by T. A. Foster
“Who’s this?” I spit the words.
“Eden, this is Laura. Laura, Eden.” He glanced between the two of us before tipping his beer bottle back.
I don’t know if he thought I would shake her hand or hug her like a fake sorority girl, but neither of those things was going to happen.
“Laura?” I could feel the trembling in my ankles. Oh my God. How was this happening? This was Laura. As in, med school, he spent all his nights, did laundry with, cooked dinner, and watched movies with on the weekends Laura.
She looked nothing like her brother, Connor, other than the fact that she was thin, like perfect super-model thin. We could not be more different. Her long pink nails clutched a glass of white wine. She took a deliberate sip and smiled at me.
“So nice to meet you, Eden.” She even had a sweet Texas accent. She fluttered her eyes back to Grey and looked at him with consuming intensity. I thought I was going to be sick right there on Pete’s patio.
“Eden, are you ok?” Grey stood from the table. His voice was deeper than usual and he stepped closer to me. He blocked Laura from my view.
Everything happened so fast, I didn’t think before the margarita flew from my hand and into Grey’s face. “No, I’m not ok, you asshole.”
The lime drink streamed down his chiseled jaw as he wiped the slush from his cheek.
“Oh my God, Grey!” Laura jumped from her seat with a stack of napkins.
Before I witnessed one more nauseating exchange between the two, my legs carried me out of Pete’s faster than I had ever run in flip-flops. Mac might have been calling my name or maybe it was Grey. The tears kept streaming down my face, and each time I wiped one away with my palm three more appeared. I managed to cross the street without being struck by a car. In my current state, that was a miracle.
I didn’t know how long it took me to walk back three blocks from the bar, because everything was a blur. Room twenty-three waited for me as a sanctuary and as a reminder of the mistake I had made. Why did I think I was ever capable of having a spring break fling? I secured the door behind me before throwing myself facedown on the bed in a crying messy heap. I had just lost it—completely lost it in front of Grey, Laura, Mac, and anyone else who was at Pete’s. I tried to take a deep breath. I didn’t want to cry, but the more I forced the tears to stay away, the more my chest hurt.
“Darlin’, let me in.” Grey pounded on my door with heavy-fisted thuds.
I sat on the bed, reaching for a tissue to blot at my face.
“Are you in there?” He sounded worried.
“Go away, Grey!” I didn’t expect him to follow me, and I wasn’t prepared to see him—not like this anyway.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but please open the damn door.” The pounding stopped.
I moved closer to the door. The pain in my chest had subsided a little and the queasiness was gone. “I’m not an idiot, Grey. I know who Laura is.” I spoke through the barrier that was between us.
“Well, that’s interesting, but not really the point, I guess. Please just let me in.”
“Why?” I blew my nose into the tissue and sank to the floor, resting my shoulder against the door.
“Because I know I was a total dick when I left here this afternoon and I want to apologize.”
The tears in my eyes had slowed. What could he say that would make me feel like any less of an idiot? How could he explain Laura? What’s worse was that he didn’t need to. I knew I had no right to barge in on him. We had been together one night. One night.
“And because I don’t know what you think you saw at Pete’s but it was nothing. There is nothing going on with Laura.” He paused for a few seconds. I thought he might have left. The tears welled in my eyes again. “Baby, please let me in. I know you’re mad at me, but I can’t make it up to you or fix it if I can’t see you. Come on, Eden.”
His voice and the words struck a chord. I pushed myself up from the floor and released the chain from the latch. Hesitantly, I opened the door.
“Thank God. I thought you weren’t going to let me in.” Grey forced the door open all the way, until he was standing in front of me. His shirt was wet and he reeked of tequila.
I looked out into the corridor. It was empty.
“Are you expecting someone else?” Grey asked.
“Where did Laura go?” My eyes dropped to the floor. I didn’t want to be jealous.
“Shit. Where is this coming from? How do you even know who she is?” He placed his hands on his hips, waiting for an explanation.
“Does that really matter more than the fact that you were out having a drink with her at Pete’s?” I knew I sounded resentful and I didn’t care. Now that Grey was standing in front of me, in my room, all of my emotions were stronger, and being so near to him heightened everything.
Grey hung his head. “That is not at all what was happening. But why do you care if I’m having a drink with an old friend?”
The words hit me where I was most vulnerable. “Old friend? Is that what you think about girls you lived with? I’m not an idiot, Grey! You were gone all day and then you had drinks at sunset at Pete’s. I saw how she looked at you.” My tears had dried and the anger I had for him was tangible.
“Good God, Eden. I barely know you. You can’t be seriously getting jealous about Laura.”
I walked toward the dresser. “Ok, I take it back. I am an idiot. A complete idiot.” I started opening drawers and stuffing my new purchases back in their bags. The drawers slammed shut in my wake.
“What are you doing?” Grey followed me as I collected everything I had in the room.
“I have to get out of here. I’ll call Marin or something.” I didn’t think I could be in the same space as Grey. This was all a huge mistake. I couldn’t handle a fling.
