Chapter 7
TATE
As his hands slid down her back, I wondered how much more of this torture I could take.
Doris-Delores had chosen a couples’ massage for our afternoon activity. There were a few problems with this.
One: We weren’t a couple, and this activity made it seem like we were to anyone observing.
Two: She’d specifically requested a male massage therapist; pretty sure that was to fuck with me.
And three: Seeing her splayed out on a table half-naked next to me was not helping the situation below my waist. Pretty sure this was all part of her plan to slowly kill me on this vacation.
Just when I’d thought I couldn’t be any more turned on, she decided to take her top off, displaying a generous amount of side boob pressed against the table.
Only her bottom was covered by the white towel as she lay on her stomach.
I had the same situation going on, with only a towel covering my ass.
I caught her looking at me with that naughty grin on her face.
She knew exactly what she was doing when she’d booked this torture disguised as a massage.
The spa area opened up to the ocean, only partially shielded by linen curtains that blew in the breeze. I tried to concentrate on the sounds of the water versus what was happening next to me, because any time my eyes veered to the side, I only got more pissed off.
Needless to say, this massage wasn’t all that relaxing.
“So, are you guys on your honeymoon?” the woman working on me asked.
“No.” I groaned. “We just met, actually.”
“He’s trying to resist me,” Doris-Delores added gleefully. “He’s thrilled that another man is touching me so he doesn’t have to.”
The dude massaging her chuckled, as did the woman working on me.
“I see,” my massage therapist said. “Interesting dynamic.”
With every stroke of the guy’s hands on her skin, I felt more territorial. And even though it sounded fucking obsessive, if I couldn’t touch her, I didn’t want anyone to. Not even like this.
It didn’t help that the guy was tall and pretty good-looking. He was also closer to her age.
Fuck.
She closed her eyes, seeming to really enjoy her massage. That was the point of this, wasn’t it? Except I was too busy monitoring what was happening to the right of me.
She moaned, and I felt it in my dick. She opened her eyes and promptly caught me looking at her. She flashed an impish grin, proving once again how much she enjoyed torturing me.
When he moved to work lower on her back, I gulped. Her skin looked so damn smooth. My hands ached to touch her like that. He applied pressure, circling his thumbs against her spine as I continued to watch like a hawk. I couldn’t help myself. I was just as transfixed as I was on alert.
After the torture session, er, massage, was finally over, we exited the spa together.
She let out a long breath. “That was so relaxing.”
“I’m glad it was relaxing for you.” I groaned.
She blinked innocently. “You didn’t find it relaxing?”
“No, I didn’t find having to lie there for an hour while some guy got to rub his hands down every inch of your body relaxing.”
“You could’ve stopped it at any time.”
“Really?” I cocked my head. “And how exactly would I have done that?”
“You could’ve admitted that you wished you were the one touching me. I would’ve ended it early to put you out of your misery.”
I gritted my teeth. “It wasn’t just that. I didn’t like watching someone else take advantage of you. No way a guy in that job doesn’t get some gratification out of a client like you.”
She shrugged. “He seemed pretty professional to me.”
“On the outside, sure…” I huffed.
“What other way is there?”
“You don’t know what he was thinking.” I shook my head. “Men are... We’re fucking pigs, okay?”
“Maybe you should speak for yourself, Tate.”
“I am speaking for myself. I include me in that comment.”
“Well, I was pretending it was you touching me. So, oink-oink.”
Fuck. I shook my head and spoke up at the sky. “You’re trouble.”
“You’re just figuring this out?”
“I’m not letting you choose the next thing we do.”
She waved dismissively. “It’s your turn anyway.”
“My choice is gonna be wild and crazy,” I announced.
She leaned in. “Oh, do tell.”
Looking around, I lowered my voice. “We’re gonna have dinner in the restaurant.”
“Ohhhh. I can’t believe you’d dare go there,” she said facetiously.
“Right?” I chuckled.
“By the way, I just made an executive decision.”
“What’s that?”
She raised her chin. “I’m not coming on to you anymore.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why? It’s kind of fun when you do.”
“Yeah, but I need to get some self-respect. If you seriously don’t want to be anything more than friends with me, that’s your right. I shouldn’t be making it harder for you to say no.”
“So, what’s this new chapter gonna look like for us?” I asked, disappointed—and disappointed in myself for being disappointed.
“We can still have fun,” she said. “I’m just not gonna try to tempt you anymore.”
Pretty sure all she had to do was breathe, and she’d still be tempting me.
“Okay.” I exhaled. “Well, cool then.”
Maybe this was a test. I couldn’t be sure. In any case, her flirtatiousness had never been the issue. Aside from that guy touching her, it had been nothing but fun. The problem was my weakness and desire to bend her over my knee at any given moment.
She sighed. “I still can’t believe this is going to be over so soon.”
“I can’t believe it either. I’m not ready to let you go.” I realized immediately that was probably a little too honest. “What’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get home?” I asked as we walked toward the elevators.
“Probably laundry.”
“That’s pretty boring, but makes sense.”
She tilted her head. “You?”
“I’m gonna book a trip to see my son. It’s been too long. Well, that’s right after I pick up my dog from the sitter.”
“What kind of dog do you have?”
“German shepherd. Her name is Khloe.”
“Aw. That’s so sweet. Should I be jealous?”
“Maybe a little. She’s my number-one girl.” I winked. “Khloe’s been through a lot with me.”
“That’s adorable.” She grinned, but circled back.
“As for the trip to see your son, it’s never too late to make things right.
