"How is that possible?"
"Got a phone on you?"
"No. It"s back with my towel."
"Think you"ll survive a trip across the beach again?" There"s still amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice, but there"s concern too.
"Are you my Uber driver for the day?"
He picks me back up, and I secure my arms around his neck. "You can pay with a date later."
"A date?"
"How do you feel about jellyfish cuisine?"
I make a face. "Not good, honestly."
"Ah, come on, now. What better way to get revenge on those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds?"
"By eating them?" I cringe, thinking about the slimy little suckers sliding down my throat. Then I consider the rest of the eating process, and suddenly revenge by digestion doesn"t sound too bad. "I guess you might have a point."
He smirks. "I have much more than that."
Chapter 3.
Present Day 2:04 a.m.
I"m in the front seat of the police car. My purse is on my lap. I didn"t bring anything else. I didn"t even change my clothes.
We"ve been driving for ten minutes, I think. I"m not sure. I"ve asked the officer questions, and he answered what he could. But I"m stuck on "St. Luke"s Hospital" and "found non-responsive."
A sob swells in my chest, but I hold it in. Somehow, I"m not falling apart on the outside, although my insides are so big they might explode. I rub my arms for warmth. I hadn"t realized I was cold.
The officer is quiet now. It"s probably better this way. I was unresponsive to what he said, nodding my head to the words I didn"t hear clearly. I think he explained the accident, but I"ve already forgotten the details. I can only focus on one thing at a time.
The highways are empty except for the occasional semi that pa.s.ses. I try to concentrate on the road and the scenery. The broken white line dividing the lanes. The green signs stating the up-coming turn-offs. Streetlights illuminating the way. Anything but the burn in my eyes and the emptiness in my chest.
"Found unresponsive."
I don"t know what that means. Could he not speak? Was he breathing? Was he moving? Was his heart beating?
Oh, G.o.d!
I must"ve finally let out the sob, because the officer turns to me.
"It"ll be all right," he rea.s.sures me, touching my arm. But how does he know? No one knows that; we only hope. And right now, hope isn"t good enough. I have to see Maverick for myself.
The officer doesn"t understand. Mav"s been my rock. He rescued me from myself. Mav, my Mav, he owns me.
My heart grows heavier, pressing against my ribs.
"Can you pull over, please?"
"Of course," the officer answers.
The car slows down and moves to the side of the road. I"m unbuckled before we"ve stopped completely. A moment later, I throw open the door and vomit.
Chapter 4.
Cancun, Mexico 27 Months Ago Turns out, urine isn"t the best thing for jellyfish stings.
By the time we reach Finley, the pain is so intense, I"m close to screaming. I can"t take it any longer. I need something for it, and I need it now. The lady from before is here, along with someone in a red polo. Probably a medic from the resort.
"Lay her down," he says to Maverick.
Finley spreads out my towel, brushing sand off of it, and Maverick does what the medic instructs. He"s gentle, easing me down carefully.
"I"m sorry," he whispers when I suck in a breath. Once I"m down, he takes a step back, but he doesn"t leave.
"Here, it hurts?" the medic asks me, his accent thick. He presses the pads of his latex-gloved fingers around where the fires of h.e.l.l have developed on my calf.
I wince and manage an affirmative answer. He"s being helpful, but don"t freaking touch me there!
"These, uh, stingers here, they inject poison. Acid from the urine makes more poison," he explains. "The injury gets bigger."
I don"t care. I just want to not die.
He pulls out what looks like a hotel key card from a plastic bag, then he begins to sc.r.a.pe the edge against my skin. It doesn"t feel good, but, surprisingly, it doesn"t suck either.
"No more poison now." He gives Finn a clear, plastic container and asks her to fill it with seawater.
She scrunches up her nose like she"s unsure of this decision. "Okay." She draws out the word.
Maverick squats on the other side of me, taking Finley"s spot. Now probably isn"t the time to ask about the potency of his healing pee. Perhaps I should ask later, like when I"m not fisting the towel to keep from vocalizing grunts and swear words.
When Finn returns, she hands the medic the ocean water, and he pours it slowly over the wound.
"Cleaning it," he explains. I"m not sure how this water is sanitary, but I don"t ask. Then he grabs a spray bottle from his bag and spritzes it on me. "Vinegar."
He finishes by handing me an ice pack and telling me to take some pain killers. "No hospital," he a.s.sures me with a smile. "All better."
The medic gives Maverick a polite nod as he pa.s.ses him to go back to the resort. Maverick sinks down beside me on the towel. From the corner of my eye, I see Finn"s smirk, and I know exactly what she"s thinking. If she asks him to the party tonight for me, so help me G.o.d, I"m going to smear all of her makeup on our bathroom mirror.
"I"m sorry my urine didn"t hold the necessary healing powers for you." Tiny laugh lines tease the corners of his mouth. "I"m glad you"re okay."
"Yeah, it was touch and go there for a while. I"m just happy to be alive."
"I"m happy you"re alive too. Saves me from having to explain to the police my part in your death."
