CHAPTER 23
CHANEL

“Hey, Tommy!”

Ana took off for Tommy as he opened his arms to her. Rhett smiled at me as I watched Ana being picked up off the ground. Tommy swung her around in his arms as I grinned. I felt Rhett approach my side as we stood on the ground in Aruba, the saltwater air wrapping around our bodies.

“They look happy,” I said.

“I’ve never seen Tommy like this before,” Rhett said.

“I thought you said he was a playboy.”

“He is. I thought you said Ana was only here to get as much of hers as she could.”

“She is. Or, she was,” I said. “But I’ve honestly never seen her like this with anyone before. It makes me happy, but it’s also kind of strange. Is that a bad thing?”

“Not really. I’m happy for Tommy. He needs someone who grounds him, but it is a swift change in his personality.”

“Well, we better not tease them too much. This could be real for them. You never know.”

The Aruba sunshine was beating down on us as the four of us walked around. Ana and Tommy were holding hands, laughing between themselves. Rhett was walking by my side as we ventured toward the coast, finding ourselves a little slice of heaven. There was a private beach with an alcove and its own personal waves. It was a beautiful sight, one that reminded me of all those paradise movie getaways.

“It’s beautiful here,” I said.

“It is,” Rhett said. “You want to hang out awhile here?”

In a flash, I saw Ana and Tommy run past my eyes. They were holding hands and running toward the water, their bathing suits clinging to their bodies. I threw my head back and laughed as they disturbed the mirror-like waters, splashing and kicking water at one another like a couple of kids. Ana dunked Tommy, and Tommy pulled her under. The waves were bobbing them in the ocean as the fish began to scatter. They were holding onto each other and yelling at us to come in.

“The water’s great!” Ana said.

“You guys gonna stand there like idiots?” Tommy asked.

“You want to walk around or swim?” I asked.

“It’s up to you. Wherever you want to go, I’ll be there,” Rhett said.

I grinned up at him before I started shedding my clothes. I tossed them into a pile on the powdery sand before I started for the water. Rhett jogged up beside me, his movements swift and his body strong. I picked up my pace to keep up with him, and soon the two of us were running and diving into the water.

It felt so refreshing, like the ocean was washing the stain of the past few days off me. I could feel the fear Luke had instilled in me leaving my body. I could feel myself being born again as I emerged from the water. It was crystal clear, and I could see my toes digging into the ocean floor. Fish were swimming around our ankles, rainbow fish and clown fish, big fish that were curious about us and small fish that were searching for their mothers. I was mesmerized by the aquatic life this little alcove harbored, and I smiled as two turtles made their way to the shoreline.

“Think they’re gonna work on their tans?” Ana asked.

“I’d rather be in the water,” Tommy said.

“Oh, really? And why’s that?” Ana asked.

“Because I get to do this.”

Tommy’s hands grasped Ana’s ass and pulled her closer to him. Ana yelped, playfully slapping his chest as Rhett pulled me close. The water was bobbing us around as the waves broke against the shoreline, and even though Ana and Tommy’s voices were echoing off the stone walls, it was still peaceful. This was how I wanted to spend my time in Aruba today. I didn’t want to spend more money or walk around more shops. I didn’t want to break a sweat trying to catch a bus or be crunched for time to get back to the ship. I wanted to take in the beauty of the island from where it mattered most. I wanted to gaze out along the horizon and dream about a better life for myself.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Rhett said.

“Just thinking about what happens after this cruise,” I said.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I came on this cruise to clear some things up and take a good, hard look at what my goals should be going forward,” I said. “This feels like as good a place as any to do some reflecting.”

“Wanna talk it through?” he asked.

“It’s not much. I enjoy what I do, writing and publishing and keeping up my own blog. It rejuvenates me to piece my thoughts together with words.”

“That’s a good thing, to know what you want to do with your life,” he said.

“But I can’t help but feel like there’s something still missing, things I still haven’t achieved. It’s just hard to identify them.”

“Well, start from the beginning. What do you want that you can identify?”

“For one, a savings account,” I said. “I make enough to pay my student loans, my car payment, and the rest of the bills that come with life, but at the end of every month, I don’t have anything to put into a savings account.”

“Okay, so what’s stopping you from making that happen?” he asked.

“I guess I need to take on more work, but it feels like my schedule can’t handle that sometimes.”

“So, you don’t really want a savings account. You want the ability to manage your time better.”

I looked up at Rhett as his eyes gazed out over the ocean. Ana and Tommy were moving farther and farther out to sea, their laughter fading into the background. Rhett’s eyes were focused. Tuned. Lost in thought like I was.

Only he was listening intently and with great purpose.

“I guess so,” I said.

“So, how do you time manage now?” he asked.

“I don’t really. I have a list of things I need to accomplish, and I make sure to get them done before I go to bed.”

