Chapter's song: Sugar by Maroon V (I hear it at least five times a day.)

҉       A ƤriƝɕҽsslɣ CoƝƝҽCƬioƝ        ҉

ChaPtEr NINETEEN      _________________________

Sweetness…

Light rays crossed through the curtains making me squint my eyes. Moving my arms, I shifted on bed trying to stretch myself when a strong hand gripped me by the waist. Instantly, a wide smile played on my lips. Jason had been staying in my room for the last five days.

Definitely not complaining.

We had sort of made this routine, in which he slept in my room but took showers in his. We’d tried to shower together but we ended up doing everything but showering. And since there had been actual guests in the hotel, we couldn’t be late. So, he after waking up, he always left to his room to shower while I got ready in mine. He would wait for me leaned on the wall next to his room’s door and we would walk hand in hand to get breakfast.

His smell was intoxicating and I was getting too used to having his arms around me at night. I had totally given up on thinking what would happen to me when we go back to London. There was no point to keep thinking about that. However, I did have dark thoughts at least once a day.

The Mexican couple that was staying had left yesterday, so we had finally got free time for the movie. I couldn’t call it a date. But my stomach did somersaults whenever I thought about it. Because it did feel like one. Even if it wasn’t supposed to be. Bloody hell.

“Hey,” Jason’s hand was tracing circles on the back of my hand. “Had a good night sleep?” His grey eyes sparkled mischievously as he raised an eyebrow suggestively.

Blushing, I chuckled. “I think I’ve had better nights, thank you very much.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed. He was totally amused. “Really?” His hand travelled to my waist in a soft sensual way that made my stomach clench and my heart race faster. “I’m confident that you enjoyed yourself. Quite a bit, actually, if your screams were any indicator…”

“I did not-“His hand had travelled to my back. In one movement, he flipped me. I yelped.  He ended up hovering over me.

Slowly, the mischievous smirk dissolved as he looked at me. My breathing hitched as his grey eyes bored into me. My eyes roamed all over his chiseled features. I swallowed hard.

He wasn’t perfect. But he was perfect for me.

I love you…

I bit my lip trying stop myself from blurting out the words.

Jason’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. I would have given anything to know what he was thinking. “Are you ready for tonight?” his voice tone was huskier as I nodded transfixed by him. A small smile played on his lips as he leaned closer and we kissed. A tender and soft kiss.

We eventually pulled apart and he reluctantly walked out to his room to take a shower. Guests or not, we had a schedule to follow. It was the least we could do for my aunt.

Since there were no more guests, she had told us that we didn’t have to wear uniforms. I chose a light striped dress. Which I was sure it looked a bit tighter since the last time I wore it. Must be Maria’s cooking. I blushed and it made me study my reflection on the mirror. My hair looked lighter. My eyes sparkled and my lips were swollen and had more color.

I looked happy. Jason was definitely good for me.

Yeah. For how long?

A pang played in my chest. I looked away and swallowed the familiar knot that formed in my throat whenever I thought about it.

Just go with it.                                                                                                  

My eyebrows furrowed. I pushed all negative thoughts to the back of my mind and walked out of my room to find my prince charming in shining armor waiting for me. He looked great with a simple white t-shirt and khaki shorts. His hair was still damp. He hadn’t shaved and the rugged look made him hotter. If that was even possible.

His eyes lit and he pushed away from the wall. His hand grabbed mine. We reached the kitchen and like usual, he let me go through first.

To my defense, it was really hard to not fall in love with him…

“Buenos días! (Good morning!)” I kissed Maria on the cheek.

The table was already set. There were different sweet breads and a large platter filled with fruits on the center. Touching my belly, I smiled at our amazing cook. “Maria, I don’t think I should keep eating like this. I’m getting bigger.”

She dismissed me with a pat on the back. “Estabas muy flaca. Además, no veo a Jason quejándose o si?” (You were too thin. Besides, I don’t see Jason complaining, right?)

Blushing, I helped serving the coffee. “What did she say?” Jason whispered beside me as he took a steamy mug out of my hands.

I smirked at him. It felt nice to ace something that he didn’t. He narrowed his eyes.

