by Harlow Layne
Wait. Was her ex a murderer?
Both Stella and Pen started laughing hysterically. Pen was doubled over while Stella practically laid the top half of her body on the table as she cackled.
After a minute of them losing it, Stella straightened herself up and cleared her throat. “Brock, my ex, isn’t a killer. He may be a total douche and asshole, but not that. He is the inspiration, and some of what he’s done to me has been translated into the book. It’s been cathartic. A way for me to deal with what he’s put me through.”
“And there was a serial killer in our town. It gave her the idea to combine the two. She’s an amazing writer, and I can’t wait for the world to finally be able to read her words.”
Stella’s pinked up before she covered her face with her hands. “You only say that because we’ve been friends since middle school.”
“I say it because it’s true. Once you’re away from that asshole always putting you down, you’ll start to believe in yourself once again. You’ll be the girl who you were before you married him.”
“I’ll never be her.” Stella’s eyes turned glassy. “At best, I’ll be a combination of the two with my younger self winning more often than not.”
“Oh, Stell,” Pen’s chin trembled, “I’ll take you any way you come. You know that, right?”
Stella nodded shakily as one lone tear escaped.
“Buenos días señoritas, señor,” the waiter tips his head. “What may I get for you today?”
Their emotional confession was interrupted by our waiter. I, for one, was happy to have it come to an end. I’d never been able to deal with women’s tears. They were my downfall.
We all ordered and then sat quietly staring off in different directions until our food came. I couldn’t help but glance at Stella every few minutes. I wanted to get my fill of her before she was gone and out of my life.
Our silence was broken when Stella let out a sinful moan as she took a bite of her croissant.
“Oh my god, you sound like you’re having sex with your food,” Pen laughed but then let out a moan of her own. “Damn, these are almost as good as sex. I’d request these be brought on the boat if I wanted to gain twenty pounds.” Her eyes landed on me. “Thank you for bringing us here. It’s perfect.”
“I agree,” Stella leaned against my side with a serene smile on her lips. “Thank you,” she murmured before she kissed my cheek.
“It’s my pleasure, ladies.” Reaching under the table, I held Stella’s hand in mine. “It really is. It’s not often I get to be surrounded by two beautiful women making those kinds of noises.”
Penelope’s eyes narrowed on me, letting me know I’d said something wrong. “Oh, do you often hear those noises by multiple women at a time?”
“What?” I laughed at the awkward way our day had turned. “No, it’s not like that. I chose my words wrong. I was merely stating how I was enjoying spending my time with you and—”
“The enjoyment of our noises. Yeah, we got that. Watch out for him,” Pen interrupted and nodded at me. “He may be young, but he’s got experience.”
Stella bit her lip with a smirk on her face.
There was no way in hell I was going to admit to a threesome. Stella would probably run for the hills or think I wanted to include her friend when there was no way in hell I would share her with another.
My walkie-talkie beeped, letting me know someone was trying to get in touch with me. “Remy, Remy, Scout. The women are ready to head back to the boat.” Each word was said with a bite. What the hell had happened?
“Scout, Remy here. We’re finishing up our lunch and can meet you in twenty,” I replied back.
“No need since we’re docked. Enjoy your time on the island.”
I heard the implication that wouldn’t be the case on the boat. I wished I had an international plan. Instead, I used the boat’s Wi-Fi and an app when I needed to contact anyone, but if I wanted to message Scout, I’d need to find somewhere with Wi-Fi.
“Sounds like it was smart of us to break apart. Do you think Zelda and Reagan got into a fight?” Pen’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“It wouldn’t surprise me. Reagan has been a bitch the entire trip, and I’m just glad it wasn’t me this time. If we don’t have to go back, I say we enjoy ourselves. I doubt we’ll ever be on this beautiful island again.”
My chest felt heavy with the thought that I wouldn’t see Stella walk along these streets again.
“Yes, let’s enjoy our orgasmic food and the company of our young escort.” She could barely say the words without a smile splitting her lips.
“Why don’t you stop reminding me how young he is. I’d ask, but I don’t want to know. I like being blissfully ignorant in this instance.”
“I’m not that young.” She made it sound like I was barely legal, or I was a secret to keep.
“I know.” She tightened her grip on my hand. “We’re just having fun at your expense, and that’s not kind of us. I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since we could do this.”
Her words put me at ease—a little. Still, I had a feeling she felt it was wrong to be with me for some reason. Was it some residual effect her ex had on her?
“I don’t mind,” I lied to make her feel better. They weren’t trying to hurt me in any way, and I understood that. Still, it hurt, feeling like she was ashamed of me. I already had enough people ashamed of me for the actions of my life. I couldn’t imagine what Stella would think if she knew about my time in the military.
“We’re being mean and shouldn’t take it out on you. Sorry,” Pen gave me a half smile, half frown. “Where should we go after lunch?”
“Let me think,” I hummed. “The Catedral de Mallorca is a must. If we had time, I’d take you to all the little towns around here, but we’d need either scooters or a car to get to most of them. You need to come back so I can show you more.”
Stella placed her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand. “Is that an invitation?”
