12. for tonight
for tonight
OTHELLO
Marley is the first to enter the room, our appointed butler holding the door open for us. Although calling it a room feels like an understatement. Suite is more accurate.
Marley is tense the entire route up here. I can see it in her body language. Her tense shoulders. The way she keeps clenching the strap of her duffel bag.
I follow close behind as the butler leads the way. When he opens the door to our suite and we walk inside, I watch her composure soften. Her shoulders relax. It’s like her body is taking a deep breath. And I don’t blame her.
The suite is amazing.
After we enter the room and take the short walk down a narrow hallway, we come to a massive living room, with a cozy dining area for two off to the side.
The floor-to-ceiling windows offer a nice view, and the sliding glass door frames the ocean like a painting.
There’s a half bath on one side of the room and a kitchenette on the other, complete with a mini fridge, a small two-burner cooktop, and an espresso machine near the sink.
“Wow,” Marley sighs breathlessly.
The sliding glass doors to the veranda are already open, the sheer curtains floating lazily in the breeze.
Marley drops her bag on one of the beige armchairs and rushes outside, her head rotating slowly from left to right as she admires the view.
When she turns around, she smiles at me, and I feel like all is good in this world.
Maybe I can win back some cool points.
“This view is sick,” she exclaims. “Come look at this.”
I can see the view from here, but I’m down to do whatever Marley wants at this point.
I step outside. Seeing it from here instead of the living room does take it up a notch. The view is even more amazing. The Maui air is welcoming, and the smell of saltwater from the outstretched ocean makes it all the better. I marvel at the late evening sun casting everything in warm gold.
Damn. I can’t believe I almost bailed on coming here.
“I could stay out here all day?” she sighs, letting her head fall back and her eyes fall shut.
An ache settles in my chest because suddenly the view isn’t the most amazing thing out here anymore. It’s seriously taking everything in me not to pull this woman into my arms and find out what her lips taste like.
“Yeah,” I say, trying to remain a gentleman. “I can get used to this.”
A small bistro table sits near the railing with two cushioned chairs facing the water. Off to the right is a chaise, wide enough for two, angled to face the ocean, which you can see because the wall of the balcony is made of clear glass.
When we make it back inside, our butler has already wheeled our luggage into the bedroom, “we’re not sharing,” and is waiting patiently in the living room as we scope out the rest of the suite.
The bedroom has the same floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors as the living room.
These doors are closed, though, but the curtains are pulled back, showing off that stunning view you can see from the bed, which is King-size and dressed in crisp white linen sheets.
Deep inside, I’m aching cause I know I won’t be enjoying it tonight.
The ensuite bathroom looks like a spa, with its glass-enclosed rainfall shower and separate garden tub.
When we come back into the living room, the butler smiles warmly and clasps his hands in front of him.
“We hope you enjoy your stay here at Grand Palms. If you need anything at all, you can call this number.” he pulls a business card from his uniform pocket and hands it to me.
“My name is Pika. I will be right up to assist with whatever you need. Concierge is also available twenty-four hours a day.”
“Thank you, Pika,” I tell him.
“Yes, thank you so much,” Marley adds.
I reach into my back pocket and pull out my wallet, but before I can pull out a few bills, Pika lifts a hand, shaking his head with a polite smile.
“Tips have already been accommodated by the Sterling family, Mr. Kingston.”
Marley raises an eyebrow.
“But thank you,” Pika adds. “Please enjoy your stay, and don’t hesitate to call if you need me.”
“We won’t, thanks again.” I walk Pika to the door and close it quietly behind him.
The room falls silent, but the tension is loud.
Marley stands in the middle of the living room, hugging herself and shifting her weight from one leg to the other. It dawns on me that she’s afraid to make a move because this is, in fact, my suite. She doesn’t want to overstep her boundaries.
“Hey, whatever you need to do, feel free. I know you probably want to take a shower and get some sleep,” I tell her.
“I do, but you can go first. I’ll wait.”
“Marley, it’s alright. I don’t mind. Really. This is your room too.”
“For tonight,” she reminds me.
“Yes. For tonight.”
Her steps are uneven as she makes her way into the bedroom. But then she pauses, as if another thought has crossed her mind, and turns, wobbling back into the living room.
“Can you please tell me why you didn’t think it was important to mention that Carina Sterling is your girlfriend?”
“My ex-girlfriend, Marley. Carina is my ex.”
“Okay, your ex. You didn’t think you should have told me who she was?”
“I could have, but I figured that would look like bragging.”
She rolls her eyes. “Okay, I get that. But you could have told me. We spent ten hours together, and it never crossed your mind once? Carina Sterling is kind of a big deal.”
“To who?”
Marley blinks in confusion.
“Trust me, she is nothing to brag about,” I finish.
“But she’s clearly someone to lie to, though, right?”
She catches me off guard with that one. I have no answer. I let out an exhausted sigh because I have no idea how I can fix things between us. The day had started out like a dream, but now I can feel the peevish energy radiating off her.
Yes, it’s probably because Marley doesn’t have a room, but I know I have a lot to do with it, too. I know I hurt her with that stupid lie. I don’t know what I was thinking, blurtin' that shit out like an idiot. And I know any trust she had in me before is now gone.