Page 29

vladi

M otherfucker, it’s hot outside. Why did I agree to this again?

Waiting here, in the blazing sun, listening to some boat captain named Carlos drone on and on about boat safety while my balls sweat a goddamn lake in my swim trunks is not my idea of a vacation.

I would like to be in the cool water of the ocean or in my air-conditioned room.

I feel a muscle in my jaw tense as I grind my teeth.

Which was, once again, set to a temperature hotter than the surface of the sun when I returned from the gym this morning.

Cracking my knuckles, I dream of the ice bath I’m desperate to plunge into.

Maintenance says it’s been working fine; apparently, it’s just doing this to torture me.

If Larsy was not basically family, I would have already booked a flight home.

Annoyingly, I love the asshole, so I can suck it up for a few more days.

My eyes cut across the crowd. The fact I’m sharing a room with the woman of my dreams doesn’t hurt either .

Taking care of her last night was an experience.

It was captivating seeing a different side of her.

Her bold, snarky self is alluring as hell but seeing her so fragile made me feel that damn tightness in my chest again.

It’s like something is beating in there that hasn’t been alive in a very long time.

Maybe the guys were right. I shared things with her last night I’ve only told a handful of people, none of whom have been a woman.

But this woman? My hand scrapes across the stubble on my chin.

Fuck…she does something to me. The woman who put her arms around me so tightly when I told her about my mother.

The woman who I know wants to be with me, jagged edges and all.

The woman who is currently standing a little too close to Captain Carlos for my taste.

“Now, I need a volunteer to help demonstrate how to wear the life jackets in case of an emergency,” Carlos explains in a thick Dominican accent as he looks to Maggie. “Ah! This beautiful woman right here will help; what is your name?”

“Maggie.” She smiles at him, my blood suddenly boiling hotter than the sun beating down on me.

“What a beautiful name. We have so many wonderful guests here, but you are by far the most stunning of all. Now, let me show everyone how to properly wear your life vest.”

This guy needs a beating. Rage pools inside me as I watch him stand too close behind her as he places the life jacket over her head before reaching around her midsection to buckle the clips around her waist. I crack my knuckles and tilt my head to the side, trying to tame the wolf inside me.

Then I see that fucker’s hand graze her stomach.

I can’t take this. I’m going to beat the living shit out of that guy for touching my lisichka.

I storm toward them, pushing Maggie to the side and getting right in the face of the tour boat driver. “Don’t you ever touch her like that again.”

Carlos stares back at me, horrified, his eyes wide as he shakes under my tall stature. Good. My intimidation is working.

“Vladi! What the hell are you doing? Leave Carlos alone!” She reaches over to grab me, pulling me back and dragging me away from our group.

“He was touching you inappropriately, Magdalina,” I whisper through gritted teeth, suddenly realizing we have an audience staring back at us. Shit. This woman always seems to get me into the most attention-drawing situations. I hate attention, but all logic disappears the instant it involves her.

“He was demonstrating life jacket safety, jackass.”

“He was doing more than that. I saw his hand on you…close to your…”

“Close to my what, Vladi? Say it.”

“He was touching you,” I snarl, “ Flirting with you.”

“They do that on these damn tours! They flirt with the ladies to get tips. He’s not literally flirting with me,” she spits, the storm brewing in her hazel eyes intoxicating to witness. “And even if he was, you are not the owner of me just because we hooked up months ago.”

My heart, the one that finally started beating again, has now dropped into the pit of my stomach. Does she really think so little of me? “That’s it? All I am to you is a one-time fuck?”

The storm in her eyes morphs into a full-on hurricane.

Oh fuck. That was the wrong thing to say; this is not going to end well. “Shit, I didn’t mean-”

“How dare you say that to me, you fucking prick. You are the one who made that night a ‘one-time thing.’ You and your damn walled off emotions desperate to hide from a relationship. You have no right to tell me I’m off limits until you’re ready to do something about it,” she hisses as she storms back to motherfucking Carlos to continue the safety demonstration.

FUCK.

“Bruh! What the hell was with you and Maggie earlier?” Bougie says as he sits beside me, invading my space on the private yacht Larsy rented for this delightfully miserable excursion.

We snorkeled and saw some of the most beautiful coral reefs and tropical marine life.

But I couldn’t even enjoy it. Not the cool waters or the scenery.

Because through it all, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.

The mixture of regret and carnal need swirl through me like the damn fish in the water.

I white-knuckle grip my drink as I watch her now.

Standing by that damn boat captain again.

And now Bougie is here to question me. Yebat.

“Get away from me.”

“Vladster, listen. You pretend to hate me, but I know you secretly don’t. I have magical powers, and I know these things. I’m kind of like a Magic 8 Ball. Did you ever play with one of those as a kid? Wait!” he gasps, leaning in close to whisper, “Did they have those in Russia?”

“I said get away from me, Bougie,” I snark, his ridiculous question giving me a headache. But of course, he doesn’t leave, he just continues talking. As usual.

