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It’s a partly cloudy sky and even though I’m tired from the hike, I feel great in my own clothes. It feels amazing to wear my own bathing suit that doesn’t go up my butt, a pair of running shorts, and a tank top. I’m also wearing hiking sandals. They were one of the five pairs of shoes I packed. No regrets.
What doesn’t feel great is my burnt rear. Since I’ve never had to put sunscreen on my butt, because it’s never seen the light of day, I didn’t even think to put any on before snorkeling. What’s the one thing that sticks out of the water the most when you’re snorkeling, besides your head? Your heinie. And mine is now a toasty red color. Curse you, Scandinavian skin. Nadia got a good laugh at that when she called me early this morning. I was getting ready to go hiking with Grayson, and she had a full day at the spa ahead of her.
“So, the BILK’s got a six-pack,” she’d said after I’d caught her up on my burnt butt and my lost luggage and the one room with the one bed situation. I thought she’d want to know more about that, but it’s the six-pack she seems to hold on to.
“I can confirm it,” I said … again.
“And where are you going today?” she asked.
“We’re going on a hike, using the interactive map on GlobeTrotter.”
“What a hard job you have,” she snarked.
“It hasn’t been all sunshine and plumeria.”
“I don’t know, yesterday sounded nice.”
Yesterdaywasnice. I didn’t tell her all of it, like the conversations Grayson and I had. Last night, walking on the beach with him felt like a dream. I was honestly a little sad that there was a room for me when we got back, which was ridiculous. I got over it when I got up to my room and saw my suitcase there, waiting for me. All forty-nine pounds of it. I will never take clean underwear for granted again.
More importantly, my bridesmaid dress was inside, perfectly purple and totally wrinkled.
“You’ll be back in time for the rehearsal dinner, right?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
Now, as I follow Grayson up the narrow path, a backpack—with snacks and water and other hiking necessities, plus a couple of towels we took from the hotel—hanging from his shoulders, I’m kind of sad to have to go to the dinner tonight. First of all, there will be more possibilities for my jinx-ness to make an appearance. Who knows what I’ve got up my sleeve this time. A bunch of poisonous frogs I somehow unleash into the building? A single bolt of lightning from the clear blue sky that only lands on their venue? The possibilities are endless. The other reason, though, is this thing—this time with Grayson—will be over. When will I ever get another chance like this again?
And yes, I know. It’s for the best. He’s my boss. I have a boss … thing. But … I don’t know. Since we’ve been here and I’ve seen this other fun side of him, I know it’s more than just that. I haven’t been fighting it as hard as I usually do. I’ve let my protective guard down, and I don’t know if I want to put it back up.
If the whole Monty thing hadn’t happened, I might be willing to really take a risk. But it did, and that holds me back. It’s also not like Grayson is making any moves. He’s been nothing but gentlemanly, and the whole almost-kiss thing that happened not even a week ago hasn’t been brought up at all—or repeated. Which is such a bummer.
“How are you doing?” he asks when we have to stop to let people pass us on the path, headed in the direction from which we just came. He’s wearing sunglasses and it only adds to his coolness. One of the women passing by us pauses briefly to admire the view. Her eyes purposefully moving up and down his person.
“Great,” I say once they’ve passed. I’m not just saying that. It’s incredible out here. We’re in a tropical rainforest with all kinds of lush green landscape surrounding us. I have multiple pictures on my phone to prove it. The earthy smell fills my senses. I really don’t want this bubble I’m in right now to pop. To have to go back and sit at my desk with that cold brick wall in my office.
We walk mostly in silence, ducking under large branches covering us overhead, walking down makeshift stairs, and wading through a stream, where Grayson grabs my hand to help me across, before we finally come upon the waterfall, which is beautiful as it tumbles into the pool below. People are swimming and sitting on the rocks along the water.
“Wow,” I say as we stand in front of the falls, taking in the unbelievable view in front of us.
“Want to get in?” he asks, pointing to the pool.
“Sure,” I say. I’ve got mud on my hands and feet and feel hot and sticky from the mostly uphill hike right now, and immersing fully into the glorious-looking water sounds like the perfect thing to do.
We find a spot away from the pool to set our stuff down, and then, taking off our outer clothes, which is just a shirt for Grayson, we wade into the water. It’s shallow at first before it drops off into a deep pool, and we dive in, going fully under, then resurfacing at the top to gulp some air.
“It’s cold,” I exclaim when I see a smiling, wet Grayson.
We swim around for a bit, and then I follow him to the side where there are some rocks from which I’d seen some brave people jumping as we swam on the other side. We get out of the water, climbing up the rocky surface, taking in the view of the falls and the pool below and the lush foliage surrounding us.
“This is incredible,” he says, standing near me. The smile on his face falls as he looks around.
“What?” I ask, unsure why his facial expression changed so quickly.
“I keep thinking about all the life I’m missing, sitting in front of a computer,” he says.
I nod. “I think a lot of people feel that way.”
“Do you?” he asks.
