THE RATIONAL PART of my brain didn't start working until we entered my suite. I slowly shut the door behind me and I turned to face James.
"I don't think this is a good idea."
He nodded his head. "I understand."
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You do?"
"Yeah, you know you can't control yourself." He began to do up his tie. "I don't blame you."
"Who says I can't?" I snapped. James really thought he was the only mature person here?
He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, then prove it."
I scoffed. "Is that your new catchphrase or something?"
He sat back on the hotel bed, feigning a yawn. "I'm waiting."
I was ready to rip my hair out. How did I ever date someone so infuriating? Unwilling to let James feel like he had won, I took my shoes off.
"That's it?" he said with a dry laugh before doing the same.
I glared at him as I slipped out of my pantyhose.
He responded by taking off his socks.
This continued as I took my dress off and he did the same with his shirt and tie. I then walked up to James, who was still sitting on the bed, and I pushed him down before climbing on top of him, my legs on either side of his torso.
"You underestimate me," I said.
He laced his hands behind his head and watched me in amusement. "I don't think I do."
I glanced down at his bare and toned body, and I leaned forward, licking his abs. When I felt him tense, I trailed my tongue up to his neck. I stopped and locked eyes with him, and he flipped me over so that he was on top. James pinned my arms down and trailed kisses down my chest and to my stomach, stopping right before my underwear. He released his grip on my arms to pull my underwear off.
"I'm done playing this," I told him before he could take it off.
His lips curved into a smirk. "I never pinned you as someone who admits defeat."
At my wit's end with him, I got up and yanked my underwear off, tossing it to the other side of the room. "That's because I don't."
There was a challenging glint in his eyes as he moved his mouth downwards. I let out a gasp as he got to work, my breathing becoming rapid as he continued. James took that as his cue to keep going and showed no signs of stopping.
"James," I gasped, and he gripped onto my thighs as he continued for what felt like an eternity of pleasure and torture. I chomped on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from giving him any satisfaction but that didn't last long when I found my heavy breathing turn into loud moans.
He didn't stop there and took off his pants to get down to it, not wanting to waste a minute.
"Wait," I said in a breathy voice. "It's my turn."
I pushed him down on the bed as I climbed on top of him, straddling him. James groaned as I moved my hips in a circle, showing him that I could do anything Leila could do better. When he had had enough, he roughly flipped me over and pushed me down on my stomach, coming up behind me to finish the deed.
~*~
I woke up in a panic the next morning, shocked by the steamy dream I had about James. I instantly sat up, ready to take a shower and pretend I never had that nightmare, but that didn't last long when I looked beside me and saw a sleeping naked body. My suspicions were confirmed for the worst when he turned around and saw me.
"Hey," James said in a husky voice, a lazy smile on his face.
"What did we do?" Ignoring the pulsating headache that was forming, I was more fixated on why my ex-boyfriend was naked in bed with... Wait a minute. I peeked underneath the blanket concealing my body, my eyes wide when I realized I was naked too.
James chuckled. "I think the more important question is what didn't we do."
I stumbled out of bed and rummaged through my suitcase for something to wear to conceal my body. "Can you give me privacy?" I demanded when I caught him watching me.
He laughed. "I'm not seeing anything I haven't already seen before."
"James!"
"Okay, fine, I'm not looking."
"You need to leave," I told him after I was fully clothed.
He peered down at this watch and groaned. "It's seven in the morning. Can't I sleep a bit more and then leave?"
"Get out," I hissed, throwing his clothes at him. "And this changes nothing."
"If you say so." James slipped into his clothes and walked out the door.
No sooner than a few minutes later did my door burst open and Amber stumbled in.
"Where have you been?" I demanded although I was relieved she didn't witness any of last night's events.
She was still dressed in her clothes from yesterday, her makeup smudged and her hair a mess. "I think I hooked up with Holden."
"What?" I screeched, worsening both of our hangovers.
She flopped on the other empty bed in our suite. "I don't know, I woke up next to him."
On cue, the culprit himself barged through the door. "Nothing happened!"
"Huh?" Amber and I said in sync.
He held up his phone to show us the screen. "Amber, you accidentally live-streamed the whole night."
"Oh my God!" She whipped out her phone from her clutch to see it was still streaming. She quickly ended the live stream and looked at us in disbelief.
"If you rewind to last night you can see we slept beside each other, not with each other," Holden clarified.
Amber sighed. "Oh, thank God."
"You're relieved?" Holden exclaimed. "I would've been murdered in cold blood by your ex!"
"You being a little bitch isn't my problem," Amber yelled at him.
I rubbed my temples, letting out a soft groan. "You guys aren't helping my hangover."
Holden raised his eyebrows. "What happened to you?"
"I think I drank too much." And I had sex with my ex-boyfriend... many, many times.
Holden shook his head at me. "You lightweight Parkers never learn, do you?"
I grabbed the nearest object which happened to be my shoe from last night, and I threw it at him.
