“That sounds like I peed my pants, and it turned to rainbow glitter.”
Brooks laughs, and though I’m glad he finds me funny, I wonder when he’s going to kiss me.
“I’m not good at this, so I’m just going to say it. Can I hold your hand?”
Brightly, only half-joking, I nod and ask, ?
??Against what would you like to hold it?”
Too far? Probably. But I’m trying to poke the beast awake again.
When he shows me no reaction, I find myself begin a massive apology for all the sex jokes.
Brooks leans over and, while I’m in the middle of speaking, silences me with a kiss on my cheek, then on the other cheek, and then my lips. I capture his lips in mine, and all the words I had started to say float away. I’m so full of thoughts I don’t know where to start most of the time. But in the middle of this kiss, in the middle of paradise, I have no thoughts.
The kiss only lasts a few seconds, but they are the warmest, sweetest, and most present seconds of my life.
I want him to do it again, as soon as possible.
When his alarm rings on his phone, I’m reminded that he’s an employee here and I’m a guest. He has work to do. Appointments to keep.
“Better head back,” he says. “When can I see you again?”
“Come out with Sierra and me tonight.”
He hesitates, then says, “I don’t do great at nightclubs. Too many people, too loud.”
“You prefer the company of tortoises and sharks, don’t you, Brooks?”
Brooks brushes the hair from my face and says, “I want to do this right. I have some free time tomorrow before one of my tours. Let me take you for a boat ride to one of my favorite spots.”
Honestly, I don’t care where he takes me. We could be on the moon as long as he keeps kissing me. Being courted is lovely, romantic, and ideal in the everyday world. This is not what I expected on vacation. Isn’t the age-old story that a person engages in a hot vacation fling and returns home a little heartbroken after catching feelings? But look at him, taking care of me. Feeding me. Entertaining me. Showing me unique places I’d never get to see otherwise.
On top of that, he doesn’t kiss like someone who’s having a flirtation or a fling, like a man who’ll kiss anybody. His tongue slides and teases as if it already knows the terrain, knows how to get me going. He heightens my bliss and keeps me there. Brooks says he’s not good at dating, but that’s what he’s doing. And dating is not a thing we have time for with the days I have left here.
And, what if he’s the kind of guy who wants to romance me and wait until my last night on the island to have sex? Would that be so terrible?
A small part of me says, yes. Kick it up a notch. Let’s do this; we’re on the clock.
And then, another part of me, the one that wants the fantasy despite knowing it’s not possible, says, Time is a construct. Just let it be.
Chapter Nine
Brooks
“Looks like I’ll getting some tail this week. That Instagram chick signed up for every last one of my events this week.”
I freeze, and my ears perk up. “Who?”
I’ve stopped inside the resort administrative offices to pick up my paycheck and place an order for a fresh supply of coral-safe sunscreen. Baker, the water sports director, is checking the schedule on a large whiteboard. He twirls the keys to the speedboat on the first knuckle of his middle finger, a predatory look on his face. “That influencer chick with the hot ass.”
I don’t want to jump to conclusions, especially when I already am biased — for a good reason — against Baker. He’s got zero boundaries with guests. I should not be surprised he’s talking about anybody in this rude manner. And also, my attitude is always on edge whenever I have to do things in this office with its fluorescent lighting and…well…walls.
“Are you talking about Jax Pierce?”
Baker looks over the spreadsheet on the computer in front of him. “Yeah, that’s her. I don’t know what she’s into, but we’re going to get to know each other pretty well.”
Several things occur to me at the moment. One: if Jax has signed up for every damn outing on this island, including mine and Baker’s, then she does not want to sit still for long. This means, if I let my imagination run wild, she’s running from something. She is either not safe from her ex-fiance Louie, or she doesn’t feel safe. Either way, that’s not acceptable to me, and I will have to figure out how to handle this situation. Or, she wants to pack in every adventure she can while visiting the islands, and maybe I need to cool my jets.