The Rules In Paradise (Playing By The Rules)

by Woods, Lindsey

  “Do you want to walk away?” His tone was dead serious.

  “I asked you a question, answer it.” I was confused and I was upset. I said it as plainly and as matter-of-facty as I could.

  “You walking away would make my life less complicated, but it is not what I want.”

  “I don’t want to be a complication.” I had had enough of his confusing conversation.

  “You are a complication Olivia because I have never had to deal with these kinds of feelings, now come.” He held out his hand for me to take and I hesitantly took it. We kept walking hand in hand.

  “Are you going to talk to me after you leave?” That question had been bugging me for days.

  “If you will be there to talk back, yes.” I smiled to myself at his answer.

  “What happens when we are both back in the states, thousands of miles away?”

  “That I do not know,” his voice was soft, it had lost its earlier sharpness.

  “Will I see you again?”

  “I also don’t know that.” His answer immediately made me sad. I walked silent, still holding his hand. “Please do not be upset. I did not mean that I won’t wish to see you. There are things I need to handle when I get back home. Hopefully they will be done before you get back to your home and then we will be ok. I don’t want tomorrow night to be the last time I see you, believe me.” The word ‘we’ immediately stuck in my brain and started my heart on a faster pattern.

  “Me either.” My voice was soft and full of sadness. The thought of leaving the party tomorrow night and never seeing him again was upsetting.

  We finally reached the top and Cole grabbed our things and headed toward the Jeep. I slid on my clothes over my nearly dry bathing suit and hopped in. I was thankful that he did not do the same. He put only his sunglasses on and started the car.

  We reached the condo and he found a spot and parked. It was late afternoon and the sun was still hot and bright.

  “Join me at the pool?” He asked as he grabbed our things out of the back. I just nodded my head as we started to walk.

  He set down our things on two lounge chairs. I noticed Adrian and Jason at the bar and they waved. I laid out my towel on the chair and sat as Cole did the same. He waved over a waiter and ordered us both drinks. Even though he had on sunglasses, I knew he was looking at me.

  “You’re incredibly beautiful. I wish you’d know that,” he said.

  “You’re not as bad as you think you are. I wish you’d know that,” I said. He smiled and leaned his head back against his chair and smiled.

  “Touche Olivia.”

  “House or apartment?” I asked.

  “Is this your psychology game or is this an actual question?” He said smiling.

  “Both.” I shrugged.

  “House to both.”

  “What does it look like?”

  “It has four walls and some windows and doors.” I groaned at his impossible answer.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I have five bedrooms, four baths. A pool. I am quite in love with my home actually. I fully designed it and had it built with an extraordinary view.”

  “I have no doubt it’s over the top.”

  “Maybe one day you will be brave enough to come see it.” He said as he smiled.

  “Maybe one day you will invite me before I have to invite myself.”

  “I do not doubt you would.” Adrian and Jason came walking over. They were literally attached at the hip as Jason had his arm draped around her shoulders.

  “Olivia, nice to see you again,” Jason said as he smiled at me, “Can I see you for a minute man?” Jason asked Cole and motioned away from our area.

  “Excuse me,” Cole said to me as he got up and walked toward the bar with Jason. Adrian sat at the foot of my chair and smiled at me.

  “Olivia, I have had the best days of my life. Jason is amazing.” Her smile was so bright and she was giddy.

  “I know, I’ve hardly seen you. He is good to you?”

  “So good. He is so sweet and affectionate.” A blush crept across her cheeks and I couldn’t help but smile.

  “What was that about?” I asked, nodding toward where they were standing at the bar. She shrugged.

  “I don’t know. Jason got a phone call and he didn’t sound happy. Then we came over here, I don’t know.” I glanced over at the two men and it looked like Jason was giving him an earful. Cole was looking towards the ground as Jason’s arms were flailing wildly. I frowned a little and turned my attention back to the glowing girl in front of me.

  “So is it serious I asked?”

  She nodded excitedly. “He’s going to be my date to Char’s wedding.” Her face was hardly big enough for her smile. I hadn’t thought of that. Char’s wedding was in two months. Should I ask Cole, would he say yes? I decided to revisit those thoughts at another time.

  The men were making their way back towards us and I tried to wipe away any concern until after Jason and Adrian left. I smiled as Cole came back and he did not smile back. He simply resumed his position on the lounge chair.

  “Excuse us, we’re off to grab some dinner. You’re more than welcome to join us if you’d like.” Jason said as Adrian got up and grabbed his hand. I noticed that Jason’s voice was not nearly as warm as it had been before the conversation.

  “No thanks, I’ll see you this evening,” Cole said, almost as if dismissing Jason. Jason shrugged and walked off happily with Adrian.

  “They sure have hit it off,” I said cheerfully.

  “Indeed.” His tone was flat.

  “What was that about?” I asked.

  “Nothing.” Again, no emotion in his voice.

  “Nothing that pissed you off pretty bad.”

  “Leave it alone Olivia.” His tone was severe, almost a warning, so I dropped it.

  I didn’t speak for awhile. I watched Cole pick up his glass, drain all the liquid in his mouth, and then requested another. Yeah, it really seemed like nothing.

