“Are you seriously calling an Uber right now?”
“I’m going back to the room.”
“What about Carina and the girls?”
“They’re having fun. I don’t want to ruin their night because of what I have going on with you.”
The words feel like a slap in the face, and I take a step back.
“I never wanted this, Othello. This is not how my trip was supposed to be. I am supposed to be unplugging from the world and?—”
“Basking in your self-care,” I argue. “Doyou?Have your morning yogas and your umbrella drinks. Who are you trying to convince?Yourself? I know this, Marley! You’ve said it enough times to make it a damn brand.”
She blinks, startled by the edge in my voice.
Good. I hope she’s hearing me.
I slide her phone into my back pocket, ignoring the way she stiffens, then hand my valet ticket to the wide-eyed boy hovering nearby. He nods quickly, clearly relieved to escape whatever this is.
“I don't regret a single moment we've had since the plane ride," I continue, keeping my voice low. "And I hate that the incredible kiss we just shared seems to have ruined things for you. But you can't keep running from me.”
“I’m not running from you,” she scoffs, folding her arms tightly across her chest.
“Maybe you’re not running from me. But you’re running from what’s building between us.” My tone drops. “Trust me, I feel it too.”
We both fall quiet.
She stares past me, out towards the trees. I look over her shoulder, neither of us brave enough to meet each other’s eyes.
The valet driver pulls up a moment later in the Mustang, tires crunching softly over gravel. I walk to the passenger side, open the door, and wait.
Marley hesitates.
Then, without a word, she climbs in.
30
unwind you
MARLEY
Othello and Iwalk back tohissuite, the pounding in my chest so hard it’s making me tremble. We haven’t said a word to each other the entire ride back to the resort. Instead, I stare out the window, pretending to be calm when my pulse is anything but. I tell myself to breathe. To stay detached. To remember why I came here in the first place. But after Othello lit into me, there is a gnawing ache in my chest, and I can slowly feel the ice around my heart melting away.
When we arrive at the resort, Othello opens the car door for me, and we walk slowly to the room. The entire time, we’ve said not even two words to each other.
The tension between us is thick. Like one wrong word will set off everything we’ve been too careful to say…or too scared to do. Before I can fish the key card out of my clutch, Othello reaches into his pocket and pulls out my cell phone. He holds it out to me like a peace offering.
“Here,” he says.
“Thank you.”
I take it from him, and just like always, that jolt of heat sparks when our fingers touch. His hand lingers on mine, and when I glance up, he’s watching me with remorseful eyes.
“I don’t like seeing you like this, Marley,” Othello says, voice low. “It’s these games we’re playing that’s making all of this so difficult. So, if I have to tell everyone I made this whole thing up, I will.”
“Don’t,” I chide quietly. “You’ll only make a bigger fool of yourself.”
His jaw ticks, but then he shakes his head. “I wouldn’t care. If it will make you feel the way you felt about me before all of this, I would do it without thinking twice. I just want us to go back to the way we were. On the plane. When we stopped for tacos. And in the car on the way here. It was good then. It wasn’t like this.”
