A Shepherd Afield Pt. 02

La'Shia was suddenly at her side gently guiding her back into the hands of Brooklyn. La'Shia then stepped forward just as the next song began. She reached out and took Ben's hand in hers. Ben looked up and La'Shia was surprised to see his gaze was a million miles away.

The next song was Julie London's 'Cry Me a River', its smooth jazz beckoning them out onto the floor.

Ben heeded its call, stepping forward to pull La'Shia's body to his and moving them into the dance. Her feet rushed to catch up and he automatically adjusted for her. She looked into his eyes but what he was seeing she couldn't tell. Whatever it was had him in its spell and only his body expressed this inner conversation. She desperately wanted to know who it was that made him move so divinely. She gave herself over to his control and felt her movements just... click into place with his. She gasped lightly with the thrill of it.

Thomas and Rochelle entered the bar and looked at each other with delighted smiles when they heard the music. There seemed to be a crowd standing at the edge of the dance floor and they saw it was mostly their people.

Rochelle made her way to the edge of the group with Thomas in tow. When she finally had a clear view of the dance floor she froze and her breath caught in her chest.

Thomas had a clear view over her head and his eyes went wide as he watched La'Shia dancing so beautifully! He'd never seen her move so gracefully! Then he noticed Ben was her partner and... damn! He could dance too!

Rochelle watched Ben with a huge smile which drained away as she remembered what Gabriella said about Ben dancing with her cousin in France. How he'd slipped into a trancelike state then collapsed afterwards. She watched Ben's face when it turned in her direction and she couldn't tell if he was aware of what he was doing but he... wasn't smiling.

"Thomas!"

"Yes?"

"We have to get to Ben the moment the song ends," she blurted.

"What? Why? He seems to be having a great time," Thomas grinned.

Rochelle looked back at the delighted man. She couldn't explain it to him. She didn't have the words. He caught the worry in her eyes and his smile dropped. He nodded and her heart gave a little ping at how quickly he moved to support her.

He took her hand and moved them out onto the dance floor to get a little closer.

La'Shia was enjoying herself so much. The moves were so different from the dancing she did in her music videos and on stage at her shows. There was a grandness to it, a deep emotional context she hadn't felt before. She knew it wouldn't work as-is for her fans but she and Brooklyn could build on this. She suddenly became aware of the song winding down and glanced at Ben's face. He was still communing with his secret partner. She felt a sudden and intense pang of jealousy and it caught her by surprise.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Thomas and Rochelle moving closer to them and the expression on the woman's face made her a little nervous. She turned to face her straight on as Ben released her to bow his thanks for the dance.

Rochelle stepped up and took Ben's arm. "Ben? Ben, it's time to come back," she said quietly. La'Shia and Thomas looked on with surprised expressions.

Nat King Cole's 'When I Fall In Love' began and Ben's head snapped back in reaction. He made a choking sound and Rochelle heard him mutter 'It's our song' before he pulled his arm free from Rochelle's hand and stiffly walked out of the bar. Rochelle and Thomas rushed after him as Brooklyn joined La'Shia on the dance floor.

"Did you get it? Tell me you got it!" La'Shia blurted as she looked at her choreographer. Brooklyn replayed the video she'd taken of the dancing but the light conditions were so poor her cell's camera couldn't focus and none of the footage was usable. She shook her head.

La'Shia growled and looked at the rest of her party. "Did anyone get that on video?"

No one had any usable video and they shook their heads. She growled in frustration.

"I did."

La'Shia turned towards the voice. A tall black woman with a large head of hair and a broad smile with a slight gap between her front two teeth stepped forward out of the shadows. She had a very high-end DSLR camera in her hand. She shifted it to her left as she held out her right.

"Naomi Klassen. Culture Couture Critic. I captured both dances in high definition. Perhaps we can work out an arrangement for the video." She beamed her smile at the two ladies who glanced hungrily at the camera. She was sure they'd find something she wanted.

Chapter 13

Ben woke with a yell and instantly he had two concerned faces looking down at him. Trish and Rain were lying on either side of him.

"Easy Ben. It was just a dream," Rain said, resting her palm on Ben's chest.

"What- what time is it?" Ben stammered.

Trish looked at the clock. "It's almost 7AM. Almost time to get up to meet the group downstairs."

Ben blinked the sleep from his eyes. He tried to recall what happened the night before. He'd gone to dinner without these two and then...

