Love's Call

by Jala Summers

  “Yeah, I’ll come,” he answered. “Just give me a minute to get ready.”

  “We’ll be over in Duane’s room. Just come on over when you’re done.”

  ***

  “Alyssa, come on,” Liana called from the bathroom as she dug through her toiletry bag, searching for her toothbrush.

  “Errmm,” Alyssa mumbled from the bed.

  “Hey, you said you would join me for my morning workout. That was the deal. I come with you on this thing, the least you can do is come with me for a little dance fitness workout, or bootcamp.”

  “I’m sooo tired, Lia. I just want to sleep in today.”

  Liana came out of the bathroom, as she ran the toothbrush over her teeth in circular movements. She saw Alyssa pull the covers over her head. She returned to the bathroom to finish and rinsed her mouth.

  “No, ma’am,” Liana said, and moved to the bed to flip the sheets off of Alyssa.

  “Lia!”

  “I kept up my end of the bargain, now you can too. Let’s go. You’ll feel better afterward, anyway. I promise.”

  “I doubt anything will feel as good as this bed does right now.”

  “Just get up, Lys.”

  Alyssa gave an over-dramatic sigh and sat up in the bed. She paused a moment, blinking, still attempting to arouse herself awake. After a few moments she climbed out of the bed and dragged herself over to her suitcase. “I promise, this will be the last time I ask you to come along on a trip with me.”

  Liana turned to her, her face lit up. “Good,” she exclaimed. “Wow, was that all it took to get you to say that? I’m going to have to bug you to work out more often.”

  Alyssa shot Liana a dirty look, and proceeded to throw on her exercise clothes.

  ***

  Liana struggled to keep up with the overly enthusiastic fitness instructor’s quick steps and complicated twists and turns. She’d participated in dance fitness classes for years, but had never attended one with an instructor as energetic as the incredibly toned woman who twirled effortlessly in front of the group of exercisers.

  As Liana pivoted and turned, she looked to her side to see that even Alyssa was smiling and absorbed in the music and rhythm of the dance.

  The group of at least a dozen women and a couple of men were outside on the main deck of the ship, next to the fitness center and weight room. They dancers welcomed the cool morning breeze that floated toward them from the water’s surface.

  Sweat streamed down Liana’s face and seemed to cover every other part of her body. Sweat drenched her shirt and the crotch area of her spandex workout attire, but she didn’t care. The more perspiration, she told herself, the better the workout.

  And since her intention when exercising was never to impress anyone, it really didn’t matter to her how sweaty she was. She smiled as, after several tries, she finally mastered a particularly complicated routine that the instructor had shown them, and was able to keep up with every step the teacher took.

  ***

  Kyle, Lloyd and Duane entered the air conditioned fitness center and weight room and gravitated toward their preferred areas.

  Kyle placed his bottled water on the floor next to the dumbbell racks, and began a light warm-up. His position gave him a nice view of the main deck and the blue waves of the ocean beyond the ship.

  He scanned the deck, looking through the glass windows that surrounded the fitness room, and his eyes stopped on the group of exercisers center deck. The instructor, donning a short, curly natural hairstyle and tons of attitude, seemed to float around in front of the group, while the others struggled to keep up.

  She then moved through the crowd, approaching the dancers, encouraging them to give more effort and stay with the music. Whenever the instructor approached an exerciser, the person would pick up his or her pace and do their best to keep up with the steps. But it was all in good fun, because every one of them seemed to be enjoying themselves.

  He then watched the instructor move over to two familiar figures at the far end of the group. When she turned her head to the side, facing the fitness room, he instantly recognized Liana and next to her, was her friend Alyssa. The instructor stood in between them both, and shouted, “Come on, ladies.” She then commenced to do the routine with them there on either side of her.

  Kyle had stopped his warm-up and stood there watching Liana, caught up in the way she moved. She glided and turned, right on cue, in perfect step with the dance instructor. He admired the way she rotated her hips, and seemed to come alive with the rhythm of the music.

  The broad smile on her face showed she must have been having a great time, right there on that deck. The woman he watched now was nothing like the person she had been showing him and every other man on the ship. She seemed fun, carefree and exuberant.

  And if she moves her hips in bed, even half as well as she is now… He had to stop himself in the middle of his thoughts, because he could feel himself becoming a little too excited.

  When the song ended, the instructor laughed, and gave a high five to Liana, who had kept up with her the entire time, even when she’d tried to pull out a complicated step or two.

  Kyle watched them, as they panted after their workout, sweaty and exhausted, and realized he had never seen such a huge smile on Liana’s face before. She was stunning when she smiled. Her face lit up, her eyes and straight white teeth seemed to sparkle, and the one dimple she possessed, creased her left cheek.

  She and Alyssa grabbed their towels and wiped down their faces as the other exercisers dispersed.

