Chapter 44
Petrichor – Kayla
S urprisingly, I was able to get a great night of sleep, and I didn’t have nightmares of what happened to me.
So, I wake up feeling refreshed and mentally clear.
Jack is still sleeping, and I plant a kiss on his cheek.
Even in sleep he’s handsome. I still feel incredibly guilty that he and Captain Bryant had to come to my rescue, but I’m also very thankful that they did.
However, I also can’t stop scolding myself for being so stupid and going with Yannis in the first place. At first, I reasoned that we’d just stay in the lobby of his apartment building—but then he gave me that whole speech about not wanting unfinished work out of his unit in fear of losing it or having it stolen.
Perhaps it was the alcohol I had previously, but for whatever reason, that made sense to me at the time.
Regardless, I go over to Captain Bryant’s bed, where Callie is asleep, and I lightly shake her awake.
“What?” she initially asks before popping her head up. “Oh.”
“Sorry,” I whisper. “But I thought it might be nice if we go out and get the guys some traditional Greek breakfast items from the market.”
After rubbing her eyes, she agrees. “Yeah, they certainly deserve it.”
So, I leave a little note for Jack about where we’re going, and then we sneak away to our room to get changed. I go for a peach-colored V-neck and white capris, and Callie chooses a white, thick-strapped camisole and drapes an oversized button-up and denim shorts.
“Ready?” I ask after securing my long hair up in a bun on top of my head.
“Yep.”
With that, we’re off.
“English?” I ask once we get there. I’m embarrassed whenever I have to do that, but I figure it’s easier on everyone if I don’t stumble my way through the conversation in what I assume is horrifically bastardized Greek.
“Yes, ma’am?” a man with dark hair that reaches past his shoulders responds.
“We’re hoping to prepare a very traditional Greek breakfast. Could you help us with that?”
He flashes his perfect, white smile. “Of course. Right this way.”
We follow him to a particular area of the market, and the first thing he holds up is a pastry that kind of resembles the donut holes I’ve seen in the states.
“This is a moustokouloura ,” he explains. “Or grape must cookies.”
“Grape must?” I repeat for clarification. “Is that just like grape juice?”
He grins again and nods. “You’re very smart.”
“Oh, thank you…”
“Leander.”
“Leander. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kayla, and this is—”
She brushes past me, clutching her chest and offering out her other hand for him to shake. “I’m Callie.”
I resist rolling my eyes.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kayla and Callie.” As he says her name, he licks his lips and looks her up and down, a result I’m certain she was hoping for. “Here.” He then offers her the grape must cookie and wafts it under her nose. “What else do you smell?”
“Hmmm. Cinnamon?”
“Very good. Anything else?”
She puts her hand on her hip and takes another whiff. “Clove?”
“Ah!” Leander claps. “Very, very good. You see, the taste, texture, and sweetness of these are thought to blend perfectly with Greek coffee.” Then, he lifts a bag of grounds, and hands it over to me.
“Thank you, Leander. We’ll take half a dozen of the moustokouloura .” Despite what I said earlier, I still managed to struggle through that one.
“Wonderful.” We move onto another circular item. “ Koulori ,” he tells us. “Or sesame bread.”
I could’ve guessed the name based on the little white seeds all over them.
“This is also delicious in coffee, and it’s widely known as a ‘traveling breakfast,’ meaning that most people eat it on the go, but you don’t have to.”
“Another half dozen, please.”
He collects them and then holds up a vat of yogurt. “Of course, no Greek breakfast is complete without this.”
I chuckle. “Of course not.”
“And you’ll want to add walnuts and honey.”
“Ooh.” That sounds delicious, and just the thought of the combination makes my mouth water.
As a result of our trip, we leave with arms full of delicious food… and Leander’s number.
“You’re ridiculous,” I joke to her as we walk back to the hotel.
She shrugs. “What? He was hot.”
“What about the guy from last night?”
Callie flicks her wrist at me. “Meh. Old news.”
I put my hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking. “I’m really sorry about everything.” I know she may have had a fun night with him if I didn’t ruin it.
She just shakes her head. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“I sure feel like I do. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to go with him.”
She swings her short arm around my shoulders. “We all make mistakes. The important thing is that you’re okay.”
“Yeah.”
We keep walking. Then, once we knock on their door, Jack answers—clearly just out of the shower due to his wet hair.
“We come bearing gifts,” I announce while holding up all our goodies.
“Oh, that’s very nice of you. Come in, come in.”
Once concealed in the room, I sneak a little peck, his wet face transferring a bit of moisture onto my own. I giggle while wiping it off.
“Hey Wesley,” Jack yells near the bathroom. I often forget that’s his first name. “The girls are back.” He looks back at us and raises his eyebrows. “Don’t want him coming out in his skivvies or something.”
We all laugh.
“That would be unfortunate.”
“And embarrassing,” Callie adds.
Also, true.
She and I then work together to get the breakfast we bought arranged nicely on the dining table, and Jack makes the coffee.
When Captain Bryant is done, I tell them all about the foods, as Leander had just done for us.
“Please, dig in.”
We all sit around and take turns with the dishes.
Of course, I have to dip both breads into the caffeinated beverage, as we were instructed to do. Turns out, Leander was absolutely right, and both are incredibly tasty.
Following my lead, Jack does the same.
“Good, right?”
His eyes bug out a little. “Very!”
