by Claire Adams
Thunder drowned out the sound, and the only reason I realized someone was calling was because of the flashing light next to me. I grabbed the phone and saw Jason’s number on the screen.
“Hi, bro,” I said.
“I heard there’s a storm in Oahu,” Jason said, cutting right to the chase.
“Yup.”
“Fuck, is that thunder?”
“Yup.”
“Fuck,” he said again. “Are you okay?”
I laughed. “I’m stranded at a five-star resort with four world-class restaurants, two indoor pools, and a full entertainment unit in my very own suite, and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”
“Ok, silly question. Let me rephrase,” he said. “How have you been?”
I paused a little, as my mind flitted to Tristan for a moment. I had been on three more dates in the last week, and Tristan had barely looked my way on all three occasions. He had nodded at me from afar one time, but that was the extent of our interaction. I wasn’t sure why I was continuing with Alani’s plan since it obviously wasn’t working, but a part of me was hoping that Tristan really was getting jealous, and it was just that he was so good of an actor that he didn’t let on easily.
Something told me that I couldn’t share all this with Jason, however. So instead, I kept the conversation predictable. “I’ve been great,” I said. “The resort is amazing. Tristan really did an amazing job.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else from him,” Jason said. “I wish I could have seen it myself.”
“I’m sure you will one day,” I said.
“Do you think you’ll consider a position there?”
I paused. “Tristan hasn’t really mentioned anything,” I said. “Well…he did mention it once, the day I arrived but nothing after that. Maybe he’s reconsidered.”
“If that we the case, he would have let me know,” Jason said. “Tristan’s a straight shooter.”
“Even with his friends.”
“Especially with his friends.”
“If you say so,” I said. “The truth is, I’m leaning towards a no…that is if his offer is still on the table.”
“Really?” Jason sounded disappointed.
“I’ll admit, it would be a fantastic job,” I nodded. “But it would also mean moving to Hawaii.”
“Which is most people’s dream.”
“True,” I nodded. “But it also means working for Tristan.”
“Which is a problem because…”
“I don’t know,” I lied, deciding to be vague. “It’s weird.”
“Oh okay, it’s weird,” Jason laughed. “That makes perfect sense.”
“I thought there was no pressure,” I reminded him.
“I’m sorry,” he laughed. “You’re right. This is totally your decision; no pressure, for real.”
“Thanks,” I said. “So…have you spoken to Tristan lately?”
“I tried calling him yesterday,” Jason admitted, “but I couldn’t get through. Maybe it was because of the storm.”
“It’s more likely because he is so busy,” I said. “I’ve barely seen him since I arrived.”
“He hasn’t spent any time with you?” He seemed surprised by that.
“Why would he?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “We were never really friends.”
“Aw, come on,” Jason said. “You guys got along so well.”
“It was a different dynamic,” I reminded him. “You were always with us.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” he demanded, and I realized that the possibility of a romantic entanglement between Tristan and myself had never even crossed his mind.
“He’s just really busy,” I said, brushing off the topic. “I don’t blame him. And anyway, I’ve made friends.”
“Have you?”
“Alani is one of the managers here, and she’s really great,” I said.
“Well, I’m glad you’re making friends and enjoying yourself a little.”
“Me, too,” I agreed.
“What are your plans for tonight?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I might just watch a movie and head downstairs for a light dinner.”
“Sounds perfect. I’m jealous.”
I laughed. “Sounds like you need a break.”
“I do,” he sighed. “One day.”
I shook my head. “Talk later?”
“Sure thing.”
I left the bedroom and headed to my own personal living room where the entertainment unit was set up, complete with massive flat-screen TV and a built-in collection of movies and TV series for my viewing pleasure. I don’t know what made me do it, but I settled on horror. An hour into the movie, I was seriously regretting my decision. The roaring thunderstorm just outside didn’t help matters, either.
I was starting to psyche myself out. I started to see eyes everywhere, watching me with deadly intent. I started to hear screams hidden underneath the thunder. I started to imagine people hidden in the dark corners of the suite, waiting for the perfect moment to attack me.
Dad had always referred to my imagination as fanciful; Mom had called it overactive, while Jason maintained that I was simply dramatic. At the moment, I was forced to agree with all three assessments. And yet, I still hugged a pillow to my chest, unable to shake off the fear.
I sat up straight when I heard a hard rapping at my door. “No,” I told myself firmly. “That was just your imagination. Stop being so silly.”
The second time I heard the rapping, it was louder, and I was suddenly unsure. I turned off the movie, deciding that it was a silly move on a stormy and lonely night. Then suddenly, the phone rang, and I screamed in shock. With my heart thudding in my chest, I rolled my eyes at own silliness and picked up.
“Hello?”
“Molly?”
“Alani?” I said, recognizing her voice.
“Are you alright?”
“Uh…sure,” I nodded. “Why?”
“Because you’re not answering the door and I’m sure I just heard you scream a second ago.”
