AlwaysYou (2 page)

Chapter Two

Shari awoke with a stream of light burning its way across
her eyes.
She shifted out of its path, onto the side of the bed that was still
obscured in shadows.
Her eyes felt gritty and were nearly glued shut from the
mascara she’d forgotten to wash off before bed.

Bed.
She barely remembered getting there.
Her head ached as
she tried to recall the blur of events.
There was the hotel bar.
The memory of
the pulsing club music made her head throb and her stomach knot.
Margaritas.
Lots of margaritas.
And Jon.
He was the one pleasant memory from the past
twenty-four hours.

From the past eight years, really.
She’d always been able to
count on Jon.
She stretched, feeling her muscles stiffen then relax as she
turned to look at him.
He was flat on his back, fast asleep.
It always amazed
her how innocent he looked when he was sleeping.
Sandy bedhead hair in complete
disarray, thick eyelashes curling against his high cheekbones, golden-brown
stubble covering his strong jawline, his raspberry lips full and relaxed.
He
was a ridiculously handsome man.

Her gaze wandered down, across his smooth chest, to the
dense patch of hair that swirled around his navel, trailing enticingly in a
line that led lower.
The sheet stood out impressively far and she realized with
a surge of heat between her legs that he was hard.
Her eyes remained glued to
the image, her body fluttering in response, then the night before flashed back
to her.
The hum of the ceiling fan brought back a foggy memory of her nipples
hardening beneath her bra cups, her hands running down her belly, her fingers
slipping between the folds of her flesh.
Oh my God, did I…?

The flush of heat crept over her entire body, concentrating
on her cheeks as she realized with a swift rush of embarrassment that she most
certainly had.
Did he hear me?
The thought was beyond what she could
handle.
He couldn’t possibly.
He was pretty drunk too, he was probably
passed out cold.
And I was really quiet.
I think.
The heat in her face
burned more intensely and she crawled out of bed and tiptoed into the bathroom.

She turned on the shower, hoping the rush of the water would
clear her head and wash away some of her fears.

The hot spray soothed her aching muscles and the
lavender-scented soap was calming.
She rolled her neck, wondering how her life
had managed to turn so completely upside down.
Leaving Phil was the right thing
to do.
That much she knew for certain.
As much as she hated to admit it, Jon
had been right.
Phil was an ass.
It had just taken her this long to finally
accept it.

Jon.
What would I do without him?
He’d dropped
everything, calling to reschedule meetings from the cab as they rushed to the
airport.
She couldn’t imagine ever having a better friend.
Through every bad
breakup, her mother’s death, her company closing—every crisis for nearly a
decade he’d been by her side, on her side.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes.

Pounding on the bathroom door startled her.
“You gonna be in
there all day?
Some of us have to take a piss.”

“That didn’t seem to bother you last night when I had to go.
You’ll just have to hold it.”

She heard him groan and her mind went straight to the image
of his raised bedsheet.
Heat coursed through her and she nearly lost her
balance.
Get a grip.
He’s your best friend.
She couldn’t keep the
naughty thoughts at bay.
He’d always been attractive but he’d grown into his
looks even more so the past few years.
She saw how other women looked at him.
Knew how much they wanted him.
She’d been at the receiving end of many hateful
glances when she’d left bars or parties with him on her arm.
He dated, but
never seemed to settle with anyone for any length of time, always finding some
fault, some reason to stop calling.
Guess when you look as good as him you
can afford to be choosy.

He banged on the door again.
“You’re a cruel woman, Shari.
Hurry up.
You’re clean enough.”

She didn’t feel clean.
She felt ridiculously dirty as she
imagined him with his hand around his cock.
Stop it.
Keep your best friend
out of the drama of your fucked-up life.
He’s all you have left.

Shari turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around
herself.
Even in the foggy mirror she could see how red her face was.
She hoped
he’d be in too big a hurry to notice.

He rushed into the bathroom the second she opened the door.

Jon could hear her giggling.
He shook his head.
She could be
such a pain in the ass.
She had no idea how much physical torture she’d inflicted
on him over the years.
Seeing her saunter by soaking wet and draped in a towel
had instantly brought back memories of last night.

He could still see her body frozen in pleasure as she came,
could still feel the orgasm rushing out of himself
.
Jesus.
If she only knew.
He’d been in the friend zone for so many years he knew she didn’t think of him
the way he did her.
He might as well have been one of her girlfriends.
She
could have asked any of them to join her on the honeymoon trip, but she’d
picked him.
Her best friend.
Friend.
He suddenly hated the word.

He took a quick shower and headed back into the room in
search of clothes.
Shari was lying on the deck on a lounge chair, huge
sunglasses covering half her face, her hand making a lazy trail against the arm
rest.
His body responded, reminding him that he was wearing just a towel.
He
quickly dressed in cargo shorts and a t-shirt and grabbed his own sunglasses
out of his bag.

“Come on,” he said, shoving his wallet and the keycard in
his pocket, glad for the roominess of his shorts.
“We need hangover food,
stat.”

