Return to Cancún (2 page)

He finally broke their embrace. With his
hands on her shoulders, they looked at each other, as if for the
first time. They both broke into goofy smiles. “Did you check in a
bag?” he asked. “Yeah. I have my backpack, but they wouldn’t let me
take it on board, so I had to check it.” They started toward the
escalator that led to the baggage claim area. He naturally took her
hand as they walked, like they were a couple. He squeezed her hand.
She squeezed back.

They floated down the escalator in silence,
just looking at each other, not wanting to break the moment. When
they made their way to the baggage claim, they were surprised to
find all the passengers from her flight still standing around,
waiting for their luggage. “I find out what’s going on,” he said,
breaking away from her and going to the information desk. She stood
by herself, watching the other people. She was so happy and
relieved she thought she might cry.

Then, Terra’s old nemesis doubt
crept in. Surely he felt what she felt. Right? She could see it in
his eyes when he first saw her. He felt it too. It wasn’t just her.
Right?
Wait, what if I’m wrong? What if
he’s just being nice, but doesn’t feel the same way? What if he
just sees me as a friend?
She looked over
at him as he waked back toward her. He smiled, his teeth radiant
white. “They say a delay. Are you okay?” He looked at her,
concerned. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” she said. “Okay… they say a delay.
About ten more minutes.” The words reminded her of the last time
they made love. A warm flush went through her body.

“Here, come. I show you something,” he said,
taking her hand. He led her to the far end of the terminal, near a
bank of windows. They could see the brilliant blue of the Pacific
Ocean, shimmering in the late afternoon light, spread across the
horizon. “It’s beautiful,” she said, then turned and looked at him.
She remembered how he seemed to have a need to face the ocean, like
it was the thing that grounded him. His face looked serene as he
gazed out at the water.

He turned to her, realizing she was looking
at him. He pulled her hand, rolling her around so she was in front
of him, her hips pressed against his upper thighs.

Looking down at her, he held her face in his
hands. He moved one hand around the back of her head as he slid his
other hand down her back. She rose up on her tiptoes. He kissed
her. It started as a soft, gentle kiss, but quickly progressed. He
opened his mouth as she did, their tongues greedily probing and
rolling. Her body quickly lit up. She felt like Sleeping Beauty,
asleep for the last year and now woken by his kiss. She was
ravenously hungry for him, the passion of all those lonely nights
overtaking her.

He broke their kiss, afraid of their rapid
progression and where it might lead. They both glanced around,
suddenly self-conscious, then turned back toward the window. They
looked at the view, as if afraid to face each other again. They
were shoulder to shoulder. Her pinky reached out and playfully
hooked his. They swung hands until she slid her hand into his. She
turned and looked at him. His profile was perfect. He turned toward
her. The window light lit his face with a soft glow. He was so
beautiful, it was astonishing, as if God had rendered him to some
higher version of perfection. It wasn’t just her feelings for
him—he really was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Even
walking though the airport she noticed others doing near double
takes as they passed. She was sure other women found him
irresistible. But he was with her now. Her.

She tightened her grip on his hand. “How long
did they say we’d need to wait?” she asked him. “Ten minutes,” he
said. She could see the kiss had really gotten to him. He was
breathing harder as he looked at her. His mouth was slightly open,
as if needing to kiss her again. He seemed to be fighting to hold
himself back. “Ten minutes?” she said. “Yes,” he said,
breathlessly, his mouth coming closer to hers.

The rest of the world seemed to slowly slip
away. She looked into his emerald eyes. They were like a gateway to
another place—a magical place, where desire and longing come home.
They seemed to grant her a kind of acceptance. Acceptance of all
her wants and needs. As he looked into her eyes, desire hit her so
hard she thought she might start shaking, as she sometimes did when
alone in bed and her need for him was so strong she’d forget to
breathe.

“Ten minutes?” she said, squeezing his hand
so hard it was like she was trying to hurt him. He nodded,
spellbound, unable to speak as he stared at her.

