The Rules In Paradise (Playing By The Rules)

by Woods, Lindsey

  “Please have a seat,” said a low sexy voice.

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

  “My names James, I’m truly pleased to meet you,” he said again, equally as low and equally as sexy.

  “Olivia, nice to meet you as well,” he shook my hand firmly but delicately.

  “I have to admit you are stunning, I couldn’t help but watch you out there, really amazing,” he said. I could feel a blush creep on my cheeks.

  “Thank-you, really.”

  “A friend of yours?” He said as he nodded toward the other end of the bar where Adrian was utterly conspicuous.

  “Yeah, she is, sorry,” I said laughing a little. I knew that for sure I was blushing, embarrassed by Adrian’s blatant show of curiosity.

  “She just seems to be looking out for you, it’s fine,” he smiled and I felt better. It was a kind smile, it made me feel at ease instantly.

  “What brings you here?” I asked.

  “Just a little vacation. I have some time off of work, and I enjoy spending it here in paradise.”

  “What do you do?” I asked.

  “Well I’m a doctor, I’m doing my residency in New York City. I’m between rotations so I have a few days off. I just needed to get away while I could.”

  “Wow, a doctor. No doubt you needed to get away.” He smiled and laughed.

  “I assure you, it’s not as glamorous as the TV makes it out to be. There’s more blood, a lot less drama and a lot less sex,” he said as he smiled and took a sip of his drink.

  “I always figured they misused the on-call room too often,” I said realizing I was now unable to wipe a smile off of my face.

  “Yes, and they get more sleep than any resident I know of.” I laughed and realized for the first time that I hadn’t heard that sound from myself that strongly in a long time.

  “And what do you do?” He asked.

  “Well I’m a art history major. I’ll graduate someday. I work in an art gallery right now.”

  “Wow, that’s impressive.”

  “Not nearly as impressive as doctor.”

  “I disagree,” he said. He leaned in a little closer, “I hope you don’t mind my forwardness but you are really beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you out there.”

  I gave him a shy smile, “Thank you. I disagree completely, but thank you nonetheless.”

  “I was wondering if you’d be willing to dance with me,” he said. He seemed to be nervous.

  I thought for a moment. I realized now that I was having a good time. I took the last sip of my drink and held out my hand. I was going to live it up. “I’d love to.” He smiled again and took my hands.

  Time passed too quickly as we danced. I didn’t know who was worse me or him. I spent most of the night laughing and having a good time. It felt natural to dance with him. It also felt extremely good to be close to him. There were many times that I felt his body and hands nearly everywhere and it was not an unwelcome feeling. There were moments when we were out there that he pulled me extremely close and I would push even closer. It had been a long time since I had felt ok so near someone and I was quite enjoying it.

  “You are literally the most amazing woman here, just in case you didn’t know,” he whispered in my ear once he pulled me close. It sent a delicious chill down my spine.

  “And you are the best dancer here,” I said the next time we were extremely close. He smiled and laughed at that. After the song ended we both walked back over to the bar which was slightly less crowded than before.

  “What time is it?” I asked, nodding to his watch.

  “It’s after one thirty, my god, I can’t believe it’s so late,” he said ordering us to drinks.

  “I can’t begin to tell you how much fun you’ve made my evening. I can hardly believe I got to dance and drink with the most beautiful woman here.” He smiled at me and raised his glass and touched mine with it.

  “I agree, I’ve had a lot of fun.” I took a sip, still not able to wipe my smile off of my face.

  I looked down the bar and noticed that Adrian wasn’t there. She must have gone back to the room, but not before she had given James her stamp of approval.

  “I didn’t ask you earlier, what brings you to this beautiful place?” He asked.

  “Just vacation, my friends and I go every year for a few weeks.”

  “Same idea I guess. I’m blessed to have met you tonight.” His hand was rubbing the back of his neck and he looked nervous.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I just hope this isn’t too forward. I was just wondering, I really need to get back, but I was just wondering, I’d really love to kiss you, please don’t slap me,” he said with a laugh.

  I felt a knot in my stomach though I smiled. A kiss? I sure wanted to maul him not five minutes ago. Sitting here, away from the heat of the moment gave me a clear head. Did I want to kiss him? I guess I did. He was cute, he was sweet, I was here, why the hell not?

  “I don’t see why not,” I said, smiling.

  He leaned toward me and it only took a few seconds before his lips were on mine. I felt his hand on the back of my neck, and I enjoyed being pulled closer to him. I kissed him just as fervently as he kissed me. I felt myself starting to get lost. I knew if this continued any longer my ability to say no was going to fail. I didn’t know if that was something I wanted, but my body sure did. I pulled away and looked at him. His eyes were blazing with the same things I was feeling.

  “I think maybe you should take me with you back to your room,” I said. I could hardly believe what I was saying. Go big or go home right?

  He shot back the rest of his drink and got off his stool. He threw some money on the bar to cover a tip and took my hand. As I slid off my stool and did the same to my drink he started walking, softly pulling me with him. As I turned to set down my drink my blood ran cold. My eyes were drawn to the other side of the bar. That side of the bar was still extremely full. I knew I had paled and was in pure shock as I saw the eyes from my dreams.

