The sight of her was too much for me to resist and I snapped a couple of shots of her as she stood gazing out over the ocean, kicking at the waves lapping at her feet.
She brought her fingers to her lips, slowing tracing them across her mouth while she closed her eyes. That was the last photo I took of her before returning the camera into the padded camera bag.
What, or, more importantly, who was on her mind just then?
Call me smug, but I had a pretty good idea, and I couldn’t help but smile.
As I turned around to look at her again, she sat back on her towel for a little while, looking at her phone, before placing it in her beach bag and walking to the water. She waded in until it was up to her waist, then placed her hands together over her head and dove into the blue waters. She must have been a strong swimmer because her head bobbed up again quite a way away from the shore, and she began to swim back and forth around thirty yards from the beach.
I wanted to see her, talk to her. So, I slung my camera bag over my shoulder, notebook, and pencil in my hand, and got out of the hammock. I walked over to her towel and placed my things next to hers.
Nikki hadn’t seen me; she was concentrating on her swimming. But, as I walked into the water, she sensed someone was there and turned around in time to see me slowly swim out to her. I smiled. “Good morning,” I said.
“Hey,” she smiled back, seemingly happy to see me. “Careful, there’s a drop, right about… now.”
She wasn’t lying. Suddenly, there was no sand beneath my feet, and it took me by surprise, because I plunged into the deep blue water, my head disappearing beneath it. I resurfaced, coughing, and saw that she was laughing.
“Oh, so you think that’s funny?” I spluttered before making fast, strong strides toward her.
“No!” she squealed, giggling, trying to get away, but I couldn’t resist looping my arm around her waist and pretending I was going to dunk her. I’d never have done that, of course, but I liked the way she threw her hands around my neck and begged me not to let go of her.
She didn’t have to worry. I didn’t want to let go of her.
No matter how good she’d looked in that bikini, I can assure you, she felt a thousand times better. My hands were on the base of her back, and I could feel the beginning of the curve of her ass, my hands itching to go lower. She was still holding on to me and she seemed to notice it, too, because she smiled shyly and then backed away.
“Come over here, there’s a sandbank,” she invited me and I followed her.
“Damn. It’s beautiful out here,” I said, as my feet touched the soft, drifting sand, not taking my eyes off her, but she didn’t notice that I was not really referring to the view.
“I come out for a swim every morning before everyone wakes up,” she said. “It’s either that, or I’m tempted to get the laptop out and do some work.”
“You brought your work with you?” I asked. “You’re on vacation. You’re supposed to be relaxing, not working.”
“I’ve done plenty of that already,” she smiled. “I’ve never been away from work this long.
She motioned towards my things on the beach. “Besides, look who’s talking. You seemed to have done exactly the same!”
“My work is all play, didn’t you know? And by the way, that tan looks great on you,” I said, winking, changing the subject, not wanting to talk about work at all. “You really should take more vacations because it obviously suits you.”
She sure was a sight, the water droplets on her skin glistening as they reflected the sunlight beaming down. What were the chances of me meeting someone so beautiful out here in Hawaii? Through the crystal clear blue waters I held out my hands to her, and she took them without hesitation. I slid my arm around her waist again.
“What are you doing?” she asked as I pulled her against me.
“What we should have done the night before,” I said, smiling down at her.
She frowned and I knew she thought I was alluding to the kiss that never happened.
“What do you mean?” she almost whispered.
“Well, I should have danced with you,” I said, enjoying the heat clearly building between us. She laughed, flashing me a perfect set of white teeth.
“Okay,” she giggled, putting one hand around my neck and holding my hand with the other. “What are we listening to?”
“Well, I would say something slow and sexy; something to sway to.”
And so we were. In the beautiful clear water, swaying together, slowly dancing when there wasn’t any music save for the melody of the waves slowly rolling against the shore.
I could feel her body trembling slightly. She was suddenly nervous, stiffening noticeably under my touch.
“Can I ask you something?” she started, pulling away a little. Not what I had anticipated happening, though, but I went with it. She clearly had something bothering her.
I looked into her beautiful dark eyes. “Sure.”
“Well… uh…do you think Brandon’s acting a little weird?”
Fuck. Why would she bring him up now?
It snapped me to my senses and I moved away from her so we were no longer touching. The moment was lost.
“Weird?”
“Yeah. He spends all his time with Clea and barely has time for anyone else. My mom’s really upset and, even though she’s trying to hide it, I can see it in her face. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
She looked sad, and I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my wet hair and over my face. “It’s a tough time, I guess. In a lot of ways. Clea’s been looking forward to this day all her life, and Brandon is just doing everything he can to make her happy.”
“So you’ve noticed it, too?” she frowned.
I suddenly felt irritated. Not with her, but with the whole damn situation. Maybe I should just step back; my timing was clearly shit. This was not the best time to be thinking about my libido when my focus should be on being there for my best friend. Maybe I was crossing a line.
I needed some space, time to think and, although it killed me to leave her, I looked back at the beach. “Look, don’t stress about it too much. He’s just a sap in love trying to do everything to please the woman he loves during the most important week of their lives. I’m sure he’ll come around as soon as this is all over.”
