by J. S. Cooper
“You’re not backing out of this, Janie,” Anabel mumbled from the seat next to me. I looked over at her to see if she was staring at me, but no, her eyes were closed. She had somehow read my mind without even looking at me. “Nope, not going to happen,” she said as she sat back with her eyes still closed. “You’re going through with this and it will be the best thing that happened in your life. No matter the outcome. Trust me!” she said, and with that, I closed my eyes as well and tried to think about something else. I didn’t have to make up my mind tonight. I could wait until we landed and met up with the men. Then I could figure out what I wanted to do. Then I could decide whether or not I really and truly wanted to make Nate mine. Though my heart already knew the answer. I just wasn’t quite ready to accept the truth yet. I just wasn’t brave enough to risk losing all hope forever.
Chapter Two
Janie
“We could have walked to the hotel,” Anabel said with a laugh after we got out of the taxi. We stood in front of the hotel and I could tell that we both weren’t impressed by the exterior of the condo apartments we were staying in. My heart thudded as I stood there. The sun was beating down and I was already sweating; and not just from nerves. Were we already off to a bad start?
“Yeah, that ride was really short.” I smiled at her and then nodded to our suitcases. “However, we would not have been able to carry these suitcases more than ten yards; especially in this heat.”
“Talk for yourself.” Anabel flexed her biceps. “I could have walked ten thousand miles.”
“Yeah right.” I rolled my eyes. “Shall we check in?”
“Isn’t there a doorman to carry our bags in?” She raised an eyebrow at me and then looked down at her suitcases. “This shit is heavy.”
“Oh, Anabel.” I burst out laughing at the face she’d made. “Come on.” I grabbed my bag and walked toward the entrance as quickly as I could. “Let’s check this place out.”
“I hope it looks better inside,” Anabel mumbled under her breath. “I thought San Pedro was meant to be beautiful?”
“It is beautiful,” I chided her.
“What I’ve seen so far isn’t …” Her voice drifted away as we walked into the lobby of the hotel and saw the beach on the other side. “Okay, I take it back.” She gasped. “It is beautiful.”
“Wow,” I said, as my jaw dropped. “We’re in paradise.”
“We certainly are.” A deep voice in front of me made me jump and then the voice started laughing. “It’s just me, Janie.” I looked up at saw Nate’s sky-blue eyes grinning down at me. “You guys finally made it.”
“Yes, we did,” I said, almost feeling shy as I took in his beautiful face. Why did he have to be so gosh darn good-looking?
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said as he gazed at me for a few more seconds and for a moment I thought he was going to lean down and kiss me. I puckered my lips up slightly in anticipation, but he didn’t even make a move. “You too.” He looked over at Anabel, but his voice didn’t sound as sincere.
“I wish I could be like Janie and pretend this trip was made better by you,” Anabel said with a grin as she gazed at Nate. “But I’m just not in the habit of lying.”
“Good for you.” Nate rolled his eyes and then glanced at me. “I checked in for all of us, by the way.” He was still standing pretty close to me and I couldn’t help but admire his strong muscular chest in his gray T-shirt.
“Oh?” I was surprised. “They let you check into our room as well?”
“About that …” he said, his voice faltering out and his face looking a bit uncomfortable. “So, I kind of got one thing a little bit wrong …” His voice trailed off.
“Oh, what’s that?” I asked curiously.
“Let me guess,” Anabel said dryly. “There’s just one room and one big bed and we’re all going to share.” She rolled her eyes. “And have one big orgy.”
“Anabel,” I scolded her and then turned back to Nate. “What’s going on?”
“We have two bedrooms and a living room with a couch with a pullout bed,” he said and paused for a second. “The only thing is it’s all the same apartment. Not two different apartments like I’d said previously.”
“Oh, I see.” And then I shrugged. “That’s not a big deal. We can just share rooms.”
