Chapter 8
Easton
I was almost too tired to meet with Brian, La Mage's hospitality manager, but if I shifted my schedule even a little, I wouldn't get in all of the meetings I had booked that week. The idea of having a little bit of fun was still very much on my radar, but it would have to be later. The beautiful girl that I'd once again bumped into out in the lobby was exactly the type of woman I wanted that fun to happen with. Her beautiful skin was lightly dusted with sand, and her slight sunburn only accentuated the radiance of her crimson locks and blue eyes.
My heart raced as I watched her go, but it was best for me to leave things be. We would run into each other over the course of the week, no doubt. Maybe by Thursday I would let my guard down a little. If she kept presenting herself in tiny bikinis it would be sooner than later. It took me twenty seconds of splashing cold water on my face in the bathroom to calm my libido down. It'd been a little too long since I'd taken a woman to my bed. It never worked out well for me to have a one-night stand. Either I wanted more, or they did, but never both of us at the same time.
"You must be Mr. Parks." A tall gangly guy extended his hand to me as I walked into the conference room to my left.
"Call me Easton, please. I assume you're Brian?" I shook the man's hand and took the seat he offered me.
"I am. I've heard a lot about you. We're glad to have you back with us. I've kept up with most of your articles. You have quite a way with words. Ever thought about being a novelist instead of a resort critic?" He sat back in his chair and clasped his hands over his stomach.
"Not really. I love finding the good and bad in places and people. I don't believe that anything is black or white. It's the gray I'm searching for." I pulled a pad of paper from my briefcase and opened the list of questions I'd prepared back in New York for the meeting.
"I like it."
"Thanks. Tell me about the models at the door. Why are they there and when were they implemented?" I focused on my interviewee, though my mind continued to move far from the room. I could appear to be attentive over the next few minutes with Brian, but then I needed an hour to myself. Something about the fact that I kept running into Vivian was bugging me. Was I supposed to ask her out for a drink? Was she supposed to be part of my future?
We wrapped up the meeting, and I shook the hospitality manager's hand once more before walking out the door and turning to make a beeline for the elevator.
"East," Kevin called to me, and I turned, not surprised at all that the portly bastard had two drinks in his hands and three girls around him, giggling about something.
"Hey buddy." I didn't move toward him, but gave him my attention. "Day go good?"
"Great. I love this place. Go change and meet me down here for a drink?"
The blonde on his left waved at me playfully as her brunette friend stepped out of the small crowd. "Yeah, come down and have a drink with us. You're cute."
"There's plenty to share." Kevin lifted his eyebrows at me.
"Right. I'll think about it." I turned and pressed the button on the elevator, ignoring the girls grumbling about my lackadaisical response. If I wasn't spending the night across a table with Vivian, I sure as hell wasn't doing it with some giggling stranger.
She's a stranger. Right. Why doesn't it feel like it?
I got off on the top floor and pressed the code to the penthouse, inserted my key, and kicked off my shoes the minute I was inside. Why was I being so stiff about having a drink with her? I liked her company for sure, and was rather disappointed when she went to sleep on the plane instead of talking with me.
"Your career comes first. This never works out for you." I moved to the balcony and glanced out at the city as the sun started to make its way behind the clouds.
The remembrance of seeing her in her tiny bikini rolled over me and my body responded violently. The delicious swell of her breasts above the black triangles that covered her was only outdone by her curves as she walked away from me.
I brushed my hand down the front of my pants and groaned, closing my eyes and pressing my head to the glass in front of me. "One night. Would she give me one night?"
Somehow I figured the answer might be yes, but a huge part of me knew that I'd be a bastard for asking for it, and one or both of us might end up scarred by it.
I shook off my need and changed into a pair of jeans, boots, and a soft cotton button down before checking my hair and making my way back down to the bar.
Kevin was thankfully alone as I approached him.
"Where's your posse?" I slid onto the barstool beside him and gave him a cocky grin.
"Fuck you, Easton. You have it easy with your good looks and youth. At my age, I gotta work for attention from women."
"You need to get married and have some kids." I gave him a sideways glance before turning to the bartender and ordering a beer. "Is that not something you want for yourself?"
"Yeah, but with all this traveling, it's not exactly easy. I'll be forty soon, and I really thought I would have found someone by now, you know?"
A pretty woman with short black hair moved up on the other side of me and pressed her forearms to the bar top as she glanced over at me. "Hi handsome. Me and my friend noticed that you didn't have a girl beside you. Want one? Or two?"
Kevin scoffed as I shook my head. "My girl's back home, but thanks for the offer. Hope you find someone worth your beauty tonight."
She gave me a cute frown and walked away as Kevin made a sound of disgust.
"See? I swear it's your dark hair and tan. Girls go wild over that." He ran his hand over his bald head and took a long drink of his beer as I turned to watch him.
"I think it's more about the way you carry yourself. You act like you're owed something, and you're not." I took a drink of my beer and turned to scan the room, praying like hell that Vivian would show up. Fate was playing games with us, and though I knew it wasn't at all something I should desire, I wanted to dare it a little where the bombshell was concerned.
"You know that our position comes with an air of authority and confidence. People love our work; they praise us and beckon to us. It's hard not to let that power go to your head." He sat his beer down and let out a sigh. "Especially when it's all you got."
"I guess, but maybe you should start looking for other things to fill up your life. A hobby, a friend, your faith...something."
"Maybe, but for now, I'm just going to stick to good food and beautiful women. Take your sense of reason and shove it." He glanced at me before getting off of his barstool. "I'm going to mingle. Care to come?"
