by Ivy Blake
Austin wished he could bring himself to even think about going on a date, but he never could. Sure, he was still turned on by the thought of a woman’s legs wrapped around his waist, but his heart would never let him get to that point. He had built up walls so thick that he doubted they could ever come down. He longed for only one woman’s body, but being with her was impossible.
Chapter 2
Ella
Ella twirled the stem of her wine glass and shook her leg in anticipation. Gavin has to be here soon, she thought to herself. She pushed her long auburn hair behind her shoulders and took a long sip of her Cabernet. She had worn her favorite dress tonight. It had small cap sleeves and cinched in right at her waistline, accentuating her very curvy hourglass shape. She always felt like a pinup model in this dress, and she wore it to give herself that extra confidence boost. Despite their year of dating, Gavin still made her nervous and self-conscious.
Gavin Halloway was the real-estate mogul who had captivated Ella’s heart the moment she laid eyes on him. He was tall and muscular, with a strong chin and perfectly cut and styled blond hair. He was 100 percent out of Ella’s league, and she knew it. Gavin had been notorious for dating stick-thin models, so when he had shown the slightest interest in her, she felt like she was in a fairy tale. They had met at a cocktail party for the investment bank she worked for. She’d been standing at the bar waiting for a drink when he had come up behind her.
“Need some help?” Gavin asked. Ella had been unsuccessfully trying to get the bartender’s attention for the last several minutes.
“Apparently,” Ella said. “Normally bartenders serve the ladies first, but this one, I think, prefers the gentlemen more.”
Gavin smiled at her. “Well, I can easily fix that, then,” Gavin said, and leaned over the bar. The bartender had taken one look at him and shot him a big smile, and they had had their drinks in an instant.
Their relationship had been easy at the beginning. Ella was so caught up that a guy like Gavin could be with a girl like her that she ignored a lot of the red flags. Now, however, the warning signs were becoming harder to ignore.
Ella looked around at the restaurant and eyed the couples around her. They all seemed so happy, sharing their meals and holding hands across the table. She let out a sigh. Why couldn’t her relationship with Gavin be that simple? How did things become so complicated?
Ella looked down at her watch again and noticed that Gavin was now an hour late. She drummed her fingers across the white tablecloth in frustration. The excuses in her head that he had hit traffic or got caught up with something at work now faded from her mind. Ella had started to read between the lines and realized what his excuses actually were. He wasn’t going to show up to dinner. He had forgotten about their date yet again, and was spending his evening with someone else.
Ella let out a huff of frustration and finished up her wine. Relationships were not supposed to be filled with disappointment. While Gavin certainly was a catch, she didn’t deserve to be treated like this. She pulled out her cell phone and saw that there was a voicemail. Great, Ella thought. Leaving a voicemail so he wouldn’t have to actually talk to her. Ella rolled her eyes and pressed play.
“Hey Ella,” Gavin said. “I know you are probably pissed at me right now, but I just wasn’t able to get away from work.” Anger bubbled in Ella’s chest and she quickly ended the message and slammed the phone on the table. The couple next to her shot her a glare, but she ignored it.
Of course he had to “work late” again. That was his excuse last weekend as well, and she was absolutely tired of it. Ella forced her eyes shut in frustration as the memory of what happened last weekend flooded her mind.
Gavin had been working late and he had promised he would come by her apartment for a late dinner and a movie. Ella had spent hours in the kitchen cooking, making her favorite Italian dish, lasagna. She even went as far as making her own noodles. The meal was ready and remained in the oven to stay warm. An hour passed and there was still no word from Gavin. She tried giving him a call, but there was no answer. Another hour passed and Ella was about to give up and go to bed when there was a soft knock at her door.
Ella walked up and looked through the peephole. “You are over two hours late, Gavin,” Ella said.
