A few huts down, Wheeler was also getting ready for their trip with some uninvited, but not unwelcomed teasing.
"So Wheeler, when do you think you will stop smiling?" Ma-Ti asks.
"When it's over…or I wake up and realize I'm dreamin'" the Yankee gushes.
"What if things change for you and Linka?" Kwame asks.
"I hope that they do…then I'll keep smiling," Wheeler says with a wink at Ma-Ti.
"So…do you know what brought about this sudden change? Linka is such a work-a-holic…how did you manage to convince her to take a vacation?"
Wheeler shrugs, not wanting to reveal Linka's personal details to the other boys.
"It was her idea. Maybe she finally realized that she works too much and deserves a break."
"From the Planeteers?" Ma-Ti asks.
"From work. From stress. We all have our own ways of unwinding in our down time. You garden, you read, I play, Gi spends every free moment in, on, or around the water. But Linka…she's researching, working, giving presentations…for years she's been doing this. I think she's earned a little break," Wheeler reasons.
"What is your excuse then? You take full advantage of every free moment. How have you earned a world tour vacation?!" Kwame teases.
Wheeler chuckles.
"Right place, right time I guess."
"So it is true then, she just randomly asked you to join her?" Ma-Ti asks.
"Yeah…she didn't want to go alone…I was there when she had the idea…like I said, right place, right time."
Wheeler knocks on Linka's door and enters when she says to.
"Kwame offered to drop us off wherever we wanted to go first."
"That is nice of him," she says, rifling through her closet.
"Sooooo, any idea where that is?"
She pulls out two tops, holds them up, examines them, puts one back, pulls it out again, and tosses both of them on her bed, next to her suitcase.
"I cannot even pick which clothes I want to take…how am I supposed to decide on where I want to go!?"
"Well, maybe if you decide where to go, it'll make the wardrobe choice easier."
"Is that why you came here? Do you need me to pick a place so you know how to pack?"
"Nope. I'm done."
"How?! We do not even know where we are going."
"Well, I grabbed some t-shirts, a couple of zip up hoodies and a coat. I can wear JUST the t-shirt if we're somewhere warm, add the hoodies if it gets cool, and wear all three if we're somewhere really cold."
"That is a good idea."
She dumps out her suitcase and begins the packing process all over again.
"This is much easier now. I am glad you showed up when you did," she says as she closes her bag.
While she was packing, he helped himself to her laptop to keep occupied.
"So, where to?" He asks, turning her laptop to face her and showing her the travel website he's been looking at.
She looks it over.
"I do not know…there are so many places to choose from."
"So, you have no idea where you'd like to start? All the places in the world and there's not a single one you can think of to go to?"
"That is not the problem…narrowing it down to just one is the problem!"
"Well, let's a make list. Then we can pick a starting point and then map out our plans from there. Like, say we started somewhere in Australia. But also on our list, we had England, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, and Spain…it would make more sense for us to go to Japan, then China, then Russia, Italy, etc…so we're not back tracking. Not that we have to go to any of those places, but I'm just sayin' that we should be smart about how we travel."
"Da, I agree. That is smart. And maybe if we do go anywhere in Europe, we can take a train instead of flying. It will take longer, but it will be the more scenic route."
"Ok. Sounds good."
"Are there any places you want to go?"
"Wherever you are, that's where I wanna go," he says, not meaning to make her uncomfortable, but her blush was unmistakable.
She pulls out a sleeveless red dress with lacy black trim along the edges of the long, flowing bottom.
"Hmm…I have always wanted to learn the tango."
Buenos Aires, Argentina
"No no, Rojo. Hold her closer. You have a beautiful partner. Why are you so scared to be close to her?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I don't want her to slap me? I've never actually been allowed to get this close, let alone told that I HAVE to," Wheeler explains.
Linka sighs and rolls her eyes.
The dance instructor pushes the couple together.
