Keeping Kama

Chapter 15

The call ended. Derek shoved the phone into his pocket. Stomping into his bedroom, he swung open his closet and ripped three shirts off their hangers and tossed them onto his bed. If he was smart, he’d jump on a plane and head back to Oahu tonight instead of his scheduled flight to Boston. Boston, which would make the time difference with Leia an entire six hours. The gap between them was growing wider by the day.

His pocket buzzed. Without thinking, he clicked accept and answered, “What?” he half-yelled.

“Geez, Derek,” answered Tyson. “You sound ready to bite my head off—which seems to have become the norm these days.”

Running his free hand down the length of his face, Derek took a deep, settling breath. “I’m sorry.” His shoulders dropped, loosening the pinch between his shoulder blades. “Any particular reason you’re calling?” Derek reached back into his closet and pulled two button-up shirts off their hangers, throwing them on the bed too. “I’m packing.”

“Is that what’s causing you to be cranky? A little packing?” countered Tyson.

“I’m sick of traveling every week,” muttered Derek.

“Since when? You’re the one who has always volunteered to go, even when I’ve offered to go in your place,” said Tyson.

On his knees, Derek peered under his bed and patted around until his fingers hooked onto his rolling carry-on suitcase. He placed it on his bed. “I’ve changed my mind. I have no life outside of work, making every one of my relationships doomed from the beginning. Heather and I are a perfect example of this.” He unzipped his suitcase with his free hand.

“You told me you’re over Heather,” replied Tyson.

“I am.” Derek placed his phone in the crook of his neck, picking up his shirt to fold it neatly. “This isn’t specifically about Heather. It’s the fact I have zero chance of being with anyone real if I don’t slow down for a bit, stay off the road, and finally set down some roots.”

“I thought you bought your house last year. Isn’t that some roots?” asked Tyson.

Sighing, Derek picked up his button-down, folding it and placing it inside of his suitcase. “It’s a start, but I know it’s not enough.” He picked up his next shirt and folded it. “After this trip to Boston, I want you to fly to the next place. We’re going to have to start trading off the travel or I don’t see this arrangement working for me anymore.” His shoulders drooped, and Derek sat down on the edge of his bed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Umm, let’s back up a second. We have no investment company without you. I’ve been working with you since we graduated from college. We’ll figure something out. I’ll travel more or we can hire another person. If we need to so you can take on more remote work.” Tyson paused, “You’re my best friend, and I want you to be happy.”

“I wish I knew what would make me happy,” replied Derek. “But it isn’t this. I’m miserable.”

Derek tried to remember the last time he felt happy.

It was back in Hawaii with Leia.

“Go to Boston. When you get back, we’ll figure something out,” stated Tyson.

Derek wadded up his T-shirt and threw it into his suitcase. “I’ll call you after I meet with the potential clients.” Then Derek said goodbye and ended the call.

After Derek finished packing up his suitcase, he tried not to think about Leia getting all cozy with her ex-flame. It proved to be incredibly difficult. With the tenth glance at his phone, Derek forced himself to turn his phone off to avoid the temptation to text Leia and find out how the evening was going. Leia deserved to be happy, even if it was with some other guy. He was relieved at least that she had finally picked up her phone after ignoring him for a month.

With nothing left to do, Derek shoved his phone into his pocket and left for the airport.

Before boarding, Derek turned back on his phone in hopes a string of unanswered text messages would pop up. Nothing. Right before taking off, Derek shot Leia a text message.

Leia I’m headed to Boston. My phone will be off for the next several hours. I hope you had a nice evening with Bane.

After staring at his phone screen, Derek watched the message change from delivered to read. The three little cursor dots danced below his message. Shifting, Derek waited for Leia to text him back. As the dots danced, Derek buckled his seat belt and readjusted his messenger bag under the seat in front of him.

The dancing dots continued to dance. Derek wondered if he should send another message. But the dots stopped dancing, and Leia didn’t respond. His chest pinched tight. Over the loudspeaker, the flight attendant announced electronic devices needed to be switched to airplane mode.

Quickly, Derek’s fingers zipped across the screen.

I have to turn my phone off. I’ll talk to you later.

He hit send then tapped the button to turn the wifi to airplane mode.

