Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

***SIMON***

S imon helped Kira off the boat, a little nervous about their shopping trip, but ready for some adventure. "Thanks for the ride," he said to their captain. "If you could meet us back here at four, that would be great."

"Sure thing, I'll be waiting for you right here," the young man said. "Have fun today."

After untying the boat, they watched until it disappeared from sight, then he turned to Kira, "So, where do we go first?" he asked. "I've been to Bermuda several times, but to be honest with you, I never even left the resort."

"You never left the resort," Kira repeated looking at him like he was crazy. "You came all this way and just ignored the entire island?"

He shrugged his shoulders and nodded, "I didn't think there was anything to leave for," he said. "I mean, we had the beach, a pool, a nightclub, and a bunch of restaurants. It just didn't seem worth it, and well……I didn't want to run into any……poor people."

"Wow, you really are a snob," Kira said, shaking her head. " But that shouldn't be a problem anymore. After all you're one of us now."

"That sounded better in my mind, but you're right, I was a snob," he said, with a sigh. "But I'm willing to change. That has to count for something."

Kira studied him for a second, "We'll see," she said, then looked around the marina. "Just let me get my bearings, and then we'll figure out where we're going."

"Wait, you don't know where we're going?" he asked, feeling a little panicked. "We can't just start wandering around, we'll get lost. We have to be back here at four."

"Simon, relax, we're not going to get lost, we just need to find someone to ask," she said. "This is a small island; it shouldn't be hard to find what we need."

"What if they don't speak our language or something?" he asked, following her up the dock. "We could get all turned around or something."

Kira stopped and looked back at him, "Simon, this is a British territory, they speak English," she said. "What's with you? Why is this freaking you out so much?"

"I've just never done anything like this before," he said. "Someone usually takes care of these details for me. I've never really even gone shopping before."

"Well then, you're in for a real education today," Kira said, not slowing her pace. "There should be a marina office around here somewhere. They'll be able to help us."

"Do you do stuff like this all the time?" he asked, looking over at her. "I mean……you're not nervous or afraid that……I don't know, someone will tell you the wrong thing or something."

Kira looked over at him, "You mean, do I act like an adult all the time?" she asked, rolling her eyes at him. "Stop worrying, Simon, or I'm going to make you do the talking when we get there."

That shut him up, and he followed Kira in silence until they found the marina office, "Do you want to come inside or wait out here?" she asked when they got to the bottom of the steps. "You might have to interact with someone inside there."

He looked up at the door, "I'm coming in," he said. "I have to learn how the world works sooner or later."

As it turned out, the girl behind the counter was prepared for their questions and only a few minutes later, they walked out of the office with a map, bus passes, and enough cash to get them through the day. Kira gave him a smug smile as they walked out the doors, but he didn't care. He felt more encouraged than he had since he'd woken up a different person.

It was a short walk to the bus stop and he began to get nervous again as they stood waiting, "Tell me again what I'm supposed to do," he said. "I don't want to embarrass myself."

"All you have to do is show the driver your day pass," Kira said, holding up the laminated card on the lanyard around her neck. "The bus will be crowded, so we may not get seats, but if we do, you're expected to give them up for older people, mothers with children, or someone with a disability."

"Okay, I got it, that doesn't sound so hard," he said, letting out a sigh. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

Before Kira could answer, the bus came rumbling up and came to a stop, belching out a puff of smoke, and he jumped back, afraid it would explode. Kira laughed, the door slid open with a hiss, and he was staring at the driver, "You go first," he said. "I'll be right behind you."

Kira shook her head, a smile on her face, but didn't say anything, just climbed the steps, showed the driver her pass and waited for him in the aisle. Feeling adventurous, and trying to look more confident than he felt, he climbed into the bus, showed his pass, then turned to Kira with a smile. They found seats in the back and the bus pulled away from the curb with a jerk and a rumble that he felt in his chest.

A burst of what felt like excitement exploded inside him as they took off down the street, and his face was glued to the window taking in everything they passed. The people, the traffic, the buildings, it was all new and suddenly very interesting to him, he'd never thought about how other people lived, but that's what he was seeing through the window. Thousands of other lives played out right before his eyes, and he began to wonder what they were doing, where they were going, and what heartaches they suffered through every day.

