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“Okay, man. I’ll talk to Kemara about it,” he said and yelled out, “Kemara, baby, can you come in here for a second?”
Moments later, she waltzed into the room, smiling. “What’s up?”
I didn’t know if I should stay there or make myself scarce, but I wanted to know the answer, so I remained seated. Channing tossed me an annoyed look, but I didn’t budge from that spot.
“Jeb was wondering something. Turns out, he’s planning to take some vacation time soon and was looking at places to go. Would it be a problem if he came along with us to Aruba?”
Kemara’s eyes darted back and forth between Channing and me. “Tameka will be there,” she acknowledged.
I remained quiet as Kemara looked from me to Channing. I humped my shoulders when her eyes landed back on me.
“I have no problem with you going, but if she’s going to be uncomfortable with it, we’ll have to make other sleeping arrangements,” Kemara said, giving me that one ounce of leeway I’d been hoping for.
“Deal. If there is any problem, I won’t stay at the vacation house. I will get a hotel,” I assured her, but my bet was that Tameka wouldn’t deny me once we were stuck thousands of miles from home in another country.
Chapter 9
Tameka
I couldn’t contain my excitement as I boarded the plane for Aruba. I already missed my kids terribly. I messaged them earlier, and they assured me everything was going fine. The plane seemed overly crowded when it took off. I looked across the aisle where Kemara and Channing sat. Kemara glanced my way, and we exchanged a sisterly smile. I reclined in my seat and tried to relax. The person next to me was someone in their late teens. He was engrossed in the music playing through his earbuds, so I knew he wouldn’t be a bother to me on the long plane ride. I yawned and closed my eyes, preparing to take a long, relaxing nap.
Two hours later, my eyes were glued to the back of the seat in front of me, and sleep was nowhere to be found. Several hours of being on the stuffy plane, unable to sleep, made me fidgety.
“Hey, Tameka,” Kemara motioned for me to take over Channing’s seat when he went to the bathroom. I walked over to her row and plopped down beside her.
“Thank you! I was going stir crazy over there.”
Kemara smiled. “Kind of figured that just from looking at you.”
“There’s only so many crossword puzzles a girl can do before she goes nuts. I’ve spent the last ten minutes staring at the seat in front of me, wishing I could go to sleep. I guess I need to talk,” I admitted.
Noticing her Kindle cradled in her lap, I asked, “What book are you reading? Maybe a good book would put me to sleep.”
“Oh, I’m reading this new book, Slim and the Lady, by Tonya, an author I found on Facebook,” she responded.
“It must be good. You’ve been flipping through the pages over here.”
“It is good, girl! Let me tell you…” Kemara laughed and told me a little about the characters before saying, “You should just download it, so we can read it together.”
“I will when I get back to my seat.” I looked over my shoulder to see if Channing was still in the restroom, but he was coming our way. “I guess I should be heading back to my seat. Your man is on his way back.” I started to get up, but Kemara grabbed my arm.
“Babe, do you mind trading seats with Tameka for a while?” she asked.
Channing stood over me arching a brow with a faux menacing look on his face. “Better be glad I like you, Tameka,” he scoffed.
“Is it because you like her or because you love me?” Kemara said sweetly.
“That too, baby.” Channing gave Kemara an ‘I’ll make you pay for this’ look and eased across the aisle into my seat. I giggled as he looked at the teenager sitting by the window. The young man was none the wiser that I’d left the seat and Channing had replaced me.
“Good save, Kemara.”
She shrugged. “That’s what sisters are for.”
I sat back in my seat and relaxed, and before I knew it I was asleep. When I awoke hours later, I scanned the plane for the gazillionth time.
“Tell me about this condo we’re staying in, and where’d you find it?” I asked, anxious to know how we’d be living for the next week.
“I’ve never been, but Channing worked on a housing project with the owner, and he offered this place up for us to have a getaway. I hear it’s amazing. There’re twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms.”
