Chapter Six
By the timewe returned the rental car I was beat. My legs were sore, my eyes were stinging from the sun and salt water, and I was starving. We headed back to the room, and as we reached the door, I realized Harvey was coming in there with me. Was he planning on sharing a room the entire trip?
“So, Harvey... We’ve gotten closer, but, um, I don’t really think that I’d like to share my bed with you,” I said, trying not to be blunt and say, “Get a room.”
“I have the couch,” he said, sitting on it.
“It’s so uncomfortable to sleep like that for the next five nights,” I said, hoping he’d take my protestations as a hint. He shot up, took the couch cushions off and pulled, revealing a sofa bed.
I stared at him. “Why didn’t you sleep on that last night?”
“I was too drunk to remember my own name. Luckily, I remembered your room number or some other gal was going to have a nice shock this morning.” I shook my head, giving up. Whatever, what was I going to do alone in my room, anyway? Nothing but cry. He would keep me from wallowing.
It took a little coordination, since I was not used to bringing my clothes with me into the bathroom when I showered, but I got ready and did a good job of keeping my dignity. Just because we were sharing a room did not mean he had to see me with a towel wrapped around my head and me putting on my face cream. While he was showering, I plucked a few stray eyebrow hairs and applied some light makeup.
When he came out, he had a towel wrapped around his waist. Only a towel. He went to his suitcase, rummaging around, pieces of clothing spilling off the sides. I didn’t want to look so as not to make him (well, more myself) uncomfortable, but when he was facing away, I couldn’t help myself. His back looked so… strong is the only word I could come up with. There were muscles in so many places and no fat whatsoever. It was strange to be in such closed quarters with an unclothed, attractive man that wasn’t my husband. He went back to the bathroom with his clothes, winking at me as he passed by.
I know what it is to get all hot and bothered by the sight of a good-looking man, as I had countless times by Greg. It was absolutely delicious, and I always knew that Greg would come around and take care of my needs, as I would his. But the dynamic right now between Harvey and I shifted in such a way that I had to step outside onto the balcony for some fresh air.What the hell?I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but my nether regions were ablaze and my heart was palpitating at full speed. My cheeks were hot and surely red from the heat building inside of me. This was something much more intense than whenever I was hot for Greg. Vulgar as it sounds, I was horny. And not only that, I found myself thinking that it’stoo bad I can’t have sex for several more nights.
The breeze on my face calmed me, and I took several deep breaths, willing my skin to return to its normal shade of pale. I mean, come on,it’s Harvey.He knocked on the sliding door, and I jumped. He opened it.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Ready?” he said. He didn’t even realizehowready I was.
We took a cab to a restaurant by the water, making sure we were far enough away not to run into Greg and Natalie having dinner. The food was delicious, a wonderful mix of seafood, which we sampled from each other’s plates. I sat across from Harvey, gazing at his handsome face as he talked, and I thought back to his magnificent male body in that white towel.
“And bam— I hit the guy,” he said. He was telling me about the fight he got into last night. Apparently, a guy drunker than Harvey got into an argument with him over a barstool. Men can be dumb.And sexy, I thought, as he kept talking. “So he reels back, lands on his ass, and looks up at me with this stupid face as if he didn’t know how he got there, and then he laid back and passed out. I’m telling you, he was wasted. I got out of there because his friends were coming at me, and I outran them.”
I shook my head and mentally slapped myself. Snap out of it, Audrey. Harvey is totally off-limits. Besides, I’m still married, and just because Greg broke his vows that doesn’t mean I get to… right? I recently had a miscarriage too. I’ve had a double blow with this affair rearing its ugly head, and I’m extremely confused, hurt, and vengeful. The hormones are throwing me off. Right?
“Good thing you didn’t get hurt,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“My hand’s sore, especially from driving today,” he said, opening and closing his hand. I noticed he was still wearing his ring. I looked at my hand and at my own wedding band and engagement ring. How happy I had been to get that ring!
Harvey must have noticed my line of sight because he said, “So are we having our divorce party tonight?” As soon as he said it, I tried to stifle a yawn, but it came out anyway.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Oh, thank God, I’m exhausted,” he said. I laughed.
“Good. Another night?”
“Yeah, let’s get out of here.” We paid and left. As we got back to the room, there was a tingling sensation again as I thought of us sleeping in the same room. I tried to think of something else. My mom... Yes, my mom might want to hear from me. I would go on Facebook and send her a message. I did just that, sending her a few pictures, hoping she didn’t notice Greg wasn’t in any of them. She wasn’t online, so I put the phone away and fell right to sleep.
We slept solong that we woke up to a startled housekeeper apologizing profusely.
“It’s okay!” Harvey and I both called out as the lady ran out of the room. I laughed throwing myself back on my pillow. That was an abrupt awakening. The clock said 10:39, and I grumbled.
“We’re going zip-lining today,” Harvey announced.
My head shot up. “What?!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, yeah,” is all he said.
“No way. I don’t like heights or roller coasters,” I confessed, though it wasn’t much of a confession that I was pretty much a chicken about a lot of things.
“That’s fine, this isn’t a roller coaster. And you can close your eyes so you don’t see how high we are.”
“That makes no sense,” I said, sitting up. He was still laying down, staring at the ceiling.
