26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Now
I don’t know when I finally fell asleep, but I do know it was after what felt like hours of mulling over the conversation I had with Noah. I laid in bed combing through different parts of the past, trying to piece them all together.
It’s hard to admit that I let myself be so affected by what happened that night. It totally changed how I see myself, and others. I’ve never dated anyone seriously, and I’ve never been able to trust that things could actually work out for me. Essentially, that night rewired parts of my brain, and I wonder what would have happened if that night ended differently.
This weird mixture of emotions surges through my body. It’s like I’ve had a burden lifted off my shoulders, but also like something new is now pressing down. I’ve carried the weight of that night in my subconscious for years, and now that it’s gone, I feel a sort of empty hole where it was.
Instead of ruminating over this all day, I desperately need to think about something else. I don’t even bother looking at the time as I pull out one of my new bikinis and decide to head down to the beach.
The mid-morning sun is already hot, but the fresh air is doing wonders for my racing thoughts. Maybe I should just move to the beach after all this is said and done. I could escape all of my problems and get a good tan while I’m at it.
This spot at the beach has easily become my new favorite place. I set down my things and move in for the day. Lathering myself in SPF, I take out my book and park my butt right on my towel for the foreseeable future. If this doesn’t help distract me from all the thoughts that have plagued my mind since last night’s conversation, then I’m not sure anything will.
I’m six chapters in, when someone clears their throat from above me. I turn my head and am face to, well, crotch of a man standing right next to my chair. It’s a nice crotch. One that is topped with very tan and very sculpted abs. I trail my eyes up his body and am met with the face of a literal god.
If you were to look in the dictionary under handsome-man-who-drips-sex-appeal , you should find this guy, but you probably wouldn’t because some girl decided to cut out his picture and hang it on her mirror to stare at every day.
I shut my book as the godlike man says in a low husky voice, “Hi, I know it’s only noon, but I was wondering if I could get you something to drink?” Oh, fuck. He even has an Australian accent.
“Hi! Yes, sure! Um, I’ll take a strawberry daiquiri please. You can charge it to my room, 417. Thanks!” I say with a happy smile and return to my book.
He lets out a small laugh and says, “Okay, you got it.” He turns to walk away, and I sneakily take a little peak at his backside. Man, the men working at this resort are some of the most good-looking men I’ve ever seen.
My cheeks feel flushed, and I let out a satisfied sigh. That’s the moment I realize just how screwed I am. If I feel all tingly inside just from looking at a man, I can’t imagine what actually being intimate with one would do to me right now. A smile sneaks its way on my face as the last few days with Noah weasel themselves into my thoughts.
I see his easy smile; the way the left side always raises slightly before the right. I see his dark eyes and the way they light up just as he’s about to say something funny. The way his strong hands held onto Evelyn as he gently helped her off the boat, and the joyful way he laughed with her when she tried to flatter him. I huff out a small laugh.
Other parts of him start to take over my mind. The subtle way his face changed last night as we talked about the past, the pinched brows, the way he chewed on the inside of his cheek. The way he tried to hide the fact that his eyes were wet by turning away and covering his face. I picture his body and the way his strong shoulders curved in with the weight of what happened.
He sure is something .
I take a breath, and my head slowly tilts to the side. Noah Riley really is something, and I don’t know why for the first time in fourteen years, I feel like I want to know what that something is.
Thor returns with my strawberry daiquiri and to my surprise, with little to no effort, lifts one of the heavy beach chairs right next to mine. He even did it with a beer in his hand. I definitely need to remember to work out more when I get home.
“They were all out of those little umbrellas, sorry,” he says, beautiful white teeth gleaming. “I’m Ezra. Nice to meet you.” He reaches out his hand, and I bring mine up to meet his without even thinking.
“Um, hi, Ezra. I’m Jane. Nice to meet you.” I retrieve my hand and take a big gulp of my drink. Through the brain freeze that follows, I manage to mutter, “So you don’t work here, do you?”
His big, white smile grows even bigger. “Nope.”
I literally face-palm, which makes him laugh.
“When I was walking away, I was thinking, did she just tell me to charge her room? That’s when I guessed you thought I was one of the servers.”