  “Cole,” I whispered.

  Chapter 22

  My breath caught in my throat and I started to shake. James had stopped walking and looked back at me.

  “Olivia, are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said concerned.

  My heart was pounding in my chest and I didn’t know how to form words. If he only knew how right he was. My eyes were glued to his as we made eye contact. Every emotion rushed back to me. My chest felt heavy and my bones threatened to turn to jelly. The look on his face reminded me only of our last night together. My head was dizzy and felt on the verge of passing out.

  “Let me take you back to the hotel. I’ll bring you to your room. You don’t look well.” He took my hand again and this time I followed him.

  I looked back until I could make out his his face no more.

  The elevator ride was silent. I spent the entire walk back and ride up fighting to bring air in my lungs. The sight of him, sitting there had rocked me to my very core. I would have been able to mentally prepare for Adrian’s wedding. This meeting was too much of a shock for my system to handle.

  “Olivia, are you ok? You’re kind of scaring me,” James said, regarding me carefully. I still wasn’t feeling quite too confident that I was able to string together to make words.

  “Yes, I’m ok.”

  “Are you sick?”

  I shook my head no, thankful that the doors opened on my floor.

  “What room?” He asked, searching before I gave him the number.

  “811,” I murmured.

  His hand still held mine as he led me down the hallway and began pounding on the door.

  A moment later the door opened and Adrian was standing there, looking bedraggled. The moment I saw her the dam burst and I began sobbing, I ran to her and cried into her shoulder.

  “What the hell did you do?” She said looking at James. Her body was starting to shake with anger.

  “Nothing, thing
s were going great and then she got sick or something. She seized up and practically stopped breathing. I don’t know what’s wrong, she won’t tell me.” He sounded frantic and upset.

  I shook my head against her and whispered that it wasn’t him. She rubbed my back and thanked him and said goodnight, not hesitating to close the door. She flipped on the living room light and Charlotte was walking down the hallway squinting.

  “What the hell is going on, what’s wrong?” Charlotte was immediately at my side, taking me from Adrian. She walked me toward the couch and sat me down. I was trying to get breath in even though my sobs were pushing much of it out of my lungs.

  “Adrian, what is wrong?” She asked, turning her attention to Adrian.

  “I don’t know. The guy from the bar brought her here like this,” Adrian’s voice was high pitched, a sure sign she was worried.

  “Olivia, did that bastard hurt you?” Charlotte asked, taking my head between her hands and forcing me to make eye contact with her. I could only shake my head, gasping for air.

  She pulled me to here again and rubbed my back and hair as I slowly started to calm down. By the time I was done crying I was lying on the couch, half on Charlotte’s lap and chest.

  “It’s ok sweetheart, you’re ok. Get her a glass of water Ad,” Charlotte said, turning toward Adrian.

  Adrian brought a glass to me and handed it to me. I took a few short sips, getting my bearings.

  “Good girl, you’re ok, you can breathe now.” Charlotte helped me sit up and wiped my face with a tissue.

  “What in God’s name got into you?” She asked as she wiped the last of my tears off my face.

  I shook my head, taking a few breaths to steady myself. I didn’t know if I had it in me to say it, let alone his name.

  “It was Cole,” I whispered. At the sound of his name both of their heads snapped towards me.

  “What about him?” Adrian asked with disdain.

  “He was there, he was sitting at the bar. I saw him.” My heart starting beating again, thinking about his face there, truly like seeing a ghost.

  “Are you sure? Olivia, you could have imagined it,” Charlotte said in a gentle tone.

  “I’m positive. I know his eyes Char, it’s him. It was his face, he looked so sad.”

  “How do you know? Why was he sad?” Adrian asked from the other side of the couch.

  “He must have been there. I didn’t see him all night so maybe he just got there. But I saw him, James and I were kissing. I think he saw us.”

  “You kissed him? How was it?” Adrian asked, excitement floating into her voice.

  “Olivia, you can kiss people. You’re single, he screwed up,” Charlotte said.

  “I kissed him, I thought I wanted it, really wanted it. We were about to go back to his room. I had agreed to sleep with him. Cole saw it all. Dammit he saw what I was doing,” I said. The tears were coming back and I tried to blink them back and take deep breaths.

  “Umm Olivia, I hate to sound really stupid, but I don’t see what the problem is,” Adrian said.

  I looked at her and threw myself down on the couch. What was wrong with this? Other than I had seen the guy who I had most thought about in the past ten months. The man who I had thought about trying not to think about.

  “So let’s say you really saw him, he didn’t say anything to you?” Adrian asked.

  “I did see him,” I gave her an ugly look,“I didn’t say anything and neither did he. Like I said, he saw what was happening. I know he did. His face looked so, hurt.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? This man lied to you and broke your heart, knowingly. Why do you feel bad for him?” Adrian asked.

