Determination Page 2

  I grab a quick shower and throw on some shorts and a button-down linen shirt. At least I have appropriate clothes. I head over to the main building and am quickly seated. Breakfast is a buffet. I grab coffee, some type of tropical juice, and then load up on yogurt and granola. I decide to take a few slices of cheese and ham as well and am browsing through the news on my phone when I hear a woman’s laugh. It’s the most charming laugh I’ve ever heard. I look up and see a young woman in perhaps her mid-to-late twenties standing by the buffet with a rather large man next to her. She has beautiful blonde hair that hangs halfway down her back in loose curls. She’s wearing a sundress, and from her tanned arms and legs, I can tell she’s been here for at least a few days.

  The large man next to her looks like a linebacker. He says something else to her and she laughs again. Then holding a plate she makes her way over to a table in the corner of the restaurant. The big man goes to sit down at the table next to her, but she says something and he takes the seat across from her. I’m intrigued. I can’t quite figure them out; they don’t seem like a couple.

  There’s something vaguely familiar about her as I stare in her direction. She’s beautiful. I mean drop-dead gorgeous, cover girl, supermodel material. She’s not tall enough to be a model. I squint at her, trying to get a better look, but I just can’t place her.

  My phone pings and I look down and see another text from Rick.

  Rick: Did you get my texts?

  I roll my eyes.

  Jesse: Yes. Keep me informed on the weather situation. I guess I’ll plan to stay at least four days here for now. Might as well use my vacation time. Reschedule Kauai for two months out. I think I have a free weekend in about nine weeks. Let me know how things go with this new IT guy Jack has brought in.

  Rick: Aye, aye, captain.

  I chuckle to myself. I get distracted by my emails and when I eventually look up the woman has gone. I head back to my room, stopping to get some snorkel gear on my way. I throw on my swim trunks and go down the ladder in my floor, straight into the reef. OK, that is pretty cool.

  I swim around coral for hours, looking at small reef fish. The colors under the water are amazing, and I’m glad I have my underwater camera with me. I take endless amounts of video and dozens of photos. Occasionally, I come across another snorkeler from the resort, but most of the time I’m by myself and quite frankly I’m loving it. I haven’t had alone time with nothing to do in ages. I do remember that the resort has Wi-Fi, and I suddenly feel the need to check on my email. I laugh to myself because Rick will kill me for checking it, but my compulsion to control is just too strong.

  I’m about to head back toward my hut when I hear a sound under the water. I pop my head up above the water and look around. About ten feet away is the woman from breakfast. She’s trying to tread water, while cursing to herself and holding her leg up as she examines it.

  I can see her leg is bleeding and looking around I make sure I don’t see any shark fins. I swim over toward her.

  “Hey, need some help?” I ask, pulling my mask up so I can get a better look at her leg. It’s been years since I’ve had first aid training, but I do recall my classes from my lifeguarding days and a few years ago I had to take some CPR/first aid classes before I did a mountain climb in Bhutan with a friend of mine. Her leg looks like it’s going to have a good bruise. It’s cut, but not too deeply, and it’s swollen and purple around the cut already.

  “Uh, I think I’m OK, I was just being stupid and not paying attention. Guess I knocked it on the coral.” She shrugs and looks back at her leg. I lift her leg slightly, examining it closer. She winces as I run a finger along the edge of the raised skin. I can’t help but notice that her skin is smooth, and her legs are well-toned.

  “Sorry,” I murmur. “Here, let me help you, my bungalow is right here, and I have a first aid kit in my bag.”

  She looks around, and I can tell this situation is making her a bit nervous.

  “Or I can help you back to shore and we can go to the front desk. I’m sure they have some first aid kits as well,” I say reassuringly.

  She looks toward shore and then toward my bungalow that I’m pointing toward. It’s about four times as far to get back to shore.

  “OK,” she whispers.

  “My place or the shore?” I ask not understanding her.

  “Your bungalow is closer,” she says hesitantly.

