Page 9 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

“Rise and shine,” she called to the lump in the bed. “The coffee is ready, and the day is wasting away. Up and out of that bed, sleepy head.”

Mary Beth flung back the covers, sat up and gave her a dirty look, “You are way too chipper in the morning,” she said, holding her hand out for the cup. “I knew signing up for surfing lessons first thing in the morning was a mistake. I don’t know why I let you talk me into it.”

“You can take a nap this afternoon,” she said. “Now get up and get dressed. We only have an hour before we’re supposed to be down at the beach, and I want breakfast first.”

“You go on ahead, I need a few more minutes to wake up,” Mary Beth said, then took a large sip of the coffee. “I won’t be long. Grab me something light, I don’t eat much in the morning.”

The smell of food reached her before she got to the village, and she decided she could get used to having her meals available on demand. When she saw the breakfast buffet set up in front of the huts, she felt even more spoiled, but that didn’t stop her from filling a plate and digging into the food. She was just finishing her second plate when Mary Beth joined her, a full plate of her own, a guilty look on her face.

“I’ll burn it all off surfing,” Mary Beth said. “At least that’s what I keep telling myself.”

“You’re supposed to gain weight on vacation, it’s a rule,”she said, stuffing the last piece of her waffle into her mouth. “We wouldn’t want to break the rules.”

“Definitely not,” Mary Beth said. “Any sign of your tormentor this morning?”

“I haven’t seen him, it’s probably too early,” she said. “If I’m lucky, I’ll miss him completely while I’m sailing. I don’t want to go another round with that jerk, I can’t believe I felt sorry for him.”

“Men like him never learn,” Mary Beth said, shaking her head. “I don’t remember him from college, but Max said he hasn’t changed much since then.”

“I’m not surprised,” she said. “Enough about him. Tell me about you and Max.”

Mary Beth shrugged, “There’s not much to tell, we had dinner, and he walked me home,” she said. “But I’m going to have lunch with him this afternoon.”

“Is the old spark there?” she asked. “Come on, Mary Beth, spill.”

A smile spread across her face, “Oh, it’s there, alright,” she said. “I’m just not sure if we’re going to do anything about it. Max seems to be taking his time.”

“Hmmm……building up the anticipation,” she said, grinning at her friend. “You deserve a little romance. Enjoy it.”

Montgomery was waiting for her on the beach with a little sailboat pulled up next to him on the sand, and he gave her an excited wave when he saw her. “Are you ready to become a sailor?” he asked when she reached him. “The tide is going out, the weather is perfect, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.”

“I’m a little nervous,” she said, looking at the boat. “I don’t know anything about sailing. There aren’t very many lakes where I come from.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll start with the basicsbefore we even get into the water,” Mongomery said. “I’ll be there to help you every step of the way.”

An hour later, they’d gone over every part of the boat, tied so many knots her fingers were sore, and spent a long time talking about safety on the water. Her head was spinning a bit when Montgomery finally brought the lesson to a close, and she was relieved when he suggested that they take a break to get something cold to drink.

“I don’t know if I’ll remember all of that,” she said, sinking down into the sand in the shade of a big palm tree. “Maybe I should have taken notes.”

Montgomery laughed, “I don’t expect you to remember everything,” he said. “But a little knowledge is better than nothing, and a lot of it you’ll figure out when we get in the water. This is supposed to be fun, so just relax. You won’t be sailing the boat, just helping out.”

“That I can handle,” she said, letting out a relieved sigh. “I’d probably drown us both if you had me captain.”

“It’s almost impossible to flip that little boat,” Montgomery assured her. “You have to work really hard at it or do something incredibly stupid. That’s why I like to use it to teach, but we’re still going to wear life jackets.”

“Fine with me,” she said. “Safety first, right.”

“Right,” Mongomery said, smiling at her. “You’re a quick study, you’re going to be just fine out there.”

“Thanks for the boost of confidence,” she said, leaning over and nudging him with her shoulder. “You’re a good teacher.”

Montgomery opened his mouth to say something, but a voice dripping with sarcasm stopped him, “Well, isn’t this cozy, I don’t see much sailing going on,” Simon said, walking up to them dressed in the skimpiest pair of swimming trunks she’d ever seen. “Maybe I should report this to management.It’s against the rules to fraternize with the guests, Montgomery, you should know that.”

She felt Montgomery’s body tense up and saw the look of anger spread across his face, “Go right ahead, you seem to enjoy making a fool of yourself,” she said before Montgomery could say anything and get himself in trouble. “We were just taking a break before we put the boat in the water, not that you deserve any explanation. Now move along. What we’re doing is none of your business.”

CHAPTER 6

***SIMON***

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