Chapter 9
A few hours of a bumpy, hilly ride, and the bus came to a stop at a clearing. The guide team helped the crew carry the heavy equipment and the extra bags through a path between the trees.
Fifteen minutes of lugging heavy bags and equipment had the crew out of breath. They let out a sigh of relief when they saw the boat anchored to the dock. It was not just any boat, it was a good-sized Houseboat that promised to accommodate the thirty-member crew and guide team.
Ariya stopped at the edge of the water and took pictures as the crew filed into the Houseboat. It had three levels with observation decks on all the levels. From where she stood, she saw a small canopy set up on the very top level, and it seemed to be open for observation on the entire level.
The first and the second levels had rooms with windows, some with balconies. She walked closer to the boat to capture a picture of the balcony and just when she was about to click, Veer pushed open the sliding door and stepped onto the balcony.
“Veer.” She waved to catch his attention and zoomed her lens to get a closer picture of him.
Veer did not wave back or smile at her but kept his eyes riveted on her. Her breath hitched in response to the intensity with which he looked into the camera. She took a deep breath and clicked a few pictures before making her way into the houseboat.
“There you are, where have you been?” Stefan called out to Ariya as soon as she stepped foot on the boat.
“Hey, I was taking a few pictures.”
“I was worried you would be left behind.” Stefan laughed, patting her shoulder.
“Right.” She rolled her eyes at him.
“We are running short on the number of rooms, so we have to do a bit of a sharing… and I don’t need you to share, but I need you to give up your room.”
“Stefan, I’m okay to share. I know all these guys now, I’m part of the team.”
“No, you don’t need to… I need you to give up your room, so Andy and Jerry can set up their office there, and I need you to use this room for the trip.” Stefan pulled out the key card that had his name tag attached to it.
“Stefan, it’s your room. I don’t need a fancy producer’s room.” Ariya laughed.
“Andy and I will be pulling all-nighters during this trip to get some editing done and will take turns to sleep.”
“But…”
“No more arguments. Go settle down. We are not too far from our first stop.” Stefan placed the key card in her hand and walked away calling out to Jerry.
Ariya carried her bag up the stairs and looked around for the room number. It took her less than a second to realize her room was right next to Veer’s room, again.
Was Stefan up to something?
Even if he were, with how she and Veer got along initially, she didn’t want to question his intentions and give him unnecessary ideas. Stefan had, in the past, tried to be a matchmaker until she read him the riot act a few years ago.
She took a deep breath and slid the key card and pushed open the door. She stood at the door, staring in amazement at the sight before her. The room was small with a small bed, but what took her breath away was the panoramic view of the river the room offered with the large windows and the floor-to-ceiling glass sliding door.
“Wow,” she muttered dropping her bag on the floor and shutting the door behind her. She pulled out her camera and took a few pictures of the beautiful view. She slid open the window and took in the warm, humid air. She knew she would have a lot of fun on this assignment but never expected it to be this good.
She put her things away and spent an hour making notes and taking pictures as the boat steadily made it up the river. She also managed to get a few pictures of Veer as he stood on the balcony talking on the phone without him noticing her.
Satisfied with the work she did that morning, she took her key card and went looking for Stefan. As he had mentioned, he was in the middle of setting up the equipment in a room for him and Andy to work. She stepped into the room and affectionately put her arms around Stefan.
“You are the best, Stef.”
“I’m glad you like your room. I want you to have some fun on this assignment.”
“You are being completely unprofessional in giving up the best room for your friend, but I’m not complaining.”
“You’ve been working so hard, you deserve it. The network can use all the pictures you’ve been taking for the preview,” Stefan said, cheerfully.
“Oh… good.” She smiled.
“Yes, we have a four-hour ride up the river. Rest before we get there.”
“I’m fine. How can I help?”
“We are setting up the office. You should rest before we get to our spot,” Stefan said softly almost sounding worried.
“Rest? Why?” Ariya looked at him suspiciously.
“Well… we are going to film the anacondas, and it’s okay if you don’t want to be around for taking pictures.”