  “I swear I’m not a serial killer or anything,” I say flashing her a grin.

  “Sure, that’s what all the serial killers say,” she laughs.

  I laugh and help her toward my ladder. When we reach it, I turn toward her.

  “Do you think you can climb up?” I ask. She looks down at her leg in the water and nods.

  “I’ll come up behind you just in case,” I say. She gives me a skeptical look. “No funny business, I promise,” I add. She nods and starts climbing up the ladder. She hits her leg once and curses but keeps climbing. She’s definitely not a wimp, and I like that about her.

  She lifts the hatch in my floor and pulls herself up inside. I climb up next, and when I pull myself into my room, I see she’s sitting on the floor examining her leg more closely.

  I walk over to my bag and grab the first aid I had packed for the canyon hike. I open it on the floor next to her.

  “May I?” I ask as I pull out antiseptic wipes. She nods, and I gently clean her cut. She only winces once. Then, I put a bandage over the cut, being careful not to put any adhesive on the bruised part.

  “There, good as new,” I say as I sit back on my haunches and take a look at my handywork. Not bad, I think to myself. I can’t keep my eyes from traveling up from her shin to her thighs, stomach, and breasts, where I know my vision lingers a little too long before reaching her face. She has amazing full lips, a cute button nose, high cheekbones, and big blue eyes. There’s a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, clearly from all the sun she’s been getting. Her hair is wet, but I can see highlights in it.

  “Thanks,” she says softly as she looks at her leg and then back at me. She blushes a little and I suddenly am aware that if I don’t get myself under control she will know exactly what I am thinking about.

  “You’re welcome,” I respond quickly and turn away to grab a t-shirt. I grab the extra robe in my bathroom and bring it out to her. I help her to stand and hand her the robe which she thanks me for before putting it on. I help her to a chair and then grab some ice I had put in the small refrigerator/freezer. “Here, put this on it,” I say, handing her the ice in a bag.

  She sits and puts the ice on her shin. I push my suitcase under her foot, so her leg is propped up, and then I take a seat across from her. I extend my hand.

  “I’m Jesse, by the way,” I say with a smile.

  “Vanessa,” she says as she shakes my hand. Her hands are small and her skin soft and warm. Her nails are perfectly manicured with a pale pink polish.

  “Well, nice to meet you, Vanessa.”

  She gives me a thousand-watt smile. “Thanks for helping me,” she says.

  “Well, I certainly couldn’t leave you out there to fend for yourself,” I say.

  She cocks her head to one side and looks at me with a smirk.

  “Well, I’ll be damned, chivalry isn’t dead,” she laughs.

  “I suppose not,” I laugh too.

  She looks around my room. “You here on business?” she asks.

  “No, unexpected detour,” I answer.

  She looks out the window at the reef. “Well, I suppose if you have to have a detour, it’s not a bad place for one,” she contemplates, smiling as she turns back to me.

  “I’ll have to agree with you there. It’s beautiful here,” I concur. “Are you here on vacation?”

  She laughs, that breathtaking angelic sound I heard in the restaurant. “Something like that.”

  I nod. She picks up the bag of ice on her leg and stands.

  “I probably should be getti
ng back before they call out a search party.”

  I give her my hand, so she can steady herself. Once outside on the walkway, she turns back to me.

  “Thanks again, Jesse. I—”

  She is cut off by the huge linebacker-looking fellow I saw her with at breakfast. Perhaps they are together? I ponder this with disappointment as he walks quickly over to her.

  “Where the hell have you been, girl? We were starting to freak out,” he says with a huff and quite frankly a look of pure relief. He has an accent that tells me he’s from some island in the Caribbean.

  “Sorry, Kev,” she says contritely as she motions to her leg. “I hit my leg on the coral by accident, and Jesse here helped me out.”

  “V, you should have called. We were this close to a full nuclear meltdown,” he admonishes, holding his index finger and thumb a fraction apart. Vanessa rolls her eyes.

