He held Vanessa�s hand as they stared at Dunns River. It was a premiere spot. You couldn�t go to Ocho Rios without making a stop there. That�s what the guide said even though he made many trips and this was his first time. He had never been one of the millions who annually enjoyed the river.
The beauty of the area was unparalleled; no other area came close for him. The river trickled down a limestone staircase to a white sand beach with warm blue water. People were everywhere and they were all happy.
Maleeyah, Ben, Jack and Sean climbed up the limestone with a guide while he and Vanessa took the less strenuous climb on the ordinary stairs with handrails.
After the plantation, they had gone back to the hotel and changed into more beach appropriate attire. On the beach, there were lockers and they stored all their belongings except for their cameras. Vanessa was in a light pink bikini with tiny ruffles and Maleeyah was in a turquoise bikini. If it were a competition, he would have a hard time choosing a winner.
Derek and the guide took pictures of the group as they climbed the staircase. He had Maleeyah�s camera so most of his shots were of her. She scaled the staircase with ease and laughed when she picked on Ben for being the slowest.
He was glad she and Vanessa seemed to be getting along. It made things much easier for him when dealing with Vanessa. Her jealousy issues didn�t seem to be an concern anymore. She and Maleeyah were even laughing and talking throughout the day.
They stood at the top and marveled at the view.
�Did you get some good pictures Mr. Cameraman?�
�Of course I did.� He handed her the camera. At first all his pictures were of her and he could tell she noticed. Luckily, he got smart and took pictures of the guys and the scenic locale.
�Good job once again. If the baseball thing doesn�t work out I bet Olan Mills will have you.�
He frowned.
�Olan Mills, the photographer. You know, they probably did your yearbook pictures.�
�Oh ok.�
She shook her head and laughed as she ran off and joined Ben. He wasn�t an idiot or detached from the real world. He was just a man, and men didn�t know the name of the photographer who took their high school yearbook pictures.
**
They were all swimming in the pool when Vanessa pulled him away and behind the falls into one of the caves. There were still people in there but not as many.
�What are we doing back here?�
He asked as he placed his hands on her hips. Her hands were running through his hair. He looked down at her; her wet hair slicked back, her makeup still immaculate.
�I just wanted to do this.�
She pulled his head down and kissed him. It was full of passion and he couldn�t help but to respond. He slid his arms around her body until he had her in a tight hug.
�We better stop. We have an audience.�
She pouted but complied.
He looked down at her; �I...� and he began to choke.
�Are you ok?�
He nodded his head as he coughed a few more times. �Yeah, yeah. I�m good.�
His heart raced and it wasn�t just the water that made his palms wet. He almost told her he loved her. Derek knew he didn�t love her, he was caught up in the romance of it all. Sure, he cared about her and he enjoyed spending time with her. That was obvious, if he didn�t, he wouldn�t continue to call her and invite her into his life. Jesus; he thought; that would have been disastrous. He needed to get himself out of this relationship before he dug the hole even deeper.
**
He was excited that Vanessa decided to go rafting on the white river with them. She wasn�t a complete debutante. She liked hip-hop, she wasn�t that damn prissy. That�s what initially attracted him to her. She was a beautiful woman, but she seemed to be down too. But there were times when she got caught up in being the TV diva. And that was happening more and more. The public persona was creeping into the private side of her and she wasn�t as much fun as she used to be.
The trip was on a bamboo raft and it took about 45 minutes. It was safe but it was by far a much bumpier ride than he anticipated. That had to be against his contract. But what the Yankees didn�t know wouldn�t hurt them (or cost him).
**
No vacation was complete for him until he tasted what the city�s nightlife had to offer. They were at three different bars and discos before they made their last stop the Little Pub on Main Street. Many of the top class artists made appearances there. Tonight was no exception. Even though he didn�t know who the group was they apparently had a great following and the place was packed.
Vanessa was in a turquoise skintight dress with that was higher up on one side than the other. What was with girls and turquoise? His sister loved it too. Maleeyah was in tight chocolate brown dress. It hugged her body but around her hips it loosened just a bit from there and stopped just above her ankles. There was a cream colored beaded necklace that went around her neck and held up the dress.
She seemed to show her shoulders a lot and he couldn�t blame her. She had great shoulders. What? He laughed at himself. Great shoulders? He had never said that about a girl before. Nice tits, nice ass, nice legs even but not nice shoulders.
Maleeyah was on the dance floor with Ben and Sean was on the dance floor with Vanessa.
�Man, its been really nice this year. My brother wasn�t a pain in the ass at all.�
�Yeah, it was nice. A lot of fun but a lot of relaxing too.�
Usually there was a bigger entourage than four, maybe he would think about keeping it small.
�When Ben first talked about inviting Maleeyah I didn�t know how it would go. But he insisted she was cool. She didn�t rain on the parade at all.�
He nodded, �Yeah, she�s definitely cool enough to hang.�
She brought with her no female drama, she was just fun. He looked over at Vanessa and smiled watching as Sean tried to teach her some island move. He sipped on his beer, she was beautiful.
032 | No Ordinary Girl