by Bella Juarez
“It’s good,” Victoria said, looking back down at her e-reader.
Eliza looked away for a moment. She ordered a drink from the waiter working the pool area.
“Victoria, I feel I need to apologize to you,” Eliza said.
Victoria looked back at the woman and said nothing.
“First of all, let me tell you that I am not a friend of Maggie’s or Sandra’s. In fact, they treated me much like you got treated that night at the ball. I said nothing because they had finally gotten past all that with me, and I didn’t need them starting with me again. I also started believing what they were saying about you, even though I knew better,” Eliza said.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Victoria said dismissively.
“Jim told me what Reese said last night and yes, I do owe you an apology. It wasn’t anything I didn’t already know. Reese had come to talk to me about his divorce when he got back from Iraq. I’m glad he found a good attorney. I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you,” Eliza concluded.
What in the hell did Reese say? Victoria placed her Kindle on her lap and studied the woman for a moment. Victoria always trusted her instincts and there were no red flags. Eliza Williams seemed sincere and it would be cool to have someone to hang out with while Reese was away. She decided to proceed with caution because Eliza could just be a good actress. She smiled.
“Apology accepted.”
Eliza relaxed and smiled. “Thank you.”
For the next couple of hours the women talked and became acquainted with one another. They went back into the hotel and combed some of the shops that Victoria had not been in. They returned to the spa for pedicures when both women’s cell phones seemed to go off at once. Reese was done for the day and looking for a dinner mate. So was Jim.
“Would you like to join us?” Eliza offered.
Victoria picked up her cell and called Reese back. He declined the offer, telling her that this was her vacation and he wanted to spend some time alone with her. She apologized and declined for the both of them. She returned to the suite where he was waiting.
Chapter Ten
Reese was standing out on the balcony looking at the waves when he felt Victoria wrap her arms around him from behind. He turned around. Holy Shit! He felt like he should have passed out with the record-time rush of blood from his head to his dick. She was stunning! The white bikini she wore glowed against her light bronze skin. She had a gauzy white skirt that was tied in a knot at her hip with a slit that shouldn’t have been legal. The high-platform flip-flops accentuated her legs. He took a step back and held her hands out from her body. It was then he noticed the glint of metal.
“What did you do today?” Reese asked.
“I relaxed and used my gift certificate,” Victoria said as she kissed Reese.
Reese knelt down and looked at her belly and looked up at her. Victoria smiled mischievously. She had pierced her belly button. He leaned in to her and kissed next to the piercing gently.
“What else did you do today?” Reese asked.
“I thought you said you were hungry?” Victoria asked, stroking his head.
“Where can we go to dinner and keep you dressed like that?” Reese asked.
“Do you like it?” Victoria asked.
“I think you look incredibly sexy,” Reese said.
There was a restaurant on the beach within walking distance of the hotel. Victoria stayed like she was and Reese dressed down. They watched the sunset as they ate dinner. They also watched a fire dance being performed from their seats at the restaurant. He had a little surprise for her of his own. He ordered dessert and waited. He took the spoon and offered her some of the ambrosia that he was eating. She was involved in what she was watching and not what she was eating. He jerked the spoon away.
“Are you sure you want that bite?” Reese asked as Victoria looked around in surprise.
“What’s wrong with it?” Victoria asked, looking down. Her jaw dropped slightly as she picked up the ring that was in the middle of the spoon. “What’s this?” she asked with a smile. He took the ring and put it on her finger. “You didn’t ask me,” she said, looking away.
“I’m not asking, I’m telling. Pick a date.”
They finished up and walked along the beach. Reese stopped Victoria right before they turned to leave the beach for the hotel and took her hands.
“I love you, Victoria, and I want you to always be there when I come home,” Reese said.
“Reese, are you sure about this? Don’t you think this is too soon?” Victoria asked.
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I weren’t sure, sweetness. I have more of a marriage with you right now than I ever did before. I want this. I want to have a family before it’s too late.”
Victoria looked at the water. She let go of Reese’s hands and pulled him close. He could hear her taking deep breaths. He tried to pull back to see, but she wouldn’t let go. He held her, waiting. She finally looked up and he was surprised. She had been crying.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Reese asked as he pulled Victoria close once more.
“I don’t know what to say. I feel so stupid,” Victoria said.
“Do you not want to do this? Do you think it’s too soon? I don’t want to push you into something you’re not sure about. Is that what’s upsetting you?” Reese asked.
“Reese. I want to marry you. I love you, too,” Victoria said, pulling Reese close.
“Then why are you crying?” Reese asked as he kissed Victoria.
“I’m afraid. Everything is so perfect and feels so right that I’m afraid it’s all going to end so badly. Reese, if I lose you it would devastate me,” Victoria said.
“I’m not going to hurt you. And no matter what happens you’ll have to kill me to keep me away. I’ve never felt like this with anyone, Victoria. I’ve never let myself go like I do with you. I wish I had met you first.”
“May twenty-first. It was my mom’s birthday. I want to get married on May twenty-first,” Victoria said.
“May twenty-first it is,” Reese said.
