by Cee, DW
“Because I want to find my happily-ever-after, my soul mate, my love...” I hated that I sounded so sappy. “You probably think I’m being foolish, but I’ll find my knight in shining armor, and I plan to live a fairytale life.”
“Boy, you don’t make it easy on any man, do you?”
“Now why would you say that? Why can’t I expect a happily-ever-after? Look at Emily. She found her dream man in Jake. That’s what I want—a guy just like Jake!”
“Great...” Donovan was now as sarcastic as could be. “He’s not as wonderful as he appears on the outside. Trust me. I’ve known him all my life.”
“So have I, and yes, he is as wonderful as he appears to be—in fact, he’s even better. Right, Emily?”
Jake and Emily only laughed at our silly argument.
“Laney, you will find your perfect man who will love you, cherish you, and do a mad dash to keep up with the spunky you. And I know for a fact that when you find this man, he will fall head over heels in love with you and you two will have an even better courtship story to tell your grandchildren than Jake and I had, because you are that special.”
I looked at Donovan and gave him a you see look! He raised up both hands in concession.
The Big Island was gorgeous. This was not my first time on this island, but it always shocked me to see all the lava rocks that surrounded the airport. The airport was like an outdoor hut. Literally, we landed on a strip, got off the plane and walked a few steps to baggage claim. Everything was outdoors, the weather was perfect, and the ocean was super inviting. We all got into the cars that came to pick us up from the hotel. Donovan, Jane, Jake and Emily got into one car, and the three of us got into the other. When we arrived at the hotel, O...M...G...! It was DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!‼ I remembered coming here when Doug and I were younger, but I never thought it was this beautiful. We were probably too young to remember any of this luxury. Nick and Doug were speechless as well.
“How’d we get this lucky?” I heard my brother ask. “Are you sure this place is paid for, Nick?”
“I don’t know now. Let’s confirm with Donovan before checking in. I don’t think I can afford this kind of hotel on my dime, ever.”
Once Donovan confirmed that his room was our room, Doug, Nick, and I unpacked our clothes for the week. This hotel boasted six pools, eight tennis courts, a golf course, its own beach (though I was told that technically it was a public one, even if the beach sat on their property), and the most stunning view. I had died and gone to heaven.
We got a nice ocean front room with two double beds and one rollaway. Since I was the odd-woman out, I offered to stay on the rollaway. Nick told me he’d sleep on the rollaway, but I didn’t care. I was just happy to be here. Jane’s room looked no different than ours, except there was only one of her and three of us. Jake and Emily were staying in a suite/bungalow with a huge bedroom, living area, a private lanai with an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean, and a massive fruit arrangement that we three helped ourselves to while visiting their quarters.
When we got to Kate and Donovan’s villa, the three of us almost died of shock. We’d never seen anything so massive and palatial. This villa was bigger than my house—literally. And I don’t live in a small house. It looked like someone’s plantation home on a large resort. We Reids don’t exactly bum it on our vacays, but this place was by far the nicest place we’d ever seen. We were in awe...!
“How’d Kate score this place? Man, it’s huge!”
“Dude, Nick...it’s bigger than huge. This must be the Presidential villa. Did the company actually pony up money for a place this extravagant?” Doug went around checking out the whole place.
“I’m not sure what Kate did for this place, but when I went to check in for the both of us, she started with a room just like yours, but when I gave them her hotel identification card, they immediately upgraded her to the best room in the house.” Donovan sounded like a proud papa.
Normally, I’d be irked that Donovan was sharing a villa, and obviously a bed, with Kate, but the place was so magnificent, I didn’t care. I chose to go outdoors to the wrap-around lanai and laid on the chaise lounge.
“Let’s go to the beach,” Nick said. “You all have your bathing suits on? Can you come out and play for a while, Donovan?”
“Yep! The clients haven’t arrived yet. They don’t come in till later this afternoon, and I’m sure we won’t start until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Let’s go.”
