Straight After the Bend

by S M Mala

  ‘I can’t look at you,’ she whispered, shaking her head in disgust. ‘I don’t want you anywhere near me.’

  ‘Yes, Cole wanted to get married but that’s because he wanted a commitment from me. I didn’t say as it wasn’t important. The money you mentioned, well, that was mine. I invested in one of his restaurants and got a good return but all my profits have come from my businesses. The bed you sleep in at our home, I bought.’

  ‘Dean says you’re in denial and I’m being used.’

  ‘What do I gain from that? Protecting my professional name? Making my family happy? All the people that matter in my life know what happened.’

  ‘You were with Cole for more than eighteen months. Why lie about that?’

  ‘I was friends with him for years and we got together. It lasted under a year and a half, if you want to be precise. I stayed in Chicago a year afterwards for my son. Bea, you’re trying to find fault.’ Mylo closed his eyes and shook his head. ‘That’s not fair.’

  ‘I don’t think we should get married. I think it’s best we don’t complicate things further. I should move out. It’s been too much of a rush.’

  ‘Do you love me?’

  Bea’s heart pounded hard.

  ‘Mylo I don’t want to talk about-.’

  ‘Do you really love me?’

  ‘He said you would rush into things. He said you’d do exactly what you’ve done. Dean knows you pretty well.’

  ‘You know me better.’ Mylo pressed his forehead against hers. ‘I don’t want to marry someone who can’t trust me; that would make us a joke.’

  ‘Do you want to be with other men? Is it a temptation you’re trying to stop? I don’t want you to be unhappy.’ Bea blinked back her tears seeing he looked unsure. ‘I’ll always be your friend, no matter what. Daddy, on the other hand, might not be so obliging.’

  She stared into his eyes, wondering what he was going to say, then saw his sad expression.

  ‘I understand, I truly will,’ she added, wanting to make it all right for him, though it was killing her. ‘It hurts. Knowing your friends don’t think I can make you happy. But fundamentally, if I can’t, then it’s not fair on both of us.’

  Mylo kissed her forehead then got off the bed and walked out the bedroom, turning to look at her.

  ‘Come into the hot tub. It’ll help your leg.’

  ‘But my feet are a mess and it might make the blisters worse,’ she replied seeing her very red and swollen toes as she sat up. ‘It’s not pretty.’

  ‘I’ll look after you.’

  ‘Can you really? I don’t think you can.’ Bea bit her lip and shook her head. ‘You can’t protect me from Dean and who knows who else is out there wanting to bend my ear.’ She put her head in her hands. ‘I can’t do this, I wish I could but I can’t. Can I please go home? It’ll be for the best.’

  ‘I’ve unpacked your suitcase. I don’t want you to go home because I wouldn’t let you fly back alone. We haven’t started off on the right foot and I know that’s down to me as well as your bashed toes.’ Mylo took a deep breath. ‘I had no idea Dean would be on the island and I didn’t arrange this holiday for me to spend it with anyone else other than you. Right now, you’re upset. Please Bea, go into the hot tub to help with your leg.’

  She felt too tired to move.

  There was a splash and she realised he was in the pool as she pulled her hands away from her face.

  It took five minutes for her to hobble to the tub.

  Bea took off her dress and stepped into it until she was submersed up to her shoulders. Pressing a button, the bubbles started.

  ‘I might have burnt my shoulders,’ she said, feeling the sensitive skin.

  ‘When you were asleep I put cream on your shoulders and back, as well as ointment on your feet. You see, I can look after you.’ Mylo swam towards the side of the pool as she flinched.

  ‘Thank you,’ Bea mumbled and looked at him as he rested his head on his arms at the side of the pool.

  ‘Why did you listen to Dean?’

  ‘He knows you better than me.’

  ‘From what he told you today, he hasn’t got a clue.’

  ‘So where did he get the information from?’

  Mylo frowned before pulling himself out of the pool and walked to the hot tub. He was naked and stepped down to sit opposite.

