Click (A Night Fire Novel Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter Eight

I hadn't realized it at the time but Hal had revealed something that I didn't know about Austin. His surname. It was crazy but at that moment it dawned on me how little I knew him. As I walked back to the villa and ignored the people staring at the pink person walking past them, I thought about what Hal said.
He keeps his life closed for a reason.
But what was that reason? Did it have something to do with what Austin was talking about before I stormed off?

“Oh my god.” Monique gasped. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Nothing.” I snapped. “I'm going for a cold shower.”

“You had a fight with him, didn't you?” She asked as she followed me.

Monique the sleuth was on the case and I might as well fess up because she would hound me until she got the information anyway.

“Yes.”

She sat on the vanity in the bathroom, looking over the after burn gel that Hal had given me. Waiting for me to tell her, waiting for me to become a blubbering mess. I turned the water on and stripped off, feeling the icy cold water against the burning heat of my skin.

“We went to the lagoon, we were in the water. Out of nowhere he says that we shouldn't be doing this, that I didn't know what I was getting myself in for.”

“What were you doing?” She frowned.

“In the water.” I shrugged. “I didn't have my top on but that shouldn't matter, should it? He was all over me before we left this morning.”

“I wouldn't have thought so.” She said dryly as she leaned back against the mirror.

I stepped back to let the cold water wash over my hot face, soaking my hair.

“Then Hal sees me and starts asking questions.”

“Who is Hal?”

“The guy on the front desk. He knows Austin, how I don't know. He said that Austin keeps his life closed for a reason and made me promise to not let go.”

Monique frowned at me with a confused, crinkled face.

“Did you?”

“He wouldn't let it be Monique, he looked like he was ready to jump the desk just to beg me.”

“Bizarre.” She scoffed.

There was a knock at the door, Monique turned to its direction then back to me.

“Gee I wonder who that might be.”

“I'm not here.”

She shook her head with a grin, sliding off the vanity.

“I'll help you with this when I get back. Your back is raw.”

The gel was dumped onto the vanity and as she walked through the door she closed it behind her. I turned off the water and wrapped the towel around my body even though it hurt. He was here, I could hear Austin's voice as he argued with Monique.

“I know she's here. Hal told me.”

Damn you Hal.

“Well she doesn't want to see you.”

“I don't care.”

His thumping on the door frightened me.

“Abigail, open the door.”

“You can leave now.”
Monique's voice was filled with contempt.
“Clearly you and your friend are wrong.”

“Bullshit.”

The door swung open and I was suddenly grateful that I had wrapped the towel around me.

“Where the hell did you go?” His eyes narrowed at me. “You are badly burned.”

He swiped the gel off the vanity, turning to Monique.

“Go and see Hal on front desk and ask him to give you more of this.”

Monique rolled her eyes at him and wandered off. Austin turned back, looking at me angrily.

“Are you crazy?”

“Go away. I'm not in the mood for your nonsense.”

I tried to push past him but he stopped me, holding my arm as tight as he could without hurting me. I really was burnt all over.

“Where were you? I looked for you.”

“I know.”

“You were hiding from me?”

I wretched my arm from his grip, looking up at him.

“Like you are hiding from me?”

He sighed and moved to the main door, closing it.

“Get on the bed.”

I looked at him, silently challenging him. He returned with his own look, one that wordlessly asked if I dared to go against him. I huffed and got on the bed, stomach down because my back was where it was the worst. Austin was being as gentle as he could as his hands spread the gel over my back.

“I don't live on this island, I come here to escape for a couple of weeks every so often. A friend owns the bar and offered the job so that I could do something ordinary for once. I needed a break a few years ago and he offered it to me as an escape, to walk among the normal people for once. To bask in the world of anonymity again. I didn't think it would work, I thought that I would be followed and found out but I was wrong. Since then I have come here every spring break to forget about the real world.”

