Donovan stood rather close to Becca. “Lifting the arm rest gives both people more room to move.”
“If I play my cards right, I might be as lucky,” Lloyd pulled out his cell phone, looked at the face, and rejoined the conversation. “What hotel are you staying at?”
“The Hyatt on the beach.”
“What are the odds of that?” Lloyd marveled. “We are too. That will make it easier for us to get together.”
“What are the odds?” Donovan replied with a false enthusiasm he had used on occasion with Becca. Like the time she had invited him to the cooking class at the community center. He said he’d attend with her and then conveniently caught a stomach bug a half hour before they were supposed to leave. She wondered what kind of a “stomach bug” he’d get this time.
The alarm went off alerting them to the arrival of their baggage. “You taking a cab?” Lloyd asked. “If so we can ride over together.”
“Yes, we’re using the cab system,” Donovan said. “The last time I was here...” he cut himself off and threw a quick glance in Becca’s direction before picking up where he left off, “it’s cheaper and easier to take a cab or a shuttle bus to the excursions.”
Becca remained silent as she tried to work out when Donovan was in Hawaii. He’d never mentioned it before. She shrugged off the question by deciding it must have happened during one of those seasons in their lives where they weren’t talking. Not because they were at odds. At the time they were focusing on making their respective relationships work. Over the years, their boyfriends and girlfriends had been jealous of the friendship between Donovan and Becca. Now that they were together and married in Hawaii she understood why ex-boyfriends were suspicious of Donovan’s intent.
Donovan parked both bags in front of Becca and waited for Lloyd to join them. He kissed her on the cheek and slowly pulled her to his side for a hug. When she was close enough to be the only person to hear what he said, Donovan whispered. “I cannot wait to get to the hotel and show you the difference between friends and lovers.” Her honeymoon concerns drifted away with the Hawaiian breeze and the newlywed bliss she heard other people talk about settled happily into the newly opened space in her heart.
Benefit of Being Good Friends
They had been together for so long Donovan could read Becca’s facial expressions better than a book. She didn’t know he’d been to Hawaii. He’d visited with his then girlfriend, Mindy. The trip didn’t go so well. Mindy expected a romantic beach proposal. When it didn’t happen, things cooled between them rather quickly. Of course, Kent and Keane were privy to the information about the trip. Other than them, few people were aware the trip even happened.
There was no way Donovan was going to let that nugget of information come between Becca and him. He answered the unspoken question about the previous trip by making it a nonissue. That meant going on the offensive in what he called operation overt affection. It was time for Becca to see the more romantic side of him. Beginning with tame cuddles, hand holding, and bag carrying, he set out to prove to Becca that their relationship had gone to the next level.
It was time that she learned the wedding planning conversations masked his true feelings. He did not care about steak or chicken. The only thing Donovan cared about was being alone with his wife away from the distractions of friends, family, and their jobs.
For weeks, he’d imagined what it would be like to make love to Becca. He’d have his answer in a matter of hours. If it mirrored the magnification of his feelings for her since they had been married, leaving the room would be a huge difficulty.
Lloyd was as dense as a box of rocks. What newlywed wanted to share a cab with his coworker? Donovan wanted to be as close to his wife as possible when she got her first glimpses of the island paradise. But what could they do? Ditch him.
As Lloyd took his place in the back seat of the cab between Donovan and Becca, Donovan questioned the wisdom of treating his friend with politeness.
Oblivious to what he’d done, Lloyd chattered away about the excursions he planned for his date. “Of course, there is the pig roasting. It seems so cliché, but it is so much fun. These Hawaiians have done their research when it comes to what people like.”
Donovan hoped that Lloyd got lost at the excursion. Not long enough to cause an uproar. But, for just enough time for him to enjoy his honeymoon with Becca. Then they’d find him in a hut without a television or a cell signal surrounded by beautiful women. He covered his mouth with his hand to hide a chuckle at the news report. “Montana man stranded with a harem of women.”
As soon as their bags were on the curb, Donovan approached Becca and planted a quick kiss on her lips. “Are you ready to honeymoon?”
She nodded in response. Her half smile told more of the truth. His wife was nervous.
“I hope I’ll be doing the same thing in the near future,” Lloyd commented.
After they were all checked in, Lloyd said, “I’ll head to my room and give you a call after I pick up Monica from the airport. She won’t be here for another three hours.”
Donovan said to Lloyd, “It sounds like a plan to me.” He thought to himself, “I’m not answering the phone for the next three hours. If I’m lucky, it might not be for the next three days.”
Travel Brochure
Becca was familiar with green. Three Creeks was surrounded by creeks and a various assortment of trees ranging from cottonwood to pine. The green in Hawaii was like nothing she had seen outside of pictures. Some of the vibrant leaves were longer than her arm. She half expected a fairy or nymph to appear from behind a leaf and wave a greeting of some sort.
