Page 6

Story: Temple of Swoon

The instant the bathroom door clicked shut, Miri let out the breath she’d been holding. Her interaction with Rafa had run the emotional gamut—embarrassment, attraction, annoyance, and…what was that last one she’d felt when staring at his hard chest and smelling that fragrant coffee aroma laced with bodywash lingering around him? Lust?

She glanced at her reflection in the hotel lobby restroom mirror, noticing her rosy cheeks and hard nipples through the thin fabric of her unlined bra and T-shirt. Oh god. Had Rafa noticed? Was that why he was staring at her like that?

Heat shot between her legs, and she fought the urge to relieve the pressure. The thought had already crossed her mind when his hands had wrapped around her waist as he’d lifted her down from the van, and the only thing she could focus on was wondering what they’d feel like against her bare skin. And popping the button on her pants. And dipping beneath her pale pink cotton briefs and sliding along the folds of her—

Knock, knock, knock, knock!

Miri jumped at the heavy pounding on the door, snapping herself out of her daydream and pulling her hands away from the button of her pants, where they’d unwittingly gone.

“Miriam, are you in there? We’re all waiting,” Dr. Quinn called from the other side of the door.

“Yes,” she squeaked out, then cleared her throat. She glanced in the mirror again, her cheeks even more flushed than before. “I need another minute, and then I’ll be right there.” She swatted her sweaty bangs from her forehead and splashed cold water on her face.

“Well, hurry up. I’d like to know what the hell is going on before the rest of the team.” The anger in his voice couldn’t be masked.

This was bad. This was really bad.

When she’d woken Anissa early this morning to change their itinerary, she hadn’t yet cleared everything with Dr. Quinn first. Perhaps she should have—they were co-leaders after all. But she’d tried calling his room and knocking on his door to no avail, and she needed to get everything set in motion. Waiting to fill in Dr. Quinn would have only slowed them down.

Yet she had still planned to give him the rundown before they set out for Caracaraí. It wasn’t her fault that he’d decided to be a grouchy louse when shoving his bag at her. Since you’re clearly taking charge, you can also take this. Come find me when you’re done—you’ve got a lot of explaining to do . And she still would have tried again if Rafa hadn’t completely zapped her brain of all functioning activity.

Functioning activity she desperately needed if she was going to succeed on this mission.

Ever since her very first visit to a natural history museum, Miri had been enthralled with archaeology and ancient civilizations. If only archaeological society was as enthralled with her. She hadn’t written any noteworthy articles, gone on any high-profile expeditions or digs, or scored any sizable grants based on her research. She was still seven years away from making tenure, something the head of the Anthropology and Archaeological Science Department reminded her of more times than she could count. He’d given her a warning before she departed for this adventure: Dr. Mejía may have asked for you, but this is your last chance, Dr. Jacobs. If you’re unable to turn this expedition into something tangible—journal articles, funding sources, or a discovery worth bragging about—you won’t make it to tenure. Not here, at least.

Sure, UC Berkeley wasn’t the only archaeology game in town, but you didn’t leave Berkeley without a damn good reason. And getting fired? Well, it was a reason, all right, but not one Miri particularly cared to experience or explain in any future job interviews.

This was everything she’d worked for. But no matter how hard she tried, Miri always faded to the background.

So, now that she was in charge—sort of—she’d scoured her notes and every bit of research she could find on the Moon City. Analyzed the landmark list and compared it to the various rainforest biomes. Studied the least-explored areas in the Amazon. And after a sleepless night, Miri had placed the Cidade da Lua as being potentially located near Serra da Mocidade and the stone table possibly somewhere near Rio Branco.

It was a long shot, but why couldn’t she be the one to make the actual discovery? Just because others had failed didn’t mean she needed to as well. Being smart wasn’t all it took. What about tenacity, determination, and…intuition?

Miri had those things, or at least Corrie believed she did.

WWCMD?

Get out of this bathroom. Stand tall. And be a badass.

I can do those things…I can be a badass.

I can puff up my chest—sort of.

I can get out of this bathroom!

She swung open the door, ready to take charge, and was immediately confronted by Dr. Quinn.

“Take your time, why don’t you?” he snapped.

