by Gail Haris
“We could share it?”
“Were you not planning to share it with me?”
“With other guests. I’m going to be tipsy if I drink much more.”
We each pour ourselves a glass, and then Jim looks to the table closest to us. He asks in Greek if they’d like a glass. Another table close to us I hear speaking in English, so I ask if they’d like a glass. We pour them a glass. All the tables surrounding us laugh and drink. Jimmy pours me another glass, and I am starting to feel the effects of the wine. An upbeat song comes over the speakers and Jimmy grins. He stands and once again starts dancing. Easing his way around the table, he leans down into my ear and purrs, “Come dance with me.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “I don’t dance in public, and I’m more than likely going to trip as I’m slightly inebriated.”
“Come on, you danced just fine in front of my family.”
“That wasn’t in public. And I might’ve been a little…” I shake my shoulders and smile at him.
He raises his eyebrows and extends his arms. “This is like family. This is a family of people all wanting to have a good time.” They raise their glasses to him. He looks back to me and smirks. “Come dance with me…chicken.”
“Chicken?”
He leans into my ear and whispers. “Chicken.”
I turn up my glass and down my wine. Before I can think better of it, I stand and push his shoulder, moving him out of my way. Then, I dance.
Like no one is watching.
When in reality, Jimmy is watching my every move.
Jimmy
The night is going better than I could have ever imagined. I’m having more fun than I can ever remember having. I don’t know what it is about Jolene, but I live to surprise her. I love seeing that shocked look in her eyes when I do something crazy or embarrassing. Honestly, I typically don’t act this bold, but there’s something about her that brings it out in me.
Her smile. That’s what it is. Seeing it makes my chest swell, and that light in her eyes when she looks at me, knowing that I did that. It usually makes an appearance when I’m making a complete ass of myself, but nevertheless, I put that look of happiness on her face.
I was determined to get her to let loose and dance, and here she is, belly dancing on an island in an outdoor restaurant by the beach. Her sweet laugh is music to my ears as she says, “Nobody else is dancing.”
“So? I don’t care about anybody else.” I reach out and grab her hips and pull her against my front. “I don’t want to dance with them.”
She turns around, and the smirk on face her radiates more sinful promises, “I feel like taking this dance somewhere more private. What about you?”
“You most definitely don’t have to ask me twice, koritsi mou.”
We step off the wood flooring of the restaurant and onto the rocks and pebbles of the beach. We can still hear the music, so Jolene continues to dance as we walk. She’s so incredibly sexy, and it blows my mind how I don’t think she really knows how special she is. Suddenly, she stops and turns to me with a look of horror.
I reach out to her and ask, “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, but is there a restroom nearby?”
I look around. “There’s a few tourist shops and cafés up there. Let’s go see. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”
“If you need to throw up, nobody is around. There’s some bushes over there.”
Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. “No, no. I need a restroom. Not a bush.”
I lead her up the hill from the beach and back to the sidewalk. We walk along the shops and come to a relatively large one. “Want a magnet?”
“What?” She pants as her face looks like she’s almost in physical pain.
“We have to buy something before we just use their restroom. It’s not really acceptable to go in a place only to use their restroom.”
“Fine. Sure. Grab anything.”
I pick up a little magnet and ask the gentleman at the counter if he has a restroom Jolene can use. He points to a door in the back. Jolene rushes back and runs in the little room. However, as soon as the door closes, it reopens.
She comes up to me and whispers. “There’s no toilet. Only a sink and … a hole.”
I nod. “Yeah, a lot of bathrooms in Greece don’t use the full toilet.”
She raises her hands up and looks to be on the verge of tears. “Jimmy, there’s no toilet. Not even part of one, like the bowl.” She leans closer and grits out, “I can’t go in a hole.”
I nod, “Okay. Let’s try the café.”
I tell the gentleman thank you and leave with our magnet. We go to the café, and I purchase a bottle of water. Jolene rushes to their restroom and five seconds later walks past me and out of the café.
Catching up to her, I ask, “What happened?”
“They had stalls and bowls but no seats. I was scared I’d fall in. And the doors on the stalls were like textured glass. The kind you can’t completely see through – but you can see. Jimmy, I have to go! And I need a full bathroom with privacy! Why is this such a struggle?”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Here in Greece, public restrooms aren’t a big thing. Can you make it a little longer? Let’s try this place.”
Jolene groans and I hear her stomach gurgle. She looks like she’s on the verge of tears, and before I can ask again, she takes off in a sprint. I chase after her.
“I’m going back to the room!” she calls back. “I know it for sure has a bathroom. I can’t keep hunting. I have to go!”
By the time we get to the room, I’m exhausted and sweating. Jolene rushes to the bathroom and slams the door shut, locking it. I hear…well, I hear what I would have only assumed was a man on the other side of the door had I not seen her run in there with my own eyes.
“For the love of God, turn on the television! Turn the volume up loud! Please!”
“Jo,” I try to hide the smile in my voice and hold back laughter. “Honey, sweetheart.” I have to bite my hand to keep from laughing because I hear her passing gas—loudly. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she cries out followed by more sounds. “Please, go away! This is humiliating enough as it is!”
