by Julie Cannon
The beach chairs and pattern on the umbrellas signaled a different hotel, and after four or five changes, Matt turned around and headed back in the direction she’d come. She settled into a chair just as the sun split the horizon.
The morning sky exploded in color, and the crystal-blue water sparkled. A sailboat drifting silently across the horizon caught her attention, and when she looked a little farther to her right, she spotted a woman sitting alone on the beach about a hundred yards away. She couldn’t make out any specific details except that she was gazing into the sunrise, her long hair blowing in the soft breeze.
She reminded Matt of the woman on the plane in seat 6B, and her pulse kicked up a couple of beats. 6B had long hair and the cutest dimples when she smiled. She was sure the woman hated to be called cute because of them. She looked like she was a professional and wanted to be taken seriously.
The connection she had felt with 6B astonished her. She’d looked at hundreds of women since Andrea died, and never had she felt even the slightest spark. So what was it about 6B that caught and held her attention, even now?
The gentle crashing of the waves was soothing, and when she jerked awake, she realized she’d dozed off. Somewhere behind her, a rooster was crowing. It was a rooster, right? How in the hell would she know, since she was a city girl? Matt looked around and now saw others walking the same path she’d taken. Several couples, both lesbian and straight, held hands as they strolled along the water’s edge. Two women with knock-out bodies ran by, and Matt had to admit they were just as attractive running away as they were running toward her. Matt looked more carefully, but the woman she wanted to be 6B was nowhere in sight. Her stomach growled, and she went to find something to eat.
Matt was enjoying her second cup of coffee as one of the many wait staff cleared away her breakfast plate. She’d been greeted warmly when she arrived thirty minutes ago, every worker smiling and saying good morning. The buffet choices were plentiful, with two kinds of potatoes, sausage, bacon, assorted fruit, Danish, bagels, and toast. A separate section contained slices of meat and cheese and tomatoes, while the table to the right prepared omelets to order. Tables of various sizes were scattered around the patio area, protected from the elements or the morning sun by large shade sails or thick canopies of trees. Two women were sitting beside her, never looking up from their phones. Two others, who Matt guessed were in their late sixties, sat next to them, yet they were engaged in conversation. What a difference a generation makes, she thought.
Matt’s breath caught when 6B stopped at the hostess desk. She blinked several times, believing that her mind was playing tricks on her, but as the woman started walking toward her, she realized she hadn’t made a mistake. She quickly turned away, not sure why she felt so unprepared to deal with her this morning. Their airport flirting had been harmless. But now she was here.
It appeared the woman was alone, but someone as attractive as she was wouldn’t be at a lesbian resort by herself. When they met at the airport, hadn’t she said she was no longer meeting someone? Maybe the other woman was still getting ready. Maybe she didn’t eat breakfast. Maybe 6B had exhausted her last night, and she was still sleeping. Jesus, Matt. Get a grip. It was suddenly very warm, and she shifted in her chair, hoping not to be seen, yet watching 6B out of the corner of her eye
✥ ✥ ✥
The hostess checked Kelly off the guest list and led her to a small table out of the main traffic area.
“Coffee, ma’am?”
A short woman with wavy red hair and green eyes was standing in front of her holding a coffee carafe. Her name tag read Dorothy.
Kelly turned over her cup and placed it back in the saucer. “Yes. Thank you.”
Dorothy gave Kelly the rundown on the buffet items as she poured the hot coffee into the cup. The smell was wonderful, and even though she’d made a small pot in her room, nothing beat the first cup over breakfast.
Kelly was tired but hoped a good breakfast and several gallons of coffee would kick-start her day. She’d arrived late to her room, where champagne, fresh fruit, and cheese were waiting. The top sheet on the large bed had been turned back, the lights low, the music soft. Very romantic. Two fluffy robes hung on silver hooks behind the bathroom door. The tub was big enough for two, maybe even three, and a sliding door for privacy separated it from a large shower with a waterfall nozzle on each end. The management had thought of everything a loving couple could ask for. Too bad it was all wasted on just her.
Even though she’d been exhausted when she arrived, Kelly hadn’t been able to sleep and had finally given up and gone to seek the calm, peaceful water of the ocean.
She was a water girl, having grown up on the shores of southern California. Her mother said she’d learned how to surf almost before she learned how to walk. Her father loved to be in the water and would often take his only daughter out with him. Her older brothers would tag along, but she was definitely Daddy’s girl and loved the time she spent with him. Whenever she had to think, she always came back to the water.
Kelly had thought about what went wrong in her relationship with Suzanne. They’d been happy, or at least she’d thought they were. Sure, after three years the overwhelming lust and passion had dimmed, but they had the same friends, similar tastes, and a compatible temperament. Was that it? Were they too much alike that they bored each other? Was there no challenge anymore? No yin or yang? She’d concluded that they’d just drifted apart, and she hadn’t even realized it until it was over. At least they hadn’t gotten married or co-mingled any finances. That would have been a nightmare. The worst was that she had lost a friend in the whole mess. Or someone she’d thought was her friend.
