One More Time_A Second Chance Romance

by Rye Hart

  “Yeah. She’ll be fine,” I said. “Where are we taking this break?”

  “I figured we could slip out to the private deck over there,” Rhett said. “We could keep an eye on the toddlers, but we could also talk for a bit.”

  “Talk?” I asked.

  “Or stand around and look at the ocean. It’s up to you. I can feel the sweat coming through your dress, though. I figured you could use a rest.”

  “Yep. I’m bringing all of the sexy back with that move,” I said.

  “You’ve never been anything but sexy to me.”

  I looked up at him as his hand raised to cup my cheek. I was hesitant about going out onto the balcony with him. People would talk, especially now with his hand caressing my skin the way it was. But the music was loud, and I didn’t want to leave Ana here by herself without knowing she was going to be safe.

  “Okay,” I said. “To the balcony, it is.”

  CHAPTER 10

  RHETT

  I knew it would be only the two of us out here. The dance hall was filled with people who were already drunk, and the staff who kept watch over the dance hall wouldn’t let any of them out here. I led us over to the corner that wasn’t in front one of the windows and perched us there, dragging a chair over with us. We were encased by shadows, with nothing but the stars to light our way. The tension was palpable between us after the way her ass had been grinding on me all fucking night.

  I saw the lust cloud her eyes like they were mine.

  She straddled my lap and crashed her lips on mine. My hands slid up her back, winding in her hair and pulling it back to expose her neck. I nibbled down her skin as I let go of her hair, my hands flying up her dress.

  But she sank to her knees before I could get to that juicy little pussy.

  She quickly pulled my cock from my pants and wrapped her mouth around it. Her tongue expertly lapped at my growing head, sucking as I came to life in her mouth. I wrapped my hand in her hair as I stifled my groans, trying not to catch the attention of the staffers working the club.

  Her mouth was so warm and wet for me, and I had to stop her before I came down her throat.

  I picked her up from the ground and pulled up her dress. I slid her panties off to the side, smelling her dripping arousal soaking the fabric of her underwear. I sat her down on my cock as she looked out over the ocean, her head falling back to mine. I held her close to me as she rolled, her legs spread wide for me. Darkness draped over us as the pumping of the music grew louder. People were getting drunker, and the staffers were spread thin.

  I heard someone shut the doors to the balcony, tugging a devious smile across my cheeks.

  I felt my cock throbbing inside of her as her walls massaged me. I knew she was close, but I wanted her in one last position. I stood up and pressed her into the railing, bending her over as I wrapped my fingers in her hair. I reared back and allowed my pants to fall to the deck floor, my cock thrusting into Chanel. Her ass jiggled for me as she hovered over the ocean, her hands clamping down on the rail. She gasped and trembled, her pussy was pulling me deeper into the confines of her wetness. My hips were stuttering as my hand dropped her hair, desperate to find her swollen clit.

  “Come here,” I said.

  I wrapped my hand around her and set her back down on her feet. My fingertips parted her folds as she pressed into the strength of my chest. Her legs were shaking as I thrust into her, bouncing her tits as my fingers found her clit. I circled it expertly as we stood in the shadows, writhing against one another as we looked out over the ocean.

  There was nothing but water, black skies and the stars cheering us on. The ship was roaring along the top of the earth, skimming the waters as Chanel drenched me in her fluids. Sweat dripped down my brow as I slammed into her. I could feel her hands threading around my neck. She pressed her hips back into me, giving me more of that ass to feel against my stomach as she fell apart around my cock.

  “Fuck, Rhett. Holy hell. Mmm. So good. You’re so good. Oh, shit.”

  I bit into her neck, raking my teeth across her pulse point as my orgasm crashed into me. My cock filled her to the brim as our juices dripped onto the deck of the ship. I held her close to me, pulling her hair and pressing against her clit as I left my mark on her neck and shoulders. What I had with her was primal, a desperate need to have her at every turn. Her scent turned me into an animal, and the soft feel of her skin melted my defenses. She was seeping into my bones, into the marrow that fueled the very life in my veins.

