Page 7

Parker

R ushing to the door, I pause when my hand meets the handle, giving myself a second to calm down. Glancing down at my cock, I huff, trying to force it to go down. Reading my smut while lying next to Marcus probably wasn’t a good idea. I read a spicy-as-hell scene, and all I wanted was to be fucked within an inch of my life like the guy in the story.

But that’s a bad idea.

Pulling open the door, I smile at the bellhop, who has a tray with different plates on it. I hold the door open for him as he pulls the cart inside and leaves it next to the dresser.

“Thank you,” I tell him as he walks out of the room.

Marcus walks over to the cart and pulls the cover off one plate. “Damn, this looks fantastic. Would you wanna eat out on the balcony?”

“Sure.”

Marcus and I grab our plates, taking them out to the balcony. This place is a paradise. I’m going to miss it when we eventually have to leave. I pick at my burger for a few minutes before turning and facing Marcus.

“How have you been?”

Marcus looks at me sadly, then sighs. “I’ve been good, Parker. Working, hanging out with Alexander.”

“This is awkward, isn’t it?” I chuckle, hoping he’s feeling the same way I am.

“Yeah, it is. But it’ll be okay. We were always friends first. We just have to get there again.”

“Yep. Friends,” I reply quietly, my heart breaking at the word.

Of course, friends. I don’t know why I thought that my telling him what happened and why I left would change things between us. For some reason, I thought once he knew, he would immediately want me back and we could pick up where we left off. That was wishful thinking. There’s no future for me and Marcus. I ruined that months ago.

We finish eating our food in silence, both of us looking out toward the water. All I can think about is the past and how much I messed up. I let go of my person. The man I was planning to spend the rest of my life with. But I guess being friends is better than not having him in my life at all.

“Do you want to head down to the beach?”

“Now?” I ask bewildered. The sun is setting, which means it’ll be dark soon. I don’t know how comfortable I feel being in the ocean at night.

“We don’t have to go swimming. Maybe just walk along the shore?”

“Okay,” I say, hoping my fears will dissipate by the time we reach the water. “Should we change or what?”

“Maybe some shorts would be better than the pajama pants?” Marcus laughs, looking at my cat-in-a-witch-hat pants, and I smile.

“You’re probably right. Not everyone is ready to see these,” I joke, knowing Marcus always used to make fun of my different pajama pants. I have the most random assortment of pants, everything from cats to aliens and a lot with different monsters on them.

Gathering up my dishes, I walk back into the room, placing everything on the tray. While I get dressed, Marcus takes the tray and places it out in the hallway.

“You ready?” he asks, grabbing the room key and placing it in his pocket.

“Let’s go.”

We take the elevator down in silence. Neither of us says a word, but it’s not awkward. It reminds me of the past and my heart aches. Fuck, I really miss him. Marcus leads us out of the hotel and down this cobblestone pathway toward the water. Few people walk on the walkway. The beach is even less crowded, with a handful of people right by the edge of the resort. I follow him until he heads down a short sidewalk, my head swiveling back and forth.

“Are you sure we’re allowed to go down here?” I whisper, my head still turning to look around us.

“Why wouldn’t we be able to?” he asks, continuing his way down to the sand.

“Well, there are no signs saying we can go. What if we get in trouble? Oh my god, what if we get kicked out because we’re trespassing? Marcus, what if—”

“Hey,” he says, cutting me off as he turns around. He crowds my space, grabbing one of my hands in his. “We’ll be okay. I promise. I saw this walkway on the website. If they didn’t want us coming over here, I’m sure they wouldn’t advertise it.

Letting out a shuddering breath, I nod my head. “Okay,” I whisper, offering him a small smile.

Marcus resumes walking, my hand still in his. I glance down at our joined hands, but I say nothing, not wanting to lose the warmth. My mind is still reeling, hoping we don’t get in trouble for being down here, but I trust Marcus when he says he knows we won’t.

“You okay going down to the water?” he says when we reach the end of the sidewalk.

“Sure, let me take off my shoes.”

We both slip off our flip-flops before making our way down the sand. Marcus treks into the water freely while I stand back, slowly letting the water hit my toes. I watch as Marcus walks farther into the ocean until the water hits above his knees. He turns around to face me and I’m blown away. He has the biggest smile on his face as he leans down and splashes the water.

“Come in, Parker!” he yells, splashing the water again, that joyful smile on his face.

“I am in!” I yell back, wading in another inch.

“No, you’re not. You better get your ass in the water or I’m going to make you.”

“And how are you going to make me, hmm?” I ask, placing my hand on my hip.

“You don’t think I can make you?”

“No,” I say, my eyes widening when Marcus makes his way toward me. Oh shit, why did I say no? I stay rooted to my spot as Marcus makes his way slowly out of the water like some God. The sun is setting behind him, surrounding him in a glowing halo of light, and I’m stunned. His perfect muscles are on display, drops of water cascading down his body.

“If I were you, I would run, ’cause if I get my hands on you, I’m tossing you in the water.”

I glance left and right, not knowing what to do, but knowing that he’s not lying. If he gets hold of me, I’ll have no choice but to go swimming. Making a break for it, I run to the left, laughter leaving my mouth as he takes off after me. I glance behind me, seeing he’s right there, so I pivot, turning around, smiling when it catches him off guard. My feet splash against the water and sand as I run away from him.

