Simon: Rockstar Romance (The ProVokaTiv Series Book 3) (13 page)

Okay, the charm that I initially felt about being stuck in the rainforest had worn off and now I was sick of laughing, hungry for a steak, and wondering if I might freeze to death in this rainforest turned icy.

Jahi was kind and gave me his hoodie to wear for a bit, but I saw him freezing, too, so I didn’t want to keep it on for long. There wasn’t a lot of dry timber on the ground, either, so our fire wasn’t too big, really bordering on being closer to a steam bath than a roaring bonfire, or even a small warm one like I pictured cowboys would have back in the day.

I sighed. “You okay?” Barika asked.

“Yeah, just a bit antsy, I guess.”

“You miss that fella?” she asked, grinning at me and raising her eyebrows. I could barely see her do it, but the light was enough to catch it. It made me smile.

“That fella. His name is Simon.”

“He’s very handsome, eyes like the ocean with sun reflecting on them.”

“Yes, he is very handsome.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“No, we just know each other through friends. He’s agreed to help me with my project.”

“Only special man would do that, no?”

I nodded. “He is special, but not boyfriend.”

“He watches you like a boyfriend,” Barika said.

Her words warmed my heart and made me start giggling. Soon enough, I was out of the temporary slump I was in and found that with the right attitude, I felt warmer despite the temperature likely dropping.

Jahi and Barika started to sing a song. It was a folktale that they were both raised with and it sounded so pretty. I was drawn in:

Lululu, mwana wa lilanji,

Luluhi, mwana wa kanda!

Luluhi, mwana wa lilanji,

Lululu, mwana wa kanda!

Lululu, Kindchen, warum weinst du?

Lululu, verwöhntes kleines Kind!

Lululu, Kindchen, warum weinst du?

Lululu, verwöhntes kleines Kind!

When they were done, Louis and I clapped.

“That was so beautiful,” I said. “what does it mean?”.

Jahi said, “Ha! that mother, who takes her food alone. Ha! that mother, before she has eaten. Ha! that mother she says, ‘Lull the children for me’. Ha! that mother when she has finished to eat. Ha! that mother she says ‘Give the child to me.’”

    “Well, that’s not what I was expecting. It sounded so sweet and calming, but now it seems like that mom was just being bossy.” Everyone was quiet and I thought I might have offended them, but then they burst out into laughter that was so infectious that it made me laugh, too.

We were laughing away when Jahi pointed behind me and raised his hand over his mouth to indicate that we quiet down. All of us turned around and we saw lights between the thick branches that almost looked like fireflies, but of course they got bigger and bigger as they came closer and then I realized they were headlights.

Was that good or bad? I had no idea.

Then I heard a loud, booming voice call out, “Hodi,” which was ‘hello’ in Swahili. And after that, I heard, “Jessie! Jessie!”

It was Simon! I jumped up and called out, “Simon.”

Then he charged through the bushes like a lion in hiding and froze. We stared at each other and I was so happy to see him. My cheeks immediately went to aching, thanks to the ridiculously large grin on my face.  I was fully aware that I probably looked a bit insane.

Jessie was smiling and so was everyone else around her. Plus, I’d heard laughter. At that moment it occurred to me that I’d completely overreacted. Granted, she wasn’t a woman in need of saving at all. It was me who’d felt I needed to save her. Still, I was so glad to see her.

“Jessie,” I said, running up to her and hugging her in my arms. “My God, you’re freezing.” I quickly took off my jacket and wrapped it around her.

“Simon, I can’t believe you found me…us…how?” she asked me, hugging me back tightly.

I leaned back just enough to see her face and lifted my hands to cup her face. “You just disappeared. Roble there, he’s a tracker.” She looked over to him and he was talking with the others, laughing and saying something that I didn’t understand.

“Yeah, the Jeep broke down. What a day, though, Simon. These plants and what these guys are doing is so incredible. I’ve never thought that they could have this much done. I mean, it’s not published yet, so who knew…”

I put my finger over her lips and stared at her. She was so alive with excitement and energy, which was normally appealing, but she seemed oblivious to the fact that I’d just come and found her because I was worried that she wasn’t okay. Too much was happening and I felt like I’d lost all control and spiraled into some unknown, completely unpredictable guy’s body.

My arms flung around her again and I planted a huge kiss on her lips to quiet her down. Her breath tasted like a coconut and she was as intoxicating to me as I imagined a rum and coke would be.