  I stumbled back, our bodies still connected as I fell into the chair with her in my lap.

  “How the fuck did we pull that off?” Chanel asked.

  “I’m a professional at concealing this kind of stuff,” I said.

  “That what they teach you as a Navy SEAL?”

  “Among other things,” I said with a grin.

  “We made a mess.”

  “We could go back to my room and clean it up,” I said.

  “Tommy’s probably there with someone,” she said.

  “Is your room available?” I asked.

  “It might be. Worth a check, right?”

  I kissed her cheek as I slid my cock from her body, coated in her arousal and glistening in the dim light of the stars. I tucked my cock into my pants as she pulled up her panties, the two of us trying to make ourselves presentable. I knocked on the balcony door and the staffer let us in, a confused look on his face.

  “You didn’t see us slip out here earlier?” I asked. “I was wondering when you were going to open the door.”

  “Sorry, sir. My apologies,” the staffer said.

  “Holy shit,” Chanel said with a giggle. “You weren’t kidding.”

  “Nope,” I said with a smirk. “I wasn’t. By the way, Tommy told me that Ana signed you up for the charity date auction.

  Chanel groaned and rolled her eyes. “Yes she did. Hey, why don’t you bid on me and save me from having to go on some awkward date?”

  “I wish I could, but Tommy signed me up too,” I said.

  “Well damn,” she said, before a sly smile slid across her lips.

  “Uh oh, I know that look,” I said. “What are you up to?”

  “How about a friendly wager?” she asked.

  “What are your terms?” I asked.

  “Whoever raises the most money gets to do whatever they want with the other for one night,” she said, her eyes going dark.

  It was all I could do not to trip over my own feet. “Oh honey, you are so on.”

  CHAPTER 11

  CHANEL

  A knock came at the door the next morning, and it took me a second to get my bearings. I looked over to see Ana in her bed and panicked as I stretched my arm out to try and find Rhett. But my bed was empty, and the sheets were cool. Maybe I should’ve been filled with relief that he had the sense to leave, but I wasn’t.

  It felt empty without him there.

  Another knock came at the door, forcing Ana awake. She groaned and rolled over, her eyes bloodshot with her hangover. I slid from the bed and walked over to the door, expecting to see an itinerary for today’s activities courtesy of Connie fucking Thomas.

  Instead, a note had been slipped underneath the door.

  “Tell Connie I’m gonna give her a black eye for breakfast,” Ana said.

  “Okay,” I said as I picked up the note.

  I unfolded it as my eyes scanned the paper. With each word, I felt the blood drain from my face. I stumbled back from the door and fell into a chair, my heart slamming against my chest.

  “What’s on the itinerary for today?” Ana asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “Wasn’t Connie at the damn door with it?”

  “No,” I said. “She wasn’t.”

  “Then who the hell was it? Spit it out so I can get back to sleep.”

  “I-I-I don’t know, Ana. I don’t know who it was.”

  It must’ve been the panic that laced my voice because Ana flew up fr
om the bed. She teetered over to where I was sitting and crouched down in front of me. She slipped the piece of paper from between my fingers as tears crested my eyes.

  Someone knew.

  Someone knew about me and Rhett.

  “What the fuck is this?” Ana asked. “You slept with Rhett?”

  “I-I, um.”

  “Chanel. Take deep breaths,” Ana said. “Who gave you this?”

  “It was slid underneath the door. I don’t know who wrote it,” I said.

  “Have you slept with Rhett?” she asked.

  I looked up into her eyes, and Ana sighed.

  “I guess I should’ve known it would happen with them being our neighbors. But girl. Two days in? You couldn’t even make the poor bastard wait?” she asked.

  “Ana, you don’t understand. Rhett and I were keeping this discreet,” I said.

  “Apparently not. Someone’s written you some creepy ass note about how you’ve slept with Rhett and how you shouldn’t do that because he … is that word supposed to be cutted?”

