The Exception

by Sandi Lynn

  As soon as we were seated at a cabana table at Azure, I ordered a double scotch. I was going to need it to get through this night with a woman of whom I had already had enough and a woman for whom I was pretty sure I was falling head over heels for. Fuck my life.

  “Aren’t you going to order us a bottle of champagne, Drew?” Jess asked with a slight attitude.

  “If you want a bottle of champagne, then I will order one.”

  “I’m fine with my fruity drink.” Jillian held up her cocktail glass with a smile.

  That smile. It was something that took my breath away every time she did it.

  When the waitress came back to our table, she took our order, and I asked her to bring a bottle of their finest champagne, just to shut Jess up. I was fine with my scotch and Jillian was happy with her fruity cocktail.

  “How was your day?” Jess asked her.

  “It was wonderful. I swam with the dolphins.”

  “Oh. You actually got in the water with those creatures? I could never.”

  “It was a lot of fun.”

  “They’re so slimy.” Jess shuddered.

  Jillian casually picked up her drink and took a sip without responding.

  “I think swimming with the dolphins sounds like fun.” I smiled at Jillian.

  “You would, Drew. I don’t think I would allow you to sleep in my bed after being in the water with those things.”

  Rolling my eyes, I thought to myself, I think I’ll go tomorrow.

  Chapter Nine

  Jillian

  I was starting to understand the unhappiness that radiated from Drew when he was with Jess. She was definitely a piece of work. She reminded me of Grant and that was not a good thing.

  “So, Jillian, what made you decide to leave your fiancé standing at the altar?” she asked.

  “Don’t you think that’s a little personal?” Drew interjected.

  “No. She told you that she did it, so I was just wondering why.”

  Sitting there, I was feeling uncomfortable about her question, but I wasn’t going to let her get to me. If she wanted to know, then I would tell her.

  “I wasn’t in love with him.”

  “Fair enough. But didn’t you know that before the wedding?”

  I wasn’t about to get into my whole life story with this bitch I didn’t even know.

  “I had my doubts, but when I found out that he slept with two strippers at his bachelor party, that sealed the deal,” I lied.

  “Oh you poor thing. I wouldn’t have left him at the altar. I would have castrated him first and then left him.” She reached over and placed her arm around Drew. “That’s something I never have to worry about with Drew. Right, baby?” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  He nodded his head as he gulped down the rest of his scotch and the waitress quickly brought him another.

  “What do you do for a living?” I asked her.

  “I’m a buyer for Neiman Marcus. And you?”

  “I just graduated from Yale Law.”

  Her brow raised and, suddenly, I became a threat.

  “Wow. Impressive. I never would have taken you for the lawyer type.”

  Her and me both.

  “How long have the two of you been together?” I asked.

  “About a year now.” She smiled. “A wonderful and beautiful year. Isn’t that right, baby?” She smiled.

  Drew raised his brows as he took another sip of his drink. It was taking everything I had to hold in the laughter that so desperately wanted to come out. Things were starting to become very clear now. She invited me to have dinner with them so she could tell me how happy they were and to discreetly tell me to stay away.

  “That’s great. I’m in a man-free zone and I couldn’t be happier.” I smiled.

  “Really?” she asked with a twisted face.

  “Yes. I’m on a journey of self-discovery and I have rid men from my life. No exceptions.”

  “Forever?”

  “No. Not forever. But I don’t have any plans to be involved with a man in the near future. I need to find myself first.”

  All of a sudden, her attitude changed towards me.

  “That is wonderful, Jillian. You are very inspiring. If I didn’t already know who I was, I’d go on a little journey myself.” She winked as she sipped her champagne. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the little girls’ room.”

  As soon as she left, Drew looked at me and started shaking his head.

  “I’m sorry about her asking you about your fiancé. Sometimes she has no filter or regard for other people’s feelings. Actually, make that all the time.” He smiled.

  “No big deal.” I waved my hand in front of my face.

  “Well, just so you know, it was a big deal to me.”

  “So what did you two talk about when I was gone?” Jess asked as she sat down.

  “I was just asking Jillian about the dolphins,” Drew replied.

  “Are you still on that, baby? We aren’t going to swim with them.”

  Drew sighed and picked up his drink. I could tell he was getting very angry by the way he clenched his jaw. After finishing our dinner and having a light conversation, it was getting late, so we headed back to the hotel.

  “Thank you again for inviting me to dinner. I had a nice time.” I smiled at both of them.

  “Thank you for joining us,” Drew spoke.

  “Yes. We must do this again on our last night here,” Jess said.

  “I’m looking forward to it. Have a nice night.” I smiled as I stepped off the elevator.

  ****

  Drew

  A few days had passed and Jess and I weren’t getting along at all. Everything that came out of her mouth annoyed me. All she did was whine and complain about everything. Mostly about me. After doing some shopping, she huffed and puffed all the way back to the hotel because I wouldn’t buy her a bracelet she wanted.

  “You haven’t bought me one single thing since we got here,” she spoke in a harsh tone.

