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Parker

I look out the window and smile when all I see down below are clouds and water. I haven’t flown on a plane very often, so while I’m always a little nervous, this is my first time flying over the ocean and I’m terrified.

“Hey, you okay?” a soft voice cuts through my thoughts and I turn my head toward my best friend Kendra.

“I’m fine. Nervous, but fine.” I chuckle, gripping the armrest in between us tightly. “You just had to pick a destination wedding in another country, didn’t you?”

Kendra laughs, tossing her head back. “I could have picked something closer to home, but a beach wedding versus a wedding in Chicago was really no choice at all.” She presses the button to order a drink and I smile, taking her in. She’s gorgeous, with her braided black hair, brown eyes, and warm brown skin that’s bronzed up to her cheeks from the alcohol she’s consumed.

“Are you really ordering more alcohol?” I ask when the flight attendant makes her way over to us.

“Of course! I’m getting married!” she squeals before giving her attention to the attendant and asking her for two more mini liquor bottles. Kendra grabs the bottles, pouring one into my cup and pushing it into my hands. “Come on, drink up. It’ll help relax your nerves.”

I quickly take a sip, thankful I mixed it with some Coke . Looking over at my best friend, I smile again, so happy for her. She’s waited for her Prince Charming for a long time, and thankfully, Tim is someone I actually like. But I’ve been dreading this day for a while now.

Not because I’m in love with my best friend or anything. No. Because I’m in love with her twin brother and did the stupidest thing I could have done when I broke up with him. I haven’t seen him since I left and even though I’ve called and left messages, he’s ignored me.

I get it. I would do the same, but fuck. I miss him.

And now I’m going to have to be around him for the next week during all the wedding activities. It’s going to be hard as fuck being around him, especially not being able to touch him.

Kendra and I sit and talk on the plane for another hour before the plane begins its descent. I already have my exit plan strategy in the case of an emergency, my eyes darting to the flight attendant and then the emergency doors. Kendra grabs onto my hand and squeezes, both of us glancing out the window. She’s distracting me, and I’m so damn thankful.

“Wow,” I say, my face glued to the glass, blown away by the beautiful blue waters below.

“I know, right? Aruba is beautiful. It was a no-brainer when picking a beach spot.”

“I’m glad you picked it,” I murmur. Even if I hated the flight in, I can’t deny how gorgeous it is.

We’re off the plane in no time at all, making our way to the baggage claim. After we both grab all our luggage, which, in hindsight, is probably way too much, we look around for our car attendant. Kendra squeals and grabs my hand before dragging me over to a smiling man in a black suit.

“That’s me!” she yells, smiling at me before looking back at the man.

“I’m here to drive you to the resort,” the man says, placing the sign with Kendra’s name behind his back.

We follow him to his black car, and I help him put our luggage into the back while Kendra gets into the backseat. She keeps squealing and I can’t help but laugh along. Her smile is so damn infectious.

I’ve known Kendra since we were in college together. We both wanted to do the nursing program, so we’d ended up in a lot of the same classes. We became inseparable pretty quickly, and she’s been my best friend ever since. During the summer before our senior year, she took me home with her, which is where I met Marcus, her twin brother. He lived in Chicago and I lived in Arizona, so while we hung out, nothing ever happened. It wasn’t until a few years later, when I made the move to Chicago, that I finally made a move on Marcus. It was going well… until it wasn’t.

“So, you finally made the jump to Chicago, I see,” Marcus jokes, bumping his shoulder into mine.

“I figured it was time. I visit here most of the time, anyway,” I tell him, offering him my biggest smile. From the moment I met Marcus, I’ve had a massive crush on him. Of course, I kept it to myself, but I’ve seen the looks he gives me when he thinks I’m not paying attention. But obviously I’ve noticed it; I’m always watching him.