  “I’m fine,” she moans.

  “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it then,” I say as I look between the two of them. Is Kev her boyfriend? Have I completely overread this situation? Vanessa turns back to me.

  “Join us for dinner?” she asks. “I owe you a thank-you for your help.”

  I hold up a hand. “Not really, it’s no big deal.”

  “So then join us just because,” she offers with a smile that makes my cock twitch. Down, boy!

  “Alright,” I slowly respond.

  “Great!” she says enthusiastically. “It’s luau night, so we’ll see you at seven.”

  Luau? I thought that was a Hawaiian thing? I shrug. “OK.”

  She leans up and kisses my cheek and suddenly I’m afraid to look down as I feel all my blood rushing south.

  “Thanks again. Glad to know knights in shining armor still exist,” she whispers as she pulls away with a grin on her face. Then, she practically skips past Kev and straight across into a hut on the far side of the walkway. Odd that she didn’t mention her bungalow was right here.

  I turn and head back into my room. It’s only lunchtime. I decide to grab some food and check my emails. I spend the afternoon snorkeling again. I pull up the weather app on my phone to see where the typhoons are at, and I sigh. They seem to be merging just north of the island into a major storm. And like clockwork, Rick texts as I’m surveying the weather catastrophe.

  Rick: Uh, weather isn’t looking so good for travel.

  Jesse: Yeah, I can see that.

  Rick: So, I will set you up where you’re at for the week, unless you’d like me to find you another place on Bora Bora or Tahiti?

  Jesse: No, I’m good here. Just make sure all my calls and emails get sent to my phone.

  Rick: Already did, but also holding the ones that aren’t important. Take a few days and decompress.

  Jesse: You’re funny.

  Rick: (winking emoji)

  Jesse: No, seriously, send me my calls.

  Rick: Sorry…you…are…breaking…up

  Jesse: (middle finger emoji)

  Rick: (kissy face winking emoji)

  I sigh with a laugh and toss my phone on the bed. I look over at the clock; it’s almost 6:30. I shower and put on a pair of linen khakis and another white button-down linen shirt. I look in the mirror. I really ought to shave as my facial hair is starting to get beyond that five-o’clock shadow phase, but fuck it, I’m on vacation.

  I make my way to the restaurant and quickly find Vanessa sitting at a table in the back. I look around and see Kev and some other guy who’s not quite as tall as Kev. He’s also built and is sitting at a table nearby. Strange. Vanessa sees me and waves.

  “Hey,” she says and stands to give me a hug and kiss on the cheek.

  “So, this is luau night, huh?” I ask.

  “Yep, we’ve been here for a little over a week, so it’s our second one,” she says.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I was going to split my time between here and Bora Bora, but I love it here so much, I think we’ll stay for another week or so before we head home.”

  “Where’s home?” I ask, taking a seat on the side near her instead of across from her.

  “LA for now, but Ohio before that,” she says. “How about you?”

  “I grew up outside of D.C., but now I split my time between New York and D.C. I’m sometimes out in LA, but only recently.”

  “So why Moorea?” she asks as she places her napkin back in her lap. She’s wearing a beautiful turquoise and white, Polynesian-print dress that exposes her tanned shoulders. Her eyes sparkle against the color. Her hair is pulled up on her head so that I can see every inch of her gorgeous neckline. I pull my eyes away from her body before I lose control of my own.

  “Not intentional,” I remind her as I lay a napkin across my lap. A server interrupts us to take our drink orders. She orders a straight up martini, not what I expected.

  “So, you were saying,” she nudges as she takes a sip of water.

  “The storms forced my plane to land here. I was on my way to Sidney for business,” I explain.

  “Oh? That sounds kind of scary and exciting,” she says and her eyes glimmer again, only this time I think it’s from the candlelight on the table.

  “Sort of.” I shrug and take a sip of my scotch that the waiter has just set on the table. She circles the olives in her martini and looks at me.

  “So, will you be able to get to Sidney?”

