Stay Forever (6 page)

“Are you free this evening?” asked Jess.

Ambar knew she was.  She had not been out in the evening since that night with Mike at the restaurant.

“Yes” she replied slowly.

“Great, yours or mine?” asked Jess.

Ambar didn’t want to spend another evening at home so she suggested they meet at Jess’s around seven.  That would give her time to go home and shower and change. 

Jess said she wanted to go over the details of the trip with her and that the only thing Ambar needed to bring was an open mind and a bottle of wine.  Ambar laughed and hung up the phone.

When she arrived at Jess’s penthouse apartment, filled with original Andy Warhol and Rembrandt paintings, tiger skin rugs and hanging exotic silks, Jess was barefoot in short dress and already drinking champagne.

“Darling.” Said Jess. “You look so much better.  You look back to your old self.”

“Ha!” said Ambar.  “I don’t know about that.  I have just been working, trying to keep my mind off things.”

“I know sweetheart.” Said Jess sympathetically.

“Have you heard from him at all?”

“No” said Ambar sadly and shook her head, her eyes looking down at the floor.

Jess quickly changed the subject, went over to her desk, and pulled out flight tickets to Bocas del Toro.  She waved them in the air excitedly as she went back to join Ambar on the sofa.

“Ooh yes, Bocas baby!” Jess exclaimed with enthusiasm. 

She pulled up the brochure of the wildlife course they would be attending and the hotel where they would be staying.

“Wow. It really does look beautiful.” Said Ambar.

“Darling, Bocas is apparently the most beautiful place on earth.” Jess emphasised.

Ambar looked over the photos and the flight itinerary.  So they would be gone for two weeks.  She would tell work in the morning.  They would be fine.  She pretty much ran the place anyway.

Chapter 3

Ambar and Jess got out of the yellow cab that had dropped them outside the airport.  The driver placed their bags beside them and smiled gratefully at the huge tip Jess had dropped him.

They wheeled their bags inside excitedly and looked around for the checking desks for Bocas. 

As they joined the back of the queue Jess squeezed Ambar’s arm.

“MMmm’ she said excitedly.  “Just LOOK at that eye-candy.”  She had spotted two men, a few places in front of them.  One was tall broad and tanned with blue eyes, brown hair, and a dashing smile, and the other was darker, with black hair and green eyes.

Ambar looked at her friend disinterestedly.  “Jess, I really do not want to think about men right now.” She said.

“Just look.” Said Jess.

Ambar glanced over at the two men, and had to admit that they were both very attractive.  But she really didn’t care.

After checking in they headed to the boarding gates, stopping to have a coffee in the way.  Boarding the plane, they found their seats and put their hand luggage in the compartments.  Jess looked around for the two men, but could not see them.  Ambar did her best to ignore her friend’s interest in the eye-candy.  It was something she had learned to do over the years.

Just then she heard a man’s voice asking her something.  She looked up.  It was the tall man with blue eyes that Jess had spotted in the queue. 

“Can I move this jacket?” he referred to her coat in the overhead luggage department.

“Yes, yes sure.” She stammered.

She turned to face Jess who sat to her right by the window.  Jess stared at her with dramatic excited eyes, which Ambar tried to ignore.

The tall man settled in the seat beside her, smiled at her, and then turned to face his friend sitting in the seat across the aisle from him.

“This course is going to be great,” he said to his friend.  

“The wildlife in Bocas is absolutely incredible.” He continued.

Jess leaned across Ambar to squeeze the man’s arm.

“Oh my God!” she said dramatically.

“Are you doing the wildlife course in Bocas?”

The man turned towards her and smiled.

“Yes, we are all booked on and ready to go?  Have you done it?” he replied politely.

“No!  But we are about to!  It looks absolutely fabulous!”

“It sure does.” The man replied.  He held out his hand to introduce himself.

“My name is Ryan, and this is my friend Luciano.”

“Jess, and this is Ambar.” Jess said seductively, and gave Ambar a naughty wink.

They all introduced themselves.

“Oh my GOD!  HOW sexy is Luciano?!” whispered Jess in Ambar’s ear.

The plane lifted up into the clouds and the four got chatting, about their work, and what they knew about the upcoming course.  Ryan was in investments and Luciano was a film actor.

Ambar stayed quiet most of the journey, not really feeling like socialising, though both her and Ryan exchanged glances on a number of occasions, at the flirtatious comments being exchanged by Jess and Luciano that somehow they had found themselves in the middle of.  It made for an entertaining plane ride.

On arrival in Bocas they decided to all share a cab to the course as they were all heading to the same destination.

The beaches and mangroves on the way to the course certainly made for spectacular sightseeing.

The four arrived at the course, tired and yet filled with enthusiasm.  They were shown to their rooms and given the course timetable, which was to begin the next day.  Bidding their goodbyes, they retired to their rooms.

Chapter 4

The next morning as Ambar awoke she heard the unfamiliar cry of tropical birds.  She rubbed her eyes for a moment forgetting where she was.  As she looked around the room it suddenly came back to her.  They were in Bocas del Toro!

She went over to the balcony and looked out over the jungles of La Amistad.  A toucan flew past her.

“Ah!” she gasped, for a moment taking in the incredible beauty surrounding her.