“Stop. Just stop.” Grey spun me around until his hands were clutching both of my arms. “I’m not letting you leave like this.”
It was happening again—the air was charged and even though there were only inches between us, all I wanted was to erase them.
“Let me go, Grey.” I didn’t want to look at him. I knew he could melt any resistance I had, and the way he was holding me, he knew it too.
“I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but I was not on a date with someone else. I went to Pete’s to pick up dinner for us as an apology for being such an asshole this afternoon. I never should have left out of here like that. I was a jerk. Laura followed me to Pete’s after she heard I was seeing you. She ambushed me—something about needing closure. Maybe I shouldn’t have sat down to talk to her, but I didn’t know all of this was going to happen. If I had your phone number, maybe I could have called you.”
I let me eyes travel from the floor to his face. The no phone number excuse was bound to come into play, but his words sounded genuine and sincere. “Really?”
“Really.”
“She needed closure?” I never liked that word, and liked it even less now knowing it was so important to Laura.
“That’s what she said. This island is like a damn rumor mill. Connor’s probably pissed we’re seeing each other and he told her about you. She’s not real happy about it.” He searched my eyes. “Are we good?”
I digested what he was saying. There was no date with Laura, and he had tried to surprise me with an apology dinner. This was exactly what I was worried about—Grey melting my decision into a puddle. He didn’t wait for me to answer. His lips crashed into mine as he gathered me in his arms. I inhaled the nearness of him as my body softened in his hands.
“Darlin’, don’t ever do that again,” he whispered in my ear.
I nodded. “I’m sorry I dumped my drink in your face.”
Grey let his hand travel down my back, and slip between my shorts and the soft skin of the small of my back. I felt the tingles travel through my belly.
“Eden, I’m not a wine and roses kind of guy.” What he was doing with his fingers commanded me to relax into his ha
nd. “Sometimes I’m a jerk, but I don’t lie and I don’t cheat.”
I tipped my head back, giving him full access to my neck. He spun me toward the wall and reached his hand under my shirt, squeezing my breast. The way he touched me was like torture, but the kind I couldn’t wait to feel what he would do next.
“I wouldn’t be with someone else. I don’t know what this is between us, but I feel it.” His gaze was so intense I lost my breath. He loosened the button on my shorts and grabbed my waistband, sending my shorts to the floor. I moaned as his fingers played between my legs. “Do you feel it?”
“Mmm-hmm.” I was surrounded by whatever this thing was between us. I could feel it in my skin, my chest, and deep within my core.
Grey’s hands disconnected from my body. I was breathing heavier than I could remember, anticipating him. He unsnapped his shorts, and I bit down hard on my lip as I heard them hit the floor. He grabbed the underside of my bottom and hoisted me on top of him. I almost screamed as I felt him enter me. I wanted him more than anything in my life.
He pushed me harder against the wall. I loved feeling so close to him that my breasts moved with each of his heavy breaths. Our bodies were in perfect unison.
“So, don’t do that, Eden. Don’t tell me you’re leaving.” He growled in my ear. “I’m not ready for you to say good-bye.”
He dug his hands into the small of my back and this time I couldn’t suppress the screams. He felt so damn amazing. Yes, please, more of this all night long. I rocked against him until I felt the sweet pressure building uncontrollably. My hands splayed against the wall, tilting my hips upward.
My body shuddered with total abandon as the release enveloped me. Grey held me as we both collapsed to the floor. My legs straddled him and I rested my cheek against the cotton of his T-shirt.
I sat up to kiss him. “Mmm, you taste like a margarita.” I giggled.
“Funny.” He laughed. “This crazy girl threw a drink on me tonight.”
“Who would do such an insane thing?” I licked his bottom lip.
“Seriously, Eden. I meant it. What I said just a minute ago.” He sat up so he was resting on his elbows.
My heart was pounding, and there was a chance it was loud enough for Grey to hear it.
“I’m not with anyone else.” He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.
He didn’t owe me an explanation about Laura no matter how badly I wanted one. I was the one who had jumped into a spring break fling with no questions asked. I had willingly given myself to him, and clearly, I was going to do it as many times as I could. So why was I so relieved that, for this week, I knew he was mine? It shouldn’t matter, but what we did and what he could do to me did matter.
“Eden? Did I lose you?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m good. Better than good.” I crawled forward and nipped at his neck.
He laughed and tried to pry me away from his throat. “What do you say to dinner now? I brought it back; it’s in the office.”
He stood and I followed his figure as he reassembled his clothes. “Sounds good. Oh, and I can show you the spreadsheets I made today.”
“You made spreadsheets? That sounds hot.” He winked.
I swatted him on the chest. “Hey, I worked all morning on those.”
“All right, college girl, show me your spreadsheets.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
We had two full days to get the Palm Palace into some recognizable form of motel residency. I was ready to take this Wednesday by storm.
“You’re really going to be cutting it close with all that you’ve spent on the renovations and with the utilities you have due at the end of the month.” I had gone over the numbers several times and I was confident I hadn’t missed anything. “If the Palm Palace had just a few more rooms, you’d be able to offset your costs more easily.”