Two cups later she sauntered over to the buffet and filled her plate. She was starving and didn’t feel guilty about grabbing a heaping spoon of scrambled eggs, five strips of bacon, and a cherry Danish. After all, breakfast was the most important meal of the day.
As she ate, Kelly glanced around. She felt like someone was watching her, but everyone was either talking to their table mates, eating, or minding their own business. The nagging feeling continued, but this was a lesbian resort. Maybe a woman was admiring the view. She chuckled at her own self-importance. Like, at thirty-seven, she was a prize catch.
Kelly finished her breakfast and looked around the small, outdoor café. Because of the large umbrellas to catch leaf or bird droppings from the many trees overhead, it felt like a tropical rain forest, without the rain. There were several open tables and no one waiting to be seated, so Kelly opened the island newspaper to the front page.
Her bladder signaled her that it was time to go, and she left a big tip on the table and gathered her things. She’d head for the water again, this time to get in and enjoy an early morning swim, followed by a nap in the warm sun.
Chapter Seven
Matt accepted two towels from the perky brunette womaning the towel bar. Her name tag read Charise, and she had to be at least six feet tall.
“I have not seen you here before. Is this your first time joining us?” Charise asked. Her teeth were pristine white, her eyes welcoming. Her accent was Jamaican.
“Yes, my first day,” Matt answered. “I was out here this morning before the sun came up, and it was spectacular.”
“Yes, our sunrises are beautiful and our sunsets romantic.” She looked behind Matt before asking, “Are you here alone?”
“At the moment, yes, but not here at the resort.” She shook her head. “My friends prefer to sleep the day away and miss all this beautiful sunshine.”
“Ah,” Charise replied. “Are you here with a lover?”
Matt was taken aback by her direct question. She’d never been asked if she was somewhere with a lover. I guess we Americans are hung up about sex, she thought.
“No, I’m not. Just a getaway with a few friends.”
“Would you like for me to point you out to other single women?”
Again, Matt was surprised. Was Charise trying to pimp
her out? She studied her for a moment before answering. “No, thank you.”
“Would you like for me to point out other single women to you?”
Matt glanced around. Was she joking? By the expression on her face she was completely serious. “Thank you, Charise, but I’m just here with friends, and I think I can handle that part myself.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind, please let me know.”
Matt walked away like she’d just been shopping at a high-end boutique—or a meat market. She stepped onto the warm sand, eager to get away from Charise and her matchmaking.
Most of the beach chairs were already occupied, and she scanned the area for three that appeared to be vacant. She found only one, sandwiched between two others. One was occupied with the edge of a book peeking out from under a towel, the other an elderly woman wearing a large sun hat even though she was under an umbrella. When Becca and Sandra finally made their way down to the beach, they were on their own.
“Is this chair taken?” she asked to the woman to the right of the empty chair.
“No,” she grunted, then turned over onto her stomach.
So much for conversation with her, Matt thought. She spread out her towels on the chair and put her water flask, sunscreen, and notebook on the table on the opposite side from the woman.
She scanned the beach and saw women of all shapes and sizes, some with glorious bodies they obviously worked hard for, and others who spent far too much time behind a desk or on the couch. Matt was somewhere in the middle. A couple with a toddler walked in front of her, their arms laden with towels, beach bags, and toys. That was her and Andrea many years ago, when they’d taken a trip to San Diego. Jordan had loved the water, making sandcastles and burying his mama in the sand. Her heart ached for a couple of beats.
Matt thought that the phrase time heals all wounds was partially right. The only thing time did was ease the debilitating effect of wounds that would never go away.
The first week after she lost Andrea had been a blur, when all she wanted to do was stay in bed and forget the world existed. She wanted to stop breathing so the unbearable pain would cease, and the gut-wrenching despair would end. But she couldn’t. She had Jordan to think of and take care of. Her parents, Sandra, and Becca were taking turns, but Jordan was her responsibility, and he was the only thing that got her out of bed each morning.
How did others who lost a spouse move on to find someone else to love? Would she wake up one day and just know? Would she see a sign of some kind? Would she know it if there was? She’d put her personal life on hold for so long she didn’t know if she’d recognize an opportunity if it arrived via FedEx, signature required.
Thirty minutes later, her watch chimed, a reminder to apply more sunscreen. She usually tanned pretty easily, but she didn’t want to risk getting sunburned on the first day. The woman beside her was snoring softly, and the occupant of the chair on the other side hadn’t yet returned. She thought it awfully rude for people to come down early, stake their claim on a chair, then return when they were ready. By the looks of the vacant chairs and the few people in the water, this was obviously a common practice on this beach. She’d written a dozen pages on her new book, and a few more were itching to get out and onto the page.
