My smile grew as he spoke. I loved it when a man was passionate about what he did for a living, when it wasn’t just a job. I’d thought that was how Jason worked, but it turned out he was only passionate about getting into my pants.
My smile fell and I shook that thought away. I wouldn’t think about him right now. I refused to let him ruin my evening or this trip.
The waiter returned and set a small plate in front of each of us. A steaming hot dish of crab-stuffed mushrooms was placed in the center of the table, and a serving spoon was dipped inside. Once we both had a mushroom on our plates and the waiter retreated, conversation resumed.
“How about you? You mentioned needing to find a job.”
“I was planning on working this summer. I’d like to save up so I can get my own place after I graduate.”
“Don’t you usually take classes during the summer?”
I tried to hide my wince at his mention of school. If he noticed a change in my demeanor, he didn’t let on.
“I’m just burnt out right now.” That wasn’t a lie; there was just a lot more to the story. “I needed a break. I’m close to graduating, so I don’t necessarily have to take any classes this time around.” I’d planned on graduating early, having enough credits to secure my degree by the end of fall semester. But now, with a university-mandated hiatus, I wouldn’t be graduating until next summer.
“Where were you thinking about applying?”
“I have a stack of applications,” I groaned. “Probably one of the upscale restaurants downtown. My friend Aubrey works at Exeter and makes really great tips, so I thought I’d try that route.” He flinched when I mentioned Exeter, but the look passed quickly. What was that about?
“Have you considered entering the corporate world? My company is always looking for interns.”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” I shrugged. The truth was that I wasn’t sure I was ready for something like that yet. I saw the strain on Aiden’s face when things weren’t going as planned. He’d stayed up into the early hours of the morning working on spreadsheets and proposals on more than one occasion. Waitressing was safe. It was hard, exhausting work and you had to deal with some real assholes, but at least when you went home, you could leave it all behind. It didn’t follow you into your personal space.
We settled into silence, enjoying our meals. When my glass ran dry, Dalton offered to refill it and I let him. It was a sweet gesture, but I had to remind myself this was temporary. We weren’t an item. This wasn’t a date. This was just two friends – no, not even friends, two acquaintances– who’d both been thrown into shitty situations, trying to find solace in each other’s company. When we returned home, everything would go back to normal. The only difference was, maybe now we wouldn’t have to try so hard to avoid each other.
When we left the restaurant after a delicious seafood dinner, we walked back to the villa along the beach. I took off my sandals and wiggled my toes into the cool sand. Dalton got too close to the water and the small waves splashed up onto his feet, soaking the soles of his brown leather thongs. He removed them and we continued along the moonlit beach barefoot. It shouldn’t have felt romantic. We weren’t two lovers walking hand-in-hand along the beach under a darkened sky full of stars, but I wanted to be.
We were both exhausted from our flight and decided to turn in for the night. I let my gaze travel over Dalton’s bare back when he removed his shirt for bed. Dear Lord, he sleeps shirtless? I noticed his skin was tinged pink and I frowned.
“It looks like you got a little burnt today.” He twisted around, trying to see his shoulders. He pressed a finger to his skin and it blanched.
“Huh, guess I did,” he agreed. “We were only out there for an hour or so.”
“We’re a lot closer to the equator down here so it doesn’t take as long. How does mine look?” I turned my back to him and swept my hair over my shoulder so he could examine my skin. I could hear his sharp intake of air even from across the room and quickly realized my mistake. He padded over to me, the soft thud of his bare feet audible in the otherwise silent room. Goosebumps pebbled my arms as he brushed a few stray pieces of hair I’d missed over my shoulder.
“Looks okay to me.” His voice was low and full of gravel. “How did you manage not to get burnt when I did?”
I kept my back to him, unable to look him in the eye. I knew he’d see the desire in mine, and I wasn’t interested in being rejected by the same guy twice. “I’ve already been out in the sun quite a bit this year. I have a pretty decent base tan,” I explained, hoping he couldn’t hear the shaking in my voice. He was standing right behind me and his close proximity was doing funny things to my insides. “We’d both better wear sunscreen tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” he agreed absently.
“I have some aloe gel in my bag if you’d like to use it,” I offered once he finally stepped away and the scent of his skin wasn’t invading my nose and subsequently turning my brain to mush.
“Thanks. That would be great.”
I retrieved the big bottle of blue goo and handed it to Dalton. He applied it to his shoulders and the top of his back, but kept missing a deepening pink area between his shoulder blades.
“Here, you missed a spot.” I held out my hand, requesting the bottle back. He turned and looked at me quizzically before passing it to me. I squirted a little onto my fingers and pressed them to the tender skin. He hissed from the cold gel, but it warmed quickly from the heat radiating off his body. I reveled in the sensation of his smooth skin under my hands, the muscles of his toned back flexing and stretching. I wanted to keep touching him, but I had no reason to. His entire back was coated and now it was time to let it absorb. I reluctantly pulled my hand away and took a step back.
“There,” I announced with finality. “Should be all better by tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” His soft, appreciative eyes landed on me and I gulped. His torso was perfection. He was all hard slabs of carved muscle. His abs flexed as I raked my gaze over them before locking on the grey sweatpants settled low on his hips. My mouth watered and I yearned to run my tongue over every deep-cut ridge of his stomach.
“No problem,” I mumbled absently. His soft chuckle pulled me from my perusal of his body and my face flamed. He caught me. I was totally just checking him out and I got busted. Shit. “I’m gonna get changed for bed,” I said quickly, grabbing my clothes and escaping to the restroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth before slipping on my yoga shorts and my brother’s decade-old debate team tee shirt. It was several sizes too big, the cotton extra soft from years of wear and multiple washes, making it more comfortable than any pajamas I’d ever owned.
I slipped under the covers quickly upon my return to the bedroom. Dalton had turned out all the lights except for the lamp on his bedside table. He was reading something, but set it down when I came in. He walked silently to the bathroom, returning a few minutes later. He switched off the lamp and slid into bed.
“Goodnight, Taylor.” The minty scent of toothpaste wafted across the bed and I licked my lips, wishing it was his lips instead of mine.
“Goodnight,” I whispered and pulled the covers up to my chin. I could do this. I was a mature adult sharing a room with another mature adult. He didn’t think of me like that, so I had nothing to worry about. Yeah, right.