His words were odd to say the least, I had tried to focus on his hands that were pushing deep against the skin. It hurt but the gel was like some magic concoction that numbed the pain. Austin got up from the bed, returning a few seconds later.

“Onto the towel.”

I rolled onto my back, carefully he wiped his fingers over my chest and tried not to grin.

“You are going to peel so bad.”

“Yeah great, thanks for that. So this would be where you continue with your little story.”

His eyes followed his hand as it dragged over my shoulder and down my arm.

“My life is hectic, I don't spend a lot of time at home. I'm not right for you Abigail. Not when you're studying. You need someone who is settled and stable.”

“That's assuming I want to continue studying.”

I shrugged at his confusion, instantly feeling pain in my shoulder. Austin rubbed the gel in, soothing it quickly.

“My parents think I'm studying medicine. I haven't exactly told them but I dropped out when I wasn't doing so crash hot.”

“Define not so crash hot.”

“Uh terrible marks, a professor telling me that I'd made the wrong choice. I passed out when they showed pictures. On the plus side everyone got to learn how to deal with a patient who had passed out.”

Austin chuckled.

“So what do you want to do with your life?”

I stared at him, speechless. I had no idea what I wanted to do.

Austin left me in peace for what he stated would be a short while. He had to get some things and I wanted time to think of my future and how he managed to completely obliterate my life plan. It had been simple, study to become a doctor and become a doctor. Once I got there I was going to re-evaluate and decide my next life plan. Possibly children, that wasn't one that I had thought about. A serious relationship, maybe marriage. Maybe even some fancy apartment and a holiday house, once I started to earn the big bucks.

But now there was nothing. Becoming a doctor had slipped away a long time ago. The thought of it didn't appeal to me anymore and it was a terrible decision to even start the course because I was now deeply in debt. I should just beg Benny for more hours at the cafe and work hard to pay off the debt. One of many debts. Maybe I should consolidate my loans.

Wearily I sighed, staring out to the green below and the blue skyline as I sat on the deck. I could barely move, it had taken me a few minutes to get here and it hurt like hell. The backs of my knees were pink, I couldn't bend at the knees without wincing. Better yet, I was covered in this stuff that Hal gave me. Now I was tacky.

Every time Monique looked at me, she was passing a bottle of water to me. I knew she was ensuring that I was well hydrated but it only made me want to use the bathroom more. And considering that it hurt to walk well, it wasn't working out for me.

By the time the sun was setting, Monique was dressed up for another night out. She looked at me with sympathetic eyes and I shrugged her off, telling her to go and have a good night with her new friends. It didn't matter. I was being suitably punished for hiding from Austin. There was a lesson to be learned from this. It didn't matter that we had a disagreement, I should have sucked it up for long enough to get back to the hotel
then
throw my temper tantrum and hide from him. Then I wouldn't look like a cooked lobster.

I nearly shrieked when two large hands reached up to the floor of the patio, the lumbering figure of a man climbing his way up.

“There is a door, you know.”

Austin shrugged as he climbed over the balustrade.

“Door is locked, didn't want to make you get up.”

Oh, that was considerate I guess.

“Thanks.”

He did his casual, lopsided shrug as he dumped his bag onto the table. Out came more cream, this time it was a different brand. Something incredibly delicious smelling came out next, I couldn't see through the steamed sides of the plastic container.

“There's a great little Chinese place in town. They make some pretty mean nosh.”

A wave of lemony goodness hit me as he cracked open the lid, amid the sea of clear yellow was bits of brown. Oh I do love a good lemon chicken. The next container came out, fried rice. I almost cried with delight. Dim sims and there were four of them so there was no fighting over the odd one out. The last container was sweet and sour pork. Hmm, this man sure knew how to pick the yummies.

Austin was out of his seat without a word, striding into the villa only to return a few seconds later. He put the plates down, tucking the spoons into the tubs.

“Okay, what do you want?”

My stomach growled in response, Austin chuckled and dumped a large amount of fried rice onto the plate.

