~ Chapter Six ~

 

 

 

Later in the evening after she was well rested and in an adventurous mood again, Kamila called Donovan’s room. She was hoping they could hook up for dinner, since she went to lunch with Lori.

“Hello,” Donovan answered. His voice sounded deep and professional.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Kamila.”

Kamila smiled. “How’d you know it was me?”

“I think we’ve spent enough time together for me to recognize your voice. What’s up with you?”

“Well, ah...since I missed lunch with you, I was wondering if you wanted to meet for dinner.”

“Nah...I’m meeting someone else for dinner.”

“Oh,” Kamila said, surprised. “Um...okay. Never mind then.”

Donovan grinned. “I’m kidding. I don’t know anyone on this ship but you, baby girl.”

“Donovan...” Kamila said, all smiles. “So you want me to meet you over there?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Kamila slid on her black stilettos and checked her makeup. Then after applying a little powder foundation, she heard a few taps at the door.

“Hi,” Kamila said after she opened the door. Donovan was dressed in a pair of khakis, some brown dress shoes and a pink, button-up Polo. “Thought I was meeting you at your room?”

“Well, after ten minutes had passed, I figured I might as well come here so you don’t ditch me again.”

Kamila laughed. “I didn’t ditch you the first time, Donovan.”

“It’s all good. You look nice, by the way,” he said as he eyed her down.

“Thanks. So do you.”

They walked to the dining room, to Donovan’s assigned table and a waiter quickly showed up with the menus.

“So what’s for dinner tonight?”

Donovan picked up the menu and after scanning it for a bit, he said, “Um...looks like the main courses are fried chicken and steak.”

“Check out the appetizers...Greek salad, fruit cup and frog legs. Yuck.”

“Don’t say yuck. Let’s try it...be adventurous. That’s been your mantra this entire time. Now’s your perfect opportunity to be adventurous.”

“Nah. I’m good.”

“Come on, Kamila...”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah I’m serious. Let’s try it.”

When the waiter came back, Donovan ordered the frog legs and two glasses of wine.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“Your adventurous spirit is rubbing off on me,” he said, then winked at her.

Kamila shook her head wordlessly. Then after taking a sip of water, she said, “So we have one more day. Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes and no. I’m ready to get back into the swing of things...see my son. But I’m definitely not ready to face my Mother.”

“She can’t be that bad.”

“She’s not. She means well, but she’s so aggravating sometimes.”

“Why?”

“She’s so in a hurry for me to move on...like she wants to pretend nothing happened...pretend I didn’t lose my wife and sweep everything under the rug.”

“Maybe she’s trying to protect you. People handle death of loved ones in different ways. And I don’t know you all that well, but who knows you more than your mother? I’m sure she’s recognized the changes in you...how your wife’s death affected you.”

The waiter came over with the fried frog legs and two glasses of wine.

“Ah...the moment of truth,” Donovan said, rubbing his hands together. He picked up a piece and told Kamila to get a piece. “We’ll take a bite at the same time. Ready...set...”

“No!” Kamila said then laughed.

“Come on, now. Let’s just do it. Ready, set...go.”

They both took a bite. Donovan chewed his like a pro, but Kamila frowned, grunted and was almost on the verge of spitting it out into a napkin but Donovan talked her through it. She followed with a huge gulp of wine.

“Okay, that was absolutely disgusting.”

“It actually wasn’t bad,” Donovan said. “It tastes like a combination of fish and chicken. I’ve had it before.”

Kamila’s mouth fell open. “You tricked me!”

Donovan chuckled. “I had to get you to try it one way or another.”

“Okay, well since you like this crap so much, you can have the rest of mine.” Kamila pushed her saucer over to him.

Donovan took a sip of wine.

“So when you get back home, are you going to leave that married woman alone?”

“You make it sound so horrible. I don’t pursue married women.”

“I know. You’ve explained it to me. I just want to know if you plan on pursuing her.”

“No. How can I? She’s married. She chose the man she wanted.”

With raised eyebrows, Kamila asked, “So you’re done?”

“Yeah. I’m done.”

She glared at him with a doubtful squint.

“I’m serious,” he followed up with. “I plan on starting fresh when I get back.”

“Well, good for you,” Kamila told him, but she wasn’t quite convinced he was ready to leave that woman alone. He was so hooked on her before. How could he drop every emotion he had for her after four days on a cruise?

“Hypothetically speaking, if you were me, how would you start over?” Donovan asked as the food arrived.

Kamila waited until the waiter walked away then responded, “Well, first, I would make certain that that’s what I wanted to do. Once I confirm that my mind is made up, I’ll move forward, slowly working on myself, my life, ensuring that I’m bettering myself every day and working towards my achievements. It’s like accomplishing a goal,” Kamila said, then stopped briefly to take a swallow of wine.

“How so?”

“Let’s say you set a goal to get a degree. You know that once you get this degree, you can build a better life for your family because you will, no doubt, obtain a higher paying job. You know your family is relying on you, so you would do everything in your power to reach that goal. Of course, there will be bumps along the way, but nothing in life is easy, and if it is, then it’s probably not worth your time.”

Impressed, Donovan nodded, then sliced his steak. “You are absolutely right,” he said chewing. “And I know it’s going to be hard. I know it is.”

Kamila diced her steak as well, helping herself to tiny pieces and mix veggies. “It’ll get better. And maybe someone else will come along, share their life with you and you’ll experience love again. You won’t feel the same way about this person as you felt for your wife or this other woman, but it will be something special.”

“You sound sure of that.”

“I am...kinda.”

“So is that what you’re waiting for? Someone to come along and replace your ex?”

“No...I’m...I...ah...no.”

