Chapter One
“This is really nice,” Kemah said as she ran her hand over the floral printed micro fibered sofa. It was soft to the touch and when she sat on it, “Ooh this is too comfortable. I think I could sit here for a week.”
Shyla chuckled. “Yeah but you’ll miss everything else in Jamaica.”
“You have to admit that this place is very nice. The bathroom is huge. Did you see it?”
Shyla nodded. “It’s nothing like the hotels in the states.”
“I can see why so many people come to this place to vacation and honeymoon.”
“Well it’s a good thing we came now because we’ve both said no to marriage, so we can’t come for a honeymoon.”
“I know but wouldn’t it be nice to share it with someone you loved?”
“Definitely.” Kemah snuggled more into the couch. “Tell me again why you don’t want to get married?” she asked with her eyes closed.
“Haven’t found the right man, and when it seems like I have the right man he turns out to be the wrong man, so I’ve given up even trying. It’s a waste of time anyway. Who needs a piece of paper to say, you belong to me. I’m so blasted tired of hearing men dogging other mean while they are praising themselves to be a real man, only to find out that he’s not a real man at all. Men, all men cheat and they always will. It’s as simple as that. What about you?”
Kemah shrugged her shoulders. “You know the story. Fell in love, promised ourselves to one another, he listened to and, I might add, believed a lie then he bounced. While I have a difference of opinion than you, I don’t believe that all men cheat, but I wouldn’t give my heart to another one to save my life. It’s just too damn emotional. And men aren’t emotional enough. They just don’t get it.”
“Oh, I’ve met a few that are so emotional that they put women to shame. It’s scary.”
“I know that’s right.” Kemah laughed. “I just wish the male species would get a damn clue.”
“That would be nice. I believe that if a man looks, he’s cheating. What is he looking and admiring for? Is he wishing that she was his woman or his woman had the same attributes or qualities as this other woman? To me that’s cheating. But let’s change the subject. We came here to have a good time and I’m ready to begin. We can’t stay in this suite all week, no matter how cozy it is.” Shyla stood picking up her traveling bag.
“I can’t wait to go shopping. I saw some boutiques on the way over.”
“I’m all for that.” Shyla began putting her belongings away. “So what do you think we should do our first day here?”
“Eat. That’s the first thing on my agenda. We haven’t had anything since before we left California. Can you believe these airlines now?” Kemah shook her head. “You either buy their high priced, unpleasant food on the plane or you bring a snack. You can’t bring a snack because they take it at security. You know they don’t really throw that stuff away. They probably take it home to their families which wouldn’t be a problem but the least they could do is give it to the homeless. I tell you, you can’t win for losing.”
“True. Now back to the plans. I want to do everything, the casinos, clubs, dancing the night away, and sightseeing. You name it, I’m there. We do have that tour scheduled for tomorrow morning. And after sampling some of their food we’re going bike riding and probably snorkeling.”
Kemah’s head snapped up. Her friend always wants to do something, no matter what it was she was a go getter except when it came to love. “Shyla, black people don’t go snorkeling. Quit dreaming.”
“Black people may not but brown people do,” she said seriously. “And since we’re a brown skinned people today, we’re going snorkeling. I don’t know what color we will be tomorrow because of that baking ass Jamaican sun but for today we are brown. It’s like an oven out there.”
“I know, and I don’t do heat all that well. My perm is going to be a mess when I leave here. I have a feeling that I will be in braids by the end of the week.”
“I can get with that. I thought about getting them before we left but Char was booked for the next month and I wasn’t about