Chapter Fifteen - Kenya
Chapter Fifteen
Kenya
K enya watched as the flames from the bonfire danced in the wind. The fire crackled against the wood, the waves on the ocean rippled, and the sun played peekaboo in the sky before finally descending upon the water. With every shift of the wind, she caught a whiff of the woodsy, lemony scent of Gideon’s cologne. His long-sleeved linen shirt was unbuttoned just enough to give Kenya a subtle view of his sculpted chest. No hair, just smooth mountains of chocolate skin.
“Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me.” His smile was like sunshine.
On any given evening she’d have felt exhausted from her commute and would want nothing more than to relax on her reupholstered sofa, with the back door opened to allow a cool breeze to float through, Ralph at her feet, the remote control in her hand. Containers filled with takeout from one of her favorite restaurants strewn about on the coffee table. She’d be well into one of her strange dreams before the moon appeared in the sky.
Today she didn’t feel exhausted at all. She felt exhilarated. Partly because she was on vacation and didn’t have to make that commute. The other reason being that she was anxious to have dinner with Gideon again . She noticed how he’d disappeared from the inn early in the morning and hadn’t returned until late that evening.
“This is very nice, this whole set up you got going on here.” Though she tried to hide it, Kenya’s heart was full as she observed the meticulous details of Gideon’s romantic dinner—candles burning as the crisp white tablecloth blew in the wind, a bouquet of freshly plucked purple irises in a vase at the center of the table. The portable speaker was lodged into the sand, with contemporary jazz playing softly. A bottle of aged Chianti rested in an ice bucket on the table.
Gideon grabbed a glass and poured wine into it, then handed it to Kenya. He smiled. She took it, sipped while watching him, trying to figure out why he was smiling. He poured himself a glass.
“So, you’re impressed.” It wasn’t a question. More of an acknowledgment.
“I must admit, I am.” She wouldn’t tell him just how impressed she was, holding back just a little bit.
The tail of her canary-yellow sundress blew as she pulled her denim jacket a little tighter. It was chilly in the wake of the sunset, but she didn’t notice the chill much. She only noticed the warmth in Gideon’s eyes and the heat in his smile. That smile did things to her heart, made it beat a little faster than usual, which caused her a bit of anxiety. What was happening to her?
“I’ll take nice. You’re having trouble giving me my props, but it’s okay.” He chuckled, motioning toward her glass. “Drink up.”
“We’re not getting drunk again, that’s for sure.” She stuck her finger into the air.
“You didn’t enjoy getting drunk with me last night?” His eyes flirted when he talked. That could be troublesome , she thought, a coy grin on his face.
“I didn’t enjoy being out of control. I like to be always completely aware.”
“That’s the attorney in you. Always needing to be in control.”
“I didn’t say I needed to be in control, I said aware .”
“I read between the lines.”
“And what is it that you need to be, Doctor?” she asked.
“I don’t need anything; I’m just enjoying this beautiful moonlit night and the beautiful woman sitting across from me, wearing the hell out of that yellow dress. You look amazing tonight.”
“Don’t do that,” Kenya warned.
“Don’t do what?”
“That whole beautiful woman thing.”
“It’s the truth.”
Kenya huffed while sipping her wine. “Okay.”
“Tell me you’re not one of those bitter women who’ve been hurt by someone and now you can’t even accept a compliment.” Gideon peered at her. “Who hurt you?”
“No one hurt me.”
“Did he cheat on you? Break your heart?”
“He didn’t cheat or break my heart. He died.”
Gideon sighed, hung his head for a moment. “You’ve not been in a relationship since your husband’s death. I’m sorry.”
“No. I’ve been happily single ever since.” Kenya raised her glass in the air. “And relax. I’m okay. I’ve gone through my grief process. I’m over it.”
“I’ve heard that grief doesn’t really go away; it just evolves into other things. But I don’t know. I’ve never lost anyone close.”
“Be thankful.”
“I am.” He sipped his wine. “But if you ever need to talk or vent about it, I’m here.”
“I’m okay, but thank you.”
“I mean it. I’m a great listener.”
“Good to know.” She wished he would let it be already.
