Chapter 38
Daniel
I gripped the edges of the surfboard as I looked back over my shoulder for incoming swells. There were a few other guys out on the water, much better than me, who were riding in almost every wave. I had been studying their movements and trying to catch on, only getting lucky a few times.
It had been a spontaneous decision to rent a surfboard from the activity shack this afternoon. I wanted to do something adventurous. Something active. Now, here I was trying to stay balanced as I sat on the glossy wood that rocked beneath me.
I heard a couple of the other guys shout. There must have been a good one coming. I looked back and saw the swell. The others were beginning to paddle fast, so I joined them. When I felt the board begin to dive down, I hopped to my feet and spread my arms out like unsteady wings.
I felt the wave catch beneath my feet and the board went from wobbly to smooth.
I had caught it. I gave a triumphant yell as I rode the wave close to shore before jumping off.
That was exhilarating. I could see why people fell in love with it.
The challenge of it. The thrill. I picked up the board and tucked it under my arm, dragging it onto the sand before plopping down.
I shook the saltwater from my hair and watched as the other surfers continued picking and choosing the best waves to ride.
This was the fourth day here in Bora Bora, and I was starting to feel more like myself again.
Everything about this place was so different from New York.
The beach replaced the damp asphalt. Crystal-clear waters replaced the brooding waters of the Hudson.
Straw huts replaced the glass skyscrapers.
It was a completely other world, and I had been soaking it all in.
“Can I get you a drink, Mr. Jacobs?” said a voice.
I looked up, squinting against the sun, before I made out the face of Colette, who stood above me in her usual floral dress, the uniform for the female staff at the hotel. It looked best on her young body. One that I had yet to explore.
“I thought I told you to call me Daniel?” I said with a grin.
“That’s right. You looked good out there, Daniel.”
“Were you watching me?”
“Maybe,” she answered, biting her lip.
We were back at our usual flirting game that hadn’t gone anywhere because I hadn’t allowed it to go any further.
Every day, I would see her in one way or another.
Up at the restaurant or down here on the beach where she would serve drinks.
We would banter back and forth, pass some sexual innuendos, exchange a few suggestive glances. That was it.
“It was my first time.” I shrugged, looking out at the water.
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that. You looked like a pro.”
“ You, my dear, are a fantastic liar.”
She giggled. I watched as her eyes took me in and wondered what she was thinking. I knew I could easily find out. I still had a few days to find out. She would be willing. That much was clear. I just couldn’t seem to pull the trigger.
“You know what sounds good? A pina colada,” I said.
“We make the best,” she quipped, jotting it down on her pad.
“Can you add a little extra rum?”
“Sure. I’ll even add an extra umbrella.” She winked before walking down the stretch of sand, taking orders on her way.
I watched as the men on their honeymoons looked at her, careful not to be caught by their wives who were lying on a beach chair next to them. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. Men were so predictable, myself included. At least, I used to be. Before Heart.
I lay back on the board and closed my eyes, letting the warm sun dry the saltwater against my skin. I wondered what Heart was doing now. It had been nearly a month since I had seen her last. It might as well have been a year for how long it felt. I just hoped she was okay.
A few minutes later, Colette brought over my pina colada. It had an extra umbrella, as promised, and an extra shot or two of rum. I took a sip and my eyes grew wide as the rum burned my throat. It was deliciously strong.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked, raising my brows.
“You asked for it,” she replied before slinking away and begging my eyes to follow.
I finished my drink and Colette returned with another one, without me asking.
She was definitely trying to get me drunk.
I smiled at the thought as I took a sip of my second drink.
It felt good to have a woman’s attention.
Even better to let the sweet taste of alcohol blur the pained edges of my memories with Heart.
After my second drink, I returned my surfboard to the activity shack, feeling the buzz of that cocktail running through my veins. I walked up the steps of the beach to the wooden pathway back to my room. My head felt fuzzy and my limbs loose. I was properly tipsy.
I held the keycard to the door and it clicked open. I stepped inside and lay face-down on the bed. The afternoon of sun and rum had me spent. I passed out quickly.
A few hours later, a knock at the door stirred me from my drunken slumber. I opened one eye and groggily rolled onto my side. Outside, the sun had just set and the sky was purple and sprinkled with a few stars. I had really conked out. I still felt a buzz from my drinks.
