Chapter 13 #2
It occurred to me that we hadn’t taken many photos together.
In Fira that was my fault because I hadn’t gone with him on the cable cars and at lunch, he was mainly going through the pictures he’d taken with Kayleigh.
It wasn’t a problem though because we’d be able to get lots of gorgeous sunset photos later.
‘Go on then,’ Adonis prompted. ‘Please do not be shy. Take as many photos of me as you like. I know that you must be excited to show all of your friends how I look. If you prefer, I can take my T-shirt off?’
My eyes popped. I wasn’t sure that a fancy shop like this would appreciate him flashing his bare chest at the customers.
Then again, some of them might like it.
‘Er… it’s okay. I’ll just take one with you in the T-shirt,’ I stuttered. ‘It suits you.’
Wait.
I’d just turned down the opportunity to take a photo of a muscular man.
And not just any man.
Adonis was a literal Greek god.
I should be snapping away like a paparazzi who’d just spotted the Hemsworth brothers wandering the streets in the buff. But instead, I’d said no.
Who am I right now?
‘There is no need to be embarrassed.’ He grinned as he pulled the T-shirt over his head. I swear I just heard it rip, but I was keeping my mouth shut.
Next thing I knew Adonis was standing there topless.
And I felt… nothing.
I must be coming down with something.
Adonis clearly worked hard on his body and it’d paid off. The man was beefier than a burger factory.
As someone who was guilty of signing up for gym memberships in January, vowing to go three times a week, but failing miserably, I had nothing but respect and admiration for his commitment.
But for some strange reason, looking at all those muscles wasn’t getting my lady juices flowing.
‘Er, wow. You… your body is very muscular.’ I flashed him a half smile.
‘Thank you. Would you like to touch it before or after you take photos?’
Touch it?
In the middle of a freaking designer boutique?
I looked around the store nervously. The staff were serving other customers but surely it was only a matter of time before they spotted Adonis’s impromptu strip show.
‘I shouldn’t.’ I smiled. ‘We’re in public and…’
Adonis’s face fell. I’d offended him. He was clearly very proud of his body. And although of course I knew I wasn’t obligated to touch him just because he’d asked, maybe I was overthinking.
It wasn’t like he was asking me to scratch his arse or feel his dick. It was harmless.
It could be good research. I’d never touched a man that shredded before. Most women would kill to be in my position.
I pasted on a smile and walked over. The quicker I touched it and took a photo, the quicker he could get dressed and we could leave.
I gave his shoulder a little poke.
‘Very nice,’ I said, not really meaning it. It felt like sweaty, sticky concrete.
‘And now take a photo. You can use it if you miss me.’ He winked.
I fought the wince that threatened to break out on my face, then took a step back and reached into my bag for my phone.
When I tapped the screen and saw the time I gasped. It was already ten to seven, which was much later than I’d thought.
My stomach tightened. I couldn’t believe how long we’d been shopping and I hadn’t even bought a single souvenir or anything for myself. Everything that had been purchased was for Adonis.
Most importantly, there wasn’t long until the sunset meeting point deadline and I still hadn’t checked out some of the other places that had caught my eye when I was wandering down the streets earlier.
Petros had made it very clear that the location we were meeting at got extra busy at sunset and I’d already said to Adonis that I wanted to get there by 6.45, just in case.
‘Are you almost done?’ I asked him as gently as I could as I pretended to take a photo. For some reason it felt wrong to take a topless picture of him, even though he’d given me permission. ‘It’s just that we need to be at the meeting point before sunset.’
‘Do not worry, darling,’ Adonis called out as he returned to the changing room, put on his own T-shirt then stepped back out into the main part of the store. ‘Sunset is not for hours. We have until nine to get there. We will be fine.’
‘But Petros said we needed to get there at least an hour and a half before, so by seven at the latest!’
‘That is not necessary. I have been here many times and it will not set that early. I just need a few more things and I will be done. I want to buy something nice for the excursion tomorrow. Which one do you like the most?’ He picked up two white linen shirts, which looked exactly the same, and held them up.
