Love on the Malecon

by Aubrey Parr

  When they reached his apartment, he gently set her down to open the door. She walked slowly over to the couch. Contrary to its modern shape, it was much more comfortable than it looked She thought it would feel like a slab of concrete. She curled into the corner and closed her eyes. Derek sat down beside her and asked how badly she hurt.

  She tried to speak without crying. “I have a horrible headache and I must have a black eye, but other than that, I’m just scared out of my mind.”

  “The doctor should be here soon,” he told her.

  “Who was that guy?” she wondered aloud, “I tried to do what they always tell you. I tried to find an identifying thing about him.” She closed her eyes again at the memory of what had happened. “He had a tattoo on his right arm. It looked kind of like a feather.”

  She saw everything in Derek go abruptly tense, eyes wide and his back straightened. He reached for his phone and sent a text.

  “What is it? Do you know him?” she started getting extremely uneasy. Her breathing picked up. It felt like she was going to have a panic attack. “Who was that?” she was practically yelling now.

  Just as Derek opened his mouth, the doctor arrived and Nicole was relieved to see it was a woman. She didn’t think she could handle a strange man near her right now. The doctor was wearing a white coat embroidered with the hotel logo just above her name. She had an old fashioned medical bag. She walked up to Nicole and very gently introduced herself, asking if she’d like Derek to go or stay. Nicole didn’t want Derek out of her sight, so she asked him to stay.

  “Always, love.” He kissed her cheek. “Now let’s get you checked out.” He moved over and sat on the coffee table to make room for the doctor.

  “I’m sorry to have to ask you this,” the doctor said, “but did he sexually assault you as well?”

  Tears streamed down Nicole’s face as she shook her head, “No, Derek got there in time.” She looked over at him, so immensely grateful.

  “Ok, I’ll examine your face, check your vitals, and examine your ribs to make sure nothing is broken.” The doctor reached for her face. “I can also give you something for the pain and to calm your nerves.”

  “Thank you,” was all that Nicole could say and she quietly let the doctor do her job.

  As the doctor was feeling her ribs, she saw a man walk into the apartment carrying her own suitcase and purse. He went straight to the bedroom, opened up the closet, and started to unpack her things. Next, Victor arrived with a piece of paper, which he set on the kitchen counter. After Nicole assured Derek that she would be okay, he went to speak with both men in the bedroom.

  Luckily, nothing was broken. The doctor told her that she would have a pretty bad headache from the bump on her head, but her eye would most likely not turn black and blue. Nicole tried her best to muster up a smile; only a woman would understand the vanity issues of having a black eye. The doctor told her that the force mostly hit her cheek bone and that might be sore for a few days. Nicole took the pills that she gave her, told her thank you, closed her eyes, and curled back up on the couch.

  She could hear the sounds of a heated discussion between the three men. They weren’t fighting but tempers were flaring. Nicole wanted to know who her attacker was. Was he there because of Derek? Was Derek’s business really as legitimate as he had explained? What did she get herself wrapped up in? All of the questioning only made her head hurt more. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that Derek had saved her. But what if this happened again?

  She heard all three men walk back into the room. Opening her eyes, she saw Derek letting the other two out.

  “Was that Gael?” she asked quietly.

  “Yes, and the other was Victor from across the street.”

  “Why did he have my things?”

  “I didn’t want you to have to go back into that hotel room again.” he walked up to her. “Please stay here with me so I can protect you.”

  “Derek, what is going on?” She needed to understand what she needed protecting from. “Is this going to happen again?”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Derek closed the door behind Victor and Gael and turned to look at Nicole, curled up on the couch. It didn’t seem real. It felt a little like his fighting days, when he would separate himself from what was happening to keep from changing the type of man he was inside. That type of fighting could not be personal or it would eat you alive.

  He trusted Gael to handle the situation with the attacker so that he could focus solely on the beautiful woman in his living room. He could not believe this had happened to her. Could Silvia really be that crazy? He would make sure that she paid if she had caused one ounce of pain for Nicole. And rape? How could a woman wish that on another? Did Sylvia really tell that man to rape Nicole? He was so glad the man hadn’t been waiting in her room; he may not have heard her calls for help. The thought made his blood boil. He had never wanted to cause someone so much pain until now. He knew he had been close to killing him and in the moment, he didn’t care.

  Nicole wanted to know what was going on.

  “I have a feeling I know who he is,” he said to her, “And…he attacked you because of me.”

  She lifted her head and looked at him, anger in her eyes, “What?”

  “I tried dating a local a few months back. She’s a manager at Playa Vallarta.” He stopped and waited for a response, but she stayed eerily still. He continued, “She confronted me when I was leaving the hotel the other morning and was crazy jealous I stayed the night with you. Then she sent a text last night when she heard about us leaving together. That has been the extent of it. I told her that if she confronted you in any way, I would have her fired.” He waited again, but still nothing. He could tell Nicole wanted to hear everything before she reacted. “She told me once that if I get a tattoo here in Vallarta that I should use her cousin’s artist. He had done an Aztec feather on the cousin’s bicep.”

