Page 104 of Never With You
I forgot he wasn’t wearing a shirt, which makes everything a hundred times worse. Luckily, the sheets cover most of his body.
“I…” His voice is rough, still thick with sleep. He clears his throat before trying to speak again. “I didn’t mean to…” The words trail like he doesn’t know how to explain us cuddling. In the same bed. On a work trip. After we both agreed nothing more would happen between us. “It was an accident…I think.”
My brows lift, and I almost want to laugh. “You think?”
“I didn’t mean to cuddle with you, but things…”—he looks down as if he’s embarrassed—“things are getting confusing, so maybe subconsciously I…”
He doesn’t finish, just looks at me, and I understand.
Things are getting confusing for me too.
But before I can respond, he sighs, running a hand through his messy hair. “I should probably get up.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, sitting up first. “How do you feel?”
He straightens. “I think good. I’m low on energy, but I don’t feel like I’m going to die anymore.”
“It must’ve been some kind of food poisoning.”
He nods a few times, staring back at me. “Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
There’s a seriousness in his eyes. “I think you are exactly what I need.”
Need?
No, he meantneeded…last night.
He’s still disoriented and waking up.
But even with that justification, my heart presses against my ribs, and I suddenly feel all twitchy. I jump out of bed. “At least it’s a beach day, so you can rest and relax.”
“Yeah.” He stands, looking all handsome.
That’s when I decide I’ve had enough. I back up to the sliding doors. “I’ll let you have the bathroom first. I’m sure you want to rinse off and brush your teeth.” I bump into the glass and wrestle with the curtains until I find the handle. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”
I don’t wait for his response.
I’m out the door and don’t look back.
I picka lounge chair farther down the beach, away from the resort music and activities, but especially away from Pureskin execs. Today’s beach day is my day off. I don’t have to guide, organize, entertain, or lead anyone. Instead, I plan to lie here, facing the sun and listening to the waves. Maybe later, I’ll take a paddleboard out in the ocean.
For the tenth time this morning, I check my DMs, hoping for a message from Mr. International. I sent him another message last night before I went to bed. Something stupid about loving the scent of fresh hotel linen.
No response.
He’s been silent since asking to meet in person the other night. I don’t think we’ve ever gone this long without talking, so his silence is a bit concerning. Normally, my mind would come up with all sorts of excuses. He’s flying, or he’s dead, but since you can see people’s recent activity status in your Instagram inbox, I know he’s not offline or dead. He’s just ghosting me as if he’s having second thoughts about meeting me.
The mature thing to do is not to panic. So, I send another message.
@girl_sees_the_world:
Are you still there?
Then I put my phone away and relax. He’ll answer when he’s ready to.
Even though my eyes are closed under my sunglasses, I feel the shade on my face when someone approaches. One eye peeks open, catching the end of Nate checking out my body in my bikini. I had a swimsuit on yesterday, but it was more of a sporty one for work than what I’m wearing today. I figured Lauren Ashley would rock the beach in some kind of thong. I had to at least try to keep up so Isaac doesn’t win the my-fiancée-is-better-than-you game by a landslide.