“And when she says share, she means me and her and you and your best friend, Dylan,” Anabel said with a smirk. I wanted to tell her to shut up, but knew I couldn’t in front of Nate. Also, I had to rethink how everything would work. How was this going to be a hot sexy holiday if everyone was sharing rooms? The only way this could possibly end up working out well was if Anabel and Dylan hit it off and wanted to hook up. But I just couldn’t see that happening. It was in that moment that I realized two things. Firstly, this holiday was going to be really tricky. Well, not the holiday but the seduction plan I had in mind. And secondly, I was not interested in Dylan at all. I was hoping he would hook up with Anabel so I could be with Nate and we could swap roommates. I knew then that I had no real interest in him at all. Not even a little bit. Because I knew if Anabel were to go after Nate, I would claw her eyes out, cat style.
“Janie, are you there?” Nate’s voice sounded humorous as I looked up at him, my face flushing.
“Duh, I’m right in front of you.”
“Well I just asked you if that was going to be okay, and you didn’t say anything.”
“I mean it’s fine.” I shrugged and looked away. This was going to make everything a lot more difficult. When he’d said we were getting apartments with two bedrooms, I’d thought he meant two apartments. Not one. If we were all sharing rooms, then it was going to make everything so much more complicated.
“We can share differently if you want.” He spoke softly, his eyes shining as he gazed at me.
“What do you mean?”
“We can share and then Anabel can have her own room and then Dylan can sleep on the pullout couch.”
“Oh.” I blushed as I gazed at him. Did he want to sleep with me as well?” “You want to uh, share a bed with me?”
“Well, I know Anabel hates having to share a room.” He laughed and spoke louder. “And I know you don’t mind as you like to snuggle.”
“Oh.” I felt a little deflated at his words. “Yeah, I suppose that’s true. But I don’t suppose Dylan would like that?”
“What do you care?” Nate frowned all of a sudden. “Or are you saying you want to sleep with Dylan?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” I shook my head. “When did I say that?”
“I don’t know. It just seems to me that you seemed upset at the sleeping arrangements; yet, you haven’t looked happier with my new arrangement. What other arrangement could you want?”
“Maybe she wanted her own room as well, dude.” Anabel joined the conversation. “Would that be a shock?” She rolled her eyes. “Also, where is he? I want to see what Mr. Hottie looks like?”
“Mr. Hottie?” Nate made a face; his eyes narrowed as he looked at her and then back at me. “Who calls Dylan Mr. Hottie?”
“Janie,” Anabel said with glee. “She said he’s the hottest guy she’s ever seen.”
“I didn’t exactly say that.” I glared at Anabel. What was she doing? “I said he was cute.”
“Uhm, you definitely used the word hot and not cute,” Anabel said. “But maybe you’re feeling shy now.” She laughed and turned away from my continued glare. “So where is he?”
“He wanted to go and …” Nate’s voice was low as he spoke, but he stopped speaking when Anabel walked away from us to go and check out some brochures on the other side of the lobby. “So you think he’s hot then?”
“I mean yes, he’s a good-looking guy. You know that already though.”
“He’s okay.” His face looked sour. “To be honest, I don’t really see why you wanted him to come on this trip?” He sounded angry as he questioned me once again.
“You’re the one that set me u
p with him in the first place.” My voice rose. “So I don’t really think you can say anything to me about me wanting him to come so I can get to know him better.”
“Do you want to be with him?” he asked me shortly.
“What sort of question is that?” I stared at him blankly.
“You just don’t know the good from the bad, do you?” He shook his head at me and turned away.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Nate?”
“If you have to ask what that means, then you have bigger issues than I thought.”
“You’re such an asshole, you know that right?” I exclaimed in annoyance. “I don’t even know why I put up with you.” I walked away from him and over to Anabel, my head high. Nate was already getting on my nerves. I couldn’t believe how rude he was being already. I didn’t understand him. “He’s such a jerk,” I exclaimed as I stood next to Anabel who was studying a snorkeling brochure.
“I told you that a long time ago.” She glanced up at me, her hair covering her face slightly. “You know that.”
“I know, I know.” I sighed. “I just don’t know why I like him so much.”
