by Wendy Louise
“You don’t know how much this means to me Liv. The guys are going to be so happy. Having you star in the clip will bring us so much more attention.”
Liv places her hand over mine and turns her body towards me on the sofa, staring into my eyes, staring into my soul. “Gray, you don’t need me to bring attention to the band, you guys are amazing and as soon as that first single releases, the rest of the world will see that.”
Her faith in us is inspiring.
Right now I am desperate to kiss her.
I turn my attention back to my burger and take a huge mouthful to try and squash the lump in my throat. Changing the subject I ask, “What are you reading?”
She holds up the thick wad of paper that she has in her hands. “Oh, this is the script for the next movie, Forever is yours. I need to get the first fifty pages down before next week when we return from Fiji. We go into pre-production soon after and I want to be ready.”
“Do you need help running your lines? I could play Ethan’s role and we could practice getting into our leading couple status for the video clip?” I tease.
She laughs. “I would love you to run lines with me, but I don’t think we will need any practice getting into our roles for the film clip.” She arches her eyebrow at me and I laugh.
“No, I don’t think we’ll need any practice for that either Liv.”
Paradise
I’ve packed so many clothes to bring to Fiji that I can’t get my case closed. “Gray?” I call.
“Yeah?” he answers.
“Can you come help me for a second?”
He stands in the doorway to my bedroom laughing at me. “What?” I ask.
“What on Earth do you have in there Liv? We’re only going for five days and all you’ll need is bikinis and something to wear to the wedding. How much room can that take up?”
I give him a wry smile and try for faux indignation. “For your information Grayson, we have the Bachelorette Party and Rehearsal Dinner, not to mention the fact that I’m the Maid of Honour. I have friends and family from Australia coming that I haven’t seen for some time, I need to make sure I have outfits for every occasion.”
Grayson moves towards me and mutters something under his breath that sounds like, “Well you’ve achieved that,” but I don’t hear him properly, and truthfully I don’t want to know what he said.
As I sit atop of my case, Grayson moves around me, pulling the zippers closed until everything is neatly contained within. He waits for me to jump off my case before removing it from the bed and wheeling it to my doorway.
“Thanks,” I say.
“What time are Ava and Ethan coming to pick us up?” he asks.
“In about an hour,” I respond.
“Well I had better pack then.”
“Wait, you haven’t started packing yet?”
He shakes his head. “As I said Liv, really what do I need to pack other than board shorts for swimming and my monkey suit for the wedding?”
“Gray, you’re the Best Man, aren’t you going to throw a Bachelor Party for Ethan while we’re there?”
“Don’t you worry about that Liv; I have the Bachelor Party all sorted. We don’t need fancy clothes for what I’m planning.”
I put my hands over my ears. “Lalalalalalalala. I don’t want to know anything about what you have planned Gray.”
Grayson laughs and moves to his room to pack for our trip. “I’ll be ready in ten,” he says smugly as he pulls a black bag from the top of the hall closet.
Men!
I mean really, how can he not have packed anything for the trip one hour before we are due to leave?
I run through my list of items again, making sure I haven’t forgotten anything.
Phone, ipad, clothes, dress for the wedding, passport…. I hate flying. I always have. Even though I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time on planes in my lifetime, especially when we were negotiating my contract for Forever is Mine, I still get that uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I have to fly. I mean, how does a huge metal plane stay up in the air and why would any of us want to get on one when we look at it like that?
I shake my head to rid my mind of my wayward thoughts and continue to run through my check list.
Gray emerges from his room carrying his black duffle bag and a smaller back pack. His dark Levis and grey t-shirt look spectacular on him as always, and his sunglasses are perched high on top of his dark spiked hair. “All ready,” he states proudly.
“Do you have everything?” I query.
“Mmhmmm,” he nods.
“Passport, Gray?”
I know he doesn’t have his passport, I saw it in the safe that we have behind the artwork in the hallway about fifteen minutes ago when I grabbed mine out. I pulled his out at the same time, but I wanted to see if he’d remember it.
He gives me a smug smile. “Of course I have my passport,” he says, moving back towards the hallway. He doesn’t know that I have it, so I can only assume that he is trying to grab it without me knowing. I stay out in the living area as I hear him shuffling around on the wooden floors.
After five minutes he comes back out to me. “Where is it?” he says.
I laugh. “Here.”
I hand his passport to him.
“What am I going to do with you Grayson Adams?”
Under his breath he says, “Anything you want.”
This time, I hear it loud and clear.
After being picked up in a limo, and sipping champagne on the way to LAX, my apprehension about flying has lessened somewhat. Ava knows me well enough to know that I would be nervous though, so she has arranged for all of us to be sitting close together in first class.
Ethan and Ava on one side of the aisle, and Gray and I are on the other. The plush leather seats in first class recline fully so that we can all sleep during the eleven hour flight ahead of us.
I’ve dressed comfortably in loose flowing pants and a light top. I’ve made sure to pack a sundress to change into before we disembark, knowing what the Fijian heat is like.
“Do you want the window seat Gray?”
