The Exception (5 page)

Jillian

I took the elevator down to the restaurant to have breakfast before I started my day. I felt great today. I slept like a baby all night for the first time in years. As the hostess was taking me to my table, I saw Drew and Jess. I pretended not to notice them, but she called me out as I walked by.

“Jillian.”

I stopped and plastered on my perfected smile. “Good morning,” I spoke.

“Good morning.” Drew gave a small smile.

“Do you have dinner plans for tonight?” Jess asked.

Shit. Really? Oh God, no.
I started to fumble with my words and just thought to hell with it. She’d know I was lying.

“No. Actually, I don’t.”

“Excellent. Drew and I would love for you to join us. Right, baby?” she asked as she placed her hand on his.

“Sure.” He looked down.

“I would hate to impose on your vacation,” I spoke.

“You wouldn’t be imposing at all. If I thought that, I wouldn’t have asked. So, yes?”

“Yes. That would be nice. Thank you.”

“Great. I’ll have Drew make reservations and then we’ll pick you up at your room, say around seven o’clock?”

“Seven sounds good.”

“Which room are you in?” she asked as she cocked her head.

“The Presidential Suite on the ninth floor.”

“Perfect. We’ll see you at seven.”

“Enjoy your day.” I smiled as I walked away.

My mind went back to what Drew said to me last night about her being a jealous person. Why would she invite me to have dinner with them? She knew Drew and I met on the plane and I could tell by her reaction when we first met that she instantly hated me. Why the sudden change of heart? I sighed as I sipped my coffee. Now that I thought more about it, Drew never looked happy when I saw the two of them together, and it was like he was a different person when he was with her. It was almost as if he was a different man than the one I met on the plane and paddle boarded with yesterday.

When I headed out to the private boat I rented, Juno was there to greet me.

“It’s nice to see you again, Jillian.” He smiled as he hugged me.

“It’s good to see you too.”

“Are you alone this trip?”

“Yeah. I’ve decided to embark on a journey of self-discovery.”

“Self-discovery is good.” He smiled as he handed me some scuba gear. “And what better way to get in touch with yourself than to swim with the dolphins? I’m going to take you to a special place not many of us take visitors. But for you, I’ll take you there.”

Juno started the boat and took me to a cove. As I stood there, looking over the side of the boat, I saw a group of dolphins swimming around the crystal clear, aqua blue water. I would never grow tired of this. I’d been swimming with the dolphins for years and loved every minute of it, but this time, it would be a different experience for me.

“There they are. They’re waiting for you to play with them, Jillian.” Juno smiled.

As soon as I climbed into the water, a group of dolphins swam up to me as my hands skimmed the top of the water. I’d learned over the years how to play with them by swimming around in a circle. Suddenly, they started to swim away and then circled back, with one of them brushing his nose against my body as if to tell me to follow them. Diving down into the water, I followed them out a few feet and found myself in pure bliss. They were in a playful mood. Some were spinning around me while others were jumping out of the water. They welcomed me into their oceanic playground. They kept a close eye on me as if they knew what I was going through and every emotion that flooded my mind. I found myself in the presence of joy and peacefulness. I was suddenly face to face with one dolphin as he was mere millimeters from me. I slowly brought up my hands and placed them on each side of his nose. As I stared into his eyes, I became aware of this moment. As if I suddenly woke up from a life that had only been a dream. I saw freedom and fearlessness. His clicking became more pronounced and the other dolphins swam over to me. I found myself encircled by them, and as I looked around into each of their eyes, I felt an abundance of love and strength.

Returning to the surface of the water, I played with them for a while longer and then climbed back into the boat.

“Magical, wasn’t it?” Juno smiled.

“Beyond magical, Juno.”

As I stared over the side of the boat one last time before Juno took me back, the dolphins jumped up out of the water and spun around. Two of them came to the side of the boat and stared up at me as I ran my hand along their noses.

“Thank you,” I spoke to them.

Turning around and diving back into the water, they disappeared, but the feeling that I got from our time together never would.