Another ding on her watch, and Matt put her notebook and pen into her bag. The woman was gone, the other chair still empty. More chairs were occupied, and a dozen kids were playing in the water.
With the exception that this was a lesbian resort, Jordan would love it here, she thought, as a jet ski motored far enough away to be almost soundless. Three people were on paddleboards, two parasailers floating in the clear-blue sky above a bright-orange jet boat. A couple to her right, if body language was any indication, was obviously arguing, while another was kissing almost to the point of being inappropriate. That scene, and the very busty redhead walking by watching them, were inspiring, and Matt penned a few thousand words for a new erotic short story, appropriately set in a lesbian resort. She was so engrossed in a torrid sex scene, she didn’t notice another woman approaching. When she turned to say hello, the words froze on her lips. 6B was sitting down beside her.
Chapter Eight
Kelly had stalled long enough. She’d been in the water too long and noticed her skin getting pink. She’d been ready to get out a while ago when she noticed the woman from the plane in the chair right next to hers. Why was she hesitating? It wasn’t like her to shy away from something uncomfortable or someone so beautiful. She’d sensed the attraction between them, and for crying out loud, she was single. She couldn’t just go back to her room because her key was in her bag tucked under her chair. She wondered again about the woman’s relationship status, as she was obviously on the beach alone.
Kelly managed to get to her chair and reach for her book before the woman noticed her. She couldn’t see her eyes behind the dark, wraparound sunglasses, but she felt the woman’s eyes glide over her before she broke into a dazzling smile.
“Do you come here often?” the woman asked, sliding her sunglasses down her nose. Her blue eyes were more vivid than the first time she saw them, the color of the cloudless sky overhead.
Kelly couldn’t help but laugh. “Does that line usually work for you?”
“Actually, I’m a little out of practice,” she admitted, blushing a little.
Kelly’s antenna extended. “Is that because you’re married?”
The woman didn’t look away.
“No.”
“Long-term girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Are you going to tell me that you never need to make the first move? That attitude would be disappointing.”
“No. That would make me a conceited asshole, wouldn’t it?”
Kelly tilted her head and raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“Widow,” the woman said.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Kelly had said that same phrase before to other people, and it sounded so trite, but what else was there? You had to say something.
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t mean to…”
The woman waved off Kelly’s apology for her flippant bantering. But how could she have known?
“No worries. It’s been a long time.” She extended her hand. “Matt Parker.”
Kelly wiped her damp palm on her towel before shaking hers. “Kelly Newsome.”
“A much prettier name than 6B.”
“6B?”
“Your seat on the flight from Atlanta to Miami.”
“Oh yeah. Right,” Kelly said. Warmth spread through her that Matt had remembered her. “And you were ‘the woman on the plane.’” Kelly watched Matt’s eyes light up like she suspected hers did.
“Just the woman?”
“If I tell you it was the really hot woman on the plane, will that make your head so big you’d block my sun? I came to get a tan.”
Matt laughed, again a hearty laugh that made Kelly’s stomach tingle.
“I’ll try to keep control over myself.” Matt’s eyes skimmed over her body again. “And the tan you have looks great.”
Kelly warmed all over, glad she’d gone ahead and bought a new red bikini and chosen to wear it today.
“At the risk of ending our interesting conversation, it appeared you were by yourself on the plane and you aren’t saving a chair for anyone.” Matt motioned. “Are you here alone?”
“Due to circumstances that will not ruin my day, it’s just me,” Kelly replied. “I’ll pose the question right back at you.”
“Did Charise try to hook you up with other singles?” Kelly laughed, and a pleasant tingle ran down Matt’s spine.
“Yes, she did. I’m no prude, but I must admit that surprised me. I certainly didn’t read about her services in the hotel brochure.”
“Neither did I, but I guess they aim to make sure every guest has the time of her life.”
“Maybe that’s how they got their five-star rating.”
“Have t
o give them credit for creative customer service.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” Kelly was prodding her.
“My friends said I needed to get away, so they gave me this trip.”
“Wow,” Kelly said, squeezing some sunscreen into her palm. “Do they need any more friends? I’d dump mine in a heartbeat and go with yours.” She watched Matt’s eyes follow her hands as she spread lotion over her legs, and more than just her legs were heating up.
“You can probably ask them later. They’re here with me. They were still asleep when I left this morning.”
“Matt. That’s an interesting name. Short for something?” Kelly asked, her voice a little raspy because she was trying to banish the image of Matt lazing in bed.
“Mattingly. Old family name. Lucky me,” she replied sarcastically.
“Well, in the three minutes I’ve known you, I can say it suits you.”
“I appreciate that, but it’s caused me more confusion than any kid should have to endure.”
Kelly thought for a moment, imagining boys and girls being separated by name. Matt was probably always in the wrong line. “I see your point,” she said.
