Pierce
This woman is exasperating. The ‘dares’ haven’t stopped since we left the empty buffet. I’ve completed them all; telling her the truth is more terrifying.
Play ping-pong with her. Check.
Lose twenty dollars in the casino. Check. I complained about the games being rigged for ten minutes straight, but I did it because my only other option was to tell her my biggest regret.
I suppose I could always throw her over my shoulder and take her to the room—a thought that is far more appealing than it should be. Despite myself, I’m actually having… fun. And we aren’t currently in danger, which makes it a bit easier to relax.
Thea swings her heels in her hand as we walk across the pool deck.
We ended up at the first bar that had moved on to karaoke.
She did two songs and sang her little heart out.
She wasn’t good, but she was absolutely entrancing to watch.
She danced so carelessly around the stage, as if she wasn’t afraid of anything.
As I look at her now, she’s no longer so carefree. Her shoulders hunch and she's chewing on her bottom lip.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, surprising myself. I normally don’t care to understand other people.
“My ex said I was selfish.” Thea looks up into the pitch-black sky.
I wait, knowing she has more to say. One doesn’t have to be a therapist to know how to listen.
“When he broke up with me, he said I was already married to my job.
And I quote, 'so consumed with myself' there was nothing left for him. That was when I knew our breakup was for the best. Not only was he a self-absorbed jerk, but I realized there was nothing left. Period.” She yawns, the first hint of her exhaustion. “I never realized how much of myself I gave to my work and my dad until I left them both behind. Now I’m here, with a week of my life erased, and I realized I never even gave enough to myself.”
It makes sense now—why she doesn’t want the night to end. She’s a caretaker with no demands on her right now. She's lost her purpose and is conflicted between enjoying this free time and feeling guilty. On top of that, she’s trying to make it home in one piece.
“It’s okay to have fun.”
“Just not while being chased?” She arches a brow.
“Exactly.” I shove my hands into my pockets. “I guess I needed some fun tonight. My life can get boring.”
She looks up at me, dozens of stars reflecting in the blue of her eyes. “Boring? Or lonely?”
I nearly run into a stack of pool chairs.
Lonely. Before she came into my life, I was content to be just that. Now I see how much it’s taken from me. Friends, family, joy… “I suppose it’s nice not to be alone.”
She bumps her hip against mine. “I’m fixing you already.”
“I didn’t pay for that.”
“Good thing I enjoy charity cases.”
Me too. I stop next to the pool. “I dare you to jump in.”
She turns on me, a grin growing on her lips as she inches closer, eager for the first dare I’ve extended to her. “Or what?”
“Or… you have to tell me your biggest fear.” I haven’t ventured anywhere close to such waters with her.
This woman is confusing. I want to know who she truly is and what she’s running from.
No one hops on a plane to Mexico to prove a point to an ex.
There’s something she’s not telling me. What’s that fear she keeps buried deep inside?
She opens her mouth as if she’s about to tell me, then she backs up a step. “Looks like I’m getting in.”
Seriously? The woman who loves to dig deep is running from this? I’m surprised by how disappointed I feel. Her heels fall to the deck, and she takes two steps before launching into the air.
I’m right behind her.
I hate the water and everything it reminds me of.
The expectations I failed to meet because I couldn’t hold my breath for five minutes just like him.
I couldn’t swim one hundred meters in under fifty seconds like him.
My dad—the man I never met. The one my grandfather never stopped trying to turn me into.
I splash through the cold water and let every old pain get replaced by a woman in red.
I catch glimpses of her dress beneath the water, floating serenely.
I can’t tear my gaze from the hypnotizing image.
Watching her is like witnessing a magic trick.
I know it can’t possibly be real, yet I’m stuck in awe until the end of the show, eager to be dazzled by the next act.
I’ve held myself down long enough. I swim toward her, then stand in the shallow water.
“Pierce!” she screams. “I was one second from coming to rescue you.”