"The tango is like making love with your clothes on. Your skin is the largest erogenous zone of your body, but those pesky clothes are preventing you from feeling your partner. Your frustration should come through in your dance. Turn that frustration into passion. Then you can imagine that all barriers are indeed gone, and you will keep your bodies in constant contact as is required for the dance. You need to move as one…as if you are one. Senorita, wrap your leg around him, like this." He guides her leg up to rest on Wheeler's hip.
"Rojo, you put your hand here." He takes Wheeler's hand and places it on Linka's thigh.
Wheeler's eyes widen and Linka's cheeks redden. He mouths, "Sorry," and all she can do is smile shyly.
The instructor continues,
"The male is the lead therefore, you must be the one who claims her body…there is an element of jealousy to the dance. That is why your movements must show possession…she is yours. Your movements must let her, and anyone else who is watching, know that she belongs to you. When you take her face in your hands, never break eye contact. It shows you will never take your eyes off her, but not just because you are a jealous man, but because she is your world, and you cannot tear yourself away. Touch your forehead to hers. Bring your lips so close to hers that you can feel each other's breath against them. Think you can handle that, Rojo?"
Wheeler clears his throat nervously.
"Uh, yeah."
When the instructor walks away, Wheeler asks Linka,
"Are you ok with this? It seems a bit too…intimate."
"What is wrong Yankee? Shy?"
"Err, no…I just…I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
"I knew what the tango was when I suggested we come here…I understood what was involved. I just did not know how to do it. That is what the lessons are for. If you do not want to continue though, I understand."
"This is something you wanted to try. I don't wanna ruin that for you. If you're ok with it, I'm gonna be the best dance partner you've ever had," he says with a wink.
"Rojo! Are you and your partner ready?"
"Si," Wheeler responds. He takes Linka in his arms and whispers, "why is he picking on me?"
"Why is he calling you 'Rojo?' Is it an insult?"
"I don't think so…maybe? It means 'red.' Guess I'm defined by my hair."
"Do you not just hate it when people judge you based on your looks?" She asks.
"Yeah…" Her smile clues him in. "Oh…that was forever ago. You ever gonna let me live that down?"
"Nyet," she says with a sly grin.
The music starts and they begin to dance, following the choreography that they had learned earlier in the class and taking the instructor's advice.
Wheeler holds her close, his mouth close to her ear and with every new intimate move, he whispers, "I'm sorry."
She turns her lips to rest against his ear and replies, "why are you apologizing as if you are stepping on my toes?"
"I'm just tryin' to be a gentleman."
"Why start now?" She teases.
If it's his usual flirty self she wants, that's what she'll get.
"This dress looked good on the hanger, but it looks amazing on you, Beautiful."
When the song ends, Wheeler is holding Linka's face in his hands, their gazes locked, lips millimeters apart. He searches her eyes for permission and is about to close the distance when he sees she has been just as turned on by their dance as he has.
"Rojo!"
Wheeler and Linka both jump at the sudden call out. The instructor is clapping enthusiastically.
"You have taken my advice and perfected it. I have never seen a student catch on so quickly…especially a student who did not even want to be here in the first place."
"I never said that," Wheeler says.
"You did not have to. I can tell these things. It was your girlfriend's idea. You just went along with it because it is what all dutiful boyfriends do, no? You keep her happy, she keeps you happy…I get it, amigo," he says with a wink.
"He is not my boyfriend," Linka corrects, a little too quickly.
Wheeler feels like she has just slapped him in the face. Why couldn't she have just let it go? Maybe he's imagining it, but he feels like the other students are looking at him in pity.
What had started out as a good time has turned into just another instance of Linka rejecting him after a moment of closeness. He didn't know what he needed to do to win her over. He was hoping their time away from Hope Island would allow her to let down some of her defenses. He thought this dance was a big step towards that. Apparently, he thought wrong. Maybe their next destination would be better.
To Be Continued…