Chapter 22
Troy
I was deep in the midst of a very good dream. I was back in the ocean with Monica’s legs wrapped around me and then we were lying in the sand, listening to the waves crash as our bodies lay bare. I thanked whatever part of my dreams that was in charge of replaying our night together in the water, on the beach, in this bed. But now I was being torn from that dream. I was being shaken awake, breaking me out of a dream I wanted to stay in. I groggily opened my eyes and I groaned as the morning lit room came into focus. I saw Monica hovering over me, her hands on my arms, pushing and pulling me.
Okay, I wasn’t so mad anymore now that my dream was now a reality. I gave her a sleepy smile and grabbed her, pulling her on top of me so her legs were on either side of me. I could already feel myself growing hard against the plush robe she had wrapped around her. One slip of the tie and she would be naked before me. I eagerly reached to untie it, but stopped when I saw the look on her face.
Maybe she hadn’t woken me up to fuck. She had woken me up because something was wrong.
“What is it?” I asked, sitting up, but still clutching her against me so our faces were just inches apart.
“We have to leave. Right now,” she said.
I let out a laugh, not understanding why we would ever do such a thing.
“What are you talking about? Why do we have to leave?” I asked, running my hands up her sides. I could just remove this sheet and find my way inside her so easily from this position. I leaned in and began kissing her neck, again reaching for the tie of her robe.
“Will you stop that?” she hissed, pushing my hand away.
She was serious.
I reached up and cupped her face with my palms. “What’s wrong?” I asked seriously.
I had never seen her like this.
“Your family knows about us,” she whispered.
My stomach dropped. I didn’t know what she was talking about. We had been as discreet as possible. Well, maybe not always, but mostly careful. Had Kathy brought up her suspicions to my father? I wouldn’t know because my phone had been off since yesterday. He had no way of reaching me to chew me out. So how did Monica know this?
“How? What are you talking about?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm, but it sounded more panicked than anything.
“In the kitchen…” she said, putting her flushed face in her hands and burying it. She climbed off me and I quickly pulled the sheets from my body. I strode to the closet and plucked a matching white robe off the hanger, slipping it on.
I noticed Monica had brought our bags in and was now on her knees, digging through her duffel frantically. She was tossing bikinis and lacy things over her shoulder. I tried not to get distracted by what she would look like in them, and focused on calming her down.
“Calm down,” I said softly. I hated seeing her like this.
“How can I calm down? How am I supposed to go back out there when everything in this duffel bag screams ‘fuck me?’” she demanded, her voice raising.
I let out a soft laugh, trying to ease the situation.
“I’m glad you packed for the occasion.” I eyed the bikinis and bras strewn across the floor.
“This isn’t funny,” she said, her eyes wide. I could have sworn she was biting back a smile in her panic, but the hint of it soon left her face as she continued digging through her bag.
“Let me go see what’s going on. You just take your time in getting dressed. Everything will be okay,” I said. I didn’t know who I was trying to convince. Me or her.
I leaned down and kissed the top of her head that still smelled of saltwater and that hint of jasmine that I loved so much. I heard her let out a long breath as she began looking through her bag in a less manic state. I tied the robe tightly around me and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.
As soon as I was out of the room, I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves as I ran through a list of reasons why my parents would be here. This wasn’t their normal time of year to visit the Bahamas. They usually came in the early fall, sometimes in the spring. My mother would usually tell me their vacation plans in case anything happened. She was such a worrier, even though I clearly didn’t reciprocate the communication. I was sure there was no chance of running into them here. Hell, I hardly ever ran into them in New York City, let alone on an island thousands of miles away.
Or maybe my father didn’t come for a vacation. Maybe he was alerted that I took the private jet with a beautiful, dark-haired woman, which really could be anyone, since we had left her name off the itinerary. But Kathy would have noticed our absence from the office yesterday and told him. He wasn’t an idiot. He could have easily put two and two together.
He could have flown here just to prove his point and yank the company out from under me, humiliating me in the process. It would make his “I told you so” that much sweeter for him.
My heartrate picked up to a quicker pace as I approached the kitchen down the long-windowed hallway and through the living room where we had enjoyed dinner and finished with dessert on the couch. As I walked through the arched doorway, my eyes quickly scanned the room. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw Erica sitting at the breakfast nook sipping a cup of coffee and reading the paper.
“Jesus, Erica. What are you doing here?” I asked, putting my hand to my head.
“What is it with everyone’s warm welcome this morning?” she asked, rolling her eyes.
“You just scared the shit out of my, er, Monica.”
“ Your Monica?”
