Page 15 of Maximum
CHAPTER4
South Africa
Maximum
Fleur and I flew out of Dublin airport and after two stopovers, we arrived in Cape Town twenty-three hours later.
Because we hadn’t booked our plane tickets at the same time, we sat separated during the flight.
“It’s not as warm as I thought it would be,” I said when we exited the airport and Fleur steered us toward a taxi.
We both had large backpacks instead of suitcases and after loading them in the back of the taxi, Fleur directed the driver to take us to the hotel she had booked.
Cape Town was a far cry from the images of Africa that I’d grown up with. There were no women carrying baskets on their heads, children running around barefoot, or donkeys pulling carts. Cape Town was a buzzing big city like Dublin with a tumultuous history.
“I’ve texted my parents that we’ve arrived. They’re staying with friends while they’re in town.”
“Your parents don’t live in Cape Town?”
“Nooo.” Fleur smiled. “They prefer to live somewhere rural and quiet. At the moment they live way up north close to Kruger National Park, where they do a lot of their work.”
“You said they had an exhibition at a gallery. When is the reception you talked about?”
“Tonight. I don’t know about you, but I need a shower, some food, and some hours of sleep before I go anywhere.”
“You didn’t sleep on the plane?”
“Nah, I’m horrible at that.”
The hotel Fleur had booked was cheap and only a small step above a youth hostel. When she had suggested that we split the cost of a room, I’d felt a massive explosion of butterflies in my stomach. This trip would last eleven days and that meant ten nights of prime chances to seduce Fleur.
We both showered and since I hadn’t slept much on the plane either the idea of a nap suited me fine. Fleur was already sleeping when I came out of the bathroom but the very act of sliding into bed next to her had my head spinning.
Her breathing was calm, as I lay on my side of the bed wishing I could sleep too. Only my mind wouldn’t stop analyzing every new sound, the softness of the mattress, the events ahead of us, and the huge trust Fleur was showing me by inviting me to share a room with her. With the way she’d pulled the cover to her chin, I couldn’t see what she was sleeping in and it made my imagination spin out of control.
I wondered if she knew my father was a murderer and a psychopath. What would Conor have done if he were in my shoes? Probably seduced her with that silver tongue of his, but the very idea of my father close to someone as pure and trusting as Fleur made me feel protective of her.
Thinking of him always made me feel dirty so I pushed him out of my mind, closed my eyes, and decided that if I couldn’t sleep, I’d meditate instead.
I must have dozed off because when Fleur woke me up it was almost two in the afternoon.
“How long did we nap?” I asked in a yawn.
“A little over two hours.”
“Wow. Okay. So, what’s on the agenda now?” Rubbing my eyes, I sat up against the headboard, like her.
“My parents’ reception is in four hours. Let me just check in with them. Maybe they need help hanging the last pictures or something.” Fleur hadn’t slept naked like my wishful brain had imagined. I could see her torso and she was wearing a red camisole with no bra underneath.
It was hard to keep my eyes off her delicious breasts, which were only an arm’s length away from me, but I overruled my reptilian brain and gave a rational answer.
“I’m happy to help, as long as we can grab some food on the way. I’m famished.”
When Fleur spoke on the phone with her mum, I noticed that her accent became a little stronger.
“They’re at their friends’ house but she asked us to meet them at a bar across from the gallery at four,” she said after hanging up.
“Great.” While Fleur had spoken on the phone, I’d brushed my teeth and emptied my bladder. I’d slept in my briefs and a t-shirt but was pulling on pants and socks now. “Do you think there’s an ironing board here?” I pulled out a rolled-up button-down shirt that I’d brought to wear for the reception.
