Page 3

Parker

B linking my eyes open, the heat of the sun hits my face and I smile, remembering where I am. However, the smile immediately vanishes when I remember who else is in the room with me. Jerking upright, I grab my glasses off the nightstand, then turn my head left and right, breathing a sigh of relief when I see the room is empty.

On the other side of the bed, the chair is pushed up close, a rumpled blanket on the seat. I guess that’s where Marcus slept last night. My heart races, my breathing coming out shallow. The copious amounts of alcohol I’d had yesterday/last night must’ve helped to keep my current situation from hitting me full force. I was clearly too intoxicated to realize the extent of what was going on, let alone to deal with it. While the booze had acted as a good buffer last night, now that it’s out of my system, the emotions are flooding back in and I’m not sure what to do.

With shaky legs, I stand and slowly start walking around the room, pulling at my hair. I don’t think Marcus is here anymore. Well, his stuff is still here, but he’s not. I glance over at the clock, noting it’s only seven in the morning.

Ah, he’s probably out running. He does that each morning. He always said it was the best way to start his day. I, on the other hand, hate running. Hell, I hate anything that has to do with exercise. I love carbs and calories and not working out.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand and I pick it up, smiling when I see Kendra’s name.

Kendra: Morning sunshine! Up and at ’em. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.

Parker: Give me fifteen minutes. Need to shower and change.

Kendra: Hurry!

Kendra: I want mimosas!

Parker: You didn’t drink enough yesterday?

Kendra: Wedding week, Park!

Parker: Lol! Okay, meet you downstairs in a little bit.

I toss my phone down onto the bed and make my way over to the dresser, where I emptied all my clothes yesterday. I grab a pair of khaki board shorts and a flowered, flowy button-down shirt. I rush through my shower, not needing to spend as much time as I’d just showered last night.

Standing in front of the mirror, I dry off and step into my panties before putting my contacts in. I know I won’t need my glasses today. My curls are a wet, hot mess, so I grab some hair cream and style it. Knowing they’ll be bouncy when they dry, I do a little dance as I put on my clothes. I walk over to the floor-length mirror and smile, well aware that I look good.

The door to the room opens and my body freezes, my heart beating wildly again. Marcus saunters in, drenched in sweat, shirtless. I try to look away, but I can’t. He’s fucking gorgeous and I’m a damn idiot. He’s wearing this black basketball shorts, a sheen of sweat on his brown skin. Around his neck is a white towel that he uses to wipe up his sweat. I watch as he dries his black waves, his muscles on display, as he lifts his arms to his head. He doesn’t look my way as he walks right past me and heads to the bathroom. The door closes softly right before I hear the shower turn on.

With shaky hands, I gather up my phone and wallet and slip on my flip-flops. Glancing back at the closed door, I sigh. I still have no idea how we ended up sharing a room, but I think I might have an idea.

I take the elevator down to the lobby, heading toward the restaurant. I give the hostess Kendra’s name, and she guides me to a table where Kendra is sitting. Pulling out the chair, I plop down into the seat, laughing at the spread in front of her.

“Hungover I take it?” I ask, grabbing a strawberry off her plate and taking a bite.

“Maybe a little. I woke up when Tim got in and then I crashed again. He’s still in bed, but I wanted to start the day, so grease and carbs, it is.”

I pluck a piece of bacon off her plate, chewing it slowly, debating how I want to confront her about Marcus. Fuck it, I already know she’s behind this. “So, I had an interesting night…” I start off.

“Oh, yeah?” she asks, her eyes darting everywhere but at me. “That’s good.”

“Is it? Would you happen to know anything about it?”

“About what? Hmm?” She grabs her flute of mimosa and takes a generous sip.

“Oh, I don’t know. About the fact your brother is sharing a room with me.”

Kendra fake gasps, her hand flying to her chest. “Oh, no. How did that happen?”

“Kendra, I swear to god. What did you do?”

“Where is Marcus at? I haven’t seen him yet.” She pretends to look over my head and around the restaurant.

“Kendra,” I grit out through clenched teeth. “You know how much he hates me. Why did you reserve us in the same room?”

“How do you know I didn’t do it when you guys were together?”

“Because I know you. I love you, but I know you and you always have to meddle. In everything.”

“Park.” She taps the table and I place my hand out. She grabs hold of it, her small hand on top of mine. “You’ve barely talked about the breakup, and I know neither of you has moved on.”

“Marcus hasn’t moved on?” I ask, hope fluttering in my chest. I regretted leaving Marcus right after it happened, but it was too hard to explain what was going on with me and when I finally gathered up the courage to tell him, he refused to answer my phone calls. Although I’ve run into him here and there at different events with Kendra, he’s always avoided me.

