Chapter 5

The next morning, the alarm buzzer woke Paul up at half past six. He lay in bed thinking of the previous night, and his face brightened up immediately. After helping Kayla to her orgasm, they had relaxed in his room for half an hour and then joined the rest of their families near the pool. Kayla had wanted to do something for him in return, but Paul convinced her she did not have to.

"We are not keeping scores here, Kayla, are we? Sure, I would love to do more with you tonight, but our families are sure to be wondering where we're at. There will be time later, starting tomorrow. For now, I just want to lie here with you in my arms. That is enough for me. For now."

Paul shook his head and wondered where he had found the strength to stop Kayla from pleasuring him last night. If that was what she had in mind? He was sure that was the case. He laughed out loud at the thought of what had happened, thinking that not many 14-year-old horny boys would have turned down an offer by a sexy teen blonde to pleasure them. "Well," he shrugged, "things can only better."

With that he stepped out of bed, put on some training clothes and turned on his PC. He spent a couple of minutes going through his email, and wrote back to a couple of friends. He took particular interest in the email he received from Eleanor, an online friend of his from Brasil. They had met online about a year before and had become close friends over the months. When he was done, he headed down and out for his daily three-mile run around the neighbourhood. When he got back, he headed to the back garden where his Sensei was waiting for him. For the next hour and a half they went through a vigorous workout which left Paul very satisfied. He had missed his lesson with his Sensei the previous day because he had decided to join Kayla on the beach, and it felt great to be back working out with Miko, the Sensei. As much as possible, he tried not to miss any of the daily workouts he and Miko had planned.

After the workout, Miko sat down next to Paul. "You know, Paul, you have progressed a lot in your training. And what I admire most in your case is the fact that your mental development has progressed as much as your physical abilities."

Paul looked blankly at his Sensei.

"What I mean," the older man went on, "is that your training has helped you mature more quickly, and not only physically. Think about it, and tell me if I am wrong. You are a much calmer person now. You think before you do anything rash. You analyse your surroundings all the time. Am I wrong?"

Paul thought about it. "No, Sir. I guess you're right. I do all those things."

"Peace of mind, Paul, is one of the most important aspects of martial arts. And it is one of the most difficult things for any student to achieve. You have achieved it and you should be proud. I never had a student reach this stage at such a young age."

Paul bowed his head in recognition of his Sensei's praise. Hearing Miko praise him like that meant more to him than any other thing they had ever achieved together. Miko put his hand on Paul's shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"But Paul, this does not mean that our work is finished. In fact, it is only just starting," he said, somewhat surprising the 14-year-old. "It means more responsibility, first of all. You are in fact, now, a highly-trained fighter. With the mental aptitude you have achieved, you could be lethal, unless you learn to control your emotions and your actions. Our work now will focus on channelling all you have learnt to your mind. You could find yourself in situations that call for the use of force. Knowing how far you should go in such situations is vital. That is what our training from now on will focus on."

Paul nodded in understanding. He could see the importance of what his Sensei was telling him. "And in the meantime, Sir?"

"In the meantime, Paul, if the need arises, use only as much force as is necessary. Remember, your skills are not there to be flaunted. The aim of our training is not to provide you with some moves you can use to show off to the girls, or to intimidate other lads. Your skills are a tool, one you keep hidden until the right moment. They are, essentially, merely a means to making you a better person. That is the essence of martial arts. Always remember that. But remember also your training if the need arises."

Miko left soon after that and Paul headed to the shower. By quarter past nine, he was ready to leave and met George in the garage. George had prepared the Mercedes for the day and Paul climbed into the passenger seat. The older man turned to him with a smile. "Elsa tells me you have yourself a girlfriend, Paul, and that the plan for today is to show her around the island."

"Yes George, I still don't know how I ended up with a girlfriend, but I plan to show her a good time. I thought we could just visit some places today. We have to pick her up from her hotel and then I thought we could head to Sliema for some breakfast."

George nodded and started the car. Within ten minutes they were rolling onto the hotel's ramp and Paul stepped out of the car. Before he could even walk into the hotel, however, Kayla ran out and into his arms. They shared a kiss, and then pulled back. Paul looked into Kayla's eyes.

"Good morning, luscious. Have you been waiting for long?"

"No, Paul. I had just sat down in the foyer when I saw you."

"Well then, my lady, your carriage awaits." And he turned to open the rear door for her. Kayla entered the car and then scooted over to make room for Paul. When he was seated, Paul introduced Kayla and George, then turned to her. "Right here's the plan. I thought we could first go have some breakfast in Sliema, then just walk around Sliema and do some shopping. There's some good shops there." Kayla smiled and nodded. "Then I thought we would head to Mdina. That's our old capital city and it was built by the Knights of Malta in the fifteenth century. It's quiet, beautiful and there are many things to see. The view from the bastions is breath-taking and we could have lunch there. Then in the afternoon, I thought we could head to Valletta, for some more sightseeing and yes, more shopping. Then we relax. What do you think?"

"Oh Paul, I think it's great. I've read about Mdina and Valletta on my guidebook and had planned to visit them. Being with you will make it all the better." She moved closer to him and tucked her arm under his. "I think it's going to be a great day. Thanks for planning it out for us."

Paul kissed her cheek and smiled. "I think you're only thanking because I included some time for shopping in the schedule, but I knew I could not deny any woman her shopping," he teased her. Kayla stuck out her tongue at him, laughter in her eyes. Paul smirked at her and said, "If you're going to stick that tongue of yours at me, I can find something for you to do with it."

Kayla blushed brightly and hit Paul's arm playfully. "Paul!" she hissed, with a sideways glance at George, who was focusing on driving the car in the heavy Sliema traffic and not paying attention to the teens' conversation in the back.

"It's all right, Kayla. George is cool, he's a good friend." Kayla nodded in understanding but she was still blushing slightly when George pulled in front of a bistro on the Sliema waterfront. He turned to Paul. "Paul, if you don't see me anywhere when you come out, give me a ring. Finding parking space around here is near impossible."

"Got it, George. We should not be more than half an hour here. But then I think we will just stroll around and do some shopping. Why don't you go visit your nephews while we're around here? Then I will phone you once we're ready to head to Mdina."

George nodded as Paul continued. "On the way, could you please have these photos developed somewhere?" He handed George the memory card from the digital camera. Kayla smiled at Paul, pleased he had remembered they needed to develop the photos they had taken the previous evening.

"Right, Paul. Phone me when you're ready to leave," George said. "You two go and have fun now. I will see you later."

Paul stepped out of the car and held the door for Kayla to join him. They watched George drive off and then walked into the bistro.

...

"So what do you think about what happened yesterday?"