“Stefan, it was that particular snake… it was slimy. Not all snakes bother me.” Ariya took pride in her professionalism and wouldn’t let her personal feelings get in her way. A childhood accident made her leery of traveling in a car, but she did when she needed to, drive and even ride a car when required.
“Veer… he is worried you would have…” Ariya didn’t let Stefan finish.
“Why does Veer get to decide what I should be doing?” she fumed.
“He is the star of the show… if he thinks you…” Ariya stopped listening to Stefan. She turned on her heels and was on her way back up the stairs, ignoring Stefan calling out her name. She fumed going up the stairs, straight to the second level, to see Veer.
She turned toward his room at the top of the stairs and almost ran into a wall… no, that was Veer. He managed to knock her off balance and held her when she started to sway backward.
“Slow down.” He laughed into her ear.
She grunted, pushing him away and stepping close to him, intimidatingly. “What the heck did you tell Stefan?”
“What did I tell Stefan?” His eyebrows furrowed.
“That you don’t want me with the snakes,” she growled.
He looked at her for a long moment before responding. “Maybe.”
“Why do you get to decide that? You can’t stop me from taking the pictures.” She was outraged he thought she couldn’t do her job well just because she happened to throw up once on the job.
“I do… because I don’t want you puking on the set like last time.” He was starting to sound annoyed.
“I did not puke on the set. I forcibly threw up off the set, and I did because I knew it would make me feel better,” she fired back.
“I don’t care, you are going to sit this one out,” he ordered and started to walk away from her. She grabbed him by his hand.
“Stop….” The rest of her words were lost in a gasp when Veer briskly stepped closer, so close her back was plastered to the wall. He held her pinned to the wall, his t-shirt grazing her clothes. She felt the warmth from him even though he wasn’t touching her.
“When I say I don’t want you on the set, you will stay off the set, and if you don’t… I will have you ejected from the team.” His breath was warm on her cheek. Her mind was focused on his words, but her body had a mind of its own. She was surprised she was feeling a twitching that was starting to become overly familiar, something she felt when Veer came so close to her.
“Veer… don’t act like an asshole.”
“Act? Do you not think that already?” he continued to breathe out fire.
She looked up into his eyes, challenging his threat of ejecting her. “I know you’ve driven a lot of photographers away, but you can’t make me leave an assignment unfinished.”
“I’m not asking you to leave. All I’m saying is don’t try to do something you can’t.” His voice softened.
“Let me do my job,” she hissed under her breath unable to catch her breath with the way her heart was pounding.
“You. Will. Not. Get off the boat. Understood?”
His words made her want to scratch his face, but she refrained. Instead, she looked into his eyes as his deep ones bore into hers.
“Ariya, do you understand?” His voice was gravelly, and it sent shivers through her spine.
She nodded unable to trust her voice. His words offended her, but something in his eyes told her there was more to it. It wasn’t because it would disrupt the shoot if she had to run away because she couldn’t bear the sight of the snake. The moment where she thought his eyes held something else, his expression changed.
“Now. Stop being a child and stay out of my way.” He took a step back from her and started to turn away.
“I should have scratched you more.” She had no idea why she said what she said, but he turned and looked at her, and a small smile appeared out of nowhere.
“I like the feel of a woman’s nails on my back when I am doing things to her. Bring it on,” he said and went down the stairs leaving her breathless.
Ariya stood in the narrow hallway for a few more minutes gathering herself. She couldn’t understand why his words seemed to suck the air out of her lungs.
“Idiot,” she grumbled under her breath and went into her room to get her camera. She was going to do her job and not let some prick tell her what to do. He doesn’t get to eject her, he didn’t hire her. She stuck her head into the editing room that was being set up. Stefan, Andy, and Veer were standing around looking at what Andy was showing them on a tablet device.
“Stefan, I’m going to the anaconda pit even if you fire me after that,” she stated in a calm tone. Her eyes flashed with a challenge when they clashed with Veer’s, but he didn’t say anything. She didn’t wait for a response and left to go on to the observation deck on the lowest level to get pictures of the endless greenery that lined the banks of the river.