  “Cheated,” I said. “The note says I shouldn't be sleeping with Rhett because he cheated on me. What the fuck?”

  “Girl. Okay. Look, someone’s being an asshole, but we need to talk about this. How many times have you and Rhett slept together?” she asked.

  I leaned back in my chair and raked my hands over my face.

  “It’s out in the open now. I’m gonna order us some room service, and we’re gonna talk,” Ana said.

  “Three times,” I said.

  “What?” Ana asked. “Three times and I’m just now finding out about it?”

  “The last time it even got hinted at, you blew up at me. The last thing I wanted to deal with was this situation right here, right now,” I said.

  “What? You mean a conversation with your best friend about how you fucking deserve better?” she asked.

  “Yes, among other things,” I said.

  “I mean, is it good? He still got it and shit?” she asked.

  “Holy fuck, does he ever.”

  “Did you come? Finally?”

  “Over the past three encounters, I stopped counting at five.”

  “Oh shit, girl! If I wasn’t so damn hungover, I’d be ordering us mimosas. But none of that for me until tonight. My head’s a mess,” she said.

  “Yeah, you were a wreck last night. You remember looking up at Rhett and telling me to bang him?” I asked.

  “Nope, but I take it you took it as an opportunity?”

  “Oh, yes,” I said. “On the private balcony of the dance hall.”

  “Finally! Chanel’s getting some nasty ass action. You know I want all the damn details, right?”

  “I know, I know. But this note. Who the fuck would leave this note?” I asked. “And what the fuck are they trying to accomplish?”

  “It’s probably some jealous asshole who wants to sleep with you, but you’re taken. At least for now. You planning on sleeping with Rhett some more?” she asked.

  “I figured it could be some no strings attached fun before we all got back to the real world. I got to finally have an orgasm that wasn’t machine-produced, I could get Rhett out of my system, and then we could keep on moving forward.”

  “Then why do you have that dreamy, far-off look in your eye?” Ana asked.

  “Because.”

  “Hold on, Chanel. This note has shit written on the back of it,” Ana said.

  She took the piece of paper from my hands as her eyes scanned the paper. I watched her face fall as she peered at me from over the paper. There was very little that could shock Ana, so I ripped it from her grasp and turned it over.

  “Oh. Holy. Shit,” I said.

  “Girl, I’m gonna warn you to be emotionally careful about Rhett. I know that starry look in your eye. I saw it all through high school. Just remember all the shit he put you through back then. But right now? With this note floating around? A Navy SEAL’s the best person you can be with,” Ana said.

  “This note, it talks about shit I’ve done,” I said.

  “Read it out loud.”

  “I don’t wanna do that,” I said.

  “Just read it, Chanel. It’s serious.”

  “Chanel. It’s disappointing that you’re screwing around with Rhett. He cheated on you in high school, and you deserved better than that.”

  “I know, I know. That’s the front. Now flip that shit over,” Ana said.

  “I could treat you better than him, fuck you better than he ever could. You looked gorgeous at the pool, sprawled out the way you were. Rhett doesn’t deserve to run his fingertips along your soft skin. And the dresses you’ve been wearing to the dinners on the ship. They drape over your body perfectly. You have no idea how beautiful you are to me, but you’re trash to Rhett. You were then, and you are now. And if you can’t see it, then I’ll make sure you do.”

  My hands were trembling as the note fell from my fingertips. Tears filled my eyes as a loud bang came at the door. I jumped and curled my legs into me as Ana scooped the note off the floor and then went to open the door.

  “What if it’s them?” I asked.

  “Girl, it’s room service. Chill out,” Ana said.

  She opened the door and wheeled the cart in. The smell of food should have made me excited and hungry, but all I could muster was fear.

  “Who would write something like that?” I asked.

  “A fucking creep, that’s who,” Ana said.

  “Maybe it’s just someone’s idea of a bad joke?” I tried to reason.