  His eyes never left her, as he studied her frame in the form fitting tights that hugged the curved, but toned hips and rounded bottom mercilessly. He felt himself straining at his gym shorts, and realized that he’d have to turn away from the sight, before he became any more turned on in that fitness room.

  He turned his back on them, facing away from the windows, and grabbed a set of dumbbells to begin his own workout.

  ***

  “Are you kidding?” Alyssa exclaimed, giving Liana a face that clearly illustrated her frustration. “Look, I did the dance class with you. Why do you need to go to the fitness room too?”

  “I just want to do a little more,” Liana said, as they stood, the last exercisers on the main deck after the morning dance workout session. “I need to lift some weights for a bit, and then I’m done.”

  “Come on, I’ve had enough for today.” Alyssa turned to look at the fitness center behind her, and through the glass windows she could see several men, including Lloyd, there lifting weights and using weight machines. “Hmm....on second thought...maybe I will come with you.”

  This woman is a mess, Liana thought, all too aware of the reason Alyssa had changed her mind about going to the gym. I swear, any opportunity to meet a man, and she’s there.

  They walked to the fitness room and opened the glass doors. Lloyd noticed Alyssa as soon as she entered and his face lit up. Alyssa waved and smiled at him. She walked over to the weight machine next to Lloyd and pretended to fumble with the equipment. “Oh shoot, I hate these things.”

  Lloyd hopped off the machine he was using and quickly moved to help her. “Here, I’ll get it for you.”

  Liana cut her eyes at her Alyssa-- annoyed with her helpless, damsel in distress act-- and moved over to the leg press machine. She adjusted the weights to her desired setting and sat down to begin her repetitions.

  Kyle was only half focused on his own barbell squats. His eyes had followed Liana’s every move since she’d entered the room. He found it amusing that she was so disgusted with her friend’s behavior. And he was even more attracted to the way that she seemed to know her way around the weight machines. But damn, he thought, why the hell did she have to choose the leg press?

  She was completely capable and quite strong, he noticed, as he saw the way she pressed a surprisingly large amount of weight with very little effort. He then saw her stop, reach down and then increase the weight amount to a more challenging
level. She continued her reps and he couldn’t stop himself from admiring her firm, shapely legs with each lift of the press. He enjoyed being treated to the slight glimpse of the curve of her behind and hips each time she brought the press back close to her body.

  Liana looked around the room, checking out the other equipment, deciding which to use next. Then, as she looked over at the other corner of the room, she noticed Kyle.

  Their eyes met, and held for a few seconds before she looked away. She did a few more reps and walked over to another machine. But she couldn’t resist stealing another look at Kyle, who was now preparing to leave the fitness room. She watched him grab his bottled water and file out of the room with Duane and Lloyd. Though he wore loose clothing, it couldn’t hide his well-defined arms, and strong, muscular quadriceps muscles and calves.

  As they rounded the corner, he looked back at her again. Shit, she thought, when she realized that he’d caught her staring. She quickly averted her eyes and adjusted the weights on the machine.

  Chapter Six

  The men were already seated at the table and enjoying breakfast when Liana and Alyssa joined them.

  Alyssa had rushed ahead of Liana to take her usual seat across from Lloyd. Liana thought, Don’t worry, ‘Lyssa, I wasn’t planning on taking your seat.

  But when she looked over to see the vacant seat where John usually sat, she chose to sit there and not in the empty chair across from Kyle. She knew she couldn’t handle being across from him without involuntarily staring at his strong arms as he ate, so she took the safe route and sat as far away from him as possible.

  Kyle noticed her slight and was a bit hurt, but didn’t let it show. He continued eating his meal. Duane, finished with his breakfast, rose from the table to sit next to another woman he had been eyeing that morning, and struck up a conversation.

  Liana looked out of the round porthole window next to her and stared at the waves as she chewed. She drowned out Lloyd and Alyssa’s busy chatter about all of the activities they could participate in at the upcoming ports of call. And with her attention on the turquoise sea, she didn’t notice Kyle glancing over at her occasionally, studying her features as the sun shone on her face.

  He hated it, but he couldn’t deny that his attraction to Liana was growing. He wanted to find out more about her and she was making that nearly impossible to do by avoiding him whenever she could.

  But he was jarred out of his thoughts when he heard a group of women muttering and making clearly audible noises of disdain as they passed his table. He looked over to see Tiffany and her friends. Tiffany’s face was a picture of pure disgust as she cut her eyes at him. Her friends whispered and shot equally cold looks his way.

  When Kyle heard Lloyd burst out into laughter he turned to see him shaking his head, and Alyssa trying her best not to laugh, but unable to resist the smile that crept on her face.

  “Looks like you rubbed somebody the wrong way last night,” Lloyd said. “You weren’t too hard when you rejected her, were you?”

  Kyle shot Lloyd a look, but didn’t entertain his question with an answer. He looked over to see Liana watching them. Evidently she had witnessed the scene too, and she looked down at her plate, a slight smile curving her lips as she snickered.