"Oh, totally. That would have been embarra.s.sing. Especially since you seem to lack the medicinal properties required in urine to soothe jellyfish stings. Just a suggestion, but you might want to get that checked out."
"Once I get back to the States, I"ll find a specialist, but for now, you promised me a date for my troubles."
"Promised? I don"t remember making any promises."
"Fine. Agreed to, then."
I make a show of placing a finger to my cheek in fake thought. I"m actually flirting. Wow, I must like this guy. He"s funny and charming, but he did pee on me. "Hmm. I don"t recall agreeing to anything either."
Maverick"s eyes search mine, his lips curved upward. He holds my stare for a moment, allowing a thin line of tension to connect us. Finally, he smiles. "I"ll pick you up in the lobby of that resort"-he motions behind me-"at six thirty."
"And if I"m not there?"
"I guess I"ll have to find another damsel to save." He stands up and dusts sand off of his shorts. "But I"m guessing you"ll be there."
"Are you? And why"s that?"
He winks. "See you tonight."
I can"t help watching him walk away. The way the sunlight hits his tanned shoulders is hard to ignore. Outside of dancing and letting some guy buy me a drink or two, I had no intention of being with anyone on this trip. But Maverick? He"s sparked my curiosity.
"What the h.e.l.l was that?" Finley asks, turning my attention away from him. Her eyebrows are perched so high on her forehead, they"ve blended into her hairline.
I play dumb just to annoy her. She deserves it. I point to my leg and give a shrug. "Jellyfish. Turns out, they"re a.s.sholes."
She blinks, then points in the direction Maverick went. "Um ... ?"
I love it when she"s speechless.
I slip my sungla.s.ses on and lean back on my elbows. "Not an a.s.shole, I"m pretty sure."
I apply the final touches of makeup. I"m wearing an ivory tank top with a long, white-and-parakeet striped skirt. Finn totally doesn"t approve, which makes it perfect.
"You"re hardly showing any skin," she informed me.
"So?"
"Guys like skin."
"I like skin too. Doesn"t mean I want him to show up naked."
She gave up at that point, grabbed her knit purse, and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Find me when you two show up."
"If you"re still there," I said under my breath as she walked out the door.
Now I"m alone and reconsidering. I"m technically under no obligation to meet Maverick downstairs. Sure, he"d "rescued" me from the dangers of the sea, but it doesn"t mean I owe him a date or anything. It"s not like he saved my life.
He"d been awfully confident that I"d follow through on this date. I can"t decide if that makes him arrogant or self-a.s.sured. Both, maybe?
I think about his smile, the way his lips tipped up at the corners and how his dark gaze flirted with me. How easy it was flirt back. It"s never easy for me, not even with Chris. In fact, Chris always told me how bad I was at flirting.
With Maverick I didn"t even have to try. I just ... did it.
Now I"m replaying in my mind everything that happened and everything I said, and I feel like a complete idiot. Did I seriously ask him about his aim? Apparently jellyfish poison makes you say stupid things. If I meet up with Maverick tonight, how else will I embarra.s.s myself?
Even with my teetering, I"m still getting ready. I"ve made no attempt at an evening alone in my room. My nighttime shorts and T-shirt aren"t even out of my suitcase. The sketchbook and pencils I vowed to Finley I"d use are tucked away in their packaging.
I run a brush through my hair again, styling it for no reason. As soon as I"m outside, the tropical breeze will make my work pointless anyway.
The clock says I have five minutes to walk to the lobby where he"ll be waiting. If I"m gonna go, it needs to be now. I take one last look in the mirror. The past year of my life has sucked royally. Chris made sure of that. But what does it say about me that I haven"t moved on? After twelve months of being single, I"m still allowing what he did to dictate my mood and decisions. I"m still letting him control me.
I know this. In my head, I know.
My blue-gray eyes stare back at me. Yes, I"ve been hurt. But I don"t want the scars to have power over me. I want to see colors again. Bright, beautiful colors that used to define me. This trip could be the beginning of my freedom.
I give my reflection a nod, straighten, and tip my chin up a little. I"m Alieya Mae Silverstein, and I"m going out with Maverick Something Something tonight. Maybe I should at least ask for his last name.
He"s in the lobby, hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts. I feel a smile lift my cheeks when he notices me. He flashes his own smile, and already I"m happy I came.
"I hate to say "I told you so," but here you are," he says.
"I guess I"m predictable."
"Nah. You just know what you want."
"Oh, yeah? And what is it you think I want?"
Maverick moves in close until our breath mingles between us. A head-and-a-half taller, he peers down at me. His stare smolders, and I fight the urge to take a step back. "Revenge."
"Revenge?" I say, my voice coming out breathy.
"On the entire jellyfish kingdom." He smirks and widens the distance between us. "Come on. I found a restaurant a few blocks down. Supposed to be good."
Maverick stuffs his hands back into his pockets and makes for the exit. How did he do that, give me hot flashes without even touching me? I shake the fog from my mind and slip out the door he"s holding open for me, my heart still pounding too hard.