Her instinct to apologize started to kick in when WWCMD rang through her head.

“I didn’t realize there was a time limit on bathroom privileges,” Miri quipped back.

Her voice quaked a bit as her heart pounded, unused to speaking with such authority. Twice in one day and it’s not even nine a.m.!

“Excuse me? You can’t talk to me that way.”

“But you can lurk outside of the bathroom, banging on the door like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, instead of giving me privacy?” Miri said, folding her arms.

His brow furrowed as he sneered. “I don’t like your insinuation.”

“And I don’t appreciate yours. Now, I want to be partners here—” she said, trying to relax her tone, but Dr. Quinn interrupted her.

“You call this being partners? Completely changing the itinerary without even consulting me?”

“I tried calling and I stopped by your room—twice—to give you a heads-up, but you didn’t answer.”

“So you went ahead and did your own thing anyway? Some partnership.”

Now Miri was the one furrowing her brow. “I’m sorry… but weren’t you the one dismissing me last night so you could ‘talk work,’?” she said, using air quotes, “with Rafa?”

“You mean when I interrupted your flirting?”

Miri gulped. Shoot.

“We weren’t—”

“Oh, you weren’t? Because it looked to me like you and Rafa were getting pretty cozy.” Suddenly, his face softened, as if something clicked in his head. “Look, Miriam, I get it,” he said, calmly. “You’re young. He’s attractive. Sometimes these things happen on digs. I mean, look what happened with Dr. Mejía and Dr. Matthews.”

Miri blinked several times. Was he reading her WWCMD mind? “I don’t…I don’t know what you’re talking about. That’s not what this is.” And Miri didn’t like Dr. Quinn’s insinuation , as if Corrie and Ford were just a couple of horny teens who couldn’t differentiate between work and play.

Dr. Quinn sighed. “I know you haven’t been doing this long. What’s it been? Two? Three years?”

“Four.”

“See? You’re still practically a baby archaeologist,” he said, like he needed to coddle her.

Miri gritted her teeth, biting back her anger.

“I’m sorry,” he continued, “I don’t mean to upset you. It’s just that I know you’re inexperienced, and sometimes that leads to our minds focusing elsewhere. I understand if you’re enamored by him. There’s no rule against fraternization between the two of you, after all. But if you’re going to be distracted and making irrational decisions simply with an intent to impress him, it might be better if you let me do the decision-making.”

“Nothing is going on between me and Rafa,” Miri said. And even if there was, it would be none of your damn business. “Besides, I’m not here to create a scandal. Corrie trusted me to lead this expedition, and that’s what I intend to do.”

“ Co -lead,” Quinn said, his calm demeanor starting to fade. “I’m curious, though. Tell me, Miriam, why do you think that is? Frankly, you’re lucky to even be here, if you ask me. It must be nice to have your friend giving you favors, but some of us have actually earned our spot on this expedition.”

Miri opened her mouth to fight back, but nothing came out. What could she really say anyway?

“Dr. Jacobs? Dr. Quinn?” Anissa called from the other end of the hallway, interrupting their conversation. “Everyone’s packed and the vans are ready to go.”

“Great. We’ll be right there,” Dr. Quinn called back before returning his attention to Miri and lowering his voice. “This discussion is over. No more going rogue. No more surprises. I’ll respect you if you respect me. I’ll be waiting for you in van number one and you’re going to fill me in on the drive. And after today, all decisions need to be agreed upon in advance.”

They had a long drive ahead of them, so the group split into the two vans, all twelve of them being unable to fit into one. Miri and Dr. Quinn’s van led the convoy, with Rafa in the front beside the driver, guiding them with the GPS. They sat in the back row so they could talk without distraction as they went over the updated itinerary, but her mind wandered every few minutes, shifting from the expedition to her job, and then to the secret she kept tucked in the side pocket of her cargos.

Each bounce of the van refocused her attention to Dr. Quinn with various shades of greens and browns blurring in the background of the windows. She hadn’t looked up the directions to Caracaraí in advance, but she hadn’t expected to be so deep in the rainforest so soon. She also hadn’t expected it to be so bumpy.

