by M J Rutter
I arrived back at the hotel and thanked the driver. I walked in a daze through the lobby and headed to my room. I kicked off my shoes and removed the pins from my hair allowing the sides to fall. It was already after five and although I knew it was ten at home, I had to talk to Saffron, she would tell me what to do.
“Oh my God, don’t you ever answer your mobile phone?” she demanded.
“Hello, Grace, how are you? Did you get there okay?” I rattled on.
“Sorry, but I have been going out of my ruddy mind here.”
“I am sorry for not phoning before, but with the time difference and that, I know you have to work, so I guessed calling you Friday night was better. Did I wake you?” I explained.
“No, I have just got back from Fargoes,” Fargoes was our Friday night hang out when we got together. “But you are alright?”
“Yes, actually it’s the best I have been for a long time.” I answered picturing her with her long blonde hair, straightened and possibly wearing something sexy, Saff liked to tease when she went out.
“And?”
“The hotel is amazing and the palm trees, the car drives like a dream and today I went right up to the Hollywood sign.”
“Wow, you are finding your way around.” She remarked.
“Actually, I had a tour guide.”
“Oooh, a local, tell me, is he hot, steaming? Does he have a body only fit for an Adonis?”
“I suppose, but he is not a local, he’s from London.” I replied.
“You have flown five thousand miles away and you meet a bloke from London, are you crazy? The whole point to a holiday fling is you leave them behind, so you can come home, forget about them and get back to normal. If he is from London, he might be able to find you when you get back.”
“I think I want him to,” I admitted. “Saff, I really like him and guess what, he likes me too.”
“Have you slept with him yet?”
“No, nothing like that. I’ve been here three days, we only had our first real date today,” I frowned.
“Have you kissed him?”
“He kissed me,” I replied, “not snogging, just kissing,” I elaborated, Saffron liked details.
“How long has it been since you last had sex?” she asked.
I could feel my face burn, “A while,” I admitted.
“I know how long it’s been and let’s face it, Kevin hardly hit the spot, did he?”
“You are not helping,” I frowned. “Can we change the subject?”
“Listen, there is no shame in never having an orgasm…”
“Saffron,” I squealed embarrassed, “stop, please.”
“Well, one or two orgasms over the length of time you were with that plonker does not count, in fact, you are practically a virgin.”
“Fine, okay, Kevin was the last man I slept with.”
“The only man you slept,” she muttered.
“Okay, the only man and yes, he rarely hit the spot, pardon the pun, but that doesn’t even come into this…”
“Uh, hello, where have you been, the garden of Eden? Of course it comes into it. So tell me everything about him and I’ll decide if he is worthy of your riches.”
We talked until my phone beeped letting me know my call was about to cost me an arm and a leg. I told her as much as I knew and how he made me feel.
“Right, here is what you do. Take a shower and shave everything, and I mean everything. Really pamper yourself and then put on a dress, something sexy, did you pack the black one from Christmas?”
“Saffron, I am not sleeping with him tonight,” I sighed.
“You have eleven days left, you don’t have time to be Mother Theresa, get your sexy knickers on and give him a night to remember.”
“I am going now, he could be trying to call and this phone call is costing me a second mortgage.”
“Text me or PM me. I want to know what happens and if Mr Wonderful makes you see stars.”
“Goodbye Saffron,” I smiled and ended the call.
I had every intention of taking a shower anyway, and I supposed the black dress would look nice, classy even. But all of the pampering was in vain, when I got out of the bathroom I had three text messages on my phone.
‘Sorry, Grace, this is going to take longer than I thought, I might be late.’
‘Scratch that, will be late, can’t get out of it. Sorry.’
‘Thinking we should take a rain-cheque and meet tomorrow.’
I was about to text him when my phone rang, making me jump,
“Hello?”
“Grace, I truly am sorry. We are having a bit of a meltdown here, the market has bottomed out and I have to hold a strategy meeting for one of our virgin companies,” Alec explained.
“It’s perfectly fine. To be honest, I am too tired to go out anyway,” I lied.
“Are you sure? I was hoping to meet you by the pool for a drink later at least.”
“I am sure; you have worn me out today with all of that hiking.”
“Alright, well, meet me for breakfast.”
“If I wake early enough,” I promised and ended the call.
I ordered a chicken salad for my dinner from room service and a bottle of white wine. I stayed in my robe and sat on the balcony as the sun set making the city glow orange and I could clearly see why they called it the City of Angels, that evening it actually looked Angelic.
I think I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t meet as I was looking forward to the date right until Saffron started talking about sex. Sex to me was not important, sex with Kevin was all I had known and because it never seemed to work for me, it was not important at all. Alec’s lips certainly kick started something inside, but considering we couldn’t even have a date without complications, I wondered if I had pinned too many hopes on him already.
After two glasses of wine, I climbed onto my bed with the balcony doors open, the warmth of the night helped me to drift off into a dreamless sleep. A cool breeze blew across my skin, I opened my eyes and the room lit up with white lightning. In the distance I could hear rumbling thunder. I got up from the bed and closed the balcony door as it started to rain.
