Tiger's Voyage (17 page)

“Hold on to me and lean when I do.”

I wrapped my arms around Kishan, clutching him for dear life while he balanced us and kick-started the bike. It roared to life, followed by Ren’s. He rolled up to us, frowned at Kishan, and then looked at me. I could tell he was smiling from the crinkling around his eyes.

Ren took off first, heading down the ramp and skidding into a sharp ninety-degree turn before accelerating down the dock at breakneck speed. Kishan followed at a reasonable speed.

Once we had a straight shot down the dock, he sped up and chased Ren toward the town. I was nervous at first, mentally ticking off a list of all the possible ways I could die while joyriding on a motorcycle, but then I relaxed and started to have fun. Kishan was very skilled and was obviously holding back to make me feel more comfortable. Ren slowed down to keep pace with us, and we rode through town slowly enough that I could get a good feel for its layout.

By the time we’d been through most of the town, I was itching for more speed.
Huh. Apparently, I’m a motorcycle junkie.
It made me feel powerful and free, and I wanted to go faster. We stopped at the edge of town, and I asked Kishan if there was a place we could race. Ren pulled up near us so the brothers could confer. They agreed to race, but both insisted that we not do anything too dangerous. Thanks to the curse, they could heal quickly, but I couldn’t, and neither wanted to risk hurting me.

We rode out of town to an area with miles of deserted dirt roads. Ren scoped out the path ahead and came back to warn us that there were a few small jumps and turns. The brothers lined up their bikes, revved their engines, and Ren gave the signal to go.

Ren got ahead of us quickly, probably because Kishan was being more cautious with me, and the extra weight of two people was slowing him down.

I yelled, “Faster!” and heard Kishan laugh as he twisted the accelerator for more speed. We came upon the first hill that shot us into the air for a few seconds. We landed hard just before a turn appeared. Kishan leaned into it. I leaned too and edged closer to him, linking my hands around his waist. He accelerated again, and we drew closer to Ren who took a jump so fast he almost lost control of the bike and wiped out—but he somehow righted himself and kept going.

As Kishan and I came to the same jump, he sped up at the last second. We flew on some good air and touched down, back wheel before the front. I laughed out loud. We immediately dipped into a right turn before accelerating again. When we got to the end of the road, we rolled to a stop next to Ren, who was leaning against his bike, looking quite nonchalant.

Kishan and I got off the bike too and removed our helmets. I grabbed Kishan in a hug and blurted out all at once, “That was so fun! You’re really good! I wasn’t scared at all. Thank you!”

He hugged me back. “Anytime, Kells.”

Ren scowled. “I’m hungry. Let’s get lunch and shop in the market.”

We sped quickly back to town and parked the bikes outside a large market. Several people stopped to watch us. I would have stopped too if I saw two gorgeous, leather-clad men with beautiful motorcycles. They looked like movie stars.

We went to an outdoor stand where we bought barbeque wraps. Mine was spicy chicken tikka wrapped in an Indian flat bread called
paratha
. Even though Kishan asked them to make mine less spicy, it was still really hot. My mouth was on fire. We sipped on fruited lemonades to cut the heat. After that, we walked the markets.

I bought dangly golden earrings for Jennifer, a box of assorted incense and a marble incense stand for Mike and Sarah. It was shaped like a dragon. An incense stick poked through its nose so it looked like it breathed fire. For Sammy and Rebecca, we picked out a hand-carved wooden toy collection with soldiers, battle elephants, camels, horsedrawn chariots, and a royal family all painted in bright vivid colors. Kishan insisted we add a second prince. Ren rolled his eyes, but I laughed and let him pick another one. Ren spoke with the salesperson about having our purchases sent to the ship.

Next, we visited a store with beach toys and attire. I stopped short in front of several racks of women’s swimsuits.

“I forgot to pack my bathing suit. It’s hanging over the shower back at the house.”

Ren walked over to the rack. “Let’s get you a new one, then.”

I leaned in to whisper, “Can’t we just have the Scarf make one?”

“We could, but whenever a material has synthetic elements like spandex, for example, the Scarf substitutes natural materials. Your swimsuit might end up being made of thin cotton, which I am totally willing to let happen.” Ren winked and grinned rakishly.