The knock at my door sounded again and I remembered that was what had woken me in the first place. I rolled off the bed.
“Coming,” I called.
I padded toward the door, assuming it was room service. They liked to come by some mornings or nights with complimentary fruit or chocolate. I opened the door to see it wasn’t room service. It was Kiera.
I blinked a few times to make sure I was seeing things correctly.
“Kiera?” I asked.
“The one and only,” she said, as she put her hand high on the doorframe and leaned her body against it.
She wore a skimpy hot pink bikini. The bottoms hung low on her hips, held in place by thin strings, and the top was stretched across her voluminous breasts. It was pointless in trying not to look. My eyes were drawn up and down every inch of her long body.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She stepped inside the room and the door closed behind her. “I’m here to make you feel better.”
“But how did you…”
“Brody.”
Of course my brother would do something like this. Send a little plaything to make me feel better.
“You do want to feel better, don’t you?” Kiera asked suggestively.
I watched as she reached up and untied the strings of her bikini top with one hand, letting it fall and her breasts spill out before me gloriously.
They were tan and her pink nipples were erect and just inviting my mouth to taste them.
Then her fingers pulled at the strings at her hips, the hot pink falling to the floor and leaving her slender body completely naked in front of me.
I swallowed hard as she moved her hands down her breasts to her stomach to between her legs. She began to move her fingertips against herself in slow, circular motions. Her eyes never leaving mine.
“Kiera,” I whispered, my throat scratchy.
She threw her head back and let out a pleasure-filled moan as she continued massaging between her legs, her fingers disappearing from view.
I felt myself growing hard against my board shorts as I watched her play with herself.
There was no denying Kiera’s beauty or her sex appeal. She knew exactly how to work a man.
Unable to deny her, I took a step toward her and placed my hands on her hips gruffly, digging my fingertips into her.
Her skin was soft and warm. She brought her head up and looked me in the eyes before putting her mouth against mine.
My mouth opened eagerly. I wanted to taste her.
Her tongue lashed against mine desperately, as her hands wrapped around my neck.
I pushed her toward the wall, pressing my body tightly against hers.
The only thing between us was the thin material of my shorts.
My hands moved from her hips to her breasts, cupping them in my palms as she spread her legs so my erection was pressed against her just so. I let out a throaty moan as I felt her wet warmth seep through my shorts.
I could have her right here. Right now. I could fuck her right here against this wall. Anywhere I wanted. One swift motion, and I could be inside her. Filling her. Slapping into her hard and fast until there was nothing left to give.
But then I thought about Heart, and the thought sobered me up. It brought me back to reality. I wondered how she would feel about me being in this hotel room with my ex naked against me. And that made me pull away from Kiera’s kiss.
She opened her eyes and searched mine. “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly, before trying to kiss me again.
“I can’t,” I said.
“Yes, you can.”
Her hands slid down the front of my shorts until they met my erection. She smiled coyly as she began massaging me slowly. I closed my eyes and lost myself again, but only for a second, before I reached down and removed her hands.
“No. This isn’t right,” I said.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped, shoving at my chest.
“I don’t know,” I muttered.
“Brody was right about you. You’re not yourself.”
She crossed her arms and glared at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, running my hand through my hair frustratedly.
She was right. Brody was right. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me. Why did I care how Heart felt when she clearly didn’t care about me? It was stupid, but I couldn’t help it.
“Yeah, me, too,” said Kiera. She picked up her bikini and quickly slid it back on. She struggled to tie the strings that were tangled.
“Let me help you,” I said.
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped.
“Okay. Look, I’m sorry you came all this way.”
“Me too.”
She opened the door and slammed it behind her.
“Fuck!” I yelled.
I paced the entryway of my suite for a minute to cool down before walking out to the deck. It was dark now. I looked out at the water, which gently lapped against the stilts that held up my little bungalow.
If Kiera was a test to see if I was back to my old self, I had clearly failed.
It was clear that I wasn’t over Heart. I started to wonder if I ever would be.
Maybe I should have had my way with Kiera just to get Heart out of my damn head.
I looked back toward the door, as if I had any chance of getting her back here. I knew it would be futile, though.
Heart would still be there in my mind. In my heart.
I sighed and pulled out my phone. I started looking for the next flight home from Bora Bora. I was cutting my trip short.