Chapter 21
Calvin
After floating in the water until my balls begged me to get out, I’m finally able to snap myself out of this ridiculous Nikita-filled bubble I’ve found myself in. I was so desperate to get her out of my mind that I chose to subject myself to the cold water of the Atlantic Ocean - which is a temperature that had my balls tightening, practically fighting their way back up into my body.
This certainly deals with the boner I was walking around with earlier.
One that little temptress caused.
She is getting under my skin, but not in a way I am used to.
I do my best to further shake her from my thoughts as I make my way back inside the hotel, heading for the elevator in the lobby. It’s empty when I step inside, as I turn, and the doors start to close, someone shouts, “Hold the elevator!”
I put my hand in between the doors to stop them from closing as Violet reveals herself.
“Oh, Cal, hey,” she says, her eyes widen realizing it is me as she steps inside.
“Hey, Vi.”
I figure I should probably stop calling her that but it’s a habit.
I beg the universe to send someone else into the elevator with us but I have no such luck. The doors close, leaving us standing side by side in the most awkward scenario known to man. I can feel my anxiety slowly start to rise.
I grapple to find some words to fill the silence but Violet beats me to it, “Is Nikita feeling better?”
“Better?” Yes, you fool, you guys left because she wasn’t ‘well’ - I have to remind myself since I had been more focused on how turned on I was. “Oh, yes! She’s much better now. I think the heat was just too much.”
Violet nods, “Of course, it is ridiculously hot.”
Dear god, save me now.
We are talking about the weather.
“It really is.”
The elevator passes the first floor, this has to be the slowest elevator in the history of elevators.
“So…” I start, glancing sideways towards Violet, “Paul?”
Her eyes roll as she shakes her head, “That was Britney’s doing. She thought it would be amusing to pair us up without actually explaining what we were doing. I thought it was going to be a couple’s massage, as in two people getting a massage, not some weird intimacy test.”
I chuckle, “I think we all thought that.”
The awkward tension that’s caused by the massive elephant in the room slowly starts to subside, but my anxiety does not. All I have to do is make it to my floor and then I’ll be free of this. It isn’t easy standing with Violet - the two of us alone, with nothing but the memories of what we once were.
Ping - third floor.
“Nikita’s lovely,” Violet says, her words saying one thing, but her delivery reveals something more.
“She is - she’s the best.”
If Nikita could hear me now, she’d never let me live that down, but the pretense has to continue - especially around Violet.
“I’ll admit, I didn’t expect you to have a girlfriend.”
Ping - fourth floor.
I would prefer to march right back into the cold sea and have my balls force themselves into my stomach than continue to have this conversation. “It was… unexpected. We bumped into each other sometime back and just hit it off this time.” I try to keep my delivery authentic, but even I don’t believe a word I’m saying. Violet nods and I notice the slight clench of her jaw. At least she believes me.
“As long as you’re happy.”
“I am,” I answered a bit too quickly.
“Good.”
Silence.
Ping - sixth floor.
Besides the awkwardness of the two of us being trapped in an elevator together, I hate how there is still a slight pang in my chest when I’m around her. That it still reminds me of how blindsided I felt when she left me. I had done everything she asked of me, I fought for the life that I knew she wanted, but that still wasn’t enough.
After what feels like an eternity, the doors finally open to the eighth floor.
I turn to Violet, “This is my stop.”
“Mine too.”
Of course, it is.
We step out of the elevator falling side-by-side into a stride as we make our way down the empty hallway.
“Are you going to be joining us for dinner tonight?” Violet asks.
“Dinner? Is that on the itinerary?”
“No, but apparently there’s a restaurant not far from the hotel with the best chicken in town.”
I eye her, “You don’t eat chicken.”
Violet was strictly vegetarian and had been since I met her.
“No, but the others do.” A small smile forms on her lips. “And you love chicken so wouldn’t you want to taste the ‘best chicken’ in town? You can give your verdict on whether you think that’s true or not.”
I exhale a laugh as I stop at the door of my hotel room, “Maybe I’ll have to bring my expert opinion.”
Violet’s eyes light up, her reaction taking me by surprise. She is acting more like someone interested in me rather than the woman that ended our relationship. It’s confusing.
“Please do. I need someone to save me from Paul who seems to think that because we did the intimacy test together, that now means we’re hooking up at this wedding. We absolutely are not.” Her hand rests on my arm, giving it a squeeze, “Say you’ll come?”
Her eyes peer up at me in the same way I’d become accustomed to over the years. She would look up at me and I swear, anyone would fall victim to her. I had spent years being that fool.