He looked at Trish. "It happened again, didn't it."

Trish smiled gently but nodded. "Rochelle and Thomas brought you back to the room last night. You were pretty agitated. We got you undressed and into bed and you went right out."

Ben looked over at Rain.

"Trish explained last night. It's ok Ben. You'll get through this. It sounds like you already have a plan of action with seeing this Dr. Granger when you get home. That's a good idea."

Ben looked at Trish with a pleased smile "At least Trish gave you her real name and not their pet name for her. That's real progress!"

Trish looked uncomfortable. "Well, she's going to help you now. Calling her Dr. Evil seems counter-productive."

"Dr. Evil?" Rain's eyebrows went up in concern.

"It was on her orders that Ben was strapped down to his bed when Sturn stab-" Trish gasped and couldn't finish. Her eyes welled up as she flashed back to that awful night.

Ben pulled her in tight against his side and kissed the top of her head as she trembled.

"You- you were strapped down... when you got these?" Rain said wide eyed, looking at the scars.

Ben looked at her and nodded gently as he felt another tremor go through Trish's body.

"I survived. I had people who needed me," he said quietly.

Trish pulled back and looked into his eyes. She smiled tremulously.

"Now if you don't mind, I need to get up as I need to use the bathroom," Ben said with a wince.

Trish snorted. "Way to ruin a tender moment, Ben!" But her smile was loving none-the-less.

They got up and got ready for the day. They'd be on the catamaran in the sun for a good portion of the day so Ben made sure he had sufficient lotion in the beach bag. He put three towels in the bag and a cap in case the sun got to be too much. He admired the back view of Rain's new bikini until she wrapped a gauzy skirt over the bottoms. Trish had on her red shimmering micro bikini again. She added her black wrap over her bikini bottom as well. Both pulled oversize t-shirts on.

Trish and Rain were moving just a little slowly this morning which made Ben apologize again but they just shook their heads. He vowed to himself to be gentler with them in the future.

The restaurant was quiet when they arrived with only a few guests getting up this early. They saw Killah and Brooklyn who waved them over. They sat and placed their orders with a waitress and saw a few more of their group arrive.

Tilisha stopped by Ben's chair and greeted him. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Ben squirmed as he couldn't remember the events of the night before. He had a flash of Tilisha asking him to join them for dancing. "I- I'm good. Thanks! You?"

She beamed him a wide smile. "I'm doing very well. I wanted to thank you for that amazing dance last night!" Brooklyn was giving her the eye so she looked for a seat.

"Oh... you're welcome," he smiled awkwardly.

"How are you two doing this morning? We missed you at dinner last night," the rapper named Millionz asked Trish and Rain with a grin as he and one of La'Shia's dancers settled into their chairs.

The two women in question shared a smile and Trish answered. "We're good, thanks!" Ben breathed a sigh of relief at her brief and discrete response.

Others arrived and they said their greetings and gave their orders. Conversation at breakfast was far more subdued than dinner had been as most were still a little sleepy from the early hour.

"Tomorrow we all sleep in and laze on the beach again!" La'Shia said as she arrived last. The group chuckled and a few seconded her suggestion.

Ben noticed La'Shia and Brooklyn sharing glances across the table and wondered if he had done something embarrassing with them the previous night. He was too disturbed by the memory gap so he just did his best to ignore the potential intrigue.

Once they were finished they made their way to the lobby and about fifteen minutes later a bus arrived to transport them to the beach where the catamaran was moored.

They took their seats, Ben sitting next to Trish and Rain next to Tilisha behind them and soon they were underway. The drive wasn't long and they enjoyed the scenery along the way. Ben noticed the sky was very clear this morning so he began applying some lotion to his face and arms as did Trish.

Everyone piled out of the bus and made their way across the beach to some smaller boats that would ferry them out to the catamaran. The jaunt out to the larger boat was short and the two boats made several trips back and forth to get everyone onboard.

Ben, Trish, Rain, Tilisha, Rochelle and Thomas managed to secure one side of the open netting at the front of the boat while Killah, Brooklyn, La'Shia, Millionz and his girlfriend took the other side.

Once everyone was on board they lifted anchor and got the boat underway.

The sun felt good and soon they were drowsing, shirts tucked into their bags, stretched out on the nets.