"Nope, and don't bring anyone over here either. I'm not interested." I pinned him with a warning stare before pulling out my phone.
He chuckled sardonically. "And you're giving me relationship advice. Please."
I ignored him and stared at Viv's number, trying to think through the future as if I had a crystal ball. I couldn't offer the girl any more than a few fun nights and maybe an afternoon of playing on the beach together. While it sounded like bliss to indulge in just those few moments, I knew myself far too well to press the send button and call her.
I'd fall in love like I always did, and wake up quite disappointed a few months later when my lifestyle had effectively pushed the pretty girl away from me.
"No thanks," I mumbled. It had been three years since I'd had a girlfriend, and the last one was just a passing bit of fun in college. Nothing had developed between me and the girls I dated post-college other than a bit of hot, sweaty passion.
I took another long drink of my beer and shook away the need to over-analyze the situation. We were both grown adults. If I invited her down for a beer and we ended up making love, then it would be consensual. Or maybe we could just talk the night away.
"Dangerous," I mumbled and glanced up as the old bartender eyed me. "Talking to myself. Sorry."
"It's alright, son. We all do it." He moved in front of me and wiped the bar-top down. "About a woman, no doubt?"
"Yeah. I bumped into a pretty girl at the airport today, literally, then she ended up being in the seat right next to me on the flight."
His eyes widened a little. "Oh, that's interesting."
"Then I saw her in the lobby here a few hours ago. She's just so beautiful, but I'm not ready for another relationship. Women are too damn complex and I don't have time to hand-hold someone through my life." I shrugged, realizing how fucking cynical I was becoming.
"Three times in one day?" His eyebrow lifted. "Sounds like something is brewing in the background whether you want it to or not."
"I'm thinking you're right." I lifted my phone and glanced down at it. "Now I'm just trying to talk myself out of calling her to come down here. Nothing good can come of it."
He chuckled. "You think far too much for your own good. Call the girl. Nothing bad can come of it either. A little bit of fun, or a drink and a good conversation does the soul good. When was the last time you had either?"
"It's been a while." I put the phone down and took another drink of the beer. "Do you have a food menu? I'm starving."
"I do, but how about you invite your new friend down here for a quick drink and ask her to dinner? No reason to eat alone when it doesn't sound like you have to." He tapped the bar top, and I nodded.
"Maybe you're right. A drink, dinner, a conversation. It doesn't have to be anything more than that."
"Exactly. No wedding bells. Just the dinner bell." The old man smiled and I couldn't help but chuckle at his openness.
"Thanks." I dialed Viv's number, not quite sure what I was going to say, but it was now or never.
"This is Vivian." The subtle sexiness in her voice couldn't have been on purpose, and yet it shot an arrow straight through me.
"Hey, Viv. It's Easton. We met on the plane today." I held my breath, praying that she wouldn’t be a bitch about making me explain who I was, as if our three chance encounters meant nothing to her.
"Hi, Easton. What's up?"
"I was having a drink in the bar downstairs, and I thought I would see if you were interested in joining me. My meeting ended earlier than expected. I'm sure you have plans, but I wanted–”
"Sure. I'll be down in thirty minutes or so. I just need to shower and change."
"Great. See you when you get here." I dropped the call, sat the phone on the bar and drained my beer. "I need another one of these."
The bartender took the empty bottle and laughed. "Nervous?"
"For some ungodly reason, yes. This girl is far beyond my paygrade." I brushed my fingers by my lips and tried to ignore the images of her naked and soapy in the shower. It wouldn't take much for me to be fully turned on by her, which wouldn't benefit anyone. I'd have to hold myself to my two-beer limit. Any more than that and I'd be a little more aggressive than she might appreciate.
"Those are the fun ones. Good luck and have fun, kid." He handed me the beer and moved down to help someone else.
I turned to watch the crowd and ignored the stares I got from various women around the room. There was beauty everywhere, but it was usually a facade for the angst underneath. Vivian didn't strike me as a bitch, but hopefully I would figure that out tonight.
Best to know what I was getting myself into before offering her a few more dates later that week. I rolled my eyes and released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. An hour ago, I was discarding the thought of calling her at all, and now, I was planning out the week with her stuck right in the middle of it. Why did attraction turn the most logical people into blubbering, wishy-washy idiots?
Why was it doing a serious number on me?
I glanced up a few minutes later as she stopped at the door to the bar, her hair down and covering her shoulders, her dress white and feminine as it hugged her thin waist and flared out over her hips. Bright blue sandals and a little bit of jewelry and the woman was stunning.
Lifting my hand, I caught her attention and prepared myself for a battle that was soon to be fought deep inside of me. My pulse had quickened, my heart contracting, my body aching.
"Hey. Glad you changed your mind." She stopped beside me and gave me a shy smile.
"Me too. Come have a beer with me." I patted the seat next to me and tried hard not to breathe in the aroma of her perfume. It wouldn't help any of the insanity pumping through me. What was it about her that drove me toward wanting her so badly?
"I'd love that. One beer and then you're taking me to get something to eat. I'm starving." She sat down on the barstool next to me, her eyes moving to the bartender as I studied her.
"You look beautiful." I let the words escape me before I could deny her anything.
"You're not so bad yourself." She gave me a sideways glance before ordering a drink.
I could do this. Drinks, dinner, conversation. Nothing else I promised myself, and subsequently hated myself for it.
I wanted much more than what I had planned, but that was usually my signal to run.
Not this time, or at least, not yet.