  I could feel my blood boiling as I opened the door to the suite.

  “What about all the meals I’ve bought you?” I yelled. “The plane tickets, this suite, the bottles of champagne you had to have every night, and the tickets for everything you wanted to do!”

  “Don’t you dare take that tone with me, Drew. All I want is for you to buy me something nice. That’s what boyfriends are supposed to do. When you love someone, you buy them nice things. Is that so much to ask?”

  The rage that had been contained inside me began to erupt and I couldn’t take it anymore. Just the mere sound of her voice sent me over the edge.

  “I DON’T LOVE YOU!” I shouted. “I can’t do this anymore, Jess.”

  “What?” Tears started to fill her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s over between us,” I softly spoke.

  “Don’t say that, baby. You don’t mean it,” she begged.

  “Yes I do. It’s been over for a while now. We haven’t been getting along and everything’s always my fault. I’ve had enough.”

  The tears began to stream down her face and, sadly, I didn’t give a damn. She had pushed me way too far.

  “You heartless bastard. How could you do this to me? I love you, you son of a bitch.” She grabbed hold of my arm.

  Jerking it away, I looked into her eyes. “Of course it’s my fault this happened. Well, let me give you a wake-up call, darling. You are a whiney, jealous, self-righteous, selfish, stuck-up bitch, and god help the next man that crosses your path.”

  She raised her hand and slapped me across the face. “How dare you speak to me like that.”

  I held my face to try and soothe the sting of the burn. “Pack your stuff and leave,” I shouted as I pulled out my phone. “There’s a four o’clock flight back to New York and you need to be on it.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. You leave. You’re the one who broke up with me, you fucking asshole,” she screamed.

  I walked into
the bedroom and threw her suitcase on the bed. As I was grabbing her clothes from the drawers, she grabbed my arm.

  “Stop it!” she screamed.

  Jerking away from her, I went into the bathroom, collected her things, and threw them into her bag.

  “This is my room, that I paid for. I’m not going anywhere. Now get out before I call security and have you thrown out!” I yelled as I pointed to the door.

  “You’ll regret this, Drew Westbrook!”

  I grabbed her suitcase and carry-on bag, opened the door, and set them in the hallway.

  “The only thing I regret is not doing this sooner.”

  As soon as she stepped out of the suite, I slammed the door.

  ****

  Jillian

  I had a great time with Ano and Lonnie at the luau they invited me to, and by time I got back to the hotel, it was eleven o’clock. When I approached the elevators, there was a sign that they were out of order.

  “I’m sorry, miss. You’ll have to use the elevators around the corner and across from the bar.

  “Okay, thank you.”

  As I walked around the corner, I pushed the button and waited for the elevator to come down. While I was waiting, I glanced across at the bar that was filled with people and noticed Drew sitting on one of the barstools. I hadn’t seen him or Jess the past couple of days, so I thought I’d stop over and say hi.

  “Hey,” I spoke as I walked up to him.

  “Jillian Bell. Can I buy you a drink?” he slurred.

  “No thanks.” I narrowed my eye at him. “Where’s Jess?”

  “I broke it off with her and sent her home.” He kicked back his drink, finishing it off.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” I didn’t know what to say and I was shocked.

  “Don’t be. I’m not. I should have done it a long time ago. Bartender?” He held up his finger.

  “No you don’t. I think you’ve had enough to drink. Come on.” I grabbed hold of his arm. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

  He didn’t resist as I hooked his arm around my neck and took him up to his suite.

  “Where’s your keycard?” I asked as I propped him up against the wall.

  He reached in his pocket. “I think I left it in the room,” he slurred.

  “Are you sure?”

  “It’s not in my pockets.”

  “Okay. Come on, back on the elevator.” I sighed as I hooked his arm around my neck.

  “Where are we going?” He stumbled and almost fell.

  “To my room so I can call the front desk and get you another key.”

  Stumbling down the hallway, I propped Drew up so I could get the key from my purse. The moment I let go of him, he slid down the wall and to the ground.

  “Ugh. Come on, big guy.” I helped him back up and took him to the bedroom.

  “We have something in common,” he spoke. “Something I think you should know.”

  “Oh yeah. What’s that?” I asked as I helped him onto the bed.

  “We both left someone standing at the altar.”

  Did I just hear him right?

  “What?” I frowned as I stared down at him.

  “I left my fiancée at the altar just like you did.” He rolled over.

  I knew trying to find out more was going to be impossible in the condition he was in. He probably wouldn’t even remember that he told me in the morning. Picking up the phone on the nightstand, I dialed the front desk.

  “Front desk, how may I help you.”

  Looking at Drew, I saw that he had fallen sound asleep.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve changed my mind.” I hung up.

  There was no use in trying to get him back to his room. He’d most likely be out the rest of night anyway. After removing his shoes and socks, I covered him with a blanket. Grabbing my nightshirt, I took it to the second bedroom, slipped into it, and climbed into bed. Why didn’t he tell me that he could relate after I told him about Grant? And this whole thing with Jess. Wow. I could tell he was unhappy, so I was not totally surprised. Something really bad must have happened for him to do it on vacation and send her home. Which led me to another question. Where was home for him? I never did ask.