“That’s one way of doing it, but it leaves a lot of holes that you can fill with things that aren’t really important. Have you ever thought about getting an electronic calendar?” he asked.

“Hmmm, I never thought of it that way. And no, I haven’t.”

“You should get one. How long does it take you to write an article?” he asked.

“To write one?” I asked. “Um, an hour, maybe. Giving myself creative freedom and all that.”

“Get an electronic calendar to put on your laptop, then start divvying up your days by hours. Take all the articles you need to write in one day and plug them in. Start with a regular nine to five schedule with an hour for lunch and see where that leaves you. Usually, people will find they can take on more than they think throughout the day if they set a routine and stick with it.”

I felt my jaw drop as he spoke. Why had that not ever occurred to me? It seemed so simple, and yet I hadn’t thought of it.

“Wanna try another one?” Rhett asked.

“I’m not sure. That was helpful, and I’ll definitely try it. But it kind of made me feel stupid,” I said.

“Don’t feel that way. That wasn’t the point. The point was to identify the goal you wanted to achieve. If you know your goals, you can backtrack the issue in achieving it, and then you can set forth a plan to neutralize the issue.”

“Neutralize it, huh?” I asked. “Sounds pretty intense.”

“It is. This is your life. That’s a pretty intense subject,” he said.

The silence that settled between us was comfortable. I leaned into his body, and he wrapped his arms around me. His hands settled on my stomach as my head fell back against his chest. It felt like it had all those years ago when Rhett would hold me in the school staircase after a grueling exam. He would hold me just like this, with his chest supporting me as I leaned into him.

I closed my eyes and let myself get swept away in his strength.

“I’ve always wanted to take a cruise,” Rhett said. “But I never could bring myself to vacation on the water after so many years on destroyers and aircraft carriers. It kind of lost its appeal, especially since our destinations were never as nice as this.”

“Makes sense. I’ve been curious about them, but they sort of take money,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said, chuckling. “That’s true, too, but you’re here now. Obviously, you had the money to come on this one.”

“My parents helped me out with it. I plan on paying them back. Eventually,” I said.

“How are your parents doing?” he asked.

“They’re well. Mom’s been a bit sick lately, but it is what it is. Dad’s been at her side diligently for a while now, so it’s become routine for them.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It happens. Don’t worry about it.”

I felt Rhett’s lips kiss the top of my head, and I sighed. Ana and Tommy were bobbing on the horizon, their arms and legs wrapped around one another. The water ebbed and flowed around our bodies, pulling us closer and pushing us away. I could feel Rhett’s arms tightening around me, not wanting to let me go as the water carried us further out to sea.

Soon, we were beside Tommy and Ana. I swam over to my friend as Tommy went over to Rhett, and I was glad we had some time to ourselves.

“So,” I said. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, yes. Searching for men to sleep with is nice and all, but it gets tiring,” Ana said.

“You sure that’s all this is?” I asked. “You look pretty happy in his arms.”

“I am. Because his cock is massive, and his tongue is glorious.”

“Yikes. That’s enough of that. So, it’s nothing more than a fling?” I asked.

“Nothing more,” she said. “Once we’re back on shore, I go back on the prowl.”

“You sure about that?” I asked, not believing a word she was saying.

“Of course I’m sure, why wouldn’t I be sure?” she asked in return, a look of annoyance on her face.

“I’m only asking,” I said. “That’s all. I wanna make sure you’re having fun.”

“Oh, I’m having the best fucking time with that man. It’s gonna hurt to release him back into the wild. All I hope is that I’ve taught him a thing or two to rock some poor woman’s world.”

“I’m sure you have,” I said, giggling.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“We ate breakfast, like, two hours ago.”

“Eh, Tommy and I got to talking and shit. I picked at my plate,” she said.

“Uh-huh. And this is a fling. That’s all,” I said.

“I’ve seen you do it with Rhett, and you say that’s only a fling. Why is my fling any different?”

Because I wasn’t sure if my fling was “just” a fling, that was why.

“Hey, guys?” I asked.

“What?” Rhett and Tommy asked.

“You wanna get some food?” Ana asked.

“I could eat,” Rhett said.

“Can I have you for dessert?” Tommy asked.

“Always, hotcakes,” Ana said.

“Hotcakes?” I asked.

“Oh, breakfast got real fun this morning,” she said.

“Yikes, yikes. No, no. I’m okay. I promise. No more, please,” I said.

The four of us got out of the water and tried our best to dress ourselves. We hadn’t been prepared for the impromptu swimming session, so none of us had a towel. We made our way back toward the port and found a couple of open beach showers to wash off at, then, we made our way into the first restaurant we came upon.

We had more of the island to explore together, but that could wait until after we’d all eaten.