Chapter 11- Cloud Nine

TAMI'S EYES shone in excitement as Raphael raced through the town.

It had been years since she was at Grand Bahama, and it was obvious that a lot had changed. Still, she didn’t mind how fast the buildings and features rushed past in a blazing blur as Raphael drove.

It was almost as if he had been in a rush. But in reality, he only did it because he liked how her eyes lit up when he went up a notch with the speed. The car would skid ever so often when the drifted around corners, and instead of screaming as most women would, Tami simply squealed as she held onto her seat for support, as if she was on a ride.

Raphael liked this new look on her, as he had gotten quite sick of her gloomy eyes over the past days. He also knew he was the cause of her grief, hence this car ride giving her joy made him the happiest. He was almost disappointed when the airport came into view. He could already see his jet waiting for him too.

But then he thought, if she loved the car so much, wouldn’t she like the jet even more? This very thought allowed a sardonic smirk to pull on his lips, as he quickly flickered his eyes to where she was sitting.

She was still on cloud nine as he slowed down, and it was becoming quite obvious to her too that they had arrived at their destination. At least for now.

"Raphael that was fantastic" She laughed as she unbuckled her seatbelt, completely forgetting that she was 'supposed' to be upset with him for all he had done to her.

"Yea? Will you like to have a drive back home when we're back?"

Her eyes lit up even more at this, and she even avoided the fact that he called his house 'home', referring to it as her home too.

"You would let me do that?" She asked in utter excitement.

"Of course. As long as we're out of the town, I'll give you a spin" He smiled down at her as she did a mini victory dance.

It also got her considering her escape plan for when they 'arrive' in Puerto Rico. Was she really willing to give up a chance at seeing her family sooner, just for a drive in this expensive car? Probably not. But if she should fail at escaping again, she wouldn’t hesitate in taking up the offer.

They alighted the car simultaneously, as the coastal breeze whipped her messy curls all about. Luckily, Raphael had successfully pulled her hair in a high puff, so it was out of her face and eyes.

He offered her his hand after grabbing their two duffle bags with the other. A bold move for him, considering they hadn’t been getting along until they got in the car.

She eyed his hand weirdly as all the emotions that had been suppressed by her excitement began to resurface. As she looked around, she realized that there was no way that she could make a run for it and escape.

The section of the airport was way too empty, and seemed far away from the terminals. It was almost as if Raphael cleared out the area himself, specifically for this flight boarding. Little did she know that he actually did.

"I can take my own bag" She spoke softly.

He ignored the pang in his chest at the fact that she refused his hand. He knew it was a long shot, after all. He also decided to heed to her request and handed her the bag. He knew how stubborn she could be too.

"Oh crap" She cursed, pausing dead in her tracks as she remembered something.

"What is it?" Worry etched on Raphael's face as he saw her disappointment.

"I left my- I mean the laptop that you had given me. I need it" She frowned deeper, remembering that she was committed to doing her daily logs. Raphael relaxed at that, as if saying it wasn’t a big deal.

"No worries. I'll get you one as soon as we're in San Juan. You need not to worry Tami. I told you I'd give you anything you want"

She gazed at him as if he was crazy. "You're going to buy me a laptop for three days? And when we come back here." If we come back here. "I will have two for no apparent reason?"

"Yes.." He trailed, not quite understanding her reaction. "Is that a problem?"

"You have too much money for your own good" Was all she said as she walked passed him and towards the jet.

He chuckled a little before following behind her. She looked so beautiful in her floral dress that danced in the breeze as she mounted the stairs. She would be a perfect match for Raphael. She navigated so naturally as if she was made for him and his type of lifestyle.

As soon as they were inside, Tami was left stunned once again. She had never been inside a private jet before. In fact, the only time she had been in a plane was when she was eight and was moving to Nassau. Even then, the regular class seat that she got wasn’t half as fancy and beautiful as this.

"You really are loaded aren’t you?" She mumbled so quiet that he almost didn’t hear as she gawked at everything.

She ran her hands over the leather white chair that she could picture herself dozing off in. If this was how Raphael lived all the time, how was it that he had no lover in his life? Surely women must've been flanking him all the time.

Except, Raphael didn’t want them. Indeed, he was a very attractive, successful man who always had women wanting him. But he didn't care for them. In fact, he liked Tami even more when he realized that his wealth didn’t shake her.

He bathed her in gifts and made it pretty clear to her that she could get whatever she needed from him. Yet, that didn’t seem to phase her. Yes, she would acknowledge his wealth, but after her initial shock, like the car and now the jet, she would just go back to her normal self.

She didn’t want his money. And that simple fact showed Raphael that he couldn’t try and use it to his advantage. He had to steal her heart the right way. He would still get her whatever she needed, but he knew he couldn't lure her to him with his money. Not that he had intended to.

"You can get yourself comfortable. I'll just go have a talk with my pilot" Raphael informed her. "Don’t try anything" He added with a little bit of warning.

It then occurred to Tami that they were still on the ground, and with her out of Raphael's sight, she could easily make a run for it. But Raphael was a step ahead of her. He ensured everything was locked before quickly heading to the front to see his pilot.