“I’m thankful you’re here full time.” His hand comes out, trailing down the length of my arm.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” I ask, stepping closer to him. He smells of sandalwood and Marcus and I would give anything to feel his naked body against mine. I bet he’s a giver, making sure all his partners are well taken care of. I can only imagine what it would be like to feel his hands on me, to have him take me apart and then put me back together.

“Thought maybe we could spend some more time together.” He shrugs, pulling his hand away. I feel the loss instantly, wanting to grab it and pull his hand back to me.

“Like a date?” I ask excitedly.

“Is that something you would want?”

“Yeah, Marcus. I would love to go on a date with you.”

“Hey,” I’m jolted from memory lane when Kendra places her hand on my knee. “Thank you for coming.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this for anything in the world. Plus, I’m the Man of Honor, so of course I had to come.”

“I know this isn’t going to be easy for you. But I’m thankful you’re here. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“Kendra, you’re my best friend. There’s no other place I’d rather be.” Grabbing her hand, I interlock our fingers, squeezing tight. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Park. Now, what should we do first?”

“Unpack,” I deadpan. “We’re here for a week and then you’re here for another week after that.”

“I know, but it’s so beautiful. I just want to see it all.”

“And you will. When does Tim get in?” Tim had to finish up some things at work, so he’s not coming in until tonight, which gave me and Kendra a few more hours, just us.

“Not till around ten. It’s only noon, so we have a few hours to get in trouble.” She rubs her hands mischievously, setting off a round of giggles between us.

We arrive at the resort, my eyes wide when I take in how gorgeous it looks. I’ve stayed at hotels before, but nothing as extravagant as this. The whole resort has huge, tall walls made of white brick with black lining, and there are palm trees outlining the whole area. Scattered along the edges of the wall are blue bricks that go all around the building and match the color of the sea. It’s right on the beach, with the sound of the waves crashing in the distance and the scent of salt in the air.

Kendra leads me into the lobby, the inside as pretty as the outside. Everything is white and gold with hints of blue. There are gigantic gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, making everything look much more elegant. We go to the counter to check in and gather our room keys before Kendra convinces me to head to the bar for one drink before heading up to our rooms.

“Fine, but one drink.” I wiggle my finger in her face, letting her know I’m serious.

The lady at the desk tells us the concierge will take our bags up to our rooms, so we don’t have to worry about carrying them through the resort. We tell her thanks before making our way out of the lobby and start walking around.

We don’t know where we’re going. All we know is there are a few bars in here and we’re determined to find one of them. Kendra locks her arm through mine as we take our time walking around the hotel. We end up outside with the sun hitting our faces. Tilting my head up, I smile as the heat hits my face.

“I don’t think you could have picked a better place,” I tell her, guiding her over to the edge of the courtyard. The beach is on the other side, but we’re still far enough away that we have to walk across the sand to get there. Looking down at Kendra’s slippers, I laugh, knowing she’s not going to walk in the sand in those.

Kendra looks over at me, and then glances at her feet, snickering. “I wanted to be comfortable on the flight. Sue me. Come on, we have time for the beach later. I need some alcohol.”

“Oh, really? The five shots on the plane weren’t enough?”

“Park, I’m only getting married once. I’m going to enjoy the hell out of this.”

Kissing her forehead, I wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her to me. “You’re right. Let’s go find you all the alcohol you can handle.”

“Yesss, there’s my bestie. Let’s go.”

Walking back into the building, we easily find the inside bar that overlooks the water once we stop and follow the signs. Sitting on the stools, I signal for the bartender to head down toward us. Kendra orders a Sex on the Beach while I order a Long Island Iced Tea. Might as well go all in with the alcohol, since it appears Kendra isn’t giving up anytime soon.

We spend the next hour at the bar, drinking and laughing. Kendra tells me the story of how she met Tim as though I wasn’t sitting next to her at the restaurant when he interrupted our conversation to say hi to her. Luckily for him, I was just the best friend, but damn, the man had some guts to interrupt our talking to ask for her number.