“I know, Ella,” Gavin said. “I am so sorry, but my meetings ran over again and I couldn’t find a moment to give you a call.” Ella sighed and opened up the door. Gavin leaned down to hug her and she inhaled, hoping to smell his amazing cologne. Instead, she was surprised by a floral smell that was distinctly feminine.
Ella had asked him about the perfume, but he had brushed it off, saying that it must have been from his clients. Ella had tried to argue with Gavin, but he continued to expertly deflect the situation and distracted her with his amazing lips. Ella hated how Gavin captivated her, but this was the last straw. Ella would not continue to be there whenever Gavin wanted.
Her job as an investment banker was just as demanding as his, and yet she was able to make the time for him. That’s it, she thought. He was going to get an earful of how she felt. She quickly pressed his name in her phone favorites. The phone rang a few times, and Ella feared that he wouldn’t pick up. She was about to give up when Gavin finally answered.
“Hey Ella,” Gavin said, but his voice was muffled by loud music behind him. Anger coursed through Ella’s veins. He had lied to her about being at work. Instead of coming to their date, he was at some bumping club and trying to hide it by stepping outside.
“I knew you weren’t actually at work,” Ella said.
“Wait, Ella, it’s not what...”
“Have fun wherever you are at. I can’t do this anymore.” Ella cut Gavin off.
“Ella, I’m sorry,” Gavin said.
“If you were really that sorry, or if you even cared about me at all, you would have made it a point to come to dinner. You have been blowing me off for days now about actually getting together, so I am going to make this super easy for you. We are done. I deserve so much more than this.”
“Ella, come on, let’s talk about this,” Gavin said. “I am meeting with a client and…”
“A client?! At a nightclub? Are you fucking kidding me, Gavin? I can hear the music in the background.”
Gavin became silent.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” Ella said. “There is nothing left to talk about.” Ella hung up the phone with her hands slightly shaking. Holy hell, she thought. Where had all that power come from? This was the first time she had ever stood up for herself, and it felt fantastic.
Ella was always the one to not let people know when she was upset. She hated confrontation, and always did her best to completely avoid it, which meant she would end up more times than not being a mat that people walked all over.
Ella paid the check for her wine, and as she left the restaurant she sent a text to her best friend Sierra.
He stood me up. Again. I am so done with this bullshit. I ended it.
What an asshole! Congrats on finally growing a pair and taking control. He isn’t worth your time. I’m coming over with wine to celebrate.
No, you don’t need to do that. I’m just going to curl up on the couch and watch a movie.
You sure?
Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
Ella shut down her phone before Sierra could talk her out of it. She knew that Sierra was only trying to make her feel better, but at that moment Ella just wanted to be alone. She didn’t want to see the look in Sierra’s eyes, telling her I told you so. Sierra had warned her about Gavin from the beginning, and Ella had ignored her. She had been too caught up in the relationship and fell too quickly for a man that would never actually love her back. That had always been Ella’s problem when it came to relationships. She always fell too hard too fast. Sierra had warned her so many times to not rush her feelings, but Ella couldn’t help it. She was a true romantic at heart.
Ella changed into her favorite sweatpants
and comfy t-shirt and put in her favorite romantic comedy. Deep down she knew she was stupid to believe in true love and fairytales, especially after her experience with Gavin, but a part of her wanted to believe that the fairy tale actually existed.
Chapter 3
Austin
“I told you, Logan, I’m not interested.” Austin let out of huff of air and set down his beer bottle. His anger rumbled underneath the surface of his skin, and he ran his hands through his slightly wavy brown hair. Austin and the rest of the guys were sitting in the common room in the apartment building. “Come on, man,” Logan said. “It is just a vacation. What is the worst that could happen?” Austin let out a forced laugh. Just a vacation, he thought. More like a setup for gold-digging women to hook up with men.