With that, I made an excuse that I had to call into the office and turned to leave. I lied, of course, but I was suddenly annoyed as fuck.
“Catch you later?” I said as I turned to make my way back to the shore.
It was a shitty thing to do, I know, but I was only seconds away from kissing her, and then she reminded me of what this trip was really about.
So, I swam back to the beach, dripped onto the sand and picked up my camera kit and notebook. I walked slowly away from the beach, back up to my hotel room where I took a cold shower.
†
Sitting at a table in the outside restaurant a little later, enjoying a strange breakfast of fried pork and pineapple skewers, which were surprisingly good, I caught sight of Nikki again, only this time she was dressed in a light shirt and jeans. She saw me and waved, then came over to the table. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You left kind of… quickly, earlier.”
“Yeah,” I shrugged. “I just forgot all about the call with work.” I cringed inwardly at the lie I was perpetuating.
“Well, I’ve… uh… been having trouble thinking of a wedding gift for Brandon and Clea,” she said. “Want to help me out? Maybe have some dinner… tonight… you could help me throw some ideas around?”
God, I just resolved not to walk down this path this week, and here she was, dragging me back down it again. But, how on God’s green earth would I say no to her, standing there, looking like that?
Shit!
“Sure,” I said, sighing. “Here?”
“Um, I was thinking about maybe going for a ride on your bike again?” she asked, a shy but hopeful smile playing on her lips.
The motorcycle gets them every time, I thought, grinning. “Of course. Meet me at nine in the hotel lobby,” I said.
She smiled and turned around, and I wasn’t able to stop myself watching the beautiful curve of her ass moving as she walked away.
CHAPTER NINE
NIKKI
†
I’VE LISTENED TO A lot of music over the years. Ever since I was a kid and I’d be in my dad’s car, listening to The Eagles, Queen, and Pink Floyd.
With my mom, we’d always had to suffer a little more country stuff: Dolly, Reba, and Tammy. I never understood what those women were so bothered about. They’d always be crying about their men. “Nobody’s gonna take my man,” or “I’d never let him go,” they’d croon, and I always wanted to shrug and tell them that it wasn’t their work to keep him there in the first place. If he wanted to stay, he would. And, besides, if it took that much hard work to hold on to ‘your man,’ then you’re best letting the fucker go. Who would want to hold on when the other party was chomping at the bit to leave, anyway?
But, to my horror, for the first time in my life, those songs started to make sense. When I looked at Jake, something happened to me that had never happened before and that only after such a short time of seeing him again. It was ridiculous! I know.
I wanted him in a way I’d never wanted anyone. I had no idea what it all meant, but I felt so possessive whenever he was around.
Nobody’s gonna take Jake, I said to myself, although to be honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do to him exactly even if I got him.
Everyone presumed that, even though I worked hard and was at the very beginning of what I hoped would be a successful career, I made time for love. They all thought that there was no way I could spend all my time with my head bent over blueprints or sitting in front of a computer. Even Mia and my mom thought that I must have had a secret boyfriend on the side. Maybe even more than one. There was no way I was twenty-four and still a virgin, surely.
Sadly, they were wrong. I was twenty-four and sealed up like a Swiss bank account.
I certainly wasn’t scared of sex, in fact, I wanted it very much, only I didn’t have the time to give it that much thought, and the not-having-a-boyfriend part didn’t help either.
That was, of course, until I saw Jake again.
I imagined there were plenty of girls who would grew with crushes on guys and, then when they were older, they’d look back and wonder why on earth they’d liked them so much in the first place.
That’s not what happened to me. The guy I was sure I’d been in love with since I was twelve was now, nearly seven years since the last time I saw him, even more attractive than ever. God, just the thought of him made my body react in ways I didn’t know were possible.
That chiseled body of his and that damn manly beard… God, not even a nun would be able to resist! I practically melted into the sea when I saw him wading in to join me for a swim.
He was gorgeous, his arms and legs were strong and muscly. He had a beautiful chest, firm and smooth, with a defined stomach with abs I found myself wanting to scrub laundry on. There was a line of dark hair that ran down under the lip of his swimming shorts, and I wanted to find out where it went. When he held me in the water and pretended to dance with me, I was pretty sure nothing would have stopped me if he’d made a move.
Then, I fucked it all up.
Did I have to bring up Brandon?
For an intelligent woman, I sure was stupid! But, I was just so nervous being so close to him. I knew I’d made a mistake, I could see it in his eyes. He left, telling me something about a call with his boss, but I was sure it was more to do with what I said. I’d put my foot in it and reminded him of the one thing that would make him think twice about ever thinking of me being more than a kid sister.
When I saw him later that morning, the heroines of country music were in my head, chewing on a strand of wheat and calling on me to lasso that boy and not let him go. So I girled-up and asked him for dinner. When he said yes, my stomach flipped so violently I could barely eat my breakfast. I certainly couldn’t have eaten whatever it was he was tucking into; I have no idea what it was but it looked suspiciously like pork and pineapple.