“Jo, babe, everyone has these types of issues at some point in their life.” I stifle a laugh. “And everyone gets diarrhea and passes gas.” The more noises she makes, the more I want to die laughing. I gather my composure before continuing. “It’s natural.”
“This is not natural! I don’t know what I ate or drank, but never a–again.” Her voice is strained, followed by more unpleasant sounds and then she yells. “Will you please give me some privacy! Get away from the door! Take a walk!”
Snickering, I walk over to the television and turn it on. I turn up the volume, and I faintly hear Jolene yell, “Thank you!”
Even over the television, I can still hear her rumblings, but I won’t ever tell her that.
Jolene
Having the worst case of gastrointestinal issues is a sure way to win any man over, right? This is hands down the most mortifying moment of my life. I’d rather fall down the stairs and flash his family my ass again than this. Should I even come out of the bathroom? I don’t know how much longer I can remain trapped in here with the smell. Oh, my God. The smell. Why couldn’t there be a window in here? This room is so small, we are going to smell this all night long. Fuck. My. Life. I ease the door open just enough for me to slide through and quickly close the door behind me in hopes of not releasing the smell into the room.
Jim is lying on the bed in only black briefs watching television. His sculpted abs are on display. His dark hair is messy, making him look sexier than should be legal. Those blue eyes that rival the blue of the Mediterranean Sea sparkle at me. And that smile that would make any red-blooded human drop their pants is turned up to full panty-melting mode. Great. This gorgeous man just heard me fart…several times. It could’ve happened to anyone. It’s probably happened
to him. I hold my head up high as I make my way to my suitcase for absolutely nothing other than to get out of making eye contact.
“Jo.”
“Yes?” My voice comes out high.
“Jo.”
I sigh and turn around to face him. He stares at me with serious eyes and not a trace of a smile on his face now. Then, he lifts his leg up and farts. Slowly, he lays his leg back down and stares at me. I burst out laughing, but he doesn’t even crack a smile. I walk over to the bed and place my hands on my hips. “Was that just for me?”
“I’ve been holding it until you came out.”
“That must’ve been painful.”
“You have no idea. I had to turn the tv up louder to mute my cries of gas pain.”
Taking my hand, Jimmy kisses the knuckles, and then in a voice of mock seriousness says, “I’d endure any pain for you. Anything. I’d birth a child for you if you needed me to. But you don’t have to torture me. Can you go open the balcony door? Some of the smell is seeping from the bathroom.” My jaw drops, and Jimmy bursts out laughing. He pulls me down on top of him and holds me to him. “Just so you know, this has been the most romantic night I’ve ever experienced.”
“It started out romantic with dancing under the stars by the ocean, but I don’t think hearing me in the bathroom was a recipe for pure romance.”
“That’s just us being open and comfortable with each other.”
“No, that’s because I was beyond uncomfortable that I was forced to endure that. You should’ve left the room!”
“Besides what we’ve just lived through the past twenty minutes, did you enjoy the rest of the night?”
“Sadly, this was the most romantic night for me, too.” We take a moment to simply gaze into each other’s eyes. Then, Jimmy brings his lips to mine. He rolls us over to where he is on top of me. I suck my lips under my teeth and then whisper, “Even after all that, you still want to…”
“Are you kidding? You’re so gorgeous and incredibly sexy.” He begins removing my clothes and then growls, “Besides, in all honestly I’m impressed with what you were packing. You’re a real woman. There was none of those pansy little airy toots. You farted like a beast.”
“Stop! I’m going to die.”
“You most certainly are going to think that because I’m about to take you to heaven.”
I bring my hand to Jim’s cheek and, while looking into his gorgeous blue-green eyes, ask “The cheesiness. You’re something else. What am I going to do with you, Jimmy?”
“Anything you want. Just don’t leave me too broken.”
Jolene
The next morning, I’m surprised when I wake up and Jimmy isn’t in bed. I go ahead and shower and then get dressed. When I walk out of the bathroom, Jimmy is back in the room like he’d never been gone.
“Good morning,” he comes up and kisses me on the forehead. “What do you say to exploring some of the island? There’s a cave I want you to see. We can take a boat ride through it. But we have to be there by noon to get the full effect. Also, I was thinking ice cream on the beach?”
“That sounds fantastic!”
“Great! Let’s get going.”
We walk outside and Jimmy goes to a four-wheeler. “Hop on!”
“Why did you get this?”
“Well, you can’t see as much with the car, and it is nice out. But then I thought, what if we had any issues and needed to get back to the room quickly? So, your carriage awaits.”
Too moved by his thoughtfulness to be embarrassed, I walk over and wrap my arms around his neck. “You know, you can be pretty charming when you want to be.”
“For a pilot?”
The comment makes me flinch a little. He’s right, though. I’ve been a little ridiculous on my prejudice toward pilots. He waits for my response, and I honestly don’t know what to say. Instead, I smile and nod. Play it flirty. “Less arrogant looks pretty damn good on you.”
“Yeah, I know… Keep hanging around. I might surprise you some more.”
