Electrical Connection – Part 2

Finally the time arrived, 04:45am, time for the ranger to safely escort me to where the hot drinks were being served, at the main lodge, out on the terrace. All I needed was to see her after what felt like an age, an age worth of aching desire that had passed since last being with her. She was nowhere in sight. With a mug of steaming hot chocolate in hand, I wandered purposefully back out to the front of the lodge, just in case she was late and had gone straight to the vehicle, all ready and waiting with her DSLR camera to photograph the wild, KwaZulu-Natal’s Nambiti bushveld.

My heart felt like it wanted to explode as I opened the door, and there she stood in front of me, about to reach out towards the door handle from the other side, only inches away from me. The delight crept up on me as fast as a car at top speed could smash into a brick wall; seeing her dazzling smile and hearing her voice brightly say “Good morning” to me, filled me with a longing so intense it forced me to take a step backwards. I had to stop my arms from wrapping themselves right around her. Oh, how I wanted to squeeze her tightly and feel her warm body as close to me as possible… I wondered what she would have done if I’d not been able to stop myself? I didn’t want to know, I didn’t want the possibility of my fantasy to be ruined too soon.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked her. I didn’t know what else to say. There was so much I wanted to say, so much longing to know, but the timing wasn’t right and my brain wasn’t warmed up enough to think straight. Or perhaps that was just a consequence of being so close to this woman – being near her prevented me from thinking coherently enough to appear in control. Did I appear as out of control as I felt inside, I pondered? Probably.

Her eyes seemed to brighten. She smiled at me, looked into my eyes and her smile broadened. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said, “it took such an age.”

I wanted to reveal the reason I couldn’t sleep. I wanted the reason for her not being able to sleep to have been the same reason as mine. “Is everything OK? Are you OK?” I mumbled.

She said that everything was OK but a sparkle in her eyes said something else, so much more, and her gaze never left mine for a second, our eyes were locked onto each other. Who is this woman? Where does she come from? How can she be standing here in front of me, spending time with a man – another man that doesn’t seem to match her presence – even if they were only friends? So many questions flooded my brain at that time but I couldn’t release them. Everything seemed pointless except seeing her, hearing her talk, watching her every move and being in her presence.

She excused herself and made her way to grab a hot drink. I wanted to follow her but I’d already almost finished my drink – could I get another? Fuck! No, then I might need a pit stop to relieve myself from drinking too much liquid before the game drive.

I needed a distraction, something to stop myself from standing there like a gormless fool and waiting for her return. I made my way down to the pool area, out on to the deck overlooking the watering hole, where I removed my camera from my jacket pocket and photographed a herd of impala lapping at the water’s edge, feeling excited at the thought of another bush adventure with her.

As I turned around to make my way to the vehicle I spotted her climbing up on to the left hand side of the Land Rover, and watched her sit in exactly the same seat as previously. Her aloof friend was there directly on the other side with a seat in between them once again… 

To be continued.