“I know.” I covered my face with my free hand and hung my head. “I’m a terrible person. It hasn’t even been a month—”
“You misunderstood me. I don’t give a fuck about Will. He left you on your wedding day without even having the balls to tell you to your face it was over. I’m talking about it being fast for you to have fallen for Jaxon.”
“I haven’t fallen for him.” I scoffed, lifting my head away from my hand to sip on my wonderful caffeine fix. “I’m just crushing a bit. That’s all. He’s so different than any man I’ve ever been with, and I think I’ve gotten a little intoxicated by him. It’s nothing serious”
“How is he different? I’ve never heard you use the word ‘intoxicating’ in connection with a man before. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use it that way in real life.”
“That’s because they haven’t met him.” I groaned. “You don’t understand the effect he has on me. Being with him makes me do stuff I’d never even have considered before. He has this presence I can’t escape. It draws me to him again and again.”
I lowered my voice and whispered furiously into the receiver. “I seduced him on a hiking trail yesterday, for God’s sake. There is something wrong with me when I’m with him. How is intoxicating not the perfect way to describe that?”
She let out a whistle between her teeth. “That sounds really intense. Good on him for fucking you in the woods or wherever you were hiking, though. It’s about time someone lights that fire in you.”
“What am I supposed to do with it now that it’s lit?” I shook my head. “I’m leaving tomorrow. I can’t even think about saying goodbye to him without getting all emotional.”
There was a long pause before she replied. “This is the trip you needed, Linds. Something quick and dirty and without any ties. He’s just the rebound guy. The one who shows you everything that the world has to offer and that you don’t have to settle for the boring guy unless that’s actually what you want.”
I dipped my head back and let the sun soak my face, but I still felt cold on the inside at the prospect of leaving behind this little slice of heaven I’d carved out for myself here. “It’s not just a rebound crush. I really, really like being around him. It’s been unreal and I’m not ready for it to end.”
“Listen to me and listen well,” she said firmly, letting the steel core of who she was shine through. “Every single person who’s ever had an erotic hookup on a tropical island has probably felt the exact same way you’re feeling now. It’s the kind of relationship you enjoy, but you leave it behind in Fiji. That’s where the magic lies, my friend. You don’t bring that shit home with you.”
“I don’t know how to leave it behind,” I admitted after hesitating for moment. “I don’t want to ruin the magic, but I also don’t know how to say goodbye.”
“Easy. You have one last wild monkey-sex night with the guy, and then tomorrow morning, you shake his hand and wish him luck as you wave goodbye. Clean break, honey. It’s the only way.”
Ember drilled me for information about Jaxon for a few more minutes and made me promise to snap some shots of him on the beach. I might do that but I would never show them to anyone. Then we hung up.
Her advice was solid. Logically, I knew that what she’d said was the right thing to do. My head was right there with her. It was my heart, the bastard, that was the problem. It ached painfully every time I tried to imagine a scenario where I shook his hand and waved him off.
Moping about it wouldn’t bring me anywhere, though. The only part of her plan that sounded appealing was making the most of the last night I had with him. Regardless of my emotional state, I should never have suggested that we spend this day apart.
Our last day.
Dropping a few notes on the table for my coffee, I hurried into the street and hailed a cab. As I slid into the backseat, I snapped at the poor unsuspecting driver. “Step on it please. I need to get there as soon as I can.”
The entire vacation, I’d been harping on about how we had to utilize every moment to its fullest,