“Neither do I.” She grinned and handed me the brochure. “Maybe he’ll get bitten by one of these sharks.”
“What?” My voice rose. “What sharks?” I looked down at the brochure. Do you want to swim with sharks and manta rays? The bold white words beamed up at me. “No way are we swimming with sharks. Are you joking?”
“It’ll be fun.” Anabel grinned. “Plus I looked online, everyone that comes to Belize says you have to go to Shark Ray Alley.”
“Everyone like whom?” I made a face at her. “That just doesn’t sound right? Also didn’t Steve Irwin die from a stingray or manta ray bite or something?”
“I don’t know.” Anabel shrugged. “But I’m sure they wouldn’t offer it as an activity if they were scared we were going to die.”
“Anabel, people die from all sorts of legal activities. I don’t want to die from Jaws Attack Two.”
“Actually, I think it would be like Jaws Attack Four. I’m pretty sure they made like two to three movies.”
“Anabel, you’re just as bad as Nate. You know that right?”
“No one could be as bad as that douche.”
“Whoa, harsh words.” I looked at her sharply. “You really can’t stand him, can you?”
“No, not really.” She sighed. “You’ve known that and I’ve tried to be nicer to him and accept him in your life because you think he’s a good friend of yours, but I think he’s a selfish prick and you deserve better than him.”
“I think he’s a good friend of mine?” I repeated her words softly and sighed. “Why are you here then? Helping me try to win him over if you don’t like him?”
“Because you do like him.” She sighed now. “And you’re my best friend. And I think in his own way, he has some sort of feelings. And well, it’s time now for this all to be over. He either steps up to the plate and gets into a real relationship with you or he leaves your life.”
“I don’t want him to leave my life,” I mumbled, my stomach already started to twist nervously.
“It doesn’t have to be forever, but just until you’re really over him,” she said, her eyes soft. “It’s the only way you’ll really get over him. Whoa,” she said as her eyes slipped past me and back over to where Nate was standing. “Oh my God, Janie. He’s even hotter in the flesh.”
I looked around and saw Dylan standing there next to Nate and I started to giggle. Anabel had the hots for Dylan! I’d never heard her talk about any guy like that before. She was practically ogling him. I grinned to myself as I stared at him. He certainly did look hot, wearing his crisp white shirt and khaki shorts. He already appeared to have a golden tan and his crisp dark blond hair had recently been cut. He stood there looking calm and cool and he was talking to Nate about something he found humorous because he had a large smile on his face that showed off his crisp white teeth.
“You think he’s cute, huh?” I whispered to Anabel as she continued to gawk at him.
“He’s okay,” she said after a couple of seconds, her face turning red. “I mean, he’s hot, obviously, but I’m sure he’s still a douche.”
“Uh huh,” I said, but didn’t continue on with what I wanted to say. I wanted to ask her if she wanted me to set them up, but I knew she would refuse right away. Anabel was not the sort of girl to go after a guy she thought was hot at first site. And she certainly wouldn’t want to date a guy that I’d been on a date with and kissed. Though she had to know it meant nothing to me. She just didn’t like the idea of my sloppy seconds. Which I totally understood. I wouldn’t want to date anyone she’d been out with either. However, this was a different situation. And a part of me thought that she should date someone like Dylan and just loosen up a little bit. “Shall we join them?”
“I guess so,” she said as if she didn’t care about getting to meet Dylan in person. “I’d like to go down to the pool or the beach though.”
“What now?”
“No time like the present.” She grinned.
“You just want to show off in your bikini.” I laughed and waggled my tongue out at her.
“Janie.” She shook her head at me and walked ahead of me.
“That’s my name.” I giggled as I followed her. I felt like a little kid as I walked over to the guys. I wasn’t sure why I was so giddy and excited. Maybe it was because we were all finally here. This trip was real. We were in Belize. Everything was going ahead as planned. It was almost surreal.
