Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

***SIMON***

I t didn't take Simon long to realize that he was enjoying himself, that there was a certain thrill to harnessing the power of the wind and water, and he forgot for a while about wanting to sail around the island. As he followed the path Montgomery set for them, he began to become more confident, sure that he'd mastered the art of sailing, and he began to get bored.

The idea of making a detour around the island began to look better and better to him. He could just see himself waving to all the pretty girls on the beach as they flew by, knowing that they'd come flocking to him when they landed. The thought was a balm to his wounded ego and as the fantasy unfurled in his mind, he became determined to see it through. It was the perfect way to attract the attention of the opposite sex on the island, and a smile slowly spread across his face when he realized he wouldn't be going to bed alone that night.

Lost in the daydream, he didn't notice that Montgomery and Kira had both gotten to their feet to check on a line, which was his first mistake. When he turned the tiller to head back to the island, the boat spun around, and the sail was suddenly without any wind. It collapsed into the boat in a heap, covering them both. The boat came to a stop so suddenly it knocked him off the bench, then before any of them could recover, the wind took the sail again.

It unfurled so quickly that the boat surged forward through the water, the tiller flapping loosely, and took off without anyone steering it. Dazed and confused by what had just happened, it took him a second to untangle his arms and legs to crawl back up onto the bench. He looked around, relieved to see that Montgomery and Kira were both up on their feet and trying to tie down the sail.

Thinking he could help, he grabbed the tiller and turned the boat again, which was his second mistake, and the one that almost proved deadly. This time, instead of deflating with the change in the wind, the sail began to change direction, the big boom swinging across the deck, and he shouted out a warning. Montgomery was in a better position to duck, but Kira was standing on a bench reaching for a line and turned just in time to see the large piece of timber coming right at her.

Without even hesitating, she turned and dove into the water. The boom missed her by only inches, then with a huge snap, broke in half, and the sail came crashing down onto the deck again. Montgomery fought his way out of the sail, the words coming out of his mouth so vile, he was a bit shocked, then Simon heard Kira splashing around in the water, and it hit him that he'd almost killed her.

He started to rush over to where she'd gone into the water, but Montgomery turned to him, "Stay where you are," he screamed. "I've got her. You've already done enough damage."

Sitting down with a thud, he watched as Montgomery pulled Kira out of the water and back into the boat, the enormity of what he'd almost done slowly settling over him. He still didn't move when Montgomery got a towel and started drying off Kira, who was panting. Her face was devoid of all color, and she had a shocked look on her face. When Montgomery finally turned away from her, the compassion drained from his face, replaced by a look of anger full of so much fire he shrank back on the seat.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Montgomery growled. "You could have killed Kira with that move."

"I was just heading back to the island," he mumbled. "I wanted to……never mind, it doesn't matter."

"You wanted to what?" Montgomery yelled. "No, don't answer that. You just wanted to be the center of attention, right? It didn't matter to you that what you were doing was reckless and exactly what I said we weren't going to do. You wanted what you wanted, and nothing else mattered."

There was nothing he could say, no way he could defend himself, "Is Kira okay?" he finally asked. "I didn't mean to hurt her, I just……. wasn't thinking, I guess."

"Oh, you were thinking, all right, but only of yourself," Montgomery hissed at him. "Kira is fine, no thanks to you, now move your ass. I have to get the phone and call this in. We won't be going anywhere now."

He looked at the mess and winced, "I'm sorry, Montgomery," he said. "I'll pay for it all to be fixed."

"You bet your sweet ass you will," Montgomery said, shoving him out of the way. "And it will be a cold day in hell before you step foot into one of my boats. Now go over there and sit down. I don't want to see you move; I don't want to hear you speak."

He did as he was told, only glancing over at Kira when he passed by her, but the look she gave him said far more than words, and for the first time in his life, he realized that his actions affected everyone around him. It took almost an hour for the rescue boat to find them, plenty of time for him to think about everything that happened and understand that his quest for female companionship had almost killed Kira.

When they got back to the dock, Max was waiting for them, his face full of worry, but after he'd talked to Kira, he seemed to have calmed down, at least until he turned and looked at him. Cringing at the look in his friend's eyes, he scrambled to come up with a good excuse to explain what he'd done, but realized that there wasn't a good one.

"What happened out there?" Max asked, a hard edge to his voice. "And I want the truth, Simon, not one of your lies."

He studied his friend for a second, then let out a long sigh, "I screwed up. I thought I could handle the boat. I wanted to sail around the island, and Montgomery wouldn't let me," he said. "I was doing so well, I decided to go for it. I wasn't trying to wreck the boat or get Kira killed, I just wanted to be seen on the boat."

"You wanted to go trolling for women," Max said, staring at him. "You've got to be kidding me. You risked all three of your lives so you could get some woman's attention. I knew you were out of control, but I never dreamed it was this bad. Maybe you should go home, Simon. You almost killed one of my guests."

He couldn't blame Max. If the roles were reversed, he wouldn't want anything to do with him either, "I really am sorry, Max, I lost my head, I wasn't thinking," he said. "I promise you; it will never happen again. I almost killed Kira. We may not get along, but I would never want to hurt her. She's special, she's not like other women. You have to give me a chance to make this up to her. I'll find a way, I have to. I almost killed her."