“I’d like to see that.” I shove my wet hair out of my face, taking her in. A strap hangs halfway down her arm, exposing her bare shoulder.
She exhales. “I thought you didn’t like to swim.”
“I don’t. Doesn’t mean I can’t.”
“Then why did you jump in?” she asks, lifting that delicate strap back into place.
I allow the water to help me drift backward, back to safety. “The challenge?”
“Pierce,” she whispers, swimming close enough I can see the freckles dotting her skin in the pale pool lights.
“Yes?” I swallow.
“Why are you really helping me?” A drop of water drips from her hair, coursing down her forehead, over her nose, her lips…
“You need me.” The words are softer than I intended them to be.
“We both know you could have left me a long time ago. You could leave now, yet you’re still here.”
I can’t admit to her what’s happening, especially when I’m not sure myself. All I know is I have to protect her. The thought of her being in danger makes me crazy. I need to shield her from harm, the way I wished someone would have defended me.
“My cover was blown, and I need to get back to California. This is the quickest route.” Are the words I say instead.
Her dress floats around my legs, tangling us together. “I think there’s more to it than that.”
“There can’t be.” I can’t start caring about her because then I’ll hurt her. That’s why I’m alone. That’s why it’s better this way. I’m not a relationship kind of guy, and I don’t want to be. Not even for her. My chest grows tighter with that commitment.
“Do you ever want more?” she asks, her hand unintentionally brushing mine beneath the water. It’s a jolt to my system.
I slip my arms around her waist, and she gasps. I glance at her lips, then back to her eyes. She raises her chin, her mouth parted… waiting.
I brush my lips over her cheek, and her eyelids flutter closed. “Nope.” Then I pick her up and toss her into the water.
She comes up laughing and spluttering. “Did you seriously just dunk me to avoid talking about your feelings?”
Yes, and it was extremely immature now that I think about it. “I don’t have feelings.” I step back. I need distance from her before I lose all ability to think.
“You don’t scare me, Mr. Larsen. I’ll break you down, eventually.” She grins as she swims toward me.
“I dare you not to.”
“Scared of what I’ll find?” she taunts.
Extremely. This woman is an expert digger. I wouldn’t even give her a dull spoon. “You’d be bored to tears.”
“You are far from boring; we’ve already decided that. Besides, I think we already are”—she cups her hands around her mouth and whispers—“friends.”
I stare at her in mock horror as if she swore at me. “Take it back, or I’ll throw you again.”
“Ooh, I’m so scared,” she heckles, swimming in the opposite direction.
“Hey! You two!” A shout breaks through the quiet, halting my perusal of her. “The pool is closed!”
Thea lets out a squeak and grabs the edge of the pool. I follow suit, grabbing a towel before the man catches up to us. Thea doesn’t even look back as she books it across the deck toward the elevator.
“Hold it!” I yell. She shoots me a saucy wink and hits the button for the doors to close.
I sprint toward the narrowing doors anyway; my shoes slide on the slick floor, and just as the doors begin to close, I slip inside. My heart is pounding, but that’s far from the weirdest thing happening with me.
I’m… smiling.
My momentum carries me forward until I’ve got her pressed into a corner.
“You.” I plant my hands on either side of her.
She giggles, arching up to give me a perfect view of the water droplets glistening on her skin. “How are you supposed to protect me if I can outrun you?”
“You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“Ooh, am I in trouble?” She bites her bottom lip, and I… want to do the same. Now that I know how she tastes, the temptation is only stronger. Those lips have the power to both heal and destroy me. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to kiss her once more.
“Yes.”
Ding!
I recoil, whirling on the welcome intrusion.
I was about to kiss her. Not to sell this charade to anyone who cares enough to pay attention.
Because I wanted to. I haven’t wanted anything in so long.
For the first time in years, my heart has extended to someone besides myself.
The realization is both terrifying and freeing.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” Cooper grins.