“Claude? We were talking about where we’re going to have hot, sweaty sex in the French Guiana, of course,” Roanna said it with such a no-nonsense tone that Jack narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
“Very funny,” he said, pursing his lips.
“Jealous much?” Roanna asked absently as she stared out the window.
When Jack did not respond, Roanna turned her head to look at him.
He was frowning, with his eyebrows pulled into a V, with a very severe look of displeasure clear on his face.
“Good God, I am,” he said with a sense of horrified awe.
Roanna laughed softly, but wasn’t sure if she was laughing at him or with him.
She patted his hand.
“You’ll get over it, Jack,” she said, looking out the window once more.
Although she could not see, Jack’s eyes widened and a look of almost childish hope took over his features.
“You think?” he asked hopefully.
Roanna shrugged.
“It’ll get out of your system eventually,” she said.
Jack nodded to himself, and stared at the back of the seat in front of him as he thought about why he couldn’t get her out of his mind.
When they finally reached the French Guiana, Roanna felt nothing but relief.
Both flights had been long and they had crossed over God only knows how many time zones, leaving them all jet lagged.
It was the late that night, and they had a fourteen hour layover in Cayenne; a city in the French Guiana.
Roanna had rooms booked in advance, courtesy of Rose, and she had plans to stay in with pizza and a beer while the others did whatever.
She flopped down on the bed in happiness, pure joy of laying down on a bed.
It was a four star hotel, booked on Brianna’s credit card, and she felt safe about getting in between the sheets.
Quickly, still on the bed, Roanna wiggled out of her clothes, kicked them to the floor and got under the blankets, grinning like a fool at the luxury of the silk sheets.
While she was snuggling, she realized her mistake; she now had to make a very, very important decision between sleep and food.
With a sleepily satisfied smile on her face, Roanna fell fast asleep.
Too soon, it was time to go leave, and board another long flight from French Guiana to the Macapa.
Roanna had slept like a rock for a solid twelve hours, and only woke after Erin knocked on the door to her room incessantly.
Under any other circumstances, she would have just gone in, but Erin knew that the hotel kept the room stocked with objects small enough for Roanna to throw at the door.
And she also knew from experience that Roanna had a strong arm and excellent aim, even with her eyes half-closed.
“Ro! Get up!” she shouted, pounding on the door while calling Roanna’s cell phone.
Roanna let out a long stream of insults with a very creative use of animal anatomy in one breath.
Erin winced, then stifled a laugh when she thought of what the neighbors must be thinking.
Jack came out of his room from down the hall with a mystified look on his face.
“Erin, what the hell is going on?” he asked, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Erin eyed him pityingly.
“You’ve never had to wake her up,” Erin said.
Jack blinked at the little thing she had in her hand, and identified it as a cell phone.
“Roanna!” Erin shouted again, repeatedly calling her phone and hanging up.
Suddenly Erin darted down the hall, and disappeared into her room.
“Where’re you going?” Jack asked, alarmed; but by the time he spoke, she was gone.
The door swung open and there stood Roanna.
She had changed her clothes, and was now wearing long, linen pants in an off-white; he knew there was some girly name for it but he didn’t know what it was, and a black T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back and she wore big sunglasses that covered half her face, with her messenger bag slung over one shoulder, cell phone in hand.
“What?” she demanded irritably.
Jack had no choice but to grin, because she was so adorable when she was angry. It flushed some color in her skin, and even though he couldn’t see her eyes, he would bet it put a spark in them that nothing else would.
Without responding to her question, Jack stepped into the room, putting her off-balance, kissed her, then stepped back and gave her a grin.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he said.
He saw her hesitate as she scanned his face before glaring at him.
“We’re going to be late,” she said shortly, heading down to the end of the hall, slamming her fist on the doors of the others before turning around and heading towards the elevator.
Erin stepped out of her room with her duffle bag over her shoulder, her carry-on hooked on her arm, and she gave Jack an amused glance.
Soon after, Claude stepped out into the hall, and gave Roanna another flirtatious smile.
Jack felt a similar tug of resentment deep in his stomach, and struggled to push it away.
Brianna was the last to come out, dressed in a flowing white skirt that reached her knees and a mint green tank top, a gray vest, with sensible gray flats.
Jack gave a look from Roanna to Brianna, two women who so unbelievably different.
Brianna had that look of sweet innocence; those sweet, girl-next-door, country girl looks; blonde hair with sun-soaked highlights, the tan, the pert little nose and high cheekbones. But he knew that she was no dummy, even if Roanna currently had a less than sterling opinion of her. He almost felt worried – he could see the strain in his sister’s eyes and face, and hoped that she could hold it together long enough.
Roanna was the complete opposite. From your very first look at her, you knew that she had seen things in the world that so many others ignored. She had the dark hair pulled back from her face, which just highlighted her green eyes, sharp and intelligent, her straight nose with the small lift at the tip, and the wide, unsmiling mouth. Even though she was younger than Brianna, she had that kind of air about her that made you feel that she had been everywhere and seen everything, and handled it all in stride.
“Okay, people, we have to be at the port in an hour. The boat will take us to Macapa,” Roanna said absently, looking at the heavy-duty watch on her left wrist.
“Does everybody have what they need?” Erin asked, stepping forward to stand by Roanna, facing Claude, Brianna and Jack.
They murmured agreement and Roanna lifted her head.
“All right. Let’s go.”
Getting a Move On
Start from the beginning