Grey was staring out of the office window toward the ocean.
“Have you thought about raising the rates? Ten dollars here and there could really help.”
“No, my grandfather was set on not increasing prices for the college students. He said that too many people tried to take advantage of them and he could give them a place to stay at a fair price.”
Grey had been in the office with me all morning, going over the numbers I had put together for him. After dinner last night, we never made it to my spreadsheet presentation. We had more than one round of incredible makeup sex to achieve. I blushed looking at the desk, and remembered how it felt on my skin in the dark office.
I cleared my throat and my mind. “Well, your grandfather sounds like a sweet man, but he’s not here to face the reality of the bills. These are the same rates the motel had in the nineties. People wouldn’t even flinch.”
“No, Eden. I’m not raising the rates. Would you really want to pay more to stay here? Look around.” He pointed to the rows of rooms outside the window.
“It’s not that bad.” Ever since my nights were filled with Grey, I had come to love staying at the Palm Palace, but I remembered my first impression of the motel. “Well, we could at least free up one more room for you.”
He turned from the window. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll keep paying for my room, but I can stay with you and you can rent out room twenty-three.” I had formulated this plan yesterday, but with all of the fighting and then the makeup sex, I hadn’t gotten back to it.
Grey turned from the window. “Like move in with me?”
“No, not move in with you. Just stay with you until, you know.” The end of the week was staring us both in the face and we hadn’t even broached the topic. “We’re already spending our nights together and we know it’s one room that is already ready. It’s just two nights. But if it’s too much—I totally get it.”
Grey’s forehead was crinkled, and he walked toward me, taking his time with each step. This wasn’t going to go well. I had overstepped my I’m-a-guest-who’s-sleeping-with-you boundaries.
“If I had known I could have had you in my room this whole time, I would have had you look at my books the first night you got here.” He leaned down and kissed me.
Ok, that was not at all what I was expecting, but my stomach filled with butterflies.
“So, you’re ok with it?” I stepped back to gauge his mood. His smile was wide and his blue eyes toyed with me.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I think it’s a great idea.”
“Ok, since you like that one so much, I have another one for you.” I was worried my second pitch might not be so easy.
Grey was focused on the edge of my tank top. The more he stared, the heavier my breathing became. “Hey, I’m trying to help you here. Can you stop undressing me every second with your eyes?”
“Would you rather I use my hands?” He tugged on the edge of my shirt, and I felt the heat tingle under my skin.
“Grey, for real. This is serious.” I pushed his hand down. “I have an idea that might get you over this financial crisis, temporarily at least.”
He backed away. “Ok, if you have something, I’m all ears … and eyes.”
“One of the best views in this whole place is from the pool deck. From there you can see the ocean. You’ve got the pool, and it’s right in the center of the Palm.” I nodded to the pool at the end of the motel’s property.
“Ok, go on.” He leaned against the wall.
“So, I think there is a way to capitalize on what you have. What if you have a luau and charge a small cover? We can get Marin and her friends and Pick and Connor to help us organize it and spread the word.” I smiled and waited for his reaction.
Grey crossed his arms. “You want me to host a keg party?”
“It’s not just a keg party. I know you’re not into the party scene and neither am I, but I’ve been to a few and they can make a ton of money. We can advertise online, and I bet Marin could sneak a few flyers through the Island Sun. Come on. It could work. We’re talking an easy few thousand dollars. It will be enough to
give you some breathing room until the end of spring break.”
“I’m goin’ to guess you already ran this by Marin.” Both of his eyebrows were raised, making his blue eyes bigger.
“I might have mentioned it to her.” I bit down on my lip and walked from behind the desk.
“A few thousand dollars definitely wouldn’t hurt.” He rubbed his jaw.
“I’ll organize the whole thing. You just keep working on the rooms and I’ll take care of the luau.” I stopped in front of Grey. “Really, all you have to do is promise to be my date.”
He hooked my waist with his right hand and drew me against his chest. “Deal. But you have to promise it will stay under control.”
“Nothing crazy. Promise.”
“And you’ll wear one of those coconut bras.” His finger traced the strap along my shoulder.
I laughed. “If I can find one.”
“A party planning business woman,” he teased as his head dipped toward the exposed skin on my chest. I leaned back to let him kiss me.
“Yes, and if I’m going to pull this off, I need to get started, and you need to get to work on showerheads or doorknobs.” I inhaled as his lips grazed the top of my breast.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Party planning was definitely less appealing than Grey taking me on the office desk again, but this was business. We’d have all night to play.
“Go. Go fix something.” I shoved him out the door and turned to face the empty office.
I pulled out my phone. I needed to call Marin before I purchased the first tiki torch.
“Hey, you have a second? I could use your help. Grey says the luau’s a go.”
***
Marin volunteered to pick me up in a few hours to start the luau shopping spree. She sounded excited on the phone. Until then, I had time to sort through the motel’s inventory. Grey didn’t have free minutes to tally stock or deliver tiny soaps when bigger problems like missing sheetrock were looming.