by Kendra Riley
“You mean you’re the less complicated vegan?” he said with a laugh. “So, what are we going to feed you? You’re the first semi-vegetarian in these parts.”
“I bought eggs on my grocery trip.”
“That doesn’t sound like a fun barbecue party, now does it?” he said. “What if I make some vegetarian kebabs? Easy to grill, too.”
“I’d like that,” she found herself saying. “Thank you.”
She watched him as he deftly began grilling the meats, and the smoke rose into the air, filling the courtyard with the juicy scent of pork belly and chicken. He was doing this while drinking a beer. His arm muscle strained as he lifted the chunks of meat, and she couldn’t help but stare. Apparently, he saw this, and he grinned at her.
Damn you, Zac, she thought, damn you for being Mr. Nearly Perfect. She broke into a weak smile.
Chapter6
“What’s a pool party without people in board shorts and bikinis?” he had told her earlier. Sara excused herself to change, apparently intimidated by the minimal peer pressure put on her. The rest of the people were already dressed in their pool finery, some wading in the pool to cool off from the late afternoon heat, the others drinking beer.
Zac figured Sara hadn’t seen everyone in the complex, seeing the expression in her eyes. There were seventeen of them tonight, out of the supposed twenty lodgers, all working for the different branches of Turner Industries.
He had begun to place the meats on large ceramic plates, when he heard someone clear her throat.
“Can I help with something?” Sara asked him as he spun around.
He blinked, his mind quickly remembering how she looked in a yellow bikini with tiny white dots splattered on it, without the need to stare. How did that song go again? It was an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka-dot bikini… He cleared his throat. “Well, the potatoes on the stick,” he began, “I placed olive oil and fresh rosemary and dill on it.”
She smiled, happy at the sight of something that wasn’t meat. “Great.”
He suddenly felt self-conscious, and he wanted to kick himself—if only he could. He took a deep breath—nothing to it. So what if she looked great in a bikini? He hadn’t given it much thought; he had probably assumed she’d look normal, on the skinny side. Her wrists looked skinny, and he once wondered if she even had time to eat or did she survive plainly through academics and work?
Well, you thought wrong, he told himself. She was curvy in the right places, and while she didn’t have the figure that could’ve given her a modeling career, she looked great. It was evident in the way some of the guys stared, and he noticed that, too.
“Glad you brought along something for swimming.”
“This is a place with more than a hundred beaches on one coast alone,” she said with a faint smile. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He found himself chuckling. Well, at least she had a sense of humor that needed to be shed out of those shirts and pants combo. “Point taken. Sorry, I only have bell peppers and potatoes and a few onions. I don’t want you going hungry.”
“I can boil or fry some eggs.”
“I don’t want to tempt you into eating meat, but won’t you try again?” he asked her.
“Not until I no longer have a choice,” she replied.
He sighed. “I did my best, without being annoying.”
“Just a little annoying.”
“And now I have your attention,” he told her casually, as if dismissing it as a joke. There was some house music playing in the background, and he saw her sway a little.
“You like to dance?” he asked her.
She stiffened. “Uh, sometimes.”
Shouldn’t have asked, he thought. “Well, so do I, if my two left feet don’t get in the way.”
Sara smiled a little as she transferred the grilled vegetables on a plate. “You don’t mind if I eat these now, do you?”
“Nope, seeing you’re the only one who needs more of that tonight.”
She blew on the potatoes and bit a little into it. “These are great.”
“You mean the herbs are great.”
“Nah, these are great,” she said.
He felt his chest puff up just a little, not too much, lest she notice it. “Thanks. Do you mean it?”
“Of course I do. You went out of your way to feed me.”
Step one. Be her friend. Wasn’t that how dating worked? He hadn’t dated anyone past second dinner in so long that he was losing his touch. It hadn’t been easy to ask Miranda out, but at least she had been his classmate in a few minor subjects, so making friends was easy. This—this was different. He was going out of his way to be her “friend”. He almost laughed aloud.
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, with the interns eating and drinking, being young and merry. He enjoyed sitting in the cool water with Sara, who had her head rested against the edge of the pool. She also had her eyes closed. What was she thinking of?
“When are we leaving for Kakadu?” she suddenly asked him with her eyes still closed.
She was still thinking about her studies. It figured.
“Tomorrow, a bit of a short notice, but I’m sure you’re ready,” he replied. “Hope you’ve got your insect repellant on hand.”
“Anything else I should expect? I mean you’ve gone there, more than twice right?”
“Ten times in my entire life,” Zac replied.
“Sounds like a lot of knowledge.”
“I try to remember most of it. I’d encourage you to pack light. There’s a couple of hours trek with equipment on hand.”
She nodded. “I can’t wait.”
Neither can I, he thought.
Chapter7
She had awoken early in the morning, quite early to say the least. The flight wasn’t until nine in the morning, and it was barely five. Something was wrong, she suddenly thought. She took a deep breath and shook her head. You’re overthinking again.