He was having a hard time breathing, his heart was racing, and for a second, he thought he was going to pass out. "Oh, my God, I almost killed her," he said. "The boom was only inches from her head, if she hadn't jumped when she did……oh, my God."

The anger disappeared instantly from Max's face, "Hey, maybe you should sit down," he said, shoving him onto a bench. "Try taking a couple of deep breaths. Kira isn't dead, she's just fine, really pissed off at you, but fine."

"How do you make it up to someone for almost killing them?" he asked, looking over at Max. "I'm everything you all said I was, and worse, my addiction almost killed Kira."

***Kira***

Kira was in the little kitchen putting together some food to take to the beach with her when there was a knock on the screen door. "Good morning," Max called. "Is anybody home?"

Realizing that Mary Beth was still in the shower, she went to answer the door, smiling when she saw the big bouquet of flowers he was carrying. "Good morning," she said, opening the door for him. "Mary Beth is still in the shower, but I can keep you company while you wait for her. She's going to love the flowers."

"Oh, these aren't for her," Max said, handing her the vase. "They're for you, I'm just the delivery boy. Simon sent them to say that he's sorry."

"It's going to take more than a bunch of flowers for me to forgive him," she said, setting the vase down on the closest table. "I just want him to stay away from me."

"I don't blame you," Max said, then hesitated. "The truth is, if I were you, I'd be just as angry, but Simon is really sorry. I've never seen him this upset. For the first time in his life, I think he understands that there are consequences for his behavior."

"Well, good for him," she said, heading back to the kitchen. "Maybe he'll grow up now."

Max followed her, "Kira, I know he's a jerk, well, more than a jerk," he said. "And believe me, I never thought I'd see the day that I was defending him, but I really do think he's sorry. He wants to have dinner with you to apologize in person. I told him I didn't think you'd agree, but I would ask."

"You're kidding, right?" she asked. "Why would I intentionally subject myself to him?"

"Because you're a kind and caring person, and for the first time in his life, Simon is taking responsibility for his actions," Max said. "What happened out there really scared him, I've never seen him that scared in all the years I've known him. All I'm asking is that you spend an hour with him. I'd hate to see it thrown back in his face the first time he tries to do the right thing."

She studied Max for a second, then let out a long sigh, "I must be crazy. I can't believe I'm even thinking of giving him another chance," she said, shaking her head. "He almost killed me."

"I won't blame you if you say no," Max said. "But Simon promised that it would just be dinner. He wants to tell you how sorry he is, and nothing else. He's not going to come onto you or anything like that."

She hesitated for a second, then let out a long sigh of resignation, "Where and when?" she asked, knowing it was probably a mistake, but unable to say no. "But you tell him at the first sign he's coming onto me, I'm out of there."

Kira approached the steps to Max's cabin, then paused at the bottom, not sure if she should go through with having dinner with Simon, afraid that it would turn out just like all the other encounters she'd had with him. The last one had almost killed her, and she decided she was crazy to be there, that she was letting her physical attraction to him override her common sense. She was just about to turn and go back to her cabin when the front door swung open and Simon stepped out onto the porch, a big smile spreading across his face when he saw her.

"I didn't think you'd come," he said, walking down the steps and over to her. "I wouldn't have blamed you; I did almost kill you, but I'm really sorry about that, Kira, I want you to know that. If you don't want to have dinner with me, I'll understand. It was the only way I could think of to make it up to you, well that and the flowers, it took me hours to collect them all."

That made her pause for a second, "You didn't buy them?" she asked, hating the way her heart was beating a little faster, but still suspicious. "Where did you find them?"

"All over the island, this place is pretty amazing if you take the time to look," he said. "Max wouldn't let me traipse around the jungle on my own, so I did have some help from the guide he sent with me, but it was mostly me. Did you know they grow coffee up on one of the mountain's slopes?"

For a second, she thought she was talking to someone else, this couldn't be Simon, "I've been drinking it every morning since I got here," she said, then saw his face fall. "But I've never seen a coffee plant, I bet that was cool."

Simon's face brightened instantly, "I've never paid much attention to the world around me, so it was a new experience for me," he said, shrugging his shoulders, clearly a bit embarrassed. "I cooked our dinner too, with a little help from Max. I've never done that before either."

That got her, "Okay, Simon, what's going on here?" she asked. "You're like a completely different person, gathering flowers, making dinner. That doesn't seem like you at all."

"It's not, or at least it didn't used to be," he said, then sighed. "Almost getting you killed scared me, Kira, it woke me up, made me realize that I don't like the person I've become. I'm not exactly sure who I want to be, I just know that I don't want to be that guy I was before."

It was impossible to miss the sincerity in his eyes, and her heart melted a little, "Well, since you worked so hard to make dinner, I guess I'll come inside," she said, then studied him for a second. "But I still don't trust you, for all I know this is just an act to get back on my good side, not that you were ever there."

"It's not an act," Simon said, crossing his heart. "I'm being honest with you, Kira, and that's a new thing for me too."