Logan and the rest of the guys had signed up to participate in Date Week at Mystic Breeze Resort, an all-expenses-paid vacation where men were paired up with women in the hopes of finding their true love. Apparently along with dating apps, blind dates at singles resorts were now a thing. Austin thought it was a pile of crap. Even the name sounded cheesy as hell. There were so many ways to find so. How his friends thought this would be a good idea he would never understand.
“You really think that you are going to find someone at something like this, Logan?” Austin asked. “I mean, come on, it looks like the set of the fucking Bachelor.”
Logan let out a laugh. “No, I don’t think I will actually find someone. But I know I will probably find some great ass that is more than willing to get into my pants, and who can pass that up? Plus as an added bonus, it’s a fucking secluded island. How many times in your life do you get to say you stayed on an exclusive island?” The rest of his friends sitting around the room let out a roar of laughter, and a few of them high-fived Logan.
Austin let out a small smile. He had once been as carefree when it came to love as the rest of them. Now, however, he had no interest in finding a piece of ass. He was content where he was. His shot at love was already destroyed, and he was fairly sure he couldn’t truly love again, so there was no sense in trying to fake it for some chick on an island.
“There is no way in hell I’m going,” Austin said. “If you guys are that desperate for ass, which from the sounds in your room every night, Logan, I highly doubt you are, go on without me. You don’t want me there anyway, I would just bring you all down.”
Logan looked at their other friends and then back at Austin and cleared his throat.
“Here’s the thing,” Logan said. “We can’t go unless you do.”
“What the hell do you mean, you can’t go unless I do?” Austin asked.
“Well…” Logan hesitated. Austin glared at him, and Logan awkwardly cleared his throat again. “We already signed you up.”
Anger bubbled up inside Austin and he shot a glare in Brendan’s direction. Brendan immediately looked down under Austin’s hard-set eyes.
“What the hell, Logan?” Austin asked.
“Man, relax,” Logan. “It was the only way for us to score on the discount on the vacation as well. The more people coming, the higher the discount. Besides you could use a vacation. Get yourself out of your head for a bit.”
It was true. Austin had felt it was harder to control his anger lately. He had always been able to hide it from his friends, but now he was starting to snap at them too and he was sure that they were getting frustrated with him. Austin had hoped it was just a phase, and deep down he agreed that a vacation or some form of relaxation would benefit him, but why the hell did they have to drag him into something like this?
While Austin was not always the sharing type, most of his friends knew that he had lost Callie and was not the same since. Hell, Logan even knew that Callie’s death was the reason why Austin was joined the Army.
The thought of Callie made Austin’s anger return in full force. Austin stormed out of the common room and went straight to his apartment, almost pulling off the doorframe from its hinges.
He let out a loud growl and fell down onto the bed. He needed to get a grip on his anger. He knew his friends were just trying to help him but he couldn’t stand the thought of having to interact with any of those idiotic girls. Not one of them would be able to hold a candle to Callie. Austin dropped his head into his hands as memories of Callie rushed into his thoughts.
Why can’t I just let her go? Austin thought. It had been so many years since her death, he should have been able to move on, but his heart wouldn’t let him. Every girl he saw was compared to her, and none of them stood a chance. Austin let out a long sigh. Callie would not have wanted him to be like this. He let out a small laugh at how she would have reacted if she saw him now. She would be dragging his ass to the plane and telling him to let someone else in. She would have wanted him to be happy.
But how could he be without her?
Chapter 4
Ella
A loud banging on Ella’s door jolted her awake. What the hell? Her eyes snapped open and she quickly looked around herself. She let out an audible sigh of relief when she realized she was just on her couch in her living room. She slowly sat up and pushed her tangled mess of hair away her face. The TV was still on, with the menu of the Blu-ray she had been watching frozen on the screen. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was ten in the morning. Awesome, she thought. The loud banging on her door started again, causing Ella to jump off the couch. She rushed to the door and looked through the peephole. She let out a sigh of relief when saw it was her best friend Sierra.
Ella opened the door and Sierra rushed at her with a big hug.