She looked at her unpacked backpack, and decided she would start on that after breakfast. They were to meet here at seven-thirty. Danny Porter was coming, along with three other researchers affiliated with the zoo. She was the only female, she was told. Sara breathed a sigh of relief knowing her period wasn’t due anytime soon. That would have made for a killer combination, with a lack of basic amenities if they were so far out from the comforts of the nearest hotel.
Their commercial flight was via Darwin, and Zac had told her beforehand that he needed to check on certain work-related things in Darwin and Jabiru. She had wondered what work-related things he meant. Was there another zoo there that she didn’t know of? Regardless, Sara packed, and she packed quickly. She wasn’t the girly girl her parents had thought she’d turn out to be. The clothes she had packed were mostly lightweight and quick dry, except for the boots.
An hour and a half and two croissants later, she saw Danny Porter sitting in the middle of the courtyard, talking to Zac. It surprised her to see Zac so early. She had thought he’d be his usual self, his uncoordinated schedule messing with everyone else’s.
I guess he respects a team schedule, after all, she thought. She had enjoyed their conversations last night. It wasn’t a filler conversation, and they didn’t talk about the weather, either. It was light, a bit of getting to know each other, and Zac certainly knew how to make her feel comfortable.
She assumed it was part of who he was, and it made things quite challenging for her. Sure, he acted like a kid sometimes, and he liked to joke around, but she realized it was part of his charm. Her last boyfriend had been pleasant and serious, far more serious than she was…if that was possible.
“Hey Sara,” Zac greeted her with a smile.
The guy seemed to be up and about, despite the party ending past eleven in the evening.
“Hi Zac, Hi Mr. Porter,” she greeted. “Who are we waiting for?” She saw that the pool hadn’t been taken down yet, and she figured that people were still going to use it later. The morning had started out quite hot,
anyway.
“Just John Mitchell, Michael McBride, and Dalton Holt. You remember them, right?” Danny told her.
She nodded. John Mitchell was studying the Antilopine wallaroo, Dalton Holt was studying the quoll, and she wasn’t quite sure if Michael studied migratory birds. She was studying the overall park, a broad scope, which could be narrowed down after this visit. She had hoped something great would come out of her studies. For a brief moment, she had strongly considered staying in Australia after she graduates. The Met Zoo seemed like an ideal place to grow both professionally and mentally, she thought.
The three men arrived fifteen minutes later, with John yawning quite often and Dalton not quite awake yet, even though his large backpack was slung on his back. Michael was busy on his phone, apparently playing a game.
“Alright, let’s get a move on,” Danny announced. “Mustn’t be late for the plane.”
“Are we getting a chartered plane?” John asked.
“Who do you think you are? The prime minister?” Danny chuckled.
The drive to the airport was quiet, with Danny and Zac making occasional talk. John and Dalton had fallen asleep again, while Michael looked outside the passenger window listlessly. Sara recalled they had imbibed a lot of beer last night. It was something that made her smile a little. Nope, they didn’t want to miss this for the world, just like her, no matter how tired they were.
The driver dropped them off at departure, and they shuffled into the terminal.
“We don’t have our stuff,” Sara suddenly said. “For research…”
John and Dalton grinned. “Those were sent way ahead, all thanks to Zac, our all-around go-to guy.”
So he really was the go-to guy? “Oh.”
It dawned on Sara that she didn’t know what Zac’s family name was. In fact, no one had said what it was. Everyone just called him Zac. It had to be short for something, right? She had wanted to ask him this, but she figured she’d reserve it for later, as a conversation starter. She wanted to be as casual and as comfortable as he had made her feel. Was the possible for her?
Anything is possible, she thought. I’m already here, aren’t I? I’m already acquainted with some really hot guy from the zoo… She shook her head and forced a smile at the lady behind the counter. She presented her ticket, along with the rest of the team.
The lady smiled genially at Zac, and the guy just had to give a smile that made her weak at the knees just a little. Why must I do this to myself, she sighed. Noticing everything about him, from his pectoral muscles down to his wide grin—it wasn’t good for her.
You’re here for research, she thought, and it’s not professional to have these thoughts about your coworker.
An hour later, their small commercial plane was off on a four hour and twenty-five minute long flight to Darwin. They were to have an overnight stay at Darwin, then drive out early to Jabiru after. She made a mental note to be ready for anything and everything.
“Oh, we’re sitting next to each other,” Zac said, “you don’t mind?”
“The seats were already preassigned,” she reasoned out. Was it coincidence? Was it to make her feel awkward about it? Did he know that she found him appealing? Appealing was the best word to use. She was too old to have crushes, anyway. Yes, she found him appealing. He was everything any woman would want, he was smart and funny, good-looking to boot… and he was going to sit right beside her for the next four hours and twenty-five minutes of her life.
What were they going to talk about? How was she going to start a decent conversation—one that didn’t make her sound dumb or desperate? Desperate for what? To talk to a guy? There were lots of decent guys out there, but he just had to be in the right place, at the right time—right beside her.
She took a breath as she made her way into the seat by the window. Zac followed suit. No one was seated by the aisle, she realized, and he could have taken that seat and given her some space, but he didn’t.
As soon as the plane took off, she took out her laptop from her bag, just to settle her nerves.
“You okay?” he asked her.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Don’t you need sleep?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. Looks like you need it.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I do. Catch you later.”
