The Love of a Latino (4 page)

He had deliberately chosen
the
Maracas Bay Hotel
because of its close proximity to the beach. It
was an intimate, property located on Trinidad's most popular beach. It was,
also, an hour and a half drive via taxi service from Piarco International
Airport and thirty minutes from downtown Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago’s
capital city. It offered all the luxury conveniences amidst a backdrop of
diverse tropical experiences and the air-conditioned room offered spectacular
views of the Caribbean Sea.

Rafe had started his day with
a traditional Trinidadian breakfast of
Bake and fried aloo
at the open air,
circular restaurant
Bandanya.
Later he had settled on a wonderful plate
of crab and dumplings for lunch.

From the balcony where he
stood, he could see the nearby
Maracas Fishing Village
, the fishermen
busy bringing in their day’s catch. He had not seen much of the island since
his arrival four days ago, but the little he did see, peaked his curiosity.

A knock on the room door had
him rushing to it, tripping over a chair in the process. Realizing his hasty
action he stopped short, his hand on the handle. He waited for the knock to
come again before he unhurriedly opened the door.

She stood on the other side,
an enchanting creature of the afternoon, causing Rafe to inhale a quick breath.
He was not prepared for the sudden palpitating in his chest. Dahlia stood
there—her beautiful, long, curly hair pulled back in a single braid and he experienced
a moment of disappointment at that. She wore simple jeans and a neatly fitted
blouse. Gone were the offending glasses from the day before, her face void of
any make-up except for a dash of gloss on her lips.

Before she could greet him he
pulled her inside, shutting the door behind them and feasted on her inviting
lips. She opened up to him immediately, giving him freely of herself, causing
Rafe to groan at the pleasure he found from just kissing this woman. He gently
tugged at the tie that held her braid, running his fingers freely through the
silken length. His free hand traveled down to cup her waist, pulling her
against his hard length. She moaned into his mouth burying her fingers in his
hair.

Rafe quickly found that he
was losing himself in the moment. He fought desperately to regain his
composure, dragging his lips from hers. He rested his forehead against hers
allowing his breathing to settle.

“I missed you.” He blurted
out and was surprised at that. He didn’t realize that he did until opening the
door and seeing her looking at him in all her beauty.

“I missed you too.” She
returned, causing Rafe’s heart to lurch a fraction. It felt wonderful to know
that she missed him too.

Grabbing his jacket from a
nearby chair he said. “Let’s go. No, leave it down.” Rafe added when she
reached for her hair in an obvious attempt to return it to its confines.

She hesitated a moment
looking at him, but released the bundle when his fingers reached out to caress
her high cheekbones.

Clasping her hand firmly in his,
they left the hotel room; Rafe in very high spirits.

Once again they were sitting
together in the backseat of a car, but unlike yesterday, their bodies were
close together, her head resting on his shoulder. Dahlia looked at their
entwined hands resting between them. She wanted to feel this way forever.

“We’re here.” Roger called
from the driver’s seat of the black Ford Ranger. She reluctantly took her head
from its nesting placed to observe her surroundings. Darkness had already
enveloped outside. Beyond the glass of the window, she couldn’t see anything.
Dahlia stifled a laugh when she glanced at Raphael and noticed the confused
look on his face. The poor man probably thought they were going to rob him and
leave him for dead.

“Raphael…?” He looked at her.
“You look terrified. Don’t worry, I promise when you see what I have to show
you, you will think it was all worth it.” She reassured him and took pleasure
when his face relaxed.

Roger and Natasha were
already out of the vehicle heading across the sand when Raphael and Dahlia
alighted. The cool night air connected with her skin causing goose bumps to
rise. Raphael noticing her reaction, to the cold ocean breeze, took the liberty
of placing his jacket around her shoulders.
Just like in the movies,
she
thought.

They followed her sister and
brother-in-law to a spot on the sand. Placing a blanket, they sat observing the
crowd of people that gathered on the beach. Raphael was paying close attention
to something Roger was saying. He cocked a brow smiling at some silly comment,
and Dahlia’s heart almost stopped. If she wasn’t careful, she could lose her
heart to this man. She couldn’t let that happen. She didn’t know anything about
him. He didn’t wear a ring, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t married. He must be
at least ten years older than her, but did that really matter? She didn’t know.
She didn’t want to be bothered with those things now. Tomorrow they would talk.
Tonight she just wanted to be with Raphael.

Natasha had been wonderful,
welcoming Raphael on their expedition with a big hug. Roger had been more
hesitant, but as the conversation developed on the hour long drive the tension
between the two eased away. She was glad they were getting along, after all
these were the people that meant everything to her.

****

He wondered what event could
draw all these people to a cold beach at this God forsaken hour of the night.
Turning from his conversation with Dahlia’s brother-in-law, he admired his
Princesa.
The night was dark, but the light from the fireside flickered across her face
illuminating her features revealing her natural beauty.

“Dey comin!” Someone shouted
in a Trinidadian dialect and Rafe observed in silence, hoping to see who the
excited man was speaking about.

Everyone was looking out at
the sea, fingers pointing in that direction. Rafe’s eyes opened in amazement at
his first glimpse of the large creature slowly emerging from the gentle waves.
Inaudible murmurs covered the beach as more of the creatures made their way
onto the sand.

He looked down at an excited
Dahlia; she smiled up at him but offered no explanation. It was only when they
were a few feet away, did Rafe realize what he was looking at. They were giant
leatherback turtles. The enormous creatures crawled slowly to various parts of
the sand and Rafe watch with bated breath as the turtles used its fin to begin,
slowly, digging a hole in the sand. When the hole was deep enough it positioned
itself above.