“A bit of everything then.”

An hour later I sat back, my distended stomach poked out from under my shirt. Austin dumped his plate onto the table and sat back, flicking the fringe out of his eyes. He had changed into a cotton shirt, sleeves rolled up and a few buttons opened at the neckline. His jeans were littered with rips and holes that seemed to be put there intentionally rather than from overuse. I could never understand the concept of buying a pair of jeans with holes in them.

I stretched back further, my stupid shirt rolled up my stomach. Casually I pulled it back down, trying to hide my screwed up, wincing face from Austin.

“I swear that little takeaway shop could be the death of my waistline.”

Instead of a laugh or even a slight chuckle, Austin picked up his last dim sim and waived it under my nose.

“Ugh, don't. I love them but I can't.”

“Sure? Last chance.”

“I'm sure even if I think I'll regret it in a minute.”

Without even a second offering it was gone, Austin munched on it with a wicked glint as he packed up the plates and tubs.

“You need to wash the other stuff off before you put that stuff on.”

I picked up the packet, studying the box.

“It's all herbal or hippie... something.” he crinkled his nose. “Anyway get in the shower.”

“I won't be able to reach my back.” I said suggestively.

Austin stood with his arms full, the wicked nature was gone.

“It would be wise that you do it without me Abigail, you aren't in any state to be misbehaving.”

I pressed my lips together with a wry smile as I stood up from the lounge. Doing it in such a short and swift move wasn't easy and it did hurt but at least it was getting easier. Or I was becoming more tolerant to the pain. One of them.

“Fine. Miss out then. Enjoy doing the dishes.”

“Yeah, yeah. I'll put the cream on you.” he leaned in closer. “And for the entire time, you can think about what you would be getting if you hadn't got sunburned.”

My mouth went slack as I stared at him, in an instant I snapped back and pressed my lips together in a long, thin line. He chuckled as I narrowed my gaze, pinning them to him. Worse yet, he moved into the villa, ignoring my indignation.

I really was suffering. I had effectively put a kibosh on us having sex until I was no longer pink and in pain. My life sucked.

Chapter Nine

Night had fallen fast, on the other side of the window it was pure black. The wind had dropped and even though it was incredibly hot, I wasn't bothered by it. Maybe it was because I had just come out of the shower. The windows were open in a vain attempt and getting some ventilation but it wasn't working. It concerned me that a storm was brewing. I didn't want to be stuck on an island in the middle of a tropical storm or worse, a hurricane. No, worse than a hurricane or a storm would be being evacuated. It would be the end of the holiday without a chance of a do-over. That would suck big time. At the moment, I had a chance of having at least one day of fun, provided that the skin healing goes well. If not then I would have to go home and hope that whatever my future held, it contained...

“Ugh. Don't Abigail.” I whispered angrily. “He warned you away, listen to him before you get hurt.”

In showering and washing the last of the tacky gel off me, I managed to loosen a lot of the skin. It was gross, I was peeling already. The shower was refreshing and left me feeling pretty damned good but not anymore, shedding skin was just down right gross.

As I wrapped the towel around my body and walked out to the bedroom, I could hear the soft patter of a conversation. It was possible that Monique was back, she did seem rather reluctant to leave tonight. Maybe she felt guilty for abandoning me and had returned to help me.

And help me, she had. A tall glass of water sat on my bedside along with two tablets. Greedily I sank them back, drinking all of the water.

I flicked on the fan over my bed, standing under it which was a complete waste of time. All that it was doing was pushing hot air around. This weather sucked. It sucked the life out of me. It was draining, a minute out of the shower and I was ready to get back in there.

I laid stomach down and waited, Monique wouldn't mind doing the cream.

A soft click made me jump, I had fallen asleep. The bed beside me depressed and a sharp, brutal coldness hit my back. A long line of a chill that made my body tighten.

“Easy does it Abigail.”