“I’ve not lost anyone to death, but I’ve lost people in other ways. My wife. My family. Divorce is just as painful as death.”
“I imagine so.”
“Do you think that you could ever love again?”
“Doubtful.”
“We’ll see.” He mumbled it, but she heard him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Lorenzo approached with dinner—two thick pieces of grilled mahi-mahi resting atop a bed of wild rice and roasted asparagus.
“Here we are,” Lorenzo said. “If you need anything else, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll just disappear and give you two some privacy.”
“Thanks bro.” Gideon gave Lorenzo a fist bump.
“Enjoy.” Lorenzo smiled and then headed back toward the inn.
“So, I see this was a team effort?”
“He cooked. I did the rest.”
“I see.” Kenya looked around at all the rest . Some effort had certainly gone into making an impression.
Kenya allowed the music to tease her senses, while sipping wine, eating fresh fish, and having a conversation with a handsome man.
“What’s your all-time favorite song from the eighties?” he asked out of the blue.
“The eighties?”
“Yeah, that’s our era.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Kenya thought for a moment, then smiled. “Don’t laugh, but I liked rap.”
“Okay. Like whom?”
“Eric B and Rakim’s ‘Microphone Fiend . ’ ” She said it with a little oomph in her voice.
Gideon pressed some keys on his tablet. “You mean this?”
The familiar tune floated through the air.
“Ohhh! That’s it.” Kenya moved her body from side to side as the rap song teased her senses.
Gideon stopped the song midway. “. . . and what about this one?” He grinned as Kurtis Blow’s ‘The Breaks’ played on the speaker, filled the atmosphere.
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute! I got one. What about LL Cool J’s ‘Rock the Bells’?”
Gideon played the song, and together they rapped all the lyrics.
“You might know a little something about old school rap,” he said after the song ended.
“I’m from Brooklyn. Those are New York artists.”
“Indeed they are.” He smiled at her, placed his hands underneath his chin, and observed her for a moment.
“What?” she asked. He was making her nervous. She was shivering, and not necessarily from the chill.
“Nothing.” Gideon slowed the music down and a familiar tune swept across the sky. “What about this?”
Gideon stood and held his hand out for Kenya to stand also. Donell Jones sang “U Know What’s Up” as the candle on the table seemed to dance to the melody. She stood and took his hand. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close, then moved back and showed his moves. Together they swayed to the music as Donell sang about digging someone. Kenya couldn’t help wondering if Gideon was digging her as her heart began to beat faster than usual. She tried to match Gideon’s moves.
As the moon and stars danced in the sky, they laughed and swapped stories about their lives. She took in all of him and could barely peel her eyes away, and her heart pitter-pattered against her sundress whenever he talked. She would never give him any indication that she was feeling things that she couldn’t quite make sense of.
The night was no longer young; the moon seemed to be relaxed in the sky and the ocean was calm. Dinner was long over, and two wine bottles were empty. Kenya and Gideon gathered empty dishes and the soiled tablecloth and made their way into the kitchen. Once inside, Kenya removed her denim jacket and hung it on the back of a kitchen chair. She started dishwater in the sink and added detergent. She began washing and rinsing dishes, handed them to Gideon to dry and put away. After washing the last wineglass and handing it to Gideon, she dried her hands and let the water out of the sink.
“We make a great team,” he said.
“Maybe.” Kenya shook her head. “Thank you for tonight. It was nice.”
“I did good, huh?”
“You did good.” She finally gave him the compliment that he’d been fishing for all night—his props.
As Gideon moved in, he closed the space between them. Kenya’s heartbeat became faster.
“There’s more where that came from.” Gideon kissed Kenya’s cheek and then walked toward the door of the kitchen. “We’re running in the morning, right?”
After her heart recovered from him being in such close proximity to her, she responded, “Yes.”
“Good. Seven o’clock.”
He was gone, and Kenya immediately felt his absence. She dried the sink and wiped the counters, all while humming the tune to Donell Jones’s “U Know What’s Up . ” She was certainly digging Gideon right about now, and she didn’t know what the heck to do with that feeling.