by Monroe, Max
“All right, down on the board again,” Ollie coached for what felt like the one-hundredth time, and I groaned.
Between the humid heat and the hot Tahitian sun, I didn’t know what was worse.
And for the first time in my life, I was actually craving the feel of the cool ocean water wrapping itself around my overheated skin like an air-conditioned cocoon.
Sweat dripped from my forehead, and I lifted a hand to swipe it off.
“Seriously?” I asked and stared down at the neon pink surfboard in frustration. “We’ve been out here for like two hours,” I whined. “Isn’t it time to head to the pool and cool off a bit?”
A smirk lifted the corners of Ollie’s mouth, and I had a feeling that smile even reached behind his aviators to the brown eyes that sat beneath them. “Fifteen minutes,” he said, and I quirked a brow.
“What?”
“We’ve been out here for fifteen minutes.”
[laughs]
Fifteen minutes, you guys.
It felt a hell of a lot longer than that.
Every inch of my body was sweating, and my muscles screamed in discomfort.
“You’re lying,” I refuted.
“Nope.” He shook his head and pointed to his watch. “You got down here at nine, and it’s exactly nine fifteen.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered and he chuckled.
“A few more and then we can take a break,” he said and moved toward me. “And this time, I want you to focus on the way your core muscles are engaged,” he instructed as he gently patted a big and steady hand to my stomach, and my muscles clenched in surprise. “These are the muscles that are going to keep you from falling on your ass out there in the sea. These,” he said, patting my belly again as he placed his other hand on my lower back, “And these.”
I looked down at where his skin touched my skin, and I couldn’t get over how his hand nearly spanned from one hip bone to the other.
I’d never really looked at a man’s hands closely, but Ollie’s hands?
Well, they were kind of perfect.
A little callused on the palms, but tanned and strong and with the longest, sexiest fingers I’d ever seen.
“Does it make sense?” he asked, and I lifted my gaze to meet his.
Make sense? I thought to myself. That you have the longest, sexiest fingers I’ve ever seen? No. Not really…
“Lucky?”
“Yeah?”
He smirked at my utter confusion. “Do you understand what I mean about your core muscles?”
“Oh!” I said, and my mouth formed a little circle. “Y-yeah, sure. I think I do.”
“Okay,” he said and stepped back from me and the board. When his hands left my skin, I had to stifle the urge to groan in disappointment.
[sighs]
Tell me I’m not crazy, dear listeners.
Tell me I’m not a total weirdo for being entranced by a man’s freaking hands…
[groans]
Anyway, once I pulled myself out of my weird hand fixation, I lay back down on the board and waited for Ollie’s instructions.
But this time, when he told me to hop up into position, my head turned woozy, and I had to adjust my body from squatting down over the board to standing straight up to avoid falling flat on my face.
“You okay?” he asked and I nodded, but that nod only made me feel more light-headed, and I had to shut my eyes to make the world stop spinning around me.
“Lucky?” Ollie asked, but his voice sounded miles away.
Like miles and miles a-fucking-way.
I even tried to open my eyes and respond, but when my vision tunneled, I shut them closed tight again.
[silent pause]
Everything pretty much went black after that. And the last thing I heard was the word, “Shit,” being muttered from Ollie’s mouth.
Yeah, I just up and passed out.
Right there, in the middle of the sand.
When I finally came to and opened my eyes again, I was lying on my back, my head resting on Ollie’s thigh, and his concerned face stared down at me.
“Lucky?” he asked and searched my eyes. “Are you okay?”
“What happened?” I asked and attempted to sit up, but he gently kept me horizontal with his hand to my shoulders.
“Don’t get up, sweetheart,” he said. “You passed out for a minute there.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you did. I think we need to get you to a doctor.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t need a doctor,” I said and pushed his hands away with enough strength so that I could sit up. My head spun from the abrupt change in position, but otherwise, it stabilized pretty quickly.
“Sweetheart, I really think you do.” The concern in his eyes was evident, and my heart clenched at the sight.
“It’s no big deal, okay?” I said, but he didn’t seem convinced. So, I offered up a legitimate explanation. “Seriously, Ollie. I’m fine. This isn’t the first time that’s happened. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve had occasional issues with fainting spells.”
“Really?” he asked and I nodded.
“It’s a genetic thing,” I added. “My mom had it her whole life. Hell, it even got worse before she died.”
His eyes lifted in surprise and then darkened with more concern at my words.
“She died from breast cancer,” I explained further. “Not fainting spells.”
“Oh,” he said, and a layer of sympathy mingled in with his concern. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay.” I shrugged off the sympathy the only way I knew how. “It happened nearly twelve years ago.”
He reached out to brush a sweaty strand of hair from my forehead. “Must’ve been a pretty tough time.”
“It wasn’t easy,” I admitted. “But between my dad and my sisters Hazel and Willow, we managed to get through it. Anyway,” I said by way of directing the conversation to less depressing territories. “Sorry about the whole passing out thing. I think maybe the heat just got to me a little…”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “But I really think we need to get a doctor to check you out just to be sure.”
