by Simply BWWM
He smiled back at her. “Of course, darling, that’s what I’m here for.”
Nicole eyed him thoughtfully then. “Have you talked with Pono again since the party or seen him?”
Jeffrey’s whole face changed from serious to giddily happy, and his cheeks blushed pink. “Yes, we really hit it off that night, and we went to lunch the day after the party, and we’ve talked on the phone a couple of times a day each day since then. We’re going out to dinner tomorrow night, and then we’ll go dancing at a club.” He beamed blissfully. “We’re really hitting it off. I didn’t expect it at all.”
She grinned and him and squealed just a little. “Oh! I’m so happy for you! You deserve it, you’re the best and you deserve every happiness that you can get!”
Jeffrey laughed and held up his glass of wine to her. “To beginnings, rough and sweet, and to the road ahead, may it be good for us both.”
She agreed with him. “Cheers!”
Their conversation turned to many other things, and she kept Dane from her thoughts until she went to bed that night, and he came rushing back in to her mind again. She thought about what had happened between them again that day, and what had happened between them the night that they met.
It wasn’t dating, and it wasn’t love. It wasn’t that cute giddy feeling that Jeffrey had over Pono, in their puppy love. It was sex. Powerful, intense, overwhelming sex. There was no romance. There was no crush turned sweetly to love. It was physical, and that was all there was to it. She reassured herself. It was all physical.
She told herself that she had absolute control over physical attraction and physical reaction. Emotion was much harder to control. If lust was all she had for him, then she should be able to reign it in and control it.
Nicole decided that all she had to do was focus more on her work and totally let go of her romantic drama with Dane. It could happen, and she was fully in control of making it happen, no matter what. It was with those thoughts of pure determination on her mind that she finally fell asleep, promising herself that it was all done and over, and that she was going to succeed in her job and that her affair with her boss was done. She had said it was done when she walked out of her office and left him behind, and she meant it. It was finished, and they were going to move on.
When she woke up, she smiled, feeling confident that she was going to succeed in her endeavor, and also feeling glad because it was Saturday, and she didn’t need to be back at the office until Monday morning.
As she and Jeffrey sat down to breakfast, she told him about a hike to a waterfall that Tia had told her about in one of their conversations at the office.
“It’s just up behind the city, she told me. In fact, there’s a paved road that goes through a neighborhood and leads right up to the trail head for the hike to the falls. It’s that close. I thought we might do that today, and then you could get a workout before your dinner date tonight. What do you say?” she asked hopefully.
He was thrilled. “That sounds great! I haven’t gotten enough exercise since I’ve been here. A hike would do me some good! Speaking of, I do need to go out and find a gym, and I was thinking I’d buy some used car while I’m here or see if I can rent one from a local so that I’ll have a way around. It’s a hike down the hill to the bus stop.”
She agreed and told him it was probably a good idea. When breakfast was done, they cleaned up and dressed for their hike, taking an extra layer in case it rained.
A short while later, they had parked the car and were walking into what looked like a proper rainforest, with towering trees, massive walls of flowering vines, and thick vegetation all around them. There was no sign of civilization anywhere from where they were, and they loved it.
Following the trail, they walked through a small bamboo forest and up the side of the mountain over the trail and up over stairs that had been formed in the hard clay of the ground. They met other hikers coming down and going up, and it felt almost as if everyone that they met was a friend, even in passing.
Half an hour later, they walked around great stones and under towering trees, following the roar of rushing water, and the tall waterfall came into view, dropping far down the side of the mountain and crashing into the crystal-clear pool at its base. There were signs that read “no swimming” but that didn’t deter some of the visitors to the pool. They dipped into the cold waters at the risk of their own safety, mostly just to say that they had done it.
After a short rest and a lot of photographs made, they hiked back down the mountain, and Jeffrey drove them along the road that led up the windward side of the island until they reached a farmer’s stand, and he pulled over there.
They got out and bought fresh fruit from the farmer, butter avocadoes, apple bananas, and coconuts just cut from the tree that morning. The farmer hacked the tops off of the coconuts with a machete with a few brief whisks of his blade, and then popped a couple of brightly colored straws into the little holes at the top for them.
They sipped the coconut milk until it was gone, and then gave their coconuts back to the farmer and he hacked them clean open and scooped out the insides for them, sending them each on their way with a baggie of fresh coconut.
Jeffrey and Nicole shared a look of pure amazement as they got back into the convertible. “We’re in paradise. We are living in paradise,” Jeffrey marveled. “We can roll out of bed into the sea anytime, there are palm trees dancing overhead, we can drink from coconuts and hike up to misty waterfalls. There are rainbows on the side of the mountain every single day, sometimes several a day. We’re in the land of never-ending rainbows. I don’t see a reason to ever leave.” He laughed brightly, and she nodded in complete agreement as she slid her sunglasses on and they took to the little highway again.