****

Passing by one of the shops in the hotel, a dress in the window caught my eye. It was a strapless, red floral print wraparound that would be perfect for dinner tonight with Drew and Jess. Walking into the shop, I asked the saleswoman if I could see it.

“What size are you?” she asked.

“Size 4.”

She smiled as she took the dress off the mannequin and handed it to me.

“Perfect. It’s your size and the only one we got in. I would say that you are meant to wear it. Would you like to try it on?”

“Yes. Please.”

As I stood and stared at myself in the full-length mirror, I ran my hands down my sides. The dress fit perfectly and I was in love with it. After making my purchase, I headed back up to my suite, showered, and got ready for dinner, which somehow I felt was going to be awkward at its best.

Just as I put the final touches on my makeup, there was a knock at the door. My belly started to do tiny flips and I wasn’t sure why. I had nothing to be nervous about. I was just having dinner with a man I met on the plane and his girlfriend. Opening the door, my eyes instantly diverted their attention to Drew. Good lord, was he hot. A number of things took over me, one being the ache between my legs and the thought of how I needed to take care of that later.

“Love that dress,” Jess spoke as she looked me up and down.

“Thank you. You look so pretty.” I smiled.

“Thanks. Are you ready? The car is waiting for us downstairs.”

“Hello, Jillian.” Drew nodded.

“Hi.” I gave a small and careful smile as not to upset the girlfriend.

I grabbed my purse and we headed out of the hotel.

****

Drew

My heart picked up the pace the minute Jillian opened the door. My God, she was so beautiful. I loved the way her long brown, blonde-highlighted hair with the subtle waves swept over her shoulders. Her lips were stained in a perfect red color that matched her dress, which hugged her body in all the right places. Jess and I had had a small argument before leaving the room. It wasn’t anything major, just her complaining that she felt I wasn’t being romantic on this trip, and it was enough to set me off for the rest of the night. I couldn’t take my eyes off Jillian and I needed to be careful because my cock was being uncooperative.

As soon as we were seated at a cabana table at Azure, I ordered a double scotch. I was going to need it to get through this night with a woman of whom I had already had enough and a woman for whom I was pretty sure I was falling head over heels for. Fuck my life.

“Aren’t you going to order us a bottle of champagne, Drew?” Jess asked with a slight attitude.

“If you want a bottle of champagne, then I will order one.”

“I’m fine with my fruity drink.” Jillian held up her cocktail glass with a smile.

That smile. It was something that took my breath away every time she did it.

When the waitress came back to our table, she took our order, and I asked her to bring a bottle of their finest champagne, just to shut Jess up. I was fine with my scotch and Jillian was happy with her fruity cocktail.

“How was your day?” Jess asked her.

“It was wonderful. I swam with the dolphins.”

“Oh. You actually got in the water with those creatures? I could never.”

“It was a lot of fun.”

“They’re so slimy.” Jess shuddered.

Jillian casually picked up her drink and took a sip without responding.

“I think swimming with the dolphins sounds like fun.” I smiled at Jillian.

“You would, Drew. I don’t think I would allow you to sleep in my bed after being in the water with those things.”

Rolling my eyes, I thought to myself,
I think I’ll go tomorrow.

Jillian

I was starting to understand the unhappiness that radiated from Drew when he was with Jess. She was definitely a piece of work. She reminded me of Grant and that was not a good thing.

“So, Jillian, what made you decide to leave your fiancé standing at the altar?” she asked.

“Don’t you think that’s a little personal?” Drew interjected.

“No. She told you that she did it, so I was just wondering why.”

Sitting there, I was feeling uncomfortable about her question, but I wasn’t going to let her get to me. If she wanted to know, then I would tell her.

“I wasn’t in love with him.”

“Fair enough. But didn’t you know that before the wedding?”

I wasn’t about to get into my whole life story with this bitch I didn’t even know.

“I had my doubts, but when I found out that he slept with two strippers at his bachelor party, that sealed the deal,” I lied.