“Janie, so great to see you.” Dylan headed toward me with his arms outstretched and gave me a huge hug. “I’ve missed you.”
“Aww.” I hugged him back and I could see Nate glaring at me from the corner of my eyes. “Good to see you as well.”
“You know, I’m so sorry about not telling you about knowing Nate.” He gave me a boyish smile. “I know you know that, but I wanted to tell you in person.”
“It’s okay. I don’t blame you.” I smiled at him warmly. “It’s a weird situation, but whatever.”
“You’re awesome.” He grinned, his blue eyes looking like the sky as he gazed at me. “And is this the best friend I’ve heard all about?” He turned to look at Anabel.
“Yes, this is my best friend, Anabel.” I nodded and smiled widely. “She’s been so excited to meet you.” I tried to stifle my giggles as Anabel glared at me.
“Hi.” She stepped forward with her hand outstretched. “I’m Anabel. I’m guessing you’re Dylan.”
“Yes, I’m Dylan.” He chuckled and then shook her hand warmly. “I should have guessed that you would have been a beauty as well,” he said, as he looked her over admiringly. “We’re two lucky guys, eh, Nate.” I looked over at Nate, who was standing there looking pissed. I wasn’t sure why he was so upset and annoyed. Was he going to be this way the whole time?
“Thanks, I think,” Anabel said with a small smile and I was surprised by the soft tone of her voice. I knew she thought he was cute, but what had happened to my headstrong feminist friend? She hated it when guys called her beautiful. I personally had no problem with the compliment, but she considered it rude. Like all they cared about was her looks.
“So have we figured out the room situation?” I asked Nate. He was staring at me with narrowed eyes and a sour face and I wanted to ask him what the hell his problem was, but I kept my mouth shut. I hoped he wasn’t going to be hot and cold this whole trip. That would be annoying.
“Well, we still just have two bedrooms and a pullout couch,” he said, his tone even. “We haven’t come to a final decision yet.”
“Janie and I could take a room,” Dylan said with a grin. “Anabel can have the other room and you take the couch, eh?” He pointed at Nate. “Seeing as you’re the one that fucked-up the reservation.” Dylan then walked over to me and put his arm around my waist. I could see Nate’s lips narrowing. I was a little put out myself as well. Did Dylan really think
I was going to spend the night with him?
“I don’t think so, Dylan.” His voice was short. “That’s very presumptuous of you to think Janie would spend the night with you. I could understand if you had the relationship that she and I have. We sleep together all the time. But that’s because we’re really close friends. We can share a bed and it’s cool. You don’t have that relationship with her.”
“Nate.” I looked over at him. “I think that …” My voice trailed off as Nate’s expression changed once again. There was an awkward silence for a couple of seconds and then Anabel spoke up.
“Let me think. Here’s what we can do. Janie and I can share a room. You guys can figure out who gets the other room and who gets the couch.” She then turned to Nate. “Let’s check out this apartment then. I’m ready for a swim and a drink and it doesn’t have to be in that order.”
“Let’s go boss.” I grinned as I followed behind her. “Oh wait, Anabel. We forgot our bags.”
“Ha, Janie.” She looked back at me and winked. “We don’t carry our own bags. Not now we have these big strapping men. Thanks guys.” She grinned and then came back and looped arms with me. “Let’s get this party started.”
“Let’s do it.” I laughed, happy that the mood was lighter again. I wasn’t going to worry and stress out about Nate and his bipolar mood swings or Dylan and the fact that he seemed to think that we were very much on still. I was here to have fun. And I couldn’t shut Dylan down completely, not yet, not if I wanted to make Nate jealous. And that was the plan. If Nate knew I had no interest in Dylan, then he would just take me for granted again and he wouldn’t step up to the plate. He had to think that there was a real possibility between me and Dylan. He had to have a fear of losing me. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if he didn’t care. What would I say to Dylan then? My face felt warm as we stepped outside and I knew it wasn’t just because the sun was shining down on me either. I was about to play with fire and I knew that the only one that had the possibility of getting burned in this situation was me.