My body tingled as the new goop was pressed deep into the skin. Not just because of the person with their hands on me but because the cream had some medicinal properties. Better yet, it wouldn't leave me tacky and hopefully within a day or so, I wouldn't be so pink. Maybe I might even be lucky to go brown. The reality was much more cruel, I would continue to peel and become some hideous monster. I would become a walking, shedding disaster. Say goodbye to a fornicating holiday Abigail, you know you will spend the rest of it hiding in the villa. Sadly, my whispering and taunting mind was right.

I think that the pain relief has kicked in, so I might just be a little out of it. Pray that I can keep my dignity and not blurt out something utterly ridiculous like the fact that I suspected that I loved Austin.

It wasn't true. It wasn't possible. I had known him for almost three days now, so the thought of loving him was preposterous. The challenge hadn't failed. It was still alive and running well.

The pressure washed over my arms, sending the tingle to the tips of my fingers. They moved back up, two thumbs worked the back of my neck.

“You're peeling already.” A soft voice murmured through the dreamy haze.

“Mm.” I grinned with sleepy eyes.

“Feeling better Abigail?”

I nodded, closing my eyes. I could not wipe the smile from my face even if my eyes were so damned heavy it was difficult to keep them open.

“How's the bad boy challenge going?”

“Crap!” I said loudly.

Shit, where did my volume control go?

“Not winning the battle?”

“No.” I mumbled against the bed sheet, feeling the hard fingers press into me.

The cream made them slide up and down, it felt so good. Pain free, I was floating on a heavenly cloud of happiness.

“He's so nice.”

“Nice?”

“And dreamy. 'S a great kisser too.” I slurred.

An appreciative murmur turned into a slight huff of a laugh.

“Can draw but wouldn't show me the black book. Mon, what's in the black book?”

No answer. Damn her and her poorly timed silence.

“Smells good too.”

“Are you sniffing him Abigail?”

“Nooo.”

I giggled.

“What else do you like about him?”

“We get on well. It's okay with the silent moments. I like that. He's hiding something from me. I don't like that.”

Silence again. Hazy skies for as far as I could see. The clouds started to form into a shape, slowly wrapping around and as it sat in front of me I giggled.

“Hey there kitty cat. Where did you come from?”

The image faded away, making me sad that the kitty didn't want to stay.

“Kitty cat, huh?”

The humorous tone couldn't be missed.

“It was cute.”

“Of course it was. Oh look, more skin peeling.”

I cracked an eye open to see the flaked skin being wiped onto the towel I was laying on. Coldness hit the back of my leg, then the warmth of a hand. It happened again, this time to the other leg. The hand drifted high, pushing against my hips and the edges of my backside.

“Do you think he likes me?”

“The cat?”

I giggled. “What cat?”

“Never mind.” the humorous voice chuckled. “I'm sure he likes you a lot.”

“The cat?” I frowned.

Everything was still a blur.

“Yeah, the cat and Austin too.”

“Good. 'S good.” I yawned, keeping my eyes closed. “I love him too.”

The fingers stopped momentarily and then continued on, slowly working their way down to my ankles.

“I'm sure he loves you too.”

My world was a blissful bubble of happiness, warmth surrounded me as a soft cool wind lingered through the windows. Then reality hit me or rather, the pain hit me. Carefully I sat up and looked around my room. I was alone, I had slept on the towel last night, surrounded by bits of me.

Ugh, that's just wrong. I wrapped the towel up and dumped it on the dresser. As I opened the door I saw Monique sitting at the table drinking a coffee. She looked like she'd had a rough night.

“Morning sunshine.” she grinned.

“Morning. Thanks for the rub down last night, when did you get in?”

“Huh?” she frowned. “I was out until midnight. Surprised you didn't hear me come back, my friend wasn't exactly quiet.”

I shook my head, not just at the statement but her antics. As I made my coffee I tried to think about last night. There wasn't much I remembered about it, the pain relief was pretty damned good. I gripped the table and the chair as I lowered onto the seat, ignoring the smug smile on Monique's face.

