everything.”
And I did. I told her about Preston. About Wren and Jay. About the sex. About the poachers and Leo. I talked for so long, by the time I was finished, my throat was dry.
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I know.”