I blushed with embarrassment. “Oops… That was you.”
“Were you expecting someone else?”
“An axe murderer,” I joked.
“What?”
“Never mind,” I said quickly. “Sorry, let me just hang up and let you in.”
I hung up and rushed to the door. Alani was standing at the threshold with a slightly amused expression on her face. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I was watching a horror movie,” I admitted. “And… I started over thinking.”
She laughed and walked in. “Why on earth would you do that to yourself?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I said, holding the door open to allow her through. “But ever since I was old enough to watch horror films, I just kept at it, despite the fact that they terrify the life out of me.”
“Urgh,” she said, shuddering. “I hate the genre.”
I laughed. “I think it’s just sentimental to me.”
“Sentimental?”
“Whenever Tristan and Jason came home for a visit, we’d inevitably end up watching a horror movie,” I explained. “It was sort of a bonding thing between them and I just sort of…became a part of it, too.”
Alani nodded knowingly. “Any excuse to be near Tristan, huh?”
“I suppose it was,” I admitted. “As thrilled as I am to see you, I can’t help but think there’s a reason for your visit.”
“There is,” she nodded. “I’ve found you your next date.”
I groaned and fell back onto my cushy off-white couch.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not working,” I sighed. “Tristan couldn’t care less, and to be honest, sitting there night after night trying to manufacture chemistry with men I have nothing in common with… It’s starting to feel like work.”
“Hang in there.”
“To what end?” I asked. “It’s kind of pointless don’t you th
ink?”
“I don’t,” she said confidently. “I think the plan’s working beautifully.”
“Seriously?”
“Tristan is subtle about revealing how he feels, but I think he gives himself away each night he sees you with another man.”
“Oh?” I said. “What am I missing?”
“The amount of alcohol he drinks,” Alani said, as if that were concrete evidence. “And, he gets brusquer with the staff. Which is certainly out of the ordinary. Tristan has always been really great with the staff.”
“You might be misreading his mood.”
“Possibly,” she conceded. “But I don’t think so.”
“Who’s this new guy?” I asked curiously.
Her smile was slightly wicked. “He’s a rich businessman.”
“Aren’t they all?” I interrupted unenthusiastically.
She shot me a look. “Sorry,” I smiled. “Continue.”
“He’s actually a friend of Tristan’s.”
“He is?” I asked, in surprise.
“He is,” Alani nodded. “He started asking questions about you, and I thought…perfect.”
“Perfect?”
“He’s your next date,” she said. “In fact, he wants to take you out to dinner tonight.”
“What?” I said. “Right now?”
“Right now,” Alani nodded. “He wants to speak to you beforehand, though.”
“Uh…why?”
“I think he’s hoping to charm you,” she smiled.
“I’m not easily charmed.”
“I told him,” she said. “So, what do you say?”
I took a deep breath. “I suppose I’ve done this much…I might as well go the whole nine yards.”
“That’s my girl,” Alani said, clapping her hands together.
I shook my head at her. “You’re enjoying yourself way too much.”
“Hey, even managing a resort like this can get boring sometimes,” she joked. “A little real-life soap opera every once in a while can’t really hurt.”
“Especially if you’re choreographing the whole thing?”
Alani winked at me and headed towards the door. “Wait,” I said. “He’s coming in right now?”
“Yes.”
Unsure of my appearance, I looked down. I was wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt with a picture of Mickey Mouse on the front. “I look like an idiot.”
“I like the look,” Alani said. “There’s something very confident about a woman who doesn’t give a shit about what she’s wearing or who sees her wearing it.”
“That’s a good point,” I nodded. “Okay, let him in.”
I heard Alani’s voice faintly from where I stood, and then a moment later a tall, dark-haired man entered. He was wearing dark pants and a blue blazer, and he looked both smart and cultured. He was quite obviously one of those men who seemed to get better looking with age. He gave me a confident smile that was also admiring.
“Mickey was always my favorite, too,” he said.
As far as pick-up lines went, it was one of the better ones. I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “He’s so underrated.”
“I completely agree.”
We made eye contact for a moment, and it was obvious we were sizing each other up in the silence. “I don’t know your name,” I said, breaking the silence.
“Gregory,” he replied. “Gregory Winchester.”
Chapter Eleven
Tristan
“Is there anything else I need to attend to before dinner?” I asked Ben.
“Not that I can see,” he replied.
I closed the files I had been looking at and stared off into the distance for a moment, contemplating the unusual situation I found myself in. I was afraid to have dinner at Albero’s nowadays, and that fear had everything to do with a certain Grace Kelly lookalike.
“Something the matter?” Ben asked, breaking through my haze of self-pity.
“No,” I said abruptly.
One of his eyebrows rose slightly, and I noticed one corner of his mouth turn up, as well. “What?” I demanded, with irritation.
“You’ve been a bad mood this last week,” he observed, completely indifferent to how rude I was being. Instead of shaming me into behaving, it made me feel as though I had the license to do so.
