Chapter 16
Nikita
“Are you checking up on me?” I ask my brother, who is on FaceTime with me, as I make my way through the lobby of the hotel.
“Just wanted to make sure that the two of you haven’t killed each other yet,” Jo?o responds, his voice in my earphones, causing me to roll my eyes.
“Your friend is perfectly fine,” I respond dryly, walking through the small café they have attached to the hotel.
I hadn’t lasted much longer at the champagne tasting last night. After watching Calvin get dragged to do some shots, I slipped away undetected. While I am here to pretend to be his girlfriend, I can’t think of anything worse than being forced to do shots. I did enough of that in college, pretty sure I sent my liver into shock at one point.
Now, I stick to wine, champagne or cocktails, and sparingly.
I’m not sure if Calvin survived last night. By the time I woke up this morning, the couch, which he now calls his bed, was impeccably made, as if no one had spent the night on it at all. He is nowhere in sight, so I decided to go on my own mission to find coffee.
“Are you only getting back from work now, mano? Isn’t it midnight or something?”
He nods, “I had a late shoot so I thought I’d check in on my baby sister.” The only view I have is from below his chin before he sits the phone down and steps back into frame, this time with his kitchen as the backdrop.
“How did it go?”
“Good - great, actually. I got to interview this new wonder kid signing for Mavericks FC in the UK. He’s only fifteen years old. Can you imagine? Playing in the biggest league in the country and for one of the best teams and you can’t even drive yet.” My brother oozes passion as he speaks. Football is everything to him and up until he turned eighteen, everyone was convinced he would leave a legacy in the sport.
Until the moment that changed his life forever.
My brother’s dream was killed by a freak skiing accident that cost him his leg. That was a dark period in all our lives, but especially him as he was confronted with two options - spend the rest of his life fighting against the vision of what he thought his life would be or adapt to his new reality and find a way of accepting it. It wasn’t easy for him at first, but fourteen years on, he’s adapted and fought to find a new way to keep his passion for the sport alive.
Now, he operates from a behind-the-scenes, media point-of-view, and the fire inside of him has returned after years of being dormant.
“That’s insane.”
Jo?o nods. “You have no idea,” He moves out of frame and I hear his voice off-camera, “Where’s Cal?”
“No idea. Last I saw him was last night when he was doing shots with Kenneth.”
“Calvin doing shots?” My brother bursts out laughing, returning to the screen as he sticks his head in front of the camera, “I’d love to know how Kenneth got that right.”
“From what I have gathered so far, no one says no to Kenneth.” I stop in the line leading up to the counter where other people are placing their orders. “It’s a very…” I pause, trying to find a polite word to use, “Interesting group of people here.”
“Don’t be judgemental.”
“I’m not. They are interesting to observe as an outsider.”
My brother chuckles “I’m just pulling your leg, mana. I’m not the biggest fan of them either.”
“How come you’re not friends with Kenneth?”
“Have you met the guy? He’s a tool.”
“So you knew and you didn’t warn me?” I shake my head. “Why the hell would Calvin be friends with him then?” I ask, bringing the volume of my voice lower. There could be people from the wedding party lurking around here. “Actually, the better question to be asking is why are you friends with Calvin at all?”
“Cut him some slack. Cal’s a good guy.”
“Not the adjective I would use.”
My brother is busy with something off-screen again. “I know you don’t like the guy, but he hasn’t always had it easy with everything that happened with his dad.”
I glance back at the screen, my interest now piqued. “What happened to his dad?”
I know Calvin, but nothing of substance – only what he presents on the surface for others to see. I have no understanding of his true self, what drives him, or what makes him tick.
My brother returns on the screen, “I shouldn’t say.”
I glare at him, “Don’t be that person.”
“What person?”
“The ‘I shouldn’t say’ person,” I mimic before shaking my head, “Then why’d you bring it up?¨
“I didn’t think you’d be interested in anything when it comes to him.”
“Usually, no, but while I’m here and having to be his…” I lower my voice, “girlfriend, I figured I could use any insight you might have.”
My brother rests his elbows against the counter bringing his face closer to the phone to reveal a joint between his lips. I open my mouth to say something but he beats me to it. “If you’re going to say something about Miss Mary Jane, I’m not interested.”
I close my mouth but roll my eyes at him as he lights the end of it and takes a deep breath in, inhaling the smoke into his lungs. I always tease my brother about it, but it’s never from a place of judgment. When his anxiety was at its worst years ago, it was the only thing that helped him. Now, I think he just enjoys it.