  Her eyes filled with tears as she rolled them back. “Okay, so you’re not in some kind of mafia or a super-secret spy?”

  “No, love, I just dated a woman that is apparently sadistic.” He pulled her toward him. She took a couple of deep breaths, like she felt a little better about the entire situation. “He is going somewhere where he’ll never be heard from again and she will be handled as well. I will make sure that if she is responsible for orchestrating this, she will pay dearly.”

  “Thank you,” Nicole said, “and thank you for having my things brought here. I don’t think I could ever go into that hotel room again.”

  “Can I take you away for a few days?” he asked her.

  “Derek, I’m already on vacation. You don’t take a vacation while on vacation.” She said it sarcastically but still had tears in her eyes.

  He laughed at her response. “This vacation seems like it could use at least a night away.”

  “Where would we go?”

  “Nowhere far. We won’t need a plane.” He stood them both up. “My first investment property is in Nuevo Vallarta, just north of here. Come see my apartment there. “

  She looked like she was considering the idea.

  “We won’t pack a thing.” He kissed her. “I can have it stocked with things from the shops nearby. I’ll help you get cleaned up in the shower and Hector can drive us.”

  She didn’t answer but started walking toward the bathroom, so he took that as a yes. He grabbed his phone on the way and told Hector to be outside with the car in half an hour.

  In the bathroom, he turned on the shower and so it could get hot and fill up with steam. He slowly undressed Nicole. There was nothing sexual about it. Though her body would always turn him on, he knew this was not the moment. This was about Nicole feeling safe, about her not having to think about anything. He was prepared for the fact that she may not even want to have sex for a while. Luckily, the man hadn’t been able to violate her in that way, but that didn’t take away from her experience. He wasn’t sure how affected she would be. If she needed
, he’d have Gael track down the best therapist in the area to talk to her.

  He took Nicole’s clothes into the bedroom. When he returned, he saw her standing, naked, looking at herself in the mirror as it slowly covered with steam. She touched the bump on her head and inspected the side of her cheek bone. He hoped that she knew how beautiful she looked, regardless of bump and bruise. He also hoped they healed quickly so there wasn’t the reminder looking back at her in the mirror.

  The shower had a large glass wall. When he saw that it was full of steam, he took her hand and walked her into the shower. There was a big seat built into one of the walls. He asked if she’d like to sit down. Without a word, she did. He took the soap and washed her body. When he reached her face, he was careful not to hurt anywhere that was tender. He had never taken care of someone like this before. He took her hand and walked her over to the shower heads that sprayed from all directions. He washed and conditioned her hair for her. When they were finished, he grabbed a huge towel and wrapped it around her like she was an infant.

  When they reached the bed, she took a deep breath and looked at him. “Thank you. That is what I needed. I needed you to wash all of that away. I don’t want this to define me or us. I want it to be over. Can we do that?”

  “Of course we can. Nicole, you tell me what you need and we will do it.” He rarely used her name. He always used his pet name for her.

  “I want you to take me to your apartment in Nuevo Vallarta. I want you to make me feel like my old self again. I want you to make love to me there.”

  “Hector will be outside in about ten minutes,” he said to her.

  “First, I need to call Kate. I’m not sure yet what I’ll say but I need to call her.” She looked confused and he felt sorry for her. He handed her the phone from his apartment. She dialed the number and waited.

  “Hi, babe, it’s me. I’m calling from Derek’s,” she said, wiping away silent tears. “Everything is fine, why?” It was so hard for him to listen to half of a conversation, especially one like this. “Derek is great. It got a little scary with one of his crazy ex-girlfriends but he’s taking care of me.” She listened. “No, still no word.” Derek knew immediately that had to be the Maybe Boyfriend. He was relieved to hear that he hadn’t tried to contact her. That was a good sign for him. “We’re going up the coast to Nuevo Vallarta for the night.” She listened again. “He has a place there as well…Yes, very lucky.”

  He decided that he should give her a little privacy. He wasn’t sure why he had listened for so long already. He grabbed his cellphone and walked into the living room. First, he called the Samba Vallarta and let them know he’d be arriving and most likely only staying for the night. He also asked for the concierge to go to the shops and pick out plenty of options for Nicole. He already had everything there for himself.

  Next, he dialed Gael’s number and waited anxiously for him to answer. He was going to track down Silvia. Victor could handle the police with the attacker, which was rather straight forward. He was clearly guilty. It was Silvia’s day off, which was most likely not a coincidence. If she had heard about her cousin being apprehended, she might be hiding. He needed someone with Gael’s background to find her. She was not getting away with this. What were the chances of their being a random attack at Playa Vallarta, a perfectly safe hotel in a safe city, by another person that had the same tattoo as her cousin? Yes, Gael would find Sylvia and he would deal with her.

  By the time Gael answered, Derek was pacing the floor. “She has left her apartment,” was how Gael answered the phone. “I found her passport, so she hasn’t fled Mexico.”

  “Find her.” Derek tried to keep his voice down. “I want her arrested with that piece of shit.”

  “I will find her before you return,” Gael told him, before they ended the call.

