“Wait.” She points to outside. “We can get one of those taxis, it looks safe enough … I think.”
She’s pointing to a gleaming white car. “Yeah, let’s do that.”
When we get to the car, a man smiles hugely at us. “One stop cab service with a smile. Where can I take you to?” he says in a funny sounding accent.
“Thanks, uhm …”
Cara glances at me and then the man starts to ramble in a language I know abso-fucking-lutely nothing about.
“Ooo … julle’s Afrikaans. Sorry man. Waar wil mevrou-hulle gaan? Ek kry julle daar in ? jiffy.”
Cara starts to laugh and she shakes her head. “My Afrikaans sucks. Let’s stick to English, please. Uhm … could you take us to a cheap hotel close to Bedfordview?”
“Oh, sorry man,” he laughs and then opens the back door. “Sure, there’s one in Edenvale. It’s close to the shops.”
I keep the bag with us as we get in the back and soon we’re on our way to the hotel. I don’t know what I expected to see once we got here, but it all looks pretty normal.
Cara nudges me and I look at her smiling face. “Did you expect to see wild animals roaming the streets?”
“Yeah,” I laugh.
“The only animals here are the people. Trust no one.” The smile drops from my face as I’m reminded of why we’re here.
When we reach the hotel, Cara deals with the cab driver. Once we’re settled in a tiny room, I take a deep breath. The first stage has gone down okay. It sucks that we don’t have a car. That makes things harder for us.
Cara sits down on the bed and then stares at the floor. I kneel in front of her and catch her eyes. “What’s going on in that mind of yours?”
She shrugs and gives me a sad smile. “I’m thinking about the last time I was here.” Her eyes meet mine and I see the sadness. “Every Sunday we used to drive out to the Vaal dam. We’d spend the day there, just the three of us. I was so happy back then, Damian. I loved my parents so much, and they were just ripped from me. I didn’t even get to go to their funerals. Uncle Tom just shoved money at me with the stupid passport and told me to run. I was only eighteen. I didn’t know any better. I didn’t understand anything back then, and I still don’t.”
I brush the palm of my hand over her cheek and press a kiss to her lips. “Let’s just get this over with so we can get our assess back home.”
“Sounds good.” She starts to twirl her fingers on her lap and her eyes dart shyly to my face.
I tilt my head and take hold of her chin, so she has no choice but to look at me. “What’s that look for?”
“Uhm ...” she bites at her bottom lip and then peek at me from under her lashes, “I was just wondering if … uhm … did I ruin things between us?”
Aww … fuck! She thinks she’s scared me off. I shake my head and smile at her. “Never. I’m just taking it slow with you, Cara.”
She stands up, pulling me up along with her. Her hands settle on my chest and she bites at her bottom lip again. “So … you still like me a little bit?” She pulls the cutest face ever, and it makes my heart melt.
“I more than like you a little bit,” I whisper, but then I get serious. I’ve never told her how I felt and that’s why she’s so unsure of us. “It’s not just about the sex, Cara.” Her eyes dart away from my face. She’s very uncomfortable with the word sex. I make a mental note not to use it again.
Her hands start to slip from my chest and I quickly grab them, holding them in place. “I live you.”
Her eyes dart up to my face and then I see the confusion wash over her features. “Love is too much like hate. They are emotions that come and go. Life, that’s a different ball game. You get one life. I live you, Cara. You’re my life.”
Her mouth starts to tremble but a smile still breaks through. “I am?”
I press my lips to her mouth and whisper, “You are.”
She makes the first move, reaching for my shirt. I let her pull it over my head and then she presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Will you show me?”
“Hell, yeah,” I growl. I lift her off the floor and drop her on the bed but then I freeze. “No condoms. Shit, I didn’t think we’d need any.”
She lifts herself on her elbows and I see the war behind her eyes.
“Hey, it’s no big deal. We can wait until we’re home.”
Instead of agreeing like I thought she would, she sits up and pulls her shirt over her head. Stunned, I watch her strip until she’s naked. She scoots to the edge of the bed and takes my belt off, and then my jeans drop to the floor. I step out of them, not so sure of what my next move should be.
“I’m on the pill,” she says as she presses a kiss to my abs. “I want this with you, Damian. I can’t let the past keep getting in the way.”