It was four in the evening.They had been on the beach for nearly six hours now, and Jim and Ben had made an entire city of sand. Miya, on the other hand, was panting, still tirelessly chasing after crabs while playing with the water in between.
She was drenched, whereas Jimmy and her boy were hands and feet deep in sand. They looked like best friends, as they both stood with hands on their hips, admiring the row of castles that they had built.
They were dressed in the same clothes from the day before too. Jim, in a dark blue shirt and black trousers, whereas Ben in a grey shirt and similar black pants.
Once they had fenced their city, they both high fived.
"What do you think we should name it?" Jim asked, looking at the sand-city carefully.
Ben gave their creation the same deep look.
"Indus Valley," he suggested.
Jim laughed. Smart boy.
"There"s going to be flood too," he told Ben gleefully and looked at the waves. He then kneeled down and began to write on the sand with his index finger. Ben followed suit.
Miya on the other hand, was fatigued by now. She was still very excited, but her body had stopped keeping pace with her mind. She felt tired.
So she walked over to Jimmy and her son, and watched them from the other side of their city. They were busy writing "Indus Valley" on the sand, in pretty, but shabby letters. She was caught between laughing heartily and rolling her eyes.
Just then, a soft breeze caressed her skin, and Miya heard the rustling of the leaves. An idea immediately formed in her brain.
She didn"t want to lay down in the sand, but she did want to rest.
Big palm trees.
Oh yes, big palm trees, here she came!
When Jim looked up to give his wife a c.o.c.ky grin and say h.e.l.lo, he saw the missus run off in the opposite direction. Strangely, she wasn"t chasing a crab. Then…
Jim"s eyes widened, and he immediately stood up. Then collecting all his breath, he hollered at the girl:
"You stop there right now!"
Miya almost jumped out of her skin at the voice. She stopped automatically, but didn"t turn around.
Ben too, flinched for a second. But then, he was back to work. Mommy and Jimmy always seemed to be shouting at each other anyway. There was nothing to be worried about.
Meanwhile Jim, took three long, threatening steps towards Miya, and was immediately looming over her back. His huge shadow fell on the sand before her, engulfing her own. The girl swallowed.
"It"s illegal to climb trees here," Jim said firmly, and almost immediately, Miya"s shoulders drooped. She turned around slowly, with the most pitiful expression on her face. The rest was lost to Jim.
"Please!" she began, instantly folding her hands, "Please, Mr. Hunter, please! I can"t be here and not have climbed a tree. Please!"
What?
The woman didn"t make sense!
And what was she? A cavewoman?!
"No," Jim"s voice was stern, but his heart was more than wavered. It was just one freaking tree after all. And if she was going to make a face like that –
"No!" Jimmy"s logical self came to oppose right then, "Don"t! It"s ridiculous. And she called you a cobra! Remember? REMEMBER?"
Jimmy shrugged.
Whatever.
The logical him didn"t give up though. It used its killer move.
"Jimmy, Jimmy," it told him saintly, "She likes a cobra paired with a crab better than you and her. Now, you can only get her if you play hard to get!"
Okay. Enough!
Jim rolled his eyes, immediately shutting up his inner turmoil. It was giving him stupid advice anyway.
He"d play hard to get, of course. But the point was, she didn"t want to "get" him.
At all!
When Miya saw Jim stand before her with a scowl, she became slightly impatient. Then, she looked at her own folded hands, and almost grinned slyly. There was one trick that hadn"t failed her yet. She didn"t know why Mr. Hunter always gave in when she tried it, but for the two times she had used it, it had been a success. It was worth a try.
Immediately, Miya fell to her knees.
Jim"s eyes, however, had seen the woman grin.
And when she fell to her knees, horror filled his face.
This woman…!
She was doing it on purpose!
So before Miya"s knees could hit the ground, Jim bent forward and grabbed her arms. Then forcefully pulling her up, almost as if she were a child, he brought her back to her feet.
"Not this time!" he thundered, and dragged her behind him.
Miya pouted unhappily. d.a.m.n it, she had been caught!
Meany!
Jim would have eventually allowed the girl to climb a thrice darned tree, but now he was furious. Albeit, his heart was thumping wildly, but he was still furious.
This girl! She had the audacity to test him like that!
Wait… did that mean she had seen him aroused before?
No, no. Judging by her character, she would have kicked him a hundred times if she had. Then… Oh. Maybe she had just figured out that he always relented when she was on her knees. d.a.m.n it!
He needed to see someone about his unsightly stimulation soon!
As Jim dragged the missus behind him, he took out his phone and texted Park at the same time. Once he was back in the country, he would see a doctor, or a psychiatrist for that matter. Then all would be good again!
When Jim had brought Miya over to his sand city, he let her go. Her unhappy face depressed him a little, but he decided he would let himself be p.i.s.sed, just this once.
Else, the woman would have him agreeing to the stupidest of her wishes. Why, the palm tree she wanted to climb didn"t even have branches. She"d definitely be hurt!
Well, maybe not. But he had to worry… She had fallen off from the library stand anyhow, so…
Jimmy"s stony face only showed a glimpse of his inner battle. Miya sulked and watched him for a long time, as he stood before her silently.
Well, if it was illegal, she didn"t really want to get him into any sort of inconvenience. He had brought her to this wonderful place after all. And she had had a lot of fun.
Man... she was just being selfish.
Pressing her lips, Miya looked at the man lost deeply in thought. Guilt filled every inch of her body, and she whimpered when she spoke. Her words were almost inaudible.
"I"m sorry," she said.
Jim was instantly shocked.
What?
"I was just being selfish. I"m sorry," she repeated.
Jim looked at her with an expressionless face, but his heart leapt, bound, rejoiced and was immediately jelly. He coughed nervously, then looked away.
"As long as you understand," he said, and then walked over to Ben, his heart thumping in his mouth.
d.a.m.n it, woman, d.a.m.n it.
Why was she so f***ing cute?
He couldn"t handle, it. F*** it all, he couldn"t!
The temptation was just too much!