~*~
I spent the rest of the morning nursing my hangover and trying to avoid thinking about last night. I showered, ate a hearty breakfast with a side of painkillers, and then I watched foreign shows on the hotel TV in my bedroom. I was four hours into a Filipino soap opera when my suite door opened and the happy couple strutted in.
"Dani!" Vanessa, who was either already buzzed or just too damn perky, jumped on my bed and beamed at me.
Niko glanced at the TV before looking at me. "What are you watching?"
"Don't make me look away or I'll miss the subtitles," I said without sparing him a glance. "Aren't we supposed to be leaving soon?" I vaguely remembered Brenton telling me we were going to head back today.
"We were..." Niko started, forcing me to pause the show and look at him.
"But we're having so much fun we're going to stay another day!" Vanessa finished.
I opened my mouth to complain, but Niko beat me to it. "Brent cleared it with Mom so don't worry about work. Now stop moping in your room and come with us to the pool." I didn't miss the annoyance on his face at the mention of our mother.
"I didn't bring any swimsuits," I lied instantly before realizing I actually hadn't brought any.
"You can wear one of mine," Vanessa offered. "It might be a little snug though."
Niko shot me a sheepish look when he saw the glare on my face. "Babe, why don't you go get it before Dani tries to hurt you?"
~*~
After trying on Vanessa's many bathing suits, I decided on a black one-piece with a high cut. Despite being her largest bathing suit, it was way too tight on my chest. I wrapped a towel around my neck to preserve some of my modesty as I joined everyone at the pool. Niko and Vanessa found a spot at the bar where the two of them were sharing kisses and Piña Coladas — barf. Brenton and Holden were in the pool fooling around with Vanessa's bridesmaids, and I was sitting on a beach chair with Amber, who was set on achieving the perfect natural tan.
I slid my sunglasses on top of my head and sat up to face Amber. "I'm bored."
"You're blocking my light," she said, her eyes closed.
"Let's go in the water," I offered.
"And ruin my makeup? Pass."
"Want to get something to eat?"
"And get bloated? No way."
"How about..."
"It wouldn't kill you to tan a bit," she said. "You've been looking a little pasty."
I gasped. "I'm not pasty!"
A man walking past us looked at me and stifled a laugh. "Whatever you say, Casper."
I grabbed Amber's bottle of sunscreen from beside me and I throw it at the back of his head. "Asshole."
The man flipped me off but ran before I could do anything else. Pleased with my encounters with strangers for the day, I leaned back in my seat, about to close my eyes. My plan was halted when I locked eyes with James who was sitting on the lounging chairs at the other side of the pool. He was wearing sunglasses so I couldn't see his eyes, but when I saw his lips pull into a smirk, I knew I had been spotted. I scowled at him and looked away so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. I wanted to make it as clear as possible to him that we were done.
I nestled back in my seat, once again interrupted when someone walked past me and to the other side of the pool. I wouldn't have cared, except for the fact that it was Leila. She was either hopelessly desperate, too drunk to remember, or a combination of both, but she approached James as if she didn't try to get it on with him last night.
"Hey." If I focused really hard I could hear what she was saying. "Can you put sunscreen on my back?"
James' head turned to me, and when he saw me watching, the smirk on his lips reappeared. He patted the footrest on his seat and Leila sat so that her legs were on either side of the lounger, her back facing him. I couldn't tear away my gaze as I watched James rub the lotion all over her back. I felt my nails digging into my palms as I stared at them ahead. Leila was oblivious while James knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to make me jealous, and worst of all, it was working.
Unwilling to let him have the upper hand I suddenly stood up, tossing my towel on my seat. I kicked off my flip-flops and got into the pool, my legs jolting as they made contact with the cold water. Brenton was preoccupied with swapping spit with Priya to notice me, so I approached Holden.
"You finally got your sunkissed tan?" Holden joked. His eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head to the side. "You didn't really do a good job."
I was about to call him some choice words but I stopped when I noticed he was headed for the stairs to get out of the pool. "You're not going to stick around?"
He shook his head, water droplets flying from his hair. "I'm getting kind of tired, I think I'm going to hit the bar."
"Holden, wait," I said as he got out of the pool. He turned around, so I used this as an opportunity to grab his leg and pull him in. He went soaring into the pool, landing with a massive splash.
He bobbed back up to the surface, breathing for air. "So that's how we're going to play, huh?"
Before I could ask what he meant, Holden grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. My gaze flickered to James, who had abandoned Leila and was looking straight at us. I let out a yelp when Holden threw me into the pool. Water splashed all around us, and much to my joy, Leila got soaked from the aftermath of my dunk. She shrieked in anger and I couldn't stop the grin from forming on my face. The smile slipped right off when James started drying her up with his towel. I realized this was a game I couldn't win, and I was livid. I instantly stood up and stomped out of the pool.
"Where are you going?" Holden called after me.
"To my room."