  “I don’t think so Chanel. I think that you need to be careful, and keep your head on a damn swivel,” Ana said as she poured herself some juice.

  “So, now I’m going to be a prisoner on the damn ship for the rest of the week?” I said, my fear slowly morphing to anger.

  “Listen, there is security on the boat for a reason, give them the note, and try to enjoy yourself. I think we’ve pulled up to the first island,” Ana said, looking out the sliding glass doors, as we felt the ship stop moving.

  “I’m not giving this note to anyone,” I said.

  “Why the hell not?” she asked.

  “Because giving whoever wrote this the attention is not going to help. If I ignore it, whoever it is will go away. Not to mention, the last thing I need is to field questions about Rhett and me. What we’re doing is fun. Nothing more. We don’t have to draw attention to ourselves like you do.”

  “I’d be hurt if I actually bought the bullshit you were selling. You have my opinion. If this is serious, we need to hand it off to a guard to take care of. If you don’t think it’s serious, and you want to keep it under wraps, then let’s eat, get off this damn ship, and go spend a lot of money doing something fun,” she said.

  We quickly ate breakfast and got dressed for our day on the island. I tried to push everything off to the side as I shoved the note under my pillow. Out of sight, out of mind. That was how I operated. If I didn’t have to see it, then I could act like it didn’t exist.

  “Ready?” Ana asked.

  “Ready,” I said.

  We linked arms and started for the doors of the ship. My eyes looked around, trying to find Rhett as we disembarked. The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping. The waves were beating against the docks, sounding our arrival as we poured into the small island town. The smells of food wafted down the streets, and all the kiosks for tourists were open for business. I was disappointed when I didn’t see Rhett as we got off the ship, but there was one person I did see.

  I saw Luke, staring at Ana and me from across the street as we darted into a store.

  We walked around the island, taking everything in and talking with the locals. I kept my eyes on a swivel for Luke, but I didn’t see him again that afternoon. Ana and I purchased a few souvenirs and took lots of pictures. Then we hopped on a bus and made our way to the island lagoon.

  It was a beautiful place with a waterfall pouring over the edge of the cliff. People were wadin
g in it and sunbathing along it, but most were simply taking pictures of it. Ana and I placed our stuff down in a safe spot, took off our clothes, and then waded out into the water near the falls in our bathing suits. We danced in the falling water and explored the cave behind it, finding sparkling rocks and natural quartz to take back with us. I couldn’t get over the beauty of this island, how innocent and full of life it was. Lizards were running along the ground, and fish were gathered in schools all over the place.

  It took my breath away, and I was glad I got to share it with my best friend.

  “Wanna take some pictures?” Ana asked.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  We snapped pictures of ourselves underneath the waterfall. We jumped, and we posed. We leaped into the water and splashed around with one another. It was the perfect way to get my mind off everything that was going on. The letter. The unanswered feelings with Rhett. The way my body burned for him whenever I was in his presence.

  I was thankful for the day I had as we climbed out of the water and gathered up our stuff.

  “What do you say we go try to find the boys?” Ana said.

  “The boys?” I asked. “You mean Tommy and Rhett?”

  “Yep. Those ones. Ten bucks says they’re playing pool,” she said.

  “Wait. There’s somewhere where we can play pool on the ship?” I asked.

  “Have you looked at any of the maps or schematics of this thing? Girl, come on. Let’s get back on the ship and get cleaned up. We can stow our stuff away, and then I can go make ten bucks.”

  “What makes you so sure they’re in whatever pool hall is on the deck?” I asked.

  “Because there’s endless rum punch and barbecue ribs,” she said.

  “Yep. The pool hall. Those guys are definitely in the pool hall.”

  “Come on,” Ana said with a giggle. “Let’s go find them. I’ve had enough of this island.”

  “I thought you were ready to explore the shit out of the Caribbean?” I asked.

  “Eh, no good-looking guys on this one. We’ll try the next one and see what happens.”