Page 30 of Dancing With Temptation

Roxie sat in the covered area where all the volunteers, and some of the villagers, shared their meals. She was wondering what to do next. Where could she buy SIM cards and other stuff they might need? Roxie was about to get up and ask whoever she came to first, but she spotted Chantou heading towards the eating area. With a smile in place, Roxie walked up to the other woman.

“Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me where I can get a SIM card for my phone? Is there a shop nearby?”

“There’s a place not far from here. I can show you if you like.” Chantou offered and Roxie agreed.

“Let me just get my bag and I’ll come right back,” Roxie said and rushed off to get the backpack all her documents were in. It would be convenient for carrying back whatever she might buy.

“It’s not a huge town, but it does have a few shops. It’ll take about a half-hour to get there on this.” They’d walked through the village until Chantou stopped in front of a blue Honda scooter.

“Hmm. Okay.” Roxie had never been on one and it didn’t look like it could hold both of them, but Chantou wouldn’t have offered if she couldn’t handle it. “That helmet for me?”

“Yes. If you haven’t been on one of these before, my advice is to lean into any turn, but not too much, and don’t move around a lot on the back. Other than that, just enjoy being out in the fresh air.” Chantou put on her own helmet, then backed the older model scooter up out of the area it was parked in.

“Cool. We can do this.” Roxie got on when Chantou indicated she should, and they were soon speeding down a well-maintained dirt path.

For the first time since she’d left Myrtle Beach Roxie truly relaxed. Riding a scooter was much more fun than she’d ever imagined it could be.

15

Roxie

By the time she went back to her tent that night, the rain had started but at least she had service on her phone. The trip into the town, just a bigger village than the one they were in, showed Roxie that a lot of the houses were built of sturdy stuff, but there were quite a lot with thatching that some might call huts. All the buildings were on stilts in case of flooding.

Chantou had explained that most of the houses didn’t have running water, which was why a well and filtration system were so necessary. Electricity was in short supply as well, but Lincoln’s project had brought in solar panels for equipment and necessities. All of the people seemed happy enough, the women dressed in outfits that had matching tops and bottoms, all brightly colored and comfortable looking. Some women were in skirts while others wore pants. Long sleeves and short sleeves seemed to depend on the outfit, with many women wearing long sleeves despite the heat.

The town was comprised of sturdier buildings with terracotta roofs, and shelves crammed full of goods. By the time they returned to Chantou’s village, Roxie’s backpack was full of snacks, more mosquito repellent, and a few odds and ends she couldn’t live without.

“Did you have a good day?” Lincoln interrupted her thoughts to ask as he came into her tent.

“Oh, it was really nice. Chantou took me into the town and when we came back, I spent time exploring the school with her and talking to the children. I love that school. Everyone seems so eager to teach or learn. And you give adult classes too, that’s really wonderful.” Roxie wanted to roll her eyes at herself, gushing all over him for the second time in less than 24 hours. But she was somehow a different person now, or maybe she was a different person here. She wasn’t sure, but she kind of liked the person she felt she was here.

“You went to the school? That’s great. It took us a while to find teachers that would stay put, but we have a great staff there now and a lot of my team members volunteer there too. It’s one of the main things we try to do with the summer students that come here, get them involved in teaching the kids.” Lincoln beamed with pride.

“It’s amazing and I had no idea you’d done so much out here.” Roxie moved over on the bed so he could sit down.

“You know, the only reason the floor hasn’t turned to mud is we raised several areas around the village so they wouldn’t flood. We plan to use the land the tents are on to build more housing for the people here. We have plans to put in more solar power and so much more. I think we could be here well beyond fifteen years.”

Roxie found herself looking at Lincoln with admiration. This was not the guy she’d tried to avoid that night on the yacht or the guy she’d worked in an office with. This was a totally different Lincoln and, yeah, she admired him for it. “I’d really love to help out.”

“You can have a week here with me, helping until your heart explodes with joy, my dear.” He kissed the tip of her nose before he moved away.

“I know it’s probably stupid, but helping at the school today, getting to know the kids, I really enjoyed that. “My efforts made the kids laugh, or helped them to understand and that’s kind of how I felt working at Elmo’s. What I did there was not the same at all, but on a micro-level, it was. I was teaching people what they wanted to know, helping them act out fantasies, their deepest, darkest desires that they wanted to explore, and I loved that part more than anything. It’s much nicer when it’s kids learning English or how to add. It’s a basic need, a basic right that all people should have, that basic need to understand how the world works. It’s a basic human need that can be easily satisfied.”

Lincoln didn’t say anything, so she looked over at him. Maybe she’d made him mad with that comparison? The wonder on his face caught her by surprise. “What?”

“I think you’ve found a new calling, Princess Loly.” He finally said after staring at her for a few more moments. “I like that.”

“Don’t call me that.” She groused but it was a weak protest. She kind of liked how he said it now.

“Sorry, it’s still a habit. Imagine not being able to say Chloe and calling yourself Loly.” He smiled, reminding her of why she had the nickname.

In the past, it would have irritated her, him bringing up the past, but now? It wasn’t so bad.

“Stop.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “So, what’s tomorrow bringing?”

“We’re going to repair a roof on one of the houses we’ve already built.” He started, but she interrupted him.

“Wait, you’re actually going to carry wood up a ladder and get your own hands dirty?” She couldn’t believe it. He had such well-manicured hands, smooth hands that didn’t have calluses on them.