“It’s fine,” I said woodenly. If that’s where he stood, that’s where he stood. I could still have the time of my life while he wasted away in whatever five-star accommodation Charlie and Nathan had originally planned for us.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I guess I’m just...” His voice trailed off and he shot me a pained look. “I’m stressed, okay? I hate feeling out of control. The surprise trip was bad enough, but now all this?” He waved around, too exasperated to continue the thought.
The cardboard wall I’d crafted to protect myself from Harrison bent easily. I was never very good at having a guard up. Just ask my ex how he was able to manipulate me so easily for all those years. Perhaps I should have learned my lesson. I was sure Harrison’s hard demeanor would be back any minute, but he looked so genuinely anxious, it just made me want to help him.
“Anxiety is worrying about a future outcome that you can’t control. It doesn’t actually serve you at all. Live in the present, be prepared, and deal with things as they come.”
A particularly violent bump in the road sent me flying toward the aisle. Harrison caught me easily around the arms and steadied me. “I don’t have anxiety.”
If that was what he chose to believe, then it wasn’t worth arguing over.
The shuttle made an abrupt turn into a parking lot and came to a sputtering stop. I jumped up with enthusiasm that someone else might describe as incomprehensible, considering I’d just had a twenty-hour travel day. But it was only seven p.m. local time, and the sunset had just started to brush the evening sky.
“Go. Go. Go.” I grabbed Harrison’s arm and hoisted him up and out of the seat.
“For someone so tiny, you’ve got a good grip,” he said, rubbing his arm where I’d just let go.
“And for someone who looks so fit, you move at a glacial pace,” I countered.
He looked back at me, the corner of his lip quirked upward. “You think I look fit?”
Flames burned behind my cheeks. “You know what I meant,” I said as we moved down the aisle.
“I think I need you to clarify,” Harrison continued, snatching my suitcase from my hands and lugging it behind him. “Did you mean that I’m strong? Attractive, maybe?”
Stepping off the bus felt like the first real stretch I’d taken since leaving my house in Denver.
“Don’t let it go to your head,” I huffed as I turned around, only to see a playful gleam in Harrison’s dark eyes.
Was he...was heflirtingwith me? The thought nearly made me pass out. While I was sure Harrison had no issues attracting women—though I really didn’t want to dwell on that—I had always assumed the word ‘flirting’ wasn’t in his vocabulary.
I had pictured him disarming a woman with a withering glare, leaving her weak-kneed as the two of them disappeared into the night for some hate-fueled, intense sexual encounter that in no way resembled real intimacy. No, Harrison definitely didn’t flirt. And I was grateful for that, because that meant I’d never have to put my weak resolve to any sort of test.
I had a pulse, after all.
As if mocking my internal dialogue, Harrison’s bicep bulged as he lifted both of our bags and carried them over the rough cobblestones.
“This has to be the most impractical luggage for this terrain.” He struggled with my pink rolling suitcase before setting it down again and dragging it along. The wheels didn’t glide smoothlyover the uneven surface, and it made a loud rattling noise with each step.
“It’s not like I knew our destination,” I snapped back. “And I can carry it if you’re going to be a jerk about it.” But when I reached for my suitcase, he snatched it away.
This man was truly insufferable.
“Let’s just get to our hotel,” I said, pulling up the maps app on my phone. I had downloaded the entire island so I could use it offline. I punched in the saved address Charlie gave us, and turned directly left. “It’s only a few hundred feet this way.”
“Only a few hundred feet this way”wasn’t exactly a short trip when you were with me and I was in a new place. The bus had dropped us at the edge of town, and our first obstacle was a bustling square filled with people waiting in lines for dinner. The aromas wafting through the air were utterly mouthwatering. In one stall, a vendor spun a spigot of savory meat, expertly shaving it off and sliding it into pitas for eager customers. I rarely ate meat, but I would definitely be trying that.
Much to Harrison’s dismay, I had to stop and gape at every stall we passed. Every few steps, I paused to check out a menu, or admire a cute trinket in a gift shop. Harrison, on the other hand, kept moving ahead until he eventually looked back, stopped and dropped his head back in frustration. His patience was already worn so thin you could see right through it, but I didn’t care.
Instead of rushing to meet up with him, I stepped into the line for the gyros, looking at Harrison and blinking innocently. His exhale was laughably loud as he trudged back the few feet to stand next to me.
“Are you serious? Can’t we just get to the hotel first?”
“Let’s just get a snack. It’s right here.”
“This line is going to take forever.”
But just as he said it, two people paid and received their food, bringing us only a few people away from the front.
