game. She wouldn’t let her fantasies of Julian get the better of her.
Last night had deviated from her expectations. Stevie had thought they’d have a drink and then she’d return to the room she was sharing with Roxy. Instead, she’d spent the night with her head on his shoulder, watching the sun slowly kiss the moon away. He had begged her to let him walk her home, but then he would have known too much. And that was crossing a boundary he had set when they’d first met on the beach.
Julian felt familiar. Julian felt normal. Julian felt natural.
But that was where it was all so wrong. Julian wasn’t meant to feel familiar or normal or natural. She had just met him. That smile had been breathtaking. And his charm had been alluring. Men like him weren’t real. So she had decided that she’d allow the make believe to continue. The pleading look from him was only another convincer. She had promised that, after some sleep, she’d meet him back on the beach.
Sleep had come and sleep had gone. It was never constant. The heat didn’t help. It was more that she was excited to see him again, to see if her heart did the same little jumps. It was stupid. It was reckless. And in all honesty, she did not mind one bit.
“Come back to my room,” the Scot said from the bed next to Stevie’s.
“Why? Want round two?” Roxy asked.
Seriously?
“Babe, your shower isn’t big enough for the both of us, let alone me. I want your hands against the glass while I enter you from behind and stroke—”
“JUST GO ALREADY!” Stevie yelled as she sat up and pointed at them both from her bed. “Seriously. Get out! I am about done with you two fucking like crazy. Roxy, go to his room and screw him. Scotsman, you’re a brave one, but I’d like this room not to smell like sex. For one full day, can I please have that?”
“You’ve got a feisty friend, Rox,” the Scot said as he got out of bed, not bothering to cover up.
A Scottish penis is not what I needed to see this morning.
Stevie brows creased and her nose scrunched in disgust and then she shook her head. Roxy got dressed and started to pull clothes out of her suitcase. When Roxy and the Scotsman were both decent and Roxy had placed clothes and other items into a beach bag, she looked at Stevie.
“Stevie, have a good day today, okay?” Roxy gave no sass or attitude, and she had used the name Stevie preferred. It sounded as honest as the slight smile on her face looked.
Stevie blinked twice. “Yeah. You, too, Rox.”
“Thanks.” And with that, Roxy had left the room with the Scotsman.
The room was silent. No moans. No giggles. Just the annoying realisation that the fan could drop and kill her. Maybe she had gone one too far with Roxy. Maybe she shouldn’t have raised her voice. But one could only take so much listening to sex. It was like when porn got to be too much for some people… Well, she believed it was the same.
With a sigh, Stevie reached over and grabbed her phone off the bedside table. After logging into her Facebook account, she accessed her inbox and sent her stepbrother, Jarred, a message. Thankfully, the resort’s free Wi-Fi meant she didn’t have to turn on international roaming and get slapped with an outrageous phone bill.
Stevie Appleton: Have not died. Ceiling fan could make this message redundant. If so, you may have my room. Take care of the old man. Love you a little bit and sometimes a lot. Miss your ugly face!
After she had sent the message, she tucked her phone under her pillow and made her way to the shower.
Oh, Sun, do I love you.
Stevie smiled, closed her eyes, and took in the feel of the warmth on her skin. This was living. This was free. This was breathing. Freedom had never been so sweet. After a moment of blissfulness, Stevie’s eyes swept the beach but didn’t see Julian. The disappointment was like a full-blown pang in her chest. She came to the conclusion that they had been out all night and he might have fallen asleep. Whether or not he’d show wouldn’t put a dent in her plans.
Hugging her beach bag closer to her, Stevie made her way past tourists to find a spot on the sand not too far from where she had spent the