They walked a little farther and talked. They turned and noticed they were quite a long way from the hotel. Reese and Victoria lazily held hands as they walked back, discussing their future together. It was a subject they had both avoided for so long because they had fallen into a routine and let life take over. They talked about having kids and where they would retire after he got out of the Marine Corps. As they got closer to the hotel, he reminded himself this trip was about her, not him. Before they got to the boardwalk for the hotel, he took her in his arms and kissed her.
“I love you and I really know what that means now,” Reese said.
* * * *
Frank watched Reese and Victoria on the beach as they were coming back to the hotel. He was walking around after a major fight he and Sandy had just had. He had caught her on the phone to Maggie Thompson. Frank let his eyes run over the object of their fight. Lucky bastard!
Frank looked Victoria up and down. That bikini she was wearing was amazing on her. Her perfect ass filled the cut and the light sway of it was sensual and inviting. Her tits were full and generous. He had a lovely vision of filling his hands and mouth with them. She’s such an exotic beauty.
Victoria looked like Hawaii with her bronze skin and dark features. He recalled the first time he had seen her. She had been barely noticeable when she worked as Maggie’s maid, almost mousy. Obviously, Reese had seen beyond all of that. Who knew?
Reese was fucking her every chance he got and Frank didn’t blame him. Hell, he would fuck her if she would just look his way. He watched the way Reese touched her and the way she responded. It was like watching a hot love scene and any minute they would be naked and fucking like rabbits. He watched Reese kiss her and how she clung to him. It will wear off in time. When it did, Frank hoped he would be around. His cock twitched. Fuck! She really is a hottie. How would I do it? How can I draw her away from Reese to me?
; Frank could keep her tucked away and taken care of, and she would be worth it. Sex with his wife had grown cold a few years ago. Sandy hung on for the ride. It was okay. Now when he had an itch he had to go out and find someone to scratch it. That hot little slut would fill the bill just fine…
* * * *
Victoria was brushing her damp hair after her shower. They woke up a little later than they should have and Reese was already gone. As she moved her hand, she caught a glimpse of her engagement ring in the mirror. She stopped and looked at it for the first time since he had given it to her. Like everything he did, it was perfect and endearing. The thin gold band spun around the single solitaire diamond, and there were two diamonds nestled together under the larger one in the middle. She hadn’t taken it off since he had put it on her finger. All through the night she had felt for it, making sure it was real and still there. Someone would have to cut off her hand to make her take it off.
When they walked to the room, Victoria turned to Reese. She stopped. He looked so tired. If she had pushed a little they would have wound up making love. She quelled the urge and he didn’t try. He slipped into his sleep pants and passed out when he hit the bed. This morning there had been no time due to their late start. Once again she dressed down in shorts and a T-shirt. Today was hair color day.
Victoria met up with Eliza for lunch and they spent the rest of the afternoon together. Eliza had been to Hawaii before and knew where to go and what to do. At a busy bistro, Eliza noticed her ring.
“Was that there yesterday?” Eliza asked.
“No,” Victoria said shyly.
“No wonder Reese wanted to spend dinner alone with you last night,” Eliza said with a knowing smile.
Victoria wanted to gush. She wanted to tell Eliza her innermost thoughts and heartfelt feelings about Reese, but she held back. She was still not sure whose side Eliza was on.
“He’s a really good man. I’m sorry his ex-wife feels like she has to ruin him,” Victoria said instead.
“He is a good man. Jim and I think a lot of him,” Eliza confirmed.
Their food came and Eliza elaborated on her thought during their meal. She told Victoria how the Corps wanted to take away Jim’s security clearance when he married her. Reese had intervened and allowed him to keep his job. She also told Victoria how Reese made Jim take leave when their baby was born with Down’s syndrome and how he helped Jim find a specialist within the military to help them.
Eliza had tears in her eyes when she told Victoria how Reese managed to exempt Jim from the remote tour in Iraq because she was being treated for depression. Victoria tucked all these things about Reese away in her heart. It made him that much more lovable and special. They were silent for a while as Eliza gained her composure.
“Now you know why I believe Reese instead of Maggie and Sandra. I hope you’re planning on taking better care of him,” Eliza said finally
“Yes, I am,” Victoria confirmed.
After lunch, Eliza took Victoria to a dress shop deep inside Honolulu and found a dress for the banquet. Victoria had jokingly told her how Reese had requested she stay in a bikini the rest of the time they were in Hawaii. Eliza had informed her she knew the perfect shop and they stopped. It turned out to be better than the hotel shop and a whole lot less expensive. She bought three more bikinis with Eliza’s help.
“So how did you and Jim meet?” Victoria asked as they enjoyed some shaved ice.
“Jim was head of security at the American Embassy in Barbados. There was a state dinner and I was asked to attend. I was Miss Barbados and Miss Universe eight years ago. He and I married after I finished my education at Georgetown,” Eliza said.
“That explains everything,” Victoria mumbled.
“What do you mean?” Eliza smiled.
“You’re a very beautiful woman and carry yourself so…confidently,” Victoria said as Eliza laughed.
