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She kissed me and I just knew that this was going to be a long night.
Ringggg.
Ringggg.
Ringggg.
Letting go of her, I rolled over and reached for my phone.
Shit. I had forgotten to call Sedric when I landed.
Getting out of bed, I grabbed my boxers and slipped outside, making sure to close the door behind me so as to not wake Coraline. I smirked as she automatically reached for the empty space on the bed.
Ringggg.
“Sedric!” I said quickly.
“Son.”
Though I was really only his nephew, Sedric always called me his son no matter what. I was nine when my parents were murdered, and he took me in. I could still remember being in the car, with my mother’s body slumped over and shielding me as the bullets shattered the windows.
Sedric took me home, stripped me down, and washed the blood off of me. It had been eighteen years since I’d lost my parents, and the only reason I didn’t call him father was because I didn’t want to let go of my parents and he understood that.
“Enjoying your vacation?” he asked me emotionlessly.
“It’s not really a vacation, now is it?”
“I’m glad I don’t have to remind you. The woman you’re with, she’s not going to be a distraction, is she? The phone rang four times before you answered and you didn’t call me when you landed.”
“No sir, we’re just having fun.”
He paused for a moment before speaking. “You’ve never taken a woman anywhere further than a hotel room, Declan, let alone out of the country.”
“Sedric, it means nothing. What did you need me to do?”
“The dealer supplying to Seven Bloods. His name is Emilio Guerra, street name, Slasher. I sent backup down, in case you need it, but I’m not expecting you to need it. Do you understand?”
Meaning he wanted didn’t want anyone to know it was us.
“Yes. I’ll call in once it’s done.”
“Be careful, son.” He hung up without waiting for me to reply. Like always.
I took a deep breath and turned to go back inside. It was only when I entered our room once more that I realized she hadn’t been exaggerating. She really did snore…loudly. But she looked cute.
I walked over and pulled the blanket up and over her since the air conditioning was on. Grabbing my laptop and headphones, I sat beside the dimming light and searched for Emilio. I needed to get away while she was sleeping sometime this week to take care of him. I also needed to send proof to Sedric. He would take me at my word, but I wanted him to know that I could be with her and at the same time make sure that the family work was being taken care of.
SIX
“Let's take a walk. You can show me some of your memories and I'll show you some of mine.”
?Adam Berlin
DECLAN
It was mid-day on our third day in Cancun, and she held onto my arm as we walked barefoot along the beach. Somehow we found ourselves in the midst of our version of twenty questions.
“What is the best gift you’ve ever received?” she asked me.
I thought for a moment. “I’d have to say the broken Microsoft computer I got when I was eleven.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Liam had broken his, but he put in a wagon, brought it down to my room, and begged me to fix it before his dad found out. I thought he was crazy but he told me that I was good with technology and promised to do my chores for a week.”
“You did chores? Didn’t you guys have maids or something?” She sounded so amazed.
“Yes, we did. But Sedric, my uncle, said that he didn’t want slackers for sons and that our future wives would all blame him for not raising us right. So the maids were instructed to clean everywhere but our rooms. We did our own laundry, vacuumed our own rooms and even had to use the ladder to wash the windows on the outside. Since Neal was the oldest, he usually went up and did it while Liam and I held the bottom of the ladders. I’ll never forget when Liam demanded to be paid for all this work. Sedric had everything stripped out of his room and demanded that Liam pay for everything in order to get it all back, plus extra for his ‘pain and suffering.’ ”
She laughed outright and tears built up in the corner of her eyes.
“Oh God, what did he do?”
“Liam’s hardheaded. He refused to admit that he was wrong. So instead, he stole Sedric’s golf clubs and his wallet, and held it for ransom. Liam got his stuff back but not before getting a few lashes on his arse. So I’m not sure if it was a victory or not.”
“What about the computer? Did you fix it?” she question, reminding me of how we’d gotten on this subject to begin with.
“Yep, I fixed it, but not before Sedric came home and found out. He made Liam run fifteen laps around the house and I had to run double that for being an accomplice. But it was a worthwhile experience, after all, it’s how I knew I wanted to study computer programing. ”
When I looked down at her she was smiling so brightly at me that I almost felt embarrassed. I kissed her forehead, and looked back to see the ocean. It looked like it could go on for miles.
“Next question—”
“Oh no. You’ve asked me like five questions. Now it’s my turn.”
“Fine. Ask away.”
I nodded as I tried to think of a question that would make her talk just as much as me.
“I know you majored in business, but what was your favorite subject in school? And why?” I added the why part just in case she decided to give me a one worded answer.
“Literature. I would have majored in that, but I settled for it as my minor.” She thought for a moment. “I guess the answer to ‘why’ would be because they’re like mini vacations. I can go anywhere and be anyone just by opening a book. It’s always so exciting when I start, and so sad when it over.”
“What’s your favorite book?”
“That’s like asking me what my favorite star in the sky is—it’s impossible to answer. It changes from day to day. But as of today, it’s PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. And now that I think about it, the main character, Garry, he’s Irish!” She grinned and I laughed.
“What can I say, love, we’ve been in everyone’s fantasy from the dawn of time,” I said with an accent and I watched as her grin grew even wider. I loved seeing her smile.
“You’re definitely reading to me later,” she stated as she nodded her head to herself.
“You brought the book with you?”
“Yeah. Book nerd rule number three: never ever, leave an unfinished book at home.”
She’s so cute.
Taking a break from our walk, we sat down on the sand right at the bank, as the tide brought the water up to just below our toes.
“Okay, next question…”
“Nope. It’s mine turn now.”
“What?”
She nodded smugly. “See? It goes by quickly.”
“Go ahead.”
She tapped her finger on her chin and I rolled my eyes as I tapped my hand on my watch.
“When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?”
Without thinking I answered. “Whatever my family needed me to be.”
She tilted her head in confusion and I wished I had just said a doctor or something generic…but it was already too late for me to back track.
