by Lena Malick
She walked over to one of the buildings. It was the one she asked Nik about when she first arrived—the one he said he didn’t know what they were going to do with. The door hadn’t been put on yet, so she walked inside. She stood in the middle of the large room, dripping on the bare concrete floor. The sound of the rain pounding the roof made it feel like she was in the center of a drum circle.
She sat down on the cool floor. A slight sadness took hold of her, for the first time since she’d been here. It felt foreign, like sadness just wasn’t normal in this magical place. But she felt it. And she knew why.
This was Nik’s dream. Though she’d helped recently, and felt she fit in here, it was still his dream. She was just borrowing it. Her dream was to be a pediatrician. They’d had many conversations about dreams and ambitions, and how important it was to work hard to make them come true. He’d done that. But how could her dreams fit with his? What would that mean for their future together? Did they have one?
She looked around the empty space, imagining what it could be used for.
A medical clinic, she thought. For kids. A free medical clinic. She stood up and turned in a circle, thinking. There was a need for it, she knew. She’d gone on trips with Carmine to the outskirts of town to get building supplies, and seen the poverty many of the children lived in. But how could you fund something like that?
Soon, her mind was racing as she paced around, imagining it. Was it possible? Maybe. Just maybe. She could see it.
Then her old nemesis, Doubt, barged in, as it usually did whenever she started to feel confident that she could do something—A medical clinic? Are you high? Ha ha ha. You really think Nik would want a bunch of sick kids coming here? That may be your dream, but it sure isn’t his.
Terra looked out the open doorway, toward the ocean. Through the gusts of rain, she could see powerful waves rolling in. Nik always looked out at the ocean, and now she felt she knew why. It was a source of strength. As she watched the water, she could feel herself getting stronger.
Not this time, she told her old nemesis.
She needed a pen and paper to make some notes. She had a dozen thoughts she needed to get down. If she was going to talk to Nik about it, she wanted to have some specifics.
She went back to the house. When she got to the deck, she grabbed a towel and went into the living room. Nik was still writing in his journal. She noticed he was griping the medallion in one hand. He was sitting forward, writing quickly, his eyes intent.
Terra stood, toweling her hair, about to ask him where she could get a pad of paper when suddenly he looked up at her, as if only now noticing she was standing there.
He said something to her in Greek, his eyes bright. It sounded like a question. He did that sometimes when he was excited. “Shit. Sorry. I mean to ask, when does your university start?”
“Ten days,” she said, a little too quickly.
“Anna called me,” he said. “While you were on your walking.”
“Your sister?”
“Yes. You met her last year.”
“I remember. Is she okay?” Terra asked, sitting on the edge of the coffee table.
“Yes. She’s graduating college, in Athens. She wants me to be there. To fly out there. Tomorrow. It would be important to my mother as well. You know how mothers are,” he added. His face fell as he realized his mistake in reminding Terra of her own mother. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Are you going to go?” she asked, a panic rising in her she wasn’t sure she could control.
“Yes.”
“Oh.” A wall of grief was about to hit her like a breaking wave. She looked down at her lap, trying to hold it off. The voice of Doubt barged in—Ha ha ha, a medical clinic!
“If you’ll come with me,” he said.
She looked up at him. “To Athens? To Greece?”
“Yes. Will you? I’ve thought about it. I plan it out. We could leave tomorrow, see? The seasons almost over here. Carmine can finish. You can fly from Athens back home in a week, see? Will you? Will you come with me? Please.” He took her hands. “Please, say you will.”
“Yes. Yes, of course, Nik. I’d go anywhere with you,” she blurted out. The tears came anyway. Now she wasn’t sure if they were tears of joy or relief, but they streaked down her face as she kissed him.
He soon sprung into action. “Phone! Where is phone?”
“Bedroom,” she said.
Terra, her heart still in her throat, went into the kitchen to make their lunch. She needed a distraction to help her calm down. Nik came back in, holding the phone, looking concerned.