However, Tami was still too busy ogling the jet to even try and open the door.

When Raphael returned and didn’t see Tami sitting, he had a small anxiety attack.

"Tami?" He called, drawing the thick curtains to see if she was on the other side. Except, she wasn’t. "Tamika?" He called a little louder as he marched through the plane.

He sighed in relief when she pushed her head through the door that led to the bathroom. He saw a twinkle in her eyes that he recognized even after all these years, when she would discover something new at camp.

"Did you know that the toilet has a heater on it?" She asked excitedly. "I mean of course you do! It's yours." She laughed before ducking back inside the bathroom.

Raphael couldn’t help but laugh. "Come sit down Tami. We're about to take off"

He waited for her to emerge, and he watched as she came out with her hands folded and her mouth in a slight pout.

"I don’t want to go with you. I want to go to my family." She sounded and looked like the cutest three year old, but Raphael had this conversation way too many times with her.

"We've been over this."

"Yea I know. No I can't blah blah blah. You need me blah blah blah. Spare me the details," she taunted, flicking her hands in a puppet mocking way as she plopped her arse on the chair. She immediately sank into it with a moan when she felt how soft it was.

"Want anything to eat?"

She nodded. "I could use a snack"

Raphael checked his watch, seeing that it was not yet time for take off. He had a minute or two to spare, and since he dismissed all his air staff after fearing that one of them might see Tami and recognize her from the news, he had to do everything himself. Not that he minded. He would do anything that Tami requested of him. Except let her go, of course.

He returned with a number of snacks and drinks, since he didn’t know what she would like. She had an amused gleam in her eyes as she saw him.

"You know when I said a snack, I meant only one" She chuckled as she took a bag of chips from him.

He rested the rest on the table between them as he sat across from her. He liked that she wasn’t opposed to him sitting there. There were plenty of places on the plane that he could've sat.

Nonetheless, he appreciated the closeness he had to her, as he watched her gaze through the window when the jet moved off.

***

Two hours and a lot of questions later, Tami and Raphael were leaving the airport in a car that had been waiting on them.

Raphael didn’t usually like to stay awake on planes. He would always find himself asleep or he took some pills to aid the action. However, he realized just how much he loved travelling with Tami.

Once they were in the air, he found that she would squeal, gawk or gush at the view and clouds. Every time they passed over or even glimpsed an island, she would ask him questions like, what island it was, has he ever been there and so on. Most of the time he didn’t have an answer for her, but he enjoyed that she was actually talking to him for a change.

He knew that it wouldn’t last though. Her cheery mood today was only because of the rush from the car and the jet, but she would remember quite soon that she was upset with him, and fall back right to where they were this morning.

Unlike the Ferrari they had taken to the airport in Grand Bahama, waiting on them here in Puerto Rico was a 2013 land cruiser, specifically requested by Raphael.

The silence that fell between them on the ride to the hotel was quite noticeable by Raphael. Oddly, it wasn’t uncomfortable. Tami simply stared at everything as they drove through this foreign land to her.

Raphael felt a sense of home and belonging from the minute he landed. Even though he preferred Grand Bahama, this was where he was born, and he would always be a Jibaro forever.

He led her inside Roseau Hotel as the doorman held the door open.

"Buenas tardes señor, señorita" He greeted as Raphael and Tami slipped passed him.

Raphael nodded in acknowledgement as he led Tami to the receptionist, his hand resting on the small of her back.

"What did he say?" She whispered loud enough for him to hear. Raphael chuckled at her question.

"The most basic greeting, Tami. He said good afternoon"

"Oh" She pursed her lips, feeling a little embarrassed that he found it funny that she didn’t know that. "How would I have known?" She crossed her hands stubbornly, and he saw that he had offended her.

"I'm sorry. I just assumed to watch Dora and Diego."

"I did, but I simply forgot." She defended. She saw that it would be hard to get along in a Spanish speaking country for three days.

Her chances of telling someone the situation she was in in hopes that they would help would be harder than she thought.

Raphael didn’t worry too much about hiding her from lingering eyes here, since Bahamian news wouldn't likely be seen in Puerto Rico. So the chances of someone recognizing her as a missing person were zero to none. Nonetheless, he was still careful, hence why he decided not to let her out of their suite unless he was with her.

After checking in, they were taken to the top floor where their suite sat. Raphael thought it easier to stay at a hotel than at his family home, since it might be more comfortable for Tami. The hotel would also cover meals and entertainment, so he didn’t hesitate to have Maddie book a room when he learnt of the meetings.

"So this is your room" He announced as he pushed a bedroom door open.

Tami sighed as she plopped down on the bed, feeling utterly tired from all the travelling.

"I will be right beside you if you need anything."

"Wait, we're in the same suite? I thought you would be across the hall or something " She frowned. Raphael thought of everything.

"So you can escape?" He smirked teasingly, as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"That isn’t funny."

"It will be one day."

"There will be no 'one day', and the sooner you get that, the better it will be for both of us," she snapped.

And just like that, they were back to where they started.