Page 15 of OneTime Lovers
Jasmine leaps from my embrace as if scorched by my touch.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck it’s Cassie,” she mutters before grabbing up her towel where it was discarded on the ground and running from the shelter of the beach hut.
It all happens in the blink of an eye, and I’m left sitting stunned and alone in the hut. Slowly I stand, readjusting myself in my boardshorts hoping to make myself decent before collecting our snorkeling gear and following the sound of voices.
Jas is standing, wrapped in her towel with Luke and Cassie, at the end of the path which leads back to the resort. As I approach, I hear Cassie tell Jas how worried she was about her being caught out in the storm. She obviously knows all about Jas’s fear of storms.
Cassie takes Jasmine’s arm and leads her back along the path muttering something about her getting a nice hot shower to make her feel better. If only Cassie knew I had already found the perfect way to make her feel better, but thanks to bad timing, those plans are not going to happen now.
Luke strolls over to me holding out his hands to take some of the gear I’m holding. “Hey, Scotty, sounds like things got a bit tricky out there with the storm.” He gestures with a nod of his head toward the ocean which is again calm. The still waters showing little signs of the storm which raged not so long ago.
I nod in agreement. “Tricky is one word to describe it. Jas was pretty freaked out, but luckily she held it together long enough to get back to shore before the storm truly hit.”
As we follow the same path taken by the girls, Luke says, “Cassie was really worried when you guys hadn’t returned.”
“We were fine,” I say. Not wishing to elaborate as I step over a large palm frond lying across the path, one of the few signs of the storm.
“Ahh, we didn’t interrupt anything did we?” Luke asks.
Huh! How does he know something was going on between me and Jas?
“No, mate, we were just waiting out the storm in the beach hut.”
“Sure. Whatever you say.” I pretend not to hear the disbelief coating his words as we continue our walk to the resort in silence.
Further along the path I ask if the other guests had arrived safely. Luke explains how the sudden storm delayed their arrival, and the boat won’t be coming in now till a bit later in the afternoon.
Back at the main resort, I tell Luke I need to check on my helicopter for storm damage. He offers to help but I brush him off.
I want it to be a quick check before escaping to my room for a shower and a chance to deal with my blue balls.
It’s nearing sunset by the time I leave my room again. Everyone is gathered around the pool for cocktails and based on the size of the group, all of Luke and Cassie’s families have arrived. Luke spots my entrance above the heads of the crowd and walks over to take me through a round of introductions.
In one group are Cassie’s parents, her younger sister Chloe, and older sister Alice standing beside her husband, their young twin girls are splashing about nearby in the shallow end of the pool. Moving onto the next group are aunts, uncles, and cousins, and already my head is spinning trying to remember all the names.
Finally, Luke and I wander over to his mom, who I greet with a warm hug. I love Luke’s mom as she reminds me so much of my own. Over the years she’s taken me under her wing, extending invitations to Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings like I’m her adopted son.
Greetings done and she’s excitedly telling me about the upcoming wedding plans and the part she played in bringing Cassie and Luke back together. It’s hard not to smile.
Luke shuffles his feet looking down at the ground and I’m about to burst out laughing. What is it about moms and their unique ability to make their adult sons revert to little boys?
To save my mate from any further embarrassment, I ask him when our friends are due to arrive. He gratefully looks at his watch, confirming they should be here soon. They too were delayed by the earlier storm.
Reminded of the storm, I search the group for Jasmine. She’s currently standing chatting with Cassie, and a group of friends.
Luke bumps my arm to get my attention. “Scotty, did you hear me?”
“No, sorry. What did you say?” I admit, completely distracted by the sight of Jasmine in her black strappy dress.
I wonder if she’s wearing anything underneath the silky fabric which drapes across her gorgeous curves.
“I said did you want a cold beer?” Luke repeats.
Suddenly feeling hot and thirsty, I agree. I guess a cold beer will have to do, as Jasmine appears to be ignoring me. I guess my hopes of a do-over of this afternoon is looking unlikely.
Luke returns with Blake, Bec, and Cassie. A waiter carrying a tray with our drinks following behind.
Bec is Blake’s new girlfriend. She works for the guy’s cyber security company and while it took them a while to get together my friend seems happy in his new relationship. It never made sense to me why they waited so long to start dating as he obviously had a thing for her for years.
