Getting out of the hot tub, I sat on the edge and tossed a handful of ice in my glass, then poured it to the top with G&T.
I drank half of that glass, filled it again, and sank back into the hot tub, sighing at the warmth while I held that glass aloft.
It was good to be super warm after sitting out in the cold December air getting your heart broken for the zillionth time. I took another slug of my drink and licked my lips to get the last traces of pine-scented gin and tangy lime.
Grabbing my black t-shirt, I folded it behind my head and sank back down. The t-shirt would get soaked, but who cared about that? The fancy elevator was only steps away, and from there, my fancy room was within a hand’s reach.
I might get chilled through when I pulled myself out of that hot tub, but it wouldn’t last long and would be the perfect distraction from my woes.
I didn’t have to list those woes, there was only one woe. I was all alone in the world. Nobody to answer back. Nobody to call my name, or whisper sweet things in my ear after a good-morning cuddle in bed.
Filling my glass once again (no ice, this time), I drank the whole glass, and that’s when my head began to swim. I let it swim as I rested my head on my wet t-shirt and squinted up to the black sky, looking for stars. That was when my hand went slack and the empty glass and the little bubbles of ice slid into the warm water.
Glass in a hot tub was bad, even I knew that, so I shoved through my wobbly head, took a deep breath, and submerged my whole body. Even old me wouldn’t have left a glass behind where someone might step on it and cut themselves. Luckily, the glass was in one piece when I found it, so I broke the surface of the water, holding it aloft.
Every part of me was cold now, my wet hair freezing into icicles, my shoulders and torso growing an armor of ice. Standing there, half of me hot, half of me cold, I fumbled for the pitcher, more careful this time as I filled my glass once again.
Even more carefully, I placed the pitcher back on its tray and looked sadly at the meat board. It was kind of getting swampy from the mist of the hot tub. And maybe I could see two meat boards, which meant twice as many goodies for me, if I could only focus long enough to reach far enough to grab something.
I’d just found a trio of honied dates and was just about to shove them in my mouth when a voice said, “Are you naked in there?”
Sticky honey was oozing along my fingers as I looked up to see Alex standing there. He was fully dressed in a lush green sweater (cashmere, probably) and gray slacks with a crease so sharp it could have cut through diamonds.
He must have been on an online meeting with those folks in Japan, he looked so nice. I could even smell a trace of his cologne above the steam of the hot tub.
He looked a little tired, but he was smiling, and I stifled the urge to look around to make sure he wasn’t smiling at someone else.
“Japan all set up?” I asked, though I knew the answer. Of course it was, or he’d still be on his cell phone or the computer, typing and chatting like mad to make the bazillionty dollar deal wouldn’t fall through.
“Yes, thankfully,” he said, eying me closely.
“I have a note from your mom.” I was pretty sure I didn’t garble the words, but I went ahead and clarified. “Thehotelhas a note from your mom,” I said, sucking the honey from my fingers. “And from you too, I think.”
“Yes,” said Alex. His smiled widened, and he approached the hot tub. “Aren’t you freezing?”
I looked down at myself. I was standing in the middle of the hot tub, in the deepest part. Half of me was in the lovely hot water. The other half, from just about my hips up, was not. But I didn’t feel a thing. Too drunk, for one thing. Having him there was the best distraction, for another.
“No,” I said, shoving one of the dates in my mouth.
Honey dripped down my wrist, melting in the heat of the steam from the hot tub. Once again, I was a mess.
Manners never meant much to me, and I never thought they would until Royce set out to be the best example for both me and Jonah. But all that did was make me realize I was being a slob while eating.
Nothing I could do about that. Alex had already seen. Besides, I was Bad Boy Beck and didn’t give a shit what other people thought about me.
“You getting in?” I asked, because that was all I wanted. Him, naked, in the hot tub with me. Or not naked. I didn’t much care.
“Sure,” he said, and he went to the little shed and I could see him taking off his clothes, and then putting on a soft robe and slippers. For a walk of five feet only, but it really was cold.
He scuffed closer, then, at the side of the hot tub, he let the robe fall into a tidy puddle and stepped out of the soft, flat slippers. He walked into the hot tub, taking his time on those two steps as if he knew how much I loved looking at him. At his powerful shoulders and sleek sides. Those abs. His silky skin. Fully dressed, he was Prince Charming. Naked, he was A. Maze. Ing.
And that smile, so powerful, so full of pleasure at a job well done. And maybe he was even a little happy to see me. Maybe.
“You’re lovely,” I said.
“And I think you’re drunk,” he said, stepping through the steamy water till he was close and could touch my arm. I shuddered with pleasure. If that touch was all I got, then I’d be a happy boy.
I wanted more than that, but I didn’t know how to get it, not when I could barely feel my feet and my head wobbled on my neck. My focus was getting blurry, too.