Aunt Patricia walked in, followed by Sol and Pablo. Things were getting back to normal between them. However, I did catch Pablo looking at Sol from time to time. So, my hopes were still high for them.

We had breakfast and Aunt Patricia informed us that there were no other reservations for the next two weeks. She had mentioned it nonchalantly but you could see the dark circles under her eyes. I felt bad for her.

After cleaning up, I went out looking for her. Before I did, Jason’s hand grabbed my arm. With dark eyes, he leaned by my ear and whispered, “Just for the record, I think you’ve never looked more beautiful…”A wide boyish smile played on his lips as he pulled way.

My heart warmed.

It was absolutely impossible not to fall for him.

I searched for my aunt for almost one hour. Finally, I found her by the pool in one of the beach chairs, watching at the distance.

“Hi…”I trailed unsure.

She smiled, “Hey. How’s my favorite employee?” I felt guiltier. Even though I told her that I didn’t want to get paid, she was still paying for my food and stuff like that.

“How are you?” I took a seat on the chair closest to her.

She returned to look at the ocean. “I’ve been better, I guess…”

“I’m really sorry. Is there anything that I could help you with?”

Her brown eyes turned to me. “Having you here has been the highlight of my summer.” I blushed, “especially since I get to witness such a sweet love story like yours.”

My stomach clenched. “I’m not sure how real it is, though…”

She smiled empathically. “I think it is. Don’t you? You just have to see the way you both look at each other. You guys are sticky as honey,” I chuckled at that. “And you know what? There’s a Mexican saying for this, con amor y aguardiente, nada se siente.” (With love and liquor, you don’t feel anything else).

The turquoise ocean was more beautiful than ever. We sat there in silence as I thought about it. First, because it was hard to understand. After a while, I got it. No matter what, if you’re in love, you forget about everything else. Like when you’re drunk.

I guessed it was right. Although, I kept reminding myself that this was only for the summer. So, it was a bittersweet feeling.

“Do you have sayings for everything?” I asked genuinely curious.

My aunt snorted. “I think so, it’s the way we’ve talked for a long time. Although young people don’t know much sayings anymore.” She shook her head, “it’s a shame…”

I stayed with her for the rest of the morning. She told me about her grandmother and how she’d started the hotel. Even when people didn’t like a woman in charge. She sounded like an amazing woman. She did everything not caring about what other people thought and even only knowing how to add and subtract. My aunt admired her and I could see why.

After lunch, I decided to take a walk on the beach before going back to my room to get ready for our not-date. I took a shower and opted for another casual dress. Braiding my hair to the side, I left a few strands loose. Since it was extremely hot, I didn’t wear makeup. Just pink gloss on my lips.

Jason knocked on my door. My heart started to race. My palms were sweaty. Even though we’d slept together for the last week, this felt different. To me, at least…

He had denim jeans and a grey shirt. The color brought out his eyes. His aftershave reached my nose. It was intoxicating. His eyes raked all over my body making me feel more nervous than before.

“Shall we?”

Without saying anything, I stepped outside. I would have probably squeaked, anyway.

His hand grabbed me by the waist, pulling me closer to him. “You look great.”

“Thank you, you clean up good.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Baby, I look fucking awesome.”

I chuckled and rolled my eyes playfully. “Your ego needs to step down a notch, dude.”

He burst out laughing, “dude?”

Flushing, I cringed, “I might have spent too much time around, Pablo.” I slapped him on the arm, “besides, you shouldn’t curse in front of a lady!” I omitted the dude that was on the tip of my tongue.

Jason pulled a significant look at me, “says the girl that flipped me.” My cheeks flushed furiously making him laugh. “Come on, beautiful, we have a movie to catch.”

To be honest, I was totally surprised that there was actually a cinema in the city. But I guessed he’d done his homework. The only bad part? Every movie was translated in Spanish. I told Jason to change plans, but he insisted on watching it. We ended up watching a Mexican movie. That was actually hilarious. To me, at least. Jason had spent the whole time frowning trying to catch a few words.

“I’m sorry. We should have skipped the movie, Jason.”

He shrugged, “to be honest, I just wanted to make out with you…but you ended up actually watching the movie.” He rolled his eyes playfully.