Forty minutes into the outbound trip Rochelle suddenly sat bolt upright catching Ben's attention.

"NAOMI? What are you doing here?" Rochelle growled.

Ben turned his head and Naomi was standing at the edge of the net with a smile on her face. He looked at her in confusion.

"Hello! Don't be like that Rochelle. I was invited." Naomi said sweetly. She made her way over to the empty space left on the net for her next to Brooklyn.

Trish was livid. "Who the FUCK invited the press?" she said loudly.

Ben took her hand and shook his head. "It's fine. Let's just enjoy the day."

Killah sat up and looked at Naomi. "You're with the press?"

She nodded. "Naomi Klassen. Culture Couture Critic," she said with an extended hand and a smile.

The big man ignored her and looked instead to Brooklyn who was doing her best to appear oblivious to the drama unfolding. Then he looked at La'Shia who wouldn't look at him but her expression was beginning to look defensive.

"Well... shit. That's disappointing. I'm out," the man said and picked up his stuff.

"Baby?-" Brooklyn began.

"No. Not anymore," he said sadly. Then he moved over to the other side. "Ben? I'm sorry they did this. It's a shitty thing to do to a friend."

Ben looked up at Killah and gave the man a nod. He couldn't say anything because he heard Brooklyn crying. The sound twisted his guts and he looked over towards the woman.

"Ben, take a walk to the back," Rochelle suggested, seeing the discomfort plain on his face.

He nodded and got up to follow.

Once the two men were out of earshot Rochelle crawled over to the other side of the netting. She looked at Brooklyn, La'Shia and Naomi whose smile was very stiff by this point.

"What was your price?" she asked La'Shia.

The woman's head whipped towards her and she glared at Rochelle but she couldn't maintain it. She turned away but Millionz and his date were looking at her in surprise.

"A video of Ben's dancing! His moves are unique. We need them for our show!" she finally cracked.

Brooklyn's crying got louder.

"Stop that!" Rochelle barked in the woman's face and Brooklyn jumped. The crying woman blinked at the angry look on Rochelle's face. "Ben doesn't need to hear your tears. Spare him that."

"Why does Ben have a problem with a woman's tears?" Naomi asked, surreptitiously pointing the opening of her bag in Rochelle's direction.

Trish caught the motion. "Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?" she bellowed as she came over the center hull after the reporter. Rain leapt after her and managed to catch hold of her before she reached Naomi who jumped to the other side of the net to get away from Trish. Her bag hit the springy surface and bounced, tossing its contents out onto the net.

They watched in shock as Naomi's large camera with a boom mic attachment bounced clear of the net and tumbled over the edge of the boat into the waters below with a big splash.

Her cell phone was sliding towards the wider gaps in the net to follow the camera into the dark waters below the catamaran. She grabbed it just before it disappeared and snatched up her wallet and sunglasses case as well.

"NO! STOP THE BOAT! STOP!" Naomi shrieked and waved at the driver in the cabin.

"You brought the camera on the boat? Tell me you left the memory card with the dance video in your hotel room!" La'Shia screamed.

"No! It was in the camera! I was recording!" Naomi wailed, stuffing her phone, wallet and glasses into the bag. She struggled to get off the net to rush to the driver's cabin.

Rain let go of Trish as they watched the shrieking woman rush away.

La'Shia was glaring at the horizon. This trip had turned sour for her and she just wanted to go home.

Brooklyn looked destroyed. Silent tears ran down her cheeks. Tilisha crossed over to hold her friend and let her cry quietly on her shoulder.

Rochelle went back to Thomas' side. She took his hand as he looked upset too.

Trish and Rain settled back on the net and cast worried glances to the back of the ship where Ben had retreated.

Ben was sitting on a bench next to Killah watching him try to come to terms with what the woman he'd fallen in love with just did. The man turned his eyes to Ben.

"Why aren't you mad? They betrayed you!" he growled. The other members of the group were sitting with them and looked to Ben to see his response.

Ben thought about it and couldn't find it in himself to be angry. He was annoyed that Naomi was here for sure and he was disappointed that La'Shia and Brooklyn had arranged to have her join them. He was more curious to know why they'd done it.

He looked back at the big rapper. What Ben was more concerned about was the pain the man was in. He seemed like a really decent man and he'd seen the love in his eyes when he looked at Brooklyn. Ben couldn't let that die.

