Romance: One Fine Holiday

by Amy McAdams

  The local’s bar is an open island hut, with no walls. It only has a straw roof and stools sitting around the outside of the bar.

  And sitting on one of the stools is the strong figure of the man I met earlier today.

  My mouth drops wide open.

  He steals my breath, and my hearts skips a beat.

  The girls clearly see the change in my expression.

  “Is that Clarke?” Kate whispers over my shoulder.

  I don’t respond.

  “I would be impressed too,” Mel smiles.

  “Go and talk to him,” Kate states.

  How can I talk to him?

  I can hardly even breathe just looking at him.

  “Take a deep breath, and relax,” Kate reassures me, “You are a beautiful, confident, funny and sexy woman. You can talk to him.”

  “Don’t worry about stuffing it up - you’re on holidays. What’s the worst that could happen?” Mel laughs.

  When I start to think about running away, Clarke turns on his bar stool and looks straight at us. He catches us staring at him. Kate and Mel turn away quickly and pretend to look at something else.

  Clarke smiles a beautiful smile.

  Damn.

  I can’t run away now.

  “You’re beautiful,” Kate whispers.

  “And funny,” Mel adds over the other shoulder, “Meet you back at the hotel room in the morning.”

  I take a long slow deep breath and begin walking towards the man sitting at the bar. Clarke watches me the whole way - he does not take his eyes off me once as I walk towards him.

  His staring makes me feel uncomfortable, and even something as normal as walking feels strange. I think about how my body moves as I walk and I try to be seductive.

  But it just feels awkward.

  “Hi,” Clarke smiles.

  He has such white teeth for an island man.

  “Um… hi,” I nervously reply.

  “You look great today,” he adds, “Please, sit down.”

  His large hand points to the high bar stool next to him. I always have trouble climbing up really tall bar stools and my heart beats at the walls of my chest as I approach.

  I really don’t want to fall off in front of Clarke.

  I lean backwards and awkwardly raise myself up onto the chair.

  Good.

  Embarrassment has been averted.

  “Spent some time by the pool today?” Clarke asks.

  “How can you tell?”

  “I can’t. But I can only imagine that is what a beautiful young woman would do on holidays.”

  Oh, he is so charming.

  “I did spend some time by the pool today. I read a book and drunk a cocktail. It was perfect,” I lie.

  What I actually did today was: tried to read a book, dreamt about Clarke’s body and drank three cocktails.

  “I imagine that it was perfect.”

  “And what did you do today Clarke?”

  “I went fishing this morning, and surfing at lunchtime.”

  “Sounds like a tough life.”

  “It’s not. It’s an amazing life. It is a collection of beautiful moments day after day.”

  This man has stolen my heart.

  Clarke is what I always dreamt an island man would be like.

  “What would you like to drink?” the bartender interrupts my fascination with Clarke’s natural beauty.

  “I would like…”

  “A Top-Tom,” Clarke chooses for me.

  “A what?” I question.

  “A Top-Tom. It is a tropical cocktail that we invented on this island. You’ll love it.”

  The bartender leaves with a smile on his face, and begins to shake many bottles and cuts numerous fruits.

  After much action, the bartender hands across a beautiful golden cocktail. I take one sip and I instantly love it. It is an explosion of spectacular tastes.

  Clarke gives me a wink as I drink through the straw.

  “How long have you been on this island?” I ask.

  “Long enough to know it is home.”

  “You wouldn’t go back to America?”

  “America will always have my heart, but I could not imagine living in a place more perfect than this island. But it is missing one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  He stares at me for a few moments and then smiles to himself. His blue eyes stare out to the horizon and then he comes back to reality and begins to move.

  “Come, I want to show you something,” Clarke says to me, and reaches his large hand across to hold mine.

  He guides me off my chair and we begin to walk away from the bar.

  “What about my cocktail?” I ask as he leads me away.

  “Don’t worry about that. We can get another one when we get back. We don’t have much time to get where we need to be.”

  “And where is that?”

  Clarke doesn’t answer and instead runs up the nearby hill, ducking and weaving through the island plants.

  We walk up to the top of the hill and look out to the horizon.

  “Here,” Clarke sits on a patch of grass and looks out to the distance, where the sun is starting to set over the vast stretch of water.

  I am breathless.

  It is a moment of pure beauty.

  I sit quietly next to Clarke and we don’t speak another word as the sunset plays out in front of us.

  The sky is a canvas of beautiful colors, reflected in the perfect blue water below. The sun is slow moving as it touches the horizon and slowly sinks behind it.

  This is too perfect.

  “What a moment,” Clarke whispers under his breath.

  I look at him watching the sunset.

  He is too good for me.

  Too perfect.

  I can’t live up to the wants of a man like him. He has everything he needs, and could have any woman he wants, and I could never be good enough for him.

  “It is nice to share this with someone,” Clarke states, still staring at the dusk.