My cheeks flushed. “Well, you should have just said so.” Without further notice, I pushed him to the wall. His eyes darkened and a smugly smile formed on my lips before I kissed him. We were just walking out of the small theater, people were passing us by. We pulled apart, but my whole body was on fire already.

His grey eyes bored into mine for a moment before he grabbed my hand once again. “Are you hungry?” I nodded. He smiled. Pulling my hand, he placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand. “Come on.”

He took me to a small secluded restaurant on the beach. I was sure that Pablo had told him about it. It didn’t seem like one of the touristic places. It was rustic and really beautiful. The waves were crashing on the side and it had an amazing view of the beach.

After ordering, we ended up talking about my aunt and the hotel. I told him how she was really worried about the lack of guests. “Well, things in Mexico are pretty much fucked up.” His thumb traced circles on my hand. “I mean, the military is on the main roads and I’ve heard that even a few toll booths have been taken by rebel groups.”

“Seriously?” I frowned. It made sense. People wouldn’t want to travel here if things were like that. My shoulders sagged, “Geez, I’m really out of it, don’t I? I mean, I live in my little safe bubble…” I admitted ashamed. I had no idea things were like that.

Jason squeezed my hand. “Marianne, don’t beat yourself for not knowing. Most people don’t notice or even care about it. It’s like passing next to someone who’s asking for money. You rarely pay attention to them. Hell, the other day I passed next to that girl with her mother and I didn’t even spare a glance their way. You did, though. You even gave her your ice cream.”

“It wasn’t a big thing…”I muttered embarrassed.

He chuckled, “it was for the little girl.” His thumb traced the bracelet she’d given to me.

I blinked at him, “are you being soft with me?”

His grey eyes bored into mine. “I’m being a lot of things to you.” My heart skipped a beat at his words.

He told me about his family. How his father had died and his mother had been in charge of Danielle, his sister and him. He also told me about his friends. He didn’t have many, but he did have a lot of anecdotes with them. He told me a few, making me laugh most of the night. By the time we had dessert, lime sherbet, I felt like I knew most of them.

“So, why astronomy?” he asked as we strolled down the beach. My sandals dangled on my right hand. I loved feeling the sand on my feet.

I grimaced somewhat embarrassed. “I’m a Dad’s girl. His hobby is watching the stars on his fancy telescope. And almost every night, he showed me the stars and told me a legend or something. It was our special time and I wanted to keep hanging on to that feeling, you know?”

He looked at me intensely for a moment, “I do. I joined the navy because of my father.”

A small smile played in my face. Concentrating on the sky, I showed him a few popular constellations like the great bear and the seven stars. He paid attention to me as I talked about the different stars I recognized.

After midnight, he drove us back to the hotel. As we walked back to my room, hand in hand, I tugged him forcing to stop. “I had a great time, thank you.”

His hand reached out to cup my cheek, “Me too…” A mischievous smile played on his face, “Who knew princesses could actually be interesting?” I shoved him away rolling my eyes. He chuckled and circled his arms across my waist. “Don’t be like that, prankster!”

“Seriously?” I shook my head mocking insult, “Prankster is such a lame nickname!”

He laughed and turned me so I could look at him. His stare shifted to an intensity that made me swallow hard. His eyes travelled to my lips as his hands gripped me tighter. We stayed like that for a long moment before he leaned closer and brushed his lips on mine.

That night, he made me feel loved and cherished. He was soft, tender and more passionate than ever.

But the magic moment vanished when he got a call at dawn.

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First of all, sorry for taking forever to update. I think I wrote this chapter three times. It just didn't feel right. But here you go...I'm really hoping you liked it. I did. Especially the cliffhanger...*evil laugh* What can I say? I felt like it needed something different.

So, guys...vote for Turn around. It's up for #thewrittersaffair contest and it ends up on Friday. So, help me out by checking it out and voting. PLEEEAAAASSEEEEEEEEE :)

Also. Do not get mad at me...but I don't think I'll be able to update this week. I have to make a huge cake for saturday and I'm training to change belt in tae kwon do (my exam is on the 27th). So yeah...sorry about that :)

Love you guys!!!!!! Oh and please comment and vote!! I miss your comments so much!!!!!!!

Gabs

PS: UGH!! cannot paste the video's link. Sorry about that.