Dear God, get me off this boat.

“I’ll take that as a no. Okay, so it’s this little black ball, and you ask it a question, then you shake it really hard, and it gives you an answer.

The responses are like, ‘Outlook Good’ or ‘Ask Again Later’.

We would ask it dumb shit all the time, like, ‘Does my sister eat her boogers’ and it would say, ‘Without A Doubt’ and we’d all laugh. ”

“Bougie,” I pinch the bridge of my nose to keep myself from throwing him overboard, “why the hell are you telling me about this ridiculous child’s toy?”

“Patience, my friend. I’m getting there. But just so you know, I am a Magic 8 Ball. I just know shit. Sooo…if you asked me if I th ought you really hated me, you know what the Magic 8 Ball would say?”

“Please. Tell me. I’m dying to know. Do I need to shake you first?” I ask in my usual dry, sarcastic tone.

He rolls his eyes at me. “It would say, ‘My sources say no’.”

“Wonderful. Can you get away from me now?”

“No can do, Vladioli. I haven’t gotten to my point yet.”

“Fucking get to it.”

Bougie lets out a loud, annoying laugh, setting my teeth on edge. “God, I love you so much, Vladi! My point is, I know you don’t hate me. And I know even more that you have a thing for that brunette currently flirting with Captain Carlos over there.”

I furrow my brows at the ridiculous know-it-all smile he’s flashing at me. “So what if I do? She hates me.”

Bougie lays what he thinks is a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Vladster, trust me and my magical abilities to read people. That girl one-hundo percent does not hate you. In fact,” he picks up an empty can of beer and looks at it as he begins talking again.

“Is Maggie madly in love with you?” He shakes the can like it’s the damn toy he’s been talking about.

“Oh! Look at this,” he shows me the silver bottom, “It says, ‘It is certain.’ Would you look at that?”

I shake my head, smothering the spark of hope, knowing he is reading too much into this situation. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Listen, man. Take it from a guy who has three sisters. She is flirting with him for one reason and one reason only: for you to notice. And with the way you’ve been sitting here, broody and knocking back beers while not taking your eyes off her this entire boat trip…

” he snorts, nudging me with his sweaty shoulder, “you’ve noticed.

You’ve really noticed. So, my sweet, sweet goalie BFF, the question is, what in the hell is holding you back? ”

Fuck this damn rookie . He gets under my skin every moment of the day, but this time he hit something real.

His words gnaw at the back of my mind. What is keeping me from taking what I know I want?

Fear? I don’t let that rule anything else in my life.

But this – her? My stomach churns at the next thought.

If only I could be with her without holding back.

“It’s complicated,” I growl. “Besides, what would your twenty-two-year-old ass know about love?”

He sighs, an almost defeated look on his face.

“I know I don’t want to miss out on it when it comes my way.

I know I’m going to do everything possible to make sure the woman I’m madly in love with,” he pauses, a nervousness suddenly straining his face “…you know, eventually …doesn’t get away from me. ”

“I’m not madly in love with Maggie.” I shake my head, staring down into my beer before taking a drink. “And she is certainly not madly in love with me.”

“Has your facemask destroyed some of your brain cells? Have you seen the way she looks at you? For some reason, she’s head over heels for your grumpy ass.

You’re not even that cool. But, she likes you,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder as I grunt my disagreement, but he doesn’t remove it.

The boldness of this damn kid. “She’s a catch too.

And she’s really talented. I’ve got her working with a couple of the businesses I’ve invested in.

She’s doing a complete rebrand for the microbrewery. ”

“I am aware of her talents, rookie. Thank you for the well-known breaking news.”

He snorts out a laugh and shakes his head. “What I’m trying to say is that she’s going places. And if you don’t make a move soon, you’re going to get left behind.”

Goddammit . I will never admit that I do, in fact, like him, but he does make a couple of good points.

“Are we done now? ”

“You can thank me later, Vladi.” He winks as he pats me on the back, standing up to hopefully go annoy someone else.

My thoughts are running around like they are stuck in one of those damn corn mazes our social media coordinator made us participate in last fall.

I take another drink of my beer, cracking my knuckles on my free hand.

I want her. Badly. I don’t want to see her with another man.

I don’t want her to be with another man, but she is currently standing next to fucking Carlos and touching his arm as she laughs at his jokes.

I chug the rest of my too-warm beer, sweat pouring down my face despite the breeze, as I try, but fail, to control my rage.

I swear to God if he so much as touches any part of her again, someone else will have to steer this boat back to shore while I dump his lifeless body overboard.

I take a deep breath, staring at the expansive blue water surrounding us.

It’s like ice in liquid form. Seems appropriate, given the damn heat.

Would I even know how to love her? I don’t know how to love anyone.

I don’t even know if I love myself. What I do know is that she deserves someone who can love her in a way she’s worthy of.

Someone who can protect her. Care for her.

Embrace the chaos of her. I want that person to be me.

My eyes cut to her again, her laugh raising goosebumps. I’m just not sure if I can.