  “It’s beautiful,” I’m not sure if I’m talking about him or the sunset, “Do you come up here often?”

  “Yes, I do. It reminds me of all the beauty in the world and how much we miss when we’re in the city. This happens every day and yet, most people in America don’t get the time to appreciate it. They’re all too busy trying to earn money, so that they can buy the latest products. But money can’t buy what we just saw. It is priceless.”

  Clarke’s hand reaches across and touches mine, resting on the ground.

  His eyes look to mine and he stares into me.

  My heart pounds.

  He is too perfect for me.

  My mind races.

  His touch feels so warm and inviting.

  But I couldn’t possibly be what he wants me to be.

  I’m not pretty enough for him.

  In a moment of panic, I turn and run away from the moment. My fast moving legs take me down to the village, and back to the resort.

  I run away from the island beauty as fast as I can.

  He is much too perfect for a girl like me.

  Chapter 8

  The morning sun wakes my weary eyes as it streams through the open curtains. I must have forgotten to shut them last night.

  I move my sleepy body out of bed and drag it into the kitchen of our resort apartment.

  To my surprise, both Kate and Mel are awake and waiting at the kitchen table. As I step into the room, both their eyes light up.

  “So?” Kate asks with glee.

  “What happened?” Mel smiles cheekily.

  “Nothing happened,” I state.

  Both girls look at each other confused, “What do you mean nothing happened?”

  “I mean, we sat on the hill and watched the sunset and then I came back here.”

  “And that was it?”

  “Yes. Nothing happened.”

  “And whose choice was it to come home?”

  I don’t respond as I
pour water into my cup.

  “Did you walk away?” Kate asks.

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “Why?”

  “I’m not good enough for a guy like him.”

  Oh no.

  I shouldn’t have said that.

  But these girls have a way of making me tell the truth.

  I can’t lie to them.

  “Oh, Ella. Of course you’re good enough for him. If anything, you are too good for him,” Kate says nicely.

  “He wouldn’t have taken you to see the sunset if you weren’t good enough for him,” Mel adds.

  I shake my head and look into my cup.

  “No, Ella,” Kate’s voice is strong, “You are a beautiful woman. You spent too many years listening to that energy-sapping leech Nick. You have to realize that you are a beautiful woman. You are gorgeous.”

  “And amazing,” Mel adds.

  I shrug my shoulders again, “I just didn’t have the confidence to go through with it. After we watched the sunset, he touched my hand and I ran away.”

  “Literally ran away?”

  “I literally ran away from him.”

  “Ouch, that must have hurt his feelings,” Mel says.

  “Right. That’s it,” Kate stands to emphasize her point, “Today we are going to have breakfast, lounge by the pool, drink cocktails for lunch and have a nice lazy dinner. After that, Ella is going to find her magical island man and have one night of soul-shaking, earth-moving sex. It will be a night filled with passion!”

  “But…”

  “No buts. That is what we are going to do today.”

  Kate is hard to argue with when she is in this sort of mood.

  Chapter 9

  The weather is perfect for our relaxing day.

  The girls and I lounge by the pool, soaking up the endless sunshine and talking continuously about our different lives. Despite all of our lives going in different directions, there is a genuine connection between us.

  It feels amazing to be talking to these girls again and we are so comfortable in each other’s company.

  It is effortless.

  The comedic banter between us is non-stop but we listen when someone else wants to talk about a problem.

  We all listen well.

  Despite all the distractions in our beautiful day, the thought of Clarke sits in the back of my mind at every turn.

  I have not been with another man other than Nick for many years and I am nervous whether I would live up to his lofty expectations. I doubt that I would.

  A man like Clarke would have experienced so, so much more than I have.

  I do not even know what to expect.

  After an early dinner of wonderful fresh seafood, we make our way to the resort bar.

  “Right,” Kate states, “We will have one drink here, and then we will walk down to the locals bar where you will find your man.”

  “One drink should be enough for you to gain some confidence without affecting your ability to stand up straight,” Mel laughs.

  “What do I even say?”

  “How about – ‘Sorry I ran away from you last night, but I would like to see you naked. Take off your clothes and show me that wonderful body’,” Mel giggles.

  “You start with hello and see where it takes you from there,” Kate reassures me.

  “Just hello?”

  “That’s all it takes. Trust me. Men don’t care about fancy lines. They don’t want to listen to some attempt to charm them. If he wants you there, hello will do.”

  We finish our drinks quickly at the bar, and after Kate spends time fixing my hair and make-up, we begin the short walk to the locals bar.

  The sun has set and night has fallen on our beautiful island.

  “Let’s hope he’s there,” Mel says in excitement.

  I hope he’s not.

  That way I don’t have to deal with these nerves and I can run away to hide in bed.

  When we are in sight of the bar, Kate points him out.

  “There he is,” she says excitedly.

  Damn.

  There’s no turning back now.

  “Remember, start with hello. Just take one step at a time,” Kate pushes me towards the bar and I reluctantly walk in that direction.