Over breakfast the group of ten students were given their inductions, and told they were to be paired off and go into the wildlife.  They were given 20 species of birds and butterflies and would be trying to spot them and recording their behaviours.

They were told that Jess would be paired with Luciano and Ambar with Ryan.

Jess raised a naughty eyebrow toward Ambar.

“I could not have arranged it better myself.” She whispered with a smile.

Luciano sidled over.

“Hello partner.” He said flirtatiously to Jess.

“Hi darling.” She returned the flirtation.

Ryan joined the group.

“So that sounds exciting!” he said.  Ambar smiled.

At 11.00 am they all met outside the building and were given their directions.  They were told to get their supplies ready and head off in an hour.

After Ambar had packed up some food water, blankets, camera and notepads she looked around for Jess.

“Her and Luciano headed off already.” She heard the familiar voice of Ryan say beside her.

“They looked eager to begin.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Said Ambar.

They both laughed.

As they headed off into the jungle Ryan asked.

“So do you wildlife courses often?”

“First time.” Ambar replied.  “How about you?”

“Yeah, I have done about ten.  Been doing one a year for about ten years now.” He said.

“So what made you decide to suddenly start?”

“Ummmmm.” Ambar’s voice trailed off uncertainly.

“It just seemed like a good idea.” She finished quickly.

Ryan looked at her curiously, wondering what he had said to offend her.

They continued to walk in silence.

About half an hour into the journey they reached a point where many birds and butterflies congregated and decided to stop for a snack and to see what they could see.

Ambar laid out the blankets and some food, and took out her notebook, sitting and placing it on her lap.

They sat in the spot for a few hours, talking and pointing out the different species they recognised to each other.  As the mid-afternoon shone, and having already spotted and recorded eight of the twenty species they had been given, feeling pleased with their progress, they decided to head deeper into the jungle before heading back for the evening.

Chapter 5

They sat together deep in the jungle, Ambar looking through the binoculars at a bird she had spotted in the tree, trying to determine whether it were one species or another.  She concentrated hard, squinting, trying to notice distinguishing features that would give her the answer she needed.  They were so deep in the jungle they could barely see the sky overhead for the tree growth. 

Not knowing that storm clouds had gathered above their head, Ambar jumped startled when a loud clap of thunder rolled overhead.

“What was that?” she asked Ryan.

“Sounded like thunder.” Ryan replied.

“Oh God, I hope not.” Said Ambar.

Sure enough, within moments a burst of heavy rain began to pour down upon them.

“Fuck!” said Ryan as they both rushed to quickly gather their supplies.

They searched for the biggest tree for some shelter and managed to find a dry sheltered spot.

“Oh God.” Said Ambar.  “What a disaster.”

“I know.” Said Ryan.

“Looks like we are stranded. At least for now.”

The storm continued into the evening.  As the sun went down Ryan looked at Ambar, staring out into the rain.

“I think we better camp for the evening.  We don’t want to head back in the dark.  It would be too dangerous.”

“I was just thinking that.” Ambar replied.

Her blonde curly hair was wet and her white t-shirt clung to her breasts.  Ryan could see a sadness in her beautiful blue eyes, and felt like he wanted to comfort her.  Though he could tell that she did not feel safe with him.  Although she was nice and friendly, she seemed distant, and not really very interested.

He got the blankets and laid them out in the only dry spot under the tree.

“We should be fine here.” He said.

That night, shivering and cold, as they lay under the tree, they found themselves moving closer together to stay warm.  As their bodies touched, Ryan felt a surge of passion running through him. The way her breasts had looked in her wet, clinging t-shirt, the sadness of her smile, the mystery of her eyes. 

As he ran his hand along her back down toward her thighs, Ambar whispered.

“Don’t.”  She said it, but her body stayed close to his.

“I’m sorry.” He said.

She allowed him to hold her in his arms, but stopped anything from becoming sexual.  Holding each other tightly, they both fell asleep, listening to the sound of the rain.

Chapter 6

The next day, the land was wet, yet the rain had finally stopped.  It was early, and the sun was beginning to rise.

“We should try and head back while the rain has stopped.” Said Ambar.

Neither of them mentioned what had happened the night before.  She seemed shy, almost nervous.  There was a delicacy about her that he just wanted to protect.

“Yes”-said Ryan.  He started to fold the blankets, wrapping one around her so she would stay warm.

“Thanks.” Said Ambar, looking up at him and smiling.

As they made their way back through the jungle, doing their best to re-trace their steps, when suddenly Ambar slid, almost falling into a deep ditch.

“Help!” she gasped. Ryan turned around, saw her fall, and dropped the bag.

“Grab my hand!” he shouted.

Ambar grabbed hold of his hand tightly as he pulled her from the ditch.  He managed to pull her out, though fell down in the process.

“Ow!” he screamed. “My ankle.”

Although Ambar had fallen and had a few scratches, she had not injured herself.

She tried to help Ryan stand; yet he could not put any weight on his ankle.

“You go back to the study centre.  Go while the rain has stopped.  You can get help then, tell them where I am.”

“No” said Ambar.  “I am not leaving you here.”

He looked at her warmly.

Ambar searched the jungle for two long sticks and then began tying the blankets to make a stretcher for him.

With tenacity and determination she began pulling him through the jungle undergrowth, slowly and gently, trying not to go over any sharp rocks along the way.

“Are you okay?” she kept asking.