“You're looking a lot better today. Not so pink, once the rest of the dead skin is gone you'll be good again.”

“Thanks.” I groaned before taking a sip. “Was Austin still here when you came back?”

“Yep. He left once I was here. I don't think he wanted to hang around while you were out of it and it's not as if he was interested in talking to me.”

She air quoted talking. Yep, I was glad he wasn't interested in 'talking' to her.

“So, what's the plans for today?”

I shrugged, not feeling like venturing out of the villa.

“Oh come on Ab, I have let you ditch me so far without complaint but this was supposed to be a holiday together. Lover boy said he was busy this morning so you don't need to be hanging around waiting for him.”

“I was actually more concerned about the hideous appearance.”

An eyebrow raised at me.

“We are on an island, as if you are the only one that's been sunburned. Find a nice, loose dress and hurry up.”

I finished my coffee, picking through the platter of pastries and fruits, effectively ignoring her request to hurry up.

We took a bus into the town for a day of shopping. It was an old rattler, one that looked like it was from several decades ago. The windows were down and hard to move so I had to put up with the wind against my face. It was a hot and hard wind that hit against my sore body, making me want to return to the villa.

I hid my minor suffering from Monique, offering her a smile every time she turned and looked at me. Today I had been a little smarter, wearing a wide brim hat and sunglasses, long flowing dress that covered pretty much all of me.

The driver putted the bus along, narrowly avoiding the pot holes. It made him look like he was weaving his way around a course of witches hats.

“It's going to be fun!” Monique grinned madly at me. “Gonna shop up a storm, what about you Ab?”

“Shit yeah.” I smiled brightly at her.

The driver dropped us at the beginning of the shops, telling us that there was a taxi station at the other end. It was perfect, we would take a slow amble up the shopping strip and then motor our way back to the villa.

Monique and I had certainly shopped up a storm. My eyes were always on the lookout for a great bargain, my pittance would go far today.

After two hours of moving in and out of the stores, we were both ready to return. I had managed to acquire a gorgeous bit of bling sandals, a kaftan that was bright and funky, gifts for my family and a fridge magnet, it was going to be my new thing. All destinations that I traveled to would have a fridge magnet placed on my fridge.

“Well that was fun.” Monique sighed happily. “I think I'm ready to kick back and have a late lunch, maybe at the restaurant?”

“Sure.”

She smiled at me, her eyes darting over my shoulder with a frown. I turned to the other side of the street. It had a rather long convenience store and a petrol station at the other end of the strip of shops. There hadn't been anything fascinating on that side of the street until now.

I turned to look at what she was frowning at and in that very second I almost dropped my bags. The street was narrow, I could only assume that he hadn't seen me because of my oversized hat and glasses but what about Monique? It's not as if she was trying to hide from the sun.

Austin stood outside the shop, his bag hitched over one shoulder. The bike was a few steps down the street, waiting for his return. But that wasn't the issue. No, that would be the woman under his arm. It was draped over her shoulder, she beamed a huge smile at him. Her friend was a happy snapper, taking a picture of them. Worse yet, the woman leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

“Come on.” Monique hissed under her breath. “Don't be hanging around to watch this shit.”

She dragged me to the first taxi, loading me into it and bundling our bags around our feet.

“Don't look Ab.” she muttered as the driver pulled out onto the street.

But I couldn't help it. I had a sick twisted need to watch, hoping to understand why. We had almost escaped without him noticing. We had almost passed him. Except that the driver must have known him and tooted his horn with a wave.

I pulled the brim of my hat down and turned away, looking at Monique. Her glare could melt steel, with dismay I watched her turn back to the view behind us. One index finger pointed through the air as her lips pinned shut tight, then as her eyes narrowed her finger sliced over her neck. Oh Austin, you just pissed off the wrong girl.