“And what if you get tired out there? You just ran four miles.”
“I’ll be fine. Now will you please go?”
“It’s not in my nature to leave until I know you’re on the other side. I would prefer to swim out with you, so I can see you getting back safely.”
“That’s not happening!” She stepped back and shook her head vehemently. “Don’t get off that bike.”
I wanted to ask her why she was so scared of me, but with the way we’d met, it wasn’t hard to guess that she thought me violent and dangerous.
“All right. I’ll stay here. But you’ve got to promise me that as soon as you wake tomorrow, you’ll throw a letter over the wall, so I know you made it back to safety.”
Confusion ran over her face as if she wondered why I cared so much. “I can do that.”
“Good. Can I at least stay here just in case you need me?”
“No, I want you to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to undress with you still here.”
“Oh, right.” My chest felt like a drummer had taken up residency and I put my hands back on the handles of the bike to hide how they were shaking. The images of Devina stripping out of her clothes had my pants tightening. To hide it, I turned the bike around, so I had my back to her. “Goodbye then.”
“Goodbye.”
It was so unnatural for me to leave a woman standing by herself. “You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. In fact, I’m not giving you a choice. Either you leave, or I’ll write Wilma that you hit me.”
I narrowed my eyes to indicate that I didn’t like her threatening me.
Her finger lifted to point in the direction we’d come, and I could tell she was getting impatient. “What are you waiting for? Just go!”
“Here’s a thing you need to know about us Nmen. We don’t take orders from women.”
“Then consider it a request. I would like for you to leave me alone.”
“All right, but before I go though…” I was dragging out the moment, unwilling to part from her. “I just wanted to say that… I shouldn’t have hit you.”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
“I get extremely protective of my family.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“Does it hurt? Your face.”
Shaking her head, Devina put a hand to her cheek. “I think the hoodie protected me a bit and with all my fear, the adrenaline made me not register the pain much. “
“That’s one hell of a first impression to make.” Attempting to ease up the atmosphere, I joked. “I’ll bet you’ll never forget me now.”
Devina studied me for a short moment. “No, I don’t think I’ll ever forget you… or Wilma.”
“She wants to continue writing with you when she moves away.”
“That’s nice.”
“I promised her that I would pass on your messages and deliver hers to you.”
