Another Love Story

Fifteen

We went our separate ways to refresh when we got back to the hotel. Dinner was in Tiger's suite again. I sat with my legs crossed in the middle of his bed and ate.

He was seated at a table across the room. I quizzed him a bit more about Amani Village and his vision for planned settlements in Uganda. He answered all my questions in depth. After the plates had been cleared away, Tiger walked over to his dresser and picked up our bottle of wine. It had been refrigerated all day. He looked at me with a teasing smile.

"It would be a shame for us to take this wine back to Kampala," he said.

"Go ahead and pour," I said as I leaned back against the pillows.

"Not here," he said as he walked over to his luggage. "Let's go swimming."

He took another shopping bag out of his travel bag and approached the bed. "I brought you a costume," he said as he dropped the bag on my stomach.

"Of course you did, you sneaky man," I said. He smiled down at me.

"Come on. Go get changed and meet me by the pool," he said.

I groaned. "Isn't there a rule about eating and swimming?" I asked.

"We're not going for the Olympics," he replied with a laugh. I rolled away from him and got off the bed. I picked up the shopping bag.

"Thank you," I said and left his room.

I went down to the pool in the new costume with a short, printed kaftan over it and sandals. Tiger was already in the water in swimming trunks. There were two glasses of wine and the bottle at the pool ledge near him.

I put down my towel on one of the pool chairs and kicked off my sandals. With a deep breath, I took off my kaftan, tossed it on top of my towel and turned to Tiger. His eyes stayed on me as I got to the pool and dived in a short distance from where he was. After a few moments, I swam to the surface.

"You look nice," he said.

"Thank you," I said as I swam closer to him.

"Wine?" he offered.

"In a little while," I replied and swam away from him. We swam in circles and floated in the water for a while.

I swam over to the pool stairs and sat on one of them with the water up to my waist. I snagged a glass of wine and drank deeply. I lightly stirred the water with my feet. Tiger swam over and balanced on the pool ledge as he drank his wine.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked.

He looked at me and smiled. He put his glass down and pushed back into the water.

"I do. I've got an older brother who is married 4 years now. He has a son. We've always gotten along so well. Raising my nephew is such a joy. I've also got a younger sister. She is doing her masters abroad right now. She's not married yet. She's always been stubborn but according to her, the issue is that she has two overprotective older brothers," he replied.

I laughed. "The overprotective part is no lie," I teased.

"I take care of mine," he said with a look in his eyes that set my blood racing. I kicked water at him.

"The patriarchy is rearing its head," I said.

He disappeared under the water. In the next moment, he was in front of me at the stairs. He lifted me by my waist, spun and dropped us both underwater. I squealed and tried to push him away in vain. After a few moments, I came up coughing. He came up laughing.

"You're quite crazy," I said. When he narrowed his eyes, I squealed and dived under water to swim away. A few paces away, I felt him tug sharply on my ankle. I tried to kick away but he put one arm round my waist and brought us back above the water. He began to tickle me with his free hand while I pushed at his chest to get away.

"Tiger!" I cried out; laughing so hard that my stomach hurt.

He dropped his forehead to my shoulder. "Michelle is ticklish. This is quite the discovery," he said.

"It's the water," I said as I pushed away from him.

"I'll be happy to try this again on dry land," he said

"No thank you," I said immediately, which made him laugh. "Allow me drink wine in peace."

We swam to the edge of the pool and drank wine. We stayed in the pool until our fingertips began to wrinkle. We moved over to the pool chairs and lay down.

I gazed up at the stars. We were the only ones at the pool and the only sound for miles was the distant strain of human life. It was peaceful.

"There's something to be said for night swimming," I said.

"It's therapy and a cocktail rolled into one," Tiger said as he gazed at the underwater lights of the pool. It was the only light in the pool area; making the water glow.

After I had dried off, I put on my kaftan and a thick robe. Tiger put on a robe too. We finished off the wine and alternated between stretches of silence and chats until I dozed off.

I woke up as Tiger sat on the pool chair beside my hip.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hi. What time is it?" I asked.

"It's coming to midnight," he replied.

I rubbed my face and looked around. We were still at the pool. His robe was open; showing his torso and swimming trunks. I glanced away and then lifted my eyes to his.

"Let's go back inside," he said; holding a hand out to me. I accepted his help as he guided me to my feet. I put on my sandals while he picked up our empty glasses and bottle.

"9am tomorrow?" he asked as we approached my hotel room.

"That's fine," I replied. I bid him goodnight and entered my room.

*

On Sunday morning, we met in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. After eating, we checked out and drove back to Kampala. Tiger dropped me off at my apartment at 4:30pm. He took my bag out of the boot and we walked up together.

Trish was in the living room; lying in the sofa. I sat on her lap and smiled down at her.

"Fancy coming home to a beauty like you," I teased.

"Hey," she said with a smile. "Enjoyed the weekend?"

I glanced over at Tiger who was watching us. "Yes, I did."

He stayed for a few minutes while Trish updated us on her weekend and then stood to leave. I escorted him to his car and hugged him.

"Thank you," I said, tightening my grip on his neck for a second. He rubbed my back.

"You're welcome."