I punched him in the arm and laughed. “No thanks. I guess we’ll buy one here.”

All three of us started thumbing through the racks. Ren selected bikinis with varying levels of nakedness.

Kishan stuck them back on the rack, saying, “Don’t you know Kelsey at all? She’s not a bikini kind of girl. What about this one, Kells?”

He held up a one piece metallic foil print with a twisted bodice.

“It’s okay,” I responded.

“Not her color.” Ren grabbed it and put it back on the rack.

Kishan countered, “And I suppose you want blue.”

Ren pushed more hangers to the side. “Actually, no. I want her in something bright, so we don’t lose her in the water.”

They rejected my own preference for a basic black suit, saying my choices were boring.

We all finally agreed on a twist-front halter in a Santorini red-andginger print with solid red hipster bikini bottoms. It revealed a little of my waistline but not enough to make me feel naked, and it was comfortable and bright.

Ren picked out deck shoes to go with it, a sun hat, and sunglasses, and we gathered up our purchases and headed to the bikes. The weather had warmed quite a bit. A swim in the pool would be nice when we got back to the boat. Kishan stowed both of our jackets as we got on the bike.

When I wrapped my arms around Kishan for the return trip, he was wearing only a thin T-shirt. I became overly aware of his warm, muscular body and held on only lightly. As he drove off and leaned into a curve, I almost fell. He grabbed my hand and yanked me closer, pressing my hands tightly against his middle.

I repeated the mantra I’d used with Ren in Kishkindha when I was trying to ignore his attractive qualities. I reminded myself that it was okay to appreciate the merchandise as long as I only window-shopped.
Kishan’s just a very nice male specimen. So what if I wrap my arms around
his muscular torso on the ride back? I don’t really have any other options at
the present time.
I sighed and enjoyed my ride home.

As Kishan helped me off the bike, I suddenly felt awkward and shied away from him, avoiding his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He grunted and took a step closer just as Ren drove up the ramp. The three of us agreed to meet at the swimming pool in ten minutes, so I could show off my new suit while we all cooled off.

I arrived at the pool first and found someone already swimming laps.

When the man reached the edge, he tossed his head, flicked his blond hair back, and then climbed the ladder and grabbed a towel. He scrubbed his face, arms, and legs dry and grinned at me. “You must be Kelsey.”

“Yes.” I smiled back tentatively and asked, “Who are you?”

He laughed in a way that made me think he did that a lot. “Do you want the whole name?”

“Sure.”

“Wesley Alan Alexander the third, at your service. But you can call me Wes.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Wes.”

“Nice to meet you too. This is some boat you’ve got here.”

“Oh, it’s not mine. I’m just along for the ride.”

“Ah.” He smiled easily. “Daughter, niece, granddaughter, cousin, or girlfriend? And please don’t say girlfriend.” He laughed.

I laughed with him. “I guess I’m probably a little bit of all of those.”

“I was afraid of that. I never get the gigs where the beautiful girl is available. But only a little bit of a girlfriend gives me some room to maneuver.” He took a seat and stretched out. “In case you were wondering and were just too darn polite to ask, I’m your diving instructor.”

“Yeah, I figured that out on my own.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, look out! This girl’s got a sense of humor. I like that. Most of the beautiful girls I meet don’t have much going on in the brain department.”

Wes seemed to be the kind of guy who was perpetually happy and always laughing at a joke. He swept back his blond hair and grinned at me. He was cute, had blue eyes, a very nice tan, a nicer body, and he was an American.

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“Texas.”

“How does a guy from Texas end up in India giving diving lessons?”

“It’s a long story. Sure you want to hear it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’d much rather talk about you than myself, so I’ll give you the short version. I’m supposed to be at Harvard, but I like diving better, and I had to go all the way to India to get beyond the reach of my parents. Now, how did a pretty young American girl from—”

“Oregon.”

“
Oregon?
” He raised an eyebrow. “Oregon … find her way to India?”

“It’s an even longer story than yours.”

“I’m dying to hear all about it … but it would appear we have company.” He stood and in an exaggerated whisper said, “You didn’t mention you had
two
boyfriends. Two big,
angry
boyfriends,” Wes teased, not showing any signs of discomfort at all.