Hmm…I wonder if there’s a spa at Florestacasa…

Maybe a glamping resort wouldn’t be so bad after all. Rafa’s hearty laugh from the front passenger seat stole her attention and sent a flurry of butterflies to her stomach. A massage package for two, perhaps? With champagne—ooh! No, with caipirinhas and—

“Eh-hem.” Dr. Quinn cleared his throat, staring at Miri staring at Rafa.

She quickly wiped away the silly grin she’d had plastered over her face and returned her focus to Dr. Quinn’s narrowing gaze.

“Sorry,” she said, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “I was…was thinking about how I spilled that brown sauce all over my boots last night. Funny, right?”

“Hilarious,” he deadpanned. “Anyway, now that I have a better idea of the plan, when we get to Florestacasa, I’ll go over the specifics with the team while you sort out the reservation details.”

Miri’s eye twitched. “Or you can wait for me. Co-leads, remember?”

Dr. Quinn sighed, closing his small leatherbound journal in his lap, and turned ever so slightly toward Miri before placing his hand on her forearm. “Why don’t you let me take things from here? You’re clearly distracted, and your panicked expression at the announcement last night didn’t exactly instill confidence in the rest of the team.”

She pulled her arm away, trying not to cause a scene in the packed van. Fortunately, the others carried on as if Dr. Quinn and Miri weren’t even there, paying little attention to the conversation they’d been having. But Dr. Quinn wasn’t her boss. And he certainly wasn’t her dad. So it was time he stopped treating her like he was.

“We were all expecting Corrie and Ford to lead this excursion. Forgive me for appearing surprised to learn that wouldn’t be happening. My reaction was no different than anyone else’s. Yours included.”

Dr. Quinn chortled. “I already knew about Drs. Mejía and Matthews. I knew because Anissa had already informed me that I’d be taking over. That surprised look on my face was in response to learning that I’d be mentoring you in addition to ensuring that this expedition is a success. So, no, Miriam. My reaction was not the same as yours.”

“What happened to ‘I’ll respect you if you respect me’? I thought we were making decisions together?” Miri asked.

“We are making this decision together right here and now. It just makes more sense if I’m the one who heads the discussions with the team, is all. Perhaps you didn’t realize this, but I am the world’s foremost expert on the subject.”

“Yet Corrie and Ford still thought you needed a partner. Why do you think that is?” Miri cocked her head to the side as she stared pointedly at him.

His eyes homed in on hers. “I don’t need your help.”

“Well, too bad. Because you’re going to get it.”

“We’ll see who’s running the show in the next few days when this little detour you’ve taken us on proves a waste of time. I mean, Serra da Mocidade? Really?” he questioned, rolling his eyes. “I’ve been studying the Moon City since before you were in high school. I think I would have figured that out by now. The only reason I’m even entertaining this diversion is so the rest of the group sees what you are.”

“And what’s that?”

“A nobody. A fraud.” He glared at her.

Miri fought the urge to pull out the medallion and wipe that smug grin off his face. She may not have been the world’s foremost expert on the Cidade da Lua, but there was a reason Corrie had trusted her with the clues and not Dr. Quinn.

It was time to put Dr. Quinn Medicine Man in his place.

“I don’t appreciate—” Miri started, but was quickly interrupted by a commotion at the front of the van.

“Watch out!” Rafa yelled at the driver.

“Porra, porra!” the driver called back, sharply jerking the steering wheel.

Miri’s and Dr. Quinn’s heads snapped toward the front of the van as the driver cursed and swerved, tossing the rest of passengers around like balls in a bingo caller machine. Miri glanced over at Dr. Quinn and saw his face twisting in horror.

“We’re all going to die!” he screamed, creating panic among the rest of the group.

She clenched her hands atop the bench seat in front of her as she looked ahead out the windshield at the dense forest in their path as they skidded off the dirt road. Straight toward a giant kapok tree. Oh no, oh no, oh no! She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact, when the engine cranked and sputtered before the van came to an abrupt, jarring halt. Miri slowly opened her eyes, as if opening them quickly would somehow be worse. They’d stopped mere inches from the tree.

“Is everyone okay?” Miri called out.

Yeses accompanied by moans and groans carried through the van cabin as the crew re-situated themselves in their seats.