He drove them around the winding road that led up north, and they pulled off at a quiet corner on the north shore where sea turtles were basking in the sand. They were massive creatures, as big as a coffee table or bigger, all at peace and content with everything. As they watched the turtles from the shore and snapped some photographs, Nicole suddenly shot her finger out and pointed out in the water, not far from them. “Dolphins! There are dolphins there! See them? It’s a whole pod!”
They both watched as the pod of dolphins jumped and played and swam around, heading southward along the coast of the island, until the graceful and playful sea creatures were out of sight.
Nicole shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, now I’ve seen everything. I couldn’t love this place more.”
Jeffrey shook his head. “You haven’t seen everything.” He grinned at her.
She frowned slightly. “What? What have I missed?”
“I was talking to Auntie next door, and she told me that under the lighthouse just down the road, there’s another hike that goes down to a spot where whales like to hang out and play.” He eyed her with interest.
“Whales?” she asked excitedly.
He nodded. “I was thinking we’d go see if we can find some tomorrow.”
“Yes!” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “I am so glad that you’re here!”
“Me too!” He laughed, and they stayed a little longer before getting back to the car and heading home.
She went shopping that afternoon as Jeffrey readied himself for his date, and when she went home that night, she arrived just before Pono did. It was surreal to her to see Pono dressed to go out, standing at their front door. He had been so wild the first time she had seen him at the sex party, but then she realized that he must be feeling the same way, seeing her standing there in shorts and a pretty blouse. They looked normal to each other.
After quick hugs and light kisses on the cheek, she said goodbye to them both and told them to have a great time. Then, she spent the rest of her night decorating the house with some of the things that she’d bought, and nestling down into her sanctuary, loving the wonder of her new life, and promising herself that there would be no more trouble,
no more drama, no more romance or sex with her boss, and it would be smooth sailing from then on out, because she was going to make it that way.
The rest of her weekend was spent doing more shopping and exploring more of the island. By the time Monday rolled around, she was completely refreshed and ready for the week ahead. She wore a short-sleeved blouse and a slim pencil skirt in to work, and was looking forward to seeing Sam for lunch and picking up some mochi ice cream. She was determined that it was going to be a great day, and in an effort to give it a head start, she walked in with fresh muffins from a bakery near the office that she had seen.
Nicole went straight to Tia’s desk and set the bag of muffins down. “Here you go!” She grinned brightly. “Breakfast delivered. I’m going to make myself a latte. Would you like one too?”
It was then that she saw the frown on Tia’s face as her assistant looked up at her from behind her desk.
Nicole frowned in answer to it. “What’s wrong?”
“You have a guest. He was going to wait in your office, but I told him that he had to wait out here.” She could not have looked less pleased about their guest.
Nicole hadn’t been expecting anyone, and she couldn’t for a moment think of anyone who might be there that would irritate Tia so much, but among some of the other coffee talk that Tia and Nicole had shared, Nicole had mentioned her recent breakup, and when she turned, and her eyes landed on Paul sitting in a chair, waiting for her, she fully understood Tia’s irritation.
Paul stood up slowly and smiled at her. “Hey, baby. It’s really good to see you. I’ve missed you. Boy, you look great. Hawaii looks amazing on you.”
She stared at him, standing before her with his form fitting jeans and his button up shirt tucked into them. His close cut black hair was carefully combed in a small wave at the top of his head, and his face was clean shaven. His dark brown eyes were locked on her, and he gave her the winning smile that had convinced her to talk to him in the first place when she had met him the first time.
His squared jawline gave him the look of a movie star, but her heart was no longer swayed by his looks or his charm. All she felt in inside , standing there watching him watching her, was coolness and something akin to annoyance.
“Look, ah… I know you’re at work, but I wondered if we could talk for a few minutes.” He shrugged one shoulder and continued with his grin for her.
With a quiet sigh she nodded. “Sure. I have a few minutes. We should probably talk in my office.” She turned away from him just as he began to walk toward her lifting his arms up for a hug, but she was already at her office door, opening it and holding it as he came in behind her.
Looking over at Tia who was sitting silently at her desk with a dark expression on her face, Nicole said in a clear voice, “I’ll just be a few minutes, Tia. If I get any calls, go ahead and put them through please.”
Tia nodded and smiled. “I’ll do that!” she replied brightly.
Nicole closed the door and sighed, looking at Paul. She walked over to her desk and leaned her backside against it, crossing her arms over her chest. It had been such a great morning, right up until then.
With a frown, she looked at Paul and tilted her head a little to one side. “Why are you here, Paul?” she asked directly, skipping right past any kind of pleasantry with him.
