Page 6 of On The Beach

"All the time," he said with a cocky grin.

"Not with that attitude, you don't. Give me fifteen—no, thirty minutes. I'll meet you in the lobby."

Why, Belle, why are you agreeing to meet this man anywhere?

Because he's built like Chris Hemsworth and probably hung like a horse, that's why. After all the bad dicks I've had, I deserve a good one.

While I showered, I thought about my usual hookups—scientists, geeks, nerds, my kind of people. Captain Mick, with his tall, tanned, sun-kissed look…was he into nude sunbathing?Hot flash!

Focus, Belle.

Let's face it: Captain Mick was totally out of my league. But he was showing interest, what with the hangover supplies and all. And hey, I was stuck here for three more days. Why not have a taste of that?

As I stepped out of the shower, I wondered if pretending to be engaged was a mistake.

Spoiler alert, Belle:it definitely was.Now, sexy beach bum might not want to touch you.

But as I headed down to the lobby, I convinced myself that a guy like Captain Mick, who looked and talked the way he did, didn't give a shit if the woman he was balling was single or taken.

With that happy thought, I went to meet my most recent definite future mistake in the hotel lobby.

When in the Caribbean, you just had to do the horizontal mambo, didn't you?

CHAPTER 3

bottoms overboard

MICK

Dr. Isabelle Maria Volnay was quirky, sexy, and a surprise—a good one.

"She's engaged toyou?" Franco asked as Cato, Franco, and I watched Belle leaning over the side of the boat, staring down into the ocean's depths.

The boat ride hadn't been kind to her hangover, and I'd warned her that RiRi would dock my pay if she threw up in the boat. So, Belle had been puking over the aft side.

"That's what she tells me." I grimaced when she moaned and rested her forehead against the edge of the boat.

"But you're notthatguy anymore," Franco pointed out. "You're Captain Mick and a complete asshole."

He wasn't wrong. Dr. Nicholas Augustus hadn't been an asshole. I'd been kind, generous, and idealistic, ready to save the world. But nothing smacks you in the face harder than reality. Mine taught me that the world was, well, majorly fucked up, and I wanted out.

"She's pretty," Cato observed as Belle wiped her face with a tissue, still looking a little green.

"Yeah," Franco agreed. "She's got nice tits. You think I have a chance with her?"

"She's engaged to me," I protested.

Cato chuckled. "That doesn't mean much in Reef Harbor, Mick. You know that. You were bopping whatshername while she was married to whatshisname."

I shrugged. He wasn't lying.

"You talking about Myrna or Cora?" Franco asked, trying to remember.

"Myrna is married. Corawasengaged but is now married," Cato reminded him.

"Cora's fiancé fucked you up real good." Franco adjusted his sunglasses.

"The guy used to be a wrestler, andhe's a fucking cop," I defended. "What was I supposed to do? And you guys didn't help—just watched as I got my ass kicked."

---