  ‘And you want to call off the wedding and move back home with your daddy?’ Mylo shook his head. ‘At the first sign of trouble, I don’t expect you to bail out. I thought you had more balls than that.’

  ‘The problem seems to be whether you prefer balls or not.’ Bea bit her lip, not liking his little dig. ‘And I wasn’t bailing out. I was giving you a chance to walk away.’

  ‘You were giving up.’

  ‘I walked for two hours to get back here,’ she said angrily. ‘Two bloody hours! And why was that? Because your friend was being a nasty shit. I know how poor Chloe feels. It breaks my heart that people act in such a vile manner and they happen to be your friends. Do you think I want to spend the rest of my life feeling inadequate?’

  ‘You might be feeling insecure. I get it.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you be if you were me?’ Then she took a deep breath. ‘I’m not insecure, just unsure. Not about how much I love you; I’m certain of that.’

  ‘Are you? Because if you loved me enough it wouldn’t matter.’

  ‘And if you had loved me enough, you would have told me from the start, which is what Dean said. That’s the bit that bugs me, how I found out.’

  Shaking his head, he moved closer and was crouched in front of her on his knees.

  ‘I know it’s going to be tricky. Don’t you think I’ve thought it through?’ Then he gently grabbed her shoulders. ‘People are going to ask questions and there will be innuendos. I realise it’s not fair on you. Last night Dean kept asking more and more questions about us and it only made me realise I should be spending time with you, not him. But Bea, if you have to ask me one more time if I want to be with a man, then I will call it a day between us. I’ve told you time and time again I love you. If you can’t accept that I am a faithful person and want to spend the rest of my life with you, then nothing in God’s name is going to change that, can’t you see? Are you going to screw around behind my back?’

  ‘I would never do that.’

  ‘Then why would I?’

  ‘Mylo, maybe this is all happening too fast.’ Then she felt tired and nearly keeled over. ‘Shit. I think this tub is making me dizzy.’

  ‘You need to rest. The tablets I gave you are a little stronger than usual so you can sleep.’

  ‘And then what are you going to do?’ Bea was starting to get upset and knew how pathetic it was.

  Mylo laughed out loudly, helping her out and then placed a towel on the bed for her to sit.

  ‘I want to spend every minute with you,’ he whispered, pushing hair away from her face. ‘Who was the guy in the room when I got here?’

  ‘Oh, Henry? He’s been keeping my company.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ve been alone or haven’t you noticed?’

  He grabbed a bottle of spray and she felt a mist of water on her back as he massaged her skin.

  Still there were more questions to be asked. She hadn’t forgiven him.

  Too many things were unclear.

  Bea lay down on the bed but there was such a large sense of doubt, it felt like a physical pain when she fell asleep.

  A similar pain to her leg.

  ‘Hello pretty girl. Still sleeping?’

  Bea opened her eyes and felt a very warm Mylo lying next to her. He buried his head into her neck. ‘I thought we could go for a hobble.’ She heard him laugh. ‘Because I expect that’s all you can do. And on a positive note, it means you can’t walk off anywhere as I’ll be able to catch you.’

  ‘What time is it?’ she asked, feeling light headed.

  ‘Ten.’

  ‘Why didn’t you wake me?’ Bea pu
shed him away. ‘I wanted us to go to breakfast. We’ve not sat down in the restaurant together since we got here.’

  ‘And that’s my fault I take it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You haven’t been eating alone, have you? This Henry, who I’ve never heard of before until yesterday, has been joining you for both dinner and breakfast. Should I be worried?’

  ‘You tell me.’

  When she opened her eyes, Bea knew she wasn’t going to put up with any of his bullshit.

  If she had a massive pang of doubt about him, she would have to question, argue and reason it out. And as much as she loved Mylo, he needed to prove to her that he was worth taking the risk for.

  It was a very big risk indeed.

  She examined his two day growth of facial hair and noticed he was starting to tan. There were little freckles on his nose and his eyes seemed alert.

