The Exception(13)

“Sure.” He looked down.

“I would hate to impose on your vacation,” I spoke.

“You wouldn’t be imposing at all. If I thought that, I wouldn’t have asked. So, yes?”

“Yes. That would be nice. Thank you.”

“Great. I’ll have Drew make reservations and then we’ll pick you up at your room, say around seven o’clock?”

“Seven sounds good.”

“Which room are you in?” she asked as she cocked her head.

“The Presidential Suite on the ninth floor.”

“Perfect. We’ll see you at seven.”

“Enjoy your day.” I smiled as I walked away.

My mind went back to what Drew said to me last night about her being a jealous person. Why would she invite me to have dinner with them? She knew Drew and I met on the plane and I could tell by her reaction when we first met that she instantly hated me. Why the sudden change of heart? I sighed as I sipped my coffee. Now that I thought more about it, Drew never looked happy when I saw the two of them together, and it was like he was a different person when he was with her. It was almost as if he was a different man than the one I met on the plane and paddle boarded with yesterday.

When I headed out to the private boat I rented, Juno was there to greet me.

“It’s nice to see you again, Jillian.” He smiled as he hugged me.

“It’s good to see you too.”

“Are you alone this trip?”

“Yeah. I’ve decided to embark on a journey of self-discovery.”

“Self-discovery is good.” He smiled as he handed me some scuba gear. “And what better way to get in touch with yourself than to swim with the dolphins? I’m going to take you to a special place not many of us take visitors. But for you, I’ll take you there.”

Juno started the boat and took me to a cove. As I stood there, looking over the side of the boat, I saw a group of dolphins swimming around the crystal clear, aqua blue water. I would never grow tired of this. I’d been swimming with the dolphins for years and loved every minute of it, but this time, it would be a different experience for me.

“There they are. They’re waiting for you to play with them, Jillian.” Juno smiled.

As soon as I climbed into the water, a group of dolphins swam up to me as my hands skimmed the top of the water. I’d learned over the years how to play with them by swimming around in a circle. Suddenly, they started to swim away and then circled back, with one of them brushing his nose against my body as if to tell me to follow them. Diving down into the water, I followed them out a few feet and found myself in pure bliss. They were in a playful mood. Some were spinning around me while others were jumping out of the water. They welcomed me into their oceanic playground. They kept a close eye on me as if they knew what I was going through and every emotion that flooded my mind. I found myself in the presence of joy and peacefulness. I was suddenly face to face with one dolphin as he was mere millimeters from me. I slowly brought up my hands and placed them on each side of his nose. As I stared into his eyes, I became aware of this moment. As if I suddenly woke up from a life that had only been a dream. I saw freedom and fearlessness. His clicking became more pronounced and the other dolphins swam over to me. I found myself encircled by them, and as I looked around into each of their eyes, I felt an abundance of love and strength.

Returning to the surface of the water, I played with them for a while longer and then climbed back into the boat.

“Magical, wasn’t it?” Juno smiled.

“Beyond magical, Juno.”

As I stared over the side of the boat one last time before Juno took me back, the dolphins jumped up out of the water and spun around. Two of them came to the side of the boat and stared up at me as I ran my hand along their noses.

“Thank you,” I spoke to them.

Turning around and diving back into the water, they disappeared, but the feeling that I got from our time together never would.

****

Passing by one of the shops in the hotel, a dress in the window caught my eye. It was a strapless, red floral print wraparound that would be perfect for dinner tonight with Drew and Jess. Walking into the shop, I asked the saleswoman if I could see it.

“What size are you?” she asked.

“Size 4.”

She smiled as she took the dress off the mannequin and handed it to me.

“Perfect. It’s your size and the only one we got in. I would say that you are meant to wear it. Would you like to try it on?”

“Yes. Please.”

As I stood and stared at myself in the full-length mirror, I ran my hands down my sides. The dress fit perfectly and I was in love with it. After making my purchase, I headed back up to my suite, showered, and got ready for dinner, which somehow I felt was going to be awkward at its best.

Just as I put the final touches on my makeup, there was a knock at the door. My belly started to do tiny flips and I wasn’t sure why. I had nothing to be nervous about. I was just having dinner with a man I met on the plane and his girlfriend. Opening the door, my eyes instantly diverted their attention to Drew. Good lord, was he hot. A number of things took over me, one being the ache between my legs and the thought of how I needed to take care of that later.

“Love that dress,” Jess spoke as she looked me up and down.

“Thank you. You look so pretty.” I smiled.