“Anyway.” I put my finger over my mouth as I swallow my latest bite. “All of this is our way of thanking you for everything you did for us last night.”
Jack speaks up, “Well, thank you. Although that wasn’t necessary.”
“Not at all,” Captain Bryant agrees.
“Agree to disagree then,” I say. But I can’t bring myself to get more into it. It’s too humiliating.
Jack just grabs my hand and squeezes.
I then distract myself by finally filling a bowl with yogurt and mixing in all the toppings, as Leander also suggested.
He was absolutely right about that too. It’s heavenly.
“So, your friend Molly is getting in today?” Bryant asks out of nowhere.
That makes Jack and I exchange a naughty look. “Uh-huh.” I check my watch. “In a few hours.”
Callie claps. “I’m excited to meet her! Do you think she’ll want to go out with us tonight? Or maybe she’ll be too tired.”
“Knowing Molly, she’ll push through any sleepiness to have a good time.”
“My kind of girl!”
Jack bends over and whispers, “I’m going with you tonight.”
I was hoping he’d say that. I didn’t really want to go out in the first place, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to convince Molly to go without me, so having him with me would make things more fun… and secure. I’m still a little frazzled from last night.
After eating and cleaning up, we go to the beach.
Jack is in the same short, black swimming trunks as before, but I’m in a black bikini with a white collared shirt over it.
Denver, Gwen, and the others have joined us, but when they’re far enough away or distracted with something else, he smacks my ass.
“Very sexy,” he mutters, glaring at my chest. “I can see little whispers of your swimming suit, but not everything.” He grazes his finger along my exposed collarbone.
But then a loud exclaim coming from the water interrupts the tender moment.
Fortunately, it was one made out of fun, as Callie attempted to stand up on a large floatie, but she fell off.
“Wait! Wait! Let me try again!” she yells after popping out of the water.
Instead of joining, Jack and I just sit down on a towel, not too close of course, and watch the others as they continue their antics. Captain Bryant similarly chooses to stay dry, but he’s in a nearby chair and reading a book.
“So, what’s the play?” I ask, gesturing to him with my head.
Jack’s eyes narrow. “Play? What do you mean?”
He’s relaxing back with his hands behind him while I’m hugging my knees in and resting my chin on one of them.
“With Molly. Do we just let them meet organically and hope a spark flies from there?”
He then looks over at his friend. “Oh. Good point. I guess, right?” I push my lower lip out. “I mean, we don’t want to force anything. Trust me, Molly will catch onto that and absolutely hate it. In fact, she’ll probably buck against it.”
“Hmm. And what we want her bucking against is Bryant.”
I shove his shoulder. “Gross!”
“Well, isn’t it?” He sits up straight and slaps his hands together to get the sand off them.
“I wouldn’t put it so graphically.”
He laughs. “I’m sorry. I just feel bad for the guy. It’s been a long time since he’s been with a woman.”
I raise my head up and feel the wind blow my hair, which I have taken down, around. “And you know that for sure?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Interesting.” I rest back down against my knees.
He leans closer to me. “Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. I thought guys didn’t talk about those kinds of things.”
Jack then chuckles. “Maybe not all. But when you’re stuck on a small vessel with someone for long periods of time… things just have a way of coming out.”
I nod. “I guess that makes sense.”
However, when I check my watch, I see that it’s almost lunch time.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your meeting with Yannis?” Saying his name makes goosebumps form on my skin.
He winces and then looks at me out of the corner of his eyes. “As if I’m going to take a meeting with that asshole now.”
My heart sinks. “Are you serious?” It never occurred to me he would cancel just because of me.
After checking that the others weren’t looking, he tucks some hair behind my ear and explains in a low tone, “I have morals, Kayla. And I don’t work with people who I believe do not.”
So, now I not only ruined his night, but I also made him waste god knows how much money to come all this way for nothing.
“I’m—I’m so sorry.” I don’t know how I’ll ever make up for what I’ve done.
“Kayla. Please stop apologizing. He did this. Not you.”
I face away from him. “But it was my fault for ever agreeing to go to his place.”
Jack sucks air through his teeth. “While I may not agree with your choice to do that, I know you only did it because you wanted to help me by getting a good word in with him.”
I turn to him again. “Exactly. He said he liked working with people who employed people with good taste. Well, I already liked his stuff, so I figured I’d love whatever he came up with next. Ugh. It sounds so stupid.”
“Stop beating yourself up about it. Plus, I’ve found another author on the island that I want to talk to.”
That surprises me. “Seriously? How?”
He gives me a smug smile. “I have my people.”
“Well, who is it? The author, I mean.”
“Her name is Danai Ballas. She’s from Athens, but she also just so happens to be vacationing here after working her butt off writing the last few months.”
Hmm. That name doesn’t ring a bell. “What kind of stuff does she write?”
“Romance, the same as Yannis. Although her work is much more futuristic, instead of historical, like his. Here.” He leans to get something out of his backpack, and he then hands me an iPad. “I have her latest work on there. Go ahead and take a look.”
I flip through the books on his Kindle app, until I find her name. The book is called Petrichor .
“It’s the smell—”
“The earthy smell after rain,” I finish his sentence for him.
He just smiles. “Exactly.”
From the first page, which reads, “As my beautiful pluviophile slept in the woods, I marveled in the fact that there were tones of red, purple, and silver in her dark hair,” I am freaking hooked.