Take Me In Paradise

 

Jenna and Courtney, Bianca’s friends, were much more reserved than their host—something for which Kelly was inestimably grateful. Bianca was a darling, but she could only handle one person with such high energy at a time.   

As the teenagers chatted on the bench further down the boat, Kelly fixed her dark glasses over her eyes and tucked a tendril of hair that lifted on the sharp breeze. The tang of the sea filled the air and the Caribbean water frothed white bubbles as their vessel tore through the waves.

She crossed her legs, admiring the span of her black and white tribal print maxi-dress. Her nightclub and gym gear excluded, Kelly usually covered up when walking around in public—a direct consequence of her grandmother’s lectures on modesty.

It seemed some lessons were too ingrained in her psyche to shake loose.

Her leather sandals accentuated the glow of her pedicured feet and her toned arms danced with leather and cotton bracelets. The outfit was understated, but flattering and classy. Benjamin seemed to agree. He had given her an appreciative smile when he’d picked her up at her apartment earlier.

Not that she cared.

“Hey,” the object of her thoughts leaned over, “are you okay?”

She nodded, free to admire him behind the thickness of her dark glasses. Like Kelly, Benjamin wore designer sunshades. The glasses rocketed his sex appeal and she noticed several of the other female tourists on the boat checking him out.

Apart from his handsome features, fitted T-shirt and Bermudan shorts, Benjamin exuded charm even when he was sitting down with his hands casually draped on the bench behind her.

“Let me know if you want to exchange places,” he said, gesturing to the sunlight beginning to sneak past the boat’s roof. “I don’t want you to get sunburned.”

She grinned and pinched her skin. “Thanks for your concern, but this melanin really loves the sun.”

Laughter rang out, cutting their exchange short. They turned to watch Bianca who had chosen to sit closer to the bow of the boat as she chatted with her friends. The young woman wore a large hat over her baldhead, along with shorts and a loose tank-top.

Bianca noticed them watching. Her big blue eyes widened and she waved with gusto. Kelly found herself waving back with a similarly goofy grin on her face. She quickly fixed her expression and set her hands back in her lap.

Benjamin had caught the entire thing, his blue eyes probably changing to a deeper hue behind his glasses. She prayed he wouldn’t make a comment, but knew it was coming.

And it did.

“Are you always so concerned with your appearance?”

“Are you always so nosy?”

“Since I was born.”

“I should have guessed.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

She tapped her chin. “What were you like as a child?”

“Now you’re changing the subject.”

“Take the bait, Mr. Levy.”

He scratched his cheek, the slight rasp of his beard drawing her attention. He hadn’t shaved since yesterday and Kelly heartily approved of the rugged look.

“Are you really interested in hearing about my childhood or was it a cheap attempt at distracting me?”

“I’ll take the cheap attempt.” She winked. “But now I’m genuinely interested.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve heard I was rambunctious, energetic, a typical kid. I used to prank my older brother all the time—whipped cream on his hand, dangling spiders… you name it. He never saw it coming. He’d get me back by punching me senseless. We drove our mom completely nuts.”

“That sounds… pretty violent.”

“I’m exaggerating for effect.” He chuckled. “Dad usually stepped in before things got too far between Brandon and me.”

“Do all your siblings’ names start with ‘B’?”

“What can I say? Our mom thought it would be fun.”

“Was it?”

“Not particularly.”

She chuckled, moved by the lightness in their exchange. This was the first time in a long time that she’d stopped to have an intelligent conversation with a man. If Benjamin had ulterior motives, he was a pro at hiding them for Kelly felt he was sincerely interested in sharing and listening to her.

“What about you?” he asked. “What were you like growing up?”

“Rebellious,” Kelly admitted. “There wasn’t much my grandmother and mom could tell me that I didn’t have an answer for. The amount of whippings I got—” She smiled and shook her head. “But the more they said ‘no’, the more I wanted to disobey.”

“Give me an example.”

She tilted her head. “They were simple things. I climbed to the top of the mango tree even when they said I could fall. I stuck my finger in the power socket to see if it would shock me for real.”

“What a handful.”

“That’s an understatement. My teenage years…” she blew out a breath. “Not the best. There was a lot of fighting before my mom died. The last thing I said before she left that day was that I hated her.” Emotions clogged her throat. “It’s one of my biggest regrets.”

“Regrets, huh?” He nodded. “I’ve got a stack of those myself.”

The pair sat in silence, mired in the chains of their past. Yet they did not linger there. The cerulean blue sky called them out of their brooding depths. The cheerful roar of nearby conversations mingled with the whirr of the boat’s motor, daring them to return to the present.

Kelly chuckled and awkwardly shuffled her feet. “I don’t know why I keep unloading personal information on you. That’s unlike me.”

Benjamin opened his mouth to answer when her cell chirped in the purse at her side. Surprised that the service was so good out in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, Kelly answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Babe?” Clayton’s voice washed over her. “Are you home?”

She pursed her lips, her mood turning sour. Clayton was probably near his wife. Why else would he be whispering like a prisoner in a jail cell? Disgust washed over her skin, a surprising reaction.

She glanced at Benjamin from the corner of her eye. He smiled in return. The man was such a breath of fresh air that returning to Clayton felt like running straight out of the shower and into a pit of mud.

You love this mud, girl. Get yourself together.

“No, I’m not home. What do you want?”

“What’s that noise in the background? Where are you? Who are you with?”

“I’m out with friends. Do you need something?”

“I’m coming over tonight. I can’t take this anymore. I’m leaving her for real now.”

The words had lost their weight. Kelly accepted them as part and package of Clayton Neely, but didn’t expect him to see them through. If he really planned on leaving his wife he wouldn’t be off in a corner whispering his intentions.

“I expect you to be home by the time I get there,” Clayton instructed.

“Get over yourself, Clay.” She hung up and swiveled toward her host. Kelly could feel Benjamin’s regard though she could not see his eyes. “What?”

“Boyfriend?”

She winced. “It’s… complicated.”

He rumbled low in his chest, but thankfully did not pursue the topic. For a brief moment, Kelly felt panic overtake her chest. They lived in the same apartment—the men were bound to run into each other sooner or later. What if Benjamin found out who Clayton was? What would he think of her then?

Why do you care?

She brushed off the concern and forced a smile. Benjamin’s opinion of her life choices meant absolutely nothing to her. He was her boss. Not her friend. What she did after working hours was her business.

“You good?” Benjamin asked. “We’re almost there.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

 They continued to converse about shallow, inconsequential things until the strip of San Pedro’s pier appeared in the distance. Bianca and her friends returned to sit beside Benjamin and Kelly—their excitement filling the entire cab of the boat.

By the time the vessel had docked and their feet hit the pier, Kelly had forgotten about Clayton and his demand that she be available to him at the drop of a hat. How could she think of anything so annoying in the middle of paradise surrounded by good people?

Bianca latched on to her hand and the other girls huddled around her as if they had all communed and appointed her their honorary big sister.

Kelly had never been around females so open and welcoming. The fact that they were all white girls equally astounded her. Kelly’s experience with girls revolved around fighting over ‘stolen’ men and gossiping, and her opinion of rich white girls had been—largely—fostered from the movies she’d seen on TV.

Bianca and her crew demolished all her preconceptions with their friendly and generous manners.

She was truly in another world.

Silver sand filled the beach and a cool breeze wafted through the towering coconut trees. The water that had provided the way for their transportation welcomed them to take a dip beneath its waves.

“Whoo!” Bianca yelled. “We’re in Pedro, baby!”

Kelly grinned and glanced over at Benjamin. They were in paradise for a whole weekend. Anything could happen.