“Let’s get out and have a look. Everyone, we’ll be okay. Don’t worry,” Dr. Quinn called out, suddenly recovered from his distress.

Before the team made it to the door, however, it swung open with Rafa on the other side, already out of the passenger seat and assessing the damage.

“Is everyone all right?” he asked in a panic. “Did anyone get injured?”

One by one, he helped the others from the van, quickly pulling them out and away from the puddle of mud and muck surrounding them. As Miri, the last to exit, approached the door, Rafa reached in and put his hands on Miri’s face, checking her for bumps and bruises. His warm hands and the concerned look in his eyes sent a flash of heat over her entire body. Five other people were in that van, but none he seemed as concerned about as her.

“My God, are you okay? I’m so sorry,” he said, unable to take his hands away. Not that she wanted him to. Had a man ever touched her like this? Been so attentive to her well-being?

I could get used to this. And to those dark brown eyes…mmm…He has nothing to be sorry for.

“It wasn’t your fault, but yes, I’m all right,” she said. “What happened up there?”

The driver walked over. “I’m sorry. I lost control.”

The other van rolled up, with Anissa immediately hopping out and running over to find out what had happened. Rafa finally took back his hands and hung his head. Darn. Miri almost wished she’d gotten injured—moderately. Like a scrape that he could tend to.

Or a bump that needed a kiss to make it better.

“It was my fault. I thought I saw a warthog,” Rafa said.

“There aren’t any warthogs in the Amazon, you idiot!” Dr. Quinn snapped, marching up to Rafa. “You could have gotten us killed.”

“It was probably a tapir. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional,” Miri said, trying to defuse the situation.

“Where the hell are we, anyway? This doesn’t look like the road to Caracaraí,” Dr. Quinn continued, clearly having no interest in defusing anything.

Miri glanced around at their surroundings, the rainforest completely enveloping them. Lush vegetation covered the ground on either side of the dirt road. Ferns, orchids, and palms were scattered throughout the understory, overshadowed by the towering mahogany and ceiba trees covered in moss and vines. Hmm…Dr. Quinn is right . She was no expert on Brazil, but the road to Caracaraí should have been an actual paved road. A straight shot from Manaus, not some jungle dirt trail like the one they had been traveling on. Had they taken a turn when she wasn’t paying attention?

“Senhor Monfils thought this was a shortcut,” the driver explained.

“A shortcut? Through the fucking Amazon?” Dr. Quinn yelled, turning back to Rafa. “Did you flunk geography in school or something?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you knew exactly where we were supposed to be going to find this centuries-old lost city,” Rafa snapped back.

“Well, where the hell are we?” Dr. Quinn asked.

Miri, the drivers, Dr. Quinn, and Anissa took the GPS from Rafa while he stood close behind. I’m sorry , he mouthed, and she waved her hand at him, signaling that it was okay. Though once the GPS was up, Miri quickly realized things were the opposite of okay. Instead of being on the main road to Caracaraí, they’d somehow gotten off course and were on a dead-end dirt road in the middle of the jungle not far from the Rio Anauá, a tributary to the Rio Branco, but still hundreds of miles from Florestacasa.

“This is on you, Miriam.” Dr. Quinn pointed his index finger at her. “I knew you had no clue what you were doing.”

“Hey—” Rafa started.

But Dr. Quinn cut him off. “Oh, here we go. Coming to defend her honor, Mr. Shortcut? I thought you were using the GPS?”

“I was, but it looked like this road went through,” Rafa responded.

“Went through?” Dr. Quinn said incredulously. “And what’s your excuse, you nitwit?” he asked, turning to the driver. “I thought you were from around here.”

“No, senhor. I’m just a driver.”

“There’s no reason to be calling people names,” Rafa said to Dr. Quinn. “It was my fault. He was only taking directions from me.”

“You’re damn right it was your blunder. Look at this,” Dr. Quinn said, waving his arms at their surroundings. “Where are your cartography skills now?”

Rafa took a slight step forward, and Miri rushed and put up her hands between the two of them.

“Okay, okay, let’s all settle down,” she said.