He drew in a deep breath and walked closer to her, watching her eyes. “Look, I know we had a rough spot, but I’ve had some time to think, and I know what’s really going on in my head and in my heart now.” He smiled widely at her again and took another step toward her.
“And what is it that’s going on in your heart and in your head?” she asked with mild curiosity. She almost didn’t care, but then again, he did come all the way from San Francisco to say whatever it was that had dawned on him, so she felt that the least she could do was listen to him before he left her office.
Paul set his shoulders back and lifted his chin, puffing his chest out a little in the process. He was only three inches taller than Nicole, and it oftentimes made her feel like they were on a level playing field, because anytime she wore heels, depending on the shoe, she was as tall as he was or taller, and there was something about that which teased at her dominant personality.
“I realized that I love you, and that I don’t want to live without you. I’ve been really lonely since you left, and nothing is the same, and everything feels off. I had it so good with you, and I screwed up right when you needed me the most, and now I’m here to fix that. I love you, baby, and I want you back. It’s as simple as that.” He stepped toward her again and reached for her, but she turned her shoulder to him and he dropped his hand.
“What about everything you said in San Francisco? I haven’t been gone that long.” She narrowed her eyes at him somewhat.
He nodded and pushed his hands back down into his jeans pockets. “Yeah, well, I thought about that too. I know I said work was a priority for me, as it obviously is for you, but I thought about what you pointed out, and I realized that you were right about that too. I could work from anywhere. I could work from Hawaii. You were right. I concede that. So, here I am.” His brown eyes were hopeful.
Nicole felt bitterness bubbling up in her. She had done her best to try to convince him that he could work from Hawaii, and nothing that she had said had been enough to change his mind, yet there he stood before her, ready for another go at their relationship because even though nothing she had said had convinced him, the fact that he had realized it made it possible for him. He figured out on his own that he could work from Hawaii, but when she had told him that, he had blown it off and denied it.
“I was thinking, you know, I just got a hotel room for now, but I was thinking that I could move in with you. You know, you said they were giving you a house, and I figured I would come out here with you and I could move in with you and work from Hawaii.” He looked as pleased as could be with his idea, as if he was fixing everything like new again.
She shook her head and dropped her arms to her sides. “Paul, I appreciate the fact that you walked onto an airplane and flew all this way out here to talk with me about this, but I just don’t think that it’s a good idea for us to-”
He cut her off. In one swift movement, he stepped forward and reached for her, closing his hands around her arms and pulling her up against him, planting his mouth on hers and kissing her. She was so stunned by it that she didn’t move for a long moment, and when she did, it was to bring her hands up to his chest in an attempt to push him away.
It was at that moment that Dane walked into her office and stopped short in the doorway, staring at the scene before him of Paul kissing Nicole, who was locked in his arms with her hands on his chest.
Paul was startled by the intrusion; he lifted his mouth from Nicole’s, and she took the opportunity to push him away from her in frustration.
“Who is this?” Dane demanded, taking a few steps toward Paul as he looked from one of them to the other, shock and deep emotion flashing over his face.
Paul smiled at him and held his hand out, as if he was meeting a new friend. “Hey, I’m Paul. I’m her boyfriend.”
Dane stood there in utter shock, staring at them both.
Nicole felt a rush of anger wash through her, as well as defense of her position in front of Dane. For some strange reason, it was vital to her that he know the truth right away. She didn’t like the idea of him being confused about Paul at all.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend,” she corrected Paul with a sour look.
Paul shrugged and waved his hands in the air dismissively. “Yeah, but I’m here to get you back, baby. So, it will be the way that it was before. You’re going to be mine again.” He tugged at the waist on his jeans as he sniffed in a show of confidence before the bigger man in front of him.
Nicole looked up at Dane and felt her heart leap in her chest. His face had a tortured expression on it, and he would not meet her gaze. Instead, he reached his hand out to her, giving her a stack
of papers.
“These are the plans you left in Ed’s office. He had a look at them, and he loves them. We want you to go forward with your plan and expand into the south pacific.” He spoke in an even tone, and his eyes still would not meet hers, though she did see him give Paul a cold, hard look. He turned and left then, walking out of her office and closing the door sharply behind him.
Paul frowned and turned around to look at Nicole. “Who was that?” he demanded in annoyance.
She gave him a sharp look as well. “That was one of my bosses and one of the billionaire owners of this company.” She spoke with a serious and reprimanding tone. It was lost on Paul.
“Well, what’s his problem? I just met the guy, and already he has a chip on his shoulder?” Paul was overtly discontented.
Nicole walked around behind her desk and set the stack of papers on her desktop. “He’s probably mad because you were kissing me here, and I’m at work and on company time. Besides, you forced it on me, and it doesn’t matter how he feels about that; it matters how I feel about that. I’m not happy about it, Paul. We broke up. You can’t just grab me and kiss me like that now. I’m not yours.”