“Park, you’re the love of Marcus’ life. Of course, he hasn’t moved on yet.”

“I’m not the love of his life,” I mutter while taking a gulp of my mimosa. Maybe at one point, I would have believed that, but not now.

“Well, maybe you can use this trip as your chance to see. I see the way he looks at you when you’re not looking. And you forget, but I know why you broke up with him. Talk to him. Please.”

“I’ve tried, Kendra. It might be too late.”

“Well, you never know unless you try.”

“Okay,” I tell her, hoping she lets it go. I don’t see the same things she does, apparently.

“Let’s get your mind off it. At least for now. Eat and we’ll go down to the beach. Tim is going to get a workout in and then join us later.”

We both eat quickly, shoving food into our mouths. My eyes keep flicking around the room, wondering if Marcus is going to show up. My heart beats wildly at the thought of him coming our way. I imagine the different ways he would react if he walked in. Would he walk in and walk straight past me to get to Kendra? Or maybe he would ignore us both so that he wouldn’t have to be near me? Would he talk to me? All the different scenarios flash through my mind, one after the other. Closing my eyes, I wring my hands in my lap before taking a deep breath and letting them all go.

“Come on, let’s go see what there is to do.” Kendra stands up, her long, shimmery-blue sundress flowing around her legs.

“Damn. You even bought new outfits?” I ask.

“Wedding week, Park. That’s all I have to say.” She giggles, leading the way out of the restaurant.

Kendra and I walk out of the hotel, down the cobblestone steps, toward the pool. Since it’s still pretty early, the pool is empty, with only a few tourists swimming around. We find two seats together under an umbrella and sit down. A server comes over right away to take our orders before disappearing to get our drinks made.

We lie out in the sun for a while before we hear a whistle and a whoop. Sitting up, I look to see where the sound came from when Marcus and Tim step into view. Tim strides straight over to Kendra, lying down on top of her as she giggles and squeals. My eyes stay trained on Marcus, who’s standing a few feet away from us, shirtless. Again.

His gorgeous body is on display, and I know I should look away, but I can’t. He has this dark, happy trail that leads into his green board shorts, and I remember what it looks like under those shorts. My dick twitches in my shorts, and I turn my legs so that no one can see me getting hard over my ex.

“What’s the plan for today?” Marcus asks, looking around the area. He’s avoiding all eye contact with me.

“I was thinking we can hang out at the pool, swim for a little bit. I made a reservation for the four of us to have lunch together down at this cabana they have on the beach. Mom and Dad don’t get here for two more days so we can explore until all the wedding stuff hits full force,” Kendra tells us.

“Whatever you want, baby.” Tim kisses Kendra softly and I smile, so happy for her.

Wanting to give her and Tim some time alone, I strip out of my top, standing up and tossing it down onto the chair. I bypass Marcus, who is still standing in the same spot, and walk over to the stairs that lead down into the pool. I freeze when I first step in, the water colder than I thought it would be.

Looking behind me, I see Marcus is looking at me, a smirk playing on his face. I’m always a baby when it comes to getting into a body of water. Especially when it’s cold. It usually takes me a few minutes with the water barely on my ankles before I move in farther up to my knees. I smile softly at Marcus, knowing that he’s thinking of all the times we would go swimming together and he would wait patiently for me to finally get my ass in the water.

I take my time getting used to it, the water finally up to my hip. A splash of water hits my face and I jerk, my body instantly freezing from the onslaught. Wiping the water off my face, I glare at the wave of water next to me. Marcus pops up and I have to swallow my tongue.

Fuck, he’s gorgeous. He smirks at me before using his hand to splash me in the face again.

“Hey!” I yell, slapping the surface to get him back.

“You always did take forever to get your hair wet.”

“It’s not my fault that my body doesn’t adjust to water easily.”

“Or you’re a big baby,” he jokes, grinning at me. Butterflies flutter in my stomach and I freeze, wondering if this is really happening. I go to say something back when the smile falls off his face and he swims away.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Marcus and I swim around each other for the next fifteen minutes before Kendra and Tim join us in the water. The server brings us another round of drinks, which we guzzle down immediately. Marcus doesn’t say another word to me, and I don’t interact with him, either. Maybe his being nice earlier was just a fluke.

After my fourth drink, I leave the pool, deciding to lie out in the sun. Kendra joins me a few minutes later, plopping down into the chair next to me.

“Did I see Marcus talking to you earlier?” she asks, bewildered.

“You did. I’m just as shocked as you are,” I tell her, leaning closer to her.

“I told you Park, you and Marcus are meant to be together. It’s only a matter of time before you guys reconcile.”

“We’ll see,” I mutter, not wanting to get my hopes up.

“Come on, let’s go get ready for lunch.”