“You’re a very beautiful woman, Victoria, and very confident. That’s why we have to stick together,” Eliza said.
“No, I’m not like you,” Victoria said.
“You don’t notice the way men look at you when you walk past them?” Eliza asked questioningly.
“Not me,” Victoria said.
“Victoria, I’m not just talking about the outside. We have inner beauty, we are good people. Others around you can sense that. Even a plain, fat woman can be a goddess if she’s a good person and takes time with herself. People like Maggie and Sandra will never have what we have and despite their best efforts will never be beautiful. Unfortunately, when they find someone that tries to make them feel beautiful, they throw it away,” Eliza said.
Victoria was silent. Eliza was echoing something her father had always told her. Be good and some people will notice, be bad and everyone will know it. Maggie and Sandra were bitches to the core and that’s why they ran around spreading misery and heartache. Victoria remembered when she first met Reese and how she had instantly honed in on his unhappiness.
“So do you think Reese finds you attractive?” Eliza asked with a wink.
“Yes, I think he does,” Victoria said, laughing nervously.
“If he finds you so attractive, why don’t you think other men would?” Eliza asked.
“I guess it was being raised on a Texas cattle ranch with four brothers and ten ranch hands. I never really got a chance to be a girl,” Victoria said.
Eliza threw back her head and laughed. “We are more alike than you think, my friend! I was raised on a coffee plantation with six brothers and no mother. My aunt came to live with us when I was twelve. She made me start modeling so that I would get out of the mud and into a dress!” Eliza said.
“What’s your degree in?” Victoria asked.
“Law. I’m lawyer. You?” Eliza asked.
“I’m an environmental engineer,” Victoria said.
“That’s why they hate us, we are beautiful and smart!” Eliza said, squeezing her hand.
Reese and Jim were drinking in the hotel bar when the women returned. They joined the men after putting up their bags. Eliza and Jim were going to a luau that night and invited their friends. Reese took his cue from Victoria and she accepted on their behalf.
* * * *
Reese watched Victoria as they went through the night. He had been to a few luaus and there was really nothing new about the one that was going on. She was spellbound and happy. Victoria and Eliza Williams had hit it off and he was glad that she had found someone she could hang out with and maybe eventually be friends with. Eliza needed a friend almost as much as Victoria did. If he had believed for one minute she would get hurt, he would have jumped in with both feet. Eliza and Jim were good people and had been through hell themselves the last three years.
Reese turned slightly and noticed a bunch of sailors enjoying themselves next to the group he was sitting with. Eliza and Victoria excused themselves and passed the group of sailors. He ignored the whistles and catcalls but got down right pissed when the propositions started flying. Son of a bitch! No one talks to my baby that way! He started to get up to kick some squid ass when Jim put his hand on his shoulder.
“Let ’em. Those two hotties are going home with us, bro,” Jim said with a wide grin.
“You’re a little better than I am about this,” Reese said, glancing toward the group of sailors.
“It was worse for me, mine was Miss Universe! You wouldn’t believe how many fights I’ve had over her. You’ll get used to it,” Jim assured Reese.
Reese wasn’t sure he could ever get used to that kind of shit. He relaxed a little and went through the rest of the evening all over Victoria. They returned to the hotel, and thankfully, tomorrow he could sleep late. He had to be at Pearl Harbor for the banquet which ended his business with the Marine Corps. They sat out on the balcony for a little while before she decided to turn in. He was thinking about work and some of the things he needed to get done as a result of the conference. She returned and wrapped her arms around him as he sat looking
over the dark water.
“Are you coming to bed?” Victoria asked.
Victoria kissed Reese right below his ear, which sent a shiver through him. He reached and touched her hand. He felt the ring on her finger. My ring. He closed his eyes and let her sweet smell curl around him. He stood and followed her back to their bed. He got a better look at what she was wearing and instantly knew he was getting lucky. He thought about the drunken sailors earlier and what Jim had said. That’s right, motherfuckers, she’s mine and always will be.
Victoria pulled Reese toward the bed and kissed him as they sank down to the sheets. He covered her body with his as they kissed. The kiss took him under, hot and wet, long and passionate. It took him to a place he had never been with anyone, a place filled with promises and a lifetime of joy. He wanted spend his days with this woman by his side. There was nothing he couldn’t accomplish. Time seemed to stop as he slowly drew his hands over the lace of her gown. He wasn’t in a hurry. He knew he had the rest of his life.
Reese had Victoria readjust as he lay down beside her. As she started to undress him, he stopped her. He took her hand and marveled at how small it was. He laced his fingers in hers and kissed her again, taking time to taste her. She always seemed to understand his moods and slowed down to accommodate him. He felt her hands run the length of his back and arms.
They always walked a fine line with their lovemaking. At times it was volatile, and then it could be tender and deep. Reese always marveled how from the start Victoria seemed to draw out his deepest, sometimes darkest desires effortlessly and accept them without question. He never had that understanding in the twelve years that he had known Maggie and he never realized why until this moment. Acceptance and unquestionable trust. He trusted her and that trust allowed him to be himself and not hide or hold back anything from her. She had always accepted him for who he was.