The Exception(11)

“You must visit a lot.”

“Every couple of years since I was six years old. I actually consider Hawaii my second home.”

“Nice. Have fun reconnecting with your friend.”

“Thanks. Have fun at the pool or maybe go take a paddle boarding lesson.” I winked.

He chuckled and I walked away and went back to my room.





Chapter Seven


Drew



She was so beautiful and she was all I thought about. I know, I was a bastard because I was in Hawaii with my girlfriend. But the truth was, we hadn’t been getting along the past couple months and I’d wondered if she was even worth it anymore. After having a slight disagreement at the pool, Jess suddenly came down with a migraine. She was successfully ruining this trip and it had only been one day. We had been dating about a year and my feelings for her never grew into anything more. She was a very selfish and jealous person and I couldn’t even smile politely at another woman without being accused of wanting to sleep with her. Her insecurities had been pushing me away for a while now and she knew it. This trip was her idea, and the reason we didn’t fly together was because I had an emergency business meeting in Seattle that came up unexpectedly, and I needed to be there. So she took our original flight out of New York and I changed my flight to fly out of Seattle.

As I sipped on my Mai Tai at the pool, I couldn’t get Jillian’s smile out of my head. Her laughter was enough to brighten up anyone’s life. She had touched me in a way that I had never felt before. From the moment she stepped on the plane, I felt a rush of something. I couldn’t even tell you what the hell it was because it was something I’d never experienced before.

“Hey,” Jess spoke as she sat down next to me.

“Hey. Are you feeling better?”

“A little. I’m sorry about earlier. I know it was all my fault and I just want this trip to be perfect. You’ve been so distant lately. We’ve been distant.”

“I know.” I sighed.

“I’m going to try harder, Drew. I promise. I love you, baby, and I want things to be good between us.” She leaned over and brushed her lips against mine.

“Okay. Would you like a drink?”

She ran her finger down my chest. “Why don’t we go back to the room and make love?”

“Are you feeling up to it?”

“Yes, and I know you’re the perfect cure for me.” She smiled.

****

Jess and I hadn’t had sex in over a month and I wasn’t really bothered by it. With the problems we’d been having and all the arguing, I wasn’t in the mood. I would just put on some porn and take care of myself. I thought maybe having sex with her now would make me feel something or feel different, but it didn’t and it didn’t help that I had a problem staying hard. Shit. I never had that problem before and it bothered me.

“Don’t be upset over it, Drew.” She softly stroked my chest. “I know you’ve been under a lot of stress lately with the company and I’ve done my fair share in contributing to that stress.”

I wanted to tell her that I didn’t think stress had anything to do with it and that she was more than likely the reason why. Actually, Jillian was the reason why. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and how it would feel to make love to her. The whole time I was f*cking Jess, I was thinking about Jillian, and it needed to stop. I would never have a chance with her anyway. Not only had she just dumped her fiancé yesterday, she was starting over and embarking on a self-discovery journey to find herself.

“I’m not upset and you’re right, I’ve been under a lot of stress lately,” I lied.

“Well, we’re just going to have to destress you, and the first thing I’m going to do to prove to you that I’ve changed is I’m going to invite that girl, what’s her name?”

“What girl?”

“The one who left her fiancé at the altar?”

“Jillian?”

“Yes, I’m going to invite Jillian to have dinner with us before we leave.”

Shit. That was not a good idea.

“You don’t have to do that, Jess. This vacation is for the two of us.”

“Don’t be silly. I want to. She seems like a nice girl and she’s here alone. I kind of feel sorry for her. I’m sure she’s torn up by what she did and she could use some company.”

****

Jillian

I rented a car and drove to Ano’s house. I smiled as I pulled up and saw his family sitting on the front porch. His wife, three kids, aunt, sister, and brother in-law. They were a tight-knit family and they all lived in the same house. Stepping out of the car, I walked up to the porch, and his wife, Lonnie, got up from her chair and hugged me.

“You’re back.” She smiled. “Look at you. It’s been what? Two years since you were here last.”

“Yeah.” I hugged her tightly.

“I’ll go get Ano. He’ll be so surprised.”

As she went inside to get her husband, I said hello to all his family members. When Ano opened the creaky storm door, he stopped when he saw me.

“Jillian.” He held out his arms.

“Hi, Ano.”

“It’s good to see you again, girl. What’s been going on in that humdrum life of yours?”