FINAL DECISION. THE CHOICE

We pull down in front of the hotel El Dama at exactly quarter to eight. He had to drop me off early so that I could have enough time to prepare myself for the video shoot, which is starting at ten thirty.

"We are here." Deep says this after we kept silent for too long in the car.

I guess nobody wants to say goodbye yet, but we have to. He has his businesses to attend to, and I have a video shoot ahead.

"Yeah. I will go ahead." I say it softly because I don't want to.

He unbuckles his safety belt, and he pulls me in for a hug. "I would have loved to come to your video shoot, but my schedule is pretty tight today. And I don't want to make empty promises." He says this as we pull away from the hug, keeping my hands to himself.

"It's alright, Deep. I understand. Thank you for the times you have spent with me. It meant a lot, and I am grateful."

"Nah, it's nothing. On the contrary, thank you for giving me a chance to be with you. It did me a lot of good. You are exactly what I needed." He caresses the back of my hands with his thumbs. "Thank you." He whispers, and I give him a small smile.

We stare at each other, the weight of our partying ways taking a toll on us both. I once felt like breaking down. I will be leaving tomorrow, meaning this is probably the last time we will be seeing each other here. I know we agreed not to say goodbye. We promised to see each other soon. But when? How soon is this something we are talking about? In my confusion, I didn't realize when he leaned in; I only felt his lips brushing mine just now.

"Can I please steal just one?" He asks, his pleading eyes speaking for him, how badly he wants this.

Today, his eyes are a bit different. They look smoky, giving them a very dark look that seems so alluring to me. It makes him more hot. I press my hands to his. He is making me hot again because he hasn't let go of my hands for all those minutes.

"I permit you." I whispered, and I felt his lips curve up to a smile.

A smile I badly needed to see, but before I could drop my eyes to see that beautiful smile, his moist sugar lips crushed mine, making me shut my eyes. The kiss is sweet as usual, but deeper than before.

If only I could live in this particular moment, I would be a contented human being. The clicking sound of our lips as we end the kiss sends electric waves into my body, desiring more, but there is just no time for more. He pecks my lips one more time and plants another soft kiss on my forehead.

"See you soon," he says.

"See you soon." For some reason, these three words sound so real. They are my consolation. I don't know when, but until then, I am holding on to them.

Our hands unwillingly slip out of our hold, and I take my purse and walk out. As usual, I stand at a distance to watch him leave. Today, unlike those other few times, my hands are too heavy to wave goodbye. I don't want this to look like a goodbye in any way. He rolls down the window and shows me a smiley sign. He wants my smile to be the last thing he sees on me today. He wants to see me smile. I didn't have to force it. The mega smiles just appeared on my face, and it made him smile broadly too, his lips spreading to the furthest corners.

What a beauty he is! He starts the Porsche engine, turning the car around. Before he drives off, he blows me a kiss, which I playfully grab in the air and plaster on my lips. He drives off, and I follow him with my eyes. Through the side mirror, our eyes are on each other, the smile not leaving both our faces, until I can't see him any more. He disappears from my sight, and I drag my legs inside the hotel room.

I am looking forward to meeting you again, Deep Moore Azzua. I really do. Hopefully, I won't have so much baggage by then, so that I can bond and have more fun with you without fear or worry about your safety. I take some forty winks and wake up to prepare for the video shoot.

"Alright guys. Let's take a ten-minute break." The video director says, And we walk under a tree. The sun is too much.

"Do you want to change into something else, Gia?" Ana asks. She is so kind.

"No. I will continue with this one. We are finishing up anyway." I don't like doing a single song with different clothes. It makes it look like a fashion show—to me, that is. So two for me are enough, or a maximum of three if the song is over five minutes.

"And you, love?" She turns to her boyfriend, who looks at her with a wrinkled face. She is probably joking with him.

"I am fine." He says this to her, rubbing her back.

"By the way, Gia." Ana asks, making me look up from my phone. I just replied to a text from Deep wishing me the best on the shoot and still apologizing for not being able to come.

"Yes, Ana?" I ask, hiding my smile. They might think I am running mad, smiling at my phone like that. "Do you and Mr. Moore know each other? You two seemed so good together in that dance.

So, people noticed?

"Ah.. no. We just ran into each other here. Why? Do you know him?"

"Who doesn't know the only son of the Azzuas? Even if he tries as much as possible to keep a low profile of himself, his name always keeps him in the limelight."

"W.h..y? What are the Azzuas known for?" I ask, trying not to sound too eager.

"Oh, Gia! Haven't you heard of the Azzua Hotel Chain? There, they are the sole owners. And last year, they extended it across the border. They now have branches in Uganda and Tanzania. I heard they are extending it to the whole of East Africa. These guys are filthy rich."

"Oh, wow! I didn't know that." I am shocked at the news. I knew he was rich from the day we met.

"Don't tell me you also don't know that Mr. Moore is the owner of the Azzua airport." That got me to choke on my saliva. What?

"A..i..r.port? He owns an airport?"

"Gia, what part of Kenya do you live in?" She asks, and Nick playfully pinches her on the nose, perhaps reminding her that I just suffered a memory loss.

I take my bottle of water and sip on it, trying to digest what I have just learned. Managing an airport and a hotel chain that has gone beyond the border is not anywhere close to being easy. No wonder he looked so weighed down. He owns an airport? Oh my goodness!

We finish with our video shoot, and we head back to the hotel.

At the reception, I bid goodbye to Nick and Ana. They have a flight to Rwanda tonight at nine, so we will not be seeing each other again. After the goodbyes, I head back to my room. It's time for me to pack too, but before I do, I also have some arrangements to make. I take out my laptop and decide to check out the Azzua Hotels, the ones around Nairobi, in particular. They sure must be rich, given all these branches I am seeing. Going through the reviews, I must say I am impressed. They have recommendable reviews. With their high standards and tight security, I don't think I want to look somewhere else.

I click on the one at some place called Wetlands, and I take all the details I need. This is it. In my purse lies a card from the detective that Deep recommended to me. I will get in touch with him tomorrow, first thing when I check in. I dial Mayleen's number. I should let her know that I have made up my mind.

"Hello, Gia."

"Hey! Bad timing?" I ask.

"No. I am all alone. You are coming back?" she asks.

"Yeah. But not to that house or the club."

I hear her toss. "That's good. What did you tell Ejay?"

"I just lied that my stay here has been extended by another week."

"And I suppose he didn't take that too well."

"You should have heard him yelling at me as if I were some ten-year-old. He finally hung up on me, and he hasn't called throughout today. It's unlike him."

"Don't worry, Gia. The most important thing is that you are trying to protect yourself. Now more than ever, you need to be extra careful. I will see if I can get any information about whether he has new plans for you."

"Don't, Mayleen. It's too dangerous. I was thinking you should leave too. Come with me." I say.

"Now it's not the right time for that, Gia. If I do that, it will arouse more suspicion. We don't want that as early as now." She says.

"But I am worried about you, Mayleen."

"Relax. Ejay can do anything to me, but he cannot kill me."

"What makes you so sure? You are the one who told me he couldn't be trusted."

"Let's say that I have some kind of protection from him."

"What? What kind of protection?"

"I will tell you some other time. For now, concentrate on what you are going to do and plan your moves well. Be careful, okay?"

"Okay. Be careful, too. If you sense any kind of danger, just call me, alright?"

"Sure, I will."

"Okay. Bye."

Protection? What does Mayleen have against the monster Ejay? It must be something very, very important to him. What could that be?