At the beach we saw Emily and Jake sipping pineapple-infused water and reclining on the lounge chairs. Jane thought about coming into the water, but chose instead to hang out with Emily. The guys decided to get information on the outrigger canoes that the hotel offered, and I chose to jump into a fitness challenge that was just about to begin.
“Aloha,” this cute guy said when I walked over to their group.
“Aloha,” I answered back.
“My name is Nolan. I’m the golf pro here at the hotel.”
“I’m Laney. I’m just your average guest.” I smiled. “You here for the challenge?”
“Yeah. Are you here for the swim and run as well?” He looked surprised.
I tend to get this reaction often, as I don’t look like the athletic-type. It’s not that I’m good at any sport, but I enjoy every sport I pick up.
“I am. See you at the finish line,” I giggled and raced into the water to start swimming.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh...! I thought my lungs would collapse on me during the swim. Swimming in the ocean was no lap in the backyard pool. Just kill me now! I toughed it out and finished the 1,000-yard swim then SHOOT! the 2.2 mile run was next. There was no finer sight than the finish line as I finished respectably. I didn’t win the race, but I stayed with the first third of the pack. YES! It was over. Why I did this kind of stuff to my body, I didn’t know. It did feel good to get rid of the grogginess from the plane ride.
“You were fantastic out there.” Nolan congratulated me with a high-five.
“How would you know? Didn’t you compete?”
“I did but I was behind you the whole time. I tried to catch up, but you were too fast. Do you normally compete in triathlons and biathlons?”
“Nope. Never done them before in my life. I didn’t think it would be so hard. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done it.”
“My friends and I are going paddle boarding in a few minutes. Would you like to join us?”
“Sure.” That sounded like a lot of fun, but I needed to catch my breath.
I got back to where my family was hanging out, and immediately wished I hadn’t. My brother got all huffy-puffy with me for the rash guard and bikini bottom I was wearing. What did he expect me to wear on a beach swim and sand run? He was irritating me so much, I decided to get back at him and take off my rash guard and go on the beach in my super cute teal bikini top and bottom. Normally, I wouldn’t paddle board in so little clothing, but just to annoy my brother, I decided to go for it.
“Hey Laney.” Jake was calling me back to the family.
“Yeah, Jake?” I reluctantly came back.
“I told Donovan here that you could whip his ass in golf. You want to challenge him?”
I had to laugh. Did I want to spend an entire day playing one of my favorite sports with him? Yes? No? How would I answer this question in the most honest way? Like the fool that I was, I challenged him—no, I taunted him—to a game of golf. We even had a bet going. If I lost, I’d give up the Mr. Taylor name and if he lost, he’d have to take me hiking to see the lava flows at the volcanoes. Either way, I suppose I couldn’t lose.
“Who turned on the damn alarm?” Nick groaned. “We’re on vacation. Turn it off...PLEASE!” He begged.
“Sorry Nick,” I apologized.
Why oh why did I agree to this stupid golf challenge against Donovan Taylor? It’s not as though I needed to spend more time with him. And I definitely couldn’t look my best when I was getting
up at 4:30am for a 5:00am tee time. Thank goodness Nolan would be there as a buffer between the two of us. Truly, I didn’t want to keep obsessing over a man who barely knew I existed. But when he was practically a part of the family, it was hard to find that space to let go.
“Good morning!” I tried to sound chipper, though it was hard when I hadn’t had my morning cup-o-joe.
“Good morning, Delaney. You ready for the big challenge?” Donovan asked as he handed me a delicious smelling cup of coffee. “I was told you need a cup of strong coffee with a splash of hazelnut creamer?” Goodness! He looked incredible even at this hour and that smile...
“Thank you, Mr. Taylor. How do you know about my coffee habits?”
“I know a lot more about you, Delaney Reid, than you think I do.” His eyebrows quirked.
I quirked my own eyebrows in response. “I doubt that, but thank you for the coffee. You know, you’re giving ammunition to the enemy.”
