The Trade(37)

“Why would you say that?” I answer sarcastically. “We came here with friends and siblings, not couples.”

She chuckles. “Yeah, imagine if you weren’t here. I’d be having a conversation with my omelet about the light breeze that keeps kicking up, tempering out the hot beat of the sun.”

“Don’t stop me from having that conversation.” I motion to her plate. “By all means, have at it.”

She pokes her omelet and then shakes her head. “Apparently not much of a talker, this one.”

“Shame, you could have heard eggs-cellent tips about the heart and soul of being a breakfast staple.”

“There goes my book deal.” She dramatically flings her arm out to the side, making me laugh. And then she does something I wasn’t expecting. She picks up her plate and cup and slides down the table until she’s sitting across from me. She situates herself and then says, “Get used to this view, I think you’re going to be seeing it a lot.”

Hell . . . if only she knew how much I want to stare at the view in front of me.

Trying not to show my cards, I say, “Feel free to venture out on your own. Eat alone.” I say it in a joking manner, but from the way her face falls, I didn’t do a very good job on the delivery.

“Oh, I didn’t . . . do you want me to—”

“I was trying to make a joke.” I stumble through my words, hoping I didn’t just offend her. “I didn’t mean it like get out of my face.” Her face stays neutral and I gnaw on the side of my cheek. “I was kidding.”

“Sure, yeah.” She gives me a small smile and then goes back to her fruit.

Shit.

I start to elaborate just as Carson and Milly come back to the table, both with waffles on their plates decked out with all the fixings. Looks like Carson has no problem with vacation food. I don’t blame him. Once we get back home, we’re going to be on a strict diet regimen.

Carson looks around and asks, “Where did Jason and Dottie go?”

“Wanted to eat alone,” I answer, glancing up at Natalie again, who is dabbing at her face.

She tosses her napkin on her plate and stands. “I’m going to get ready. Meet you guys in the lobby.”

She takes off before we can say anything else, and once she’s out of earshot, Milly asks, “She looked sad, what did you say to her?”

I wipe my hand over my face and look to the sky, frustrated with myself. “She told me to get used to the view of her since it seemed like we’d be spending a lot of time together and jokingly, I said she could go off on her own. I don’t think I said it right.”

“Clearly you didn’t,” Carson says, his mouth full of waffle. “Girl looked like she was about to cry.”

“Really? You think so?” I try to catch a glimpse of her but she’s already out of sight.

“She didn’t look super thrilled, but not crying.” Milly sighs and says, “Why don’t you just drop the act and tell her you like her?”

“Because. That would be a huge mistake. She said it herself, she’s looking to have fun. I’m not about to get in the way of that and tell her about my aspirations to have a long-lasting relationship, something she just got out of. She needs her space. I’m going to give her that.”





After breakfast, I thought it would be a good idea to go back to the room and maybe apologize one more time to Natalie, but when I got there, she was already gone. The little bag she brought with her to house her towel and water bottle was gone, so I guess she went somewhere until we had to meet up.

The entire time we were waiting in the lobby and the drive to the marina, she was quiet and thanks to the seating arrangements, we seem to keep getting paired up, which should be no surprise. But it would be nice if one of the couples took a break from each other for a second to see how incredibly awkward the situation is for Natalie and me.

Once we’d been given the safety instructions, we took off on the party boat. Drinks were handed out, snacks were distributed, and music was blasted while clothes were shed, leaving everyone in their bathing suits.

Everyone.

Talk about having a gulp moment.

Thank fuck for my sunglasses, because I couldn’t avert my eyes from Natalie even if I tried.

Remember when I said she was cute because she wore a matching set of pajamas? Well, guess who leveled up their hotness factor? Lying on the front of the boat with the girls is Natalie in a skimpy, red two-piece.

I’ve been around bikinis before, I’ve seen cleavage, but Natalie’s body is fucking hot with her supple breasts and hips that firmly hold the bottom of her bikini in place. At first, I thought, hey, that’s a nice bathing suit, and then she flipped over revealing half her ass. It’s not quite a thong, but not a full bottom either. It has my dick aching in my thin trunks.

What I think I like the most is she’s not super fit. Her edges are soft, smooth, but there’s a slight thickness in her hips that has me craving to grip them from behind. Images of her on the inviting bed in the hotel room, head buried in the comforter, my hands holding her in place while I drive into her, keep flashing in my mind.

I’ve lost all concentration and every time one of the guys asks me a question, I know my responses are halfhearted, almost stupid at times.

Carson finally calls me out on it. “Stare a little longer,” he mumbles next to me while Knox and Jason talk about the curveball Maddox Paige possesses. It’s deathly.