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“You’re not selling it to me,” Sarah said and held Kendra’s gaze. She wondered what thoughts passed through Kendra’s mind with the shift in her expression.
Kendra broke eye contact and looked skywards. “I’m sorry I was angry earlier,” she said.
Sarah lowered her head. It hadn’t been pleasant, but she didn’t want to talk about it and spoil the atmosphere they’d managed to capture with easy conversation.
Kendra finished her beer quickly without making eye contact. “I’ve got to go and help Kim Cheng prepare dinner,” she said.
Sarah nodded. The moment was over too soon. “Thanks for the beer.”
She watched Kendra disappear into the hut and heard the door close on the other side a few minutes later. Her footsteps on the pontoon were not as angry as they had been earlier. There was a sense of lightness that came with the small achievement, leading Sarah one step closer to shutting the door on their past and opening the next into a new future. They still had a lot to talk about, but at least she’d seen a glimpse of the Kendra she knew and loved. That spark between them was still there, as was the desire that tingled across Sarah’s skin when Kendra looked at her intently. She was sure of it.
She fought the urge to follow Kendra, to push hard for what she needed. The time would come when they would hold each other again and make love. But she had to let Kendra lead, though she didn’t quite know for how long she could hold back. She had wanted to go to her balcony and kiss her. She was sure she had seen longing in Kendra’s expression too. Maybe tomorrow they would hold each other again, and she would show Kendra how she really felt.
26.
KENDRA SAT AT THEbase of the tree, its canopy some fifty metres above her, on the back of a fitful night’s sleep having tossed around the bed wrestling with her thoughts and her body craving Sarah’s touch. She’d made a point of working inside the kitchen during the evening, not because she wanted to avoid Sarah so much, but because she couldn’t look at her without wanting her, and she didn’t want to do anything rash or stupid like sleeping with Sarah on her first night here. It would be so easy to fall into her arms. Talking to her had felt like old times, and more so because they’d previously not really taken the time to talk about something other than the campaign or plotting the moments they could snatch together. And when they’d had those moments, they’d fucked more than talked because it had been easier than addressing the hard facts of how they managed their relationship around Sarah’s life.
She leaned back, rested her head against the bark, and closed her eyes. The craving stirred in her core and wouldn’t let her settle. She stared towards the canopy above her head, her attention drawn to the enveloping darkness that indicated a downpour was imminent. She loved this place, the changes in weather, the constant temperature, and the closeness to nature. This tree was one of many from one of the earlier plantation projects to replace the trees that had been ripped from the land by the logging industry. It was still young, and the heavy shower found its way effortlessly through the tender leaves. She savoured the cool sensation massaging her skin. Being soaked from head to foot was great respite, because as soon as the rain passed, not only would the sun and humidity suck the life out of her, but she’d also have to face Sarah.
She ran her fingers through her hair and watched a jet-black scorpion dart across the jungle floor. It wasn’t much bigger than her thumb, and it held its poison-tipped tail up and ready for action. She wondered how Sarah would react to it given her dislike of bugs and chuckled. A bright green jewel beetle made its way across her Converse. Her trainers had retained a little of their fluorescent green colour but lost their vibrancy courtesy of the rainy season and heavy usage. They now blended well with the jungle’s carpet, which wasn’t always a good thing as she’d often notice insects crawling across them. She was distracting herself with minutia, but Sarah’s image interjected, and her core responded with a gentle throb. She closed her eyes. The rain eased, and the sun instantly turned the humidity into a sticky soup. She wiped the back of her hand across her brow.
“Hot as hell, isn’t it?”
Kendra blinked and scrambled to her feet. “Oh, hi.”
Water dripped through Sarah’s hair and where her shirt clung to her it revealed the wonderful shape of her breasts. Kendra swallowed though her mouth was dry, and the heat inside her made its way up her neck and into her cheeks.
“You look cute,” Sarah said. “They’ve taken a bashing, I see.”
Kendra looked at her shoes. “Just a bit.” She brushed her hands down her shorts at the back, mindful that they would be covered in dirt. “Can I get you anything?” she asked with the formality she would use to attend to one of their guests. “Did you eat breakfast?”
“It was very good.” Sarah crossed her arms and locked eyes with Kendra. “Are you avoiding me?”
“I’ve been busy.” She held Sarah’s gaze, her cheeks burning with the lie. She’d kept a distance because she needed time to think about how to cope with the week and Sarah leaving again. It would be different this time. Little good thinking had done her though, because all she had been able to focus on was making love with Sarah.
“Looks a nice place to ponder,” Sarah said, gazing around.
Kendra clenched her hands to stop herself from sweeping the loose strands of wet hair from Sarah’s face. Resisting was like fighting the tide, but she refused to submit to the insistent swell. “It is.”
Sarah stroked the trunk of the tree. “Magnificent, isn’t it?”
Kendra pressed her palm to the trunk. Sarah was being pleasant, and Kendra didn’t need to be so defensive, but she needed answers to questions. “This place is magical. A hundred and sixty million years in the making. It’s older than the Amazon,” she said.
“I read about the devastation that was caused when they created the lake. Villages, temples, wildlife. It has its own Atlantis out there somewhere.” She gestured towards where the lake sat, beyond the trees, and smiled as Kendra frowned. “Yes, I did my own research, and what’s happened here since to create a thriving economy and reinstate habitats has been no mean feat.”
“And what does Jeremy have to say about the place?”
Sarah ran her fingers down the line of the bark. “He thinks I’m skiing in the Alps.”
Kendra raised her eyebrows.
“Mark knows I’m here, and so do your parents.”
Kendra closed her eyes and bit her lip. She didn’t want her parents dragged back into her personal life. Sarah was a married woman with children, and despite supporting Kendra as any loving parents would, she knew they couldn’t approve of something that would break up a family.
“I’m sorry, I had to find out where you were, and they were the only people I could go to.”
Sarah appeared changed, not just apologetic, but resigned. She looked tired, but then so had Kendra when she’d arrived. Her gaze was soft, and it touched Kendra effortlessly, as if they were two halves of one drawn together by the need to feel whole and knowing there was nothing that could stop them. Kendra had felt that draw last night when they’d talked. She smiled inwardly, knowing it was still there this morning. The voice in her head urged caution, but she parked its complaint at the back of her mind.