“Oh you poor thing. I wouldn’t have left him at the altar. I would have castrated him first and then left him.” She reached over and placed her arm around Drew. “That’s something I never have to worry about with Drew. Right, baby?” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

He nodded his head as he gulped down the rest of his scotch and the waitress quickly brought him another.

“What do you do for a living?” I asked her.

“I’m a buyer for Neiman Marcus. And you?”

“I just graduated from Yale Law.”

Her brow raised and, suddenly, I became a threat.

“Wow. Impressive. I never would have taken you for the lawyer type.”

Her and me both.

“How long have the two of you been together?” I asked.

“About a year now.” She smiled. “A wonderful and beautiful year. Isn’t that right, baby?” She smiled.

Drew raised his brows as he took another sip of his drink. It was taking everything I had to hold in the laughter that so desperately wanted to come out. Things were starting to become very clear now. She invited me to have dinner with them so she could tell me how happy they were and to discreetly tell me to stay away.

“That’s great. I’m in a man-free zone and I couldn’t be happier.” I smiled.

“Really?” she asked with a twisted face.

“Yes. I’m on a journey of self-discovery and I have rid men from my life. No exceptions.”

“Forever?”

“No. Not forever. But I don’t have any plans to be involved with a man in the near future. I need to find myself first.”

All of a sudden, her attitude changed towards me.

“That is wonderful, Jillian. You are very inspiring. If I didn’t already know who I was, I’d go on a little journey myself.” She winked as she sipped her champagne. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the little girls’ room.”

As soon as she left, Drew looked at me and started shaking his head.

“I’m sorry about her asking you about your fiancé. Sometimes she has no filter or regard for other people’s feelings. Actually, make that all the time.” He smiled.

“No big deal.” I waved my hand in front of my face.

“Well, just so you know, it was a big deal to me.”

“So what did you two talk about when I was gone?” Jess asked as she sat down.

“I was just asking Jillian about the dolphins,” Drew replied.

“Are you still on that, baby? We aren’t going to swim with them.”

Drew sighed and picked up his drink. I could tell he was getting very angry by the way he clenched his jaw. After finishing our dinner and having a light conversation, it was getting late, so we headed back to the hotel.

“Thank you again for inviting me to dinner. I had a nice time.” I smiled at both of them.

“Thank you for joining us,” Drew spoke.

“Yes. We must do this again on our last night here,” Jess said.

“I’m looking forward to it. Have a nice night.” I smiled as I stepped off the elevator.

****

Drew

A few days had passed and Jess and I weren’t getting along at all. Everything that came out of her mouth annoyed me. All she did was whine and complain about everything. Mostly about me. After doing some shopping, she huffed and puffed all the way back to the hotel because I wouldn’t buy her a bracelet she wanted.

“You haven’t bought me one single thing since we got here,” she spoke in a harsh tone.

I could feel my blood boiling as I opened the door to the suite.

“What about all the meals I’ve bought you?” I yelled. “The plane tickets, this suite, the bottles of champagne you had to have every night, and the tickets for everything you wanted to do!”

“Don’t you dare take that tone with me, Drew. All I want is for you to buy me something nice. That’s what boyfriends are supposed to do. When you love someone, you buy them nice things. Is that so much to ask?”

The rage that had been contained inside me began to erupt and I couldn’t take it anymore. Just the mere sound of her voice sent me over the edge.

“I DON’T LOVE YOU!” I shouted. “I can’t do this anymore, Jess.”

“What?” Tears started to fill her eyes.

“I’m sorry, but it’s over between us,” I softly spoke.

“Don’t say that, baby. You don’t mean it,” she begged.

“Yes I do. It’s been over for a while now. We haven’t been getting along and everything’s always my fault. I’ve had enough.”

The tears began to stream down her face and, sadly, I didn’t give a damn. She had pushed me way too far.

“You heartless bastard. How could you do this to me? I love you, you son of a bitch.” She grabbed hold of my arm.