“No reception. Landline is down too. Must be from rain. How am I to get tickets?”
Terra stood there, feeling helpless, holding a knife with peanut butter on it. Nik looked out the window at the pouring rain.
“I know,” he said suddenly, heading for the front door. He grabbed his jacket from the hook on the wall. “I’ll be back soon,” he said over his shoulder as he bounded out the door. She watched out the window as he ran across the sand, pulling his jacket on.
Lunch sat in the kitchen, untouched. She couldn’t eat. Her thoughts were racing. What did this mean? Did he want her to meet his family? He’d talked about his huge family, the brothers and sister, aunts and uncles. She had them all pictured in her head. And his mother. His mother? What did that mean?
She tried to distract herself with a book, but couldn’t concentrate. She saw his journal sitting there. She was tempted. What had he written? His plans. She knew she would never read his journal—she would never invade his privacy like that, but she didn’t welcome having to fight off the temptation. It would be in Greek anyway, she realized, which made it easier.
It was more than two hours later when he returned, soaking wet but excited. He took the bandana off from around his face. “We’re all set,” he said, giving her a happy, wet kiss. “We leave tomorrow.” He was not only wet, but nearly covered head to foot in mud.
“How? What did you do?”
“I went to airport, and bought the tickets,” he said, running his hand through his wet hair. He looked insanely sexy, she thought. She wasn’t sure why. His boots were muddy, his jeans were wet and dirty, and his shirt was not only muddy but barely hung on his body, having lost a few buttons somewhere along the way.
“I thought the road was closed,” she said, watching him as he pulled his shirt up and wiped his forehead. She loved his belly. It was flat, with strong, rippled muscles, and two thick muscles along the sides that dropped down into his jeans, forming a V shape. His jeans hung low on his hips, pulled down from the weight of the water. There was a line of hair that ran from below his belly button, down into his jeans.
“It is, but I take the motorcycle. The dirt road is all mud now, but I make it.” He looked so happy. And so… sexy, she could hardly stand it.
“That’s great. That you were able to make it through,” was all she could think to say. Watching him, she felt her body temperature going up. She briefly imagined herself on her knees, pulling those jeans down off his hips…
“I’m so glad you going to come. So, so glad.” He took a step toward her. “I’d hug you, but I don’t want to get you muddy, so I should probably—”
She leapt at him, throwing herself high into his arms, straddling him. She wrapped one arm around his head and cupped his face with the other. Getting wet and smeared with his mud, she opened her mouth and kissed him with a lusty intensity. Kissing her back, he slid his hands under her shirt, grabbing her breasts and sliding his other hand up her back. His rough handling excited her even more.
She was still clasped around him, kissing him, when she heard him undo his belt.
He lowered her to the floor and roughly yanked her shorts off. Standing back up, he looked down at her. He pushed one of her legs open with his boot, then slowly unzipped his jeans, pulling them down just past his hips. His enormous erection sprung forward. He kicked open her other leg, spreading her wider. Fully expo
sed, she looked up at him as he stroked himself.
“I’m going to fuck you now.”
He fell on her, still clothed, wet and muddy, smelling like rain and dirt. He greedily pushed into her. She wrapped her legs around his upper back, opening herself completely to him. He was soon thrusting into her, his wet hair spraying her with water.
She’d tapped that animal side of him she’d seen only a few times. It was the only time when he became completely focused on his own needs, fiercely driven to satisfy his hunger. The few times it had happened in the past, he felt compelled to apologize to her later, for being what he called a “selfish lover”, but she secretly loved it. She loved that she could drive him to it. And she loved being the recipient of it.
He pounded into her, overcome with lust. He suddenly paused for a moment, as if realizing he was being too rough. She grabbed his hair and pulled him close. “Fuck me. Fuck me hard,” she said in his ear.
That drove him insane. He thrust into her in long, deep strokes. He pushed into her so hard she was sliding backward on the floor, her head getting pinned against the couch. His shirt hung above her. She reached up and grabbed it, yanking hard. The last remaining button popped off as she tore it off and wrapped her arms around his back, digging her fingers into him.