The first place Jimmy drives us to is the Melissani Cave. We hop off the four-wheeler and Jimmy gets in line to purchase our tickets. There’s a little awning set up that already has a few people waiting to buy tickets, but luckily, the line is moving quickly. We follow the others down a dark and cold stairway. Little boats are lined up, but they don’t look real…they actually look like they have been photoshopped on the water, like they’re floating above it. The water is so incredibly blue and clear. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I reach my hand out and touch a rock and it’s so cold. I wasn’t expecting that. We hop in the boat and I stare, fascinated, at how gorgeous the turquoise-blue water is. The guy paddling our boat says the water is very deep, around twenty to thirty meters. It’s crazy because I can clearly see the stones at the bottom because the water is so incredibly clear, like if reached into the water I could touch each and every one of them.
“This has to be the clearest water in the world. It’s beyond words beautiful,” I whisper to Jimmy as I am in awe looking around the cave. The sun begins to move and shine through the opening above us. “I’m so grateful you chose this to do today. Thank you.” He just smiles at me, clearly satisfied with his choice.
“Right on time,” Jimmy says to me. The light from the sun shines through the opening above us and into the water. The water sparkles and reflects and shines on the walls of the cave. My God, I gasp at how magical it is. Our boat goes a little farther in, and then it gets darker in the cave. It’s a little spooky and a lot cold. The boat finally comes back around to the opening above us where we were picked up. As we come back into the light with the sun shining bright above us, I’m curious about the water temperature. Discreetly, I reach over the boat and quickly dip the tips of my fingers in. Jimmy is watching me.
“Holy hell, it’s ice cold,” I tell him.
He searches my eyes and gives me a small smile. “Isn’t it amazing how something can be so stunningly beautiful and look so incredibly inviting, but really, underneath it all, it is impossible to touch and so very dangerous.”
“What?”
“You’ll only get hurt in here.”
The way Jimmy’s eyes study me, I don’t think he’s talking about the cave or the water.
Jimmy
As she wraps her arms around me and I start the four-wheeler, I want to kick myself. I’m falling hard for Jolene. I wanted two days to show her I was genuine. But she doesn’t want a relationship with me. She shouldn’t want anything to do with me. And honestly, I shouldn’t want more either. This is all fake. I asked her to be mine for this trip, so how can I believe the warm and inviting look in her eyes right now? She made it clear the first time we met that we had no future…and even the second time we met she said in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t want me. Well, except for sex. I feel like such a fool. Why am I getting upset over this? I have a beautiful woman’s arm wrapped around me and I’m pouting because I’m wanting more from her. More than what she’s willing to give. I’ve never wanted more. With anyone. Leave it to me to run off and pick the one woman who hates pilots. I only love three things in my life: my family, flying, and Greece. Jolene fits perfectly into my entire world, well, except the fact that she despises my career. I’m not a passenger in life, though—I’m the pilot. That’s part of who I am.
I zoom through the winding roads to try and clear my head before we stop again. I don’t want to ruin our last day together. There’s a beach that’s kind of isolated, so off the beaten path that it’s remained clean and beautiful, so I begin heading in that direction. Right before coming to the turn that leads to the zig-zagging road down a mountain, I stop at the side of the road and point in the direction of where we are heading.
“That’s where we are going. Down there.”
Jolene squeezes me tighter and squeals. “Oh my gosh, it’s stunning. I’ve never seen water so blue. I know I keep saying that, but each time the water is more stunning and gorgeous. I can’t wa
it. Although, getting down there is going to make us dizzy, it looks like.”
I chuckle. The road is a clear zig-zag going down the mountain. There’s an ice cream stand across the street from us. “Let’s grab a cone and head down. Do you care to hold mine while I drive?”
“I’ll gladly hold your cone.”
I turn around and grin at Jolene, who is looking absolutely adorable in her little pink helmet. “Did you just make a dirty joke?”
“You’re rubbing off on me. Wait—I left myself open for that one…don’t say anything. Let’s just go get our ice cream.”
I can’t stop the huge smile from spreading across my face. Once I’m off the four-wheeler, I lift Jolene. She yelps and wraps her legs around me. Everything’s so perfect right now. I’m holding the most beautiful physically and spirited woman in my arms with her legs wrapped around me, standing on top of the world with one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world below us. I don’t want to leave this island and go back to reality.
We both get vanilla cones as I throw one last comment out to Jolene about me being anything but vanilla, and I begin driving us slowly down the mountain. The pace is so slow that she doesn’t need to hold on to me, which is good since both of her hands are holding ice cream cones.
We reach the bottom of the mountain and I park the four-wheeler. There’s only a few other cars here, thankfully, so we’ll have the place practically to ourselves. I hop off, and remove my shirt. Jolene hands me my ice cream cone. Instead of taking it, I grab her wrist and then lick a drip of vanilla off her finger. Her eyes darken and I love knowing I’m affecting her just as much as she is me.
I place my hands on her waist and begin walking her toward the coves in the cliffs. The waves crash against the rocks and I feel the mist against my legs. Jolene is still holding my ice cream cone and brings it to her lips. My blood pumps faster as her mouth opens and her tongue licks around the cone’s perimeter before her mouth closes over the white cream.