“Bring it on Little Girl! I welcome the challenge.” Little Girl, Little Girl, Little Girl! What else would I be? “Before we start, I wanted you to be aware that our clients wanted to golf with us so it’ll be a fivesome. Is that all right with you?”
“Sure.”
The game got started, and I hit a series of lucky shots to start me off at 1-under on the first hole.
“Very nice shot, Miss Reid,” Mr. Weston Hong called out after my drive on the second hole.
“Why thank you, Mr. Hong. And please, call me Laney.”
“Then you must call me Weston.”
The two clients we were golfing with were both from Taiwan, but spoke perfect English. They were about the same age as Donovan, but mega wealthy.
“When did you learn to golf, Laney?” Weston walked with me on one side while Nolan walked on the other. Donovan kept the other client occupied.
“I’ve been golfing practically all my life. My dad loves to golf, and he used me and my brother as an excuse to golf at the club all the time. My poor mother would sit at home, alone all weekend long, while my dad played in tournament after tournament. A lot of the times, he’d partner up with me or my brother, Doug.”
“Is Doug as skilled as you are?”
I only laughed. “You’ll have to ask him. We all have differing opinions.”
“Stop the chatter, Little Girl, and hit your iron shot.”
“My...isn’t someone a bit pissy at 5:30 in the morning? Coffee wear off? You need some of mine?” I teased Donovan.
He yanked my arm and pulled me into the crook of his arm and it was almost as though he had his arms around me. I wasn’t too much shorter than Donovan so it was a most perfect fit.
“You sassing me, young’un? Just get ready to call me by my given name,” he said and actually kissed my temple. I know that meant nothing to him, but it meant the world to me. I wanted to say one of those silly school girl sayings like, “I’ll never wash my temple again!”
“Is Laney related to you, Donovan?” The other client, Brad Wang asked.
“She might as well be. We all grew up together. Her cousin is my best friend, so Delaney is like a cousin to me too.”
“You are lucky to have such good friends, Donovan – and such good looking ones, too. Isn’t Jane related to you all somehow?”
I explained to Brad, and then again to Weston when he joined us, how we were all related.
Throughout the morning, I hit some great shots, and Donovan hit some spectacular ones. Nolan was our scorekeeper and he gave me pointers on each hole as he saw fit, without giving me too much help. I enjoyed hanging out with everyone. It helped make this whole competitive game much more relaxing and fun.
After being up one, down one, throughout all 17 holes, it came down to the last hole. I shot 1-over, Donovan shot 1-under and we were tied. We tied two more times and on the third try, I shot 1-under and won the round. It was exhilarating!
Then, it wasn’t exhilarating anymore. We got around to telling my family about the match and at first, I thought Donovan was pretending to be surly about losing. Once he called me a cheater and told Jake his side of the story, it dawned on me he probably didn’t want to take me to the volcano. He was looking for ways to back out of the bet.
Defeated, I told him, “All right, Mr. Taylor. You win. You don’t have to take me to the volcano. I’ll see it next time.” I’d find my own way to the volcano. I didn’t need Donovan Taylor taking me on any field trips. Saying good-bye to everyone, I left before anyone could see my broken heart.
“Laney?” Emily followed me.
“Yes?” I answered trying to mask my hurt.
“I don’t think Donovan was trying to get out of going to the volcano with you. He seemed really proud of the fact that you were so good out there today.”
“Thanks, Emily. You always have a way of making me feel better, no matter the situation. It’s OK. It’s not as if I thought we were going on a date or something. I’ll catch the volcano by myself or on a tour group. Please go back in and eat. Jake will worry.”
“Do you really have a lunch date, or was that an excuse to get away from us?” My sweet cousin-in-law, who felt more like a sister, sounded very worried.
“I’m having lunch with Nolan. I’ll see you in there soon.” I rushed off trying not to feel so brokenhearted. This, too, was just another get-my-hopes-up-only-to-be-shot-down, moment.
