“Um, I guess I just don’t understand...” Ella hesitated and took another sip from her drink before continuing. She opened her mouth to go on and was interrupted by a huge bang from the windows.
The crash caused her to jump out of her seat and her drink went flying. Karim jumped up as glass from the lobby window came flying across the floor.
“Quick!” yelled the bartender. “Come with me. You must get to a safer place!”
Karim grabbed Ella by the arm and followed the bartender out of the bar and down the hall to one of the rooms.
“Here,” the bartender said, unlocking the room with his passkey. “Stay in here, away from the windows.”
He opened the door and basically shoved Karim and Ella into an exquisitely appointed room. The main sitting area had a wide wall of sliding glass doors overlooking the ocean. The bartender moved them past that room and into a large bedroom with a window that had been shuttered closed. They thanked the bartender and watched him leave, closing the door behind him.
Karim rummaged through the drawers, found matches, and began to light the candles that were standard in the island rooms, in case of power outages.
“What are you doing?” Ella asked from her spot on the bed. The lights flickered on and off again and the wind howled outside of the window. The only light was that of the glass block wall in the bathroom off of the bedroom.
“Just getting prepared,” said Karim as he moved the lit candles to various places throughout the room.
“That’s better,” he said when he was done. He surveyed his work and was satisfied that there would be enough light if the power went out. “Ah,” he said, holding up his finger. “One more thing.”
Ella watched him disappear from the room and emerge a moment later with two glasses and small bottles from the mini-bar. He set them on the dresser and poured the contents of the bottles into the glasses, then walked over and handed one to Ella as she sat back against the pillows.
Reasoning that there was nowhere else for him to sit, Karim slid in next to her, resting his head on the pillows. “So,” he said slowly, taking a sip from his glass. “Where were we?”
Ella smiled lazily, the alcohol dulling her senses. “Okay, that’s right. Just before we got kicked out of the bar…”
Karim laughed at her choice of words. “Yeah, but isn’t this so much better?”
Ella opened her eyes slowly and looked around. The light from the candles danced happily, creating a soft and relaxing atmosphere in the room. She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of the wax and the musky scent of Karim. She let the mood fill her and exhaled a long breath, letting her body sink into the bed a little further.
“Yeah,” she said slowly. “this is much better.”
Karim smiled wide, watching her body relax. His eyes wandered from her smiling face down to her suit jacket and all the way past her curves to her toned legs. He caught himself just as she opened her eyes and he pulled away, sitting up straight against the pillows.
“What was it that you asked me?” Ella said sloppily.
Karim stared out in front, not wanting to be drawn to her again. He was finding it hard to be in the same room with her without giving into his feelings.
“What about us?” he asked. “About me and Nadia? What do you think of us as clients?”
“Oh,” Ella said loudly, slapping her leg. “You two are one of a kind. I mean,” she laughed. “You can’t be one of a kind when there are two of you. But you are two of a kind.”
Karim smiled at her. He loved watching her talk, watching her smile.
Ella went on unprompted. “I mean, you guys are okay. Well, you're okay. Nadia, though. I don’t know. I mean, what kind of bride doesn’t want to plan her own wedding?”
Ella pushed herself to an upright position, spilling her drink as she did. Karim smiled and took the drink out of her hand as she continued to speak, more animated this time. “I guess it’s just that I don’t get you. I mean, here you are planning the wedding, and she’s, she’s…” Ella stopped and looked at Karim questioningly. “Where is she again?”
Karim laughed at the seriousness on her face. “She’s in Miami,” he said softly, not willing to offer any further explanation.
“Right, Miami!” Ella slapped her leg again. “And she left you here to handle everything. What kind of person does that?”
“I really don’t mind,” Karim said, sitting up to face Ella. “In fact, I’d rather it be that way. I’ve always been a 'take charge' sort of guy. I guess that was just part of my upbringing. When you grow up in a royal family, you’re raised with certain responsibilities and expectations. And one of them is to take care of things that need to be taken care of.”