“Nik…” she said. She didn’t finish the
thought. She didn’t even know what else she was going to say, but
everything she was feeling seemed to come out in just that one
word. His name. It was a question, a declaration, a whisper, and a
request. Perhaps a command.

He broke their stare and looked around. Then
he pulled her hand, quickly guiding her away. Around the corner was
a small alcove area with a coffee cart on wheels. The cart was
pushed flush to the wall and empty, as if abandoned. Nik pulled it
out from the wall and slipped behind it, pulling her after him. He
was so tall, the top of the cart only went to his shoulders. With
his back to the wall, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him
down, sliding him down the wall.

She straddled him, falling on him, kissing
him ravenously. She was never the aggressor in anything, much less
sexually. But all her limits seemed to just to vanish. All she knew
is that she wanted this man, and she had to have him. Now.

Their bodies seemed to meld as they fell into
a deep, locking kiss, as if feeding on each other. As they kissed,
she gathered her long wrap skirt and pulled it up around her waist.
She lifted herself enough for him to quickly unbuckle his belt and
undo his jeans. She reached down with both hands. With one hand she
reached behind her and pulled her panties to the side. With her
other hand she grasped his cock at the base. The strong, firm feel
of it was instantly familiar, like it had been imprinted on her
brain. She felt an immediate sense of possession, overcome with an
ancient territorial impulse to lay claim to him. She had to lift
herself higher to rub the head of his penis to her opening. She
squatted, pulling her hand away as she pushed her weight down. He
slid into her. She pushed all the way down, lifting her knees,
until the full length of him penetrated deep inside her.

The suddenness of it shocked her body, but
she embraced the pain. He arched his back, his body torqueing,
flooded with immediate pleasure. He yelled out, but she put her
hand to his mouth, silencing him. She didn’t realize that she’d
also made a sound. He put his hand to her mouth as well. She moved
up, then back down, feeling him plunge deep inside her. She made
another sound. He slid his fingers into her mouth, his thumb going
under her chin. She sucked his fingers, clamping down on them to
keep herself quiet as she moved forward and back. He made another
loud groaning sound. She slid her fingers into his mouth and held
his chin the same way he was. She moved forward and back, up and
down on him. His face tensed up, the tendons in his neck sticking
out. They tightly gripped each others mouths, sucking and biting
down on each others hands to keep from calling out.

People walked by, just a few feet away. She
heard a loud group, dragging luggage and a complaining child.

She increased her pace, grinding on him. With
his other hand he cupped her breasts, his large hands kneading her.
Their foreheads met as they leaned into each other, both breathing
rapidly though their noses, knowing that if they took their hands
away they’d cry out and be found. She moved faster, the energy
inside her building, rapidly rushing forward.

She pressed harder, pushing herself onto him
as she thrust herself forward and back, grinding at a furious pace.
She felt his body start to convulse. She remembered the feeling,
knowing he was beginning to orgasm. The force inside her peaked at
the same time. She slowed down as they both took their hands from
each other’s mouths and quickly locked in a kiss.

There was an overhead announcement in
Spanish, then English, about arriving flights, followed by a
warning in a sing-song voice not to leave baggage unattended.

He gripped her tightly, wrapping his arms
around her and squeezing as his whole body shook. He was hot and
wet, clamped to her in a tight embrace, enveloping her in his
fierce, masculine strength. She smelled the ocean on him, combined
with his own sweet, woodsy scent. His muscles gripped her, locking
them together so tight it felt like they were one.

They orgasmed together, in perfect union.
Their combined energy wrapping them in a cocoon of intense
pleasure. They kept their mouths sealed together to keep from
screaming out loud. She felt him spasm inside her, releasing in
deep bursts. Her orgasm plateaued and sustained, like a high note
that continues to hang in the air. Her body shook as the pleasure
rolled through her, feeling his final spasms quiver inside her.