“Yeah, I mean, it would have to be once the season’s over, but I’d love to show you around.”
“Well, if I get my life together by then, I might take you up on your offer.” She took the last bite of her croissant sandwich and closed her eyes. A dreamy smile filled her face.
“I hope you do.”
“And I have a feeling I should have left you two alone today. Maybe you could have gotten a hotel for a few hours.”
“While that would have been nice, I couldn’t have you wandering around by yourself.” Stella reached across the table and held Penelope’s hand for a moment. “If we’re meant to spend time together, we will. Hopefully, there won’t be interference by the crew tonight.”
“If you need the room, just let me know. I can sleep on a lounger.” Pen waggled her eyebrows at us.
“I’m sure we can find someplace else, so you’re not displaced from your bed.” I laughed. It was hilarious her friend was trying to get us to hook up.
“This is getting embarrassing,” Stella groaned.
“It’s all good,” I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I think it’s cute.”
“It looks like it’s going to rain. Maybe we should start to head back to the boat.” Stella’s tone stated she wanted to do anything but go back.
“What’s a few sprinkles?” Pen blew her off.
“She’s probably right. The wind has steadily been increasing, and it might get nasty.”
“Fine,” Pen huffed. “You two are no fun, which means you’re perfect for each other.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what it means when two people have common sense.” Stella bumped her hip with her friend.
Linking her arm with mine, Pen winked up at me. “Thank you for being our tour guide, even if it was only for a short while. You made the day most enjoyable, and tonight you’ll make Stella’s night.”
“Pen!” Stella shouted, her eyes narrowing as she gave her the evil eye.
“What?” She laughed, nearl
y tripping over her feet. “I’m just stating the obvious.”
“You’re putting way too much pressure on something that might not happen. Look at what happened last night.”
“Well, I won’t let anyone interrupt you two. I’ll make sure to keep them all busy. I’ll get Zelda and Scarlet on it as well. They’re team Stella needs to get laid.”
My body shook from the laughter I was trying to hold back.
“I feel like some teenage boy whose father takes him to a brothel to lose his virginity. Thank you, but I don’t need your help.”
Stella pulled on my arm until I looked down at her. “Please don’t think I’m desperate or that there’s something wrong with me. Yes, it’s been a while, but I’m not going to die if I have to wait. It’s not your job to break my celibacy streak.”
Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her closer as we walked. “How long has it been?” I asked quietly. That way, it was easier to pretend Penelope wasn’t alongside us.
“Two years, but it’s not like I’ve been actively trying to have sex. One year of it was while I was married.” Stella wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned into me. The simple movement felt so right that it scared me. “If you’re ever married, and your spouse doesn’t have sex with you, let me tell you right now she’s getting it from somewhere else.”
“Either that or you were never doing it right in the first place, and she’s giving it to herself.” Pen broke out into a laugh and slapped her leg. “Can you imagine?”
No, I couldn’t imagine going a year without sex, let alone two. I needed to make tonight good for Stella. Better than good. I wanted to ruin her for all other men. I wanted her to think of me every time she was with any man in the future.
“Anyway, the next year was our divorce, and I didn’t want to give our town another reason to talk about me. It’s bad enough they all know he cheated on me and is having a child with another woman.”
“That can’t be easy. I’m sorry.” I hugged her to me.
“That’s why I’m moving away. I want a fresh start in my life.”
“I don’t blame you. I did something similar when I started to work on the boats. I wanted to forget about my old life and focus on the future.” I tensed at giving away too much, afraid they’d ask questions, but they must have sensed it was something I didn’t want to talk about.
We were silent as we walked toward the marina. I was surprised I’d had a fun time with them. I’d been dreading the whole day for no reason.
The marina came into view the second the first drop of water hit.
“Did you feel that?” Stella asked, her pace quickening.
“No, what was it?” Pen asked.
“Rain,” Stella said in a ‘you’re stupid’ tone.
“Or bird piss,” Pen shot back with a cackle.
“Ugh, that’s all I need to think about is a bird taking a piss on me. Thanks, Pen.”
A few more drops landed on my skin, but I kept quiet since the two of them were so amusing.
“Okay, I felt something,” Pen admitted.
“It’s probably a bird circling and pissing all over us,” Stella started to laugh, and we soon followed after her.
“That’s so gross.” Pen faked gagged.
“You’re the one who brought it up, not me. You deserve a little bird pee on you,” Stella threw back.
Droplets landed on the surface all around us, but I didn’t think any of us felt them as we laughed. Pen started to spin in circles and shouted. “Pee on me all you want.”
I could only stand as I watched Stella join in. Her arms spread wide, with her head tipped back.
After all she’d revealed to me today, it was nice to see her let loose and have fun.
“We should run,” I yelled as the rain started to fall harder. We’d be drenched by the time we made it to the boat.
The wind swept by, and the temperature dropped just as quickly, causing Stella to break out in goosebumps.
“This is our punishment for having fun without the others,” Pen yelled from behind me. I could hear her flip-flop feet slapping the ground as she ran.
“It doesn’t matter because we had fun,” Stella shouted over her shoulder. “Run faster.”
