Not really. I’m not a crier. But I definitely would have been disappointed. Massively disappointed.
“Perfect. So, we’re both consenting adults. We’re both single. And we’re incredibly attracted to each other.”
“You are so confident.”
“Attractive, isn’t it?” I give her a smile that’s been getting me laid since the ninth grade.
Her teeth sink into her plump bottom lip. “Oddly, yes.”
I like that answer. I like it a hell of a lot.
Leaning forward, I lay my forearms on the table. “I get this is different for you. I’m a direct guy. I see something I want, and I go for it. And I really want you, hence this conversation. But I also understand this isn’t straightforward for you. You want me—I’m clear on that, and I’m not being arrogant,” I interject when I see her mouth open to speak. “I’m only stating what you’ve already told me. But I know you’re fresh out of a shitty situation with your mom and your ex. Obviously, you are in no way ready for a relationship. But you know that’s not what I’m offering. You just have to think over and decide whether you want to do something about this sexual chemistry between us.”
“So, if we were to have sex, how would it work?”
“If you don’t know that, then I’m not sure that I want to do it with you,” I joke.
She rolls her eyes, and I chuckle.
“What I meant is, how would this fling work?”
I like that she’s asking. It means she’s fairly close to saying yes.
“However we both want it to work.”
“So, say we had sex at your villa. I then what, leave and go back to my place?”
“If you wanted to. But I’m not opposed to sleepovers. Sometimes, I wake up thirsty in the night, and when that happens, I usually like to get my tongue wet. Repeatedly.”
She swallows. “What about during the day?”
“We can fuck in the daytime.”
“When we’re not fucking and it’s daytime and we’re both, say, I don’t know … on the beach at the same time?”
I shrug and lean back in my chair. “Then, whatever. We can hang out when we’re not actively fucking, if you want. I’m not opposed to that.”
She lets out a nervous-sounding laugh and looks away, over at the ocean view. “God, this is so …”
“What?”
Her eyes come back to mine. “Strange.”
“What would you have preferred? Me to come on to you while you’re vulnerable? We fuck because ignoring the chemistry between us is damn near impossible, and then afterward, you feel like shit because maybe you weren’t ready to fuck another guy? Or me laying it all out to you, giving you time to think it over and know for sure what you want either way?”
She picks at the label on the bottle. “When you put it that way … maybe it’s not so strange.”
“I like to call it smart.” I give her a little grin. “More guys should be like me. Then, less hearts would get broken and—”
“Okay, Romeo. Do you want a medal?”
“I could take a medal. But Romeo was a douche, who fell in love at the drop of a hat. So, yeah, I’m nothing like him.”
She laughs a sound that makes my dick twitch.
I lean forward, bringing me closer to her, and lower my voice. “There’s no pressure. I’m seriously hot for you, and I know you’re hot for me. Give me a chance, and I’ll make you feel things you never knew existed.”
“How do you know I haven’t experienced those things already?”
“Because you haven’t been fucked by me.” God, I’m a confident bastard. But I also have the goods to back it up.
She sighs, and I’m not sure I like the sound. “I didn’t come here, looking for anything with anyone …”
“Believe it or not, neither did I.”
She looks at me, and I can see the mistrust in her eyes.
“I came to get away from my life. Same as you.”
“Your fiancée sleep with your mum?” She lets out a small, self-deprecating laugh.
“No relationships, remember?”
“Duh. Of course.” She slaps a hand to her forehead.
I see the waiter walking over with our food, so I make sure to get this last part out quickly.
“I just came here to get away from real life for a while, like you. But then I saw you, and when a situation as gorgeous as you presents itself, with the sexual chemistry I know is already between us, then I’m not going to ignore it. I’m going to pursue it. Pursue you. I’m simply offering no-strings sex for the time that we’re here, and when the vacation is over, we both go back home to our lives. We don’t stay in contact, no phone numbers or social media exchanges. Think on it. And when you’ve made a decision, let me know. If it’s a no, then we’ll go back to just being vacation neighbors. But if it’s a yes, then … get ready for the fucking of your life.”
Leaving my words there, I lean back in my seat and watch her gorgeous, flushed face until the waiter reaches our table.
eleven
Dillon
I can hear the wash of the waves and the low hum of the air-conditioning that’s keeping me cool on this hot Maldivian night.
I should be sleeping.
Obviously, I’m not.
I can’t stop thinking about what West said to me earlier. I’ve thought of nothing else since. I thought of it all the way through dinner. Which I saw him at. But he was coming in as I was leaving to come back to my villa.
But seriously, I mean, who could sleep after hearing that?
Sex for two weeks, no strings.
I mean, firstly, a guy who looks like that wants to have sex with me. Um … best thing ever. My confidence is at an all-time high right now.
But …
And it’s a big but.
I’m fresh off heartbreak. And not the run-of-the-mill heartbreak. Ultimate betrayal. The Jerry Springer Show kind of betrayal.
If I’m being totally honest with myself, yes, I was hurt by what Tim did and the demise of our relationship. I thought I’d loved him. I wouldn’t have agreed to marry him if I didn’t think that. But now, looking back, I know that I was more in love with the idea of him and what he could give me—a family, security, love, happiness. All the things I’d never had, growing up.
I’ve never felt loved by my mum. We’ve never felt like a family. The only family I had growing up was my grandparents and my aunt Jenny. They’re my dad’s family. So, of course, Mum used me as a tool to get whatever she wanted from them. Which was almost always money.
She is a shitty parent.
But all of that aside, I am most hurt by her betrayal. I shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d spent my whole life finding ways to screw me over.
But even still, all the things she’s done over the years … the hurtful words she spat at me, the blows to my confidence she gave me, the friendships of mine she ruined … I never thought she would go as low as to sleep with my fiancé.
It hurts like hell when the one person who is supposed to love you and have your back stabs you in it.
So, yeah, getting involved with West might not be the best idea.