When I returned to my bed I lifted my phone, Alec had sent another message,
‘I’m back, absolutely shattered, so off to bed, goodnight, Grace, sleep well.’
Before replying I checked the time and I am glad I did, it was almost two, so decided to leave it. I pulled on a night dress before climbing between the sheets and closing my eyes.
My phone ringing beside me startled me awake, I frowned to see who was calling, of course it was Alec.
“Good morning, Grace,” he chimed.
I smiled, “Good morning, I didn’t expect to hear from you until at least eleven,” I replied.
“Why waste a beautiful morning in bed, we have a date, remember?”
“For breakfast,” I nodded.
“And Sea World. I am so excited, haven’t been in a few years.” He gleamed, far too much enthusiasm at that time of day for me.
Then it hit me, I sat up, “Yes, of course.” I had forgotten. “So, where are you?” I asked.
“Outside of your door, can I come in?”
I smiled again and pushed off the covers, “Just give me a couple of minutes, okay?”
“Okay,” he replied and ended the call.
I raced to the bathroom and quickly brushed the rug feeling out of my mouth and sprinkled some water over what appeared to be a bird’s nest on my head then added some taming spray. Sometimes having naturally curly hair sucked, especially first thing in the morning, especially when you only want to look your best for someone.
Feeling slightly more refreshed, I pulled open the door. Dresses in jean shorts and a white polo shirt, Alex grinned holding out a bunch of white roses.
“Apologies for standing you up last night.”
I took the flowers, blushing slightly, I had never had flowers bought for me before. “No need to apologise, it’s y
our job,” I grinned. “But these are beautiful, thank you.” We stared at each other awkwardly, “Oh, sorry, please come in.” He stepped into the room and as he passed, I could smell his aftershave. “So, did you get it all sorted out?”
“We decided to fold the company involved, it was best for everyone really.”
“That’s a shame,” I frowned. “Will everyone lose their job?”
“Only the five who have run it into the ground.” He answered as he sat on the couch. “This is a lovely room you have,” he added gazing around.
“Costs enough,” I muttered. “So, these five people, do they have families?”
“Probably, but I expect the people who have lost all of their savings have families too. So, yes it can be a tad cut throat in this industry, but we have to play fairly and frankly, these guys didn’t.” I liked him more when his business side peeped out a little, I had to refrain from smiling like a star struck teen.
“Right, well, it’s nothing to do with me.” I said, hoping my panic for these families faded. “I had better get dressed and find a vase for these.” I said and left him in the lounge area of the suite.
I dressed as quickly as I could, feeling slightly apprehensive and wondering if he was going to try and kiss me again. As he was wearing shorts I thought I would do the same. I hadn’t worn my new jean shorts yet, the previous summer had been pretty non-existent in the UK, so this was a good chance to see if they looked as good as they did on the picture of the model when I ordered them. Even though my legs needed a top up on the tan and with a lemon vest top they actually looked pretty good. I slipped a loose, white shirt over my shoulders and put my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head. Dabbed on some lip gloss and I was ready.
When I emerged from the bedroom he was standing on the balcony gazing out over the city. I gingerly joined him and stood silently beside him,
“This is spectacular,” he marvelled.
“It is,” I agreed. He turned to face me, looked me up and down, which made me feel self-conscious, “Is this okay?” I asked.
“You always look sensational, no matter what you wear, Grace, everything looks incredible on you.”
“Wait until you see me in my jogging bottoms and hoody then,” I joked.
“Something I am already looking forward to.” He grinned
I took that as a huge hint that he wanted to see me again, I just didn’t know where this would go. “Are we going now?” I asked.
“I just have something to do first,” he stated.
“Okay, well I’ll…” before I could utter another word he swept me into his arms and pulled me against his body. “I thought you had something to do,” I queried.
“I do,” he smiled, “this.” He then pressed his soft lips to mine, this kiss was so much more than yesterday, deeper and more intense. This kiss caused my insides to flip around and my heart to thud in my chest, not to mention what was going on between my legs. Long and lingering, moving his lips as if he were tasting me, his tongue swept over mine and I saw stars, though I am sure they were not the stars Saff was referring to.
As his lips slowed, he pulled his mouth away his lips were smeared in my lip gloss, I smiled slightly and wiped my thump over his lips,
“Doesn’t the colour suit me or something?” he asked playfully.
“No, it clashes with your shorts.” I replied flicking my eyes down at his chest, the few dark hairs peeping out of the top made my mouth water, why did I have to do that? Now I felt my cheeks redden again.
“I have thought about you all night, I dreamed about you and I know its early days, but you have no idea of how much I want you right now.”
With the throbbing appeasing between my legs, I did know, “You’d be surprised how much I understand where you are coming from.”
“If I don’t let go of you now, I never will,” he smiled.
“Then don’t let me go, ever.” I said and dived at his lips once more, he had fed me teaser taste of honey and now I wanted the whole hive.
