Chapter 4

As Paul took Kayla on a tour of the house and grounds, he held on tightly to her hand after he realised she did not seem to mind. When they were out of earshot of their parents he stopped and turned to her.

"Kayla, I..." he began, but Kayla put finger on his mouth as if to shush him.

"Paul, let me say something first, okay?" He nodded, so she went on, looking straight into his eyes. "To be honest, I don't really know what got into me back there. It might have been the tension of the moment, I don't know. And I know that I'm two years older than you, although you look and behave more mature than any fourteen year-old I know. But since I met you yesterday, there's been this... I mean, I felt something... Oh hell, I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I have never had a real boyfriend. And I know that I'm only here for two weeks and that we probably won't see each other after I leave. But I liked you from the first time I saw you. And if you want, I would like to be your girlfriend while I'm here. Well what do you say?"

Paul stared at her, unable to speak. His experience with girls so far was limited to a kiss he had given Maria three months ago after school. That kiss was nothing like the one he had shared with Kayla just a few minutes ago, more like a peck on the lips. And now, here was this beautiful girl, two years older than him, asking him to be her boyfriend. He too realised that their relationship would probably end up in a dead end, but...

He pulled Kayla closer to him, a hand behind around her back and the other one tilting her head up. He leaned down, still looking in her eyes, as he brushed his lips against hers. It started off as a soft and tender kiss. All Paul could think of, was how soft her lips were. This time round, it was he who first started teasing her lips with his tongue, and Kayla did not hesitate. She opened her lips and her tongue met his in a build-up of passion that soon had them writhing against each other. She had her hands on his shoulders and was pressing herself against him. Paul's hands were now sliding all over her hair and back. He could not seem to get enough of this girl. When they pulled apart a couple of minutes later, they were both flushed and flustered.

Still holding Kayla tightly against him, Paul whispered, "The answer, unless you did not get the hint, is yes. I want."

Kayla smiled brightly and hugged him tightly. "This feels so right," she sighed. Paul could not disagree with her.

"Come on, luscious. Let's finish this tour and join the others on the pool deck."

Some thirty minutes — and a couple of stops for more kisses — later, Paul led Kayla out of the house onto the pool deck area where they saw Charles and Anthony fussing around the barbeque and their mothers sitting at a table.

"Ah there they are, Elisabeth," Catherine said as she saw them coming. Elisabeth looked up at her son and Kayla. Both mothers immediately noted that Paul and Kayla were still holding hands and that they seemed much more comfortable with each other. Elisabeth noted something else too.

"Paul, where the hell did you take the girl?' she asked her son.

Paul looked at her blankly. "I took her around the house, that's all mum."

"That's all, huh?" answered his mother, winking at Catherine. "So how did Kayla end up so disheveled? I mean, from the state of her shirt and her hair, I would have thought you had been crawling around in the basement," she smirked.

Paul looked at a blushing Kayla and realised it was true. Her hair was indeed disheveled, a far cry from the tidy setting she had been sporting before. And her shirt too was all crumpled and untidy. He grinned at Kayla, who was starting to try and rearrange her hair, then turned at his mother.

"I guess you'd better have a word with Elsa, mum. There must have been a lot of cobwebs on the way. She must be slacking"

Elisabeth and Catherine burst out laughing, while Paul and Kayla joined them at the table. They sat down next to each other and when they were seated, Kayla moved her hand onto Paul's lap and he clasped it in one of his. Elisabeth and Catherine looked at each other knowingly but before they could say anything, Kayla turned to Elisabeth.

"You have such a beautiful house, Mrs Davenport. And the gardens and this pool deck are just awesome. My, that pool looks inviting!"

Elisabeth leaned towards the English girl.

"Right, first things first. Young lady, you came into my house, apparently kidnapped by son, who is two years younger than you, from what your mother told me, and go round my home looking so disheveled and then..."

"Mrs Davenport, I did not..." Kayla was panicking now.

"... and then you still call me Mrs Davenport? The least you can do, Kayla, is call me Elisabeth," she ended with a grin.

"I... I..." a flustered Kayla tried to assimilate what Paul's mother had just said. Then it dawned on her that she was not angry with her at all. So she smiled back at the woman.

"All right, Elisabeth, I will. Thank you."

Paul clasped her hand tighter. "I have to warn you, Kayla. The women around this house seem to think teasing is healthy for growing kids. So you'd better get used to it. And don't hesitate to give some back."

Kayla looked at him with a sly look. "Oh I will, now I know I won't be reported to the police for kidnapping a minor."

Elisabeth and Catherine once again burst out laughing. Catherine looked closely at her daughter and made a note to have a talk with her later at the hotel.

"And be prepared," Paul said to Kayla, "for when my two biggest tormentors arrive. They could drive you crazy. Well, they do me, at least."

Kayla knew he was talking about his sisters, but could not discern any disappointment in his tone. Affection, more like it.

At that moment, they could hear voices approaching the pool area and Alison and Sarah burst out of the living room. Alison looked around dramatically and spoke to her sister, so everyone could hear.

"So, sis, can you see her? Is she here, that young blonde who had our brother tongue-tied all morning?"

Sarah grinned at her sister. "Well, Alison, I see we have guests. And there's Paul. Yes! He does have a girl sitting next to him. I think he actually managed to stop ogling her and invited her here."

Paul grimaced and blushed. Kayla, on the other hand, was amused, although she too was blushing slightly. So Paul had been tongue-tied all morning, she thought.

She stood up and walked towards Paul's sisters.

"Hi girls, let me guess. You must be Alison," she grinned at Paul's 16-year-old sister, "and you must be Sarah. I'm Kayla. Paul has told me all about you, although he only had kind words for you. He never mentioned you teased him so mercilessly. All he told me was how much he loved you, looked up to you and would do anything for you two."

The two sisters looked chastised. They hurried to make amends.

"Ah yes. Well, Kayla, we were only joking," Alison stammered.

"We do love him too, you know." Sarah added.

They felt ashamed that they had teased their brother in front of his guest, after he had been telling them how much he loved his sisters.

Then Kayla's face split into a huge grin. "Gotcha!" she shouted at them, and then hurried to hug the two sisters.

"You mean... ?" Sarah tried to make sense of it all, as she hugged Kayla back. When Kayla turned to hug Alison, Sarah looked around and saw everyone laughing.

"Alison, we've been set up," she told her sister.

Alison too now saw all the others laughing and joined them. "Well you have to admit, she had us on a spot there."

Sarah grinned, then turned to Kayla. "Well, you young hussy, I admit that was well done. But I should warn you to watch your back from now on." She said while still grinning, and Kayla grinned back at her.

"Well, since Paul really does love you too much and would never say anything to you, it's up to me to stand up for my boyfriend," she said defiantly, then went to sit back down in her place, immediately finding Paul's hand and holding it.

Alison and Sharon looked at each other.

"Boyfriend?!" they both exclaimed. They joined the others at the table and sat down. Alison looked at their brother. "Paul, is this true?"