Wandering with You ✔️

Chapter 6.2

It was dark when Nadia emerged onto the hostel balcony. Manu Chao played over a stereo and Citronella oil burned in bamboo flares, releasing a heady scent. In the distance, a crescent of streetlights marked where land met the sea, their reflections twinkling on the water and illuminating the white caps as they crashed against the shore.

Nadia looked up as a bat zipped overhead. The breeze blew her hair across her face, and she pulled it away, grimacing when the strands caught in her mouth.

A moment later, she spotted Khai at the bar and, pulse racing, headed in his direction. As she walked, she dabbed at the thick foundation smothered across her burnt face. I look like a frickin' melted Barbie doll.

Khai was in his backpackers' uniform: a sweat-stained and moth-eaten t-shirt, an old pair of cargo shorts and his beloved green thongs from Venezuela on his broad, hairy feet. He was engaged in an enthusiastic conversation with an amazon-tall woman with thick black hair and smooth brown skin, dressed in hiking boots, gypsy pants and a grey hoodie.

I'd look like a wanker if I dressed like that, Nadia thought.

A fizz of laughter spilled from the woman's mouth. In response, a growl bubbled in the back of Nadia's throat. She picked up her pace and, fists clenched, halted a foot from the pair with two loud, clipped steps.

The smug look on Khai's face dissolved into a sober mask as he took in her expression, and he dropped his beer onto the bar with a thunk.

"Oh — um, Nadia, hi ... this is, ah — Savannah."

The woman examined Nadia with hazel eyes flecked with green. Green as the jealousy streaking through Nadia's body. Savannah had a bone structure to die for. A wide nose and straight white teeth. She was bloody hot — and makeup free. Nadia's stomach thudded to the floor.

"Hey, girlfriend, I've heard all about you!" Savannah said in a strong Texan accent.

Nadia flinched at the familiarity, but determined to play it cool, she plastered a grin on her face and let the woman hug her. The second the embrace ended, Nadia darted back and wrapped her arms around her stomach, then blinked as Khai's arm slipped about her shoulders.

Weird. He rarely touched her in public — it put people off hanging out with them. After all, nobody liked a lovey-dovey couple. Or so he said. But this was ... nice. Why didn't they do it more often? She missed his hugs.

Her body started to relax, and her chest warmed as she sunk into him, enjoying the feel of the soft, thin cotton of his shirt over his hard body, his cologne and the scrape of his stubble against her cheek. She peered at Savannah through half-lowered lashes. Maybe she was alright after all. Besides, a woman that tall wouldn't go for a short-ass like Khai. It could be nice to have another chick to hang out with.

Savannah regarded Nadia, then lifted her shoulders and spoke on. "Do you remember Aqua Azul?"

Nadia stumbled when Khai removed his arm, stepped up to Savannah, and slapped his hand on the bar top. "Man, that was incredible ... but nothing to Angel Falls."

Savannah flicked back her lustrous hair in a gesture straight from a Pantene commercial and inched closer to him. "Oh. My. God. That was like, the most spectacular thing I've ever seen. I can't believe the Cessna ride over."

"So dodge! The pilot must have been on drugs!"

Nadia skirted around them and ordered a beer. Glimpsing a raised hand from Khai, she made it two. Khai took his with a wink, said, "Salut," and spoke on. Nadia took a long gulp of her drink and glanced through the gathering, inspecting the pockets of people chatting away or lounging about tables playing card games. But her eyes kept returning to the pair beside her.

As they continued to speak, heads growing ever nearer, a coldness grew in her heart. Something felt off. When Savannah reached out and pressed Khai's arm for the umpteenth time, Nadia just managed to reign in the urge to scratch the eyes out of her gorgeous face.

She moved to catch Khai's gaze and spoke with icy intensity. "So, you guys know each other already?"

His pink forehead creased. "Ah, yeah. We met in Mexico —"

She knew her answering smile was demented because it cut his words right off. Good.

Savannah, who didn't seem to notice, continued on. "And then in Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela. Those places are like, so amazing! You have to go!"

What the heck? Nadia exaggeratedly flicked her hair and turned a manic grin on Savannah. The woman stepped back, eyes round, as Nadia leaned towards her and spoke through gritted teeth. "Why I would love to. However, it seems you got there with my boyfriend first."

"Didn't you realise that, Nads?" asked Khai, his voice full of patience and reason.

Nads? Had she suddenly metamorphosed into depilatory cream or man parts? It was her nickname, with friends, but only for shit stirring — definitely not for a situation like this. She took a deep breath, her body quivering.

"How could I know if you didn't tell me?"

Khai at least had the decency to flush — for a moment — then he dismissed it with a shrug of the shoulders. "Sorry 'bout that, Nads."

Her nails dug into her left palm. Calm down. There was no point arguing. It would only push him further away and toward this ... this ridiculously hot woman named after a grassy plain. Who would do that to their kid? And why did young Americans always say 'like'?

She shook her head mentally. An hour ago, she'd been toying with the idea of leaving him. Now she was acting like a jealous mole.

She wasn't jealous — only insecure people got jealous. Much as she hated to admit it, there was nothing wrong with the name Savannah, or her bloody accent. It was pretty cool. Damn her!

"You should come and meet the others, Nads," said Savannah, already pulling Khai to the other side of the balcony.

The hairs on Nadia's arms bristled. This woman was not her friend and Khai, along with nicknames, was off limits. He was hers.

With epic self-control, she softened her expression and let the words drip off her tongue with sickly sweetness. "Sure, why not, Savlon?"

Photo by Angel Videy on Unsplash.