“Damn it, Jessie. I’m so glad you’re safe. I don’t know what I would have done if something happened.”

“I’m fine, Simon, really,” she gave me a bemused smile as she stared at me, her green eyes reflecting the flames of the fire.

I was about four times as amped up as her and I couldn’t calm down and I was so confused. My agitation must have gotten the better of me because that’s when I shouted, “I love you!”

My heart stopped beating and my stomach did a flop as the rainforest echoed what I’d thought I heard Simon Jefferson say to me. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” So what did I do? I fumbled out a very non-loquacious, “What?”

“I love you,” he said again.

But this time his words came out differently. They sounded more polished, controlled, and planned, not like the unexpected confession—maybe error—he’s just said. Then I spoke more idiotic words. “You do?” Honestly, I was so in shock that I just couldn’t say it. I was also aware that there was complete silence around us, everyone waiting to see what would happen next.

I did think,
I love you, too, Simon.
I just couldn’t say it at that moment. I’d messed up the moment with how I’d handled it.  Plus, how could this really be possible? I’d give infatuation and lust to him, definitely, but love—that was massive! Could love really happen that quickly?
Yes, it can
, I thought next. Yes, it can.

I grabbed Simon’s hand and guided him to behind a bush where there would be no prying eyes on us. I couldn’t see his face, but I needed a few seconds to collect my thoughts. I was stuck on the borderline of fairytale awesomeness and practicality. God, practicality was a buzz kill at times.

When we were in the safety of the bushes, I looked at Simon again and I saw a guy who was completely tripped up. It showed even in the darkness and I wasn’t sure if it was because of how I’d responded or it was all on him as he evaluated what he’d said—twice. The first time could have been accidental, but the second time definitely was not.

“So, you said something back there.  Why don’t you tell me more about it?” I asked. I kept holding his hands, loving the way they felt touching mine and feeling like that connection at this very moment was absolutely necessary.

I could have claimed the ‘passion of the moment,’ but I didn’t. I said it again and she didn’t say it back. Perhaps it was arrogance, but I’d assumed that whenever I said that to a woman that she’d automatically say it back. Well, it was another surprise about Jessie Martineau, but one that I would have been okay to not learn.

“Simon, do you really love me?” Jessie asked me. I saw kindness and curiosity in her eyes. It was hope and it was caution, too.

“I, uh…” I choked on my words and wasn’t able to speak, but I was able to quiet Jessie down so that’s what I did.

Leaning into her chilly body, I pressed my lips against hers and kissed her hard. She responded and I felt her arms wrap around me, accepting my physical gesture. It felt like we were glued together as we celebrated something…I don’t know what it was for her, but I was damn glad to see her. It had been a hard day without her because I’d missed her and thought about her. But the minute she’d ‘gone missing,’ the day turned agonizing, a nightmare I’d hoped never to relive.

Our bodies were so close that Jessie’s heart throbbed against mine, as if her blood was flowing into my body. The more we remained connected, the faster it went and the more relaxed we became, desperation turned into a desire to consume each other.

Something made the bushes behind Jessie start to rustle and I opened my eyes, remembering that I was in the rainforest and it may not be all that safe, but it was nothing other than Jessie’s body touching the branches. We’d managed to move backwards just a bit.

Although her body was cold, Jessie’s hand was warm as she slid it into my jeans and began to stroke me, making me feel so aroused I wanted to yank her shorts down and have at it right then and there. It was an adventure I was willing to participate in.

Her hot breath on my neck as she leaned in to nibble my earlobe, all the while stroking my cock, made me instantly warm. It could have been a 100° at that moment, not a mere 60°. Her lips tickled my ear as she drew in her breath and then exhaled, whispering an “I love you, too,” with it.

I’d just said it and I’d meant it—I think, but now that she said it, my logical side took over. I leaned back and looked into her eyes. Did she want to hear it again? I couldn’t see her enough to know. It was too dark. I put my finger up to her mouth and neither of us moved.

Now every sound in the forest came to life, but none as much as the voices of everyone on the other side of the bush. “Jessie,” someone yelled, “let’s get going. Where are you?”

Roble called out my name. “Coming,” I yelled.

Roble insisted I sit in the cab, between him and Simon, but if anything, the suggestion made Simon more tense, to say the least. It wasn’t like I expected anything intimate, but we were all so quiet. Tired, too, but it was enough time for me to go into overdrive with evaluation of his I love you, and then later, mine. Of course, I hadn’t said it back right away when he said it, but once I did, I still expected that Simon would say it, too. My inner conscious screamed that was a lame expectation and love didn’t work that way. Still…

I yawned. “You tired?” Simon asked.

