Left With Liam

Chapter 21

Liam

The last few days have gone by so fast, too fast, in my opinion. I guess the saying is true- time flies when you're having fun. It's hard not to when you're in a place like this, surrounded by your favorite people.

The day Lins and Chase left for their honeymoon, Mel, Tay, T.J., and I took it easy by the pool, mainly so Mel and I could recover from our night of drinking at the reception. At one point, Mel brought up the elephant in the room, or rather, her room. I was a little worried that morning when I left that she felt awkward about me staying with her.

Our talk cleared things up. She wasn't worried that it happened, more so that she may have done something... else after I agreed to stay with her. She thought, in her drunken state, that she'd made a move on me. I reassured her that nothing had happened, and just like that, things were back to normal, or at least, as normal as you could expect with the remaining sexual tension between us- from my point anyway.

The four of us had dinner with my parents and Chase's parents before they left- the day after Chase and Lins set sail. Coach and Rusty left the same day, followed shortly by Dan, Tyler, and their wives. Before we knew it, the only ones left on the island from our group were the four of us, Drew, Rob, Damien, and Ben.

There were a few days that our little group would meet up with the guys and go on joint adventures, but mostly the four of them stuck together- hitting on the locals and claiming seats at the beachside bar- while the rest of us found other activities to occupy our time.

We hit the beach, rented jet skis, went parasailing, took a trip to a national park, toured the island by helicopter, and even mingled with the locals at a street fair we stumbled upon. By day five, we thought we'd run out of things to do, but Mel and Tay found yet another adventure for us.

It was a guided day trip around the island. We started at the beach, where our guide split us into pairs. That day we were joined by the boisterous quartet of Rob, Drew, Damien, and Ben- who ended up in two pairs, while Tay and T.J. and Mel and I were split into the remaining two pairs.

Each pairing was assigned a kayak and given snorkel gear. We followed the guide around the island to a small cove, where he let us get out to explore. We swam around the clear, blue water, soaking in every bit of natural beauty around us until it was time to move on to the next spot on our tour- a picnic in one of the island caves.

After paddling back to the beach, a second guide was waiting for us, with coolers filled with water, fruit, and sandwiches. We cooled off in the cave as we ate lunch before venturing further in to explore the cave with our new guide.

Our adventure ended with a short hike through the tropical forest, where we saw some of the most captivating waterfalls I've ever seen. It was like a dream- being in paradise, surrounded by all the beauty of the island, and my favorite person at my side.

She looked incredible as she and Taylor climbed up the side of one of the shorter falls, preparing to jump off for the third time. It was the first time in a long time that I'd seen her look so free and happy- hair flying up, arms outstretched, with a massive smile on her face before her body plunged into the warm water.

I couldn't take my eyes off her as she emerged through the calm surface, water dripping down her body, teasing me, tempting me as she came closer and closer to me. I nearly socked Damien and Ben when I heard them let out low whistles at the girls as they came up out of the water. The only reason I didn't was T.J. beating me to it. He walked up behind them while they were distracted and pushed them into a deep part of the pool.

They came up sputtering as the rest of us laughed. Drew only stopped long enough to comment, "Don't the two of you know better by now? T.J. goes all caveman when anyone does that shit to his girl."

T.J. answered back with a smirk and narrowed eyes as Tay sauntered over to him.

I turned my attention back to Mel as one thought kept running through my mind.

So do I.

So do I.

~

When we all returned to the resort that night, the guys wanted to go clubbing. They invited the four of us, but we declined, deciding instead to bathe, eat, and relax. Our groups separated after that, the four hooligans off to find company for the night while the rest of us headed up to our rooms to shower.

We headed out afterward to have dinner at one of the local restaurants not far from the resort. By the time we got back, it was dark, and everyone was starting to feel the effects of our long adventure earlier. Tay and T.J. excused themselves for the night, leaving Mel and me alone once again.

Together, we headed toward our rooms, making small talk about our day trip and the food we had just had. When we reached our doors, neither of us immediately brought out our keys. We stood there, watching each other, waiting for the other to speak first.

Finally, I caved. I cleared my throat. "Are you tired? Because I'm not really tired yet."

Mel met my eyes and slowly shook her head. "No. I mean, I'm ready to relax, just not ready for bed yet. If that makes sense."

She looked away, biting her lip as I continued to choose my following words carefully. "Uh, well, if you want... We could do something. Maybe... relax in one of our rooms and watch a movie?"

I watched as her cheeks started to pink, hoping she wouldn't say no.

Her eyes searched my face- for what I don't know. After a few seconds- that felt like a lifetime- she nodded. "Yeah. I think a movie would be great."

I looked away, hoping to keep my face from giving away my excitement. "Sweet! Um, should we watch in your room or mine?"

Without saying a word, she pulled her keycard from her purse, unlocking her door. She opened it, looking back at me, and tilted her head slightly, beckoning me to follow.

Immediately, I did. As I crossed the threshold of her room, I could feel my heart pounding and my mind racing as I realized the only place to sit for our movie night was on her bed- the same bed we shared the night of Chase and Lindsey's wedding.

The difference this time- the thing that petrified me- was this time, neither of us was drunk. This time, there were fewer excuses for me not to kiss her.

I've wanted to, been tempted to many times. I just hadn't done it yet. And a big part of me really wanted that to change by the end of tonight.