LULU'S POV
The gift of having been around the world is that there was very little that could faze me. I had done it and experienced it all. I had seen men from all over the world, different colors, ethnicities, sizes and shapes. I didn't really care for the male gender, I wasn't into girls or anything I just hadn't ever found a man worth my attention. Some had been worth looking at twice but the specimen of a man I was fawning over was worth having a sculpture made in his honor.
He was distracted by the elephant calf he was attending to so I took my time to admire him. He was wearing blue coveralls that did nothing to hide his physique and black boots. He was definitely taller than my 5'6 frame towering at about 6'1. One of his most striking features were the dreadlocks he was rocking. They were long reaching mid back, twisted and tied to keep them out of his face. I could only see half his face and from where I was standing but he had nicely trimmed side burns, a small beard and barely existent moustache.
I realized I was getting side tracked by his gorgeous self from getting the little cub help so I snapped out of it. I had seen handsome men before so I had no idea why he was affecting me so much. I didn't even know his name to begin with and I was almost picturing how our babies would look like. I needed to get a grip of myself and focus on what brought me to him.
I was about to get his attention when the calf splashed water on him from its trunk making him jump away.
"That's the third time today. I told you water is for drinking not playing with."He scolded but you could tell from the tone of his voice he was not really mad.
He unzipped the coveralls intending to take them off and I almost turned away. Key word, almost. To my disappointment he only shrugged them off halfway and knotted them at his waist giving me a good view of his back and arms that were rippling with muscles. Yes I was still staring, sue me. He had a tattoo of a lion on his right bicep and as far as I could tell it was the only one that he had on him.
Having already wasted enough time I decided to announce my presence. I cleared my throat to get his attention and he jerked around so fast, it was a surprise he didn't snap his neck. Poor lad thought he was alone.
"Need help drying up, I'm pretty handy with a towel."I blurted out shamelessly.
Nice going Lulu, you barely know the man and you're already flirting. Oh please, bite me.
He stared at me wide eyed probably wondering where I had come from. They probably didn't get too many visitors. I saw his eyes rake over my body and I knew I wasn't much to look at since my boobs were barely there and my ass and thighs were imaginary. I wasn't ashamed of my body, since I was very athletic so having big boobs and an ass would have gotten in the way, according to me. I wasn't body shaming, I promise. I loved thick girls beginning with my baby sister Amani who had a killer body by being thick in all the right places.
I realized we were still staring at each other and he still hadn't said anything back to my stupid comment. Poor man probably thought the city girl was going to take advantage of him. He was safe with me, for moment at least. I'd keep my claws away from his delectable body until I got his help then I'd think about what to do with him.
"Is there a vet here or someone who can look at an injured animal? I need help."I asked getting to the point about what had brought me to him in the first place.
He snapped out of it and his deep brown eyes finally met my dark ones.
"I'm the vet here. What can I do for you?" He asked addressing me directly for the first time and I bit my lip when his voice washed over me.
Soothing, calm and deep. His voice still had a hit of his local accent but instead of putting me off, I found myself liking it. I was entranced but would save the drooling for later.
My mind immediately went to its darkest place imagining him in scrubs and a stethoscope. I knew he was an animal doctor, don't get all up in my business, but still.
"I accidentally hit a lion cub on the way here. He's alive but needs to help."I replied and his widened eyes showed that I'd now gotten his full attention.
"Show me."He requested and I didn't need to be told twice.
I turned on my heel heading back to my car and I heard him following behind me. I unlocked the jeep and opened the passenger side showing the cub who was barely awake but moving around on the seat. I stepped aside and the handsome vet rushed to his side. I really needed to know his name.
"Tuba you scamp. We've been looking all over for you."He greeted excitedly and I breathed in relief when I realized he recognized the cub.
"You know him?"I asked trying to get his attention.
With his back still turned to he replied "Yes. He went missing early this morning and we've been looking all over for him. He's only a few days old that's why he can't see yet. Their eyes open up about a week or more after birth."He explained and I smiled that he didn't just brush me off.