The reservation package came with the breakfast buffet.
After the hostess seated them at a table in the shade, Jon made his way through
the extensive selection of offerings.
He saw Shari make herself a plate of
fruit and return to the table.
He headed straight to the omelet station and
ordered two, then loaded up an additional two plates with bacon, Danishes and
sautéed potatoes.
When the omelets were ready he balanced the plates along his
forearm and headed toward Shari.

She smiled the second she saw him.
“All those years of
waitering sure paid off.
Look at you.”

“I’m a pro.” He set her omelet down in front of her.
“Ham
and swiss with sautéed mushrooms on top, not inside.”

Her mouth dropped open.
“You remembered.”

“How could I forget?
That was your hangover cure all through
college.
I don’t think you’d have graduated without a couple of these each
weekend.”

He placed a cherry Danish on her plate, knowing they were
her favorite.
She took a bite, wiping a bit of sugar glaze from the corner of
her mouth as she chewed.
He wanted to lean across the table and kiss her.
To
lick his way into her mouth and pull her down on top of him on the patio floor.
Instead he took a huge bite of his ham and cheddar omelet.

They ate in silence.
He was thankful for his dark glasses,
which allowed him to watch her without it being obvious he was staring.
Her
see-through white cover-up did little to conceal the black bikini top she wore
beneath it.
Her breasts were round and full; the gold clasp between them seemed
to be begging his fingers to flick it open.
You need to hold it together.
He shifted in his seat.

“What’s on schedule for the day?” he asked.

Shari picked up her water glass and took a sip, leaving
behind a pale red lipstick imprint.
“I was thinking we could head into town and
walk around.
Unless you don’t want to.”

He wanted to do whatever would make her relax.
“Sounds
great.”

She smiled and he felt pleased.
Maybe if they had some time
together with no interruptions he could finally get up the nerve to tell her
how he felt.
Who knew what would happen if Phil contacted her?
Or how many guys
would be waiting in line to call her when they got home.
This trip felt like
his one opportunity and he didn’t want to blow it.

* * * * *

An afternoon of shopping was exactly what Shari needed to
lift her spirits.
She bought a new sundress, a pair of beaded sandals and a
silver cuff bracelet, all of which she planned to wear to dinner that night.
She couldn’t help but notice the approving look Jon had given her when she’d
tried on the sundress.
It was white and clung to her in all the right places,
showing off her boobs and the tan that was already glowing from the few hours
they’d walked around in the Aruba sunshine.

She talked Jon into some new clothes as well.
A blue linen
shirt that she was hoping he’d leave unbuttoned a bit if he chose to wear it
later.
She handed a second shirt into the dressing room just for a chance to
have a glimpse of him changing again.
Watching the muscles across his broad
shoulders sent ripples of pleasure through her.
Has he always been this hot?
How could I not have noticed?

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she had
noticed.
She’d caught herself staring at him more than once over the years.
When he was helping her plant her garden last summer, shirtless and sweating in
her backyard.
When he’d helped her move, his arm muscles flexing each time he’d
carried another box into her house.
Running her fingers through his thick hair
whenever he’d convince her to give him a haircut when he’d waited too long to
get an appointment at the salon.
She’d always brushed it off as a passing
attraction, never giving it more serious thought.
Now all of a sudden the
thoughts seemed quite serious.
She found herself wanting him in a way she’d
never wanted anyone.

“You okay?” he asked, slinging an arm around her shoulders
as they walked down the street.
His touch made her legs feel loose and rubbery.

“I’m fine.
I’m guessing this is much more fun than my actual
honeymoon would have been.”

His lips pulled into a smile and he shot her a sideways
glance, his hair sweeping low over his eyes.
Her insides started to liquefy.
He
tugged her closer and kissed the side of her head, nearly causing her heart to
stop.
She imagined his lips elsewhere, everywhere.
The thoughts had her so
flustered she tripped on an uneven bit of sidewalk.

Jon caught her mid-fall.
“Whoa.” He gripped her around her
waist and she considered turning in his arms and kissing him.

Her cheeks flushed at the idea.
What if he pushed me
away?
Sure, she’d caught him looking at her from time to time, but not once
had he ever made a move on her.
It seemed unlikely he thought of her “that way”
and the last thing she wanted to do was fuck up their friendship.

“I think I need some coffee.” She pointed to a café on the
corner.

While they were on line, she stared at Jon as he craned his
neck to read the chalkboard menu that spanned the rear wall.
He still hadn’t
shaved and his stubbly face looked incredible.
She imagined rubbing her cheek
alongside his.

“You ready?” he asked.

Her eyes widened.
“What?”

“To order.
Do you know what you’re having?
We’re next.”

She shook her head to clear it and noticed the woman behind
the counter was looking at her impatiently.
“I’ll have a large iced latté and
the fruit salad.”

Jon had a small smirk on his face as he looked at her and
she wondered what was going through his mind.
Probably that she was behaving
like a total ditz.
“I’ll take a large iced coffee and a Cuban sandwich.
And an
order of sweet potato fries.”