An unconvinced laugh left my lips. “That’s not necessary.”
I brushed the sand off my thighs and attempted to stand. But when I had to grip his shoulder with a shaky hand to steady myself, his mouth turned down at the corners.
“Lucky,” he said, and I waved him off.
“I’m fine. Promise. I’ll just head back up to my room and rest for a little while.”
“Okay. Yeah. That’s a good idea,” he agreed and hopped to his feet.
But he didn’t stop there.
With one strong arm below my thighs and another pressed to my back, he lifted me off my feet and into his arms.
“W-what are you doing?” I squealed.
“I’m taking you to your room.”
“Pretty sure my feet work, you crazy person!”
He just chuckled softly and carried me back toward the hotel’s beach entrance.
“Seriously, Ollie?” I questioned when we reached the automatic doors. “This is completely unnecessary.”
He pretty much ignored me after that.
Well, me and all the guests in the lobby looking toward us as he carried me to the elevator and tapped the up button.
“Oh my God,” I muttered as he stepped into the first available car. “You’re a pest, you know that?”
He grinned down at me. “Pretty sure you’ve told me that before.”
“Apparently, you don’t listen.”
“What room?”
“It’s 803,” I answered with a roll of my eyes. “And you can put me down now. No doubt I can handle it from here.”
“Not happening, little fire,” he responded and tapped the button for the eighth floor. “I’m not letting you stay by yourself until I’m certain you’re okay.”
God, he was annoying. But he was also the most determined man I’d probably ev
er met in my entire life.
I knew attempting to resist him was fruitless, and I needed to just saddle up for the rest of the ridiculous ride.
It was like he was trying to give his best Hazel impression or something.
I stayed patient, though, and silently planned to send him on his overbearing way once he’d set me back on my feet in front of my hotel room.
But my hopes went up in flames when Ollie walked us inside my room and made a show of putting me on the bed.
“Stay there,” he said.
“I need to pee, and I need to get out of this bathing suit.”
“Fine,” he agreed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “But then, it’s back to bed.”
I rolled my eyes as I got to my feet, grabbed a fresh set of clothes, and locked myself into the bathroom for a few moments.
But by the time I was dressed and heading back out of the bathroom, the woozy sensation started to fill my head again.
“You okay?” he asked when he saw me reach out for the wall to steady myself.
I nodded. “Just need to lie down for a bit. No big deal.”
Ollie wasn’t convinced, and with strong arms, he picked me back up and carried me to the bed.
And this time, I didn’t complain.
If anything, I was thankful for the help.
[sighs]
I was a real shitshow that day, you guys.
All woozy and light-headed and apparently incapable of completing the simple task of walking from the bathroom to the bed without nearly falling face first into the carpet.
But, Ollie? Well, he just handled it.
He stayed by my side.
He made sure I was okay.
And once he’d tucked me under the covers, he snagged his phone off the nightstand and made a call to one of the competition doctors.
When he hung up the phone, I glared at him.
“I don’t need a freaking house call, Ollie.”
“Stop being so damn stubborn,” he responded and sat on the edge of the bed near my hip. He brushed my hair out of my face. “You’ve already passed out once and nearly did it again coming out of the bathroom. Getting checked out by a doctor isn’t up for discussion.”
“That’s pretty apparent,” I muttered, and he just grinned.
The man gave zero fucks about what I wanted.
But apparently, he gave a lot of fucks about me…
[pauses]
The house doctor arrived not even fifteen minutes later, and Ollie greeted him at the door.
“Thanks for coming, Doc,” he said as they walked toward the bed. “This is Lucky. She passed out on the beach about thirty minutes ago and nearly had another spell when we got back to the room.”
“Hi, Lucky,” the gray-haired man said with a smile and held out his hand. “I’m Dr. Elders, one of the resident physicians with the Professional Surfing League.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said and shook his hand. “I honestly don’t think you needed to come up here, but Ollie was pretty persistent.”
Dr. Elders smiled knowingly and set a black leather bag on the bed. “Let me just do a quick assessment, ask you some questions, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
Twenty medical questions and fifteen minutes later, Dr. Elders finished up his assessment and gave me a diagnosis.
“I know fainting spells are part of your medical history, but I think what we’re actually dealing with here is a bad case of dehydration. Have you done anything strenuous in the past twenty-four hours?”
“I went on a long hike yesterday with Jordy Fuller,” I answered, and Ollie’s gaze moved toward mine for a beat.
“Well,” Dr. Elders continued, “that, in combination with your work and travel schedule, is probably what did it. I think it would be smart if we give you some IV fluids just to help you get back on your feet a little quicker. Otherwise, I’m afraid you might start getting other symptoms such as nausea and vomiting.”
“An IV?” I scrunched up my nose. “You don’t think that’s a little overboard?”