I giggled and turned around to see Ren and Kishan approaching, wearing identical scowls on their faces. I rolled my eyes at both of them. “Ren, Kishan, meet Wes, our diving instructor.”

“Howdy! How’re y’all doin’ today, sirs?”

Wes shook their hands energetically. I stifled a laugh as the boys halted mid-stride, unsure what to make of Wes and his newly affected Southern charm.

“I was just gettin’ acquainted with yur pretty little filly here. I sure thank ya for the opportunity to hitch a ride. I’ll jus mosey on off to my bunk and let y’all enjoy yur swim. We’ll start the lessons at the crack o’dawn if that’ll be alright with all y’all. Well, I’d better get to gett’n.” Wes rubbed his stomach. “I hope we’re fixin’ ta eat soon. I’m startin’ to feel all catawampus in the bread basket—I like to eat a whole hog—if you know what I mean.” He grinned at both boys then turned to me. “Why it sure was nice making your acquaintance, ma’am. I hope ta see ya again
real
soon.”

I dipped in a slight curtsey. “It was nice chatting with you, Wes. See you at dinner.”

The teasing Texan winked, picked up his things, and left.

Ren walked up to me and threw his towel on the deck chair. “I have no idea what that man was talking about, but I don’t like him.”

“That makes two of us,” Kishan added.

“I don’t know what your problem is. Wes is perfectly likeable, and he’s fun.”

“I don’t like the way he was looking at you,” Ren said.

I sighed. “You never like the way any guy looks at me.”

“I agree with Ren. He’s up to something.”

“Will you two relax? Come on, let’s swim.”

Ren looked me up and down. “I don’t like that swimsuit anymore. I think we should go back and get one that covers more of you.”

I poked his chest. “I like this one. Stop being jealous. Both of you.”

The brothers folded their arms across their chests in identical stances and stared me down.

“Fine. Suit yourselves. I’m going to swim.”

I dove into the pool and swam to the other end. I didn’t need to look back to know that Kishan and Ren had followed.

At dinner, we were joined by our new diving instructor, who made himself comfortable next to me despite the threatening looks Ren and Kishan sent him. Wes continued his Southern drawl and told lots of cowboy and Texas jokes that went completely over Ren’s and Kishan’s heads. Mr. Kadam excused himself, saying he needed to speak with the captain about getting under way, but the boys sat stubbornly watching Wes talk to me, while contributing nothing. We talked about Texas and Oregon and what kinds of food we missed and what we liked to eat in India. I asked for another joke.

“Alrighty. What do a Texas tornado and an Alabama divorce have in common?”

“I don’t know. What do they have in common?” I asked.

“Either way … somebody’s gonna lose a trailer.”

I laughed, and Wes snuck an arm around my shoulder. I heard a soft growl. I couldn’t tell which tiger was responsible, but it meant if I wanted Wes to live until tomorrow, I’d better move away.

“Thanks for all the jokes, Wes. I’d better
hit the hay
if I’m going to get up early in the morning.”

“Right you are. And I’m expectin’ ta see ya bright-eyed and bushytailed come dawn.”

I laughed and quipped, “How about I’ll be bright-eyed and the boys will be bushy-tailed?”

Ren narrowed his eyes at me.

“Goodnight, everyone.” I stood to leave.

“Wait, Kelsey.” Kishan jumped to his feet. “Let me walk you back.”

“
I’ll
walk her back,” Ren said.

I rolled my eyes and heard Wes give a long whistle. “I’d say there’s a few too many bulls in the pasture. Best see to it a pretty little heifer like yourself doesn’t get trampled.”

“The heifer can take care of herself. And I’ll see
myself
back. Goodnight, pardners.”

Ren and Kishan both frowned unhappily while Wes laughed and took off in a different direction.

There was a hollow in the pillow next to me when I awoke. I rolled over and inhaled the scent of sandalwood and waterfalls. When I grabbed the pillow to hug it, my hand touched a piece of paper.

Moon And Sea
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

You are the moon, dear love, and I the sea:
The tide of hope swells high within my breast,
And hides the rough dark rocks of life’s unrest
When your fond eyes smile near in perigee.
But when that loving face is turned from me,
Low falls the tide, and the grim rocks appear,
And earth’s dim coast-line seems a thing to fear.
You are the moon, dear one, and I the sea