“Harder,” she said.
He made animal-like grunts and gasps as he pushed. His hand at the back of her head grabbed a fist full of her hair. Fully leveraged on her, she felt the full force of his physical strength with each thrust.
“Harder,” she said again.
She was completely overwhelmed by the power of his pure, masculine force. Usually shy about making too much noise, she yelled out as he drove into her. She pulled her legs higher and reached down, grabbing his ass. Pounding deeper, he arched back. The glistening muscles on his chest and shoulders bulging with strain. Tendons in his neck stood out as the color of his face darkened. Finally, he let out a long, whaling cry as he orgasmed, releasing deep inside her in powerful blasts.
Chapter 8
The next morning was a mad scramble. Nik had spent the previous evening going over everything with Carmine, Allan and Red. Everything was set—except for a way to get to the airport.
It finally stopped raining during the night, but the road out was too muddy to pass. No way a cab would try. They had an old truck they used to pick up supplies in town, but it would never make it through the mud.
“The boat,” Nik said, pacing in the living room.
“No, man,” Carmine said. “Have you seen the waves coming in? You can’t swim to shore from the boat when it’s like this.”
“The motorcycle,” Nik said.
“Nah. How are you going to get it back?”
“We leave it there, and you get it with the truck, later, after the road dries.”
Carmine shook his head. “I could get it, but there’s no way you could make it through the mud with both of you on the bike.”
Nik glanced at Terra, then went back to pacing. Carmine stared at the floor. They didn’t have much more time.
“Yes, we could,” Terra said. They both looked at her. “We could do it.” She looked at Nik. “I’ve ridden with you before. I remember what you taught me—crouch on the pegs, lean when you lean.” She stood up. “We could do it,” she said firmly.
Carmine shook his head. Nik pursed his lips, unsure. “No. Nik, you’re a good rider, but you two would end up in the mud a half dozen times before making it to the main road,” Carmine said.
“So?” Terra said. “I don’t care. We can do it, I know we can.” She was determined now. She knew they were worried that she didn’t know what she was getting into, and Carmine was clearly concerned for her safety.
They didn’t end up in the mud a half dozen times, but they did drop the bike twice. Luckily, Terra had stuffed her shoulder bag in her backpack and wrapped the whole thing in plastic. After the second drop, she was covered with mud.
It was brutally hard. She knew it’d be messy, but she wasn’t as prepared for the physical exertion. The road was so washed out there were times she couldn’t even tell if they were still on it. They had to ride crouched over the bike as Nik maneuvered through the muddy terrain. Her legs were burning before they were even half way to the main road, but somehow they made it.
When they came over the last embankment and up onto the paved road, it felt like they’d just been birthed from middle earth.
Terra wasn’t sure what Nik was doing when he pulled the bike off the main road, near a farm. He got off the bike and motioned her over. There was an irrigation hose. He turned it on and they washed all the mud off each other and cleaned off the bike. Back on the road, Nik opened it up. Terra could feel the warm air drying her as they zipped along.
As they road up the coast, Terra looked out at the Caribbean. A source of strength, she thought. The world seemed cleansed by the rains. Long streaks of sunlight slashed through the high clouds, lighting the ocean surface in majestic, shimmering sections.
Terra had a feeling, both comforting and scary, that maybe she belonged here. Maybe…
She took a deep breath and nested the side of her face against the back of Nik’s neck, her arms wrapped around his chest.
The wind blew Nik’s hair back. She looked up and could see the side of his face. As she squeezed her arms tighter, she saw his cheek stretch up, and knew he was smiling.
Cancún Wedding
Chapter 1
Terra lifted the window visor and squinted, looking over the tops of the clouds. She tried to find a gap, anxious to see if they were over land or water. Her view went white as they passed through a cloud, as if a pillowcase had been pulled over the plane. She sat back and tried to relax. They weren’t scheduled to land in Cancún for hours yet.
