Come Share My Love (37 page)

     “It’s actually almost noon.  I told you last night that we should talk.  So I’d like for us to go for a walk on the beach.”  She didn’t say anything so he continued.  “Unless you would prefer to go to the lounge or better still stay right here.”

     Shyla looked dumfounded.  There was no way they would be staying in this suite.  She wouldn’t last ten minutes alone with him.  They would definitely finish where they left off on the dance floor last night.  This time there would be no dancing.  Not standing up anyway.  Kemah took the decision out of her hands.

     “A walk on the beach sounds like fun,” she said.  “Shyla hasn’t taken a walk on the beach since we made it here.”

     “Actually Kee, I have.”

     “When?” 

     “On the third night while you were asleep, again for a little while last night.”

     “I bet it wasn’t like having company.  Especially male company,” she blinked rapidly.  “Besides I thought we weren’t supposed to go to the beach by ourselves?”

     “Why not?” Zackary asked.

     They both looked at him and smiled.  “It’s nothing.  Just don’t want to get into the habit of going places by ourselves and something happen.  You know?”  Kemah said.

     Zackary nodded his agreement.  But he knew it was more than just that.

     “Kemah I can’t tell you how much I disapprove of your-”

     She stopped talking because Kemah gave her a warning look saying she was ready to start talking.

     “So are you two lovebirds going for that walk or what?”

She looked at Shyla who in turn looked at Zackary, who looked deep into her eyes and she gasped.  What she saw there was making her stomach do somersaults. 

     “It’s up to you.” 

     “I guess we better go then.”  She rolled her eyes at Kemah, picked up her keycard and headed to the door. 

     “You kids have a good time.  Stay as long as you like and please don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

     “That’ll be the day,” replied Shyla.

     Zackary held the door open for her as they walked out and closed it behind him.  They didn’t say anything on the elevator or anything in the lobby.  She kept quiet most of the time while they walked on the beach.  He took her hand in his as they walked.  A surge of energy swept through her hand, up her arm, down her spine and throughout her body.  What was this man doing to her?  She shivered.

     “It’s warm out, are you cold?”  He put his arm around her shoulders as if that would make her warmer.

     “No.  I just got a chill.  I get that a lot.”  She tried to move away but his big arms encased her and she realized she wasn’t going anyplace.  He even went as far as to put her hand around his waist as if they really were a couple.  She had to admit though, it felt oh so right.

     They continued to talk about last night.  Zackary dominating most of the conversation because Shyla was either too shy or just didn’t want to talk.

     “Shyla, I’m very serious about my position.  I want us to get to know each other, spend some time together when we get back to the states see where these feelings lead us.  I know that you feel them too.  We have known each other for quite some time and you’re always running when I come around.  And I seriously think that your arguing with me at our every meeting is a maneuver to keep me away.”  Shyla still had not said a word.  She was a talker so what was this silent treatment thing.

     “Does this have anything to do with Felton and Essence?  They don’t need to know until you’re ready for them to know.” 

He stopped walking still holding her hand. 

     “Let’s stop for a minute.  Look at me.  You’re not saying a word.  I’m just talking and talking and you’re not saying a damn thing.  Since when did you not have a voice?  You always have something to say.”

She froze.  He had no right to curse at her.

     “I feel like I’m talking to my damn self.  It’s like you’re saying to hell with what I have to say.  Could you please be a little more responsive?”  They just stare at one another.  “My God, can you please say something?”

     She was still in shock and her anger was just at the boiling point.

     “Why
are you talking to me like this?”

     “Because it seems as though it’s the only way to get you
r attention.  I didn’t force you to come out here.  You could have said no.”

She tried to snatch her hand out of his but he wouldn’t let go.

     “Don’t ever talk to me that way again.  You don’t know me like that.  And if you did you’d know that I don’t take kindly to people talking to me like I’m some kind of idiot or using that type of language because trust me I can curse like a sailor too but I choose not to.  Now let me go.”

     “No.”

     “No?  Did you just say no?” 

     “That’s exactly what I said.”

     “Zackary, I am trying really…hmm.”  She pinched the insides of her eyes together.  “Please let me go.”  He could see that she was getting more upset but it was at least some kind of reaction.  He let her go but they weren’t finish yet.

     “Why are you acting as though last night meant nothing?”

     “It was just a dance and a kiss Zackary.”  She knew it was more than that but what good was it to acknowledge when she had no intentions of responding to it, should it happen again.

     “Just a dance Shyla?  Just a kiss?” he shook his head.  She couldn’t have meant that.   “So it meant nothing to you right?”

     “That’s right.  It meant not-”

     He grabbed her before she could continue her sentence and before she could react he forced his lips upon hers.  She didn’t pull back or try to get away.  In fact she gave to him as good as he gave to her.  The kiss meant more than what she was letting on.  They both felt it.  They both wanted more.  She opened her mouth to him and let his tongue explore her mouth just as she did to his.  She moaned and moved in closer.  He pulled her farther into his embrace and she welcomed it.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, he threaded his hands through her curls and latched on, not ready to let go.  They were hungry for one another.  This was just the beginning.  He would have her completely. When he pulled back and looked into her face her eyes were closed and her lips were swollen, her face gleamed.  She was beautiful, looked like she had just been made love to.

     “That one meant nothing either?”

