When I saw Declan sitting at the bar with the two skanky chicks the night before, I knew exactly what he was thinking of doing with them.  I don’t know why it pissed me off, but it did and it made me despise him even more.  Sophie and I hung out with Eric and Paul that night and I did my best to push Declan out of my head.  I liked Eric okay and he was fun to hang out with while on Spring Break, but I definitely didn’t see it going anywhere beyond Mexico.  Sophie was a different story because she was head over heels for Paul.  I made her promise that the next day would be just the two of us.  Eric was okay but he was always around and I didn’t have a chance to meet any other guys with him attached to my hip.

 

The next day, she and I went to explore Cabo and saw the beautiful rock formations, a really cool desert oasis and we checked out a different beach.  I was ready for some fresh meat and that is exactly what we found at the new beach.  I met the hottest guy, Andrew, and Sophie was chatting with his friend Chad but I could tell that she wasn’t into him.  She was all about Paul but she humored Chad because she could see that I liked Andrew.

 

We grabbed dinner with them around 6:00 and then we made plans to meet them at a bar later that night.  They were staying at a hotel that was a couple of blocks over from ours so we planned to meet them at our hotel at 9:15 and then walk over to the bar together.  I knew that Sophie wasn’t thrilled with that but I had put up with Eric for her for two days and it was my turn to have fun.  We went back to our hotel to shower and change and told the guys we would see them later.

 

Sophie practically made a beeline for Paul after she showered and she promised to meet me back in our room at 9:00.  I decided to take a little nap and the second my head hit the pillow I heard a knock at my door.  A deep sigh escaped my lips and I dragged my exhausted body from the bed.

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Eric.”

 

Ugh.  Seriously?

 

I opened the door and Eric stood there smiling at me and he was the last person I wanted to see.

 

“What’s up?”  I tried not to sound as annoyed as I felt.

 

“I haven’t seen you all day.  Come take a walk with me on the beach.”

 

“I’m really tired and I was just going to take a nap, Eric.”

 

“Oh come on, it’s early and you’re on vacation.”

 

“I’ll take a rain check, okay?”

 

“How about we go for a quick walk on the beach and then you can come back and turn in early.  I promise we won’t be long.  It’s such a gorgeous night and we have such a short time here, I just want to soak up every minute.”

 

He looked so desperate I felt awful turning him down so I agreed to go for a quick walk.

 

We strolled along the beach, the warm wind rustling my hair, and Eric was going on and on about his day and I was barely listening.  I couldn’t wait to get back to my room to relax for a bit before heading out with Sophie to meet Andrew and Chad. 

 

“So, where did you guys go today?”

 

“We went to see some really cool spots and then tried out a new beach.”  I didn’t feel like going into more detail than that.

 

“Oh yeah? With the way you two girls look I’m sure you had to beat the guys off with sticks, huh?”

 

I think he was trying to sound light-hearted but I definitely could hear some tension in his voice. Where is that coming from? I barely know the guy.  I decided not to even answer him and I changed the subject.

 

“So, did you and Paul have a good day?”

 

“Ah, not answering the question. Okay, that’s fine.  Yeah, we had a good day today, but I missed you, Brielle.”

 

 Say what?  I mean he was nice enough but I had basically already moved on to another guy.  So if I didn’t see Eric again the entire trip that would have been just fine with me.

 

“You don’t know me well enough to miss me, Eric.”

 

He stopped and turned toward me, causing me to stop too.

 

“I know enough to know that I really like you, Brielle.”  He gently rubbed up and down on my arms and I slowly took a step away from him.

 

“Look Eric, I think we might be on different pages.  I’ve had fun with you the past couple of days but I am not looking for anything serious.  We should probably go back to the hotel now.  I am supposed to meet Sophie in about a half hour.”

 

I took a step forward and he blocked me.  I actually felt a little bit uncomfortable as I realized we were completely alone on the beach.

 

“You don’t have to be back for 30 minutes.  Let me show you what you’re missing with me.”

 

Before I could stop him, he grabbed my face and planted a hard kiss on my lips.  I struggled to push him away and managed to tear my lips from his.

 

“No!”

