Page 85 of Tiger's Voyage

I shaded my eyes and looked up. Ren was glaring at me, livid. His fists were clenched at his sides. I set down my book and asked, “Is something wrong? What happened?”

“What happened? Whathappened? You cut your hair!”

“Yes. I did. So what?”

“Sowhat?” he asked incredulously. “It’s so short now you can’t even braid it!”

I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled a lock forward to study. “Hmm … that’s probably true. I could do small, thin braids I suppose, but it doesn’t matter. I like it this way.”

“Well,Idon’t!”

I frowned at him. “What exactly are you upset about?”

“I can’t believe you just went off and cut your hair without telling … anyone.”

“Women do that all the time. Besides, it’s none of your business what I do with my hair, and Kishan likes it even if you don’t.”

“Kishan—”

He worked his jaw and was about to say something else when I interjected. “If you need to see a girl in braids why don’t you just ask your new girlfriend to braid her hair? I’m sure Miss Beverly Hills would love to do it. She can play Helga to your Thor. Where is she now anyway? Better keep your eye on her, or she’ll sneak off to cozy up to someone else. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my book.”

I saw Ren clench and unclench his fists several times in my peripheral vision, as I pretended to read a paragraph. Finally, he spun around and stormed off through the hatch.

I didn’t see Ren or his new girlfriend again until dinner. Kishan and I had just filled our plates and sat down when they showed up. Nilima and Mr. Kadam were sitting at the end of the table talking with each other quietly.

“Oh, how wonderful! I’m so famished,” Randi said and approached the buffet table, warning Ren not to eat the chicken or the shrimp that was being served.

She took a seat across from us and explained, “I’m very careful about what I eat. I only eat vegetables, and occasionally some fruit. It helps me maintain my figure.”

Her plate had two forkfuls of salad and a wedge of mango. Carefully, she pushed the croutons away with a butter knife. I looked at Ren. He was staring at his plate of vegetables like a man who’d just been sentenced to prison.

Randi continued, “I’ve never eaten meat in any form. Not even eggs or milk. I just think animals are so filthy. I can’t imagine ingesting them. I don’t even like house pets. Especially cats. Their fur is so dirty. They lick themselves all over. And their little paws touch you everywhere.” She shuddered. “I think animals should be kept in zoos, don’t you agree? That’s all they’re good for, after all.”

I sniggeredloudly, took a bite of chicken, and sipped my papaya juice.

She leaned over and, in a stage whisper, said to me, “Youdoknow that papaya juice makes you fat. My personal trainer says you should never eat sugar inanyform.” Her gaze dropped deliberately to my waist. “But I can see that maintaining your figure is not a priority for you.” She smiled sweetly at Kishan, who was frowning. “A girl should always try to look her best, shouldn’t she?”

Ren looked up, smiled at her, and said, “Yes and your figure is … exquisite.”

She pecked him on the cheek, and Ren went back to picking at his plate.

Kishan set down his fork, stared at Ren incredulously, and said, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with Kelsey’s figure.” Then he stood and picked up his empty plate, heading back to the buffet again.

Randi quickly backpedaled. “Oh, of courseyouwouldn’t think so because you’re such a gentleman, but you are biased after all.” She pushed aside her plate. “Oh dear, I’ve eaten too much. Now I’ll have to work out for an hour.” Half of her salad was still on her plate. She pouted prettily at Ren, who consoled her by telling her that she looked beautiful.

I poked my stomach covertly. It still seemed pretty lean to me. Obviously, I wasn’t built like a supermodel, but all the swimming and workouts were keeping me trim enough. Kishan took my hand, squeezed it, and brushed a kiss on my fingers before setting it back onto my lap. I smiled at him in gratitude. He smiled back and began eating his second helping. Ren scowled at his half-eaten dinner plate. Barbie said she wanted to take a nice romantic stroll around the deck. Ren rose quickly, taking her with him, and we all were finally able to relax and enjoy the rest of our meal.

Kishan purposely made a giant ice cream sundae for us to share, and we had a great time feeding each other spoonfuls. I “accidentally” missed his mouth and smeared ice cream on his nose and he “accidentally” dropped a spoonful down my shirt. After that, it was a free-for-all. He grabbed the canister of whipped cream, and I grabbed the bottle of chocolate syrup. Nilima and Mr. Kadam quickly exited, leaving us to our food fight.

Several minutes later, our arsenal had run out. We stood there laughing at each other. A big glob of whipped cream slid from my hair to my cheek, and Kishan was coated in chocolate syrup. I ran a finger down his arm and put it in my mouth.

“Mmm, you taste pretty good.”

He scooped up a glob of whipped cream and smeared it across my cheek. “Hmm … you’re not quite done yet.” He picked up a bottle of confetti sprinkles and shook them dramatically over my head while I stood still with a small smile waiting for him to finish.

“There. All done.”

Kishan wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me closer. I looked up into his handsome face and felt an immense wave of appreciation and love overwhelm me.