The Key to Love

by Callie Bardot

“Will I have to rescue you?” she said, picking her sundress from the sand. She shook the sand from it and draped it over her arm.

  “Mouth to mouth might be in order,” he said, nodding his head decidedly.

  She scoffed. “I’m sure there are EMTs around here.” Placing her hand above her eyes, she scanned the horizon. “Right there. There’s a medical facility,” she said, pointing to a small building with a Staff of Life symbol on it.

  “Actually, I’m a pretty good swimmer. I won a lot of races in high school,” Keys said.

  “And how long ago was that?” she said, chuckling.

  “Touché, angel.” Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Trevor directing death stare eyes at him. “Want to join us in the water?” Keys said, trying to be polite.

  “Nah. I’ve got other things to do,” Trevor said, a dark expression on his face.

  Like sulking? Relief washed through Keys. He didn’t feel like babysitting Trevor on this trip—not when he might stand a chance with Mia.

  “Why don’t you come to hang out with us, Heat,” Gia said. She gestured to Marcos. “We can use the company, right?”

  Marcos nodded. “Sure thing. We can find something to do, I’m sure.”

  Gia leaned in close to Keys and whispered, “You hurt Mia, and you’re a dead man, capeesh?”

  “I’m not going to hurt her. We’re just friends,” he said.

  “Keep it that way,” Gia hissed.

  As Keys and Mia strode down to the water, they passed several nude sunbathers, both women, and men.

  “I dare you to take off your swimming suit,” Keys said. “I will if you will.”

  Mia looked hesitant. “I don’t think so.”

  Keys shrugged. “Fine, but you’ll be the only one on this beach who’s dressed. How awkward will that be? I promise to keep my hands to myself if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  She squinted at him. “How can I trust you?”

  “You’ll just have to find out,” he said, removing his clothes. He dropped them into a little pile and took off toward the water, hoping to turn around and find a naked Mia. He wasn’t disappointed. Waist deep in the sea, he pivoted to see her jogging toward an oncoming wave, sans clothes. I’m in heaven. Utter heaven. She’s stunning.

  She lifted her arms over her head and dived straight into a wave.

  With full breasts, curves in all the right places, and that gorgeous hair down to the middle of her back, he didn’t know how he could restrain himself. You’ve got to play this right, asshole, or you’ll scare her away.

  As they bobbed in the water, his heart seemed light and buoyant. He hadn’t felt this way since…well, not for a long time, and never quite like this.

  After their ocean play, they headed back to the room where they each showered and prepped for a group dining experience.

  Finally, the night ended with cocktails on a large torch-lit deck.

  Dante and Kennedy sat on the far side, out of earshot.

  Keys didn’t know where Gia and the others were and didn’t care. Sitting in a lounge chair, he sat near Mia, wondering if he’d ever been this happy. And I haven’t even scored yet. He kept touching her feet with his, as he nursed a crystal glass of Jack on the rocks. He loved being around Mia, whether they were talking or not. Keys gazed at the starry sky and let contentment fill his soul.

  A loud noise caught his attention from across the deck. He turned his head.

  Trevor lurched toward them.

  Fuck. He’s the last person I want to see.

  “Hey, buddy,” Trevor slurred once he’d crossed the distance. He practically fell into Keys’ lap.

  “Hey, Trev. What’s doing?” Keys said, wishing Trevor would go away. He shoved him into the chair next to him.

  “I want to tell you something, buddy,” Trevor said, leaning toward Keys.

  His breath reeked of booze.

  Mia frowned. “I can give you guys some space if you need me to.” She sipped on a glass of red wine.

  “Nah, don’t go.” Keys reached for her hand.

  She jerked her hand back like he’d bit her or something.

  Keys stared at her for a second. Oh, great. Back to the total resistance.

  “Don’t go,” Trevor said, in his sloppy sounding voice. “I like you, Mia.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “Uh…that’s nice.”

  “Do you like me?” he said.

  Mia’s entire posture had turned to stone. “Sure.”

  “Good, good, that’s good.” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers at the man who stood nearby.

  The waiter hurried toward him. “Yes, sir, what do you need?”