Her mind expected the island to resemble more of a jungle and less of a thriving city that hosted thousands of people on a daily basis. One time she went with some friends from college to California. For some reason, Hawaii seemed like the cooler sibling from across the ocean. It had the expensive stores, nice cars, and beautiful scenery. However, the bustle had a flow. Then again, the groups of people with wandering eyes most likely contributed to slowing the movement.
“What do you think about it so far?” Donovan tilted forward to speak to Becca.
In his finite understanding of relationships, Lloyd chose to sit between them for the cab ride. Becca had to press against her door to make room for his hulking body.
“It’s different than Montana.” She smiled her approval. “They have a lot of tall buildings.”
“Wait until we get to the honeymoon suite. It has a spectacular view of the beach.”
At the time Becca laughed to herself. Donovan sounded like a brochure. Now that they were standing in front of the window looking out at the beach she understood his word choice. The place looked like a post card.
Donovan wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands in front of her waist. He nuzzled his chin into the crook of her neck and kissed her behind her ear. “I wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else but you.”
She wanted to challenge him. He had been there with someone else. His touch made it close to impossible. Becca found herself melting into him and her concerns drifting to a place far off in the back of her mind.
He held out his watch for both of them to see. “We have been married for twenty-four hours.” The tone of his voice had all but undressed her. His voice compelled her to turn around and face him.
Becca’s body complied. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The awkward awareness of being close was gone. Being like this with him was so natural to her. It was as if they were meant to be together all along and the stars finally aligned to make it happen.
With his hands still on her waist, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her. The intensity of the kiss caught Becca by surprise. For all their lives, he had been low key. Donovan Garrison never got too excited about anything. This was a different variation of the Donovan she knew. He demanded all of her and expressed it in a way that gave her no options. Becca was his to claim. He had her in name, and he was about to have her in body as well.
<
br /> She yielded to his demands while making some of her own. Donovan smirked and said, “I have been waiting for this day my entire life.”
Wrapped in each other’s arms, they made their way to the bed. Donovan was in the process of lifting his shirt over his head when his cell phone rang. He kept his eyes on Becca, and said, “If we ignore it, he will go away.” His shirt came off, and he tossed it aside. The phone stopped ringing, to which he said, “See, I know what I’m talking about.”
He went in to kiss Becca when the ringing started again. Groaning his annoyance, Donovan said, “Let me turn that off.” He crawled to the nightstand where he had set his phone. After an eye roll, he pressed the button to silence the ring.
Instead of returning to Becca, he hurried to the door and opened it. Becca watched in curious confusion. Her question was immediately answered when he took the do not disturb door hanger and placed it on the other side of the door. Satisfied that the message had been sent, he returned to his place beside Becca. “It’s time to show you one of the perks of being married.”
If Only Life Were That Simple
Donovan didn’t turn on his phone until noon the next day. And, that was because his grandmother sent messages on Becca’s phone to have him call her. He rolled his eyes at the series of dings from messages waiting for a response. While he read aloud the congratulatory messages, Becca ran the water for a bath. Somewhere in the middle, he found the message from his grandmother asking if they had arrived safely.
The tub, large enough for her to lay in it without having to bend her knees, enticed Becca to step in and unwind. She couldn’t wait to see what it felt like to lay completely flat in the warm water.
From the room, Becca heard, “Kent wants to know why we haven’t posted any pictures of the beach.” The message was followed by the sound of the cell phone camera click. After capturing the image of the beach on his cell phone, Donovan closed the deck door behind him.
Becca relished in the florally scented bubbles. The situation lobbied in favor of the feeling of contentment. For the time being she embraced it in hopes that the mistrust of her happiness would finally go away. Several times she woke in the middle of the night in Donovan’s arms reliving his proposal. He told her several times the trust fund had provoked him to follow through with his intention, but she still struggled with believing something this good would happen to her.
The bubbles eased her to a place where the conflicting emotions resided side by side and began a constructive conversation. Becca had endured breakups in the past, and if it were a part of her future, she’d survive. It would hurt like hell, but it wouldn’t kill her. When the voice in her head reminded her that none of the previous breakups were with her best friend, Becca ducked her head under the bubbles to silence them.
When she came to the surface, she met Donovan standing at the edge of the tub. His eyes relished the scene. “You have one of the most beautiful bodies I have ever seen.”
“Its under the bubbles,” Becca corrected his assessment.
He came back saying, “Not when you move. They swirl to the sides, and I get a peep show.”
It was enough for Becca to swish the water with her hand and see what he was talking about. When she saw that he was right, she giggled.
“Do you mind if we meet Lloyd and his girlfriend Monica for lunch? I got something like five texts from him.” He scrolled through his screen. “Make that six. Who knows? It might be fun.”
Before Becca knew what was happening, Donovan set the phone on the bathroom counter and took off his shorts. Her eyes blinked in response to the change in him since they were married. Donovan, her on and off best friend since childhood, kept a safe distance. Donovan, her husband, wouldn’t leave her alone for more than a couple minutes.
He motioned with his head for her to move over. “I know this tub is large enough for the both of us. How many chances are we going to get to do something like this?”