  I look back in an attempt to run away but the girls wave me forward.

  Damn.

  I have to go.

  My stomach is turning with nervousness.

  I walk into sparsely filled bar, and walk up to stand behind Clarke’s wide shoulders.

  He notices a presence behind him and swivels around on the bar stool. He doesn’t say anything - he just stares at me - waiting for me to speak.

  “Hello,” I say.

  “Hi,” he replies.

  Then he says nothing else.

  Damn.

  Hello is all I was prepared for.

  He smirks as my mind races to think about something to say.

  Come on, I have to think of something to say.

  Nope.

  I can’t think of anything.

  Instead, I stand in front of him looking like a fool.

  I don’t say a word.

  I can’t say a word.

  I am too nervous to speak.

  How embarrassing!

  I talk all day, and I could talk all night, but now that I am in front of a beautiful, handsome man – I can’t think of anything to say!

  My mind is blank.

  “You never finished that cocktail,” he finally breaks the silence with a smile.

  I breathe a sigh of relief, return his smile, and sit on the stool next to him.

  Taking one glance over my shoulder at the girls, I see them smile and then walk away giggling to each other.

  It’s all up to me now.

  I still can’t think of anything to say as the bartender passes over my cocktail.

  “When do you leave the island?” he asks.

  “Tomorrow,” I finally mutter something out of my mouth.

  “That’s a pity. This island won’t be as beautiful without you on it.”

  Oh wow.

  My heart melts.

  “But you will need to excuse me Ella, I have to go and get some sleep,” he smiles and stands off the bar stool.

  What?

  No!

  He can’t go now.

  I have only just gained the courage to talk to him – he can’t leave me now.

  “No,” I mutter.

  “Sorry?”

  “Um… I… Can I come with you?”

  What?

  What a stupid thing to say.

  “Come with me?”

  “Yes, um… can I come with you?”

  Why would I say that!

  That is a ridiculous thing to say!

  No man would ever say yes to that!

  “Ok.”

  “Ok?” I question.

  “Sure.”

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  He laughs out loud.

  Once he finishes laughing, he holds my hand and leads me out of the bar and across the street.

  “I have a place to show you. It would almost be as beautiful as you.”

  I am so excited that I am breathless. My mind is empty and my heart is stolen.

  Clarke leads me through the light shrub over the back of the bar and we come across a tall fence.

  “Here,” he lifts a broken part of the fence up from the ground, “Follow me. The best view on the island is on this property.”

  “Wait,” I hesitate, “Can we go in there?”

  The law abiding citizen in me questions whether running onto someone else’s property is the right action to take.

  “Don’t worry,” Clarke states calmly, “I know the owner and he won’t mind.”

  Cautiously, I follow Clarke and crawl under the fence, and he leads us across an immaculate, lush green lawn, around the side of a huge island mansion, and to a small private hut with a view looking out to the ocean.

  “Wow,”
my mouth drops open, “The view here is amazing.”

  The rising moon glistens off the calm ocean and the stars glitter amazingly over my head. The view is so expansive and impressive. Inside the open hut is a tightly strung hammock and a mattress laying neatly on the ground.

  “This is the ultimate island experience,” Clarke stares out to the view, “When the weather is nice, this is the perfect place to spend a night. It feels so free and special.”

  I don’t know whether it is the handsome man, the amazing view, or the fact that we have snuck onto a property, but I am excited.

  When Clarke’s hand rests on my behind, my heart almost jumps out of my chest.

  He stands behind me, and I continue to stare out to the view. His hands slowly move up from my behind and caress over the curves of my body.

  It is obvious that he likes what he feels.

  I can tell that he likes it because there is a large bulge in his pants that is pressing up against my behind.

  My heart is pounding.

  As his breath dances over my shoulder and along my neck, I feel breathless.

  I am smitten.

  And that makes me wet.

  I want him.

  I want all of him.

  He wraps his strong arms around my stomach and holds me close, tightly, for a few moments before loosening his grasp.

  Turning around, I try to look sexual by biting my bottom lip, staring at him while he holds me close. There is an undeniable chemistry between us, an understanding. It is a feeling so strong that I struggle to understand it.

  His eyes are so beautiful, so damn deep.

  Despite being lost in his gorgeous eyes, I notice his hand start to slowly creep down my body, until it stops on my bottom again.

  His hand runs over the flesh of my behind with a smooth and tender touch.

  Clarke is my island man.

  A real man.

  My perfect man.

  He is also a man that loves the curves of a real woman.

  I am smitten and my heart is racing. The bulge in his pants is growing larger and I can feel it press into me. I can feel every part of my body tingle.

  Clarke leans forward and his lips land on mine.

  Yes…

  The tender kiss sends me into overdrive. My head is spinning. His hand reaches up and tenderly caresses the side of my face.

  Wow…

  My head is spinning and I become lost in his touch. I am weak at the knees and tingling throughout.