I twist my head again, squealing loudly when I see he’s even closer now. His arms wrap around my waist, lifting me into the air, and I kick my legs wildly, hoping he’ll drop me. But nope. Marcus is too damn strong for that. His grip on me tightens, my legs still flailing wildly as he carries me into the water.

“Marcus!” I screech as the waves splash against us.

“I told you I was getting you into this water one way or another.” He sounds out of breath, and I wiggle my body harder. “Fuck, you’re heavy.”

My body stills as I whip my head toward him. “Excuse me? I didn’t tell you to carry me into the water.”

“Shit, you’re right, huh?”

I’m about to open my mouth when Marcus loosens his grip on me and I drop into the water. “Marcus!” I yell, standing up, and pulling the wet fabric away from my stomach. Pushing my curls out of my face, I glare at him as he backs away. “ You better run.”

Marcus takes off in a sprint, the water slowing him down as he tries to make it out of the water. But I’m faster. I reach him in no time, jumping onto his back and holding on for dear life. Marcus trips but catches himself, his hands coming up to hold on to my legs. He runs back into the water; it hitting our stomachs the farther he goes in.

“Shit, it’s cold,” he tells me and I cling tighter to his back.

“I’m not getting off you. You’re going to have to walk me back to shore,” I pout, the gentle breeze causing me to shiver.

“Don’t be a baby, Parker, get in the water.”

“No.”

“Parker... get in the water.”

“I’m already in the water. See.” I kick my foot, splashing all around us.

“Okay, just remember. You made me do this.”

“What?”

Marcus leans back and I realize too late what he’s doing. He falls back into the water, my back hitting the surface first. We both go completely under, a wave hitting me in the face as I try to get up. I go to stand up again when another wave hits me and knocks me back down. When I finally get my bearings, I look up to see Marcus bent over farther up the shore, laughing his ass off.

Stomping my way out of the water, I reach Marcus and push on his chest. “You weren’t even going to try to help?”

“I was having too much fun watching. When was the last time you let go, Parker?”

“Oh. Um, it’s probably been a while,” I admit, avoiding eye contact. Sometimes it’s hard for me to let go, and, after finding out about my anxiety, it makes it even harder. I worry so much about what’s going to happen that I can’t just enjoy what’s going on sometimes.

“Okay, I have an idea for you.”

“I’m listening.”

“This week, you let go. You try to have fun without thinking about it too much,” he suggests, as though it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“I can try. I can’t guarantee anything, though.”

“That’s fine. But I want you to try. And hell, I want to try too. I think it’s been a while for me too. I haven’t laughed this hard in god knows how long. It feels good.”

“Same for me. Laughing, I mean.” I smile at him. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asks, his brow furrowed.

“For getting me to laugh.”

“A smile on this face is all I ever want to see,” he whispers, his hand coming out to touch my face. His thumb rubs against my cheek and I lean my head into his palm, closing my eyes. He drops it slowly and I feel the loss instantly. “Come on, let’s go watch the sunset.”

After getting out of the water, Marcus walks us back to our shoes. We pick them up and then find a spot off to the side where a bench is facing the water. Sitting down, we both look out toward the horizon, the oranges and yellows casting a beautiful glow above the water.

“You don’t get views like this back at home,” I say, breaking up the silence.

“I love home, but being here, I feel like a different person.”

“Is work getting to be stressful again?”

Marcus works at an advertising company, and I can recall the many times he would call me late at night, stressed out by something that happened at work. Or how he would always seem so tense after hard days and would need me to help relax him.

I squirm on the rock wall, thinking of the ways I used to help him relax. Sometimes, we would take a shower together, and other times, I would massage him, but almost every time, it would end up with us naked and Marcus inside me. No one has ever been able to turn me inside out like he can. And since he was the last man I was with, I haven’t been fucked good in months.

“Work is work. I’d rather not talk about it while I’m on vacation, though.”

I snicker, shaking my head. “Fine, no work talk.”

“Deal. I would rather not think about it until I’m back in Chicago, where I have to deal with it.”

“When are you flying back?” I ask. I realize I don’t know how long he’s staying. I know I’m staying until the day after the wedding so that Kendra and Tim can have the rest of the week to themselves.

“I leave the day after the wedding.”

“Me too.”

“Yeah, Kendra told us all we have to leave then. She said, ‘ I love you all, but I need you to book it out of there right after .’”

Throwing my head back, I laugh loudly. “I love Kendra so much. She doesn’t give two fucks about telling us to leave.” I turn to look at him, only to find he’s already staring at me.

“I love your laugh,” he says, tilting his head, his eyes still gazing at me.

“Thank you,” I tell him, not able to look away.

“I’ve really missed you, Parker.”

“I missed you, too. So much.”

His hand slides across the surface, his finger wrapping itself around mine. A jolt of electricity races up my arm and my breath hitches at the contact. Marcus gazes at me for a few more seconds before turning his head and looking out at the sunset.

“Come on, let’s head back,” he tells me, jumping off the wall and landing on his feet.

I follow him down, his hands catching me around the waist to help me land. If I could ask for anything in this world, I would beg for a second chance with this amazing man standing in front of me.