Chapter Twenty-five.
His hand made its way to the back of her neck.
And he deepened the kiss, his lips almost reaching her soul.
Lina's skin flushed with pleasure, a soft blush rising to her skin.
At that moment every doubt to withdraw from that kiss, flew out of her mind in a split second.
She reciprocated every subtle movement of his lips on hers.
Every thrusting of his tongue in her mouth and every moment of tender connection.
Arnold's hands slowly worked its way up into Lina's hair, and a soft moan escaped her mouth into his.
Her moan was a rich, velvety sound, that poured down his spine like warm honey.
Softly, he pressed his mouth on the hollow of her throat, his kisses drifted down.
Lina's frame shuddered, vulnerably and defenseless, like a delicate flower in a storm.
While their bodies pressed together, a haunting picture from her past bursted into her consciousness, its vividness threatening to shatter the spell of their passion.
As the disturbing image seized her mind, she became still and unresponsive, her body frozen in a moment of terror. Her mind started to unravel, consumed by darkness and despair.
Arnold felt a jolt of concern as he sensed her disconnection.
Slowly he lifted his body and searched her face.
He was in fact shocked to see fear in her earlier calm luminous eyes.
"Is everything okay?" He asked in a voice tinged with a husky warmth, residual emotion lingering.
In response, another tiny despairing whimper escaped her control, revealing the depth of her anguish.
"Lina?" Arnold muttered, reaching for her hand but she jolted away from him, getting up from her seat.
'What is going on, Lina?" Arnold asked, getting up as well.
Lina took a deep breath first, before she proceeded to speak.
"I think I should go home now."
"What?" Arnold voiced out in shock.
"I feel better now. I should go home, it's getting late." Lina retorted.
"I don't understand." Arnold started.
"Did I do something wrong?" He added, taking a few steps closer.
"No, Arnold. You did nothing wrong." Lina took a few steps back, halting him from getting close to her, still shaken with residuals of the dark image she recalled.
"Oh!!" Arnold's voice cracked on the single syllable, the sound barely above a whisper, yet heavy with devastation.
"I understand you don't want this happening between us." He spoke finally.
"I should have known better." He added.
"Arnold, you don't under…" Lina voiced in a tone tinged with a faint sadness, its tone implying to Arnold that she felt sorry for him.
"You don't have to explain anything." Arnold went on.
"I perfectly understand." He continued.
"Arnie…" Lina muttered.
"Stop calling me that." Arnold shot back as gently as he could, turning his face away from her.
"Would you want me to call you a ride or should I dr…" Arnold was saying.
"You don't have to bother. I'd find my way." Lina interrupted him, turning towards the front door.
"Goodbye, Arnold." She said after she yanked the door open.
And walked out without waiting to get a reply from him.
Arnold ruffled his hair in irritation, his ego bruised.
He lamented on even initiating the kiss in the first place.
He dragged his feet into the bathroom in rage, and ran a cold shower on his head, stretching out to other parts of his body.
His heart kept pouncing, making his blood boil, and he wondered if the cold shower was even helping.
So, He stormed out of the bathroom in fury, heading for his room.
He reached for the bottle of vodka on his shelf, and gave the glass beside it a short stare, contemplating whether to use the glass or drink directly from the bottle.
Without giving it much thought, he gulped a mouthful of vodka and then winced in disgust.
"Oh, this is awful!!!" He lamented to no one in particular.
"I see why I'm not much of a drinker." He added and set the bottle back on the shelf.
"This is damn going to be a long night." He whispered to himself, his mind drifting back to the kiss he shared with Lina.
He recalled how she responded affectionately to the rhythm his lips spoke.
Everything was going fine, until he kissed her neck.
"What went wrong?" He wondered.
"Doesn't she like it?" He asked himself.
His mind drifted to wonder if Lina got home safely, as he laid on his bed.
"Hell will freeze over before she gets another." He consoled himself, referring to the kiss.
Shutting his eyes as though blocking the thoughts away from his mind.
Meanwhile, Lina sat in the taxi she boarded, wondering why she hadn't stopped Arnold from kissing her.
Her mind pondered on the event from earlier that night, and she regretted not going home straight after dinner.