  “Another whiskey,” Trevor said. “You, Keys? What do you want?”

  “I’m good,” said Keys.

  “Mia?” Trevor said.

  She placed her hand over her glass. “I’m good, too.”

  Trevor nodded. “You are good. You’re really good. Sarah. She never treated him right. But you…you’d never hurt him, I can tell.”

  Keys cringed. “Stop, Trev. Mia doesn’t need to hear your stories.”

  “Oh, but she does, she does. This guy…” Trevor stabbed his thumb toward Keys. “He was in a fucked-up relationship. It was so fucked, she almost broke up the band, can you believe that?”

  Mia looked at Keys and frowned.

  “Did he tell you?” Trevor said.

  “No,” Mia said, directing a confused expression at Keys.

  Keys batted the side of Trevor’s head. “Shut the fuck up, Trev. That shit’s dead and buried, and I don’t care to re-live it.”

  “But, it’s important, buddy,” Trevor said, barely managing to spit out the words. “She was your Yoko Ono. She was a bad, bad woman.” He turned to Mia. “Don’t be a bad, bad woman, Mia. You’re not a bad woman, are you? Keys can’t take it. Keys…Keys…do you remember our last vacation together, huh? Do you, huh?”

  Keys glared at Trevor. “Yes, I remember, asshole. And Mia doesn’t need to hear about it.”

  “It’s important,” Trevor said.

  Keys grabbed Trevor’s t-shirt and bunched it in his fist.

  “Whoa,” said Trevor, trying to break away.

  “I said, shut up, you little prick. We don’t need to hear about this shit,” Keys growled.

  “It’s important,” Trevor repeated. “You don’t want to repeat the past. Sarah…she treated you like shit,” he said, spitting as he spoke. “Like dog shit.”

  Keys cocked his fist back, prepared to send Trevor’s mouth to the moon. “Shut the fuck up.”

  Someone caught his hand.

  Keys looked up to see Dante looming over him. He tried to pull his hand away, but Dante held it in a death grip. “Let go of me, Dante.”

  “Nah. We don’t need trouble, right?” His gaze bore into Keys.

  “No,” Keys said in a sulk. “We don’t need trouble, Fearless Leader.”

  “Good, good.” Dante released Keys. “Heat’s been drinking a little. He probably needs to go somewhere to sleep it off, don’t you Heat?” Dante directed his attention to Trevor.

  “You’re the best, Dante, the very best,” Trevor gushed. “You remember Sarah, right?”

  “Everyone remembers Sarah, Heat.” Dante gripped Trevor’s upper arm. “Let’s get you to bed, dude, what do you say?” He called to his wife. “Hey, Kennedy, can you help me tuck Heat in?”

  Kennedy hurried over. “Sure, sure. Let’s get you to bed, buddy. Let’s go, Heat.”

  Trevor rose like a child. He threw his arms around Kennedy and Dante. “You two are the best,” he said, staggering away between Dante and Kennedy. “The best…”

  Once they’d left, Mia said, “So, rough relationship, huh?”

  Keys rose. “Yeah. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m ready to go to bed. You?” He extended his hand to Mia.

  She rose to her feet without touching him. “Yes, I’m a little tired, too. But, no funny business. We only have one bed. I’m going to pl
ace pillows between us, so you don’t get tempted.”

  “Fine. Whatever.” Keys withdrew his hand and stalked across the deck.

  In only ten short minutes, Trevor had managed to cock-block him in the worst way possible—by talking about his horrible ex, Sarah Reinhardt. What had started out as a fun vacation had quickly tanked into a reminder of what could happen if one tried to be in a relationship. It could end in the worst way possible—with his heart crushed to bits and no way to put it back together. And that was something he refused to do ever again. No way could he afford to fall in love.

  Keys

  The demons were after him again. Goddamned Trevor, with his fucking drunken share session last night, had stabbed open Keys’ past. He’d managed to bury his tortured relationship with Sarah in a long blur of babes and booze alongside his best friend. Now the memory sat fresh in his mind, like a festering, maggot-filled wound. It had kept him awake most of the night, haunting him with recollections of the long months of sick dysfunction. Their final ending had been a brutal crash that left Keys broken.