“No you have it Liv. I hope to spend most of my time sleeping once we’ve eaten.”
“Me too.”
Grayson kindly helps me to place my carry-on luggage in the overhead lockers and then puts his up too.
Such a gentleman.
We both have our ipads and headphones in our hands ready to keep ourselves busy during the flight.
Ava and Ethan are already situated in their seats and are holding hands whispering to one another, as they always do. They are so in love and I’m so excited about their wedding.
One of the airline hostesses spots Ethan and then me, and asks for photos with each of us, before handing us all warm towels and asking for our drink orders. Again, we all opt for champagne, we are celebrating after all.
There were a few of the resident paparazzi at the airport when we got out of the limo, but they were pretty respectful today. Of course, none of them are aware that we are all flying out for Ethan and Ava’s wedding, so far that has been kept out of the papers, and we all plan to keep it that way. The last thing any of us want is photographers ruining such a special occasion.
I look across to Ethan. “When are your folks and Madeline coming over?”
“Tomorrow,” he states. “Madeline is wrapping on her latest film and my Dad has just finished directing his latest one. They’re all coming out on a private jet.” He rolls his eyes, but I don’t miss the look of satisfaction he has when he talks about his family. Secretly he is thrilled that they have all come into his life.
“What about your folks?” Gray asks me.
“They’re already there. The Australian group all arrived two days ago. They’ve been living it up without us.”
“Cool,” Gray states as the hostess arrives with our champagne. I don’t miss the way she eyes Grayson, or the flirty smile that he gives her back as he says, “thanks.” A fee
ling of jealousy washes through me but I push it aside.
I have no right to be jealous, he’s not mine.
As the aircraft begins to taxi and increase in speed, my hands clench the arm rests. Grayson senses my apprehension and wraps his long fingers around the hand closest to him.
“Hold tight to me Liv; I won’t let anything happen to you.”
In that moment, I realise with absolute certainty that he wouldn’t.
After a very long flight and a subsequent helicopter ride we have finally arrived on the island. The ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’ from Gray, Ava and Ethan as we flew over the water in the chopper were a distant sound to the blood pumping through my ears as I tried to control the insane fear I felt being up in that bubble of an aircraft.
I was terrified.
Grayson, true to his word, held my hand throughout the entire flight, stroking the inside of my palm to keep me calm. It didn’t fully work, but I’m sure I would have been much worse had he not done that.
We’re handed tropical fruit drinks and have beaded Fijian necklaces placed around each of our necks as we climb down out of the helicopter. I feel like I should kneel and kiss the ground, but I don’t.
A small golf cart is on the helipad, waiting to transport us all to the main area of our resort.
“This is amazing guys,” I say to Ava and Ethan. “Just think. You’ll be getting married here in a couple of days.” Ava and I let out a little squeal at the thought and the boys just laugh.
“You two are such girls,” Grayson says rolling his eyes.
“That’s just the way I like them,” Ethan responds, placing a light kiss to Ava’s lips and pulling her to his side.
Ava and Ethan are immediately greeted by the Manager of the Resort who suggests that they take a look at the Reception space before taking them to their bure. Ava is so excited to see it that she agrees immediately, but I get the impression that Ethan would have preferred to go straight to their room. Ethan’s Personal Assistant, Joshua is hovering behind the Resort Manager, ticking off items on a checklist.
“Hey Guys,” he says. “How was your flight over?”
Josh is a miracle worker. He’s been here for a few days already with his girlfriend Chelsea, finalising all the wedding preparations for Ethan. We all exchange hugs and kisses with Josh, and Ava and Ethan make their way to the Reception venue.
Gray and I are escorted to our bures by the Resort’s Accommodation Manager, who talks very fast and is telling us all about the many water sports that we can undertake while we are here. Personally, I just want to lie in the sun and take it easy, so I nod politely when I need to, but don’t take too much notice of what she is saying.
We arrive at the bure right at the far end of the pier. She gestures towards the door and hands me the key. “Here you go, enjoy.” She turns her back and begins the long walk back up the pier. Grayson and I look at each other and then back to her.
“Excuse me,” I call after her. “Whose bure is this one?”
She looks down at the paperwork in her hands and moves back towards us. “This bure is for Miss Olivia Lucas and Mr Grayson Adams.”
I shake my head. “No, there must be a mistake. Grayson and I are not sharing a bure.”
“My apologies Miss Lucas, but only one bure has been reserved for you both and all our other bures are already filled with wedding guests. I could move one of you to one of our resort rooms if you like?”
“I’ll take the resort room,” Grayson says.
He has been going on and on about sleeping in a bure over the water and waking up to the ocean. I can’t let him give that up for me.
“Wait. Gray you take the bure; you’ve been waiting all this time to sleep in one. I can always bunk in with my parents in theirs.”
“No way Liv. I’m not letting you do that. How ‘bout we share? I mean we share at home, why not here? We’ll only be in the room for sleeping anyway.”
I eye him suspiciously to see if there are any ulterior motives to his suggestion, but his face looks genuine. I think he sincerely wants us both to enjoy the experience of staying in these amazing cabins over the water.