Ariya spent thirty minutes by herself on the deck enjoying the alone time. She was in the middle of focusing on taking a picture when she heard a commotion behind her.
“Stop the engines and stay here,” Veer ordered pulling his t-shirt over his head and tossing it on one of the deck chairs. John followed him with the camera, and Ariya wondered what the commotion was and looked in Veer’s line of sight.
She gasped when she saw the floating, familiar noses in the water. They had to be dolphins, river dolphins. They were such a rare sight, she couldn’t believe they were able to see them—an entire family.
“I do not want them disturbed. Whatever you do, do not disturb them,” Veer growled.
“How do we get the footage?” Andy asked looking at the creatures swimming in the water.
“Just stay here and take the video,” Veer said and dove into the water with Olympic precision. No sound, no splash, and the dolphins stayed put.
“Oh wow, this is what makes him a star.” Stefan clapped softly.
Ariya clicked pictures focusing on Veer swimming to the dolphins, but the pictures weren’t doing him justice.
“We need to get up close,” Ariya said looking around the boat.
“Not with the cameras,” Andy tsked.
“Don’t we have the lifeboats? Let’s use one. John and I can get up close without disturbing them.” Ariya was halfway down the hallway before anyone else could move.
Five minutes later, John paddled the circle lifeboat toward the dolphins. Ariya securely held the video camera in her lap in a certain position as it recorded, and she continued to click her pictures. Veer was completely immersed in interacting with the dolphins and turned around to look at Ariya when they were only a few feet away.
“Seriously?” Veer was surprised.
“It was her idea, Veer.” John sounded defensive.
“Veer, this is such a rare moment, we can’t miss it. Oh my… why are the dolphins that color… almost pink?”
“These are pink dolphins.” Veer looked happy, his eyes shone with enthusiasm.
Ariya felt a surge of happiness just by looking at the way Veer swam with the dolphins and watched in amazement when they started copying him.
“This is like finding gold, Ariya. Good thinking,” John said, from behind the camera.
Ariya put her camera in her lap when she was satisfied with the pictures she took and tried to reach for one of the dolphins, but it slipped away before she could touch one.
“Dolphins are very shy, you need to move slowly,” Veer said getting close to the raft.
Ariya placed her camera inside the empty crate in the small boat and leaned over to one side to pat the dolphin closest to her.
“Ariya,” she heard Veer call out, and the next second, she was in the water and went right under. When she surfaced, she heard Veer laugh, looking at John.
“Ariya, are you okay?” John called out.
Ariya nodded and realized Veer was holding her, his arm digging into her waist. He moved his head closer and whispered, “This is for not staying put, as instructed.”
“You’re an ass.”
Veer had managed to pull her into the water, making it look like she fell off the edge of the lifeboat.
“Smile for the camera, you don’t want Andy dreaming up a drama for the show.” Veer smiled, turning her to look at John and wave.
“You’re horrible,” she hissed under her breath.
“Thank you!” He smiled unaffected by her annoyance.
They spent almost another thirty minutes in the water with the dolphins before Andy waved from the boat, happy with the footage. Ariya and Veer swam back to the larger boat while John paddled the lifeboat to the back of the boat with the equipment.
“How did you end up with him?” Stefan joked as he helped her up the deck.
“I fell in trying to touch the dolphins.” Ariya hoped no one saw Veer pull her into the water.
“Here you go. Dry yourself and shower. We don’t want you falling sick.” Stefan handed her a large towel. She wrapped the towel around her wet clothes and went straight up to shower. Her body shivered even when it was hot outside as she peeled off her clothes.
She stood under the shower refusing to let any of the new sensations consume her and let the water soothe her. She did not want to acknowledge the signals her body was sending in response to the way Veer looked at her and the way he stepped into her space intimidatingly.
Ariya’s breath hitched when she remembered the way his dark eyes followed her curves as her wet clothes hugged her body. She enjoyed the lazy perusal but refused to give in to a superficial attraction. She lay on the bed fighting her body’s reaction and trying to stop her mind from wandering into a land of no return as sleep consumed her.