“My personal assistant,” I corrected myself, not realizing what I should call her when it was apparent she was becoming much more than that.
“Since when do you bring personal assistants along on vacation?”
“Since when do you show up unannounced?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“Uh, I actually did call dibs on this place last month. You’re the one who is crashing my vacation.”
Shit , I thought to myself. I knew Erica liked to escape the winter cold and come here most winters. But of all weekends, she had to choose this one. It was just my luck, but then again, it could have been much worse. It could have been my father sitting at that table.
“Sorry,” I muttered, sliding a hand through my hair that was grainy from the saltwater.
“What was that?” she asked, cupping her ear and giving me a sarcastic smirk.
“You heard me,” I said. “What did you say to Monica?”
Erica laughed and took a slow sip of coffee, making me wait and enjoying my growing impatience.
“I didn’t have to say anything to make her have the minor heart attack she had right about where you’re standing.” Erica squinted one eye and tilted her head. “Jumpy little thing.”
“She wasn’t expecting you,” I said. “Neither of us were.”
“Well, surprise.” Erica shrugged. “I like the matching robes, by the way.”
She took another sip of coffee, eyeing me over the steam that rose against her face.
“Okay, can you stop now. You’ve had your fun,” I said.
If this was how Erica was teasing me, I could only imagine what she said to Monica when she walked in earlier. Poor thing. No wonder she was so panicky. She didn’t get my sister’s humor. Few people did, but she was actually pretty funny when she wasn’t making you want to rip your hair out.
Erica let out a dramatic sigh and removed her bare feet from the wooden table top. She set her coffee down and walked over to me. She put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye.
“I’m just messing with you. Chill,” she said. “Now, I don’t know what this thing is that’s going on between you two, but she seems to be more than just your personal assistant.”
“Erica, I—” I started.
“It’s okay,” she interrupted. “I’m not going to say anything to Dad.”
The tension began to leave my shoulders that felt like they were up to my ears. It was like we were back in high school and she would cover for me if I was out past curfew. I always returned the favor. There were very few times we got caught. I knew I could trust her.
“Thank you,” I said gratefully, pulling her in for a tight hug.
“Okay, you’re suffocating me now,” she said against my shoulder.
I let her go and let out a laugh.
“Now, go get your Monica, so I can properly meet her.”
“And…”
“Apologize,” said Erica with a roll of her eyes.
I smiled and left the kitchen, eager to make the proper introductions between my sister and Monica. I had a feeling they would actually hit it off, when Monica wasn’t in a robe and taken so much by surprise.
I knocked on the bedroom door softly before entering. I found Monica sitting on the bed in an off-the-shoulder sage beach dress. Her hair was down in beachy waves. She looked stunning. The beach suited her, and we had only been here for the night. But she looked worried too. Her hands were clenched together in her lap, as if she was bracing herself for what came next.
“Hey,” I said, walking toward her, eager to comfort.
I stood in front of her and she looked up at me, her eyes full of worry. It looked like she might have been crying. I put my hands on her face and gently caressed her cheeks with my thumbs.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay,” I said in an almost whisper.
“How can it be okay?” she asked, her brows pulling together.
“It’s just my sister. Erica.”
“ Just your sister?”
“She’s harmless. I swear,” I assured her. “I’m sorry if she gave you a hard time. She was just messing around. She does that.”
Monica chewed on her cheek as if she didn’t know what to think.
“But what about work? Your dad. Kathy. Surely, now they’ll find out about us.” She buried her face in her hands.
“Stop,” I said, gently removing her hands and pulling her to stand. “You don’t have to worry about all of that. Erica isn’t going to say anything. She’s one of my best friends.”
It was true. Erica was one of the very few people who understood me.
That is actually astonishing, because Erica and I are completely different. She is anything but rich, and works as a journalist at a newspaper. She has a normal job and leads a normal life like many others, she would never accept a favor or anything from her rich brother, even if she has money problems. And I think she does sometimes.
But maybe that's exactly what connects us.She never really judged me for my life choices, and there had been a lot of questionable ones and I am one of the very few people who understood her humor. Sure, she gave me shit a lot of the time, just like she did right now. But deep down, she knew who I was and loved me.
I actually felt somewhat relieved that someone knew about Monica and me. It meant I had someone to talk to. Someone I could confide in.
“Okay,” said Monica warily as I wrapped my arms around her.
I tilted her chin up toward me with the crook of my finger and leaned down to kiss her. She leaned into me and wrapped her arms around me. I pulled away and looked at her beautiful face.
“Now, come on. I want you to meet my sister. Really meet her.”
A smile formed on her lips and she nodded.
“But first, let me get dressed.”