And the fact he’s always included me in everything means the world to me. Kendra is one of the most important people in my life and I’m so fucking thankful Tim hasn’t tried to push me out of her life. He wouldn’t succeed, but thankfully we like each other.

Kendra’s phone buzzes, her face lighting up. “Tim’s about to head to the airport.”

“So, we have a few more hours to drink?”

“Yes. That.” She points at me before signaling for the bartender again. We take a break, ordering some food from the bar before taking shots, this time chasing them down with some soda. I’m feeling the effects of the alcohol, my body tilting on the stool. I laugh loudly, gripping the counter. “Maybe it’s time we head to our rooms now.”

I pull out my phone, squinting at the screen, barely making out the 5 on the screen.

“Have we really been here for hours?” I ask, flabbergasted. There’s no way we’ve been here that long.

Kendra hiccups, taking a sip of her drink. “Yep. Good thing we ate some food a little while ago. I’ve been ordering us some water too or else we’d both be pretty gone.” She giggles, slapping my hand that’s still holding onto the counter.

“I think we’ve had enough for today. Come on, let’s go to our rooms.”

“Okay, sounds good. I should probably nap before Tim gets here. I’m feeling friskyyyy ,” she purrs, tumbling off her stool.

I snatch her around the waist, dragging her to me so we can balance each other out. “I don’t think you’re gonna be awake when he gets in.”

“I might be. But you’re probably right.” She hiccups again, leaning her body into mine. We walk slowly out of the bar and back to the inside of the hotel. Finding the elevator, I press the top floor since that’s where Kendra’s room is. Once we reach her door, she hands me her key, and I swipe it, helping her get inside. Kendra strips out of her clothes before face planting onto the bed. I pull back the sheets, covering her up before slipping out of her room.

Taking the elevator down to my floor, I rub my hand over my face, sighing. Drinking was a nice distraction, but now that we’re done, all I can think about is the fact that tomorrow I’ll be around Marcus. Shit , I’ll be around him daily for the next week.

Stumbling into my hotel room, I’m thankful when I see my luggage sitting next to the bed. I give the room a quick once over, noting it’s as sleek as the rest of the hotel. All the furniture is black with pops of gold throughout the room. There’s a chair in the corner and a TV on the dresser. Walking over to the sliding door, I look out, seeing we have a view of the ocean with a table and chairs set out on the balcony.

I walk back to the bed, tossing my luggage onto it. I pull at the zipper, open it, and pull out my toiletries before heading into the bathroom and turning on the shower. Standing in front of the mirror, I give myself a good look over. Surrounding my face, my short blond curls give my hair a wild look. The alcohol has made my usually pale face, especially my cheeks, bright pink. My blue eyes are glazed over, and I laugh loudly at how easily Kendra was able to get me to drink with her.

Definitely drank more than I should have.

I quickly shuck off my clothes, stepping under the hot water. Closing my eyes, I let the water sluice over my body while I stand still. Today has been a long-ass day, and I need to prepare myself for the rest of the week. Thankfully, I shouldn’t have to see Marcus until tomorrow night when we have our group dinner. But it’s going to be awkward as hell.

Using my soap, I quickly wash off the day of traveling and drinking, feeling better the longer I stand under the spray. Once I don’t feel the effects of the alcohol as much, I step out of the shower, drying myself with the towel. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I brush my teeth and take out my contacts to get ready for bed. I’m just slipping my glasses onto my face when I hear some shuffling outside the main door.

Moving out of the bathroom, I make my way toward the door at the same second it swings open. There, in the doorway, is the man whose heart I broke, the gorgeous man who I still love, who’s staring at me with a blank look on his face. I haven’t seen him in months and he’s even more beautiful than I remember. Standing tall in a pair of gray slacks and a black tee, his huge dark brown arms flex as he grips the key card in his hand tightly while the other fists at his side. His brown eyes meet mine and he looks away swiftly.

“Marcus?” I whisper, my hand tightening on my towel.