“I’m trying,” Pen laughed from behind us. “You’re too damn fast.”
“That’s because we don’t want to get wet.”
I didn’t mind getting wet. If I did, working on a boat would be the worst job ever.
Our steps slowed as we arrived to board the boat. Bending over, we quickly took off our shoes, and my gaze met Stella’s. Electricity connected us for a brief second in time.
“Go get warmed up, and I’ll see you upstairs later.” Her mouth opened, but I didn’t want to hear her say it was a bad idea now that we were back. “I promise to find you, even if we have to kick Pen out of her own bed.”
“Let’s go,” Pen said, breaking our moment as she pulled Stella away.
I slowly walked around the boat, making sure everything was as it was supposed to be before I headed downstairs to take a shower and put on a clean set of clothes while trying to avoid Ophelia as much as possible. I knew she’d question why we split up and why we hadn’t come back together.
I made it for the most part. Only running into Dean as he stepped out of our shared space at the same time I walked in.
“You look a mess,” he said as he slipped by me.
“We got caught out in it. It’s really coming down now. I’ll bet dinner has to be served inside.”
He shrugged as if it made no difference to him, and I guess it didn’t. Only the girls. “Will there be extra guests tonight?”
One thing I knew all chefs hated was finding out at the last minute that they’d be expected to serve more people than they were counting on, and that had happened the last two nights.
“Not that I know of, but you can never tell with this group of guests.”
Bumping my shoulder to get by, he grumbled. “Well, if you weren’t so damn personable and handsome, they wouldn’t want you to join them every night.”
“Not something I can help. Don’t act like if you weren’t the one cooking food, they wouldn’t have invited you because you know that’s the truth.” He shook his head in denial. “I know it to be true. I heard a couple of the girls going on about how hot you are, and the primary said she was going to offer you a job.”
“Oh dear god, I hope she doesn’t offer me a job. I don’t want to have to decline.” He looked down at his toes and wiggled them.
“Are you sure you don’t want to be her personal chef and get off the boat? You’d make some sick money.”
One shoulder lifted. “I haven’t been offered, so I can’t say.”
That’s what I thought. “Stay cool, dude. I’m going to grab a shower.”
“See you on the flip side.” Dean ducked around the corner headed for the kitchen.
Stripping out of my wet clothes, I turned on the water and set it as hot as I could stand it. After hours of being hard over Stella, I needed to relieve some of the pressure from my straining cock.
Pumping soap into my hand, I rubbed them together, creating a thick amount of suds, and ran them down my chest, over my abs, and straight to my stiff cock.
I let out a moan as I squeezed my tip. Knowing I didn’t have much time, I leaned my other arm against the wall of the shower and fisted my cock, stroking faster with each pump, all the while thinking of Stella in the bikini she wore yesterday. With her body playing behind my eyes, it didn’t take me long to explode. My forehead connected to the cool wall as streams of cum shot all over the shower wall.
Now that my head was slightly clearer, I dressed in my t-shirt and shorts uniform, ready for anything that might come my way. I slicked my hair back with some gel and sprayed on some cologne, making sure I smelled good for her later.
With pep in my step, I left my bedroom and went up the stairs two at a time. Hitting the landing, I saw Ophelia and Stella talking
by her room, and my gut told me it wasn’t good.
Ophelia put her hand to her ample chest and gave a fake look of shock. “Oh, Remy was with me last night.”
Stella’s face went pale for a moment before it flushed with color when her eyes met mine.
Fuck my life.
8
Stella
Unsure how to take Ophelia’s words, I acted shocked as I ran into my room before she could say anymore or before Remy could interrupt. I’d seen the way she looked at him from the moment we stepped on board. And I knew they’d probably slept together, but I didn’t think they were a thing. All I could do was keep my questions to myself until I could get Remy alone tonight. If he didn’t say the right words, I knew I’d be disappointed about not getting to fuck him, but I wasn’t going to be with him if he was with someone else.
Remy didn’t seem to be the type, but I didn’t actually know him. I couldn’t judge his character after a few short conversations, but in my gut, something I liked to pride myself on said that Remy was a good man. He was hiding something, but it wasn’t for me to ask him. I had a feeling it was something that wounded him deeply.
Not ready to talk, I bypassed Pen as she left the bathroom. I should have known I wouldn’t get to avoid her twice. Pen was sitting on my bed when I came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel with another in my hand, trying to get the moisture out.
“Dinner is going to be ready in twenty minutes. I was told to tell you not to be late, so that means no stopping by to see Remy.”
I rolled my eyes at her. She could be so immature sometimes.
“I can promise you I’m not going to see him. In fact, I’m not sure what will happen tonight.”
“Why?” She furrowed her brows.
“Ophelia stopped me before I came inside and felt the need to tell me the reason why Remy didn’t meet me last night is because he was with her. Why did she feel the need to tell me that? Were you guys talking about it around her?”
“No,” she held her hands up. “We always made sure to shut up when they were around. Maybe she was lurking around a corner and heard us. She was acting strange when she saw me after we got back. I think she’s jealous. I think we’ve all noticed her checking him out, especially at our dinners.”