He picked Tuba up carefully in his arms and walked away. Without waiting to be invited I locked the car again and followed him into one of the better looking buildings. It was a brick structure with a grass thatched roof and a floor that was smoothed out with clay. It was actually cool inside a huge contrast to the scorching heat outside.
I watched him carefully lay Tuba on a examination table before he began checking him up. I stood aside silently and let him work admiring how his big hands could be so caring and careful on such a fragile being. Made me wonder what other things his hands could do. Down girl, not the time.
I noticed that he was trying really hard not to look at me by concentrating on Tuba. I wanted his attention on me but I didn't want to interrupt what he was doing. I found myself using the opportunity of his attention being in the young cub to get a closer look at him. I noticed that he had tribal marks on his face and chest. They were clearly old, probably from when he was an adolescent but they had been made deep enough to be noticeable years later.
One on his right cheek was a circle drawn over another and on his left cheek were three lines that looked like they had been carved into his skin. Kenyan tribes had weird traditions but it was our heritage and even though some of it sucked it was still ours. The ones on his chest were different patterns of different things like a paw print on one of his pecks and a few more that I didn't understand. I would have asked about them but it was the wrong time. That was definitely being stored in my brains archive as a conversation starter.
He didn't have a ring on his finger or the indent left behind by one so it was safe to assume that he was not married. I really hoped that he was single. I didn't want to be having inappropriate thoughts about a married man or one already in a relationship. One thing I was not was a homewrecker.
Having ogled him enough I turned my attention back to what he was doing.
"Will he be okay?"I asked after about ten minutes of silence between us.
He glanced at me slightly and nodded.
"Yeah he's okay, you didn't break any bones when you hit him. He's just in shock and hungry. You gave him water?" He asked.
"Yeah about a litre. I was waiting for his mom to show up but she never did so I put him in the car intending to get him help when I got to my destination."I explained.
"That's good. He was probably thirsty that's why he left his siblings and mother behind in search of water. Probably wandered around and never found any. Thanks for bringing him here."
I brushed him off with a wave of my hand"Just doing what anyone else would have done in my place."
"No, other people would have hit him and left him behind."He contradicted, his voice getting tight meaning he had experienced that before.
Before he could get angry I decided to change the topic.
"You keep lions in this place?"I asked looking around skeptically.
He chuckled at me and I almost swooned. The man had perfect vocals considering anything that left his mouth was drool worthy.
"No but we found Kisha, wounded and about to give birth a week ago so we took her in otherwise she would have died out there together with her cubs."
"You named them?"
"Yeah we name every animal who passes by here."He answered and I just hummed in response.
"By we you mean?" I inquired wanting to know more.
"The sanctuary is run by me and a few other volunteers. They are all out there looking for Tuba. Speaking of I should probably radio them and call off the search."He patted his pockets and when he didn't find what he was looking for he huffed.
"Forgot my radio outside. I'll inform them when I'm done here."He concluded and I didn't say anything in response.
We stood in silence after that, awkward silence neither of us knowing what to say next. I knew what I wanted to say but it was all inappropriate and not for the situation we were both in.
He was the first one to speak up"I didn't catch your name."
"That's because I didn't tell it but I'm Lulu Kawira Kiarie, nice to meet you and you are?" I introduced using all the names on my ID.
"James Lankenua Koinet."He replied shortly and I smiled.
He had a nice name, it fit him perfectly. As much as I would have loved to spend more time with James and Tuba I needed to get going. It was getting late and the resort I was staying at was still a long drive ahead.
"It was nice meeting you James but I have to go. Tuba I'm sorry for hitting you. I'll pass by tomorrow to check up on you. Is that okay?"I asked directing that last part to James.
He looked at me startled before he nodded. "Yeah sure."
"Okay bye you two. See you tomorrow. Please take care of him."I requested.
"I will."James promised and I nodded.
He looked like he wanted to ask me something but he shook his head meaning he had changed his mind. I took that as my cue to leave. One shy wave later I walked out of the shelter towards my car. I reversed out of there catching James looking at me from the door of the room I'd left him in, talking into a radio phone. I didn't say or do anything else except for drive out of there. That man was a walking temptation and I needed to be careful around him.