She had to catch her breath while wiping the smudged gloss from around the outside of her lips.  Why couldn’t he just leave it where it was?  He had to question her and she had an answer for him.

     “Nothing.”

     “You’re a liar and a coward.  No one kisses another person the way you just did if the kiss meant nothing.”

She turned and walked away.  He called after her. 

     “Shyla?  Shyla?  Damn.”  He cursed.  “So you’re just going to keep walking?” 

     She never turned to acknowledge him.  She started to run and after a while he no longer had her in his view.  The tears rolled down her face.  She couldn’t stop crying.  What had she done?

     Zackary kicked at the sand.  Why didn’t he run after her?

C
hapter Five

     The rest of the trip was a bust for Shyla as well as for Zackary.  For the next couple of days he went back to the Lounge where he saw Shyla the first day of his trip.  She never showed.  He stayed around the bar talking to anyone he thought who may have seen her.  The bartender said he hadn’t seen her since the night at the club.  He was the bartender there too.  Zackary went as far as going to her hotel and sitting in the lobby waiting for her but she never came out.  He knocked on her door a few times.  When he decided to give up the door came open.  It wasn’t Shyla.

     “Hey Zackary.”

     “Hey.  How is she?” he looked over Kemah’s shoulder into the suite.

     “She hasn’t left the hotel since she left you on the beach.”  Kemah looked towards the bedroom door.  “She hasn’t eaten very much either but she’s okay.”  She wouldn’t tell him that she’d been crying since that day.  “I’d ask you in but I already know how she’ll react.”

     “I understand. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.  I should have gone after her when she took off but she would have welcomed it a whole lot less.”

     “Maybe!  Just give her a little time.  She’s been through a lot, but for what it’s worth, I think she’d be very lucky to have you.”

     “Well, I want to thank you for saying that, but I think I would be the lucky one.  Did she get the flowers?”

     “Yes she did.  They are beautiful.”  He didn’t see them around and he wondered if she had kept them or threw them away.  Kemah saw his wondering eyes.  “She has them in the room with her.”

     He nodded.  At least that was something.  “Okay.  I’m going to go.  My old school mates are having a bonfire tonight and I said I’d make an appearance.  It was really nice meeting you Kemah,” he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

     “It was really nice meeting you, too.  Do me a favor, don’t give up on her.”

     “I wouldn’t dream of it.”  They smiled at one another then he left.

Shyla was standing in the door way of her room when Kemah closed the door.

     “That was Zackary.  He came to see how you were doing.”

     “I heard.  Thank you.”

     “For what, Shy?  You can’t keep doing this.  If I thought he was a jerk like Simon I would be the first to tell you so, but he’s not and he really care for you.  Please don’t let this opportunity pass you by.”

     They both stared at one another for a long while.  Kemah was pleading with her eyes but Shyla wasn’t ready to give in.  She turned on her heels and went back to her room.

     Kemah dropped onto the sofa.  She had to find a way to help her friend.  She didn’t see this kind of thing happening for her own self.  No her time had passed.  But Shyla needed Zackary and Zackary needed Shyla.

     Three days later Shyla and Kemah were back at home, tending to their busy lives.  Shyla jumped into her work with both feet taking on more clients than her normal share.  She received voicemails from Zackary at least twice daily, several times a week for two solid weeks and then they stopped.  After a month she started missing Zackary and his calls to try and get her to go out with him or just spend an evening at his home in town or the one at Napa Acres in Napa, California.  As much as she wanted to call she decided against it.  She didn’t want her cousin and her cousin’s husband to know what was going on.

     “Hey girl
? It is going to be hot today.”

     “Hey
Kee.”  Shyla seemed tired and out of sorts.

     “What wrong, sweetie?”  She walked up to her rubbing her back.

     “Nothing.” she winced as if she was in pain.

     “You’re sure?  You look tired and worn out.  I know that you have been taking on a lot more work than you would normally do so I know that something is up.”  She pulled up a chair next to Shyla but Shyla wouldn’t look at her. 

     “Look at me and tell me what’s wrong.  It’s not like you to just sit around day after day not saying anything, not wanting to go anyplace.  Something is wrong and I want you to tell me what it is right now.”

She huffed and blew out some air.  “I miss him Kee.  I don’t know what to do.  He stopped calling me.”

     “I know.  I know.  Did you ever return any of his calls?”

     She put her head down because she knew Kemah was ready to fuss.  “You already know that I didn’t return any of his calls.  And before you start lecturing me I’ve already done that a million times.  I
just didn’t think one day he’d up and stop calling.”

     “Of course you didn’t think that.  In fact you didn’t think at all.”

     “Okay Kemah I know this already.  I asked for no lectures.  I’ve done that to myself, remember.”

     “Yeah, but it sounds so much better coming from someone else.  More effective, don’t you think?”  Shyla dropped her head back on the table.  “Why don’t you call him and invite him to lunch today?”

     “I don’t think he’ll talk to me.”

     “You won’t know if you don’t call to find out.”

     “The man called me two weeks straight after we returned from Jamaica and I wouldn’t even return his calls.  I find myself dreaming about us being together, daydreaming about him, throughout the day.  Do you know that sometimes when I’m massaging people I fantasize that it’s him lying on the table, completely nude and ready to take me in his arms and fill me with him.  Damn.  I would make him feel so good,” she confessed.  She was so miserable.