“The night we met, I approached you because I wanted to ask you out.”
Her eyes meet mine. And I can’t stop thinking about that phone call that interrupted our moment. I wonder what she would have said then and what she will say now. All of a sudden, I’m just as nervous as I was that night.
“I mean, that’s if you have time in your busy, all about you, solo vacation,” I tell her. “I would love to take you out to dinner.”
“In Maui?” she asks.
“Yes, in Maui.”
“So, you know all the hot spots to go to then, huh?”
I drag my hand across my mouth, trying and failing to hide the grin on my face. “Nah, I’ve never been to Maui before. This will be my first time. But… I’ll figure it out. I just need you to say yes.”
Our eyes meet and linger.
“Yes,” she says finally.
5
second chance
MARLEY
I blamemy sudden burst of boldness on being thirty thousand miles in the air. My guarded personalityhasto be back on land because up here, with my head literally in the clouds, I’ve somehow become bold and spontaneous. Yes, that has to be it. Because what else can explain agreeing to a date when I am doing one of the very things I came to escape?
That’s partly what this whole trip is about. Giving myself time away from work and men. Not thinking about deadlines and not frolicking with the first man to throw attention at me.
New Year’s had been two days ago, and my resolution had been clear:No dating. No situationships that involved bogus mind games.I was tired of mistaking attention for genuine kindness.
Focus on self, Marley. This trip is about focusing on self!
I still feel the need to decompress after my last break-up with my ex, Trey. The break-up that hurt the most. Or could I even call my recent break-up a break-up? Trey had already broken up with me, then we somehow drifted back together withoutactuallydiscussing whether we were together again. So you can’t really call that a break-up, right?
I let out a long sigh.
Yeah. Messy and confusing. That was my life once upon a time. But I have learned to choose myself since then. Learned to honor my own boundaries. Learned to love myself more than the thrill of chasing men who were never meant to stay.
Which is exactly why Idon’tneed to get involved with anyone right now. Even if they are as charming and good-looking as Othello Kingston.
No more falling for charming men.
My heart is pounding hard and fast, and I wonder more than once if this fine specimen to my left can hear it. He keeps the conversation going, oblivious to how my eyes scan his perfect face. He is brutally handsome. The hair growing around his full lips and cleft chin is perfectly trimmed. His eyes are a shade of brown I’d never seen before. His skin . . .good lord. . .his skin. Othello’s sepia complexion is so smooth I want to lick his cheek to see if he tastes as good as he looks.
Othello sits with confidence, the humble kind, oozing good humor and respect. I watch him in awe as he speaks, his hands animated and his emotions enthusiastic. My mind drifts back to the day we met months ago, and I can’t help but cringe at how foolish and maybe even a little rude I had been to cut our conversation short just to answer a call from a man I don’t even speak to anymore. I used to kick myself just thinking about how I shouldn’t have walked away from Othello.
But Ihadwalked away. And yet, fate, or maybe just a cruel twist of irony, brought Othello right here, next to me, in seat 14C. I think about how I’d found him again after that night we met on the dating app, Hooked.
Swiping right felt like a second chance, and I waited, fingers crossed, hoping he’d match with me. But weeks passed. Nothing.
I convinced myself Othello was probably still annoyed that I’d left him hanging that night. Eventually, I deleted the app altogether. Too many wasted hopes. But that doesn’t stop him from invading my thoughts when I least expect it. Every now and again, Othello would run through my mind. If I was washing clothes, or reading a romance novel, or simply ordering take-out the third night in a row, he would drift into my thoughts, and I would think what if I had ignored that call.
I thought I had blown my chance with Othello.
But now here he is in the flesh, right beside me. Looking like a snack I needed to get my hands on.
Calm down and pump your brakes, lover girl.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Othello murmurs, bumping my shoulder with his. “You good?”