For the first time in a long time, he was thinking about someone besides himself, and it felt good, felt right, and he realized that he'd let himself become a selfish, entitled jerk. Trying to punish his parents had turned him into a horrible person, and the only one he'd ended up hurting was himself. He'd missed out on so much in life spending all his time chasing women and partying. It was time to stop wasting his life and live it.

***Kira***

Kira sensed the change that slowly came over Simon on the bus ride across the island, but she wasn't aware that's what she was feeling. She was too occupied watching him to notice the way she was softening to him or to hear the warning bells going off in her head. He was like a kid in a candy store, absorbing every sight and sound around him, his face animated with a kaleidoscope of emotions, and she was glad that she was there to see it.

When the bus came to a stop at an open market that filled an entire city block, he turned to her, "Is this where we're stopping?" he asked, jumping to his feet when she did. "I've never been to anything like this before."

"There's a mall on the other side of town, but I thought this would be more fun," she said. "And the barber that the woman from the marina recommended is right around the corner."

"Oh, something smells good," Simon said, taking a deep breath. "Where is it coming from?"

"We must be on the end of the market with the food stalls," she said. "We missed lunch. Maybe we should get something to eat before we go get your hair cut."

"I'm all for that," Simon said. "Lead the way, it looks crowded in there."

She nodded, then held out her hand before she could change her mind, "Hold onto me," she said, "but don't get any ideas, it's just so we don't get separated."

He grinned at her, "Right, got it," he said, wrapping his hand around hers. "Just so we don't get separated."

"Right," she echoed, trying to ignore the warmth that spread from their joined hands all through her body. "Just so we don't get separated."

He just smiled at her, his green eyes full of amusement, and she knew that it might be impossible to resist the new Simon. "You already said that," he teased. "I think the heat must be getting to you, or is it something else?"

She gave him a dirty look, "Something is, but it's not you," she said. "So, stop looking at me like that."

Simon just laughed, threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her into the open market, "Come on, I'm starving," he said. "You can be annoyed with me later."

At first, they just walked up and down the long line of stalls, watching the vendors cooking their creations, both a little too overwhelmed to choose anything. When they arrived back where they'd started, Simon looked over at her, then shook his head.

"I can't decide," he said. "I want to eat all of it, well, maybe not the live shrimp, those I'll skip."

"We need a plan," she said, her stomach beginning to growl. "We should get a few things and share them."

"Good idea, and I vote we start with the place that makes that soup," he said, pulling her back into the crowd. "It looks so good; I just have to try it."

After they'd polished off the bowl of shrimp, mussels, and clams in a spicy broth, Simon bought them a big glass of fresh lemonade, and they moved on to the next stall. By the time they emerged from the open market an hour later, Simon was still eating the last of their dessert, and she was sure that she was going to burst.

"I'm so stuffed I can't walk," she said. "This was supposed to be a shopping trip, I think we got horribly sidetracked."

"Oh, horrible isn't the word I would use," Simon said, grinning at her. "That was so much fun, I want to come back tomorrow."

She laughed, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," she said. "Maybe we should go see about that haircut. The barbershop should only be a few blocks away."

"It would be nice to get this mess on my head under control," he said, taking her hand again. "You've got the map, lead the way."

After glancing down at their joined hands, then up at him, she let out a long sigh, but before she could say anything, Simon beat her to it. "We don't want to get separated," he said, grinning at her. "The sidewalks look really crowded."

Her heart skipped a beat and thrills shot through her, but she didn't pull her hand away, "Come on, it's this way," she said instead, starting down the street.

Five minutes later they were standing in front of the barbershop, and she could tell by the way Simon was staring at the door that he was nervous. Before she could offer to go in with him, he turned to her, "Hopefully, this won't take too long, but maybe you should find someplace to sit and wait," he said, then leaned down and gave her a kiss. "Thank you again, Kira."

If the old Simon had kissed her, she would have slapped him, but this Simon's kiss made her entire body hum, and she almost reached out to grab him for another one, but let him walk away. Lips still tingling, she watched him disappear inside, then stumbled over to a bench in the shade, trying to tell herself that it was just a physical reaction, knowing the entire time she was lying to herself.