He pulled his cap down to cover part of his face. There was a part of her that felt disappointed that he didn’t feel like talking, but there was also a part of her that felt relief that she didn’t have to talk haphazardly. She spent the next hour typing her experiences at the Met Zoo, as she had sworn to do so while she was on a scholarship and internship in a foreign country.
It was like a blog of sorts, a blog that didn’t quite catch up to anyone yet since she refused to let it. She hadn’t ended up a singer or a dancer or something entertaining. Sometimes, she thought she was boring, but she was boring with a purpose. Who would be interested in a black girl’s adventures down under? Yet, she wrote. She wrote about her day to day activities, leaving all these write-ups unpublished. She wrote for relaxation, carefully omitting her growing affection for the man who was asleep beside her.
“So, you write, huh?” his sleepy voice said.
She stopped quickly, and shut her laptop. “You’re up. How long have you been staring at my laptop?”
“Not long enough,” he said with a yawn. “You should publish that you know.”
“How do you know it isn’t published?” she said, raising a brow.
He smiled at her. “Pretty obvious, mind you. So, why don’t you share stories online?”
She shrugged. “I’m not ready for it yet.”
“I’d say your life’s pretty interesting as it is.”
“I’m actually pretty boring,” she admitted.
He grinned. “If you were boring, I wouldn’t have attempted to make you laugh.”
“You’d make anyone laugh,” she told him, “it’s like you’re born with it.”
“What am I? Some makeup brand?” he laughed. “I’m not telling you to open up your whole life to the world, seeing how picky you are with people…but maybe you could allow yourself some fun.”
“I’m not picky with people,” she frowned. Stop trying to read through me; don’t make me feel like I’m regretting even liking you. “And I have fun,” she added.
“Sure you do.”
“I’m trying my best to be a decent human being here.”
“You’re already decent,” he told her, “try sincerity.”
“Oh, What? You don’t think I’m sincere?” Hell no. He did not just say that.
He smiled at her. “You’re too careful. Loosen up. The more you’re guarded, the more people think you aren’t sincere, or that you’re hiding something.”
“I’m not hiding anything.”
“I didn’t say you were. Just what people might assume.”
“Assume? When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. Don’t assume anything about me.”
“Chill, Sara.”
“You don’t get to say crap about me, or my behavior, or how I lead my life. You think you’re all that because you’ve got the world at your feet.”
“Who says I’ve got the world at my feet?” his voice dropped a notch lower. “We’re in a plane. You okay talking this way?”
She shook her head while taking a deep breath. He was impossible, after all. She couldn’t bear to fall in love with someone like him. He was just too carefree, too irresponsible with words. Looks great, but he has a personality I can’t tolerate. Not now. She lapsed into silence. They didn’t talk for the next three hours.
Chapter8
Darwin was a lovely, small city, and she felt her annoyance with Zac cool down the moment she set foot in it. The heat was beginning to get unbearable though, and she felt herself perspire, glad that she wore a linen shirt and a wide-brimmed hat she at first thought looked silly. Function over fashion, she remembered.
She expected a bit of rain, but the ski
es were devoid of clouds. She saw that the heat had begun to get to her and to her teammates. Zac wore shades, so she couldn’t tell if he was pissed with the heat, too. Danny was sweating profusely, evident with the sweat patches on his light brown shirt. They waited for their van to the hotel. It arrived ten minutes later, as she fanned herself with her hat.
They clambered into the van, with Sara trying desperately to avoid any skin contact. Sweat against sweat felt gross to imagine already. She wanted to take a long, cold shower, suddenly missing the feel of that blizzard when she had visited New York many years ago.
“You don’t mind sharing a room with a guy, do you?” Danny asked her, as soon as they got to the hotel. It was a surprisingly modern and classy looking hotel, and she hadn’t expected they would be billeted there.
“No, unless we’re sharing the same bed,” she replied.
Danny laughed. “Zac is a good guy, but I think he’ll be out most of the day and night.”
She looked around, noticing Zac was gone. Where did he go? She hadn’t even noticed he had slipped away.
“This place is nice,” Michael said, looking up from his phone.
“Mike, you’re bunking in with me. John and Dalton, try not to drink too much tonight. This is our last night of luxurious comfort and accommodations.”
“I thought we were staying in Jabiru as well?” John began.
“We are. At the research center. Might get too cramped, so yeah, don’t get too used to this,” Danny told him.
She was given her keycard, and they all rode the elevator to the same floor, with the concierge dropping off her bag for her. She reached into her pocket to give him a tip, but Danny flicked a bill into the man’s hand.
“That was my tip to give,” she said.
“Think of it as my welcoming gift to you. This is your first time in Darwin,” Danny said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a long bath, with ice if possible.”
Sara got into her room, and she turned the air-conditioning on at full blast. So she was sharing a room with him for one night. No big deal, she thought. There were two large beds, enough for her to roll around in or build some fort if she wanted to. A bath was in order, she thought, glad that the bathroom had a tub. It confused her at first, why they were even here in the first place. She had expected a backpacker budget to their trip. This was for research and not for pleasure, anyway.