~ ~ ~

“Can I ask you a question?” she said. They
were sitting in the cab, finally getting out of the downtown area
and heading up the coast. “Sure you can,” he said. They were
holding hands. They hadn’t stopped touching since leaving the
airport. She liked the sore feeling between her legs. She imagined
his seed still inside her. She could feel it, slippery and
warm.

“In your letters,” she said as he looked at
her. “How come you never mentioned us? I mean, us together. The
time we spent together.” She wasn’t sure she should mention it, but
she felt compelled to ask. He slowly turned from her and looked out
the window.

A bolt of fear hit her.
Another woman. Was there another woman in his
life?
She’d never asked. I hadn’t occurred
to her. Or maybe she just didn’t want it to. But why wouldn’t there
be? How could there
not
be? She suddenly felt so young—young and foolish
and naïve, only pretending to be a real woman. Caught trying to
play grownup games.

Nik turned forward, looking at the back of
the cab driver, who was fiddling with the radio as he drove. With a
sigh he turned back to Terra and held her hand in his lap. He moved
closer to her, their legs pressed together, and leaned close to her
face. He talked softly but clearly, choosing his words carefully.
“I try to explain. As I best can.” He paused, gathering courage.
Terra’s heart beat so hard she thought she might have a panic
attack.

He looked in her eyes. “When I first see you,
last year, at the diving class. I feel something. Immediately. The
second I see… the second I look at you…” He seemed frustrated as he
struggled with the words. “Like a bolt. See, I only know the love
of family. I have been close with others, but I never feel… I never
feel… like when I see you. And that was just beginning. I never
knew what it was like to really be alive until I see you. But you
don’t live here. It… what’s the word? Selfish. Yes. You’re going to
medical school. I have no right, or no good sense to ask you not to
live your dream. There is a saying. What is it? If you really care
about someone, you must let go. Let them go. Something…” His clear
green eyes misted over. “I try. I try to let go. To let you go. To
live your dreams. I just…” A single tear, like a big orb, pushed
out of his eye and rolled down he cheek. He quickly brushed it
away. Embarrassed, he turned and looked back out the window.

Terra reached out and took his face, turning
it back toward her. She rubbed another tear away with her thumb.
She felt one of her own tears roll down her cheek. “There’s no one
else?” she asked him in a whisper. He shook his head slowly. “Not
since I first see you,” he whispered back. She took his face in
both her hands and kissed him, running her hands through his hair
as their tears blended together.

~ ~ ~

The cab would only take them to the old gate
in the dirt road. After bouncing along for that last two miles, the
driver protested, insisting he wouldn’t go any further. Nik grabbed
Terra’s backpack and hoisted it, adjusting the straps for his
height. Terra took her shoulder bag and they set out on foot.

Making their way down the trail, they didn’t
say much, just held hands as they walked. Once, Nik stopped and
pulled her close, kissing her. “I just had to make sure you are
real,” he said afterward, as if afraid he was going to wake up from
a dream. Terra knew the feeling.

It was early evening when they came to the
ledge that overlooked the bay. Terra stopped, struck again by its
beauty. She remembered everything about it. The azure blue of the
water, the crisp, salty smell of the air, the bright white of the
sand—she’d pictured it in her mind for the last year, keeping it
alive. Still, she was struck, as if seeing it all for the first
time.

The sun was close to setting, sitting like a
big orb over the water, bathing the bay in brilliant, colorful
hues. The white cliffs dropped majestically into the water. Large,
colorful birds drifted off the cliffs on currents of air.

As Nik led her down the embankment toward the
beach, he pointed out the progress they’d made with the diving
sanctuary. There were a number of building sites tucked along the
cliff line, each made to blend into the landscape. She recognized
everything from his drawings. The boat dock had been extended.
There was now a second boat, with a blue sail wrapped to its shaft,
in addition to his sailboat.

He pointed to the buildings. “One is
classrooms and offices, and one is research labs. That one is for
equipment storage. The other one is for housing. Already people
living there. You’ll meet them.” Terra saw another small building
site. “What’s that?” she asked. “I don’t know yet,” he said,
squinting his eyes. “I wait to see what else we need.”