“Anyway, I just think if you’re a cat person you can love dogs too, but it never goes the other way, and that’s not right.”
“Mm-hmm.” I pretend to be listening as I put away my dishes and grab my bag. “See you later, Cora.”
Without waiting for her response, I walk across the dining room and out the door that leads to the beach. In the distance I see a few cabanas are set up with towels and even buckets of water. The storm has cracked open long enough to give us a beautiful sunny day at the beach, but from the weather reports I checked early this morning, there’s more ahead.
I’d gotten out of bed early after giving up on sleep. I tossed and turned after Lindsey left while my brain went over every conversation we had. There were moments when I just lay there and thought of all her different smiles and how soft her cheek felt under my touch.
The one place on earth I never thought I’d have to worry about distractions, and here I am like a kid on Christmas morning. Going to breakfast extra early didn’t help because then I was forced to make small talk until she arrived. When she had her plate, I was hoping she’d join me and Cora at our table, but she didn’t give me a second glance as she took a table with Mary in the back.
Did I completely misread our time together last night? I thought we were having a good time, and then when I mentioned how late it was, she bolted. The reason I pointed out the time was because I couldn’t believe how long we’d been talking. It felt like five minutes instead of hours, but I guess maybe bringing that to her attention didn’t have the same effect.
The beach is pristine with perfect, powdery sand that’s white as snow, so I take off my shoes and walk barefoot. When I get to the edge of the water, I look around for Lindsey, but I don’t see her. The cabanas aren’t full, and there’s only a few people out here right now, so I’m surprised I can’t find her.
When I get to the end of the row, I see the beach bag she was carrying at breakfast along with her sandals in the sand beside them. Without thinking, I drop my things next to hers and then study her footprints. There’s lots of places she could have gone, but the sand is still so fresh that I notice there’s only one set of footprints heading away from her cabana, toward the tropical trees.
The sun is beating down, and even though it’s still early in the day, the humidity from the storm is out of control. I peel off my shirt because I’m already sweating, and it’s clinging to my chest. I toss it on the lounger next to her stuff and go in search of Lindsey.
Thick green foliage lines the nearby beach, and I see a small path that leads into the forest. Her small footprints are on the same path, and I keep my eyes on them as I push away large banana leaves hanging in front of me. Part of me wonders if she’s lost and that’s how she ended up so far from the hotel, and the other part of me wonders if she wanted to be alone and I’m intruding.
I guess if she wants solitude, I’ll tell her I was just checking to make sure she was okay and then take off. But what if she came out here knowing I’d follow? I like to think the latter is the reason I’m in such a hurry to find her, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high.
Everything about this situation is wrong. I’m falling hard for a woman I hardly know, and we work together. I keep telling myself this is a bad idea, yet here I am, putting one foot in front of the other.
By the time I get to the end of the trail, I can’t find her footprints anymore, and we are too far away from the hotel for exploring. It’s not safe for her to be out here on her own, without shoes or a way to contact someone if she gets into trouble. What if she gets bitten by a snake? She’s so far out here that if she screamed, no one back at the beach would hear her.
Worst-case scenarios begin to flash in my mind, and I quicken my pace. I can’t see which direction she’s gone in, but before I know it, I’m running. My arms and legs push through the overgrowth and trees, and just when I’m about to call out her name, I burst through a clearing and find Lindsey standing at the edge of a crystal blue lake, topless.
My eyes widen as I take in what I’m seeing, and a second before she’s about to jump in, I rush towards her, screaming her name.
“Lindsey, no!”
She turns to me at the last second before I nearly tackle her to the ground. I manage to turn my body at the last second so I’m the one hitting the ground first and then sliding across the dirt and in the mud.
“Oh my god, Gibson, what the hell are you doing?” She’s mad, and her face is red once she looks down at our bare chests pressed together. “Let me go.”
She tries to wiggle free, but I grip her chin and turn her head towards the water. “Shhh.”
Lindsey goes completely still when her eyes follow the same path as mine. There on the other side of the lake is an alligator twice my size, lounging in the sun.
I can hear the sound her throat makes when she swallows, and I loosen my grip on her. “Let’s just get out of here slowly and calmly.”
She doesn’t make a peep as she nods and then we quietly get to our feet. Her bathing suit top is over by the rock, and when we stand, she crosses her arms over her chest.
“It’s fine, just leave it,” she hisses when I go over to retrieve it.
We’re still a good distance away, but I’m not going to hang around and find out if he’s coming after us. I grab it without hesitating and then grab Lindsey by the hand. I don’t wait for her to put it on as I walk fast toward where the trail picks up.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I say without looking at her. I just keep on moving through the woods, pulling her along behind me.
“I don’t know, okay!” she snaps, and it causes me to stop walking. “Now give me my bathing suit.”
I don’t turn around to watch as I pass it behind me and wait for her to put it on. After a moment I hear her grunt in frustration and I take a peek. “You okay back there?”
She sighs, and I can almost hear her eyes roll. “No.”
When I turn, I see she’s got her back to me with her top tied around her neck, but it’s knotted up so badly that she can’t get it around her chest.
“Here, let me,” I say as I take the strings from her hands and begin to untangle them. It’s then that I see her fingers are trembling. “Hey, it’s all right.” I brush my knuckle down her spine to soothe her, and I can see at least part of her visibly relaxes.
“God, I’m so stupid.” It sounds like her voice is close to cracking.
“Hey.” I wrap my arms around her from behind and kiss the top of her head. “You’re all right, I’m here.”
Chapter 7
Lindsey
I melt against him as he wraps an arm around my waist, holding me close. I can still feel the tingle of his touch on my skin from when he helped me put my top back on. How had I been both happy and annoyed that he hadn't tried to steal a peek of my breasts as he pulled me through the forest? Because I’m starting to lose my mind, that’s why.
My hand rests on his hard chest, and I enjoy the feel of him under my fingers. I’d pretty much run from him when I left breakfast, but here I am snuggling close. Is he comforting me because he thinks I need it, or because he truly wants to? I have a feeling Gibson isn't one to do something out of obligation.