"Why did I choose to go over to his place with him?" She questioned herself.
"I should have known better." She added.
Her phone beeped, snapping her out of her deep thoughts.
The beeping sound pierced her ears, forcing her back into reality.
But Lina didn't want to reply anyone or receive any call at that moment.
The beep was a short one, and she realised it was a text notification.
She picked her phone up and saw it was one of her colleagues, Laura, from the NGO.
Then she tapped on her phone screen to open the message.
"Good evening, Crystalina. I hope you feel much better now. Please call me when you're free, it's important. Sending you hugs and prayers." The message read.
"What is so important that made Laura text her, instead of sending a mail like she used to?" Lina wondered.
She felt an urgent need to call Laura, but hesitated to discuss work matters in a taxi.
So, as soon as she got out of the taxi and paid the driver, she dialed Laura's number.
She made her way into the house as the dialing tone beeped, and Laura answered the call when she was already reaching for the doorknob.
Lina hesitated a bit on whether to go inside or receive the call outside the house before she went in.
But since it was 10:15pm, she assumed her family members would have retired to bed, so she proceeded into the house.
'Hello?" Laura's voice sounded calm from the other side.
"Hello, Laura." Lina replied, walking into an almost dark living room.
"How have you been?" Laura inquired.
"I have been fine, thank you." Lina replied.
"How are you too?" She added.
"I am fine, thank you Lina." Laura answered.
"How is work at the NGO? And the girls?" Lina asked.
"We are all doing great, thank you." Laura replied.
"I got your text." Lina uttered in at eagerness to cut to the chase.
"Yes, Lina. It's about the loss of your grandmother." Laura responded.
"What about it?" Lina posed a question.
"Our boss, Yara spoke with our team, and we decided to give you about three to four months to take time off work, so you can clear your head" Laura declared.
"What?" Lina expressed her sheer shock.
"I know, I know Lina." Laura voiced.
"But you haven't gone for leave in the past 13 years since you joined the NGO." She went on.
"You used to take festive breaks occasionally, which you also haven't taken in the last seven years. Yara is scared you will break down if you don't take time off now that you're grieving." She added.
"We're all worried about you. The girls want you to be okay." She concluded.
"I am okay. And I will be resuming work in two weeks." Lina retored.
"That is impossible, Lina." Laura proclaimed.
"Initially, Yara insisted you took 6 months or a year off. It took my intervention to reduce the duration because I know you wouldn't agree." She added.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Lina spat.
"I cannot be away for three months. Three whole months? No way." She added.
"But this is the best time to catch up and be with your family." Laura said.
"Be with my family?" Lina snickered hysterically.
"You do not understand, Laura. It's best that if I stay away." She blurted.
"I will call Yara myself to tell her, the most I can be in America for is one more month. I cannot be here for three months, I'm going to lose my mind." She added.
"Lose your mind? Really?" Catherine spoke from one corner in the dark, moving to the dimmed light section Lina stood.
Lina scoffed, bracing herself for another outburst from Catherine, which she wasn't prepared to handle tonight.
"I'd talk to you tomorrow, Laura. I need to go." Lina told Laura.
"Okay, Lina. Bye for now." Laura responded from the other side, and ended the call.
"Catherine please, not tonight." Lina uttered immediately after taking her phone off her earlobe.
"When will you ever own up to your actions and stop running off like a child." Catherine fired.
"Stop!!!" Lina blared in a voice that shocked them both.
"You listen to me." She spat, taking a few steps forward.
She raises a finger, its tip aimed at Catherine like a weapon.
"I cannot do this tonight." Lina went on, and Catherine froze, her feet stuck to the floor.
I beg of you." She voiced calmly this time.
Her finger, no longer tensed, returned to her side, brushing against her thigh.
"I can't do this anymore." Her voice cracked.
"I don't want to do this." She said, with tears piercing the corners of her eyes.
Her knee, once firm, gave way as she sobbed.
"I have had enough.' She bawled, and Catherine was stunned by the switch of emotions.
She wondered why her tough sister had broken down so much in front of her.
She hardly saw Lina cry about anything at all, except while mourning their grandmother.
Then, she stooped down to Lina and asked.
"Would you like some Tequila?"