Don’t let other people, like your son’s mom, make you feel you don’t deserve a second chance.
You’ve been trying your best. That’s all you can ever do.
Even if you made mistakes along the way, you thought you were doing the right thing at the time. And you’ve learned from your mistakes.”
Her words made me feel warm inside. I smiled. “Thanks for the advice. Who’s the old one here?”
“I do have an old soul,” she said. “I’ve been told that before.
I also think sometimes when you haven’t been so scarred by life, you can see things more clearly.
You’ve been through a lot of circumstances that might make you question yourself.
But from what you’ve told me, it doesn’t seem like anything that happened was really your fault.
It just happened—your injury, your high school girlfriend’s unplanned pregnancy, the accident when you were in the military.
Sure, you could’ve done things differently when it came to your son, but like you said yourself, his mother shut you out when she got married.
Sounds to me like you’ve been doing the best you can with what you’ve got. ”
I shook my head. “Who the hell are you, Doris-Delores? Are you, like, an angel sent to make me feel better about myself?”
“I’ve been sent from the Kingdom of Blue Balls to save you from yourself.”
That cracked me up. “Figures that’s where you came from.”
She placed her hand on my cheek. Just when I’d closed my eyes to savor her touch, she moved away. “I’m gonna go get showered and change. What time should I meet you for dinner?”
I looked down at my phone. It was five PM. A little early for dinner, but I didn’t want to spend too much time away from her. The addiction was real. “Can you be ready in a half hour?”
“Early-bird special, huh? That’s age appropriate for you.” She winked.
“Actually, wiseass, we can meet for drinks before dinner.”
She raised her hands to make quotation marks. “Drinks.”
I felt bad for policing her life. “If you decide to use your fake ID tonight, I won’t stop you. But I didn’t see anything.”
“Ohhhh, letting loose, are we, Tate?”
“I didn’t say I condone it. I just said I won’t snitch on you.”
She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “How nice.”
I winked. “Go get changed, pain in my ass.”
***
When I got down to the restaurant, I snagged a table and messaged her through the hookup app that I’d be waiting for her.
Fifteen minutes later, and she still hadn’t shown up. But unfortunately, someone I recognized did.
Shit. Langley Munson.
Langley’s parents were friends with my mother and father. She and her family had frequented the resort over the years. Langley and I used to hook up when we were younger, but I hadn’t seen her in ages. My mother had told me she’d gotten divorced and was on the prowl again.
She’d already spotted me, so I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen her.
Langley approached my table. “Well, well, well. How long has it been?”
I cleared my throat. “Langley, good to see you.”
“Did you just arrive?” she asked.
“No. I’ve been here since last weekend. Leaving Saturday, actually.”
“Did you come here alone?”
While I hadn’t felt alone for a while, the only correct answer was, “I did.”
“Well, basically me too. I’m here with my parents. They’re around somewhere. I tried to lose them.” She laughed.
I looked over her shoulder to see if Doris-Delores had arrived. “How are your parents doing?”
“They’re great. They’re probably playing around in the casino right now. You know how old people like to gamble.”
“Right...” I craned my neck to see behind her.
She pulled up a chair and moved it uncomfortably close to mine. “Do you still come here a lot?” she asked.
“It’s been several years, actually.”
“How lucky to have run into you, then. This is our first time out this year.”
The look in her eyes told me Langley had some ideas for us. I needed to let her know that she shouldn’t get her hopes up. My last day here was already accounted for.
“Actually—” I began, but I barely got a word in.
“I mean, seriously!” she interrupted. “What are the chances? Here I was, thinking I’d be lonely on this trip.” Sooner than I could blink, she randomly moved in and kissed me on the cheek.
What the hell?
Before I could lean away and break the news to her that I wasn’t interested, I discovered Doris-Delores standing nearby. Her expression was sunken, melancholy. I’d never seen this girl sad until now. She must have witnessed Langley throwing herself at me.
My chest tightened. Before I could explain that this wasn’t what it looked like, she started walking away.
Without saying goodbye to Langley, I rushed after her.
I vaguely heard Langley behind me. “Where are you going?”
I didn’t bother turning around, instead focusing on nothing but the girl who had made my entire day earlier with her kind and reassuring words, only to be humiliated by this misunderstanding.
“DD, stop! That wasn’t what it looked like at all.” I grabbed her arm, but she turned and whipped it away from me.
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing is going to happen between us, so you might as well fuck a woman your own age before you go home,” she spewed.
“I’m not gonna be fucking her. She’s someone I knew when I was younger.
She just happens to be here with her parents.
I’d only run into her a couple of minutes before you showed up.
Her kissing me on the cheek was unexpected and uncalled for.
I have no interest in her whatsoever.” I wrapped my hands around her face and looked deeply into her eyes. “I promise you. That’s the truth.”
Her eyes glistened. “What’s the point of explaining? You don’t owe me anything. Soon you’ll never see me again. Why don’t you go wet your whistle and get it out of your system with this age-appropriate woman who clearly wants you?”
“Because you’re all I can think about,” I blurted.
I surprised myself with that admission, but it was the damn truth. After that fiasco, I owed this girl a hell of a lot more than a proper explanation.
Her breathing had quickened the moment I put my hands on her.
Fuck. She was starving. And I’d been denying her.
She’d been an amazing travel partner, putting in the time to get to know me, and I’d given her nothing.
But perhaps most ridiculous was my attempt to convince myself that what I was about to do was for her benefit when I was the one dying.
Fuck it.