 

He grabbed me and pulled me against him, holding tight as I struggled again to push him off of me.  “Oh come on, Brielle, we’re on Spring Break.  Who are you saving it for?”

 

Before I could answer him, a guy stepped in and pulled Eric off of me with one hand.

 

“Didn’t you ever learn that when a woman say no she means it?!”

 

A huge wave of relief washed over me as I looked up to see Declan glowering at Eric, his hands balled up in tight fists.  Since MMA was Declan’s career, his hands were considered lethal weapons and I was afraid that he was going to hit Eric.  As much as I couldn’t stand him, I didn’t want him to go to jail over me so I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.  His arm felt like solid rock and it made me wonder what the rest of him felt like.  My mind almost went to a deliciously naughty place but I could see that Declan was on about 9 ½ just waiting for a reason to go to 10, and I needed to diffuse the situation.

 

“Declan, it’s not a big deal.”

 

He looked at me, his eyes wild with anger.

 

“Yes, it is.  I heard you scream no and this motherfucker doesn’t seem to know what that means!”

 

Eric looked surprised at first and then he looked pissed.

 

“Dude, what’s your problem?”

 

Declan snatched his arm from my grasp and went nose to nose with Eric, even though Declan towered over him by a few inches.

 

“You’re my problem!  You need to go.”  His voice was firm and I could hear the anger boiling.

 

Declan was almost twice Eric’s size but I think Eric felt he had something to prove.

 

“Dude, you need to mind your own business. This is between me and Brielle.”

 

 Declan looked like he was beginning to shake with anger and then he grabbed Eric by the throat and got in his face.

 

“Brielle is my business!  You can leave in one of two ways: either by yourself or on a stretcher.  Your choice.”

 

He then released his grip and Eric grabbed his throat as he bent over and had a coughing fit.

 

“I’m out of here.  This bitch isn’t worth this.”

 

Before Eric could take a step, Declan swiftly reached out and grabbed the back of his neck and led him around in semi-circles like a dog.

 

“What the fuck did you just call her?”

 

“Dude, chill!  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!”

 

“Get out of here!”  Declan shoved Eric causing him to stumble and fall in the sand before getting up and running off like the scared little bitch that he was.

 

He turned to me and we both stood there, searching each other’s eyes, trying to understand what had just happened.

 

He looked worried as he gently held my arms, his eyes crawling over my face and body.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

I looked down at the sand.  “Yes, I’m alright.”  My voice was small as I realized what could have happened if Declan had not shown up when he did.  I raised my eyes to his, my feelings of disgust toward him slowly melting away.

 

“Thank you.”

 

He looked surprised and gave me a soft smile.

 

“Anytime.”

 

I slowly played the scene over in my head as we stood there looking at each other in silence and one statement screamed out at me. 

 

“Brielle is my business.”  Wait, did I just say that out loud?

 

“Yeah.”  That was all he offered.

 

“What did you mean by that?”

 

Declan looked uncomfortable as he shuffled from one foot to the other and I don’t think I had ever seen him look so nervous.

 

“I just meant that my father would probably want me to make sure that you are safe while you’re down here, so I have to look after you.”

 

I could feel my jaw tightening as the thought of my mother asking Arty to have Declan look after me flooded my mind.  Of course that’s really why he’s here!  They sent him to babysit me!  I put my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes at him.

 

“My mom and Arty put you up to this, didn’t they?”

 

He chuckled as he saw me growing angrier.

 

“Not at all!”

 

“I am not a child, Declan.  I don’t need anyone to ‘look after’ me.”  I added air quotes for emphasis, and to be a little bit obnoxious.

 

“I know that, Brielle.  I just want to make sure you are safe while you are here, that’s all.”

 

“I appreciate you stepping in when you did, but I could have handled it on my own.”  My pride was beginning to swell and I didn’t want him to know how scared I actually was when Eric was being a dick.

 

His voice was gentle and sounded sincere.  “I’m sure you could have, but guys like that can be unpredictable so I am happy I was there.”

 

“How did you even know I was on the beach?”  Was he following me?

 

“I didn’t know it was you, I just heard a woman cry out and I knew someone needed help.”

 

I mulled over his words, and decided not to push it.  I was just grateful he was there when I needed him.