Me Tarzan, You Jahne (BWWM)

VII

Jahne tapped absentmindedly on the table starring at nothing in particular. It had been almost a week since the incident with the strange man. Why didn't he respond to her? Could he respond to her? Could he even understand her? Jahne groaned laying her forehead against the table.

"Whats got you all upset; I thought you would be enjoying your time here" Jahnes head popped up at the voice of Joseph.

After the conversations they'd had during his visits Jahne finally gave in to his request to call him Joseph instead of Mr. Ngo. He stood there smiling down at her with his crystal whites that complimented his chocolate skin.

"Hey" she exclaimed surprised to see him.

Usually, they were told when anyone was coming to the camp to visit and usually it was for a particular reason such as some piece of equipment not working or being needed that way if there was anything they needed to give the person or ask the person they would know in advance so there would be no delays.

"May I join you" he asked pointing to the bench on the other side of the table.

"Of course" Jahne nodded her head still confused by his presence. Not that it wasn't welcome...it could just be overwhelming sometimes when it went from friendly conversation to flirtatious comments or suggestions. "What are you doing here" Jahne asked after he's settled across from her.

"Well, I didn't have anything planned for the day so I thought I'd come visit and maybe take you on a tour of the parts of the island you haven't seen" he responds.

"Is this a group trip or a you and I trip" Jahne asked with a raised brow. She was hoping this was a trip for the whole group and not just the two of them. She felt that if it was just them it would give him ideas that she might be interested in something more with him.

Jospeh cleared his throat, his smile falling for only a second before reappearing.

"I had planned for it to be just the two of us if that's alright with you. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable" he says exactly the opposite of what Jahne was hoping for.

It wasn't often Jahne left from the general area of camp, and she couldn't help her curiosity when it came to the rest of the island.

She didn't even go with Dr. Stuart when she and a few others got to go deeper into the jungle to observe the primates in their natural habitat. Kala was the sickest she'd ever been and Jahne wanted to be there for her.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea...really" Jahne states hesitantly. She would be more inclined to accept this offer if more people were going but with it just being them two it opened up too much space and opportunity for him to flirt with her.

Its not that she didn't find him attractive, but she came to realize she wasn't attracted to him enough to pursue anything, plus she was here for work not pleasure.

"It sounds like your going to turn me down" Joseph says with a sad smile but hopeful eyes. Jahne gives a small quick smile before tapping the table again.

"I would but I have a lot on my mind, and I don't think leaving would help that" Jahne states. It was partially true she did have a lot on her mind right now, but it had nothing to do with work.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in Jahnes head.

Maybe if she did go, she would see this man again but even if she did what would she do. For some reason she felt she shouldn't expose his presence.

She wanted to protect him from all these scientists that would only see him as a lab experiment...something to be studied. But wasn't she like the rest of these scientist? Shouldn't he have been something she wanted to study? As the thought passed Jahne shook her head.