  “Because I saw his face. I know that look. His eyes were sad, his face was lined with hurt and worry. He was devastated. He looked the exact same way the night that I walked away from him. He looked the same way when I broke his heart in return for what he did to me.” Tears were streaming down my face but I didn’t feel like I was crying.

  “Olivia, honey, he screwed up. Not you. You shouldn’t feel guilty. I mean you probably shouldn’t have been on your way to sleep with a stranger, but that’s neither here nor there,” Charlotte said.

  “Who cares? She was having a great time, she deserves a little fun,” Adrian said to Charlotte.

  I laid there silently. I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t expected to see him, and I definitely hadn’t expected to have him see me with someone else. I didn’t know how I felt. On one hand he deserved it, on another it hurt me to see the look on his face. I had walked away from him when he was hurting, twice.

  “So what does this mean? You were doing so well Olivia,” Charlotte asked from her spot on the other end of the couch.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know how to feel. I hadn’t planned to see him. I wasn’t prepared. Seeing his face brought back so many emotions I can’t even comprehend most of them. I still feel so much for him. I feel good and bad things about him. I don’t know, I’m so confused.” My head was literally spinning. I had no idea which way was up right now. It had beyond blown my mind to see the man who held my every happiness only to destroy it with lies.

  “I think I need to go to bed. It’s late, I’m confused as hell. I don’t know what to do with myself. Some rest might put this in perspective. You guys need to get to sleep too. I’m sorry about earlier,” I said. I hugged both of my friends and walked to my bedroom. I closed the door and threw myself in bed. I couldn’t bear to stand another moment. I didn’t even bother getting under the blanket. Within moments I was out like a light.

  “I don’t care, how could you let it happen?…I swear, if he screws it up I’ll kill him…Well he needs you to be… You should have seen it… she hyperventilated… I would too if I saw some asshole I was just about over… I don’t trust him, at all… I know…. yeah… no you don’t have to… I miss you too… I know… I just hate it for her, it’s like she finally was perking up, I saw my friend again Jason, I missed her… But he already did, once is enough for me… yeah, like a zombie… you don’t hurt someone you love… bullshit he does, I don’t care… Jason she’s my best friend…I know… I love you too…Ok, I’ll talk to you later…bye.” I heard Adrian sigh in the room next to me.

  I was laying in my bed and it was light outside. The clock beside my bed told me that it was after nine. I decided to get up and shower.

  The hot water poured down on me and I reveled in the feeling of it. I had spent the night sleeping surprisingly soundly. I felt just as confused this morning as I did last night. It wasn’t hard for me to figure out that I still cared about him. I didn’t think that would ever go away. Deep down I believed he was a good guy. He made absolutely awful decisions, but I knew there was good in him. I couldn’t deny that I missed him. I missed what we used to be and what I felt when I was with him. I used to feel happy and content. I still harbored a lot of hurt feelings. I still felt betrayed in the worst possible way. He had made me fall in love with him and then he killed me with secrets he has been keeping from me. I had asked to never see him again and I had gotten my wish. Until now I felt like I made an improvement. Now I felt like I was back at square one.

  I dried off and dressed in shorts and a tank top and met the girls in the kitchen. Both of them were sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal.

  Both of them eyed me carefully before Charlotte spoke up.

  “How did you sleep?” She asked.

  “Good actually. What about you?” I asked, grabbing a bowl and pouring myself some cereal. I sat down at the table with them.

  “Good, you look good this morning,” she said hesitantly.

  “I’m not going to explode Char, I had a rough night, that’s all,” I said, shrugging as I put a spoonful of cereal in my mouth.

  “Ok. I’m just worried about you, how are you feeling?” She asked, apparently she had gained some courage.

  “Still confused, I feel like I want to talk to him, but I’m scared about what effect
that will have on me. I don’t know if I can handle him.”

  “Then don’t, you don’t owe him anything,” Adrian piped up.

  “Maybe not but it doesn’t make it any easier to know he’s here.”

  “Jason didn’t know he was coming, I swear Olivia,” Adrian said nervously.

  “I believe you. I’m not going to assume it’s because of me though,” I said.

  “Of course it’s because of you. He isn’t stupid, he’d look for you if he knew you were here,” Charlotte said.

  I finished the rest of my cereal in silence. I filled it with water at the sink, and turned to look at them.

  “I’m going to go for a walk,” I said, sliding on my sandals.

  “You’re going to look for him,” Adrian said.

  I shrugged and grabbed my bag.

  “It’s one of those things that if I run into him maybe then I’ll know what to do,” I said and walked out of the door.

  The sun was blazing hot already and it wasn’t even ten o’clock. I put on my sunglasses and began to walk. Was I really going to look for him? I would like to say no, but in reality I knew that I was venturing out in hopes of running into him. Seeing him had made him real to me again. I needed to see him, just see him living in the same world that I existed in. I didn’t know where to find him, nor did I know if he was still here after last night. I was fairly certain that he had come for me, how he knew I wasn’t sure of. I couldn’t imagine Jason would have said anything without him knowing Adrian would hang him for it.