‘Er.’ I frowned. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘I will try them both.’ He smiled before disappearing back into the changing room.
Half an hour later, after trying on the same shirts three times because he couldn’t choose which one he preferred (no, I wasn’t joking), Adonis decided he didn’t like either of them.
‘We’re late!’ I scolded, trying to keep the venom in my voice at an acceptable level. I was never late. I prided myself on it. And there was no reason for us to be.
I couldn’t believe that I’d finally got to come to this dream village and spent most my time stuck inside, shopping.
And none of it was for me.
Hopefully the meeting point wasn’t too far away.
We set off and I was about to put the location in Google Maps, but Adonis assured me that he knew the way. But nearly forty minutes later, we didn’t seem to be getting any closer. And Adonis constantly stopping to take selfies holding up all of his designer bags didn’t help.
My phone buzzed and when I took it out, Noah’s name was flashing on the screen. I answered it quickly.
‘Where are you?’ he said, his voice laced with concern. ‘It’s almost eight. I thought you’d be here early because you were really looking forward to it. Is everything okay?’
Anger bubbled in my chest. I couldn’t believe it either.
‘I know,’ I said, tears pricking in my eyes. ‘We’re on our way, but we’re lost. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
I wanted to tell Noah that it wasn’t because of my poor sense of direction. We were late because Adonis was being too stubborn to admit he didn’t have a clue where he was going.
‘It’s already heaving with tourists, so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to get up to the main viewing point. I tried to save you a spot because I knew you wouldn’t want to miss it, but I couldn’t keep it.’
‘Thanks for trying,’ I said, my voice wavering with sadness. ‘I’d better go.’
I hung up, my cheeks now flaming with anger. I couldn’t rely on Adonis to get me there. Even with my shit sense of direction, I was sure I could find it faster than he would.
After getting tired of wandering down the wrong streets, I asked someone if they knew the way and thankfully, they gave me directions.
Fifteen minutes later, we finally arrived, but just like Noah had warned, there were wall-to-wall tourists and it was impossible to find a spot at the best viewing points.
‘We’ve missed the best part!’ I said to Adonis, with my hands on my hips.
‘Do not worry.’ He smiled. ‘The sunset is all around us, darling. You do not need to stand on an old building to see it. The sun is in our hearts and in our minds. There will be other days.’
‘Not here there won’t!’ I snapped back. ‘This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was really looking forward to seeing the sunset. Not in my heart or mind, but here.’ I pointed to the viewing point. ‘And now I’ve missed it!’
Frustration flooded my veins. I should’ve insisted we left earlier or told Adonis that if he wanted to keep trying on bloody T-shirts, he could stay at the shop whilst I made my own way here.
But I knew why I didn’t. I stayed because I felt guilty that I’d neglected him earlier by not sitting next to him or going on the cable cars. And now what was supposed to be a highlight of this trip was ruined.
As I watched the sun disappear beneath the horizon, the crowd started to disperse. I spotted Petros and other people from our group, then I saw Noah and Kayleigh walking towards us.
‘There you are!’ Noah said.
‘Oooh! Someone’s been shopping!’ Kayleigh eyes flicked excitedly to the barrage of bags Adonis was clutching. They were taking up so much room that the other tourists struggled to get past. ‘What’d you get, Alicia?’
‘Those are Adonis’s bags,’ I replied, not even trying to hide my annoyance.
‘Adonis’s?’ Noah frowned. ‘But you left the restaurant hours ago! You got something too, right?’ he asked and it felt like a knife was being twisted in my gut.
‘No.’ I lowered my voice, which was now tinged with embarrassment.
It wasn’t like I expected Adonis to buy me anything. The stuff in those shops was pricey and we’d only just met, but I suppose he could’ve at least offered. I would’ve said no of course, but it would’ve been nice to be considered.
He didn’t even ask if I wanted to get an ice cream or stop off at a souvenir shop.
But at the end of the day, that wasn’t what pissed me off the most. I was more upset that I’d missed the famous sunset.
And I’d never get the chance to come to this spot and see it again.