“Sorry boy, I don’t have anything,” she said, rubbing Lou’s trunk.
“Here.” Klahan reached into a sack slung across his shoulder and brought out a bag of chopped rose apples.
She flushed. “You don’t have to.”
He made a sort of offering gesture. “It’s all right. I was going to feed him later.”
“Well…okay. Thanks.” She took the plastic bag from him. Lou tracked her movements with anticipation shining in his eyes.
She pulled out each chunk and gave it to him. Lou scooped the fruit into his pale pink mouth with ease. She smiled at the way the moist tip of his trunk tickled her palm. He was absolutely one of the most adorable animals ever.
When she was all out of treats, he nudged her with his forehead. “Hey, no more, buddy,” she said, showing him the plastic bag.
The trunk snaked into the bag and nosed around for a moment. Then Lou lumbered over to the water. Klahan yelled something in Thai. Before she realized what was happening, Lou was splashing her with water and sand.
She spun around quickly, her back to the elephant to keep her camera dry. Klahan scolded Lou harshly, then turned to Ginger. “Are you all right, madam?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Don’t be too hard on him.”
“He wants to play, but he’s too big now. He can’t do what he did before,” Klahan said, slapping the elephant’s side. “I’m trying to teach him, but he doesn’t want to listen.”
“He was just being playful after getting fed. I wasn’t hurt or anything,” she reassured the mahout.
“Maybe he’s still hungry,” came Shane’s voice from behind her.
She turned to look at him. A day’s growth of beard covered his square jaw. His thin white shirt was unbuttoned all the way to mid-stomach, revealing lean, tight abs. He’d rolled up his blue summer trousers, and he was mouth-wateringly spectacular, standing there with bare feet. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough.” He handed her a bunch of the small Thai bananas, each one yielding no more than two or three bites. “Want to keep feeding him? I’ll hold your camera.”
* * *
Shane waited, wondering what Ginger would say. She’d been avoiding him, and he was getting tired of it. So when he’d spotted her with Lou, he’d come out, carrying bananas for the elephant.
“Thanks,” she said finally, giving him a small smile. She reached for the fruit while handing him her precious equipment. Her movements were slightly over-precise, betraying an inner tension.
He brushed his skin over hers—on purpose—and watched the pulse in her neck leap. Satisfaction mingled with mild exasperation. Why was she putting them through this bullshit? If they’d never slept together before—if they’d been complete strangers, he would understand how she wouldn’t want to get intimate so fast. Women were peculiar about stuff like that. But Ginger had no excuse.
She cleared her throat and turned to Lou, feeding him again. Did she know she had the gentlest smile when she played with the animal? She looked like an angel. And she’d been quite patient and forgiving with Lou when he splashed her. Not all women would’ve been so understanding.
Would she want to have children? Shane hadn’t given it much thought, but he suddenly realized that he wanted them with Ginger. A girl just like her and a boy just like him. Or maybe a mixture of the two of them. He didn’t care. He bet Ginger would make a great mother.
Apparently getting tired of moving his trunk, Lou just opened his mouth wide so Ginger could deposit bananas directly inside. She laughed and mock-scolded him for being lazy. Her eyes shone with delight, and pleasure flushed her cheeks.
And just like that a giant tsunami of emotions slammed into Shane. His heart expanded. Just looking at her was enough to share in her joy and pleasure. Was this a new feeling or had he felt it before? This was more than just him wanting to bury himself inside her. It was a sensation of pure possessiveness and protectiveness. Even though he didn’t remember her, she was important to him. He knew it.
He raised the camera and hit the button. The camera made clicking sounds as it took in the moment. He wanted to capture this moment forever and savor it until he died.
When she ran out of bananas, Klahan signaled for Lou to bow in thanks, and they walked away together. They grew smaller and smaller with each step, then Lou started running. Klahan yelled something and ran after him, but the elephant was faster.
Ginger turned to Shane. “My camera, please.”
The sea breeze tossed her hair, and he reached over and tucked it behind her ears. “Give me a minute. I’m not going to run off with it.”
She gave him a look that said she wasn’t sure what to do or say next.
If I remember everything and revert to the man I used to be, will she be more at ease around me? “How did we meet?” he asked.
She raised her eyebrows. “What?”
“The first time we met. You know, don’t you?”
“Well, of course I know. We met in high school. Our freshman year. Biology class.”
“What were we like?” It seemed so strange to think that at some point in his life he’d been a kid. His memory didn’t extend that far. The only thing he remembered was being a fully-grown adult.
“You were popular. Most of your friends from junior high school were in our class, and even back then you were good-looking. So there were always lots of girls around. But you never seemed to notice.”
When she didn’t continue, he said, “You?”
“Me?” She laughed softly, the sound tremulous. “I was a nobody. The school was private, exclusive and expensive. I was able to go because my parents taught there. My dad was a math teacher, and my mom was a Latin teacher. And I was good enough—academically speaking, that is—to get in.”
“And there were always lots of boys around,” he said. She must’ve been gorgeous, a classic golden beauty.
“It wasn’t like that. Some of the kids didn’t care much for me. I was, you know, ‘weird’, and I didn’t have the kind of moneyed background that everyone else had. There weren’t that many social activities I could join.”
“What kind of things did we do?”
She closed her eyes briefly. “Oh…sailing. Polo lessons. Trips to exclusive resorts and stuff. You were always invited, and you often went.” She tilted her head. “Don’t you remember anything? Not even a little bit?”
Letting out a frustrated breath, he raked his hair. “No. Nothing. I—”
Suddenly a vision came to him. He was in a classroom. Taking some notes. Subject…Well, it wasn’t important. The notes were just blurs anyway.
Ginger was sitting next to him in the class. Her clothes were inexpensive but nice enough. She looked so young, the lines of her face softer and even more delicate than now. She had a camera on her desk. Shane sneered at it. The dork and her camera. How stupid.
Shane blinked at the unkind thought, the crude superiority behind it. Had he been such a shallow little shit?
Before he could process it further, the rest of it came in a quick wave.
“What do you think you’re doing, dorkface?” he said to Ginger, expecting her to ignore him again. She always ignored him like she was some kind of royal princess. Whatever. Everyone knew she didn’t belong there. The only reason why she was there was because of her parents. Couldn’t tell a jib from a mainsail or a Maserati from a Ferrari. She’d probably never even had decent liquor before.
She gave him a look. “What do you think? I’m studying.”
He scowled. He hated the way she talked back to him. She was supposed to just…be there. Silently. “Like what? How to be a dorkface?”