  ‘Last night when you were sleeping, you called out for your mum,’ he said, looking at her with concern. ‘It was a little sob and it made me want to cry, if I’m honest. You said ‘mummy’ and sounded like a lost child. I don’t want you to feel like that and certainly not because of me.’

  She placed her hand on his shoulder. His skin felt hot and smooth.

  ‘Have you been sunbathing while I’ve been out cold?’

  ‘I’ve been lying around thinking about making love to you,’ he sighed, until he removed the sheet off her body. ‘And you really have caught the sun, though I think you’re going to have to go topless to get rid of your tan marks.’

  Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked down at her feet. He had put a blister plasters on her heels and the side of her big toes. They looked less red than the day before.

  ‘There’s no point covering all the blisters unless they’ve been bleeding. Best to let it dry out naturally.’

  Her brown breasts looked positively white compared to how much sun exposure she got the day before, though the colour was a lovely chocolatey brown.

  ‘God Bea, you look hot even with your patchy tan, mangled leg and sore paws.’ Mylo moved closer. ‘I’m so turned on.’

  From what was hanging between his legs, he certainly was.

  Then she turned away, realising her condition was going to spoil the holiday and she wasn’t going to let him stick one in, thinking it made everything better.

  Sex wasn’t going to be his answer.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, as she turned her head to look at him. ‘Do you still want to go home?’

  ‘I’m unsure.’ Bea sat up with his help. ‘I’m not going to allow Dean to speak to me like that again. You’re full of shit, do you know that?’

  ‘I know! I didn’t want to rock the boat.’ He hesitated. ‘You think I think you’re lying?’

  ‘I’m the newbie here, not him.’

  ‘I believe you. I was a little pissed off because you were throwing unfounded accusations against me and I knew where it came from.’ Mylo sat up next to her. ‘I’ll speak to Dean.’

  ‘It feels like I’m fighting a war and I’m doing it all alone.’ Bea let out a long sigh.

  ‘You’re not alone.’

  ‘Aren’t I?’ A sad wave washed over her. ‘I want to go to the beach.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘I’m into my third day and we might as well spend some time together while I think things through.’

  ‘Please don’t go home.’ He stroked her face, looking perplexed. ‘I’m the shittiest boyfriend in the world, aren’t I?’

  Bea wasn’t going to rise to the bait.

  Not now.

  But he wasn’t too far wrong.

  The question was, how shitty would he be as a husband?

  ‘Interesting.’

  Bea was lying underneath a massive wooden parasol watching Mylo swim in the sea and chat.

  Mainly to women.

  What she hadn’t accounted for was the amount of attention he would get from both sexes.

  Or people were blatantly obvious on holiday when they found someone attractive.

  No-one had flicked her a second glance but to Mylo, there were third and fourths. And it was how he reacted made her realise Erio was right about him.

  He flirted with everyone.

  Currently two young women, topless, were laughing and joking with him. There were no men nearby so they were on the attack.

  Her insecurity levels were at an all-time high.

  Bea realised that was a major factor on how she felt about Mylo’s relationship with Cole.

  It was something special that involved a child.

  And this is where she felt totally inadequate and uncertain about how he felt about her. Even Mylo coming home late and the lack of communication made her wonder if that was to be their life.

  If it was, she wasn’t going to accept it.

  And she needed to make sure he was aware of this.

  ‘Are you feeling better now?’ Bea jumped and saw Henry a few metres away with a woman. ‘You were in poor shape yesterday.’

  ‘Hello,’ she said, happy to see him. ‘Thank you for helping me to my room. That was really sweet of you.’

  ‘What the hell happened?’

  Then she told him about having a little squabble with Dean and him taking her handbag. She omitted what it was all about but could see Henry suspected large chunks were missing.

  ‘Have your forgiven your drop dead gorgeous man for it?’ he smiled as she scowled. ‘I think you need to make him suffer a bit longer. How’s your leg?’

  ‘My feet are covered in blisters and the sand isn’t helping.’

