Page 68 of Colombian Chemistry

“Irene?” I whispered though I knew she couldn’t hear me.

She slipped off her sunglasses when she saw me, and those unmistakable eyes met mine.

“Irene!” I called and pushed up from the table. I bolted through the dining area and out onto the beach.

“Marcus!” She started running toward me.

When I met her on the beach, I didn’t give her a moment to open her mouth to say another word. I pulled her into my arms and crushed my mouth onto hers, desperate to taste the lips I thought I may never taste again. I didn’t even ask why or how she was here... and for a moment in time, I didn’t care. She was here in my arms, and I kissed her harder as I struggled to process her presence.

“What are you doing here?” I finally asked when I broke our kiss.

“I couldn’t let you guys do this without me. And to hell if I’m waiting years to see you again.”

“I don’t understand. Knox got you out of Colombia. Didn’t he?” Suddenly I felt rage that Knox had lied to me, and in fact, hadn’t taken Irene to Costa Rica. It didn’t make sense, though, as Knox would never lie to me.

“He did. He took me to Costa Rica. They got me my passport, but instead of getting on the plane to the US, I hitched a ride back down here.”

“Why in the hell did you do that, Irene?” My excitement to see her collided with my anger. “We had you out of the country! You were safe! What the actual fuck?”

“Exactly!” she said. “The Jungle Kings think I’m gone. They know I flew off from the airstrip that day, and they aren’t hunting here for me anymore. As far as they know, I’m back in the States. I couldn’t just leave you here to deal with this by yourself. It’s my father in there. I’m not leaving without him.”

“But if you used your passport, they would know you’re back and start looking for you!”

“I didn’t!” she argued. “I hopped a bus to Panama and took a boat from Panama to Cartagena. I paid a little extra to not have to show my passport when I entered Colombia. As far as anyone knows, I’m not here. And with my hair dyed, they’ll never think it’s me.”

I wanted to chastise her some more for all the terrible decisions she’d made, but at the same time, I was proud that Irene had managed to get herself all the way from Costa Rica back to Cartagena. She’d come a long way from the terrified girl I’d found in the streets a couple weeks back.

“Look at you. When I met you, you were scared of your own shadow.”

She furrowed her darkened eyebrows. “I was not. That would be nonsensical to be afraid of my own shadow. A shadow is just an absence of light created by our body blocking out the light source. Though,” she said, pressing her finger to her chin, “I can see why you may think that because in some cultures, the shadow is...”

I grabbed her by the face and closed her mouth with a kiss. “Shut up and kiss me, Irene,” I whispered against her lips.

She melted against me, and I kissed her until I ran out of oxygen. I’d thought it could be months, even years, before I could taste her kiss again. But now, here she was back in my arms again.

“We’ll talk more about your terrible decision coming back here later,” I said on a sigh, then kissed her again. “I’m still pissed as hell you’re back.” I kissed her once more. “But damn, it’s good to see you, Baby.”

She smiled and rose on her toes to kiss me again. “I missed you too, Marcus. I meant it when I said I wanted to make my own choices now. And I’m not letting my fear control me anymore. I choose you, and I’ll take whatever consequences come my way because of it.”

“Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

“I learned from you.” She grinned, and it caused me to laugh.

“True story.”

I pulled her against me and pressed a kiss to her forehead. When I turned back around, I saw Piper and Knox watching intently from the table. Piper held my phone pointed at the beach so Wes could see us too. I chuckled and shook my head as I slid my arm over Irene’s shoulder.

“Irene, you know Knox, but this is Piper, and the guy on the screen is Pretty Boy,” I said when we reached the table.

“Wesley,” he corrected. “Or, I was thinking, maybe we could start calling me Incredibly Handsome Man.”

“Nice try, but you’ll always be Pretty Boy, Pretty Boy.” Knox grinned.

“Damn it,” Wes whispered.

Irene looked bashful as she lifted her hand to say ‘hi’ to Piper and Wesley. Knox rose from the table and enveloped her in one of his giant bear hugs.

“You sneaky little minx,” he said as he squeezed her. “I told you not to come back here. I thought we’d agreed you’d keep going.”