“I’m working around the clock,” I pointed out. “If you worked like I do, you would be, too.”
Ben narrowed his eyes at me. “I do work like you do,” he said. “In fact, I would argue that some days, I work harder than you.”
“Ha!” I said sarcastically.
“Scoff all you want,” he said, with a shrug. “It’s true. And I’d like to point out that despite my work ethic, I don’t make the kind of money that you do. So logically you should be happy all the time.”
“Not everything is about money, Benjamin,” I said, using his full name purely because I knew he hated it.
Ben rolled his eyes at my childish attempts to get a rise out of him. “Then why are you working yourself to the bone?” he demanded. “If money isn’t everything, why are you chasing it?”
“What are you?” I asked. “My shrink?”
“I don’t mind taking on the job,” he said sheepishly. “Provided I get paid for it.”
I cocked my head to the side and surveyed Ben carefully. “You’re an honest guy, aren’t you, Ben?”
“I’d like to think so, yes,” he nodded.
“Would you say that the two of us are friends?”
I could tell immediately that the question caught him by surprise. He processed it for a moment before he spoke. “Honestly… I think it’s hard to maintain a friendship when one person is providing the other’s salary.”
“Is that a no?” I asked bluntly.
“Not necessarily.”
I frowned. “Sounds like a no.”
“There are different kinds of friendships,” he said. “I think ours is simply…non-traditional.”
“Okay then, as my friend, I’m going to ask you a few questions,” I said. “And I expect you to answer them honestly and then keep my confidences.”
He rolled his eyes. “Do these questions have anything to do with Molly?”
I paused for a second, wondering if Ben knew me too well or if I was just that transparent. I decided I didn’t want to know. “Maybe,” I said, and then I corrected myself immediately. “Okay, fine; they are about Molly.”
“Go ahead.” Ben sounded bored already.
I ignored him. “Has she brought any of her dates up to her room with her after dinner?”
“No.” Ben sounded confident.
“How do you know?”
“Because I make sure security monitors any and all people staying at this resort who have not actually checked into the resort. Our suite guests are given leeway here and there, but anyone else is required to check in a visitor, regardless of how they’re related.”
“Huh… I didn’t realize you did that.”
“You don’t realize a lot of what I do.”
“Okay, okay, let’s assess your value later,” I said impatiently. “Would you happen to know if Molly went back with one of her dates…to their hotels, I mean?”
“No, she hasn’t,” Ben replied, and again, he sounded confident.
“How do you know?” I asked again.
“Security,” he replied simply. “Molly has slept at the resort every single night since she arrived here. And since she doesn’t bring up any of her dates, I’m safely surmising that she hasn’t slept with anyone—yet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, taken by an irrational panic.
“Molly is an attractive young woman,” he said. “At some point, she’s going to sleep with someone.”
I gritted my teeth together. “Fuck,” I said, under my breath.
“What is your hang up with this woman?” he asked curiously.
“You yourself just mentioned how attractive she is.”
; “Sure,” he nodded. “But so are all the women you’ve dated in the past. Why is this girl different?”
I looked up at Ben, and a part of me realized that this was the first time we were having a real, personal conversation. It was strangely freeing. “I don’t know,” I said. “She’s just stuck in my head.”
“For how long?”
“What?”
“Has she always been stuck in your head?” he asked. “Or has she only been on your mind since she arrived at the resort?”
I thought about that question for a moment. I thought about the six years that stood between us and wondered… Had I thought of her often during that time? Did I feel as though something was missing, without really being able to put my finger on it? Sometimes I felt wisps of longing, but I had never associated those feelings with Molly...not directly anyway.
Then little things kept coming back to me. It was almost as though my own mind was throwing the evidence in my face. I remembered ordering pizza with mushroom for no other reason than Molly liked it. I remembered looking twice at every blonde woman I met, hoping to find some part of Molly hidden beneath her features. I remembered having a fondness for horror movies because it reminded me of those cozy nights when Jason, Molly, and I would pick a new horror flick and watch it in the family room.
Had I spent half my life pining for a woman without even realizing it? The thought seemed almost too preposterous to consider.
“I… She Jason’s sister,” I said. “She’s always been on the periphery of my thoughts.”
Ben pursed his lips at me.
“What?” I demanded.
“We’re friends right?” he clarified first.
“Yes,” I said reluctantly.
“Then as your friend, it is my duty to inform you that this level of preoccupation with a woman is not normal—unless, of course, you harbor deep feelings for her.”
I narrowed my eyes at Ben. “I take it back; we’re not friends.”
“Why is that such a bad thing?” he wanted to know. “So you have feelings for Molly—she’s single, and so are you.”
“Apparently, she’s not single,” I pointed out.
“She’s dating,” Ben clarified. “It’s different. If she were seen every night with one man, then you would have cause to worry. That means she’s getting serious with a guy. But until then, you may have a chance.”