Page 9 of Below the Barrel

“At least one of you is ready on time,” Gabriel mutters as he looks me up and down and then glares at the door across from mine.

We wait five more minutes before Gabriel’s impatience wins, and he knocks on Maliah’s hotel room door again, more aggressively. I hear her curse on the other end before the door swings open and she steps out.

My breath is sucked right out of my lungs as I take her in. She’s wearing a fiery red dress that hugs her body in all the right places. Her blonde hair is curled and pinned to one side of her head, falling over her shoulder. She’s painted her lips with a red lipstick to match her dress, and her eyes are lined with a black liner, causing her blue eyes to stand out even more. My eyes trail down her body once more, unable to look away.

She clears her throat, and my eyes snap back up to hers only to find her watching me with a knowing smirk.

Fuck. This girl is going to be the death of me.

She raises her chin high and walks past me, her ass swishing side to side as she goes, my eyes hypnotized by the sight. It’s only until Gabriel smacks my chest that I begin breathing again and tear my eyes away from her.

“You’ve got it bad.” Gabriel snickers before making his way after Maliah towards the elevator.

I swallow back the drool that had pooled in my mouth and follow him, keeping my eyes glued to the floor the whole elevator ride down. When the doors open, our camera crew is waiting for us, and the cameramen quickly start their cameras and begin following behind us, as we make our way toward the outdoor terrace where the welcome dinner is being held.

Low background music can be heard as we enter the space, and all eyes turn toward us as we enter. The female surfers give Maliah a once over before their predatory gazes find me and I physically feel the energy in the room shift. The male surfers don’t even spare a glance my way as their eyes track Maliah’s every move, and I can’t blame them. Of all the women here tonight, she’s the most beautiful. Though I’m certain she could wear anything, and I’d still stand by that statement.

We make our way to the last three available seats at the long rectangular table and Gabriel grabs the first seat, leaving the last two chairs for Maliah and me, forcing us to sit side by side for the first time in months. She freezes and stares at the chairs, curling her hand into a fist, before begrudgingly taking the middle seat between Gabriel and me.

I lower myself into my seat and spare her a sideways glance as she lifts her wine glass to her lips and drinks the whole glass in one go. A nearby waiter quickly walks over and tops up her glass, which she brings to her lips again.

“Woah there,” I hear Gabriel mumble to her as he places a finger to the rim of her glass and forces her to lower it back down to the table. “Let’s try to avoid getting shit faced on the first night.”

The minute he turns his head away from her, she picks up the glass and chugs its contents again. I watch as the waiter returns and refills it. The night carries on this way until the endof dinner, and while Gabriel decides to retire to his room shortly after, I’m stuck at the table, keeping an eye on a very tipsy Maliah.

“So, mon chéri, how long have you and Koa been together?” I hear Charles ask.

I lift my gaze from my plate to find that he’s taken Gabriel’s spot next to her at the table. Maliah barks out a laugh as she shoots me a displeased look over her shoulder before returning her attention back to Charles.

“Koa? I barely know him.”

Her words cut deep, as usual, but I force the ache down and snake my hand up her thigh. She gasps at the contact and turns to look at me when I gently squeeze. Her eyes are lust-filled but the frown she’s pasted on her face shows me just how mixed her emotions are. I lean towards her, stopping when my lips are right next to her ear.

“Really?” I purr. “I thought we knew each other very well at one point.”

I watch as goosebumps crawl their way down her arms, and she visibly shivers. I pull away, just far enough to look her in her eyes with a knowing smirk. Even though I know she wants nothing to do with me, seeing how responsive her body still is fills me with a stupid amount of happiness.

I watch as she swallows before plastering the fakest smile on her face and placing her hand atop mine on her thigh.

“I think we can both agree that we’re both very different from the people that we once were.”

With that, she tightens her grip around my hand, yanks her thigh out of my grasp, and throws my arm back at me before turning her attention back to Charles with a flirtatious giggle. I stare at the back of her head for a moment, the rejection stinging, before I clear my throat and return my focus to my halfempty plate. Any plans I had on finishing my dinner tonight are gone as I shove it away, a bitter taste in my mouth.

THREE

MALIAH | VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

The long planeride to Australia was enough to convince me that I never need to come back to this country ever again. I had taken a Gravol at the start of the flight, but it had already worn off by the time I woke up. With eight hours left in the flight, and Koa in the way of my carry-on, I decided to bear through it. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea, given how sick to my stomach I feel right now, but I refuse to speak to him.

Being around him for the next year is already going to be hard enough for me, but hearing the confirmation that we’re paired together, all because of Gabriel, is the final straw. I’ve done my best to avoid him as much as I can over the last year; to push him away and hope the love I still feel towards him follows suit. But the way he looked at me at our welcome dinner the other night, and the way his hand felt against my thigh caused my heart to beat harder than ever before.

It was proof enough that I still love him and that makes me even angrier to have to be around him when I’m trying so hard to move on.

“Looks like this is your room,” the hotel property owner of our temporary accommodations in Victoria says as he passes me my key card.

“Thank you,” I reply, taking it from him.

“And this,” he says, turning toward the door across from mine, “is your room.”

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