  The pillows Mia had placed between them served both to remind him he should stay away from anything resembling a relationship and to torture him. Spread out next to Mia all night without touching her, to the sound of crashing waves pounding at his brain, drove Keys crazy. Some vengeful spirit has it in for me. This must be karma.

  As light flooded the room, he decided he may as well get up. As quietly as he could, he rolled to his side and pushed up to sitting, swinging his long legs to the floor.

  “Good morning,” came the soft, sweet voice of Mia.

  “Did I wake you?” he said, not turning around. His morning wood hung heavy in his boxers.

  “No,” she said. “I was awake.”

  “Sleep okay?” he said, standing and scrubbing his scalp with his fingertips.

  “Sort of. I had a bedmate who tossed and turned a lot.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Sorry.”

  Mia looked at him with a soft, doe-eyed gaze, and a small smile curving her lips.

  Her expression did all kinds of things to his insides—things he’d rather not feel…not after being reminded of Sarah. Still keeping his back to her, he strode toward the bathroom, intending to relieve his bladder, take care of the wood between his legs, and stuff down any foolish notions of anything more than a one-night stand with Mia—or any woman for that matter.

  When he returned from the bathroom, Mia stood on the balcony, wearing a slinky little rose-colored robe that barely covered her fine ass. Inwardly, he groaned. How am I going to keep my hands off her? This is like Satan’s revenge.

  “I called our butler,” she said, without turning around. “And ordered coffee and eggs. I hope you like eggs.”

  “I’m not much of a breakfast guy,” he said, searching for his shorts. “This is the time I usually go to bed.”

  She turned to face him, appearing hurt, causing him to feel like a jackass.

  “But, I can shovel down a few eggs. Why not?” He tried to smile, but today it came out stiff and forced, as was his norm until yesterday when he’d smiled so hard, and so often, he thought his face might crack.

  “So, rough relationship, huh?” Mia said, sidling over to where he stood.

  “What?” he said, folding his arms over his chest, knowing full well what she was asking.

  “Last night…” she said, reaching up to brush his biceps with her small, warm palm.

  He blinked. Yesterday, she’d rebuffed most of his attempts to get close. “What about last night?”

  “What Heat said…it sounds like you got out of a rough relationship.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Keys said, easing away from her exquisite touch. “It’s in the past.”

  “It seems like a bad, lingering memory,” Mia said.

  “Mia,” Keys said, flashing her a gaze that could surely incinerate anyone of a weaker constitution.

  The bruised expression that flitted across her face let him know his anger had left a scorch mark.

  He groaned. “Look. I’m sorry. I’m fucked off at Trevor for even bringing it up. I don’t mean to take it out on you. But, I don’t want to talk about it, ever.”

  “Understood,” she said, her features now blank.

  A knock at the door indicated breakfast had arrived. Mia told the butler to set it up on the balcony. Once that was done, they ate in relative silence with Keys scheming the entire time as to how he could make things right again.

  His mind kept coming up empty.

  After the breakfast fiasco, Keys said, “Let’s head downstairs and see what everyone else is up to.” Maybe Mia can have a good time today while I head to the bar and try to scrub my brain clean with a bottle of tequila.

  When the elevator doors opened, the air smelled of salt and sea and some sort of Mexican spices wafting in from the restaurant. Too much light blasted Keys’ eyes. He retrieved his sunglasses case from his shirt pocket, removed the shades, and fitted them on his face to ward off the light assault.

  Trevor sat on one of the beige-covered lobby chairs. He bolted to his feet when he spied Keys.

  Annoyance shot through Keys’ belly. “Hey,” he said, avoiding eye contact.

  “What are we going to do today?” Trevor said.

  “Not sure…but…” He leaned in close to Trevor’s ear and said quietly, “What the fuck do you remember about last night?”

  Trevor pulled away, his face turning red. “I, uh…I’m sorry, Keys. I’m sorry I brought up Sarah.”

  “What kind of a stunt was that, huh? What made you think I’d want to be reminded of her? You, of all, people…” He fisted Trevor’s tank top.