Vicky climbed back into her seat. “Those bathrooms are made for little people. I swear, they make planes smaller and smaller these days.” She buckled back up. “I had to pass the food cart on the way back up the aisle. There’s no room. I had to practically crawl on some guy’s lap to let the cart pass. Not that I’m complaining. And all the stewardesses are thin as sticks. You notice that? You do not see no fat stewardess these days. Maybe I should apply for a job, have them turn me down, then sue their asses.” Vicky had lost over twenty pounds in preparation for Terra’s wedding, and was forever fishing for acknowledgement. She did look great, trimming down but managing to keep her curves.
“Stop it, Vik. You couldn’t sue because they’d hire you. You’re one of them now, thin as a stick.”
“Now, I don’t know about that. Lost some of them extra LBs, but I ain’t no stick.” She seemed satisfied. Vicky had fretted about the wedding more than Terra had, far exceeding her role of Maid of Honor and becoming downright maternal in her devotion to every detail. She seemed to know that Terra would miss her mother now more than ever, and was quietly filling the role where she could. Terra was more grateful than she could ever express.
The stewardess pulled the food cart up and leaned over them, dropping napkins on their trays. “Chicken piccata or vegetarian lasagna?” she asked, with the kind of plastered-on smile you knew would quickly disappear if you failed to answer right away.
“I’ll brave the chicken,” Vicky said. The stewardess looked at Terra, her eyebrows lifting higher than seemed possible. “Nothing for me,” Terra said.
“She’ll have the lasagna,” Vicky said. “And two margaritas.” The Stewardess’ smile dropped. “Just kidding, love. But we’ll have a couple of those cute little bottles of chardonnay.”
Terra pushed her food around and sipped wine. Vicky went on and on about the details of the wedding as she ate. It had become something of a nervous habit. It was the same stuff Terra had heard a number of times before, but it was her job to nod and say “Uh huh” in the right places.
“It will be great having all the men in loose khaki suits and barefoot. Casual, but classy. I mean, if you’re getting married on the beach, what’s the point of shoe
s? For the men, I mean. But a woman needs a good pair of heels, even if she’s gettin’ married on the moon. You’ll be standing on those wood planks, so not to worry about navigating sand. I got it all planned.” She was on autopilot.
“Uh huh.”
“And I’m just taking your word for it that this guy Soren is good enough to take pictures. I know you said he’s an amateur photographer, but I have my doubts. He’s the lady killer you told me about, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“So he’s got other priorities. Not a good sign. Weddings are prime hunting grounds for men looking for a quick fling. At least I’m hoping so.”
Terra’s thoughts began to drift away. Everything seemed to be moving both fast and slow at the same time. She found herself needing to mentally go back and relive many of the things that had happened in the last year, afraid that if she didn’t, they would be lost forever. She wanted to bottle all the precious moments, before they faded away, like footprints at low tide.
It was usually the memory of Nik’s voice that would trigger it. As Vicky went on and on, talking about how the food was to be laid out, Terra could hear Nik’s voice saying, Terra, this is my mother, Maia. Terra closed her eyes, getting lost in the memory. It was almost exactly one year ago, she realized.
They had taken a taxi from the airport to Nik’s parents’ house in Voula, a wealthy area on the coast, south of Athens, Greece. By the time they arrived, Terra felt like a walking disaster—dirty, tired, and nervous. The last shower she had was from an irrigation hose on the side of the road back in Cancún. The house—palace was more like it—was not at all what she expected. Nik talked about his family, but never mentioned anything about them being wealthy.
The house was spread out over the side of a hill, overlooking the Aegean Sea. The cab stopped on the wide circular driveway that arched across the front. When Terra got out, she turned in a circle, mouth agape. The house, made of whitewashed stone, was three stories high. The manicured grounds it sat on were as large as a college campus. Terra squinted in the sunlight, stunned.