  After he has finished his next drink he finally spoke.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so harsh with you. I just am not going to talk about it.”

  “I understand.” He gave a small smile.

  “Do you have something to wear tomorrow evening?” He asked, leaning back against his chair.

  “I really don’t know. I don’t know if I brought anything that is going to be nice enough.”

  “I only ask because Jason said your friend was unsure as well. I’d like you both to go shopping tomorrow morning, on me. Whatever your heart desires for the party. I will be occupied getting a number of things ready so it will give you something to do.”

  “I’m not going to spend your money.”

  “Yes you are. I’ve asked you to go to something you are not prepared for and I will make sure you are taken care of. Get your hair or nails done or whatever you girls do. I mean it. Don’t argue for once in your life.” I sighed and nodded my head.

  “Have you always been so closed off?” I asked out of nowhere.

  “Yes I have.”

  “Why?” He smiled and moved his sunglasses to rest on the top of his head.

  “You never quit do you?” I raised my eyebrows in challenge and he sighed. “There have been moments in my life where I have let my guard down. A few of those moments resulted in me getting taken advantage of. I am beyond that now. However, in business, no matter which side you are on, you always want the best deal. If you lay all your cards on the table then you have no bargaining leverage.”

  “What if you’re not conducting a business transaction?”

  “Olivia, everything in life is a business transaction. It all might not deal with money, but it’s a transaction.”

  “Even me?” He smiled and laughed and took a deep breath.

  “Even you. Though you are probably one of the most difficult deals I have had to negotiate in my entire career. If I laid everything on the table in front of you, you have the power. You g
et to decide if my metaphorical cards are good enough. If you don’t, then you walk away. Essentially you don’t take the deal. If you walk away where does that leave me? I feel dejected and unwanted and if I was not good enough. If you have to put in the work, then you have something invested and are less apt to walk away. Sometimes I spend weeks working on one client. Just one. Hours every day for weeks. Once that client has spent so much time with me, and invested so much time in seeing what I have to say and offer, he is less apt to walk away. So every time I take him out to lunch, or to dinner, or have a meeting, he is that much more invested. It’s all business.”

  “And what if I accepted all your cards? If you put them out and I said this is good enough for me, you haven’t lost anything.”

  “Yes, that is the other side of the coin. It is the anticipation of what the choice is going to be that makes the risks even bigger. I ere on the side of caution.”

  “No you don’t,” I said abruptly. His eyebrows sunk down in a confused look.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You don’t ere on the side of caution. You’ve put yourself in harm’s way at least twice in the name of fun and recreation.” He considered what I had said for a moment. His look of concentration, I had to admit, was extremely hot.

  “This is why I find you so fascinating. I had never realized how cautious I am in some aspects of my life and borderline reckless in others. That’s an interesting thought.” He pondered it for a moment before I spoke.

  “I’m cautious in everything that I do. I’ve never gotten into trouble, or done anything crazy. I’m a worrier and I often times over think things.”

  “You’re missing something though. All of those things no longer hold true. You are extremely reckless in relation to me. I have gotten you to dangle hundreds of feet in the air from rope and jump nearly a hundred feet down into water which sits on a bed of rocks. You have over-thought many things, but you have been just as reckless as me.”

  He was right. I was quite the opposite of myself when I was around him. He could get me to do things I never would do, and I wasn’t shy and reserved with him. I let him have it, especially recently, when he deserved it. We both were deep in thought about this. Our personalities had seemed to shift 180 degrees when it came to us being around each other, what did that mean?

  The sky was beginning to get pink, signaling the end of the day. The breeze was picking up and it was getting slightly chilly.

  “I agree, it’s probably time to go in. I have meet Jason in an hour for dinner. We’re making some plans for tomorrow and for when we go back. I hate to leave you, but I must.” He sat up at the edge of his lounge chair and reached in his bag for his shirt. I said a silent goodbye to his amazing body as he slid it on. He held his hand out and helped me up. He handed me the things I had stored in his bag and looked at me, the intensity back in his eyes, which I was growing to adore.

  “Another incredible day spent with you. You never cease to amaze me.” I gave him a smile. I didn’t want to say goodbye today. I felt like a sad puppy. He must have read my mind.

  “Please do not be sad. I can’t stand to see that look on your face. I’ll see you tomorrow evening, come to the dock from the other night around five, that way we can spend a few moments before anyone comes.”

  I couldn’t shake the sadness. This felt too close to the final time for me to be ok with it. I couldn’t help myself and walked up to him and put my arms around his waist. We had kissed a few times. Those were intensely vivid and memorable. But I had never just felt his arms around me and got to be near him. After a moment he dropped his bag on the chair and wrapped his arms tight around me.

  “I feel the same way Olivia.” I heard his voice vibrate in his chest. He pulled away slightly and looked down at me. “I will see you tomorrow, I promise. I’m going to leave some money at the front desk, please pick it up on your way out tomorrow.”

  I let go and gave him a weak smile.