  ‘And Mylo is a doctor, I hear.’ Henry smiled and it was more mischievous than friendly. ‘Your osteopath.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘We were chatting at the bar when you were sleeping last night. Actually, he made a point of seeking me out to express his sincere thanks. I thought that was rather nice.’ Then he smirked. ‘But I know he was trying to find out why I approached you on your first night and if I tried it on.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she replied, shaking her head. ‘I told him you were being kind.’

  ‘I told him if he wanted to leave you on your own, any man in his right man would be in there like a shot.’

  ‘Henry!’ Bea looked over at Mylo who was watching them. ‘What a thing to say!’

  Looking around, nearly everyone was sunbathing topless and she looked like a nun covered in a tunic. Plus they were all toned and slim, looking especially attractive as if it was the best outfit to wear.

  Their naked bodies.

  ‘Are you dressed for camping?’ he cheekily asked. ‘It seems Mylo has been accosted by some beauties who are baring all.’

  ‘I don’t know about going native,’ she replied, feeling self-conscious. ‘After yesterday I’m a little worried about the sun.’

  ‘Shall I help you?’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  Slowly she got to her feet and took off her tunic, mindful that Henry was looking. He grinned then closed his eyes. Bea folded it up neatly and hung it from a parasol before pondering whether to take off her top.

  Ungracefully, she sat back down and undid the halter neck of the bikini before laying on her stomach.

  It was too painful on her lower back and leg so she lay on her back.

  Realising she felt like a prude, though right now it was impossible not to give that impression, she took off her top and flung it on the lounger Mylo was using.

  There was no way she was going to look down at her patch brown body, let alone bashed up feet. Wriggling so she was near flat and placing a towel behind her head, Bea shut her eyes.

  She felt a little odd lying nearly naked in the sun, knowing she collapsed the day before because of it. Mylo had saturated her skin in sun tan lotion before they came out.

  He said he was protecting her skin but she knew it was his attempt at foreplay which fell flat, much to his frustration.

  Bea wasn’t in such a forgiving mood
.

  She peeked at the waiting staff who flitted in between the holiday makers, happily serving drinks.

  It wasn’t your usual cheap holiday package. The hotel’s clientele looked more upmarket and seemed at ease with people running around at their beck and call.

  Bea realised, other than on her first night, she hadn’t had an alcoholic drink so decided she was going to make up for lost time.

  Waving to get some attention, she ordered a cold glass of cava and grinned at the thought of getting drunk on the beach. Mylo could always get her back to the room using one of the wheel barrows she had spotted on the grounds.

  She closed her eyes, listening to conversations and the sound of the sea.

  It was blissful.

  Her drink turned up and she knocked back half of it then put the glass in the shade. As she looked up, there was no sign of lover boy. Just as she turned, Henry was looking at her with a wry smile, then nodded. She went back to her resting position.

  Then Bea jumped, feeling a cold pair of hands on her thighs.

  ‘What the-!’

  ‘I see you’re going for it,’ Mylo said, laughing and shaking his wet hair so it would drip all over her body. ‘I like the look but don’t overheat. Should you be drinking?’ Bea glared at him as he took her glass and sipped it. ‘I’ve not drunk since Wednesday night.’

  ‘You hero,’ she said with a fake smile.

  Mylo flicked out the towel and lay face forward on the sun lounger before looking at her.

  Bea closed her eyes and felt his fingers touch her skin. She knew her nipples were now erect and Mylo would have picked up on that. His touch made her tingle but she was holding out, making sure not to succumb to his seduction techniques.

  ‘And we’ll have a late lunch here then go back to the room for a siesta,’ he continued and she felt his breath on her shoulder. ‘We should be making lots of love.’

  ‘And whose fault is that?’ she mumbled, biting her lip, hoping no-one could hear.

  ‘It’s all mine,’ he replied. There was a lilt of laughter in his voice. ‘Bea, will you look at me?’

  Slowly opening her eyes, she looked down to see his head was by her shoulder.