Page 6 of Fighting With Light

“Stunning,” I say, a little out of breath.

She smiles softly and I clear my throat, trying to shake the way my hands got all sweaty and my fingers itch to trace the lines of her shoulders barely touched by spaghetti straps. She’s not wearing a bra and it makes me want to do it even more. I fist my hands and force them to relax. “You won’t need your shoes for a bit,” I say, nodding towards her feet.

She leans down, flashing the top of her bare chest to untie her sandals, and tosses them to the side. I chuckle and step into her villa, and she bites her lower lip.

It’s like crossing this barrier broke the one between us, which is good, but I’m wondering if it’s bad for me, too. I lean over and grab each of the shoes and loop them over my fingers before offering my arm. Sliding the door closed, she takes my arm as I lead us down to the beach.

With Aelia this close to me, she smells like cherries with a hint of almond and it makes my mouth water. I lead us down the length of the beach towards a little restaurant that sits on the sand. They catch fish the same day and their Bebe Timbungan, roasted duck, is the best I’ve ever had.

“You look nice, by the way,” she says. I look down at her and the sun is almost past the horizon, giving her a warm glow. I guide us to walk into the gently splashing shore to keep our feet cool.

“Thank you.” I’m wearing a pair of tan linen shorts and a green shirt. The linen is light enough and it helps you breathe a little when it’s so hot. I push my ear length hair back, wishing I tied it up as we get closer to the restaurant.

Aelia holds onto me as we walk up a small hill to the restaurant. We come up to the rock stairs and I hold her hand as she leans over to get her shoes back on. I slip mine on and help her up the uneven stairs.

When we get to the top, I find us a table and pull the chair out for Aelia. This place is laid back, no white tablecloths, but still five-star service. She looks around at the open space and the kitchen we can see from our seat. The smells wafting out are making me hungry, and I ate before I picked up Aelia because I was starving after surfing.

“So, you’re a rock climber?” Aelia asks.

I nod and take a sip of water. “I’ve been climbing for most of my life. I wish I went competitive with it, but I somewhat fell into the surfing thing, too.”

“Are you a professional in something else?” she asks.

“Yeah, I’m a surfer,” I tell her and throw out a charming smile.

She smiles at me and takes a sip of water. “You’ve got more of a Tarzan vibe going instead of a surfer dude.”

I laugh. “Oh, and how is that?”

She tilts her head and stares at me for too long. “I don’t know the hair, themuscles...I mean, you don’t have a loincloth, though, so that’s a downside.” She giggles and gives me a coy look.

I run my tongue along the edge of my teeth and lean forward. “I mean, if that’s your thing, I think that can be arranged.”

Her eyes widen and her cheeks get rosy. I’ll have to tread carefully with this. It’s easy to get lost in her…magnetism. I almost forgot what I was doing for a minute.Stay on mission, Liam.

The waitress comes to tell us what’s on the menu. Since it’s fresh or sold out throughout the day, they don’t bother with printed menus.

Aelia looks at me after the waitress finishes listing things off. “I don’t know what any of that is.”

“Do you like chicken, pork, or seafood?”

“Chicken sounds good.”

“Okay, so I’d say you would like the Tum Bali, which is seasoned meat cooked in a banana leaf, or you might like Ayam Betutu, which is slow cooked chicken with spices.” She considers my suggestions.

“I’ll have the Tum Bali,” she tells the waitress. She nods and looks at me, and I order the same because it’s one of my favorites.

“How long have you been here to be so familiar with those dishes?” she asks.

I take another long drink of water, not realizing I’m so thirsty. “I’m in and out a lot, I guess. So what brings you to Bali?” I ask her, trying to steer the conversation away from me and more towards what she’s doing here.

She doesn’t answer right away and looks out over the dark ocean. The breeze whips her hair around, and I’ve seen her a few times before, but never up close like this. She is beautiful, but beauty is corruptible. I can’t imagine how ugly her inside is because of who her family is. Her father is a ruthless and cold man. While his sons, her brothers, are brutal, they are worse than me. They take pleasure in other people’s pain. Thankfully, my family has never been on the receiving end of that, but with her here right now, I can’t be so sure that’s noton the horizon.

“I wanted to visit a place I’ve heard so much about,” she says. I tilt my head, staring at her expression. It’s calm, it’s…controlled.

“Really? You came all the way to Bali on a whim?”

She shrugs and takes another sip of water. I lean forward, grabbing the bottle and pouring her some more.