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“That doesn’t change anything that I promised. I want nothing to do with you while we’re here. In fact, I’m considering inviting someone else to stay with me here tonight for company, so you’re just going to have to get over yourself and whatever you think is going on between you and me.”
His words are like a knife twisting in my heart. “Don’t you dare!”
He huffs a sarcastic laugh. “The more you sit here and bother me, the more likely I am to need another woman here to make sure you leave me alone. So go ahead, keep needling me.”
Shocked, I stare at him, wide eyed, while he just crosses his arms and raises a single eyebrow. Pissed beyond reason, I consider throwing my water at him, but just storm off to my own suite instead, depositing my glass on the side table and falling into the overstuffed mattress, staring up at the diaphanous material draped over the four-poster frame as it blows in the wind from the open balcony doors. It felt like a good idea to get the room right next to Dan, but not if he is going to be bringing other women over! Our balconies are less than a single foot apart… that’s way too close to know he’s entertaining someone else.
I grab a pillow, holding it over my face and screaming into it, feeling overwhelmed. Surely he wouldn't actually sleep with someone else while we’re here? There’s no way…
I’m considering stomping back to his room and giving him a piece of my mind when my phone pings. I scramble for it, hoping that it’s Dan with some sort of apology, but instead it’s my brother, just letting me know that there are a few of his college friends on the island too and they’re all going for a swim in the villa pool here shortly. I don’t really want to go, but I can hear people outside already, laughing and having a good time, and I know I can’t just hide away the whole trip because things are confusing between Dan and me. If I want things to change and to get his attention, I’m going to have to be around. Otherwise, I’m afraid his gaze will wander.
In my luggage, I pull out my first bikini for the trip. It’s a solid olive, the sides sitting high on my hips while dipping down low in the front. As a cover up, I throw on a tunic that falls just above my knees and covers my arms to my hands, but it’s made of such a gauzy, transparent material that it’s basically nothing at all, only accentuating the even tone of my skin.
Barefoot and with my hair loose around my shoulders, I follow the sound of happy shouting and splashing out to theterrace to see everyone else has already arrived. I wear my diplomatic expression at first, seeing the two couples and a few of the vaguely familiar faces from college, but my attention is almost immediately drawn to the three figures in the pool. Even in the baking summer sun, I feel myself go cold.
There, in the water, is Dan, leaning against the wall with his elbows bracing him, looking relaxed and smug as two girls float in front of him, giggling and looking as if they’ve known him forever. One has darker hair and an olive complexion while the other is paler with ginger hair. They seem to be strangers to everyone but Dan. Seeing Dan bringing random girls into his circle wouldn’t be strange at all to me before, but now, after what we’ve shared… I’m in shock. I know I’m staring too long for it to be courteous, and it isn’t until the server working at the villa comes and hovers next to me that I snap out of my stupor.
“Can I get you a drink, ma’am?”
“Ah… a gin and tonic. I’ll be over in the lounge chairs.”
The server bobs his head in acknowledgement and leaves. Dan is flirting with them, it’s all too obvious, and for the first time I start to think that maybe he was serious about having someone else stay with him tonight. Or, if the two random girls he’s entertaining are any indication,twogirls to sleep over. My stomach churns, and when the server reappears to hand me the drink, all I can do is hold it, too sick to my stomach to partake.
Andries and Roxanne are slipping into the pool, posing together near the infinity edge while Lili takes photos of them. As much as I hate everything else going on here right now, I’ve never seen my brother so happy as he looks at his wife-to-be, relaxed and happy in paradise. It’s all he’s wanted for so long, and despite the strife with the rest of the family, it’s clear that she means everything to him.
Will I ever find a love like that? Glancing at Dan, playfully splashing the darker-haired girl, I doubt that I will. The firsttime I even consider anything romantic, I get it thrown back in my face.
In a huff, I ignore the pool and take my gin and tonic to the lounge chairs. I’ll just bide my time until I can slip away and go unnoticed. The idea of sitting out here and watching Dan flirt it up makes me want to scream.
He hasn’t looked over at me a single time, that asshole. The gin and tonic burns down my throat like icy fire, but it does nothing to cool my temper or the jealousy growing in my belly. I’m in a place I have dreamed about for years. How can I feel this crappy already?
Angry thoughts boiling through my brain, I watch Robin and Andries set up the volleyball net across the enormous pool while Lili and Roxanne float together, talking quietly and watching as their men work. Maybe coming to Capri was a bad idea… maybe this is why Dan was so against bringing me in the first place–because he wanted to spend time with random women.
As if he can sense me thinking hateful, murderous things about him, Dan finally graces me with his attention, looking me over head to toe before pulling himself out of the water by his arms. I wave the server down for another drink, but there is no distracting myself from what I’m seeing. Now that I’ve seen Dan naked, I thought that his body wouldn’t have such an effect on me anymore, but seeing him glistening with water––muscles flexing as he pulls himself upwards––is something different altogether. There are no blankets or lowlights to mask the absolute perfection of him and the shape he has kept himself in, and having the knowledge of how his skin feels under my fingers makes it even worse. I’m itching to touch him, to lick those droplets off the side of his neck, or push my hands through his wet hair to kiss him. Clenching my jaw, I turn away and face the other side of the overlook even as lust washes over me. Lustand anger, all for the same man, all at the same time. It’s a lot for me to handle.
Of course, he won't let me suffer in solitude, either. In seconds, Dan plops down into the lounge chair next to me, stretching his arms above his head like a contented cat ready to lay in the sun.
“Nice day, huh?” the asshole asks smugly.
The server brings me my next gin and tonic, and I make sure to swallow at least a fourth of it before answering a brief, “Sure.”
“Oh, don’t have such a sour face in such a beautiful place!” he teases, and for the second time in an hour, I have the almost irresistible urge to throw a drink on him. Again, I resist, sipping the libation and glaring at him over the rim of the glass.
“Why are you even over here talking to me, Dan? It looks like you have some new friends to entertain. Who are they, anyway?”
He shrugs, and it infuriates me. “I actually don’t even know. Their names are Tiffany and Mia and I just met them about fifteen minutes ago as I was walking outside the villa. They asked me directions to a bar and after we got to talking, I invited them in to come swim.”
“You invited strangers to swim with us? We haven’t even been here an hour!” I can’t hide the incredulousness in my voice.
“Why not? It’s vacation, after all.” He folds his arms behind his head, lays back, and closes his eyes. “I have to have something to keep me busy.”
I open my mouth to reprimand him more, but just then, the darker-haired girl saunters over. Her walk is slow and sultry, but what shocks me most is how she bypasses all the empty lounge chairs so she can perch on Dan’s lap as if she’s known him for ages. I’m seeing red, but at the same time, I can’t look away.
Dan jolts up when the girl sits on him, but after a moment of what looks like annoyance at her, he schools his expression. “Well, hello again, Mia.”
She tilts her head to the side, walking her fingers up his bare chest. “Why’d you leave the water?”
“Just having a chat with my friend Elise here,” he tells her, and Mia doesn’t even bother to look in my direction. Hurt and annoyed, I jump up from my seat, more than ready to retreat to my room even if everyone sees me doing it. I’m absolutely sure now that coming here was a mistake. I can feel a lump growing in my throat and tears pricking the corners of my eyes behind my sunglasses when I hear my brother calling for me. With a heavy sigh, I turn around, glad that my face is mostly covered by the frames.