“Oh, god, I’m so sorry. I’ve had a really crazy few days…”
“Ha, don’t worry about it.” He tips back his head and takes a drink.
I feel myself watching the column of his strong neck as he swallows. The way his Adam’s apple moves up and down with each gulp.
“So, Jane, what brings you to Hawaii?” He asks, his friendly lilting accent working its magic.
My mesmerized stare is broken, and I move my gaze to his eyes. “Um, work actually. Nothing too exciting. What about you?”
“Work? Ah, that’s no fun,” he says with a playful scoff. “I’m here with a few of my mates from home.” He pauses and looks at me through narrowed eyes. “I’m here purely for fun.” He says this last part with a flirtatious smirk.
“Oh, that’s cool,” I say extremely unsexy and take another too-big gulp of freezing cold drink. “What do you, um, what have you done for fun so far?” I can’t believe this. I sound like a bumbling idiot. What has gotten into me?
“Loads of things, actually. We went ziplining, swam with sea turtles, things like that. Oh, yesterday we went on this really amazing volcano tour.”
“Wow, that sounds great. I’d love to see a volcano. I didn’t know you could do something like that here.” I smile, getting more comfortable.
“Jane, I know a lot of fun things to do.” He slowly scans my body up and down. “I can definitely show you a good time,” he says with a wink.
Holy shit . He’s coming on strong. This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. I chew on my bottom lip. It’s absolutely perfect. A drop dead gorgeous man who only wants to have fun for a few days. So, why am I hesitant? Don’t be stupid, of course I know why.
“Ezra, I don’t doubt that you could show me a fantastic time,” I say, turning on my charm because this guy deserves something. He looks at me with anticipation. “But, I’m just a bit too busy to make it happen before I have to leave for home.”
His beautiful smile doesn’t break. “It’s all good. If things change, I’m in room 212. I’d love to show you just how much fun we could have. Hope to see you around.” He stands up and makes his way down to the water, drink in hand.
I honestly can’t believe I just let that bold, gorgeous man go. I just let him walk right down the beach and didn’t even touch his hair, or his abs, or anything. These past few days have been the craziest and most confusing days I think I’ve ever had.
I came to Hawaii thinking I was going to talk to my client, have a few meetings, and maybe get a good tan. But instead, I came face to face with someone who broke my heart and told me that we would be working together. If that’s not bad enough, then he told me he didn’t mean to break my heart, and the events of that fateful night were a total misunderstanding.
I’m so confused, and things are all topsy-turvy. Seeing Noah again has awakened things in me I didn’t think were still inside me anymore. I’m surprised that I even want to explore these parts of me I thought were long dead.
I’m also surprised I want to explore the parts of him I’ve seen peek through these last few days as well. I want to have fun during my remaining time, and I think I want to do it with Noah. I close my eyes and huff a laugh, Jordyn is going to flip her lid.
Before I can change my mind, I take out my phone from my bag and go to the last message he sent me. My thumbs pause over the screen, debating if this is a smart thing to do, but then I see the hurt in his features as he apologized last night and the honesty in his eyes as he admitted he’s never forgotten me. My next move becomes clear.
Jane
Hey, Noah. It's Jane. Wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow?
My heart is racing when I press send. What if this is all too much? What if he doesn’t want to spend more time with me? What if our conversation last night made him think I’m crazy for holding onto something that happened so long ago?
I’m not looking for anything, but it wouldn’t be bad for us to get along, right? I see the three little dots appear on the bottom of the screen, he’s typing. I watch my phone intently, questioning if I made the right decision, when his reply pops up.
Noah
Nope. I'm free as a bird. Why what's up?
Jane
Great! I just heard about this volcano excursion. I was wondering if you would want to go on it tomorrow?
With me?
Yikes. I couldn’t have made that any more awkward. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all. I wish I could just delete it and forget it even happened.
Noah
That sounds right up my alley. I'd love to.
He wants to come…He wants to come with me. My stomach fills with butterflies as I type my response.
Jane
Perfect. I'll get more details tonight. Wanna meet tomorrow around 8?
Noah
Can't wait. See you tomorrow, Jane.