“Yeah, I am,” I said.

“We be back just before sun come up,” Roble said.

“Okay,” I said.

I turned to Simon. “What’s on the plate for tomorrow? I mean, today.”

“You can catch up on your sleep. Everything I have to do doesn’t require that you be there,” he said to me.

“Do you want me there?” I asked. What a loaded question. It was kind of naughty of me, but I didn’t care. I had committed myself by saying the three big words and I would never say them if I didn’t mean them. The question was, did he?

“If you want, too. That would be great. And if you don’t, please don’t go off to the rainforest again.” He started to laugh a bit, but I felt the very real message underneath it.

“No, don’t go out again,” Roble said, nodding his head as he drove the rickety truck closer to town. “You were not dressed right or prepared for emergency. Not smart.

“I agree. Live and learn,” I said.

Morning came and I decided to stay behind for a bit and rest. I had the darkest, ugliest circles under my eyes and it just wasn’t going to work for me. No amount of concealer could hide them. In an hour, I was going to be meeting Simon for a late lunch and then to go off with him to some press conferences for the afternoon. If the camera really showed everything, it wouldn’t only show those bags under my eyes, it would also show that I had some serious feelings for Simon. I was really nervous about that, hoping that I could play it casual.

My Skype ring went off and I walked over to my tablet on the bed and saw that it was from Brynn. I smiled and answered, waiting a few minutes for a fuzzy picture of Brynn to show up. Trinity was there, too!

“Hey, how great to hear from you,” I said, smiling them.

“How’s it going?” Brynn asked. “We haven’t heard from you for days.”

“It’s great. I’m so excited to see you two!” I said, clapping my hands together.

“Anything we should know about before we get there?” Trinity asked.

I didn’t think like her most of the time and I said, “Well, the weather’s great and I think you’ll love the food.”

Trinity looked at Brynn and then the two moved in closer to the camera on their computer and looked at me. They raised their eyebrows. “We aren’t talking weather. We’re talking about you and Simon getting along,” Trinity said.

“We’re getting along great. Yesterday was a bit scary, but other than that.”

“Why? What happened?” Brynn asked.

I explained the rainforest situation and how Simon had gotten worried and hired a tracker to come get me.

“How very Out of Africa,” Trinity said.

“More African Queen, if you ask me,” Brynn said.

“How about neither. It was a startling situation and I would have gotten back to Freetown eventually, but I’ll admit, it was damn good to hear Simon calling out my name through the thick of the forest. I was having fun, but I was cold.”

“And how did he react when he saw you?” Brynn asked.

“He was relieved, of course,” I said.

“And…” Trinity added.

“And we hugged for joy.”

“You’re such a yawn,” Trinity said, doing a pretend yawn to the phone. “Where’s the savage beast, the celebration of life and all that.”

“This isn’t a music video, Trin. It’s a jungle with plants that can make your body break out into a rash and bugs that can bite you, stuff like that.”

“You can’t tell me that even you wouldn’t have thought it was pretty hot,” Trinity said.

I picked up my tablet and walked back over to the bathroom counter. “I’m going to put on my make-up while we chat. I don’t want to be late.”

“For what?” Brynn asked.

“For my lunch with Simon. Then it’s time for press conferences,” I said.

Trinity snorted. “You’re changing, right?”

I looked down at my t-shirt and knee length white shorts. “What’s wrong with this?”

“Oh nothing,” Trinity said.

“Knock it off, Trin,” Brynn said. I smiled when she swatted her arm.

“Well, can’t wait to see you in a few days. We’re all set on this end. I know there’s something you’re not sharing though, but it’ll take just a minute of being by Simon and you to figure it out,” Brynn said.

“Don’t pull the journalist thing with me,” I said, looking at Brynn’s mischievous and sparkling blue eyes.  “Well, gotta go. Love ya’s!”

They blew me a kiss through the computer and then I disconnected.

Kind of strange that I didn’t tell them what happened, but if it had just been something Simon said in the heat of the moment, that it wasn’t a good idea to share it with anyone. It might trip me up and I didn’t need that. As it was, he’d distracted me enough at times, making it hard to focus on the purpose of this trip—eradicating Ebola.
And maybe finding love,
some obnoxious voice in the back of my mind added.