Facade

XIX PT. III

As they sailed along the open waters, Naia took it all in. The view, the refreshing breeze that came from the sea, and of course Lenny. From the way he navigated that boat, he clearly knew what he was doing and for sure knew how to be in control. She just stood against the side of the boat watching him.

Noticing that she was watching him, he turned his head to look at her briefly with that dazzling smile that she loved. "What?" "Nothing. I'm just admiring the view. You know, the water and sun radiating against the waves."

"It is pretty beautiful. Just wait until you see the sunsets here. You'll never want to leave. Of course that would work out perfectly for me." He responded as he bit on his bottom lip before returning his gaze back ahead of him.

"I can't wait to see the sunset. It's pretty hard to see the sunset in New York with all the bright lights."

"Very. That is why I prefer to live on the countryside in whichever state or in my case, country now I happen to reside in."

"So... you're really not moving back to the States?"

Instead of replying, he simply shook his head 'no.'

"Damn... that's too bad. That means we won't be seeing each other as much anymore..."

"I know and that's the only downside to me moving away from the states. Being so far from you and of course Zoë. It's just—I prefer here and Europe more. America... they don't understand me and have always tried to put me in this box. I never sounded or acted 'black enough' whatever that means. It always 'aht! Too black! Aht! Too white!' And quite honestly, I'm sick of it."

While Lenny spoke, Naia listened intently. She could hear the frustration in his voice. It was no secret he wasn't as appreciated in America like he was in Europe for his music. In a way, she sort of felt his pain, especially after the events that took place at the 'Valisse' agency. She walked over to him, stood behind him, and wrapped her arms his waist.

He chuckled as she embraced him unexpectedly. "And what exactly is this for?"

"Just shut up and accept the hug."

After a forty five minute sail, they finally reached his place of residence—Georgetown. Naia thought it was pretty amazing how he had his own little private island. When they pulled up to his pier, she turned the engine of the boat off and hopped from off the boat. He then helped Naia down.

"I love this. Talk about having unlimited privacy. If I lived somewhere this secluded, I would walk around naked 24/8."

"Who says I don't, hm?" With her luggage in his hand, he led her down the Sandy trail which ultimately led to his silver trailer. Outside sat his dogs JoJo and Leroy. They were such big dogs. They kind of made her nervous. When he walked up to the trailer door and pulled it open, she just stood back.

He stopped midway on the second of three stairs and gazed back at her.

"Naia, what are you doing?"

"Those dogs... I'm scared they will attack me!"

"JoJo and Leroy? Come on they're harmless. Stop being a scaredy cat." He then turned and stepped into the trailer.

The two long legged dogs just stared at her as she stood there. She knew she would have to go in at some point and they weren't going to leave anytime soon. She took a deep breath and sprinted up the three stairs and into the trailer.

Seeing her run into the trailer like that made Lenny laugh nonstop. Naia glared at him and then slapped her hand against his shoulder.

"That's not funny! Big dogs scare me."

"I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from a city girl like yourself."

Once her adrenaline calmed down, she looked around at the trailer. It was small. The little living room and kitchen all pretty much was right night to each other. Or was the living room actually the bedroom hence the large day bed? She didn't exactly know for sure.

"What do you think?" He asked, unbuttoning the rest of the buttons on his shirt before taking it off and laying it on the day bed behind them.

"It's.... cosy! I've never been in such a small space like this."

Lenny removing his shirt came as a complete surprise to her. At the same time, she was not complaining at all. His abs looked as if they were crafted by the Greek gods themselves.

"While you're giving me a slight strip tease, you need to be letting me listen to this song you wrote for me." She urged with a smile.

"Okay, okay. Don't move."