I pressed against him, his arms holding me firmly, his bulge in his shorts pressing against my thigh. I pushed my fingers through his hair, grabbing fistfuls. His fingers caressed my neck and I tingled. Just as I felt sure this was going to be it, I slowed my kissing, I chickened out. Three days, I told myself, three days was way too soon. I eventually pulled from his lips and gazed into his chocolate eyes.
“Sorry, I don’t usually do or say things like that,” I explained.
“Don’t ever apologise for anything to me, you are insatiable and I think I am hooked, Miss Matthews.” I couldn’t think of anything to say to that, it knocked me for six.
“We should go for some, um, some breakfast before we leave.” I said pulling from his arms. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his lips. My eyes lingered on his crotch, Dear God, what the hell was wrong with me?
“Ready when you are,” I snapped my eyes up to meet his and nodded.
While in the lift I touched up my lip gloss and gazed at my green eyes, sparkling like fireworks were going off in them.
“You look beautiful, Grace,” he remarked. I broke my gaze and looked at him, “No one has ever told you that before, have they?”
“Only my dad,” I shrugged.
“I like your dad already,” he beamed holding out his hand, I slipped my hand into his and enjoyed the warmth it gave me.
The lift opened and we walked to a table, I decided that I would just have a fruit salad. I needed something refreshing. Alec had ordered an omelette and fruit juice and I sipped warm tea while we waited. I smiled at him from across the table and tried very hard to convince myself that this was a holiday fling, that we would say goodbye in ten days and that would be the end of us. I wanted to believe it too, but something about him made me wonder if maybe we were meant to meet, maybe this was our destiny and maybe I was just some silly romantic who read too many books believing that valiant Knights fought for honour and that the good girl always gets the guy in the end.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I swallowed.
“Are you finished then? We really should get going.” Then he frowned. “It’s Daniel’s day off, I don’t know if there will be another driver available.”
“I have a sat nav, if you can put up with my driving, I will drive us.”
“If you are sure?” he checked. I nodded and stood.
“Come on, the dolphins and whales are calling us.”
I drove us to San Diego along the I-5. Alec commented on my driving a few times as we headed out of LA, but had relaxed a little more once we were out of the city. I was nervous of having him in the car with me, scrutinising my every move, it had put me on edge, when he finally relaxed, I did too and my driving improved.
We talked a lot more during the drive. He spoke proudly of his sister and her family, he told me more about his friends and how he felt sure they would like me. He reached over during the drive and lifted my hand, holding it on his lap as we rode the highway.
We arrived at SeaWorld just as it opened and as it was a Saturday, it was extremely busy. It felt good using the other ticket I had pre-booked on Alec. Though he insisted he pay me for the ticket, I refused to take the money from him. Instead I agreed that he could buy a park guide so we could find our way around.
I had no idea that SeaWorld was actually a theme park with rides and shows. I just thought it was sharks and dolphins a penguin or two, not a massive theme park with screamers on roller coasters and humans cooking in animal costumes. It all looked amazing, don’t get me wrong, but not what I had built up in my mind.
We wondered around the many aquariums and tanks, we fed the ray fish and I actually touched the head of a dolphin, which is something I had always wanted to do. We watched the killer whale show and got soaked to the bone from the huge splashes they made in the pools. We laughed at the sea lions as they displayed their quirky little tricks and as the day progressed I enjoyed it a little mor
e. Wandering around, hand in hand with Alec made me feel ten feet tall and I suppose as long as he was holding my hand, I would have gone anywhere.
We found a practically empty snack bar hidden along the path just up from the penguins and ordered hot dogs for lunch. Then we sat at a table and ate them in the blistering sun. I drank my soda dry and gazed around at a family feeding their children,
“Are you having a nice day?” he asked.
“Yes,” I smiled, “are you?”
“I am actually, although it has changed a lot since I was last here.” He replied.
“Would you mind if we go? I honestly only want to see the sea life.” I asked.
“Where shall we go next?”
“I don’t know,” I frowned.
“There are some beautiful beaches in the area, we could take a leisurely walk.” I knew what I wanted to do, I wanted to take him back to my room, but we had to adults, even if it was just for the afternoon.
I nodded my head and stood, “Do you know the way?” I asked him.
“Yes I do as it happens; I know the area quite well.”
“Lead the way,” I grinned.
Four
We parked the car and climbed out. The sea breeze was cool and fresh and tingled on my warm skin. Surrounded by hills, the beach looked absolutely beautiful, golden sand and a bright blue ocean reflecting the cloudless sky. Alec walked around the car and held out his hand, I placed my hand in his and we walked towards the sand.
“So, what do you think?” he asked as we stepped off the promenade onto the warm, yellow sand.
“It is gorgeous,” I nodded. “In fact, I think it knocks spots off Venice Beach.”
“When I retire, this is where I am buying a second home, a holiday home. Summers at home and winters over here, no snow or ice, hardly any rain…”