Then Derek spent the next six hours worrying about Leia kissing some guy, reigniting a flame that apparently had never died. By the time he landed in Boston, Derek was practically batty. With jetlag, sleep deprivation and full-on love sickness, Derek was a mess. Because a fifteen-minute conversation with Leia, confirmed what he already knew; he wanted Leia, but he had no clue how to make her his.

Once they landed and the flight attendant instructed them, they were allowed to unbuckle their seatbelts and take their phones off airplane mode, Derek immediately flipped his phone off the airplane mode. It took a few seconds for it to reconnect to his network. Sometimes there was a lag when it came with text messages coming through, but after a full five minutes, Derek knew his phone remaining silent wasn’t a mistake. What had he expected? A simple phone conversation and then—bam—everything would be back to how it was?

Rubbing the back of his neck, Derek contemplated texting Leia again, but then he remembered though it was morning in Boston, it was the middle of the night in Hawaii. He cranked his neck both directions, loosening the tension building in his shoulder blades. The rows in front of him had almost completely exited the plane, so Derek shoved his phone into his pocket and fetched his messenger bag from between his feet and carry-on from the overhead bin.

As Derek exited the plane and walked through the airport, his mind was a muddled mess. His client had promised to send an employee to the airport to pick him up. Derek didn’t have a checked bag, but he walked toward baggage claim to where drivers held up signs for airport pickups. Scanning the signs, Derek spotted his name. He strode toward the middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair.

Once in front of him, Derek stopped and said, “I’m Derek.”

Smiling, the man folded the paper, shoving it into his pocket. Holding out his hand, he said, “I’m Steven. I know I said I would send an employee, but I decided to pick you up myself.”

Adjusting his slipping messenger bag on his shoulder, Derek shook Steven’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Steven half turned, waving Derek on. “Follow me. I’m parked in the lot.” They walked toward the exit. “We’ll go straight to the office. We are located right off the red line, so you should have no trouble getting to your hotel on your own this evening.”

“Excellent. I appreciate it,” replied Derek.

They wandered around the groups of people filling up the area, trying to find the best way out of the airport.

Glancing over his shoulder, Steven said, “Are you ready to learn about a cranberry factory?”

“I sure am. My last client owned a farm in Hawaii—fruit. I was out there a month or so ago. So, cranberries will be right up my alley,” replied Derek.

Steven scoffed, “You had to go from a tropical paradise to here?” Shaking his head, Steven continued, “Last night, with the wind chill, the temperature here dropped below freezing.”

As if on cue, the sliding glass doors to the outside swung open. Though they were several yards from the exit, Derek shivered. Icy air nipped at his skin. Glancing down at his pants and long sleeve shirt, Derek said, “I think I need to pull out my coat from my carry-on. For some reason, I didn’t think fall weather here would be this cold.”

Laughing, Steven paused. “I told you. It’s bone chilling. I’m sorry you aren’t in Hawaii.”

Unzipping his carry-on, Derek pulled out the jacket he had shoved on the top. “Me too.” He pushed his arm into his less than adequate jacket. His body shook from the cold penetrating air. His body competed against the impending doom of the outside. “I don’t think this jacket is going to be enough.”

“It won’t be.” Steven watched Derek zip his suitcase closed. “But luckily, I’ve an entire closet full of jackets. I’ll let you borrow one while you’re here.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Derek zipped his windbreaker up to his chin. He readjusted his messenger bag and tightened his grip around his suitcase. “I don’t have much use for thick coats. I live in Los Angeles.”

A knowing look crossed Steven’s face and he added, “And you spend your free time in tropical climates like Hawaii. I see.”

“Yes, in fact, I’m thinking about moving to Hawaii,” said Derek.

The words slipped right out of his mouth with no ability to pull them back. They came as no surprise to him, because the idea had been brewing in his mind since he left Hawaii last month. There wasn’t any reason he couldn’t relocate to Hawaii and make that his home base. Sure, the flights to the states would be expensive and longer, but Derek didn’t care. Leia was in Hawaii. And sometimes you rewrote your entire life for the chance to be with someone.

“Hawaii, huh,” said Steven. They walked through the sliding doors, fighting their way against the cold. “Come on. Let’s get to the office so we can talk about how to make these cranberry bogs better.”