  “Nope. That typhoon merged with another and there’s now—”

  She giggles, cutting me off and gives me a big smile. “I know. Typhoon Vanessa. I hear she’s quite something.”

  I laugh. I guess I’d missed the typhoon’s name. Ironic, I think to myself. “Well, she’s not a force I want to reckon with, so I’m grounded here for the next few days.”

  She nods. “What are you going to do with your unplanned vacation?”

  I shrug. “I’m honestly not sure. I was just informed about it. Any suggestions, since you’ve been here for a whole week?”

  “Well, there’s actually quite a bit to do. Yesterday we did a tour of the island and went to a distillery of sorts. A few days ago, we went on a boat tour where you can snorkel with stingrays and sharks. We’ve done some hiking in the middle of the island. I hear you can do a swim with dolphins here. And there’s the typical booze cruises and diving of course.”

  “Do you dive?” I ask her.

  “Yes, I’m certified,” she says.

  “I didn’t bring my gear, but that could be interesting,” I say as I take a bite of the amazing bread that’s been set in front of us. I can see her eyeing it, and I can tell she really wants to have some, but she instead takes another sip of her martini and slowly pulls an olive off the fancy toothpick with her teeth. I have to force myself to look back at my drink as I feel my cock spring to life once again. It’s been way too fucking long since I got laid, and the fact that Vanessa is drop-dead gorgeous doesn’t help things.

  A waitress brings us our dinner and the show starts. We eat in silence watching the dancers and these guys who are twirling sticks of fire. It is actually quite a good show. Some cheesy couples go up and try to learn how to do the dances. Vanessa doesn’t attempt to go up nor does she push me to do it. If anything, she seems to slink back in her chair when they call for volunteers. Perhaps she’s shy. Regardless, I’m glad she doesn’t insist we go up there. It’s just not my thing. We discuss the show a bit and rave about various parts as they finish. At one point, we get into a fun debate about whether we could do the dance with the fire sticks. It’s lighthearted banter. She’s relaxed and fun to converse with, and I find myself enjoying her company.

  After the show, the waitress offers us a dessert menu. Vanessa eyes it and then sets it down.

  “No dessert?” I ask.

  “I really shouldn’t…” She trails off as she looks back down at it.

  “How about we share the fruit sorbet?” I suggest. “The fruit here is amazing.”

  She smiles. “OK.” I order us the dessert and wonder if she’s one of th
ose annoying women that always thinks they’re fat. She is definitely not fat. In fact, she is a bit too thin for my liking. I can tell she’s very active as her muscles are tone, but she definitely looks like she could eat a dessert or two. I look at her for a long moment, and she blushes and glances out at the starry night sky.

  “So, are you here for vacation then, you didn’t really say?” I ask her, trying to ease her clear discomfort.

  “Yes,” she says and downs the last of her martini. Again, she doesn’t elaborate.

  I decide it’s time to pry. I’m curious about this woman because she’s given nothing away. I still can’t shake the feeling that I know her or I’ve seen her somewhere.

  “So, do you and Kev come here often?” I ask, and she nearly spits out her mouthful of martini.

  She quickly composes herself. “Uh, no. This is my first time on this island. I’ve been to some others before, Bora Bora and also Fiji. I love the South Pacific,” she says smiling a nervous smile that’s clearly hiding her anxiety about something, but what?

  “I haven’t spent much time in the South Pacific,” I admit. “Maybe you guys could come diving with me tomorrow? I hate to spend the day alone.”

  She looks at me nervously as a bowl of sorbet is set in front of us with two spoons. She takes a mouthful and hums appreciatively, and I’m forced to adjust myself under the table.

  “That is amazing!” she croons, taking another mouthful. I dip into it and close my eyes as the flavors burst in my mouth. I’m not really a dessert person, but this shit is good.

  “Yes, it is,” I agree. We eat it in silence, which only takes about two minutes because it’s that good. She sits back in her chair and looks at me.