The Honeytrap Heartbreaker

25.

He practically swept her off her feet into the gushing hot water. Neither of them mentioned the other night.

They l lay there appreciative of the time they had spent apart and how rewarding it was being together again. Jake lay naked on her sofa, a blanket covering his modesty whilst she made them both sandwiches to relinquish their appetites.

A few more hours of rolling around the floor in fits of laughter passed before Jake's phone rang crashing the evening to an all too sharp stop. He kissed her goodbye at the doorstep, just like he always did, and as he walked off into the moonlight all of the tension evaporated. Ella felt good again.

He must have knew that she loved him, he just knew her well enough that she wasn't ready to say it yet and that was why she loved him, he understood her. She promised herself she would work on it though – when the time is right, she thought.

Leon had text her the next morning to say he had a family emergency so she might as well take the day off too as they would be working over the next few days to account for anything they had to delay today. Ella smiled at her phone and pulled the blanket back up to underneath her chin and turned onto her side back into a dazed sleep. She thought about texting Jake to see if he was free today but she changed her mind, she didn't want to be that girl, that clingy girl who was always texting first wanting to do something.

So she had a better idea, maybe she'd just head into the city and whilst she was in the city, maybe she'd take a stroll to his boat and if he wasn't there it was no biggie and if he was then it would be a lucky coincidence. She needed to go shopping anyway so she didn't feel too bad about her stalker-like behaviour. After a few more hours sleep, she finally lugged herself out of bed and into the shower; fond memories of the night before came swimming back.

After Frankie's run and sausage breakfast was all ticked off the list, she tried to call Adam but as usual no response, he must have had an itinerary the size of his forearm planned for them. Ella got changed into a green plaid shirt which she left open exposing a white vest, denim shorts and black gladiator sandals; she quickly threw her Ralph Lauren sunglasses into her handbag as she slammed the door behind her. She got the bus into Downtown which begrudgingly took over an hour and a half, she always forgot how much she hates public transport until she was on it watching the elderly hobbling on and off at every single stop.

Once the bus pulled into her stop she practically flew off it and took the short walk to get to the centre. The sun burnt onto her already golden skin and she could feel the sweat forming on her neck. She tied her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and wrapped her shirt around her waist. It didn't matter how long you lived here for, some days it was just too hot. She grabbed a bottle of ice cold Sprite from one of the stores and couldn't help but breathe easy with the hydrating and sugar-filled release it gave her.

She pottered around the stores for a couple of hours and managed to pick up two new gold-plated photo frames (for the wedding photos), a charm for her Thomas Sabo bracelet, some scented candles and a new hairdryer before the heat peaked and she decided the only possible way to cool down would be to go to the harbour.

When she got there the wooden planked dock was too familiar but so much had changed since she had last been here, it was nostalgic in a way but her twisted mind couldn't help but flash through the events that followed her last visit. She sat in between two of the larger boats towards the front of the dock and dangled her feet into the water, she finished off her Sprite and splashed the warm water in her face as an attempt to wash away the horrendous thoughts she was forced to face.

After ten minutes she rose back to her feet and headed towards the end of the dock where Jake's boat was kept. The boat she was faced with however was completely different from the last time she saw it, she couldn't help but gasp in shock.