  “I don’t know, I was drunk, man. Cut me some slack.” Trevor tried to squirm out of Keys’ grasp.

  “You knew, Trevor. How many times have I told you not to bring her up, huh?” Keys’ fist, clenching Trevor’s shirt, shook with rage.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Keys caught Mia staring at her flip-flops. Christ, I’m making things worse.

  The elevator door opened a few yards away, and Dante and Kennedy emerged looking like supermodels on holiday. Dante’s espresso-colored wavy locks were perfectly arranged, while Kennedy’s long blond tresses seemed to ripple in an invisible wind.

  Oh, great, Fearless Leader is going to give me shit.

  Dante strode toward them, looking between Trevor and Keys, trying to get a read on the situation. “Everything okay?” he said, ever the manager.

  “Yep,” Keys said, releasing Trevor. He brushed his hand along Trevor’s shoulder as if tidying him up.

  “Why don’t you come to spend the day with us, Heat?” Dante said.

  “Yes, Heat, we’d love to spend some time with you,” Kennedy said, smiling brightly.

  “I don’t know,” said Trevor. “I wanted to hang with Keys, you know?”

  Keys pulled Trevor away from everyone else. Lowering his voice, he said, “Look, Trevor, I could use some space to cool down. I’m still pissed about you airing my dirty laundry all over the place. You unlocked a shitload of unwelcome memories. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but give me some space to cool off. Got it?” The weight of Dante’s, Kennedy’s, and Mia’s gaze felt intense like he stood before a judge and jury, and the verdict was guilty, guilty, guilty.

  “Yeah, I get it.” Trevor appeared so downcast, Keys wondered if he would start crying. Then, he transformed before Keys’ eyes, his face hardening into a mask. “I get it, Keys. I’m not welcome.” His gaze flitted to Mia. Without another word, he whirled and stormed toward Dante and Kennedy. “I’m doing whatever you’re doing. I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.” He kept moving, heading toward the beach.

  Keys lifted his palms, as Trevor strode away. “Look, Trevor, I’m sorry,” he said to his retreating back.

  Trevor lifted his middle finger over his head, not sparing a glance in Keys’ direction.

  “Mia?” Kennedy said, smiling one o
f her perky bright blond smiles. “What about you?”

  Mia glanced at Keys, lighting a flicker of hope in his chest.

  “No, thanks. I’ve got a plan in mind for the day. But, thanks for the invitation,” she said, revealing small, perfect white teeth.

  “I take it I’m not invited to hang with you,” Keys said, baiting Dante. The last thing he wanted to do was spend time with Fearless Leader.

  “You and Heat better get this sorted,” Dante said, turning to glare at Keys. “This week is supposed to be fun, got it? Give the kid a break.”

  “Fuck off, Fearless Leader. You and the rest of the band need to give me a break,” he said, waving his hand in the air.

  Kennedy touched Dante’s arm. “They’ll sort it out, lover. They always do.”

  “Right,” Dante said. “Let’s go catch up with Heat.” He grabbed her hand, and they hurried after Trevor.

  Keys threw back his head. “Great. Just great. More band drama. I’d rather be back in Queens with my alcoholic old man and my chain-smoking mama. There’s less drama there than there is with the band.” Sheepishly, he glanced at Mia.

  “Let’s do something fun today,” she said.

  His eyebrows flew high. “You want to do something with me?”

  “Sure. The morning got off to a rocky start, but you seem to need to do something to take your mind off of things. You know, like a reset.” She flashed him a beguiling gaze that melted his insides.

  His mood shifted toward the south of his belly region which begged for attention. He waggled his eyebrows. “What did you have in mind?” His bad mood suddenly forgotten, he closed the distance between them and tipped her chin up with his forefinger.

  That same pretty blush brightened her cheeks. “Not that,” she said, closing her fingers around his hand. She pushed away his hand and backed up a step. “Let’s go snorkeling.”

  “If it involves you in that sexy bikini floating next to me, I’m game,” he said, his smile restored.

  After Keys had checked with the concierge about the most private place to snorkel, he and Mia sauntered along the sand.

  Mia had tucked her fine body into a sexy little sun-dress and a long-sleeved sheer top.