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Others also had mind-opening revelations, and when she came to me, I was suddenly anxious. I didn’t even want to know what mine meant, but she went on to tell me, anyway. The snakes had been how some perceive those in my circle. I knew for as powerful as the Titans were, there were drawbacks to our roles in society. While it was something most of us inherited, others in our bloodlines had created their place. It was often harder to create something, than to maintain it, and accepting that had been part of my vision. The women as scales likely represented how I would fuck and leave most, never really seeing any particular one more than two or three times.
There was a reason, and in my intoxicated haze, I realized a lot had to do with my fear of commitment, even though I had no idea why it was there, or how to fix it. My parents had been together for decades, so it hadn’t been their example, or was it. That was a question the facilitator told me only I could answer.
Afterward, the group of us settled down for our last night in this place. In the morning, the sun seemed to shine brighter, and my mind was a hell of a lot lighter than I ever remembered it being. We all got ready to leave, and having bonded with Nicole over the course of the weekend, I wanted to see her outside of this place where I could get to know her better.
Remembering the party I planned to throw the next night, I saw her leave the small house and I hurried to catch up with her. “Hey,” I said when I finally got in step with her. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Me?” she said, then looked around as if she couldn’t believe I was talking to her. I’m not sure why she would think that because she was a fucking bombshell, even if she had put on a bulky hoodie to hide some of her assets.
“Yes, you. I’m having some friends over for a going away party of sorts. If you’re not busy, you should stop by.” I wanted to keep it casual because her own journey and realization dealt a lot with her desire to please others, and the unbearable stress she put on herself over expectations and obligations. I felt a kinship with her because I felt a lot of the same things, but I hadn’t needed an ayahuasca ceremony to recognize it.
“I don’t know—”
Before she could finish, I interjected. “Let me see your phone.”
“What?”
“Your phone,” I asked, and she reluctantly handed it over. After signing into it with her finger, she watched me as I brought up her contacts and programmed my name and number into it. I then sent myself a text message, and when I pulled out my own phone, I quickly texted her my address. “It’s all right there if you change your mind. Party starts at seven.”
Aaron then called out my name, and I grinned at her once more time before leaving to join my friend. “Do you have to pick up women everywhere you go?” he asked me and my smirk grew wider.
“When they look like her, Absofuckinglutely.” I then followed him to his car.
NICOLE
I’d accepted his invitation, and after leaving the resort my uncle owned, I ended up at Callum’s villa. Well, looking at him, then the house as the cab pulled up, I realized it was likely a rental, but an expensive one at that. The property was gated, and I had to give my name before I was granted entry. I wished I would’ve come with some friends, but they’d already gone back to California a few days earlier which left me in this country alone.
Alone. During the ayahuasca ceremony, I realized a lot of my issues stemmed from my fear of being on my own. I supposed a lot of people dealt with worries like that, but so much of it had come crashing home for me the moment my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Just the remembrance of the day she told me and my brother the news had tears welling up in my eyes. My father vowed to leave no stone unturned in her treatment, but I was honestly scared. I loved all of my family so much, but my mother was my rock. Without her, I would be alone just as I feared.
“I want you to promise to have a good time on your vacation, Nic,” she had told me right before I left for Costa Rica. “Don’t dwell on any of this stuff with me.”
She was always thinking of me first, or my brother, and especially my father. He was a Titan in Los Angeles where we lived, and if anyone could buy more time for the woman he loved, it would be him.
“I promise,” I’d assured her, and I now shook my head to stop worrying about her. I’d done well to uphold that vow, and I would continue to do so.
I moved farther into the house which was already packed with other partygoers. I saw the guy who’d been at the ayahuasca ceremony with Callum, but I didn’t see the man who invited me. I craned my head, hoping to find him, all while second guessing my decision to come at all. I was suddenly bumped, and after nearly stumbling, I looked at the guy who’d almost knocked me over.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I muttered under my breath, and it was enough for him because he ventured deeper into the house without another word, and I decided standing stationary in the center of the room was a dangerous spot to be.
I walked toward the large sliders which opened up to an infinity pool. I had a bikini on under my cover up, and if I didn’t find Callum soon, I’d just enjoy the water instead. I moved through the doorway, and stopped when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as someone leaned in toward me, and their warm breath tickled my skin.
“I’m glad you could make it, Nicole.”
That voice.
It was Callum. I smiled and turned, nearly doing a double take as I now saw him in something other than a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. He was shirtless, and my gaze centered on his chiseled chest. He worked out a lot because there wasn’t an inch of fat anywhere to be pinched. His skin was a sun-kissed bronze, and he looked even better than I had thought when I’d been tripping in the rainforest.
“I told you that I would,” I replied, then realized how bitchy it sounded. I softened my voice and changed the subject. “This view is amazing.”
I turned and motioned out to the Pacific off in the distance. This trip to Costa Rica had been exactly what I’d needed, spiritually and physically, and as I inhaled the fresh scent of the sea, I was glad I’d come after all. I turned back around to face him again, and when I did, I shivered at the heat coming from him as his eyes slowly swept down my body.
“You’re right. The view is fucking amazing,” he told me, then winked.
When I realized what he was referring to, I blushed. “This is some place you’ve got here.”
“I love Marbella, so I vacation here often.” I didn’t ask him to elaborate because he kept on talking. “Let me get your bag and that cover up, then we can go for a swim.”