  “Stop. Be happy that you get to go shopping and be with your friends tomorrow. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow, believe me. Remember when I thanked you for the sense you have given me? That means that no matter what, I cannot fight the effect that you have on me. And despite my best efforts there will be moments few and far between that you will not be on my mind. Ok?” I gave him a better smile and his face seemed to lose its tension.

  “Goodnight Olivia.” He gave me a soft, but electric kiss on my lips before he walked off toward the building.

  Chapter 10

  Adrian and I stopped at the front desk as directed. Sure enough there was an envelope with my name on it. I thanked the front desk clerk as we headed out front. He had called a cab and they were waiting outside for us. The drive to the local mall was short and we were there in no time.

  “I can’t believe we get to go to this tonight. I’m so excited!” Adrian was positively vibrating with excitement.

  “I’m happy for you Adrian. You really seem happy.” She smiled at me, and her face got serious.

  “I am. I don’t know that I have ever felt like this. When I’m with him there is literally nothing else on my mind. He opens doors, he has manners, he is so sweet. Olivia, he treats me like this breakable, valuable vase. Everything is about me and what I want. I know that sounds really superficial, but you know who I’ve dated in the past. I’ve never dated a nice guy. Nobody has ever cared about my opinion. He genuinely does everything in his power to make me happy.” Her eyes were big and nearly about to drop a few tears.

  “Adrian, I really am so happy for you. You deserve this, to be happy. If he treats you right, I’m all for it.” She gave me a smile.

  “Thank you. What about you? You two seemed to be just as attached at the hip.” We walked the mall at a leisurely pace.

  “I don’t know, I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

  “What do you mean? You’re always together. Why would you be hanging around with him if it wasn’t what you wanted?”

  “It is what I want, to a certain extent. He’s gorgeous. I mean he’s dangerously sexy. I just never know what he’s thinking. He’s always so closed off. One minute he’s kissing the hell out of me and the next he’s telling me I should stay away from him. The thing about him though, he can flip on you in a minute. Literally, every time something happens between us, he turns into the biggest jerk ever.”

  “He’s mad at you when you two like, do stuff?” Adrian looked around. I had never seen her this reserved and laughed.

  “No, it’s never gotten physical. We’ve only kissed a few times. I just mean it’s like he’s upset he kissed me. Like there is something wrong with that happening between us.”

  “Is there a girlfriend?”

  “I asked, he said no. I believe him though. It doesn’t seem like that’s it. He’s just in this crazy internal struggle that I don’t know how to handle. I get upset, which makes him more upset and then he gets very cryptic. Like he’s telling me something, but he’s not saying it in the words I need in order to understand. He makes himself out to be this asshole, but in reality I feel like he’s just…broken.”

  “Do you like him?” She asked. I felt like I was in high school again, talking about my crush to my best friend.

  “I really do. He isn’t like normal guys. He is so smart and so quick-witted that I’m constantly impressed with him. He brings that out in me too. We go back and forth and I feel like this is what it’s supposed to be like. Someone who brings things out in you that you don’t know exist. He’s hot, don’t get me wrong, but it’s talking to him that I like the best. To just hear him explain something, or tell me something about him, I like to hear him talk to me. I like to hear him say my name. And his laugh makes me feel like he’s a little boy, not some twisted up man.” She looked at me for a minute before she spoke.

  “Have you talked about what happens tomorrow?” I took a deep breath. This is where we were similar.

  “Yes and no. We talked about it a little today. I don’t know wha
t’s gonna happen. On one hand I do believe he likes me and he’s told me he’s cared about me. But practically in that same breath he told me that he didn’t know if we’d ever see each other again. That’s why I’m so crazy. I just feel like one minute he’s so perfect and the next he’s shutting me out. I don’t need a marriage proposal but I need to know if I should be hanging on.”

  “He asked you to come tonight, I guess that’s something.”

  “It is. I’m happy about that. He told me he wants to spend all the time he can with me and that’s positive, but it’s just so scary.”

  “It totally is. It’s scary because this is the last day, it’s scary because we’re in this place that is amazing that you don’t really think of meeting someone in. They’re leaving and they aren’t even going to be there when you get home. What happens if it really is it?” Her face was serious. She really liked Jason. I had never seen Adrian so caught up in a guy before.

  “We’ll make it together Ad, I promise. I just might need to lean on you a little more than you’ll need me.”

  She smiled and put her arm around me. “I’ll take care of you, no worries. Although, plan A is going to find you a hot ass outfit so that he won’t be able to leave.” That made me laugh as we walked into the first store.

  “Adrian, that’s the one. You’d have to be stupid not to buy it. You look amazing,” I said as I took in the sight. Adrian’s tanned skin looked incredible against the pale yellow dress. It landed an inch or two above her knees and was soft chiffon. It was tight in the waist and slightly fell out from there. Adrian didn’t need any help being beautiful, but this was breathtaking.

  “You really think so?” She admired herself in the mirror, turning this way and that to see every angle.

  “He’ll die when he sees you. Now you better get it before I have to.” She clapped her hands excitedly and ran off into the dressing room.

  “I need shoes too. I don’t have anything to wear on my feet except flip flops and I feel like that’s way too casual.” We searched the shoe racks until we found a silver pair of strappy heels that completed the look of the dress beautifully.