The doctor shook his head and started getting out supplies. “No, I think it’s the correct and best treatment option for you right now.”
I sighed and lifted my eyes to glare at Ollie.
“Thanks a lot,” I muttered.
He just chuckled and reached out to hold my hand as Dr. Elders pulled his supplies from his bag to give me an IV.
By the time the needle was inserted and the fluids were streaming through the tubing and into my arm, my bones started to ache with fatigue.
Shit, what a weird day.
“Just give it about thirty minutes or so, and you’ll be all set,” the doctor updated as he cleaned up his supplies.
My eyelids started to droop, but I forced them open and nodded. “Okay,” I answered quietly, and a big yawn followed my words.
I moved my focus back toward the television screen, just as Ollie’s phone rang inside his pocket. He picked it up by the second ring.
“Hey,” he greeted into the receiver, and another yawn left my lips. “Sorry to do this, but I’m going to have to cancel the meeting today,” he said and stood to walk toward the windows that looked out onto the balcony. “An emergency came up.”
An emergency? Was he talking about me?
I wanted to keep listening to his conversation. I really did.
I wanted to tell him that I was fine and he didn’t need to stay, but the past two days had caught up with me.
My eyelids drooped down even farther, and it only took a few blinks before I was lights-out to the world…
* * *
The sound of knocking resonated inside my head and startled my eyes open. The room was blurry, and I had to blink several times to recognize my surroundings.
A framed map of Tahiti hanging on the wall beside the TV jogged my memory, and instantly, I knew I was in my hotel room.
What time was it?
How long had I been asleep?
I had no idea.
I turned on my side and glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand.
8:15, it read.
As in, in the freaking morning of the following day…
“Thanks, mate.” Ollie’s voice filled my ears, and the sound of the door clicking shut followed.
I sat up in bed just as he made his way into the bedroom area of my room with a tray of food held tightly in hands. “Mornin’,” he said when his eyes met mine. “How are you feeling?”
“Uh…better,” I answered. “How long have I been asleep?”
He grinned. “Only about twenty hours or so.”
My eyes popped wide in surprise. “Seriously?”
[laughs softly]
Apparently, dehydration encourages partial comas.
A word of advice? Drink plenty of fluids, especially when you agree to go on a five-mile hike up a mountain to see a damn waterfall, and then follow it up by letting a handsome man with a pink surfboard show you how to surf beneath the blazing morning sun…
Ollie simply grinned and nodded at my overall surprise as he set the tray down between us and proceeded to climb in bed beside me. My body was still under the plush white comforter and his above it.
“So…you’ve been here the whole time?” I asked, and he nodded again.
“Yep.” He lifted the silver domes off of the plates to reveal a spread of pancakes and waffles and eggs and bacon and fruit and pretty much every breakfast item you could imagine.
“Why did you stay?” I asked. “You didn’t need to do that.”
He flashed a knowing look. “There was no way I was going to leave you by yourself like that.”
“So, you, uh, slept here? All night?” I asked, and he grinned at my question.
“Yes.” He pointed toward the sofa in the corner of the room where two pillows and a few blankets still lay. “Right over there.”
The man had stayed in my hotel room for twenty hours straight to make sure I was okay. And not only that, bu
t as the memories of yesterday started to fill my head, I realized he’d also had to deal with my stubborn ass.
If I just went by his behavior over the last twenty-four hours, he seemed more saint than jerk, that was for damn sure.
I mean, I’d bitched. I’d complained. I’d all but refused a doctor.
And who knows how I would’ve been feeling that morning if he hadn’t stepped up and been the logical one out of the two of us.
[audible pause]
He’d basically been my own personal knight in shining armor, only replace the horse with a pink surfboard and the whole suit of armor with six-pack abs and board shorts.
I couldn’t see him as anything but a good guy in that moment.
“Wow… Thank you, Ollie,” I said quietly and met his brown gaze. “Thank you for taking care of me. I know I wasn’t the easiest to deal with yesterday.”
“No big deal. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He reached forward and handed me a fork from the tray. “Hungry?”
“Starved.” I took the fork from his hands, but before I could gorge myself on pancakes, my bladder screamed for relief. “But first, I’m going to make a quick stop in the bathroom.”
Ollie nodded and proceeded to dig into the food while I went into the bathroom and peed. When I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror as I washed my hands, I cringed.
My eyes were puffy, and my hair had definitely seen better days.
But surely, it couldn’t have looked worse than I’d looked after I’d passed out on the beach. Pale and sweaty didn’t look good on anyone, no matter who in the hell they were.
I brushed my teeth. Washed my face. And tossed my red locks into a messy bun on top of my head before I made my way back into the room and climbed up on the bed beside him.
It was surreal seeing him sitting there, on the hotel bed, my hotel bed, still dressed in his swim trunks and white T-shirt, and eating pancakes beside me.
Like, how in the hell had we managed to reach this point?
And what in the hell did it all mean?
“You okay?” he asked.