Jerking it away, I looked into her eyes. “Of course it’s my fault this happened. Well, let me give you a wake-up call, darling. You are a whiney, jealous, self-righteous, selfish, stuck-up bitch, and god help the next man that crosses your path.”

She raised her hand and slapped me across the face. “How dare you speak to me like that.”

I held my face to try and soothe the sting of the burn. “Pack your stuff and leave,” I shouted as I pulled out my phone. “There’s a four o’clock flight back to New York and you need to be on it.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You leave. You’re the one who broke up with me, you fucking asshole,” she screamed.

I walked into the bedroom and threw her suitcase on the bed. As I was grabbing her clothes from the drawers, she grabbed my arm.

“Stop it!” she screamed.

Jerking away from her, I went into the bathroom, collected her things, and threw them into her bag.

“This is my room, that I paid for. I’m not going anywhere. Now get out before I call security and have you thrown out!” I yelled as I pointed to the door.

“You’ll regret this, Drew Westbrook!”

I grabbed her suitcase and carry-on bag, opened the door, and set them in the hallway.

“The only thing I regret is not doing this sooner.”

As soon as she stepped out of the suite, I slammed the door.

****

Jillian

I had a great time with Ano and Lonnie at the luau they invited me to, and by time I got back to the hotel, it was eleven o’clock. When I approached the elevators, there was a sign that they were out of order.

“I’m sorry, miss. You’ll have to use the elevators around the corner and across from the bar.

“Okay, thank you.”

As I walked around the corner, I pushed the button and waited for the elevator to come down. While I was waiting, I glanced across at the bar that was filled with people and noticed Drew sitting on one of the barstools. I hadn’t seen him or Jess the past couple of days, so I thought I’d stop over and say hi.

“Hey,” I spoke as I walked up to him.

“Jillian Bell. Can I buy you a drink?” he slurred.

“No thanks.” I narrowed my eye at him. “Where’s Jess?”

“I broke it off with her and sent her home.” He kicked back his drink, finishing it off.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” I didn’t know what to say and I was shocked.

“Don’t be. I’m not. I should have done it a long time ago. Bartender?” He held up his finger.

“No you don’t. I think you’ve had enough to drink. Come on.” I grabbed hold of his arm. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

He didn’t resist as I hooked his arm around my neck and took him up to his suite.

“Where’s your keycard?” I asked as I propped him up against the wall.

He reached in his pocket. “I think I left it in the room,” he slurred.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s not in my pockets.”

“Okay. Come on, back on the elevator.” I sighed as I hooked his arm around my neck.

“Where are we going?” He stumbled and almost fell.

“To my room so I can call the front desk and get you another key.”

Stumbling down the hallway, I propped Drew up so I could get the key from my purse. The moment I let go of him, he slid down the wall and to the ground.

“Ugh. Come on, big guy.” I helped him back up and took him to the bedroom.

“We have something in common,” he spoke. “Something I think you should know.”

“Oh yeah. What’s that?” I asked as I helped him onto the bed.

“We both left someone standing at the altar.”

Did I just hear him right?

“What?” I frowned as I stared down at him.

“I left my fiancée at the altar just like you did.” He rolled over.

I knew trying to find out more was going to be impossible in the condition he was in. He probably wouldn’t even remember that he told me in the morning. Picking up the phone on the nightstand, I dialed the front desk.

“Front desk, how may I help you.”

Looking at Drew, I saw that he had fallen sound asleep.

“I’m sorry. I’ve changed my mind.” I hung up.

There was no use in trying to get him back to his room. He’d most likely be out the rest of night anyway. After removing his shoes and socks, I covered him with a blanket. Grabbing my nightshirt, I took it to the second bedroom, slipped into it, and climbed into bed. Why didn’t he tell me that he could relate after I told him about Grant? And this whole thing with Jess. Wow. I could tell he was unhappy, so I was not totally surprised. Something really bad must have happened for him to do it on vacation and send her home. Which led me to another question. Where was home for him? I never did ask.