  Kyle had had enough of being the butt of the joke, and spoke up, to take the heat off of himself. “What do you all plan to do today?”

  “I’m thinking about trying out the one-day scuba diving excursion,” Alyssa piped up. “You wanna come along, Lia?”

  She shook her head forcefully, “No way. You can count me out of that.”

  “Awww. Live a little, it’s your vacation.”

  “Nope,” she answered. “I already have plans to go check out the duty free shops. I want to pick up some souvenirs and gifts.”

  “I’m there,” Lloyd said, and Alyssa gave him a wide grin.

  “What about you, Kyle?” Lloyd asked.

  “I don’t know yet. Maybe just look around, grab a bite to eat.”

  “Sounds like a plan, then,” Alyssa said as they all rose to prepare for the ship to anchor at the first port of call.

  Chapter Seven

  The heat from the bright sun beamed down on Liana as she wandered through the rows and rows of carts and stands full of items of clothing, knick knacks, souvenirs and gifts. She smiled at the vendors when she approached their carts, and perused all of the brightly colored items on display.

  She found one cart with an intricately designed, colorful fan and knew that it would be a great gift for her youngest niece. She walked over to the vendor, an older man with a face full of charming wrinkles that seemed to multiply when he gave her a wide smile. She could tell just by looking at him that he was a contented person who seemed to have a genuine happy vibe about him which could instantly pull a person in.

  “Very good choice there,” he said, when she handed him the fan she’d decided to purchase. She handed him the money for the item, according to his quoted price. He smiled even wider, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling as he did.

  He reached over and picked up a shiny black figurine of an elegant, nude woman in a regal pose. He handed it to her. “Yours...free.”

  Her eyes widened and she too caught his, apparently, contagious smile. “Oh my...thank you. I love it.”

  He patted her hand gently and said, “Beautiful smile.” Liana found herself blushing at his remark. “A pretty girl like you should smile always.” She nodded, thanked him for the figurine and continued browsing the other stands for gifts for her remaining family members.

  ***

  Kyle traversed the small town where the ship had docked, taking in the sights and sounds of the Mexican town. He went in one shop after another, just browsing around, not particularly interested in buying anything, but mostly concerned with discovering someplace new.

  He watched the town’s citizens moving along, looking past him and going about their day as usual--apparently accustomed to the onslaught of tourists, such as him, who invaded their hometown daily.

  Kyle made his way to a row of vendor stands and walked along the path that ran between the tables and carts.

  He stopped occasionally; inspecting the interesting items he passed that caught his eye. He then heard the voice of an older man speaking in broken English followed by the soft laughter of a woman. He looked up to see Liana directly across from him holding a figurine and thanking the vendor.

  He watched her leave the stand and move on to another table. Kyle had never felt like a lucky person but that day he felt like luck was on his side, allowing him to find her-- and all alone--for once. It felt like the perfect opportunity to finally get a chance to talk to her, without distractions. That was, of course, if she even let him. He’d quickly learned that Liana was a stubborn woman. And if she didn’t want to be bothered, she had no problems letting a person know it.

  He drew in a deep breath, collected his nerve and walked her way. It’s now or never, he thought, as he moved closer to her. When he reached her, he stood behind her a moment, watching her in silence. She seemed truly contented to just browse the various items, appreciating the uniqueness of each piece she picked up to inspect.

  He cleared his throat, “We meet again.”

  She jumped, startled by his voice. She turned around and found herself looking up into Kyle’s smiling eyes. Not Bedroom Eyes again, she thought to herself, upset that she was caught off guard, once again, by his sexy brown eyes. She put her hand to her chest and inhaled rapidly, attempting to breathe normally again. “Kyle. You scared me.”

  “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to. I saw you over here and wanted to stop by to say hello.”

  “Ok...hello,” she said, and turned back to look at the other items on the table.

  Here we go again, Kyle thought, a bit annoyed by her persistent stubbornness. But he was determined to get her to talk to him this time. “You know, it’s nearly lunchtime. It would be a shame to leave Mexico without stopping by a restaurant for
some authentic Mexican cuisine.”

  She nodded. “I guess it would. I saw several places to eat on my way here. You should go check it out. Back up that way,” she said and pointed to a narrow path on her left.

  She’s not going to make this easy. “I was hoping you were ready for a bite to eat, too. If so, I’d like to treat you to lunch.”

  She looked up at him, “I don’t really like random guys paying for my meals. But thanks, anyway.” She turned back to finger a piece of festively colored cloth on the table.

  He was quiet a moment, figuring out a new angle or way to get in beyond the fortified wall that it seemed she kept up to block all others out.

  “Okay. That’s fine. We’ll go dutch. That’s cool with me,” he said. “I’d just hate to dine alone, and I’d hate for you to do the same. Hey we’re already tablemates on the ship, so this should be nothing new. We’ve done this before. It’s just lunch, that’s it.”