Becca slid to the side, and he stepped into the warm water. The added weight made the water level rise to the top of her chest. She sat up straight, and Donovan sat with his back on the other side of the tub. “Wow, you like the water warm.”
"I have to start it hot. Otherwise, the water gets cold too fast," she responded.
"We should go to the hot springs in Fairmont," he suggested. "The water stays at a constant temperature."
Donovan caressed Becca's leg, and she silently released a sigh of relief. She remembered to shave her legs before she got in the tub. He continued to rub her leg. "I like this," he said. "This being friend and married thing. I feel like we can do anything together and it wouldn't matter. If I were to give anyone advice, I'd tell them to marry their best friend."
"I'd have to agree," Becca replied.
"With that being said," Donovan added. "Don't put the jelly knife in the peanut butter. That's just gross." He wrinkled his face for emphasis.
He stopped caressing her leg, and Becca pulled it toward her. She didn't know if the coolness was from the temperature change in the water, or from the absence of his touch. Regardless, it was enough to make her want to get out of the tub. Becca reached for the towel and stood to dry herself. In response to his statement, she said, "How about you make the sandwiches, and I'll wash the dishes. Then it won't ever be a problem."
"Look at us making married people decisions." He accepted the towel she handed him. "In a tub in Hawaii. If I'd have known marrying you was going to be this good, I'd have done it a lot sooner."
Becca chuckled at his assessment. "If only life were that simple."
DONOVAN AND BECCA WAITED for Lloyd and Monica at the table of a small restaurant just outside the hotel. They had waited fifteen minutes, and there was no sight nor sound coming from Lloyd. Donovan checked the time on his cell phone screen. “Now that his girlfriend is here, I don’t think Lloyd will be too much of a distraction.”
Becca flexed her jaw. “For the record, doing what we did in the bathtub was not relaxing.”
At the time faking a cramp to trick her back into going back into the tub seemed like a good idea. Ergo the water in her ears. “That’s not how I remember your reaction,” Donovan punctuated his reply with a sly grin. He rubbed her cheek with the back of his fingers and kissed her.
“If you two need a moment we can go to the bar.” Once again Lloyd had startled them out of their world made up of only the two of them. A woman that looked like she was a yoga teacher stood beside him. Her long, lean stature contrasted Lloyd’s muscular build.
“No, we’re good,” Donovan gave Becca’s knee a gentle squeeze.
Lloyd and Monica took a seat across the table from them. Monica arched a brow to give her face a curious look. “I feel like I know you.”
“I am a community liaison. Perhaps we worked on a project together.” Donovan dismissed the comment and reached for the beverage menu.
“I live in Billings. That’s not it.” She shrugged to dismiss the conversation. “It’ll come out sooner or later.”
All eyes were reading through menus when the server dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts came to the table. “How’s everything going today?”
“Couldn’t be better,” Donovan answered for the group.
“I figured it out,” Monica exclaimed.
“Good, we’ll start with you.”
“No,” Monica said, “I figured out where I knew you.”
“Me?” The server pointed to herself with her notepad.
“No, him.” Monica pointed at Donovan. “I have your profile saved to my Meet My Match wall.”
Becca looked over her menu at Donovan. Lloyd sat a little straighter. “I’m sure you’re mistaken. He’s here on his honeymoon.”
“No, I’m serious,” Monica persisted.
“Did we want to start with appetizers?” The server added an enthusiastic thumb up to her question.
“You think I’m crazy. Don’t you?” Monica started digging through her purse.
“We’ll
start with a fried zucchini platter,” Donovan kept his eyes on the menu. “And, do you make homemade chips?”
“No, but we have some killer fries and sauce.”
“We’ll take it,” Donovan replied. “Add a beer and an umbrella drink to it.”
“Really,” Monica flipped through screens on her phone. Having found what she sought after, she held up the screen to reveal a picture of Donovan in hiking clothes with a mountain landscape behind him.
If lasers could have come out of Donovan’s eyes, Lloyd and Monica would have been incinerated on the spot.
“Did I mention he’s here on his honeymoon,” Lloyd side whispered.
Donovan squirmed in his seat and positioned himself closer to Becca. He cleared his throat before explaining the situation. “Before we got engaged I met women on Meet My Match." He placed his hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It’s been a while since I visited the site.”
LIKE A DOG WITH A BONE, Monica stuck with her point. “It says here you visited the end of May.”
Becca started doing the math in her head. They had a four week engagement. He was on the site the week before he proposed to her? It shouldn’t have mattered. But it did.
“Okay, we get the point. You know me from the Meet My Match site.” Donovan’s voice chilled the atmosphere around the table.
Out of the corner of her eye, Becca saw the people at the table beside them turn away quickly. Before things got out of hand, she thought it best to leave the situation. The table and the food would be there when things settled. She reached for her purse and stood to leave the table. “I think I need to go to the restroom.” Her intention was to go to the bathroom and pull her act together. Regardless of what Monica had divulged, Becca and Donovan were married, and that was all that mattered. One minute of talking to herself in the mirror would fix everything.
Get Well Soon Page 5