A man came forward in the
darkness speaking quietly to the onlookers. “As you know, the leatherback
turtle is a highly endangered creature, so we are here to assist you in
learning about this immaculate animal, but also to guide you in viewing this
spectacular event. Remember no pictures or torch lights until I say it is okay.
We do not want to frighten them.” Rafe could barely make out the man in the
darkness but he sounded educated in the nature of the gigantic sea creatures.

He stood with Dahlia, a hand
around her, shielding her from the cold gust of wind that blew in from the sea.
It felt so right holding her like this.

There were several other
guides that took people in groups and ushered them to where the turtles were
nesting addressing them ever so often. Children anxiously touched the hard
surface of the shell and there were camera flashes as excited visitors hungered
for a souvenir of tonight’s adventure.

When it was their turn, they
stood behind the turtle with Rafe looking on as the magnificent creature
deposited its eggs in the sand. It was a remarkable experience, one which Rafe
knew he would remember forever. This would be something he would definitely
tell his grandchildren.

Before long, they were back
in the van and he was thankful for the warmth of the interior.

“So, what did you think?” An
anxious Dahlia asked from next to him.

“I think you were right. It
was worth all the secrecy and torture you put me through.” He smiled
mischievously at her.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
She grinned and snuggled closer to him. Loving the feel of her against him, he
pulled her closer wrapping his hands around her.

“What are we seeing
tomorrow?” He asked curiously. He knew he could hire a tour guide but he much
rather spending time with Dahlia.

She pulled back a little studying
his face for a while. “If you want, we could take a boat down the island…you would
love that.” She suggested.

He bent closer to whisper in
her ear. “Does that mean I get to see you in that wicked piece of cloth you
call a bathing suit again?”

She gasped, his words causing
her to blush a scarlet red. She glanced at her sister in the front passenger
seat, trying to decipher whether or not she had heard Raphael’s comment, but if
she did she showed no sign.

When she didn’t answer, he
continued. “It doesn’t matter where we go as long as you are there with me.”
Such simple words, but he knew they meant much more and he meant every word.

It was well after midnight
when they dropped him off at his hotel. Natasha allowed Dahlia to see him up to
his room.

Once inside, he pulled her
against him and devoured her soft mouth. She didn’t fight him, instead reaching
under his shirt to touch the warm skin at his waist. He backed her against the
door, his hands cupping her bottom to lift her so he could gain better access
to her mouth. He pulled her legs around his waist pressing his aroused length
against the juncture of her thigh.

“Ah, Dahlia!
Tus besos me
vuelven loco.”
He breathed the words into her open mouth. He didn’t lie;
her kisses
did
drive him crazy.

He cursed the damn pants she
was wearing—as his fingers fought to find bare skin. The throbbing in his veins
increased at the first touch of the soft skin below her ribcage against his
hand. She purred at his touch and Rafe thought he would go mad with wanting her.
He pulled away from her kiss but continued holding her. “Dahlia, I want you so
much.”

“I want you too, Raphael.”
She informed him as her lips sought his again.

He kissed her a moment longer
before he pulled away from her. Taking her hands from around his neck, he
lowered her feet to the floor. “Not like this. When I make love to you, it will
not be rushed. I want to take my time to explore your body, to kiss every inch
of your soft skin. And when I finally claim you, I want to see your face below
me, I want to see the pleasure I give you, Dahlia.” He paused for a second
making sure she understood what he was saying. “Your sister is downstairs
waiting for you. We are getting along well so far. I do not wish to give her
any reason to dislike me.” He searched for some sign on her face to acknowledge
that she understood him.

She rose to her tippy toes to
kiss him gently on the cheeks. “Do not worry, Raphael; you have nothing to fear
from Tasha. It’s Roger you should be worried about.” She giggled at the
expression that crossed his face and he couldn’t resist placing one last kiss
on her before he released her completely.

This time before she left, he
made sure to take her phone number. He stood outside his door and watched as
she disappeared down the hall way. Shutting the door behind him, he quickly disrobed,
heading for the shower; he needed a cold one.

****

Rafe lay on his hotel room
bed—bare from the waist up, an arm carelessly flung across his eyes.
Six
days.
That’s how long it had been since he last saw Dahlia. Calls to the
number she gave him went unanswered and after several visits to her house he
had finally given up. He couldn’t understand why she would disappear without
telling him. That night, when they had gone turtle watching on
Mathura beach,
they had enjoyed themselves and their kisses were full of promises. So, why would
she run off? Had she somehow found out about his impending marriage? The
thought of marriage to Sarafina no longer held any appeal for him. He didn’t
know how his parents would react, but he was definitely going to call off the
wedding. He couldn’t get married to anyone when he had this desperate longing
for a beautiful, brown-eyed island princess.

He got up from the bed,
walking to the balcony looking out at the people on the beach. His eyes scanned
the crowd, hoping for any sign of a familiar bronzed skin beauty. But no such
luck!
Dammit!

Back inside his room, Rafe
went to the phone, his finger automatically dialing the seven digits for the
hundredth time. He knew the damn number by heart already.

“Hi, this is Dahlia. Sorry
I can’t come to the phone right now, leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”

Rafe swore, jamming the phone
back on its hanger.
Why the hell didn’t she answer her phone?
He was
overwhelmed with a sense of frustration—quickly followed by anger. He turned,
slamming his fist repeatedly into the wall, mindless of the damage he was doing
to his knuckles. Later, when his anger subsided there would be hell to pay, but
for now he welcomed the distraction. He ran both of his hands through his hair,
then buried his face in them. How is it that Dahlia, whom he had seen for two
days, has this kind of effect on him? How did this little vixen get under his
skin, unmasking emotions he never knew he was capable of feeling?