Later that evening, I went to talk to Mia. She and I have always shared everything about our lives, save for the one secret I was keeping to myself. But, all that needed to change.
In her room, I whispered to her about Jake, my voice low so that my mom wouldn’t hear me. She was excited. “The guy from the other night?” she asked. “Did you get his number?”
“I didn’t need it,” I explained. “I’ve known him since I was a kid.” I proceeded to tell her about how he and Brandon had been firm friends since high school, and she clasped her hands over her chest and made a sad face.
“Aw!” she wailed. “That’s sooo romantic. Your childhood crush! Your first love! Oh, I think I’m going to overdose on love!”
“Stop it!” I hissed, slapping her on the shoulder. “It’s not like that. Really. We’re just going for dinner, nothing more. Only I need you to help me out with an outfit again… and doing my hair… and then the makeup.”
“Yeah, right. All that for just dinner,” she grinned.
I pulled a face and we both burst out laughing. “Come on. Let’s do this. Don’t want you to be late, now!” Mia smiled, tugging at my arm and dragging me to my feet.
†
By the time I walked down to the lobby to meet Jake, my hair was down over my shoulders, my eyes popped with mascara and a generous application of eyeliner, and the white dress Mia had loaned me made my tan look even darker. The maxi dress came down to my feet this time, and I loved the way it felt, swishing in the slight night breeze. The neckline plunged a little, coming to a V just below my cleavage. That meant that I wasn’t able to wear a bra but, thankfully, the dress carried just enough support so I didn’t feel uncomfortable.
He was already waiting for me, sitting in a chair and flicking through a magazine. He looked so sexy, his hair combed back and his beard neatly trimmed, showing dark against the white shirt he was wearing. He wore dark blue jeans and dark shoes and, when he saw me and grinned, the dimple added to the whole irresistible picture.
He stood up when he caught sight of me, and I could see his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched me walk over. He stepped forward and kissed me on the cheek, squeezing my waist. “You look lovely,” he said, his eyes burning over my face and lingering on my mouth.
“Thank you,” I replied, and I meant it, too. I loved to hear him compliment me.
Getting on the bike was a much easier task in the long, flowy dress this time around. I carefully scooped up the soft material and held it close to my body before slinging my leg over the seat, settling behind Jake.
I was careful not to get any oil on the material. Mia would have killed me, for a start, and besides, I didn’t want to sit at dinner looking like we’d stopped to change a tire. He kicked the engine into action and we sped off.
He must have looked for somewhere we could eat before we left because he seemed to know exactly where we were going. We pulled up outside a small restaurant full of people, and a waiter, who asked us where we’d like to sit, greeted us. Jake turned to me. “How are you with mosquitoes?” he asked.
I pulled a face. “I need bug spray and I haven’t bought any,” I said.
He smiled. “These days they don’t bother with me. When I was first traveling, I was bitten within an inch of my life, but I think they’ve realized I don’t taste that great.”
I wouldn’t be so sure…
He turned and asked for an inside table, to my relief, and the waiter gave us each a menu and asked what we’d like to drink.
Jake looked at me. “Champagne?” he asked.
“Of course,” I smiled. “We’re celebrating the wedding, after all.”
The waiter’s face lit up. “Oh, we have newlyweds!” he cried. “Congratulations! Please, have a bottle of our finest champag
ne on the house!”
My face must have been a picture as Jake burst out laughing. He leaned over and gently touched my hand. “Don’t say anything!” he chuckled. “He’s giving us free champagne, after all!”
It may have been the restaurant’s finest bottle, but it certainly wasn’t the world’s finest. However, it was chilled, bubbly, and not too sweet. Jake raised his glass, and I caught a wicked twinkle in his eyes.
“To you, Nicole,” he said loudly. “Thank God I was able to save your life after the bout of diarrhea. Without it, we never would have met.”
He was playful and I loved it, so I decided to join in the fun.
“Oh, Doctor Matthews, you’re so wonderful,” I said, trying not to laugh. “And after your syphilis has cleared up, I just can’t wait to consummate our marriage.”
He threw back his head and roared with laughter, then took a sip. “You’re terrible!” he smiled.
“Me?” I asked. “Who was the one talking about bowel movements and trying to embarrass me?”
“Well, I was certainly evenly matched,” he said, tugging on his hair as though tipping an imaginary hat to me. “Touché.”
I bowed my head. “Thank you,” I said.
I ordered a shrimp salad with avocado, and he ordered the lobster and fries. The food was delicious, so fresh and wonderful it made me wish I could eat food like that every single day. We talked about the kind of food Jake had eaten on his travels, and he made me laugh with stories about eating freshly roasted iguana in Mexico and trying to eat a strange plant in a house in Indonesia before someone told him they actually used it as toilet paper.
Strangely, the topic of a wedding gift never even came up. But, hey. I wasn’t complaining.
The night flew by and, after the champagne, we ordered cocktails. Huge bowls of fruity punch laced with rum came with two straws, and we drank and laughed until Jake held up his hands. “I can’t have any more,” he said. “I’ve gotta get you home on the bike, remember?”
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