  Chapter Ten

  Drew

  My head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it as I struggled to open my eyes. Where was I? This wasn’t my room. Shit. I placed my hand on my forehead. I was fully clothed except my shoes and socks were off. Slowly climbing out of bed, I walked into the living area of the suite and saw Jillian sitting at the table.

  “Uh, hey,” I spoke as I rubbed the back of my neck.

  “Good morning.” She smiled brightly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like shit. Um, how did I end up here?” I asked as I walked over to the table and took a seat.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “I saw you at the bar last night and I helped you to your room, but when we got there, you didn’t have your key, so I brought you back here. I was going to call the front desk to have them bring an extra key, but the minute you hit the bed, you were out. So, I just let you sleep.”

  “And where did you sleep?”

  “In the other bedroom.”

  Suddenly, there was knock on the door.

  “Are you expecting someone?” I asked.

  “Room service. I ordered us breakfast. I figured you’d need some coffee the minute you woke up.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “I can take it from here,” Jillian spoke as she wheeled the rolling cart over to the table.

  She picked up the pot of coffee and poured some into a cup.

  “Here. Drink away.” She smiled.

  “I’m sorry about last night. Thank you for taking care of me, but you should have just left my dumb ass down there.”

  “Why? And don’t be sorry. It happens to all of us. I’m sorry about Jess. Do you want to talk about it?” she asked as she removed the silver lids from the plates.

  “No. Not really.” I took a sip of coffee. “I’d had enough. It was something I should have done months ago.”

  “If you were so unhappy, why didn’t you?” she asked innocently.

  I cocked my head and raised my brow. “Really?”

  She held up her finger and smirked. “Right.”

  I gave her a small smile as I continued to drink my coffee and attempted to eat some eggs. When I finished eating and finished up my third cup of coffee, I got up from my seat.

  “Thank you for letting me crash here last night and thank you for breakfast. I better head back to my room and shower. I still reek of alcohol.”

  “Yeah, you do.” She wrinkled her nose.

  I chuckled. “I guess I’m going to have to go down to the front desk and get another key.”

  “Don’t forget your shoes and socks.” She smiled.

  “Ah, yes. I mustn’t forget those.”

  Walking into the bedroom, I put on my socks and shoes and then headed towards the door.

  “Enjoy your day, Jillian,” I spoke before heading out.

  “You too, Drew.”

  After getting a new key to the suite, I stepped into the shower and let the hot water stream down my body. I couldn’t believe I got so drunk last night. That wasn’t my intention. All I could think about while I was at the bar was Jillian and how much I really liked her. The conversation from dinner the other night kept playing over and over in my mind and how she told us that she had rid men from her life. Now that I was single, there would be no way I could have a chance with her. She made it very clear that she was living in a man-free zone and that was something I would respect. I didn’t even know where her next destination was after Hawaii and the thought of her traveling alone bothered me.

  Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist, checked my phone, and noticed there were six text messages from Jess.

  “How could you do this to us?”

  “I love you. I�
�m sorry.”

  “I promise I’ll change. Please give me another chance.”

  “Please, Drew.”

  “I forgive you for the things you said to me.”

  “I love you. Please.”

  Sighing, I pulled up her contact info and blocked her. I had a feeling she was going to be a problem when I got back to New York. Thank God I never let her keep any of her things at my place.

  ****

  Jillian

  There was a part of me that couldn’t stop thinking about Drew. I had gotten the impression he did everything Jess wanted to do and nothing he wanted to. He made a comment at dinner the other night about swimming with the dolphins and I could tell that he really wanted to do it, so I had a thought. Changing into my bikini and throwing my hair up in a ponytail, I slipped on my cover-up and went up to Drew’s suite.

  “Hey.” He smiled as he opened the door. “Come on in.”

  I got up close to him and took a whiff of his body.

  “What are you doing?” He laughed.

  “Making sure you smell clean and free of alcohol.”

  “Did I pass?”

  “Yep. With flying colors.” I smiled. “Anyway, go put on your swim trunks.”

  “Why?” He narrowed his eye.

  “Because we’re going to go swim with the dolphins.”

  “Seriously?” His grin grew wide.

  “Seriously. Now get a move on because Juno is waiting for us.”

  “Who’s Juno?” I asked as I walked to the bedroom.

  “Our captain.”

  We hopped into my rental car and I drove us to where Juno was waiting for us with his boat.

  “Why are you doing this?” Drew asked.

  “Doing what?”

  “Taking me to swim with the dolphins.”

  “I kind of got the impression that since you’ve been here, you have done everything Jess wanted to do and nothing you wanted to. At dinner the other night, you seemed really interested in swimming with the dolphins and she just kind of dismissed you. So I thought you should get the chance to do it while you’re here.” I looked over at him.