“Do you know that I have been trying to get ahold of you for the last hour?” Sierra asked. “I must have called your cell like twenty times.”
Ella loosened her arms around Sierra and looked at her friend’s face. She had beautiful green eyes and long, wavy brown hair. She was absolutely beautiful, and Ella had always wished for once she could look as good as Sierra did. Next to Sierra, Ella was always seen as just the girl next door. Sierra and Ella had become friends back in high school. Up until she had become friends with Sierra, Ella had been extremely shy. Sierra was a whirlwind that stormed into her life, and Ella was forever thankful for it. Sierra had pulled Ella out of her shell.
“I’m sorry,” Ella said. “I must have fallen asleep on the couch and didn’t hear my phone.”
Ella could feel Sierra’s eyes on her as she shuffled back towards her couch and wrapped herself up in a cozy blanket. Ella knew she looked like a pitiful mess, but she couldn’t truly bring herself to care.
“OK, Ella,” Sierra said. “Intervention time. You need to get up and get out of the house. We are meeting the rest of the girls for brunch.” Sierra walked over to the couch and started to pull Ella back up and shooed her into the bedroom.
Ella broke free of Sierra’s grasp and rushed back to the couch and pulled up the blanket over her face. Sierra let out an exasperated sigh, and Ella heard her heels click towards the kitchen. The last thing Ella wanted to do was to get out of her PJs, but the temptation of a good brunch was not something she ever turned away. The sound of the coffee maker and the delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee brought a smile to Ella’s face. Sierra always seemed to know exactly what Ella needed before she asked. Ella reluctantly pushed herself off the couch, grabbed her hot cup of coffee, and followed Sierra into the bedroom.
***
The sweet smell of French toast wafted into Ella’s nose, and she couldn’t be happier that Sierra had dragged her out of the house. Sierra had taken Ella to their favorite brunch spot a few blocks away from her Charlestown apartment in Boston. Sitting around the table with them were her three best friends, Maggie, Amanda, and Rebecca.
“So Gavin was a douchebag yet again?” Maggie asked. Maggie had been the first girl Sierra and Ella met when they went to college in Boston. She had long, stick-straight blonde hair and flowing curves that she was always able to make look great in anything she wore. She had a spitfire personality, whi
ch was what made Sierra and Ella quickly become friends with her.
Sierra shot her a stare across the table. It was sweet of B to try and be protective of Ella, but she was fine talking about him. Ella gently touched Sierra’s hand to let her know it was all right.
“Things with Gavin are finished,” Ella said. “He stood me up for dinner, and when I called him he was obviously at a club with friends.”
Maggie scoffed.
“I am happy things with you and Gavin are finished,” Rebecca said. “He was a tool, anyway.” Rebecca had been Maggie’s roommate in college. She had brown curly hair and light brown eyes. Where Maggie went, Rebecca came along, which was fine with Ella because she was the sweetest girl Ella had ever met.
“Yeah he was,” Amanda agreed between bites of her pancakes. Amanda and Ella worked together at the banking firm. They had instantly bonded over work stress, and Ella quickly brought her into their friend group. Amanda had shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes.
Ella smiled at her friends. It helped that they all lived so close to one another. Without them, Ella didn’t think she would have had the guts to move away from home in the first place.
“So we had an idea,” Sierra quickly cleared her throat.
“What kind of idea?” Ella asked. Sierra looked at the other girls and they smiled and nodded at her to continue.
“Well, we thought that since things are finished with Gavin, that now would be a great time for all of us to go on a vacation together,” Sierrae said.
A vacation? Ella closed her eyes and thought about the spring break trip that they all had gone to, minus Amanda, on their senior year of college. It had been a mess of drinking, dancing, and eye candy on the warm beaches of the Bahamas. She smiled at the memory. A vacation with just the girls would be amazing, Ella thought. It would be the perfect way to get Gavin out of her head.