Hena’s pulse skittered. She needed to run forward. Grab Inaya off the boardwalk to safety. Instead, she was frozen in place. Pythons were strong. Their grip tight enough to take down crocodiles without missing a beat. Any wrong move could trigger the snake. If it wrapped itself around Inaya, constricting her body, it was over.
Behind her, footsteps.
Maheen.
“Honey! Let’s get you showered. Your dad said the shuttle will be here any minute now, and I have to get ready for my airboat ride.”
The footsteps slowed. Maheen drew to Hena’s side and stumbled to a stop. Her shoes squished as they sank into the ground.
Her scream ripped through the air.
The snake snapped its head toward the sound. The other snakes stirred.
“Mommy!” The girl broke into a sob and rushed toward her, her foot clipping the snake’s side.
There was no time to think.
Hena leapt onto the boardwalk. In one swift motion, she yanked Inaya off, stumbling onto the muck at the base of thewalkway. Maheen gathered her daughter into her arms and held her tight, burying her face in Inaya’s neck.
“Oh my god,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
People flooded the lawn, drawn by Maheen’s scream. Aunties and uncles. Courtney. Mansur. Whispers rose to gasps. Reza was there too, his face lined with concern. He took a step forward when Lulu’s voice rang out.
“Is everything all right?”
She pushed through the crowd and hurried toward them. Coming closer, she stopped cold. She yanked out her phone and typed furiously.
“Everyone, please go inside,” Lulu said sharply. “I’m calling wildlife control. For your safety, return to the hotel now.”
The lobby was cool when Hena stepped inside with Reza. Outside, the commotion about the snakes was only growing louder.
“Hate on Orlando all you want,” Reza said, running a hand through his hair, “but I’ve never seen pythons lounging around there.”
“That wasn’t normal. I mean, yes, pythons are definitely a problem around here, but I’ve never seen so many in one spot.”
He pointed to Inaya sitting across the lobby, now playing with Maheen’s phone and swinging her legs from a bench. “She seems to have recovered quickly.”
“It’s nice to be young, isn’t it?” Hena said. “When you don’t know all the things that can hurt you.”
When they reached the elevators, Reza shot her a sidelong look. “Just so I understand, you’re terrified of alligators, but pythons? Totally cool with those.”
“You must have missed how I froze up. Every second counts in a situation like that. I was petrified, Reza.”
It had been sheer luck the snake hadn’t wrapped itself around Inaya. Sheer luck Hena got her away in time.
The elevator dinged and she stepped in. Reza put out a hand to stop the doors from closing. When he spoke again, his teasing tone was gone.
“Petrified or not, you did what you needed to do. She’s safe because of you. You were incredible out there, Hena. Really.”
She held his gaze until the doors shut. Only then did she release the breath she’d been holding.
What was it about Reza? It wasn’t like she’d sworn off men after Nasir. She’d been on her share of dates in San Francisco. Nice dinners at the best spots in the city. Outings to the de Young Museum or the SFMOMA. But even with the neurologist she’d dated for nearly four months last year, going as far as meeting his parents at their Ugly Christmas Sweater party, she hadn’t felt the way she did around Reza since the moment they met: butterflies.
It’s nothing,Hena firmly told herself. Reza was fun to flirt with. Easy to talk to. Nice to look at. He was also one of the few people here who didn’t see her as the enemy.
Reza was a much-needed distraction during a week when she desperately needed one.
Nothing more.