“Good idea. I apologize, everyone,” Dr. Quinn said, turning to address the group, who had been observing this interaction, “for letting this screwup get the best of me…”

Miri caught a slight shift in Rafa’s stance as if he wasn’t yet ready to back down, but she placed her hand on his forearm to stop him from whatever was building inside him. He’s not worth it , she told him with her eyes.

He pulled his lips in a tight line and gave her a slight nod as if saying fine .

“And that’s not the leader I am,” Dr. Quinn continued, gently placing his hand on his heart and giving the crew a quick nod.

“ Co- leader,” Miri mumbled under her breath. This time, Rafa gave her a knowing glance with a smile and slight tick of his head.

Touché.

“Now, let’s put the mistakes aside and hit the road. How about you back out of this mud slop so we can climb in?” Dr. Quinn said to the driver.

“Yessir,” the driver responded as the rest of the group backed away to give the van some space. But as he put the van in reverse and revved the engine, the only movement came from the tires spinning and whirling, and little more.

“Try rocking it. Or press harder on the gas,” Dr. Quinn called out.

“I am. It’s not budging,” the driver yelled out the window.

“We should call for help,” Rafa said. “We need a winch.”

Dr. Quinn scoffed. “Nonsense. I’ve maneuvered countless vehicles out of stickier situations than this.”

Miri rolled her eyes to herself. Stickier than a ten-person passenger van getting stuck in the mud in the middle of the Amazon? Unlikely.

“Come on, Quinn, this is silly. What are you trying to prove?” Rafa asked.

“Prove?” Dr. Quinn cocked back his head with an exaggerated flourish. “Excuse me, I’m trying to get my team out of the mess that you and your little girlfriend over here created.”

Little girlfriend? Great. Things were even worse between her and Dr. Quinn than Miri had originally thought.

“Whoa!” Rafa said, putting up his hands. Yeesh. Didn’t have to sound so mortified by the idea. “You’re out of line.”

“And you’re in my way. I’ll show you all how it’s done,” Quinn said, pushing past the group.

“Dr. Quinn, maybe we need to take a few minutes for everyone to calm down,” Miri said, trailing behind him as he searched the ground for something to wedge underneath the tire. “We should wait until we can get a tow.”

“Out here?” he said, bringing his hands up and signaling to their surroundings.

“We have a satellite phone.”

“And do you know the number to a tow company?”

Hmm. Good point. “What if we send the other van to find assistance?”

“That’s a waste of time,” Dr. Quinn said, dragging a few logs toward the van. Miri didn’t have experience maneuvering countless vehicles out of sticky situations, but those pieces of wood were little more than glorified sticks. “You’ll see. We’ll be out of here in ten minutes tops.”

“Maybe we can find something to use to pull it out of the mud with the other van. Or we can hike back to the main road and flag down help,” she said, scanning the area for something, anything, that could help get them out of this mess.

Dr. Quinn stopped what he was doing and faced Miri, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Look, Miriam. When you’re a leader, you must take charge and make things happen. You can’t wait for others to come along and save you. But me? I don’t need saving. The only person I can count on is me, myself, and I. Numero uno. My favorite number. Watch and learn.”

Miri was sick of his tone. She wasn’t some baby intern who needed a lesson. She’d earned her title the same way he had—by busting her rump in grad school and paying her dues on digs and in the lecture hall. She may not have accumulated a bunch of awards and accolades, but she had enough bumps, scars, and worn-out hiking boots to prove it. Besides, some Moon City expert he was. Had he ever even been on an expedition in the Amazon? Miri was seriously beginning to question the “countless” sticky situations he’d actually faced in his life.

“Being a leader also means admitting when you don’t have all the answers,” she said, folding her arms in front of her chest.

“I couldn’t agree more. Which is why I’ll be taking over from here.”

“This is a bad idea,” Rafa whispered to Miri.

“Why don’t you let me handle formulating the ideas, okay?” Dr. Quinn said, scowling back at Rafa. “Now, driver, when I say ‘go,’ I want you to floor it,” he called out so he could be heard over the idling engine. On his hands and knees, Dr. Quinn finagled a log under the tire.

“Say what?” the driver called back.

“Go!” Dr. Quinn angrily shouted back to the driver, then from his spot by the wheel, turned to the rest of the group and said, “And just like that, easy-peasy, lemon squeeze—”

“Look out!”