Love In The Jungle Read Online Free

from the Kotoka International Airport in Accra
shortly after my arrival, and from there a volunteer was supposed to take me to
my outpost.
    All in all, it was going to be a long, tiring trip,
regardless of how excited I was to get started, an hour’s delay only added to
the length of my travels. I threw my shoulders back and braved the crowds,
making a beeline for the least busiest café . I ordered a coffee and a pastry,
knowing we’d be fed at least two meals on the plane. With my order in hand, I
found a vacant table near a window overlooking the runway, and that was where I
decided to spend most of my hour’s delay.
    The volume of the café’s patrons swelled and weakened with
the departures of planes, and after scanning my brochures, I pulled out my phone
and started playing some games to pass the time. I had actual books to read for
the flight, but I didn’t want to waste them at the airport.
    “Do you mind if I take this chair?”
    I almost jumped out of my seat as a lone, deep, masculine
voice cut through my thoughts, interrupting my debates about where to move a
certain piece of fruit in my game. There were lots of voices around me, but
none of them were close.
    I looked up, surprised, and tried not to drop my jaw at the
tall drink of water leaning on the chair across the table. Dressed well in a
pressed pair of black trousers, he had a laptop bag slung over his shoulder,
the strap sitting comfortably across a broad chest and a white button-up. A
jacket hung over his arm, and for a moment, I guess I was impressed. I then
remembered that most guys in the corporate world wore a uniform like this, and
I probably shouldn’t gaze at him…. I’d seen enough of his type before.
    But I just couldn’t help myself. He watched me with a
curious expression, waiting for my response. His shaggy brown hair seemed
slicked back and off his face—a feat accomplished without looking greasy. A
smattering of freckles crested his nose, and his blue eyes were an immediate
contrast to my brown. In fact, he was almost my opposite, in a way. My
dirty-blonde hair was thin compared to his brunet waves, and even though my
skin was darker, I wasn’t graced with sun-kissed freckles.
    Nor did I look like a movie star when I smiled.
    “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said as the silence
dragged on. “There’s nowhere else to sit.”
    I didn’t need to glance around the café to know that it had
filled up, but I did so anyway, as if contesting his claim.
    “Sure,” I replied, waving toward the chair. “Take it.”
    Much to my surprise, the man set his jacket on the back of
the chair and took a seat. I couldn’t help but watch him, my eyes glued to the
way his hands handled his laptop case. His fingers were so…elegant. Was that
the right word? He moved each item with such care, and only paused when he must
have realized I was watching.
    “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind me sitting,” he offered, “but
all the other tables are full.”
    “It’s fine,” I managed to get out, my cheeks tickling as a
blush started to creep forward. “Really, no problem.”
    I assumed that would be the end of our conversation once he
got up to plug his cord into an outlet on the nearby wall. He then set up his
laptop and started clacking away, much to my disappointment. Well, at least I
had something nice to look at while I waited for my flight. Grabbing a piece of
pastry, I stuffed the sweet bread in my mouth and returned to my phone game,
not caring if it drained my battery. I had all my numbers and contacts written
down in four different places: I wasn’t going to need my phone in Togo, and I
definitely wasn’t paying any long distance charges to use it.
    “So where are you headed?” The handsome stranger posed the
question just as I successfully conquered a level that had been giving my
trouble for the last ten minutes. I smiled victoriously as I looked up, my mind
still in the game.
    “What?” A blush crept across my cheeks in