He exhales as I take a step forward in the line. “Cal’s dad’s in prison.”
My lips part with surprise, my eyes widening along with it, “H-he’s what?”
“Prison, jail, lockup, the slamme-.”
“Yes, thank you, Jay, I got it. It was more of a rhetorical question.” I bring my phone closer to my face. “What did he do?”
“Extortion, bribery, aggravated assault - you name it.”
I am shocked. There is nothing about Calvin that would have given me the indication that this is part of his history, but then again, I didn’t think anyone would want that kind of information to be public knowledge out of fear of judgment.
I feel… bad for him. “Wow.”
My brother exhales a cloud of smoke, “Between that and his mother passing away, he’s been through a lot.”
“You’ve been through a lot, but you’re not a dick.”
“Yes, but I have therapy to thank for that.” He lifts the joint between his fingers to the screen. “And this.”
“Maybe your friend should try that then,” I mumble.
“Weed or therapy?”
“Both.”
“Kita,” my brother says my name in the same tone that carries out an elongated sound of the vowel at the end. It’s his way of asking me not to be a bitch without having to use the words.
“Fine. Sorry. I’ll cut your friend some slack, but if he’s being a dick, I’m going to tell him that.”
“ I have no doubt.” He chuckles, “I’m starting to realize why you don’t have any friends, mana.”
“That’s by choice,” I remind him.
My job requires me to be a people person so there is no reason why I have to continue to be around them when I’m not working. A lonely, but ultimately peaceful life works for me.
“Next!” The barista calls and I step forward placing my order.
“Order me something.” My brother’s voice comes through my earphones. “You can bring it back in your suitcase.”
“Sure, cause who doesn’t love week-old coffee?” I respond sarcastically before returning my attention to the barista, asking her for a moment as I look at the screen. “How does Calvin take his coffee?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because I’d like to get him a coffee - what a ridiculous question.”
“I think it’s ridiculous that you think I’d know his coffee order.”
“It’s ridiculous that you don’t.” I look back up to the barista to apologize for taking long and proceed to order a second cup of black coffee. I don’t know his order, but I figure it is a good place to start. I pay for them and move over to the other side of the counter, finding an open bar stool to seat myself on.
“Mana, I have to go. Georgina is calling me.”
“Who the hell is Georgina?”
“My bed.”
I laugh, “You named your bed Georgina? Why?”
“It’s called manifestation. One day, mark my words, I’ll have a Georgina in my bed.”
“Ew, go to bed.”
My brother laughs and puts his face right up against the screen as we say our goodbyes. “Bejinhos.”
It doesn’t take long for my order to be ready and before I know it, I’m back upstairs making my way to the room. Finding the door slightly ajar, I use my back to push it open further since I have both cups in my hand. “Knock, knock.”
I don’t have time to try and close the door behind me before a gust of wind does it for me, slamming it shut and causing me to jump.
“Was that necessary?” Calvin steps inside from the balcony. I whip my head in his direction, ready to inform him that I am not the one to blame, but all the words leave my brain when I come face to face with his bare torso.
His sweaty, toned torso.
Is that what he is hiding under his preppy linen shirts?
“Hello?” Calvin snaps his fingers, my eyes jumping from his body to his questioning eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?” I turn defensive, “What’s wrong with you?”
He looks confused and I can’t blame him since I’m still recovering from the fact that his body is on display, and more so, the physical effect it seems to have on me.
“Uh, nothing? You’re the one slamming doors.”
Whatever attraction I felt for him quickly dissipated thanks to the opening of his mouth again.”Do you feel that coming through the room? That’s called wind, and that’s what slammed the door, not me.”
I walk over to the counter, placing both coffees down along with my wallet and cell phone. He eyes me before joining me by the counter, still not bothering to cover up. I don’t need to see his naked torso. No, thank you.
He points to the coffee cups, eyeing me suspiciously, “Is one for me?”
I nod, “Thought you might need a caffeine boost after your drinking party last night.”
“How thoughtful. One might say you were a caring girlfriend.”
I roll my eyes and reach for my own coffee cup while handing the other over to him. “Don’t get too excited, I wasn’t sure how you take it so all you’ve got is a cup of black coffee.”
“My exact order.”
We have the same coffee order - what are the chances of that?
Very high, Nikita. Millions of people take their coffee that way.
He brings the paper cup to his lips, the muscles on his arms flexing with the motion, causing an unexpected rush of heat over me.