  Walking back into the bedroom, he saw that Nicole was off of the phone. She seemed a bit uneasy, like she wasn’t sure she was the same person. That worried him a bit. When he heard her scream his name, something had happened inside of him. If there had ever been a wonder in his mind if Nicole was the one for him, it had vanished immediately in that moment. What Silvia had done completely backfired on her. Maybe she didn’t know the route that her cousin was planning on taking, maybe she wanted him to scare Nicole into leaving her vacation and going home. It was a gamble with Nicole’s life that Sylvia should not have taken. All it did was make Derek one hundred percent sure that he was completely in love with Nicole. He wanted her with him always. He had been scared to trust his feelings about her so early in a relationship, but this had catapulted his emotions into overdrive and he trusted them now.

  He knew he shouldn’t talk to her about this yet. She knew he was there for her and that was enough. Right now, she needed to have a day or two away from everything and to back to herself and he was going to make sure that happened.

  She put on one of the dresses he had bought her on their first day shopping- white with swirls of purple, blue, and pink. She pushed her sunglasses on her head to hold her wet hair away from her face. He loved how beautiful she looked in the dress. She was perfect for him and he hoped that she would discover the same thing regarding him.

  They walked down to the street to where Hector was waiting with the running car. All of the madness from earlier was gone. It had turned back into a little street in a sleepy Mexican town. Derek opened the door for Nicole and asked her if she was ready.

  “Let’s get out of here.” She mustered a smile, put on her sunglasses, and got into the car.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The drive up the coast did Nicole some good. She was really starting to feel better about the whole thing. However, it was a bit of a reality check. It’s human nature to feel somewhat invincible. To feel that nothing would really ever happen to you. Those kinds of things happen to other people, to people you read about in newspapers. Well, she knew first hand now that those kinds of things could happen to her.

  They pulled up to the hotel. It was bright and cheery, with white walls and a Spanish style roof. The bellman that opened the car door for them seemed to recognize Derek immediately. Hector got out of the car, said hello to some of the staff and a few words to Derek.

  This still didn’t seem real. She tried to imagine what it would be like to live on a resort all the time. It reminded her of a TV show that her father used to watch. She was pretty sure it was called Hotel, all about the staff of a hotel living on the property. It had seemed like such a strange concept to her as a kid. Now here she was, kind-of-dating a man that did just that.

  Derek took Nicole’s hand and led her through the lobby. They didn’t need to check in, but he did go by and greet the people behind the counter. She noticed a few looks among them when he introduced her. She hadn’t really considered the fact that maybe he didn’t take women to any of his apartments; she had only been thinking about the Paraíso at the time. That led to her next question. How many apartments did he have? He said last night that he lived in “a lot” of places. “A lot” could mean anything.

  She looked around the hotel. It had a quaint boutique atmosphere and was about the same size as all the other places they had passed. There was a cute little bar covered in Spanish tiles, one side facing the inside of the lobby and the other side facing the pool area. She hoped they stopped there for a drink tonight. She wondered what she’d wear. It was a little strange to think that there would be clothes in the closet that she didn’t pick. Would they even fit?

  In the elevator, he looked at her in a way he never had before, like he wasn’t sure if she’d fall apart or not.

  “Derek, I’m not going to break,” she told him, not wanting it to be awkward. She hated what happened but she didn’t want to let it ruin her time with him.

  “I don’t know if I would survive it if you had.” His eyes were so sincere.

  “We let her win if this comes between us. Her plan will have worked.” She stood right in front of him and put her hands on his chest. �
�That thought is what’s keeping me strong.”

  “You are a smart woman, love.” He hesitated, but then leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips, sweet and innocent. She wondered if he was going to make love to her when they reached the hotel room. She figured she needed to take matters into her own hands. They both needed sex to be a good thing and not the negative experience that had almost happened. In the past, she had always been a bit timid when it came to taking the lead. Nicole realized she may need to be a bit more forward than she was used to, to dig deep and be the initiator.

  She stopped him before he opened the door to his room and asked, “Have you had a woman in here?”

  “No, I’ve never brought a woman to any of these locations,” he smiled at her.

  “So that’s why the staff had those looks on their faces when you introduced me.”

  “You caught that, huh? They’ll be talking about this for days,” he joked.

  It was now or never for Nicole. She decided to play the dominant as best she could.

  “Allow me,” she said, motioning for the key.

  “Welcome home, love,” he said, smiling and handed it to her.

  She opened the door and walked in. The room wasn’t nearly as modern as the Paraíso apartment, but then again, this had been his first property. It looked like a suite that other guests might have in the hotel. There was a small kitchenette with a breakfast bar and two stools. The living room had wicker chairs, a dark blue couch with a coffee table and small TV stand with a slightly outdated television. Sliding glass doors led to a balcony with a table big enough for two people to comfortably sit. She wandered into the bedroom, which seemed like a basic hotel room except with far nicer bedding. The bathroom was clean, but what you would expect for a hotel. This place wasn’t as fancy as the Paraíso, but she absolutely loved how drastically different it was. She wondered if all of Derek’s places had their own style. What a fun way to live, the scenery always changing.