“I’ll-” Before I can finish my sentence, the door of my hotel room opens and Nikita reveals herself to us. It makes Violet jump, dropping her hand from my arm.
“I thought I heard voices,” she says with a smile, glancing between the two of us.
“Nikita, hi,” Violet greets quickly, “How are you feeling?”
“Oh, much better, thank you. Nothing a little fresh air couldn’t fix.”
“Good, that’s good.”
Nikita’s eyes dart between the two of us before her questioning gaze lands on me. “I don’t mean to be rude, Vi, but Calvin and I have some plans.” She grabs my hand, the warmth of her touch wrapping around me.
“Yes, of course,” Violet says, a smile plastered on her face that is just as fake as Nikita’s. “I’ll see you later, Cal. We’re leaving at seven.”
I nod, “Thanks. See you then.”
Violet turns to take off down the hall as Nikita yanks me inside, shutting the door behind us.
“‘See you then?’ Why are we seeing her?” Nikita’s brow furrows.
“For dinner tonight.”
“Is dinner on the itinerary?”
“No.”
“No?” Her brow raises, “Then why do we have to go?”
“You don’t have to go.”
“Why am I here, Calvin?” The look she tosses in my direction calls me an idiot without words as she folds her arms across her chest, “You’re not very good at staying away from her.”
“Yes, I am.” I brush past her, walking through the lounge as I hear her scoff behind me. “Is there something you’d like to say or will you stick to vocalized exhaling?” I ask dryly.
“I have plenty to say, but you won’t want to hear it.”
“Since when has that ever stopped you?”
“Fine. You can’t be friends with someone you’re in love with, Calvin. It will never work and since you two only split up a couple of months ago, I’d say it’s still a bit too soon for you to be around her.”
I hate that she’s right. I know that being around Violet is a bad idea. That entire elevator ride, I found myself incredibly over-aware of the fact that she was so close to me. There are lingering feelings here, especially since the idea of how I thought our life together would have been still exists in my mind.
I switch to my default setting instead of allowing any vulnerability through, “Are you worried about me, princess?”
This has her rolling her eyes, “On the contrary, I couldn’t care less. I’m simply an observer.” She walks over to the couch where, what looks like a beach bag, is placed. She grabs it and pulls the strap over her shoulder.
“Where are you going?”
“The beach.”
“Not this beach.” I gesture with my head towards the one by the hotel, “Not unless you want to keep getting cornered by people in the wedding party.”
Her next exhale is filled with frustration, “You’re all far too up each other’s asses, did you know that?”
She isn’t wrong. There is a certain codependency that I hadn’t noticed until I was on the outside.
I shrug, “Can’t you tan up here?”
“I did not come all the way here to be locked in the hotel room.”
I glance towards the balcony where the clear blue sky greets us, painting the perfect afternoon to spend on the beach.
“Fine.” I turn back to her, “Let’s go to another beach then.”
“Let’s?” she repeats, “As in ‘let us’?”
“Are you new to the English language?” I ask dryly.
She ignores my comment, “What if I wanted to spend some relaxing time away from you?”
“Why? Are you afraid you’ll enjoy my company too much?”
“I’d enjoy the company of a tree more.”
My lips pull into an amused smile. Nikita is flushed and clearly annoyed which is the perfect opportunity for me to do what I do best. Pushing her buttons is becoming my favorite past-time.
“Liar, liar,” I taunt, walking over to her, “I think someone enjoyed that massage earlier a little too much and now you’re running.”
“I don’t run.”
“No?”
She steps closer to me, closing the proximity between us, tilting her head back to meet my gaze. “I think you’re forgetting that you were the one who was enjoying himself a little too much. I heard your moan.”
“I heard yours.”
Her eyes narrow as she purses her lips, “And that’s the one and only time you’ll ever hear that from me.”
Heat rushes to my groin at the thought of that sound and what a challenge it will be to push her to hear that again. She’s looking up at me with those deep hazel eyes of hers and I use all the self-control I have to keep my eyes from dropping to those thick lips of hers.
“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
Tension crackles in the air, seeping between us as her gaze turns into a glare. I expect another smart-mouthed comeback from her, but instead, she takes a step back.
“Are we going to the beach or not?” she huffs.
Fresh air would be great right now. Even another dip in that ice-cold water will do me good and hopefully snap me back to reality. The same reality in which Nikita and I hate each other, not the one where I want to fuck her.
Fuck, Calvin, what is happening to you?
“Yes,” I respond, walking past her to the bathroom needing to get rid of my semi, “Give me two minutes and we can leave.”