What? Have you never seen toned arms before, Nikita?Get a grip.
I regain control of my brain temporarily, “I should have figured that would be your order. Black like your soul.”
His eyebrow raises, amusement on his lips. “How do you take your coffee?”
“With lots and lots of sweetener,” I lie.
He scoffs. “I doubt that.”
It isn’t a particularly hot day as of yet, but I can feel the heat weighing over me. I walk past him, cup still in hand as I head towards the balcony where I can be in the direct firing line of the next gush of wind. My body is acting like a pubescent teen rather than a grown adult.
“Where did you run off to this morning?” I ask, needing a subject change, “It looked as if no one had even slept on the couch last night.”
“Oh, I slept on the couch,” His unimpressed voice says from behind me. “And it was as comfortable as you would imagine.” He moves to stand next to me, leaning against the railing of the balcony. I keep my gaze forward, trying my hardest to avoid looking in his direction to ensure I will not be betrayed by my physical reactions towards him. “Since I slept like shit, I figured I would get a workout in.”
That explains why his body glistened in the sun. Not that I am taking notice of it - my focus is firmly on the glistening of the sun against the water instead.
“Jay says hi.”
“Did he call to check in?”
“He wanted to make sure you were still alive.”
He scoffs and lets out a small laugh as he sips on his coffee. “Maybe I should be more concerned about being left alone with you.”
I toss my narrowed eyes in his direction, “I’ve been a delight.”
“Not the word I would use.”
“That’s because you don’t know many words.”
He turns to lean his back against the balcony as he looks over at me, amusement in his eyes. I keep my eyes firmly on his, pretending his golden body isn’t begging for my attention in my peripherals.
Ignoring my comment, he switches the conversation, “Let’s talk about today.”
“Sure.” I take a sip. “What about it?”
“We’ve got the couples massage today. According to the instructions on the itinerary, there is a private beach connected to the resort and that’s where we are meant to meet everyone.”
“Don’t you think it’s weird that it’s going to be a bunch of couples getting a massage at the same time? Also, what if you’re not part of a couple? What happens then?”
He shrugs. “Not my monkey, not my circus, but I’m not going to complain about getting a free massage.” He stretches his neck from side to side, clearly fighting a kink in it. “And after sleeping on that concrete slab they call a couch, I need it.”
“If you’re trying to make me feel bad for you, it’s not going to happen. I find immense joy in your discomfort.”
He narrows his eyes, “You are truly twisted.”
I shrug, “You should have planned ahead, pretty boy.”
“I’m not having that conversation again,” he says, referring to the reason for our sleeping arrangements. Stepping forward, no longer leaning against the balcony, he moves a bit too close to the boundaries of my personal space. “We could share the bed. We can divide it in half.”
I scoff, “Like that’s going to happen.”
“Come on. You and I are grown ups, we can share a bed without it being… weird.”
It will be weird. But why did he think so?
“Why would it be weird?”
He looks confused, “Uh, because it would be? Surely you agree?”
My arms fold across my chest. “I do. I was just curious as to why you think so.”
“Whatever. Forget it.” He shakes his head. “Back to today. Let’s try and keep it as civil as possible with the others, alright?”
“I’ve been nothing but civil,” I remind him, “In fact, I’ve been playing my part to perfection. You, on the other hand.” I point at him, lifting my finger from around the coffee cup, “You’re the one still taking up residence in Violet’s ass.”
He rolls his eyes. “I was being nice.”
“You were being desperate.”
His jaw ticks, eyes narrowing on me again, “You really don’t mince your words, do you?”
“That’s a waste of time.”
His eyes stay on mine for a moment longer before he shrugs, breaking our eye contact as he takes another step. “Fine. I’ll be more aware of my behavior around her.”
“I think we should have a code word for if that starts to happen again,” I suggest, “Just something that we can throw into conversation that won’t raise suspicion, but will hopefully, snap you out of the trance you could so easily fall into.”
“I told you that won’t happen again.” He repeats.
“I heard you, but I also watched the two of you last night and I would bet that all she has to do is-.” I step forward, batting my eyelashes at him to support my words, “Bat her eyelashes at you and-.” I click my fingers, “Bahm! You’re gone.”
“I have a little more self-control than that, princess.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
For a moment we stand holding each other’s gaze, our personal spaces starting to overlap before he brings his coffee to his lips, downing the rest of it and stepping past me.
“I’m going to shower. Be ready to leave in the next hour.”