April 2, 2013 Volcanoes & a Pseudonym
Not once had I felt uncomfortable with the two gentlemen while golfing, yesterday, but today was another story. Weston, the more outspoken of the two, paid more attention to me than I cared for, and he kept finding reasons to touch me. They were innocent pats, here and there that I did not appreciate. I did my best to stay away from both of them, but when there were only five of us on a very long hike, that wasn’t as easily done. Today was the first of many days that made me think that my heart was definitely in too deep with Donovan Taylor, again, and I needed a respite from him. The closer I got, the uglier we were to one another, and the more Donovan showed me that we didn’t suit.
“Delaney,” Donovan yelled at me, “don’t walk so close to the ledge!” He found too many reasons to be upset with me today, and I was getting pissed.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” I yelled back in a whisper. “Why are you so pissy this morning? I know this isn’t what you wanted to do today, and I know you don’t want to be with me. I’m sorry I ever made that bet with you!”
“What’s wrong is that you’re flirting with my clients, and I don’t like it. You could jeopardize our relationship with them once they realize you’re just playing games.”
Did this man really say that? He thought I played games with men, and was upset because he didn’t want to lose these men as clients?
“I’m not flirting with anybody,” I quietly insisted. The accusation and the lack of concern for me were beyond a knife to my heart.
“Yeah you are. My clients’ heads are spinning every time you smile at them and touch them.”
“How can you say that?” I asked, broken. “I haven’t done anything to warrant this kind of censure and criticism. I can’t believe you just said that to me.”
All my life I’d saved myself for Donovan. Of course he never asked me to, and there was no guarantee he’d appreciate what I did. In fact, what I did was stupid! I almost missed my high school prom because he was the man I wanted as a date, and throughout my four years in college, I dated but never got serious because none of the men were as great as Donovan, or so I thought. Why the hell had I put him up in heaven with God? This man was being an absolute bear, and I hated the way he was treating me. I deserved better than this and dammit, I wasn’t going to stand for it.
“I came on this excursion because your clients asked me to, and I believed I was helping you with your clients. Don’t you dare accuse me of doing something I did NOT do! I did NOT flirt with these men, I did NOT touch these men, and if my actions bother you so much
, I’ll just leave.”
And I did just that. I turned myself around and walked straight back the way I came. Donovan Taylor was being the biggest asshole on this side of the island. I didn’t need him, or his attitude.
With a pissed-off demeanor, Donovan chased after me and pulled me back on our hike without a word, an apology, or an explanation. I fought his grip and turned the other way, again.
“Let’s just finish this hike, and then we can stay as far away from one another as possible. Let me remind you that you are the one who wanted to come here, and you accepted my clients’ offer. You can’t leave just because you feel like it.”
What a jerk! Why oh why did I ever find this man attractive? He was about as attractive as a grizzly bear.
I decided to trail behind our tour guide, Donovan, and his two clients. If Donovan had any clue how much I adored him, just how long I had loved him, he could never accuse me of paying attention to any other man. Not only did he have no idea, he just didn’t care. ASSinine!
“We will stop here for a quick lunch,” the tour guide explained. All the men were ready to break for a meal. It had been a long morning, and I, too, was hungry. But I really had no place to be. I couldn’t be next to Donovan’s clients for fear that I would be accused of flirting with them, nor did I want to be next to them. And Donovan paired himself with our tour guide and didn’t look twice at me. I felt so alone.
“If it’s OK with you, I’m going to walk ahead just a little bit and I’ll be back by the time you guys are done with your lunch.”
Before I heard any protest, I walked off. My feelings were hurt and I was surely pissed, but I decided not to let Donovan break my spirit, and I would not shed any tears for this man.
The hike was super long, and would have been phenomenal if someone hadn’t ruined it for me. However, I felt a hundred times better once we got to the beach and I let out my aggressions in the water. Our tour guide offered to take us to a secluded beach that only locals were familiar with, so we called my brother and cousins to join us there.