22. mission maui #3
“You’re only trippin about the sandcastle contest, cause you lost,” Gavin shoots out. This makes Todd sit back, a scowl on his tan face.
“But I mean, he’s right. Can we please do something that doesn’t feel like it was planned by Martha Stewart?” Vernon groans. “If I have to do one more event where I’m dipping baby biscuits in a teacup, I’m gonna lose my shit.”
Gavin rolls his eyes. “They’re called crumpets, Vern.”
Vernon gives him a look that says he doesn’t care one way or the other.
“The activities stay in place,” Carina insists. “I’d like Gavin to meet me at the altar with his dignity intact.”
“Clearly,” James snarled.
“Hey, hey, that’s enough of giving my lady a hard time,” Gavin snaps playfully.
Carina snuggles into him, and he quickly changes the subject.
“What have y’all been up to?”
“Having more fun than us, I’m sure,” Todd grumbles.
He’s already downed a shot.
“We are, actually,” Carina says, looking back at me. “We’re doing missions.”
“And I think we’ve all completed our missions except for Marley.”
“Well, I’m one phone number short of 10, so…” Lety admits.
“What are these missions?” The men probe. Danielle goes over the game and rules.
“Everyone has pretty much completed their tasks, except for our girl here.”
She points towards me, and I give a crowd-pleasing grin.
“What’s your mission?” Othello asks.
“She has to dance with the hottest guy in the room.”
“Well, shit. Sounds like you’ll be dancing with me,” Todd confirms, standing tall with his chest out.
I laugh, and Othello shakes his head.
“Nah, bruh, I got this one.”
He stands and reaches for my hand. The brush of his touch makes me hot, and I feel it coursing through my body like a fever.
I let him lead me down the steps and onto the dance floor just as the DJ switches the song to a slow, sultry dancehall track. Sean Paul’s I’m Still in Love with You leaves a hypnotic pulse in my hips.
“How did he know to play this?” I ask. “It’s my favorite.”
Othello’s hands settle on my waist, and he pulls me close. My body melts into him and the groove of the music.
“Wardrobe change?” he asks, taking in my second dress of the night. I’m wearing a cotton lavender wrap skirt with a deep slit and a matching bandeau top.
“I’m officially part of the Satin Mafia,” I tease, and this makes him laugh.
“Welcome to the club.”
“Speaking of which, you broke rule number two, so there should be a punishment.”
“Hey, I wanted to let you know I was leaving, but I didn’t know where you were, and I didn’t have your number,” he laughs.
“We are the worst couple,” I tell him.
“Have we been together so much that we haven’t thought of exchanging numbers?”
“I think we have.”
“We’ve pretty much been attached at the hip since he sat next to me on that plane,” he chuckles, and my head drops into his chest with a mortified laugh. “And listen, I’m not complaining. At all.”
I laugh harder.
“If it were up to me, we’d be together all the time.”
This stuns me into silence, and I look up into his eyes. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do mean it, Marley. Real talk. I’m done playing pretend with you.”
His words brush against my neck, and I nearly come undone right here on this dance floor. All I can do is say his name, my breath barely above a whisper. My fingers tighten at the back of his neck, my pulse racing as the rhythm of the song moves us together.
We dance the rest of the night, the music blending into one genre after the next.
Reggae-Pop, Latin, Hip Hop, R&B. I don’t even remember when Gavin and the guys and Carina and her girls join us.
I’ve been so caught up in Othello and the tunes that I've had no time to think about anything or anyone else.
“Hey, we’re ready to go?” Carina’s voice says in my ear.
“Already?” I ask, slightly disappointed. She leans back over to speak into my ear. “We never stay until it closes. We make an appearance, then leave.”
I look back at Othello, and his face looks puzzled. “She says they’re leaving,” I tell him.
He leans down close, so I can hear him. “Are you ready to leave? We can stay, and I can get us an Uber back.”
“I’ve honestly had enough fun to last me the rest of the night. I’m good.”
He studies my face for a moment, like he’s making sure I’m being honest. I tap him on the chest, his shirt slightly damp with sweat. “I’m positive. I’m good.”
“Alright,” he reaches for my hand.
Carina and Gavin are already moving through the crowd, taking more selfies with fans and signing body parts on the way.
Othello’s fingers lace through mine, his other hand touching the small of my back as we exit the building.
The cool Maui air feels refreshing on my skin after dancing all night.
I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun.
The driver has the Hummer waiting out front for the women, while a sleek Escalade is ready to transport the men.
Fans are screaming Carina’s name from a line that looks even longer than when we got here.
“I guess I’ll meet you back at the room,” he says after helping me into the Hummer.
“Yeah,” I say breathlessly.
The thought alone makes something bloom in my chest.