Donovan smirked at her indecisiveness. “Why are you stuttering?”

“I’m not stuttering.”

“You were,” Donovan said, with a smile on his face.

“I just didn’t expect that question from you.”

“Well...are you?” he asked, studying her while taking a sip of wine.

“No, I’m not.”

“So why doesn’t your own acroamatic advice apply to you?”

“It does, but—”

“So if some guy comes along and try to spit some game at you, you gon’ just fan him away, even though he may be the right one for you?”

“I would have to examine him to make sure he’s worth my time. I wasted three years on a man who I thought was the right one, and look how that turned out.”

Donovan picked up his fork and steak knife and while cutting a piece of steak, he asked, “Why do women always utter how many years they supposedly wasted when a relationship ends?”

“Easy...because they never expected that it would end. Thus, it was a waste of time. Duh...”

Donovan cocked a cool half smile. “Okay, so using your example of setting a goal to get a degree...let’s say you get the degree after four years of schooling, but you can’t find a job. So you go back to school to get another degree, and this time you find a gig. Would you consider the first four years of schooling a waste of time?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m sure the knowledge I gained in those four years would be a supplement to my new degree and thereby increasing my chances of landing a good job.”

“Exactly. So instead of looking at your breakup with Loverboy as a waste of time, look at it like a learning experience...knowledge to bring over to your next relationship.”

“Hmm,” Kamila said. “Never thought about it that way.”

“Something to think about, right?”

She nodded in agreement.

“Good. Now run off and tell all ya lil’ girlfriends what I just schooled you on.” Donovan grinned.

Kamila laughed too. “You’re silly.”

“Am I? Or am I a genius?” he asked with raised brows.

She shook her head. “This steak is really good, by the way.”

“Don’t try to change the subject.”

Kamila laughed again. “I’m not trying to change the subject. This food is just off the hook.”

“Yeah it is.”

Donovan laid his fork in the plate and stared at Kamila for a moment. He studied her lips, the dimples in her cheeks when she smiled and her big bright eyes.

Kamila looked up, caught his stare and said, “What?”

“Nothing.”

“What? Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Donovan picked up his wine glass, sloshed it around and said, “You have some pretty eyes...meant to tell you that earlier.” He took a sip, watching her smile.

“You’re too kind. Thanks.”

“Welcome. Now it’s your turn.”

Kamila giggled. “My turn for what?”

“To tell me something you like about me.”

“Um...gee...”

“That hard, huh?”

“No...you’re just putting me on the spot.” She gave him a once over and said, “Okay, you have a perfect smile. Your teeth are as white as these napkins.”

Donovan flashed that flawless smile for her. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

After dinner, they took a walk through the casino, then Kamila suggested they go to the spa to get massages. Then afterwards, he walked her back to her room.

“So that’s it for the night?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m a ball of wax after that massage. I almost fell asleep on the table.”

“Well, I thoroughly enjoyed myself today.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe, if you’re not too occupied with your friend tomorrow, we could hang out for a lil’ while.”

“Okay. Definitely.”

Donovan brought his hands together to a single clap. “I guess this is goodnight, Ms. Jenkins.”

“It looks that way.”

Donovan closed his arms around her, squeezing her in his grasp. “Do you have to go, now?” he asked before he knew the words had left his mouth. He sounded needful and it didn’t bother him one bit. He enjoyed the time he spent with Kamila and realized that she was a welcome distraction to the disappointments in his life.

“You don’t want me to? I have no more energy to party.”

“Then I don’t mind sleeping here again tonight.”

She unwrapped her arms from around him and looked him in the eyes. “Really, because somebody told me I shouldn’t invite strange men inside my room.”

“Oh now I’m a stranger, because when I was lying in bed with you last night, holding your hand, it surely didn’t feel like we were strangers.”

Kamila smiled. “All right. Come in.”

Once inside, Donovan sat on the couch again. He took the remote and powered on the TV.

“I’m gonna step in the bathroom real quick and put on my night shirt,” she told him.

“Okay...just pretend I’m not here.”

“O-kay.” Behind the closed bathroom door, Kamila took off her dress, slipped into a long T-shirt and brushed her teeth. She gathered her hair into a ponytail, removed her earrings and washed her face. When she came out, she saw Donovan, still sitting on the couch. He had since taken off his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt a few buttons down. “You want to go to your room and get your pajamas or something?”

“Pajamas? What am I? Six?”

Kamila giggled. “Oh whatever, Donovan. Men wear pajamas.”

“Well I guess I’m the exception.”

“Okay, so what do you wear to bed?”

“Boxers, preferably silk.”

Kamila walked over to the bed, pulled back the covers and nestled in place.

Donovan powered the TV off, turned off the lights and stumbled in the dark to join her.

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” she asked him.

“Sure.”

“Open the curtain so the moonlight shines through.”

Donovan carefully maneuvered around the bed then slid the curtain open. “Is that good?” he turned around to ask her and when he did, he noticed her eyes open, brilliantly gazing in his direction. She was beautiful, but something about the nighttime luminescence displayed her beauty in much greater detail.

“That’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

With the added light, Donovan could see how to get to the bed now so he laid on top of the covers, facing her.

“Goodnight, Donovan,” she said in that sexy tone he liked.

“Goodnight, Kamila.”

She scooted closer to him, nuzzling her head against his exposed chest.

He quivered, felt weird for doing so, but feeling her so close to him made him recall how good it felt to hold a woman. But something about this woman was wearing on him, something he hadn’t expected from her. He thought she would be some ditsy, immature girl, but she was anything but. She was a full-fledged woman who got his humor and who understood his current relationship dilemma. She was bright, smart and pleasant to be around. She was everything he wanted in a woman. If only his heart was available...