The rest of the drive was incident free and by the time I got to the resort it was already six in the evening and almost dark. Sunsets in the Savannah were beautiful but I'd take pictures another time. I was exhausted and almost falling on my feet. The resort was a simple ten cabin compound with self contained rooms that I would be occupying for most part of the year. The fence was high with barbed wire zigzagging at the top that was probably electrified to keep wild animals away. The environment around the resort was greener than everywhere else probably because they had to keep the place alluring enough for guests. There were lights all over the place and it seemed only two cabins were occupied from the lights in them.
Marini had called ahead and booked me a room so I was received at the parking lot by a stewardess dressed in a red Shuka. Her neck and hands were adorned with lots of beads. Have I expressed how vibrant the Samburu and Maasai culture is. If I haven't, it's beautiful and so alluring.
"Miss Kiarie, we were getting worried. You were supposed to get here hours ago."She greeted politely shaking my hand.
"I know but I got a little side tracked."I replied giving little detail.
"No matter, you're here now. Welcome to the Twiga Resort. It's an honor having you. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask, my name is Saldona."She welcomed and I smiled gratefully.
She called someone over to help me with my bags. I had a suitcase, a duffel bag and a backpack with all my electronics. Since I was occupying one of the self contained rooms meaning I would be cooking for myself I'd done a lot of shopping to keep me for about a month. I didn't know about the state of the place and where they got their produce, better safe than sorry.
They both helped me carry everything to my cabin in one trip and Saldona opened the door welcoming us in. All the cabins were wooden but once you stepped inside it was actually bigger and a lot more spacious than one would think.
I took my time exploring the place as Saldona dismissed the bellboy. The bed was at the furthest corner resting on some platforms raising it higher than the rest of the room. On one side was a small well equipped kitchen with a double sink, small fridge,utensil rack, cooker with an attached oven, a microwave and a few cabinets. There was a wooden wardrobe besides a door that led to the bathroom. They didn't have a bathtub but that was okay since they already had a shower with sliding glass doors, a sink and a toilet. There was also a tiny cabinet behind the mirror to keep all my products in.
The best part of the cabin was the patio that opened up to the beautiful luscious sight that were the Kenyan plains. It was separated into two. On one side there were two lounge chairs or more like each with a smoothed out log serving as tables. There was even a Jacuzzi back there. Would definitely be spending some time in there. It wasn't directly under the sun since there were a few trees growing around that provided ample shade. The other part was a four chair table set up under a canopy in intertwining vines and a sofa with a few throw pillows in the corner. I was going to be very happy there.
"Is everything to your liking ma'am?" Saldona asked and I smiled.
"Please call me Lulu and I love it."I replied.
"That's great. A few things before I leave you to settle in. Your room might be self contained but you're still allowed to order from the kitchen when you're not in the mood to cook. Your laundry will be done twice a week and garbage collected daily. We can also clean the room for you if you're not up to it.The water sometimes runs out but we have storage tanks in place for such moments so you never have to worry about running out of water. There is also a backup generator so we're never in the dark."She explained and I smiled.
Marini truly wasn't sparing any expense to make my stay as comfortable as possible.
"Thanks Saldona, I'll take advantage of the kitchen right now. Just bring me anything on the menu that isn't breakfast food."I ordered.
"Yes ma'am... Sorry Lulu."She corrected herself when I gave her the stink eye.
She left me alone and I took advantage of that to send a quick text to my sisters letting them know I'd arrived safely. I grabbed my duffle and dragged it to the bathroom. I took a much needed shower washing away the day getting dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top.
By the time I was done freshening up my food had been delivered and I enjoyed the well spiced chicken and rice. Putting the dishes in the sink after I was done eating, I closed all doors and windows, dropped the mosquito net that had been folded nicely on the bed posts and slipped under the covers. The heating in the room was perfect and I soon drifted off to sleep with thoughts of a certain vet in mind.
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As promised chapter two is done. Thanks for reading.
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Love@Lyssah.