“Okay,” I acquiesce, “but remember our rules Gray, they still stand.”
“I will, scouts honour,” he says making a strange hand signal.
“Since when were you a boy scout?” I ask as we follow the Manager into the bure.
“I wasn’t,” he says with a wicked grin, as he takes my case from me and wheels it inside.
The interior of the bure is breathtaking.
There are large windows with little louvers that open and allow the sea breeze to flow through the entire space. The floors and walls are all wood, and the roof is high and thatched. All the furniture is in matching wood with cool, white, billowing linens. There is a clear section in the floor near the sofa and you can look straight through into the ocean below. Bright tropical fish swim past leisurely.
The entire bure is open-plan, with a large seating and dining area to the left and a huge king-sized, four-poster bed to the right. Gray and I eye each other and the bed before smiling at one another.
“Well, with the size of that bed, we can both sleep in it and still not touch,” he suggests.
I give him an appraising look. “Let’s chat about sleeping arrangements later. I don’t want to bring this up to Ava either, she’ll be upset if she finds out that they have mixed up the room bookings. I don’t want anything to ruin this experience for her.”
“Hey, my lips are sealed Liv.” He motions with his hand, locking his lips and throwing away a key.
We move further into the room.
There’s a screen on the other side of the bed. Behind it is a stunning bathroom, the only issue being that the shower overlooks the water and does not have any privacy attached to it. Clearly this bure is meant solely for couples.
“This could be an issue,” I say.
“Not for me,” Grayson says laughing. I can’t help but smile at him. He really is the devil in disguise.
“Well looks like we’ll have to draw up a roster for showering so that we don’t walk in on one another,” I suggest.
“You take all the fun out of things Liv,” Grayson says, as he slides open one of the glass windows, leading to a stunning outdoor deck. We look to the left and see Ethan and Ava walking into their bure next door to ours.
“Well c’mon; let’s go change into our swim suits. I don’t know about you but I’m busting for a swim, and I want to go say hi to my folks.”
“Ladies first,” Grayson gestures towards the opening to the bure.
Grabbing my bikini and cover-up from my case, I slink behind the bathroom screen and hide myself from Grayson as I change. He’s doing the same on the bedroom side so I wait until I can hear him moving about before coming around to find him ready and waiting.
“Shall we go?” he asks, holding his hand out to me.
It has become entirely too easy to hold Grayson’s hand. It gives me a level of comfort that I’ve never had before, and as much as I know I should let go, I just can’t bring myself to do so.
Friends can hold hands right?
Fun in the sun
I’m not sure if I’m crossing the line by asking Liv to hold my hand, but either way I don’t care. She takes it every time and that’s all that matters. I love holding her hand. In some small way it makes me feel like I have a small claim on her, and hopefully it will keep the wolves at bay.
We make our way down a winding path, through tall palm trees, towards a bar where there is traditional Fijian music playing. I see Olivia’s parents sitting there as we enter. They stand and make their way to us, engulfing Liv in a hug and placing kisses on her cheeks. “So glad you’re here darling,” her mom says.
She releases Liv and gives me the same treatment. “Great to see you Grayson.”
“You too Mrs Lucas. Hi Mr Lucas.” I shake his hand.
“Now Grayson, how many times do I have to tell you, it’s James
and Rebecca.”
“Sorry. James and Rebecca.” I repeat.
“Now let’s all have a drink,” James says as he claps me on the shoulder.
“Where’s the bride-to-be?” Rebecca asks.
“She and Ethan were looking at the Reception venue so it took them longer to get back to their bure. They’ll be down shortly I’m sure.” Olivia gives me a look. We both know that Ethan and Ava made it to their bure; I don’t want to think about what is holding them both up right now.
We all take large sips of the beers that James has ordered and toast Ethan and Ava. The happy couple join us all half an hour later looking freshly showered and refreshed. Ethan is wearing that satisfied grin that only comes after sex, so I know what they were both up to. I give him a grin, which he returns.
Ava greets all the guests that have made their way down to the bar and starts to introduce Ethan and me to the Australian contingent. I know I won’t remember all the names, but there are some gorgeous girls amongst Ava’s friends from home. My eyes can’t help but wander back to Liv’s though, subtly making sure that she is okay and nearby.
For some insane reason, I feel like we’re a couple while we are here. Like I need to protect and look out for her. It’s crazy I know, and probably just has to do with the fact that as roomies now, I feel some sort of obligation to take care of her.
Well at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
Olivia makes her way to me. “We never did have that swim Gray. Are you up for it now?”
“Sure,” I reply, as I down my beer in a quick gulp. “Let’s go.”
My mind wanders back to the swim we shared in Hawaii after Ethan and Ava got engaged. It was playful and flirtatious and I can’t help but hope that this one will be the same.
The main pool is stunning. It’s a lagoon style, with a sandy beach area at one end that actually slopes into the water. A strange thing to have, considering the actual ocean is only yards away, but it’s still pretty cool. Liv discards her cover-up and places it and her sunglasses onto a nearby lounge chair.