Wandering with You ✔️

Chapter 25.2

A pacing Miguel ushered Thomas and Nadia on the bus with an agitated flap of hands. He jumped up the stairs after them, banged on the door, and the vehicle lurched down the winding road to Agua Calientes.

Sad to see it go, isn't it?" said Sharon from the seat behind, as she leaned over and plucked something out of Thomas' hair.

He flinched away in time to see Nadia's body jerk, and her lips suck in. When he nudged her with his elbow, she pinched his thigh.

"Ow — oh yes ... Yes, it certainly is."

It was. After three days of hiking, they'd only half a day to see the ruins. It seemed too short.

He coughed and started to rake his hair, but jerked his hand back as it met another set of fingers.

"You have such lovely, thick hair, Thomas."

His body froze, but a high-pitched squeal escaped his lips when long nails scraped across his scalp. Out of reflex, his hand lifted to smack them away, then he chided himself. Gentleman didn't embarrass women in public. So instead, he straightened his spine and gripped the cushion of his seat, telling himself Sharon was harmless.

She wasn't. Not to his dignity at least, he realised as a muted symphony of chuckles arose about him.

Thomas' wide eyes pleaded with Nadia's sparkling ones. He took in the thin, white line where her mouth had been, her pink face, the flared nostrils, and he despaired. A snort erupted out of her mouth, and the bus ignited into hysterics.

"Eh?" said Jan, pushing herself up from where she'd been dozing against the window. "Oh, Sharon, back off, will you." She slapped her friend's hand away. "After Nadia's done with him, he's mine — so wait your turn."

"Don't be silly, Jan. Thomas deserves a good rub after everything he's done." Two manicured hands moved to Thomas' shoulders, and from the corner of his eye, Thomas saw Sharon give Nadia a wink.

A huge smile spread on Nadia's face as she raised her hands, her palms outwards and body shaking. "Go for your life, Sharon. I'm too exhausted to give the hero any more attention right now, and he looks soooo wound up."

And so, Thomas was forced to sit the rest of the, thankfully short, drive to town, painfully aware of the gleeful sniggers around him.

When they arrived at their restaurant, he blocked Nadia from exiting and feigned politeness, insisting Sharon and Jan disembark first, then he grabbed Nadia's hand and directed her as far as possible from the pair.

She tugged back on his arm. "No, Thomas, I wanted to talk to Sharon about something!" But eventually, she gave up on a fit of giggles and let him pull out a seat, then push it in place behind her.

He continued his distance when they visited the hot springs, for which the town was named, and made a point of sitting diagonally opposite Sharon, right next to the steps which led out of the small, blue-tiled pool.

He needn't have worried. Sharon had returned her attention to Trent, and he reclined against her chest, his eyes slit. The much younger man didn't seem to care one jot about the age difference. Well, she might be old enough to be his mother, but she was still an attractive woman — and divorced. He wished them well.

The hot, sulphurous water soon drained the tension and energy from Thomas. He sighed, closed his eyes and sunk deeper, keeping his arms propped on the sides to protect his mouth and ears from the parasites, and enjoyed the stretch of shoulder muscles. The light-hearted chatter dimmed and the world around faded to warmth, blackness and tranquillity. Until a loud, heavy splash of water jerked Thomas back to reality.

Blinking his eyes, Thomas watched Nadia's head rise from the pool. Grey eyes twinkled a second before a spray squirted from her mouth and into his face.

"What the? Nadia!" Thomas wiped away the water and flicked back his hair.

"Yeah, watch the blimmin' beers, Nadia!" cried Rob

Nadia ignored him and kept her gaze trained on Thomas. "Gotcha!"

"You'll catch an ear infection if you're not careful."

She stood, and Thomas' jaw dropped, while somewhere else lifted. As his expression registered, the smirk left her face. She dipped back down and sidled over to the bench next to him.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, hooking his finger under a turquoise string laying across her collarbone. "You look ... exquisite."

She stiffened, then flashed a glare to and from Khai. "He always said I look like I'm easy in one of these." The tendrils of her hair floated on the water, and her mouth vanished beneath the surface.

Thomas yanked her up. "Water-borne diseases, Nadia." He pulled her onto his lap and — sending a glower over to Khai, who turned his focus on his beer — kissed her nose. Droplets of water glistened on her face as he traced the outline of one of the triangles with a finger. "I want you to be up to wearing this again, later — there's a hot tub at the hotel, you know."

Her cheeks turned red, and she wriggled.

"Stop it, or I'll never be able to get out of here with my integrity intact," he hissed in her ear.

A hand prodded the area in question. "Oh, whoops!"

"Yes, whoops. What happened? You took a long time."

"Umm, yeah. I — I uh ... forgot my shaver and didn't know what to do."

Thomas darted his hand out to run a hand up her calf, and she kicked it away.

"Thomas, stop it!"

He laughed and rubbed his own stubble against her neck. "Me too." Her sleek body squirmed as he struggled to hold her still.

"Quit it, you two," said a female voice.

Thomas didn't care who spoke. Instead, he locked his arms around Nadia's waist and, with satisfaction, felt her still. While the conversation resumed its previous enthusiasm, he took the opportunity to whisper, "I think you're beautiful, spiky legs and all." And grimaced as she punched his ribs.

He continued to hold her as she slunk against him. His fingers wrinkled, shadows swallowed the ravine, and the group grew restless. A peek at his Rolex told him it was almost time to go.

"You coming to Paddy's tomorrow night, Tommo?" said Rob.

Thomas glanced down at Nadia, now out like a light, thinking he'd rather keep her safe in their hotel for a few days. "If she wants to, but I'm not sure if she will be up to it."

"Yeah, she looks pretty fucked to me —" Rob's hand flew to his mouth, and Jan let out a choking sound.

Trent lifted his head from the water. "Yup, well and truly. Well, just in case, time for one more frothy before we go, Tommo?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Frothy — Australian slang for beer

Photo by Giancarlo Revolledo on Unsplash.com