Chapter 32
Dane
I didn’t want to directly go to Sydney’s B&B, because the impression that I got from her the previous night was that she wanted to have nothing to do with me. There was a sexual chemistry there that neither of us could deny, but to her that was the end of the line. I didn’t want to push too hard, or annoy her, but before I left I wanted to see her again.
So, I sat down with a coffee in the al-fresco seating of a small beachside cafe on the promenade and waited, hoping that she might make an appearance at some point. It could have been after at least a few hours, when I finally saw her on the other side of the promenade.
Sydney had a straw hat on today, with a wide black ribbon tied around it. She was in a white lacey dress that was loose and flapped in the breeze. With brown sandals on and her hair blowing in the breeze, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.
She was walking with a younger girl, who was pushing a stroller. They were talking animatedly, and from time to time, Sydney bent forward and cooed at the baby in the stroller. I’d been watching her for several minutes, before she caught my eye from across the street. I raised my cup of coffee at her, and she stopped right on her tracks.
I saw her lean in and say something to the girl with her, who then walked away with the stroller and Sydney crossed the street, walking towards me.
“You’re still here,” she said, as she approached me with her cheeks slightly flushed. She had dark sunglasses on, which she now pulled away from her face. She didn’t sit, just stood in front of my table as we looked at each other.
“I just arrived yesterday. It would hardly be a vacation if I left already,” I said and she nodded her head.
“That’s right. You’re on a vacation,” she said and I gave out a laugh.
“Yep. Not just here to sleep with you,” I said and she blushed wildly. She quickly drew out a chair and sat down with a thump.
“This has to stop, Dane!” she said through gritted teeth and I couldn’t help but smile at her.
“Of course. Whenever you want, Sydney. It stops now if you want it to,” I said and she was glaring at me, like she was trying to detect the loopholes in what I was saying.
“I really mean it,” she snapped and I nodded my head.
“Understood. I’ll stop. But I can’t stop you if you do something,” I said and she sat back in the chair and folded her arms over her breasts.
“You think you’re sooo irresistible,” she said, slightly cruelly, but I wasn’t affected. I was just glad to be talking to her. She could say anything to me that she wanted to, and nothing would offend me.
“Now, you’re only putting thoughts in my head,” I said with a smile and Sydney looked away from me with a jerk.
“You think you can just come here on vacation, and I’ll just be waiting here, ready with my legs spread wide open,” she said, dragging her words out like she was angry with herself more than with me.
“Sydney,” I said her name purposefully and I sat forward in my chair. “I didn’t come here expecting you to be available,” I added.
“Then why did you come here?” she asked, whipping her head around to look at me.
“I cam here hoping you would be available. There’s a big difference,” I said and she remained looking at me, still suspiciously.
“Well, I just don’t want you to get the wrong impression. That every time you come here I’ll be willing to sleep with you. This is why it has to stop here, now,” she said and I nodded my head.
“I don’t have the wrong impression of you, Sydney. In fact, I believe I have the absolute best impression of you,” I said, still smiling at her. Sydney’s lips were pressed together firmly, she was eyeing me under a watchful gaze, looking for a clue that might give away my true intentions.
“And what impression is that?” she asked me and I took in a deep breath. I was going to have to take a leap of faith here, but what other choice did I have? I had spent the past eighteen months being unhappy, going crazy over this woman…I would be foolish to not give it a shot, before I lost her completely. This was my chance and I wasn’t going to let it slip out of my hands.
“I know that you’ve been thinking about me all these months, the way I’ve been thinking about you,” I said, forcing myself to say the words. The smile from my face had disappeared. I had never faced rejection, even saying these mere words was like laying my heart naked and bare out to her. Sydney now had the power to do with it as she pleased.
She stared at me for a few moments, and then a look of defenselessness came over her face. She dropped her eyes to her lap, her hands were clasped together. She looked nervous and embarrassed. I couldn’t look away from her because I was imagining all the things she could possibly say to me.
When she looked up, her brown eyes were large and her lips were quivering.
“I hadn’t thought about you for a second. I didn’t even remember your face!” she said and got up from her chair with a jerk. I had no time to react, because it felt like I had just been punched in the stomach. Sydney had already run down the road and crossed over to the other side. I could see her white dress flapping in the breeze behind her, as she ran with a hand over her straw hat.
I ran after her.