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"You're a wild little beast," he whispers, biting my lip.
Wild. Maybe.
Reckless. Yes.
That's how I behaved last Saturday and how I am behaving now. It's not the behavior itself that scares me. The fact that I chose to act this way scares me. I wanted to be reckless. And as I look into his eyes, and feel his hot breath on my lips, every inch of my body tells me that I don't want to stop being reckless.
I shiver at the dark thought creeping into my mind: Kate was reckless. How did it all start for her? A one-night stand, a jump from a plane? I can't remember right now. I don't want to remember. I press my lips to his again, losing myself in his passion—the raging fire that wipes away every thought.
And every wisp of breath.
"Damn. If all people would skydive, Pfizer would make no money on Viagra," Christie calls, and we break off.
We turn toward her, and all the others grouped around her, in various stages of removing their equipment—as if nothing happened.
"We voted earlier and unanimously decided we want to go to the Chinese restaurant downtown," Christie announces pompously.
"I'm with you if you want steak though, mate," Thomas says and Christie throws him a look that screams traitor.
"We won't be joining you." James puts an arm around my waist and kisses my temple. "I promised Serena there would be just the two of us the rest of the evening."
I flush so violently I think steam might come off my face any second. No one seems to share my embarrassment. Natalie rolls her eyes, and Thomas looks disappointed to have lost any chance of getting a steak tonight.
"Can we please go change?" Angela complains, her torso already half out of her suit.
The airport’s restroom is minuscule, like the rest of the building, and not particularly suited for freshening up. But once out of my suit, I hurry and splash water on my face and neck at one of the three sinks, wondering why I hadn’t thought of bringing anything more than a brush with me. At least I brought this with me, because my hair looks like I've been in a tornado. A few strokes later, I realize it will probably keep this look until I wash it. I sigh and stuff the brush back in my bag.
The door cracks open and a look in the mirror tells me Natalie has joined me. She doesn't acknowledge my presence and I follow suit, taking longer than necessary to search for the necklace in my bag. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her getting her entire makeup arsenal and carefully arranging everything on her sink. She's so much more prepared for this than I am.
"Don't fall in love with him," she says and I freeze in the act of pulling my necklace from the pocket I knew it was in all along.
"I'm sorry?" I put on my necklace with trembling fingers.
"He can make you feel like you're the center of his world for one day and walk out on you the next."
My head snaps up. She's watching me in the mirror, a look of superiority obvious in every pore of her face.
"I'll keep that in mind," I say coldly.
"Oh, don't take it like that. I’ve known him for a long time. You barely met him. You’re not even one of us." She pauses, watching me with large, expectant eyes, no doubt hoping I'll start a scene. I'm determined not to give her that satisfaction. "You seem like such a lovely girl, one who doesn't deserve to get hurt," she adds with disappointment, applying her mascara.
"Thanks for the advice," I say, fighting to keep my voice even.
"Why don't you keep the advice to yourself, Natalie?" Christie says from the doorway. I can't tell how long she's been there, but obviously long enough. "I'm pretty sure Serena can take care of herself."
I seize this moment to leave. Christie follows me and I don't intend to stop before reaching Angela and the guys, who are on the other side of the entrance door, chatting animatedly, when she says, "Don't pay attention to Natalie, okay? No one can spread venom better than her." She shakes her head.
"Was she lying?" I ask, stopping in my tracks. Deep down I know she wasn't. Isn't that exactly how it happened? One night of unrequited attention to me, in which he completely ignored the party even though he was one of the hosts. And then one week of silence, which might have turned into forever had I not called.
Christie hesitates for a second before answering, "I wouldn't know from personal experience." She starts laughing at my sigh of relief, but resumes a serious demeanor when she adds, "From what I’ve heard, she wasn't lying. But this doesn't mean he can't change."
"Doesn't matter," I say quickly, wishing to cut this embarrassing conversation short. "It's just a bit of fun."
She raises an eyebrow.
"For both of us," I add and exit the small building, joining the group.
"I’m in the mood for a spontaneous trip to Malaysia," Ralph says. “Who’s in?” He looks hopefully at the others.
