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Maybe I shouldn't wait for her, but I'd meant it when I said I would. I knew we had a connection, a strong one, and it was based on more than sex. I'd gotten to know the amazing, smart, strong woman behind all those hang-ups. She'd gotten over all of that, anyway. Well, most of it. Maybe she did need to go home for a while to figure out how to be herself---her true self, the one I'd gotten to know---without the complications of hanging out at a naturist resort with me, my ex, my best friend, and a bunch of other wacky but lovable people.
And then there was Nico.
I picked up a deck of cards and shuffled it, not really paying attention to what I was doing. The sound of the shuffling cards became kind of soothing, and I relaxed back into the little sofa. Shuffle. Shuffle. I needed patience if I wanted to have Mara in my life, and I knew she was worth it. But what if she decided being with me didn't fit in her new life plan? Shuffle. Shuffle. The cards poured out of one hand into the other, over and over. Nothing I could do if Mara wanted to leave. Unless I tied her to her bed upstairs. As hot as that sounded, I kind of doubted holding Mara hostage would convince her we belonged together.
My hand slipped, and the deck of cards flew out of my hand, spraying across the table, the floor, and a couple of chairs.
Shit. Maybe I was cursed.
Peripherally, I noticed someone stepping into the doorway. When I glanced up, I groaned out a long, pathetic sigh. "What do you want now, Heidi? You've screwed up my life enough for one day."
"I'm sorry, Ollie." She shuffled up to the table, where I had my feet propped on it, and only then did I realize she was wearing clothes. "I know I screwed up everything, and I want to fix it. Or at least try to."
Could I really blame Heidi for the fact my life had been dumped into a shithole again? It wasn't fair to pile all the blame on her shoulders.
I sat up and scrubbed my face with both hands, groaning again. "I'm sorry too. You didn't help matters, but my life would suck even if you hadn't tried to lay a big, wet smacker on me in the hall."
"Mara's packing. I saw her when I walked past her room. The door was open." Heidi perched her butt on the table's edge. "I need to apologize and explain myself. It won't take long, I promise."
"Okay, fine." I made a go-on gesture. "Get it over with."
"I need to say this to Mara too." Heidi got up, grabbed my hand, and tugged. "Please, Ollie, come with me. I won't do anything crazy, I swear. But we need to go upstairs to catch Mara before she leaves."
As much as I did not want to do it, I let Heidi lead me upstairs. Mara was just zipping up her suitcase. By the looks of things, she'd already packed her multitude of other bags. The dresser drawers hung open, empty.
Heidi and I stopped a few feet inside the doorway.
Mara swiveled her head to look at us, her focus veering down to my hand which Heidi still held and then up to my face. Her lips tightened.
I ripped my hand free of Heidi's. "She grabbed my hand to drag me upstairs, that's all. I am not having sex with Heidi."
"Yes, I can see that." Mara's lips twisted to one side, then the other, like she was trying not to smile. "At least she's not super-glued to your body anymore."
She was teasing me, right? That had to be a good sign.
Heidi stepped between me and Mara. "I need to apologize to both of you. I've done stupid, awful things. I'm so sorry, and you have my word I will never bother either of you again. Maybe someday we can be friends, Mara, but I'll understand if that's never possible. And Ollie, I understand if you don't want me around either. I won't come back to the resort again."
I shoved my hands in my pants pockets. "I can't ban you because you dumped me and then tried to seduce me. Let's just forget that stuff happened and move on."
"That's really generous of you, Ollie." Tears welled in Heidi's eyes, and she sniffled. "Thank you. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm grateful you can see a way to move past all my craziness."
"I forgive you, Heidi."
A single sob burst out of her. She flumped down on the bed, keeping her head down until she'd calmed her staccato breathing. Wiping at her eyes, she raised her face to Mara. "I am so sorry, Mara, for everything. I've been so horrible, trying to steal Ollie away from you. I convinced myself you two weren't serious about each other, that it was just a vacation fling. But now I see how much you two belong together. I swear I have never in my life tried to seduce a guy away from another girl. It's just not me."
"Yeah, it really isn't," I said.
Mara studied Heidi for a moment, her expression giving away nothing.
Heidi grabbed a tissue from the box on the bedside table and blew her nose.
Finally, Mara sighed and sat down beside Heidi. "I forgive you. I honestly don't know if friendship will ever be possible between us, but I won't rule it out. That's the best I can offer."
"It's more than I deserve. Thank you, Mara." Heidi blew her nose again. "I know there isn't any excuse for the way I behaved, but there is kind of an explanation. My boyfriend, Tim, he dumped me last summer. It was the fifth time he'd broken up with me. I kept going back because he kept swearing he'd never cheat on me again, that he loved me so much, that our relationship meant everything to him. And I kept believing him."
"Yeah, I know," I said. "You pushed me overboard so you could go back to him."
"But I regretted it almost immediately. It was too late, though, and I couldn't come crawling back here."