"Am I happy Naomi is here? No. Am I disappointed that they conspired to sneak her on board? Hell yes!" There was a buzz of agreement from the group around them. "But here's the thing. People make mistakes. They make bad decisions. They even go against their better judgement, blinded by some perceived good. But if they see that, if they can admit it, I think they deserve another chance. That's especially true for people you love."

"What about your fucking self-respect and pride?" Killah snapped.

Ben knew the man wasn't angry with him so he let the harsh words roll off. "How has their action caused my self-respect any harm? Should I feel less proud about who I am and how I behave towards others? I haven't done anything wrong. I haven't behaved badly towards anyone. I feel pretty good about myself. I think their own self-esteem was damaged far more greatly. Their integrity took a major blow. I'm not hurt by that in any way."

He saw the man was listening. "It's too easy to lash out and punish people who we believe have done us wrong. It's harder but far more rewarding to put that initial anger aside, find out why they acted like they did, find out if they understand what they did was wrong, and once they do, to forgive them. They need to rebuild their own self-esteem and integrity. Helping them do that earns its own rewards."

He locked eyes with Killah. "Taking the high road means taking the hard road. It's especially worth the effort if it's for love."

They heard shrieking and Naomi rushed around the side of the boat and entered the cabin. They heard shouting between her and the captain. It sounded like Naomi wanted them to turn the ship around to get something that fell overboard. Ben exchanged glances with the others. When the shouting concluded Naomi stalked out of the cabin with a look of frustration and barely contained rage on her face. Her eyes locked on Ben and she marched over.

"That redhead bitch cost me over five thousand dollars when she made me drop my camera overboard! What are you going to do about it?"

"She's not a bitch. Did she hit you? I don't see any cuts or bruising. If she hit you there would definitely be injuries." Ben said.

Naomi opened and closed her mouth. Then glared at him. "She attacked me! I had to jump away. If the midget hadn't caught her she would have hit me!"

"But she didn't."

The glare grew hotter.

"She's responsible-"

"No, I think you are for bringing something so valuable on a boat which is a hazardous environment. You weren't careful enough."

She stood trembling, staring at Ben. "WHY WON'T YOU GIVE ME YOUR STORY?" she screamed, her temper finally slipping free of her control.

"You, and the public, don't deserve it. It's personal. It's for family only...and a very select group of friends. I'm not a celebrity. My notoriety was completely accidental and unintended. I have no desire to become a public personality and that's my last word. Good day."

With a roar of frustration she spun and went back into the cabin.

The people sitting around him had amused grins on their faces, except for Killah. He was thinking. Hard. He looked to Ben and opened his mouth then closed it.

"Give me a second," Ben said and stood. He made his way back to the front of the boat. He saw Tilisha comforting Brooklyn. He made his way to their side and knelt.

"Brooklyn? Could I speak with you?" he said gently.

The woman started then looked up at him cautiously. When she saw he didn't look angry she started to well up once more.

"Please, don't cry. I just want to talk with you," he begged.

Ben saw her clamp down on her tears and Tilisha released her so she could stand. Ben took her hand and guided her towards the back of the boat. Before they reached the back Ben turned to her and she looked up into his eyes.

"I'm not mad. I'm disappointed but not mad. Could you tell me why you and La'Shia did it?" he asked.

"N-Naomi has- had a rec-recording of the- the dancing from la-last night," she stuttered out, sniffling.

Ben's eyebrows went up. "And..."

She looked confused. "We needed t- to study the dance steps for- for La'Shia's show."

He was still confused. "Dance steps? What was so special about the dancing?"

She blinked at him. "It was beautiful! We've never seen those moves! I don't know who taught you to dance but they must have been a master professional!"

Ben shook off the buzzing in his head and forced his thoughts back to the present. "Why didn't you just ask if I could dance for you again?" The woman's eyes went wide as she realized her horrible mistake.

Brooklyn burst into new tears and Ben pulled her into a hug. He guided her to the back of the boat and they saw the group sitting on the benches, Killah in the far corner trying to look stern.

"Do you think they could have a little privacy?" Ben said to the others as he brought Brooklyn to her lover.

They stood and left Killah and Brooklyn sitting together on the bench. Ben made his way back to the front. He was greeted with smiles from the people sitting up there, except for La'Shia who still had an angry, defensive expression on her face. He sat down next to her and she crossed her arms and looked away.